Day One: Part 1

[Gilgamesh]

The incessant Pony would not stop blabbering on about his day and his past and it was really rather tiresome. Gilgamesh had to survive a week...with this thing. Gilgamesh was carrying the small thing and he just about wanted to kick the shit out of it and rip it’s stuffing out. Deadpony was lucky that he was The King’s only asset...for now. The walk was extensive and his search for those that defied him had proved to no results. They were lucky that they had not run into the King and his MIGHTY DEADPONY!

A white fuzzy dream, Gilgamesh imagined fighting the white haired-dark man. The pathetic mongrel attempting to shoot energy at him to no avail. Gilgamesh would chuckle ass the butt of Ea hit the mongrel his the face as he unleashed his Enuma Elish. The King maniacally laughing as he unleashed his power against the rabid dog. The feel of Ea spinning in his hands and gathering power as it would unmake the being. The singed flesh steaming from his body as Gilgamesh would get on top of the beast and suffocate it with his Deadpony. It would scream ”Die Fucker!” as the last breathe of the man had escaped his lips and his chest fell down one last time. The satisfying feeling he would get from ending the pathetic man’s life and continuing his reign free of pests.

“You sick fuck…” He broke out of his trance to look at the Deadpony who looked at him with fear. Almost as if he just had saw the King’s fantasies... “I did see that fucking sick dream of yours you sick fuck, oh and by the way I wouldn’t say ‘Die Fucker.’ The pony turned it’s head away from the King and grumbled. “It would be a cool ass pun.” The pony grumbled some more and gave a pouty face and the King couldn’t help but smile at the vulgar innocence that this pony had. The little shit was beginning to grow on him.

The King patted the pony on the head and rubbed it’s nice, soft fur and Deadpony turned to look at him. His selfish heart was touched for a moment, before Deadpony bit the King’s hand and forced him to drop to the floor. “Don’t fucking pet me you creep.” The King recoiled in pain and he glared at the prancing, animated stuffed animal that was prancing along happily. Gilgamesh’s hand was red, swollen, and really really hurt. Who knew that ponies could be so violent?

“Why you little mongrel, come here before I rip your stuffing out of your throat!” The King snarled at the stuffed animal, who acted as if nothing happened at all. Damn pony always manages to invoke my ire. The two managed to walk into a dense forest before the King’s stomach growled. Gilgamesh looked down with fear at his stomach, was there a monster that lurk there?

Deadpony began to break out in laughter as the King looked around with frightened curiousity. “What is this?” His stomach continued to roar at the King and he stopped.

“That’s called hunger your highness. It’s when you haven’t eaten in a while, your stomach begins to rumble inside.” Gilgamesh mouthed the word “hunger” in confusion as the Pony couldn’t help but mock the King. “Oh you pompous rich kids and your bratty selves.” The King glared at the pony once more as he sat down and opened his duffel bag. He scanned through the bag to look for food while the Pony rolled his eyes and the King’s stomach let out another growl.

“You’re going to want an MRE, even though you wouldn’t want an MRE.” The pony couldn’t help laugh at his own quip as the King found the plastic bag full of food ready to eat. His face was conflicted between relief and disgust as he peeled the plastic and saw a stale looking piece of bread and mundane cheese spread. He looked around for a knife but saw none and he realized the implications of Deadpony’s statement. He regretfully wiped some of the cheese onto the bread with his finger and carefully took a bite of the putrid bile. His tongue made contact with the bread and he gagged, this was definitely what he didn’t think about when he was put on an island to fight to the death. It was the worst fear he could ever imagine. He had to feed....himself!

“DUN DUN DUN!” Gilgamesh shot a death stare at Deadpony before stuffing the entire thing down his mouth trying not to taste a thing. He wiped his tongue on his hand trying to get the stale, pathetic taste out of his mouth, making a pronounced “Bleh” sound. He shook his head as he realized he had to do this for a week, almost making him not want to do this...alas but it was too late.

A branch cracked in the distance and Gilgamesh shot off the ground and onto his feet with Deadpony alert at his side. “I may think your a bitch but you’re the only bitch I got. Let’s kick this guy’s ass!” He looked around the dense forest as the dark sky gave way to tidbits of sunshine. The navy blue sky turning into a lighter hue and the peaceful scenery possibly turning into red.

The King had a solemn look on his face as the man Jon Snow exited the dense forest with his weapon of choice and the King felt relief and a grin came to his face. “Greetings Jon Snow, I-” More branches broke underneath someone else’s pressure and the pair looked down to see a woman, in all purple with black hair.

“Help me please, I am no threat.” Jon went to go help her but Gilgamesh snarkily scoffed. He turned around to see Gilgamesh gazing upon his nails and glance back up to Jon.

“We have no use for injured players, besides we will have to kill her anyways.”

The King’s red stare intimidated Jon. “My Liege, this woman is in danger and if she requests help and presents no threat we must help her.” His eyes pleaded into the King's but to no sign of sympathy or compassion, however he closed his eyes and turned away.

"Very well." Jon Snow smiled and bowed his head before attempting to run towards the woman. Gilgamesh grabbed his shirt and brought him close to his face. "However, when the time comes it is you who will need to end this woman. I am not in the mood for toying with my enemies." Jon gulped rather loudly before nodding in confirmation.

"How do you know this woman will be our enemy? She could be a friend just like I was. We need to give her a chance." Jon continued to be compassionate, which had no affect on the King's stern heart. He waved him off and the woodsman was to go about to retrieve her.

“You know nothing Jon Snow!” Deadpony spoke from the ground and Jon shot a concerned and panicked to Gilgamesh before running to go help the woman. Deadpony looked at the King with a face of disappointment. “Did I say it wrong?”

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#09 Samus vs #18 Link & #19 Ganondorf

Silence.

They passed the hours without speaking, for neither one of them wanted to dwell upon the unspoken pact they had just made with one another.

The Gerudo King and the Hero of Time.

In how many lifetimes had they tried to kill one another? Now that they had come to the Abyss, they were one in the same—united in blood.

So as the two tried to work through how they felt, they had walked in silence, with only the sound of their boots to keep them company.

That march continued until they both heard a third set of boots smacking against the street. Link and Ganondorf came to a stop in unison and saw the lithe, armored figure up ahead. Knowing his part in the twosome, the Gerudo king took a few steps further and extended his hands in a show of friendship as the individual approached them.

“Hello,” Ganondorf muttered as he eyed up the combatant. It took him a little longer than it should have, but the woman had changed her attire since the last them they had crossed paths. “Samus Aran, it’s a pleasure.” The king replied as the bounty hunter came to a stop. Although her face was concealed behind a visor, it was clear that she glanced over at the youth in green, who seemed to eye Samus a little too intently.

“Ganondorf,” Samus spoke, her voice garbled as it came through a speaker somewhere on her suit. “I can’t say it’s a pleasure to stumble across the two of you here… have you had a nice time so far.”

The Gerudo king grinned as he looked down at Link. It was then that Samus noticed the smaller man had a gun of some sort slung over his shoulder. Since when had Link replaced the medieval equipment and gone future-tech? “We’ve had a splendid time, Samus,” Ganondorf replied, his expression a little too saccharine for her tastes. “We ran into a very exuberant young man earlier, but we were able to dispatch him.”

Samus twitched behind her visor as what remaining functions the collar let her suit execute tried to record all the data they could in the event that things went sorry. “That’s nice… I was thinking about heading that way,” the bounty hunter remarked as she twisted her torso and gestured toward the waterfall that loomed to the north. When the woman shifted, the two other men caught a glimpse of the sword that rested on her back. Although the shimmering blade was hidden beneath a leather scabbard, both the Gerudo and his young associate recognized the handle. When Samus glanced back at them, she saw that both of them were noticeably tenser, and it didn’t take her more than a moment to figure out why.

“Is it because of this?” Samus inquired as she drew the Master Sword from its sheath. Even without the sun, the blade of the weapon gave off a small amount of light.

“Surrender the sword, Samus,” Ganondorf muttered as the sweetness in his voice melted away to reveal something closer to his true nature. “We’ll put it to better use than you can.”

