The Final Test

Maddi made her way out of Bastion and into the Shimmering Glades. Seeing no one else around Maddi decided to wait for them to show up. Maddi's fur was now a swirl of reds and yellows as she bounced on the heels of her feet.

Beryl walking through the blades of grass notices the Cheshire girl bouncing on her heels and became slightly mesmerized by her fur. Beryl deciding to make her self known and slowly began walking towards her in a clearing of the glade. "I always did love how you Cheshire's could do that," as she raises her right hand in a slight wave as a pleasant gesture. "So I'm not the only one they sent here huh? This shall be definitely interesting.....oh before I forget," as Beyl puts her right hand out, a sign to shake hands. "I'm Beryl, Beryl Bonadette."

Maddi whipped around to face the lady who had spoken and her fur started to add light shades of purple. Maddi shook Beryl's hand before saying, "I'm Maddi, Maddi Finestra. I just joined the House of Spades today, you?" Maddi asked happy to no longer be waiting out in the fields alone.

Before giving Beryl the chance to reply, vines burst through the ground beneath the two and push them aside as a human sized rose colored bud rises from the ground, lifting itself up before blooming to reveal Vice calmly seated inside. "Oh dear, please pardon this, I thought I would submerge in a unoccupied space, and pardon how late I am, errands you see." Vice rises from his blossom seat and steps into the grass before the large blossom retreats back beneath the surface, sealing up the gapping hole it had made as grass quickly regrows to cover the spot.

Finally with the three all together, a man appears out of nowhere, revealing that he was in camouflage this entire time waiting for the three. The man about 9ft tall, pitch black skin, yellow cat eyes, silver fohawk and bat ears in a white trench coat makes himself know. Analyzing the three before reaching into his Pockett and pulled out a gothic-esque birdcage that contained a snow white bird with extremely long tail feathers that seemed to constantly change colors in ripples, like water. The man holds it high, takes a deep breath then calmly exhales before giving a face of sternness. "Alright rookies, I am Allron Kroy, I'm a Joker, so a neutral party among the three of you, that being said, your Guildmasters decided to do something out of the ordinary and have rookies from different guilds participate together in their entry test. That being said, doesn't mean you're all going to pass of course." Allron turns his attention to the bird, "this is a Snow Diva Songbird, extremely rare and unique for their ability to copy any sound they hear and replicate it perfectly, that being said, right now it has been trained to copy a....unique sound, to pass, you just have to return this bird, yet as you can see there is one bird and three of you, this being how you can fail, and on last thing." Allron opens the cage allowing the songbird to fly out and immediately fly sky. "Just to add to the difficulty" Allron snaps his fingers "Mind: Swarming illusion!" In and instant, there was over 50 songbirds, each flying in different directions. "You must bring me the real sonbird of course, so good luck!"

Her fur now swirls of purples blacks and yellows, Maddi watched as the 51 identical birds took to the sky. Taking a deep breath Maddi looked at the pink haired Doll who had sprung up earlier and Beryl. "This will probably work best if we work together. I'm Maddi Finestra, and I am a Forge mage." Maddi finished her fur settling on a warm yellow color.

Vice took a long pause after seeing the swarm of birds scatter about, "Well then, this shall be interestingly simple." Vice diverts his attention back to the two women, "introductions later my dear, I you wish to work together then so be it." Vice raises both of his hands toward the sky, causing the tall blades of grass to stretch and grow, reaching up toward the sky.

The birds tried their best to avoid each blade of grass reaching for them, flying even higher to avoid their grasp. Once at a high enough distance, they seemed to make a buzzing sound that echoed from one to another, the sound being similar to that of electricity running through power lines however far louder. The sound seemingly getting louder with each passing second.

Beryl cringes as the Songbird's sound becomes even louder and louder, turning her attention at Maddi "I agree, let's work in sync to find that lil' devil." turning back to Vice "keep them blades of grass comin' it's keeping them in a single spot!" Beryl began looking through the swarm of illusory birds trying to figure out which was which before getting slightly irritated, "Enhance: Tracer" causing Beryl's eyes and ears to become in-sync. Slowly Beryl became able to see the sound waves bouncing back in forth from bird to bird, following the sounds trail to its source until she could finally find it. "There!" Beryl pointed to the farthest Songbird of the left-hand side of the swarm.

While cringing at the louder buzzing Maddi pulled her tonfas from her pockett. Focusing on the flock Maddi began to change her tonfas into a long chain using her 'Forge Art: Multi-Forge', her fur going a deep forest green with her concentration. When Beryl pointed out the bird Maddi immediately swung her chain aiming at the songbird on the far left-hand side that Beryl had pointed to. "I see it!" Maddi shouted as the chain soared towards the bird.

In that instant, the buzzing stopped as a loud horrific screech could he heard from the sky above as a Grass Scythe came gliding down with intense speed, slamming through the illusory birds and catching the flung chain on its left sickle. The creature made the same buzzing sound as the Songbird had, revealing the bird's song to be a mimic of a cry for help, drawing in the attention of the nearest Grass Scythe. However, with the Songbird silent, the Grass Scythe opened its jowls, revealing rows of jagged teeth and small pincers that grabbed the bird and swallowed it whole. Feathers went flying as the creature let out an echoing buzzing scream. Again and again the creature screeched as it's body just hovered over the group before noticing the three. The buzzing went silent as the Grass Scythe pulled on the chain on its sickle, flinging Maddi's body towards its right sickle due to force of the pull; poised and ready to pierce her body.

