The Necromancer nodded towards Nero, opening doors for people may be a common thing to do for strangers, but when friends do it for you, it just makes it seem much more heartfelt. Eve paused as someone called for Nero's name, she turned her head over to the side as Nero did as well, wondering who would be calling for his name. She didn't recognize the girl, although she has been sheltered from other people now that she thought about it, it was best for her health though, before she turned more stable. Eve looked at Nero, it seemed that he knew this mystery woman, but it would only make sense as she called for her name in the first place, she nodded towards the Genie's suggestion and entered the shop with Ayame to buy and wait for the group to form once again.

Eve entered the chilly store, the place seemed to be a pretty nice and fit well with her small standards of how clean an eatery should actually appear. She looked back at the door, wondering what kind of stuff that the two were talking about, but it can't be anything too bad? Right? Eve was always worried about the shady things that she had been able to pick up on, and these wishes were one of them. The Necromancer sighed to herself and looked towards Ayame with a smile. "Hey! Being a little trooper with everything? Well, no matter, ice cream should make things better, it always makes you feel good." She chuckled at the small girl before making her way over to the counter, Eve looked over towards the flavor, and she pointed at the light green ice cream called Green Tea. Who says you can't enjoy tea frozen? Getting several scoops, Eve finally found some use of her money as she paid for both herself and Ayame. Eve made her way over to the booth, sitting on the plush seats.

Taking several scoops of her ice cream waiting for Nero, he finally seemed to have ended his little conversation with the stranger. She waved at the Genie as he took his seat, the three were now back together into one table. They begun to make some small talk, eating the ice cream was more of her desire than talking, but she did notice something strange as Nero began to flush. She took another bite of her frozen snack as Nero began to explain something to her, something about changing her? Well, she liked herself the way she was at the moment, nothing seemed to be wrong with her, but how could she say no to Nero? The person that gave another voice to her, even though it was originally him that took it away, but lets not dwell on the details. "Uh... Sure? I trust you that it won't hurt too bad. Sure, go ahead."



Magni watched in frustration as the orange figure seemed to dodge Mercury's attack, and it was extremely hard to find the clear aura coming from the mastermind of this battle. Mercury seemed frustrated, and being angry wasn't really the time to be calm and follow his directions, and it looked like the invisible figure was about to rear for a punch to the frustrated man. The Antimage was just about to warn his ally about the impending attack, but it seemed that it was futile. Maybe some people were actually better at fighting when they are fighting. That would be the case as Mercury turning into a tornado of slashes. This completely caught both Magni and the figure off guard, the burnt orange tried to back away, but it was too late to dodge the attack. He was nicked several times all around his body, blood started to appear out of thin air revealing the large man as he was being covered by his own blood. The figure cursed, but his voice was muted due to the shrouding. The bloodied figure looked over to some random direction, and soon the crimson color reveling his position was shrouded as well. "9 o clock! 20 feet away from you, he is trying to run away!" The Antimage looked towards Hyun, seeing what the S-Class wizard was doing in the fight.

The invisible figure cursed to himself, this was putting a lot of strain on his magic, covering both him and the big lug was one thing, but covering the blood as well was just making things hard as he needed to be closer. He glanced towards the side, the lady seemed to be doing nothing but drying her hair! Hah! She should be an easy target. The lanky figure started to pull out several shrouded knifes, there was no way a person like her could possibly see or even hear him coming! The invisible figure prepared to throw his knife, rearing his arm to throw the projectile straight into the woman's neck, this should only take one swing. The man smiled mischievously, he threw his knifes.

Just as he threw his knifes, a flash of steel blurred through his vision. What? His eyes soon saw that his shrouded weapons were cut in half, just as Magni had cut them, but she managed to cut all three at once?! What?! The invisible figure was just about to back away from this apparently dangerous woman, but it was as well too late for him. His index and middle finger soon split open, cut horizontally as blood started to splatter Hyun. He was surprised, no one has hit him in quite some time, no one has ever even managed to touch him, but he saw that his hand was profusely bleeding, and he screamed. The cloaking soon disappeared on both figures, showing the true form on both of the attackers. The one thing that the two would recognize would be the clothing that the two were wearing, the mask were almost as identical to Magni's own mask.

"RUNE!"

"OH FUCK IT HURTS!" Rune rolled around on the ground, it seemed that he couldn't even take a punch, let alone a cut from a sword. "DISAPPEAR! EVERYONE GO AWAY!" The wimpy man started to glow in his non-exsistant color, his power working upon everyone as he flailed around on the floor. Soon, everything started to disappear, the trees, the grass, the ground, everything was vanishing before their eyes. It almost looked like they were floating in mid-air, most likely disorientating everyone in the vicinity. Soon, the five people found themselves floating in nothingness, you couldn't trust any sense in this void as Rune vanished once again, leaving the brute to be confused on what was happening.

Damian remained on the roof, looking over the city, for several minutes, one foot dangling off the edge and kicking idly while the other was on the roof, his chin resting on his knee. It didn't even occur to him to actually look in the hotel until he felt someone's eyes on him. Great. Last thing I need is for one of the girl members to think I'm trying to sneak a peek. Looking for his watcher, he see's Penny in her window looking at him with a puzzled look on her face. He then realized that she didn't know he did parkour as part of his training. Silently chuckling, he waves at her then beckons her to join him.

michael

Michael shook his head, feeling frustrated and wishing he could get what he wanted to say across, but he just couldn't seem to articulate the words."it's Always me going after Gabriel. I though this whole different guild thing would be good for both of us, but Gabriel didn't really seem to be well...changing. Growing. He's still the same, he just doesn't want to see it" Michael sighed, saddened. "he hates to be ignored and when be is, his first go To response is to invade personal space generally in the form of shoving. It's got him into trouble a few times. I thought...maybe without having be holding him back, he'd be better...but he isn't...and I don't know what to do. If I go to him am I enabling him? If I don't, am I just making things worse? What do I do?" he said not expecting any sort of answer

@silver fox

gabriel

"I'm fine I'm fine!" Gabriel said hastily as he battered at the hands running over him, the fact that. ni was pretty well patting him down seemed to have escaped the knowledge for Ni that it was rather familiar and...well intimate. He shifted, rocking back on his heels, hands in his pockets somehow managing to make it look aloof.

