Dante's Abyss 2008 Sign-Ups

[Burter]

On every planet in the North Quadrant, sign-ups have been opened. An attendant will take your name and personal information, then take some pictures and ask you to show some of your fighting abilities. These pictures and videos will used to show the viewers who is participating.

Your character will be told that up to 44 will compete, on an island on the planet Dante, and that's it. The rest will be disclosed until later

The viewers will have a large say in who is selected, so impress them!

After you've signed up, the attendant will direct you to the nearest tele-tube, which will whisk you away to the meeting grounds for DA.

At the meeting grounds, roleplay your character roaming in the specified areas. Make sure you talk to people and use the discussion forum to arrange a meeting.

Your roleplay to sign-up must be at least 300 words, like any other roleplay. Don't over-do it because I don't want to read 10849275 pages this early. Put the planet you signed-up from in the roleplay, just for the sake of logic.

If you're dead, you can't sign-up. The exception being those on King Kai, as the Kai can put in a good word for you and have you revived, and then returned at the end of the game.




Once you sign-up, you are stuck in the Pre-Show DA Forums until the game begins.

There is no fluid time UNLESS you are in the CC saga. The game will begin sometime between the 26th and the 1st. Sign-Ups officially close the night of the 25th.

Pre-Show threads will go up tonight

[Zangya]

“DANTE’S ABYSS 2008 SIGN-UPS NOW OPEN!”

With these words, the trampling of feet throughout Southern City all turned in one direction—towards the sign-up building. The people of the metropolis all wanted to be involved in such a climactic annual event, but most of them knew their hopes were far from becoming reality. Only forty-four people would be accepted into Dante’s Abyss 2008, and everyone knew that most of them would be fighters that had already competed in the reality show before. They could always try, though.

One of these veteran fighters was Zangya, who, at the time, would be signing up if she had not been, well, preoccupied. She moved light on her feet, attempting to lose the quartet of policemen that seemed to have it in for her—and for what? An arson that they couldn’t prove she committed purposefully? Their motives were skewed, it seemed, and so Zangya’s mind was on getting away from their clutch. So far, she had managed to evade them—what about now?

The cunning woman cinched her chance to escape as she rounded a sharp corner. Upon escaping from the sightline of her pursuers, she leaped up and grasped the windowsill of the building she had been running alongside. She clambered her way towards the top, but was not quick enough—the officers still caught up with her. “Get down, now, Zangya, or we will shoot!” She could hear rustling of the people across the street, and simply scoffed at the police’s request, and continued climbing.

“Never!” she cried dramatically, and as the first bolts of ki emerged from their rifles, she dodged them effortlessly in succession. The officers were dumbfounded as their enemy slid from her perch onto the ground below, and then taunted them with her unguarded stance. They aimed and fired once more, but again, the alleged arsonist evaded their attacks. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, the agile woman crossed up into a close range fight with one of the policemen, and jabbed him in the cheek violently.

“Are you getting this?” she heard someone yell from across the street, but it was no matter—she assumed it was a news man. So, she kept on with her assault, this time leaping back just a bit and taking aim at her second target. Sighing heavily, the Ader closed her eyes, and searched his mind for his fear—and what she found was quite ironic. He feared ever committing a crime. Perhaps that’s why he was a policeman. So, taking leave to use this information, she readied herself.

“ARMOR OF SCREAMS!” she yelled out, and around her formed a whirling mass of black ki, shielding her from outside attacks. The aura that surrounded her suddenly took the form of the policeman, dressed in street clothing, aiming and firing a gun. “Murderer!” Zangya yelled, making eye contact with her target, and suddenly the policeman collapsed to his knees. The Ader sped up and felt around for her dagger—and then, discovering it, slammed it into the fearing man’s gut, freeing him of a life of fear.

Somehow, the dagger made its way to the other two policemen. Zangya broke from her shield to tear into one man’s throat, and blood began pulsing out like a gory waterfall. The last policeman stepped back in fear, but Zangya was not about to let him escape, oh, no. She sped towards him, and thrust the blade into his gut as well. Feeling finished, she slipped the dagger back into the folds of her robe and sighed. Abruptly, she heard a voice from across the road call for her. “Hey, lady!”

She turned, and saw the Dante’s Abyss sign-up booth. The man who was standing there was beckoning her forward, so she complied. She stepped over to the desk, and was told to fill out some forms. “You’ve got potential, lady,” the man said, and directed her to the teletube once she had everything filled out. Zangya looked around for Odd as he pushed her back towards the tube, but her friend was nowhere to be found. She tried to get the man to wait, that she had to find her friend, but he insisted.

Within seconds, Zangya had been whisked off to the planet Dante. At last, she had escaped the gentle plane of planet Earth, and was now being thrust into the rough grip of Dante.

OOC: 733 words. Shorter than last year, to say the least.

[Android 17]

With the arlian incident behind him, the android felt it was time to take some time off from all the carnage and bloodshed. After all, it had been a few good couple of months since he’d be able to just sit down and relax with Paige. Even before the tournament and the ensuing fight, their nights had been spent tending to crying infants. Now the twins were well old enough that they no longer woke up at all the hours of the night.

Unfortunately for Seventeen, the fates weren’t satisfied enough with his recent battles to allow him a reprieve from the bloodshed. Only a few weeks after returning home from Arlia, the machine-hybrid found the serenity of his home life torn asunder as he was channel surfing. Reruns of his old sitcoms had ended for the day, and he had just been casually perusing the channels to see if anything was worthwhile. When he got to Channel 2—the public access network—he heard a familiar lisp performing a voice over for a montage of clips.

“So make sure you stop at the nearest registration booth!” Karl shouted, his effeminate voice filled to the brim with excitement as an image of the saiya-jin Bardock standing proudly amongst the slain bodies of the runner-ups flashed onto the screen. “Dante’s Abyss is only once a year, so where will you be?” With that, the commercial came to an end, a list of warnings pertaining to the games hazards popped up in very small print for a brief moment before the next advertisement began.

“Paige!” Seventeen shouted, sliding out of his chair as a childish fervor began to course through his veins—the warrior was awake once more. A few heartbeats later, the woman blinked into the room, her eyes wide with shock as she tensely scanned the room.

“What is it, babe?” She asked, looking around frantically as if for some sign of disarray. “Did one of the twins stumble across the lift again?”

“No…not at all,” the android said, reaching behind his row of shirts to collect his armor which hung secretly in the back of the closet. “Just wanted to tell you I’ll be gone for the next week?” The remark caused the woman to lift one of her trimmed eyebrows. A few seconds later, the reasoning came to her—siphoned subconsciously from the android’s mind into her own.

“Don’t you remember the last one of those?” Paige sighed, crossing her slender arms over her blouse. “Y’know…where your best friend killed me and you went overwhelmingly insane and ended up hugging an active bomb?”

“Well,” Seventeen mumbled, sliding the saiya-jin armor over his chest. He began to shimmy around as make the tight-fitting breastplate sit more comfortable over his torso. Once he was content, undid his satchel and tossed it back into his hidden storage behind his massive clothes rack. There was no need for candy and machinery, as they were outlawed in the competition anyway. “I remember most of that…ere, well, bye!” With that, the android kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and dematerialized.

“Mother fucker,” Paige grumbled, a smile on her face as she shook her head in disbelief. Several miles away, Seventeen rematerialized in front of one of the numerous sign up booths. Once he was there, he strolled up the woman and began to rapidly alter his appearance—his body shifting quickly from his own to that of whatever crept into his mind.

“Sign me up,” he roared playfully, his appearance that of the ogre Gargantum from the Conquest spin-off. “My information should be on file…I’m Seventeen,” the woman at the booth simply bit her lower lip and nodded her head as she scribbled on some papers.

“I still need something for the folks at home,” she said, pointing to a nearby camera with her fountain pen.

“Okay,” Seventeen snickered, cracking his fingers and turning toward the camera as his synthetic, monstrous features melted away to reveal his actual phenotype. “You know his is the fourth time I’ve had to do this?” He muttered as a nearby I-beam began to buckle and melt apart from his whim.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the woman sighed, looking at a computer file for the android and writing down all his vitals. When she glanced over from the screen, her eyes widened at what she saw. Seventeen was floating a few feet off the ground, his legs a giant fish tail as he juggled a dozen tiny balls of metal.

“Weee!” He shouted, clenching his fists and causing half the balls to explode. As the others fell toward the ground, he batted them through the nearby windows with his scaly tail. Once he was done, he floated back down to the ground—his legs phasing back to normal as he crossed his skinny arms over his chest.

