Story Three - An Iron Will
"Alissa," Makarov yelled, his face inflating to an astronomical size, "how many times do I have to tell you to stop appearing right in front of me?"
"I'm sorry, Master," she apologised, her eyes on the ground. "I just wanted to talk to you about…"
"Stop right there. Laxus will not return to this guild not matter how many times you bother me," he rasped, his arms crossed stubbornly.
"But…"
"No."
"Then why not…"
"Gajeel!" Makarov called, his face a dark scarlet as he looked over the girl's shoulder at the iron dragon slayer. "Kinana told me about the quest - are you still looking for someone to accompany you?"
"Yeah," the man grunted.
"Good, then take Alissa with you," the old man instructed with a scheming grin.
Gajeel tilted his head, observing the girl who let out a small whimper.
"How do you like sea monsters?" he asked, his piercing gaze making her uncomfortable enough to fidget with the clasp on her cloak.
"Err," she frowned, trying to figure out how to respond. "I could do without the-them."
"Good, 'cus we got a lot of them that need to be exterminated," Gajeel grinned, letting out a throaty chuckle.
Alissa rested her head on the ship's railing, looking out towards the vast ocean that surrounded them on all sides. Lurking in the distance was their destination. Apparently it was one large and remote island, however most of the land was submerged in water, making it appear as if it was a collection of much smaller ones.
"This place is truly a sight to behold," Panther Lily commented, his wings disappearing as he came to land on the railing.
"Shame it's riddled with sea monsters," Alissa grinned. "So what's the deal with this quest?"
"It was commissioned from an archaeologist hoping to acquire some artefact. Last time he came here, he spent a month waiting for the tides to shift so that he could avoid the monsters lurking in the waters. Unfortunately for him, when he found the artefact it was submerged in a pool of water containing a giant sea serpent and this time there was no getting around it," Lily explained.
"So I guess that's where we come in. No waiting this time - we'll provide safe passage across the dangerous waters, and when the sea serpent makes an appearance our goal is to retrieve the artefact," she inquired, an eyebrow raised.
"That's right," Lily frowned, his gaze scrutinising her face. "Have you been drinking?"
"No!" she gasped. "Why would you think that?"
"It's just that I've rarely seen you have such a straight conversation with anyone without having a drink if you."
"I can't help it if I'm shy," she huffed, puffing out her cheeks.
"Well, it's nice to see you can overcome your insecurities on a job," Lily praised her.
"Uhhh, yeah... that's it," she said hesitantly, stretching the words out.
Suddenly, the archaeologist approached her, followed by Gajeel and Juvia. With a shriek, she grabbed Lily, holding him in front of her face.
"Or maybe not," he sighed, Alissa giving him a small and guilt-riddled smile.
"Are you alright there, lassie?" the archaeologist rasped.
He was a tall and gangly man with thick glasses that fell down his nose every five seconds. On his back he carried a bulging backpack, causing his knees to shake under its weight, despite the fact he was probably in the prime of his life. Around thirty Alissa would have guessed.
"Don't mind her. She's a bit weird, but she can hold her own," Gajeel reassured him, chomping on a spanner with his razor sharp teeth.
"Yeah, I'm the one who's weird," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.
"Excuse me, sir, but I was just wondering if you could tell us anything more about the sea monsters we should be expecting on the island?" Juvia asked, interrupting their squabblings.
"Of course," he squeaked. "Well, when I first stepped on the island my first encounter was with a piranha. That's when I vowed to stay clear of the water and ended up spending a month waiting for the tides to shift. However, from my observations I could see their numbers grew the closer I got to the artefact. Plus there were frightful shadows, almost as big as ourselves."
Juvia and Gajeel exchanged looks.
"That's it?" Gajeel grunted, causing Alissa to let out a bark of laughter she tried to hide with a cough, ever more grateful that Lily was still hiding her face.
"Yes, absolutely terrifying. Why one day I saw a great serpent from afar with my binoculars, very close to the cave, the most monstrous thing I had ever seen in my life. That was, of course, until I entered the cave. The next serpent was almost twice as big and emerged almost a metre in front of me," the archaeologist continued, shivering as he recalled the memory.