“No.” Samus shot back as targeting reticules started to populate her view screen.

“Then we’ll have to take it from you,” Ganondorf muttered. “I just want to say that this is nothing personal.” With that, he discarded his bag and rushed at the woman. The king took two steps, and when the third hit the ground, it was in the form of a giant clawed foot that tore up the paved surface as Ganon stampeded the bounty hunter.

Samus grit her teeth behind her helmet as she clutched the sword in one hand. As Ganon neared, she threw out her cannon and hooked the beam onto a tree somewhere in front of her. Just as she was about to be trampled, the bounty hunter threw her weight off the side of the slightly elevated street. A well-placed kick before she went airborne was enough force to let her swing a few yards before having to bail and roll out onto the grass. Lifting her head up, she turned and realized that she was right where she didn’t need to be—

—the center of Link’s iron sights.

With a whoosh the rocket launcher released another of its vicious projectiles. Samus got all of a yard before the explosion picked up her armor-clad body and smashed her through a tree, shattering the trunk and burying the woman in a pile of loose leaves and broken branches. More importantly, the bounty hunter had lost her grip on the Master Sword, which had fallen and impaled itself into the ground near the street.

Ganon was approaching at a casual pace, having seen what happened to Samus. The young man in the tunic rushed forward and grabbed hold of the sword, but when he went to pull it from the ground, his blood ran cold in his veins.

The sword didn’t budge.

“It doesn’t… want you… anymore.” Samus shouted as she stood up out from the mass of ruined tree. Link turned in time to see that the woman’s shoulder pads had opened up to reveal two racks of missiles. The former hero mumbled a collection of choice words beneath his breath before the swarm of missiles fell upon him. By the time the last missile had faded from memory, Link was half-conscious on the opposing side of the street—his clothes ruined and his body adorned with many lovely memories.

Rushing forward, Samus dropped into a slid and unearthed the sword just in time to turn and stab it up into Ganon’s chest. The blade slipped in through the muscle and brought the monster’s charge to a dead pause, but before the bounty hunter could capitalize on her momentum, the feral beast let out a blast of hot, fetid breath that steamed up Samus’ visor. The next moment, Ganon took a step forward that pressed the blade deeper into his shoulder, but even as fresh blood spewed from the wound, the monster swung his head forward and punched one of his tusks up into Samus Aran’s gut, cleaving through the metal of her suit and burying a few inches of bone into her abdomen.

Swallowing a scream, the bounty hunter tore her sword free from the monster and hacked off the tusk with a desperation swing. A second frantic swipe slashed Ganon’s face below his eye, and as the creature clapped a hand over its face, Samus turned and ran for the hills.

As she fled, Samus caught sight of Link stirring on the side of the road. Although she could see that he was fumbling for something, she kept running, and she didn’t stop, even when the Light Arrow tore through her left shoulder.

[spoiler]Samus Aran has used Level 1 Super Move Missile Storm (-2 SP)
Link has used Level 1 Super Move Light Arrow (-2 SP)
Ganondorf has used Transformation Ganon (-1 SP)
Link has several bruises and burns -- Minor Injury (+6 Damage). He also has a damage ego -- Story Injury
Ganondorf has a stab wound in his shoulder and a small wound below his right eye -- Minor Injury (+4 Damage)
Samus Aran has a tusk impaled into her abdomen and an arrow through her right shoulder -- Major Injury (+8 Damage)[/spoiler]

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

Temperate night air buffeted the pale Prime gently as he made his way across the grassland. Not long ago he had heard another series of explosions from far off in the distance, adding some pep in his step as he increased the distance between himself and the threat of immolation. Knowing of the random (and slightly malicious) nature of the support items granted to participants, Vincent knew to be wary of attack from both far away and up-close. Staying somewhat low to the ground, he hefted his duffelbag toward tree cover.

The ex-Turk took a seat as he entered the woods, some twenty feet from the clearing. He leaned against a hardy oak tree, finally beginning to calm down somewhat. He had his weapon and his wits, as well as a significant amount of mental preparation at his disposal; now he could only hope for an equal amount of good fortune. The raven-haired warrior examined the map once more, tracing the paths of the nearby roads with his armored fingertip; these too were paths to avoid. He sought to avoid running into other contestants and therefor resolved to decline any occurrence that seemed to provide convenience, for others would likely seek these for the same reason. As he began to sort out the next steps he would take, Karl Jak's voice boomed through the forest.

”How we all doing down there? You are all doing just wonderful, and while no one has yet to die, the bloodshed so far has been positively fabulous. In fact, people are so impressed that I'm going to reward you all by dropping a little package for whoever wants to live a little.

"The chopper will drop it off at 0600 hours near the school. Toodles."

Vincent frowned. More incentive for bloodshed, he asserted wordlessly. Though the 'item' that Jak offered could provide the Prime with some advantage over the other combatants, doubtless the equipment would also draw others to him. This was not to mention the fact that every participant had likely heard the last announcement, the listeners now being goaded toward the drop point. The scene was sure to be a bloodbath. The gunslinger shook his head at no one in particular, resolving to avoid the event entirely.

The pale Prime had some idea of what his next actions would be, though the gnawing in his stomach told him he would need to put that off at least for now. He couldn't remember the last time he at; was it weeks, months ago? Strictly speaking, he did not normally require food and when he was wrapped up in some quest he did not have the presence of mind to wonder about delectable treats. This time, however, his stomach had commanded his attention. Vincent heeded the demand, removing an MRE and a water bottle from his supplies. As he sucked the 'Applesauce' (which seemed more to be like an apple-flavored paste) from the packet, he examined his temporary home. The island was truly beautiful, absolutely silent save for the occasional explosion or call of some wild animal. He suspected that if he were not in this situation he would very much enjoy spending time here. As if to respond to his comment, a vole darted from behind a nearby tree, scurrying a few yards before vanishing from sight. That might be my meal tomorrow… the Prime mused.

Finishing the rest of his applepaste and water, he deposited the wrappers into his bag, opening the few other packets that came in his MRE. They seemed much less appealing than the first packet, but he downed them quickly anyway. Calories were calories when one needed to survive. Finishing his impromptu meal, he packed the rest of the trash away and got to his feet. Though night ruled the landscape, Vincent noted that the air seemed quite hospitable. He had no fear of dying from exposure to the elements, though he knew he would most assuredly need some kind of shelter if he hoped to sleep in peace and avoid attack. For now however, being wired from the thought of possible attack, he did not need to sleep. This being the case, it seemed he could allow himself at least a bit of leisure as he searched for supplies among the oaks. He looked around at the woody pillars surrounding him, surveying the area for any anything noteworthy. Finding nothing of value, he began his cautious trek into the woods.

[Karl Jak]

"Rise and shine, my little survivors! You've made it to six in the morning, and only one of you is missing one of his limbs!

"It's somewhat of a slow start, but I knew that this crowd would love a slow, slow boil. I look forward to seeing who claims that fancy hammer we'll be dropping off in a little bit.

"In the meantime, you should remember to mark these spots on your map and avoid them in six hours, when entering one of them will cause that collar to pop your head like a balloon! Let me read them off for you...

A4
B8
H9
D2
G5
K5

"Enjoy the sunrise. Buh-bye."

It is now six am and the sun will start to rise. This next phase will last 24 OOC hours. You may submit your new movements now. The Easter Egg event will follow once I wrap up a F2F.

[Blink]

The idea of moving from her location didn't even cross Blink's mind. She knew immediately that the best strategy for her was to get her bearings and get herself used to the situation. After re-packing her duffel bag and pocketing the awesome Super Barbie doll, she stood up with the pack across her shoulder. She identified a small cove of tree packed together, giving a nice little natural hidey-hole at the trunk of them. She squinted her eyes, sparked her pink energy, and teleported to them.

She grunted as she could feel some resistances at her neck. It didn't hurt, but there was definitely a tug, like a sharp vibration right at her throat. She didn't fall, but she had to shake her head to get the confusion cleared up. It took a moment for her to realize what happened. She was only about five feet closer to the bushes then she had been initially, which meant she hadn't gone nearly as far as she intended. This happened earlier, too, when she had been pushed off the helicopter and into the game. Her teleportation was being muffled. Limited.

