[center][img]https://images2.imgbox.com/a8/b5/xHNz9NyO_o.png[/img][/center] [hr] It was not an easy competition. There were scarce few with the magical skill necessary to oppose her and fewer still with any semblance of competence. That still meant that there were some that had both, a troublesome event it was. Their pick for this leg of the race was largely irrelevant. Thankfully they were no obstacle for her, largely cooperating for the most part instead of trying to act of their own free will and inviting more trouble. She went alone for there was no need for any security in numbers. She would never have held onto a melon of any importance for any length of time in which other mages could interfere significantly. Early on she secured the fire melon. From there she continued to hunt, her path eventually intersecting with the blind one and the timewalker. She gave them a scare, her real purpose being to secretly mark their melon for extraction later while they were distracted by her attempt at theft. With that done she left after their escape, returning to base. During that time the supreme melon had been triggered. With Jocasta's aid she dropped down through a portal to aid Carmillia in her escape. In the chaos the melon exchanged many hands before ending up back in hers wherein then she was portalled out with surgical timing. With that she remained at base, shoring up their melon defenses for the final hour. As anticipated others began to arrive and make attempts to breach their base, all rebuffed. Jocasta's influence seemed to wane a bit which resulted in Trypano taking on a bit of the workload but when the attackers were puppets it was off little concern. Even peasants with clubs would pose more danger to her than these lifeless husks, her magic bending their matter with little more than a whim. Then a visitor showed up. _ Climbing up the stairs she already knew who had turned up in their reading room. It was The Ice King, the enigmatic figure who brought the temperature down across the whole building. His presence weighed heavy, the sheer amount of magic emanating from him strong enough to make lesser mages ill. She was strong but it still weighed upon her no less. She was a professional however. If it brought her any discomfort it was not shown as she approached and... Set up some chairs. There was no sense in beating her head against a wall of RAS that large. Better to reason with him she figured than to strike up aggression right away. [color=crimson]"Ah, The Ice King, I see you've decided to come and visit. Would this be in regards to this game of fruit or perhaps a simple invitation to chat?"[/color] With that she offered him a seat. The Ice King took a seat across from Trypano, flipping the chair around backwards and settling onto it. He did not take his eyes off of her even as Benedetto came streaking inn through the window, brimming with force and fury. In fact, he waited a full second before turning his head ever so slightly and nodding at the new arrival. [b]"Where are you little Jojo!"[/b] the Revidian hollered. [b]"You can't run!"[/b] he taunted. [b]"Haha! Literally. Time for your beating!"[/b] He stood on the spot, roiling with atomic energy and a pugnacious attitude. He narrowed his eyes in the Ice King's direction and scowled. Trypano, seated nearby, broke the burgeoning silence. [b]"Oh, hello Benedetto."[/b] She gave a small wave to yet another intruder. [color=crimson]"Ice King, this is Benedetto. Benedetto, this here is Ice King. I hear he comes from very far south."[/color] It was then that Jocasta appeared among them, out of thin air, chin resting just above her chest. She raised her head. [b]"Ciano,"[/b] she acknowledged, nodding in Benedetto's direction. [b]"Ice King. How nice of you both to visit."[/b] She began drawing, and it was a truly massive amount of energy. [b]"You won't think so once I'm done with you,"[/b] Benedetto replied with real venom. [b]"I'm gonna break your legs."[/b] As Jocasta manifested Trypano offered a courteous bowing of the head. [color=crimson]"Ah, Jocasta. I've been entertaining some new guests."[/color] She greeted her. [color=crimson]"I suppose we don't have coffee brewing?"[/color] She then turned to the Ice King [color=crimson]"I gather you'd probably want yours with ice shavings?"[/color] With that, a triangle was formed, with Trypano seated in the center. [b]"Trypano, my good friend,"[/b] said Jocasta, [b]"perhaps you should go see to the coffee for our guests. I have a feeling that our friend Benedict might be quite worn out by the end of our proceedings today."[/b] The late afternoon sun blazed through the broken window, sharpened shards of glass glimmering about the floor. For an immense moment, the four of them stood or sat there, eyes and sixth senses alike darting from one to the other. [color=crimson]"Of course."