Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Verde watches as Dendrobis pushes Jien back with her frog-belly. He can't help but laugh a little, and already feels a bit better about it. Though Jien's comment is a bit more difficult to understand.* "¿...El Pollo...?" *He imagines himself as a literal masked chicken named Grapplesmash and he laughs a bit more.*

*As Sara grabs his hand, he can't help but feel a little embarrassed, but is drawn in by her sincerity as she addresses him directly. This woman, his first friend at Gaia Prime, came to believe in him this much....?*

*He hears Kyrie's and Berkana's comments. They somehow stick in his mind: 'Show them what you have and who you are.' and 'Have courage, for you are on the path of your dreams.'. It was all so simple.*

*He turns his attention back to Sara*

"Sara. When I first endeavored to visit Gaia Prime, I had heard about the Music Park after seeing the message boards posted all over Barton Town's walls. The facility was new, so I journeyed there to see if I could become inspired. After all, music is inspirational."

*He takes his hat off and bows* "Never would I have imagined I would find someone that could give me this much strength. Even if I were to lose, I feel like I have already gained so much. I just allowed anxiety to overpower those feelings. Thank you."

*He turns to his friends and addresses them one-by-one, starting with Jien.*

"Señor Vaquero. I want to thank you for opening your Music Park. I must admit that I was surprised to see what I thought was a floating piñata as the proprietor. I had met Señor Don shortly before that actually...." *he shakes his head, trying not to get sidetracked.* "And please inform Señor Outh that I admired his...what's the word.....'cool factor'....I believe."

*he walks over to the yellow frogbot.* "Señorita Amarilla. I feel we may not know each other very well, but I draw courage from your vigor. Perhaps it is because I once thought you were a Nagual. I do, of course, mean that with the most sincere respect."

*he addresses Kyrie* "Señora Santo Drache. I have already told you how I admired you. But nonetheless, but you also reminded me of mujeres of my homeland with your after-mentioned grace and elegance. Though in my experience, you are far more kind to me than Pluman ladies of the court. I wanted to become a man that women would no longer ignore. A man that was worthy of a woman's attention. And I must also admit, you are the first Señora del Dragón I had ever met. The world is vast indeed."

*he stands in front of Wagner and pats him on the shoulder.* "Senior Tentáculo. I must politely refuse your offer, dear chap. However I do appreciate your intentions. May we both continue to become increasingly proficient in our respective fields. At some point after my match, I would like to hear about your home land. Since you were so courteous to visit mine."

*He tips his hat to Berkana* "Señora Abedul. You have my most sincere gratitude for bringing everyone here today. I do not claim to even understand the basic level of your methods, but I am glad that everyone could be here today for this. What's more, thank you again for healing my shoulder. There was a moment when I was afraid I would be ineligible to participate today."

*he returns to Sara.* "Dearest Sara. I have never forgotten one of the first things you said to me, when I first told you that this was my debut year. You said I believe you can succeed . That meant so much, hearing that from you. Today, that means even more...as a precious memory. One that will keep me going when it's too difficult to go alone. You are my...." *he blushes* "....pillar of faith. Mi señora del pilar. Muchas gracias." *he turns to Shadow* "And of course, the other who I thought was a Nagual. Shadow..please continue to support Sara as well, dear chap."

*Verde's language, even translated, is much more friendly than when he first met everyone. He's still a dapper sir, but the man behind the mask is more apparent.*





"Back in my day, back during my Peregrinación del Guerrero....or as you would say: 'Warrior's Pilgrimage' ....I traveled to a foreign land to the far east. In that land they had a word for your companions: Nakama. It meant those who are not related by blood, but are family. Those who you hold dear, and the same for you. Consider yourself fortunate."

Ever the Dapper Gentle Sir. Kyrie was certain that everyone was proud and honored to have Verde as their friend…and just as he surely expressed just how much each of them meant to him. “Indeed, Master Verde. You are far more worthy than just a woman’s attention, as you have earned my respect. You have already accomplished many great achievements, and I believe you will continue to do so this day and in the days to come. You are not only admirable, but you are truly a sincere friend.” She said with a humble smile. With her fan closed, she curtsied to her friend with as much flourish as though she were bowing down to a king.

She stepped back, her fan reopening and fluttering as she watched him interact with everyone else in silence. The dragoness felt honored to be here, to witness the transformation Verde made as he began to overcome his fears and venture forward towards his destiny.

"Oh it's no problem, dear. I'm just happy to be here and see this in person. As for your shoulder, it was the least I could do."

