Natsu POV
I wind up in a dark hallway, and frown at my sudden lack of sight. I raise one hand up, fire flashing into existence in a wash of red and yellow sparks. Beginning to walk forward through the darkness, I use my flames to light the way. I do so for a while, before sighing to myself.
How long is this hallway? I wonder, feeling a twinge of annoyance. It's like it goes on forever...
It's silent as a shadow as I walk, save for the sound of my footsteps.
"I thought I heard the ice prick earlier, and I smelled him, too. But then it just stopped," I speak out loud. "What's up with this place?"
I walk for a bit more, when suddenly the peal of bells causes me to perk up. Looking around, I try to tell where the sound is originating from. Before I can start following in their direction, I am distracted by what sounds like muffled singing. The melody rises tenderly and lingeringly, like a haunting perfume of pressed flowers. It only gets louder and louder the further I follow it, until it seems to be right next to me.
"Who's that singing?" I frown, glancing around. A thought then strikes me, and I perk up. "Is it Lucy? Is she trying to lead me to her?"
Using my fire to illuminate the area closest to me, I can see that there's a wall beside me. The wallpaper of hand-painted irises is grimy with years of grubby finger marks and coffee spills, giving it a dejected look.
"No door? I'll just have to make my own," I grin as I rear back my arm.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" I exclaim as I punch the wall. As soon as my attack collides, there is a cloud of dust which obscures my vision. Once it clears, I see that I have successfully broken a hole in the wall. Another thing I notice is that the singing has abruptly halted.
"Luce? Are you in there?"
On the other side of the now ruined wall is a small room with a figure in it. I frown in disappointment when I spot who's actually in the room.
"Oh, it's just you..."
"Are you serious? You just punched a hole in Master's house!" Dragon glares at me.
"I don't give a damn who's house it is!" I snap. "Where the hell is Lucy?!"
"As if I would ever tell you. Now get out of my room and get out of this house!"
"I'm not even in your room!" I protest, before stepping through the hole. "Now I'm..."
I trail off when I see how Dragon's room is decorated wall-to-wall with framed pictures of Paw. Some are photographs, but most are drawings that depict her as some kind of goddess.
"What the...?" I mutter as I look at them. "What's with all the pictures? You can't even see the walls."
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Dragon is staring at them as well, but his expression is much different from mine. "I'm not much of an artist, but I tried my best."
"What are you talking about?"
"I did my best to sketch her for what she truly is," he responds wistfully. "She's a divine goddess in this world full of illusions. And I am at her side as her right hand man, carrying out her unspoken orders."
I'm unsure what to say as I stare at him.
"The others may refer to her as 'Master', but I know they don't see her like I do. So that's why I must punish everyone who doesn't treat her like the magnificent goddess she is. They would all be dead if it wasn't for Master refusing to let me eliminate them. But she never said anything about hurting, so that's what I do instead."
I'm silent as he goes up to one of the pictures of Paw, rapt as he does so.
"But oh, my dear Master...how I wish that you could see that this world isn't real...you don't need to have this place around you, you don't need the others, and you don't need the dreamers...this life is a mere dream, a fleeting shadow on a cloudy day," he speaks, voice dripping with ardor. "If you would only let me, then it could be just you and I forever..."
A macabre smile spreads across Dragon's face as he gazes into the eyes of the picture.
"It would be so perfect...the Goddess and her only creation...Master and Dragon...Paw and Sunflower...let's be together for all of eternity, and never let anyone get between us!"
"You have issues, man..."
"What?" Dragon averts his gaze from the picture to me.
"Look at you. Look at what you're doing. You're standing in a room, talking to a bunch of pictures like some kind of creep," I opined, crossing my arms.
He just stares at me.
"If you wanna be with her so badly, then what are you doing in here? You live in her house so just go and talk to her. The real her," I continued. "Don't spend all your time talking to pieces of paper about how you wanna be with her forever and all that other crap, because they aren't listening."
Dragon continued to stare at me, and I probably would be unnerved if I actually cared.
"And while you're at it, learn how to share, because she isn't gonna destroy this place just because you want to be alone with her forever. She can't just talk to you for the rest of her life, since eventually she'll get bored."
His eyes begin to shift into a glare.
"She'll leave when she gets tired of you, and then what will you do? If you ask me, she'll probably make new friends an-"
I am cut off by Dragon launching his plush dragon at me, and it feels as if he just hurled a rock.
"SHUT UP! What do you know about Master?!" he yells, stomping his foot on the floor. "What do you know about anything?!"
"What the hell is in this thing?!" I ignore him, rubbing the aching spot where the plush had hit.
"You know absolutely nothing about this world, so don't you dare talk like you do!"
"If I don't know anything, then you don't know anything either, cause you're me," I point out.
"This is a form that I take on just to please those damn dreamers that Master spends all her time with! But you know what? I'm done being you! It's time for me to be myself."
