Pheonix Wing versus pirate lord part two

The horseman didn't even seem to be worried about the arrow coming it's way. Instead, the man merely laid back against the horse, as it leaped to the left, charging towards Trinity once more.

Skelington continued to walk, as if he had all the time in the world, the skeleton walking unturned through the flames, in fact they seemed to part for him, as he reached out a skeletal, but well dressed hand towards Trinity

Rose backed up some before she and her clones charged forward at the summons. "Shadow fists" they all said sliding on their knees as five huge thick fists of shadows formed after the girls ducked down moving past them but quick at their two targets as rose was making sure to keep space between trinity and their enemy. This was a team battle and as much as rose doesn't do good teamwise, it didn't take much for her to know trinity needed to stay away from close combat.

Damn, they were still coming straight for her! Trinity moved to draw the fire arrows from her quiver, but paused as she heard Rose coming to her aid. Trinity knew she'd have to solve the problem of these summoned creatures so they could focus on the fire mage. They had their hands full with these skeletons, after all. She had to make it count, too. That fire was intense enough to burn her arrows right up. So, something he couldn't burn up? "Lightning Arrow!" With a quick draw and release, a bolt of lightning shot straight for the summoner of these skeletal interceptors.

Blair just laughed, her Horseman leaping away from the arrows, and Skelington just continued to walk, the being moving smoothly. Blair danced aside, the witch cheerfully avoiding arrows, as she danced closer to Bellal. Bellal rolled his eyes at his team mates antics, before seeming to pull in his flames towards him, and then back out at a terrifying speed. "Devil flames: fire tornado!" His flaws began to dance quite quickly around the two fairy tail mages, faster and faster

Roses's shadows weren't working too well against Bellal's flames, and neither were her arrows. Blair was far too annoyingly agile to hit, able to dodge even her lightning arrow. As the flames circled them, she took aim again. "Arrows Magic: Beacon Arrow! Archery Magic: Trick Shot!" She loosed another arrow high into the air, the trajectory set to land the arrow near the feet of the other two mages.

"Rose, this isn't working." Trinity put herself back to back with Rose, facing the flames and the approaching Mr. Skellington. "Change of plans. You take the summoner, I'll take the fire mage. But first, stay close to me. We're getting out of this spell." Trinity made one more fire arrow and stuck the three she then possessed in the ground around her, in a triangle formation. She made a show of creating magic circle with those arrows as components, but once the fire shrouds them, she dropped the act. "Here we go. Ready? Energy Make: Drill Pod!"

The mage formed a ball of energy in front of her, between her hands, before crushing it in her palms. The ball of energy popped and then the energy reformed around them. They're put in a (snug) compartment attached to a drill, which proceeded to dig into the ground, passing the wall of flame. The Beacon Arrow would have landed by then, the beacon remaining temporarily if the arrow was destroyed. Trinity uses Radar Love to find the beacon and, with a bit of luck... maybe she could dig up at them from beneath, throw their footing, and she and Rose could clobber them!

As the pod breaks the surface, Trinity would break it down back into Energy, and hold her hand out. "Sparring Scythe!" The weapon would form as she searched for the fire mage, her target, and she'd aim to cut him through. Sparring marks a property Trinity worked hard to be able to manifest, as the weapon she made will not cut flesh, but will inflict equivalent pain.

The devil slayer was prepared, and was no longer where he had been, moving silently, he approached the two Phoenix wings mages, Bellal made his fires more intense, driving them faster and faster, driving them closer and closer as Trinity did what she was doing. He watched the arrows path, but it was the horseman that stopped the arrows, rising with his horse, he slashed through the arrows. Giving an acknowledgement to Blair, and tired of these games, the devil slayer charged Trinity.

Blair meanwhile approached Rose with Skelington, the two of them an odd picture, before the skeleton charged Rose

"Make: Glyde Boots!" Trinity twirled her scythe around her body defensively as she observed the incoming charge. The energy from the Drill Pod melts and switls with the end of her weapon before flowing to her feet, caking over her shoes before hardening into glowing, golden boots.

She used the scythe to deflect before letting the momentum carry her away on her Glyde Boots. Usung them, she skated backwards and turned her momentum to circle Bellal. "Make: Boomerang!" The Scythe, as she says Make, melts back into a ball before reforming into 3 boomerangs. The curved, shaped blades of energy soon hurtle through the air for Bellal, and the minstrel changed her course to charge the devil slayer. "Energy Make: Sparring Scythe!"

Bellal just gave a sound like a huff, and flames descended once more, almost like a wave as the devil slayer said "Devil Make: inferno!" It almost spewed forth like lava erupting from a volcano, around the arena and towards their opponents. Blair cackled, so much like a witch, and Skeleton sighed and patted at his suit, which had ignited in places, before reaching Rose

The flying blades of energy where knocked aside by the intense flames, while Rose was busy fending off the necromancer. Skelington was drawing ever closer, so the shadow mage responded by leaping back and giving him a good "Shadow Hammer!", a mass of shadow emerging from her own and thrusting itself at the advancing skeleton. She gave a few more volleys before launching one for Blaire, in the back.

Trinity stood herself between Rose and Bellal, digging her boots into the ground and dissolving her scythe and weapons. "Energy Make: Barrier!" The energy flattens in front of her quickly, into a large wall that digs into the ground below, as well. She takes a moment to establish herself against the fire magic before she grins. "Capture!" She holds her arms out wide and begins to bring them forward. As she does, the wall begins to bend, and encircle the fire magic.

"Energy Make: Stolen Hammer!" Once she finishes closing her wall, it comes back to her and attaches to a rod she just conjured into her hand. Without missing a beat, she rushes Blaire and swings for her, aiming more for her feet. He plan was to explode (directed explosion, naturally) the captured magic and catch Blaire in her attack, even if she were to miss.

Blair just laughed, Skelington dodging the blows in a fluid manor, despite being bone. Blair herself just seemed to avoid attacks without moving, drawing ever never with her spirits, cackling all the while, the horseman charging rose as she sought to destroy them. As a distraction almost the horseman through his head towards Rose, seeming unfazed by the motion and merely charging ahead still.

Bellal was almost like fire himself, as he moved smoothy out of the line of fire, his hands in his pockets. This really was a bother. It shouldn't be this hard to defeat two woman. Annoyed with the shadow mage, bellal never the less left her to Blair and her spirits, turning instead to the enegy make mage. he raised one hand, and clenched it shut, all flames, all fire in the area extingishuing to essentially make Trinity's next attack null and void.

Rose sinked back into her shadows moving away from the skelliton. She had little time to recover to think when She noticed a pumpkin head flying towards her " Batter up! Shadow bat!" a large bat formed as she got in a stance before she swung the bat. Smacking the pumpkin head as she sent it flying towards the skellington. She took notice of the horse charging towards her. She twisted with the swing spinning around. She released the bat as her hands hit the ground " Shadow spikes!" her shadow extended as spikes of all sizes form at a rapid pace towards the horse trying to finish this spirit off as this battle was starting to annoy her

The end of Trinity's hammer shatters, as she planned, but there was no follow-up explosion of fire, like she wanted. But that was fine, because now she was set up for her next attack. "Cat o' Nine!" With a flick of her wrist and a swing of the rod left in her hand, the energy fragments of the mallet's head follow the motion, attached by a thin energy line to the rod. She immediately sets about an aggressive attack pattern, bringing her focus back to Bellal. She tries to distract him by primarily targeting his feet and legs with overhand strikes, before she targets his torso once with a wide underhand, and again with a follow-up backhand.

The skeleton did not seem phased in the least by the pumpkin head coming his way, instead he caught the head, chucking it back towards the horseman without even seeming to think about it. The horseman leaped over the attack, and the man into kf the horse leaped off, pulling a blade out the swing towards Rose.

Bellal threw up a wall of fire, to simply defend himself against Trinitys attacks, growing weary of the battle, Bellal shouted out "devil slayer: hells storm!" Fire blazed in a horrifying storm, seeking to engulf trinity

The ends of her whip raked viciously at the wall of fire, raised in defense. As the fire mage began to retort, Trinity grasped the ends of her whip just beneath the sharp ends, holding them taught and ready for a fast defensive movement. Just as quickly, however, the minstrel let out a soft yelp and let go, looking at her hand. Light lines of blood, where the wire bit into her hand. Which was strange... that part of it shouldn't be that energetic, to cut her hand. Just the ends. So what...

No time! The fires were closing and escape was going to be difficult. She didn't have time to drill anywhere, and she wouldn't be able to conjure a wind arrow in time. She should have kept her quiver out. The minstrel scrapped her whip and boots and wrapped herself in a spherical shell from their energy. She focused her efforts on reinforcing and controlling her shield as the inferno closed around it. As the fires heated her shield, the minstrel began to realize something...

The skeleton walked through the flames unharmed, like some fire God, and towards Trinity quivering behind her shield. His bones were still pearly white, the fire doing nothing but warning them slightly, and the Skeleton crouched, a wide, toothy grin on his face.

"Boo" it said quick clearly, as if this was a game of hide and seek, or tag, or even trick or treat.

The fire kept on storming around them, and Blairs cackle filled the air.

Rose waited for the horseman to get close as she side stepped the sword coming down as she lifted one foot landing on top of the sword while she spun once with a round house kick covered with her shadows sending it hard against the horseman at near point blank range "Shadow Kick!"She said making sure to add what energy she could to add to the power of the kick hoping too send the horseman flying as she soon sent a series of quick. shadow powered kickes at the horseman. having to deal with him first since he was near.

