Chapter 40: Portal Rescue
Alice desperately threw aside heavy bricks and concrete debris from the pile Maya had been flung through. It hadn't been that long, and the muffled, explosive sounds of the others battling that monster still echoed through the streets.
Lifting a large chunk of rubble, she spotted a gloved hand and gasped.
Quickening her pace, she cleared away the rest of the debris and carefully pulled Maya out. The fiery magical girl was dusty and a bit battered, but she looked intact.
Alice hovered over her anxiously. "Are... are you okay, Maya? Can you talk...?"
Maya moved slowly, wincing as she opened one purple eye. "Alice...? So it was you digging for me... Yeah, I'm fine. Just... a bit beat up."
Alice blinked, looking back at the massive, body-shaped hole Maya had smashed into the brickwork, then back down at her. "You're really lucky. I don't think a normal person would have survived that..."
Maya grunted, forcing herself into a sitting position. "I have... to go help the others..."
Alice firmly shook her head. "No, not like this. Just... rest. I'm going to get us out of here."
Suddenly, a horrific crash echoed from a neighboring structure, followed by a sharp cry of pain from Suki.
Alice's eyes went wide. "Oh no!! Suki!! Maya, stay here! I'm going to go check on her!"
Maya gave a weak nod, resting her head back against the wall.
Alice turned to the solid concrete wall beside them. She took out her pencil and quickly drew a circle on its surface.
Without hesitation, she jumped straight inside.
An instant later, her hand reached back out of the empty air, peeled the circle off the wall, and pulled it into itself until it vanished completely.
Watching the space where Alice had just been, Maya muttered to herself, "How does she even do that?!"
A block away, Suki lay trembling on the dusty floor of the building she had been launched through. She painfully forced herself up, clutching her stomach. Hearing footsteps, she furrowed her brow and raised her icy blue katana, her stance shaking but ready to strike if it was an enemy.
Suddenly, a hole opened up right in the middle of the solid wall. A hand reached out.
Suki gritted her teeth, bracing herself.
Then, Alice's head popped out of the portal. Suki let out a sharp breath of relief, dropping her guard slightly as she sank to one knee. "Alice...?"
Alice blinked, stepping fully out of the hole. "Suki? You don't look good at all..."
"I'll be fine," Suki insisted, though her voice strained.
Alice didn't buy it. She pointed to the dark crimson blood drying on Suki's lip and chin. "That... looks really serious, Suki."
Suki shut her eyes tightly, finally letting her stoic mask slip just a fraction. "Perhaps... I am a bit hurt."
Alice nodded understandingly. She turned back to the wall, quickly sketching the outline of a door. Pulling it open, she slung Suki's arm over her shoulder to help her up. Together, they stepped through the threshold, emerging right back in the alley where Maya was sitting.
Maya looked up, her jaw dropping at the state of her friend. "Geez, Suki, what happened to you?"
"He kicked me after he transformed," Suki rasped, leaning heavily against the brick wall. "I have never been hit by a car before... but I imagine that is exactly what it feels like."
Alice turned her attention back toward the main street where Tom's tank was parked. Looking through a gap in the rubble, she spotted Grey Girl collapsed on the floor, desperately holding a dazed Pigeon Chad in her arms. She looked scorched, burned, and completely battered.
Standing right over her was the monstrous nightmare that Hopeless had become. He raised his massive, spiked claws, preparing to swipe down and end her.
But before the claws could fall, Alice saw a sudden, vibrant blur flash across the battlefield.
It was Tony's body... but the colors were completely wrong. The bright, bubbly pink was suddenly swirling with pristine, icy white.
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