[b][u][i]Illiad City Arcanum[/i][/u][/b]

Vell was the first to speak, and boy did her words cut like a knife. Not that Helena minded though, simply scratching the back of her head with her free hand and giving a quick chuckle, sticking her tongue out as she gave off a goofy smile. She was right though, she and Dahlia were the only ones that were professionals at this, it was pretty risky to give rookies the chance to come into this and potentially screw things up for them. But Helena was a girl of fair chances, and she didn't pick the people she did in jest. For instance...

"And to top it all off, if there's one thing I'm good at, ...It's puttin' on a show~" the show woman said with a confident grin.

That confidence, that capability of putting on a good show, is precisely why Helena picked her for this band.

She then heard Dahlia's snarky comment before mentioning about outfits.

"[color=green]No need to worry about that, Dahl. You look great as you are![/color]" She said, going in for a hug to Dahlia, oddly keeping herself like this for an awkward few seconds as her head was to the left of Dahlia's. The very perceptive may notice Helena's lips making tiny movements as she did - enough movement to surmise speech, but not enough to be intelligible enough to read. After those seconds were up, she pulled away and gave Dahlia a big energetic smile of confidence, as if assuring her that everything's going to be alright. She then turned to the green-haired saxophone-playing Seth, smiling back at at his wit. This one was brought into the band at nearing last minute but did so at Helena's request. Helena only barely dabbled in the particularly darker arts of the school, so she barely knew this Necromancer. It was by sheer circumstance and coincidence she happened to stumble across him playing on his saxophone and, without much word, essentially pulled him into this...to the dismay of other band members for more reasons than one.

[color=85cb2f]”Now then, do we have all our band mates here? Or do I need to conjure up a few substitutes.”[/color]

"[color=green]Nah, I think we have more than enough people here for this. Although the thought of purposely leaving out a few and propping up zombies as they're needed's a tempting thought... it'd make for a good spectacle.[/color]"

"HEY!" Almost all of them said in unison, leading to a rather mischievous chuckle on Helena's part.

"[color=green]I'm just kidding around, guys. Hehehe... Oh, and Seth, remember what we practiced, start us off small solo, then wait for the right openings, and as soon as you see one, don't hesitate, just go for it![/color]" Helena said putting her hands up towards the other band members who took offense to her idea, before looking over to Seth again and fist-pumping at "just go for it" for emphasis.

The song they chose to play wasn't originally designed with a Saxophone in mind, nor was it rehearsed with one in mind until Seth came along. This, of course, was the main reason for the band's dismay on the matter. However, Helena saw the potential Seth had when she heard him play, and saw how it could work with the song at hand. It's like adding a secret ingredient to a pre-made recipe: Unnecessary, experimental, and potentially dangerous to the recipe, but has the potential to make it even better if it works. She personally trained with Seth during the last few days before the competition in order to look for the precise timing of when they could throw in is saxophone, considering when the saxophone would best be heard in the song, and when it could compliment, not contrast, with the music being played. She must have played this song hundreds of times in the past 72 hours to pinpoint the openings, and when she finally found those openings and did one last rehearsal, it was...sublime.

As she walked over towards the Ishtar stage, she spotted the Marduk folk on the other side, clearly setting things up.

"[color=green]We got some interesting competition...Well, well, well, Looks like Big Bro's in this too. I thought Jake said Willie was home-schooled?[/color]"

"The Head-Bitch probably forced him to come here or something, desperate times and all that."

"[color=green]Or maybe he's come here by his own choice, I suppose it could happen. Could make things a touch annoying though. Who else do we got here...? A few ladies... Huh, didn't take Willie to be ladies' man type.[/color]"

"Focus, Helena!"

"I don't like the looks of those guys one bit...A bunch of schemers, the whole lot of them."

"[color=green]Hey, Pot, need a megaphone? I don't think Kettle can hear you calling it black from here. ...They're pressured to win this as much as we are and worse still is that they got a headmistress who'd probably punish them brutally if they fail, even when it's something like this. They got a lot riding on this, and who knows what else that crazy lady'll make em lose on top of that if they fail here. No doubt they've been forced to play some shady cards just as we're ordered to, that's how important things are right now...[/color]" Helena said. Perfectly timed after saying that, as if on cue, one of the Marduk's students created balls of super-heated Magnesium, causing the crowd to cheer in excitement.

"[color=green]Hot damn... We got a fight on our hands after all.[/color]" Alice said with a smile, putting on sunglasses as she stared at the magnesium orbs. 

"Great, so [i]we[/i] can't cheat, but they can bring out those fucking things to cheat Us!?"

"[color=green]I wouldn't go so far as to call that cheating, not yet anyways... They're just bringing in some visual effects to get the crowd jumping, not too different to what Vell's been wanting to do, though if shiny balls of light's all they can do, I think you got this in the bag, Vell.[/color]" Helena said as she continued to look at what's going on behind the curtain, pointing at Vell and giving her a thumbs up before popping her head out the curtains and looking at her band mates again, some of them clearly worried over what Marduk could pull. With a sigh, she hopped over to them.