As she begrudgingly walked her way towards the trees, her hand touched the collar again. They had mentioned something about the collar limiting different abilities, as a way to put everyone on some kind of equal playing field. She had suspected her teleporting was going to be one of those things, but she wasn't sure to what extent. Without her core ability - probably the most unique thing about her - she felt very vulnerable all of a sudden.

She supposed for a moment that she was lucky she could still teleport at all. Without that core ability, she was really just a pink freak with a barbie doll.

Blink glanced at the island. She could hear some of the action already - nothing overly violent or dangerous, but definitely scuffles that happened to be close to her. Her ears twitched a bit when the announcement had come on. She wasn't sure where the microphone was, but somewhere close by must have been one. Karl Jak's annoying voice spilled through it.

"How are you all doing down there?" The voice asked. Blink scoffed. "You are all doing just wonderful, and while no one has yet to die, the bloodshed so far has been positively fabulous. In fact, people are so impressed that I'm going to reward you all by dropping a little package for whoever wants to live a little. The chopper will drop it off at 0600 hours near the school. Toodles."

The fuchsia Prime was still standing outside of her little tree-made hidey hole when the announcement came to an end. This was a good moment to really enter the game. She had a choice in front of her. She could make her way to the school, get into some real action and take a chance at getting a really good weapon. But it would also be taking a chance at getting a huge injury, or worse. She could be bold and reckless and exciting. She could really test what she could do in this new place.

She bit her lip. She shook her head. She looked at the safe, secure little box created by the three grown-in trees.

Then Claire Ferguson gripped her duffel bag, stroked the blonde hair of her barbie doll, and turned to walk away, joining the game that was already very afoot.

[Violet]

More than twenty years ago in a time and world far, far away

The land yawned before her, lit brightly by moonlight. She was nervous, knowing that death could find her at any moment. Her gaze flicked to a building in the distance, and knew shelter would be her best bet of survival. Shelter was always good.

As she approached, footsteps tapping lightly over the limestone steps, she came to a door with golden handles. She pushed it open and stepped inside. It would be a good place to hide until her allies could catch up. Being alone was never a good thing, and here, she took some comfort in knowing that it would be a place they would want to come to, group up and set out.

She felt movement around her, knowing just outside of the walls in which she sought safety and shelter, were fighters gunning for her. Probably not specifically for her, but she was a target all the same. She had slipped into the armor provided by her sack and equipped her weapon.

As the hours slipped by, she could no longer wait for her friends. She would have to move to find them, or die waiting.

Present – Dante’s Island

Slipping into the shadows of some nearby trees, Violet tread quietly through the brush. She had no plan, no allies, no shelter. Looking back, she knew that she was taking a major risk when she holed up in that church years ago, but at least back then, she had potential backup should things have gone awry. Now, however, it was just shooting literally in the dark, and making friends would be impossible.

Her original idea was to stay in place, and just wait for trouble to come to her, but she just couldn’t do that. Maybe she could move a little further away, further into the brush. She surmised that the position she was in was good: she had food, water, and the shelter of the trees. It would be a good place to hunker down until the danger zones forced her to move. More people would be heading towards landmarks, but that was only asking for trouble.

Let them pick each other off, and then, she thought, then she would make her move.

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#10 Alain vs #16 Gin vs #29 Flash vs #34 Ezra & #14 Mickey vs #19 Ganondorf & #18 Link vs #13 Strazio vs #04 Retane & #06 Jack Frost
Easter Egg - Mjolnir

The helicopter hovered a few feet above the playground before someone leaned out of the window and chucked a large chest overboard. With its sides affixed with flashing lights, it wasn’t hard to see the container as it dropped down into the sandbox near the center of the recess area.

“Too easy,” Alain muttered as he exited from his stealth a few dozen yards from the blinking parcel. The mercenary found the little magic ball and fell back into his stealth. He wasn’t an idiot, and he wasn’t about to just waltz up and try to grab whatever was in the box without making sure everyone else was dead or indisposed.

As Alain watched, an unnaturally fast man sprinted over to the chest and started to hack and smash at the container with a poleax.

Glancing just one more time at his surroundings, Flash tore into the crate. With his speed, he knew he just had to get his hands around whatever was inside, and he could be out of this situation before anyone was any the wiser. A smile spread across the man’s face as he smashed open the latched lid and tossed it aside to reveal what seemed to be an old-looking hammer amidst a cushion of packing peanuts. As he leaned over to grab the prize, the Flash took his eyes off his surroundings.

And that was all the opening that Strazio needed to rush out from behind the metal slide and crash into Flash. The smaller man let out a grunt as his face smashed through part of the shipping crate.

“It’s nothing personal,” the Defender of Darkshire rasped as he grabbed the man by the back of the head and shoved him to the ground. “I just need it more than you do.”

Strazio reached down and closed his hands around the wrapped handle of the hammer. Almost instantly, he felt as if he were a whole new man…as if the entire world was now just a little bit feebler.

That sensation lasted just four seconds before a pair of green fists slammed into Strazio’s face and chest and sprawled him out across a large painting of Africa on the playground pavement. The man let out a groan as he sat up to see a younger man and a cloaked namekian glaring down at him.

“This is mine,” Retane glared as he reached in and grabbed the weapon. “No one else is worthy.” Before the namekian could follow up on his threat, a flag pole came down and crashed into his back, causing him to fall forward and drop the hammer.

“I think you’re mistaken,” Ganondorf snickered as he dashed forward and delivered a vicious kick to the namekian’s gut.

“That’s my friend!” Jack shouted as he jumped onto Ganondorf’s back and started to club at the back of the Gerudo’s skull. Before Link had a chance to react, Flash was back on his feet and heading for Mjolnir. The speedy superhero squeaked around the mass of primes and scooped up the hammer in one hand as he held his poleax close to his body. Another wide grin spread across his face as he peeled away from the crowd, but before he could leap over the teeter-totter and be away, he slammed right into Alain, who took that moment to emerge from his stealth. As the stealth fell away, it revealed a mercenary that exuded a far more frightening aura than he ever had. At the side of the man was a tiny yellow rodent that seemed to sparkle with electricity.

“I’ll take that,” Alain rasped as he stepped forward and grabbed at the hammer. When Flash resisted, the mercenary’s lifted his foot and brought it down on the superhero’s foot. As the hammer fell to the ground, Pikachu let out a growl and fired a bolt of electricity into the speedster. After convulsing for a few moments, Flash dropped his own weapon and sagged into a heap in front of Alain, who was twirling Mjolnir in his hands. “Goodnight,” the mercenary muttered as he lifted the hammer up over his head.

When he went to swing down, however, he felt some resistance before the weapon popped out of his hands. Craning his neck to look up, Alain saw a grinning young man in a jetpack looking down at him. “Ha! Got it!” Gin shouted as he kicked Alain in the head and zipped passed the irritated mercenary, who had fallen backwards onto the paved surface. Despite being airborne, Gin had little prepared to deal with the giant, one-tusked boar monster that jumped up and ripped him out of the air. The thrusters on his pack shut off automatically as he flailed the hammer in a desperate attempt to club the monster off of him. He suddenly stopped and started to focus on something else as a little bubble flashed up around him.

With a growl, the Dark Beast smashed Gin into the ground, popping whatever defense he had thrown up before the initial impact. When the boy continued to write, Ganon picked him up and slammed him back into the pavement, and this time, Gin was smart enough to lose consciousness.

Discarding the limp form of Gin, Ganon turned and set his sights on the remaining primes.

“He’s mine!” Strazio Rockwell screamed as he threw aside Retane and Jack Frost. The Defender of Darkshire erupted into white light as he charged to meet his new nemesis head-on, leaving Retane and Jack to contend with Link.

