Game Start

Return of the Games
"Lamia!" Amon shouted from his room, calling to Lamia, who was sitting at the couch in the living room, reading the newspaper "Where are my work clothes? I need those!".

"Why do you need your work clothes?" Lamia asked Amon as she casually flipped to the next page.

"Work!" Amon continued rummaging through his closet, the only thing he had on were his pants. He needed his tie and shirt to head over to his work. It has been over a year working as a teacher. Surprisingly, being a teacher who's meant to make students stronger Mages isn't so hard.

"Amon, dear." Lamia called to Amon.

"What?!".

"It's saturday." Lamia said, as Amon stopped. He grabbed the nearest shirt and jacket, putting them on, and teleporting down to the living room, sitting next to Lamia on the couch. "Mornin'.".

"I need a watch." Amon said, look at the clock above the entrance door "And a pocket calendar...".

"Nah, sweety. You just need to remember to count the days." Lamia sarcastically said, flipping through to the next page. "Oh, nice, there's a sale on candy today. Maybe I should get some...".

"Hey, where's Aph? I'll go help her with the kids." Amon asked Lamia, as she simply pointed with her thumb to behind her, directing to a room under the stairs. Amon teleported to the door, opening it. The room under the stairs was as big as a playroom in kindergartens, large and full of toys everywhere.

"Oh, Amon, you're up?" Aph said, sitting on a chair, craddling a baby in her arms. The baby had small white hair growing on his head, distinct red eyes, and appeared to be atleast a year old. "Look, Junior, it's daddy!".

"Hey, there." Amon walked over to his son, smiling towards him "How are you doing Kiryu?" Kiryu buried his head in his mother's chest, appearing to be afraid of his father. Amon took it too severely and lef to the corner of the room, appeared depressed "My own son hates me...".

"Don't be so harsh on yourself, master." Hera said, craddling another baby in her arms, feeding it milk from a bottle "He's simply unfamiliar. After all, you do spend alot of time outside the house. Work, friends...friends, work, I don't know, what do you do?".

"Uh huh..." Amon stood up, scratching the back of his head "How's Aeson doing?" Amon asked, looking over at his second son, even younger than Kiryu Jr.

"He's been crying alot. Then he played with a stuffed bear." Hera replied, her face stoic as always.

"Stuffed bear? When did he...?".

"It was yours." Hera said.

"Oh...I had one of those...? I mean, I have a yo-yo." Amon said, pulling a yo-yo out of his pants' pocket, the same one Asteria got him "I need more toys...I heard there's that thing called...knock it, or something? People name fun things weird.".

"Do you have any plans for today, Amon?" Aph asked Amon, giving Kiryu Jr. a rubber toy to chew on.

"I was thinking of visiting Kiva..." Amon said, rubbing his chin "But, I thought of hanging here for a bit first. Help you out with anything.".

"Oh, don't worry about it! Frank and Hera are plenty helpful as it is." Aph reassured Amon.

"Oh...where...is Frank anyway?".

"He's entertaining Lily, Ricky, Circe, Kurobako and Juvia." Hera replied.

"Juvia?" Amon was rather surprised to hear she was there "She's really getting along well with the kids, isn't she?".

"Isn't it nice~?" Aph seemed quite happy. Which was odd. Because Aph usually did not like people that much.

"Hmm...I should get a body pillow to sleep on..." Lamia said, reading the newspaper still. "Maybe get me a giant bunny rabbit toy. Or make my own. I'll need to buy materials though..." Lamia flipped to the next page, and saw a certain topic that caught her interest "...Oh.".

Lamia suddenly kicked open the door of the staircase room "Heyyyy, how's my favourite lil' tiny babies?" Lamia said, petting Kiryu Jr. and then Aeson on the heads "You are! Yes you are!" Lamia smiled, whilst making her voice more high pitched when addressing the babies. She then turned to Amon "Alright, Amon, I got some awesome news! You too, Aph, listen up!".

"What is it? A sale? Because we're not broke anymore. Not after Mira gave a hand atleast..." Amon said, rubbing his chin "I should ask for a raise...".

"Ohoho, even better!" Lamia tore out a page from the newspaper, handing it over to Amon. "Read it! I taught you how to read, so you can manage.".

