A/N: "Jellal is a pain to write with all his nuances, and broken magic reserves. (Broken as in over powered). I had to make sure I used all of his stuff in a way that made sense to him as a character. I hope he doesn't feel too OOC. Frackin Jellal, pain in my ceremonial ass." She slams her chawan down aggressively.

Disclaimer- Own Fairy Tail I do not, write about them, I must.


Chapter 6- The Onsen

Two weeks passed after Natsu and Lucy received a scolding from Markarov. They were banned from all clubs in Magnolia for a solid period of a year. The incident reached to other locations quickly, thanks to "The Weekly Sorcerer" headline, above a picture of the melted building:

Natsu and Lucy caught "Water Vibe" on fire with zero casualties!

COOOOL!- Jason

Now even if they wanted too, would never be allowed near another club outside Magnolia, in addition to the year ban within their own city.

SsS

Preparing to leave had been a daunting task. Erza purchased another wagon made of steel instead of wood as an upgrade. Natsu, Lucy and Happy did missions without rest to help with travel funds. Between the three of them, they collected enough to pay for two months of rent at Fairy Hills, making it 20,000,000 jewels. Gray spent most of his time with Juvia, she was still too clingy for him. However the long absence helped him further come to terms with their new relationship and was surprised that his water mage hadn't made an attempt to bring him home. Juvia had been distraught since he was leaving so soon after he came back, but understood that this was a Job, Gray promised that he would come back for her. That gave Juvia all the hope she needed. As for Wendy and Charle, they went to Porlyusica for further training in healing magic that produced excellent results.

Everyone gave their well wishes with tears and hugs, as a gift provided team Natsu with the latest edition of a lacrima phone to stay in touch. Erza already owned one, so she gave it to Fairy Tail's smaller sweetheart, who thanked them kindly.

SsS

A train whistled through the station, signifying its arrival. Once on board Natsu instantly keeled over along with Wendy after placing themselves in their respective seats, as the train began to move.

"Lucy, it's like the night of Fire Whisky all over again…." He hurled over, losing his balance off his perch, and somehow vomited on Gray.

"Aaaawwww god, why? Fire prick, can't you go die somewhere else?" Gray stripped his white coat and vest making him half naked. At least this time he had a good reason.

"Uggghhh, make it stop." Wendy whimpered trying her best to hold it back as much as possible against the window seat next to Lucy. Unfortunately the curse of a Dragon Slayer is the stronger their magic, the more motion sickness affects the user. Charle gave her a liquid to drink that caused severe drowsiness, lulling her to sleep for the duration. There was enough for one dose.

"Charle, be a pal." Now on the floor reached out to the Exceed who was still in her original form.

"Absolutely not, there was only one to start with and I'm not wasting it. You should know better, I feel both you and Wendy should learn to control this somehow. I forgive Wendy, but you are shameful to look at." Charle finished her speech while floating above Natsu's head.

The fire mage went green with protest till he felt a foot connect with his head knocking him out.

"That was for throwing up on me earlier." Gray sat back rightfully annoyed.

"Gray got familiar with Natsu's stomach."

Gray roughly pulled Happy by the tail and proceeded to pinch his cheeks painfully to make the blue cat's mouth open in a torturous manner.

"M fowwy gweh!"

Lucy and Erza rubbed their temples in unison and looked at each other from across their seats in silent understanding. Erza pulled Gray smack into her breast plate which caused him to lose consciousness. Lucy reached over to snag onto Happy and held him tightly, even if the Exceed squirmed to be free. Both women smiled. Wendy's head rested gently on Lucy's lap as Charle curled up with her, Gray was in Erza's lap with a lump on his head. Natsu (who was still on the train floor) was out cold, making it for a very peaceful trip before the next train stop.

SsS

They discovered the mountain had been called Naitosutōkā (Night stalker) Mountain. The onsen had been lovingly named Yomi Yokai Ramen (Underworld Demon Noodles). All seven members appeared as though they tasted something very disgusting.

"Erza, I don't like this." Lucy stood behind Natsu since the sign's condition and ominous wording was little to be desired. It read:

Welcome to Yomi Yokai Ramen of Naitosutoka Mountain!

