"Okay that's great news Natsu-san! I'll see you when you get back!" I smile brightly into the lacrima.
"W-Wendy-san?" a weak voice calls out to me from down the hall.
"Coming!" I yell back before shoving the communication device back into its pouch. I move to stand up to go grab a glass of water before heading back into the medical room. "Sorry about that but my friends just called," I say as I enter the room. The boy was sitting on the edge of the bed holding his head in his hands. "Are you alright?" I say quietly as I set the glass down next to him.
"Wendy?" I turn to see who called my name from the front of the house.
"Oh Pantherlily is back," I muse. "Do you want to try walking again?" I ask. The boy looks up at me, his poor body is a mess to say the least. 'I wish Mahari-san was here…she'd be able to fix him.'
"Y-yeah let's try again," he whispers hoarsely. He gets to his feet with only a slight wobble and holds onto my shoulder for support.
"How do your feet feel now?"
"Better thanks to that salve you put on them," he smiled weakly at me. We limp our way out to the living room again for the third time today to see Lily sitting on the couch. "Hey Lily," he smiled at the cat.
"How are you feeling?" Lily responds to the boy. "Can you remember anything yet kid?" The boy's arm tightens around my shoulders and I shoot Lily a quick glare. "I-I mean if you can't just yet that's fine too!" he corrects quickly.
"Don't worry about it too much. One of our friends was just like you only a year ago," I reassure him. "Once we get you back to Fairy Tail we are going to figure everything out!"
"Thanks Wendy-san," he replies. "What did your friends say earlier? You seemed excited."
"Mhm? Gajeel and them called already?" Lily inquired with raised eyebrows. "They've only been gone for ten hours—was there news?"
"Yes," I say as I walk us over to the couch. I place him down next to Lily and he immediately starts to pet the exceed who only purrs in response. "Natsu called saying that Charla had a vision and both he and Gajeel were able to pick up an unusual scent." The cat's eyes grew wide before a smirk played across his lips.
"That's to be expected from a group of elites," he snickers. "Well that is good news and maybe now we can finally come to the bottom of this mystery," he says.
"Wendy-san what exactly are you trying to stop?" the boy inquires.
"Whatever happened to you," I respond with a small frown. 'He really doesn't remember a thing.'
"I just…I just don't remember what happened to me," he says frustrated. "All I see are these fuzzy images of dark places with a weird humming sound. Just a constant and oppressive humming sound."
"Well that's a start at least," Lily soothes. He was always better about tending to people's feelings that Gajeel.
"I'm going to start cooking. Mandy-chan and her grandfather will be back tonight," I say as I move to the kitchen to pull out some pans and run some water. I listen idly as the boy and Lily sit and talk about the world. Lily tells him about magic and our adventures and epic tales of triumph as well as mundane things like his home life with Gajeel and the joy that is the kiwi. I laugh quietly to myself as I continue to make some soup and bake the bread I had made earlier in the day. This quiet and domestic setting almost made me forget why we're even here. One look at the boy though, with his white hair and fierce red eyes, reminded me quickly.
"We're back!" Mandy yells after flinging the front door open. She rattles a few windows and makes me jump out of my skin.
"Mandy-chan!" I practically screech. She only laughs before plopping herself down in a kitchen chair. "You're going to break the door or a window one of these days!" I chide.
"Awww Wen-chan," she pouts before swiping a carrot. "Is that any way to speak to a friend?" as soon as the words leave her mouth we hear a loud thunder crack followed by what only could be described as wailing. Gray and Natsu come flying through the back door, trip over the rug together, and land face first in the firewood stacked next to the refrigerator which in turn almost falls on me.
"Oi," comes the dark and ominous voice of Laxus. "Are you two knuckle heads almost done?" he walks through the back door with a scary look on his face. Natsu and Gray whimper which causes me to giggle. One look at me and Laxus' face relaxes before he walks over to pick the other two men up. "Clean up this mess," he hisses.
"Aye sir!" they reply in unison before practically running to pick up the firewood and fix the rug. I turn and look at Mandy with a smug smile.
