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For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
-1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)


After bidding Rei farewell, Melissa returned to the group. Nobody really noticed her coming back, but she didn’t mind. It gave her more time with her own thoughts for a bit more elaboration on what exactly it was she wanted. She didn’t want to just figure out her limits while in the middle of a fight. There were ways she could find some of them without being in a life-threatening situation (or a simulation of one). Smaller things, sure, but, like, now that she was more used to her sphere of influence, did she need to see where she was spawning an angel or could it be behind a wall? Could she learn to stand in a way that she didn’t fall over when going under? And movement, how long was that going to take to get used to? She could start that right away, but that would mean drawing attention to herself.

Well, everyone was moving out, saying goodbye to Aduain and Grigoriy who were splitting off and going their separate ways, but they were still talking amongst themselves. If she was going to do anything, she had to do it now. It was such a childish thing, though. Like, yeah, even if she wasn’t the youngest member of their squad (though in fairness, had anyone even asked?) she certainly felt like it, but that didn’t mean she had the demeanor for it. It was practical, but nobody would be able to understand why.

She took one step, then another. It felt normal to walk. It felt normal to just walk alongside everyone else to the nearest ice cream place just a couple blocks away from the arena. But that wasn’t going to get her home, was it? Really, normalcy was just going to shift her perception of home to Prana, and that was another can of worms Melissa didn’t want to open. She didn’t want “Ambrosia” to become just a nebulous goal with an ironically divine name. She didn’t want to forget Gabby or Jun or Elizabeth or anyone else, even if she had somehow managed to make new friends in the meantime.

So Melissa stopped walking. It was one more bit of tension added to the pile of all the other things she was trying to manage on Prana, but no matter how she looked at it, she had to do the best with what she had. It meant being more the person everyone expected her to be, but parts of those fictional Melissas weren’t so bad, were they? Melissa the conscript, Melissa the summoner, Melissa the celebrity… The weight on her shoulders was still there, but the realization lightened her load just a little bit, and she turned her next steps into a purposeful skip.

Edited by radio414

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The girl froze up a bit as her premonition about asking Grigory came true, the man glaring at her. Then, as he softened his gaze and told them to go without him and to get something else, the girl smiled saying, "oh uh, I'll make sure of it!" Giving a wave goodbye to the man as she rejoined the rest of the group, she couldn't help but giggle a bit at Kelsey's comment about their squad's name. But with their business done, Fiona joining, and Fen getting Kelsey's number the group were all ready to leave to get ice cream.

With the group now on their way to getting ice cream, Fen continued trying to think of name for her own group. After all, in the face of another group's and as the leader of her own she felt obligated to put in the effort. She wasn't exactly sure where Grand came from to begin with, but at the very least the joke had something to do with their own squad. Though, naming the group after herself felt a little too self serving. And she couldn't really think of any commonality between the group. Even between the three of her, Melissa and Trevor. She was some kind of ice weapon mage, Melissa summoned angels and Trevor fought with a book and magic. The only thing that she could think of was "Team Magic" and that wasn't particularly creative or original.

Once more she went back to what she knew for names, somehow coming up with Orange Brain which hardly seemed appropriate. Come to think of it, Fen hadn't any idea where the naming scheme for the guilds in her world had come from to begin with. It never struck her as odd until this point, all of them being fruit, and it wasn't like she could ask the founder now so perhaps it was a mystery that would remained forever unsolved. So, instead going to the "taking after the group members" angle, the girl thought about it coming up with another name: Cherry Angel Zombie Fish Book...That was far, far worse then Orange Brain. Thinking on it, Fen also realized that she had nothing to do with Cherry's at a glance either. Perhaps this was indeed something to wait for the moment to strike. 

The girl had thought all of this to herself, making quite the pensive expression while they walking. However, with her stream of thoughts finally broken the girl looked to the others and say, "Oh I think one of the ice cream places we saw earlier was probably just around here." Looking to Kelsey and Fiona the girl said, "you know...I think all I've really done here so far is well, fight and shop. And I don't even really know all that many shops. So uh, I guess I'm asking, when you guys aren't doing the whole...job thing, what uh, what else do you do?"

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"How exactly do you want me to train you? If you want someone to help you work out I'm sure one of your own squad mates can do that with you."

This perplexed Trevor as Grigoriy answered him initially, but he shook off the confused look he had before shaking his head. "N-No sir, not working out. That part I'm capable of handling on my own accord..." he explained, clearing his throat. "What I was asking was for you to train me to fight. It's obvious that you've had plenty of experience in combat...your applications of the magic you used proves this."

"Tis the truth...these are applications that I have not seen before in all the millennia I've been under the care and guard of sorcerers. It's truly remarkable." the grimoire wrote upon it's blank pages for the older gentleman to read.

"Correct...and this is coming from the grimoire of greatest sorcerer and wizard of my world...Merlin." Trevor explained, taking the book and closing it. "That said, I would be honored if you could teach me and train me up. It's...obvious that while I'm alive and no longer in the Ever...and no longer in my own universe and world anymore, the rules and laws that I've grown accustom to need not apply anymore." He bowed his head again. "So please...I would be forever in your debt if you would grant me this chance, Grigoriy sir."

 

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"you know...I think all I've really done here so far is well, fight and shop. And I don't even really know all that many shops. So uh, I guess I'm asking, when you guys aren't doing the whole...job thing, what uh, what else do you do?"

At the question Kelsey, who had been at the front, and Fiona, who had been trailing behind almost as though trying to slip away from the group, both paused to consider their answer.

"Well, really, the fighting is pretty fun on its own isn't it?" Kelsey said. "Oh but I do boxing too." she mimed the action, punching the air a few times. "It's pretty fun to hit someone that's not trying to kill you."

Fiona's response came a bit later, after it seemed she might not answer. "I like trying on clothes I guess...Not much looks good on me though." she added the last hastily, dropping her gaze to the side, and seemed to be falling deeper into a timid demeanor. Her eye twitched as she heard Kelsey laugh at her reply.

The two of them looked at each other and at the same time realized that they had essentially answered with "fight and shop".

Fiona didn't look to be moved to say more at the moment but Kelsey added on to her previous statement. "Oh but there's lots to do honestly. There's music events, an amusement park, the arcade is pretty cool, there's movies though the action ones don't really compare to back home...Ah right there's that card game too that's been getting more popular. Yougee something?"

Fiona let out a deep sigh and muttered. "Yu-Gi-Oh"

"Yeah Yugiyo." Kelsey nodded. "So yeah if you're wanting to do something fun there's a buncha stuff uh...Guess asking a knucklehead like me wasn't the best idea huh?" she laughed at herself, then pointed at a nearby store. "Oh there we go, that where you were looking for right?"

The shop in question had a rather simple look except for the large banana split plastered above the entrance. The title was an equally obvious "That Ice Cream Place".


"What I was asking was for you to train me to fight. It's obvious that you've had plenty of experience in combat...your applications of the magic you used proves this."

