The Curse of Dreyar Manor

by Ilvermere

Three unsuspecting humans stumble into the realm of wall-to-wall creeps and hot and cold running chills, discovering that the old ghost story of the abandoned Dreyar Manor may not be a mere story at all. And as the moon climbs high over the dead oak trees, the three must banish the evil that haunts the halls and keep themselves from being frightened to death...quite literally.

Hi everybody!

I hope all of you had a Happy Halloween! If you don't celebrate that, I hope you had a Happy Tuesday!

Apologies for not having post anything for a long time, but college has been hectic! Hurricane Irma really messed with my schedule and everything was just a mess. Fortunately, with the conclusion of October, it looks like things are finally back on track! I wanted to get this up before/by October 31st, but unfortunately I had too much work and too many midterm exams to complete so this had to go on the back burner for the month. Oh well, better late than never, eh?

This is the Haunted Mansion with a Fairy Tail twist. It takes the Haunted Mansion Game, the Ride, the Movie, and smacks Fairy Tail somewhere in the middle. Now, you don't necessarily need to have had played the game to enjoy this or have seen the movie, but it definitely wouldn't hurt you.

I loved this game (even if it scared the crap outta child me)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fairy Tail, the Haunted Mansion, or anything.

Warning(s): Language, Violence, Spiders, Ghosts, Potentially Disturbing Images

Now sit back, grab yourselves some popcorn, and enjoy!

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PROLOGUE

---

It is a common piece of conversation, the topic of the afterlife. Many would say that there is such a thing; others would not. Who knows what lay beyond the realm of life? It is not as if the dead are talkative of the subject.

It could be argued that we possess no known knowledge of the afterlife simply because we have no proof of anything. That the gate between the realms of life and death is too fortified for us to glean any belief one way or another.

And yet, despite not possessing any proof to the support of the theory of an afterlife, we still possess an innate caution toward it. Perhaps we fear where we shall head after we breathe our last. Perhaps we are wary of the chance that there really is nothing beyond.

Or, perhaps, we are most afraid of never even reaching the afterlife to begin with. Perhaps we fear of being trapped in between, forced to haunt the world as unseen and forgotten specters.

If it is reassurance you seek, I cannot soothe your fears. For I can only tell you what I have experienced with the realms of life and death. And let me tell you now, they are not things to be trifled with. I have seen, firsthand, the effects of those who meddled with forces beyond their mortal control. I have faced the restless dead, in all their desolate despair, and I have witnessed their agony.

It was this agony that I encountered as I and my companions set foot inside the grounds of the abandoned Dreyar Manor. We were soon as trapped as the woeful spirits enslaved within the crumbling walls, forced to face the consequences of interfering with matters no mortal has power over.

But I get ahead of myself. First, I must explain the history of Dreyar Manor.

The sprawling mansion was once a sight of high society and wealth. Owned and commissioned by Makarov Dreyar, the patriarch of the family, the Manor soon became the prized destination of many a socialite and important persons.

However, in the height of its heyday, a dark shadow befell the mansion and all its inhabitants. To this day, none are entirely certain of what transpired that fateful day, over 120 years ago: all of the people in the mansion suddenly vanished. Rumors spread and superstitions arose, proclaiming that the heir of the Dreyar fortune, Ivan Dreyar, had done away with not only his family, but all of the potential witnesses as well.

Investigations began, but were entirely short lived. Those who walked the Manor's halls felt the evil that had seeped into the foundations. People started to suffer from terrible misfortunes and injuries; so often that the police refused to conduct any further examinations. Thus, the final conclusion was that all the inhabitants and guests of the Manor were killed by mysterious circumstances.

The mansion's malevolent miasma locked it away for over a century, eventually transforming it into a mere ghost story.

At least, that's what we thought, my companions and I, as we ventured into the forbidden grounds. Insouciant and young, we were hardly fazed by a ghost tale.

Oh, how wrong we were. Foolishly, we set out to prove that that ghost story was just that, a story. Instead, we ended up finding our answers to the question of the afterlife sooner than we'd like.

—Excerpt from "Beget the Restless Dead" by L. Heartfilia

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ACT I: Beget the Restless Dead

---

"Are you sure this is really a good idea?" The blonde of the trio fretted, brushing a stray branch out of her face. "I mean, this place is said to be haunted." She shivered slightly, regretting her choice of outfit already: a white tank, short blue skirt, and knee-high boots. She whished she wore something warmer, if only to provide comfort.

"Oh c'mon, Lucy!" The pink-haired male snorted inelegantly. "That's just a silly ghost story. Besides," he added with a pointed grin, "you were the one who ever brought it up!" He didn't appear to feel the cold, if his black, unbuttoned vest, white shorts, and black sandals said anything.

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting to actually come here!" Lucy snapped. "I just told you that my dad was looking to buy the property here, but that no one would deal. He kept saying that people would get real nervous and jumpy whenever this place was mentioned. Something about how the grounds were cursed or whatnot. I didn't mean that as an invitation to visit the most haunted place in Magnolia, Natsu!"

"Relax, Lucy, babe," the ginger-haired male laughed. "You're going to freak yourself out. You'll probably just find various animals hiding out in there." Hands slipped into the pockets on his dark jeans as he walked, brown shoes scuffing the dirt and green, fur-collared coat swaying gently in the soft breeze.

Lucy, however, was not appeased. "What, like raccoons? Or opossums? Those are nasty, Loke!"

Loke rolled his eyes and quickened his pace down the lonely, winding path. His ginger hair flaring with each sunbeam that reached through the scraggly trees. He adjusted his glasses. "Just think, Luce, the faster the three of us get in there, the faster we can leave."

"What are you even freaking out for, Lucy?" Natsu grinned at her. "This'll be fun! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Not anywhere near here, that's for sure." Lucy muttered crossly.

Natsu shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you! You've lived in Magnolia your whole lives, and neither of you came to check this place out? I've been here for two months and I couldn't wait to get out here as soon as I heard about it!"

"That's because the rest of us have this thing called self-preservation instincts." Lucy pointed out, kicking a pebble off the road.

The trio continued to bicker all the way down the quiet, sunlit road. The noise of the surrounding woods growing quieter and quieter until it was completely silent. Even the sun, still blazing in the blue sky, seemed to retreat slightly. The three came to a halt in front of huge wrought-iron gates.

Lucy shifted her feet nervously as she scanned her eyes along the twisted metal, noting the rusted padlock and chain keeping the gate shut. "Uh, any ideas on how we get in here?"

"I got it," Loke strolled up to the padlock and immediately stuck a thin piece of metal into the keyhole. Jurying it a bit, he turned the thin rod and the padlock snapped open. He stepped back, satisfied, only to falter under Lucy's disapproving glower. "What? It comes in handy!"

Lucy shook her head with a sigh and looked nervously back to the unlocked gates. "Do we really have to go in?" She asked with apprehension.

"We came this far!" Natsu didn't seem bothered by the atmosphere and bounded up to the gates. Grasping the metal, he pushed the gates open, grunting a bit in exertion. The wrought iron screeched loudly, echoing in the silent woods, the sound sending shivers down all three spines.

Immediately, a gust of wind brushed past them, ruffling the trees, their clothes, and their hair. Gooseflesh snaked down their skin as an oppressing aura engulfed them. The wind rustling through the dead and scraggly trees moaned in their ears.

"I really don't think we should do this," Lucy whispered, hugging herself tightly. Loke was hesitant to take another step and even Natsu looked unsure for a brief moment.

"Well, let's go!" Natsu made to move, but his companions refused to budge.

"Maybe Lucy's right, Natsu," Loke murmured. "I mean, before it didn't seem like a big deal, but now that we're here? I can understand why people stay away."

"Look, guys," Natsu sighed in exasperation at his companions' uncertainty, "you said it yourselves that you don't believe in ghosts and all that jazz. So if you don't, then why are you freaking out about walking into an old, cruddy mansion? This shouldn't be a problem!"

Lucy and Loke exchange looks before reluctantly admitting that Natsu had a point. Together, the trio picked their way carefully down the overgrown carriageway.

The front grounds looked as dead as the surrounding woods. Muddy marshes with thorny bracken and dead reeds littered the sides of the carriageway. Sweeping willows swayed in the wind, their branches missing those specks of healthy green. The closer they came to the Manor, the more decorative horticulture dotted the landscape; or rather, the dead husks of decorative horticulture. Towering oak trees, long since dead, stuck out against the bleak landscape, ragged pillars of decay and despair.

Weathered tombstones of all shapes and sizes rose from the earth, the names once etched upon them having long-since eroded off. As the teenagers passed them, they could almost swear that a few of the headstones had shifted and rocked ever so slightly.

