11-26-2009, 05:41 AM
There was a soft fwzp, and in the next instant Belle was transported from the top of the mountain to the valley below. High above, the shimmering, spherical forcefield that had defined the edge of the arena flared with energy before fizzling into nothing.
A breeze swept across the dry, cracked plain, moaning mournfully as it passed him, flicking through his hair and continuing on its way. He waited; but, after half an hour, when Vale still hadn't made an appearance, he reluctantly decided that it was time to start moving. He would have liked to have talked a little with the saiyan warrior or to at least make sure that he had survived his fall before continuing, but if the beeping around his neck was any indication, the timer for his collar was fast approaching.
"Well," Belle gave the mountain a final, long look, "goodbye, whoever you were, Mister Vale. Maybe we can have a better fight some other time. Uh." Belle pulled a folded scrap of paper out of his pocket as he began to walk. Unfolding it carefully, he used his calloused fingers to smooth out the deep creases. It was a map of the island, complete with markers and, more importantly, pictures for notable locations. The words were as inpenetrable as they always were, but even he could use this map; maybe they had made it especially for him.
"Let's see," Belle murmured. "If the volcano is over there," he pointed, "and the safehouse is that way," he pointed in a different direction, "then I should be ... right about ... here!"
Belle flicked the map with his finger. "So, where should I go?" he mused, looking over his options. The idea of heading to the arctic again, especially without his shirt, really bugged him. He was tough, not stupid. He couldn't stay in the mountains any longer, that was for sure. Which left either visiting the city or paying another visit to the forest.
"Bah, oh well," he muttered, folding the paper up and stuffing it back into his pocket. The forest was probably still half-buried in the snow that Sage had deposited in her mad pursuit of a phantom Sol somethingsomething. The girl was crazy, and Belle had absolutely no intention of returning to the battlefield sooner than he absolutely had to.
He grimaced. At least since the competition was underway, the city region would probably be totally empty of people. That would mean he wouldn't have to deal with any other women, which was a huge plus. There were plenty of places to lose himself in, too.
Setting his sights on the distant barrier dividing the sectors, Belle sped up. Actually, now that he thought about it, the only city he had ever been in that hadn't had people in it had been being attacked by a monstrous alien force. It might actually be kind of cool to walk around a city without having to worry about other people for once.
~+~+~+~+~
"Whoaaa," Belle whispered, staring up at the giant shopping mall near the center of the city's shopping district. "This place is big."
Stretching nearly half a mile on each side and two stories tall, the front of the mall was constructed by an intricate laticework of metal frames and glass that glowed orange as it caught the fading day's light. The triple set of revolving doors that served as barriers to entry had been locked into place, but it was the simple matter of a few moments effort for Belle to snap the bolt in two.
He pushed his way inside, gazing around at the various storefronts as televisions flickered to life. Was he being watched, he wondered, or was the whole thing automatic? The interior lights were dimmed, but he had more than enough to go by, thanks mostly to the enormous, windowed entryway.
Belle cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hello?" he called as he started to walk. No one answered. "I guess it really is deserted. Funny," he noted as he tried the door to one of the department stores. "They left everything unlocked." He squinted at the names above the store across. More clothing inside, so probably some sort of competing market, but he couldn't be sure. He wished he could read some of the stupid things. He'd really have to look into learning at least a little bit if he was going to keep living in the world outside the forest.
There were more stores than he could count, with more things than he could ever possibly see anyone ever needing. He snuck a few snacks from behind the counter at an abandoned bakery stall, then visited a furniture store, where he lined up a set of a dozen mattresses down a long staircase and slid down to the bottom. The stairs were strange; metal, ridged, and looked almost as if they were disappearing into the floor.
"Fucking weirdo city people," Belle muttered, leaving as he tossed the final mattress back into place. He hummed a little tune to himself as he stopped to take a break near the center of the abandoned mall. The first and the second floor opened up into an enormous atrium, lit by an equally large skylight that seemed to share the same design as the entrance.
