Dolor: Stigma Vitae (Pain: Stigma of Life) - RP Thread

[Zup]

Deep in the endless abyss of space were the gods. A pantheon of the Universe’s masters, they were the creators of all, and as such, were those with the task of watching over their creation.

As the Universe continued to expand and grow over time impossible to count, there came the moment in which it was full to burst. This was the time the pantheon had to make a decision that would annihilate many of their creations.

They were forced to eliminate galaxies in order for new ones to eventually be born...

The pantheon deemed Ujanmunt, the God of Life, in charge of this destruction. In a creative move meant to entertain himself, he selected, at random, ten galaxies up for a possible destruction. Within each he found, through varying methods, competitors in a tournament he would use to decide the galaxies that must be destroyed.

The robot, Bird, was entered through the will of his creators, who were interested in Ujanmunt's tournament as a method of testing their robot's capabilities.

The man seeking redemption, Camas, was propositioned by Ujanmunt at a bar. He promised the man a way to restore his friend and find the redemption he was so eagerly looking for.

The snake queen, Mimi, was blackmailed by a disguised Ujanmunt, and was forced into joining by the wicked god.

The cursed girl, Clarissa, Ujanmunt first saw her the night of the full moon. Her power intrigued him and he just had to include her in his tournament.

The orc chieftain, Vulres, witnessed Ujanmunt eliminating his clan. In a rage, he chased after the god, who then transported him to the tournament.

The heartless bastard, Kors, drew Ujanmunts attention because of his special ability to know an enemy’s weaknesses. Even among his alchemically powered peers he was widely feared and avoided. Ujanmunt decided he would be a perfect competitor.

The ninja, Ryuka, was sent to assassinate a mysterious target, who had revealed himself to be Ujanmunt, thus trapping her in the tournament.

The fighters were gathered, and the tournament had begun...

[Zup]

As the games began, Bird was unleashed into a dense forest that smelled rather damp and felt a bit cold to his metal shell. Detecting....waterfall....4.3 miles....northeast, his computer’s monotone voice read to him. Bird nodded, and began to dash to the northeast, looking left and right to take in the sights of the lush, natural environment around him. He didn’t even like plants, yet he could appreciate the quiet beauty the arena presented.

The trek started without much incident, though his scanners detected mammals of varying sizes like birds and mice. He was unable to identify any other contestants, which he took as a good sign. A sign of no violence.

Not yet anyway.

The beaked robot soon arrived at a clearing and decided to relax for a bit - not that he needed it. His battery was at 99% - and only because he couldn’t be “awake” and have it at 100. No, this break was only to take in the environment and plan out his next moves. Strategy was important in a game in which one’s “life” was at stake.

Bird removed the lightsaber pike from his back and rested it on his knees as he sat on a tree stump to the side of the clearing. If he needed comforting, this would have sufficed - but he didn’t. His stress systems were still calm and undisturbed. He knew that would change as the games continued, but for now, all was well.

Bird swiftly shifted his gaze to his left, sensing a rather large mammal hidden in the bushes. “Computer...scan...” his metal beak clicked as he spoke, his head twitching in different directions like a typical bird. “Mammal...Identify...*click.”

Scanning... Bird’s eyes glowed a light blue, and a small dot in each one moved around in it, from an outsider’s perspective. From Bird’s, he was seeing his view zoom in to focus on the foreign mammal figure, which soon took the shape of a large ape. As the scan continued, the system identified it as a medium-sized gorilla.

“Detect....hostility.” His head twitched to the side again. This scan was much faster. Adolescent silverback gorilla...not a hostile...No threat detected...Most likely searching for parent. Bird chirped and nodded, then returned his head back to its default position.

“Computer...analyze...*chirp*...current situation.”

Small boxes with pictures and information appeared in Bird’s HUD, though outsiders wouldn’t really be able to see much of anything in his eyes. Little information was actually available, so it wasn’t much help. Nonetheless, the A.I. in his mind did as it was told.

Involved in survival tournament...gathering of fighters...possibilities of permanent shut down through defeat...Objective: gather research data...

“That...is...a bit...*click*...lacking,” Bird remarked. He looked around him, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. “Forest...no signs...*chirp*...of intelligent life...”

With nothing else to do in the immediate area, Bird got up from his seat and continued towards the waterfall as he originally intended. Once again, the trip was without incident, and his scanners picked up no signs of intelligent life anywhere near him.

Before Bird could arrive at the waterfall, his scanners detected a rather large mammal of a bigger size than either a gorilla or any bear Bird had in his databases. It was bipedal, and moved fairly slowly, much like a human did. “Detect...hostility.”

His computer ran the threat detection once more, taking a bit longer to analyze than before. All the while the figure moved in the general direction of Bird, as if unaware there was a robot in said route.

