^Olivia Kentani&Diana Monroe@18^

--- Diana Monroe ---

I read the notice carefully, and hummed. "Seems like all the rookies would rush out immediately. If all you have to do is last 48 hours, why would you even go out? Unless they won't allow everyone to pass..." I hummed.

Father shrugged and leaned back on the couch, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. "The first round is a stupid scramble for position. The more brash ones will attack each other, the intelligent will form alliances, and the weak, meek, or curious will hide." He said casually.

I tsk'ed and tossed my Amulet onto the table next to his feet. "Watch that, please. In fact, take it into your room."

He chuckled. "Can't do that, darling. I can stay here and watch it, sure, but I'm not allowed to move it. I'm a spectator, remember?"

I nodded, then snatched it, darting down the dock towards my ship, which had expanded and changed styles to that of a large British Golden Age of Piracy-Era Military Vessel.

I placed my Amulet inside a locked chest in the captain's quarters, and then glanced up at the suit of chain and plate-mail armor, standing in a case next to the bed.

I hummed, and Perun scoffed. 'Armor. Only those that are not confident in their abilities would wear something that slows them down in order to protect themselves from those with greater skill.'

'And do you claim to have the greatest skill of them all? Hmm? I wasn't aware you were that Arrogant.' I snapped mentally at him.

He snorted. 'Don't sass me.'

'You're not my father, and he's the only one who can give me orders like that. So shut up. I'm busy. You lost your War, so I'm going to go win one. My way. Yours obviously needs a bit of updating.' I grinned.

He grumbled softly. 'Fine. We will see if your tactics are superior to mine own. But if they are not, I will take command.'

'We both know you can't do that.' I smirked at his silence, and started dressing in the chain-mail, leaving the plate-mail and sheathing the sword and axe at my hips, then looked at the shield, ultimately deciding against it.

The armor fit perfectly, no surprise there. I tested the sword and axe, finding them well-balanced, and nodded, walking back into my room.

I opened the front door cautiously, looking around for my enemies. I spotted Romulus, sprinting down the ramps towards the Monster Pit, where a giant snake was trying to eat a wolf of about half its size.

I hummed, and looked around for their owners.

Odin was easy to spot, she was fighting the girl who must be Horus, spear versus curved sword and dagger. The small boy in monks robes seemed to be avoiding the violence entirely, meditating on top of a pillar.

I hummed again. "I wonder who I should ally myself with? Odin might be an asset, and Horus has the All-Seeing Eye... but Odin also has the ability to see visions, so Odin it is."

I leapt over the rails, and roared a challenge, raising Gungnir, before lancing it directly into Horus's heart in a surprise attack.

'I do not approve-.'

'I'm winning, aren't I?' I snarled, silencing him.

I landed next to her shivering form, and fished in her pockets. A small orb was procured, and I grinned, sticking it in my pocket, then retrieving my spear.

She dissolved, and then reformed in a cell above us, labeled 'OUT'.

Then I looked at Odin. "I suppose you're the other Odin, yeah?" I decided to test her ability to detect lies.

She blinked. "What? I thought-... huh. So I guess your father being Fenrir makes you a candidate for Odin?"

"And my mother was Odin, twenty years ago. She won the Game." I shrugged nonchalantly, then grinned at her Wolf. "I'm jealous, though. I didn't get a Familiar... no fair."

She grinned as well. "You have to know how to summon one, is all. Now he's my Symbol, as well as my spear. Yours looks a little worse for wear... lemme guess, it's your mom's? You can't fool me, luv."

I chuckled. "Ahhh, busted! But, no one else besides you would know that..." I said suggestively.

She hummed, blinking slowly. "True... fine. I'll keep your secret. Allies, then?"

'She will betray you...'

'Not if I do so first.'

"For now." I nodded, and looked at the Monk. "What's with him?"

"He's a Pacifist. A Buddhist Monk." She explained.

Romulus zipped to a halt next to us, and crashed into a wall.