“Feel here to get into the tube,” the woman sighed.

“Thank you!” Seventeen shouted, smiling widely as he boarded the teletube and closed his eyes.

Here it goes again…

OOC: 'bout the same size as all my other sign-ups

[Reijin]

Dante's Abyss Signup - Kajin Rala

Continued from: http://www.cdbzrpg.com/forum/showpost.ph...ostcount=2

"Great then!"

The soldier caught up with Reijin's stride, seemingly not noting that he'd been bid farewell. It was a fact that irritated Reijin, but not enough to act on it. "Where is the signup?" the Saiyan questioned his follower. He felt a bit of movement within his pack and he subtly elbowed it a bit to stifle the Saibaman within. He didn't any problems while on this planet.

He was pointed towards a booth directly beneath the wall, were only a few signups were taking place. "Doesn't seem like too many are signing up for it from this planet. I assume that the majority are signing up from their local home planets, but still. You could probably win this thing for sure."

"I won't."

"But you could-"

"I won't."

"I'm sure you cou-"

"I'm sure you're wrong." The man finally fell silent behind Reijin as he glanced back over his shoulder at him. "I've yet to win there, and the closest I've come was failure during the most crucial fight of them all. Beyond that, my placement has dropped every subsequent year." Not wishing to dwell on it, he stopped and turned to the man, halting him in his stride. "I bid you farewell, soldier. I appreciate your assistance and although your banter has ceaselessly annoyed me, I wish you well in your duties."

With these words, he turned and left the man standing quietly, having suddenly taken into consideration that perhaps he had not made a new friend after all. It was beyond the Saiyan's thoughts as soon as he reached the signup desk. The lady looked up at him through thick glasses and then nodding at the hallway to the right. "Welcome, Reijin, you can go on through."

"No name writing exam?"

The woman stared at her monitor for a moment as footage of his previous three signups played over it and she laughed. "Nope, we have your bio signature in our systems quite well I'm afraid. You can go on through," she repeated, motioning again.

Reijin shrugged, remembering last year's irritation over their lack of appreciation at his new ability to sign his name and began down the hallway towards the only portal that had apparently not been locked down, the one to Dante.

From behind him, he heard the lady stop another potential fighter from following as she slammed something down on her desk. "Whoa, buddy, name time, get to writing."

His teeth gritted as only one thing could pass through his mind. Mother fuc- He vanished into the predetermined tube to reappear on Dante.

[Violet]

It wasn’t difficult spotting the packed kiosk in West City. Its tall spires rose from the barren spread of land like beacons, all golden and red in the early evening sunshine. Great panes of glass covered the front entrance, the metal frame exposed in some new-age architectural display. The almost naked view of the inside coliseum drew the two fighter’s attentions to the massive front bay window. Fighters of all levels and species jammed themselves in the small arena, scurrying in chaotic lines, all in hopes of being one of the chosen forty four to participate in the intergalactic carnage of Dante’s Abyss.

As the ship docked on one of the many pads provided for such crafts, Vi fought back the surge of excitement that threatened to burst from her very core. They had arrived, alive, and in the best condition since their departure from Kajin Rala. She shot Bardock a knowing look that revealed his own anticipation. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, the rather pleased woman watched with bated breath as the ramp of the ship was lowered, the fresh air beating onto their faces in a clean, hot wave, carrying with it the electrical atmosphere of the convention. The pair departed from the ship in silence, weaving their way through the almost solid wall of competitors.

After they departed for Dante, Sky and Briggs would be in charge of the Iron Knuckle until their return to Earth. After that, well, they hadn’t planned that far, yet. The only thing she knew for certain was the overwhelming paranoia that once they left the illustrious planet, what would await them here?

The brief conversation on her Q-Wave had got her thinking, that and the seemingly coincidental announcement of her dropped warrants. She was foolish to think that just because the news says one thing, that the real danger wasn’t out there ready to pounce. The stray thoughts she picked up from Bardock all came down to one point, a point that she herself had been pondering the entire trip to West City.

Setup.

It was an almost perfect opportunity. A highly publicized event like Dante’s Abyss was sure to garner attention; they’d know her every move. They’d watch her, and wait. It all came down to whom she’d face first upon re-entry: Interpol, or Surreo. She was heavily betting the former. The police don’t typically give up a search for a “crazed, heavily armed woman” who is probably waiting to turn on Japan. Seriously, how much shit has she done for these people? Gratitude was small, gratitude didn’t pull the viewers in. Gratuitous violence, insane criminals, psychopathic killers? Sure.

Whatever happened to the old days when there was always some random flower show or other tame events on television?

The line began to move, and soon it was their time to apply. The rough and rowdy Saiyan who championed the last game, was instantly recognized, and accepted without further demonstration, save for a few snapshots for identification. Violet, however, wasn’t as easily discovered.

A short woman with frizzy brown hair shoved a stack of papers clipped to a board towards her. “Have you participated in Dante’s Abyss before, ma’am?” Her nasally voice was like nails on a chalkboard annoying.

“Two years back.” Violet responded, and started flipping through the pamphlet. Signing her name, and vitals, she gave it back to the squat woman.

“Uzumaki, eh?” The woman entered her name onto the small notebook computer shackled to the desk. “You were in the news recently. Good them charges got dropped.”

“You ain’t kidding,” Vi managed a nervous chuckle. Did everyone see her as scary as the media had made her out to be? If they did, this unkempt woman wasn’t one of them. She said a silent thank you, and paused for some snapshots.

“And now, your demonstration, Miss Uzumaki.” She cheerfully announced. A bulky man Vi hadn’t noticed before lumbered from a wall of applicants, smashing his fists together menacingly. “Mario here is going to help you demonstrate your fighting skills so we can get you back to the tubes.”

Mario? She had a brief vision of the well toned man sporting a red jumper and hat, undulating random quips as he plunged from one sewer pipe to the next. The entire fight was cake, as she swiftly disabled the man, her hand to hand expertise had him trapped against the front of her body, his arms twisted behind him and held in place by one hand, the other hovering dangerously near with a small ball of chi glowing in its palm.

“Accepted.”

The ball of energy absorbed back into her flesh, and she released her victim. “Tubes are back there,” the woman pointed in the direction Bardock had went, and not having to be told twice, she scooped up her pack and hurried back to the teleportation area.




OOC: Signing both me and Bardock up for DA.

[Lethe]

As they neared the clearing Lethe and Virgil huffed airy gusts, a cloud of dust hanging low behind them. Their faces ran with rivulets of sweat. Virgil began speaking.

"First thing's first. Manipulating chi. You're going to need to learn how to fly. It's like jumping but you concentrate energy beneath you and ride it like a cloud."

Virgil's feet left the Earth ever so slow, like a street magician. His eyes open, face calm the master began speaking again.

"Try it. Close your eyes, inhale slowly. Remind yourself that the weight isn't present above or beneath you."

Lethe followed instructions with alacrity, picking up on the technique with haste. Soon he could fly, eyes open, and even spar mid air. Virgil spoke again as they calmed themselves, after they bowed. "Now the wave, then the surprise. Follow my hand motion, prepare to deflect the beam, and listen carefully to pronunciation. Virgil's arms turned backward, shaking with a quiet intensity. As words fell from his lips a blue orb began forming. "Ka me. . ." His palms glowed a brilliant cobalt, a dazzling ki color. "Ha me. . ."
The perfect sphere lept in size to nearly the width of Lethe's midsection, and then, as the final words were spoken, it came barreling toward him. "Ha!"

"Pretend it's a blow. A really strong blow. Press block! Throw it up and away."

Lethe placed left fist on right tri-cep and threw the block into the side of the beam and ki wisps sizzled atop his arm toward his face. There was a pained grimace and a roar and the youth's full ki came into form. Behind a tail burst through his gi and wrapped instinctively around his waist. The beam hurtled off and up toward the clouds.

Virgil began clapping. "Very good. Thought I was going to have to give you a bean on that one. Don't worry about the tail. It's normal for you Saiyans." Lethe looked confused and Virgil said, "Don't mind that. You'll understand when you're back. Now your turn."

Lethe mimicked the peace keeper's posture, position and stance mid-air, speaking the words at a soft bark. "Ka - Me - Ha -" And sure as sunlight the orb took shape in his grasp, pulling his arms forward an inch at a time. The boy pulled them back, feeling a strain in his shoulders. "Me Ha!" And all at once, thrust forward as a sling shot pellet, the beam burst forth.

