"Hey!" Gray called when he spotted Erza and Lucy. It was the next day, and after an eventful night, the group got separated. When he saw the two of them on the street, he hurried over to them.
"Gray! Glad to see you made it out!" Lucy said.
"Yeah. I managed to give that creep the slip." Gray said.
"We were just talking how we wanted to make sure you and the others were okay, but we didn't know your last name, so we couldn't call." Erza said.
"Really? You two wanted to call me." Gray said as he felt a little flattered.
"Don't flatter yourself. It was just to make sure you were okay." Lucy said as she knew what he was thinking.
"Well, my last name is Fullbuster, for the record." Gray said.
"Mine's Scarlet, and Lucy just told me hers is Heartfilia." Erza said with them all thinking it was nice to know. Despite the circumstances, they seem to be finding a way to use this mystery to get to know each other.
"So, Scarlet and Heartfilia, have either of you heard from Natsu and Happy?" Gray asked, but that's what made them a little anxious.
"I hoped they got out with you." Lucy said. Worried on what might have happened to them, the two of them hurried back to the school and hoped it wasn't too late.
...
Natsu
"Oh man. You're lucky you have fur, Happy." Natsu said as he and Happy were freezing. They were stuck in the freezer, but luckily they were able to hold out against it. They felt relief wash over them when they saw the door open. "We're saved!" He called as he and Happy were joyful, until they saw it was Principle Precht that opened the door. "We're dead."
...
Outside
Gray and the girls hurried back to the school. When they arrived, they saw that the Specter did a number on the building after they left. It was trashed and it was telling everyone to stay away.
"This surely doesn't look good." Gray said.
"And I have a feeling it's not going to get better unless something is done." Erza said. "Hopefully, they found Natsu and Happy in there and they're safe."
"Okay, let's go over what we know so far." Gray said as they needed to figure this out.
"I was able to analyze that substance we found last night." Lucy said. "It's zinc chloride. It's a compound commonly used in smokescreens like what the ghost used."
"Wow. I guess you're not just a pretty face." Gray said with him impressed. "I still don't get why a ghost would need to use any of that stuff in the first place."
"Because...maybe he's not a real ghost." Erza said. "Remember, Lucy? We thought he had us, but it was just a costume used in the drama department. They probably had a spare and someone swiped it."
"Of course! Someone is just trying to scare everyone away from the school, but who would do something like that and why?" Lucy questioned.
"Uh... I think we might have another problem." Erza said as she pointed to the door and saw Natsu and Happy walked out with Principle Precht. Knowing they were in real trouble, the three of them hurried over to help him.
"Principle Precht, I'm telling you the truth. That ghost locked us in and trashed the place." Natsu said.
"Sure he did." Precht said, but he didn't really believe him.
"Natsu! Are you and Happy okay?" Lucy asked.
"What happened?" Gray asked.
"That ghost locked me and Happy in the kitchen freezer." Natsu said.
"Oh, stop making excuses!" Precht said. "You locked yourself in the freezer when you were trying to pull another ghost prank at the school. What about the rest of you?" He asked as he turned to the three of them. "Do we all have you to thank for this?" None of them were really sure how to answer that without getting in trouble.
"No." Natsu said as he stepped forward. "Don't blame them. It was just us."
"Well, I'm deeply disappointed in your behavior lately, Mr. Dragneel." Precht scolded. Gray and the girls couldn't allow this to happen.
"Hold on. I was with him last night, too." Gray said as he stepped forward.
"Same here." Erza said.
"We all were." Lucy said as they all stood together. "That doesn't mean we did this. We figured out that someone is dressing up as a ghost and is trying to scare everyone away."
"Really?!" Natsu said with surprise.
"Well, thank you for sharing...what I already know!" Precht said as he was reaching his limit with them. "Well, I'm glad to inform you that you are no longer suspended. Now, you're all expelled!"
"Great! Oh, wait." Natsu said as things were just kept going down for them.
"And if I see any of you on schoolgrounds again, I will have you all arrested for trespassing!" Precht said as he gave them one last warning before he stormed off.
"Can this get any..." Lucy didn't finish that sentence as Erza covered her mouth.
"Never ask that." Erza said.
"Hey... Thanks for standing up for me." Natsu said. "No one has ever done that for me before."
"Don't worry about it. We're all in this together." Gray said.
"Yeah, but if we can't figure out who would want to close the school and why, we're all going to be in even bigger trouble together." Lucy said. With them seeing their problems are just growing, the three of them walked away. Natsu tried to think of something that could help, and he got it when he spotted the janitor cleaning up. It made him think of a couple things that could help.
"Guys, wait!" Natsu called as he hurried after them. "I think I have a couple suspects!"
"Who?" Erza asked.
"The janitor and the librarian! The janitor hates the school, and I overheard the librarian complain about her budget being cut." Natsu said with them seeing those would be perfect motives. "Also, I don't think they like teenagers."
"He's right!" Lucy said. "Either one of them could be the ones behind all of this."
"But how do we investigate when we can't be seen on schoolgrounds?" Gray said.
