Unchained Bonds: An Abrupt Interruption

Unchained Bonds Arc An Abrupt Interruption

The two half-demons made haste and arrived at the Magic Council Military Defense Line's headquarters. After she had stormed off, Gia was unaware if they had really left Abraham's cell. But to her surprise everyone was in Blanco's large office inside the headquarters, and by the looks of it they were all deep into battle formation plans while her father sat chained to a chair as he blankly stared at the open spellbooks on the floor.

Gia couldn't help but scoff at the way her father was being held here. "Oh yeah, this is totally humane behavior. He's trying to save the city but that doesn't remove what he did from history." she thought to herself with a sneer.

Apparently her scoff was loud enough to alert the inhabitants of the room of their presence. Haru awkwardly waved to the group while Gia stared straight, still upset at what happened earlier that day.

"Ah you've returned, excellent." Blanco spoke up, briefly breaking the tension in the air. "Mr. Soto, we cannot thank you enough for your services. I assume your Guild Master is aware of what is transpiring?"

"Yes, Gia debriefed him and all of us quite quickly." Haru elaborated. "Has Mr. Froth discovered the woman's whereabouts yet?"

"Not yet, but he appears to be deep in thought." Blanco said, gesturing to Abraham.

"We've been discussing battle formations for Alejandro's take over plan." Axel said, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. He also had removed his uniform coat and rolled up his dress shirt sleeves. Next to him were the other members of the Blanco Squad, Ethos Kurosaka and Silver Tastuka, who also appeared to be quite stressed with the battle strategy.

"This guy is smarter than we thought, kids." Ethos stressed, running his hands through his black and white dyed hair. "We've sent our guys out to look for him and his cronies, but they always evade us. If we can't track his movements how can we possibly prepare for his attack?"

"Psh! We'll be ready Ethos, trust me." Silver reassured his life-long friend. "We're going to save the city and most importantly, kick ass! Like we always do. 'Kay?"

Ethos responded with a loud groan and banged his head on the map on the desk. "The only thing that can save us now is the circle of life, maybe it won't let me die 'cause it ain't my time man!" Ethos cried out, flailing his arms around.

"Pipe down! I can't concentrate with all your shrieking!" Axel shouted.

"That's it!" Abraham cried out, standing up the best he could. "Mr. Kurosaka, you're a genius!"

Everyone watched in confusion as Abraham opened the several books he had and put them in a circle formation out on the floor. Sensing everyone's confusion, he began explaining himself.

"Since the beginning of time we've always heard about the circles of hell, right?" Abraham began. "Well, she's a demon right? So if I turn them all to this page...and put them in a circle...then....this should happen!"

Suddenly, the books erupted a dark aura that shone upwards. "You've still got it Abraham, I knew you could do it!" Blanco cheered.

"You did it, Father!" Gia congratulated, touching his shoulder. The two locked eyes for a brief moment before Gia quickly looked away. "We haven't a moment to lose Haru." she said to her fellow demon.

"Right." Haru nodded. He turned to Blanco with a serious look on his face. "Master Jordan is already in battle formation, as soon as the attacks begin he and the rest of my guild will follow you all into battle."

"I see, thank you. Be safe in there." Blanco said, shaking his hand. Haru turned to Gia who was fiddling with her skirt as she waited for him. "Ready?" he asked.

"Wait Gia." Axel spoke up, rubbing the back of his head. Gia was surprised that he had the gall to speak to her after what he had implied earlier, but here he was holding his own. "I-uh...I hope you won't be late for the attack plan. Don't get caught up in there, I know they're your people but-OUCH!"

Axel rubs the top of his head, trying to soothe the onslaught it had suffered at the hands of his dear wife. "Sienna! What the hell?!" he whined. "That really hurt!"

"What he means to say is," Sienna said, ignoring her husband's whimpers. "He wants you to be safe and he's sorry for what he said earlier." She then leaned down to whisper in the younger knight's ear. "You know, ever since Abraham was imprisioned and we met you on that train, he's been worried sick about you. I think he's just hard on you because he doesn't want you to be a pawn again, it's actually kind of cute to see him worry."

The revelation is enough to make Gia snort with laughter and give her an immense wave of relief. Not far behind, Sienna begins to laugh as well.

