[03] City Sector

[DA 2009]

CITY SECTOR

Time Of Day: Noon

Bunker: Inactive

Starting Players: Vincent, Mal Nova, Tamsin, Ashe, Kaden, Sophia

[Kaden]

It was a funny thing, being the victor while the opponent walked away virtually unscathed. Every inch of the courier’s face hurt, but he won, right? That was usually a good thing. He could either dwell on the fact that it hurt to smile, frown, blink, breathe, smell, and talk – Kaden would have sworn that even hearing hurt – or he could focus on the positive.

“I’m the best… around,” the courier declared. “No one’s ever going to bring me down.”

As it turned out, the fight had been an effective release. And, truth be told, it couldn’t have ended better, really. He got the release he needed without the guilt of having to beat up some random person. Win-win, right? Almost. The second interference of Dante’s Abyss host was an… annoying thing. As Kaden climbed to his feet, slowly, he spent a moment gingerly touching his face.

“Hey Damon,” he finally said. “I know you can see me. Does watching a couple of guys go at it get you off? Go ahead and clean up, I’ll give you a minute.” True to his word, Kaden paused for a moment, taking the time to orient himself and begin a slow walk in the direction of the City Sector bunker.

“I know people like you,” Kaden started again. “People like you, they think they’re better than those around them. You think you can hide behind a little game, playing puppet master, watching everyone being forced to play your little game.” The courier shook his head. “Pathetic. I’m not mad, though, well… not really mad. I feel bad for you. Yeah, I’m stuck here in this fucked up game, and you have my pity.”

From the Forest Sector, Sophia, Ashe, and Kaden had known where they were going. It made the trip to the City Sector bunker particularly efficient. Vincent had struck at Kaden only a few blocks away from the refuge. Something the courier was grateful for. It would be nice to sit back, relax, and ice down every inch of his rapidly swelling face.

“And you know why?” the youth continued. “I know people like you. You’ve got nothing. People like you have nothing. I bet your own life is spent dancing around for someone else’s amusement. Maybe a boss, maybe a woman -- more likely man, but hey, no judgment here – but definitely someone. I understand, I do. If I were that fucking impotent, I’d want to watch a bunch of kids being forced to play in my little game, too. No, really, it sounds healthy.”

As Kaden walked into the City Sector bunker, he became distinctly aware of his collar doing nothing. Previously, there had been a little series of beeps, or flashing lights or… something. As Kaden looked around the bunker, he noticed a folded piece of paper propped up on a table. It been the same table that he and Ashe had enjoyed a delicious plate of waffles.

"Dear honored guests,

This bunker is no longer Active. Participants will need to travel to another bunker in order to reset their collars. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Regards, Your Humble Host,

Damon Dukes"

“Hahahaha,” Kaden laughed. It was hard not to, really. “Normally I’d be kind of annoyed, but you actually just helped prove my point, Damon. You’re too chicken shit to actually confront me, so you watch from the sidelines while you try to exert what little control you have. Don’t worry, though, this tournament won’t last forever. You’ll be back to acting like the limp little bitch you are soon enough.”

While it was clear that Kaden would have to move on, he took a moment to grab a bag of supplies before heading off. Another courier bag filled with essentials. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to use the Forest Bunker, having just used it, so that left Kaden with either the Arctic or Mountain Sectors as possible destinations. While he was confident in his jacket’s performance, he wasn’t about to willing head anywhere with “Arctic” built into the name.

“You can keep trying to push me. In fact, I welcome it; I know you need it.” As Kaden left, he slipped Dukes’ note into the door frame of the bunker and wrote Mountain on it with a pen he had retrieved from his bunker. “I’m done bending to his masturbatory game of yours, so go ahead and do your worst, Damon.”

Beginning his trek towards the Mountain Sector, Kaden took a last look towards the bunker. He wouldn’t have been able to put it into words if someone had asked, but it felt as though he were leaving something behind. The calm that had settled over the courier during his fight had persisted through Damon’s control and through Vincent’s beating.