Amon looked at the paper, the main topic was "Drunk Pig Fights Ox And Wins" which was addmitedly impressive "...You want a pet pig?".

"What? No! Flip it." Lamia said to Amon "Though a pet pig wouldn't be a bad idea...".

"Grand Reopening of...Grand Magic Games? What?" Amon read the article, skimming some boring parts where people were interviewed about their thoughts on the matter "Wasn't this thing canned after the Dragons...y'know." Amon knew very well that the Dragon's Attack was the event that changed Lamia's life forever, and how she even met him.

"Yeah, great story, anywho, the priiiiize!" Lamia pointed on the newspaper, pointing at a money prize, an absurd amount of 100 million Jewels. "Look at this! If we get this, we'll be rich as f-...!".

"Kids." Aph said, immediately causing Lamia to stop herself from saying anything infront of the babies.

"Oh, my bad, honey." Lamia apologized to Aph, bringing her focus back to Amon "Listen, we'll make a team of five people, that's the limit, then we'll win the tourney and be the richest b-...people in this town." Lamia seems overly enthusiastic about the idea of riches and gold.

"But we're criminals. In Hargeon, sure, people don't really know us, but in the capital? We'll be arrested on the spot!" Amon pointed out an obvious flaw in Lamia's plan, which should cancel the idea entirely.

"Ohoho, my dear." Lamia averted Amon's attention to a section titled "New Rules of the Grand Magic Games", where he proceeded to read "Rules have changed. Now anyone can join. Criminals, humans, even a dog." Lamia said, explaining "Either a group of up to five people, or just one person, your choice. Of course, criminals will be heavily monitored, but, it's a small cost.".

"Are...are they serious...?" Amon was shocked by this revamp of the rules "Don't they realize how they can easily take advantage of this?".

"Or it's a ploy." Lamia said "Gather all the criminals, and if anyone goes out of line, arrest them. Even an entire Dark Guilds falls flat to army of the Queen." Lamia sat down next to Amon, grinning "Miss Queen isn't an idiot. I've seen her on the news. She could be dangerous, even if she can be broken so easily by even my hand.".

"...And we'll still go?".

"We can't be stopped. We'll leave the kids here under the care of Hera and Frank and Aph, everyone else will come as a group." Lamia explained her plan.

"Awww, but we won't get to see you!" Aph said, feeling rather saddened that she'll be left behind. She can't bring herself to fight, since she has to take care of the babies, and even Lamia said it'd be best if she didn't fight at all for the next few months.

"Don't worry. I'm sure this thing'll be broadcasted all over the country." Lamia said to Aph, trying to make her feel better "The road to Carex will be long too, no use in getting you all the way there just to sit in a crowded place. Watch it through TV.".

"I guess it would be better than having a yelling crowd surround me..." Aph said, coming to terms with that decision "Ah well~ Just bring me a souveneir~".

"'course." Lamia replied to Aph "Right, Amon, what'd ya? We'll gather a team and go gung-ho, kick a-...butt on them! Eh? Eeeeeh?" Lamia was trying to persuade Amon to get on with her plan.

"...Alright." Amon said, reluctant but still accepting "Let me talk to my boss though. Charlotte might not like me vanishing for no reason.".

"Sure. Go talk to her today, since we'll be leaving tomorrow.".

"T-..Tomorrow...?" Amon was rather displeased with that news "When does it begin?".

"Next month, but the signing is only open for a week, so we gotta hurry." Lamia said "I'll give you time to talk things over with your boss. I'll gather up our team!".

"Oh...alright. I'll...uhhh, I'll be back then." Amon said, standing up, and teleporting out of the house. He stood infront of the door, scratching the back of his head "...I hope Charlotte doesn't kill me." Amon said, taking off his jacket, teleporting back inside, and outside again, wearing his red tie, ready to make an impression "Okay! Time to talk to my boss...".

"Hey, asshole." Ken called out to Amon, accompanied by her Guild "Me and the guys are gonna be going for a trip, we'll be gone for a while, s'that cool? We'll pay rent later.".

"Oh, no, it's alright. Take a break, and come back whenever you'd like." Amon said to Ken.

"Oh, cool!" Ken smiled, rather pleased with how easy it was "Thanks, asshole!".

