Vance Hemolian's Story

Destin’s eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Akio’s fireworks show. He stepped toward the hall’s doors to get a better view and fetched his phone to record the event so he could watch it later. Among the crowds that had gathered to attend the ball was a towering draconian that moved with a sense of purpose into the building. Then there was the woman who had arrived in the limousine and stopped to address the denizens who had gathered there.

He could practically feel the power and importance in the air. These were all people who, in many respects, seemed to be better than himself. Destin didn't intend to let that get to him, however. Clearly the people responsible for this event weren't considered with the social status of those invited if he, a newcomer, had been invited.

After a quick scan of those within and just outside Verinotte Hall, Destin inferred from her entrance that Daemala was one of the more important figures there. That's who he would approach--especially since Akio was occupied and the other two he had approached appeared to be caught up in their conversation. Destin assured that Daemala had finished speaking into the reporter's camera before he made his approach.

There was something about being in a nice outfit that made him feel like a totally different person. There was a palpable aura of confidence radiating from him as he moved past the partygoers with long strides. He swiped a champagne-filled glass from a passing platter during his approach and took a swig.

"Nice ride. How much did that run you for?" Destin asked, gesturing toward the limousine that had just begun to pull away.

The smell of Magic in the air turned Irral's head towards Akio, Glowing, Golden eyes tinged with purple focusing on the boyish Vampire hastily. As he approached, Irral did not change his appearance nor stance; doing so would cause his body to implode upon itself by trying to contain his sheer magic power; and that would cause half the continent to be wiped entirely in the ensuing explosion.

Kneeling to sort of level with the boyish Vampire, Irral looked him in the eyes; looking particularly at that wand in his hands. It had a familiar smell to it; a familiar feeling. Irral slowly gestured to the wand, and the thing would likely gently vibrate as he approached it, magic power colliding with Magic power the closer he got. Irral paused for a second before moving his hand away, looking to the boy once more.

"Tell me, Vampire. Where did you acquire this ... Wand?" he asked, a low rumble echoing in his throat as he spoke, his draconian pupils narrowing into slits as he took in the sight. "And do you know just what it is?" he asked. His voice rumbled forth; not human, vampire, or most other mythical creature the boyish Vampire before him would likely be familiar with. It was a hearty, throaty bass that conveyed wisdom and unfathomable power.

Akio was first visited not by the boy that send shivers down his spine, with red hair and holding that scythe, nor was it his companion...but, it was the dragon with the golden, glowing eyes. However, Akio stood there, even as he spoke, with a smile that had not changed since he finished. The news crews as well went up and broadcasted this, Akio remaining unphased even when confronted by a large being that faced him. Although he had the appearance of a human, Akio recognized the eyes. He was...familiar, with dragons.

And so, while remaining unphased, but also without any sign of a challenge, Akio...conversed normally.

"I acquired it from a small village over one thousand years ago. Everyone thought it was worthless, but that was because they made a misconception I cant help but notice you didn't. They all thought it was a staff, but you just recognized it as a wand just now correct? Because a requirement of use is 'Recognizing it as a wand', it was deemed junk and left behind in a village, where I found it. As for what it is, of course I know. Using something for one thousand years, without learning what it is, would be a fool's decision, don't you agree?"

Akio just talked to him casually, like he was just another man on the street. Like the person who asked you about the morning paper while on the bus. Friendly, but not intimate. Different, but not antagonistic.

"May I ask for your name? I did already introduce myself, after all".

Meanwhile, the two others entered with everyone else, and CR immediately ran up to the werewolves.

"Hey, guys! I gotta know, how are you not hot wearing all those layers?!"

CR's eyes could see them as human, but he could also "see" their "true forms" as well. As he was born from not just the concept of death, but also the concept of life, he could "see" the "life" within people. Hence, he could understand what they were, and thought with the layers of fur they had, wearing the stuffy suits would be hot and irritating.

ANd, if looked at, he seemed to possess a childlike innocence, that no one seemed to mind the fact he was still carrying a scythe....but, it was not being held in a way to imply use of any kind, so there was that.