"Wuh oh." Lethe read on Virgil's lips. The man touched two fingers to his forehead and vanished. The beam tore from Lethe's frame, taking every ounce of strength left with it. The young Saiyan fell nigh dead on the Earth, his facade a mixture of elation and muscle failure. Before sleep could take him Virgil had returned. "Chew this and swallow it kid."

The boy did, noting the protein rich taste like a genetically modified vegetable. "The news is I signed you up in a no holds barred tournament to the death."

"You did what?" Lethe rolled back into a standing postion using chi. His feet had started to disappear at the point, followed by his calves. "Aren't you?" The murky de-materialization had swallowed his hips when Virgil cut him off.

"Crime never sleeps kid. I have faith in you. You'll find me when you're back."

And before Lethe could object he'd vanished.

****

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the Dante's abyss waiting area. If you're missing any appendages don't panic, your DNA is being processed."

[Raspberry]

Raspberry was sitting on the highest mountain he could find in the desert, he was sitting staring at the city that was miles away from him. He was chilling, nothing to do, he waited for some action like always. Tears ran down from his eyes, no he was not crying it was just the dust that flew around in the desert because of the wind. Rasp wiped the tears from his cheek, he rose up and flew up to the sky searching for something exciting. There was nothing he landed to the desert by a cactus and noticed a piece of paper being stuck in one of the spikes in the cactus.

The gator-like alien tried to take the paper but one of the spikes poked straight on his finger.

“Ooooouuch! Stupid cactus,” the alien cried, he went closer to the paper and cracked a few of the spikes so he could read it.

“Dante’s Abyss 2008 oh shit that again! I’m so there,” Raspberry shouted, and charged away towards the city without reading anything else of the flyer. The memories of the last years Dante’s Abyss ran trough his mind, remembering how the namek and konat killed him. He was alone along time in the last game and when he met someone they killed him straight away, the thought was making him nervous, maybe he could eliminate someone this year and stay alive throughout the whole game, and at least he was going to try.

“Finally something interesting and exciting, I’ve been waiting for such a long time,” the alien mumbled for himself.

The alligator-like creature was getting closer to the city and was getting even more excited, he’s adrenaline was real high now he could not wait to get to the planet Dante again. Rasp flew full speed to the city and then he looked back at the desert, then again back at the city until he noticed the wall coming ahead, there was no way he could stop. The gator-like alien flew top speed straight trough the wall, rolling on the ground he flew on the opposite wall. Raspberry opened his eyes and saw everything upside down.

“Mommy that man is goofy, I like him a lot,” some kid shouted outside the building.

Raspberry jumped on to his feet and looked around, it looked familiar. A man came over to him and asked, “Are you going to participate in the Dante’s Abyss?”

“Yeah I was thinking about doing that,” Rasp answered.

“Weren’t you here last year?” The man asked with curiosity.

“Yeah, I got killed,” the alien laughed.

They walked over to the desk. The man asked Raspberry to write down his name and personal information. The alien had a bad writing skill but still tried his best. After that was done the man, took Raspberry to a room where he took pictures of the gator-like alien, and he had to show a little of his fighting skills. The green alien was making an effort as he was demonstrating how his was fighting. The man was writing down how the gatorman was doing, he placed the pictures on the board where he had all the info about this alien.

Sweat was dripping on the nose of the alien, that’s when the man told him to cool down, this was just to show a little of his fighting moves.
Rasp stopped, “Do you have a smoking section here somewhere?”
“No we don’t” The man answered and showed Raspberry the way to the teletube which would teleport him to Dante. The green crock alien looked around as this was the last he was going to see of the planet earth in a while.

“Cya planet Earth, I’ll be back,” he whispered and within seconds he disappeared from the planet.


(OOC: That was my first RP in about 1 year so P 630 words....I tried.)

[Vazko]

This part of Northern City seemed overly crowded today, and Vazko was beginning to grow impatient. As he casually squeezed in and out of all the people surrounding him, the young saiyan halfling finally understood what all the commotion was about. The sign-ups for Dante's Abyss 2008 were now open, and it seemed to be drawing in a big crowd.

Vaz looked up at the large sign standing over the kiosk, and noticed how many people were moving in toward it. Every ten seconds the mob of people grew denser and denser. The black-haired fighter was basically forced toward the sign-up area because of all the arms and hands pushing him from behind. The crowd just kept getting thicker and thicker.

Minute after minute passed by, and several different thoughts raced through Vazko's head. He had never actually been in the tournament before, but he'd heard about it multiple times over the years. Dante's Abyss was well-known not only on Earth, but all over the Northern Quadrant.

Soon enough, Vaz had ended up in the sign-up line before he even realized it. By then though, he finally came to a decision. The halfling figured he was a good enough fighter by now to actually join the competition, and that all of his training wouldn't go to waste. It felt like forever as the line slowly inched its way forward, with many different camera crews walking around and shoving microphones into applicant's faces. Once the young fighter had finally edged his way down to the front desk, he stood before a young and plump-looking woman with brown hair.

"Hello, and have you previously participated in Dante's Abyss before?"

It took a moment for Vazko to reply. He knew it would be harder to get accepted if he hadn't played in any previous competitions.

"No, I haven't," he answered simply.

"Hm. Well, you'll really have to give me a reason to accept you then. Because with all of these applicants wanting to join I can't waste any time with someone who has nothing to offer," the woman replied with a snippy tone.

Vaz wondered what he should do to impress the woman and show that he had fighting skill. To the best of his knowledge, there were only 44 people who were accepted in. He thought about flying around for a little bit and then doing a couple simple kicks and flips but-- SMACK.

"Come on! You obviously don't have anything to show kid! Get lost! You're holdin' up the line!" A large man who looked to be in his early thirties had back-fisted Vazko to the head. He was wearing a tight black tank-top which easily showed off his massive muscles.

Still shocked at what had just happened, anger began rising in the young black-haired halfling. His line of thought had been completely broken. Who the fuck did this guy think he was? Without even worrying about the impatient woman behind the desk, Vaz immediately walked up to the man and grabbed him by the throat with one hand. Directly after doing so, Vazko swiftly rammed a tight fist into the guy's gut using an extreme amount of force and power with his other hand. The punch was so strong that the man's back was awkwardly thrusted into the air, and if anymore power was put into it, surely Vazko's fist would've ripped right through the guy.

"Come on, I thought your rock solid abs would've at least withheld a little jab," Vaz said mockingly.

Within seconds after, the saiya-jin human slammed his knee into the big guy's chin with all the force he could muster. The tank-topped applicant shot straight up into the air and was already knocked unconscious. Very casually, Vazko focused energy into his legs and pushed off the ground, closing in on his new enemy.

"Heh... Pathetic," the young warrior said as he fiercely grabbed the man's ankle and launched him toward the ground in one quick throw.

The crowd of people down below spread out fast as the muscleman slammed into the pavement. The little fight which had just taken place immediately had everyone's attention from the moment it began. TV cameras were now entirely focused on Vaz as he calmly dropped back down to the ground. Maybe he had gone a little overboard, but he had a quick temper and that guy should've never laid a hand on him. If all of these people and cameras weren't here, Vazko would've killed him without any regret or second thoughts.

Without looking at anyone or giving anyone else attention besides the surprised woman behind the desk, Vaz silently walked back over to her.

"Okay, you're in! Just fill out this paperwork and then head over to that area over there for some quick photos. After that you'll be transported to Dante. Good luck."

The black-haired halfling now had a smile on his face as he began filling out the paperwork. I guess that little performance was enough to get accepted. Who woulda thought? Once some pictures of him were taken in the photo area, he was then led over to a teletube and instantly teleported to the planet Dante. Hopefully he hadn't gone in over his head. He didn't have a clue what to expect...

[Raditzu]

"Cheers, babe."

Two glasses klinked as the couple smiled at each other. The saiyan took his eyes off of Eighteen only long enough to drain his relatively small glass of wine... and keep himself from grimacing at the dryness of it. He had never been much for wine to begin with.

"Can you believe this?" Raditzu asked, leaning back and draping an arm over the back of his chair.

"Believe what?" Android Eighteen inquired.

"This," the saiyan waved his arm at their surroundings. The two of them sat opposite one another on the veranda of the swankiest restaurant within flying distance. "No explosions, no horrible screaming, no shrieks of pure terror..." the long-haired wonder sighed contentedly.

"Yeah. It's almost feels like we're normal people," the android said with a small laugh.

"Speak for yourself," Rad said with a frown.

