Chapter Three:
AN: Sorry it's taken me a while to get this up. I have been super bust with my internship and my computer crashed over the weekend. But, here it is! Enjoy!
Lucy stood on the platform of the Crocus train station. The night wind whipped at her hair as she absentmindedly rubbed circles on her stomach. Her mind was both racing and blank at the same time. Yukino wasn't much better when she left. She was still unconcious, breath shallow, swapping between sweating and shivering every 30 minutes or so. They'd contacted the Corcus police, but so far nothing on who the perpetrator may have been.
It just didn't make sense. Yukino was one of the sweetest people Lucy knew. Who would want her dead?
And who wants me dead?
Lucy looked down at her stomach, still flat despite the tiny life growing within it. Of course Lucy didn't want to die, but that wasn't what was scaring her.
"The train's late."
Lucy turned to Rogue who'd come to the station with her.
"Yeah," she nodded.
"If you want you can go back to the hotel, I'll stay and wait for them."
"No, I'm okay. Thanks again for coming with me," Lucy said.
"It's no bother," Rogue said. "Besides, seeing as you were also a target it's not safe for you to be anywhere alone."
"Right," Lucy said a hand resting on her belly. It was only by luck that she hadn't taken a sip of that drink.
"Are you alright?" Rogue asked.
"Of course I don't want to die," Lucy said. "But that's not what really scares me about the whole thing. It's...what would have happened to the baby had I taken that drink?"
"Don't ask yourself 'what if,'" Rogue advised. "You'll drive yourself insane."
"Right," Lucy nodded.
Toot! Toot!
The train finally pulled into the station. It screeched to a stop and the doors slid opening, releasing a sea of people. Lucy stood on her toes to look through the crowd, searching for a familiar face. Finally she spotted a tall man with black hair, dark blue eyes, and wearing a shirt for once.
"Gray!" Lucy called, waving her hands above her head.
"Lucy!" Gray called, pushing through the crowd to give the girl he considered a sister a tight hug. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Lucy nodded. "But...Yukino…"
Gray nodded solemnly but gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry. If anyone can help her it's Storm."
He gestured behind him to where Juvia was shuffling through the crowd, holding Bianca and Meeko by the hands. Storm walked along in front of her, but at seeing Lucy he rushed to her side, eyebrows furrowed in worry. "When can I see Aunt Yukino?"
"As soon as we get to the hospital," Lucy said, smiling, touched by the little boy's concern.
"So let's go!" Storm began to run off, but Juvia caught his arm.
"Hang out, we've got to wait for the other's to catch up," she said.
"Others?" Lucy asked, brow furrowed.
Gray grinned. "We called on a few friends to see if they can look into who might be behind this."
"Oh?" Lucy asked.
"Hello, Lucy," a familiar voice called from behind her. She turned to find-
"Jellal!"
"Good to see you're alright," Jellal said, the rest of Crime Sorciere filing up behind him.
"Who hurt my little sister!?" Sorano shouted. "I swear when I get my hands on them, I'm gonna-"
"We don't know," Gray said. "That's why we called you guys to figure it out."
"Oh, we'll figure it out," Sorano seethed. "And when we do-"
"We'll deal with that part when we get there," Jellal said. "First we must check on Yukino."
"Yeah, come on, we'll take you to her," Lucy said, gesturing with her arm.
"Wait for us!" another voice called.
Lucy turned to find Wendy running towards them, her seven-month-old daughter Isla in her arms and her husband Romeo behind her carrying their bags.
"Wendy?" Lucy asked.
"I heard about Yukino," Wendy explained. "I came to see if I could help."
She hung her head. "I know my magic isn't specialized specifically for removing poisons, or curse, or illnesses like Storm's Cleansing Spell is, but I had to come and at least try."
Lucy smiled and set a hand on Wendy's shoulder. "I understand. And I'm sure you'll be able to help her. Now let's go, the longer we wait hear the longer Yukino has to wait for help."
