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Zwischenzug

by four-eyed 0-0

Part I

"If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out."

– Arthur Koestler, Encounter

o-o

Haphazard

The bland wall across from where she'd taken perch was splashed with the first rays of late spring sunlight, taking on a familiar, less boring hue. She took another drag from the cigarette that jutted from her lips, breathing out the smoke through her nostrils in sharp, straight lines.

As she stared at the two columns of smoke that dissipated as rapidly as she'd shoot them out, she scoffed. She must have looked like her senior who, more often than not, took the form of a dragon—always seething and breathing smoke. If she'd been able to will cigarette smoke to come out of her ears, she'd have made a perfect impression of the disagreeable fellow. But she couldn't, and she took it well.

Nobody wanted to be like him anyway.

He'd yelled at the team again around six in the morning after another of his failed trials, grabbing the sparse remains of hair that sat on top of his head as he stormed off from the lab room. Had she not been awake for almost thirty-six hours, she'd have easily tuned him out as he chewed their ear off over their latest mistake at recombination, which he actually caused. But she'd long gone past the point of passive function, and her head was buzzing with alertness.

"J-just get out my face, all of you!" Yamamoto had said, throwing his hands up in the air.

The room had broken into a scramble as everyone took the hint. As soon as the scientist turned his back, she rolled her eyes, tossed her lab gown into her locker, grabbed her bag, and hightailed to the lifts, punching the button as though force would make it jolt downward faster. Her colleagues caught up with her, and they all stood in front of the lift doors in stony silence, too tired to poke fun at Yamamoto and his obsessive streak.

When she was inside the elevator, however, she realized it wasn't like him at all. To replicate mistakes in the lab, that is. He was always level-headed and his subordinates often were the ones who kept messing up the experiments. Now, he must be very pissed with himself since the error came from him when she'd tried to deter him from doing it. Again. Must have been a punch in the gut.

Served him right.

She could've gone straight home as soon as she was out the building, but she didn't wish to get into something messy. Anger and lack of sleep could be a deadly combination. God knows how slim she'd escaped death once when she'd ridden off fuming.

And so she was sitting at the roots of a maple tree she'd taken as her personal sanctuary whenever the boss blew a fuse. It was at the eastern side of the complex, the perfect spot to take a smoke when she needed one; the first to be touched by sunlight in the mornings and the first to bid goodbye to the glorious sun. She'd relied on daylight to make her feel alive when she felt less of a human and more like a robot after a long night of confinement inside the laboratory, with all its artificial lighting and conditioned air. She'd loved the lack of sunset rays when she needed to feel that the day had rolled to an end, and that it was time to go home.

The smoke was just a plus. Heh.

Satisfied and feeling better than she had an hour ago, she put out the cigarette butt against the moist grass and wrapped it in a scratch paper before stashing the whole thing inside her bag's pocket.

She stood up and stretched her hands above her head, slipping into her jacket as she trudged up towards the parking area. She nodded to the guard who seemed to have just replaced the one on night shift as she took a turn down the familiar route to the far end of the basement. Very few spots were not vacated, as was typical of a Monday morning, and the small amount of sunlight that penetrated the window slats sucked out a little of the gloom inside.

Unlocking the compartment under the seat of her bike, she took out one of the helmets and stashed her bag inside. She zipped up her jacket and put on her helmet before swinging her leg over to take her seat. Pushing the key into ignition, she shifted gears and revved the bike, pulling out of her parking space and bursting into the morning light as she maneuvered the bike to the southern gate of the complex.

A nice, rejuvenating bath waited for her at home and she was almost smiling when a heavy sound—muffled a bit by the helmet but loud and deafening all the same—made her jump and lose her balance. She immediately hit the brakes, wincing as she stuck out a booted foot to stop her fall as she and the bike tilted at a dangerous angle.

There was another thundering sound that she was too familiar with after watching too many movies. She lifted the face shield of her helmet and twisted in her seat, her eyes widening at the scene that unfolded in front of her.

The white building that was the laboratory had burst into flames, a chunk from the east wing chopped off as though bitten by an invisible giant that decided to spit it out as soon as it'd sunk its teeth on it. This sent a shiver down her spine, as she could have been under the rubble-vomitus and be on her way to Gonersville. Or riding a boat while crossing River Styx.

Tough luck.

It must have been what she'd heard, aside from the explosion, and as she surveyed the area, she realized the huge column of black smoke and flames licking the sky arose from the seventeenth floor… from their unit.

Just as the fire alarm went off, her heart started thumping wildly in her chest, acid rising up her throat.

Crap.

She kicked off her bike to turn about, speeding towards the guard post, not stopping until her front wheel was practically against its wall. But the guard had already gone, probably to respond to a call from the others, and she cursed under her breath.

Another explosion, this time coming from overhead, and her heart seemed to leap to her throat as a large chunk of the building made its descent, gaining momentum, aiming for her head.

She allowed a shriek before swinging her bike out of harm's way. The unmistakable crash that followed shook the ground, and her bike jolted on its own volition and she dared not to look back, thankful that she'd narrowly missed a pathetic manner of death.

