Day Two: Evening

[Burter]

Day Two
6 PM - Midnight

"The sun has gone down once again and everybody is starting to get into the groove! We are getting down to the wire now, with only a little more then half of the players left. The only person gone is:

#23 Bujin

There are no new danger zones this time, but the new Easter Egg will be at B-3, and it will be the Ki Rocket Launcher!

Good luck, as always!"

[Reijin]

Continued from: http://www.cdbzrpg.com/forum/showpost.ph...stcount=17

Reijin had been pulling various drinks off the shelf, using his flashlight to help him read the different labels. If anything could be considered a success while on this planet, it was the discovery of this very bottle cellar, although he hadn't figured out yet why there was a cellar on this planet of fighters.

At the least, however, he had a location to help him sit out the rain. Except by now he was ready to embrace the cool drops of rain as an alternative to the dry musty humidity trapped beneath the door. "The sand is holding in the cool air but the humidity from this rain is doing nothing for the drinks!" he growled, holding a half empty bottle within his hand while the flashlight sat nearby on the table.

He jabbed a finger into the sand beneath him as he drew out images of people into the floorboards with it, imagining within his mind that they were fighters he knew, rising to fight each other on this planet. To him, the floorboard covered in the sand from above had turned into a battle map, designed to plan out his war strategy in the way of the ancient warrior.

Jun'ai, unfortunately, was brooding within his mind, able to see all of the moving drawings within his imagination as she could any other memory that she chose to peruse from boredom. In some ways she found it entertaining just watching his delusions, while in others she was fairly pissed off. She wanted him to finish the tournament up and to also go train for what the future held.

He, on the other hand, was now sitting on the ground in nothing more than his boxers with a bottle of alcohol within his palm while drawing in the sand with the pitchfork. "And over here I'm going to place Raditzu, running around with his girly hair in an attempt to be the big dumb idiot taking everyone on at once, while over here I'm going to put a big dragon, even more fierce than Shenron himself as he flies over head blazing the ground beneath him!"

There are no dragons on this planet, you idiot! Jun'ai was having a hard time imagining this. She knew that Saiyans had a strong tolerance to alcohol, but that did nothing for the 23 empty bottles lying at his feet nearby. He had indeed been quite bored. It was a wonder that he was still managing to form complete sentences. You are drunk! she insisted at him.

He shook his head a bit harder than he planned, feeling very heavy under the effects of the bottle. Lifting up the one in his hand he pointed at a specific place on the label. "No! It says 180 proof, woman. That's only 90% alcohol. I am a Saiyan. I can't get drunk off of this watered down crap! Why would you waste such a good drink by diluting it with water anyway? It makes no sense at all..." he grumbled, pointing back down at his battle strategy. "Now here, the dragon Trogdor is going to set everything on fire and then Raditzu is going to run crying from the flames. Over here is going to be a large city and I will be standing on top of this building here and see Raditzu running by beneath me so that I can jump down and fight Trogdor." He capitalized on this obvously great plan by taking another swig of the drink.

You are drunk! she repeated for the fourth time, watching him shrug it off once more. Besides that, what do these bad drawings have to do with this tournament?

"I'm getting to part if you would you just listen!" he spoke in completely broken English, jabbing the image with his pitchfork once more.

Within his head, Jun'ai scratched off the comment of his management to form complete sentences and sighed inaudibly.

[Burter]

Face to Face

Aero, Celipa, Kirano, Uno, Zangya

Uno was running, but not really sure why. Maybe he was eager to get in a fight, or perhaps more eager to get away from a potential one. All he knew was that he was in pain and staying in one place, alone, was only going to get him so far. Dos had caused him to lose both of his allies: one to greed, the other to honor. But he was still alive, and still in the game. As long as he was here, he may as well play.

Zangya was leaping over logs in the opposite direction, heading right for him. She wasn't running from anybody, but she was under the same ideal that staying in one place was a bad idea, especially after what she had just done. She hadn't totally grasped the concept of what she had done when she poured the vile of poison into Bojack's drink.

In a clearing, Uno came around a tree and Zangya lept over a fallen trunk. They came into each others views and immediately moved to take action. The shotgun blast from Uno just missed a backflipping Zangya, who threw a shuriken in mid-flip and missed into a tree.

The two were right in front of each other. Zangya had one hand to the man's neck, holding him at bay with a single ninja star. Against her bloody head was a shotgun barell, gripped tough by Uno.

"There's an easier solution to this," Zangya said, shivering a bit.

Uno shook his head, "I've tried getting friends. As you can see by the bullet hole, that's not a mistake I'm making again."

Suddenly there came an intrusion. A foot broke between them, breaking them apart. In a matter of seconds, the situation had changed.

Celipa the wounded saiyan was behind Uno, holding up a fork against the back of his back. Kirano was aiming his pistol at the hand of Zangya while Aero, already in his cat-like feline form, was sitting atop a tall branch off the ground. "Good to see you again, Zangya."

Uno remained in position, his shotgun pointed down. "What the hell is this?!"

"He attacked me!" Zangya suddenly blurted, "You're going to help me, right?"

"Like you helped Jack?" Celipa said sternly.

Aero jumped down from the branch and landed firmly on his clawed feet. He began to spin his binoculars around with the strap, as if using them as a roped weapon. "We're not here to take sides. Kill them both."

Zangya immediately turned and cracked Kirano in the face before running off, just in time to get kicked in the jaw by Aero. She smashed into the tree nearby with her side and spun around it, landing on her ass. She struggled to get up, just in to get cracked again, this time by the swung binoculars.

"Stop!" She was shouting, backing up against the tree. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody! I just did what I had to--" CRACK!"

Again, a punch shattering her facial structure, breaking her nose. She slammed head-first backwards into the tree trunk and landed on her ass, stunned. "Bojack is DEAD!" Aero was shouting. "So don't give me any shit about not wanting to hurt anybody!"

"Aero!" He heard, which turned out to be from Celipa. She had knocked Uno's shotgun out of his hand but was not holding his off by her palm to his face. He was throwing punches into her gut, which was already hurt by the wounds in her shoulders. "Help!"

"You got this?" Aero asked Kirano.

The blonde smirked, "Oh, yea."

Uno noticed Aero coming a mile away, though there wasn't a whole lot he could do with such speed and power against him. He shoved Celipa forward and jumped over her, avoiding getting pummeled by her friend. He set his feet on the tree and used it to jump back, kicking at Aero and missing, landing firmly on his feet. He let out a grunt, clutching his bullet wound.

"You can't beat me like that," Aero said.

Unlike last time, Uno had a plan. He knew instantly what to do to get out of this mess. "I'm not trying to beat you," he said and then rolled for the shotgun. Before Aero could move, Uno had it aimed at the female saiyan and let loose.

Celipa had just stood up, ready to strike, when the shotgun shell blasted in and out of her torso, clunking into the tree behind. Aero's eyes bulged at what had happened, causing him to leap at the corpse, "Cel!" He shrieked, "No!"

Another shotgun blast shattered into the thigh of Aero, spurting his blood all over behind him. He fell right next to Celipa and instantly grabbed at her fork.

Uno was running away now, ready to live to fight another day. He had taken a life, or so he assumed, but it was worth it to get out of that predicament. He was, for the most part, happy to have survived because this time, he had done it without the help of would-be allies. He had finally, truly--

A three-pronged utensil cut into the back of his neck and stuck out the other side. In a flash, Uno felt everything slip away and he landed hard on the ground, shattering his head on a rock.

