A promise is a promise, here's the new chapter (:
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Chapter 7: Enemy or matchmaker?
"Okay, I give up. Let's just choose randomly. I'm so tired of searching." Lyon complained. They had turned the whole room upside down, and didn't find anything. "I don't even mind going through the creepy dolls anymore, as long as we go out of here."
"But that would be like admitting our defeat, as if the guy behind this was smarter than us." Juvia was against his idea.
"Maybe he did it just to torture us like that. Maybe there's no clue to find." The Ice Mage reasoned.
"Let's look just one more time, maybe we missed something. I'm sure it's in the closet, that's the only thing we couldn't open." She insisted.
After a few seconds, Lyon spoke up, "Okay."
When they were trying to break the closet, they heard a piano playing again. And suddenly, the closet opened by itself and a teddy bear as big as the closet appeared in front of them. He went to hug Juvia, but he was hugging her too strongly.
"Lyon, I… I can't breathe!"
"Leave my Juvia alone! I'm not going to let anyone, or anything other than me hug her!" Lyon shouted at the plush bear before attacking it, "Ice Make: Eagles!"
The plush toy let go of Juvia as he fell on the ground. It didn't move anymore. "Well, that was efficient." The mage complimented himself, before switching his attention to his partner. "Juvia, are you okay?" He looked really concerned.
"Of course. It was a big teddy bear, not a dragon."
"Right. But I thought you couldn't breathe because of it."
"Well, I just had to–" she started with a proud expression but stopped as she realized something. "to… wait a little! It took you very little time to defeat it so I'm totally okay." She smiled at him.
"I'm glad you're fine." He smiled back at her. He then took a look at the teddy bear that was still on the ground, "Hey, it looks like it has a zipper on its back. Maybe the clue's it in."
While Lyon was busy opening the big toy's back, Juvia talked to herself, "Why didn't I use my magic? I could've easily changed into water and escape from its grip. Why didn't I tell that to Lyon?" She looked at him, and felt her cheeks burn, so she looked away. "Why is Juvia like this?" She asked to herself.
"It's the heart!" Lyon suddenly shouted.
"H…Heart? No! Why are you talking about the heart?" She freaked out.
"The teddy bear had a plush heart inside him. See." He showed it to her, totally oblivious of what was going through her mind. "So, we should take the door with the heart on it."
"Oh…right." She felt really embarrassed. "Then, let's go!" She walked towards the door looking straight in front of her. Juvia, stop it, you're losing it! She thought while lightly hitting her head.
"Are you sure that thing didn't do anything to you? You seem weird." Lyon asked her.
"Weird? Juvia's not weird." She intensely denied.
"If you say so. But if you don't feel good, lean on me okay?"
She smiled, and nodded before opening the door.
Lyon's eyes widened. "She actually said yes?" He grinned, and realized she was already in the next room. "Juvia! Wait for me!" He ran to her.
xxxxx Meanwhile... xxxxx
"Ouch!" Happy cried as he hit his head against the window. He'd tried each one of them, hoping he could go into the mansion. But that didn't work.
"Natsuuuuu." He was now crying on the ground. Then something caught up his eyes, "Oh. Fish!" There was a basket full of fish next to him. His mood immediately went up. He grinned, and ate one. "Tastyyy!" He took another one, and another one…
"Nomnomnom this is soo good."
xxxxx Meanwhile... xxxxx
"It really feels like we're going round in circles. Everything looks the same." Lucy remarked.
"I feel like that, too. But I don't see what else we could do other than going on."
"That's why I'm frustrated. I'm almost waiting for the werewolf to come at us so we can move on." She complained.
Just at this moment, they heard a howl.
"I said 'almost'! Don't come at us, please!" She instantly shouted, her voice shaking a little.
"I wouldn't be against some action." Gray commented.
"Shhh! It'll hear you!" She whispered urgently to him, her forefinger in front of her mouth.
The animal howled again.
"See?" She exclaimed. "It can hear us."
"Yes, and it will soon find you." Someone spoke up from above them.
