Day Three: Morning

[Burter]

Day Three
6:00 AM - Noon

"The pace is picking back up with three dead and some great action scenes so far! Keep it up, warriors!

Here are those dead, first those from yesterday then today.

#06 Cell Jr
#35 Kollifum

And today:

#04 Celipa
#28 Paragus
#31 Jack Sparrow

And now, it's time to announce the new forbidden zones! These zones will be activated in six hours! If you're in one of these spots at noon...BOOM! Hehe!

E1
J7

That's it! Good luck, all!

This is Karl, over and out!"


Notes:

-I'm going to sleep. Hence this up early. Don't post in here till midnight. Don't PM moves till midnight.

-I'd like a staff member to create the discussion thread and unsticky the last IC thread at midnight. Only a staffer.

-Good night.

[Bardock]

Bardock?s eye fluttered open. Was this now the second time he had woken up worse than when he conked out? He grunted and fought the pain that sprang unbidden, eye welling with moisture. His skull was on fire. The last thing he could remember was trying to take on?somebody?and then nothing.

The fighter tried to sit up. Not a good idea. A wave of nausea washed over him and overpowered his normally iron-cast constitution. He flopped over and vomited a mixture of stomach acids and blood. When his stomach stopped heaving, his chest took over, taking quick and shallow breaths. With a growl, Bardock pushed himself away from the puddle of puke and started to crawl towards some cover.

Goddamnit. That?s what I fucking get for being in fucking groups a-fucking-gain. At least I didn?t get a hole blasted through me, he thought angrily. On second thought?he reached out to touch the back of his head, and he hissed upon contact. A mere touch stung like a thousand wasps. Pulling back his hand, the saiyan-jin saw it was soaked in blood. Great. Grand. Wonderful.

Hiding under the shade of a tree, he propped himself against its sturdy trunk, letting his neck hang forward. For some reason, his legs didn?t want to work yet.

??Least I got my bag,? he muttered bitterly. Rummaging through its contents, he pulled out a bottle of water and swished away the nasty aftertaste of upchuck, spitting it out as far away as his cheeks could shoot. He checked his pistol. Still holstered, still charged. GPS. Working, at least according to his observation. ?I didn?t even kill anyone.?

And so the question presented itself: now what? He was alone, and he had no idea where he was. His eye was gone, and now he had a big gaping wound in the back of his head. His chances of winning were getting smaller by the hour.

First things first, he had to tend to his new injury. Fortunately, he had stocked up at the food silo, a.k.a. the convenience store. He ripped open a box of band-aids. No good. Too small. The next thing his fingers found was a roll of gauze. Bingo. However, he was going to need to clean it first. He pulled out a plastic tube.

?Neo?sporin?? he sounded out. ?What the hell is this??

He tossed the tube away, and instead found a keg can of beer.

?That?ll work.?

He popped open the top, and took a hearty gulp. Bardock looked for a stick of some sort, and found one small enough to fit his needs. He placed the bit between his teeth, and clamped down. His breathing grew quick, and he braced himself. The fighter tipped the can over and it spilled down the back of his head. The stick silenced what would have been an embarrassing scream as he clamped down even harder. The alcohol nipped as it disinfected the wound. When the deed was done, he bandaged it up the best he knew how, the soft cotton also covering his bad eye.

Now it was time to move. He had to get away from here, wherever ?here? was. Fortunately, he had regained enough balance to stand on his feet, although his coordination was a little off.

?Whoa,? he gushed, his head swimming.

That was when Karl?s announcement came on. Bardock snapped.

?You wanna see something?! Huh?! HERE!? he barked as he turned around and loosened his belt, jerking down his pants and exposing his buttocks. ?Here?s my big?white?ass!! There! That?s somethin? for ya! Big white ass! All right! I?ll bet you?re enjoying that! Yeah!?

With a huff, he pulled them back up and tightened his belt. It was an unusual outburst for him, but the blow to the back of his head had messed with him a little. All of the aggravation Bardock had just caused himself made him a little woozy. He leaned against the tree, but with a burst of determination, he put on his sunglasses, pushed off and began wandering.

