RP Smash [IC/Conditional Acceptance/PG-16]

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"I see. So I lost again."

 

Staring onto the ceiling, Angela's gaze was empty. She barely was able to move right now thanks to what she suspected as blood loss, and the left side of her body was covered in bandages and she was barely able to feel her left hand right now. She was hurting all over, and even with the futuristic healing technology here, she could still feel that her back had been slashed many times by something sharp. It was easy to guess on what happened - her delay ability activating just after her match ended. It was not really what she was concerned about, however.

 

Once again, she lost, and proved to Mauvache just how useless and hopeless she were. Her final attack didn't even reach her opponent. What should she feel? Anger? Angry to who? Right now she felt too tired for that. She couldn't really feel anything, outside of disappointment in herself, and a silent resignation about Mauvache and the audience's perception on her. Perhaps she really was meant to be here only just as a joke.

 

Her watch beeped not long after, and she saw Aurora messaging her again. Seems like her match had finished too. Struggling a bit to get herself to type, Angela immediately replied to her, not really wanting to make her worry too much. Angela thought that well, as much as her second loss in a row pretty much destroyed her hope in achieving anything in this world, she could at least still enjoy her time with Aurora.

 

"Just landed myself in hospital, sorry. I might be able to meet you near the apartments, but I'm not sure if the nurses would let me leave. I'll try to go there, but if you don't hear more from me, please come here. I'd like to spend more time with you tonight."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Xia

 

Due to her reckless behavior and generally slow speed Xia had accumulated much damage as she made her way towards the other side of the room. While each hit didn't seem to hurt her much if she checked she'd notice that she had taken a total of 400 damage during all of this. And the bodies were still pressing in. Though, as she had gotten this far, she'd notice an odd thing. There was a woman standing in the corner of the room. She had a face that was the kind of face you forgot after seeing it however the fact that, in this horde, she even had a face to begin with was something to note. She seemed to be simply watching the fight going on, with a drink in her hand.

---

Cyanthrax

 

"I'm just tryin' to make friends here! Not my fault she won't share her toys."

Tegur looked at Cyan with the most "not impressed" expression that he had ever seen. It was clear that he wasn't in the mood to deal with his sheet but the bartender didn't say anything more as the demon didn't make any more actions.

 

"Didn't your parents ever teach you its rude to point?" The smoke coming out of his mouth seemed to intensify, before fading away as he took a deep breath. "You're real fuc​kin lucky I like this place..."

 

"My parents taught me to shoot first so you're lucky I'm the rebellious type." Odine replied, putting her gun away with some reluctance. "But alright have it your way, cowboy. How about you buy a girl a drink and we'll get along just fine." With that the girl sat back up on the stool and down the drink she had left sitting there.

---

Aria

 

Apparently God didn't listen to Aria's plea because the teens were getting more rowdy, telling her to come into the pool with them, saying things like "better luck next time." and one mentioned how she should "take it off" before someone else reminded them that this one wasn't Angela.

 

As they began to move towards her and urge her into the water they paused with similarly pale, concerned, faces. The reason was clear if Aria turned around and saw the lifeguard standing with crossed arms and a scowling face behind her, looking at the teens.

 

He didn't say anything but his presence seemed to cause the teens to be disheartened and they floated off dejectedly. "Geez Gill we were just having a bit of fun..."

---

Tesability

 

"Haw Ai getsh a 'fwyeen wishensh' hewe? Ai nu wanna be hewd ahgins fow fwyeensh..."

 

Mauvache tilted her head. That wasn't something that she had expected. "I think you should be fine, but if it makes you feel better you may go to the police station to apply for one. I doubt anyone will cause you any trouble about it though, now that you're better known." She smiled at the Net Monster. "One of the many perks of working here."

---

Angela

 

While the girl waited for Aurora's response she would hear a knock on her, open, door and see a man standing in the doorway. He seemed to be a doctor and had on a friendly, somewhat carefree, smile as he approached her. "Now, Miss..Angela, you gave us quite the fright. Injuries like that aren't exactly common in this area of the city after all. Thankfully we managed to patch you up quite well. I don't think you'll be able to leave until tomorrow morning."

 

He gestured with his clipboard at Angela's watch. "So if you're planning anything with somebody you'll have to ask them to come here. If you must meetup may I suggest the roof? It has quite the nice breeze." He looked over the clipboard, which Angela would notice seemed to be digital, and let out a soft grunt.

 

"Usually fighters don't get hurt. Not since...well anyway, I suppose we'll have to send someone to review the battlefield just in case." He looked back at Angela. "Don't worry about paying, I think Mauvache can spot you this time." He winked.

---

The Internet

 

Meanwhile comments as always began to roll in.

 

For Xia vs Aurora it seemed to be mostly on the positive side.

 

"Aww Xia lost, that's a shame."

"She's kind of a one-trick pony isn't she?"

"Why fix what's not broken?"
"But she lost..."

"She lost in the best way!"

"My kids love her."

 

"Looks like that Aurora is starting to learn how this works way to go!"

"Heh. She's...cool. Heh."

"She's not as flashy as the others..."

"I like that about her, she just gets the job done."

"I want to see her go all in more often!"

"Anyone else shipping them? Water and Ice, come ON right?"

 

For Angela and Elijah it was a bit of a different story.

 

"Wow she lost again."
"Literally only one who hasn't won yet? C'mon..."

"She looked a lot better this time though!"
"I'm sure she'll get it next time, right?"
"Those shadows went to TOWN."

"What no stripping this time? Damn."

 

"Elijah OP pls nerf."
"Seriously is this guy a professional or something?"

"I kind of want to see him in a movie..."

"ALL THE GUNS"

"Can he even be stopped?"
"It's always so close, bet that's intentional, this guy can put on a show can't he?"

[Tesability Black]

"I think you should be fine, but if it makes you feel better you may go to the police station to apply for one. I doubt anyone will cause you any trouble about it though, now that you're better known."

 

Tesability's wings drooped a slight bit upon hearing that. With a gulp, she nodded at these words before finally replying. "Otay. Dank yus." Folding her wings in fully, she turned about towards the door she walked in through and thankfully spotting that she left the door open enough for her to wiggle out of the room without needing to mess with the handle. Once she was out of the room, however, she used the piece of wall near the door to get up high enough to reach for the handle of the door and pull it close.

