miracleweaponhunt

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 42: Round 2, Part 2

The remaining players in the second round watched as Roxanne fell defeated. Cassandra clutched Julian's arm with enough intensity to leave a bruise if she kept the pressure up.

"What was that?" Ryland asked, clutching his stomach.

"That has to be illegal, right?" Samuel asked, looking around for anyone to agree with his statement.

"Why would it be?" Luca asked, looking the most relaxed out of anyone there. "She knew what she was getting into."

"I know…but like…Roxanne's not a fighter!"

"Yet she survived two rounds of the fighting tournament." Fiorella added. "Frankly, I think you're underestimating her."

"Besides, we all knew she wasn't winning." Julian shrugged. "If I know her, she went in expecting to lose, but learn just what Cheng is capable of."

"And?" Caoimhe asked.

"Well, I bet it's-"

"Julian Torres and Zee Shijima, please enter the arena." One of Zach's staffers announced through the door.

"-something I'll confirm when Roxanne wakes up."

"Next up, the greasy lord of death, truly committed to looking the bit. Or lazy, but we don't judge!"

Julian stepped into the arena with the bear hobbling behind him, holding a jar of bugs in his hands, still crawling around. There were a few cheers in the arena, but not a lot. Whatever, Cassandra was probably splitting eardrums in the back, and the thought of that was enough.

"And the man voted most attractive in the tournament, the clown of calamity, Zee!"

The crowd exploded with excitement when Zee stepped in, roaring to the heavens when he entered the arena. Next, he started flexing his muscles to the crowd, letting a smile slip as he did so. Not bad, Julian thought.

"Begin!"

Julian shoved his hand into the jar of bugs, crushing several into his hands and shoving the remains onto the bear, slathering them into it's greasy fur. Zee delivered a flying kick to the bear just as it was about to wake up, sending it lifelessly tumbling through the arena. Julian could only put the lid back on the jar and cling to it as Zee picked him up and flung him into the air. The crowd cheered as Julian shut his eyes to brace for impact, only for it to suddenly stop. Julian fell to the floor, forcing his eye open. The jar was fine outside of a small crack nothing could escape from. He stood up to watch Zee get himself up, pointing to the audience before beginning to run to Julian, before the bear appeared to grapple him. Julian tucked the jar under his hoodie, climbing to the top of the bear. Julian quickly took a handful of beetles out of his jar, throwing them onto Zee. Zee tried his best not to look disgusted, but he recoiled just a little bit. Julian jumped off the back immediately, taking the opportunity to slather the bear's right arm in more dead bug juice, issuing one more command to strike Zee in the stomach. Zee's stomach seemed to coil around the bears claw for a brief second, just before he was flung near the edge of the arena. With no time to spare, Julian threw one more handful of beetles at Zee, grabbing his head when he was distracted, putting every ounce of strength ever contained in his scrawny arms, and slamming it against the edges of the arena.

"And Zee was the first out of bounds!" The announcer yelled out in shock. "Julian moves on to round three!"

Julian looked towards the crowd waiting for the admiration to pour in, and he had less cheers then when he entered. Whatever. If he wanted admiration of the masses he'd stuck with Luca's band of jackassery.

Julian came back into the waiting room with all eyes on him. Capri and the Battlestorms looked unimpressed, and Samuel looked straight up disgusted. But Fiorella was nodding in approval while Cassandra was beaming, jumping up to kiss him almost as soon as he walked in, which he returned with his own shower of kisses, glancing up to see what Luca thought. He couldn't see Luca through the beautifully tangled mess that was Cassandra's hair, but he knew he was pissed.

The next fight of Samuel vs Luca was called, and both left without saying a word.

"First up, the Maximo's high energy dynamo and martial arts master, please welcome mister Samuel Abara!"

Samuel stepped out to many of his cheering fans, looking out for any particularly attractive women in the crowd. There was one screaming her lungs out, which only got louder when he looked in her direction. But she started looking to the left.

"And the man no needs no introduction, because he asked it to be that way, mister Luca Biere of the Battlestorms!"

Luca stepped onto the stage, blowing kisses seemingly at random to the audience before drawing his swords. No worry. Time to take this loser down a notch.

"Begin!"

One good hit. One good hit to this jackass's arms, and he'd be forced to use his legs. And Samuel had the strongest kicks around. So he began running, stylishly ducking under the first horizontal swing Luca prepared, kicking the sword out of his left hand. He then got out of range by jumping back, doing a backflip with a natural perfect landing. No time to see which girls were impressed by that, time for the next move. Samuel jumped back, kicking the sword out of the arena, causing Luca to flinch for a brief second. Only for him to smile, point his Rapier in Samuel's direction, and put his left hand behind his back. Samuel tried once again to kick the sword out of his hand, but Luca effortlessly swatted his leg away, taking a step to approach him, continuing his precise series of flourishes. He kept stepping forward until Samuel, so focused on defeating his opponent, stepped out of bounds.

"Seems I win again." Was all Luca said, calmly leaving the arena and leaving Samuel to stew in his own rage and mistakes.

"And round four! The lumps golden leader and the Fightston golden boy against the mystery orange haired lady without a home! Ryland Jones against Cassandra Torres!

Cassandra had a mild training axe that probably wouldn't deal any major damage, along with a small training sword, and Ryland was using good old Fightston fists.

"And…begin!"

Cassandra started swinging her axe, which Ryland managed to jump over, closing the distance with a smile followed by a punch to the face. It barely seemed to hurt, however, so Cassandra kept swinging the axe with all she could muster. But Ryland kept weaving through it, punching different parts of her body. The impact felt smaller and smaller each time, until she learned to ignore the hits entirely and land her own. She got a good swing in, flinging him away to near the edge of the arena. But Ryland got up with a smile on his face, and casually snapped his left hand. Cassandra felt something move inside her body. Several points converging on her chest like worms colliding. Whatever, it didn't hurt that much. Cassandra began to run up to Ryland, who snapped his right hand.

The points in her chest exploded at the same time. It felt visceral, she had to stop for a second to make sure there wasn't a hole inside her. There wasn't, just one explosion of pain that her body was already recovering. Ryland let loose a kick to her stomach, causing her to flip through the air and do her best to cling onto the axe as she landed. She managed to keep it, losing no time to run over to Ryland, who leapt up and kicked the axe out of her hands, letting it clang onto the floor. Ryland quickly picked it up and flung it out of the arena, before letting forward an onslaught of punches.

No time to get her sword out, time for hand to hand. Cassandra blocked most of Ryland's hits, with him landing another good kick to her stomach, leaving him to snap both his left and right hands in quick succession, causing all the hits to build up in her right arm. She felt an explosion in her arm, leaving it limp for a quick bit. Cassandra ran away, trying to shake her arm back to life in an attempt to speed up the regeneration. Ryland went in for a punch on Cassandra's right arm, only to back away and land a kick to her left instead. Cassandra managed to stop herself being knocked out of bounds, quickly getting her sword out of her jacket, her arm felt healed. Time to get even.

She leapt into action at once, hitting Ryland with a flurry of hits from her sword. Ryland tried blocking them, but she was matching the speed. Ryland knew what was happening. She was trying the same tactic Luca did to Samuel. he barely ducked out of the way of her next swing, attempting to deliver an uppercut to her, which Cassandra stepped to the left to dodge. Just what he needed. He leapt over her, causing a panicked Cassandra to swing her sword upwards, slashing his leg.

Ryland fell to a heap on the ground. Blood was leaving his right leg and staining his jeans. Wanting to end this fight as quick as she could, she pointed her sword at his face while standing above him, hoping he'd get the message to give up. Ryland inched his face away from the sword, trying to rise back up, but Cassandra offered him one quick headbutt in return, causing him to faceplant to the ground unmoving.

"And Cassandra wins!"

The crowd began cheering as medical staff escorted Ryland away. It was a training sword, but carelessness around weapons is always an issue.

But Ryland gave a smile as he was carried off, mustering the last of the strength to wave to the crowd.

"Next up, Fiorella and Arianna!"

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 41: Round 2: Start

Cassandra and Julian got through their fights with ease. All the heroes involved did. With ease, The Maximos, The Stones, the remaining Battlestorms and Lumps all got through their fights without any issues. Arianna ruthlessly battered her opponent and almost got disqualified, but was accepted into the second round against Fiorella. Gisella, on the other hand, was eliminated by Zee, and Rodrick easily dispatched Gam.

The sixteen remaining players sat in the hotel basement where they signed up, with Gam, Siena, Gavin and Gisella allowed in too. Roxanne expected cameras or interviewers or something, but the room was empty aside from them. On the wooden table was some food and light refreshments. Some alcohol, too. Didn't look cheap, either. Gold flakes on the bottle with a font so cursive Roxanne couldn't even read the logo. But that was complemented by cans of cheap booze one could get basically anywhere, including that brand that caused her and Willow to make out.

"So did Zach set this up?" Capri asked, leaning back with her legs on the coffee table.

"He funded it, but it was my idea." Rodrick replied calmly. "Think of it as a small show of goodwill."

"Goodwill?" Siena replied while pointing her fingers to the ceiling for some reason, in a way that very much wasn't scripted.

"For the games, and the Skyspace as a whole." Rodrick nodded as he poured himself a drink. "After all, we all share the goal of protecting it."

Everyone involved decided to take some snacks. Some chose to avoid alcohol entirely, but not Cassandra. Samuel challenged her to see who could hold their drinks best, which Ryland and Caoimhe joined in on. Samuel was out after three drinks, so Adebayo just sat him in the corner against Julian's bear. Caoimhe was out next after several more drinks, and Ryland was just enjoying himself even though he was incredibly drunk. He was just happily babbling to himself as he slumped onto the table. Everyone else was engaged in casual conversation, with the exception of Rodrick. Brooding alone in a corner sipping some kind of juice. So, with her own juice in hand, Roxanne shuffled into his vicinity.

"You not talking?" She asked.

Rodrick brought his cup to his lips and started whispering into the cup.

"I'm just observing." Rodrick replied.

Roxanne observed with him. Cassandra was casually drinking surrounded by empty cans, several of which were crushed. Julian and Fiorella were making snide comments at whatever Luca was talking about. The Kerobons were showing Adebayo and Siena magic tricks involving cards and getting them stuck in the ceiling. It didn't look like there was a part after that. Luca was telling some story to his new friend while Gavin stood next to him with a bored expression on his face. All the while, Willow was talking to Cheng and Adrianna. Willow was nodding along to what Cheng was saying, looking okay as she did so, while Adrianna was drooping pretty hard.

"Sorry if this sounds invasive, but what do you know about Willow's alcohol tolerance?"

"It's…not the best." Roxanne replied slowly, as the memories of that night crept back into her conscious.

"I see." Rodrick nodded while rubbing his chin with his free hand. "Sorry, but do you mind going to them and seeing what's happening?"

Roxanne did as he asked, going over to the three of them. Willow was taking casual sips of what she was drinking, while Adrianna placed an assuring hand on her shoulder with a pained expression in her eyes before going next to Ryland on the couch, lying on it with her hand draped over head like some kind of classical painting. Roxanne decided to just avert her eyes over towards Cheng. He didn't try to look better, and he was still in the same dishevelled outfit from his first fight. But his smile widened when Roxanne stepped into his personal frame. And in contrast to the rest of his appearance, his smile seemed great. Genuine with all his perfectly white teeth perfectly maintained.

"Ah, miss Roxanne!" He announced, putting his cup down to put both of his hands in her free hand to shake it. "I'm so sorry I couldn't meet you sooner!"

"Oh, it's no problem." Roxanne replied as she tried prying her hand away from the forceful shake. For a guy with skinnier arms than her, his grip was shockingly strong. "Not like I tried meeting you either."

"Oh, yeah you didn't." Cheng nodded slowly while removing his grip. "So, anyway. What were you and Rodrick talking about?"

Straight to that, huh?

"Basically nothing." Roxanne said calmly, taking a swig of the last of her alcohol.

"Well, you see." Willow added with a confident hand on her shoulder. "Roxanne happens to be a single lady looking for love. You get me?"

"Very well. Maybe the two of us could look out for each other when it comes to love. I've heard great things about men and women of Fightston!" Cheng said. His smile was widening.

"Well, maybe?" Roxanne asked, trying to find more at the bottom of her cup.

"I'm just asking if we could go…babe hunting together. Because I get the feeling you don't find me especially compatible."

"I can't say I do." Roxanne nodded, exhanging nervous glances with Arianna and Willow.

"Same with you, Willow of Vannana. I don't see us working out long term."

"Yeah, I can think of a few reasons we wouldn't." Willow nodded solemnly.

Roxanne tried focusing on Cheng's smiling face, but her focus was blurring ever so slightly. She shook herself awake, but he was still out of focus.

"Hey, Willow? I think I'll go to bed early." Roxanne sighed, trying her best not to look intoxicated, leaving her cup on the nearest table. Willow nodded as she left the room.

"Hey, need a refill?" She asked Cheng.

"Oh, yes, actually." Cheng nodded with so much enthusiasm Willow was almost convinced his head was gonna snap off. He handed her his cup, and she went over to pour the drinks, where Rodrick was still standing in the shadows.

"So, what kind of booze you got us?" Willow asked as she poured herself a drink.

"The standard." Rodrick replied casually. "Got it all from a few stores here."

"And nothing was tampered with?"

"Not a thing."

"Interesting." Willow said with two cups in hand.

Roxanne woke up with a pounding headache. She felt like she had been asleep for a thousand years, the inside of her mouth felt like no liquid had ever entered it, and the early morning sun was burning her skin. First day of round two, and she had her first hangover to demonstrate to the audience. Great.

She ate a bowl of granola and waited around her until everything felt slightly more bearable. Just as she was beginning to feel like herself, she was called to enter the main arena.

"And welcome, everybody, to the first round of the day!" The announcer yelled out, as enthusiastic as yesterday. "Coming in now, the girl who surprised us all by making it two round two. I'd tell her to break a leg, but she's got that covered! Everybody welcome Roxanne Nolastname!"

Roxanne stepped out, waving to the fans she apparently gained. She just hoped she didn't disappoint them too hard.

"And next up, Cheng Tse! A man with no background and no weapons! But truly, mystery never had such a smile!"

Cheng stepped in, standing perfectly still.

"And…begin!"

Roxanne started running again. Her bad leg was hurting, but she knew she wasn't winning this. All she had to do was figure out just what this Cheng guy was capable of.

Cheng was walking towards her casually, arms outstretched like he wanted a hug. Roxanne landed a solid punch to his face. He recoiled, took a step back to collect himself, and for a brief second, his smile faded.

But just as quick as the smile left, it was back, directed fully towards Roxanne. He stretched his left hand outwards, and against her better judgement, Roxanne kicked it with the metal leg.

Quick as a flash, Cheng took a knife out of the front pocket of his jacket. It was Roxanne's turn to step back, but he turned the knife towards himself, plunging it into his bandaged left arm.

The entire arena fell silent as Cheng covered his arm before the bleeding started. Roxanne looked at him, his smile still there, before her arm started to twitch.

Just as quick, she felt a stabbing pain in her own left arm. She felt the knife go through it, and the sensation of bleeding. She looked at her hand through the disorienting haze that emerged in her eyes, and it was fine.

Cheng plunged the knife into his leg, and Roxanne felt it from inside her broken leg. She fell to her knee as the pain worsened. The sensation of the fake bleeding against her prosthetic. She vomited on the ground as tears filled her eyes.

"I…I give up…." She meekly squeaked out.

"Care to repeat that?" Cheng asked casually, leaning in.

"I said I give up!" Roxanne screamed out in a fever. She felt her body getting hotter, and more vomit building up inside her. When suddenly, the pain caught up with her, and she fell unconsious in the arena.

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 40: Round 1, Fights 1-2

Roxanne was the first fight of the day. She took some snacks out of the break room before she left, taking bites out of the overly salty beef jerky as she walked into the arena. She did some shadow boxing through the halls as she walked, punching a wall by accident. Hurt a bit, but she was pretty sure a professional would also be hurt if a wall took them off guard like that.

"Alright folks, it's the first fight of the day!" The announcer boomed, standing in a podium above everyone sitting on all sides in the massive stadium. She stepped foot into the clay arena, kicking the ground to test how sturdy it is. Pretty darn sturdy by her standards, so good job to the architects there.

"The first person, one third of the Miracle Scouts. A woman who stared danger, the Legion, and a broken leg down to stand before you and present herself as a top fighter!"

The enthusiastic host was drowned out by the cheers of the audience. Roxanne just hoped she wouldn't disappoint them too hard. The announcer continued once the cheering died down.

"The next player is one mysterious player. Coming from Vannana, this player surprised all of us by getting to this round with neither an elimination nor any visible assistants. But will she be able to run from this? Give a warm welcome to miss Louise Gordon!"

The small blonde girl stepped into the arena, wearing a blue t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms. It just looked like they took someone off the streets and put them in the tournament as a joke. There wasn't as much cheering as with Roxanne, but it was still there. Her face appeared on the screen behind the door she walked out of, and she looked outright terrified to be there.

"Here's to a fair fight, everyone! Now, begin!"