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"Yukino!" Sorano shouted as she busted through the hospital wing door and raced to her sister's side. Yukino was still very pale and sweaty. Her face was contorted in a grimace of pain as she panted for breath and squirmed. Sting hovered over her, stroking her hair out of her face. The rest of the new arrivals gasped at the sight of her. They'd known she was in bad shape, but this was more than they were expecting.
"Oh," Sorano's bottom lip trembled as she took Yukino's hand in hers. "It's okay. It's okay, big sister's here."
"She's been getting worse the past hour," Sting said in a panicked voice. "I'm not sure if Layla's energy will be enough to fight this off."
The healer came back into the room and looked over Yukino. "Hm. Yes. Had your friend not already taken the children to bed I'd suggest taking another dose of energy from the little girl. But looks like we'll have to wait until morning. For now I don't know if there's anything we can do."
"That's your cue, Storm," Gray said, patting his son on the head. "Do your thing."
Storm nodded, a worried look on his face as her shuffled to Yukino's bedside.
"Another Celestial Wizard?" the healer asked, his brows furrowed. He did not like the idea of putting another young child through a painful magic energy transfusion.
"No, even better," Juvia beamed as Storm set a hand on Yukino's forehead.
He gasped and recoiled, shuttering.
"This isn't just poison is it?" he asked.
The healer shook his head. "No. It's a poison brewed using dark magic. But how did you know?"
"It feels different," Storm said, still shaking. "Sickness, poisons, and dark magic are a lot alike, but they all feel different. And this…" his voice lowered as he shuddered again. "...I think this is the worst I've felt."
"I'm not sure I understand…" the healer arched an eyebrow.
"Just do your best, darling," Juvia encouraged.
Storm nodded, looking a bit scared, and lifted his hands, holding them over Yukino, palms facing towards her. An orb of water appeared over her, slowly lowering until it spread out over her entire body.
"Cleanse," Storm said. The water began to ebb and flow over her, slowly sinking in through her pores. As about half of it disappeared into her Storm gasped.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Gray asked, setting a hand on his son's shoulder.
"It's fighting me!" Storm exclaimed, closing his eyes and forrowing his brow in concentration.
"Fighting you?" Gray's brow furrowed.
Storm nodded, forcing more of his water into Yukino's poisoned body.
"Every other time I've used Cleanse I just soak up whatever is hurting the person into my water and pull it out of them, but this stuff doesn't want to come out!"
"You mean you can't help!?" Sting shouted, face blanching.
"I...I'll do what I can, but I don't know," Storm said through clenched his teeth as the last of his water disappeared into Yukino. Storm began waving his hands over her, guiding his water through her, frown deepening with every second.
"C'mon!" he muttered. "Get out!"
He kept working for a few minutes more, face etched in concentration. Suddenly he let out a loud yelp of pain.
"OUCH!"
"Storm!?" Both Gray and Juvia asked, rushing towards their son.
Storm raised his hands and pulled his water out of Yukino. It was pitch black. The orb contorted, and arched, and twisted, almost as if it were a caged animal.
"Cleanse!" Storm shouted once again, only this time in a pained voice. The orb disappeared. Storm fell to his knees and held his head in his hands.
"Storm?" Juvia dropped to her knees next to her son. "Storm, are you alright?"
"My...my head…" he groaned.
"Incredible!" the healer gasped as he waked towards Storm. "I've read about the Cleanse spell, but I've never met a wizard that could perform it. And one so young, too!"
"But I hardly did anything," Storm said. "She's still got so much in her!"
The healer looked back at Yukino who, though still pale and clammy, was at least breathing at an even pace and wasn't squirming in pain.
"Maybe so, but you've bought her some comfort if nothing else," the healer stated. "You can try again later."
"Not if it's going to hurt him!" Juvia insisted.
The healer walked to Storms side and set a hand on his head. "I don't sense anything wrong, per say, I think he's just strained himself. Torbernite poison is serious stuff."