Grigoriy seemed to be only growing grumpier as Trevor followed him out of the door. "You seem to be mistaking something, I don't do magic. I don't know anything about that....wizard business this is just something I do. There's only a few people in this...organization that probably does. As far as training goes...I've got my handful trying to make sure those kids are in condition to fight."

He turned to face Trevor directly, with a stony gaze and mouth in a severe frown. "I don't even want to train those three, I stopped training people for a reason, so if you want help you'll have to go elsewhere." He turned away again and waved a hand dismissively. "Everyone here in their own way could help you, even your own squad, but don't come to me for this. I only agreed to these matches because Mauvache asked for it herself. I'm no teacher." He began to walk away and then paused. "And don't call me sir. I'm just another soldier here just like you."

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“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
-1 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)


Skipping, it turned out, was really hard. There was the expected mental effort of ignoring the absurdity of someone her age doing such a thing and hoping other people did the same, but Melissa hadn’t really put together before she started that it was basically jogging pace while everyone else was just walking. She had to slow herself back down and ended up at more of a “spring in her step” sort of gait. It was the sort of thing she still had to devote mental effort to, though, since if she forgot about it, she ended up just walking again.

Still, the conversation surrounding Melissa did interest her. Any opportunity to learn more about Prana was a good one, even if it was a little disappointing that Fiona and Kelsey didn’t have much new knowledge to impart. There was one thing, though, a peculiar commonality between Melissa’s Ambrosia and Prana that she didn’t expect. “There was a popular card game back home on my world too,” Melissa said. “Actually, now that I think about it, the whole world was kind of set around Duel Monsters. The biggest reason most people had a deck was so if you got in a fight you could settle it over the table. Not to mention the arenas, the nationally-broadcast competitions, the fragments of artificial intelligence jammed into a select few of them that granted control over the world, uh…

She wondered if that made any sense at all to people it wasn’t the norm for. “I had a deck full of these fallen angels called Darklords. Monsters, spells, traps, fusing them together, redeeming them to power them up. I don’t know.” She realized she was walking again and pepped her step back up.

Kelsey said, “Kinda sounds familiar, but I don’t know much about it.”

Melissa shrunk back in on herself again. “I didn’t really expect you to, just reminded me of home is all. Sorry.” It was false hope. It had to be. She didn’t even like the game that much anyway. Maybe it was so much the better that “yoogeeoh” or however Fiona pronounced it was different. It could be fun to learn something new, something with significantly lower stakes than the Duel Monsters back home.

Thankfully, before she could completely isolate herself from the conversation, they arrived a That Ice Cream Place, and, as the little tagline in the shop’s logo said, “It’s impossible to be in a bad mood at That Ice Cream Place®!” Melissa was a bit paralyzed by choice, so she just got a vanilla sundae with chocolate sauce. That, at least, was familiar to her, and it tasted even better than it looked. “What’d you get?” she asked everyone else.


“[…]including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
-C.S. Lewis, expanding on 1 Corinthians,
On Three Ways of Writing for Children

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"You seem to be mistaking something, I don't do magic. I don't know anything about that....wizard business this is just something I do. There's only a few people in this...organization that probably does. As far as training goes...I've got my handful trying to make sure those kids are in condition to fight. I don't even want to train those three, I stopped training people for a reason, so if you want help you'll have to go elsewhere. Everyone here in their own way could help you, even your own squad, but don't come to me for this. I only agreed to these matches because Mauvache asked for it herself. I'm no teacher. And don't call me sir. I'm just another soldier here just like you."

Trevor stood there once more in disbelief as Grigoriy spoke...he could feel his fist slowly clench at his side, hearing him say this. The frown he wore was practically piercing his soul...and the young sorcerer wasn't too thrilled about any of this. As the old man walked past him, telling him not to call him 'sir' and that they were nothing but soldiers, he was about to turn around quickly to tell him why that wasn't the case...

...but he didn't. Why? Simple...he felt the tugging by the Cabanomicon, seeming to bring him back to the present moment. It lifted itself and opened it's pages... Mayhaps it's in the best interest to forget him. It's fairly certain that he must be in a position and mindset to where he cannot and will not allow himself to undertake any students. I believe your time may be better suited elsewhere, Masters.

"...we aren't soldiers..." Trevor simply muttered to himself, taking hold of the grimoire. "Then...what was the point to point out my apparent short-comings if he was simply doing this because Mauvache asked for this? If he's not a teacher, then why even...?" he muttered to only himself and the grimoire, leaving the area and attempting to catch up to the others. This world had a hodgepodge of various individuals from all corners of the massive multiverse that surrounded this planet...each with their own rules...their own methods of practice. Perhaps he was still in the mindset of his own world and universe...this would be something he'd have to attempt to get over and change...least, he hoped he could.


It was a few minutes before he finally caught up to the others...though he was still lost in thought and almost walked past the most obvious ice cream shop..."That Ice Cream Place". Truly an ingenious name for such a simple shop...then again, not everything here had to be grandiose, he thought.

He walked in, seeing everyone already being congregated...so Trevor ordered him a simple cookies 'n cream ice cream. He thought about trying that sea-salt ice cream they had plastered on another nearby poster, but he figured he'd save that for later... With his ice cream in tow, Trevor walked over with a half-hearted smile. "Hey...sorry about that...and for bringing up the rear. Seems like my plan of trying to get the old man to train me and teach me was for naught. Perhaps it's for the best."

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Fen listened to the answers the two girls gave her, thinking about it. That Kelsey preferred to do some kind of special kind of fighting on her free time didn't come as much of a surprise to the girl, that there was a place to partake in a hobby shouldn't have been much of a surprise to Fen either and the young chef did wonder where Kelsey went to partake in boxing, though figured if nothing else this city was filled to the brim with amenities and locations. The girl then gave a nod acknowledging Fiona's woes in shopping, thinking back and noting that she wasn't particularly good at shopping for clothes either. "I see, I see," the girl said along as Kelsey continued to say more options of things to do. She could more or less guess what an amusement park was by the name though she hadn't the faintest idea of what a "movie" involved, and so figured that'd be a good place to go check out. 

Melissa then talked about her own home world and the interesting dynamic it had with a set of trading cards. "Oh, that sounds like a fascinating world you come from Melissa. Or, hm I suppose peaceful is the uh, better word for it? Since most conflicts, and the like, from where I come from usually resulted in some form of brawling with weapons...or magic...or both." The girl sighed at this, thinking of all the different conflicts that brewed and how easily it was for any amount of combat to get out of control. The more power the individual held the easier it was for destruction to become widespread and injuries to happen, as just a matter of collateral and to say nothing of the individuals actually fighting. "Ahh, I think...I'd really like to learn more about this card game," the girl spoke aloud though to no one in particular. 

