03-29-2010, 09:07 PM
As if feeling completely drained didn’t tax him enough, he now had a bloody nose.
He had been completely innocent when the incident had occurred as well as during the minutes prior, shambling in an almost zombie-like manner through the many different alleys of the carnival, dragging his body along as he slowly began to regain his energy, and his ability to walk. Within ten minutes or so, the black-haired hybrid found himself almost completely rejuvenated, and smiled broadly at the new feelings of healthiness he had. Whatever relapse had just occurred, he supposed it must’ve been just a break in Gamer’s programming, and the nerdy, maniacal mastermind must’ve fixed the technical deficiency, allowing him to compete at full capacity.
Nevertheless, he remained quite tired, lethargy plaguing his every step. Though he was no longer in pain, and his movements were definitely more fluid, and it was easier to move, he was not quite as aware as he would’ve liked to be of his surroundings. He would take this opportunity of solitude to reevaluate his position in this game, then, while his senses slowly caught up to his physical aptitude. He would have to have fully regained his energy by the next event, he knew, if he wanted to be able to compete at all.
Last time he’d checked, he, Kaden, and Szar—the ‘lizard’ that Orion had mentioned—were the only people who had badges, and to be honest, Juno would’ve preferred to keep it there. A quick buzz on his pager, however, told him otherwise, and he slowly reached down for it, lifting it up to look at the message—“Alexander Trafford has Coveted one of your badges. Sorry!” Well, that just sucked. He had thought, for a moment, that he and Alex might’ve been allies in this hostile environment, but he should’ve known better. In a world like this, where at least twenty super-powered people had been gathered together to fight for survival, you couldn’t trust anyone. He couldn’t trust Alex, he couldn’t trust Kaden, and he couldn’t even trust Sophia. It was just too dangerous.
Hell, he could barely trust himself, with all the pain his body had dealt him recently.
He should’ve been able to tell what happened next, but his Foresight failed him, and he found himself walking blindly around a corner, standing face to face with a young girl with red hair, who stared at him in surprise. He cocked his head a bit to the side, sticking his hands in his pants pockets, and slowly asked her if everything was okay. Something in his sentence ticked her off, however, and seconds later Juno found himself flat on his back, clutching a bleeding nose, on the receiving end of not only the girl’s punch but also the very vulgar string of expletives that accompanied it.
“I’m not a girl!!!” the redhead shouted angrily as a period to her protests. She was rather deep-voiced, though her tone was still noticeably female. The ex-fortuneteller massaged his nose as he considered the possibility that the girl was in denial about her sex; honestly, he’d never met anyone quite that stupid, but perhaps there were some people in the world…
Slowly, he brought himself to his feet, and Belle fumed before him. Her cheeks were glowing a bright pink from fury, and her fists were balled at her side. She wore masculine clothing, another front, he supposed, for her distinct insecurities about that fact that she was, in fact, a female. She breathed heavily, her rather endowed chest—though it was patted down—moving up and down with each individual breath.
“Now that we’ve got that settled,” the young woman muttered, still slightly peeved, “I’m Belle.” The hybrid stifled a laugh—Belle? The facts just kept piling up, all of them quite in opposition to the girl’s arguments.
“I’m Juno,” he said, realizing that he couldn’t really talk about someone having a feminine name, he supposed, who claimed to be a guy. If only they hadn’t made that movie and that Greek goddess had never existed…
“Look, buddy, I’m sorry I punched you,” Belle apologized slowly, almost as if it was kind of difficult for her. She moved over toward a nearby booth, one where you had to toss a ball into a hoop. He picked up the orange ball with one hand, wheeled it back, and shot it at hard as he could at the basket, but it missed horribly. “Dammit,” she mused, grabbing another ball and using a similar method in an attempt to score a goal.
“Let me try,” Juno offered, moving up to the booth and grabbing a basketball. He aimed carefully, and shot it, taking into account the direction with which he’d thrown the ball after applying the force. It sank into the net gracefully, and the hybrid smiled as he turned to Belle. “You just gotta concentrate,” he guided him as Belle picked up another ball, “Oh, and use two hands, man.”
Belle’s eyes flitted over to Juno. “Thanks for that,” she said, “For calling me a man. Not many people understand this… problem, but I guess you get treated like a girl a lot.”
“…what?”
“You know, with your long hair and stuff,” Belle told him, “If you hadn’t been so flirty, I’d have thought you were a girl. Or a Let’s Bee An.”
The black-haired hybrid stayed silent, not sure whether to be touched or offended by Belle’s affirmation of companionship. Belle, however, didn’t seem to catch the social awkwardness at all. “Dammit,” she repeated as she missed yet another shot, “These large-sized dragon balls just won’t go in!”
