Day Four: Early Morning

[Burter Jr]

Day Four
Midnight - 6:00 AM

"Ahhh, another day, warriors! And...your last.

Three people have fallen just before the end of the day.

#14 Bardock
#15 Android 18
#23 Bra

Now, with the groups avoiding each other and clearly things moving slower each hour, we're going to put things to a close.

In six hours, all zones except F-5 will be danger zones. Which means...it's time to finish this game.

Here are all the survivors thus far:

#01 Android 13
#03 Trunks
#09 Minoshia
#11 Kami
#16 Violet
#18 Raditzu
#19 Super Buu
#21 Kid Buu
#23 Reijin
#24 Android 20
#27 Vegeta
#33 Krillin

See you on the mountain top warriors! Here we go!"




Simply get in some last roleplays. Tommorrow around 8-9 EST, things will come to a climax.

GPS has been de-activated. Sniper and Binoculars won't work in the rain.

Note: It's now raining

[Banned Dana]

Rain clouds began to darken the skies as the five warriors closed in on the end of their journey together. The clock was ticking away, bringing death closer and closer to their marks. Each of the contestants souls were darkened, each of their minds were shattered, but some how, some way, they were sticking together. They seemed like a banded brothers, willing to fight along side each other and willing to place their difference aside for the common cause, survival.

As the first few droplets of rain fell from the blackened sky, a foreboding scene lay before the group. Death awaited them and it would seem as if they were to finally embrace it. The time for resting, the time for running, it was all over. Action would have to ensue, their survival was imperative, and a winner was inevitable. They were all finally ready to embrace their destinies, ready to step up the plate to show the audience what they wanted to see. No matter who was to fall, there was only one thought remaining within the group of broken warriors, game time.

Karl Jak had announced what they had feared for days, only one final spot remained un-forbidden and there was no doubt that the final twelve contestants would be heading that way. There wouldn?t be much time to get ready for the fight, so they made all their adjustments as they walked. Their destination was their final march, F-5, the giant mountain. Whomever reached the peak first would have the obvious advantage, so making haste was part of the alliances main priority.

The rain began to pour down on them with a fierceness unlike that they had felt in a long time. It was so refreshing and invigorating. It was washing the dirt and blood from their bodies and their souls. New pride began to swell within the beasts that marched up the hill. Together they were a wrecking ball of death, ready to knock down the mightiest of foe. They would be faced with their greatest challenges yet, but they would not fear it, no. They were ready to die, ready to end this game. Together they would reign supreme or die together. If all were to be lost, they would take as many down with them as they could. Seven others would attack and their five stood strong, could they survive, could they become the final five? Would one of them be the champion of Dante?s Abyss 2006?

They each knew that danger not only lay behind and in front of them, but it also lay within each and every single one of them. Each person?s mind was as fragile as a cracked eggshell, ready to spill out and drench everything with it?s deadly liquid. The poison within each individual?s mind was evident in their glances, the trust was faltering and with it would go the alliance. If one thing tipped the scales, it could spell disaster for the clan, could they keep the peace long enough to enter into a friendly mortal combat with one another, or would it turn deadly before that?

Thirteen turned these thoughts over and over within his mind. Flicking the drenched silver hair over his shoulder, he tied it back into a pony tail with a small piece of his shirt. These allies had touched the droid deeper than he had expected. They all had learned so much in such a little time about one another, something that Thirteen had found only once before with Violet and the Civil Unrest, but a lot of that had been based off lies. This time however, it was all hardcore truth. There was a small rift within the group, but that had been placed on the sidelines for now, they really had a shot at this, they could win it all.

Thirteen cracked a smile and let out a small laugh.

?So.? he spoke with humor, something that caught the attention of them all. ?Who?s up for a game of King of the Hill??

[Kami]

The early morning hours were finally upon them. With them had come the rain. Vision became limited, and water was running down Kami's face. He reached over to his sleeve, where a tattered piece of fabric from the intense days of fighting hung. With a flick of his wrist he tore it off into a long strip. The rain drops dotten the fabric as he held it out horizontally before him. Without missing a beat he raised the blue fabric to his forehead an wrapped it around his head, tying a tight knot in the back. The tails of his new blue bandana flickered in the wind, the rain now no longer dripped into his eyes.

The mood was somber, the announcements of the final twleve fighters were heard by everyone, but nobody bothered to make a wise comment. The old Namek, his long bandana fluttering behind him continued on walking.

This is it... The whole group was all thinking the same thing. Despite their differences they found a common bond in the desire for victory. Whether it be personal of public they all had something that drove them to advance this far in such a hellish tournament.

The rain was being unforgivingly unleashed from the sky. The visibility worsened. All that could be heard was the sound of feet moving and rain drops pelting everything around them. Kami looked to his team, Trunks, Reijin, Vegeta and 13. They were all walking along in silence. They were all intensely focused on their surroundings and trying to keep themselves in a mental zone of prepairedness.

The air was cool and refreshing, but thick with tension and an intense concentration Kami hadn't sensed in ages. He thrived on moments like these, nothing was better than a huge goal coming down to the wire. This is where champions are made or broken, this is where the men and the boys go their seperate ways. It was moments like these that true warriors were born.

[Super Buu]

?For fuck sake!? snarled Violet, peering out from behind a tree. ?I?m gonna get soaked!?

?What?s wrong now?? sighed Super Buu, standing out in the middle of a field, drenched from head to toe. ?It?s just plain water!?

The majin was actually beginning to enjoy himself. Over the past few days, his rubbery surface had accumulated a great deal of dust, grime, mud, and blood. He ran a finger along his forehead, and heard a pleasant squeak as he did so. Crouching down next to a puddle, he gazed at his own reflection. Lookin? good.

Kid was less happy about having to walk around in the mud using his hands, but it was still better than nothing. He simply glared up at the sky, wondering what this weather meant.

?You?ve got to be crazy!? yelled the woman, not daring to leave step out into the field. ?Don?t you Buus catch colds??

?Cold? What?s a cold?? shouted Super back.

?At-choo!?

Kid Buu suddenly snapped out of his daydream, grunting. He crouched down on all four arms, tiny nostrils dilating.

?Who sneezed?? hissed Violet, suddenly on edge.

?It wasn?t me,? rumbled Super, serious all of a sudden. ?Come on.? He jogged over to the trees, making sure to keep his head low. Beckoning his smaller counterpart, he crouched next to Violet, ready for whatever was coming.

?At-choo!?

?Quiet down, Krillin,? came a voice. ?I?m sensing something ? not right.?

?Let?s just get out of this rain. Hey, look, there?s some shelter over there!?

?Krillin, don?t! There could be - ugh ??

Buu gripped the pistol he had taken from Goku Junior. At least two people were out there, but there could be more. He stood up suddenly, moving out of his cover and, raising the gun up. He pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Six shots. Jumping back, he raised an eyebrow. ?Huh??

In front of them stood a very short, very bald human, holding a round, golden object. His boyish eyes widened in surprise as he raised the shield up in disbelief. ?Wow!? he stammered, rubbing his shiny cranium absent-mindedly with one free hand. ?Talk about lucky!?

Buu, however, wasn?t looking at the half-pint. He had locked eyes with an elderly-looking man behind - one he had seen before. The person who had put an arrow in Sixteen?s shoulder. The majin?s eyes burned furiously as he took a step forward, gripping the gun. ?You ?!?

Then, as soon as it had come, his rage washed away. How bizarre, he thought. For some reason, he no longer felt any animosity towards the grey-haired man.

Android 20 smirked. It was easy to manipulate the minds of those who chose brute force over strategy. He debated turning the pink being on his allies, but a new thought began to stir in his head. Instead of destroying them ? why not use them?

?What are you waiting for?!? raged Violet, jumping out into a fighting position.

?Hold it,? ordered Twenty, holding up a palm, signifying peace.

?Hold it?? began the woman, ?why-?

