11-10-2009, 09:03 AM
The ice cream shop was decently crowded for a mid-afternoon rush. Edward threw a casual look around at the various humans, aliens, and anthromorphs that were scattered around the many tables spaced out around the cafe.All of them were chattering away, and from what Edward caught in the snatches of conversation that floated over to his table, it was all about one thing: Dante's Abyss.
He glanced across the table at the young girl seated opposite him. More thoughts of the competition weren't exactly what he had had in mind when he had suggested that they go get a bite to eat.
Taking up his spoon, Edward scooped out another mouthfull of his hot fudge sundae. With as good as the food was, he wasn't surprised at all that the shop was so crowded on a weekday. "What's the matter, Little Yana? If you don't take a bite of your sundae it's going to melt."
"Mm," Sayana replied absently, fiddling with the cell phone in her lap and not looking up at him.
Edward tilted his head. "What you got, there?"
"Nothing," Sayana said, and closed the phone. "I was just wondering if, like, they were talking about it on the news. It's supposed to be starting now, right?"
"Oh?" Edward blinked. "You can get the news on that little thing?"
"Of course," Sayana actually giggled, "if you have wi-fi." She tilted her head. "You didn't know that, Mister Cog?"
Edward cleared his throat gruffly. "I've got better things to do than follow all those new-fangled contraptions. They make a new one every month. It's too hard to follow."
Sayana laughed again, then quieted. She slipped her phone back into the handbag slung over her shoulder and stared off into space.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Edward reassured her.
"I know," she said. "I just... I have a bad feeling."
"A feeling?"
"Uh huh." Sayana tucked a lock of her long hair behind an ear, frowning slightly. She seemed to be glaring so hard at her sundae that Edward thought it would shatter. Then, slowly, she shook her head and forced a smile. "But you're right. It's just a tournament, right?"
Sayana leaned over. Digging out a spoonful of her sundae, she brought it to her lips as a thick, melted stream of cream flowed down the icy slope. "Hibiki-kun can take care of himself."
"AVALAAANCHE!"
The snow under Belle's feet was trembling as he quickly spun around. Almost too quick, as it turned out; he nearly slipped and lost his footing before he could steady himself. Leaping was dangerous, but being afraid of something that might happen when he was for sure going to be buried underneath ten feet of snow unless he did something didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, even for him.
Jumping, Belle floated over twenty feet in the air before arcing back down towards the blanketed mountainside, the rushing flurry of falling snow hot on his heels. The distance between them widened as he jumped, but then closed almost instantly when he lande.
Gritting his teeth, Belle pushed on, bending and launching himself through the air. Every time he jumped, he could feel the snow slip even more under his feet. Not good, he thought; even if it was saving him for now, it was only a matter of time before his jumping slipped up and he ended up flat on his face with the avalanche bearing down on him. He wouldn't have time to react, much less leap out of the way.
Belle's heart beat a shuddering tatoo against his breast. He looked around, gritting his teeth against the stinging cold that jabbed at his eyes as he tried to ignore the rushing sound that was drowning out everything else. There were a couple uncovered rocks dotted around the slope, though they were widely spaced apart. Making his decision in the blink of an eye, Belle leapt up to the top of the nearest one and then immediately flung himself into the air.
His aim was right on target. Coming down on the next rock, Belle twisted and leapt again, zig-zagging across the path of the roaring avalanche. He had to cover more distance than when he was just going straight, but without having to worry about his footing, he was able to take much longer jumps, which more than made up for it. He was finally starting to gain some ground. If he could just get a little more...
"There!" he shouted, landing and jumping again just as the first blots of snow smacked against his ankles, flying away at an angle that would take him clear of the danger. Belle folded his arms and legs, dropped, and rolled across the snow as he came down. Using his momentum, he flipped onto his front and then pushed himself upright, hoping that he'd been right.
He had. The edge of the avalanche was some distance above and away, and it would follow the slope of the mountain out of sight. He sighed with relief and dropped to his ass on the snow. "Phew... That was too close," he breathed. Then, all of a sudden, he laughed. "Haha! Not good enough, Mother Nature! Haha... Ha... Huh?"
Belle watched, dumbstruck as the falling wave of snow angled away from its proper path, tearing down the path of most resistance.
Straight for him.
"OH SHIT!" Belle yelped, turning around and sprinting. The snow was harder, but only just. He was fresh out of rocks, and he didn't dare trying to land a jump in this situation. Without the cushion of loose snow, the impact of landing was sure to make him slip. "I didn't mean it, Nature! Honest!" He looked over his shoulder. The snow was still following him... No... Aiming for him!
He tripped and fell, carving a four meter trench through the snow with his face. Coming up, sputtering in incoherent rage, he finally snapped.
That tears it!
Staggering to his feet, he faced the oncoming oblivion. "I came to fight strong guys, not some stupid snow hazard!"