Juno’s head whipped towards Belle. “Dragon balls?” he asked, “You know what they are?” For once in this futile conversation, the hybrid had hope that he would get somewhere. Belle didn’t seem to mind the questions.
“Yeah, I found ‘em,” he said kind of proudly, “Well, most of ‘em. Made a wish on ‘em, too.” The seer’s eyes perked up. Kaden’s quick reference had been enough to interest him, and Orion had urged him to try an avenue he could. But Belle’s confirmation of their existence—and the fact that they actually worked—was the first real score he’d had on the subject. A wide grin crossed his face as he thought about the possibilities. What would he wish for? What could he wish for? He supposed there was the obvious—to heal himself. But then, there were even better possibilities… Death, it seemed, could be arranged to be temporary, based on Sophia’s experience, so perhaps if he wished for his powers back, then he could then let the sickness take him, and come back to life even more powerful than before…
Why was he even entertaining this idea? He wasn’t going to kill himself.
“So,” Juno continued the conversation, “What exactly happens? When you collect the dragon balls, that is. What types of stuff can you… wish for?”
“Well, I wished for dead people to be alive,” Belle said idly, barely paying attention to the conversation as she attempted, once again, to shoot a basket, with little luck. “This other guy wished for some freaky power. When you gather the balls together—”
But before Belle could spit out the rest of the sentence, she suddenly and vigorously burst into tears, running away from the basketball booth and running over to a bench, which she proceeded to pound until it was scrap metal. Juno watched from afar, slightly concerned for Belle’s well-being but at the same time slightly weirded out and fearing for the boy-girl’s sanity. Cautiously, the black-haired hybrid began to move over to the redhead.
“…it’s okay,” he attempted to comfort the girl, “Lots of people aren’t good at it.”
“IT’S NOT THE FRIGGING GAME!” Belle screamed, turning to face Juno with a fire in her eyes. “You… you got me started talking about balls.”
Juno’s eyes widened slightly. He didn’t know whether or not to be severely creeped out by the girl’s level of denial, or to take this as a confirmation that she was, indeed, a guy who had had some parts flipped. Carefully, he searched for something to say, words to offer to perhaps get Belle to not be quite so… angry anymore. “I’m sorry,” he mustered, “I understand how those could be a… sensitive subject.”
“You’re telling me,” the girl responded, “Now let’s go shoot some circles.”
“Uh, I think you mean shoot some hoops,” Juno suggested.
“I have no frigging idea what the hell a hoop is,” Belle retorted, walking back toward the basketball group. Juno sighed. For the very first time, he halfway hoped that Gamer would pull him into an event sooner than he normally did, as he slowly followed Belle to the booth. The redheaded hybrid resumed her solo-basketball game, and Juno leaned on the booth, looking around the carnival before noticing the tall black building that had hovered over the area they’d explored for the longest time. He’d seen it before, but never paid it much attention, and with the clock ticking on how much time they’d explored here, he guessed that this was a better time than ever to do some extra exploring in the obelisk. Plus, he would do anything to get away from this basketball game.
Not wanting to leave Belle rudely, he turned as he began to walk away, “Hey, Belle,” he said, and the redheaded hybrid turned to face the blackheaded one, “I’m going to check out the hotel.”
“Sounds cool,” Belle approved, and put down the basketball, “Besides, this game’s getting on my nerves.” Juno sighed inwardly, but didn’t protest the young (wo)man’s accompaniment. The pair of demi-Saiyans moved quickly through the alleys between the carnival tents until they had finally come to the large tower, and they stepped into the lobby. Juno wasn’t sure if Belle had been here before—the younger hybrid didn’t look too impressed, as if everything seemed normal, but then he supposed that that could just be the girl’s penchant for things like this hotel, or maybe things in Kill Town in general.
He paid it no mind, and slowly began to look around, finally settling down on a comfortable sofa in a small sitting area, off in one corner of the lobby. Belle sat on the couch opposite, kicking her feet up. Feeling slightly like the rebel, Juno kicked off his shoes as well and laid down on the couch as well, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. “This is nice,” he muttered.
“I’m sure you’re quite comfortable,” a feminine voice said, but Juno didn’t recognize it as Belle’s. It was familiar, so he dared to open his eyes and saw a blonde woman leaning casually against the plaster wall. Though her hair color wasn’t familiar, the hybrid did recognize the face rather quickly—it was another one of Kaden’s many blonde troopers, it seemed.
Piper Juunanagou.
“Well, hello, Piper,” Juno greeted the woman, sitting up after he’d processed her identity. He gestured to the seat next to him, and Piper accepted the invitation, glancing over at Belle as she began to snore. “Let’s just leave him be for the time being.”
“Sounds like an idea,” Piper nodded, putting her feet on the coffee table nestled nicely between the sofas. “So, how’s life treating you… Juno, right?”
