| You’ve been picked by the lighting Goddess Akira to fight for Team Terra in the Deadly Tournament! As the gravity of the situation starts to hit you, you can’t quite believe you willingly agreed to this. |
|
Akira
|
The other Gods appear to have tripled their efforts. I didn’t see half as many formidable teams 69 years ago! |
| She shouldn’t be telling you that! ‘Oh, the bad guys have never looked better’! How was that good for morale? This was Coaching 101 stuff! |
|
Akira
|
You will only fight your best if you know what to realistically expect. If you expect things to be hard, you will be prepared to fight hard! Each bout of the Deadly Tournament will be randomly chosen and you should treat each as if it will be your biggest challenge. |
| You’re grumbling to yourself when, from across the stadium, you lock eyes with Frost. She stands with her opposing team, one of the dozens striving to invade your world if you can’t win, and her expression is doleful. |
| A woman you’ve not seen before stalks across the field of play toward Frost. She obviously has something to tell Frost specifically, and the two obviously know each other. The strange woman speaks first, but you’re too far off to hear... |
|
Viper
|
Elsi—yes, I haven’t forgotten the name given to you by your parents any more than you’ve forgotten mine. How many long, COLD years have passed since you’ve heard a voice other than your own speak that name aloud? |
|
Frost
|
Ha-Hanzani??! |
|
Viper
|
You look as if you’ve seen a ghost! And, in a way, I suppose you have. I WAS dead when we were last together—but only because you had just killed me. Now that I have risen from that death and am a combatant in this tournament, I have my chance to return the favour! |
|
Akira
|
Something FISHY is happening! |
| Wow, what awesome wisdom you could’ve only gotten from a Goddess! So eloquently put, too. ‘Something’s fishy’—yeah, thanks Akira! |
|
Akira
|
An impromptu standup comedy act from you won’t help us understand our situation any better! Why are you being matched against Bryce when she’s another member of Team Terra?! |
| HOW should you know? Didn’t Akira tell you matches were randomly chosen? |
|
Akira
|
Yes, but fighting one of your own over the course of the tournament isn’t what’s disturbing me—that’s bound to happen, as the number of contenders narrows down. However, hardly any other fighters have been killed or disqualified yet! |
| Is Akira saying the competition could be rigged? By who? Why? |
|
Akira
|
It could be ANYONE at the helm of such a plot; Terra isn’t short on enemies! It’s possible that one of the other Gods leading one of the other teams believed that the only way they could win was by CHEATING. |
|
Akira
|
The sooner our team cannibalizes itself, the sooner Terrans for Terra are eliminated. Then, only those outside realms that want to overtake Terra will be left to duke it out amongst themselves. |
| Not to mention, if they get Team Terra to wipe itself out, there’ll be fewer casualties for any opposing squad! You have an opportunity to speak to Bryce before your match is meant to begin. Has she gleaned any more information than you and Akira have? |
|
Bryce
|
I’m sorry, I haven’t! What do you think we’ll be forced to do to one another? Why doesn’t this thing have a referee?? |
| You make the same arrangement with Bryce that you previously did with Frost; during your rumble, you’ll both avoid kill-shots. You’d have to hurt one another to end the round and have a winner declared, but you could focus on minimizing the damage to the best of your ability! |
|
Bryce
|
It’s made a difference to talk to you before squaring off. This will very much suck to do but we can’t get distracted from the goal of preserving Terra for mankind! Good luck, my lord! |
|
Daphne
|
Poor Bryce! You really kicked the shit out of her! |
| You grit your teeth, stifling a wave of anger. You did everything you could to hurt Bryce the least amount possible; still, it didn’t exactly feel good when you won. |
| Daphne is goading you, seeing as how she’s your next opponent in line. You shut your eyes for a moment, focus on your breathing and remind yourself that Bryce will convalesce. |
|
Daphne
|
I don’t know why you’re so broken up about it! She didn’t deserve to be on your team in the first place. It wasn’t like she was going to make all that much of an impression if you HADN’T kicked her ass! |
| You crack just a bit—just enough to tell Daphne she’s really at PEAK cuntiness right now! |
|
Daphne
|
Don’t be insulted—I’m still sweet on you! I didn’t intend to link up with the bad guys, but an abyssal nature is hard to deny! The arrival of all these Dark Gods to the island triggered a flare-up of my own dark side. Deviousness is just kinda hardwired into girls like me! |