"Why do you keep calling me that? Aren't we friends? Or...aquaintances on good terms?" Amon asked Ken.

"Because an asshole is a nice description for ya, haha!" Ken laughed "Aaaah...my jokes are terrible.".

"...You can leave now.".

"Cool." And with that, Ken left with her guild, all for some reason still wearing their dark cloaks, even in the hot weather.

"...I really shouldn't have let her stay." Amon said to himself, regretting his past decisions.

"So, what's the plan big guy?" Lucadra asked Amon as he headed towards the school, where he was certain Charlotte would be at "Gon' smooth talk lil' ol' Charlie 'till she's all oozy?".

"...Are you really older than me? You talk like Lamia." Amon said, rather amazed by Lucadra's offputting speech pattern.

"Ignore her." Gram had the right idea "As an age old Demon, I know how to persuade a human to do your bidding. It's stupidly simple, really.".

"Oh really?" Amon was willing to hear Gram out.

"First, you grab her head, and headbutt her until she gets amnesia! Then make up an entire story that's advantageous for you! Then everyone wins!".

"...No!" Amon immediately rejected Gram's idea, it was even worse than Lucadra's.

"Hahaha!" Lucadra laughed, holding her stomach, levitating next to Amon "But real talk, are you sure about this?" Lucadra asked Amon, putting her hands behind her head, as if relaxing while she was casually floating on her back next to Amon.

"Yes. Lamia seems like she's happy to do it, so I can't really...leave her alone, y'know?" Amon replied to Lucadra.

"You'll still be leaving people behind though. Lily, Circe, Ricky, and who knows who else." Lucadra noted.

"Yeah, but...I can't be worried about them all the time. I'm not the only one who can protect them." Amon said "Frank, Hera, hell, even Noma can do a good damn job themselves.".

"Hmmm~ I guess that's true~" Lucadra said beginning to walk like normal, even though this was just an illusion she created.

"Ignoring me...and here I was, giving you advice!" Gram said, rather miffed with Amon.

"I don't think that's how amnesia works!".

"It works 30% of the time, all the time!" Gram said in response.

"That makes no sense." Amon said.

Only a few minutes passed and Amon had reached the academy. He teleported through the gates, and right into the building. "Okay, now, if I remember, her office is..." Amon looked through the halls, following the signs, hoping they'd lead him to his destination. He eventually found a door at the end of the hall, with the words "Headmaster" written on it. That was it.

Amon approached the door, about to knock, but stopped after hearing words "Did you hear about the Grand Magic Games?" The voice was familiar, and he knew who it was. "Isn't it exciting?" Mitra asked Charlotte, looking rather enthusiastic about the news.

"Yes, but...for the Queen to allow criminals..." Charlotte was taken aback by that decision "She must have the Council's permission...as such, she must have been given a formidable force to stop any Dark Guild...but still. This is too concerning.".

"...Do you think he'll join?" Mitra asked Charlotte, and Charlotte knew who she was referring to.

"...Whether or not Amon chooses to join, it's no problem. He'll be off our hair for a while." Charlotte said, rather stoic, almost with a hint of hostility towards Amon.

"..." Amon stayed silent, listening in.

"You still let him stay though. It's been a year. And even though he is inferior to my teacher, he's...not bad." Mitra said to Charlotte "His greatest flaw is his lack of planning lessons out, if anything.".

"But, he's a criminal, a killer. True, I let him become a teacher here, but I also have him on watchful eyes when he's here." Charlotte said "We can't trust him. He can be toying with us for all we know.".

"They knew." Gram said to Amon "How pitiful...You've been played.".

"..." Amon knocked on the door lightly, catching the attention of the two women. Mitra openned the door, rather surprised to see Amon "Hi, boss? It's me, Ira.".

"Oh, Ira, how are you?" Charlotte immeddiately changed her entire attitude, smiling brightly and speaking in a more upbeat tone.

"I'm...good. I came to ask if I can take a vacation for a while? Me and my family want to go to Carex, see the Grand Magic Games and all." Amon explained to Charlotte.

"Oh..." Charlotte looked rather surprised "Well, sure, sure! You deserve a good break. You've been working hard, and the class seems to love you. When are you leaving?".

"Uhhh...tomorrow." Amon said.

