Michael watched as the battle unfolded. He had experienced Mina's strength firsthand, but even he didn't realize it went so far. His own powers could no longer contain the roided-up fighter, but Mina could still face him head on without losing. A variety of events happened, but Mina was ultimately the victor. He couldn't believe his eyes. As he sat in shock, he was handed a cheap-looking trophy and shooed out of the bar.

Still dumbfounded by the recent events, Michael sighed. He believed he had gotten stronger, but it seemed there were still others who possessed greater strength. Even an asshole like Suzakura was stronger, as much as he hated to realize that fact. He may have been declared the winner of the Midnight Tournament, but he certainly didn't feel like a winner.

As Michael walked, he soon found Vera and Alex talking to each other. He hid behind a corner, trying not to be seen by them. He then wondered to himself why he was hiding at all. There wasn't anything to hide from, except maybe Vera's ferocity. Shaking his head, he made his way over to them and greeted them with a raised hand. "Hey, Alex! You're ok! Oh, and you're ok too. Yeah, that's good, um... you know, I don't think I ever caught your name," Michael said to the two, being slightly dismissive of Vera.

@KillamriX88 @Scarifar

Alex looked visibly confused. "Replacement? Priorities?!" Her stomach twisted as she considered what Vera said. What was she saying?

What was it Vera once told her? Alex thought back to a moment years ago. Parts of it felt like a faded memory, but Alex remembered the feeling of her own tears. Alex was sitting there, curled up, just wishing that Vera would go away and leave her alone. And Vera said something she'd never forget:

"You're one of the two people in the world who I want to hear from, and you won't talk to me even to smooth this over. Do you see the issue here?"

Alex had nearly forgotten what the argument was about. That part didn't matter. But Vera back then was right. There was an issue here and Alex wasn't going to let it hang over the two. Alex gathered up her courage to be as forthcoming as possible, thinking through what she was going to say.

"The doctors said that I might have stunted my growth spurt due to my coma." Alex blurted out.

'Ah. I jumped too far ahead in what I wanted to say right into an awkward spot.' Alex had already screwed up her confident retort.

She had to keep going, before Vera cut her off or her own tears made it too hard to speak. "I-I mean to say... It's not been all fun. And you're not making things easy either. It's not like I didn't want to see you or Wolf..." Her vision blurred from her tears. "I don't know what happened. I had a little bit of resentment, maybe, to wake up after a year and only be greeted by my parents. No Wolf or Vera." Alex emphasized her displeasure at that. It was true. One of the first things she and Vera bonded over was their parental issues - different types, but issues all the same. "But maybe, I thought, it was something wrong with me. Maybe I wasn't good enough to be with you two again, since I had... Left so suddenly. I shied away from trying. Not until I had done something amazing. I had made up some fake bargain with myself to solve a problem I wasn't even sure existed."

Alex had wanted to say more, but she felt her throat tightening, and tears beginning to fall down her cheeks again.

...And then she heard Michael's voice behind her, and her heart sank like a stone. 'N-Not now! W-Why is he leaving from this exit?!' Alex quickly pulled her hood up, trying to hide her tear-streaked face. 'I was just trying to clear up one misunderstanding and another shows up in its place!! And how much of that did he hear?!' Alex felt like she might die from embarrassment, anxiety, and sadness all at once.

---

Vera was stunned into silence by Alex's sudden exclamation. By the time she could have formed a response, the other girl had already launched into a nonsensical rant about why they hadn't spoken to each other until now.

"Well how was I-" but she was still fated to not yet get a word in edgewise, as Michael interjected himself into things once again. And there it was once more, boiling back up without delay, Vera's comfort zone -- a red haze of spite and indignation. "Like I said," Vera spoke coldly as she turned her head to acknowledge Michael's presence. "Nosy. If I wanted you to know my name, you'd know it. I don't want you to know me, and I certainly don't want to know you!" she snapped at him.

"But sure, everyone seems just fine," she scoffed. "Since I'm to blame, I suppose I should just get out of your hair, Alex. Wolfram goes to Clausewitz now. Maybe you can go track him down later and tell him everything he did wrong, too. He already blames himself anyway. Might as well make it official."

The midnight tournament had been insightful glimse into this Rhea. As far as he could tell, it wasn't all to different from what he was used to. Chaos.

To all forms of chaos, order was often the solution. But he had failed in his mission to unite the schools under one banner, he had been too picky, too rushed and under the blinding influence of love. He still was bewitched by love, but at least he was seeing things more clearly now. Of what was at stake.

This time things would be different, it had to be, or everything would be lost. Not just his dream would be ended, but everyones. He couldn't allow the threat to this world, to all worlds to win.

While he certainly felt stronger than before, he wasn't foolish enough to think he could fight the currently unknown threat all by himself. Victory in war was won by an army, not solely by a ruler.

But while he wasn't a ruler, he had the ambition and vision to be one. Rulers tended to have control, and those which have control, have the power. Power necessary to shape the world in their image, to create a stronger and new Rhea which would stand the tests of time and push forwards to a grand future.

This had been his dream, one of the big ones.

But not the only one.

As the special event of the midnight tournament had reached it's conclusion, Orpheuz had relocated outdoors by the use of one of his powers. Allowing him to traverse through the space of the worlds to where he needed to be. While he still felt that he shouldn't, no one really should reduce the value of their gifts and use them as if they were a toy. The gifts were weapons, tools to be used by those which had them. To wield a realize their dreams.

As Orpheuz found himself standing on the roof of the tournament building, he could see a familiar gathering below. Vera. Andras. Michael.

While it seemed like he had missed some part of the conversation, he still picked up a little.

"This isn't the time to bicker between yourselves, after tonight's event you should all know just how important it is to have allies. I am not forcing you to be friends, but to respect each other enough to part with your name at the very least." He said in a clear tone of voice, with his eyes settling mostly at Vera, before he switched over to Michael.

"Greetings Michael, you may call me Orpheuz. We have not met before, not in this world, not in this form. The pinkhaired girl is Vera, a comerade in arms in what is to come. A great threat is brewing, with the intent to bring ruin upon all. While there is nothing stopping you from bickering and holding grudges, know that our chances of success are far higher together, rather than split apart. After all, it was the grudges between the schools and the people within them that allowed my Rhea to crumble. I, personally do not intend to see the same happen again." Orpheuz crossed his arms, then looked over at Andras in turn.

"To walk on the line between can be tough, but those who can do it are truly valuable. Even if the path ahead is riddled with thorns and vines, the beautiful red roses which spring from them will make it all worth it." The military clad young man said in a softer tone, almost as if he was enraptured by a vision of something, or perhaps of someone.

@KillamriX88@Crowvette@Scarifar

---

Vera didn't get the chance to make her exit before scourge interruption occurred. The weirdo from the bar began running his mouth again after but having been at all useful earlier.

"Oh, go fuck yourself you cryptic asshole!" Vera shouted at him, now devolving to naught but sheer profanity and insults. "Congratulations, fuckhead, you got my name. Now go get bent for all I care. I hope you choke on it!"

She spared Alex one last glance, her angry facade cracking for only a moment before she finally made her retreat into the night. She couldn't do this, not tonight, not around those people. She wondered if she could ever do it, or even what "it" was for her at this point.

Alex was back and she should have been happy, but Vera wasn't the same person Alex had left behind. She wasn't sure she could ever go back to that. What she'd twisted herself into to get past it in the first place might not be capable...

@AtomicNut

Maverick was going to school after the library but was interrupted by a new message coming up in his HUD. It seemed to have been there, blinking on the side for a while. However, after he started moving away from the library, it opened itself. The message received and forced upon his eyes is as follows.


To say that Mavericks face lost a few shades of color was an understatement. Why was it that whenever he was happy and had plans his core ability had to kick in? Sir Gideon, astute as he was, noticed the change and slowly pulled over and parked nearby. He waited for a few moments, the vehicle idling. It was more accurate to say that the vehicle stopped and was shut off. Mainly because of how this vehicle worked. It was either moving or not.

“Is anything wrong, young master?” Sir Gideon asked as he looked in the rearview mirror. Maverick had a cold sweat sheen forming over his body. Pinpricks rippled throughout his body as he opened and closed his mouth a few times. He was trying to get moisture back in his now dry mouth. After a moment he cleared his throat and looked at Gideon.

