A/N: This is a two part Christmas Special, part one is on Christmas Eve (The 24th) and Part two is on Christmas Day (The 25th).

2014 Christmas Special

Happy Painful Merry Christmas

(Part 1)

"I hate this mission...I hate this place...I hate the damned air in this terrible castle ruins..." Lucy was mumbling to her breath to herself, her shoulders slouched in a annoyed manner and a slight limp in her slow steps.

She really didn't like this place, it gave her the creeps and not to mention the heavy air in the stuffy halls of this run down castle gave off an evil feel to it. Instinctively Lucy hugged herself trying to keep warm from the cold chilly air of winter as it seeped through the cracks and a poor form of self comfort, which by the way, didn't work very well. Her self confidence to go further started to drop; where was Natsu when she needed him? Right, they ended up get separated after he stupidly had the idea to hug an unstable pillar right when they got into the place.

Lucy allowed herself to recall the memory even though she knew it would only give her a headache to think how stupid Natsu could be sometimes.

"So this is the place the treasure's in?" A raven headed, topless male with a dark blue tattoo on his chest of a fairy; heaved.

"According to the map, yes, this is the place." A scarlet haired woman confirmed while effortlessly ignoring his nakedness in the dead of winter.

It was a norm for him to be bare naked no matter the weather, summer was understandable but winter was unreasonable, but he wasn't affected by it in the least like usual. "Gray, clothes." Lucy's voice could be heard in the back ground as Gray let out a shocked 'gah!', then went off looking for his lost shirt.

"But it's so creepy. Do we really need to go in there? Can't we just, I don't know...Let happy go in instead?" Lucy suggested looking a little creeped out when looking at the massively run down castle.

Happy gave her a shocked look like he was being a live sacrificed for some evil occult; he quick flew behind his guardian/parent claiming Lucy was a being a big meany.

"Natsu help me! Lucy want's to sacrifice me instead of herself."

"Urk, how could you Luce? You're willing to throw Happy to the flames without a thought! I thought we were friends." Natsu backed away with his hands up like he was asking her to stay away; his always so dramatic.

Lucy felt a vein swell on her temple and her fist tightened in rage, did this idiot have to always make it look like it's her fault all the time!? She was about to burst but instead she managed to hold back her 'Lucy kick' or 'Lucy punch' and simply resort to a puff of her cheeks and a mumbled comment she knew he was going to hear. "Stupid cat."

"Anyways we should head inside and get this over with." Gray starting heading toward the castle ruins, Erza following behind him.

Natsu and Happy burst back to life sprinting pass them to beat the group to the huge front doors made of wood. He looked up at it with aw and Lucy was pretty sure she could see sparkles around him because he was so fascinated. Lucy let out a sigh and joined the rest of them at the entrance despite the constant shivers running up and down her spine.

Erza stepped forward palms on the door readying to give it a good shove, Gray joined and the two of them opened the old doors with a loud creak. Even though the chill were still there Lucy couldn't help be baffled with how beautiful still the inside looked.

The floor was caked with dust put the pattern was still visible and surely would have been the most glorious floor they'll ever walk on if it was cleaned and polished properly. The ceiling raised high above their heads held by six carefully hand crafted designed pillars, the ceiling itself was falling apart but the remaining fragments showed them there once was a painting spread across it.

"It must of been pretty in the past." Erza said admiring the old ruins and also observing the surrounding.

"Waaa~ Check it out Happy! These pillars are awesome! How big do you think they are?" Natsu stood by one of the pillars, the one that looked the most broken too.

"I don't know Natsu, maybe you could measure it with your arms?" Happy floated behind Natsu with observing eyes scanning up and down the once pretty pillar, Natsu nodded.

"I'll check!" Natsu cheered; Lucy's eyebrow twitch and she was quick to try and stop him, and like usual, it didn't.

"Natsu stop!" Lucy yelled, her Fairy Tail marked hand stretched out in a feeble attempt to reach him.

Natsu hugged the pillar and waited for a second when nothing happened her tried connecting his hand around it's rock body, obviously it being to big, he couldn't reach it. Gray started giggling when nothing happened.

"Haha, you seriously thought it was going to crumble the moment Natsu touched it." He closed his eyes and nodded his head disapprovingly.

"WELL NATSU BREAKS EVERYTHING!" Lucy finally retorted back with a yell, it was about time with her temper.

"Oh no," Natsu suddenly blurred out, all heads whipped to him then slowly looked up as the pillar he was still hugging started to crumble apart.

The ground started to vibrate as well as the whole building was beginning to shake, the stone walls shuddered under the pressure of it's heavy roofs. Lucy looked around in a panic, they needed to get out of the way from the falling debris, her eyes landed on Nastu still hugging the crumbling support system. In her mind she was thinking he was an idiot for not letting go but then she saw the strained expression on his face. He was trying to hold of the structure and keep it from falling apart right away.