“You with the pig?” Retane snickered as he looked at the young man dressed in green. Link offered a faint smile as he drew out the rocket launcher and pulled back on the trigger. Before the rocket found its home, Jack Frost threw out his hands, and while both members of the twosome were hurtled clear of the playground by the explosion, they were still breathing when they hit the grass outside the paved area. Retane even rolled up into a standing position and charged back into the fray, even as his associate the young Guardian remained dazed and confused.

Meanwhile, Strazio Rockwell was fist-fighting a giant boar creature twice his size.

And Strazio Rockwell didn’t give a fuck.

The Defender of Darkshire took each thunderous, skin-tearing blow and paid it back in earnest. The severed arm was of no use, so he attacked his own his hands and nails. Each time he had a moment, he would dig his broken, jagged nails into Ganon’s flesh in an attempt to tear the surface of the monster’s skin. Even so, the Avatar of Anger could only do so much with his bare hands, and with a grunt, Ganon managed to land a hit that knocked Strazio off balance. Before the warrior could recover, Ganon slammed into him and flung him backwards.

For the second time, the Defender of Darkshire was thrown through the air by a larger adversary, but this time, his fall was broken by the window of the school building.

Searching for more victims, Ganon turned and saw the approaching namekian, who know seemed to have a glow of his own. Retane stopped next to Flash, who had managed to recover his sense and get up to a shaky vertical position. The two unlikely bedfellows shared a look. “Friends?” Flash muttered as he tightened his grip on his glaive.

“No.” Retane growled as he latched his hands around oppossign sides of the hero’s head. The man grit his teeth and lashed out, but before he could angle his long weapon enough to find a mark, Retane buried his clawed fingers into Flash’s eyes. The costumed hero let out a scream and continued to flail against the inevitable, but after a few more moments, he went limp.

Retane reach out and grabbed the polearm as the body hit the ground. The jade fiend turned just in time to bash Ganon in the side of the head with the head of the glaive. Although the impact staggered the monster, he reacted faster than the namekian would have liked. Retane managed to avoid the first swing, but the second one came down and smashed his foot into the pavement. After that all Ganon needed to do was bat aside the namekian to clear the area of just himself and Link.

Unfortunately for the twosome, the recent spat with Samus had taken its toll on them. Even as Ganon lumbered toward the location of the hammer, the dark beast form fell away, and by the time the hammer was in his hands, Ganondorf was ‘himself’ again. “This is some good compensation.” The Gerudo muttered with a tone that betrayed how fatigued he must have felt. The king turned in time to watch Link get crushed under a giant metal playground slide.

A few yards away, Alain Velgr was smirking from ear-to-ear as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and released a bolt of lightning that stole away Ganondorf’s consciousness. With a wide grin, the mercenary walked over and collected his prize. As he strode over and collected Mjolnir, Pikachu vanished back into his Pokeball. Holding the hammer up to his face, he had to fight the urge to kiss it.

He’d done it.

Game over.

Unfortunately, Alain was never a lucky person.

“Drop it!”

Alain’s heart dropped as he turned around to see a redhead and a bipedal mouse staring at him with weapons drawn. The woman was holding what seemed to be a giant, science-fiction shotgun, and the mouse was wearing a glove with a glowing blue center on his right hand.

“We just want the hammer… No one has to get hurt, kapish?” The mouse had a sickeningly happy voice.

Little did Alain know, Mickey was trying his hardest to stifle a laugh. The king felt like he’d dropped right into a mob movie!

The mercenary knew when he had lost… but that didn’t mean he was going to walk away. With a grunt, Alain flung the hammer forward, and while he didn’t intend to, Mjolnir flew on a straight path and crashed right into the side of Ezra’s head. As the woman was knocked backwards, she pulled the trigger of her weapon and fired a horrifying splash of fiery shrapnel into the air.

As the mouse turned to make sure his friend was okay, Alain Velgr faded into darkness.

He was fine with not dying today.

Outlast.

Outlive.

[spoiler]

#29 Flash DEAD

45 Primes Remain

Mickey and Ezra receive Mjolnir -- They have to decide who keeps it between the two of them
Ganondorf has used Ganon Tier 1 Transformation (-1 SP)
Alain has used Tier 1 Transformation Sanquine (-1 SP)
Alain rolled a ‘2’
Jack Frost used Tier 1 Defensive Super Move ‘Believe in Me’ (-2 SP)
Gin used Tier 0 Super Move ‘Bubble Shield’ (-1 SP)
Strazio Rockwell used Tier 1 Transformation ‘Avatar of Anger’ (-1 SP)
Retane used Tier 1.5 Transformation Malefactor (-1 SP)
Malefactor rolled ‘4’ – Retane remains in control
Retane receives the Glaive
Gin has a bruised spine and a sore neck – Major Injury (+5 Damage)
Link has a dislocated shoulder – Minor Injury (+2 Damage)
Retane’s left foot has been smashed – Minor Injury (+2 Damage)
Ganondorf has a few more cuts, stabs, and lacerations that add up to a Minor Injury (+2 Damage)
Jack Frost has a gimp leg – Minor Injury (+4 Damage)
Strazio’s hands are mangled – Minor Injury (+2 Damage)
Ezra has a deep cut on her face – Minor Injury (+2 Damage)
Alain will have a sore bottom – Minor Injury (+2 Damage)[/spoiler]

[Mami Tomoe]

How long had she been waiting? With a silent yawn covered by her bare hand, Mami continued to examine the world around her from her little hills. She was perfectly safe here. Why even bother moving from her little spot? Well, for one, it was far from strategically useful. She could easily get pinned down, but she didn't see any real solutions in any direction. All hell seemed to be breaking loose in the more 'urbanized' areas - To the south she had heard something, or so she thought, which had left her heart racing for what felt like days. She already felt so hungry, and it hadn't been long at all... And all she had to eat was that weird stuff in the opaque brownish-beige packages, with little transparent slits here and there to show off the disgusting product inside.

Eugh. Mami crossed her fingers and hoped that everyone else had gotten something better, and someone else more fortunate than herself would share. Ideally said other person would not also share a bullet to the brain.

With a sigh, Mami decided she would let her stomach get the best of her this time. She rolled over on her back and began rooting through her bag - Before long she pulled out one of the packages she had seen earlier. She squeezed the contents into the bottom half of the package with both hands as if she were funneling the contents of a toothpaste container down, and then reluctantly tore the top of the empty half of the package open. It created a somewhat unpleasant sheeeeeeeeeeeawp sound, like dampened paper, though she knew the package couldn't possibly be made of paper, as it felt like polished plastic stretched far too thin. The contents, which she had just packed down to the bottom half, made Mami cover her mouth and look away.

The pampered Magical Girl thought her face must have turned green for how sick she felt at the sight of the contents. They looked worse directly, as even looking through the transparent slits on the package made the grayish slurry inside look appetizing compared to how it looked to the naked, direct eye. A lot of taste came from smell, Mami recalled learning at one point, and so she took in a deep breath with her nose plugged by her left hand's thumb and pointer finger. She tipped the bag up against the inside of her lower lip, and as the awful-looking mixture flowed into her mouth she couldn't help but find that the texture was worse. It felt like vomit, all thick liquid with soft chunks here and there. After getting a mouthful, she swallowed hard before she could think any harder. A little bit of water formed at the tips of her eyes near her nose from the pain of swallowing so much, and from her tastebuds screaming at her not to eat any more.

"It's good..." she stammered, trying to convince herself more than anyone else. Maybe some water would wash away that cement somebody called 'food'.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mami reached into her bag and pulled out one of the water bottles. Against her right knee the MRE rested face-up, as she did not trust it to lay sideways on the ground (Though she doubted even bugs would want anything to do with that). With the water bottle in her right hand, she twisted the little cap off the top with her left, and downed half of the bottle in a few solid gulps. Oh, water... It seemed like not long ago Mami would have gladly passed up water for tea or coffee or anything, but now she felt like she wouldn't pass it up for the world. She tipped the bottle down again and put the cap back on with a flick of the wrist. Using the same method she had used previously, she went in to finish her MRE, which she was pretty sure she would regret later, but she didn't see any sense in leaving it open.

