(Pre-Show) The Recreation Dome

[Carn_Val]

Me, Carn, the black humanform Anomaly am here, right beside a being who feels much like me for some reason. She called herself a princess, a word that may represent a higher status but still foreign enough for me to really just give out a blank stare. I try to ask her again, she replies with a sort of puzzle. What's 'I am my own being'? She made her own form?? Cool. Just to try to feed my curiousity, I dab a little bit of my pointy, black tongue at her facial features. Oddly enough, she did taste like one of us. Too bad she wasn't the one I was looking for since her flavor didn't match with the scent that caught my attention. I stare at her other two companions, "Surely, it's them," I thought to myself with a little drool.

As I was about to go for the other two, they introduce themselves to me, halting my intended advance. Somehow, they drag me out of the Ramen Shop and have me tag along with them. I walk with them into a closed, hollow box of concrete full of neon lights and repeating music. Its an arcade, says so on the wall, whatever that means. Looking around in wonder as I witness someone going out of his way to kick an arcade cabinet to death, I easily fill myself with questions on normal human behavior. "I hav-" I said, trying to ask a question when I suddenly get interrupted by the chimes and rattle of tokens being dumped on my hand. "What's this for?"

Without much of a word to complete a conversation, I was being led by this 'being' into one of the more flashy arcade cabinets that seemed to accomodate 4 people, perfect. From the looks of it, it was a fighting game. I tap a few red buttons and the machine says I chose Plato, the red Ninja Frog. I press the flashing start button and the other three followed, only allowing me to hear the last character selected, which is Socrates, the orange Ninja Frog. The story starts us off in the sewage of the city, kicking every guy who wasn't a frog right on the face.


A few minutes in and a couple of tokens later, I was enjoying the simplicity of the game. It seems teamwork is effective when everyone understands each other. It inspired me to do better with my self and caused me to ask a question out of thin air. "After all this Dante's Abyss hype is gone and the event finished, will any of you help me build a place for beings like me? Guu? Desco? DesX?" I asked them plainly, not even expecting a positive answer. Somehow, it feels better to just let things happen and ask them rather than going aggressively with some begging involved. "I planned to join DA to help me fund my own place for Anomalies, maybe meet nice people along the way," I tell them with a genuine smile. "Honestly, I'm glad I get to hangout with being similar to me," I confessed. "One more thing, I need to confirm something," I continued, grabbing the little Desco from below her armpits, liftibg her up to shoulder level. Desco tries to wiggle her feet and tail, not out of objection but wonder. I simply slap the wieght of my tongue on her forehead as I slather sweet Anomaly saliva on her face and hair. DesX seemed more shock than her prototype. "Yep, it was you," I declare with a smile, satisifed to know who was the owner of such a tasty smell. I guess I can't eat her though, she's a friend now.

Just as I was about to win the game with my new friends, a PA system announces a message throughout the verse. "All participating primes, please proceed to the barracks. Late-comers will be escorted in. It kept on repeating itself until some clanking noises seemed to unlock something. Thinking it was supposed to me for me, I wave at the friendly trio, good bye. "I hope we meet again in DA! I wish you luck girls!"

After all that cheesy little parting, I walk into the direction the arrows said 'Barracks' . I hope I get to talk with the Marines.