[02] Arctic Sector

[DA 2009]

ARCTIC SECTOR

Time Of Day: Midday

Bunker: Active

Starting Players: Alexander Trafford, Belle Hibiki, Tempo

[Tempo]

Snowfall is normally such a peaceful occurrence. Each tiny flake slowly trickles from the darkened sky to the dampened ground below. One of the finer moments in a young child’s life is waking up one winter morning to find the world outside their doorstep is covered in a blanket of snow. Rushing over to your closet to grab your essential winter garments. Then blasting through front door out into the wonderland that surrounded you. Hesitantly sticking your tongue out trying to catch as many of the miniscule flakes as you can. But that wholesome image may never resonate with the young Tempo.

He crouched into a defensive stance. He didn’t know if he was shaking from the cold artic air or from fear. The man standing directly across from him fueled the latter. Tempo’s eyes widened as the countless amount of snowflakes surrounding him began to glow orange. There was nothing he could do to stop it, seconds later they were upon him. His body lit up like a Christmas tree. His skinny arms were littered with energy infused shrapnel, each one burning more than the last. His arms frantically waved about as if he was trying to swat a swarm of attacking mosquitoes. All he could see through all the chaos around him was his opponent.

The man across from him stood calm. His clothes waved in the artic wind but his body remained still. His eyes were as cold as the tundra surrounding them. But what haunted Tempo the most was his smirk. The young boy’s screams of agony only stretched the sinister smile. The orange haired youth just closed his tear filled eyes and begged.

Sensei! Please if you are watching, help me.

A beep suddenly chimed from his collar. “Combat protocol complete. Disengaging stasis field.”

His eyes shot open. The young man gazed up in the air in complete bewilderment. Suddenly he was alone yet again. If his face didn’t hurt so bad he would smile. Now Tempo was never too big into superstitions, but he wanted to believe that Sensei Uriel just saved him on that one. The teen suddenly dropped to his knees. Blood dripped from his exposed arms and legs. The icy floor pressed up against his legs soothed the burns and lacerations. A hard gust slapped against his now tattered face. He needed to find a bunker where he could heal up and maybe get some rest. He had to move. With a earth shattering groan a wobbly Tempo lifted himself off the snowy terrain and marched forward.

----

It felt like he had been walking for days. He was beginning to wonder if maybe he had been going in circles all this time. It was too hard to tell because their was nothing but white everywhere. Then Tempo realized that his feet weren’t submerged in snow. The wind wasn’t blowing nearly as hard as it was before and it was getting warmer. Excitement consumed the young boy causing him to pick up the pace. The ice on the ground became more and more scarce until it turned into asphalt. There was no more snow, no more wind, and no more freezing temperature. What stood before him now was a more familiar sight.

A city. Filled to the brim with overwhelming Skyscrapers and plenty of shelter. The sector gave Tempo a sense of security. Out in the artic it was him and the elements. He could barely see his hands in front of his face let alone an enemy. This was much better and it felt more like home. A quaint little building caught his eye. It looked the same as the one he entered in the Artic Sector moments before being teleported to his fight. He quickly limped across the street and entered the hut. A nap was definitely in order.

Tempo moves from Artic Sector to City Sector.

Tempo enters City Sector bunker.

[Belle Hibiki]

Belle nudged the fallen collar with his foot, the only thing that was left of the existence of John doe. He supposed there were worse ways to die. He had seen a few of them himself. Still, though, it seemed a little extreme.

But then, John had chosen to enter the competition. And had chosen to not listen to the rules. And had died as a result. Despite how Belle felt about the competition's methods, if it even was them, it was clear that the man, whoever he had been, had almost willfully made an effort to screw up.

The collar beeped a few more times before it, too, suddenly shattered. Belle jumped back and watched in amazement as the metal device disintegrated before his eyes, as if it had been dipped in acid.

A minute later, the final shard of metal sizzled into nothing with a sharp 'fuff' of air and the stench of burning ozone. Belle waved his hand in front of his nose to brush the odor away, grimacing.

Belle wasn't sure what to do next. He felt he should say something. Bringing his hands up, he clapped them together once, twice, and then held them there, bowing his head. "Uh," he started, "I guess you were kind of a good fight. Or could have been, if you hadn't fucked up, Guy I Don't Know. So ... Yeah. Rest in peace, and all that."

The forest sector was supposed to be somewhere in the south-west. Taking one last look at the spot where John had ceased to be, Belle rubbed his hands together, blew into them, and started off towards the distant walls.

Belle moves from Arctic Sector to Forest Sector.