Since they had been seated, the long-haired saiyan had been shifting around uncomfortably in his chair. Having been somewhat excited about the evening, he had actually gone out and bought a suit. Shopping, however, had quickly turned out to be one of his weak-points. Having no outlet for his tail, the saiyan's extra appendage twitched uncomfortably within the confines of his slacks, and his dress shirt was almost comically undersized. Fortunately, this later problem was mostly concealed by his tie and jacket.

Despite that, the warm breeze that drifted over the railing of the veranda, and the star-filled sky were almost as magnificent a sight to behold as Eighteen herself. Not that Raditzu would ever be able to articulate that. Everything seemed perfect.

And that was probably the thought that brought the waiter over to their table.

"Excuse me, sir," the waiter said quietly.

"Yeah, what?" Rad didn't look pleased. Up to that point, the veranda had belonged to only him and his date. "I said I would wave if we needed anything."

"It's not that, sir. There's someone who's asking to see you."

"Well tell them I'm busy," Rad jerked his head towards Eighteen.

"We did, sir. Several times. They refuse to leave until they've spoken to you. They're quite annoying."

"Oh, well in that case, send 'em on in." The warrior's voice was uncharacteristically coated with sarcasm.

"Very good, sir."

"No! Wait!"

The waiter all but vanished, despite the saiyan's protest. Things were so much simpler when violence was an acceptable solution to that kind of situation. While waiting for the waiter to return, though, Raditzu thought hard on who could be looking for them. Anyone from the alliance would have just flown up to the veranda, and anyone with a score to settle would have just tried to blow him up.

From the doorway to the veranda, Raditzu could see the waiter pointing out his table. Almost leaping through the door was a tall, rather lanky man. He appeared human, wore a shirt and shorts, and his hair gave him that "rolled out of bed eight hours ago and haven't showered in a week" look.

About eight feet from Rad's table, the man stopped, his legs trembling slightly. His eyes dropped down to his feet, which were shuffling uncomfortably. His mouth opened and closed several times, and Rad almost thought he could make something out. Eager to get this over with, Rad spoke first.

"What's up, kid?"

At the sound of the saiyan's voice, the young man jumped. He took several steps backwards, stopped, then managed to walk a little closer to the saiyan's table.

"You're Raditzu... right?"

"Yeeeeaaah..." to distract himself, the saiyan held his empty wine glass up to the waiter, who was still standing in the doorway.

"I... I'm your... your... BIGGEST FAN!"

The saiyan almost fell out of his chair. The man had literally screamed the last two words at the saiyan, though Rad suspected he wouldn't have been able to get that out otherwise. Across the table, Eighteen did a poor job of containing her giggles at Rad's shaken expression.

"Ineededtotalktoyoubecausethere'ssomethingreallyimpo--"

"Woah woah woah... slow down there." Rad extended his glass towards the approaching waiter. "There's something important?"

"THIS!"

The man thrust a folded up piece of paper at the saiyan. Snatching the paper away, Rad was about to unfold it when Eighteen, in turn, snatched it from him. He was about to protest, but had nothing to counter to the tongue that was stuck out at him.

"Come one, come all," the androidess read. "Throw caution to the wind and fight for fame and fortune!" Eighteen then thrust a finger at Raditzu. "YOU could be the next Champion of the Abyss! Dante's Abyss!"

With a smile, the android handed the paper back to Raditzu, who very quickly confirmed the flier was for the Dante's Abyss tournament. He didn't have long, though, because the man snatched it away, folded it back up, and stuffed it into his pocket. Rad was somewhat taken aback, but rolled with it.

"Dante's Abyss is what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well yeah! You haven't entered yet!! You have to enter!!!"

"I dunno about that..." the saiyan scratched the back of his head.

"What do you mean?! You have to avenge your loss from last year! You can't let them get away with that kind of bullshit! Some people are even saying that you suck now, and that's why you're too afraid to sign up!"

"What?! Who's saying that?"

"Waffles-two-eight-two and Nezzy-oh-one-three!"

Before Raditzu could even begin to make sense of what his fan was talking about, two more pieces of paper were thrust at him. One of them was a print out of several forums posts. Sure enough, Waffs282 and Nez-E-013 didn't think too much of him. Putting that aside, the saiyan was far more interested in the second sheet of paper. It was an entry form for Dante's Abyss. Specifically, an entry form filled out with all of his information... and in his handwriting.

"I filled that out for you! I couldn't stand them saying you hadn't entered! I just wanted to let you know so I could send it in and get you signed up."

"Well... this isn't creepy at all."

"I also have a video to send in for your demo. I'm cut together scenes from various news programs and TV shows and stuff to show-off all of your awesomeness." The man handed the saiyan a CD with a shaky hand.

"Uh... thanks?" Rad turned the CD over in his hands a couple times before handing it, and the papers back to his fan. "I guess I'll enter... not like I have anything better to do."

The man looked like he was about to explode with glee. He started to stammer something at the long-haired saiyan, but was cut off when the waiter reappeared with another glass of wine. As Rad sipped at the glass, the fan told him when he'd need to report to one of the official DA buildings to be transported. The saiyan made a mental note of where to go, signed a napkin for the kid, and then shooed him away. The whole ordeal had been far more taxing than the warrior would have imagined. But thoughts of the activities to come brightened his mood as he turned back to Eighteen.

"Anyway, where were we?"

[Minoshia]

Gargantuan blocks of thick, white mass moved across sky as trained, synchronized dancers – floating in a relatively similar direction with approximately identical speeds. The Konat noted how the clouds this morning all look stretched, like freight trains inching across the pale morning sky. It was not normal for the dark prince to be distracted by these amorphous masses, but today was not a normal morning. Today the alien warrior had a swagger to his step, a certain arrogance and infallibility that had been absent in him for a long while. Hidden away for what seemed like months, Minoshia had focused on a life of grueling exercise and focus; an effort had been made to avoid the violent, brash public lifestyle that had riddled his past in exchange for something a bit more solemn and private.

Today is not a normal day. It is the beginning of our redemption, of our resurrection. He thought to himself, with no rebuttal, as he walked towards the masses of people congregating around the center of the town square. The site had become so familiar to the Konat over the years that he could visualize the action taking place in the heart of the helter-skelter. A crowd of people pressed up against a small desk that protected the attendants of the kiosk from the rambunctious men on the other side. This small kiosk was the first step to the incredibly violent and excitingly dramatic television reality series, Dante’s Abyss. It was this same competition that had roused the crow from its nest this finest of mornings – the taste of blood and danger was palpable in the air, the smell of hearty combatants and competition.

Minoshia had shown up late this morning, apparently. A brigade of strong backs blocked his entry to the front of the kiosk while he remained dozens of meters from the desk. “No matter.” Grunting pointedly through clenched teeth the dark warrior dropped his head, and his shoulder, and quickly brushed his way through the outskirts of the crowd. Groans and whining came from all sides as he maneuvered, all of which he dismissed with less than a shrug – they were powerless to stop him. As he neared the front of the line he had even managed to pilfer himself a good sized cup of lemonade, straw and everything, all told he was satisfied with himself as he stood second in the procession of prospective contestants. Now he would practice patience, something normally foreign to his personality.

“Excuse me sir,” a woman’s voice separated itself from the churning of the crowd. Minoshia made a conscious decision that it would be a waste of his time to bother looking, and was much too focused on his lemonade to make the effort seem profitable. “Sir?” the same voice arose again from his left, this time in unison with a tapping on his shoulder. Your conscious decisions aren’t worth two squirts of owl shit. The Konat turned and nodded at the woman to acknowledge her presence; his lips never removed from the straw and the flow of lemonade constant, constantly delicious.

“You are Minoshia, right?” she paused for Minoshia’s brisk nod. “My son is a huge fan of yours and wanted to come watch you sign up… would that be alright sir?” the sucking sound of a straw in an empty cup filled the brief moment of silence, he was trying valiantly to secure one last pocket of lemonade – a sure excuse to avoid conversation and continue with his expressive responses. Alas, it was no use. Looking down he caught the wide-eyed gaze of an entranced youth, he looked repulsive and annoying. The prince shuddered from merely looking at the little monster. Aiming to be rude he nodded anyway, and quickly turned forward to see the lanky man still standing before him. Eager to get to Dante, and away from this menacing woman and her admiring child, he planted his palm on the side of the man’s face and shoved him off his feet.

“Excuse me.” Short and sharp words from the mouth of the Konat, the woman at the desk chuckled as he replaced the prospect who had stood before him. Minoshia noticed the man jump to his feet quickly, but he remained quiet and filed behind him in line.