Please come join us till you can't move a muscle.

"Nonsense, if Jellal said this place has a good reputation I believe him. We should move onward, the hot springs will be a delight on the skin. All seven of us can bathe together."

Lucy caught up with her in an almost jog. "Are you sure this is the place Jellal said to go too? It's well…"

"We should give it a chance. Remember, we're all together. As long as we stay that way, we can beat anything." She pat Lucy's head in a comforting way, making any arguments null and void.

"Erza, do we have to have a bath with the guys? Can't we be separate?" Even though Wendy had gotten used to incidents where they were all exposed to each other, she didn't want to make a situation where it was intentional.

Charle walked in her human form next to Erza, Wendy and Lucy, with Natsu and Gray bringing up the rear. "I agree with Wendy she's still a young girl. It would be inappropriate for men to see her without clothes. I simply must request the girls be separate, there is no need for them to join us."

"Even now I don't like Natsu seeing me." She pointed a thumb backwards towards the guys. "I think I'll separate and bathe with Charle and Wendy."

Natsu casually walked next to them, joining in on their debate with arms behind his head, then his hips as spoke to her in passing. "Aw come on Luce it'll be fun, it's not like I haven't seen it all before." He made his voice low enough for only the girl in question to catch "I can even scrub your back for you." He knew he was flirting, he picked up a thing or two from Guildarts and Loki.

For whatever reason, Lucy was tempted which elicited her cheeks to go red and not unnoticed by the one who made the suggestion. "L..like hell."

The dragon's response was a snicker since she was so easy and fun to tease.

"I say we just get there, and figure it out. All this bickering is giving me a headache." Coming in from behind watched for everyone's flank, since they seemed a bit too relaxed for his liking.

"Funny since it's coming from you." Happy flew on his back like he was floating on water in the middle of a vacation.

"Damn it, didn't I give you enough punishment on the train? Fucking fur-ball." Gray lit a cigarette. He had stopped smoking way back when, but constantly being with this crew got him started up again, Wendy was the only one who didn't stress him out.

Erza stopped her trek suddenly and pulled the freshly lit stick out of his mouth tossing it to the wayside. "You know better, do I have to go through the same methods to get you to quit like the last time?"

Gray visibly flinched, the reason why he quit soon after Lucy joined, was because this woman locked him in a room and force fed him repugnant smelling foods for three days to get the toxins out of his system. After that ordeal, he swore to never touch them again. "See Erza not smoking, definitely clean!" Plastering on a stressed smile, dumped the entire box out for emphasis.

"That's what I like to hear."

SsS

The Onsen had been surprisingly well kept. Three painted red wood story walls with gold pillars added to the charm of the old stone bridge they crossed. You could hear the mountain falls behind it, creating a low mist surrounding the area. Since it was twilight, an orange glow touched the surface of every object in its path, creating a spiritual sense of cleanliness, ironic due to the welcome board.

A man in a plain forest green yukata, cinched at the hips, casually stepped down from the crimson double door entrance way embroidered with a Shinigami (Japanese death god) ink painting down the center; where two circular bronze handles met. "Greetings, greetings my young friends. You wouldn't happen to be Erza would you?" His overly thick voice, caused slight unrest.

"Yes I am."

"Delightful. Jellal already told me you were coming, he should be here soon. I happen to be an…old acquaintance if you will. My name is Annek Warlin. Please come in and get settled. From my understanding it will be a long time before you can rest, hm?"

Natsu didn't like this man already, Annek had a scent that was absolutely horrid, and it took all of the dragon slayer's self-control not to gag. Stepping close to Lucy, held her hand and pushed through their team to get passed Warlin as quickly as possible.

"Natsu?" He heard his name from her, but stared ahead with an unreadable expression.

Erza watched with a raised eyebrow at his weird behavior as he pulled both him and Lucy inside."Yes… thank you that would be much appreciated. I take it we are all in one room?"

Annek's mouth twitched upward, "I hope that would be alright with you?"

"Yes that will be fine, we prefer it that way." Erza bowed politely then followed after Lucy and Natsu, everyone else was strangely quiet as well.

