An Alice Story: Chapter 4

"Sudden hands not make or everyone bleeding gets", shouted their leader as he strode towards the students and grabbed a specific one.

"Aceline!"

It was Henri Pottier. He was behind the men when they warped into the courtyard. His shout startled the men long enough to give Sofiya an opening.

Sofiya raised her hands as she made a psychic lock on the captor of Aceline Geffen and cast the Cold Bolt spell at him, tight focus and at the full force of her ability. The spell struck with five icicles, hurting the leader enough to loosen his hold on Aceline.

Sofiya, out of habit, started running in a zigzag but it wouldn't matter, she knows that the bowman has his arrow trained on her, she has only seconds left to live if he starts using Double Strafe. If only she can reach some kind of cover.

Suddenly, Alice was running beside her, confusing the bowman. Good enough, thought Sofiya. She got a good psychic lock on him and cast Frost Driver at him.

The spell forced the ambient heat into the ground, freezing the air's water, creating giant ice crystals around the bowman, encasing him in its frozen hold. She got him on the first try.

M. Fermier stepped between her and the leader, sword drawn. It was common knowledge that M. Fermier was an Alchemist before instituting his school. The kidnapper leader kept out of reach of the sword. One good blow from M. Fermier can literally crush him as one of M. Fermier's hands holds a sword, the other holds bills of zeny, the ultimate source of power for members of his caste. M. Fermier takes the offensive but the kidnapper suddenly disappears.

Sofiya cast Sight, exposing the hidden kidnapper, but too late. M. Fermier's foe was very close, close enough to land a blow. Energy ripples exploded from the strike and M. Fermier's sword came flying out.

The kidnappers' leader was of the Rogue caste. Sofiya felt uneasy but cast Frost Driver on him too. Icicles rose up from the ground but failed to encase him. Sofiya took a deep breath to cast Frost Driver again but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the third member of the group go into casting stance. Mon Dieu, he cast Lex Divina! A deep throbbing engulfed her, disrupting her concentration and her spellcasting. She can only watch as the enemy Priest cast Status Recovery to free his ice-imprisoned comrade.

Meanwhile, M. Fermier was trading blows with the Rogue. M. Fermier was at a disadvantage. His right hand was still encased in the Strip Weapon scatterfield, preventing him from holding anything but even so, M. Fermier's fist can still deal a painful punch. The Rogue stepped back and did what Sofiya feared: he cast a successful Frost Driver on M. Fermier.

"Ha ha ha, you woman spellcaster much thank", the man jeered at Sofiya and cast Frost Driver at her too, freezing her in place while the cold and ice cut her skin. She couldn't even move her mouth to scream in pain.

The Rogue crumpled. Six of Seven was standing beside him, the afterglow of his Bash technique still surrounding his hand. A Charged Arrow struck Six of Seven, pushing him away from the Rogue.

Sofiya was suddenly free. She didn't know why or how, she didn't have to strength nor the dexterity to break free her ice bound body. And she was also free of the disruption of the Lex Divina cast on her.

"Don't just stand there filleule, start casting", remarked Tante Josephine as she blessed Sofiya with Suffragium.

Sofiya began casting Lord of Vermillion on the Priest and the bowman. The Suffragium blessing made gathering the psychic and magic energies easier and faster. The spell's outer edges caught the retreating foes, burning them with lighting strikes.

Sofiya was shocked, she never knew that Tante Josephine was a Priestess. An intense sense of well-being fell on her, healing and blessings invoked by Tante Josephine settled on her, wrapping her in its warm cloak.

Sofiya began casting Ice Wall between the miscreants and the students and faculty members.

"Run back to the Academy and close the doors, rapidement", she called. Where are Aceline and Henri? Where is M. Fermier? The thugs are regrouping on the other side, their Priest casting as many Heals as quickly as he can and the Rogue has shaken off his knockdown stun.

"Mlle. Verte! Mlle. Verte! Au secours!", Henri called.

Mon Dieu! Aceline and Henri are trapped on the far side. Sofiya started sprinting towards them.

"Filluele!" "Mistress!", called both Six of Seven and Tante Josephine but Sofiya didn't wait. As she got between the kidnappers and the two students, she began casting Ice Wall over and over again as the Rogue began using the Bash skill he copied from Six of Seven to smash down the walls while the bowman began taking aim at Sofiya.

Something smashed into the bowman, fouling his shot. It was an Amistr homunculus, an artificial form of life often created by Alchemists like M. Fermier, to assist or protect them. Tante Josephine, Six of Seven and M. Fermier have caught up with Sofiya and sandwiched the kidnappers between them. The kidnappers are now outnumbered, even if the bowman was a Hunter or a Bard.

The miscreants' leader pulled something out of his pocket, something throbbing with life force. Could it be a Dead Branch, that rare thing imbued with stubborn life and sustained by magic? Sofiya didn't have to wait long to realize her guess, the Rogue broke the Dead Branch in two, then took out another and another, breaking six in succession.

The magic fields in the school started stretching and folding to capture virtual particle pairs and separating them. Sofiya's magic senses tingled from the ripples of uncertainity fields collapsing.

Six figures formed. Six very angry figures.

A ball of white fur launched itself against Sofiya, passing through the small cracks between the walls of ice. She kicked the Lunatic, a large, normally peaceful rodent, aside and roasted it with a single Fire Bolt. The other six do not look like they'll be easy to dispose.

One of the creatures, a skeletal figure wearing a yukata made a sudden slash attack at the miscreants' leader, the one who summoned him. Creatures summoned by Dead Branches are creatures of rage, fueled by the confusion of suddenly being as well as the pain of their tumultuous creation. The Rogue suddenly disappeared while his comrades ran off in different directions.

