Day Two: Evening

[Sammah]

?It?s true.? Vegeta remembered the words that Bra and her mother exchanged before the tournament. The young princess informed Bulma about her training in the room of spirit and time, where one year equals a day out in the real world. The real world though, who is it too call it real? Perhaps it was just another dream world, like Friend or Foe. Even this tournament could be just a fragment of thoughts and dreams put together in order for someone?s sheer entertainment. ?I don?t mean in age alone. Your power has become something of great stature.? Vegeta began to rub his injured wrist in order to release some of the tension he felt pulsing through it.

?As have yours.? Trunks seemed serious, perhaps the thought of Reijin was still tracing through his skull covered membrane. No doubt death was what he wanted for the XT Saiya-jin. The royal bloodline was a stubborn kind, and Trunks was no exclusion to this feat.

?No?? Vegeta replied with a low end tone. ?No, not enough.? He gazed down at his wrist and slowly began to twist it around in order to stretch out the repairing ligaments. ?If I was truly powerful, then this wouldn?t have happened.? His eyes were beginning to form a reaction of anger and frustration. ?I wouldn?t have been injured, I wouldn?t have lost.? Trunks eyes looked at his injury, not fully understanding what his father was talking about.

?Both sides lost father. Too many were killed today.? Garlic Jr. and HF17 were part of their losses, and close friends to his son. Metal Koola had a good run through though, and fought bravely in order to show off what he could do. Bujin was another loss, however the King didn?t? know him; but he was able to take the aim off of Reijin and him for but a moment, enough to save them. Too bad he wasn?t still alive in order to pay his thanks and regards.

?Indeed.? Vegeta spoke. ?But there?s a power that should be ours.? He spoke of the power he felt with the dragon ball once it was in his possession. Reijin however now held onto the ball, since his abilities have reached higher than the king that he traveled with. ?Reijin met this power, and embraced it with open arms.? The ascended level of Super Saiya-jin was something of candy, given to him as a reward, however stolen from him like a thief in the night.

?You mean the second plateau?? Trunks knew of this power, no doubt wanting to attain it himself. Vegeta nodded in response.

?Until we reach this level, others will triumph above us?and that?s unacceptable. We are the heirs to our planet, and thus we must defend it.? He glanced over towards the others who all found their own spots to relax and regain their energy for the near future. Certain battles, and certain death waited around every corner, or field for that matter; they must be prepared. ?Reijin is stronger than me?? He knew he had to confess, for it was the first step in getting over denial. ?Raditzu, is stronger than me.?

?Father, don?t.? Trunks attempted to stop his father from continuing but was quickly cut off.

?No Trunks. For a long time I have stood in the shadow of others?I won?t stand for it, not anymore.? Vegeta turned and began to walk back towards the group. His son left standing there alone, wondering what just happened in the previous minute.

?Where are you going?? Trunks called after his father.

?To rest, as should you. We?ll need it for the battle ahead.? With that, Vegeta found a tree nearby 13 in order to listen clearly to the soft melody he plucked away at on his guitar. It was like a sweet sensual lullaby that wanted to rock him to sleep. A sleeping giant, all comes with time, and destiny was something you create, not premade.

[Android 17]

As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, the android was left behind, with Kid Buu, by the rest of his group. Apparently they had picked up traces of other competitors being in the nearby regions and decided to follow the lead. For about an hour, the machine-hybrid and pint-sized Majin sat around the fire. Despite both of their bodies being in the same place, their minds were some place entirely. Silence dominated the scene of the dwindling fire, as the two allies sat and pondered the next course of action. When the last vestiges of sunlight faded to a deep, purple and red hue of dusk, the duo decided that it was time to go locate their comrades. Collecting up his rocket launcher, the cybernetic warrior?the majority of the pain numbed away, turned and noticed that the bubblegum-colored monster was struggling to get mobile.

