"It's getting late," Lucy says when they turn another corner and find only doors with brass doorknobs lining the walls which she shines with Natsu's flashlight to see better in the dimly lit hallway, "If we don't find a safe room soon we're doomed," she says while continuing to lead Natsu through the endless hallways while he follows close behind and keeping a tight hold on her hand.

He shivers a bit when he notices that the temperature is beginning to drop, but thankfully his natural body heat keeps him relatively warm. He instinctively tries to untangle his cloak from his backpack but then remembers he had given it to Lucy just before they had left the kitchen. He'd seen her shivering and although she hadn't complained about the temperature, he had given her his cloak anyway. Lucy had accepted it with a grateful smile and enjoyed how warm it was and how nice it smelled. Like cinnamon and a warm fire.

"Do we still have time to keep looking?" Natsu asks, beginning to grow worried that they weren't going to find the safe room before the monsters returned.

"Yeah, just not a lot," Lucy sighs tiredly while continuing to walk and search the doorknobs with their flashlight, "But thankfully once we do find it we can stay in there for some time before our food runs out and we need to come back out again," she then says with a chipper tone.

Natsu nods but starts to wonder if that's how their life was going to be now? Were they going to hide out in a room and come out occasionally for food for the entire time they're here waiting to be rescued, or were they eventually going to plan on how to escape this place? Natsu didn't mind being stuck here with Lucy, he rather liked the girl's company, but he knew they couldn't be stuck in here forever. Igneel and his family were waiting for him outside along with his friends, and Lucy had her own family and friend to go back to.

They needed to start planning their escape.


Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

rEAd oN if YoU sO dArE!


"So, Magnolia tech," Natsu says, remembering their short conversation about their schools from earlier, "That's a really hard school to get into."

"Is it really?" Lucy asks while looking up at the pinkette walking beside her, "Did you try to get in?"

"Me? Nope, I'd never be able to afford going to Magnolia tech, nor would I have passed their entrance exam. I hear it's extremely difficult. My friend Levy couldn't pass it, and she's the smartest person I know," Natsu says while remembering how devastated Levy had been when she had found out she had missed the test by a point to get into Magnolia tech with a scholarship.

Levy said it didn't bother her anymore, but Natsu knew well enough that the girl was still heartbroken about not making it into the prestigious high school. The only other way that she'd be able to get in was if her parents could buy her a seat at the private school, but her parents were teachers whose paycheck could never afford Magnolia tech's expensive tuition.

"I almost didn't pass it myself," Lucy admits, feeling a hundred times better knowing that she wasn't the only one who had trouble with the exam.

She had also failed it the first time she had taken it, but after her father spoke to a few people and made a hefty donation she was permitted to take the exam again. She only passed it the second time due to the questions being relatively the same. Lucy was still jealous at the fact that Macbeth and the others had passed their exams with high scores. In fact, Macbeth had aced his exam with flying colors while the others had only missed a few questions.

"Did you retake the exam?" Natsu asks, surprised because he knew that there was a fee that students needed to pay in order to be able to take the exam again. A fee Levy wasn't able to pay for even after everyone had suggested to pitch in to help her.

"Yeah, but it took a while before I was allowed to retake it," Lucy says, careful not to say how it was she was allowed to retake the exam.

One thing that Lucy did not like to do was talk about her father's money. It was the reason she didn't like to introduce herself with her last name because of the weight it held. In fact, if it wasn't for her family name there probably would have been no way that Sorano would have allowed her to hang out with the group.

Thinking of Sorano brings back an anxious feeling at the pit of her stomach and memories of the night that caused her to end up here. Lucy then realizes that if it hadn't been for her own fear of being abandoned by Macbeth because of Sorano Lucy wouldn't have ended up in this place. If she hadn't allowed herself to be peer-pressured she'd be home and safe.

Perhaps Macbeth would have stopped being her friend, or maybe not. Lucy still would have been bullied at Magnolia tech, but maybe then her father would have let her move to Fairy Tail and then she could have met Natsu earlier. They probably could have become friends a year ago and then this whole mess could have never happened.

Shaking her head, Lucy tries to keep from thinking on it anymore. She'd dig herself into a dark hole like the one she had been in when she first got here. She didn't need to focus on that anymore. What she needed to focus on was finding a safe room and soon.

"So what does your dad do?" Lucy then asks, wanting to stray away from academics, but realizing too late that by her asking about Natsu's father's job it would only be natural for him to ask the same question. Lucy mentally kicks herself for not realizing this earlier.

