Night had became day in the town of Magnolia with the sun peaking over the horizon with the sleepy town starting to wake up.
It was day two and already frustration began to seep into Gray's brain after a long drive back home coupled with the endless rereading. They had decided, while on their way home, to contact the others back at Gray's house, not only telling them of the bad news but to go ahead and meet them at the guild as Laxus and Freed were the only known people who held a copy of the key to the guild. They arrived at the darkened guild hall by 2 in the morning with Freed and Laxus waiting for them outside the guild hall; Laxus struggling to keep his temper in check and Freed trying to regulate his breathing as Laxus held out his hand to the three men, a note clutched in his fist;
He'd make the cutest little china doll. Wouldn't he?
It had another address written underneath it, that he identified to be located somewhere outside of Magnolia's city limits in the small forest Natsu lived in with Happy a few years before moving in with Gray, the same location where not only another body was found but Natsu's house was broken into, nothing stolen while Natsu, luckily, been out of town that night with Happy. It was more then enough to convince the dark haired man that Natsu's kidnapper either shared some form of connection with a case he had a few years back or had been the one responsible for the house's burglary while coincidentally finding out about the case.
So here he spent, hours upon hours with Laxus, Freed, Lyon, Gajeel and Sting, pouring over every little note that Erza, Natsu, Lucy, himself, and hell, the mortician even, had written while looking and relooking at the crime photos, trying to spot something they overlooked that the cameras may have picked up. Nothing. Then around 8 am matters where briefly made a bit difficult with the sudden arrival of Mirajane Strauss and their boss, Makarov Dreyar came into the guild, after coming back from their meeting with the Council and asked what they were doing in the archives, why the master of the Sabertooth Guild was there and why one of Lamia Scales' top agents was there. Thankfully for Gray, Laxus was willing to take the heat from the old man for not obeying guild codes, explaining the situation and they backed off only if Gray and the others promise that if they need any help turn to him immediately.
Poor Mirajane was just distraught over the news of Natsu's kidnapping.
The minute those words escaped past Laxus' lips her large bright blue eyes welled up with tears as her body began to tremble. She took a few steps back as if trying to steady herself before the white haired woman eventually fell to her knees and let out a heart shattering cry. Gray would've felt sorry for her and attempted to comfort her if didn't she suddenly pulled her head back up, fire in her eyes that held the look as though she would have skinned them alive if they didn't promise Makarov.
"Make sure he pays Gray."
"Yes ma'am!"
He had been in the Fairy Tail record room scouring the case that Gray had mentioned previously and to the dark haired man, it felt like its been forever. He remember the case quite clearly, something he really didn't want to, as it was a rather disturbing case that Gray didn't want to relive really, partly because it was, in an understanding sense, horrifying but another part of him hoped and knew that it might very well hold the answers he sought, the answers the kidnapper hinted at. But the one thing, only thing that seemed to come up in any of the notes, in all of the photographs was the same answer;
The killer worked alone.
There was no indication that there ever was a partner. Any and all traceable DNA, evidence or M.O. pointed to one lone culprit and Natsu, the only survivor of his bloody trail, even confirmed that there was indeed only one, one man alone had attacked him, dragged him to an abandoned sawmill on the edge of Hargeon and the killer himself, once captured and had the answers forced out of him by Erza, even said he worked alone. Preferred to work alone.
He remembered that day vividly;
He was holding a terrified and sobbing Natsu, who buried his face into his neck, his grip on the ravenette's neck and shoulders almost bone-crushing. He could not blame the pinkette, as he had no doubt in his mind he wouldn't have done the same thing if he was attacked while walking home alone after a harsh fight, drugged and waking up in an unfamiliar place, strapped down to a metal table with some sick psycho looming over him with a sick smile and ready to cut him open in the name of 'art'. He gently rest his head against those soft pink locks, whispering sweet nothings into his ears, kissing the top of his head while gently rocking the lithe body back and forth in his arms.
"It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now. You're safe."
He looked up just as the sounds of angry struggling and yelling enter the air, watching as his team lead, Erza struggled with the handcuffed man, a man no older then 30 with tanned skin, stringy, oily looking dark hair and matching eyes fought against her before she, in a fit of temper, threw him against a parked police car before snatching up his collar and bringing him face to face with her.
"TALK NOW! Did you have an accomplice? There are signs that point to it! WHERE ARE THEY?!"