Once they got into the store proper Fen went to the counter analyzing each of the flavors. Some of them seemed to be recognizable to her like the standard, "mint," "chocolate," and "vanilla." Then there were some others like "birthday cake batter," or "candied fish," that she wasn't quite sure what to make of. After a bit more of pondering she eventually got her order and walked back to the rest of the group. Showing the pink ice cream on a cone to Melissa, she said, "I got some kind of Strawberry and Apple mix. And uh some of these um, worms." Turning the cone around, a series of colorful gummy worms could be seen mixed into the ice cream. "I've had bugs before but, well, I've never had with them with cream of any kind." Seeming genuinely curious about the gummies and their strange shape, the girl then looked up to see Trevor joining in. 

Giving a wave to him, she gave a nervous laugh at the thought brought on by his comment. "Ah, um, yeah. That sounds like it might uh, be rough to deal with."

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Fiona had been silently watching Melissa ever since the conversation prior. Whenever Melissa looked her way she'd pretend to be engrossed in some spot on the wall. It wasn't until Melissa asked a question that she broke her silence. She lifted her own ice cream, which was chocolate, with chunks of fudge, and chocolate drizzle, and muttered "It's called Choco Choco Fudge." After this she became very engrossed in her ice cream, looking like she didn't want to be there.

That is until Fen said something that startled her. "I've had bugs before but, well, I've never had with them with cream of any kind."

"You've eaten bugs?" She said, her tone disturbed and disbelieving. Then, when Fen looked at her, she quickly looked away, "I mean, what a unique palette you have."

Kelsey laughed at this. "Well don't think we got any places to eat bugs around here. Least I've never seen any." She looked down at her ice cream and gave an oddly wistful smile at it, as if remembering something, "got mint chocolate chip."

"Hey...sorry about that...and for bringing up the rear. Seems like my plan of trying to get the old man to train me and teach me was for naught. Perhaps it's for the best."

Fiona snorted, which she tried to cover with a clearing of her throat.

Kelsey only laughed even louder than before. "You serious? You WANTED that old goat to train you? He's a real demon you know, even compared to the teachers back home. At least they actually wanted to be there." She pointed at Trevor with her ice cream and grinned, "oh hey maybe he'll teach you if he's on your squad, wanna trade leaders?"

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If you find honey, eat just enough—
    too much of it, and you will vomit.
-Proverbs 25:16 (NIV)


That girl is watching you the computers said of Fiona. Melissa tried not to notice, or rather, she tried to act like she hadn’t noticed. It was a game she was familiar with, of surreptitious glances and pretending not to care you were under observation even though you absolutely did. It was a bit of a shameful game, especially how if someone broke serve and confronted the other, the match result was more of a mumbled draw than anything meaningful, but they were at least disciplined players, and she could respect that at least.

Still, the game was a little easy given the circumstances. With ice cream and active conversation happening around them, there were enough distractions to allow going full minutes between looks. When Fen brought up her weird palate -- weird for a cook, even -- Fiona couldn’t help but even be engaged with everyone else, and Melissa couldn’t blame her. She couldn’t help but associate eating bugs with that one kid in elementary who would do it to gross everyone out. From listening to conversations at youth group, it seemed like every school had that kid.

But she also didn’t know Fen’s circumstances, just as her group leader didn’t entirely know hers. Fen had made the comment that using Duel Monsters to resolve conflicts was inherently a more peaceful endeavor than the mortal peril they were experiencing now, but Melissa wasn’t so sure about that. There were a whole bunch of ways the technology could fail, for a safety subroutine in the dueling matrix to not trip when it needed to and someone end up seriously hurt. Melissa had neglected to mention how just over two weeks ago now her time a malfunctioning duel disk had caused her whole campus to fall into chaos, or how a week or two before that she’d had some chips she was carrying split open by a squealing cartoon pig wielding a butcher’s cleaver. You could argue these things were exceptions, but there was no way Melissa was the most exceptional person in the world.

She was lucky enough to still be alive and with ice cream in her hands. That was something, at least. She finished her sundae in measured bites, carefully avoiding a brain freeze (though she was ready to advise anyone else at the table on cures if they needed them) and washed it all down with some complimentary water.

Tell you what, Fen,” she said as everyone else finished up as well. “The next time we’re out and about we can get some Yu-Gi-Oh!” -- was that how you pronounce it? -- “cards and we can learn this new game together… if that’s okay with you.
 

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"Oh that's a shame," Fen responded at the apparent lack of bug based cuisine that they were likely to find in the city. As Kelsey had brought up her point about wanting to swap leaders to get Trevor trained, Fen briefly paused in surprise at the idea. After all, she had never even thought about whether people were able to transfer groups or not. There was a brief moment of wondering how exactly she'd fit in with the members of Grand, but this was then replaced by her feeling sorry for the other two in the event that Grigory was in charge of their squad. Another concern of hers, albeit a ridiculous one, was the matter of the group's still undecided name. Would Grand suddenly become a nameless squad while Melissa and Trevor were now members of Grand? Or would she become the leader of Grand and those other three would then have to figure out a new name for themselves? It was a silly concern of hers, and she wasn't even sure she was so hung up on this name thing to begin with, and ultimately Fen recovered from her brief moment of pondering to answer. 

"Ah, well, I'm fine with just being uh, friends for now." The girl smiled pleasantly as she denied the, likely joke to begin with, suggestion and added, "but maybe once I learn more about my own squad I'll uh, trade notes with him." The girl joked. 

Looking over to Melissa her expression brightened more saying, "I would enjoy the company. I'm also not very familiar with many card games, so having a veteran help me out would be really appreciated." 

As Fen finished her ice cream, the girl looked down and, understanding the primary function of this device now, looked at her watch. "Oh, it's getting late." Looking to the others she said, "sorry, but I have dinner to prepare so uh, I think I'll, well get going now. But it was nice meeting all of you. I uh, wouldn't mind hanging out or something again." With that, Fen gave a wave as she began to depart looking at her ice cream asking aloud, "I wonder where they find the rainbow worms."

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"You serious? You WANTED that old goat to train you? He's a real demon you know, even compared to the teachers back home. At least they actually wanted to be there. Oh hey maybe he'll teach you if he's on your squad, wanna trade leaders?"

There was a bit of silence as Trevor left the spoonful of cookies 'n cream, letting Kelsey's words run around his head for a bit. He chuckled slightly, before shaking his head, looking in the direction of Kelsey. "I'll pass." he said, taking another spoonful "No disrespect to you or your team, Kelsey, but I don't think dealing with him on this squad of mine shall be needed." Trevor pointed his spoon at Kelsey, smirking lightly. "How do you ladies even deal with that old man? Only doing what he's told and or asked by our illustrious host in the top hat? Not only that, just his words...his actions..."


"What good does that do you if you fall because you were focused on other things, think, boy, think!"
"I'm not particularly interested in your past, it doesn't mean anything right here and now."
"I don't get you kids. They insist on telling their life stories in the middle of a fight but honestly, Mne fioletovo!"
"Well, in a way you won. But keep this in mind....don't pull something like that out here. This isn't a single battle its a war. If even one of us falls its a win for the enemy. They have a hell of a lot more in reserve than we do. You heard your partner, trust them to handle themselves now and then."
"Don't let this overshadow what you learned today. And you'd better had learned something."


