(Preshow) Registration (Where You Sign Up IC)

[Karl Jak]

Entry to the Dante Verse can be found in:  The Town with No Name, Darkshire, and near the center of the Tangled Green on the banks of the Animus (roughly equidistant from Ambrosia, Yggdrasil, and the Ninja Village).  You are free to post in those verses beforehand (traveling to those locations) or you can just post everything in here.

At these locations, you'll find just a little booth with a few Syntech employees.  They'll ask you the obvious questions about what you're volunteering for to make sure you're fully informed.  At that point, they'll have you sign a few waiver forms that free Syntech from any legal or moral obligation in the event of something horrible happen to you.  You'll also sign a media release form.  After this, they'll usher you onto a platform, where they'll activate the gate to the Dante Verse.  Once there, you're free to mingle and do as you please.

Please make sure to have all not-your-character characters preapproved before you post.

Sign ups will be open for the next 13/14 days --> The weekend of June 10th - 11th.  Please ask if you have any questions.

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

Vincent had always been something of a recluse. 

As the young Prime strode through the dimly lit streets of the gloomy settlement that was known as Darkshire to the locals, he kept this in the front of his mind. Ever since Jenova’s son had fallen, the gunslinger had been just about the only member of their group that hadn’t bothered to keep in touch. Vincent would vanish for months at a time, never sparing a word with anyone before parting. Not even Cloud had been quite so detached; even he found the time to leave notes or the occasional voicemail.

Nanaki sighed heavily, taking a seat near a dingy-looking wooden bench. Many others like it stood in a rough hexagon, an ornate sign standing in the center of the polygon. It bore the words “Town Square” (Nanaki had an internal chuckle at that), etched in flaking gold letters upon its forest green surface. The area was deserted, just as one might expect at such an hour. The milky crescent moon overhead was the only source of light, bathing the area in an eerie glow.

“He’d definitely fit in here…” the canid mumbled to himself, casting his gaze around curiously. He only wished he knew where to look.

The burgundy beast had seen many a planet-wide conflict in his days since befriending the group of heroes. Despite his nature as a loner, Vincent had appeared at every one of them, even himself being at the center of one. He always seemed to be there when he was needed, whether he intended to or not. 

“Maybe he doesn’t want to be found,” Nanaki mused aloud. His keen senses could had picked up no sign of the man, despite his meticulous searching. He sighed once more, lowering himself to lay upon the dirt.

Time was the ultimate joke in the Omniverse, a long setup with no real punchline. Staying put was the only way to ensure that any semblance of continuity would be maintained. It was rare to find anyone with a watch or a calendar if they traveled between verses. Such tools were less than useless in a world where days could pass over the span of seconds if you didn’t pay attention. Still, it felt like nearly a year since Red had seen his broody buddy. He was beginning to think Vincent was simply hiding. Death was not an idea that Nanaki had bothered to entertain during his search; as a Prime, he had heard the same speech that everyone else heard upon arrival. No, this was something else entirely.

The crimson canid shook his head, gazing down at his tattooed shoulder. The enormous ‘XIII’ emblazoned on his deltoid reminded him of his connection with his missing comrade. Both victims of unscrupulous science, ‘children’ of the same madman. Vincent was likely the only person that could begin to understand the contempt that Nanaki felt for humanity and the world at large. Now more than ever, he needed some kind of connection. It was far more difficult to be alone in a place so unfamiliar. Casting such thoughts aside, he stretched out along the cool ground, his eyelids fluttering lazily as his tired limbs relaxed for the first time in what felt like weeks. Soon, sleep overtook him.

* * *

BANG BANG BANG BANG

Nanaki groaned, recoiling from the echoing commotion. The auditory assault only continued, oblivious to the exhausted beast’s wishes.

BANG BANG BANG BANG

“Aghhh…” the Prime groaned nonsensically. His eyes slowly opened, the cloudy canopy overhead mercifully sparing his tired eyes the agony of morning light. He blinked a few times, turning his attention toward the source of the din.

At the center of the square there now stood a small booth, surrounded by a handful of individuals. They seemed to be making themselves busy with various tasks, at least one of which seeming to be ‘make a deafening racket’. A sign was hung over the booth’s entrance, scrawled with stylized lettering announcing something or another. Red gave the words a brief look before closing his eyes once more, hoping to shut out the clamor.

Wait.

Nanaki’s eyes sprang open in an instant, scouring the fancy letters upon the banner:

DANTE’S ABYSS

Mind racing, the burgundy beast sprang to his feet. The words rang clearly in his mind, images of the very same letters returning from his memory in an instant. Though the booth was a good deal smaller than it was the last time he had witnessed it, there was no mistaking its nature. 

“Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you buddy,” the source of the hammering said apologetically. He tossed the ball peen into a small wooden toolbox, having finished his task. A middle-aged man sporting a disastrous blonde comb-over strode toward Nanaki, stooping to drop a hand on his head. “Back to sleep with you, fella,” he tousled the beast’s hair, beaming.

“Please stop that,” Nanaki all but commanded, the courtesy present in his wording only. His amber eyes bore into the man’s own dull brown optics, contempt quite apprent.

The man recoiled in an instant, hopping backward as the canid stood to full height. “M-my apologies, I didn’t…”

“Didn’t know that I could understand you?” 

“...Basically.”

Nanaki ignored the man’s awkward mumbled apologies, striding forward toward an authoritative-looking woman wielding a clipboard. She wore a black polo shirt, an odd insignia just over her breast pocket. She cast her gaze down at the beast, a mixture of curiosity and antipathy on her young face. “You want in, dog?”

“Yes, human,” Red replied, glaring at the woman. “This Dante’s Abyss, it’s the same as the one that happened last year in Coruscant?”

The clipboard-lady smirked. “If by that you mean was it the same one taking entrants in Coruscant, then yeah. Pretty much, anyway. This year is a little different.”

“I’m entering,” he replied, barely letting the woman finish her thought. Vincent had entered just such a contest just before he had gone missing. A year’s worth of searching had lead to precisely zero results. Despite the obvious risk, this was looking to be his best chance at finding his comrade. “Where do I sign?”

The official looked first at him, then to his paws. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if to ask him how he planned to sign without hands. “Follow me.”

* * *

“Alright, the forms all look good. Please step onto the platform...sir.”

Nanaki quickly followed the directions of the attendants, situating himself on the transport pad. After a brief assessment of the machine’s settings, a countdown began to boom throughout the tent. 

“5...4...3...2...1”

As the final numeric was announced, the crimson canid felt the ground fall out beneath him. For an instant he felt weightless, nausea rocking his gut as he slammed his eyes shut against blinding light. Before he could wonder what had happened his feet found firm earth once more a moment later, the inside of a somewhat different tent forming around him. He blinked hard, trying in vain to clear the starbursts from his vision. 

“Welcome,” a soothing voice said from behind Nanaki. “You have arrived.”

[Damien Darhk]

The blue mustang rolled to a stop as Cyborg had finally arrived at the Pale Moors' gate. The pale Grey and moss covered stone arch loomed over him. A chill ran up his spine as he looked at the gate. A strange ghost like voice emanated from the swirling purple energy. From what Cyborg had read on this particular verse it was filled with monsters of a supernatural sort. With a sigh Cyborg placed his door on the gas, slowly moving through the gate.

