2. Arrival at White Shore and a Dark Book
When the trio arrived at White Shore Station, it was already night time. The station was completely empty, with the exception of a weary-looking man in a ticket booth. An empty plastic bag cartwheeled across the dirty ground; the only movement in the entire complex.
"Wow, this place is so boring! Do you think the rest of the town is like this?" Natsu asked, looking a little depressed.
"It's night time, of course there's no one here!" Lucy snapped. She immediately felt guilty for yelling. "The town will be more lively, I'm sure. Just wait until morning." She fished out the brochure with the train times on it, and unfolded it. On the back, there was a detailed map of the town, highlighting anything a tourist needed to know about. Information centres, cafes, hot spots, and, of course, hotels.
Lucy traced a finger along the main roads, until she found what she was looking for. "Here we go! White Shore Cabins! Wow, it's just off the coast! We'll have a beachside view, guys!"
"You, know, we're not here for a holiday Lucy, you lazy-butt!" Happy chastised. She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I know, I know. But there's no reason we can't enjoy our mission, right?" The little cat just shrugged. "Think about it like this; beachside means we're right next to the ocean. And the ocean means fish!"
The effect was immediate. The exceeds eyes lit up, and he hovered off the ground with a look of pure ecstasy on his face "Fish?" he sighed happily, passing into a fish-induced trance. "I can bring one back for Charle!"
"Mmhmm, you sure can! Now let's go! Natsu?" she called. He was staring at something in the darkness. His enhanced senses must have caught something she didn't. "Natsu? Do you see something?"
"No… I smell something." He suddenly ran off, disappearing into the darkness. Happy snapped out of his dream, and followed him.
"Hey! Wait up guys!" Lucy slung her bag back over her shoulders and dashed after them. Natsu was fast, and she didn't have his tracking abilities. If she didn't follow, she'd probably never find him again. "Don't you think chasing mysterious stuff in the night is a bad idea?"
Up ahead, Natsu could smell something very strong. In fact, it wasn't just scent anymore. There was an aura that was getting stronger and stronger. It felt dark, too. Very dark and very old magic. He'd liken it to Zeref's aura, though far more diluted. He quickened his pace. Lucy and Happy were just behind him, he could smell them. The figure up ahead was getting closer, and he could definitely smell him. As the smell got more potent, a figure came into sight. Not only that, but the figure was holding something that looked awfully like a sword.
The figure was facing them, sword raised. Natsu saw a pair of wild, orange eyes come into view, and turned to Lucy. "Pulled out your keys now! Roar of the-"
And then, the figure vanished. The smell vanished, the aura dissipated, and Natsu was left alone. It was only then he realised he was standing on a small mountain of white sand. White sand…. White Shore!
Natsu looked over to the street. Lamps bathed the road in a dull, yellow glow. There was no sign of life anywhere else. The buildings lining the street were all locked and dark. In Magnolia, light would have been peering out the windows, and you would have heard people inside, talking and laughing. Here, there was only silence and darkness. Natsu didn't like it one bit.
"Hey! Where'd he go?" Happy called. Lucy followed him, keys out and ready to summon. She slowed to a stop, standing beside her partner.
"Natsu… Are you sure you actually sensed something?" Lucy frowned, tucking her keys back into their bag. She placed a hand on his shoulder, worried. He nodded, looking around confused.
"I smelt him. His magic was really old and really dark, but it seemed very… weak. Like it was just and illusion or something. Then, I saw these orange eyes. They looked really angry, and the guy had a sword raised over his head."
"Faint magic, huh?" Lucy took a deep breath. "Do you remember the mission brief?"
"Of course! We have to defeat and ancient evil and it's army of ghosts," he said, matter-of-factly. Lucy sighed, shaking her head.
"Uh, close enough. Natsu, as dumb as this sounds, I think you saw a ghost." He turned to face her, confused.
"So, what does that mean?" he asked. "Can I still kick it's ass?"
"No, dumbass. A ghost is a disturbed spirit. It has no corporeal form. It's just a lost soul," she explained. He gave her a quizzical look. "It doesn't have a body," she dumbed it down. "Punching a ghost would be like punching air; it has no effect."
"What? So I don't get to hit anything? That sucks!" Natsu groaned, hanging his head.
"We don't know that yet. Chances are, someone's summoning those ghosts. You'll probably get to hit them, if it makes you feel any better," Lucy comforted. "Now come on, we need to go talk to that hotel manager."
