(Pre-Show) The Recreation Dome

[Karl Jak]

North of the Library is the Recreation Dome. The first two floors of the Recreation Dome contains a plethora of restaurants and bars that cover your most basic foods up to the ritziest cuisine (all for free, of course). The next two levels contain all kinds of ways to amuse yourself, whether you want to revisit your childhood or just hang out and shoot billiards.

The top floor contains about a dozen state-of-the-art movie theaters screening blockbusters old, new, foreign, and even straight-up alien (depending on who the heck you are).

[Mickey Mouse]

Mickey hated to be contrary, but thus far, he was not a fan of Dante’s Abyss.

He had been gallivanting around for a couple hours now, trying to figure out what the goshdarn heck to do next. Reporters populated the lobby, clamoring for interviews and photographs with anyone who walked through the portal into the Dante Verse. What was the big deal? The powers-that-be barely picked anybody to compete yet… why did all these people want their attention?

The mouse managed to slip by most of the press thanks to his small stature, but the sheer volume of people in the lobby overwhelmed him beyond belief. Instead of sticking around, he headed for one of the other domes.

Immediately upon entering the Recreation Dome, Mickey’s nose began to twitch. The smell of food—all types of food—wafted toward him from all directions, and he knew immediately he would much rather be here than back in the lobby amidst the calamity. Different scents danced in and out of focus, and Mickey came to a haunting realization.

He had not eaten since that morning.

But what, the mouse thought, should he use to fill the gaping hole in his belly? His little black eyes roamed around the row of restaurants laid out before him. He had no frame of reference for most of them, so his decision came down to which sign had the prettiest writing on it.

“Olive Garden,” the mouse said aloud, examining the sign’s swirly green lettering. He shrugged—it sounded good enough, even if he couldn’t be sure what “Italian food” was.

Inside, a young lady in a tie greeted Mickey, escorting him to his table and assuring him that his server would be right with him. While he waited, he examined the fancy-looking menu. He recognized some of the dishes, like spaghetti—a particular favorite of dog-kind back in the Disney realms—but some of the others stumped him. He did not even know how to pronounce “fettucine alfredo,” let alone what it was. ¬¬

A couple of minutes passed and soon, another young lady in a tie strode up next to his table, carrying a bottle of wine. “Hello, sir!” she smiled cheerily, breaking him away from the menu, “My name’s Elena. I’ll be your server today. Can I interest you in a wine sample?”

Mickey’s eyes landed on the upside-down glass goblet on the table. “Oh, so that’s what that’s for,” he mused, “Gross. No thank you, I’ll just have a glass of water.” He had an aversion to alcohol.

“Oh,” the waitress nodded, on top of her game no matter what, “That’s fine! What else can I get for you today?”

Mickey slid the menu toward her, and pointed to one of the items. “Does this say unlimited soup and salad, or am I just reading it totally wrong?”

“It does say that! You also get unlimited breadsticks!”

No WAY.

Mickey’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks? What the heckskies was this place, heaven? He immediately ordered all of the above, and Elena hurried off to put it in as quickly as possible; certainly she could see the mouse’s mouth watering at the very idea. Within about ten or fifteen minutes, she had returned, carrying with her a cute little basket of breadsticks, a big clear bowl of salad with fancy-looking tongs, and a bowl of red, tomatoey-looking soup.

“Would you like cheese on that?” she asked, holding up a tiny little white cheese grater. Mickey didn’t really know why anyone would want parmesan cheese on a salad, but being a mouse he naturally loved cheese, so he had her sprinkle some on the soup and then dove right in.

For a little while, he existed like this—tearing through lettuce and croutons, sucking up the soup, and ripping through breadstick after breadstick. And they just kept coming. He would drain a bowl of soup or salad or a basket of breadsticks, and bam! A new one was on the table. By the time he finally finished, he swore he had eaten more than he had ever eaten in his entire life.

“Wooooooow,” he sighed, leaning back in the booth and placing a hand on his engorged stomach. This is the best day of my life.

After he looked decidedly finished, Elena reappeared. “Are you all done, sir?” she asked cheerily, “Can I take these plates for you?”

“Yep, ya sure can,” he nodded, sitting up as best he could, “Now what do I owe ya?”

Elena giggled. “Oh, nothing, sir,” she smiled, reaching into the pocket of her apron and pulling out a couple of little mints, wrapped in a nice silver package. “This meal—and any other you consume while you’re here—are compliments of the producers of Dante’s Abyss. But I do have some mints for you to take with you!” She sat the mints on the table and then waved over a couple of bus boys. Mickey watched as the crew of tie-wearing Olive Garden employees took away his unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. He had half a mind to wave good-bye as it went.

