Hello again, everyone! I am back! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites.
Brace yourselves everyone! I am back with a lot of horror, suspense and my favourite - angst. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
And *psst psst* the guy will finally be revealed! Round of applause! *tomatoes whizzing past her ears and readers screaming to get on with the story* okay fine! Don't kill me already! Wait for the story to end. *insert another set of creepy chuckles* Here you go.
Disclaimer: how many times do I have to say it? Well, I don't own.
Chapter 5: Mirrors
... Imitation... hurt... slaughter... death... imitation... hurt... slaughter... death...
The four words kept echoing around the ruins. The smoke from the destruction was clearing slowly. Team Natsu, which had escaped to the forest, were hiding behind the bushes.
"Erza... W-why can I still hear voices?" said Lucy, still clutching her foot.
"I don't know Lucy..." she said. Then she suddenly became alert. "Loke, Lucy, Happy, did you hear a voice?" "Y-Yeah..."
"-ray-san, Natsu-san..."
"It's Wendy and Carla!" said Happy and flew off in search of their little comrade.
Soon the sky dragon slayer and the feline had joined them. As soon as she reached the scene, she rushed to Lucy's side and started to heal her.
"Princess, as much as I want to stay, my time is up and I don't want to risk your magic power depletion." Loke said. "Don't worry about me Loke. You may go" and with That Loke started disappearing in golden light, "do inform me what happened, Lucy," and with that he disappeared.
"You can move your leg now, Lucy-san." Wendy said.
"Thank you Wendy. Please see to the boys." Lucy said.
"What?" she moved her head from left to right and finally spotted them under the tree. "T-they are here? I couldn't smell them! They... Why do they smell like this?" she asked as she rushed to their side.
"Well..." Lucy told them what happened while Erza kept watch. The forest was eerily quiet... the same as it had been in the afternoon.
"Happy." Erza said. "What time is it?"
"It's nearly 1 o'clock in the morning."
"What?!" the girls said in chorus.
"Yeah." Wendy said. She had completed her healing task, "They just need to rest now. As I said, I was around this area on a mission so I thought I might join you. I could sense you here. But soon after, around afternoon, I lost your scent when I was at the entrance of the city. I couldn't sense your presence until... I remember... I checked out around 11.30... It took me an hour to find you. I heard the explosion around 12."
"And it might have taken us approximately fifteen minutes to reach the final stage, the tunnels." Said Erza. "If What you say is right, the time in there runs faster... no... The time Outside becomes slower. This is the same as when gray fought the guy Racer..."
"NNgghh..." they heard a low moan from behind. "Natsu!"
"Gray...? Gray! Where's Gray? Is he alright? Gray!" Natsu started to panic. As his sight fell on the still passed out raven, he went to his side.
"Natsu, relax! He is fine. You need to rest! C'mon, let's go to the inn. Tomorrow we will leave for the guild."
"But Erza... are you sure?"
"Yes! Wendy herself healed him! And you too."
"If you say so..." He gave a brief look towards Wendy. He saw her not meeting his eyes but decided to scare her to truth later. Currently, Gray was more important than anything else.
Happy picked Natsu up and Carla picked Gray. They flew off with the girls behind them.
"Ugh... Where am I?" said a real sleepy Gray.
"We are on a cart Erza is driving. We will reach the guild soon. How are you now?" said Lucy.
"I am fine. But... the mansion, the cave, where... where's Natsu?! Is he alright?"
"Relax! He is passed out in the corner due to motion sickness. He is fine! Oh, you boys... go marry or something..." Lucy said the last part real low. But Gray was too preoccupied to even care.
"Are we there yet?" he heard a small voice.
"Wendy! Carla! Why are you here?"
And Wendy said that blah blah blah.
"We are here!" they heard Erza's voice from in front of the carriage. She got down, removing her SE plug while others helping in unloading her luggage and Natsu screaming "I am free!" in the background.
They were welcomed into the guild and that night was just another excuse for a party- Fairy Tail style!
"Wendy, I need to talk to you." She should have seen this coming. It was late after midnight and the guild hall was nearly empty. Mira was busy cleaning the bar. Lucy and Gray were passed out on one of the seats and Erza was commanding them to clean the hall as they were the only sober ones left. In other words, she couldn't avoid him this time...
"W-What is it, Natsu-san?"
"Why do I and Gray still smell funny?"
"W-Well... must be because of the cave. It must have been stinking..."
"Erza, Loke and Lucy went to save us there. They don't smell funny."
"M-Must be the smoke..."
"Wendy."
"Okay fine! I asked around. Freed-san said he heard about such runes that could... but he never thought they could be actually used... Master also said the same thing."
"Get to the point."
"Natsu. What was the last thing you heard there before passing out?"
"Hmm... something like two to frost and one to rest... four days till being possessed?"
Wendy eyes widened at this. Her breathing started escalating. She ran to the wasted master and casted her healing magic on him. He woke up and Wendy started blabbering stuff to him.
This didn't go unnoticed by Erza. She, along with Mira and Natsu soon stood around them.
"What happened? Why are you so scared Wendy?"
