The other side of the gate was a whole different world.

It was darker here and far more eerie than Natsu had ever imagined after the countless stories he had heard about the teenagers who would sneak onto the grounds like they were doing now. The air, however, felt easier to breathe for Natsu and he didn't understand why or even realize that he had had a weight on his chest this entire time. It felt a little freeing to be here and that scared Natsu, but not enough to get him to turn and go back from where he had come.

Above their heads, the mangled tree branches of the trees that lined the driveway creaked in the wind. The twisted trees looked like they had faces carved into expressions of fear and screams that made a few of the teenagers shiver, but they refused to leave. Instead they all made their way up the driveway and through the weed and hole covered driveway until the manor could finally be seen through the cracks in the branches.


Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

rEAd oN if YoU sO dArE!


"This place is creepy," Jellal muses while eyeing one of the nearby trees that look like it was reaching out towards them, "How long do you think it's been since these trees have been dead?" he then asks Erza who snaps a small branch off a nearby tree.

"Probably many years," she answers while taking her boyfriend's hand and moving forward with the group that huddles close to one another.

"Any cweepier leshends you know bout dis plashe?" Cana, who was drunkenly leading the procession, asks from the front of the group while Gray scratches his head to think.

Gray thinks for a moment, wondering what else he had heard around about the old manor but not really coming up with anything. He had only remembered the story about the girl that disappeared and just the regular history of the manor that the whole town knew about.

Phantom Lord Manor was old, abandoned, no one ever really visited it, and it was set to be demolished in a week's time to build a new retirement home. Other than that, everything else was just stories that were told to scare children to behave and to keep meddling teenagers like them to stay away.

"Supposedly the ghost of Jose Porla still haunts the old manor," Gray finally says after a minute of silent thinking, "He was apparently killed in his sleep many years ago by a robber and now wanders aimlessly through the hallways of his home in search of the person who killed him."

"I thought he wash hanged?" Cana asks while leaning on the male, looking a bit disoriented and completely out of it.

"Wasn't he burned?"

"I heard he was poisoned!"

"My dad said that his servant was the one that killed him in order to inherit the manor-"

"-You're wrong, haven't I already told you that it was a robber that killed him?!"

"Just because you're the one who is always talking about the place doesn't mean that you're an expert!"

Suddenly, everyone is arguing with one another and filling the silence with bickering that only seems to increase the closer they get to the mansion. Each person just about ready to start a fight in the middle of the abandoned grounds until Juvia speaks up.

"Jose isn't the one who haunts the manor," Juvia, who had been completely quiet up to this point, speaks up causing everyone else to grow silent.

"How would you know?" Elfman asks while staring at the bluenette who was staring at the manor from where they all stood at the line of trees at the edge of the driveway a few meters away from the manor.

"Because I've seen them before, walking through the manor at night, and it isn't Jose Porla," Juvia says simply, "I've seen his portrait enough times to know. The old headmistress used to have the portrait hang on the wall in the dining hall where 'he could watch over all of you' while we ate."

Juvia shudders along with the others at the thought of having an old dead guy's portrait looking down on you every single day while you ate. It was especially terrifying to imagine since everyone in the group knew about the prestigious Phantom Lord family that once used to be the wealthiest family in Magnolia before they died off about some years ago. Portraits of previous Phantom Lord members decorated many of the historic buildings littered throughout Magnolia. Jose Porla's portrait was always especially disturbing, but no one ever understood why.

He had been the last living Phantom Lord member and after his untimely death every property he owned was passed down to a close friend of his. That friend had then helped donate many properties to the city and also turned the old Phantom Lord manor into Magnolia's first orphanage. He had then erected a new orphanage behind the manor while remaining in the mansion until his disappearance. No one ever knew what had happened to that man…

"You used to live in the orphanage that was on the other side of the manor, no?" Mirajane asks Juvia without thinking, everyone remembering suddenly that Juvia was not Gajeel's biological sister. Instead she had been adopted when she was around nine years old by Metallicana.

Gajeel knew that Juvia had a lot of knowledge of the manor from when she lived in the orphanage that was now abandoned as well. The old building could not be seen from here or the road as the forest behind the manor that separated it from the orphanage covered the old building. Juvia had lived in the decrepit old building most of her life before the orphanage had been moved down the road to be closer to Magnolia and not in the middle of the woods. A month after the move she had been adopted.

"Yes," Juvia answers distantly while eyeing the manor again, "I used to sneak out of the orphanage at night and play by the old swings near the back of the manor, and sometimes I could see strange figures walking by the windows when there was a full moon."

Much like tonight, she thinks to herself.

"In fact, I still sometimes sneak up here whenever my father is at work late and Gajeel is fast asleep," she admits which causes Gajeel to bristle up with rage.

"I knew you sneaked out of your room!" he growls angrily, but Juvia doesn't seem affected by his anger. She was one of the few people who wasn't intimidated by her brother's furious outbursts which only made Gajeel get even angrier.

