"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for leaving without telling our parents?" Levy asks while looking around the bustling train station with wary eyes, "What if they call or we get caught?"

"It'll be fine Lev, chill," Cana waves at the nervous bluenette, "Besides, it's just a quick trip up to Onibus and back. Our parents will hardly know we're gone, and if they call and ask where we are we'll just tell them we're at Gray's house studying."

"It's a good excuse, especially since my parents aren't going to be home all day to help with the search for Natsu, and if anyone calls home Lyon will know how to make up an excuse," Gray says in attempt to soothe the nervous girl, "But if you're still nervous about getting caught leaving Magnolia you can always stay-"

"No, I'm going," Levy cuts off Gray while racing into the train cart once the doors open to let them in.

The group files into the train cart and sit close to one another near the back away from most passengers. It was early enough that there weren't a lot of passengers on board and those that shared the cart with them hardly paid them any attention. No one seemed to care that a bunch of teenagers and a few adults were taking a trip up north.


Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

rEAd oN if YoU sO dArE!


It was a two hour ride up to Onibus on train and the cheapest mode of transportation especially since none of the adults owned a car, not that they'd all fit in one anyway. Train rides were rather peaceful and a few of the girls had already fallen asleep in their seats from the soft sway of the train.

"You knew her, didn't you?" Mirajane asks Laxus who looks down at her curiously after watching the forest outside his window pass by, "The girl who disappeared."

"Of course, we did," Ultear answers before Laxus could from her seat in front of theirs. She turns around so she can face them while leaning her arm on her backrest, "We went to the same school as she did."

"You guys went to Magnolia Tech?" Levy asks, completely amazed that someone in their group had made it into the prestigious school of her dreams, "Wait, I thought Laxus went to Fairy Tail?"

"I was at Magnolia Tech for a year before I was kicked out," Laxus grumbles, "I got in too many fights my Freshman year and was expelled."

"And I graduated from there thanks to the inheritance my dear old dad left behind when he passed away," Ultear chirps cheerily, "That's actually where Laxus and I met and became the best of friends!"

"Were you friends with the girl?" Lisanna asks while peering between Laxus and Mirajane from the seat behind them.

"Lucy," Laxus answers while looking back out of the window and crossing his arms tightly against his chest, "And no, we weren't friends. Ultear and I were freshmen while Lucy was a senior... she was also my cousin."

Everyone is surprised to say the least about this new information. No one was expecting for Laxus to have any connection to the missing girl, not that they had even believed the story to be true until Ultear had shown them the proof. It was hard to believe, but now that they thought back on it, there did seem to be a few family resemblances between the two; however, they were not that noticeable.

"That's why he got kicked out of Magnolia Tech. He had gotten into a fight with all the guys from Lucy's friend group and even beat up her boyfriend-"

"He wasn't her boyfriend!" Laxus nearly snarls, "And he was a shitty friend to boot. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have gone to the manor that night and disappeared, and I know for a fact it was that damned Sorano's fault."

"Sorano?" Cana asks curiously.

"She was a popular girl at Magnolia Tech. She 'ruled the school' because she had the brains, beauty, and money to make those around her fear her," Ultear explains, "She would bully so many people, yet no one would do a thing to stop her. She was part of the crowd that Lucy would hang out with only because she was close friends with one of the members of Sorano's group."

"Macbeth, that bastard," Laxus grumbles, seething, "If we're unlucky, we might just see him milling around the campus' library when we get there."

"He goes to your university?" Gray asks from besides his sister who nods.

"I think he's finishing up his Masters," Ultear thinks while tapping her index finger to her chin.

Laxus glowers, though he does not direct his gaze at any person and Mirajane has to wonder what it was that her boyfriend was thinking. She had never seen him this upset before and she wasn't going to lie when she said that this situation was strange for her. To think that Laxus had a cousin that had disappeared seven years ago with no trace left behind for her whereabouts.

Just when Mirajane is about to open her mouth to try to console her boyfriend, a ringing cellphone causes everyone to jump and check their pockets. Gray is the one whose screen lights up with the picture of his brother Lyon making a weird face and everyone holds their breath as the raven-haired male answers.

Waiting with bated breath, Gray asks Lyon what news he had on his end and listens intently to his brother. The sudden widening of Gray's eyes causes everyone to begin to panic at what information Gray was listening to.

"What's going on?" Erza asks while shaking Gray's shoulder, impatient to know what it was that Lyon was telling Gray.

Turning to face everyone, Gray's wide eyes instinctively find Laxus' as he murmurs out a disbelieving, "They found Natsu's flashlight..."