"There is none," the man sneered, "Why? Aren't I allowed to multi-tasked? And here I thought you Fairy Dogs were too smart. Heh- Foolish me. Guess the Media blew it well out of portion-"
"SILENCE!" Erza roared. "You are ready facing a life for attacking and attempting to murder a member of Fairy Tail! If you wish to lessen your pain, SPEAK NOW ANIMAL!"
"Alright then, I suppose I should dumb it down for you glorified celebrities-"
"BASTARD!"
The smile that split across the man's face at Erza's outcry sent a dark shiver up Gray's spine. What he said next made it slightly worse.
"I don't need anyone getting in my way of my work."
He then looked to toward Gray, dark eyes resting on Natsu causing the pink haired boy's golden eyes to widen before he whimpered and shiver while pressing himself deeper into Gray's chest and neck while Gray tightened his hold on the pinkette and glared at the monster before them. His smile grew darker.
"You have really pretty eyes- You know that Dragneel?"
Gray shivered, the memory vivid in his mind as it was 6 years ago, he heaved a deep sighed as he leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. It was impossible to assume the man somehow escaped Council custody as he was sent to the most secure and high tech prison known in all of Fiore and nobody had ever broke out, the only people allowed on the property were the guild masters, Council members and security personal. As his mind whirled trying to find answers or an explanation before it was becoming quite obvious that it was getting extremely difficult to hide his inner turmoil. He was beginning to ask himself why he was even wasting time here, when Natsu was out there and in desperate need of his help, scared, alone in places unknown, in gods knows how much pain, probably and repeatedly being beaten and raped, the first phone call was all the proof Gray needed that proved of Natsu's suffering and could possibly be facing Death right in the face as they speak.
He could feel the hot tears threatening to escape his eyes as he gently fingered Natsu's scarf from around his neck, rolling the scale-patterened cloth between his fingertips before he finally brought a small sample of the fabric up to his nose and took a deep inhale, scenting the soft tones of vanilla mixed with the darker tones of cinnamon and campfire smoke. Dark eyes suddenly snapped open, wide.
He shouldn't give up.
Not this fast.
He quickly recomposed himself, leaned back forward in his chair and looked back through all the notes, documents and photos spread across the table's surface. There just had to be something he missed; that they all missed, a hint or a clue. After all, it wasn't uncommon in many cases for a killer to take in an apprentice or student, whether it was before he started his path of murder or well after he was caught and arrested, to teach them to carry on his work while carefully hiding all trace of evidence that would expose them from the observing eye. Heck, they could have even just heard about the murderer's acts and would have been inspired to step into their footprints and attempt to finish what they believed they had started.
Right?
He really hoped so in the case of the former but as he looked and began reading into Freed's portion of the documents that mapped out the profile he made for the man they were after at the time, all it seemed to point to was the latter. Based on what they had documented from the case and from what the phone calls and notes indicated, Natsu's captor had little to no prior connection to the case at hand other then possibly hearing of the murderer through the news reels, newspapers and television and only wished to replicate it.
Maybe he should talk to Makarov about paying a visit to the prison-
"Gray?" Floated a familiar voice. "Gray?"
Gray blinked and looked up behind him and found himself face to face with a rather solemn Mirajane, who was playing with a lock of her silver hair with one hand while the other clutched a small opened box and a small note looking rather nervous as she stood there and regarded the ravenette in front of her. She was trying her hardest not to cry.
"Mirajane-" Gray sighed before running a hand through his hair. "Is something the matter?"
She bit her lip, "The mail came in today- There's- There was this package with your name on it."
"Package?" Gray was lost. He didn't remember ordering any 'packages'. "What package?"
"I-I-I don't know," Mirajane trembled, lifting the hand that held the items in question. "The mailman just handed them to me, just as confused saying he had them handed to him by someone who claimed that it needed to be delivered to you straight away."
She held out both the small piece of paper and small box out to the ravanette.
"This was attached to it. I-I know I shouldn't have read it or looked inside, but-"
Gray didn't respond as he took the slip of paper and the small package from Mirajane's trembling hands moving it around carefully in his fingers as he studied the entire box, finding that it indeed was addressed to him without a return address, curious. He peeked inside the open parcel to find a small thumb-sized lexar drive resting on the thin packaging papers. Confused, he looked to the paper in his hand and read the words on its surface;
To assure you the prize is well worth it, I give you this
Although, it's advised to view alone
Temper advisory is advised
Gray shot up out of his chair, alerting everyone else's attention and startling poor Mirajane, who recoiled in on herself a bit. "Is the mailman still here?"