Without words, the cyborg hobbled over to the tiny beast and aided him to his remaining foot. Although he was equally as wounded, Seventeen wasn?t the kind of person to sit back and watch one of his allies struggle. His moral values?although dampened slightly by the seriousness and strain of this contest?were far too strong to allow him to betray his stance as a leader. Their journey was slow and tedious, but the pair of wounded warriors eventually managed to traverse the pathway that separated them from their allies. When they first penetrated the thin layer of foliage and stepped onto the short grass of the apparent campsite, Seventeen?s eyes fell upon the corpse. The youth was laying, face up, a large arrow driven through the back of his neck had been the death of him. His black, spiked hair was stained with his own blood, which had already pooled en masse beneath his neck and head. His view of the man?s face was obstructed, but whoever he had been, his death must have had a large impact on Super Buu. The elastic warrior was perched over the corpse, his expression devoid of anything but a mixture of rage and regret.

?Thank you,? Kid Buu said, releasing his light grip on the android?s elbow and following something he had seen in the foliage outside the perimeter of the campsite. The cyborg parted his lips to respond to the kind words of the smaller golem, but then he finally remembered the warrior?s identity with disheartening results.

?Goten?? Seventeen murmured, taking a few steps toward the fallen saiya-jin hybrid. The utterance of the slain warrior?s named piqued the interest of the grieving Buu.

?How do you know who he is?? Super Buu muttered, his breath laced with a multitude of emotions that not even the android?s highly advanced CPU could distinguish.

?I never truly knew him, per se,? the ebony-haired man responded dejectedly, ?but I did battle him many months ago following the end of my hibernation. He was a valiant warrior, it is a genuine shame that it had to come to this?? Seventeen let his voice trail off. There wasn?t a real need for some time of sappy, reminiscent eulogy. The boy was dead, just like Sixteen, Puar, and Jackie. He was just another victim of the horrors of Dante?s Abyss.

That didn?t make the sight of his mangled, bloodied form any less devastating to either the android or his magically synthesized comrade.

[Kami]

The pain in his back had subsided for the time being. It was slightly hard to believe that these two sayjins whom he had just finished fighting with were now his temporary allies. He had fought with and now against both of them before. Sometimes the memories of the past were hazy for the old Namek, but he remembered these two rather well. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that Reijin's anoying little Sabiman was going to try and stab him in the back at some point, he could even see Reijin pointing a gun in his direction as soon as they fended off whomever might be sneaking up on them.

The tension between Reijin and Trunks was an intensity that hung in the air, it was unlike almost anything he had ever sensed between two people. The Namek's sharp ears had also picked up on the less than kind words Reijin was spilling into Trunk's head, which only gave him more reason to question the longevity of the newly formed alliance.

It was, after all, a tournament, designed to crown a single victor. Alliances seemed to be a bit against the grain in a tournament such as Dante's Abyss, but were proving to be the dominat strategy.

13 was playing Kami's guitar, while Vegeta was trying to rest up some more nearby. Kami remembered the royal blooded sayjin battling with Kamiccoro Diamoun on the look out all that time ago. The old Namek could never seem to come to terms with the deception that led to his fusion with a few other crooked Namekians back in those days. He still felt like he had to make up for it but every now and then he'd remember the raw power he possesed and wondered if he would ever reach a level like that again. Maybe he already had, but the memories from that time were foggy at best and he prefered not to dwell on them.

Trunks was standing with his back to group. He was either scanning the horizon or brooding. Kami had a feeling it was the latter. The old Namekian slowly made his way up to the sayjin's side, his arms behind his sore back. "I'm getting to old for this shit."

Trunks couldn't help but smile a little bit, even if he was deep in thought and wrestling through a jumble of emotions. "That bastard Reijin really pisses me off..."

Kami looked over his shoulder, Reijin didn't seem like he was currently in any mood to chat, and while he thought they might have a little more catching up to do he figured Trunks would make for a better conversation. "He wants to win, that's all." Trunks gave Kami a funny look, "I heard what he said to you." He gave his ear a now almost trademarked flick for "I heard that!"

Trunks let out a deep breath, "I keep forgetting about you Nameks and your damn hearing." This time it was Kami who let out a little smile.