Smirking at the ground, Alissa joined Juvia and Gajeel as they loaded themselves into a small boat with the archaeologist.
"A-are you sure about this? The land is much safer," the Professor questioned them, his shaking rocking the boat.
"Believe me, with Juvia on our side anything in that water should fear us more than we should fear them," Gajeel said, his voice rasping as he chuckled.
Before long they began the journey to the island under the direction of the Professor, the odd piranha deciding to jump at them every so often, causing the man to shriek and Juvia to flick her wrist to send it hurtling away with wisps of water. Meanwhile, Gajeel grumbled with his arms crossed, while Alissa drummed her fingers on the wood.
"This is bull," Gajeel grumbled. "A-class quest my ass."
"Perhaps we should be grateful. This route allows us to conserve our energy for the sea serpent," Juvia commented, her elbow resting on the side of the boat as she looked into the glistening water.
Suddenly, the archaeologist began to scream, the sound causing the three mages to stand attention, the boat rocking at their sudden movement.
"Stop screaming," Gajeel barked, watching as the man scrambled backwards.
Alissa's eyes gleamed as the tall, slimy serpent rose from the depths to face them, it's head reaching three metres tall. Below the rest of its body cast shadows on the water.
"Well it's about damn time," Gajeel grinned, circling his neck with a loud click as he prepared to fight.
"Watch out!" Juvia cried.
From behind, its tail came crashing down upon them, the archaeologist shrieking as Lily unfolded his wings to remove him from the serpent's path. Alissa materialised her staff, bracing herself for the impact.
"Water slicer!"
A torrent of water shot up from the sea, hitting the serpent square in the face. In response it shrivelled up, letting out a pitiful squeal as it fell back into the depths. Consequently, a tidal wave surged up to soak the three people that were staring open-mouthed at where the beast had disappeared, each of them witnessing its spirit heading for the heavens.
"Was that it?" Alissa blinked, her cloak heavy as water soaked into the material.
"Haven't you ever seen a movie? It always comes back," Gajeel smirked, his eyes resting on the calm waters.
The seconds passed by as the three mages stared out to sea. Alissa clamped her mouth shut as she tried not to laugh, quietly humming the two notes from Jaws. Gajeel's head whipped around, his red eyes piercing her form as she lowered her eyes.
"Is everyone alright?" Panther Lily asked them as he returned to help them fight. "Where did the serpent go?"
"Unless it's planning a dramatic entrance I believe it's gone," Juvia frowned.
"Already?"
"I didn't even get to punch the damn thing," Gajeel grumbled as he crossed his arms.
"Well maybe you can face the next one. I've deposited the Professor at the site of the cave. We're not too far," Lily informed them, pointing in the direction of a vivid green isle with moss-covered rocks.
As they pulled into the rocky isle, Gajeel jumping off the boat to pull it onto the shore, they were greeted by a shaking archeologist.
"Thank goodness! That cat deposited me close to near-death," he gasped, his breath wheezing.
"Look here, stick man," Gajeel growled, scooping up the archeologist by his shirt and lifting him off the ground. "I've been wanting to hit something all day and if I find out that there is nothing more than the equivalent of a sissy worm in there I'm gonna find something else to use as my punching bag."
"Just you wait. That serpent back there was nothing compared to this beast. Twice the size," the Professor wheezed with a shiver.
"Maybe this one won't go down like Natsu," Alissa muttered under her breath.
As Gajeel chuckled, she let out a squeak, watching out of the corner of her eye as he dropped the Professor.
"Let's go."
With a curt nod Alissa slipped through Juvia and Gajeel to take the lead. As she entered the moss covered cave, it soon began to slope downwards, leading them into some sort of underground cavern. The deeper they got, the more the streams of water tried to filter in from above and the place darkened, making the rough edges hard to make out. However, the Professor soon disrupted the silence, his gasp echoing off the walls as he made a beeline for the pool of water that emerged through an opening in front of them.
"This is it. The artefact lies within the waters," he breathed, the look of longing lighting up his face.