He said something to Happy that she couldn't hear over the crashing sound of stone against stone; each heavy piece crashed and destroyed the beautiful flooring, dust scattered making it hard to breath normally without coughing every third breath.

"Natsu!" Lucy called, the dust clouds now to thick to see him or anyone within a 3 feet radius.

Happy came bursting through the dust cloud, arms out front like he was some type of super man or more like super cat. He swooped down and picked Lucy up, her feet leaving the ground in a rush as a part of the ceiling fell right were she was previously standing.

"That was a close one huh Lucy?"

"Yeah. A little to close." Lucy agreed shakily, her nerves quivering in shock of almost being crushed.

"Lucy!?" Erza called out some where within the massive dust storm bellow their floating feet.

Lucy tried to pier through the disturbed particles to see if anyone one of them were okay. She couldn't see them but their voices confirmed they were alive, the first seemed to be Erza then Gray with a grumbling comment, "I'm alright, thanks for asking."

But no signs of Natsu. The ground rumbled again and this time a little squeak came from Erza then it went silent, there wasn't even an 'are you okay?' from Gray. Lucy asked Happy to bring her back down and with a little hesitance he finally agreed and descended. The dust was slowly clearing and in the blurred distance Lucy could almost spot an area that looked like it broke into a dip; she slowly approached with Happy hot on her tail.

"Erza? Gray? Natsu?" Lucy called out to her comrades and friends but she didn't get an answer, her heart sank and she was reminded of the horrible evil chill she felt before entering the place.

"Natsu!" Happy called to his best bud, eyes filled with worry, looking all around trying to find the salmon haired dragon slayer.

Lucy got closer to the dark spot on the floor, she was only a mere 10 feet away when the ground under her feet broke apart and she was falling. A scream left her mouth as she rapidly fell down to who knows where; Happy to busy looking and calling for Nastu to notice she fell to her doom.

And that brings her back to the present time where she's alone, hurt, worried, lost, and a bit scared. She's been walking for an hour trying to find a way out but each twist and turns felt like she was getting herself more lost then finding an exit that just might not exist. Lucy looked up to the stone walls trapping her in and way from the fresh air outside, she let out a discouraged sigh.

The building rumbled and the dirt between the packed stones spilled out, a faint yell echoed through the long and almost seemingly endless halls. A voice she reviled in comfort to every time she needed a shoulder to lean on, his voice seemed to lick her heart and it skipped at beat in hopeful excitement.

Lucy picked up the pace even though her ankle panged with pain with each step; she ended up twisting it the wrong way when she landed ungracefully at the bottom of the pit of darkness.

When Lucy first woke up after the fall she realized that she was in some sort of lower level of the abandoned castle. That much was obvious but not knowing what else was down there with her was a fear she'll have to suffer until she finds out.

She took another turn and finally she was faced with something different than the normal bricked walls she's been seeing at every turn or dead end. A rotting wooden door with rusted metal hinges stood before her, the handle cakes with copper colored rust and pilling black paint. With a nervous gulp she gathered her courage and willed herself to grab the handle and yank the old door open.

On the other side was a large chamber with chains hanging on one side of the wall and on the other a pile of cages; it was a torture room. Lucy looked at it with a discomforting feel in the pit of her stomach, the room before her looked like a scene straight out of a horror novel. Straight across from her, on the far side of the room was another door just like the one she just opened.

In order to get further Lucy needed to get passed this horrible room and hopefully on the other side of the second door was a path that leads straight to Natsu.

Lucy hugged herself in order to try and keep her shivers at bay, by both the cold and the fear.

'One step at a time', Lucy wielded her mind to repeat; like a mantra to keep the evil at bay. 'One more step', her mind shifted due to being so close to leaving this petrifying place, a mistake she regretted. At that very same moment the whole floor began to crack and shake violently sending Lucy to the ground painfully, her palms scrapped the sand paper floor ripping open her skin in small scratches. Lucy hissed in pain but ignored it trying to get some balance on the shaky flooring.

Once it stopped and Lucy was free to get back on her two feet, she immediately looked around while forced herself to ignore the picking pain on her palms. Part of the ceiling collapsed blocking her way back to where she came, she looked up through the hole in the ceiling but all she could see was another. A level above her, she glanced at the pile of rubble and tried to figure out if there was enough for her to crawl up it and reach the upper level.

"LUCY~!"

A voice faintly rang out, her heart beating a little faster than usual and definitely not from fear. She tried calling back.

"NATSU~!"