SsS

"Natsu, is this a new habit? What is your problem let me g-" Natsu embraced her, then stuck his nose in between the crook of her neck inhaling her sweet smelling scent of Jasmine, honey and just a touch of smoke from his own. A devilish smile secretly came across handsome features, knowing he would keep that discovery to himself.

Lucy went stiff as a board, "N-Natsu what are y-" He interrupted her again as the corners of his mouth trailed up from her neck to her cheeks and jawline as his hand grasped the back of her head to keep her from moving.

Strangely fighting different kinds of temptations continued, "Just, let me. That guy smelled like seven day old garbage, filled with rotten meat and fish." A few seconds more passed till he was satisfied. "And gone. If I ever have to smell someone that disgusting again, I think I'll just burn the man out of his misery." Natsu let Lucy go as they waited for the others to catch up.

"Why me though."

He leaned against the wall opposite of the door, crossed his arms and legs only to look at her sternly. "After all this time, do I really have to explain it Luce?"

Pink dusted her cheeks, "You told me once it calmed you."

"Yeah."

Their friends finally showed up and trailing behind them was Annek, Natsu frowned seeing Wendy's own discomfort at the man. "Here Wendy," Shoving Lucy directly in front of her made his case clear, whispering so only Wendy could make out his words."Lucy's scent will help, so stick to her till we're out of smelling range." He controlled his breathing in a way where Annek didn't get to him nearly as bad.

"Sorry about this Lucy," The sky dragon took Lucy by the arm and kept close to her, almost like a chiclet to her mother.

"No worries, I understand." Natsu, Lucy and Wendy stayed in front of everyone in the narrow halls, the weather went from beautiful sunset to gray, rainy and melancholy. The old sliding paper doors had gruesome pictures of Demons fighting man, dragons and each other.

"I guess they like to stick with a theme…" Gray wasn't really speaking to anyone in particular, but it was Annek who answered while carrying an old fashioned lantern that came from the East.

"Ah yes, my family had a strange sense of design. If you don't mind, let me get passed you and I can show you the rest of the way." He had to push through them because the halls were more meant for a single file line, than bunched up like they were. "Ah, here we are."

The sliding door creaked, revealing the Onsen's true age making Lucy and Wendy shiver. "Make yourselves at home." With that he left down the very deep hallway leaving them in now pitch darkness. For whatever reason the architects who built it, didn't believe in windows.

As if on que Natsu had a flame going in the palm of his hand for all of them to see, as they piled into the room. Lucy and Wendy stuck to his side like glue. Erza found their own room's lantern, as the rain pitter pattered against red oak that was centuries old. You could hear every bang, scratch and thump made by either guests, not that they saw any, or natural settling. She brought it over for Natsu to light it, Gray was inspecting each wall by tapping on them, feeling something was off. Wendy and Lucy huddled in a corner frightened out of their wits.

The stellar spirit mage's voice fluctuated from fear and nervousness. "I'm never taking tickets Jellal has given you, again."

"Spooky…" Wendy was happy to cling to the celestial wizard because Natsu had been right, Lucy's sent was very calming.

"I'm with them, this place isn't right. How did Jellal give you those tickets?"

"He handed them to me in person, what to do you mean how?" At that there was a knock on their door's frame since Annek closed it behind him.

Natsu knew immediately who it was, even though his back was to the entrance. "Ask him yourself." His thumb pointed to said sliding screen door.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I was supposed to meet you here, but as usual Erza your timing has always been better than mine. Now let me explain about this Onsen." Jellal brushed off the water from his long coat. "We should have a seat." Erza brought the lantern in the middle as everyone sat around in a circle, anxious to hear what would be said. "First off, this old building doubles as a haunted house during the fall and winter months." He walked over to where the back wall met the side wall, tapped on the center panel and a fake ghost woman covered in blood popped out, scaring the daylights out of Lucy, Wendy and Charle. "So there's a lot of trap doors, secret entrances, pathways the list goes on." He shoved the weird thing back into the compartment. "It's said that this place really is haunted, but there's been no confirmation on it. Second of all, the owner recently opened it for the public a year ago when it used to be so closed off. It's really a big mystery why he suddenly put this place on the map, and how it got well known so quickly."

