Over the next few days, Natsu was mailed newspapers and received documents accompanying photographs from sources all over Earthland, and he poured over the papers and documents frantically, praying that the base in Joya wasn't a topic of discussion.
He was looking at crime scenes, sadly. Everywhere Q touched suffered. This triple homicide in Minis wasn't any different but it still lit a fire in Natsu that made him that much more determined than ever to just strangle the life out of his former boss. His hands twitched every time he thought of it. It only took 33 pounds to break the trachea, and by the time he managed that he would have collapsed the arteries behind it. 11 pounds of pressure on the throat wasn't exactly a number that raised eyebrows.
It was on the third day of him digging that he got a note and a stack of photographs that made his blood run cold. It was made with the same heavy paper the last note had been written on, and his name written across the front in jagged font was handwriting he recognised all too well. Anxiety immediately flooded his body- his heart beginning to escalate till he could hear its pounding in his ears - as he flipped the envelope full of photos over in his hand once, twice, three times before setting it aside, making the decision that he needed to read the contents of the note before moving on to inspect the photos.
Unfolding the paper his eyes skimmed over the short message before he growled, the paper crushed in the grip of his fist.
His hands discarded the note quickly -the discarded and crumpled paper landing on the floor - and his hands went to the envelope, ripping open the seal and pouring the contents out haphazardly on his temporary desk. Photos littered the dining room table now. Scrambling, Natsu arranged them before he peered at each one, his heart thrumming harder with each passing second until he was sure it would explode.
He didn't know how long he stood staring at the photos of Joya's once proud capital city. Dead bodies littered the streets of Halcyon, but there was something very off about these photos to Natsu. Picking up two photos of Main Street in his hands, he studied the two pictures closely. The issue he had with these photos hit him suddenly as he peered at a picture of the late mayor.
There were no men in the pictures of the streets or in the chaos. No men were present in the piles of the dead that were thrown together in the city square. Where were the men? Halcyon City was known for its strong guard force so there had to be evidence somewhere that...no.
No, no, no. Absolutely not. He wouldn't. He wouldn't dare.
He wouldn't dare do that. That was an action completely devoid of morals. Trying to create God's Army, who did that man did he think he was?!
He wasn't God, that was for dang sure.
Planting his hands on the dining room table he sighed, hung his head, leant forward even as the table creaked in protest. He had to do something. He needed to contact the others, call a meeting, figure out how to execute eight months early and rewrite everything they'd been working on since Leo's death. But Laurens said there was a rat and even though Q had them under his protection he didn't know who the rat was. And Q would be smart enough to let his rat answer and come to the meeting.
But what about his family? What about Ashland? Montgomery? What about Tae? And god he couldn't just abandon everything he'd worked for here. Noelle, as much as he hated to admit it - when he took a step back and removed the sense of friendship and the personal feelings - was expendable. Her sanity was slipping and Natsu knew that. He didn't want to face the truth but he should have probably put her out of her misery when he returned from Seven.