He took one of the mints and popped it in his mouth, sliding out of the booth and heading toward the door. Well, he smiled, at least if I get picked for this gosh-awful competition, I’ll be well fed?

[Gilgamesh]

Gilgamesh stepped through the rip in the fabric of the Omniverse to appear to a place much similar to the nexus, but...more lively. The sheer amount of people here was disturbing, the people here were disturbing. A fat mongrel passed by with an “Icee” in his hand, his fat belly peeking out of his “Dante’s Abyss” novelty shirt, and his “#1 Cindy Fan” shirt. Gilgamesh couldn’t help but feel insulted at the slob, chili stains on his shirt, and blue ice staining his tongue. Acne covered his face and his glasses were taped together. The dog licked his chapped lips as he walked up to Gilgamesh, his pupils grew wide with excitement. His whiny voice pierced the King’s ears which solicited a deadly glare.

“Oh my god, It’s Gilgamesh! Oh my god! I can’t wait to see your ass get kicked by Cindy! I LOVE YOU CINDY! Ha cindy is my favorite! I can’t wait till she kicks-” The King grew tired of the boy’s speaking and a golden portal opened next to him and Gilgamesh took out a sword and brought it to his throat quickly.

“If you wish to keep your tongue, I would shut it. Now begone from my presence. You should be glad I do not kill you for merely LOOKING at me! The man-child ran from his presence towards the other direction. Spilling his drink and screaming like a little runt. Gilgamesh scoffed as he looked at the giant board at the top. Mhm...there were fifteen other contestants...interesting. These were the runts he would have to face against. Oh? Straizo was joining. The cockroach would be crushed beneath his boot.

The King saw the two other primes come out of the portal, looking for the King before joining up and jogging up to him. “I hope I wasn’t extremely rude when I had entered the portal. I was just...anticipating something more in here. It’s disgustingly filthy in here, be careful.” The King made a contorted grimace as he walked forward to one dome. A lady was there smiling, next to a large box that looked like a metal detector machine.

Her cheery smile popped on her face as she saw the three primes. “Hello there! Welcome to the Recreation Dome! I hope you enjoy your stay!” Gilgamesh answered her with a glance and walked through the “door” followed by the other two primes. Their three faces popped up onto a screen next to her with their numbers on it. Her annoying voice popped back into his ears. “Oh we got contestants! I really hope you enjoy your stay.” She began to giggle and cover her mouth as if she had released some big secret.

“Mongrels.” The King muttered, Seraph leaned his ear in to hear his great King but Gilgamesh waved him away. The three walked up a staircase into a giant building that had the word “Games Galore” on top of it. Some cheesy gimmick to appease the masses. As Gilgamesh entered Seraph “ooh”ed excitedly as he ran towards a table that had a bunch of balls on it.

“I’m the best at this game. Come play with me!” Seraph’s smile creeped out Gilgamesh but he feigned a quick smile before his face returned to it’s normal state. Gilgamesh opened up a portal and a golden cue stick came out and a playful smile came onto his face.

“Let’s play.”

[Dr. McNinja]

Dr. McNinja blinked quietly to himself and shook his head. He slowly made his way up the stairs and read the signs.

"Recreation Dome," McNinja mumbled, "Hm."

McNinja entered the doorway and popped out into the Dome. To be honest, he was quite nervous. He had just entered the Omniverse and, frankly, he was not feeling himself. His legs felt weaker, and the lack of his circle of friends and family left him feeling quite vulnerable. He almost missed fighting King Radical.

He saw a pool table and three people gathered around it. He saw a boy dressed all in black with pink-ish hair, a creepy-looking man in a mask, and a snobby-looking man in fine, expensive clothes. McNinja shrugged and made his way too the table.

"Hi! I'm Dr. McNinja. Mind if I join you?"

[Mickey Mouse]

After his excursion to the Olive Garden, the mouse set out to continue exploring the Recreation Dome. It astounded him just how much the Dante’s Abyss producers managed to pack in to such a small space. This place had everything: restaurants, game rooms, bars, more restaurants… say what he may about this competition’s rather morbid conceit, the people in charge sure knew how to keep the contestants happy.

He could not bear to walk around and do too much, though. His stomach had been overly-filled by the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks at the Olive Garden. He started to feel sluggish, so he decided to try and find something more stationary to keep himself occupied for the next indeterminate amount of time.

Eventually, after wandering around for a while, he reached the tippy-top floor of the Dome. This floor housed a state-of-the-art movie theater; at least, it advertised itself as “state of the art” on all the signs. To be honest, Mickey didn’t really know what a 3D movie (and especially not an IMAX movie) was, so he could not really judge whether or not this stuff was actually cool and futuristic. However, seeing a movie seemed to be exactly what the doctor ordered as he started to feel more and more lethargic, and so without really thinking about it, he walked into the first theater he saw, not taking the time to see what film was playing. He liked surprises.

