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

[Bra]

Her mind still awash with a myriad of questions blanketed by fear and lack of understanding, Bra flew. She flew because speed forced her to focus on what was in front of her, she flew because it was the only logical thing to do. She had no choice anymore; her path was set by unfortunate events that - depending on how one interpreted it - didn?t actually take place.

The princess rocketed forth, her precision ki sense pinpointing the largest amalgamation of power levels on the planet. Knowing that there wouldn?t be any other reason for so many warriors to group together as there was no hint of conflict, Bra was certain that the Dante?s Abyss sign-ups were in that direction.

The halfling veered off toward the signatures, effortlessly piercing through the sound barrier as she streaked across the sky, leaving both a streak of discharged ki and a visible sound wave rippling behind her. The girl was in a hurry, and once the sound wave struck the city below - obliterating hundreds of windows in it?s wake - everybody knew it.

In moments, the cyan haired girl slammed forcefully into the ground at the front of the line, just before the overly-muscled man behind her was about to step forward. Instead of the brutish comment Bra had been expecting, the warrior simply gawked at her. Suddenly, feeling exposed, the girl shot him a deadly glare.

?The fuck are you looking at?!? she demanded, causing the towering man to turn away in embarrassment. With a growl, Bra whirled around to address the attendant seated behind a cheap, fold-out table. ?I?m signing up.? she declared.

?Alright, miss. We need a name, please.? he replied, his fingers already flying over the keyboard in front of him.

?Bra,? the silken haired girl responded. ?Bra Briefs.?

?Okay... age??

?Twelve.?

?Twelve?? the attendant looked up, a painfully perplexed look cemented on his wrinkled visage. Instantly, the girl realized the mistake she had made.

?Did I say ?twelve??? the teal haired teen questioned with a fake, nervous laugh. ?I meant ?seventeen?. I?m sorry.? she said, staring at the floor in front of her.

?Uh... right. Anyway, you?re all clear here. Basic rundown this year; Dante?s Abyss is located on a single island, uh, were you here for the last one??

?Yeah.?

?Okay, great. So, collar rules still apply, with some new regulations, you?ll know them once you get to the island. Out of everyone signing up, only forty four are going to be registered into the tournament. If you?re not selected, you?ll be evicted from the planet immediately. From here, you need to head to Studio One. They?ll take some pictures, ask you to show off some skills, that sort of thing. I kind of need you to hurry up, though; we?ve got a ton of fighters to process still.? the attendant motioned to the studio building set up behind him.

The girl offered a slight nod and hesitantly made her way to the building, pushing through the door, which firmly shut behind her, leaving her alone with two more attendants and dozens of camera equipment.

?So... uh...? Bra clasped her hands behind her, blushing like an over-excited schoolgirl. ?What... happens here??

?Well,? replied one of the attendants. ?Just strike a pose, we?ll take some pics, and then we can deal with your fighting demo, ?kay??

The princess nodded, following the photographer?s directions, taking a few dignified poses for several flashes of the camera. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she was finished, and the camerawoman set the object aside.

The sound of a muffled explosion rang out, throwing all three of the building?s occupants to the floor as four men clad in black suits and dark sunglasses emerged from a swirling portal which had formed in the wall. Immediately after they had stepped through, the portal disappeared, as though it had never existed in the first place.

?You. Miss Briefs. You?re wanted for temporal manipulation in the first degree. You must be terminated.? spoke one of the four suited men.

?W-what?! What the hell are you talking about?!? Bra demanded, leaping to her feet and into a combat stance within seconds. One of the attendants quickly turned a video camera onto the scene, hoping to catch a moment of excitement for the bloodthirsty fans the tournament catered to.

?You willingly agreed to cause significant damage to the time stream through means of illegal magery. The only possible way to rectify the temporal decay you?ve caused is to terminate you. We suggest you cooperate, lest you make things... difficult.?

?What?! The fuck do you think you are? The time police?!? the long, cyan haired girl retorted, her blue-white aura detonating all around her.

?No. We?re from the Coalition for Temporal Stability. Don?t act like you haven?t met us before.?

?Right. I think you?re just fucking crazy.?

?That?s good,? responded the only talkative suit. ?It?s difficult enough to keep things under control without everyone being aware of our operations. But enough talk; it?s obvious you?re planning to resist.?