It seemed that luck was on their side, as White Shore Cabins was only 5 minutes up the beach they'd ended up at. Lucy found it curious that the ghost had appeared so close to the supposedly haunted hotel, but made no comment. After all, her present company probably wouldn't appreciate the insight.
Happy was soaked in sea water, after diving into the ocean in pursuit of fish. Natsu was soaked too, after diving in after him when Happy was 'attacked' by seaweed. Lucy was fairly certain he was sulking too. The motion of the waves had made him motion sick the moment he realised the water was moving. The current had pushed him back onto shore, green-faced and panting.
He then proceeded to throw up.
That '5 minutes' up the beach had become 25 when Lucy had to comfort them both before they could start walking again. She was fairly certain Natsu was now hydrophobic, though she still couldn't understand how the ocean could make you motion sick. Nevertheless, they finally made it to the hotel.
Which actually wasn't a hotel. Like the name suggested, it was a series of log cabins, set at the water's edge. It was rustic and charming, with a small campfire area and wooden chairs set out on the porch.
The main reception building was slightly taller than the other cabins, but built out of logs like everything else. Really, the only thing that gave it away was the large, hand painted sign, emblazoned with the word 'RECEPTION' in large, red letters. Natsu and company climbed up the stairs to the front porch, ducking under heavy, metal lanterns flickering with candlelight. With his usual disregard other people's property, Natsu kicked the door open, ignoring the handle, and walked up to the front desk.
"Why didn't you just open it," Lucy groaned. "You know, like a normal person?" She shoved him aside, and tapped on the little silver bell sitting on the counter. There was no response. She waited a moment, before tapping it again. "Hello, Mr Breichs?" she called. "We're from Fairy Tail."
"Yeah, we're here to kick some ghost ass!" Natsu added.
"Didn't she say ghosts don't have asses?" Happy asked, looking confused.
"Don't be ridiculous, Happy! Everything has an ass! Lucy's just being weird," he dismissed.
"Lucy's always weird!" The exceed complained, flying up onto Natsu's shoulder. His wings vanished seconds later. "Hello? Is anyone home?"
"This is strange. Should we have a look around? Maybe he's working somewhere on the grounds. Do manager's do that?" Lucy wondered, turning to leave.
"Come one Happy, let's follow the weirdo," Natsu said.
"Ahem? Did someone call?" a voice asked from the front desk.
"KYAAH!" Lucy yelped, shooting into the air, she reached for her keys, turning back around. Her arm froze when she saw an elderly man in a brilliant purple cloak. He looked to be hunched over, with a back almost parallel to the ground. Pushing his spectacles up his nose, he squinted at the mages before him.
"Would you travellers care for a room?" he asked, still squinting.
"Uh, actually, we're from Fairy Tail. You sent for some help with ghosts?" Lucy replied, holding up the job sheet.
"Oh, yes of course! So those are your guild marks then? Those pink and red things?"
Unconsciously, both Natsu and Lucy looked to the respective marks. "Um, yes… Anyway, the ghosts? Would you be willing to answer a couple of questions about them?" Lucy asked. Why did he bring up our guild marks?
"Sure, sure. Come through to the back, I just put on a pot of tea."
"So, when did they first start to appear?" asked Lucy. She sat in a lumpy green armchair with a cup of tea in her lap. Natsu sat in a similar chair, Happy sitting on his lap. He'd passed on the cup of tea, and eyed the old man with a curious look. He hadn't spoken two words since Mr Breichs's arrival.
"When did what start to appear?" Mr Breichs queried, looking completely befuddled.
"The ghosts, Mr Breichs," Lucy repeated. If she hadn't seen one earlier herself, she'd have been convinced the old man was seeing things. He had no memory of anything more than a minute ago, and seemed completely unreliable. Annoying though it was, Lucy felt sorry for him at the same time. From the looks of things, he was all alone up here.
"Oh right! Of course! Yes, well, I think it was about three months ago, there was a young man staying here. It was very late, and everyone had gone to bed, and he came up to the reception desk and complained about noises coming from the roof. He left the next day, and I went up to investigate. That's when I saw it; a shadowy figure with glowing, red eyes. He vanished moments later, so I didn't have a chance to further investigate, but I keep seeing them all over the premises. They're always a little bit different, though. Some have green eyes, some have red eyes, some have blue eyes, some have…" he trailed off, into a list of eye colours. When he got to colour number 9 (pink), Lucy cut him off.
"What was that book you mentioned in the job sheet? The one depicting an ancient evil?" she asked, placing her cup of tea on a side table. Immediately, the old man went quiet. He licked his lips, and pushed his spectacles up his nose again. He had a habit of doing that. It was quite distracting.
