As Fleur asked about her wings, given Jessica was giving her back to the rest of the group, they would miss as the Vampire´s wings or rather a blackened version of them would envelop the blade Jessica held, forming the sheath to guard the sword in place. While she couldn´t see any reflection of the weapon, she could feel her. Misty felt cold, naked. Instinctively creating this sheat to guard herself against the cold outside Fleur´s body. The infernal engine would keep her warm, therefore she welcomed Jessica´s embrace. Jessica could feel herself resonating with Misty, a clearer picture could be seen in her mind, Misty was sleeping within the engine, Fleur´s wings trapped between the gears yet she didn´t seem to mind as the engine kept her warm.
She was exhausted from whatever magic that had been done to her body.
Naomi, on the other hand, would see Alexis was indeed unharmed, Just exhausted if anything.
Fleur even now kept rejecting the gift and just as Rhondo warned the vampire would feel deprived of energy. Hungry, exhaustion.
The medics kept inquiring fascinated about the details Fleur began spatting out of her lips out on her desperation. "Impressive! so her wings are taken away? Do you feel weaker? Stronger? Tell us? Tell us!" The medics rather than being interested in Fleur´s well being were more entertained making research on the side effects of Fleur´s encounter with Emilia. Sadly, the team attending to Alexis didn´t found anything as intriguing when examining the girl. Good for them, it would save them face and wounds from Naomi´s fists.
Jessica could hear brief whispers from Misty near the engine. -"So noisy..."- She called, her voice exhausted, a hint of annoyance. -"Get me near them, sweetie..."- Her voice was warm, gentler than usual. She would borrow some of Jessica´s energy, making the poor girl fall into slumber in her stead as Misty´s body began forming, the ghastly shape acquiring form, fleur´s wings soon enveloping her body to craft a lovely maid outfit. The medics didn´t know what happened, they suddenly fell asleep, their energy being drained by the blade´s hunger and its needs to silence. Misty looked down at Scarlett and Queen trying to deal with Fleur. -"My lady, are you hurt?"- She would ask gently picking on Fleur´s chin, frowning lightly as she observed the remains of dust and bruises from their previous battle. And sighed. -"This is no good, a dignified Lady cannot be seen with dirt on her face..."- She called out, picking a handkerchief to wipe the dirt off her face. -"Come now, I´ll fix you a bath and some clean clothes."- If allowed, Misty would escort Fleur to a private room as well as fixing a warm bath and clothes for everyone in the team. The brunette would then take her nap, Standing up with her eyes closed yet her smile intact as she guarded the door. Any uninvited guest would be greeted by a swift swipe of her chains which were alert while she slept. Yet if Fleur were to resist she would drain her energy since the vampire was exhausted from the battle and would have lower defenses. Pick her up and bath and dress her up herself.
Jessica hugged the sword to her chest as she felt herself resonating with Misty. "Misty! You're okay!" She practically cried as she saw Misty resting in her mind's eye. She listened to Misty's utterings before nodding. "Okay," she agreed before taking Misty and running over to where Queen, Scarlet and Fleur were before suddenly collapsing as she reached them.
Fleur was still clutching at her back trying to find her wings and ignoring the medics when she felt a sharp pain to the back of her head. It was the last thing she felt before falling unconscious. Scarlet was watching the scene with growing frustration. Fleur's issue had temporarily been solved by a sharp blow to the back of the head but her missing wings were still a problem. Scarlet turned to look at Misty in surprise as she arrived in a maid uniform. "What the Hell?? Misty?" She asked before looking to see Jessica had collapsed. "Damn it," whatever was going on they couldn't stay out in the open like this. As Misty took Fleur, Scarlet transformed back to her adult form and picked up Jessica taking her back to the private chambers. Scarlet refused the bath, returning to watch the matches as the battles raged in the Arena. There were several deaths of contestants which pleased Scarlet. But more importantly Scarlet made sure to get a gauge of the different strengths and powers of their opponents. The tournament was far from over and their next opponents would be the ones that were currently fighting. After an hour or so Fleur and Jessica would slowly awaken, confused at first as to their surroundings.
