Welcome to Gaia! ::

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[ Soul ₩avelength/Resonance ° 15% ]

[ ₣eeling ° Fine ]

[ Partner ° Ina Zuma ]

[ ₩ith ° Ina, Shira, Aislin, Atticus and Dara ]

[ Location ° Somwhere ]

[[alright guys, last illusion before Harold razz ]]

As Atticus kicked open the door, the group would find themselves standing at the mouth of an alleyway a block or so from the arena. Well, everyone except for Shira. It was mid-day and the weather was beautiful but hot. It was a dead heat and there was no breeze, though both excitement and a sense of dread hung in the air. There were even more people than there had been last time the group had come into the arena illusion. In the back alley were three people.















Miles was leaning against the wall, his arms folded. "We have to do it right this time," he was saying as he looked down at the ground. Magnus stood in the middle of the alleyway, hands in his pockets as he listened to Miles. Scarlet stood on the opposite side watching the two with her stereotypical smile. None of the three had noticed the group yet. "James messed everything up two weeks ago with the whole gigantos thing. But I managed to get away without being identified." Miles gave a sigh. "I wish we had more time to plan this out, but Matt's gonna turn into a kishin egg today." Magnus shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure?" He asked. Miles nodded. "Yeah. We're out of time. That's what this entire match is about. It's not even gonna be a fair fight. It's mostly just a show for "The Reaver" finally becoming a full monster." He looked up at the other two. "We can't let that happen."


Scarlet's smile grew a bit wider. "Sure thing, man!" She said jokingly, giving Miles a wink. Miles ignored her attitude. He thought for several moments. "Is James gonna be there this time too?" He asked Scarlet, sounding like he didn't really want to know the answer. Scarlet shrugged. "Yep," she replied. "I couldn't get him to get busy with anything else. Sorry." Miles shook his head in frustration. "You know, your freedom is riding on this too," he growled. Scarlet tilted her head to the side, still smiling. "Relax my friend, you take things way too seriously sometimes." Miles looked over at her. "Did you at least come through with the other part of the plan?" He asked her in annoyance. Scarlet dug in her pocket, pulling out something. "Sure did! Here Mr. Maxwell! Catch!" She tossed the object to Magnus who barely caught it in time. Magnus looked down at it, a strange expression on his face. "And this will work right? I mean, work like you said it would?" Scarlet nodded again. "Sure thing. I've used it on plenty of people. It works like a charm. Well, more like a curse. But it works. That's my point." Magnus didn't seem too thrilled to hear this. "Right. Okay..." He replied nervously, pocketing the object.

Just then, the roar of the crowd could be heard, even from where the group was. Miles stood up straight. "Sounds like they're about to begin the pre-game," he said, looking towards the arena. "Well, that's my cue. Guess I better head back to the Ringmaster," Scarlet said cheerily. She walked towards the opposite exit of the alleyway from where the group stood. "Don't worry Magnus, I'll be right in the pavilion with you." She glanced back at them. "Good luuuuck!" She said with a sing-song voice before disappearing around the corner. Magnus looked like he was going to be sick. "Why can't we bring Nurse Mortem in on this?" He asked, looking over at Miles. "Because I don't know her. I don't know if she can be trusted or if she'll go along with it. She seems like the type that wouldn't agree with this kind of plan anyway." Miles brushed some dust off his jacket sleeve as he talked. "Don't worry. She's a nurse. She'll help you right away." Magnus nodded, still looking upset. Miles looked over at him. "Magnus, you don't have to do this if you don't want to." Magnus shook his head, a frown forming on his face. "No. I'm in. I owe him too, remember? I'm not gonna let him turn into a monster." Miles smiled. "That's the spirit. Remember what we're here for."

Magnus seemed to think for a moment before he asked his next question. "Can Scarlet be trusted?" "No." "Then how do we know she'll come through on her end?" "Because if she doesn't, she'll be killed a week from now. She's losing control of her kishin egg powers, remember? As soon as she can't control them anymore, the Ringmaster will have her killed. That's how the Dark Carnival works. If she helps us get Matt out of here, I'll help her escape the Dark Carnival. She'll cooperate." Magnus scratched the back of his head as he digested what Miles had just told him. "Then she'll be free right? Is that really a good idea? I mean, she's a kishin egg. What if she goes on a killing spree and kills a bunch of people? Or comes after one of us? Or becomes a full fledged kishin?" Miles laughed. "A full fledged kishin? Yeah right. What are the odds of that? Look, it's our only choice so that's what we're gonna do." Magnus nodded reluctantly. "Okay. It's just....ironic is all..." Magnus turned to leave and almost ran straight into the group. "What the-!?" Miles's attention snapped to where Magnus was looking. "What!? Who are you!?" He asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

Meanwhile...

