Dante's Abyss Sign-Ups and Pre-Show Information

[Amadeus]

It was a brand new day on Kaiousamas small planet. But there was a complete absence of anything to indicate this fact. The sky was insistent on its pink colour and a complete silence lay over the light green surface. However, the inhabitants of the satellite were well used to the timing. This was especially true for Jackie who had practiclly learned to synchorise himself with the time on Earth and who followed a strict schedule. As usual, he woke up early in the morning from his humble bed. Preety soon he found himself meditating on the rock he always sat on in a turkish pose. As the old man was relaxing his mind, the god had also awoken from his slumber. Yawningly, he stepped out from his little home. He was by then quite used to finding Chun meditating on the only rock on the planet so he found him immediatly. The elderly human also noticed his coming. Within a second, Roshi slid down from the rock and onto his feet. He was already prepared for the task he would face that day. But he did not yet realise that that day would turn out diffrently. King Kai greeted his student:

"Good morning, Jackie. I trust you slept well?"

"As usual, King Kai. I have no trouble getting a good night`s sleep," replied the Turtle Hermit.

"Good. You will need all the strength you can get. In any case, I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" wondered Kame-senin. He immediatly realised the blue alien had something important to say.

"Well, you have done an excellent job under my toutorship. You have advanced far and had learned the secrets of Kaioken. That is why I thought it would be a great idea to test your newly gained knowledge. There is going to be a tournament on a small planet in the middle of the Northern Quadrant. All the finest fighters of the universe are expected to come to it. It is called Dante`s Abyss."

"Dante`s Abyss?!" came the reply from the old man after such harsh suprise.

"You know of it?"

"Indeed. It is the reason why I am in the afterlife," the elderly human awnsered to Kaiousama, his own death picturing in his mind once again.

"I see. Yes, it is a quite brutal tournament. However, I have confidence in your skill and I belive you can reach far with the appropriate approach. That is why I think you should participate."

"There is just one problem....I am dead. How would I actually join the tournament?"

"That is not a problem. Even if you are dead you can still participate. All I have to do is teleport you to a sing-up booth. But I warn you....it is possible to die again even if dead. So what do you say...will you enter the tournament?"

The elderly human was interested at the prospect of being able to participate in Dante`s Abyss. He knew it would test his skills to the maximum. Secondary reasons, allthough not as important, was that it would make a nice change to King Kai`s training. After a long period of thinking came Jackie`s short reply: "Very well."

"Excellent! Now place your hand on my back and you will be well on your way."

The god turned around. With an odd taste in his mouth, Kame-senin placed his palm on the back of his toutor. For a living being, the Kai of the Northern Quadrant felt unusually cold. But before he could ponder further, his image dissapeared from the face of Kaiousama`s planet.

**********

In an instant he materialised once again. It took him only a moment to recognise his home planet....Earth. He was standing on a beautiful white-tiled square in the middle of a minor city. As it was usual for mornings the square was bustling with life. Trickling of water could be heared from the nearby fontain which was unusually large. Over it all shone the nearest star to the planet: the Sun. Chun smilled after seeing it. It was good to face it again after a long time.
After he had realised these factors, he also noticed a few more things. He was standing in front a wooden booth, the sign "Dante`s Abyss sign-ups" hanging from its small roof. Behind the wooden obstacle stood a young man with yellow skin and black framed glasses. He looked at the old man with a bit of shock on his face. It took him a few moments to concentrate again and speak out:

"He...Hello. Have you come to join Dante`s Abyss?"

"Yes, indeed I have," came the polite reply from the elderly human. But this didn`t seem to ease the student in front of him who seemed to be still in shock due to Chun`s sudden materialisation. The halo over Kame-senins head did not make this any better. The young adult tried to focus on his task again.

"N..Name?"

"Jackie Chun."

"Age?"

"Five hundred years."

"Excuse me?"

"Five hundred years," repeated the old man calmly. Allthough the college pupil did not seem convinced, he wrote down the specified number anyway.

"Hold still please," he told Jackie as he picked up a photographic camera from the table. With a blitz, he took a quick shot of Chun. From a thin slit at the lower part of the camera, a small picture came out. The young adult took it and placed it next to the sign-up sheet he had just filled. He countinued to speak:"Now, I am going to request you to show me some of your fighting skills. All of it will be taperecorded. This is required if you wish to sign on. You have twenty seconds."

As the student went to pick up a nearby camera, Jackie pondered on what to do. Flashes and damage were not his style, but he needed something to impress the judges who would be looking at the recording. Then he noticed the fountain placed behind him. Chun smilled. Ever since he was a youngster he was known for his water tricks. He was fond of using them as a method of training. This gave him an excellent idea.
The young man prepared the camera. After setting it up, he finnaly instructed the elderly human to begin. Jackie did not hesitate. He leaped into the air and made a backwars somersault. As he was in mid-air, his body bursted with a milky white aura. As he began to discent towards the fontain, the water moved away from the energy and Jackies feet landed on the stone bottom of the fountain. Chun then began with his usual moves.
It was a most impressive sight. The liquid gently moved away from Roshis moves and it seemed the elderly fighter was one with the water. His movement dictated the movement of the liquid as if he was a composer who dictated the ways of the music. Seconds seemed to pass like minutes at the beautiful movement of the martial artists. Passers by gazed at the sight and sounds of delight came from them. In the end, Jackie jumped on the peaky top of the fountain and then leaped towards his intial point. He softly landed, not even a trace of water on him. As the audience clapped, the student pulled out a cassette from the camera. He faced Kame-senin once again:

"Great. Now step into the tele-tube behind the booth and you should be on Dante in a moment."

The elderly human nodded and stepped towards the metal object that stood in the middle of the square. This was it. He was going yet again face the elitest warriors in all of the universe. He stepped inside, closed his eyes and let the green beams cover his body. His image yet again vanished into nothingness. He was on his way to Dante.....the planet of fate.