Wow. I am so sorry for no updating. Thank you so much for the reviews - you guys motivated me to finally write the last chapter!

HOW TO READ: You can just read it through like a usual chapter, although you may be a little confused. After an ending is done, that's it. There is no continuation of that ending. All three endings are separate and are not connected. If you're confused, you can read the text before "Ending One", read Ending One, scroll back up to read the text again, read Ending Two, and so on.

Now, for the last chapter:

Freed uttered his next words.

"I've solved the case."

"You've solved the case?" Levy asked as she glanced down at her notes - some of which Freed had helped write, but the majority of the speculations were her own.

"How could you have? How could you know the murderer... without being him yourself? Or," Erza added with a look to Bickslow, "You may know the killer personally."

"Whoa, Titania! It's not what ya think!" Bickslow shouted, raising his hands up in the air. "I didn't kill nobody!"

"Bickslow is correct," Freed confirmed, Bickslow letting out a sign of relief at his statement. "Well... he didn't kill anybody."

"Then who is?" Erza demanded.

Freed glanced at the clock. "First, we need to find everyone. I'm sure that when we go up to the study, we will find Mirajane, Max, Pantherlily, and Gray safe in Master's office. They might have decided to take matters into their own hands, and attempted to find out how Master died before bringing him down," Freed said. "But first, since they should be safe... we should find Lucy. I am positive that she reached the same conclusion as I did and escaped."

"Escaped?" Levy echoed. "How could Lu-chan solve everything before all of us?"

Freed thought about it for a second before replying. "Similar to Erza, Natsu, and Gray... Lucy was there when Juvia was stabbed. Unlike Erza, Natsu, and Gray, however, Lucy knew Juvia and Cana very well - well, Gray knew them well, too, but he's too emotionally attached to Juvia to have a rational mind, currently. Lucy solved the Tenrou Island Clue, did she not?"

"True," Erza admitted.

"Lucy must have known the truth about Juvia," Freed added.

"'The truth'?" Bickslow echoed.

"Yes... the truth about Juvia's stabbing," Freed said. "When she was hurt in the hallway."

"You mean, when she was killed in the hallway," Erza corrected quietly.

"No," Freed said. "When she was hurt. Let's go outside the kitchen first."

The other three followed him out of the kitchen warily, where they saw the main, large room of the guild. The majority of the tables near the stage were mostly empty, except for -

"Juvia!" Levy screeched. "It's Juvia!"

The body of the Rain Woman was laid on the same table as before, when Gray had begged for her to wake up and finish her sentence. Hovering over her was Wendy and Carla, Wendy casting a healing spell over Juvia's Sky Dragon Slayer was in such deep concentration, she seemed to be in a trance. Next to her, Lucy and Evergreen looked on worriedly with two Happy's watching from behind.

"Juvia is...alive?" Erza asked, eyes widening in disbelief.

"Yes," Freed said, smiling. "We were all hoping she had... and I thought she may have after her body disappeared. That she had dragged herself out of the kitchen before someone else discovered her alive, and killed her."

Lucy looked up quickly as they approached. "What are you four doing here?" she asked, taking a defensive pose with her hand on her keys. "I was hoping that Levy's speech would've kept you guys there for a while more..."

Evergreen scanned their group with a tisk. "Where is everyone? Still in the kitchen?"

"No, Ever," Bickslow said. "Gone."

"Gone?!" Happy cried. "Wait, where's Natsu?!"

"And Gajeel?" Carla added.

"Jet and Lissana are also gone," Lucy realized. "What happened?"

Erza explained, "The lights were turned off again. I heard Natsu say something... and then the lights turned back on, and the four of them were gone."

Levy asked, "How did you all leave? Did you really solve the case, Lu-chan?"

Lucy gave a small nod. "Some of it, but I did infer that Juvia was still alive. So I summoned Gemini, who transformed into Happy. I slipped away using Gemini after telling Wendy and Carla to follow me... it turns out that the entry to the kitchen was so tall, we managed to sail right over everyone's heads without them noticing. You were all listening to Levy so intently."

"But I saw them," Evergreen disagreed. "I seemed to be the only one who has enough brains to spot a potential... occurrence."

"Rude," Bickslow muttered.

"So she followed us... using Happy," Lucy said. "I'm not sure how..."

"A fish and a promise to end all of this, aye," Happy meowed, raising a paw.