[Android 17]

Although she had been eliminated a mere twelve hours into Dante?s Abyss, Paige was still watching the rest of the competition from her homeworld. Unfortunately for the woman, she had decided to take a bathroom break just a few moments before her boyfriend popped up on the screen. As she waddled back into the main room of the lounge, she was surprised to see that everyone was once again hooting and hollering at the top of their lungs.

?What the hell is going on?? She boomed?obviously irritated at how loud and obnoxious the crowd had become in the last five minutes. The last time they had grown so loud was when the massive brawl had broken out in the wee hours of the morning. Even though she was glad that Seventeen had someone managed to elude being caught up in the bout, Paige was nevertheless angry that all the father of her child had been doing for the last twenty-four hours was writing poetry and smoking pot.

?Last year?s champ just went up against these two other guys!? A random guy shouted from a nearby countertop. Arching one of her eyebrows, the former whitelighter trudged toward the nearest television set.

?My boyfriend was traveling with the champ from last year,? Paige muttered, placing her palms on opposing sides of the large bump projecting from her abdomen. When she finally reached the widescreen television set, the woman saw nothing but a seemingly disemboweled Raditzu stumbling off into the forest. A few moments transpired as an expression of concern stretched across her blotchy, sweaty visage.

And that was when the camera switched to show the other side of the battle. At first, Paige saw nothing but the creature who had ejected her from the contest, but after a few seconds, she noticed who was limping in tandem with the bubblegum-colored monster?Seventeen. Unlike his previous appearances on the television, the raven-haired warrior was paler than usual and sweating profusely. Other than that, the former whitelighter could not see any visible ailment afflicting her boyfriend.

?That?s going to leave a mark,? someone said who was sitting a few feet away. Hearing the man?s remark, Paige tilted her head in an effort to get a better view; however, before she had a chance, the camera view once again switched to one that highlighted the duo?s injuries. Super Buu was missing an entire leg, and Seventeen had a wound that any of the viewers could see clean through.

?Seventeen?? the android?s lover uttered, her hands sliding away from her stomach and to her sides. The woman?s eyes widened as she watched her boyfriend stumble across the island in agony. As Paige stood and stared at the television in horror, she suddenly felt an uncomfortable sensation in her pants.

?Are you okay?? Someone inquired upon noticing that the crotch of the woman?s sweatpants was stained with an abundance of fluid.

?I think I?m going to have a baby,? Paige said before blacking out.

***

?Keeping moving,? Seventeen rasped as the bleeding, mangled twosome stumbled and limped their way through the forest.

?You say that as if I was really going to stop and examine the foliage,? Super Buu snickered. Despite the severity of the situation, the android couldn?t help but smile at the antics of his old friend.

?I just want you to know that one of these days you?re going to be the death of me,? the android laughed, poking at the pink monster with one of his bloodied fingers. The puttalin golem laughed softly, but after a few guffaws, he clenched his eyes shut and let out a pained ?ouch.?

?We?re going to have to stop sooner or later,? Buu groaned as the pair advanced through a patch of bushes. ?After all, I honestly doubt he?s going to come after us with his organs spilling out all over the ground. He?s probably even??

?He?s not dead,? Seventeen interjected, turning one of his swollen eyes toward his longtime compatriot. ?He still has more than enough steam in him to bulldoze at least half a dozen more people. We have to keep moving if we intend to buy enough time to lick our wounds, savvy?? The machine-hybrid finished, grunting as he put more pressure on the gaping hole in his chest.

This kind of shit always happens to me. The cyborg thought?trigging an out of place smile to spread across his deathly white countenance. After all, there was absolutely nothing to be happy about. Raditzu was still alive and kicking, and both Seventeen and Super Buu were bleeding all over the place. Their only bet was to wait things out and take some time to scheme their next move.

?Why do we get ourselves into these situations?? Super Buu muttered, snickering even though it hurt his battered body in the process.

?Because we love to make good television?? Seventeen shot back, glancing at the canopy that hung overhead to see if he could spot any hidden cameras.