"H-He left about 5 minutes ago-"
Gray didn't let her finish as he suddenly charged past her, startling her and everyone present, out the large double doors, halting dead center in the road, head looking in every direction, trying to spot the man in question as his hand tighten its hold on the note in his hand. He finally spotted him a little ways down the street, placing mail through the slot in the bakery's door making to stand up and move one to the next building, spurring Gray to make a mad dash at him, trying to reach him before he disappeared, ignoring Lyon, who was following close behind him.
"GRAY! STOP!"
The mailman chose then and there to look up, to see what all the yelling and commotion was about only to receive the scare of a lifetime as he found himself face to face with a rather livid faced Gray Fullbuster. He attempted to back up and run only to instead trip backwards on his own feet, falling onto his ass and back, dropping the load of mail he carried in his arms, the thick envelopes and packages flying everywhere as Gray loomed over him and snatched him up by the collar of his uniform with one hand. Their faces barely an inch apart.
"WHO GAVE THIS TO YOU?!"
"I-I-I-I-"
"ANSWER ME!" Gray roared, throttling the poor man just as Lyon caught up to him. He shoved the note right into the man's face. "WHO. GAVE. THIS. TO. YOU?!"
"I-I-I don't know!" The mailman cried, raising both his hands up in defense. "I don't know! Some guy!"
"What guy?" Gray breathed, harsh and low. "What. Guy?"
"Gray! Stop!" Lyon tried to reason, placing his hand on Gray's tense-filled shoulder. "You're scaring the poor man."
"I don't care," Gray hissed, wrenching his shoulder out of the silverette's grasp. "I want answers and if he knows what's good for him, he'll tell me!"
"He-He-"
"ANSWER ME!"
"I don't know!" He cried, cowering under the harsh glare. "I DON'T KNOW! He didn't give me a name! I didn't see his face! He wore dark clothing and a large hoodie with it's hood up! I swear!"
Gray growled, bring the man's face closer to his as physically as possible. The poor man nearly had an accident mixed with a heart attack.
"He-He just came up to me! Asked if I could deliver a small package for him to a 'Gray Fullbuster' in Fairy Tail!" He cried, tears streaming down his face. "Said that the mailing company he used missed his house completely and it was urgent that the package got to it's destination!"
"Where was he?!"
"GRAY!"
"I-I-I-I-"
"ANSWER ME!"
"He was outside of the parkway, on the bridge near where the old river used to run! But he left after he handed the package to me. In a pick-up truck!" The mailman cried, hands raised up in defense once more. "Please! I don't know anything else! I swear!"
"Truck?" Gray's eyes narrowed to slits. "What truck? When was this?"
"I-I don't know- An hour ago? I-It looked to be a Toyota truck," the mailman stammered. "Dark blue- 4 door- L-Looked to be one of those Tundra models- late 2000's..."
Gray could feel his anger boiling deep down in the pit of his stomach and he snarled in frustration, scaring the poor man in clutches more. The bastard was here, really here having returned not far from the scene of his crime just to drop off a package containing a lexar and another note, mocking him. Gray stood up, pulling the mailman up with him and leaving the poor man to splutter and gasp air as he weakly clawed at the hand that still held firm to his collar.
"Gray! What are you doing?!" Lyon demanded, clutching all of the man's dropped letters and packages. "You're killing him! Let him go this instant!"
"We're going back to Fairy Tail," Gray didn't seem to acknowledge that his brother figure had even spoke to him, dragging the mailman along with him. "And you're coming with us."
"W-W-What? Why?" The mailman was terrified. "I didn't do anything wrong! PLEASE! I-I have to get back to work!"
"Uh- Duh," Gray growled, leaving no room for arguments. "You will give us a sample of your fingerprints and DNA. No exceptions. No questions!"
"But I-"
"Gray-"
"We're trying to capture the man who had you give us the parcel," Gray continued, ignoring both men. "I wish to eliminate you as a suspect and if you know what's good for you, you will cooperate willingly."
The mailman nearly cried as he was dragged back to the guild hall.
He waited patiently outside the labs, fingers drumming against against his arm rather impatiently to hear back on the results, the mailman long since gone, after giving his DNA and leaving his story with Laxus and Gajeel, the man had become now terrified to even approach the building anymore but Gray could care less about the fate of Fairy Tail's mail. The minute he and Lyon returned with the terrified mailman in tow, he immediately located Freed and had him collect the man's DNA and then demand that the green haired man scan and swab the entire box, lexar and note for any traces of fingerprints or DNA that wasn't the mailman and hope to the gods above that the man they wanted was somehow in the system.