“The name is Minoshia, the Konatsa-jin, you should have all my information on file.” She nodded as he spoke and her fingers danced around the keyboard, she quickly stopped typing and gazed at the screen. After a few nods and questioning looks, she seemed to approve.

“Alright, everything checks out but you’ll need to step over to the cameras and give us a display of your abilities – it’s for the fans, so don’t be afraid to impress.” She winked, he ignored. Taking a second to locate the cameras, he was off with the pair of strays in toe.

“He’s the best. Ever.” The tag-a-long child hissed to the attendant as he walked by, pulling himself up so his chin barely rested on the desk. After this brief exchange, and another chuckle from the Dante employee, the child and the mother raced through the crowd and positioned themselves less than a meter from Minoshia as he stood in front of the camera. He would never have noticed the brat had he not been wheezing pathetically, exhausted from the ten meter dash from the kiosk. Never the less, he caught the prince’s attention.

“Give me your shoe.” The Konat spoke in a demanding tone, quite rugged for someone of his petite stature. The child looked confused, but after a moment’s delay raced to obey the orders of his idol. As the shoe passed from the child to the warrior, Minoshia could have sworn he caught the glimpse of joyous tears welling up in the eyes of the youth. Without taking his eyes off the boy, he placed the shoe on the ground. A menacing grimace seized over the face of the alien, a wave of heat emitting from his body; almost instantly fire ignited from his palm. The flames danced around his fingers, occasionally leaping from the tips and licking at the air. Aiming his hand towards the shoe, Minoshia ignited the lad’s footwear and let it roast. “Souvenir.”

With his face a mask of stone cold determination, the dark Konat set off towards the teleportation tubes to Dante. Behind him was a crying child with a burnt shoe, a youth who had never been so happy in his entire life.

[Retane]

Quietly he stepped forth, his hood shadowing his face. He looked down upon the registrar and muttered his name. The young clerk typed te name in and surprisingingly looked towards the armed sodiers nearby.

Feeling threatened, the emarld feind prepared for an attack. Yet it never came. His eyes dodged to the sides of his cranium. But he himself found out that he was a bit insecure about it all. He felt fear now, and dreaded entering. He not only lost a dear life, but failed to do much to make his old friend proud of. Death by collar. He met hell for his first time. Just after he had acquired the scythe.


Funny though he was alive then, due to his leader and his favored comrad. It was the third or fourth time he had been asked to move towards the sample He slowly walked, dsiring to know exactly what the game was. The merc stood im front of a camera, closing his eyes as he heard the flash coming. Why they desired to inflict pain upon him, he was unsure...

He looked about the area serching for the teletube to get him to his destination. He strode toward it, the miltary seeming preparing for battle.

"SIr we ned a sam-"

The camera man never got to finish his statement as the poor lad had felt the death and explosion of Retane's Trapped Technique. The emerald feind was sure cameras were atching and even watchd them ease up on by one. The merc had already disciphered the leader. A red glow erupted from the nameks eyes as he backe into the teletune. The aura surrounded the human fst and retane only caught te first squeal of pain as he wasshot up

Retane only had one question in mind though.....

[Android-18]

“So you’re leaving?” The android licked her finger and began running it along the edge of her wine glass. It wasn’t the best drink in the world; she’d have been happier with soda but didn’t say anything to the warrior in her company. The sound the glass emenated was interesting, and because of their secluded seating it didn’t bother anyone. Well, unless it bothered him. She looked across the table with her big blue eyes.

“Well…Yeah, I don’t usually miss out on Dante’s Abyss, neither do you.” He scratched the back of his head. “You know…” he trailed off.

“What?” The girl took another gulp of her wine and made a face. How could people drink large quantities of this stuff, she wondered? Regardless, the girl was beginning to feel warm and fuzzy.

“You lost your memory, and it was right after last years Dante’s Abyss that I found out. I think you lost it during the game.” He learned on the table with his hands clasped.

“Well that makes sense, Raditzu, but I don’t see what you’re getting at.” The blond learned on the table similarly, and then proceeded to hiccup. “’scuse me.”

Her significant other suppressed a chuckle, shook his head, and continued. “People with amnesia usually need some kind of trigger to get their memories back, maybe if you join this year you’ll see something or run into a similar situation that will bring you back to normal.”

“Oh? Back to normal? So you don’t like me how I am?” she leaned away from the table in a pouting fashion.

“No! No! That’s not what I meant at all.” He frowned; it was so hard explaining things to women. “I want you to be happy.” If anything, that was the truth.

“I am happy. Besides, what if I get blasted in the head and become a vegetable?” she crossed her arms and gave him an ‘amirite?’ look.

“Well that doesn’t usually happen, babe. The fact that you lost your memory in the first place is confusing. A lot of times in Dante’s Abyss you could die and end up waking up on Earth, or wherever you signed up, absolutely fine. I’m not sure how they do it, and I don’t really care. Something must have messed up to cause your…malfunction. Anyway, how about this,” he paused to finish his wine. “Come with me, it’ll be fun. We’ll still be together, and you won’t feel alone or anything.” It was a great plan if he ever knew one.

She could have taken the whole thing in an offended manner. Why go to some fighting tournament when they could go to a beach somewhere and be together that way? The girl raised a finger, blinked a few times, and then lowered it. “Ok, whatevar yoo schay.” She had finished off her wine, feeling tipsy, she stood up and declared, “to zah shign hups!”

Raditzu looked around frantically, afraid someone would notice his girlfriends embarrassing display. He was more embarrassed for her, but really, wanted to laugh. “Babe, I think we should get some rest first. We don’t have to sign up now.” He tried to get her back in her seat.

“Oooh yah, rest. I getcha.” She sat down, demanded more wine, and stared lovingly at Raditzu like an obedient puppy.

[Ruhiel]

"So."

What a terrible word.

"So."

003 stared blankly at the speaker. He never knew why Two wanted to act like such a hardass. It didn't accomplish anything other than providing him with more of a reason to not listen to the words coming out of his mouth. It was like this after every mission, regardless of the outcome. He almost wondered why he even stood here and let his superior do this every time.

"So it seems that Mr. Stekyov succumbed to a heart attack earlier today. I seem to recall assigning you to deal with this man earlier for his illegal weapons trafficking. Yes, Mr. Stekyov, a regret to have such a thing happen, but entirely necessary... do you have any words to say, 003?"

Two was astonishingly, a human. Head of the "Navy" division of BLUE, he oversaw all the actions of the BLUE operatives, assigned targets, and assessed further situations as a result of these removals. He seemed to be one of the few non-mechanical beings inside Navy, but then again, Ruhiel had never reallly cared to find others. Two made up for all of his desires to meet anything else but a robot. Ruhiel was fixatedly focusing on the bald spot appearing on Two's aging head.

"No sir. I must say however, that Joe's Better Coffee does indeed, have better coffee." Ruhiel answered, sarcastically flat.

"Smartass as usual." Two sighed, shaking his head. "Still, absolutely brilliant what you did there. By adding a noticable poison into the coffee that Mr. Stekyov was drinking, any investigators will immediately focus on that, rather than the violent burst of electricity you shot into his system from the adjacent table. Rerouting the electrical current for the security cameras to Mr. Stekyov was very impressive, I must say."

"Thank you sir." Ruhiel responded completely flatly again.

"As much as I hate to say it, Ruhiel, you're one of the best operatives we've got. Most of those other droids running around simply go from Point A to the kill. Leads people right to 'em." Two shook his head. "You think ahead, you make sure that by the time anyone could ever figure out where the trail really leads, the case has been closed."

"Thank you again sir." Ruhiel was wondering how long it would be until Two was completely bald.

"Which leads me to your next assignment." Two ran his fingers through his disappearing hair. "This one isn't going to be anything quite like you've experienced, however."

Ruhiel raised an eyebrow.

"Have you ever heard of Dante's Abyss?" Two asked, returning the raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Ruhiel answered, still very bored sounding.

"You've been entered. One of the top guys in BLUE would like as many competitors eliminated as possible." Two told him, reaching into a cabinet, searching for something.

"You're asking for a massacre on public television? With a Navy BLUE operative doing the work?" Ruhiel asked, wondering if Two had lost his mind.