?Fuck,? Buu started. ?And here I thought we just liked to get ourselves mutilated for shit and giggles.?

?Well there?s that too,? Seventeen responded nonchalantly, and with that, the two beleaguered friends started to laugh.

OOC: Made an edit to correct Supes' injury.

[Burter]

Face to Face

Dodoria, Cargo

Retane, Tapion

Sauzaa

It was a miracle he could even move, much less travel across the island. The bloody Konat known as Tapion stumbled his way, half-crawling, over the terrain as he found a set of storage buildings. Fortunetly he would have a good chance of shelter here...and a place to rest.

Tap stumbled into one of the buildings and found a place to collapse and rest. "Ugh," he grunted, feeling his torso burning with pain. As he rolled over to rest on his back, he was greeted with a sudden figure. "Whoa!"

Sauzaa stood tall, flail in one hand and guitar on his back. He was already pretty bruised up from a battle a couple days ago. And here was Tapion, almost dead, ripe for the killing. But he didn't. "You need some help?"

The Konat swallowed hard. "Uh...."

Saz wasn't exactly the merciful type when it came down to competition, but here was a decent-looking guy who run into some bad luck. Why not help him out and possibly reap the spoils later? "You look like Hell."

"Yea, and that's not your problem." Came a voice from behind him. Sauzaa spun around, holding his flail as he saw a busted up namekian. "Hi," Retane said, holding up the nail gun. "See ya."

The blue creature gasped as the nail peirced into his gut, stabbing out the other side, He fell back just in time to feel Tapion raising up and trying to hold him down. Using his power, Sauzaa shoved Tap back and swung his flail like a baseball bat, catching the Konat in the head and spiking into his skull.

"No, Tap!" Ret gasped. "You fucking peice of shit!" Sauzaa turned again just in time to see an infuriated namekian smash his gun into the blue man's head, hurling him sideways.

"Why so loud?" came a new voice. Retane turned from Sauzaa to a new pink-colored man and his minature namekian friend in the doorway to the storage building. Dodoria blinked. "You all bring food?"

"Cargo," Retane growled. "You picked a bad time."

As the taller namek raised his nail gun, Cargo's eyes flashed. "Dodoria, he's got food!" The child declared. "He's hiding it! It's in the gun!"

Dodoria's eyes lit up as he lunged forward. "You hide from Dodoria!? Nobody hide food from Dodoria!"

As the fat pink blob tackled the surprised Retane, Cargo grinned at his plan. The hanging out with the annoying Dodoria had been worth it. He snuck forward towards the wounded Konat in order to get any weapons laying around. He pumped his super soaker filled with blood.

"Over here." Sazuaa called out, stumbling to his feet with the nail in his gut. "You're not getting anything without getting through me."

"Gladly," Cargo agreed. He moved forward, holding his water gun as he prepared for the fight. Before he reached the teal man, his foot clicked against something.

Both looked down at the grenade Tapion had rolled. The cap was off. "Oh, shit," Saz noted.

Cargo immediately lept to the side. "Run for it!"

The explosion erupted inside the storage building. Tapion's deformed body flew backwards into some boxes. Cargo and Sazuaa were blasted back into walls. On the other side, Dodoria and Retane ducked under the debris.

"Big boom!" Dodoria said, astounded.

Retane immediately used the man's distraction to his advantage, spinning to the side and holding the gun up to the alien's head. "Eat THIS!" With the push of a finger, the nail peirced into Dodoria's skull and out the other side, causing him to crash sideways.

The namekian didn't have time to deal with the body. He stumbled over to see Tapion moving onto his back as he lost his sight. The flail hit in his head had caused him to lose sight in one eye, also busting into his skull. There was no way he could last much longer.

"Tap!" Retane shouted as he moved down. "Tapion! Stay alive! I can NOT do this shit without you!"

The Konat ignored his friend, just smiling. "It was fun," he whispered, squirming on the floor. "Sorry I couldn't...fight you...in the final two."

"Damnit!" Retane screamed, "Don't you fucking die!"