_________________________________________ Queen would just watch everyone leave and head towards the baths and all, she just stood there shrugging "well at least its quiet again" she muttered, refering to the commotion her team made rather the overall noise, since she could hear everything. She simply just laid back down and let her ears listen to everything being talked about as well as kept her smell active to keep a sense of anyone approaching. it would be awhile until the next matches started and she just listened to the fights, she didn't care too much on paying attention, she could tell some were dying but she still wanted to keep an ear out on the other teams hoping one of them would discuss plans or strategies on fighting her team, which if she did, would become invaluable information. she remained quiet and just kept her eyes closed almost as if she was sleeping but Scarlet would see she wasn't based on how her ears were angled, from a distance it would look like she was.
Fleur would be taken care of. Bathed, cleaned and dressed up with utmost detail and care. The meticulous maid would let Fleur rest on one of the room´s beds before tending to Jessie with the same grade of attention, letting both of them to rest.
Sitting by the edge of Fleur´s bed once Queen decided to mount guard, the maid sword would wait patiently as she could feel Fleur´s awakening. The vampire´s eyes slowly opening up, merely recovering from her unexpected blackout as she reasoned the past events only to meet up with Misty´s face which placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling tenderly. "You´re awake now, good. We need to talk sweetie." Fortunately for Misty, despite all the feverish desire to shut the weapon´s trap down with all sorts of comments, Fleur was relatively exhausted despite having rest for quite a while as the fights went on. Allowing the maid to make her move. "I am not particularly happy with the current situation either my lady. I´m sure both of us want to be back to normal as soon as possible." She explained as she unfolded Fleur´s wings before her, the only thing that managed to call for Fleur´s attention, if only for a second before shooting her despite and glare back at Misty. "While I can´t really remember much of what happened when I was abducted. I was able to see some... memories...I´m sure you did as well. First of all. I would like for those memories to remain just between the two of us if that´s alright." Within the current situation, Fleur couldn´t possibly care less about Misty´s story so such a term wasn´t hard to fulfill, still, the vampire was dead set on killing the weapon for stealing her wings. "I do, however, have noticed ever since my awakening these... extensions of your body have ended on my end of the scale. while they are beautiful indeed I believe we both agree they look better on you than me. Which brings me to the next proposal." But before she could proceed, Misty decided to give a demonstration by relaxing her body and resting her hand on Fleur´s. The vampire retreated her hand as soon as possible. Noticing that for a mere second something tried to invade her body once more. A more detailed examination of the maid would bring her to notice that Misty´s pulse kept matching hers at all given moment. "For some reason. We like it or not. I am part of your blood now. It would explain to some degree why your wings are now attached to me as well as this... interaction between us." Fleur glared, discussed at the idea. "I do not fancy this either but if my theory is correct..." Misty explained while removing her hair from her shoulder to expose her neck. "If you drink your blood back, you may be able to get them back... regain your strength even. All I´m asking is for you not to dry me out. We do need to keep our numbers strong. And I may be needed for another fight as well so please, do kindly restrain yourself. " Fleur looked down on her in disgust. As if Misty was someone to give her any orders. None the less. she wanted her wings back, at all cost so, just this once, she´ll take the risk. Carefully approaching in case the weapon made any suspicious moves, the vampire was ready to take the weapon´s life to the slightest threat she could perceive. Misty remained calmed, closing her eyes while holding her hair to keep the wait to her neck clean.
The tension between the two could be felt all over the room, luckily Jessie was asleep so she merely held a bad feeling about it but not enough to wake her up. The maid could feel Fleur´s breath gracing her skin. The vampire´s face merely inches away from Misty´s neck. Still displeased, yet determined to get what was righteously hers. She pierced the weapon´s fair skin with her fangs, the wound quickly pouring hot blood which began feeding and nourishing Fleur. Misty winced at first, yet allowed her to continue. Soon the pain became pleasing even. The maid´s wings began to wither and die while a burning sensation invaded Fleur´s back. She could feel it, her wings starting to bloom and grow. Perhaps the moment would be enough to make the vampire shed a tear in happiness. No one knew, no one but the only two within the room who was awake. The feast continued.