                                      ******

He fell to the dirt covered ground, a gasp escaping his lips in surprise. Standing to his feet he searched around him for his dream car. With a disappointed sigh Cyborg determined that his vehicle was missing, apparently moving into the verse stripped him of his mount. For a moment he stood there contemplating if this was a fact if he entered any of the other verses that surrounded the Nexus. With a shake of his head Cyborg pushed the thought from his mind, he'd have to test this theory at another time. 

The Pale Moors was justly named, the only light that illuminated the Forrest surrounding him was that of the moon. Luckily his cybernetic eye allowed him to see the path before him, as he slowly made his way farther away from the verse's entry point.  A large wooden sign post with a hastily white Arrow pointed the direction the a city called Darkshire.

At least I'm heading in the right direction, Cyborg said, as he hastened his steps. The sounds of howling and chirping crickets could be heard in the shrouded bushes. 

Cyborg wasn't easily spooked, but the atmosphere of this verse began to way heavily on him as his fear began to grow. Off in the distance Cyborg spotted lanterns, buildings began to come into view as he grew closer to the town of Darkshire. 

Several bright LED lights were displayed on the outskirts of the town close to a small booth, a man stood behind it grinning ear to ear. The booth had a large banner over the top labeled Dante's Abyss. Cyborg quickly closed the distance to the only other visible life form.

"Hello Sir! Interested in signing up for this years DA? Its supposed to be a good one this year!" the man said in a bubbly voice. Cyborg felt slightly off putted by the man's positive demeanor in such a dark and spooky place.

"Uhhh I guess, I got a message from Karl Jak to come here to aide those that went missing?" He said.

"Ah yes. Terrible indeed," he said with a sad smile as he slightly shook his head. "Well if you would like to venture forth and rescue our distressed coworkers, there are a few forms you will need to fill out" ,he said as he began to pull out a few papers and placed them on the table.

"What are these" Cyborg said as he skeptically read them.

"Oh standard stuff really, this one here  frees Syntech cooperations  from any legal or moral obligation in the event of something horrible happens to you. And the other is a Media release form giving us permission to broadcast your intrepid adventures all across the Omniverse" the man finished with an excited flourish of his hands. Cyborg stared at the beaming man for a moment before shrugging and signing the forms.

"Excellent!" The man yelled causing Cyborg to jump. "Now if you'll just follow me over to the transportation pad, I'll transport you to the Dante verse. Be warned traveler, it will be dangerous" the man said twiddling his fingers in a way to project danger. Cyborg watched the man unimpressed before stepping on to the pad.

"In 5..4...3...2...1!"

A brilliant flash of red light blinded him for a moment. As his vision returned his eyes began to widen. 

"Oh shit...." 

A large orange lion like beast lay curled on the floor. The beast's amber globes stared at him as it lifted it's head to look at Cyborg.

[Marisa Kirisame]

As Chara walked up to the booth she looked at the person and said "Um i got a message from Karl saying that he wanted my help so is this the place"? the person looked down at the kid and said "Oh yes he did but before you come help the missing workers there is paper work you must fill out, just so we are not responsile for any thing bad happening to you, and so we can broadcast your adventure to save them" and she hands the paper work to Chara and she fills it out to the best of her ability and handed it back to the person
"Well everything seemes in place, so step on that platt form and we will send you to the Dante Verse" as Chara got on she heard a voice that said "5..4..3..2..1.." then she got blinded by a bright light and then a voice said "Welcome".

[Gildarts]

[Spoiler] It was that morning, while Christa was prowling in the woods with her elvish friend, that Christa received a phone call. The annoying ringtone chimed until she picked it up, scaring away half of their kills, and probably baiting in more predators than they would have liked. Already, the three of them had accumulated quite the stack of meat. Some of the kills were beasts, inedible, while others had nice pelts, and there were just a few stags with magnificent trophies sitting like crowns atop their heads. Each growing stack, soon became enough for them to call their winnings a fortune. Just wait until they carried it all back to camp.

The phone rang while the Prime was crouched low in the bushes, stalking a wild creature that resembled a wolf but she had yet to identify. With the loud and alarming chime, the beast darted out of sight, dodging trees as it zig-zagged away from her cross-hairs. Disgruntled, and muttering to herself, she raised the snout of her usual sniper rifle into the air, and pulled out her mobile. Christa noted the splash of crimson blood on her hands, from one of their kills, as she answered it. The phone held to her ear and after not hearing a voice on the other line, she asked, “Hello, Katia, is that you?”

But it was not, after a moment of fuzzy silence, Christa had felt a cold trickle of fear beat in her heart, as she checked the caller ID on the screen. It was Katia’s phone. Stabbing fear clutched at her stomach, and it showed as tones of desperation in her voice, “Katia?” Christa called to the static-like blackness.

“Hello.” Came a male’s voice, it was... Chilling, to say the least, and had almost a snakelike slither to it as it coiled around Christa’s mind, “I have her. If you want her back... In one piece... You will have to follow my every command. And before you ask how you’re supposed to know if she’s still alive, I’ll put her on the phone for you. Say hi to your beloved sister, dear.” Behemoth’s twisted words beckoned the girl from the glitchy haze of the other line.

“Christa?” Katia wasn’t one to whimper out of pain, but she sounded more than sad and even more scared of the events now entangling her older sister.

The Prime felt the scalding pain of terror leap in her throat, and waver with her hastily delivered words, “Katia! Katia? Are you alright? What hap-”

“That’s enough.” the voice said, halting even the helpless screams in her mind. “Now, you’re going to play the game. You are going to join in a very public event, where Primes will have an advantage... You may even recognize the name of the man who hosts it, from last year’s. His name is Karl Jak, he sent out some information about an island he found in his special verse, and how he’s recruiting those who are able to join a search party. I hope that he’ll record everything you all find on the island, but if not, this may turn out very... inconvenient for you, after all. I have some preparations in place... But you’ll need to prove your use to me. Notes on what I hope for you to find, notes on what I seek, and of course, information on how you’re going to go to the Danteverse, and do all that you can to keep your precious little sister alive. The messages I have left you will be waiting at the bottom of the fountain of infinity in one large envelope, and you are not to open it until you’ve officially gone to the booth to sign up. You have seventy-two hours to retrieve the message and then will have an additional twenty-four to comply by going to the nearest sign up booth. Remember, I have your sister, and I will be keeping an eye on you. You have seventy-two hours, Prime.”

Before she could respond with anything other than a meek utterance from the outskirts of her throat, a loud CLICK marked the closing of her sister’s flip-phone, and the end of the call, as well as the last of her contact with her kidnapper. Christa’s scared voice had found no strength to turn into a Liam Neeson style, retaliating threat to a sadistic man that she knew too little about. It was unnerving, knowing nothing, and the strong woman’s mind was fueled by pure horror for what could happen to her sister -who she had gone to the Omniverse and back for- in the hands of such a fiend.

What did he even want? Christa couldn’t fathom it, instead, her worry reminded her of the time limit he’d given her.

And it was... Ticking.