"...right."

"I found poor Juvia right outside the kitchen," Lucy said. "She was so weak...she'd been dragging herself around the guild, waiting for us so she could solve the case herself. Although, she was correct on the murderer - she's passed out now, but she managed to have a small conversation with me before fainting again."

Just then, Pantherlily flew down the stairs with Gray quickly following him.

"All of you!" Pantherlily barked. "Come here, quickly!"

"We've found the cause of Gramp's - Juvia!" Gray screamed. If possible, he ran down the steps even faster, a blur as fast as Jet as he tried to reach the table. "What's wrong? Why's Wendy healing her? Is she-"

"-alive!" Wendy finished as she snapped out of her trance. "Juvia-san should be okay... I hope my healing helps!"

"The stabbing didn't kill her," Wendy said.

"Juvia..."

Gray's head turned.

"Juvia has a body... made of water," the blue haired woman rasped. Everyone rushed to crowd around Juvia, who was finally awake. "It would take more... than that... to kill... Juvia..."

"I can't believe that- that you're alive!" Gray croaked. "Don't talk now, Juvia, just stay where you are - you need to rest, not move around-"

"So Juvia is alive and well," Freed sighed. "That's good. Where is Mira and Max?" There was a touch of worry that entered his voice when he spoke Mirajane's name.

"They're fine," Gray said. "T-hey're still checking out Gramp's body."

"I'm sure that it is not Max," Freed said, "Nor Mira...but still..."

"What do you mean? You think you know who it is?" Pantherlily asked. "And where is Gajeel?"

Freed faced the flying cat. "That's what I need to get to," he said. "We'll hopefully see him alive in a minute, Pantherlily, but hear my explanation before we start looking for him and the other missing guild members. This is probably where I should reveal what I think has happened."

"Hold on!" Mirajane shouted. She and Max walked slowly down the stairs. "We've found some evidence that we need all of you to see!"

"That can wait," Freed replied, smiling at the sigh of Mirajane and Max safe. "I'm explaining something here."

Max rolled his eyes as the two joined the rest of the group.

"First, Master's death. We could not find out his cause of death because we never thought to search, for some forsaken reason. Instead, we decided to run downstairs and look for an intruder... which resulted in Juvia's death. Then the traveler, who came and went quickly, and innocently died without a clue of what occurred. And then-"

Ending One

"Yes, we know!" Erza interrupted. "This has been reviewed several times already."

"True," Freed agreed. "These events led to what happened minutes ago - the lights went off, Natsu, Lissana, Jet, and Gajeel are with us - the lights turn back on, and they're gone. I have a feeling that one of them is the murderer."

"Seriously?" Levy gasped. "And here I thought - well, never mind..."

"In fact," Freed continued, irritated at being continuously interrupted, "When we find them, the murderer will be holding the rest hostage. He or she managed to kidnap all of them and took them somewhere else... probably in a location not too far away from the kitchen. Someone needs to stay here, and keep Juvia safe."

"I will!" Wendy volunteered.

"I'll stay, too," Gray said. "Someone needs to protect Juvia."

"Good," Freed said. "Now, let's go see the killer."

"And who is that killer?" Lucy asked.

Freed frowned. "Isn't it obvious? Who else could manage to kill Makarov? Who has fought Laxus before, and knows his weaknesses enough to subdue and kill him? Who has the strength and just enough brains to plot his way through the night, without making almost a single mistake except for his heavy footsteps?"

"No!" Pantherlily hissed.

"It can't be-" started Levy.

"Yes, it can," Freed interrupted. "Soon, you'll see my hunch is correct."

The large group followed Freed back to the kitchen. The rune mage paused at the kitchen doors before turning right.

"There's someone in there!" Happy said, pointing to the nearest door. Beside him, Pantherlily transformed into his larger size, Lucy grabbed Loke's key, and a sword appeared in Erza's hand.

With a powerful kick, Mirajane in her demon form made the door fly off its hinges. And inside the room next door to the kitchen, the downstairs infirmary devoid of supplies, was a sight they never thought that they'd see.

"-Gajeel," Levy finished hoarsely.

The Iron Dragonslayer stood over a passed out Jet, his right arm transformed into a chainsaw that he held at Lissana's neck. In front of him, Natsu's fists were on fire as he faced off with Gajeel.