Both mages looked up, and saw a guy standing on a… magic carpet?
"Why is he standing on a magic carpet?" Lucy whispered secretly at Gray.
"For style maybe? Doesn't really go with the vibe of the place, though. Or even with the character." He responded as secretly. The guy was blond, had two black horns on the sides of his head and really sharp black fingernails. He was wearing a long black coat on top of a white shirt and a red pair of trousers. He was about their age and was actually quite good looking.
"Yep. Totally spoils the rest." Lucy agreed, shaking her head.
"So, who are you? And why did you trap us in there?" Gray shouted to the man.
"I'm Ulf. And I didn't do anything, you are the one who walked in the mansion in the first place." The man replied.
"Well, we're here only to get back a doll that a little girl lost, so if you have seen one could you give it to us so we can go? We didn't mean to bother you at all." Lucy tried to convince him.
"Sorry but it doesn't work that way. You'll have to defeat my creature to go out. It's the rules."
"Aren't you the one who made the rules? Change them." She insisted.
"Actually, I'm not the only one who made them. It's what my friends and I decided to do. But don't worry, as soon as you defeat it, I'll let you go back to your friends."
"Ok, then bring it so we can go." Gray spoke up.
"As if. You have to find it on your own, I won't help you."
"Then, how about I defeat you instead?" The Ice Mage dared, as he created ice stairs to reach Ulf's carpet and rapidly ran to him.
"Oh no you won't." Ufl smirked as he quickly drew in the air with his finger a wall to stop Gray's running.
But Gray easily jumped above it.
"Good one, I'm impressed. Guess I don't have a choice then." Ulf took off his coat, unfold his wings and went up in the air.
"He had wings? This makes the magic carpet even more ridiculous." Lucy commented from the ground.
Gray stared at him. "You know, I just can make more stairs, or just hit you while staying here."
"Then I'll have to find something to keep you from cheating." Ulf looked down, and suddenly sped up towards Lucy. He took her in his arms and went back up in the air. He whistled at his magic carpet and put her on it once it was next to them. "That's a warning, do not cheat again."
"Lucy!" Gray shouted, still on his ice stairs. His expression became dead serious, "Let her go or I'll become serious."
"I can if you want, but that would mean she'd fall to the ground. Not sure it's a good idea. So, if you want her safe, you'll have to find the werewolf and defeat him. Without cheating. And please do as I say, because I don't want to hurt such a cute girl." He put his hand on her head, but she immediately shoved it away.
"Don't touch me, you jerk." She greeted out.
She pulled out her keys and was about to summon a spirit but Ulf was faster than her and took them away from her and put them into his shirt pocket. "I'm sorry, but I'm keeping these for now." Ulf looked at Gray, and shouted, "If I were you I'd start running. It's a big forest you know."
Gray clenched his fists. "Lucy, don't worry, I'll be as fast as possible!" He assured her before starting to run.
"What do you want?" Lucy asked Ulf once Gray was out of sight.
"Don't worry, I won't harm you at all, I just want him to be a little motivated you know." Ulf told her in confidence.
"I'm not following you."
"Simply put: I'm the big villain, you're the damsel in distress, and he's the knight in shining armor. So be a good damsel in distress and wait calmly for him to save you from the monster." He explained to her.
"And I thought I read too much books. Anyway, why would you want this? I don't understand. Because that would mean you'll lose at the end."
"I'm here to be defeated. That's the condition for you to go. Of course, I won't lose on purpose, but I have a feeling that your friend won't have any problem to win against my beast."
"But why? I don't understand your goal."
"I want to have fun, and I want people to have fun. Usually young people, and even more couples, like things like this. You know, tests of courage, haunted houses and so on."
"They like it when they know they're doing one. As for the test of courage, I assure you we've both seen way more than that. We're mages, remember? And I personally hate haunted houses."
"But you don't hate being with your friend in a haunted house, do you?" He elbowed her.
"Well, I feel safer with him, of course. But I still don't like being here."
"Come on. I've observed you since the start, you seem to get along just well." He smirked knowingly.
