The sound of the nearby heart monitor is a comforting sound. A metronome that does not falter and fills the silence of the room along with the soft hiss of the air tank helping Igneel breathe as he continues to sleep. The older man looks peaceful with small hints of age and healing scars scattered around the parts of his body that are exposed like his face and arms.

Grandine watches Igneel's expressionless face, tracing with her eyes the healing scars and following the lines that show his growing age. She remembers how small he used to be, so much smaller than herself and Metallicana, and now he nearly surpassed their older brother in height and build. She can hardly believe the man sleeping before her used to be so tiny and so adorable, the thought only makes her miss their mother and Tatsuya, Igneel's father, so much more.

"At least they don't have to see you like this," she murmurs while patting his hand which she holds in her own, hoping and praying that the pressure she gave him would be returned, but it doesn't. His hand remains slack, and his breathing never stutters.

Sighing, Grandine grabs a comb to brush through Igneel's growing hair. It has reached his ears by now which means that if it isn't taken care of it could get matted, and the last thing she wanted was for her brother's hair to get ruined. He was the only one of the two to inherit their mother's fiery red hair. She had inherited her own father's white hair, a feature she had only ever seen in pictures her mother had saved for when Grandine was old enough to have them. Her own father had died before her birth and the only father she had ever known was Igneel's father Tatsuya who had adopted Metallicana long before he married her mother.

The click of the door opening catches Grandine's attention just as she finishes brushing Igneel's hair. Metallicana pops his head through the door and smiles at his sister while holding up a paper bag saying, "Brought you lunch," before walking up to her and passing her said bag.

Inside there is a burger with a side of fries and it is at that moment that Grandine feels her stomach groan in hunger.

How many hours now had it been since she had Breakfast? Had she even had lunch? What time was it even now?

"Eat your food before it gets cold," Metallicana nags while pointing to the food with his chin. She does as he says, taking a seat beside him on the chairs beside Igneel's bed.

"Any news?" Grandine asks after finishing half her burger, the silence of the room almost unbearable.

She was used to being around so much noise when she was in Magnolia visiting her brothers. Her nephews were always creating such ruckus and her brothers would inevitably join in the chaos. Silence was only comfortable and familiar when she was back home in Peace Village where she had her own little practice.

"Nothing," Metallicana grumbles, his body sagging in his chair, "We've cleared a way up to the second floor, but progress is slow since the building is so old and was poorly taken care of. It is taking longer than we expected to reach the third floor and any other level above that."

"It's been so long Talli," Grandine sighs, the worry and fear she has been holding back rising in her voice, "Do you really think he's still in there? What if…"

"Don't you dare say it," Metallicana growls, causing the woman to jump fearfully at her brother's sudden change of voice, "We're going to find him Deeny. I won't stop searching for Natsu even if it kills me, and I'm not letting you or anyone else lose hope. I'm bringing the brat home no matter what! He needs to be home before his old man wakes up."

Grandine nods, tears slipping down her face as she hastily wipes them away while sniffing. Metallicana doesn't make fun of her the way he usually would when they were younger. Instead he wraps an arm around her shoulders and lets her rest her head on his shoulder. They don't even notice the soft rustling or shifting on the bed in front of them. Don't hear the heavy soft gasp or notice the body sit up suddenly without making a peep of noise.

"What happened to my son?" A deep voice asks, startling the siblings, and they are met with panicked onyx eyes.


Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

rEAd oN if YoU sO dArE!


The darkness seems to stretch forever. It also doesn't make it better that a few feet from where they had entered through the portal there were steps that descended into the black void. The air would grow heavier the further down they went, and it wasn't long before Natsu felt he was losing track of time.

How long had they now been descending? Minutes? Hours? Days? Seconds?

The darkness was infinite and the silence surrounding himself and his companions was heavy on his ears. It made any little noise that anyone made cause him to jump because he was on high alert for something so much worse to reach through the dark and tear him apart. It reminded Natsu of when he was little and deathly afraid of the dark. He would scream and cry at every strange shadow that would dance around his room and would only feel at ease once Igneel had placed a nightlight in his room.

