Pit- Entrance Hall
When one has experience waking up in unfamiliar places, you tend to get a routine down.
One, can I move? The answer right now is no.
Two, am I a ring? Again, no, still can feel limbs.
Three, can you be acknowleged? Seems so, with what this girl was saying.
Of course, Pit's mind wasn't there right now, as he was trying to contact someone.
"Lady Palutena? You there? Lady Palutena? ... Well... guess I'm alone..."
Not the most comforting thought, but one he can't exactly dwell on for too long, tuning in into what the girl is saying. He didn't know exactly how he got here, but according to the hostess girl, he was selected for some sort of show?
"I mean, I'm honored, truly. But did you have to kidnap me?"
He had to be honest: He wouldn't have much of a problem doing this if he wasn't a.) cut off from his goddess, b.) had the ability to move, and c.) did not freaking kidnap him.
And not just him, the way she said everything sounded like he's going to be sharing with some new people afterwards. And it was a contest! And to the victor goes... all... you're... hearts desires...
... Pit was too familiar with this, too familiar with how this setup was used, and too familiar with how successfully this tends to be employed to not be at least a little skeptic of the prize.
He was, admittingly, a little curious about the technology, though. I mean, something that can pull and restrain someone through dimensions is a little impressive, as well as having some rather horrifying implications. Now, if his efforts could get him out of this...
But, eventually, the barrier was lowered, and the winged boy, not prepared for it came stumbling out of it. He eventually got back his footing, though, and took a look at the people who were dragged here as well.
There were humans of various shapes and sizes, another, female angel in an outfit that he'd probably get in trouble if he stared at for too long, a flower, which is notable but not as impossible as one would think (he knew the Goddess of Nature, after all, and most of her soldiers fit that description) and a wolf and...speck thing that claimed to be a sun goddess. Well, considering what happened to the last one, they needed a replacement... and hey, she looked kinda fluffy.... but still, he wasn't aware of the Sun Goddess being a Canine. He'll have to ask them later.
There also was a cat, but he was confused if they were a participant or just a house pet.
Anyways, someone tried to leave, but outside, there was space. That was one way of isolating them, I guess. Pit wasn't as affected by this as some others would, in fact, he's been out in space before. Which begs the question...
And then one of the participants attacked the host, which was met with a barrier via a camera. That, Pit found, was cool.
Then she had a gun in her hand. If it wasn't for context, Pit would find this cool.
Then said girl was vaporized. This was less cool, and left Pit speechless for a time.
Though, then the girl came back. So it works like the training grounds? Alright then...
"Geez, you almost gave me a heart attack..."
The idea that dying here was likely much more painful than said training was lost on him for now. It did assuage some of his worries to know that there's no time for anyone to attack people while he was gone. Just a little.
Anyways, with that, Pit went up to the host.
"So, um... can I ask a question? How did we get here? and who exactly is "casting" us?"
"For the how, simple, we have the technology to pull people from their own universes and bring them wherever we want. If you want anything more specific, well, do I look like a scientist to you?"
She shrugged before continuing.
"As for who picked you, that's what casting means, that would be the people who run the show. Standard procedure is to pick a large list of notable individuals from across the multiverse who already have a fan following, and from there, they do some complex equations, test audiences, and all sorts of other things to narrow down who they want to put on the show itself. There's probably a list of thousands of candidates they went through before you were all selected to be on the show."
Vampire Hunter
Chun-Li & Juri, Entrance Hall
"The new host explained it about as well as I could," Chun-Li looked at, well, Ammy and her friend whose ability to talk she was trying to comprehend at the moment. "Uhh..."
"Yeah, yeah... Flowey was a part of Villain Team," Juri shrugged at Tira when she suggested to restart Team Murder Buddies again. "Why not?"
Wizard Needs Food Badly
That One Gal
Jimmy
Not bothering to move very far away, Jimmy overheard the conversation between Pit and Sidney. Angel wings? The jokes wrote themselves for this kid.
However Jimmy's attention was caught by what Sidney said. "So what you're saying it that I'm good enough to be picked to be here? Huh. Maybe this show isn't as lousy as I thought."
Magnus
Oh, you know, just being watched by at least a trillion people across multiple universes. Nothing major.
Magnus was suddenly self-conscious of his hair. Usually he didn't mind if he looks messy, but having approximately two trillion eyes on you tends to break your conventions. He swept his fingers through his hair, trying his best to straighten it without a mirror, and flashed the camera a smile.