“Sir Gideon, it seems that I have forgotten something at the library that I must attend. Please reroute back to the library.” Mav informed Gideon as he took a drink from a small pouch. Gideon didn’t ask questions and did as he was told. The signal flicked on, and the vehicle came back to life. They were only a few blocks away from the library and it only took a few minutes to return. Given Gideon’s expert driving that is. Sir Gideon had only seen his young master distraught like this before something bad happened.

The worst thing about having nightmares is sleep walking while having Maverick's physique. One of these said events was the reason they had to reinforce his bedroom. They classified them as terror-storms. Through the years they became so bad that he didn’t need to be sleeping for them to hit. Gideon drove up to the library and stopped outside the front doors.

“We have arrived, young master. Please let me know when you would like to be picked up.” Sir Gideon informed Maverick as he waited for him to exit the vehicle. It didn’t take long for Maverick to exit the vehicle. The holo-lens still hung from the side of his head. Unfortunately, the ones above didn’t send him a picture of Darla, so he had to talk to people. Talking to strangers, one of his strong suits. Right? Right. Mav’s hand had been on the handle of the door for a few minutes now. Sweaty, clammy. He gulped audibly and pulled the handle to open the door. Each step towards the library was worse than any weight that could be applied to him.

Maverick was in such a daze that he forgot to close the door to the vehicle he arrived in. Sir Gideon got out and closed it and let out a sigh. He had hoped that Maverick would be alright as he got back in and drove off. The small conversations within the place were hard to hear to begin with, to him they were just an audio buzz. He started off moving to the first female.

“Hello, my name is Maverick. Are you Darla?” He asked her. She looked him up and down and scoffed. She didn’t even say anything and just walked away. Things like this happened for, to him what seemed like an eternity, about 5 minutes. Only after realizing that he was asking this question did the others in the library steer clear of him. Then he noticed two people. He didn’t want to bother them because they looked intimate and in the middle of a conversation. So, he moved up and waited for a break in their conversation.

“Excuse me. Are you Darla?” This would be what he would try to say. What came out was probably something like. “Excume Aryo darla?” His eyes scanned her body but not in a sexual way. It was more in an analytical way. This was one of the things that helped him clear his mind. That didn’t stop the fact that he was indeed staring at her assets.

‘Didn’t those things cause back pain when they were so big?’ Was the thought that came to mind. He looked confused. However, people couldn’t help their anatomy unless they had a specialized gift. He looked at the man in much the same way.

‘Were there genetic similarities between them?’ He pondered as he shook his head. He hoped that one of the two would notice him because if not… with the thought of impending doom looming over head he probably looked like a lost puppy. A very well-dressed lost puppy. His parents went to great lengths to procure him the finest quality clothing. All dark colors mixed with golden feather stitching. Above the left breast sat the Majere family crest. Upon the back of his cloak a bigger crest could be seen as well. It was something that he would make a fool of himself, but to bring down his family name. That wouldn’t do. His father would probably give him more tutors for this. His punishment never seemed to work.

Michael took a step back as he leaned back and raised his hands up in front of him in defense. The girl had a ferocity unmatched by anyone else he knew, and Michael knew not to disturb that hornet's nest any further. It seems someone else didn't get that memo, as a guy who called himself Orpheuz interjected in the conversation with his own cryptic words. Michael didn't really understand what the guy was saying, but he at least learn a few things from him, like the girl's name: Vera.

Vera herself was clearly having none of this anymore and took her own leave. Michael watched her for a second as she walked away, then returned his attention to Orpheuz. "Alright, um... thanks for that, but uh, we really gotta get going," Michael said hesitantly. Michael didn't know what to make of this new guy, but he thought it best to take a page out of Vera's book and get out of the alley. It was getting late, anyway. Walking over to Andras and placing a hand on her shoulder, Michael said to her, "Come on, Al- Andras. I'll walk you home."

Location: The Grand Library
Interactions: None

---

Location: Sir Clausewitz's School for the Militarily Minded, Faculty Office
Interactions: None

@Scarifar

Alex had opened her mouth to speak further... but someone else started talking, too. The situation was far too gone now for her to reach Vera. Alex had to watch Vera walk away, even though she felt like she should run after her. The truth was, it felt like something that would need time. Perhaps there was a tiny bit of hope, since she had mentioned where Wolf was. If Vera completely gave up on Alex, it was unlikely she'd bother even telling her that much.

It didn't make the feeling of rejection go away, though. She had gone over what she'd say in her head when she finally met up with Vera... and it all went completely out of the window. Alex realized all too late that she expected everyone to be the same after her time away from them. It was clear that was not the case.

After some time silently thinking over the situation, she eventually turned to Michael. "Um. Sorry you had to see all of that..." She wiped her face with her sleeve, clearing up the last of her tears. She gave a somewhat forced smile, looking the direction that Vera left from. "W-With friends like these..." Her weak joke and fake laughter belied her inner turmoil. "Right... Let's go." Alex didn't feel like talking much, but she would feel better walking with someone compared to doing it completely alone. Which was how she felt, after this long, long night. Alone.

'Wolf... Don't be too mad at me.' Alex thought to herself with all of her heart. She didn't know what she'd do if this happened again.

@Aqutanama@MagusDream@Dezuel

Darla raised an eyebrow upon seeing the supernatural prowess of a certain individual who seemed to be powerwalking at an astounding speed, all while laughing out loud. Maybe it was a mating call? Or a territory marking? Anyway, it seemed to be the individual she had given a fashion advice. She had never expected him to be so gross and wrong.

More cherished memories were made, as she witnessed the ever elusive cousin of hers actually showing up for once. And not only that, he was taking the initiative to ask her out! Actually no, it was just a favour. Well, she was her senior and her elder cousin, so why should he honor his honest plea.

"Dinner and sleepover. My penthouse. No dress code needed." Darla offered a complicit wink as she smiled back at Reverio. Finally, he would be one closer to be hers and hers alone... now she just needed her genious intellect to triumph the task her baby cousin had set upon her.

It was then when she realized the crude creature that had scampered away like a centipede with light aversion was now crawling towards her, a black speech coming from his pubescent mouth. He was a student? Maybe. Of the prestigious school of Clausewitz. Ahh yes, the boys and girls, playing knights, thinking they were the best of the best, only to be indoctrinated in stick-up-the ass drones, ready made consumer goods for the wealthy elites like her.

This one seemed to be a little lacking. And he kept staring at her breasts like the half baked ape he was.

She was almost, -almost- tempted to execute the removal protocol on this sort of proto-human, but she decided against it. She beamed her best of smiles.

Reverio could recognize it. It was the smile of a shark that had smelled blood in the water. Darla gestured for Reverio to get moving, as she cleared her throat. "ahem." She said, before unbuttoning a couple of buttons of her shirt.

"HELP ME, A PERVERT! HE IS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING TO ME!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs, catching attention on all the library staff and students alight.

"Somebody! Help! I will give two Million to the person who rescues me!" She added, sweetening the pot and stirring the nest as she pointed at Mav, her hands trembling with fake fear.

---

@Dezuel
The fitting incident to get a new brassiere had been smoother than ever. Mina recalled there had been only someone with minor wounds this time. It was a difficult thing to get clothes that suit her ample figure. Well fed, well dressed. Her head didn't feel funny any longer, so she had given to her last need. Suzakura. She needed her king, because he was his dairy queen.

"HEEEEY SUZAKURA" She called at the distracted bully as she saw him past a spooky building.

Ken Illustrious Ikari

As he sought the source of the wraiths which haunted the apartment, slicing through ghosts with his magic blade as he went, Ken gradually, painfully, realized something. He did not want to abandon Reverio and Chinami. It wasn't right to do so, not after what they had gone through and what he had gone through. Was it so conventionally kind others might find it boring? Yes it was. But Ken wanted to own that behavior, make it his' and ingrain it into his psyche to the point where it was indelible. Why should he be afraid of them hurting him? Pain was a part of life, meant to indicate what damage needed healing and what dangers to keep away from, but it can also be a survival instinct gone wrong.

Same for Hate (capitalized); it was also a survival instinct, sometimes useful for taking out threats and disposing of truly monstrous folk, but more often than not going out of control and consuming oneself and all around them...

(Rest of said post deleted.)

