Arcana Magi Memorial Vol.7 - c.5

      Orderlies carted Azure and Ciel one behind the other. Agent Sara Danes and Agent Kerry Jones were at the end of the hall acting as a roadblock. The orderlies stopped and stepped aside as the agents flashed their badges and approached the girls. Sara approached Azure as Kerry stood before the orderlies.
      “You may escort Ciel to her room.” Kerry said. “Azure will be in our custody. Follow us.”
      The orderlies nodded and followed their orders. Ciel was brought into a room where her father, Jacques waited outside. The orderlies transferred her to the bed and left with the gurney. He entered inside with Jean-Pierre and Hitomi following behind. Jean-Pierre closed the door, and turned to this father.
      “Why did you agree with them?” Jean-Pierre said in French.
      “There is no discussion here.” Jacques replied in French.
      “Azure is not a criminal.”
      “There is no discussion here!”
      The door opened and a nurse approached Ciel, attaching an IV drip to her arm. Jean-Pierre and Jacque stared each other down. Their glares created a negative energy that affected Hitomi, she leaned back at the wall afraid to move. As soon as the nurse left the room, Jean-Pierre nodded to Hitomi to get the door.
      “Don't close it.” Jacques said and Hitomi stayed in place.
      “Father you're being unreasonable.”
      “I sympathize for your friend, but she is her parent's problem. You and Ciel are mine.”
      “You know what they'll do to Azure?”
      “You know what they will do to your sister, who has the Blood Circle?” Jacques place his hand on Ciel's forehead. “It is a damning form magic to have. She is supposed to learn to control it. Instead, she keeps getting herself into other people's problems. I worked hard to get custody of her over your mother so she would not be exploited for that circle. I even got custody over you so you would not be your sister's hunter for that wretched woman. Do you have any idea what she would do if she found out that Ciel is in the Magi Authority's custody, facing trial?”
      “It's not Azure's fault.” Jean-Pierre approached Ciel's bed.
      “You are obsessed with that girl.”
      “I—”
      “Don't… think I have not forgotten your little nightwalks to her room. Shaming the family name watching that girl at her dorm. You're too short-sighted.”
      “And what of Ciel? What do you think she will do if she found out you gave away one of her two only friends to the Magi Authority.”
      “She will understand. As will you.”
      Jean-Pierre marched out of the room, fuming over his father's last remark. Hitomi followed but Jacques spoke.
      “Stay here.” Jacques said without looking and Hitomi stopped. “Watch over Ciel.”
      “Yes sir.”
      Sora and Polo emerged from a shadow behind a door. They found themselves at the lobby where a man and woman dressed in business suits arrived. Using her magic circle, Sora pressed her fingers on the surface and showed radio waves picking up voices of the man and woman.
      “I am Agent Fumiko Nakamura.” She flashed her badge at the receptionist. “He is Agent Nathan Stone from the Magi Authority. We received a call from Doctor Roger Holmes' medical staff regarding. Is he available or still in surgery?”
      “Narutaki.” A male voice said over Sora's communication radio on her circle. “We are in position.”
      “We made it in time.” Sora responded back. “The Magi Authority just arrived.”
      “Oh.” The receptionist said. “They sent more?”
      “More?” Fumiko said. “What do you mean?”
      “Two other agents had arrived just earlier looking for Doctor Holmes. He just completed surgery with the Doctor Wild.”
      “We're the only ones dispatched.” Fumiko looked at Nathan and he immediately took out a cell phone.
      Sora and Polo looked at each other, and Sora got on the radio.
      “Move in now. We have two unknowns posing as Magi Authority agents. I am sending an image of the real agents now” Sora raised her magic circle up and slid her hands across the surface. Focusing her Mana, she captured the image, hitting send. “These two are friendlies, do not engage them.”
      “Roger.” Everyone on the radio said and Sora turned to Polo.
      “Get me to the computer terminal. We have to find Azure and Ciel's rooms.”
      Sora and Polo jumped into the shadow. They slipped out underneath the desk, and Sora made her magic circle grow large. She planted it on the underbelly of the desk, and blue lines stretched outward touching the computer ports. A virtual keyboard appeared with a screen and she typed Azure's and Ciel's names. She found their room numbers and communicated to her team. Polo saw the receptionist pull the chair back and he yanked Sora in, forcing her circle to disconnect. They emerged in a hallway by the stairwell and Polo had to catch his breath.
      “Sorry.” Polo looked up leaning his back on the wall. “We would have been spotted.”
      “It's okay.” Sora said shrinking her magic circle. “We got what we needed. Everyone is making their move now.”
      Polo looked at his hand shivering and legs crumpled.
      “What happened?”
      “I think I ran out of energy. That was a lot of portal jumping.”
      “Why now?” Sora led Polo up the stairs. “Move it. We have little time.”
      Azure opened her eyes. Her vision blurred from the operation. She felt a bandage around her forehead. It had a pink glow, and she sensed throbbing pain from her brain but it was like she had taken aspirin to relieve it. Her vision cleared. Before her were Agent Danes and Agent Jones. They just looked over her quietly. Azure shifted her head to the side. There was a portal. Focusing her vision, she saw grey Mana beyond the portal.
      “What… is that?”
      “Interesting Sara, it would seem she is recovering well from the operation.”
      “Who are you…?” Azure struggled to sit up.
      “Indeed Kerry, she should survive the trip to the Manasphere.”