Sasha

"The problem is, Lazarus, clearly it is the time, or they would not have targeted you. Perhaps whoever did this is ready, and merely needed to split you to get what they wanted. Perhaps even now, we don't have much time. Perhaps they thought we would figure it out too late, instead of now. We have to act as if we don't have the time." Sasha said, weary, "And we need to anyway, before P-time lord requires me to go with him. We don'twant to go, only to find the land taken over by dark magic when we get back"

So much had happened in so short a time, that everything seemed to be connected, even if it was loosely. the games, the attacks, what was happening with Lazarus, it was almost like months of events happening in the space of a few days, and she feared that the guild, or rather guilds, would be scrambling to catch up, to actually figure what was happening. And that it would be too late.

What if the games was merely a distraction, for something sinister?

Time Lord

Time Lord stood upon one of Crocus's tall buildings, his cloak flapping in the wind, his dark hair blowing about. His dark eyes were closed, and he appeared to be listening. None could imagine that he heard everything up there, or even how he did it, but the lacrima that was held loosely in his hand glowed with its own inner light, almost like it was a power source that did not need t0 be magically charged.

He processed everything, the dark young man showing a vulnerability he otherwise lacked in the privacy of such a high look out. After a few moments, he gave a sigh, and folded himself into a sitting position, legs dangling over the buildings edge, and it would seem like he was perched dangerously there.

He bowed his head, imagining he could see the figure and form of the one he most coveted to have a relationship with, but knew that was in his imagination. For what would Pheonix Wing's guild master be walking down the street, when her members were fighting in the games? He gave a sigh, and seemed to slumber, despite the dangerous position he was in.

the small boy huddled as well as he could, in his ragged clothes, as the snow began to fall, huddling in the ruins of what was once a great guild hall, avoided by most as it was judged haunted, but the boy thought people just didn't want to think on the light that once shown. Of course, that was before he could remember, being four years ago, and he not much older then that. For all he knew, its destruction could have been on his birthday. All he knew was, his parents and their guild hadn't survived its destruction, the light mages of the world hunted until none were left.

All he knew was that he had been left in an orphanage. Perhaps his parents had thought that he would be safe there, unknown, except for the curious image of the flame bird on the back of his right hand, twisting around his wrist.

He looked at it now, as he shuddered and shivered, imagining a warmth that wasn't there, and three tears rolled down his cheek. It seemed fitting that he would die here, in the ruins of his parents greatest works, and in the place they too, had died.

the boy closed his eyes as he heard footsteps, and waited for the blow that would end his meager existence.

The memory surfaced, as it often did, and Time Lord thought on the luck he had had, when the man he come to respect beyond all else had found him, and showed him sympathy and generosity, something he had never experienced. He removed the glove he wore upon his right hand, and stared at the flame bird birthmark, wondering upon the seeds of fate that had brought him to this time.

The short time he had been on this earth had shown him that nothing was set in stone. Things could be changed. And if whatever deity that existed considered a sixteen year old to be brave enough to do what had to be done, the he wasn't going to question it.

He rose, and without hesitation, leaped off the building, a second lacrima forming in his hand, to be smashed, and he blinked away, appearing in the street and walking as if he had been doing so all along.

Master Jamie

Jamie ordered some ice cream for herself and Sam, knowing what Sam would like, turning to Amelia, she asked "What flavor would you like? And a cone or bowl?"

@Joshua Tamashii@YipeeXD@Zarkun[@Roselleta]

Both during Damian’s approach and for a few seconds after his arrival but before he spoke, the leader of Frenzy Plant remained fixated on the match currently underway. The magic and ability of the country’s finest wizards captured the imagination of young and old alike; Sanders, in particular, enjoyed learning what he could about sorcery. Every duel impressed him in its own way, but even as the general observed, he did not file away each spark, strike, and stance like some supercomputer, bent on analyzing each competitor for the sake of future victory. He enjoyed the spectacle and the talent for what they were worth, and in some cases felt sorrow that such talents went to waste in service of lesser causes.

He noticed Damian soon enough, however, and switched from casual to professional mode on a dime when he did so. He allowed neither malice nor cordiality to find a home on his features. Promptly he replied, ”That is the right choice. If you’re serious, apologize like a person to everyone you feel you’ve wronged, so they can see you’re more than a living weapon. Don’t make it anything public or special. What’s really remarkable is that three days of thinking have gone by before you came to this conclusion. Three days is a long time for insults and challenges to sink in, and stain permanently, be they from you or your master. Before you make any apologies, however, I ask you this: what exactly has my guild misunderstood about you?”



Sagelike, the dark mage absorbed every ounce of what excuses, explanations, and artful dodges Malice could make. His veneer of venerability nearly veered into vexation when she voiced her eventual goal of becoming a Wizard Saint. Before pursuing that, however, he spared a sidelong glance at Zephyr. ”Candyhead’s fallen in love, has he? True love is, I find, like a brick: either it hits you like one, or you’re dumber than one for thinkin’ it’s there when it isn’t.”

A blankness settled over his face. In his eagerness to dis Zephyr he forgot about the Wizard Saint business. Shrugging, he opted to instead address Malice’s inquiry. ”I ask because I care, my good miss. If you’re inclined, I do have a sort of guildy thingie in the works. An independent guild, three strong. Me, Eve, and Aya. We’re a ragtag buncha misfits but we’re gonna do some serious good for people. You’d fit right in.”

Damian frowned slightly at the mention of Master Jamie saying something, but he was beyond positive that he had no idea. That was something he'd need to talk to her about. Still, the question presented directly to him was the most important. "You're right, three days is a long time, and I apologize for that. I was unaware of how much relations between our guilds had deteriorated. As for what I think was interpreted wrong, let's start with what I said on Day 1, after my match with Hyun. That may not have come across the way it both sounded in my head and the way I meant it. I meant to keep my friends out of the crossfire, but I get the sense that, well, that's not what happened."




James chuckled and brought his blade to bear. "Your final answer? Let's find out. Block this attack with nothing more than your blade straight on." Stepping back, James attacked, bringing his sword straight down towards Cody's head.

@Lmpkio
NOLAN AND DALTON

"I'll see you later." Nolan muttered, laying back down on the bed to look back up at the ceiling. It looked like Samir picked something up for Marlene though he why didn't she do it herself? Well, he hoped that Marlene was doing better after her freak out. Why was she so upset when Nolan kissed Ariel? He was under her charm magic when he did that though he couldn't stay mad at Ariel though. She had good intentions, even if the results were disastrous. Still, speaking of that kiss...He didn't necessarily hate it. It actually felt good...Not to mention that he didn't realize just how pretty she was and how soft and warm her lips... His face flared red and yelled out, "Stupid charm magic!" He buried his face within a pillow and groaned.

"Uh, are ya okay Nolan?" Dalton asked the slayer, poking the back of his head. Nolan just kept his face buried in the pillow, not responding to Dalton's question. A deep rumbling could be heard outside the infirmary, the sound was getting closer and closer. "What the hell?" In response to his question, the infirmary's door swung open to reveal a horde of Nolan's fan girls that he had accumulated.

"Oh...oh shit." Yup, this was how he was going to die. A horde of fan girls had flooded the room to try and get up close and personal with him. The over stimulation of absolute fear had taken over him and he laid out like a ragdoll.

@Caits
FERRIS

Ferris sat there in a daze after getting kissed by Jessie, who used this as a chance to steal his food. Clever little minx. He had spaced out for a bit as he watched the fights take places though he didn't commentate on the matches. He blinked a few times as he came back down to reality and saw that Jessie had stuffed her face with more of his food. "Oh you're gonna get it later." The model said with a smirk.

"These matches are just getting hotter and hotter! Phoenix Wing's Team B had lost to Frenzy Plant today, but can they make it up by beating Pirate Lord?" He spoke into the microphone as he watched the match take place.

Lux Harken

At the mention of food Lux's fave lit up. The earlier fight had left him feeling a little peckish.

"That sounds wonderful. I would love to have something to eat before we hit the road."

Jason had been pretty quiet for a few minutes now.

...

Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaare

...

Say something

Jason Alexander

Don't you jiiiiiiiiiiiiii~ at me.

In fact, you can leave me well alone. I never agreed to this party suddenly gaining like four cute girls because you picked the one job everyone would want. Seriously, hadn't you learned anything about foresight from me? This is why the 108 Skills will forever elude you, Harken, I hope you understand this.

Granted, this change of pace could prove beneficial—if little else, The Pawn seemed to radiate capability in much the same way Harken did. Hard to fake that, and doubly so if you've a content of character anywhere near his. Lying, cheating, and bluffing your way into authority were about as far you got from him, at least on outward appearance. Apparently his morality was flexible enough to allow himself to become part of clandestine tactics, but I'm sure he didn't ever plan on admitting that or even enjoying it.

What kind of knightly paladin of justice of guiding light and justice snuck around, anyway? Exactly. It clashed with him.

But as I said, it could prove beneficial. The blind girl and the reverse trap cook girl notwithstanding, thanks largely due to me not having a good read on them, splitting the mission ended up giving us at least one more surefire person to delegate workload to, if not more. Now, I was no mathematician, since books were more my thing, but this counted towards a pretty lucrative drop in opportunity cost as far as I could see it.

Thankfully, by having only a modest and perfectly healthy amount to speak of, I managed to swallow my pride.

"Jason. I'll eat, sure."

He never urged me to say much. I'm a man of effiency, I could be breathing with that air.

@Joshua tamashii@hatakekuro

Amaya smiled seeing lucus leaving in a different direction as she beckoned for Joshua to follow.

It took the duo a few minutes to move through the crowd to the infirmary as amaya stopped outside a room that seemed to be bursting at the seams with love crazed girls.

"I am...confused this is Nolan's room but there are screaming girls here..."said Amaya moving towards the group "Joshua....can you do some crowd control and make them leave"she asked pushing her away through the crowd finding Nolan at the center as she sighed before yelling "Dalton! Grow your wings and get him out of here...he can't hand this much female attention!" she yelled hoping if the exceed was here that he could hear her as she tapped nolan's face a few times "get up now Nolan.."