Seventy-two hours (three days) was the average spawn time for a Prime, and Christa, given that she was deep into the Pale Moors due to this hunting trip, had little hope of reaching the Fountain of Infinity on time, especially given the unreliable ability of the portals between worlds to warp time to their liking. Even the most able prime would have a troubled time traversing the darkest and most deathly of all the verses, not to mention the toll it would take on her. There was a simple solution to all this. Christa gulped. Her hand moved to the side of her hips, reached in her holster, and held her pistol -so naturally- in the palm of her hand.

Her eyes wavered on it, on the cold, steely and intricate design of the well-crafted metal. With the press of a trigger, her troubles would be over. At the end of the barrel, a bullet would come out with a fast and immeasurable speed, and enter into her brain. Such a wound would end her life, if not for Omni’s promise. Will I feel it? The pain of my bone being shattered and my brain being drilled by a single piece of lead? The anatomy of her brain and that of the gun weighed in her thoughts for but a few seconds. Christa couldn’t help but wonder too, if those she had killed in the blaze of battle or the creatures she had just slain from the shadows of her hunt, too, had felt an explosion on her insides before they fell into eternal slumber. But just how trustworthy was the eyeless trickster? Sure, he had made her a Prime when he said he would, but for some reason she had the notion that even God’s word was just too good to be true. Panic was a stampede within her mind, destroying every other thought and storming over her brain with a vehement terror that was slowly numbing her ability to feel.

She didn’t have much time to decide and inside she felt the conflict and doubt rise within her. The woman couldn’t base her life on a mere hope that God would save her, or that she’d be able to rescue her sister, whilst abandoning the convincing threat of Katia’s kidnapper. It was too important for her to do exactly as the man had said, and simply comply. It was her sister’s life after all. There was a round sitting in the bullet-stacked clip just under the grip of the gun. A single bullet, that’s all it would take. If Christa for some reason died, he’d have no reason to keep Katia captive... Maybe she could escape, but that was, probably hoping for too much. He’d kill her. But it was time for her to realize that getting across the Pale Moors was not going to happen in three days. It just wasn’t a straight path, and Christa didn’t know of any other way. It was time for Christa to admit defeat. That she was at the other man’s mercy. That a mere phone call had changed the course of perhaps her life forever. It was time for Christa to realize she had no other choice, and that Omni’s promise would be her deliverance and only other choice.

And at that, so simply, Christa pressed the end of the barrel against her hair, cocked the bullet in the chamber, and with the flick of her finger, she pulled the trigger.
[/spoiler]

[Marcus Wright]

Marcus was glaring at the rather creepy arcade games glitching out. Several of the folks were screaming and it was bothering him but he had nothing to do with Skynet attacking. All he was doing was trying to figure out why Skynet had slipped from one place to another.

It’s not like he intentionally let Skynet loose.

Marcus growled at the strange glitched dancer and frowned at Skynet “It’s not over Skynet, you will be eradicated as long as whoever knows about you..

“Like John? Or anybody else in your world that is not here? Wrong? You cannot stop Skynet… as long as I exist… I’ll keep spreading through this precious city.. And people will start blaming you, Marcus. You should of remained my pawn. I would have spared you the pain of watching this city… burn…


Marcus gritted his teeth as he ran out of the arcade and disappeared into the crowd as Stormtroopers arrived with servo-droids.

Skynet finally noticed a bit of stormtroopers running in and tried to pass from machine to machine as a nearby person with a cellphone passed by. Skynet jumped from the arcade machines to this person’s cell, the glitches remaining in the arcade as a reminder of who Skynet was and what it would do to people.

The person would see a loved one on their phone smiling at them through the video webcam.

Well as friendly as Skynet can pull out a smile that could fool a normal human.

The stormtroopers were trying to figure out what the malicious AI that was doing this and why it scared so many people out of the mall. They put the servo droids into the computers and it was too quiet..

Marcus would at least deal that Hiro had a piece of the chip Skynet was in before…

The man had his dataverse com at least… for now. Hopefully that wasn’t infected too..

As a cab pulled by, Marcus waved the driver down. I need a ride to the Endless… Dunes.. I think it’s called… right?

While the cab was going, Marcus tried to scan for information and found some useless info and a bit of nasty kills out there.

He’d try his luck though..

As soon as the cab stopped, he found himself staring at a gate to the Endless dunes. He walked inside and kept the dataverse com in his trenchcoat.


The man turned machine was annoyed as soon as he covered his eyes to notice a sandy wind blowing around him and realized he was going to go nowhere fast without summoning something to ride with.

He focused on a reprogrammed motorcycle from his world and hopped on. Skynet couldn’t take over this baby..

It was sort of basic but at least it went somewhere he had hoped.

He sped off through the dust and sands to get to the Town of No name.

But the calm before the storm was coming, and night was beginning to approach as it started to cool down for the man turned machine.

He couldn’t feel heat, or hunger but he could feel pain and the pain of feeling burning sand on his body was a sensation like no other.

After traveling in the cool night, with a full moon out. The sky rose and there was a booth with regular carnival lights on it saying “Dante’s Abyss” on it. The people there looked bored and wanted nothing to do with this but when Marcus approached the desk, they suddenly looked perky again.

A woman smiled and blinked, bubbly “Hello, Mr.. would you like to sign up for Dante’s Abyss? “

Marcus eyed the suddenly bubbly lady and frowned instead “Dante’s Abyss?”

The woman said “Oh yes, the event taking the Omniverse by storm? Oh.. that..

You received a letter from Karl, am I right?

Marcus nodded “Yes..”

The woman said “I assume you want to sign up right?”

Marcus nodded.

The woman agreed handing Marcus some papers “Sign these, in case something happens to you, don’t sue us.”

The papers were signed quick by Marcus and then collected by the woman.
The woman moved her hand toward the platform “Thank you, Marcus.. Please stand on the platform.

5.4.3.2.1.. And the platform descended.

“Welcome… Marcus Wright..”

Wait.. how the hell do you know my name?

[Hiro Protagonist]

Continued from Empire State of Mind

"Whoooooo!"

Hiro blew out of the Coruscant gate right into the outskirts of Carrefore, his shiny black bike kicking up clouds of dust and sand. A few rough looking types traveling along the road shot angry looks at the black streak as it passed, but Hiro was already gone further down the landscape to notice. All he could find out in terms of navigation was a general direction and distance to go, so he brought up his compass on the HUD and gunned the bike's motor. 

Maybe not the most considerate way to travel, but definitely one of the more fun ways. It reminded him of the late night motorbike races he and the other Metaverse programmers had competed in. Tearing across featureless black expanses with nothing around you except other vehicles. It had done a fair amount of good in training his reaction times. He leaned back and enjoyed the wind and sand being blasted away from his conveyance, coat whipping in the wind as he passed from the tough, dense scrubland of the Carrefore region. He could see the buildings of the small village clustered together, the shapes of people doing their daily business marching to and fro.

It was only a few miles to the Town with No Name, and from what information Hiro had read about it, it was not the type of town to leave a fancy motorcycle in. He brought the bike to a stop a few hundred yards away, and began the process of desummining it for spare OM. Just as the hacker was finishing up, a two man group approached him, dressed in long brown coats and various scarves and tatters of cloth.

