Since I restarted school, it'll probably take more time for me to update new chapters, but I'll try not to make you wait for too long.

Anyway, here's the new one. I hope you'll like it. :)

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Chapter 5: Together in the dark

"Eeeeeh? A job with Lyon? Why?" I practically yelled in the guild. Why would I help that guy?

"Well… Lyon insisted that Juvia helps him on his mission, and he wouldn't leave me alone until I said yes. I didn't want to go, but since last time he helped Gajeel-kun and me on our mission, I owed him one."

"I get it, but why should I go with you? Ask Gajeel, he owes him one too, doesn't he?"

"Gajeel-kun is already on a mission. And Juvia doesn't want to be alone why Lyon-san. Plus, it's really well-paid."

"No matter how much it's paid, I won't go." I was firm about it.

"Even for 400 000 jewels?"

"I'll go!" I immediately surrendered.

"400 000 jewels, you said? What kind of mission is it?" Natsu suddenly popped out of nowhere.

"Something about finding a doll. It's been addressed to our guild, too. That's why we can cooperate with Lyon-san." Juvia explained.

"Here's the request they're talking about." Mira handed the paper to Natsu.

"Eeh, that much money just for finding a doll. Yosh, I'm in too! Happy, Lucy, let's go!"

"Hai, sir!"

"Well, I do need money for my rent. Plus it doesn't seem too hard. I'm in, too."

"I'll go too." Erza joined in.

"Eeeh? Juvia just needed Gray, you know…"

"Don't worry, we're glad to help." Erza assured her.

"Yeah, but…" She looked a little uneasy.

"Yosh, let's go!" Natsu shouted with his fist in the air.

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And like that, we all went on that mission. I shouldn't complain, at least I wouldn't be alone with Juvia and Lyon. And I kinda got used to go with our usual team. Well, without Wendy this time, since she was out to see Chelia.

We were in the train. Juvia was setting next to me, Lucy was facing me, and Erza was beside her. And Natsu was lying on another couch, sick as always, while Happy was trying to cheer him up.

"By the way, isn't it weird to offer that much money just for a doll?" Lucy asked.

"Lyon-san didn't tell me more details, and there wasn't more information on the request, either." Juvia replied.

"Maybe it's some rich family for whom it doesn't seem much." I hypothesized, not really worrying.

"It does seem tricky. We should be on our guard." Erza recommended.

"What if the doll is cursed?" Lucy shivered.

"Eh, you're scared, Lucy?" I teased her.

"N… Not at all. I mean, we saw a lot more than a cursed doll. What would I be afraid of that?" She was really a bad liar.

"Lucy is totally a scaredy-cat." Happy mocked her.

"Why is a cat telling me this?" She complained.

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We finally met up with Lyon who was waiting at the train station. He grinned when he saw Juvia, but then looked disappointed when he noticed us following her.

"Why are you guys here? It was supposed to be just me and Juvia."

"Well, hello to you too, Lyon." I retorted sarcastically.

"We came to give a hand." Erza seriously answered his question.

"We came for the jewels." Natsu and Happy grinned.

"I just followed the flow, I guess." Lucy said while looking kind of sorry for him. As if we should be sorry for that guy. If he didn't want us to go, he should have asked his own guild members, not one of ours.

"But, but… I wanted to be alone with Juvia. This mission was perfect for us." He started to pout.

I took a look at Juvia. She was blushing. I smiled. Interested or not, his remarks had always some impact on her.

"What do you mean by perfect for you? Do you know more about the mission?" Erza asked, totally ignoring the mood.

Lyon's face became serious. "Well, I contacted the client, and he explained to me that the doll we had to find was in a really old mansion of the village. Apparently, some kids took the doll from his daughter and threw it into a window of the mansion. That doll is really precious for his daughter, so he asked us to go get it back."

"That's all? We really just have to find a doll, and we even know where to look for it? I thought it would be harder than this with the price offered. And why didn't he do by himself?"

"People can enter only by pair of a man and a woman. And he didn't find anyone brave enough to go with him. That's what he told me, but I think he was afraid to go too."

"Why would people be afraid?"