In one wing of the abandoned apartment, the dusty silence that hung around the once occupied rooms was broken by desperate footsteps. A young boy sprinted down the hall, panting heavily. From fear, or exhertion, or both, it was difficult to tell. He skidded to a stop in front of a wall, rounding the corner and sprinting off again. Ignoring the boundaries of humanity, 3 pale-faced spirits appeared from the wall, chasing him relentlessly. That boy was Jeremy, and as he ran away from the phantoms that hunted him, he wondered what had led him here.

Truth be told, he didn't want to be here. While it was embarassing to admit for a boy his age, he was afraid of ghosts. A rational fear, he often argued, though those he argued with often disagreed. In any case, he was here. Why? Because of money. When he had arrived in Rhea, his parents had said they would take care of his expenses. And they did, and they wouldn't tell him how much it all cost. But it was obvious, to him, to all the others. He didn't complain when they gave him a secondhand uniform, not when he put it on and found that it was a size too large, and that it was patchy, and had holes in the blazer. He took it and wore it, like they wanted him to. Like a good boy.

But then it had occurred to him, would a good boy simply take what is given to him? In his opinion (he had a good many of these but did not often think to put words to them), a truly good boy ought to fix his own issues. If he saw a wrong, surely he should... Well, putting it right would be an overestimation of his abilities. But he should do something about it, surely? It was then that one of his new friends, Ken, came to him with a suggestion to tackle a bounty together...

"Woah!" Jeremy exclaimed, suddenly stumbling on a protruding floorboard - Floorboards? Where did the carpet go?
It had seemed that, in his musings, he had left the area he had hallways he had previously been in.
"SHI-" The boy caught himself. "Shoot."
Good boys don't swear. In his mind, he cursed that damnable wizard hat that sat unmoveably on his head, mockingly cutting his peripheral vision in half, causing him to stumble. His mind retorted, saying that the half that was cut off was not where the issue lay. Still, the change in flooring wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He and Ken had entered together, early in the morning. But after watching Ken cut ghosts with his sword he had been strangely excited, and had quietly separated from him to try his luck at ghost catching. His adventure had made him terribly lost, but he hadn't gone out too far, and he was starting to recognise the walls around him -

His vision brightened all of a sudden and he found himself running into a familiar area. It seemed to have been an old lounge room, and Ken had been fighting ghosts here just a minute ago. Jeremy skidded to a stop and turned to face the ghosts as they emerged from the walls. There was plenty of space here to make a stand, and his impromptu flashback had rekindled his motivation. He was no longer a boy, Jeremy was a teenager. A man. It was time to stand up for himself, to unleash his talents. Pointing dramatically at the closest ghost.
"Fork the Tender!" He yelled.
He could feel an unknown force building in his finger, quickly shooting out towards the apparition and grabbing hold. With a smirk, Jeremy shoved his finger forward, willing the phantom to go away. The ghost... ignored his gesture and continued towards him.
"Argh, come on!" Jeremy screamed as he began running again.

As he ran down the hall, he began thinking of his options. He couldn't keep running forever, but he knew he wasn't going to able to kill these ghosts by himself. That meant finding Ken, and fortunately for him, he could see telltale slash marks from the hall he was going down. Ken had probably been down this way. Unfortunately, however, his stamina was flagging, and he had no idea if he would even make it to Ken in time.

Jeremy came to a straight stretch of the hallway. Now was as good a place as any to try his other powers - just because one didn't work, that didn't mean the rest wouldn't, right? Still running forward, the boy turned his head to look behind him. He saw a single ghost hot on his heels. He could only hope the other 2 had given up, or were otherwise indisposed. He pointed to one and yelled the magic words.
"Put on the Tuxedo!"
A Tuxedo fixed itself onto one of the floating apparitions, garbing it in a rather large and uncomfortable looking dresh shirt and blazer.
"All right!"
The boy couldn't help whooping with delight at one of his spells actually working, but the self-satisfied grin on his face quickly turned into a horrified expression as the dapper ghost continued its flight, unimpeded by the ill-fitting suit. Of course, ghosts didn't need their legs or arms to move.

The boy sprinted up a flight of stairs, 2 at a time, and stopped at the top to catch his breath, looking back as he did. He pointed at the first ghost he saw, the one he had put the tuxedo onto, and yelled.
"Pause the DVD!"
To his surprise, it worked, and the ghost froze in place. Jeremy pumped his fist excitedly.
"Yes!" He shouted, revelling in victory, just before the other 2 ghosts appeared from the walls, floating over the steps towards him.
Ah yes, there were 3 ghosts after all.

Jeremy ran, pausing occassionally to pause the ghosts behind him. But he was running out of breath, and running low on stamina. Fortunately, he soon saw a familiar silhouette in front of him. Using the last of his energy, the boy yelled one more time.
"KEEEEN! HELP ME!" He shouted, before tripping on the carpet. "Ah!"
He fell face first onto the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust on impact.

@Letter Bee

Location: The Grand Library
Interactions: None

BGM: 3:03 PM by しゃろう

Lambda and Kurogane were reading some books to pass the time. While Lambda had a stack of gardening technique books and was making annotations, Kurogane had to settle with an action storybook since the second floor wasn't housing the comic section.

"Oi, whatcha takin' notes for?" Kurogane asked him.

"These are some gardening techniques that I'm collecting. I want to put them to good use when I go back to school." Lambda answered.

"Flowers, eh? Figures. This hobby fits a Laurel pauper like ya." Kurogane said.

"I've always liked gardening since I was a little kid. I took care of the orphanage's garden and then at my home too." Lambda explained.

"Orphanage? Wait, ya adopted?" Kurogane asked.

"Yes, I'm not blood-related to my father or to my family. He took me in some years ago as his son." Lambda answered.

"Huh... who woulda thought?" Kurogane commented.

"Hehe. I guess it's pretty surprising once I speak it out loud like this." Lambda laughed a little.

"It's just that I kinda get it. I'm not my Master's son, either." Kurogane said.

"By 'Master', do you mean your father? Are you adopted too?" Lambda asked.

"It's a... long story. Way too long. But no, I ain't that bastard's son, just his disciple." Kurogane answered while avoiding details.

"I see. Well, he seems like a kindhearted person." Lambda said, smiling.

"There aren't many things I'm proud of in my life, but meeting him certainly was." Kurogane spoke, proud.

"I'm happy for you Kuro. I don't know what you went through but I'm glad things are working out for you as well." Lambda smiled even more.

"O-O-Oh, uh... thanks. I-I'm happy for ya too, Lamb..." Kurogane thanked him, while looking away.

Kurogane felt his temperature rise and his face get hot. To avoid being seen fully red, he turned his face away, avoiding eye contact with Lambda.

(Fuck, this kid's just too cute for his own good! And bein' happy for me while not knowing me that much doesn't help!) Kurogane thought, being caught by his weakness.

(Did I say something out of turn? Perhaps I shouldn't have been too happy about him, especially since I barely know him. Maybe I should just apologize...) Lambda thought.

*BGM fades away*

But just when Lambda was about to apologize, something happened...

"HELP ME, A PERVERT! HE IS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING TO ME!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs, catching attention on all the library staff and students alight.

The sudden scream reached even the second floor, getting the attention of all who were there. Lambda, Kurogane and the other students ran to the balcony to catch a glimpse of what exactly was happening, each of them with their own intentions.

"Yikes, there's an unlucky bastard. Seems like he's messing with a girl from Laurel's." Kurogane snickered.

"That's... I don't know her personally, but I think that's one of my seniors. I've heard about her." Lambda said.

"Oh, so she's famous around yer grounds?" Kurogane asked him.

"If I'm not wrong, that is Darla Drake. She's a 3rd-year at Laurel's, known to be a genius with machines and technology. Some classmates said she can create, fix, modify and enhance whatever she wants without too much trouble." Lambda answered.

"Yeah, gotta say... she fixes more than just machines..." Kurogane commented.

"What do you mean?" Lambda asked.

"Jus' look at her face." Kurogane pointed it out.

"Somebody! Help! I will give two Million to the person who rescues me!" She added, sweetening the pot and stirring the nest as she pointed at Mav, her hands trembling with fake fear.

"That's the biggest bluff I've heard today." Kurogane said, nonchalant.