@Expolar

Angelo took another sip of his drink before answering "Actually I haven't really been keeping track of the scores since we started this. Honestly I just know that we are in the top 3 in terms of points. I don't keep track I just go in when I go in and focus on my fight. My fight ended with me putting a girl in a coma and me learning a very hard lesson because of it" Angelo said with a sigh as he finished his soda and threw it into the garbage nearby. "so tell me what you have been doing since you left I haven't exactly heard from you in a while"

Jane, it could be said, was in a decent mood. She'd finished the brunt of her recovery after a stop by the infirmary in the stadium, where a healer finished working on her arm. After a few test movements and a test projectile or two while holding her energy blade, she'd hit the streets and returned to her search for the Phoenix Wing Guild Master. Of course, it was as fruitless as it had been before and she finally sighed and decided to stop in a shop for ice cream.

As she walked in, she was busy muttering her annoyances to herself, starting with the boss of Promised Butchers, may he burn in hell, all the way to her inability to find Master Jamie. However, because she was so caught up in her own issues, she failed to look up and bumped into Master Jack. She looked up at first with an annoyed look that quickly changed to surprise and apology. "I am so sorry, Guild Master Jack. I didn't realize anyone so well known would be in here. But, since you're here, could you tell me where Guild Master Jamie of Phoenix Wing is? I've been looking for him for two days."

Jack chuckled deeply at first, finding it hard to explain what he found so funny before he turned the young energy blade mage towards his friend. "Well, it would seem your information is outdated, miss. You see, Master Jamie is a woman, and is right there." Jane, suddenly embarrassed and flabbergasted, quickly bowed in apology with a bright red face.

"Oh my! I am so sorry, Guild Master Jamie. It's just that the last person I asked said you were a guy and that you had shapeshifter magic and that you normally looked like a guy and..." The torrent of apologies continued for a moment as she bowed rapidly before she finally looked up sheepishly. "If you have room in your guild, I would like to join."

The important thing that Trinity was realizing was that, as the heat from the fire magic imparted heat into her shield (as is the nature of fire magic), she was able to gradually convert the heat to energy she could use. She could power up like this! So Trinity waited behind her shield, patiently biding her time while she thought of how to attack the fire mage. The skeleton approached her and made a show of scaring her. He startled her, but she still felt safe behind her shield. Still, the skeleton was an irritating thing, wasn't he? Too persistent.

"It's still getting too hot in here..." The minstrel found herself unable to convert fast enough with what she had. She had to expand or counterattack. Bottom line, do something. "Energy Make: Hammer Spin!" The minstrel clapped her hands on the golden ball of energy that formed between them, pushing her palms together and then pulling them apart as though she were manipulating dough. Three smaller spheres merged into the dome shield she constructed to protect herself, and a trio of hammers seemed to grow on the outside. Preparations complete, the minstrel issues the whole dome to spin in place, the hammers on the exterior clobbering anything fool enough to remain near.

The skeleton did not seem to care about the attacks, rather continued trying to find a way to break through Trinitys defenses, unconcerned, even as Bellai shouted out "devil skater: chains of fire!" Sending forth ropes of fire to try and bind Trinity, or at least stop her barrage of attacks.

The horseman continued to approach rose, blocking any attacks, unconcerned, as soon there was the sounds of hooves, and his horse approached once more, charging Rose from behind

"Enough! Energy Make: Resize and Transform!" Trinity had flung her arms up as she began her magic call. She drew them in and the dome she had covered herself with retracted and hugged her body, shaping to it. The three hammers remain floating nearby, and they strike the ropes of fire as they approach. "Energy Boots!" The section of barrier around her feet and ankles transforms at her command, and she makes a charge for Bellal, past Skellington, using the boots to give her a jet-boosted start through the circling inferno. The hammers take turns leading the way, spinning to carve Trinity's path. She jumps high to try and get the sun behind her, flanked by two of her hammers. She sent the third at him with a lot of spin on it for a wide shot, skimming it along the ground. The hammer could hit wherever, but she'd be aiming for his solar plexus. One of the hammers behind her would sweep for his feet, and the other would feint for his head and then try to swing around for his back.

Bellai saw Trinity coming, and he twisted so her blows landed on less painful and less vulnerable areas, wincing nontheless. But she was close and that was all Bellai needed to grab her with a rope of fire, and pulled to shove her off her feet.

Skeletongton was ready to pounce on her, the two seeming to work together without thought as Blair approached Rose

Rose kept her attacks coming at the horseman waiting for the very last second before stepping out of the way of the horse letting him run into his rider at full speed as the shadow horse's rushed at the summoner before exploding into smoke around Blair as when the smoke cleared there was a shadow blade inches from her throat "forfeit and call back your spirits."she stated with her blue eyes narrowed as her shadow twisted and turned as if alive and ready to attack at a single command from her as Rose was fed up and ready for this to be done.

Trinity yelped as the rope pulled her over, feigning fear as Skellington leaps toward her. Two of her hammers came careening in from the side to slam against the assailant, throwing him away and allowing Trinity to flip to her feet. The third hammer flew into her waiting hand, which held it up. Another of the hammers flew into her right hand, changing to a sickle for defense against Bellal's rope. The area of Trinity's shield where Bellal's rope touched glowed brighter, and the brightness began to move, rising into the head of the hammer. Trinity crouches and lowers the hammer again, before bursting forward toward Bellal yet again. She would come at him with her floating hammer first, a swing from the right, before she'd follow it up with a forehand swing from the hammer in her left hand.

The horseman didn't seem phased as his horse came towards him, in fact he merely shifted slightly and swung himself up on the horses back, and Blair merely laughed, appearing unhurt or seeming to enjoy the shadow attack. "Never!" She said Merrily "I do not surrender!"

The horseman once more charged Rose down

Skelington fell back, but as Trinity charged Bellai, he came at her from behind even as Bellai shouted "develop slayer: Devils fist!" Flame covering his hands and he threw a punch towards the attack

"Then I guess we must finish this soon..I have somewhere I must be."rose commented as the shadow dome shrieked back down as her shadow grew "Shadow tidlewave"she said as her shadows leaped up to five stories high before rose lifted her hands up only to bring them down as the shadow tidlewave expanded and arched towering down on to Blair giving her hit with the force of a tidlewave. Rose hoped this would make the summoner lose focus of her summons or weaken her to one. Rose looked over her shouldrr as she twisted towards him moving her hands to the horseman's direction as once the wave hit Blair or the ground it moved like a water snake as it rushed at the horseman with full force.

Blair's cackled echoed across the arena, seeming to come from everywhere, as the little white ghost dog formed, and Blair seemed to disappear, the attack it seemed missing her. "Aw, you hurt Zero. I'm gonna have to make you pay for that" Blair said, appearing with Zero in her arms, stroking the ghost dog. The horseman continued running, once it hit the attack, the horseman leaped off his horse, which disappeared from the attack, and the horseman time his jump to smash into rose.

"You again?" Trinity knew she wouldn't be able to get a solid attack off on Bellal with the skeleton on her back. She blocked Bellal's attack with the hammer in her hand, letting the assailant from behind clash against her shell. "Can't get anything done with you around. Scram." The magician stepped forward, and stepped out of the shell, which instead absorbed Skellington before becoming more solid again, and then began to shrink. The last free floating hammer stayed centered on the shrinking shell, while Trinity slashed at Bellal with her sickle. The blade wouldn't cut him, but it would sure feel like it. A nice welt would get left behind, too. With another hammer strike, the minstrel leaped away and use her Energy Boots to slide further, seeking distance without her protective shell. She would take the shrinking, now spherical shell with her, watching it to make sure the skeleton was crushed within. She needed something more inventive... getting close wasn't working. Arrows were too slow.

Let's see what I remember... Papa.

"So. Fire Mage. You like to burn things before they can touch you, right?" She smirks, taking the sphere in her hands and molding it, elongating it into a long barrel before she draws her fingers down the length. The barrel turns into a set of four, parallel rails. "Let's see you stop this. Energy Make: Railgun!" The three small weapons she had crafted changed shape, reverting to their spherical forms. The first fits itself into the back of the cannon. She could feel the power charging. "FIRE!" With a squeeze of her hand, the constructed mechanism releases a burst of power. The force imparted back at her lifted her off of her feet and landed her on her ass, but what did that mean for Bellal?

Without missing a beat, Trinity gets back up, using a small Energy Make spike from her hand to push herself up, before returning it to the cannon. "Energy Make: Anchor!" A brace forms at her waist, and two spikes shoot into the ground. Stabilizers.

The next shot loads and she aims for Blair. Without interruption, she'll fire.

Skelington disappeared within the Shell as Blair, noticing his distress, called him back, and then at once re-summoned him. Unperturbed by the pause, Skelington smoothed over his clothes, watching as Bellal seemed to be trapped.

Humming, Skelington once more approached trinity. "excuse me" He said politely.

Bellail rolled onto his back, and quickly moved away, rising once more. "You got to be faster then that"

The first shot impacted the wall of the arena and remained there, while Trinity loaded another. She turns and fires at Skellington as he approaches, dense enough to demolish his skeletal structure, if it impacted. It would impact the wall of the arena and, again, stick there.

The last round loads and she fires again, at Bellal, but not quite. In truth, she was aiming for the round on the wall behind him. Score or no, it would bounce off the first, and then the second, careening for Bellal again.

Following it up, Trinity calls her quiver and reforms her Railgun into a bow. "Capture my foe! Arrow Magic: Net Arrow!" She looses the arrow she makes quickly, hoping to catch Bellal in the steel net and occupy him for a bit so she and Rose could focus down their summoner foe.

