“We know it was you! You can’t keep denying it when we have evidence!”

Athena shrugged. “I'm not denying anything. I'm just not agreeing with anything either.”

The sun had barely risen before the first person came to the guild demanding answers. In the past hour, that one person had become a crowd of dozens, all wanting the same thing.

“We were all there, there’s a dozen kinds of evidence, we know your guild made those things!” They continued.

“First off... what did you say you name was?”

“...Infernus.”

“Sure it is, now where was I? Oh right, first off Infernus, you don't have anything other than the words of an announcer, and that of a couple of people with appraisal skills. That’s hardly going to hold up in any real argument beyond your “did too” attempts. Secondly even if it could hold up, we still don't have to do or say anything.”

“It doesn't matter if you’re going to admit it or not, we know you did it, and you’re going to tell us how!” They shouted.

Athena raised an eyebrow. “And in this fantasy of yours where you can indeed prove any of this, why on earth would we tell you anything? Are you going to threaten to attack us, maybe declare war on our guild? Or are you going to make it ok for your members to attack our people just for trying to play? You’ve gotten nothing we want, and the threats you could make can’t be worse than what we’re already dealing with .”

“But… you can’t do that, it’s not fair!” Infernus cried.

Athena stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. The members of the Rising Moon behind her did the same, as were most of the other players who’d come to get answers.

“Are… you serious?” she asked. “Hoarding secrets and trying to steal them has been a core feature of Genesis since its release. Ever since the first dungeon was discovered there have been people trying to keep it a secret. But despite that, this is unfair?”

The man coughed awkwardly. “Well, if only your guild can do it, then it gives you an unfair advantage right?”

She sighed and reached for a bag behind her. “No, it gives us an advantage, not an unfair one, and also lets us offer other people an opportunity.”

Opening the bag she pulled out a spherical seed that glittered in the morning sun, the size of an apple. Holding it in one hand, she held it aloft and showed it to the crowd as she spoke.

“Here I hold a seed, one capable of growing a Mosaic Daggerwing Hive almost anywhere that it’s planted. Assuming that it’s watered and given enough nutrients, I’ve been told it would be fully grown within a week. Other than some occasional watering in summer, and maybe throwing some compost to it once a year or so, it will be completely self-sustaining.”

The crowd’s eyes followed the seed she held as they listened, tracking it as if hypnotised, until one broke the spell by speaking up.

“Why would you want to grow them, they’re dangerous!”

Athena grinned. “I don’t want to grow it myself, I don’t live anywhere near here and will be leaving after the Games. But why would you want to grow one? Well I don't know, what possible use could there be in a plant that can rapidly attack lightly armoured bodies? Especially fast moving ones all while doing so nonlethally? What value could possibly be gotten from something like that?”

Some in the audience were quicker on the uptake than others.

“You actually expect people to want to put these in the city, near their homes? Like clouds of razor sharp monsters are better than swashbucklers?!” one asked incredulously.

“I do and they will, after all the hives are completely safe as long as you don't threaten or damage them.”

“What do you mean threaten? They’re going to attack us if we yell at them? This is a major city, people are always yelling!” They yelled.

“It's more of a matter of...intent.” she replied cautiously.

Jicker had gone over all the information he could with her about the Hive’s nature when she’d asked him to make up a bunch of seeds but he’d been unable to give proper answers on some points. That left her somewhat at a loss on how to answer the question, and subsequently lose control of the crowd.

“What’s that supposed to even mean? You don‘t know do you?” Someone else shouted, taking joy in her discomfort.

“Well… I certainly wasn’t involved in this, so I can’t be certain of the particulars. B-but I’ve been told that they should indeed be safe for people to be around in almost all cases!”

“So you admit you don’t know how it works? Have you even checked?”

“I…haven’t, because I was busy, but others have! I know it works, it’s not going to attack people if there’s not a threat!”

“Then bring it out here, and go and hug it! We know you’ve still got the one from the games last night!”

“Actually,” someone said with a glint in their eyes. “You might know a trick to make it work, so one of us will. If you’re telling the truth, nothing will go wrong, right? And if it does, well, you definitely have be able to make up for it right? Or do you not want to sell any of these dangerous creatures?”