Launching himself off the seventh stair, Natsu quickly hits the bottom landing below the long staircase making sure to bend his knees so as not to hurt himself. He doesn't wait long to recover before pushing himself to take a random turn and rushes down the hallway following Lucy's faint scent. He continues to run even with the threat of bumping into the dolls. He had no time to worry about the creatures. His main concern was finding and getting to Lucy at all costs.

After a few minutes of running, Natsu stops and tears apart a small ornate table and strips it of a leg he finds he can use as a weapon in case he got attacked. The wooden leg feels hefty and feels like it could hold up for a few swings if a monster were to get too close. He was definitely going to need it if he wanted to protect Lucy from this place.

Natsu then looks around again, sniffing the air until he catches the faint whiff of strawberries. It was the scent he found Lucy naturally emitted and it was also the only sweet smell he could pinpoint through the thick cloud of musk, rotting wood, and dust. The smell caused Natsu's heart to jump excitedly as he followed the scent down several hallways. He got even more excited when the smell began to grow stronger.

It wasn't long before Natsu found Lucy cornered by three mangled dolls who were desperately trying to grab a hold of her; however, Lucy was holding her own by punching them away with her bare fists. She was unfortunately still getting scratched by the doll's sharp claws and one even bit her shoulder, but Natsu made quick work of them with his makeshift bat.

With a cry, Natsu swings his bat around knocking the dolls away from Lucy and even smashes one to bits causing the other two dolls to run away screeching. Natsu watches them retreat and doesn't turn to Lucy until he's certain that they were not going to return any time soon. Once they were out of eyesight, Natsu turns quickly to assess Lucy's wounds.

"Lucy!" Natsu cries while dropping his weapon and falling to his knees besides Lucy who was curled up into a ball sobbing. "Come on Luce, please don't cry," Natsu pleads while feeling his heart clench with every sob Lucy heaved. It broke his heart to see her so torn, both physically and emotionally.

"He's gone," Lucy whimpers while pressing her forehead to the thick dusty carpet that soaked up her tears, "First my mom, then my friends, and now even my dad has left me. What am I going to do now Natsu? I'm… I'm all alone now."

"No you're not!" Natsu says and winces at the volume of his own voice he had not intended on using, "You're not alone Luce," he then repeats in a much calmer tone, "You've got me. I promise I won't ever leave your side, so long as you promise never to run off on me again."

It takes a long moment before the words settle in Lucy's head. Her sobbing stops and all that is left are soft sniffles before Lucy peers over her arms at Natsu who smiles at her and gives her his hand. Lucy didn't hesitate to take his hand and welcomed the pull that brought her wrapped in Natsu's arms in a tight hug that she returned. Natsu's pretty words rang through her head, but they did their job in easing her fears just a bit. She trusted Natsu, though she could not explain why, but deep down she knew that Natsu would do everything to stick with his word. He would be there for her always if she let him.

"We're going to get out of here soon Luce, you'll see."

"Yeah," Lucy agrees while burying her face into his shoulder and allowing the last of her tears to spill while they held onto each other for just a moment longer. "We should probably get moving," Lucy finally says after a short while as she pulls away from Natsu gently.

Natsu doesn't say anything as he helps Lucy stand. He simply takes her hand and wipes away her tears with his cloak that was still wrapped tightly around her shoulders before then moving to pick up his discarded weapon.

"Don't let go of my hand," Natsu says after wrapping a piece of ripped fabric from his cloak around the bite on Lucy's arm and then interlocking his fingers with hers.

"I won't," she promises while squeezing his hand to emphasize that she would stick right by his side.

Without another word, Natsu pulls Lucy down the hall from the opposite way that the creatures had fled from previously. Their eyes scan the dark walls of the corridor while trying to find any sign of a safe haven that they could escape into but like before the walls were lined with brass doorknobs that they did not dare try to enter the rooms. Natsu had experienced Lucy's nightmare that still played over and over in his head and he did not wish to see what his nightmares looked like in this place. He didn't think he'd be able to take seeing a decaying Igneel in this place. It was one of his greatest fears that he did not want to experience.

His dad was alive, and this he kept repeating in his head while trying to push the image of Jude Heartfilia out of his head; however, it was difficult when Jude's words were still ringing through his head persistently.

"Save her," he had said and even called Natsu by his name which made the boy wonder how it was that the man he had never personally met before knew his name. Was it because of the power that nightmares had in this world? Or was it something completely different? Whatever it was, it made Natsu's head throb from thinking about it too much.

"Why do you think he was here?" Lucy asks after what felt like hours of walking through the dark corridors without bumping into anything, "Why was he here?" she repeats a bit more loudly.

