(Pre-Show) The Park

[Karl Jak]

Across from the Recreation Dome, the Park is a massive outdoor area contained within a dome. Modeled after South City's Central Park (which is modeled after New York City's Central Park), the folks at Syntex even splurged to add some mountains to the far extremity of the dome so people can hike or ski. There's also a quaint lodge near the mountain to buy hot cocoa or rent equipment, and there's a few other lodges near the entrance to rent athletic gear and get snacks.

[Blink]

Blink wasn't really sure what she was expecting when she entered the location known as the 'Park.' Considering how new she was to this 'Omniverse' place, and she still had no idea what she was doing there, she had no expectation of what awaited her. For a moment she figured it would just be a playground and a picnic area. But when she walked through the arch-like gate-way and crossed a bridge over a small ravine, she was greeted with a breathtaking sight.

It was obvious that the place was inside a dome, but it didn't take away how real the place looked. There were mountains in the background, so tall it looked like they could touch the clouds. There was a long path right in front of her looping as far as she could see. There were lodges and stores. Huge trees. It looked about as relaxing as it could possibly be.

It was kinda boring.

Her dark lips rose at the side, turning into a bit of a smirk. She ran her fingers through her purple mane, in an effort to fluff the locks so they flowed more freely down her neck. If this was where she was going to spend some free time waiting for the competition to start, then she'd need to make it worth her while.

The girl sprinted forward, ignoring the looks of other contestants that were nearby. She threw a pink energy ball in front of her, creating a portal for her to run through. When she came out the other side, she rolled onto a new patch of grass on the other side of a field. She made it back to her feet and jumped into the air, putting a portal down right underneath her. She fell through it, landing on a branch from a large tree nearest her. Blink came a stop there, squatting there on the branch, high up above the ground, getting a nice bird's eye view of the entrance to the dome.

Blink flopped back onto her backside, leaning against the trunk of the tree. This was a good enough spot to relax for now. A good place to think about where she was - and where she would be after this tournament was over.

[Neal]

The park was the best place to hang out. By now, Neal should have been sick of the forested environment, but given he had never been in one so lively, he had years worth of stifled interest to get out. The park in this dimension was a bit smaller than the one he had been ninja-jumping through not long ago, but it was no less pleasant. Though it had a few touches of human modernization, such as more pronounced walkways and benches, its air was still far cleaner than any he's ever breathed in his world.

Neal was not a trained fighter, his skill came from his intuition and intelligence. Thus, he did not need to "hone" his skills before battle in a sweaty dojo. In fact, the park was just barely more interesting than the recreational room - which he had heard some interesting tales of in the few moments he spent passing through the lobby.

Ten minutes into his arrival, Neal had cherrypicked - pun - the best tree in the park: an actual cherry tree. It was tucked away among oaks, so he doubted anyone would think to look up. If they had though, they would have seen the black-coated man swinging like a monkey around the base to pick bushels of cherries, stuffing them into his pockets. His roguish cherry picking was halted by the sound of nearby rustling. Company?

As quiet as he could, Neal jumps easily into the nearby oak, clinging to a sturdier branch to swing himself further up into the canopy. Once surrounded by more sound footholds, he climbs about, exercising that Master Acrobatics power, purchased not even twenty four hours before. The power had easily already paid for itself.

In less than thirty seconds, Neal dropped onto a secure branch, sitting on his rump with his left leg dangling off the edge. He held his hat in his left hand, full to the brim with fresh picked cherries. "Worker or competitor?" The scrawny lad asked inquisitively whilst carelessly tossing back a cherry. He half wanted to spit the stem back out knotted after realizing this creature before him was definitely female.

[Blink]

The only thing that kept her mind off of the questions was the beautiful sight in front of her. That was what she was focusing on as she sat up against the trunk of an over-sized cherry tree, admiring the view of the artificial park in front of her. Her eyes twinkled a bit as she soaked in the environment, especially the peak of the mountain in the distance, and how very real everything felt. She knew she was in some mystical universe where anything was possible, but right here, right now - she was just content to enjoy the sight of a mountain from her spot in a giant cherry tree.

But somehow, no matter how pretty the view in front of her was, Claire Ferguson always came back to the questions. The hows and the whys. Despite being greeted by what she assumed was this world 'God,' he didn't really shed any light on anything. He spoke, sure, and she listened. But for all of his wisdom and words, this Omni character didn't actually say anything of use. She still had no idea how she got there, and even worse she didn't know what to do from here. She was a strange creature in a strange land. For now, she had this tournament - a survival competition. That took care of 'what do I do NOW?' But what about later? What was she doing after that?

That was the real problem she had. Not now. But after this tournament was over and she was whisked back to where ever she was before this, where would she go? She had no friends, no real idea of the landscape around her. She had heard people talk of cities and towns, so she knew there had to be a central location somewhere. But even then, what would she do when she got there? Find a house? Make a friend? That all seemed pointless. Were there jobs for her to apply to? How would she pay for things? It was a really odd for feeling for her, as someone that always had a purpose in life. She had to survive against Apocalypse. She had the X-Men. She had the Exiles. But now? She just had a blank canvas and was told to 'paint.' Paint what, though?