The air around Belle shuddered as he reached deep into himself, attempting against his better judgment to summon his power. He was limited by the collar, he could feel that much, but not nearly as much as he had thought he would be. The strength he needed flowed into his body, through his veins, and concentrating into his hand. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Belle's voice built rapidly in volume as the space around him began to tweak and twist before suddenly erupting into a clear, flame-like aura.
With the avalanche almost on top of him, Belle thrust his hand forward, palm out. "HA!"
There was a sound like a bomb going off as the force of his strike ripped through his hand and slammed outward. The tide of approaching snow recoiled and then split straight down the middle, flowing to either side and leaving him untouched. The kinetic force gouged a wide trough through the snow, shoving the obscuring icy mist away.
That was when he saw it. A glint of metal. The flash of a lens. The whirling of many bladed arms. For half a heartbeat, Belle was sure he saw something lurking in the center of the avalanche. But then, almost before he could register that it was there, it disappeared in an enormous ball of fire. The flames hissed against the snow, sending a sudden blast of steam bursting in every direction.
Belle covered his face with his arm, waiting for the heat to fade. When it did he dropped his hands and paused to look.
It was, more or less, what he had expected. A large crater had been burned straight into the snow, slushed water pooling at the bottom of the basin. But there was nothing metal, or even anything at all, except snow. Which meant that either Belle had a lot more strength than he realized and could vaporize things with a simple little ki ai, or the damn thing - whatever it was - was still around. He had no doubts in his mind that it had been behind the avalanche's unusual behavior.
It looked like someone was trying to end the competition before it began. He frowned slightly, thinking. "He'd only been at the game for a few minutes, so a player doing it seemed pretty unlikely. It could be someone in charge of the competition, but that didn't make much sense to him, either. What good was bringing a bunch of fighters to a tournament if you were going to try to kill them off before their could even fight?
No; what was more likely was that it was someone else.
Deciding to think about it, later, Belle turned and headed down the slope of the mountain. The storm had been left far above him, and with his vision finally clear, he could see the small, squat shape of a building in the far distance.
It looked like this competition was about to get a lot more interesting.
"You think he suspects something?" Damon asked absently.
Audric shook his head. "Belle might think something is wrong, but don't worry. He went completely the wrong way with it," the programmer assured him. "The program I ran manifested as a robot. At worst, he thinks someone else is trying to kill him or ruin his chances of winning."
"I suppose a little of both is true," Damon admitted, flexing his fingers against the arm of his chair. "A completely peaceful day wouldn't be very fun for the 'audience', would it?"
"No sir," Audric said, lips twitching in a barely restrained smile. "Not at all."
He glanced across the table at the young girl seated opposite him. More thoughts of the competition weren't exactly what he had had in mind when he had suggested that they go get a bite to eat.
Taking up his spoon, Edward scooped out another mouthfull of his hot fudge sundae. With as good as the food was, he wasn't surprised at all that the shop was so crowded on a weekday. "What's the matter, Little Yana? If you don't take a bite of your sundae it's going to melt."
"Mm," Sayana replied absently, fiddling with the cell phone in her lap and not looking up at him.
Edward tilted his head. "What you got, there?"
"Nothing," Sayana said, and closed the phone. "I was just wondering if, like, they were talking about it on the news. It's supposed to be starting now, right?"
"Oh?" Edward blinked. "You can get the news on that little thing?"
"Of course," Sayana actually giggled, "if you have wi-fi." She tilted her head. "You didn't know that, Mister Cog?"
Edward cleared his throat gruffly. "I've got better things to do than follow all those new-fangled contraptions. They make a new one every month. It's too hard to follow."
Sayana laughed again, then quieted. She slipped her phone back into the handbag slung over her shoulder and stared off into space.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Edward reassured her.
"I know," she said. "I just... I have a bad feeling."
"A feeling?"
"Uh huh." Sayana tucked a lock of her long hair behind an ear, frowning slightly. She seemed to be glaring so hard at her sundae that Edward thought it would shatter. Then, slowly, she shook her head and forced a smile. "But you're right. It's just a tournament, right?"
Sayana leaned over. Digging out a spoonful of her sundae, she brought it to her lips as a thick, melted stream of cream flowed down the icy slope. "Hibiki-kun can take care of himself."
~+~+~+~+~
"AVALAAANCHE!"
The snow under Belle's feet was trembling as he quickly spun around. Almost too quick, as it turned out; he nearly slipped and lost his footing before he could steady himself. Leaping was dangerous, but being afraid of something that might happen when he was for sure going to be buried underneath ten feet of snow unless he did something didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, even for him.
Jumping, Belle floated over twenty feet in the air before arcing back down towards the blanketed mountainside, the rushing flurry of falling snow hot on his heels. The distance between them widened as he jumped, but then closed almost instantly when he lande.
Gritting his teeth, Belle pushed on, bending and launching himself through the air. Every time he jumped, he could feel the snow slip even more under his feet. Not good, he thought; even if it was saving him for now, it was only a matter of time before his jumping slipped up and he ended up flat on his face with the avalanche bearing down on him. He wouldn't have time to react, much less leap out of the way.