 

Not long after doing that, she scrambled towards the closest exit of the building and flew off towards the direction of the police station.

 

~~~~~~

 

Not long after arriving, staying low to the ground to avoid getting pulled into this play that way, she landed in front of the police station, glancing at the entrance in unease. With a gulp, she walked up and spotted a button near the door that said 'Press to Open'. Thankful she didn't have to deal with the handles, she hopped up long enough to press the button before landing once more and walking into the place.

 

"Umsh...hu Ai shpeeksh tu fow 'fwyeen wishensh' aginsh?" she mused to herself as she placed a paw to her muzzle.

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"My parents taught me to shoot first so you're lucky I'm the rebellious type." Shoot? Her weapon didn't resemble any type of bow, nor did it seem large enough to hold arrows in it. It was probably similar to what Elijah used, some type of sciency mumbo jumbo. "But alright have it your way, cowboy. How about you buy a girl a drink and we'll get along just fine." The girl sat back up on the stool and down the drink she had left sitting there.
 
Cyanthrax scoffed at her, walking towards her. "Is that so?" The girl had piqued his interest, although he still felt an urge to immolate her where she stood. He chuckled, taking the seat next to her. "You don't mind, right?" He asked sarcastically, before immediately turning to the closest bartender. "Can I get 2 drinks over 'ere?" He shouted, holding up 2 fingers. As he waited for his drinks to be served, he turned to the bounty hunter. "Bounty hunter, huh? This place seems too damn peaceful for someone like you." He turned to the ceiling. "Then again, I've only spent my time in and around this fuc​king building." He removed his feet from the table, placing them onto the ground. "Might not be a bad idea to see what's out there."

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

The teens had only gotten rowdier, closing in on the uncomfortable girl as their hooping and hollering became more and more mean spirited. Aria gritted her teeth and clenched fer fist, ready to not give a crap whether Mauvache didn't like it if her contestants assaulted teens or not, but paused when the teens froze on the spot, staring past and above Aria. She turned around and saw the lifeguard, and breathed a big sigh of relief.

 

"Geez Gill we were just having a bit of fun..." the teens sulked off, and Aria moved over to the edge of the pool and hoisted herself back out.

 

"Thanks," Aria replied, her a voice a bit more quiet. "I'm prolly gonna head out now, hope your day goes well."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Tesability

 

The inside of the police station was quite active at this time, with people moving around barely paying attention to what everyone else is doing, and there were several people in restraints being practically dragged by a group of cops.

 

It didn't seem like anyone was going to notice the dragon until a young woman came past her. "Should be any minute no-huh?" She stopped in front of Tes, and gave her a suspicious look. "Another fighter? Why are so many of you coming here today of all days?"

Once Tesability explained her reasoning Kate seemed to relax a bit. "That's an unusual circumstance but..." She proceeded to rattle off a long list of requirements, bylaws, legalities, and other such things in regards to flight. It was so much information that even Tesability would have trouble keeping up with the flow of data.

 

When Kate finished she took a deep breath, though Tesability would notice it sounded different from the breathing of the other people she's met, and then spoke more slowly. "So as you can see there's a lot you must know for the test in order to obtain a Flying License. Any more questions?"

---

Cyanthrax

 

"Bounty hunter, huh? This place seems too damn peaceful for someone like you." He turned to the ceiling. "Then again, I've only spent my time in and around this fuc​king building." He removed his feet from the table, placing them onto the ground. "Might not be a bad idea to see what's out there."

 

"You really just stuck around here past couple days? Didn't even try to get out? Why..." Odine glanced over at Tegur, then at Cyan, then nodded. "So it's like that...Well I don't judge. In any case there's a lot out there to see. It's the biggest city in these parts...And I don't just stay around here. I'm a bounty hunter, I travel the entire galaxy in my ship, the Sleipstream. Guess you really don't get out much if you thought a bounty hunter would only stick to one planet."

---

Aria

 

"Thanks," Aria replied, her a voice a bit more quiet. "I'm prolly gonna head out now, hope your day goes well."

 

"I just...don't want to be in dept to a landwalker." Gill said awkwardly. "Don't forget to...change." He said, gesturing towards the swimsuit.

[Yui]

---

3:00PM

Points: 117

W/L Record: 1/1

"Just landed myself in hospital, sorry. I might be able to meet you near the apartments, but I'm not sure if the nurses would let me leave. I'll try to go there, but if you don't hear more from me, please come here. I'd like to spend more time with you tonight."

 

Are you okay? :O I'll come over there, don't push yourself if you're hurt.

 

...come to think of it, was it okay to use phones and stuff in hospitals on Rama-Indri? Aurora would have to figure that out as she went along; time wasn't exactly a renewable resource after all! As such, once she knew where to go, Aurora took a moment to consult the map and promptly made her way to the hospital.

---

Aurora was never a big fan of hospitals. She knew doctors and nurses always had a person's best interests in mind when taking care of them, but she never found herself able to trust them. Not to mention hospitals were kept nice and cool for some reason, which always spelt trouble for the cryomancer if she ever tried to visit someone, or even just had to wait near the front. And she could have sworn - back home anyway - hospital staff always cast her these dirty looks, like her presence was more of a burden in the hospital. She sort of understood it, but that didn't make her feel any better about having to visit one again. I'll just have to make this quick. Stay on the move, go in, get Angela out, and don't bother anyone along the way. As such, Aurora was very to-the-point in her conversation at the front desk to get Angela's room number, and moved at a brisk pace to keep herself from chilling the air in any given area too much.

 

Keeping her almost-jogging pace made it no surprise that once she knew where Angela was, getting to the room wasn't a particularly long process. Once she found the right room, she knocked gently and saw herself in. Hospital rooms always felt somewhat surreal to her, like they were more at-place in a super-tidy person's dream than in the waking world. I wonder if August likes hospitals, come to think of it. He never seems to break any bones... any of his anyway. Memories of a game of tag that ended in a broken arm briefly came to mind as Aurora thought more about what her friend's view on hospitals might have been like. She glanced around while she thought about it, dismissing her train of thought when her eyes landed on Angela. This person was why she was here.

 

Alright, let's make this fast.

 

"Hey there," she waved toward the blue-haired girl. "You mind if we take this outside or something actually? It's kinda chilly in hospitals and that's... well, problematic. Long story."

---

[Alaina]

 