"Maybe we should go and help her." Lambda said, ready to go down. However, Kurogane held him back.

"Dude, she's jus' doin' a show. She doesn't need help, it's written on her forehead." Kurogane explained.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Lambda asked.

"Hand's shaking too much, she's snickerin' left an' right, and ain't no one just gonna offer two million grand just to stop a perv. That's bait to see if some sucker comes up and beats the guy's ass." Kurogane answered.

"E-Even if that were to be the case, I still believe we should go and help her." Lambda said once again, trying to leave. However, Kurogane still held him back.

"Before ya play martyr, why don't ya pay attention to the scene and take yer conclusions afterward?" Kurogane asked.

"Kurogane, please..." Lambda pleaded.

"Trust me just this once, Lamb." Kurogane spoke.

@Dezuel@Aqutanama@AtomicNut@MagusDream

"-perhaps there's someone else who could become the symbol of evil and-"

"Alright, that is enough of that!" Chinami hissed, cutting off the demon's narration of Reverio's internal thoughts. "I don't need the play by play. The actually important cliff notes will do!" No matter how... interesting it was to have such deep access, she couldn't help feeling filthy even despite it being granted to her unsolicited. Even knowing the... rather disturbing direction of the former king's delusions, even knowing the tactical value they'd provide, she couldn't bring herself to keep invading his privacy in such a manner. It was bad enough that she was already stalking him.

And besides, even despite making a Deal, she didn't trust the demon within her to actually be narrating what it found word-for-word accurately and not... "tweaking" things to manipulate her perception to its own ends. She knew it. He knew it. But their agreement didn't require she keep herself abreast of the small details, only that she make sure the demon could be. Even if she could stop him from casually invading the privacy of everyone around her, she wouldn't have asked. Even she had enough sense to acknowledge that if she wasn't being spun the biggest yarn of the decade, the stakes here would be... very high if Reverio's stupidity managed to bear fruit.

"Damn, he's quick!" Chinami hissed, hopping down from the fire escape and landing with the protection of her Spirit, as Reverio took flight. By the time she sprinted around the corner of the apartment complex, he was already far too uncomfortably high and gaining distance. She quickly considered her options for catching up. She could take the rooftops, but that ran the risk of him seeing her giving chase... and the possibility of someone videotaping her, thinking she was a parkour enthusiast or something. She could just sprint after him, use the sidewalks. With her Spirit's enhancement, her speed wouldn't lag her behind too much, even if she'd still lose out from not being able to go in a straight line like him. Still, sprinting pell-mell across the city would also presumably get attention. Maybe-

"I'm overthinking this," snapped Chinami, beginning to jog quickly at a speed half-way to a run. She was just one face in the crowd at the end of the day, and she knew from experience that most people didn't give an actual rat's ass about the "background characters" in their life, not the randos they passed on the street. She could likely get away with doing the bare minimum and suffer no gain or loss.

She didn't need to worry about speed, not really. She knew where Reverio was going already, so it was just a matter of getting there before he left. Speed was almost inconsequential here. After all, the demon could presumably gain access to whatever Reverio learned within moments of her getting close. No rush.

"This One's scrying is not quite so in-depth as such, misfortunate though it is." The demon's voice killed her cheer. "For thine person, a more intensive perusal is trivial. For those This One has not physical contact with, however, what This One may glean is 'surface level', as they say." Chinami groused internally, but that certainly explained why the Deal had such a focus on staying close, staying within the demon's detection range.

So, a little rush then.

---

Chinami picked her pace up a few notches, but still did her best to maintain a sense of casualness to those she passed. No urgency. No panic. Nothing to see here. Just a girl out for a healthy run on a gorgeous day. A smile here. A nod there. Stopping for the red lights and jogging in place or doing some light stretches for the interval. Sure, this wasn't what she'd been planning to do with her day, but she could multitask and get something out of this bullshit.

'Ganbattene~! Find those silver linings~!' she snorted internally.

At one point, she passed through an area that seemed to have ambient... music? It didn't seem to be coming from anywhere in particular. It was just... there, filling the space lightly, not loudly enough to drown out other noises, but certainly pulsing beneath them. Call it a cliche, but she couldn't help but wonder if the tanned guy with the ugly, highlighter-pink hair was responsible. She had the vague sensation that she should recognize him, but he was probably just part of some scene she had no interest in.

Once some measure of her attention was directed that way, however, her Spirit (partially invisibly manifested to try and keep an eye on the increasingly distant Reverio) couldn't help picking up on the... phone call that was occurring between Pinkie and some foppish shitstain. The conversation sounded eerily reminiscent of... Well, honestly, she could only compare it to a fresh-faced talent being taken advantage of by their controlling, greedy staff. And a child at that. Pinkie looked young.

Chinami found, despite the urgency of her current task, that her pace had slowed, and she finally decided that stopping to lightly stretch her legs instead of half-heartedly jogging in place looked more natural. She would admit, despite that it had exactly fuck-all to do with her and that she already had too much shit on her plate, her curiosity was piqued.

Pinkie was moving again, rather conveniently in the direction she had also been originally. Good fortune? Who knew, but she'd take advantage of it. Flicking her ebony hair over her shoulder, Chinami wiped a bit of sweat from the back of her neck and rubbed it into the corner of her sweater, as she restarted her pace, now slower. Honestly, these hot, concealing things weren't the most ideal to jog in, and she found her eyes drifting to what looked like a nearby clothing store. Pinkie stopped. There was a nearby television broadcasting some sort of military parade... from Vauquelin.

Chinami ignored it. She didn't have the pity to spare for a faraway nation and people that had nothing to do with her. If she let herself get obsessed with every little worldly indignity, it would... Hah, it would make her like Reverio, right? He was perfect proof of the foolishness of unsolicited sympathy. In which case... Why did she care what Pinkie had going on in his life? She was just some rando on the street, and she knew that if she were in his place, she'd have despised the idea of being offered advice out of the blue.

The yet unspoken words Chinami had been mulling upon dissolved into nothingness, as her pace increased once more, taking her away from Pinkie and into the nearby clothing store. Now with her mind back on an actually relevant track and the library practically around the corner, the thoughts on clothes had sparked an idea, and Chinami's lips curled up in satisfaction.

---

Mere minutes later, the bell rang, as a pale beauty left the establishment. A bone-white bob of hair swayed about her chin. The lightest accent of blush, mascara and concealer redefined the contours of her face and routed attention to the inquisitive ruby eyes set behind the reading glasses perched on her nose. A collared white undershirt was accompanied by a grey sweater for a top layer... one that brought into much sharper definition shapely features that were normally concealed by baggy clothing. A navy backpack rested comfortably on her shoulders. Hers was a quiet, bookish ambiance, as each low-heeled black pump clacked on the sidewalk.



"Li-li-ya..." her low voice intoned in a hush, before what have might been classified as a frown downturned her lips on an otherwise stoically passive face. Honestly, she was satisfied with the overall result of her little side-trip, but her voice still sounded far too distinctive. That wasn't to say that she couldn't pull off a different inflection, intonation and tone. She had the talent... but not the practice to uphold this stunt consistently, especially if she had to raise her voice or speak often. The more times she pushed her luck, the bigger the risk she'd slip... which was where the persona she'd chosen came in. A quiet bookworm, a quietly nosey and inquisitive observer, the quintessential kuudere... and exactly the sort of person to blend into a library with ease.

On the purely physical level, however, she was more than satisfied. With her Spirit's absurd speed, it wasn't the work of more than 5 minutes from beginning to end to rapidly browse for what she needed, clothes, makeup, a wig and a backpack to conceal her prior change of clothes. A quick trip to the bathroom to throw the ensemble together had only added another minute or two. For all that she didn't use them often due to her physical lifestyle making maintenance a bigger pain in the ass than she felt like upkeeping, she was still a goth, and she knew her way around makeup. Her Spirit had made getting the wig flawlessly secured and applying the makeup a breeze, able to apply them with speed and precision that any morning person would envy. And on top of all that, she currently wore her invisible Spirit over the top of it all, taking advantage of its selective tangibility to ensure that nothing could disturb the physical integrity of the facade.

While she'd perhaps hesitate to use such an extreme word as "perfect", she felt her disguise came pretty damn close.

