Chapter 9
"Mitsuko-san?" The dark haired woman turned to glance at one of her mages, a young girl with a ponytail of blue green hair.
"Yes, Willa?"
"Thanatos Rising. Can we beat them?" The girl's amber eyes were wide with fear. This was her first time out on the front. Sure, she'd seen the others go out to fight, but she had never gone herself.
Mitsuko sped up. "I don't know, Willa. But I do know this." She grinned, yellow eyes sparkling. "I know that the stars aren't beaten by death."
Team Rock Storm eyed the town of Harrison from the hill above it. "How will we find them?" Raid inquired.
Shawn grinned, "I've just the thing!" He unbuttoned his long coat, revealing a belt studded with dozens of marble-sized indentations. Only a few of these were filled with small, colorful orbs. Shawn popped a green and blue one out of its socket, and showed it to his friends.
"Brother Dog, I summon thee, SIRIUS!" He threw the orb at the ground, where it exploded in a shower of smoke and the barking of a dog. When the smoke cleared, standing where the marble had landed, was a large hound dog. The dog shook its head and yawned, raising one hind paw to scratch his ear. Then, it glanced at the five, gave them a big, doggy grin, and spoke.
"Hiya!" it (he?) woofed.
"Sirius, we need to find our friends." Shawn informed him.
"Do you have anything of theirs I can smell?" The hound asked.
Shawn dug in his backpack and came up with one of Mal's sweatshirts she had left in the guild and held it out for Sirius to sniff. The dog complied, before turning on his heel and making a beeline for the town.
Ani suddenly jumped to her feet, rolling her shoulders. "Well! As long as we are here, might as well do something to pass the time!" She swung around to face Mal, taking a defensive stance. "Wanna fight?"
Mal regarded her for a moment, before releasing a wide grin. "Sure!" She hopped to her feet, cracking her knuckles. "It will be easy to defeat a midget like you!"
Ani frowned, a tick mark appearing on her forehead. "Don't call me short."
Mal walked up to her and patted her blonde head. "But you are short! You're tiny and cute!" She turned to face the boys who were engaged in an intense game of blackjack, Lenore watching them. "Right, guys?"
They glanced up. "Yeah. You're tiny." Maverick agreed bluntly.
"Teensy-weensy!" Lenore giggled, tail twitching.
"Pint-sized." Axel replied.
Mal squished the other girl's cheeks. "Bean-sized!"
With each adjective, the depressed aura around the dragon slayer grew exponentially.
The boys wandered over, patting her head.
"Do not pat me." She grumbled, jerking out of the way. "I am not a dog."
The knife arced through the air, nearly taking off the tip of Malac's nose. Luckily, the man was able to duck. He slashed his own knife at his adversary, catching him in the arm. Ambrose roared with pain, rocking back. Malac swore as his knife was pulled out of his grip, still embedded in the other's flesh. Ambrose yanked the offending object out of his arm, unleashing a veritable flood of blood.
"Bastard."
"I'll have you know, my parents were married!" Malac tutted, faking offense.
Rowley hit the ground running, his red sneakers pounding on the pavement. He heard five muted thumps as his team landed behind him. "Tanith!"
A dark haired girl saluted midbound, her golden eyes bright. "Aye!"
"Have you sensed any dark mages in the area?"
The girl slid to a stop, spreading out her fingers and toes, muttering a spell. The poison green magic circle she conjured sank in to the ground as she placed her palms on the cobblestones and closed her eyes.
She was quiet for a moment, then her eyes snapped open. "On Corn Street! A squad of twelve!"
Rowley nodded. "Two each. Easy." He stuck his hand out, a calligraphy brush and scroll dropping in to his outstretched palm. "Let's give these bastards a taste of starfire!"
"Green Control!" Blilght yelled, slamming her palms into a nearby tree. The ancient oak instantly began to respond to her actions as she moved, slicing at Zephira with an open palm. The other barely had time to jump out of the way of the massive branch barreling at her head.
The brunette snarled, smacking a tree herself and activating her own control spell. "I'll be you at your own game, bitch."