"Thanks, though," Tap continued. "Seriously...thank you, Retane."

No matter how much Retane screamed, it didn't stop Tapion from dying there in his arms. Retane lost control of his body and shed some tears, not caring about how weak it made him look.

The namekian and Konat had ruined many friends and crushed plenty of trust, but they were almost unstoppable. But now, it had finally caught up to them. Retane finally knew what it was like to lose someone dear to him in the Hell that was Dante's Abyss.

Tapion was dead. He was alone.

It didn't feel very good.

#15 Dodoria DEAD
#21 Tapion DEAD

24 Remain

Cargo's been blasted with a grenade and is pretty fucked up. Major injury

Sauzaa's been shot with a nail in the gut. Major injury

Retane's major injury in his head is now Insane, as he's lost a good portion in the explosion. He gets Tap's shield and grenades.

[Yamu]

The acid was melting into Yamu?s face, he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to keep the corrosive chemicals for blinding him. He peeked through slits, hoping he would be able to defend himself with the tiny openings and a brain clogged with searing pain.

That is when it hit him, a wash of red flames that made his own Kaioken look like firecrackers, with that he passed out, a burst of Super Kaioken launching him through the woods with only one thought cutting through the acid motivated pain, Burter?



The sun was already in the sky when the Arlian Guardian regained consciousness and struggled to his feet. ?Holy fuck?? it hurt to blink and without even looking the veiny human could feel the blisters that swelled up covering his face. He could still see clearly at least, but when he tried of breath deeply and realized he had lost his sense of smell. He softly touched his face, and winced as his finger landed on a bloated pustule on his left cheek. ?Thanks A LOT!? He shouted into the woods, ?I don?t need any help scaring people with how I LOOK!? He kicked a tree, knocking a hole through it.

He suddenly realized he felt naked after his outburst. My stuff? Where?s my stuff?! He saw he still had his scouter on. He felt across his chest quickly realizing he had lost his bag in the melee, but that was not what had him panicked. KARI! his mind shouted louder then his voice ever could. He knocked the pile of leaves he had been laying next to aside and sure enough, nails gleaming in the morning sun there sat his totem. He snatched it off the ground and clutched it to his body like he was hugging a long lost relative; he sank to the ground, clutching his weapon as he breathed several sighs of relief, knocking his head against the tree his back leaned on, cursing himself for almost loosing his Atonement.

One long breath slowly transferred into a smile, then morphed into a labored chuckle, then an all out rolling laugh as he remembered the war that had just happened. One hand refused to loosen its grip on Kari but the other hand thudded against his own massive chest, ?Two Super Saiya-Jins at ONCE! I?m a fucking bulldozer!? Yamu had been aiming for the Finals and hoping he would get there, but now he knew he could make it. He had marched through a circle of Hell and walked out the other side weapon in hand and in one piece.

His good mood subsided as his mind reflected on the other opponent he had knocked out before the Saiya-Jins and why. The cold eyed Namekian had killed two of his friends, the only two fighters he could trust in this year?s game. ?I payed him back for ya, guys. Just like I did for Bulma.? He realized he was talking to himself?but it seemed right. The words needed to be spoken, not just thought. His feelings were not something to be kept inside, not at a time like this. He had to let them know that he knew what they had done for him and that he appreciated it. He knew the deaths were not real, but he felt a debt to the warriors who had watched his back and trusted him with their lives. He would not forget them.

His memory finally caught up to what happened just before he had passed out, just after he had cracked Reijin?s skull. The blinding red glow that had enveloped him like a hug, then had tossed him through the woods like dry leaf.

?Hey, BIG BLUE!? It could have been no one else but Burter. No one had a Kaioken that ferocious. ?That is TWICE you?ve blown past me.? The gargantuan reptile had swept in like a guardian angel not once but twice with not so much as a word to the veiny human. The Arlian Guardian walked in a tight circle, projecting his voice to every corner of the woods. Yamu paused before he shouted again, he had been thinking Burter was just slighting him, that he did not feel his old comrade was worth his time. He got it now, realization hit him harder the Reijin or his Saiya-Jin buddy ever could. ?I get it now, Blue!? Somehow, he knew the scaly sapphire monster could hear him. ?I know why! Give an old friend one courtesy, alright? When it finally is time for you and me?no weapons. You and I will settle it like men, ok? OK?? The trees did not respond?but the Earthling knew he ha been heard.