As the girl was plowing her way through the swarm of faceless men, she eventually managed to see a rather plain looking figure sitting in the corner of the room. Curious about her, the girl waved out to the woman saying, "heyyyyy, Miss!" While she called out to her, the girl didn't seem to be reacting. Xia started to wonder if it was just that the girl wasn't able to hear her, and thinking that was no good, she decided to make her way through the horde. Grabbing one of the faceless men, the girl tossed him in a line, creating a clear space for her to run through, the girl started to charge forward. Continuing to pummel her way through each of the faceless men, with fists, with a tail swipe and with using some of the faceless opponents as weapons, the girl had eventually made her way into the corner. As she did she called out, saying, "heyyyyy Miss." 

 

The woman didn't seem to be all that expressive, as she merely said, "Hello." As she did, though, the horde that Xia had been fighting through had seemed to stop attacking her, and as such, Xia hadn't been fighting as she began her conversation with the woman. 

 

The dragon-girl had a cheerful expression across her face, having seen another person around. Though, given where they were and the fact that they were here, this brought confusion to even Xia. "Hi there lady! Um, what're you doing here?"

 

"Why do you think I am here?"

 

Xia seems curious at this question, starting to think before saying aloud, "well, I'm here because I thought this would be fun. So are you here to have fun too?"

 

"Your time to choose how to proceed is brief. Please decide."

 

Xia seems to be taken aback by this sudden change in dialogue, and her expression started to become more pensive as she said, "ehh? Uhhh...hmmm..." Looking back to the lady, a more curious expression was now presented on her face. As the girl had only been charging forward thus far, she figured that that was the best way to proceed. "Can I proceed forward then?"

 

"Decision to question acknowledged. Please ask a valid query."

 

Scratching her head, it was clear that Xia was confused by the way that the strange lady talked. She wasn't exactly sure what the lady was asking of her, and thus just decided to ask her a question anyway. "Um, who're you?"

 

"I am the girl in the corner. Decision to question acknowledged. Please ask a valid query."

As she said this the horde moved closer.

 

"Oh. Then, hi there girl in the corner!" The girl then went pensive once again, as she saw the horde begin to move again. "Girl in the Corner, do you know how to beat all of them?"

 

"You must find the source. Decision to question acknowledged. Please ask a valid query."

The horde was nearly on top of them now.

 

"Oh." There was a slight pause Xia just looked nonplussed by the information before asking, "Where's the source?"

 

She gestures to the side. "The man in the back."

Looking over to where she gestured, there was a red beacon around halfway down the room. She then disappeared and the horde began to attack again.

 

Looking back, Xia realized that the lady was now gone, and merely shrugged at the whole experience before saying, "thanks Girl in the Corner!" Cracking her knuckles, the girl began to charge her fist up with energy. While it wasn't quite full power, as the horde was about to strike at her, the girl merely punched one of the faceless men, causing an explosion of magic and water, causing a good number of the surrounding faceless men to be blown away. With that done, the girl began to charge forward, punching with much more force then she had been before. Rather than the objective being to knock out the one in front of her, it was more to cause a bowling pin effect with each one that she struck and those behind them. With heavy blow after heavy blow, Xia continued her charge, grabbing one of the faceless men by the face as they approached her, and doing the same as before in merely throwing the body straight through the crowd with brute force. With that, the girl continued her rampage towards "the man in the back."

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"You really just stuck around here past couple days? Didn't even try to get out? Why..." Odine glanced over at Tegur, then at Cyan, then nodded. "So it's like that...Well I don't judge." Cyanthrax's eye twitches a bit in annoyance at the implication she was making. He shook his head as the Odine kept going. "In any case there's a lot out there to see. It's the biggest city in these parts...And I don't just stay around here. I'm a bounty hunter, I travel the entire galaxy in my ship, the Sleipstream. Guess you really don't get out much if you thought a bounty hunter would only stick to one planet."
 
"You... what?" He was still trying to process all the information she had just spoken about. She was talking about interplanetary travel, which was well above the scope of what he was able to comprehend. Travelling around the planet itself was already a task Cyanthrax understood as something that takes a long time, let alone exploring other planets. He didn't even know there were other planets! And to do all of this on a ship... how did she even manage to get that thing to travel out of water? Cyanthrax paused, giving her a confused look, before letting out a sigh. "This sh​it is too advanced..." He shook his head, turning back to Odine. "I don't know what the fu​ck you're going on about, but no, I haven't really explored this strange world much."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Don't worry about paying, I think Mauvache can spot you this time."

 

"Hmmph...alright, alright. Hey doc, uh...this might be weird to ask you this, but I happen to have a date promised today. But uh...may I...here...I mean, may I-"

 

Angela then asked her prompt after a while of hesitating, and what followed was quite a long series of minutes where Angela was just waiting on her bed awkwardly, her face kinda red from asking the thing to the doctor earlier. Thankfully for her, around twenty minutes later, Aurora came herself and saved Angela from this personal hell. Gah, how much Angela wished that she could forget her earlier failure now and just spend the day only thinking about Aurora. She was really pretty...though, pretty young too. Would this be legal? Well, but it was Aurora that approached her, right?
 

Though, Angela could something off from her gaze. Dragged down from her fantasies and back into reality, Angela realized that this really was not about a date. The sense of urgency on Aurora's expression, and later, her voice, pretty much confirmed it.

 

"You mind if we take this outside or something actually? It's kinda chilly in hospitals and that's... well, problematic. Long story."

 

"...What happened? Wait, this isn't about something with Mauvache, right?"

 

Since Aurora didn't seem to be comfortable inside as per her words, Angela led her towards the rooftop instead. With only the two of them there, Angela turned to face the girl. She was quite disappointed that the date really wasn't happening and just herself assuming things too quickly, but that feeling of disappointment barely managed to even scratch her surface as her expression was filled with dread, thinking about whether Aurora was sent to her by Mauvache. Did she do something wrong again? Or, was this about last-

 

"What is it, Aurora? This seems to be really important, so please, tell me everything. Did I do anything wrong?"

 

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Xia

 

Having not been cautious while approaching the Girl in the Corner, but avoiding damage on her way to the Man in the Back, Xia managed to take less damage this time around. As she got near to the beacon she would have a total of 425 HP remaining.

 