Then again, whatever topic they talked about, her family's business would somehow find a way to worm itself into the conversation.

"My dad is a firefighter," Natsu answers with a proud smile, lighting up his face, "He worked at the southern station near Fairy Tail."

"Worked?" Lucy then asks, remembering that Natsu had said that only his mother had passed away and he was living with his dad. Also, he had claimed that his dad was a firefighter but talked about him working at a certain station in the past tense.

Tensing up, Natsu realizes his mistake and instantly feels self-conscious talking about his dad. He had gotten so used to people knowing that Igneel was in a coma that he forgot there were still people out there who didn't know.

"Um... Igneel isn't currently working at the moment," Natsu says nervously while scratching his chin and averting his eyes.

"Did he get hurt?" Lucy then asks, knowing that firefighters were always in dangerous situations and their lives were constantly at risk.

"He's in a coma," Natsu says sullenly, unable to keep up a happy attitude when remembering the crash and how he almost lost his father, "He got hit by a drunk driver a few months ago and hasn't woken up since."

"That's horrible," Lucy exclaims and tightens her hold on Natsu's hand, "I'm sure that he's going to be ok. Maybe he'll even be awake by the time we get out of here soon," Lucy urges while trying to comfort her friend.

Natsu gives her a thankful smile and continue to walk through the hallways without speaking much to both teenager's delight. They were already worn out and wanted nothing more than to find the safe room to sleep for a hundred years.

It isn't long, however, before their quiet peaceful walk becomes a daunting one. No matter how many corners they turn, how many stairs they take, or how many times they backtrack into new locations, they only find brass doorknobs. There was no sign of a golden doorknob to be found and this causes the two teenagers to become antsy with the hours ticking away and the air growing heavy around them little by little.

"This isn't right," Lucy mutters when they stop at their fifth dead end, "We should have found a safe room by now," she sighs with frustration while pushing her bangs away with her free hand and tightening her hold on Natsu with her other hand.

It gives her little relief that she isn't alone in this place and now has someone to depend on other than herself. Natsu's presence keeps Lucy from panicking while they turn and go back the way they came from to continue searching for a safe room, but soon there is a loud sound reverberating throughout all of the hallways that causes the teens to freeze in place.

The sound of what appears to be a gong rings through the hallways making it hard to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. Natsu winces from how loud the gong is which hurts his sensitive ears while Lucy stands frozen in the middle of the hallway with an expression of doom on her face. It causes panic to knot Natsu's stomach which only tightens when he realizes why it was that Lucy was so scared.

Nighttime was upon them.

"We have to get out of this hallway," Lucy whispers when the gong finally finishes chiming and doesn't wait for Natsu's response before pulling his arm and racing up the hall towards the closest corner they can turn.

Natsu then realizes that they indeed needed to get out of this hallway because behind them the dead end they had bumped into earlier was still there. If the creatures found them there, they would not be able to escape. They would probably be forced to enter one of the nightmare rooms in order to escape the dolls.

"Hurry!" Lucy urges Natsu, and he proceeds to quicken his pace when he realizes that the corner was getting closer, but they would not make it in time.

From around the corner, a giant doll's head with wide eyes and sharp teeth pops through, preventing Lucy and Natsu from running past it. They back up before the floating doll head, which both teenagers realized had no body, could take a bit out of them. The doll looked even more horrifying when Lucy shined the bright light directly at the doll who was not disturbed by the sudden brightness.

~pLaY wItH uS~

The giant head groans while it slowly inched towards the teens, its eyes shifting around its eye sockets like a chameleons before landing on Natsu and Lucy.

"Run!" Lucy shrieks and they both turn the way they had come from, but crash into a wall that hadn't been this close before. "No, no, NO!" Lucy cries while slamming her fist into the wall desperately.

"Maybe if we distract it we can find a way around it," Natsu suggest while watching the giant head slowly make its way towards them. It didn't seem to be as fast as the dolls from the previous night which meant that they could probably dodge around it if they were quick enough.

Unfortunately, the noise they were making must have attracted the other monsters that were nearby because now the giant head was surrounded by the familiar tangle of dolls. Only this time they had found a way to untangle themselves and were now able to scatter themselves making it impossible to escape around them.

"Shit!" Natsu curses while searching around to try to find a way out, but all he finds are the dolls snickering at them from a few feet away and an unobstructed door to his left. "Hold on!" Natsu yells while scooping Lucy into his arm and diving for the door just as the first doll flies to grab him.

