(Preshow) Preshow Facility

[Gildarts]

Gildarts had passed some high arches, into the Dante Verse once again. Once again, he'd be called "seasoned veteran", "strongest prime," among other things like "chippendale" last time, hadn't really been so bad, he'd had good company, so that was a good thing. Plus it let his mind focus, rather than forcefully wander...

A lone wolf, making friends. This time, the event was a partner competition and yet another similar opportunity. That could be cool, except Gildarts didn't often get the opportunity to go all out when he had a partner he was worried about breaking-or uh-injuring. Figuring out their fighting styles would be a tightrope walk, but the faster the better. He hadn't ever won, and he'd only gotten crumbs from Karl. This year, he'd get to the bottom of it all.

Speaking of which, there she was. Tiny compared to all the competitors, he, on the other hand must have seemed pretty tall. There was some power emanating, notoriety of faces, names he didn't know. Her name, who he would now take a moment to get acquainted with. He was intrigued. He was-

"Gildarts Clive, hi, nice to meet ya!" He was almost jubilant, despite their entrance into a death match. But to Gil, this girl appeared to be about ten years old. This was only because of her gaunt frame which was hidden by a divine black robe. Attributing to his miscalculation of her age was her height, she was no taller than his abdominal muscles, and Gildarts wasn't wearing a shirt, just his regular black cloak over his chest. They looked almost fashionable, as though fate had aligned them due to their attire alone.

As he lumbered closer, his appendages squeaked with rust of metal that had been softened by days of thrashing salt and sand and flesh. With every inch he dreaded them showing horrifying images of Abyss's past. It was true, his power was one to be reckoned with but he didn't want to scare a little girl, even if she had entered this competition to win.

[Albert Wesker]

It had only been a minute or two of searching, and...there he was. Gildarts Clive. Certainly did cut a rather interesting figure. A lot more ragged than she'd been expecting. Initially she'd thought the few images she'd bothered to glance over had just caught the man at bad times, but...taking a solid look at him now, it seemed like 'a bad time' might be the only time there was to catch him at. Like the Omniverse had hit him particularly hard or something. Was a shame, but that was how it was sometimes.

As he approached, though, she had to crane her head back to look up at him. Wow, that was...uh. Awkward. Yeah. She just blinked once. Then again. Lone visible eye wide and staring in surprise -- half genuine at the man being so jovial and cheerful, despite appearances; half at what she was already starting to get from a quick scanning of him. Rumors had said he was a strong one, but...wow. Easily the strongest one she'd met personally.

She blinked again, trying to sharpen her focus again. "O-Oh, um...yes, hello!" And she offered a faint smile. "It's...it's nice to meet you, too, mister Clive!" She gave an eager nod, somewhere between just acknowledging the greeting and a bow. It was a rather odd coincidence, really... A black cloak for both of them. One of them almost manically neat and tidy. The other well-worn and tattered. What a lovely matching set to mark them as a team.

She lightly folded her arms behind her back, studying him for a moment. "Um...my name is Cerise," she offered somewhat hesitantly. "Cerise Schwarzgrau." She tilted her head a little, with an uneasy smile. "I'm not really sure how well I'll do here in this tournament, but...we're a team, so I'll try and do well enough to keep up with you!"

[Gildarts]

"Ha! You'll do great-" Looking at the girl spawned a new discovery in the mage. Karl had said Gildarts had another daughter and then it dawned on him, that letter he'd received had been very old. Lost in the mail, or something. Verses have different times the realization wrote itself over his stony features. Then, Gil sighed and let it go. It was in the last Abyss he'd learned a vital lesson about friendship, and a great lesson about this Prime only championship. There was no permanently killing anyone of his competitors or even his partner. And then, as though someone had been holding a breath for many years, a weight was released from the prime's shoulders. One he had felt the last competition, but this one, a futile mission, instantly turned out to be a dead end.

But here was a new beginning, a new face, and a new fight.

"Do you like magic Cerise? That's the kind of fighting style I have. It's called Crash Magic and it is one of the most powerful and destructive from my home land." A reassuring smile touched his eyes as his lips widened through his beard. Gildarts offered comfort in the confidence he felt in his own skin, radiating, the 'kid' could become more comfortable in her own time. She looked a little jittery, and her small stature didn't help her look any less like a bug.

"Most people think that destruction marks for the end of an age, but it also allows for change and new growth," if the child hadn't seen his steel leg from beneath the cloak, she now had the opportunity to get a gleaming glimpse at the ashy silver, hollow contraptions as Gildarts raised his hand and a small beam of white netting glowed like a lantern to the ceiling. The mage kept focus on his release, wasn't it last time he'd shaken the floor ? This time he didn't plan on crumbling the ceiling above them, especially with his youthful partner in his presence.