*Berkana looks to Verde, to Sara's reddening face, and to Kyrie's intense fanning. She blinks.* "What? What's everyone so worked up about?" *It's hard to tell if Berkana's just acting ignorant or not, like a certain silly boy we're acquainted with.*

"Gr..gracias, mis compañeros. I appreciate your support." *He sighs* "I will do my best." *He slams his gloves together and musters his courage. The shaking has gone down considerably, but tries to focus on what Berkana said. 'My training will never betray me...eso es correcto.'. He feels much better now.*



*Coach Guante surveys the situation and looks at the green faced rookie, then to the clock-hatted girl. He thinks aloud:* "¿....está inconsciente....? *he looks at the woman Verde aptly named Madam Birch* "¿.....es ella ajeno....?"

*The moustached man clears his throat* "I must ask that you all follow me once again...." *the coach takes one last look at his protégé and shakes his head.*


*The group leaves the room and walks down a long hallway. There's an intense bright light at the end of the tunnel. Don't worry though, you didn't teleport this time. Your eyes adjust and you arrive in...*

El Hexágono Menor

The group emerges from the hallway to an outdoor arena, at the center of the colosseum. Fans from all over are gathered, and it's quite humbling to be the center of attention of all a sudden.

At first glance, it resembles a boxing ring. It's a raised platform with a canvas, ropes, and corners. There are even opposite red and blue turnbuckles. However, that's where the similarities end. It's several times larger in pretty much every respect. The ring is not square, but hexagonal. It's about 10 meters in diameter (roughly 32 feet). The ring itself is raised up about 2 meters from ground level (roughly 6.6 feet). Instead of four corners, there are six.

Surrounding the hexagon is a pit 5 meters in diameter around the entire ring (roughly 16.5 feet) with water in it, essentially making a moat around the ring. As to how deep it is, it's hard to tell. The moat sits comfortably in front of the front-row seats. The people who are treated to this section are typically given complimentary towels. Though it's usually so hot that it's refreshing anyway. Between the moat and the grandstand are several tightly woven, yet transparent, nets. There's very little danger of anything but water touching the audience.

Probably the most unique and striking features of the ring are the turnbuckles. In each corner, the posts that would, by a boxing ring's standards, be raised only 1.2 meters (4 feet). All six turnbuckles reach 15 meters skyward (about 16 yards / 50 feet). Not even the top of the stadium is that high. Each turnbuckle are heavily wrapped in patted mat-like material. The turnbuckles are secured by several extremely tight cables at key points of the stadium.

The turnbuckles themselves are white, with the exception of two. The one closest to the exit is blue, while the one that points to the furthest back is red.

Starting from about 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) above red and blue turnbuckles respectively are what can best be described as ultra-sturdy one-way rubber mirror bounce pads. From inside the ring, the bounce pads have a reflective coating, with a yellow tint, that features a purple target pattern on it. However from the opposite side they are far more translucent, making it possible for the audience to see what hits the pad. They'd appear nearly invisible if not for the target pattern. and another the same distance above the blue one. At 2 meter intervals, they repeat in a spiral pattern all the way to the top, together making a double helix pattern extending the full 50 meters height.

Jien tilts his head to one side, then signs at Dendrobis.

[[You possess...hair follicles?]]

Kyrie gazed upon the arena in awe…as it reminded her of gladiator and jousting tournaments back when she was in court. However…the 15 meter tall turnbuckles gave her some pause…hoping that surely such events were postponed due to weather…say…whenever there was a lightning storm approaching. Surely those things were quite dangerous during such conditions. It was perhaps the first time she felt a cold chill run down her spine all day!

When the robotic companions pointed out the front seats, she gave a nod of agreement. Surely it would not be too safe for them…but at the same time, are those seats saved for the Lady of Faith and her companions, or do those of more noble-title normally sit in boxed seats elsewhere…? Oh…but being splashed by the water would be most refreshing…

But was the moat water clean? She would hate to stain her attire now that she was starting to veer away from her mourning clothes…

Sara distracted herself by following the group out to the arena. Her eyes widened. It reminded her a little like a MMA ring....except there was an impressive moat...actually that would be interesting to see how that works. Sara gave a snort of laughter at Dendrobis's comment about the splash zone and Jien's retort. And now Sara was finding herself wondering where their seats were.

Shadow saw the water and wanted to play in it! It was a giant pool to him! Ooh! Maybe all these people were here to swim in the pool! Was there a line? Shadow didn't like lines. Hopefully people before them wouldn't take too long so he could swim!