The android shushed her like a child. ?Listen to me. This game is drawing to a close. Only the most powerful fighters remain. You are only three people, and we are only two.? He brought up his hands, one finger outstretched for each fighter. ?Why not ?? he intertwined the two hands, ?make it five??

?I think it?s a good idea!? blurted out Super Buu spontaneously.

?Huh?? Violet raised an eyebrow at her friend. ?We?ve just met these people. Why are you-?

?Then it?s agreed,? concluded Twenty, crossing her arms. He smirked inwardly before gesturing a palm to the shorter human standing next to him. ?This is Krillin. And my name is Twenty.?

?Twenty?? asked Violet. ?So you?re an android??

The doctor raised a smile. ?You could say that.?

?That would explain a lot,? grumbled the taller of the two Buus. ?When we met you before, I thought you were just a helpless old man.?

Twenty?s smile faded slightly into a frown. ?Indeed,? he muttered. ?Speaking of which, what happened to your friends? The cat and the man with the eh ? funky hairstyle.?

?Dead,? said the monster flatly. The look on his face was unreadable.

?Well, all the more reason to team up, then.?

The bald man finally piped up, releasing a question that seemed to have been plaguing his mind. ?What?s with him?? he asked, pointing to the miniature lookalike of Super Buu that had been baring his teeth throughout the conversation, down on all fours.

?Oh, him?? Supes glanced to his feet. ?He?s just my retarded little brother.?

Having no words to retort with, Kid Buu settled by sinking his teeth into Super?s leg, eliciting a roar of agony and a string of ?get it off!?s from the hulking monster.

?You?re both as retarded as each other!? exclaimed Violet, attempting to get between the two as they battled for supremacy.

Twenty and Krillin turned their heads to each other, grinning slightly. It seemed they?d stumbled upon quite the group.


OOC: Hope I didn?t screw up your characters too badly, fellas >_> Supes?s crazy anger is now gone, thanks to Twenty?s Affect Mind.

[Raditzu]

The breaths came heavy and slow. As his body swelled with air, a pain ran through the warrior's body. The body of the warrior was sprawled on the mossy dirt, a shotgun laying inches away from his fingers. He tried to sit up, but stopped almost immediatly. Aggravating his injury was not something he needed to do at the moment. In a motion that took more effort than he wanted to expend, Rad flipped onto his stomach and hoisted himself onto his hands and knees. Blood flowed from all his open wounds, puddling beneath him. Had he been able to manifest it, the saiyan would have given a roar of pain as he pushed himself to his feet, defying the pain that willed him to do otherwise. All-in-all, the past few hours had not been ones he would look back on warmly. Fuck this game and fuck everyone in it is what ran through Rad's head. Throwing his body against the remains of a tree, Rad stopped to steady himself. He could feel the dizzyness of bloodloss creeping up on him. What came next was something the warrior abhorred. Unfortunately, he had done it enough time to know what to expect.

Extending an open palm, Rad conjured forth a ball of ki. His face contourted into a grimace of pain as he slowly pushed the ball of ki into one of the open gun wounds. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the warrior withdrew the ball of energy. He took a moment to brace himself, then forced the searing ki lightly into another wound. The third time his body spasmed and he ended up making the injury slightly worse than it had been. The fourth time he almost collapsed from the pain that wracked his body. The hand of the saiya-jin fell limp at his side and the ball of ki whithered away. Once again drawing in heavy breaths, Rad's eyes darted about the ground, looking for something he knew should be there. After several minutes of looking about (the movements of his eyes becoming increasingly frantic) Rad's body dropped in a sort of physical sigh and he pushed himself upright, having drooped against the tree. That's when he heard the dull clunk of his boot against metal. He would have laughed if he could. At his feet, as though it knew it would be needed, lay the Medical Kit Bardock had liberated from Selipa.

Bending over and picking up the small metal box turned out to be far more of a chore than it should have been. It was quiet ironic, actually. Here stood a warrior capable of destroying planets and conjuring forth powers that would make a legion of grown men tremble in fear... and he couldn't even pick up a box. The battle-hardened soldier within Raditzu couldn't help but grin through the pain, having experienced this exact same scene several times before, but that didn't make it any less painful. Rad had managed to open the small kit, but was unable to do anything without assistance, and he had just blown the head off of the only assistance he would have been likely to get. In frustration, Raditzu let his body fall backwards, clutching the kit to his chest, as though afraid he might loose sight of it. Though his various injuries did not appreciate the inmpact upon the ground, Rad told himself to get over it as he pulled a small suture kit from the metal box. To his dismay, there was not enough thread to adequately close all his wounds, so he settled on half-hearted stitching up those in his abdomen. Aside from that, all that was left in the kit were a few bandages and some pieces of cotton. After wrapping his midsection, Rad was still left with the wound in his neck and naught but some cotton to do anything about it.

The small clearing Rad had been playing doctor in had been quiet up to this point, filled with only the sounds of Rad's light movements and the occasional gasp he could must. That was soon brought to an abrupt halt as the noisy whirr of a chainsaw sprang to life. With a snap of his neck (which produced a rather neat spurt of blood) Rad's hair came flying over his shoulder. In a very practiced motion, the saiya-jin grabbed ahold of his long mane and lowered it towards the buzzing saw. The theory of the chainsaw-hair-cut ended up being far less painful than the practice of it. While several strands of the hair did cut, most of what Rad held in his hand was simply torn by the spinning chain. Rad was left with a mass of long, black, and surprisingly silky hair; his trademark locks were now missing a large chunk on his right. Wanting to waste very little time, Rad broke the mass of cut hair into several chunks and began weaving them together tightly. When he was done, he had produced a long rope of hair. With a patience that most saiyans would have abdandoned, Rad fixed the cotton against his neck wound, holding it awkwardly in place with his chin, and fastened it in place with his hair. The choker of jet black locks, while supremely sub-par, worked well enough. The make-shift bandage would do little more than help stem the bleeding.

That's when the rain began. As if someone had just flipped the comsic 'rain' switch Raditzu was drenched. It was entirely possible that it had been raining the whole time and he just hadn't noticed, but Rad prefered to think otherwise. It made what was left of this tournament more interesting. Karl's voice blarred through the speakers near Rad's clearing and the bulky warrior had to restrain himself with every fiber of his being to not obliterate the stupid squawk-boxes. Raditzu knew, better than anyone, who had died, and he didn't care who was left. With the knowledge that he would be safe on the top of the mountain he had climbed earlier, Rad approahced his father's body. With a violet kick, Rad tore his father's head from his body completely, though not in anger. Had his father known, he would have understood. Rad rolled the head onto the top of his boot, then flicked it straight up into the air, not wanting to bend over in hopes of preventing reinjury. Rad caught the head and turned it so its eyes faced down, then removed Bardock's scouter. Throwing his own aside, the saiya-jin afixed his father's device to his ear and brought up the digital map he had seen Bardock referencing. He dropped Bar's head and moved back into the clearing.

Rad grabbed collected four items that had been strewn about the ground as a result of the recent battling. The first was his own nail gun. The weapon he had started with had served him well and he knew he could count on it. Second was the ki shotgun Android Eighteen had wielded throughout the tournament. There was little doubt that it was an effective weapon, Rad thought as he looked over to Bardock's headless body. The third and fourth were gathered for less-than-practical reasons. Rad had pulled the stuffed Teddy Bear from Eighteen's bag, which had been stuck under her lifeless body, and he had picked up the medkit. Unceremoniously dumping out the leftovers and garbage from the medkit, Rad stuffed the Teddy Bear into it and weaved his tail through the handle. As the fuzzy appendage returned to its rightful place at his waist, the small metal box was pulled to his side, fastened rather securely. With nothing less to be done, Rad started the slow march to the final battleground.

[Sammah]

Like a chord pulled on a giant grandfather clock, the time struck midnight. Thus begins the forth day of this wretched tournament. Vegeta was lucky enough to find himself still alive, although his encounters were quite interesting, he had only suffered a minor injury. Reijin has seen to it though that it was healed with the use of a medical kit, and now the pain has been completely subsided. His energy was back to normal, and the fight that was to come would be what he used it on, there was no doubt about it.