"Of course, he's my comrade and one of my best friends." She didn't seem to understand what he was implying.
Ulf sighed. "I didn't mean as friends. No wonder you aren't together yet."
"We're really not like that." Lucy argued.
"Don't believe you. I've got a good eye for these things. At least, I'm pretty sure he doesn't see you just as a friend."
"Stop it. We're talking about Gray. You don't know because you don't know him."
"If you say so. I still think he likes you, though. But if you're really not interested in him, then would you like to date me? I meant it when I said you were really cute." His face was now very close to her.
"What? No." She blushed a little and looked away. He was good looking.
He straightened up and crossed his arms in victory. "Then, you're interested in him."
"What's this kind of conclusion? I just don't want to go out with a guy who's holding me captive."
"I just told you it was just pretense."
"Then release me."
"Not now."
"So, you're holding me captive."
"And you're interested in your friend."
"NO!"
"You're just in denial."
"Why am I even discussing this with you?" Lucy was beginning to have a headache.
"I think your friend Gray found my beast. Do you want to go take a look?" He changed the subject.
"There's no need, I know he'll quickly win." She smiled at the thought.
"What a deep trust you have in him."
"You said it yourself that he'll have no problem winning. Plus, he isn't one of the best mages of our guild for nothing." She reasoned.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep making excuses. All I hear is 'I like him and therefore trust him with my life'"
"Seriously, I never thought I would say that one day, but read fewer books. Scratch that. Read a dictionary, search for the word 'Friendship'"
"But seriously, it's usual that friendship becomes love. Why are you so against it? Do you like someone else?"
"I don't." She sounded honest.
"Then, what's the problem? He likes you, you like him even if you don't want to admit it… Just admit it and everything's ok."
"He doesn't and I don't. Stop it. You're even more imaginative than Juvia."
"Just think about it. I already saw you blush a few times because of him, that's a sign, trust me."
"I also blushed when you asked me out. Does it mean I like you?"
"It means you see me as a man. And I understand you, I'm quite handsome. That also means you probably find him attractive too."
"Well, yeah, he's good looking. So are other members of my guild, doesn't mean I want to date them." She argued.
"Ok, I'll give you that. But that's a start. So… Don't you get jealous when he's around other girls?"
Juvia suddenly came into her mind. She was jealous when Gray was avoiding her and at the same time being closer with the Water mage. But she was jealous as a friend, nothing more.
Ulf smiled knowingly while looking at the Celestial mage. "So, you were jealous."
"As a friend. He was avoiding me. I felt sad. That's all." She retorted. "Again, why are we talking about this?"
"To kill time until he comes back." Ulf simply replied. "And it seems he's almost done."
"How do you even know?"
"The werewolf in my creation, like the rest of the forest. I draw, it becomes real. So I sense pretty much everything that happens in there."
"Right, before you drew a wall. So, Pict magic?"
"That's right."
"Are your wings drawn, too?"
"Nope. I'm a demon, my horns and wings are real. I learnt magic because it seemed fun." He explained to her.
"I see." She nodded in understanding.
"You don't seem surprised. Usually, people are afraid when I tell them I'm a demon." He found her more and more interesting.
"Well, I've already met some, and they were nice, so. By the way, that means this isn't your real form, is it?"
"It is. I'm only half-demon. My mother's human." He explained to her.
"Oh, okay. Because the ones I met could transform into a human form, so I thought you were the same. You know the Galuna Island?"
"That's where my father comes from." He told her.
"Well, we had a job to do there."
"Wait, Lucy and Gray… I knew I'd heard these names before. My father told me about you. Are you the ones that found out that the 'curse' wasn't a curse at all years ago?"
"Yes, we are. Along with Erza and Natsu, who are in this house too."
Ulf looked confused. "But the mages that did the job were about 18 I think, so you should be like 25 now. You don't look like this at all." He was now eyeing her.
"That's a long story, but to make it short, we disappeared for 7 years and came back without aging at all. And for us, it was like we were away for like only a day."
"That seems complicated."
