10 o' clock rolled around the corner by the time after heavy thinking, deliberation and tons of arguing, they had decided, in the end to head to the small port town of Hargeon.
"How do you know this isn't just a trap?"
And here come the nay sayers.
He seriously didn't have time for this!
Natsu's life was on the line for the love of the Mavis.
"I don't know, I just do," Gray replied as he quickly pulled on a fresh pair of jeans followed by a white t-shirt. "I don't think it's in this guy's nature to end the game too early-"
"That's the thing though," Freed pointed out. "What if this wasn't a game at all? What if he was just using Natsu to get to you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, Gajeel said that this person is looking for revenge, right?"
"Right-"
"Well, what if he actually wanted to lure you to this location and do away with you?" Freed asked with Lucy, Cana and Rogue nodding in the background. "What if he actually wanted to do away with both you?"
Gray sighed in annoyance. "Then why kidnap Natsu? Why steal my truck? If he really wanted to do me in, why not just kill Natsu here, in our house and just wait me at out here so as I can find Natsu and then kill me as well?"
"Eh-" Freed blinked. "Good question-"
"Look, I appreciate that you're only trying to look out for me Freed," Gray sighed pulling on a dark blue jacket and slipping a small handgun into the waistline of his jeans. "But I really don't think this is how he works. I'm still going and I'm going to check this out- Okay?"
"Okay but-"
"If it makes you feel better Freed, I'll bring someone with me," Gray offered with a roll of his eyes. "Would that make you feel better?"
"It would... Actually-"
"Good." Gray quickly turned to look toward the others that stood crowded in his living room. "How about it, Gajeel? You in?"
"Hell yeah," Gajeel sneered, cracking his knuckles with a malicious grin. "I would 'personally' love to meet this guy-"
"Right?" Gray shared the same grin. "I just know the two of you are going to be such good friends-"
"Count me in-"
Gray blinked, head swiveled to face Lyon you pushed his way to Gray and Gajeel. A fire roaring in usually calm eyes. "Lyon?"
"I'm coming with you," Lyon declared, leaving no room to argue. "No one who threatens my family is going to get away with it."
Gray stood frozen for a moment before a large smile spread across his face.
"Alright then, let's get going!"
Gray barely got five feet to the front door when out of nowhere, quite literally, Sting moved into his path way, arms folded across his chest and looking rather irritated. Gray halted.
"Take me with you."
Gray blinked, not sure if he heard right. "What?"
"Take. Me. With. You." Sting repeated with a low growl, stepping closer to the ravenette. "He's my brother. I have every right to and don't you dare tell me otherwise-"
Gray took a step back, taking a deep breath before regaining his stance in front of the blonde, taking a deep breath. He really didn't want to invoke the blonde's wrath any further then it was because by now Gray wouldn't put it pass the blonde that he had somehow overheard everything that was exchanged between him, Laxus and the others.
Gray nodded before glancing over to Loke. "Loke, we'll be needing your car."
"What?" This startled the ginger haired man as he looked up from his laptop. "Why?"
"Well seeing as that I don't have mine anymore," Gray replied, scratching one side of his face. "And Hargeon is kinda a ways from here-"
"Why not use Laxus's-"
"Don't even finish that."
Loke gulped at the glare the man in question sent his way before jamming his hand into his pants' pocket and pulled his keys out and tossed them toward Gray, "H-Here you go. Just be sure you take good care of it... Please?"
"Gladly," Gray grinned snatching the keys out of the air before in turn, tossed them to Lyon. "Lyon. You're driving."
"Very well."
"Wait- WHAT?!"
Loke looked as though he had been struck over the head by a blunt object and before he could even open his mouth to object, Gray quickly ushered himself and the other three men outside, jumping into the bright red 2005 Honda civic that sat parked in his driveway and gunning the engine to life before roaring down the roads to their destination. They managed to reach their destination within half an hour thanks to Lyon's reckless speeding and panicked driving. Gray was thankful for that, though he was pretty sure Loke, once he found out, wouldn't share the same feelings since his car was getting the getting the brunt of the beatings from what the roads had to offer.