Man, he probably looked really lame right now.
Calamity is a housewife
Fajita, Entrance Hall
Standing amongst the crowd of unwilling participants in the entrance hall, the Prince of all Saiyans clicked his tongue, arms tightly folded and muscles tensing.
When Vegeta woke up and found that he was paralyzed, he'd initially thought Whis had cooked up some new form of training for him and Kakarot. If that were the case, he'd thought, he should've heard his training partner exclaiming his surprise. Instead, an unfamiliar female voice explained the situation while he was still on the ground.
Pandemonium? Contestants from across the multiverse? What sort of jackassery was this? That he had been kidnapped and forced to participate in an asinine game was, surprisingly, not too hard to believe, he'd met many forms of eccentricities in his time on Earth. But a wish as the grand prize?
His first thought was that somehow this 'Sidney Knight' character had gotten her hands on the Dragon Balls, and was using them not for herself, but for this horrid game show instead... for some reason. As circumstances stood now, he had no reason to believe this wasn't true.
A young, insolent looking boy had been offered an exit out of the house. The door that was pointed out to him revealed space, and he was reluctant to leave. Humans couldn't breathe in space, after all. So leaving was that easy?
Vegeta went to the door as soon as the boy had closed it. If he was allowed an exit, he'd just fly back to Earth, it couldn't have been far, he'd be able to hold his breath for the trip home, no doubt.
A few seconds or so passed after he'd left out of the door. What followed was the door being forced open and the Saiyan rushing back inside, closing it behind him with a face that screamed 'bamboozled'. And it was then that he spoke for the first time since coming here, practically screaming at Sidney Knight.
"Are you out of your mind, woman?! There isn't a single planet anywhere!"
It took him a second to realize this was her plot, to ensure they couldn't just leave. Saiyans could survive briefly in the upper atmosphere of a planet, but not fly through vast space all on their own without a ship, they'd die eventually. When that had clicked, Vegeta grit his teeth and found himself hissing. He couldn't just destroy Sidney or the house in this case, he'd kill himself and the other innocent 'contestants' with it.
And aside from that, something about his body felt... off, and he didn't like it one bit.
He'd never felt weaker in his life! Had this woman somehow tampered with his power level? With the bare smidgen of power he could tap into, he doubted he'd be able to blow a hole through one wall in this house, even if he really, really wanted to.
When another contestant, no doubt just as furious with their circumstances, tried to fight back, Sidney had deflected her attack with ease and vaporized her on the spot with some kind of gun. A second later, the contestant came back, alive and well, but shaken. Even Vegeta, once unflinching destroyer of planets and lives, had to cringe at the sight of that.
All signs pointed to him being unable to fight this, and he wasn't pleased about it.
"Alright 'Knight', I'd like to clear the air with you, as I don't believe your 'technology' answer for a second. You've somehow gotten your hands on some Dragon Balls, haven't you? And you used the first couple of wishes to trap us in this god-forsaken place, and dangle the last wish over us as your 'grand prize'? I'm right, aren't I?"
"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani
"No!!" In a second Akira's skin had already turned a deathly grayish-blue and his teeth had turned to sharpened points. In a room full of angels and monsters and, most definitely, Devilmen, Akira knew, what was one more? "I—I was going to kill him. I had to." The explanation of what Hell evidently was, a spectator sport, made just as much sense as Demons basically just being another lifeform on Earth. Well, if this was about fandom, then Akira's selling point started coming out now. Tears started falling down his monstrous face and he just sort of staggered towards the people that at this point he felt the most comfortable with, the closest to the Devilmen he knew—the twisted, the dog, the tiny creature, and the hot woman. He chose not to dwell on how consistent that trend was among Devilmen. It was also, of course, because those people seemed to know what they were doing the most.
"I want to—I want to help you." Akira said. "You're Devilmen too right? I don't know about the rest of these people, but—you, right, you're okay?" He tried to make a weak, shaky smile. "You said something about teams...?"
"Oh no... Mr. Kitty, don't look," Valkyrie said as suddenly, for absolutely no reason, violence happened. She held up one hand to try and cover Morgana's eyes while supporting him with the other, holding him tightly to her chest. But alas, it was probably too late, no doubt the poor cat had to witness the senseless carnage. And for what reason? Being irate? Sure, she was also a little miffed that they had been brought here, but at least she had a kitty. Back home when she had seen Lord and Chris bring back some people and seen them sometimes react poorly, but seeing Ian the cat was usually enough to set them on the right path. Still, that was no reason to vaporize people.