At the end of the carriageway, the mansion loomed, in all its antebellum glory. Graceful white columns cradled the entrance with gilded green arches lining the outside walkways. A schooner weathervane perched merrily on top of the highest structure and tasteful windows dotted the smooth surface of the exterior siding. Brick chimneys, elegant gables, The Dreyar Manor looked akin to a timeless plantation home.

"Wow," Lucy breathed in awe, "it's beautiful. I bet it was absolutely stunning in the pinnacle of its days." She looked like she was just itching for a chance to write a piece of her novel incorporating the mansion into it.

Natsu huffed impatiently. "Yeah, yeah, okay, it's a nice building. Can we go in yet?"

Not waiting for his companions, the pink-haired male bounded up to the heavy oaken doors. Brass knockers in the shape of bats' heads were bolted into the doors, but Natsu disregarded them. He reached for a handle and tugged a little on it, frowning when it didn't budge. Determined to not let a door get the best of him, Natsu pulled with all his might, only to nearly jump out of his skin at the screeching clang of a rusted piece of metal breaking and hitting the floor.

"Congratulations, Natsu," Loke drawled mockingly. "You broke the lock. And it's a push, idiot."

"Shut up," Natsu snapped. Looking down, he nudged the broken, rusted padlock with his foot, clanking the chains, before shrugging and turning to the door once more. He grasped the brass handle and pushed, a satisfied sound slipping out when the heavy doors groaned and finally shifted. The doors swung in slowly, ancient hinges protesting until it stopped about halfway. More pushing refused to move the door, so Natsu let go. Motioning his companions to follow, the pink-haired teenager headed inside the musty Entrance Hall.

Their footsteps echoed loudly on the old boards. The Entrance Hall was devoid of life; a dreary emptiness hung over the stale air and cobwebs, not quite masking the sinister aura that clung to the mansion like a shroud.

"It's—" Lucy began before letting out a tiny shriek at the booming clap of thunder. The three whipped around to gape out the door to see a vicious storm breaking free from the clouds above. "What? It's storming? It was sunny just a minute ago!"

Loke strode to the door, but as soon as he took his first steps, the door swung shut with a resounding slam. Alarmed, the ginger-haired man hurried over and yanked on its handles. The door wouldn't budge; it remained firmly closed as if it had never been opened at all.

"Okay," Loke inched back slowly, a bit unnerved. "Guess we won't be heading back that way, huh?"

Lucy shivered, biting her lip nervously and flicked her eyes all over the Entrance Hall. Natsu rolled his eyes and walked further into the mansion, the rug underneath muffling his footsteps.

"Heeeellllloooooo?" He called obnoxiously.

"Natsu!" Lucy and Loke hissed furiously, glaring at their idiot friend.

"What?" Natsu spread his hands. "I'm just checking to see if someone's actually here!"

"Well you don't have to be obnoxious about it!"

---

High on the balcony overlooking the Entrance Hall, three figures lounged.

"Oh my," a quiet voiced gasped as it studied the new arrivals. "Do you two see what I see?"

"If you mean you see a bunch of trespassing breathers, then yes." One drawled irritably.

"What are they doing here?" The first one asked curiously, completely ignoring the second.

"And how'd they get in?" The third one chimed in finally, billowing pipe smoke from his mouth.

"Maybe we should ask them!" The first one exclaimed in excitement.

"Why? Let's just get them to leave already. They're annoying." The second scowled. The first hit them on their arm.

"Don't go scaring them off, Gray!" The first chided the second, Gray. "These are the first visitors we've had in decades! Let's go introduce ourselves. Besides," they added, glancing back at the trio of humans, "they seem friendly enough."

"Might as well," the third sighed, interjecting before Gray could argue. They tapped their pipe along their chin. "Maybe they can actually do something."

"Like what, Wakaba?" Gray snorted. Wakaba shrugged carelessly.

"I dunno, but at least it could be entertaining."

"Then it's settled!" The first figure stated cheerfully. "Let's go say hello!"

---

Deciding to ignore the unexpected storm and other troubles, the humans ventured further into the hall, taking in the elegant designs of the sweeping archways and winding staircases. Even as they progressed further into the Entrance Hall, still there was no life.

"There's no one here," Loke murmured, adjusting his glasses. The words were no sooner out of his mouth when three incorporeal shapes materialized in front of him. Loke shrieked loudly and fell onto his ass, scrambling away from the eerie spectres. The three were silvery-blue in color and wisps of spirit curled and shifted as they moved.

The tallest was savoring a pipe; smoke wafting gently from the chamber. He wore dark pants and shoes with a black waistcoat over a white shirt. His light brown hair strutted out over his forehead strangely. His slouched posture spoke of an easygoing attitude as he regarded the humans. The smallest figure was petite and slender, a long black dress and white, frilled apron covering her curvy form and sensible black flats covered her feet. Her hair was short and unusually light—almost white—in color. She practically vibrated on her feet in excitement and the smile that stretched her face was blinding. The final figure was lithe and muscular, his slim frame fitting into black pants and boots. A white, buttoned shirt covered his chest, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was an untamed inky black and his scowl could make milk curdle as he glared at the guests.

"Ouch," the one smoking a pipe frowned, "that's gonna leave a mark." He glanced over at the other two breathers.

Natsu and Lucy were staring, wide-eyed and gaping, at the figures. The smallest one gave a friendly wave, wrist flopping sickeningly with each movement.

"Hi! Welcome to our home!"

It was then that Natsu and Lucy screamed. They backed away quickly, eyes darting from one figure to the next, faces pale.

The final specter huffed in dry amusement. "And you told me not to scare them."

The small one puffed her cheeks in a pout. "I didn't mean to!" They turned earnestly to the humans. "I'm sorry for scaring you!" Despite her sincere apologies, the three breathers turned tail and raced to the door, banging on it furiously.

"That's not going to work, you know," one of the spirits sighed impatiently. The breathers ignored him and began pulling and assaulting the door. They rolled their eyes in irritation, crossing their arms with a scowl. "Useless," he muttered.

"He's right," the small spirit said sadly, "you won't be able to escape that way. And even if you did," she added, "the outer gates would not let you through." She floated closer to the humans, movements jerky and twisted. "Please, we don't mean you harm!"

Natsu was fed up with the door and decided to face the problem head on. He turned and glared at the three...ghosts—for they could be nothing else with how they looked—and took in their postures. The smallest one he could tell truly meant their—her?—words. The one smoking the pipe had his hands in his pockets and was gazing at them with a quirked brow, nonthreatening. The last one, however, was the one that just irked Natsu for some strange reason. The ghost had his arms crossed over his chest and was scowling down at them as if they were the scum beneath his shoes.

What a dick.

Natsu was ready to pound the bastard's face in and he didn't even know the jerk's name.

Lucy and Loke, contrary to their friend's defiance, were frantically trying to find a way out. But none of the windows would shift, the glass wouldn't break, and the door still remained firmly shut. Resigned, Lucy hugged herself as she and Loke turned around to face the ghosts as Natsu did.

The small ghost breathed a silent breath and smiled tentatively. "I promise, we're not going to hurt you. My name's Lisanna," she introduced herself before looking at her fellow ghosts pointedly.

The tallest male puffed out a smoke ring as he answered. "Name's Wakaba."

All eyes fastened on the final ghost and the man's scowl deepened. "Gray," he answered shortly. Lisanna grinned victoriously and gestured to the humans.

"And who are you?" Natsu raised a brow but replied accordingly.

"Uh, Natsu," The others chimed in after him.

"Loke."

"L-Lucy."

"It's nice to meet you!" Lisanna chirped. "We rarely get guests here." The humans stiffed as her neck jerked unnaturally, but forced themselves not to comment.

"Um," Loke asked after moments of awkward silence. "Why are you still here? I mean," he added hastily, feeling Lucy's burning glare at his rudeness, "aren't you all dead? Why stay here if you could move on?"

The three ghosts exchanged a long look before Lisanna sighed deeply, a morose sound. "Trust us, we'd leave if we could. Except that we can't."

"Why not?" Lucy wondered.

"Y'see, little lady," Wakaba tapped the lip of his pipe along his chin, "this mansion...it's not a good place to be. I'm sure you've noticed how unusual it feels around here?" At their nods, he continued. "Well, that's because Dreyar Manor is cursed." He stated bluntly. "It's plagued with some rather nasty curses courtesy of one cruel man. He trapped all of us here before we could pass on and that was over a century ago."

The ghosts looked frustrated and sorrowful, even Gray. "We're stuck here," Gray's fingers dug into his arm, "unless someone undoes the curses that bastard has cast over this place."

"It's terrible," Lisanna mourned softly. "We just want to escape this evil place and we can't. We're prisoners of our own unfortunate circumstances." She added with a rather bitter laugh. The humans exchanged looks of their own, feeling pity for the plight of the ghosts.