"Well, welcome Stranger. We're the local tourist board, and we'd like to give you a special offer! Only three hundred OM credits for a guarantee of safety while in-"

His partner, who had been snickering during this spiel, was suddenly dumbstruck as Hiro flashed between the two men and elbowed the speaker in the ribs. Now behind them, he placed a hand on his katana hilt and scanned them with his lenses. They were concealing guns, and a knife each. Both Secondaries. Stupid Secondaries, if they really thought they would have any luck with this approach. Hiro spoke cooly.

"You really think that would work, buddy?"

The stricken man got back to his feet, wheezing and clutching his guy. "N-not really...worth a shot though, right? Hack!" He shot a look at his partner that said many things, chief of which was "thanks for the help, asshole."

Hiro sighed. He'd read about the constant bandit attacks and such that were common in this verse, but it was really a sympton of the lack of real governance. "Here. Take this and don't bother anyone else." He coalesced some of the omnilium he'd gotten from breaking down his bike into a rough cloth bag, with enough Omnilium chips to buy a few rounds at a local bar. He tossed it towards the man he'd punched, then turned away and walked into town, coat flapping behind him.

The untouched huckster turned to his partner and cleared his throat. "So, uh....technically we got away with i- ow!" The first man shook his fist and spat on the ground. "Shut up and let's go get a drink."

DANTE'S ABYSS

The words were written on a blinking neon sign above a small tent, with a booth in front of it. The booth was staffed by a couple of corporate looking types, bored and overheated. Hiro saved them the trouble of their spiel by walking up and giving them a cursory glance. "Pretty sure you know why I'm here. Sign up, and the Empire Peace Division would like to extend a few of it's Prime Agents to assist with the recovery mission. Hence, myself. And a few others probably coming soon too."

The two techs glanced at each other and slid a stack of papers towards the hacker. "Sign the release form here, initial the liability form here, and the media consent form here. Syntex claims no responsibility should you perish or injure yourselc while inside the Danteverse."

The cyber samurai signed his name on the forms, looking particularly closely at the media release. "Huh...do I get my own action figure?" The female technician smirked at him, and took the signed papers. "Only if you win....or...succeed, I guess would be the right term. Step onto the platform, Mr Hiro Protagonist." The male tech stifled a snicker as the prospective entrant took his place on the portal. "Silly name."

Hiro shot him a thumbs up as the portal charged with a whining hum, and said his last words before he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Yeah, but you'll never forget it."

[The Vision]

Vision approached the sign-up booth in Darkshire. A crowd of people were bustling in a wide ring around it. Vision scanned them and found that, though they had the appearance of medieval villagers, the villagers were nevertheless nonplussed by the anachronistic LED strobe displays. Amps next to the booth blared, “Join the Army! Descend into the Abyss! Emerge victorious!”

> scan localconv.mp3
Error 00430: Input too great

Alas. The obnoxious noise was overloading Vision’s auditory sensors, and the surrounding villagers seemed to be having an equivalent experience. Vision calmly approached the amps and bent over, gently turning the volume down. One of the villagers cried out in response, “Thank Omni!”

The announcer was less amused. She was sitting at a cheap plastic desk between the two speakers, holding a clipboard. At the moment, she was scowling at the synthezoid.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

“I found the volume to be distressingly loud,” the Vision calmly replied in his smooth, glossy voice. “So I decreased it.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been instructed to make this as loud as possible, so too bad.”

The woman turned up the volume again. Vision scowled. The woman ignored him.

> combat=?
#False

The woman continued, “Can I help you?”

The Vision shut off his auditory sensors, instead using complex formulae to read the woman’s lips. He responded, “I would like to assist the recovery of Mr. Karl Jak’s crew.”

The woman shrugged. “Got an invitation?”

“Yes.”

“Great. So we can skip a few steps… Mind signing this waiver?”

The Vision glanced at the piece of paper, downloading the image into his database.

“Are dangerous accidents prone to happen in the Danteverse?”

The woman chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”

Vision mechanically picked up a pen and signed the form. He handed it to the woman, who snorted.

“Query: What is funny?”

The woman stifled her laugh. “Nothing, just… I don’t know, the ‘Vision’? That’s your real name?”

“Affirmative.”

“Huh. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised with the overgrown Oompa Loompa look, but the name doesn’t do it justice.”

> combat=?
#False
> override combatprotocols.txt
Error :: entity non-hostile

“Well, you’re on the list, so go right ahead and step on that teleport pad, ‘Vizzy’.”

The Vision walked calmly onto the platform. The woman pressed some buttons, and the Vision sensed the teleportation device booting up. The Vision turned his head to the woman.

“I have one final declarative.”

“And what’s that?”

The device started beeping, and a simulated voice started counting down from 5. A fluorescent blue light started warping around the Vision, which he recognized as quantum energy flow. It would soon transport him to the designated destination.

> pwrlvl=?
83%
> run opticalheatemission.att

The Vision quickly glared at the speakers, emitting a heat beam directly at the cords that were powering it. The chants immediately died, sparks emitting from the wires. The woman displayed a response of shock. The Vision smiled at her.

“I’d prefer it if you just called me ‘Vision’.”

With a flash of blue, radiant light, the Vision warped to the Danteverse.

[Moon]

Judy sighed, leaning against a wall. That had been a long walk. But she'd made it. The desert couldn't hold her down! Smiling to herself, she adjusted her police badge (which really was just for show at this point), and approached the mammal up at the desk.

"Ahem, excuse me?" she said, trying to grab the lady's attention. She seemed a bit confused at first, until she noticed the rabbit under her point of view. 

"Hi! My name is Judy Hopps. I recieved a missive from a Karl Jak, and I came to ask about that." The lady behind the desk tried and failed to hold back a giggle, before nodding.

"Alright. Um, I have a few papers here. A waiver, and a few media release forms. Would you mind signing them?" Of course, she had no problem. The media releases gave her pause, but after a moment of thought, she decided she really didn't care all that much. So she signed that too. After looking through the signatures, the deskwoman chuckled again.

"May I ask what's so funny, ma'am?" Judy asked, right eyebrow quirked skyward.

Noticing that she was too loud about it, the woman stopped laughing at the pun in Judy's name, and replied, "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, you should see a blue podium a few doors down through the building. Step on that, and the rest should be easy."

The rabbit smiled in response. "Thanks so much, ma'am!" she said, as she jogged forward, toward what would turn out equating to hell. But she didn't know that, yet. Nobody had that kind of foresight.

The woman manning the desk simply sighed. "She's gonna get eaten alive out there."

[Okor]

Lydia’s exquisitely manicured nails tapped  against her delicate chin, the frankly absurd amounts of cosmetic surgery she had invested in clearly paying off. The Green’s gate was all but dead. The only thing that had come close to the booth was an Orcish hunting party, and the Syntech logo was recognized even in these savage lands. It was widely agreed throughout the Omniverse that a Syntech operation was far more entertaining to watch than to destroy. Too-straight teeth mashed a wad of bright-pink gum as she lazily surveyed the clearing, resting an elbow upon the flawless surface of the desk, the technicians responsible for the gate lounging in the shade. They were a motley crew, capable of debating the nature of Omnillium for hours on end in more temperate climes. Elvish Warlocks arranged crystals in intricate patterns upon the ground, engineers fresh from Coruscant tended to clusters of cables thicker than the average human torso, while a silent cabal anointed a goat in foul-smelling oils.