The place they were at was also funny. Space. She knew plenty of mages who just loved talking about space, other worlds, and other things, but she couldn't say she really knew anything about it herself.
edited 8th Feb '18 8:06:08 PM by nman
Breath of the Sun
Amaterasu and Issun
"I guess making a team would make sense." Issun mused, noting a handful of... morally questionable individuals appeared to be making some kind of group. "Not that me and Ammy need help."
Amaterasu smiled, then quickly spun to face the approaching Akira. Issun blinked and hopped up, alert at the demon before him. "Devilmen? We're not demons like you - like I said, this is the great sun goddess!" He prepared to draw his sword in case the demon attacked, but Amaterasu barked. "So don't- whuh? What do you mean he's a good guy, Ammy?"
She smiled at him, almost sadly, and chuffed. Issun frowned. "Well, if Ammy says you're alright, then I guess we can team up. But cheer up a little, would ya?"
And then the big fluffy wolf jumped up and started licking Akira's face.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Tira was clearly pleased at this. Oh, goodie, I can't wait for the fun to start! Jan, you have to join back up too! Then we need to find some more people, I wonder who else is around we could invite.....
Tira started looking closly at faces, suddenly realizing she knew one of them.
Oh, Wolfy! You're here too? Come on over here, you have to rejoin the Murder Buddies with the rest of us!
"If that makes you feel better, go with it." She said to Jimmy, before turning to Vegeta.
"Dragon Balls?" She asked, clearly having no idea what he was talking about. Yet even as she asked, she was flipping through pages on her tablet until she reached one for Vegeta.
"Oh. No, I don't have any of these "Dragon Balls", but according to this profile you're stubborn to the point of idiocy, so something tells me even if I try to convince you otherwise, I'd be wasting my time."
Now, you might be wondering: how does being disassembled at the atomic level feel, especially when you're normally bound together at that level? Luckily for you, we've gotten quite the trove of information from not only her, but the whole lot of them! Using the state of the art technology referred to, universe wide, as the "Confession Cam", we can find out their innermost thoughts and secrets!
"I'd like to preface this by saying that any well-rounded person's been disintegrated at least once. If you can't honestly claim that deed in your name, then get out of my face," Ionia said, sitting in front of an out-of-focus and darkly lit version of the same room she was already in.
"Going back from the border between the waking world and the Dream World just so happens to involve that, but I figure none of you idiots would know that. However, it certainly doesn't hurt like that. I was thinking to myself, the moment I came back, why exactly would you bring someone who tried to kill you back to life? No, I wasn't thinking about anything else. Be quiet, you dolt."
Just a short while later, having thankfully missed quite a lot of helpful exposition, Ionia came back to life without much fanfare.
Suddenly reappearing, with the full expectation (after having died so painfully) that she'd remain dead, Ionia stared right at Sydney with a half-murderous, half-disturbed glare. For someone to kill a Dream Demon like that, without even a second thought, was...
Wait, hold on, "What the hell do you mean by fan following?" Sydney's comment came out of left field, though as Ionia came within bitch-slapping range she still seemed more furious than inquisitive.
"So, there are a bunch of diffrent kinds of shows we do." Sidney said, not bothering to look at Ionia. "Sometimes we do things like this, where we take people from their own universes and bring them to ours, or some empty one like this. Sometimes, one of us goes to another, like on my program where I hunt things throughout the multiverse. But most shows are just the viewers peering in through a window. No interference, no script, minimal budget for maximum returns. The networks have at least a million shows now of various universes which just involve them watching your lives unfold. Suffice it to say, a prerequisite for being selected here was that you are a particularly popular character in one of these shows. Each one of you has a sizable fanbase already, including forums, fanfiction, shipping, the works."
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Fist
Estelle looked thoughtful for a moment. No, she was pretty content , and reversing anything in her world would just seem selfish to her. But she did need to get home, and a game seemed like it might be fun. "Okay." she said smiling a little now. "I don't really know what TV or reality shows are but games can be fun. I'll play if I can get home that way."
"Err....additionally. I think maybe you should try using less vulgar langurage. It'd make people more willing to play your game."
PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850
"You're...you're saying you've been watching me for...wait."