Resisting the urge to steel her shoulders and maintaining a relaxed facade, "Liliya Montoya" rounded the corner and finally laid eyes on Rhea's Grand Library. While she'd been here plenty of times before and long since gotten over the novelty of its grandeur, somehow, the occasion and purpose of her arrival managed to make the structure loom larger in her mind's eye, a shiver of anticipatory nerves shooting down her spine.

She wasn't exactly expecting a fight, not really, not in a place this public and surely secured... assuming what Reverio hoped to find was indeed here. But even so, she had planned for it. Her Spirit presently overlapping her body -with no plans to release it any time soon- was not just to protect her disguise but also to shield and enhance her physically. If it came down to a fight while she was in this state, she'd just have to make do with pretending to be a mere speedy brute with a clever head on her shoulders.

As she neared the Grand Library's steps, a rather swanky-looking vehicle was pulling up, and the impression of wealth was reinforced by the backdoor opening to admit a rather... oddly discordant figure. He was tall, nearly as much as her even, but there was a strange youthfulness to him, a wiry bent to his musculature that just seemed to strike an odd chord. The youthful impression wasn't helped by the way his eyes seemed to only focus on the technological apparatus on his head, darting around and observing the world almost unseeingly otherwise.

...Aaaaand, suddenly, he was just approaching randos on the street, making a beeline for the library. 'What the hell? Troublesome.' Her Spirit's acute hearing couldn't help but pick up on the repetitive inquiry being posed to anything with tits. Initially, Chi- "Liliya" almost chose to blatantly ignore him as several other women had, but when the hulk of a boy approached her just as she was reaching the front door of the Grand Library, she couldn't help shooting him a dead-eyed expression and toneless, "...Creepy," before going on her way. She had to side-step briefly to avoid the new annoyance all but barreling though the doorway and her prior space in search of continuing his freaky quest.

Upon entering the establishment, "Liliya" -as she was now doing her best to mentally refer to herself- did not waste time gawking, as she passed through the reception area wordlessly, doing her best to ignore the sound of the nutbar still approaching random women. For a second, she could have sworn he even asked the receptionist, who looked about half a second away from calling security on him. Liliya tried to put that out of mind, as she entered a general walking area, and panned her crimson eyes ov- A familiar blond head stood out in the distance... accompanied by a new -if similar- one.

'There you are...'

Face impassive, Liliya ambled closer, taking a moment to draw a random book from the nearest shelf and open to the table of contents. Feigning reading, she listened from a respectable distance with her Spirit's "ears", as Reverio propositioned for aid someone that was apparently... his cousin?! What? How? Wasn't his family wiped out? Did he forget to mention her... or was he lying before? Tch'. Either way, it hardly changed that his foolish goal was still intact. Whatever he hoped to find was indeed under guard, and now he was hoping to access it so easily as making a scene?

Whatever. Maybe it would work out. There hadn't been any major incidents regarding the library that she'd heard of in recent times, so security was probably pretty lax, all things considered. If Blondie got himself arrested or killed? Well, that would be as much to her benefit as his success. The escape clause of her Deal would be applicable, and while that meant her soul would still take much longer to naturally heal, without the threat of the Ancient Evil being brought back by some pessimistic moron, that was time she had in spades.

'Ah... Oh dear. That girl's name was Darla...'

The nutbar named Maverick had approached Reverio and his cousin, and oh... The menacingly gleeful look that sprouted on the latter's face raised Liliya's hackles. The following shrill scream of faux terror made Liliya once more thankful for her Spirit's enhanced senses being protected from sensory overload, but she still cringed at the act. Honestly, what the hell?! Were all of Reverio's relatives idiots?! Well, at least if there was some sort of silver lining to all this, it was that Maverick's expression in response to Darla's unexpected bitchery was just... glorious to behold, truly a gem of schadenfreude.

Doing her best not to be caught up visually in the surely developing scene, Liliya made a little healthier distance and stepped behind a shelf near to the guarded doorway Reverio seemed eager to invade. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to blow this disguise on this one incident by getting dragged into the madness in some public capacity. It hadn't been all that cheap, considering the rushed nature of her purchase.

The boy's balancing along the sidewalk had gone well, until the local clothing store caught his attention. The display of clothes were so different from what he remembered from his homeland, and in many regards he liked the Rhean style far better. Perhaps with exception of the pants which were very fluffy, almost balloon-like in El-Undura. His gaze wandered however away from the mannequins in the display windows as he spotted a pretty girl inside of the store, she was clearly older than him. Perhaps by just a couple of years.

"Wow. She's beautiful." He said aloud outside in the street before grabbing his own mouth as he realized what he did, and to make matters worse an older woman was passing him by. He could do nothing but awkwardly smile with his eyes closed. Maybe if he closed them hard enough reality could warp itself and undo it.

'Stupid. Why did you have to blurt that out like that?' He thought in lamentation, and ruffled his own hair as soon as the older woman had passed him by. This ofcourse didn't stop Al from throwing a glance into the shop again, but now the girl was gone. 'Oh come on! Ahh... well abit of bad luck means there's bound to be some good luck ahead!'

As he was headbanging to the beat playing, he completely paid no attention to anything around him aside from the places where he had to cross the street. Upon reaching the Grand Library building, the boy opened his mouth to try think of something refined to say about it. That's what scholars and artists did.

"Well that's like... kind of cool?" He felt uncertain momentarily and decided it was probably best to shut up or he would say something embarassing again. The boy also deactivated his neurobeat music.

'This place is huge. Like several stages at least. Why were I heading here to begin with? Oh man. I have totally forgotten...' The boy's gaze fell to the floor, he couldn't for the love of the gods remember his reason for coming to the library to begin with. Was his phonecall with the manager at fault? The beautiful girl he had seen? The older woman that had unfortunately witnessed his exclamation in public? He swallowed and then treaded into the place in a manner he could almost be mistaken for a thief, he was that uncertain how to behave in a place like this. On the stage he was someone else, it was a role he played. In private he was himself. But here? He was clueless how to socially behave with non-fans. Whatever happens, he knew he would have to try his best not to get in trouble. Definitely.

The gods would not have it.

A girl had all of a sudden screamed out, calling for aid against a pervert. The loud noise had almost made Al fall forwards into the bookshelf he was inspecting. He felt his heart beating quickly before his mind came up to speed. And he homed in on the source of the sound. A blonde girl.

'A pervert?! Oh! It must be that guy... a bad guy. But this is definitely trouble, I should stay out of trouble but this girl needs help-' Al watched as Darla pointed towards Maverick. Fighting in a library was definitely off-limits, even more so than being loud and singing. But he felt as if a heavy stone was in his chest. He wanted to help. He did. Wasn't there a bouncer nearby? Normally these things would fall into their hands or his manager.

Then he heard the girl again, offering two million to the person which would aid her.

'It's rescue time!' Al's face beamed up, as all the money in his mind turned into food and new performance gear.

The boy reached up with both his hands to clasp his own face, hitting it softly as he was prepping himself for an act of heroism. The plan was simple, ride in like a knight on a horse, but without the horse. Draw the sword to defeat the evil, but the sword was a magical guitar and not stutter. Alrune drew his guitar from his back and put it into both his hands before he started to run, sliding on the library floor with his shoes the last bit of distance to place himself inbetween Darla and Mav.

'This is so cool... but better focus! Tell that villain his lewd ways are over.' Al psyched himself up before opening his mouth.

"Y-y-you s-should leave t-the lady al-alone p-pervert. Please g-g-go away..." Alrune reached out and pointed with his right hand towards Maverick. Somehow his tongue and mouth had lagged behind this time, perhaps it was because of he not having a sheet with what he should sing, or the backup by the bandmembers. Or the ever watchful stare of his manager.

'I hope I haven't just screwed my career over or my lifetime expectancy.' Al swallowed slightly as he realized he might have to end up fighting.

@Lewascan2@MagusDream@AtomicNut@Aqutanama

"We have an agreement." Reverio offered a smile back to Darla before he turned around to locate himself closer to the place he wanted to enter as soon as Darla's distraction would come into play. While there was no doubt that he liked having his cousin still be well alive, unlike the majority of his relatives. He sometimes suspected she might be aiming to be a close-cousin.