Athena hesitated. On the one hand she did need to prove they were safe to use if they wanted to sell any, and it was going to be a key point on making alliances in the near future. But on the other, it was clear that they wanted to sabotage things in order to get information out of her. It’s not like they could actually make her say anything, even if they got killed by the Hive, but it could cripple a lot of their plans for trade deals. If they lost too much of peoples trust now…

“Ah, I do love a good bit of soap box arguing!”

Everyone turned at this new voice, struggling to point to its origin until it was revealed to be from above. Slowly floating down was Sir Bradley, his umbrella supporting him just enough for him to lightly land before the crowd, bowing as he did so.

“Good morning,” he said as he doffed his hat. “And what seems to be the matter? As guests in this fine city, I feel obliged to help you resolve things peacefully, so you may spend your day taking in the sights.”

The crowd went silent, no one willing to scare off the rare sighting, but eventually Infernus spoke up.

“They want to put dangerous monsters through the city, and won’t tell us how they made them!”

Bradley stroked his moustache in thought. “I see, and from what I heard as I descended, they’re claiming them to be safe? Is this correct young man?”

“Y-yes. Mister Bradley. Sir.” They said awkwardly.

“Then things are simple!” he declared with a clap of his hands as he turned to Athena. “Please, little miss, would you bring out this supposed risk to my city, so that I can test it myself. Would this be acceptable for everyone?”

There was a small amount of grumbling from the crowd, but no one was willing to raise a fuss. Athena picked up on the thoughts of the crowd as she beckoned for someone to bring out the hive.

A number were upset that their plans had been stopped, but they knew they couldn’t say anything or they’d reveal themselves. After all, Sir Bradley was always upstanding about things, so if he declared them safe, then they were. No one was going to try and argue that he was a liar.

With a great amount of care, two people wheeled out a small cart, carrying the now recovered hive which buzzed slightly as it was moved. The guild members tasked with transporting it took great pains to be gentle with it, while also doing their best to seem casual with it, not wanting to give the wrong impression. They’d all heard that it was safe, and that there should be no real problem when interacting with it. Unfortunately, they’d all also seen the fight, where the supposedly safe hive had literally shredded other creatures.

The wooden stump that made up the exterior of the hive had healed, but there were still scars left from its near death in the Melee. Approaching it, Bradley examined it closely, twisting his monocle slightly as he did so, seemingly paying no attention to the slight buzzing from inside.

“It really is a marvellous thing you have here, a truly new creature!” he called back to the crowd before continuing closer. “But I suppose the real test would be… this.”

And with that he lifted his hand with a flourish, and put it inside the stump. For a moment there was nothing, as if even the Daggerwings inside were shocked by this. But the silence was broken by a roar of noise from inside the hive, like a box of chainsaws had been started up within. After a few seconds, the noise lessened, but Bradley went a shade paler as a grimace crossed his face for a moment.

“Are you okay?” Athena asked. She knew it should be safe to touch, but Jicker hadn’t covered anything about trying to get inside it, and for some reason Sir Bradleys thoughts were shielded from her.

He smiled at her as he scrunched up his face slightly. “Oh I’m fine my dear, it’s just that truth be told I’m… not a fan of creepy crawlies. Although, I have to say that these are rather beautiful.”

Slowly he withdrew his hand, completely unharmed, and on the palm of his hand sat a Daggerwing, its large sapphire wings fluttering gently as it kept its balance.

“Seems safe enough to me.” He said as he looked at it, blowing gently on its wings, causing it to take flight for a moment before landing back down. “But if anyone would like to try for themselves, by all means come up. I’d say the trick to it is being gentle, and keeping in mind that you don’t want to hurt them. Do that, and it’s seems they won’t hurt you. Sporting of them really.”

With a flick of the wrist he shook it free, sending it shooting in to the air before it dove back into the hive. Before Bradley could continue, one of the earlier speakers stormed up to the hive, causing angry buzzing.

“If they’re this harmless, what’s the point then? I may as well pick off a few wings t-ARGH!”