"I immediately would regret asking this. Yes, regret is something I feel."
"What do you even mean by shipping? I haven't moved a package in my life."
The Mighty Pen
Kage - You Have Come Here To Die
I had just kicked through a door and was barreling into the room beyond, looking for a skylight, a ladder, anything to get on the roof and start gunning down those feral Eldar snipers when the world went black. For half a second I thought maybe I'd finally woken up from a particularly bad warp dream or maybe they'd just decided to kill all of us because we weren't entertaining the audience enough. Then I was standing at attention, unable to move, in the front room of a fancy house. Wait a minute...this feels real familiar.
Then the woman in the expensive-looking uphive outfit started talking and I knew. Fragging hell, I knew! I was right, we weren't killing each other with enough fun so they'd changed the rules and were just throwing us into the pit again! Only this time, not even the slightest way to watch our backs, it was an all-for-one deal and that meant I was getting splattered every time as soon as Smiley or anyone else with enough sorcery or tech to do it glanced my way!
The minute I could move again, I drew a knife and started walking towards the host. No fragging way was I going back in this pit fight by myself. The other guy was easy enough to hurt, let's see how protective they are of this one! But just as I was ready to lunge, she blew someone else making a move into sparkly dust. I stopped in my tracks, glaring, free hand twitching with the need to wrap it around that bitch's throat. It took me a long while to put the knife away and turn away from her. I heard Smiley's cheery voice somewhere. Maybe I could get her to kill me last.
She'd already gotten a gang together, which told me that yet again, there were a lot of idiots around here. After they just told us it's only one person that gets to win, they think joining together is the right move. Well, that, or they figured to backstab everyone at the last minute. I knew I was. And none of these fraggers had to sleep in the same room with a bunch of penal legionnaires. I'd give myself decent odds. Half-decent anyway. Better than I was going to get by myself, at least.
"Hey, boss," I said, still nursing my hate at our captors. Dammit, I can't stay in prisons too long, even ones with things to do. It wears on me, makes me sloppy. "I'm back in. We'll make these pit master fraggers scream if I've got anything to say about it."
edited 8th Feb '18 9:14:42 PM by RedCedar
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu
Morgana- Regular Cat Form
Every time Valkyrie called him a cat, Morgana's ear twitched, but he could suck it up for a little while longer. If this woman could stop squeezing him into her chest like a stuffed toy, he'd deeply appreciate it, but at least she was technically protecting him from some of the highly aggressive and clearly unbalanced people he was stuck with. One of them already called himself a devil or something. Was that guy really a demon?
Ms. Knight's explanation of the show gave Morgana a new perspective on why these particular people and creatures were gathered here. They were apparently all popular on various "shows", made from looking into alternate dimensions. Well, he always knew he'd be famous someday, and this just proved it. Half of this computer stuff went over his head, but he knew what a forum was, and if people gathered just to talk about him, then he was fine with sticking around on this television show and bolster his mysterious fan-base.
Pleased with himself, Morgana wormed his way out of Valkyrie's grip and perched on her shoulder instead. He had to look good in front of the cameras, after all.
Pit- Gathering Hall
"Ah, that makes some sense... but w-"
Before he could get out one of his questions, a man came back from space, screamed about not being near anything, which answered what he was going to ask about space breathers, and barged up to the host, asking something about...
"Dragon Balls? What are those?"
It seemed the revived girl asked the other question he had: They all had fanbases.
"How did I react to being told I had a fanbase? Honestly, it wasn't too much of a stretch. I mean, I'm well known for..." Pit looked to the side before facing the camera again "... several reasons back home, so the idea someone would watch me like a show is...kinda interesting? I don't know. Still, I'll admit is nice to know that I'm popular enough to smash with other popular people, even if how I got here was... less than ideal... Though, now that I think about it, how much do they actually see is...actually, let's not think about that. Like, ever."
"... But does that mean what I thought is just fiction is an alternate universe...huh, guess I never thought of it like that before... Nope, still not thinking about it.
Pit addressed the host similarly to the girl "Uh... What do boats have to do with this? I mean, I guess we're on a spaceship..."
edited 8th Feb '18 9:44:22 PM by Boomer75
That One Gal
Magnus
Magnus paused, his smile fading as he look to Sidney again. "Wait, so, people watch us? All the time?" It was such a wild concept for him to internalize. People were just...watching him. On TV. Talking about him. Pairing him with his friends? You just don't do that with real people!