The Abyss was a featureless darkness for everyone, but there was a light in the center of it now for Yamu. A light that silhouetted the man he had in good nature dubbed, ?Big Blue? what seemed like a lifetime ago. The hairless human?s smile came back as he thought of the irony, he had spent so long looking for Burter to now put it off their meeting untill the end. He could seek him out, he knew, but that was not the way it was supposed to be.

Big Blue was the ending.

He set off through the woods alone, he might as well begin writing the chapters that would get him to the end. He would avenge his fallen comrades?his fallen friends along the way.

*Karl?s Announcement*

It took the bat toting brawler several steps before he realized Jeice?s name had not been called. He stopped, one foot still dangling in the air. He had seen a steel spike drill through the slender red skinned fighter from front to back.. If the white haired warrior was somehow still alive?he was in bad shape.

Not bad shape?dying shape.

The Arlian Guardian took off at a run, but was quickly stopped his leg caught something that dropped him flat on his face. It was one of the survival bags?not his own, but hopefully it still had food and water. He opened it up and very familiar looking cans came spilling out.

Paragus?s!

He dug in and pulled out the medkit at the bottom, his eyes flashing with joy. He held it up into the air hoping a camera caught it, ?Thanks, Old Man. I won?t let it go to waste!

He broke into a run again, there was no way to know where Jeice was, and there was a lot of island to cover.

[Kami]

The dirt was cold in his hand. The rum inside kept him warm and numbed the pain emminating from his back. The bottles in his bag clanked together, noting their emptyness with a loud clank. That damn pirate went through more of this than I thought... Kami was still on the ground, covered by brush and trees. Moving around was going to take some effort and he needed to give his back as much time to rest of possible. He could still move, but he was limping badly.

He shifted his body once again, finding another cool spot on the ground to almost act as an ice pack for his aching backside. He was still baffled by Burter's appearance. He hadn't seen the reptillian in quite some time and for him to appear at this tournament was a bit of a shock. He also reflected on how the fight went, not really accomplishing anything noteworthy for himself or his now deceased pirate companion.

Another empty bottle rolled out of the bag as the wind snuck it's way through the trees. Why is the rum always gone... Kami allowed himself a moment to sigh and acknowledge the frustrating situation he was now involved with. The best thing for him to do at the moment would be resting. If he was lucky, his Namekian anatomy would try and heal itself the best it could given the short amount of time he had on the island, but that limp would still be ever present.

Wanting to move around a little, the Namek fired a tiny ki blast from a finger tip at a tree branch. Smaller branches and leaves came crashing down to the ground as the bigger branch made it's great leap. Kami grabbed the fat part of the branch and dragged it over by him. He managed to get himself propped up against the base of the tree, sitting with his legs outstretched. He cleaned off the outside of the branch and once it was bare used it to stand up. He felt a few vertabrea in his back cracking back into place as he stood up. Moving around was hard, but he could still do it. Need be he hoped he'd still have some speed in a fight, but he might need to rely on brute force to compensate for the limp. He began to hobble his way deeper into the woods, knowing full well that if he was to be successful he'd need to begin his guerrilla war of attrition at this very moment.

Here goes nothing...

[Saz]

Sazuaa panted uncontrollably as he stumbled through the jungle-type terrain, his right hand pressed gently over the wound on his stomach created by the Namek?s nail gun. He almost couldn?t believe what had just transpired. It had all happened so fast, one second he was reacquainting himself with a severely injured Tapion, the next, complete and utter carnage.