How they haven't been seen or pulled over by law enforcement was beyond anyone present in the car but Gray didn't care. He was too nervous, his mind in a complete wreck that made itself known the minute they touched the highway. He rung his hands nervously as his body trembled and his hands shook as re looked at the message Laxus forwarded to his phone;
His eyes are the prettiest
Did it mean that Freed was right, in a way, that the bastard went against his word and already killed Natsu? Dumped his body at the location sent to his phone from Natsu's? Or- Gray struggled to breath- Did he hack up Natsu's body and left them in various places for him to find to serve as cruel reminder of his failure?
His failure to protect his precious pinkette.
As much as he didn't want to and prayed that did not happen, he just had to know.
Lyon brought his wild driving down to rival a Sunday driver's as he drove them slowly through the town of Hargeon so as not to miss their destination. They eventually found their location to be a small park with multiple walkways, wooden benches, a playground with swings, teeter totters, slides and various littering of bushes, trees and trashcans here and there.
"Is this even right?" Lyon asked, shutting the engine off before stepping out to look around. "This looks to be a child's playground- Why would he what to kill you here? In a place in broad daylight?"
"I don't know," Gray answered in a hushed tone, "We'd best split up and search this entire park, top to bottom reconvene at the statue in the middle. If you find anything, give a shout."
They all nodded in agreement, splitting apart with Gray moving away from the group to the left, toward the playground, eyes searching around the park, studying every last tree, bush and trashcan on his path hoping to find something or better yet, nothing in the dark. Nothing stood out. Everything he came across seemed to be something that someone would find in a park like this. Trash littered the area around the trashcan, bottles, empty tin cans, a couple scraps of paper, a few pieces Gray shifted around with his foot, finding nothing worthy of attention or suspicious. He felt his temper starting to flare...
He was tricked!
He kicked an empty can across the parkway in anger just as Gajeel walked up to him. This bastard- When he found him-
"Find anything?"
"No," Gray responded through gritted teeth. "Did you?"
"Not a damn thing," Gajeel huffed, arms folded across his chest. "The park's about as clean as a Windex window. Sting and Lyon didn't find anything either."
"I was tricked," Gray breathed, fist clenched tightly at his side. "If he thinks I'm gonna take this lying down-"
He yanked out his cellphone from his pocket.
"Then's he's got another thing coming!"
"What are you doing?"
"Giving him a piece of my mind!"
He quickly dialed Natsu's number and held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring until after the first two rings that bastard's voice answered as Lyon and Sting joined back up with them.
"Hello~?"
"Hey asshole. Remember me?"
"Why Gray- Whatever do I owe the pleasure?"
"Where are you?" Gray demanded. "I'm at the address you sent me, so where are you? Aren't we playing hide and seek?"
"Oh ho ho~ You silly boy-"
"What's so funny, bastard?" Gray demanded. "Care to enlighten me?"
"I guess you're not as clever as I thought, perhaps I should have explained the rules a bit better, dumbed them down your level," Gray snarled at the man's smirk. "This is a rather different version of of 'hide and seek'."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. See, in order to find me, you must discover and guess who I am."
"WHAT?!" Gray couldn't believe this!
"Now now, lower your voice~ Natsu's sleeping~" Gray seethed. "The poor little darling is just exhausted- Quite the feisty one he is~"
"Bastard..." Gray hissed as Sting snarled and Gajeel and Lyon glared at the phone darkly. "How dare you-"
"What does knowing you have to do with seeking you?" Gajeel demanded, startling Gray into almost dropping his phone. "And kicking your ass?"
"Well now, if it isn't the Iron Dragon, Gajeel Redfox," sneered the voice. "Surely even you must find it a little unfair that I remember you, a majority of your group, Fullbuster and sweet little Natsu here and none of you seem to remember me- How does one plan to seek the one hidden if they don't who it is they're seeking-"
"Then why give us the address?" Lyon questioned. "What does this place have to with either you or Gray?"
There was a dark chuckle, "If I gave you all of the answers, Lyon, then what would be the point of the game? But I suppose I could be nice-"
There was a long pause.
"Take a look into your past," he finally said. Gray could just imagine the smirk on his face. "You'll find everything you need there."