"I'm fine just family problems" well that was sort of true. Did it matter if it wasn't the whole truth? That was a moral dilemma that Gabriel didn't feel like pursuing right then.

@lugubrious

Pennt

Penny was slightly hesitant, unsure which she didn't like, before saying and going to her window, opening it and retrieving the lacrima so se could know when the next battle started. She leaped nimbly over the windowsill and out the window, at the last moment before she jumped she rembered her key just in case, which she out in a pocket as she carefully moved towards Damian, unspeaking

@zarkun

Lucas was flying over the city, well gliding, using his magic as a silent rocket boost every so often to keep him airborne, the wind was going throughout his body. The wind couldn't touch Lucas's face because of the mask. His life was in constant danger now, because of his fathers bandits he was constantly on the move and constantly in disguise. His hood and mask were now ideal for his situation. He flew all over the city, looking, searching until, "Finally!" Lucas spotted him, Damian Gerard. Lucas flew down at jet speeds, the building coming closer and closer. To slow himself down, Lucas flipped around, putting his feet now towards the building, slowing his decent into an elegant landing. Lucas now realized that Damian wasn't alone, and the sudden arrival of a masked, hooded figure has possibly put them on guard.

@Lugubrious@Raijinslayer@Lmpkio
ENMA
He couldn't help, but to laugh at the feline woman and pat her head with his giant hand. Messing with his guild mates was one of his favorite things, especially when they get all flustered like that. It was one of the finer things in life that made everything oh so much more enjoyable. Although she seemed to turn it around on him by suggesting that Kilo only liked her because she was a War Sphinx. "In my opinion I think you two would make a cute pair. Indigo would surely agree." He snickered once more and pulled out a bag of popcorn from his sleeves. Just how did he store a somehow infinite supply of food in his sleeves anyway?

Great, looks like they were going to go out and find the idiot before he does something stupid. It looked like Ni wasn't going to give him a choice in the matter. It's not like the next match was going to start anytime soon. "That guy sure gets around."

They found him in some restaurant and saw the idiot redhead had already gotten into a scuffle with...oh god damn it! It was that rude woman from Phoenix Wing. He heaved a sigh and watched Argus get flung off the roof. "Of all the people he had to run into, it had to be that bitch." He muttered to himself. He cleared his throat, his red eyes glared at the two idiots. "HEY! CUT THE SHIT OUT ALREADY!" He shouted, using his Tremor Magic to amplify his voice. The shock wave alone shattered windows around the vicinity and blasted away surrounding objects. It would've been downright impossible to not have heard the oni.

@Caits
FERRIS

Oh did his chuckling ever stop cold. That sly smirk on his face slowly turned into a tinge of tomato red. "Er, um I knew that you weren't innocent though didn't think you were the type to move that fast." He chuckled sheepishly, trying his best to remain composed. It was important that he didn't lose his cool persona, especially in case they had to get back to commentating for the games. He sipped his glass of water and leaned forward to look out at the crowd. Which guild should he join? Frenzy Plant was a bit of a hard ass guild so he wasn't sure if that was a guild he would join. There was also Dragon Fang and Phoenix Wing as prospective guilds as well. Tough Love certainly wasn't an option. They were losing to such a humiliating extent that joining that guild would've been foolish choice. "Damn, too many guilds to chose from." He muttered to himself.

@CirusArvennicus

RILEY

"I don't know sis. You're asking an awfully lot from me..." He scratched the back of his head with his eyes cast downwards. Could he really give up the life he knew for something uncertain. Exhaling, he looked back at his sister and chuckled. "Ah bugger all. I'm in I'm in. Just don't make me regret this Jazzy." He had an excited grin on his face though the nervousness in his eyes gave him away.

---

His frown deepening slightly and his eyes shifting to the side as he thought, Dornae considered how he could easily get out of this situation without giving up too much in regards to his family's magic. He would have gritted his teeth if it hadn't been too obvious of an action, instead he smiled a bit and took the paper from the man before focusing his own magical energy ever so slightly into the fingertips of both of his hands. They would glow slightly for a moment before dimming at which point he began drawing the necessary runes onto the paper. However, what the man had no way of knowing was that the hand which he was using to hold the piece of paper were moving in minute patterns, such that the movements were undetectable by the unaided eye. The additional markings would be visible if inspected from an inch or two away, or with a magnifying glass, but otherwise the runes he was giving the man wouldn't work.

If the man could figure out that it was a trick then he deserved to know the spell, but if he couldn't then he was better off not having it. He finished his work, then offered the man the paper even as he spoke, "It might not work as the magic doesn't seem to be compatible with everyone, but if you can figure it out I'm sure it will serve you well," he smiled brightly and let him take it. He would have asked the man his name, but doing so would require he give him his, so he didn't do so. "Anyways, I've gotta go, my girlfriend is waiting for me back home. I only used the spell so no one would bother me on my errands haha, the irony huh?" He smiled and chuckled a bit before beginning to turn and wave to the man as he attempted to leave.

@Burthstone @Crimson Raven

Grant would nod, grinning as he took the piece of paper, folded it up and put it into his pocket. He looked back up as Dornae said he had to leave, an nodded as if understanding. "Alright, thanks again. good luck by the way." He'd chuckle softly before starting to turn to head my own way, before looking back over to him. "Actually, one last thing before you go, and I hate to hold you up, but have you seen a little white dragon-like thing? It's associated with some people who attacked my guild, so it's imperative I find them. Any help would be appreciated."