When she reached the beacon she would find another faceless, mostly, man. However there were several key differences from the horde. First were the blazing red eyes. Then there was the suit he was wearing and, instead of the crude weaponry of the others, this man was wielding what appeared to be a steel-tipped cane.

 

As Xia approached the beacon vanished and the Man came for her. His HP would be indicated to be 200, well above the rest of the horde's 1.

---

Cyanthrax

 

"This sh​it is too advanced..." He shook his head, turning back to Odine. "I don't know what the fu​ck you're going on about, but no, I haven't really explored this strange world much."

 

Odine laughed loudly at the response. "What are you from the Dark Ages or something?" She looked at him with her one eye narrowed. "Wait a second are you?" She thought for a few moments then nodded her head. She slammed back her drink and stood up.

She extended her hand towards Cyanthrax. "Get up Gramps, I'm gonna take you for a ride."

 

"You shouldn't drink and drive." Tegur's voice sounded from across the bar.

 

"Fine I'll take him for a walk!" In a whisper to Cyan she added. "No I won't."

---

Aurora and Angela

 

Officer Kate had gotten Aurora's message after dealing with the...odd reptilian creature that had entered the police station. She had to swallow a fair amount of nerves before she could make her way to the hospital. She had no idea how this would go. Technically she wasn't breaking any rules but she doubted the chief would see it that way. Plus who knew what this Angela would do. Mauvache chose actually talented fighters for her arena, not merely actors, so if it came down to it she wasn't sure she could beat Angela in a fight.

 

But she had to do this. People were missing, probably dead, and this girl was either a suspect or a witness.

 

She reached the rooftops as the two girls were meeting and approached Angela, flashing her badge. "I am Officer Kate of the Prana police force. Angela, I have a few questions for you."

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Odine laughed loudly at the response. "What are you from the Dark Ages or something?" Great. More words he didn't understand. "Wait a second are you?" She stopped, an expression that signified that she was scheming something. Eventually, she slammed back her drink and stood up. She extended her hand towards Cyanthrax. "Get up Gramps, I'm gonna take you for a ride." Cyanthrax looked up at the girl, slightly confused but mostly intrigued.

 

Grabbing his glass, he quickly chugged the remains of it before placing the cup back onto the table. "Now you're makin' sense!" He chuckled, standing up from his seat. "Let's blow this joint!"

 

"You shouldn't drink and drive." Tegur's voice sounded from across the bar.

 

"Fine I'll take him for a walk!" That sounded less fun. Luckily, she leaned in to whisper towards him. "No I won't." He couldn't help but smirk at her. 

 

As he started making his way out of the doors with Odine, he turned back to Tegur, who was still at the bar. "Later!" He lazily waved his hand, before continuing to follow Odine wherever she was taking him.

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

"I just...don't want to be in dept to a landwalker." Gill said awkwardly.

 

"Fair enough," Aria responded with a shrug.

 

"Don't forget to...change." He said, gesturing towards the swimsuit.

 

Aria looked down and her face briefly turned red as she realized she was walking to wards the elevator. "Right, ha-ha, yeah thanks." In a rush, Aria made her way back to the change room and was immensely relieved to be able to rid herself of the swimsuit and return to her comfortable, kinda-baggy clothing.

 

Leaving the rooftop pool, Aria couldn't help but crack a smile on her face as she entered the elevator. What had happened earlier was bad, but she felt like she had a new direction moving forward, and to start on that she needed to really learn how to fight; something that she never learned from her time playing video games. Of course, if ever she was given the chance, she desperately wanted to kick Cyanthrax's ass at anything in the Arcade. She might get that chance at some time, and she would relish it.

[Tesability Black]

To say the NetMonster was confused was an severe understatement as the white dots of her eyes began to spin fast enough to become literal spirals. Her head was pounding from all the information she was being given, having difficulty keeping up with it all. Once Officer Kate finally finished with her verbal infodump, Tesability raised the paw that her watch had been affixed to before managing to say, "Yu hash ah buuk Ai cansh weed dish fwomsh?"

Oh, man, did her head hurt. Maybe it would stop after flying around for a bit...or maybe even playing with Sara again.

[Yui]

---

3:00PM

Points: 117

W/L Record: 1/1

 

"...What happened? Wait, this isn't about something with Mauvache, right?"

 

Aurora was about to answer, but Angela got up out of her bed. Aurora wasn't sure how she was doing, so she was mostly just checking to see if Angela would be okay or if she'd fall over or what. It seemed she was fine though, and continued to be a-okay as she led the way up to the rooftop. Aurora rather liked the view up here. High places were nice. Once up on the rooftop, however, Angela spoke up again. Right. Aurora had come here for a reason.

 

"What is it, Aurora? This seems to be really important, so please, tell me everything. Did I do anything wrong?"

 

"Oh, no no. Mauvache didn't send me, don't worry. I was sent here by--" Then the door opened again. Come on! Can't a couple girls trying to solve a crime case get a bit of privacy around here? Aurora looked to see who had intruded on the meeting to find... Officer Kate! How convenient! "She sent me," Aurora finished, gesturing toward the good officer with a smile on her face.

 

"I am Officer Kate of the Prana police force. Angela, I have a few questions for you."

 

"Basically, there have been some people missing in town," Aurora explained. "And I insisted on helping with the case - this is the kind of stuff I wanted to do back home after all... sort of. Anyway, she sent me to you and now we just need a bit of your time. In the meantime I'm just gonna stand over there where I won't make the air around you two too chilly." Aurora moved - as she had indicated - "over there". "Over there" being closer to the edge of the rooftop, so she could get a better view of the city around her. She hadn't been here very long, and was curious to explore a bit. Getting a nice view from a hospital rooftop wasn't exactly her preferred type of exploration, but it was something. She did make sure to glance back toward Officer Kate and Angela every so often, to make sure everything was okay with the two of them.

---

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"I am Officer Kate of the Prana police force. Angela, I have a few questions for you."

 

"Basically, there have been some people missing in town," Aurora explained. "And I insisted on helping with the case - this is the kind of stuff I wanted to do back home after all... sort of. Anyway, she sent me to you and now we just need a bit of your time. In the meantime I'm just gonna stand over there where I won't make the air around you two too chilly."

 

"Ah. I see."

 

For one moment, Angela's expression was completely full of dread as she saw an officer approaching her, wanting to ask her questions. And then Aurora explained about why she was here, and it really was about the disappearance of those men last night. But, after everyone said everything, a strange feeling of relief suddenly emerged inside of her. After being beaten around, screwed over, and denied of what she wanted, it all really only lead to this. She could just answer the officer about the truth, but, would the police even have the capability to arrest that assassin? That sounded impossible, especially not with Mauvache backing him up. Moreover, it would needlessly danger them.