She didn’t think much about how this managed to get the gate open. Her job was to be a genetically perfect pretty face, not the brains of the operation. Inhuman muscles shifted beneath her near-elven face, subtly adjusting her facial features into a universally pleasant aesthetic. Syntech spared no expense when it came to matters of the Abyss. But more and more, it seemed like a wasted allocation. Where were the savage barbarians emerging from the woods, clad in leather, fur, and glistening oil? The huntresses? She was starting to get bo-

The wet thump of a detonation echoed through the silence. The gate operators and guards scrambled to their feet, another grim proclamation of termination, the sonic indication of a spirit’s emancipation from its mortal coil ever closer. Heavy footfalls reached symmetrical ears, dark-visored guards falling into a defensive position, rifles protruding from chest-high barricades, frantically sweeping the edge of the clearing.

A sapling splintered as a scorched foot fell upon it, blackened armour crushing it beneath a tonne of ceramite and bone. Plumes of greasy smoke rose from the recesses and cracks of his warplate, his flesh burnt away and substituted with the carbonized calcium of his skeletal structure. Three circles ebbed a infectious green, the sickly light emanating from the ashen tatters of his tabard. A firearm rested upon a skull-embossed pauldron, smoke drifting from its muzzle, the ragged remnants of an Orcish head was clutched in ebon fingers, the face frozen mid-roar. The gruesome trophy sailed over the distance, landing upon the grass and slowly rolling across the clearing, resting against the now-stained steel of the desk.

”I am Okor Paleblood, Son of the Fourteenth Legion, Dean of Security, Chosen of Nurgle.”

The utterance came as a growl, the security forces arrayed around the clearing pausing to consider their options, nervously laying their plassteel-clad fingers on their firing studs, wondering if their weapons would even have an effect on the new arrival.

Lydia’s own features shifted rapidly, flowing and molding themselves in an attempt to generate the ideal vision of beauty for the arrival, the pheromones and silent psychic techniques in use struggling against the dead man. With great trepidation, they opened their synthetic lips and asked in a tremulous voice; “W-what do you want?”

The creak of bones as what remained of his face set itself into a grin was audible even from a distance. ”Isn’t it… obvious? I wish to participate.”

A scrawled designation across a sheet later, and the Chosen was cast into the Abyss, the technomagical abominations that cracked open the rift in this warped reality speeding him on his way.

[Amaterasu]

Fiara stopped at the top of a dune and looked down at the mass of people gathered around. Looks like this is the place... she reached into the side pocket of her backpack and pulled out the scratched, dusty item that people around here had described as a Dataverse Device. Leeet's see. The corpse she had taken this off of had apparently been someone who'd been invited by some "Karl Jak" individual to participate in this... thing. Really, the details didn't matter all that much to her. What DID matter to her was that it was likely to attract a large crowd of people and possibly have powerful individuals join. And where powerful individuals were, so were Akuma. And where Akuma were, Amaterasu wouldn't take long to show her face, like the huntress that she was. Besides, whatever this weird Omniverse place was that dad and her had wound up at, from what she'd gathered that was as a result of Amaterasu being brought here, and the kami of the sun was BOUND to be an individual getting a message, right? Right. And if not, that just meant that there would be more Akuma ass for herself to kick.

As if sensing that they had arrived at their destination, the already half-broken device died down completely, its batteries dry as the desert around them. Not that Fiara cared anymore, but she kept it with her, just in case, as she rushed down towards the town and shoved people out of her way, getting past the crowds of commoners come to watch, as if they'd never seen a teleportation device. No, not watch. Stand there and stare as if they were braindead fishes.

Past a certain point people stopped standing around, as if there was an invisible barrier or a line drawn on the ground that she was crossing. She strutted over to the counter and tossed the device onto the table, in the general direction of someone with a uniform bearing the same logo as the message. The man eyed the device, then her. "I'm afraid that we don't do tech repairs here, Miss..."
"I'm not here to get it repaired! Thing's not working for some reason, but there's a message on there! Karl Jak or some guy. It's an invitation, alright? I want to get in on this." Why the hell were mortals so damn SLOW?
The Syntech employee took the device and plugged a cable from one of the computers into it, doing a quick read of its hard drive. "Miss, the drive is damaged. A part of the data is corrupted, and recovering your email from the scraps will take some time. But we can sign you up regardless." He slid over two forms as well as a pen. "We are required to inform you that injuries of any kind, pain, death and possibly banishment are likely to happen and that Syntech cannot take any liability for anything that happens to you - by signing this form you agree that you understand this. Also, as everything will be broadcasted you must agree to-"
"Yeah, yeah, just give it here already!" She grabbed the pen and flew over the documents.
The employee sighed internally but spoke on. The rules were very clear on this. "... agree to being filmed and that the footage will be released to any medias that Syntech may decide to release it to. From our experience in previous events held at Dante's Abyss the chance of death is particularly high and we have no way of telling what hazards you may encounter. If you wish to turn back now nobody will blame you for it."
Fiara rolled her eyes then scribbled her signature onto the dotted lines and turned the documents around before handing them back. "Got it. I might die and if I don't I can't hold you guys responsible for it, and I'll get... filmed. Here's your forms back."
The employee looked things over, ensuring himself that everything was signed where it needed to be, then he nodded. "Alright, Miss... Fiara Mo-ey-gamy. On behalf of Mr. Jak I thank you for your volunteering and wish you the best of luck! If you would please step onto the teleportation pad, we will be able to transfer you to Dante's Abyss."
"Don't need luck where I'm going, I don't think." replied Fiara and laughed. "By the way, it's Moegami, not... whatever you said." She stepped onto the pad and watched the portal being opened, stepping through the instant that it was big enough, and disappeared from the Endless Dunes.

A few minutes later, the computer that the old Dataverse Device was hooked up to gave a beep, indicating that the process of copying recoverable disk data was complete. The employee looked it over and frowned. "Uh... this device belongs to someone named Marcus B-e-r-Something... the last name's glitched out. And the image reconstruction of the profile shows someone who doesn't look anything like that gal." One of his colleagues took a peek over his shoulder at the reconstructed data and shrugged.

"Our job isn't doing forensics, man. She's signed up and the forms are in order, that's all we need to know."

"Yeah, I guess..."

Translations:

Akuma = Devil, Demon. In this case it moreso refers to innately evil individuals.
Kami = God, Goddess.
Moegami = God of Flames (Fiara's parent)

[Carmelita]

Carmelita found herself inside the Town with No Name, checking in with Roland before she headed into the Danteverse.

The man seemed awfully tight lipped about the event, clearly uncomfortable about its existence potentially bringing trouble to his town. Carmelita promised to be on the lookout for any trouble, informing him she was intending to participate in the expedition to find out more about Karl Jak’s links to Coruscant and to socialise with other primes and that adding in an additional duty wouldn’t hurt at all.

As such, she approached the stall without any trepidation, her red overcoat slung over one shoulder and neatly hiding her shock pistol.

“Hello there!” an employee with a scraggly beard and a horrible stench of garlic said as she reached the counter. “You look like you’re interested in visiting the Danteverse, would you like to make an appointment before the expedition sets off? There’s a limited time on this, I’m afraid, but you do get to see many new and exotic things straight from Karl Jak’s imagination!”