| You inform Daphne that you’ll only attack her in non-lethal ways—no matter how badly you’re currently enticed to do otherwise! You’ll show leniency to anyone who you believe to have even a speck of legitimate goodness within them! |
|
Daphne
|
I guess that’s why you’re the hero! I wish I could promise to treat you with kid gloves but that’d be a lie. There’s no telling what I’ll do once I get a taste of blood! |
|
Daphne
|
A shame, since you’re so much more fun to me alive. Fucking you just won’t be the same if you’re part of my army of the dead! |
| In order to keep a leash on your resentment, you magnify the detail of Daphne choosing to not lie to you. You cling to this good speck in her! |
|
Daphne
|
Come give me one of your love taps, lover! |
|
Frost
|
That necromancer fought like a trapped rat! On the one hand, I’m very glad she didn’t hurt you worse—or kill you. But on the other hand, if you’d lost I wouldn’t be about to engage in a melee with you! |
|
Frost
|
Why do you have to be so successful at this tournament?? |
| You could ask Frost the same question! You joke that she would’ve let herself get killed already if she REALLY cared about you! This causes Frost to laugh weakly. |
|
Frost
|
You got me there! Gods, what a sorry state of affairs... this is such a nasty shock and I’ve hardly recovered from the LAST one! |
| Was she alluding to that woman who had walked over to her? You don’t press her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t elaborate—she just changes the subject. |
|
Frost
|
What of your team leader? Based on your performance so far, she must believe Terra’s chances are respectable. |
| That was a fair assessment but the notion that the tournament was potentially rigged against them had rattled Akira. She was also paranoid that the other Gods would grow inquisitive about your lack of kills up to this point. |
|
Frost
|
Is this your way of breaking it to me gently that you’re going back on your word and will try to kill me after all? |
| Before you can refute this, the same woman who’d approached Frost earlier approaches again. Her objective now seems to be addressing you. |
|
Viper
|
Terra-boy! You’re a strong fighter—a little too merciful at the end, in my opinion. I have a proposition for you concerning the match you’re about to have! |
| Frost’s eyes silently plead with you. You remain leery but instruct the woman to cough up whatever it is she wants to solicit. |
|
Viper
|
It’s simple. Let’s swap opponents! The reason? Also very simple—I’d like to kill this woman. |
| You tell the woman that you’ll have to decline. You’d be keeping the match you’d already been assigned. |
|
Viper
|
But does it really matter whether you face this random woman or someone else? Who cares who you face as long as you save Terra, right? I fully believe the lummox I’ve got waiting for me will be the easier victory for you! |
| You firmly state that your answer was final. The Frost-hating woman scowls and reluctantly leaves. A thoroughly shaken Frost stares after her retreating back. |
|
Frost
|
Thank you for that. I’m so relieved to have avoided... you’ve done me more of a favour than you know. Now then, let’s make a good show of knocking each other around! |
|
Viper
|
What a farce! This man on the Terra team must think the rest of us are saps! He barely touched his last opponent and this has been his style the entire day. |
|
Viper
|
He should be forced into a rematch—or better yet, another valid contender should be selected to give his last opponent a REAL FIGHT. Who’s with me?? |
|
Akira
|
That woman and the rest of them are catching on—you’re the only remaining champion yet to kill anyone properly! |
| There’s a surreal element to being scolded so much for NOT killing anyone! |
|
Akira
|
Never mind the potential do-overs, there’s talk of DISQUALIFYING our entire team from the event! |
| They can’t do that!!... Can they? |
|
Akira
|
These are primarily Gods you’re dealing with here—we can do anything we want! |
| If that was so, then couldn’t Akira just... do GOD STUFF right back at them? If the Dark Gods said they were disqualified, she could announce that they WEREN’T! |
|
Akira
|
It doesn’t work that way. Terra could be out of the running without even losing! What a disaster!! |
| You had to wonder—could Gods have nervous breakdowns??? Why did you NEED to kill for your wins to be acceptable when consummately subduing an opponent confirmed the same results? |
|
Akira
|
Because it’s called the fucking DEADLY Tournament!!! |
|
Viper
|