Her pink, pointy ear twitched as she heard something rustling underneath. She leaned over to the left to look down under the branch she was sitting on, watching as a young human climbed his way to her. He had clearly seen her, and was making his way up the branches expertly towards her. She tensed a bit, not sure what to do expect - the boy obviously had skills at climbing, judging by the way he was hopping from branch to branch. He finally found the branch she was on, and without looking at her, flopped himself down and sat there comfortably, dangling a limb from the seat.

"Worker or competitor?" He asked while popping a small red piece of fruit into his mouth. She assumed it was a cherry, given the kind of tree they were relaxing in. When he finally made eye contact with her, she could see his face contort a bit, as if surprised. Maybe he was surprised she was pink, or had pointy ears, or bright green clothing on. Or maybe he was just not expecting a girl.

She thought the question was worded funny, and couldn't resist poking fun. "Why would a worker be sitting up here in a tree doing nothing?" She asked right back.

"Ditching work," he guessed.

She pondered that. "I guess that would make sense." She admitted. "I'm competing." She shifted her weight on a bit on the branch, looking down again to judge how far up there. The technical term of the distance would be defined as 'really fucking high up.' She whistled a bit to exaggerate what she had just seen, as if mimicking the sound of Wile E. Coyote dropping off a cliff.

"I am too," the boy told her. Again, she had assumed he had to be competing because why else would he be climbing a giant cherry tree and steal the fruits on his way up? But on the other hand, she had to admit that he didn't look like he was a fighter. He just looked like a nerd. In a good way. "My name is Neal," he introduced. He smiled at her as he popped another cherry between his lips.

"Blink," she said. She wasn't in the habit of giving her real name to strangers. She moved from her bottom to her feet, squatting on the tree so the green garb she was wearing hung between her legs and exposed her magenta knees. "Well, good talk," she told him, clearly bringing an end to the abrupt conversation. She moved up in her position to stand, carefully balancing herself on the thick branch, just in case.

He looked over at her as she moves, putting a hand on the branch as well to keep himself upright while she moved. "Where are you going?" he asked her. "Was it something I said?"

"I'm going up there," she pointed to the top of the mountain. It was steep at the top, but leading up to it was more like a grassy hill. It would easy to get up to that part, at least. "I have a pretty aggressive means of travel. You couldn't keep up." He raised his brow. She assumed he didn't like that comment. She just smiled at him, clearly teasing. "No offense," she added.

"I'm kind of offended," the boy named Neal told her. "I can keep up."

She smirked, happy that he took the bait. He obviously was a good climber, but now she could really see what she was made of. Could he follow her through all of her portals? Even without the means to teleport, she was pretty damn fast. She walked closer to him, her arms outstretched from her body to keep her balance, as if she was about to start flapping if she fell. She grinned at him one more time - it could have been a challenge, or just a nice way to say goodbye, however he took it.

The pink creature turned to the right and looked up at the artificial sun staring at her. For a brief moment, she enjoyed the glow of that star, letting it bask over her elvish features, and then she leaned backwards. She dropped off the branch, flipping back, and disappearing into a portal in mid-fall. The gateway remained open for a few moments in case the boy wanted to follow her in her journey to higher ground.

[Samus Aran]

The Dante’s Abyss complex was gigantic, that was for sure. Like the biggest amusement park you’d ever seen. The gateway shill hadn’t been lying. Even Samus, in her current dark mood, had to take pause at the sight of the mountains in the distance. She checked behind her to make sure no reporters were following before ducking behind a tree.

Was it best to stay in her power suit, or switch to something more inconspicuous? Neither prospect made the hunter particularly comfortable in this verse. At times like this, she wished her suit had a stealth mode.

It was certainly possible.

Before approaching Cinnibar Isle to sign up for the competition, she’d checked her remaining omnilium levels and found them in quite ample supply. Her first thought had been to find some way to augment her suit’s power output … but she’d settled on a different idea.

While her Varia Suit was perfect for combatting cornered criminals, it was not ideal for chasing down swifter ones. She’d seen Cindy’s speed up close, and her combat style. At first, Samus had been impressed by what seemed to be talent completely out of her reach. The monster hunter had raw resilience to match her own, but she’d also been able to move with agility far surpassing Samus’s. And all this, with the ease and grace of slipping into a new of pair of shoes. That was the trick.

“I’m coming for you, Cindy,” whispered Samus.

When she stepped out from behind the tree, her suit wasn’t the recognisable orange and red that the Omniverse knew. Slimmer, sleeker. Bluer. In truth, this was the same suit – just without all the heavy exoskeleton. She’d found herself much weaker when she’d arrived in the Omniverse, but for some reason as the ‘walking tank’ archetype of herself – not the sleek, predatory killing machine she’d evolved into just before her arrival. Perhaps it was because that was the version of herself she best knew. The one she, and the universe, had come to think of being her. Perhaps on some level she wasn’t ready to accept the change.