"That's awful," Lucy whispered sadly. "Is there any way we can help? We'll do what we can."

The ghosts weren't the only ones struck speechless. Natsu and Loke were gazing at their companion in a sort of fascinated horror, not quite believing that she just offered to help out the ghosts of the very place she was so afraid of, but also horrified that she offered to help ghosts—as in the spirits of dead people—in the first place. Lisanna was the first to break the silence after that declaration.

"You're...are you serious?" She whispered, eyes wide and hope flaring briefly. "You—you mean it? You'll help us?"

Lucy hesitated for a second, before nodding decisively. "Yes. We'll help. We can't just leave you guys to be trapped here forever. Not if we can do something." Lisanna let out a cheer of joy and Wakaba laughed in sheer disbelief. Gray, however, was not so easily swayed.

"Why?" he snapped, eyes flashing suspiciously. "Why do you want to help?"

Natsu stalked forward, hands bunched into fists. "Don't be so ungrateful, you jerk!" he hissed. Gray glares right back at him.

"Ungrateful?" he sniped back. "Three random strangers barge into our home unannounced and immediately offer their free assistance once they hear our plight and you expect me to be grateful? How can I possibly not be suspicious? You claim you want to help because why—the goodness of your hearts? Don't make me laugh."

Natsu reared up, prepared to fire off another retort, but Loke beat him to the punch. "You're right to be suspicious, Gray." he agreed, making the angry spirit pause. "I'd actually be worried if none of you weren't. But what we said...we want help you, Gray. We mean that."

"No one should be trapped like this," Lucy added quietly, "so if we can find a way to help, we'll do it." The three ghosts shook their heads in amazement at the surprising humans.

Gray studied them intently. "You're strange," he said finally, "and foolish for immediately offering to help complete strangers without thinking."

Natsu pinned Gray with a look. "Yeah, we probably are. But we're still offering. So you can either accept our help or not."

Lisanna and Wakaba stared Gray down before the male sighed in defeat. "All right," he relented quietly. Smiles flickered across all five of the other faces. "But," Gray continued, the killjoy, "this won't be easy."

"Why not?" Loke asked.

"The malevolence has seeped too far into the foundations of Dreyar Manor." Lisanna answered solemnly. "I'm afraid cleansing this place of darkness will be dangerous."

"In fact, it'll likely life threatening." Gray added casually. "We don't even know everything that might lurk in the dark here."

"It'll take a tremendous amount of effort," Wakaba interjected, "but all the spirits, well," he amended with a frown, "the majority of spirits, will try to assist in any way they can."

Lucy had paled drastically at the warnings and Loke swallowed. Natsu merely grinned at the challenge. Still, after a quick check from their friends, the humans agreed nonetheless. Who knew when they'd get another chance to do something like this?

Lisanna, Wakaba, and Gray have a quick, silent communication. "Fine," Gray ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He cracked his neck and turned to head off into the Foyer in front of them. "Meet me by the door to the Library whenever you're ready." He called over his shoulder, oblivious to the looks of abject fright zeroed in on the large, sharp knife protruding from his silver-bloodstained back.

"So," Natsu cleared his throat, shaking off the image of the knife in Gray's incorporeal back, "let's go then."

"Hold on, Natsu," Lisanna held up a hand. "There's something you three need to know before you set off." Once the humans had trained their attention on her, the maid continued. "The spirits and curses that haunt these halls are vicious and unforgiving. Myself and the other occupants trapped here are more...immune to the malevolence of this place, but you are not."

At their looks of confusion, Wakaba jumped in helpfully. "What Lisanna means is that you are, ah, vulnerable, to the whims of the dark stuff here."

"Right," Lisanna confirmed with a nod, "so that means you'll need to find a way to protect yourselves."

"Wait," Loke frowned, "what do you mean?"

"Well," Lisanna began awkwardly, wringing her hands, bones cracking audibly, "normally we'd take you to the one who'd explain exactly what you need to do in order to cleanse this place, but she's a bit...indisposed at the moment. We've been working on getting to her for the past few weeks, but it seems that whatever is living here with us doesn't want her to interfere more than she already has. But," she added hastily when she spotted their trepidation and alarm, "don't worry! We've almost freed her and you'll meet her soon. In the meantime," Lisanna continued, "she informed myself, Wakaba, and Gray of what you need to get to defend your, uh, spirits, if you will."

"So.." Natsu tilted his head in confusion, "we're not meeting your...friend?"

"Not right now," Wakaba sighed. "We woulda taken you there first thing, but like Lisanna said, we're still working on getting to her. But enough about that. You kids will need some items to help you out on cleansing this place."

"Unfortunately," Lisanna now tapped her thigh in agitation, "our friend didn't tell us what those items are exactly—just that they were imperative and that whoever needed them would be able to find them. I don't think she wanted to take the chance of the evil finding out what the items were and attempting to destroy them," the maid-ghost added thoughtfully to herself.

Lucy curled her hair behind her ear, a nervous tick. "Um, not to be rude, but, how are we supposed to be able to find these...items? We've never been here before! How do you expect us to know what to look for?"

To their surprise, the two ghosts chuckled. "Oh, you'll know," Lisanna laughed, a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah," Wakaba added, grinning, "Her enchantments ain't exactly subtle."

The three breathers exchanged bemused looks, Natsu scowling skeptically.

"Enchantments?" he echoed with a raised brow. "Like magic? Give me a break." He turned to his friends, only to be shocked at their contemplative expressions. "Don't tell me you believe this stuff?"

Lucy glared at him, cheeks flushing slightly. "So what if I do? Got a problem with that, Dragneel?" Natsu hastily shook his head and held up placating hands.

"N-no, of course not, Lucy!" He stammered quickly. His eyes darted to Loke in an attempt to seek solidarity, but the ginger-haired man didn't rise to the bait.

"We're in a haunted mansion, Natsu." He pointed out dryly. "A literal haunted mansion full of ghosts and evil spirits and curses and you're questioning magic?" Natsu opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came to him. He closed it with a grumble, but decided to just roll with things. Clearly, he was outnumbered.

"Fine," he muttered, "magic." It was obvious, however, that despite his acquiescence, he wanted nothing to do with the magical items.

"I know it's a bit hard to believe," Lisanna spoke up softly, "but you must understand. Gathering these items is crucial for your survival here. Otherwise, you'd be at the mercy of the dark forces here and they won't hesitate to strike you down."

Natsu withheld his acceptance for a final moment before finally, fully caving. "Okay," he sighed, "let's go get some magic."

Wakaba and Lisanna smile at them gratefully. "Thanks a lot, you three," Wakaba exhaled smoke, "now you'd best get moving. Don't wanna keep Gray waiting too long. Good luck."

With that, the ghosts dissipated into fine wisps and the humans were left alone in the empty Entrance Hall once more.

"Well," Loke strode forwards as he spoke, heading into the Foyer where Gray had vanished, "no time like the present, right?"

---

It wasn't difficult to find Gray. Instead of standing by a door, he was waiting in the center of the Foyer, directly underneath a cobwebbed chandelier. The flashes of lightning illuminated much of the room for brief moments, but otherwise Gray was the only source of gloomy light in the Foyer. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot in agitation, eyes darting to and fro as he scanned the shadows. His head jerked up at their approach.

"About time," he scowled.

"Shut up," Natsu hissed and Gray just rolled his eyes before disregarding the pink-haired breather for the moment.

"So," he began impatiently, "I presume that Lisanna and Wakaba at least filled you in on what you need to do?"

"Uh," Lucy stammered under his piercing gaze, "t-they said we had to gather some magical items for our protection?"

Gray pursed his lips, but nodded. "In a nutshell, yes, you've got the gist of it." He uncrossed his arms and turned his back to face the rest of the room. "Since you are aware of the things you need to look for in terms of protection, I need to tell you how to do that. First off, I have no idea where the items are. Maybe we'll get lucky and they won't be too difficult to locate, but don't get your hopes up. Second, in order to even begin searching, you'll have to clear out the rooms of anything foul. Once you do that, all you've got to do is turn on the light switch."

"What's a light switch gotta do with anything?" Natsu complained, rolling his eyes.

"The evil spirits don't like the light," Gray answered curtly. "Turn on the light, scare them away." He glared at the pink-haired menace when the man just rolled his eyes again and wandered off with a short, "whatever". Gray shook his head before he turned back to Loke and Lucy to continue his explanation. "Turning on the lights drives the evil away—it's one of the Manor's last defenses that were put in place."

"That's...simple." Loke blinked in surprise. Gray shrugged.

"Simple, but effective."

