Bel: Come on, don’t look so sad. At least you and all your little friends lived.

Bel: Just one more piece and I will have completed the entire set! I will be really unstoppable then!

She starts talking to herself excitedly about her plans to hunt the last Tenshirou piece. Iricryo turns away from her and faces Rook.

Iricryo: Oscar’s lost his gloves, your sword is trashed, and the rest of us are in pretty bad shape. Well…our group is pretty crippled.

Rook: How much further to Grandi?

Rook: Good. We can regroup there, reequip ourselves and heal.

Iricryo: Well, great idea Rook. You just seem to overlook one thing. We can’t actually go into the cities. We’re wanted by the Militia, remember?

Rook: We can spend a little time there, as long as we are careful not to do anything that would draw attention to ourselves. I seem to remember hearing that Grandi is the biggest of the seven cities, we should be able to blend ourselves in well. Melanie can aid us in moving undetected, I’m sure, as soon as she wakes.

Iricryo: Well for some reason it just doesn’t seem like the world’s smartest idea to me, that’s all.

Rook: …Iricryo, what exactly is this place you want us to go, anyway. All you’ve told us so far is that it’s near Grandi.

Iricryo: You’ll find out when we get there. If we survive our little side-stop in Grandi now, that is. It’s kind of a secret.

Oscar: Man, this is going to make beating that Ryan from the High Council even harder.

Bel: Wait, are you intentionally picking fights with the High Council?

Oscar: Well, not yet, I don’t know why they’re attacking us now. But I want to beat that one guy, Ryan! That’s my goal, and why I am working to get stronger!

Bel: The High Council are a bit above your head.

Oscar: Well, now they are, but once I’m a little stronger I’m coming for them!

She reaches into her pack and pulls out a pair of dark shoes, like she is wearing.

Bel: Feet of Tenshirou. I ended up with an extra pair after some…less than fortunate circumstances. Anyway, take them and call it fair trade for your gloves. I’d feel bad if I left someone with such high goals with no real way to fight.

Bel: They greatly increase your run speed and the distance you can jump, can reflect any large projectile if you time your kick right, and moves activated with them are doubled in power and speed. Pretty cool, huh?

Bel: Well, best of luck to you on your suicidal quest. I have a business to return to and another Tenshirou piece to hunt.

She dashes away at full speed, and Oscar can just watch as his gloves leave him.

Oscar: Man, kicking people doesn’t seem as fun as punching them…

Rook: Oscar, the rest of the group is starting to wake up. We can’t stay here long, so be prepared to leave. We’re heading into Grandi.

Jack: Well, if we’re done with your little adventure looking for Bel, we do have our assignment from Domo.

James: Domo can wait, Bel will return to Lecithin eventually. We will wait for her there.

James: Then go do it by yourself. I have something more important to do right now then to worry about Domo’s little plans.

Jack: But we could be kicked out of the High Council if we don’t get our job done in time!

James: You’re his brother, remember? You’ll be fine.

Jack: Oh yeah…well when am I going to get a chance to use my swords again! Sitting around the town is so boring!

Jack: But my swords get lonely when I don’t use then, James! James! Are you even listening to me?

Oscar’s group, now all walking side-by-side, arrive at a massive gate. The gate is aligned with gold, and the top of the walls surrounding the gate go up high into the sky. They can see the city the city sparkle with décor through the gates.

Oscar: Woah, it’s huge! It’s at least twice as big as the gate to Lecithin!

Melanie: That’s an understatement…

Sarah: That’s a lot of gold…did the designers of this game really design a city like this?

Rook: No. This is custom redesigning. I heard Mayor Vinci had redone his city to fit his tastes, I didn’t know he went this far.

Melanie: So you’ve never been here before?

Rook: Vinci is a strange man, and handpicks the Militia allowed to serve in his city, and not based on strength either. I’ve never been called to duty in Grandi before.

Iricryo: Wait…wait! We’re just going to walk straight through the front gates with the whole Militia watching for us!

Oscar: But look…there’s no one guarding the front gates.

Iricryo: Oh, yeah, you’re right. That’s strange.

Rook: I have a feeling in this city things can only get stranger.

