Chapter Eight:
"Requip!" Roman Fernandez squeezed his eyes closed as a wide-brimmed, cone-shaped black hat appeared on his head.
"No! No! No! The whole thing!" Roman stamped hsi foot as he closed his eyes and focused again. "Requip!"
The hat disappeared and a circular, red shield with the Fairy Tail emblem in the center and a sharp edge all along it appeared in his hands.
"NOOOO!" Roman began jumping up and down in frustration. "The whole thing! Why is this so-"
"It's a bit more complicated requipping an entire set of armor than just one or two weapons."
"Mommy!" Roman dropped the shield, sending it back into it's dimensional pocket as he turned to face his mother. Erza walked towards her son as he nervously twisted his hands together.
"You...eh-heh...you saw that, huh?" he asked bashfully.
"I did," Erza nodded.
"Aw," Roman's head dropped all the lower. "I'm trying! I just can't get it all to come-"
"It's alright, Roman," Erza said as she ruffled his hair. "When requipping a weapon you only have to focus on one object at a time. With armor it's a bit more complicated. There are multiple pieces that must go to their exact place at the exact same time. There are some wizards who are never able to properly requip armor. It's going to take a little time for you to get the hang of it."
"But I've been practicing everyday since I got it and I still can't get it to work!"
"As I said, it's going to take time. Not to mention this armor is a bit heavier than most. I'll admit I was a little wary letting you have the Fusegu armor as your first set," Erza said as she thought back to the first time she'd spotted the set. With it's blade-edged shiled, wide, black iron hat, it's black chain mail robe, and the iron arm and shin guards. It was a heavy set to say the least, but there was good reason for that.
"So why did you?" Roman asked, genuinely curious.
"Because it's protective in nature," Erza answered plainly as she pinched Roman's cheek. "I want to make sure my little warrior is safe out there in this big, scary world."
"Mommy! Stop!" Roman begged. Erza chuckled as she let go and Roman frowned up at her while rubbing his cheek. She then let out a deep sigh.
"Just keep practicing. Now come on, I'm afraid we have to get packed."
"For what?" Roman asked as he followed along behind his mother to the house.
"We're going to join your father in Crocus," Erza answered.
"Why is that?"
"Because-AUGH!" Erza let out a shriek as she darted towards the house. "What did I tell you three about climbing on the roof!"
"Oh, good grief!" Roman face-palmed as he watched his mother climb ontop of the roof to fetch his younger siblings down from it.
"We were having a tea party!" Eva insisted.
"On the roof!?" Erza shrieked.
"Yeah, because Von's dirty socks made our room stinky," Minette answered.
"Uh-uh! Those were your dirty socks!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Elena Alteria," Meredy read off the biography that Jellal had found in the stack of women with rainbow hair. She was seated in a room of the hospital with Sting, Rogue who was holding baby Sachi in his arms, Gray, Wendy who was holding Isla, Romeo, Laxus, Mirajane, Natsu, and Lucy.
"She's a very powerful wizard. Density magic is her primary magic type, but she's also able to use a bit of telepathy and solid script. Her personal life is...complicated…"
"Complicated?" Laxus asked. "How so?"
"Well, she's been married five different times, engaged seven times, and she been a member of eight different guilds."
"EIGHT!?" Everyone in the room asked.
"Yup," Meredy nodded. "As of now she's still officially a member of Gramlush, but her guild master reported her missing nearly a year ago. The case was never closed."
"So...she's still a missing person?" Lucy asked.
"Technically," Meredy nodded.
"So why is she trying to kill us?" Wendy asked. "And taking our babies?"
"We...don't know yet," Meredy answered.
"What do you mean you don't know!" Gray shouted.
"We're still going through her very messy background, but so far we haven't been able to come up with a motive," Meredy said.
"How are you 'going through it?'" Sting asked.
"Richard is going to talk to the guild master of Gramlush. Sawyer is talking to Titan Nose, the guild she was a part of before she joined Gramlush, and Macbeth is talking to Phoenix Grave-"
"Phoenix Grave?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah, the first guild she joined. Jellal told me they and Fairy Tail have had a bit of a messy history…"
"That's one way to put it," Laxus scoffed.