"Also, do you know where the ice cream is and other snacks?!"

Meanwhile, Ivera was monitoring CR from a distance, while looking around at the others. Eventually, his eyes first rested on Daemala, as he knew she was one of the big shots. He also paid attention to Akio, but there were others who drew his interest...such as Ondona.

"Ivera Rixy, nice to meet you. What brings you to this party?"

Although the boy looked young, he was very well dressed and acted pretty mature when he introduced himself, following all proper etiquette. Indeed, out of everyone, Ivera might be one of the few that fit in the most.

Both Carnidine and Temperance looked at CR in confusion."W-what do you mean exactly?" The female asked in confusion.

Carnidine regained his composure as he realized the nature of the question."For me, I guess its a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time, what I normally wear wouldn't be appropriate, so I just deal with it like anyone else would."

All of a sudden it was like a switch flipped in Temperance's head."Oh....OH! I see! I'm sorry! I um....This feels normal to me I guess....Although I'm a bit different when it comes to....that....if you catch my meaning." She said. Quickly looking over at the food table."W-why don't I get us some drinks? Would you like anything....sir?" She asked the one who had ran up to them. Her eyes moving up and down as she checked the person out. If for no other reason than habit to make sure they weren't going to hurt her.

Carnidine took another puff of his pipe, the smoke flowing around him for a couple seconds before disipating high up in the air. As not to bother the other patrons."Temp....I'll have a glass of white wine if thats alright." The girl nodded, waiting for a response from the other person.

Midgra had seen fancy places before in his travels, but never anything quite as fancy as this. Some sort of ball, regarding peace... Blah Blah. There must be so much in there to... Well, he would perhaps get to that later. One piece of silverware from this ball could probably feed him for a week! But before he could let himself get distracted, he had to get inside. He found it surprisingly easy, slipping behind a crowd of people and scooting inside. His eye looked up at the ceiling, which seemed to be miles away. Now he was inside he wandered away from his cover, dodging larger patrons. His nose picked up a heavenly smell, and Midgra couldn't help but follow it over to the table full of appetizers and finger foods. While he wanted to sprint over and start to shovel everything is sight down his face, he tried his best to hobble over there with dignity, acting like he knew some of the patrons, pointing and smiling at one, winking and doing the finger guns to another. Perfect.

He approached the table, all the food being at about eye level. Somehow, it still felt crazy that he had gotten in with so little trouble. No mind to that however. An eager smile began to curl upon his lips as his hand slowly reached for a handful of expensive looking finger sandwiches, toothpicks and all.

Confetti, massive paper dragons, and the center of it all, a massive platform with Taiko drummers playing a hearty beat, in step to the marching soldiers, the dancing costumed people, and the swaying paper dragon that weaved and bobbed all about the formations of paraders.

Seated atop a large float, before a massive O-daiko the size of a small house was the Emperor, Shimizu Takayama of the Taiyou Empire. His Peace tour had taken him through Wing City, putting on a show for the denizens of the city to enjoy as he moved through the city streets.

His tour had now taken him to Verinotte Hollow, where the Second Ball of Chaos was taking place. His eyes set upon Verinotte Hall as his float slowly started to make it's approach, though by now the constant drumming had become deafening, and the men behind him persevered all day with constant drumming, it could be described as a near superhuman effort.

There was a line of limousines in front of him, the various guests being dropped off for the ball of Chaos, Shimizu's parade was next in line, while people carried on, to the sound of drums, traditional flutes, and the chants of the Imperial Warriors.

"Subete teishi!" The Grand Marshal called out, and it all stopped, right in front of the grand hall.

In a booming voice, addressing the guests of the Ball, the Grand Marshall called out.

"Ten'nōheika, Shimizu Takayama, kangei shite kudasai!"

"Please welcome, His Imperial Majesty, Shimizu Takayama!"

