Warning! Major Character Deaths; Original Characters; Slight Gore; Not for the faint of heart… Of course, this is all for later chapters… XD

A/N: Okay, so I started this now because I'm home on a school day and I'm bored out of my mind. I was continuing "After School Fun" and "Me and Fairy Tail", but I don't know how to write GaLe (spoiler alert!). So I've decided to start this now. XD Everyone here, -except for JerZa and AshLi(OCs)-, are canon, so they can get lovey-dovey~ XD Enjoy (or not)~!

PS. If any one of you is willing to help me write a GaLe for either story, I'd be extremely grateful! :3 So, without further ado, let's begin!

A Fairy Tail Fan Fiction

Written by NewMusic098

A Not-So Happy Ending

Chapter 1:

Night Gone Wrong

It was near sunset in the city of Magnolia, the sun's red-orange rays painting the sky beautifully as the stars start to unveil themselves within the darkness. The city's activity decreases as people from all over start to pack up and close for the night. Civilians saying their goodbyes and 'see you tomorrow's to each other as they went back to their respective households, some having children clinging to their hands. At night, people were supposed to be heading back to their houses, not the other way around.

But tonight, a specific guild was holding a special party for a specific blonde. It was July 1st, and was Lucy Heartfilia's birthday. Right now she was walking to the guild by the riverbank, balancing herself so she wouldn't fall off.

"Be careful there, Miss!" a passing boatman called.

"I will!" Lucy nodded without looking at the person.

She was just so giddy that she could spend her birthday with friends, or more accurately, nakama. At first, she denied the idea of having a party at the guild because it'll be too much trouble for them all. But through the persistence of her friends, plus the plan that Erza and Mira already made, she finally accepted it. Now she was thinking why she wanted to decline in the first place. This was an exciting event for her and her friends, but despite it being her birthday, everyone else was more excited than her.

'Those guys…' Lucy thought to herself. They seriously keep finding ways to make her cry tears of joy. Especially now, and she was glad for that. She wiped a tear that ran down her cheek quickly before raising her head, already finding herself a few steps away from her beloved guild. When she opened the wooden doors of the building, she was half-expecting confetti flying everywhere and a giant banner sign with a 'Happy Birthday, Lucy!' written on it. And when she stepped inside, they did have what she thought, but that didn't stop her from getting surprised. Especially the popping sounds she heard and the confetti suddenly raining down on her.

"Happy Birthday, Lucy…!" the crowd of mages cheered.

Lucy was greeted with smiling faces and giddy friends. She saw everyone's faces and recognized them all as her closest friends. Natsu was there, an arm slung on Gray's shoulder as both of them laughed in excitement while Mira and Lisanna brought out a two-foot tall chocolate cake decorated with vanilla icing. Levy was the first to come to her and give her a big hug before going back to her boyfriend, Gajeel. She smiled at the two and waved at them. As she continued to walk inside, she spotted Erza and Juvia by the bar table arranging cups. She was also thoroughly surprised when she saw Jellal bringing some juice mix to the two. She didn't mind having him here, but the last time they saw each other was during the Grand Magic Games. Shrugging, she continued to journey down to the center of the guild, where Lina and Ashton were to be found arguing over something again. Lina was shouting as the blue-haired man covered his ears and looked away, seemingly bored.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Lucy interrupted them. The brunette stopped herself from yelling something and whipped her head to meet the honey-brown eyes of the blonde. Almost instantly, her eyes welled up with tears before running towards Lucy.

"Lucy-chan~!" she exclaimed. Startled, the blonde jolted back a little, but was pulled into a power-hug as the brunette wailed.

"Lucy-chan, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry…!" she repeated. The blonde patted her back while awkwardly trying to comfort her.

"I-it's okay…" she stuttered out. "W-what's wrong, anyway?" At that, Lina pulled away from the hug, wiped a few of her tears then, glared at the man sitting there like nothing was happening.

"It's his fault!" she said as she pointed an accusing finger at Ashton. "Because of him, I left your present at home!"

"Don't blame me," he responded as he put his hands up in false surrender. "It's your fault for forgetting about it in the first place."

"I didn't forget about it, you distracted me!" she defended.