Master spoke up, "It would be alright. No need to worry. We will find a solution to this... everything will be all right. I am sure." He didn't sound very sure. "He will be alright..."
"Will someone please tell me what the hell happened?" Natsu shouted.
"Umm..." it was Wendy. "Natsu-san, we think..."
The clock chimed. It was midnight.
"We think Gray-san is possessed."
"G-guys." It was Lucy's voice from behind them. "G-Gray is not waking up."
"What?"
They rushed to his side.
"He was sleeping peacefully when I woke up. I was about to join you when I noticed... there was no sound coming from him."
Natsu was the first one to reach out and shake him like there was no tomorrow. "Oi, droopy eyes! Wake up! It is no time to sleep. Gray!"
His body was cold, too cold even for an ice mage. He was not breathing. He checked for the pulse. It was there. "Oi! Gra-"
Natsu abruptly stopped in mid-sentence. This was because at some moment, Gray's eyes had opened. The white of the eyes were black. And his irises glowed green.
Gray POV
The clock chimed twelve times, indicating it was midnight when he fell asleep.
In the subconscious, he found himself in a very dark, almost black, cloudy space. Nothing could be heard or seen. As the moments passed, the clouds started to form shapes. As it continued, the clouds had been moulded into a very vivid room. As he looked closely, he realised that he was at the entrance of his one-bedroom apartment. Well, he might as well explore.
He entered the living area. The lights were not working, but he then realised this was a dream. The green curtains were closed over the window, shielding the room from light. Or was the light green? He couldn't tell.
He went towards the kitchen when he heard a very low, almost a spine-chilling sigh coming from his bedroom. "Who's there?" he said as went towards the already open door.
"...ray..."
"I said who's there? Come out!"
"... feisty... I like it..." came a distinct low voice from behind him.
He turned around abruptly, only to find nothing there. The door was closed. He made his ice-make pose when-
"... not today, my boy... your chance may come... someday..."
A low chuckle resonated in the room. His magic energy around him faded away, or rather was sucked away.
"Come out! Reveal yourself, coward!" Gray's brain was running and the speed of 10000 km/h. [Not really, kids.] He has heard this voice before... but where?
"...that's true, my dear Gray. You have heard my voice. I like it. Smart, good-looking, strong-willed. Just the perfect vessel..."
The voice was now echoing from everywhere.
"... oh, how much I would love to break this will..."
It was from right this time, distinct and clear. He turned to his right, only to meet his own reflection.
No, something was different. As he watched, the whites of his eyes turned black and his irises started glowing green. his grin widened and the actual Gray backed away to the opposite wall.
"W-what's happening here?"
As he watched, his features started changing. His pale skin became darker. His face grew longer. His reflection turned taller. And suddenly, it was not his reflection anymore. It was a completely different man in his clothes.
" This is not real... this is just a dream... yes. Anything can happen in a dream."
"Wrong." The guy on the other side of the mirror spoke. "This is all real. And anything can happen here."
His reflection's smile widened even more as Gray paled. His irises glowed green, having a mischievous glint in them. The mirror and the walls dissolved into black clouds. It was only him and Gray
"What do you mean?"
"You will know soon, my boy. Very soon. Till then," Gray felt something wet on his hands. "You may have this as an example.
"Who are you?" Gray asked when it clicked to him. It was the voice in the labyrinth of the Mystique mansion. And the voice belonged to...
"Drake Wolcott. And you are about to be possessed." And with that, his image started to disappear, with his face flicking from him to Gray, eyes being the same. And then, everything went black.
Gray woke up with cold sweat as the clock chimed one. He was breathing heavily. His hand still bled profusely. Was it really happening? Was it really true? No way. It must really have been a bad... nightmare. He might have got wounded while the drinking competition. Or he might just be hallucinating. Yeah...
While thinking all this, he didn't notice a ball of pink near him.
"Gray? Master! He is awake! Are you alright? What happened? Are y-"
"Natsu! What ha- Gray!" they were here.
"What happened to his hand?"
"Here, let me" said Wendy.
His head had a dull pain. "W-What happened? Why are you all so worried?" he asked.
"You were not waking" "You were not breathing!" "Your eyes..."
"Please come to the point!" Although he already knew their answer.
"Gray." It was master. "Child, we think you might be possessed"
No. N-no way...
He just stared at them with widened eyes. The dream was not a dream. Drake injured him. And now he just had four... no, slash that. He had three days to figure out what could be done.
His friends watched him closely with sympathy, worry and many mixed emotions. But his chain of thoughts was interrupted when an eerie voice, the voice that he now despised and feared, whispered in his head-
... Imitation... hurt... slaughter... death...
What has he gotten himself into?
And there! New chapter with an oh-so-awesome cliff-hanger! *insert creepy laughter*
I think it's the first time I actually went past 2000 words. Sweet.
And now I have got another idea for a fanfiction. This one would be AU though. But I will not write it now. It would be there once I will finish or would be about to finish Possessed.
Well, let's hope with crossed fingers that I get more free times soon! Till then, just answer a few questions. Did it creep you out? Just a bit? And how are you feeling after me finally revealing the victim? I would love to hear from you guys!
Till then, Ja`ne!
DJ