Natsu's hand itches for the weight of his flashlight, berates himself again for having dropped it and lost it to the maze of the manor far behind him. He is tempted to ask the dolls for some light source, but the silence is so thick it practically drowns him when he opens his mouth.

He is scared, that much he will admit, and it is his fear that keeps his mouth sealed as he continues to let the dolls lead him down the steps that begin to wind around.

It feels like an eternity before they finally reach a landing. Natsu sighs in relief when his feet meet a flat surface after every step he takes and doesn't have to worry about taking a misstep and tumbling down to his death. He can feel his grasp on one of the dolls loosening when he realizes he's holding their tiny hand back because of his fear. He is glad the doll cannot see his blushing face of shame, but he doesn't miss the small pat the doll gives him before continuing to lead him through the darkness along with the others.

~LiGhT~

One of the dolls garbles out, breaking the silence and causing Natsu to jump at the sudden noise.

He is about to ask them what he means before a flash of light nearly blinds him. The glow slices through the darkness and irritates Natsu's eyes which were already somewhat used to the darkness surrounding him.

It takes a minute for his eyes to finally adjust to the sudden flash of light and when Natsu is finally able to open his eyes he finds that the light source is an old oil lantern. One of the dolls not holding onto him must have looked around and found the lantern and turned it on so that he could see. Natsu nearly cries in joy as he reaches out to grab the handle of the lantern to which the doll happily hands to him.

The weight of the lantern grounds Natsu and for the first time in a hot minute Natsu can finally see again. The pressure in his chest releases a bit and he finds he can breathe a bit easier now that he can see where he is going.

Gently waving the lantern around, Natsu takes the time to take in his surroundings and finds that he is in some sort of sitting room. Old dusty furniture with moth eaten lining and stuffing flowing out of the holes on the couches and chairs sit in the center of the room around a moldy coffee table. An old fireplace sits beside the setup and the walls hold old portraits that no longer have any distinguishable pictures in them.

Behind him, Natsu finds the winding staircase that isn't as tall as he had imagined it to be and finds the small landing where he hand entered above him. It amazes him how the dark changes your perception of time and space. The journey down the steps probably felt so long to him because of how slow he was taking each step to make sure he didn't tumble down to his death. He is glad he was careful for once in his life and he is even more grateful for the heavy lamp in his hand.

~tHiS wAy~

The dolls then say while leading Natsu through a single doorway and down a long corridor. The corridor is dark with the dim yellow light of the lantern barely able to light up a foot in front of Natsu, but there is still light and Natsu is grateful for it.

At the end of the corridor they find two flights of stairs leading further down and Natsu follows the dolls as they skip their way down the steps. A few even tumble down the stairs, laughing when the reach the bottom landing and earning a few chuckles from Natsu who shakes his head at their antics. They simply stand and rush down another hallway calling out for Natsu to follow them.

Within moments they reach a door with a line of light peeking out from underneath the doorway. The toys indicate for Natsu to open the door, hurrying him as if they were suddenly in some great hurry and he does what they say. Beyond the door is a bedroom, a children's bedroom lined with empty, broken beds on either side of the room. There are old fashioned pictures on the walls, warped with age and mildew, peeling pastel wallpaper all around.

Scanning the room, Natsu quickly spots something dark huddled beside a destroyed metal bed frame and his heart jumps when he recognizes his cloak. It isn't long when Natsu notices golden hair peeking out from beneath the hood of the cloak.

"Lucy…" Natsu sighs with relief and quickly races through the room to get to where she is still huddled in her corner, clearly not having heard his arrival. She was probably so terrified that she could not even chance looking up to see who was approaching her.

Just as Natsu is about to call out the girl's name, she springs up from her corner, turns around and yells, "TWENTY! READY OR NOT HERE I COME!" with her eyes tightly shut, surprising and confusing Natsu as he skids to a halt.

Around him a cacophony of giggles resound throughout the room sending chills up Natsu's spine, effectively freezing him on the spot. That is when he realizes, after sweeping his eyes around the room, that the other dolls not part of his group were hidden all throughout the room under beds, behind or inside nightstands/dressers, and some even peeking out of the long closet nearby. It is then that Natsu understands why it was that Lucy was huddled in the corner. She hadn't been scared; she had been entertaining the dolls just as he had moments ago.

