Shamitako

Hiroki Arcturus was worn out and in a good deal of pain, but now wasn't the time to worry about himself. There were much greater things at stake. The worry on his face was clear, even through his pain. "Congratulations." Arcturus said between rasping breaths, "Unfortunately, celebration will have to wait, there is much I need to tell. I wanted to save Cardinal from herself, but I made a grave misstep. I assumed she was alone, but He's been manipulating her from the start. Not even that boy coming all this way for her was enough, He has convinced her that she can't trust anyone but Him, not even her own heart." Astra vs. Supernova Adam saw the attack coming, but with his mobility reduced as it was, dodging normal wasn't an option. He didn't have time to think of a plan, his opponent was going to hit the attack if he stopped to think. Instead, Adam let his reflexes take over. He could have used the same technique Tai had earlier to dodge, but he felt in his heart that such a thing would be wrong. He could feel the passion is his opponent's attack, and his own rekindled passion refused to let him run away. Instead, his reflexes did something completely unexpected even to him. "WAIT!" his cry rang out across the field as Adam outstretched his hand to tell his opponent to stop. The word was more than a plea, it was his raw desire. Tai would not so much hear it as feel it, a heartfelt request for the Nova Strike to be held back, if only for a short while. Reflex bonus used (OOC: technically you can go on with the attack, but I'd appreciate if you played along for a minute) Valkyrie vs. Finale Artemis narrowed her eyes behind her mask. Such a complex response with such little time to react, her opponent was good. She considered switching things up again, trying to test the limits of Grima's skills. But that was enough experimenting, Artemis had a good sense of how her opponent could fight, and had a simple solution to the issue. Her gun rearranged itself again as she lofted it back above her head, turning into a sort of disc launcher. It fired out several of these discs, which proceeded to float in a defensive screen between the two combatants, lights on the top blinking bright blue at regular intervals.

Astra vs. Supernova Another sudden attack from Supernova, but a punch was something Adam could react to. He let go and moved his arm in the direction of the punch, reducing the force of the impact as best he could and managing to reduce what could have been a broken arm to just some smashed armor and a melted gun. A good hit from Supernova, but not nearly as crippling as it could have been. Withiut his jetpack, reorienting himself towards Supernova after the attack took some effort, giving Tai plenty of time to assess the situation. When he did manage to sort out his bearings, he returned to his previous strategy of peppering his foe with gunfire. This time was a little different though, as now he was hanging upside down from his center. Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus Arcturus laughed, though it was barely more than a squeak with how worn down he was. Neither of them had anything left to fight with, yet they both completely refused to back down. He had faced down far stronger opponents than Hiroki, but never one who could match his willpower. Not even the pumpkin witch could reach this level of complete lunacy. Arcturus wasn't sure of the outcome if they kept going, but it didn't matter anymore. Hiroki had earned this, he would not stand in her way merely to assuage his own ego. "Very well." Arcturus conceded, tossing Stillbirth aside, "Yukimura Hiroki, you have beaten me." The great warrior slumped to the ground, causing a couple more chunks of his armor to break off as he went down. Feebly, he gestured for Hiroki to come closer. Their fight was over, but he still needed to warn her of the choice she would have to make.