Yamamoto could still be inside the building for all she knew. But she couldn't play hero and just come to the rescue of her least liked colleague. Death was just breathing down her neck a while ago and she didn't want a repeat of that.

It was either he'd gone home while she smoked her cancer stick or he'd stayed behind and blown himself to bits. Try as she may to think twice about the latter, she'd known her senior long enough to be sure that it was just really one or the other. The guy was married to his job, after all.

Willing her heart to descend back to its pericardium, she hoped for the best. She had to get out of here.

The rider took her bike to the main entrance, turning the handlebars every which way as she avoided the pieces of concrete and scorching metalwork. She leaned forward the gas tank, willing the bike to go faster. She regretted this decision almost instantly, when she had to slam the brakes once more and the bike almost stood on its front wheel before clanging back on its rear end.

Sometimes she thought she must have cheated her way into getting a license.

A large crowd had gathered by the courtyard; of rattled employees and… deformed humans?

Before her, a dozen or so humanoids had closed in on several of the staff. About six feet tall, they towered over the personnel.

Tall and gangly, their too-thin physique could give models a run for their money while their bald, bloated heads—the size of basketballs—probably had given their mothers seizures before crowning even happened.

She couldn't give a name to the creatures that surrounded her colleagues, and maybe she was only imagining things. But when she opened her eyes after shaking her head twice, her co-workers were still cowering, the humanoids hissing and brandishing their clawed hands.

They didn't even look like hands; they looked more like talons, what with their sheer length. One of them raised an insanely long, bony arm and one of her colleagues bristled as he was hoisted off the ground by the collar of his lab gown. She didn't know the man by name, but he was familiar by face, one he regularly encountered in the halls and acknowledged with a nod.

The beast raised the employee three feet above the ground, and before it could use the poor guy than its own head to play basketball, she angled the bike and sped towards the knot.

"Watch out!" she yelled over the roar of the engine.

She didn't need to repeat herself. It took not even a moment before the crowd broke apart, humans and humanoids alike running out and leaving a wide berth at her bike's wake.

She turned back to the stunned lab gown-clad employees and yelled once more, "What are you waiting for? Run!"

She should really stop telling them what to do and keep her eyes on the road instead; she gathered as much when she twisted back and the chainlink fence was already too close—

A last minute angling of the handlebars and she skidded to a halt just before she killed herself, she with her bike keeling over trying to maintain inertia. It was all it took before the seat released her and she tumbled to the side, her bike sliding the opposite direction, towards the fence. In an attempt to break her fall, her forearm made contact with the ground and all she heard was a loud crrrrrack—

Pain shot from her hand to her elbow, and she writhed on the ground, cradling the injured limb. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Hot tears flowed down her cheeks, the face shield of her helmet clouding over. Footsteps thundered around her and when she raised her head to look, some of the people she just tried to save were heading towards her. Even with her state, she managed to roll her eyes.

"Get out of here!"

The three men and two women froze, not quite comprehending what she just said.

She slid the face shield up and repeated herself. "I can take care of myself. Go!"

As if to prove her point, she pushed herself off the ground with her good hand, the action prompting the cause of her almost-death to do as she instructed. Which also prompted the beasts to snap out of their trance, coming after them and her.

Panicked, she bit her lip and used both hands to set her bike upright, letting the tears flow as her left arm screamed in pain. She jumped to ride and revved the bike once more, swerving the first few feet.

The bike would need repairing after this.

The ground seemed to quake as the beasts closed in on her and her grip slackened from the fright. Her heart almost deafened her, muscle pulling too hard at her left hand that she let out a hiss.

She chanced a glance at the humanoids. They were much too closer than she wanted, heading straight towards her.

Adrenaline finally kicking in, she found her bearing and the bike, almost as though feeling her, roared to life. She aimed for the gate and darted away, bringing the rear of the crowd that had almost poured out of the gate.

But damn the bike and her injury and her lack of sleep. She was extremely slow and the gate didn't seem to get nearer.

She glanced back. Three feet away, the first humanoid finally lunged to catch at her taillight and a shriek caught at her throat.

Don't you dare touch my bike. Don't you dare.

Angered that some weird little idiot didn't know better than messing with her already damaged bike, she violently swerved from side to side, ignoring the tears that accompanied the pain from the whole of her left arm. Biting down at her lip, she was sure she almost tasted blood she drew out. She slammed at the brakes entirely so that the humanoid bounced back, falling on its companions.

She allowed a breath before kicking off again, taking advantage of the distraction, and was almost out when she caught a flicker of color in the corner of her eyes. Out of sheer curiosity and, later on she'd realize, stupidity, she slowed to a stop and craned her neck to look back at the compound.

A large column of black smoke rose from the building that was slowly being stripped off to be left as a skeleton of metal and concrete. And out in the open, five figures had materialized, running towards the humanoids.

She probably just missed the poof that came with them when they materialized out of thin air. They'd just… appeared, like magic. Yeah, right.

And they were charging at the monsters. Three words: What the heck.

Her jaw dropped at their audacity, but when she cast them a second look, she was convinced she'd gone insane. Of the five, the cotton candy bob that was riding—dare she believed it—a flying oar, was a blue-haired girl in a pink kimono. She angled the oar towards the sky and shot up, darting through the burning building.