"Hm," Gray pondered as he turned and looked down at Storm. "We'll let him decide tomorrow. For tonight I think he's been through enough."
"Agreed," the healer nodded. "I think you all should go home, in fact. There's nothing more you can do for her tonight."
"I'm not leaving!" Sting shouted. "She's my wife, I'm not leaving her side."
"And she's my baby sister," Sorano added. "I'm not going anywhere either."
The healer sighed and nodded. "Yes, I understand, but the rest of you should go get some rest."
Slowly but surely the rest of the crowd began to file out of the room. Jellal walked to Sorano's side and set a hand on her shoulder.
"Take care of your sister. We'll find out who did this."
"You better," Sorano said weepily as she took Sorano's hand back in hers.
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Natsu lay in his and Lucy's bed back at the hotel, staring up at the ceiling. He'd gone ahead and taken the kids home a little before Lucy went to meet the Fullbusters at the train station. Layla had already fallen asleep by the time they left, exhausted from the transfussion.
He stared at the ceiling fan making it's lazy circles through the air for a few seconds longer before forcing himself to sit up, against the protests of his aching back, so he could peer into the room across the hall from his opened door.
All three children were asleep, Layla and Nashi sharing a full sized bed. Layla had her ever faithful Molly-Dolly tucked under her arm and her thumb in her mouth. Nashi laid on her stomach, pink hair sprawled all over the pillow as she let one arm and one leg hand off the side of the bed, snoring softly. Igneel had a twin-sized bed all to himself, tangled in his blankets, bed sheets, and stuffed snake.
It was normal for Natsu to check on his children periodically though the night, but he was being a bit paranoid tonight. This was at least the fifth time he'd sat up to gaze into the next room. And they'd only been back at the hotel for about a hour.
A jingling came at the door. Natsu turned and let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding when Lucy walked in. Her head was hung. Her face solemn.
Natsu was almost afraid to ask, but he did anyways: "How's Yukino?"
Lucy shrugged. "A bit better I guess. That poison is nasty stuff."
"Storm couldn't help?"
"He did a little, but just a little." Lucy kicked off her shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed. She took a deep breath, though it did nothing to calm the beast of nerves gnawing at her stomach. Natsu reached out and took her hand, pressing a gentle kiss to her guild mark. Lucy shook her head to rid herself of the troubled thoughts racing through her mind. She turned to her husband and lifted the blankets to look at his legs.
"You need any bandages changed?" she asked, reaching to examine his broken limbs. Natsu caught her hand and pulled the blanket back over himself, shaking his head.
"No," he said in a soft but firm voice as he stared up at her, eyes cutting through her, letting her know that he knew what she was really doing. "Not tonight."
Lucy hung her head. "I don't want to talk about it, Natsu."
"Okay. Don't," Natsu shrugged before grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her against him. "But you're at least gonna let me hold you."
Lucy sighed as she relaxed into his embrace, pillowing her head on his chest where she could listen to his heartbeat. They said nothing for a long time. Lucy let her eyes flutter closed as Natsu rubbed her back. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before letting one of his hands tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and then travel to rest on her belly.
"How you feeling?" he asked.
Lucy just shrugged. "I'm not the one stuck in a wheelchair."
"And I ain't the one pregnant, so tell me how you're feeling."
Lucy shrugged again. "Fine I guess."
"No morning sickness it looks like."
"No. Just tired. But that may not be the pregnancy. Might just be keeping up with our other three."
"Hm," Natsu grinned. "Must be a girl."
"What makes you say that?" Lucy arched an eyebrow, finally opening her eyes.
"Igneel was the only one you got sick with," Natsu explained. "But you were constantly tired with the girls. Now you're tired but not sick again so it must be a girl."
Lucy shook her head. "It was only Nashi I got tired with. I hardly had any symptoms with Layla other than getting as big as a balloon."
