Take a seat and grab a good view of the fight; you never know, if you're lucky you'll catch some blood.

::Cole shimmers in and spots Nilim standing nearby. He walks over and greets his friend.::

"Nilim."

::He nods at the demon and then casts his eyes over the Arena.::

"Time for a little battle, wouldn't you say?"

::Nilim rubs his hands together gleefully and claps them quickly to call over one of the various minions at the Arena.::

"Go get... the boy."

::As the minion scuttles off, Nilim offers Cole a beer.::

"This ought to be good."

::He calls to another minion.::

"Go get... hmm..."

::He pauses, thinking of the ideal competitor.::

"Hekate."

::He smirks at Cole.::

"This will be interesting."

::Cole takes a swig from his beer and sits down, putting his feet up on the empty chair in front of him.::

"Hekate. You're putting my first-timer up against Hekate."

::He slugs again.::

"Great."

[Chloe appears in what looks like a shimmer so she isn't easily detectable. She is dropped into a seat near Cole and Nilim.]

::Chloe grimaces as her stomach churns after the shimmer thing. She looks at the people in the stands around her, her heart pounding.::

(Oh, just drop me into a crowd of people...)

::Chloe surveys the Arena before her.::

(I'm going to assume that... thing is a demon of some sort and... he looks human. How can that be fair? It's probably not supposed to be, Chloe idiot. But that human... where have I seen him before?)

::Chloe squints at the tiny figure in the center of the ring.::

(Oh, fuck.)

::Nilim's voice booms over the Arena as if it's on an intercom.::

"Ladies, gentlemen, beasts of all sorts, welcome to ARENA. Introducing for the first time in the good corner... Justin the Formidable! And fighting him today is... Hekate!"

::He pauses as the crowd goes wild.::

"Yes, I quite agree, she is the perfect welcome party! Anyway, sit back, watch, as the fight commences.::

::Cole glances over at Chloe but doesn't give her a second thought, settling back to watch the fight.::

(He should've put the kid up against another witch at least. He doesn't have a hope in hell of winning against goddamn Hekate.)

::Chloe makes an effort to look like she's more excited than scared. She claps but can't bring herself to cheer.::

(At least they gave him weapons...)

::Chloe tenses, her heart pounding as Hekate grows three times the size she was moments before.::

::Chloe flinches, her jaw clenched, as the sword plunges into Justin's chest. Her eyes lock with Justin's as he gazes at the crow from the ground, blood dripping down his cheek. She stares into these eyes as they become glassy, looking at nothing.::

(...he's gone.)

::Chloe stands, tearing her eye's from Justin's empty ones before she can't hold back the tears.::

(I can't Andrea... If she were to... Stop. Stoppit Chloe. You'll blow your cover if you start crying now. You have to find her. Now, think!)

::Chloe scans the people around her, seeing if any of them look... important. Cole's sturdy frame and superior posture catches her eye and she hesitates, channeling her fear into... something else, before approaching him.::

"Excuse me, is there any way I could view the... prisoners? I'd like to see what kind of stock this place has gotten since I last came for my witch slaughter fix."

(That wasn't too bad... Make your voice more forceful... don't sound to scared.)

::Chloe straightens her back, looking Cole straight in the eye and ignoring the tightness of her stomach and chest. She tells herself not to fidget.::

::Cole looks Chloe up and down for a moment, then shifts his gaze to the Arena.::

(She looks young. Not that that means anything. Hm, probably not much experience here though.)

"Well, ma'am, you wish to check out the products before placing a bet, right?"

::Chloe thinks quickly, not skipping a beat.::

"Yes, exactly."

(...products? Well, what did you expect?)

"You can take her down if you want Belthazor. The fight is over."

::Nilim sneers at Cole.::

"And you said they were strong."

::Cole shoots a glare towards Nilim and turns back to Chloe.::

"Certainly, ma'am. Now if you'd like to take one of these..."

::He hands her a small device like a remote control with a large button on it.::

"If any of the prisoners tries to attack you... press this. It'll deliver a high voltage shock which keeps them at bay. Now if you'd care to come with me."

::He sets off to the holding bay.::

::Chloe turns the small device over a few times before following Cole to the holding bay.::

::Nilim leans over the balcony wall and looks at the empty Arena. He does some calculations in his head and then smiles, his hands clapping together. He gestures to a Minion and speaks in a hushed voice::

"Go get the male witches, the ones who have some kind of 'thing'. We'll blow this lovers tiff out of proportion. Great crowd pleaser."