"Alright fine," she says with an eye roll. "But I really don't think that counts," she grumbles before finishing off her carrot.
"What doesn't count?" Laxus asks before giving my head a soft kiss. I blush deeply and turn around quickly to finish dinner.
"Wen-chan was being so mean to me even after all I've done for her!" Mandy whimpers.
"All you've done?" pipes her grandfather. "If it wasn't for me half the town would be out trying to stop them! You just had to yell at Missy May and cause all kinds of trouble," he chides. I end up outright laughing at the dismayed look on Mandy's face.
"But grandpa!" she whines. By this point it seems everyone has settled into comfortable places and conversations were murmured throughout the tiny house.
"Need any help?" Levy comes up next to me and asks. I turn and smile at her with a polite no. "How was your day then?" she asks casually as she leans against the counter to look out at our group. "How's the boy?"
"He's doing a lot better. He can walk a little, but he still can't remember much," I admit. "Only something about humming and dark rooms, but I don't think that's very helpful at this point."
"Humming?" she asks.
"Yeah he said 'a constant and oppressive humming' was all he could remember hearing."
"Mhm, well that might be useful information later," the script mage muses. "I'm going to go look through the books again. You sure you don't need help?" she offers one more time.
"I'm fine Levy-san thank you," I reply with a smile. "I'll call when dinner is ready."
Lucy and Levy were clearing the rest of the dishes while our new friend and Pantherlily started cleaning the dishes. Natsu and Laxus were chopping wood and Gray was stoking the fire while Gajeel, Mandy, and her grandfather sat around the small table in the living room playing a card game. "Again?!" Gajeel bellows as Mandy wins another hand. Natsu laughs at his loss and ends up with a screw in the forehead. Laxus pounds Natsu on the head before he burnt the whole house down and Happy was keeping Charla busy while Ezra sat by quietly cleaning a sword, so I was left to my own devices. My mind turned to all the information Charla, Natsu, and Gajeel gathered while out.
Without much else to do I wandered back down to the medical room to look after the supplies. Once I walked in I didn't feel like turning on the lights so I walked around by moonlight. I tightened the gaze into smaller circles, checked on my vials of medicine, and remade the bed again. Once I ran out of things to do I sat down on the bed heavily before deciding to flop down. "A masking spell? But what is it masking?" I continue my musings about this mission for a while. Before I realized it the moon was high in the sky and a storm hung heavy in the air.
The moonlight slid across my face and body with the shifting in the clouds and thunder could be heard in the distance. "Laxus said that it was going to move quickly though," I muse. I shift my gaze from the ceiling to the window to watch the clouds. The sky is an eerie shade of light blue around the full moon, it washes out the stars and constellations around it. "Eerie…" I murmur as I sit up and move to the window. "This whole mission has been…eerie," I open the window and get hit in the face with a blast of cold air.
I fold my arms across the sill and lean my head out to breathe in the fresh air. I sigh contently as the country air cleans my lungs and clears my head. "W-what?" I slur as my eyelids become heavy. A soft indistinguishable sound rings through my ears as I continue to sag farther out the window. Eventually my eyes shut fully and my chin rests against the sill as the soft sound grows into an uncomfortable noise and rises still to incoherent humming. The last bit of my rational mind screams at me to run, but everything felt so heavy. The humming was painful and everything felt like it was being weighed down with lead as I slumped to the floor.
The moonlight becomes more and more obscured as the storm clouds pick up speed in their gathering and soon the room is dark. With my eyes glued shut and a darkness shrouding the room everything seemed to suddenly take on a sinister vibe. A surge of panic shot through my system and it was enough to overpower whatever magic has immobilized my body, but only enough to open my eyes and lift my head. I wish I had not done that. A little boy no more than six or seven with blood red eyes and stark white hair stared down at me. I wanted to scream, I tried to scream but nothing happened. I felt my muscles reject my flight instinct as the boy reached down and took ahold of me by the collar of my shirt. He lifted me up without so much as a strained face and threw me over his shoulder before jumping out the window. The speed with which he ran was unbelievable and there was nothing I could do to slow him down. We tore through the night while the air hung heavy with unshed condensation which caused small bursts of static to zap us as we ran through the trees.