Target not matched in databases...running local Internet search for matches...Unable to connect to Internet...Unable to identify target...Target appears hostile...

Bird’s curiosity was piqued. The creature wasn’t installed into his databases, and for some reason, his computer couldn’t connect to the Internet to search for it. Plus, the target was a hostile one - and a brute in size by the looks of it.

“Target...must be...a contestant...*chirp*.”

Bird was not sure what to do in this situation, and opted for sitting back at a distance for the creature to emerge from the trees. He did not want to fight, but if the situation came to that...

He tightened his grip on his lightsaber pike, his thumb hovering over the activation switch.

[Rammerrush]

Camas Rikehart.png

"Welcome Contestants!” Suddenly Camas was surrounded by the rustle of leaves and the smell of damp grass. “Good luck!” The odd voice seemed to be laughing as it faded into the distance. Camas opened his eyes, expecting to see the ceiling of the Inn, but instead a wide open sky welcomed him with a breeze.

Camas sat up and looked around at the lush trees and foliage surrounding him, he was in a small clearing just big enough for him to lay down. He stood up and dusted the dirt off his back. Something wasn’t right though, it felt like he was missing something.

“Essie!?” Camas shouted, realizing what was missing.

“Camas!” The all too familiar voice came from above. He looked up and saw the gleaming form of the long broadsword. “Help, Camas, I’m stuck!”

“Hold up Essie, I’m coming,” Camas back a few steps from the tree keeping the Blade aloft. Essie was a Legacy, A weapon created by melding the essence of a human with the rare metal Orichalcum. They have unimaginable power unique to the essence, unfortunately neither Essie or Camas know how to use this power she possesses.

“Okay get ready to fall,” he lifted up his arm and spread his fingers. “Fire!” Immediately flames began to spark from his fingertips and collide into his palm, swirling around into a crimson ball of searing heat. Camas pushed his hand forward an inch and the ball of flames shot out to the branch searing it to ash, and releasing the blade.

“A little gentler next time, Camas,” the Legacy called out. “I am a lady.” Camas walked over to his friend at a leisurely pace, knowing that the slower he walked the more annoyed she would get. “Hurry up, I’m getting dirty!”

“Ladies don’t yell Essie,” he said as he reached the Legacy. He crouched down and stuck out his tongue. “Come on let’s go little Miss Unladylike.” Camas grabbed the weapon and sheathed it at his belt. Despite the size of the weapon, the material was incredibly light.

As he latched Essie firmly into her sheath she let out relaxed sigh. "See, this is more like it Cammy." Hearing Essie's pet name for him brought a smile to his face, moments like these remind him why he can't stop trying to find a way to bring her back, to make her human again. "Cammy, you okay? You're just kind of standing there smiling."

Camas snapped out of his daze. "I'm fine," he responded. "And don't call me that." It was his standard response to her nickname. Even though now he liked hearing it, because it reminded him of before she was turned, he hated it when they were children and she made it up.

"But, then what will I call you?" Camas could sense the over dramatic pouting in her words. "Camas is much too formal for old friends, and I'm certainly not calling you Mr. Rikehart!"

Camas ignored her and walked over to where he had woken up, nothing was there not even his bag. When he agreed to that man's proposition he thought he'd have more time to prepare, but instead he barely got a night.

"You think that man from the bar had something to do with this?" Essie asked, knowing what her friend would be thinking.

"You read my mind." Camas kicked the, now charred tree and watched it crumble away. "Well let's find some kind of shelter before nightfall." Camas walked through the space the tree once occupied as he left the clearing.

"I'm sorry," Essie said in a low, sad voice. "If it weren't for me you wouldn't be here."

Camas stopped in his tracks, between two trees with entwined branches. "Never apologize to me for that kind of stuff, It's my fault your...." shifting his gaze to his feet, Camas let out a deep sigh. "Look, the guy promised a way to make you human again, I'll do anything to make that happen." Camas lifted his head and started moving through the trees at a faster pace. "So if wandering through a forest is what it takes, then that's what I'll do."

"Oh Camas..." Essie sighed.

[Zup]

The mysterious figure managed to make its way into Bird’s line of sight, allowing the robot to get a look at the thing with his own eyes.

It was anatomically human, though much, much bulkier in all aspects. Its muscles were prominent and its skin was green in color, covered in thick scars. Pointed nails extended from the fingers of its massive hands and feet. It wore nothing save for a belted loincloth and broken chains, as if it had recently escaped from a prison.

Bird cocked his head to the side, extremely curious of this mysterious titan. Though he knew the encounter might lead to his permanent shut down, he was far too interested in learning more about the creature to stop himself from slowly walking up to it.

The green monster noticed the sounds of Bird’s feet moving towards him, and he turned to face the odd robot, though he did not tense or even show an expression of shock or confusion.