"Ahhh, another day, warriors! And...your last.? Karl Jak?s voice came into ear again, how annoying it was becoming to the Saiya-jin king. He just doesn?t shut up?. ?Three people have fallen just before the end of the day.? Vegeta listened intensively to the names being called out, but to his surprise, they were on a very strange account. ?Bardock, Android-18, and Bra.? Vegeta couldn?t possibly conceive what he was hearing. Ragnarok was taken out? There was no way, but whom and with what kind of power could have taken out such a powerful group?

?Bra?? He knew she was with Raditzu, and he let her die. What type of bonds did the two have together? FoF was the beginning of Vegeta?s knowledge between the two, however now it appeared that the ties were maturing.

?Now, with the groups avoiding each other and clearly things moving slower each hour, we're going to put things to a close. In six hours, all zones except F-5 will be danger zones. Which means...it's time to finish this game.? Vegeta reached down to his map and pulled it out, unraveling it between the usages of both hands. His eyes began to scan the longitude and latitude margins until he found F-5. This was their new target, the top of the mountain. Who knows what was waiting for them up there, but no doubt Vegeta?s counter part, the real death, would be anticipating their arrival. Karl Jak quickly announced the remaining fighters and said his farewells. Among them however, was Raditzu. How could everyone else be taken out, yet he still survived? It just didn?t make any sense to the Saiya-jin king. The calculations could only add up to one thing; he killed them all by himself. But wait, no?that couldn?t work. Why in the world would he kill his own father and companion? Vegeta spat on the ground and released his mind from the thoughts.

Suddenly overhead the stars were quickly subsiding into a hole for protection. Their barrier would consist of thick dark clouds, and any sort of light coming from the moon was now nonexistent. He could smell the scent of rain coming from miles away, and small trickling against his face indicated that the worse has yet to come. This sort of weather wasn?t usually a problem for the warrior, but in a time like this, he?d rather not have any sort of distractions at all. ?So?who?s up for a game of king of the hill?? The android?s voice questioned as he intended to break the silence with a sort of humorous interjection. Vegeta shifted his eyes over to the humanoid being then gave a slight grunt, apparently the king was not amused. This was a serious time, and seriousness was all he needed. Trunks was walking not far from him, and he too was beginning to worry the king. Should he have to come to a fight with his own son, he knew he had to suck it up and deal with it. Many times they had sparred while he was just a child, but now it was different. What if someone else had to fight Trunks, and possibly end up killing the royal youth? Vegeta didn?t know how he would react to such a feat.

The rain began to come down heavier now, and soil the dirt and grass beneath their feet. They were now treading on soft ground, almost as if a signal or foreshadow of the future. A soft splashing noise could be heard echoing around them as the small liquid pellets pounced onto the trees and rocks around them. It was almost settling to hear a noise other than what they have listened to for the past few days; silence. Vegeta?s hair was now becoming too soaked to continue its erect posture and began to sag down in front of his face. What an annoyance it became. He slid his right hand under the hair and flipped it up and over; now behind him. Feeling the now thickened hair slap onto his back, he knew it would just get in the way if he entered quickly into a fight. His eyes gazed around and noticed a few long strands of vine hanging off from a nearby tree. Surviving off the environment was something he was taught as a very young Saiya-jin, and the motto to this was always ?overcome and adapt?. He pulled the thin vine right off the branch and began to weave it in a sort of strong fashion. Tugging on both ends of the thread he knew it was suitable for battle, hardened to not break with ease.

His hands cuffed the drenched hair hanging down his back and began to thin it out into a pony tail, wrapping the sown braid of vine around the pony tail a few times and ensuring to weave it inward and out, giving the tail it's own look of Saiya-jin attire. Satisfied with the outcome he pulled gently on the young hair style that he just made; wondering just how he looked since it was his first time for him carrying this sort of hair mold. Too bad there weren?t any mirrors around; otherwise he?d take a moment to adjust whatever needed to be adjusted for a more pleasing experience. Luxury however, was an uncommon word in the world of Dante, and he knew the only way he?d be able to find a mirror, was if he made one. That was for another time, and another day however; his focus now was to get onto that mountain peak, and defeat his competition. The thought of Raditzu still being alive was beginning to haunt him. Just how powerful was this creature? No matter how long Vegeta tries to defeat his enemies, this one would continue to grow in horror. So many deaths, yet this one was still alive. An impossible gesture for an impossible world, yet Raditzu has overcome all obstacles.

He spat on the ground again and knew that as soon as he reached that mountain top, Raditzu would be waiting there. That was now his primary target. If there was anybody to fight in order to prove who was the best, and who would stand as the champion of this tournament, he was the one to fight. No matter what he did, or where he went, this monster was always in his way. Vegeta?s eyes quickly panned over to Trunks who still had a face of stillness and maturity. What if Raditzu gets to him? What if Reijin gets to him? Did Raditzu really kill Bra? He shook his head, allowing the pony tail to lag out and follow the quick head movements. The muscles along his arms began to intensify with every step they took towards the mountain. His blood would become hotter and hotter, boiling with the anticipation of a great fight. Just then words began to trail through his mind, something he heard from long ago?but he couldn?t tell from where. ?Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistakes / Luck ain?t even lucky / got to make your own breaks??

Luck isn?t even lucky. He knew he couldn?t count on lady luck to bail him out of this one. Vegeta knew he had to stand his ground, and should he face the seriousness of consequences, he knew he had to ?make his own breaks?. The words continued on though, and he listened to the lyrics as they raced past the drums of ears. ? Better stand tall when they're calling you out / Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down? It was almost a relief to hear words of encouragement coming from somewhere, even if it was from the core depths of his very mind. He won?t back down, no matter the circumstances, he?d fight with everything he had, for that was the way he was raised, and that?s the way he raised his children. Vegeta took a deep breath and gazed upward, allowing the rain to run it?s course down his face, and moisten his cheeks and neck with a new beginning, a new path, and a new ending; destiny is what you make of it.

[Orion]

Time is what keeps things from happening all at once.

From out of nowhere, the quote struck Trunks. It was a well known verse on Earth which held an anonymous creator. Why he thought of it, he couldn't discern. It seemed to make a lot of sense to him, although he wished there was no time. He wished everything would happen at once, at least in Dante's Abyss. He wished this entire confrontation would erupt in a fiery conflagration of desperation and survival, and end as soon as the first glistening ember took to the sky. He wished each punch, each kick, each energy blast would mesh into one agonising moment and disperse at that moment's end.

But, that was a thought pattern for a fool.

Trunks walked confidently with his alliance. Everyone's face was sullen and indecipherable. The entire alliegance of mismatched warriors took one sturdy step after another, all certain of the unwanted situation that awaited them. No one spoke a word. It seemed the audible sound of breathing was louder with the concerned silence that followed them. No one needed to discuss what was before them. There was nothing. There was only one option; fight. There was no other offer on the table for anyone. Even with the added knowledge that another eleven warriors would be converging upon the one zone, no one dared to relay a message based upon any of it. Trunks thought he heard Thirteen say something, but no reply came, so the halfling disregarded it.

The rain began. It fell from the sky like myriad icy daggers, unable to pierce the skin but well and truly leaving their mark. Trunks released a haughty sigh through the raindrops. What else could go wrong? This entire nightmare was finally ending in an inauspicious manner, he had to face the choice that he could fight those he cared deeply about, and for the first real time, his mortality. And now, it was raining.

Trunks kept his mouth shut, stopping the train of complaining that would normally accompany such a scenario. He merely saved his gaze for the front, attempting to mitigate the damaging thoughts that attacked his brain like a pack of vultures picking at a dead corpse.

He knew the zone was coming in sight, despite the horrendous visiblity. Trunks glanced at his alliance, knowing full well it may be his last while they still aren't murdering each other, and looked forward. Pre-ordained destiny be damned; Trunks was not letting fate control his actions.

He was the master of his destiny, and his destiny was to fight.