The old court dames of Vauquelin had spoken about such things, ofcourse not near his presence but his brother and the princess had shared plenty of juicy gossip. It had been one of the few ways to momentarily put away the political side of the royal court and the troubles the kingdom had faced. But while Rev had a brief idea of the concept, he had not the full understanding. As far as he was concerned it meant close-friend, but relative. Probably.

However to his joy, Darla had agreed to help him out in return for dinner and a sleepover? At her penthouse? Why did it all feel like he had made a pact with a demon? No, he shook that feeling off. Darla was a nice person. She just wanted to have company while eating and wanted to show hospitality by allowing him to stay for the night, and without a dresscode. It left Rev at the crossroads. He was always in dresscode. The only time he had not been was when his brother gave his clothes to him. The more he thought about it, the more weird did it get. No dress.. code. Did that also imply being undressed? Because it would be no dress at all... didn't some emperor of old have invisible clothes to begin with? The blonde shook the idea away and then retrailed back on the last thing. Dinner.

It had slipped past him quickly without him realizing just how dangerous that was. He had assumed it was actual food. But Darla was half-Albionic. That meant... she might offer Albion styled food. Reverio closed his eyes as he realized the potential that he could be fed poison and things meant for no living thing. At least he had his magic to cleanse injuries and conditions that could occur. But he couldn't stop immediate sudden death. It was a risk he had to take, in order to get access to the library vaults. He needed to find the knowledge to bring salvation to the world. Surely the solution could be found within.

As soon as Rev heard Darla's scream he reacted instictively by drawing his sword of light, and was ready to rush to her aid. Before he realized -this- was her distraction? It had certainly drawn his attention. But this was his chance, as the librarians attention set on Darla or they started to approach her to see what was going on. Reverio quickly snuck over to the forbidden door and pushed his sword of light through the keyhole and turned the blade as it was piercing the magical lock, breaking the spirit ward on it to prevent planewalkers to enter.

Then he quickly withdrew his blade and sheathed it's light, grabbing hold of the door handle and then opening the formerly locked door. Closing it right behind him, and then began scurrying down the stairs, drawing the sword of light again to lighten up the dark stairwell.

'I did it! One step closer to saving this world... one step closer. Time to get past the remaining wards, they will surely be far more problematic. Best watch out for traps...' He thought as he came down to the first room which held a chessboard pattern on the floor and large chess figures spread all over it. On the other side of the room, there was a door.

'This is definitely a trap...' The blonde narrowed his piercing blue eyes.

@Lewascan2@MagusDream@AtomicNut@Aqutanama

Mav quirked an eyebrow when she started unbuttoning her shirt. He had no clue why she was doing that until after she screamed. Although he wasn’t close enough to touch her at arm's length. Quickly he looked around at the people in the library. This challenge gave him clarity and his mind raced. She had just placed a bounty of sorts on him. Then again couldn’t he just claim it by leaving? No, the message from the gods was blunt. He stood there looking at others overcome by avarice. He cleared his throat and looked in the general direction of most of the people approaching.





He decided to go with a different approach and this was only after he noticed someone was missing. His eyes quickly scanned the room and noted where the young man was headed. Restricted access. This had to be a distraction. Classic. His mind filled with all kinds of other scenarios but only when another man came to her rescue did one stick. He would use this to hopefully gain favor and not just be a scapegoat.

"Y-y-you s-should leave t-the lady al-alone p-pervert. Please g-g-go away..." Alrune reached out and pointed with his right hand towards Maverick.

“AH! The hero arrives at last!” He bellowed in as deep a voice as he could. It was only made comical by the inflections of his voice.

“However, what kind of hero comes only after a reward of 2 million gold bars is pleaded with? Shouldn’t the hero be selfless?” He questioned and his voice was once again cracking showing his age. However, he didn’t let it slow him down.

“I digress. I’m here for the princess and no hero will get in my way!” He yelled as he toggled his gravity on in such a way that it would allow him to float in the air. Just like a big bad from any anime. He also made his cloak bellow with the same ability. After that he did as menacing of a laugh as he could and then landed. This would have caused extreme nausea to anyone normal. Thankfully he was more robust than normal.

“I’m telling you that I was hired as a cameraman, not some main villain! I’m too young and my voice cracks with every syllable!” He yelled so that the others would hopefully think it was a play rehearsal.

“Furthermore, the lines are crap. Who wrote these lines? I mean the hero comes in and calls him a pervert! Shouldn’t he have some kind of tie to the Villain or something?” He asked her as he moved to Alrune.

“And you! Why did you stutter? I thought we went over the lines time and time again?!” He scolded Alrune in the act while pointing at him. However, lightly as the wind in his sails abated after he noticed the security and staff around them. As he noticed he pulled away from Alrune and bowed towards the staff.

“Apologies! I hope that you got my father’s memo about the play we are creating in honor of this library. Well, we had to change a few things to spice it up. Add a little romance, some comical lines, and get a new lead villain. This was supposed to help invigorate interest in the library in order for more youth to become interested in knowledge. Well, seeking it on their own that is.” Mav lied through his teeth but when he pulled out a business card the staff only nodded and went on their way. They seemed put off by the entire thing but didn’t want to have to deal with the Majere family. He handed a card to a few people here and there. Afterward he moved towards Alrune and Darla handing each a card as well. He hoped that the others would follow along and noted that everyone was dispersing.

Mav placed his right hand over his left breast in a stiff spear handed bow to Darla first and then Alrune.

“So, did I do well enough?” He asked as he came out of the bow. He made sure to look Darla in the eyes and then pointedly look in the direction Reverio headed but not at the door. This was a precaution just in case someone was watching. He pulled out his device and placed it back on his face as he awaited a response.

@Lewascan2 @MagusDream @AtomicNut @Dezuel

@Dezuel@Aqutanama@AtomicNut@MagusDream

As "Liliya" canvassed the entrance to the "Restricted Section" from afar, several problems presented themselves.

Though she obviously hadn't gotten close enough to check, firstly, such a place would surely have some manner of magical security -if not an alarm, silent or otherwise. Secondly, there was more mundane security. After all, the Grand Library was hardly a place that couldn't afford to have a camera system installed, and to not have one pointed at the Restricted Section would be the height of foolishness. There was even plenty chance of such devices being beyond the doorway itself, but for her part, Liliya could only hope that they'd simply considered it more secure to not allow anyone down there at all, no matter the potential benefits.

Thirdly, population. The library was big and rarely not crowded. The odds of going unseen, even with a distraction, were distressingly (or perhaps reassuringly?) low. Even if one got past the library's security and the librarians and guards alike, there was as much a chance as anything that they'd be caught out by -of all things- someone's cell phone. It was easy to forget -in this rather advanced society- that even the average civilian witness could be a grave security threat to any stealth operation.

And worse still, Liliya had every reason to suspect that Reverio had no clue that such threats were to be factored... if he acknowledged their existence at all, entirely focused on the magical half of the equation. He didn't even have a fucking bargain bin burner phone equivalent, for Pete's sake!

Head ducked inconspicuously, as though reading the random book in her hands, Liliya's crimson ears darted through the gaps in the short curtain of her bone-white hair. One camera... two... three... a backup atop the third floor? With the context of that last little bit of cleverness in mind, her more focused searching gaze caught out two more cameras sitting in "deceptive" positions, seemingly placed to look like they were merely guarding a more inconsequential viewpoint.

'Tch'. They aren't pulling as many punches as I'd like.' If it were only one or two, she might could have done this quietly, but this was going to look suspicious as shit from whatever security room this place has. The only silver lining was that she could theoretically at least keep Reverio and her faces out of things.

Her Spirit palmed the handful of pens and pencils she had stealthily swiped when passing through the reception area.

Darla's scream rang out.

Reverio was moving.

'Showtime.'

Her Spirit's invisible arms whipped away from her body and around the corners of her hiding space, the pens and pencils fanned between its curled fingers flickering into unseeable blurs themselves and becoming projectiles of inhuman precision and range.

Crack. Crrrk. Crick.

The backup cameras met a swift fate, lenses pierced dead center one after another, the sound of their demise concealed quite thoroughly beneath the racket Darla and the nutbar creep were making. Though it would perhaps only misdirect for an all too limited time, she had targeted these first to not make it overtly obvious why they were being brought down.

Shhikk. Chaack. Thhrrnk.

Unrelated cameras were targeted next, hopefully further muddying the waters.

