Day Four: Early Morning

[Burter]

Day Four
Midnight - 6 AM

"Hello fights, it's midnight and the start of the new day! I just wanted to announce that since we've had no fights in the last six hours, we will be holding the finale in six more hours, when the sun comes up over Dante!

Here are the final nine players!

#03 Violet
#05 Android 18
#06 Reijin
#07 Bardock
#08 Aero
#16 Kirano
#21 Orion
#24 Burter
#25 Hellfighter 17

The temple will be the zone for the fight! Be there in six hours, or be blown to hell!"

[Reijin]

Continued from: http://www.cdbzrpg.com/forum/showpost.ph...ostcount=6

Stumbling through the dark, Reijin made his way through the black wood, pushing aside bushes and forcing the tremendous pain from his mind. He only wished he could push Jun'ai aside as easily. She insisted on playing the part of the backseat driver by telling him of all of the things he could have done differently to prevent his leg from being shattered.

Bottom line is that you got cocky. You should have simply become a Super Saiyan.

He nodded into the darkness, struggling to find a hold for his pitchfork that he'd been pigeonholed into using for a crutch to support his destroyed limb. "I can agree with that," he responded.

You haven't really thought about the announcement earlier... It'd be nice to know what your opinion is on it.

"Raditzu was eliminated by another competitor. I wish I was that competitor. They better have made him suffer. That's as far as my opinion goes. He's an insult to this competition," he added. He had already explained why he thought the way he did of the Saiyan, and didn't wish to open up again.

He needed to get his leg bandaged, but he wanted to distance himself from the struggle that had taken place with that red haired demon warrior that he'd encountered a number of times. Every single time he saw him fight, the 'boy' had proven to be a quite destructive power. It had not been one of Reijin's preferred targets, but once in battle, there is nothing but the cut. If one didn't commit, then they had nothing.

In the distance, he saw a light flickering from a campfire and smelled the burning ashes. "This could be unfortunate..." he whispered. His stomach growled in response, and he looked down at it before back at the fire. "Ah well. Raditzu is gone. Other than winning this competition, I have nothing to regret. Better to die on a full stomach, I suppose."

What makes you think you'll survive that long?

He took a sniff of the air and his eyes widened. "Oh, its fish, quite nice. Regardless, I can hear them talking. Its Bardock and that purple haired bitch he's with," he mentioned, knowing that she'd likely take offense at the comment. "They really have nothing to gain by attempting to fight me. I would probably die with these injuries, but after last time, they know how much damage I can do when I have no reason to restrain myself."

Continuing to push his way up the hill, he finally caught the attention of the pair as they leapt to their feet to grab their weapons. Reijin stopped for a moment to keep from surprising them until curiosity won out and the purple haired vixen called to him. He pushed the pitchfork into the ground, bladed end first, to use as a cruth while also informing them that he was not a threat. His baseball bat remained hanging from his waist.

He watched her point the nailgun at him and he looked at her for a moment before completely dismissing her as a valid threat. Bardock was more of a concern than she was, despite the wicked spike hurler she was pointing his way. Dogs did not bite without their master's consent, when it came to the human kind.

The food, however, beckoned him too much for him to care. He continued pushing his way towards the fire as Jun'ai was screaming warnings into his mind, pleading with him to leave while he still could, or to at least engage them in conversation to remove the risk of a fight. Like I said, he repeated internally, I'd rather die on a full stomach. Right now, they are just too shocked to really register anything beyond a possible trap, which leaves them too busy looking for where its going to come from to focus.

He took his place at the fire comfortably before reaching forward, watching her tighten on the gun a moment as his weapon simply fell over beside him. Taking a length of fish from the fire, he immediately began to consume it, wasting no time in filling his stomach and leaving a large amount of remains lying beside the fire.

With a belch, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, anxious to rest and escape the throbbing in his knee for a few hours. "Finished?" he heard. His eyes fluttered back open to see Violet pointing the gun once more at his skull, noting that his weapon was further away now than before. He reached up to remove a bit of fish bone from his mouth before spitting it off to the side, nodding at her distantly.

"I swear, they never put enough rations into the bag. It just gets smaller and smaller every year," he mentioned to Jun'ai, leaving her in as much shock as the pair aiming weapons at him.

No, seriously, Reijin. I think its time to go. These two are obviously not happy. Anyone else would have had to fight their way to additional supplies, and you just kind of waltzed in and helped yourself without an invitation right in front of them. She was definitely not happy with him.

He didn't really care, however, since there wasn't all that much he could have done about it. If they wanted to welcome his additional strength then that was up to them entirely. "Where'd you come from?" Reijin would have jumped, had he not heard a rock kicked nearby as something approached.

He looked up to see Bardock standing nearby, and burped a bit into his mouth, tasting the fish once more. He smiled a bit inwardly, as the fish was nearly as good on the second pass as the first. "Did you miss the part where I came out of the bushes?" he asked lazily.

"Smart ass."

The young man just gave a chuckle before leaning towards his spear. Like a strike of lightning, the woman was once more between him and the weapon, threatening him with her own. "If you so much as wink at that damned think, I'll do far worse than cripple your arm, Monkey Boy," she threatened. He thought for a moment, laughing at her attempts to intimidate him through name calling before deciding to lean back again. The consideration had passed to test her, just to get his blood flowing, but his best interests didn't line up with it. He only wished to straighten up his belongings anyway, but he didn't expect the obviously violence thirsting woman to realize this.

"Good choice."

He looked lazily at the man nearby and watched him laugh. Jun'ai once more reminded him of the danger and irritatedly he snapped at her to shut up and let him rest. His mind finally took him and he passed to unconciousness, leaving his fate entirely in their hands, but at least if he was taken it would be on a stomach of fine dining and completely oblivious to their actions.