Valkyrie vs. Finale As soon as she had successfully forced Grima into a defensive position behind her shield, Finale switched tactics. Her weapon was once again appended to her back and without skipping a beat fired off a volley of mortar shells towards the pinned Valkyrie. The last of the spread fire had just barely dissipated when the first shell dropped, leaving Grima very little time to react. Astra vs. Supernova A feint, and one Adam had no way to anticipate. In an instant he went from complete safety to intense danger. A direct hit to his jetpack would be pretty bad, but there was no way to avoid it. He would just have to use it then. Accepting the hit, Adam trigger the jetpack sf full power just before the impact, causing it to explode violently. The resultant force combined with the impact of Supernova's punch to flip Adam's mech around its center at an extremely high speed, allowing his arms to come up for an attempted grab at Supernova's leg. If he got a hold of it with either hand, he would immediately target the knee joint with the guns on the other, intending to disable it with his ability. Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus It was certainly beautiful, that was for certain. Finally exposed in her full glory, Hiroki's final gambit was truly breathtaking. A cloak of energy, burning away the world. Arcturus smiled, he knew she had it in her. He flicked his fingers, destroying a small chunk of his gauntlets to attack his sword, sending it spiraling through the air and back into his grasp. The sword glowed bright blue once more, and he swung it for what he was certain would be the final time in this fight. His blade met Hiroki's onslaught, and a burst of of energy pulsed across the arena, incineration the dog in its entirety. His feet scraped against the ground for purchase as Hiroki a pushed him back, but found nothing. His heels met the wall, and still her Assault pushed against him. Everything he had went into his counter. His gauntlets began to glow with energy as he added them to his attack, but they quickly burst from the excess energy. The heat was cutting through his barrier, peeling at the exposed skin on his hands and face, but he still refused to back down. With a shout of pure determination and the last reserves of his strength, he pushed back, deflecting Hiroki away from him and ending her attack. For anyone else it would have been too little too late. Arcturus barely stood, his arms were both scorched and the entire right side of his torso was now exposed. Yet he still stood, and he leveled his sword towards Hiroki. "Yield." he demanded hoarsely, the very act of speaking nearly causing him to collapse then and there. For the first time in many, many years, Arcturus's body was exposed and it was possible to see the burn scars that covered it in its entirety. This was not the first time he had been on the brink of death, and he had never once backed down from a truly strong foe. The burns he held were a testament to not only his resolve, but also the resolve of those he stood against. He had shot meteors from the sky, conquered countless foes from beggars to kings and even his own brother, and even Lucifer could do no better than a stalemate against him. Hiroki was truly a powerful and valiant individual, and that was exactly why Arcturus refused to give in against her.

Astra vs. Supernova Adam shrugged within his cockpit. He could potentially catch Supernova if he built up enough speed, but it would put him at some risk. There would be time for risk later, right now he had a much simpler answer. Adam outstretched his arm and fired the machine guns on his wrists, sending a spray of bullets towards Supernova. At this range the attack wouldn't be very accurate, but since his foe's armor seemed specialized towards heat, Adam expected that the few hits he would land would still put some pockmarks in Supernova's armor. Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus Hiroki's attack landed easily, pelting Arcturus with a barrage of fire as he fell towards the ground. Even with her firepower as depleted as it was, she still managed to do severe damage to his armor. If she could have fired her main cannon, she likely would have won the fight right then. Arcturus hit the ground hard but didn't stay down for long. He rose to a kneeling position, breathing heavily. Yet despite how tired he clearly was and how trashed his armor looked, he didn't seem concerned in the slightest. In fact, he was grinning. "I̶̧̛͠ţ͟͜҉'̨́̕̕s̨̛͡ ̡̨̨b҉̡̀͞͠ȩ̷͜͝ę̸̷͝n͘͘ ̧̨͟a̢̛͘͟ ̨l͢o̡̨̕͟͡n̢̕͢͡ģ̴̛͟͟ ̨҉t̵̡̀í̢̕͝m̕͝e͏̷͘͝ ̀͜͢͏s̷͞í͘͘n̸̡͢͟c̸̵̀̕ȩ̷͞҉ ͘҉͞s̷̛ó̢̕͜m̛ę͠o̸͜͏̴n̵̢e̢͘ ̢͟p̵̵̡̨͝u̷̸͝s̸̡̀͞͞h҉͏ȩ̛̕d͝ ͡͠҉̧͞m̷͝e̶̶̕͟͜ ̢t̡̢h̷̴̛͡í̵̵̛s҉̡͡ ̕͜͏͏f̵̧̨͜͝á͘͝r̸̷͠͡.̀͘͘" Hiroki blinked, and Arcturus was gone, only half a memory of his presence in front of her remaining. It didn't take long to figure out where he had gone, as Hirokivs entire mech rapidly began heating up starting at the back. Arcturus was standing behind the Hellfire Knight, his palm resting against the mech's back and rapidly channeling energy into it. Heat warnings were going off all across the mech and Hiroki couldn't get her controls to respond. "The power of stars is within you, I believe it always has been. This is the power of energy, and the fire of a leader. With it, you are powerful enough to destroy darkness, and even hold light in a stalemate." Arcturus said, ever cryptic, "Yoyr shell no longer remains, so cast off your fear and stand proudly as yourself. Only then will your full potential be realized." A Hellfire Knight shaped crater smashed its way into the wall ahead, giving Hiroki a warning of what was to come. A split second later, Arcturus shoved her and she was sent careening across the arena at a blinding speed. She crashed into the wall, perfectly filling out the crater. The energy that had filled her mech discharged as she hit the wall, destroying most of her armor and exposing its internal structure. It was a miracle it wasn't completely obliterated. Most of her remaining weapons, including her main cannon, were gone. It seemed that just about the only thing she had left was a half-functional ability to move.

Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus Though Hiroki was able to get Arcturus away from her cannon, she underestimated his ability to maintain his composure. Being flung about suddenly did little to phase him, and when Hiroki suddenly jolted him back to her chest, the first thing to make contact was the tip of his sword. Luckily for Hiroki, the impact was enough to finally disrupt his senses, and he lost his grip on his sword before it completely impaled her. The sword had stopped just shy of cutting into her actual body, and she could feel the intense power radiating from it for just a moment before it fell free of the two combatants. Arcturus was still a little dazed and was now disarmed, his threat level severely decreased for a moment at least. More concerning was the fact that, despite Arcturus no longer pushing energy into it, Hiroki's cannon was not descreasing in temperature. Her mech's sensors couldn't make much sense of what had been done, but it almost seemed like the cannon had become its own power source.

Archangel vs. The Councilor "Indeed I am. My name is Thomas Helbright." The Councilor introduced himself with a deep bow, "It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear. Unfortunate that we should meet as such, but it simply cannot be helped. I do hope you understand." He made no move to interact with the audience yet, a surprise considering what Seeker had told Nastasia about him. Valkyrie vs. Finale "Suit yourself." Finale said with a shrug. Her gun opened fire, its shots somewhat inaccurate due to the fog, but so numerous that it hardly mattered. It seemed her plan was to fill the air with bullets to make it as difficult as possible for Grima to approach her. A common strategy for those equipped with sufficient Firepower, and one Grima would be well prepared for, even if she was a little rusty. Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus As Hiroki hoped, Arcturus repeated his previous technique, striking at the wing he had initially attacked once more and using the swing that followed to absorb her beam. This left him open to Hiroki's grab, and he was easily swept up by her attack, the overloading cannon exploding directly next to his face. When the dust cleared, there was quite the surprise. A couple small pieces of shrapnel were embedded in Arcturus's face and he had a mild burn on his forehead. That shouldn't have happened, his mech was still intact and should have protected him. It wasn't like he was completely exposed either, the fact that his head was still there was testament to that. Hiroki wouldn't have much time to worry about this, as heat warnings would start sounding that directed her attention the main cannon. Arcturus had outstretched his arm and touched the tip of his sword to the cannon, transferring energy into it and causing it to glow the same blue color as the blade.

Astra vs. Supernova Adam wanted to scold the traitor, but having himself heard Cardinal's story, he wasn't sure he could blame Tai for switching sides. Adam honestly wasn't sure he could do this, Lord hadn't done much to reassure him and she certainly hadn't acknowledged the effort he'd put towards proving himself to her. He'd tried so hard to show her that he could succeed, and even if he had fallen short, the least she could do was recognize that he'd tried. But deep down he knew that wasn't enough, just showing up didn't prove anything, the risks were to great just to try. On this stage, Adam didn't have a choice, it was his responsibility to stop Cardinal, regardless of whether or not Lord was willing to acknowledge his efforts. And so he jumped, using his jetpack to follow Supernova into the sky. As he reached his opponent's height, he activated his ability to lock his torso and maintain it instead of falling to the ground, the jets remaining on to keep him upright and propel him slowly towards Supernova. He raised his arms in front of him, ready to block an attack or launch one of his own should his foe let him get close enough. Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus Almost immediately after she started firing, Hiroki was met with another attack, this one to her left shoulder, clearly an attempt to take out on of the incoming beams by destroying or at least disrupting the aim of the weapon firing it. Immediately after, Arcturus swung his sword to match the attack, using it once again to absorb the beam from the other shoulder as he stepped into it, using the same motion to dodge her main beam, although he was a little slow and it still struck a glancing blow to his right foot, managing to deal visible damage to his armored boots. As soon as he had successfully parried the second shoulder beam, he started charging again, apparently still wanting to close the gap despite his ability to attack at range.

Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus Arcturus let his armor absorb Hiroki's weaker fire. She would eventually break through his defenses, but it would take quite some time before that happened and he intended for the fight to be over well before then. The blast from her main cannon, on the other hand, was something he couldn't ignore. But rather than try to avoid it, he swung his blade to meet it head on. As it had been when Arcturus slashed the air, the fog was temporarily burnt back by Hiroki's attack and she had a clear view of what happened when Arcturus's sword met her beam. The glowing blue blade seemed to completely absorb her attack as it passed over Arcturus, neatly cutting a gap in its carnage around the armored man. It did serve to halt his charge, but the fact that his sword had totally nullified her power was still not to be ignored. And then Arcturus's counterattack struck. He hadn't even moved yet, but Hiroki's right wing array was suddenly hit by a series of slashes from what seemed to be a blade with a temperature rivaling her own mech. Just after the attack hit, Arcturus swung his sword back and forth through the air a couple of times, matching the pattern of the attacks.

Valkyrie vs. Finale "If your resolve is that weak, I'd suggest you turn around and leave right now." Finale told Grima. Finale's mechanical arms reach back and grabbed the tube off her back. It transformed into a minigun that the arms carried above her head. She trained her weapon on her foe, and it whirred to life, though it didn't yet fire.

The "boat" used to travel to Envy was little more than a cramped metal cylinder that could barely fit the competitors. Gryffin had come along as the gods envoy, and tried to keep the mood positive, but spent most of the time extremely flustered. After several restless hours, they were all grateful for the nap they were granted while Gryffin and Aries got everything ready for the actual fights. Astra vs. Supernova Tai both recognized and didn't recognize his opponent. Apparently Adam had changed things up since the last time he fought. Not thy it mattered much, Tai couldn't afford to underestimate any opponent. Aries had told Tai his plan and given Tai a way to talk to Cardinal. According to Aries, there was gope for both Cardinal and the Planes, so long as they could convince Cardinal that she wasn't alone and that they would find another way to help her. The first step in that plan was to stop Lord from launching an attack. And to do that, Tai had to fight Lord's ward, Adam. "You don't have to win." Aries had said, "You just have to keep your opponent from winning. Pull out all the stops and make him work for it. Even if you don't win, so long as you can say you gave it everything you had, you haven't lost. That's what Cardinal needs to see, that we're not willing to give up on her." Unbeknownst to Tai, Adam had come to the same conclusion as Aries, and had decided that, win or lose, he would not give in. And so the two faced each other down. Each a mwre shell of who they thought they were before, and each seeking to become something more than what they had left behind. Valkyrie vs. Finale Queen had been unsurprised when Grima returned empty handed, and didn't seem disappointed. He didn't seem especially sympathetic either, and quickly assigned her a new task. This time, she would really have to fight. And not just anyone, but a dangerous enemy fighting alongside the Tenth God. Grima has no way to know exactly how this foe would fight either, all Queen could tell her is that she would be very aggressive and that it would probably hurt to attack her. If Grima wanted to win, she would have to find some way to wear her opponent out. That was all one thing, until the elderly looking woman walked out into the arena on her mech's knuckles with a mortar tube strapped to her back. Finale didn't look aggressive, just tired. "Before we get started, I have a question." Finale said, "Are you here fighting for the gods because you think they're right, or because they didn't give you a choice?" Archangel vs. The Councilor Nastasia was under no illusion as to what this fight would be. Seekee had explained the change in plans, and made no attempt to hide from Nastasia that her fight was all but lost. Yet Seeker had also told her something of great import: "Lain thinks that if anyone can find a way to turn the crowd against The Councilor, it's you." And so, as this vile man floated before her stop his ridiculous disks, Nastasia would not feel like she had already lost. No matter what The Councilor might think, no fight could truly be decided before it began. Hellfire Knight vs. Arcturus This was it. Even through the fog, Hiroki could see Arcturus'a intimidating figure. She had volunteered for this, but that didn't make her ready to face an unknown entity whose power rivaled the gods. She recalled what Gryffin had said to her before the match. "I, um, don't think, um, I don't think it's a sure thing that you'll lose. But, um, even if it is, it doesn't matter. Just going up against Arcturus means you're really strong, and courageous too, more than me at least." It was an absolutely terrible pep talk, but at least it was sincere. Arcturus raised his sword and swiped it through the air, slicing away the fog with a reddish light and revealing his face to Hiroki. "Hellfire Knight, I make you a promise," he pointed his weapon at Hiroki the same way he had when he challenge her, although this time it carried a yellow aura, "As you are now, you cannot defeat me, but by the end of our battle that will change. It is up to you to decide if that change happens in time for your victory." Having apparently said all he planned to, he raised his glowing white sword into a striking postion and charged towards Hiroki with a yell.