His mind replayed every thing that happened, those words just being fresh in his mind as he shook it slightly. "I'd prefer not to deal with him. Firstly, due to his lack of ethic. Or in this case, his lack of ethic and desire to do anything. If he's doing things just because he was asked, then there's no reason to deal with him. Secondly, apparently my reasoning to be trained by him, which is to say...the magic he performed, was not something he was able to work with...just something he did. Therefore, I believe it's pointless to continue to venture after this man, even though he could easily show me how to properly conduct battle within the parameters of Prana and Rama-Indri...but I digress."

Pausing once more, taking the last bite of his ice cream. "And...I would rather not deal with someone who considers both themselves and the others he surrounds himself with as nothing more than soldiers. We're more than that, so much more, I believe that. But then again, mayhaps that's not for me to decide." he got up, causing the empty bowl to float gently towards the trash can. "Besides, I believe my team and squad here are all this sorcerer needs."

With a tip of his hat, Trevor gave the group a smile. "In any case, I must bid thee adieu for now..." He turned on his heel, before making his way back towards the apartment.

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As was becoming normal each day the next morning brought with them messages on their watches. The first was from Mauvache and it brought some unfortunate news.

This message is to inform you of some changes to your squad. After Morgan's unfortunate incident involving the simulator I have decided to keep her under observation for some time to determine if something went wrong in her summoning.

You may also notice that another of your members,Aduain, is gone as well. While this is the only major city on this planet there are a few other populated regions. One of which is near the ocean. Most attacks only occur within the city however lately this town has been threatened by creatures from the water and thus I have sent Aduain to help them out. I apologize for any issues this may cause and have a nice day.

This would reduce their number down to three for the time being. This message alone would be something of a concern. However it wasn't the only one. In fact Fen and Melissa would both get a rather odd message, from an unknown sender.

Come to the fountain where you came here from. Bring a Yu-Gi-Oh deck.

While this was these were the only messages it wasn't the only surprise that morning. Someone was at the door. A young woman with a slight body and a sword at her side. Her presence was that of someone who was used to getting her way. And, if either of the girls answered, they would be asked to go find Trevor. With the accusation of "The wicked man has accosted a friend of mine and I demand an apology immediately."

However if it was Trevor who answered he'd be greeted with, "Blackguard, I know of your ways, and I seek an apology for your mistreatment of my dear friend."

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Not a teacher, not a sorcerer, not anything more than a soldier…my hope for Grigoriy to train me turned in a direction in which I somewhat anticipated. What drives this man, I know not. A simple request from Mauvache was the driving factor for his action in today’s training matches. If it weren’t for her, he most likely would’ve abstained indefinitely. Nothing more than soldiers, his exact words to me…it pains me to think that most have this mindset…but alas, this is nothing I can do. If he believes himself as nothing more than a soldier in a battlefield, then so be it. As always on this journey of mine, I’ll find my own way and path here on this world. It’s all I can do…it’s all I’ve ever done.

Entry 4 - Complete


The Next Day

This message is to inform you of some changes to your squad. After Morgan's unfortunate incident involving the simulator I have decided to keep her under observation for some time to determine if something went wrong in her summoning.

You may also notice that another of your members,Aduain, is gone as well. While this is the only major city on this planet there are a few other populated regions. One of which is near the ocean. Most attacks only occur within the city however lately this town has been threatened by creatures from the water and thus I have sent Aduain to help them out. I apologize for any issues this may cause and have a nice day.

Trevor simply watched the sunrise from his bedroom window, contemplating and ruminating over the information that was presented to him. As of this current moment, Aduain and Morgan were no longer a part of the team...they were basically out doing another thing by Mauvache or being kept under observation. He still cursed under his breath for the latter half of this, still believing that was his fault.

He simply let out a small sigh, before hearing his watch give off another notification...someone was at the door. Someone was apparently always at the door. With another sigh, he grabbed his hat and immediately walked out after straightening his clothes up, to open the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see...a young woman with a sword at her side. "...um, may I help y-..."

"Blackguard, I know of your ways, and I seek an apology for your mistreatment of my dear friend."

"...blackguard?" Trevor repeated, blinking a few times as the Cabanomicon lifted and opened it's pages, seeming to pull a definition out. "...a man who behaves in a dishonorable or contemptible way." He blinked a few more times before clearing his throat. "I believe I need a bit more information on this...I haven't mistreated anyone here so far."

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Have mercy on me, Oh Lord, a sinner
Wipe away my transgressions,
    and let me be reborn anew in your glory
Help me turn away from sin
    and move towards your eternal light.

I realize now what I should have realized long ago, Lord
I have found my need to improve
    to grow and find new strengths
Help me, then, remember what I am improving for
    and take my hand and guide me on.

In the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit,
Amen


Even though the most strenuous of her activities that day had taken place in the virtual world and the remainder of her time had been spent either standing in line or sitting around, Melissa was still exhausted when they made it back to the apartment. She’d given up on skipping for the day, resolving that she’d work on it more tomorrow, and only spent time making sure Bartleby was fed with the newly-arrived Good Wet Food With Both The Chicken And The Tuna In It™ before trudging up the stairs to her room.

Standing in front of her door, though, she thought of one final thing she could try, something she could take from her experiences of the day. “The door is locked, can you open it for me?” she said. She leaned against the door and felt consciousness leave her. Moments later, the door opened and she collapsed into Zadkiel’s waiting arms. She probably could have gone to bed right then and there, just have the cherub place her in bed and tuck her in tight, but no, she recovered and got changed and brushed her teeth and all that first, making sure everything was just so before she finally drifted off.

The dream the computers provided for her this time was a classic: the flying dream. They had suspended her high above Prana, or a Prana that was an extension of the little she had seen so far of the city, and she was free to go where she wished in however manner she wished to go. Melissa wasn’t sure where she wanted to go, though, and instead let herself drift around guided by the occasional gust of wind as passersby paid her no mind. Zadkiel and Sandalphon dutifully followed behind her.

After a good while of this, Melissa asked, “What will you do when we get home?” They didn’t immediately respond, so she added, “Like, you were part of ADMIN, right? Will you be able to merge back without issue, or am I going to have to find a way to directly connect my brain to ADMIN, or would there be some other method? Not that I’d shoo you out or anything, but I’d like to get a sense of what you want.

Their response took longer than Melissa expected, even after her clarification. We have not considered any potential returns to Ambrosia. What we desire is survival, nothing more.

Oh,” Melissa said, not really understanding.

To put it another way, we are alive, and as long as we can continue to be alive our situation is satisfactory to us. Prana, Ambrosia, or any other possible world, the setting does not matter to us.

Melissa twisted in midair to face the two of them. “Is this why you’ve seemed overprotective of me? Because if I go and get myself killed you two fade with me?

Yes.

It was something she hadn’t really considered. Like, she was aware of it, but not in a way that might have changed something within her. She still wasn’t sure what to make of it now that she was thinking about it. Was this what being a host to such foreign influences really meant? “But hang on, my death isn’t an ‘if,’” she said, “it’s a ‘when.’ Prana’s healthcare is probably better than the stuff back home, but I’ll still only be around for, like, a century maximum. What are you going to do then?