But like it or not, the baby Metroid was part of her now, its genes fused to hers. That race that she’d purged so mercilessly from the face of the galaxy now made her stronger.

In truth, she was the last Metroid.

And now it was time to hunt.

[Neal]

A Teleporter, aye? Neal was a quick study, and that lingering magenta portal behind her looked rather inviting. Without a second thought, the young man grabs the branch he was sitting on, leans to the side before practically jumping off the underside of his once-seat. He held his hat to his chest to keep his bounty from falling free as he slipped through the portal before it could snap shut.

Blink had been looking back, silently hoping the young man chose to follow, if only for the excitement of a chase. The moment he spears through her first portal, a second opens, and she sinks back into it with a silent wave. "You'll have to be faster than that," the Teleporter chimed before slipping through space.

Neal had to reach out and grab a branch to swing over to her next portal. Given that she had only been a second ahead of him through the portal, her speed was definitely surprising. She's fast, Neal abserved before practically flipping into her portal. On the other end, he came out reaching for the next branch, only to find open air. He milked it. Flying just above the canopy for a moment, he juts his free arm out and flattens his body like Superman for a split second. Before the peaks of the canopy swallowed him, he spotted Blink clinging to one of the higher reaching branches.

It was hard keeping his bounty-holding-hat pressed to his chest without crushing anything, and the flapping of his coat only impeded his movements, but damnit if he didn't look awesome. As his superman-hand grabs a branch, he tactfully whips himself up to plant his feet onto his new perch. Channeling his supernatural strength down into his legs, he preforms one of those stunning jumps.
Ninja Jump!

Ninja Jump!

[float=right]Ninja Jump![/i][/float]

"What are you, some kind of frog-boy?" Claire inquired with a cocked brow. The hoppity-hoppity of the stranger was almost hypnotic, not too flashy but not just brutish ups and downs. She had almost forgot this was a chase.

"Frogs WISH they had my level of ----aaand you're gone." He descends onto another branch, before leapfrogging - an unintentional pun - towards her newly created portal. She could at least let me finish my quip!

[Violet]

Being able to have dodged the bevy of media and fans without being assaulted was no small feat. She considered it a small victory that she made it to the park without so much as an errant reporter from some small blog or tabloid asking her about her clothing choices. All things considered, she was geared more for “soccer mom” than “lethal fighter”. Guess it was part of her mystique.

As she passed under the large PARK sign and into the corridor that lead to the appending dome, she heaved a sigh of relief that she hadn’t even been recognized by anybody. This was a new place, for sure, and logically speaking, that meant a whole new set of people she had to impress. It was almost a lonely feeling, knowing that nobody she knew from her old life was here, not even her kids. It was one thing losing her mates, but her kids, too?

It was the first time in over two decades she was truly alone. On one hand, this was the “reset” button she longed for her entire life, but on the other…she lost the very few people who meant the entire universe to her. She could only hope that whatever plane of existence her children lived now, they were able to take care of themselves, because she was no longer there to defend them. A lifetime of lessons and training would have to suffice for her not being there, but she supposed, it would have happened sooner or later. She wouldn’t have lived forever, unlike here, where she was supposedly immortal.

Heh, the irony of that word almost made her laugh. Immortal. So many of her enemies wanted to attain that status, but each of them knocked down by her hand, and here she was, and she didn’t really have any intentions for it.

She walked up to a nearby concession stand and purchased a drink and some snacks, then made her way across the grassy lawn behind it to a quiet little nook nestled between some rocks and shadowy trees.

Forever was going to be a long time. What was she going to do? Bardock had been dead for almost twenty years now, Buu was off doing…whatever Buu did, and both he, Galen and Rose were lost to an entirely different timeline. At least, that’s what she assumed. Did this “omniverse” exist in another reality than the one she was plucked from? Was there any hope at all that she would see them again?

Noshing on the twinkie absentmindedly, she didn’t even notice the activity going on around her. She paid it only the briefest bits of attention, and finished her snack.


She was still human. Perhaps there was a chance to really start over, to find something else to fill her time with. No more Red Ribbon, no more bullshit, no more past coming to haunt her at every turn. Just her and this upcoming trip to Coruscant. She would train to relearn the abilities she had painstakingly developed before and become a force within this new reality. Dante’s Abyss was one of many she would dominate.

In that moment, she knew she should show no mercy to her competition when the time came. She would be a beast, she would do what beasts do when it’s time do beast things.

Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, she felt around until her fingers brushed against a small bit of fabric. Pulling it free, she gazed at the white material braided with dark red, memories flooding through her mind. She’d kept these little mementos all these years, and had no intention of ever surrendering them, even if it meant never letting go of the past. It wasn’t being stubborn; it was simply acknowledging the past that made her, and the resolve of where she was going now that she was here, far away from that reality. Regardless of where she was now, the past was still a part of her.