And well, in the end those men wouldn't die had Angela kept her desires to herself. Angela had made up her mind now. She turned around towards the officer, and let out her answer.

 

"In that case, it would be best for you to arrest me immediately. I am turning myself in as the murderer of those men who disappeared last night. If you needed it, I could also pinpoint any potential eyewitnesses about my whereabouts last night, and where did the crime happened.

Sorry for dragging you to this, Aurora."

 

Her voice was filled with resignation, but after such a stressful day, and having the fact that she would probably never return home sinked in fully, Angela felt like a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She brought her hands forward and smiled at the officer.

 

"I'm ready for whatever comes next."

 

---

[Alaina]

 

While she had taken another onslaught of attacks from the horde, it had been far less in damage then what she had taken previously. Nevertheless, Xia was starting to feel the attacks wear her down, yet pressed on all the same. As she had finally reached the red beacon, though, it seemed to vanish. While this made her curious, the girl's attention was then taken by the man who had taken its place. By the distinct differences in appearance and weaponry that he carried with him, even she was able to tell that he was most certainly the "Man in the Back." And based on what Girl in the Corner had said, all she had to do to win was to beat him. Cracking her knuckles, the girl looked to Man in the Back, saying, "hi there Man in the Back!" The man made a slight nod at her before the two of them began to rush at each other. 

 

Xia made the first move, throwing a simple punch, that the man evaded by twirling to the side, he countered. With a cane striking Xia, it hardly felt like it did anything, yet there was still damage there. Twirling her body in reaction, the girl went to strike the man with a tail sweep, that he had evaded barely by jumping above it. However, now facing him, the girl got a solider punch into his gut sending him recoiling backward. While recovering, a small horde began to charge at Xia. Seeing the horde approach, the girl briefly charged a pulse of magic and water into her hand, firing it towards the horde. While not the strongest it could be, the horde mostly broke apart from the attack, with Xia grabbing a straggler. Tossing it at the man, the faceless man dissipated as he struck Man in the Back, causing some damage to the male. Lifting his cane up, though, a red light surged from it as a laser was fired from the end of his cane. 

 

Bracing herself for the impact, Xia took the hit, feeling a searing pain from it but still good all the same. Running towards the man, seeming ready to fire another shot, Xia swerved to the side to avoid the laser, getting in range of him. As she did, she grabbed the man by his arm, hoisting him overhead before tossing him to the ground. A resounding thud could be heard as he landed, though with his cane still pointed, he fired another shot at Xia. Being unable to dodge the blow, the girl took it straight on, going for a stomp on the grounded man. However, springing back up to his feet, the man evaded the attack, booping Xia with his cane once more. Taking the hit in stride, Xia swung her fist upward in an uppercut, only for the man to bend backward to avoid it, before righting himself back up. While his eyes seemed to start flashing red, the girl didn't seem to care as Xia brought her arm down in a hammer motion. The attack struck him hard, however, as Xia was recovering she was then strike by an intense blast of energy. With two rays of red light coming from the man's eyes, Xia staggered back a bit as the power behind the attack was far greater than any he had sent her thus far. 

 

"Whoa," Xia said. "That was awesome!" Her face way beaming, thinking of how cool it was to be able to do an attack like that from one's eyes. However, not being able to think on it long, the girl recovered from the attack and went for another grab at the man. Evading to the side, he stepped back as another horde came at Xia. With a smile still present on her face, Xia went to greet the new fighters. Grabbing one for each hand, she used both of them as bats, cleaving a swath through the ranks of the faceless men before getting one last strike in with her tail sweep. With the horde being defeated, Xia pumped herself up saying, "woohoo," only for this to be cut off by a laser striking her in the back. Turning to face her opponent she said, "well, I can do that too!" Clenching her fist, the energy started to swirl around her fist. As this process started, the man began to charge her, and with a twirl jumped into the air. 

 

Not wanting her charge to be forced to a stop, the girl stopped the charge in one of her fists, as she brought the other one up to meet the man. While she had managed to get a grazing hit against him, he too had managed to boop her with his cane. Turning back to face him, the girl moved back, continuing her charge. As she did, she saw the man's eyes beginning to flash red again, though slower before. Xia was starting to feel the fatigue and damage catch up with her, and knew that getting hit by another burst of eye laser power would do her no good. As such, she charged the man once more. Bringing her uncharged fist up for a swing, the girl was then met with a rapid succession of jabs of his cane, getting in a significant bout of damage towards her. Not being able to punch straight through the hurricane of jabs, Xia punched towards the ground this time with her charged magical strike. As the burst hit the ground, an explosion of magic and water fired out, sending Man in the Back, backwards and down for the count. 

 

Letting out deep breaths, some exhaustion setting in, the field around her disappeared, causing Xia to blink a bit at the sudden change of scenery. With a large congratulatory message appearing above her, declaring her victory. With a look of joy and elation across her face, jumping for joy as she said, "woooooo, I won! I won!" With that, the field faded around her and the girl was given her rewards for victory.  

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Cyanthrax

 

Odine took the man outside to an area near the Arena, which was essentially a parking lot. She seemed to be in a hurry, excited, as she got closer to her destination. It was a hoverbike that looked to be just large enough for two people. "And before you ask, this isn't my ship." She said it as a joke but then gave it though "Oh god I hope you didn't actually think it was."

 

She got onto the bike and activated it. The bike lit up, blue lights flaring up around it, and Odine patted the spot behind her. "Get on, and don't try anything funny I will throw you off the second I feel a hand going too far north or south, got it?"

 

The very moment that Cyan got onto the bike, barely giving him enough time to get a grip of anything, Odine took off. The bike shot straight ahead, getting closer, closer, to the wall of the Arena. And then it suddenly turned vertically and flew up up and above the building.

 

From up this high Cyan could see much more of the city. However he wasn't given much time to enjoy the view as Odine yelled out. "Wanna see how fast this thing goes?" And, before giving time to answer, floored it. They went hurtling at high speeds through the air, weaving around other vehicles, under, over, between, on their way towards the southern end of the city.

 

