12-01-2009, 02:59 AM
Once more, Damon entered the conference room. This time, his preparation was a bit different. He had spent extra time compiling a different sort of “report,” one that would ideally prove highly more effective than simple figures. Of course, being one to cover all of his bases, Dukes had written up a traditional version as well. In his hand, the host gripped a remote control, almost as if it were the sword to keep demons at bay. He took a breath, composed his facial expression into the polite and professional mask he so typically wore, and waited until the holograms of the boards members materialized into the empty chairs once again.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the board, welcome back. I am quite eager to hear your responses towards the last series of events,” Damon smiled, awaiting the inevitable onslaught of criticisms.
“The second bout of combat merely further demonstrated your willingness to manipulate the results. And the third displayed quite a bit of unusual behavior from the competitors.”
“We are also concerned with the amount of eliminations by way of collar. Some of your most promising players have suffered under your rather enthusiastic and aggressive dusting patterns.”
“It also seems a bit redundant to have two versions of Eliminators. One of them ran around free, completely unrestrained by the rules of the tournament, whilst the others seem like mere filler. What kind of preposterous characters have you hired?”
Damon raised his hands as if to silence them, his most kindly look frozen upon his visage. “Please, please, allow me to field your inquiries one at a time.” As he answered their points of contention, he faced each source of complaint in turn. “The second bout of competition experienced surgical strikes. In reference to the modification program utilized between Mr. Hibiki and Dr. Roberts, it was merely to ensure that a fight did indeed take place. Between Ms. Rosado and Ms. Juunanagou, a shock was utilized in the first day of combat because that was simply all the motivation needed. Mr. Hibiki displays a very unique fear of the female species, whilst Dr. Roberts suffers from a lack of confidence, so a specific element needed to be introduced to accelerate the stagnancy. As you can see, it produced surprising and strategic results. In regards to my employee Vincent against Kaden, I take full responsibility, as that was merely a psychological experiment, and I did not allow it to affect the outcome of the fight. As far as the collar detonations are concerned, once I set the precedent, I was bound by the rules I determined and could not interfere. Information was made available and indeed the clocks were even extended, but alas, there is little I can do to assuage your concerns on what is past. You can lead a horse to water, as the expression goes. In regards to my Eliminators, they are, again, to ensure that a fight does indeed take place with every player. I applied the same principles to them as to my competitors, in that I arranged a wide variety of personalities and skill levels to provide balance. They are tightly controlled and follow a rigid set of instructions. As for Vincent, he is the exact opposite. He masqueraded as a regular player, but was not bound by the rules, which made him exciting, unpredictable, dangerous. A true wild card. I think he performed admirably.”
“He was killed by a little girl with no control over her ki. How would you consider that admirable?”
Damon placed the fingers of his free hand upon his chest, and chuckled in good humor. “If you will allow me to catch my breath, I have humbly prepared a little visual demonstration for you.”
The host clicked the slick, black remote control towards the ceiling, and a high quality television set descended from a previously invisible hatch. It had four screens, one on each side, and they were currently blank. Damon clicked another button, and an enthralling, explosive title sequence began to play. Once the title sequence completed, a succession of hand-animated players striking fearsome poses, complete with their names beneath the pictures, played.
“Vad Zulenka, Maleficus Nova, Frozen Dragon, Orion, Xenia, Shou, Alexander Trafford, Belle Hibiki, and Piper Juunanagou,” Damon announced verbally in turn. “This is Group A: these players were selected specifically for their aggressive natures and fighting prowess.” He clicked another button, and each of their fights was recapped with archive footage. “As you can see, we have the pure aggressor types that live for the fight, and the strategic planners. Many of them had the ability to completely shut off their emotional responses, whilst others provided more flamboyant reactions. They all joined of their own accord and were perfectly aware of the nature of the tournament. This group alone is the primary target for Dante’s Abyss, and provides more than enough incentive to get the remaining players to engage. These competitors comprise most of my selection, so I believe there are less ‘back-door contracts’ than you initially feared.”
A series of clips showed Vad and Mal attacking their opponents using metal and wind with ruthless abandon, Frozen giving a gentlemanly speech before viciously launching at his opponent, Orion insulting the Eliminator he was paired with and then releasing his most powerful blast, Xenia coolly leveling the forest with a machine gun, Shou tossing his opponent’s sword into a canyon, Alexander Trafford grinning while firing his Desert Eagles, Belle Hibiki ducking out of the way from in front of the barrier just as an icy weapon was about to skewer him, and Piper carefully acting out her battle coordination. Damon clicked another button and a new succession of player pictures scrolled along.