[Reijin]

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

After hours had passed, feeling only like minutes to the sleep deprived warrior, Bardock found the Saiyan once more awake and enjoying the digested meal even still. "Listen, kid. As much as I respect you, you know as well as me that this is a game. We had a good arrangement last year, but you're on the wrong side of the deal this time. What are your terms?" he asked, getting to the point.

Reijin had eaten enough to saturate him to where he could think business rather than of survival. Often the two shared the same definition, but this was not the case. See, I told you they would think better of just discarding me. I am nothing more than a weapon, but a good enough one that you would think twice before ridding me of the opportunity to be of use, he bragged to Jun'ai. Before allowing her a response, he answered Bardock instead. "You have a true saiyan to fight with," he answered, referring to himself. Perhaps Bardock would read that as his opinion of his slave girl, but even still that would just give him a positive vibe.

Of course, there was the underlying warning that passed between them. They both knew that Saiyan blood being a bond made them both no more trustworthy than before, despite the expected comraderie. You might want to be careful of how you speak. Jun'ai was quite dry with her words, obviously annoyed over the slave girl thought. Reijin took note to use this one again if she pissed him off. I heard that, she reminded him. He didn't care, and he made sure that she heard that one, too.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to spare a few of those medical supplies, would you?" he asked, remembering the spoils they'd attained before. Internally, he responded to Jun'ai. Relax. I'm on the battlefield as always, only this time its a battle of words. There are still ways to gain the upper hand or defend yourself, and I'm not untrained in this.

Bardock shook his head at the young man. "You should have taken it from me when you had the chance," he answered resolutely. Reijin was going to mention that a simple 'No' would have worked there, but he was interrupted by the second call of the intercom regarding the recent eliminations.

Guess they didn't want to chance people being asleep when the first was called. Ah well, I love hearing of Raditzu's elimination once more. His thoughts were quite open to Jun'ai, although he took notice of Violet standing in the distance with the nail gun still pointed at him. She was staring at him curiously, deep in thought. Reijin didn't like what it could have meant, and made broadcast another thought in his mind openly for Jun'ai. She looks quite... untrusting. The words did not matter as much as the fact that he was speaking openly to the Saiyaness within his mind. She responded to him without a doubt, but what Reijin cared about was the slight twitch he caught from his peripheal vision from the purple haired woman as she fingered her weapon.

He made a second note to keep his most valuable secrets far from open thought. It was a risk he did not want to take. Perhaps he had somehow retained his telepathy in addition to his other two abilities due to the female within his mind, but either way he did not want to broadcast the wrong thought to anyone.

He decided to turn the conversation towards the announcement. "He always was too impulsive for his own good," he observed, obviously referring to Raditzu's elimination. Bardock had been looking at Violet as well, and turned towards Reijin, his features blank.

"Did you kill him?"

Reijin detected a slight hostility for a moment and decided to pull and see where the line lead. He held his trademark smirk and gave a cool "No, but if given the chance..."

"Do you know him?" the female nearby rudely interrupted the pair with, her gun never faltering from its target. Reijin kept his thoughts focused as he nearly chuckled at the memory of telekinetically wrenching the weapon from her before.

Bardock gave away nothing more than a simple response. "He's my son."

"You take it as expected," the raven haired youth mentioned immediately.

"It's just a game," he answered factually, leaving open and unanswered what the situation would be had it not been one. He walked over to Reijin and held out his arm, a reminding threat passing from his lips without a single hostile look giving it away to any third parties. "For now."

The intent was clear, and Reijin reached forward to take the arm, business having been conducted. Don't even say it, Jun'ai warned, recieving an immediate 'I told you so' to follow her thought. She steamed within at his taunts. Reijin did not like anyone probing around inside of his head, and aside from keeping her occupied from further such stirrings, he also relished the backlash she was getting for previous activity.

Reijin gathered his belongings finally as Bardock lowered Violet's weapon with a disarming glance. She seemed unhappy at doing so, but complied while thinking over her own readings of the situation. Reijin turned to walk into the woods, calling over his shoulder. "I have to piss."

[Violet]

Striding back to camp with the same cocky smile spread across her face, her hands flickering with a quiet power that burned steadily, like two candles at her sides. She picked up her weapon and held it within her hand, testing its weight. There were six other souls out there waiting for her to hunt them down, and with the two guys she was with, victory didn’t seem like such an impossibility.

She knew her chances were slim if they were to encounter something powerful, or if she were to somehow get betrayed, but she’d have to take that chance. Any bloodshed would be welcome, even if it were her own. It was getting down to the grind; in six hours, it would be all over, with one winner and eight losers. So close, so close.

Her dainty finger gently pressed on the trigger, some internal mechanism clicking its payload into place. All it would take was a little more pressure, and the nail would go sailing through the air, its target indiscriminate. Visions of bodies felled by the deadly spikes filled her thoughts, bloodlust instantly filling her with its warm, seductive pulse. Her fingertip caressed the textured plastic of the trigger like sensitive flesh dancing betwixt them. Soon, it would all be over, but who, who amongst them would come out victorious?

Entertaining the thoughts of coming out the champion, a victor amongst killers, just like the old days, Violet cocked the weapon towards the shadows of the forest. Movement along the forest floor caught her internal eye, and she followed its ghostly shell, the tip of her gun primed.

Twang!

She released the trigger, small tendrils of smoke spiraling from its tip. Somewhere out there, a small creature struggled for that one last breath, the nail deeply embedded into its heart. Her smile widened as the sweet scent of blood, insignificant as it was, lilted like the soft notes of perfume towards her.

It pleased her to watch the expression of her Saiyan companion change from disinterest to sudden concern like a mask being pulled over his face. Lifting the weapon’s tip to her glossy lips, she blew the smoke away with a gentle puff of air. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.” She whispered. “This is our Magnum Opus, the great pinnacle of our work, of our survival. It all comes down to this. Are you ready for it, Bardock?”