Grima "Min-su McKay." Princess responded with her own proper introduction, "Now get going, before it closes you have to wait three more hours and drink tea until it spills out of your ears. The woman smiled. Regardless of earlier tensions surrounding motivation, she'd really warmed up to Grima. Maybe she just welcomed any break from her rather lonely existence. Even if that was her reason, she did hope to see Grima again sometime. Hiroki At Hiroki's affirmation, the gods all started to stand up. It seemed the meeting was adjourned. "I'll see about contacting Aries." Queen volunteered. "And I will inform everyone of the change in plans. I assume you'll also handle you own 'asset', Queen?" Seeker asked. "I will, yes. Don't worry." While the rest of the gods started to file out of the room, Gryffin made his way over to Hiroki. "Hey, thanks." he said, "I don't really belong here, I didn't do anything special to deserve it like my mom, so it helped a lot to have someone else to speak up when I couldn't." he laughed nervously and didn't stick around enough for a conversation to start. Soon Hiroki found herself shuffling out of the room as well, leaving only Bear behind her. The God of Sloth had closed his eyes as soon as the meeting had ended. He didn't actually seem to be asleep, he remained upright and his breathing was very controlled. Meditation wasn't a common practice anymore, but it seems like that was what Bear was doing. It certainly made sense, anything to calm the mind after such a stressful meeting. There was still much to do, so Hiroki didn't have time to stay and ponder about Bear. The remaining contestants would have to be gathered, and they still had a cramped boat trip to take. It wouldn't be easy, but Bear's peacefulness was surprisingly contagious, and even Hiroki couldn't help but feel a little like maybe things would work out.

Grima Princess looked over at her swords, her face clearly puzzled. "Probably about three minutes, it depends, but that should suffice for the distance I cut earlier." she answered. It had been almost twenty minutes at this point. Two of the blades suddenly vanished and reappeared in the woman's hands, much like the one that struck the table before, a third Grima found in her own hand, replacing the coin she had been toying with. "If you're ever in real danger, stick that dagger through your palm, it will bring you back here." Princess explained, "And before you ask, it works like that because I want to make sure you're actually in danger, also so you can teleport dangerous people here if that would solve things faster, I could use some exercise." With her rather inadequate explanation finished, Princess turned and used her pair of swords to cut a complex pattern in the air, creating another portal, this one back to Greed. "Off you go." Princess directed her cheerily, "Once all of this is over, feel free to come by again, it gets lonely out here. Oh, and tell Vicky I said hello." Lord (a long time ago) Lord glared at the dagger in her hand, as if she would ever use such a thing. "Keep it." she said, making no attempt to hide her anger, "I won't accept this worthless trinket, if you don't want to stay with me, then I don't want to see you again." Princess shrugged and took the dagger back, but Lord knew her mother well enough to recognize that the woman was hurt by the refusal. "Suit yourself." was all Princess said as she opened a portal, "but you know, you're going to need to learn to let things go. That girl isn't out to get you, she's just stubborn. Reminds me of someone I know." "I got it from the best, didn't I?" in her desperation, Lord invoked his memory, and the callous look she got in response made her regret it immediately. "Goodbye, Lord." with that final blow, Princess entered the portal, leaving Lord behind to seethe over her mother's choice. Lord couldn't understand it, was their home meaningless? So long as this brazen little upstart insisted on challenging Lord's authority, their home was at risk, so why did Princess abandon it? Lord made a vow to herself: she would defeat Blink no matter what, she didn't need Princess's help, she was the God of Pride and she always won in the end. Hiroki Gryffin caught Hiroki's eye and gave an apologetic look. He then shot that look towards Seeker Seeker seemed to get the message. "Assuming we're right, that leaves Supernova and Slumbering Giant." she said in a final attempt to bring this ill-fated war council to an end, "Since Strider has already one against Giant, it only seems reasonable to have them fight again. The conditions may be slightly different, but it's better than betting on unknowns." "Which leaves Adam to fight Supernova." Lord stopped pouting to ensure that her statement sounded like a demand. "What? No, did you miss the fact that he's only gotten worse?" Bear asked, for once his info ire calm disrupted by actual shock. "I did not." Lord responded forcefully, "I am fully aware that I screwed up. I put him in this tournament to teach him a lesson, but he onyl caused trouble. But that changed, after his fight with Aries he's owned up to his mistakes and I'm confident that he's learned his lesson. It won't undo the mess he's made, but he is ready to fight, for real this time." "I don't know about that. But I don't have an alternative, so I suppose he will have to be ready." Bear relented. "It's settled then, this is the plan we're going with?" Queen asked, edging back as if to stand. "It is." Seeker agreed. "It's our best option." Was Lord's response. "We can win this way, we have to." Bear. "Oh no, we're absolutely fucked." Gryffin said with a laugh (and a glare from his mother), "Let's show Aries and his little rebellion that we can beat the odds no matter how high they're stacked in his favor." The gods all turned to Hiroki, awaiting her input. It seemed like they had settled on a course regardless of what she said, but they still wanted to hear from her for some reason.

