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'Sir, Mr. Jaeger's personal security has managed to-'

Gunshots.

'Shots fired! Sir I must advis--'

"I WANT THAT PLACE CLEAR." The vampire yelled at the bar, moving from it faster than he'd sat. There wasn't any time to excuse himself from the White Mage's company. The large indicator above the door lead him to the obvious exit, while the sound of gunfire and the yammering in his ear directed him more specifically.

KB was already out of the ball and into the hall by the time the second shot had finished ringing.

"The tournament security. Lock them down. I don't care what you have to do, just keep them out of that room!" He spat, his teeth gritting together as he hurriedly marched after his new prey. The vampire could smell Nox in the air, but her rape scene would come later. First, the monster had to preserve the Slayer's life and extinguish the Devil's.

While he moved into view, GRAPPLE CO goons would move to counter the GTB security. They wouldn't go as far as getting weapons or making overt attempts to hurt people, but they would grapple expertly with the tournament's normal guards. They were being paid well enough to risk a bit of personal injury, and they seemed to have a fanatical gleam in their eyes.

Drinking too much Grapple, no doubt.

Spotting Nox on her knees, the vampire couldn't help but smile. As his smile spread his arms lifted, his cape flinging outwards to either side to form steely black wings. Either side of the hall exploded outwards from him, becoming ruinous piles of damaged corridor. Drawing his right wing in front of him protectively, he spoke to them all with his characteristically disembodied voice.

"Welcome, to final night."

It was just then that Ross' spell came to life around them, sealing the deal. The smile on the vampire's face grew, hidden from their view behind his wing. There was no way it could normally have gotten any larger, but it did, and the reeking stench of carrion came with it as it took over the entire bottom area of his face.

As for Vivillian, she'd probably die too. Eventually. Or more. Or something.

"Hey!" Edward greeted the changeling, who's eyes were bugging out of his enormous head. During his short absense, it was already apparent that the Ogre had taken a hellacious amount of fruit from the Hedge. And considering that both bottles of Sangria were gone; Wigi must've been bugging the ******** out. Then again, the Ogre had always been resistent to the stuff, while Ed was relatively new to Goblin fruit.

"Like I said, boss. Roen's different." The cyborg adjusted his flat cap and thick-rimmed glasses, taking long sips of Guinness and staring out into the crowd. His back was leaning against the bar, elbows propped up comfortably on the table as he watched the Faerie cast his magic. "Speaking of Fae, how about we hit up the Hedge later? We can pick up a bit more fruit before the tournament starts and you can sell them at the Expo for some extra cash. First things first though," Ed glanced back at the bartender, "Some Guinness for my friend, please."

KB's men would only be able to hold the security off for a mere few seconds. They began to pile up in number, starting to overwhelm them. These weren't your average rental cops. These were experienced fighters who had their share of fights in the past. Grapplers couldn't stop them all. They were eventually overwhelmed, the men apprehending them as they surrounded where the fight was happening.

Walking from the ballroom came a familiar figure. It was Alex, striding in with his fancy red suit. He pointed his finger at Nox.

"Lady, put that gun away. Shooting in the hotel is forbidden."

He looked over to James.

"Save the fighting for tomorrow, hot stuff."

He then looked back to Nox and co.

"If you're going to leave, go ahead and leave. The less trouble we have, the smoother this ball will go."

"The hedge huh?" He almost hesitated on this, despite the fact that he was running low on supplies. The hedge could be pretty damned dangerous around events like these. While changelings traveled the hedge more often so, too, did the fae. And with two of those nasty ******** already rearing their heads in broad daylight, unusual in places unlike gaia, Wigi couldn't help but ponder the problems that a fruit hunt could produce. He knew a thing or two though, tallied up a few special senses and contracts thanks to some careful bartering with some of the goblins down that way. maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they could slip in and out in no time.

The Guinness was enough to settle his woes. He'd gape his mouth open wide, the corners of his mouth curling up like a shark about to munch down on some poor b*****d's leg, as the tender shuffled the glass his way. It didn't take long for wigi to palm the glass of alcohol in hand, his eyes blistering with the sweet mix he could make with his last few bitter berries.

"OUIJA!!!"

The Guinness didn't stand a chance. It was gone only moments after hitting the counter top, lasting only long enough for the ogre to toss the last of his berries in.