Shimizu slowly stood up, adorned from head to toe in a formal black sokutai, an extremely complex adornment of robes, sashes, which bore the crest of the Imperial Family, and his hair was done up in the traditional Chonmage style. Such fluff, and pomp was foreign to the young Shimizu, but never the less he tried his best to wear it with dignity.

Now that the procession had come to a stop before the Hall, and the formations of Taiyou Soldiers went to parade rest, Shimizu slowly rose from his throne, alone with his two sisters, Aeka, and Yukiko. Like Shimizu they were garbed from head to toe in formal Kimono, their faces done up in stark, porcelain white makeup, red lipstick in the traditional style, and their hair styled to match their noble status.

A small set of stairs was placed near their float, and Shimizu moved to step down first, followed by his Eldest sister, and Aeka last. They kept their gazes downward, while Shimizu kept his forward, once on the ground, rose petals were tossed at their feet leading up the marble stairs.

Step by step he moved, while his sisters remained behind him.

Midgra had seen fancy places before in his travels, but never anything quite as fancy as this. Some sort of ball, regarding peace... Blah Blah. There must be so much in there to... Well, he would perhaps get to that later. One piece of silverware from this ball could probably feed him for a week! But before he could let himself get distracted, he had to get inside. He found it surprisingly easy, slipping behind a crowd of people and scooting inside. His eye looked up at the ceiling, which seemed to be miles away. Now he was inside he wandered away from his cover, dodging larger patrons. His nose picked up a heavenly smell, and Midgra couldn't help but follow it over to the table full of appetizers and finger foods. While he wanted to sprint over and start to shovel everything is sight down his face, he tried his best to hobble over there with dignity, acting like he knew some of the patrons, pointing and smiling at one, winking and doing the finger guns to another. Perfect.

He approached the table, all the food being at about eye level. Somehow, it still felt crazy that he had gotten in with so little trouble. No mind to that however. An eager smile began to curl upon his lips as his hand slowly reached for a handful of expensive looking finger sandwiches, toothpicks and all.
(Repost)

There was a stampede of flashbulbs and cameras as the press drew in to the Taiyou spectacle. All across Terra, paper dragons and drums would radiate from screens! Winne Rineswurth elbowed her way to the front lines of the media barricade.

"What a show! The Taiyou Peace Parade has arrived at Verinotte Hollow for the Ball of Chaos! Will the Imperial Majesty engage in the gravity-free dancing we've heard is inside? " Winne did her best to be heard over the roar, cameras panning from the paper dragons to the high clock tower.

"Apologies for the wait mistress Ondona. I have prepared some Black Tea with a hint of Vodka. I also have procured some miniature sandwiches for your enjoyment." Royka spoke as he handed Ondona two plates. One with the Black tea with some small little biscuits, the other plat containing the small sandwiches along with small sauces to enjoy them with.

"Thank you very much Royka. Please, enjoy yourself as well. There is no need to continue doing your duties." Ondona nodded as she took the two plates. "And that's my order to you. I'll call you if I need assistance so take a break." She added with a small smile.

Royka reeled back a bit as she gave her order and wanted to argue against it...but...He was not going to argue with her at all. "Of course mistress...Enjoy yourself as well." He gave a bow as he reluctantly left her side to stay by the food table to eat some of the delicacies laid out.

Of course with the sound of drums from outside and another man entering, Ondona looked over before returning to her tea. As she took a sip she coughed a bit, been a while since she had any alcohol but with the tea it was fine. After a small sip, she took a biscut and took a bite from it. Sweet and crunchy.

Of course someone soon approached her. It appeared to be a child of sorts, of course she decided to reply to him. It would be rude to ignore anyone of course. "Oh, I heard of this party and well...um...decided to come." She spoke a little anxious. It has been a long while since she interacted with anyone other than Royka.

Boo's bright, curious eyes watched the guests in awe. This place was amazing, and everyone was so pretty. Yet, for the moment, the little girl sat on the table like a cat, which was appropriate given she was about the size of one, and continuing to help herself to the delicious food that had been provided. The miniature Neko-jin moved from one table to another as she sampled different items; some of which she had never seen before. The new dress made walking on all fours as Boo was want to do a little more awkward but she managed.

