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

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

Moving down the elevator, Aria considered her options for the evening. She considered messaging Angela or Xia, see if they were up to anything. But there was still something that gnawed on the back of Aria's mind, and it didn't have to do with the embarrassment she caused herself by panicking in the way that she did. She let herself get triggered, and she performed poorly. Her performance wasn't luck, it wasn't anything to do with the match-up. The fact of the matter was, she didn't know how to fight. Video games can teach you strategy, and the VR ones can teach you some mechanical skill, but they can't teach you how to properly fight. With this in mind, Aria's watch reacted appropriately and pointed her in the direction towards the public sports arena.

 

"Well, I guess no better time for a work-out," Aria sighed as she continued down the elevator.

 

Eventually, Aria had arrived at the sports arena, but just like her experience at the pool or, really anywhere else in this dimension, she had no idea what she was doing. Entering into the front lobby, she kept her eye out for a front desk or really anyone that could help her, appearing more as a lost girl as each second passed by.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Mines, what mines? And yeah, I'm completely human. The old man didn't seem to be disgusting though. I know disgusting people by heart, but he's nowhere near that standard." Angela was confused. Even the people on the bar that had their fun with her were clearly more disgusting and she still found them to have their own redeeming qualities and charms, while this old man was a few step above those people.

 

"Then you must be blind. His people are an affront to this world..." Aiden clearly ignored her first question. Thankfully the old man decided to fill her in.

 

"The lower levels, it holds mines, where crystals that help power the technology up here are found. It's a dangerous place by all accounts, and everyone but workers are barred from entering."

 

"Because it's filled with artifacts!" Aiden roared, stomping his foot.

 

"Artifacts? That sounds interesting. Is it of historical, monetary, or magical value?" Of course, that last one got Angela's attention first, but after thinking for a bit she decided to also reply to the previous prompt too.

"I've had my share of interacting with disgusting people and scums. He's far from the worst, and nowhere close to the bottom of the barrel as me anyway."

 

"At least you're human." Aiden said. He seemed to be, while not friendly, more interested in what the girl had to say after she showed interest in what he was saying. "But ah, the artifacts, it's just a theory what they are but they must be magical. Given where they are located. There's something in there that they don't want me to find..."

"Yeah, death."

 

"No one asked you, beast!"

 

"That makes sense. The way this city is run...it'll make sense for them to hide things like that. From where did you enter the mines from?" Angela mulled a bit about what Aiden said about the old man, and finally understood why he showed that much disgust towards him. The concept was quite weird for her, as she was from a land where beastkin had already mostly been accepted to the society, but she did hear about sentiments like this applying to elves and some others, especially on the far side of Fraxinus. It's not really a basis to judge what kind of person Aiden was though. For the time being, Angela turned towards the old man.

"Say, old man. Why are you here anyway?"

 

"It's easy, if you're as skilled as I. The lower levels are accessible to all, all you need to do is slip through the security around the mine itself....are you planning on taking the artifacts from me?" Aiden of course immediately felt threatened by Angela's casual interest on looking more into the mines, but for the time being that wasn't really something she'd think about much.

The old man, in the meantime, simply shrugged. "Just got drunk and a little rowdy, nothing much to make such a fuss about."

"Heh, we're not that really different then, old man. Just with less alcohol and more rowdiness, to simplify it." Saying that, she then finally addressed Aiden's concerns. She was visibly laughing a bit at the thought, realizing that Aiden's whole dislike really was because of his view on non-humans.

 

"And nah, I'd just sate my curiosity and see what the fuss is about. Slipping through the security shouldn't be hard..." As she said it Angela activated Invisible Air for a moment to disappear and reappear somewhere else before returning to her previous position.
 

Aiden watched the girl closely as she activated her magic. Once she finished speaking to the old man he spoke up. "Ignore the animal. You. How many people can you transpor-"

There was a sound at the cell as a police officer came in, Aiden turned to him and began demanding to be let out. The man ignored him and opened the door, gesturing for the old man to come out. "You're being moved, follow me."

 

"Wait wait wait, why is he getting moved out?"

 

"It's not anything you should concern yourself about, we just made a mistake with the cells."

"The prison has a tendency to group people of similar status together." Aiden said, scoffing. "No wonder he's being taken away, clearly the prison finally smartened up and is separating humans from the rest."

 

"So that is how it is here..." Angela mused for a while. "Sorry, it just felt quite weird. I'm not from here."

After thinking of what else to ask, Angela went closer towards Aiden. At the time, Angela thought about whether she should let out a criminal like Aiden escape. He didn't seem to be someone that did an actual wrong, but he might be trying to manipulate her. She couldn't let him go if he's actually dangerous, but for now she'd just entertain the thought.

"Say, what did you do before you try to break into the mines anyway? To tell the truth,, I barely saw anything aside from the upper levels of the city so far."

 

Aiden blinked a few times, looking at the girl with a realization. "Before I hunted for artifacts elsewhere, but...that was not my original job here. I was forced to do such a thing because I was taken from my rightful place...In the Arena's roster."

 

That mention made Angela chuckle for a moment. He really was right, similar people were grouped together with each other.

 

"...Are you serious? Well, looks like we really are fated to be stuck here together."

 

"Yes, of course, I was splendid, but I was cast out...because of that damn cow..."

 

"Wait, what cow?"

 

"The drunkard, the beast, that damned smelly bartender." Aiden was shaking visibly at this point.

 

"...Tegur?" Now that's weird. Tegur didn't seem like someone that'd mess around with people like that, unless...

"Did Mauvache replaced you with him after a while?"

 

"Replace? No, that vile creature never left his bar...It was disgusting, living in a place that let something like that stay, I confronted him! And Mauvache...she took his side."

 

"...I see." So this man really just hated beastkin. Well, she couldn't say that she agreed about that view, especially since she knew Tegur personally, but she couldn't really fault him for having it anyway. She had no ideas about his circumstances anyway.

"So you confronted him, caused a ruckus, Mauvache took his side, and that was enough for you to get kicked out of the roster. That sounds quite ridiculous."

 

"She favors the Minotaur. Pah, back home he would have just been another enemy to slay in a dungeon, yet here a single attack and...it just makes me sick."

 

"Must be hard to see that much change in how the world treat things..." That made more sense. The man saw nonhumans as only monsters and couldn't wrap his head around the possibility of them being capable civil creatures. Once again, she wouldn't take his side but she wouldn't dislike him for it either.

"Right, I guess I also need to introduce myself. My name is Angela, one of the latest fighters in the Arena, and I was arrested for murder."

 

"So this is what they replaced us with...Who did you kill?" Angela couldn't really be sure about what this question meant about Aiden's evaluation on her. Deciding to go for something safe, Angela opted for a more neutral option.

 

"Some drunks in a bar after they had fun with me." Having something that'd make her seemingly blame those guys wouldn't be fair for them. It's all her fault that they died.

 

Aiden seems somewhat surprised. "And Mauvache hasn't intervened? Surely she didn't just toss you aside like that..."

 

"I'd rather quit the arena anyway, so I confessed for the murder earlier and was brought here immediately. I don't know what would Mauvache do next, however."

 

"Ah so that's how it is...Quit the Arena, well, you wouldn't be the first." He gave her an annoyed look. "Stupid, though, it's the best job this place has." Aiden seems to be getting less interested in talking.

 

"I'd rather be in my home world. I hate this world... and I hate Mauvache even more." Angela paused for a bit. "I'm just a terrible joke anyway, I doesn't deserve being there fighting for the public. Who knows why Mauvache even dragged me here."

 

Aiden laughed. "You're just stupid." Aiden looked at her and gestured at himself. "Mauvache is a lot of things but she never picks the weak." He waved absentmindedly. "Not like you can leave anyway." With that he went back to his previous seated position.