"Take one more step and she's good as dead," Gajeel growled with a bit of a frown on his face, standing in a displeased manner. "I was hoping to leave before this, but...shit. Everyone's here."

"Let go of Lissana!" Mirajane shouted, eyes narrowed. "Or else I'll destroy you."

"But if you try to attack me... she'll get it," Gajeel retorted. "Do ya wanna see your sister die again?"

Mirajane faltered, Gajeel's eyes locked with hers. However, Natsu took the distraction and shot forward. Before Gajeel could react to his mistake, Natsu punched Gajeel down to the ground. As he did, Mirajane also flew forward, faster than anyone but Freed had ever seen her go, and caught Lissana before she hit the ground, the youngest Strauss unbalanced from being held tightly on the arm by Gajeel.

"I can't believe it," Erza said. "I won't believe it. Gajeel was supposed to be loyal to us after Phantom!"

"At first, I was," Gajeel said as he stood up, wiping blood off his face. His eyes were lit with anger. "But then I got a better deal."

"Ivan Dreyar," Freed guessed. "Laxus' father."

"Yeah," Gajeel agreed, with a chilling look on his face. "I've been working for him and Raven Tail ever since, even after the Grand Magic Games when they were...well, ya know. He managed to give me a message - make sure that there were no other living Drayers. Bonus points if I can take out any other strong potential Guild Masters." His face grew darker, and the rest realized that gray scales and shadows were beginning to cover his body. "So I thought, 'why not'?"

"Juvia's not even close to a potential guild master," Lucy pointed out. "She can't look half of the girls in the eye without claiming that they are her love rivals."

"And weren't you two friends?" Bickslow challenged.

Gajeel frowned. "We are - well, we were. You're right - the Rain Woman isn't. I missed aiming for Titania. She's... the one kill I really do regret."

"The gasp I heard!" Lucy realized. "That was you!"

Erza gritted her teeth, not bothering to tell Gajeel that Juvia was actually alive. "And Droy?"

"I dunno. I wanted to cause confusion. I didn't mean to hit 'im, but hey... if the shoe fits."

"What about Cana? And the traveler?" Natsu asked.

"The Drunk was a special case 'cause she's been in the guild for so long, and she's strong. I didn't want to take risks," Gajeel said. "I was afraid she'd manage to become a strong Guild Master. I wanted it ta be that Salamander Junior's father would take over again, 'cause he's weak."

"Macao isn't weak!" Natsu said.

"Look me in the eyes and say that again, Salamander," Gajeel said. "By the way, the traveler wasn't just some ordinary man. He was actually from Raven Tail, bu' I was afraid he'd accidentally spill the beans... so I snuck away to meet him. He gave me my new orders from Master Ivan, I gave him a life-taking wound."

That covered every death, Gajeel seemed to reason, and he must have felt that his time was done - so he started to sink into the floor, shadows granting him access. "If that's all, I'll be goin' now," Gajeel snickered. "I can't get Titania now... but you all better watch your backs, 'cause Raven Tail will make a come back!"

"Yeah, right," Freed scoffed. "You can't leave, Gajeel. My runes are still up."

"You can't leave them up forever," Gajeel pointed out. "I'll be waiting in the shadows... and soon, Ivan'll come by to pick me up- gah!"

While Gajeel had been giving his large speech, he hadn't noticed his cat flying above everyone else. Pantherlily flew down in his larger form, snatching Gajeel out of the shadows and pinning his friend down right next to Jet's unconscious body, holding his hands behind his back so that Gajeel couldn't even attempt to escape.

There was a moment of silence. Then -

"I'll call the Rune Knights as soon as dawn breaks," Freed announced. "But for now, I will draw runes around Gajeel." He did just that, starting to make a large purple box that read All Iron Dragon Slayers may not pass until arrested by Rune Knights. It was specific enough that Freed felt that Gajeel would be in captivity for a while.

"We got him. We found the murderer," Lucy quietly realized. Levy ran forward to check on Jet, glaring at Gajeel but otherwise sparing the Iron Dragon Slayer no attention.

"Traitor," Natsu muttered as he walked past Gajeel and over to the rest of the group.

"Something's bothering me. Mira, how was Makarov killed?" Erza asked Mirajane, who had been explaining the events to Lissana.