Whatever they’d planned to say, whatever they’d planned to do, it all quickly became irrelevant. They’d attempted to replicate Bradley’s, but where the swashbuckler had been met with only some buzzing, this person dropped to their knees as blood began to fountain from the top of the hive. They writhed on the ground in pain, unable to pry their arm free themselves, until Bradley pulled them back. As he heaved, the arm came loose, looking as if it had gone through a wood chipper, bleeding from countless open wounds.

“And that,” Bradley said as he fished around in his pockets for a healing potion. “Is why I said be gentle. Does anyone know his poor chap? I think he needs a spot of rest for a while, so if someone could take him…?”

There was some grumbling as people debated admitting they knew them, before a couple came up and collected the sobbing figure.

The swashbuckler sighed. “I do so hate it when bards try and use crowds against people. An audience is something meant to be entertained and inspired, not wielded as a weapon.”

“Thanks for your help.” Athena said, voice filled with relief.

“Think nothing of it, but for now finish speaking to your audience, I’m looking to discuss something with you afterwards.”

“Right, right… now, where was I… as you’ve seen, the Mosaic Daggerwing Hives, are both safe for those who are sensible, and a great deterrent for those who don’t care about others property. We will be selling the seeds, which I can guarantee you won’t find anywhere else, seven hundred gold a piece. As far as I know they won’t go to seed themselves, so don’t think you can farm them from a single purchase, but we will be offering significant discounts to any allies of the Rising Moon. If you wish to make a purchase or place an order, please see Marcus by the gate there, he’s the orc with the giant crossbow.”

The seven foot tall orc gave a small wave to the crowd.

“He’ll also be addressing any further complaints or demands of us to turn over things that I’m currently saying we do not have.”

A woman spoke up from the crowd. “But we know you do! So just tell us-”

He was cut off as the orc gave a cough and shouldered the enormous weapon which would be more at place during a siege than here.

“Ma’am,” he said in a deep voice, “If you wish to continue making those claims please step out over to your left. It would be rude of me to use the people behind you as a back stop.”

“You can’t just shoot through a crowd in the middle of a city!” she shouted back fearlessly.

“With a bow like this I’m confident I can shoot through most of this crowd quite easily, inside of a city or otherwise, but I’d only be aiming for you. So if everyone else would care to step out from between me and the lady making a fuss...?”

As the crowd slowly split down the middle, leaving a confused yet irate woman standing alone, Athena turned to the swashbuckler.