With the announcers permission, Louise started running towards Roxanne. Roxanne began walking over to her, hoping to not strain her leg so early. When they approached, Louise tried kicking her like some kind of martial arts movie. Roxanne dodged out of the way without much issue, leaving her opponent as a heap on the ground. Roxanne placed her working foot on her head, pushing it down and leaving her on the ground. Louise rolled out from under her, getting herself off the ground and chopping Roxanne in the side before she got up. Roxanne stumbled for a little, before regaining her balance and managing to land a punch to Louise's stomach. She recoiled for a second, allowing Roxanne to follow up and kick her with her working leg. Roxanne knelt down, grabbed her leg, and tripped her. Louise fell to the ground, and Roxanne used her bad leg to stand on her chest, hoping the weight on the prosthetic would keep her from getting up.

"I…I…"

Louise started spluttering.

"Go on." Roxanne said, trying to look intimidating, furrowing her brow. "Continue."

"I give up." Louise coughed.

Roxanne eased her foot, and Louise got up and slowly hobbled her way back.

Somehow, she won the first round.

Roxanne stepped back into the halls, where Cassandra, Julian and Rodrick were waiting. Julian wore a calm look of approval, while Cassandra was standing still in a fit of awfully contained excitement. When Roxanne stepped forward towards the group, Cassandra leapt towards her for a hug, which ended up as more of a headlock as Roxanne tried to loosen her grip.

"Oh my god, you killed it!" She yelled out, accidentally tightening her grip on Roxanne further, leaving Julian to intervene.

"Anyway." Julian started. "I honestly don't know how you did it, but good job. So who's up next?"

"Nobody we know, anyway." Rodrick replied. "Carola Armati from Bestiamea against Cheng Tse from ShiShi."

"What do we know?" Julian asked.

"Carola's a kickboxer. Doesn't seem to be a wielder, but does seem to have exceptional reflexes, being able to take out six other combatants during the first stage by knocking them out of the arena. Cheng on the other hand, is responsible for eight direct knockouts. But people just started falling after coming into contact with him. People just started ignoring him after a while."

"So what, he's a wielder who kills you if you try touch him?" Julian asked.

"We don't know yet, but that's my current theory."

"I see." Julian nodded slowly. "Roxanne, I think you'll need to be the test subject here."

"The what?" Roxanne asked.

"If this guy has a method of knocking people out, then we'll need you to take the fall and report back to us." Rodrick nodded.

"Hey, she has a chance to win this!" Cassandra yelled out, pointing between Rodrick's eyes.

"All the better if she does." He said. "But I'm trying to be realistic about this. Now then, should be time for him to enter the ring."

Rodrick adjusted his hat and sat in the hotel lounge, where Cheng was just about to enter the arena. She sat next to him to observe the suspicious man, and his appearance wasn't doing any favours. The man wore tiny circular glasses with streaks of unkempt greasy black hair covering his body and most of his face. His outfit was a black linen longcoat with the sleeves torn off, replaced by dirty looking bandages. Carola entered next, a tanned young lady wearing a blue tank top and worn out white shorts, waving to the crowd. When the beginning of the round was announced, Carola ran up to Cheng while he didn't move at all. She leapt up and landed a solid kick to his face, causing him to stumble back. He flicked his wrist towards her, and she responded with another kick. Her neck snapped upwards. She stood in shock for a few seconds, only for Cheng to grab her by the face and slam her to the ground. He applied his worn out leather boot to her head and began applying pressure. When he removed it, she wasn't moving.

"And Cheng wins." The announcer said, his voice wavering at what he just witnessed. "He will be fighting Roxanne in round two. Next up, Cassandra Torres against Ben Goldwasser."

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 39: The Tournament's Grand Prize

It was finally over. The thirty two most qualified contestants were chosen, and Roxanne was somehow amongst them. She fell to the floor as Siena's boosts wore off, and the fighting broke off amongst the hero groups. All of them began dusting themselves off, exchanging glances with each other as they went back to their separate groups.

"Well, that was an interesting event." The announcer shouted out. "Everyone thought to aim for a hero or two, but they'd all rather fight each other and take out anyone who tried to intervene! But Capri and the Kerobons were clearing out the competition, with Zee racking up twelve eliminations!"

Zee merely replied by pounding this chest and yelling incoherently into the sky, like he was challenging the gods themselves to trial by fire.

"When Willow arrives tomorrow, the first round matches will be announced! So be sure to check the brackets to keep up with who you're fighting!"

The crowds emptied as the losers shuffled out of sight, leaving only thirty one people left in the arena. Roxanne, Julian, and Cassandra all made it, as did Luca and Caoimhe. The Stones, Maximos, and Kerobons all qualified, and so did Ryland and Rodrick, and Arianna. The Gurut girl who was helping Luca made it, alongside some other miscellaneous fighters. Cutter clapped his massive veiny hands together as his voice started booming.

"Right, erryone get back to the hotel!"

Roxanne got another small snack and collapsed on her bed. She hadn't even done anything, and yet she felt exhausted already. Her phone buzzed, and on the other end was Willow.

'heyyyyy'

'how was the tourny? whos in?'

'broadcast didnt air yet and zach wont tell meeeee :('

'Well, I made it. And most of the heroes who showed up.' Roxanne replied. 'One of the Battlestorms didn't make it in, but it's otherwise a pretty stacked line up.'

'dam thats gon b hard to beat. dont disapoint me if we end up fightin, k?'

'I'll try my best.'

So now what? It was time to sleep, probably. Tournament was tomorrow, and she had to prepare. She stood up, checked her leg still worked. It seemed fine. Kicking with it was probably more effective than her other leg in terms of both damage and balance, which seemed good. And with her training for the day complete, she went to bed, hyping herself in her dreams for the big day.

Roxanne's eyes opened after a nice night of sleep, and another person's exhale was heard across from her. She took her phone to quickly call for danger. She looked at who was standing over her, and it was…Willow, sleeping on a chair in her corner of the room with the Vannana spear leaning by it. Roxanne crept out of bed and checked the door to her room. Locked. She looked towards the window, and sure enough, it was open. Did she forget to lock it? No, she never opened it in the first place. She opened the window, and sure enough, it was broken into.

"Hm, yeah, I'm up."

Willow shot awake, clutching her spear, looking up at Roxanne's confused face, and loosened her grip.

"Roxanne, what's up?" She said with a casual smile.

"Why are you in my room?" Roxanne asked, already exasperated.

"Well, the plan was to try sneak into the hotel and make my way to my room from the inside as a form of training. So I circle around the place for an entry point, and see your window looks slightly different, so I jumped up and sure enough, I could pry it open."

"This is the third floor."

"I've climbed the castle back home a bunch, it wasn't stressful or anything, don't worry. Anyway, I try to see if I could sneak past whoever was sleeping into my own room, but once I find it was your room, I just figured you'd be cool with me sleeping here."

A normal person would probably question if they were dreaming right now. But Roxanne didn't have normal dreams, so everything in front of her was real. She looked at Willow with several responses running through her head, but she decided that just getting breakfast was the best course of action.

In the hotel lobby, Samuel, Fiorella, and Rodrick were already there, looking at the board placed for their convenience.

In what could only be described as a strange choice for an opener, Roxanne was the first up. Against some girl named Louise Gordon.

"Hey, Samuel? Any idea who Louise Gordon is?"

"Nope." He replied quickly

"No clue." Adebayo added.

"It's a shame I don't know." Fiorella said with a flick of her wrist.

Willow was at the end of the bracket, up against some guy named Tre Waves. Nobody knew him either. In fact, most of the heroes were set up against random nobodies who made it through the chaos.

"I feel bad for the people going against us." Fiorella said. "I mean, it's pretty heavily rigged in our favour."

"Whoever did the seeding did a pretty bad job at it." Rodrick agreed. "Then again, I'd recommend staying on your toes. They know everything about us, and we know nothing about them."

Roxanne scanned the board to see who she'd be going up against in round two. Also two people nobody around her knew. Cassandra and Julian were going up against yet more randoms, as was basically every hero.

"So guys, what's up."

The Gurut girl who was with the Battlestorms pushed her way past Roxanne to see who she was up against. She looked towards Roxanne.

"Hey, you're Willow's friend, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Tell her I said good luck." She smiled.

She retreated without giving any more information. Rodrick was discreetly looking at her as she casually went to fix herself up some breakfast.

"Okay, I've had a theory about these Fightston games since I've gotten my invite, and I'd like to share it with everyone here. Just be sure to keep it within our circle." Rodrick whispered, closing in between Fiorella and Samuel

"Go on." Fiorella answered slowly.

"My guess as to why we're all fighting random people is to have an excuse to get rid of them. This time around, Zach is trying to flush out any possible legion members."

"Wait, you think the Legion have shown up here?" Samuel asked, pointing at him while squinting his eyes.

"Think about it." Rodrick answered. "There wasn't any screening process for people coming in. On top of that, I was pretty easily able to sneak around the hotel and find documents for what the grand prize of this whole thing was."

"And what would that be?" Adebayo asked.

"A loan of the Fightston gauntlet."

Samuel stepped back when he heard that information. Fiorella tried her best not to let shock show on her face, but she was doing a bad job at it.

"The door also looked broken into. So there are definitely Legion people around. So be on the lookout."

A couple people started walking into the room. The other heroes and players.

"Slowly disperse." Rodrick said calmly. "Don't draw attention to yourself. Report all Legion activity to me."

Fiorella left first. Samuel counted seven seconds and left next. Roxanne stepped away from Rodrick afterwards.

The thirty-two main contestants were in the building. Zach entered the building, holding a box in his hands. Upbeat rock music was blaring from his jeans pockets as he sauntered in wearing a casual blue shirt and his best sunglasses.

"How's it going, everyone!" He bellowed, setting his box on the table. "I hope everyone's at their best for the Fightston Games!

A few miscellaneous hollers were made throughout the room. Zach stared ahead at everyone in front of him.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to the first round, so I'd like to congratulate you on making it this far now. And discuss how everything is gonna work going forward. First off, we're getting rules out the way. For this tournament, anything except killing or dismembering your opponent is legal. And poor sportsmanship such as toying with someone who can no longer fight back will get you penalized. Next up, prizes. The semi-finalists will get two hundred thousand Luxa. Second place gets five hundred thousand. And for the winner…"

Zach opened the box. Within it was the Fightston gauntlet. It looked more plain compared to the ornate designs of the other weapons. A simple metal glove which was silver all around, with the palm area being bronze. Zach put it on his left hand, and almost instantly, a perfect replica appeared on his right. He took the real one off, and the other turned to smoke and faded in the atmosphere.

"Now, we rulers can't be everywhere at once, and the Legion is only gonna get more intense. And seeing as the best defence has been Cassandra with the thunder axe, we'd be more than happy to lend the gauntlet to the most worthy person here. And with that, it's time to begin the tournament! There's gonna be a room at the stadium for everyone, so make haste!"

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 38: Do You Qualify?

The fight was on. Cutter's head seemed to instantly snap towards Roxanne's group, and he leapt towards them. Siena threw her hands into the air just as his manic smile appeared before Cassandra. Suddenly, Cassandra knew the exact way she needed to dodge. In a flash, she went left, directing him away from the group. She was able to quickly unsheathe her sword to meet his fist, managing to block both his fists with ease. She took a step to the side, causing Cutter to briefly stumble, allowing Cassandra to get one attempt at a stab to his side. Cutter quickly leaned to the side, struggling to stay on his feet as he slowly regained his posture. Once he was perfectly okay he gave a smile and nod towards Cassandra, before grabbing an unsuspecting man and throwing him out of the arena.

Julian directed his eyes towards where the Battlestorms were, and the Stones and Maximos were already circling them, waiting for the perfect time to pounce. Luca looked perfectly calm, not even having a weapon drawn, while Caoimhe and Gavin protected his back. Julian directed the bear towards Luca, which led to Roxanne clinging on for her life as the Bear ran forward in an attempt to slash him. Luca jumped forward, taking one sword out and stabbing the bear in it's stomach. When that didn't do anything to stop it, he quickly leapt away from the bear just before it slashed him, doing a backflip before landing elegantly on one foot. Hoping to remove it's hand, Luca swung his sword in one swift motion only for the sword to clash against the metal embedded inside. Samuel took the chance, quickly dashing behind Luca and kicking him in the back. But before he could follow up, He felt the world around him get heavier. He took a step forward, but something that simple was taking a toll on his body. He stepped out of the field, and saw a brown skinned woman in a purple shirt grinning at him. Samuel went in for another kick, and his body was forced to the ground. Adebayo threw a punch towards the girl, who started weighing him down next. Samuel was freed, and he went in for a kick at the same time Gisella went in for a downward swing of her fists. One leg to her side, and a fist to her head. The girl was flung to the side, struggling to get up and barely dodging a summoned double blade to the head.

"Sorry Luca, I'll deal with this!" She yelled out, casting another circle on her attacker.

Gisella went to attack Luca, who stopped her fist by placing the tip of his sword. Her other fist furiously approached him, and he quickly took out another sword to meet it. Adebayo came up from behind, ready to discharge energy. Caoimhe got between them, letting the back of her gauntlet fitted fists absorb the hit, replying with an uppercut to the jaw. Adebayo put his guard up, weaving through her next punch to reply with his own to her stomach, knocking her back slightly. She fell onto hardened air, springing back into action and grabbing Adebayo's arm. Adebayo felt the pain sear through him as his left arm began to wither away. Caoimhe landed another kick to his stomach.

"Do nothing, and your arm will be back shortly."

Adebayo backed away, with Samuel in tow.

Fiorella clashed her summoned axe against Gavin's spear. He was swiftly moving towards her, seeming to block all her attacks with minimal effort. He even seemed to let a yawn out, infuriating her even more. She threw her axe back for one mighty swing, and Gavin casually put his spear to the side. He made a circle from his fingers and slowly blew into it. When she swung her axe, it hit off an invisible barrier. She tried running behind him, and he sharply turned around and started making another barrier, quickly getting behind her and making a third. Fiorella took an enraged step back, colliding with the barrier. It shattered on impact, feeling like several shards of glass cut into her body, evaporating as quickly as they came. Gavin was behind her once again, looking fully serious in the brief glance Fiorella had behind her back, shoving a final barrier into her back. Before she could slump over, Gisella ran over and cradled her in her arms, trying to kick Gavin, who dodged without showing any emotions.

"Okay." Cassandra whispered to herself. "Gavin's probably the weakest of the three." She quickly climbed on top of the bear, and Gavin watched as she stood triumphantly over the arena, glaring at him. He looked confused for a brief second, a look of confusion which quickly turned to terror when Cassandra leapt down, axe in hand, slashing the floor he was just standing on. He gripped his lance tightly, and Julian's bear casually sauntered up to him, picking him up and flinging him out of the arena. He dropped the lance and rolled to the floor, ready to pick it up again once he safely landed. He landed in front of a smirking shirtless guy, who Gavin kicked in the legs as he got back up. He ran for the spear as the man ran away from the arena, leaping over the bounderies of the arena, that eliminated you if you crossed it. But Gavin heard a clap, and before he knew it, they had switched places.

"And the first member of the big five is out! Gavin from the battlestorms has been eliminated by an unknown player!"

"But-but…he went over the line first!" Gavin said, his hands shaking.

"Didn't stay there, so he's still in!"

On the other side of the arena, Capri was casually knocking every fool out of her new playhouse. Men would approach her and she'd quickly change the size of her toy mallet and give it a trusty swing, hitting them hard over the head. Seeing as it was just a toy and she promised to be gentle with it, it was allowed. It'd disorient them for a while, so that's when Zee would come up behind them and throw them out of the arena. Gam would be in the corner doing his own thing. People would hit him with their weapons and he'd just shrug it off, juggling in the corner like an idiot. Easy target. But if an attack would stop him in his tracks, he'd drop his juggling balls on them. His true ability was to store impacts, so his quick juggling stored enough energy to drop a fully grown man if he was quick enough to store the energy, which he usually was. And once they were knocked out, Zee would throw them out of the arena with no issues. While those two were busy, Capri decided she'd sneak off to where the main characters were fighting and show her own moves. But before that could happen, she got a swift punch to her side, sending her flying through the arena. She was able to regain her composure mid-air, stylishly landing on her feet to greet the one who landed the hit. A stern looking blonde girl in a pristine white dress, looking at her with her pristine hazel eyes, her left arm covered in a rose pink crystal.

"Oh, heeeey." Capri started slowly. "Adriana?"

"Arianna!" She yelled back.

"That's it." Capri said casually, swinging a guy out of the arena without breaking eye contact. Former leader of the Rose Quartz society, best hero group of her home airship before the Stones usurped her.

"Did not know you were invited."

"If you must know, I came alone to take down the other heroes. Do you want to help me with that?"

"I mean, mayyybeee." Capri replied with eyes closed and hands behind her head, ducking as a woman tried sending a flying kick her way. "I dunno, you could at least buy me dinner first."

"Whatever I can still afford, I can buy."

"Screw it, sounds good." Capri shrugged, joining her in the grand cluster of petty heroes. She noticed Roxanne clinging to Julian's bear, her grip slowly weakening over time. Capri jumped into the air, watching Roxanne clutch the bear's skin in fear. She grew her mallet to cast a shadow over her, the bear, and Julian. Julian plunged a hand into the beast's fur, causing it to force Roxanne to the ground. Capri shrunk her hammer to a reasonable whacking size and aimed it straight towards Roxanne's head, only for Siena to appear behind her as the hammer was about to connect. Roxanne ducked under the hammer with agility she had no idea she had, scrambling away from the chaos until the man who got Gavin eliminated approached her, a friendly smile on his face. But just as Roxanne put her fists up to at least look intimidating, the urge to duck enveloped her, and Siena was flung full force at the man, knocking them both out of the arena instantly.