"I think I have the answer to that." Erza said as she had a fun little idea they could do.
...
Erza's House
All of them went to Erza's house when it was empty. When they got there, they showed a series of clothes that Erza had.
"Just simply take your pick." Erza said.
"Wow. Erza, your closet and drawers are pact with clothes. Do you even wear some of this stuff?" Lucy asked.
"What can I say? When it comes to clothes and fashion, I just have to have something." Erza said. "Just go on and put on whatever disguise you like." Lucy helped herself as she loved some of the choices she could have.
"What about me and Gray?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah. I'm not going anywhere dressed as a girl." Gray said.
"No worries. I actually do have some clothes guys can wear." Erza said. When she said that, the boys gave her a strange look that gave them a few ideas about her. "Is there a problem with that?" She said as she gave them a strong glare. They all backed down and denied anything.
...
The School
All of them got a good disguise with some clothes, wigs, and other accessories. They seemed completely unrecognizable. As for Happy, he just kept himself hidden in Natsu's bag. Since they can now move around schoolgrounds, they can investigate their suspects.
"Okay. Let's spread out and see if we can find anything." Gray said. All of them were in agreement and head inside the school to find anything to find their ghost. Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all tailed the janitor. They all followed him until he went down to the boil room.
"I'm going in." Natsu said.
"We'll stand guard, but hurry." Lucy said. Natsu went inside with Happy having his back. Gray and Lucy stayed outside and tried acting natural. Natsu made his way down to the boil room and kept himself hidden so that the janitor wouldn't see him. Natsu and Happy watched him and saw him put on a black cape.
"It's him!" Natsu said as he thought he had him, but something else was going on. He took a camera and started recording.
"Hi. I don't like being a janitor. What I want is to be America's next top idol!" The janitor said. He started playing some music and used a broom like it was a microphone. The way he danced and sing was not easy to see. Happy and Natsu couldn't take it and just got the heck out of there. They came out with Lucy and Gray expecting good news.
"Well?" Gray asked.
"Scary, but I don't think it's him." Natsu said as he and Happy can't unsee it.
...
The Librarian
Erza tailed the librarian on her own. She acted like a casual student and kept her eyes on her own. When the librarian ducked inside her office, Erza followed after her and kept herself hidden. She did find it suspicious when she saw the librarian holding a knife.
"It's time I get what I deserve." The librarian claimed. Erza thought it was her until she saw it was just a letter opener she was holding. She could also see the librarian seemed rather happy what was in the letter. "Yes! I got accepted into The British Library in London! Finally, I get to work in a real library!" Hearing that has Erza convinced it's not her. The librarian left the office and Erza was beginning to think it was for nothing until she heard something. She saw someone return a book into a slot, but she didn't see who it was. What caught her eye was the title.
"What do we have here?" Erza said as she thought the book was most interesting. Working fast, she checked the librarian's computer to get more info on the book and she might have found something they've been looking for.
...
Natsu's House
The others all returned to Natsu's house and were rather disappointed. They just lost a lead, a suspect, and a chance to clear their names.
"I thought for sure it was him." Natsu said as they ditched their disguises.
"It's okay, Natsu. You saw the right motive, just not the right goal." Lucy said.
"Let's just hope Erza found something." Gray said.
"You bet I found something." Erza said as she came in with excitement.
"It really was the librarian?!" Gray said.
"No. She seems innocent, but look at this." Erza said as she showed the book she found.
"A Guidance on Haunting?" Lucy said.
"It's a guidebook on how to create an authentic haunted house, or make any place look haunted, and every trick the ghost tried is in here." Erza said as the rest of them were getting worked up like her. "I already checked to see who had it last. It was Principle Precht." Hearing that, they were all a little surprised to hear it might be him.
"Yeah... He's the only one that doesn't believe it's a real ghost!" Gray said. "He also instantly accused us being the ones behind this. He made us take the fall to make himself look innocent."
"But why would he want to trash the school he runs?" Natsu questioned.
"That's what we need to find out." Erza said.
"Let me see if I can find out where he lives. Luckily, I brought my computer." Lucy said as she searched around her bag and pulled out her own computer and tried finding where Precht lives. "Oh no. He lives at the top of Magnolia Hill. We can't walk all the way up there. Even with bikes, it could take us hours."
"Now what? Anyone got a car?" Natsu complained.
"Wait a minute! I recently got my license!" Gray said as he pulled out his wallet and showed he can drive.
"You do?! Great!" Erza said. "That means you can drive us up there."
"That's the problem." Gray said as he hate to break it to them. "I have a license, but I don't have a car. So what do we do? If we borrow one of our parents' cars, we're dead."
"Wait a minute! I got a car we can use!" Lucy said. "Well, it's at least my dad's, but we'll have to sneak it out."
"Okay. We'll meet up at Lucy's place tonight and head over to Precht's house and see if we can find anything that tells us he's the one behind all of this." Gray said. Looks like they have another strong lead and are getting closer to solving the mystery, but the thing about mystery solving is that just when it seems like you have it figure out, there's another bump in the road.
