Day Two: Afternoon

[Orion]

What a horrific display.

That's what Orion thought as he walked the near barren lands of Dante's Abyss with his companion. The combustible Namekian aside, they had seen no one, and the saiyan wondered if that had affected the raven haired fool in front of him. He just performed some sort of weird insanity rain dance, his arms and body convulsing in mildly entertaining but seriously concerning ways, even falling to the floor. Yet, when he got whatever out that was in his system, he just rose to his feet and beckoned the one eyed warrior as if nothing had happened.

What was going on inside his head?

Well, perhaps that thought had been prevalent the moment Orion laid his eye on the fruit hat donned contestant, but that questioned resounded in his head the longer they spent time together. Nothing he did, nothing, made any discernable sense. One moment he was a perfect candidate for a mental asylum patient, the next his eyes shone with crimson bloodlust and he became the perfect warrior. Why was there such a dichotemy raging within this human?

The curiosity was getting the better of him. Well, that, and the fact that the uncertainity of Seventeen's actions meant that perhaps the grass skirt clad contestant was equally friend as foe. He needed to find out what was going on.

Orion increased his stride to match Seventeen's. He kept surveillance of the area as he spoke.

"So," he started, leaving a space before continuing, "what the hell was that epileptic fit you had earlier?"

Seventeen turned his head to face Orion, a quizzical look on his face. "Trying to find my eyes, of course!"

"Your eyes?" the saiyan replied.

"Yes! I was looking out of my ass!"

This discussion wasn't alleviating Orion's fears.

"Well, then why were you running around like an idiot?" he asked, risking another disastrous answer.

"I'm no idiot; I is smart," came the foolsih response of Seventeen.

Orion stepped in front of him. "OK, that's enough. Something's unusual about you, and I want to know what it is."

Seventeen seemed surprised. "I'm ... unusual?"

"I think there's something going on in there," Orion stated slyly, pressing a forefinger into Seventeen's forehead. "And I'm going to find out."

Before the bewildered human could respond, he felt dizzy. Orion guided him to the ground, staring intently into his eyes. Their views mutually blurred, colours around them illuminating as if miniature suns and stars poured their light into the landscape. Confusion and disorientation consumed both their minds as Orion molded his consciousness and streamed it directly into Hellfighter's mind.

------

Darkness surrounded the saiyan. There was no ground; he was suspended in the abyss. He tried to move by swimming through the black, but there was nothing to move through. Even the most dimmest minds usually had content within, but there was just emptiness here.

"Seventeen!" Orion called, his voice echoing throughout the mental purgatory.

Suddenly, the lights came on. And Orion found himself plummeting through the sky.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of mind melds, there was no ki for the saiyan to utilise. For all intents and purposes, he was a normal human within Seventeen's skull. The rapid descension through the emerald coloured clouds was terrifying. Orion had never experienced the lack of the ability to fly.

The ground was approaching fast; a field of crimson grass with a random, thick set tree, its bark purple and the leaves golden yellow. Orion braced for impact, throwing his arms over his face, but something caught him moments before he splattered against the ground. The saiyan opened his eye, realising that one of the trees had caught him with its thin branches. It gently lowered him to the floor and bowed before the guest.

"Seventeen!" Orion called out again into the black sky. He turned to see Seventeen approaching him, but he was walking backwards towards him, and instead of the foolish getup he wore on the island, his mind-self was wearing a Napolean uniform.

"Greetings, good sir," he welcomed, still facing away from Orion, and bowed. "What could I do for you?" He spun in spot, stamped one foot and bent his knees to sit. Out of the earth a blue chair arose on command, providing a seat for Seventeen. Another identical chair arose behind Orion, who chose to sit upon it.

A puff of smoke exploded in Seventeen's hand. When it cleared, a corn cob pipe appeared. Seventeen brought it to his mouth, sucking in what Orion presumed was smoke, but upon exhaling, several bluebirds flew out.

"Well, I-"

"Wait, wait," Seventeen spoke, motioning for the saiyan to stop talking. He clenched the pipe in his teeth and performed a handstand, resting the top of his head and crushing his velvet blue hat upon the chair. "OK, continue."

"I wanted to get to you, the real you. I know there is something strange about you, and there was no way I would discover that on the outside. So, here I am."

"Oooh, an interview?!" Seventeen exclaimed, excited by the idea. He clicked his fingers, and the entire landscape melded into a television studio. Orion stood behind a desk with a buzzer, an electric panel displayed his name and his points on the front of it. Currently he was on 0. Seventeen was behind another desk, hair slicked back, wearing a terrible tartan suit, holding a microphone and cue cards.

"Well, Orion, if you'd like to win the prize ooooooooof..." he motioned to a set of crimson curtains in the back middle of the stage, which suddenly pulled open, revealing a clone of Seventeen, "mmmmeeeeeeee, you'll have to answer these following questions!" A non existant crowd filled the area with applause and cheer.

"Oh, here we go."