Natsu pushes Lucy's head down just as the tiny clown marionette doll's claw-like hands gets close to his face while Lucy yells indignantly. He then head-butts the doll away, causing it to crash into the wall behind them with a screech, but not before the doll could nick the right side of his jaw.

Keeping Lucy tightly held close to him with his right arm. Natsu grabs onto the doorknob and opens the door just as the dolls ascended on them in a giant wave. Thankfully Natsu is able to jump into the room with Lucy still held tight in his arm as he then shuts the door tightly behind them.

Like the safe room, they could no longer hear what was going on outside the door as if the room they were in was sound-proof. It left them panting and waiting in a deafening silence while they tried to catch their breath and calm their racing hearts.

"You… you're bleeding," Lucy stammers, completely shaken at the feeling of something sticky on her fingers when she tries to assess Natsu's face in the darkness.

Natsu winces when Lucy prods a little too aggressively at his wound and earns a sheepish, "Sorry," from the blonde who was now trying to dab up the blood with the bottom of his cloak, "Does it hurt?" Lucy then asks tentatively while trying to search for the boy's eyes in the darkness, but she couldn't see a thing which only made her heartbeat quicken.

She hated the nightmare rooms. She hated the darkness, because at least out in the hallway there was enough light to see the monsters, but the rooms were always filled with darkness that hid the nightmares from her. Hid them until they finally popped out to torment her for as long as she remained in the room.

"It's so dark in here," Natsu complains, "Where's the flashlight when you need it?"

The heat in Lucy's face drains when she realizes that she had dropped the flashlight outside when Natsu had pushed her head down. She hadn't realized then that she had lost her grip on their only source of light and now when they needed it the most it was gone.

"I dropped it," Lucy whines while burying her face into what she hopes is Natsu shoulder, "I'm sorry," she then apologizes profusely while tensing up, ready for the angry yelling to start.

Natsu isn't blind at the way her hand tightens its hold on his vest or the way she tenses up. It reminds him of his cousin Wendy who would the same every time she was scared of getting in trouble, only Lucy's reaction felt worse than Wendy's. This made Natsu wonder even more just how difficult Lucy's life was outside of this hell.

Was that why she was able to survive this place this long? Because the nightmares back home were about the same as those here?

"Hey, it's alright. It was an accident," Natsu comforts the blonde while hugging her back soothingly, "I'd rather the flashlight to have been left behind than you."

Both their faces burn at Natsu's comment as the teen instantly berates himself for sounding so corny. Lucy appreciates his comfort and thanks him for helping her feel better. Natsu even smiles widely when he feels Lucy calm down in his arms.

Their breath then hitches when they hear a soft click nearby before the room is engulfed in a weird white light. It takes a minute before Lucy's and Natsu's eyes can adjust before they are finally able to see relatively well in the weirdly lit room. Looking around, Natsu finds an old television to be the cause of the sudden light that bathes the room in a dull white glow that barely illuminates anything.

On the screen all they can see is the familiar white static that also fills their ears and makes them tense up. Natsu is suddenly reminded of the dream he had of Lucy standing in his living room with her eyes gauged out and the television illuminating the room with it's terrifying staticky light. This memory causes to look down at Lucy and pray that her eyes were not gauged out like he remembered them in his dream but is relieved to find her looking up fearfully at him with her normal chocolate eyes.

Natsu internally sighs in relief and turns to check out the room that seemed to only have the old box television sitting in the middle of the room. Across from the television, pressed up against the wall, there is a long-withered couch with springs popping out from some of the seats and shaggy carpet that feels moldy underneath them lined the floors. The room smells moldy and stale, as if it hasn't been aired out in centuries and it begins to make Natsu's nose itch and his head to slightly hurt.

"It smells bad here," Natsu grumbles while wrinkling his nose.

"You get used to the smell after a while," Lucy sighs while checking his injury more closely now that they had more light.

There was far more blood than she had expected making the cut look more severe than it really was. Lucy wiped as much of it as she could with the bottom of the cloak and a bit of water she soaks the cloth with to finish cleaning Natsu's face.

"Lucy I'm fine," Natsu eventually grumbles while pulling her trembling hands away from his face, "It's just a scratch."

Lucy pouts, but stops fussing as Natsu stands up and helps her to her feet.

