Chapter Seventy-Nine
"Luce?" Natsu watched as she turned to look at him.
"What?" She asked, toweling off her hair from using the shower.
"When did we stack land with Levy's shuttle?" He tilted his head to the side. "I remember during the night that Alfie woke you up because she had nightmares and I didn't think much of it. But now that I'm awake…we weren't in the same shuttle when we went to sleep."
Lucy's eyes widened. Her mouth fell open. "Alfie? When did we get in the same shuttle as Levy?"
"A skrowl after everyone fell asleep, I managed to bring the shuttles together in an intersection off course of the original route to the bank. I did not like that Wendy and Levy were going to be left alone while everyone else split up."
"Next time wake up me and Natsu before doing that please. I was so tired I didn't think about it, but now that I am, it is weird."
"Understood. And I apologize." The AI stated calmly. Lucy and Natsu shared a look and then shook their heads. Happy murmured in his sleep as he snuggled deeper into the pillows on the bed. He hadn't woken up at any point during the night. Lucky cat.
"How is….Katya? And little Alexander?" Lucy asked as she leaned into the restroom and hung up the towel. Now that the shuttle had expanded so much, Alfie had informed her that the use of forced air to dry was being routed to other more important parts of the shuttle's utilities. She had grumbled but she also appreciated everyone being together.
"They slept through the shifting of the shuttles." Alfie stated and Lucy shook her head.
"If she freaks out…I'll let her at your circuit boards. She's been through so much trauma and waking up on a different shuttle is probably going to trigger some problems." Lucy rolled her eyes at the ceiling and the AI hummed but didn't speak. Natsu sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist and she looked down at him.
"We will help her understand that Alfie is also learning, like the rest of us."
"Fine." She ran her hands through his hair. He smiled at her as her fingers massaged his scalp. He started to growl low in his chest when a knock came at the door. They both turned and stared at it.
"A jewel its Erza….I swear she can smell when we get cozy." Lucy sighed as he slowly stood up, his arms staying around her waist.
"A jewel it's Wendy." He smiled. "She woke up in a different shuttle too."
"You both owe me a jewel." Alfie stated and opened the door. Lisanna stood there, her arms behind her back and looking sheepish.
"Sorry! Alfie wasn't telling me who was where." Lucy laughed and she and Natsu separated and headed for the door.
"It's fine. We were both awake. Let's go to the front and we'll explain. Right now Alfie is worried about her circuits." Lucy offered with a wink. The white haired girl giggled and bounced backwards on the balls of her feet. "Did you sleep well?"
"Too well apparently. That or Alfie drugged us to make sure we didn't wake up."
"I did no such thing." Alfie hissed and the lights in the hall flashed red. Natsu snickered and Lucy bit her lip as Lisanna's eyes widened.
"Sorry Alfie." The girl said and they all stopped when they got to the front. They saw the walled off part of the wall behind the table and walked around and all of them stared at it. Natsu crossed his arms over his chest and waited. Lucy leaned forward and looked at the text on the screen to the side. She touched the screen and ran her finger upwards and it brightened.
"Levy is asleep in there. Apparently she came out here after the nightmare and fell asleep." She whispered as she straightened. Natsu relaxed. Lisanna dropped down into a chair and put her hands on the table.
"She had a nightmare?"
"Yeah. But Erza, Cana and I managed to calm her down." Lucy stated quietly and smiled at the other girl. She sat down and Natsu immediately picked her up and she started to flail her arms until he sat and pulled her into his lap. Her face flamed and Lisanna turned her head and snickered into her elbow. Alfie provided food and drinks and also produced a coffee machine.
"Sweet nectar of the gods." Cana muttered as she came into view and they saw that she was wearing a long shirt for once and her hair was crazy. Natsu watched as she dropped into a chair and a mug appeared and a silver claw pulled the carafe of coffee from the maker, poured her some and returned it. "Thanks Alfie."
"You are welcome. Good morning."
"Good morning." She sipped on the coffee and smiled around the table and looked from Natsu and Lucy to Lisanna and waggled her eyebrows. As she took another long sip, she looked back at Lisanna.
"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be on a different shuttle."
"We got moved during the night it seems." Lisanna shrugged and Cana turned her head slowly to Lucy and Natsu who both had their hands up in the air in innocence.
"Okay then." She shook her head and reached for some fruit and sighed heavily. "Erzie is not going to be happy with the change of plans."
"I don't think Katya or Wendy will either." Lucy murmured.
"Levy may also have issues." Natsu said and bit into some ember nuggets. Lucy shrugged and sipped on the smoothie that Alfie had produced for her. It was her favorite flavors. She reached out and grabbed a piece of toast. She bit into the toast, chewing thoughtfully.