She stuffed the material back into her pocket and removed her jacket. Balling it into a makeshift pillow, she placed it on the ground behind her and laid back. A quick nap before the inevitable media parade was definitely in order for the rest of this lackluster evening.

[Blink]

There was always something riveting about the chase. It was exciting and nerve-wracking. But there was something about it that made Blink really enjoy it, that she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was because she hadn't got to do something like this in so long. It was probably that. She had deposited into a strange land and had no idea exactly what she was getting into - but somehow, she had managed to find something fun. Something innocent and silly. That's what it was. Something silly.

She slipped out of one of her rose-colored portals and hopped up onto the bench in front of her, turning to face the rift in space that she had left behind. A moment later, then young boy known as Neal appeared out of nowhere, as if bursting out of the fog. She flashed him a toothy grin - the first real smile she had released since appearing in this universe. "Giving up?" the boy asked, though he was panting and showing that clearly this was a work-out.

"Not quite yet," she told him, smirking. She turned her head to see where they were. They had traveled up hill a bit, but not quite to where the snow was. She looked back downwards, behind the boy and towards the entrance to the dome. "Let's head back down. To that fountain," she pointed so he could see where she was referring to. "Up for one more work out, or are you too tired?"

She could tell he was panting, but she couldn't make out if it was a lack of stamina or just him catching his breath. She was guessing the latter, seeing how eager he was to nod his head. "Let's do it!"

Claire smirked. She stretched her fingers as they began to glow coral. Her green eyes flickered with excitement. Now she could really stretch those cramped portal muscles. Rather then actually use a portal, she just teleported all together, leaving a 'blink' in space floating where she was standing on the bench.

On the other side of the teleportation, Blink began to run. She could hear the familiar sound of wind rushing through the gap in space-time when Neal jumped through her rift. She was already pretty fast, and now she was moving downhill, looking to get a load of momentum. She looked behind her to see how far ahead she was - as it turned, not as far as she wanted to be. Neal was right behind her, grinning, reaching out to try and catch her emerald garb. He had been rolling himself down the hill, catching speed, showing that his acrobats was a much better substitute for speed then running was. Just before he could grab at her, she teleported again.

Blink appeared right in front of a tree, where she lept up against the trunk. Neal tried to swipe at her from behind when he appeared, but she expertly flipped backwards behind him, landing on her feet. He was no slouch either, though, planting one foot on the bark of the hardwood oak and lept backwards, spinning in mid-air. He grinned, thinking he was just about to tackle her. He was close, too. She quickly dove sideways and rolled out of the way, just before he could snatch her ankle in mid-roll.

"Almost got you," he grinned, looking over at her. She already had that pink energy glowing in her hand, ready to fire another portal into space. "That tree was a dirty trick."

The pink creature smirked. She didn't respond verbally, but her eyes twinkled feverishly to show her eagerness. She turned sideways and threw a portal out in mid-run. Neal was already right behind her as she ran through it. They appeared in the snow, further up the mountain, running through the white clouds on the ground. They only made it about ten feet before Claire led them into another gateway, this one down by the lake, right over the balcony look-out. Blink was running on the concrete pathway towards the telescopes that let onlookers gave at the mountain. She looked behind her. He was running right behind her, leaping over a bench in his way.

She leaned forward to increase speed. She was running straight for the cliff. Her feet leapt off the ground, confident he wouldn't follow. She dropped off the vista viewpoint, looking to dive straight down into the water. In mid-leap, she disappeared from view and came flying out over the park, rolling freely onto the ground. She turned around, grinning as she assumed Neal didn't follow.

Out of nowhere, Neal came flying out face-first, obviously thinking she had dove into the water. He was quick to recover when he realized he fell into another of her rifts, bringing his shoulders up to catch her. She tried to pull up a portal to block him from hitting her, but it was too close. "Got you!" He shouted victoriously as he smacked into her and playfully tackled her to the ground. She even found herself laughing as he rolled over her and onto the grass himself.

They both laughed for a few moments. She was laying on her back, and him next to her on his belly.

"That was fun," he said, still chuckling as he pushing himself up to his knees.

She sat up and began to climb to her feet. She still had a smirk on her face as well. "It was," she admitted. "I think I really needed that, Neal." She looked over at the young boy as he stood up. He was looking at the hat that he had been carrying with a bit of a frown, as if he had suddenly remembered something about it. She didn't really care enough to ask. "I'm gonna go see what else I can get myself into. Thanks for the run, kid. It was good for me."

"No prob," he told her after peeking his eyes away from the cap. "Nice to meet ya. Good luck in the tournament."

She nodded her head and looked towards the entrance to the dome. She measured out the distance in her head and then looked back at him. "You too. See ya." Then she turned to walk away, disappearing in a flash of pink energy in mid-step.