Meanwhile, Zangya was being flung into the fifth tree of the day, this time falling forward and knocking her head on a branch. She stumbled away from Kirano, now scared and knowing she couldn't fight him in this state. "Wait!" She was saying, "Stop!"

A gunshot went off and the pistol blasted into her back. She fell forward after yelping helplessly. "Why didn't you kill me?" He asked, "You had the poison. You could have. Why did you keep me alive?"

"I--" she was trying to say, focussing too much on the pain. "I had business with Jack! I had to! Don't kill me!"

"I'm not," he said. "As long as you're alive, Aero and Celipa need me here. The second I kill you, I outlive my usefullness. No you're going to walk away, and we're going to hunt you down, and rest assured, eventually...they will kill you."

Zangya, terrified beyond belief, stumbled backwards again as Kirano fired two more shots, nailing her in the shoulder and the arm. She spun around and crawled off, stumbling to her feet to limp.

"Where'd she go?" Aero asked Kirano, walking over to her.

"She got away," he said simply.

He turned around and raised his eyebrow as Aero was holding Celipa in his arms, shaking his head. "She's dead, dude," he said with a frown, "Celipa's dead."

[SIZE="5"]#09 Celipa DEAD
#22 Uno DEAD[/SIZE]

16 Remain

Aero gets the shotgun. Either of you can take the fork.

Zangya has been shot three times, in the leg, arm, and shoulder. Major injury

Aero has been shot in the thigh with a shotgun. Minor injury.

Aero and Kirano = 24 hours tired OOC

[Raditzu]

“Hey babe! Check this out!”

There was no way the saiyan could hide his excitement. He sprinted towards Eighteen, who had been scouting about for some food. The over-excited warrior extended his arms towards the android, taking care not to drop the contents.

“What? The bread?” Eighteen asked.

In the saiyan’s hands were two slices of bread. The android carefully lifted a piece of bread from the saiyan’s palm – they were obviously very important to him. When turning the slice of bread over in her hands revealed nothing out of the ordinary, Eighteen replaced it and cocked an eyebrow at her saiyan lover.

“Of course the bread! I found these slices at the bottom of my bag. I thought we were out.”

“Alright… so… what’s so special about the bread?”

“Nothing. Yet!”

From behind his back, the saiyan produced two pieces of metal, both in the shape of a ‘U’. One, however, was small enough to fit neatly inside the other. This was obviously supposed to impress the android, but she didn’t even know where to begin.

“Where did you get those?” Eighteen pointed at the metal shapes in his hand.

“Hmmm? Oh. From your little pistol thingy.”

“What?!”

“Don’t sorry, I’ll put it back together. But check this out.”

With a grin on his face, the saiyan placed the piece of bread into the larger metal U, then inserted the smaller ones on top of the bread. Using small bursts of ki, the saiyan heated the metal which, in turn, heated the bread. After several minutes, the saiyan set the metal contraption on a rock and stepped backwards to let it cool.

“You know what I got now?” Rad asked, his voice giddy.

Before the android could answer, though, the saiyan carefully and quickly removed the now toasted piece of bread. And to fake amazement of the androidess, it retained the ‘U’. To the android’s actual amazement, the saiyan also produced a handful of foliage and the shredded meat of a rabbit he had previously roasted.

“It’s taco time!”

[Android-18]

“Your dorkiness ceases to amaze me, you know that?” Eighteen spoke as her companion began eating his freshly prepared taco. “I didn’t think you could do it.” She shook her head.

“Well you got me thinking,” he began with his mouth full. He swallowed the poor bits of rabbit and toasted taco-bread. “Rabbit surely isn’t a taco, but man I really wanted one. Maybe I can open my own Taco store, and use rabbit! This isn’t half bad, and the leaves add a nice touch.” The girl made a face and stared at him with mouth agape.

“You’re eating leaves?” She asked, and then looked at the half eaten taco creation.

“Well a taco can’t just be meat, babe, you gotta spice it up…or add something. I had no choice. Anyway, they won’t be real leaves if I open my store. People can customize their taco! So lettuce, or nothing, either way a taco is a taco, and a taco is awesome.” He had a gleam in his eye, the android felt a little freightened.

“Well…If that’s what you want to do. It’s actually a pretty good idea. I’ve never heard of a taco shop that let’s you customize what you get. Although I don’t know about rabbit…I guess if you can make cow meat into taco meat…rabbit, well, can be the same.” She scratched the back of her head. He was crazy, but he was smart. She laughed and watched him finish his meal. She had bread, and was satisfied with that. They needed food, though, they were out and she could not find anything in this area. They had to find some source of food. If all else failed, they could eat leaves.

The terrain changed as they moved. The dry air began to feel damp, and a mist hung around them which made their clothing feel wet against their skin. Rain spittled down from heavy clouds, and the wind came in small gusts. The grass was wet with moisture, and as green as life could make it. The android peered as far as she could into the distance, taking note of the few slopes that rose and fell. A few trees stood as mighty as they could in this vast space, soaking in the light rain that pelted their leaves. She and her lover continued, the rain would not stop them. They were well rested, fed, and quite cool now. Even though she could feel rain trickling down her scalp, she was in high spirits.

“What would you call it?” she asked, as they passed over a low ditch and turned to head northward.

“What?” he looked to her, confused by her question. They had been walking for some time in silence, there had been no need for words.

“The taco shop, what would you call it? It’ll need a good name, you know.” She smiled at him, her eyes gleaming as much as his had. Maybe he would let her name it, she would do him proud if he did.

[Talys]

"Yes, yes. . .so those are the hills right there. . .and that's the badlands. . ." Talys frantically murmured to himself as he compared his map with the small screen of his newfound toy. "Then that means I need to go there. . ."

The warrior was hunched over the rectangular paper, shaking with thrill and excitement. He dipped his hand down to an open wound torn into his leg and marked several points on the map with crimson blood, reveling in the brief masochistic moment. It was hard for him to focus on the plans, but they were nearly complete. If he wanted to go through with this it had to be done right.

"Moving there would give me the perfect vantage point for the area here. . .if only I had that fucking gun."

Mentioning the missing shotgun caused his heart to race. Images of the previous fight flew through his mind on the wind of memory. The terrified looks on his opponents faces when he pointed and fired the gun, the way the old saiya-jin squirmed with the hypodermic needle rammed through his neck, even the way the wind rushed past his own head just before he slammed into the ground brought a great smile to his face. Fear, helplessness, and pain. Three things that, no matter who the victim, this warrior lived for. God damn it he was fucked up.

"If I had that fucking gun I'd mow through these people like nothing. . .but no that fucking saiya-jin had to surprise us all. . .Well, we'll have to do this the fun way then."

He looked back to the red fluid spattered paper spread on the ground. A steady drip of blood had fallen from his mouth during his narration and the map was becoming partially illegible.

"That could be a long run," Talys muttered, measuring out the grid. "Judging by my current pace it could take up the better part of six hours. . .that should bring it to close to eleven o'clock of day two. . .Perhaps this time I'll see the action."

The deranged youth folded up the diagram and stuffed it into his bag. He then stooped down and grabbed eighteen stones from the dirt at his feet.