"It still kind of weirds me out. Like, some kid who watches my life, going online to write angry posts about me. 'I can't believe Magnus ate all that falafel by himself! He's such a pig!' I don't really blame them, though. I eat a lot of falafel."
Magnus paused, looking down at his hands.
"....They don't see us naked, do they?"
Jimmy
Jimmy was looking pretty smug about things now.
"It doesn't surprise me I have fans," he said aloud. "I'm probably the most interesting guy I know. Maybe everyone wanted me on so I could take people like you down a peg," he added, nodding to Sidney.
"You're an adventurous kitty, aren't you? Now what are you looking at..." Valkyrie giggled as Morgana squirmed around and decided to climb up onto her shoulder. She looked forward, trying to see what the kitty might be looking at. Hmm, another person with wings - a little boy, really - and a dog and a flower and a bunch of people dressed like clowns and carnival performers and warriors. But winding up near the person who brought them here was probably a good destination.
The Sidney lady 'explained' things again, but if she was being honest, it just raised more questions than it answered. Fanbase? Like a castle with people who swore allegiance to you? Forums? Like for discussion? Fanfiction? No idea. Shipping? Well technically you had to use a ship to go between the Eastern and Western continents, but she only started doing that recently.
"I don't know a lot about ships either," she added, coming up behind Ionia and Pit so she could better see and hear Sidney. "I don't even have a boat. Normally I just get on the ship when Chris says we need to go. I think you made a mistake if you want me to steer your ship. Why would Mr. Kitty even be here if that's what you need us for?"
Medicine Melancholy - Main Hallway
Where am I? Who are these people? Why am I here?
That was the overall gist of Medicine's thoughts as she looked around, a look of befuddlement all over her face. She had no idea what was going on, a sentiment that appeared to be echoed in many of her fellow room-dwellers. Had the situation been different she might have been pleased by that. People weren't often so easy to read for her. Usually they talked about stuff she didn't know much about, and she could only assume they were being condescending or something.
Admittedly there was someone now in the center talking about something she couldn't grasp, so she just tuned it out in favour of trying to make sense of the situation. There were more humans here than she'd ever seen assembled before, so maybe they were in the Human Village? She usually avoided that place. Then again, the interior of the room didn't fit any of the buildings there from what she knew. Maybe the Scarlet Devil Mansion? Then where was that knife-waving maid?
Medicine sank to her knees, intoxicated by this sublime mystery she'd concocted for herself.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
"Not that kind of shipping." Sidney said with an eyeroll. "In our universe, and many others, "Shipping" is the term we use when we talk about preferred fan couples. Romance, in other words. It is not something I participate in, but I assure you, it is very serious business for a decent segment of our fanbase. Virtually anyone of note you have ever interacted with, there is someone out there who, for whatever reason, views you and them as an ideal couple. Be they your best friend, related to you, a passing person who you might have exchanged a few words with, your worst enemy even. There's a whole subset of shippers who love to do those.
Jimmy's comment, meanwhile, went completely ignored, Sidney apparently determined not to give him the satisfaction.
Tira turned as she suddenly saw another face walk up to her.
A confession cam? What the fuck is that? I don't have anything I want to fucking confess, you fucking-!
Tira leaps at the camera, and a screen saying "We are experiencing technical difficulties" appears for a moment before vanishing, revealing Tira again.
I really didn't expect to see so many people from the Murder Buddies back here! I guess that means people really liked us, right? It's really weird, you know, back home, people never stopped trying to kill me. They called me all kinds of mean names, tried to lock me up in a hole, all sorts of mean things! I still don't really get it, but the voice in my head says I should just go with it.
Kagy! You're here too!
Tira's expression then changed radically, as her eyes drooped, her head hunched over, and her whole stance changed, as if the strings that had been holding her up were suddenly cut.
Alright, here's the fucking deal. She said, her voice now angry and hoarse rather then happy and upbeat. She spoke at a low whisper. These assholes want to turn this into a one on one competition. But I don't know about any of you, but I don't trust these shits to follow through. I don't feel like playing their stupid fucking game. I want their heads on fucking pikes, screaming in pain for eternity. So we'll play their game. We'll have to fight one another in these stupid challenges. But outside of that, the old rules still apply. I don't care what you do, who you fight, so long as you kill anyone who tries to get in our way before you fight each other. And while we do, we keep our eyes out. I killed one so called god before, one who was far more powerful then a bunch of jackasses with some fancy toys. Somewhere, there is a weakness. Something to exploit. We will find that, and then use that to murder the shit out of anyone involved in this bullshit.