As the weapon´s wings died, both of them could feel Fleur had regained her strength. "I believe that´s enou--" Misty was about to say, when Fleur suddenly pinned her down against the bed, using her position once her strength was regenerated to drain Misty further until creating a point of advantage over the weapon, the poisonous delish which was this particular blood. Who was Misty to even dare to tell her to stop? She brought it on herself. Misty couldn´t even talk now and could only feel in dread being at the vampire´s mercy. The weapon struggled, trying to resist but it was too late as Fleur had drained too much blood and energy, now leaving Misty weakened and vulnerable as Fleur once was. She would not stop, not until she was satisfied. She wanted Misty to know her place... unaware of her own addiction towards the blood. As she finished, her fangs would retreat, leaving the skin impeccably clean with only the bite marks as the weapon would black out. Leaving the weapon and the meister. Fleur could feel herself stronger. Probably dying to get her sweet vengeance on Emilia for doing this to her. By the time Jessie woke up, or anyone else entered the room. Misty would be back in her weapon form, yet laying on the bed.
Jessica's eyes snapped open as she heard a loud trumpet coming from outside. It was coming from The Arenas. It was a call-to-arms. An announcement that rang through the halls informed the participants that the tournament was about to move into its next phase. Jessica sat up quickly and looked around. Fleur, Scarlet and Queen were no where to be found but Jessica spotted Misty laying in her Weapon form on the bed. She didn't know what had happened but she quickly realized they needed to get to The Arena as soon as possible. Jessica scooped up Misty in her arms and ran out the door, hoping to run into one of her compatriots on her way there. As it happened she ran into Scarlet at the doorway to The Arena. Scarlet looked over at her, noting that she held Misty in her hands. "Ah, I heard about what happened with Fleur and Misty," Scarlet noted. "Wha...what happened?" Jessica asked worriedly. "Fleur and Misty have some kind of connection now. They shared some kind of new power and Fleur being Fleur doesn't really do the whole sharing thing so she took her power back. That has to be why Misty is in her current condition." Jessica's eyes widened in fear. "I-is she going to be okay??" She asked, alarmed. "Well, she can still fight.""That's not what I meant!""We'll worry about the details later," Scarlet replied before turning and walking towards The Arena. "But-""Jessica. We're going. We'll deal with Misty later." Scarlet told Jessica with finality, causing Jessica to meekly fall in beside her.
When the three of them arrived at The Arena they would find Fleur and Queen waiting for them. The Arena Master was on The Arena floor advertising the next step in the tournament. It was....an interesting one. "The next step of our tournament will take place on the open field," The Arena Master was telling the crowd who were listening intently. "The objective is simple....deceptively so." The Arena Master paused for dramatic effect. "Somewhere within a ten mile radius of this arena," The Arena Master slowly spun in a circle as he spoke. "Is hidden The Latchkey." The Arena Master paused again. "The Latchkey is the prize of this most illustrious tournament. It is a rare artifact from deep beneath the sands of Persia, built millennia ago to grant its kings great power to rule over their subjects." There was a building excitement in the crowd, many leaning forward in their seats as they hung on The Arena Master's words. This proved to be a very interesting prize that the participants would surely put up quite the fight for. "Those who reach The Latchkey and press their palm against it will gain that power, BUT," once again The Arena Master let his unfinished explanation hang. "The more people who touch it, the more power will be distributed between them and the less there will be for each person." The implications were obvious. If only one person touched it they would gain incredible power. If only a few people touched it they would gain a significant boost in power. But the more people who touched it the less power there would be to go around. The Arena Master's smile seemed to be a lot more sinister than it was before. "The Latchkey gives off a specific and unique wavelength that you will be able to sense as soon as you leave The Arena," The Arena Master continued, addressing the participants. "Of course, you shouldn't assume you can reach it without....complications."