[Lubbock]

Lubbock was astonished at the realism of the place. It looked exactly how a park should look, lush greenery complimenting the few man-made structures and vise versa. He pocketed his hands once more and strode towards a bridge over a small pond. He looked over the wooden rail and into the water, the many species of fish and sea creatures peacefully playing together.
"Yeah... that's how we all wanted the world to be like back where I come from. Peaceful, free... you guys are lucky. We didn't get that. And that's why I chose my line of work," he unknowingly began speaking to the animals in the water.
"Now we officially know you really are insane," Syura mentioned, chuckling a little.
"Oh, shut it, will you? Now, to find that girl," he planned, moving away from the railing and striding over near the middle of the park. He looked around, possibly looking like a lost blade of grass with his outfit. In very little time, he located the same girl, her jacket now off and beneath her head. She seemed to be resting, and Lubbock didn't want to interrupt that. He strode over by her, taking a glance at her. She seemed in her mid twenties, but then again most women looked that young. He quickly located a large-ish apple tree and paced over to it before dropping onto his rear and leaning back against it.
"I guess a little rest can't hurt... I mean, I haven't rested since I came here, apart from that small period of time at the beach," he told himself, but forgot that 'himself' contained someone else.
"I hope you realise that when she sees you she's going to think you're some kind of creep, right?"

[Violet]

As she tiptoed the line between alert and asleep, Violet felt her senses perk up. There was someone nearby. She felt his energy well enough that it tugged her over to alert, but she didn’t yet open her eyes. When she could hear his breathing become soft and even did she finally chance a peek. Over there, resting at the base of the tree, was a boy. His green hair was almost the hue of the grass upon which he sat, skin pale and unblemished. His face was peaceful, his lashes lying across his cheeks like the wings of a dark moth.

He seemed to be sleeping, so he wasn’t much of a threat, but his presence still bothered her. Of all the room in this park, he chose this one to rest? Something was off.

Slowly, she crawled to her feet, gaze locked on the young man nearby. He didn’t move as she slid her jacket back on. Peering upward, she spotted a low hanging branch, and decided observation would be a better idea than simply scampering away. Perhaps she could take advantage of this rather strange situation. She did need some allies, and if she took him under her wing, even if he was meant to be a sacrifice, it would certainly help her chances within the game.

Climbing a few more branches up, nestling within a bough of broad, dense leaves, she waited.

Twenty minutes in, he began to stir. It didn’t take him long to notice her absence, and he cursed to himself. He took a moment to look around, again cursing, running his long fingers through his hair. His attitude at her disappearance was indeed quite concerning. She couldn’t wait for long.

Aligning herself just above him, she dropped from the branches and onto his back. He lurched forward as her thighs wrapped around his neck, legs and feet locking under his arms and snugly securing behind his back. He grunted as he tried to regain his balance, but ended up collapsing to his knees with her sitting firmly behind his head. One arm snaked around his neck, coming upward in a head lock, and she pulled his head backwards.

He choked out some words while she hushed him. “I don’t like being spied on, boy.”

“Hurghhh,” he fought for air, his eyes a little wide as they bulged from his face. His free hand slapped at her firmly secured arm.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Hurghhh!” The simpering fuck smiled despite his predicament.

Confused, Violet loosened her headlock. “What?”

“Boobs.” He grinned.

She released him quickly, bounding backwards away from him.

“The fuck is wrong with you? I could have killed you and all you were worried about were my tits?”

The green haired guy rubbed his neck, seemingly trying to caress the sore muscles. He didn’t lose that creepy smirk of his. “Well, they were right there. You shoved ‘em right in my face,” he said. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Her eyebrow crooked as she tried quite hard to resist the look of disgust she so deeply felt inside. The kid was old enough to be her son. It just…ew. “Yeah, nopeing the hell out of this conversation.”

As she turned to walk away, the young man called out to her, “Wait!”

[Lubbock]

"Okay, I guess I kinda was spying on you," Lubbock admitted, still rubbing his neck. He was trying to rid himself of the pain in his muscles, but made sure to keep the feeling of boobs against his head locked inside his memory, "I just wanted to see if you'd make a good ally in the Abyss, is all,"
"Jeez, I was barely asleep, thanks. Would've been a lot less stalkerish if you had have just checked if I was really asleep," the girl scolded him as she turned around to face him, hands on her hips defiantly.
"Well... If you were asleep, I didn't want to wake you up. I'm a gentleman," he complained, obviously wanting some sympathy.
"Stop with the bullshit, moss-head," she cursed at him, obviously growing tired of him already.
"I really wasn't expecting this encounter to go like this," Lubbock continued to whinge.
"You will never learn, will you?" Syura piped up in the boy's head.
"Oh, shut up, Syura!" he yelled, oblivious to his one-person audience. It took him around five seconds to realise, and he placed both hands over his mouth. The girl eyed him off, one eyebrow arched.
"What the fuck is going in in your head?" she insulted him, at the same time with a hint of genuine questioning. Lubbock placed a hand to the back of his head and smirked goofily.
"Ah... Haha... That... Is a long story..." he told her, but he had no choice but to tell as he was lifted off the ground by the collar of his shirt, "All right! I'll tell! Ever since I arrived in this place, I've had this prick of a voice in my head, and he's pissed me off ever since," he informed her. He smirked, wondering how this woman would take it.
"You call that a fricking long story? You really do have something wrong with your head," she insulted him once more before dropping him flat on his rear. He quickly scrambled up and dusted himself off, then picketed his hands.
"I'm Lubbock. I'm a trained assassin - or at least I was until I ended up here. How about you?"

