[01] City Sector

[Sage]

Though surprised at the time, and more than a little apprehensive about traveling with friends in a contest where there could only be one winner, Sage was happy to see her friends. The girl knew it was best to stay alone for the duration, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts. They were... disturbing lately.

Kaden, and Sophia. She didn’t know much about the former, and still felt awful about what had happened to the latter. Between being consumed by thoughts of Kai and Sol, she didn’t have much energy left over to focus on whatever they were talking about. She answered some questions, and then the courier took off, leaving the two girls on the sidewalk of the eerie city.

“Y-You noticed it, too?” the blue haired girl inquired. Sophia arched an eyebrow at her. “The city... it’s empty. And it still makes noise.”

“Yeah, ...we noticed it, too, Sage,” the former priestess replied. She looked down one end of the street they were on, and then the other. If Friend or Foe had taught her anything, it was to avoid being complacent, no matter the situation. “It’s... creepy, that’s for sure.”

“The sounds bug me. B-Before you showed up, every time I heard a car horn or a cell phone ringing... or those voices, I kept having to stop and look around. I... thought I was going crazy,” the hybrid confessed.

Sophia watched Sage’s hands. The quarter saiyan had put down the ki rifle - which seemed two sizes too big for her, anyway - and kept her hands busy by nervously wringing them out. The blonde sighed. Didn’t seem too much had changed since she died. Still, Sophia felt she could understand. If Kaden hadn’t been there to tell her that he was hearing the bizarre, disembodied voices and sounds too, maybe she would have thought she was going crazy just like Sage did. So, she nodded with understanding, since there was little of relevance she could offer to the conversation.

“I... I shouldn’t have joined,” the doctor suddenly declared. “I entered for... for revenge. I knew what Dante’s Abyss was, and I entered anyway,” Sage began to pace to and fro, taking only one or two steps in either direction. Her hands were balled into fists and her face screwed up into a terribly distraught expression. “And what’s worse is I... I want it, Sophia. I want to make him hurt. I want to make him hurt like I did. I want him to see what he did to me, and I’m scared I’m going to do something horrible to make sure it happens.”

At this point, Sophia had no idea what Sage was talking about, and seeing how upset she was, was unsure about how to approach the situation. “Sage... who hurt you? What happened?” she softly questioned, making sure to come off as non-threatening as possible. Growing up in a temple made her pretty good at it. “You can talk to me, Sage.”

A veil of concern tightened the skin around the cryomancer’s eyes. She looked much more worried than usual, and Sophia didn’t think such a thing possible. The girl exhaled, a plume of steam evaporating into the night. She was ‘cooling off’ again. “I... never told anybody about this before... before now, I mean, um... except, e-except for my sister, and, um, but... uhm,” her voice cracked and she began to fidget about, as if she desperately had to go to the bathroom. Sage closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and held it for a moment, before continuing. “When I was...” she sighed. “When I was-”

“Hey, guys!!” came a cheery, effeminate voice, interrupting what was to be Sage’s revelation. Both turned to the sound with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, to see an excited Ashe running ahead of a goofy-grinning Kaden, who seemed a lot more chipper than his internal conflict would indicate.

To Sage’s surprise - and chagrin - the pink haired girl raced right up to her and tackled her into as close an approximation of a bear hug as someone as small as Ashe could do. With her arms pinned to her sides, Sage could do very little about it, except squirm uncomfortably.

Finally, the girl let her go, and flashed her a big, huge grin. Sage couldn’t help but smile back, turning red from embarrassment. “H-Hi, Ashe. I, um... I’m happy you’re okay. I’m just... sorry we had to meet during the tournament-”

“Nope. No bringing us down, Sage. We’re gonna get through this just like we- Sophia?!” she had completely shifted attention from the azure haired doctor to the dead girl.

“It’s... a long story,” came the priestess’ reply, trying to dodge the question that had come up so many times already. Instead, she glanced over to Kaden. “Is that mine?” she inquired, pointing to the ki rifle in his hands.