Dragon's appearance begins to change, melting away and transforming. His face turns to that of a man with chin-length golden hair, and vivid blue eyes behind a pair of cracked rectangular glasses. His onesie changes from looking like Happy to looking like a hamster, and the dragon plush that I am holding in my hands turns into a plush sunflower.
"I didn't think it was possible for you to get anymore girly, but you proved me wrong..." I muse, looking him up and down.
"Oh for fuck's sake, shut the hell up! I'm not girly, I'm cool!"
"Says the person dressed like a hamster," I retaliate, before tossing the plush sunflower at him. "And who uses a freaking plushie as a weapon..."
He catches it and holds it so tightly that his knuckles go white.
"Ugh! That's it! I've just about had it with all of you!" Dragon spits, his expression livid. "I'll send each and every last one of you straight to hell! Starting with YOU!"
He bolts at me and I sigh, recalling this exact situation from earlier.
"Seriously? Alright."
I go to hit him in the face like before, only for him to duck underneath my fist.
"Huh?"
"Not this time, pinky!"
He slams his plush sunflower into my stomach and sends me into the hallway, crashing into a wall.
"Argh!"
I look up at Dragon, who is stepping through the hole in the wall. Gone is the ungainly fighting style he possessed before—now, just by experiencing that attack, I can clearly tell his techniques have improved.
"Impressed?" he inquires, smirking. "I've been training my ass off for a moment like this."
"It shows," I grumble, pushing myself to my feet.
"Shut your mouth and just die," he snarls. "I couldn't care less what you think, because in the end, you'll still be dead."
Grinning, I prepare for a fight with this more powerful version of Dragon.
"We'll just see about that," I say, my fists igniting with flames. "Let's do this!"
I throw a punch while Dragon swings his plush sunflower once again, beginning the battle between the two of us.
We wind up going back and forth from his room to the hallway a few times until we find ourselves remaining in his room. My fire burns quite a lot of the pictures, too.
"Master!" Dragon cries as the pictures go up in flames.
I take this chance to deliver a hard punch to his face, which causes him to stumble backwards.
"What's the matter, Dragon?" I taunt. "Had enough?"
"Oh, I haven't even had a little bit...you'll pay for this with your life!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Dragon sprints at me once again, attacking with a lot more pressure this time around. I am forced to dodge the attacks because I just can't find an opening.
If I can't land a hit, then I'll have to use other methods.
I take a deep breath as I continue to dodge.
"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"
My opponent barely has any time to react as the fire from my mouth blasts him across the room, slamming him into the wall. His form is charred, and he sits slumped against the now fractured wall.
"Aren't you gonna get up?" I ask after a second. "What're you waiting for?"
There's no response from him, so I stride over and start trying to get him to wake up through patting his head.
"Hey, can you hear me?"
He still isn't talking, so I grab his shoulders and begin shaking him.
"Oi! Say something!"
I shake him for a few more seconds before something happens. Dragon turns into a small plush version of himself in my hands, and I find myself staring at it.
"Sorry about that..." I apologize after a beat. "This would've ended a lot better if you hadn't attacked me."
Going over to the bed, I place the toy of Dragon down on it.
"I wouldn't have roared and you would still be a person instead of a plush," I speak. "So I'm sorry."
Spinning around, I head towards the gaping hole in the wall.
Back to the never-ending hallway...wish I could just find Lucy and get out of here already.
As if on cue, the hole in the wall repairs itself and a door appears, but I assume that it leads back to the hallway so I don't think much of it.
I open the door and step through, only to find I have ended up back in the main room of the house. Nearby, I spot Levy and Gray talking about something.
"Levy? Gray?"
"Natsu?" Levy notices me. "Where did you come from?"
"I walked through the door," I answer.
"What door?" Gray asks.
"Are you blind? The one right behind-" I turn around, only to find that it's gone. "What?! It was there just a second ago!"
"It vanished," Levy tells me. "They did that for ours too."
"Ugh...this place doesn't make any sense. Disappearing doors, unending hallways...it's so confusing," I cross my arms. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"Well, for starters, calm down because getting mad won't help anything," Gray frowns at me. "And we were just trying to figure that out before you came in."
"Have you tried smashing the walls?" I suggest.
"We want to be quiet so Paw doesn't realize that we're here, Natsu," Levy argues. "If we're too loud, then she'll discover us."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"We're thinking about it, dragon breath," Gray rolls his eyes. "So either shut up or help out."
"You wanna go, popsicle pants?" I taunt, striding over and pushing him roughly into a wall in our usual fighting manner. Gray shoots me a cocky smirk as he moves back from the wall towards me, before letting out a sudden hiss as one hand darts up to clasp his head. The eagerness fades from his eyes, leaving them bleak as a winter sky after sunset.
"What's the matter, giving up already?" I joust. But upon getting no response, I frown. "Hey, stripper, you alright?"
"M' good..." he mumbles, rubbing his head for a second before dropping his hand and meeting my eyes. "Anyways...let's just focus on finding Lucy right now..."
