06-11-2006, 04:46 AM
"Tch..."
Raditzu had found himself in, what looked to be, a small dressing room when he had been teleported off of the Dante island. When he opened the door, he found a mass of people applauding. Standing front and center was Karl himself, flashing a cheesy grin. It was all Raditzu could do to not slap it off his annoying face. The warrior did have to admit, it was kind of satisfying to see this group of people clapping for someone they had only seen on TV screens. Rad shook his head and stumbled out of the dressing room. Though his wounds had been fixed, Rad didn't care how, fatigue was running rampant throughout his body. A couple people moved to catch the saiyan, but stopped after being flashed a couple of rather nasty glares.
"My production team," Karl waved to the people standing around him. "They insisted on being here to greet the winner and I simply didn't have it in me to say no."
"Uh-huh. Well... uh... thanks, everyone," the saiyan said weakly. He gave a small wave to the crowd, which seemed to spur their applause... definitely not what Rad had intended.
"Now, before we get down to business, can I get you anyth--"
"Waffles!" It burst from Rad's mouth before he even realized it. Karl looked as though he had been struck... he was obviously not used to be interrupted so... forcefully. But, after four days of eating virtually nothing Rad didn't give two shits about being polite.
"Well," he straightened his blazer and renewed his smile, "I think we can manage that. How many?"
"Uh..." Rad screwed up his face in thought for a moment. "Sixty oughta do it. Actually! Let's make it 75." Rad's face lit up with excitement at the thought of real food.
Everyone simply stared at the saiyan.
---------------------------------------------
"Was the food to your liking?" Some random woman asked Raditzu.
"Well, there could have been a few more, but I'll live." The saiyan smiled at the woman, having no idea who she was or why she was asking him questions. Through the meal he had been vaguely aware of someone bringing out more plates. It could have been her.
"Then, if you're done, they're waiting to interview you through that door," she pointed to a door on the other side of the room they had set up for Rad's waffle-bonanza and grabbed up the few remaining plates.
"Awesome, thanks." Rad waved the woman off and jumped to his feet.
With several content pats of his now mostly-full stomach Rad pushed open the door he had been told to follow. The room he was in was significantly larger than the one he had just been eating in, and it had been decked out to look fairly interesting. Two director's chairs were set in front of a rather convincing backdrop designed to look like a scene from the island. Cameras, mics, and a startling amount of people were running back and forth, trying to get everything ready for the interview that was about to take place. As Rad took in the sight, two people approached him. One was obviously Karl, while the second was a woman Rad had never seen before: while she was easy on the eyes, she had an air of normality about her: definitely someone you wouldn't think twice about.
"Raditzu, my boy," Rad cocked an eyebrow at the flamboyant producer, who was most certainly younger than Raditzu. "This is Stacy. She'll be the one asking you questions for your interview."
"Yeah. Hi, Stacy." Rad waved to the woman, who nodded in reply. "About this whole interview thing. I really don't think I--"
"Good good. Nothing to think about at all." Karl was obviously not the least bit concerned with how Raditzu felt about the whole ordeal. "Now, if you'll just follow Enrique, we'll get your make up ready for the show." Some man, evidently Enrique, had practically materialized out of thin air at the mention of his name.
"Wait... what? Make up!?"
---------------------------------------------
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special behind-the-scenes interview with the winner of the annual Dante's Abyss tournament! I'm Stacy Jackson bringing you a live, one-on-one interview with Raditzu." Stacy, who had been looking directly into the camera turned and motioned towards Raditzu.
"Uh... hi." Rad's hand jerked in an uncomfortable wave. Though he tried to keep his attention on the woman who would be interrogating him, he was acutely aware of the fact that several cameras were trained on him.
?Let?s start out pretty simple: tell us a little bit about yourself.?
?About me? Well? Name?s Raditzu. Uh? I?m a saiyan. I was born in the royal capitol of the planet Vegeta.? Rad tried to ignore the snickering from off stage; this was obviously all information people already knew.
?What did you like to do growing up?? the woman picked up without blinking an eye.