"One for each alive," The muttered, throwing all but one into a smalled pouch of the bag. "This one for me."

With a slight wince, the human thrust the rock into his wound, soaking it with blood. He wrenched it out again and slid it into the combat wrappings near his heart.

The ritual completed, Talys turned his back on the sun, hanging near its set in the west. With a sick determination, the competitor stalked off, the innocence of the day before stored calmly in the plastic console buried in his bag. The time of death was near. Be it his or another's, the thought made blood pound in his ear. He definitely would be attending this game in years to come.

[Bardock]

Violet nodded, and the two saddled up and moved on. Dusk was upon them, and they moved quickly as the shadows stretched and gave their lithe forms cover. Bardock felt the hard concrete beneath his feet soften and give way to lush, fertile soil. Gone was the cold metallic realm of stagnant silence. His scouter displayed the data of their movements, the primitive and basic scanner always on the lookout for bodies of energy. Now that his mind was somewhat refreshed from sleep, he could concentrate on thinking a couple of more moves ahead in this fatal little chess game. Only half the pieces left, and the saiyan couldn’t recall hearing too many names that were really much of a threat anyway. That worried him. The little fish were being eaten by the big fish, and that left a lot of sharks in the shrinking pond. His willingness to fight wasn’t a question, he just felt a little unprepared.

Bardock carefully recalled his previous runs in the tournament. His second year, he’d run in a large group. There had been safety in numbers, but the risk that ran with that had proved to ultimately be his undoing. The warrior scratched that example. His third year he’d run by himself, with a proven victory. Bardock tried to recount each move and what had led to his successes. That little device had certainly come in handy, but he didn’t have that little device now. All he had were his eyes and ears, and those were painfully limited in their ability to locate another’s presence abroad.

We need something, he decided. We need better weapons.

The medical kit still had a few supplies left, and they had some decent armaments. But it wasn’t going to be enough, Bardock decided.

Fuck…why can’t we just find somebody already? he mentally growled. It just
wasn’t right. A hunter without prey was hollow and empty. Two fights…only one kill. There needs to be more. Those bastards out there are probably praying they don’t run into me, hiding like cowards.

Hell, he even wondered what Raditzu was up to right now. His son certainly wouldn’t miss this, and Bardock had not heard his name listed off among those killed in action. The patriarch snorted. He was probably off befriending another crab or something. What was that other one called? Pincer McNabber or something? Pinchy McGrabby? He couldn’t remember. It had been completely stupid.

Bardock and Violet made leaps and bounds across the plains, their bodies moving smoothly and harmoniously. They had no use of Ki Sense, and were essentially running blindly. However, something in the back of Bardock’s mind told him they weren’t going in the right direction. The saiya-jin got her attention and jerked his head over his shoulder.

What’s up? she asked telepathically.

Let’s double-back. Go around, he thought, making sure the words were crisp and clear in his mind as he himself was unable to project them back to the human.

She smiled and nodded. She was getting quite good at her new ability.

We’ll take a break in a bit and then keep going. Eyes open! he added.

Not only did she not need to be told twice, she didn’t even need to be told once. Ever since this morning, she wanted this just as badly as he did. Bardock’s eyes darted quickly and easily as he mentally noted a possible place for good cover: a hollow in the middle of a clearing. He skidded to a stop, and Violet followed his cue.

Bardock delicately sniffed the air. “I smell…blood…”

His companion grinned, lust for battle evident in her eyes.

“…lots of blood…” he added, taking another whiff, deeper this time. “Fresh. Real close.”

He could barely contain his excitement as a shiver coursed through his spine. These were good signs, and would prove either to be a big score, or a serious let-down. Bardock tensed up, letting his muscles seize and relax as he cracked his neck. He reached into his bag and grabbed his water bottle. Thin trickles of the cool liquid dribbled down his chin as he greedily gulped the last of its contents and finally exhausted his supply. He was going to have to get more if he didn’t want to go thirsty.

“You wanna know something about me?” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stuffed the empty bottle back in.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“This might be it,” Bardock answered, nodding his chin to indicate the path before them. “If there’s somebody out there, I intend to really feel it.”

He looked at her, his charcoal eyes flashing turquoise. She cocked an eyebrow. She remembered how dangerous he’d been when he lost himself to the power of a Super Saiyan. The human recalled the pain inflicted during their spar, but didn’t know much about the secret transcendence of the sons of Vegeta-sei. Only that it fucking hurt…a lot.

Bardock smiled, sensing her reaction, and his pupils lost their teal glow. The giddiness was welling up. The fighter felt like having some real fun. After waiting for so long, he deserved it. He began to walk towards her, the smirk growing. On impulse, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. She seemed startled, and he began pulling her backwards, leading her to follow. Her feet shuffled awkwardly, so he let go and jumped backwards and away.

“Let’s go kill someone!” he called over excitedly, and then he turned around and sprinted to what might lie in wait.

[Reijin]

Continued from: http://www.cdbzrpg.com/forum/showpost.ph...ostcount=2

She really couldn't understand his drunken babbling when what he was describing sounded like a very bad summer blockbuster. He was trying to insist that this was a sound battle strategy to win Dante's Abyss, but after the mention of zombies rising from the ground to defeat the dragon followed by ninjas running out from pirate ships docked at the beach, she really had no way to take him seriously.

Nothing could have told her of what a Saiyan's drunken imagination could bring either. He had picked up a bottle of yet another heavy drink as he jabbed at the pile of sand that had by now become a jumbled pile of simply bottles and sand. It didn't even slightly resemble any of what he said it was by now.

"And now," he proclaimed, taking another swig of the alcohol. "Its time to go forth and prepare the troops!" Shrugging off her protests, he pushed himself up, slamming his head into a table that he'd managed to dig himself under. "Ow!" he grumbled, poking the table halfway with his pitchfork. "You are no zombie you drrrunk!" he slurred, bursting into laughter at his discovery of what he believed to be a drunken table. He climbed out from beneath the table and rose to his feet, using the pitchfork for balance as he stumbled over to the ladder.

"Time to... go forth... troops to prepare the troops!"

He very carefully placed on hand up on the rung of the ladder and placed his pitchfork into his mouth, holding the pole between his teeth as he began to climb up it while trying to hold the bottle in one hand. Each limb slowly shifted up the ladder, one after another, as Jun'ai just watched dumbfounded at the man she'd come to as her last resort from within his mind.

"Mmmhmmhmmm!" he blabbered, having no realization of the pole blocking his tongue. However, determined he'd had a very good plan, he continued climbing the ladder, reaching up to push against the trap door. It didn't immediately move and he nearly lost his balance on the ladder, dropping the bottle to the ground before catching his grip. He looked down and mourned the loss of his bottle before looking back up at the adversary before him.

Shaking his head at the door, he climbed up a few more steps before thrusting his weight hard against the door, forcing into it. The door swung open hard to meet incoming rain and hard shoreline winds as they rushed into him.

Reijin, you can't be this stupid! Get your ass back into the shelter right now, there is a very heavy storm in this spot and its either going to blow over or head inland. You need to get us back down there and you just... pass out or something! She was irate, having just gotten fed up with his antics, but he paid her no attention. He grabbed the pitchfork from his mouth and then spat at the bad taste, growling a moment before climbing up into the wet sand around him.