The excitement of the crowd was reaching a fever pitch, while there was no outright cheering yet the chattering of the crows was almost deafening. "Oh, and you may notice cameras following you from time-to-time. Please don't attack them. They are there for our viewing pleasure and will not work for or against you in any way." With that several smaller platforms rose up slightly out of the arena floor. They looked like two simple lecterns facing each other made out of the same tiled marble as the arena floor. "But first, we will have our first complication: A brief one-on-one competition between our participants. Your opponent will be chosen randomly and each of you will step up to the opposing lecterns. The rules will be as follows, each of you will be posed a question of a personal nature about the opponent and you will each take turns trying to guess the others answer. The first one to guess correctly will be freed to go search for The Latchkey. The loser will face off against another loser until there is only one participant left in The Arena. That last person will be required to wait 30 minutes before being released to search for The Latchkey. And with that all the participants will be in on the search." The Arena Master looked to the participants. "Don't worry, you'll all be going at the same time so don't feel too self-conscious." There was a brief chuckling from the crowd. "And don't think of lying, or attacking your opponent. I know how some of you are." This time there was a brief chuckling from some of the participants. "The lecterns will be able to tell if you are and you will be immediately disqualified from the tournament." The Arena Master turned back to the crowd. "NOW, are you ready for the next stage of our wonderful tournament!?" The Arena Master asked the crowd. The crowd responded with a roar of approval that shook the arena floor.
With that, a small card would appear in the hands of each participant in a flash of blue flames. Each card contained a number. Queen would see the number 6 and Misty's card had a 2. Jessica's contained a 3, Scarlet's a 7 and Fleur's a 9. Looking up, the participants would see numbers engraved on the ground in front of each lectern. "Please proceed to the lectern that matches your number," The Arena Master explained. The other participants began to make their way to their designated positions, their cards vanishing as soon as they reached it.
_________________________________________ Queen would just be waiting as everyone was finishing their breaks, and soon the announcement came on which Queen just looked at the arena master and sighed "if the goal is to find the latchkey then why bring up it can be shared...clearly that isnt the end of the round he is providing" she stated bluntly as she looked at the others arrive "not even sure try harding for it will be worth anything" she stated as she already knew that those like her would have the biggest advantage, simply keeping track of other peoples based on scent and sounds would make finding whom was closer to it easier and since she could teleport she could just jump ahead, but with how he decribed it made her less interested in finding it. "probably be best to get everyone to find it even if they dont want to" she muttered before looking at the card '6' she would shrug and make her way down to where she was supposed to go seemingly not full invested in the search.
The rules and guidelines have been given. People were preparing for the next event and soon the weapon's presence was requested to pick her number and corresponding lectern. Yet, when she finslly emerged. A pair of tiny hands would pull from Jessie's dress.
"Huh? Are we gonna play a little game big sis? I love games!"
A small girl giggled with excitement as she was quick to take her place. Yet it would seem someone would need a bench in order to reach the lectern. Let alone the microphone. The small girl seemed ro be filled with happiness and excitement enough to produce diabetes on a single persone due to the ammount of sweetness.
Jessica looked down quickly as she felt someone tug at her dress. "M-Misty!?" She asked in surprise. She was too stunned to reply to Misty's question as the Misty took off to her designated place. She stared her mouth agape before Scarlet tapped her on the shoulder. "Take your place Jessica," she reminded her. "But....Misty....what??" Jessica asked, barely able to form all her questions into one sentence. "Later. Right now time is of the essence," she told her. "And you should still be able to wield Misty as a Weapon even as she is now.""But will she be okay? Otherwise I mean?" Jessica asked. Her only response was a shrug from Scarlet as the magician took her place on her own lectern. Jessica let out a huff of frustration as she watched Scarlet walk away from her before looking back to Misty and finally reaching her own lectern. Fleur didn't seem to care at all about the condition of Misty and ignored her entirely, going to her own platform. As Misty stood at her position The Arena Master glanced over at her before looking away again. Suddenly the platform Misty was on would raise slightly until she was equal to the lectern.
When Queen walked up to her lectern she would see a familiar face looking back at her. It was the other Kitsune that she had talked to earlier: Gloria Morado. "Heeey," she gave Queen the same warm greeting she gave her before. "Looks like we're going to be sharing each other's dirty secrets. Are you ready?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a circular ring of light formed all around the dais, giving the two of them privacy from the rest of the participants, though the audience would still be able to hear them. "So, who goes first?" Gloria asked. Her question was answered for her when Queen's lectern suddenly lit up. "Queen of Darkness," a disembodied voice began. "Almost three centuries ago Gloria Morado suffered a loss that she would consider the worst of her entire life." Gloria's one visible eye widened in surprise as she heard the voice. Clearly she knew exactly what it was referring to. She quickly regained her composure however, something she was obviously very good at. Though now it was a poker face rather than the comfortable smile she had earlier. "What did she lose?" The disembodied voice faded with no further comment. Queen was up first and the question had been posed.