The dolls from his party quickly realize what is going on and scatter throughout the room to hide themselves, eager to join the game. They shriek in hushed voices for him to hide as well, but all he can do is stare at the blonde and search her for any injuries. He is relieved to find she has none aside from the bumps and bruises she had earlier. He doesn't even wait to join the game before he rushes over to the blonde before she can open her eyes and scoops her up into his arms.

"HEY!" she screams indignantly while Natsu lifts her up.

"Thank Mavis I found you!" Natsu exhales in relief while twirling the blonde in his arms causing her to wrap her own arms around him for fear that he might drop her, "I thought I'd lost you Luce. I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise," he apologizes, regretful that he had allowed the vision of his deceased mother affect him so much he had forgotten his promise to never let go of Lucy's hand.

It takes Lucy a moment to realize that it was in fact Natsu holding her tightly and twirling her around while apologizing. The worry and fear in Lucy's heart quickly dissipates when she realizes that once again this boy had traveled through hell in order to find her. She is struck with the realization that no one had ever done that for her before.

Whenever she would run away back home and hide throughout the manor none of the staff would ever go out looking for her. She'd wait for hours before finally emerging only to find the staff acting as if she had never been gone and send her off to her next lesson of the day.

"Hey, its ok," Lucy murmurs while hugging the boy back tightly, "You came and found me which is all I could have ever asked for."

The tight knot of dread and worry in her chest loosens when she finally allows herself to relax in Natsu's arms. She had worried the entire time she had been dragged through the manor and then through this secret part of the manor that Natsu would get hurt. She had worried that she would no longer ever see him again and that fear had been greater than being taken by mishappen dolls that were not as cruel as she had thought they were. These dolls had only wanted to play, that is why they had insistently chased her for all of these years. They wanted to have fun and saw this whole turmoil as one big game that never seemed to end.

As if they have read her mind, the dolls explode out from their hiding spots all screeching in their grotesque warped voices. It scares the teenagers who once again fear for their lives until they are assaulted with hugs by the dolls who latch onto any part of them. They cling to the teenagers without hurting them, their hugs insistent but gentle.

~nO fAiR~

~wE wAnT hUgS~

~pLaY~

They repeat as they tug and pull on the teenagers who fight to remain standing upright while Natsu tries to gently put Lucy back on her feet. They find themselves laughing at the doll's antics as they refuse to release their hold on them, burying their faces into their sides and whining when the teenagers can't pat their heads fast enough.

"It's morbidly adorable," Natsu chuckles while patting every porcelain, cloth, and wooden head he can reach without toppling over.

"If I had known how docile they could be I probably wouldn't have spent all this time running away from them," Lucy admits while watching the dolls slowly release their hold on her so that they could think up of a new game to play, "I'm sorry Natsu, for getting caught again and making you lose time you could have used to talk to your mother."

Natsu waves her off while smiling, "Finding you was far more important," he admits causing Lucy to blush, "Besides, I didn't leave without her giving me a clue on how to get out of this place."

"A clue?" Lucy asks, relieved when the last doll finally releases their hold on her and Natsu so she can sit on a nearby bed. "What did she tell you?" She asks while wrapping Natsu's cloak, her security blanket, tightly around her before she takes a seat on the creaking bed.

"She said that 'the truth is in the dolls' so I'm guessing whatever we need to know they could probably tell us," Natsu says while looking out throughout the room at the items of their conversation.

"The dolls, huh?" Lucy asks while looking out into the room as well. "I wonder what secrets they could tell us to help," she muses while sighing heavily.

Lucy wondered what the dolls could tell them. What kind of information, secrets, the dolls possessed that could help with their escape of this nightmare? Did they know something the teenagers did not? Was there a secret passageway that would lead them out of purgatory and back home with their friends and family? Would they even be willing to help them at all?

Frustrated at the morbid thoughts, Lucy leans her elbow on her knee and rests her chin on her open palm, eyes transfixed on the brightly decaying room. She scans the peeling wallpaper and barely glances at the warped pictures on the walls, spotting a few faces of people that are probably long gone or much older than the children smiling back at the camera. She wonders if they were real people or just a creation of this nightmarish hellhole.