@yoshua171

---

Stopping and turning back towards the man as he got his attention--heart leaping slightly in his chest as he did so--he heard the man's next words and forced himself to look thoughtful, as if he were trying to remember something. He made sure to force his swallowing to look natural rather than forced and nervous as he did so.

"I don't recall seeing anything like that. It seems like something I'd remember haha," he said as he smiled, a slightly awkward, slightly apologetic laugh following after. He hoped the man bought it, granted he didn't have any reason not to.

When the man didn't stop him he gave him another wave and departed the scene, heading back to the hotel through a weaving path once he was out of the man's range just to make absolutely sure he wasn't being followed. After a few minutes he deactivated the spells he'd set up, reallocating the magical energy to a new spell, which would seek out the ethernano trails of his comrades and sweep them. The spell would be essentially undetectable except to a select few. If detected the spell would notice, copy the ethernano signature of those who noticed it and then scatter only to eventually return to Dornae.

Once he had finished this he entered the hotel proper and reached the room they were using. He knocked before entering, then waved at Valak and Mithera, not initially noticing Ferrin's absence as he entered the bathroom and swiftly enchanted all three articles of clothing properly. It only took several minutes, after which he exited the bathroom, letting the bag sit next to the door as he walked over and sat on the bed. He had now noticed that Ferrin was gone, "Mithera, I got you the clothes." He gestured at the bag by the bathroom door, "Feel free to change whenever. Just...don't be surprised when they change to suite your figure." He then glanced at the place Ferrin had been and sighed, "Let me guess, right after I left he came up with some plan and went off without telling anyone what he was doing...." There was a look of irritation on his face as he said it. It was clear that he was not pleased about the development. Why did no one listen to him?

@Burthstone @Crimson Raven

Mithera would look up as Dornae came in, and nod. "Thanks for getting me clothes, I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can, but if you don't mind... uh." She'd give him a meek look. "I can't really transform whenever I want. I need food, preferably something like raw meat, and kind-of bloody too." Her tail waves back and forth just a bit an anxiousness. "Sorry, probably should have told you that before you went out... But people might've looked at you funny if you were buying women's clothing and raw meat." She'd giggle softly to herself. "Sorry again."

After a moment, Mithera would stand up and walk over to the edge of the bed, jumping down and walking over to the beg with the clothes in it. Jumping up and putting her forelegs on the edge of it she'd look inside. "That's a pretty green." She'd remark, looking at it, before turning back around towards Dornae and sitting down, giving him a cute little look.

@yoshua171@Crimson Raven

She gave a small quick bow to Nero for opening the door for her and Eve and hoped inside. It was to be logic that Nero walkes behind Ayame and Eve into the ice cream cafe, but he stopped and turned around instead. Ayame looked up in surprise towards the person that had been calling out towards Nero and her face turned somewhat happier to see the girl. It was no more then Trinity, she wondered if Trinity still remembered her. No wait that wouldn't be a good thing. Trinity had seen her at that one awkward time that she could never erase from her memories. The day she was turned into a hedgehog was the most humuliating thing that happened to her. She didn't mind for herself to be a hedgehog for a short amount of time but the moment after it was the worst. Ayame her face reddened slightly and she averted her eyes away from Trinity hoping she had not seen her yet.

Nero asked for them to take a seat already and he would be right with them. Ayame hoped with Eve towards the counter and glanced over the many kinds of ice cream. She wondered how ice cream tasted but exactly knew what kinds of ice cream she was gonna take. Strawberry, watermelon and mango finished off with whipped cream. She took the cup carefully over towarss the tables and sat down together with Eve. She still wasn't accustomed with Eve far enough to bring up conversations out of nowhere but had a general idea on what to talk about. She had prepared for this by advance "A-are you s-still hurt... I bo-ought medic-cal supplies for any injur-ries... If you s-still have them of-f course..." Ayame face flushed red and she avoided eye contact with the necromancer but gently smiled while talking.

Nero soon joined the two of them and began a conversation with Eve about changing her. Where has Ayame heard this before. She began to get curious "Do y-you mind telling m-me what y-you're gonna d-do." Ayame curiously angled her head slightly and ate some of her ice cream. Her eyes widened a little at the taste of the ice snack. It tasted not like she suspected it to be but it was way better. Ayame refrained from getting herself to excited over something so average and quietly continued on eating. She raised her head again and asked Nero something diffrent this time "Does it s-still h-hurt. Y-your head."

@Joshua Tamashii
Rose always enjoy her time with elyse no matter where they were. She was getting use to Lucus once again. The curious fans somewhat annoyed rose but she didnt show because it was because they were in these games and the fact they were from different guilds " you sure you wanna be a light guild you have this to look forward too" rose said jokingly " if only they knew we use to be in the same guild.. elyse would be a scandal if anyone figured her parents were of two different guilds" she added



Amaya laughed as she pushed him off the booth [color=skyblue] "stop, that tickles silly!"she said with a laugh before she pushed him out of the seat, to make him stop as she smiled "You seem to know just what to say and do when i am done"

Damian fought back a chuckle as Penny worked her way over to him, decidedly against doing anything to make her any angrier than she was. He wasn't going to bother explaining his stance on the issue, she was convinced he just wanted to play hero, so he had a better idea. He waited until she reached him to speak. "I have an idea." At that moment, he heard someone land behind him and instinct took over.