As Misty stepped stood at the lectern she would also see an opponent similar to her.
Alexis gave Misty a friendly smile. She was looking a lot better since the last battle. "Umm...hey," she greeted her. The circle of light formed around their lectern as well blocking them off from the other participants. Misty's lectern lit up and soon the disembodied voice would speak to them as well. "Misty Taw, Alexis Blackwing has several fond memories of her family together before she lost her father and brother." Alexis's eyes widened in surprise as well when she heard the voice accurately relay her past. She cupped her hands over her mouth as the memories flooded back before shaking her head. "One of the memories that stands out most in her mind is when they visited somewhere as a family. What did they visit?"
_________________________________________ Queen would see the familiar face a fox much like herself though it seemed like she would be the one guessing about her, thought not sure what information the arena master would have gotten as she gave up nothing on her life in the other world so she assumed most questions would be from when she showed up. "dirty, dark, reprehensible secrets" she stated bluntly. she would hear the question and look at her "well its more likely not the most obvious, being the eye since eyes are not needed or seen as useful compared to the other senses" she stated tapping her chin. "and if it is, then i pity her for thinking so" she stated. "the person she deemed the most important" she answered. she crossed her arms, even if she didn't get it right she didn't seem worried nor even nervous. Though she saw the reaction the fox had, which meant the arena master had good information gathering.
The little girl spotted the arena master as he stared at her. It made the little girl blush and giggle happily while waving at the blonde. Soon, her face was transformed into awe when the platform would grow enough for her to reach the lectern as well as the microphone. The adorable little brat was laughing happily, warming the heart of some of the spectators. Such sweetness surely couldn´t be normal. Soon, her attention would drift to Alex as the black wing heir greeted the little girl. Little Misty´s eyes soon darted at Alex as if she was a delicious bowl of Neapolitan ice cream. "Ahhh!!" She exclaimed with awe as she pointed at Alexis. Apparently noticing something of great importance given the intense look in her eyes. Which was... rather quickly dismissed as she was once again over her deviously adorable and cheerful smile as she waved frantically at Blackwing´s heir. "Big sis! It´s you! Hiiiii!! hey, remember me? Are you feeling better? did you got those strange dreams too?" Someplace they´ve met before? have they interacted with one another? the only possible scenario where those two shared a "moment" so to speak was when they were both abducted during the previous fight. "Ohh!! You look taller, did you cut your hair too? Big sis you look strong, when I grow up I wanna be cute and strong like you!" The little girl seemed like a machine gun of words, questions and observations like any curious child... around a thousand times. She would have continued talking to Alexis if it weren't for the disemboided voice calling her. "Yes?" Said the little girl, trying to find the mysterious voice calling out her name. some people at the benches started laughing at her little number. Before the voice could finally continue and explain the question. "Ah Big sis lost her father and brother? that´s so sad!" The little girl pouted, making another few spectators awe at her concern over Alexis. however, like in some sort of short attention span, her face brightened with excitement as the voice mentioned that there was a precious memory of a place they visited. "Oh? Big sis! Do you make Family trips often? Were they fun? did you ate icecream with your family? Went to see the fireworks?" Some spectators found amusing the fact that disembodied voice tried over and over to keep Misty´s attention inside the game/question at hand. "Ah, so Big sis wants me to find out her precious memory? hmmm..." the little girl pouted while mimicking Scarlett´s inquisitive looks which made laugh some of the mobs and scoundrel that had the luck or bad luck to cross paths with Scarlet long enough to recognize the similarity. "Oh! Big sis! was it a park? did you went with your family to a park? I love parks! they can be big and green with lots of place to run or they could be all bright with tons of games! Hey, Big sis! which game is your favorite?" It would take a magical lollipop out of thin air o call for her attention and let the quiz actually continue. The little girl picked on the candy and placed it inside her mouth at once. "Mmmm<3" She squealed with delight while mimicking another pose classic of scarlet when she´s excited about something and could barely resist the urge, this time the laughs were fewer but those were the ones who knew the magician close enough to have called her a friend or an ally before.