[Krillin]

((OOC: This was written yesterday, so it doesn't quite tie in to the recent events announced by BJ. I'll have another post up today that will address the whole "Finale" thing.))

?It?s starting to wind down, now.?

Krillin looked over, and nodded. ?Yes. How many of us are left??

Twenty did some calculating, but apparently found a few blotches in his memory banks, and was unable to provide an exact number. ?Those left number around twelve. Maybe a few more.?

Krillin shook his head. ?And I?ll bet they?re all one big, happy pow-wow, searching us out.?

?What?s the sense in that??

Krillin lifted an eyebrow. ?Hmm??

?With the new 12-hour restriction in place, everyone obviously wants at least one kill to take place. If they all teamed up against two people, AKA, you and me, then their odds of reaching that plateau every half-day is sharply decreased. Besides, according to the placements of the death toll, I?d estimate the number of total groups out there to be around three.?

?And what?s your analysis of the map, based upon that??

Twenty pulled out the new, updated blueprint of the island, and scanned it for a full minute. ?It will be total mayhem. Allies will turn upon one another at the slightest opportunity. The hunters will overextend themselves and become trapped in even the most fragile ambush. These final kills will not be kills of honor, as those before might have been. From this point on out, the tournament becomes a frenzy of betrayal, jealousy, greed, and selfishness.?

Twenty paused for a few seconds, bringing it all together. Finally, he concluded, ?This, therefore, is exactly what the viewers have longed to see all along.?

----------------------

The days seemed dimmer. As Krillin?s confidence began to fade, so did his cheery outlook. He had almost hoped he would die early in the competition, and had actually planned on it. He wasn?t supposed to make it this far. Here, he would find bloodthirsty opponents who had mutilated their friends. Here, he would find shadows of the deepest pits of hell. The game had indeed become an Abyss.

Even his close friendship with Twenty had come under doubt. Krillin was still unsure of what had happened to the Android, but something was indeed different. Gero was still there, but there was also something else, something that changed him in the slightest degree, so as to register as something altogether different. It was Gero, but changed. He was still his old friend in entirety, but he was also something more.

Krillin trusted Gero, but Krillin did not trust this stranger. In the end, would a struggle ensue? Would Gero be brought to terms with himself, deciding what would ultimately become of his dear friend? Would this?this savagery rip apart the fragile connection of trust between a human and an android?

The days seemed dimmer, but Krillin did not notice the sun frowning upon the bloody battlegrounds, nor the clouds weeping for the fallen, nor the dirt pleading for atonement.

Krillin?s eyes were on Twenty.

[Super Buu]

The final hours of Dante?s Abyss were closing in.

?Ahhh, another day, warriors! And...your last.? That voice which had come to be so familiar over the course of the competition sprung out again, with no warning. Super Buu looked up at the sky, wincing not for the first time at the unnecessary volume of the loudspeakers.

Karl continued. ?Three people have fallen just before the end of the day. Number fourteen, Bardock. Number fifteen, Android Eighteen. And number twenty-three, Bra.?

The monster let loose a long, drawn out-breath from his chest. So it was true. That young woman had been Bra. Back in the Vegeta Rebellion, she had just about doubled Buu?s power. And she, a mighty saiyan warrior, was dead? They had been right to team up.

?Now, with the groups avoiding each other and clearly things moving slower each hour, we're going to put things to a close. In six hours, all zones except F-5 will be danger zones. Which means...it's time to finish this game. Here are all the survivors thus far.?

Their host began to reel off a list of names, some that Buu recognised, others which he had never heard of. His mood brightened considerably when he heard Trunks? name, and he felt anger twinge at the edges of his psyche when Minoshia was heard. How the Konat had managed to survive so long after being exposed so that earth-shaking explosion was a mystery unto itself. The bright side was, Supes would have the chance to kill the betrayer personally. The thought didn?t fill him with joy, but the grim satisfaction of avenging his leader?s death would be worth it.

?See you on the mountain top warriors! Here we go!?

The group waited to make sure the announcement had ended, and then carried on their walk.

?We?ve come a long way,? Buu mused aloud.

The tension in the air was apparent from the fact that nobody replied. All of them knew that, within six hours, at least four of their number would be dead. Strangely, however, the golem of putty continued. Turning to the small, bald human, he asked; ?looking forward to it??

?Can?t say I am. Then again, I?ve died before, and it?s not so bad.? The man smiled and placed his arms behind his head. ?I?m just looking forward to getting off this island. You know how hard it is to find a good substitute for toilet paper out in the wilderness??

?Excuse me?? Violet piped up in a shrilly tone. ?Can we not talk about things like that??

Ignoring her, Supes continued the conversation. ?It?s not so bad when your stomach is another dimension. But when you need to go, you need to go.?

?But, how is that even possible?? interjected Twenty, shaking his head with scorn. ?Logically, it just doesn?t make sense. You?re only a bit bigger than me. How could your stomach encompass an entire dimension??

Buu just shrugged. ?I dunno. A wizard did it. Name of Bibidi.?

The android just scoffed. ?Magic ? that?s for fairytales.?

?Oh yeah?? Grinning at the chance to show off his abilities, the hulking monster flicked his headtail at a nearby tree. A second later and the plant was a giant red-white striped candy cane. Krillin clapped, Twenty gawped.

?H-how did you ? can he do that too?!?

?Him?? Super cocked his head in the direction of his brother, and Twenty nodded. ?Yeah. It runs in the family.?

Convinced that it was an illusion, the android set about prodding the candy cane, inspecting it from all angles with a look of extreme scepticism on his face.

?Tastes good enough,? commented Krillin, after taking a lick of the cane. He turned to the creator of the treat. ?Must be pretty handy when you want a snack just to be able to turn any random object into food.?

?Yeah,? replied Super, ?but for some reason some people have a problem with me eating their shop signs.? He grumbled. ?Obviously they?ve never had the munchies before when you?re miles from a restaurant.?

The small human didn?t know whether to be amused or alarmed at the pink being?s somewhat distorted views. He compromised by laughing nervously. ?You ever get in trouble for it??

The majin stroked his chin and cast his mind back. ?Once or twice. There was that time I turned a Starbucks into a giant doughnut. They tried to cuff me, but it?s kind of easy to slip through when you?re made of puttalin.? He shrugged as if this was completely normal, then pointed irritably to the golden band of metal around his neck. ?I?d show you, but these things stop my innate abilities.?

Krillin nodded sympathetically. ?That sucks.?

?Damn right! And another thing ?? The monster?s voice began to get louder as his conversational momentum built. Soon it would be far too late to stop him. ?? What?s with the stopping us from flying? I mean, flying is more exciting for a TV show than walking!?

?I dunno,? the short human shrugged. ?Maybe it?s so?s we don?t like, blow up the island. That?d make it difficult for them to film.?

The conversation continued along that vein for a while, Super Buu finding something to complain about in every aspect of the competition and Krillin being forced to agree. Finally the pink monster looked up ahead, and narrowed his eyes, peering off into the far distance.

?Do you see that??

Krillin gulped. ?The mountain.?

An almost tangible wave of dread seemed to grip the party as they realised this. Super Buu, however, looked like a child on Christmas Eve. His rubbery lips were stretched back across his white fangs, a broad grin across his features.

?This is it ?? he murmured, anticipation welling up. ?The final battle draws near!? He clapped his hands together and turned to his allies, beaming. ?The blood of eleven warriors will stain the island tonight.? The humans seemed positively alarmed at this, but Buu looked like he could hardly contain himself. ?We should all be proud for making it this far. Let?s go!?

The majin began striding confidently towards the mountain. He lived for the fight, and the greatest one of his life was about to begin.

*****

?Super Buu.?

The name was spoken with contempt. A low hiss passed through the grotty apartment, like that of a snake. The man who had spoken the words watched, seething, as one vividly pink warrior walked across the television set like he owned it. That was easily taken care of.