He put his right hand on the ground, and threw himself into a pivot off of it, throwing a kick towards the unknown as he used it to flip onto his feet. As he landed, he grasped Durandal's hilt and drew it, the Dragon's Fang blade stopping a mere inch from the masked man's head. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Jessie
@hatakekuro

Jessie blinked, taken about at what Ferris said, taken aback as she quickly looked back on what she had said. Her eyes widened as she realised the context that could have been taken as. She blushed as she realised that, and swallowed uncertainly, glancing away, looking at the arena as if Games Master Sheldon might save her with the next battle. Which wasn't the case.

She stayed silent, as if that would make this awkwardness go away. No such like. She squirmed, and bit her lip. "um...."

Penny
@Zarkun

Penny stopped and made sure she was sure of her footing, looking to Damian when she had her balance. She knew that if she fell, she could catch herself anyway. But that was beside the point. "A plan? Really? What for?" She said, wondering just what idea he had now. But she doubted that he heard, as he suddenly flipped backwards, and moved to intercept someone.

Penny watched, debating about doing anything, but it was clear that the guy wasn't going to attack them. They would have done so already, if that was the cause. She decided to stay silent for now, watching.

The speed that the events quickly turned bad were incredible. He couldn't help but let off a small chuckle. "With that speed, there was no way I could attack, not in tact anyway. Expected of a level 'S' mage." Lucas slowly raised his hands, indicating he wasn't trying any sudden moves, and flicked his mask away from his face. He stared Damian in the eye, Lucas could literally see his power level, it was frightening. He showed his guild mark on his back and proceeded to talk, "I was made a Phoenix Wing member the day the teams were announced, however I was called away and was badly damaged in battle, I'm guessing i was presumed dead to some. My eye and left arm were torn away from me. I've gone with a new look." He pointed to his mask and cloak, "This is my new disguise. The first thing that happened to me, I was attacked by the Golden Laws, It seems there still going with there plan. I have a piece of an ancient relic, capable of leveling this city in an instant. I feel I am unable to ward off all their attacks and you should hold onto it. Lucas pulled away his necklace and held it out towards Damian, the golden diamond with the emerald crystal shined in the light, "If you take it, you should be prepared for the attacks that follow, the next mages will be 'S' rank..."

Ariel's Charm magic had more of an effect than just there in the lab. It spurred from actions of a month ago. Yet no one, not even those involved, were aware of it. Like a beacon her magic rang out faintly to one person, Nolan.

Tidius frowned at the change in personality. He imagined that it was sort of like a whiplash effect, changing so often it was like being thrown about, or so he thought. Perhaps he should let Ariel rest for a longer time, if this personality was more appealing, as he gave a slight nod.
"that's okay, for now we shall just slow things down and let you get some balance" he said, returning to his notes, he wrote a few things down.
"do you need anything else?" he asked, moving towards providing some comfort to Ariel. He couldn't let her go just yet, but could show that he wasn't a monster at least. Not that he knew what he was anymore.

His eyes went to the fruit again, wistful and wanting to try more, but also not wanting to waste it, until he could figure out a way of keeping the magic within him. However this was differently progress, after years of failures. He knew that sooner or later, Phoenix Wing would realize Ariel was missing and come after her, but until then he would try and find out all he could. Looking up from his notes, he looked back to Ariel, frowning slightly as something didn't seem right.

A...cave? After following the beacon of magic that Ariel emmited Nolan and his side kick exceed Dalton found themselves at the entrance of a cave from the outskirts of the city. If Nolan was suspicious that something happened to Ariel before, now he was postive. There was no reason for her to be anywhere near Crocus unless she had taken a job request, but what were the odds that she would be by Crocus for work when she was trying to avoid it in the first place? Tch, looks like she really did get herself into trouble. Why didn't anyone else sense her though?" Nolan muttered to himself as his flying feline friend stared at him strangely.

"Um, ya know you've been acting really weird today. First with running away from Marlene, then ya bad mood, and now this! Ya sure ya aren't sick or something? Who are we chasing after anyway?" Dalton stated nervously, hoping that Nolan wasn't slipping into madness.

I'm fine. Just having a rough day. We're looking for a guild mate named Ariel. I don't know why, but I felt a surge of her magic hit me. She isn't supposed to be anywhere near Crocus due to her powers. He held his hand up to the exceed to tell him to shut up and not ask any questions. He motioned him to follow him into the cave. Nolan was on high alert. There could've been traps laid around anywhere.

Whilst Tidius was making his notes Ariel was simply drinking a cup of water. Seemed she was quite content with the situation for now. There was a clear difference with this magic. Even way back in the Fairy Tails days Charm magic was banned from use. It had been abused and since its discovery. But nowadays there wasn't the same rules. Magic was coming back into use and the fact that Ariel could just pick it up meant at some point things were going to have to change. Humming to herself the Charm mage paused briefly. She sensed something, what exactly she couldn't tell. But it seemed to be getting closer.

Tidius watched Ariel, eyes narrowed either in thought or suspicion it was unsure. Tidius was good at watching people, good at determining body language and right now, something didn't seem right. He frowned, glancing about. Had someone tracked Ariel here? How could that be possible? He had safe guards in place!

He seemed to hesitate, going over to a concealed door, he opened a compartment, and seemed to do something, unseen what, but he clearly wasn't happy with what was happening. He stepped back from the door, muttering to himself and approaching hos table, pushing things aside as he searched go a lacrima, grabbing it and moving over to Ariel, keeping it away from her, it glowed a light green and tidius seemed pleased at that. try and get through this, you won't like the Results!.

A sound like Wind seemed to be faint through the door, but there. Clearly it was some sort of protection charm.

For awhile they had walked through the cave up until they halted at multiple paths heading in different directions. "God dammit Nolan, just how are we going to find our way through this?" Dalton said in despair. It would take forever to search to search the cave and that's if they didn't get lost. This was it. They were done. Game over. Finished! Never to see the light of day ever again! What a world!