"Uh…what's going on?" Wendy's voice made everyone turn and Natsu growled. She nodded and yawned. "Alfie went rouge huh?"
"What do you mean Alfie went rouge?" Erza asked and Wendy froze mid-yawn and she slowly closed her mouth and then dashed to hide behind Natsu and Lucy. Lucy waved at Wendy, Lisanna and then the cubby across from them. Erza's brows furrowed and then her eyes widened. "Alfie?"
The AI hummed at the slightly darkened tone of the redhead but then dropped down a screen. They watched as the screen came to life.
Juvia sighed, wiping sweat from her brow. She flung the droplets at the draconic and slid out of the line of the shuriken that it shot out at her. She had a gash on one thigh, her blue-green blood shining brightly against her pale skin. She spun to the side, transforming to water and swirling around Flare's hair. The red tresses worked hurriedly to weave fresh strands over the damaged hair.
A garbled growl was the only warning that Juvia had that the draconic had gotten within range and fired. The shuriken went through the water of her body, causing her to grunt as she was separated before she splashed to the ground. She landed, twisting and resolidified. Her dark blue eyes narrowing.
"You monster. That hurt!" It wagged the stumpy tail and spit out acid. She rolled to the side. The smell of burning, melting hair filled the air. She wrinkled her nose. Behind the draconic she saw Flare finish off the second draconic from her sector. The girl turned, her eyes taking in the sight of Juvia and the draconic she was facing off against. Her eyes widened.
"Above you!" She shouted and hair sprang up from the ground and Juvia turned and landed on her back as she jerked in surprise. The hair that had risen, wrapped around her waist and pulled her out of the direct line of the draconic. It landed where she had just been lying on the ground and she shivered as she slowly got to her feet. "Are you okay Juvia?"
"Yes, thanks to you." Juvia was breathing hard. The two draconics were standing side by side and eying them. The bluenette didn't like the dark gazes, and she felt a chill run through her. Flare rested her hands on her knees and had her head thrown back, breathing hard. She looked over at Juvia, zeroing in on the wound on her leg.
"Are you okay?"
"It's not critical." Alfie stated and they both relaxed. Flare straightened. Rolled her shoulders back and popped her neck.
"How about you? Is all that blood draconic?" Juvia asked and Flare looked down and shrugged. "How can you not know?"
"I'm so numb to pain right now, I don't know much." Flare admitted and flinched. She jerked her head towards Meredy and Ultear's sections. "Their draconics are trying really hard to get through my hair. I think those two have them running scared."
"Good for them." Juvia cheered them on and eyed the two in front of them. "You want the one on the right or the left?"
"Ehh…I'm already on the right. Might as well take that one." She sighed heavily. "But if you want to trade…"
"I'm good with leftie." The bluenette murmured and the draconics lowered their heads.
"Poor Flare. She looks even more pale than normal." Lisanna whispered, she was clutching her drink tightly to her chest. Wendy was packing bags and preparing to head over there.
"Her metrics show strain but they aren't in dangerous levels." Alfie stated. Wendy was reading them even as she requested specific items. She packed quickly but carefully. "I would reco…"
"I'm not sitting here while Flare is getting weaker. By the time you think its okay to go; she could be critical and I might miss the window to save her." Wendy said and threw a pack over her shoulder and pulled a utility belt around her waist.
"I'll come with you." Lisanna said but Erza put her hand on her shoulder.
"Stay. I'll go. Mard Geer wants you, remember? Let's not offer you up on a platter." Lisanna nodded and dropped down in the chair she had started to get out of. Erza took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her pajamas changed, and she was suddenly in the hearts armor. She nodded at Wendy who nodded at her in turn. The bluenette turned and looked at Lucy and Natsu.
"We'll be fine. You go. Just be careful." Natsu said softly and his fellow Dragis nodded. Alfie opened the shuttle and Wendy and Erza departed quickly. Cana sighed and wrapped an arm around Lisanna.
"They'll be okay. I'm more worried about the draconics."
"What do you mean?" Lisanna asked and tilted her head.
"Erza is already mad at Alfie and ow the draconics are going to be punished instead of the AI. Getting punished because of someone else always makes the punishment sting worse than normal." The brunette murmured softly. The AI hummed in what could only be annoyance and Lucy's lips quirked. Natsu nuzzled her and she nuzzled him back.
"This is going on for far too long." Meredy whined and climbed ontop of a metal bin and scrabbled up the wall, spells making hand and foot holds for her. The draconics jumped up behind her, their tails supporting their bulk. She grimaced.
"You have two draconics left. Ultear has one. Juvia has defeated her three and dropped another while Flare has taken two of hers. They are now facing the last two before the shuttle." Alfie informed her. She nodded resolutely. She hated being the one lagging. But she had been on the defense a lot more than she had been the offense.