A green blast of ki ripped through the box, reducing it to a sparking mess of metal and shattered glass. A low creak sounded as weight shifted from the dust-stained couch. A man, wearing a full suit of armour, clenched and unclenched his hands.

?I hath finally found thee.?


OOC: That?s all, folks! I?m ready for the grand finale. Thanks for reading. ^_^ Credit to KB for the idea at the end.

[Belle Hibiki]

After having sunk his teeth into Super Buu's leg, after having acquainted himself with the beings Twenty and Krillin, and after having wolfed down the last of his meager rations in a careless last minute indulgence, Kid Buu was beginning to feel a little better about being called 'retarded'.

His anger, however, was secondly slow to cool, and firstly easy to rouse. He did not forgive.

Buu glared at his large brother over the pseudo-cover of his duffel bag, attempting to burn a hole right through Supes' back with the intensity of his gaze. It didn't work, but it was fun to try and to imagine what might happen to the usurper of his father's affections. His lips twitched up in a rare smile at the image of the impure puttalin fighter writhing on the ground, melting, all the while screaming 'I'm melting, I'm melting!'

Meanwhile rain ran in miniature rivers down his naked torso, dashing over his smooth, streamlined curves before splashing down into the dirt. He picked his way carefully through the foliage, wary of another sudden mudpot. One of his walking hands had fallen victim to a combination of loose soil and pooled water after the beginning of the storm, and his body still had the marks to prove it. With the aforementioned limb drenched halfway up to its stretched elbow in viscuous dirt, his accident was unmistakable. He gritted his teeth and forged through the gathering storm, towards the mountain that loomed not too far in the distance.

The night sung with the sounds of endless waves breaking upon far, remote shores. Buu again halted and tilted his face up, squinting against the pounding rain as he stared into the heavenly vaults above him, trying to discern the night sky that lay beyond. There was something portentous in this weather, an ominous ness - or so a human might think. To Buu, the "omen" was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence of battlefield conditions, something that could be an annoyance or a blessing; if he played it right.

Violet didn't worry him. If it became necessary to fight her, previous evidence suggested that only a small word of kindness would be necessary to get the once proud "grrl power" demoness to drop her guard as she went for a kiss. He could kill her then with ease. The human Dunhan would no doubt have recoiled at the thought of taking advantage of such feminine frailty, but Buu didn't give one flying fuck anymore what the director of fantasies thought about honor.

As far as he was concerned, he had been right: human emotions had no place in the heart of a monster.

The new arrivals, Twenty and Krillin, were more likely to make his sphincter tighten than his battle aura flare. He had seen plenty of daytime television in his brief stay at the Civil Unrest mansion, and if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was this: two human males who smiled at each other this often and exchanged such subtle, knowing looks were obviously homosexual, and therefore deserving of his contempt.

Buu didn't consider himself homophobic in particular, just anti-life. It didn't matter if they were straight or gay, displays of affection sickened him on a level that he couldn't explain.

His pondering was cut short by the abrupt rapping of familiar knuckles across the back of his head. "Yoyo, what's up with you?" Super Buu asked irritably. He had apparently realized that his "little brother" had stopped again and doubled back. "Keep up, or we're going to leave you behind! You wouldn't want to miss this, right?"

Kibbles grumbled darkly. No, it wasn't the humans that worried him at all, he thought as he made sure to walk through the other puttalin warrior, shoving him aside with an elbow.

Super Buu. Out of any of them, it was he that would be the biggest headache in the battle ahead. Supes knew him, to an extent - what he could do, what he was. But the problem ran deeper than that.

He had been trying not to think about it, trying to deny it, but the truth kept glaring at him right in the face every time he looked into those duplicate crimson eyes: the other majin was stronger than he was. Despite all the harsh situations he had put himself through and the strength he had gained, Super's power level still exceeded his.

Although he had battled the wizard creation Vici what felt like an eternity ago, and though he had forsaken the possibility of Bibidi coming back for him in that struggle, his hatred for "Super" Buu had not abated. Puttalin or not, brother or not, Kid Buu had still had to suffer to make the other's birth possible.

And how was he repaid? By being called a retard.

Well, he thought, he would just have to show Super Buu the consequences of that in the battle ahead. He grinned grimly.

His hand sunk into a mud pot. "AGH!"

~+~+~+~+~

"How much?"

The blue skinned, seven-foot tall demon squinted down before grunting. "Ten zeni says that he drops in the first minute." Tazz nodded, reaching up a hand the dize of a trashcan lid to scratch at his white tank top. The garment was plain save for the four red letters printed across the front: HELL. He also wore shorts, sans lettering, and a pair of sneakers. Aside from having blue skin, a horn growing out of his chin, and a spiked wooden club the size of a man in his unoccupied hand, he was altogether unremarkable.

His companion was notably shorter, probably not breaking the three-foot barrier of his species, but he made up for it in the nasal, high-pitched quality of his voice. "Twenty says in thirty seconds," Veni snapped. He looked up at the giant crystal ball that served as HELL's divination center, television set, and occasional disco ball. He blinked his large, featureless blue eyes. He was Gray-like, dressed in copious amounts of loose robes that fell across his twig-like limbs. In life he had been one of the most powerful wizards of WANG.

And now he was deadl; Kid Buu had killed him.

Tazz smirked at Veni before returning his attention to the crystal ball, which was so large that it could have easily served as an orca's fishbowl. He reached up and tapped the surface with his club, causing the image to short for a second before panning to the other groups. Veni didn't comment.

So, that was Super Buu, Veni thought, his mind reeling in disgust at the sight of seeing both majins together in one place. One had been bad enough, he wasn't sure if he could stomach the sight of two.

Two of Bibidi's creations still wandering about the living world while he was stuck here, apart from anyone else, forced to keep company with a demon ogre who regularly philosophized on the existence of boogers. He got the occasional letter from Vidi, who was in Purgatory and awaiting reincarnation, but it just wasn't the same as having him there.

Little Buu, Veni thought viciously. I hope you die, you wretch!

Off to the side, Tazz lifted his club and began to pick his nose with one of the spikes.

Veni winced. "Ugh."

~+~+~+~+~

"I do hope you understand that the delay was not my intent," King Yemma said with just a hint of defensiveness. Easily over three stories tall, the red skinned, thick bearded Overseer of Souls peered over his equally titanic desk, a plain four legged table that nonetheless stretched from one side of the great hall to the other. "The longer someone is alive, the easier it is to judge them. In this case..." He trailed off.

The minute creature in front of him nodded her head once respectfully. Her blue hair rippled in the light that bounced off her living metal skin. "I understand, sir. I've enjoyed my time here, so I assure you, it wasn't a bother."

Yemma hid a smile by shuffling some papers in front of his face; it was rare that anyone outside of an official called him 'sir'. "Yes, well." He straightened up in his chair. "I believe that now we're ready to pass judgment. Vici, daughter of Veni and Vidi, are you prepared?" He paused. "Vici?"

"It's him," the girl whispered. Her three foot long tail, just one foot shorter than her height, coiled in sudden tension. Her eyes were fixed not on Yemma but to the side, towards the television. On it, muted, the broadcast of Dante's Abyss rattled off statistics, betting numbers, backgrounds where applicable, and a myriad of other things as it panned over each contestant.

Kid Buu glared out from the glass fronting. The quality of it was so intense that suddenly Yemma wished he was in another room. "I decided that it would be best to keep a running tab on what happens there," he said. "For a little forewarning and all. Is something wrong?"

Vici glanced at Yemma and tilted her head towards the screen. "He's the one who saved me," she said softly. "Sir." She added.

Yemma frowned. "I thought he killed you. That's what the paperwork says anyway."

"No," Vici said adamantly, voice soft but clear as she stared up at the screen. "He saved me."

Yemma looked at Vici, at the image of Buu plastered larger than life on the him-sized television, and shrugged. "Well, with that injury, it doesn't look like he's going to be saving anyone else."