Nolan on the other hand wasn't melodramatic about it. He unsheathed Kaso and with swift slashes he cut an x on a wall to mark their location for future reference. "You're right. It would be impossible to search the entire cavern on our own. He sighed and clapped his hands together. "Summon: Ten Lesser Souls." Ten small spheres of white light appeared before them. "Search the caves and report back when you encounter anything out of the ordinary." Wordlessly the spirits followed his command and went ahead to go search the cave. Meanwhile Nolan sat down and waited for the souls to return at some point.

The exceed joined him and sat down next to him, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Tidius glanced at Ariel to make sure she was okay, before retreating to his table, and grabbing another lacrima, this one curiously flat, and sat down, studying it. On it was several different images, clearly connected to some lacrimas that were acting like cameras. He grimaced, and then gave a sigh, twisting to open up another compartment in the wall, he seemed to do something. Seconds later a slight rumbling could be felt and something, very faint, like stone on stone, as walls seems to appear in the labyrinth that hadn't been there before.

All Tidius hoped for was to delay for some time to prepare himself for what was, chances were, going to be a battle with magic. Tidius had long ago learnt to fight magic users, hunting up nullification lacrimas and other things, as well as using the environment to his advantage, not to mention physical skills. It didn't matter what you had, magic or not, once you were on your back, you were typically finished.

Satsified he he had done enough for a delay, Tidius began packing the lacrima fruit away into travel bags, perhaps ready to flee, as well as gathering his great stores of lacrimas, occasionally looking back to the flat lacrima, watching the screens to see how close the intruders were getting.

Ariel watched as her captor began to run around preparing for something. Had someone found where they were? That could potentially mean that they were coming for her. But judging by Tidius' reaction he was prepared and had things in place already. "What's going on? What are you doing?" Who would even be able to find her in the first place? She was in Crocus, the one place she wasn't supposed to be. A detective Ariel was not. So try as she might she wasn't able to figure it out. And still the strange feeling was getting stronger.

Tidius looked over at Ariel as she asked her questions, pondering the for a moment. Should he tell her what was happening? He hesitated, before saying "I am just moving some things around. I've used these tunnels a lot, and have had them made to fit....security in" He said calmly, truthfully. Even if it wasn't the whole truth, it was all he said though, deciding to leave the rest out. He didn't need to be fending off Ariel as well.

All he could do now was simply wait for a spirit to come back to him. He couldn't have possibly guessed how many different paths there were in the cave or how long it would take to simply to find Ariel. There was also the chance that if she was kidnapped and that her kidnapper had taken her to another location. If that was the case then he was wasting time and should be trying to find other leads. He should've told someone in his guild what was going on, but what if he was wrong? Sending his guild on a wild goose chase wouldn't exactly be the best idea especially with the games needing to be the main focus.

Before he could question his actions further one of the glowing white spheres floated towards him, hopping in the air a few times as if to signal them to follow it. Nolan stood up and followed it with Dalton right behind him. He unsheathed Kaso in case some traps sprung up on him. He would have to expect anything to come from the darkness. What he didn't expect were there to be no traps for almost the entire path. Just what kind of kidnapper doesn't lay traps around for unsuspecting intruders? No self-respecting scum of the earth would not set up traps when they don't want to be found in their lair.

"This is too easy! There was to be a catch!" Said in a hush yell. Nolan didn't say anything though he silently agreed with him. It really was too easy. Was the spirit leading them to Ariel or was it leading them purposly in the wrong direction? The high whistling of wind could be heard in the distance. "Huh? What's that?"

A surge of wind blasted against them. The duo crossed their arms over their faces to protect it from the brunt of the wind. This was not a natural occurrence. This had to be induced by magic so he had to assume that he was getting closer to the base. The wind was nothing compared to other trials that he had gone through, but damn it was still annoying nonetheless. They pushed through the wild wind with the exceed holding onto Nolan's hood for dear life waving like a flag.

Nolan sheathed Kaso and ashes erupted around him, forming into large wings and then wrapping as he charged through the winds at high speed. The ashes propelled him forward as he pierced through the wind. Rather than a fish swimming against the currents, he was like an unstoppable force plowing through whatever got in his way.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" The exceed cried out, covering his mouth when he felt like his breakfast was going to erupt any moment.

Closer and closer came the sound of footsteps at an alarming rate. Whatever was heading towards Ariel and Tidius was coming fast. Then bang! In only a few moments the door to the base exploded into tiny splinters and black ashes begun to fill the room. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you. Nolan said as he stepped in with an exceed sprinting inside and began to vomit his fish into a flask laying around at arms reach.

At first Ariel was a bit worried about what was coming. It seemed to be charging and the door suddenly burst open. Before she could get a good look the room filled with ash. This actually gave Ariel some idea of who entered and hearing the voice confirmed it. "Nolan! Be careful he has a lot of magic lacrama." The ash didn't quite bother her as much as maybe it should. Perhaps she should get out of the way. Tidius was likely occupied so she got up and moved as best she could with low visibility. Her captor was lucky that Ariel didn't like fighting right now.

Tidius gave a sigh as Nolan and companions got through his barriers, shifting, he had a lacrima in hand, and it shattered as Tidius activated it, lightening flashing in one spot, from wall to wall between him, and the others, with Ariel behind him.

"Please, just leave" He said softly, "I don't want any trouble. I'm just helping Ariel, and she is helping me" He didn't expect that to work, but he had to try. "I have no magic, so I'd prefer to do this civil if you will"

Nolan looked down at Ariel with relief though that relief turned into a quiet rage that was ready to erupt. His attention was turned towards Tidius and had the icy glare down pat. "You've got an odd way of helping then." He said pointing casually towards the handcuffs around Ariel's wrists. "I won't be leaving here empty handed. Hand Ariel over to me and I'll forget that this ever happened. Refuse, then I'll have no choice, but to use force. This wasn't a hollow threat. He was ready to strike if things were going to go down.