After finishing, Mami felt bloated and almost sick. Her food was supposed to last her a while, she imagined, and if she kept eating at the rate she was - Admittedly somewhat slow but in large bursts - She would be starving very soon. Maybe it was a good idea to move a bit. Maybe if she went to town, she could get some food...

No! No, no, no! A thousand times, no! Mami thought to herself. Things didn't seem safe that way, or any way, really. It wasn't smart to head in that direction... But after the announcement of those danger zones, what directions were safe now? After a quick look-over of her map, only one land-locked area was no longer safe, so as long as she kept away from the coasts, she would probably be fine. A desirable location seemed like the mountain, but at the same time, what if other people thought that exact same thing? What was still safe out there? Where could she go now where she wouldn't run the risk of getting herself or others hurt?

"I don't know," she muttered to herself. "Where can I go now?" Her concerns would only linger if she gave them her attention. With a sigh, she decided that perhaps it would be better to just make a snap decision rather than worry about the consequences forever. "I'll go... That way," she turned around and started walking. Desperately she hoped she was doing this right.

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#03 Blink vs #17 Lubbock

Claire Ferguson felt almost bad stumbling across the man.

He was half-alive and holding onto the rocks with what seemed to be large green gloves. When she slid down the little hillside, she almost felt something like pity.

Unfortunately, she knew enough already to know that the only way to win was to eliminate the competition, and that meant situations like this.

With a frown, Blink slid down and placed a foot on the back of the man’s head and pressed it into the sand. He thrashed for a few minutes, but eventually, the strength failed him. The body went limp, and Lubbock’s agonizing time in the Abyss drew to a close.

[spoiler]

#17 Lubbock DEAD
44 Primes Remain

The Hulk Hands are there for Blink if she wants them.[/spoiler]

[Crona]

Crona let off a tiny sigh of relief, he had taken a risk revealing himself to Sasuke, but it seemed to have paid off since he didn't have a blade in his gut or anything of the like that he was expecting. He was still in a state of pain and shock while speaking, but out of the blue, it seemed like the ninja knew of Jon Snow! His first friend in the Omniverse who defended him against a violent Techmarine. Some strange tinge of emotion echos in the boy's gut as he realized this wasn't the first time he had to be defended in order to survive.

"Wait, stay alive? What do you mean?! Dont..." Crona started, but it was too late, Sasuke was already trailblazing through the forest at lightning speed, leaving Crona's words unheard in the air behind him.

"Don't... Don't leave me..."

The boy shook his head, Sasuke seemed to be more capable them him, or at least he had made it seem like he is, but vengeance wasn't worth the price of an explosion and charred skin. Still, now he was alone again, the forest area around him seemed calm enough as the trees ebbed and flowed with the wind. It might have been considered peaceful if not for the fact that he was on a death island and constantly had to look at for being attacked.

Crona takes another quick look around for some defensive spot where he can hole himself up, but after a bit of wandering around the best he could get was a rather large, hollow tree that he could try and squat under. "Better than nothing." He thought to himself as he crawled inside, it was filthy and rotten, but it was better then standing out in the open, and he needed more time for his burns to die down. Much more time.

You're a goddamn idiot, you know that? How are we supposed to rip everyone apart if you're all burnt and shit. Can you at least THINK before you decide to get blown up like an asshole again? Ragnarok's obnoxious voice forces its way into Crona's mind over the remnants of the ringing in his ears. It was only a matter of time before the Demon complained again, and Crona's only reaction is to stare with glazed eyes through the large crack in the tree he had just crawled into.

"Now we gotta rely on some prancy ninja-looking kid for help. You know you've gotta kill him at some stage, right? Or he will kill you. Infact hes probalbly getting his friends RIGHT NOW to gang up on you. Dumbass." Still, the boy didn't move in the slightest. Sasuke must be trustworthy if he was friends with Jon, surely that was enough to go off, though even if they did come hunting for him, he had a fairly good hiding spot to rely on, and he supposed that would have to do. There wasn't much else that he could do in his current state, and Ragnarok's incessant droning wasn't particularly helpful. The boy sighed and drew his legs closer into his body.

Just stay alive, he was told.

Easier said then done.

[Schwi Dola]

After the fight was over it was time to decide who would take next watch, Luffy needed some rest before dawn. Desco was awake now so she volunteered. ""Desco will do it!" Yogsothoth propped himself up again for Guu, Desco could feel as she got back on, while Luffy collapses on the ground next to the embers in the fire.

Since the fire was out Desco went to go find some sticks. She built it up again and then sat at the fire, legs folded under her in Seika position. It was boring on watch so she took out her Dataverse Device to find out that she could only access facebook and twitter. So she ended up pulling out one of the bits from her open MRE, and nibbled on the bread inside until some time had passed.

After a while Desco poked Guu. "Guu. Guuuu." Guu stirred and then streched, yawning."It is time already?" Guu hopped off of Yog and Desco got on to sleep again, at least for a little while but the sky was already starting to brighten.

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#15 Violet vs #11 Jason Voorhees

Violet was alone as she wandered the island. She didn’t mind, but that didn’t make the trek any easier.

Chh chh chh … ahh ahh ahh…

The noise made the woman perk up her head and start to scan her surroundings. Who would be playing music out here?

With a scowl, Violet slipped her hand into her duffel bag as a hulking man stepped out from a nearby tree. He didn’t speak… He just stared at her from behind the battered hockey mask that covered his face.

“You going to gawk at me all day?” The woman asked as the man shoved away from the tree and started right at her. Violet took a step back as she pulled the rifle up out of her bag. With a smirk, she pulled the trigger and released a burst of automatic fire at her adversary.

The first burst of bullets staggered Jason.

The second burst caused the ‘man’ to fall into a heap.

“Interesting…” Violet muttered as she grabbed her bag and jumped over the corpse. Her eyes had spotted another bag dropped by her opponent. Crouching down next to it, she pulled open the zipper and smirked at the contents. “That’ll do.”

Chh chh chh … ahh ahh ahh…

Twisting her head around, Violet saw that the body wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

“…the fuck.”

[spoiler]

#11 Jason Voorhees DEAD??

Violet -- Check your PMs.[/spoiler]

[Blink]

In the end, Blink had chosen to not go after the 'easter egg' item. It was a tempting offer, but it didn't make a lot of strategic sense. Everyone who had a weapon as useless as she did was going to go for the possibility of getting better odds. Those that had good weapons and were looking to pick off the weaker players would want to go there for a good hunting opportunity. But even though she didn't want to go jump into what was surely going to be a clusterfuck, she wasn't going to just hide in a tree for the duration of the game.

She had come into this for the chance to find her place in this strange universe. Hiding in a tree for seven days while the competitors picked each other off wasn't a fight. It was a really bad camping trip. So she had grabbed her pack and headed off.

Unfortunately, what she found wasn't a fight. She had found a victim. Someone that had already lost the game and was just waiting for the privilege to leave it. She watched as the emerald-haired man tried to climb his way up the rocky hillside. He hadn't noticed her. She wasn't too pleased with what she found - she was hoping for a brawl, or at least a chase. Maybe even someone she could just talk to and potentially work with. This wasn't fun. This was just sad. She had ran into someone who truly played the game already, while she just camped out.

It didn't take long for her to eliminate him. She put her small foot on his head and kept his battered face in the sandy ground long enough for him to give out. Once it was done, she was respectful enough to roll him him the few feet it took her to get under a tree, out of the immediate line of sight of anyone walking up. After that, she took his pack and walked off, continuing in her chosen direction - she wanted to look though his pack somewhere that wasn't in the immediately vicinity of his corpse.

Claire was still thinking about the 'fight 'when she dropped her butt on a rock a couple football fields away. It was not what she had signed up for. Her eyes gazed into his pack to find that he had used very little of what he was given so far. She went ahead and cracked open one of the water bottles, now that her supples had doubled. She began to load her bag with his stuff, until she came to the gloves.

They were these big green boxing-sized globes that he was wearing when she eliminated him. She looked confused as she held them up, trying to place them. Then she her eyes bulged. Hulk! she squeaked inwardly. Sure enough, they were giant gloves based on the one and only Avenger, The Hulk. She had many run-ins with the monster known as Bruce Banner - in several different universes and timelines. But she had never dealt with gloves made like a replica of his meaty hands. She couldn't help but smile as she deposited the gloves in her now-heavier bag. They were about as useful as her barbie doll, but it didn't make sense to leave them behind.