I watched helplessly as the house and barn became nothing but a distant memory. 'Help! Please someone help!' my mind screamed, willing my friends to hear me. 'This mission cannot get any worse!' and suddenly without warning the skies opened up and the downpour began.
"So what do you think about that?" Pantherlily says triumphantly at the boy after he beat him at gin rummy again.
"Tch," the boy mutters before throwing the cards down. "Mandy-san teach me!" he whines before scooting closer to Mandy and sticking his tongue out at Pantherlily. Mandy laughs gleefully as the exceed tries to win the boy over again. Natsu and Laxus laugh at the cat's expense while the other two exceeds are sitting laughing with Ezra and Levy. I watch as my family relaxes after a successful day of recon work. I sat next to Mandy's grandfather and we sipped tea together in a comfortable silence. Just as I was sinking into a comfortable state a sudden jolt of unease shot through my system. The thunder was just rolling in and the sky was completely black by this point, but I wasn't afraid of storms.
I turn my gaze to the old man next to me to find he was intensely watching his granddaughter play another hand, a small smile playing over his features. I then look over to Natsu and Laxus and smile to myself at the two Dragon Slayers. They were horsing around like a couple of children, but I loved them and their crazy antics all the same. Yet, even as I look over all these faces and mundane activities this unease would not let up. Finally I turned my head to look down the hall. The room to the medical room was shut and a pain of guilt washed over me.
I stood up and set my cup down on the arm of my chair before moving down the hall. 'Wendy must be so tired…her magic can't be fully restored yet,' I muse to myself as I go to turn the knob. Lightening flashed across the sky as thunder rolled through my bones momentarily stalling me. I open the door all the way and am startled to find the room dark. "Wendy what are—Wendy?" I turn around the room looking for my tiny friend. "Wendy?" I say a little more panicky. "Wendy?" this time my voice carries and this time my cry is answered by the storm.
"What happened?!"
"When did she leave?"
"Did she leave…?"
"We have to find her!" the shrill voice of Charla finally pushed me over the edge.
"Enough already!" I snap at the group of hysterical mages.
"Laxus we can't just sit by while not knowing!" Natsu roared in his usual annoying way. I punch him square in the face before rubbing my temples. Without deterrence in the slightest he was back on his feet yelling at me again which only furthered my annoyance. Lucy was trying to hold him back in fear of me actually killing him while Charla cried heaving sobs into Levy's arms. Mandy was silently sobbing into her grandfather's shoulder and everyone else seemed shaken but unmoving. That is except for the boy.
"Oi," I growl causing him to jump from his pacing. "What do you know about this?" I charge at him with the full intent of throttling him. 'Mahari is going to kill me if Wendy gets hurt!' I think as I make a grab for the boy.
"Laxus," came the warning tone of Pantherlily. He grew to his full size and stepped in between us before crossing his arms. "Wendy trusts him."
"Yeah? Well if you haven't noticed she's not here right now," I growl which elicits another round of hysterical sobs from the white cat. "Levy!" I snap.
"Stop it Laxus," Pantherlily says in an attempted authoritative tone. He fell short however due to the lack of sleep, we all were feeling it at this point. Without another word he turns around to face the boy who only shrinks back in fear. "What do you know?" he asks in a softer tone.
"N-nothing—I can't…my memories are just gone," he says fearfully. Natsu and Gray walk over to the boy and attempt to halt his repetitive movements. The boy only shrinks back until his back hits the wall and he slumps down. "Wendy…" he whimpers. I turn away from him and stalk towards the kitchen. I drag my hands down my face as I stare out the window and listen to the thunder.
"Laxus?" I turn to see Lucy standing next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Gajeel and Natsu pick up Mandy and her grandfather, apparently they both passed out during the altercation. "Are you alright?" the blonde rested her hand on my arm.
"No," I sigh.
"Wendy is going to be fine," I turn to look at her, but she was staring out the window. Something sparkled in her eyes and the slight quiver in her lower lip told me she was just as angry as I am. She shakes her head lightly, clenches her fists and turns back to the boy, "she's fine."