"Not a massacre, you obviously don't know Dante's Abyss that well. This is a competition between men and women with powers and capabilities that exceed imagination, some with strengths of nearly limitless proportions. They represent a possible threat to BLUE's rise, as their immense power could be used by our enemies to halt or completely compromise our goals. It is regrettable that we are ordering you to enter and remove these men and women, as many are good, upright men and women. However, we cannot risk our future, and therefore the world's future." Two spoke, throwing a manilla folder at Ruhiel.

"What's this?" the android asked.

"Your demographic information. You'll be going simply by your codename, and you have no affiliation with us. Give only information that is necessary and which is asked of you. Now get going, the sign ups are about to close." Two answered, waving Ruhiel away with his hand.

"Yes sir." he answered.

A few hours later, Ruhiel completed his sign up at a table he found in East City. Answering the questions of the annoying, continuously smiling attendant, Ruhiel finally signed himself into the blood bath of the galaxy. He was expecting a hefty bonus for this one.

[Aero]

The attractive female clerk typed away her exasperation. Her ass had been planted in the same seat for longer than she could remember, and quite frankly, it was becoming sore. She was beginning to wonder if such a long tenure would give her ulcers. Her fingers had been pecking away at that damn keyboard, simply filling in different information into the same framework. If it wasn’t for that healthy check that came biweekly, she probably would have driven herself insane by now.

“Name?” she asked as she prepared her fingers for another tedious session of typing.

“Only if you’d be so kind to tell me yours first,” the man replied with a flirtatious undertone in his voice.

She looked at the man, saying: “Look just gimme your na—“

She was caught in a daze. He was gorgeous. Fine blue hair and confident blue eyes accompanied a narrow face with skin that appeared softer than a rump. He had a slender body that was sculpted by the Gods.

“Am I going to get that name anytime soon, honey?” he asked, chuckling. “The name’s Aero, by the way. Aero Cowabunga.”

Though she was obviously captivated by his looks, the same thing couldn’t be repeated by him about her. He couldn’t deny her beauty, but Aero wasn’t fond of blonds. He full-heartedly believed the notion that all blonds were stupid. He was simply toying with her emotions. Not because he was a bad individual, but because he could; and you could never use enough practice when it came to picking up females.

She opened her mouth, but nothing was said. She was thinking about telling him her name, but she came to the realization that she had a job to do. She had to take this man’s information and type it into a pre-made application. More important than that, she had to enter him into a game of survival, so instead of telling him her name, she regained her composure and typed ‘Aero Cowabunga’ into the computer.

“I’ll also need to know your age, race, an—“

“Woah, woah, woah,” Aero interrupted with widened eyes. “Need my social security number too?”

“No, just your age, race, weight, and height.”

“I was being sarcastic. Be honest though, do you really need all of this info or are you just trying to find a way to learn more about me? Don’t be shy. I won’t bite. Well, unless you like those types of things.” He smiled.

She hinted to a shy smile as she glanced back up at him. “It’s actually on the application, believe it or not, Mr. Cowabunga,” she replied, barely capable of holding back a blush and a giggle.

“Oh. Well, in that case, I’m a premium twenty-five. My race? Well, considering that we’re on Earth, I’m a human.” He paused pondering to himself. “Last time I got my physical, I was about five-eleven, one hundred n’ seventy pounds.” She typed in the information almost as fast as he told her. “That all toots?”

The annoying tapping sound of the keyboard ceased. She took one of her wonderfully manicured hands and slipped it into the desk’s drawer, pulling out a slim camcorder. “I need to see what you can do.”

Aero sinfully grinned. “I can do a lot of things, babe,” he said, wiggling his tongue at her.

Unable to contain her blushing and giggling this time, she responded, “I mean your fighting ability.”

“Oh, of course.”

He brought his fists up near his chin and began to prance around like a boxer. He swiftly punched the air; his strikes whisked liked a twig swung into a spring breeze. She recorded every moment as he began to even reveal a few combinations, varying his attack from jabs to hooks to uppercuts.

“Had enough yet?” he asked as he continued his assault.

She placed the camcorder back into the drawer that she retrieved it from. “Yes, that should do it Mr. Cowabunga.”

“Please, no need to be so formal. Just call me Aero. I’d like to think that we aren’t strangers anymore, even though I still don’t know your name.” It was his last ditch effort to try and secure the clerk chick.

All she did was show a subtle smile and say: “Now just go to the teletubes and you’re off.”

“Woah. I don’t like teletubbies,” he retorted.

She giggled at his remark. “No, silly, teletube. It’s a transportation device.”

Aero let out a sigh of relief. “For a minute there I thought you were trying to set me up with that purple homosexual thing with the triangle headpiece.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, where’s this transportation-majigg’r then?” She simply pointed over to a wall with a column of identical pods. “All right,” he remarked as he began to walk to the teletubes. “I don’t get a bye?” He waited a moment for her reply, but she was too busy typing on that damn computer. Ah fuck it.

[Celipa]

"...so, it's held on the planet Dante, and - "

Celipa scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, I know where it is," she stated. "Let's just take my picture, and such."

The woman raised an eyebrow at the saiyan across the desk from her. She was very hasty for someone signing up to participate in a blood fest. Then again, she was a saiyan. Could one expect anything different? She reached into the desk and pulled out a camera.

Cel stood up hastily. She adjusted the hat she had stolen from Jack Sparrow during last year's DA, and gave the camera a wide grin. The picture spewed quickly from a slot on the front of the camera, and the saiyaness caught a picture of herself, wearing a tattered hat and battered saiyan armor. A strange combination, by anyone's standards.

"Now, err, Miss Celipa, was it?"

"That's me."

"Can you show us some techniques?"

Cel's grin spread even further. The ground beneath her feet began to deteriorate, and a crimson aura began brewing around her heels. In quick succession: her hat was carried into the air, her hand shot up to catch it, and a beautifully red tint had covered the saiyan warrior's entire person. The woman behind the camera shot a number of pictures before she was satisfied.

"Alright, this is going to go into your file."

The woman pried open a folder on her desk, only to find that it was not empty. A number of pictures of a hat-less Celipa rested within the file, and a picture of her blasting a hole through a ceiling with a kamehameha. The confused registration assistant glanced from the folder, to Celipa, then back to the folder again, and sighed.

She took the pictures she had just taken and placed them in Celipa's already large Dante's Abyss record.

"Alright, please step into the -"

She glanced back to find her hasty registrant already standing in the teletube behind the desk. Eager to be rid of Celipa, she hit a button on her desk, and the saiyaness was whisked to the waiting grounds.

[Warako]

It was finally over…

Warako, the Savior of the Universe was returned once again to the place called ‘Earth.’ The young Namekian Warrior was still clueless of his exact whereabouts, but he still believed he was on Namek-sei. Perhaps it was the Namekian’s mind that fed him the false belief, because after all, what would Warako do had he know h was in fact on a whole new planet?

The Green Skin would probably panic and wander about furiously as he tried to find out information pertaining to his location. Luckily for him, he still lived a secluded life and accepted this location as one of Namek.

“It was nice for those weird hooded guys to send me back to here,” said a lonely Warako as he rotated his eyesight from side to side to scan the immediate area. “I wonder if I should go back to my village,” asked the Namekian as he floated upwards his options. “Yeah, fuck that,” said a smirking Warako as he flew off in a random direction.

After a moderate flight time, the young Savior came upon the beginning outskirts of what appeared to be an advanced village. “This must be that place I heard so much about. I never did believe humans actually settled here but it seems I was wrong,” stated Warako who flew at a slow pace to take in the village’s scenery.

‘How come my village is so far behind?’ pondered Warako who lost his train of thought when a spiffy electronic billboard played an advertisement clip. The Namekian was clueless as to what it was saying for the sound was in audible at the Savior’s current distance. Though the image was crystal clear which showed a blond haired Warrior flexing on the screen, which was enough to pique the Namekian’s interest. “I saw that guy in that ship thing,” said Warako who flew down to street level to investigate farther.

It appeared luck was on Warako’s side as two young children were watching the billboard nearby where the Green Skin had touched down.

Without much of a thought, the Namekian approached the two children and initiated a small conversation, “Do you know what that was about?” Warako pointed towards the commercial on the screen when the children looked at him.

“That’s for Dante’s Abyss, it’s the best!” said an enthusiastic child as he turned to beginning heading off with his friend to their next destination.

Warako was unsatisfied for he also wanted to know where to find this Dante place, so the Namekian scurried back up to the children and harassed them once again, “Hey! Do you know where I can go to get more information about that place?”

The children looked at one another and than turned around to see the Green Skin right there again, “Uh… there’s an information center on the outskirts of this city to the East.” Without another word, the children took off running; most likely from fear of whatever else the weird Green Guy might ask them.