Wow, the mouse mused as he entered, looking around. It had been a while since he had been in a movie theatre, but this certainly wasn’t what he remembered. Instead of normal seats, there were recliners, and in front of each row was a long, grey table, the purpose of which he could not discern. Did these people encourage you to put your feet up during the film? How avant-garde of them!

He took a seat in one of the recliners, and post-haste another little waitress came hurrying up to him, asking for his order. He waved her off; he was much too full to eat anything else, no matter how cool the prospect of having a meal during his movie was.

“Well, can I at least interest you in a glass of wine?”

Mickey’s face contorted in disgust again, and he looked at the lady. “Do I really look like someone who wants a glass of wine?”

The waitress shrugged. “I don’t know, but lots of potential competitors like to have at least one the night before the competition. You know, relaxes their nerves and everything. But if you don’t want to…”

“Wait,” Mickey huffed, “…everybody’s doing it? Is it that helpful?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say everybody,” the girl explained, “But certainly one drink could only help you, not hurt you, right?” She smiled a big, hopeful smile. Mickey sighed—she was a good salesperson.

“Fine,” he shook his head, “I’ll have one, okay?” The girl nodded and skipped off to go get him a glass of the theater’s best wine. Within a few minutes, she had returned, and sat the reddish liquid in front of him. The mouse felt increasingly nervous about this; he had never touched a drop of alcohol before. The girl seemed all too eager to share this moment with him, too, because as he observed the concoction she had just sat before him, she stood behind him, watching his every move. Deciding that it would be best to just get it over with, the mouse clumsily picked up the goblet and took a large sip.

Mmmmmm.

It tasted… good. Mickey snapped back, surprised at how much he actually liked the stuff. He turned around and nodded to the waitress, and she happily hurried away. He took another sip—still just as good—and resigned himself to the fact that, just this once, he would partake in a glass of wine, and nobody at home would have to know about it. With that in mind, he eased back in his chair and let the night take hold as the film began to play.

The film being played was in black-and-white, and seemed to be a silent film, too. The film was about a little mouse—not unlike himself, though much, much younger—who wanted to build an airplane. He giggled a little bit, fondly remembering the time he himself had tried to build an airplane; that had been his first date with Minnie. As the film continued, though, a young girl joined the little mouse in his first flight… just like Minnie had… and then, all of a sudden, the realization dawned on the King: this was he and Minnie’s first date! The little mouse was himself, and the girl was—

“Minnie!” he yelled, and the theater collectively shushed him. He slid down in his seat, not exactly sure what was going on, and took another sip of wine.

The sign outside the theatre read “Plane Crazy.”

* * *

A whole movie and three glasses of wine later, and Mickey was in disrepair.

“N-no, t-that’s my wife!” he yelled as the young waitress from before helped him out of the theater. He stumbled out the front doors, trying his best to keep his composure, but he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.

Behind him, the manager of the movie theater whispered to the girl, “why the hell did you give that thing alcohol? He’s two feet tall!”

“Two feet, three inches!” the mouse hiccuped.

“I don’t know, you told us to sell it,” she protested, but the manager continued to scold her about how she should have known the mouse would not be able to hold his liquor. “I—I’m sorry!” she kept saying over and over again, and eventually the tipsy mouse got tired of eavesdropping and started to head out of the theatre, though he had a mighty difficult time of it.

When he got to the stairs, he lost all hope. He tried to take a few steps down, but eventually the idea of getting all the way down the stairs in one fell swoop seemed like a pipe dream, and he decided to take a seat for a minute. Plopping down on a step about halfway down, the mouse leaned against the wall, finally letting loose with the tears. That had been Minnie in that movie. That had been his wife—oh, golly, he missed her so goshdarn much it hurt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his photograph of her, planting a gentle kiss on it and then just staring at it for a second as he sobbed.

“I’m c-comin’ home,” he promised through the tears.

All of a sudden, he didn’t know if he believed himself.

[Jak Mar]

Jak blinked as the portal closed and a orange figure hopped out beside him "DAX!"

Glad you could make it...

Daxter smirked and placed a hand on Jak and nodded "You wouldn't last a second without me, Jak.. you know that..."

Jak smirked back and nodded "Let's go check this place out pal..."

Daxter nodded, staring at the recreation building. But where should we go, Jak... so many... reporters...

Just as Jak was about to start walking, a reporter stuck a microphone in Jak's face "So, Jak is it? The famous Mar... What do you think about Dante's Abyss?"

Jak groaned and turned to the reporter and frowned "I'll do it, it's another challenge in my way... "

Daxter said "HEY, What about ME? I'm the real hero here!"