Belle's heart beat a shuddering tatoo against his breast. He looked around, gritting his teeth against the stinging cold that jabbed at his eyes as he tried to ignore the rushing sound that was drowning out everything else. There were a couple uncovered rocks dotted around the slope, though they were widely spaced apart. Making his decision in the blink of an eye, Belle leapt up to the top of the nearest one and then immediately flung himself into the air.
His aim was right on target. Coming down on the next rock, Belle twisted and leapt again, zig-zagging across the path of the roaring avalanche. He had to cover more distance than when he was just going straight, but without having to worry about his footing, he was able to take much longer jumps, which more than made up for it. He was finally starting to gain some ground. If he could just get a little more...
"There!" he shouted, landing and jumping again just as the first blots of snow smacked against his ankles, flying away at an angle that would take him clear of the danger. Belle folded his arms and legs, dropped, and rolled across the snow as he came down. Using his momentum, he flipped onto his front and then pushed himself upright, hoping that he'd been right.
He had. The edge of the avalanche was some distance above and away, and it would follow the slope of the mountain out of sight. He sighed with relief and dropped to his ass on the snow. "Phew... That was too close," he breathed. Then, all of a sudden, he laughed. "Haha! Not good enough, Mother Nature! Haha... Ha... Huh?"
Belle watched, dumbstruck as the falling wave of snow angled away from its proper path, tearing down the path of most resistance.
Straight for him.
"OH SHIT!" Belle yelped, turning around and sprinting. The snow was harder, but only just. He was fresh out of rocks, and he didn't dare trying to land a jump in this situation. Without the cushion of loose snow, the impact of landing was sure to make him slip. "I didn't mean it, Nature! Honest!" He looked over his shoulder. The snow was still following him... No... Aiming for him!
He tripped and fell, carving a four meter trench through the snow with his face. Coming up, sputtering in incoherent rage, he finally snapped.
That tears it!
Staggering to his feet, he faced the oncoming oblivion. "I came to fight strong guys, not some stupid snow hazard!"
The air around Belle shuddered as he reached deep into himself, attempting against his better judgment to summon his power. He was limited by the collar, he could feel that much, but not nearly as much as he had thought he would be. The strength he needed flowed into his body, through his veins, and concentrating into his hand. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Belle's voice built rapidly in volume as the space around him began to tweak and twist before suddenly erupting into a clear, flame-like aura.
With the avalanche almost on top of him, Belle thrust his hand forward, palm out. "HA!"
There was a sound like a bomb going off as the force of his strike ripped through his hand and slammed outward. The tide of approaching snow recoiled and then split straight down the middle, flowing to either side and leaving him untouched. The kinetic force gouged a wide trough through the snow, shoving the obscuring icy mist away.
That was when he saw it. A glint of metal. The flash of a lens. The whirling of many bladed arms. For half a heartbeat, Belle was sure he saw something lurking in the center of the avalanche. But then, almost before he could register that it was there, it disappeared in an enormous ball of fire. The flames hissed against the snow, sending a sudden blast of steam bursting in every direction.
Belle covered his face with his arm, waiting for the heat to fade. When it did he dropped his hands and paused to look.
It was, more or less, what he had expected. A large crater had been burned straight into the snow, slushed water pooling at the bottom of the basin. But there was nothing metal, or even anything at all, except snow. Which meant that either Belle had a lot more strength than he realized and could vaporize things with a simple little ki ai, or the damn thing - whatever it was - was still around. He had no doubts in his mind that it had been behind the avalanche's unusual behavior.
It looked like someone was trying to end the competition before it began. He frowned slightly, thinking. "He'd only been at the game for a few minutes, so a player doing it seemed pretty unlikely. It could be someone in charge of the competition, but that didn't make much sense to him, either. What good was bringing a bunch of fighters to a tournament if you were going to try to kill them off before their could even fight?
No; what was more likely was that it was someone else.
Deciding to think about it, later, Belle turned and headed down the slope of the mountain. The storm had been left far above him, and with his vision finally clear, he could see the small, squat shape of a building in the far distance.
It looked like this competition was about to get a lot more interesting.
~+~+~+~+~
"You think he suspects something?" Damon asked absently.
Audric shook his head. "Belle might think something is wrong, but don't worry. He went completely the wrong way with it," the programmer assured him. "The program I ran manifested as a robot. At worst, he thinks someone else is trying to kill him or ruin his chances of winning."
"I suppose a little of both is true," Damon admitted, flexing his fingers against the arm of his chair. "A completely peaceful day wouldn't be very fun for the 'audience', would it?"
"No sir," Audric said, lips twitching in a barely restrained smile. "Not at all."
Quote:Belle Hibiki enters the Arctic sector bunker.
![[Image: Bellesig6-1.jpg]](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff137/catseye543/Bellesig6-1.jpg)