Halfway there they could hear sirens as the police started to chase the pair of them but Odine simply laughed. She yelled out at them something that Cyan couldn't make out, due to the noise of the bike and the wind, and slammed a button down. The bike, as well as the passengers, suddenly began to shimmer. And then the world around Cyan got dark.

 

When he could finally see things again the bike was parked and there were no police in sight. "It's some tech that was taken from my ship. The reason it's called the Sleipstream, it's pretty crazy sheet. Goes between dimensions to travel for a short time. Nice for evading the law." She got off the bike and offered her hand to help Cyan. "Hope that wasn't too much for you, Gramps."

---

Tesability

 

"Yu hash ah buuk Ai cansh weed dish fwomsh?"

 

Kate frowned a bit, worried her explanation wasn't sufficient. Perhaps next time she should add a few more chapters..."Well you could go to the library, it has all the books you could need, I'll give you the directions." And what followed was a highly accurate and detailed explanation of how exactly to reach the library from the police station. From air or land.

----

 

The Prana Library was an extremely tall building, forty floors in total, and shaped like a medieval tower.

 

Once inside Tesability would find that the "books" appear to be digital and downloaded from a multitude of computer towers built to resemble bookcases. You could physically touch each book but there was nothing to read unless you scanned them into an electronic pad that were available for rent. If someone wished to take any of them out you would have to pay 10 points per week, but they allowed unlimited downloads as long as you kept paying.

However there were reading rooms every other floor that would allow people to read the books without paying for the pads.

Each floor's ceiling were twenty feet from the floors. Something that seemed a bit excessive at first.

 

There was a large freight elevator directly in the middle of the library that could take you up to any floor and a spiral staircase for those who preferred the more active method. It also seemed that the elevator was extremely slow so those in a hurry would take the stairs as well.

 

Near the front door was an old, hunchbacked, woman who was watching a multitude of security cameras, one screen per floor, with an intense and stern gaze. She was sitting on a high-backed chair that seemed to be hovering off the ground and would barely take note of Tes's arrival.

---

Angela and Aurora

 

Kate seemed to be caught off guard by Angela's confession. But only for a moment. "We already have eyewitnesses that place you on the scene, which is why I wanted to see you, and your confession is more than enough. You'll be coming with me now." Kate removed any weaponry from Angela's person and put her hands in a pair of handcuffs. She paused, looking to Aurora. "Thank you for your help in this matter. I ask that you do not cause any trouble, and...I ask that you not report this to Mauvache. I would rather not deal with that while bringing this woman in."

 

She then went to take Angela away. Though she seemed to hesitate at the door that led downstairs. Something felt weird about all this. And she almost felt like...she was being watched. Before leaving the rooftop she asked the pair of them. "Were either of you followed? And are there any accomplishes I should know about?"

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Odine took the man outside to an area near the Arena, which was essentially a parking lot. She seemed to be in a hurry, excited, as she got closer to her destination. It was a rather strange metalic object that seemed to resemble a wagon made for one person, although there was a lack of any animal or even wheels. He wasn't impressed in the slightest. Was this really her ship? "And before you ask, this isn't my ship." She said it as a joke but then gave it though "Oh god I hope you didn't actually think it was." He scoffed but said nothing, at least glad that this wasn't the ship.
 
As she got onto the metal contraption, it came to life, flaring up with blue lights. It started to rise higher above the ground, hovering above the ground. Cyanthrax whistled as she patted the seat area behind her. "Get on, and don't try anything funny I will throw you off the second I feel a hand going too far north or south, got it?" Cyanthrax smirked as he got on the strange machine. However, before he could give a snarky remark, the vehicle went off at incredibly high speeds. He could barely hang on as they shot towards the arena walls, before making a nearly 90 degree turn upwards until they were well above the city.
 
It was all very jarring, even nauseating, which is something he hadn't felt in a while. It was also extremely exciting, filling him with a rush of adrenaline. There was a brief moment where Cyanthrax could appreciate just how high they had gotten, the buildings below him looking insignificant.  However he wasn't given much time to enjoy the view as Odine yelled out. "Wanna see how fast this thing goes?" Cyanthrax nodded, before they were hurled at incredibly high speeds through the air, weaving around other vehicles, under, over, between, on their way towards the southern end of the city. There were many moments where Cyanthrax felt like he was about to fall, but somehow he managed to stay on.
 
Halfway there they could hear sirens as the police started to chase the pair of them but Odine simply laughed. She yelled out at them something that Cyan couldn't make out, due to the noise of the bike and the wind, and slammed a button down. The bike, as well as the passengers, suddenly began to shimmer. And then the world around Cyan got dark, not unlike how he got into the world in the first place. However, he could still feel both the machine below him and Odine.
 
When he could finally see things again the bike was parked and there were no police in sight. "It's some tech that was taken from my ship. The reason it's called the Sleipstream, it's pretty crazy sh​it. Goes between dimensions to travel for a short time. Nice for evading the law." She got off the bike and offered her hand to help Cyan. "Hope that wasn't too much for you, Gramps."
 
"You kidding? That was fuc​king awesome!" He smirk, getting off of the seat. He was still slightly nauseated from the sheer speed they had traveled, but he managed to stand up without falling over, although he was stumbling a bit. His head was feeling dizzy. "Although maybe a bit much..." He held his head with his right hand, summoning his sword with the left and using it as a support. After a moment to regain his balance, he stood up right. "So, where the fu​ck is this ship of yours?"

[ChampionZero]

Elijah's photographer was, unsurprisingly, an abnormal instance of intelligent life, like everyone else on this planet. In this dimension. In his lifetime.

 

Jeez, he was a magnet for this kind of stuff wasn't he?

 

Anyways, she was a cat person of some kind, with orange ears and a tail. She wore a big puffy sweater and always had the sleeves slightly too long for her arms. She was so excitable it made Spider look lethargic. She definitely knew what she was doing, though, and even made some of Elijah's shots better by making tweaks to his costumes. Little pose tips, or undoing his tie and rolling up his sleeves as the Professor.

 

"OK is that all of them?" she asked, blinking adorably at him.

 

Elijah stopped. "No, actually there's one more. But there's something kind of specific I want to do with it."

 

Her ears perked up and her tail stood on end. "Oh? Show me show me show me," she begged, jumping up and down.

 