As she reached the end of one table, Boo spotted a plate of finger sandwiches. The little girl paused, however, when she saw another creature reaching for the same plate. Boo quickly hopped with a hiss. Her back arched, her ears lay back, and her tail puffed up out like a Halloween cat. "Dog!" She squeaked. After blinking a couple of times and looking again, Boo realized her mistake. With a faint blush, the little girl sat down and started smoothing out her tail. "You aren't a dog." She mumbled. "You shouldn't sneak up on Boo like that. Er.. not that Boo was scared or anything."

Looking for a distraction, the little girl nudged the sandwiches towards the fox, after taking a couple and tucking them into her bag of course. "You wanted some too, right?" She asked with a curious tilt of her head. Boo hadn't seen a fox person white like this one before. "Where did you come from?" The sounds of drums and marching made the little girl glance towards the door. It seemed like there was more fun happening outside, but she would check on that in a moment. If she remembered.

Irral nodded to the boy holding the Wand, Akio. He knew vaguely what it was. Who it belonged to however, he'd leave to time to reveal itself to the boy. If he didn't already know, anyway. Nodding again, Irral stood slowly, thinking slowly and carefully. "Indeed, it would be a shame to use it and not know what you're using.... very well; I shall leave you to your duties."

Speaking of duties, the Dragon of Corrupted Light felt something was off, somewhere far off; and so needed to take his leave. And so he did, with a great shake the air froze and the ground rumbled before with a flash of Golden Light, he was gone from the Chaos Ball. Maybe he'd be back; maybe he wouldn't. More than likely the latter.

A fiery portal appeared and from it stepped the half fire demon Selena. Her eyes and tattoos glowed like fire as she stepped out of the portal. She wore a black dress that was low cut in front and showed off her back. If they didn't notice the portal they would definitely notice the dress.

"I so hope I'm not late..." Selena said with a smirk as the portal closed behind her.

How'd he wind up invited to this shindig again? Coincidence, obviously. Some random individual on a street tossing him their invitation, insisting he go in their stead. Something about the last time they'd gone, things had turned upside down and crazy events came to pass. Regardless, Alex found himself little to do that evening. Living as a pseudo-vagabond came with perks, but also mundane, agonizingly pitiful, lulls. He found little purpose these days, having stumbled into a narrow, dead-end, corridor. His leads having ran dry, he found little aspiration, and hope, in achieving his goal; to be entirely human again.

Now, existing as a pitiful mess with no purpose to serve, he simply wandered about enjoying what little beauty in life he could appreciate naturally; not that he could often with the mess of visual sensors and scans constantly whirring about. Still, he made do with what he had. And if anything, this event would simply derail his current brooding thoughts and give him ample distraction from his self-pitied woes.

Supposedly the occasion suggested that one dress accordingly, and so with relative ease he managed to put together a riveting outfit, something he'd appreciated in days of yore whence he'd been a child. Dressed as an Assassin, he came off rather accurately. Garbed in fine whites, accentuated in wine reds, and mottled with filigree; impressive couldn't hardly describe it. His onyx locks lay draped in various manners, bangs shielding a portion of his visage whilst ember-like neon eyes peered outward; luminescent in the waning light due to his non-biological make-up.

Passing through into the interior, he scanned the building rather swiftly; eyes dotted with various informative readings and the like, before he casually found a shrug leaving him. Impressive, but dull nonetheless. The audacious nature of everyone around seemed haphazardly contained. He could easily spy the ones who 'didn't belong' in a sense, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He found it a true shame, though, that not a single thing here would provide him any sort of amusement. He couldn't eat. Couldn't drink.

What use in a ball to an Android? Perhaps, in time, he'd figure on something worthwhile to occupy his time. Until then, he simply made to amble about and study everyone. Few had caught his attention, but until such a time as he found himself comfortable to attempt speaking to anyone, he'd keep to himself; hood drawn up over his head for good effect.