"He chocked," Mira replied sadly, transforming back into her human form. "Iron was stuffed down his mouth, and there were bruises around his throat... Gajeel's hands. I guess he wanted his mark to be made on the guild... he wanted us to know who killed Master from the start."

Pantherlily looked down at the visibly angry but defeated Gajeel, who was cursing under his breath. "Just to inform you," Lily said, "I'm throwing out all of your iron at home."

Ending Two

"Yes, we know!" Erza interrupted. "This has been reviewed several times already."

"True," Freed agreed. "These events led to what happened minutes ago - the lights went off, Natsu, Lissana, Jet, and Gajeel are with us - the lights turn back on, and they're gone."

"Do you think...one of them is the murderer?" Levy asked.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," Freed said. "Let's go."

"Wait! Who do you think the murderer is?" Lucy questioned Freed.

Freed glanced back at Lucy, and then to Juvia. "The one who regrets stabbing Juvia. The one who was easily able to make Laxus underestimate them for their size and apparent strength. The one who could charm their way into Makarov's office... before killing Master. Mira, how did Master die?"

"He was poisoned," Mirajane said. Tears started to form in her eyes. "Whoever did it had access to the drink Master had before he was killed. Who are you talking about?"

There was no reply to her question. Instead Freed, with a guilty look on his face, started towards the hallway behind the bar, where the kitchen and a few other rooms such as the downstairs infirmary were located. "Let's go see if my hunt is correct." The others followed him, unsure of what to do or what to think. Behind them laid Juvia, Gray staying with her.

"Now, they are probably in one of the rooms closest to the kitchen," Freed deduced. He walked to the door left of the kitchen. "Aha!"

Taking out his sword, Freed slashed at the door creating runes, and a small explosion took out the large hunk of wood. Stepping through ashes and smoke, the large group soon found themselves in...

...an empty bathroom.

"Well," Bickslow coughed. "Nothin' to see here."

"Next room!" Erza called out.

They all shuffled out of the bathroom and down the hallway, past the kitchen, and to the door the right of that room. Freed drew his sword again, but Lucy stopped him, shaking her head and whispering, "Shh!"

Opening the door slowly and quietly, Lucy poked her head into the downstairs infirmary. The majority of the remaining guild members managed to file in. All sitting on one bed were Natsu, Jet, and Gajeel, all looking disgruntled. Standing over them with her back to Lucy and the group was Lissana, holding Master Makarov's sword aimed at Jet's throat.

"Lissana!" Mirajane hissed, eyes wide. "What are you doing?!"

Lissana's head whipped around, the sword still staying where it was. "I'm cleaning out the guild, Mira-nee," she replied softly.

"What do you mean, you're 'cleaning out the guild'? Are you going to kill all of them?" Levy asked. "Wasn't Natsu one of your best friends? A-and Jet! We've both known him for years! And Gajeel-"

"Can't be trusted," Lissana finished, a deep frown on her face. "The same went for the stranger and or Laxus. Cana and Juvia, too."

"Juvia's alive!" Wendy revealed. Lissana blinked in surprise. "You didn't kill her!"

"What do ya mean, I'm not trustworthy?" Gajeel growled. "I've proved my loyalty to Fairy Tail several times!"

"He did help us beat Laxus, and Sabertooth," Natsu spoke up.

"But he grew up in Phantom, same as Juvia," Lissana said. "Then, Laxus was exiled for trying to exile all of you, I heard."

"The stranger, I do understand; at least, I understand why you may not trust him. He was a traveler - we knew nothing about him. I did not understand why he had to be killed. Cana's been loyal to this guild, though, ever since she joined years before all of us," Erza said.

Lissana said, "Cana could not be trusted for a different reason: her card magic. She could have told the future with her fortune telling cards. I couldn't afford her telling the future and finding out that I was the killer of Master Makarov, Laxus, the traveler, Cana, Droy, and almost Juvia."

"But - why Master Makarov?" Freed questioned the white haired Takeover mage.

"I - I just had to!" Lissana replied, quivering. "He just had to die!"

"That makes no sense," Evergreen said. "It's not even a valid reason."

"Mira-nee and Elfman-nee were always so much stronger than me! And I was gone in Edolas for so long that I fell way behind in my magic!" Lissana cried out.

"That has nothing to do with Master...?" Lucy pointed out.

"Sounds like she's jealous of her siblings," Bickslow whispered about Lissana.