?Oh, well, I was designated a soldier when I was born. I had a high enough ki at birth that I was shoved straight into training.?
?Training to be a solider from day one, eh? I think we can all see how well that worked out,? the woman said with a smile to the camera. Rad simply shrugged.
?Well, pops was a soldier, too, and stuff like that generally follows family lines on Vegeta.?
?Pops? You mean your father, Bardock??
?That would be the one.?
?And he was also in this contest, wasn?t he??
?Yeah? he was,? it was all the saiyan could do to keep from flinching. It was obvious where this was going.
?Here we have an interesting clip from the tournament.? Stacy pointed to the wall behind them and the scene of the island flashed into a recorded clip from a day or so earlier. Rad winced.
The camera angle was actually quite good. The clips showed Raditzu taking slow steps forward, shotgun in had. The loud ka-chack of the weapon being pumped filled the studio and the weapon was aimed down towards the camera. The clip froze at this point. The blood flowing from Rad?s open neck combined with the view down the barrel of a shotgun was a rather powerful effect.
?Do you remember when this clip took place??
?I have a pretty good idea? but where was the camera?? Rad had to admit a bit of confusion.
?Ah, yes. There were small camera?s built into each contestants scouter. The device you were provided with on day one.?
?Ahh. Good idea. Anyway, yeah, this is me pointing that shotgun at Bardock? my father.?
?What was going through your mind at this point.?
?Honestly? I think ?fuck you? was at the top of the list.?
?Oh my,? Stacy laughed politely, but off to the side, someone was mouthing something furiously at Rad. ?And what would make you think that about your own father??
?Well, first of all, you gotta understand that fathers and sons don?t do much bonding together where I come from, especially if they?re both soldiers, like we were. But anyway, I had just seen him kill Eighteen. I really couldn?t help it, even though I knew it was a game.?
?18? You mean contestant #15: Android 18??
?Yes, ma?am.?
?Why did her death bring about this kind of scene??
?Ah well? I?m, I mean, she?s my girlfriend.? Rad stopped and though on this for a second. ?Heh? last time someone hurt her I shoved my first through their chest.? Rad laughed heartily, but Stacy, clearly, did not see the humor in being impaled on someone?s arm.
?Now, you and several others were traveling together for most of this tournament. Did you know these people, and have this planned out from the beginning, or was it something you thought of on the fly.?
?Hahahaha? I don?t usually make plans, Stacy.? Rad was clearly warming up to the whole interview process. ?When plans go wrong, everyone starts pointing fingers. And the fewer that are pointed at me, the fewer I have to tear off.? Rad grinned wide, but continued on. ?Most of these people I?ve run into before. I was hoping to run into Eighteen soon, but ended up finding Bra and pops, instead.?
?We?ve already talked about Bardock and 18, but who is Bra??
?Oh. Well she?s Ve--? Rad cut himself off abruptly, knowing Bra wasn?t big on letting people know she was a princess. ?She?s? very important? to me? as a student.? The words were slow and not terribly convincing, but it was the best Raditzu could think of on such short notice. He was quick to elaborate. ?When you?re as amazing as I am, you need to pick your students carefully.?
?I see. Very interesting. Is it a common training technique of yours to cut your pupils in half with chainsaws??
?Oh? that.? The saiyan reddened slightly. ?That was kind of a mistake. See? normally I can control metal? like this,? a piece of metal erupted from the studio floor and settled into Rad?s hand, making a small imitation of the chainsaw he had used. ?When I grabbed the chainsaw I meant to change it into, like, a baseball bat or an umbrella,? the mini-chainsaw in his hand morphed into the objects as he mentioned them, ?but in the commotion I forgot that our collars kept me from doing that.?
?Controlling metal? Do you have any other hidden talents we didn?t see during the tournament??
?Well? sure? I can do all kinds of things. Metal?s just one of my favorites.? Rad thought for a second. ?Teleporting?? he vanished from his seat and reappeared behind Stacy, ?is always a popular one. Pretty useful, too.? Stacy whipped around in her seat, but as soon as she caught sight of the saiyan warrior, he returned to his seat with a grin.