That One Gal
Jimmy
Jimmy threw his hands up - in the alright, alright kind of way, you know - and started away from Sidney.
"Yeah, I let her ignore me." Jimmy leaned back in his chair, an arm over the back and one leg over the other.
"The way I figured, it wouldn't have done me any good to argue. I know I'm a tough guy, but she's a reality show host. Those people are just plain heartless."
Though before he got too far, Jimmy stopped, sighed, and turned back around.
"Hey, lady. Can you show us around or something? Since we're going to be living here for a while, I guess, it'd be nice to know what we're dealing with."
Magnus
While everyone conversed and argued and plotted (yeah, he noticed that group whispering in the corner), Magnus touched on something that was much weirder than everything else.
The animals were silent.
Normally animals were meant to be silent, but for Magnus, he should've been able to pick up on something. But unless these were really clueless animals, something was going on with them.
With little else better to do - Sidney was busy with some people already - Magnus approached the white wolf and her tiny companion. "Excuse me," he said, leaning down to look at Issun. "Mind if I ask who your friend here is?"
Vampire Hunter
Chun-Li, Entrance Hall
"Um, we aren't Devilmen?" Chun-Li looked completely confused at Akira, but it seemed like Ammy liked him, before pointing to Juri's group. "And it was those villains over there talking about teams."
Juri, Entrance Hall (w/Confession Cam!)
Juri crossed her arms and frowned as Kage approached them, looking quite annoyed at who was chosen. She also ended up noticing Chun-Li was brought here also.
"Now I understand why these people might've brought Chun-Li here," Juri chuckled at the camera. "She made out with a blue-skinned alien woman in Nemesis, so of course, viewers are going to remember that!"
"What I don't understand is why Kage was brought here," Juri sat and sighed as she shook her head. "He wears a stupid hat and has a stick up his a—"
"Kage," Juri said in as neutral a tone she could muster for the man in the Commissar Cap.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Calamity is a housewife
Fajita's angry... but...
The woman denied usage of the Dragon Balls and seemed dismissive about convincing Vegeta otherwise, citing some ill-perceived idiocy as reason enough not to confess. The Saiyan prince clicked his tongue again, clearly put off by the insult.
"You've got some nerve insulting me, woman. However..."
Uncharacteristic to how he'd been acting before, a smirk broke out on his face. It was a smirk that he could hardly control, and the least he could do was acknowledge it.
"... that you'd see reason and choose your's truly over the likes of Kakarot... I'm pleased enough that I'll let it slide."
"That people view my whole life as some sort of entertainment... the thought sickened me. But if there was any consolation, I'm forced to admit that being 'popular' enough to be considered worthy of this competition over Kakarot puts the slightest of smiles on my face.
"If anything, I might gain something that'll allow me to edge out Kakarot as the strongest Saiyan. There's a human expression I've heard... something about 'making the best of your situation'. Until I find a way out of this farce, I might as well try to learn from the experience. A warrior must never stop growing in strength, after all.
"That business about 'shipping', however, I could've done without that knowledge."
Vegeta shivered at the thought of him with anyone but Bulma. It was just... wrong.
Another child with feathery wings asked what Dragon Balls were, and Vegeta was in a charitable enough mood to explain to Pit.
"They're artifacts of sorts. Collect all seven of them and you're granted a few wishes. To be quite frank, I'm still convinced that she's collected them, and used them to keep us here."
Yet another with pink hair and a dainty disposition admitted that she was looking forward to the games, saying that they could be 'fun'. In Vegeta's experience with these things and the type of competition he was going to face, that meant Estelle was either not prepared for what was to come, or she was far more formidable than she appeared. Either way, he had some words for her.
"This may be an inane game show, but under no circumstances are you to hold back in the name of 'fun'. If we are ever matched up against each other, I suggest you go all out, understand?"
edited 9th Feb '18 5:21:52 AM by LatverianBadger
"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani
Flowey
"I mean what has alway been in the truth: in all words, it's kill or be killed!" He made sure to show an evil smirk when he said that last line. That grin disapeared the second the guy with the cap used a really sucky nickname for him. "Also, my name may sucks, but It's still mine. And if you continue to insult me, I can't garantee I won't forget we're supposed to be allies."