"OK, OK," He laughed, holding his hands out defensively. "It's my most popular character, but I'm super self-conscious about it because it's..." He stopped himself. "Well let me show you."

 

***

 

Elijah tucked the last of his outfits into the bag and smiled. "Oh man I'm so glad you liked that one."

 

"Well, it probably looks a lot better on stage. It's nice, authentic, you know." The photographer stared, mesmerized at the picture she'd taken. "You said you beat the previous King of uh..."

 

"Calisdo, yeah. There was this awesome speech right before the Duel, I have the whole thing recorded on my Disk, but it's back in my home dimension. I might be able to get a hold of it."

 

She shook her head to clear it and put the camera away. "Oh? Uh. Yeah, yeah. Well I'll go touch these up. You have a nice night!" She waved as he put the bag up over his shoulder and approached a corner.

 

"Later, gorgeous." He winked over his shoulder.

 

She waved her hand at him, smiling. "Oh, you."

 

Once he'd rounded the corner, she held up the camera again, staring at the picture they'd taken last. It was him, the light of the setting sun turning him into a silhouette. His face wasn't in the shot on account of him facing the sunset, but you could faintly see the outlines of his clothing, His hands were just visible, putting on a pair of indistinguishable gloves. The atmosphere of the picture was undeniable.

 

"In it to win it."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"That makes this a lot easier. Glad to hear you worked everything out so you can arrest me, officer."

 

Angela was relieved as the officer cuffed her hands and confistcated her weapon, but as she followed the officer downstairs, leaving Aurora who was visibly shocked by what just happened, she felt a chill running down her spine. The officer felt it too seemingly, and asked Angela about what it might be.

 

"Were either of you followed? And are there any accomplices I should know about?"

 

"I'm doing it on my own, officer. And no, there should be no one following us. I'm sure that nobody was with me when I got myself into this hospital."

 

"Remember that withholding information will only make it worse for you, and anyone involved, however if you have nothing more to say I shall bring you to the station."

 

"Yeah, I don't have any other informations to hide."

 

"Regardless I cannot force you to give any information until after the arrest has been made official."Kate then moved to Aurora and said something that Angela couldn't quite make out.

 

"Be on the lookout. There seems to be an accomplice here."

 

She then went to Angela and, after making sure the handcuffs, which would give off a tingling feeling, were properly secured on Angela's wrists, led her down the stairs and out of the hospital. Those they passed didn't raise a fuss but it was clear they were interested in what was happening.

 

Throughout the way to the police station, Angela was silent. The relaxed feeling she once had after getting arrested had evaporated the moment she realized that the assassin was still following her and the officer. Should she tell her the truth? But that would risk the safety of everyone else. It was clear that she didn't work alongside Mauvache, but if Angela spilled the truth, it would really risk her and the others.

 

She just hoped that the assassin didn't do anything and just let her be.

 

Officer Kate was silent as well, though it was clear by the way she kept glancing at Angela in the mirror she suspected that the young woman was up to something suspicious. So both would be relieved when they reached the police station without any trouble.

 

However as soon as Kate entered the station the chief was there, yelling at her about causing a stir, disobeying orders, and mentioned something about "Can't ever trust an Android."

 

Hearing that, of course Angela wouldn't let that to just stand.

 

"Isn't the job of the police is to enact justice and deal with criminals? What's wrong with causing a bit of a stir?

 

I'm a mass murderer, so don't you think I deserve being arrested?"

 

The chief seemed flustered by Angela's words and hushed her. "You stay silent unless asked."

Kate spoke up then. "I made sure to follow your direct orders however there were several...loopholes that I found. Would you like me to cite the regulations I used? Or perhaps the Police Code bylaws?"

 

This caused the chief to look even more flustered. "I know the damned...just...put her in a holding cell. I'll figure out what to do with her, and you, later." He walked off in a huff, leaving Kate to lead Angela into one of the rooms in a lower floor. It resembled a prison, however the cells had bars made out of blue energy, with several metal doors to allow entry and exit. There were a dozen separate rooms, each with a simple toilet and a mattress.

 

Ironically it would appear more comfortable than the room Angela had in the apartments. The sight made Angela groan for a bit. It really became apparent that Mauvache was being really stingy to the contestants rather than it being the standard. Without much else to do, she obediently went inside of one of the rooms, and decided to have some rest.

 

Maybe if she slept over it, everything would end up better than it should be.

 

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Cyanthrax

 

Odine rolled her eyes at Cyan's last sentence. "Nice bravado for someone who thought that was 'a bit much'." She grabbed onto his arm and tugged him along, leading him to what appeared to be similar to the parking lot from before, except fenced in, and much larger.

 

After flashing some identification Odine was allowed into it with Cyan in tow. There were a large multitude of different ships, all of which would appear extremely foreign to the demon. Once they've traveled past several rows of these Odine stopped in front of one specific ship. "And this is it, the Sleipstream. Might not look as fancy as some of these others but it gets the job done." She gestures at the weaponry in the front. "Had to go through a lot of paperwork to let me keep those things on when docked here but it's worth it." She glanced over at Cyan. "Never know when you need to shoot something after all."

 

She then brought the demon to the ship and, using what looked like a remote, opened up the ship. The belly of the ship opened up and a ramp descended.

 

The inside of the ship seemed pretty small, compared to some of the others they had seen. There was a single hallway that led into the cockpit, which was open and visible, granted it wasn't close enough to make out details, and several doors were along the side. "Storage, storage, maintenance, maintenance, bathroom..." She stopped at the one next to the cockpit. "Bedroom. You won't be going in there so don't get any thoughts." She continued to the cockpit which was just big enough to fit them both. She pointed to the seat next to the pilot's. "You'll sit there. Don't. Touch. Anything."

 

Once they were all ready the girl fired up the engines. Such a large vehicle and yet it made almost no noise as it started up. And then it began to lift. Odine switched the camera to one that showed the planet behind them. Higher and higher and higher, with the view from the cockpit window, getting smaller and smaller...

 

And then the ship took off and Cyanthrax would see nothing more than a blur as they raced away from the ground.

 

After only several minutes Odine slowed their accent and, switching to forward cameras, turned the spaceship around. Cyanthrax would get a view of the space around them, dark, with spots of light all over, and soon he was able to see the planet itself.

 