Hiroki "We know what Giant and Supernova's skillsets are." Bear answered Hiroki's question, smiling ever so slightly to indicate that he picked up on her awkwardness, "Arcturus is completely unknown and Artemis may as well be unknown. The Councilor's ability allows him to use spectators to control the fight. No doubt he'll rig his fight with a crowd that's already on his side. Whoever faces him doesn't stand a chance." "Wait." Gryffin spoke up. His voice decided that was a perfect time to crack, and he immediately went silent again out of embarrassment. "Well, go on." Seeker prodded, "Is there someone at our disposal who can win in a match that's rigged against them?" "I think Nastasia can. Fighting isn't the only thing she's good at, she runs a business and is excellent at persuasion, if anyone can fight against an entire crowd, it's her." Gryffin seemed pretty confident in Nastasia, despite his own lack of confidence. "You're right." Seeker agreed, "No one else has any chance at all, so we should take the slim chance she provides. We'd planned to use her against Aries, so we need her along anyways, in case this turns out to be a trap." "That's two settled, and I think I have a suggestion for the third." Queen took his turn to speak, "I brought up Princess earlier, that's because I have an asset meeting her. Now I hav-" "You. Have. WHAT?!" Lord didn't keep her rage in check at all this time, her hands slamming down on the table as she jolted upright, "You sent someone to recruit my mother and you didn't even think to consult me?! What the fuck made you think that was acceptable?!" Everyone except Bear visibly shrank in their seats. This outburst made Lord's anger towards Blink seem like a calm lake. "Perhaps this is an issue to be discussed privately between yourselves." Bear attempted to diffuse the situation, somehow uneffected by Lord's explosive rage, "Right now we have more important, less personal, things to discuss." Lord didn't sit down, still glaring at Queen, daring him to respond. "Victoria, now isn't the time, sit." Bear's tone became more forceful. Lord kept standing. Bear sighed, "Vicky, sit. Save your anger for a more appropriate time." Bear had started to edge out of his own seat, preparing to forcibly put Lord back in her seat if need be. But luckily, Lord sat down this time. "Fine." was all she said as she crossed her arms and started pouting. Queen waited a bit before continuing, just to be safe, and his voice was clearly very tense when he did resume. "I haven't heard back from my asset, so I doubt they succeeded, but I'm sure Princess will return them in one piece, so we can use them. I think we should run them against Artemis. Even if we don't know exactly how she fights anymore, I think it's safe to assume she'll be aggressive, my asset is a professional when it comes to avoiding trouble, she might be able to wear Artemis out." "I like that plan." Gryffin said, seeming desperate to merely be included after Lord's outburst had practically knocked him out of his seat.