In nothing more than his boxers, Reijin charged the ocean, watching the waves play roughly in the distance as he stumbled through the sand, falling down only to get back up and charge once more. Overhead, the storm got worse. Thankfully the wind was now blowing hard enough that the rain was blowing over the cellar entrance without flooding the room itself. In these circumstances, Jun'ai questioned whether the wind blowing this hard was actually a good thing.

"The troops! Their ship there! There is their ship they're own!" he cried completely moronically. "We just have to reach soldiers... Trogdor... Soldiers have Trogdor on ship... Burn fire... Ha HA girly man!" he cackled maniacally as his feet reached the wettest areas of the shoreline, the tide rushing out.

[Violet]

Two bodies. Still warm, still….fresh. She knelt beside the lilac haired male, whose face was slack in his death mask. A little worn from what appeared to be a very tough battle, but other than that, it just looked like he was sleeping. Her fingers grazed along his cheek, pushing back the delicate spray of hair from his cheek, smiling as the tips came away with blood. “Oh, yes, I think we just hit paydirt, baby.”

Bardock’s face brightened at the prospect. Soon, all this waiting would come to an end, and perhaps a few more notches could be added to his axe. It made a warm feeling swell in his stomach as he watched the mangled corpse of the younger man laying beside a blood splattered rock. His scouter flitted to life as three more blips appeared on its tiny screen. “There is more, much more.”

Excitement welled within her, and she giggled with glee. She sprung to her feet and launched herself at the smirking man, her legs locking around his torso, arms snaking around his neck. For that one moment, she didn’t care that she was invading his personal space one bit, in fact, his closeness just heightened the high she was already floating on, her body one pulse beat of anticipation as his arms wrapped around her waist and held her against him.

“We’ve waited patiently all this time, and finally we’re on the right track!” she purred. “When this is over, there’s going to be one hell of a celebration.”

“This is a little distracting;” he grunted, lowering her to the ground none too easily. He reluctantly let her drift away, but her closeness remained, the earthy scent of her implanted itself into his senses, mingling with the sweet smell of freshly spilled blood. “Check the body for weapons while I look around.” He instructed, then turned around to begin his search.

Violet nearly floated back over to the body, studying its disheveled state. As her gaze drifted wantonly back up to his face, she noticed the obscene shape of his skull, and the spill of something grey covered with a clearish liquid shimmering on its bubbly surface. “That looks like it hurt;” she commented, once again squatting down for a better observation. A quick frisk produced nothing but the lint in his pockets, but even though she was just a little disappointed, the thrill of fresh death, and the possibility of more victims nearby trumped the hell out of any misgivings she had on the situation.

A crackle of thunder behind her made her jerk her head around. A wall of slate colored clouds rolled closer, looming on the edge of the forest like a malevolent god, its winds stroking the tops of the treetops like a massive hand running along the crowns of wheat. The storm pressed its heavy presence upon them, lightening webbing throughout the grey body, reaching clear across the sky. Thunder rumbled the ground beneath her, and she knew that they needed to find some kind of shelter from the impending threat.

She reported to Bardock once he made a roundabout of the perimeter, and although he was just as disappointed as she about not having found a weapon, the one thing that did brighten their mood was that another body had been found, the scent of others heavy upon her stiffening flesh.

The hunt had begun with the ominous crackle of thunder above them as their auras swept around their sun-kissed bodies.

[Android-18]

“I’m walking on sunshine, woah oh,” The android’s melodic voice filled the air, much to the Saiya-Jin’s surprise. He perked up, and sang only.

“And don’t it feel good? HEY, alright now!” At this the girl turned to her partner raising a brow. “What? I can sing too, you know. Usually only in the shower, but you started…and I love that song.” He shrugged and then grinned at her. The blond laughed and smiled back at him. It sure was a catchy song, so she continued, with her backup singer in tow.

“I saw this place when I first got on the island. There should be food here, I hope. If anything it should have a nice place to rest if we need it.” She explained as they passed a single lone tree upon the land they were roaming.

“Don’t you know it,” he nudged her playfully and she batted at him. “All work and no play, Eighteen.” He said with a mock frown.

“Make’s Raditzu a dork, I know.” She finished for him.

“Hey, now that’s just mean!” He shot back, but the android was already running off from him in the direction of their objective. It was a small house with another building not far from it. Even smaller shack’s sat in the vinicity, but they were not of concern. She jogged toward the pleasant looking home and stopped at the door. It took a few moments for the long haired wonder to catch up to her.

“Well, aren’t we going in?” he asked breathlessly.

“Shouldn’t we knock? It would be rude to just walk in.” She bit lightly upon her bottom lip.

“Babe, there’s no one here. Its abandoned, and for good reason. This entire island is a battlezone,” he gestured to encompase the entire land in which they were living for the time. Civilians did not partake in Dante’s Abyss. He walked past his better half and opened the door. He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter, “Ladies first.” A smug grin played against his lips.

The house smelt musky, and dry. It was old fashioned, with a dull wallpaper covering the walls. The furniture had a wealthy coating of dust on it, the android traced a line in it as she walked by one paticular desk. The hall led them toward a kitchen, similarily decorated. A doorway led to a large room, likely the living room, and from there a hall led to a set of stairs. A bathroom was on the oppsite side of the hall they stood in. A backdoor connected with the kitchen, the door was shut and seemingly locked. Raditzu took towards the living room while she stepped into the kitchen.

A creaking noise filled the room, and she let out a sigh, “Figures, the tap doesn’t work.” She turned from the sink and made her way to a set of cupboards. She found various cans within, labled like in any market. She poked through them, her eyes lighting up. She left the doors open as she roamed to the fridge, but its contents were moldy and the smell was revolting. She closed the door and went back to the canned goods. Further rummaging rewarded her with an old fashioned can opener. She set that upon the counter and went to find the Saiya-Jin.

She finally found him upstairs, the bedrooms were all open, and he was found laying upon a large bed covered in floral blankets. “Hey, so what do you want for supper? Beans or, well, canned corn?” she asked. It was better than bread, that was for sure!

“How about we think about that later?” He hopped up, and before she knew what was happening she was upon the bed staring at the aged ceiling. He planted kisses along her neck, and then about her face. She giggled and squirmed.

“How about we just cuddle, Rad?” She asked, and looked up at him as he ceased what he was doing.

“Oh, that’s what I had in mind. Yeah.” He cleared his throat and scooted off of Eighteen before pulling her into a spooning position. The bed was comfortable, she couldn’t deny that. It sure beat sleeping on a floor. “How long are we cuddling for?” his voice cut into her thoughts.

“You can’t put a time on cuddling.” She sighed happily and clasped his hand.

[Kirano]

A part of me was telling myself to end Zangya’s life…but I couldn’t. Damn it.

Kirano was unsure about this. Had he let her live because of Aero’s intentions to give her a slow death, or had he let her live simply because he could not pull the trigger towards her gut? Perhaps there was another reason. Was he supposed to feel gutted that he did not end her life, or relieved?

“Kirano, don’t kill me.” Those words echoed in his mind, as he continued to picture the incident that left Zanya lying on her back, beaten, bloody, and begging for mercy. Begging for her life to be spared put a smile on the hybrids face. Her emotional appeal made him feel in control, gave him power, authority over her. It was his awareness that he had the power to end her life at any given moment with the simple snap of his fingers. It was as if she was on a life support machine and he was standing over her resting place. Kirano visualized the scene, his hands slowly reaching towards the machine that was keeping her alive. He laughed gently as the women who realized what he was about to do, slowly shook her head, silent tears of despair running down her cheeks.