 

"In that case, guess I'll go find away to get myself executed first before I continue being the public laughingstock."

 

"Good luck with that. Mauvache even kept her around." This prompt made Angela raise her ears and made her look towards Aiden to fill her in more about it, but he refused to say more on that topic.That made Angela deflate for a moment, but she continued her words not long after, with a wry laugh accompanying it this time.

 

"Maybe i'll just have to kill enough people, or the right ones." She paused again for a moment before continuing, her tone shifted as her laughter became clearer. "Oh who am I kidding, I know Mauvache'll keep me around in a miserable state for her own amusement for a long long while, at least until she gets a new toy."

 

Aiden at this point is, begrudgingly, laying on a cot. "Looking forward to seeing what you do next. Maybe it'll show her she shouldn't have gotten rid of me."

 

"I'd do anything to get you to replace me."

 

Aiden laughed again. "You do that. And get rid of the cow while you're at it." He closes his eyes.

 

"Perhaps."

With that said Angela decided to rest too on his side. He's pretty rough but he didn't seem to be that bad. Being alone would've really sucked anyway. Without her really forcing it, Angela inched closer to him and fell asleep on his shoulder. No matter what kind of person he was, Angela really started to feel that she's alone. Even if they're not sharing something intimate, in this kind of time she wanted to feel the warmth of anyone. Just...this was something that would help ease her mind.

 

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Cyanthrax nodded along as Odine explained about the constant wars around the city. He turned back to the globe, wondering if his home was somewhere on it. After all, her description of the world outside the city was one he was familiar with. He shook his head, disregarding the idea - the world he was in was too different to be his own, especially with all the fancy toys they had here. Still, it painted a clearer picture of what they were actually doing in the arena. He could resonate with the idea of what Mauvache was doing with it. "Interesting..." He muttered, turning back to Odine. Before he could say anything, however, a message popped up on his watch. 
 
"Attention: Sensors indicate you have left the perimeter of the city. Please return. -Mauvache's automated messaging system."
 
Cyanthrax scowled at the device on his wrist, closing the message. "Mother Mauvache calling you home for dinner?" She seemed focus, her eye intensely locked onto him. He got off of his seat, stretching his limbs.

"Apparently I'm not suppose to leave the city." He let out an annoyed sigh, turning back to the globe that was supposedly holding the city. The idea of Mauvache trying to keep him on a leash boiled his blood. He turned back to Odine. "Fu​ck that! What's next on our little field trip?"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Aria

 

The girl would find herself in the middle of what seemed to be a bit of a panic. People were clustered around the desk, and the clerk looked to be overwhelmed. "Ah, excuse me, yes, I know, yes, it's being looked into. No I do not think we could have anticipated this, please get into an orderly line, we...ah, hey, no call for that!"

 

A large man, with long, blonde hair, and bulging muscles made his way through the crowd. "Hey now hey now, relax everyone, everything is under control. I, Adonis, shall make sure of that!"

 

"Didn't you get your butt kicked by the Tennis Queen?"

 

"That! That was a fluke, tennis just isn't my game! Now back away from the desk this instant!"

 

Some of them, grumbling, did as they were told, though a few stuck around.

 

Adonis would then notice Aria looking lost and confused and made his way towards her, with an exaggerated swagger in his step and a toss of his hair. "And who might this be? A newcomer? I'm sorry to say there was an, er, accident earlier in one of the areas of the stadium. Seems some crazy person tried burning it down."

---

Angela

 

As the girl laid down next to Aiden, his eyes flew wide open. "What..." The girl wouldn't have much time to sleep before she would find herself unceremoniously rolled onto the floor. "How dare you think you can touch one as great as I!" He was sitting in the middle of the cot now, trembling and giving her a look of disgust.

---

Cyanthrax

 

"Apparently I'm not suppose to leave the city. Fu​ck that! What's next on our little field trip?"

 

"That's the spirit! Now, where to go..." Odine scanned the planet for a while before nodding her head and started to move the ship again. Cyan wouldn't be able to tell where they were going at first but they were going there fast. The planet got closer and closer as more details were able to be made out. Once they passed by the clouds, which, Cyan would notice, looked to be dark storm clouds. Though there wasn't a storm at the moment he would feel an odd tingling as they went through the clouds.

 

And then he would see their destination. A large patch of charred ground. Everything was blackened and reminiscent of molten lava. There were what seemed to be buildings, or what had been buildings, all over. Their destination looked to be somewhere closer towards the center of the area.

 

There, a thirty foot statue stood. It looked to be made of crystal and was in the shape of a Dragon, standing on its two hind legs.

 

"This is the last place the bombs were dropped. Before the Great Dragon came and forced the people to keep their fighting from destroying the planet." She gestured at the statue. "That was put here after. Supposed to be in honor of the dead. Personally, I think it's just to praise the Great Dragon."

 

She stood from her seat and looked over at Cyan. "Want to take a closer look?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"....U..hh...what did I do...?" Still barely awake, Angela was visibly holding her head in pain after it hit the floor hard. "A...iden? Is there anything wrong?"

 

The young man only gave her an annoyed look. "I didn't say you could touch me."

 

"...I see."

The exchange dampened Angela's mood somewhat. Though as she gained more clarity on her situation, seeing his annoyed look made a thought passed through her mind. The conversation from earlier was still clear on her mind, and she realized that she would not be kept in this prison as long as Mauvache found her amusing.

But there was a way for her to escape this mess.

Taking a breath, she stood up, and formed a pair of projected wind lances on her hands as she got herself into a stance. This might be a good way to do it. She really couldn't think of anything else now. Fear crept inside of her mind, but as she focused into the situation, that feeling disappeared as adrenaline was pumped into her blood.

 

In the meantime, Aiden merely narrowed his eyes at the display before him. "Are you planning to attack me, in prison, because I won't let you sleep with me?"

 

"...So that's the kind of joke I've been reduced to." Angela laughed a bit. Even to people she only knew for a bit, all that she could end up being was just some cheap prostitute, apparently. Well, that should end today. "i don't know really, I just think that killing you might be a pretty nice way to spend time here."

 

"It's not going to be that easy..." As he said that, a dark purple aura surrounded Aiden's form while runes appeared in the air before him.

 

"You really do know how to have fun, huh?" The heaven holes behind Angela opened up as she prepared her attack. The small room that the two were locked in would make it harder for her to dodge anything, which would make this even better for her goal.

"In that case, let's see just how strong a former arena contestant is after a while of neglect." As she said it, the two spears on her hands were fired like a pair of rockets towards Aiden's positon as Angela started to coat herself in her wind magic to increase her movement speed. Two of the runes in front of Aiden moved forward, into the path of the spears. As they made contact, the spears began to slow to a crawl through the air. Aiden then made some hand gestures, carving another rune into the air, and once it was finished, a dark purple bolt was fired out towards Angela.

 

Angela didn't bother to dodge it, and let the bolt hit her. However, it seemed to phase through her without harming her a bit. Forming another spear, Angela thrusted it forward with a bullet-like speed, before she utilized a pointblank wind explosion to create another gap between her and Aiden.

 

Five minutes left.

 

Both of the prisoners were blasted close to the electrical cage surrounding them as a result of the explosion from the attack. They would feel an odd tingling sensation, similar to static electricity due to the impact. Aiden dropped to a knee afterwards and began to make symbols on the floor. As he finished them, several circles of around a foot in diameter began to move along the ground to surround Angela. She would feel pressure on her body as she was pulled down into the floor, as if the gravity around her increased tenfold in an instant.

 

"No...way...this...will stop me!"

