Fairy Tail Adventures Await Volume 2: Undercover Investigation

Chapter 1: An Investigation Begins

'I got it, Blakey. I'll come.'

The two father and son duo slowly pulled apart. The younger one slid off the bed and stuffed his feet into a pair of slippers. Immediately the large, olive snake coiled around him and squeezed.

"I said I'm coming," Jace muttered.

He carefully made his way down the stairs. Blakey's long body slithered by his side.

At the bottom of the stairs, Jace shuffled to the left into the rectangular living room. A bed had been pulled out of the couch to the right of the doorway. On the opposite walls, the evening's sun rays gently shown in from the bow windows on either side of the door at the center. Kinana fluffed the bed's pillow and smoothed the cover. She walked over to her son and kissed his cheek again.

"Try not to stay up too late. You'll get bad skin wrinkles," she soothed.

Jace nodded.

Kinana threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in. Jace squeezed her back.

"I love you, Jace," his mom whispered.

A smile twitched at his mouth.

"I love you too, Mom," he choked.

A single tear trickled down his cheek.

Kinana quietly pulled away and petted Blakey's head.

"Take care of him, okay?" she asked.

The snake merely hissed her tongue before coiling onto the bed.

Jace sighed and faced his father.

"Do you want either of us here?" Erik asked.

He rubbed his son's shoulder.

Jace shook his head.

"No thanks, Dad. I think I'll be okay tonight," he mumbled.

Erik half-smiled. He pulled his son into his chest and hugged him tightly. Jace returned the embrace.

'I love you, Jace.'

'I love you, too, Dad.'

A ball of emotions swelled in Jace's throat. He tried to stifle them, but to no avail. A moment later, he was sobbing loudly.

'Dammit! This is the seventh time I've cried in three hours! Why can't I stop?!'

'Because you care about your family, Jace. There's nothing wrong with that.'

'Yeah, but I wanna be able to breathe! And I'm exhausted! I feel like I'm running a marathon with my nose clamped shut!'

'I know exactly what you're describing.'

'Dammit if only I had stayed up past my bedtime that night! I could've helped Big Bro!'

'Jace, it's not your fault. You were six at the time, almost seven. We don't even know how or why your brother disappeared.'

'It's still frustrating, Dad!'

'I'm not denying your feelings, Jace. In fact, I more than empathize.'

Kinana walked over and delicately wiped away her husband's tear lines. She cupped his cheek into hand. Immediately, he leaned into it. Simultaneously, Kinana gently rubbed her son's entire back. Blake slithered off the bed and coiled around the entire family. She rested her head on Jace's shoulder and flickered her tongue against his teary cheek.

After a few minutes, Jace's sobs slowed down. He gathered slow breaths through his mouth. The young man carefully broke away and sniffled loudly. His mom handed him a box of tissues. Immediately he blew through twenty of them.