Grima "Victor wasn't anyone, just a man I fell in love with." Princess brushed off Grima's question, "A lovely man, but not special to anyone but myself. He liked to pretend he was a tough guy, but he was the worst fighter I've ever seen." Princess got a wistful look on her face, and continued on despite her claim of insignificance, "We actually met because he tried to protect me from a group of bullies. I ended up being the one to protect him, but he made sure to milk that black eye he got for all the pity it was worth. I think I'd just gotten so used to fighting my own battles, the mere fact that he was willing to stand up for me had me smitten from the start. "Not that I let him know that, he was way too much of a flirt and I had too much pride to give in to such obvious advances. It took a couple years of me getting him out of trouble before he finally got me to admit I had fallen for him." Princess stopped there, seeming uncertain whether or not to say more. She loved talking about her husband, but she wasn't comfortable going deeper into such personal territory with a virtual stranger.

"Oh! Very good, very good." the professor cheered happily as everyone jumped stesight to letting their new Pokémon out and meeting them. It always filled her with joy to see new trainers meeting the first Pokémon they could call their own. While the kids got acquainted with their Pokémon, she went over to one of several work stations and grabbed a bag of supplies. "I ordered a fresh set of starter kits in preparation for your visit... But they haven't arrived yet." she informed the group apologetically, "I figured I'd have yot share a pokedex since gotre traveling together, but I'm sorry, you'll have to share this as well." She handed Aia the Pokedex, a small red device that looked a lot like an old CD player. When popped open, the round screen on the top would immediately notify the trainer of any newly registered Pokémon. The bottom half had a set of buttons used to navigate and a slit in the edge that looked like it could fit a disk inside. The professor then divvied up the pokeballs and potions in the bag between the five, giving each two balls and one potion. "The Pokedex will automatically register information about Pokémon you encounter or catch." the professor explained, "It can also be used to discover nearby Pokémon that may be hiding, to check the status of your own Pokémon when they're in their pokeballs, teach Pokémon moves via technical machine, and to check your location using the map function. "Spesking of the map, I'd like to reccomend that you begin yoyr journey by traveling through the Itchy Forest towards Eyekeya City. I'm friends with the gym leader there and she's very good at choosing the right Pokémon to used based on her opponent's experience, so she's oe of the best options for a first gym badge." Items:

Grima Princess hesitated to answer Grima's request. It wasn't that she was unwilling to discuss herself, but she was fairly certain she knew what was about to be asked and it wasn't a particularly pleasant topic. "Go ahead, but I don't promise to answer." she said eventually. Hiroki Seeker laughed, a hearty guffaw that she failed to contain. Despite Hiroki's clear nervousness, to ask such a thing so directly, even the stony Seeker couldn't help but smile. "I'm sorry for laughing." Seeker apologized as she calmed herself, "It's just that most people aren't brave enough to ask that sort of thing, so you caught me off guard. As for your question, I killed myself. My ability lets me alter fate, and I wanted to see how far that could go. Turns out it goes as far as defying death, and defying death was earned me the right to be God of Lust. "I'm the only one who did something that drastic though, and most of them are more impressive. Blink earned her spot by overcoming her blindness, for example."

Hiroki "There's not really a specific way to earn it." Bearanswered, "Each of us came about the role in a different way. If godhood is your goal, then the plane, or perhaps some unknown entity behind the planes, may choose to acknowledge you and grant you the title. The only surefire way to acquire it, is to earn it from another god, either as a gift or by defeating them in a fair fight." "That's not all we know..." Seeker started to add. "I wasn't going to bring up mere theories." Bear interrupted, though it didn't seem especially rude, "But since you've said that much, Hiroki may as well hear the rest." Seeker nodded, "You're right, I've been a bit hasty." she apologized, "We don't actually know more, but we think it may have something to do with surpassing the limits of your humanity. Each and every one of us who earned a plane has done something that would have been considered impossible before us."