Juvia simply shrugs at her brother's apparent rage while turning her gaze back towards the manor she remembers gazing at for a long time. Watching groups of reckless teenagers, like themselves, walk through the grounds and dare one another to enter the crumbling building. A building that legends have said to claim many.

"Wasn't there a man who owned all of Phantom Lord's property after Jude's death?" Lisanna asks while clutching onto Natsu's cape and leaning into him, her eyes skittering around the dark driveway at every mangled tree.

"Yeah, isn't he the one who donated everything to the city and lived in the manor after turning it into an orphanage?" Elman asks Mira who ponders the question, but is unable to remember what that man's name was.

"Whatever happened to that man?" Gray turns to ask Juvia who seemed to be leading the group now.

"No one knows," she says before stopping to turn and look back at the group. She stands outside of the canopy of the trees, her body covered underneath the glow of the moon that made her look ominous as she says, "His body was never found," before turning and walking up the rest of the path that revealed how close they now were to their destination.

Shivers run up and down everyone's spines that have all of the teenagers looking at one another before hurrying behind their leader.

The large mansion looms over the group that gapes up at the decrepit building. Grime encrusted windows show little to nothing that lies within the house and the main front door is closed tightly, seemingly sealed. Ivy and moss crawl all along the exterior of the building while also snaking their way into the building through cracks in the walls and broken windows. It was a terrifying sight to behold that held everyone captivated. Especially when the moonlight caused shadows to dance all around them.

Everyone quickly disperse to check around the front lawn of the mansion from the broken statues and torn down fountain to the stone steps leading up to the large mansion doors. Graffiti and broken beer bottles littered many parts of the mansion and the group wondered if any more teenagers would stop by the mansion tonight. Most of them were actually surprised that there hadn't been a party planned to be done in the woods around the manor, seeming how this would be the last good night to have one here. Especially with the demolition happening soon.

Breaking off from the main group, Gray makes his way towards the withering building with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants. Natsu follows him and they both stare at the large doors tightly shut in front of them, wondering if there was any way to open them. They both wondered if there was a possibility of going inside.

After a few minutes of contemplating, both boys look at each other and with a silent nod of agreement proceed to push the door.

Surprisingly, the door opens without any difficulty, creaking precariously as it smoothly swings open, unsettling both boys who stare with wide eyes at the dimly lit foyer.

"Don't go too far inside," they hear Erza's warning a few feet behind them who turned to face them at the sound of the door opening, "The wooden floors may give out on you, causing you to break your necks with the fall."

"Yes mom," Gray grumbles only loud enough for Natsu to hear to chuckles while poking his head through the doorway to get a better look inside. "But she's probably right, we shouldn't go in there in case something happens."

"Scared ice princess?" Natsu mocks while eyeing the boy from the corner of his eye.

"AS IF!" Gray fumes while whirling on Natsu and glaring at him with all the fury he could muster, "I was the one who suggested we come here!"

"Get your facts straight you pervert, Gajeel was the one to suggest we come here," Natsu counters while shoving his face into Gray's angry one so that they could glare at one another better.

"You calling me a liar?!"

"I'm calling you an idiot!"

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?!

"AS IF YOU'D WIN!"

"Will you two just stop?!" Lisanna cries while trying to shove herself between the two knuckleheads after rushing to them when they started yelling. Their yelling ricocheting through the open doorway and bouncing all around the empty hallways that stir with the noise.

Grabbing Gray from behind, Gajeel tries to hold onto the raven-haired teen to keep him from punching the other fuming boy who was barely being held back by Lisanna. Still, Lisanna fights to get Natsu under control who only seems to shake with range and tensing up to get ready for the blows to come towards him.

He's itching for a fight.

"ICE PRICK!"

"MORON!"

"PERVERT!"

"COWARD!"

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" Natsu roars, nearly taking down Lisanna as he steps forwards with an offended angry look covering his face.

"Then prove it!" Gray taunts while continuing to fight against Gajeel's hold, not really realizing the implications his words lead to until he watches Natsu break free from Lisanna's hold and storm through the open doorway into the mansion's foyer. He doesn't even realize when he's said until the darkness swallows up Natsu whole causing his stomach to drop in panic.

"Natsu you idiot, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Erza shrieks while rushing up the steps with the others right behind her.

"Get your ass back over here this instant you moron!" Gray shouts along with the others, the sound of panic evident in his voice as he and Gajeel rush forward to try and grab a hold of the fuming teen who only storms in further into the foyer. He doesn't seem to be able to hear the yelling behind him, as if their screams were being swallowed up by the darkness around him.

Natsu then laughs when he reaches the center of the foyer, cackling manically with his hands on his hips while throwing his head back looking as if he were a victor, "Look who is scared now ya bunch of babies," he teases while turning to look at his friends who all watch him from the doorway, fearful of going in after him.

They all eye the foyer with wary eyes, not knowing if it is safe to walk in to go after the pink-haired idiot, especially when the floor were so deteriorated that they wondered how Natsu hadn't already fallen through. They were also scared of the stories they'd heard of people disappearing inside the manor.