Alissa watched as he dumped his backpack on the ground, for the first time standing tall as he headed towards the caverns lake. As soon as he reached the waters edge he tentatively lifted his foot, the sole barely touching the water before it created a mystical rippling effect.
"Do you feel that?" Alissa whispered, her staff materialising as she sensed the presence of magic in the air.
The three mages tensed as the air grew heavy, the archaeologist taking no notice as he dipped his foot into the lake. Suddenly, a twin serpent of the first rose from its depths, causing him to screech. Alissa took off, running at full speed in a race to reach the man frozen on the spot with a single foot still in the air. At the water's edge, she grabbed his arm just in time to shift through the dimension, his cry ringing out as a translucent replica of the serpent snapped at them.
"Where? How?" He babbled, his mouth hanging open as he blubbed like a fish.
"Stay here. Don't move," Alissa barked before shifting back.
"Alissa, Gray is not here to impress with your skimpy outfits right now!" Juvia called over.
Alissa looked down to see she had lost her cloak and was now showing off her skinny blue denim shorts that were high-waisted and the white t-shirt that was tucked into them. Her cloak lay at the water's edge, slowly gathering water at its centre to form a small pool as it sank.
"I don't wear skimpy clothes to impress Gray!" She barked back.
"Yeah, she just likes to dress like a stripper," Gajeel commented as Alissa's mouth dropped to the floor, his smirk evident as Lily lifted him up in the air to try and attract the attention of the serpent.
As the serpent swung its head around, a mighty roar filled the cave. Alissa grumbled, reaching out to try and grab her cape. As her hand brushed the water, it rippled once again, the serpent turning to return to the depths of the lake as Gajeel hit it with a mighty iron dragon's roar.
"Wuss," Gajeel scoffed, his feet returning to the floor as Lily lowered him down.
"I suppose that's it," Juvia stated, her eyes brushing over the calm lake to rest her eyes on Alissa who was clutching her sodden cape.
"This is never going to dry out," she whined, looking down at it glumly.
"Pitiful," a cold voice sneered from behind.
Alissa froze as she recognised the voice from her past. Slowly, she turned to view a woman whose hair was pure white. She was strikingly beautiful, wearing a metallic armour similar to that of her staff with linings of white linen. Her eyes were an icy blue, that pierced her own, causing her to shrink back into the water and fall onto her knees with a splash.
"Alissa!"
The calls came from behind her, but all she could do was shake in the presence of the delicate beauty with a soul full of ice. Slowly, the woman raised her hand, her whole body radiating with magic power as she condensed it into a single sphere that had the potential to decimate anything it touched.
"I'm sor-sorry," she whispered, her body shaking as her mind stalled in terror.
From above, Gajeel and Lily swooped in to push Alissa into the water, the area where she once was becoming a void before the water came crashing down to replenish the gaping hole left in the lake. Soon the two of them resurfaced, Alissa coughing and spluttering from the water that she had swallowed.
"What the hell was that?" Gajeel demanded, giving her a piercing stare.
"I-It's impossible… she can't… she didn't use the bridge…" Alissa babbled, her eyes fixed on the abyss.
"Calm down and tell me what's going on before I knock it out of you."
"G-Gajeel!" Alissa warned, her eyes fixed on the shadows that emerged from behind him.
Gajeel turned swiftly, just in time to witness a black and scaled form break from the water, the electric blue contrasting against the night. Alissa gasped, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of a real-life dragon.
"No!" Juvia cried, dropping to her knees as she gazed at the dragon that had emerged from the depths of the pool. "How could he be here? Acnologia…"
"Acnologia…" Alissa whispered, her brain making the connections to the beast that had tore her family apart.
The dragon before them gave a mighty roar, it's wings creating turbulent currents that caused the water to reach the speed of bullets that pounded at their bodies. Suddenly, it lunged forward, Alissa running forward to stand at Gajeel's side to face the mighty beast. However, as she stared into his terror filled eyes, she realised far too late the scars their last encounter had left. The dragon sucked in the air, a torrent of pure magic unleashing itself upon them. Somewhere, Juvia's scream echoed throughout the cave and Alissa bounded forward, using her staff to slice the magic in two. As the magic began to ebb, she pulled it into the staff, gathering the electric blue energy into the orb.