While the others were deep in discussion, Natsu had managed to climb up one of the broken staircases, stumbling and cursing all the while, and stepped onto the second floor balcony. "That wasn't so hard," he muttered to himself, throwing a challenging look towards Gray even if the other male didn't see it. "Don't know what he's so worried about." He continued wandering down the walkway until he reached the centre and noticed something attached to the thick wood of the balcony.

A small, grey switch with a skeleton-head handle was sitting innocently where it perched. Natsu peered closely at it. "Wonder what it does," he murmured. He reached out a hand and, with his insatiable curiosity and recklessness, pulled the handle down.

At first, nothing happened. But then, a spark flashed across the chandelier before flickering yellow light illuminated the entire Foyer. Within moments after the Foyer was lit, a deep rumbling shook dust from the ceiling. The staircases, previously collapsed, fixed themselves. Along the walls, the portraits righted themselves and the general oppressing atmosphere lifted.

"Whoa," Natsu breathed, wide-eyed. What once was a broken, torn mess, was a room filled with elegant winding stairs, unique portraits peppering the papered walls; the graceful chandelier bright with gentle candle flame, spiders' webs casting dancing shadows along the ceiling. Oaken doors dotted the upstairs walkway and stone urns stood in the corners of the walls and stairs. Downstairs, the two humans gaped, dumbstruck, at the scene. The ghost, however pleasantly surprised, was overall mostly unfazed. When all three humans turned to the apparition, he merely shrugged.

"I told you, the light drives away the dark."

"But that doesn't explain the stairs and the paintings!" Natsu accused, stomping down the stairs to thrust his fingers in the male ghost's face. Gray scowled and batted his hand away irritably.

"It does you idiot. The curses in this mansion will do all they can to prevent you from reaching the light switch and illuminating the rooms. Case in point here, the stairs." Gray snorted derisively. "We're just fortunate here that Natsu appears to possess the ability to completely miss the obvious, which managed to work in our favor."

"Why you—!" Natsu made to lunge at Gray, but Loke grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Well," the ginger-haired male forged on, ignoring Natsu's loud protests, "now what?"

In response, Gray pivoted neatly and headed to the right to stand in front of an old, oaken door. "Now we clear out the Library. With any luck, we'll be able to search through the volumes and try to find clues as to where the items are." Once the humans had huddled behind him, Gray reached forward and clasped the knob, turning it and pushing open the door with an echoing creak.

The Library was dark, pitch black to the point where the humans couldn't make out any shapes, even with Gray's glow. Lightning flashed, casting light amid the darkened room as thunder roared not far behind. Wall-to-wall bookshelves crowded with volumes of various sizes, a second floor holding more shelves of literature. The light faded before the humans could make out anything else of note of the Library.

Gray moved forward on silent, gliding footsteps and the humans rushed to keep up. "Ok," the ghost murmured, "you'll need to find the light switch as fast as you can."

"What are you gonna do?" Natsu asked aggressively, scowling at the ghost, who glared right back.

"I'm going to keep an eye out for—" haunting moans interrupted Gray's words.

Grotesque spectres with warped faces and bony, clawing fingers came through the walls. They floated fluidly over to the humans, eyes nothing more than hollow sockets with small glowing red orbs within.

"Those." Gray finished. He leapt towards one and jerked his arm in a stabbing motion. The evil spirit screamed as it disintegrated. Gray pulled back, brandishing a wickedly sharp chef's knife coated with a dry, darker substance. A substance that was alarmingly similar in color to the stuff that congealed on Gray's back and front...

Lucy choked on a whimper when she realized just where Gray had gotten his weapon. She couldn't dwell on that thought, however, as the evil spirits converged on her and her friends, moans echoing in her ears.

A quick slice and Gray stood before her amidst the remains of the dark ghosts. "Get a move on!" He snapped, slashing at more of the spirit horde. "Find the light switch or these things will just keep coming!"

"And how are we supposed to do that?!" Natsu snarled, jumped out of the way of a spirit. "In case you haven't noticed, it's pitch black in here! We can't see a thing!"

"Use the lightning you idiot!" Gray shot back, easily cutting through two spirits. "Use the lightning to get a feel of the room and go from there!" As he finished, another flash of lightning illuminated the room for a moment and the three humans tried their best to imprint the layout of the room in their minds before the light vanished. "Remember to not let the room trick you!" Gray called out one last piece of advice as he darted right into the centre of the spirit horde and began hacking and slashing his knife with deadly accuracy.

Using his distraction to its fullest, the humans inched closer to the window of the Library on the far side of the room. As they ran, they dodged groaning spirits, flying books, cursed objects that snapped at their heels. Reaching the relative safety of the window, they waited for the lightning to light up the room. The moment it did, they formed a plan of action.

"Okay," Lucy got down to business. "Clearly, we need the lightning to light up the room. But as of now, we have a decent layout. We're going to have to split up to find the switch." She frowned worriedly as she looked between the faces of her two companions. "There's no other way if we want this done fast."

The boys weren't happy, but they agreed nonetheless, seeing no other course of action. "All right, then," Loke began, "Lucy you'll check in this general area, Natsu and I will go back to the parts around the shelves. Natsu'll check the downstairs. I'll," he continued, eyes casting a look at the second floor, "I'll find a way to the second floor and go from there."

The other two nodded, and Loke wanted to hit something for assigning himself the hardest freaking task.

"I hope Gray's doing okay." Lucy fretted as they waited for another lightning flash.

"Pfft," Natsu waved his hand dismissively, "that stupid ghost is fine, Lucy. Don't waste your time worrying about him. He can clearly take care of himself. Besides, we really can't do anything until we turn on the lights." Lucy bit her lip but accepted that she couldn't do anything to help their ghost until they lit up the Library.

They tore off onto their searches as soon as the lightning lit the way. Lucy scoured her area with focused eyes and trembling fingers. She tried desperately to keep as quiet as possible in order to not have the spirits notice her as she searched. Her fingers trailed the paneling on the walls, but to her dismay, they were bare of a switch.

On his side of the Library, Natsu raced along the shelves of books, probing for a hidden panel or a fake book, but there was nothing on the shelves. He inspected the side tables with his fingers and cursed that he had to rely on touch alone. Sight was relatively out, obviously; smell and taste were ultimately useless (though he was impartial to giving those a try); sound was compromised, the screeching and groaning of the evil spirits as well as Gray's taunts saw to that. So, touch it was. And touch was frustrating because Natsu could absolutely not find anything. Stupid fucking library!

Oblivious to his teammates' distress and irritation, Loke was having his own problems attempting to get onto the second floor via the staircase. Keyword attempting because there was no staircase to be had. Nothing! And Loke had run from one side of the Library to the other and up and down each wall of shelves only to come up empty handed. Just as the teenager was about to let loose a slew of curses, he remembered their ghost's words: "don't let the room trick you". Loke refused to be beaten by a library, so he thought and planned. Slowly, a grin stretched across his face. He had a plan, he had a—

"Ow!" He yelped, rubbing his head and glaring at the book lying innocently on the ground where it had fallen after smacking him. He stared at the book thoughtfully before a metaphorical light bulb went off. He scrambled to pick up all the cursed books, carefully dodge the incoming ones, and started to quickly place them into a climbable stack. He shot up the stack as fast as he could, hearing more books fling themselves faster at him. He flinched as a few hit their mark and he was willing to swear that there was a good chance he was going to have bruises come later. This is why he fucking hated reading.

One unsteady book-stack later, Loke was finally on the second floor. Lightning flickered, brightening his path for a moment, and Loke hurried to run his hands along the books, searching quickly and desperately for the damned light switch. He crossed the steeped walkway above the door and crossed to the other side of the second floor to continue his touch-examination. He got to the end and felt a thud on his back that nearly sent him over the railing and down to the main floor. With a frustrated growl, he gripped the iron rail tightly and refused to be pushed off by literature. His struggles, however, did lend him the chance of focusing on the chaos on the lower floor.

Gray was still fighting strong, slicing his knife through each spirit with an unsettling ease, their moaning cries tapering off with a hissing fizzle, only for another to take the fallen's place. Lighting showed Lucy and Natsu continuing their fruitless inspections of their areas, but Loke could tell (especially with the increasing creativity of the curses slewed from Natsu's mouth) that they were coming up with nothing.

Another book smacked his forearm and Loke knocked it out of the air. "Stupid books! How can Lucy possibly like to read?" Loke checked his current side of the upper floor once more before he stumbled onto the inclined overhang. "Damn it!" he hissed. "Where the hell is this stupid thing?!" The words barely escaped his mouth before a book nailed his temple and sent him careening into the panels behind him, back catching painfully on a metal square with a strange, round protrusion. Loke's eyes widened.

A switch!

"Tell me you guys have found the switch!" Gray called out amidst the now-furious wails of the evil spirits. "Cause these freaks are just going to keep on coming!"

Loke's fingers groped for the switch handle, curving around it and pulling it down with a wrenching heave.