Natsu shrugged. "I'm still saying it's a girl."
"You said they were all girls!" Lucy said.
"Nu-uh! I thought Igneel was gonna be a boy, and I was right."
"Only after I told you I thought he was a boy, though."
"Eh, I'd figured it out before then."
"Oh, sure," Lucy rolled her eyes. "Sure you did!"
Natsu let Lucy go and rolled her onto her back so her could lean down and kiss her stomach. He pillowed his head against her abdomen, listening to the baby's heartbeat. Lucy ran her figers through his hair. Though she was certainly enjoying this quiet moment with her husband and their unborn baby, she felt a bit guilty. Whiel she was here, Yukino was fighting for her life. Her husband was watching restlessly over her rather than snuggling with her in a warm bed. Their daughter was crying for her mother.
And it was only by luck she wasn't in that situation, or even worse. Yukino was barely hanging on. Had it been Lucy who had been poisoned, not Yukino, than the baby growing inside her would most definately have perished by now.
Though Lucy didn't know it, Natsu was thinking the same thing. Someone had tried to kill his wife, and by extension his baby. And there ws nothing he could do about. He was suddenly getting flashbacks to Nashi's birth, when there were people trying to take her away from him and Lucy and there had been nothing for him to do. This was worse, though. Even if Ivan, Jiemma, and Jose had gotten their hands on Nashi Natsu knew that he and the rest of Fairy Tail wouldn't have stopped until the got her back. This was different. This wasn't kidnapping. This was murder. Someone wanted to kill Lucy.
And no one knew why…
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"Alright, so what do we know?" Erik asked once he and the rest of Crime Sorciere had set up a temporary headquarters in their hotel room.
"Someone has attempted to murder Lucy and Yukino with Torbernite poisoning," Jellal answered. "And that's about it…"
"Oh, perfect," Erik rolled his eyes. Jellal ignored him as he picked up a stack of newspapers he'd collected from the Royal records. They had newspapers, magazines, any kind of written news stored within the records. The question now was combing through all of them to look for any hints of who may have been behind this. Thankfully they were able to narrow down some of it by asking specifically for any articles containing information Torbernite Poisoning. As Jellal began scanning the files he quickly became aware that these were mostly records of people being busted for selling recipes, or ingredients, or even bottles of Torbernite, but not actually using them on anyone. It seemed that Torbernite was one of those things the underground used for intimidation more than actual murders.
"Hm," Jellal's lips pursed together as he scanned over the records. Not even mob bosses actually used this stuff on their henchmen, only threaten to. Who in all of Earthland would use this on two innocent women?
"Um...Jellal…?" Meredy suddenly asked.
"Hm?" Jellal asked absent mindedly as he kept reading.
"Look at this…" Meredy siad in a scared voice as she handed him a newspaper clipping. Jellal's stomache immediately dropped as he read the headline S-Class Holy Hound Wizards Murdered." Jellal snatched it from Meredy and poured over it. "...Resiha Whiteday and Bernika Rilafille were both found murdered outside their guild hall. Both had traces of Torbernite poisoning in their systems. Following the deaths it was discovered that the women's children were missing. Authorities have offered an award for anyone who can provide information about the whereabouts and the condition of the children…"
"Jellal!" Richard ran forward, another news article in his hands.
"...Nalshe Mikagura, an S-Class from the Titan Nose guild was found dead from Torbernite Poisoning in her apartment. Mikagura was a single mother living in the apartment with her five month old daughter, who has since gone anyone has any information on the whereabouts of the child please contact the authorities…."
Jellal looked from Richard's article, to Meredy's article. All five of these victims: Lucy, Yukino, Reisha, Bernika, Nalshe. All of them were wizards. All were S-Calass. All were mothers. All were young. All were mothers. All were blond. All were attractive. All were attacked using Torbernite poisoning.
"What are you thinking?" Meredy asked.
Jellal shook his head. "I think we're dealing with a serial killer…."