Jak still wasn't sure about this, but he'd do what he could..." This is Dax, my buddy... Daxter say hi to the cameras... "

Daxter flexed in front of the camera and said "This is for all the ladies out there" and smirked.

The reporter said "So this is Jak and Daxter everyone!" "The demolition duo..."

Jak sighed and made sure there was no fans lining up that he'd have to bump into. As the reporter flashed the camera out of Jak and Daxter's face, a few scattered fans ran up..

"HEY! It's the demolution duo!
Jak, can i have your autograph!!!

Jak signed their autographs and turned away walking toward the recreation building after wasting about a hour of their time talking on the television.

Once they were in the building, Daxter's mouth dropped. They really knew how to make the contestents happy. "Hey Jak, i'm up for some yakow steak and much more, want to join me before the fight? Jak smiled "Do they serve that here?" Daxter nodded "They serve everything...!"

Jak and Daxter ran toward a restaurant that had precursor on it and it said in english "The Best of Haven's eats"

[Neal]

Sometimes, Neal enjoyed being anonymous. As he passed through the Lobby on his way to the Recreation Dome, he observed a few more people swarmed by the buzzing paparazzi.

"What's your name?"

"Neal."

"Who?" That was the extent of his original greeting. His second time hough the Lobby earned him evenot less attention. Why? Neal assumed he was just invisible compared to some of the other faces that dominated the attentions of the camera toting dunderheads.

His trip to the park had been very entertaining, what with that strange woman poof in him from place to place. Neal'a hand resta over his chest, where a red stain remains as a testimony of their fun. [7]Bitch crushed my cherries , [/i] he mock pouts. In truth, the chase was fun enough that Neal did not mind losing his bounty.

Entering the Rec, his nose was assaulted with some of the most savory smells he could imagine. Maybe it was just his stomach, which was still rather empty, but his plans immediately changed to include lunch. But... where would he go?

Su beat caught his eye first. There had been a great many of them in his universe. Olive garden too, but he never favored them. There were a great many restraints he did not recognize, which he guessed were from around the world, or a completely unique universe. And then, there were those in between.

"MR. SMOOTHIES! Neal waa understandably extatic. Like a fish on a hook, Neal was reeled in by the sign. Lucky him, the line was pretty short. "Ehem... one Grasshopper smoothie, por favor.

The puberty-stricken adolescent did not even blink. The next moment he was handing Neal a paper cup filled with a thick, green, frozen beverage. Immediately, Neal brought the drink to his lips for a quick taste. There was an instant kick in the teeth. "Sour apple and wheat grass?" Maybe a bit of lime too?

"SHHHHH! You're gonna give away the secret recipe!" The teen scolded before shooing Neal away. At first, he opened his mouth, about to mention payment... but the cashier said nothing about it as he moved on to the next customer. Sweet, free stuff!

Turning about on the balls of his feet, he redirected himself into the general flow of people. Mmm, this is actually pretty g--Splursh! Shock and horror overwhelmed Neal.

One moment he had been sipping on his Mr. Smoothy's Grasshopper Smoothie, the next... his chest was cold and his shirt of red and green stains looked like a Christmass Tiedye.

His eyes instantly lock onto the perpetrator. ...What am I looking at?" A mix of frustration, anger and utter confusion filled him. The source? A sudden wave of nestalgia. Why? Because this strange, long eared blond boy and pet looked so familiar. "Jak and Dexter?" Because Daxter is so much harder to remember...

[Jak Mar]

Daxter looked forward at the restaurant when Jak grabbed him and Daxter struggled and crossed his arms "Hey! WHAT's the big Idea, Jak?" Jak blinked and raised an eyebrow at the man staring at him "May.... I help you?"

Daxter was the first to greet the stranger staring at him and stared up in the man's face "Ok, Who the heck are you and why are you staring at us?!"

Daxter stared at the mess below the guy's feet "Yuck... what did you drop? Aw man my feet... So.. are you a fan of us? "

Jak looked up and walked closer to the human male "So you're a fan I'm assuming, right?" Jak's weapons were hidden on his back along with a few other goodies as he looked at Neal.

Daxter dipped his finger in the goo and tasted it "YUM! this goo actually tastes pretty good..." "Wha..t is it?"

Jak didn't hesitate to make the first gesture to Neal "This place is huge, isn't it? Lots of things to explore and do... a lot of new things we didn't see in our world"

Daxter nodded "Sorry about Jak, he's making small talk..."

[Neal]

A fan? Neal's brow cocked at the question. I played the game once or twice, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan... "I'm a competitor. I do know you though, sort of." His eyes switched between the elf-like creature and his rodent pet. He was never able to figure out what they ACTUALLY were.

"Jak. Dexter." Neal pointed at each, as if clarifying their identities. "I used to play your videogames when I was younger." Neal knew very well that Jak and Daxter might be ignorant of his meaning.