Their was a brief pause after Queen submitted her answer. The disembodied voice returned. "Incorrect," the voice replied. Gloria gave a slight smile. "Well, not a bad guess but that's not my greatest loss," she confirmed. There was another brief cause. "Queen herself is a fearsome opponent. But even the fiercest opponents are afraid of something. What is Queen's greatest fear?" The voice faded. Gloria closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking for a moment. "Losing," she replied finally. "Incorrect," the voice replied. Gloria let out a sigh. "Oh well, guess we're moving on to round 2." It was Queen's turn to guess what Gloria's greatest loss was again.
Alexis seemed lost in her memories as she heard Misty give her answer. A pause from the disembodied voice. Then: "Correct." A door opened in the circle of light behind Misty, allowing her to escape the barrier. Once she was out it closed again, awaiting someone else who had lost to be Alexis's next opponent. As Misty stepped out she would see Scarlet step out of her barrier as well. Apparently she too had won her first match. Jessica, Queen and Fleur were still in their barriers playing against their opponents. Scarlet immediately went over to Misty. "Okay Misty, I'm going on ahead. You wait here for your Meister to pass her little test," she told her, one hand on her hip. With that she turned away and looked into the sky for a moment before jumping up and disappearing into it, teleporting away.
_________________________________________ Queen just kept her arms crossed as gloria tried her answer to the question, but for it to have asked a question like that queen rose an eyebrow "so its based on memories then" she muttered as she looked at Gloria as she got it wrong "to be honest neither of us really need to rush answering...its not like we are disadvantaged if we dont beat this challenge first" she stated bluntly looking at her "but back to your question, if it wasnt a person then perhaps it was a family heirloom" she stated keeping her calm and arms crossed.
The crowd roared in awe as the little girl got the question right, cheering for the brunette who jumped with excitement as the announcer claimed her answer to be correct. "Yay!~<3" She exclaimed between adorable jumps before the platform began lowering, repeating the instructions to the lollipop licking girl. A few lights would show the way towards the next place she should be heading, only to keep the already easily distracted kid who just followed the trails happily. "Wah!" She exclaimed in surprise as her eyes met up with a familiar face at the end of the hall before the open area where the search would be held. The little girl ran with open arms and a childish giggle. The magician still sporting her carefree expression, boosting an air of confidence as she held a hand upon her hip. A heartwarming moment that didn´t last long as Scarlet went straight to the point and told her to wait for someone. The little girl tried to catch onto Scarlett but she was gone before she could reach her. Causing yet another wave of awe. The little girl didn´t give up. However, her klutziness would show up as she seemed confused while waiting. As if she developed a short term memory loss as time passed.
While she was entertained drawing doodles with her index over the sand, it was unclear if she actually was waiting or if she had totally forgotten what she was doing there, to begin with. The view was still enjoyable and adorable though.
The little one was so focused on her doodle she lost track of time. While still childish, the doodle clearly resembled the cool-looking big sis she had just met, Alexis. She hummed happily as she tried to get more details onto her doodle, like the patterns on her clothes, a bigger smile.
There was another brief pause as Queen submitted her second answer. "Incorrect." Gloria gave a thin smile as she heard the voice. "Guess it's my turn again," she said lightly. She thought for a moment about what she would say next. "Hmm...what would be your greatest fear...?" Gloria wondered aloud. "Being humiliated?" She asked. "Incorrect," came the reply, eliciting a frown from Gloria. It was Queen's turn again. Fleur and Jessica were still in their duels as well. Several other players had finished their rounds and exited from their challenge area only to disappear up and outwards as they went to search for their treasure.
Meanwhile as Misty waited for her teammate she would see some of the other players exit. Eventually one arrived and stopped in front of her.
"Hey sweetheart, what are you doing here?" He asked, clearly not recognizing that she was the same girl who had fought in the tournament. "Shouldn't you be with your parents or something?" He knelt down in front of her, a warm smile on his face. "Are you with anyone?" He asked. "If not, would you like to come with me? I'll make sure to protect you from the bad men."
_________________________________________ Queen would just look at her "not really sure what else is...important to a kitsune...so might as well go for the bad choice....your eye" she stated seemingly less interested in guessing as she was before. she would keep her arms crossed "going to be a long questionaire" she muttered to herself as she looked around seeing some people already going off from winning but she didn't mind.