Firing a strong blast of wind to blast her towards the ceiling, Angela then launched herself with another wind spear towards Aiden again, turning her entire body into a rocket-like projectile. Sensing what Angela was trying to get herself into, the holes behind her started to showcase changes as eyes started to become visible from each slits. Seeing that, AIden merely smirked.

 

"They always think they win if they get in close."

 

Aiden raised a hand in response, and a rune on the palm of his hand began to glow red. Moments afterwards, a large explosion appeared before him, catching Angela in its blast. It would surely seriously harm someone when it impacted them as directly as that.

 

Yet, from behind the blast, Angela marched on with her spear, still maintaining the same speed and coming out unscathed. Without any signs of stopping, her spear had only one way to go - Aiden's heart. Hurriedly, Aiden aimed his palm to the side and created another explosion using it, this one ended up knocking him away from the direct path of the spear. As he hit the ground, he created another rune in the air that seemed to hover in place in front of him and appears to be more solid than the others.

 

"Hm...maybe we should crank this up?"

Three minutes, or was it two and a half left? Angela's gaze was completely empty now as the holes behind her opened wider and wider as Angela exerted more force from the holes. Now, it was no longer just eyes, but arms managed to materialize themselves from the holes. Wind spears formed on some of them too, moments before the arms fired them towards Aiden's direction. Angela's attack became a rain of javelin, maximizing the small room they were in to ensure as much of the projectiles would hit Aiden as possible, seemingly.

 

However, as the spears would manage to reach Aiden, one of those struck the floating rune and immediately afterwards, it started to expand, revealing itself to be a solid, rubber-like, object. It enveloped the spears entirely as he gets to his feet.

 

"Unlike you, I'm not a murderer. Killing you here would only cause me trouble. Thankfully I am a wizard of unparalleled skill." Upon saying this, he made some swift cutting motions in the air in front of him while chanting something. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, but after a few moments the words seemed to be getting louder and faster, though Angela would be able to tell it was coming from inside her mind. She would have trouble concentrating as the voice grew to the volume of a scream, the words morphed together in a rapid gibberish.

 

Angela let out a scream as her mental process developed into gibberish, but as she was exerting more and more of the energies from the paralel worlds, she started to lose her reason at the time. using her wind magic, she formed claws on her palms before leaping towards Aiden. The disembodied arms were still around her, ready to grab on anything that reached their range.It seemed that she wouldn't be fighting with much tactics from here on

 

Being in such a distressed state, Angela was unable to notice the circle of runes from before had moved around up until the point she was just over Aiden, where she was suddenly, from mid-air, slammed into the ground. Yet, somehow it didn't stop her for long as her animalistic movement seemed to ignore the magic from affecting her further than that. She rushed towards Aiden with faster and faster speed, aiming to slash him apart with her claws.

 

"You're more animal than human. You...whatever creature you are, shouldn't even be called human! Where is the finesse, the wit, that makes humans the top of the food chain?"

 

Aiden's breath started to come in faster as he began creating rune after rune and launching them at the girl, each one that hit her causing her movements to slow for a time, though it seemed he was locked in a cycle of recreating these runes and not having time to use any other magic with how fast Angela ignored the effects from his magic. The runes all managed to hit Angela directly, slowing her down for a short moment before Angela shrugged it off using her delay ability. A wind blast coming from behind her forcefully pushed her forward past the constantly recreated runes, and soon Aiden would find himself face to face with the beast-like Angela and her many disembodied hands.

 

Aiden grimaced with disgust as he raised his palms in front of her shoulders, creating a pair of smaller explosions at those two points. This also seemingly served, due to his less-than-perfect state of energy, to knock him back just enough to hit the energy field behind the two of them, causing his body to start to twitch and become numb. But before he was thrown away, two of Angela's disembodied paralel world arms managed to grab Aiden as Angela stood before him, barely even bothered by the explosion he fired earlier. As she prepared to cut him apart, a word escaped the maddened girl's lips.

"Kill me, please."

 

"Tch, I could kill you so easily now, yet, if I do, it won't just be the police I have to outmaneuver."

 

At that time Aiden would then feel some pain from his left side as Angela's wind claws tore the skin on the left part of his abdomen, but it was a surprise that she never actually finished it. At that moment, Angela paused, not doing anything further, and moments later right before Aiden, he would watch as all the attacks that Angela had ignored before happened simultaneously, ravaging her body like a blown-up doll. Before the mess of blood, flesh, and explosion obscured his vision, Aiden saw the girl giving him a smile as she let go of her hold on him. That sight only made the young man to shake his head.

 

"What is this? So her abilities isn't invulnerability.... Using them in this manner is so useless isn't it? She would only be able to defeat a single opponent before dying, and that's if she's lucky. What a waste of talent..."

 

Just as the explosions settled down though, a klaxon alarm sounded as the lights on the cell suddenly dimmed. This caused the electrical shocks Aiden felt to become even more pronounced before moments later a large surge of electricity traveled through the cell and shocked AIden into unconsciousness.

 

When the rushing officers finally reached the room in response to the alarm, they would only see an unconscious young man and a half-dead pile of burnt flesh next to him.

 

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

He watched as the space outside of them started moving again as it did before. As they flew through space, they passed a set of stormy clouds, before flying over a charred ground. The terrain had definitely seen better days, or at least Cyan hope it had. He saw what looked like buildings, or rather what was left of them, below him as they flew to their actual destination - a gigantic statue of a dragon. "This is the last place the bombs were dropped. Before the Great Dragon came and forced the people to keep their fighting from destroying the planet." She gestured at the statue. "That was put here after. Supposed to be in honor of the dead. Personally, I think it's just to praise the Great Dragon." She stood from her seat and looked over at Cyan. "Want to take a closer look?"

Meanwhile, Cyanthrax had already gotten out of his seat, firmly planting his face on the screen again, looking at the statue. "Fu​ck yeah I wanna get closer!" He sounded a bit too excited as he removed his face from the screen.
 
"Don't fog up the screen, gramps." She says as the ship flew near the statue, parking near it. She led him out of the ship and out onto the ground. He felt the crunchy ground below him as he took his first step. The air had a stale, ashy taste, nearly dry. He paid little attention to the air and the ground, however. Instead, he made an immediate beeline to the statue without saying much of a word.
 
As he got closer to the statue, he felt something in the air, almost like a tingling feeling. The strange feeling seemed to intensify as he made his way closer to the dragon statue in the middle, becoming harder and harder to ignore. However, ignore it he did, as he got in front of the statue. He reached out to touch it, before immediately recoiling as the statue seemed to shock him. "What the fuc​k!?" He shouted. He could of sworn that he had heard something whispering to him, although it was in a language that he could not make out. 
 
"What is it?" Odine asked, keeping a fair distance away from the demon and the statue. He turned to angrily.
 
"The da​mn thing shocked me!" He shouted with a hint of pouting in his voice. "And I heard... something." He answered more quietly, turning back to the statue.
 
"Something, like, what?" Before Cyanthrax could answer, there was a screaming to his left and a man dressed in rags came running out, holding a sharpened rock in his hands. Cyanthrax crouched down slightly, prepared to deal with the assailants. However, before he had a chance to do anything, he saw a trio of bolts fly through the sky, killing the cloaked man almost immedietly. He turned back to look at Odine, who had her pistol out. "Locals. People who stuck around here went a bit batty. So what were you saying?"
 
"Huh?" He had lost his train of thought for a second, before remembering what they were talking about. "Oh, right. I don't fuc​kin know. It was in a weird language." He stopped to think for a bit. "Never heard anything like it, and I've heard my fair share of languages " He turned back to the statue. 
 
Odine tapped the pistol a few times, seemingly in thought. "Maybe there's something inside this thing...or under it. Wanna try and look around a bit?"
 