[/color] She gives another courteous bow to Jocasta as she stands. As she leaves the room she gives Benedetto a light pat of encouragement on the shoulder. [color=crimson]"Don't tire yourself out now~"[/color] She winks, heading downstairs. Little does he realize (She hopes) she placed her experimental Curse of The Serpent on him, one that would grow longer the more energy gets drawn. The receiver? None other than Jocasta. Then, all at once, Benedetto launched himself at Jocasta like a thunderbolt, closing the distance in a fraction of a second. She saw it coming, drawing ever more from, slowing him, and effortlessly floating to the side. All that he cause was her trailing skirts. [b]"Seems a lot like use of deadly force, Benedict,"[/b] she observed. But that energy of his went to good use. If he wouldn't hold back, then neither would she. Her Chemical attack slammed into his brain, but Benedetto was already anticipating it, countering its effects. She was predictable. He was not. The Ice King sat on his chair, gaze darting back and forth between the combatants. His tongue flicked out for a moment, wetting his lips, but the only thing that moved was his eyes. Benedetto brushed off Jocasta's attack and attempted to grab her ankles in a kinetic grasp and slam her into the floor. Trypano moves back over to the Ice King. [color=crimson]"Seems like somebody can't keep their cool."[/color] Jocasta saw it coming. Of course he would go for her legs. Her disability was always cruel sport for his taunts. Why would it be any different for his attacks? Instead, she tried something sneaky. Seizing the fabric of spacetime, she rushed up and grabbed him, and both of them disappeared. _ With both of them disappeared she simply accepted that with her boon Jocasta probably had this in the bag so she went downstairs to put some coffee on. The Ice King rose in one smooth motion. While Trypano had attempted to make conversation with him, he had been statuelike the entire time. Now he stood and stretched. He yawned and rolled his neck, going from automaton to human, and walked down the stairs. [b]"Your melons,"[/b] he said simply. [b]"Hand them over."[/b] Having entered the building during the confusion Zarina heard that, just looked around, recognized any potential threats and went about her intended business. [color=C78A2C]"Well, you heard the man, Melon time."[/color] she clapped her hands together and shot a grin toward Yuliya, [color=C78A2C]"Does the little shit sniff anything particularly yummy?"[/color] The cold intensified, spreading to every room available and out onto the street with crackling veins of ice. The Ice King's smile grew along with it, taking in the people on the lower floor. Justice. It echoed through his mind, such as it was. [b]"You heard the woman.... Unless you would like to fight for them."[/b] His head tilted to one side. His teeth seemed, for a moment, far too many and impossibly small and sharp. [color=crimson]"Ah, still sour over that one melon you tried to steal from Carmillia?"[/color] Trypano commented, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. [color=crimson]"If you want that one, go ahead. The one we got away with wasn't really the supreme melon."[/color] Yuli smiled back as she felt the cold roll in and the ice kings voice boom through the house. Oh, how sweet it was. The darkness of the home, the familiar cold of her country, and the supreme melon within reach. Through the suffering of the day, she was finally able to kick loose. [color=pink]"Go, Kalyna. Sniff it out."[/color] She spoke softly to the fat raspberry in her bag, before setting her down and turning to the rest of the people in the home. Oh, how she was itching for them to refuse.. [color=pink]"Sour? Nah, the score's been settled."[/color] she paid close attention to Kalyna's reactions and movements, [color=pink]"Although it was interesting to see that your friend didn't activate the beacon when touching it!"[/color] she exclaimed with light enthusiasm, [color=pink]"How did she do that?"[/color] [color=crimson]"Actually."[/color] Trypano was putting the finishing touches on the coffee, using binding to create marshmallows sweetened with spratz instead of sugar. [color=crimson]"It did go off. When they found the melon they destroyed it. The melons you were all chasing were fakes."[/color] She came out into the main room with a plate, several cups of coffee with spratzmallows floating in them. [color=crimson]"It doesn't take high RAS to outwit someone."[/color] With that she handed a cup over to Yalen and a couple of her Weggosi teammates, bringing one over to the Ice King. [color=crimson]"Care for a cup?"[/color] While Trypano was delivering a most excellent hero/villain monologue, the energetic little dragons had been hard at work. They showed some interest in the floor, but once again seemed indecisive, as they had back in the Cathedral District a couple of hours earlier. The dragons were inconsistent, confused. They pointed upstairs for a moment. They pointed towards the back of the house or behind it where any number of other melons could've been. They pointed at the floorboards as well. The Ice King looked at them for a moment and disassembled those. The dragons were, in general, anxious and not doing particularly well Beneath the floorboards were a couple of melon grenades, some tens, a couple of hundreds, and three terramelons. Perhaps a minute remained. [color=crimson]"I know where the Firemelon is if you want that one."[/color] Trypano, remarked, pulling some grapes out of the drawer Carmillia left them in. [color=crimson]"It's just a ways out of town. If you rush you might just be able to get back with it. Just"[/color] She took a sip of coffee. Refreshing. [color=C78A2C]"Uh-huh."