"You can't drown out the moonlight, you fool!" Blight declared confidently, her right hand flying out in a punch, the tree's branches following her movement. Zephira snarled in anger, bringing her arms up in front of her in an x, the branches of the maple she was controlling imitating her and blocking Blight's strike. Splinters flew as the wood slammed into each other.
"Dalton-san!" The dark skinned man glanced at the girl beside him.
"Yeah?"
"Wally just informed me that the enemy is on Rice Street."
The man nodded. "Let's go."
"Zeus's Wrath!" Dmitri thrust his hands out at the approaching dark mages, electricity crackling in the dark clouds that formed around him. As soon as the white magic circle vanished, huge, multicolored bolts of lightning arced out at Thanatos Rising.
Beside him, Andromeda raised her hands to the heavens. "Heaven Fall!" She cried. The sky above her darkened, and burning orbs of rock hurtled downwards.
The two spells caused massive chaos in the ranks of the enemy. Fantine, Dominick, and Jovani used this to their advantage, charging forward.
The Master's wife took out ten mages with a single spell, screaming something about how the enemy were bastards and that they should stay away from her children. Dmitri sweatdropped at Fantine's spectacle. Andromeda chuckled.
Evan hung back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ninja star. He tapped in to his magic and threw the weapon. "Kinetic Manipulation!" The star spun around in mind air, changing course, following the boy's hand movements. Evan threw several more, controlling them like a massive swarm of bees.
"Dark Matter Explosion!"
Emer went in to a dive, rolling out of the way of a roiling dark sphere. His foot stung as whipped past him, devouring another tree and a swath of dirt.
"Arcane Bomb!" His body began to glow magenta as he infused the air around him with magic, conjuring a horde of energy spheres. He stumbled as he felt his magic power drop drastically. He had one shot, better make it count. Emer reared back and thew the spheres at the approaching woman. His aim was good. They peppered the ground around her, sending up a massive explosion.
Sirius slid to a stop in front of a dank, dark cave, its entrance blocked off by a formidable mound of smooth boulders.
Shawn gave his spirit a distrustful look. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
The dog nods. "Yup. Can I go now?"
"Uh-!"
"Great!" The dog vanished, leaving Team Rock Storm standing around like idiots.
Raid was the first to break the silence. "Well, that was eventful."
Dan ran his hand over the rocks. "Completely smooth."
"Man-made?" Echo asked.
The Re-equip mage nodded, brushing red hair out of his eyes. "Yes."
"Alyannie?"
"Already on it!" The Earth Mage stamped hard on the ground with one bare foot and sent one of the boulders flying.
The team stared into the impenetrable darkness. "Only one option left." Echo muttered, "In we go."
Ani took a running leap, kicking the iron bars for all she was worth. "Bastards." She hissed, "Let us out!"
"That won't work." Axel stated. "And don't try magic. It's all being sucked out of us anyway."
The dragon slayer let out a snarl, "I don't like this. Too boring!" She whirled around, golden eyes blazing. "I need to DO something! Punch some assholes!" She kicked backward, booted foot slamming into the base of the bars. To everyone's surprise, it gave a little, white dust raining down to the ground. The mages and Lenore scrambled to their feet, hurrying over.
"What the hell?" Axel muttered, brushing off a layer of chipped paint to reveal a plaster base holding the bar in place. "Oh, clever. They painted it over." He shook the bar, more dust rained down, from the top of the bar as well.
Ani hissed as it got in her hair. Axel glanced down at her. "You think if we removed this bar you could squeeze through and get the rest of us out?"
The dragon slayer eyed the distance between the bars, then glanced down at her hips. "Uh, Mal, what do you think?"
The other girl shrugged. "You'll be fine."
"If I get stuck and die, I'll come back to haunt you."
"That's nice."
Axel and Maverick glanced at each other and shrugged.
"I'm surprised we didn't notice the bar before." Axel muttered, hacking at the plaster with a sharp rock. "It was here before, right? Why didn't that blast of magic Ani and I created knock it loose?"
Ani sighed, scooping up another rock. "Mal, Maverick, check the other bars." She ducked under the Nephilim's arms, hacking at the lower portion of the bar. Axel took a step back, hands open, a little surprised at the way she had taken charge. "Take the top of the bar, Angel." She said calmly. "I can't reach it."