"I am not!" Lissana screeched. This time she turned around fully and lunged towards Bickslow. However, before she could, all five of Bicklsow's dolls formed a small shield right where the tip of the sword could have plunged into Bickslow's armor.

"Whoa, you're crazy!" Bickslow exclaimed as he quickly stepped to the side. Everyone did the same, backing away from Lissana with Erza transforming into one of her bulkier armors. Instead of aiming for the Sieth Mage, however, Lissana went towards Wendy and stuck the sword around her throat.

"Let me escape or else she dies!" Lissana said, Wendy squealing as Lissana gripped her arm tightly.

"Wendy!" Carla meowed, as she swooped down. However, Lissana edged the sword a bit closer to Wendy's throat, and the flying white cat faltered.

"Let you escape..?" Mirajane echoed. "Lissana - why would you-"

"No, Mira-nee. Let me leave the runes or else Wendy dies!"

"Do it!" Max said. "Let Lissana leave - we don't need another death before the Rune Knights arrive!"

"But-" Mirajane started, but was cut off from yells from the other guild mates. Screams that all agreed with Max - to let Lissana escape rather than toy with Wendy's life. And while Mirajane did want Wendy alive and well... she also wanted her sister to not be the dreaded killer everyone had spoken so harshly about. The one Gray had sworn he'd catch, and the one Lissana's friends had vowed to hurt or kill.

Suddenly, Mirajane was grateful that her guild mates weren't creating a scary mob - then she would never be able to calm them down. It was better that they were rational enough, and not too angry to only charge at Lissana without thinking of the consequences. Then, both Lissana and innocent Wendy would probably be killed or seriously injured, and if it was Wendy who was maimed they would not have a heal her to stabilize her.

"Fine, Lissana. You can go," Mirajane said. "But leave Wendy here!"

"No," Lissana disagreed. "I'm taking Wendy to the runes and making Freed take them down. Then I'll let Wendy free."

Wendy whimpered.

She left the infirmary, and everyone could only watch in horror as she started towards the front guild doors, dragging Wendy along. Natsu, Jet, and Gajeel followed the mass that followed Lissana. Gray gave a confused shout from where he sat next to Juvia, and ran over.

"What the hell is going on? What's Lissana doing?" Then his face darkened. "Don't tell me that she's- "

"She is," Mirajane whispered. "My baby sister is the murderer. Oh, that must be why... Elfman was moved..."

Did Lissana still love her siblings?

Meanwhile, Freed, Lissana, and Wendy were the first to reach the gates. Freed sighed as he slowly took down the runes. We're letting a murderer go... but this is only so that Wendy will be safe! No other reason, nothing out of pity!

Then the rune wall disappeared, and Lissana smirked. "Thanks, Freed." She pushed Wendy down to the ground. Wendy gave a loud "Oof!" as she fell, and Freed did his best to stifle his anger as he helped Wendy back to her feet.

"Thanks, Freed." Wendy said the same words as Lissana did - but with a friendlier and more timid of a voice.

Right away, Lissana started to sprint down the pathway, transforming into a large rabbit, her footsteps heavy as she bounced away.

"Just like how Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza described with Juvia was stabbed!" Freed realized.

At the same time, everything clicked together for Lucy as she and the others hurried. Juvia and Lissana were partners on Tenrou Island! Lucy thought. That gasp we heard - none of us were lying. It was Lissana, possibly regretting everything?

No. If Lissana regretted what she did, she wouldn't have gone on to kill everyone else.

Meanwhile...

Lissana had just made it to the dark streets of Magnolia. She was just starting to think that she was free when she thought she'd heard awhoosh... such as the flapping of wings.

Looking up, the bunny saw Happy flying right at her, the blue cat carrying Natsu. Lissana leaped out of the way with a squeak as she realized Pantherlily and Gajeel were also attacking her.

"This is for attacking our friends!" Natsu screamed, eyes dark, and Lissana remembered how she treated enemies that had hurt his teammates in the past. Suddenly, she wondered why in the world she had ever thought about doing something that would pit Natsu against her. Transforming into her tiger form, Lissana gave a battle cry as she went straight for Natsu.

He won't have the guts to attack a guild mate! At least, Lissana hoped so.

And she was right - Natsu hesitated before attacking her, giving Lissana the opportunity to put large scratches all over his face. Natsu growled as he staggered back, and Lissana quickly ran towards Gajeel before giving him the same -

- but was stopped by Mirajane, in her strongest Demon form.