KKrrrkk. Shhuurnk. Shlunk.

Finally, the true goal, the cameras most directly standing watch over the Restricted Section, were extinguished.

All of this occurred before Darla's initial accusations could even complete, thoroughly covering (at least in that area) for Reverio's infiltration.

Meanwhile, as the confrontation between far too loud people progressed- And oh, hello there, it was that Pinkie with the ghastly hair. It looked like he really was responsible for the musical zone, the sound of which oh-so-conveniently further muddied the waters of ambient noise pollution. Even despite Reverio's brief slip-up in drawing his sword (it seemed his ally had not seen fit to inform him of her impulsive plan), the sheer spectacle the other idiots were making of themselves, seemed to cover for Reverio shockingly well.

Liliya, for her part, waited until she was certain all eyes were on the confrontation, for the time when the so-called "Maverick" was thoroughly indulging in his transparently obvious lie (Because, really, even if Darla was full of shit, was she supposed to side with the guy accosting random women?), to act. Her Spirit enveloping and enhancing her body to inhuman heights, Liliya moved. With a blurred lunge low to the ground, she hurtled pell-mell over to the restricted entrance in an extended dive roll, the sound of her tumble covered by the clamor.

Such was her hurry, she barely spared the ruined lock more than half a glance, nor the thought of how Reverio had almost trivially broken whatever enchantments must surely have been upon it. Crouched low and out of casual sight, she paused only ever so slightly to listen carefully to the doorway and ensure the footsteps of the intruder within were sufficiently far, before swinging it open as quietly as she could manage and slithering inside beneath doorknob level. Her backpack caught slightly on the doorway, but after a hurried readjustment and shimmy, the door was closed behind her with a sound that seemed very final to her Spirit's enhanced hearing.

This was it. The first step to committing to this absurdity.

Even though she was alone, for integrity's sake, Liliya restrained the scowl that wanted to grow on her impassive face. Just how had her week turned into this?!

A quiet clink echoed off of what she now -and had perhaps already subconsciously- noticed were stone steps, hewn smoothly, like- A smell hit her then, the blast of nostalgia almost rocking her off her feet, as she gazed down the darkened stairwell, lit only by the orange flicker of the pocket lighter now held open in her left hand... and the distant glow of Reverio's power, reflecting off the walls.

Drifting up from below, carried by a breeze only a sense of smell as powerful as her Spirit's could pick up at this distance. Aged stone and wood. Musty parchment and leather.

Almost subconsciously, her right hand traced along the wall. How... long had it been? Five years? Six...? How long since she had last gazed down into the abyss of... of a dungeon, a tomb, a lost repository of relics and knowledge? All of a sudden, she felt... parched, not in a physical sense but in... perhaps a spiritual one. For all the danger. For all the risk. For all that it had ended in tragedy... She missed this, craved this. This had been her entire world for a decade and more. This was...

'You can take the girl out of the adventure... but I guess you can't take the adventure out of the girl. Shame' It was a disquieting thought, to know that she still had some bit of thrill-seeking within her. Such a thing... should not be nurtured. It was surely a threat to her sticking to her noble goal of a peaceful existence.

Shaking her head free of such thoughts, Liliya waited till Reverio's light was out of sight before taking a single step in pursuit, immediately wincing at the sound of her low-heeled pump clacking on the stairwell. She knew it was mostly her brain playing tricks on her, but the sound felt almost impossibly loud to her Spirit's senses, as though she were a naughty child trying to sneak a late-night snack past their sleeping parents.

Wracking her brains, she tried to come up with a solution. She could tip-toe, but that would definitely be unacceptably slower, especially if she wanted to move truly silently. She could forgo her shoes entirely... but that would surely ruin her new socks. And besides, she definitely didn't want to go into whatever she might find below all but barefoot. Her lips downturned with restrained severity. If only there were a way for her to avoid touching the ground entirely. Without her Spirit's greatest power, flight or -better yet- true silence was out of reach...

...Or was it?

What were her assets? Well, nominally: her Spirit. And disregarding its now restricted capacity to alter the world around her, what did her Spirit have for assets?

Great strength and speed: crude but useful, far more often than she'd prefer, but now -where subtlety was needed- was not one of those times. Her limited range of application didn't much mitigate things either.

Enhanced senses: once more, a truly remarkably invaluable tool, but they didn't aid her here in more than choosing her moments carefully.

Which brought her to... the selective tangibility. Honestly, dead useful and hilariously underrated. Admittedly, even she was prone to forgetting to utilize it. It just had so much breadth to its possibilities, but nearly every time she might have thought to put it to work, her ability to alter things with a touch would end up presenting an easier solution... like a crutch, admittedly. It was honestly probably only her dedication to keeping the true nature of her power concealed that had forced her to be as innovative as she had till now. It would have been all too easy to rely on that power for everything if she had any looser scruples.

So... her Spirit could fly. It could carry things while flying with no concern for gravity. As long as the target was not spiritual in nature, it could -in theory- even act as an effectively immovable object against something that would otherwise be far too heavy for it to conventionally lift or otherwise manipulate. That said... Liliya's body was most certainly not such an overtly spiritual object, and even if it were, her weight was trivially within her Spirit's capacity.

Her invisible Spirit, snugly enveloping her body, began to rise several inches off the stairwell.

Liliya's feet left the ground... and stayed.

A thrill of triumph rolled down her spine, a glee rippling through her bones that she couldn't recall feeling in all too long. This feeling... of accomplishment, particularly through innovation, it satisfied her in a deep, abiding way she couldn't quite describe.

'I-! I can fly!' she definitely didn't internally squeak, starry-eyed. Absolutely not.

Right. Left. Up. Down. Her Spirit and body moved in concert with a buttery smooth ease. Strafing came naturally. It was nothing new. All of this... It was just the culmination, the application of a variety of principles that she had oh so casually taken at face value. Everything suddenly had a new dimension. How was it that she'd never thought of this before? In the somewhat cramped space, such was her jubilation that she almost bashed her -admittedly mostly inviolable- head against the ceiling. She clawed at the surge of glee and jubilation, all too reluctantly tempering it down for later.

Excitement and experiments could come after. Right now? She had a job to do.

Suspended half a foot above the stairwell steps, Liliya quietly descended into the darkness, her only company the orange glow of the lighter.

"Ehh?" Suzakura looked over his shoulder towards his name being called in a familiar manner.

"Yo! Minanananana! Oi! Wait a second, where did you go last night? Well it doesn't really matter now does it? So watcha say, should we go and have some fun? There's gotta be something we could do, this spooky old building looks dull so that just ain't it." The bully considered his options while louding sharing his thoughts.

"How about we go and draw some new interesting art at the Saint Laurel's school? Or we could go hang out with Kibuririri, our boss-bro. Watcha think MoMo? Perhaps we will run into Chinami-chan too! All-right!" Suzakura tightened his hands into fists and then made a cheering motion up into the air.

Surely today was going to be far better than the day before, even if the past had it highlights which he missed. The time he had bullied Parker and Cel sprung to mind, almost bringing a tear of nostalgia to his eyes. It had been the good ol' days, where he was the king of kings. Way before he had run into Kiburi and lost that fight quite handsomely. Ofcourse he was still the king in a sense, but to challenge and fight Kiburi was suicidal. The guy's strength had to be respected. Ofcourse there had been times where people had not respected him and gotten their sorry asses handed to them. But at this time Suza was certain that most people had some respect for Kiburi, enough to not mess around with him or the people he surrounded himself with.

To have a hierarchy was good and all, Kiburi was at the top, then it was probably Chinami-chan and himself. Mina and Kurogane was pretty strong too, all things considered but Mina wasn't as much of a thinker in battle and that was costing her alot of wins. Kurogane was having alot of potential, but it seemed to fluxuate from time to time, dependant on some factors. While Suza wasn't fond of Kurogane's seemingly weak 'spirit', in that he tried to protect the meek, he did consider the guy as a strong opponent. That was more than could be said for the weaklings of the other schools, even if Michael, or four-eyes as Suzakura regarded him had proven to have quite the punch despite it all. Perhaps Mina was seeing some resemblence to the guy and himself? The very idea of being similar to the guy was enough to make him feel like removing his breakfast.