He had been completely innocent when the incident had occurred as well as during the minutes prior, shambling in an almost zombie-like manner through the many different alleys of the carnival, dragging his body along as he slowly began to regain his energy, and his ability to walk. Within ten minutes or so, the black-haired hybrid found himself almost completely rejuvenated, and smiled broadly at the new feelings of healthiness he had. Whatever relapse had just occurred, he supposed it must’ve been just a break in Gamer’s programming, and the nerdy, maniacal mastermind must’ve fixed the technical deficiency, allowing him to compete at full capacity.
Nevertheless, he remained quite tired, lethargy plaguing his every step. Though he was no longer in pain, and his movements were definitely more fluid, and it was easier to move, he was not quite as aware as he would’ve liked to be of his surroundings. He would take this opportunity of solitude to reevaluate his position in this game, then, while his senses slowly caught up to his physical aptitude. He would have to have fully regained his energy by the next event, he knew, if he wanted to be able to compete at all.
Last time he’d checked, he, Kaden, and Szar—the ‘lizard’ that Orion had mentioned—were the only people who had badges, and to be honest, Juno would’ve preferred to keep it there. A quick buzz on his pager, however, told him otherwise, and he slowly reached down for it, lifting it up to look at the message—“Alexander Trafford has Coveted one of your badges. Sorry!” Well, that just sucked. He had thought, for a moment, that he and Alex might’ve been allies in this hostile environment, but he should’ve known better. In a world like this, where at least twenty super-powered people had been gathered together to fight for survival, you couldn’t trust anyone. He couldn’t trust Alex, he couldn’t trust Kaden, and he couldn’t even trust Sophia. It was just too dangerous.
Hell, he could barely trust himself, with all the pain his body had dealt him recently.
He should’ve been able to tell what happened next, but his Foresight failed him, and he found himself walking blindly around a corner, standing face to face with a young girl with red hair, who stared at him in surprise. He cocked his head a bit to the side, sticking his hands in his pants pockets, and slowly asked her if everything was okay. Something in his sentence ticked her off, however, and seconds later Juno found himself flat on his back, clutching a bleeding nose, on the receiving end of not only the girl’s punch but also the very vulgar string of expletives that accompanied it.
“I’m not a girl!!!” the redhead shouted angrily as a period to her protests. She was rather deep-voiced, though her tone was still noticeably female. The ex-fortuneteller massaged his nose as he considered the possibility that the girl was in denial about her sex; honestly, he’d never met anyone quite that stupid, but perhaps there were some people in the world…
Slowly, he brought himself to his feet, and Belle fumed before him. Her cheeks were glowing a bright pink from fury, and her fists were balled at her side. She wore masculine clothing, another front, he supposed, for her distinct insecurities about that fact that she was, in fact, a female. She breathed heavily, her rather endowed chest—though it was patted down—moving up and down with each individual breath.
“Now that we’ve got that settled,” the young woman muttered, still slightly peeved, “I’m Belle.” The hybrid stifled a laugh—Belle? The facts just kept piling up, all of them quite in opposition to the girl’s arguments.
“I’m Juno,” he said, realizing that he couldn’t really talk about someone having a feminine name, he supposed, who claimed to be a guy. If only they hadn’t made that movie and that Greek goddess had never existed…
“Look, buddy, I’m sorry I punched you,” Belle apologized slowly, almost as if it was kind of difficult for her. She moved over toward a nearby booth, one where you had to toss a ball into a hoop. He picked up the orange ball with one hand, wheeled it back, and shot it at hard as he could at the basket, but it missed horribly. “Dammit,” she mused, grabbing another ball and using a similar method in an attempt to score a goal.
“Let me try,” Juno offered, moving up to the booth and grabbing a basketball. He aimed carefully, and shot it, taking into account the direction with which he’d thrown the ball after applying the force. It sank into the net gracefully, and the hybrid smiled as he turned to Belle. “You just gotta concentrate,” he guided him as Belle picked up another ball, “Oh, and use two hands, man.”
Belle’s eyes flitted over to Juno. “Thanks for that,” she said, “For calling me a man. Not many people understand this… problem, but I guess you get treated like a girl a lot.”
“…what?”
“You know, with your long hair and stuff,” Belle told him, “If you hadn’t been so flirty, I’d have thought you were a girl. Or a Let’s Bee An.”
The black-haired hybrid stayed silent, not sure whether to be touched or offended by Belle’s affirmation of companionship. Belle, however, didn’t seem to catch the social awkwardness at all. “Dammit,” she repeated as she missed yet another shot, “These large-sized dragon balls just won’t go in!”