“You want me to let you live, Zangya?”” he asked, with a sadistic grin, eyes gleaming down towards the helpless woman who had a dozen wires attached to her body. She continued to slowly shake her head, but this time, while quivering quietly.

“Beg.”

She continued to quiver.

“I,” he said, as his hands slowly slipped away from the plugs connecting the machine to her body, “guess I’ll let you live a little longer.” The relief of being spared caused her to slip out of consciousness. “Pathetic,” he said quietly, gazing at the tears formed around her shut eyes, and then making his way towards the entrance door of the hospital room. Kirano stepped foot out the room, into a pitch black corridor. Before he would leave, he had once last thing to say. He therefore turned around from the darkness, attention towards the female ader. “I’ll be back.” He then released mumbles of laughter as he turning back around, closing his eyes while embracing the darkness.

Kirano, whose body was stained with dry blood from the incident with Zangya, lifted his head towards the sky while his eyes were closed, inhaling Dante’s air with a delightful smile. The fear on the aders face as she begged him not to pull the trigger one last time was the reason for the good feeling. Knowing she feared death filled him with the utmost satisfaction. Without a shadow of doubt he believed she had been left traumatized by the event, wondering when Kirano would appear randomly to finish her off. It was like a horror movie, not knowing when the killer would emerge from the darkness to attack the terrified target, but this was no horror movie. This was even better; this was reality, a game of hide and seek. This game was his ultimate idea of fun, just what he needed in the competition in order to feed his needy appetite. His situation with Zangya was indeed hide and seek. He had giving her time to hide, and intended to seek her out when the time was right.

[Aero]

“So our ride together comes to an end, eh Cel?” Aero softly spoke as he held the saiyan in his arms (the shotgun he had acquired—taken—from Uno was tucked into the backside of his pants). “It was a hell of a ride, wasn’t it? We went through a lot fights together—took on two of the strongest competitors and lived to brag about it.” Blood soaked Celipa’s corpse, staining Aero’s own clothes, but he didn’t mind. She was his ally, she was loyal to him. “You were a good partner, babe, I tell ya that. Hell of a partner. I wouldn’t have traded our relationship for anything.” Uno had left a shotgun wound on back of his thigh, almost ripping his hamstring in two. It was painful, but for the time being Aero ignored the pain. It wasn’t adrenaline that helped him tolerate the injury, but rather his lack of focus on it.

Kirano looked from afar, his arms folded across his chest. His body was a silhouette in the dusking day, his shadow outstretching to the feet of Aero. He had left the battle unharmed; only injured by the fatigue of his transformation. The pistol was still in his hand, lingering off of a few fingers. He knew Celipa as well, but would say his farewell after Aero had his time alone with her. It was a part of Dante’s Abyss which he had learned earlier. You were going to lose friends, going to develop mistrust. None of it was personal or business. It was simply survival. Simply D.A.

Aero closed Celipa’s eyelids and trotted off with her a few steps. “Hey, look, I’m actually letting my guard down. Fuckin bastard, you’re turning me into a sobbing bitch. “ A lone tear ran down the side of his cheek. He was prepared for fighting, and prepared to meet his own maker; but nothing hurt him more than having another die while under his care. Bluntly, he had failed her. He tried not to think of her misfortune, but rather the struggles that brought them closer together. “Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be all right now.”

He laid her body down next to a rock which towered more than it bulked, and stared down at her. She had experienced a lot of pain throughout the competition—a bummed jaw, a lung wound, and a shot from the shotgun that he now had in his possession. Now it was time for her to rest—finally. That gave him slight pleasure, knowing that she would finally be all right. He wasn’t the type to feel emotional attachment—especially to females, which he often used simply for pussy and occasional head—but he had with her. Their joint venture was one that he cherished. Though he kept her safe the entire completion, he didn’t deem it as a tedious chore. He knew, now, that if he were in her position she’d have done the same. That brought him comfort. With a faint sigh he knelt down and took the fork from her stiffening grasp (rigor mortis was already beginning to take hold of her). He shoved it into his blood-stained pants, grabbing the shotgun from his back afterwards, slinging it over his shoulder.

He turned to look at Kirano, whose figure was becoming increasingly shaded by the approaching darkness that the sun had ceded to. “So, we haven’t really met,” he said, walking towards the fellow human. “I’m Aero.” He stuck out an open palm. Kirano put his pistol back into his pocket and shook Aero’s bloody hand. The pain from the gunshot wound was finally beginning to settle in. He grunted. The pain was that of a burning sensation. He was lucky that the shot was taken from such a long range. If he would have been closer Uno might have been able to take his entire leg off.

“Kirano,” he replied. The two stared at each other, not with trust or loyalty, but respect. Their relationship was nowhere near the strength of Aero’s and Celipa’s, but respect was something that they could offer each other. That was all that was necessary for their partnership. They were both aware that, at this point, their need for each other was now greatened.

[Zangya]

…He had left her, all on her own.

In the rain, the pavement shines like silver. She reached back to her wanderings in the city—he had always been there, rain or shine, to guide her along her path. She had allowed herself to get close to him, to trust him, to love him, and even through his disappearance, those feelings lingered. All the lights are misty in the river. She looked down at the ocean which crashed violently on the rocky shores—it was the closest thing they had to a river, and the moon bore no clear reflection. Perhaps she could be baptized in this water, cleared of any sins she had done to her friends throughout this brutal competition?

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight. Her mind went back to the walks they’d had in the forest, and Aero’s misguided directions—Aero… And all I see is him and me forever and forever. She looked up, and saw him. Gokua. He stood there, looking down at her, a solemn look upon his face. “I cannot stay.” These simply words were killer to her, and her expression asked why, because her lips were unable to form words. “They have only allowed me so much time with you, Zangya. I must leave. I must go back to the afterlife.” And I know, it’s only in my mind, that I’m talking to myself and not to him. But could he have really been there? She was beginning to believe fantasies that she had never known.

And although, I know that he is blind—still I say there’s a way for us. I love him, but when the night is over, he’s gone; the river’s just a river. Without him, the world around me changes. The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers. I love him, but every day I’m lonely. All my life, I’ve only been pretending! Without me, his world will go on turning. The world if full of happiness that I have never known…

“You have to trust me,” he said, beginning his parting words, “I love you. But I’m not allowed to be here with you for long.” He held her in his embrace, and she collapsed to her knees, pouring tears into his feet. “The Kaios, my Zangya—they’re keeping me in check. I have five more minutes.” Zangya’s face looked to him in wonder, and he could tell what she wanted to ask. “There are others here… others you can look to for guidance. I don’t have time to explain. You’re going to have to figure it out for yourself, I’m afraid.”

He left, and Zangya took off in the opposite direction, in a tearful run.

--------------------------------------

“And rest assured, eventually… they will kill you.”

A fearful Zangya darted off through the plains, escaping as fast as she could from them. Kirano’s kindness had given her back her life, even when she was not exactly sure that was what she wanted… did she want life or death? Did she want kindness, or forgiveness? Perhaps, in that moment, in that short moment when he spared her, Kirano had given her both.