"I guess." He shrugged, before starting to look around it. He started with the sides of it, glancing around the statue. He didn't find anything of interest in his search. He took a deep breath, prepared to touch the statue again. Before he could, however, he heard a robotic voice. 
 
"You are in an unauthorized area" Three mechanical looking lumps started flying around them, holding a barrel that reminded him of Odine's gun. 
 
"What the fuc​k is that?" He shouted pointing at the trio of machines, turning to Odine.
 
"Looks like security drones, military...maybe." She replied, turning to them.
 
"Well they're being annoying! What should we do with them?"
 
"Well if we don't leave they'll probably shoot at us. And more will come if any of them stay flying. What do you think, Gramps, your move."
 
"Sh​​it..." He thought about it for a second, turning to the 'drone'. He could easily deal with the three of these right now, even if they did shoot whatever Odine or Elijah's weapons shot. However, having to deal with a hoard of these things, which were apparently disposable... it sounded like a drag. Whatever the statue was was not worth it, at least not now. He shrugged. "Fuc​k it, I'll leave yer sh​itty statue alone." He starts walking backwards towards Odine, keeping his eyes on the drones. "Whatever it is, it's now worth it to deal with you shi​ts."
 
"Sure." she said, shrugging, before turning her back on the drones, heading up the ramp back into the ship. Cyanthrax followed behind her, keeping an eye out on the drones.
 
As they made it to the ship, he took his seat. "Wonder why they're guarding that piece of slab." He turned to his hand. It didn't seemed like it was burned or anything. "Actually, never mind. I don't really give a sh​it"
 
"Probably cause I was right..." Odine glanced over. "What, did it scare you, Mr. Fighter?" 
 
The demon scoffed. "Please! It'd take more than some fuc​king electric rock to scare me." He turned back outside the window and towards the statue. He glared at the drones that were hanging around it. "Fuc​king 'drones'... whatever the fu​ck a drone is..." He muttered under his breath, his glare intensifying.
 
"You look plenty scared to me." Odine teased, before glancing at the statue alongside him. "What are you hiding..." she says, almost like she was asking it herself. 
 
"So, where to next?" He asked, leaning back on his seat as much as he could.
 
"Wha? Ah..." Odine seemed to be a bit more distracted than earlier "Let's grab something to eat, any preference? Porridge, for your poor old gums?" She teased again, causing Cyan to glare at her.
 
"I'm not that old ya know! I'm only..." He started counting on his fingers, trying to keep track as to how old he was. "...I wanna say like 300? I lost count to be honest, but that's not the point! Sh​it's like 20 in human" He barked, slightly pouting.
 
"Old enough to be hard of hearing, apparently. What do you want to eat dumbas​s?" She responded, causing Cyan to scoff again.
 
"I don't fuc​kin know! Surprise me" 
 
"You're not very good with women, are you?" Before he could respond, she had set the ship to start moving before the demon could sit up straight, causing him to nearly fall forward. 
 
"Bi​tch, I'm great with women!" He said angrily, but also a bit boastfully. "Not my fault ya keep callin' me gramps! Feel like I'd dealing with some child or something..." He crossed his arms, straightening himself up as they flew.

[Tesability Black]

Her eyes still spinning spirals, Tesability slowly stumbled to and fro, eventually turning around while whining "tu many wordsh" in front of the officer before stumbling out of the building. Once she was outside (after turning her snout into an accordion once more), she shook her head to clear it of the spinning and revert her eyes back to normal.

Miraculously recalling the instructions for the place to go, Tesability flew low to avoid getting into trouble and made her way to the library.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When the dragon landed in front of the tower that was the library, she could not help but try to look up and up, soon falling backwards onto her back due to leaning too far back.

She felt tiny compared to this thing.

She shook her head before flipping back onto her paws, walking up to doors that opened on their own before quickly pawing her way inside.

"Oooh, sho much buk!" Once inside, she saw walls and miniwalls (bookcases, she later remembered) of books filling the floor she looked upon. Stretching her wings, she flew up towards the top of one of the bookshelves, reaching down to grab a random book before opening it...but the pages were blank! "Wha?!" Closing it and opening it again, she put back the book before grabbing a different one, seeing it was also blank.

She was more than irked at this point. Sliding the book back into place, she scratched against the side of the bookcase itself with a claw and realized something. The whole thing was tech! She could jump in!

A smirk on her muzzle, she began to digitize before phasing into the bookshelf she was on...

~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Tesability hopped fully into the bookcase, she was hit square between the eyes, causing her to flip backwards several times in the floating space before she got herself to stop spinning. Shaking her head to clear the spinny, Tesability flew about to get a better look at her surroundings, and realized what had clocked her upon entering.

THE BOOKS WERE FLYING!

Every single digital copy of all the books in the library were moving rapidly from one place to another and everywhere she could see. There was almost no place where there wasn't something flying through it, a point that was stressed when a book hit her in the back and moved her forward against her will.

"EEEEEEEEK!!!" Once the book in her back disappeared she tried to stop moving on her own power, ending up colliding with some form of wall instead that she slid down comically.

"...owies..." There was no telling how long she ended up staying in the bookcase in such a KOed state...

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Angela

 

"Twice in one day, starting to think I should tie you to that bed if I want to keep you in one piece." Once Angela came to she would find herself in a small grey room. It somewhat resembled the hospital but clearly less advanced, and much less welcoming. However the doctor from before was there, looking down at her with an almost exasperated smile. "I'm no detective but admitting to a crime after going to the hospital then trying to get someone to kill you? Seems pretty fishy to me. But...that's not my job, I'm just here to patch you up. I would ask you to promise not to do that again but somehow I don't think that'd work."

He looked around at the room. "I hate coming here. It stinks of despair..."

---

Cyanthrax

 

It was clear that Odine's mind was occupied on the way back to the city. Her mood had changed after the encounter at the statue. Though as the ship touched ground on back at the ship port she would turn to Cyanthrax and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Honestly I thought you'd wuss out when you got that message, looks like there's hope for you yet."

 

The two once more went to Odine's bike. Though this time the girl went at a more reasonable, though still fast, speed. They ended up at the casino, of all places. "There's a buffet in here, lots and lots of deliciously crappy food for people to fill themselves up on in between gambling their life savings."

 

As they entered Cyanthrax would be hit with the sight of flashy lights and the sound of electronic games. Odine seemed perfectly at home here and didn't miss a step worrying about how Cyan was handling this. She led him to the right of the left of the entrance where a swinging door separated the casino from the buffet. If Cyan was paying attention he'd notice a man, with a name-tag indicating he was the owner, watching them nervously and relaxing as Odine headed to the buffet.

 

"By the way, you're paying." She called over her shoulder to Cyan. "Great with women, pfft." She muttered.

---

Tesability

 

The NetMonster would hear some muttering, unable to make it out in their hazy state, and, an unknown amount of time later, they'd find themselves on the floor of the library. Off to the side the old woman she had seen before was seething, though trying not to look in Tesability's direction. However she would also see another person, directly in front of her.

 

Or, perhaps person wasn't the best phrase. They were an iguana. Only they were six feet long. What appeared to be cleaning supplies, including a mop and bucket, were piled on its back and a sign over its neck indicated that they were the library's janitor. When Tesability came to, the iguana would be looking at her, staring, staring, staring...

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

Upon entering the arena, it seemed like the staff was in a state of chaos, running around and bickering about things that Aria could only begin to try and understand. Soon enough, one of the staff members noticed Aria and approached her.

 

"And who might this be? A newcomer? I'm sorry to say there was an, er, accident earlier in one of the areas of the stadium. Seems some crazy person tried burning it down." The staff member spoke matter-of-factly.