If Team Terra won’t honour the old code of the Deadly Tournament, why should we? Why settle for a theoretical window of time in which I MIGHT get a chance to kill that man when I can DEFINITELY go up to him right now and kill him?? |
| The crowd, already drunk on aggression and gathered for Viper’s diatribe, cheers. |
|
Akira
|
This has all become much too dangerously unpredictable. I’m going to have to do something I never considered during any of the other years when I helped defend Terra! I’m entering the tournament myself. |
| WHAT the HELL was Akira thinking?? |
|
Akira
|
I must do more than my usual overseeing; Bryce is long gone and now you aren’t safe inside OR outside of a match. If a ploy to get Team Terra to pick itself to apart as quickly as possible is substantive, becoming a member of the team may allot us an extra life! |
| Akira could be their saving grace; she’d adequately converted you. But were there any downsides to this plan that you should be made aware of before you gave it your full support? |
|
Akira
|
Yes. One. |
| That’s no so bad! You’d been bracing yourself for many more possible complications. |
|
Akira
|
It’s kind of a major one, admittedly. |
| Well?? |
|
Akira
|
I’d have to concede my godhood—and give up my immortality! |
|
Akira
|
It WASN’T merely a conspiracy! Our match against one another was announced IMMEDIATELY following my entry into the tournament! |
| Sure, Akira was right—NOW what? One of them had to lose this round and they’d be right back at the same disadvantage! A WORSE one, actually. Because the team no longer had a leader and that ex-leader was also an ex-Goddess. |
|
Akira
|
I’m not bereft of ideas just yet. I shed my godhood not one hour ago—the others will still recognize me! I can still parley with them. |
| She was just going to... waltz up to the other godly team leaders?? For a little chat?? |
|
Akira
|
You’re purposefully making it sound a lot sillier than it is. Waltz? Really? I’ll go and bring up the rigging to them and denounce the battle we’re supposed to have! |
| But what if one of those Gods was the one RESPONSIBLE for the rigging? Akira had declared that to be highly probable! And just because she ‘denounced’ the battle, she really thought it wouldn’t happen? |
|
Akira
|
It certainly could be a God behind all this, maybe even several. If so, there would be several more Gods outraged by such tactics. Do you have so little faith in me and my ability to engage in a civil conversation with my peers? |
| But they WEREN’T her peers anymore! If she couldn’t just REVERSE things by announcing them to be reversed while she was a God, how did she think it would work now that she was a plain, mortal person? |
| If one of the Dark Gods opted to be "uncivil" with her, she could DIE now! |
|
Akira
|
I may not be a goddess anymore but I do still possess thousands of years of knowledge and the experience to back it up. You believed in me enough to join Team Terra and you should believe in me now! I have to try SOMETHING. |
|
Akira
|
If we must go through with our match, one of us MUST die. You’re being watched with great suspicion now and you risk everything if you "go easy" on me. |
| You refuse to ever kill Akira! |
|
Akira
|
Are you the most stupid man alive???? |
| Quite possibly. But your conscience would never allow you to kill Akira; it would be wrong. |
|
Akira
|
What’s WRONG is letting your planet become infected by odious outside forces! One life is not worth the whole world! It’s— |
| Akira is abruptly cut off by a booming, disembodied voice that announces their match will begin after a countdown that will start counting backward from 10. |
|
Akira
|
Your wish is granted—no time to try to talk with the Gods! If we don’t start fighting by the end of the countdown, we BOTH have to forfeit. All I ask is that when you kill me, you make it fast!! |
|
Akira
|
You may have actually—ouch!—knocked a little bit of sense back into me... |
| Akira winces as she grabs hold of your outstretched hand. You hoist her back to her feet. |
|
Akira
|
By sparing my life you’ve ultimately done a very virtuous thing. You’ll spurn victory if victory means having to behave pitilessly and this truly does demonstrate the best characteristics mankind can offer. It’s why I invited you to represent Terra to begin with! |
|
Akira
|
I’d lost sight of all that had incentivized me; I’m indebted to you! |
| You joke that maybe she can buy you a drink or something if you manage to keep your head attached to your body and a Dark God doesn’t absorb the world by the end of the day. |
|
Viper
|
Vacate the arena already, Lady Demoted! My number was drawn so now I get my turn with Terra-boy. I didn’t even need to skip the line! |
|
Akira
|
Ugh! I know how laudable you feel it is to not kill but I’m struggling with the sudden impulse to yell at you to, “FINISH HER”!! |