“Kill them both.” Aero’s words cut through her like a sharpened knife, and they killed her on the inside. She had trusted him, and just like that, he had gone back against his word. Sure, she had killed Bojack, and for what—an emotional reason, perhaps. If Aero so understood women’s problems, perhaps he would have spared the child-carrying Zangya.

Shotgun shots had rung off from the other side of the field, and Zangya could tell that Uno had fought back. He wasn’t going down without a fight. But she feared for her comrades’ lives, for Aero’s, and Celipa’s—and then her mind reverted back to herself, to her love that had abandoned her shortly before the time she needed him the most. “You’re going to have to figure that out on your own.” Then, she remembered what he was talking about.

“I trust him,” Gokua had told her, “And so should you.”

Aero.

OOC: Once again, lyrics = "On My Own" from Les Miz.

[Hellfighter 17]

‘Alright, contestant,’ Seventeen started, showing a large smile for the non-existent audience, a sparkle emanating from the pearly whites, ‘first quuu-whestion!’ The android then threw the first card to the ground, where a turtle happened to be, and it started to chew on the card. ‘How many dozen are ...’ he started, but paused to allow excitement to grow; the audience began to audibly draw in a breath, and once they quieted, Seventeen squatted down and started to pet the turtle. Orion thought he heard a couple utterings of ‘cute’ and ‘whose my wittle baby,’ but he was not quite sure. ‘...in a dozen.’

For such a simple question, Orion looked at his puzzling companion quite quizzically, as though he was asked to derive the theory of everything. After a couple of seconds, he said, with an air of obviousness, ‘One.’

‘Oooh, sorry,’ the android said, queuing the audience to give sigh. The saiyan’s mouth dropped a bit, and his lone eye took on a look of utter confusion, as much as a single eye can pull off, that is. ‘Although that is the correct answer to the question I posed to ya-ou, you forgot to buzz in. Let’s hope you think better next time, eh?’ Orion was not angry, nor was he confused—he was merely surprised by how logical and pedantic the ravenette had demonstrated himself to be. ‘Alrighty, then, it is time for your second question, pal-erino. What is the function of the female breast in mammalic species?’

Now, not to demean his experience with the boob, but Orion had to think for a bit on this one. He opened his mouth, but with a fake grin to his host, he patted the buzzer.

‘Yes! Contestant number one, what is your answer?’ Seventeen said slicking back is hair even more.

‘To feed her offspring until they can consume other food,’ the one-eyed warrior said, with bridled confidence.

‘That is correct! We also would have accepted the answers “Chew toy” or “Hand rest,” “Chew toy” or “Hand rest.” ’ A ding sounded off, its origin at Orion’s score counter, and the audience clapped astoundingly at its sight. When Orion looked down, his eyes fell upon the sight of his score, which appeared to be the square root of two. His brow furrowed, but, thinking about it, decided it best not to question this. ‘Now, I know it has been a long, gruelling contest so far, but it is almost over. The final question is here!’ Three questions seemed quite unorthodox to the saiyan, but he wanted this to be over and done with. ‘Is it pronounced “ep-i-tome” or “a-pit-o-me”?’

The word was lost on Orion—he knew he had heard it before, but could not quite pin that moment. Hitting the buzzer, he decided to try to outsmart Seventeen, which seemed either impossible or too easy in this world, and said, ‘Neither.’

‘That is,’ the android started, pulling his head back slowly and opening his mouth little bit by little bit, allowing the audience to go into a collective gasp, ‘correct!’ Woops and jeers could be heard from the non-existent crowd, nearly making the ding of the scoreboard inaudible. Upon a good look, one could see that it clearly said “e,” which was good enough for Orion.

Seventeen made a wide, sweeping gesture with his arms and smiled that gleaming smile of his. He looked over to the copy Seventeen, whom was picking his nose, and cleared his throat quite loudly. The clone darted up and started running towards Orion, not slowing down for a second. Eventually he jumped into the air and made for the saiyan, as though he wanted to be caught. This would have been all well and good, had the android not been stark naked. The one-eyed warrior quickly moved away, making sure to avoid touch any of the humanoid’s body. It soon became clear that Seventeen actually was trying to land on a chair, which was right next to the desk that Orion was sitting at. Orion licked his lips, which allowed him to feel a gap in his two front teeth, and he could feel that his hair was a bit different, and upon patting it, he found it was very short and curly.

Seventeen was now fully clothed in semi-formal attire, with one leg crossed. Some music began playing without a source, and a man on a microphone said in a high voice, ‘Welcome to the Late Show with Orion! His guest tonight is Seventeen, ladies and gentlemen!’

[Burter]

Face to Face

Bubb Rubb, Reijin

Bubb Rubb was still alive, by some miracle. Ever since his scuffle with Retane in the starting hours of the game, he had found a small cavern on the beach, far away from anybody. There, he was able to nurse his broken leg and remain camping out, listening to the announcements every six hours and discover he was beating people out every day.

Suddenly, he heard something to right. Thinking quick, he grabbed his man-made crutch and began to wobble on the sand, moving south away from the sound. It wasn't that he was scared, it was simply a gameplan in order to survive.

This time the sound was actually a physical attack in the form of a ki blast. Bubb turned around as the blast hit the ground near him, but he couldn't see who was stalking him. Surely, somebody was after him. But he had been living off of crab meat and saltwater, so getting into any form of scuffle, especially if they were like Retane, was a bad idea.

Bubb Rubb climbed up onto a small platform and continued to hobble away, hearing the continuing crackle of the energy blasts on the ground behind him. Finally, he managed to get to a higher ground, untouched by any of the attacks, and he spun around.

A saiyan warrior was watching him from the place he had originally been camped out at. Bubb backed up a few more steps, just in case the warrior was going to attack from this long distance.

Suddenly, a beeping sound came from under him. He looked down and saw nothing, but suddenly his neck began to vibrate. He raised his hand to the collar and his eyes went wide.

This saiyan, Reijin, was not trying to kill him straight on. He had lured him into a danger zone! He had--

Reijin watched with a straight face as Bubb Rubb's collar exploded, first covering his head and then his entire body.

#28 Bubb Rubb DEAD

15 Remain

[Android 17]

A heavy silence had lain in the air for the last hour or so, and despite the burgeoning sense of trust between the two warriors, neither of them had bothered to interject amidst the journey with small talk. The desert was now long behind them, and the terrain they had now entered into was a rolling expanse of knolls and other assorted prominences. It was a welcome change from the sweltering heat of the southern wastelands, although neither of the two warriors would be willing to admit to the immense physical discomfort they had been in for the last day.

“What happened to you skin,” Minoshia suddenly interjected, ending the perpetual silence of the last few hours. The remark caused the android to pivot on his heels to face the young konat, and with a furrowed brow, Seventeen lifted his hands up to his eyes.

“I’m blue,” the machine-hybrid mumbled, his eyes widening as he wrested with the impossibility of the situation. “Why am I blue?” Seventeen shouted, his azure digits clenching into tight fists as he turned his fiery eyes toward his mohawked cohort. For the life of him, Minoshia could do little more than cross his arms over his chest and stare at the android’s mutated physical complexion. With a scowl, the cybernetic warrior began to violently stomp the soft blanket of grass beneath him.

“Heh,” the konat remarked, his arms swinging back down to his sides as he walked away from the android. “Looks like you got something to work out, so I’m going to scope out the area for some new prey,” with that, Minoshia was gone, vanishing down the hill before the cyborg had a chance to interject.