"Kissing you on the cheek wasn't a distraction…" He smirked when Lina blushed faintly. "In fact, that wasn't even a diversion. If you want a real distraction, well…" He trailed off, his purple eyes sizing the brunette up as he examined her from head to toe. Her blush grew deeper not only from the scrutinizing eyes, but when Ashton licked his lips enticingly and formed a smirk. Even Lucy had to blush a little bit at their interaction and decided to stop it by faking a cough.

"A-any who," the blonde said awkwardly. "Lina-chan, it's alright. We can get it later if you want."

"O-okay…" the brunette said as she steered her eyes away from Ashton, but not before sticking her tongue out and glaring at the man.

"Perverted creep…" she muttered. Ashton shrugged casually, not even bothering to take that as an insult. Lina and Lucy left Ashton by the bar and made their way towards Gray, Natsu, Lisanna and Mira. The Strauss sisters were warning the two men to stay clear from the cake until its cut or they'll face the consequences.

"Hey guys," Lucy called. "Gray, Natsu, what are you doing?" Both men in question stopped trying to get their hands on the cake and looked at Lucy. Natsu was the first to react and ran to Lucy.

"Lucy!" he exclaimed childishly. "Happy Birthday…!" He tackled Lucy in a tight hug, causing them to fall to the ground and for Lina to step aside to give them some room.

"Idiot…" Gray sighed with a smile. Lisanna, who was the one stopping them from getting near the cake, nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Lucy was trying her best not to get suffocated by her pink-haired boyfriend's hug.

"N-Natsu…" she gasped. "I-I can't… breathe!" At that, he let the blonde go and helped her sit up. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, before leaning closer and giving Lucy a quick kiss in the nose.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I was just happy to see you…"

"I know," Lucy nodded. She smiled and stole a quick kiss on his cheek before saying, "I'm happy to see you, too." Natsu formed his usual toothy grin before standing up. He held a hand out to Lucy, which she greatly accepted and she stood up.

"Everyone, don't get too excited now," Mira chimed in. "The fun's just about to start! So let's say we get the festivities underway?"

"Okay!" Lucy cheered. Everyone nodded and cheered after her.

Mira called everyone to the center of the guild, announcing that they'll start the party now. When everyone agreed, everything went to full blast. Mira and Gajeel were at the stage performing songs, sometimes duets. Occasionally, the guys would get into fights, especially when they insult Gajeel's singing voice. The girls would just laugh along with their antics and just watch them, but stopped them when they were about to destroy a couple of things. Erza had to reprimand them and told them that they were only a few close inches away from destroying the two-foot cake that she, Mira and Lisanna had worked so hard on.

"If that cake gets damaged, I'll rip you to shreds!" Erza's words kept ringing in their ears. It serves as a warning to them if they ever started another fight. The rest of the night was pure and uninterrupted fun. They played 'Pin-the-tail-on-the-Happy', and Lucy was the only one who got it right. Lina purposely went the other way and poked Ashton instead. Levy was too short to reach the poster, so she couldn't participate.

When they finished that game, Mira called them up again.

"Alright everyone," she clapped her hands. "We're going to play another game. This one's my favorite…" she giggled.

"Ooh, what is it?" Lina asked. A smile of excitement was present in her face.

"I better get to play this time," Levy muttered with a pout.

"Everyone gets to play this one!" Mira exclaimed. "This is why it's my favorite. It's called 'Paper Dance', and I need you guys to pair up, please. A guy and a girl should be partners, okay?" As soon as she said that, Natsu had dashed towards Lucy and took her hand and raised it up.

"First!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "Lucy and I are always partners!" Lucy blushed a little from the statement, but nodded either way. Everyone chuckled at them before going to their respective partners.

"Let's do our best, okay Juvia?" Gray shook his fist in the air a little to signal willpower. The rain woman smiled brightly at the raven-haired ice user and nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaimed. Jellal and Erza were awkwardly side-stepping towards each other, their face beetroot red. No one bothered to pick Erza or Jellal as a partner because those will automatically choose each other anyway. Gajeel and Levy were stuck with each other, and no way in hell would Gajeel consider leaving Levy alone. Lina had the misfortune of being stuck with Ashton, because Mira specifically told them that they needed a boy and a girl to be partners.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with you…" Lina muttered as Ashton closed in on her.