Everything was so big. He had noticed it in Central City, but had never really thought about it until now: city people were obviously really into largeness. They just couldn't get enough of it. Large scoops of ice cream, large beds, large clothes, large spaces, large buildings. He couldn't understand it. Maybe he was looking in all the wrong stores.
Deciding to continue on, Belle slowly picked his way through the rest of the mall, until finally, in a darkened corner down a softly lit corridor, he found a strangely darkened shop.
It was as if a ghost were running a chilly finger up and down his spine. He suddenly had a really bad feeling about what he would find inside. Steeling himself, he swallowed and entered the store.
The lights here, unlike everywhere else, were off. Barely visible in the gloom, Belle could make out the shapes of several racks and a counter against the far wall. Stretching out his hands, he started blindly fumbling his way forward. His hands brushed against soft garments that felt so thin that Belle wondered how in the world someone could ever stay warm. They were ... flimsy. There was no other way to describe them.
Curious, Belle reached up and detached one of the silky garments. It was small, like an upside down cap, almost, with two holes cut forward of the middle line.
That was when he realized the truth. It was so obvious, he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. Obviously this was a specialty store that catered to the animal people that roamed the Earth. The holes, he realized now, would be where the ears would go. And the thinness made perfect sense when you realized that the wearer's had enough fur as it was! "Aha! Man, that brat doesn't give me enough credit," Belle grinned in the darkness. "I'm a regular dialective!"
Shifting towards the counter, Belle reached around and started fumbling across its surface. There was a switch on the underside just behind the cash register. Belle switched it on.
The lights in the store suddenly flared to life, and Belle's eyes widened in shock. Shock, and slowly dawning horror.
Underwear. Underwear everywhere. Pink, blue, and even green. Frilly, silky, embroidered and not, lacy and not. Tops with straps so thin that they weren't even there, tops that most definitely were not for hiding a person's chest. Underwear with string, without string, some which were wrapped like candy.
Belle gurgled incoherently, and then froze. Slowly, very slowly, he looked down at his hand, in which the garment he had taken earlier was still clutched.
Panties.
He looked up. Lined in a row, a set of immobile figures beckoned coquettishly toward him. Their bodies were pure white, as if sculpted from porcelain, and though they had a human shape, they had no faces. Each of them were for the moment immobile, and each one was dressed in the scantiest clothing imaginable. And they were all clearly female.
Shapeshifters!
"AIEEEEEEE!" Belle screamed and bolted. He didn't bother to use the door; he went straight through the nearest wall and emerged out the other side in a shower of rubble and flying undergarments. Menstu Ration... ! Menstu Ration was here!
~+~+~+~+~
Belle didn't stop moving until he was in sight of the bunker. Spotting the sentinel guarding the door from a mile away, Belle slowed and approached cautiously. It looked fierce ... but strangely immobile. Moving closer, Belle realized just why the beast was so quiet and so still: it wasn't real.
"Huh," he murmured, staring at the magnificent ice sculpture. The connection didn't immediately click for him as to what that might mean. Putting his hands on the statue's cold flank, he gave a gentle shove and slid the figure a few steps to the right. Not wanting to get caught outside any longer than he had to, Belle eased the door open, peered inside, and sighed with relief. No one was there.
He slid inside and gently closed the door. It had only been half a day, but he was bone tired. Heading directly to the bed across from him that looked as if it had been used recently, he turned around and plopped down on the edge of the rumpled covers. "First some guy beats the tar out of me, then shapshifter witches try to jump me, now this... Man, I could use a good night's sleep."
Stretching his half-naked body and yawning, Belle smacked his lips and made a face. It felt kind of gross, but he could brush his teeth when he woke up.
Turning around, Belle spread out on the bed, then stopped and frowned. His nose twitched. There was someone nearby... A scent... A strangely familiar scent...
He shifted, and the lumpy sheets beside him shifted in turn. A terribly familiar head of hair emerged from under the sheets. Eyes blinked blearly around before fixing on Belle, then widening in shock.
Belle opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out. Breath whistled from his suddenly corked throat. "Ngh...ah? Uh..."
It was Sage.
"AIEEEEEEE!"
