*sighs* Yeah, I'm sorry that this little scratch of a chapter took so long. I've been writing on my novel Of War and Stone and trying to remodel a Christian Academy for my architecture class. Thanks to university, my brain hasn't been in a very writing kind of mood. Everything I put out doesn't feel right. When I get my flow back, you'll know. I'll be spitting out chapters like machine gun bullets.
Hello and Goodbye
In the lobby of the radio station, Neomi could hear Rylan's music still playing. The playlist she'd set before they'd ran in on the three intruders was pumping the song Concrete Walls by Fever Ray, and that ominous, slithering rhythm encompassed Neomi as she stared towards the one named Merin.
He was big. Dressed in black from head to toe, he was the personification of the biker subculture. Black leather jacket, black leather boots, black leather pants, and chain on them, too. When Markus took the Invisible Trespasser and Rylan called the woman, Neomi was left with Biker Boy Merin.
That chain clipped to his hip was unhooked. He spun it around and around in the air as Neomi stared him down. It was a pair of deep cerulean narrowed on chocolate brown. Suddenly, without warning Merin hollered, "Silver Lynx!"
Gasping, Neomi flung her arms up in front of her as the silver chain came straight for her. The chain grew and twisted. It fully contorted into the shape of a lynx, but when it barrelled towards her, white light flung up from Neomi's body. While Neomi could control the black shadows, the white was unruly.
It unfurled from her body like the wings of an otherworldly being. With a mind of its own, the white light created a massive X in front of her. Trying not to get caught up in the moment, Neomi twisted her body. Similar to the Black Light, this White Light reacted to her movement.
"Learning this as I go," she grunted, feet sliding back as the chain lynx attacked her X shaped shield. Just as she would thrust her arms out to attack, the white light broke. Claws of the chain created lynx shredded her way, and Neomi felt barbs attached to each link dig deep within her skin.
Blood was drawn. It sprayed out from the hasty rush of broken flesh. Baring her teeth, Neomi winced from the sudden assault, but she had no time to lick her wounds. When Rylan's opponent squawked, "What the hell, Merin! What part of 'perfect condition' do you not understand?"
Pulling back on his chain, Merin harped, "What do you want, Iris? Perfect condition or captive?" With his attention focused on the other woman, Neomi charged forward. She tried to summon her magic, but it just wasn't working.
The white light was flowing around her. It was concentrated in her palms. It swirled around her feet, but it wasn't doing anything. What did she need? A command like what Natsu did for his magic? A key for this new magic like Lucy needed when she got a new spirit?
She didn't have time to figure it out. When her feet couldn't get her away to concentrate her energy, Merin stopped her in her tracks. His chain link lynx slammed its claws against the tile floor. His hands were in constant motion, and the chain making up the creature never stopped writhing.
Each flip of his wrist and each jerk of his palm got the creature to prowl nearer to her. It wasn't long before Neomi found herself backed up in a corner. "No, no, no," she hissed to herself, eyes jerking for a way out. She couldn't find one.
Rylan was caught in the action with the woman named Iris, and Markus was entertaining the Invisible Man. His body jerked and flailed from blows unseen, and Rylan's body changed color as she summoned her Lwa to the battle. It was just Neomi and the chain bearer. Or, at least it felt that way until an ominous tune broke through the speakers.
Jerking her eyes up, Neomi caught sight of the speakers that lined the front lobby. One, two, three, four, she counted as she backed up against the wall. Five, six, seven, and eight, she finished when her back was forced flush by her stalking predator.
The speakers were low. If she could get turned around, she might be able to scamper up the wall and grab onto one. She just needed to get far enough away to summon the Black Magic instead of the White Magic. Teeth found the inside of her cheek, and Neomi looked around her.
The lynx was still writhing. The chain body that made it move crept close. Were the creature alive, she was sure she could feel its hot breath pressing against her skin. Why couldn't she use her magic?
It was right there. She saw it beneath her feet. She saw it swirling in the palms of her hands. Why couldn't she utilize it?
"Alright, girl. If you'll just stay right there for me to catch you, I won't have to lay another hand on that pretty, little body of yours. Got it?" the biker male snickered as he stepped even closer.
Neomi was hardly paying attention to him. At just the right corner of her eye, she was watching Rylan. Even with the creepy whistling tune from Kill Bill playing from the overhead speakers, Rylan was kicking ass.
"Petro Lwa!" Rylan proclaimed as she leaped into the air. At just the command of her magic, her entire form flashed crimson. Ivory body paint covered her from head to toe in a skeletal format, and her hair was twisted into multiple, braided dreads. A new weapon in the form of a whip was wrapped on her hip, and she hastily withdrew it. "Wrath of Arara!"
With the sharp crack of the whip, Rylan drew her weapon downwards. The force of her descent combined with the slashing motion of her arm doubled its speed. Lashing her whip's length against Iris, both Neomi and Rylan shared a quick glance. Black eyes bored holes into blue, and when Rylan had her whip wrapped around a flabbergasted Iris, Rylan sent the woman on a tornado spiral into the stalking chain lynx.
Her body launched hard. Her uncovered skin was slashed open by the many thorns decorating each link on the chain, and Neomi praised Mavis it wasn't her. She couldn't spend enough time revelling. A red hand painted with skeletal fingertips snatched her up.
"They're coming for us?" Rylan barked out, question and skepticism in her tone.
"We are the aliens," Neomi commented, head jerking up when Markus's body slammed against a wall. He hit so hard that the electronics changed the song. Or, it at least felt that way. One second the Kill Bill Theme was blaring through the speakers, and the next the English version of Labyrinth by Oomph! was playing.
