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5. Trouble (P!nk)
No attorneys to plead my case
No opiates to send me into outer space
And my fingers and bejeweled
With diamonds and gold, but that ain't gonna help me now
I'm trouble, yeah trouble now
I'm trouble ya'll, I disturb my town
I'm trouble, yeah trouble now
I'm trouble ya'll, I got trouble in my town
You think you're right, but you were wrong
You tried to take me, but I knew all along
You can take me for a ride, I'm not a fool out
So you better run and hide
If you see me coming down the street
Then you know it's time to go
(and you know it's time to go 'cause here comes trouble)
Shock was so ready to prove to Gajeel that she was capable of handling herself on a job that she spent most of the night and early hours of the morning running drills with her different charms (with the exception of the Soul and Time charms). Not Soul, because the key was volatile enough that it took part of the owner's soul in compensation for being used, and not Time, because it had a habit of withering away an owner's life force the longer it was kept active.
She had eventually collapsed into bed at around 2 a.m., exhausted but extremely proud of herself.
She had finally found some purpose in her life now, and was ready to embrace the challenge head-on. This job presented the perfect opportunity to test her skills, and show her where she needed to improve. It was a chance to become stronger and prove Gajeel wrong at the same time. It was perfect.
Due to her over-exertion the previous night, Shock completely ignored her alarm clock and only realized she was late when Erza started banging on her door. As she tripped over virtually every available object and surface in her small room trying to find clean clothes to wear, Shock was struck by the oddity of her new positive outlook on life. She reflected on how much happier she had become in the months since joining Fairy Tail.
She grinned through the whole lecture Erza sat her down for on punctuality and other such behaviour, and even Grey and Natsu's constant bickering at the guild house couldn't annoy her.
Maybe, just maybe, she was on her way to a complete psychological recovery. And even if she wasn't, she liked the direction in which she was headed.
…
"Hargeon Town?" Shock raised an eyebrow at Gajeel as he sat at his usual stool across from her at the bar. "Never heard of it."
"I think I know that place," Lucy commented. Both Shock and Gajeel turned to look at the buxom blonde sitting a little further down.
"You do?" Shock was hopeful.
"Wait…she was listening in on us, wasn't she?" Gajeel mumbled under his breath, giving Lucy a strange look.
Shock hushed him with a wave of her hand – they needed the information.
Lucy took another long sip from the straw in her glass before beaming at Shock. "Yeah, I remember meeting Natsu there – he sort of destroyed the whole harbor," the stellar-spirit mage chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "I don't think that town'll take too kindly to seeing us back there any time soon."
"Do you have a map or anything we can use? Gajeel managed to get us a job there," Shock asked brightly. Gajeel gave her a dead-pan look, which she completely ignored. He just couldn't help but wonder where she got all her enthusiasm from – just looking at her made him tired.
"I think I might have a map or something in my bag, hang on a sec," Lucy turned to rummage through the satchel hanging by her hip.
While the blonde was distracted, Shock turned her head to look at Gajeel. She matched his bored expression with a blank one of her own.
"You could at least try to be more enthusiastic," she reprimanded. "You were the one who suggested this in the first place."
Gajeel sighed, blowing in Shock's face. It amused him to piss her off – her temper flared so easily. He noted with satisfaction when her expression turned peeved and she glowered at him. "Your point being?" he replied lazily.
Shock balled her hands into fists to keep herself from smacking Gajeel across the face. No matter how much she wanted to wipe that smug expression off his face, she had to restrain herself. Whenever she was around him, he seemed to make her forget all her previous training. Shock couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.
But acting like he cared so little for a 'high-paying job', as he had put it the previous night, that really ticked her off. He was underestimating her skills as a mage greatly, and Shock wasn't going to stand for that. She hadn't spent all those months with that old mage in the mountains for nothing.
Her training – and thus lack of sleep – the previous night would not be wasted. They would finish this job, and finish it properly. A thought suddenly occurred to Shock – she hadn't asked Gajeel what the job even was.
She was just about to ask her partner the details when Lucy tossed a rolled-up piece of paper in her direction. Shock caught it and unrolled it, glancing over the faded map curiously.
