The group sat in a sparsely furnished room, waiting for the Faifekau to return.

Brooding in a corner while nursing a bruised back, and ego, the arrogant man sat staring out the only window in the room. Arrayed around haphazardly, a few sitting on the floor, were his entourage. He could feel the roiling in his gut, his anger taking form as something possibly hazardous to the group in this confined room.

“Who do these peons think they are?” he thought, angrily glowering at the scuff mark on his expensive shoe. First he got frozen by a savages’ feeble voice before getting blown away by the dirty peon who ran into him.

“Bullshit!” he harshly groaned into his hands, shaking as he attempted to contain his anger. His entourage, being the faceless background characters they are, just awkwardly stared on.

As the man continued to stew in his rage the door opened and the representative who had brought them here entered. He didn’t like how these lowly members of the Conglomerate acted. Just because they held a position of some stature didn’t mean shit when compared to him.

“We have confirmed your identities.” The man started, not waiting for any of them to look at him. “And we have decided that you will all be placed under house arrest until the tournament starts.”

The man turned, face contorted in anger. “House arrest!?” He bellowed. “Why!? The peon started it and that little savage boy attacked me!” How could this organization be considered powerful when they didn’t even know who he was?

“Unfortunately, Mr. Bel, we reviewed and found that you were the aggressor.” The Faifekau explained, unfazed by the man’s outburst. “You have two choices in the matter, either you submit to house arrest or face immediate disqualification and expulsion from the Motu.”

Mr. Bel’s anger faltered in the face of the implacable representative. Slightly. While he was a hothead he knew the consequences if he were to allow himself to be expelled.He huffed and looked away, waving at one of his men to continue the conversation.

The other man meekly nodded and said “We understand. Where will we be holed up?”

Mr. Bel stopped paying attention, instead choosing to focus on his anger. He knew what was at stake. His arrogance wasn’t unfounded, the man did possess something that his confidence was built on and he intended to take over this little tournament.

___________________________________________________________________________

In another room, Sone and Mai sat waiting for the Faifekau.

Both were still trembling a bit as they quietly waited.

“Who?” Sone mumbled, still replaying the scene in his head. He could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his body. He had never felt such raw power before and he was still shaking from coming into contact with it.

“I dunno.” Mai answered. “Whoever that was, I don’t wanna meet ‘em again.”

Mai was busy braiding and unbraiding her long hair in an attempt to calm her nerves. She had expected to meet some strong people but this was different. Who could subjugate a whole area with a single word?

“Do you-”

“No, we’re staying.” Mai said, cutting off her brother's question. She knew exactly what he was going to ask because she wanted to ask him first. Her pride wouldn’t let her do so.

“But, that guy.”

Sone’s statement hung heavy in the air as they both remembered the intensity of that singular moment.

As the heavy silence permeated the door opened and the Faifekau entered. The siblings looked at him simultaneously and waited for him to begin.

“After reviewing the incident we have decided to issue a warning to you, Candidate Sone, for the unauthorized use of Le’o.” he said, even tone helping to calm the nerves of the young siblings somewhat.”As for you, Candidate Mai, I am verbally warning you. You activated your tatau but never used them.”

The siblings exhaled simultaneously. While they hadn’t been expecting any really bad news, they had been worried about what would happen. The Conglomerate was notoriously strict about disturbances on the island.

“With that, you two are free to go. You can collect your ID on your way out. The other candidates of your group should be gathering at the meeting spot nearest your accommodations. A meeting to lay ground rules will take place, I suggest you both attend.” The man smiled politely as he continued. “Other than that, any questions before I walk you out?”

Sone raised his hand as if he were school. The Faifekau nodded at him to go ahead.

“Who was that member?”

The Faifekau shook his head. “I can’t share information about members. He has been reprimanded and so has the other party.”

This time it was Mai’s turn to raise her hand. He gave her a simple nod again.

“Are all your members that strong?”

He shook his head again, this time with a grimace. “No, he is a bit of a special case. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but most of our members outside of the arena aren’t combatants. The only ones with any measure of power are the Faifekau and the heads of the departments. I’m sure you met one of the heads after your arrival.”

The siblings nodded dumbly, remembering the beautiful woman who had also demonstrated her immense power.

“Any more questions?” the man asked, exuding an air of eternal patience.

They both shook their heads as they stood and thanked the man, following him out of the room.