"So you wanted us to investigate?" Gray casually put his weight on his right arm while leaning back, fully clothed.

"That's only part of it, the story is Annek's family had a secret. There was a rumor that this place had a basement guarding sacred treasure protected by their gods."

Lucy excitedly snapped her fingers and pointed, "I get it! That secret treasure could be the egg we've been searching for."

Jellal grinned, "Correct."

"You sly devil, just tell us next time without all the smoke and mirrors." Slapping him on the back almost knocked the wind out of him and proceeded to wrap his arm around his shoulders bending both of them down. "Erza, you should keep this one. I think he fits in." Erza and Jellal went red in their cheeks. Natsu had let him go so he could set up his sleeping bag in a far corner.

"Are you in the same room with us?" Blue hair swished about as she walked over and looked way up at him while carrying Charle.

"No, my room is right across from yours. Though, Erza would you join me for a moment while we go over the specifics?" At this point he had turned away from the door so his body faced forward, but his head tilted slightly back over his shoulder so he could be heard.

"Yes of course be right there."Standing proceeded to follow him out. However Natsu and Gray started to snicker in the background.

"Battle plans, that's a lame excuse." Unfortunately it was Gray who spoke first. Erza turned on him and hit him where it hurt most, then Natsu's head since he was laughing too.

"Oooowwww, But I didn't say anything." He watched Erza walk out and slam the door. Lucy, Happy, Wendy and Charle just palmed their foreheads with a resounding smack.

Happy lazily floated around. "You two are idiots, good thing I'm the only mature one around here."

Groaning and holding his manhood, reprimanded the exceed for the second time that day, "Fuck off cat."

The day was long, and they knew the night would be longer as they waited for Erza's return, but fell asleep waiting.

SsS

Lucy woke up only to find that Erza never came back, however Wendy was wide awake with a very flustered expression. "What's wrong?"

"Erza is fine, I swear!"

Lucy blinked a few times. "I didn't ask anything about Erza."

"Well I've been hearing things. Sorry if I was jumpy." She clutched Charle as the Exceed attempted to comfort her.

"Oh. OH, oohh... You and that dragon hearing of yours is sometimes not wanted huh…" Lucy truly felt for the girl.

Wendy only nodded grimly. "I can't help it. It's the same with different scents too, like Erza and Gray weren't bothered by , but Natsu and I couldn't stand his smell. I can also pick up the scent of other things," pointing to their door solemnly added "I don't want too but I do. I know Natsu can hear and smell them too. I'm wouldn't be surprised if he was awake putting up with it also."

"What Erza does, is her business." Said man waved facing away, while his head rested from within his sleeping bag. "Just ignore them Wendy and go to sleep. It's the best we can do." Propping his head up to look at her from behind him, "IF it makes you feel any better, Erza's still a virgin." Natsu tapped his nose with his index and winked at her, "Never underestimate a dragon's nose." Wendy and Lucy went red at his comment.

"Don't go saying things like that!" Lucy tossed a pillow for emphasis, to which it bounced off his head as he laid there ignoring it. Happy and Gray continued to slumber like the dead as everyone else drifted back to sleep.

SsS

Thunk, thump, scratch, thunk thump scratch, scraaatccchhhhhh, bang, bang, bang against the hidden compartment and it became louder and louder as it made an inhuman groan in Lucy's ears. It's shadowy figure loomed overhead, reaching for Lucy's foot and tugged her across the room to where the ghost doll had been hidden in the wall. Her breathing became harder, as a cold sweat went up her spine unable to move since she could feel something there, but the room was pitch black as though it were an underground tunnel. A sound like a fingernail next to the wall slowly dragged down against the hard wood behind the same wall. Lucy couldn't breathe, nor could she call for help completely paralyzed. Lucy felt a cold hand with long fingers grab her head and pull her into the hidden compartment.