Navigating his way through the trees the non-transformer finally collapsed, he just couldn?t go any further. Laying on the ground it quickly dawned upon him that he couldn?t stay there out in the open, he was so fatigued and physically ravaged that getting seen by another competitor would almost certainly signal the end of his stay in the contest. Using his one good arm, Sazuaa dragged himself behind some nearby bushes and leaned up against a nearby tree. Catching his thoughts Sazuaa began to try and retrace the steps that had lead to such an epic encounter.

The day had started out much like all the others had whilst he had been on Dante, spending most of his time wondering the island in search of any possible opponents. As the sun slowly began to rise, Sazuaa found refuge in a oddly located building which stood in the middle of the wilderness. And it was in the building that Sazuaa came across a familiar face, the Konat Tapion whom he had helped rescue in South City, this time in a even worse state than he was back on Earth.

In a uncharacteristic move, which the reasoning behind now completely escaped the blonde alien, Sazuaa offered a truce to the injured warrior. That was when things started to go sour. A mysterious Namek snuck up behind him and shot a nail into his gut. Then Tapion showed his true colours as he attempted to pin the teal alien down so the emerald warrior could finish him off. But in his weakened state Sazuaa easily managed to shake him off and deliver a vicious blow to the face with his flail. As if things weren?t bad enough already, two more fighters came into the frame, a grotesque pinkish blob of a fighter, and a young Namek, both of whom were ready for some action.

And that?s when the shit well and truly hit the fan.

It was all out war, there was blood, explosions, nails and flails, it was a massacre. It was a miracle Sazuaa made it out of there alive.

Sazuaa slowly removed his hand from his stomach. It wasn?t a pretty sight, a nail, atleast seven inches long impaling him, he knew what he had to do. Grimacing and wailing in agony, Sazuaa grabbed onto the nail and pulled it out from his abdomen. Crimson blood oozed out from the gaping wound that the nail had left, but before he could do anything to stop the bleeding, he passed out from the pain.

(Ooc Slightly rushed, but I didn't want to leave it just to come back and find that I was dead or something...)

[Retane]

Dead. Tapion was dead. He was gone, eliminated from the Abyss.

Thats all that Retane could think as he sat there, cradling his late freind in his arms. His one good eye only saw the silhouette and outline through the tears that blurred his vision. The mercenary didn't know what to think anymore. He had been releived when he heard Tapion's name wasn't mentioned in the death list, and had set straight out to find him. And he had, right in time for a fight.

Yet he had failed Tapion a second time. Just as his hopes were beginning to rise, they were crushed within an instant. The dark namekian wished it was noon, he didn't care even if it was the time of the height of the suns glory. He wanted Karl to come on the intercom and not mention Tapion's name. He wanted to see the elvish warrior smile at him and make a smart ass comment about how crazy the namek was acting.

But he couldn't.

Standing up, with the Konat's head in one arm, he scooped the warriors legs up. He turned, putting his back to the hellish scene, as he tried to drown out the memories of the most recent events. The only problem was in his arms. The mercenary let out, not a growl or snarl, but a sigh of sadness. The air above him became dark and cloudy, even without his concious mind calling the darkness.

"Come Tapion, let us finish our last journey. I owe you that much, my freind." The solemn words came from deep within his heart. They came upon instinct and were full of truth and promise as Retane meant every last word of it. He steppped out of the building, and stepped into darkness. The ominous darkness surounded the assassin in irony of how his heart felt. The Dark Hunter truly felt alone.

"We will finish our trip. I promise."

[Jinpo]

?Shit.? Cargo mumbled as the he awoke groggily from his short little injury timeout. He immediately tried to pick himself. Terrible decision. Every one of Cargo?s nerves shot the same message to his brain: pain. It was agony in its purest form. Simply put, it the worst pain he had ever experienced. The explosion and subsequent collision with the wall of the edifice left the kid in a bad way. He had narrowly avoided death by grenade, but it was clear that the Konat had left his mark.

?That really hurt.? The world slowly came back into focus for the Namekian. Cadavers littered the concrete floor of the storage building. The amount of blood flowing from the two corpses could have filled a small lake. After his eyes finally readjusted, the adolescent identified the former Dante?s Abyss members.

?The jackass with the grenades and the brainless blob . . . heh.?