It took him a moment to settle down, really take in his breath from the bite that mix left him with. Despite the odd combo it seemed to sit well with the changeling, who seemed to ease back in his chair and relax a bit. He'd soon turn his eyes, now hazey, towards Ed in his usual lazy fashion. One eye on the man, and the other on the guy to his left. "A good hook on that one Ed." He began with a smile, that token of his waggling about at its usual pace from his upper-jaw. "I noticed a gateway on my way here, some frilly joint that some fae probably used back in the day to rob ol' kids like they were some spooks in the night. Probably not a safe bet, but good to keep mind of in a pinch. What we want is a bit further out to the south, down in a patch I felt in the park. It was likely a smuggler's route, a place to snatch up wandering changelings from the hedge to join a court or a motley of some kind. If we're lucky there'll be a goblin market nearby with a fresh crop of fruit in supply."

Wigi knew a surprising amount about the hedge and its community. He was, after all, a bit of a name in the trading circles. While he wasn't a dealer per-say , he was an avid collector of contracts and a half-decent barterer. He had one hell of an eye for fruit, to say the least, and respected their prospective power.

Maybe, with some time, Ed might out a trick or two of his own. At least if he continued on venturing to the hedge with his dear old friend here.

"Thank you," the Devil would say to the white mage who was going about the tedium of repairing his hand, deep-set sanguine eyes marveling at the intricacies of magic happening before them as his skin was knitted back together with the most casual of mumblings and flex of Will. When the nurse went onto the next hand, the Devil flinched and watched as Bellanox came out of the peripherals of the scene with his World Splitter in her hand. Mildly surprised but otherwise grateful for her appearance, the Devil would flash the Carpathian Gypsy a favorable grin before she set the wire-wrapped hilt of the World Splitter in his hand. "Bella," he would say as he jerked his other hand out of the nurse's grip and went for the lacquered sheath of his weapon. With a resounding whine of steel-on-steel, the Darkened Devil unsheathed the Daemon weapon, Hræðilegr, from its womb. The great equalizer shimmered in all of its iridescent black glory as Roen flourished it along his flank, comforted by its weight.




Head snapping up while his right hand dropped the sheath of the World Splitter and grabbed the nurse, Roen would snarl with renewed anger at the sight of a table coming his way and rip the fabric of the nurses shirt as he jerked her off of her feet and threw her into the oncoming projectile. A squeal of surprise soon turned into a shout and subsequent whimper of pain as the nurse took the full brunt of the table and collapsed to the floor in pain. She was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things as Bellanox fired a few warning shots into the ground at--Roen furrowed his brows--James' feet. Recognition and outrage flashed on the Devil's face as he hefted his hand-and-a-half sword and pointed its tip from after at James' chest, baring his teeth in a vicious snarl.

"I've no quarrel with you, boy. Don't force me to--"





Lowering the tip of the World Splitter and notching it's tip into the ground, Roen would narrow his eyes and turn his head to the side, regarding the Dark Lord's Servant behind him out of the corner of his eye, frowning even more. Then, turning back towards the vampire, James, and now Alex, Roen's chest would rise and drop with a dramatic heave and release of breath, the grip on his sword loosening somewhat as he relaxed. Again, there was a time and place for everything, and this certainly wasn't it. "Bella," the Carpathian Gypsies' employer would say in hushed tones, "stand down." Twisting his torso and stepping forth, Roen would shove the crying nurse off of the last foot or so of the sheath of the World Splitter and rise back up to his full stature, sliding his weapon back into it's resting place for the time being.

Rolling his shoulder blades and shifting his hold on his sheathed weapon from right to left, the Devil would flex his right hand, grimace at the pain of his broken knuckles, and sigh. "We're leaving," he'd announce both out of logic and wisdom, his eyes going first to Ever, then to Bellanox, and finally to the woman behind him with the teleporter; but she was already gone. Where the hell did she go? Roen wasn't going through that swirling darkness. Not on his life or anyone else's. "We're walking, though." Looking back towards Alex, the Devil would c**k his chin and gesture with his broken hand towards both KB, James, and pretty much everything with hostile intentions towards the Darkened Devil. "I've your word that I, or my own, won't be molested on my way out?"

Yasuo watched everything unravel, and had only one thing to say to it all.

"I need a drink..."

And so he went and stood by the bar. This s**t was getting to hectic for him.

"You're the only one that owes me anything, but you've got a free pass tonight. And I'll still judge your fights fairly, but I still want that flesh and blood!" Rhoslyn called out in Roen's general direction, then took Iru in his arms.

"Well, it's under control, at least. Though Roen still owes me, like I said. Kind of a small price to pay and I'd honestly prefer him dead, but I'll settle for tribute."

He chuckled, then gave her an eskimo kiss and grinned broadly.

"Now, I believe that somewhere around here is what can pass for a band. How about we go find them, put them all together, tell them to play something with a beat, and then dance?"