Blair once more desummoned Skellington, and tried to resummon the spirit, but it took a lot of effort, having used a lot of magic. She cursed lightly, and Let Zero go, the ghost dog hovering around Trinity as if to distract her. Bellai gave a sigh, his flames rising up to engulf the attacks, looking up, mildly annoyed at the net arrow.

Wh-... what? It didn't even pass him? And he burned the steel net? So these are the flames of a Devil Slayer...

The shape of the Railgun broke down and Trinity formed most of the energy back into a sphere. The The rails of the gun had gotten rather bright, and she tried to focus that energy into her right palm. It formed a band, resembling water, separate currents twisting the shape as it swirled. After a moment, she curseed under her breath and lets it disperse, unable to reign in but one tiny band. She swats at the dog with her left hand.

Damn, she forgot how consuming powered systems could be. The rounds that had implanted themselves on the wall pull themselves out and rejoin her. The three orbs orbit around her, as she holds the small, bright sphere in front of her. "Energy Make:" she brings the small orb close to her hand, hesitates, and forms a glove out of it, "Giant's Mitt!" The three orbs form together behind her into a giant hand.

Whew. It was really good she got rid of that Skellington. All this jumping around was catching up with her, too.

Rose smirked at the horseman did exactly what she wanted as her shadows rushed back as she spun around forming a huge hammer in her hands "Once again, go away already pumpkin brains!"She yelled "Shadow Hammer!" She used her movementum to smack the hammer as hard as she could into the horseman, hoping to finish him off so she could help trinity with the devilslayer

Bellal watched Trinity, content to bide his time, gathering his remaining power, he was more then prepared to face both Phoenix Wingers by himself, as Blair seemed to be tiring out. Zero continued to bombared Trinity, as if the ghost dog could distract the energy make mage.

Bellai waited, flames circling him.

The horseman sacrficed his horse as Amaya attacked. The horse disappeared, and the horse man stopped any further attacks, grabbing Rose's hand, he pulled himself close to the shadow Mage, and pressed a blade against her throat. "My head may be a pumpkin, but I assure you, my brains are not"

Rose let out a gasp before she covered her nose with her free hand " you sir need a breath and to go back to the spirit realm you and that dog are from before your summoner passes out from using all her energy...now get lost..."she told the pumpkin as she got herself free from the grip while jumping away before her shadow once again moved like q full force tidal wave smacking into the horseman hoping to send him flying into the devilslayer

The horseman merely dodged the attack, and calmly approached Rose, "I do not need to go anywhere. My mistress will continue to fight and thus I shall" he said, moving through the shadows, appearing to glow slightly

"Unfortunately, as you can see your skeleton friend was too much for her to summon she resorted to an absolutely cute ghost dog and a pumpkin brain man" She said backing up keeping a distance between her and him as she took in some deep breaths as she needed to figure out how to finish these spirit and Blair so many her and trinity could win without passing out in exhaustion. She could feel the fact she was starting to wear down. She needed to train more.

Once she was a good distance away she sprinted towards the pumpkin man. Whe she was a few inches away she spinned around sending a strong round house kick covered with her shadows to add an extra punch to the attack

"Enough!" Trinity, with her giant hand fully formed, made a quick flicking motion with careful timing. The hand descended and flicked Zero (at Bellal), mimicking Trinity's movement. She followed it up with a backhand motion, and the hand careens through the air toward Blair, seeking to smack her out of the sky. Using that motion as a windup for the next, she swat her hand down in front of her. The Giant's Mitt sailed through the air, making an overhead slam aimed for Bellal.

The attack on the horseman would be blocked, by long, bony arms, and Rose would be treated to the grinning face of Skellington. Behind, a panting Blair could be seen, Zero taking the hits from Trinity that were meant for her, the little dog zooming about, and disappearing as it became too much for him.

it was clear this was Blair's last stand.

Bellal snarled, and his flames seemed to flash, becoming stronger, "Devil Slayer: Super Nova!" The flames flashed, dancing about everyone, twisting and twirling, blinding.

Rose moved back as she sighed "get the hint and leave you are hurting your mistress you adorable skelelton..."Yelled rose frustrated as she was trying hard to not lose but this duo was really ticking her off.

Rose took a seat on the ground taking a few deep breaths to calm down as the blinding flashes of the God slayer flames were giving her a headache. She stood back up before lifting her hand in the air "shadow swatter" she spoke as her shadow moved out before lifting up being several sizes larger then rose as she moved her hand in a swatting motion before the giant "fly swatter" swatted at the two summons along with their caster and the devil slayer as she hope to distract the devilslayer to help trinity while finishing off blair

"Damn!" Trinity drew her giant hand back, and clutched her own hand in front of her. The Mitt reacted, splitting into three sections: the thumb and forefinger, the pinky and ring finger, and the middle finger. They began dancing around her, pressing the flames out against the ground as they came too close to. Trinity was busy concentrating, and soon thrust her hand into the air, two fingers out. "Split!"

The forefinger and thumb, and pinky and ring finger separated. The ring and pinky finger retreated and surrounded her, to shield her, while the remaining three combine again. The partial Mitt flew at Bellal, opening with a slam, extending with a punch, and then comboing into a flick.

But it wouldn't end there, either. After opening, the thumb would punch at Bellal, before the whole hand twisted in its place and the middle finger would swing around for another punch, and then the index, reminiscent of a scorpion tail, would lash out before the whole would fall on him in a closing slam.

Bellal hadnt yet expanded much magic, and he moved smoothly, flipping back to avoid trinity's attacks, finding the whole thing annoying. Blair was clearly on her last legs, so it looked like it was up to Bellai to win this thing.

Fine then.

He began to move fast, watching as Skellinngton charged Rose, appearing to tackle the shadow mage.

Bellai didn't care. "Devil slayer: Engulfing flames" All around them, flames seemed to fill the arena, givving very little room to move.

Rose sighed before she seemingly dissappeared as she just fell into her shadow when the skellington attacked. her shadow moved a bit to the side before she reformed "Honeestly, I am resista=ing the urge to turn you to dust so come on you spirits lets play"she said keeping track of the devilslayers flames

Trinity watched the flames engulf the arena, surrounding her barrier. She frowned softly, knowing the heat would catch up with her eventually.

The three attacking fingers continued to attack Bellal. For a while, they kept it up with their joined punching attack, Trinity miming the motions for the hand to make. After a while of that, they split again and begin to flop themselves onto the ground in an attempt to crush him, one at a time. They used their number to create a constant barrage, one after another and picking themselves back up again to create a steady cycle of three.

After a time of this, Trinity felt the energy gaining too much heat. She had to do something with the intensified energy, before she lost control of it. She couldn't afford to waste any more. "Tsk. Are you ready, Bellal?" The fingers, which shone a bright gold now, suddenly retreated into the flames, back to Trinity. The fingers wrapped around her begin to spin before they expand, turning instead into bands. The three others, as well, spin around her, forming bands and shielding her with their force. "Energy Make!" The bands of energy moved and encircled her, one at each limb and one around her torso. "Shining Valor!"

A gauntlet with a shield attached to it formed on her left. In her right, matching but with a small crossbow mounted instead. The two knee-high boots that formed on her legs seemed normal enough, but the long coat that wrapped itself around her had some sort of apparatus on the back, with downward facing slats. "Mnn... it's a little different than normal..." Ch! It must be because I'm getting tired...

Bellal figured he needed to try and finish this as quickly as possible, as Blair seemed unable to stay standing, even as Skellington attacked Rose. Bellal's flames danced around them, and he drew them in closer, hoping to made it a little bit too hot for Trinity to handle.

Rose kept avoiding skelington's attack. She had to end this before she herself would pass out. She twisted and turned as the spirit attacked. She quickly ducked under a attack before her shadows leaped up "shadow wall."she yelled as her shadow explained and thickened before sending it full force into skellingtom and towards the devil slayer and his flames.

Damn! Trinity leaps into the air, and the vents on her back light up, before she vents some of the excess heat she's gathered through them. In return, she gains thrust. The intensity of the light emitted from her Energy Make drains, ever so slowly, as she propels herself. However, as she flew through the air, he flames only followed her wherever she was going. She'd land, and there they'd come after her, threatening to spill over her as they would surround her. She would use the shield to deflect before she'd be forced to move again. Even if she couldn't counter, she had a little time to think, at least.

She'd have to fold after playing this card. Make a show of it, naturally, but she didn't have enough magic power for any more tricks. She could make a bolt or two, maybe, but this wasn't looking good for her. If she wanted to come out on top, she needed to think of something. Something with what she's already got. Well, all she had in the field was her Shining Valor, and enough magic for a few reshapings. The shield of her Make was over charged, and she drew from that to power her jetpack. If she could power her jetpack, she could power other things, too. And instead of just venting the heat, maybe she could direct it...? She'd have to concentrate it, somehow... with...

A lens! The shield was the perfect shape... She'd need more energy, though, to evade and fire at the same time. So she stopped flying, attempting to deflect the flames in a controlled direction. She'd then roll out of the way before being overwhelmed and deal with the next surge in a similar fashion. When, finally, the shield was radiating enough heat to distort the air around it, Trinity decided it had enough power stored. She'd roll out of the way one last time and then jetpack into the air. "Make!" Her hands clasp together, and both gauntlet, along with the crossbow, mold into a handle that encompasses her hands, and a single cannon. The shield shrunk to fit inside.

She'd aim quickly, and unleash an intense beam of red light! "Laser Cannon!" She'd land once more, rolling and taking another shot as necessary.