[Kuzuru]

Man, this was an absolute dream come true for Kuzuru. The stars had aligned and the demon, after many missed deadlines, was finally a contestant in the Abyss. Kuzuru couldn’t stop grinning. Goosebumps covered his off-red skin and his brain bubbled with a cocktail of endorphins. Anticipation was in the air and the demon could smell it with every breath. Oh how it took every scrap of willpower in his body to not try and start a pre-emptive brawl. He ground his teeth and tapped his fingers, anything to work out his anxious frustration. Fortunately he brought some enough omnillium to buy some souvenirs and a couple T-shirts.

“Skeletor, huh?” Kuzuru muttered as he read the announcement board.

Despite what being the leader of a mercenary group might imply, the demon was not one to play nicely with others. His tenure with Nebula was cut short by them betraying him, but that was just because they were quicker to the proverbial draw. Blood is blood and blood of the strong was the most desirable of all. For his sake, the demon finally decided, he better be a weakling.

“Probably is a weakling,” Kuzuru chuckled as he started walking towards the dojo, “what kinda nerd would choose the name Skeletor?”

He paused. There he -it- was. Without a doubt in his mind Kuzuru had found his partner. Who else but a blue-skinned man with a freakin’ floating skull for a domepiece would name themselves Skeletor? Taking a few steps closer to the peeping Tom Kuzuru took stock of his ally.

“Jesus tittyfucking Christ, what happened to your face!?” Kuzuru exclaimed.

The sorcerer jumped slightly and turned to face the interloper.

“Seriously, you’re literally a floating skull attached to a cadaver,” Kuzuru said, “that’s seriously metal dude, I’d ask you to hook me up, but then I’d be ruining these wicked good looks.”

The demon extended a hand and finished with, “name’s Kuzuru, you ready to ruin some days?”

[Retane]

The Namekian turned a curious eye to Arith, curious as to what had caused the Lythian such joy. The Golden Warrior clutched at his belly as he folded over, causing Retane to scan the crowd and the source of his humor. He couldn't find anything that stood out that would cause such an outburst, though he did notice his soon-to-be partner, off in the distance with a few others. Perhaps Arith was ready for a showdown between Mar and Wolfe before the real stuff actually began.

The Emerald Fiend glanced at Jak, then back to Arith, who had stopped suddenly abruptly and was doing his best to look innocent as he scratched at his head, pretending his helmet wasn't there. The Dragon-masked fighter offered his other hand, which contained Retane's Mobile Data Device, "I think you dropped this."

Retane took it from the Lythian with a sigh, knowing all to well that he hadn't dropped it and some how Arith had gotten it off of him without him noticing. The Namek looked the device over, making sure it hadn't been broken and then wondered what his summoned comrade had done. The Leader of The Horsemen looked back up, his eyes demanding an explanation, but Arith was already walking off. "Get back here! What did you do?"

"Can't hear you! Arith called out. "I need to hurry up and make some bets before they close up!"

The Namekian furrowed his brow trying to make sense of it as he glanced back at Inirtias, who had his face in his hands. Through the fingertips, his face seemed flush and Retane was unsure if the Elf was laughing, crying or just shaking from the stupidity of it all. That's when it hit the green warrior like a freight train and his head jerked back towards the direction Arith had went, "What the fuck you plan on betting with?"

"Excuse me sir", a voice called out, "Could I have your autograph." The voice seemed playful as well as familiar almost tugging at the Retane's ears for attention.

The Namek looked back, his body following his head as he saw that the voice belonged to none other than Jack Frost. Retane's eyes went wide with surprise as he soaked his comrade in. He hadn't changed a bit: White hair. Big smile. Crooked Staff. Blue Hoodie with one hand in his pocket. Brown raggy pants. Airyonna at his side. Six little Nameks behind him. Alaina taking up the rear.

Six little Nameks behind him.

He was motionless as his eyes met each and everyone of theirs, noting the joy on their faces to see him. Dante, Probitas, Krosst, Reatus, Triumpht and Naturae. He had never seen all of them together, at least not in reality. They were all just as he had imagined, though they were younger than he expected. They didn't even come up to his hip. It was as if they stopped growing after their first few days in the Omniverse, and that seemed strange to him.

"Classic Retane," Frost stated, snapping the Namekian's attention back to him. "Cursed to sleep a few years, and what's the first thing he does when he wakes up? He joins Dante's Abyss. Doesn't even call anyone to say 'good morning' or anything."

The Leader of The Hosremen smirked, " I didn't want to bother anyone. Needed to get my head back in the game, see if I still had it. But it's good to see you, why didn't you join, Retane asked as he offered his hand.