| You can’t exactly blame Akira for having this impulse. As bone-weary as you feel, the realization that you’ll finally get to lay hands on this woman affords you a second wind. |
| Akira departs and you and your fifth opponent circle one another while you await the countdown for your round. |
|
Viper
|
There it is! Hate, I can see it in your eyes now. As benevolently as you’ve insisted on ending your matches, I knew from the way that you fought that there had to be violence in you somewhere. |
| You don’t HATE her, you don’t even know her! She’s pissed you off but it isn’t hatred. |
|
Viper
|
Is knowing that I’m going to do everything I can to murder you not enough to make you hate me? I wonder how much I can tell you about my life before we have to fly at each other? |
|
Viper
|
You’ve already cozied up to my nemesis—well, cozied up as much as anyone can to a freezing cold hag! Is your dick a popsicle yet?? |
| Why was she SO fixated on Frost?? She seemed to care more about killing Frost than about her team winning the tournament! |
|
Viper
|
Has Frost not dropped hints about our past at all? Never mentioned my name to you even once? |
| What even WAS her name?? |
|
Viper
|
I’m Viper! |
| You stop circling and can’t hide your mystification. |
|
Viper
|
So! I’m not a complete mystery to you, huh? That means you KNOW what Frost DID to me! |
| Frost had told you the story of how she killed Viper, but only after Viper had sent a barrage of ninjas after her. How was Viper standing here when Viper was DEAD? |
|
Viper
|
Death was a phase! I’m back but I’m far from over it. Mine was not the only life that frigid bitch stamped out that day; she took another much more important one and it cut me to the core. I am owed retribution—with interest! |
|
Viper
|
YOU ripped that away from me when you let Frost leave this stadium with a pulse! Now YOU will die in her place! |
|
Viper
|
KILL ME, YOU FUCKING PUSSY! |
|
Viper
|
You condemn me to a life sentence of abject humiliation by letting me linger. If it’s kindness that concerns you, giving me another death would be less cruel than leaving me with this shame!! |
| You won’t be pushed into giving her a finishing blow. Now, the sight and sound of her only depress you instead of angering you. She is more a howl of misery than a person. You drift away, leaving her to rant at emptiness as you wait til your next random match. |
| Viper, like a baby that tires itself out after being left to tantrum without attention for a long enough interval, finally falls silent. She sinks onto her front and rolls onto her back, staring up at the high ceiling. |
|
Evilforce
|
I WAS TOO AMBITIOUS WHEN IT CAME TO YOU, VIPER. I WAS MISTAKEN WHEN I BELIEVED YOU WORTHY OF MY BLESSINGS. |
|
Viper
|
W-what? Boss, is that you? How have I displeased you? Did I not fight with my whole soul? |
|
Evilforce
|
YOU DID—AND YOU STILL FAILED. I PUT GREAT EMPHASIS ON THIS TOURNAMENT AND YOU LOST WITHOUT EVEN BEING KILLED, AS A REAL WARRIOR WOULD HAVE! |
|
Viper
|
Boss, please! Are you still there?! |
| Elsewhere in the stadium, Akira was tentatively lowering herself on to a bench beside Frost. |
|
Akira
|
Oooh! It hurts to sit—I think my ass is actually bruised! |
|
Frost
|
Welcome to mortality! Things generally hurt. |
|
Akira
|
The lord could’ve hurt me a lot more than he did, I imagine it’s the same for you. I’m so WORRIED for him—and for Terra! Someone in this competition has been trying to trip us up and I wish I could zero in on who! |
|
Frost
|
Maybe I could be of service? I WAS fighting for the bad side, you know. I can show you where the Dark Gods’ camp is—it’s where they congregate between rounds! |
|
Akira
|
YELLOW CARD! |
| Akira and Frost hasten on to the playing field as you’re on the cusp of fighting your last opponent. |
|
Akira
|
Or... or RED CARD! I’m not totally clear on the indicators in Terran sports. BUT STOP! Ouf, I’m winded from running... mortal limitations are indeed humbling! |
| Who interrupts a grande finale?? Your final foe was to be none other than the consort of the last undefeated Dark God; she was a succubus queen and the God went by something dorky like ‘Evilforce’. |
|
Frost
|
This pertains to Evilforce!! I snuck Akira into the Dark God encampment with me— |
| What? |
|
Frost
|
—to sniff out information on who the Deadly Tournament cheater was— |
| What??! |
|
Akira
|
And we found purchase!! Evilforce has been engineering Its’ victory for YEARS! |
|
Frost
|
And this skewing of the odds required ME! |
|
Akira
|
And that Viper woman—she, Frost and their animosity were essential to the ruse! |
|
Frost
|