There was no way the pirate lord opponents could avoid the attack, and Skellington leaped in front of Blair, curling his own bony body around hers, the exhausted summoner trying to force his gate closed, and send him back to the spirit realm. The bone spirit refused, and as te attack hit, Blair gave a cry, Skellington seeming to shatter into a million pieces of light. Blair screamed, struggling to rise, finding that she was unable to.

the match was over.



Jessie shot Ferris a smile, pleased at his reaction. she found it just perfect that he seemed dazed as she kissed him. "You're so cute. Bring it" She used a napkin to wipe her mouth, and brushed her hair back, out of her face as she turned back to the mic.

"Yet another showing of how celestial mages can have such an amazing bond with their spirits, but I sure hope Skellington is alright! Once more Phoenix Wing shows their power, and their ability to go beyond normal limits, this guild has been making a name for themselves for a while now, both famously and infamously, yet no one can deny their bond and skill in bringing more then is expected of them. Their controversial attack on the magical council lead to revealing the corruption there, and their constant hunting of dark guilds has kept us all safe. One thing is for sure, Phoenix Wing is certainly one of the main players in protecting Fiore, and one has to wonder what would happen if the other main guilds, those being Dragon Fang, Frenzy plant and Riders blade form a alliance to the state of this country! They are all powerful guilds, and hopefully these games can form the relationships required for this, as we all certainly hope! And now, with Phoenix Wing winning, we are led into the fourth and final battle for the day! Can this end battle be as shocking as the first three? Lets find out!"



Jamie looked towards the scene, listening with amusement. She leaned against the counter, wondering how many times she would be mistaken for a man in the future. She supposed it was her own fault, for spending a majority of the time in one of her male forms. Crossing her arms as Jack laughed, she allowed Jack to answer, deciding not to speak up just yet.

"Interesting. I suppose its not common knowledge yet about my true gender, although most people in my guild should know by now. I've temporarily lost my shape shifting abilities, and thus walk around in my true form. It's understandable. For future reference, you can generally tell who I am from the birth mark on my hand" Jamie held up her right hand, showing the bird mark there, and gave the girl a smile. "There's no need to be embarrassed. There is always room in the guild for one more. I don't have the guild stamp with me, but when we return to the hotel we can give it to you"

@Zarkun@hatakekuro

Amelia looked over all the flavors of ice cream and the possible toppings. The combinations where all so tempting and she wanted to try almost every single one of them. But she knew she wouldn't have the stomach for it and since she was now a member of one of Phoenix Wing's teams, she needed to avoid getting sick so that if she needed to compete. Focusing on the flavors again, she decided to go for something she knew she would like.
"Mama, can I get the orange ice cream?" She asked, turning to Jamie before spotting that she was already talking with another person. "Oh! Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt."

"She was rather rude." Jackie said to Jack, also staring at the possible flavors, unable to determine what she would try.



Joshua followed Amaya as she led the way to Nolan's room. When they arrived on the scene, they found it being virtually mobbed by girls and Amaya charged in, telling him to deal with the girls.
"Why me?" He muttered, mentally face palming himself. Well, his public image was probably damned as it was, might as well damn it some more.

So he began shouting at the girls.
"Oi, harlots! Why you interested in the weakling?! If you keep crowding around him like that, he's liable to pass on. Surprised he didn't after that pathetic display in the arena!" He said, hoping to get the girls angry at him so they would mob him and he could lead them the hell away from here.

@Zarkun
Caught off-guard by James' sudden swing, Cody brought his sword up to block the attack. However even with his limited knowledge and experience with swords, even he knew that blocking with the edge of the blade itself was a silly move.
So he decided to block it with a flat sword and used both hands to hold the sword.



@Natsume Honnaji
"Oh it's ok deary, anything for such a cute couple as yourselves." The store owner replied bashfully, happily accepting the money and card. The owner responded with a smile at his offer to make clothes and told him she(?) would gladly take him up on it before escorting them out the door, handing Jasmine's old dress (now within a bag) to the young girl who had been silent for some time now.
"Thank you..." Jasmine mumbled in thanks, her face a bright red as she and Robin now left the store.



@Expolar
Maxie still wore his frown as he looked over the photo Monsoon held. So this guy was hired to look for Ashlyn as well then....Maxie didn't need any help looking for her. Let alone from a damned outsider, just what was Georgie thinking?
"I don't see why I should." Maxie replied rudely before narrowing his eyes towards Manami. Great, she was here too? This day was just getting better and better for the Elemental wizard.
"I apologize for my....colleague's comments. Please ignore his rudeness, he acts this way towards everyone." Manami bowed apologetically towards Monsoon before shooting Maxie a rather angry glare. It would seem these two didn't quite get along, despite being two of Shadow Heart's best wizards and were generally seen as leaders of the guild in their own right.

"I will be more than happy to share such information with you. I trust that I can pick Shiro up before you go as well?" Manami added with a polite smile. Her reaction to the situation made Maxie roll his eyes, however she ignored him and focused entirely on Monsoon to make sure that he hadn't forgotten about Shiro.
"The lastest information I know about was that she was sighted on a main road leading to Crocus, in fact it was one of the numerous reasons I came here. The information is a week old however, but a lead is a lead. Apparently she was travelling with a circus, I would presume to earn money." She explained to Monsoon before shooting Maxie a wink. The Elemental wizard didn't seem impressed at all that one, she knew this and didn't tell him since it was HIS job to do this not hers, and two that she would tell it to this....man here.

It was certainly clear that these two didn't like working with each other at all. And the Elemental wizard just seemed to be getting more irritated by the second.
".....Here. This is her locket, it means quite a bit to her but she lost it fighting with me three months ago." Maxie said rather reluctantly and angrily as he fished into his pocket and brought out a small rusted silver locket on a bronze chain. There also seemed to be what looked like dried blood on it. Maxie now tossed the locket at Monsoon before twirling on his heels and making an effort to leave the warehouse.
He didn't care for this Monsoon fellow, all he cared about now was that there was a chance Ashlyn was here in this city. He just needed to contact Jane, the two of them could easily take down Ashlyn together and he wanted payback for the humiliation of three months ago.

Manami sighed as Maxie began to walk off but made no effort to stop him. His very presence sickened the Water mage and just his attitude made her very, very angry.
"Let me elobrate further on what Maxie said. He managed to track her down a few months back and engaged her, however it ended in his defeat but he did manage to wound her....right leg if memory serves. Was pretty nasty actually, not sure if she has fully recovered yet. He did manage to steal her locket as well, obviously, before he failed miserably. Georgie's reaction was quite humerous." Manami was obviously trying to stop some form of laughter from breaking out as her shoulders were shaking and she wore a wide grin. Yes, that couldn't have happened to a better guy.

James smiled as Cody tried to block the attack with his flat and when the two blades connected, Cody was able to hold it for the briefest of moments before he was forced to his knees and then his blade hit his forehead before James relented. "A block puts you at a point of physical confrontation. And when your opponent already has the upper hand by coming at you with gravity as an additional force, you won't win. So, you have two alternatives that I'll demonstrate. Attack me the say way I did you."




Jane's face remained flushed, but she nodded in thanks before addressing Amelia. "It's fine, really. I didn't expect to run into your mother today. And I thought she was a he and...yeah. But, really, don't apologize, you're fine. I'm Jane Addeson by the way." While the young girl began to converse with Jamie and Amelia and Rose, Jack turned to Jackie.

"Which one? Jane or Amelia? In the case of the former, everyone does it on occasion."

As little as he cared to give audience to the Blade of Phoenix Wing, Sanders heard in Damian's voice and saw writ in Damian's face something approaching contrition. To his credit, though, he very nearly succeeded in masking it. Even in the middle of an apology, Sanders' guest would not let his pride recede a single inch. ”That is true. Hyun's defeat meant a lot to her and to us, and the challenge issued after it stank of gloating, mockery, and impunity. It was ill-advised, but making errors in the heat of the moment is only human. Jamie's tirade of derision came in a moment of clear-headedness, making it sting all the more. That will be forgiven far less easily, but even for you, making amends is not the work of a few words. By now you've heard a Frenzy Plant saying: talk is cheap. Bonds start with deeds. If you want...?”

At Damian's side, a young woman appeared. Her lithe, slender form had allowed her to navigate through the crowds with relative ease, for she came with an air of utmost urgency. By now she could be identified as Eliza, the usually somber and sharp-tongued Cross Sync sorceress practiced with the sais. Very rarely did she make much of a presence in public, but now she bore a look of terror, ”Sir. The rumor is true. I got in and out unscathed, but I've never been more frightened. If you want to stop it before it's too late, I say we...uh, suggest we move immediately.”

She waited with wide, worried eyes as an expression of grave seriousness settled over the General's face. One could practically see the gears turning at a frenzied pace, and it wasn't long before he replied, ”That is bad news. You're right in your suggestion, Lieutenant. We'll leave the competitors behind but everyone else must go. I'll trust in your thunder to get us moving.”

Eliza nodded, and closed her eyes for a moment as if concentrating. When she opened her mouth, a frightening roar echoed across the entire section of seating, ”FRENZY PLANT! ALL NON-COMPETITORS MUST LEAVE THE ARENA IMMEDIATELY! COMMANDER'S ORDER! LET'S MOVE, SOLDIERS!”

Her immense shout took effect immediately. Those who weren't frozen for a moment in shock got up immediately, and as one mass every member of Frenzy Plant deserted the area, leaving concessions behind. Sanders studied Damian briefly and said, ”This may be the opportunity you need to earn forgiveness. You may join us.” Only Zander, Indigo, Owen, Demetri, and Hyun remained. Nandy Rewman, muttering his intentions, took off sprinting in the direction of the infirmary. When he arrived, he quickly moved to the bedside of Thor, who had been healing nicely for a few hours now. “Thor!” He shook her gently. “We've got to go! There's something wrong and all of Frenzy Plant has been called!”