It was then she noticed that the boy was missing. Although it should have caused her concern, she knew he couldn’t have gotten far on that leg of his. Perhaps, if she were lucky, he’d succumb to the nasty infection, and she’d be the one to put a spike between his eyes. She’d watch with much pleasure as his mind faded, his body spasming involuntarily as the nail worked deeper into his brain. He would die, and she’d have Bardock all to herself again.

The thought was delicious, sweet candy for her to indulge in. It was made all the sweeter to know he thought of her as untrusting, and he was absolutely right. If he wanted trust, he was in the wrong fucking game. She smiled wider.

[Burter]

Face to Face

Bardock, Hellfighter 17, Orion, Reijin, Violet

The unlikely trio continued their walk between two tree-covered hills. Reijin had once again joined the dynamic duo of Violet and Bardock, though this time he were to stay until the final fight. It was would be there that he would test his merit against the two warriors in serious, legitimate combat. There was no bragging rights for sneak attacks or unfair victories. He wanted to best Bardock and his little partner (he hardly recalled her name) on his own rights.

"Smell that?" Bardock asked from the right side of the group. He tensed a moment, squeezing the handle of his axe.

Violet looked up from the middle, confused. "Smell what?"

"Attackers," Reijin said, stopping his walk. "It's an ambush."

The three paused as they saw the attack walking to the path from the side trees. Violet poised her nail gun on the intruder, gripping the handle as the men on either of her split tensed. The man was clearly a cyborg, one that they all recognized from one point or another, even if it was mistaken.

"Seventeen?" Violet asked, confused.

"Hellfighter," Reijin said, recalling his former ally from two years prior.

"Yes to both," the android declared, holding up his ki machine gun like it was a small rifle. "Now say hello to my little friend!"

The android wasn't even thinking clearly as he unleashed his powerful weapon upon the foes. He was supposed to simply distract him, but instead he felt it nessecary to take the spotlight, making sure everybody could see him as he fired upon them. "Shit!" He heard the human in the center say, just he began to pummel her with bullets.

Violet fired two nails, both of which missed, just as she was filled with the ki-fused bullets. All of the shots from the machine gun blasted her and Reijin in the torsos. She landed hard on her butt, followed by her wrist cracking against the ground and dropping the gun. Reijin fell forward onto his knees, still gripping his pitchfork. His broken leg was hardly reacting as he struggled to crawl forward.

Bardock had lept forward, literally diving over the bullets. As Hellfighter's clip emptied, he swung his axe and barely missed cutting the android. He swung thrice more, all three swipes being dodged. Finally, Bar simply kicked forward, smashing the chest of the robotic warrior and sending him backwards.

Meanwhile, Reijin and Violet were both struggling to stand. Rei had to use his pitchfork as a crutch, while Vi could only manage to get up to her knees. That was when their troubles got even worse when the sound of footsteps came behind them.

Reijin spun around and managed to stop Orion's fist with the handle of his pitchfork, though the momentum send him backwards. His feet came up to trip the one-eyed warrior, flipping him over his body. Orion then rolled up his feet, throwing a punch to the wounded Reijin, cracking his jaw and putting him to the side. Sadly, he had forgotten about the purple-haired beauty, who's nail gun put a sharp object right into his thigh.

Meanwhile, Bardock was surprised by the fighting ability of the android, considering the man seemed like a moron. "That all you got?!" the robotic man would taunt, "C'mon! C'mon!" Though it seemed like he was being cocky, he was actually just reacting to the images in his head, the ones shouting at him instead of a calm, cool saiyan.

Bardock could feel bullet-wounds in his side, on the same side his broken hand was on. The saiyan did his best to keep momentum on the other side, ducking a kick from Seventeen and slashing the axe on the man's gut, sending him backwards.

"Go ahead!" Seventeen shouted as he relocked the gun. "Try it! Try it!"

He aimed the gun just as the axe came down, blocking his vision as it made a straight cut down the center of his metallic face.

Orion was having much better luck, keeping the two wounded comrades at bay because of them already being shot up. "Enough of this," he said, yanking the nail out of his thigh, causing it to spurt with blood. He raised it up, holding it up to strike at Reijin, though just as he came down the ki machine gun once again erupted, this time at him.

Bardock shot up the torso of Orion just like his friends had been shot up. The one-eyed saiyan stumbled backwards and then landed on the ground, motionless.

"The shots were heard," Bar said, "Come on. Get up. We'll patch you two later."

Reijin was grunting as he used his pitchfork to limb off of the path, trying to get to a tree. He had a hard time breathing, much less moving. He was going to need some medical attention, and fast. Violet was getting helped up by Bardock. "Thanks," she was whispering.

"No sweat," he said, "Come on."

"No, really..." she looked at him, through the scars and the tough exterior, right into his eyes. "...Thank you. You didn't have to stand by me, Bar. You didn't have to play this game with me to get this far. But you did. And I appreciate that."

"C'mon Violet," he said, grinning, "You're stuck with me. I told you that. Nothing breaks us up till the final two."

She giggled a bit, coughing up blood in the process. "Thanks," she said, honestly. "You're right. To the final--HRRK!"

Reijin spun around just in time to see Bardock's eyes light up. A nail had been stuck through the back of Violet's skinny neck and out of her throat, causing her eyes to bulge and mouth to spew blood. Behind her, Orion had snuck onto his knees, stabbing her from behind. Reijin could make out the lack of bullet wounds on his torso...he had protection.

"No!" Bardock shouted, "No!"

Before he could physically react, Orion shoved her out of the man's arms and snatched the ki machine gun. Bardock through a punch, only for Orion to jump and kick him in the chest, sprawling him backwards and left with a perfect target on his chest.

"Sorry," Orion said, "But I didn't come here to die."

"Then you picked the wrong fight."

