Waking Dreams (A Gruvia fanfiction)

Chapter 9: "Fake" Part 1

"Fake." The word sent a chill down Natsu's spine. He looked over to Lucy, who looked just as stunned as he did. He could tell that everybody was having the same thoughts. She's a fake? Where's the real one? How can we be sure? Natsu looked over to Nozomi. "How can you be sure?" He asked. Nozomi just looked off blankly into the darkness and said, "She doesn't shine like you do." Though the statement was strange, Nozomi had been right about everything so far. Chances were, she was right about this too. However, Natsu did not want her to be right, because if she was...He would have to kill Lucy.

A Certain Amount of Time Earlier
It was hard to keep track of time in the labyrinth. Lisanna could not tell how long she had been here, wandering around. After Nightmare's announcement, she had come to the conclusion that she was here because she was close to Juvia. After their time together on Sirius Island, the two of them had grown close. Juvia had also gotten to know Mira pretty well, so Lisanna was hoping that her older sister was here too. If her assumption was correct, other people that were likely to be here would be Gray, Lucy, and Natsu. Obviously Nightmare didn't take the whole guild, but he had taken the ones closest to Juvia. Leaning against a wall, Lisanna tried to come up with a full list of people that could be in the labyrinth. After thinking for a while, she had a pretty good list which consisted of exactly eight names:
-Gray
-Lisanna(me!)
-Mira
-Natsu
-Lucy
-Gajeel
-Cana
-Evergreen
Lisanna wasn't quite as sure about the last few, but it was the best that she could come up with. Now that she had a list of names, she would know who to look for.
Using a Take Over, Lisanna gained the ability to see in the dark, which came in handy now. She wandered down the dark halls, searching for the guild mates that she expected to be in there. What she came across was not as pleasant as a familiar face. It was a body. A body that had been mostly torn to shreds, but what was left was rotting away. The clothes didn't look familiar and neither did the hair, so Lisanna ran away from it as fast as she could. It didn't seem to be the body of somebody she knew, and she definitely did not want to find what had torn it up like that.

"H-hello?" Wendy's voice shook in a tentative tone as she held onto what seemed to be fabric, hoping that she had found somebody from the guild. The figure that the fabric was attached to-Wendy assumed that the fabric was its clothes-turned around. Wendy couldn't tell if it was one of the guild members or not, since she had lost her heightened senses once she had woken up here. Whatever she was holding onto crouched down beside her and spoke one word, in a voice soft as silk, "Shiny." Wendy quickly recoiled. Something about the voice didn't sound right. It was too perfect. Still, she didn't run away. "Excuse me?" she said softly. Again, the voice replied. "Your soul. It's shiny." Wendy's instincts screamed at her to run, but she knew that if this creature was a predator, it would chase and catch her easily. Slowly, she stood up, but the creature followed, standing as well. Though she couldn't see properly, Wendy could sense that this thing was nearly twice her height. Stifling the urge to scream, Wendy backed away slowly. "Don't run away." the singsong voice replied, "I only want to play." At that point, something in Wendy snapped. She cast aside all reason and yelled, "Tenru no Hoko!" Using the time bought by the spell she had cast, Wendy ran as fast as she could, only to run face-first into a wall. Stunned, she stopped for a moment, then turned around. The creature was coming close. Wendy knew she wouldn't be able to get away in time. And if the others all found each other, they would be stuck here forever, because they wouldn't have exactly eight of them. I'm so sorry...For failing everybody...Please forgive me... Wendy mentally apologized to everybody in what she thought would be her last moments.
As it turned out, they were not her last moments. After a bright flash of light, Wendy found that the creature in front of her had completely disintegrated. Whatever had done that was standing mere inches before her. "Tenru no-" Wendy was cut off as it clamped it's hand over her mouth. "Shh!" The creature gestured for her to be quiet. "I..." It seemed to struggle to find the words, "I...am friend." Wendy nodded slowly, trying to understand. This creature had saved her from what, for all she knew, could have been one of its own kind. Could it really be trusted?

A/N: Hiiiiii! Sorry for takin so long to update! And sorry for the short chapter. It was going to be longer, but then it got late...So expect the rest later! I promise to make the beginning make sense. Thank you guys so much for reading, commenting, and voting! Please continue to do so!
(Seriously, some of you guys even voted for the author's note chapter I wrote. That's dedication.)