[Violet]

She crooked a brow at his proclamation. “You’re a piss poor assassin if you go around announcing to every fucking body and their mothers what you are. One of the biggest rules of our line of work is never tell unless you plan to kill.”

“Oh, so you’re an assassin, too?”

Cocking a knowing smirk at him, she replied, “Once upon a time, in a different life. That was a long time ago, but it’s hard to shake old habits.”

“You’re not that old!”

“I’m old enough,” she said, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “As I said, it was a long time ago. Now that I’m here, I guess I’ve got to find something else to do with my time. Perhaps I can teach you a few things before we leave this place, eh?”

[Gin Yatreg]

Gin and Tonic burst through the park entrance at blinding speed and slide to a stop a few yards away. Gin surveyed his surroundings, he saw mountains, a forest, a pond and buildings all over. It reminded him of the living decks on his colony, only this all seemed to be real instead of artificial. He also saw that there were already plenty of people here already. Among the people were a blue robot, a guy with green hair, a lady with purple hair, a lady that WAS purple, and a dude with really long hair.

"Oh my god...." Gin said, "THEY HAVE ROBOTS! THIS PLACE IS AWESOOOME!" he shouted. Gin then heard a rumbling sound and his expression changed to one of hunger. "...Huh, come to think of it I haven't eaten since the Moors..." he said.

"Wark!" Tonic shouted as he pointed his beak towards a lodge.

"Eh? Do you smell food there boy?" He asked Tonic. The bird nodded its head in confirmation. "Alright! Let's go get some grub!" Gin exclaimed.

Tonic let out a loud WARK and charged towards the lodge. As they got closer and closer to the lodge, Gin realized that Tonic wasn't slowing down. "Uh...Tonic, slow down or we'll run right into it." he told the bird. However the bird showed no signs of slowing down. And the lodge was growing larger and larger in Gin's field of vision each passing second.

"Tonic slow down."

Still nothing.

"Tonic stop."

He looked down at Tonic, the bird was too entranced by the smell of food to hear him now.

"TONIC! TONIC STOP OR WE'LL CRASH!"

"TONIC STOOOOOO-"

The bird then stopped on a dime, throwing Gin from its back forward and straight towards the lodge.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH-" CRASH

Gin went straight through the wall, landing upside down in a booth seat a few feet away.

"Um...Can I help you?" a waitress asked him.

Gin sat up, extremely dizzy from the crash and replied, "One BLT please, and a Ham for the traitorous bird outside."

Gin then passed out.

[Lubbock]

"Eh, I mean I AM well-trained as it is," Lubbock slightly bragged, "But I reckon a fine lady like you might be able to teach me a thing or two," he told her with a wink.
"Kid, thanks for the compliment, but cut the crap already. I'm here to rest up and hopefully gain an ally or two," the girl explained, whose name Lubbock still didn't know, "not to form relationships - or get stalkers for that matter," she cocked an eyebrow at him.
"You won't let me live that title down will you?" the boy whimpered.
"Come to think of it... No, I don't think I will," she teased nonchalantly. Before long, a colossal crash was heard over the other side of a park. When the two turned to face it, a gigantic bird was standing outside a lodge - with the wall obliterated. Strange, Lubbock thought, I recognise that bird from somewhere...
His eyes widened in realisation when he saw a boy with red hair pass out in the lodge, a waitress standing over him: it was the bird-riding guy from before! He ran to help, but then turned to the woman.
"Hey, you gonna stand there and look sexy or come and help?" he teased pervertedly, poking his tongue out a little.

I'll let you choose whether you help Gin with a Lubbock or whether you follow your agenda :3

[Strazio Rockwell]

The park was more beautiful than Strazio expected. The park was quiet and except for a few concession stands and other primes wandering about, Strazio was alone. He removed the hood over his head and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The prime found a nice cobblestone path to walk along and took a leisurely stroll through the park. Deep down the prime knew that this would be one of the last times he would have peace and quiet in the coming days, and he intended to savor it. Eventually he found a small picnic bench, nestled underneath a shade tree. Strazio sat down at the bench and removed his white cloak, revealing his scarred skin to the sun. He unsnapped his book from his belt and set it down on the table. The pages were barren except for his first journal entry. After the excitement of the past few days he hardly had time to write another entry, but now seemed like a perfect opportunity.

Strazio's Journal Entry #2

[spoiler]Dante's Abyss, a sort of free for all death arena. Normally I wouldn't want anything to do with something like this, but in the Omniverse things are different. Death isn't permanent here, at least not for Primes. With death no longer being a permanent disability I have no qualms about participating in this bloody game of hunt or be hunted. Although I do fear running into one of the contestants, Crona, a young boy who I met just the other day. Despite seeming to be a nervous wreck he did seem to care genuinely about other people. I hope that if the time comes I'll be able to kill him. I know death is ephemeral, but I'll still feel terrible about attacking him.