Neal switched topics, he was still mulling through the multidimensional aspects of the Omniverse and its selection pool... "I'm Neal, and... that was my Grasshopper Smoothie," he points between his cup and the green puddle, "a drink from a cartoon I used to watch." Considering the cup was mangled beyond saving, the young man tossed it over his shoulder. It curved mid-flight to land soundly in a trashcan. "I'm guessing you're a competitor in the Abyss too. You entering together, or independantly?"

[Jak Mar]

Daxter just looked confused and looked at Jak and just did a weird hand movement. "So you... played us once... I'm so confused... Our world is real... I mean..

Jak nodded adding onto Daxter's worlds "Yeah... we've been there..."

Daxter stared at Jak and said quietly "This guy knows our names already.... creepy... " Daxter also said "Smoothie.... I've..never had one before... That's on our bucket list, isn't it Jak?

Jak crossed his arms, just a bit cautious the guy knows a lot about him and Daxter but he held out his hand... "Neal, huh? You already...know my name but yeah... I'm a competitor in the Abyss... I tried to enter Dax, but they denied him from entering."

Daxter growled "It's so unfair..."

Daxter frowned and crossed his arms and sighed slumping his shoulder "Jak... I can't watch you fight on your own.... It's just not right..."

[Dr. McNinja]

Dr. McNinja stretched his arms and sat down at one of the infinitely huge restaurants there. He looked up. It was an Olive Garden. Dr. McNinja rolled his eyes. Ever since the glorious pizza at the old church, he couldn't stand the taste of normal Italian food anymore.

A waitress approached him and smiled. "Hello, Dr. McNinja. Would you like anything to drink?"

Dr. McNinja rolled his eyes. "What do you have?" he asked snarkily.

"Well, we have just about everything you can imagine, and more," the waitress grinned.

Dr. McNinja scoffed. "Okay, I want Mountain Dew."

"Sure thing-"

Dr. McNinja slammed the table and leaned his face towards the waitress'.

"The real stuff."

The waitress smiled amiably. "Wouldn't dream of anything else, sir. And have you decided what you would like to order?"

Dr. McNinja scowled. "And, I don't know, some golden cockatrice sausage pizza." He grinned at himself. There was no way that a local Olive Garden could conjure up the Ambrosia of Cumberland.

"Of course. I'll have the Friend Brothers on it right away. I'll be right back with your food, okay?"

The waitress then shashayed away. Dr. McNinja raised an eyebrow. This implied that not only did these Olive Garden waitresses know the existence of Radical Land cuisine, but actually served them. He smelled King Radical in this. What had Sir Sicknasty of Spades done this time...?

Dr. McNinja was glaring angrily when, in the back, he noticed Mickey Mouse sitting on the stairs to the theater. He frowned. Great, now Mickey f*cking Mouse was watching his own movies. He strode over to the cartoon mouse and looked at him. Wait, was Mickey drunk? Disney had never been a part of the doctor's childhood ninja training, but regardless, this was ruining Dr. McNinja's childhood.

Dr. McNinja knelt next to him. He checked Mickey's pulse. Still alive, just unconscious. Dr. McNinja pulled out a vial from his pocket-

There was nothing in his pocket.

Dr. McNinja searched his labcoat. It wasn't possible. It simply wasn't possible. All of his emergency medicine, his weapons, everything. Gone. What had that Omni character done to him?

Then he had a thought. What if... What if, what if... What if he had lost all of his powers? His abilities? Was that why the Apokalips Paratroopas were able to fight him? Was that why he was feeling so weak? And now he didn't have his anti-inebriation probiotics. And he couldn't feel his throwing stars either. This was going to be problematic.

But for now, he had a patient.

Dr. McNinja gently grabbed Mickey's shoulders and tried to shake him lightly.

"Hello? ..Mickey? You okay?"

[Neal]

It was interesting how shortsighted Daxter was. "Good thing too. You do know, there's only one winner. That means at the end, you'd have to try and slaughter your partner." Neal just thought he'd clarify that for the pair. "And I doubt either of you really want that."

Switching topics, as to keep the mood from getting too serious, Neal pointed towards the Mr. Smoothie concession stand he'd just left. "That place has - literally - every flavor known, sooo it's a top pick for your frozen slush-beverages." Not that he saw many other smoothie stands. "I need another. Join me, if you want." Neal's offer was accompanied by a nod of his head before he returns to the rather small, cup-shaped building. "One Grasshopper smoothie." He requested, then steps to the side so Jack and Daxter could order theirs."Ignore the fancier names... They're supposedly secret blends."