Meanwhile, the entire platoon convened at the entrance to the arena, interrupting the pre-battle banter of Riona and Ash. Sanders, who seldom moved this quickly, arrived at the rear of the group and wasted no time declaring, ”Soldiers! Head to the camp at a brisk pace, but do not run. We've got a long way to go. As we walk: Eliza. Tell us what we're doing.”

The platoon jogged down the street, a crowd that stopped not for pedestrian, obstacle, or vehicle. Through the general hubbub came Eliza's explanation, firm but not as loud as her earlier yells. ”There have been rumors for some time about a plague in a city way west of here called New Iguunale. They haven't held much water for a while, but recently, something new popped up! Apparently the worst cases escaped their containment in the city, beginning an infection and fleeing before a quarantine could be established!” She paused as she nearly tripped over a loose brick. ”Agh! And these carriers weren't seen until recently, in a little town known for its medicine that's much closer, called Belka! Sanders asked me to go there, get in, and see if the claims were true! And they were! Things have gotten bad! There's no known cure, even from magic, and the infection has consumed Belka! It's making people crazy and violent, like animals! I...” She stopped herself, clearly hesitant, and decided to not go down that path. ”Anyway, if this plague spreads, everything could go to hell! We're going to Belka and getting rid of the plague one way or another!”

On the way, the large group was joined by Nandy, Morimato Tsubano, and Thor, delayed by the infirmary. Argus, who being privy to a vision lacrima of the arena almost certainly saw the departure of Frenzy Pant, probably arrived as well. They arrived at the camp satisfactorily quickly, and with a practiced efficiency began to break camp, prepare weapons, and so forth. In the camp they found Gabriel, and informed him of he situation. Sanders also elected to free Isla, telling her that she would be earning her freedom by helping Frenzy Plant with this mission, as well as Rune, mostly recovered from whatever it was that troubled him but still gripped by a vague sort of trace. Though a great deal of unease surrounded the situation, one thing was sure: Frenzy Plant was on the warpath.

@Joshua Tamashii@Roseletta
NOLAN and DALTON

Nolan simply laid limp, even when Ayama tapped him on the cheek lightly. He was certainly alive, but his soul was comically floating out of his mouth as if he was straight out of an anime. He certainly wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon.

"Got it!" Dalton flew down and pulled Nolan up, but when he actually did get him into the air, his grip loosened and he dropped Nolan face first into the floor. "...Oh shit." Dalton's face just lost its color and his jaw dropped slightly. This was bad, really bad.

Slowly, Nolan stood up and rubbed his face, glaring sharply at the crowd of women. He pushed his hair back with both hands, slicking his hair back, and exhaled ashes through his nose. If there was one thing to be certain, it looked like he heard what Joshua had said. "It looks like talking shit is all that you're good for, Joshua." In response to that, his fan girls screamed at an ear piercingly loud volume. "Shut up and get out of here!" Nolan barked at them, his face flushed red as he pointed them towards the door.

"The more he rejects us, the more desirable he becomes!" The crowd of women sighed in a wanting fashion.

"...Why does this have to happen to me?"

@Caits
FERRIS

"Be careful what you wish for. You may just get it." Ferris said in a sing song tone. Oh boy, she was going to get it later. Well, that's what he was thinking until she started talking about Phoenix Wing's past actions and how they were protecting Fiore. It wasn't that she was talking about Phoenix Wing that perked his interest, it was the fact she was talking about relationships between the other guilds that perked his interest. It hadn't occurred to him that the games may be just an event where the guilds would try and form partnerships in order to bring a better future to Fiore. "We've certainly be living in changing times so the formation of an alliance between the guilds would help solidify a foundation for Fiore. These days, life is uncertain with magic becoming socially acceptable only recently in this century."

@Lugubrious
ENMA

"Wait a minute, isn't this the business of Magic Knights? Why hasn't the kingdom done anything to prevent the outbreak? They simply can't just be expecting us to sweep it under the rug after dealing with this!" Enma said, completely outraged with what the situation was. It was likely that the royal family and some other politicians were trying to conceal the situation in order to maintain order over the nation, even if it meant the deaths of hundreds if not even more. What kind of despicable behavior could allow for the kingdom to turn a blind eye and leave it up to a guild to manage it? Tch, humans can truly be disgusting.

Iron Inigma vs tough love

The last battle was anticipated with more loud cheers and cat calls, as Sheldon played the crowd up and seemed to be enjoying himself, strutting around, "And the last Battle shall be Mark and Serma of Iron Enigma and Heather and Evangeline of Tough Love!"

Luna would have a short argument with her guild master over her going and fighting. Insisting quite forcefully that she was fine, Luna would quit the conversation and head towards the stairs that lead to the big entrance to the arena. Mark would've watched the spectcal, amused, before heading down and simply jumping over the railing and into the arena. Landning with a small puff of dust next to Luna. "So, how shall we start? The old one-two, or blunt-force-trauma?" The Maker mage said, seemngly without any concern over the opposing team hearing them. "So far though, they seem like a bunch of pushovers, so let's go flashy." He said the last part somewhat jokingly, as if meaning to egg on their opponents, though there was a hint of actually meaning it.

Luna thought for a moment, continuing on her way towards the center of the arena, before responding."Let's go the one-two, and don't underestimate them. I don't look too scary either." Arriving at the center of arena, Luna would come to a stop; Mark would move to his guild mate's side and lean on her shoulder, considering her decision. He wasn't much of one for big entrances, and a kind someone had already taken the liberty of introducing him to everyone already. He was sure that they were as hyped as they were going to get for this fight anyway. Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing himself for the fight, Mark waited to see how his opponents would come onto the field and act, and if he could discern their magic before the fight began.

In short order the representatives of Tough Love appeared. The face of Evangeline as she emerged from the stairway lackadaisically dragging a mace behind her betrayed nothing but a disinterested boredom, as if the entire event were merely an obstacle on the way to her next siesta. Sanguin, meanwhile, hid her face beneath the visage of a crimson wolf, leaving it to her quick, erratic movements to define her personality. They approached the center of the arena without any sort of synchronization or special effect; evidently, in the wake of back-to-back losses in the arena, these ladies planned to get serious.

A disgruntled sigh finally broke the silence that had settled over the battlegrounds of the Doma Flau. "Guess we got to do it. What you thinking, San? How we going to do this?"

The black steel scimitar of Sanguin, Lupa, had already been drawn. Unlike her partner, who specialized in monster hunting, she was versed in the art of war. The reply Evangeline's question forced from her came as a husky growl, packed with threatening savagery even for an ally as long as her wild persona reigned over her. "Surround them!...Beat them down!...Trap them in a raging spiral with me in the middle! No human can survive a tireless onslaught!"

Mark smirked at the contrast between his two opponents before standing up properly. "Maybe a human couldn't survive a tireless onslaught, but I have yet to meet any such thing yet. I find most things tend to start tiring out after they've got a few holes or big bruises in them." He'd say to Sanguin, a lethal smile appearing on his face. "Espescially if one of those holes is through their face." He'd laugh softly, crossing his arms then uncrossing them, wanting them free to fight. Luna simply stood where she was, her enchanted cloak hiding her face from view. Mark let his last statement hang in the air for a little bit before finally speaking to remfy the tenseness likely caused by it. "Anyway, I don't think outright murder is allowed, so let the best fighters win."

A laugh from Sheldon echoed across the arena. "Looks like this fight's about to ex-PLODE! Ready...go!"

As the announcement to begin fighting was given, Luna wasted almost no time in summoning her eclipse armor and weapons. Luna then would take a step forward and hold up her halberd. "Light of the eclipse!" Darkness would consume the arena, and Mark would follow up pretty quickly.

"Shadow Make, Fan of Lances!" He'd make a movement, and, as he described, a fan of blunt lances would launch themselves towards the general area the two had been. The temporary shadow created by Luna's magic would hide the spears as they traveled towards their targets rapidly. As the artificial darkness finally began to fade, both Luna and Mark waited to see how their enemies reacted to their joint attack.

From inside the darkness came a strange sound, a sort of crystalline beat accompanied by the steady and powerful sound of wind. When the Iron Enigma wizards were able to see their opponents again, only Evangeline remained where she had previously stood, and around her the sandy ground had been altered. Webbed veins of an airy blue mineral loosely formed a circle around her, and from the magic crystal exuded a gathering gale against which Mark's lances were mere twigs, blow up and harmlessly away.

The instant Evangeline's sight returned to her, she started moving. To say she ran would have been an overstatement, but nevertheless she erupted into a halfhearted jog, dragging her mace behind her. Where the weapon plowed through the sand, more crystals grew, and it wouldn't take a miracle worker to observe that she meant to encircle Mark and Luna completely in the veins of crystal.

A much more difficult occurence to observe was a red-furred dire wolf only a few feet behind Luna and closing fast. A hundred and fifty pounds of fur, muscle, and gleaming fangs leaped toward her, surrounded in a blood-red mist and a fraction of a second away from closing her jaws around Luna's shoulder.

As Sanguin bit down on Luna's shoulder, she'd find the young mages' armor to be tougher than anything she's ever tried to bite before, and wouldn't leave so much as a mark. The armor would also seem to give off a burning cold sensation, simmilar to Dry Ice, but not nearly as physically dangerous. As Luna registered the attempted bite on her shoulder, she would quickly turn and attempt to slam the pommel of her sword onto the top of her opponent's head, following it up with a stab with the blunt end of her halberd. This attack would then turn to a mostly vertical downwards slash with both bladed weapons, followed finally by her stabbing them both forward in the direction of her opponent. [color=0000F]"Solar Flare!"[/color]

The instant Sanguin discovered that her bite wasn't working, and was in fact hurting her quite severely, her steel-trap jaws released and the wolf flipped off, avoiding Luna's counterattack. A rush to the side evaded the double vertical slash by a hair, and as she dodged Sanguin shifted back into human form. Not relenting in the slightest, the warrior charged forward to check Luna with her shield. Fighting in many battles had taught Sanguin that where blades failed against armor, blunt force should prevail.