With that, the lead agent withdrew a gleaming Desert Eagle .44 pistol and opened fire at Bra, who evaded the speeding bullets with the greatest of ease. After emptying his entire clip and missing every shot despite his perfect aim, the CTS agent let his weapon fall to the ground, a hateful sneer cracking across his face.

The quartet of well-dressed men propelled themselves through the air, all at once converging upon the princess, who was swift to defend herself. While still airborne, the lead agent received a vicious punch to the face. Whirling around, Bra landed a thunderous roundhouse kick to the side of another?s head, before twisting about and hammering a trio of punches to the chest of the third agent.

The fourth suit lunged forward, striking from behind Bra and wrapping his arms around her torso, applying crushing force, only to have the girl slam her heel onto his foot in order to break free of his grip and hammer an elbow into his nose, crushing it and causing blood to spurt from his face all over his shirt.

One of the combatants threw a powerful fist at the cyan haired hybrid, who caught his wrist, twisted it, and drove two fists of her own into his exposed gut, before leaping up and throwing her foot into his chest, launching him across the room and into the far wall, which shuddered under the thunderous impact.

Left unchecked, one of the remaining three agents landed a punch to Bra?s temple, causing her to stagger and leaving her wide open to a flurry of attacks from the three intruders, who brutally attacked her ceaselessly until a bright, golden rush of flame beat them back.

The young super saiyan sent one of her opponents sprawling with an unexpected head butt before twisting around and driving her heel into another agent?s face, torquing his head with such force that his neck snapped beneath the attack and tossing him aside like a rag doll.

Now able to focus on the one remaining agent, Bra delivered a punch to side, then one to the chest, and another to the gut, accelerating her strikes until nothing could be seen but a gold-and-red blur as the girl threw punch after punch into the shuddering fighter, finishing her attack with a ruthless strike to the face, obliterating his sunglasses and hurling him through a table and into the far wall, this time causing it to collapse on top of the agent.

?Enough of this!? shouted one of the three remaining men, forming an aura of his own. The other two did the same, rapidly increasing their strength before all attacking at once for a second time.

Unwilling to allow the fight to continue, Bra quickly threw another vicious kick forward, stunning one of her opponents long enough for her to create a kienzan dagger. She whirled around, slashing deep into another combatant all the way from his left shoulder down to his right thigh. He crumpled; a bloody mess.

The empress swung her blade once more, catching nothing but air. Instead of correcting, Bra threw the dagger, cleanly decapitating her third victim, and leaving but one suit-clad man standing face-to-face with herself.

?You guys are pathetic.? she taunted darkly, taking a single step forward, her aureate flames raging about her, reflecting the anger churning within her.

?You?ll burn for this! The murder of three international agents will not be taken lightly, Miss Briefs!!? the CTS agent retorted, nervously back-pedaling, afraid to take his eyes off the deceptively powerful teen who stood before him.

?Three? Fuck that, I?m not letting you off,? Bra hissed, taking another step. The nameless agent turned and ran, directly into a portal which appeared, then promptly vanished once he had stepped through it. ?Get back here!!? the girl screamed. ?Coward!!?

Silence fell over the studio. Nothing made a sound, save for the soft aural sensation of dust falling heavily onto the floor. The DA attendants took stock of their situation while Bra let herself fall out of her ascended state, plunging the building into darkness, save for the light shining in through the collapsed wall.

?Great! Just great! Now we?ll have to set up in Studio Two!!? seethed one attendant, as though he was completely unaware of the fight that had just taken place.

?Shut up!? responded the other. ?We got that on tape!! This?ll be great!?

?Uh...? the hybrid interjected. ?...Does that mean you guys think my skills are good enough??

?Oh! You mean, you want to submit that as your demonstration? Yes, that would do wonderfully. Just, come over here, to the teletube.? answered the photographer, ushering Bra to the advanced piece of machinery which had - unbelievably - been left unscathed after the violent bloodshed which had just passed.

The princess stepped into the machine, closing her eyes as the door hissed shut in front of her. The two attendants offered friendly waves and wishes of good luck, and then everything vanished.

In moments, a new environment surrounded her, and the teletube opened, releasing Bra into the havoc that Dante?s Abyss would soon degrade into. She didn?t want to be here; she loathed these tournaments, but her disc was here, and she had to find it.

Already, her memories had failed her; she had no idea what this ?Coalition for Temporal Stability? was, and it seemed they knew her well. She frowned; things were only bound to get worse.