“Now then, Sir Bradley, if you’d care to step inside? In very curious to hear what this is about.”

~~~~~~

“So what’s the plan then?” Gabe asked as he sprawled on the couch.

“What plan?” Jicker asked from his own seat.

They were sitting in lounge within the hotel, relaxing after the stress of the previous night. The Melee had surpassed their expectations, but considering their skill sets, it had quickly been decided that Athena would be handling the fallout. That left a dozen members sitting around killing time before their own events to come.

“You’ve got the Duel Monsters coming up in a few days, what are you putting forward for that?” Oda asked, leaning in the doorway, beer in hand.

“I dunno, what about you guys, can’t we discuss your event plans? Are you ready?”

Gabe and Oda looked at each other with a grin.

“Well gosh Gabe, how are you going to try and win your event?” Oda asked, voice full of false concern.

The warlock made a big show of looking thoughtful before answering. “Well, it’s a team magic battle, so I think I’ll try ice first, then maybe ice and if all that fails, I’ll have to resort to ice magic.”

Oda nodded seriously. “That sounds like a cunning plan. For me, I’m in a capture the flag event, so I figure, I’ll let the rest of our team defend, and I’ll go grab the enemy flag.”

“That’s a good plan, I’ve heard your pretty good a sneaking.” Gabe said before they burst out laughing signalling for someone to bring them more drinks.

Jicker waved off the one he was offered before turning to the two laughing idiots. “Yes you’re both very funny, but that’s all you’ve got? You’re not going to put any actual effort into this?”

Gabe wiped a tear from his eye. “If my magic isn’t good enough, then nothing else I could do would help, and if someone can stop Oda from getting to the flag, then plans won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’d be no way to tell if they’re in here right now!” he said, wiggling his fingers mysteriously before going back to his drink.

“Besides, I’ve already competed in another event this morning.” Oda mentioned offhandedly.

“Wait, seriously?” Jicker exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah, the thieving event, ‘Locked Room’.”

“You had to steal something? Was it from another team or…?”

Oda shook his head. “Nah nothing that interesting, honestly it’s kind of a boring event which is why they hold it so early after the ceremony. They put a thingamajig in a sort of vault, then surround it with locks, traps, guards... the whole deal. Then we all take a turn at trying to get it without seeing how other people went. You get graded on how long it took, what you set off and if you actually got it or not.”

“Sounds like your thing. Soooo…. how’d you do?” Jicker asked.

Oda frowned and took a long drink before answering. “Second.”

Gabe coughed in surprise. “You lost? Did you slap a guard or something?”

With a sigh he explained. “I got a perfect score on both stealth and trap avoidance, but I was behind someone else when it came to picking the locks and overall speed. There wasn’t much in it but… they came out a few seconds ahead of me, and were judged the winner.”

“You came second in what’s effectively a global competition, and you’re being bitter about it?” Jicker questioned in disbelief.

“You have to remember Jicker,” Athena said as she walked in, “That while you’re still starting up again from scratch, a lot of players in the Rising Moon are actually top tier players. That and their events don’t require a lot of thinking, which suits them.”

“To a tee!” Gabe declared loudly before falling off the couch, struggling to save his drink from spilling.

“You know, it’s scenes like this that make me wonder if I should join a guild in the end. You all seem to have such fun.”

The room went quiet as Sir Bradley stepped around the corner, people’s drinks stopping halfway to their lips as they froze. After a few awkward looks around for someone to break the silence, Oda stepped up.

“It’s been a while since we last spoke Bradley, must be almost two years now?”

The gentlemen paused with a frown. “I hate to be rude, but do we know each other? I can’t quite put a name to the face…”

“Hmmm? Oh, I used a mask back then, now I just go unseen when I work. I believe at the time I was going by… the Spectre, if I remember correctly, but it might have been the Red Mist.”

Realization came across his face. “Ah! The assassin! Yes I remember now, chasing each other across the roofs, trying to get in each other’s way! Plenty of fun in those days! You’ve been keeping well then, settled down with a guild now I see?”

Oda wobbled his hand from side to side. “Oh, I’d always kept a hand in, but now I’m a bit more full time. Contract assassinations just… aren’t the thrill they used to be.”

Patting him on the shoulder, Bradley nodded sadly. “I know what you mean. These days I see less daring duellists perform impossible feats to get the upper hand, and more teenagers who just scream ‘parkour’ at me before breaking peoples gutters. Which actually brings me to the reason why I’m here.”

Looking around, he spotted Jicker holding a seemingly oversized mug, causing him to smile.

“Ah, there you are my little green friend! It’s taken me a bit of work to track you down, but fortunately a friend of mine spotted you during the ceremony.”

“You were looking… For me?” Jicker asked, surprised.

“Indeed young gremlin! Your assistance in the matter the other day made my work much simpler, while keeping things fair still! The concoction you gave me to subdue my quarry had no effect until I’d had already bested them, yet it then made them collapse making it far easier to bring them in! Normally I’d be against poisons and the like, as I mentioned before, but since this works as little more than a more effective set of bindings, it’s perfect for catching those who’d normally be able to struggle free.”