“Sis.” whispered Sone. “I dunno what we got ourselves into, but this place is kinda nuts.”

Mai simply nodded.

---

The siblings arrived at the meeting place at the same time as the member who was going to be running the meeting.

Nearly all of the candidates that they had arrived with were present. Sone quickly glanced around and couldn’t find the arrogant man from the incident. He felt his mood improve a bit.

“Looks like that dick isn’t here.” He said to his sister as they found seats. She had checked for him too. They both took their seats and looked around, trying to size up some of the candidates.

“Welcome, candidates.” the member said as he approached the center of the meeting area. “Thank you for making it to this meeting.” Sone noticed that the words didn’t match the movements of the man's mouth. He also noticed that a tatau was activated on the man’s throat. This surprised him, he had never actually seen the tatau used like this for translation. This made him more aware of the fact that all the candidates definitely came from different areas of the world.

“You see the tatau on his throat?” he quietly asked his sister. She nodded and replied. “Using it to translate.” He may take it for granted sometimes but he was very happy that his sister was just as, if not more, observant as he was.

“I hope you all had a chance to try some of the local delicacies.” The man continued, motioning to the veritable buffet that was behind him. “As you all know, we will be taking care of everything for you while you are on island. We also have a market district, which had some entertainment earlier today.” The man smiled as he said that and Sone realized that he probably knew about the incident. “We have a currency exchange in the market district where you can address any currency problems.”

“We also have an entertainment district that is open to all of you.” He motioned towards an area opposite of the market district.

“Now, the reason you are all here is for the Advent Tournament. To safeguard both the organization's interests and your own, we need to lay down some ground rules for you all. Unfortunately, a few of you have already broken some.” The man chuckled as he said this and a few of the candidates did too. Sone halfheartedly joined in, nervously recalling what had happened.

“Firstly, you will all refrain from any unwarranted violence, against one another and against any members of the Conglomerate. You are only allowed to test yourselves against one another in designated areas, which will be made available to you all for your use. Any candidates who are caught breaking this rule will face immediate disqualification, forfeiture of living assets to the Conglomerate, and expulsion from the Motu.”

This first rule drew some confused questions as one candidate asked “What the hell does the living assets thing mean?”

Smiling wryly, the member answered “It means that you will become indebted to the Conglomerate, effectively making you property of the organization.”

This drew some angry responses and it took the member a moment to quiet the crowd down. “It is a rare stipulation that rarely gets enacted. This is only in the case of a candidate causing grievous bodily harm to another candidate or member outside of the arena walls.” The member let the statement sit for a moment before continuing. “This is your one warning. Any disputes can be settled when handled through the proper channels. We have a dedicated training area open to use by all candidates. This is the only area any combat is allowed to take place outside of the arena.”

“Secondly, you will all agree to stay on island until the end of the tournament. Due to the inherent dangers of the void-ocean surrounding the island, we suggest you all wait to return to your proper time and place when the ships leave.”

“Time and place?” Mai thought. She looked at her brother and knew that he was confused about the same thing. That’s an odd stipulation to have in their disclaimer.

“Lastly, any and all information you may obtain during your time here will be requisitioned upon conclusion of the tournament. The organization claims ownership of all information brought in and shared by all candidates, regardless of status.”

This last rule drew a lot of confused looks. Sone couldn’t help but ask. “How do you claim ownership over something that isn’t physical?”

“That is classified organisation information so I can’t answer your question.” the member answered with a smile.

“But it’s impossible to control the flow of information, especially verbal. How would you keep it?” asked Mai.

“The organisation has its way.” he answered. He then clapped, surprising all the candidates with its suddenness. “And with that, all I need is a verbal affirmation that you agree to the organisation's stipulations. If you decide to opt out then you will be disqualified from the tournament and you will have to wait until the end of the tournament to return.”

All the present candidates now had doubts. Not only was the phrasing odd but the stipulations were troubling as well.

One of the candidates asked “Do we have to confirm now or can we wait to give an answer at a later time”

“An immediate answer is necessary.”

Sone sighed as he looked at Mai. They shared a quick moment before they both stood and simultaneously said “Yes.”

The member looked at them and smiled, motioning to the table with food behind him. “Thank you candidates, please help yourselves if you haven’t had the chance.”

Following the siblings more candidates confirmed their acceptance. Left with little alternative, all candidates in the group accepted the Conglomerate’s terms.