"Alright," she said aloud to no one, for what she realized was the first time since the game started almost seven hours ago. She looked up in front of her to see the sun rising over the horizon. A smile crossed her face. "I guess I'm officially in the game now. It might not have been pretty, but...I did it."

She still didn't know what she was doing in the Omniverse. She still had no idea what she was going to do when this game was over. But for now, she felt content. She had found a temporary place in this world and it was enough to keep her restlessness from squirming out of her.

"One down, 44 to go," she mumbled, hopping off the rock she was sitting on. "Piece of cake." With a flash of pink lightning, she disappeared, onto the next adventure.

[Gin Yatreg]

"The mutation is spreading too fast! If we don't stop it now the boy will-" a voice cries out.

"Stick to the procedure! We're on the verge of a breakthrough, DO NOT STOP." Says another

"But Doctor Yat-".

"I said don't stop!"

"I can't just stand here and watch you experiment on your own child!"

"What are you-? NO! INTERRUPTING THE PROCEDURE WILL-" before the voice can finish, the assistant disconnects a machine and attempts to destroy the mutation on the young boy. However, as the machine is disconnected, the boy opens his eyes and begins to scream in pain. His shape changing before their eyes.

"YOU FOOL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

"WHAT'S HAPPENING IN HE- OH MY GOD WHAT IS THA-"

"ROAAAAAAAAAAIIIEEEEEEEE"

"NO! STOP! GI-!"

***

Gin jolted awake, taking deep breaths as he sat up. He groaned in pain, his back and neck sore from his last fight, and a slight headache from that dream of his. "What...the hell...was that?" he wondered aloud. "Was that a Monsus cry?" he asked himself. He tried to focus on the dream more, trying to remember everything about it.

"Wait, what the hell? I can barely remember the dream now." he said.

Trying again and failing, Gin decided to give up and focus on the competition for now. As his headache began to recede, Gin staggered to his feet, still in pain from his back and neck. He looked around and made sure he still had all of his stuff, "Well, at least I didn't lose anything." he said. "Guess I'd better get moving, that Karl guy said the area I'm in was gonna be a danger zone soon." he thought to himself. Gin grabbed his bag and turned on the jetpack once more, flying away to a new area to rest his sore body.

[Monkey D. Luffy]

Succeeding a well-deserved gorge upon his lackluster 'food' pack, Luffy plopped against the tent's exterior. His shaded silhouette, cast by luminous embers, brought comfort to the huddled duo of wee maidens, allowing them to drift into lucid slumber.

Wary of the pirate's severely lacking attention span, Guu remained hazily en garde. For proper reason, as mere minutes thereafter the lanky youth dozed off in kind, delving into the depths of his own psyche once more.

Overwrought with trepidation regarding the deviant entity clutching to the pirate's animus, Straw Hat mustered every morsel of his perpetual resolve to suppress it, to ignore it, to absolve it. He couldn't key his freshly acquired comrades in on such trying tribulations.

Alerted by abrupt raucous preceding a strident bluster, Straw Hat snapped animately upright. Gathering his bearings, encumbered by an afflicting daze, Luffy set eyes upon a hostile presence. They were under attack!

******

Ratatatatata! Thunk! Vwishhh!

******

"Oi! you forgot something!" with a pithy remark, the candidly jubilant captain mocked the trigger-happy intruder as he chucked the amputated extremity. "By the way! Do you poop??" Straw Hat's asinine inquiry was solo celebrated. Lurching an elastic limb of her own, Guu retracted with said dismembered appendage in tow, prodding her peers to mull her reasoning in baffle.

Elated by their second triumph since dusk, Luffy relished in laurels, clasping the freaking awesome sword made of freaking laser beams! "So coooool!"

Vvvuuummm, Fushooon, Psscchhh!

The rubber youth neverminded his danger-laden predicament, instead opting to dally around wildly swinging the buzz-humming blade of scientific origin he could never hope to comprehend. Eyeing the boy in aghast, then back at one another, Desco and Guu vented groaning respire.

"He's going to kill himself isn't he . . . ?"

"Mmhm!"

[Harry Dresden]

Harry sighed and reached into his bag, finally giving in to his rumbling stomach. He pulled out a Chicken and Rice MRE and opened it, pulling out the heater and filling it with water before dropping it into its box and the box into the meal. He drained a good amount of his first water bottle, too. While he waited for the MRE to heat itself, he poked his head out of his shelter, eyeing the surrounding landscape, his assembled item in his grip. "Sure is quiet. Guess that's a good thing."

Karl Jak's announcement of the danger zones made him return to his bag, pulling out his map. There wasn't anything for him to write with, but he was a wizard. Even without magic, there was a certain measure of mental fortitude that was required, and he could remember things quite well. A trick that he'd learned from Lasciel came in handy; associating a mental image with a physical one. A similar exercise to suppressing an illusion, actually; tying the knowledge of reality to the sight of that reality, and ignoring what didn't fit, but in this case, it was the opposite; he pictured marks on the areas Jak named, and associated them with their spots on the map. Not perfect, but the best he could do under the circumstances.

His MRE had been ready at that point, and he mindlessly ate the surprisingly tasty chicken and rice as he thought. There's not much I can do here. If I find Cindy that's one thing, or Samus for that matter. Ganondorf might not be immediately hostile, but then... he might be unstable, especially if he's kept using that magic. Heaven knows I was, back when... Flashes of memory ran through his mind; a burning house, Elaine screaming, DuMorne's burning body staggering from the wreckage. He shook his head. No. I'm over that now. It was self-defense. I'm innocent. It wasn't real dark magic. He only half-believed that, but even if it was true, he was still tainted. He'd come into contact with not one but two Outsiders, and he knew more about a third. The Walkers. Even learning about these things was considered against the Laws.

But he'd gone and had the knowledge shoved on him, and sometimes the Warden wondered if he was losing his grip on reality. Mortal minds were not meant to comprehend beings from beyond the Outer Gates. It was some point during his meandering thoughts that the rather melancholy wizard realized that his MRE had been finished for a while. Tucking the trash into the duffel bag so as not to leave a trace inside this cave, Harry set out for a walk, keeping low and behind obstacles as best as a 6' and change wizard in a duster and his particular armament could. He'd go a few minutes in a direction and return to the cave immediately, getting the lay of the immediate area and keeping an eye out for Samus.

[Carn_Val]

After the little excursion I had with Desco to look for Guu, I met two new people, one was a red-haired person, probably female, the other was a towering piece of organic and inorganic material, might have been a bearded female with a nice, tied hair. The red-haired one, Desco calls Erza, and the bearded lady Guu called Gildarts, which unusually sounded masculine, gave each other a hug. A lovely sight between the pair. I assumed they knew each other even before Omni called them in, from the same world perhaps? I didn't have the time to gather in all the thoughts as an announcement told us to prepare for departure. "I'll ask them in-game," I told myself. Walking back to my room to grab my stuff, I wave at them goodbye, "Bye bye! See you later!"

_

a few minutes in, I'm riding inside a large, metal bee hovering a good distance from the ground. Whatever's making it fly sure did a good job considering all the weight of the material. Impressive, I say. Soon I find myself and the metal bee approaching a mass of land surrounded by blue, waving fluids, a pretty sight below me. I check my smartphone to look up what I'm seeing is called. Results from this Google thing tells me it's called an island and that it's surrounded by the sea. What was the sea made of? I don't know. It merely said that the sea shouldn't be drank directly for some reason. I took more of my time for the term 'drinking' and got me a site about alcohol, apparently, it impairs one's way of thinking. Well, good enough reason for me not to drink then. I need all my logic in here.

Meanwhile, the metallic bee started lowering altitude as a man's voice shouts, "You're going to have to jump below, contestant number 36."