Speaking of which, Tira just repeated her offer from the other game, along with another really interesting deal. She had a point. As far as he knew, his captors just broke the rules when they refused him his reward. "I admit, gaining more power than I ever imagined sound like fun. I still have something I'd really like to do. Plus, seeing those guys's face as their plans fall apart wouldn't be bad, either. Alright, I'm in!"
Tenko Chabashira
Tenko somewhat calmed down after the woman who worked for their abductors explained the rules of the game. And it was horrifying. A madman abducting people to force them to play a game was one thing, but a whole reality show crew? And people there watched and enjoyed it? And now she was talking about the "popularity" of the captives as if they were just fictional character! What the hell is wrong with these people?
She tought about protesting for a minute, but then tought better of it. Even if the whole "reality show" thing was fake, it was clear that the responsibles were much like the one behind Monokuma and would just ignore or mock her rebellion. No, she needed to do what she did in the killing game: find people who weren't degenerates and work with them to survive and eventually bring down whoever was behind this. It seems a group of people was already doing this. Tough some of them were degenerate males and the other was ... a dog and little glowy bug? Whatever, it wasn't the oddest thing here. More importantly, the woman's build and ouftit designed for freedom of movement hinted that she was a fellow martial artist and she seemed to have some familiarity with the situation. She approached the group and gave a loud and clear greeting.
"Hello! My name is Tenko Chabashira. Pardon me, but you seem to know a bit about our situation here, and I was wondering if you had any insight that would allow us to escape this place. Also, I couldn't help but notice you had the body of a fighter, and I was wondering what martial arts you use. I, myself, follow the ways of Neo Aikido."
Somewhere In The Levant
There was nothing for it, in the end. Sometimes, he wondered if there was anything to it at all. Then again, wasn't this what he'd wanted to begin with? An end to all suffering?
"You have to understand," said Emiya Kiritsugu, husky tenor dry as a shriveled cicada. "It's not that I want to do this."
The boy, barely ten, gurgled through purple lips and raised clawed hands. He was the last of his clan. Everyone else in his settlement was dead. Huts and tents burnt around them in the cold desert sand. Red ash blew across in billows, like otherworldly dust.
"It wasn't your fault," he said again, more for his own benefit than the boy's. "You were cursed. It spread. That's all."
The boy moaned in agony, coughed a spray of bright purple blood, and whispered, in a tiny voice:
"Help."
"I will," said Emiya Kiritsugu. He broke open his Thompson Contender with a flick of his wrist, chambered a single round, snapped it shut, and shot the boy in the head.
The boy stared up, sightless, pallid temples burst like a flower. Emiya knelt and carved the cleansing sigil on his small chest, working the warm flesh with his combat knife.
The body went rigid, then turned, slowly, to red ash. It blew on the sand like dark ochre.
Kiritsugu rubbed his gloved hand across the blade, burning the blood and the last remnants of the curse away. The last of the sufferers was dead. He had saved thousands...
A familiar feeling washed over him. He sheathed his knife, put his Contender back in its holster, and stood for his next assignment.
Something was calling him.
Emiya Kiritsugu; Main Hallway
Something was most definitely not calling him. Or at least, not the something he was used to.
As soon as he was able to move, Emiya Kiritsugu folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. Perhaps, in another life, he would have been annoyed. Incensed, even. Maybe he would have demanded to see the person or god who was really behind this, or given this Sidney a piece of his mind.
But that was back when he had a mission, a reason to go on living. A wish to fight for.
He was different now. More than a man. A Counter Guardian, wrapped in a hooded mantle red as blood, clad in form-fitting, sculpted armor of smoky black. His lower face was swathed in ash-gray bandages, and a thick tasselled shoulder-guard of the same dusty shade hung from his left shoulder, as if to balance out the mantle that draped over his right. There was a holster on his belt, by the left hip.
Perhaps the most subtle and striking feature of his entire outfit was the fact that below the waist, his mantle turned into a coat. It was segmented, showing the back of his form-fitting breastplate, but it was clearly the bottom half of a coat. A trenchcoat, almost.
Kiritsugu sighed. If Iri could see him now, she'd probably laugh herself silly.
edited 8th Feb '18 6:05:15 PM by troydenite
'Being around you guys makes me go "wtf" instead of pondering the ever increasing dread of time' - EchoingSilence, 2023