"Ouch!" Ultear's cry of pain surprised Meredy and she turned and looked at the wall of hair.
"Alfie?"
"Her metrics are showing pain. She has been hit by a shuriken."
"Damnit!" Meredy swore and spun, jumping off of the wall, her arms in front of her body and she threw her arms out. Multiple spells flew from her. Direct hits to the draconics who opened their mouths in pain but no sounds came. Instead, their bodies contorted for a few heartbeats before the spells, red hot cut through their bodies. Meredy landed, surrounded by body parts, gasping.
"Your energy reserves are low. Those spells took a heavy toll on you." Alfie informed her, as if she wasn't aware of it." Meredy pushed up off of the ground, heading for the wall of hair. The strands were unraveling, just like Flare had informed them. Recognizing that the draconics were defeated. She stumbled out and headed for Ultear's area. She got to the hair but the strands there didn't move. She could hear the huffing and puffing of the draconics on the other side. And a weird scuffing sound she couldn't identify. She put her hands on the hair.
"Please let me through." She whispered. There was a rustling and then a small hole opened. She scrambled through, head first.
"Hurry Erza." Wendy said, her nose twitching. "I can smell blood. Lots of blood."
"Can you tell if it's…"
"Ultear has been injured. Juvia, Flare and Meredy also have bleeding injuries. All are alive. Meredy is extremely energy deficient and Ultear's metrics are dropping. Your decision to leave when you did was more prudent than my calculations." The AI interrupted and the bluenette rolled her eyes. She sped up and Erza summoned a set of armored wings that helped her to catch up with the Dragis.
"Mer…?" Ultear blinked as she watched as pink hair emerged from the sea of red in front of her eyes. Then her younger friend was standing in her quadrant, blood trailing down from a cut over her eye. She looked pale, her breathing was ragged. Ultear felt fear grip her. Meredy was obviously nearing the end of her energy. Soon she wouldn't be able to move.
"Why are you here? Get out!" Ultear screamed but Meredy moved, pulling small black disks from a thin pocket on the arm of her shirt. She threw them and tripped, rolling to the left and crawling over to Ultear. The older female grunted as the percussion from the mini bombs sent shockwaves over the two of them. Meredy grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a fallen sign. She pulled Ultear into a sitting position. She eyed the shuriken and shook her head. It was in Utear's abdomen close to her lower ribs.
"That looks pretty bad."
"Definitely not my favorite accessory." Utear joked and Meredy shook her head. The two draconics were still alive. Both laying on their backs, struggling to get back up correctly. She looked back at her friend.
"Alfie?"
"She is stable but her metrics do show signs of distress." The AI stated calmly.
"What can I do to help?" Meredy asked and grabbed her friend's hand.
"Currently, there is nothing you can do. Besides keep her alive/ Wendy is on her way. She should be here in under five of Earthland's minutes."
"Ok. I can keep them away from her that long." Meredy went to stand up but Ultear grabbed her wrist.
"You aren't in any shape to take on two by yourself."
"I've got this." Meredy promised and offered her a sad smile. Ultear felt tears threatening the corners of her eyes. "Stay still and safe, okay?"
"Meredy…" But it was too late. The pinkette had darted around the sign and was quick to work on casting spells. The furthest draconic had finally managed to roll to its feet, while it's companion still struggled to right itself. The first spell that Meredy fired off, hit the prone draconic on the ground. As it settled under the monster, it turned black and large bands of metal shot up from the ground and wrapped around the draconic's large form. It hissed and gasped in pain as the bands shrank tighter towards the ground. Meredy watched as the body started to puff up around the bands.
It's counterpart snarled as much as it could and leapt at Meredy. She dodged and the tail struck her, sending her flying through an unblemished window. The tinkling sound of shattering glass was broken by Ultear's scream of fear for her friend. The draconic made its way to the window quickly.
"Ice Wall Shield!" Ultear screamed and ice ran along the ground, cutting off the draconic from the window. It whirled on her, where she was still sitting up against the sign. She sighed, gasping as pain exploded from the shuriken to all of her limbs.
"Wendy and Erza are within sight of the hair barrier." Alfie stated but Ultear feared it was too late.
"Make sure…they save…Meredy." Ultear gasped. She closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow. The draconic was racing towards her. Then she felt heat on her wrist, and then warmth around her injury. She opened her eyes and saw a pink light on her wrist, the shape of hearts forming a chain wrapped around it. Her mouth fell open. In her mind, she heard Meredy.
"Life Link spell…give what life force I have left to Ultear."
"Meredy…no…you damned fool."