Lucy laughed. "And I didn't even tell you about when we went to a parallel world where I met another me. Like I told you, we've seen a lot of stuff."
"I believe you." After a few seconds, Ulf spoke up again, "Ah. My werewolf is defeated. Come on, let's go congratulate your friend." He flew to where Gray was, his magic carpet with Lucy on it following him.
"Gray!" Lucy shouted happily as soon as she saw him. Next to him was the frozen werewolf.
"Easy as pie." He smiled at her. "I'm actually a little disappointed." He then looked at Ulf, "Hey, you. Shouldn't we fight? You seem stronger than your pet."
"We could. Or I could just release your little girlfriend and let both of you go." Ulf smirked. He liked this guy.
"I'm ok with this too. Let her go then."
"See, he didn't even deny it when I said 'girlfriend'" Ulf said quietly to Lucy as they were going down.
"He probably didn't even notice, or maybe because he's like me, tired of explaining again and again." She retorted.
"You really should start to wonder why you always have to explain yourself." He advised her.
They had landed just in front of Gray.
"Are you okay?" He immediately asked her.
"I'm totally fine. He didn't hurt me at all." She assured him with a smile.
"Good for him. I wouldn't have let him go if he did."
"I know that, that's why remained calm."
"I'm here you know, and I find your conversation somewhat rude. And of course I didn't, I'm a man of my word." Ulf chimed in. "So, how about you join your friends now? Or do you want to have some time alone?"
"We don't. Lead us to our friends." Lucy answered right away while glaring at him. She could feel her cheeks getting a little warm.
4"So, is he an enemy or not?" Gray asked her quietly as they were following him.
"Not an enemy, just a really annoying guy." She replied.
"I can still hear you." Ulf let them know.
"A really, really annoying guy." Lucy repeated louder.
"Want me to tell him about what we talked about?" He menaced her.
"Ok, he's just a very talkative guy." She told Gray, and then switched her attention the demon, "Happy?"
"Not really but it's better." He stopped in front of a door.
"Hey, how come we didn't walk for more than a minute and already found the door?" Lucy asked him.
"It's my set, only I know where everything is. You don't, it was the point of it." He opened the door.
"Lucy! Gray! Nice to see you again!" Erza immediately greeted them from a sofa, while holding a drink.
"Erza, Natsu. I'm glad you both are alright." Lucy replied happily.
"Well, the only danger there was to die of annoyance or boringness." Natsu said while eating a little fire.
"And where are Juvia and Lyon?" Gray asked.
"Your friends aren't finished yet." Wizo informed him.
"And who're you?"
"Wizo."
"A really annoying guy. Don't mind him." Natsu commented.
"And who are you?" Erza asked Ulf.
"I'm Ulf. Nice to meet you."
"Also a really annoying guy. Don't mind him either." Lucy commented.
"Stop saying this. You're really mean. First, you reject me, and then you give me a bad reputation." He feigned a pout.
"Reject?" Gray, Natsu and Erza asked at the same time.
"Weren't you holding her captive?" Gray added.
"Doesn't change the fact that she's really cute." Ulf answered.
"Another guy with strange tastes." Natsu remarked.
"Don't say it like it's weird to be attracted to me!" Lucy yelled.
"But it is." He went on.
"Don't worry, lady. From what I saw, this guy is just a big child. You are beautiful." Wizo chimed in.
"Hey, Wizo! I saw her first." Ulf warned him.
"She rejected you."
"That's why she'll reject you too."
"I prefer the lady over there, anyway." He was referring to Erza.
"I'm flattered, but I'm not interested."
"I've been turned down." Wizo pouted.
"Haha!" Ulf mocked, pointing at his friend.
"Where did we end up, seriously?" Gray wondered out loud.
"But the way, did you find the doll?" Lucy was the first to remember the reason they were here in the first place.
"Nope. Hey, Wizu, did you see a doll that a little girl could've lost around here?" Natsu asked not so politely.
"It's Wizo. And not really. But if it's a doll, you should wait for Drake to come back."
"Drake?" Erza spoke up.