“Yup,” came the reply. Kaden handed the weapon over to Sophia, who grunted in surprise at how heavy the thing was. “I, uh, also brought her along,” he hooked a thumb in Ashe’s direction. “Is this when I ask if we can keep her?”

“Shut up,” the teenager retorted, punching Kaden in the arm. “So, what’s the plan, anyway? Just wander around and look for stuff?”

The group quieted down at the question, and for a few moments, they looked around, unsure of what to say. One by one, they noticed Sage standing there, eyes on the street, a hand holding her arm at the elbow. She seemed preoccupied.

“What’s up, Sage?” Ashe was the first to break the silence and ask the obvious question. Judging by the girl’s dark countenance, though, nobody was going to like the answer.

“The... rules for this year’s tournament are... different from the ones I’m used to. I’m not sure I... understand properly, but I think on a scheduled combat day, the participants in the fights in a given area are chosen randomly, and they’re forced to fight until somebody wins,” Sage explained. “With so many of us together, it’s hard to imagine...” the girl paused for a moment in an effort to collect her thoughts. So much of this year’s games seemed amiss. “To imagine that at least two of us wouldn’t be forced to fight each other.”

“Simple. We don’t,” Kaden retorted. “Who’s going to force us to kill each other?”

“They’ll... they’ll kill you for real if you don’t,” Sage explained. She waited for a moment, knowing that what she just said must have carried a fairly heavy impact. “If it’s anything like it used to be,” the girl tugged at the collar around her neck, and winced. The thing was chafing on her skin, and a red ring had formed beneath the coarse metal of the object. “These collars can kill us. Really kill us. We w-would be better off fighting each other and doing what Dukes wants, because then at least we wouldn’t die.”

The courier’s face immediately twisted into anger. “Are there any tournaments where the players aren’t forced to play the way some pompous douche bag wants them to? Or maybe even one where at least the players get to pick and choose wether or not to compete?”

“So, what are you saying, Sage?” Sophia interjected, both to get her own questions answered and to defuse Kaden’s growing aggravation. “That we shouldn’t be traveling together?”

“...Y-Yes,” the girl replied, dismally lowering her head.

“But we’d be walking around alone, then, not knowing where we’re going. That’s crazy!” Ashe protested.

“Not to mention suicidal,” Kaden agreed. “You’re sure there’s not a better way?”

“T-To guarantee we don’t hurt each other? ...No, I-I don’t think-”

“What if we split up?” the youngest one in the group interrupted. “Two and two, right? Pretty good odds we’re not stuck fighting each other, and we can still help each other out, too.”

Three sets of eyes fell on Sage. She felt like they were burning her, scalding her flesh. “I, um... o-okay,” she agreed. It seemed sensible, and although she knew she should just go off on her own, she wanted the company. It was hard to argue against having a friend with you in a frightening place when the alternative was to be completely alone. “But we should probably get to a bunker first, and then split up.”

“...Why?” Kaden raised an eyebrow.

“Please! You h-have to take this game seriously! We have to go the bunker to reset the timers on our collars. If it ever runs out, you’ll die!”

“And I’m betting the death is ‘for real,’ huh?” the courier folded his arms and frowned when Sage nodded in affirmation. “This Dukes guy is a real prick, you know that?” he set his jaw and turned away. “So where the hell do we find this bunker?”

“I... I don’t know,” Sage admitted. “I’m sorry.”

“I know where it is,” came a gravelly voice from the alley adjacent to them. The foursome leapt to the defensive as a man adorned in a battered, grey trench coat stepped out into the open. He was carrying a ki rifle, and the uniform beneath the dingy coat was clearly that of Dukes’ subordinates. Kaden picked up on it immediately, and the effulgent spheres in his hands showed how excited he was to see the man.

“And why the hell should we trust you?”

The man shrugged. “Because we’re in the same boat? Because you don’t have a fuckin’ choice? Dukes screwed me. I was supposed to get paid and get off this rock. I’m stuck here just like you; I didn’t know what was happening here. I bet you didn’t, either. Maybe I think if I can help you guys out, I can somehow redeem myself. Maybe I just want to piss Dukes off. What fucking difference does it make? I can take you to the bunker or you can all wait to get dusted. Come on, if we go, we go now. We don’t have much time.”