"Okay." I didn't know the bee has people in it. I thought I was alone for a time. As I ready myself for the drop, the heavy thing on my neck reminded me that I had worn a collar pre-departure. They said it's a requirement before I get air-lifted. I snapped the collar in place and lugged my relatively lighter duffle bag since I ate most of its contents beforehand. Now, I'm clutching the olive green bag on my lap and poking the collar. Somehow, I'm getting curious what the people operating the large bee looks like. First of all though, I check out an Island Survival 101 guide and saved it on my phone's memory. Reading it, the first things to secure where fire, water and food. Fire's the hot, burning thing like the Morning Star we keep in the Event Horizon. Water seems to be the fuel of life or something, they say you need it when you feel dry and have to drink the liquid. I check my bag when I recall the word 'water' written in the bottles. Yep, they are there. Well, food, I just ate so the next thing is fire. Now where can I get one?

Looking around as the metallic bee hovers in place, steadily lowering down, I check the front seats to find two people with helmets grabbing hold of a stick of sorts. Out of curiousity and boredom, I grab the stick and start wiggling it around. Suddenly, the whole buzzing bee starts to shake, throwing itself forward and back. The ride feels great as I play around with the bee like a rodeo, laughing incessantly along with the two pilot's morbid cries as they struggle to take the stick away from me.

Eventually, the stick breaks and snaps at the root as I pull it out with a 'clunk'. The bee starts nose-diving as it reaches 30ft above ground. With a quick thinking, I abandon the bee along with its two operators as I jump off into a grassy river bank, a little splash waiting for me below. As I roll to a safe stop, the thunderous roar of fumes and fuel fills my ears like a wake up call. Yep, the metal bee explodes, too bad. Well, look at the bright side! I have a source of fire now! Nice, that's one more thing off of my checklist.

With the two clueless pilots still with me and unable to contact their companions, I tell them my idea. "You two look like you're not glad to be here. How about going after more of those bees you came in with?"
"Well, who's fault do you think it was? Eh?" said one of them.
"Hey now, no one blames you for anything. I can't help it if that metal bee broke easily. Yes, just grab on one of those when they land."
"You mean helicopters? Yeah, we'll do that," one of them replies as another large metal bee zips above us.
"Helicopter? Fine then. Hurry up if you don't wanna be left behind. It looks like I'm supposed to be here for days, like a nice, nature vacation. Go on now. Don't mind me," I tell them as I turn around and start walking towards the grassy area.

For a little while, I watch as the steady flame dances around the buffet of wind. From a distance, I can hear familiar buzzing created by rotary-winged aircrafts, probably like the bee I have with me, helicopter, they call it. They didn't end in explosions so I guess mine's just an isolated case. Casually biting off a chunk of the trunk of a tree out of boredom, I wait for anything that interests me. I mean, it is a game, right? I'm sure there's something fun to do here.

Lying on the thick, green grass below me, I fall into a singing mood.

I have no string to hold me down/
to make me fret or make me frown/
I had strings but now I'm free/
There are no strings on me~

I hum to its tune as I lie down with my hands behind my head. Thanks to that certain movie writer dude here watched a few days ago, the song is getting stuck in my cranium. Great.

_

I seem to have dozed of while on the comfortable nature bed I have. Fixing myself up, I look around to see the heavily forested area surrounding me. It's a surprise there's a wide enough patch of grass for me to sleep in, nice. I check the crash site as a smile creeps on my face, the fire's still alive. I grab a dead and sun-dried branch to put it in flames, spreading the fire all over the grassy patch of bedding I lay down on. Thanks, grassy patch, your plot purpose here is done.

Once that has been dealt with, I open my bag to dig through my bottles of Aquafina, finding a piece of paper and a compass. Yes, I know what a compass is, surprised? The map has my location marked on it too. Should I say it? Should I? Right now? Nah. I'll keep that information for whoever allies with the Anomaly Carn. Oh? What's this shiny metal thing here? No clue but I guess I'll have to try it out later. Now that I have included that little scene where I open my bag to look at what's inside it, I guess this mean I'm walking now. I'm sure it'll take a while before the little forest fire I raised dies out right? Heck, it might worsen and engulf a larger area. Even better. I mean, the helicopter's leaking aircraft fuel, that's a bad thing, right?

Local wildlife seems to be startled by the changing temperature as the flames jump from one tree to another. Cool. I grab a little bird flying by and just bite its little head off, spraying warm, reddish liquid all over my face. Rude bastard. I eat what's left of the little birdie as I walk a little bit into the more shaded regions of the forest. I look up to appreciate the beautiful scenery, as well as the green forests, as the tower of black smoke stacks higher into the sky. Just a little bit to the left, I can see the peak of a mountain. The only mountain on the island, if I remember correctly.

Before I knew it, it is getting brighter, the sun is rising, maybe waking from sleep. The orange glow on the horizon tells me so. There's also the slightly yellow and red glow which I am pretty sure comes from the fire I made. I kind of feel bad for the metallic bee now, I like riding on it, flying. Anyways, now that darkness is taking over, the poor visibility will help me conceal from any incoming intruders upon my little squaremile territory, distracting them with the fiery hell I made just a few acres away.

Blending into the shade of the forest canopy, my color perfectly fits with the surrounding. With eyes glowing ominously, I wait for prey. Soon, the bright day is upon us. Let the games begin.

[Erza Scarlet]

It was not the first time today that Erza had walked this road, duffel bag on one shoulder and overly-large hunk of metal on the other. This time, though, daylight was beginning to blossom forth over the horizon, she had a hearty (if diminutive) companion, and a new weapon more her style rested on her shoulder. It was certainly heavier than the flak cannon - and for that matter, her original weapon, haphazardly stuffed most of the way into the bag, certainly wasn't any lighter either. But this time the weight, though more intense, was just that much more bearable. She hopped as she walked, shoulders shrugging to relieve the tension, and the duffel and Mjolnir bounced playfully up and down, the mighty hammer clanking satisfyingly with her breastplate.

She felt good. It was almost as though whenever she held Mjolnir, some of her innate magic, the stuff that wretched collar had been inhibiting, had been returned to her in the form of this cool-ass so-called "little package." In fact, it brought back fond memories of another giant hammer that had once been a part of her arsenal. Just touching the thing was... Almost addicting, really. A surge of energy and confidence that simmered below the surface as the pair continued

Of course, her companion was slightly less excited about the whole ordeal. She glanced back over to him, her long-lasted carefree smile disappearing as she witnessed his slightly gloomier disposition. Ow... Her face had been plastered in that general shape since their brief celebration of a victorious loot grab, through their silent travels, and undoing that caused the gouge in the side of her face to react painfully. In the excitement of her victory, she'd nearly forgotten her relatively minor but nonetheless painful wound. The high concentration of sea salt in the air certainly didn't help either. She brought her free hand to her face, absentmindedly rubbing the crude makeshift bandage. She'd had to give up a the bottom inch or two of her skirt to make it, but it wasn't like it was helping her all that much in the first place.

Alright. Mickey, you're too cheerful for this, and you're bad at hiding it. "Ah ha! It's getting light out! And, now that I think about it, I'm starving. Breakfast?"

The anthropomorphic mouse turned to Erza as she remained gazing onward, scanning over the coast and through the dense foliage ahead. Her smile had returned; She would put on a bit of a show if it would help Mickey get over what they'd witnessed acquiring their new toy. "You mean like a picnic?"

Erza's eyes lit up, this time entirely for real. "A picnic! I've always wanted to have a picnic!" She nearly dropped the priceless weapon as her hands shot up in the air with an inaudible but extremely obvious 'squee.' "Yes! Alright, it's settled, we're doing it. Right here, right now." She scuttled over to the side of the road and into a soft patch of short grass by the beach. "Perfect location, too!" The mouse could only grin in bemusement as he shuffled over to where Erza had succinctly plopped herself down, "Criss-cross applesauce," and was now spreading out her map face-down on the ground. "Picnic's gotta have a tarp, right?" Reaching under the temporarily-retired Flak Cannon and prying against its weight as only a starving child grabbing for Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes at Disney World could, she retrieved a rectangular brown baggie labeled "Porkchop with Gravy" and a bottle of Aquafina. Even the Pepsi branding couldn't keep her down right now.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mickey stood for a moment, considering his limited options before giving in to the redhead's overflowing mirth and joining her at the makeshift table, pulling out his own pre-packaged meal. "Vegetarian red bean chili. It sure is an odd breakfast, but alright! Let's eat!"