The Guardian of the Horsemen nodded as if he understood and accepted Retane hand, "It's more your thing than it is mine. Plus a mission took longer than expected. But we got the message that you were awake had joined and came as fast we all could."

It donned on the Emerald Warrior, then, exactly what Arith had been doing with his mobile gave a slight sigh. Of course he used it to contact everyone and tell them he was here.

"Well, i guess you'd like to say hello to the others so..." As Jack trailed off he and Airyonna moved out of the way.

Retane dropped to his knees as the six children shuffled closer. All of them seemed a bit unsure how they were suppose to react in the situation, especially the Emerald Fiend, so he did the only thing he could think of and opened his arms wide. Probitas was the first to move on the action and swung his arms around his neck with Naturae following suit. Reatus was the next to move but he tripped and nearly stumbled, but Retane was quick to catch him from behind and pull him close as if noting had happened. Krosst, being the 'Copy Namek', grinned and mimicked Reatus' action with Retane having to do the same for him. Dante and Triumpth looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders with a 'if you do it, I'll do it' glance and both joined in on the hugging session.

"It's good to see you all" Retane confessed, releasing them from his embrace. "But, we are going to have to put this on pause, because the Abyss is about to begin and I have to go... have a conversation with my... teammate" The Horsemen had to pause and use delicate words.

They all nodded Jack doing the speaking, "We know. I told them we couldn't keep you for too long. Just remember, we will be in the stands rooting for you."

Retane stood up with a nod and accepted the Guardian's hand once again. Alaina and Airyonna were already hustling the children off where were waiving and saying 'bye' to their father, when Frost leaned closer and whispered, "That slight bulge on your shoulder? Is that...?"

The Namekian nodded as he looked his old comrade in the eyes. Jack grimaced a bit trying to find the words but Retane offered a confident smirk. "I know what you are feeling, old friend. But, you have to 'Believe In Me'."

Jack still wore a frown but with a slow nod, he accepted it, "Good Luck Retane, "I'll be rooting for you."

Retane heard commotion to his side and turned to look. He saw Jak trying to get control of the ottsel while staring down the Namek's partner for the Abyss. The Leader of The Horsemen flashed a thought to Inirtias who nodded and moved to assist get Jak and Daxter out of the area. Arith, who came from god who knows where was already behind Victor Wolfe tapping him on the shoulder.

"Victor Wolfe, I presume?" Arith offered out a hand as Victor swung around to see who was invading his personal space.

"Eh? Who's asking", the blonde Lord asked as he looked the Lythian up and down in his Golden Dragon Armor.

Arith feigned that he was taken aback,, giving a gasp and pressing his fingers upon his own breast plate, "Oh, you gonna just stand there and act like you don't know me? You didn't look and see who you are paired with? It's me silly, your partner."

Wolfe seemed to look Arith up and down once again before looking around confused, "This is a joke, right? Are you mad, stupid, or drunk? I'm paired up with a guy, named Retane, you cock-wad. Last I checked, he was tall, green and didn't wear armor."

"Oh, you mean him!" Arith pointed behind Wolfe and quickly dissipated into the form of black mist.

Retane approached the man with caution. As he neared the Lord of New Babylon he could smell a scent. It was strange, scent, something he realized he had smelt coming from more than a few people he'd passed by. Even Jak Mar had a slight smell of the repugnant odor. He couldn't his put his finger on the smell, or determine the 'ground zero' of the source but, it was a musky one, almost as if it was mix of pheromones, combined with raunchy seafood and something acidic.

"Excellent! Just the man I was looking for. Are you ready to wreak havoc and chaos against our foes, Big Green?" Victor still seemed confused as he tried to understand who Arith was or what happened but offered his his hand to the Emerald Fiend.

Retane shook it and gave a nod, "That's exactly what I was planning on doing. Perhaps we should go to place less crowded, get our ducks in a row. There are some things we need to discuss, and maybe you could get a shower."

[Shantotto]

Shantotto’s eyes opened up. Blinking her eyes tightly she reopened them, adjusting to the cool air that filled her quarters. A small yawn and the mage was up. A hempen robe fell to the floor beside her matching her as she got up, sliding herself off the side of the bed. Looking at her own appearance on the mirror provided by Syntech, she saw dust, blood and pretty much everything else you would expect from mucking around in the filth of the streets of Nippur, she had not yet changed. For a gala of this nature she needed something that would draw the attention of everyone. She had not yet met her partner officially but that did not matter. She removed her robes and set them on the bed. She picked up the hempen robe left by her friend and folded it up carefully studying the design.