Shira had appeared in a different part of the illusion. She was at the arena entrance. The VIP entrance to be exact. She would find herself in the front of the line, standing before a ticket booth. The ticket man was looking down at his ledger, crossing off some names. After a moment he looked up, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Shira standing there. His eyes went from her eyes to the death symbol on her hat then back to her eyes. "Uhhh..." he said. He slowly reached under his desk and pressed a button. Almost instantly the Arena Master seemed to appear out of the arena entrance.



"What seems to be the problem...?" He asked the ticket man smoothly. The ticket man looked over at the Arena Master, then pointed at Shira. The Arena Master turned to face Shira, blinking in surprise when he saw her. "Lady Death...?" He asked. "What brings you to my arena?" From the expression on his face, it seemed as if he didn't remember meeting Shira at all. In fact, this illusion was completely separate from the first one; in this time-line Shira and the rest had never shown up during the gigantos fight and the fight had gone as it truly had in reality. Two more figures promptly appeared next to the Arena Master, clearly having been with him at the time the ticket man had pressed the button.



Both of their eyes widened in surprise as they saw Shira standing there. "L-Lady Death...?" Asked Nylus, clearly confused. "Oh wow! Lady Death!" Fleur gushed. She rushed forwards and took Shira's hands in her own, intertwining their fingers as if they were best friends. "It's such an honor to meet you! What are you doing here? Did you come to see the match?" Her wings were folded behind her back as she spoke, a genuine smile on her face. She had already been a kishin for quite a while at this point and while she wasn't quite as strong as she was in the present, she was almost there. "I love your hat! Oh, we have so much to talk about!" She continued happily. The Arena Master came up next to her, looking down at Shira. "My Lady, if you desired to come see a match, all you had to do was ask. Please, consider yourself my personal guest." He gave her a slight bow and a charming smile, welcoming her to the Arenas. "You've come at a perfect time. We have a most excellent fight today. One of our best gladiators will finally become a kishin egg. It's quite a rare event, though very entertaining."

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[ Soul ₩avelength/Resonance ° 15% ]

[ ₣eeling ° Fine ]

[ Partner ° Ina Zuma ]

[ ₩ith ° Ina, Shira, Aislin, Atticus and Dara ]

[ Location ° Somwhere ]

Ina Zuma

Ina had been following the group close by Michi and was overwhelmed by all that was happening, she felt sad since she went through the process of losing someone close to her as well and hoped that everything would turn out for the best. When the two boys saw them she walked besides Michi. "Where did Shira go?" She whispered after looking around.

Miles glared at Michi as she yelled at him. "Little p***k, huh? How about I-" He and Magnus both stopped dead in their tracks when they heard Dara. Miles spun to look at her, wide-eyed. "How...how did you know my old name? And Matt's?" He asked, eyes wide. "Magnus, did you tell them our names?" "What? No! I've never even seen them before," Magnus insisted. Magnus looked back to Michi. "You're...looking for your friends here too?" He asked he. "Maybe we can help each other. We're trying to get Matt out of the arenas. We've been planning this for a while but we don't have a lot of time." Miles was watching Dara carefully. "First I want to know how they know who we are," he said flatly, still staring at Dara.







"Please, call me Fleur," Fleur replied to Shira, still looking excited to meet her. The Arena Master nodded to Shira. "Excellent. I think you will enjoy this match Lady Death. You've come at a good time." Nylus gave Shira a slight bow. "Think nothing of it, My Lady," he replied. "It is my pleasure to help keep this world safe." The Arena Master gave Shira a friendly smile. "Of course, a Lady shouldn't go around without an escort. Especially in a town such as this." He snapped his fingers and suddenly two more figures appeared out of the darkness of the entrance, walking up next to Shira.








"Yes, Arena Master sir?" Scarlet asked, her confident smile shining brightly. "Mr. Jetter, Miss Scarlet, if you would, kindly be Lady Death's escort for today. She is my personal guest; provide her anything she needs and most of all, keep her safe." Both James and Scarlet looked at Shira in surprise. She was one of the last people they expected to see there. James recovered first, his face relaxing into his cool, calm smile. Scarlet blinked in surprise for a few more moments before regaining her composure. "It would be my pleasure," James said as he walked up to Shira, extending his hand. "James Jetter. Please, let me know if there's anything you need. And of course I'll keep you safe." Scarlet walked up to stand by Shira on the other side. "Same here Miss Death," she said brightly. The Arena Master gave her a stern look. "I mean Lady Death," she corrected just as brightly.