"Now, thirty-five remain!" Was heard over the loudspeaker.

This was it! Everyone thought. Three people left, so it's best to get one of these people out now! Samuel and Adebayo jumped back into the game, with Adebayo taking on Gisella immediately, with Arianna taking on Fiorella with nothing with bare fists and unbridled rage, with Fiorella smirking all the while.

Deciding enough was enough, lump two threw a canister on the ground, creating a plume of smoke around all the heroes remaining. And in the ensuing chaos, the final words rang out.

"And round one is over!"

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 37: Planning Stages

Roxanne woke up without any bad dreams in the hotel room. It was early, still dark outside. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't get back to sleep. She woke up alone, making her way to the hotel reception for breakfast. Everything there seemed to be made for building muscle or keeping energy, nothing that really focused on the taste aspect. She just got some yogurt with fruit, hoping that would carry her for a while. As she sat down in the corner of the room, a short girl with messy black hair that looked like it had never been styled approached her.

"Is that good?" She asked nonchalantly. She looked at Roxanne with her dopey brown eyes, dressed in a black sweater with a necklace like hers, only with a white gem in the centre. Fairly common type. Other than that, black sweater and jeans. Really skinny, too.

"It's pretty good." Roxanne said back.

"Cool, know what I'm getting." The girl nodded. Roxanne watched her order her yogurt, then sit with her table of two other friendly looking guys. The guys looked familiar.

Then it hit her. They were the Lumps, the fourth ranked hero group. Or at least the two guys were. The girl she'd never seen. She knew all about the two guys. The blonde muscular one was Ryland. Leader, fighter, expert in grappling. The skinnier man with perfectly styled black hair was Rodrick Santiago. No nonsense master of every tool needed for every situation. Both of which could make excellent boyfriends, but finding love was on hold. Not finished, for whatever Kazumi or Julian were saying, just on hold. She just needed to know what it was she really wanted.

"Hey, what's up there?" The girl with the lumps asked, looking at the TV right next to Roxanne. It was playing the message she and the others saw yesterday to the public.

"I'm sorry, are they just giving away the gauntlet?" Rodrick asked.

"It's like a heroism test, probably." Ryland replied quickly. "Seeing as Sandala gave their axe away to help fight the Legion, maybe Fightston wants to do the same thing."

"I thought that some scouting ship stole the axe while Sandala was being invaded."

"I mean, it worked out. And Zach probably wants to repeat the success, you know how he is."

"Well, I think it'll be cool." The girl with them nodded. "Besides, Ryland and I could probably clean out the whole legion with it." Rodrick just sighed at the end of the sentence.

"Look, as long as the winner isn't some legion spy or one of those Battlestorm assholes, I'm fine."

"Gee, thanks."

Caoimhe walked past them as she got her food, also yogurt. Makes sense, it's high quality yogurt. She sat next to Roxanne afterward.

"So, you ready for the first round?" She asked.

"Totally." Roxanne lied.

"That's good." Caoimhe sighed. She knew it was a lie, but whatever. Not like she'd get hurt in some major way. She tried coming up with another conversation topic by glancing around the room. Yogurt? Nah, that's dumb. What kind of moron bases their identity around yogurt? TV shows. They definitely don't have a single show in common. The lumps?

"So, ignoring your own, what's your favourite hero group?"

"I guess…the Stones? Julian seemed to like them."

"The eternal underdogs, huh? Makes sense. What about the Kerobons?"

"The clown ones?"

"Okay, how much do you know about the hero groups?"

Roxanne stopped for a second. "Basically nothing."

"Makes sense. Well, you got this far. Good luck during the weeding process, I guess."

Just as Caoimhe was about to leave, Cutter walked in. He briefly looked around the room, and gave what seemed to be a sign of disbelief. He quickly handed out dark blue noise cancelers to everyone in the room. before flashing a devilish grin. He grabbed a megaphone, and immediately started shouting as loud as he could.

"EVERYONE GET TO THE GROUNDS ON THE DOUBLE! THE ARENA OF DEATH! IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS, FIND OUT, CAUSE IF YOU AIN'T THERE IN TWO HOURS, YOU AIN'T IN THE TOURNAMENT!"

Roxanne and Caoimhe both got texts on their phone.

'whats going on why is cutter yelling' from Julian.

'Tell me why exactly tattoo man is screaming?" from Luca.

'We need to go to the Arena of Death? No clue where that is? Cassandra probably does.'

'Arena of death. Get dressed so we can follow Cutter.'

"Gotta say, dint expect ya to be up 'fore the others." Cutter said to Roxanne as she gave the noise cancellers back.

"Well, a hero's always gotta be up early, right?"

"You'd think." Caoimhe replied calmly.

The others appeared soon afterward. Most of yesterday's important names were up, if slightly grouchy looking. Cutter looked around, nodded to himself, and started whistling a merry tune to himself as he led the early birds to the arena of death.

The Arena of Death was just an ordinary sports stadium. It was bright blue, with nothing to indicate the 'of Death' part of Arena of Death. Not even a black banner draped over the entrance or something. As the competitors entered the reception of the Arena, Zach stood proudly in front of them.

"These the guys, Cutter?"

"Should be." Cutter replied.

"Great job as always. Anyway! And to any newcomers, welcome to the games. Before I explain how this round is gonna work, I need to introduce one more contestant. Introducing the next in line to the Vannana throne, the ever lovely Willow!"

Zach stylishly moved his hand towards the chair Willow was seductively lying upon, where she slowly got up, her countries lance in hand, towards the group.

"Greetings, heroes and other miscellaneous oddities of wonder! I, miss Willow Vannana, have decided to enter the Fightston games, bringing with me the Relic weapon of Vannana."

"Is that also a prize?" The girl with the lumps asked.

"No. My mom is probably planning my murder, and I'd at least like my body to be somewhat identifiable."

"Also should mention, but if you do use a weapon, it's the blunt stuff only. Healers here aren't miracle workers." Cutter interjected quickly, already ready to end Willow's tirade of valour. "Zach, you wanna explain the first round?"

"Certainly, Cutter!" Zach nodded, as peppy as ever. "Put simply, there are over three hundred people here. So, we're putting you in one arena, and having you fight it out. If you get knocked out or put outside the safe zone, you're out! The thirty-two remaining will progress to the next round!"

"Alright, ya got twenty minutes to pick out your weapons and figure out group plans." Cutter interjected. "Now get to it."

The players were shoved into the stadium's field to discuss strategy. In the changing rooms was a selection of training weapons for anyone who needed them. Cassandra took both an axe and a shortsword, just in case.

"You sure you wanna do this, Roxanne?" She asked, looking worried. "I mean, your legs still busted."

"It's not as busted." Roxanne added. "Besides, I need something to work on now that my journey for love is on hold."

"Right." Roxanne gave an uneasy nod.

"Okay, I have an idea." Julian added. "Zach is getting my bear for me, so why not have Roxanne ride it while we protect her, then carry her to the next round? Could buy some time to eliminate a problem for later."

"And then I fight for real in round two?"

"I'll be honest Roxanne, you are getting eviscerated in the second round if this works."

"Hey, I got an idea."

The girl with the Lumps was smirking behind them.

"If you want, I am a wielder. I can boost people's reflexes. So we can work together on this."

"What's in it for you?" Julian asked, crouching down to her level.

"Easy. You think about the main reason the gauntlet is up for grabs? It's probably to lure anyone from the Legion over to steal it. So tell me anyone who looks sus and I'll help you to the next round. We got a deal?"

The three glanced at the girl, her facial expression still unchanging.

"Name's Siena, by the way."

"Didn't even think of the Legion part." Julian whispered as he turned the other two around. "I say we take it."

"But what if she's in the Legion?" Roxanne asked. "She's with the Lumps, and I've never seen her with them before now."

"Well, she's a support, so even if she is with them, cornering and grabbing her shouldn't be too hard." Cassandra added.

"Yeah, we'll take your offer." Julian said with a flourish back towards her, shaking her hand.

"Right!" Cutter yelled in the rooms. "'rena time! Find a spot and stay there!"

The four stood where Julian suggested, just shy of the middle for safety, but also away from where the action will be most intense at the start. The other Lumps joined up with them, not saying much. Cassandra boosted Roxanne onto the bear, just in time for Cutter to barge into the centre.

"Okay, errone ready?" He asked. Without waiting for any answers, the next phrase emerged.

"Round one, begin!"

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 36: Our New Ruler

Luminita looked out from her window. She and anyone else with major involvement with the Lux was quickly put inside here for her own coronation. She was in the top floor with all the other rulers, instead of one floor below where the children of rulers stayed. The people her own age, like Willow and Javier. She wondered what they were even up to. Willow was probably worrying about her and panicking openly on her behalf. Javier was…probably the same, only more subtle about it. She gave herself one more look in the mirror. She looked paler than usual, she couldn't bring herself to stop with everything that was happening. Her hair was brushed and cleaned, but not styled yet. She glanced over her dress one more time. Black in the bust area but pure white everywhere else, with pure dainty gloves squeezing her hands.

She stepped out of her room into the glass area attached to each bedroom on the first floor. Glass floors and walls, with a white roof to prevent the sunlight making it too hot. The view of Sangaria was perfect. The castle stood as a tiny speck on the centre of the airship, with the grand surrounded by a wall stopping anyone from falling off it's edge. The humble streets and shops, entirely out of view. She glanced at the two ships to each side. Gurut to the left, and ShiShi to the right. Sylvestro and Fen Hou would hopefully be good at guiding her on what being a ruler actually meant. Because she was hopelessly out of her depth here. Marcel already had his detractors, and all of them would be looking for her to change, but his supporters would be thinking about how someone as young as her could live up to his legacy. She was already pacing around the room, trying not to buckle at the pressure before she even stepped on that stupid stage.

There was a knock on the door. She looked at the clock in her room, and the coronation was half an hour away. She opened it, and Zach was in front of her, holding a small box in his hands.

"I interrupting anything?" He asked, glancing around the room.

"You aren't." She assured. "What's in the box?"

"Now, don't hate me, but I got some of your staff to help me get something you might want."

Zach handed her the cardboard box. Luminita removed the single layer of tape, and inside was a crimson cape with fur along the ends. She recognised it from somewhere, but she couldn't tell where. Suddenly, all the pieces sprang together in her mind.

"My…mother." She said quietly, trying not to let the tears burst out of her.

"Figured she'd give it to you if she could." Zach nodded slowly to himself. "Look, if you have any issues, anything at all, just let me know, okay?"

There was another knock at the door, followed by Mia casually letting herself in.

"Zach." She announced flatly. "Mind explaining what you're doing in here?"

"Just dropping something in for the queen." He replied, smiling to himself as he finished the sentence. "I'll let you get to what you're here for."

Zach closed the door behind him, and Mia locked eyes with Luminita. Mia's green eyes weren't stern as she was so accustomed to seeing them. They were more relaxed, sympathetic.

"Your hair's a mess." She said. "Sit down and I'll take care of it."

Luminita sat down in front of her mirror, and Luminita began styling her hair. She was styling with near surgical precision, quickly giving her hair a wavy quality near the end.

"You're really good at this."

"Good to know I still have it." Mia nodded, quickly letting the illusion of a smile leave her lips before her mouth returned to it's neutral expression.

"You used to do this?"

"Went to school for styling. Actually managed to work with a couple celebrities before I was called to lead the Lux."

"Celebrities?"

"Did you know I was the first stylist for Miles Parker on some soap advertisement?"

"No way."

"Indeed. But, my parents both succumb to illness at the same time, and suddenly I was called to rule."

"Well, you seemed to handle it, at least."

"Oh please, they'd all rather follow that brute than me."

"Zach?"

"That one, yes. I'm assuming he said you could confide in him."

"He did, yes."

"Well, the same applies for me."

Mia let Luminita's hair down, and she felt it for a few seconds. She almost instantly turned her hair into something more full of life. She had more confidence now. She almost felt ready to take the charge towards her country.

"You're on in ten minutes." Mia said softly as she passed through the door. "Good luck."

Willow was putting a band-aid over a bloody pinky finger on her left hand, while Javier looked over at her in mild confusion.

"Did you fall on something?" He asked, looking around for anything dangerous in the area.

"Look, I was biting my nails and ripped a hangnail off. I'm fine." Willow said nervously, moving on to biting what was left of the nails on her right hand.

"Hey, you guys."

Javier and Willow looked up at who was beside them. A man taller then them with shaggy brown hair and a white polo shirt and jeans, wearing two leather gloves. Zach's son, Arden. Four years older.

"Been a while, how you guys doing?"

"We're doing alright." Javier replied, glancing at the wall in the hopes Arden would as well. He would, giving Willow the time to patch her finger up. "Just a little nervous."

"Makes sense, considering it's Luminita. Remember when I had to babysit the fo…bunch of you during meetings?"

"Yeah, I do." Javier chuckled slightly.

"You know, Willow? People think the scar on my hand is from some horrific incident with a criminal and not a nine year old's hero game involving a comical amount of knives." He said, removing the glove on his left hand, showing the bright red scar going horizontally across it.

"I said I was sorry." Willow sighed.

"After you called me a weakling several times." Arden said. "No hard feelings, obviously. Actually, Nuria wants to know if you guys were okay with spending some time in Mar-Luminita's castle for a while to help her adjust.

"Yeah, I could do that." Javier nodded.

"Well, I have plans to help your dad back in Fightston, but I'm down once that's done."

"Cool, cool." Arden nodded. "She doesn't want to seem weak right now, but she could really use the support from close friends."

"Close friends? I mean…I guess?" Javier said while looking at the floor.

"What, did you guys have a fight or something?"

"No, it's just…we never really hang out anymore. Don't even think I have her number. Not that I hate her, we just grew kind of distant."

"Distant? What, since…"

Javier put his hand over Arden's mouth.

"Look, things are already stressful enough, we do not need to be reminded of that."

Arden took a step back and looked at Javier with a blank expression, then a quick nod.

"Yeah, actually. Makes sense. Well, I'll see you at the ceremony."

Javier couldn't help but let out an agitated sigh when Arden left. He never even thought about things like news coverage until now, but that was probably going to be everywhere after the ceremony. A decade ago, him alongside the three others were the 'future four pillars' Javier, Willow, Luminita, and Levin, next in line for Lux itself. But Levin died. Suicide after a series of Legion attacks left him feel helpless under the pressure. Luckily, the news media left the three of them alone and never really went back to them. Whether out of respect for grieving pre-teens or parental pressure, he never found out. But the whole incident was bound to come up again. He knew Luminita wouldn't like it, but having to hear about it would destroy Willow. She reacted the worst out of it, and he wouldn't be suprised if he never fully recovered.

"Uh, Javier?" Willow asked, shaking him out of his worries. "Ceremonies ready."

The two of them entered the circular room, with three rows of circular wooden pews laying before a set of white marble steps leading to the platform Luminita was supposed to step out of. The first row was made up of the rulers, and the next two were the partners and children. Despite this, Javier and Willow took a free space next to Rory in the front row, who didn't say anything. Freyja looked from the other end, but Rory leaned forward to cough a little until her gaze was back towards the platform.

Mia stepped out of the two doors at the back. She didn't make a sound as she approached the small podium.

"Thank you all for coming." She announced as she approached the podium. "I know this is on very short notice due to the tragic events that Sangaria has experienced. But, she, Willow, and Javier were always considered the future three pillars, and I have nothing but good faith that she will lead Sangaria into newfound prosperity. And without further ado, the newest ruler in the Lux Congregation."

There was an intense applause as Luminita stepped out. Luminita herself was trying her best to look confident and ready as she approached the podium.

"Esteemed members of the Lux Congregation." She started. "I thank you for having me join your noble cause. My only hope is that I can be of service not only to you, but of all members of the Skyspace."

The speech was short. She clearly wasn't prepared, but nobody cared as the crowd leapt into applause. Willow was the most enthusiastic about it, screaming at the top of her lungs for her. Luminita did her best attempt to look proud on that stage until the others died down. She then bowed before them and retreated back.

"Javier, go follow her." Nuria whispered.

Javier gave a thumbs up and went into the door, with Willow following.

Inside the white room, Luminita was shaking slightly as she filled a cup with orange juice and brought it to her lips.

"Hey there, queen Luminita." Willow said quietly as she closed the door, bowing to her afterwards, which Javier copied.

"You…you guys." Luminita looked towards them, her voice starting to waver. She ran up towards them, embracing them just a few seconds before she started crying behind them. The sobbing lasted a while, but it didn't really matter to either of them. They began to embrace her back, and she eventually pried herself off her friends.

"Hey, so my parents got the idea to help you run your place for the first few days. They say it'll be a good idea to teach us all how to rule eventually. You down?" Javier asked.

Luminita nodded silently, trying to bring herself to speak.

"I'll be there too, but Zach needs me in Fightston for a couple days. But hey, save a place for me!"

The three of them walked out of the room together, talking about plans for the future. Once Willow passed her room, she waved them goodbye and ducked into it. Once inside, she checked underneath her bed for her suitcase and opened it. The spear was still inside, and nobody was called. And if anything was found out, she left a helpful note that the Legion had nothing to do with the weapon borrowing process. She took out her phone and called Zach.

"Okay, when are we leaving?"

#my writing #writeblr #writing #creative writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr #spilled ink

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 35: A Truly Heroic Tournament

Roxanne looked up at the gentleman above her and Julian, with Cassandra slowly walking off to the side. A bald shirtless man with a wonky left eye looking at her, with the working one fixated on Julian. The only thing we was wearing seemed to be very worn out black sweatpants, his shirtless body having a host of tattoos ranging from swords to skulls to…a horse with the tail circling his left nipple, for some reason? There was something about him that was oddly…attractive?