I do wonder how Karl Jak was able to create this verse. It seems to have slightly different rules than the rest of the Omniverse. The amount of Omnilium required for creating this must have been immense. Why? What is Karl Jak's end game? Is this all just for the entertainment? I'm afraid that the answer is yes. I imagine that Mr. Jak could be an incredibly powerful player in the politics of the Omniverse if only he channeled his resources properly.

Perhaps he already is?[/spoiler]

Strazio began to write another sentence but was interupted by a small object slamming into his cheek. Instinctively he swatted at the foreign object only to realise that it was a beetle, about the size of a tennis ball. "Sonofabitch!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, terrified by his new friend buzzing near his face. Sparks jumped across his body and he fired a shatter blast at the frightening bug. In his fear-induced haste he fired wide missing the beetle, but knocking it out of the air and onto the table with the shockwave. Still running on adrenaline and fright he fired two more shatter blasts, incinerating the bug and blasting a large chunk out of the corner of the table. He sat there in silence and watched as the chunks of table skittered across the dirt. Fucking bugs he thought angrily that thing was the size of my fist, why the fuck are there bugs that huge here?

[Violet]

Frozen in confusion and just a little fear, Violet watched as the kid bounded off towards the gigantic bird. She wasn’t too keen on his suggestion of investigating. Just looking at the thing made her nervous as hell, and she really didn’t want to get close to it. It was big enough to eat her, or at least gnaw on her, and she was not down for something like that. Nope.

“It’s been good chatting with ya kid, but I think I’ll pass on this one.” Her gaze never left the creature as she slowly made her way back over to the park entrance. She just wanted to get far, far away from this thing before it goes apeshit.

“It’s okay,” he tossed a grin over his shoulder just for her. “If you’re afraid, I’ll protect you.”

“Yes, because a few seconds to think while it chomps on you first sure is comforting.” She waved at him and walked away. “I’ll be in the dojo if you want to come chat later. I’ve got to go take care of something.”

[Harry Dresden]

Harry kept jogging after Samus, but he'd lost the woman in the park. She probably hadn't heard him in the bustle of the crowd, but he needed to talk with her. Going into this competition was going to be difficult alone, but having a bit of help would make it easier. Not to mention the fact that Harry wouldn't mind giving up first prize to Samus; second place was almost as good, from what he'd been told, and he was really in this for a specific reason. He spotted a woman in a suit of armor, sleeker and differently colored than Samus, but for lack of a better option Harry approached. "Excuse me, do you know Samus Aran? Orange armor, probably has her visor down, similar design to your suit but a bit bulkier. I need to talk to her about something important before this competition starts."

[Strazio Rockwell]

"Still afraid of bugs?" a familiar voice asked the startled mage. Strazio looked up to see his two friends walking towards him, Dmitri the sniper and Sergeant Rumford. The sniper was wearing a casual outfit as he often did, a black leather jacket and camo colored cargo pants. Rumford did not follow his comrade's lead and instead wore light leather armor with Darkshire's emblem stitched into the chest. The prime flashed red with embarresment and responded "I mean, who wouldn't be the thing was the size of my damned fist. At any rate what ar eyou guys doing here?"

"We decided to come by and wish you luck" Rumford said.

"Yeah, Rumford here showed me your little application video for the abyss. Needless to say the people of the Moors are rooting for you" Dmitri sat down across from Strazio and lit up a cigarette before continuing "things have been changing in the Moors lately and I'm just glad we have champions like yourself."

Strazio raised an eyebrow "what's changed?"

Sergeant Rumford laughed "well for starters a bunch of primes got together and killed the Tarrasque."

"What's the Tarrasque" Strazio asked, stumbling a bit on the foreign word.

The sniper spoke softly through a cloud of smoke "Big ol' beasty with arms the size of houses, he's been on a rampage in the Moors for a while. Some heroes came by and finally put an end to the monstrosity. Ever since then things have been kind of quiet."

"That's great to hear actually! I'm glad I'm not the only one fighting for you guys."

Rumford laughed "that may be true, but I think you might become the champion we need. You're starting to become a fan favorite amongst those at Darkshire, after seeing your interview with the ONN reporter people are keeping an eye on you. Honestly I just hope you do well, people need hope"

Strazio smiled sheepishly, slightly embarrassed from the thought of becoming a figurehead for Darkshire. He looked over to Dmitri and asked him "how have things at the watchtower been? Nemesis hasn't come back has he?" The prime was slightly worried that he may have kicked a hornet nest by killing Nemesis, one of Dracula's headhunters.

"Just the way I like them, quiet. The new kids think the post is boring, but honestly I love it. We haven't seen Nemesis in a while, not sure what he's been up to but the less we see of that guy the better yeah? All the down time has given me time ot practice my guitar" The sniper told him while plucking a few strings on his air guitar.