"What does that mean?" Gray demanded. "What's this have to do with me? Or Natsu?"
"You'll see."
That was the only answer they got before the line suddenly went dead and Gray shoved his phone back into his pocket, his breathing heavy and harsh as his mind began to whirl at a fast and rapid pace. What did it even mean? Why did he give him the address? No sooner did he ask himself that, Gray finally looked up and allowed his eyes to roam over the park once more and was then that something about this place seemed to click in Gray's mind. His eyes widen as took a yet another look around as the text message flashed in his mind.
He's been here before.
"I remember-" he whispered, turning around to face the statue behind him. "I remember this place now!"
"Remember?" Lyon asked as he approached Gray. "Remember what?"
"This place," Gray breathed. "6 years ago, a little after a month of dating. Natsu and I- We were both got called out here with Erza and Lucy to take on a case. Our very first case. Lucy, Natsu and me."
Gray walking around the statue until he stood behind it, eyes roaming over its pedestal. Trying fins something that stood out from the spot he stood in. "It was a rather disturbing case, one that gave Natsu nightmares for a few months afterwords."
"What case?" Lyon asked as he, Sting and Gajeel joined him.
"What gave my brother nightmares?" Sting demanded.
"It was case that involved a killer with the strangest interest for souvenirs," Gray explained as he bent down, hand running over the smooth stone on the ground. "Right here, right in the spot you stand, was where the body of a young woman's boyfriend was found by Natsu while I found the woman's body at the playground. Both slain-"
All three men paled rather quickly before jumping a few feet away from Gray and the 'spot'.
"There was evidence that they fought desperately for their lives, but it proved fruitless. They were both overwhelmed were killed. Had their throats viciously slashed," Gray moved back to face the front of the statue. "The statue still has the specks of blood from their attack on it..."
"Who were the guys?"
"It was just one guy," Gray answered to their surprise.
"Wait- Only one guy took down some chick and her boyfriend?" Gajeel asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Gray nodded, "Evidence suggested he killed the boyfriend first, then proceeded to chase the girlfriend down to the playground before beating her in submission and raped her-"
"Where's does this guy's twisted souvenir collection come into this?" Sting asked.
"He collected the eyes of victims," Gray answered, earning faces of disgust from all three men present. "He collected the eyes of those he stalked and studied, the ones he thought were the most perfect- most beautiful. He collected the eyes of the boyfriend while mutilating the girlfriend's..."
"What did he do with them?" Lyon asked, face stark white and he slowly gripped own his throat.
"He threw them into glass jars he labeled with the victim's name. Kept them in his freezer before he turned around and made them into 'works of art', little porcelain dolls of their likeness," Gray answered as all three men visibly shivered in disgust. He looked back to the splotch of blood on the statue before looking up to its face. "But what does this have to do with our guy?"
"How is your trip to memory lane related to him at all?" Sting demanded.
"Because the kidnapper sent a text message that not only gave us this address but said he also found Natsu's eyes to be pretty, right?"
"Right..."
"He then told us that I that I had to look to the past-"
"What's your point, Stripper?!"
"The point is it had me think back on our first mission," Gray responded. "On the day we captured him, he had kidnapped Natsu... Took him to an old sawmill- Strapped him down to a table-"
"HE WHAT?!" Sting roared. "AND YOU LET IT HAPPEN?!"
Gray ignored him, "We broke in and captured him before he could even touch a scalpel... After we cuffed him and released Natsu from his restraints, he threatened Natsu with a rather dark smile."
"What did he say?" Lyon asked.
"Told Natsu that his eyes were really beautiful- And they were going to be his one day- Natsu couldn't sleep for months."
Gray's eyes widen.
"I need to get to the guild hall!" Gray said, wrenching open the passenger door.
"What?" All three men seemed lost, "Why?"
"I need to look back on those case files. Double check something," Gray answered.
"But you arrested the guy," Gajeel pointed out. "He's still probably rotting in jail. Why do you want to look back on those?"
"I don't know," Gray admitted, "But something in my gut is telling me that our mystery guy had something to do with that case. Maybe even played a part we knew nothing about but wrote down anyway."
He really hoped not.