“Actually, I’m here on his request.”

“Oh! A volunteer? Why didn’t you say so. Follow the yellow line through the portal once you’ve signed these waivers.”

The man pulled a stack of papers from the desk beside him that clearly wouldn’t have fit in there. Carmelita blinked before accepting that as standard and carefully recording each form before signing it with her earpieces.

“Thank you! I look forward to watching your exploits!”

Leaving the man behind with a shake of her head, Carmelita headed into the Danteverse with a sense that she may have made a mistake...

[Gildarts]

[spoiler]

Click.

She'd never been on the opposite side of her own barrel. Not even after her sister had died. She just wasn't the type. Maybe killing was a double-standard for the trained-sniper, or maybe she just thought she never deserved such a quick ending to the story she would've never started, if she had had the choice.

Death was a sudden thing. There was a ringing in both her ears, and as though she had been lifted out of her body, she heads the splatter of gore on the leaves of the forest floor, but this time, not with her own ears. Her body was gone, and her spirit had detached, as though she were in a dream. Christa held her "breath" while her mind remained reeling with panic. She shook her fist in the direction of the clouded sky, presumably at Omni, but her hands had lost their form as well. Now, they were merely a transparent outline, a spiritual body lighter than air. Time moved through an hourglass, ever-pouring amongst the events that blew like wind around the last bits of her shimmering body, while it transferred back into pure Omnillium.

In the next blur of the forest, which now looked like a video being played in 'fast-forward,' the doc and Christa's wolf was hovering over the place where her body was no longer sitting in a crumpled pile. They had found the place she had disappeared, no doubt to the wolf's keen nose, and immediately the Prime felt a pang of guilt for her two friends. The elf looked worried, and the wolf was sniffing the ground she had last touched; while the wolf whined, the elf asked it where her scent lead. His carnivorous eyes were blue with protest while his whimper accented the air. Her trail lead nowhere. She had died. The elf couldn't fathom how, for he held a high regard for the prime and her skill, but with a few droplets of the woman's blood as evidence, leading into a small crimson pool, he confirmed that she had been murdered.

With the crawl of the realization over his mind, the hairs on his body prickled with fresh alert, while the muscles in his face grew stern and taught, and the archer elf drew his bow at the ready, for surely, the enemy would still be nearby. Time flew, and it was dark before he returned to the sight of her invisible death. Obviously, the elf had not found her killer, for she was looking him straight in the eyes, though in her wispy outline.

His weary hand moved to the back of the animal's head, as though to comfort the beast, who had not left the spot of where her body had last been. Nor would he leave the last place with her lingering scent, spread by the now stale and dry taste of her blood washing in and out of the wind. Wolves didn't wear collars- not that he would've tried to tug the beast away. The elf, with a sigh more visible than audible, exhaled slowly as he recognized the animal's need for mourning.

"Oh come on," she said to the elf, "You can read minds but you can't see that I'm right here?" Christa scowled her way through the frustration that had weaved its way on her brow, but looked down at the wolf with pity, when she had seen the pain in his. Her "ghost" had stayed above the place where her body had gone, held hostage by guilt, though it occurred to her that she might need to make it back to the Nexus before her body was able to spawn -it could be some untold rule of Primes in this world.

Before leaving, she placed a hand on her wolf's head and whispered good-bye in his ear. It appeared the farewell had fallen deaf on his ears. Then she began 'walking' -if that was what you could call it, since she had no legs- to the Nexus, where presumably her body would appear fresh and new again.


...

And so it did.

Christa had no trouble without a body wandering across the verse. Her step haunted across the Moors unheeded until she was delivered to the portal that lead into the white room that was, unfortunately, not heaven. From there, she sauntered across the room, kind of amused by her invisibility when she had a storm trooper nearly walk through her. At that point she had thought she was still dreaming, until she looked down and saw what was known as the "Death Shroud."

As a half-ghost, half-immortal, and the Nexus's lack of sun, Christa had no idea how much time had passed. Initially, Christa could only guess that the cause of her body's incompleteness was due to the light of the Nexus. Who knew? Meanwhile, she investigated the Fountain of Infinity to make sure the note was still inside. And it was definitely there. Maybe the caller had anticipated that she'd proceed exactly as she had, but there was a little problem Christa wasn't anticipating. She could see the waterproof envelope, wrapped in a plastic bag for extra safety, but when she went to reach in with her non-existent hand, the water didn't splash out of the pool, nod did her arm feel the chilly wrap of water around it.

She grumbled to herself, folding her arms and waited. It was terrible. She was probably just dreaming this entire thing. When would she wake up from this nightmare and simply be alive again? She imagined what the air might taste like when she drank it in, and then remembered the Nexus had little taste to begin with. Her shoulders grew heavy. Time was ticking. Christa gulped while her mind filled in some clock-like clicks that sounded a little too similar to her pistol before it had emptied the chamber.

This immortality thing that Omni had promised seemed a little faulty, and finally, she noticed the edges of her body being finalized. It took the natural shape of her being before her spirit, or soul, was gently tugged back into order. But for some reason, she was still invisible, and for some reason, her hand wouldn't wrap around the envelope stuck to the bottom of the slightly-changed, now white fountain. The water wouldn't wave.

"Tch. What's wrong with my new body?" She couldn't help but to ask, as she waved her hands in front of her face, and they were quite obviously there. While many wayward travelers appeared and vanished through the portals beyond her sight. There was no real shadow on the ground, which perturbed her, but she was attached to her freshly created body, and there was no bullet hole in the side of her skull, which she was now patting, for assurance.

There was no scar. She grimaced. She could barely tell if this world was even real. "Damnit whoever made this rule is a cursed bastard, you know that?" She told herself, and perhaps God, but she would not dare to speak ill of the particular God who had granted her sister life, no matter how feeble and easily taken it was. Still, Christa's temper was getting short. There was no time, her sister's life was in danger again and she felt the one thing she hated most- helpless.

"GRRRR." Her hand dove in the water repeatedly, causing tsunamis of water to splash over the edge and splatter on the pristine ground. Her fingernails fell right through the bottom of the marble fountain. She growled again, ferociously. More effort was put into her goal, while she tried her hardest to grip at which her fingers couldn't without complete form. The anger she felt rose to her face, causing her cheeks to turn pink with strain.

"F-" before she could finish her explicative, her hand drove through the bottom of the fountain, causing a gush of flooding water along the ground. Now, she really had some pain to swear about. Her knuckles were bloody and she could see bone. The sniper's teeth ground together to keep from shouting an agonized scream, but quickly, she picked up the fucking envelope and with squished her way back to the way she had come. For there was a sign-up booth in Darkshire.[/spoiler]

[Gildarts]

Christa strolled up to her usual gates, and waved to the guard on duty. It was a friend of hers, who waved the prime through.

Dying and being reborn had not been fun, nor would she recommend it! Now she was back in the town of Darkshire, where she quickly passed through, wondering where the booth was, and keeping her phone and the envelopes at the ready. The elf didn't have a phone, so Christa had scribbled a note and left it with the garrison, and asked the message be taken to him.

