05-20-2007, 06:23 AM
The two burly Syntex employees led Bardock to an elevator. They stood to either side of him. One pressed a button and swiped a slide card. They folded both hands in front of them and stared blankly ahead. Bar generously swigged his whiskey, glancing up at the large gentleman. Pleasant and colorful elevator music played in the background. A ding rang out, the doors slid open, and one of the employees gestured.
?Dante?s Abyss barracks. You?ll wait here until the final player is selected,? he grunted.
Bardock stepped out, and on his way, he flipped the empty bottle over his shoulder. The other employee whipped his hand out and effortlessly caught the flying glass object.
?Nice reflexes, boys,? the fighter commented. The doors slid closed. Bardock observed his new surroundings. It was no V.I.P. lounge, but he felt at home nonetheless. A female employee stopped him before he got very far.
?Number nine, Bardock? Here is your bag. This is very important to your survival on Dante. Now, if you please, I need to confiscate any contraband items you may have on your person,? she stated perkily.
Bardock traded his personal items for the familiar Dante duffel.
?Your items will be returned to you when you have completed the game. Thank you, and good luck!? she chirped. Bardock?s eye twitched as she flashed him a perma-smile. He pivoted around and walked towards his bunk.
He flopped down on the end, and opened the bag. Before he even unzipped it, he knew what it would contain: two day supply of bread and water, compass, map, scouter, random weapon. What he didn?t know was what his weapon was going to be this year. Bardock looked inside and pushed everything aside. He examined all the different parts, and looked at the instruction tag. He didn?t need it. He already knew how to use it. He zipped the bag back up and slung it over a shoulder.
Bardock folded his arms over his chest and glanced around. Not many players were here yet. A few of them he recognized from last year?s contest, a few of them from other ?games,? and the rest he didn?t know at all.
Not that it matters, he thought decisively. His eyes rested on a flurry of reporters gaggled around one contestant, who obviously seemed more important than anyone else in the room. He looked away, uninterested.
An attendant walked past.
?Hey!? Bardock called out. The attendant paused. ?I saw a resource room downstairs. Get me some.?
?Any articles in particular, sir?? the attendant asked.
?Anything useful,? Bardock answered, swallowing a snide retort. Strategy wasn?t the brawler?s strong point, but he was going to need any and every possible resource to bolster his chances of winning. In the meantime, he had to come up with a game plan. The roughneck closed his eyes and tried to think. The attendant returned rather quickly and shook him. Although his initial impulse was to strangle the attendant, he restrained himself and grabbed what looked like a PDA instead.
?This article chronicles last year?s game, and lists all the profiles of this year?s current contenders. If there is anything else you require, please let us know.?
The device was basic enough that he could operate it. He selected a battle highlights reel and pressed play. The first highlight was two characters Bardock didn?t really know: an orange-haired man and a fat saiyan. The blubbery fellow attempted to overpower the orange-haired man, but the human killed the saiyan with a piece of silverware. Embarrassing. Several more selections passed until the reel came upon the battle between two alliances. Bardock watched as he and others overwhelmed their opponents. He grimaced. That war was a mix of pride and disappointment. More conflicts followed. The saiyan was able to see himself in all of his fights, at all the best angles. That is, until he came to his final confrontation. A wide shot panned out between him and Raditzu, squaring off, a pistol versus a shotgun. Shots were fired, and then it switched to a first person view. There must have been a camera in his scouter. Once more, he stared down the barrel of Raditzu?s shotgun, until the screen flashed white and it moved on to the next clip. Jaw clenched, he finished out the reel to the very last battle. Raditzu overpowered a Super Saiyan 3 Reijin, whom Bardock had only associated with once or twice, for the win.
Swallowing, he began to flip through the rest of the information.
?Dante?s Abyss barracks. You?ll wait here until the final player is selected,? he grunted.
Bardock stepped out, and on his way, he flipped the empty bottle over his shoulder. The other employee whipped his hand out and effortlessly caught the flying glass object.
?Nice reflexes, boys,? the fighter commented. The doors slid closed. Bardock observed his new surroundings. It was no V.I.P. lounge, but he felt at home nonetheless. A female employee stopped him before he got very far.
?Number nine, Bardock? Here is your bag. This is very important to your survival on Dante. Now, if you please, I need to confiscate any contraband items you may have on your person,? she stated perkily.
Bardock traded his personal items for the familiar Dante duffel.
?Your items will be returned to you when you have completed the game. Thank you, and good luck!? she chirped. Bardock?s eye twitched as she flashed him a perma-smile. He pivoted around and walked towards his bunk.
He flopped down on the end, and opened the bag. Before he even unzipped it, he knew what it would contain: two day supply of bread and water, compass, map, scouter, random weapon. What he didn?t know was what his weapon was going to be this year. Bardock looked inside and pushed everything aside. He examined all the different parts, and looked at the instruction tag. He didn?t need it. He already knew how to use it. He zipped the bag back up and slung it over a shoulder.
Bardock folded his arms over his chest and glanced around. Not many players were here yet. A few of them he recognized from last year?s contest, a few of them from other ?games,? and the rest he didn?t know at all.
Not that it matters, he thought decisively. His eyes rested on a flurry of reporters gaggled around one contestant, who obviously seemed more important than anyone else in the room. He looked away, uninterested.
An attendant walked past.
?Hey!? Bardock called out. The attendant paused. ?I saw a resource room downstairs. Get me some.?
?Any articles in particular, sir?? the attendant asked.
?Anything useful,? Bardock answered, swallowing a snide retort. Strategy wasn?t the brawler?s strong point, but he was going to need any and every possible resource to bolster his chances of winning. In the meantime, he had to come up with a game plan. The roughneck closed his eyes and tried to think. The attendant returned rather quickly and shook him. Although his initial impulse was to strangle the attendant, he restrained himself and grabbed what looked like a PDA instead.
?This article chronicles last year?s game, and lists all the profiles of this year?s current contenders. If there is anything else you require, please let us know.?
The device was basic enough that he could operate it. He selected a battle highlights reel and pressed play. The first highlight was two characters Bardock didn?t really know: an orange-haired man and a fat saiyan. The blubbery fellow attempted to overpower the orange-haired man, but the human killed the saiyan with a piece of silverware. Embarrassing. Several more selections passed until the reel came upon the battle between two alliances. Bardock watched as he and others overwhelmed their opponents. He grimaced. That war was a mix of pride and disappointment. More conflicts followed. The saiyan was able to see himself in all of his fights, at all the best angles. That is, until he came to his final confrontation. A wide shot panned out between him and Raditzu, squaring off, a pistol versus a shotgun. Shots were fired, and then it switched to a first person view. There must have been a camera in his scouter. Once more, he stared down the barrel of Raditzu?s shotgun, until the screen flashed white and it moved on to the next clip. Jaw clenched, he finished out the reel to the very last battle. Raditzu overpowered a Super Saiyan 3 Reijin, whom Bardock had only associated with once or twice, for the win.
Swallowing, he began to flip through the rest of the information.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
_=Pass you by, it's all in this life you have
Pass you by, good-bye to you=_
Pass you by, good-bye to you=_