‘East, huh?’ thought Warako who took to the air and flew eastward towards the target that the children had pointed out.

It didn’t take long before Warako could see the multiple signs hanging about that had Dante’s Abyss spread across them, and it became evident he was at the correct site when he saw a line of what could only be Fighter’s lined up at the signing booth. “Well I guess this is it,” said the Namekian as he touched down at the end of the line.

Hours passed by before it finally got to Warako’s turn.

“Fill this, this, and this out please,” said one of the Dante’s Personnel as he laid out three papers side by side. The man didn’t say much else, as he prepared the paperwork for the next contestants; most of the staff by now were in robotic mode after dealing with the same routine for the past few hours had taken a toll on them.

With a few quick scribbles, the Namekian filled out the paperwork and was whisked away by the staff through some form of teleportation device.

[Kirano]

“Niiieeer, here comes the airplane,” teased Phoebe, formally known to her boyfriend Kirano as Pearl, edging a spoonful of strawberry flavored fromage towards the mouth of her baby boy. The child turned his face away from the spoon. “Uh,” the woman sighed in defeat. “This is the fifth time he’s done that. Don’t be a bad boy like your daddy,” she said to her only child.

“I still can’t believe he left,” Paige ranted on, in reference to Seventeen. “After what happened last year, you’d think he would have seen the light.”

“And that Kirano,” Phoebe added, while the two continued to discuss how cross they were with their boyfriends, “lying to my face, telling me he would never participate. He must have known I would say no to him participating.”

“Dada!” the boy suddenly yelled, stretching his hands towards the young man who had just entered the kitchen, trying his hardest to free himself from his baby seat, but to no avail.

The two young women gazed at the entrance of the kitchen, where Kirano had just entered.
“Kirano, what are you doing home?” wondered a surprised Phoebe. “I thought you snuck out to join Dante’s Abyss along with Seventeen?”

“Seventeen?” Kirano questioned, gazing at the kitchen floor of the Civil Unrest mansion.

“I know that look,” she replied, with weary eyes. “It’s the look you get when you’re ashamed of yourself.”

“Look,” he said, extending his arms out for mercy. “I tried to talk him out of it, but he seemed fine with the fact that you’ve gotta kill 43 other people in order to win. Yeah I know the deaths are fake but still…”

“Well at least you tried,” said Paige, with a glum expression.

“Yeah, sorry,” retorted Kirano, before making his way over to his son.

Phoebe turned to their child. “Daddy’s going out, but he’ll be back by the time you finish your yogurt.” She used her fingers to tickle his stomach, making him giggle, hoping it would get him in the mood to finish his food.

“I am?” answered a confused Kirano. “Where?”

“To go try harder to talk Seventeen out of Dante’s Abyss.”

“When did he leave?” the blonde haired friend of the android enquired.

“About twenty minutes ago.” Paige’s estimation was way off. It had been over half an hour since the android had left.

Damn, thought Kirano, realizing twenty minutes was not that long. Seventeen you idiot, couldn’t you have left an hour ago? Fuck, it’s my fault. I shoulda stopped off at the supermarket to buy beer like I intended. Damn me and not trusting my instincts. I will next time though. Ah fuck it; it’s too late to beat yourself up about it.

“Knowing how long the queue was last year, he’s probably still lining up,” suspected Paige.

“In other words you as well as Phoebe want me to go and bring him back.”

Damn, why did I just say that? I should learn to shut my mouth sometimes.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” urged Paige, with a sympathetic expression on the face. It was obviously a fake expression. Kirano did not buy it, but regardless, he was sucker when it came to women. Phoebe knew it and had probably told Paige during one of their girly gossips, thus Paige was able to pull one against him. When it came to doing women favors, he just did not know how to say ‘no’, especially when they pulled sad faces like Paige had done.

Women, he cursed before sighing in agreement.

“You’re so lucky to have him,” said Paige in delight. It had been the first time she smiled since her boyfriend disobeyed her.

“No need to flatter me,” said Kirano unenthusiastically. “I’m going already.” On the inside, he was crying.

Phoebe rose up from the oval table, bending to give her son a peck on his soft, chubby cheek. “Mommy’s coming back in a second.” Kirano Junior giggled, knowing exactly what he was going to do when mommy left, knock over his pot of yogurt.

It had only taken a matter of seconds for the whitelighter to orb Kirano at the location of the sign ups. “You owe me one,” said Kirano frowning at her. “And you know what I mean when I say ‘you owe me one’.”

“Five minutes in the sheets, yeah I know.”

“Ahahaha,” was his fake response. “You’ve got jokes.” He would whisper his next words so that only she could hear him. “Bear in mind how long I’d been without getting any.”

She thought and after a few moments responded, “damn.” According to her calculations, it had been over two and a half years since he last had sex, but little did she know it had really been just over a month since he last got some. However, a month without sex to him was a very long time, considering ‘two times a week’ was his average.

“Don’t worry,” she said, planting a peck on his lips and then using her fingers to smear her cherry red lipstick off his lips. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I’m missing tennis because of this!” he shouted, while she was in the process of orbing away.
Once she was gone, the human took a look at the queue for the first time, releasing a deep sigh, due to its long length.

Well one thing’s for sure, I’m going to kill someone today and it’s not going to be a fake death either, he thought, in reference to his friend Seventeen, marching his way towards the back of the line.

I shouldn’t be here. I should be at home watching tennis. It’s the freaking French Open for Godsake.

Kirano could feel his heart beating fast, due to the anxiety of confronting Seventeen.

I’m going to shove my sword up his ass. Just wait.

A cameraman recognized the blonde haired boy at the end of the line, immediately edging towards the young warrior. “Aren’t you Kirano?” The blonde haired boy turned towards the cameraman. “The same Kirano who saved the world from the evil red Stallions?” That put a smile on the human’s face. There was nothing he loved more than recognition. “It is you,” the shorter man finally realized. “Hey everyone, it’s our hero, the man who saved us from the Construct!” In a matter of moments, camcorders and microphones were shoved in his direction.

Kirano gave a lucky camera one of his sexy smiles. “Hi everyone, it’s Kirano. Wait, scrap that,” he said using his hands to dismiss the camcorder.

Seventeen, he suddenly managed to remember, despite the vast amount of attention he was receiving from the media.

“Uh gotta go, but catch me on Larry King next week,” he mentioned, before giving a sexy pose, and then jogging off to the line, which had drastically moved forward.

“Kirano!” “Kirano!” “Kirano!”

The human had no choice but to ignore their constant calls. As much as he wanted to stop and talk, he had a mission to complete. If he did not retrieve Seventeen back to the mansion, then the women of the house would do nothing but bitch all day and bitching meant ‘no alone time’ for he and Phoebe, and no alone time meant no sex for him.

No fuck that, he denied. I’m getting some tonight.

He concentrated his ki in order to pick up his friends energy signal, but stopped, remembering that androids had no ki signals.

Damnit…Damnit… No, calm down Kirano, there’s still a chance he’s in the queue, if he’s not then he’s probably on Dante.

Kirano pondered about leaving the queue, but every time he did, the word ‘Sex’ came into mind. He loved sex and he would not be denied nookie because of Seventeen.

The agitated human took little steps in and out of the line occasionally to see whether a bony, raven haired android was at the sign up desk, but he failed to spot his Civil Unrest teammate.

It was not long before it was his turn at the sign up desk.

“I already know who you are,” smiled a short, blonde haired, young woman to him, a woman who appeared in her late twenties, “which means I know what you’re capable of.” Kirano could not help but blush due to his fame. “Just a couple of things.”

“Sure,” he replied.

“I need to know your age.”

“Twenty,” he smirked.

She smiled back. He was very sexy, so too agreed all of his screaming female fans on the side lines, some even being restrained by security guards. “Kiraaaanooo!” they screamed, trying to get past the security so that they could meet their dream boyfriend.

[I]I wish Phoebe was here to see this. …Meh, she’s probably watching what’s happening on the TV. Yes…

He hoped she was jealous.

“And this must be your first time competing,” she guessed, catching his attention. The woman would definitely have remembered such a sexy participant as he.

“Yeah,” he replied, leaning towards her. “But to tell you the truth, I’m not here to enter,” he whispered. Unfortunately, she was not able to hear him, as her eyes remained fixed on his. His Godly features had managed to place her in a trance.

“Huh?” she finally answered, snapping out of it.

“Nevermind.”