"The thing is, the mansion is known to be haunted, and to be made as a labyrinth. They say people who come in never come out. Most people of the region knows it, and don't want to even approach it."

"Ha…Haunted you say?" Lucy was back to biting her nails and shivering.

"I'm sure it's just a mage or two playing tricks. I went there before you came, and the entry has runes on it. That's how they make people go by pair."

"Runes? We shouldn't let our guard down, then. There must be a lot of traps inside the mansion."

"Come on, enough talking. Let's go to that mansion. Mages or ghosts, I'll burn them up."

"How do you burn a ghost anyway?" Lucy asked him, somewhat not convinced.

"With fire." He answered matter-of-factly.

"That guy's idiocy doesn't have limits." I commented at loud, not believing he could say that with so much confidence. Even if I should be used to it by now.

"Anyway, he's got a point. We should stop talking and go to the mansion. We'll make a plan after seeing it from our eyes." Erza commended.

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"Huge!" Natsu screamed as we arrived in front of the mansion.

"Creepy!" Happy added.

"Totally gives the feel of a haunted house." Lucy was hiding behind Natsu. "I don't want to go in! Why am I always dragged along in things like this?" She cried.

"How are we supposed to find a doll in this?" I wondered out loud. Seriously, it was even bigger than Lucy's former house.

"Don't forget the insides are like a labyrinth, too. It would be easy to get lost. Be careful." Erza advised us. "We'll have to split up in groups. We have to go by pair anyway. That way we'll cover more space and find the doll faster."

"I'll go with Juvia!"Lyon suddenly shouted, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Fine. Then I'll go with Natsu. Gray and Lucy will be the third group." Erza chose all by herself. For once, I didn't have a reason to contest her choice.

"Eeeh? It's not fine for Juvia!" Juvia cried.

"Why am I with Erza?" Natsu complained, but shut his mouth as soon as Erza gave him a menacing look.

"And again, I'm not included." Happy pouted.

"Don't fuss. It's decided. Let's go. Lyon and Juvia, go in first. If possible, wait for us at the entrance."

"Come on Juvia, let's go." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her towards the entrance.

"It's our turn, Natsu."

"I don't wanna gooo!" He screamed as he was being dragged by Erza, Happy following them closely. They entered, but Happy was stopped by the runes.

"Eeeh? I can't go?"

"It's only by pair. Seems like a cat doesn't make the exception." Lucy smirked. "Guess you'll have to wait for us here."

"But it's boring to wait." He pouted.

"Deal with it; you don't have a choice anyway. Come on, let's go Gray." She started to walk to the entrance.

"Don't worry. We'll wrap this up quickly, you won't have to wait too long." I told Happy with a confident smile before following her.

As soon as we passed through the door, it closed by itself. I tried to open it, but it was now locked.

"It seems like we have to find another exit." Juvia remarked.

"Hey, what happened to Happy?" Natsu asked us.

"He couldn't go in since it's only by pair." I explained.

"I don't like this atmosphere." Lucy shivered again, wrapping her arms around herself.

I looked around. It was dark. We could see only because of the light of a few candles on the walls. There were two doors and a big staircase.

"Three paths. Each group takes one." Erza instructed. "Natsu and I take the right door."

"Stop dragging me like some of your stuff!" He complained loudly as he was being dragged again.

"Then, we'll take the stairs, ok?" I looked at Lucy. She nodded.

"No. Juvia wants to go along with Gray and Lucy. We passed through the runes, now we can do whatever we want." She followed us on the stairs, but suddenly she was pushed back. "Eh, what happened?"

Runes appeared. "Already two people took this path. Choose another one." I read out loud. "Seems like this pairing thing goes on 'till the end."

"Then, we have to stay together until the end." Lyon grinned at Juvia.

"Why couldn't I go with Gray?" She cried again.

"Sorry Juvia. I'm sure it'll be ok." Lucy tried to cheer her up.

"Easy for you to say that. You're with Gray. It'll be like a romantic trip for you."

"Eh, you're together now?" Lyon asked with a surprised face.

"We're not!" Lucy strongly denied.

Juvia looked at her partner, "It's not official yet."

"Oh, I see." He nodded.