 

"Uhh yeah, my name's Aria. And don't worry about it I was just-" Aria started, blinking at the thought of someone attempting arson at such a large, public space. "-Tried to... what? Is this place open right now?" Aria asked, but soon realized that if the place was closed down for any reason because of the disaster, either for investigation or for safety, there was no way the staff would be welcoming her in right now or even have left the doors unlocked like that. "Nevermind that. Uhhh I'm here to learn, I dunno I guess fighting? Is there some sort of kick-boxing or MMA class or whatever here that I can join? Or a trainer that can help me? I need to know how to fight for, I guess the whole fighting competition thing, and I'm not really gonna get any better without practice I guess."

[Yui]

---

3:00PM

Points: 117

W/L Record: 1/1

"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."

 

...what? Angela was the killer? No way! She seemed so nice. Not at all like a murderer! Aurora was kind of having a hard time wrapping her head around it, and the stunned silence and look of disbelief on her face probably showed that. What did Officer Kate make of this though?

 

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. 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."

 

"Y-Yeah, no problem. I won't tell her."

 

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

 

"Shouldn't have been followed. I made sure to check behind me every so often and everything."

 

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

 

"Roger." An accomplice? That explained a bit. Angela being the only culprit in this case seemed a bit too convenient. Aurora would have to keep her eyes peeled for that accomplice. And if it came time to fight, Aurora could definitely hold her own. Although this isn't the arena. I'll have to be careful not to go too ham if a fight breaks out. Although... if something does happen, there's a hospital right here. I'm standing on it. What's the worst that could happen? Aurora quickly discarded her mental question. The worst that could happen was she for some reason became unable to enter the hospital or move in general, and ultimately froze to death entirely due to her own power. Speaking of that power, Aurora promptly moved to a different part of the roof. It was getting a bit too chilly for her taste where she was standing.

 

Now, if I were an accomplice, where would I hide?

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"Honestly I thought you'd wuss out when you got that message, looks like there's hope for you yet."
 
Cyan couldn't help but smirk and scoff at what she said. "Please, do I look like some bit​ches' lapdog?" He remarked as they made their way towards Odine's bike. While on it they moved fast, although not nearly as quick as they had while they were in the city. They stopped at a large, brightly lit building. 
 
"There's a buffet in here, lots and lots of deliciously crappy food for people to fill themselves up on in between gambling their life savings."
 
As they entered the building, the demon was assaulted by an assortment of bright lights and sounds. Somehow this was even more overwhelming than the array of screens that existed back at the city. Still, he marched onward, turning his head to look at all the different things. What he could gather was that they had just entered a sort of casino. "Aeden would lose his sh​it if he saw this..." He muttered, chucking a bit.

 

"By the way, you're paying." He thought he heard something else, but he could barely hear what she said from all of the sound around them. He growled a bit and was about to tell her off, before remembering that she was his ride back. "You better hope they take credits here... " He barked back, turning back around to get another look at the casino before going into the buffet. He noted a nervous looking man who was apparently the owner. He seemed to relax a bit once the girl had fully entered the buffet area. He gave the man a quizzical look, before turning back and walking into the buffet himself.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

“A...ah...so I'm really dead now...”

 

Light flooded Angela's sight as she slowly opened her eyes. She was barely able to feel anything, nor she was able yet to see anything. Was she dead? She didn't feel pain at least, so perhaps her attempt was successful. If this was really death, then it seemed that it's not as scary as she once thought.

 

However, she soon noticed the presence of someone else inside of the room. That sight figuratively dragged her back to reality. She was visibly quite disappointed with this knowledge.

 

"I certainly hope not or I'd be doing a really bad job." The Doctor said. It was, surprisingly, the same doctor that took care of her when she exploded after the fight with Elijah. Was this fate? Nevertheless, Angela decided to listen more to his words. "Though I can get the confusion." he gestured absently at the drag surroundings. "You're in the infirmary."

 

"Ah, so still in the prison, I guess.” Angela tried to make herself sound less down, but it only made it feel forced so she decided to try shifting the topic instead...without any success. “How bad was my wound? Maybe I should've gotten him to explode my head instead...but that sounds too scary, isn't it?"

 

"Well you were quite the mess. Thankfully that boy is softer than he seems. Well, thankfully for us, evidently not so much for you." The doctor picked up Angela's intent quite fast, apparently. Good for him.

 

"Sorry for acting as selfishly like that. Had he killed me, perhaps your job would be much simpler. I'd ask why would you keep someone despicable as me alive, but...that is the job of doctors, right?"

 

"I've seen a lot of despicable people." The doctor said. "I've saved plenty of their lives. They come in many shapes and sizes. There's one thing that is always the same. The eyes." He leaned down, looking Angela in the eyes. "You don't have their eyes." He straightened out and ran his hand through his hair, laughing a bit. "Maybe I read too much after all, getting overdramatic in my old age."

 

“Still, I killed those people, and...”

 

"I don't believe you did what you claim. But I don't need to convince you of that."

 

Hearing that, Angela let out a drab laugh. It was hard to push herself to really do anything about the situation, but knowing that she's so terrible at everything that her attempt of becoming a scapegoat could be seen with utmost ease was met with almost instaneous failure was hilarious in a grim way for her.

 

“Even as a voluntary scapegoat I can't achieve anything...could you at least help me make sure that the officers would believe me?”

 

"They wouldn't be very good at their job if they didn't make sure, and I am not one to obstruct the truth." The doctor thought a moment. “Although, I already saw young Kate leaving looking for clues when I came in. Such a determined girl."

 

Kate? That was the officer that brought her here, wasn't it? Angela shuddered at the thought of her having to deal with Nezar. Any light from her expression disappeared as she whimpered, softly voicing her next lines.

 

"So what should I do now? If I suddenly confess that it's not me that commited those murders, I doubt they'll believe me."

 

"They'll figure it out soon enough...And of course. I doubt you'll be here long anyway." There was a strained smile on his face. "Not with someone like her in your corner."

 

“Of course...then, what should I do about her? About Mauvache?" For a moment, a thought passed her mind. A severed head, impaled on a pike. A momentary feeling of satisfaction. That was the kind of thing that she could do, wouldn't it be? But, as soon as she realized what was she was trying to suggest to herself, her expression became one that of fear.

 

"How...what do you mean?"

 

"...Nevermind, that was too selfish of me. As much as I hate her, killing her would be...” No, she couldn't do it. No matter how despicable, consciously killing someone like that, out of her own desire, that was too much. She couldn't bring herself to do it. She would rather kill herself first rather than even taking a step in doing something like that. As much as it scared her, anyway...

 

“And doing that would only ruin more people than what I'd improve anyway. In that case I guess I'll just have to endure more beating until either it stops or I break first."

 

"I am thinking you are taking these losses too much to heart.” The doctor seemingly missed what was Angela was trying to say to him, and Angela's expression momentarily shifted into that of annoyance. “The people watch it for a show and they get that, regardless of who wins."

 

"You're kidding? If it's just about the losses, I wouldn't even consider even pinching anyone for it, let alone murder. My losses are my own fault, and mine alone. But Mauvache...” Angela looked around, trying to see if anyone was listening. Of course, if Nezar was around, he wouldn't let himself be seen anyway. But...she just wanted to make sure, and she was scared that doing this might instead risk the Doctor's life.

 

“...She's the one that got those people killed."

"Oh? And how is that?" He didn't seem to be that surprised, but still curious nevertheless. Was it the thought of everyone about Mauvache?

 

Angela paused for a moment to gather her strength before she talked.

 

“Well, Mauvache hired an assassin to stalk me after a misconduct I did. Last night I couldn't handle myself and went to that bar to have some fun. And the assassin killed those men when I was unconscious at the aftermath."