"Don't be so sure," the girl said fiercely, catching the King off guard. In all her time spent here, Vici had rarely spoken like this, least of all to him. "If it were anyone else, I might agree, but you see, it's him." Her eyes narrowed as she looked up. "He has a quality about him that only someone who fights against him can understand. I thought that he would be easy to defeat as well, but he stopped me... He overturned everyone who ever tried to stop him from getting what he wanted." Her lip twitched as Buu's memories, dredged from the brief time she had spent in his mind, floated to the surface in her thoughts. "No matter what, he always finds a way. That's just... How he is."

"You believe in him that deeply?"

Silence.

"I do."

~+~+~+~+~

They stood at the foot of the mountain, bedraggled, wet, and ready. The monolithic cathedral of stone rose up into the lightening sky of morning, its tip just gouging a small line through the low-hanging fog. The rain had not abated as their hike continued. If anything, Kid Buu thought to himself, it had gotten worse.

Hardly a word had been exchanged in the last hour, and Buu suspected that they were feeling what he was, that the coming clash was inevitable, inexorable, and not worth talking about. He read the faint expression of nervousness on some faces, eagerness on others, but those things had ceased to matter to him. Now, it was down to pure will to live.

It had always been so with him.

The battle that lay ahead would be taxing, he knew. It would push him to the edge of his limits and beyond, but he was not unaccustomed to the task. Any challenges that stood in his way would be tackled head on, without fear. Life was not something one was gifted with at birth, but something to be carved out of steel by the force of sheer will alone. No matter who tried to bring him down, no matter who tried to control him, he would never allow himself to be caged again. The battle, and victory, was waiting up at the top of the mountain, waiting for someone to step forward and take it, if they had the will.

Buu stepped forward.

[Minoshia]

There had been no consequences for him after he had screamed out into the sky, shouting at the host and all the viewers. After all he had been through in this tournament, he had come to one conclusion; the world was an awful place. No matter how much men had declared themselves soldiers for the righteous cause, or defenders of the weak, they had plopped themselves down on their sofa, taking time out of their miserable lives to watch fort four men strand themselves on an island, and only one walk away. They claimed to be pure souls, defenders of innocence, but they enjoyed blood, carnage and death almost as much as the Konat himself. Thought after thought ran through the Prince?s head, he had always isolated himself from these people, or they had hid in fear, but really they were the same person. He wondered if Minoshia had strangled the android in front of one of the hundreds of thousands of viewers of this show if they would appreciate it as much as they did watching it on the television.

The host?s voice boomed over the Public Announcement system, now here was a man who loved violence, probably as much as the Konat, his manner sounded excited.

"Ahhh, another day, warriors! And... Your last.? He became immediately intrigued with what Karl Jak had to say now, the first time he had really listened to him during this entire tournament. He listed off the names of the dead warriors from the day before, and announced the only surviving members, The Konat recognized most of their names. The Longhaired saiyan he had met before the final battle against Kooriza still existed, no surprise there. The surviving members of Civil Unrest were alive and well, and so was he. I will not go down, not now that I?ve made it this far

?See you on the mountain top warriors! Here we go!" Karl announced with a tone of superiority, he was pulling the strings on all of their lives, and they couldn?t do anything to stop him. There were twelve men, women and beast left alive on this island from the original group of forty-four, he would settle for nothing less then number one, he would go to any lengths to stand above as eleven different types of blood pooled at his feet, merging and mixing. It would be a cesspool of the dead and dying, the good and the evil, the backstabbing and the loyal. The ultimate mixture of life together at last, united only through death.

The Konat had been walking for some time now, hardly realizing his body moving. A foot lifted and collapsed on the ground, pushing forward and helping the limp foot to meet it. This pattern had become natural, though incredibly painful, to the Prince. He had been walking like this for more then a day now, maybe a little less, he had completely lost track of time. As the sunset and rose again, he hardly noticed. Nothing mattered anymore, besides the simple principal he had lived his life by. He repeated this mantra to himself as he trekked through the woods, looking at his map and heading towards the square labeled F-5, The mountaintop.

?Kill or be Killed, I will not die.?

[Violet]

The rain wasn?t the only storm going on as they neared the crest of the mountain. Each step made the realization that the end was near, and the grape haired vixen, clad in her full leather bio armor and Timberlands, couldn?t be more apprehensive.



?It?s just us now, Buu.? She purred over the rolling thunder in the distance. It was the moment she had dreamt of ever since their first encounter in Ravenholm, just magnified by a thousand. They were the last two standing, and only one would walk away, victorious. Excitement reeled through her body, touching every nerve ending with its white hot fingers, leaving a burning sensation behind to dance on her skin.

The look in the hulking majin?s eyes was an amalgamation of maddening lust, rage, and pure adrenaline. He was so close to victory, the delicious taste trailed across his purplish tongue like some rare delicacy. He inhaled deeply, the scent of both the woman and the slain?s blood fueling him for this one battle. The final battle. ?Indeed, human;? he sneered, his thin, pink lips stretching taut against the flash of white fangs lining his mouth. ?Just don?t fool yourself into thinking that you will be the one to walk away from this mountaintop.?

She snickered just once, low, cautious. ?You seem so sure of yourself, Super Buu.?

His gaze never faltered. ?Of that fact, yeah, I am.?

A web of lightning snaked across the black clouds, lighting up the mountain peak. They were both high off the fumes of adrenaline, both ready for the real fight to begin.

?Just to let you know, sweetheart; I?m not killing you out of spite, but because I love you.? The confession crossed her lips, and the monster didn?t even have the courtesy to comment. ?If I should die here today, I want you to remember that. You probably can?t feel anything but your own self regard, let alone what to actually do in this situation, but I believe it is the thought that counts, nothing more.? She let her gaze fall to the battlefield around them, her eyes roaming over the dead and obliterated. Would she soon be joining them? Did the dead dream?

Her pondering was cut short by a sharp fist to the jaw, cracking the bone inside and hurling her backwards into a boulder. She smashed through, the protection the mesh steel placed just under the muscles of her back was enough do dull the pain. She could feel the blood trickling just under the leather, but paid no heed as she launched back at the monster, spearing him in the midsection.

As they tumbled backwards in a clumsy, yet calculated roll, the energy surging through them climaxed, and they came together in a hailstorm of ki charged punches, kicks, any sort of attack that they could bestow upon each other with brute force. It was a twisted, deadly dance they performed, until the split second decision on the titanic majin ruined it all.

One clawed fist shoved upwards into her abdomen, cutting clean through her armor, and into the warm, slithery insides of the woman. It only took a second, but his hand, bloody and glistening in the lightning, punched forth through her back. Skewered on his arm, a choked cry elicited from her pale lips, his name trembling from her tongue. As he removed his arm, she fell back on the ground, blood pooling around her. Breath escaping from her lungs came in rapid pants, the pain almost overwhelming as she reached to her side and grasped her crossbow. With her last ounce of strength, she brought it to shoulder level of the beast, and fired.

An arrow shaped ki blast erupted from the mouth of the weapon, shooting through the rubber flesh of Super Buu. He screamed as the burning intensified, eyes bleeding red. He shot that deadly glare back to the human, a shudder of fear coursing down what was left of her spine.

?Buu?NO!!? The last thing she saw before the darkness swallowed her whole was that smiling face of a child long lost, and then, her body fell back against the grass, heart beating no more.



A crack of thunder snapped her back to reality. The crest of the mountain was becoming more real with each step. A soft, almost undetectable breeze slid over her skin, ruffling her hair away from her shoulders.

Her gaze lingered to the two Buu?s, committing their faces to memory. If she were to somehow make it off this island alive, she would take the memories of the two fighters with her, and hope that they would be on the other side, waiting. There was always that element of real death, it could happen at any moment.

Her only wish during the group of five?s trek up the mountain, was that they would see each other once more after this whole, twisted, sadistic event was over.


OOC: Italics and that battle are just a fantasy Violet had while going up the mountain. ^_^

[Krillin]

Krillin was not entirely pleased with the idea of allying with people who they would be turning against in no time at all, but then, there were many things about this Tournament he was not pleased about. At the very least, the two Buus and the silent woman might make things a little more interesting.

