It's dark… that's the first thing that crosses Natsu's mind when he regains consciousness and feels like his head is going to split into two when he tries to move.

His head feels like it's under water, fuzzy and disoriented with the room swaying without pause. It takes a while before the dark world around him settles enough that he can think somewhat straight and realizes that he's on the ground. He wonders why he's on the floor and not in bed curled up with Happy. He doesn't remember how he even got to the floor nor why everything was so dark and why everything hurt. The last thing he remembered was trick-or-treating with his friends and then heading up to the Phantom Lord mansion to check out the crumbling building before…

Wincing at the pain that comes from his chin, Natsu prods the sore spot while quickly remembering everything that had transpired before he blacked out. The memories remind him that he is not home and the pain only validate his memories because he knew the difference between a punch to the face and when he slammed his face into the ground. The pain he felt came from the latter.

The thing that bugged him from his memories is the realization that he had purposefuly let go of the doorframe when Juvia and Gajeel had gotten to him. He had also pushed and let go of Lisanna and at first he thought it was to save her but realizes that that isn't the case. He doesn't know why he let go instead of allowing his friends to help him, and that thought bothers him.


Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

rEAd oN if YoU sO dArE!


Pushing those thoughts aside, Natsu tries to look around the room he is in while sitting up, but he can't see a thing. He then runs his hands along the ground and wrinkles his nose when the stench of mildew and something rotten hits his senses, but he continues to search the ground.

He finds wooden boards that make up the ground beneath him. The wood feels springy and creaks underneath him when he shifts his weight which sets in panic at the thought of the wood giving out, causing him to fall to his death, but the wood does not give out. It only continues to creak as Natsu continues to search through the darkness until he hits a wall made out of stone from the cool feel of it.

Pausing in his search, Natsu mentally slaps himself when he remembers his phone in his pocket. Not only that, but he also had a flashlight in his backpack hidden underneath his cape which held the candy he got from trick-or-treating along with a water bottle and a few other essentials. A lighter, portable phone charger, and lighter were a few of the essentials. Natsu never went anywhere without them in case of emergencies like this one.

Reaching around himself, he digs into one of the pockets outside of his backpack and pulls out the small flashlight and turns it on to illuminate the dark room. It's empty without a single piece of furniture in the small room other than a door on the opposite end of where Natsu was sitting. Being able to see where he is slightly relieves Natsu, but the churning in his stomach doesn't end since he's still trapped.

Looking around the room again, Natsu then slowly crawls along the creaking floor, being cautious on where he puts his hands and how much weight he puts where. It takes a while before he gets to the other side of the room, but once he's at the door he stands up slowly and then proceeds to turn the knob and open the door.

Beyond the door is pitch black darkness and the little light his flashlight produces shows that it is a hallway that leads to another door not too far away.

Staring at the empty hallway, Natsu wonders what it is that he should do. Should he continue down the hallway towards the other door or remain in this room? The answer is made for him when he hears the wood begin to splinter under him and jumps into the hallway before the floor can give out beneath him. He doesn't even get the chance to see if the floor did give out when the door suddenly shuts behind him and locking immediately.

Taking a moment to gather his bearings, Natsu takes a deep breath before making his way cautiously down the hallway towards the other door. It isn't until he's halfway through the hallway that he realizes that the floor under him isn't rotten wood. Instead the wooden floor seemed to be intact and looked almost new, which was strange. He wondered how the room's floor could be rotten while this floor looked as if it were barely made. It just piled more questions onto Natsu's growing list.

Reaching the other door, Natsu turns back from where he came to see if the other door was there; however, nothing but inky darkness that the light from his flashlight cannot penetrate greets him. It reminds him of the inky darkness from the nightmare he had in the gymnasium what feels like it happened eons ago.

Natsu tries not to dwell on the missing door and consuming darkness. He's trying with all his might to remain calm and focused on the situation at hand because he knows that the last thing he needed was to have a panic attack. The whole situation felt familiar and he allowed the familiarity to keep him grounded instead of allowing his head to start creating situations in his head. He kept it quiet while he turned back around to open the door in front of him, holding the cool black doorknob for a second before turning it and pushing the door open.

Upon opening the door, Natsu nearly doubles over at what waits for him on the other side of the doorway. A long corridor passes by the doorway identical to the one he's been dreaming for months now. He feels the room tilt and crashes into the doorframe which helps keep him steady while he tries to control his breathing.

"Stop being such a damn wuss," Natsu berates himself under his breath, imagining Gray or any of his other friends being the one to tell him those words to help him gain courage.

He knew that if he allowed himself to give in to his panic nothing good would come out of this situation he placed himself in. If this was anything like the nightmares he had he only had a short amount of time before they showed up.

After finally getting his breathing under control, Natsu straightens himself and slowly peeks out through the doorway to look both right and then left. He finds nothing but a long expanse of hallway stretching on both sides and takes a moment to decide in which direction he was going to start walking in. He chooses right and steps out into the hallway only to jump when the door shuts close behind him and he whirls around to find a long Mirror casting his reflection back at him rather than the door he came in through.