An intake of breath; and sparks sounded before the torch lamps sprang to life with cheerful flames.

The spirits' groans echoed as they crumbled into the floor and vanished. The strewn books flew back to their shelves and the staircases wound down from the upper level to reach the floor.

The three humans took a few moments to catch their breath. Loke was the first to break the silence.

"Above the door? On the second floor?!" Loke bitched, arm flung over his eyes. "Who designed this?!"

"We did it," Lucy gasped, a small smile on her face. She sank onto an old sofa in relief and took in the room before her. The flames brought a warm, orange light. Books upon books lined the walls and upper levels. Podiums held open books, their pages ancient and yellowed. Plush armchairs scattered about the room and end tables supported more books. Portraits of prestigious figures and yellowed maps decorated the papered walls. Despite the cobwebs and fogged windows, it was still a beautiful room.

Natsu plopped himself in one of the other armchairs with a growling sigh while Loke stomped down the stairs, muttering crossly about stupid room designs. Gray wandered over to them, knife disappeared, and appeared hardly out of breath. "Not bad," Gray praised, arms crossed. He got a weary smile from Lucy, a scowl from Loke, and a baleful glare from Natsu. "But this is only the first room, and we've got a long way to go. So don't get overconfident," Gray added, looking pointedly at Natsu who scowled deeply.

Lucy's sharp gasp stopped the boys from getting into another argument. "Lucy?" Loke murmured, anger subsiding slowly. "What's wrong?" The blonde pointed a trembling finger behind them. As they turned around, they noticed a small figure standing at one of the podiums, flipping through a rather large tome. Though her form still possessed the same silvery-blue glow as Gray, the humans could still make out the colors of her clothes. She had a simple orange dress with a red belt. Her blue hair was pulled up with a orange headband and red glasses perched on her face. So engrossed in her reading, she didn't glance up to notice the humans.

Gray smiled and walked over. "Hi, Levy, still scouring that old thing?" The girl whipped her head up in surprise. She grinned brightly when she recognized Gray.

"Hey, Gray!" She greeted cheerfully. "How are you? And yes," she added with a rueful laugh, "I am. I'm sure what we're looking for is in here somewhere."

"Well if anyone can find it, it's you." Levy laughed bashfully before her eyes glanced past Gray and caught sight of the three humans.

"Oh! I didn't see you three!" She came from behind the podium. "I'm Levy!" She waved and Lucy smiled back, comforted by the girl ghost's pleasant demeanor.

"I'm Lucy," the blonde hopped up from the sofa and hurried over. "That's Loke," she pointed to the ginger, "and that's Natsu." The boys nodded to Levy. Lucy studied Levy curiously in the full light and a creeping chill ran up her spine at the substance running from Levy's temple. "Um, Levy," Lucy began in a breathless voice. "What is, uh, that...on your face...?"

Levy tilted her head and ran her fingers across her face. She stopped when she reached the substance congealing on her temple. "Oh this," Levy laughed awkwardly and Lucy's face flushed deeply.

"I-I'm sorry!" She stammered quickly. "I wasn't trying t-to make you uncomfortable!" Levy waved away her distress.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know. Anyway, to answer your question, it's blood." The humans' eyes bulged and they flicked back and forth from Levy to Gray.

"Blood?" Loke echoed quietly. Levy nodded.

"Yeah," she replied sadly. "It's on my temple because that's how I died. Much like Gray's is down his back and on that knife of his." The humans looked a little green, but nodded.

"Levy," Gray interrupted their questioning. The girl ghost shook herself with a sheepish laugh and smoothed her dress.

"Right," Levy's eyes scrutinized the breathers carefully. "If I'm correct, you three are here to help us to cleanse the Manor?" Loke confirmed with a silent nod and Levy beamed. "How can I help?" She was practically vibrating as she looked between the four of them.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the Witch's enchanted artifacts?" Gray asked immediately. Levy tilted her head, lips pursed in thought.

"No," she answered slowly, the other slumping in disappointment, "but," they perked up, "I've noticed a presence in here that might be what you need." At Lucy's curious frown, she elaborated. "With the return of the light, the seals guarding and hiding the artifacts lifted."

"Can you locate it?" Gray asked. At Levy's raised brow he shrugged. "It's probably better if I have as little contact as possible with these things." Levy opened her mouth to protest, but closed it with a grimace after a second.

She stepped quickly over to one of the shelves and hauled out the largest on the shelf, carrying it with ease to the nearest podium. She propped it open and hurriedly flipped through the crinkling, yellowed pages until she arrived at a square hole cut out in the centre. Inside rested a ring, unassuming in appearance. She turned back and carried the ring over to a bemused Loke and laid it in his palm.

It was simple; a silver band with a blue-green gem inlaid within a silver circle. Yet despite it's plain bearing, the gem pulsed with a mystical power.

"Um," Loke wondered aloud and Levy chuckled.

"This is the Ring of Spirits," Levy informed him. "It absorbs malignant spirits and converts their essence to fire blasts of concentrated spiritual energy. At least," Levy amended, "that's what I've been told."

"Uh huh," Loke said dryly. Not subtle indeed, Loke thought to himself as he recalled Wakaba's words, "and you're giving it to me because...?"

Levy shrugged daintily. "I just had a feeling that you're the one who would use this one." She didn't offer any further explanation, much to Loke's annoyance.

"Hey," Natsu complained, "how come I don't get a cool thing? I want a magical ring that shoots energy beams!"

"Natsu shut your trap and quit complaining," Gray snapped. "Just be happy you now have a way to defend yourselves."

"And," Levy jumped in, "a way to collect spirits for the cleansing ritual."

"Speaking of that," Lucy held her chin in her hands and her living companions sighed at her 'thinking pose', "what's the deal with this place? Why do you need a cleansing ritual and how'd things get this way?"

Gray and Levy exchanged glances and the taller ghost gestured for her to have the floor. Levy rolled her eyes indulgently. "Well, this mansion was built and owned by the Dreyar family. The patriarch, Makarov; the heir, Ivan; and the future heir, Laxus. They were a close family, at least Masters Makarov and Laxus were. They were well liked by their staff and their friends. Master Ivan, was not as...well received. He kept to himself and didn't like much anyone. In spite of that, it came as a shock when he betrayed the family." The humans were leaning closer, hanging on her every word. Gray, in contrast, had his arms crossed on his chest and was staring at a spot just past Levy. "The first one to go missing was Laxus. We never would have even suspected Ivan had one of the servants not reported what that depraved man was doing."

"What was he doing?" Natsu asked eagerly. Gray shot him a look of contempt at his disrespect.

Levy bit her lip, but continued. "He had been experimenting with shadowcraft. From what we could tell, he had been trying to open a portal to the afterlife and was using Laxus's life to do it. Only, the servant had stopped him in the midst of his work. Once the secret was out, more people started dropping dead of unusual circumstances. Some just vanished entirely. Eventually, everyone in the mansion was dead or missing and Ivan and his shadows just disappeared. But his work with the dark magic had tainted this place and trapped all of us here. We need to cleanse it in order to free the spirits imprisoned here and banish the darkness smothering this place."

It was silent for a bit when Levy finished. The humans each wore different expressions as they absorbed the information dumped into their heads.

"Well," Gray broke the quiet, "thank you Levy. But I'm afraid we can't stay and chat longer." Levy smiled and nodded in understanding.

"You're welcome, Gray." She turned to the breathers. "And you three, thank you. If you need any further knowledge, just come fine me. Good luck." She held Gray's gaze for a lengthy moment until the male ghost nodded sharply. Pleased, she waved them out of the Library.

---

Lisanna and Wakaba were waiting outside the Library for them. As soon as the ghostly duo spotted the ring on Loke's finger, they let out whoops of joy. The quartet allowed them their fun before Lucy addressed them.

"Lisanna, Wakaba," the ghosts focused their attention on the blonde, "Levy told us the history of this place. About Ivan Dreyar's betrayal and shadow-work. How everyone just started dying left and right..." she trailed off for a second, eventually relocating her voice. "Is...is all that true?"

Lisanna sighed and bowed her head, her neck angling awkwardly. "Yes," she confirmed. "It's true. Welcome to a nightmare, right?" She raises her head and notes the trio are studying her body movements, or rather, her strange body movements.

"What—" Natsu began.

"What happened to me?" Lisanna cut him off with a chuckle. "Officially, I fell down the stairs." She didn't need to elaborate on the undertone of her words.

"I asphyxiated," Wakaba put in helpfully. "In my own coat," he added mournfully. A closer inspection revealed that his lips and skin tone suffered from cyanosis. The trio inwardly shuddered.

"And what about you, Gray?" Natsu snarked to the other male ghost. "How'd you kick the bucket?"