"That's not official because it's not true! Mou, I'm tired of this. Come on Gray, let's go." She grabbed my wrist and led us to the end of the stairs.

"See, you're already all lovey-dovey." We heard Juvia complain.

"Let's go, Juvia. If you're afraid, you can hold my hand or hide behind me. I'll protect you."

"That… won't happen." I couldn't see her face anymore, but I bet she was blushing.

"They're kind of cute, don't you think?" Lucy suddenly commented.

"Dunno. I just can't bring myself to describe Lyon as cute."

She laughed lightly. "I understand."

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We were silently walking for the past few minutes (I swear, this corridor is waay longer than it should be) when Lucy spoke up, "It's not as scary as I thought it would be." She did look more at ease than before. It must be because this corridor had more lights than the others.

"Maybe the exterior was just set to keep people away from the mansion. Something must be going on here."

"Let's just hope it's nothing too serious."

"Well, I wouldn't mind a little fight." I smiled at the thought. Truthfully, I was a little bored right now.

"As long as it's just usual bandits…" She was looking around, as if afraid that something would jump at her at any moment.

"What, are you afraid there are real ghosts here?" I teased her.

"N…Not at all! All we did since we came in was walk. There's nothing here." I think she was more trying to convince herself than anything.

"You're right. There's nothing you should be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid!" She strongly denied.

We arrived at the end of the corridor, where there were three doors. One light blue, one red, and one black.

"I think this is what people were talking about when they said it looked like a labyrinth. There are too many rooms. Which one should we take?" I asked her.

"Hm. The blue one. It seems like the most peaceful color."

"You know it could be a trap. Like the dangerous-looking path is in fact the safe one." I pointed out, but then added, "But, you're usually lucky, so I'll follow your choices."

"That's the thing I'm the best at," she proudly replied.

We opened the door, and were surprised at what we saw.

"Seriously, a lake? Just how big is this house?" Lucy asked, baffled. "There's something really weird about this mansion, I swear."

I nodded, and then noticed something, "Hey, there's a door at the other end."

"There's no way I'm swimming in this water, who knows what's in it."

"Don't worry, you won't have to swim." I assured her with a smile. "Ice Make: Floor!" The lake was now a skating rink.

She smiled, "Nice, Gray."

I smiled back, "Let's go, then." I took her hand to prevent her from falling and we skated towards the other doors. Again, there were three. One white, one grey, and one blue. "Which one?"

"Don't know. Let's go for the one you want."

"Then, let's continue with the blue one." We went through it, and suddenly found ourselves back in the corridor.

"What happened? Why are we back here?"

"Hey look up," I told her as I saw runes appearing. "Those who choose the wrong path will immediately be sent back to the starting point." I read out loud.

"Then, let's think about it before choosing one next time." Lucy concluded.

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Some time later, we made it to the light blue door again and were standing again in front of the small lake.

"It should respond to some kind of logic. If not, they would have made three identical doors. Plus, it this is all a game, and we're the players, we should have some clues to win this." Lucy remarked.

"You're right, let's look around it we can see something related to the doors." After a few seconds, I found something, "Look at the door knock. It's white. Maybe that means we should take the white door." I suggested.

"Let's try this."

I froze the water again, and we opened the white door. We found ourselves in another room.

"Looks like it worked." Lucy commented.

There was still water, but this time, a wooden bark was there. We couldn't see the end of the room this time. It was darker than before. There were some candles on the walls, and a lantern floating in the air in front of the bark.

"Apparently, we have to get on it." I said, pointing my chin at the little bark. It was merely enough for two people.

"I guess we don't have a choice." She agreed.

I hopped in the bark and extended my hand for Lucy. She took it and joined me on the bark, but as soon as she was on it, she lost her balance. She was about to fall into the water, but I pulled her towards me in order to stop her. She ended up falling on me.

Our faces were really close, and we stayed like this for a few seconds. She blinked, I blinked, and we realized the position we were in: Her right hand still holding mine was between our chests, her left one had found its way to my right shoulder, while my left arm was around her waist, and her legs were between mine. And, of course, I had somehow stripped before all of this happened. I think it was when I used my magic just before, but I wasn't sure.

