[center][h3][color=C2B280]Fleo Plector – Stands[/color][/h3]
[@Hatakekuro][@Joshua Tamashii][@Amaya Tamashii][/center]

After the bizarre ending to the last battle, Fleo was looking forward to an edge-of-your-seat melee.  Out of the two competitors, once they were introduced, she felt strangely sympathetic to the middle-aged man.  In a sea of young, spunky wizards with flashy powers and fancy tricks, there was a single more or less normal guy, seemingly unwilling to take the competition too seriously.  Plus, from the moment that the whale-man 'Salvoy' appeared, it was clear that the two shared a unique friendship.  Against their fire-spitting opponent, Fleo guessed, they'd have to leverage every ounce of strength and every inch of teamwork.  Pyrrha, if anything, looked to be taking this match a little too seriously, as if she was making up for Nash.

Still, Fleo winced when she took a rising blow from the World.  Being on the receiving end of such a blow would not have been fun.  Honestly, if she were in Pyrrha's shoes, Fleo expect that she might have been downed in one hit.  She laughed out loud to see the sailor and his friend posing.  Before the dusty woman's eyes, the Flames of Emotion wizard inflicted a cruel blow to the whale's forehead.  From everything she knew about anatomy, Fleo would have thought that such a brutal attack would have killed Salvoy, but the World dusted it off with a quip and the fight continued.

In the crowd's anticipatory lull, waiting for the next hit, Fleo heard approaching footsteps.  She turned to see Nolan approaching, and was about to say 'hi' when she spotted the airborne feline behind him.  For a moment, Fleo froze, magenta eyes wide open.  Then a smile broke out on her face as she leaped from her seat toward the aisle in childlike joy.  As she lunged, she could see Dalton reacting in some way, but his sunglasses made it difficult to tell if he was scared or just surprised.  Regardless, Fleo didn't quite make it all the way.  She tripped over Joshua's feet, who was sitting between her and the aisle, and fell face-first onto the ground.  [color=C2B280]”Oops!  Sorry!”[/color]  Using miniature blasts of dust to help her up, Fleo regained her feet, turning back to Joshua and Amaya to apologize.  [color=C2B280]”Sorry 'bout that!  But isn't he just the cutest thing!”[/color]  Before either Nolan or Dalton could stop her, she had squeezed the purple cat in a delighted hug.  [color=C2B280]”Hahaha!  I've never seen an Exceed before!  Heard about them sure, but I never thought they'd be this adorable!  I had forgotten that all Slayers have an Exceed!  Guess these means you're legit now, Nolan!”[/color]

[center][h3][color=E0115F]Zander Louvier – the Stands[/color][/h3][/center]

The sight of the Tough Love member brandishing a special Tarot card sparked a hint of wonder in Zander's mind.  [i]Is that what I think it is?[/i]  When the card resolved itself to be, in fact, the World, the Ruby Knight was floored.  Until now, he had thought that Mystic Beats were both rarities and mysteries.  From how Ludo behaved, one could be easily forgiven for thinking so, Zander thought.  And yet, here was another Mystic Beast, not only alive and fighting but partnered with a human, and an unimpressive one at that.

So lost was he in thought that he didn't notice a shadow passing overhead.  It took the [i]thump[/i] of a landing and the gasps of nearby soldiers to alert him to the arrival of a familiar presence.  Turning to look, he nearly jumped to see none other that Ludo the Hermit himself standing next to him, spearbutt planted on the ground as its wielder waited expectantly.  [color=E0115F]”Ludo!”[/color]  Zander said, surprised and completely taken aback.  Frenzy Plant's honorary S-class almost never showed up unless a situation was of dire importance, and in a place with this many people, an antisocial owl was a fish out of water.  [i]What a strange metaphor...[/i] Zander thought, before Ludo began to speak in a gruff voice.

“Yes, hello.  I need to talk to you, Sanders, or both.  Not here, too many people.  There's a situation.  Seven of my brothers and sisters are here in Crocus alone.  Send a flare up or something when you're ready.  Toodles.”

With that, the Hermit flapped off, leaving Zander, not to mention everyone around him, full of questions.  He knew one thing, however, as he resumed spectating the fight: if by brothers and sisters Ludo had meant Mystic Beasts, then something was wrong.  The Ruby Knight fidgeted, looking left and right frequently, unable to shake the feeling he was being watched by monsters.

[center][h3][i]X[/i][/h3]
[@Burthstone][/center]

The behatted woman gave a bright laugh.  Clearly, she fostered a confident attitude, and didn't seem too entirely serious.  That wasn't to say, however, that she wasn't at all genuine.  “Fancy that.  I was just feeling a bit peckish myself.  Fortunately I'm not a first-timer here, so I can find a place we might be able to grab something to eat.  Don't worry about any of that Dark Guild nonsense.  If I'm not afraid of you, you've got nothing to worry about.”

Stacy was then distracted by the display now occurring in the arena.  She watched as Salvoy appeared and began to battle, fighting as one-dimensionally and comically as one might expect of an enormous humanoid whale.  “Aw, he's such a big goof, that one,” she said knowingly.  “He's not going to win this, though.  For his kind, having a partner is having a weakness, one that he's got to watch over and protect at all times.”  She readjusted her glasses to keep them from slipping down her nose.  It was a warm day, and with thousands of people giving off body heat, she probably wasn't the only one perspiring.  “It's getting to be a little stifling in here,” she told Mark.  “What do you say you buy me lunch instead of dinner?  Couldn't hurt to head out now, with this being the last match and all.”  She began to stand up, taking his agreement for granted.  An idea popped into her head, however, and she rolled her eyes before turning to him and reaching out a hand.  “I totally forgot.  My name is Stacy Lockheart,” she said.  “My friends sometimes call me 'Wheel of Fortune'.  You?”

[center][h3][color=D8BFD8]Nero the Genie – the Stands[/color][/h3][@Invisible Man][/center]

For a little while, Nero was terrified.  Along with having no idea how much -if any- of what he was saying was getting through, he knew that something might have gone horrible wrong with his Law of Manifestation.  Even if he hadn't felt it, pulling emotions out of people caused acute sensations.  What they were and how strong depended on the trait and how deeply-rooted it was; judging by Eve's current state, her sadness might have gone so deep that pulling it out was killing her.  The thought made Nero both angry and despairing.  Why was she so weak and confused?  And why was it his problem?  Dark mages didn't help people after all, not like this.  Why was he doing this in the first place, meddling with things he did not understand?

Those thoughts evaporated like morning dew, however, when Eve burst into tears.  At first, the genie was appalled.  Had he taken the wrong trait?  It wasn't possible, he decided.  But then how was she crying, unless...?  Nero's agitated mind began to calm down.  These weren't tears of sadness.  They were, Horned One bless, the exact opposite.  Nero felt sure of it when he felt Eve squeeze back.  Maybe she didn't have everything figured out yet, but she was going to be okay.  A million words came to his mind, but it was obvious that the necromancer didn't need them right now.  Instead, Nero just continued to hold her, thinking that for once in his life he'd finally done something right.  That thought brought a smile to his face, truer than any he had made before.  [i]If I've actually helped this girl, then this is the kind of miracle that genies are meant to work,[/i] he decided.