They remain close to each other as they look around the nearly empty room wondering what to do. They couldn't yet go outside in case the hallways hadn't shifted around and their pursuers were still waiting outside for them. So far it seemed that this was the safest place to be in and if all they had to deal with was a strange staticky television from the Poltergeist, they would take it.

Feeling a bit braver with the lack of activity, both teens finally allow themselves to walk around the room to investigate; however, there really wasn't much to investigate. The walls, covered in peeling blue wallpaper, were bare, with no windows or other doors decorating them. No pictures, except one above the couch, decorated the walls.

It was a grimy family portrait that had three people in it. Two adults and a small child sitting on a large ornate chair, but the faces were so worn out that you couldn't really distinguish the people. Still, even with the portrait heavily damaged Lucy felt like it was familiar. Like she had seen it before, she just couldn't remember from where until it finally clicks.

"This is my room," Lucy whispers while she traces her finger down the ruined portrait's leathery canvas.

"Your room?" Natsu asks from across the room, confused as to how this was her room. Was this how her actual room looked outside of the manor?

"My nightmare room," Lucy explains, "Every nightmare room I've ever been has always been filled with some element connected to my life. Like, a few nights ago the room I had to escape into replayed the day of my mother's funeral, only everyone at the funeral kept blaming me for her death and they didn't have faces. Another room tried to show me my unborn baby sister who was crying in a crib I didn't dare look inside of, or a library filled with flying books that yelled at me in my father's voice."

Natsu pales at the vague yet disturbing explanations of the rooms Lucy has been in. Natsu now hoped that if they never had to enter a room filled with his nightmares. He'd had enough of those for the past few months to last him a lifetime, and he felt that the nightmares in this place would be a hundred times worse.

"We should probably leave then before anything really starts up," Natsu suggests while already making his way towards the door, but when he tries to open it he finds that it's locked.

"It's already begun," Lucy whispers while still staring at the portrait she now recognizes as the one her family took before Layla and her unborn sister Michelle passed away, "There is no way out until morning."

A click like the sound of a channel changing, causes Natsu and Lucy to jump and turn towards the television where there seemed to be something coming through. Snippets of color and distorted sounds came through in short bursts, as if the television was trying grasp onto the signal that was coming through the dented antennas. The white light would suddenly be replaced with colored images that appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was like listening to the radio and hearing strange distorted voices until you found the right channel to hear what was trying to go through.

Natsu walks up to the television from behind and starts to move the antenna around, catching glimpses of the image trying to go through here and there. It doesn't take long before a broken clip finally fills the screen which both teenagers recognize to be a news report.

Through the broken images, and muffled talking from the news reporter, they could make out what seemed like a search party looking through the old Phantom Lord manor with the headline reading "SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING TEENAGER" with no other information being given.

"Maybe it's a combined nightmare," Natsu then says when they both get close to the television to somewhat see what the screen was showing them, "That back there looks like my friend's mom Ur. She's a cop at the local precinct," he explains while crouching down to be at eye level with the television.

It made the more sense to him that this current feed was for him because he recognized a few others helping out in the search like Silver Fullbuster, Gray's dad, Metallicana, Gildarts, and a few others from the neighborhood. Natsu then hoped that they'd be able to get out so that he could see his family and friends again soon.

"No, this one is mine," Lucy says while shaking her head, "This feed is from when I disappeared. Look!" she says while pointing to a group of kids huddled together that Natsu doesn't recognize, "Those are my friends… They're still have on the costumes they were wearing when I disappeared," she explains and

Natsu is fully convinced when he sees Igneel hobbling by dressed in his uniform and being followed by a few other firefighters while he cries out and points, "That's my dad right there," to which Lucy is able to catch a quick glimpse of, "If he's on screen then it definitely isn't my feed."

"See, I told you," Lucy jibes while crouching down beside him to get a better look, but then the channel changes and Natsu needs to get back up to fix the antenna again.

When Natsu gets the picture to be slightly clear, he goes back to crouch beside Lucy to find another news article being broadcast. This time there wasn't a search team if not a man standing in front of the podium who looked tired and completely at a loss.

"Please, if there is any news that anyone can give us we would be most appreciative," the man says while his voice comes out slightly muffled and broken through the old television's speakers. "My daughter has been missing for some time now, and any new information would help us out a lot. If she is found I am willing to give a hefty reward. The price does not matter, so long as I can have my Lucy back home," the man continues, even looking as if he were about to cry, but is able to keep himself composed.