Orion turned to the voice, only to find a pitchfork flying towards him with amazing accuracy. The one-eyed saiyan easily ducked it and saw Reijin, who had spoke. He didn't really expect to get a hit with that, did he? After all, Orion had the ki-proof vest, and that meant he was almost invulnerable. How could he--

The axe cut downwards, through Orion's neck and right out the other side, splitting it off. Orion's head hit the ground before his body did.

The Abyss had claimed an unlikely friendship and a sibling bond, all at the same time. Three people were dead, and Dante was already a little less brighter.

[SIZE="4"]#25 Hellfighter 17 DEAD
#03 Violet DEAD
#21 Orion DEAD[/SIZE]

06 Remain

The large medical kit (3 heals), the nail gun, the ki-proof vest, and the ki machine gun are up for grabs.

Reijin has been shot up in the torso. His previous two injuries have combined and been upgraded to one insane injury

Bardock has been shot up in the side. Minor injury.

[Android-18]

Droplets pummeled the island, well, maybe just this part. She stared upwards at the canopy that protected her. She felt moisture in the air; it seeped through her clothing and licked at her skin. She hugged herself, waiting it out. Some rain drops did manager to splatter against her, they dripped from the large leaves, but they were coolly refreshing. The girl leaned her head back and opened her mouth, her pink petite tongue slid forward as little beads of drizzle dripped, and dripped down upon her. She lapped up the liquid, not caring that it may have been upon wild leaves. If Raditzu could eat leaves, she could drink rain water. Of course it was hardly sufficient, but it was fun. What point was there to being a stick in the mud? She didn’t want to be a prude, or lame.

Clothing flied, and landed with a sloppy thud against the grassy floor. She ran wildly from her nook to feel the rain cascading against her. To feel free was a gift, and she had never felt so liberated before. Fuck obligations, and fuck her past. She sprang with such grace, such youth, dancing and twirling in the body that God had given her. Well, given and then altered by a mad scientist, but hers all the same. Her flesh glistened with globules of water, sliding downward and dripping from her soaked hair. Thunder rumbled above, like a laughing father. She giggled, smiled, and splashed in the newly formed puddles. So what if this was a deadly death tournament? She had made it far, lost a loved one, killed a woman, and fused. She felt very well accomplished for someone with no past to recall. She was on the high of her life.

“I will claim the title ‘Queen of The Taco shop’.” She declared, her finger pointed to the sky. “I’ll name the shop…Taco Castle, and Raditzu can be my king.” She stomped and muddy water tickled her ankles. One finger rose to her bottom lip in thought. “I hope I have money for this, I must have been rich, I didn’t have a life.” She laughed to herself, looking around with delight in her eyes. “Oooh he’ll be so happy, I just know it. The money we’ll make…we could…we could…” she paused. “Well, we could do something!” she looked to the sky. Small forks of lightening lit the area, not touching ground, but threatening to do so. She stood watching as the rain continued to soak her to the bone. She shivered, and small bumps rose against her skin, but she did not move. She looked like a nude waif in the darkness of night, not letting the rain bother her in the least bit.

“Why did I bother looking for shelter?” she asked herself. “I guess my pack will be alright, anyway.” Eighteen glanced at the thicket, although she could only see shadows as light flashed from above. She pranced forward and then froze as a foreign sound perked her senses, among other things. She looked behind her, and the sound went off once more. “A fight?” she said beneath her breathe. She drew in air between her teeth, but did not move. It was far from here, but gun fire was noticeable to her ears. She dare not venture that way, not yet. The girl slowly turned, rubbing a pale hand against her firm stomach, washing herself in a casual manner. “Look’s like I’m lucky tonight.” She smiled and rubbed with more vigor.

[Bardock]

Rage. Complete and total anger. Bardock’s whole body was shaking. He was oblivious to his wounds. He was oblivious to the headless body that slumped before him. The saiya-jin was frozen in place, axe still poised at the end of his finishing thrust. His chest heaved. His face was taut. With forced movement, Bardock let the axe drop to his side. Able to bear it no longer, the saiya-jin crashed to his knees, and screamed. He let his head fall back and just screamed.

“…Thank you…”

She was dead.

“You didn’t have to stand by me, Bar.”

She was gone.

“You didn’t have to play this game with me to get this far.”

It was over.

“But you did. And I appreciate that.”

And he was alone.

The whole island felt his fury. His screams reverberated through the empty darkness, swallowed up in the night. It would have been one thing if he’d struck the final blow himself. It would have been just the two of them, and he would have given her an honorable death. He wouldn’t have kicked her when she was down. But this…this didn’t feel right…despite all of his codes, all of his principles, all of the fact that this wasn’t real…it still…hurt…

For once, for possibly the first time, Bardock felt what others had felt in this competition. He’d never understood it. Couldn’t fathom how they’d taken it so close to heart. This…this was why…

His voice finally gave out, his throat hoarse. When there was nothing left in him, he just fell on his haunches and sat there for a moment, letting it all sink in. The fighter sucked in a deep breath, and as he exhaled, slowly began to release his anger. He stood, and walked over to where Violet…no, it wasn’t Violet anymore. He walked over to where her body had been so disdainfully flung by the one-eyed saiya-jin. Bardock swallowed. He recognized that cycloptic saiya-jin as the man he’d met so very briefly on Kajin Rala…where Bardock and Violet really began…

Deliberately, Bardock untied his bandana, struggling with the use of only one hand. Forcing the emotion from his face, the fighter wiped the blood from her throat and features, the crimson cloth absorbing it into its folds. She was a part of him now, forever. Her eyes were frozen in shock, like she’d never expected it to really end, but he knew deep down, she had. As they both did. Bardock leaned down, staring her in the face, as if she were still there somehow.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” he said solemnly. Then he stood.

Saiya-jin tradition demanded that the body of a true warrior remain where felled. Although she was not a saiya-jin, the fighter fully intended to honor that ritual. The funeral rites of one who had fought and died were sacred, and the brutish brawler held them in high regard.

You had it…Bardock thought, knowing now that the words didn’t matter. You had it a long time ago.