She blinked again. The girl just dissolved through the building… like a ghost. With blue hair. Who in their right minds would dye their hair blue? And a pink kimono?

Hold it. A ghost. Haha. In broad daylight. Hahaha. When had they become this active? Haha.

Shaking herself out of her daze, she directed her eyes towards the flying girl's companions. They'd broken out into a scuffle against the humanoids, but she only saw flickers of the four men—or was it three with the redheaded girl?

They were all flickers. They darted past, disappearing from one spot and appearing in another in a wink. Again, what the heck.

Tired and hurting as she was, she took the time to watch them. They were all but blurs before her eyes, but if she strained enough, she could make out what was happening as one took a pause from a fallen humanoid and gathered momentum before attacking the next opponent. These instances didn't even last a second, but she could faintly, with enough persistence, catch some of the movements.

She couldn't help it. She was curious. It was one of those rare moments in life that you know you had to stick your nose to understand even though you know it was weird and illusive.

And that was coming from a person of science.

Slowly, the blurs started clearing out, and she could finally see the group as though she was viewing them on a TV with poor reception. But it was better than no TV at all.

One moment the dark-haired man was punching the lights out of one beast, the next green beams of light were shooting from his hand. Other times he rammed his glowing hand into a humanoid's gut and it created the same effect—blasted bacon bits.

The shortest, the black-clad dude with the hair that stood up despite gravity, was slicing up one and two and three and four—boy, was he fast. He must be a ninja or a samurai, dancing with his bloody katana in hand. There was fluidity in his movements, like he'd been doing this for quite some time. Huh. Like a hobby or a pastime? Spare me.

The redhead with a ponytail held a green thorny rope and flicked it gracefully, letting it cut through the air, the six-footers dropping as clean meat chunks. Classy. The dude/lass—I don't know—could probably kill them off with just the lazy command of his/her hand, without so much as batting an eyelash.

Last but definitely not the least, the ginger with a pompadour à la riizento punk style brandished a similarly ginger… sword? It definitely reminded her of a lightning bolt, and over the ruckus she could faintly hear the zap. The Zeus-dude took out one monster at a time kendo-style. He was the tallest and slowest of the four, but he killed like a pro, if she ever saw one.

This might as well be a scene that was taken straight from a movie or manga, with the amount of blood and gore that sent more acid up her throat.

The distant sound of fire trucks snapped her back to reality. With the firemen, the police were bound to arrive soon, and the media (of freaking course) would be intolerable. She didn't want to deal with more mess right now. They'd ask her questions she wouldn't want to answer and she couldn't answer.

Q: What happened?

A: I don't know.

Q: Where did these weirdoes come from?

A: I don't know.

Q: How did you haul your ass from the burning building?

A: Dumb luck.

Q: Where are the rest of your—blah blah blah…

A: I don't know.

And if the events of today were indeed to go by, they wouldn't believe her one bit. Who would? For all she knew, this could be just an elaborate dream. Working in the lab till morning should render someone delirious.

But with the pain in her arm, she should've already woken up. And this dream was too vivid to even forget about the moment that she did wake up.

With one last look at the four kids, her hands curled around the handlebars of her bike and she sped away, making sure to take the route with the narrow alleys where she wouldn't come across the cops.

Luck must be really on her side for when she finally turned to the main street, not only one or two, but five ambulances had come to gather her shaken comrades. The shock of white against the asphalt at the other end of the street wasn't really hard to miss, especially with the wailing of the ambulances. Can't get caught now, though.

She sat up straight and pulled down the visor of her helmet, keeping her head down. As the red light changed to green, she pulled at the bars harshly, hitting the road over the speed limit as she took a turn to her right. She only slowed down when crowd of victims and onlookers were about five blocks away, taking a sharp turn to a shortcut back home.

As the sirens grew farther and fainter, her wildly beating heart began to make its presence felt. The adrenaline slowly dwindled to its basal level and her arm started hurting like a bitch once more.

Try as she may to calm herself, the absurdity of the events had already seared the image of the five people in her memory that the snake at the pit of her stomach started to wake, writhing in curiosity. She'd have to know what in heaven's name just happened. She'd have to see if all these were real.

But first she needed to patch up.

No, she needed a bath.

A/N:

So, hello again! Here's the first official chapter of this fic. I hope you liked it. Sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting a chapter focusing on our boys. I had to lay things down the way they're most logical to be laid down (if that makes sense). And the name of this female? Not yet revealing that tidbit. Peace!

By now I think you should know that this fic will center on mystery-solving and romantic elements. We will explore human drama (or demon drama, for that matter), as I plan to make this big (at least as I have taken down on my notebook). I hope you stick with me through the end.

Thank you to everyone who read and added this story to their faves and alerts and most of all, for reviewing! You keep me fueled! So please don't forget to drop a line or two. Or three. :)

Dear Kal (Guest), I would've replied to your review via PM; I hope this reaches you just the same. Thank you and I hope you'd love this chap. :)

Enjoyed the chapter? Didn't? Please drop a review! I need to know what you think! See you! :)