At the same time, however, they made it all devastating. Before, he had only had to scan Twenty's face from time to time, and decipher his thoughts and such. Now, he was confronted with four entirely unique persons, and nowhere near enough time to learn everything he wanted to about them. But, what did it truly matter? In six hours, nothing would be standing, except for one.

What would it be like, standing the victor over a plain of others who died? Would they jump and scream for joy? Would they be overwhelmed by those who fell, that they would win? Krillin decided not to think about it. The end result hardly mattered. The most important thing to do was reduce the amount of pain/shock/whatever he might be hit with to the greatest extent possible. And, to do that, he tried to fool himself into being entertained with a conversation. Under other circumstances, he likely would have warmed up to the Super Buu (as he was called) and his odd demeanor. Here, however, he could not take the leave to enjoy it. Try as he may, his thoughts were too atuned to the upcoming atrocities.

Krillin had already forgotten how wonderful life was. Instead, he simply assumed that, and elected to defend it as tenaciously as possible. Yet, he could not help but feel as thought some unseen force was deciding the outcomes of the battles, as if authoring each of the warrior's fate. The thought was silly, obviously, yet it was impressed upon him nonetheless.

Vigorous times gave rise to weird notions like that.

[Ruhiel]

What the hell do you mean, "you can't find any other records?!" Android 20 roared telepathically at Gero. I am not about to wander into a fight that's going to be a blood-fest without some information about these people!

If we haven't met them before, we have no records, dammit! We have everything else, but all three of these people that we've chosen to accompany to the final battle are completely unknown to us. We're completely blind. Gero retorted. But why are you suddenly so concerned? Their minds are far too easy to overpower. The larger pink bubble gum... thing... didn't prove to be much of a challenge to calm down. And I've already done a few test "pokes" you could say on the other two, and I can break into their minds as well. There's nothing to worry about.

Let's just hope you're right. I hate not knowing what I'm up against. Knowing everything you can about an opponent is the quickest way to victory, and with eleven people to kill, I'd prefer it be rather quicklike, savvy? Android 20 muttered back.

Eleven? Gero responded after a moment's pause. Don't you mean ten?

No, eleven. There's twelve people still alive, and we have to win, right? Android 20 answered, oblivious to what Gero was getting at.

No, ten, and that's it. We are not going to kill Krillin, end of story. Gero harshly snapped.

Whatever, let's just see what happens, and hope it doesn't come to that. Android 20 mumbled, not wanting to irritate the person who was going to be necessary in this final battle.

The new group they were in had more or less bamboozeled the android. The two bubble gum-like creatures, known as Super Buu and Kid Buu, didn't seem possible to the android. He just didn't understand how two golems of putty could exist in a living form, it blew his mind. And then when Super Buu turned a nearby tree into a massive candy cane, he gave up entirely. "Magic," Super Buu had called it. The day either Twenty or Gero believed in magic was the day the world would end. So, they dismissed it as "an unusual anomaly."

Still, the candy cane did taste good.

Twenty was worried about these two. Super Buu could prove extremely volatile later on, in the finale. But he was more scared of Kid Buu. If that thing really was retarded, then he would lack a true pain threshold and would not be so easily predictable. Twenty knew how to fight an unhindered person without a hitch, however, throw a mental handicap into the equation, and the battle becomes mere guesswork.

The other person in their new group was apparently known as Violet. Rather ironic, considering that was also the shade of her hair. She appeared to be human to Twenty, however, he knew he could not simply assume this as fact without knowing for sure, as he had dismissed Bra, a goddam Super Saiyan, to be a mere human once before. She had an aire about her that more or less told the android "don't piss me off."

And finally, there was Krillin. It was no longer undeniable. Krillin was showing signs of anxiety, and was throwing uneasy looks at Twenty from time to time. He didn't trust Twenty, it would seem. The human didn't appear as if he was going to prove to be hostile, and he doubted that he ever would. But it still made the android uneasy, knowing that the one person who he thought he could trust unfalteringly didn't trust him.

The rain splashed down around the group as they trudged towards the massive mountaintop in the distance.

"This is ridiculous. I could short a circuit if this this rain keeps up." Twenty grumbled aloud.

Focusing his energy around himself, a green light began to emanate from his form, until the light solidified into a plasma about his form. A handy defensive technique he had designed a very long time ago, known as the Enviroshield. Extremely resilient against any elemental based attack, and also doubles as a raincoat.

"So, anybody know any good songs? A little good music always helps to lighten the mood." Twenty chuckled to the group at large.

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head... Gero began to sing.

In the name of all that is good and righteous in this world, not that song. Android 20 groaned as Gero continued to sing telepathically.

[Reijin]

The next portion of time seemed to last a while. Reijin had to be very careful with his next movements, as he intended to win this game. He was not going to lose. He'd been training himself whenever they sent him out on scouting missions, learning to hone specific abilities even more, something that he had previously not understood how it worked. An ability that noone in the group had even known he had.

Trunks was off to the side of the sparsely wooded area, watching the mountain intently. He could see a few moving blurs in the distance, but his eyes could not distinguish exactly as to who it was. He seemed to be slightly unnerved by something that he'd heard, but he hadn't spoken to anyone about it.

Vejita slowly walked out of the woods, catching Trunks's attention. The lavendar haired Saiyan smiled, nodding at him. "Father... I am ready for this. I think that when we team up, we can take out as many of them as possible." His voice trailed off as Vejita slowly shook his head, looking unhappy with something.

"No..." he whispered. "You aren't ready for this. If I have anyone at my side, it won't be you." The words slammed through Trunks like a semi.

His eyes widened. "Ok... May I ask why?"

The King suddenly snapped. "That is exactly why! You are too weak to be a true Prince. Bra died yesterday, proving that the better half of my children was still a disgrace, and you stand before me as the still living proof. I can't deal with that. You hide from Reijin as if he is some huge concern to you, when he is a much stronger warrior then you will ever be."

Trunks seemed caught off guard a bit. He'd encountered his father's wrath before, but never quite like this. "Father, I don't..."

Vejita spat into his face, forcing Trunks to shy away, but then tighten up angrily in a refusal to show any weakness. "You are too afraid to do what needs to be done. Too trusting. When we get there, you won't attack me. You won't raise a finger. You'll go hellbent after Reijin, as usual, because as far as your heritage is concerned, to Hell with the Saiyan race as long as you attain your vengeance. You are blind to anything other than what YOU want."

Trunks looked to the ground, angered but unable to think of a response. His eyes boiled with blood, and his fists clenched. "I will not fail you, father. I will do what needs to be done once we reach that mountain." His fists trembled at his anger.

The Saiyan lord shook his head and then laughed. "Why do I waste my time. You won't win this. I'll kill you myself when the time comes," he spoke with determination. He leaned into Trunks's face and then growled at him. "Get out of my face."

The younger Prince could think of nothing to say, and gave him a glare, trying to decide what to do. It seemed that part of him wished to attack his father then and there, while the other part was trying to decide how to please him. He finally simply turned, and walked away.

**Part One**

[Reijin]

The dark haired youth was sitting behind a bush as 13 wandered by, seeking out Kami. He was met by the Namekian himself, who approached him from behind with a smile. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?" he questioned.

The android gave him a blank look. "Where is Reijin? Of anyone, I assumed that you would know. I need to get my ring back."

Kami shrugged in dismay. "No clue. He left earlier with Vejita. I think that I passed by Trunks earlier looking for them. You want your ring back?" He gave a questioning look at the android.

Thirteen nodded. "It enables me to power up to a level of significance. When he changed how our equipment was going to be sorted, he simply took my ring away for himself and gave me some cocky answer and walked off. I accepted it since we were going to fight someone, but now it seems that most of the other groups have been decimated, and we'll meet them later today on that mountain."