Mark would chuckle as he watched the opponent with the mace lazily jogged around them, and he moved so that he'd intercept her when the circle was three quarters done. "Light Ice make, greatspear." The spear that formed in his hand was long, and made from light, and tipped with ice to make it blunt. He'd spin the weapon in his hand once, feeling its weight, before charging Evangeline head-on, stabbing at her stomach with the spear before jumping back.

Though she moved her mace with about as much vigor as she articulated the rest of herself, Evangeline knew her timing and started swinging early to compensate. Her heavy mace-head knocked aside the incoming ice spear without breaking it, and the tall woman sighed, "Buzz off, I'm working here." A cough tore from her mouth, and she doubled over to unleash a stream of what looked like fog from her gullet. The mist resolved itself, however, into the shape of vile, vaguely serpentine Wind Wyrms, each about a meter long, which wove through the air on rows of tiny wings to chow down on Evangeline's opponent. Relying on them to keep Mark busy, the Tough Luck sorceress forged ahead on her path.

Luna watched as her opponent began shifting to charge and hit her with their shield. The celestial wizard back pedaled a few steps as Sanguin charged, and she attempted to strike with both her weapons in an x-patten to hit Sanguin's shield as she charged. She was hoping that the attack would at least weaken if not stop the attack entirely, though she was holding back. The power behind her weapons was not that of what it had been when she destroyed the two stone giants in the castle on day two, and a strong opponent likely wouldn't be stopped or harmed by the attack.

A roaring, berserk shield charge would not be stopped so easily. Luna's strike, not only against a shield but with power reserved to boot, failed to turn aside the assault of the taller, more muscular woman, and Sanguin crashed straight into the Iron Engima sorceress with nearly all of her might preserved. That very blow, however, knocked Luna clear, giving her opportunity to work a spell to take revenge for that skull-rattling bash.

Mark would blink in confusion as his opponent began retching, seeming to be vomiting. it took him a moment to realize what was really happening, and he would drop the ice spear, it vanishing as he did, before moving into a stance to cast another spell. "Ice Make: Floor!" He'd put his hands on the ground, and Ice would form the floor as he commanded. He hoped that the Ice would cause his opponent to slip up, and either block the wind coming up from the other liquid, or allowing some of his other maker magics to come up under the gale force wind. "Shadow Make: Crystal Growlths!" Shadows reached across the surface of his ice floor, and formed several large spiky crystals around him. One would try to appear under Evangeline, and two would appear amongst the wind wyrms, attempting to skewer them. The rest would appear in nowhere in particular.

In the time Mark worked his magic, Evangeline managed to put a bit of distance between herself and her opponent, only to find the sand turning slick and silvery beneath her feet. She gave an unenthusiastic curse as she slipped and fell, hard, onto her bottom. The impact jolted another swear from her, in such quick succession that the two practically blended together, albeit tonelessly: "Shi-ammit." No respite awaited her, however, as a dark spire shot up from beneath her, raking along the inside of her left thigh and making her very glad indeed she hadn't slid another couple of inches forward. Groaning, she struggled to her feet. Fortuantely, her Wind Wyrms fared marginally better. Two vanished, pierced with impressive precision by Mark's spikes, but the remaining two got into their effective range and aimed serrated bites at the wizard's head and ribs.

Luna would yelp and grunt as she was thrown by the shield blow, tumbling across the ground about halfway across the battlefield before coming to a stop on her face. Grunting heavily, the mage began pushing hserself to her feet, and taking a deep breath she glared at her opponent that had sent her flying. Despite the power of the hit, and how far the small girl had gone, she didn't seem at all deterred. Looking around, she found she had dropped her weapons, and figuring she didn't have time to retrieve them befoe her opponent was on her again, Luna decided to summon one of her other two weapons. "Blade of Luna." A two handed sword formed in the girl's hands, and she began charging towards Sanguin. "Horizon!" Her opponent would then find themselves caught in the illusion of being on a plane of absolute blackness, with blistering winds and hollow whispering of the wind. Luna, hoping her opponent would be at least disoriented for a moment, moved her charge two paces to the right. She meant to be practically beside Sanguin when she began to turn and strike at the back of her opponent's legs with the flat of the blade. Luna would put her leg off to the side as she striked, hoping to throw her momentum into it.

When confronted with a barren void, Sanguin instinctively froze. In in this bizarre and empty realm, her acute senses failed her, and her worldliness became as useless as her anger. Not knowing whether or not a single step would send her plummeting into the abyss or tear her apart, the Tough Love warrior dared not chance a solitary movement. Instead, she strove to bear the disturbing squall filtering around her as best she could, waiting for something to happen. As such, when Luna went on the attack, she found an easy target, and her blade swept out from under her the legs of Sanguin. Growling animalistically, she collapsed onto her back, and swung her scimitar wildly and repeatedly above her.

Mark stood up quickly as the two remaining wind wyrms charged him. The Ice floor and Shadow Spikes quickly faded into nothing as Mark rose his left arm to get into the path of the wyrms. He gasped in pain as one bit the side of his hand, and the other into his forarm by his elbow. Gritting his teeth, Mark made the motions to cast a spell with his good hand, it pressed against his now injured hand. "Light Make: Spears!" Two spears would form and impale the two wyrms latched onto him, and he'd breath heavily through his teeth as he then casts a quick ice-make to cover up his bleeding injuries. "Ngh, that hurt." He'd turn to face his opponent, going back to using both hands, though he knew the Ice Make on his arm would only hold up for five minutes or so. "Shadow Make: Floor!" A floor of shadow would form, and its surfact would be abnormally squishy and soft, almost like a mattress, but it wouldn't have any of the springyness. Not wasting any time, Mark would follow up the spell. "Light Make: Spear Barrage!" Lifting his right hand towards his opponent, a barrage of dull, white spears would leap from it, speeding rapidly towards Evangalene, but staying low to the ground.

As uneffective as they ultimately were, Evangeline's wind wyrms had done their job and kept Mark distracted. Seizing the opportunity with no small amount of groaning reluctance, the monster hunter turned her lackadaisical trot into a ponderous jog, and so managed to complete the huge circle of aero crystal. The completed formation began to pump large quantities of air toward the center of the circle, where Luna and Sanguin now fought. When Mark's Spear Barrage hurtled toward Evangeline's position, the projectiles became buffeted by the gale-force winds and thrown to the center as well. Doubtlessly, the currents also influenced Mark, and the Tough Love stratagem was plain to see: Evangeline sought to trap her opponents in the middle of a tough-to-escape storm with Sanguin. Exactly why this plan evoked such faith and confidence from the sisters-in-arms, however, remained unknown for the time being.

While Sanguin struggled to get to her feet, her teammate spewed some more wind wyrms out to get caught in the maelstrom and sent toward the Iron Enigma wizards, adding to their problems.

As Sanguin went down, Luna made sure she was well out of range of her sword, and the illusion would quickly fade. Raising her hand towards her opponent, Luna would cast another spell before she got up. "Solar Flare!" The bolt of fire shot from her hand towards her opponent, aiming for her sword arm, and hoping to disarm her as well as cause injury. Moving quickly to follow it up, Luna would attempt to press her foot to the other's chest and hold the tip of her sword to her lupine opponent's neck if she could. She could easily be thrown off-balance, however, by one of the wind wyrms flying towards her hitting her in the head or leg.

Mark cursed under his breath as his attacks were re-directed yet again, and they would dispell before doing anything, and he held his shirt down with one hand and relentless amounts of wind billowed past him, forcing him to brace against them. "God this wind is annoying." He'd murmur, crowching down onto one knee. "Ice make: Floor!" Ice began spreading across the ground, and covering everything unfortunate enough to be low on top of it. Mark was visibly drained by this, as the ice was a solid inch thick. Mark looked up to watch his two opponents, waiting for an attack to come from Evangeline as he covered her crystals with ice.

Master Jamie

Jamie smiled at Amelia, and nodded, giving her order to the cashier, she looked back to Jane. "Well, we're having ice cream if you would like some." She said, as Sam eagerly watched her ice cream being made, dipped into some liquid chocolate and sprinles, waiting for the cone to be handed to her. Jamie, anticipating a mess, retrieving a army of napkins.

Gabriel

Gabriel fell, not for the first time, onto his back, having once more tripped over his own feet. The stick he'd been using as a wooden sword had splintered and a sharp end had pierced his hand. He sat for a moment, dirt covered, sweaty and now bleeding. He examined his hand, grimacing, but there didn't appear to be anything in the wound. Figuring he had made more of a fool of himself then normal, and glad no one had been around to see, he walked back to camp, and was just changing shirts, his hand bandaged, when the guild marched into camp.

He blinked, wondering what was going on. Weary, he listened to the situation, wishing he hadn't used so much energy on the flotation lacrimas at the event. He grabbed his pack, mainly for the water in it then anything else, and waited for the orders that would surely come.

After a moment though, he summoned his bear cub, sending it off with a message for Michael, despite what had happened, he didn't want to leave his brother in the dark, with his disappearance.

Jessie

Jessie gave a laugh, "Or you'll get it" She said, before once more falling into her role, "Well, certainly these games will show us if the guilds can work together, rather then let the battles influence their relationships! There has been trouble among the guilds, but certainly Dragon Fang and Phoenix Wing have a good working relationship, with their masters being comrades. They appear to have wrked out their differences from yesterdays shocking battle, can the same happen with Frenzy Plants grudfe against Phoenix Wing for Damian's amazing wing against Hyun? Well, we shall see!" As the last battle started, "Well, this battle is certainly shaping up to be interesting, Tough love may just show us what they are made off!"