Juno’s head whipped towards Belle. “Dragon balls?” he asked, “You know what they are?” For once in this futile conversation, the hybrid had hope that he would get somewhere. Belle didn’t seem to mind the questions.
“Yeah, I found ‘em,” he said kind of proudly, “Well, most of ‘em. Made a wish on ‘em, too.” The seer’s eyes perked up. Kaden’s quick reference had been enough to interest him, and Orion had urged him to try an avenue he could. But Belle’s confirmation of their existence—and the fact that they actually worked—was the first real score he’d had on the subject. A wide grin crossed his face as he thought about the possibilities. What would he wish for? What could he wish for? He supposed there was the obvious—to heal himself. But then, there were even better possibilities… Death, it seemed, could be arranged to be temporary, based on Sophia’s experience, so perhaps if he wished for his powers back, then he could then let the sickness take him, and come back to life even more powerful than before…
Why was he even entertaining this idea? He wasn’t going to kill himself.
“So,” Juno continued the conversation, “What exactly happens? When you collect the dragon balls, that is. What types of stuff can you… wish for?”
“Well, I wished for dead people to be alive,” Belle said idly, barely paying attention to the conversation as she attempted, once again, to shoot a basket, with little luck. “This other guy wished for some freaky power. When you gather the balls together—”
But before Belle could spit out the rest of the sentence, she suddenly and vigorously burst into tears, running away from the basketball booth and running over to a bench, which she proceeded to pound until it was scrap metal. Juno watched from afar, slightly concerned for Belle’s well-being but at the same time slightly weirded out and fearing for the boy-girl’s sanity. Cautiously, the black-haired hybrid began to move over to the redhead.
“…it’s okay,” he attempted to comfort the girl, “Lots of people aren’t good at it.”
“IT’S NOT THE FRIGGING GAME!” Belle screamed, turning to face Juno with a fire in her eyes. “You… you got me started talking about balls.”
Juno’s eyes widened slightly. He didn’t know whether or not to be severely creeped out by the girl’s level of denial, or to take this as a confirmation that she was, indeed, a guy who had had some parts flipped. Carefully, he searched for something to say, words to offer to perhaps get Belle to not be quite so… angry anymore. “I’m sorry,” he mustered, “I understand how those could be a… sensitive subject.”
“You’re telling me,” the girl responded, “Now let’s go shoot some circles.”
“Uh, I think you mean shoot some hoops,” Juno suggested.
“I have no frigging idea what the hell a hoop is,” Belle retorted, walking back toward the basketball group. Juno sighed. For the very first time, he halfway hoped that Gamer would pull him into an event sooner than he normally did, as he slowly followed Belle to the booth. The redheaded hybrid resumed her solo-basketball game, and Juno leaned on the booth, looking around the carnival before noticing the tall black building that had hovered over the area they’d explored for the longest time. He’d seen it before, but never paid it much attention, and with the clock ticking on how much time they’d explored here, he guessed that this was a better time than ever to do some extra exploring in the obelisk. Plus, he would do anything to get away from this basketball game.
Not wanting to leave Belle rudely, he turned as he began to walk away, “Hey, Belle,” he said, and the redheaded hybrid turned to face the blackheaded one, “I’m going to check out the hotel.”
“Sounds cool,” Belle approved, and put down the basketball, “Besides, this game’s getting on my nerves.” Juno sighed inwardly, but didn’t protest the young (wo)man’s accompaniment. The pair of demi-Saiyans moved quickly through the alleys between the carnival tents until they had finally come to the large tower, and they stepped into the lobby. Juno wasn’t sure if Belle had been here before—the younger hybrid didn’t look too impressed, as if everything seemed normal, but then he supposed that that could just be the girl’s penchant for things like this hotel, or maybe things in Kill Town in general.
He paid it no mind, and slowly began to look around, finally settling down on a comfortable sofa in a small sitting area, off in one corner of the lobby. Belle sat on the couch opposite, kicking her feet up. Feeling slightly like the rebel, Juno kicked off his shoes as well and laid down on the couch as well, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. “This is nice,” he muttered.
“I’m sure you’re quite comfortable,” a feminine voice said, but Juno didn’t recognize it as Belle’s. It was familiar, so he dared to open his eyes and saw a blonde woman leaning casually against the plaster wall. Though her hair color wasn’t familiar, the hybrid did recognize the face rather quickly—it was another one of Kaden’s many blonde troopers, it seemed.
Piper Juunanagou.
“Well, hello, Piper,” Juno greeted the woman, sitting up after he’d processed her identity. He gestured to the seat next to him, and Piper accepted the invitation, glancing over at Belle as she began to snore. “Let’s just leave him be for the time being.”
“Sounds like an idea,” Piper nodded, putting her feet on the coffee table nestled nicely between the sofas. “So, how’s life treating you… Juno, right?”