All around the item of their fears during their time here float or scurry around the room without a care in the world. They have seemed to have forgotten about Natsu and Lucy as a few groups of dolls mull around the room playing with one another. The teenagers can hear several of the toys singing nursery rhymes or even coloring with old broken crayons. It reminds Lucy of a nursery she once visited with her father during a charity event at an orphanage in a different town.

"This is such a strange room to have hidden deep beneath a manor don't you think?" Natsu asks while taking a seat beside Lucy. Close enough where she can feel his warmth permeate the cloak causing her to relax further after she realizes she isn't alone.

"It reminds me of an orphanage I once visited with my dad a long time ago," Lucy says without looking at Natsu.

He feels slightly uncomfortable at the mention of her dad's name as the only image his brain can conjure is that which they witnessed in the nightmare room not too long ago. It makes him shiver uncomfortably at the memory, but the mention of an orphanage reminds him of something.

"The manor used to be an orphanage once," He says while trying to remember what other history he knew about Phantom Lord manor, "I don't remember if the manor itself was an orphanage or if the abandoned orphanage nearby was the only building ever used when it first started operating way back when," Natsu says while trying to remember.

"An orphanage?" Lucy asks and Natsu nods.

"Yeah. I think it was opened some time after Jose Porla passed away, but I don't really remember," Natsu admits sheepishly, "The one who really knows the history about this place is my friend Juvia since she once lived in the old orphanage before it was moved closer to town, but still, that doesn't explain this room beneath the manor."

"I might have heard about the old orphanage," Lucy then admits while she tries her best to remember any historical information that she had read about before.

The only thing she could remember about the Phantom Lord orphanage was that it was run by Jose's right-hand man who disappeared a few years later or something. There was also a slight scandal that had been brushed under the rug of children disappearing from the orphanage which was covered with a statement that those children had simply been adopted, or had run away. No evidence of either had ever been found, however.

Humming in thought, Lucy goes back to watching the dolls as they continue to play throughout the room. A few have even started to run around like children playing tag. Like children playing games in a large room lined with beds in a colorful orphanage…

An Orphanage…

Children…

Dolls…

Dolls that must have once belonged to children…

Missing children…

Lucy gasps, standing to her feet when a thought dawns on her. She stares out at the room wide-eyed as a sick twisted idea that makes her stomach churn while she watches the dolls playing around the room with a realization swimming in her head. A horrible realization that brings tears brimming in her eyes.

"They're… they're not…," she covers her mouth with both of her hands, unable to bring herself to say what she was thinking. Unable to admit the terrible idea screaming in her head insistently, ringing with so much truth it made her dizzy and nauseas.

"Hey, what's wrong Luce?" Natsu asks hurriedly, standing up to wrap a protective arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Who is not what?" he asks again while Lucy shakes under his hold.

A sob rips through Lucy's chest causing the toys around the room to all turn and stare at the crying girl whose heart broke at the sheer number of them scattered throughout the room. Though mangled and grotesque, they had been nothing but gentle ever since they got to know them in this short amount of time. They only wanted to play… they only wanted to be what they really were.

"They're not what Luce?" Natsu asks again, his voice gentle and filled with worry.

"They're not dolls Natsu," Lucy finally cries while looking up at Natsu and giving him a distraught expression.


Sorry for the wait my loves, but life's a doozy and what time to best update than on this wonderful holiday!

I've been a bit busy with my Etsy shop and work. Been getting stocked up on some items to get ready for the upcoming holidays, not to mention I've reached a big milestone this past week. That's right, ya girl is now a quarter of a century old! Another year older, another year wiser, another year waiting to be conquered!

Anywho I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I can't wait to bring you a new one soon!

Shout outs!

Great amazing thanks to my Fangtastic Favorites...

- BethxAngel

- stormforce 15

To my Faboolous Followers...

- BethxAngel

- stormforce 15

And to my Fangtaboolous Reivewers...

- Ushindi = There definitely is... can you guess what it is?

- shootingstarssel = Sorry for the wait but I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to see if your prediction on who the mystery being is is correct or not.

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!