"Do we know where we can find any of her ex-husbands?" Mirajane asked. "Maybe they could give us some-oh!" She cringed and put a hand to her side.
"Mira?" Laxus asked in a concerned voice.
"I'm fine," she answered. "Just cramping a bit. And, no, it's not a contraction."
"I told you to stay-"
"And I told you that wasn't going to happen. I'm fine," Mirajane insisted before turning back to Meredy. "So, do we know of her ex-husbands?"
"Not yet," Meredy stated. "We've still got to get permission to look at those files."
The communication lacrima on the table in the room began to activate. Meredy walked over to it just as Erik's face materialized.
"Erik! Did you learn anything?"
"Yeah, apparently there's a trade rink in the black market who's boss brags about begin able to find and sell Torbernite crystals."
"Hey, that's the same name as the poison the killer is using!" Natsu exclaimed.
"That's because Torbernite crystals are a major ingredient in Torbernite poisoning, you bonehead!" Gray sighed.
"So," Meredy continued. "Do they actually seel those crystals or are they just bragging?"
"Can't say for certain, though there have been reports of a rainbow haired woman frequenting this particular ring's booths at several black markets. And she's recently been seen carrying a baby or two with her."
"So she's not killing the babies she's kidnapping," Wendy sighed.
"That's good to know, but we still don't know why she's taking them in the first place," Gray said as he frowned at the floor. "Though I might have a clue."
"Huh?" Everyone turned to face him.
"When I got Meeko back he had a mark over his Fairy Tail mark. It looked like a sunrise, but it was all black."
"Hm…" Meredy looked through her papers. "Like this?"
"Yeah!" Gray pointed to the mark Meredy was pointing to at the corner of one of the papers. "That's it!"
"It's the Alteria family crest," Meredy said in a pondering voice. "I guess we'll have to look more into it."
"I've managed to track down one of the sellers for the ring she's working with," Erik called from the lacrima. "I wanna go check it out but I'd appreciate some back up."
"I'll go," Gray volunteered as he stood up.
"Me too," Sting offered.
"Same," Laxus also stood.
"Alright, I'll meet you guys at the arena. We can go from there."
"Right," the three volunteers nodded as Erik signed off.
Natsu huffed as he leaned back against his seat. He wanted to go too, but without being able to walk he wouldn't have been of much help. Lucy sighed as she checked the time.
"Come on," she said to her husband. "Your appointment's in thirty minutes. We better get going."
"Yeah…" Natsu sighed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Jellal watched as the train pulled into the station. The doors to the cars slid opened and a throng of people filed out. Jellal stood on his toes as he peered through the crowd.
Please be okay, he though to himself. Please make it safe!
Then he saw it. A head of scarlet red hair. He pushed his way through the sea of people, walking straight towards his wife.
Erza spotted him, smiling as she let down the handle to the massive cart of luggage she'd dragged with her and held her arms open. Jellal dove into them, lifting her off her feet and holding her close.
"You're okay," he sighed.
"You expected anything less?" Erza asked.
Jellal chuckled. "No. It's just relieving to see you."
He set her down and was immediately tackled by the triplets, all screaming "Daddy!" as they all crashed to the ground.
"Oof! I'm glad to see you all safe, too," Jellal chuckled as he held his three youngest close.
"Do you three always have to cause a ruckus?" Roman sighed as he face-palmed yet again.
Jellal smiled as he sat up and hugged his eldest. "Glad to see you too, Roman."
"So, what is the situation" Erza asked.
Jellal sighed as he stood up. She was wearing her all-business face. He knew she wanted all of the details. He just wish he had all of them to give her.
"I'll tell you when there aren't little ears around," he told his wife as he gave her a small peck.
Erza nodded. "Understood. By expect to hear a thorough explanation of all of this the minute we're alone."
"Understood," Jellal nodded as he took her hand in his and led her and their children away.