Lissana cursed as she flew backwards and into a wall of a house, pushed back by a large, shadowy orb that Lissana had never thought would be aimed towards her. She weakly got to her feet as she stared at her sister.

"Wh...what? Mira?" Lissana whispered. "Why?"

"You hurt and killed numerous people," Mirajane replied slowly. "Should that not be my question?

"Yeah, why'd you kill Droy?" Natsu asked as he, Gajeel, and their Exceeds approached. Lissana was cornered.

"Why'd Laxus and that traveler die?" Gajeel grunted.

Lissana looked around wildly for an exit. "I- I don't have to explain anything to any of you!"

"Fine," Mirajane said. "But the Rune Knights will need an explanation." With that, she transformed back into her usual human form, looking as if she was about to cry as Gajeel created handcuffs for Lissana, the three forcing Lissana to come back to the guild until the Rune Knights arrived.

Ending Three

"Yes, we know!" Erza interrupted. "This has been reviewed several times already."

"True," Freed agreed. "These events led to what happened minutes ago - the lights went off, Natsu, Lissana, Jet, and Gajeel are with us - the lights turn back on, and they're gone."

"Are you saying that one of them may have killed everyone? Not an intruder?" Max asked.

"I - " Freed looked slightly troubled at that. "Most likely."

"'Most likely'," Erza echoed. "You cannot confirm that one of those four killed Master, Laxus, and the rest?"

"I can confirm that it was not an intruder," Freed said. "We would have found one by now, with about fifteen of us swarming around the guildhall all night. However, there is a slight chance that the murderer may be someone else - such as Juvia, for example. She would have been able to kill Laxus."

"But not Droy," Lucy pointed out.

"True," Freed admitted.

"I don't think it was Jet!" Levy exclaimed. "I've known him for years - he's never been able to kill on jobs, even when he was strong enough to do so! There's no way he would kill Droy, anyway."

"Gajeel and Natsu were never able to take down Laxus together... so how would they have been able to kill him alone?" Lucy added. Without the element of surprise, that is...

"But that just leaves Lissana!" Mirajane realized. "My baby sister couldn't hurt a fly!"

"Well, one of you is about to be proved wrong," Gray replied harshly. "Wendy, stay here and look after Juvia while we go look for those four."

Freed said, "Look for? It shouldn't be to hard to search for them - they hardly had time to go anywhere. My guess is that they are going to be in a room very close to the kitchen, such as the infirmary. Why don't we search there?"

"Fine," Lucy agreed. "Wait, what about Juvia?"

"Wendy should stay with her," Carla said, "As will Happy and I."

"Wait, what? But Natsu..." Happy meowed. "...fine."

The remaining guildmates started towards the infirmary, the first room to search. Those closest to the door could hear noises, confirming Freed's reasoning. Erza opened the door with a sword in hand, Gray right behind her -

Natsu, Gajeel, and Jet were all fighting. At first, Lissana didn't appear to have been in the room until a girl with short white hair peeked from behind a bed. The three fist-fighting men - no magic was being used - didn't seem to notice the newcomers as Gajeel swung a first at Jet, who ducked and aimed towards Natsu's stomach. Natsu side stepped before hurling himself back at Jet with a growl.

"What's going on?" Levy asked, not able to see through Gray and Erza. The two taller wizards were blocking everyone else's view. Noticing this, Erza slowly and quietly crept inside the room, sticking to a wall. Gray was right after her, Levy and Freed entering the room next with the rest squeezing through the doorway.

Levy gasped at the sight as everyone surveyed the situation. The boys still hadn't seen them, being too absorbed in their fight, but Lissana heard Levy and saw her guildmates, eyes wide with surprise. She seemed to be making a gesture of sorts, but the message did not register in anyone's mind.

Freed noticed that Gajeel and Natsu, though sometimes being pushed into each other, didn't seem to be aiming for the other Dragon Slayer. They're teaming up on Jet, Freed thought, which means that Jet is the murderer and needs to be subdued... or this entire time, Natsu and Gajeel have been killing the right guildmates to put themselves out of suspicion - such as Gajeel stabbing Juvia to clear Natsu's name, or Natsu killing someone else to have Gajeel appear innocent?