"Come on guys, there's nothing to be afraid about," Natsu insists as he continues to watch his terrified friends try to urge him to return.

"N-Natsu… you… you've p-proved your val… valor, now… p-please come back so… so we can go home," Lisanna pleads with tears in her eyes as she makes to step into the house after him, not noticing that Natsu had stopped gloating and was standing frozen in the middle of the manor.

Remaining quiet for a second, Natsu takes a step forward with a frown on his face and saying, "Alright, let's go," feeling absolutely horrible for worrying Lisanna to the point of tears. "Sorry for making you worry Lis," Natsu apologizes while everyone sighs in relief as he gets closer to them. He honestly doesn't know what came over him or why he had gotten so angry. Usually Gray's insults caused him to throw the first punch rather than to rush into a crumbling down building.

Lisanna smiles and takes his hand in both of hers when Natsu is close enough.

"It's ok," she says with a wavered smile, "the good thing of all of this is that everyone was able to have fun, right?" she asks the group who give halfhearted nods, but Natsu can tell she's still scared. He can feel her hands shaking while holding his.

He feels bad for dragging Lisanna here to the mansion when she was so clearly scared, and felt even worse for scaring her by storming into the building. This whole ordeal wasn't as fun as he thought it would have been, but then he realizes he didn't know what he was expecting to happen when they got here. He didn't know if he had been looking for something or was waiting for something to happen, but whatever it was it wasn't to make his best friend cry.

"Let's go home," Natsu whispers and everyone nods in agreement. They all turn to head down the stone steps, but when Natsu takes a step outside of the mansion he freezes on the spot. It causes Lisanna to be pulled back when she tries to turn to leave.

Pushing her hand away and almost making her fall, and she isn't prepared to see the pure terror painted on Natsu's face when she turns to reprimand him. She screams at the way Natsu's face has whitened as if he'd seen a ghost and the others immediately turn to look at them from where they've gotten close to the line of trees that lined the driveway.

"Natsu what's wrong?" Lisanna asks, her panicked voice loud enough for the others to turn around to witness their friends struggling at the doorway.

"That's not funny Natsu. Come on let's go!" Cana, surprisingly sobered up by the whole experience, yells at the boy with her arms crossed in irritation, "We're going home already!"

"Yeah man, this joke has gotten old real quick," Gray grunts while turning to leave, clearly not interested in spending another second dealing with Natsu's antics. He is surprised to see Juvia rush past him towards the house with panic making her eyes wide.

"Lis… run" Natsu grunts as he tries with all his might to pull himself through the doorway while his left foot is pulled back as if caught on something he can't turn back to see.

"Natsu! Don't let go!" Natsu hears Juvia's yell and looks up to find the bluenette rushing towards them with her brother close behind.

His blood runs cold when he hears familiar laughter rush up his back and float into his ear. It's the kind of laughter that always resonates within his nightmares and embeds itself into his skin and leaves goosebumps. The laughter that the creepy dolls make when he's being chased down hallways and leave him running for his life.

Laughter that should be in his nightmares and not be heard when he was awake… and right now he was awake…

~We'VE gOt yOU nOw~

Natsu looks up at Lisanna, who futilely pulls an arm to help him, just as both his feet are pulled into the darkness, causing him to fall and hit his chin on the ground. Stars swim across his vision, but he forces his eyes open just as Juvia and Gajeel rush up the stone steps while Lisanna continues to pull his left hand that she's still holding and pulling with all her strength. Gajeel and Juvia reach for his hand that still clutches onto the doorframe, but Natsu is pulled into the mansion, though not before she shoves Lisanna to get her to let go. The last thing he wanted was to drag her in with him and the door slams closed as he's pulled further into the darkness, shutting out Lisanna's screams along with any light pouring into the room.

That's the last thing Natsu remembers before losing consciousness.


So I know it's been over two months and I am so sorry for the wait. This quarantine really threw everything off balance for all of us and adjusting to this change has been a doozy what with work letting a lot of us go, school being moved online, having to focus on taking care of children while still doing work/school online, and many other issues. I tried to get back as soon as I could with a new chapter after finishing up my semester and thankfully I'm finally back.

I passed my classes, thankfully, and spent two weeks just giving myself a moment to take a break from writing so many essays. I also took time to check up on myself mentally to make sure I was in a good place to come back to writing, and thankfully we're here! I also would have updated sooner but Animal Crossing has taken over my life a bit lol.

Anywho, I hope you all are doing well and can't wait to hear from you all again, and if you guys need an ear to listen to any troubles you are going through my PM box and Instagram messenger are always open! Don't feel like you're a bother because you are not! I treasure all of my readers and want to help in any way that I can during these trying times.

I also want to give a quick shout out to my Fantabulous Followers, Favorites, and Reviewers because you all give me the inspiration to continue writing! I love you all and I'll see you in the next chapter coming out soon!

Until next time my lovelies!