      “Then let us begin.” Sara led Kerry to Azure as the teen tried to get out of bed. Sara formed a magic circle, consisting of runes and triangles, underneath Azure. She raised her hand forcing Azure's body to push onto the circle like a magnet. The circle began to lift Azure up but the shackled glowed bright. Sara felt the heaviness from Azure. “Hmm… so this is the Circle of Four Valdegaurd spoke of.”
      “Yes.” Kerry said looking over the shackle analyzing it. He took out a magical rod and placed it over the shackles. As though it was wrench he turned it to the side. It affected the shackles.
      “No…” Azure squirmed. “the poison… please…”
      Kerry paused, and turned to Sara.
      “The others already proved that the grey Mana will overtake the impure Mana. Just get those shackles off so I can carry her.”
      Azure screamed as the Circle of Four tightened the shackles with each twist to resist Kerry's rod. She screamed aloud as she felt her wrist crush under. Azure lifted her head up — her heart racing — and she closed her eyes focusing her mind. Fighting through the pain, she searched her thoughts for something, anything, to fight back with. With a roar, her mind clicked. She saw Kerry and Sara looking at her, stepping back. Azure looked down at her hand and noticed a magic circle in her hand. She remembered using it against Mother back her home, she also remembered it contained impure Mana. Azure enlarged it over her body revealing a pair of wings within a star and runic text in a circular band. It was purple as opposed to the shackles that were teal. The text revealed all of her spells in her mind. With eyes wide, her mouth opened with surprise, things had changed within her. She smiled.
      “Stop her!”
      “BEAST FORM… CHIMERA!” Her magic circle slid over her body, pulling her off of Sara's circle. Azure emerged on the other side in her chimera form. Furry white cat ears and tail emerged, with teeth of a kitten. Humanlike dragon scales on her hands and claws, and humanlike turtle webbed feet. Small white feathered bird wings, and her brown hair turned to white and teal. Her costume slid over her body. A long sleeved white and teal turtle-neck leotard, with a white and teal turtle-neck armored vest that stretched over her bird wings. Thick white sparring gloves slid over her hand, the dragon claws slid out the slots and armlets reached up to her elbows, clasping in place. Stockings stretched to her thighs and armored boots slipped over her legs clasping at the knees. An open-front skirt draped from her waist and hairclips with white and teal ribbons latched onto her cat ears. She opened her eyes as the tip of feet touched the ground.
      Sara and Kerry prepared themselves for battle, but Azure was already in their faces — in mid air — and her knee struck Kerry in the face. His head struck the wall and he slid down the floor. Sara made her magic circle appear and slapped Azure with it.
      Azure jumped back and crouched with one hand on the floor. She made her own magic circle appear on open hand and channeled her Mana.
      “RADIANT BURST!” A flash of bright light repelled and blinded Sara temporarily. Azure screamed in pain from the purple circle. Dropping to her knees, she nursed her wrist. She looked up and saw Sara regaining her sight. Without hesitation, she made her own circle appear again, and without thought, she made the teal colored Circle of Four emerge in her other hand. Azure looked at the both circles unable to comprehend what she had done. “Wow.”
      “This can't be!” Sara said taking a defensive posture with her circle. “No one can handle two circles at once.”
      “Then let's make history!” Azure clenched her hands into a fist turning the circles into wrist bands. She brought her hands close together forming a wind in a circle like a spinning top. She watched Sara channel her Mana and form an energy ball before her circle.
      “EMERGY SPIKE!”
      “SPIRAL…” Azure dashed at Sara, spinning her body to dodge the spell. Up close, Azure pushed her hands forward, making the wind slide over her body to her palms. “…BURST!”
      The force of wind pushed Sara into Kerry — who just got back to his feet — sending them both through the portal. Azure returned the circles to normal standing before the portal. She lined her hands in front of her body, making both circles over lap. She heard the Circle of Four whisper into her ears and repeated their words. “PORTAL SEAL!”
      Azure turned her hands like turning a doorknob, and both circles turned as such. The portal closed upon her motions and vanished from the room. Azure collapsed onto her knees, her heart racing. She clasped her head screaming in pain, when she looked back and saw Sora and Polo at the door. Azure collapsed on the floor, her Chimera Spell ended returning her body to normal, and her costume turned back to the hospital gown. Her vision blurred again as her friends approached her. Two other Technomancer agents arrived; they guarded the door, and contacted the others with their radio.
      “Heh…”Azure said as she felt her head lifted up. “I can use two circles now.”
      “Just stay quiet.” Sora said. “We're beginning extraction of Azure. Polo?”
      Polo looked at the shadow underneath the bed and he shook his head negatively. Azure walked past him and opened the window. With her magic circle she channeled her Mana.
      “Aeros!” The large robotic bird flew into the air with screech and floated by the window. “Come on Azure.”
      Azure nodded and gripped Sora's hand with a smile. “Thank you. Let's get Ciel.”
      “We have a visual of Ciel LeBleu.” One agent said listening to his comms radio. “But there is an M.A. agent there.”
      “We have visual of the other agent.” The other guard said. “She is coming this way.”
      “Is our target with her family?” Sora said.
      “Yes.”
      Sora looked at Azure, and can see her friend does not like where Sora is going with her thoughts. “I'm sorry Azure. You are top priority. Ciel is with her family so she is safe.”
      “Please.” Azure struggled to push Sora away, and Sora spoke through the radio.
      “Sanchez, McCoy, maintain visual on Ciel and keep me up to date on all activity there.” Sora saw Azure take a deep breath, then nodded.
      “Roger.” They said over the radio.
      “You two, we're out.”
      “Roger.” The guards said following the teens out the window. The guards made jetpacks magically appear on their backs and they flew off behind Aeros at high speeds, out of sight.
      
      THE END.