Natsu guessed Lucy was talking about her dad and the nightmare they had just witnessed with the deceased Jude having spoken to them both if only for a moment. Natsu wanted to believe that it was just a trick of the room, but somehow he knew that what they had seen had been the actual Jude Heartfilia.

"Maybe this is purgatory," Natsu says simply, "Or a place stuck within purgatory."

Lucy mulls on the idea for a moment, wracking her brain for any information she had on purgatory. She has heard a lot about the subject of purgatory, with so many different interpretations of the place depending on who you asked. It wasn't such a far-fetched idea to her now since some theories about purgatory, also known as the in-between, stated that time tended to flow differently in there. It was a place that lost souls wandered through and Natsu and Lucy were clearly that at this point. Lost souls stuck wandering through a maze that refused to let them escape.

"Does that mean that we're dead?" Lucy can't help but ask, looking up at Natsu with a worried look on her face.

Suddenly the thought of being dead herself worried her more than the news of her father's passing. Mostly because it meant that they would be stuck in this place for all of eternity and this did not settle well with the girl. It made her want to lose hope all over again, but Natsu's comforting hand kept her from spiraling all over again.

"Nah," is all Natsu says, sounding unperturbed by the thought of them possibly being dead and stuck in this place forever.

"What do you mean 'Nah'?" Lucy fumes while yanking on Natsu's arm to get him to look at her, but he simply laughs and yanks her back towards him causing her to stumble a bit, "Natsu, this is serious!"

"And I am being serious," he counters, but doesn't stop smiling as if he had heard the funniest thing in the world, "There is no way we're dead Luce. Trust me."

"How do you know that for sure?" Lucy asks desperately, "People who end up in purgatory are usually dead and stuck there for eternity!" she argues while flailing her free arm to try to make a point, "We're dead!"

"No we're not," Natsu says a bit more serious than before, looking almost annoyed at the blonde, "If we're dead then why are those things trying so hard to kill us?" Natsu asks while looking down at Lucy from the corner of his eye, "Why try to kill something that is already dead?"

Lucy opens her mouth to argue but closes it after she can't come up with her own argument. He was right, but it still didn't make any sense.

"The real question we should be asking is why it was that we were both brought here," Natsu then says while Lucy tried to wrap her head around the situation, "What is our purpose here?"

"To die," Lucy mutters sarcastically making Natsu glower at her and he suddenly wondered if this is how Gray felt whenever he was being a smartass to the raven-haired boy. "I don't know," Lucy then says while looking away with a pout.

"Come on Luce, you're a smart girl. I'm sure you have some theories bouncing up in that noggin of yours."

Closing her eyes, Lucy thinks on the question and tries to think of a reason that she and Natsu were dragged into this hellhole. She had mulled on this question many times before when she first came to this place. She had asked herself countless times why it was that she had been dragged here, why those terrifying dolls had dragged her into this place. Why her? But the speculation of her importance to this place had not lasted long because she knew she was not important. She was just unlucky, and her misfortune was what had gotten her stuck in this place.

So much for being nicknamed Lucky Lucy most of her life by those around her. It was almost unfunny how unlucky of a person Lucy had been her entire life.

"I don't know," Lucy finally says after a long stretch of silence and it was at that moment that Lucy realized the air did not feel so thick and threatening.

It was now morning.

"Well I have a theory," Natsu chirps happily, probably feeling the change in the air as well as his tense muscles finally relax along with the rest of his body, "Do you want to hear it?" he then asks while turning his head towards her questioningly and she responds with a nod. "I think we're here to help fix something. Maybe solve the mystery of this place, but the question is how do we do it?" he then asks while looking around as if searching for clues.

Lucy doesn't say anything. She just simply watches Natsu search around the corridor comically while still holding her hand, but she couldn't find it in her to laugh anymore. She was tired and felt defeated after everything she had gone through in what felt like the span of a few minutes. She wanted to cry. To curl up into a ball in some dark corner and sob her heart out, but Natsu would not let her. He knew that he needed to keep the blonde moving and motivated as much as he could. She could cry to her heart's content when they finally left this place, but not now… not now.

"Maybe we're supposed to find the missing people," Lucy finally says after a while and Natsu gives her a funny look.

"Luce, we are the missing people," he says while scrunching up his nose, calling her dumb with just a look which irritates Lucy who bumps her shoulder into his.

"No stupid," she grumbles indignantly, "I mean the people, the kids, who disappeared before us. Do you not know anything about Phantom Lord at all?" she asks and deadpans when Natsu just gives her a dumb look, "You've never learned the history about this place? How it was turned into an orphanage after Jose Porla, the last Phantom Lord heir, died? The rumors behind Jose's death and the disappearance of his benefactor years later?"