"Yes… The book," he swallowed, before getting shakily to his feet and wandering away. Lucy frowned, and was about to inquire as to where the hell he was going, when she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. Lucy turned to Natsu, who looked somewhat panicked.
"Lucy, remember the ghost thing? Remember the strange aura and musty smell I told you about?" he hissed into her ear. She nodded, giving him a quizzical look. Natsu gestured to the doorway the old man had retreated through. "That guy had the same scent and the same aura. I think he's a ghost!"
Lucy frowned and shook her head. "It's not possible. He picked up that tea pot a moment ago. Ghosts can't interact with the physical world, remember? Are you sure it's him you smell, and not, say, something on the premises?"
"I-I don't know. I'm pretty sure," he asserted, doubting himself a little. Lucy was smart, she knew about these things. Even so, he was sure the smell had been coming from him. Had his nose been fooled?
"Here." Both mages jolted. Mr Breichs had re-entered the room with impossible silence, clutching a thick, dusty book in his arms. "I found this in the basement below the reception building. No one's ever been down there in my time; it was sealed off. But when the hauntings started happening, I got worried and wanted to investigate. Anyway, I couldn't read too much of it, my eyesight's gone downhill a little, but I got the gist of it. I think the book talks about some kind of prophecy. I could be wrong, but I think it details the prophesised resurrection of a very powerful, very dark sorcerer. Feel free to study it."
"If you don't mind me asking, Mr Breichs, how long have these cabins been here?" Lucy asked, wondering about the time period. The time of Zeref was 400 years ago, he was the first person to jump to mind at the mention of 'powerful, dark sorcerer'. If this place was any older than 300 years, she'd worry it was written within that basement itself. Mr Breichs looked incredibly old, so 'his time' would be pretty considerable. And if a dark mage had written an ancient, powerful spell book down there, the hauntings could be far more sinister than they appeared.
"Hmm, I'm not quite sure. I think about 150 years or so. They're quite old, but they've been refurbished in recent years, so they're quite safe. No need to worry young lady," he smiled.
"Thank you, Mr Breichs," said Lucy, feeling quite relieved. "You've been very helpful. I promise, we'll get rid of the ghosts for you." She stood to leave, as did Natsu.
"Here, I'll show you both to your cabins," he said, passing the heavy tome to Lucy.
"Both? What about me?" Happy frowned, crossing his arms. Mr Breichs looked around, startled. His eyes landed on Happy.
"Oh my gosh! A talking cat!" he gasped. Lucy rolled her eyes. You only just noticed the blue cat? Seriously?
Happy grinned, flexing his furry little biceps "I know, I'm awesome, right?"
"My apologies, sir and madam, but no pets are allowed in the cabin." Happy's jaw dropped.
"Hey, I'm not a pet! I'm a member of Fairy Tail, jerk!" Happy yelled.
"Hey, he's not a pet! He's a member of Fairy Tail!" Natsu yelled at the same time as Happy. Lucy, attempting diplomacy, grabbed Natsu by the shoulder and held him back.
"I'm sorry, sir, but Happy here is a member of our team. Can't we just have an exception this time?" she begged, shooting the elderly man her best smile. He just shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Miss, but that cat can't be in the cabin. If you like, he can stay here in the reception. We have a kennel out back he can sleep in."
"A kennel?" Happy breathed aghast. "Kennels are for dogs! I'm an exceed! Not a dog, an exceed!"
"Are you sure you can't-" Lucy argued back.
"Positive. Either he stays in the kennel, or he has to leave."
"Hey, that's my friend you're talking about," Natsu roared, setting his fist alight. "If he can't stay with us, we refuse to help you!"
"Natsu! We can't go back now, they will have already discovered we've gone. Think of Erza." That did the trick. Natsu stilled completely, flaming fist extinguished. "Now shut up for a second. I'll deal with this," Lucy said, turning to the indignant exceed. "Happy, if you stay in the kennel tonight, I'll go to the markets and buy you a massive fish tomorrow. Ok?"
Happy looked conflicted. "Fish," he mused, thinking quietly. "Fine! But I get to pick out the fish, ok?"
"Ok," Lucy smiled. "Thank you Happy." Natsu still looked furious about the arrangement, but said nothing. Mr Breichs, on the other hand, looked pleased.
"Thank you, Mam. Now, let me show you all to your lodgings. You too, little cat."
Well, here you go. Chapter 2. Please rate and review! Feel free to leave any theories about what you think is going on. Also, expect some proper NaLu action next Chapter!