"It's kind of old, but it'll still get you where you need to go," Lucy assured with a smile, leaning her elbows on the counter.
Shock looked over the map again, her irritation at Gajeel vanishing, replaced with the thrill of her first job as a Fairy Tail mage. "Thanks Luce! This is a big help." Shock beamed at the blonde, her eyes glittering with excitement. Beside her, Gajeel snorted and rolled his eyes. Sometimes she acted like such a little kid.
"Anytime!" Lucy returned the smile, standing from her bar stool. "Good luck for the job, Shock. Tell me how it went when you get back."
"Sure thing," Shock already had her nose buried in the map.
Gajeel watched the blonde leave with an apprehensive look on his face. "Why's she so interested in our job?"
Shock glanced up from the map, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "She's just trying to help, no need to be so suspicious."
Gajeel huffed and rolled his eyes. "And since when did you become so trusting? I remember a time when you wouldn't even make eye contact with anyone besides Levy."
Shock smacked the weathered map down on the bar counter, shooting her dark-haired partner a glare. Her tone was calm, but laced with an underlying venom when she answered. "Unlike you, I'm willing to go out on a limb to move forward. I refuse to be stuck in the past with no family or friends. This is meant to be my new start – stop being such a wet blanket and brighten up a little."
Sporting an identical glare, Gajeel countered, "Wet blanket, huh? I'm the one who invited you on this job in the first place. I wouldn't be so high and mighty if I were you."
Shock snorted. "Like you're one to talk."
When she turned her attention back to the map, Gajeel resisted the urge to smack the annoying little insect. He wasn't used to people disregarding him. He had been the strongest mage in Phantom Lord, damnit! Who was she to be talking down to him?
He ripped the map out of Shock's hands, enjoying the surprised look that flitted over her face. The surprise was quickly replaced with annoyance.
"Will you stop being so childish and give me the map back?" she growled, holding a hand out expectantly.
Gajeel just smirked and held it out of arm's reach. "The only reason I invited you along to this little outing is to assess whether you're of any worth to this guild or not. Don't flatter yourself by thinking I need you – I could quite easily finish this job on my own."
Shock narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. No one – and she meant no one – had the right to question her ability as a mage. She had trained far too hard for that. Gajeel was gravely underestimating her, and she wouldn't stand for it.
"Whether I'm any worth or not?" she hissed angrily, leaning over the counter. "Let me just tell you something – you don't have a clue of what I'm capable of, so it'd be wise for you to shut your don't ever question my worth to this guild again. I'm sick of you doing it and I won't stand it any longer. I'm not the one who was so keen on destroying it in the first place."
Gajeel's metallic eyebrow twitched, and Shock knew she'd hit a nerve. She smirked and continued. "Don't think I don't know about that whole incident. If anyone should be questioning loyalty and worth around here, it should be me."
His expression stony, Gajeel challenged, "Fine. You've made your point, runt. So let's put it this way – I get to see what you're made of on this job, and you get to assess whether I'm loyal to this guild or not."
"Fine by me," Shock sneered, snatching the map back from Gajeel's hand. "But we're still splitting the money seventy-thirty."
…
"You know, I just realized something," Shock commented as she disembarked off the back of a wagon, who's owner had been kind enough to offer them a lift.
When her partner quirked an eyebrow, she continued. "We've travelled all this way…" they began trudging down the shale-covered down into Hargeon Town, "…and yet you still haven't told me what exactly this job is."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Gajeel's mouth. "No, suppose it slipped my mind," he retorted casually.
Shock sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Travelling with him for the past two days had been…infuriating, at the least. And he wasn't going to make her life any easier now that they had reached their destination.
"Will you just tell me?" she groaned. She could feel the start of a headache coming on.
Deciding had tormented her enough during the last few hours, Gajeel relented. "A merchant group contacted us to protect their shipping route in and out of the port."
After a prolonged silence, Shock realized no further explanation would be forthcoming. "Is that all? This whole job for two people?"
"If you don't think you can handle it…" Gajeel began tauntingly.
"I'll manage just fine, thank you very much!" Shock interjected heatedly, folding her arms angrily and marching off towards the town.