Lucy listened to her voice travel further away bouncing off the walls and traveling to who knows how far. All she really wanted was to have some company in times like these, preferably a particular pink headed idiot who actually started this whole ordeal.

When she didn't get another call back she decided it be better keep moving than stand still and rot away waiting for help. She crawled up the rumble and tried reaching for the flooring to the level above; she was high enough to pull her upper body up and using all her strength she pushed up to lift her feet off the piles of broken ceiling. Her chest slammed onto the floor to keep the balance as her legs still remained dangling, gravity trying to drag her back down the hole she was crawling up of.

Having a large chest some times wasn't a blessing, especially at times like these. The pressure made it hard to breath and hard to move without having to drag her beautiful baby blue blouse across the dust covered dirty floor of the ruins. She groaned when she knew she had no other choice but to do it, just in order to try and get out of the annoying predicament.

~*O*~

Time seemed to move slowly after she moved up a level, the walls were the same, the air was the same and the endless feeling of no escape was the same. How deep did she fall exactly? How many levels were there under the castle ruins? And where was Natsu and the others?

"Arrrah~!" Lucy yelled while roughly rubbing both hands through her already tangled hair.

Having enough of walking around endlessly with no company she finally pulled out her gate keys, a small part of her conscious tried to figure out why she didn't do this from the star; pulling out the one she was looking for.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden. Virgo!" A ding dong bell rang in the background and a puff of pure white clouds suddenly appeared.

When it cleared, there bowing her head was a girl dressed like a maid with broken shackles on her slender wrists. Her short hair the color of pink -unlike natsu's who's is salmon pink- flowed downward, the cute maid straightened up to reveal dull yet lively blue eyes.

"Punishment time Hime?" She asked longingly.

Lucy didn't have the energy to tell her no and instead went right ahead and asked what needed to be done.

"I need to get to Natsu, can't you get me there?"

Virgo looked like she was debating her answer and finally came to a decision.

"Sorry Hime, the walls are to unstable to dig a clear path to anywhere." Her thin eyebrows frown for a slight second then when back to neutral.

Lucy was about to thank her for at least trying to help when Virgo beat her to the punch.

"I can lead you to him Hime, If she wished to see her Prince." Virgo's blank face some how gave off the feeling like she was internally smirking at Lucy's request to get to Natsu and not any of the others that are her with her.

Lucy blushed madly then waved it off nonchalantly, although she didn't turn down the offer. Virgo lead the way as they turned corners, went through doors and rooms Lucy swore she probably would have never found on her own; Virgo paused her steady walk almost causing Lucy to run right into her.

"Virgo?"

"Get done Hime!" Virgo turned around and shoved poor unaware Lucy to the ground, her cheek squished to the floor.

A moment later the walls shock again, almost as angry as the last. Virgo protected Lucy with her body as crumbles of grounded cement fell from the ceiling like sand, the walls sounded like the were groaning in pain and with one last shake a sigh of release escaped through the settling air. Virgo helped Lucy back on her feet.

"Hime, the building is unsafe you need to get out before it collapses on itself." Virgo mentioned.

Lucy shock her head knowing already that she needed out and soon but it's not like she has much of a choice, she was completely lost if not for Virgo.

"Oh and by the way Hime. Merry Christmas." Suddenly Virgo had a Santa hat on her head and a small little present in her two offering hands.

Lucy just stared for a second taking in what time of the year it was.

That's right, they were on a mission on Christmas eve so Lucy can get some money to pay for the present she had planned for Team Natsu. Her heart sank at the thought Christmas eve was over and now it was Christmas. And here she is trapped under a forgotten castle trying to find a way out rather than at home making her wonderful Christmas dinner she had all planned out.

"Thank's Virgo." Lucy grabbed the little present from her celestial friends had and looked at the beautiful starry sky wrapping complemented with the all the zodiac stickers on it.

A little note was stuck to the bottom and Lucy plucked it off the read it fist, her fingers fumble with the small card when she finally go it open, in block letters said 'MERRY CHRISTMAS'. Just under neath it was 'LUCY!' followed by little comments from the rest of her spiritual friends.

Taurus: Keep care of that smoooookin' hot body Lucy and Merry Christmas.

Leo (aka Loke): Merry Christmas beautiful. Let's go on a date some time.

Cancer: Let me style your hair for your date. Ebi.

The rest had similar comments and they all wished her a Merry Christmas, her heart squeezed with joy and thanked Virgo again. She opened the present, careful to not ruin the pretty wrapping; she lifted the lid from the small box and inside was a black wrist band with the Fairy Tail symbol stitched on, her lips broke into a smile.

"It's a matching set for you and Natsu." Virgo boldly stated.