"It's our friend. He's with your friends right now." Ulf explained.
"They're slow." Natsu complained.
"Would you like something to drink or to eat while waiting for them?" Ulf asked Lucy.
"And I'm invisible or what?" Gray glared at him.
"Sorry, I'm just not interested in you." Ulf retorted with a fake smile.
"Lucy was right. You are really annoying." The Ice mage stated.
"Told ya." She had already found her way to a sofa.
"By the way, do you know what the doll looks like?" Gray suddenly realized.
The other Fairy Tail members just looked at each other, blinking. Lyon didn't show them a photo or even told them about what it looked like.
xxxxx Meanwhile... xxxxx
"I'll have to admit, this one is kind of creepy." Juvia said to Lyon as she saw the 'boss of their room'. (Imagine an anime version of Chucky, and this is it.)
"Wait, wait." He put something out from his trousers' pocket. It was a photo. "That's the doll!"
"What?" Juvia shouted, surprised. "Let me see." She took the photo. A little blond girl was on it. She was wearing a black dress, had black ribbons in her curly hair, and was holding the Chucky-doll. "That's really this one. And I thought I had weird tastes as a child. Didn't her father tell you that it could move on its own?"
"No, it was a regular doll. At least, a doll that didn't move around freely."
"That's because I'm the one who's controlling her." A weird guy popped out from behind the couch of the room. He had long black hair and was wearing a long red cape on top on a black suit.
"You were seriously hiding behind this?" Lyon couldn't believe his eyes.
"Yes. So what?"
"That's lame." The Ice Mage mocked. He couldn't help but laughing at the image of the guy waiting for them, crawling behind the couch.
"So, you're the one controlling all the dolls we met on our way?" Juvia spoke up.
"That's right. Let me introduce myself: I'm Drake, and I use Possession magic. I transfer souls into inanimate things, and have a preference for dolls."
"He's using the same magic as Bickslow." Juvia commented.
"Oh, and I use this to control them." Drake showed them the piano keyboard he was carrying with him.
"That's why we heard a piano playing every time creepy dolls would come at us." Lyon realized.
"Anyway, could you be nice and give us this doll? A little girl lost it and is very sad because of that." Juvia tried to convince him without having to fight him.
"Really? I didn't know about that." Drake looked truthfully surprised. "So how about this: you win against her without hurting her – since you have to give her back to her owner – and I give her to you."
"Sounds like a deal." Lyon agreed.
"I have to warn you, it won't be easy. She's not my favorite for nothing. Let's go!" He started to play his piano. Suddenly, the doll was running really fast. Lyon and Juvia could hardly see her.
Lyon tried to freeze her several times but she was moving too fast.
Once she had an idea of where the doll would go, Juvia made a puddle of water with her magic for the doll to slide on it. But the doll swiftly avoided it with a jump.
Then Lyon tried to use his Ice shield to stop the doll, but she was able to avoid it by suddenly making a u-turn before hitting it.
"This won't do, let's find another tactic." Lyon said to Juvia. She nodded.
"Told you it wouldn't be easy, hahaha–bllblbl." While Drake was laughing, Juvia suddenly splashed him with water, making him unable to use his piano.
"Lyon, now!" She shouted.
Because of this, the doll suddenly stopped, and Lyon was able to freeze her. "Done!" He yelled in victory. Juvia smiled at him and released Drake from her water.
"Guess we won, didn't we?" She told him.
"You did. Congratulations." He admitted defeat without arguing. "You can take the doll and join your friends. They're waiting for you."
"Are they all alright?" Juvia asked immediately.
"Don't worry, they're perfectly fine." Drake assured her. "Follow me, I'll lead you to them."
"That's a relief." She smiled. "Let's go, Lyon."
They followed Drake who opened the door at the end of the room. It led to the living room where everyone else was staying at. Juvia caught sight of Gray, and suddenly ran towards him, shouting "Gray!" and hugging him tightly. "I'm glad you're ok."
On the left side, Ulf whispered to Lucy, "She's the one you were jealous of, right?"