[Violet]

“You know, I can really appreciate a man with his own theme song,” Violet called into the darkness. There was no response, expectedly, but she still felt better for saying it all the same. “I bet Buu would have loved his own theme song. Big, bad guys tend to like shit like that.” She muttered the last to herself as she bent down to sort through her opponent’s bag that he had so thoughtfully left for her. She almost felt bad that she got out of her first face to face without a scratch, and he even left a consolation prize. How sweet.

All of his rations were untouched, which gave her eight portions of food, and plenty of water to last her for another day. She would be well fed and hydrated, which would definitely be great for the solo survival aspect. The only thing she would really need to worry about is some idiot trying to pick a fight. This battle was hardly a battle at all, so she didn’t take too much confidence from it. It was luck, pure and simple.

She disposed of the extra compass and map into the brush, rolled the extra bag up and placed it in with the MRE’s and water. She decided against placing her weapon in the duffle bag, as the extra rations took up the space it once occupied.

Adjusting the duffel across her back, and the weapon resting snuggly in her left hand, Violet took another look around, almost willing the masked man to come out. She knew he couldn’t be dead. Call it a hunch. Maybe, just maybe, she’d made a friend.

“I know you’re still out there,” she called once more into her wooded surroundings. “If we ever meet again, perhaps we can call a truce.”

The woods fell silent, save for the sing song chirps of crickets and other small insects that inhabited the foliage and underbrush. Violet trekked onward, keeping the water in sight, but staying far enough into the woods to be as hidden as possible.

Her thoughts were far from silent as she strode through the dark trees and crunching underbrush. Although she kept one half of her mind alert to dangers, the other half was rife with memories of competitions past. The bonding, the betrayals…most especially, however, the death. She reveled in it. As much as she hated to admit now, that part of her that was more bestial than human had kept her alive. That part of her that loved the sound of ripping flesh, of blood dripping to the ground in wet plops…of her hands delving into the still warm bodies of her prey, liquids covering her skin the further she went.
It never really left, it just lay in wait for an opportunity to come out again. In the many years since Bardock died, she hadn’t been allotted many opportunities, so the beast within her simply slumbered, undisturbed, but still hungry for something her human side just couldn’t provide. The Abyss provided the opportunity, the question was, was she strong enough to handle unleashing something she had such little control over? Would she even be able to transform into the physical manifestation? It took such a toll on her that she wondered if it would even be a wise move to do such a thing, and leave herself so vulnerable. Perhaps there was a way to satiate that bloodlust while maintaining her physical form and not make herself such a weak target.

The warm press of dawn hung on the horizon, the separation of water and sky becoming ever so subtly lighter as the sun began its ascent. Sunrise was still an hour off, provided time worked similarly here as it did back home. Who knows with Syntex, though. They had designed an entire world out here that could be manipulated at will, so she supposed that if they felt like it, they could make it high noon at the press of a button, exposing those who chose to be out in the open to anybody who just happened to be nearby.

It was a stupid strategy, to stay out in the open. Same went for those heading towards landmarks, where death was simply a few short steps away at any moment. Everybody would be flocking towards those places, hoping for items or a chance meeting, but could very well mean the end for most.

That was fine for her, let them pick each other off. She would be more than happy to come across them, weakened by injury or malnutrition, and take them out, securing her spot ever so closer to the top. She knew she probably wouldn’t win, but she could get damned close.

The only thing that would make this game better for her was someone she could journey with. It didn’t matter whether or not it inevitably ended in battle, but a simple truce until the end would be nice. When she partnered with her clanmates all those years ago, she accepted that they would all have to battle each other eventually, and it wasn’t something she was afraid of doing again. The people may change, but the goal stayed the same: make it to the end with as little conflict as possible, then have one giant melee to determine who was the best.

She relished the idea of such a battle, but knew in her newly weakened state, stripped of her powers, she’d be about as damaging as a pebble against a brick wall.

But hey, she’d try her damnedest or die trying.

[Mickey Mouse]

Mickey and Erza had arrived late to the party, to say the least. Fashionably.

From their hiding spot, the mouse spotted a man in a red, spandex-looking suit looking up at a tall, hulking green alien. For a second, things looked civil—but then the emerald warrior’s hands clutched the man’s face and squeezed. Hard.

Mickey let out a yelp, and Erza shot a glance back at him. “Shh,” she muttered, though from the expression on her face Mickey could tell that the gruesome sight had affected her just as much as it affected him. He tried, very hard, to convince himself that this was just how the game had to be played—in order to win, the other competitors had to die. At some point, he might even be forced to kill one of them himself. If he and Erza truly were going to get this hammer—if they were going to reveal themselves to this crop of opponents—that moment might come sooner rather than later, unfortunately.

But he couldn’t shake the thought of that red-suited man’s last moments. He lay there, crumpled on the floor, as the alien man got jumped by some hulking monster. The faces of Mickey and his crimson-haired compatriot went just a little paler as the two sparred. Something told them that they were hilariously outmatched by the people who had shown up for this.

With any luck, though, they could still get that hammer. They just had to wait for the opportune moment to strike—preferably after someone had downed that giant pig beast.

* * *

Somehow, they had managed to escape with the hammer—Mjolnir, it was called—and now, the pair had decided, by golly, they were going to celebrate.

“This is kinda cold,” the mouse scrunched his face up at the taste of his meal, looking over at Erza, who shrugged. Hers seemed to be working just fine. “Lemme see what I can do,” the mouse muttered, taking his right hand—still armed with the red-and-yellow metallic gauntlet—and holding it underneath the little container of chili.

The little blue light flickered on, and the mouse flexed his fingers for a moment, making sure not to let the energy out of his hand. The glove wasn’t suited perfectly for him—he’d had to snap one of the fingers off to make it fit, given that he had one less finger than humans do—but it sure was useful, whether to threaten people like that hooded guy or to warm up his cold vegetarian chili.

After it had been suitably warmed, Mickey dug into the vegetarian chili, his mind persuaded, for the moment, to stop thinking about the carnage they had just bore witness too. Sure, in the end, they had gotten to play Bonnie and Clyde. Sliding up after everyone else was gone and snatching the prize from that cloaked fella had been—dare he say it—kinda fun, but that did not mean that the whole ordeal hadn’t turned out for the worst.

After all, that boy had died—right?

“This—yum—was such—oh, God—a good idea,” Erza stammered, her mouth full of whatever processed porkchop the producers of Dante’s Abyss had stuck in these little pouches. The crimson-haired girl devoured her MRE rather quickly, and Mickey couldn’t help but try to keep pace with her. He giggled a little bit, entertained by her delight.

“What’s so funny, huh?” she cocked an eyebrow, “You laughin’ at the way I eat, Mick?” Mickey’s eyes darted left to right, and his lips slowly curled into a smile before he burst out in a fit of laughter. Erza quickly joined him, and the pair sat there, just… laughing, for what seemed like forever. Their laughing stopped, however, as Mickey’s gaze fell on the most beautiful sight he had gotten to witness since being on this island: off in the distance, painting the sky beautiful shades of red and orange, the sun was rising on Dante’s Abyss.

Mickey smiled, thankful that he and Erza’s position still enabled them to catch a glimpse of the sun over the beach. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,” Mickey grinned, staring at it. If he had stopped to look at Erza, he would have seen that her eyes had focused in on it, too.

“Mickey Mouse,” she said, placing an arm around her little comrade, “Maybe this island isn’t going to be so bad after all.” Mickey nodded, sighing audibly. That was a nice thought.

Of course, Erza knew that wasn’t true at all, and so did Mickey. One day soon, the grounds of the island would be stained the same reddish color that the sun now cast across the sky above them. But—for right now, at least—they were having a goshdarn picnic.

And they were going to enjoy it.