Sorry for long wait and shorter chapter, but I couldn't find a better stopping point. Please review!
The only suspect left whose handwriting was anywhere near the note's - Cana, the drunkard who had "stumbled" and "accidentally" found the dead body of the stranger.
Realization quickly dawned on most of them, and a few backed away in surprise. Cana looked at everyone's faces in slight nervousness, waiting for their reactions, only hiccuping once.
"So... Cana killed Laxus," Evergreen slowly said. "And Juvia, Master, the stranger." But worst of all, Laxus, her tone implied, although she did not say it out loud. "Wasn't Laxus a bit... unsavory to Cana earlier?"
"Your discovery of that passage may have not been accidental," Carla hissed. "A ploy to make you seem less suspicious; something many murderers do in mysteries. They interfere with the investigation in a way that makes them seem completely innocent. You put Wendy in danger!" The Sky Dragon Slayer winced, not wanting to be a part of the accusations and arguments.
"I - wait, no - " Cana started, but was interrupted by Droy.
"I knew it!" the plant mage shouted. "When we were kids, you only drew on my face when I fell asleep at the guild once - now, you're killing off everyone! I've never trusted a drunk before... especially you, Cana, who hasn't been sober since she was twelve!"
"Take that back,"Cana growled. "Take back all of that crap you just said, Droy! I trusted you, never drew on your face, was sober two weeks ago, and I sure as hell didn't kill anyone!"
"Lies coming from a murderer!" Droy blubbered, waving his hands in the air as he took a step back from the looming Cana. "I never trusted you. You've never been my nakama!"
"Droy, don't say that," Freed snapped. "You have always considered everyone in Fairy Tail your nakama, have you not? Maybe not Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe when we attempted to take over Fairy Tail and held Magnolia hostage with the thunder palace... but I have noticed you sharing drinks with Cana before, taking jobs with Cana and the rest of your team, talking casually to Cana. You are caught up in the heat of the moment - all of you are. Even you, Ever," he said, pointing from Droy to Carla and to Evergreen.
"I've seen Cana be friendly to Juvia, Laxus, and Master," Mirajane said. "It never seemed like she had a vendetta against them..."
"When we attempted to take over Fairy Tail, Juvia sacrificed herself for Cana's sake," Freed said. "Cana had told Juvia then... that she would always be a true member of Fairy Tail. Cana never once doubted or disliked Juvia."
"She was conspiring! Looking for their weak points, whenever she was acting 'friendly' to them!" Droy accused. "How else was she able to off Laxus and Master so easily? Master Makarov was a wizard saint, Laxus an S-Class wizard... yet she managed to murder both in cold blood! I say we do the same to her!"
Cana's eyes grew wide with horror as someone - no one admitted to it later - pushed her into the center of a large circle formed around her. Some, like Mirajane, had shocked expressions on their faces. A few had unsure frowns, like Lucy, as if they were still trying to figure out the puzzle. Others held menacing gazes, wanting revenge for killing their friends.
Erza pushed her way to the center of the circle, facing Cana. She held out her hand, and a large, silver sword of hers appeared. Lifting the sword to Cana's neck, Erza's eyes narrowed.
"Please! No!" Cana pleaded. "I didn't kill anyone, I swear!" She stumbled, eyes wide with disbelief and fear of the wrath of Titania. Execution was near for the card mage...
...or, maybe not.
Erza whipped around to face the crowd. She swung her sword once, not slashing anyone but disturbingly close to the Fairy Tail members closest to her. The sword shielded Cana; the card mage could not be hurt by her accusers.
"Do you call this justice?" Erza thundered. "Penalizing someone who pleads 'not guilty'? About to murder someone who you have no definite proof against? Similar handwriting is only a small fraction of evidence; we'll need more to catch this crafty killer. No harm shall come to Cana until she is proven guilty... and even then, it will be my sword that slices through her. I will be the one to dispose of the murderer."
A box of runes suddenly appeared around only Cana. Purple walls of text sprung up, preventing Cana's escape.
"No living creature may enter or exit," Freed said, lowering his rapier. Under green bangs, one eye glowed a deep and dark purple. "It took a while, but my magic had returned enough for this small, simple spell. I am afraid that I can do no more for a while, however..."
"That's good enough," Levy decided, a little shaken from the statements she had heard earlier. She lifted her pen, scanning the runes. "I can't think of any major loopholes. This is the only way to determine Cana's loyalty and innocent for now - if another murder happens, then we can conclude it was not Cana."