With that final sentiment, he turned to find the bodies of the two he had slain, an aura rising from his skin. Bar reached down and grabbed the vest strapped from Orion’s body. It had worked for him just enough to get one last shot in, but he wasn’t going to be using it now. There was the machine gun…but the saiya-jin kicked at it with his boot, and let it lie. He wasn’t going to be needing it. Bardock did, however, retrieve the fallen nail gun that his partner had so skillfully used. There was only one more thing left, and it was a rather happy little accident. He discovered a medical kit, not unlike the one he had won earlier. A sudden sting in his side reminded him that there were ki bullets lodged in his torso, and atop a busted hand, would not do well for his further carnage. Bar rifled through the medical supplies, grabbed what he needed, and left the rest. When the finale struck, there would be no more need for survival, no more need to play silly strategy games. It would be all-out war.

Once finished looting, Bardock returned one last time to her lifeless figure, taking it all in. He detected a noise, and glanced over. So Reijin was still alive, even after all this. Well, Reijin was a saiyan. The youth could take care of himself. It was better that way.

Wordlessly, Bardock turned away, off into the night, off to go prepare to meet his fate.

[Reijin]

Continued from: http://www.cdbzrpg.com/forum/showpost.ph...ostcount=5

The head struck the blood stricken earth and it seemed to be hours before the body touched the ground beside it. The lifeless head was kicked off to the side as the younger of the two Saiyans stumbled forward, falling to his knees and coughing up ruby stained life onto the soil beneath him. His hands struck down and he continued heaving, his body rejecting the sudden loss of so much blood.

Crimson liquid seemed to spread beneath him, forming a strange gradient against the darkening blood of the nearby corpse. In Reijin's delirium, he could nearly make out images in the ruby scrying glass beneath him, as if showing him the future to come. He had made it quite far. He'd already been announced as a finalist, and it was obvious that once more he would not make it as the winner of the Abyss, as he had failed many times before. It simply was not meant to be, and that tore at the young adult.

His arms pulled him forward a few feet to stop at the tree he'd nearly reached before he rolled over, throwing his weight against the tree into a sitting position, watching the man in the distance grieve the situation that had resulted from the ambush. The man seemed as if he might have been speaking, but then Reijin could not near anything through his ears other than the sound of rushing air, haunting echoes, and the throbbing thumps of a dying heart. His own wheezing breath was growing fainter, slowly escaping to the wind to join the spirits of Dante's fallen.

It had been a good run.

He had failed, once more, but this time he had made it to at least the same spot as he always did. He didn't know if he'd ever have the strength to reach that second place pinnacle he'd stood on once before, fighting toe to toe with Raditzu, tasting the exstacy of the third level of an Ascended Saiyan as his long flowing hair matched that of his adversary, locked in the heat of battle with a strength that even the impulsive bastard child of Bardock would not match. It had felt fantastic. To be at the top while thirsting for that win.

Reijin finally realized, looking back at that moment, the moment before the other Saiyan brought his world crashing in around him by shattering his fingers to remove that power from his body, that he'd deserved his loss. For all of his calculations and strategical mental trials, for all of his planning and tactical analyzing... He'd failed. He had lost himself so strongly to the power of being that strong, in much the same way as Raditzu had when he'd destroyed the city after defeating the great Dragon, and he himself had gotten so enraptured in it, that he'd stopped focusing so much on his goal... and had instead become engrossed in events taking place on the path itself. What good was a desire to achieve victory when he could think of nothing more than the heavenly feeling of every nerve in his body rupturing, spreading an orgasmic flow of adrenaline and ki through each nervous ending? By simply defeating Raditzu for his victory at that moment as he should have, he would have then lost the power that no other Saiyan had ever felt, and he himself would never feel again.

Reijin had lost the Dante's Abyss that many years ago because he had allowed himself to become distracted at the most critical point in his fight. He'd given in to his emotions in ways beyond what he needed to evoke pyrokinetic flame, and he'd given Raditzu all the time he needed to win. The fallen warrior chuckled slightly at the irony of this epiphany. He had wanted nothing less than to win Dante's Abyss that year, to do everything that it took to defeat Raditzu, and when he'd finally had the opportunity he had thrown it all away. He knew that had Raditzu done nothing, Reijin would not have tactically ended the fight as he should have; he would have toyed with him until either Raditzu was lost to the Abyss on his own lack of strength or Reijin had exhausted the strength that he had gained from it.

He hadn't earned it, and he was disgusted by his attempts to convince himself otherwise all these years. Last year he had fought his way up to the top and had fallen well short of the final pairing, unable to even survive long enough to see who the two at the top of the ladder were. Reijin had learned later that it had been Bardock himself had been the winner, fighting against a nearly unheard of but extremely talented warrior known as Yamu. Reijin could speak from personal experience about the strength and skill of the man that Bardock had fought.

Bardock's power had grown every year. Reijin remembered when the two worked together during the war taking place on Kala, and the memory crashed into him harder than the axe that had taken Orion from the competition. Bardock had fought Kao, the son of Brim, alone beneath that tower of angels as Reijin had struggled with the decision to interfere on the older Saiyan's behalf while destroying his Saiyan Pride. In the end, the decision had been removed from his hands as Bardock and Kao were both taken to the blaze that had erupted beneath the building, shaking the entire monolithic structure of Heaven and Hell in one enormous serenade.

Reijin's breathing was rough and shallow as he struggled for breath, watching the only other survivor as he stood up from the corpse of the woman at his feet. He watched the man walk over towards the two fallen warriors nearby and kneel down, picking something up from near them. After looking it over for a moment, he opened it, revealing the medkit for what it was.

The younger Saiyan coughed quietly, lying against a tree silently while watching him, unable to speak as the man began to pull out a bandage. The man glanced towards Reijin for a moment, and to Jun'ai's surprise, Reijin stopped breathing, his head falling to the side a bit as his eyes closed halfway.