This answer took much less time. As you said, our and your mortality is constantly in our thoughts, they said. We will be sure to inform you if there are any new developments. 

Melissa felt something in that answer that she occasionally saw in her other interactions with her guests, something she still wasn’t sure how to bring up. It had a twinge of fear to it. Something she considered a natural uncertainty was something they still hadn’t gotten to grips with yet. She remembered then that these things inside her head were barely a week old, but it still seemed like not the right time to ask about it. She could have been imagining it, after all A related thought came to her, and she asked about that instead. “In that void-between-worlds where we first met, you still asked for me to let you in. Weren’t you scared I might have said no?

But she woke up as soon as she said it, and an answer never came.


By wisdom a house is built,
    and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
    with rare and beautiful treasures.
-Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV)

Another factor in Melissa waking up when she did was not her alarm but the series of text messages that had been sent to her watch, still attached to her wrist. Some of them were confirmations of things she already had suspected, like Morgan requiring more observation, while Aduain’s absence was surprising even if the way Mauvache phrased it made it seem reasonable enough. The one that intrigued her the most, though, was a separate group chat including Fen as well, with just the message from an unknown number. Bring a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck.

It felt like an incredible coincidence. She had just heard about the game yesterday, and all of a sudden it seemed like it was all anyone could talk about. Melissa remembered experiencing something similar back home with nun habits. Every so often, someone would come up to her and say something like, “I used to think you were weird for dressing up like that, but now I see those hoods all the time! A bunch of nuns just walking around town…” and Melissa would invariably yelp and run away from those people, but she felt a little more emboldened this time. Maybe that was just because it was sent through her favorite medium, the text message, but she was excited for the day now.

Her stomach grumbled, and the excitement subsided, but only a little. She had a couple of mouths to feed and to actually get ready for the day first, and after that, they could see what Yu-Gi-Oh! was all about.

Trevor was already downstairs by the time she finished readying herself, and she didn’t exactly want to deal with whoever was yelling at the door, so she quickly ducked into one of the kitchens and out of sight of the door. She looked over all of yesterday’s purchases and immediately was overwhelmed. It was so comprehensible back in the grocery store, when they were placing things in one at a time, but all at once? “I hope Fen wakes up soon,” Melissa said. “She’d be able to make sense of all this.” She could default to something quick and easy, but the resident cook probably already had grand designs, and she didn’t want to get in the way.

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With the group having left after their ice cream had been finished, they made their way back to the apartment complex. Fen wasn't particularly physically tired, in fact the only thing that would've physically worn on her was the shopping they did. However, the fight had still taken a great deal of mental effort, both in the sense of having such a high pressure fight that she had to go into as well as having thought in an entirely new and creative way with her magic. As such, while the girl had originally planned to use her ingredients for a stew, she found that the mental effort required to do so was not in her today. Of course, that didn't stop her from cooking entirely, simply going to a much more simplistic chicken and potatoes dish. Once all was said and done, Fen had retired for the night without much incident. 

Waking up, the girl found that she was getting much more adjusted to the wrist watch of hers. So much so that it took her no effort to open and look at the messages she had received. Unfortunately, this news wasn't at all positive, seeing that the number of their squads size had been further reduced from five to three. Fen hadn't known Aduain or Morgan well, in fact the latter had been very uncomfortable for her to be around, but she couldn't help but feel a little sad about it. At least Aduain had found greener pastures for himself, and she could only hope for Morgan's recovery to her health...unhealth? The second message she found was also unique, not only because it had been addressed to her - and Melissa - specifically which was a rarity in of itself but also because of its topic. The girl hadn't heard about this game until yesterday, so she briefly wondered if it was a message from either Fiona or Kelsey. But it had mentioned where they originally came from when they entered this world which she knew the two weren't around for, unless everyone appeared in the same place. 

There was no use thinking about it, and similarly she didn't even have a deck for this game yet so there was some prep work she needed to do before she could properly respond to this incredibly suspicious message. As such, she would leave that for after breakfast and see what Melissa's thoughts were on it at a similar time. For now, the girl had gotten herself out of bed and made her way downstairs, seeing Trevor dealing with a woman who seemed a bit incensed with him. The girl didn't think much to talk with them, as strange people coming to their doorstep early in the morning had almost become part of their routine at this point, and left Trevor to deal with it for the time being. 

Getting into the kitchen, the girl had found her other teammate already there and looking like she was thinking about something. "Oh, good morning Melissa," she greeted. Looking to the various foods that were still about as well as the refrigeration machine they had she asked, "were you making something?"

"Not yet," Melissa said. "I probably would just make eggs in a nest but we just got all this other food and it feels like a missed opportunity to not use it."

"Hmm..." The girl put her finger to her chin thinking before exclaiming, "oh! I know. What if we made some kind of uh, Stir Fry. We have a lot of produce and that machine," she pointed excitedly to the rice cooker, "and we could even add eggs and the like to make it more uh, well, breakfast-y?"

"Oh, sure! I think the knives are over... here?" Melissa pulled out a drawer, frowned, and pulled out another. "Over here. Okay. And then cutting boards..." were thankfully in the drawer below that. "And this thing is pretty easy to use. There's a joke back home that a rice cooker is just a pot that's smarter than you, anyway."

Fen nodded, "I used it yesterday and well, it seemed pretty easy to use. And much more uh, stable, then I would've thought from such a small heating magic device." Getting out all of the ingredients and tools necessary to get to cooking, Fen began going at her work. Midway through she then looked over asking, "oh uh, right, Melissa. Did you also happen to get a strange text about the uh, "Yugioh" game this morning?" 

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"...a man who behaves in a dishonorable or contemptible way. I believe I need a bit more information on this...I haven't mistreated anyone here so far."

"Yes, you would say that wouldn't you." The girl spoke and, as she spoke, she stepped into the building without batting an eye. Strolling right past Trevor and into the hallway. "You probably don't think your harassment was anything short of natural. After all, such a pretty girl alone in the library, surely she would be interested right?" 

The girl shook her head. "You proceeded to try and worm your way into her innocent heart, attempting to form a connection and, when she refused your advances so clearly, you even implied you would find her once again!"

She turned to face Trevor and had a sharp look in her gaze. "I have come here to see that you understand that whatever the world you came from was like you shall not be able to continue your philandering ways here."

By now the girl had made her way almost to where the Utility Room lay, and Melissa and Fen would be able to overhear the last bit of her rant.

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"Yes, you would say that wouldn't you. You probably don't think your harassment was anything short of natural. After all, such a pretty girl alone in the library, surely she would be interested right?"

The moment the young girl said this, his eyes widened, everything around him started to grow distant...so much so that he really didn't pay too much attention to what she was saying afterwards. He blinked a few times, before his hand met his face, sliding off it slowly.

"I have come here to see that you understand that whatever the world you came from was like you shall not be able to continue your philandering ways here."