"Gajeel! It's not him! It's not Acnologia!" She realised, her eyes wide as the stared into the orb.
Swiftly, she turned to grab him by the shoulders and give him a hard shake.
"It's not him! Don't you see! I could never withstand an attack from Acnologia. This magic is an imitation. I don't know what kind of magic this is but it plays on your fears, but you can beat it! It's a dragon nevertheless."
As Gajeel stared ahead, his eyes still fixed on the terror before him, Alissa did the only thing she could think of; she slapped him in the face. As the dragon slayers head snapped backwards, a red hand print already making itself known, his eyes narrowed as he twisted his head back to face Alissa with murderous intent.
"Don't give this imitation the satisfaction of your fear," she threatened him sternly. "It's time to do the job we came here to do."
Slowly, Gajeel's hand lifted up to tentatively touch his cheek.
"No way in hell are you gonna tell me what to do," he murmured, his eyes beginning to focus on the job at hand. "Iron dragon's club!"
Alissa gave a small smile, using the dragon's distraction to run over to Juvia. As she lowered herself on her knees and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, Juvia turned to her, eyes as cold as steel.
"I know what I need to do," she said, picking herself up to run into the heat of the battle.
Alissa stood mesmerised as the two mages faced what was their worst nightmare. Gajeel unleashed a fury of dragon slayer techniques, the cold iron ravaging the dragon and causing it to roar in pain and anger. Meanwhile, Juvia guided the water, distancing the dragon, and shielded Gajeel from the turbulent waters the dragon created. Even Lily did his part, guiding Gajeel through the air when the fake Acnologia took to it.
With a bellow, she ran into the battle, unleashing the power she had gathered from the dragon. It hit on his left, the dragon giving a mighty shriek as the attack was accompanied with a hit from Gajeel. They were magnificent, all four of them, the perfect team in full synchronisation - but it wasn't enough. Alissa gasped as they were overwhelmed, their tattered bodies flying backwards as they were swatted like flies by the mighty dragon's wings.
"Juvia! Gajeel! Lily!" She cried, trying to pick herself up.
"It's not enough… even if it's a cheap imitation… we're still not strong enough…" Lily rasped, one eye shut as his whole body strained from magical depletion.
"You have to be," Alissa whispered, watching as the dragon hit the roof of the cave, pure destructive intent at its heart.
"I'm not… I'm not strong enough. We need Laxus… Salamander… anyone!" Gajeel admitted, his eyes flinching slightly as if he had voiced a curse.
"You need another dragon slayer…" Alissa realised, her eyes widening. "Hit me!"
"What?" Juvia gasped.
"Hit me with your magic! I don't think using its own magic is very effective - it's still an imitation after all, but if we both hit him full force with real dragon slayer magic…"
"Are you crazy!"
As the dragon gave a mighty bellow from behind, Alissa raised her staff to give Gajeel a whack to the head. His response was immediate, his eyes filling with rage as he let out a roar into the air. She gathered the full brunt of the attack, using all her concentration to not let a single morsel of Gajeel's strength be wasted.
"Once we've floored this joke, me and you are going to be having words, stripper," Gajeel raged, his eyes focused on the task.
Juvia ran forward, taking it upon herself to send the water surging, the whole contents of the lake seemingly hitting the dragon like a water gun. Together, Alissa and Gajeel ran forwards, each taking a different side, Lily lifting Gajeel into the air on his way.
"Iron dragon's…" Gajeel called.
"Iron dragon's…" Alissa bellowed, raising her staff.
"ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"
Suddenly, the dragon gave a agonising screech, it's mighty form falling back into the depths of the lake.
"Good riddance," Gajeel scorned as Lily lay him on the ground, his entire body having consumed the rest of his magic in that one attack.
"What? You don't want this one to come back? Like a movie?" Alissa joked, plonking herself on the ground next to him.
"Shut it, stripper."
Alissa curled up on a sofa in the corner of the guild hall, closing her eyes as she listened to the comforting ruckus. Warren was snacking, Elfman was shouting 'man' every so often, and Juvia was fawning after Gray.