Nope. No way. Roxanne couldn't even indulge herself there. If she was even capable of actually liking people, he certainly was not what she was looking for.

"Okay, what gives there?" Julian screamed as he tried not to choke, pushing his glass eye back in.

"Sider it a small test." The man replied in his gruff voice. "And you two failed."

"Wait, what?" Roxanne asked as she scrambled to her feet. "What do you mean we failed?"

"You look like an idiot." He replied without looking at her. "You can enter, but you're almost deffo gonna hurt yourself."

"Don't listen to him, Luca and Gavin failed too."

Caoimhe helped Roxanne up and waited for her to dust herself off. "Not exactly the type of thing you'd expect, but…"

"If you can't expect one attack, how are you meant to expect the onslaught of the Legion?" She and The large guy said in unison.

"He's done this twice already."

"Do I not have a point?"

"Anyway, sign ups are that way?"

In contrast to the hotel, the basement looked like a mess. Wooden floors and a faded blue paintjob., with streamers and balloons dotted around the room. A couple circular wooden tables for registered teams to sit at. And at the end, a wooden desk that almost blended into the wall.

The three walked over to it, with all three writing their names down.

Name: Julian Torres. Ability: Life Transfer. Fighting Style: Bear reanimation.

Name: Cassandra Torres. Ability: Regeneration. Fighting Style: Relic Axe.

Name: Roxanne ?????. Ability: N/A. Fighting Style: Undecided.

The three sat at a table at the corner of the room. The battlestorms would need to sit front and centre to catch the attention of everyone else, so whatever unnecessary interactions could be avoided were all the better. Seeing as the large guy was approaching them with an annoyed look and the sign up book in his hand, that failed.

"Right." He started calmly. "Which one of you is Roxanne?"

"M-me?" Roxanne asked. He looked at her calmly, but Roxanne already felt his contempt quickly melt her insides.

"Mind asking why your fighting style is 'undecided?'"

"Well, I haven't made up my mind yet."

"You even got a fighting style?" I know about the axe girl, but I don't know much about you two."

"Mind explaining who you are, anyway?" an irritated Julian asked, clearly trying not to snap at this guy.

"Me? Name's Cutter, and I'm the one looking after you runts while Zach's with the corro squad."

"Corro?" Roxanne asked.

"Coronation." Julian answered. "Look, she hasn't made her mind up yet, why does that matter?"

"Because not being sure of something before a fight is how you get killed. We got people for injurs or limbs, but we got nothing for lives."

"She's probably boxing!"

Cutter looked over to see Caoimhe looking over the table with a flashy purple drink in her hand.

"Trained with her back in Saoloro, she at least knows the basics."

"You box?"

"I mean, I dabble in a couple things, and boxing is one of them." This was one of the biggest lies she's told yet. She had to get grieving kids off her a couple times back in Miracle, but she resorted to either calling someone else or pepper spraying them if she absolutely had to. She's never directly laid a hand on a kid outside a quick shove.

Cutter opened his mouth to question her, but some more people entered the basement. Cutter immediately leapt to slam them all to the ground. The first one ducked underneath his arms, cartwheeling into the crowd and leaping back onto her feet with a series of finger snaps. The second more muscular one actually managed to throw Cutter's arm back and get behind him. The last one merely got slammed into the ground like Roxanne and Julian did, only for him to chuckle and slowly get back up.

"Yo guys, I think your stairs are uneven. You might wanna look into that."

"No Gam, you just got…" The muscular guy started.

"We can let him figure it out." The girl said calmly. "Our introductions are more important."

"Oh hey, it's the clowns." Julian whispered.

The girl pointed towards the couple dozen people sitting down. Her hair was blonde in the centre but the ends were magenta as they stopped at her shoulders, the same magenta was used for her face paint, which had a spade on her left eye and an upside down one on her right. She wore neck ruffles and fingerless gloves, only the white gloves looked more like a cartoon character's. She wore a short magenta jacket, opened to reveal the cartoon frog on her purple shirt. The outfit ended with just ordinary jeans and skater shoes.

"Salutations, asshats!" She said loudly. "Now, I hope you are all prepared for the festivities!"

"We didn't set up any?"

The girl placed a gloved hand on Cutter's mouth.

"You invited us, that's good enough! So, I would like to introduce the third ranked hero group, the Kerobons! To my left is my buddy Zee, and behind us is Gam. And I am your immaculate Capri!"

She held for an applause that didn't come, and Zee casually picked up Gam and sat them both down at a table. Both were dressed more like traditional clowns instead of the streetwear type outfit Capri was rocking. Gam was a scrawny looking weirdo wearing a neon blue jester's outfit with the same cartoon frog on each sleeve, with neck ruffles and a neon blue top hat, with straight dark blue hair underneath that went down to his shoulders. Zee was an incredibly muscular guy with a green afro style haircut and green clown pants, with a plain white t-shirt. Gam had a blue heart painted on each eye while Zee had green diamonds.

"I am begging you, keep your heads down until the next team arrives." Julian asked the other two.

This didn't take long until the next two players emerged. Cutter did his thing, only for one of the girls to deflect his attack and move past him, carrying the other past him on her shoulder to the sign ups.

"Well well well, if it isn't Miss Stone herself." Julian asked from behind her.

The woman turned around with a contorted grin.

"Well well well, if it isn't Julian. How's the dead bear going?"

"Not bad." Julian grinned. "Still rocking the rocks?"

Roxanne got a good look at the two women in front of Julian. A short woman with blonde hair and some attempt at a royal demeanour, dressed in a black gown that looked more suited for mourning then fighting crime. The woman behind her was a hulking muscular figure in a cyan dress that clearly needed to be replaced with how worn out it was. her black hair was sorted into a ponytail, and her nostrils were flaring from behind her partner. Both wore ordinary rocks on their necks as if they were fancy necklaces.

"The rocks are great around here, I thought you'd know that in your infinite wisdom."

"What can I say, I know about it about as much as you know about not losing thieves in alleyways."

"At least I'm respected enough to stay in the hero business."

"At number two."

"Not if you wanna help me during the tournament."

"Oh, you know I'm ready."

The two had the backs of their hands hover by each other for a second, before clapping them together and quickly turning them and slapping their palms. The two girls were about to go to their tables, before noticing a woman in a pristine white dress sitting alone. The short one gave a knowing smirk to Julian, who smirked back, before they sat down.

"Short ones Fiorella, big ones Gisella. Second ranked hero group, they're a riot."

Over time, more people arrived. A lot failed at Cutter's impromptu exam and left holding their necks. The fifth ranked hero group didn't seem to turn up, but a lot of intimidating looking fighters arrived. After the room started to fill and one table was left unoccupied, cutter moved to the book, tossing it in the air in front of him and violently punching it to the other end of the room. Julian just looked at Cassandra with a look of complete bewilderment.

"Okay." Cutter started with his arms folded and a tilt of his head. "Two ninety six contestants have entered for today, with the last four already 'cided. Now, normally old Zach would explain how things work, specially this year. But he's out on 'portant Lux things. Luckily, the man managed to make a video and upload it through that internet thing, so here's that being shown to ya."

A sheet came down where the sign up book was, and Zach's face came from the projector.

"This on? 'Kay, thanks honey. Welcome, all my current competitors! Now, the Fightston games have, since the beginning of the Skyspace, the games have been a show of strength between each Grand. But now we need that more than ever. We have made the heavy decision to temporarily suspend the other aspects of the game besides the tournament, to show the Legion that we are not backing down, not when the new generation is preparing to fight as we speak! But now, for the main prize. Second, third and fourth get cash prizes, as per usual. But for first place deemed most worthy of wielding it…the Gauntlet of Fightston! Well, hopefully I'll be back soon to start everything. See you in a few days."

The assistant turned off the projector, leaving just Cutter in front of a horde of shocked faces.

"I hope you liked that. Anyway, there's the prize. Zach'll explain it when he gets back, I'm off to bed."

#my writing #writeblr #writing #creative writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 34: To Fightston

Dream world.

Roxanne knew what was coming. She felt slightly more...energized for it, but still wasn’t all that ready. The figure appeared in front of her.

“You’re nothing.”

Roxanne wasn’t even scared this time. She didn’t even feel all that tired. She felt more awake then she’s ever been.

“I’m something!”

“You’re nothing!” The figure repeated.

The tendrils burst from the ground and tried to ensnare Roxanne once again, only for her to scream with such intensity the tendrils quickly shrank into the ground. It was just her against the figure, and she was seeing this dream through to the end. She leapt up, landing a kick straight to the figure’s face. The figure held in place, before slowly fading away, leaving Roxanne to flawlessly land on her feet.

“Yeah, who’s nothing now, huh?! Huh?”

Roxanne emerged from her sleeping bag. She was on the airship to Fightston, with Cassandra, and Julian glaring at her.

“That’s a different dream, right?” Julian asked.

“Haven’t heard it yet.” Cassandra whispered back, turning over immediately afterwards.

“Interesting.” Julian said, following her lead. Both didn’t say anything else and just turned over, and Roxanne followed her lead.

The skies were brighter when Roxanne woke up again. She looked out the window to see the Fightston grand, with it’s many small homes dotted around the area with a few more modern buildings near the back, all surrounded by several tall trees surrounding the perimeter.

“First time in Fightston?” Cassandra asked, eating a chocolate protein bar behind her.

“Yep.” Roxanne replied. “Is it as rough as they say?”

“If someone says no to a fight then that means they aren’t at their best, and you don’t fight someone when they aren’t at their best. So you’ll be fine.”

“And you aren’t from there?”

“Nope. Probably not, anyway.”

“Oh, Roxanne.”

Roxanne turned around, and Zach’s wife was waiting behind her. She was taller than both of them and had some decent muscles on her arms, which were holding a basket of the same protein bars Cassandra was eating. Roxanne silently took one and started eating her breakfast.

“You’re gonna have to forgive the lack of food, we really weren’t expecting everything to happen like this.”

“It’s cool, miss...Zach’s wife.” Cassandra replied.

“Leanne.”

“Miss Leanne.”

The ship landed next to the Fightston grand, and their own airship landed behind it, manned by one of Zach’s staffers.

Roxanne, Cassandra, and Julian all stepped out onto the roof of the Fightston mansion. It was a humble mansion, which didn’t seen like two words which should go together.

“Hello, Fightston!” Cassandra bellowed from the roof while pumping her fists in the air, causing Julian to flinch.

“Sorry, you guys okay with preparing your own rooms?” Leanne asked, talking over the phone.

“Do you not have staff for that?” Julian asked back.

“Again, we weren’t really inspecting anyone. Honestly, if it weren’t for our obligations as rulers, we would’ve downsized to something more manageable years ago.”

The mansion looked like the cleaning was very rushed. Julian went into the living room at the bottom, with a TV that looked more outdated than the one back at miracle. He checked the on button to see if it even worked. It did, but his finger had dust on it. He went back upstairs to the bedroom he and Cassandra were ready to stay at, and the bed was poorly made as well, in a room with only a double bed and a wooden wardrobe. The door just said ‘Saoloro’ on it.

“Dang, they really weren’t expecting anything, were they?” Cassandra asked.

“Nope.”

The two of them lay on their bed. Julian looked out the window to the town below, before the realization that he hated came out.

The Battlestorms were certainly here.

As if she could read his mind, Cassandra got the idea too. “Hey, didn’t Caoimhe say the Battlestorms would be here?

“Yep.” Julian sighed, already sounding utterly defeated. He didn’t have an idea of what to exactly do here, so he opened his phone and went to Caoimhe’s number. He could at least send a message, so she either didn’t block his number intentionally or just forgot. The latter was the more plausible.

‘hey we’re in fights now, how bout you’

He waited for a while, but got a reply only a second later.

‘Yeah. We’re all staying in the Deerhoof hotel if you wanna register. Only a day left, so you might wanna hurry.’

“They’ve already made it.”

The three made it through the well made streets of Fightston’s capital. It was lines of houses along the sidewalk, with a wide part in the centre for people to walk around and greet the neighbours, with the paths all leading into the main town.

They knew they were reaching the main town once all the buildings started getting bigger and they began passing the stalls in front of the large stores.

“Hey, you guys new here?” A jolly looking Inarian man asked from behind his food store. He looked very familiar to Julian, but he couldn’t place him exactly.

“Yeah, we’re pretty new here.” Cassandra replied.

“Well, how about some food? Straight from the spice capital of Inariu, old recipe my brother taught me!”

Julian remembered. Spice guy had relatives. He and Roxanne cleared the area without even letting Cassandra ask further.

When they were done getting away they saw the Deerhoof hotel in the distance, with it’s long lightning rod in the distance and last few floors appearing within view. The four of them kept up the walk over to the hotel.

“Hey, you guys!”

Roxanne looked over, and a group of four kids were playing in a basketball court by a brick wall.

“Can we help you?” Roxanne asked. The four kids didn’t look too bad. Just ordinary kids. Even she could probably fight them off if she needed to.

“Yeah. Are you strong?” One of them asked.

“Pretty strong.” Cassandra nodded confidently.

“You here for the games?”

“Yep.”

“Well then, guess I gotta test you.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Julian said as the kid approached him. Him in particular for some god damn reason.

"You scared?"

"I just really don't wanna deal with this right now?"

Without talking any further, white energy wrapped around the kid's hand as he leapt forward and punched Julian straight in the stomach. Julian felt the pain spread throughout his body before once again concentrating into his stomach.

"So do I win?" The kid asked as the energy dissolved.

"You win, now go away." Julian groaned as he got back on his feet.

"Man, you are gonna suck at the games. My brother's got the same power as me, and he's way stronger."

"Wait a second, your brother wouldn't happen to be in the…Nightwatch society, would he?"

"Oh, you know him?"

"Yep." Julian said as he hobbled past the girls and went to the hotel.

The three walked into the hotel, a luxurious looking area with a giant fountain spraying water in many elaborate patterns that were constantly changing with a great looking wooden desk being manned by a woman who looked unusually scrawny and pale by Fightston standards. The glasses were especially weird, seeing as most Fightston residents ditched them in favour of contact lenses.

"Hey, we're here to enter the Fightston games." Cassandra asked.

"All three of you?"

"Nah." Julian said. "Just us two."

"I'm joining too."

Roxanne cut Julian off almost instantly. Julian turned around to see Roxanne looking the receptionist directly into the eyes.

"Where do we sign up?"

"The sign up is in the basement floor. Also, unless you're sponsored it's five hundred Luxa for entry."

"Uhh, did we ever get a sponsor from Zach?" Cassandra asked.

"We probably should have." Julian sighed.

"Uhh, we have the Thunder Axe, and we'll just…go down. Zach can fill you in when he gets back, we'll give you his number. Hey Roxanne, you got his number?"

"No."

"His wife's number then."

"Didn't get that either."

"Look, she'll be here eventually." Cassandra affirmed, slowly going down the stairs. Julian and Roxanne just followed her down without saying anything to the receptionist.

The three of them made it downstairs to the basement, where several people were lined up. Some, Julian could recognise. His gaze briefly met Gavin, but they both tried their bets to pretend it didn't happen.

"New faces, huh?"

Before Julian could try to recall the gruff voice calling out to him, the hulking figure was already approaching him. Cassandra ducked out of the way, but both Julian and Roxanne were clotheslined by an arm and slammed to the ground. Julian looked up at the man, now kneeling down at him and looking disappointed, prodding him in the head.

"These the new ones, eh? Boy, Zach's got a lot to answer for."

#my writing #writeblr #creative writing #writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 33: Normal Life

Priyanka landed the ship back in the hanger, taking the shield with her. Tsuki woke up Xander, who hasn’t said anything since the ordeal back at the castle. The workers back at the ship all looked at them when they walked on, and Xander felt every pair of eyes land on him. Tsuki took his hand without a word, and the three made their way to the top floor through the ladders. Xander managed to get through the ladders without slipping, although the thought of just...falling off entered his mind for the first time since he got here. Falling off and breaking his bones in a way that could kill him. It felt disturbing.

They stood before the door of Chelic, and Xander’s breaths got heavier.

“Hey, maybe we should wait a little bit before reporting? I don’t think Chelic will mind, anyway.” Tsuki asked Priyanka.

Priyanka looked up at Xander.

“I can do the talking, if you need.”

“Yeah.” Xander finally said after a dry heave. “That’d...that’d be good.”

The three entered the door, where Marcus was waiting for them. Chelic, as per usual, had his back turned to them from his chair.

“Greetings!” Marcus said, as affable as ever. “It seems to us made you’ve made quite a stir!”

“That we did.” Priyanka replied calmly, handing Marcus the shield.

“You know, the announcement of Marcel’s death has reached us too. If I can pry just a little, I need to know how you pulled off something of that nature.”

“We simply saw it as the best course of action.” Priyanka said. “Marcel was fighting me and could kill him, but seeing as his powers of giving extra blood to certain parts of his body to move better has the weakness of weaker areas with less blood, Xander struck the back of his neck and allowed me to break it entirely.

“And Tsuki, what were you doing?”

“I was stopping his daughter from intervening.” She said.

“And where is the daughter now?” Chelic asked from behind his chair.

“We didn’t see her death as necessary, so we let her go. Provided we start an attack on the entire Skyspace as soon as possible, attacking Sangaria while it’s still weak would be a good starting point.”