 

It felt sickening. She could still hear the voices of those men ringing inside of her ears now. Hazy memories from that fateful night played on her mind. The sight of those people that had talked to her, people that had embraced her, people that had shared their essence into her, and they're all gone now. Dead, without even any bodies to show to anyone. Didn't they all have families, unlike her? All of this, even if it was Nezar that brought down the blade, even if it was Mauvache that ordered it, in the end it was Angela's own fault.

 

"Hm." The doctor runs a hand through his hair. He was clearly listening, but his thought was seemingly somewhere else for a moment. "Is that it then?" He paused, closed his eyes, and breathed in through his nose. He seemingly was trying to feel something, and at first Angela was surprised at his general conduct and his matter of fact reaction to the reveal, but then, his next sentence made it all clear.

 

"Young man, did you kill those people?"

 

When the doctor opened his eyes and looked around, there was still no other person inside of the room aside from him and Angela. He paused for a moment, before addressing that 'young man' once more, in a slightly more impatient tone.

 

"Come now, I don't have time for games."

 

A blink.

 

Once he opened his eyes, Nezar was already there in the room, standing beside the doctor. Angela could feel a kind of fear creeping on her. Not the fear of her own life, but...

 

"Even here you're still stalking me..." Her weakened voice was almost akin to a squeak at this rate. Angela receded more on her bed as Nezar watched over her and the doctor.

 

"It was what I was asked to do."

 

"And now what?” Granted, his flat and impersonal tone really did irritate Angela. Talking to him never felt like she's talking to a person, more like an automated answering machine. It could barely even constitute as a conversation. As this frustration filled her thought, Angela put a bit more energy on her words. “These officers wouldn't have a way to just take this issue to Mauvache or you, so wouldn't it be best if you just leave me here and get someone else, like Aiden, back to the arena?"

 

“She chose you."

 

“So what are you going to do now?"

 

"My job. As always."

 

"That is not an answer." It was an answer, but it was far from anything satisfying. Angela started to think that Nezar was doing this deliberately to mess with others. Still, she cautiously watched over him and how he saw her and the doctor. She was ready to bring out her wind spears at any moment Nezar might show any signs of attacking.

 

Was it really worth it though? She'd defend the doctor with her life, but, should Nezar find it necessary to kill her, there's really no point in resisting, wouldn't it be?

 

There was no future for her. Not here, not anywhere. In the end this kind of place would be where she'd really end up on.

 

But, the world refused to just let her die.

 

"I have already told you what I was tasked with. I will continue to do so. As I did when you fled from the bar and I ensured you got back in one piece."

 

It was so frustrating to hear it from Nezar. As long as he's alive, he'd keep her alive because that was what Mauvache wanted.

 

It was weird, however. As time passed in the room, she actually felt more and more at ease with the idea of finding death somewhere here. For most of her life, she was too scared of Death to deliberately seek it. Even when she wanted it, she was usually too scared of experiencing it that she'd rather go on activities that could kill him on the hope that she wouldn't feel anything if she died there.

 

But, there was no way it'd be worse than her current situation, wasn't it?

 

“So, all of that is just to keep me alive. To keep me as an entertainer for Mauvache."

 

Slowly, the frustration, and anger from her voice dissipated. Her tone was almost neutral when she stated those words. Making peace with the thought felt quite nice, as if a large weight had been lifted from her, the second time today. Perhaps it was a sign that she wasn't meant to be here anymore.

 

"Not much effort was required." It was odd, but nice, for her to speak in a similar tone as Nezar for once.

 

"I see." Then, as if she was having a migraine, Angela clutched her forehead with her palm. Wind built up there for a split second as she did that.

 

It was scary. It was terrifying. Consciously choosing this, accepting this as a way out, Angela wasn't able to face it before. But now...it seemed that she really had no choices left. Now, it was something that she could finally embrace. Perhaps it's just because of the two close encounter with death today, but it felt less than the scary unknown that she used to believe it to be, and more...

 

Ah, a reliable and supportive sibling she never had, wishing to guide her to a better place. Angela gave Nezar and the doctor a momentary smile as magic built up on her palm.

 

"Still, you can't save me from the one that hated me the most. That is your failure. Goodbye."

 

And then, everything went dark for Angela as a spear formed on her hand, piercing her head instantly.

 

---

 

"Great Dragon." The doctor only shook his head as he looked at the result of Angela's suicide attempt.

 

"I knew you were fast but that was something else." Just next to Angela's unconscious body was Nezar, holding a bloodied wind spear that disappeared moments afterwards. A hole was visible on Angela's forehead, but it was a lot tamer than what it should be. It seemed that Nezar had somehow managed to stop the spear from doing too much damage. The doctor wasted no time to perform first aid and preparing Angela to be moved as soon as he gotten over his surprise.

 

"Damn it, this will be the third time today...we'll need to get her to an actual OR, stat."

 

As Nezar helped the doctor get Angela prepared for the move, he spoke to him in a bit of a scolding tone. "You should have told her it wasn't you who killed those men."

 

"She didn't ask." Nezar replied with his trademark flatness.

 

With a sigh, the doctor leaned in to check the damage. "I'm really getting too old for this..." he muttered.

 

Soon, the pair wheeled Angela out and as the police came to check what the ruckus was, the doctor found himself moving the girl on his own. He sighed at how Nezar had left him to deal with this on his own and gathered his thoughts for a moment before addressing the matter to the officers.

 

"I know, regulations, blah blah, girl's got a hole in her head and I need better equipment. I'm taking her to the hospital, feel free to come with if you must."

 

He's starting to consider restraining the girl for a few weeks or so if this would continue. It seemed that the upcoming week would be quite filled with more workload than expected.

 

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Aria

 

 "Nevermind that. Uhhh I'm here to learn, I dunno I guess fighting? Is there some sort of kick-boxing or MMA class or whatever here that I can join? Or a trainer that can help me? I need to know how to fight for, I guess the whole fighting competition thing, and I'm not really gonna get any better without practice I guess."

 

"Ah, sadly our head trainer is...gone at the moment. She tends to disappear often, that Aurora...But fear not, my lovely, for I, Adonis, am Aurora's top student! I take up her position when she's not around. I can show you how to fight like a true star in no time!"

 

He would reach his hand out to her, his hair blowing in the breeze that Aria hadn't even realized was there until that moment, and prepared to lead her to one of the more enclosed areas of the stadium, which was used for martial arts. An area that looked like a cross between a gym and a boxing ring.

---

Cyanthrax

 

As Cyan walked into the buffet his nose would be hit with dozens of different, tantalizing, smells. There were long lines of tables stretching across the floor, all filled with food, with what seemed like heated plates to keep it all warm. There were foods of all kinds, mostly stuff that could be cooked quickly and in bulk, and at the far end were piles of deserts and several drink dispensers.

 

There were about thirty other people all in line getting food, practically fighting over prime pieces, and a pair of bouncers were watching them.

 

Cyan would find Odine impatiently tapping her foot next to an uncomfortable waiter who, upon seeing Cyanthrax, rattled off a typical greeting and telling him that for two people he would have to pay 24 points. "Come on, let's hurry up, I'm hungry and free food is my FAVORITE." Odine said.

[ChampionZero]

Elijah knew the good life when he had it, and he'd had it before. This was pretty damn close.

 

By 'this,' I of course mean that he's sitting at a cafe, feet up on another chair, and eating a sandwich. Just soaking in the evening light, waiting for the call to go back to his room and get some sleep.

 

OK, well, there was also something else.

 

What the hell had happened to Angela? You'd think she'd show up eventually, right? But no, she's just gone. Maybe te watch had a way to message each other? He fiddled with it for a bit, trying to see if he could.