"Don't be like that," the man said. "You should be proud that someone's brave enough to go near you after doing this." Lina was about to ask what he meant when she felt a slight sting on her derriere. Her face became beetroot as Ashton laughed at her reaction. But it didn't last long when a hand slapped Ashton's face.

"Pervert!" she sneered. The blue-haired teen chuckled again as he rubbed his cheek. He slung an arm around the girl's shoulder and just smirked.

"Yeah, I am." He said smugly. Still blushing, Lina glared at him before looking away, but not pulling away from him. Mira watched from the stage the interactions of the couples and smiled knowingly.

'This is perfect!' Mira thought. 'This game would surely help in strengthening their relationship!' A few seconds later, her young sibling approached her and smiled.

"Mira-nee, the preparations are done." She said. "Should we start the game now?"

"Of course we should!" Mira exclaimed. Lisanna chuckled. Both she and Mira smiled before going down the stage.

With the help of Lisanna, they placed an array of wide sheets of newspaper down on the floor, ushering each pair to step inside. Natsu and Lucy, being the enthusiastic pair that they were, took the first spot. Gray and Juvia were next, followed by Erza and Jellal. The two were still awkward with each other, but not as much as they did before. Gajeel and Levy took the spot in the middle, much to Levy's embarrassment.

"Gajeel," Levy moaned. "Why do we have to be in the middle?"

"Because we're going to win, that's why!" Gajeel said as he struck his chest with his hand. "We ain't losin' to a bunch of pathetic idiots!"

"Say that again, metal-freak!" Both Gray and Natsu turned to glare at the long-haired dragon slayer, who was grinning maniacally at them.

"Is that a challenge?" Erza asked calmly, returning to her confident and battle-ready self. Jellal just smirked at their bickering, not bothering to get involved. Ashton was still distracted at teasing the helpless brunette about their being together, so he wasn't about to complain.

"All right," Mira interrupted them with a clap of her hands. "The rules of this game are simple. Each pair would dance to a song without stepping out of the newspaper. When the music stops, the guys will carry the girls and stand on one leg for five seconds!"

"After each pause," Lisanna adds. "The girls would fold the newspaper a little before we begin again, okay?"

"Sounds easy enough," Gajeel commented. A sudden flash of light interrupted them, and when they looked to find the source, Erza had her magic change her outfit to accommodate herself to the game. She just removed her armor, which was the heaviest of all her clothes so Jellal wouldn't have a hard time balancing himself.

Everyone started to chuckle, not as Erza's outfit, no. It was Jellal's slight look of disappointment that made them chuckle.

'I guess he must be expecting something else…' Mira thought to herself. Smiling to herself, she begins to walk up the stage again. Before she got up, she grabbed a recorder lacrima crystal that had a recorded song in it all ready for the game.

"All set?" she asked them all when she was at the stage. With the nodding heads and the readying dance positions, she applied a little bit of magic to the lacrima, and it shined white before starting to play the recorded song. Everyone began to dance the usual ballroom dance. Occasionally, just to show off, some almost went outside the lines, specifically Lucy since she was being thrown like paperweight by her pink-haired partner.

"N-N-Natsu…!" she exclaimed as she was spun for the third time. "Stop it…! I'm going… I'm going to hurl!"

"What?" Natsu asked innocently. "I can't hear you Lucy! What did you say?"

"I…said…!"

She never got to finish her sentence as she was literally thrown up high, her screaming in actual terror rather than fun, all the while trying to hold a glare down at the laughing pyromaniac below her. She was caught by Natsu once again, and was about to spin her when Lisanna suddenly called out.

"You guys are out!" she exclaimed, stopping Natsu from what he was about to do. Lucy quickly let go and held a hand to her stomach, trying hard not to bring back the delicious food they ate earlier.

"What do you mean, 'we're out'?!" Natsu exaggerated.

"The song ended 10 seconds ago," Lisanna confirmed. "And everyone had already assumed the position. See?" she swept her hand in the air and the pair turned to look at everyone. Juvia was being carried by Gray piggyback style. Levy was being slung on one shoulder of Gajeel, who was grinning maniacally again. Jellal was struggling a bit due to Erza's 'dancing skills', but he managed to balance himself long enough. Ashton was carrying Lina bridal-style, and was also smirking when Natsu scowled in defeat.