Natsu catches the scared look that his reflection throws at him, but he can't see his eyes. This only prompts him to turn and keep his gaze trained on the carpet before him illuminated with the flashlight in his hand. He continues to avoid any other mirror he passes but doesn't ignore the portraits of people he doesn't recognize. Many who look important with clothing that don't fit the current century and he wonders if these portraits were from the past members of the Phantom Lord family.

Other than the portraits and mirrors, the hallway is also lined with small decorative tables that hold candelabras with unlit candles in them as well as expensive looking vases filled with dead flowers. Cobwebs and a thick layer of dust that also floats in the air covers everything and it makes Natsu's sensitive nose itch while he continues to make his way silently down the hallway. The hairs at the back of his neck standing on edge from the silence that weighs down on him, feeling that at any moment everything would fall into chaos.

Just like how it always happened in his dreams…

"This is probably just another dream," Natsu says out loud and winces at how his voice is carried through the silence like a warning bell, "Everything will happen like it always does. I'll walk for what feels like hours, I'll get chased, and before I get caught I'll wake up," he reasons, but he doesn't fully believe the lie.

The hope that his lie is supposed to bring him does not bloom.

"I'll probably wake up any second now," he reasons again, "And the first thing I'll do is make a big breakfast for Happy and I. Then I'll go visit my old man at the hospital and maybe even spend the afternoon at old Metallicana's house with Gajeel and Juvia." Natsu chuckles, but it's halfhearted and makes his chest ache, "Lis might even stop by with Mira and Elfman for dinner," he continues, not even realizing that his voice is growing quieter and quieter with each word when he stops to look in a mirror without thinking, "But first, I just need to wake up…"

Natsu immediately pales and his heart drops when he notices a red gleaming eye staring at him through the mirror. A bright wooden smile peeks out over his shoulder and he feels a boney hand gently grab his shoulder. Something that has never happened in his dreams before.

~SiLlY nAtSu~

~yoU'rE nOt gOInG aNyWhERe~

Screaming and swiping at the creature clinging to his shoulder, Natsu is able to brush the doll-like creature and watches as it sails to the ground behind him. He follows it with the flashlight and watches it hit the ground where it remains immobile staring at the ceiling with its cold glossy eyes and wide smile. It then lifts its head to look at Natsu before a maniacal laughter erupts from the doll as it opens its mouth to bare sharp pointy teeth at him and all Natsu can do is stare horrified at the creature.

~cOmE pLAy wITh uS nAtSu~ The doll taunts in a distorted high-pitched voice that leaves Natsu's stomach churning and his whole body shaking. ~cOmE pLAy wITh uS FoREvEr~

"Forever" is spoken in such a deep demonic voice that the wall Natsu finds himself pressing his back against shakes violently. Natsu's fear only incites the doll to laugh maniacally again before disappearing into the darkness as if dragged back, but its laughter does not stop. In fact, more high-pitched laughter from several other voices join in with the doll's and out of the darkness hands reach out towards Natsu, as if trying to capture him

With a yelp, Natsu pushes himself off the wall and races down the hallway away from the hands and child-like laughter that chases him.

He can feel their tiny hands clutch at the air behind his back with a few lucky ones grabbing a hold of his hair and cloak before letting ago again with peals of laughter following suit. It was as if they were playing a game and that irritated Natsu that they were treating him like a toy for their fun and pleasure. Still, he continued to run knowing deep in his gut that if these creatures captured him he was doomed.

Doors upon doors suddenly begin to line the walls on both side of the hallway from what Natsu can see through the sporadically swinging light in his hand. He thinks he should stop and try to check if they are open so he can jump inside to escape the grasping hands. He then realizes if one is locked he'd just be losing ground giving the creatures chasing him a better chance at capturing him.

Peals of laughter erupt from the demons hiding in the shadows and Natsu prays to Mavis that there isn't any more waiting at the end of the hall for him. He'd be doomed otherwise.

~yOu CaN'T eScApE~

~yOu CaN'T eScApE~

The voices shriek in sickening delight that change octaves with every syllable they say while their tiny hands continue to grasp at Natsu in hopes of catching him. They swipe at his fluttering cape but somehow no longer are able to grasp it as Natsu pushes himself to run even faster. This, however, only seems to delight them even more.

It feels like forever since Natsu has been running nonstop with every muscle screaming for him to stop and rest for a second. Natsu's breathing is irregular and every breath is getting harder and harder to take. Sweat pours down Natsu's face, causing his hair to stick to his cheeks and brow nearly blinding him and making it harder to see where he is going. This almost causes him to miss the turn that finally shows up which he launches himself at only to have his momentum make him crash into the adjacent wall.

Natsu doesn't take time to let the blow settle before he's pushing himself to race down this new hallway lined with even more doors. He does brave a look behind him and watches a hoard of different grotesque doll-like creatures crash into the same wall and tangle up into a mess of limbs and strings giving him time to put some distance between them; however, it isn't long before they are pursuing him again in a giant ball of tangled dolls.