@hatakekuro@zarkun@joshua tamashii@roseletta@lugubrious

Damian listened as Sanders spoke, nodding slightly to indicate he was listening. ”That is true. Hyun's defeat meant a lot to her and to us, and the challenge issued after it stank of gloating, mockery, and impunity. It was ill-advised, but making errors in the heat of the moment is only human. Jamie's tirade of derision came in a moment of clear-headedness, making it sting all the more. That will be forgiven far less easily, but even for you, making amends is not the work of a few words. By now you've heard a Frenzy Plant saying: talk is cheap. Bonds start with deeds. If you want...?”

However, before the man could finish his question, a voice sounded next to Damian and he jumped a little when a young woman appeared next to him. She was young and slender, and definitely agile, if the speed she made it through the crowds around them was any indication, but he himself wasn't entirely sure who he was looking at so he stepped aside so she could address her guild master. ”Sir. The rumor is true. I got in and out unscathed, but I've never been more frightened. If you want to stop it before it's too late, I say we...uh, suggest we move immediately.”

Damian looked at the Frenzy Plant Guild Master, watching him think and doing so himself, when Guild Master Sanders spoke. ”That is bad news. You're right in your suggestion, Lieutenant. We'll leave the competitors behind but everyone else must go. I'll trust in your thunder to get us moving.” Damian turned to leave as the girl spoke again, calling for all the non-competitors to leave, knowing that it was wrong of him to force his way into involvement, when the Guild Master spoke directly to him. ”This may be the opportunity you need to earn forgiveness. You may join us.”

The Blade of Phoenix Wing took a moment to consider. There was still the last match, but it would seem that his guild was done competeing for the day. Besides that, he only needed to retrieve a couple of things from his camp in that park, and he could meet the members of Frenzy Plant at the city gate after finding out what he needs along the way. "Then join you I will." He followed the members of the guild to the Colosseum entrance and out, keeping pace and listening to the girl from before, who's name was Eliza as he now knew, speak.

”There have been rumors for some time about a plague in a city way west of here called New Iguunale. They haven't held much water for a while, but recently, something new popped up! Apparently the worst cases escaped their containment in the city, beginning an infection and fleeing before a quarantine could be established!” She paused as she nearly tripped over a loose brick, causing Damian to chuckle quietly in memory of his own trips and falls. ”Agh! And these carriers weren't seen until recently, in a little town known for its medicine that's much closer, called Belka! Sanders asked me to go there, get in, and see if the claims were true! And they were! Things have gotten bad! There's no known cure, even from magic, and the infection has consumed Belka! It's making people crazy and violent, like animals! I...” She stopped herself, clearly hesitant, and decided to not go down that path, and left Damian's imagination to come up with things likely worse than what she'd actually seen. ”Anyway, if this plague spreads, everything could go to hell! We're going to Belka and getting rid of the plague one way or another!”

As they moved, Damian tried to figure it all out in his head. Had the Royal Family known about this city and just entrusted the quarantines alone would hold these guys? He shook his head and broke off form the Frenzy Plant column to retrieve Durandal from where he'd left it at his camp and sent his cutlasses and gear back to his room in the hotel. Or at least the cutlasses, the lacrimas would serve to protect the rest until he could get back and get it all gathered back up properly. Picking up the Dragon Fang blade, he places it back on his back, sends a quick lacrima message to Master Jamie and Jarvis to let them know where he'll be and free run's to the park where Frenzy Plant was, just in time to hear a horned creature, an Oni if Damian hazarded a guess call out a question. "Wait a minute, isn't this the business of Magic Knights? Why hasn't the kingdom done anything to prevent the outbreak? They simply can't just be expecting us to sweep it under the rug after dealing with this!"

Damian spoke up first, walking into sight of the Frenzy Plant members from the trees as he answered. "Because the Rune Knights are specialized to handle wizards, not the disease ridden. And, if I had to take a guess, the bulk of the Royal Army is still busy with maintaining the borders against invaders. So when an issue like this arises? All that's left is the guild wizards and anyone who will volunteer to handle it. As for sweeping it under the rug," Damian shrugged, "depends on whether or not the kingdom can come up with a REALLY good story as to why Belka's suddenly not a place to visit anymore. Odds are the truth will come out."




Jane smirked and shook her head, producing jewel of her own. "I appreciate the offer, Master Jamie, but I actually had originally come in to buy some. I won't ask you to pay for me." When the others had gone, she stepped up and got a cone of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. "Thank you for letting me join. You guys were my last hope when Zentir told me he and his dark guild had killed my parents yesterday."

@Zarkun@Caits@hatakekuro@Lugubrious@liferusher@Lunarlors34@Raijinslayer


Riona heard a yell but wasn't paying it much attention since she was about to face off, yet abruptly that came to a halt when the entirety of Frenzy Plant was suddenly around them, with said situation being explained as they headed back to camp. Riona shrugged at Ash and wrapped a arm around her shoulder as they walked. "Well guess we are gonna have to wait on our fight there hot stuff. Lets just say you are C rank, or make whatever this thing is all about your C rank test." Riona said giving a shrug as she would listen to the scoop and would be silent for a good bit after it. A plague in Belka? They were going to be the ones to stop it? She knew what that meant, a plague with no cure and they were sending a combat orientated guild to "contain it" Belka wasn't going to exist for the fact they were going to wipe it off the map.

They would arrive back at camp explaining the situation, as they started to break down the tents and gather their gear. Ike who walked into camp look a bit confused at said situation, and would proceed to walk over to Riona. "Hey private, whats going on?" He would ask to which she would continue taking down a tent while talking. "We've been assigned to deal with a plague in Belka. The ones partaking in the games are staying while we handle the situation." "So kill them?" "..... Yes, I assume." She said to which he scoffed at and proceeded to walk off to a different part of the camp to help with. She watched him walk off, sighing a bit as she went and helped the others.

Ike walked off too see most tents have been broken down already and that a few were getting weapons ready as well. They truly were planning to handle the situation with force. He wondered how the pacifist Gabriel was going to handle this situation. In a event where they wouldn't just be fighting, but killing many. Would he even come with them or go through with it? Yet what pissed him off was the fact Sanders was making Isla come with them to earn her freedom by helping out. He couldn't help but taunt the little girl before getting the weapons ready himself, so as he walked by her, he would stop and look at her. "So ready to kill little one? Actually.. why did I ask? A little monster like you is probably easily ready for such a thing. Well be careful there, would be a shame if you end up dying." He said before walking off, with his taunt sounding more like a threat. Although he wouldn't actually kill her during this, just wouldn't help her should these people try killing her.

The little quiet one wasn't much of a talker. Four words the entire time he had been standing there, and he didn't even give his full name. Nevertheless Cyare could sense the same appraisal directed towards her that she directed towards everyone else, and it prompted her to examine him a little more closely. There did not seem to be all that much to him. No visible weapons. Physique indicated the bare minimum of athleticism. Given that his partner had selected a combat-oriented job, he must have some modicum of ability in a fight. Whatever his magic was must be the focus of his skillset.

Other than that, he did not exactly give much to go on.

Nevertheless, time was slipping by. With a small nod to Jason to acknowledge his introduction, she turned and started walking down an attached hall and gestured for the rest to follow her into the small dining area a short distance from their previous location.

"Well, if we are going to eat, best to get to it I suppose. Do you require any assistance, Ferrara?"

With a wave of his hand, the fiery haired young man dismissed the magic screen in front of him. Isa stood from his seat. "With that last battle I've nearly filled up my memory banks...not that it takes much..." After watching the last match Isa left the stands. Battles between prominent guilds were much more intense than he imagined. He'd spent the last couple of months training his combat abilities and only recently joined Phoenix Wing once he felt he was ready. Still, seeing more experienced wizards in action dwarfed what he thought he was getting himself into. Isa smirked to himself. "I guess that's just the naive feelings of a pampered rich kid~ Best I keep recording as much as I can...gonna need more storage lacrima..."

Isa summoned up an Archive screen and replayed the footage of the last match. As he was distracted, he accidentally bummed into a couple of girls. "H-Hey!" Isa looked at the girl closest to him realizing his clumsiness. "Oh, I'm quite sorry. Putting such startled looks on such beautiful faces...I should be ashamed. Care to join me for lunch? I'd like to make it up to you? Pick the place, it's on me and I assure you money's no issue~" By now Isa had taken the closest girl's hand in his and she was clearly smitten, a deep blush on her face. "Ah...I-I'd love to..." The other girl, not directly exposed to Isa's charming aura, scoffed. "Your not really falling for this are you?" Isa blinked. "Hm? Falling for what...?" The young man was completely oblivious to how flirtatious his words had come across. He was truly sincere about atoning for his reckless behavior. "C'mon!" The girl dragged her friend away despite her protests. Isa rubbed the back of his neck with a look of confusion. "Was it something I said?" He muttered before moving along.

Angel mulled over Cyare's offer carefully. It wasn't like he'd never cooked for strangers before (though he used the term strangers, he tried to get to know them first, he wasn't a floozy like Kaia said [and she had no room to talk, given all the times she'd tried to profit off of her unsuspecting best friend's acquired traits] he was, and he wouldn't cook for just anybody) it had just been a while! He needed a minute to shake off the rust! It didn't reflect on him as a chef, and once he got into the swing of it he'd be fine!

...

Oh no, where was that metaphor headed?

He blushed faintly and "hmmmphed," subtly biting his bottom lip.

"I'm gonna need to know your favorite fruit. Smoothies are a good pre-mission staple and should be consumed when possible."