Standing in front of the mirror wearing nothing but her small clothes, both a dingy shade of tan. Not the kinds of clothes you would expect of a highborn lady such as herself. With a sigh she removed them and set them upon the bed as well with the same consideration one would give an insect in passing.

Her orb of omnillium was reached for as omniscient light filled the room as she began summoning a new set of black underwear to wear. New black robes became the second goal as the fine fabric slowly formed in her hand beside the omnillium.

It did not take long for the tarutaru to get dressed, her new robes were far more ornate than the robes she normally wore, more flesh was exposed, and there was a considerable amount of lace . Black and gold as usual but these robes seemed almost woven of pure silk and gold. In her hand was a small box she had taken time to carefully craft. And finally Shantotto had decided to incinerate the clothes she had left, leaving only seraph's robe. Separate from the pile of ash.

Serraph had left the room, she was unsure of how long ago it had been but regardless she was glad that he had done her the courtesy of leaving her room unlocked so she could get out. He seemed considerate and trustworthy enough. She still wondered about his paperlife flesh and pale white hair, never mind those colorshifting eyes.

The smell of booze filled her sensitive nose, along with the distantly familiar scent of the king and serraph, leading her to the simple conclusion of where she might find her comrades.

The dainty petite mage ran as quickly as she could towards the bar, a truly hilarious sight to those that watched, even with the mechanical hum of the cameras Shantotto did not waver. Making her way to the bar, and throwing the loose doors wide open like something out of an old western movie. The bar went silent, the new babylonians seemed to have gathered up together, Kanda, Victor, Gilgamesh, Serraph. There were some she did not recognise, like a very angsty looking teenager with black hair and strange clothes, and a somewhat dark skinned girl with rabbit ears…. Yes rabbit ears.

She walked up to the group and fell into the conversation.

[Violet]

“Might as well take a seat,” Violet patted the stool next to her. “These things aren’t going to drink themselves.”

Zedd moved closer to the bar, but didn’t take a seat. “Of course not,” he replied gruffly, folding his thick arms across his equally thick chest. It was then Violet took a closer look at her new partner. How had she been so oblivious to his…uniqueness? He seemed skinless, a being of muscle and armored with thick metal plates and tubes snaking strategically around his body. It was obscene and defied logic. Literally a man with no flesh at all, but still walked and talked as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Did he always go around with that visor? Did he have lips? A mouth?

“Do you drink?” she asked cautiously, swirling her newly filled glass around in her hand, taking small pleasure in the ice tinkling against the edges. She felt a little silly asking, but it was worth a shot. She didn’t want to be the only one getting shitfaced tonight.

He looked at her, or at least she assumed he was looking at her. Kind of hard to tell with the visor. “I’ll take that as a no,” she sighed, and turned her body away from him. Her gaze lifted towards one of the dozens of monitors above that flashed rankings and various talking heads. When the power rankings appeared, she scoffed. “Guess 16 is better than 38, cheeky bastards.”

“What do they mean, how’s my head?” Zedd grumped, leaning against the bar.

“I would guess the fuckin giant ass visor,” Violet snarked. “That thing is going to get us killed, you know.”

“What, my face?”

“All of it. The visor, the metal…that ridiculous thing hanging off your face,” she pointed to the decoration that jutted like a giant metal horn off his forehead. “If we’re going to have a shot in this game, we’re going to have to make some modifications.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my appearance.”

Smacking her lips indignantly, Violet sipped what had to be her tenth drink that night. She was definitely feeling it and the courage it lent her to speak so boldly to some stranger like Zedd. Vi absolutely refused to refer to him as “Lord” anything. “This partner shit is stupid.”

“Agreed.”

“Fantastic that you agree,” she retorted somewhat amusedly. “At least we understand where we sit in regards to this...farce.”

“I plan on winning,” Zedd growled. “With or without you, it makes no matter. You’re a tool to be wielded to my will.”

“A proper tool acts ONLY when the master gives a command. You will understand this in time, or you will continue to suffer.” Diablo’s words echoed through her mind, sharp as a knife across her brain. Her hand clenched, crushing the glass between her fingers. She didn’t even feel the shards cutting into her skin, or the blood that welled up immediately in their wake. Rage bubbled within her, her skin glowing red as her power surged beneath. Sparks of electricity danced across her caramel flesh.

“I am not your tool.” She turned her face slowly towards him, the light from her eyes reflecting off the metal on his chest. “I am nobody’s tool.” Swiping her hand across the bar, the bits of glass scattering to the ground, Violet slid from the seat and stood in front of her new partner. “We are equals, or we are nothing. Only one thing is more important in this competition than a victory, and that is finding Victor Wolfe.”

“I saw his name on the screen. Who is he to you?”

“The fucker that sent me to Hell.”