There was no time to pick a side, no time to reason with any of the men without the chance of possible murderer - or murderers - escaping. For all they knew, Lissana was the murderer. Freed looked to Gray, who had come to the same conclusion.

"Ice Make: Cage!" Gray muttered, and a small cage built itself around Lissana, who jumped in fright at the sudden coldness and captivity. Gray repeated the same words to create one large prison around Gajeel, Natsu, and Jet, who sprung apart and finally noticed the new company.

"What the hell are you doing, Gray!" Natsu spat. "Just cage Jet!"

"Salamander's right for once," Gajeel said. Natsu glared. "Shrimp's lackey is the one ya need to contain."

Jet blurted out, "That's n-not true! You two are the ones confessing to murdering everyone!"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Are we talking about the same Natsu here?"

"I'm not the murderer! And neither is Gajeel!" Natsu shouted. "Jet confessed to murdering everyone when he kidnapped the three of us!"

"He didn't kidnap me. I followed Jet after I noticed him taking off with you two," Lissana pointed out in her small cage. "But Freed - Mira - everyone, you have to believe us. Jet is the murderer you're looking for. He only told us three with the intent to kill us as well."

"I didn't kill Juvia, Cana, or Master, or the stranger!" Jet replied. "I swear, I didn't!"

Levy gulped. "I-I know when Jet is telling the truth. Either he's become really good at lying in the years I've known him, or he really didn't kill Juvia or Master or the traveler."

"Then who did?" Erza asked icily. "From their stories, it seems that Jet is at least the murderer of Droy and Laxus." Then her eyes widened. "You aren't saying that - "

"Laxus killed those four," Jet replied in a hoarse voice. "Laxus stabbed Juvia, Laxus poisoned Cana - Laxus killed all of them, and I was the only one to figure it out!"

"How? How did you know?" Freed questioned. "If even Levy or I had not figured it out, even with all of our notes."

"Notes are good, and thinking hard about mystery is important... but catching the murderer in action was all of the evidence he would need," Mirajane said as she walked over to Freed. "That's how Laxus died, isn't it? You, Jet, killed him."

"Stabbed him. He wasn't paying attention, and wasn't expecting me to run at him," Jet admitted. By then, he had given up trying to convince everyone that Gajeel and Natsu were the killers.

"And Droy?" Levy's voice shook. "You killed Droy?"

"I..." Jet hesitated. "I killed Droy."

Levy shook her head, sniffling. "You can't have... you couldn't have killed your best friend!"

"I did! I killed Droy - I stabbed him when the lights were off and then blamed Cana!" Jet confirmed. "... not that I was m-meaning to. I wasn't aiming for him..."

"That doesn't make any sense," Erza said. "If you had killed Laxus, why not admit to the rest of us? Why not tell us about how you knew the murderer? And why would you keep killing?"

"Because then you would know that I was a... a murderer," Jet said. "That I killed Laxus. So I tried to pin the blame on Cana... but then I found out she died. And my whole plan was gone."

"That's enough questions for now," Freed decided. "We can hand the investigations over to the Rune Knights when they come." He was starting to walk out of the room, intent on seeing Juvia's condition, when Mirajane caught up to him in the hallway.

"Thank you for everything tonight, Freed," Mirajane said. "If not for all of the investigations and interrogations... more of us may have died."

"It's a shame that enough of us did have to die, Mira," Freed replied quietly, stopping and turning to face her. "Why did Laxus kill them? Why would he murder his grandfather in cold blood? The Thunder God Tribe is going to be put under suspicion for his crimes."

"Maybe we'll never know," Mirajane said. "If your team doesn't know his motives, then who alive will? Don't put the blame on your shoulders just because you thought you knew Laxus best - because while Evergreen, Bickslow, and you may have known almost everything about him, you don't share the same wish to kill your guildmates, do you?"

Freed shook his head. Mirajane smiled softly. "It's late, Freed. Maybe everyone should rest for a few hours before we call the Rune Knights."

"With a guard watching Jet," Freed said.

"With a guard," Mirajane echoed. She turned back to the infirmary. "I'm sure Erza would love to keep Jet in line."

Freed almost felt bad for Jet. Almost. An idea occurred to him, and he wanted to ask Mirajane, but she was already gone.

"Two murderers," he whispered. "My theory was correct, all along."

Then he continued on to Juvia.

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