Lucy blush furiously, her hands up in the air with her yelling about it being unnecessary. They weren't a couple, they didn't need matching sets of anything but Virgo always seemed to have the need to do that. Just like the other time with the whole Nirvanna ordeal where Virgo gave them matching outfits after she protected Natsu from falling off a water fall.

It was probably around that time Lucy realized she had a little be more feelings for the salmon headed boy than the rest of the male populace of Fairy Tail.

"Anyway. Continue to lead the way before I run out of magic energy." Lucy waved off Virgo's little snickering in the corner.

They continued on there way and every time Virgo stopped the earthquakes picked up again and only keep getting worst but to Lucy's relief they managed to raise up 5 more levels. At this point Lucy also wondered how the hell did she survive the fall; a tingling feeling came from her keys and she felt the presence of Aries. Lucy smile and whispered a thank you.

Virgo took two more turns before coming to stop in front of two huge double doors just like the one at the entrance above ground, without a word Virgo pushed the doors open on her own. Reveal inside a treasure room, the floor was barely visible with how much gold and other riches littered all over it. Lucy's mouth almost dropped but instead of being baffled by the riches it was from the three figures sitting at a table chatting it up like there was nothing wrong, even the blue feline was there happily eating away at his fish.

A vein popped on her forehead as she stomped her way over to the very group she though was just as lost as she was, rage almost completely over coming her. Virgo cleared her through to help Lucy get their attention, when their heads turned to see Lucy their expression gave away their thoughts. 'What took you so long?' Lucy's eyebrow twitch, while she was desperately trying to calm her raging storm in her stomach Virgo decided it was the perfect time to pass out Christmas presents.

Lucy slammed the door to her apartment, her hands still in fists with how angry she was. How the hell could they be so heartless!? She was lost for hours, in danger of being crush and berried alive and all the did the whole time was sit around chatting, waiting for her to just show up like it was nothing. She threw her jacket onto the floor with a huff and headed straight to the bathroom to get cooled down, hopefully enough to still make that Christmas dinner she planned for them. But then again she was so pissed she didn't think they even deserve it anymore.

When she got out she felt a lot better until it was ruined with the very three people she was so angry about who are sitting comfortably in her apartment like it was their home too. Instead of blowing up like she did back at the treasure room she decided to just settle with a pounding headache and try to gain the Christmas spirit back.

"Are you guys serious?" Lucy lowly spoke, her throat felt swollen and it was hard to speak.

"Yo Lucy. You've been gone for hours, what took you so long?" Gray said, he was sincere but to Lucy his words were cold hearted at best.

Her lips squeezed tightly together until it lost it's color; she was so angry, so disappointed and so let down, she couldn't find the word to express how hurt she felt. Until the one person she was looking forward to seeing said the words that sent her over the edge.

"Luce! Finally you're here! Look at all the stuff in here, isn't it amazing?" Natsu cheered, his arms open as if he could hug all the jewels in the room.

"I don't want to hear that from you." Lucy growled.

Natsu turned, a look of confusion written all over his face, he didn't understand why Lucy was so upset. His heightened hearing allowed him to hear her words but still he asked. "What?"

"I DON'T. WANT. TO HEAR. THAT FROM. YOU!" She busted, up until now her bangs covered her eyes shrouding them in darkness, now her head held high and eyes filled with hurt stared into Natsu's soul.

Now that she looked closer their face's looked gloomy and sad, she guess they finally are feeling the hurt she intended for them to feel the first time around. She took a seat on her desk chair and crossed her arms over her overly large chest, a look of lingering anger on her face. Erza was the first to speak.

"Sorry Lucy. We didn't realize that you were in deeper trouble than we thought." The scarlet's haired eyes were down cast and lips in a sad frown.

"We heard from Virgo that you were several floor down and that it was structurally unstable, that you could of been trap and or crush alive." Gray's tone sounded like he was in pain.

Lucy listened to them and then shifted her eyes to Natsu who's eyes never looked up to her since she came back into the room. His lips sealed shut and hands balled into fist to his sides; Happy sitting beside him his eyes also down like Erza's.

"Having anything to add Natsu?" She coolly added.

Natsu flinched, he opened his mouth to say something but Happy cut in before he could say anything.

"Natsu did try looking for you but...Your sent...He couldn't find it." He started trailing off.

"So you gave up, just like that." Lucy said so heartlessly Natsu felt his heart almost shatter to a thousand pieces.

He bit the back of his lip, the iron taste of blood touch his tasted bugs on his tongue and he force back a building whimper.

"He didn't give up for a long time and even said he would never give up until he found you." Gray included, Lucy's judging eyes looked at him and he felt like shrinking under her stare.

"So in other words he sooner or later gave up on his words and stopped looking." Lucy refused to forgive them yet.

To be continue.

Next update: December 25, 2014

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!