[Gilgamesh]

Crona had a faint smile appear on his face, while Seraph’s excitement was more apparent. The wooden mask eerily peered into his soul...Gilgamesh shuddered and removed the black container of the massive amount of balls. His phone rang in his pocket and he checked it casually, he turned around and sat on the table, his cue stick tilted over his back. He nudged the stick backwards and heard the satisfying “click” of the balls as he checked his phone.

“NO WAY! THREE IN THE FIRST SHOT! HE WASN’T EVEN LOOKING.” He heard Seraph’s voice exclaim as he slid open his Golden Phone, the wonderful apple screen displayed on the front. This one was more expensive! So it must work better! Damn Samsung cheapskates. Gilgamesh smirked as he saw he had received a message from his pet. She needed help defending the city, more and more monsters were getting attracted to it by the bustling noises of construction. Damnite, I guess I’ll have to send one of my men. Gilgamesh turned his head and looked at the boy, whom he had trusted, and then the older man...the one more...unsettling.

He walked over, with one hand rubbing his neck and a cheesy smile covering his face. He waved his hand to bring the man with the Kabuki Mask closer to him. He went next to his ear before speaking. “I have a top secret mission for you. Well Seraph my city is under attack and I need a secret operative to come in and save the day. Trust me you’ll be the town’s hero! Seraph’s eyes were wide with hope and inspiration. Confusion came to his face for a second.

“But King Gilgamesh...wasn’t I supposed to help you with the artefact recollection.” Hmmm was a potentially worthless artefact worth more than the welfare of his citizens. Gilgamesh had already decided. To be a good King...One had to be selfish. Gilgamesh cruelly smiled. “Why yes...you are right.

“Yes, my liege. Your wish is my command.” The warrior returned from his bow and the three noticed a man. Gilgamesh leaned over the table and put his elbows up, leaning upon one as if he was bored. An evil grin appeared on his face as he looked at the playing field in front of him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some winning to do.” The pawns were ready at his disposal, ready to serve.

[Chloe Price]

As I entered the Recreation Dome, I smelled food across the area. Pasta, bread, pizza...I then came to the realization that I hadn't eaten anything in the past WEEK. "Wow, I need to eat..." I said as I looked around the restaurants. I just walked into a restaurant at random, the sign saying "Little Caesar's Pizza". I sat down at a table and grabbed a menu. "Waitress..." I said. A waitress walked over. "Ready to order, sir?" the waitress asked. "Yeah. I'll take a small Pepperoni pizza and a Mountain Dew." I replied. "Alright. Anything else?" the waitress asked. "No." I replied. "Okay. Just a minute." the waitress said as she left. I didn't see any pricing on the menu...Let's hope I have enough. I thought. A minute later, the waitress returned, carrying a medium pizza and a Mountain Dew. "Here you go, sir!" the waitress said. She set my pizza and Mountain Dew there and left to take more orders. I started chowing down on the pizza, slurping the Mountain Dew. I ordered a second Mountain Dew before I was done with the pizza...

When I was done, the waitress approached again. "Okay, I'll take your plates..." the waitress said. "How much will this meal cost me?" I asked. "Oh, it's free for all Dante's Abyss members." the waitress said. Please tell me they will do this Dante's Abyss crap again... I thought to myself. "Alright..I'm off to check out what else is here." I said, getting up and leaving Little Caesar's. I sighted a pool table area, and proceeded to walk towards it...

[Chloe Price]

I walked around aimlessly, finding the Recreation Dome fascinating. I went up to the second floor. I noticed a few rooms; gaming, pool, all sorts of crap designed for having fun. I found the people here just as interesting as the games and food, probably due to me being new to the Omniverse. I looked around the areas; gaming had nothing exciting, air hockey was completely secluded, and...Hmm...The pool area looked populated and had some sort of interest for me...I walked over to it. I saw a man, blonde, wearing gold armor, accompanied by some random soldiers. "Mind if I join you?" I asked, grabbing a cue.

[Guu]

Continued from the Dojo.

Guu lead Doomguy by the hand into the recreational area. Once again, the sheer size of it astounded her. She could sense it all, restaurants, dinners, pool tables, dance halls, movie theaters. So much to do, but so little time to do it in!

Out of curiosity, she sensed to see whom else was in the area. She ignored all the employees she could and searched for the strange and unusual. A ninja in a doctor’s outfit, that’s a new one on her. Pointy-eared guy with weasel buddy. Guy in snazzy hat. Literally Mickey Mouse; she’ll have to look into him later. She continued the scan for any other primes that might be interesting, until she happened to recognize one.

‘Gilgamesh!’ she thought. ‘He’s here!’

He was a floor up so clearly he can’t of known she was here. She began to get nervous at the prospect of running into him again. Not out of fear of being attacked mind you, but it would be incredibly awkward considering the last time they saw each other face to face was when they were trying to kill each other. The thought of talking to someone whom you’ve made bleed… felt like an odd concept. Not in the mood for a reunion just yet, she double-timed it to the bar, straddling along a confused Doomguy.