His partner had been killed. Death was nothing knew for the child, especially in this competition; however, he was surprised at himself. He felt nothing. Not a whim of sadness that his companion was now dead. No relief that he wouldn?t have to spend anymore time with the idiot. No joy that fewer men stood between him and escaping this island alive.

Nothing . . .

Nothing at all . . .

?Dearly departed,? Cargo said suddenly, preaching to an fully deceased audience. ?We?ve gathered here today to remember Dodoria, the dumbest creature ever to compete in Dante?s Abyss. He was a . . . a sustenance savant who cared more about food than living. You won?t be fondly missed. Actually, the universe?s food supply should last about 500 years longer. Now, let us all pay our respects to Dodo by giving him what he would want.?

The green teenager looked for his bag only to find it right next to him, concealed under a pile of debris. Cargo moved his arm slowly as to minimize the suffering he would put his body through and freed his survival kit. Calmly unzipping the charred knapsack, the child reached inside and pulled out a can of Spam.

?Sorry.? he uttered facetiously at he hurled the open can at his dead partner. The container flew through the air and the meat substitute struck the pink lump of fat directly in the forehead, the juices running down his visage.

?Now that that the service is over, it?s time for the afterparty!? he exclaimed to his crowd.

"However if I want to attend, I need to get up.? he spoke internally. He wished that there was a way that he could force his nervous system to lie to the rest of his body. Unfortunately, he knew Cargo knew that he would have to bite the bullet and bare it. The child readied himself for a second attempt at standing. Bracing himself, the kid rose bit by bit up the wall he pushed against. The pain was excruciating. It was like someone was sticking huge needles into every single point of his body simultaneously. Not fun at all. Somehow, he found his way to his feet.

?Good. The hard part?s over.? Cargo cried out, through clenched teeth. ?Now let?s try to walk.?

[Drake]

How many days had it been?

Kakarot awoke after being asleep for the last two days; at least it felt like he was awake. It?d been hard to determine what was real, and what was unreal when you were blind, especially now that his senses had begun to pick up the slack of his failing eyes.

Everything else seemed to be remarkably sharper, scents, smells, and anything touched. He wasn?t sure about his sense of taste though, as all he?d had to eat in the last few days was stale and tasteless bread, and plain old water. Although he guessed it could be worse as since his sense of smell had become more acute, he?d begun to notice something burning his olfactory senses- which turned out to be his own nasty body odor. A nice mix of blood, sweat, and grime that ended up producing a nasty concoction.

?Ugh?? Moaned the saiyajin as he sat up, resisting the urge to lie down as his sore and stiff muscles protested any movement. Slowly but surely he managed to get up to his feet, holding onto the tree he?d slept under for support.

?I?m surprised I didn?t get eliminated while sleeping,? Kakarot was no less than shocked that he?d been given that much time to rest considering the dire and dangerous atmosphere of Dante?s Abyss. He couldn?t help but wonder if this was good luck, or just bad luck that had a plan in the waiting; either way, he couldn?t shake the foreboding sense of danger at the back of his mind.

A growl from his stomach interrupted the saiyajin?s train of thought, and placed it on a new track.

Food.

At first it hadn?t been an issue because he had some, but now he found himself on the third day in with no bread left and only half a bottle of water. When Kakarot had not been blind, it would have been a bit challenging to find a source of nutrition; however, he was now blind and as such he was now playing a game that could be impossible especially given his stink that would mask any food that hadn?t been 10 feet from his face.

?Hmm, quit the pickle I?ve got myself in,? he laughed, drooling a bit at the idea of a pickle.

[Android 17]

The sun was nearly at its apex in the morning sky when the twosome finally came to the conclusion that they were too tired to keep on moving. With a pair of grunts, Seventeen and Super Buu toppled gracelessly onto the cold, unforgiving floor of the jungle. The cyborg let out a gasp as he toppled a few yards away from his friend before rendezvousing with the earth. As he frantically tried to draw breath into his lungs, the android?s vision began to blur. All the colors of the forest?s overgrown plants began to swirl and mix as the cybernetic warrior tried desperately to stave off oblivion.