“An interesting idea.” Marcel said while moving to standing in front of Chelic’s chair. “But one that could pay off. And if you don’t have anything else to add, I think a ranking increase is in order. Wouldn’t you agree, Chelic?”

“I believe so.” Chelic replied. “Now, since you did leave a witness that could describe you, I don’t think the ranking increase should be as drastic. Priyanka, you will be increased to one hundred on the dot. Tsuki, one hundred and one. Xander, one hundred and two. Meaning Xander and Priyanka get to move up in the cluster.”

“Is it cool if I don’t?” Xander managed to let out. “All my stuff and experiments are there, so it’d be a hassle to just move all of it.”

“Perfectly allowed, Xander.” Marcus said with a nod.

“What layer would I be moving to?” Priyanka asked.

“The third layer, if I remember correctly.” Marcel said, inspecting the laptop next to him. “I’m not sure how much help you’ll need moving, but I’ll provide some people if you need it.”

“I don’t have much of importance to bring.” Priyanka said calmly. “One person will do, I think.”

“I can do it.” Tsuki added. “I don’t have much going on.”

“For the next few hours.” Chelic added.

“Oh, of course sir.” Tsuki replied with her back turned to him in case the disgust in her mind reached her face.

“So, we can go now?” Xander asked.

“You should be able to, yes.” Marcus nodded.

The three of them walked out of the room.

“I’m going back to my room.” Xander said. “See you later?”

“Sure.”

“Perhaps.”

Xander lay on his bed, not thinking about anything. Or rather, not trying to think about anything. He hasn’t gotten any emails since he left, so he could presumably just chill for a while, right? He thought that maybe he or someone on the ship could somehow contact Luminita and apologize? No, that’s ridiculous. No email is gonna forgive someone’s murdered dad.

Issue number two. He has powers now. He didn’t know how he did, but he can summon knives now. He looked towards a tube in his room he wasn’t gonna miss, and mimicked throwing a knife at it. Nothing happened. Okay, imagine a knife. The shape of a knife. Or maybe a dagger? He tried throwing it again, still nothing. Is it the kind of thing that only works in danger? He’ll have to ask Tsuki later. But first, time for a nap.

Or it would be, if there wasn’t a knock at the door.

Xander opened the door, and a blonde girl in a white shirt was standing in front of him.

“Are you Xander?” She asked nervously.

“Yeah?” Xander answered.

“Okay, cool.” She said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Look, how do you...survive out there?”

“Out where?”

“The Skyspace?! I just got sent to go out on a scouting mission!”

“Wait, you?” Xander yelled back. This was one of the weakest looking people here.

“They might be looking out for groups, according to Chelic. Look, apparently the Fightston games are advertising, and anyone can enter without any proof of your prior existence.”

“That seems like a trap.”

“I know! But they just want to get someone in to look around and look for weaknesses, send in the big names, and then steal the Fightston gauntlet. So how do I not die?”

“Just lay low, find a secure place nobody will check to call in the big names. And if you can, befriend someone who lives in the castle and steal the gauntlet yourself. Big risk if you do that alone though. When do you go, anyway?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Well, shit. Good luck with that, anyway. Get some sleep and grab as much caffeine as you can.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I will.” The girl sighed, taking a step outside his room. Xander closed the door behind her, leaving her to her fate. She was probably dead. But hey, at least he wouldn’t be there to see it.

“So that’s everything.”

Tsuki sat legs swinging on Priyanka’s empty top bunk, with her small box of things to bring up next to it. It was barely anything, just a poster and a couple books. Thick ones too, but she didn’t check the titles. Priyanka finished stuffing her blanket into her box and looked up at Tsuki.

“You know that your new place will have blankets, right?” Her roommate asked, playing a busted up handheld.

“This is my blanket. I got it when I came here, and I’ll continue to use it.”

“Whatever. See you later, Preeta."

“Priyanka.”

“Close enough.”

Tsuki just left the room, and Priyanka followed.

“Does she not know your name?” Tsuki asked. Priyanka didn’t look upset at her misnaming. Granted, she didn’t look upset at much.

“We barely talked. Don’t know her name, either.”

“Oh...really?”

“You never know when you’ll be called for a raid. Boom, that person you befriended ends up dead or imprisoned.”

“I mean...that makes some sense.” Tsuki replied. A silence crept up on them, and Tsuki felt the need to break it.

“We’re friends, right?”

“After all we’ve been through, I’d guess so.” Priyanka agreed flatly. “Not like you two will be leaving the ship anytime soon.”

“Guess not.” Tsuki nodded slowly. “Just me, the girls, and a whole lot of Chelic.”

The two entered Priyanka’s new room. Two separate beds, which was already an improvement as far as Tsuki was confirmed. The other person wasn’t there, but their stuff was. A couple weights and a food wrapper or two laying on the floor.

“So can I just leave these wherever?” Tsuki asked, lifting the books out of her box. ‘The minds behind minds, an introduction to psychology by Ratan Gupta.’

“What’s this about?”

“Oh that? Found it one day. I think the legion would benefit from having a dedicated psychologist for when the missions are over. Also, the surname clicks to me.”

“What, you think you could be related or something?”

“I suppose it’s a possibility.” Priyanka said calmly. “Actually, do you ever think about your old family?”

“Sometimes. I know I was from Sandala, but I was pretty young, don’t remember much else.”

“Same here, except it’s Gurut. Although I do hope my family are doing okay.”

“Well, Xander and his friend figured out how to get internet on their systems, even if it is terrible. Maybe I could ask if he could track down a missing persons site and find us on it?”

“Wait, you can do that?”

Tsuki looked at Priyanka. Her eyes were widened, and she looked ready to strike at the information.

“Maybe? From what I know people dump old news on the internet in case anyone needs it later, so it’s not impossible.”

Priyanka calmly sat on her new bed, her disposition turning in an instant. “I’ll have to ask him later.”

“Oh, and before I go.”

Tsuki reached into her purse, taking out a bottle of shampoo. Blue bottle. Saintly Shampoo. Looked official by shampoo standards, anyway.

“Your hair felt really dry back in Sangaria, so I thought you could do with that.”

“I see. Thanks.” Priyanka replied, shoving the shampoo in her back pockets.

“You know, keep your hair looking good in case you wanna go dude hunting.”

“I see.” Priyanka repeated.

“Babe hunting?”

“Not invested at all, really. But I do appreciate the effort in getting me this.”

“Okay. Well, guess I’ll go now. We exchanged numbers, so let me know when you wanna hang out again.”

Tsuki left, and Priyanka once again glanced at her book. If there was a way out, Xander would probably have the answer. Then she could find her family, if they still existed.

And at the end of it all, would be a normal life.

#my writing #writeblr #writing #creative writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 32: So Then, What Next?

Everyone stood in silence in front of the messenger, waiting for another to break the silence.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to not make comments like this.” Freyja finally said through an obviously panicked veneer. “We know that Marcel is running late, but this is no excuse to-”

“Shut it, Freyja.” Zach interrupted. One quick glare, and Freyja was hiding behind Mia. He approached the messenger, who was trying their best not to erupt into panic.

“Listen.” He asked as his hulking figure approached the messenger. “You know if Luminita’s okay?”

“To my knowledge, she’s fine.”

“Okay, good to know.” Zach said with a slight sigh of relief. “She in a position for a call?”

“Well, I’m not too sure.”

“Worst she can do its leave me hanging.” Zach whispered to himself, already getting his phone out and dialling the number. He gave one quick nod to the others, and left into the hallways to talk.

The line was silent for a while. Zach kept it up just in case, and just as the phone was about to close automatically, something picked up.

“Who is this?” A voice asked. It’s been a while since they talked, but it was clearly her.

“Luminita, correct?” Zach asked.

“Who is this?” She asked, her voice wavering at just what could be at the other end.

“Zach”

“Zach? Like, uncle Zach?”

“That one.”

Zach listened to the following torrent of tears and incoherent wailing coming from the other end.

“Listen, Lumie.” Zach said. “You can cry all you need once we meet up in person. But I’m just calling to let you know that we’re gonna need to interrogate you for a little bit, got it?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Awesome. Actually, I need to know. You hurt anywhere?”

“A little scratched up, but that’s not important.”

“Excellent, excellent.”

“Sorry, Zach?” Nuria asked from the hallway. “We need to discuss our next move.”

“Right now? I’ll be with you in a second.” He went back to Luminita. “Gotta go real quick. But if anything is worrying you, give me a call.”

He walked calmly into the room where all the other nova leaders were sitting, with Mia naturally sitting at the top with Freyja at the first table nearby. Zach sat at the back next to Rory, and all partners, servants, children, and heroes left the room.

“Okay, first order of business.” Mia said. “Sangaria is no longer an official member until their weapon is returned.”

“Fuck off.”

Mia looked at Rory, who was glaring back.

“Excuse me, Rory?” Mia asked, keeping her composure while Freyja looked mortified. “May I remind you that you even being here is an act of charity?”

“Well, I need to fucking say something. Saoloro lost the bow, that much is true. But the people still remain with no deaths at the moment. I might not get re-elected next year, but I can live with that. But Sangaria lost their main ruler and have a scared child in their place, and everything will go tits up if she gets abandoned!”

“Pretty much what I was gonna say.” Zach said with a nod.

“I am not repeating myself.” Mia said calmly. “If you are of significance, you have a relic weapon to look after. It’s as simple as that.”

“With all due respect, miss Mia.” Sylvestro said from across Freyja. “The Legion has three weapons now, so by your own logic they should be ruling the entire Skyspace.”

“They were stolen from their rightful place, it’s entirely different!” Freyja piped in, already looking frazzled.

“So weapons don’t have any bearing on ability to lead.” Ola added slowly. “You agree to that?”

Freyja’s lips tried their best to make a rebuttal towards Ola, but nothing could come out.

“I’m not leaving Marcel’s daughter behind, anyway.” Fen Hou said after a brief silence. “If I can have her number, Zach, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll leave it with you.” Zach replied with a satified nod.

“Okay, okay. We can keep Luminita in the congregation until she gets a better handle on ruling.” Mia said calmly as she bit her bottom lip.

“Hold on.” Zach interjected. “We’re letting Rory and Gurpreet back in. Otherwise we’ll set a bad example and not have a reason not to include the Legion should they want to.”

Mia looked at Zach for what seemed like an eternity, and nobody said a word.

“Fine.” She said. “Once the Legion is dealt with, relic ownership will not play a role in whether or not someone is eligible for joining the congregation.”

“Agreed there.” Rory said with a slight smile and approving nod.

“But.” Mia said, causing Rory to roll his eyes and go back to his grouchy disposition. “Zachary’s plan better have some kind of payoff at the end of all this.”

“It’s all going according to plan.” Zach nodded.

“And do you mind sharing what that plan is?”

“I can’t share the plan itself, but I can tell you that it’s coming to fruition in a couple days.”

“A few days?” Mia asked, squinting her eyes at Zach, who remained unfazed. “Does the plan coincide with the Fightston games?”

“Now that I think about it, they do line up.” Zach said, blowing a stray hair out of his eye.

“But the citizens of Fightston will be safe?”

“Nothing will happen to them, I assure you.”

“Well, if have nothing more to discuss, we can declare the discussion over. Zachary, please get Luminita to Lux itself for her coronation, I’d like it done in two days.”

Mia stood up and put her white coat on. “I’ll make preparations for Luminita, see you all there. Freyja, thank you for letting us use your dining room as a meeting grounds.”

“Oh, not an issue at all!” Freyja said merrily, causing Rory and Sylvestro to roll their eyes. Mia left the room, with the rest left to their own devices.

“Well, two days isn’t exactly a lot of time.” Sylvestro said after the brief silence. “So I’ll be taking my leave. Give your staff my regards, Freyja.” He left several bags out of his cape’s insides and left them on the table.

“Should be a hundred Luxa for everyone who works here, let me know if I need to send more.”

He left alongside Fen Hou, with Ola and Rory following soon after. Zach left to make his call to Luminita.

“Hey, just got out of a meeting. You’re gonna be coronated as the next ruler of Sangaria in two days.”

“Wait, two days?”

“Yeah, It’s not a lot of time, sorry about that. It’ll be two days in Lux, and I should be able to just go over and take you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sounds good.”

Zach hung up the phone and went towards the others, looking for the Miracle group and the kids. He found Willow’s room and gave a quick knock, which Willow answered.

“You doing good?” She asked, looking around for her mother.

“Yeah, just wanna ask if everyone’s here.”

“Just me, Javier, and the Miracle guys.”

“Cool.” Zach replied, inviting himself in. “So, we have news. Luminita’s coronation is in two days, and you two will probably have to go to that. Would be best seeing as you’re the gang.”

“The gang?” Javier asked.

"You know, the gang. You, Willow, Luminita, and-"

"Yes, yes, the gang. I remember." Javier nodded. "I'll be there, anyway."

“And as for the miracle squad, I got an offer for you guys.”

“Hit us.” Cassandra replied.

“How would you guys like to compete in the Fightston games?”

“I’m sorry, the Fightston games?” Julian asked.

“You don’t need to, but it’d be nice if you at least showed up. It’s gonna be a big deal this year, mostly based around the fighting, and all the top hero groups are gonna be there.”

“Well, I’m in.” Cassandra said.

Same here!” Roxanne said

“Fine.” Julian grumbled.

“Excellent!” Zach yelled, before checking the hallways to ensure nobody heard that.

“One more thing. Willow, if you wanna enter, I’m totally down to sneak you onto the ship once the coronation’s over.”

“Wait, for real?” Willow asked, her eyes lighting up towards Cassandra and Roxanne.

Zach leaned in to Willow and whispered to her.

“And if you can help me sneak the spear onto my ship, I’ll let you fight with it.”

“Got it.” Willow whispered back.

“And if you three wanna grab a ship with my wife back to Fightston, that’d be easy on me.”

“Already on it.” Julian said, getting up and leaving the room with the other two in tow.

#my writing #writeblr #writing #creative writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 31: Get the Shield

Xander watched through an upper window as the guards walked into the castle to sleep and some new ones came out, a good few less. Xander counted around seven come out of the castle, half of the fifteen there previously. He opened the window right in front of the courtyard, so hopefully Tsuki and Priyanka could see it.

"Hey, what you doing here?"

Xander turned around to see a guard decked out in the same neon green uniform as the rest of them. Only this one looked much younger.

"Oh, me?" Xander asked, trying to act nonchalant through the shock. "I'm Luminita's date for the ball tomorrow."

"Oh, so you're going?" The young solider asked. "Makes sense, she's a beaut."

"Oh, totally."

"Also, I don't think we're allowed to open windows in here." The solider said, closing the window.

"Wait, really?"

"High security, you know how it is." The young solider said while rolling his eyes. "Can't have a risk like this open, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Well, I was only gonna get some air, but I'm just gonna go for a walk and go back to sleep."

"Nothing wrong with that."

The solider continued his patrol while whistling something to himself. Xander patrolled in the opposite direction, searching the first floor for what he was looking for. Eventually, his search led him to the centre of the castle's first floor. It was a circular room There were two grand doors about twice the size of all the other already large doors in the building.

"Halt!" Said one guard, putting a sword in between Xander's eyes. "If you're not a member of the royal family, look away!"

"It's temporary, but he is!"

Marcel's voice rang through the hallway behind Xander.

"He wants to see the shield, that's all."

"Yeah, when you get the chance, you know?"

The guard pulled his sword back, gave a nod and a quick apology, and opened the door. Xander walked in with Marcel in tow to admire the shield. On a pedestal with seemingly no protection lay the shield in front of them. A circular white relic polished to a resplendent shine, with a blood red gemstone embedded in it's centre with black triangles surrounding it. And on each end was a narrow transparent tube. It looked like an amazing piece of history, but just how easy it looked to steal concerned Xander, even if he was aware how stupid a complaint that was.

"No security in the room, huh?" He asked, trying his best to seem relaxed.

"Well, the soldiers should hopefully be enough. But now that you mention it, something more advanced certainly wouldn't hurt. Actually, you know about computers, right? Any idea where to start?"

Well, no chance of him learning something basic, right? He couldn't install anything he'd need to stop him in a few hours, anyway.

"Yeah, sure. First thing I'd start with is a camera system. Just put a couple around the hallways and have a guy watching all of them. Then have a set of walkie talkies between all the guards to contact them. Then maybe have an alarm system to evacuate any important people. And an old castle like this'll probably have it, but if you don't have any secret exits in case the worst happens, I'd recommend fitting those in there somewhere."

Marcel calmly took the information in while stroking his beard.

"It's so obvious." He muttered to himself.

"Well, I'm not too sure just how obvious it is when you're not in cybersecurity, you know."

"Now now, mister Dobalina. Don't downplay advice you just gave. As soon as the ball ends, I'll get right to work on implementing those ideas."

"Well, good luck with that." Xander replied, feigning a yawn. "I'll be going to bed."

"Yes, I suppose it's that time." Marcel said as he turned around. "Oh, one more thing."

"Go on."

"Should everything go well tomorrow, I wouldn't mind you taking things further with my daughter should you want to. You've got a good head on your shoulders"

"Hey, I'll keep that in mind."

Xander walked back up to his room, making sure to count the guards on his way up. He counted seven. Two groups of three and one by their lonesome in between. Okay, this shouldn't be too difficult. He tried opening the window by the second floor, but the same guard was approaching, so he left it. The only real option was to open the window in his own room and hope Priyanka could boost to it.