“You haven’t used any before? It’s not like tranquilizers are a new product.” Jicker asked in confusion, his brain still trying to catch up.

Bradley hesitated. “Over the years it seems I’ve developed a bit of a… reputation, especially here in Macross. While I’ve got no real problem with being recognized by people, a number of them tend to emulate what I do.”

“And you don’t want them to know you're using drugs? Is that right?”

He nodded. “Or at least, that’s how people would likely phrase it. So until people actually understand what I’m using, I’d like to keep things between us, to make sure people still trust those doing the right thing.”

“I can give you some more, it’s not like it’s hard to do but…” Jicker turned to Athena. “Should I be doing this? Or is this something the guild should agree to? I’m kind of new to the whole ‘team’ thing.”

She shrugged. “If we were talking anything substantial, yes leave it to someone who can sign off on a contract, but this is fine, especially since he helped us out a moment ago.”

“Problems out front?” Oda asked.

Athena waved him off. “Some safety concerns about the hives, but that’s been dealt with. What about you lot, anything I should know or care about?”

“Nothing much, just wondering what sort of monster Jicker should make next.” Gabe said as he picked himself off the floor, before he stopped as he starred at Bradley. “…That was one of those things I’m not supposed to say wasn’t it?”

“It was.” Athena said with a sigh. “Sir Bradley, I’m hoping that you’ll keep this to yourself? One secret keeper to another?”

The old elf laughed. “Perish the thought! As you said outside, people discovering things for themselves is part of the fun! Although I admit, I do find the whole thing quite interesting. I don’t suppose I’d be allowed to sit in and watch…?” he said, leaving the question hanging.

Jicker shrugged. “If we can’t trust you to keep your word, who can we trust? Everything else okay with this?”

After receiving a collection of shrugs and nods, Jicker stepped out for a moment to retrieve a black board.

“So,” he began as he jotted down a few notes. “The Duel Monster events are all one on one fights, bracket style, with the same incapacitation rules as before right?”

“Pretty much,” one of the Athena helpers said. “But people try a lot harder to go for kills or excessive damage on permanent entries, like golems or yours.”

“He’s right.” Bradley said with a nod. “It’s a little unsavoury, but it lets allied guilds work together to knock out potential threats by leaving them unfit to continue.”

“So it does have to be the same entry each time? How does that work for summons?” Jicker asked, writing it all down.

“For them it just has to be exactly the same spell. You can enter golems the same way, if you can prove they’re all identical when entered.”

“So I’d need a species that are identical then, which only leaves some kind of plant.”

Oda shook his head. “Not if we want any chance of winning. Fire is really common in these things, as are the undead, both of which would be highly effective against pretty much anything plant based.”

Jicker nodded after a moment then drew a line through few things. “I could probably get around that weakness, but I see your point. In that case it’ll need be a beast then. Probably a unique creature as well, so it can respawn if it’s too badly hurt.”

“You can create unique creatures as well?” Bradley asked, eyes lighting up.

“After were done here, I’ll take you to see Princess.” Gabe said cheerfully.

“I’d love to, but first, what kind of creature can you make? I’d love to see something truly fantastical.”

“There aren’t a lot of limits it seems, but it has to sort of…fit inside Genesis. But more to the point, what qualities will it need for the event?”

“I’d say we’re looking for something pretty beefy. The Melee is all about offense, since you can’t survive too long no matter what, but the duels are different. Since you have to keep reusing your entrant, people do their best to not leave any glaring weakness.”

“If it needs to be beefy, how about a cow?” Gabe said as he searched for more drinks.

Jicker paused before writing down the suggestions. “How about no, and be careful or you’ll lose your suggestion privileges.”

“So what’s something tough then?” Athena asked the room while thinking hard. “Something big and dangerous that will last against whatever they throw at it?”

“Well, what the most dangerous thing you can think of?”

“A moose.” Oda and Bradley said simultaneously before looking at each other.

“Alaska?” The assassin asked curiously.

Bradley shook his head. “Canada.”

Gabe snorted. “Seriously? You’re both afraid of a big deer?” He said with a laugh, ignoring the glares he got.

Jicker wrote it down. “There could be something to that, but what else we got?”

“How about a shark? Those are really dangerous.” Gabe said as he flopped back down.

“Are the Duels held underwater Gabe?” Athena asked him patiently .

“Well… no, but maybe if it had legs? And lungs? It could even be on fire!”

Jicker sighed. “Sure, ‘land shark with legs’ is on the list. Does anyone else have anything?”

“A lion maybe? Or a tiger, or even a bear? Gabe rattled off.

“I swear Gabe you’re on your last warning… but yes, they go on the list.”

“A snake? Maybe also with legs?” Someone suggested.

He sighed. “That’s kind of called a lizard, but sure, it’s on the board. You guys keep going, I’m going to grab a few things and make up Sir Bradley’s request.”

“What about an ant? It won the Melee, so maybe it would do well in the Duels.” Gabe said as Jicker began to leave the room.

“How would an ant beat things that are heavily armoured?”

“…Ok, how about an ant… that’s on fire!?”

“…No more drinks for you.”