"...you can't be serious..." Trevor muttered, only to see the grimoire starting to slowly float up next to him. He glared at it for a moment. "...unless you want to be used as fuel for the fire, I suggest you don't say a word." he threatened the book, which began to slowly float back down towards his side.

He exhaled slowly, taking his hat off, letting it float in the air above him as he ran his hands through his hair and then having his hat land back on top of his head. "Alright, this is one huge misunderstanding, miss...?"

"Oh I see, a misunderstanding huh?" She then raises an arm and fiddles with her watch while muttering, "Doesn't take responsibility..."

Trevor just stared in the young girl's direction. ...oh this is going swimmingly... the thought ran through his mind. "...will you even give me a moment to explain myself?" he asked, sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's only fair, am I wrong?"

She continued to mess with the watch, "Claims to want to explain self, proceeds to not do so, seems unwilling to follow through..." She looked up at Trevor, "No, no, carry on, I'm learning all sorts of things about you this way."

...seriously?? Another sigh escaped his lips. "Your friend, miss Keres, I met her at the library...this much is true." he began. "She spoke to me in regards to the books speaking about the Great Dragon, or more accurately, the lack of anything before the Great Dragon. She mentioned that it was generally just the religion that would be found, which alas, wasn't what I was searching for." he paused, watching the young girl messing with her watch still. It was slightly annoying, but he couldn't do much about it, since he was obviously being interrogated for something he didn't even do.

"She and I ended up having a slight conversation about how her magic and my magic being different and even so far as to say it was different than Mauvache's. After this, I began to explain something with her in regards to how my magic differs from her...with it taking more of a scientific aspect...using the electromagnetic energy from the nervous system and giving it physical form when these rings are used as a catalyst." Trevor paused again, showing his three rings. "After this, I simply asked to know about her magic...as a fellow user of the arcane, I wish to know how other magic works. You could easily ask my fellow squad-mate Fen...I'm enthralled about this. I also was curious about the book she carried, it was a pretty heavy looking book. Then, that's when she said that 'she had a boyfriend', to which I was simply dumbstruck. I wasn't meaning for this to sound like some courtship...it was a misunderstanding. I implore you to believe me."

She said one more thing as she tapped at her watch "Too many unnecessary details..." The girl looked up at Trevor and smiled. "You aren't very good at this. Thankfully for you I already know what happened, I just wanted to see how you'd respond. Otherwise you'd very much still be in hot water." She nodded her head. "Yes I've learnt a great deal about you through this, Trevor."

"I'm not very good at...telling the truth?" Trevor gave her a inquisitive look, before shaking his head a bit. "You know what, perhaps it's better for me not to know what you referred to there..." he breathed a sigh of relief, trying to compose himself. "In any case, I hope that I was able to provide you with...whatever data you were looking for...?"

She smiled wider. "Oh, you were. I can safely say that I, Penelope Nabudis, safely remain the sharpest mind among the Guardians here. I wondered when I learned that another magic user had been brought here but it seems my position was not threatened."

"Penelope Nabudis..." Trevor nodded, before looking down at the grimoire, who was already making a note of the name. "Well then, miss Penelope, I shant keep you any longer...as I am certain one such as yourself has a busy schedule."

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“Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.”
-1 Corinthians 11:34 (NIV)


Fen did most of the cooking work, though Melissa tried her best to be of use helping out where she could. That meant prep work, from cutting vegetables to washing the rice. She also made sure Fen knew how to use any of the other appliances they came across in the process, though it wasn’t like there were that many involved in a stir fry. Mostly, Melissa did that to make up for forgetting Fen had already figured out the rice cooker yesterday. It was a little embarrassing to not remember what she’d had for breakfast just the day before.

Melissa was whisking eggs when Fen asked her question. Her first response was an instinctive, “It was a group chat, right? Why wouldn't I have-” before she remembered Fen hadn't experienced the misery of a large, active group chat giving your phone a conniption before. “I did see that message, yes,” she said, recovering a bit. “It’s a little weird, someone having our numbers like that, but it is serendipitous, right? If you're interested, I’d love to go check it out.

“Oh, that’s good to hear,” Fen said. “I’d be happy to go meet this mystery person too. But uh, they said to bring decks. Do you just buy them at any store?”

The game I had back home had a couple of ways to get cards,” Melissa said, now pouring the scrambled egg into the pan. “You could buy packs of random cards and hope to open something cool, or you could buy just the individual cards if you knew you wanted something specific, or yes, you could just buy a prebuilt deck if you wanted. There were smaller games where the makers just sold the sets directly, too, um…” That was probably too much explaining, she realized, and her cheeks flushed. She turned her attention towards making sure the eggs turned out okay. “But yeah, all of that would be found in a game store in like a mall or something.

Fen, bless her heart, seemed to properly mull over all the information Melissa presented her with before nodding. “I see. Well, should we go to the mall after breakfast?” The girl paused again before thinking aloud, “It seems like there really is nothing you can’t find there.”

That mall had room for two arcades,” Melissa joked. “Surely there’s room for a game store tucked away in there.

The eggs had been the last step in the process. They were cooked separately and then stirred in with everything else to make a nice blend of rice, vegetables, and food. Melissa had been hungry already, but now it hurt to even look at the food they had made without immediately digging in. She maintained enough presence of mind to be polite to their guest, even if she was in the middle of what sounded like giving Trevor a rather stern lecture.

She poked her head out into the main area. “Miss, Fen and I made some stir fry if you want breakfast. You know, since you came all this way…

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As Fen was working towards the finishing touches of breakfast she could hear the conversation reaching an end between Trevor and the new girl. 

"Well then, miss Penelope, I shant keep you any longer...as I am certain one such as yourself has a busy schedule."

"Why, of course, but this is part of the schedule. After all..."

Melissa then joined asking, “Miss, Fen and I made some stir fry if you want breakfast. You know, since you came all this way…” 

"I have heard that this squad has an expert cook and I would like to test her mettle for myself. So I shall be staying for breakfast, rejoice!" After stating that, the girl followed by saying, "Did you know, commanders who dine with their soldiers have a 30% higher life expectancy? Though the soldiers have 30% lower, oddly. Well, anyway, let us eat." 

Fen, now with plates of food in hand, exited the kitchen. "Oh, well, I'm always happy to feed someone else," Fen added as she had entered the conversation. "I'm used to making food for large company so, I uh might've brought out too many ingredients for just the three of us. But I hope what we made is to your liking." Setting the table with the food, she looked to Penelope asking, "so, um, is everything alright with Trevor?"

"Well I cannot say for certain! After all there could be plenty wrong. But if you mean what I came to confront him on, I believe so yes."

"Oh, well, that's good to hear." Waiting for the others to sit down Fen then asked, "so I heard that you're also one of the uh, Guardians in Mauvache's employ?"

"Employ? Hm, I suppose if that's how you want to call it, yes."

"Does that mean you're also part of a Squad?"

"Why, yes, I lead the elite squad, Unfailing Strategy!"