Seeing as he was an important guest, he was naturally at the top of the castle. Which meant climbing the staircases until he was near the top. It was a trek through the five floors of staircases that seemed to get longer nearer the top he got. He was tired when he finally got to his room, but luckily not as much as on the Cluster. Luminita lived on a separate tower to him on the right of the centre where Marcel seemed to live. She must have insane stamina if that was what she was climbing everyday, but there wasn't time to think about that. He went into his room, a spacious bedroom with empty shelves lining the walls and a large double bed. Probably for esteemed guests such as himself, but the room honestly looked like it was never slept on. He sat on the bed, almost falling back as he sank into the perfect warmth of the red blankets. He forced himself to jump out of the bed, quickly opening his phone to text Tsuki.

Tsuki got the text from Xander as she was dropping all of her new clothes at the ship. She managed to get a white shirt with a spiral heart design as well as a light grey jacket made from cotton. Just one size too big, she thought it matched her aesthetic better. Follow that up with black jeans with stylish zippers on the knees, and you got a pretty complete outfit. Anyway, back to the text.

'ready when you are call when you need me'

Tsuki got Priyanka ready and hit call. She was still dressed in what she brought, fashion was a game of people with too much time to kill.

"Okay, I'm ready." Xander said as soon as they were connected. "But Pri, I gotta know one thing about your powers."

"And that would be?" She can ignore the Pri thing, that's for later discussion.

"How high could you boost while carrying Tsuki?"

"I don't know, about...an average personal ship and a half, maybe?"

"Okay, you might need to boost higher. Way higher. Because I can only open the windows on the top of the tower without raising suspicion."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, It'll be one time, and you can have as much recovery time as you need. The window will be on the left hand tower, so come over as soon as you can."

Tsuki and Priyanka left their airship and went the short distance towards the castle.

"Tsuki, you're really going in your new clothes?"

"Yeah, well...would it be too late to change now?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't, but I'd rather not see you so sad over losing them."

"Well, I think I'll probably be fine. Quick in and out, right?"

"Well, that's the dream." Priyanka said with a breath. But they were at the castle walls. Xander put Tsuki on her back, and she boosted to the main walls, and directly in front of her was Xander's room with the open window.

"Hey, Pri." Tsuki asked. "Not the best time, but you have really dry hair."

"Not Important." Priyanka replied, still not liking the whole 'Pri' thing. What mattered was guessing the distance it would take to get both her and Tsuki up there, and just how hurt she could get from doing so. Only way to see was to test it.

"Okay, on my back." Priyanka said. "Also, might be best to get your hands out to stick them to the wall."

"Oh, good catch."

Priyanka readied herself, feeling her hair stand on edge, feeling the energy pulse around her. She tried to ensure Tsuki wouldn't get ripped from her skin by holding on to her legs. And with her preparations made, she jumped forward.

The burst got her from the outside wall to the edge of the castle in a moment. Tsuki thrust her hands forward by the window, sticking to the wall with Priyanka holding onto her legs. Her arms were clinging on in sheer desperation. But she felt Xander pulling her and Tsuki up.

Once Priyanka was in the room, she felt the world collapse around her. Her eyes were blurry, and the few sounds in the room faded into the background as an intense ringing burst into her ears. Finally was the sensation in her limbs. When she tried to cover her ears, her arms flopped to her side, and her legs collapsed a second later. Xander caught her before she fell to the ground and placed her safely in what felt like a bed.

She had no idea if she was going to die. Everything around her was a formless shape, and all she felt she could do was scream. But scream, and let people know Xander's not alone. So she stayed shut for several minutes until everything started to make sense again. Her vision focused on the white ceiling in front of her, and her hearing adjusted to the steady breathing of Tsuki standing over her.

Once Priyanka was adjusted, she quickly leapt out of the bed like nothing ever happened.

"Okay, we ready?"

Priyanka approached the door, standing behind it with her hands behind her back and gesturing for Xander to lead the way.

"Okay, but we don't have to fight anyone, okay?" Xander said as he opened the door. "Get the shield and get out. Simple plan."

Xander walked with Tsuki behind him and Priyanka behind her. Xander started running through the halls to get to the ground floor. Xander heard noises in front, urging the other two to duck behind the corner from whatever it was.

Xander saw some guards in front of him, one of the trios he encountered earlier.

"Ah. Xander, am I right?" The one in front asked. "Mind if I ask what has you making so much noise?"

"Oh, I'm making noise?" Xander asked, acting unaware. "So sorry about that! It's just that I'm, like, really hungry and just need a snack as soon as possible, you know?"

"Did you not eat with the king?"

"I did, but seconds exist. Meals are wayyy smaller here than in Ropear, you know? So I'm still a little hungry, you feel?"

While Xander was talking to the guard, Priyanka put Tsuki on her back and dashed to the wall. A guard looked in her direction, but she was able to dash behind them before his eyes could realise something was up.

"If that's all that you want, I won't stop you."

"Cool. Keep up the good work, guys."

Xander paced past them to Priyanka and Tsuki waiting for him.

"Okay, I think we're almost there."

The three descended the final staircase to the door that housed the shield. Priyanka boosted into the one on the right before he could react, knocking him over. Priyanka quickly took his sword and threw it aside. Tsuki ran into the other guard approaching her, managing to barely grab his spear and glue it to herself, pulling it out of his hand.

"C-code red!" The guard yelled out just as Priyanka pushed him against the wall by boosting towards him, knocking him out.

Nobody was nearby and backup was certainly approaching. Get the shield, get out. Xander ran over to the shield and took it from it's pedestal while the girls kept watch.

"Xander, you ready?" Tsuki asked, her voice beginning to waver. Xander instantly ran out to the girls looking at the top of the stairs.

"Just run!" He yelled, not even looking at what was above them. He felt a shadow loom above him, but didn't bother checking what it was. And just as he got to the door, it crashed in front of the door.

"Xander." Marcel asked calmly. His face looked slightly pale, but the colour was returning to his face quickly. "What is this?" He didn't even sound mad. Just disheartened.

Xander tried running past him to the door, and was slammed to the ground with one disinterested swipe. Xander got up, not feeling any major damage besides his back hurting, and even that would subside quickly. He looked up at Marcel, and the hand used to strike him was as pale as his face was.

"Xander, why are you doing this?" He still refused to raise his voice. "Or rather, who's making you do this?"

"I'm doing this because I want to." Xander replied.

"Don't lie to me. Hand over the shield, and all charges will be dropped. And I guarantee all of your friends will be protected."

Xander looked at Tsuki and Priyanka. Priyanka saw the gears turning in his mind.

"If we leave, they hunt us down!" Priyanka yelled. "And this is the first place they'll look!"

Xander knew there wasn't any way to leave without the shield. So he tried charging through, only to get swatted away by Marcel again.

"You are not leaving." Marcel said calmly. "Try to resist again, I will have to resort to restraining you."

Marcel let the blood flow back into his hand, with a little more to power up his next strike.

"Dad? What's going on?"

Marcel looked up to see Luminita standing above the stairs, trying her best to access the situation.

"Luminita? Get out of here!"

Priyanka saw the chance to strike. She dashed towards the wall behind Marcel, and then up the stairs. She was behind Luminita before she could comprehend where she was. Priyanka had her in a headlock.

"Get away from her!" Marcel roared.

"Here's the deal. We leave with the shield, and your daughter leaves alive."

Marcel slammed Xander against the wall with one swipe, leaving him on the floor. He picked up the shield and placed it on his arm. The tubes slowly inserted themselves into his body, and in a single bound he was besides Priyanka. Priyanka quickly shoved Luminita in front of Marcel.

"Go ahead, do your worst."

The tubes turned red. They detached from Marcel and inserted themselves into Priyanka's arms. The blood rushed into Priyanka's arms, causing her to drop Luminita, who quickly scrambled behind her dad. Marcel made the blood rush to his legs and kick Priyanka with all the force he could.

Priyanka was slammed against the wall, struggling to catch her breath. She felt something was broken inside of her. It hurt to breathe, and Marcel was slowly approaching her.

Xander looked on as Marcel went to do who knew what with Priyanka. He had to do something. Take Luminita, who was just standing on the sidelines? No, that would definitely make everything worse. The only thing he could do was run up to help and hope for the best. Tsuki followed behind, rubbing her hands to get the gooey substance ready, just in case. Xander felt some kind of energy well up in his left hand. When he looked at it, a single translucent blue dagger was in his hand. With only one option, he flung it with all his might at the back of Marcel's neck.

Marcel stopped in his tracks, his eyes bulging in front of Priyanka as the dagger disappeared from his neck. In the brief moment he was stopped, Priyanka got under him and boosted to his face.

The crack reverberated throughout the castle. Marcel's head snapped backwards as Priyanka boosted his more coloured stomach down the stairs, and he fell without resistance. Xander grabbed the shield as Luminita tried tackling him to the ground. Tsuki managed to catch her, covering her coat in the glue and sticking her against the wall. Xander grabbed the shield and tossed it to Tsuki, putting Priyanka on his back and running out out of the castle. Luminita got her coat off and ran towards her father. She assessed his neck, broken in nearly all places. She got her phone out, calling for an ambulance as soon as possible. A hand was put on her shoulder, and she panicked before realising who it belonged to.

Her father.

"Luminita, I'm afraid it's too late for me."

"It isn't! We'll get you to the hospital, and then I can-"

"My sight is already fading. Please, just stay here a while. I need you to be the last thing I see."

Luminita did as he instructed, clutching his hand into hers to feel a slow pulse.

"Luminita, I'm sorry for everything that'll be thrust upon you soon. But if I can make one request for your future rule, you need to go forward with compassion above all else. All people can be reasoned with. Don't hold any hate towards the people who did this to me. I'm certain they can be brought to the right side of history if you try hard enough."

"But, but..."

"Your mother and I will be looking over you, so please don't worry. Goodbye, Luminita."

And the pulse slowly faded.

#my writing #writeblr #writing #creative writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 30: Is This It?

No way this was it.

The kiss felt…gross? Their tongues pushed against each other like some kind of bizarre species of slugs while their lips were pressed together. That was it? That couldn’t have been it.

“You doing okay?” Willow asked. “All good?”

Something was showing on her face. Disappointment, confusion, she didn’t know what.

“Um, I think something I ate during dinner didn’t go down right. Mind if I use your bathroom before we do anything else?”

During the party, Cassandra was trying out all the alcoholic drinks she could, slamming back shots while Rory was lying on the table. Sylvestro was laughing with her, also getting mildly tipsy off the serving trays offerings, with Fen Hou dragging him away before anything got worse. Cassandra took one more shot of Witburn before her phone rang. She discreetly removed it from her bust and answered it.

“Hello?” She whispered, going to a quieter part of the room.

“Cass?” Roxanne asked, her voice waving.

“Roxanne? Something up?”

“I’m in Willow’s bathroom and can’t go out without it being…really bad. Just come up and try to think of a reason to get me out.”

Cassandra shut her phone and walked over to Julian, casually drinking a glass of milk next to Javier.

“We gotta go, it’s about Roxanne.” She spoke. Julian gave a quick nod and downed his milk, following her to the door where a lanky servant came holding a plate of drinks.

“Is there a reason you have to leave?”

“Where’s Roxanne?”

“Willow’s friend, correct?” He asked. “I believe she had lady problems to attend to.”

“Well, I need to see her.”

“There’s no reason to leave for the next few hours outside of emergencies. Now then, enjoy the festivities.”

Cassandra pushed the doofus in front of her to the side, with Julian rushing behind him to break his fall. Once he knew he wouldn’t sustain any major damage from this height, he let go and let gravity run its course, following Cassandra to Willow’s room.

Willow answered her door to see a mildly concerned Cassandra standing in front of her.

“You need something?” She asked, glancing around the hallway.

“Yeah, it’s about Roxanne.” Cassandra started, trying to sound casual. “I got a call from her, and I’m pretty sure she…died in your bathroom.”

“She what?” Willow asked, looking over at her door.

“Yeah, we’ll take her out.”

Cassandra pushed past Willow as she knocked on the door. The door unlocked, and Cassandra walked in and carried Roxanne out of the room. Julian moved Willow aside to ensure nothing collided.

“Okay…mind explaining what’s up?” Julian asked, standing in front of Willow’s door in case she tried getting out.

“I kissed her, right?” Roxanne said to Julian’s nodding face. “And it was all nice and romantic until that point. But then when we actually began to kiss it felt so…gross? Like, it felt like I shouldn’t have been there.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t look too deep into it. You weren’t as into Willow as you thought. This happens.” Cassandra said, putting a comforting hand on Roxanne’s shoulder. Next person you find, you’ll get them.”

“But will she?” Julian asked.

Cassandra furrowed her brow at him. “Yeah.”

Julian opened his mouth, paused for a second then let his thoughts out.

“Look, Roxanne. Do you really know if you’re cut out for this?”

“Cut out for what?”

“You know, the whole…romance thing. Because I see you just kind of latch onto the first person we meet, go on a date or two, and then abandon them after it goes nowhere.”

“Julian, what are you saying?” Cassandra asked.

“It’s just a pattern I’ve noticed.” Julian said. “Look, I’m not trying to draw any conclusions for you, but did you see anything long term between any of the people you dated?”

“Well, no, but It’s not like I had the option to find the best of the best or anything.”

“Two were close to Lux leaders, and one’s literally gonna become one. How are they not the best of the best?”

“Well, I mean…there’s more to it all than all that…right?”

“Way more.” Cassandra nodded.

“Look, maybe put a pause on the whole love thing for a while, okay? Because as I see it, you don’t even know what you want out of it.”

“What are you saying?!” Roxanne asked, getting up to Julian’s face.

“Look, listen to me. Cassandra likes men, Willow likes women, I like both. Maybe you just like nothing.”

A shock went through Roxanne’s heart when that word was said. She felt a force close in on her she just had to break out of. She clutched her necklace, and as if it was guiding her, an idea made it’s way into her head.

“I’m something! I love people! I-I love a lot of people! Like you!”

“I’m sorry, what?” Julian took a brief step back as Roxanne approached him. Roxanne pulled him close and pressed their lips together.

It didn’t feel good.

Julian managed to pry her off him, accidentally shoving her to the ground. Cassandra ran over to pick her up, and Roxanne immediately went to kiss her, closing their lips together. Cassandra calmly tried to push her away and put one hand over her mouth.

“Roxanne, are you okay?” She asked.

“More than okay!” Roxanne yelled. “I’m in love!”

“Are you?” Julian asked from behind them, looking slightly unnerved.

“Yes!”

“Who, even?”

Roxanne stood in silence for a brief moment, before falling on her knees.

“I don’t know!”

Willow stepped out of her room to see what was happening, and Julian just gestured for her to go back to her room.

“So, I’ve been sent to look for…”

Kazumi’s voice slowly diminished as she saw whatever was happening in front of her. Roxanne took one look at her and slowly began to run down the hallway.

“So, what did I miss?” Kazumi asked, looking at the worried faces of Julian and Cassandra.

“She’s just having a…mild crisis, so to speak.” Julian sighed, gazing at the path Roxanne tread on.

“Oh damn, over what?”

“She’s been having trouble finding love when we landed in new places. And when I asked if she even knew what she wanted, she started panicking and ran off.”

“That wasn’t it.” Cassandra sighed. “He started asking if she could even feel romantic feelings, and that’s when she started panicking.”

“Ah, it’s that kind of crisis.” Kazumi said. “Listen, you two and Willow need go back to the dining hall, and I’ll track Roxanne down. Sound good?”

“If you can get her out of her mood.” Julian nodded. “If I were to guess, she’d go inside her room seeing as she doesn’t know the layout of this place.”

Roxanne lay on her bed, trying not let tears leak from her face onto her dress. She was ready for this her whole life. All the shows she watched, all the music she listened to, it was all in preparation for her journey of love. She played the song she always returned to in her head. Raided Hearts by Diamond Dragons. The song about two people taking solace in heartbreak before finding each other was so beautiful. So why couldn’t she recall the lyrics? Before she finally heard a knock at the door.

“Hey Roxanne, you in there?”

Kazumi’s voice.

“I’m…getting changed!”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” She replied coolly. “I heard about what happened.”

“What, exactly? A lot of things happened lately, especially to me! I’d probably rank in the top ten of people doing things when you think about it.”

“I suppose, yes.” Kazumi said from behind the door. “But you only signed up to all of it to find someone to fall in love with you, right?”

“Well, what’s your point?” Roxanne asked, knocking some of her clothes on the floor to create the impression of something busy going on beyond the door.

“I’m saying that…I might be able to help you out a little. Because I might have been where you are right now.”

Roxanne stopped shuffling around her room. “In what way?”

“Well, you know, love. Or…the lack of it. You know, when everyone and everything around you is telling you to fall in love. Your friends all get in relationships and start spending less time with you. Basically every song and movie is about love or has it shoved in there. Because it’s what people want to see. On a screen, in a song, and in you. And when you learn you just…can’t feel it, it’s tiring. Frustrating, even. You start thinking you’re broken. That there’s some level of society that you’ll never be able to reach. And then you don’t really know what to do with yourself.”

“So what are you saying?”

“Just that…whatever you’re feeling, it’s fine. Being ace is fine.”

Roxanne didn’t reply. Kazumi silently fist-bumped the door, not knowing how to finish the conversation. She turned around to a young servant girl looking distressed behind her.

“Miss Kazumi, there’s been some news delivered in the dining hall. Everyone has to attend to discuss the next course of action.”

Kazumi knocked on the door.