They walk through the gates and into Grandi. Here they can see the décor of the city close up. All the buildings are designed in strange shapes and painted vibrant colors. Gold lines the sides of the main streets and walkways. Colorful flowers and plants grow around the city and seem to form patterns that stretch around the entire city. Everything is well-lit, and the city seems to sparkle from the sunlight.

Melanie: What kind of crazy design.

Melanie: Just look. The way this city’s designed, every single corner and ally of the city seems to be lit up. It’s like they designed the buildings so that they would never block the sun.

Rook: That seems to be a possibility. Stranger things are possible in this game.

Melanie: Well it doesn’t leave us with a lot of options if we want to move about unseen.

Rook: We’ll just have to try to blend in and not be noticed.

Iricryo: Uh, guys, little problem with that.

Iricryo: Just take a look around.

Rook glances at the people around them. Everyone is dressed in colorful and vibrant clothing. Not a single person can be seen wearing any form of armor. The group has started to attract some stares from the people around them.

Oscar: Everyone in this town looks so cool! I wonder where I can get clothes like that!

Melanie: Everyone’s staring at us. We should leave while there’s still time.

The group turns around and begins to walk back towards the gate. As they do they are suddenly approached and surrounded by a large group of Militia. They wear armor is in the form of the Militia, except each of their armor is in an individual bright color.

Oscar: Are we being assaulted by Rainbow Crusaders?

Sarah: Look at their uniforms, Oscar. They have Militia symbols.

Rook: That’s what the Militia of Grandi is forced to wear? I’m starting to feel really glad I was never forced to work here.

Militia Soldier: Do not move, Spidersilk Bandits. We have you completely surrounded. Lay your weapons to the ground and put your hands in the air.

Melanie: No way in hell we can fight them in this condition.

Rook: Looks like we have no choice but to surrender. Perhaps if we can explain our situation to Mayor Vinci…

Iricryo: So they knew I came in here.  Man, they are good.

Iricryo: Don’t surrender just yet. We’ll be out of this in exactly one minute.

Iricryo: Just trust me on this one.

Militia Soldier: Last chance to surrender, Spidersilks!

Voice: Who is this that is causing such an ugly commotion in my beautiful city?

Militia Soldier: Mayor Vinci, sir! We are handling it.

Vinci: Oh, I see. One of the ugly blemishes of the game the Militia has sought to remove. What was the name of this group?

Militia Soldier: The Spidersilk Bandits, sir.

Vinci: Yes, yes, that’s it. Quite a bold move of your group to come into my city like this.

Rook: Listen to me, Vinci! We’re not the Spidersilks! We were set up. I’m a man of the Militia.

Vinci: Now, it’s one thing for a criminal group like yourself to defile my pure city with your presence, as a matter of fact, I may find that forgivable. But you have all broken the codes of my city. You see, only vibrant clothing is allowed to be worn in my city. A carried weapon is fine, as long as it is worn in a stylish manner. And yet you come into my city in your ugly rags and armor and expect to get away with it?

Vinci: Usually I just toss street trash like you out of my city until you return in the proper attire. But seeing as you are wanted by the Militia of whom I am employed, I suppose I have to handle this case differently.

Vinci: Please tell me you are going to surrender. I’d hate to see any ugly confrontations break out in my city.

Three people in dark black cloaks and masks run around the circle of Militia soldiers. They toss tiny balls into the circle and soon the entire area is engulfed in a dark black smoke.

Militia Soldier: What the hell? I can’t see!

The masked men run through the smoke and motion for Oscar’s group to follow them. They lead the group into a corner and open up a hidden door in the ground.  The group descends the stairs behind the door and the door closes shut behind them.

They find themselves in a dark passageway, only lit by tiny lanterns on either side of the wall. The masked men go first down the passage, followed by Iricryo and then the rest of the group.

Iricryo: I didn’t realize there was another entrance from inside the city. You guys must have designed it when I was away. Guess you’ve been busy all this time.

Oscar: These people friends of yours, Iricryo?

They come to the end of the passageway. The masked men open a door leading to a large room filled with advanced looking technology.

Masked Man: Welcome to the Control Room.