“Go on through,” she smiled, before pulling her cell phone out of her bag. It was probably going to get her fired but she did not care. Once she had dialed her friend’s number, she put the cell phone against her right ear. “Hey…yeah Wendy, guess who I just spoke to?”

[Mowgli]

Mowgli willed his eyelids open for what felt like the first time in a while. Naturally his vision was impaired a bit at first, but it bettered as his eyes became more adjusted to the lighting. To his surprise, the scenery that he was greeted with was completely unfamiliar. From what he could remember and where he last remembered being, this wasn’t where he fell asleep; not even close. In place of the carpet that he remembered collapsing on, blades of emerald grass stood. The bar stools that once towered over his motionless body were replaced, instead trees now swayed along with the wind draft.

“Dammit…” He groaned in complaint. “Where the hell am I?” The saiya-jin sat upright, extending his arms for support behind him.

“In my backyard.” answered a disembodied female voice. It was Pylot, Mowgli could tell from her first word uttered. After all, she was his best friend.

“You have a backyard? When that happen?” Mowgli attempted to rise to a stand but was unsuccessful. His mind commanded it but his body refused; instead he was overcome by a sensation of dizziness and nausea. Not a good mixture to say the least.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Asked an apparently agitated Pylot.

“No, I’m parched. Is there any whisky left?” He turned himself to face her, in this he succeeded. Still couldn’t shake off the nausea though.

“You’re gunna miss it.”

“Miss what?” Mowlgi inquired with a quizzical brow. He could’ve attempted to figure out what she spoke of on his own, he just didn’t feel like it. Instead he just stared. Doing anything else would require using his brain. He wasn’t feeling that.

“Dante’s Abyss.”

******

The city’s pavement was made of concrete; a man-made substance that Mowgli wasn’t too fond of. He wasn’t sure why, he just preferred to feel nature between his toes. The pureblood took a sip from a canteen he had brought along with him. Its content was alcoholic, not quite the whisky he had requested but still satisfying. It served its purpose. He wasn’t attempting to become completely inebriated, he was just trying to balance himself out. However, he wasn’t against getting a little tipsy in process.

The dark haired saiyan scanned his surroundings, searching for anything that came even close to the two words he had heard Pylot say. “Dante’s Abyss…” he reiterated. “Where could you be?”

It was then the youthful warrior noticed a banner hanging from traffic lights no more than a block away. It read clearly in big letters: Dante’s Abyss Sign Ups, located @ Ghetti Square

How’d I miss that? The saiya-jin raised his canteen to eye level with a slight smirk present. “Lemme find out…” He proceeded to drink from it once again.

Then with a gust of wind he was in motion; darting down city block after block to his destination. Disappearing with bursts of speed and re-appearing closer with each time. As was expected, he made it in short time. With adrenaline and alcohol in his system Mowgli had no patience for waiting in line. He let loose three ki balls. They were thrown wildly as he slowed from his sprint to a jog. No one was hit but small explosions occurred on impact for each; the cowards fled.

Behind what was apparently the sign up desk; two humans hid, trembling in fear for their lives. Mowlgi made his way towards them and placed his hands on the desk in a nonchalant manner. “I’m here to sign up. Do you have a pen I can borrow?”
The writing utensil was tossed atop the desk by a male hand. Its owner remained hidden along with the other person. Mowgli made short work of the papers; scanning through and picking up only words he deemed important. The shirtless fighter then signed his name across a dotted line, then raised two fingers and created yet another explosion; destroying a nearby camera completely. “Is that good for a demonstration?”

A female’s arm extended from under the desk this time, it pointed towards machinery of some kind. “Step in the tele-tube, it’ll get you where you need to be. Good Luck.” Her voice was shaky, but Mowgli got the message.

[Tapion]

“That's right Jane, we are now in the final hours of the sign up session of this year's highly anticipated Dante's Abyss tournament.”

“Well Dick, I think it'd be a bit of an understatement to call it highly anticipated. With some of the biggest alumni in the game's history all returning this year experts are actually anticipating ratings that could go as high as MATCHING last year's American Idol finale.”

“Wow, now that would be impressive!”

A stirring of excitement swirled within the crimson haired Konat as he turned away from the wall mounted television. He'd waited an entire year for his second chance at glory in Earth's most famed survival extravaganza, and twelve months of playing the agonizing waiting game had sparked a newfound motivation in the warriors being.

Rising from his bar stool Tapion took a brief moment to survey the atmosphere around him. This would be the last time he'd ever blend in with such common folk again. In only a few days time when he returned from outlasting the most famed fighters in the cosmos he'd never be able to go anywhere without being hounded by mobs of his soon to be establish rabid fanbase. A grin crept upon the warrior's visage as he pictured his victory already.

-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-

Arriving at the nearly deserted DA sign up station Tapion only had to wait a few moments in line before being called up by a slender women behind a table clustered with paperwork.

“Name please,” she inquired without making direct eye contact. As apparent by her unenthusiastic tone she wasn't too happy to still be taking sign ups this late into the day.

“Tapion.”

“That's your first or your last?”

“Both.” the Konat chimed in a definitive tone which the women didn't seem to appreciate.

“Well ok,” after flipping through a thin notebook she suddenly stopped in the 'T' section and pointed a bony finger to the page. “You participated last year, so we've got all your information already. If you'd be so kind as to give our home audience a demonstration of your prowess you can continue.” repositioning her finger the women now extended it in the direction of a digital camera just over her shoulder.

As a small red dot on the machine blinked red the Konat cracked a smile. “My name's Tapion, and this year I'm going to win!” as an exclamation to his bold statement the mohawked fighter clapped his hand against his chest which echoed in an loud thump. Immediately following his boast Tapion fired off a razor thin beam of ki from his index finger directly into one of the legs of the women's table.

As the table collapsed and all of her paperwork flew into the air the furious worker shouted out in an indistinguishable yelp. Assuming this was his cue to go Tapion took the liberty of walking himself over to one of four teletubes positioned only a few yards away. “This is gonna be fun.”

[Paragus]

Rays of sun poked their way through the closed drapes of the hotel room. A body tossed to and fro in the center of the Queen sized bed. Loud noises poured from the busy morning streets of the earth city. Para covered his head with one of the fluffy pillows to the side of him, but the commotion still got through. He sat up and wiped the crust from his eye and stretched out his arms. Voices loudly yelled and screamed outside, but the saiyan was too tired to make out what they were saying.

He quickly rolled out of bed and slipped his saiyan armor over his bare torso. As soon as the elderly elite took one step from the comfort of the hotel he was mobbed by a crowd of civilians. Banners hung down from the roof tops of the city buildings. It seemed as though the small metropolis was celebrating something. A tall man was standing atop a pedestal with an outrageously tall hat and a megaphone.

“Come one, Come all! If you haven’t signed up for Dante’s Abyss yet you only have 24 hours left to do so!”

Para grabbed his chest. Underneath his clothing laid a hideous looking scar stretched between his pectorals. It was his battle wound from the fight against the construct on Arlia and Earth. It had been a long week since they finished the fight and the saiyan warrior was looking for something else to do. He pushed his way through the gathering of earthlings and found himself standing in front of a young kid sitting at the sign in table.

“Who do I need to talk to in order to sign up?” Para asked politely.

The young child looked around and then back at the saiyan. “Your lookin at him mister.”

Para was perplexed. “Your just a kid.”

“Im here helping my dad.” The young child raised his finger and pointed at the eccentric man with the megaphone. The sign up ring leader was now dancing atop his stage. The young boy lowered his head in shame. He slid the saiyan a sign up sheet and a pencil.

“Name, Race, Age, Birthday. Ok I sign here right?”

The young boy nodded in approval. Para pushed the lead to the parchment and finished off his signature. He passed the sheet back to the brown haired youngster.

“I just need to see one more thing. You have to do something to prove you can go into the Abyss. Like show your powers.

Para brought his hand to his chin. He though for a few moments, but then the lightbulb went off. A smirk appeared under his bushy moustache. He clenched both his fists and painfully protruded his knuckle bones from his hands. The saiyan quickly turned around and smashed through the pillar in which the father was gallivanting. The man flew in the air put the saiyan quickly caught him and carefully placed him back on the safe ground of mother Earth.

“WOW!” The boy yelled as he stood up from the table. “Your like Wolverine!”

Para nodded and laughed. “Yup. Just like Wolverine.” The saiyan walked over to the waiting tele-tube. He took a deep breath before stepping inside the tight space. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Who the fuck is Wolverine?