A breeze swept across the dry, cracked plain, moaning mournfully as it passed him, flicking through his hair and continuing on its way. He waited; but, after half an hour, when Vale still hadn't made an appearance, he reluctantly decided that it was time to start moving. He would have liked to have talked a little with the saiyan warrior or to at least make sure that he had survived his fall before continuing, but if the beeping around his neck was any indication, the timer for his collar was fast approaching.
"Well," Belle gave the mountain a final, long look, "goodbye, whoever you were, Mister Vale. Maybe we can have a better fight some other time. Uh." Belle pulled a folded scrap of paper out of his pocket as he began to walk. Unfolding it carefully, he used his calloused fingers to smooth out the deep creases. It was a map of the island, complete with markers and, more importantly, pictures for notable locations. The words were as inpenetrable as they always were, but even he could use this map; maybe they had made it especially for him.
"Let's see," Belle murmured. "If the volcano is over there," he pointed, "and the safehouse is that way," he pointed in a different direction, "then I should be ... right about ... here!"
Belle flicked the map with his finger. "So, where should I go?" he mused, looking over his options. The idea of heading to the arctic again, especially without his shirt, really bugged him. He was tough, not stupid. He couldn't stay in the mountains any longer, that was for sure. Which left either visiting the city or paying another visit to the forest.
"Bah, oh well," he muttered, folding the paper up and stuffing it back into his pocket. The forest was probably still half-buried in the snow that Sage had deposited in her mad pursuit of a phantom Sol somethingsomething. The girl was crazy, and Belle had absolutely no intention of returning to the battlefield sooner than he absolutely had to.
He grimaced. At least since the competition was underway, the city region would probably be totally empty of people. That would mean he wouldn't have to deal with any other women, which was a huge plus. There were plenty of places to lose himself in, too.
Setting his sights on the distant barrier dividing the sectors, Belle sped up. Actually, now that he thought about it, the only city he had ever been in that hadn't had people in it had been being attacked by a monstrous alien force. It might actually be kind of cool to walk around a city without having to worry about other people for once.
~+~+~+~+~
"Whoaaa," Belle whispered, staring up at the giant shopping mall near the center of the city's shopping district. "This place is big."
Stretching nearly half a mile on each side and two stories tall, the front of the mall was constructed by an intricate laticework of metal frames and glass that glowed orange as it caught the fading day's light. The triple set of revolving doors that served as barriers to entry had been locked into place, but it was the simple matter of a few moments effort for Belle to snap the bolt in two.
He pushed his way inside, gazing around at the various storefronts as televisions flickered to life. Was he being watched, he wondered, or was the whole thing automatic? The interior lights were dimmed, but he had more than enough to go by, thanks mostly to the enormous, windowed entryway.
Belle cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hello?" he called as he started to walk. No one answered. "I guess it really is deserted. Funny," he noted as he tried the door to one of the department stores. "They left everything unlocked." He squinted at the names above the store across. More clothing inside, so probably some sort of competing market, but he couldn't be sure. He wished he could read some of the stupid things. He'd really have to look into learning at least a little bit if he was going to keep living in the world outside the forest.
There were more stores than he could count, with more things than he could ever possibly see anyone ever needing. He snuck a few snacks from behind the counter at an abandoned bakery stall, then visited a furniture store, where he lined up a set of a dozen mattresses down a long staircase and slid down to the bottom. The stairs were strange; metal, ridged, and looked almost as if they were disappearing into the floor.
"Fucking weirdo city people," Belle muttered, leaving as he tossed the final mattress back into place. He hummed a little tune to himself as he stopped to take a break near the center of the abandoned mall. The first and the second floor opened up into an enormous atrium, lit by an equally large skylight that seemed to share the same design as the entrance.
Everything was so big. He had noticed it in Central City, but had never really thought about it until now: city people were obviously really into largeness. They just couldn't get enough of it. Large scoops of ice cream, large beds, large clothes, large spaces, large buildings. He couldn't understand it. Maybe he was looking in all the wrong stores.