Grima "Ohhhh, so the glass..." realization dawned on Princess, "And here I thought I just spooked you so much you forgot you had it." she laughed at her own ignorance, "Well, I suppose that's as good a reason as any. I suppose I've been pretty negative, but Queen isn't so bad, his father raised him well. I do hope everything works out for you." she seemed to genuinely mean what she was saying, and overall seemed to have lightened her mood at Grima's response. Hiroki "The Councilor has taken over Envy, yes." Seeker answered Hiroki's question, "But he is not one of us gods. That would require him to earn the title, not simply throw Blink out." "You're from Greed, yes? Then you surely remember my late father." Queen added, "He ruled the Plane while we had no god. Envy also had leadership before Blink became it's ruler, a centuries old group known as the Council who enforced a strict caste system. The Councilor was the head of that group. I don't know the whole story, but Blink apparently gouged out his eye, so it's safe to say there's a lot of bad blood between them." Rather than let that mildly unsettling fact hang over them and cause another silence, Lord decided to change the subject. "As for Artemis, she's an old acquiantence of mine from when I was a child." she said in a sad tone, "My actions got her twin sister killed, she wouldn't hesitate to assume that I was in the wrong in regards to Cardinal."

Arturia "I think I know where we can get enough silver for our project." Lilith whispered as Betwere rummaged through a drawer to find a pair of forms, "There's an old silver mirror in one of the art supply rooms. It's super dingy and a teacher told me that it was free to use for whoever took it first." Betwere returned from his drawer and handed Arturia two forms. "The first form is a release saying I can give your number out to whichever staff members you name, while the second says that you acknowledge that the school is not responsible for any misuse after the number is passed on and that complaints should be taken directly to the offending party." he explained, "Sign and date the highlighted areas and feel free to ask if you have any questions." Betwere seemed to have calmed down a lot while explaining the forms, perhaps the familiarity of the process helped, but he still seemed pretty nervous with go's much he kept looking at Arturia.

Tai "Um, actually..." Tejfidh started pensively, "I wasn't going to tell you because I don't like interfering, but I guess it's a bit late now. There's no way Cardinal is dead. I doubt she knows, but her method of travel must be one that doesn't actually let her leave her home, she's probably just projecting herself here temporarily. I don't know much about her circumstances, but I'm pretty sure if she actually left her world would stop existing entirely." Whether or not this was good news for Tai was beyond Tejfidh, but she felt it was only right that Tai know the truth. If he truly wanted, there might still be a chance for him to save Cardinal.

Platinum Much to Platinum's relief, Lexi and Sharp seemed to have calmed down. They weren't exactly getting along, but reading in silence was better than arguing. Her reentry to the study room seemed to lighten the tension a little, as both girls still seemed to think better of Platinum than each other.

The professor shrugged at Cassandra's question. "I'm sorry dearie, but I'm afraid my memory is going in my old age. Why don't you take a look at the screens and see if one catches your eye?" she offered. She didn't have any comment for what order the kids ought to pick in, though if they didn't hurry up she might try to come up with something to help move them along.

Bard had volunteered to scout ahead for a reason, so as much as he was regretting it, he figured he should do his best to make use of his talents. Though ready to dodge at any moment, he still let out a surprised yelp when the hand emerged from the wall. This yelp quickly turned into a squeak as he attempted to shift into a bat and flutter out of the way.

The walk to the professor's lab wasn't far, so it didn't take long for the group to get there. Unfortunately, when they arrived, a certain pair of twins were already leaving. "Wow, you guys are pretty late, huh?" Nami teased as she held up her newly acquired pokeball. Though Mina and Nami had beaten them there, the group was, in fact, a bit early. It was pretty likely that Nami had come excessively early just to ensure she could brag about it. Mina didn't say anything, but gave an apologetic look towards everyone else and she and her sister brushed past them. Namu met any retorts with a haughty laugh and kept walking. "Smell ya later, nerds!" she called back over her shoulder once she'd passed. This prompted Mina to reach up to her sister's ear and cup her hand over it (the wrong way) to prevent being heard by the group and whispered very loudly, "They smell like chicken." Which prompted a glare from Nami. With the twins expedient departure, the group was finally free to enter the laboratory, and it was here that their excitement reached a fever pitch. The lab was very clean and sterile inside, but decorated in an almost homely manner, with pictures and decorated shelves lining the walls in several spots. Two of these shelves had pokeball shaped jars which the group knew contained delicious homemade cookies. "Welcome children!" Professor Magnolia announced cheerfully when she spotted her visitors, "The Pokémon you can choose from are on that table over there." she pointed to a simple white table with six indents, five of which housed pokeballs, and six screens in front of them. "Be very careful and don't fight. The touchscreens there will give you information, but feel free to ask me any questions before making your choice."