I laughed softly and teased him a bit. "You haven't got control of your reflexes yet?"

He shrugged his shoulders to get the stiffness off of them. "I just woke up. What's the... Xuih... uh... Blue Snake doing, fighting your Wolf?" He asked.

"Turquoise is Green with a little Blue, Romulus." I said dryly. "And we're trying to thin the herd."

He hummed. "That's not how you kill a snake with a wolf. Let your Familiar fight him normally." He said simply.

Odin blinked, and the Wolf suddenly pinned the snake, and ripped its head off.

The entire thing turned to crystal, and I rushed forward to touch it, and therefore 'steal' it. My hand made contact, and it disappeared, but the boy stood up, definitely not disappearing.

"He still has a shield!" Romulus called. He leapt off the pillar, and I darted over to intercept.

A white barrier in the shape of a diamond appeared in front of my fist, and I gazed at the boy behind it, rubbing my bruised knuckles. "Still a Pacifist, huh?"

He nodded gravely. "One should never use violence against living beings. I agreed to this contest because I was informed it was not necessary to perform base acts of violence. I wonder if it's possible to forfeit?"

I sensed something around him, and he nodded, as if he'd spoken to someone. "Indeed, I will not take part in violence."
"No, I will not. War is a wasteful practice."
"Death may not be final, but the Pain is real." He continued arguing.

I hummed, and spun my spear on my knuckles slowly, looking at Odin. She nodded, and maneuvered behind him, raising her spear.

We struck just barely out of sync, and the shield stopped her attack. Mine went through, and pierced his chest. I ripped the Amulet that was obviously his shield off of him, and he dissolved, and reappeared in the box.

He sighed. "At least I do not have to take part in the violence any longer..."

I stuck the Amulet in my pocket, and approached Romulus. I saw he was holding less rings this time, and smiled. "Smart. We can't disqualify you if we can't get to your Relics."

He grinned guiltily. "That was my idea, yeah."

The shaft of my spear cracked upside his skull, and I sighed, removing the ring. "Stay down, please. I don't want to hurt you, but I will, if I have to." I said softly, and trotted towards his room.

I knocked slowly, and opened the door. "Hallo? Sorry to barge in!" I said politely, and then walked to the headboard of his bed, where the rings were casually set. I picked up the three rings, and then waved to the two older men that were on the couch.

I whistled softly, and took all the relics back to my room, hiding them in the captain's quarters of my ship, though I tied the shield Relic around my neck, hiding it in my shirt, then exited my room, finding Odin.

She had Romulus by the ear. "You apparently missed one." She said tightly.

I hummed. "There were four rings, right?"

"Five." She shook her head.

Romulus struggled to get free, and I hummed. "I thought you'd be a lot stronger, Romulus... but then, even after saving up for generations, your sponsor is a very young god. You died as soon as you were born... hmph. Ah well."

I went back into my cabin, and returned with three of the rings. "The fourth is my insurance." I said sternly when he asked about it.

'This is not an advisable course that you've set us on.' Perun made himself known.

'Oh, because you're so smart? Oh Wise and Powerful Mr. Gets-eaten-by-a-giant-ugly-snake-and-instead-of-just-tossing-the-Apple-Bomb-down-its-throat-resorts-to-a-Suicide-Bombing?!?' I snapped back at him.

'... I resent the lack of respect in your tone.'

'Resent this!' I disconnected suddenly, hoping it was like hanging up a phone.

A raven landed on Odin's shoulder, and whispered in her ear, and she giggled a bit. "You're funny. I like you." She said decisively, and held out a hand. "I'm Maria Lorenzo."

"Diana Monroe." I shook her hand.

Her wolf, (who had reappeared, a normal sized wolf now,) sniffed me, and growled softly.

"You smell Pops, most likely." I chuckled.

He snorted, pawing at his nose, and then growled when pops opened the door.

He grinned, looking down at the wolf. "Freki! You remember me, boy?" He knelt, combusting into flames, and the wolf froze, then grinned, licking pops' face, regardless of the flames.