?Quite the one-man circus, it seems.?
?I get that a lot, actually.?
?Well, now that you?ve won, what do you plan on doing with your winnings??
Rad stared at Stacy, blinking for several seconds before bothering to respond. ?What winnings??
This time Stacy stared. For the first time she had been caught off guard. Despite his genuine confusion, he smiled on the inside about stumping the woman. ?The? uh? the ten thousand zeni that go to the winner.?
?Ten thousand zeni?! That?s awesome. Did you know you can buy,? the saiyan thought for a moment, counting something on his fingers. ?about twenty five thousands waffles with that much zeni??
?I? was not aware of that. So? you didn?t know about the zeni prize??
?Well,? Rad shrugged, ?I?m sure I heard at one point or another, but I didn?t bother myself with it.?
?Then why did you enter??
?Seemed like a good idea at the time.?
---------------------------------------------
?That was wonderful, Rad,? Karl said as he clapped Raditzu on the back.
The interview had gone on much longer than Raditzu would have liked. After asking the saiyan all their real questions, they had him pose for a couple of photos (he shuddered to think what they would be used for) and got him to say a few sound bytes before releasing him. The whole ordeal left the long-haired wonder drained, despite all the food he had consumed beforehand. But it looked like things were wrapping up and Rad was happy to think he could get back to someplace he knew.
?We have your account number and we?ll make sure your winnings are transferred as soon as possible.?
?Sounds good to me.?
Karl shortly informed Rad that he was showing him the way to their teleporting station, but Rad stopped him mid-sentence.
?You got a stasis field around this place?? the warrior asked his host.
?No.?
?Then don?t worry about it, I can find my own way out.? Rad grinned down at the man.
?Okay then. Well, we hope to see you next year.?
?I?m sure you will.?
?Take it easy, champ,? Karl said as he walked away. He had no idea just how easy Rad was planning on taking it. Then, right before the producer?s eyes, the saiyan vanished.
Raditzu had found himself in, what looked to be, a small dressing room when he had been teleported off of the Dante island. When he opened the door, he found a mass of people applauding. Standing front and center was Karl himself, flashing a cheesy grin. It was all Raditzu could do to not slap it off his annoying face. The warrior did have to admit, it was kind of satisfying to see this group of people clapping for someone they had only seen on TV screens. Rad shook his head and stumbled out of the dressing room. Though his wounds had been fixed, Rad didn't care how, fatigue was running rampant throughout his body. A couple people moved to catch the saiyan, but stopped after being flashed a couple of rather nasty glares.
"My production team," Karl waved to the people standing around him. "They insisted on being here to greet the winner and I simply didn't have it in me to say no."
"Uh-huh. Well... uh... thanks, everyone," the saiyan said weakly. He gave a small wave to the crowd, which seemed to spur their applause... definitely not what Rad had intended.
"Now, before we get down to business, can I get you anyth--"
"Waffles!" It burst from Rad's mouth before he even realized it. Karl looked as though he had been struck... he was obviously not used to be interrupted so... forcefully. But, after four days of eating virtually nothing Rad didn't give two shits about being polite.
"Well," he straightened his blazer and renewed his smile, "I think we can manage that. How many?"
"Uh..." Rad screwed up his face in thought for a moment. "Sixty oughta do it. Actually! Let's make it 75." Rad's face lit up with excitement at the thought of real food.
Everyone simply stared at the saiyan.
---------------------------------------------
"Was the food to your liking?" Some random woman asked Raditzu.
"Well, there could have been a few more, but I'll live." The saiyan smiled at the woman, having no idea who she was or why she was asking him questions. Through the meal he had been vaguely aware of someone bringing out more plates. It could have been her.
"Then, if you're done, they're waiting to interview you through that door," she pointed to a door on the other side of the room they had set up for Rad's waffle-bonanza and grabbed up the few remaining plates.
"Awesome, thanks." Rad waved the woman off and jumped to his feet.