As the blonde ex-king looked over the vast underground chamber, he realized that he would have to play a 'game' in order to pass.

'I cannot rely on magic to push through this. I need to play by the rules. The knight can move two places forwards and one to the left or right.' So he had to walk around the various pieces on the board, the game had already been in play apparently as the various pieces were spread throughout the floor.

But in order to reach the other side of the chessboard, he needed to cross a line guarded by the white queen. For a moment, Reverio thought he saw Princess Lalamarie in it's place, but once he blinked such a visage was gone. The blonde watched the floor and took a deep breath before he started to run and then attempted to slide over the diagonal space that the queen guarded. The queen quickly came flying towards Rev the moment he attempted to cross over, it nicked him in the back on it's way. Causing him to fall forwards into a free-space on the board.

"Ahh-hngnn!" Reverio cried out as he was hit by it, even if he had avoided being hit by it full on, the piece had violently hurled him to the floor and he felt wracking pain all over his body. Almost as if the pieces were magically enhanced by electricity.

'That... was painful.. but uhnn.. I cannot afford to use my healing powers in this room, who knows what happens if you try cheat...' The blonde thought to himself, as he realized he needed to press on even if he was bruised. He made a few jumps and dashes, avoiding behind slammed between two clashing pawns until he realized only one piece stood in his way. The white bishop.

Irony. Such cruel irony. It was his brother who had been the bishop who took the place of the king. Was this yet another cruel test of the gods? "No matter what.. I must go on. That is my only redemption." He muttered to himself as he braced himself to cross over the final line, guarded by the white bishop.

With a dash of speed, the former king strode forth, crossing the last line of black and white checkered floor, as the bishop came flying towards him. Momentarily he thought of his brother, as everything almost seemed to go in slow motion. Then he reached the end of the room, the bishop flew past him but avoided hitting him. 'My brother.. is this your way of saying you would try to stop me? I cannot do as you ask... I need to make sure your death was not in vain. It wouldn't just matter how else I would live, I could never make your sacrifice worth it otherwise. I couldn't face you nor the princess when death finally claim me.' He closed his eyes and gave out a deep sigh, preparing himself for what were to come in the long corridor that was now greeting him. It looked clear. But was it?

'Hesitation. My eternal foe. If it wasn't for you, I could have saved the kingdom... I could have prevented... I- I couldn't.. I am not strong enough. I never was. So I have to find something that is strong. Strong enough to unify the world, to turn it into what it should be. Peaceful and kind. Nightman. Perhaps you were right, humankind can still be saved? We'll see.' Reverio closed his eyes and took a moment to collect his thoughts, he needed to be paying attention or he would run into a trap. Again. But at the same time he couldn't take too long or people would notice his breach into the vault.

@Lewascan2@Aqutanama@MagusDream@AtomicNut

Location: The Grand Library
Interactions: Lambda > Maverick @Aqutanama and Kurogane > Alrune @Dezuel

"Y-y-you s-should leave t-the lady al-alone p-pervert. Please g-g-go away..." Alrune reached out and pointed with his right hand towards Maverick. Somehow his tongue and mouth had lagged behind this time, perhaps it was because of he not having a sheet with what he should sing, or the backup by the bandmembers. Or the ever watchful stare of his manager.

BGM: Laughter and Merriment (Kingdom Hearts II)

Laughter. Even though the library was supposed to be a place of silence, echoing laughs could be heard inside it. Alrune's rather... nervous approach drew attention. Not the exact one he wanted, everyone was pretty sure. Even the people on the other floors started laughing at his attempt to defend Darla.

"Pfffft... bahahaha!! Wow, good going, hero!! I'm sure she's feelin' hella safe with ya around!!" Kurogane screamed at Alrune, from the second floor, while laughing wildly.

"Hey, he was just trying to help her. Don't laugh at him like that." Lambda scolded him.

"Yeah, suuuuure!! Big... pfft... big fuckin' help, hahahaha!!" Kurogane kept laughing with everyone.

“AH! The hero arrives at last!” He bellowed in as deep a voice as he could. It was only made comical by the inflections of his voice.

“However, what kind of hero comes only after a reward of 2 million gold bars is pleaded with? Shouldn’t the hero be selfless?” He questioned and his voice was once again cracking showing his age. However, he didn’t let it slow him down.

“I digress. I’m here for the princess and no hero will get in my way!” He yelled as he toggled his gravity on in such a way that it would allow him to float in the air. Just like a big bad from any anime. He also made his cloak bellow with the same ability. After that he did as menacing of a laugh as he could and then landed. This would have caused extreme nausea to anyone normal. Thankfully he was more robust than normal.

Even more laughter came out from the crowd. Everyone knew Mav was mocking Alrune. The librarians and the rest of the staff were trying to contain the scene, but it was impossible to keep a multitude of people quiet when the atmosphere is hysterical as it was. This was no longer a library, it felt like an enormous circus.

"Oh, this is rich, my stomach hurts! Never woulda thought a library could be this fun!" Kurogane tried to catch some breaths while laughing.

"This isn't funny. You're all bullying him and he was just trying to help." Lambda kept scolding.

"Ah, grow a spine Lamb! Don't tell me ya ain't findin' this just a tad bit funny?" Kurogane asked him.

"No, I'm really not. This whole scene needs to stop, the librarians and the staff are getting angry." Lambda answered.

"Eh, stop it. C'mon, just enjoy the view! Here, they're still going!" Kurogane pointed it out while returning to look at the scene.

Lambda took that window of opportunity to pass through the crowd to head downstairs as quickly as he could. He didn't find this funny, and he thought it wasn't interesting to let this happen any longer. Alrune was now put in a spot of being taken as a joke.

(I'm really sorry Kuro... but I can't watch this any longer.) He thought with himself, going downstairs.

“I’m telling you that I was hired as a cameraman, not some main villain! I’m too young and my voice cracks with every syllable!” He yelled so that the others would hopefully think it was a play rehearsal.

“Furthermore, the lines are crap. Who wrote these lines? I mean the hero comes in and calls him a pervert! Shouldn’t he have some kind of tie to the Villain or something?” He asked her as he moved to Alrune.

“And you! Why did you stutter? I thought we went over the lines time and time again?!” He scolded Alrune in the act while pointing at him. However, lightly as the wind in his sails abated after he noticed the security and staff around them. As he noticed he pulled away from Alrune and bowed towards the staff.

“Apologies! I hope that you got my father’s memo about the play we are creating in honor of this library. Well, we had to change a few things to spice it up. Add a little romance, some comical lines, and get a new lead villain. This was supposed to help invigorate interest in the library in order for more youth to become interested in knowledge. Well, seeking it on their own that is.” Mav lied through his teeth but when he pulled out a business card the staff only nodded and went on their way. They seemed put off by the entire thing but didn’t want to have to deal with the Majere family. He handed a card to a few people here and there. Afterward he moved towards Alrune and Darla handing each a card as well. He hoped that the others would follow along and noted that everyone was dispersing.

Applause. The laughter suddenly changed to a round of applause as Mav lied his way around to make it look like a theatrical play being somewhat staged at the library. Many of the students were actually appalled and no one seemed to raise an objection, so they just went ahead and congratulated them for the play. But not all of them were actually convinced, though.

(A play, eh. Guy's smart, I'll give 'im that. He managed to change it around so that it seemed like a total joke. At least he got it out clean.) Kurogane thought.

That's when he looked around to talk with Lambda, realizing he wasn't there. And if he wasn't there, that could only mean one thing...

"Oh, for cryin' out loud...!!" Kurogane muttered while hastily going to the stairs.

Mav placed his right hand over his left breast in a stiff spear handed bow to Darla first and then Alrune.

“So, did I do well enough?” He asked as he came out of the bow. He made sure to look Darla in the eyes and then pointedly look in the direction Reverio headed but not at the door. This was a precaution just in case someone was watching. He pulled out his device and placed it back on his face as he awaited a response.

"Humiliating him isn't funny, he was just trying to help her." Lambda spoke.

*BGM fades*

And then there was silence. The time that all the scenes happened was time enough for Lambda to go down through the staircase and reach the bottom floor. He went towards the group and spoke to Mav.

"You're really bothering her. She's really busy with other affairs and you just rudely interrupted her. Please, leave Miss Darla alone, she doesn't want to talk with you." Lambda said to him.