From this high up the large planet looked tiny. Though they would be able to make out some details. The first thing of note was that large areas of the planet appeared to be barren and scorched. Odine pointed out an area of water, with a small spot of untouched land in the middle. "Down there is the city. One of the few intact cities in the planet." She looked over at Cyan. "So what do you think, Gramps, feeling small yet?"

---

Angela

 

After merely an hours rest Angela would be woken by a "Hey, hey, girlie, hey." Upon looking around Angela would realize she's not the only one in the cells, as several of them had other prisoners, and in fact the one she was in held a pair besides herself.

 

One was an older man, with several missing teeth, and a beard which was split in two down the middle. He had a pair of tusks and a pig-like nose. He was the one who was talking to Angela. The other was male as well, but younger. With an annoyed look on his face. He was sitting as far as possible from the other man and kept giving him disgusted looks.

 

The older man spoke again when he noticed Angela noticing her. "Don't see many young ladies like yourself thrown in here. What did ya do? You're innocent, aren't ya? Ya gotta be, you look so kind. I'm innocent too, ya know..." He leaned in a bit, and Angela would be able to smell a hint of alcohol. "That guy, though, he's bad news. Wanted to warn you about that, keep your eye on that guy."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"innocence...well, I'm not sure whether you really are innocent, but if you do, hopefully you'll be able to leave this place. Me? I wholly deserve to be in this place until I die, perhaps."

 

The hour rest wasn't really doing Angela's mind much, but any sort of respite was welcome after everything that happened. She woke up to find herself sharing her cell with two other inmates. One was older and the one that she was talking to, and the other one was younger, who seemingly trying to avoid the older man. Well, the natural course of action for Angela normally would be to attempt to have some fun with either, but... with the context of what was happening and her current situation, Angela really wasn't in the mood for something like that now.

 

"Though, now that I'm here, I really can't just avoid him, right? Might as well gonna try getting close to him for now, see what he's really up to."

 

The man really didn't seem to be that bad, so Angela decided to get closer to him. He was seemingly disgusted at the other man for some reasons, and it piqued Angela's curiosity.

 

"Say, what is your name? Why are you here and what's the deal with the old man and you? Since we're cellmates, I figure it's best to know more about who am I stuck with."

 

---

[👀 REP 👀]

---

Odine rolled her eyes at Cyan's last sentence. "Nice bravado for someone who thought that was 'a bit much'." Cyanthrax simple scoffed as she grabbed onto his arm, tugging him along. She lead him to what appeared to be similar to the parking lot from before, except fenced in, and much larger.
 
After flashing some identification Odine was allowed into it with Cyan in tow. There were a large multitude of metal monuments, none of which resembled anything the demon had ever seen. Once they've traveled past several rows of these Odine stopped in front of one specific chunk of metal. "And this is it, the Sleipstream. Might not look as fancy as some of these others but it gets the job done." So this was the ship she was talking about? It seemed like a giant metal boat of sorts. She gestures at the weaponry in the front. "Had to go through a lot of paperwork to let me keep those things on when docked here but it's worth it." She glanced over at Cyan. "Never know when you need to shoot something after all." He wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that, as they didn't seem to be loaded with arrows. Hell, the tubes that were apparently weapons were way too wide for any arrow. It was probably some sciency bullsh​it like the rest of what he had seen.
 
They made their way into the ship itself, which was much smaller than he had thought it was going to be. She gave him a quick tour of the place before telling him to sit down in a chair surrounded by glass. The room this seat was in was barely big enough to fit the two of them, and had an assortment of strange objects around them. As much as he hated being told not to touch anything, as if he was some sort of child, he did as he was told. He didn't even know where to start if he had decided to touch anything.
 
After a spectacle of blurring lights and what was apparently fast motion, the ship stopped. Around him was the pitch blackness of the night sky, or at least what he thought was the night sky. Instead of a moon, however, there was a large, orangy circle. It seemed to resemble the moon, although it was much larger. Odine pointed out a blue area that contrasted with the barren looking orb. "Down there is the city. One of the few intact cities in the planet." She looked over at Cyan. "So what do you think, Gramps, feeling small yet?"
 
"THAT'S THE CITY?" He would of done a spittake if he had been drinking anything, jumping off of his seat. So they were in the sky, somewhere... maybe even, somehow, past the sky, although such a concept was something Cyan wasn't ready to fully embrace. The sprawling city that had towered over him before was now merely a dot now. "Fuuuuuu​uuuck..." He let out a gasp of amazement, before realizing something. "Say... why is the rest of the orb thing... you know..." He took out a small slip of paper from his pocket, before burning it to ashes. He returned his gaze to her, shrugging.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Angela

 

"Say, what is your name? Why are you here and what's the deal with the old man and you? Since we're cellmates, I figure it's best to know more about who am I stuck with."

 

The boy's head craned over to look at her. He eyed her up and down and, with a scoff, got to his feet. "That you don't know means you must be new here. My name is Aiden, and I'm here because this city has an appalling lack of respect for their superiors."

 

"He was trying to sneak into the mines!" The older man responded, causing Aiden to glare at him.

 

"As for the old man. It's simple. Look at him, disgusting beast." He looked at Angela and narrowed his eyes. "You're human, right?"

---

Cyanthrax

 

Odine smirked at the demon's reactions. She hadn't seen someone that wasn't a child react like that to such a sight in a long time.

"Say... why is the rest of the orb thing... you know..."

 

She watched the paper burn away and gave him a surprised look. "It's not exactly uncommon knowledge." She leaned back in her seat. "I'm not good at history lessons, might want to check out the Museum if you want more info, but...This planet is at war all the time. In the past these wars were devastating. Many people died, each side targeted the very land their enemy lived on in order to get the upper hand, and it resulted in..." She waved her hand at the screen. "According to the records they only stopped that targeting when the Great Dragon came to the leaders of each side and forced them to stop destroying the planet."

 

She looked at Cyan. "Surprised you don't know that. It's why the Arena is so popular. With death is happening all over people need distractions. Guess it should be impressive that Mauvache managed to make a profit out of...this."

 

As she said this Cyan would get a message on his watch. "Attention: Sensors indicate you have left the perimeter of the city. Please return. -Mauvache's automated messaging system."

 

Odine watched as Cyan read the message. "Mother Mauvache calling you home for dinner?" She seemed to be focused, intent on seeing how he'd react to the message.