With several content pats of his now mostly-full stomach Rad pushed open the door he had been told to follow. The room he was in was significantly larger than the one he had just been eating in, and it had been decked out to look fairly interesting. Two director's chairs were set in front of a rather convincing backdrop designed to look like a scene from the island. Cameras, mics, and a startling amount of people were running back and forth, trying to get everything ready for the interview that was about to take place. As Rad took in the sight, two people approached him. One was obviously Karl, while the second was a woman Rad had never seen before: while she was easy on the eyes, she had an air of normality about her: definitely someone you wouldn't think twice about.
"Raditzu, my boy," Rad cocked an eyebrow at the flamboyant producer, who was most certainly younger than Raditzu. "This is Stacy. She'll be the one asking you questions for your interview."
"Yeah. Hi, Stacy." Rad waved to the woman, who nodded in reply. "About this whole interview thing. I really don't think I--"
"Good good. Nothing to think about at all." Karl was obviously not the least bit concerned with how Raditzu felt about the whole ordeal. "Now, if you'll just follow Enrique, we'll get your make up ready for the show." Some man, evidently Enrique, had practically materialized out of thin air at the mention of his name.
"Wait... what? Make up!?"
---------------------------------------------
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special behind-the-scenes interview with the winner of the annual Dante's Abyss tournament! I'm Stacy Jackson bringing you a live, one-on-one interview with Raditzu." Stacy, who had been looking directly into the camera turned and motioned towards Raditzu.
"Uh... hi." Rad's hand jerked in an uncomfortable wave. Though he tried to keep his attention on the woman who would be interrogating him, he was acutely aware of the fact that several cameras were trained on him.
?Let?s start out pretty simple: tell us a little bit about yourself.?
?About me? Well? Name?s Raditzu. Uh? I?m a saiyan. I was born in the royal capitol of the planet Vegeta.? Rad tried to ignore the snickering from off stage; this was obviously all information people already knew.
?What did you like to do growing up?? the woman picked up without blinking an eye.
?Oh, well, I was designated a soldier when I was born. I had a high enough ki at birth that I was shoved straight into training.?
?Training to be a solider from day one, eh? I think we can all see how well that worked out,? the woman said with a smile to the camera. Rad simply shrugged.
?Well, pops was a soldier, too, and stuff like that generally follows family lines on Vegeta.?
?Pops? You mean your father, Bardock??
?That would be the one.?
?And he was also in this contest, wasn?t he??
?Yeah? he was,? it was all the saiyan could do to keep from flinching. It was obvious where this was going.
?Here we have an interesting clip from the tournament.? Stacy pointed to the wall behind them and the scene of the island flashed into a recorded clip from a day or so earlier. Rad winced.
The camera angle was actually quite good. The clips showed Raditzu taking slow steps forward, shotgun in had. The loud ka-chack of the weapon being pumped filled the studio and the weapon was aimed down towards the camera. The clip froze at this point. The blood flowing from Rad?s open neck combined with the view down the barrel of a shotgun was a rather powerful effect.
?Do you remember when this clip took place??
?I have a pretty good idea? but where was the camera?? Rad had to admit a bit of confusion.
?Ah, yes. There were small camera?s built into each contestants scouter. The device you were provided with on day one.?
?Ahh. Good idea. Anyway, yeah, this is me pointing that shotgun at Bardock? my father.?
?What was going through your mind at this point.?
?Honestly? I think ?fuck you? was at the top of the list.?
?Oh my,? Stacy laughed politely, but off to the side, someone was mouthing something furiously at Rad. ?And what would make you think that about your own father??
?Well, first of all, you gotta understand that fathers and sons don?t do much bonding together where I come from, especially if they?re both soldiers, like we were. But anyway, I had just seen him kill Eighteen. I really couldn?t help it, even though I knew it was a game.?
?18? You mean contestant #15: Android 18??
?Yes, ma?am.?
?Why did her death bring about this kind of scene??
?Ah well? I?m, I mean, she?s my girlfriend.? Rad stopped and though on this for a second. ?Heh? last time someone hurt her I shoved my first through their chest.? Rad laughed heartily, but Stacy, clearly, did not see the humor in being impaled on someone?s arm.