“Kaden, Sophia Rosado, Dr. Sage Roberts, Ashe Branford, Tamsin Suzaku, REM-13, and Tempo Uriel,” Dukes continued. “This is Group B: these players were selected for their mix of battle skills as well as personality types. Many are quite adequate fighters yet require a bit more inclination to participate as fully as Group A. Some of them were indeed informed of the tournament’s nature, but their motivations aren’t quite as simple as love of combat. REM-13 and Tamsin, for example, joined for their respective masters, while Sage joined as a means to an end. While not directly the target for Dante’s Abyss, they provide emotional depth, a sense of humanity, or in other words an additional dynamic to the tournament that appeals to a larger audience than those into ‘action flicks.’ If nothing else, they make excellent body fodder.”
The next series of clips displayed Kaden aerial-dodging a series of ki-infused bullets, Sophia slowly draining the life out of her opponent, Sage going berserk and tearing down everything in her path, Ashe twirling her wand in her hand to fire at the fiend clutching her in the air, Tamsin mentally flinging knives at her menacing assailant, REM-13 expertly handling his sword, and Tempo unleashing the wellspring of his inner strength. The audible click of a button could be heard, and the last two animated pictures flashed on the screen.
“John Doe, and Vincent,” Damon concluded. “John Doe joined for fun, going so far as to kill the original competitor in order to enter the Abyss. He would have provided quite a bit of entertainment, considering he was a bit of mystery. Vincent, as you are aware, was hired as a wild card player. His ambush tactics were impressive, and indeed of his own design with a little inside information in regards to the appropriate timing. He was professional, methodical, and incredibly thorough.”
The quick set of clips showed John Doe with his trademark smirk as he approached his opponent, and Vincent as he unleashed a salvo of ammunition on his unsuspecting prey.
“So basically, Damon, you’re giving us a review of things we’ve already seen?” a board member chirped.
“I merely sought to put things in perspective,” he explained. “When looking at two shades of blue separately, they can seem incredibly similar, but when looking at them side-by-side, you begin to see the differences in pigmentation.”
The board talked amongst themselves, murmuring so low that Damon couldn’t hear. No doubt they were very practiced at hearing hushed whispers. He waited patiently for them to come to a consensus. They had likely expected another verbal altercation as before, and Dukes only hoped that his carefully arranged footage highlighting the players’ strengths in regards to the tournament’s nature would be enough to sway their opinion. Finally, their heads all uniformly turned towards him.
“We will need more time to consider this presentation of yours,” Josh Drake said finally. “I would recommend revising it and creating more of a compelling argument. Until such time, we will observe the Combat Day that is currently taking place.”
Damon nodded, and as each of their projected bodies disappeared in a flash of light, he could barely contain the frustration burning in his eyes.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the board, welcome back. I am quite eager to hear your responses towards the last series of events,” Damon smiled, awaiting the inevitable onslaught of criticisms.
“The second bout of combat merely further demonstrated your willingness to manipulate the results. And the third displayed quite a bit of unusual behavior from the competitors.”
“We are also concerned with the amount of eliminations by way of collar. Some of your most promising players have suffered under your rather enthusiastic and aggressive dusting patterns.”
“It also seems a bit redundant to have two versions of Eliminators. One of them ran around free, completely unrestrained by the rules of the tournament, whilst the others seem like mere filler. What kind of preposterous characters have you hired?”
Damon raised his hands as if to silence them, his most kindly look frozen upon his visage. “Please, please, allow me to field your inquiries one at a time.” As he answered their points of contention, he faced each source of complaint in turn. “The second bout of competition experienced surgical strikes. In reference to the modification program utilized between Mr. Hibiki and Dr. Roberts, it was merely to ensure that a fight did indeed take place. Between Ms. Rosado and Ms. Juunanagou, a shock was utilized in the first day of combat because that was simply all the motivation needed. Mr. Hibiki displays a very unique fear of the female species, whilst Dr. Roberts suffers from a lack of confidence, so a specific element needed to be introduced to accelerate the stagnancy. As you can see, it produced surprising and strategic results. In regards to my employee Vincent against Kaden, I take full responsibility, as that was merely a psychological experiment, and I did not allow it to affect the outcome of the fight. As far as the collar detonations are concerned, once I set the precedent, I was bound by the rules I determined and could not interfere. Information was made available and indeed the clocks were even extended, but alas, there is little I can do to assuage your concerns on what is past. You can lead a horse to water, as the expression goes. In regards to my Eliminators, they are, again, to ensure that a fight does indeed take place with every player. I applied the same principles to them as to my competitors, in that I arranged a wide variety of personalities and skill levels to provide balance. They are tightly controlled and follow a rigid set of instructions. As for Vincent, he is the exact opposite. He masqueraded as a regular player, but was not bound by the rules, which made him exciting, unpredictable, dangerous. A true wild card. I think he performed admirably.”