Tidius gave a weary sigh, and said in a calm voice "The hand cuffs are magic negation, preventing the magic's around us, those of the games particularly, affecting Ariel too much. If I took them off, she'd probably be so overwhelmed with magic that something potentially bad could happen" He said, explaining in a tone many used with children, shifting, not worried that Nolan had magic, holding the lacrima in his hand, watching Nolan. Ready.

It was pretty clear to Ariel that things were going to turn worse before getting better. Despite Tidius' intentions right now she didn't want to see anyone hurt. Stepping around him she tried to get in between the two. "N-now hold on. Let's not get carried away. Tidius is trying to help. Well, kind of. He did kidnap me." There was a short pause as she seemed to think about it. Really she probably should be mad, but couldn't quite bring herself to it. "I still don't want to see anyone hurt though."

This bastard was talking down to him as if he was some simple minded child! He would've struck him down where stood, but Ariel was trying to play peacemaker even though she should be angry at Tidius for kidnapping her. He could only assume that she was under the effects of one of her personalities. He heaved a heavy sigh and his killing intent simmered away. If that is what you wish then I'll abide by it. However as I said before, I will not leave here without you. His gaze turned back to Tiduis.

"I will not mention this if you let her come with me. Phoenix Wing will not become your enemy and you'll live another day of your meager existence, but keep this in mind. I'll let this slide only once. If you dare to even entertain the idea of kidnapping Ariel again then I can guarantee your demise." This wasn't a warning. No with that bitter tone it was a threat.

"In that case, my first wish remains standing. But, alright. Nothing very morally questionable, though."

Had she offended him somehow, last time? Did she tease him too much? He seemed a little cold, this time around, but maybe he was just trying to be business-like? "Your confidence is reassuring." With a soft sigh, her eyes turn to the dragoncat perched on a nearby lamp post. "I just hope he finds some measure of assurance in it, too..." She shakes her head after a moment, peering past Nero into the ice cream shop. "You're surprisingly popular, aren't you. I'll bet it's a heart of gold you keep tucked away." She continued quickly, figuring the dark mage would want to get back to his company, "Well, I won't keep you. Go treat your girl friends to their ice cream." She smiled to herself as she started toward the lamppost Karn was on, letting herself get a little excited. Nero's magic was a rather strange one, and it might be just the thing they need, in this case.

"Karn, come here?" Trinity holds her arms out to the cute creature, perched above her. "He sounds confident. Karn, if this works, you'll be cured. Maybe Master Rian will be given a few years to live quietly, instead of a few days? Don't miss your chance because you've already given up. Don't let those people who tried, to have tried in vain. They wanted you to live, Karn. If this doesn't work, then I... really don't know what to do about it, so... please?" Was she just being selfish? She didn't think so... or she didn't want to think so. To want another to live, to the point it becomes selfish?

But, inaction would only make her feel regret, wouldn't it?


"Hey, I never said you had to quit your current job. Well, I guess you might, once we publish." The young woman, tapping her chin thoughtfully, glanced at her notes. "I know I'm going to finish this weapon article on the games before I quit, that aughta pay me for the month. How often does your magazine publish again, Riley?" Once she had her weapon articles written up for her publication, she'd have to go right into writing and editing for their new startup magazine. She doubted they'd be the only two, so she'd have to line up interviews with the winning team to get the best shot at coming out on top of the other magazines.

"I've got it, Riley. Our feature article. C'mere, nobody else can hear this..." She leans over the table and motions Riley closer. "_{Our feature article for the first release of our magazine is going to be a double feature, on the champion and runner up team immediately after the tournament ends.}" She leans away, sitting back down. "Whatever we can get! After party highlights, vacation spot reels _{oooh, photo shoots}, interviews. Who are the most powerful guilds in Fiore? Y'know?"

@Caits@CirusArvennicus



Karn flicked his ear as he listened to the chatter before glancing over his shoulder as Trinity called him. With a tired sigh, he flew down from his perch before cuddling up against her arms and curling up. As she spoke, he didn't seem convinced as his green eyes simply watched her, too tired to put up his usual optimism, especially on this little topic.

"...Ru said Genie magic isn't t be relied on. You get your wish, but not as you expected. And even if it did work, I'd rather use the wish to bring Hemlock back. Or Ru..." Karn murmured softly, shifting a little to get more comfortable.

"Exactly. It is the reason why I didn't say anything. Because you will try, and try. Just like Master Rian. She's just as stubborn or even more so then Phoenix Wing who went Al the way to Edolas just for one person. You all are good people and I love that. It's why Id hate to see your hopes crushed. But alright. We can try. But if this doesn't work, promise to stop trying and just accept it. I'd rather spend my last moments happily instead of worry and hopeless." Karn said softly, yet quite seriously for him. Before he lept out of her arms and transformed back into his human form, the sickly form. If it was going to work, it would have to be in the original.

He was just tired. He didn't have any real drive to live anyway. He had just accepted his time of death, though everyone else seemed to think otherwise. Plus he could be with mother and Ru. So it wasn't all bad. He missed them.



Prince flicked his ears as he listened, chuckling a little. "Awe Mikey, you can't expect any result in just a few months. Both of you twins are still young and growing all the time. He'll learn sometime. Now, it may be the easy way, or the hard way. With someone like your brother, it will probably be the hard way that will get through his skull. But, he's not the only one needing to grow, now is he?" the feline said before gingerly lifting his right clawed hand and ruffling the top of the blue hair with it gingerly.

"But, I'm afraid I can't tell you what to do. That's something you'll have to figure out yourself. But I reccommend just following your heart. Be it a good or bad result. Indecision will never do." Prince said, keeping the cheerful smile, but it was a little softer in a friendly tone.