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"Why, of course, but this is part of the schedule. After all..."
“Miss, Fen and I made some stir fry if you want breakfast. You know, since you came all this way…”
"I have heard that this squad has an expert cook and I would like to test her mettle for myself. So I shall be staying for breakfast, rejoice! Did you know, commanders who dine with their soldiers have a 30% higher life expectancy? Though the soldiers have 30% lower, oddly. Well, anyway, let us eat."

Trevor wanted it to show on his face, the fact that this woman was being invited by Melissa... Oh how he wanted to lament this insane notion to have her join, but alas, that would draw too much attention to himself and therefore give him more reason to be scrutinized by Penelope. For now, he would simply sigh to himself and shut the front door.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that this woman led a squad: Unfailing Strategy. That was one he hadn't heard of, but then again, he didn't hear much about Squad Grand either, so it was probably for the best. He simply moved over, pouring himself a cup of coffee and took a moment to sit down at the table, sipping on it. "So an Elite Squad? I suppose there's a tier system we're still not aware of yet...if this is the case, then we're most likely still at the bottom echelon of squad tiers..." he took a long sip of his coffee, before turning to his grimoire. "Please make a note or two about this."

It was already being planned on. the book retorted, it's pages flipping back as a pen manifested itself and began to write on it's own.

"If that's the case, if Unfailing Strategy is an elite, then by process of elimination...Squad Grand is most likely of an echelon higher than elite." he said, sighing. "But then again, I'm unsure so this may just be conjecture. Though I must ask, how many are usually in a squad? Because if it's more than three, we may be in a predicament ourselves due to our numbers."

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“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body -- whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free -- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (NIV)


Yes, she had been the one to extend the invitation and yes, she was not the one who had done the lion’s share of the cooking that morning, but Melissa still couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious as everyone sat down to breakfast. Ironically, by asking, she’d done a number of other, smaller things without asking, so for most of breakfast, she just kept her head down and tried to avoid drawing any further attention to herself. It worked out well enough. Their guest -- Melissa was pretty sure she heard her say her name was Penelope? -- was the center of attention and seemed to revel in it, so Melissa just tried to stay out of the way.

Still, when Penelope mentioned team names and started engaging with Trevor directly, Melissa couldn’t help but wonder, and that wondering started turning into wondering aloud. “Everyone has these such amazing team names,” Melissa said. “We were with Squad Grandpa yesterday, now Ultimate Strategy… I’m sure Salvo and Natasha have something equally exciting.” She turned to Fen. “And yet, I don't know what we’re supposed to call ourselves. Fen, you're our leader, do you have any ideas?

Fen seemed surprised by the question, to the point of even letting out a little “Eh?” which dampened Melissa’s spirits just a little bit further, but the girl did give it some thought, literally chewing on the question as she looked from person to person then back down at her own food. When she came back up, though, it was with a smile on her face. “How about Manna?”

‘Manna’ like the bread or ‘Mana’ like the- Oh, I get it!” Melissa laughed. “That’s very clever, Fen, I think that’s a wonderful name.“ She wanted to immediately tell Trevor, too, but he was busy apparently implying Squad Unfailing Strategy wasn’t the best squad in all of Prana, which Penelope took offense to.

“It is quite the logical fallacy to assume one squad is better than another when you know nothing of said squad,” Penelope said. “But to answer your question, it really depends. So far they tend to be between three and five. The first squad, in fact, has only three.”

Melissa quickly jumped in. “You’ll have to forgive him,” she said. “He’s- we’re all still new at this. We don’t even have a team name yet, though Fen just came up with Squad Manna which I kind of like? Do we have to do anything past that like tell Mauvache or get it registered or something?

“You don’t have to. She’ll know,” Penelope said. “But perhaps you should tell her anyway just out of courtesy.”

Oh,” Melissa said. Of course that was the answer. “Um.” Like, it made sense, but it was another step in an already busy day, and she didn’t want to be the reason people were late to an appointment for the second day in a row. She looked at Fen, who she’d already made plans for the day with, and at Trevor, who she hadn’t even thought to ask about yet, back at Penelope, which would have been the silliest decision of all of them, and willed herself to make a decision. “Trevor, someone texted Fen and me with plans already, do you think you could tell Mauvache for us then?

Breakfast continued until everyone was finished. Melissa just had to check on Bartleby, help wash everyone’s plates, and then go to the restroom and wash up before she was heading out. She also saw Penelope out before she left. “I hope you enjoyed the meal, Miss Penelope. We’ll try to keep Trevor out of trouble Will we be seeing you again, do you think?

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“It is quite the logical fallacy to assume one squad is better than another when you know nothing of said squad. But to answer your question, it really depends. So far they tend to be between three and five. The first squad, in fact, has only three.”

Trevor frowned slightly, sighing a bit. "It wasn't an assumption regarding that. I was simply asking if there was a hierarchy about that, given our introduction to Squad Grand was one that warranted it seeming to be a higher echelon than elite. I meant no disrespect." He was having to walk on eggshells around this woman, he wasn't thrilled about it in the slightest. "However, if the members of a squad are between three and five, then we should be in quite the bit of luck after all. That's truly a blessing in disguise, I would say."

He turned to the grimoire, who now finished writing everything and returned to it's resting position at his side. ...perhaps fate is working it's way to put us in a better position... Trevor simply ruminated in thought, before hearing Melissa's query.

Trevor, someone texted Fen and me with plans already, do you think you could tell Mauvache for us then?

He smiled and simply nodded. "Of course. Any chance to possibly speak to our resident employer is always good, especially when my last conversation with her proved to be quite informative." he snapped his fingers, his coffee cup floating and making it's way to the sink. After all, it would've been rude to assume Melissa would simply wash his own dishes when he was capable of doing it...or rather, having the dishes do it themselves.

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Fen was quite glad that Melissa seemed happy with her team name suggestion. It was something that she had really thought up on the spur of the moment, and she was glad that both terms were something Melissa was also already familiar with. The girl then listened to the others talk about the nature of squads over breakfast until it was finally time to clean up. The girl had helped put away the dishes along with Melissa, and then saw Penelope out along with the rest of the group. As Melissa asked her last question to Penelope, she responded, "I would think so, we're all in this together and I'm sure there's many things you all can tell me about different worlds. I can't exactly ignore that chance. Not to mention...well, actually, I suppose I won't mention that just yet."

Fen raised an eyebrow at her statement, but smiled and waved the Strategic girl off as well. "Well it was a pleasure to meet you as well Penelope. I hope we call work with your squad one day in the future." Once the girl had left, Fen looked to the others. Nodding to Trevor she said, "thanks for reporting to Mauvache for us." Then, to Melissa, the girl excitedly said, "I'm ready to go and learn more about trading cards!" 

With that, the two of them had left and went to the mall. Fen continued to be in awe of how much of a one stop shop this massive building was, and after a bit of meandering they had found their way to a game shop of sorts. While Fen hadn't been sure what to expect, outside of cards, she found that there was far more to this shop then just that. Large boxes and books that were all over the wall and near the counter. Grab bags and boxes of dice coming in more shapes then she thought possible with both more and less sides then she had ever seen on one. Incredibly detail, incredibly small stauettes that also adorned the counter. And of course, lots and lots of cards. A bit overwhelmed by all of it, Fen looked to Melissa asking, "so uh, where do we start?" 