Vice gives a devilish grin in response to the grass Scythe's actions and seeing Maddi being flung towards what seems to be death. "Oh dear, that looks dangerous" Vice raised his right hand quickly "Earth Art: Eden's Embrace!" causing massive bramble vines to burst from the ground beneath the hovering grass Scythe, wrapping around it's body, immobilizing it as the bramble tries to pierce its carapace, and breaking the chain connecting Maddi to it's sickle, causing the momentum from the pull to cease.

Beryl with haste, charged right for Maddi, catching her before she fell to the ground. "That was a bit too close for comfort so lets not do that again." Giving Maddi a grin before placing her gently on the ground, then turning her immediate attention to the Grass Scythe struggling to break free from the bramble vines. Beryl's right eye began to twitch as she slowly walked toward the creature. "You......ate......our.....TEST!" as Beryl bum rushed toward the insect, catching dust as she pulls her right arm back, winding it up and jumping right in the it's face before contact. "Enhance: Shotgun punch!" making direct contact with the Grass Scythe's head, dealing close range damage and blows that scatter all throughout it's head. The contact of the punch letting out a loud crack that echoed all through the glades, like glass shattering.

The Grass Scythe let out one final screech before it's head burst from Beryl's attack; it's body going limp before dropping to the ground. Allron's faced completely in shock at what he had just witnessed. Regaining his composure, Allron took a deep breathe before making his way toward the lifeless chimera's body. Analyzing the creature's, noticing the full extent of the damage the group had done. Shifting his attention to the three, placing his right index finger to his right brow as he began to rub his finger back n'forth as if he was trying to think of what to say next or ease a migraine, possibly both. "Well you all did swimmingly in terms of combat....however.......you didn't catch the Songbird," crossing his arms, lowering his head with his eyes closed, trying to figure out what to do about the situation.

Getting up after being saved by Vice, Maddi watched as Beryl hit the Grass Scythe. Maddi's fur changed from the yellows and blacks that had been racing about during the fight to a grey blue mix when she heard Allron's assessment of their test. "Well, we kind of did though." Maddi said perking up a bit. "You never said what condition the bird needed to be in when we caught it." Maddi finished her fur now mixed with a hopeful lavender as she watched the test proctor nervously.

Beryl dropped to the ground after hitting the GrassScythe head on, landing nearly gracefully, only slightly stumbling. Dusting herself off and removing chunks of grass from her attire, "Maddi is right, you never did say HOW he had to attain the Songbird just......we had....to catch it, besides the bird called that thing here, it was just asking to be a tasty treat for that sickled freak."

*Face palm* Allron dragged his right hand down his face, showing his distress and the current predicament. "I'll give you that, I never said the condition the bird had to be in but it should be insinuated." Once again, Allron began rubbing his forehead vigorously at the situation before taking a deep breathe, trying to find a rational excuse for the situation.

Beryl thought to herself for a minute, before jumping out of excitement from an idea. Waving over the instructor, she pulls out a Soulstone from her Pockett. "I was gonna save this but....I think this will work" Beryl pointed the Soulstone in the direction of the Grass Scythe, in that instant, it's soul left it's body and was absorbed by the crystal. The beasts body began to fade until nothing was left. Beryl looked at her Soulstone out of excitement before crushing it in her right hand, causing the Grass Scythe to materialize, letting out a loud screech before going silent. Beryl looked up at the creature with a wicked grin, "I'll name you Snips, now Snips! Cough up that bird!" Snips head tilted a bit at the request before screeching again. Beryl's face turned red as her eyebrows creased down in anger before she stomped her left foot. "I SAID COUGH IT UP!" Snips jumped back in fear before coughing repeatedly before throwing up a stream of lime green sludge, the Songbird in the stream, somehow alive but looking grim.

Allron's face turned paper white at the sight we had just witnessed, immediately he grabbed his mouth as be began to heave, trying to prevent himself from vomiting. He flung himself away from the sight, pulled out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and held it to his mouth, "well *huck* since the Songbird is....alive, *brp* you all....pass." Allron then proceed to reach into his Pockett and pulled out three envelopes, one for each of the three. "Now that you have passed, you are now honorary members of your respected guilds, in addition in your envelope a key to your new home within your guild, your guild pass, a guild mark for this mission, and being official members of a guild, you will now receive an income 10 Yin a day. congrats to the three of you."

Maddi having been starring at the creature upheaving the bird and now ash white, sprung to attention and rushed over to grab her envelope. She was now a bright neon swirl of reds and yellow. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she was grinning far wider than normal and spinning in a small circle holding her envelope close. She then stopped and launched herself at Vice giving him a brief hug, then did the same to Beryl. "I've got to go tell my parents!" She shouted as she then ran off back towards the city.

Beryl slightly jumped at the slight bit of affection but warmly smiled in response. Taking a long stretch and yawn before making her way back to Bastion, looking back at Vice, "well this was fun, the three of us will have to get back together again for another mission or something."