 

On another note, the shoot went well. That catgirl was cute. Hopefully he'd see her again, but probably not. More importantly, who to play next... well, let's see. The Kid was active, passionate and cheery. So maybe a good counterpart would be The Professor. Sharp. Cold. And Machiavellian. Better to hold off on The Heartbreaker for now, at least until after he fought the talking dog. He was not going to even THINK about that scenario. What would be good scenes for The Professors promos though... Maybe quote some philosopher for the first one. Something that takes a while to say, but makes a ruthless point. Machiavelli? The Joker? Aristotle? Eh, give it time. DEFINITELY can't do a talking segment for the third one again. Once was enough.

 

"Ah, I think this is it." Elijah exclaimed aloud, having found what looked like a way to contact Angela. Hopefully it worked.

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

"Ah, sadly our head trainer is...gone at the moment. She tends to disappear often, that Aurora...But fear not, my lovely, for I, Adonis, am Aurora's top student! I take up her position when she's not around. I can show you how to fight like a true star in no time!" The man known as Adonis stepped forward, offering his hand to lead her towards where she would learn, his hair blowing in the non-existent wind. Seriously, what is up with that? Aria thought.

 

Aria shrugged. "I mean, I guess anything's an improvement from what I know right now." Her tone of voice, of course, made her joking very apparent, but she could still hear the other staff chuckling in the background. But, she wasn't wrong; even if this guy was all talk, he still probably knew more about fighting than her, so for now this would do. Aria would follow Adonis to the training area, which took longer than she would have liked, but in the end she found where she needed to be. "Huh, thought the training place would be more impressive than this; what with all the sci-fi tech in this city and all," Aria commented as she hung her jacket up on a hook near the door. She realized that she came here unprepared with her normal clothes and would likely get them all sweaty and gross, but she didn't really have much choice.

 

To get more clothes, she'd need to win more fights, and that's exactly why she was here.

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

As he entered the buffet room, Cyanthrax was assaulted by a combination of scents from the variety of foods. This was definitely better than the cr​ap they served back in the arena, or at least better than what he decided to choose. He turned his head to Odine, who was tapping her foot impatiently. She was standing next to a rather uncomfortable waiter, who approached him as soon as theirs eyes met. He rattled on some generic greeting Cyan didn't pay attention to - the only thing that mattered was the number 24, which was how many points he was going to have to play. "That's it?" He scoffed in surprise. "Sign me the fu​ck up then!" After making the payment, he moved onward to Odine.
 
"Come on, let's hurry up, I'm hungry and free food is my FAVORITE." The demon let out a sigh, although his expression betrayed his apparent annoyance.

"You really are like a fu​cking child, huh?" He started walking towards the food. Without turning back, he gestured her to follow him. "Well, what'er you waiting for? The food ain't gonna eat itself!"

[Tesability Black]

"Ow..."

The NetMonster groaned as her awareness came to, feeling that she was sprawled out on her belly on the cool floor. Gingerly, she managed to get up onto all fours before giving herself a full-body shake. "Buk muvs fasts..." she grumbled before hearing rather-loud and angry steps approaching her. Lifting her head, she spotted the woman behind the desk near the entrance.

And she was clearly unhappy, which caused the NetMonster to gulp due to seeing a similar look on Boss Lady.

"Listen here you young...whatever you are, books are for reading not...not...gallivanting around in! Unless you are here to read properly then you have no place here. If you can NOT read then I would suggest the audio books. Now I am going to have to clean all the data just in case you stepped in something on the way here, and don't you give me any excuses the signs clearly indicate how you're supposed to go about things here."

As the lady began the chewout, the second one of the day no less, Tesability became visibly smaller when possible, head low on the ground and belly touching the floor with tail wrapped around one side and wings folded in.

"Ai showwiesh, Ai no meansh mayks yu an' Bosh Wadie mads tudaesh," she whined before daring to look up towards the librarian. "Ai jush wan' buk fo' fwyeen waishensh."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Elijah

 

Having had finally stabilized Angela...again, the doctor noticed her watch light up as a message was trying to get through. He let out a grunt. "Wish I could take that damn thing off, always gets in the way..." He didn't feel it right to intrude but...whoever it was might be someone who cared about Angela's well being. He couldn't just let that be.

 

He checked the number on the message and, writing it down, finished up his business here. Several minutes later he sent a call to the number. "Hello, yes, Elijah was it? This is Doctor Franklin Akoola, I'm sorry to say Angela had a bit of an...accident. She's stable for the time being but she is currently in the hospital. If you wish to speak with her it will have to wait until tomorrow. If there's anything else you need, let me know, I'll see what can be done."

---

Aria

 

As the girl watched, Adonis stripped his shirt off. He did it dramatically, obviously intentionally trying to get her attention, and revealed his incredibly muscular body. The man then stretched for what was likely a few minutes more than necessary before posing with one hand on his hip and the other curled upwards, showing off his muscles even further.

 

"Now I know that it may be intimidating to be getting lessons from the pinnacle of man but never fear, I'll be sure to go easy on you! Results like this don't happen overnight!"

 

What followed was essentially Adonis showcasing how awesome he was. Though Aria, having seen people actually fight on multiple occasions, would notice that what he was doing wasn't exactly professional level. Sure, it was an upgrade from nothing, but it was clear he thought himself better than he was. He also wasn't very good at actually teaching, focusing more on showing off himself than showing her how to do anything.

 

"So, what do you think? Feel free to speak up, no need to gawk...okay, maybe some need to gawk."

---

Cyanthrax

 

"Ha, spoken like a true old geezer.And old geezer, may I add, who is currently hanging out with a young girl. Shame on you." Odine said as she began piling food onto a trio of plates that she somehow kept balanced. Even when they were all overfilled with food. Food, which Cyan might notice, which comprised almost entirely of meat. He would lose track of her for a while but when she returned to the table she would have four plates with her. She sat down and licked her lips, looking at the food.

 

Looking up at him she spoke up first. "So, you're basically the 'bad guy' of the fighters right? Why'd you let yourself get roped into that? It's a hell of a lot easier to be liked ya know. Probably could've gotten in here for free if you were popular enough. People giving you drinks and sheet, what's so great about being hated?"

---

Tesability

 

The librarian blinked at the NetMonster, clearly trying to decode what she had just said. "I have learned many languages, yet your...dialect is rather unnerving." She thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion as to what the girl had meant.

 

"You'll want to go up two floors to get information of that sort. Oh and do use the stairs, I don't want your...existence to break the elevator. It already has enough troubles..."

 

If Tesability were to go up to the floor she would notice, on her way through the second floor, several people sitting around on soft looking couches reading books by the gentle glow of the lights. On the third floor there would be but one person.

 

A young girl who had a electronic pad in one hand and seemed to be looking over the books, occasionally moving some, writing something down on the pad, and moving on. If Tes were to get her attention the girl would turn. She had a blank expression on her face when looking at the NetMonster. "Ah. The creature from before. Hello." Was all she said.

[Yui]

---

3:00PM

Points: 117

W/L Record: 1/1

Now, if I were an accomplice, where would I hide?

 

Admittedly, Aurora was never good at thinking like a bad guy. They were shady and always wound up in places you'd never expect... That's it! Nobody would expect an accomplice to be hiding in the hospital, right? That had to be it! Ready to catch her some crooks, Aurora went back into the hospital, but not before taking one more glance of the view from up here. She was slowly getting used to this place, though she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss her own world. Still, it didn't seem like she'd be going home anytime soon. Best not to linger on it for too long.

 

Aurora headed inside, shutting the door behind her of course, and tried to find the first person she could spot that looked like they worked here. She'd have to be careful not to blow this chance and end up looking suspicious herself. That would be awkward. Once she found someone, she made sure to get their attention with a friendly wave as she approached, and followed up once she was close enough with her goal here.