The man looked down at the carnage at his feet, his eyes flowing from the two that had attacked them over to the ebon haired youth nearby, and finally to Violet's body. Saying nothing more, he walked into the bushes, disappearing quietly into the darkness, the darkness falling around the dead from the failing ki aura retracting.

It took a few moments for the younger Saiyan to claim enough strength to move, but finally his body responded to his struggles, a slight twitch in his necking rekindling the life that he'd fought to hold onto. He could not even hear Jun'ai at this point, although he could still feel her presence. Her words were lost to the dire screams that seemed to surround him in anguish, his head finally rolling forward so that his eyes could lock on the discarded medical kit in the distance.

As a repayment for the strength and dedication that Bardock had shown over their entire time fighting together in various competitions, Reijin paid the debt that he'd gained for his consideration of interrupting Bardock's personal fight in that room ages ago. Throwing his body weight forward, his bloody fingertips dug deeply into the soil, pulling his body weakly along the ground as his eyes were locked onto the box. He'd allowed Bardock to believe that he'd been lost to the battle as well, giving the man every final decision in which of the spoils of war he wanted on his way to the final pairing. Reaching the medkit, Reijin winced in deep pain as his fingers managed to tip over the box, its supplies spilling out to the grown.

His fingers dug through the box as his other arm sought to hold his clothing tightly against his wounds to retain some of his blood, while his mouth betrayed him by allowing it to flow almost freely to the ground. He erupted into a series of coughs as he rolled onto his back, struggling to catch his breath before glancing in the direction of his departed ally, hoping that he'd given the man no reason to come back to allow Reijin's failures to bring him down as well. His hand held up a strong bandage and a vial containing the last remnants of what the man knew to be quite similar to Senzu bean extract, its almost magical components playing a healing factor in the most devastating of wounds. He squeezed the small amount from the final and felt it searing as it flowed down his esophagus, quietly retracting down into his stomach before being absorbed into his cell walls.

This would help to clot up most of the blood loss and invigorate his blood cell generation, at the least. The numbness that followed allowed him to push himself up to a sitting position, lifting up his shirt to tear strips of cloth from his clothing to assist in holding the bandage scraps in place to help cover the gash that remained. His shattered knee had become infected, and the medicine could only prolong such misery, but any form of prolonging would help him to at least make it far enough to watch the titans of Dante fight it out.

Rolling over, his vision had cleared enough to grab the pitchfork that was lying discarded nearby and use it to push himself up to his feet, his destroyed knee giving him a slight bit more support than he'd thought as he continued to struggle for breath. He had no idea why he was continuing to push himself through the circumstances, but his resolve had been strengthened in his delirium. He would help in every way that he could. He used the long pole to lift up the Ki Machine Gun by the strap and struggled with his other arm to grab it, wrapping it around his body before then clasping the baseball bat to his belt.

Finally the girls voice entered his mind. How are you... she began, unsure of exactly how to finish her sentence.

He clutched his pitchfork tightly and managed to gain enough strength to force out one simple sentence. "I... am... Saiyan." To him it was everything. It was a past worth overcoming. It was a strong heritage. It was pride. It was a berserker's blood rage. It was lust for battle. It was the desire to win. It was the refusal to accept a loss. It was anger. It was destruction. It was a calling.

It was the very definition of his being, and he would emanate it until the final gasp of oxygen had been torn from his body and his soul had been eradicated by the demons of Hell.

It wasn't over.

[Kirano]

Seventeen, Zangya, even Raditzu, they had all fallen to the game. Only nine remained. Kirano was in the final nine, a position he never would have imagined himself in. After all, he had not even intended to compete in the game. His stance on the game four days ago was different to his stance now. Four days ago, he detested Dante’s Abyss, perceiving it as a cruel game that promoted killing for the purpose of entertaining an audience, like Gladiators set to kill themselves in a pitch to please the Romans, Julius Caesar and his people. Once fused with his dark counterpart, he developed an opposite stance on the game. It was a place to hunt for prey, eliminate competition, a place to put your killing and survival skills to the test, and importantly, a place to have fun. Kirano had made the most of his experience and was now en route to the finale.

Although he had experienced a great time, perhaps even the best time of his life, the same could not be said for Phoebe, who was no doubt gutted, not only due by her boyfriends participation in the first place, but his road towards the finale. The way he had acted, killed, butchered, and that trademark pleasant glee at the hands of his destruction, she had to have seen it all. Phoebe was a whitelighter, pure of heart. Her partner had committed crimes in her eyes, done all of the things she stood firmly against. What she feared came to pass; Dante’s Abyss had changed him. This was why she was against him participating. Kirano knew there would be repercussions once he returned to the mansion, but for now, he decided not worry about them. There was nothing Phoebe could say or do that was going to change what he had done throughout the competition. He was not going to change because she wanted him to. No way, she would not have her way with him anymore. Kirano had transformed through DA. He was a solid man now, one, who a woman could not manipulate into doing things anymore. The days of being wrapped around Phoebe’s finger were over.

Come to think of it, it was their fault in the first place, he thought, referring to the women to the Civil Unrest mansion, Paige and Phoebe.

If they had not used their womanly charm into manipulating him to stop Seventeen from entering, he would be back at the mansion watching the semi final matches of the tennis French Open. Those two women had exploited his weakness as a man, only for it to backfire on them, Phoebe especially who probably wanted the game to be over with as soon as possible so that her boyfriend could come home and face up to her for his sins.

Who is she anyway, my fucking mother? To think I was going to marry a control freak. As a man I will do as I choose.

Who was Phoebe to make his decisions for him? No doubt she would lay down the law once he returned home, but he would have none of it from her. Dante’s Abyss had made a new man out of Kirano. The pushover had been buried since day one of the competition. This man no longer had any weaknesses.