"Dammit!" Natsu curses as he pushes himself to run faster, but his body is slowly shutting down and he knows that it won't be long before his body gives up on him completely. He can hardly even breathe anymore, much less see in the suffocating darkness around him.

Finding another corner to turn in, Natsu takes it but doesn't notice the fallen object that cuts off his path until he's tripping over it.

With a startled cry, Natsu sails to the ground and hits it hard enough to lose his grip on his flashlight that spins out of reach before stopping and pointing in his direction. He blindly reaches for his light source, his breathing hard and ragged while his whole-body shakes from the strain he's put on his body. He can't even seem to find the strength to push himself off the ground and back to his feet.

He's done for. The dolls will eventually catch up and he won't be able to do a thing except lay there on the ground. He's too tired to carry on, worn out from running so hard, and his vision is starting to blur while his chest aches with every burning breath he takes.

~cAuGhT yOu~

Turning, Natsu stares into the glass eyes of the tangled dolls who loom over him. Feral smiles open to present rows of sharp teeth that could tear him to shreds in seconds. Putrid breath wafts down Natsu's face making him gag and his eyes water from the smell, but Natsu refuses to look away as he wills himself to scoot away from the monstrosity before him. His futile retreat only causes the tangled mess to snicker in unison.

~gAmE OvEr nAtSu~

~yoU LoSe~

Natsu laughs at their words because that phrase usually meant he lost a match in one of his video games back home and it would only be a few seconds before his second attempt presented itself; however, he realizes that this was not a game or a dream. This was real because in his nightmares Natsu only ever felt fear, never pain. This meant he had ended up dragged into the Phantom Lord mansion against his will, that these monsters were real, and he was going to die.

Closing his eyes to keep from seeing the monsters before him, Natsu waits for the dolls to descend on him and eat him whole, but a loud crash causes him to open his eyes in time to watch a chair sail right over his head. It hits the ball of tangled dolls causing them to shriek in surprised anger as they try to recover from the blow only to be hit with a small decorative table.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" A voice shrieks behind Natsu who looks in the direction the voice came from only for his vision to swim and causes the world to tilt in a weird angle. "Do you have some sort of death wish or are you just an idiot?!"

Before Natsu can reply, he's yanked to his feet and stares into burning eyes that aren't made from glass. They seem familiar, but Natsu doesn't know from where. He doesn't get the chance to ask who this girl was when the dolls shriek angrily behind him causing them both to jump.

"Hurry up and run!" the girl commands before taking his hand in hers and then proceeds to drag him down the long dark hallway away from the angry shrieks left back in the darkness.


So I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I was able to write it during one of my insomniac nights where sleep just wasn't an option and I was inspired to write until dawn came. I have a few chapters lined up ready to post but I'm going to pace updates to my original posting schedule from like five years ago where I would update every four days which means the next chapter should be up by this Saturday. So long as the storms currently taking over South Texas where I currently live don't take down my internet my chapter should be up without any hiccups.

Anywho, I'm glad a lot of you liked the last chapter as much as I loved finally getting to write it. It had honestly been one of my favorite parts to write about the first time around and getting to rewrite it was a lot of fun. The upcoming chapters are also really great ones with the next chapter having a bit of a fluff moment between our two characters, so look out for that.

Also, we finally know what the creature that has been chasing Natsu in his dreams is! A bunch of creepy dolls with distorted child-like voices. I decided to make the "monster" as dolls because I am actually really scared of marionette, porcelain, rag, and basically any kind of doll with large glass-like eyes. Basically dolls that can be possessed by an entity that is either good or evil - and yes I 100% believe in the supernatural - and because of plot points that will be shown in the future, which I can't mention just yet, I decided to use the bane of my existence. I am an absolute lover of paranormal movies who doesn't get scared easily, but insert a cursed doll and your girl here will be cowering behind a wall of blankets and pillows.

On another note, if you guys would like a reference to what the "dolls" sound like when talking, I was inspired by the way the phantoms in the anime Noragami sound like in both the subbed and dubbed versions. If you haven't yet seen that anime I HIGHLY recommend it. It's one of my all time favorite animes.

Shout outs

Great amazing thanks to my Fabulous Followers...

- RiddlerShade

And to my Fantabulous Reviewers...

- stranger1999 = Thank you for your concern, and yes, quarantine really did mess a lot of things up; however, we can fix things by slowly regaining control on that which we can. Also, I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter. I was happy too when our boy finally ended up in the mansion and have waited for this day for a really long time lol. I also can't wait to start hearing y'all's theories on what Natsu's connection is to this whole place is. Look out for the small fluff in the next chapter!

- Amanny = Muahahahaha yes it has!

- shootingstarssel = I'm really happy you liked the chapter! Originally I was just going to keep the rest of the story from here on out focused on just Natsu and Lucy or if I should integrate the other characters on the outside as well. Let me know what you think!

Well that's all the shout outs for today.

If you're enjoying my spine-chilling story give me the honor by Following, Favoriting, and Reviewing - remember, reviews are the reminders I need in order to update faster - and if you have any questions or haunting ideas you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it into the story.

Until next time my ghoulies!