I Cannot Offer You Freedom
Chapter 6
~*~
The car sped along the road at an accelerated pace; Robin didn't even have to look at the speedometer to know that Amon was going over the speed limit. Turning to look out the window, she watched as the world flew by in one gigantic blur, and thought of Michael.
Five minutes later, the car came to a screeching halt, and only the fact that she was wearing a seatbelt saved Robin from getting her head slammed off the dashboard in front of her. Getting out with slightly shaking limbs, she quickly calmed herself and slipped on her glasses. Amon saw this and gave her one sharp nod. "Sakaki?" His attention was now directed at the headset curling around his jawbone.
Robin took this time to survey the scene in front of her, and she didn't like the looks of it. The building had probably started disintegrating over twenty years ago and been labeled as 'unsafe' about fifteen years ago. Now she stood in front of it, eyeing the skeletal structure warily, seeing the missing windows and the bare beams in a new light.
"Get ready, we're going in now!" Amon's voice was a shock to her system, and she scrambled to follow directly behind his swirling black coat.
But she had caught the glimpse of scorn in his eyes that told her he thought this was a waste of his ever so valuable times. It does seem like a lot of fuss over nothing . . . Stairs, with their railings gone and several steps missing, rose suddenly in front of her. If all he does is fly . . .
Amon burst onto the floor in front of her, careful not to place his feet where the floorboards were gone. His gun came up with a loud click, just as Sakaki and Karasuma barreled through the door on the opposite side of the floor; their guns flew up also, with sounds that mimicked Amon's. But they were aiming at nothing.
Wary, Amon crept forward, avoiding the large holes that peppered the floor, reminding Robin of Swiss Cheese. Sakaki and Karasuma fanned out on their side, also being careful of where they placed their feet.
Even from so far away, Robin saw Sakaki's eyes narrow, and just as he was about to lower his gun, the ceiling in the center of the room collapsed with a resounding crash.
Grunting, Amon dropped into a crouch, Robin stepping to one side, eyes fixed on the shadowy form now lowering itself through the newly formed entrance.
She could not suppress a small gasp as her glittering emerald eyes caught their first glimpse of Miro Yukimora.
She heard a similar sound of surprise from Amon and saw the stunned looks on her other partners' faces.
Obviously Miro saw their faces too, for his own twisted itself into a sneer. Satisfaction then took over as he flapped the pair of large, glossy black wings extending from his back, sending dust and wood splinters dancing through the air. His laughter sounded loud in their ears as all the witch hunters cringed and shut their eyes.
Opening them quickly, Sakaki fired several shots at Miro, only to have them dodged easily, his powerful wings keeping him aloft and giving him a sense of motion that could not be achieved on the ground.
"Aim for the wings!" Amon shouted into the headpiece, voice certain. His gun then fired two bullets, but they imbedded themselves harmlessly into the wall opposite him. Miro had dodged again, and his laughter seemed louder now, mocking their attempts at his capture.
Angry, Robin raised her eyes to the sleek wings, her craft singing in her veins. Fire shot towards the large feathers, and a gleam of self-satisfaction flashed in her eyes before she found her own fire turned back upon her by those malevolent wings. One powerful thrash had deterred her fire. With a cry, she threw her hands up, feeling the heat and the searing pain usually only felt by witches minutes before their capture; she felt herself being forced to the ground. Amon's dark trench coat was wrapped tightly around her slender form, effectively smothering the flames as more shots rang out from Karasuma and Sakaki. The coat was taken away.
With a roar, Miro flexed his powerful wings and began to flap them in a terrible, strong pulse. Rhythmic gusts began to fill the room, accompanied by splinters and wood shards that hit the skin and burrowed deep. Clothes flapped and hair blew wild as the wind raged with ever-increasing force. Growling, Amon struggled to raise his gun arm, fighting to try and get one last shot in at Miro.
With a final shout, Miro dove down and with one fell swoop, knocked Amon through an especially large hole next to him. Twisting as he fell, the dark haired man grabbed hold of the wind that had hit him. With a grunt of surprised, the witch yanked back hard, leaving Amon with only empty air and a handful of feathers.
Later, Robin would remember that moment clearer then anything but the sight of Miro's wings. The look of pure terror in Amon's eyes and the empty air beneath him imprinted themselves on Robin's mind and remained there for many long years to come. Even as her hand reached out, the darkness of the missing floor swallowed the leader of the STN-J's witch hunting team.
It was the first and last time Robin ever saw actual fear in Amon's gaze. "Amon!"
Cries of anger and astonishment were torn from Sakaki's throat as he raised his gun once more, his last bullet glowing green as it flew through the air towards the winged witch. Karasuma's gun fired too, but by then Miro had heard the sounds and twisted body and wings into an almost impossible position.
"Damn you!" The words were blown away from the rookie's lips as once more he was slammed into the wall by a powerful gust. But Miro only laughed, and, pulling out his own gun, fired several shots in his general direction. "You cannot win when the very air you breathe is under my control." With his bullets those last words as his parting gift, Miro lifted himself back through the ceiling and disappeared from their sight.
Wit a groan, Sakaki sank to the floor, clutching his left arm. Karasuma dove and grabbed his gun just as it was about to vanish in the same manner as Amon. She looked over and saw Robin peer into the hole, then rise to her feet and turn back the way she had entered. "Be careful!" the short-haired hunter called after her retreating form.
As Robin's steps faded from her ears, Karasuma turned to Sakaki and took note of his lined face. The youth had already torn away the sleeves of his jacket and shirt and was fumbling to create a makeshift bandage. Smiling a little, Karasuma reached over and helped him, noting in the process that his wound was no more then a gouge about the length of her finger; the bullet had not lodged itself in his body.
With a silent prayer of thanks to whoever watched over them, she pulled her partner to his feet and put in call to Michael back at Raven's flat.
***
"Amon?! Amon?!" Her voice seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet stillness that cloaked the basement of the collapsing building. "Amon?!"
Shafts of light pierced the shadow, coming from the holes above. With a sigh of relief, Robin threw herself into one such beam, being careful not to land on Amon's crumpled form.
His normally pale skin looked even paler in the weak light, and Robin noticed the dark pool that had formed beneath his head. Biting her lip, she touched his forehead gently and found it cool, but not icy cold. A low gurgle escaped the fallen hunter's lips and his eyelids fluttered as if her were about to open them.
Sighing in relief yet again, Robin quickly contacted Michael on her headset, his voice the more comforting thing she thought she had ever heard in her life. "We've already sent someone out, Karasuma put in a call saying Sakaki was hurt too, so just wait a little while and someone will be there soon."
"Thanks Michael," she replied, relief evident in her voice.
"Oh and Robin?"
"Yes?"
There was a pause. "I . . . be careful, okay?" And the line went dead.
***
Well, I finally added some real action!! ^-^ I know I say this a lot all the time, but I really do mean it: THANKS! I keep getting all this wonderful feedback and it's just amazing! What can I say, I'm inspired! ^.~
Actually, the majority of this chapter was written while I was at school today. It actually stared about halfway through my morning, in German class. My teacher was going on about something or other and I just yanked out a piece of paper and began to write. Well, needless to say it kind of got out of hand and before I knew it, I had written all throughout not only German, but LA, Study Hall, World Myth, and Math as well. ^.^;; Oops . . . I even got maybe a little over half of the next chapter done.
Goes to show how boring my school is.
I cannot thank you people enough for all the things astounding things you've sent me; all I can say is, I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations! ^_^ If it's not too much trouble, please R&R again!
~Dreamwalker
Chapter 7