A twinge of satisfaction fell across Hyun as her blade struck its mark. Of course, she'd been hoping to deal a significantly more definitive blow to such a powerful enemy, but this pleased her for now. It was the work of another second, after all, to silence the shrouder for good. She paused when he screamed, not wanting to risk her expensive clothes getting stained with the blood of a flailing scumbag. Rune's wailing deepened the distaste Hyun felt for him, but all the same she marveled at the usefulness of such an ability. Having a man like this around Frenzy Plant, however intolerant of pain, would have made the guild's occasional stealth op a complete cinch. When Rune began to wig out, however, and loosing the full and unmitigated extent his power, Hyun banished her admiration and prepared to deal with it.

When Rune's Dead Zone completed, unfortunately, she drew a complete blank. The touch of wind, the smell of soil and grass, the sounds of human activity, the sight of the assailant's suspicious masks—all vanished. Even the ground beneath her feet could no longer be felt, nor the sensation of her eyeballs moving as she looked around. Terrified, Hyun dared not move a muscle, lest she succumb to the nothingness that surround her. After dealing with wizards for a great time now, she knew not to underestimate the strange and unknown magics; for all she knew, Rune used some kind of void magic rather than the less eldritch shrouding, and had erased her from existence. All Hyun could do was think. This sucks. No senses, no self, no world, no power. I can't even risk casting Mundane Spark. If this is what death is like, I've decided that I want to live forever.

Either a few seconds or an hour later, everything suddenly clicked back into place. The stimulus of the world flooded through Hyun's senses, and she collapsed, gasping. Nearby, Mercury lay in a tangle, wet with his own drool and very unhappy about it. Magni's half-conscious body lay precariously across the shoulders of the smaller, much skinnier frame of Xyster, whose detached head bore a look of exasperation as she struggled to carry his weight. None other than the Ruby Knight stood over the brute and the shrouder, who each sported new wounds and varying degrees of senselessness. A half minute passed while Hyun tried to get her brain back in gear, during which Zander made his way to her side. ”These dolts...attacked Magni. The skinny one...totally sensory control. We ought to...'process' him, sir.”

Zander rested his chin on a fist in contemplation. ”Hm. Fine by me. If his skills are as you say they are, he'd be very useful.”



Ni stepped back and shrugged, remarking, “If nya say so. Just don't be afraid to come to us for advice, nya hear?” The next instant, a terrific shock wave tore across the area, sending a momentarily-panicked War Sphinx into the air. After landing on her back and indulging herself by moaning about it, Ni Rensa pulled herself to her feet and glanced in suppressed disbelief at Enma. At the very least, he knew how to take charge of the situation. That was, of course, supplemented by the fact that he could easily back up his shock-inducing wrath with strength that probably matched Demetri's.

One sigh later, she skipped past Enma, cheerfully reminding him, ”Frenzy Plant is nyot liable for property damage!” Still sporting a smile on her face, she produced from her shorts pocket a stone, which between her fingers metamorphosed into a full-sized handaxe. This she swung over her shoulders in the lazy, condescending manner of the feline, and she said, ”Ar...uh, 'Private' Argus, stand downya. Nyo more fightinya, please! Miss, Frenzy Plant is deeply sorry for anya trouble our nyew recruit mighta caused. He'll be...uh, disciplined. Cool?”



While he waited for Eve to consider, Nero laughed at Ayame. [color=d8bfd8]”Nah, I'm A-okay. That blue-haired runt healed me, at the very least.” He watched through the parlor's glossy front windows as Trinity fetched the sick person she'd mentioned, who turned out to be not only nearby, but a shapeshifter to boot. Nothing ever proved normal, did it? His young friend's next question made him chuckle, more dryly than might usually be expected. ”It'll be a surprise, just 'weight' and watch, heheh.”

”Oh, no, Nero murmured in reply to Eve, flexing his fingers. ”I promise you it won't hurt a bit.” He faced Eve and spread the fingers on both hand. For a split second, a magic circle appeared behind him, yellow and white concentric circles. Then it vanished, and the changes began.

First, a light tingling sensation passed through Eve's body. As she wondered what was going to happen, she began to feel a pressure from within. Looking down, she saw that her shirt had begun to move, but only after a second did she realize it was moving outward. She began to feel full, as if she'd eaten a hearty meal, and before her eyes her body began to grow. Her belly plumped up, a few pounds per second, and over it her shirt began to ride up. The next instant, her tummy flopped out into her lap, spilling over the top of her pants in front and in the sides. Rolls of fat piled up, one on top of another. Simultaneously, her hips blew outward, crawling steadily to either side of her until they flowed over the sides of her chair. Mystified, Eve held up a hand, watching her fingers and arm get rounder and thicker. Even her head altered, becoming round and cherubic while a second chin appeared beneath her own. All the while Nero watched, fascinated, until the transformation finished. In less than a minute, Eve had gone from sickly-thin, pale, and sunken to over two-hundred and fifty pounds easily and full of vitality.

Nero's eyes glowed behind his glasses, not due to magic, but as if he had witnessed for the first time the epitome of beauty. A snap of his fingers mended Eve's clothes, resizing them for her new dimensions. If Bold Tone Creamery hadn't been practically empty because of the Games, he almost certainly wouldn't have attempted this stunt, but as things stood it would be unlikely if anyone but himself and Ayame had seen the transformation. ”There,” he purred. ”Do ya feel as marvelous as you look?”