For his transformation, he thanked Paige, Phoebe and even Seventeen, who was the purpose of his participation to begin with. Without those three, his route towards the finale would not have transpired. He never imagined two of his goals coming to pass on the same day. Recognition throughout the universe, it had finally come to pass. Now everyone would know his name, just as he always wanted. People would fear him, others would respect him. He had finally risen to universal fame, a status far greater than global fame. Universal fame was the highest status achievable. It was what he had always dreamed of obtaining. Finally, Kirano was the real deal. He was the man. As for his other goal, he was on the verge of winning the competition. Without those three, these goals would have been nothing but a mere dream.

[Aero]

“Fuck,” Aero muttered as he stared at his map. He pointed a finger at their current location and then ran it up to where the temple was supposed to be, letting out a sigh. “We have to cover a pretty far distance in six hours,” he said, glancing at his ally and then back at his map. “Six fuckin hours. That’s all we got to make it. We’re cutting it close, ya’know?”

Kirano said nothing.

Aero tucked the map back into one of the compartments in the backpack and then grabbed the water hide from the side compartment. “We’ll have to rush there. No time to play jack-off buddy, kay?” He drank some of the water and then pouredthe rest on his glistening forehead, washing away the salty perspiration. “You don’t seem like much of a talker, but that’s cool,” he said, carelessly littering the ground with the empty skin hide. “The finale is here, homey, and I’m glad I got you as a partner, regardless if we don’t seem to click on the same page.”

Kirano said nothing.

Aero didn’t mind the silence of his partner. Kirano had demonstrated his integrity, and that was all that Aero cared about. Though he did enjoy the company of the intoxicated blondy much more than the stonewall edition. And he approved of the calculating stonewall edition more than the maniacal Kirano, however, but trusted both of them.

“Well, let’s be on our way then,” Kirano finally spoke, in that precise and calculating tone that Aero adored. “We’ll make haste, cutting through the hills and over to the temple. It’s most efficient way.”

Aero nodded.

Kirano pulled out his own map and slid his finger across it in his intended path of travel. “We’ll cut up here and then just take that route straight up to the temple.” He said, examining the last of the available spaces to travel. “If there weren’t so many danger zones we could’ve cut across here.” He pointed, but then put the map away. “We’ll be able to make it in six hours. Hopefully when we arrive not many people will be standing in our way.”

Aero smirked. He wanted people to be there to greet him and Kirano. That’s what he craved for the entire competition—a true fight. The prior battles did not matter, only the ones that were before him. Only the strongest survived to this point, and only the strongest were going to survive further. He salivated at the opportunity to fight the strongest. He salivated at having the opportunity for a rematch with the golden haired fighter from earlier, matching his speed and cunning with the goldenboy’s might and wrath.

“Yeah,” he replied, “I hope there aren’t many people left in our way.” He grinned mischievously as he looked at the shotgun slung on his back.

They both peered ahead at the wall of trees before them. They towered up as high as skyscrapers and seemed to be the entrance into an entirely new world. It was the forest. It was the forest that the temple was concealed in (like a rabbit inside of a magician’s hat). The forest was going to be the resting grounds for all except for one. Except for that one man or woman that proved they were the best—the forest that was going to determine the victor of Dante’s Abyss 2008.

Kirano and Aero looked at each other. They both had eyes full of fire and determination. They were both ready. As Aero would’ve said, it was time to grab the bull by the horns and take control.

“You do know that eventually we’ll have to fight each other, right?” Kirano asked with a subtle smile spread across his face.

“Yeah,” Aero replied. “But I say that we save that to be the last fight, yo. I say we stick together until we’re both left in a puddle of blood or forced to battle one another.” He gave the same smile back, running a hand through his turquoise hair. “Whatcha say, partner?”

“Let's do this."

[Android-18]

A can bounced and rolled upon the ground, it came to a rest under one of the looming trees. The android sat with legs stretched out, cans of food rested at her side as she ate them one after the other. A small pile of the metallic items built up as she became full. Of course, she was eating an amount that was to be for two people. She didn’t want to waste food. She could smell the end; it was thick in the air. Meanwhile, the girl burped, and knew she could squeeze another can of food into her gut if she tried. All of the names she had heard on this adventure meant nothing to her. Who were her enemies? Simply names, nothing more. She tossed another can casually, and picked at her teeth with one of her nails.

The rain had stopped, and the night was becoming morning. Would it be a red morning? Death was eminent. If the final was indeed on the horizon, she knew that either she would die, or one of the faceless names would die. The girl rubbed her buldging belly and rested her head backward on the tree truck. She had pulled on her dirty smelling clothing once the rain had ceased, sadly. Like a tropical storm, the clouds had come and gone, dumping its water-piss on her like some creature. Ah, but it was beautifully invigorating. Some people thought animal piss was an aphrodisiac, well, rain was similar for rejuvenating. She laughed to herself, which was strange, because it scared her. It had been so silent, and the sound of her own voice laughing was cause to jump. “Right, Eighteen, don’t lose your head.” She suddenly started laughing again. “We wouldn’t want that.” She couldn’t help but picture herself becoming decapitated in the upcoming battle. If it did happen it would be so very ironic.

Birds were beginning to sound their song. She glanced up, only to see darkness. The wind came in silent like a ninja, rustling the leaves like a lovers touch. She sighed to herself, taking a swig from her water and fingering a ninja star she had procured from the stupid woman earlier. In truth, she wasn’t sure what she was up against, weapons and power combined. She was just one woman. Others would surely be in pairs and groups, what did she have? She had a deck of cards and some metallic stars. The android snorted and flicked the item across the small space between her tree and the opposite. It stuck into the wood, causing small splinters to rise in the fracture. It had made a crack sound, which was admittedly a pleasing sound to her ears. Reluctantly she rose from her comfortable recess and meandered toward the other tree. Her fingers gripped the metal and yanked it out; she looked at it with emotionless eyes. Could this make her the winner? She looked back toward her ‘camp’; her pale blue eyes examined the gun’s that were in her possession. “Hmph,” she pocketed the star, where she held the others, and returned to her things.