?Now, you and several others were traveling together for most of this tournament. Did you know these people, and have this planned out from the beginning, or was it something you thought of on the fly.?
?Hahahaha? I don?t usually make plans, Stacy.? Rad was clearly warming up to the whole interview process. ?When plans go wrong, everyone starts pointing fingers. And the fewer that are pointed at me, the fewer I have to tear off.? Rad grinned wide, but continued on. ?Most of these people I?ve run into before. I was hoping to run into Eighteen soon, but ended up finding Bra and pops, instead.?
?We?ve already talked about Bardock and 18, but who is Bra??
?Oh. Well she?s Ve--? Rad cut himself off abruptly, knowing Bra wasn?t big on letting people know she was a princess. ?She?s? very important? to me? as a student.? The words were slow and not terribly convincing, but it was the best Raditzu could think of on such short notice. He was quick to elaborate. ?When you?re as amazing as I am, you need to pick your students carefully.?
?I see. Very interesting. Is it a common training technique of yours to cut your pupils in half with chainsaws??
?Oh? that.? The saiyan reddened slightly. ?That was kind of a mistake. See? normally I can control metal? like this,? a piece of metal erupted from the studio floor and settled into Rad?s hand, making a small imitation of the chainsaw he had used. ?When I grabbed the chainsaw I meant to change it into, like, a baseball bat or an umbrella,? the mini-chainsaw in his hand morphed into the objects as he mentioned them, ?but in the commotion I forgot that our collars kept me from doing that.?
?Controlling metal? Do you have any other hidden talents we didn?t see during the tournament??
?Well? sure? I can do all kinds of things. Metal?s just one of my favorites.? Rad thought for a second. ?Teleporting?? he vanished from his seat and reappeared behind Stacy, ?is always a popular one. Pretty useful, too.? Stacy whipped around in her seat, but as soon as she caught sight of the saiyan warrior, he returned to his seat with a grin.
?Quite the one-man circus, it seems.?
?I get that a lot, actually.?
?Well, now that you?ve won, what do you plan on doing with your winnings??
Rad stared at Stacy, blinking for several seconds before bothering to respond. ?What winnings??
This time Stacy stared. For the first time she had been caught off guard. Despite his genuine confusion, he smiled on the inside about stumping the woman. ?The? uh? the ten thousand zeni that go to the winner.?
?Ten thousand zeni?! That?s awesome. Did you know you can buy,? the saiyan thought for a moment, counting something on his fingers. ?about twenty five thousands waffles with that much zeni??
?I? was not aware of that. So? you didn?t know about the zeni prize??
?Well,? Rad shrugged, ?I?m sure I heard at one point or another, but I didn?t bother myself with it.?
?Then why did you enter??
?Seemed like a good idea at the time.?
---------------------------------------------
?That was wonderful, Rad,? Karl said as he clapped Raditzu on the back.
The interview had gone on much longer than Raditzu would have liked. After asking the saiyan all their real questions, they had him pose for a couple of photos (he shuddered to think what they would be used for) and got him to say a few sound bytes before releasing him. The whole ordeal left the long-haired wonder drained, despite all the food he had consumed beforehand. But it looked like things were wrapping up and Rad was happy to think he could get back to someplace he knew.
?We have your account number and we?ll make sure your winnings are transferred as soon as possible.?
?Sounds good to me.?
Karl shortly informed Rad that he was showing him the way to their teleporting station, but Rad stopped him mid-sentence.
?You got a stasis field around this place?? the warrior asked his host.
?No.?
?Then don?t worry about it, I can find my own way out.? Rad grinned down at the man.
?Okay then. Well, we hope to see you next year.?
?I?m sure you will.?
?Take it easy, champ,? Karl said as he walked away. He had no idea just how easy Rad was planning on taking it. Then, right before the producer?s eyes, the saiyan vanished.
![[Image: RadOct.jpg]](http://frozendust.com/sig/raditzu/RadOct.jpg)
"In this world, his world, life is just a game you play"