SsS

"Lucy… Lucy! Wake up, Lucy!" Natsu shook her awake hearing her scream in her sleep. He had not once seen her have a nightmare like this. It didn't help that she was also burning with fever. He skillfully spit fire towards the lantern's candle wick, brightening up the room. To him it felt like it was around three in the morning. "Gray… Hey Gray! Wake your sorry ass up."

"What, do you want?" His gruff voice was thick with tired aggravation.

"I can't wake her up and she's having a fever, we need to cool her down."

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Lucy won't wake up, and she has a high temperature." Natsu held Lucy's head as she just shook her head no delirious. What unnerved him the most, was she kept pointing to the wall where that creepy doll had been.

Gray crawled over from his corner and touched Lucy's head, realizing her temperature was at a dangerous degree. Pulling Lucy close encircled her in a calm wind of ice.

For some reason that scene bothered Natsu more than he suspected it would as he pushed Wendy awake. "Wendy... Wendy wake up... something's going on."

Wendy woke up to see how ill Lucy was and attempted to heal her as she pulled Heartfilia away from Gray. "Something is interfering with my healing!"

Natsu kneeled next to Lucy, while Wendy worked her magic, almost afraid to touch her. His gut told him to check out the compartment, however he didn't want to Leave Lucy's side. "Gray, open the trap-door."

"Cool down Lucy, open the compartment. Anything else step mother?"

"Just do it Gray." Natsu wasn't in the mood for games, he needed Lucy fixed now and to find out what was causing all this mess.

"Alright, alright I get it." Gray used his knuckle to tap the trap door, and to his surprise the doll wasn't there, but a large opening that lead downward instead. "What the fu…." Lucy interrupted him.

"The girl is a celestial mage, yes?" Her eyes instead of soft brown were simply black irises. Whomever was speaking, wasn't their Lucy. "I shall lead you where you need to go." Lucy rose like she had been dead for over a hundred years and swayed back and forth. Then suddenly appeared before Natsu and Gray again, except her face wasn't the face of Lucy but an overcast of a woman in a ceremonial death kimono.

"What did you do to Lucy." Natsu fisted her collar and shook furiously.

"Fear not dragon child, the girl is alive, barely. However I need you to follow me. Hurry or she won't last much longer." Then pointed to the very dark depressing doorway.

"Natsu wait, something isn't right!" Wendy casted milky-way hastily at the first sight of Lucy's odd behavior, only to find out that the girl possessing Lucy was not what she seemed. There were two different presences within the blonde woman.

Happy and Charle were already awake and witnessed Wendy interrogate the spirit. Their eyes bulged while clinging to each other.

"Lucy is scarier than ever!" Happy stayed in the corner both of them stricken with terror.

"Who are you, vile demon." Wendy bravely challenged the spirit to answer. Lucy's mouth opened up to a very wide maw elongating the jaw more than humanly possible, cackled and flew down into the opening that looked like it was a shrine gate.

"Lucy! Wendy get Erza now." It was not a request.

Desperation was evident."But what will you do Natsu?"

"I'm going after her, I'm not letting it take Lucy!"

Wendy ran across the hall, now feeling every waking spirit in this wretched Onsen, and repetitively banged on Jellal's room. "Something got to Lucy and it dragged her body down below under the Onsen. Natsu went to go after her but it's got a really bad vibe."

Erza and Jellal instantly opened the door, "Show me." Erza felt tension in her heart.

Wendy entered the room but everything looked normal, Gray was attacking at what seemed to be a solid wall."Gray what are you doing?!" Erza stopped him in his tracks.

"It, just disappeared, it swallowed them!" The dim low light flickered as the temperature dropped.

"Here let me." Jellal casted a barrier breaking spell and discovered what kept the entrance closed. "This is old and ancient magic. Someone was trying to keep something in."

"Can you undo it?" Erza already knew the answer.

"Is it a question?" A confident smile adorned his face, making Erza feel warm within. Jellal casted a spell that makes any sealing spell obsolete, it glowed green with ancient and archaic symbols forcing the red gate to appear. "We need to enter now, I can't keep it open for long."

Wendy, Gray, Erza, Jellal, Happy and Charle entered before the wall closed off as if it was never there in the first place.