Destination: Dante's Abyss

[Bra]

The heat inside the ship was stifling, even with the air conditioning systems running at full-capacity. So many people were gathered in such a small space, coupled with the fact that the air itself was alive with the energy of every excited warrior onboard. Many were getting themselves psyched up for the impending battles, others were getting in last minute training, trying in vain to excel beyond that of their potential opponents. Others still were having last-minute doubts about their situation, the recently explained mechanics of the tournament worrying them to their core.

One such person was on her way to the security-check, where most of her possessions would be removed, eliminating any sort of technological advantage she would otherwise have access to. One of the girl?s gloved hands brushed through her cyan hair as she stood in an endless line, alone in a crowd for the time being, having left her blue friend with the Saiyan Goku.

?The last thing on the agenda is this little collar.? said the announcer, withdrawing what appeared to be a plain, black collar from an unseen pocket. The man snapped his fingers and a mannequin was quickly brought to his stage. In a few seconds, he?d affixed the item to the mannequin, and stepped back as the collar quickly resized itself to fit like a choker around the dummy?s neck.

?On Dante there are several ?safe houses?, or bunkers. Within each bunker is a device that deactivates the de-materialization feature of the collars. Failure to enter a bunker, and turn off this feature, results in an immediate activation of the collar.? following a snap of the announcer?s fingers, the mannequin seemed to shake, and then reverted to dust and collapsed on the floor.

?I assure you, the collar does not care how strong or fast you are. Oh, and tampering with the collar in any way will result in the collar's activation.?

Bra had a hard time dealing with the sight of those blasted collars. The were just like the ones in Brim?s twisted competition, failsafes to keep everyone in line, only running a different, and much more dangerous, principle. How often did she need to visit one of these bunkers to keep the device from killing her?

All would be answered in good time, decided the young warrior, shuffling forward once again as the line painstakingly moved her ever closer to the desk, where she would check into the ship, and await being released into a Darwinian atmosphere, being forced to fight for her survival.

A few minutes passed, as more and more eager warriors passed through the entrance to the ship, cleared by the very strict security put in place by the Synex corporation. One had to wonder just what Synex did in order to call itself a corporation and run a televised death competition simultaneously.

?Next please,? spoke an exhausted customs attendant, watching as Bra stepped up to his desk, ?Please place all restricted belongings into this container. It will be locked and stored, and returned to you upon your return. Be sure to put all restricted items into this container, because violation of Synex?s terms bears extreme consequences.?

Bra quickly withdrew two capsules, one marked ?Scouter?, and the other ?Cloaking Device?. She also decided to leave her weighted clothing inside the container. She wouldn?t need any weight training on Dante. The halfling dropped them into her little box, stating that was all that she had to declare.

?Alright, do you want a print scan, or ocular scan? I recommend ocular, as it seems to be more common for our contestants to lose limbs and such, than it is for them to lose eyes.? the attendant spoke, utterly serious.

?Okay, I?ll do the eye-one, then. I just look at the screen here?? Bra asked, already knowing the answer. The attendant nodded, and the cyan-haired warrior stared into the lens, fighting the urge to close her eyes as a green light washed over them. Suddenly, the green switched to red, and then disappeared completely. With an affirming chirp, the box closed and locked, and the attendant took it and placed it on a shelf, and within moments, a small screen above her box flashed to life, displaying her name prominently. It would be a useful tool for recovery of the objects.

?Alright, now head through our magnetic impeller.? the attendant stated, motioning toward what looked like an expensive metal detector.

?Magnetic what!?? Bra demanded, having never heard of such a thing, even with all her time spent within the Capsule Corporation.

?Eh, basically a fancy name for ?cheater detector?. You go through, and it makes sure you?re not carrying anything. You know, standard operating procedures and such.? he replied.

?Oh, okay.? Bra agreed, walking through the metal square without setting it off.

?Okay, you?re clear. Now we?ll just put this collar on for ya,? spoke a guard as he raised a wide, black ring over Bra?s head. Carefully, he lowered it down around her neck, where it shrank to fit close around the demi-Saiyan?s neck, covering the golden choker she always wore. ?You?re all set. Head into the ship, it?s got all the amenities available on the station, make use of them while you can, in a few days you?ll be on Dante.?

Bra nodded her compliance and headed through, into the ship itself, where most people were filing off to either the restaurant, the bar, a quiet lounge, or the training section of the vessel. Bra, on the other hand, decided to head for the guest quarters, in hopes of getting a quiet room in which to get some sleep, seeing as how she was running out of better things to do, and more importantly, she hadn?t slept in many hours, and was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation.

The cyan-haired girl passed by a table which read, ?Room Keys - Take One Set - Do Not Lose!? Bra gladly took a key, complete with a key-chain which read ?42?. Matching the key with the room, she unlocked it and went inside, where she immediately flopped onto the bed and turned on the rather nice flat-screen television.