“Roxanne? We have to leave. You don’t have to think about what I just said, but something important just happened downstairs.”

Roxanne silently walked out. As she walked past Kazumi, all she did was nod. The servant went to get Willow, who reunited with the two of them.

“Hey, mind telling me what’s up?” She asked.

“No idea.” Kazumi replied.

Julian and Cassandra met up with them and were filled in on the situation. The five of them walked into the hall, where everyone was turned to statues with the news. A single servant stood before all of them, his eyes darting around the room in a nervous panic. With nothing to do, Willow tapped Javier on the shoulder.

“Hey, what happened?” She whispered.

Javier turned around, his hands shaking.

“Over in Sangaria.” He said through quivering lips. “Marcel was killed, and the shield was taken.”

#my writing #writeblr #creative writing #writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr #the strokes #don't even like them that much TBH #just needed a title

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 29: Cameras and a Little Privacy

Everyone was annoyed by the news reporters. Not just the ones from ShiShi, but all over. Ropear, Saoloro, Vannana and Sandala all had their own news station being sure to interview as many of the rulers as they could. Most of them were used to it, giving bland answers to satiate them or going out of their way to avoid them.

“Rory. Can you answer the questions people have about-“

“Fuck off, I already said it.” Rory said. “Go talk to my people if you want an answer.”

“I’m not entirely sure what to even say, it was all so sudden.” Was Kazumi’s usual response. “And so little time into my presidency before it all happens.” Then she would leave looking dejected and leave the news staff to find someone else. Usually Zach, who was nothing but keen to attempt to put the worries of the people at ease.

“Look, I have plans in place to assure the safety of everyone. The people back in Fightston are working on training as many new recruits as soon as possible to grands that need them. Any mayors of surrounding ships are more than free to contact us in the hopes of having a few soldiers. We want nothing more than for the Skyspace to continue to prosper.” Cassandra watched as he gave that exact speech, without fail, every time, in the same tone. It was actually kind of impressive. Hopefully someone with editing skills could layer them all and it’d end up on Skyspace’s funniest videos or something. She herself was playing a one-sided game of hide and seek around them with Roxanne, and they were all relentless. One from Saoloro had already got Julian, and the two of them were stuck making sarcastic comments at each other in an infinite loop of smartass.

“You think Willow’s stuck talking to one of them?” Roxanne asked, checking the corner for another one.

“No idea.” Cassandra replied. “How long until we get to eat?”

“Let me check…about twenty minutes.”

“Awesome.”

Julian eventually joined them in avoiding cameramen after he won the battle of wits, at least according to him. The three went around the castle’s walls, avoiding anyone they could, even if it wasn’t a cameraman. Being surrounded by the most influential people in the world was actually kind of boring, in all honestly. The three snuck their way onto the roof, where nobody was waiting.

“So is this where we’re waiting until the food?” Julian asked, looking over the city surrounding the castle. Nice lavish looking houses outside the castle with some shopping streets a small bit away. Behind those were some apartment complexes in a neatly polished white.

“Nice place.” He said to himself.

“You think?” Willow asked.

Roxanne jumped at Willow casually standing behind her.

“How long were you there?” She screamed.

“About two minutes after I joined.” Julian said casually. “Honestly, I just wanted to see how long it would take you to notice.”

“Seems I’m forgettable.” Willow said with a dramatic sigh.

“Not at all!” Roxanne yelled back. Cassandra just put a hand on her shoulder.

“So Willow, if I can ask something?” Julian interjected. “Any problems with this place I can know about?”

“What you mean?” Willow asked, joining him in looking over the grand.

“I don’t know, a seedy underbelly or something? Something that would make someone…join a weird cult dedicated to destroying it or another grand, for instance.”

“Got it.” Willow said with a sigh. “Well, I think the main one would be the lack of compensation some people are getting further out.”

“Like on the subships?”

“Further out here. The islands near the edge. Most of them deal with fishing. But it has their own issues, you see. Being separate from the mainland to allow fish societies to integrate more naturally means these fishermen either have to live by themselves or make their families live in more run-down areas. And all for pretty bad pay.”

“Bad pay, huh?”

“Anyone could catch a fish; you don’t need to learn anything special to do it. That’s the reasoning behind paying them less, despite them being arguably the most important people over here.”

“And if they were promised a better life fishing in a new society by the legion, maybe they could join them and poison the fish, or turn a blind eye to their ships.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, hopefully a certain eldest daughter steps up and takes care of things while we have to fight the big battles.”

“Sure thing.” Willow said after a moment of hesitation. Julian thought it would be interesting to press her mother further, but considering his antics yesterday, that would probably had him marked for death.

“So should we get going?” Roxanne asked. “Dinner’s in five.”

Javier was already waiting for the four of them when dinner started. There were only four chairs when they got to their table from yesterday. Everyone was sitting where they were the previous day, when a servant put a calm hand on Roxanne’s shoulder.

“I’ve been told you have a meeting with Rory.” He said calmly. “He’s at the other end of the room.”

The servant pointed her over to the table Rory and Gurpreet were sitting at. The two were making casual conversation that didn’t seem to interest either of them, and she quietly inserted herself on the lone empty chair between the two of them.

Gurpreet looked at her, but didn’t pass much heed, while Rory leaned in a little to glare at her.

“And what would you be doing here?” He asked, raising a thin grey eyebrow at her.

“I was told you wish to talk to me?” Roxanne replied, leaning back while secretly praying her chair didn’t tip over.

“I didn’t wish shite!” He snapped back.

“Be nice.” His wife said flatly.

“Sorry, sorry.” He began again, calmer this time. “I didn’t ask for you. You must be thinking of someone else.”

“But Freyja told me to come here.” Roxanne said. “I thought it might be something to do with the bow?”

“Ah, your group isn’t responsible for that. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“You sure?”

“How old are you?” Gurpreet asked.

“Eighteen.”

“So the fate of the world has been trusted to an eighteen-year-old and her friends. You have enough stresses, don’t let us add to them.”

So with her effectively shut down, the food was served. Roxanne just got what she had yesterday, still tasted as good. Rory and Gurpreet continued their own conversation, with Rory’s throaty laugh erupting over what Roxanne took as a minor statement. Some kind of inside joke, probably. Gurpreet’s wife gave a relaxed smile, so the shock was shown externally.

She stayed silent throughout the meal, not having much important to stay. Eventually the food was finished, and all the leaders and heroes were moved to the dance hall. Just like it was rehearsed, the classical music started playing and people either started dancing or mingling with drinks. Julian and Cassandra started dancing well as they practiced, occasionally having to stop for a little to allow the other couples to move past them. Willow and Javier also started moving around the room together. They also had it down, even if they weren’t as graceful and started to brush against the other dancers at times. The couples danced together, fathers danced with their daughters, it was all such a lovely display of the unity the Skyspace was showing.

Willow was bored. She noticed Roxanne taking a glass of juice after being denied alcohol, standing around in her cute attempt to be casual.

“Javier, how thirsty are you?” She asked.

“A little.” Javier replied. Understatement of the century, the room was making him sweat so much anywhere he stepped probably needed a hazard sign afterward.

“Same here, I’ll go get us something.”

Willow looked around for her mom. Talking to Mia and Kazumi while taking sips from her wine glass, more sophisticated than usual. She found Roxanne, guiding her over to Freyja’s blind spot.

“Hey Roxy, wanna get out of here?” She whispered when Roxanne went over to her.

“To where?”

“To the castle we’ll have access to?”

Roxanne glanced around the room, giving a covert nod. The two tried walking out of the room as discreet as possible, but an especially lanky servant stepped in front of the door just as they were about to cross.

“May I ask what’s going on here?” He asked calmly, offering some orange juice to the two of them.

“We just need to go to the bathroom.” Willow replied quickly.

“Both of you?”

“Is that really that suspicious?”

“A little, I’ll admit.”

Willow leaned into him.

“Look, it’s kind of an emergency. The lady specific kind.”

The waiter looked a little grossed out as Roxanne gave an uneasy nod. He let them through, and Willow looked at the door as it was closing.

“Works every time.” She chuckled.

“So now what?” Roxanne whispered. She glanced around the empty hallways with not a single servant around, and not a sound from any source that wasn’t behind them.

“Whatever we want.” Willow whispered back. “But first, I need to get out of this dress.”

The two went through the hallways while avoiding the few servants that were doing some light cleaning on the halls. After a few minutes, they were in Willow’s room.

It was extremely simple in comparison to what Roxanne thought it would be. Her bed looked exactly the same as her old one back on Miracle with a simple red blanket in contrast to the blue walls. Next to the bed was a wooden dresser. Not with any special design, just an extremely ordinary dresser and wardrobe which Willow was digging through.

“Okay, you want to borrow some clothes or something?”

“Excuse me?” Roxanne asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re my size.” Willow replied calmly without looking, handing her a shirt. It was a neon green shirt with some cartoon character she didn’t recognise on it. Willow handed her some grey sweatpants to finish the outfit.

“You can keep the shirt; some ex gave it to me.”

“Ex?”

“Yeah, she turned out to be an assassin. Shit was wacky.”

With that information given it’s nonchalant explanation, Roxanne went into the bathroom to get out of her dress. The bathroom also wasn’t anything to write home about, other than the fact it was Willow’s personal one. She quickly got into the clothes Willow gave her, heading out to see Willow already dressed in a plain blue t-shirt and black sweatpants casually laying on her bed.

“So now what?” She asked.

A couple ideas flashed in Roxanne’s mind once the question was asked. She had a TV opposite the bed, so that was definitely an option. Or just relax with some music, she definitely had a music player.

“We’re gonna kiss.”

The words left her mouth before they were in her brain. But this was her chance. Her chance to finally seal the deal and make this love adventure worth it. They’d kiss, and then perhaps do some other stuff…okay, let’s not go too crazy yet.

“Yeah, sure.” Willow said with a slow nod.

Okay, this was it. She was ready. She crawled on top of Willow as she lay flat on her bed. She put a hand to each side in an attempt to look assertive, just like in her favourite shows. She lay down and their lips connected, followed by their tongues. This was it. It wasn’t what she expected the end to look like, but she was here.

And it felt so…

…so…

…gross.

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[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt chapter 28: Extreme Thirst

Roxanne woke up with an overwhelming stale sensation in her mouth. An extreme thirst had overtaken her, and she needed to act on it. She went down to the dining room where a cooler of water was waiting, and she took a glass and calmly sat down on a table. She opened her phone to check the time as nobody was up outside of a few servants making sure everything was up to par. It was only 6:24 in the morning. But below the clock at the top of her phone was a little notification.

6 messages-unknown number

Roxanne hesitated for a second but opened it up.

‘hey its willow’

‘im like realdrunk right now’

‘ur like so hot its insane’

‘during the ball 2merro lets sneak out and kiss’

‘or maybe more hehe’

‘k I gotta sleep leters xxxxxxx’

Roxanne just stared at the phone as she sipped her water. Then she remembered. Her and Willow started making out when they were drunk. And she wanted to go further. The next in line to the throne of Vannana. Thoughts of sitting by her filled her head before she could even think them. Forever. Wait, forever? Willow was cool, sure. But forever cool? Not really? Maybe? She was better than Dermot and Dakarai combined, that was for sure. But then she had to consider…

“What you starin at?”

Roxanne made some kind of incoherent noise when her ship of thought crash landed. Zach’s hulking figure was casually looming over her as she clutched her phone to her chest.

“Just got some messages from a friend!” She answered quickly.

“Ah, got it.” Zach nodded calmly, taking out his own phone and looking agitated at the screen. “Damn it Marcel, what’s up with you?”

“He’s Luminita’s dad, right?”

“Leader of Sangaria, yeah. Hasn’t been returning my messages since yesterday.”

“You think something happened?” Roxanne asked.

“Well, I’m fairly certain that if something major happened to him then Luminita would let me know. Which just leads me to ask what’s happened to the guy.”

“Maybe he just left his suit shopping to the last minute?” Roxanne asked.

“You know, that is something he would do.” Zach chuckled with a quick rub of his chin. Before his chuckle evolved into laughter that shook the staff member next to them.

“Yeah, that’s probably it!” He remarked, wiping a tear from his eye. “Now, I swear I had something to ask you…ah yes, it was for your friend Julian!”

“I can tell him for you.”

“Well, he used to be a Battlestorm, right? And they’re helping me with something back in Fightston, so maybe I could rush them over to…”

“No no!” Roxanne interrupted quickly, panic building up in her throat. “He wouldn’t want to bother anyone with short notice effort like that! You just enjoy yourself and wait for your friend!”

Zach nodded slowly. “Well, I’ll leave you to whatever you’re doing. Now, what’s good for protein?”

Roxanne was left to her phone, and her next reply to Willow. Couldn’t hurt to try taking it further, right?

‘Sounds good, meet you there’

She quickly snapped her phone shut in a manner she found quite stylish, and then opened it to make sure the force of the closing didn’t break anything. It didn’t, so all was good.

“Ah, miss Roxanne.”

Roxanne turned around to see Freyja standing over her with a look of approval.

“Always good to see someone committed to waking up early.” She stated.

“Um, thanks?” Roxanne replied.

“Actually, while I have you up, I have some news to deliver. A request if you will.”

“Okay, what do you need?”

“I was talking to Rory for a while, you see. And he wants to talk to you during the meal before the ball later on. So if you would be so kind as to indulge him, that would be great.”

“What does he want to talk about?”

“I’m afraid I wasn’t given specifics.” Freyja answered, making a strained expression as she did. The most expressive she’s seen her yet.

“I mean, I’ll probably be able to do it, doesn’t seem too hard.”

“Excellent. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some preparations to attend to.”

She gave a small bow to Roxanne, and Roxanne tried bowing from her seat. She could tell it just looked awkward.

“What was she saying to you?”

Roxanne recognised Willow’s voice, and slowly turned around to face her. Play it casual, nothing too try-hard.

“Something about needing to talk to Rory later, I think? Wasn’t really listening, she’s a real piece of work.”

“Yeah, she really is.” Willow sighed, squinting at the door. “So, your friends deep sleepers?”

“Julian is, Cassandra’s usually pretty on top of things.”

“Awesome, less time in the dress.”

Willow sat next to Roxanne, and Javier sat down next to Willow. Willow was still in a white t-shirt and sweatpants while Javier was in a blue t-shirt with some cartoon characters she didn’t recognize and shorts she wasn’t entirely sure wasn’t just underwear.

“The dress?”

“You know, the dresses we picked out and are gonna have to wear for the whole day?”

Oh yeah, those. Willow’s dress had pretty colours but looked really tight in the waist area. But hers was honestly really nice, especially when her necklace was added to the equation.

“I’m just wondering what business you have with Rory of all people.” Javier finally added to the conversation. “Have you two ever spoken before?”

“Don’t think so, no.” Roxanne replied with a shake of her head.

“Maybe she wants him to see your busted leg?”

“Why would she want that?”

“Guilt trip him into something relating to the weapons, maybe? I honestly have no idea.”

Willow got a buzz on her phone, throwing her head to the sky as soon as she read it.

“It’s mom. We have to get the suits on.”

A short while later, Roxanne was fitted into her gown with the help of a servant, stepping out when done. Opposite the dressing room was a mirror that covered the whole room. After looking at herself, Roxanne thought she looked even better than the first time she tried it on. She compared the colour of the gem in the necklace to that of the dress. Willow and Cassandra stepped out a few minutes later. Willow looked at herself in the mirror and approving her look, but her gaze quickly shifted to Roxanne looking at herself. Cassandra gave herself one good look before leaving to the main hall. When she stepped out, Julian was already there casually waiting with Javier while one of Willow’s siblings were talking to them. Mostly to Julian.

“Yeah, Luca and I haven’t talked in a while.” Julian said to a teenage girl sitting next to him.

“But you two were the skyspace’s…”

“Ultimate power couple, yeah. But hey, things change. And now I’m just a humble doctor helping the next generation of heroes.”

“And you’re single?” The girl asked.

“First off, you’re like twelve.”

“I’m fifteen!”

“That’d still get me arrested. And to get back to the original question, I’m in a great relationship with miss Cassandra over there.”

“Oh hey, you’re willow’s sister.” Cassandra said as she sat next to her boyfriend.

“Yeah.” She sighed.

“Elena, are you doing much?” Freyja asked softly as she walked by them with a few people in tow. They seemed to be in bright green jackets and casual jeans, with one holding a mic and one holding a camera. One their sleeves were the letters ‘SNC’ ShiShi News Central. Oh boy.

“Not really.” The girl said.

“Then please guide our guests through the castle and try to answer any questions they have.”

The cameraman turned his camera to Julian’s already tired face.

“Excuse me, mister Julian Torres!” The man with the microphone yelled out. “How does it feel after being brought back to adventuring after your apparent retirement?”

“It’s…certainly stressful.” Julian sighed. “There’s a lot of issues that come with it. Like fighting off the Legion, making sure your weapons are always secure, that kind of thing. But there’s one part that’s just absolutely awful.”

“Which would be?”

“When some doofus with a camera insists on shoving a camera in your face and asking questions when you haven’t even had to chance to get some water.”

“There are more interesting things on the third floor!” Freyja announced from behind. “And Elena would be more than happy to show you!”

“Sure, let’s go.” Elena said flatly, getting up and escorting their new guests up the staircase. The cameraman took interest in the staircase and it’s vibrant blue carpet, as well as the highly detailed banister.

“Hey, mind if I get some water?” Julian asked a servant sitting next to them.