She took him to the most obvious bar she could sense; obvious as in its stereotypical décor. The walls were plastered with paintings of lumberjacks being awesome. There was a stuffed moose head up towards the ceiling. The bar surface was a familiar polished wood. Even the bartender looked cliché, being the finely dressed man you’d have expect from a place like this.

The two got seated at the bar.

“What could I get ya two?” He said in a vaguely British accent, wiping down a glass.

“Just whatever beer’s the cheapest.” Requested doomguy.

The bartender cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Sir, all goods are free to contestants.”

“Oh… Hmmm… I’ll take that.” He points at a random beer on display.

“Virtsa Vesi? Alright, sir, fine choice!” He said pleasantly. Doomguy cringed at the fact that he got the foreign shit. The bartender turned to Guu. “And what will you have little lady?”

“I’ll have the wine.” She said, but she raised her hand up when he actually went to get it. “No no no, that was a joke I’m only ten. I’ll have some apple juice.”

He grabs a bottle with a very fancy “Vertsa Vesi” logo labeled on the front as well as apple juice stored in a wine bottle. He pulled out two mugs and filled them to the top, placing them in front of them. Guu raised her glass towards Doomguy.

“To good friendship.” She said. The two clink their glasses together and downed their liquids.

…They both spit, spraying their drinks all over the bar.

“I can’t drink this shit, it tastes like piss water!” Complained Doomguy, slamming his drink on the bar and pushing it forward. “Get me something American, no fancy shit!”

“There’s alcohol in this apple juice? What the hell? What part of ‘I’m ten-years-old’ did you not understand?” Guu yelled as loud as her monotone voice could carry. “Give me something with no alcohol!”

“But miss, everything we serve has alcohol…” He stated as he pulled a beer off the shelf with an American flag on it.

“Seriously? What about the water?” She asked.

He was frozen for a minute.

“The water too? The hell?” She asked. After shaking her head, she jumps off the stool and runs out of the bar. “Be right back!”


Guu and Doomguy clink together a large mug and a Mcdonald’s paper cup. Doomy chugged his drink and looked quite satisfied. Guu had to settle with sipping from a straw. Slamming his glass on the bar, he turned to the pink princess.

“How’s that kingdom of teenagers going?”

“Oh fine. Better than expected.”

“That’s good I guess.”

“Just sold our first crops. Got us enough money and supplies to last us for a while.” She said calmly. “We also got some new members to the town. Animals that walk on two legs and talk, bat cat things that raise giant chickens, and a group of Pokemon filmographers.”

There was a brief silence between the two.

“I guess it would make sense your kingdom would attract the weirdest of folk.” Doomy responded.

“Yeah…” She said, her voice trailing off. She was quiet for a little while before sighing. “It’s weird. I’ve gotten so used to being a princess. I just lose myself to it. Eventually I’m too busy caring for others that I stop being the trickster I used to be. I guess most would consider that a good thing… but eh…”

After another moment of silence, Doomguy spoke up.

“That’s growing up for ya, kid.”

“Haha, true. Though it’s probably a good thing I came here. Just a little break from myself for a bit. Trolled the hell out of that Ron Burgundy guy.”

“Red coat? Mustache?”

“That’s the one.”

“Nice.”

“Anyways, what have you been up to?”

“Did some mercenary work for the Empire. It didn’t last long. Jackasses the lot of ‘em.”

“Never seen the empire’s armies before. They don’t come around the Tangled all too often.”

“Consider yourself lucky kid. Also broke an innocent out of jail. Had a run in with the PLF…”

He felt a twinge of guilt as the memories came back. So many lives ended… Guu however looked at him with confuzzlement.

“The PLF? What’s that?”

“You don’t know of the Pokemon Liberation Front?”

“I know what Pokemon are…”

“It’s a terrorist group. Scum.”

“Woah… I’ll have to ask the Pokemon I rule over about them sometime I guess.”

“They’re never good news.”

Guu was about to ask some more follow-up questions but something on the very edges of her senses caught her attention. It was someone familiar who had walked into the lobby just then. Suddenly, she leapt from her seat.

“I apologize, but I must cut this short. There is someone I must see.”

“No problem. See ya later kid.”

She suddenly dashed off towards the location of the lobby at top speeds.

[Dr. McNinja]

Dr. McNinja was racking his brain on how to help Mickey. Then he felt someone watching him. It was a familiar tingle on the back of the neck. Dr. McNinja watched out of the corner of his eye.

It was a disturbing sight. There was a little girl standing in front of him, with a pink pumpkin haircut and a yellow dress. McNinja squinted. Her face was a look of utter disdain, and she seemed to be frowning, as if she was perpetually scowling. Her body implied an age of 9, but her face looked like it was suffering from a mid-life crisis.