 

"Excuse me, I'm helping the police force with an investigation on a missing persons case. You wouldn't happen to have a basement or something someone might be hiding in, would you?"

 

That wasn't suspicious, right?

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

The demon lost track of the girl while they were getting their food. Not like he was keeping an eye out for her; he was far too busy taking in the amount of food options present to him. He returned to the table, noting that Odine had a similar number of plates to him. She also had mostly the same thing he did; mostly meat, although Cyan did have a whole plate of deserts to go alongside his onslaught of different kinds of meats. He simple chuckled as he took his seat and began eating. "So, you're basically the 'bad guy' of the fighters right? Why'd you let yourself get roped into that? It's a hell of a lot easier to be liked ya know. Probably could've gotten in here for free if you were popular enough. People giving you drinks and sheet, what's so great about being hated?"
 
The demon scoffed at her. "Maybe for you it is." He put down the remains of the steak that he was eating. "Let me put it this way." He pointed at a random stranger in the crowd. "If I told you that guy was a demon, without knowing anything else about him, would you assume he's a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'?" He put his hand down. "Plus, from where I come from, the "good guys" are a bunch of jackas​ses." He shrugged.

[ChampionZero]

Elijah took the information well. "Oh. Wow, I guess I did a number on her in the arena. Well, just tell her Elijah says hi, then. And that he'd like to see her once she's feeling better. Thanks!"

 

Elijah did not take the information well.

 

IN THE HOSPITAL-- WHAT?! I THOUGHT THE ARENA SIMULATIONS WEREN'T REAL-- HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

 

The Duelist took several deep breaths to calm himself, but where his heart had slowed, his mind was still racing. He had to do something, and as he was walking outside the arena, it hit him. Or rather, he hit it, smacking face-first into a storefront.

 

"Huh. You know, I always wondered if there was a higher power guiding me serendipitously through life, but in hindsight this is not the first red flag. No the first one was probably my strange tendency to talk to myself, but only at points where a hidden observer would need clarification to understand the events unfolding around me."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Aurora

 

"Excuse me, I'm helping the police force with an investigation on a missing persons case. You wouldn't happen to have a basement or something someone might be hiding in, would you?"

 

The nurse, a messy-haired young man, looked at Aurora in confusion. "There's a basement level but...no one is allowed down there but the staff. Can't exactly let anyone who says they're helping the police just wander in it....Hey what are you doing here, anyway?" He asked, growing suspicious. "You don't seem sick, and you're not visiting anyone if you're trying to get into the basement..."

 

It was clear that she wouldn't be able to so easily get information. If she hung around for too much longer the nurse would call for security, unless she gave some reason she was sticking around.

---

Cyanthrax

 

"If I told you that guy was a demon, without knowing anything else about him, would you assume he's a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'?" He put his hand down. "Plus, from where I come from, the "good guys" are a bunch of jackas​ses."

 

"Didn't think demons would deal with racism, guess people always find a way to be asses in whatever way they can." She shrugged. "If you wanna live the stereotype don't let me stop you." She had already polished off the food on her plate and went up to get some more.

While she was gone a couple of small girls, not even a foot in height, with wings and wearing a uniform came up to the table. They grabbed up the empty plates and, clearly struggling, lifted them up and started to take them away.

Odine returned as they were leaving and she didn't spare them a second glance. "Don't tell me you're only eating that much, it's all you can eat, you're supposed to keep going till you're about to burst."

---

Elijah

 

The young man had quite the journey indeed. For, to run into a storefront, he would have had to go to a shrine, enter the teleportation ring, and go down to the mid-level of the city. But he somehow made the journey without even realizing it and found himself smack dab in front of "Fabulous Flowers". Inside the shop were mostly young men agonizing over what flowers to get loved ones, and a few women doing the same.

 

The cashier was a pink haired man who had a pet nearby. An animal that would look vaguely familiar to Elijah.

 

Along with flowers there seemed to be a large section dedicated to merchandise for something called "Plants in Pants".

[ChampionZero]

Elijah's knowledge of floristry was tenuous at best (was floristry a word? Better not to think about it), but he did know that on Earth, certain flowers meant certain things, like a language of their own. As a result, he figured his choice ought to be careful.

 

He approached the cashier and cleared his throat quietly. "Excuse me? Hi, so I wanted to pick up something for a uh... co-worker in the hospital, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a sort of uh... 'get well' gift, shall we say?"

 

Well, this was embarrassing. Here he was buying flowers for a girl he hardly knew. Again. Fortunately, the last time was for romantic reasons, this was a more sympathetic scenario. He had nothing to be ashamed of. Except for the fact that he was buying flowers, of course. God, he felt like he was 16 again.

[Tesability Black]

Tesability lowered her leaf-ears at her talking being called 'unnerving' as she raised her head to collect herself. She no means to be such, so why...?

"You'll want to go up two floors to get information of that sort. Oh and do use the stairs, I don't want your...existence to break the elevator. It already has enough troubles..."

Tilting her head at this, she brought a paw to her muzzle in thought before making her way for the stairs, glancing at the elevator as she passed.

Upon reaching the second floor, Tesability sniffed around towards the direction of the elevator. Curiosity getting the best of her, she began to digitize herself before jumping into the electronic wiring...

INSTANT REGRET!

INSTANT REGRET!

ABORT! ABORT OPERATION!

Almost as soon as she hopped in, she scrambled back out, the NetMonster looking worse for wear than when she hopped in. A whine on her muzzle as she gingerly walked on her now tender left-forepaw, she made her way up to the next floor.

Unlike the floor below, Tesability saw practically no one on this floor, causing her to tilt her head a little as one of the leaf-ears bent over itself to scratch the top of her head in confusion.

"Hewwo?" she asked slightly loudly to try to catch the girl's attention.

The girl seemed to wait until she was done with her momentary task before bothering to look towards Tesability, a blank expression on her face. "Ah. The creature from before. Hello."

!! Creature?!

"Ai ish nucweetew," she exclaimed, though she was not yet yelling. "Ai ish ah NetMonstew!" Shaking her muzzle after remembering what she was here for, Tesability's muzzle found itself pointed in all forms of directions. "Wheyr bee buk fo' fwyeen wishensh?"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Elijah

 

"Excuse me? Hi, so I wanted to pick up something for a uh... co-worker in the hospital, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a sort of uh... 'get well' gift, shall we say?"

 

"Co-worker you say? Ohohoho, co-worker inDEED." The cashier gave Elijah an exaggerated and knowing wink. "I'm sure we can find something. Daisies are always good for a pick-me-up, and they're not too expensive I'd say. Now, the question is how many, and what colors? What do you think this...co-worker of your would prefer?"

 

As they spoke in the background the other shop goers seemed to be too focused on something else to notice Elijah, else one may have recognized him. They were talking about how the "PiP are in town for some concerts" and how they'll be around for quite some time due to some kind of contract deal. It was evidently very exciting especially for some of the young girls.

---

Tesability

"Ai ish nucweetew, Ai ish ah NetMonstew! Wheyr bee buk fo' fwyeen wishensh?"

 

The girl blinked in confusion at the odd term. "NetMonster...I don't know this word." She looked at the not-creature for a few more moments, and Tes could see that the girl was thinking deeply about what she could possibly be. It took her a full minute to snap out of it and remember that she hadn't answered the NetMonster's question. "Over here. Laws." She stated, bringing the dragon to a section of the library that didn't look any different than any of the others. And yet Keres seemed to know exactly where to go to find what Tes was looking for. She pulled one of the books out, and handed it towards Tes. "All you'll need to know." She hesitated. "Please enjoy."