Vance watched in awe as all the guests poured into the Hall. Some with lots of showmanship, others like himself sneeked in with little to no revelry. He watched as Boo made friends with the fox at the table and he even got some food himself before returning to the shadows. He was glad to a point that no one was talking to him, but he wondered then why the masked man gave him the invitation in the first place. More out of habbit and boredom than anything else, Vance began to use his ice powers to create a dancing girl on th nearby table and made the ice figure dance across the table like a graceful ballet dancer.

Having made his way up the marble steps of the hall, his two sisters immediately behind him, Shimizu was greeted by the rapid-fire flashing of cameras, as media from all across Terra vied to get a good picture of him.

He did as any good Taiyou Emperor would do, he offered a smile, and a bow, shaking hands as he moved towards the doors of the hall, bowing some more, and shaking some more hands before two of his bodyguards moved with him, checking their radios, and ensuring that everything was moving smoothly.

Once inside the hall, he took in the sights all around him. Everyone was dancing, having a good time; something that, if Shimizu was in some different clothes, would gladly partake in. But for now, he was relegated to appearances, unable to sample the local finger food for fear it could be poisoned, and keeping a watchful eye on his sisters, who stayed behind him.

He stood out, in his traditional attire, but of course he was supposed to, as the Emperor.

He simply smiled and shook hands with all who approached him.

Akio watched as a dragon, who was older then time itself, came and spoke to him, before vanishing again. The entire time, his expression never changed once, indicating he had completely and totally remained composed during that entire conversation with an entity that was, for once, older then him. Clearly, it was his centuries of living that gave him this wisdom.

Well...that was....freaking awesome!!! I am like, a legendary knight in a fantasy story or something! I am literally the hero now!

Or, it was just another case of "Akio takes it as praise and gets elated", and "Akio putting on an act". It should be noted the news crews were already commending him for what he did right there, apparently they were fully aware of that man's identity and were impressed Akio was able to keep his composure...on the outside, anyways.

"Master Akio! A large scale force is approaching the Ball! Permission to use full scale weapons on the Gigas Machina?!"

That was broken by a notification from Ruby using their special MagiComms, who was currently operating his Gigas Machina while it was in stealth mode.

"Hold it! Ruby, by chance, is it the parade you are talking about?"

"That...that large thing is a parade, and not an invading army?!"

"Yes, so stand down".

"But, if they are, and Master Akio got hurt...it would be sad, and we...we would have to nurse him back to health...understood, standing down!"

Akio really did not feel like commenting on that ulterior motive, so instead he moved to prepare for someone who was a big, important guest it would seem. Afterwards, the Emperor of the Taiyou arrived. Akio had spent the time between detection and arrival to learn everything he needed, make special preparations, and hope for the best.

And in his mind....

Daemala! You better get here right now and help me deal with this! This is totally something you should be doing!!

"Welcome to the Ball of Chaos. I am one of the hosts, Akio Revela. I do hope you enjoy being here".

He had practiced this line also for the past few minutes by repeating it to every single guest that had entered before Shimizu, until it was refined enough to be what he needed. One of the goals of the ball was to neither risk antagonizing people by talking down to them, or being submissive to people by talking up to them. So, Akio had done neither, using a voice so refined, so neutral, so respectful yet clearly not submissive or under in any way, one would think that if he wasn't a vampire, he wouldn't be a child but an older diplomat.

Meanwhile, because he kept his composure completely (on the outside), he was gaining points from the press like crazy. After tonight, there would be an Akio fan club, and many, many, many fanfics most of which he would turn red over and demand to be deleted, but that was a story for another time.

At the same time this was going down, CR was innocently smiling and conversing with the werewolves. He did not even know this, but it was possible for the Werewolves to easily sense from instincts that he was not some mere child, and in fact a dangerous entity.

"Oh good!" CR exclaimed, as he finally saw it on the food table near the werewolves. "They do have ice cream!"

Crimson Reaper (CR) immediately rushed towards the ice cream, with the intention of devouring it all. Yet somehow, he still managed to maintain a conversation.