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It's Time to D-D-D-D-Go Shopping

It all came back to the mall, it seemed. Being essentially the only non-food store they knew it was only natural of course. Still, the more they came here the more crowded it felt. Even the game shop had plenty of people around. Many of which seemed to be quite interested in the two girls walking in. Though at the start no one approached them. Even the workers seemed content to sit around either behind the counter or at various tables where people were able to try out the various games.

A large area was taken up by a display of a new, and evidentially popular, game which claimed to be a small scale recreation of the simulator in Mauvache's Arena. As they passed it they could hear a group of boys arguing about if the Guardians would be able to beat the regulars at the Arena. "No way, the fighters are pros, they know how it works inside and out." seemingly to be the main argument in opposition. "A Two-Weeks pro couldn't just pick up Break Sisters and win a tournament."

The cards themselves, while not the only thing there, seemed to have the widest range. They were mostly located near the register. Shelves stocked with various packs of cards as well as several glass cases filled with individual cards.

Melissa would almost immediately recognize some of these cards as being nearly identical to ones used in the game where she came from. In fact she might even find some cards she used herself in the cases.

She would also notice quite quickly that many of the cards seemed rather weak. She couldn't find many cards that seemed to be particularly powerful compared to what she knew and cards that would usually be considered "staples" in decks were few and far between, many of them only having one copy being sold and several being quite highly priced.

The more they looked at the cards, as well, the more they could feel as if someone was staring at them.

Well This Is Awkward

As Trevor got closer to the Arena he would begin to feel like he was being watched. Mirroring, though he wouldn't know it, how the others in his group felt at the moment. He also would notice that there weren't that many people around the Arena. He would soon find out why. As he got closer he could see a holographic sign across the front of the building with red text reading"ARENA TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE". Meaning that he would not be able to go in as he had before.

This, however, would be the least of his worries. As soon as he was able to see and acknowledge this something else caught his attention. A glint up in the air as a rain of knives fell from the sky heading right for him.

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It was an ominous and foreboding feeling...the feeling of being watched. He had experienced in his life, sure...especially during his adventures within the Ever, those Undecided always did have a funny way of just appearing out of nowhere. Nevertheless, he kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings for the time being as he made his way to the Arena. However, once he arrived there, he would simply be met with a holographic sign...

ARENA TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE

"Hmmm, well that's troublesome..." Trevor sighed, seeing the grimoire rising up next to him. "Our third trip to this location and suddenly it's needing maintenance."

Quite a mystery. Mayhaps what miss Nabudis said about Mauvache just simply knowing may be the case?

"It's a thought...but one that we don't know for sure." he shrugged slightly, preparing to turn immediately on his heel, but he froze. Something caught his eye, something glistening in the sunlight. It was a rainstorm...of...knives. "What in the...?" Trevor clicked his tongue slightly, immediately casting Aerora as a quick wind swept around him and immediately defended him against quite a few of the knives. "And here I was afraid to not get a workout in." he muttered, immediately backing away from his original standing spot.

Unfortunately, more knives continued to fall...more accurately, directly at him. Trevor began to grit his teeth somewhat, before having an idea. "Well...I had been wanting to test this one out specifically...MAGNET!" He shouted and threw his hand to the side as a small set of constantly rotating orbs of magic appeared directly to his right and with it, the knives began to gravitate direction towards it. "Perfect! It works like a charm...now, if I were the source of this knife-storm...where would I be?" Trevor began to immediately survey his surroundings.

At first he didn't see anything, then he would hear something above. If he looked, which he obviously did, there would be a woman dropping down towards him from the sky. She seemed to be jumping from small round objects that appear right before she landed on them. Each time she landed she'd kick off, they'd break, and she'd land on another a bit further down.

The young sorcerer raised an eyebrow, seeing this woman approaching him in quite the flashy display. It was obvious she was a potential user of magic, so this would be interesting. "Impressive trick you've displayed..." Trevor spoke, still staying on the defensive. "I suppose an introduction is in order...miss...?"

"Oh, don't you know me? No why would you, we've never met. Isn't that funny? Because for some reason." She jumped from the next disk, vaulting overhead and twirling. "Looking at you makes me kind of upset, like you did something really, really, mean to me in a past life." Before landing a few more knives suddenly appeared in front of her and were shot towards Trevor.

"Magnet!" Trevor cast the spell right in the area between him and this mystery woman, attempting to halt the knives. "Perhaps a case of mistaken identity?" he asked, walking away from the Magnet area to look at the woman. "Nevertheless, I suppose I'll introduce myself then. Trevor Masters, apprentice to Balthazar B-..."

"Lacie! That's my name! Almost forgot it! But I don't remember the last name right now, maybe it's time to change it again." She tapped a finger to her chin. "Hm. What was I doing...Oh!" More knives, quite charming.

Trevor frowned at being interrupted like that, but the name was now out there: Lacie. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly ring a bell... "Well, miss Lacie, whatever you believe me to have done, I can assure you I haven't." he said, nonchalantly firing off a Fira spell to stop the next wave of knives.

"Oh, I know. I'm already past that part. I'm just greeting you. What's the saying...'knives to meet you'!" She then began to cackle.

"Charming." Trevor sighed. "With the knives present like this, my dear, I feel like you may be trying to end my life. This seems all so sudden...I hardly know you." he said with a sly smirk, as he tipped his hat. "You could at least buy me a drink first."

"Well I WAS trying to, but now I'm not! Oh, I've got tea!" She then is holding a cup, and a teapot, and began to pour some liquid into the cup.

What even was she? Trevor had to ponder this. Never before, at least not in his recollection, had he ever met a woman of this caliber to the point where she seemed...almost absent minded. Ditzy even, but then again, it was rude to even make such a judgment call on that. "Well then." he said, remaining defensive, but was somewhat more relaxed about the situation. "So pray tell, my dear, why attempt to attack me...meet me...whatever you wish to call this?"

"I told you didn't I? I wasn't lying, I'm a lot of things but not a liar!" She takes a sip of the tea, then seemed to remember something. "Oh yeah you wanted some didn't you?" She offered the cup. "I still feel kind of mad when I look at you, but the best people are a little mad I always say."

Trevor snapped his fingers and had the cup float his direction, taking it in his hand. "My apologies, never once intended to insinuate you as a 'liar'. But perhaps, like I mentioned earlier, it's a case of mistaken identity. I seem to resemble someone you've met, perhaps"

"Nope! I remember all the faces I've seen, especially mine!" She held up a mirror and gasped, "wait, I'm gorgeous!"

Trevor blinked a few times, seeing the Cabanomicon rising up once more and writing the following for him to see: Seems you attract all the loons, Masters. He sighed and closed the book. "Thank you for your riveting insight, my leatherbound friend. Not exactly helping." he muttered.

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