Argus barely was able to dodge the battering ram, having ample time to get out of the way, but the sudden movement caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground with a solid thud. As people gathered around, he heard the girl call out to him. He didn't respond, however, he just continued to lie there for a while, contemplating the situation before a wide grin slid over his features. The air would become heavier as his magic began to awaken. Not only that, but it would begin to syphon energy from some of the patrons in the restuarant and people in the area, either from annoyance and anger for the disturbance or any lingering feelings of resentment for magic being brought to the surface by the display. The only sign of this would be a haze of crimson mist forming around Argus' body, slowly thickening until it reached a point where he was semi covered by it. With a chuckle, he lifted his legs and front-flipped into a crouching position in a single, fluid movement.

"Yeah, you got me good. . ." He conceded to the Crystal Make mage, standing up as the haze began to swirl around him in a menacing fashion. With a whispered mutter, the haze changed into a storm of electrical energy, sparking across his form to concentrate on his fist and feet. Raising his head to look at Marlene, demonic eyes glowing with excitement for the coming fight, he let the grin on his face show his eagerness as he shot forward, raising a fist in preparation to attack. However, he was thrown off by the shout of his fellow guild member, Enma, causing him to trip and fall flat on his face.

There he'd stay for a little while, contemplating whether it'd be more pathetic to get up and face the music for his actions or to just lay there and pretend he'd died so as not to face the utter embarrassment he was feeling. Fortunately for everyone's patience, death by falling lost due to how embarrassing that would've been to explain and he picked himself up, hands still sparking as he cast a glare at Enma. With a huff, he released the energy in a burst, the shockwave passing through everyone in the square, though it was weak and the worst damage it could've done was caused skirts to flip up as if the person had been hit by a fierce win. At least, for most people that was the case, but for Marlene and Enma, he'd put a little more focus in their direction, causing the energy to give them a hardly noticeable shock. What had occurred was that he'd placed a small pocket of his Godslayer magic in their clothes, similar to what he'd down to Cecilia, and while it was presently eating away at their clothes, it would take about a half hour for them to actually come apart. However, the moment he used Property Change to change his magic to it's fire form, it'd be done in a much quicker fashion, about a minute, if not even less time. That is, of course, unless they had done something, knowingly or not, to prevent said event from happening.

But he'd save that little prank for later, when their was less chance for suspicion to be cast his way. From the look of that axe, he didn't want to get into any more trouble than he already was in. Speaking off that, Argus couldn't help but take a step away from the cat woman as she spoke of discipling him for his actions.

"The axe isn't going to be apart of me getting 'disciplined', right? Cause if so, I'd like to state that I didn't mean to start a fight. It was just a little prank, and she attacks me, which in turn caused me to get excited and I'm not really helping my case here, am I?"

Argus asked with a slightly apprehensive tone, not realizing until half way through his little ramble that he was giving excuses to a guild that was said to be run like a military. He had very little idea what a military was, but what he did know made it seem like such organizations didn't take kindly to excuses. t was at this moment of realization that he also took notice of Gabriel standing next to Ni, and since he seemed to be another colleague, Argus decided to give him a friendly wave, before turning to the mage he'd been about to fight with, guessing he should give his own form of apology to her.

"Well Miss, I'm sorry for disintegrating the back of your chair and hope that you're not to mad about it. If you'd ever want to continue this fight at another time, then I'm free at any time and always willing. Just come to the Frenzy Plant camp, or whatever their HQ is if you decide to cash this fight check after the Games, and as for Argus Leandros." He gave a short bow and produced a single, small lacrima from his hand using re-quip magic, a mischievous smile on his face as he decided that he should get all the mischief out while he could today, or else it'll cause him trouble later on. Ah, who am I kidding, I'm going to get into a shit ton more trouble after today, but hey, at least my new guild seems like good company. With that in mind, he tossed the stone to the ground, causing a veil of smoke to puff around him and Marlene. A split second later, several more smoke clouds would appear all over the square, making it hard to see which direction the man had gone in.

While this was happening, both Enma and Marlene would feel themselves getting a little warm for about half a minute, and then really cold as their clothes seemed to burn away, leaving them to stand in the buff. Argus was on one of the roof's of a building, looking down at the chaos he'd wrought with a smile before making a dash in a random direction, eager to explore the whole of Crocus, and if his teammates decided to give chase, have some fun with them as well. The way he saw, if he was going to get in trouble anyway, why not go out of his way to really earn that punishment.

@Lmpkio

@Lugubrious

@hatakekuro

@Caits

@hatakekuro

Zephyr Hardt

Listening to Zev, Zephyr smirked a bit as he looked at Zev with a devilish smile. "Oh? So you like Amy huh? My my the broker has the feelings for our reaper? Yeah I wouldn't try doing anything to her drunk, it would backfire on you instantly. In the painful and mental way. So good luck with that attraction of yours. Also Loki says you'd have to beat him for him to tell you anything. Well hes not saying it, he just thinking it so I can relay it back to you." Zephyr said shrugging but still had his little devilish smile on his face.
---

Ike Riven

Ike continued to run when the bunny chased him, and when it threw a punch at him he dodged it and saw the destruction the punch left. The bunny would alter back and Ike would erect an energy wall between him and the rabbit and would bolt from the scene. "Seriously what the actual hell?! What kind of magic can do this and create such strong enemies? I would lose outright if I fought it... I think I hate art now!" Ike shouted and after running for a bit he made his way outside to the training field and would grumble to himself. Then suddenly something clicked in him, despite all that running he didn't feel one ounce of exhaustion, in fact he was hungry before getting trapped in here and even that was gone. Did this fictional world take away normal human feelings? He had to have been in here for an hour or so now, yet his body didn't feel weak nor hungry or thirsty. It was almost like he was already dead.

He would smack his face and shake his head, well he only had one way out and that was beating the rabbit, yet at his current state he would lose. So he might as well take advantage of this worlds properties and use it to train. If he grew stronger and stronger than not only would he be able to escape, even his guild mates would realize that he is indeed Ike the great!