A few meters down the line, she slowed. With a knowing expression on her face, Shock turned back to the metal dragonslayer who ambled down the hill after her.
"There's something you're not telling me. What's the full mission?" Shock had been trained to look for signs that people were trying to deceive her – the small smirk on Gajeel's face, the slight tension in his shoulders…his subtle body language gave it away.
He shrugged, not too fussed with being caught out. "Nothing much – we just have to get rid of the giant sea serpent preventing ships from sailing in and out of port."
"Oh. Just that?" Shock tried to shrug nonchalantly, but inside she was screaming. Not in fear – she had faced much worse enemies on various battlefields she had been assigned to in the past – she was just supremely annoyed that her supposed 'partner' would keep such an important detail from her. Sea serpents weren't the easiest things to deal with.
Though he didn't show it, Gajeel was impressed – Shock had barely flinched when he told her what they were up against. He assumed most other mages from their guild would have paled at the mere thought of dealing with a sea serpent (besides maybe Natsu – that idiot took on anything). After all, they were pretty tricky to get rid of, seeing as they stayed under the water most of the time. And he wasn't the world's greatest swimmer.
Gajeel watched Shock out of the corner of his eye as they continued towards the port. He shrugged internally – maybe he was underestimating her just a little. Microscopically. Not that he would ever admit it, anyway.
His gaze was drawn down to her heavy utility belt, slung low over her hips. Her jeweled charms glinted menacingly in the sunlight, and he noticed that she had her hand clasped firmly around one of them.
Shock ran her thumb over the top of the Water charm, the aquamarine stones smooth and cool to the touch. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that this was definitely the key she would be using to get the job done. Shock frowned slightly as they entered the outskirts of the bustling town. She realized she had been neglecting her Charms lately…it was definitely time for some more training as soon as she got back.
"I hope you know where we're going," she grumbled, not enjoying the massive crowds of people she had to push through. They made her claustrophobic all of a sudden.
Gajeel just ignored her, shoving milling villagers out of his way and completely ignoring the glares that followed. Shock tried her best to stay in his wake, expertly weaving through the gaps he created. She smiled to herself – there were some benefits to their partnership.
In a few minutes, the pair had reached an expensive-looking building a few hundred feet away from the docking yard, where an assortment of ships was currently docked. Some looked like they hadn't left port in years.
Gajeel was just about to knock on the front door when a loud rumbling shook the very earth under their feet. Shock's keen hearing could pick up the sounds of people screaming in the market place where they had first entered the town.
Slowly, the pair turned around to face the harbor. Shock noticed the distant sea beginning to churn and froth wildly, and a sense of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach.
"Is that what I think it is?" she muttered, expression deadpan. Trust their luck to get thrown right in the middle of the job with no warning.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting roar rent through the air as an enormous sea monster burst from the churning waves. The serpent rose nearly a hundred feet in the air, its body covered in shimmering green scales slick with sea water. Both sliding their hands into their respective pockets, Gajeel and Shock calmly regarded the creature's head.
The size of a train carriage, it was fanned by an odd sort of frill, making the serpent look almost like a vicious, over-sized sunflower. It hissed menacingly at the two mages, revealing a mouth full of gigantic, razor-sharp teeth.
"I take it this is our job," Gajeel commented, cocking his head to the side as he studied the serpent. He then turned his gaze towards his partner and smirked. "Think you can handle it, small fry?"
Shock scowled at him, balling her fists angrily. "Don't call me that. I could probably take this thing down myself."
"Yeah, sure." The dragonslayer rolled his eyes sarcastically, pulling his hands out his pockets and flexing his shoulders experimentally. "Look at the size difference – that thing would swallow you alive."
If Shock was angry before… she was positively fuming now.
"Insult my ability as a mage?" Shock hissed, grabbing hold of her Water charm, "fair enough – you haven't seen me in action before. But insult my height?" She brought the jeweled tiger's head to her lips, drawing on the magic stored within.