Gray stared at him in disbelief. "I thought it was an act, but it's not, is it? You really are that stupid."

Natsu bristled and bared his teeth. "I am not!" He snarled, stalking up to Gray. "It was a simple question!"

Gray met him glare for glare. "A simple, stupid question! I have a knife sticking out of my back, Pinky! How the hell do you think I died?!"

"Pinky?!"

Lucy sighed deeply and turned back to Lisanna and Wakaba, who had been watching the exchange with amusement. "Just ignore them." She drowned out the pair's ridiculous bickering with questions. "So where should we go to next? I mean, is there a certain place these items definitely would be?"

The ghosts hummed and pondered for a few minutes until Wakaba answered. "Well," he scratched his chin with is pipe, "you could always try the Armory. Lis and myself had been digging around and we think that might be where one's hidin'." He gestured to a door to the far left.

Lucy glanced at Loke, breaking the man from admiring the ring on his finger. Loke, noticing Lucy's scrutiny, looked up and grinned widely at her. "Something you need, Lucy? Anything for you!"

One eye roll later, Loke had been brought up to speed on the current situation. The only thing left to do now was to break up the catfight and get a move on. Both attempted to peacefully call the bickering boys over, but were ultimately disregarded.

Lucy lost her patience first. "Hey!" She snapped, startling both males into silence. Her twitching brow prevented the continuation of their argument. "We have a job to do in case you two knuckleheads have forgotten!" She snorted at their contrite expressions, but let it go. Walking over and latching onto Natsu's collar, she dragged him over to the door that lead to the Armory. "We're heading to the Armory. Come on."

Gray materialized in front of them and gently pushed on the door. It opened with absolute silence, which was somehow worse than the screech of rusted hinges. The four proceeded into the pitch-black room with wary caution. Lightning slipped in from the cramped window.

Rows upon rows of suits of armor lined the Armory, facing the quartet. Glowing orbs of crimson energy filled each eyepiece and a dark blue aura surrounded the chest, neck, and extraneous limbs. As one, the suits drew their sounds with a bone-chilling shink.

"Shit," Gray muttered, tightening his grip on his knife as he slid it out of his spine. "Keep your guards up. These things will hurt you severely. Loke," he glanced over his shoulder at the ginger-haired man, "once I get the spirits free of the armor, use your ring to suck them into the jewel. Natsu protect Lucy, and Lucy, find that switch." He sent out his energy and brought over a poker from the fire grate and tossed it to Natsu. The pink-haired male hissed quietly as his hand contacted the ghostly frost that had coated the poker from Gray's touch. "Defend yourselves," he said in lieu of allowing Natsu to voice his inquiry.

Without waiting for a reply, he sprang at the first suit, gouging his blade through the slit between the helmet and the chest plate. A rippling shriek resounded inside the armor and the unarmed arm rose to fling Gray off, but the crafty ghost skittered to the soldier's back and locked his knife under the helmet. With a mighty heave, he yanked it clean off and threw it across the Armory to clang against another suit, sending it careening into a third suit.

A screeching wisp of smoke shot out from the suit of armor and coalesced into a black, gaseous ball with protruding crimson spikes and glowing red eyes.

"Loke!" Gray yelled and the ginger hurried forward, twisting the gem in his ring. He yelped as the ring flared with a burst of power and latched onto the little spirit ball. The possessor shrieked and howled as it was sucked in, wisps of its form trailing behind until nothing, not even the smoky remnants, were remaining. The ginger-haired male panted heavily and readjusted his glasses shakily.

"Whoa," he gasped out. Gray knocked a suit of armor away from him.

"Less being shocked, more absorbing the spirits!" Gray called out.

Loke snapped back together with a right and followed Gray closely.

Lucy screamed as one of the soldiers swung its sword straight for her. She covered her head and shut her eyes tight as she crouched low to the floor. A clang of metal against metal made her yelp and scramble back. Opening her eyes, she saw Natsu facing off against the suit of armor, arms shaking with exertion.

"Get a move on, Lucy!" Natsu yelled. He pulled up his leg and kicked the suit in the chest, wincing as his leg smarted angrily. He lashed out with his poker, blocking another sword and knocking it out of the soldier's hand. Grinning at his good fortune, Natsu swung his poker and lobbed off the soldier's helmet and pushed the suit towards where Loke was bobbing and weaving.

"Yo, Loke!" He hollered at his friend. The ginger-haired male nodded in acknowledgement and trekked carefully over. A screech startled Natsu and he cursed himself for getting distracted. He swiped at the furious possessor, but paled when his poker only passed straight through. "Fuck," he ducked as the possessor lunged. The little cretin pivoted easily and bared its tiny fangs to sink into his flesh. Natsu scrambled backwards on his ass to escape and nearly laughed hysterically when Loke swept by and sucked the damned thing into his ring.

"Thanks man," Natsu panted, standing shakily. Loke clapped his shoulder before hurrying back to Gray. Natsu scanned the room for Lucy and charged in her direction when he saw her face to face with another suit of armor. Sprinting, he body-checked the suit and brought it to the ground with a pained groan.

"Hurry up, Luce!" He choked out and the blonde nodded, eyes wide.

Lucy didn't waste another moment. She began knocking chests over, pushing tables out of the way, and generally causing a frantic mess in her search for that damnable light switch. She was heading for the weapons racks when the soldiers noticed her again. Instead of charging straight towards her, they flung their weapons. She shrieked, terrified, and ducked behind one of the large chests she had knocked over. Crawling on her hands and knees, she scurried over to the racks, occasionally sheltering behind knocked over tables.

Once the racks were close, she staggered to her feet. Running to the racks, she was completely focused on finding the switch; so much so that she almost didn't duck in time to save her neck. As it were, the flying sword sliced off a couple strands of her hair. Lucy looked up in horror as the other weapons took lives of their own and proceeded to attack her. She dodged as best as she could, gasping as the scrapes that her arms gathered. Still, she kept moving forward for she had spotted her target.

Hidden behind one of the racks of cursed weapons, was the small, skull-handled light switch. Lucy threw all caution to the wind and outright tore to the rack, yanking it away from the wall in a feat of desperate strength. Her hand stretched out to the switch. She jerked her wrist back when the weapons embedded themselves in the wall right next to her. Taking a deep, quaking breath, Lucy snapped her hand out and wrenched the handle down.

The lights flickered on and the Armory illuminated. The suits of armor stood solidly against the walls, the weapons and racks and tables and chests returned to their rightful places. Cobwebs festooned the suits and weapons assiduously. The Armory was stale and silent; no hissing spirits, no clanking of swords or armor. It was as if nothing had moved at all.

"You ok, Lucy?" The blonde in question jerked her head up at Natsu's raspy inquiry and she gave a tremulous reassurance. Natsu helped her to her feet as Gray and Loke walked over.

"Nice job, Lucy," Loke smiled brightly at her, even if it was a little strained.

Gray gave them all a quick once-over, lips tightening at what he saw, but didn't speak. Instead he gave them a silent, encouraging nod before he about-faced and headed toward the translucent form sitting on one of the red fabric benches in the middle of the Armory, polishing a gleaming sword. Silver armor covered a blue dress and metal boots gleamed slightly in the silvery-blue glow of the ghost.

The figure looked up, long red hair fluttering with the flopping motion of her neck. "Hello, Gray," she intoned gravely. "I see you are up and about." Her eyes traveled over to the trio of humans, narrowing slightly. "...Ah. I see." She set down her polishing cloth and her sword. "I'm Erza," she informed the humans, "I am the Armory Keeper."

"I'm Natsu," the boldest spoke up, "these are Lucy and Loke." Erza inclined her head in acknowledgment.

"Erza's the one you seek out when you want to know the goings-on in Dreyar Manor." Gray stated.

"Yes, I tend to be well informed. Which is why I am safe in assuming you intend to locate one of the enchanted items here."

Gray ran his fingers through his hair and flexed the muscles in his back, subtly readjusting his knife. "That's the idea. Know where it is?"

"I believe so." Erza rose and made her way to one of the chests hidden in the farthest corner. Her steel boots echoed on the stone floor and her armor clinked lightly; her bones cracked as she walked, sticking sickeningly out of place, almost as if she had been crushed and forcibly pulled back together.

Erza procured a key and slipped it into the padlock on the chest. As the lid opened, a cloud of dust sputtered into existence, but Erza paid it no mind as she submerged her hand into the rickety container. A few seconds digging and her arm retracted, clutching a long, coiled object connected to a gold and ruby-studded cylinder. The redhead retreated back to the quartet and strode purposefully to Lucy.

"Here," she held out the item to the shocked blonde, "take it, Lucy. It's for you."

Tentatively, Lucy reached out and grasped the cylinder—the handle, she realized. The artifact uncoiled into a sturdy whip, pulsing a ghostly white color.