Sofiya didn't have the same luxury. She couldn't abandon the students behind her. All she could do was to continually close the gaps in the melting ice walls. Outside the ice wall, the confused monsters began to chase other, more accessible targets. Sofiya began to Sense-probe the different monsters summoned by the magic artifacts, looking for weaknesses and strengths.

M. Fermier and Tante Josephine are fighting a two Raydric swordsmen and the Wanderer, who turned his attentions on his nearest targets. Six of Seven, meanwhile, is busy with a Poporing.

A forest wolf is clawing at the ice, trying to reach Sofiya. It's loud snarls began to irritate her. Henri and Aceline began to back away from Sofiya, they have been her students long enough to know this mood.

"Don't you snarl at me little dog", snapped Sofiya in her half-roar, half-bellow tone that brooked no nonsense from anybody and cut the wolf down with the full force of her stare.

The wolf yipped, as if struck, and ran away with its tail between its legs. Henri and Aceline winced, they've been subjected to that too. Mlle. Sofiya wasn't called Mlle. Épouvantail for nothing.

Meanwhile, M. Fermier managed to strike down one of the Raydric swordsmen. The shadow force animating it dissipated and the empty armor and wielding its sword fell apart. The armor melted away into the air but the sword didn't. M. Fermier quickly picked it up and used a little of his qi to bind the shadow sword into this reality before it too dissipates.

"Catch this, jeune monsieur", called M. Fermier as he threw the sword to Six of Seven.

Six of Seven caught the sword in mid-air and sliced the Poporing jelly monster in half in one fluid movement. He paused for a breath before advancing to the opponents facing M. Fermier and Tante Josephine.

M. Fermier's face was a picture of concentration as he swung his sword at the two remaining opponents attacking him. His cart, which followed him everywhere, suddenly flew into the air, following the sword's tip, and caught the Raydric swordsman and skeletal Wanderer in its spinning orbit. The impact exploded in a single thump that reverberated throught the protective ice wall Sofiya maintained and knocked back M. Fermier's foes. It wasn't strong enough to destroy them but it got their attention.

M. Fermier gave Six of Seven a hand signal to attack the second Raydric swordsman and Six of Seven quickly complied.

"Recevoir mon coup violent", screamed Six of Seven, focusing his spirit energies into the the blow and staggered the Raydric. Sofiya was both shocked and proud. Six of Seven never spoke a word of Geffrench despite her attempts to teach him and now he spoke a complete phrase.

Meanwhile, Tante Josephine was busy healing and blessing M. Fermier as he takes blows from both foes as well as weakening the foes with Lex Aeterna that it has become a rhythm of Lex Aeterna followed by Kyrie Eleison and Heal. Six of Seven followed her rhythm, punctuating her Lex Aeterna with his Bash skill until the second Raydric swordsman fell apart under his blows. Only the demonic Wanderer remains but this foe is the strongest of the three.

Six of Seven closed in to assist M. Fermier. The Wanderer must have sensed that it was overmatched, it quickly used its Intimidate skill on M. Fermier. The Wanderer gathered energy as it went into preparation stance, its sword held in two hands at shoulder height. A quick feint and the blow connected on M. Fermier, exploding in a burst of light and energy. The Intimidate skill "pushed" both M. Fermier and the Wanderer apart instantaneously. Now, M. Fermier in the far side of the courtyard while the Wanderer is now beside ... Sofiya.

"Enfants, behind me", shouted Sofiya as she quickly cast Soul Strike right into the face of the Wanderer. That strike got the monster's attention but they are trapped here away from help until the ice wall melts. Her mind raced through options and strategies against this skeletal demon swordsman of the winds.

"Fire Wall", she shouted, the words giving both guide and psychic spark to start the spell. The wall of flames painfully blocked the advance of the Wanderer. Part of the ice wall has finally melted open and Sofiya gestured to her students to go through the opening as she errected another Fire Wall between them and the Wanderer. She and the students quickly ran to Tante Josphine and Six of Seven and away from the monster.

"Lex Aeterna", shouted Tante Josephine as she called down Heaven's curse on sinners.

Sofiya gathered her psychic energies and threw them at the Wanderer's feet. The ground broke at the demon's feet and struck him with sharp spikes. Her Sense-scan had indicated that this monster is weak against the element of Earth. Lex Aeterna, Heaven's curse, doubled the power of the strike, staggering the monster.

Then she took a quick breath and cast Earth Spike again at the monster just as Tante Josephine cursed the Wanderer with Lex Aeterna again. Her heart sank as the monster still remained standing. She tried to cast another Earth Spike but her spellcasting was disrupted by the blow she received from the now too close opponent.

Her vision turned red as her life shield dwindled down to a dangerous level. Part of the blow went through the shield and struck her stomach. Sofiya felt her knees buckle. Two hands suddenly held her.

"Cheer up Mistress", Sofiya heard Alice whisper to her but Alice's voice seemed so far away. "Mama, mama where are you, I hurt mama, I'm so cold", Sofiya deliriously began to call for her mother from the shock from the wound and the blood loss.

"Help! Help", Alice began to call, "Someone please help my mistress!"

"Filluele hold on", Tante Josephine called as she cast Heal on Sofiya.

Once again Sofiya felt the warmth of life come back to her. The wound on her belly had closed but she still felt weak. She looked around just in time to see M. Fermier's Amistr ram the Wanderer head on and suddenly Castle or switch place with M. Fermier who again struck the demon creature with his cart. The cart struck the deathblow and the monster fell to its knees as it burned from within, leaving a skull on the ashes. Sofiya made a sigh of relief but Aceline's cry froze her heart.

"Ayiee! Mlle. Verte!!"