"Reijin...is a typical sayjin. You know it, I know it, and Vegeta knows it. He wants power, he wants to win he wants to be so victorious it hurts. You young people and your tempers...life's too short to spend all your time pissed off at someone. Assuming you don't need to go Super Sayjin all the time."

Trunks almost didn't catch the joke at the end of Kami's little lecture. He laughed and gave the old Namek a slap on the back. Kami's eye's bulged out and sweat formed on his brow. "Ouch." He said. Trunks had slapped him on a still healing bullet wound.

Kami though about returning the favor be decided it would be best to refrain from the action. "I'll get you for that." he wagged a finger at Trunks in a mocking manner.

"Yeah, well you'll have to wait till we're the final two for that old timer." Trunks smiled. He'd be damned if Kami didn't know how to cheer a guy up, no matter what the circumstances.

OOC: Reijin and Veggie - hit me up on AIM later or PM me, I need a refresher about the stuff we've all been involved in together in the past. kthnxbai

[Krillin]

The two warriors had been walking for awhile now, not bothering to talk about frivolous things to take their minds off the 'here and now'. They were beyond that point. Of course, Krillin had tried to kick this up, desperately needing some kind of work to stick his tongue to, but Twenty wasn't willing. Krillin had never seen this side of the Android before. Well, not quite so pronounced, anyway.

Before, Twenty had always made side glances to Krillin, checking to see what sort of eccentric behavior he might be fiddling around in at the moment. Usually he chuckled, or at least grinned. But now, his eyes remained fixated upon the encircled horizon, stopping only to check behind them, and listen intently for danger. There was a total lack of communication, and Krillin simply could not bear it.

For a short time, he tried to delude himself, saying that something like this was undoubtedly making him stronger. Logic quickly prevailed, and showed him that all it served to do was drive him crazy, and as he already knew, it was suicide to lose one's sanity in a deathmatch like this.

Of course, it was suicide to join DA anyway.

[Android-18]

The water went down better than last time. After the little chase she had initiated earlier, the Android had easily filled her canteen with fresh water. It was unlikely that it was the cleanest water, but it was water nonetheless. She sipped on it and tried to eat some of her bread. Now that it was the end of Day Two, the bread was actually getting kind of hard. If it had been properly wrapped it would have lasted longer. She could not help but yawn and try to get down another bite of her meager meal.

The others were doing their own thing. She had given up the silly game Raditzu had developed, and taken a view of their new campsite. It was sparse, only a few clusters of trees. The grass was short, but in a few spots in grew thickly. The river was a little ways away. It was actually a good idea to try and get a little cleaner. Even in DA it wouldn?t hurt to smell better. Surely she wasn?t the first to think it, she did notice that certain people smelt less dirty than before.

The river water was cold; it came from the mountain she supposed. Her foot dipped into the stream and she paused. She was getting used to the water, eventually she began walking in it with both feet, and watching the sun fall. It was night, and that meant the dark would take over. Luckily for her, that meant a little privacy. She tip toed along the river toward a few bowing trees. It was seclusion enough, and she disrobed. The garments hung from the tree branches.

No sounds came, it seemed although she really was alone. Good, she wanted to be alone. The android huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. Her curiosity peaked. The river took a bend around the trees and widened its mouth. She strayed from the shallow water and followed the meandering water until it opened into what could easily be described as a pond. Trees surrounded it, and lily pads lined the banks. The water came up to her shoulders by the time she stopped. Soon she would have to kick the water just to stay afloat.

The moon was visible against the sky. It was somewhat enchanting. The wildlife was alive around her; she could hear strange bird calls and the splash of a random fish. Bugs chirped and trees swayed. Eighteen closed her eyes and felt the breeze against her face. Regardless of the situation she was in, she felt like enjoying this small bit of peace.

The camp was just as she left it, only she was much cleaner than before. Go figure, it seemed like no one noticed. The android sighed and sat down on the grassy ground beneath one of the larger trees. It was likely that not much would happen tonight, so she would just have to sleep. It was somewhat peaceful here, too, but she knew that eventually something would happen. Eighteen closed her eyes and blocked out everyone else.