Gildarts was…disturbed to say the least. Over the past hour he had been mulling over his…less than pleasant conversation with Etherious. Everything seemed plain as day really. Here was this messed up kid, admitting to all the recent murders that matched is MO. Noting unusual about that, well at least not in Gildarts's line of work anyway. Yet, there was something odd. About his mannerisms, the way he spoke, the way he kept referring to this Natsu person. Gildarts prided himself on being able to read people, truly, if there was any reason he was the head of the department that was why. So why was he so uncomfortable? He'd seen men, woman and even occasionally children, confessing to equal crimes before yet Gildarts had never felt this sense of dread before. As much as he despised thinking about it, it was necessary. He was going to have to study the case files again and, though he shuddered at the thought, reorganise another interview with Etherious. Well, whenever the bastard decided to stop being comatose. Sighing he pulled out his phone and dialled his daughters number, she wasn't going to like it but he had a duty to this town and its people. He only hoped Makarov would be more lenient with visiting hours this time. As his fingers hovered of the green call button a message flashed up. "Huh? What's Porly doing contacting me so late?" Never mind the fact she was still angry with him, or at least he thought so. Swiping his thumb to open it Gildarts stared in shock at the simple two words it conveyed. Grabbing his keys and coat, he raced to the door, leaving his phone open on the desk…

Porlyusica studied her mostly comatose patient. It seemed after Gildarts's impromptu interview, to which she'd been informed by a passing nurse, the child had decided against consciousness and had stubbornly stayed that way for the passing week. The damned brat hadn't even budged when they transferred him to a more secure ward, or when various political figures stood over him, debating the date of his impending trial. No, the child, and she refused to call him anything but, had remained steadfast in his unconsciousness leaving Porlyusica with too much time on her hands. Time she'd spent continuously analysing her last meeting with Gildarts. She couldn't believe she went off at him like that, it was so unlike her. She had always prided herself on her ability to stay calm and professional yet she went from zero to sixty in a second, like some run of the mill human. God, how she hated the human species, ironic considering her duty to care for them. Where had all this anger come from anyway? Porlyusica was so sure that she'd moved. She had really believed that she was ready to continue with her life but it was like a switch had been flipped. It was so sudden, all this rage she had pent up for years just manifested. It was suffocating. Porlyusica wasn't even really angry with the child. She had no more apathy in her heart for him than the standard civilian. Well, maybe the slightest bit more considering her general apathy towards humans In the first place. At the time she…she needed someone to blame, someone to hate, to take all this rage. Porlyusica had spent the rest of the day in her office screaming of the worlds misgivings and wreaking havoc in her office. And it had felt good, yelling and screaming for once, rather than being the calm one.

But it wouldn't bring her sister back. She'd never see Grandine again. And it wasn't his, nor anyone else fault except for some twisted, random man looking for easy prey. The moment she accepted that, Porlyusica knew she would be free from this hate;

"But it's never that easy", she sighed, motoring the patient through a one-way mirror, desperately trying to understand what had made Gildarts hesitate. He was the sharpest man she knew, though she never admit it for fear of inflating his already too large ego. She wanted to know what he'd thought he saw in this boy. Did he see some light left in his eyes? What could stop a hardened veterinarian like Gildarts to stop in his tracks? It was times like these that Porlyusica wished she possessed the ability to see goodness and potential in everybody like Makarov.

Settling down in her chair, Porlyusica knew from experience that when a person goes under this long, they won't be waking up any time soon. So suffice to say the urgent beeping of startled her so badly, Porlyusica fell out of her chair. Sending a single message to Gildarts, Porlyusica ran to her patient.

"He's awake."

Natsu was confused to say the least. Staring up at the blinding white lights, he tried to recall what had happened. Or more accurately what Etherious had made him do. As flashes of the past obscure him vision, Natsu finds he'd rather not know. Still, unbidden, he remembers the disfigured corpse of Hibiki. And the Police.

Oh god. He swallowed hard. Where was he? Blinking slowly to let his eyes adjust, he tried to sit up only to find he couldn't move. Upon further inspection Natsu found his arms and legs strapped, quite tightly might he add, to the blue and white hospital bed. Bile starts to rise in his throat and the increased beeping of the complicated medical-looking machines doesn't help his nausea. At this point Natsu is all but throwing his head wildly side to side, the scene, the feeling of being trapped all too similar to back then, when Zeref-

'Okay' he swallowed, trying to not throw up all over his own chest. 'Thinking of Zeref is apparently not calming. Have noooo idea why that would be.' He sarcastically remarked to himself. 'This is just great!...wait,' he began to smile at his fortune. Natsu was no genius, but he was pretty sure that normal people didn't get strapped down to beds because they were harmless. 'They must know that he- no…I? Or is it we? Argh! Not the point! What I'm trying to say is that they know…its dangerous. ' Natsu grinned at the thought of finally getting caught. He and Etherious, Natsu refused to think of that thing as him in any way, shape or form, had been sharing a body since…well as long as Natsu could remember. In between the time where Zeref had been caught and Etherious first murder (that he knew of) Natsu had attempted to turn himself over numerous times only to be stopped at every turn. Etherious was always one step ahead. Natsu never stood a chance, with every failed attempt, Etherious would attempt of brake him. He…punished Natsu relentlessly, each time with a new form of torture, each more vicious than the last. But this time, this time it was his fault. Everybody would be safe from him and He was safe from Etherious. Natsu never wanted to spend his life in jail but this was the only opportunity he would ever get to rid the world of Etherious. So it was not without some hesitation that Natsu began to smile when the door swung open.