“You know,” a new voice replied from behind the android. “You really shouldn’t throw a tantrum like a little child,” spinning around, Seventeen found himself staring into the eyes of his girlfriend. Paige was standing a few feet away, a coy smile spread across her delicate facial features. “Even are children are better behaved than you are,” she added, shaking her index finger at the android as she closed the distance between the two of them.

“Wh-what?” Seventeen stammered, leaning away from the woman as he tried to process the situation. “You can’t be here…I’m perfectly sane,” he added, his voice wavering as he scanned his surroundings for any signs that he had slipped into some sort of pseudo-reality or subconscious dream world. When he saw nothing but a lovely panorama of hills showered in the warming glow of moon, he found himself turning back to face the mother of his children.

“Yea…” Paige muttered—her voice a droning slur that was accompanied by a rolling of her vibrant green eyes. “You’ve never been mentally sound, love,” she replied, smiling coyly as she stepped forward and slid her arms around the android’s neck. “I’ve been watching you,” she whispered, placing her chin on her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Why are you here?” Seventeen rasped, his cold tone of voice wavering for the first time in nearly two days.

“To tell you that you’re a failure,” she whispered as she planted a soft, sensual kiss on the android’s ear. The remark caused Seventeen, who had spent the last day and a half fueled by rage and hatred, to falter for the first time. A snicker escaped the thin lips of the woman as she began to plant light kisses across the android’s neck. “You don’t have what it takes to make it in the abyss, lover. You think you can just take on this big, bad boy moniker and vow you’re going to strike down your friends, but in the end, you’ll fold like the big ole woman you are. Look at you, you try to be all jolly about killing Bujin, yet you’re girly subconscious is trying to take it out on you.”

“Shut up,” Seventeen murmured, his lips quavering as he fought to ignore the woman’s words. “You don’t know me,” he mumbled, his voice a frail whisper as he stared at the moon. As he tried to fight against the desire to break down, he took the woman by the shoulders and pulled her out in front of him. “Stop tormenting me,” he shouted, his eyes starting to flicker with a primal fury.

“I know you better than anyone, lo—” the woman’s words were cut off by the sound of bones breaking. A gasp escaped Paige’s small mouth as her eyes fell down to see the forearm of her boyfriend jutting through her thorax. “Well played,” she murmured sadly as a trail of blood began to trickle down the corner of her mouth.

“I don’t need you, so stay out of my way,” the android growled, leaning forward and planting a kiss on the woman’s blood-stained lips. On that note, he wrenched his arm free from her innards and shoved her to the ground. With a thud, Paige hit the ground and simply blinked out of existence.

“What the hell is going on?” Minoshia shouted, having heard the android’s shouts and rasps from the bottom of the hillside. As the konat reached the apex of the hill, he noticed that his partner was glaring at the ground with a strange sort of animalistic fury. “You’re skin is normal,” the dark prince muttered, rolling his eyes as he filed the situation away as one of the android’s bizarre tangents. “Could probably do for a tan, but meh…”

“Let’s go,” Seventeen said, looking down at his bloody forearm. Despite standing only a few feet away, Minoshia was seemingly oblivious to the gore that stained the android’s arm. “I…I-I need to hurt something,” he growled as small flames of red ki began to glow to life around his body.

[Minoshia]

“Let’s go,” Seventeen demanded in a particularly furious tone. He was staring at his forearm; apparently looking at something that was invisible to the Konat. Minoshia left it alone, seemingly oblivious to the nonexistent gore that lined the android’s arm. “I…I-I need to hurt something.” He growled the words through clenched teeth, his aura simmered around his body – waves of heat pulsating out from his being, glowing red energy slowly formed from the heat. Finally, the fervor gave way to an explosive cocoon of red flames that wrapped tightly around the machine’s hull and he stormed out into the wild – a primitive anger trailing behind him as he marched into the brush determined to kill. The Konat let a sadistic smile spread his lips and nodded a few times, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck from side to side as he did so.

“Okay then.” He took off in a darting job, following the angry trail of the hybrid warrior. He had become particularly amused with his partner’s antics, in fact he was borderline pleased. This entire competition had been taking everything he had previously known about the android warrior, and turned it upside down. After a short while he came to an even position with Seventeen, falling in beside his tenacious gait. The perpetual silence fell over them again, an umbrella protecting them from the hostility of their conversations. A fire burned in the eyes of the raven haired gladiator, the steadfast darkness that was slowly blackening his soul showing itself to the world – making it’s presence known to their competition, should any of them be watching. As time continued to pass by, the dark prince began to see more of himself in his nemesis. It intrigued him in a way that few things could. As for himself, the flames had remained lit in Minoshia’s own charcoaled eyes for a majority of his time in the Abyss; nothing remained of his soul save a dark, rotted pit.

The sun filled sky had given away to the moonlight once more, the dominating patron of the night sky returning for the second evening on this island. The cool air brushed over their bodies, the breeze picking up slightly as they marched on into the darkness. There were few stars out tonight, and cloud cover acted as a veil over the giant bulb floating in space above their position. There was something about the blackened sky that made him want to rip someone’s innards from the trunk of their body. Seventeen had his personal reasons to desire a kill, and Minoshia simply wanted to entertain himself – and, of course, at the end of this tournament he wanted to be the one man to remain atop the mountain, the sole victor of the Abyss.

[Android 17]

As the twosome walked along the series of hills and valleys, they took little time for small talk. A couple of feet away, Minoshia was busy scanning the surroundings and gazing up at the diminutive number of stars that managed to shine through the small veil of clouds that hung low overhead. The other member of the unorthodox twosome—Seventeen—was busy staring at his bloodstained arm.

The android had tried several times to wash his hands using some of the extra bottles of water he had lifted from those clods earlier in the competition. But try as he might, the liquid just washed over his fingers and splashed soundlessly against the thick grass being crunched beneath Seventeen’s boots. After the fourth bottle of water, the machine-hybrid found himself wrought with an overwhelming frustration.

“Get off of me!” He suddenly screamed as his trembling fingers snaked up his arm and dug into the ensanguined white cloth of his undershirt. With a brutal, shaking motion, Seventeen ripped the bloodied sleeve of his the shirt off and threw it at the ground. Before the torn cloth had a chance to flutter to the earth, the android erased it from existence with a blatantly excessive blast of ki.

“Hah!” Seventeen shouted—the man’s voice a manic shriek as he stared at the ashes that were being scattered to the winds. “I win, so you can just go fuck yourself!” With an insane titter, the android jutted his index finger toward the quickly dissipating cloud of ash and smoke. The frenzied smile that had spread across the raven-haired warrior’s visage quickly began to falter as his eyes dropped down to his now shirtless forearm. To the almost suffocating dismay of the android, the skin that been underneath the sleeve was drenched in the nondrying blood.

“Nice try, kiddo,” spoke the callow voice that had tormented the android’s thoughts for the majority of the game.

“Not now,” Seventeen hissed, oblivious to the fact that the voice wasn’t originating from the twisted depths of his subconscious. After all, the cybernetic warrior was too busy clenching his bloodied forearm with his left hand and twitching to pay attention.

“Don’t fall apart on us now, champ,” the voice added as a cold hand fell upon the cyborg’s shoulder.