Chris continued onward, eventually stopping to ask someone where it was, "Hey, have either of you two seen the booth around here? It's for sign ups... Sign ups for Karl's uh..." She couldn't really will herself to say the words, and her eyes fell back down at the envelope, her incentive to continue with this charade.

"That's us."

"Yes we work for him." The two were twins. Rather strange, different sexes, same clothes, same voice and hair... They held out a clipboard eagerly, "I see you're a prime?" The male continued while Christa grimaced, and took the clipboard with the pen attached and signed her name.

"Damn fucking right I am." She said in a voice that gave them a jump, "Well earned, too." Her expression was placid as she explained a little more about her outburst before placing the clipboard down. Then, thinking better of it, she punched the entire table in two.

The two twins stood up, stared, as the female twin with bright, fearful blue eyes shuddered, "R-right this way... Miss!"

What could Christa say? She was pissed. And it showed on her face. Why not let her fists take a little of it out? Still, the fear written on their faces was perturbing. Christa thought she outta tone it down a notch, but if this was anything like what last year's was, she'd be in for quite a challenge. She was eager, though, to open the envelopes. Almost over eager, for she found her fingers starting to play with the freshly-licked edges. Once she made it through the gate, before she could even pause her stride, blink, and take in her surroundings, her phone began to ring.

[Guilmon]

*Beepbeepbeepbeep* While Datamon and Gradian were discussing the multiverse, Datamon received a message. "Huh? Oh, right. I am your Dataverse Device. Ugh. This will be getting annoying rather quickly. Since you are probably too ignorant to read the message, I will read it to you."

"Really? Thank you, Datamon! You're the best!"

"Ugh. Whatever, lamebrain. Here we go:

To Guilmon

That's you, right? It better be.

Good morning, Sunshine!

My name is Karl Jak, and I’m here to cordially invite you to my home, the Danteverse. You’ve received this letter, because I’m in need of some help. The Danteverse is a large place, but it seems that some things have happened out there in the Dante Ocean that I don’t recollect. Strange islands and bizarre weather patterns…

I found an island I don’t recall designing. Even worse, all this weather crap makes it impossible to survey the place from the air or through other means (don’t even get me started on the scrying crystal nonsense). I even sent some of my favorite cabana boys out to investigate, and their 'whirlybird' stopped responding.

So I'm inviting you to join me, Mr. Karl Jak, on an expedition into the unknown. Help save my poor lost boys and solve this mystery of the Danteverse.

We'll be opening our doors in about ten days. We'll have gates open in the Endless Dunes and the Pale Moors. Doors will also be open to vendors, diplomats, and anyone else who would like to use the Danteverse as a secure space for a few days.

I hope to see you there.
Smooches,

Karl Jak

Who the hell is Karl Jak? And why would he want you?"

Gradian turned to Guilmon. "Are you going to go to this, 'Danteverse,' as he called it?" The two machines waited for the Prime to answer, even if it did not take him very long to decide...

"Can Guilmon get a Tamer at the Danteverse? Guilmon wants to go! Can Datamon and Gradian take Guilmon there?" Guilmon continues to pester his comrades for a good ten minutes before they finally give up and agree to take him. "Yay! Guilmon is gonna get a Tamer!"

---

"Finally! I found some information on this Karl Jak person!" He shares what he found on the Dataverse with the other two. Gradian nods in understanding, but Guilmon merely tilts his head in confusion. Datamon sighs. "Okay, basically: He is the famous Prime that hosted that Dante's Abyss a while back. I believe that was around the same time Guilmon summoned me. Either he is setting up another Dante's Abyss, or he really is in need of assisstance."

About that time, a booth on the outskirts of Darkshire came into view. It seemed to be surrounded by several brightly-lit lights and was manned by a man with a toothy grin. Above the booth hung a banner with the words "DANTE'S ABYSS" in big, bold letters.

"It seems that you were right in your assumption that-"

"Guilmon wants Tamer now!" Guilmon had run up to the booth and started bothering the booth's owner. "Guilmon wants to go Dante's Verse to find a Tamer! Can Guilmon go in?"

The machines sigh. "My apologies, friend. Our companion is a tad excitable."

In an overly bubbly tone, the man responded with a pitch that was almost as excited as Guilmon. "Oh, nonsense! There's no such thing as too excitable for Mr. Karl Jak! Tell me! Are you joining this year's Dante's Abyss?"

"Guilmo-" "Shut up! Ahem. Apologies. It seems that Guilmon here received a message from Mr. Jak. Something about an island and missing... sigh... cabana boys?"

Although Guilmon's demeanor dropped to an almost disappointingly depressed volume, the smiling man simply continued the conversation. "I see! In that case! It seems like you are not the only one to come my way with this message." He paused for a moment and ducked below the booth's counter. When he reappeared, he was holding pieces of paper with lettering on them. "If you'll just sign these, I'll send you on your merry way."

Gradian sighed again. "We were afraid of that. It seems our companion does not have the capability to hold a pen or read your language."

"Ugh. But I can. If it will get this lamebrain to cheer up, I shall sign it for him." Datamon reads the paper and summarizes it so that Guilmon's brain could understand it. "Wait. Media Coverage? Pah! Whatever." He signs it for Guilmon, who perks up when the man took the papers.

"Very well! This will do just fine! If you, Guilmon - and only Guilmon - will step this way..." The man leads Guilmon to the transport pad.

Five... Four... Three... Two... One...

[Deadpool]

[spoiler]
Deadpool arrived.
[/spoiler]

[Zack Fair]

Morning came and went, and so did a good part of the next afternoon. Abner slept like he never had before. Something about meeting the overlord of this absurd realm really took it out of him. Either that or the thousands of questions and meetings he’d endured in the aftermath. It wasn't to last, because he’d barely set foot back in Coruscant before finding out he was being sent away again. This time to respond to a request from Karl Jak himself, personally addressed to him.
 
He must have been desperate.
 
Still, though the Empire and Abner had different views of Abner’s loyalty and commitment, other factors had played in enough to motivate him towards the sign ups. So, after a long sleep, he’d geared up with all of his old equipment once more. He also swung by the Imperial armory had had committed some light larceny, much to the chagrin of the on duty quartermaster.
 
It was with a full load of new and old gear that Abner strolled through Darkshire, looking for the promised booth that would let him into this strange cross of hell and reality TV. Then again, the differences were few, when it was put that way.
 
Upon spotting it, Abner calmly stepped up to the booth were a blonde woman sat. She looked at the properly armed man, and seemed relieved to see someone that might fit the description of “normal.” At the same time, she was also a bit cautious.
 
“Can I help you?” the woman asked, just to be sure. There were plenty of curious folks that had passed by.
 
Abner dropped the letter from Karl Jak before her. “Hell, you called me. I’m here for all this.”
 
“Just making sure,” the woman smiled at him, and he responded with a blank stare. “We need you to sign one or two things.”
 
Abner watched as she put several papers before him, and began to skim over them. Absolution of moral and legal responsibility, and did he see something about TV rights? Goddammit. The things he put up with…
 
Abner grumbled as he signed the papers, and dropped the pen on the table before the lady. She put them aside, and gestured to the teleporter behind her.
 
“Step right in and I’ll send you there,” she explained.
 