::He watches the Minion run off and swings his gaze back over the stands::

::As Paz and Justin are dumped into the Arena, Nilim narrows his eyes to a smirk. He claps his hands loudly, the magically augmented sound carrying outwards and drawing the spectators to silence. He clears his throat and begins to speak::

"Demons, Warlocks, assorted denziens of the Underworld, the next fight is about to begin. I have a treat for you tonight. Two witches. Nothing special by themselves, till you add in a delicious twist. My sources inform me that they used to be lovers. And this tiff is one of deadly proportions! So sit back, purchase Arena memrobilia and overpriced beverages, and enjoy the fight!"

::He lifts his hands, and a loud cheer breaks out through the ranks of demons::

"LET IT BEGIN!"

::Nilim stares down at Paz, a look of disgust and incredulousness on his face::

"No."

::Nilim calls back down to Paz, becoming annoyed by the upstart Witch::

"I kill you where you stand and neither of you go free? Those pretty little amulets can do more than block your powers, child. Would you like a demonstration?"

::He pulls an amber coloured orb from his pocket and runs his hand over the surface. Faces of the amulet wearing witches flicker over the surface till he finds the one he wants. He taps the face on the orb, sending a a shock of electricity out of Justin's Amulet and into the witch's body::

::Nilim shrugs, not caring that he'd shocked someone before::

"Is this a face that cares? I don't think so. Fight now or neither of you will be granted the... reward."

::Nilim watches as Paz takes his own life and snarls, angry that the already lacklustre fight had been cut short::

"I'm a demon of my word, most of the time, so you shall go free. Having weakling stock like yourself in my service is insulting to the patrons and the other fighters. Each worth ten of you. So begone, witch, and pray our paths don't cross again."

::He reaches over the balcony and lazily waves his hand at Justin who disapears in a burst of black, reappearing at the Fallen Angel Statue. He mirrors the gesture to Paz, who reappears in the Recovery Room With the trash taken out he addresses the crowd again, using his magically augmented voice::

"There will be a short intermission while we set up the next fight."

::Andrea walks out of the passage and finds herself facing where she just came from.::

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

::She takes another passage and finds herself, happily, somewhere she recognises. The Cavern.::

::The two demons from before shimmer in and settle down to watch Drake kill the vampires.::

::One of the demons bites the back of his hand as Drake makes one of the vampires kill the other with slow, calculated movements.::

"Thank god the big guy's working for us."

"No kidding."

::Ryo arrives with Charchar.::

"This looks... Pleasant."

::He takes a seat in the nearest stand.::

"I think you should fight someone."

::He goes over an ad and reads it.::

"Sounds like I couldn't use my power. But they can't either."

::He thinks for a second, then picks up a pen and signs his name to the list of wanted fighters.::

"You should enter the arena."

"If I lose, you know where to find me."

::He heads to the Arena.::

::She sits, waiting, watching, taking in details and ready to add a whole lot more skill to her... skill. She crosses her legs, checks her hair, and sits.::

::The stands start to fill up as the next fight is announced.::

::Charlotte calmly files her nails, watching closely. She smirks.::

(This is going to be interesting.)

::Rasselas appears in a flash of light with a battered, bruised and unconsious Jasmine over one shoulder. He watches Drake and Ryo face one another first before cupping a hand over his mouth and yelling down to the fight.::

"KILL HIM, DRAKE!"

::He looks around for the owner of this fine establishment.::

::Said new owner waves to get Rasselas' attention, and then picks himself up from his private seat and walks over the stands with thumping footfalls to the demon. His eyes slide to what he can see of Jasmine - her bare legs and barely-covered behind - and a sick smile springs to his lips.::

"Rasselas. What a pleasure. And what have you brought for me today?"

::Rassela drops Jasmine down onto a empty bench, laying her body on her back and watching her head loll to the side. The blood on her face has filmed over now, her nose no longer bleeding.::

"Too sweet to die."

::He gives Thelin his attention now.::

"Human, as far as I know. Something about her being a threat to somebody's business so he wanted her out of the way."

::He shrugs.::

"Nothing big. Can't fight. I thought she'd be a good PB since the old one had that... unfortunate accident."

"With a face like this? Such a thing would be a crime, Rasselas!"

::Thelin kneels down beside Jasmine and pokes her a little.::

"But if she has no abilities..."

"She's nothing on your fighters. Kicks like a..."

::He pauses.::

"Well. A girl."

::Rasselas' mind whirrs over how much money he can make from this sale. It's obvious Thelin likes Jasmine a lot, but she's not really worth much as a fighter.::

"How about a slave?"

"Maybe. I'll think of something."

::Thelin stands and takes out his wallet.::

"Seven hundred."

"A thousand."

"Eight-fifty."