"Wait - so someone has to die in order for Cana to be labeled not guilty?" Lucy asked, shifting weight onto one foot in concern for her guild mate.
"Well, we'll do our best to catch the killer before they actually murder another person," Freed replied hastily. "Anyway, is this good enough for everyone?"
"I... I suppose so," Carla said.
"It'll do," Evergreen agreed. "I apologize for my earlier assumption, Cana."
Cana returned a small smile. "Thanks, Evergreen. You two too, Erza, Freed." She gave a small chuckle, glancing to Droy. "I guess I'm sober enough for once, to realize the situation."
Droy glared. Cana quickly averted her eyes.
"Anyway, let's take Laxus' body downstairs with the others," Freed said.
"That's a good idea - but who can carry him?" Lissana wondered. "He's so... big."
"I can," Natsu volunteered somberly as he glanced at Laxus' body, at the man he had once opposed, the man he had once been saved by, and the man who he had fought many times.
"I'll do it too, then," Gajeel said. The two Dragonslayers walked over to the dead lightning wizard, grunting as they picked him up, muscles straining under the weight. The pink haired man and the black haired man led the way downstairs and into the kitchen. Everyone else followed behind, walking slowly.
"Hold on - wait! Don't leave me behind!" Cana shouted, realizing what they were doing. She banged on the walls of the runes. "At least leave me some wine!"
"I'm sorry, Cana," Freed said, bowing his head. "But this... this is the only way to see if you are innocent." He turned back around and walked down the steps.
Everyone else did their best to ignore Cana's protests with a heavy heart.
By the time Freed was on the main floor, Gray was opening up the kitchen doors for Natsu and Gajeel to carry Laxus inside. Freed heard a gasp come from Natsu, and the flame mage muttered something to Gajeel and Gray. Everyone else quickly filled inside - Freed frowned in confusion. Glancing once more upstairs to where he could see a tiny part of his wall of runes where Cana was trapped, Freed hurried behind the bar and into the kitchen.
Laxus' body was on the cold, hard ground when Freed arrived. He had been laid down next to Elfman by Natsu and Gajeel.
Hold on.
Laxus was laid down next to only Elfman.
"J-Juvia... Juvia is..." Gray said. "Juvia is gone."
"She can't have gotten very far!" Natsu said.
"Well, yeah," Lucy agreed, "seeing as she's dead."
"Could she have been alive?" Gray wondered, quietly, as a few Fairy Tail members started to look around the kitchen for Juvia. "Is there a way... did she go looking for us?"
Gajeel walked over to once section of the kitchen. "The Rain Woman didn't go over here," he said, gesturing over to where several cabinets and the fridge were. On the floor was a thin layer of flour. "I made this mess earlier when we were searching... but there's no tracks." What he didn't say out loud was that there was no blood trial, no hair, not sign at all that Juvia had ever been in the kitchen, or even existed at all apart from the bit of blood on the sword that had killed her. The sword that had also killed Laxus, that was not present in the kitchen at that current time.
"None of us had taken her pulse," Mirajane said. "Oh, why didn't we think to do that?"
"She should have died slowly after, then, because she was stabbed," Levy pointed out.
Gray thought about the situation to himself. But what about her body made out of water? And didn't Wendy attempt to heal her, slightly?
No. It was too soon (wouldn't it always be too soon, though?) to hope that Juvia was alive - Juvia had been stabbed, there had been blood, and Juvia was dead. Someone had moved her body to trick them. Somehow, a person had snuck away from the group when no one was watching or paying attention - during Laxus' death, the handwriting event, and the capture of hopefully innocent Cana.
"I was about to suggest that Juvia had killed Laxus," Erza said. "However, I can distinctly remember Juvia laying on the ground here when we had heard Laxus screaming - seconds before he was murdered by the killer. She was still there when we were running upstairs to check on Laxus."
"True... but then who took her?" Mirajane asked.
"Who is the murderer?" Lucy replied. "That's the same question. The real question is... where is Juvia now?"
Then the lights turned off, plunging the room into darkness with no apparent hope of light.
There was a gasp, several shouts of surprise, and a small scuffle as well as the horrible shink.
Body filling with dread, Natsu lit his hand on fire and quickly pushed passed several people - he couldn't name who in the excitement and darkness, the fire flickering over faces he almost didn't recognize - as he spent agonizing seconds attempting to find the light switch. Turning around as the lights flickered on, he saw everyone gathering around the newest body: Droy, with a kitchen knife in his back.
Then there was a howl coming from Jet, plunging the rest in an icy cold river: "Cana!"