Dante's Abyss 2007 Sign-Ups

[Burter]

The special staff-only teletube from Namek sent Burter to a familar room in his own personal dojo. The long-legged reptilian stepped off the platform and into his personal space, protected from the main room by three rows of closed curtains. Inside the matted area sat a comfortable, bulky man with a cigar in his hand.

Big Blue nodded politely to the human as he walked forward. "Good to see you again, Mr. Jak," he hissed in greeting. He stopped a few feet away, preferring to stand as usual.

"Glad to see you made it again," Karl Jak smiled broadly at the blue reptile.

Burter nodded again, this time crossing his bulky arms over his chest as he questioned the man's motives. Karl was the one who originally asked Burt to run the dojo, but they were hardly friends. "I wasn't exactly expecting to see you here."

Karl inhaled from his cigar, doing his best to look as good as possible doing it. There was no question, even for the asexual reptilian, that this guy was very gay. "Well, my dear blue friend, I had wanted to discuss something with you."

"I'm listening."

The man shifted in his seat as he took another puff from the oversized cigar. He was very polite about it, as if trying to make it look a certain way. "By my last glance over the recorded power levels, you're listed as one of the strongest beings in the North Quadrant. You, my blue dear, are probably in the top ten."

Burter shifted uncomfortably as he listened to the host. "I'm flattered, but I'm not up that strong."

"I'm sure," Karl said, "Well, this year I got a chance to be one of the producers. And I'll be blunt; I want you to play this year. I want to see you in action."

"Thanks, but no thanks," was the response, "I'm sure you have plenty of other strong killers that want to compete. I have some hang-ups when it comes to killing my friends."

"Which is why you should play," Karl paused and took another puff from his smoke stick. "The people that play are usually emotionless. Which is good for a player, but it's already filled it's quota. We need someone who cares. Someone who is going to play to win, but not if it costs his friendships. You're strong. You're talented. You've got friends that are playing."

Burt chuckled. "So, you want someone that isn't an asshole."

"Good way to look at it."

"Okay, sure," Burt shrugged. "I don't mind playing. No promises on being entertaining."

"I have faith," Karl grinned, "I'll keep you informed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get your registered and start sending out information to the viewers on you."

As Karl Jak headed up and out, Burter scanned outside into the dojo. Just a few no-names were hanging around. Nobody that stood half a chance at being in the competition. But he knew who WOULD make it in the competition.

He hated the idea of killing people like his friends. But his pride was almost as bad as a saiyan's. He couldn't just not give it his all. He couldn't let an cocky bastard like Raditzu slide by him. He was going to have to get past Rad, 18, Bra...all of his friends.

Or he'd just die. That could be fun too.