"That's good to hear" the prime paused slightly "you should've brought your guitar, I would've loved to hear some of your songs." He loved Dmitri's upbeat music, it was a very nice change of pace from the sad and somber music of his world.

Dmitri flicked his smoke out onto the grass and shook his head "Sorry captain, I didn't even think of it. Next time you're at the watchtower I'll play you a song I made just for you friend."

The trio chatted in the way that old friends do. They spoke of current events and past ones, shooting the proverbial shit. They spoke for another hour before Rumford finally stood up and said his parting "well, it's time to get going, I have to run some training drills with new recruits. Good luck Defender of Darkshire" The sergeant shooks Strazio's hand and headed towards the exit. Dmitri stood up and shook Strazio hand as well "yeah, I should probably get back to the tower. Good luck man, I know you can win this thing."

A chill ran down Strazio's spine, something seemed off. He held Dmitri's hand a moment too long and the sniper asked "something wrong?" Strazio shook his head "No, thanks for the support. It really means a lot to me." He let go of Dmitri's hand and watched him walk away. Something didn't feel right, but the prime couldn't put his finger on it.

"Hey Dmitri!" he called to his friend.

The sniper turned around "yeah?"

"Stay safe, I want to hear that song when I get back!"

The sniper flashed him a cheesy grin and gave him a thumbs up "Thanks! I'll make sure I keep an eye out."

[Samus Aran]

“Harry?”

Harry blinked, as recognition slowly dawned on his face. “Samus? Is … is that you?”

The Hunter’s tone dropped to a harsh whisper. “Harry, what are you doing here?” Her eyes flashed through her visor. “You fool, this is a killing game!”

“Uh … yeah, no shit Sherlock,” Harry half-laughed. “I’m here to get revenge on that bitch that knocked you out last time. Nice to see you too, by the way,” he added.

A sound like a microphone being blown into crackled from Samus’s helmet as she sighed heavily. “You’re an idiot,” she said.

“That may well be,” said Harry, stepping forward, “But weren’t you talking last time about pooling our resources? Not going off alone and getting ourselves killed?”

Samus took a step backwards, turning and rubbing her arm cannon. She had said something along those lines. “But this is not protection,” she said. “This is a vendetta.” She turned and looked back at Harry. “I almost didn’t come here myself. It’s stupid.”

Harry crossed his arms. “So why did you?”

“Because … because it makes me angry. It makes me angry that people like Cindy can treat this whole place like a game. This universe is not a game, not even if Omni wants it to be! We are people. They are people. Just because we’re Primes, doesn’t mean we can just … do what we want!” Samus sighed, tutted and gripped her helmet. “Sorry. I’m not good with words. That’s just how I feel.”

Harry held his hands up. “No, I getcha. Really. We’re on the same page.”

Samus regarded the wizard, her shoulders stiff. “You really want to help?”

“I think you want my help,” quipped Harry with a smirk. “Don’t think that space marine armour makes me a damsel in distress.”

Samus laughed. It caught her by surprise, and her hand shot to her mouth despite herself. She didn’t remember the last time she’d really laughed. “Alright, kiddo,” she mocked. “I’ll give you a chance. But,” she said, resuming her serious tone just as quickly as she’d lapsed out of it, “If you die it’s on you. Okay? You know the risks.”

Harry sighed, holding his palms up. “Yeah, yeah. I know the risks. Kiddo, though? Really?”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I. I’m here because I made the decision to come. You don’t seem to understand, but if someone attacks a friend of mine it’s an attack on me. Now are we going to stand around all day talking?”

Samus let the frown on her face relax, satisfied. “No,” she said. “I have a plan.”

[Lubbock]

Lubbock waved back at the girl, who he STILL didn't know the name of, and turned back to the lodge. Dojo, huh? There's a place to look at literally [i]hot girls,[/i] he told himself, perverted images flashing in his mind. Before long, he snapped back to reality and his mind's eye came back to Earth. He looked back over to the lodge and noticed the bird still standing, turning now and then when it heard noises. Lubbock approached the bird first, the creature not looking at him. As he began to reach up to scratch it, it turned and squawked at him, sending him reeling backwards onto his backside. He picked himself quickly off the ground, and imagined a giant chicken turning over an equally giant fire. He turned away from his new rival and strode into the inn, stepping over the broken wood and stone strewn across the floorboards, and one circular table that was also knocked over.

Lubbock's heart skipped a beat when he saw the waitress standing beside the rubble - young, beautiful, elegant. But when he noticed she was pointing, his thoughts flew away. I guess saving that red-head kid would be a good way to earn some credit, he decided. He strolled over to a booth-type seat and saw Red (that was the nickname Lubbock had given him) upside down in it, unconscious. As Lubbock reached out for him, he heard the giant bird outside squawk again. Oh, shut up, you bastard, he cursed the bird in his mind. He grabbed Red's leg and pulled it down causing the boy to flip onto his side. Still not awake.

Lubbock waited a few minutes, then when the boy's eyes started fluttering open, Lubbock's first words were.
"I really feel like cooking that bird right now,"