“Certainly, sir.” The young looking waiter affirmed, walking to fulfil his request. Freyja went next to him.

“I want you to wait that man’s table at the next meal. Be sure to keep all alcohol away.”

“Understood, lord Freyja.”

#my writing #writeblr #writing #creative writing #fantasy #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 27: Not How Wine Works

The guests were all sat down on their circular tables. Most of the other members of the Lux Congregation like Gurpreet and Rory had arrived and were sat next to each other, with both deciding not to mention the obvious reason. Kazumi was sat with Ola and her partner, a nice looking if slightly unkempt man. Sylvestro was with Fen Hou, and Mia was with Nuria. Marcel was supposed to be sitting next to Zach, but he didn’t show up.

At the centre of the dining room was one huge circular table with an elegant teal tablecloth over it instead of the pure white of the rest of them. Freyja sat opposite the door, while her husbands sat opposite their children. All the children except Willow, who was sat with Javier and the Miracle Group right behind Freyja, with two empty seats at the table reserved for Luminita and her date.

Julian looked tired, dragging his finger along the tablecloth while Cassandra was leaning back and staring at the ceiling. Roxanne had her arms by her side at least trying to look refined in the presence of everyone else. Javier was doing the same and Willow was looking deep in thought with closed eyes.

Finally, the food arrived. Willow ordered everyone grilled bass and cod, the specialty of Vannana with the source right in the same room they were in. Roxanne took a bite of it, and her eyes lit up as soon as the taste hit her tongue.

“Damn, this is some good fish.” Julian mumbled to himself.

“It really is.” Javier responded.

“Ugh, when’s Luminita getting here?” Willow asked nobody in particular.

“Yeah, it is weird her and her dad are running late.” Javier nodded. “You think a dragon came for their ship or something?”

“Nah, I’m guessing the radar on their ship would be way too good to allow that. Maybe something came up with their date.” Julian said.

In the table in front of him was Zach, calling someone in between bites of steak, but not getting a reply. His wife placed a calming hand on his shoulder, and he put his phone away with a sigh.

“Hey, Willow?” Julian whispered. “If you want, I could make your mom look like a jackass in front of everyone, you cool with that?”

Willow glanced at her mom, and back at Julian. “Feel free to try.”

“Excuse me, waiter?” Julian asked, offering them his glass of milk. “What options are there for wine?”

“Quite a few, sir. Any idea what you’d like?”

“What’s Freyja having?”

“The Carvaran red, sir.”

“I’ll trust her judgement. One for me, please.”

Within a few minutes, a glass of red wine was placed in front of Julian, and he immediately took a sip.

“Hmm, seems to be well aged.” Julian said calmly.

“How aged?” Cassandra asked.

“Let me test real quick.” He replied, casually swirling his glass in front of him. “Hm, another to be sure.” He swirled it again.

“What are you doing, exactly?” Javier asked.

“You know how you can tell how old a tree by the number of rings inside it? Wine’s the same, where there’s a number of ripples that correlates with how old it is. I don’t know the exact rate of ripples to years, but It’s the type of thing a good host should know.”

“Really now?” Willow asked with a sly look, which Julian was slowly matching. “Well, Freyja should probably know.”

“Good point. Hey Freyja, how old do you reckon the wine is?”

Willow looked to Freyja’s back, and her right arm was making slight movements. She was clearly trying to test it.

“If I were to guess…” Freyja started. “This particular glass has five ripples, so aged about fifteen years, I’d reckon.”

“Yeah, that makes sense…wait a minute!” Julian said, sounding extra loud at the end of his sentence. “I just remembered the rate!”

“And what would the rate be?” Freyja asked from the front.

“No idea, I made all that up.”

A couple stifled laughs started to emerge among the tables, with Rory being the loudest by quite an excessive margin. Freyja started fidgeting at her table while Willow fist-bumped Julian. Julian just took a calm sip of his wine.

Dinner was somewhat quiet after that, with Freyja eating ever so slightly faster. Once her meal was finished, she stood up and calmly tapped her fork against her empty wine glass.

“Well, everyone. I believe we had a good meal with some festivities that came alongside it.” Freyja said. “But I do believe we should rest easy before the ball tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Julian said. “Guests are on floor three, right? We’ll be seeing you.”

Julian took Cassandra by the hand and ran to the third floor, all while Freyja glowered at them.

“So, Roxanne.” Willow asked, putting a friendly arm around her. “We rooming or what?”

“Willow.” Freyja said calmly from behind her. “You will be with Javier.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“He will be sleeping in your room. Now, Roxanne. Kazumi has come alone, so you will be sharing a room with her. Okay?”

“Okay.” Roxanne said with a slight nod. For all the joking Julian pulled at her expense, her aura still terrified her. Or maybe Julian’s antics amplified it, who was to say?

“You’re in the fifteenth room on floor three.”

Roxanne made her way up to the third floor without much issue. A few servants and Zach took pity on her leg and offered to carry her up, but she made it herself without any major issues. When she walked inside the room, Kazumi was already there, watching a movie and quietly chuckling to herself. The movie looked old, and on the screen was a man pretending to be a father to a monkey.

“What are you watching?” Roxanne asked.

“Breakfast for Buddy.” Kazumi replied. “Did you know that’s the former president of Sandala on screen?”

Roxanne glanced at the small screen, and it looked kind of like one of the presidents. So this is what politicians get up to when not running things. Fascinating.

“So anyway, how are your friends?”

“They’re pretty good.” Roxanne said calmly, lying on her bed. Suddenly, all the fatigue from today’s antics caught up to her all at once, and she knew that leaving the bed would be basically impossible.

“Hey, I’m gonna go to sleep now.” She was asleep before she heard Kazumi’s reply.

Roxanne shot up from her bed. She didn’t remember anything about being nothing, and nothing built up in her mouth, even after a few dry heaves just to be sure. Her ears started registering the knocking on her door, which was very polite for how late it was. 02:00. Kazumi was up, giving a look to Roxanne through groggy eyes.

“For you?” She asked wearily.

“Think so.” Roxanne yawned. She slowly got out of her bed and opened the door, where Julian and Cassandra were waiting. Before he said a word, Julian handed Roxanne a tall black can. The only thing on it was a brand name-Blue Orchid, and a picture of some fruit.

“We’re meeting the other two on the roof, you’re coming.”

It wasn’t even a request, just a very nonchalant demand. Tired, she made her way up to the roof, where the chill breeze of the area slightly woke her up. There was a gazebo in the middle of the roof, where two people were waiting.

“Roxanne, you made it.”

Willow was tapping the cushion next to her, and Roxanne sat between her and Javier while Julian and Cassandra sat opposite them.

“You doing good, Willow?” Julian asked jokingly, taking a can from the wooden table at the centre of the gazebo.

"I'm better than you’ll ever be.” She retorted back, stumbling forward to grab another drink.

“Wait, are these alcoholic?” Roxanne asked, looking at Javier casually sipping his drink.

“Yeah. Tastes more like fruit though, don’t worry.”

“Ah. Cool.” Roxanne opened the can Julian gave her and took a sip. It was basically dryer fruit juice with a strange aftertaste, but it tasted pretty good.

“Hey, would this be your first time drinking alcohol?” Julian asked before gulping down his own can.

“It…would be, yeah.” Roxanne replied. She was twenty, the legal drinking age, for six months, and only now was she getting around to drinking.

“So how is it?” Cassandra asked, grabbing another can and drinking its contents without stopping to breath.

“Pretty good.” Roxanne nodded, taking another sip.

“Cassandra, how many cans have you drank already?” Javier asked.

“This is can number four.” Cassandra replied casually.

Javier looked at Willow and the two cans next to her. She was already leaning against the wall making kissy noises at nothing in particular.

“Yeah, it was a while before I learned what happens when you drink too much. It just never happened to me.”

“Huh. Do people have a higher tolerance where you’re from?” Javier asked casually.

“Where I’m from?” Cassandra asked. She felt a small itch build up in her throat. “I…don’t actually know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I just…woke up on the Miracle Ship a few years ago with no memories. Went on some exhibitions around the place to see if it would jog any memories, but nothings come up yet.”

“Well, what’s most likely, in your mind?”

“I guess...maybe here?” She whispered, looking over the castle roof to the dim lights of the city. “I suppose I look the most like the people here.”

“Nope!” Willow yelled. “I’ve never seen you before. And I’d know if someone as hot as you were around!”

“The lady makes a valid point.” Julian replied calmly, taking another sip.

Roxanne had finished a can of her drink quicker than before. Her and Willow reached for the last two cans at the same time.

“Woah…hey Roxanne, wanna see who can down this fastest?” Willow asked, already slouching over.

“Um, sure.” Roxanne nodded, already beginning to gulp down the can’s contents. Willow started, angling her face back to get the most liquid in. Roxanne tried copying her technique, but Willow slammed her can on the table when Roxanne was just finishing.

“Woooow, Roxanne.” Willow said, crawling over to her. “You can realllly throw cans back.”

“Oh! Thanks.” Roxanne yelped back. She felt her head get lighter as the smell of Willow’s breath came closer to her. Roxanne leaned in and before she knew it, her lips were pressed against Willow’s. For a few brief moments, the world around them started to fade from view as her eyes closed. And then they separated.

“Okay, you know what?” Cassandra announced as she took Roxanne by the shoulders. “I think we’ve all had our share of drink, so we should probably go.”

“Why are you like my mom?” Willow groaned.

“Yeah, why are you like her mom?” Roxanne repeated.

“Okay, you are definitely too drunk.” Julian said to Roxanne. “Let’s get you to bed.”

It took a couple of stumbles, and one straight up faceplant just before the stairs, but Roxanne was in her bed. He went back to his own room, where Cassandra was waiting. Just looking at the ceiling without getting under the covers. And she was looking pretty distressed.

“Something up?” Julian asked, lying down next to her.

“Look, you know how Javier was asking about where I came from?” Cassandra asked.

“Yeah.” Julian replied. “Why, you got an idea?”

“Look, what if I’m with the Legion?”

Julian shot up at this, trying to force a smile at her joke. “Um, excuse me?”

“Look, when we were fighting on Inariu, one of them said I was important to them. So what if I was a solider for the Legion before I lost my memories?”

“Well, are you a Legion member now?” Julian asked casually, lying down next to her.

“Well, no, but…”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Julian said as he closed his eyes. “I’ve had more than my share of Legion encounters, and you are no Legion member. And if you were, we’ll deal with that then. Anyway, goodnight.”

Cassandra felt her nerves calm down, at least a little. Nobody ever recognised her as a Legion member, which probably meant something. So she lay down next to him, and he placed his arms around her. But with one question potentially solved, another came up.

Just who was she?

#my writing #writing #writeblr #fantasy #creative writing #webnovel #writers on tumblr

[miracleweaponhunt]

Miracle Weapon Hunt Chapter 26: The Existing Around Royalty Survival Guide

“So, what dress you going for?”

Roxanne and Cassandra stood in front of the dress selection in front of them. About a dozen dresses, with a few pictures behind them of more. According to Willow, they’d be easy to find in town. But Cassandra and Roxanne had no clue where to even begin.

“I think I’ll just take the recommendation.” Cassandra said, already exhausted.

“Hm, okay.” Willow said, perusing the lineup until she plucked a green ballroom gown from the lineup and put it over her body.

“Seems like it’d fit as is, anyway.”

“Okay, but that?” Cassandra asked, stepping back. “That is way too wide at the bottom.”

“Trust me, it’s the best option. You wear this, and nobody notices you’re barefoot.”

“Why do I want to go barefoot?”

“The other option is sophisicated shoes that mangle your feet.”

“Oh, right. Well, I suppose…trying it won’t hurt.”

Cassandra went to the dressing room with a servant, and Willow got to picking something out for Roxanne.

“Hey, can I take a look at your necklace real quick?”

“Excuse me?” Roxanne stepped back, clutching her necklace.

“To find the right shade. Come on, it’ll only be a second.”

Roxanne never let the necklace out of her sight. Her being asked to take off the necklace might as well be the same as asking her to strip naked in front of her. Then again…

“Only a second?” Roxanne repeated.

“You can hold it against the dresses yourself if it makes you feel better.”

Roxanne did as she asked, clutching her necklace, and holding it against the different dresses. Eventually, she found herself a bright yellow dress that was an almost perfect contrast to her violet gemstone. It was thin, with white sleeves that separated into two draping triangles on the bottom half. It sparkled at the bottom with a select choice of sequins.

“Now that one kicks ass.” Willow nodded with confidence. “Okay, let’s get it on and get to the hall.”

Once Roxanne got into her dress and joined Cassandra and Willow in the large ballroom, they were immediately hit by the icy glare of Freyja.

“Took your time.” She said calmly.

“We’re on time.” Willow replied, already exasperated. She was wearing a dress the shape of Cassandra’s that started off orange around the bust area but slowly shifted colour throughout until it was a light purple near the sleeves.

“On time is ten minutes early, you know this. Javier and Julian were here ten minutes early.”

“Okay, but the suits look a lot easier to get into.” Cassandra added.

Julian and Javier were wearing simple black tuxedos. They looked nice, even if Julian was scratching his neck and looking as unsophisticated as you could wearing something like that.

“Well, now that everyone’s here, I need to see what your skills in ballroom dancing are. How do you think you fare?”

“I know basically nothing.” Roxanne whispered.

“Ditto.” Cassandra added.

“Eh, I can teach you. Had to learn some shit with Luca a few years back. Pretty sure it’s stuck.”

“Pretty sure?” Freyja asked.

“Look lady, I got the black suit on, okay? It’ll come back to me.”

“Your suit is actually a dark midnight blue. Clearly you don’t have an eye for these things.”

“Hey, I just got another one of those!” Julian said, showing off his glass eye. Freyja didn’t appreciate the joke.

“Just go to your partner.”

Julian went to Cassandra, and Javier went to Willow. Kazumi approached Roxanne, gave a slight bow, and extended her hand.

“May I?”

“Wait, really?”

“It’s just practice, think nothing of it. Please.”

Freyja started the music, a classical piano piece with some subtle violins in the background, the one everyone knew from every ballroom scene in every ballroom movie ever. Roxanne was honestly surprised it was something royalty actually used.

When the music began to sway, Javier tried stepping to the side with a flourish, and Willow tried doing the same, only for the steps to become out of sync and Javier to end up slipping.

“Your posture’s off.” Julian said calmly next to him. The routine him and Cassandra were doing was wonky, sure. But any issues came from Cassandra, he himself was doing great.

“You have your hand too far in the centre of her back. You just gotta put it at the edge of her back, like what I’m doing.”

Javier did as instructed, and Willow was just slightly to the left of him.

“Okay, now try to sync up with some small steps. Imagine a small square in the centre of the two of you and make a one, two, three beat in your mind as you step around it.”

It was a slightly hard adjustment, but after a short while the two were in sync.

“Once you got the beat down you can be more elaborate, like so.”

Julian started to move in more of a circular motion, with Cassandra managing to stay in tune relatively easily. They were eventually swaying in a perfect rhythm, akin to the waves of Vannana crashing against the edge of the grand. Willow and Javier were eventually moving in a circular motion, albeit with less flair than Julian and Cassandra.

“You actually know a thing or two.” Freyja said with a smile. A genuine smile. It was small, but it was something. Julian was surprised her face remembered how to do that.

Roxanne was silently following Julian’s instructions under Kazumi. Kazumi didn’t seem to be as knowledgeable as Julian, but she was managing without any issues. The two of them were also moving in a circle before Roxanne knew it.

“Okay, I think that can conclude our training.” Freyja said, turning off the music. “Julian, I apologize for my assumptions you were uncouth, and I thank you for the instructions.”

“You know, I do take payments.” Julian replied with a point and a finger snap. “Like being allowed to wear my hat without you bitching at me.”

“Absolutely not.” She replied flatly, her face returning to her neutral frown.

“Hey now, what’s wrong with hats?”

Freyja’s frown deepened once she heard that voice, reluctantly turning around to meet Zach Fullsteel.

“I don’t feel the need to explain dress codes to a fifty-year-old man.” She replied, slowly looking him up and down. Just wearing a worn-out grey t-shirt and black jeans.

“Relax, I brought a suit. If you just show the wife and I our room, we’ll unpack ourselves while you and Mia do whatever it is you do.”

“Wait, Mia’s arrived!? And I wasn’t there for it?”

“Dining room.” Zach replied, to which Freyja ran to the room, with the kids following her.

Freyja ran into the room, where Mia, Sylvestro, and Fen Hou were all waiting, alongside Mia and Sylvestro’s husbands, and Fen Hou’s and Zach’s wives.

“Oh, everyone!” She said, eyes fixed on Mia. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here for your arrivals, for I was…”

“It’s quite alright.” Mia said calmly, wearing a casual red blazer with a white t-shirt underneath and a brown skirt. Sylvestro was wearing a white button up shirt with blue vertical stripes, and Fen Hou was wearing a deep blue suit. And all were sharing a teapot provided by a servant.

“The tea is excellent, as per usual.” Mia said calmly.

“As should be expected!” Freyja replied quickly.

The kids all saw this display, and how Freyja acted much, much nicer to Mia than anyone else.

“Hey, Willow, is your mom…secretly gay?” Julian asked.

“I don’t think so.” Willow said with a head shake. “But the relationship is about as close as it gets.”

“Well, now that we have so many here, I think I’ll be able to prepare dinner! If you can give me and the help a few hours, we’ll prepare the best feast you’ve ever had!”

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