Repacking her stuff was easy enough, now that she had no food and only one bottle of water. She donned her brass knuckles, clenching her fist eagerly. All of her weapons were a part of her body; she would have access to them if the time came. It would come, she wasn’t stupid. Her boot struck a stray can, and she looked at it with disdain. “I’m like this can, aren’t I?” she asked, “Well, that won’t do.” She dropped her pack, and picked up the can…

As she left the camp, she took a glance backward. A smile showed faintly on her lips, and she continued onward through the dark brush. Behind her disappearing form lay the various food cans, stripped of their labels, which became the floor. The metal items formed into a sort of building, while two twigs stood erect in the center with a can beneath them. She had somehow managed to stick them through the bottom of the can. Of course, only the girl knew the real story behind this art piece, which was surely bewilderment to any of the viewers. Screw them, this was her show now.

[Bardock]

Bardock walked the lonely walk back to the campsite they had made the day before. He hiked up the path to the waterfall and dumped his pack by the shore. The fighter knelt down and splashed his face with the cold water, wiping away the blood and sweat and dirt. As is slid down his features and off his chin, its numbing effects soothed his anger. A few more handfuls and he was good to go. It was time to get down to business.

There was no fear of attack. It was only a few hours to the finale, and everyone else would be doing exactly what he was: preparing for battle.

First things first, Bardock set his lantern out, lit it, and pulled out the medical equipment he’d pilfered from the dead bodies. Carefully, he removed the make-shift splint that Violet had so painstakingly applied. He broke off the twigs and the wire, and pulled away the strips of cloth. Against the lantern light, Bardock could see that it hadn’t gotten much better, and the effects of the tea had worn off. The flesh was sore to the touch, and had the saiyan not been in a serious mood, he would have laughed at the irony. It looked like the hand had started to get infected.

Producing some antiseptic and two syringes, the fighter cleaned off the surface before first injecting a local painkiller, followed by a steroid mixture, holding the tubes between his teeth to flick them and squirt them first. One would deaden the pain, and the other would increase protein synthesis, allowing him to use it even if it was crushed. Finally, Bardock wrapped it in bandages, slipped on a brace, and started to test out the appendage. With much concentration and a supplement of ki, he could amply rotate the wrist and slowly flex the fingers. That was all he needed.

Now somewhat enabled with two hands, Bardock gritted his teeth as he pulled off his bullet-riddled armor. The shirt underneath was soaked with blood, and as much as he tried to staunch the flow, it was still trickling from the wounds. Each hole was carefully sanitized, and Bardock pulled a pair of forceps out of the bag, beginning his attempt to pull each one out. A low grunt rose from his throat as the sting from the fragmented ki shells were slowly withdrawn from his punctured muscle. When that was done, and the last bullet had been removed, Bardock took the profile of his thumb and activated his pyrokinesis, searing the holes closed. One more cocktail of painkiller and steroids was injected to his side, and using the last of the bandages, the fighter wrapped them tightly around his abdomen to keep the muscles taut.

He slipped his soaked shirt back on, but left his previous armor discarded: Bar had something better…the ki-proof vest. He tossed it over his shoulders, and firmly strapped each side down.

First half down, next half: armaments.

Bardock threw away the remainder of his health supplies, having no further need of them. All that was left in his pack that was useful was days-old bread and a few bottles of water. Despite the fact that the bread was rock hard at this point, the saiyan warrior nonetheless forcefully chewed it down, chasing the dry, stale taste with mouthfuls of water. He inspected the rocket launcher, making sure all parts were well oiled and in good working condition. That was the heavy artillery, the big fucking gun. With no supplies to clean it, he had to assume it was going to work the best it was able to. He slung it over his shoulder, testing his ability to whip it out and fire it off. No safety, fully loaded.

Next, Bardock moved onto the nail gun. He spun it around a couple times on his finger. It wasn’t as compact as a pistol, and the weight was unevenly distributed. Taking aim in the dark, the saiyan fired off a couple of rounds, listening as each nail thunked into something. There was still plenty of ammunition left, although he had a feeling he wasn’t going to need very many. Just enough to go around. He holstered it in his belt. It may have been Violet’s, but it was just another weapon now, just another way to kill somebody.

The best was saved for last: his axe, his trusty bladed friend. Two more notches were carved in the handle, putting its mark to four kills. Bar dipped the blade into the pool of water, cleaning off all the blood that had crusted against the metal. Finding a rock, he began to sharpen the edges. With each scrape against the hard stone, he thought about how he was going to meet his competition.

There would be no revenge. There would be no anger. There was nothing holding him back anymore. He had nothing left to lose. It was going to be pure. It was going to be him and them, and a whole lot of dying.

Sparks flew from the razor end of the metal, their flicker illuminating the determination in Bardock’s eyes. Each flash showed the coldness of a warrior, the willingness to surrender to his craft.

He blew off the dust of metallic shavings from the edge, running the profile of his thumb just below the tip. It was ready. He was ready. For just a moment, Bardock set the axe down, pulling his bloodstained bandana from his pocket. Stoically, the fighter wrapped it around his forehead and tied it down, giving it a good, solid tug. Retrieving the axe, Bardock took a long, hard look at the waterfall before turning around.

The saiyan began his walk, an amber aura igniting. This was the final walk. This was the walk to his end.

A smirk slowly crossed his face. He hadn’t really had a chance to cut loose with his Super Saiyan abilities. This was going to be the perfect opportunity to go and play. Despite everything that had happened, he was still excited. He couldn’t help it. The thought just got his motor running. Slowly, his black spikes floated into the air, billowing about in the gentle breeze of his golden power. With eyes of teal, Bardock marched to the last battlefield. They were going to be gunning for him, the same as he was going to be gunning for them.

Let them come.