"Tomorrow? Why? It's too early. It begins next month." Charlotte said, eyeing Amon.

"...Sightseeing." Amon said, feeling rather nervous.

"How about you atleast come over to say goodbye to everyone?" Charlotte suggested "It'll be no fun otherwise.".

"Right...I will." Amon said, agreeing.

Amon turned, leaving, quite in a hurry, exiting and closing the door behind him. "Are you alright?" Gram asked Amon, rhetorically of course.

"They knew..." Amon clenched his hand into a fist, walking past the nursery, barely noticing Joi on the way, but she noticed him. "They fucking knew!".

"Hmm? Ira?".

False Farewell
The very next day, Amon left early, and headed to meet his class for a goodbye before leaving for Carex with his family. Everyone who was going to participate came along. The team consisted of Lamia, Kiryu, Nana, Amon and Juvia.

"So how is this going to go?" Lucadra asked Amon, she knew he was rather sore about the revelation since yesterday.

"We say goodbye and leave." Amon said.

"Rather cold, no? A bit more would be nice." Lucadra said to Amon, pointing at a gift shop where Beast and Clara work at "Why not get them something nice?".

"..." Amon teleported, travelling over half the distance to the academy, requiring only a few more minutes of walking to get there.

"You're being childish." Lucadra said, blunt and to the point "So they knew. What of it? You can prove them wrong." Amon halted his walking, stopping in place "Show them you're not a monster or a terrible person. Or...is it just her that it bothers you? Your students probably don't know.".

"...Let's save it." Amon reached the academy, immediately teleporting into the main building, heading over to his class. He openned the door, seeing his students patiently waiting. "Oh...you guys are here already?".

"We heard you were leaving?" Hemera said, cutting right to the chase.

"Oh...did...Charlotte tell you guys?" Amon asked.

"How dareth you abandon us?!" Adrasteia stopped holding back her feelings "I should pin you to the floor with my blades, you insolent teacher.".

"..." Amon was rather taken aback by Adrasteia's threat. It was rather brutal.

"Calm down, and let him explain." Maya said, standing up and walking up to Amon "Well then, what is your reason?".

"Well...my family wants us to go to Carex and see the Grand Magic Games and...".

"Psyche!" Suddenly Charlotte teleported behind Amon, shouting and startling him.

"What the hell...?!" Amon took a step back after Charlotte's prank "Why did you do that?!".

"Hahaha!" Charlotte bursted out laughing "Oh, this was good. Ah, I just came to give you the good news." Charlotte said, wiping away her tears of laughter.

"Good news...?".

"You were supposed to wait." Maya said to Charlotte, rather disappointed "You ruined the entire routine! Headmaster, you were supposed to psyche him after I say, too bad there's no way for us to come with you!".

"Wait what?!" Amon interfered after catching on.

"Oh, my bad! My bad!" Charlotte said, blushing from embarassment "Let's redo that then.".

"No, no! No redo!" Amon said "What is the good news?!".

"Oh...fine!" Charlotte said, sighing "I am permitting you to take your class with you on your family vacation to Carex to see the Grand Magic Games!".

"..." Amon was silent, yet internally, he was screaming.

"Shut up!" Even Gram was beginning to become deaf from Amon's internal screams.

"...That's...great...!" Amon said, forcing a smile on. "And you all...agreed?".

"Yep." Sol said, giving a thumbs up, while the rest of the class did as well.

Mitra bursted into the room, wearing a hawaiian shirt of bright colours of red and green, and shorts, with a pair of sandles, shades and a hat, carrying large bags with her "Alright! Let's go to Carex! I heard the place has great beaches!".

"Goddammit all!" Amon has just remembered that life is an unfair pile of shit at times.

Almost an hour later of his students asking him questions of when they're leaving, and what to bring, Amon had finally left the class, walking back home "...So, shit happened." Amon said, coming into terms with recent events.

"How are you gonna hide it? They'll realize who you are by just watching you and your family." Lucadra pointed out the obvious problem to Amon.

"I know! But...I just...! Gah! What do I do?!" Amon bashed his head on a nearby wall, trying to quickly solve the problem "I'm doomed! I'll never be a teacher again!".