In his mind, the courier liked to think that he had magically transcended the frustrations and concerns that had been plaguing him. Though, he couldn’t deny the possibility that he had become so enraged that he had gone full-circle and couldn’t even tell anymore. Regardless, a sense of freedom had been instilled in him. He was stuck in the game, regardless of what happened, but that didn’t mean he had to wallow in sorrow.

As with his trek to the City, getting to the Mountain bunker was a fairly easy task when he knew where he was and had a map to consult every few minutes. The supplies that the courier brought with him went largely unused, but that was hardly the worst thing that could have happened. As he pushed open the door to the bunker, Kaden actually smiled at his collar’s beep as he crossed the threshold.

Kaden has left the City Sector and entered the Mountain Sector

Kaden has entered the Mountain Sector Bunker

[Mal Nova]

Another one that got away. Another that would torment him throughout the the rest of the Abyss. He had failed to recognize the subtle movements and had lowered his guard, thinking his skills to be far superior then that of the feminine foe's he had been selected to go head to head with. He had had them deep within his grasps, ready to usher them forth to the darkness, and had come up short. He wanted to give chase, but the stasis feild had given way, and he couldn't gather enough control to pick up her scent.

His eyes narrowed to slits of pure anger, the sclera of both his orbs matching each other in color from the sucker punch and stress-induced popping of the blood vessel; Bringing forth the new term, 'Red of the eye.' He rose in a single movement, the pain in his left shoulder numb to him now. He walked forth, towards the light of the window, avoiding the scenic route out the building. He didn't even pause to acknowledge the wall that stood in his way; His subconsciousness gathered the wind of extreme force and simply pushed the concrete material out of his way.

As he walked on thin air, slowly descending with each step, the sun bathed the Spawn of Evil, scrutinizing, even laughing at him for yet another failure. Still the Namek seemed numb to it all. Even the heat, being absorbed by the black of his cloak didn't phase him, though it was partially because the wind about him seemed to keep him cool. It had to though, his blood was boiling deep within.

His feet touched the ground and on pure instinct, the Jaded Fiend pivoted, and started trekking down the black top road, one calm step at a time. His eyes remained straight ahead, not even darting cautiously so the side as he might usually do. He didn't even flinch when a rumble from behind began, growing with each passing second until even the ground itself shook. He wasn't even phased by it. It was as if the world shook but he remained still.

The structure he had just exited only minutes before, seemed to shake as if being assaulted by tremendous unseen power. The concrete of the sidewalk and asphault of the road that surrounded the temporary place of residence seemed to crack as if the very foundation was being disturbed.

And it was.

If you were a building and some of the strongest winds ever created attacked you from every direction over and over again, you'd have problems holding your own ground too. The Namek did an about-face and looked on as the structure began to shudder and break apart from the continuous assault. His eys still straight but his peripherals doing his work for him. The hotel collapsed then, nothing appearing to come out of any exit from his angle, and the Namek turned about again, continuing his journey forward.

The destruction of the building sent out a wide dome of dust and debri, that soon swept over him, clouding his oxygen intake and burning his eyes. But his path was straight. He didn't need to see, though he never blinked, his eyes speckling with gray from the concrete. He walked on, still numb of it all. And even when he left the debris's grasp, his simple breathing showed no form of pain, nor did he still yet blink. The color of his clothing, a camouflage of black and dust, some patches being thicker then others.

A gust of wind removed it all.

The Namekian paused then though, at the outstretch of Sector City, and looked about for the first time, then looked up, almost as if fighting something deep within. His eyes clenched closed and his lipped curled in a snarl. The wind kicked up all around him, and the aura, usually unseen seemed to be a myriad of colors; Black, orange, gray, green and his infamous unseen nature. He let out a low growl and arched his back, in pain, as his vocal cords escalating into a roar of anger!

"Is this what you wanted!? Does this make you happy!?" His voice was dark and venomous. "Or did you just say that shit to screw with my head!?"