Something was in the circuitry. Could it be another enemy?
When chains wrapped all around their bodies, Neomi and Rylan jerked their eyes towards Merin. He had combined forces with Iris. Her hand shot out towards them, but neither Neomi nor Rylan could figure out what her attack was.
Everything looked perfectly normal. Rylan and Neomi were standing in the middle of the lobby. Merin and Iris looked to be running towards—
An unseen force wrapped around both of the young women. Barbs like those on the chains dug into their skin. "She uses mirages!" Rylan gasped out.
Crimson liquid was flowing from her throat, and her voice was strained. Neomi wasn't faring much better. Her legs and arms were ripped open. It wasn't deeply enough to cause major injury, but it was just enough to make movement unbearable. The barbs were like the barb on a stingray's tail. It was a smooth glide into the skin, but tore up everything when it had to be removed.
"You were a little more difficult to capture than I thought you would be," a new voice intoned. Rylan and Neomi jerked their eyes towards where Markus was floating. He was held up by an invisible hand, but inch by inch the body of the enemy was revealed as he released his invisibility spell.
"Why would you even want us?" Rylan snarled, the chains digging into her throat not stopping her attitude. Her skin was still red and painted like a stylized skeleton. She looked more threatening than they did when she curled white painted lips.
Stepping into the conversation, Iris explained, "It doesn't matter. We were hired to get you, so we did."
"Hoo! We are so gonna get promoted for this!" Merin called. The jerking of his body tightened the chains on the girls, and when blood oozed out, Iris and the Invisible Man scowled. "Heh. Sorry, guys."
"Whatever. Just put them in the transport."
Iris went to take a step, but as soon as she did, the heel on her pumps broke. A sharp curse hissed through her lips at the same time that Jason's voice questioned, "What's with all the racket? There'd better not be something cool going on and me not know about it." The blonde haired reporter turned a corner with the Saber Team right behind him. "Rylan's magic activated! Cool!"
"What the hell is going on here?" Orga's deep voice boomed. He took one look at Neomi and Rylan wrapped up in chains then threw his big hands down on the railing. He propelled himself off the railing and onto the lobby floor. His body was on a one way track towards Merin until the mage tightened his chains.
"Ah-ah, take one more step, and someone loses a leg," Merin threatened. He let his wrist twitch, and his chains tightened around Neomi's left thigh. His eyes gave a warning glare towards Rogue sneaking in the shadows and Sting standing frozen on top of the railing.
Scowling, Rufus crossed his arms against his chest. "I don't remember you being here before. What do you want?"
"The girls," Iris explained. She took a step forward to face the sudden intruders. "You leave us, and we won't have to make a racket."
"If you want the girls, then your threat is an empty one. The mark on your body suggests a dark guild. No?" When the team of three narrowed their eyes in contempt, Rufus added, "The Writhing Snake guild is a guild that specializes in bounties and kidnappings. You're mantra is to preserve the hostage before handing it over. Did I remember wrong?"
Teeth gritted, and Iris took a slow step back. The movement might have been a tense one had her heel not been broken. She completely stutter stepped and fell flat on her ass. "We're outnumbered," she hissed, yanking her eyes towards the Invisibility Mage.
"And, outclassed. Sabertooth has won every GMG since they started," he replied back to her. Dropping Markus to the floor, he let his body fade completely from sight. "We need to regroup," he voice called out from the automatic double doors.
"Of course." Iris's body faded out as she created a mirage for herself and Merin.
His voice groaned, "What the hell, and we could have made it, too."
The chains holding Neomi and Rylan disappeared. As soon as they did, Rylan turned on her heel. She was about to go running off after them until Neomi grabbed the back of her tank top. Rylan's body went forward then jerked backwards when she slammed her butt flat to the floor. "Hey! What's the big idea?"
"We have more important matters to deal with. Like, Marina."
"Ugh. Fine!"
"So, you're not coming with us?" Neomi asked as she stood outside of the radio station. She and Rylan had been catching up. Neomi had explained the situation with Kelsey, and Rylan had spoken up about her situation at the station.
While Neomi had been nonstop since coming to Earthland, Rylan had taken it all in stride. She had a job that paid well and gave her room and board in return for her services at the station. She took part in big charity dealings and got to interview all kinds of guild members. Her networking had been the reason Neomi had found her in the first place.
Rylan tossed Neomi a sad smile. "No can do, Omi. I've got paperwork to do, and I want to get magazines out with those punks' faces in them. Markus has cameras set up in the lobby, and Jason took pics while we were chatting with them. Besides, getting this info out could let Marina know I'm working with the Weekly. Our address is on the back of every magazine, so I'm not too hard to find. I think it'll be best for me to network from here."
Neomi could have guessed as much. Rylan had always wanted to be a reporter. Her major was in communications before she got sucked into the manga. She'd landed her dream job while inside of a dream world. It was a magical thing.
"Do you think there's a way to sneak some contact information into the spreads of me and the rest of the team into the magazine without making it too obvious? I don't want anyone calling me for stupid pranks."
"We'll figure something out. Between Jason, Markus, and me there's nothing we can't do."
Neomi cracked a grin at that. Rylan was right. When that girl put her mind to it, she could do anything. Rylan's Gram had always said she was as stubborn as an old goat.
"Well, I guess that's that then."
"Yup." Without warning Rylan wrapped her arms around Neomi. The little boar in the mystery mage's arms squealed before settling back down. "Be careful out there. My spirits are telling me that something's not right about any of this."
If anyone has some inspiration for the next chapters or those coming up later on in the story, I would greatly appreciate the comments. Thank you all for reading. Your words of encouragement help me so much.