That doesn't do anything to curb my concerns, but I oblige nonetheless. All the same, I keep a close eye on my rival as the three of us discuss our next course of action.
Lisanna POV
The door that I have gone through brings me to a backyard area, where I stand on a tarnished stone path and look out over a yard.
Wow...this place is so nice...
The backyard is spacious, with a neat white picket fence surrounding it. Grass grows that is short like a bowling green, interspersed with weeds and different flowers. There's a large tree in the far end of the yard, with an old-looking swing hanging from its branches. Like a jellyfish on the seashore, the swing's weathered wood hangs motionless from fraying threads.
Wait a second...what's that? I frown, narrowing my eyes to get a better look. There is a silhouette that looks like a person underneath the shade of the tree, standing atop a pedestal. But I'm not able to tell if it's an actual person or not.
"Hello?" I call out, trying to get their attention.
There is no response, so I move closer to them―only to discover that it is actually a statue. Said statue is in surprisingly good condition, the figure of an old woman. The sweet, almost sickly, smell of flowers cuts through the soft scent of the grass, and I look down to see varied flowers piled around the pedestal.
"Oh. It's just a statue."
I notice that there's a plate on the pedestal that the statue is set on, so I crouch down to get a closer look. Words are etched into the bronze metal, and due to how well-kept the statue is I can effortlessly make out what it says.
"'The Best Mother Who Ever Lived, Protea'," I read the plate. "'She was so Great that Even Death Couldn't Steal Her Away'."
I frown as I stand back up and gaze at the statue.
So this is some kind of memorial? If it is, then why does it say that 'death couldn't steal her away'? Memorials are supposed to be for people who have died.
I stare into the pupil-less eyes of the statue.
Weird...it feels like it's staring back at me. I shudder. It's so lifelike, too...it's almost as if it could move at any...moment...
Continuing to stare into the eyes of the statue, I slowly begin to reach out.
"I wonder if it's actually..." I touch the statue's stone hand and wrap my fingers around it, my eyes going wide at the feeling.
"It's...warm? How is it warm? This is a statue in the shade, it should be cold."
I continue holding the statue's hand, trying to dissect the reason behind the stone's warmth.
Paw...has...forgotten...
I flinch and quickly retract my hand, my eyes searching around me.
"Who said that?" I can't figure out where the voice has come from, before frowning. "Was it...the statue?"
I reach out again slowly, and grasp the statue's limb.
Paw...has...forgotten... The voice repeats, and I realize that they are vocalizing telepathically.
"Forgotten what?"
Forgotten...what...I had...taught...her...
"What did you teach her?"
Many...things...but...friends come and...go...but will...always...come back...sooner...or...later...true friends...are...the...ones always...with...you...she has...forgotten...
I am mute, listening to the voice speak to me.
She must...remember...or...she must...learn...if you...love...something...let it go...
"Do you want me to teach her this?" I ask. "Or make her remember?"
Yes...teach...Paw...for me...make...her...remember what...I...had taught...her...her...friends...are...the...ones here...in...the...Dream...Realm...the ones...she made...
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell her everything that you said," I reassure them.
Thank...you...
"You're welcome..."
Now...go... They urge. Hurry...before...someone else...is...hurt...
I nod and turn to head back to the house, but I have forgotten that I am still holding the hand of the statue so...
"I really hope that crash was just my imagination..." I bit my lip, turning around slowly.
To my dismay, the statue is now in pieces on the ground.
"Uhh..."
I scoop up all of the statue pieces and put them back on the pedestal in a big pile of rubble.
"I am SO sorry!" I apologize profusely to the stones. "I didn't- I wasn't trying to-"
I search around for some kind of solution, before bowing to the rubble.
"Sorry!" I apologize once more.
Turning round, I bolt back towards the house, throwing open the door and hurrying inside. To my surprise, Natsu, Gray and Levy are inside of the room, and appear to be having a conversation.
"We can't burn a hole in the wall, either..." Levy sighs.
"Why not?" Natsu whines.
"Because fire spreads, and don't you think that she would smell the smoke?"
"Worth a- oh, hey Lis!"
"Hi," I greet him.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Levy frowns, apparently concerned. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" I lie, feeling guilty. "What are you guys doing?"
"Oh well, we're just trying to figure out what to do, but this idiot is getting us nowhere," Gray nods his head towards Natsu.
"Shut up, freezer brain..." Natsu glares at the ice wizard. "At least I'm suggesting ideas..."
"Bad ideas..."
"Why you-!"
The two of them begin to argue, which I find odd, expecting them to get into their usual full-out brawl. I brush it off as nothing, Levy just shaking her head at them before turning her attention onto me.
"Do you want to lend me a hand in figuring out what to do?" she asks. "We might be able to get somewhere while they're arguing."
"Sure."
I go over to her and start coming up with ideas on what to do, and trying to get my mind off of the fact that I have probably just killed someone.
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