"Why is it such a big deal for you...?" Gram asked Amon "You're a better killer than you are a teacher. Just give up that foolish dream and move on! Seriously, I know how you feel. I really do. I can feel your emotions and pain, but being a teacher isn't the grandest thing in the world!".

"I know!" Amon snapped at Gram "I know it's...stupid for me! A man who killed to be a...a fucking teacher, but...I...!" Amon gritted his teeth, rubbing his eyes in frustration "...Normalcy is...so nice...having people see me as...as a human, not a demon, not a killer, not a monster is nice! And they...might have been treating me like that, but now I know that Charlotte always knew who I was! And for all I know, the whole class, or the whole school knows!".

"That's no reason to get ang-...".

"It is!" Amon pointed at Lucadra, silencing her "I've been used, and betrayed, again!" Amon said, as silence loomed over the scene. A man standing in an empty street, pointing and shouting at nothingness, remembering his time in Bosco, where every person could backstab you at a moment's notice. Even lovers.

"...You should forgive her. And forget about them." Lucadra said to Amon, frowning and blankly staring at Amon.

"Forgive her? Who? Charlotte?" Amon replied to Lucadra.

"I'm not talking about Charlie.".

"Then who? Who else do I have to forgive? To forget? Is it someone I hurt? I met? Because I can't apologize to the dead!" Amon snapped at Lucadra once more, breathing heavily.

"...You should know, love." Lucadra grinned, and with how she referred to him, Amon knew who Lucadra meant.

"..." Amon's expression changed from anger to realization, and then confusion. "...I...need to go see someone." Amon said, begin to walk off into a different direction.

Kiva lied in her bed, within her hospital room, watching TV. "Eh...I've watched this 500 times already, I spotted all the secrets." She said, commenting on the TV series she's been watching on repeat for the last few weeks. Some kid's show about exploring and a talking monkey or something of the sort.

"Hey, Kiva." A nurse openned the door, peeking through "You have a guest." The nurse smiled, letting Amon enter.

"Ah! Amon!" Kiva's mood immediately changed to a smile.

"Sorry I haven't been here as often." Amon said, entering the room, as the nurse left, closing the door behind her "I've been busy. But! I got you a gift." Amon pulled out a yo-yo from his pocket "This here's a yo-yo!".

"I know what that is, thanks." Kiva sarcastically said.

"Oh." Amon placed the yo-yo in Kiva's hand, giving it to her "It's not much, but, y'know.".

"Haha, atleast I have something else to kill time with." Kiva said, beginning to play with the yo-yo, with...surprisingly good results. Why, better than Amon, whose record is only four pulls before it becomes a mess.

"Well...I came here to say goodbye." Amon said, trying to carefully lay the news for her.

"Eh?! Leave?! Why?! Is it because I'm a cripple?!" Kiva stopped playing with the yo-yo, as her expression changed to a frown and teary eyes "I promise I'll start walking by next sunday!".

"No not that!" Amon tried calming down Kiva "I didn't mean I'm leaving you forever! I meant, I'm gonna be gone for a bit!".

"Oh...that's not any better." Kiva said, now simply looking at Amon with a neutral expression.

"I'm going to Carex to see the Grand Magic Games with my family." Amon said to Kiva.

"Awww...But that can take forever!" Kiva was not pleased with the news, infact, she was quite miffed.

"I'm sorry, but it's not like I can take you with m-...".

"Oh, you can." The nurse said, peeping through the edge of the door.

"Eh...?" Amon looked dumbfounded at the nurse.

"You just have to fill a bunch of forms that guarantee that if anything happens to Kiva, you are to pay a fine of almost a thousand jewels or more." The nurse explained to Amon.

"..." Amon looked at Kiva, who looked back at him with sad puppy dog eyes, trying to persuade him to take her "...Oh, fine." Amon sighed, he just couldn't say no to that face. Or almost any face of someone he loves with the puppy eyes.

"Woohoo! I'm going out of town, bit-...!".

"Language!" The nurse said, silencing Kiva before she could swear.

"Oh! Sorry!".

"Oh my god, man, really?" Gram was displeased with Amon's performance "This will be crowded.".

"My house is crowded. My head is crowded!" Amon replied to Gram.

"We got a partner! Booyah!" Lucadra said, celebrating, a bit too much perhaps "Let's pick 'er up all princess style and jump out the window!".

"NO!".