He was going to get this son of a bitch!
He shuddered to think what and all was waiting for him on the lexar drive once he got it back from Freed. The only clue he didn't seem to understand was that the bastard had advised, actually advised, that Gray watch the lexar's contents alone and equally warned him about his- temper? His eyebrows furrowed. But why?
What was on that lexar drive?
"Gray."
He blinked, returning to reality from his thoughts just as Freed entered his line of vision, holding a large stack of papers in his arms and looking rather apprehensive. Gray stood up to greet the green haired man, feeling apprehensive himself.
He hoped for good news.
Freed took a deep breath before facing the man before him. "I have done as you had requested..."
"Find anything?"
"Unfortunately, no," Freed sighed sadly, "I have dusted and swabbed every inch of the box, tape, paper and lexar and found that the only prints, located on the outside of the box belong to our mailman friend. I found no other trace that could lead to our man."
"What?" Gray couldn't believe it, refused to believe it. "Even the lexar drive came up empty?"
"I'm afraid so," Freed replied, hands gripping the papers tightly. "Our man was quite careful about keeping his prints away from our grasp."
"Damn him!" Gray seethed.
"But if it's any consolation, I did find something in the tape."
"What?" Gray rounded on the green haired man. "What is it?"
"A strand of hair," Freed replied, handing Gray a small plastic bag. "Tests confirmed it belongs to Natsu..."
"Natsu..?"
Gray carefully removed the plastic bag from Freed's fingertips and brought it up to his view, his hope refueling while his anxieties also made a fresh refueling. Inside the thin plastic was a single strand of pink hair, the only proof that Gray had that Natsu was indeed held by the man they were looking for and was still alive.
"Natsu..."
"Gray?" Freed seemed hesitant. "Gray?"
"Hmm?"
"Did- Did you want the lexar drive?"
Gray blinked, eyes finally leaving the plastic locking eyes with Freed who was regarding him with anxious nervousness.
"What's up Freed?"
"Did you want the lexar drive?" Freed repeated. "To view?"
Gray didn't answer right away, eyes staring hard at the lexar Freed held out in the palm of his hand. If he was honest, he wasn't so sure if he was ready to face what horrors that were waiting for him but at the same time, he just had to know what was on the small computer chip. Tension seemed to fill the air around the two men, thick like pea soup but after awhile, Gray took a deep breath before finally removing the lexar from Freed's hand.
"I'll take it," Gray muttered. "But I must see it alone..."
"Alone?" Freed seemed confused. "Why alone? And why you?"
"In his note, he recommends it," Gray answered. "I have this feeling that whatever he placed in this computer device was meant for me..."
"I see," Freed replied with a nod of the head. "Well, in that case, if you would like, you can take your laptop and use my office for privacy. I'll be sure to direct people away until you say otherwise."
Gray smiled. He truly was lucky to have wonderful friends. "Thanks Freed."
Freed returned the smile. "Don't mention it."
Gray had decided to take up Freed's offer and quickly grabbed his laptop and made his way to Freed's office that was located on the second floor across from Makarov's office. He quickly and carefully entering the small room and shutting the door behind him sitting down in front of the closed door. He quickly began to start up his computer while looking at the lexar in his hand. Now, Gray had to admit that while working at Fairy Tail, he had seen a lot of things within that time that had ranged from deranged to amazing to downright purely sad.
But nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see from that little computer file.
The minute his computer had finally booted up, he quickly plugged in the lexar into one of the many ports on the side, clicking on the file that had soon popped up and was greeted with a saved media file. His eyes narrowed as he clicked on it and was greeted with another small message;
I must applaud and admire your bravery
What you are about to see isn't suitable for the 'ill-tempered'
But sadly, the truth can truly hurt
Gray's eyes narrowed.
Think you can handle it, Fullbuster?
The truth?
Gray growled. He didn't know where this was all going, but part of him hoped that the bastard, in his stage of arrogance, might've revealed himself. Yeah, he was ready. Ready to find this asshole and beat him to a bloody pulp.
But nothing could have saved him from this.
"Smile pretty for the camera, Natsu. I don't want Gray to miss a single moment of your first day."
Welp...
That took forever.