"I am not jealous of her." Lucy denied, still staring at her two friends hugging.
"If you say so." Ulf teased.
After a few seconds, Gray smiled and hugged her back, "Hey, easy, easy. I'm glad you're fine, too." He gently broke their hug, and looked at her, "Lyon didn't give you too much trouble?"
"Why would I give her trouble?" Lyon angrily retorted before Juvia could utter a word. "And stop hugging my Juvia!" Lyon took her away by grasping her arm.
"I'm not your Juvia." The Water mage immediately refuted. But her expression didn't seem as angry as it should be, and she was looking away from Lyon.
Gray smiled while looking at them. It looked like Juvia was becoming less and less resistant around Lyon.
"Were you able to find the doll?" Erza suddenly asked them.
"Yes! Here it is!" Juvia showed them proudly the doll.
"That's… That's the doll a little girl lost?" Lucy couldn't believe it.
"Creepy." Natsu merely said.
"It is. I have the photo right here." Lyon confirmed.
"Well, who are you to question one's tastes." Erza commented. "Anyway, now that everyone's there and that we have the doll, we can go."
"The exit is right here." Drake pointed at the big door on the right.
Everyone took the exit, including the three other mages.
As soon as they were out, Happy rapidly flew and went to hug Natsu. "Natsuuuu! You're finally here!"
"I'm back, Happy!" Natsu grinned at his friend. "Were we too long?"
"Really too long! I was bored to death, and then I was hungry, but I couldn't find anything to eat. And then I found a basket full of fish behind the house, and I ate everything. That's awful, I'll become as big as Lucy now!" The Exceed complained avidly.
"HEY!" Lucy shouted.
"You're right, that's awful. I'm sorry, Happy." Natsu apologized.
"Don't support him!" Lucy yelled at the Fire mage.
"This guild seems quite lively, doesn't it?" Ulf said to his two friends from behind.
"It does." Wizo agreed, and Drake nodded.
"And I think we did a pretty good job. I'm proud of us." The half-demon concluded.
"By the way, what's your purpose?" Erza asked them.
"That's Drake's mansion. But he lives there alone, and found it boring. So we decided to change it into a horror house where people would go to for fun, do tests of courage in couple and all. We even prepared events for couples to become closer. But it didn't go as well as we expected, and most people are too afraid to even go near it." Wizo explained with a sad expression.
"Maybe you should let them now it's not a real one. That's why people don't go there." Lyon advised them.
"You're right. We didn't want to say it so they wouldn't laugh at it, saying it's fake and all. But at least if we do this, people would come." Drake agreed.
"By the way, there's no way I'm buying diner." Ulf said to his friends.
"Me neither!" Drake followed.
"Hey! Me neither. I think I did a pretty good job, too." Wizo argued.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked them.
"We have a bet going on. The less scary of us has to buy diner." Ulf explained to her.
"Hey, Wizu! Yours was not scary! It was just reaaaaally annoying and tiring!" Natsu yelled.
"HA! You weren't scary." Drake mocked.
"Well, sorry not be able to draw monsters or control evil puppets," Wizo ironized. "And it's Wizo!" He shouted at Natsu.
"Hey, they're not puppets, they're my friends, and they aren't evil!" Drake objected.
"They have an evil appearance." Wizo retorted.
"That's why I took them! You know, to be scary, unlike you! Anyway, I won this."
"Don't forget about me! My werewolf and my forest were pretty scary, too. Right, Lucy?" Ulf winked at her.
"Why am I involved in this? She complained.
"She was scared to death, it was very funny to watch her hold onto her boyfriend like this."Ulf totally ignored her and went on.
"Don't ignore me! And that's not my boyfriend!" Lucy yelled.
"Then, that means she even grabbed tightly some random guy because she was so scared." He concluded, still only looking at his friends and ignoring her.
"I'm/He's not some random guy!" Gray and Lucy shouted together.
"Something's going on between them!" Happy flew in front of them, rolling his tongue as always.
"Shut up, Happy!" They yelled at him in unison.
Everyone else was now laughing. In the end, everything went smoothly.