My eyes subconsciously wandered on her lips, and I felt my cheeks becoming slightly red. I coughed loudly, and suddenly we were apart. She moved back to her seat which who facing mine, and I straightened up on my seat.

She was looking at her right when she said, "Hm, sorry about that."

"Don't worry, it's nothing." I couldn't look at her either. Damn, why did I have to become so self-conscious? We've had situations like this before, but I didn't really mind. I mean, when you're in the middle of a mission or a battle, you just think about how the other's doing, not how close your faces are, and how round their eyes are, and how soft their lips look… Oh god, I have to calm down.

Suddenly, the bark began to move. "Did you do something?" I asked Lucy.

"Nothing. It just moves on its own. Like that levitating lantern following us. It must be controlled by magic." She pointed out.

"Seriously, what's with this house?"

"Hey, isn't it getting darker?" Lucy wondered.

"It is. There are less and less candles around."

"I don't like that…" She seemed nervous. The only light source we had left was the lantern which moved along with the bark.

We heard some kind of creaking noise. It was becoming louder and louder, as if something was approaching us. Then, a pack of flying things attacked us.

"Aaaah!" Lucy shrieked.

"Lucy! Keep your head down!" I tried to look at her, but they were was all around us. It seemed like bats. "Seriously, this is getting really annoying," I mumbled before shouting, "Lucy, when I say 'now', lie down, okay?"

"H…Hai!" She managed to answer.

"Okay… Now!" I froze everything around me. It made a block of ice which I threw towards the door we had came from. "Finally it's quiet again." I looked down, Lucy was still lying down. "It's okay now."

She straightened up. "Good job, Gray," she smiled.

"As if some bats would win against us."

"Well, I couldn't do anything about it. I'm sorry, I feel like you're doing all the job since we came into the mansion."

"Hey, it's because you were taken aback. And don't worry, I didn't really do much, either. Plus, we're a team, remember?" I tried to cheer her up, smiling warmly at her. I really meant what I was saying. I knew I could count on her, too.

"Hai! I'll do my best from now on!" She declared, returning my smile. She then looked behind me, "Hey, it looks like we've arrived at the other end."

Before I could turn my head, the bark bumped against something. "You're right, we're there." There were three different doors again. One had a triangle on it, the other a square, and the third a circle.

"I'm getting tired of this 'choose the right door' thing. I didn't see any clue for this one."

"Well, there should be one around here." I looked around but saw nothing that could help us. "…Or not."

"I know!" Lucy suddenly shouted. She took her Fleuve d'Etoile out and caught the lantern which was still floating around with it, since it was too far for us to take it. She looked under it, "Look."

I did as she said, "A triangle. How did you think about this?"

"Well, the walls have nothing on it besides candles that we can't even see anymore, and the water is even darker than the walls, so it had to be on the bark or near it. It had to be a bit of a challenge, so they should have hidden the clue. That's why the lantern came to my mind. But it was just a lucky guess." She explained to me.

"Well done. I wouldn't have thought about it."

She smiled, "Come on, let's move on, then." We picked the door with the triangle on it.

"Come on, you've got to be kidding me. A freakin' forest, now?" This was getting more and more ridiculous.

"Look, there's even a full moon." Lucy pointed at the sky.

"But, we're in the middle of the afternoon."

"It's not the real one, it must be another set."

"You're right. Some mage must be behind this. But we should be careful, even if this is a set, what happens in it is real. Like the bats from before."

We then heard a loud howl. "A wolf?" Lucy wondered.

"It sounded like one." I noted.

Lucy gasped. "A wolf howling on a full moon. Don't tell me there's a werewolf in there."

"We'll see. Let's walk first, we can't find that freakin' doll or even the exit by standing here." I instructed.

Lucy slowly nodded "You're right. Let's go."

We started walking into the forest, Lucy following me very closely, her hands as if ready to grab my arm as soon as something comes at us.

This mission wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after all.

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A/N: On the next chapter, you'll also see what happens to the other teams. But don't worry, it will still have some GrayLu :3

Also, it's already the fifth chapter, so please tell me if I there are some big mistakes – or even little ones that just annoy you – that I often make.

And of course, reviews are always welcomed. I'd love to know what you think about the story so far, and if I should change something or not.