"Damn it," he muttered. "I thought for sure we were gonna win!"

"With the way you've been throwing Lucy around, it's actually a blessing that you guys got out first." Gray deadpanned.

"Say that again, ice freak!" Natsu roared with a raised flaming fist. He was about to lunge at him, not caring at the moment that he was carrying someone, when a gentle hand circled around his arm. He whipped his head back and turned to see Lucy hugging him with her eyes closed.

"I am a bit tired," Lucy muttered gently. "Let's take a seat, Natsu. Please?" she asked. Almost instantly, the flames dispersed from his hand and he grinned.

"Sure," he said, kissing the top of Lucy's head. "We'll take a rest." He brought Lucy to the bar and they proceeded to watch the others in mild interest.

At the end of the game, Gajeel and Levy won, making the iron dragon slayer's words true. Gray and Juvia followed Natsu and Lucy at being out of the game earlier. Next was Lina and Ashton, because apparently Ashton couldn't resist holding the brunette's rear again, resulting in a power slap that sent the both of them tumbling to the ground. Jellal had gotten too dizzy from dancing with Erza, so he couldn't keep his balance when the newspaper was folded to half of what it was originally was.

Only Gajeel had the capability and advantage of holding onto his girlfriend with one hand and balancing himself on one leg. Mira rewarded the two of them by making them cut the cake and be the first to taste it, of course while acting like a married couple all the way.

After eating the cake, everyone went to the infirmary, where the guys decorated it heavily for tonight's surprise for Lucy. They were going to have a sleep-over; both the girls and the guys. Everyone had clothes prepared, and Mira was quick to add that she took the liberty of going to Lucy's house when she was away and 'borrowed' one of her pyjamas. Apparently they were planning this longer than the blonde had originally thought.

The beds weren't separated like before, plus the curtains to hide any patient had been removed and had been put in the storage room. And instead of beds, they just laid the mattresses down on the floor. Once everyone was in their pyjamas, they separated the group via gender. The guys were a little near the door, while the girls were at the far end to the right. It was to make sure that the guys wouldn't listen in to their conversations; no matter how much the guys had promised they wouldn't take interest. The dragon slayers' enhanced sense of hearing was enough boundaries for all of them, so they set it like that.

Lucy laid on her stomach, elbows propped up and hands cupping her chin. Beside her, Levy laid on her back while reading a small pocket book, eventually getting tired of the position and assumed the same position as Lucy had. Lina and Mira were sitting cross-legged as they chatted casually, while Erza, Lisanna, and Juvia tucked themselves comfortably between the large, fluffy pillows.

In the guys' end, it wasn't as quiet, nor was it that relaxing. Natsu and Gray had already gotten into a fight, both glaring at each other and pillows at hand. Gajeel was leaning on a wall as he watched the two with disinterest. Ashton and Jellal both sat cross-legged on the mattress, far from the two idiots with their eyes closed and trying to tune out the noise.

No one actually wanted to sleep yet, and they'd rather spend more time with their respective partners. It wasn't long before Ashton got impatient and decided to crawl to the girls' side of the room, spotting Lina immediately and smiling at her.

"Hey," Ashton said as he stood up and was now walking towards them. The brunette took notice of him and glared emerald-green eyes at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What?" he asked back. "Can't I visit my favorite girl?" The look Lina had didn't change for a few seconds, but Ashton bit back a laugh when her cheeks puffed up, red as a tomato and she looked away quickly.

"Someone's blushing~" Mira pointed out, poking the brunette's cheek to further pinpoint her victim. Everyone started to coo at the two, making her blush even more.

"S-stop it, you guys~!" she exclaimed before pouting. "You guys are mean!"

"What's wrong with what we're doing, Lina-chan?" Levy asked innocently.

"Yeah," Lucy continued. "Ashton's been pretty nice lately…"

"Wasn't I nice before?" the man in question asked. He now sat down next to Lina, who was still looking away from him.

"I guess, but you're way nicer now compared to before." Lucy said. "And I think it's cute that you guys have little arguments like this every once in a while."