You can’t face Evilforce’s consort because Evilforce shouldn’t even BE here. Its team hasn’t made it this far into the tournament on their merits alone. Because of this, no matter which of you won, it would be a bogus victory! |
| How did Frost and Viper’s conflict aid Evilforce’s with Its’ cheating? |
|
Frost
|
It USED us! The very worst of our conflict exists solely BECAUSE of Evilforce. |
|
Akira
|
And as badly as this puppeteering affected Frost’s trajectory, the influence on Viper... well, it cannot be overstated! |
|
Frost
|
Akira’s right, I never in a million years thought I would ever think this way, but... poor Viper! |
|
Akira
|
We have to track Viper down before the countdown for this last match and tell her the TRUTH! |
| You find Viper where you left her; she hasn’t gotten up from the ground but the blood from the cuts on her face has congealed. |
|
Viper
|
Have you returned to give me my second death?? Or am I being too optimistic? |
|
Frost
|
Viper, we must— |
|
Viper
|
SHUT YOUR MOUTH, I WASN’T TALKING TO YOU! |
|
Akira
|
I probably seem like the most impartial of the three of us to you, can I have permission to speak? |
|
Viper
|
Go ahead, Lady Relegated. Whatever. |
|
Akira
|
Viper, you have been inexcusably manipulated. And so was your son— |
|
Viper
|
What makes you think you know anything about my son?! |
|
Akira
|
That message he told you he heard... that wasn’t a guardian spirit trying to warn him about Frost’s unchecked powers. It was trying to instigate an attack on Frost. It was banking on your son dying and Frost retaliating! |
|
Viper
|
Bullshit! If it wasn’t a heavenly messenger, who was It? My son didn’t imagine It, how would It benefit from his death? |
|
Akira
|
By winning the Deadly Tournament. Which Its’ very close to doing! |
|
Viper
|
... That doesn’t make any sense. The only teams left in the tournament are yours and mine, led by my mentor Evilforce. |
|
Frost
|
It was Evilforce all along, Viper! I know you don’t want to listen to me, but please do! IT SET US UP. It resurrected you when I was recruited to fight here by another Dark God It never liked! |
|
Frost
|
Your hate and rage was so strong that you were Its’ ultimate weapon. It was counting on you to plough through every other team, but especially mine. Evilforce hated my team leader and you hated me! |
|
Evilforce
|
ALAS, I’VE BEEN FOUND OUT THROUGH THE CLEVER DETECTIVE WORK OF AN ICE MAIDEN AND A FORMER COLLEAGUE! |
|
Akira
|
Evilforce, you bastard! I always knew you weren’t a paragon but I never thought you’d be such an evil... force!! |
|
Viper
|
B-Boss... I was your most loyal soldier! I-I... anything I could’ve had, I sacrificed for you! All I have... is you! |
|
Evilforce
|
I INVESTED A LOT INTO YOU, VIPER, BUT THE PAYOUT HAS BEEN MEAGRE. YOU HAVE OUTLIVED YOUR USEFULNESS. |
|
Evilforce
|
IN SPITE OF THIS, TERRA MIGHT STILL BE MINE! NO MATTER HOW LOUDLY ANYONE MAY CRY FOUL, THE FINAL SHOWDOWN WILL TAKE PLACE! AKIRA’S MAN WILL FACE MY CONSORT AND WINNER-TAKE-ALL! |
|
Viper
|
If there are no more rules whatsoever, then ‘Akira’s Man’ won’t be facing your consort by himself—I’ll fight with him! I’m putting myself back in the game and I’m switching sides!! |
|
Frost
|
Ditto! |
|
Akira
|
And there’s plenty of space left on my ass for more bruises! |
|
Frost
|
It’s all over! It IS all over, right? |
|
Akira
|
It’s an observable fact—see the sun setting? The day is done, the Deadly Tournament is done and this world is functioning just as it was yesterday. It’s all over AND we won! |
| You stiffly sit down on the smooth surface of a big rock, gazing down at your singed and sloppily bandaged hands. In a moment of gratitude, you silently thank them for their hard work. Viper plunks down beside you. |
|
Viper
|
You must be one happy guy. |
| You certainly are, but you wonder where Viper plans to go after such a turn of events and her rejection of Evilforce. |
|
Viper
|
I have no clue what I’ll do next, apart from lick my wounds... I don’t KNOW anyone! |
| She knows you! |
|
Viper
|
You? What are you suggesting, that I swear allegiance to you and take a perma-vacation on your little island? |
| Why not? It’s what Akira and Frost wanted to do. |
|
Viper
|
Maybe Frost and I could even be NEIGHBOURS! It’s not awkward AT ALL that I spent the entirety of my undead life having misdirected homicidal feelings toward her! |
| In many ways, your island was an island of misfit toys—bodacious misfits, but misfits nonetheless. They came from all walks of life and squeaky clean records were rare. If she was ashamed, she didn’t have to stay that way! |
|
Viper
|
Well, you may have decided against being deadly in the Deadly Tournament but you make a killer travel agent. I’ll live on your island—let’s see how I assimilate! |