[/color] Zarina absently responds, her full attention on the melons and the Ice King. Yuli, seeing the smug satisfied look on the face of the woman who had fucked her over ever so slightly in the chase for the supreme, now attempting to distract her dragons from the search, felt her blood rush. She immediately leapt across the room in an attempt to deck the tall woman in the jaw. Trypano simply lets the punch go through. Sinching her jaw, the pain was so mild she didn't even wince. [color=crimson]"... Are you done?"[/color] She sets the grapes down next to the dragon this woman nearly tripped over. [color=crimson]"If it would please you you're free to hit me to your hearts content. It won't win you this competition however."[/color] Her expression was as cool as ever. A face no less icy than the frost on the windows. The Ice King lifted the three terramelons into the air with kinetic magic, a triumphant look upon his face, but something odd took place: not a single one glowed, not in the slightest. [color=crimson]"Did I lie?"[/color] Trypano turns to the Ice King as he observed the lack of Supreme Melons in his grasp. He turns toward her and nods, a small smile creasing his lips. Zarina, paying close attention to the red dragon, immediately marched toward the indicated route whilst the Ice King came to the sad realization that Justice wouldn't be found under the floorboards, [color=C78A2C]"Here."[/color] she called out, turning back to the King and eyeing Yuliya. Yuli breathed, the rage being only slightly softened by the frost that was now creeping in. The nerve of this cocky bitch.. how dare she? No, she didn't care about the rules at this point. A small penalty wouldn't matter if they had the supreme, and that still needed to be resolved. But with the little time she had left, she would teach her a lesson. Turning her own hearing off with her sensemaster abilities, and smiling a most vile fashion, she amplified her kinetic for just a second as she snapped her fingers in the hand she still had close to the woman's head, seeking to knock her out with the sheer force of the sound, or cause as much pain as possible. . It's a move she'd tried in the chase for the watermelon, and she felt confident in it now. Trypano only realized shortly before it happened what the woman was trying to do. In defense she drew apart her own eardrums, letting the force rattle her head to some extent before reforming the tissue back in place. [color=crimson]"Ow."[/color] Trypano used chemistry to apply morphine to the area impacted, a formula soothing the growing headache as she prepared to counter this crazy person's next attack. Yuli was not satisfied with that response. No, she wanted to see this woman groveling on the floor. So, she'd make it happen. Drawing up to capacity, she would attempt to shove Trypano to the floor with her kinetic magic at full force. Instead, Trypano ends up sliding on her feet, landing softly against a bed of spongy Gift of The Frog conjured behind her. [color=crimson]"I hope after the tournament is over you'll stop before the Zeno's come by for inspection."[/color] Meanwhile, Zarina was rushing for the back door, the Ice King teleporting before her. Her dragons strained at their leashes. [b]"Justice"[/b] he growled. Carmillia stepped onto the lawn, along with Dante. The former held a single terramelon in her hands, smiling beatifically. Then, the Ice King was there. He placed his hands around the melon. [b]"Justice,"[/b] he said In the distance was Silas. [color=7B68EE]"It's her!"[/color] he shouted. [color=7B68EE]"She has the supreme!"[/color] Zarina, panicked, dashed toward the voice that called out, [color=C78A2C]"Justice!"[/color] she huffed! The Tall, frosty figure looked Silas' way. He nodded. He looked Zarina's way, meeting her eyes. He nodded. [b]"Strength alone does not win this game."[/b] He took the melon from her hands. There was nothing that she could realistically do. He stood there as the bells began to chime. Zarina simply nodded. She understood. [color=C78A2C]"If that is what you see as just."[/color] she approached the King and then flashed a wink at Carmillia, [color=C78A2C]"Good game."[/color] Then, she struck a quick, dramatic pose, [color=C78A2C]"Justice!"[/color] Yuliya breathed once more. She wanted more.. but a moment of clarity struck her as the bells begun to chime. She realized she was in front of others. She returned her hearing, and let out an awkward but obviously bitter laugh, attempting to brush off the previously violent interaction. She shouted in response to Zazzy from the lawn. [color=pink]"Justice."[/color] Trypano walks out onto the lawn, small bruise on her cheek and a cup of coffee in her hands. [color=crimson]"Care to stay for a cup?"[/color] She wore the rare small smile. Was her smile out of genuine appreciation for them to be able to have a civil and honest tournament amidst all this skullduggery? Perhaps. Or perhaps it was simply due to her being impressed with Carmillia's proactiveness, going out and retrieving the ultimate herself instead of waiting on Jocasta to portal it home. Speaking of Jocasta, it was quite odd that she hadn't returned before the bell's chime. Had she been too confident in her ability to outplay Benedetto? [hr] - Directly involved: [@Force and Fury],[@YummyYummy],[@Suicharte],[@Tackytaff].