This little girl was the one watching him. She seemed to note McNinja and the almost-definitely-Mickey-Mouse-person. He saw her eyebrows twitch a little, before she looked up the flight of stairs and sprinted away. McNinja nervously cleared his throat.

"Who..." Dr. McNinja thought, "No, what the hell is that?"

He stood up and watched the girl run away. She was fast approaching the bar, then sidled up to one of the seats. She seated herself next to-

"WAT"

Dr. McNinja blinked rapidly, then squinted. The main character of Doom was next to the creepy girl, yelling about beer or some such thing. He scoffed.

"Okay, this is ridiculous. I know I just saw a drunk Mickey Mouse, fought off Mario turtles that served a comic book villain, and had golden cockatrice pizza at an Olive Garden okay never mind 'Doomguy' at a bar is totally plausible. What the hell is this Omniverse place?"

He sidled up to a corner, taking cover behind it. He did his best to eavesdrop. However, his ninja listening skills were not as good as they were in Cumberland. He only caught glimpses of what they were saying.

“...don't know of the Pokemon Liberation Front?"

The what.

"I know what Pokemon are..." said the creepy girl.

"It's a terrorist group," said Doomguy, "Scum."

Dr. McNinja withdrew from the corner. Awesome. Now there's also a Pokemon terrorist cell. He always wondered why Pokemon always just took that horrible treatment from their Train-

Okay, no, focus. What did this mean about the Omniverse?

"Well, I guess, what the name implies... It has everything in it. Just like that Omni figure said... As long as it's interesting, it's in."

Suddenly, the creepy girl dashed past him. Dr. McNinja plastered himself against the wall in panic. He wasn't even sure why he was so afraid of her - he just was.

"I'm gonna have to go up against her later," McNinja grumbled, "What have I gotten myself into?"

[Gilgamesh]

The three men turned their heads towards the young prime in a wacky, flashy suit come up to the table. Crona hid behind Gilgamesh and held onto his shirt, almost as if he were a child holding onto a mother's skirt. Gilgamesh got up from his leaning position and onto his feet, sizing up the prime before him. He was interesting none the less.

"Mind if I join you?" A smile was planted on his face as he outstretched his hand to Gilgamesh, the obvious leader of the group. Gilgamesh peered at the man and thought for a second. He swallowed his pride as he stretched out his hand to shake the mongrel's hand. It felt clammy and disgusting and ugh…the things he had to suffer in order to get more people to like him. A cheesy smile came onto his face as he shook the man's hand. "My name is Barry Allen, and you are?" Gilgamesh subtly put his hands behind his back and wiped his hand on his suit.

"Oh? You do not know who I am?" The King frowned as he stood proudly. "I am Gilgamesh! The King of Heroes, the ruler of all things. The one true original King!" Gilgamesh looked up as if he were thinking of something magnificent. "Oh and these are my companions, Seraph and Crona." The two soldiers waved at the man in the suit and he smiled and waved back.

"Oh and yes you may join us." Gilgamesh walked over and picked up his golden cue stick and seemed to inspect it for scratches."However, if you stand against me it's pointless. There is no chance of winning against me, in here and the Abyss."

[Jak Mar]

Jak looked at the many smoothies and looked confused at how many different choices this "smoothie" had to pick with, Daxter just stared "Jak... how do...we choose?"


Daxter looked up and said to the employee "Yeah, I'd like a rum runner smoothie with energy in it."

Jak was still staring at the menu in confusion and said "I'll have a Super Strawberry smoothie"

The employee rushed back to make the tasty treats.

Jak blinked "Yeah... how much?"

The employee brought back the smoothies for Jak and Daxter and both held them weirdly, looking them up and down.

Daxter said "Hey Jak, ya think this smoothie stuff has "eco" in it?

Jak shrugged "Not sure, Dax."

[Chloe Price]

"Oh? You do not know who I am?" the man in the flashy armor frowned as he stood proudly. "I am Gilgamesh! The King of Heroes, the ruler of all things, the one true original King!" the so-called 'King of Heroes' looked up as if he were thinking of something amazing. "Oh, and these are my companions, Seraph and Crona." the two soldiers waved at me.

"Oh, and yes, you may join us." Gilgamesh walked over and picked up his golden cue stick, seemingly inspecting it for scratches. "However, if you stand against me, it's pointless. There is no chance of winning against me, in here and the Abyss." I grabbed my cue stick, aiming at the white ball, getting ready to shoot...I struck it at super speed, red and yellow lightning appearing around my hand as I did it. The ball bounced across the table, knocking 5 different, colorful balls into the holes before the white ball, too, fell.