"Shit!" Shawn swore, stubbing his toe on a rock and stumbling forward in to Echo. "Why did we not think to bring light lacrimas?!"
"Light Lacrimas?" Alyannie questioned, "I can see with my feet."
"YEAH, BUT WE CAN'T!" Shawn yelled, tripping over another rock. He landed sprawling on the ground. "I hate this." He muttered, rolling over on to his back. His banjo hit the ground with a hollow, ringing thump. "Oh."
"Oh, what?" Dan asked, curious.
"I have an instrument with me."
"You always have an instrument with you." Echo pointed out.
"Yes. That is true." Shawn replied, swinging it around and fingering the strings. "Let's see here. A… flat… THERE you are!" He strummed a chord, and the instrument began to glow.
"How… How did you do that?" Echo hissed, eyes fixed on the instrument.
"Do what?" Alyannie asked. "What's going on?"
"His banjo is glowing." Raid said matter-of-factly.
"Cool."
Shawn proceeded to play a quick rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and the banjo glowed brighter with each note. "I picked up a bit of Music Magic a while ago." Shawn told Echo. "I forgot about it before now."
"We're good to go now." Dan said, hauling Shawn to his feet. "Lead the way."
The bar clattered to the ground with an uncomfortably loud noise. Axel and Ani froze, the Dragon Slayer listening for any movement. There was none.
Mal and Maverick had been working on the bar directly to the left. It came loose quite soon after. The resulting gap wasn't very wide, if Ani was any bigger, she wouldn't be able to fit through. Lenore fluttered out first, just in case, her green eyes sweeping the perimeter.
"'S'all clear." Lenore called. Ani nodded, hoisting herself up on the ledge and scrambling out the gap. She flared her magic, grinning as a faint buzzing sensation crept out from her core like an engine coming to life. Her magic was in working order.
"Stand back, kids!" She cried imperiously, swinging around to face the bars, a slightly demonic grin on her face. Axel and his team scrambled back, uneager to get walloped by a glob of solidified sound.
"Sound Dragon's Bellow!" She yelled, stepping forward and punching the air with her right fist. The air around her fist began to shake as a deep bass roar permeated the area. The moving air slammed in to the iron bars, shattering them, shrapnel flying all over.
"She never does anything by halves, does she?" Mal said quietly, eyeing the massive hole in the wall. Two head peered through, one blonde and one purple, grinning at their friends.
"Ani and Lenore's Jail Break Service!" The dragon slayer exclaimed. "Breaking you out of unjust imprisonment since the year x789!"
Lenore nodded vigorously, popping back in to cat-shape. "Yep, yep!"
"x791 is this year." Mal deadpanned as she climbed out over the rubble.
"Yes, well, Lenore and I only began breaking other people out of imprisonment when I met you guys!"
"Technically, we were established in x784!" Lenore supplied, helping Maverick out as the purple-haired young man tripped over a rock and nearly face planted on the rocks.
"Ah, yes." Ani sighed. "Our first jail break. Remind me to tell you about it."
"How about when we get home." Axel suggested.
"Home where?" Ani asked, hopping off the rocks close after him. "I don't really have a home."
The Nephilim swung around to smile at her, amethyst eyes sparkling. "The guild, silly. Lunar Haven's home."
Ani and Lenore stared at him wordlessly, eyes wide. They glanced at Maverick and Mal, who nodded in agreement. Then, their faces split in to grins. Ani took two steps forward and jumped, throwing her arms around Axel's neck. He let out a surprised grunt at the sudden weight on his neck.
She quickly let go of him, turning on Mal and Maverick and hugging them too. Axel stared at her, a little dumbfounded by the show of affection. He could feel the tips of his ears tingling. Lenore sat on his shoulder, smiling. "Thanks." She told him. "This means a lot to us."
Ani grinned widely, spinning around on her tiptoes, golden hair whipping out. Then, she froze, nose twitching slightly. "Someone's coming." She paused, face taking on a confused air. "I hear banjo music."
Axel and his team grinned. "Shawn."
A/N: I DID NOT UPDATE LAST WEEK AND I AM SORRY! I still need people for the other two light guilds. Still no slayer magic, sorry! Please review! They keep me going!