“He was killed by a little girl with no control over her ki. How would you consider that admirable?”
Damon placed the fingers of his free hand upon his chest, and chuckled in good humor. “If you will allow me to catch my breath, I have humbly prepared a little visual demonstration for you.”
The host clicked the slick, black remote control towards the ceiling, and a high quality television set descended from a previously invisible hatch. It had four screens, one on each side, and they were currently blank. Damon clicked another button, and an enthralling, explosive title sequence began to play. Once the title sequence completed, a succession of hand-animated players striking fearsome poses, complete with their names beneath the pictures, played.
“Vad Zulenka, Maleficus Nova, Frozen Dragon, Orion, Xenia, Shou, Alexander Trafford, Belle Hibiki, and Piper Juunanagou,” Damon announced verbally in turn. “This is Group A: these players were selected specifically for their aggressive natures and fighting prowess.” He clicked another button, and each of their fights was recapped with archive footage. “As you can see, we have the pure aggressor types that live for the fight, and the strategic planners. Many of them had the ability to completely shut off their emotional responses, whilst others provided more flamboyant reactions. They all joined of their own accord and were perfectly aware of the nature of the tournament. This group alone is the primary target for Dante’s Abyss, and provides more than enough incentive to get the remaining players to engage. These competitors comprise most of my selection, so I believe there are less ‘back-door contracts’ than you initially feared.”
A series of clips showed Vad and Mal attacking their opponents using metal and wind with ruthless abandon, Frozen giving a gentlemanly speech before viciously launching at his opponent, Orion insulting the Eliminator he was paired with and then releasing his most powerful blast, Xenia coolly leveling the forest with a machine gun, Shou tossing his opponent’s sword into a canyon, Alexander Trafford grinning while firing his Desert Eagles, Belle Hibiki ducking out of the way from in front of the barrier just as an icy weapon was about to skewer him, and Piper carefully acting out her battle coordination. Damon clicked another button and a new succession of player pictures scrolled along.
“Kaden, Sophia Rosado, Dr. Sage Roberts, Ashe Branford, Tamsin Suzaku, REM-13, and Tempo Uriel,” Dukes continued. “This is Group B: these players were selected for their mix of battle skills as well as personality types. Many are quite adequate fighters yet require a bit more inclination to participate as fully as Group A. Some of them were indeed informed of the tournament’s nature, but their motivations aren’t quite as simple as love of combat. REM-13 and Tamsin, for example, joined for their respective masters, while Sage joined as a means to an end. While not directly the target for Dante’s Abyss, they provide emotional depth, a sense of humanity, or in other words an additional dynamic to the tournament that appeals to a larger audience than those into ‘action flicks.’ If nothing else, they make excellent body fodder.”
The next series of clips displayed Kaden aerial-dodging a series of ki-infused bullets, Sophia slowly draining the life out of her opponent, Sage going berserk and tearing down everything in her path, Ashe twirling her wand in her hand to fire at the fiend clutching her in the air, Tamsin mentally flinging knives at her menacing assailant, REM-13 expertly handling his sword, and Tempo unleashing the wellspring of his inner strength. The audible click of a button could be heard, and the last two animated pictures flashed on the screen.
“John Doe, and Vincent,” Damon concluded. “John Doe joined for fun, going so far as to kill the original competitor in order to enter the Abyss. He would have provided quite a bit of entertainment, considering he was a bit of mystery. Vincent, as you are aware, was hired as a wild card player. His ambush tactics were impressive, and indeed of his own design with a little inside information in regards to the appropriate timing. He was professional, methodical, and incredibly thorough.”
The quick set of clips showed John Doe with his trademark smirk as he approached his opponent, and Vincent as he unleashed a salvo of ammunition on his unsuspecting prey.
“So basically, Damon, you’re giving us a review of things we’ve already seen?” a board member chirped.
“I merely sought to put things in perspective,” he explained. “When looking at two shades of blue separately, they can seem incredibly similar, but when looking at them side-by-side, you begin to see the differences in pigmentation.”
The board talked amongst themselves, murmuring so low that Damon couldn’t hear. No doubt they were very practiced at hearing hushed whispers. He waited patiently for them to come to a consensus. They had likely expected another verbal altercation as before, and Dukes only hoped that his carefully arranged footage highlighting the players’ strengths in regards to the tournament’s nature would be enough to sway their opinion. Finally, their heads all uniformly turned towards him.
“We will need more time to consider this presentation of yours,” Josh Drake said finally. “I would recommend revising it and creating more of a compelling argument. Until such time, we will observe the Combat Day that is currently taking place.”
Damon nodded, and as each of their projected bodies disappeared in a flash of light, he could barely contain the frustration burning in his eyes.
![[Image: 3nyxortbSM.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/waffuru/3nyxortbSM.jpg)