Almost as if on que, the answer entered his head as images of himself going after the young girl he had just tormented. It viewed himself as the black cloaked reaper, an image his father once used to strike fear in the hearts of his foes. But he was a Reaper, The Reaper, charged with sending souls to the After Life. Nova was only his son. He blinked again, realizing that he still struggled with the beast within. It was his killer instict and his conscience that battled with each other.

"FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

He hollered, just as Retane was famous for, whenit came down to a hard struggle. But this was aimed at his father. And the Namek collapsed to his knees. Tears mixed with debri, flowing from his face, hitting the black top with splatters.

He had found that inner beast, he'd known about all along, but it was more heartless then he had ever been. It was the thing that made his killing so easy; It was the thing he had feared, but he accepted it and let it take over. He couldn't control it. And he sobbed. He shook his head in defeat. As he was about to become overcome with the beast again, but he paused at the scent he picked up, the thuds of footsteps closing in behind him.

"Master!"

[Shun]

Uncertainty clouded Vincent's mind as he stumbled along the city streets. The furyan was left perplexed by Damon's last words to him. Unsure of why his current employer would find the need to...cheat as he'd claimed. Could it have been true? Were he allowed to continue could Kaden have have actually managed to eliminate him, the eliminator? Vincent spat to the ground as he continued along his path, knowing that whatever the possibility was he couldn't allow himself to dwell on it too much longer. He had things to take care of, so with that he pushed the thoughts aside, keeping them as a reminder for what he'd really gotten himself into.

From what he could recall, each sector had been designated a bunker to which contestants collars were re-activated, reset, re-something. He was never too great with specifics. Dukes, both his employer and his host, had through earlier actions given a nice little display of character, forcing the ebony-haired brawler to assume that this rule applied to him as well. Now more than ever. "I need a bunker and some food, dammit." He exclaimed, aggravated by his current lack of resources. Still not regretting his decision to accept the offfer, still enjoying the fact he was getting paid for all this. Vincent was just hungry. Naturally that dampened his mood.

"Fuckin buildin's," he began to curse in frustration, "standin there for no reason...how come I haven't seen a god damn bunker yet? How come you couldn't be a fuckin bunker, huh? Not even a run-down bodega, what the fuck man?" he asked, motioning his hand towards a nearby building. "I ran through bitch ass sector already..." He was stopped mid-sentence by the sound of static in his ear. As clarity increased, suddenly the voice of another found its way to him via an earpiece. The same one he'd completely disregarded until Damon used it to interrupt him.

A hand to his gadget augmented the sound quality, the lowering of his head allowed him to focus. He was once again as he always was meant to be, a soldier ready for his orders. "Affirmative." Was the only response Vincent could think to give once the message had been delivered, despite how cliche it may have been it got the point across and that was all he needed.

A quick scan showed him nothing he could use. Release of a random ki blast dealt a building -- different from the one he'd been cursing -- damage. The fact that it still stood pissed him off even more. He stopped to face man-made structure. "Ahhh!!" A volley of energy blasts found their way to it, then leveled the building. Leaving only debris and clouds of dust, possibly contaminated with asbestos, in the air., Vincent's heart-beat palputated as his breathing quickened. He wasn't out of shape, just out of breath from screaming and shooting at the same time. When the clouds subsided, clearing by means of regular wind pattens, what the brawler was greeted by forced him to crack a smile. More so a smirk.

This sector had run it course. It was time to move on.

****

"Of all the sectors..." He scolded through clenched teeth. "Why this one?!" Vincent wondered if his question would even be answered. Could he even be heard on the other end, wherever that may have been, or was he just a soldier sent to this frozen hellhole to meet his demise? No, he wouldn't have it. He couldn't allow such a thing, but to challenge nature was a dangerous and difficult task. The quick exertion of ki brought about a fiery aura that melted what snow covered his feet. Orders are orders... With teleportation as his only aid, Vincent made his way to the bunker. Cold and missing a sleeve, praying to god, anyone, that within it he'd find refuge, warmth and if lucky enough, Kaden.

Vincent has moved to the Arctic Sector

Vincent has entered the Arctic Sector Bunker