"This is the Reaper's Whip," Erza explained. "From what I understand, it can fell even the most malicious of foes so long as the wielder possesses conviction."

Lucy examined the whip with no small amount of awe. A thought occurred to her and she glanced hesitantly over at Natsu, wondering if he would be angry over not receiving a weapon. To her relief, her best friend merely gave her a thumbs-up and a grin. Lucy turned back to Erza, coiling the whip back up. "Thank you."

Erza smiled. "We should be the ones thanking you, Lucy. You and your friends are doing something very selfless for people you don't even know."

"Speaking of this mess," Loke interjected. "Since Gray basically established you as the grapevine, what do you have to say about what's happened here?"

Erza regarded him silently for a few heartbeats before sighing and reclaiming her seat on her bench. "I know that even Ivan Dreyar's own family was not safe here. I assume you are aware of what he did to his son, Laxus?" At their nods, she continued. "Well, the Dreyar family, save for Ivan, are trapped here as well. Master Makarov died not too long after most of the staff began dropping off. No one found Laxus or the servant who exposed Ivan. However, I do know that they are somewhere in this Manor. Once you gather the final artifact, I would suggest that you seek them out and hear what they have to say."

Gray smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Erza."

The redhead returned the smile. "Anytime, Gray. Please be careful, all of you. Do not take this darkness lightly," she added pointedly, glaring at the three humans. "And most of all, good luck."

The male ghost and three humans wave farewell to Erza the Armory Keeper and departed the Armory.

---

Lisanna and Wakaba waited for them, along with a newcomer, Levy.

"Welcome back!" Levy beamed. "You made it!"

"And you got the second item!" Lisanna gushed brightly.

"Nice work," Wakaba praised, grinning around his pipe.

"Don't get too excited," Gray said bluntly. "The darkness is starting to severely affect them."

Lisanna dimmed. "Oh no, really?" She floated closer and wilted in distress.

Loke's skin was alarmingly clammy; Lucy had continuous tremors wracking throughout her body and scratches littering her arms; Natsu was jittery and twitchy, jumping at every shadow.

"This is terrible," Lisanna said sadly.

"I didn't think it'd affect them this fast," Wakaba frowned deeply.

Gray crossed his arms. "I didn't either. But then again, it has been an awfully long time since the original curses were put here."

"W-what's happening to us?" Natsu demanded, voice for once not possessing its usual exuberance.

Guilt flickered across Gray's face. "You're being affect by the dark malice in this house quicker than we expected. It's hurting you and if it continuous, you'll only be a husk of yourself."

Lucy's tremors increased, Loke curled his fingers into cold, sweating palms, and Natsu tapped his fingers on his thigh, eyes darting to and fro.

"Please don't panic yet!" Levy hurried to jump in. "While what Gray says is, unfortunately true, he could had said it with more tact." She threw a glare at her indifferent friend. "But there is a way to protect you from the shadows. Coincidentally, it's actually the last item you need!" She added with a small smile.

"Unfortunately," Gray, always the realist, "we're definitely unsure about the location of this one."

"Any suggestions, then?" Loke asked, subdued.

"Game Room?" Wakaba started.

"No, I doubt it. Ballroom?" Lisanna continued. "Or the Kitchen?"

"What about the Servants' Quarters?" Levy suggested. "Or perhaps the Upstairs Bedrooms?"

While the others continued to rattle of potential locations, Gray was deep in thought. It wasn't that his friends' suggestions lacked merit, but there was something crucial they were forgetting. Now, paying regards to that crucial piece of fact, he thought deeply, keeping half an eye on his humans' states.

They aren't looking too great, he thought absently, we need to get this item, quick.

Well. There's really only one place he knew they could go.

"Hey guys," Gray chimed in, dragging all the attention to himself, "your suggestions are good, but you're forgetting a rather important detail: we don't have all of the items yet. Access to those places would likely require all three just to keep even a few of the curses at bay."

Levy tilted her head as she considered Gray's words. "You're probably right," she admitted finally, "did you have a place in mind?"

"Yeah. The Conservatory."

---

Thunder rumbled ominously as they entered the dark Conservatory. Lightning flared around the vast, rotunda windows at the far end, the bright white flash revealing the entire room before the quartet.

Immediately, they wished for the ignorance of blindness.

The Conservatory—once beautiful with its glass rotunda and doors, portraits and rugs, lavish armchairs and settees—had become a nest of nightmares.

Spiders' silk strung about the entire room, coating and cloaking every available surface. Nowhere was spared the gift of the arachnids. From the portraits to the armchairs to the broken glass doors to the faded settees, sheets of web smothered the Conservatory. Further splotches bestrewn the room in the corners and ceiling. They very air seemed to wilt in the presence of such sinister silk and there was the sense of a thousand eyes watching the every movement of their prey.

Despite the grotesque display in the Conservatory, the true nightmare lay at the far end of the room, under the frosted glass of the rotunda roof. Web coagulated so densely not even lightning's light could penetrate through. An foreboding presence shrouded itself within the web of the arachnids that had consumed the Conservatory.

The quartet waited in silence, none wanting to venture further in this nest of horrors. Their hesitation only delayed the inevitable. Scratches along the wood paneling—hundreds of tiny, skittering legs, deafened the room and the humans cringed involuntarily. They watched in morbid fascination as spiders emerged from the bottomless webs and scuttled to them, beady eyes gleaming with malice.

"Natsu," Gray breathed. "Find the switch. And do it fast. These things are as poisonous as they are vicious, which is to say, very much so. Lucy, Loke, and I will hold them off the best we can." Loke swallowed thickly and Lucy's lip trembled as she clutched her whip so tightly, her knuckles turned white. Natsu gripped his poker, internally thanking himself for taking it with him.

"Go!" Gray snarled as he whipped out his blade and plunged it deep into the head of the nearest spider, its small body contorting on itself in agony before it died. Lucy's whip lashed out and struck a succession of spiders, erupting them into black sparks and skin-crawling squeals. Loke blasted the creatures into dust with his ring, making certain to stay near Lucy and watch her back. Gray was wading through the sea of arachnids, knife a mere blur of motion, carving a path for Natsu to run.

"Now, Natsu!" The pink-haired male ran. He hurtled about the room, eyes darting frantically, desperate for a glimpse of a familiar switch. His poker swung about, knocking spiders away or launching them onto Gray's knife or into Lucy's whip and Loke's ring. He ripped portraits from walls, knocked over settees and chairs, crushed spiders with the tables. Nothing.

The shrieks and chitters of the spiders increase in volume. Deafening as the din was, it didn't drown out the ear-piercing clacks of something much, much, much larger than anything currently present. The pale moon, finally peeking out from the dreary clouds, shone down on massive, gleaming fangs within the dense cluster of silk in the rotunda. Long, hairy legs emerged from the sticky mass. What followed, was perhaps a true definition of monster any, even the ghost, had ever witnessed.

A enormous, monstrous, orange and black tarantula walked slowly toward the quartet, fangs clacking loudly amongst the chitters of its tiny brethren. The spider was equal to their heights and poison dripped from its sharp pincers. The miniature spiders converged on their master and poised themselves in wait for their master's command.

"Fuck me," Loke choked out. Tears of fear gathered in Lucy's eyes and even Natsu paled.

Gray twirled his blade through deft fingers and stood between the monster and his humans. "Don't falter now," he murmured out of the corner of his mouth, never breaking eye contact with the behemoth spider. "Natsu. We'll keep it distracted while you search for the switch."

"Distracted?" Natsu hissed. "Fucking kill it, don't distract it!"

"We won't be able to kill it, you idiot," Gray retorted. "Not in the dark. Even with the moon, there's not enough light. We need that switch."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Natsu glared at the bossy ghost before he turned back to scanning the room. Frustration welled up inside him as he concluded that the switch was nowhere in the visible Conservatory. Which meant...

"D-do we really have to fight this thing?" Lucy asked quietly, voice quavering as she stood frozen in the spider's gaze.

"We've got your back, Lucy," Loke whispered. "Just give it your all. Take out your fear on this thing."

Lucy pressed her lips together uncertainly, but inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. Exhaling, she fixed a brown eyes glare on the massive monster. "All right, let's do it."

"Shall we?" Gray flipped his grip, blade down, and vanished. A wispy trail of silvery-blue smoke marked his path as he rematerialized on the back of the behemoth. The spider moved, quicker than expected, and tried to buck Gray off. The ghost held on and slammed his blade downwards, impaling one of the creature's eyes. The monster screamed and, with a twist, flung Gray off. The ghost teleported to safely land.