There was a moment of dissonance, but the group ultimately had no choice. The rebellious employee led the way, sprinting down the streets, and veering left and right at seemingly random intersections. The lot of them began to wonder if they were chasing the man into a trap.

- - - - -

They arrived at a museum, whose door had been replaced with what was clearly a door from a bank vault. “Intense,” Ashe exclaimed.

“No kidding,” Sophia agreed, as the quintet made their way toward it. Sage stuck close to the priestess, since Ashe was too close to the guard, and he seemed too... convenient. Still, they made it into the bunker, which, thankfully, was unoccupied, and closed the door behind them.

“Alright, that’s my job finished,” the corporate traitor suddenly announced, plucking a walkie talkie from one of his coat pockets. He thumbed the broadcast button and brought the receiver to his mouth. “All done here; pull me out.”

In a flash, the man was gone. “What-? He was playing us the whole time?!” Ashe shouted. “What an assho- whoa-!!”

It was no small wonder why she cut herself off. They were surrounded by supplies. Medicines, food, water, energy cells for their ki weapons, almost anything they could think of. Immediately, each of them took a duffel bag from the conveniently placed pile, and began stuffing them with whatever they thought they would need.

“So, about those collars,” Sophia said, slipping a canteen into her pack. “Have they been reset?”

“It sh-should be automatic, once we walked into the bunker. I... couldn’t really tell you for sure, though,” Sage replied.

“Well, that’s comforting,” the courier added. “Seemed real convenient that we were just led to a bunker, though, doesn’t it?”

Ashe pulled a stack of maps from a shelf and grinned. “Well, at least we won’t have to rely on help to find the next one,” she announced, passing out a copy to each one of them. “We might not be so lucky next time.”

“I’m wondering if we were too lucky,” Kaden grumbled.

“Well, there’s not exactly much we can do about it. Maybe Dukes wanted to keep us alive for now. We’d be pretty boring if we just died right away, wouldn’t we?” Sophia hypothesized. “It’s probably just as much to keep himself entertained. Or whoever’s watching this. Or whatever.”

“Right, I guess you’re right,” Kaden ran both hands through his hair. “So... how do we do this, then? Who’s going with who? How do we split us up?”

There was silence for a long time, and then Kaden realized it seemed that everyone had intended to rely on his decision. He sighed. “What if I go with Ashe?” he inquired. Sophia’s eyebrows knitted at the proposition. “Just... well, think about it. I’ve got ki sense, and that should keep me and Ashe out of trouble, for a bit anyway. Sage knows a bit about the way Dante works and you’re pretty good with energy, too,” he said this to the priestess. “It just makes sense.”

“Alright, then. I guess you’re right. I guess we should go right away, huh, Sage?” Sophia looked to the girl, who nodded, though her expression seemed disappointed. “Well... Kaden... good luck. It was good seeing you again. You too, Ashe.”

Ashe nodded, and then turned to Sage. “You don’t think I’m just gonna let you leave, do you?” she smirked, before embracing the medic. This time, Sage didn’t try to fight her. It was entirely likely that they might not see each other again for a long time.

Finally, they backed away from one another, and with another few awkward goodbyes, Sophia and Sage stepped out of the bunker and headed south, leaving two of their friends behind. It was hard not to look back, but they had to make good time, lest the vindictive game designers manipulate them in some horrible way.

We’ll still have to fight eventually, Sage silently conceded. But at least she didn’t have to hurt her friends now. Not yet. Not until there was no alternative.

“Whoa!” Sophia exclaimed. “Look at that!”

The duo ran ahead, to a bizarre scene. The city suddenly halted abruptly, and immediately beyond the razor edge of it - which even cut buildings in half - was a vast, thick forest. “This just keeps getting weirder.”

Ashe, Kaden, Sage, and Sophia entered the bunker in the City Sector.

Sage and Sophia moved from the City to the Forest.