"So, why are you here? I am here to represent my father, who cant make it since his mere presence in this world without enough energy spent and time prepared would result in everyone nearby going mad. Same with my mother. Also, this seemed like fun! They even hired me a chaperone...he is really good at keeping an eye on me from a distance, gotta say..."

Actually, Ivera's observation skills were so good, only experts or extremely lucky people could detect he had been observing CR this whole time. Meanwhile, Ivera was conversing with the woman.

"Man, I am here because I was hired to keep an eye on that kid. There was supposed to be something else, but if I am being honest, I think that was just used as a pretext to have me be his chaperone. Since, those two really are doting parents in turns out....anyways, what do you do for a living?"

Although he had no intention to hide it, Ivera did not go out and state he was a private investigator. The reason was that sometimes, people got weird around him when they found out, like they were worried he would investigate them...

...well, the only one he did bother looking into was a man who he realized was beating his wife and children, and got the evidence to send him to jail, but he decided to not bring that up as casual conversation.

"I gotta say, that light show earlier, they are really going all out for this party".

Notably, the way he spoke made him seem far smarter, wiser, and older for his age when he spoke like how he was at that moment.

Selena made her way into the ball a small flame dancing on her fingertips as she walked. Lots of people from lots of places. The Emperor caught her eye and she watched him. She knew very little about his Empire and cared even less. She just moved though the crowd as she headed towards the food portal travel took a bit out of you after all.

Midgra bristled as his back stiffened.
"No where! Nothing!" He dropped a few sandwiches back on the plate as his hands retracted. He looked warily at the girl before relaxing. She couldn't kick him out. As she offered, Midgra cracked a bit of a smile and and began to grab the food. He heard her ask where he came from.

"Ah, we are all from somewhere." He stated, taking two of the sandwiches and shoving them in his mouth.
"The bigger question..."
He said, chewing as he talked.

"Is where are you going? And what will you do when you get there?"

He swallowed and hungrily devoured another sandwich.

"I'm going nowhere, until someone makes me stop eating this food. I usually don't get to eat this until its a couple days old!"

He said with a laugh and grabbed another yet another, beginning to scope out the tables of meat as he chewed.

Vance finally came out of the shadows to enjoy himself as Boo had. It had been so long since he had felt any kind of joy that was his own and not the emotions of someone else, that he had almost forgot what it felt like. He figured if no one had tried to kill him or capture him yet, he was probably good for the rest of the evening. He sat down at the table where he had the ice sculpture dancing and decided to do something a little more showy. He made it start to snow above his table while the figure kept dancing. While the figure kept dancing he got up and went to the beverage area. There were a wide variety of brews and ales, fine wines, mead, and a number of drinks he couldn't identify. He found a bottle of a purple liquid that smelled like a berry that used to grow on his planet. It had sweetness and it burned slightly as he swallowed. He took the glass he had poured and went back to the table and ate more of his food as he watched the ice lady dance. "This isn't all that bad I guess. No one is trying to kill me at least." He muttered to himself.

A bulk of red shifted out from a back room door and onto the party floor. An android with no eyes adjusted the tiny pyramid-shaped cufflinks on his sleeves before he stepped out with an air of machine-like purpose. The android wore a stunning red suit jacket with matching pants, with a darker red dress shirt underneath. He did not bring his outer armour, but he did replace his armoured boots with a set of matching dress shoes, pointed at the toe, and polished to a mirror shine.

His attire was there for one reason: Jakob was one of the players, a musician, part of tonight’s entertainment. Until the time he would be up on stage as part of a band, he was simply another guest at this eclectic gala. While his snazzy look had a tendency to catch eyes, his synthetic hair was short, military-style, and impossible to comb.

The android bowed his head politely with a friendly smile on his synthetic face, as he plucked a shot glass from a serving tray being carried by a beaming, beautiful waitress. “Thank you kindly,” The android’s synthesizer emitted a calming harsh voice, like fine sand.