?Get the fuck up, maggot,? the android pleaded to himself as he squirmed and twitched on the ground. Despite his best efforts, the machine-hybrid was beginning to lose the sensation from his extremities. Slowly but surely, his life was slipping away through the grotesque hole that had, quite literally, been punched through his abdomen.

Although he had tried to act stoic throughout the length of the retreat, Seventeen could only deal with the realization for so long?he was going to die. Rolling onto his side, the android clasped both of his hands over the wound, but even still, blood continued to ooze through his trembling, ensanguined digits.

?I don?t want to die,? Seventeen cried as he squeezed his fingers in a frantic effort to quell the loss of fluids. As he squirmed on his side, the cybernetic warrior?s tears began to stream down the side of his dirtied countenance. Clenching his eyes shut to prevent any of the fluid from obscuring his vision further, the android began to whimper quietly. ?God damn it,? the cyborg lamented softly as his thoughts ventured back to the battle. ?I should have just skedaddled on out of there.?

But you went with you heart instead of your gut, and because of that, you?re going to suffer. The blunt honest of the remark cut deep into the android?s mind as his blood continued to pool out over his clothes and onto the ground. You talked the talk about wanting to stand for yourself, but in the end, you cracked under the pressure. You stood alongside someone else, and as a result, you fell alongside someone else.

Opening his eyes, the android clenched his teeth and pivoted his neck in such a way to afford him a quick glance at his fallen partner. Super Buu was lying on his stomach only a few yards away. Despite the shallow upward and downward motions of his diaphragm, the puttalin golem was motionless. Even the usually emotionless visage of the monster was wrought with a depressing expression of pain and agony.

I shouldn?t have got involved. Seventeen deliberated as he tried to muster his failing strength.

?I deserve this,? the android whispered beneath his beleaguered breath as he reached out toward his duffel bag with one of his bloody, shaky hands. After what felt like an infinity of slowly stretching his quavering fingers, Seventeen wrapped them around the bag?s shoulder strap and proceeded to pull it toward him. Although the oversized satchel only moved a few inches, it was close enough that the machine-hybrid could reach inside and pull out a small canteen.

Pulling the container closer, the android clenched his fingers around and lid and twisted the cap with all the might he could muster. Unfortunately for Seventeen, the metal cap had more fortitude than he did. Unable to accept his lose, the raven-haired warrior began to recklessly twist and yank at the canteen?s stopper. After a few more moments, fresh tears began to stain the android?s face.

?Why do you hate me?? The cyborg lamented, discarding the canteen as his half-closed eyes began to wildly dart to and fro?vividly displaying the panic and fear coursing their way through the machine-hybrid?s veins. After a few moments, Seventeen threw out one of his bloody hands. With a wild, dread-laced expression on his face, the android dug his mangled fingers into the ground and began to drag his bloody, unreceptive body across the ground.

Even as his fingernails snapped away and fresh blood was spilled, Seventeen ignored the agony and helplessness. The android clenched his teeth as a means to help swallow down the fresh screams of pain as they exploded forth from the depths of his being. Although it took over five minutes of brutal, endless misery to drag his lifeless form across the ground, the cyborg eventually traversed the distance between him and his companion.

?Fuck,? Super Buu groaned?opening his eyes upon hearing and feeling the android?s labored breathing on his face. The puttalin golem tilted his head over to see his former leader lying on his side and hovering over him. From the expression on the cyborg?s face, the bubblegum-colored monster knew that the going had just gotten tough.

?We have to?? Seventeen started, pausing to refill his already emptied lungs. ?We have to get up and find some means to patch ourselves up, Buu.?

?We?re lying on it,? Super Buu snickered, lifting on of his oversized hands and letting it fall on to the ground beside his fallen figure. ?Ore deposits,? he uttered?a smile fighting to form upon his agonized visage.

?Fuck you,? the android chuckled, and even after blood began to bubble up out of his throat, he continued to laugh for reasons he couldn?t even explain anymore.