"Gray, my beloved, you must excuse Juvia," she cried, filling a glass with her tears and placing it in front of Gray.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this!" Gray shouted, raising the glass up in angry confusion.
"A favour so that you will not miss your beloved," she called back, missing the grumbled response about 'disappearing for eternity'.
Next thing she knew, Alissa felt the presence of others. With a groan, she cracked an eyelid, repositioning herself so that she was laying down and staring at the ceiling instead of Gajeel and Juvia.
"Alissa… I just wanted to say thank you for what you did for us," Juvia began, smiling down at the girl as her face softened.
"You guys did all the work. It must have been so hard facing…"
"Don't say it," Gajeel snapped. "I don't want people round here knowing a dragon slayer… well, you know."
"You faced your fears. That's nothing to be ashamed of," Alissa murmured.
"You almost sound envious," Lily commented, peering over the table between them to look her in the eye. "Who exactly was that girl you fear?"
"She's…" Alissa sighed, closing her eyes once again. "She's a troubled person, but it's not her fault. In a way it moulded her to be ruthless and unforgiving. Combine that with her limitless power and anyone would fear her."
"Is it something we can help you with? I kind of feel like we owe you," Juvia sighed.
"You don't owe me anything. It was a job and we completed it together. That's all there is to it."
"It's a shame we traumatised that archaeologist so much. It must have been quite something for a man afraid of everything to see a dragon," Lily smiled, arms crossed.
"Hmm, what was that about a dragon?"
Alissa frowned as she side-glanced to see the Master had bounced across the room to stand on their table.
"Been earwigging again, old man?" Gajeel sneered.
"What? Me? Whatever do you mean?" The Master cooed innocently.
"Never mind 'cus I got something to talk to you about anyway," Gajeel grunted, his form becoming rigid as he gritted his teeth. "I think you should let Laxus back into the guild."
"What?" Alissa and the Master shouted, Alissa lifting her head up at the speed of light as Makarov's mouth dropped open to hit the table.
"He's paid his due. No one's gonna think your playing favourites if you let him back in."
"I agree wholeheartedly, Master," Juvia chirped up with a small smile.
Alissa watched as the Master turned a sickly shade of blue, the whites of his eyes incredibly wide. Suddenly, he took a deep breath.
"In that case," he breathed slowly. "OF COURSE I'M NOT GOING TO LET HIM BACK IN YOU BRATS! DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER WHAT HE DID? HOW COULD I LET HIM BACK IN AFTER HIS COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR HIS ENTIRE GUILD…"
Alissa winced as the Master ranted and raved, his head inflating like a balloon as he continued to bark words out.
"Oh dear, Alissa," cooed Mira-Jane, approaching them with a smile. "Haven't I told you it's not good for you to keep bringing Laxus up to the Master."
"It… wasn't me," she breathed, giving Gajeel a disbelieving look.
"Better yet, just shack up already. Maybe then you wouldn't have to strip for a living," Gajeel grunted.
"Kyaaahhhh!" Alissa screeched, her cheeks burning up. "I don't… I would never… I am not a stripper! Gray is more of a stripper than I am!"
"Yes, but for my darling it is a way of life. Not a profession," Juvia corrected her.
"Hey! Don't bring me into this," Gray pouted sporting nothing but his briefs.
"I'll show you damn well why I wear these clothes," Alissa growled, launching herself across the table and poking the dragon slayer in the head.
As she crossed the dimension with him, her face twisted into a grin as he landed in her dimension with nothing but his boxers on. She stared at him smugly as he took in his appearance.
"What the hell?" He shrieked.
"Loose clothes don't come with you," she explained, her face full of satisfaction.
"Stop forcing your creepy habits on other people!" He yelled back.
With a pout, she flicked his head again, watching as he shifted back to the plain of the guild, her satisfaction peaking as her guild mates started laughing, many of the daring ones even grabbing for his clothes so he couldn't get them back. With a beaming smile on her face, she tucked herself into the corner, content to watch the show.
"You damn sleaze of a woman!" Gajeel roared. "I'll get you for this!"