Annoyed, Axel glares at the two. "Hey! What did you tell her?!" he whines. "You're my wife, you shouldn't be embarrassing me!"

"Oh nothing, dear!" Sienna compeses herself, winking at Gia. The two move themselves out of the way as Axel continues to pout off to the corner. Gia watches the pair walk off and turns to the make-shift portal.

"We'll be back before you know it." Gia announces, mostly to Blanco rather than anyone else. "Stay alert and don't let any suspcious sightings go uninvestigated."

"Right." he nods and watches Haru stand in the middle of the portal. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Abraham stand up.

"Gia...Wait." Abraham says quickly, grabbing her arm. In alarm, Gia's eyes widen at her father's actions. Her eyes grow to the size of saucers when he pulls her in for a tight hug.

"I...love you, Gia." he confesses. "I know I've never been a good father to you, but I just want you to know that I worry for you. Please be safe."

He releases her and sits down in the chair he is bound to. Still stunned, Gia stares at him and it is when she locks eyes with him and notices his depressive gaze that she didn't hug him back.

"Father...I-"

"Hey! We've gotta go Gia! Now!" Haru calls out. "We don't know how long this thing'll stay open!"

Snapping out of her daze, she runs into the make-shift portal. Everyone waves goodbye and standard farewell greetings as the two disappear into the dark aura.

When the aura dispells, Abraham reaches down to collect the books. In alarm, Blanco asks him what he is doing.

"We have to keep these books safe," he elaborated. "If they are destroyed then Gia and Haru won't be able to come back."

"I see, then where do you suppose we hide them?" Axel wonders aloud.

Abraham thinks to himself for a minute and a lightbulb flashes over his head. "I know just the place!"

Gia and Haru covered their eyes at the light blinding them as they arrived in what was supposed to be the right location. When the light disappeared, it appeared that they were in the middle of someone's garden.

"Is this the right place?" Haru asked, looking around for a sign.

"I hope so, we've got a one way ticket." Gia retorts. Squinting, she notices a figure up ahead. "Hey! I think I see someone up there."

"Hey! Don't you know that when you're jumping between realities you should look before you leap?!" Haru stressed, but it was too late. Gia had already run up to see who it was.

As she approached the figure's back, she noticed their very feminine features. They had long teal hair that ran down to their mid-back and a dark colored dress. Reaching out to them, Gia tapped their shoulder. "Hello, can you please help us?" Gia asked the person. "Can you tell us where we are?"

The teal haired woman turned around and stood up, dusting herself off. "Of course, it'll be no trouble at all." she spoke, her thick english accent on full display.

Now that she had turned, Gia got a good look at her face. She had purple eyes and skin so pale it was like snow. She was a very beautiful woman, that much was evident. But Gia noticed something off about her magic aura and couldn't help but internally cower.

"Hm? What's wrong sweetie?" The woman asked, concern spreading across her delicate features. The realization nearly hit her on the head and she began to laugh. "Oh, I understand. It must be my aura! Well, its a demon thing but I'm sure you know that fully well don't you dear?"

"Y-you knew I was a demon?" Gia gasped. The woman ceased her laughter and put her arm around Gia. "We know our kind, but you're a half-breed aren't you? That must be quite a story. Was it your father or your mother?"

Speechless, Gia just stared at the woman as she continued to bombard her with questions. Finally, she gained her voice back and responded. "It wasn't my biological father or my mother, I'm like this because of a sealing."

"Then you've got quite the story to tell don't you?" the woman giggled. Suddenly, she put her hands to her mouth and gasped. "Oh how rude of me! Here I am asking all these questions and I don't even know your name!"

"My name is Gia Alabaster, miss?" Gia introduced, extending her hand.

"Oh none of that "Miss" or "Mrs." nonsense my dear!" the woman insisted. "I'd like you to skip the formalities, if you would."

"Oh, uhm," Gia stuttered, surprised that an adult was rejecting formal matters. "Of course. What's your name then?"

"My name is Blakeley Quell, good to make your acquiantence Gia." she introduced herself. "I'm a full-blooded demon, or Etherious as humans nowadays call it, because of my father."

"Your father?" Gia asked. "Wait a minute..." she thought, the pieces of this conversation suddenly forming the big picture.

"Yes, were you acquainted with him in the past?" Blakeley questioned. "His name was Hades if that happens to jog your memory."