He took human form again, and the wolf snorted, annoyed, but returned to his master's left side.

"I suppose you're Fenrir?" Odin hummed at him.

He gazed at her, and frowned. "Where's your armor?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Odin always has armor. Olivia got hers the first day. Where is it?" He asked, glaring at her.

She hummed. "I thought it was a Relic, so I left it behind, in case anyone stole my spear and killed my familiars."

He snorted. "Typical. The armor isn't a Relic. The spear is, the wolf and raven are familiars, not Relics. Anyway, you can not wear armor if you please. Just makes it easier for my child to defeat you." He stomped back inside, slamming the door.

"Sorry about him. He hasn't seen my mother in 10 years... he's a bit touchy about her image." I explained.

She nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. I wouldn't want anyone to dishonor the image of my deceased wife, either."

"Mother isn't Dead. She's a Valkyrie." I shook my head.

She blinked. "Like... an actual Valkyrie?"

"Yup." I nodded. "Works in Valhalla, doesn't get to come home except once every eleven years."

"What's so important about 11 years?" She asked.

"You're Odin, you tell me." I shrugged.

She closed her eyes, and then opened them, puzzled. "Huh. 11 is a holy number. Who'd have thought?"

"Yup. Anyway, would you like some tea?" I asked, thinking of food, then pouted. "It sucks that we can't eat anymore... I'll miss steak."

She laughed softly. "They said we don't need to eat. They never said we couldn't."

"Oooh... I hope so. I wonder where's we'd get food, though..." I tapped my chin thoughtfully.

Romulus cleared his throat. "Actually, I have a fridge in my room... I guess I thought I needed food, so I created a kitchen."

I grinned. "You, sir, have just become even more useful!" I grabbed them both, and then snapped once.

We immediately stood in his apartment again.

"Gods I love that power." I grinned.

Odin looked down. "Is that Rome?"

"Sigh... yes."

"Hm. Interesting view. And these are your relatives, I suppose?" She looked at the two elder men.

They introduced themselves, and then William explained to them the situation, while I raided his kitchen, starting a pot of beef stew and another pot of tea.

They seemed interested in what I was cooking, but didn't interrupt me, and half an hour later, I had stew and tea ready.

"I could've improved on it, but a good stew takes many hours to create, so I hope it's up to scratch." I grinned, and set out bowls on the table that appeared.

The eldest man nodded. "I appreciate you cooking for us. Thank you."

"It's nothing. I like cooking. I'm not as good as my pops, but he's magic, so I don't think it's a fair comparison." I chuckled.

"Magic?" He asked, sitting down and tucking into the bowl of stew. "Hmm. Interestingly spiced." He nodded appreciatively.

"Yes. My father is a Fire Giant. He has magic, and sometimes he puts it into his food, as an extra spice." I explained.

He raised an eyebrow. "Magic has a taste, and it's spicy?"

"Apparently." I shrugged.

He chuckled. "That is interesting... son, do not be rude. Sit, eat." He snapped at his son, the second man, who immediately sat down, and thanked me for cooking.

I looked at the clock that had been following me around, and hummed. '20 hours left to destroy Odin and Romulus... well, Romulus is cute, but he's also an unknown variable. We have no idea what his powers are...'

'And Odin is simply a threat, regardless of your apparent truce.' Perun agreed.

'So where is the last Claw...? Surely he didn't think to hide one of them... so the old man must have. Isn't that against the rules?'

'Technically? He's still got the spirit of Romulus. As Romulus is a Contestant, he's technically eligible to participate. And now that he's got a Relic... he could be dangerous.'

'Well then. My opponents are a young girl with more iron in her blood than common sense, and a cute boy whose grandfather knows more about warfare than him.'

'Don't underestimate the boy. He knew how to defeat the Snake.'

'Was that Romulus, or him, is the question...' I hummed. "How's the stew?" I asked with a smile.