“I didn’t say you could touch me, Minoshia,” Seventeen rasped, his voice a deep growl as he spun to confront what he believed to be the konat. Unfortunately for the android, as he batted away the white hand and turned to confront who he thought to be his mohawked traveling partner, his entire view of reality became horribly skewed. Instead of the dark prince of the konats, Seventeen found himself staring at an unkempt, scarred version of himself.

“What the fuck?” The android shouted, drawing his boomerang from his belt and preparing to disembowel the impossibility standing just a few inches from him. “You’re not real!” Seventeen screamed, his hand shaking so violently and erratically that he could have passed off as an epileptic.

“I will be,” the now embodied presence snarled, his lips curling up into a Cheshire grin as he rubbed his pale, clammy hands together. “All good things in time!”

“I’ll fucking crush you!” The machine-hybrid wailed, his voice laden with fear as he shut his eyes and desperately pleaded that he had passed out and was knee-deep in a nightmare. “Just get the hell away from me,” the android added, clenching his eyes tightly shut as he clung to his hopes.

“What the fuck are you screaming about?” The cold, apathetic roar of Minoshia caused the cyborg to snap out of his mania and back into the degenerated reality that housed the abyss. Opening his eyes, Seventeen found himself staring down at the frenzied form of the konat prince, who had drawn his baseball bat some time ago and seemed on the verge of concussing the android.

“I…” Seventeen mumbled, his weary eyes scanning his surroundings for any sign of the liberated presence. “Apologize,” he added weakly, his voice almost a whisper as he glanced down at his ensanguined arm. The vibrant, red blood of his girlfriend had run deep—staining not just the outer layer of his skin but also his very soul. It was a gruesome testament to the corruption of the abyss.

Seventeen let out a faint sigh and clenched his bloody fingers into a fist. Above everything else, he had to win; he couldn’t let his tournament erode all he stood for and then shit him out like he was some worthless, washed up hack. He had to conquer…he had to prove to any and all of the doubters that his rage burned stronger than the abyss itself. He couldn’t stop until nothing remained but the roar of his hatred.

“Oh,” Minoshia grumbled, tugging the android away from his thoughts for a fleeting moment. The konat lowered his baseball bat down to his side and stared at Seventeen, who looked just as uncomfortable in this situation as he did. “Just do not fucking let that happen again, it’s irritating,” he added, his words stinging with a fury that said a little bit forced, as insane as the possibility seemed.

Seventeen simply nodded his head and let his bloodstained arm swing down to his hip. There wasn’t much of a need for any more senseless small talk between the warrior, so without any more delay, they continued down the hillside, their walking just a little bit slower as they both took the time to gaze upon the twinkling celestial bodies that dotted the foggy night sky. They both knew that when the sun finally regained its control of the skies that the killing violence would return in spades. When that time finally came, there would be no time for these little pleasantries.

[Minoshia]

This guy is fuckin’ nuts, straight-up off the reservation insane. Next time we’ll have to knock him out or something, maybe it’ll shake some sense into him. Minoshia pondered to himself as he watched the android, marching in his determined stride towards victory. He was starring at the sky now, admiring their beauty much like the child had done before. He had to admit, pairing with someone who could rival his insanity was refreshing – it made him feel normal, which was very rare for the Konat.

As the night stretched onwards into its short existence, the tension intensified within the estranged partnership. It was in no way hostile, or violent, but the perpetual silence that clogged the lines of communication between the two warriors bogged down the development of trust between the two. They were men standing on opposite sides of a canyon, reaching out towards each other to no avail. The tension that divided them had begun to fracture the strained alliance. The unnatural lack of violence, as well as the android’s insane outbursts and Minoshia’s overwhelming lack of patience coupled with a bad temper, was the catalyst for the widening of the division between them. And neither man was ready, or willing, to build a bridge and cross the gorge that separated the pair. More importantly, neither man really knew how.

Small talk wasn’t a forte of the child, and it Seventeen seemed to be too busy with his own thoughts to desire conversation. Prowling the depths of Dante just wasn’t cutting the mustard anymore, and small talk wasn’t the solution – the fact that conversation was even on the mental list of ‘things to do’ meant Minoshia was extremely bored. His head had started to scream with pain, again, and his anger was flourishing by the minute. He could feel his hand begin to twitch against his leg, his fingers drumming in terrible, almost epileptic rhythm. Sweat began to glisten across his furrowing brow, his ears twitching and his eyes darting to and fro, searching for a new victim. He needed his fix, and it would have to be soon.

“I need to kill something, anything…” Minoshia pulled the handle and flushed the thought from his mind, flowing out of his mouth like rushing water. He said it so calmly, without a care in the world, as if it was as normal as playing catch with your son, or going out to dinner. The raven haired warrior walking on his right nodded with agreement, a chuckle ringing from his voice as he did so. The Dark Prince hedged his bets on whether it was a chuckle of disbelief, in being so indifferent about killing, or simply a mindless, insane chuckle. The latter were common among men who had taken one too many steps on the plank of sanity, falling a long way into the wells of mind numbing lunacy. To Minoshia, an unbalance in the brain was just as effective as any weapon. It dulled the pain, except that which is inflicted on oneself, and when wielded by a master psychopath, like himself, it could be used as a tool to succeed.

The tandem may not have been the strongest pair on the island, and they probably weren’t the smartest, but they had one thing going for them – they knew that they were the most bat shit crazy mother fuckers in the Abyss, and nothing could stop them from achieving what they desired.

[Violet]

They scoured the outskirts of the grassy plains, the backdrop of the city falling against the inky black of sky. The sun had gone down long ago, and another night replaced the scorching heat of day. The storm pressed ever closer, the unmistakable acridity of rain heavy on the growing winds. They were sure that somewhere close by, there were bodies to be had. Their fruitless search however, only rendered disappointment and just the slightest hint of rage.

“I could have sworn there were living beings here;” her fingers touched the freshly upturned earth where footprints led out of the area. “They must have fled.”

“Something isn’t right here;” Bardock sniffed the air, his mind trying to weed out the subtle differences between the impending weather, and that of their prey. “They must have sensed us somehow.”

Thunder crackled across the valley, shaking the ground beneath them. Strong winds suddenly seized the land, fat droplets of rain plopping sporadically onto their skin. The air suddenly turned chilly with the threat of the storm, one that was surely going to be a very tumultuous event. They needed shelter. “So much for the celebration;” she mumbled, disheartened.

“There isn’t much celebrating when you’re on a battlefield;” he said, also noting the urgency for shelter. It wasn’t wise to stay out here in the open during a lightning storm; any other time, the reprieve from the parching heat would have been a welcome thing, but the danger of being hit by bolts of electricity enough to fry your innards wasn’t exactly exciting.

Shrugging, Violet cut through the knee-length grasses to stand in front of the imposing Saiyan. “I suppose it would be a good idea to stop for now, anyways. I don’t like the feel of these winds, and we still have to find something for dinner. Unless you feel like chomping on some bread, and I think I got a few bottles of water left I could share with you.” Her eyes dropped to the naked sprawl of his chest, watching as it rose and fell with each steady breath. “Besides, we haven’t had much sleep, and if we’re going to be able to fight effectively, I believe some R&R should be in order, yeah?”

Catching the subtle sparkle dancing across the azure plains of her eyes, he crooked a smile. R&R, eh? Didn’t sound like a bad idea to him, either.