As the power seeped from the charm and into Shock's lithe body, she was surrounded by a swirling vortex of water. It may have been only for the slightest of moments, but the transformation was instantaneous – her usually choppy brown hair faded to a deep shade of blue. Her baggy cargo pants and tank top melted into a long, flowing gown, almost the same brilliant hue of her hair. As the water receded from her body, small webbed spines sprouted from the backs of her arms, from her elbow to her tiny wrists.
"That's pushing it a bit," Shock's voice was calm, but had a deadly edge to it.
Gajeel could only stare at his partner. Her transformation had been so radical and so sudden he was still having trouble realizing that this exotic creature was the same Shock he had been insulting mere moments before. The power radiating off her in waves was so strong it was almost tangible.
He kept his expression carefully disinterested, though. He didn't want to inflate her ego or anything. "Your point being?"
Gajeel sighed in a bored sort of way. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the sea serpent taking an interest in Shock's sudden transformation. He didn't say anything though – the result was sure to be entertaining.
Shock's expression darkened. She seemed oblivious to the gigantic serpent making a lightning-fast lunge for her, mouth open wide. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that dynamite comes in small packages?" she growled angrily.
Just as the serpent reached its intended target, Shock spun around so fast Gajeel couldn't even see her move. Her arm snapped out and her tiny fist struck the serpent with such force that it was flung back into the ocean, letting out a surprised yowl as it went. There was a monstrous splash as it smashed back into the water. The resultant miniature-tsunami threw some of the smaller boats up onto the quayside, rocking the larger boats to and fro rather dangerously.
Gajeel was impressed by her speed. And who knew such explosive power could come from such a small body? Not that he would ever admit it. That would be going against his principles as a cold and distant asshole of note.
Shock's frustration and anger mounted when she saw the bored look on Gajeel's face. She was so sick and tired of him underestimating her abilities that she was about to punch a wall. She had managed to repel the entire serpent all by herself, and yet he still refused to acknowledge her ability. And to top it all off, he had called her short. Shock had always had a chip on her shoulder about her 'height issue'. And this pompous ass just had to go and poke the tiger.
"Not bad," Gajeel shrugged. Shock's expression settled into a stony glare. "But you didn't knock it out."
Following his line of sight, Shock looked out to sea again. Sure enough, the serpent was slowly rising back out of the water. Sure, it looked a little woozy from the blow it had just received, but it was still conscious. It shook its head roughly, and Shock noted that now, it just looked pissed.
Sighing, she retorted, "Then why don't you take care of it, if you're so much better than me?"
Gajeel smirked, making Shock's stomach churn angrily. "Watch and learn, shrimp."
The sea serpent lunged again, and Gajeel pulled his fist back to deliver a blow with his extendable iron fist. Seeing the obvious attack and remembering its past failure, the monster narrowed its eyes and easily dodged Gajeel's attack, swerving around the metal club and aiming straight for the mage himself.
Growling, the black-haired man had to swiftly dodge the serpent's gaping maw as it bit into the wooden deck he had been standing on. The wood bucked and splintered under the force of the monster's bite, forcing Shock to leap to a safer distance to avoid being impaled by stray splinters.
"Nice going!" Shock scoffed loudly, folding her arms and rolling her eyes at her irate team mate. "But I think you missed, tough guy!"
"You shut up!" Gajeel yelled angrily, brandishing a fist.
"Is that supposed to intimidate me?" Shock just raised an eyebrow, kicking the serpent in the eye when it decided to try and take a bite out of her again. It howled in pain, but she just ignored it. Her argument with Gajeel was far more important – she wasn't going to lose this battle of egos.
"You'd better watch yourself squirt, or you'll get hurt," Gajeel snarled while glaring at her, stomping his heavy boot down part of the serpent's head frill as if to demonstrate his point.
Shock snorted, hopping on top of the roof of the merchant building to avoid being crushed by the monster's heavy body as it thrashed away from Gajeel. What seemed to anger the creature more was that its prey wasn't even taking any notice of it. "I didn't peg you as the type of man to threaten girls," she snapped, sweeping her hand out in front of her. A massive wall of water shot up in front of the building, blocking the serpent's next attack. Her eyes never left Gajeel, who stood on the roof of a storage shed below the building she was perched on.