The spider didn't have much time to recover before it screeched again, this time from taking a fierce hit from Loke's spirit-infused ring. Loke twisted the gem and released rapid-fire bursts, striking the spider in the abdomen. The creature hissed and scuttled forwards, fangs snapping where the ginger-haired male had just been. Loke's eyes were wide as he stared up at the fangs he had just ducked. He scrabbled away and dove behind a uprooted armchair.

A snake of white mist lashed out and wrapped around one of the arachnid's legs. Lucy pulled with all her strength and unbalanced the creature. She uncoiled her whip and snapped it toward the tiny army, reducing the advancing spiders to sparks. She kept the horde at bay while Gray and Loke tackled the hellish brute.

Natsu picked his way quickly to the nest of spider silk at the rotunda of the Conservatory. He stared up at the grotesque display and had to refrain from gagging. Before he could even steel himself to enter, he felt something latch onto his back and pull. Knocked off his feet, Natsu looked above his head to see another huge spider, although not larger than the boss-spider the others were fighting. He clawed at the carpet with his fingernails as the spider began to drag him towards it.

"Shit! Get off!" He snarled. Just as the creature gave a strong heave, dragging him a ways, the line went slack and Natsu studded to a halt as a shriek sounded.

"Natsu!" Gray bellowed furiously, incapacitating the attacker. "Get your stupid, pink-haired ass moving!"

Gritting his teeth and choking on a retort, Natsu leapt to his feet and pelted back to the nest. He took a deep breath and held it as he waded through the webs. The sticky substance clung to his clothes and skin and hair and Natsu forced himself to ignore the feeling.

The progress was slow going. The webs wove intricately and complicatedly as he ripped his way past. He struggled with each step and wished he had a knife like Gray's to slice through the cursed threads.

The switch better be over here! Natsu thought frantically. Hauling himself through another hurdle of silk, his eyes locked onto a flash of grey and white. The switch!

"Natsu!" Lucy's scream tore him from the switch. "Watch out!"

The webs vibrated and Natsu felt dread creep up his spine as he looked over his shoulder. The behemoth arachnid was advancing with a terrifying speed. Gray clung to its spine, stabbing over and over while Loke shot it full of energy, to no avail. The spider shook Gray off and sprinted towards the nest Natsu had entered, eight legs making it even faster than a monster of that size should be able to be.

Natsu whipped around and lunged toward the switch, tearing through thread after thread, line after line of the webbings. The vibrations of the strings grew more and more violent as the spider progressed with ease through its nest. Natsu struggled and grappled with the webs until he finally reached the switch. His fingers closed around the handle just as a something stuck to his arm.

A frighteningly fierce tug severed his grip on the handle and he yelled as the spider began reeling the line in. From the fluctuating vibrations, Natsu knew his friends were doing their damnedest to distract the beast, but Natsu could feel its intent. It was going to kill him, and nothing the puny humans or ghost could stop it.

Fuck that.

Natsu made one last, frenzied lunge and clutched the handle with all his might. He let gravity take the reins, pulling the handle down as he fell into the sticky, disgusting spider's web.

The lights flickered on and the spider screamed. Pure, agonized cries erupted from the writhing arachnid, limbs contorting on itself as it sizzled from the burning light.

"Kill them now!" Gray cried as he brought his blade down into the monster's brain again and again and again. The body jerked as Loke blasted it over and over with his shots and Lucy whipped it mercilessly. Eventually, the combination of all their attacks took their toll on the beast and its twitches and cries slowed and quieted until it went utterly still.

Gray removed his blade and fell onto the second large spider while Lucy and Loke took care of the miniatures. Within a manner of minutes, the terrifying onslaught of arachnids was defeated, bodies dissipating into black smoke and red sparks. When the last of the spiders' bodies had vanished, the humans couldn't hold in a gasp as, with one blink, the room was restored. No webs, no poison, no sign of any spiders' presence in the room at all.

"It's about time," a voice snarked, "I thought those things would never clear out." They all turned to see a young woman in an elegant green dress and a pink-feathered fan. Her light brown hair was pulled back in an elegant up-do, a strand framing her face, and silver glasses perched on her nose. Her ghostly glow didn't hide the rope burns caused by the noose encircling her neck and hanging down to her bodice.

"Uh," Natsu said eloquently from his place on the floor.

"I am Baroness Evergreen." The woman introduced herself primly. "I came to this Manor to see my friend, Laxus, and obviously met my untimely end." She pushed her glasses further up her nose and looks down on them. "Now you know, so don't waste my time asking."

Loke blinked blankly and Lucy hurried over to help Natsu to his feet.

Evergreen sniffed. "I want to know what befell my friends." She turned to Gray. "How can I do that?"

Gray stretched his muscles before answering. "Well, the Witch created three enchanted artifacts necessary to cleanse this place of the darkness infecting it. We have two, we need the last. If you can help us locating it, we can help you in finding Master Laxus, Lord Skeith, and Count Justine."

Evergreen thought for a moment, then acquiesced. She walked with elegant steps over to one of the more larger portraits and pulled the frame out on its hinge. She efficiently unlocked the safe hidden within and removed a swathe of white cloth. She pivoted gracefully and strode over to a confused Natsu, presenting him with the cloth.

Cowering under her impatient glare, Natsu took the cloth. Unwrapping it revealed it to be a long scarf. Natsu wound it around his neck, frowning curiously at its scaled texture. Instantly, a weight was lifted off his shoulders and the shadows that he hadn't even known were there retreated from his eyes; he didn't feel as unsettled or twitchy. Lucy and Loke, who had been standing in close proximity, felt the soothing effects as well. Their skin color returned to its normal hue and Loke's clamminess and Lucy's tremors subsided.

"Whoa," Natsu peered at the scarf in awe.

"The Hallowed Cloth," Evergreen intoned properly. "It protects the wearer and any in immediate proximity from the unholy maliciousness of the wicked darkness." The humans processed this until a thought occurred to them.

"All right!" Natsu cheered, pumping his fist. "We've got all the items!" Loke grinned and Lucy laughed brightly, hands clasped together in delight.

"We should go to the Witch," Gray informed them, "Levy should have been able to remove the final barriers imprisoning her." The humans immediately headed for the door, ready to get the to the next part of their mission.

Evergreen held out a hand. "Wait a moment. There is something you need to know." Once she has all their attention, she continued. "The bringer of all this evil is not as gone as previously hoped. Be on your guard."

Gray froze for a few seconds before giving himself a shake. He nodded grimly to Evergreen who in turn awarded him a graceful wave. Turning to the humans, she raised a brow. "Well?" she snipped. "Off you get. Solve this!"

---

Back in the Foyer, Lisanna, Wakaba, Levy, Erza, and, surprisingly, Evergreen were waiting for them.

"This is wonderful!" Lisanna laughed joyfully. "You've managed to gather all the items! Now we can proceed to the most important part!"

"But first," Erza interrupted sternly, "we must seek an audience with the Witch. Fortunately, Levy and I already know how and where to find her. Come." She turned abruptly and made her way briskly to the fireplace haunting the corner of the Foyer, the others following. She reached up and pulled down on one of the candelabras.

Instantly, the bottom of the stone fireplace dipped down into an incline, revealing a secret passageway.

"This passageway was sealed off by the darkness and trapped any occupants within it." Erza explained as they descended into a dark stone tunnel, the flickering flames of Erza's candle casting eerie shadows along the walls. "Freeing this passage took many hours, but we finally succeeded."

At the end of the long passageway stood a wooden door adorned with mystical symbols and letterings. Erza pushed open the door and led the way into the room beyond.

The room was circular in structure. Curtains and drapes hung from the walls and potions, cards, charms, books, and an odd doll filled the shelves around the room. Dust and cobwebs clung steadfastly to each and the air reeked of staleness. In the centre of the room was a round, teakwood table. Upon that table stood a large crystal ball atop a golden stand.

As the humans neared the crystal ball, their items began to glow. The séance table suddenly lit up with runes, each the same silver glow as the items.

"A ward?" Levy murmured. "Here?"

The items and runes pulsated in tandem and the crystal ball illuminated with an ethereal green aura. Swirling green mist whirled within the spherical crystal and a ghostly head of a stern, old woman materialized into existence. Her face showed a permanent scowl and her eyes glared at everyone, pink hair slowly swaying with the mist.

"Well congrats, brats," she snapped. "Took you long enough you stupid breathers." She glared seriously at the three humans. "The simple tasks are over; now comes the difficult work. Are you prepared?"

---

END OF ACT I

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Aaaaaand that's the end of Act I.

If it seems a little fast, it was meant to. I wanted to get a little of that video game-esque vibe to it cause I was basing a lot of this off the game. Note: you don't necessarily have to have played the game to read this! However, it is a really fun game so I definitely recommend it!

Hope you enjoyed! I don't have a schedule for this, so for now I'll update when I can. Drop me a review if you've got the chance. Thanks for reading and I'll see you in Act II!