Deciding to continue on, Belle slowly picked his way through the rest of the mall, until finally, in a darkened corner down a softly lit corridor, he found a strangely darkened shop.
It was as if a ghost were running a chilly finger up and down his spine. He suddenly had a really bad feeling about what he would find inside. Steeling himself, he swallowed and entered the store.
The lights here, unlike everywhere else, were off. Barely visible in the gloom, Belle could make out the shapes of several racks and a counter against the far wall. Stretching out his hands, he started blindly fumbling his way forward. His hands brushed against soft garments that felt so thin that Belle wondered how in the world someone could ever stay warm. They were ... flimsy. There was no other way to describe them.
Curious, Belle reached up and detached one of the silky garments. It was small, like an upside down cap, almost, with two holes cut forward of the middle line.
That was when he realized the truth. It was so obvious, he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. Obviously this was a specialty store that catered to the animal people that roamed the Earth. The holes, he realized now, would be where the ears would go. And the thinness made perfect sense when you realized that the wearer's had enough fur as it was! "Aha! Man, that brat doesn't give me enough credit," Belle grinned in the darkness. "I'm a regular dialective!"
Shifting towards the counter, Belle reached around and started fumbling across its surface. There was a switch on the underside just behind the cash register. Belle switched it on.
The lights in the store suddenly flared to life, and Belle's eyes widened in shock. Shock, and slowly dawning horror.
Underwear. Underwear everywhere. Pink, blue, and even green. Frilly, silky, embroidered and not, lacy and not. Tops with straps so thin that they weren't even there, tops that most definitely were not for hiding a person's chest. Underwear with string, without string, some which were wrapped like candy.
Belle gurgled incoherently, and then froze. Slowly, very slowly, he looked down at his hand, in which the garment he had taken earlier was still clutched.
Panties.
He looked up. Lined in a row, a set of immobile figures beckoned coquettishly toward him. Their bodies were pure white, as if sculpted from porcelain, and though they had a human shape, they had no faces. Each of them were for the moment immobile, and each one was dressed in the scantiest clothing imaginable. And they were all clearly female.
Shapeshifters!
"AIEEEEEEE!" Belle screamed and bolted. He didn't bother to use the door; he went straight through the nearest wall and emerged out the other side in a shower of rubble and flying undergarments. Menstu Ration... ! Menstu Ration was here!
~+~+~+~+~
Belle didn't stop moving until he was in sight of the bunker. Spotting the sentinel guarding the door from a mile away, Belle slowed and approached cautiously. It looked fierce ... but strangely immobile. Moving closer, Belle realized just why the beast was so quiet and so still: it wasn't real.
"Huh," he murmured, staring at the magnificent ice sculpture. The connection didn't immediately click for him as to what that might mean. Putting his hands on the statue's cold flank, he gave a gentle shove and slid the figure a few steps to the right. Not wanting to get caught outside any longer than he had to, Belle eased the door open, peered inside, and sighed with relief. No one was there.
He slid inside and gently closed the door. It had only been half a day, but he was bone tired. Heading directly to the bed across from him that looked as if it had been used recently, he turned around and plopped down on the edge of the rumpled covers. "First some guy beats the tar out of me, then shapshifter witches try to jump me, now this... Man, I could use a good night's sleep."
Stretching his half-naked body and yawning, Belle smacked his lips and made a face. It felt kind of gross, but he could brush his teeth when he woke up.
Turning around, Belle spread out on the bed, then stopped and frowned. His nose twitched. There was someone nearby... A scent... A strangely familiar scent...
He shifted, and the lumpy sheets beside him shifted in turn. A terribly familiar head of hair emerged from under the sheets. Eyes blinked blearly around before fixing on Belle, then widening in shock.
Belle opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out. Breath whistled from his suddenly corked throat. "Ngh...ah? Uh..."
It was Sage.
"AIEEEEEEE!"
Quote:Belle moves from the Mountain Sector to the City Sector.
Quote:Belle enters the City Sector bunker.
![[Image: Bellesig6-1.jpg]](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff137/catseye543/Bellesig6-1.jpg)