Abner walked past her, and stood on the platform. It was hard to believe, really. He was really going to the Danteverse. Much was promised the last time it was opened, and it had paid off for some, and not so much for others. There were promises of power, glory, wealth, and fame to all who entered last time around, and surely the potential was still there, even in different circumstances. As the teleporter began powering up, none of those things were on Abner’s mind. Instead, he found himself mumbling an old cadence from boot camp.
 
“Here we go again…
Same old shit again…”

[2B]

It had taken Arturia a while to traverse the verses, during which she'd changed not only her equipment, but also her traveling  methods from her modern outfit and pair of wheels, to her usual armour as well as her trusty steed, Llamrei. But she was here now, and that was all that mattered. In a town that wasn't exactly buzzing with life, but yet apparently important enough to have one of the sign up booths situated there. It had been fairly easy to find, considering it was labeled with the same logo, as the slip of paper was.

"Hello, have you come to register for the Dante's Abyss?" asked the syntech working at the booth, as Arturia approached it with calm steps. She'd dissipated her steed before entering the town, and had been searching for a few moments by now.

The Knight's response however, was swift and courteous.
"Aye. I heard there are explorers whom have gone missing. I have come to offer mine aid." Then, before she could continue, the syntech employee already took over, as if they'd gone over this process numerous times already in the past.

"Excellent, excellent. Now then, there are these few forms you must sign, dictating that we can broadcast your presence on the island on the TV, as well as the fact that we, Syntech, are not in any way responsible for any bodily, mental, or any other kind of harm that may be inflicted upon you. Should you die, that won't be legally our fault. You are giving away all your legal rights and the right to sue us, by signing here." the employee's explanation of the possible harms that might come upon her, the legal rights she was giving up, as well as the mission upon the landmass was lengthy, and even though Arturia listened with interest, a lot of it seemed to go over her understanding. She'd never heard of "suing" anyone. From all that had been said, the Knight could simply deduce on thing that was a certainty; In here, the justice system seemed to work very differently from that of her own place and time.

But, with all that, she took the papers offered to her, together with the device she expected to be the equivalent of a quill pen, signing the papers one by one with her signature; 'King Arturia Pendragon of Britain'. Just as she finished signing the last paper, the employees practically snatched the papers from her, seeming almost like they were afraid she'd pull out on the last moment.
"Thank you for your volunteering and co-operation, now please step onto this plate. You shall be transported to the Dante Verse on the count of five." The syntech instructed, as Arturia followed with quiet clinking of her armour, and settled to stand upon the strange contraption.

Just as she pondered how the transportation would happen, her feet settled upon the platform and she could hear a monotone sound from somewhere in the vicinity, counting down from five as she simply stood there in waiting.
"5...4...3...2...1! Transportation in progress."

With a flash of light, Arturia could feel as the ground fell out from beneath her. In her mind, the gallant knight noted how similar this felt to being summoned into a holy grail war, as her body  seemed to have lost all of it's mass and she floated in a void. Moments later, she almost felt like she was materializing once more, as her eyes started to see and the sound returned to her ears. The first thing the King of Knights heard, just as the entrance hall began to solidify in front of her eyes was the same monotone voice once more.
"Welcome to the Dante verse, please enjoy your stay."

[Makoto Yuki]

An engine's roar cut through the stifling silence of the moors as the motorcycle's sleek frame glinted with the moon's pale rays, filtered through the thick clouds as they were. I took a quick look at the road in front of me, before noticing the large sign pointing towards the nearest settlement, Darkshire.

My bike obediently tore up the dirt path as it raced in the indicated direction, while I steered it towards the beacon of artificial light that stood by the city's outskirts. The closer I got the more apparent it was that the source of the nearly unbearable light was a number of extremely well lit signs hanging over a small booth, proclaiming the words "Dante's Abyss" for the whole world to see.

I came to a halt a scant few feet from the wooden structure, kicking up a small dust cloud in my wake. I turned off the engine and got off my bike. Turning to the booth I was met with two unerringly similar faces, in appearance if not in expression. The first was a man's, with a grin that threatened to tear his face in half if it got any wider, and the other belonging to an extremely unimpressed woman.

"Haha! That was quite the flashy entrance there! You look like you can hold you own nicely, care to go on an adventure?"

"What my dearest brother  here is trying to say," the woman said as she glared daggers at her uncaring sibling, "is that we are here on very important official business on behalf of Karl Jak himself. We are to aid capable volunteers in the process of entering the Dante Verse to go an expedition, all very serious and very dangerous, certainly no place for a child."

"Is that so? I seem to recall being personally invited," I intoned while fishing out my phone from an inner pocket in my jacket.

"Here, see for yourself." I shoved the little device's screen in front of her face.

"What?! Impossible!" Her eyes nearly popped out of her face as she stared at the invitation, likely scanning for any signs of falsehood.

"Well, if it was a personal invitation from the man himself then I suppose there's no turning you back!" The man laughed at his sister's misfortune as he fished out a few formal looking documents from under his desk.

"Here, sign these first."

I took his proffered pen and signed them all in quick succession, I didn't much care for legalities. What was the worst that could happen anyway?

"Right this way, sir" He pointed me to stand on a round device.

"You'll be there in no time!"

"5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.."

And in an all consuming flash of light, I was off.

[Granite]

It took no time at all for Granite to find the exact location of the sign up booth for DA. Especially since half of their huge sign with the Syntech logo on it could be visible from the main street. The statue had little to no trouble on the way to the booth, he was hassled a little by a few street urchins and vendors, but payed them no mind as Granite had a new directive.

Upon reaching the booth, Granite could see a man frantically working upon a machine that sporadically spat out light. He could also see a husky woman sitting beyond the booth. She could be heard yelling at the steampunk-esque mechanic 'Ya ha betta git da thang runnin' befo anutha dam competitor comes waltzin up 'ere! Er else!' Her accent was so thick Granite could hardly even understand it. The woman quickly looked up as she felt the ground shake with every one of the gargoyles steps. "Oh lookit here! We git anotha competitor ya buggar! I thank... Just git her up 'n runnin!" The woman stated after throwing a crumpled up ball of paper at him.

"Ya 'ere ta sign up fer Dante's Abyss sugar?" the woman stated with a softened voice as Granite stopped right ahead of the booth. After quick nod the woman seemed to sigh a little. "Aight, just sign a bunch of these papers. They say ya can participate and blah blah, just sign them all and you'll get ta step on the teleporter." she stated in a tired manner.

Granite took the papers and a quill pen from an oil well on the table. He signed all the spaces with 'Granite'. As he finished it dawned on him that he could not remember ever having learned to write. Granite quickly brushed that thought aside as he handed the papers over.

"There she goes! She's all hot and steaming now!" A shrill voice said over by the teleporter. A low blue light could be seen almost wafting from the pad. "Is the rock guy all signed up?" The steampunk guy asked, receiving only a nod from the husky woman. "All right, just come on over here and step onto the teleporter. It will take about five seconds for you to be sent." The man said, ushering Granite onto the teleporter.

The teleporter seemed to bend under the statue's weight. "Hehe, not much of a talker are you? Well, I hope you win. 5...4...3...2...1...!" And everything was gone in a flash of light.