"[color=green]Don't worry mates, I got your back. I want this to be fair to us as much as it is to them. I've already have ideas of how to make sure of that.[/color]" Helena told them with a wink in her eyes, sparkling with a starry confidence. With that she walked down to a platform beneath the stage, upon which were most of their instruments that they didn't have on hand themselves. Hopping on it and unstrapping her own instrument from her back, wrapped in tape like a mummy before a simple pull from Helena explosively unwrapped it, revealing a rather... sinister-looking guitar.

[hider=This was Nursery Rhyme, Helena's signature, her partner in crime.][img]https://www.dhresource.com/600x600/f2/albu/g9/M01/09/67/rBVaVVyCZXGANr8QAAhoYPMljeM608.jpg[/img][/hider]

Not a concert with Helena where you don't see her with this in hand; it was her pride and joy...and the blade on it was real and sharpened, making it also her weapon of choice. With a throw of the tape, she wrapped it around her neck as a strap, holding the tail with one hand, and from her sleeve pulling out a thin amethyst jewel in the shape of a rounded arrow head with her other hand, raising it up to the sky.

"[color=green]Now get up here, and LET'S ROCK THIS JOINT![/color]" She said, a big grin on her face as her slit eye gleamed with a purple.

As soon as the rest of the band got up to the platform with her, and got their instruments ready, she stomped a button on the floor, raising the platform that they were on, the circular door on the ceiling above opening up to the stage outside as fog smoke from fog makers could be seen creeping in.

[hr]

Jacob simply continued to stare out towards the stadium from the curtain as the band took their position underneath their stage. as he waited for the event to get started. More accurately, he stared towards the Marduk side of the stadium on the opposite end, at his brother as he and his 'friends' - though he hesitates to call them that - prepared themselves for this battle of the bands. For a time, he never knew William to be a musically-inclined individual, far as he knew no one else in his family was, and even Gilgamesha was a musician she certainly wasn't the type to teach it to them as things stand. Maybe he learned from his Aunt? ...Or maybe he's not here to actually play and just be a magical aid to the actual band members, seeing as instead of an instrument he seems to bring out a [i]sword[/i]. 

"[color=blue]Oh dear...[/color]" was all he could say with a sigh. He hasn't seen much of his brother since their departure, but he does remember his brother's magic, and recognizes the sword he made that was now in his hands, and by that sword, he could predict rather easily what he intends to do with it. In all honesty, it wasn't the fact that William's endangering Jake's classmates by attempting to use that ability that worries him, nor is it the possibility of him or his friends actually defeating Ishtar's band. No, what [i]really[/i] worries him is the fact that he's having that sword revealed and to be used in the middle of an entire crowd of people, particularly in front of every Ishtar Student watching him as well. Sure, Helena and her group probably have no idea what that sword is or what it could do, but Ishtar students will always try to spot an advantage and exploit it, and so revealing a hand too early could spell doom for a Marduk student in the long run.

For Example...

"I'm going to the bathroom."

Jacob couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. To say that out of the blue when there was barely anyone else with them and going to a public restroom that has more than one space, and it's not as if anyone waiting for either of them, considering this current event has nothing to do with them. To top it off, he shuts the door but doesn't factor in the fact that the flash of light he used would slip through the cracks of the door. Alto may have been an honor student, but it's clear he's still an amateur in Jake's mind when it comes to Espionage.

He turned over to a girl standing next to him.

"[color=blue]If anyone asks, I went to the bathroom... and will likely be in there for a while.[/color]" He said to her. Without waiting for a response from her he decided to walk over and open the door to the bathroom as well, taking a look inside.

[hr]

The cheer of the crowd was deafening as a giant hologram of a Bard popped out of the center and the Marduk band came out ready to go. The Bard in question was essentially a giant humanoid light armor and silk pants over coats of warm colors and a light-green cloak over all of that as it floated in the middle of the arena with a small harp in one hand, as if waiting for the music to start playing.

Up in the sky box, Alfred Crowley fixed up his hair, getting ready for the cameras that would be turning on and showing him and Madame on the TV screen. As soon as the signal was shown to him that they were live, and broke up his professional ivory-white smile towards the camera.

"And we're back my lovely viewers as the Orpheus duel is about ready to take place, and boy do we have a treat for you today. Coming up as Ishtar's representatives for this Write competition are the world-famous Rock and classical stars, Helena Blackgram and Dahlia Sangrey, alongside a band they hand-picked themselves." Alfred said, with a smile to the camera.

"Dahlia AND Helena in the same band? Holy [Censor], Ishtar's not [censor]-ing around! Just one of those two idols could probably hold their own in something like this, and Headmaster Nergal managed to get [i]both[/i] of them in the same band? Those Marduk kids are [CENSORED]!"

"Err... Yes... well... [i]-Ahem-[/i] I wouldn't count out the Marduk band just yet, it seems they're showing off they got style of their own from the flares one of them just summoned up." Alfred said in response of Madame's clearly biased view as they viewed the Magnesium orbs Nika threw out. He then looked back towards the Camera.