Lucy scoffs as she finally recognizes her father to be the man speaking on television. She had never seen him look so disorganized and beaten before. He was always well groomed with his hair slicked back and dressed in the nicest suits money could buy with no time to ever give his only daughter. This man on television was not her father and she would not be fooled by the apparent attempt of a nightmare to try and torment her further.

Her father didn't care about her. At least not enough to look so broken and lost in front of national television with all who could judge him watch and mock him for appearing so weak.

"What?" Natsu asks when he hears Lucy scoff again when the screen shows Jude begging for whoever took his daughter to bring her back home.

"That man is unbelievable," Lucy says while shaking her head and hugging her knees while she continues to crouch, "He never cared about me since my mother's and sister's passing. He would never do something he deemed so ridiculous on live television. He's too good for that," she growls, making Natsu's heart hurt for her and her obviously grieving father.

"I think he's still your dad," Natsu murmurs while turning to look back at the screen while trying to remember why the man looked so familiar, "You might think he hates you, but maybe he just hasn't learned how to move beyond his grief."

"That's what my therapist said," Lucy sighs, knowing that as much as she wanted to, she could never really hate her dad. Like Natsu said, he was her dad and she would always love him even when she was also very much angry with him.

Maybe she could convince Natsu to go with her to have a talk with her dad when they got out of here. Maybe she'd be able to find a way for them both to reconnect.

"Wait… that man is Jude Heartfilia," Natsu exclaims while pointing at Lucy's father on the screen before turning to look at Lucy, "He… he's the owner of Heartfilia Konzern Railways as well as Love&Lucky trading company… Lucy… you're a Heartfilia?!" Natsu cries out from the realization of his new friend coming from such an important family.

The Heartfilias were old money, older than the Phantom Lords, but they never settled in a single place with their influence reaching even beyond Fiore's borders; however, this wasn't why Natsu was freaking out. He had suddenly remembered something, on why Jude had looked so familiar, or even why he knew anything about the Heartfilias at all.

"I don't like talking about my family," Lucy sulks, hating that she couldn't have spent a longer time being known as a normal high school girl and not a Heartfilia, "My family name never attracts good people."

They both remain quiet with Lucy suddenly self-conscious and Natsu internally panicking. It isn't until the pressure is too much that Natsu finally takes in a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Hey Luce," Natsu begins while his voice shakes nervously, "I have something really important to ask you," he continues in a more serious tone than his previous outburst, earning a curious and wary look from Lucy who wasn't too eager at the moment to be questioned, "When… when was it that you got trapped here?"


So I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! We're reaching our climax, or what I believe to be the climax, in the next chapter. Things are going to get crazy as I am even more excited for the next chapter!

Anywho, I had wanted to post this chapter since Monday, but this past week has been a trainwreck with weird and random things just happening. Ah, you gotta love spooky season.

In other news, my Etsy shop is up and running in case you all are interested in checking it out. You can find the shop in Etsy's search engine at geekitcharms to see what we've got to offer. We are currently selling a few anime inspired jewelry items for Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun as well as Soul Eater, so it would mean a lot if you all checked it out. *end of self promotion*

Welp, I'm hoping to have chapter 13 up this weekend if I get the chance between studying for midterms, so look out for that. I'm especially excited because I've waited YEARS to get to this upcoming scene for Paranormal. Fair warning, I think it's sad lol. Then again would it even be my story if it wasn't angsty or sad?

Shout Outs

Great amazing thanks to my Fantastic Favorites...

- Raquenzel

- caitlinsr

To my Fabulous Followers...

- Raquenzel

- caitlinsr

And to my Fantabulous Reviewers...

- shootingstarssel = I thought that I'd be able to answer your question in this chapter, but no your question will be answered in the next chapter lol. Still, there's a lot to unpack and I know you guys will be excited to read what I am cooking up.

- stranger1999 = I'm so happy you're enjoying the story and loving every chapter I give you all. As of right now I'm not too sure how many chapters there are going to be; however, I do know for a fact that it isn't going to reach my usual crazy chapter limit that my previous stories have gotten to. I am confident, however, that this story will probably end by or before New Years.

- Amanny = There is no such thing as peace, not in this household at least! Lol, your questions will be answered in the next chapter, only because I really love angst and don't know how to give my characters a break haha. Anywho, I hope you're enjoying the chapters so far!

- Meow Orbit = OMG! Happy early/belated birthday to you as well! And I'm so happy you're back to read and review! It always feels weird when my regulars don't comment. I appreciate you so much for continuing to stick with me *sends virtual hugs and kisses*

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!