"Why not date?" Lisanna asked. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Juvia thinks it's a great idea." Juvia commented casually. Everyone nodded at the idea, even Ashton. The blue-haired man slung an arm around the brunette's shoulder and smiled softly.

"You heard them, right?" he whispered. "They think it's a great idea, so why not you?"

"I think she's just playing 'hard-to-get'…" Mira joked, giggling a little when she saw the girl stiffen up a bit under the man's arm.

"Is that it?" Ashton played along with the joke. "So if you're playing hard-to-get, I expect a great reward when I finally get you…"

"What reward…?" Lina finally asked, not sensing the mischievousness of the people around her. Ashton smirked, let go of her, and put a crooked finger under his lip, as if thinking of something.

"Well…" he said pausing a little. "How about a dozen kids…?" At that, every girl except Lina began a fit of giggling. Lina was bright red and flustered by this point. So, not seeing the point of arguing with them, she just sighed and went to lie down on Ashton's lap. Now it was his turn to blush when he saw the girl smile a bit.

"…I'll think about it…" she just muttered and closed her eyes. Every girl awed at her and started another fit of giggles while the blue-haired man stroked Lina's hair. All of a sudden, their peace was interrupted when Natsu came flying towards them with a pillow to his chest. He landed in the middle, just a mere inch away from Levy and Lucy, shocking them all a little.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked worriedly. Natsu looked at the blonde, her honey-brown eyes filled with concern, but it was completely washed away when he grinned.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine." Lucy smiled a bit in relief at hearing that.

"Hey flame-brain!" Gray called from the other side. "You forfeiting already?" They could the slight arrogance in his voice, which got Natsu to sit up quickly and raise a fist.

"Just wait there, ice pansy!" he growled. He turned back to Lucy and grinned. "I'll be going." When she nodded, he began to race back to attack. But before he could, all the lights went out. The girls began to scream, startling each guy and making them race back towards them. The lights went back on a few seconds later, the others seemingly not affected by the outage. Gajeel was standing next to Levy, unsure of what he should do since the girl just screamed because she thought she wouldn't be able to finish her pocket book. Jellal was comforting the shocked Mira and Lisanna, while Erza asked him what just happened.

"Maybe it was just a reaction to something," Jellal assessed. "It could be anything. But we can't be sure. Since this whole place runs on magic, we can't say for sure."

"I see…" Erza said. "Everyone, are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine…" Ashton said as he held Lina close. She fell asleep and wasn't really alarmed, but he shook her up a bit just enough to stir her from her sleep.

"Okay," Mira said, finally calm again. "There's nothing to worry about now, so we can-"

"I'm not sure about that…" Lina muttered, cutting Mira off.

"What do you mean?" the white-haired bartender asked. Lina looked serious, as if she was going to fight someone.

"I don't…" she muttered. "I don't feel any magic. Nor do I sense any presence of life. It's the same with all of you."

"What?" Lucy asked. "How is that possible? Shouldn't you be able to tell that?"

"And we're right here, right?" Levy continued, slightly afraid. "So how's it possible that you can't sense any of us?" Lina nodded her head as she heard those words.

"It's not…" she said. "It's not possible that you have no life. I can only guess…"

"Something's blocking our magic…" Jellal continued. All eyes landed on his serious expression.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"Can't you feel it?" the blue-haired man asked. "When the power went out, it must be because of something attempting to block our magic. But since this guild is powered by a lacrima, and is still working, I'm only guessing it's blocking naturally born magic."

"But who'd be trying to do that to us?" Lisanna asked in worry.

"I don't know…" Jellal stated sadly. "But we need to keep our guard up."

"Okay." Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel said at the same time.

"No one's gettin' near us…" Gajeel smirked.

"With or without magic…" Natsu grinned maniacally.

"This should be fun… Whoever's tryin' to attack us at night is pretty weak." Gray commented.

"First things first," Mira said, standing up. "We should check if anyone's gotten in the guild." At everyone's nod, they all started to walk out.

They are all unaware of the cloud of darkness surrounding the guild, unaware of the dangers that they wouldn't know that would happen. Will the fairies shine a path to life? Or will they all be stepping in Death's Door?