"Nope," Natsu admits while scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "I never much cared for this place until recently when I had dreams of you," he then says, causing Lucy to blush, "The ones who know the most history about the manor are my friends Gray and Juvia, especially Juvia who had lived in the orphanage behind the manor before they were moved closer to town. I was more interested in the ghost stories."

He tells her of the story people told of her and she's surprised at how it was she had become a sort of legend amongst his peers. She then wondered how fast everyone back home had forgotten about her after her disappearance. How long did they all pretend that she didn't exist so that they could live a normal and happy life without the worry about what they had done? Lucy wondered of her 'friends' even felt any guilt towards her and guessed that they didn't.

She had been a nobody to them after all… except Macbeth.

Lucy's heart tugs at the memory of the boy who had been her only companion. He had always been so sweet to her, though at times distant because of his friends, but he had never done anything to try and hurt her purposely. He had tried his best to integrate her into his group of friends and she had tried to do the same, but Lucy realized that their friendship and the possibility of a relationship would not have worked. She would have had to change herself completely for that to have happened and the thought made her sick.

It made her sick because she knew that she would have done just that to fit in. She would have bent over backwards to try and be accepted by Sorano and the others all so she wouldn't lose Macbeth, and look what good that did her.

For a moment Lucy worries about doing the same for Natsu. If they got out of here would she try to do everything in her power to please Natsu's friends so that they would like her? So they wouldn't ostracize her and prevent her from being friends with Natsu like she now so desired? Would she always be so dependent on those around her, searching for validation no matter the cost? She didn't want that, but she also didn't want to lose Natsu either.

However, Lucy didn't think that she'd go through the same with Natsu what she went through with Macbeth. Where Macbeth had been quite hesitant to want to introduce Lucy to his friends, Natsu had voiced several times his excitement for his friends to meet Lucy. Macbeth had never appeared so enthusiastic as Natsu had, and this gave Lucy a dangerous kind of hope. A hope that would undoubtedly crush her if history repeated itself and Lucy found herself feeling as if she didn't belong again.

Lucy feels a poke between her brows and looks up surprised to find Natsu giving her a strange look. It's also at that moment that she realizes that they've stopped walking and were near an upcoming left turn with no other way to go except back.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asks curiously, "You look worried."

"I…" Lucy starts, not knowing how to explain her silly little worry to Natsu about how hard it was for people to like her. "It's nothing," she then says quickly while shaking her head, "We'll cross that bridge when it comes," she then says while giving him a tight smile.

He nods and turns to continue, but throws a soft, "I won't forget," over his shoulder before leading her down the last of the hallway and turning the corner.

Lucy panics for only a second as she follows him. Her worry is cut off when Natsu suddenly stops in front of her causing her to crash into his back.

"What's wrong?!" Lucy asks, alarmed and looking over his shoulder.

Natsu was frozen in place, his eyes staring dead ahead at the dead end they had reached, but it wasn't the dead end that had a cold sweat building on his brow. It was the familiar white door that waited at the end of the hallway almost invitingly.

A pristine white door with a golden doorknob that tugged at Natsu's heart with fear and a terrifying hope.

It was the very same door that his parent's bedroom had back home.


So I know I've been gone for months now. I am once again sorry about that. This semester turned out to be much more difficult because of COVID than I had anticipated after my midterms back in October. I ended up having to put all of my focus on my classes which has taken quite a toll on me; however, it is my pleasure to say that I passed the semester! Not only that but you guys are looking at a Fall 2020 graduate with a bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Creative Writing. That's right my lovelies! Your girl here graduated from college this past Saturday!

It was as struggle to get here but it was all well worth it, especially since I am a first gen college graduate! I am happy to finally be done with school and will be spending more time finishing up this story so I can move on to bigger projects. One of course is my dream of finally publishing a book in the near future.

To support my endeavors I hope that you all take the time to check out my shop on Etsy called Geekitcharms where my friend and I sell anime themed hand-made jewelry as well as shirts. We are currently doing a giveaway through our Instagram geekitcharms which I hope you all will go to sign up to possibly win some free jewelry. There will be three winners who will each win four random pieces of jewelry each made by yours truly, so please go out and sign up! If you guys have any questions on this please don't be afraid to send me a PM and I'll gladly answer any of your questions. Help a girl pay off her loans.

Anywho, I hope you all have been doing well and I can't wait to hear from you soon!

Great big shout out to all of my Favorites, Followers, and Reviewers. You all keep me pushing forward to continue posting content for you!

Until next time my lovelies!