"For you, I'll make an exception!" Gajeel's patience was reaching its limit. This little stick of dynamite was getting too big for her boots. Who was she to speak to him like that?
"Bring it on, Dragonboy!" Shock shouted angrily, gesturing with her arms wide open. Her azure hair whipped around in the wind shooting off the wall of water she was controlling.
"You're going to regret that!" Gajeel cracked his knuckled menacingly, glaring it his partner. He didn't usually hit girls…but he'd make an exception this time.
Meanwhile, the sea serpent was getting really, really, REALLY pissed off. Never before had it been so blatantly ignored by two far inferior beings. It would crush them, that was for sure.
Ramming its head through the wall of water, the serpent slammed its jaw down on the merchant building. The wooden structure splintered and crumbled with the force of the impact. Shock, glaring fiercely at Gajeel, nimbly jumped off the collapsing building and landed on the serpent's scaly head.
The monster roared in indignation, pulling back towards the water and hopefully trying to fling the annoying little human to her death.
As the serpent shot back towards the water, Shock leaped clear off its head and turned gracefully in the air, landing lightly on the warped quayside as the merchant building crashed to the ground. Dust and other such debris billowed out from under the tons of wood and metal hitting the ground in one gigantic heap.
She didn't even have time to take a breath before Gajeel launched another one of his fist-turned-iron-clubs at her head. She ducked, letting it shoot harmlessly past her. Before he could pull his arm back, shock grabbed onto it with one hand, letting a jet of water burst from her fingertips and race along the length of the dragonslayer's arm.
Even when she let go, the water continued its path along the metallic surface of Gajeel's arm. He tried shaking it off, but the water wouldn't budge. With lightning speed, it struck his torso, knocking the breath from his lungs.
The water dissipated quickly, and Gajeel was back on his feet. Seeing Shock's cocky smirk, his temper flared again. To be knocked down by a girl, of all things…the indecency of it all.
With an enraged roar, Gajeel charged his team mate, pulling back his fist for another blow. Shock let out a war cry of her own, sprinting forward with her smaller arm pulled back for the attack. Just at that moment, the serpent decided to attack one last time.
It coiled like a spring, sinking low in the water before shooting out again. Faster than a bullet, it sped towards the quarrelling humans, hissing jaws open wide.
The three separate entities reached each other at the same moment. But, much to the serpent's surprise, both Gajeel and Shock pivoted at the last moment – away from each other and towards the monster's gaping maw.
Two fists – one hard as iron, and the other spiked with rapidly churning water around it – connected solidly on either side of the monster's head. With a high-pitched squeal of defeat, the serpent was sent flying back into the sea from which it had sprung. The momentum from the combined punches sent it flying a good few kilometers before it eventually crashed back into the ocean and sank.
Once the troublesome monster was out of sight, Shock turned to her partner and clicked her tongue in irritation. "That thing was so annoying!"
Gajeel just snorted, rolling his left shoulder and twisting his wrist experimentally. He looked over his shoulder at the decimated merchant building. "Now the question is – where do we collect the job money from?"
"I don't know, but we had better find them soon," Shock sighed, releasing the Water magic back into its charm. Her hair faded back to brown, and her clothes re-materialized. "I'm tired and I want to go home."
The pair turned and started walking back towards the town, hands causally stuffed in their respective pockets, argument seemingly forgotten. Shock looked at Gajeel out of the corner of her eye. She was still peeved at him for his earlier assumptions, but she thought they had proved themselves to be quite an effective team.
Gajeel thought about the fight they had just finished – he had to admit, he had been wrong about Shock. She was much stronger than he had given her credit for. It seemed like she was an asset to Fairy Tail, after all.
"We're still splitting the money eighty-twenty," she said casually.
"What?" Gajeel spluttered. "I thought it was seventy-thirty!"
"You called me short."
"You have got to be kidding me."
"I don't kid, buddy."
Gajeel slapped his forehead in frustration, shaking his head. Shock just chuckled. No one insulted her height and got away with it.
I think this is one of the longer chapters I've written…
._. I forget how hard they can be sometimes.
Reviews for next chapter :D