"Now, let's discuss the rules of this game for those at home. The Orpheus Duel is a battle of musical bands playing simultaneously against each other with the quality of their music and the style of the band itself being judged the giant hologram of Orpheus the Bard. The music is heard by Orpheus, who transfers the sound waves into the harp he then plays, which then is transferred into a magical spectacle of visual art. The two songs are filtered out and divided but the visual art of the music is a combined moving picture that keeps going as the songs continue. If there's any screw-ups, or if one song is being heard louder and with more quality on the opposing side, it will be shown as visual distortions in the imagery. The object of the game is to keep the songs going and of consistent quality as possible. The two groups can make their own music louder and sharper using their magic, but they are not to directly effect the players on the opposite sides. No poison, no harm, and certainly no deaths, and any attempts to attack or manipulate Orpheus himself will lead to disqualification. Orpheus will then judge the music and the one with the most consistent show of musical prowess wins." Alfred explains to the audience at home, the screen showing cartoon examples of how it works as he explains it. As soon as it cuts back to Alfred however...

"Oi, Al. Looks like the stars are finally about to come on stage." Madame said. As if on cue, the Ishtar stage was getting filled with fog from dry ice, as the fog machines activated. Even from above in the skybox, the fog prevented the floor of the Ishtar stage from being seen and so it wasn't noticed when that floor opened up, and raised the Ishtar Band on the platform they placed themselves on. Helena was stuck in position with a pick raised above her head, and as soon as they were seen, the crowd roared as loud as a giant thunder, cheering on both teams.

Helena took a deep breath, giving a large happy smile, and opened her eyes. One of them, her right eye, glowing a deep violet, the same color as the aura of mana around her pick. Throwing the pick down at the cords of her axe-shaped guitar, A loud sound of the guitar's chord could be heard and a shockwave of purple energy exploded outward. Nothing so violent that it could throw even the people close to her off the ground, rather, it would feel like a sudden breeze blowing over everyone in the arena, over as soon as it began, but the only thing it seemed to do was give a rush of more energy towards anyone who felt it, the band of Marduk included. With one note, she got the audience pumped all over again. The sound was detected by Orpheus, who pulled a string on his harp creating a purple cloud momentarily that faded just as soon as it showed up. As if it was a test demonstrating how Orpheus worked.

It's pretty clear what this was to anyone who was the competitive type: An intimidation tactic, she was showing off her magic to show the Marduk band what exactly they were up against, smirking at them with a confident look upon her face. Helena's magical abilities were all about her music, as she could merge her magic into every note she makes.

This was her magic: [color=green][i]Symphonic Enchantment[/i][/color], otherwise known as "Siren Magic"

They probably thought she was doing this to make them run away before the competition began. Not too far from the truth; she really wanted to see if they did or not, to see if they had the determination to go through with this despite who they were up against, and by extension, see if they're worthy, fun, and entertaining opposition. If they all stood their ground, her smirk would open up, bearing a fang. It was proof enough they had what it took to go face to face with them, and that's all Helena needed to be satisfied, it was all she needed to know that this was going to be good enough for both bands, for both schools, to rock this joint! She then slowly walked over to the Microphone as the note she played still echoed across the stadium before slowly fading, as did the cheering.

"[color=green]Hello Iliad![/color]" She gleefully said, in an instant, the cheers roared once more before fading again. 

"[color=green]I think it's time for a little story to start these games off... It's definitely story time![/color]" she said in a almost comically low pitch, as if a child was trying to sound mysterious. Even so, it was enough to make them start cheering yet again. With a turn of her head to her band, she gave them a quick nod, the cue for the show to begin, and for everyone in Ishtar's band to do what they did best.

[hider=And so it began...][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvkYwOJZONU[/youtube][/hider]

As the Ishtar band slowly began their song, Orpheus began his own work of visualizing the melody in play. A purple cloud formed above the Ishtar side of the stadium as Orpheus plays his soundless harp to generate the cloud. As soon as the melody began to intensify, the cloud took the shape of a giant book, opening up and exploding out multi-colored lights like stars in a night sky. This giant book, evidently, a storybook, is the foundation upon which the imagery by everyone's music springs from.

Helena's guitar, in particular, made a flock of tiny humanoid-shaped lights, glowing as purple as their moth-like wings, flying about Ishtar's half of the stadium like a flock of butterflies flying about.

[hr]

As the Orpheus Duel began, a security guard standing on the catwalk of the stadium's open roof, just above the top most audience bleachers in the back, spectated the events happening before his eyes as the two magical bands began their songs. He seemed like an odd one to be sure, his shoulder-length turquoise hair all budded up and hidden beneath a security cap, hazel eyes darkened by the shade of said cap, the metallic black plating on his left hand - of course, that could just be a prosthetic hand.

As he placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it up, he listened to the static on his walkie-talkie and stared towards the magical spectacle happening at the stadium's center.

"We're in position, boss!" a voice said from the miniature radio which he then grabbed a hold of.

"[color=turquoise]Wait for the Bishop's signal. Bishop, commence on my mark.[/color]" The guard said into it. He then release the button he was holding on the radio and it became a blurred static once more. After which, he leaned on the railing, continuing to smoke his cigarette as he watches the show.