The Namekian chuckled a bit. "I don't know. I thought he had said that he'd given that ring to Vejita," he mused. "Anyway, I think it might have been a one time use sorta thing. Whoever has it will probably be surprised by it during the fight. If Vejita has it, you may be able to hit him while his back is turned to get it back. He'll probably join with Trunks and Reijin to do the entire 'Saiyan Pride' ordeal."

Smiling a big, Thirteen looked towards the mountaintop. "That must be why noone cared for my King of the Mountain joke earlier. Last night, I got the hint that Vejita supported Reijin's words. Of course, I don't think that Trunks understood the point that he was making."

Kami slapped Thirteen on the shoulders. "I think that only you and I really had a clue what he was talking about. The others... They are children. In my long years, I've learned far more about war then they have in their short time. You, my friend, are eternal. Them? Mere short lifespans."

Giving a nod, Thirteen looked at the Namekian. "So what is the plan once we get there?"

The elder shrugged again. "I think I'll play it by ear. I learned long ago not to take this tournament too seriously. Personally, I think that Trunks could be the most dangerous one. With Vejita having the ring, don't think that he and his son won't team up in an effort to take us out. I have the power to deal with him, but you may not be so lucky if they power up first." He suddenly cocked his head a bit. "I think someone just called for me. Time to go back to trusting our group, if you know what I mean."

Thirteen nodded, and Kami leaned in. "Remember what I said. I think that all of the other groups have falled to a traitor in their midsts. The wolf in sheeps clothing trick. Usually two people work together on it, and then one kills the other quickly. We can't allow that." He smiled, and slapped him on the shoulder once more before turning and walking off towards the woods. 13 watched him leave before walking away.

**Part 2**

[Raditzu]

There it was, jutting through the air, signaling the final battleground for those still left in Dante?s Abyss. The small device attached to the long-haired warrior?s ear gave a small beep, informing its bearer that he had entered the only remaining safe zone on the island. With, at least, his temporary survival insured, Rad flopped against one of the sparsely sprouted trees and let his body slide down its trunk. He could feel his hair catch on the barky surface, tearing from its rightful place, but he didn?t care. His injuries stung as he settled into a sitting position, but he didn?t care about that, either. There wasn?t too much to care about at the moment.

I fucked up was all that Rad could really think to himself.

Of course he had fucked up, what the saiyan had been expecting to happen was a mystery, even to himself. Was there supposed to be some big group hug after everyone had beat each other senseless? Some bonding revelation after the melee? It didn?t matter so much anymore. Most of them were probably cursing his name as he sat there. She was probably cursing his name. That?s what really tore at him. And that?s when it hit the warrior.

Since when did I start caring about what other people thought?

The question cut through him with more force than any amount of ki ever could. When had the warrior really started caring? Part of him knew he had always cared. He had spent his whole life caring. His whole life working against the preconceptions people had of him, but this was different. It went beyond whether people thought of his as an overgrown ape, but what they thought about him. What would he do if Eighteen turned away from him? What if she shut him out? As disturbing as that thought was, Raditzu found his mind continuing the train of thought.

What if Bardock shut me out? or Bra? or Goku?

Without understanding how or why, Raditzu had come to put a great deal of weight on the opinions and feelings of those around him. It was, to say the least, a bit of change. He felt himself evolving beyond just a soldier. No longer was he worried about detaching himself from everything around him. There was more to this than simply getting the job done. He wasn?t a mercenary and he had long since separated himself from the saiyan military he had once so proudly thrown himself into. While it may not be fueled by a sense of justice, there was definitely a righteousness surfacing within Raditzu. As with most change, though, it was being met with a stalwart resistance.

I shouldn?t have to change for them, the warrior assured himself.

Was it a change at all? Perhaps he was simply realizing something within him that had been buried beneath a system that told him he was nothing more than a grunt. Since birth he was told he would be nothing. Just another nameless face in a nameless crowd. An average child born from an average father and raised into an average life. What he had accomplished? the things he had done? the people he had fought. On more than one occasion he had battled the Prince of Saiyans to a standstill. The ordained to control their race and reign supreme among the strongest warrior in the galaxy. Twice he had saved the planet Earth before turning to conquer it. Guru himself had sworn a debt to Raditzu for aiding him in his greatest time of need. The Kais themselves had bowed to the long-haired wonder for his selfless services. It had been a long while since Raditzu had actually been subjected to the bonds of mediocrity.

But I still felt? average?

It was definitely true. Despite his rise in power and the spread of his endeavors, Rad had always felt that weight upon him. That burden that he had been born into nothing and that would forever remain nothing. No matter how strong he grew, or how many foes he defeated, it was still there. Until recently. His desire for power had become something more than a self-serving quest. He wasn?t doing it to appease himself and show up those who had doubted him. He wanted to be there for people. He wanted to guide them and help them. He wanted to lead them.

Lead people!? Me?

The thought had never actually occurred to him. In his capacity as a solider he had been told to follow order, and he had been very good at it. He supposed that, with his strength, the mantle of leadership had been thrust upon him more than once, but it was something that he had always taken reluctantly (despite his posturing) and assumed it would removed as soon as possible. Maybe he was ready for that now. Maybe he wanted to lead those that would follow. While it was far from anything definite, the long-haired wonder had something he would have to give some serious consideration.

[Reijin]

It wasn't long after that Vejita was approached by Kami. The Saiyan was sitting back, relaxing on their break while Reijin had gone out to scout the woods around them for food. His stomach was grumbling, and he was growing irritable.

"Not training Trunks?" the Namekian questioned as he walked up.

Vejita shook his head. "No, he hasn't been around. Where the hell is Reijin at? I should have had my breakfast by now!" He angrily clenched his fists repeatedly. "Failure is unnacceptable in this situation."

The elder chuckled. "That, my friend, is why our race exists solely on water. Something easily replenished." To make a point, he held up his water bottle and sprayed a bit into his mouth. "Ahh..." he sighed. "I saw Trunks earlier wandering off. He seemed to be bored and was looking for something to do. I don't see why he can't just enjoy what's around us."

"He always needs something to entertain him! I'm trying to train my son to be a warrior, and he's always fallen for simple distractions. He'll never be a true warrior at this rate!" the Saiyan cursed.

Shrugging shoulders, Kami continued. "Well, as long as he doesn't get distracted by some other goal while he is watching your back today, you'll be fine. I mean, he is your son."

"Of course he's my son, Namek!" the Saiyan snapped. "That's why I need him to train hard. My son will not fail me tomorrow. I will defend him till my death," he spoke, sounding a bit doubtful by now.

Kami nodded. "Hopefully he'll do the same, and we'll all be alright. Bra's death should not have shaken him too much to fight-"

"My daughter's death is not to be spoken of again, Namek!" the King growled, death punctuating ever word. "My children are royal Saiyan blood, and failure is not an option. Someone killed my daughter by drawing her trust. Its the only way that she could have lost."

Nodding once more, Kami spoke the Saiyan's concern. "Someone like Raditzu."

That seemed to have nailed his coffin shut. The Saiyan's eyes suddenly glossed over, and Kami knew that he had blood on his mind. "Raditzu..." he growled, having tasted the blood on his tongue as testament to the conflict they had shared over the years.

Kami turned, walking off, and Vejita simply ignored him. He reached the woods, and returned to where he had left the quickly gutted pig. Saiba guarded the pig from any hopeful animals, and Kami smiled at him on his arrival. "Good job," he spoke. His body dissappeared into a POOF of smoke, and Reijin stepped forth from he cloud...

Saiba walked before him as he threw the pig over his shoulders, emerging from the trees before calling out to everyone. "Breakfast is here! I will not wait for you fools any longer! Anyone that doesn't eat will not be ready for battle today." He hoped that would quickly rush to their dining.

The stage had been set.

The doubt had been sown.

The dissent had emerged.

Reijin wanted to win this tournament, and he knew that to do so, he could not have everyone united against him. He smiled, knowing that this tournament was going to be his for the taking. He fingered the ring in his pocket and chuckled as the rain fell over his adolescent body, giving him a very shadowy appearance.

**Part 3*
**GOOD LUCK ALL**