Bird stopped just a few steps away from the giant. “What...*click*.....a fascinating...*chirp*...specimen!” Bird replied, analyzing every inch of the beast. “What...*chirp* *chirp*....species might...*click*...you be?”

The giant monster raised an eyebrow. “Why do you speak in such a way? Hmm...Not important. I am an orc, bird thing! Chief of the Screaming Hellion Tribe! Destroyer of the Living!”

Though the orc’s intimidation methods were almost in full swing, Bird failed to register that in his mind. Instead, his brain’s computer was racing to add the giant to his databases. In a few seconds, the filing and tagging was done. It was time to analyze the identity of the orc.

“Do you...*chirp*...have a name, orc?” Bird asked, head cocked to his side.

The orc grunted. “Of course I have a name, bird thing! We orcs are no neanderthals. My name is Vulres. Vulres Hellscream!”

Bird’s mind kicked into gear again, filing the orc chief into the databases. He was the first entry in the new folder made specifically for those he ran into during this tournament. “I am Two-Nine-Eighteen-Four...*chirp*...Codename: Bird.” Bird extended his hand out to shake Vulres’s.

The orc smiled, extending his hand out as well. “Bird...” Suddenly the massive hand grabbed Bird by the forearm, squeezing in a vice-like grip. Bird’s defense mechanisms kicked up, but could not retaliate fast enough to prevent the attack.

Vulres easily lifted Bird into the air, hurling the robot straight into a thick tree not too far from their location. His roaring laugh echoed into the forest, easily heard by anyone nearby.

Bird still tried to talk some sense into the situation, though he prepared to call upon his pike combat triggers. “Shouldn’t we try...*click*...working together?...*chirp*...For survival?”

Vulres chuckled, cracking his knuckles while slowly advancing towards the robot. “Oh, you won’t have to worry about dying, bird thing. I was told we have two days of invincibility. I can smash you against as many trees as I want in that time. You’ll live through it all...”

“I...don’t think I like orcs...*click*...” Bird remarked. His eyes suddenly took on a red glow and his stance moved into that which a fighter would utilize. His pike was held diagonally in front of him, and his finger called upon the plasmablade end of the weapon. Now no words would come from the robot. His defense systems kicked in, and he prepared to fight until he or his opponent could do so no longer.

Health scan in progress...Vulres Hellscream...health levels...100%

Vulres charged forward, his footsteps creating little dips in the dirt beneath him. Bird took a small step back, then twirled the pike masterfully. The blunt end smacked against the orc’s jaw, the middle of his back, his left hip, and finally the right calf. But this was not enough to stop the titan from fighting. In fact, it didn’t even seem to faze him.

Vulres lowered his head and punched outward, but could not strike Bird, as the robot was extremely quick in melee state. Health scan in progress...Vulres Hellscream...health levels...99%

“It’s gonna take a lot more than that to defeat an orc!” roared Vulres. Bird sidestepped to avoid a double-handed smash that would’ve dented his head shelling. The brutish orc chuckled as the robot widened the gap between them.

Bird jumped backwards, out of Vulres’s reach, pike constantly twirling in his skillful hands. He stared right into the eyes of his opponent, completely different than he had been when they first encountered one another. He was in combat mode, and that mode of Bird was beyond communication.

Loading smart missile...Missile loaded...Direct target reticle... Bird manually aligned the reticle to the right eye of Vulres in seemingly a nanosecond. Target selected...Launching smart missile...In 3...2...1...

[Rammerrush]

Camas Rikehart.png

Camas had been wandering through the dense overgrowth of the forest for upwards of an hour when an immense laughter came rumbling from far ahead of him. “What do we do, Camas?”

Camas didn’t even have to think about it. “We run,” he grabbed Essie’s hilt and dashed back toward the way he came. “I’m not going to get into a fight I can so easily avoid.”

“But, Camas what if we just run into something worse?” Essie seemed afraid, this situation must be reminding her of the Institution. A strange place, faceless captors, and fear... Lots and lots of fear. Yep just like the so called Institution.

“I’ll strike down any fool that gets in our way, Essie,” Camas turned right at a large tree, and jumped over an old log. “We have nothing to worry about as long as we’re together.” Camas kept running, ignoring the sounds of battle he could faintly hear from behind him. Whatever was going on he was glad he wasn’t in it.

Still running, Camas turned his head to look behind him to see if anyone was chasing them. “Cammy, watch out!” Camas turned back, apparently while he wasn’t paying attention a tree thought it would be a good idea to move in front of him.

“Thanks for the warning,” Camas shifted his body to the left and slammed his right arm against the tree as he passed it, giving him a bit of a boost away from it. “But don’t call me Cammy!”

Essie giggled as Camas continued through the trees, and when a branch fell on his head her giggles became girlish squeals of laughter. Camas would’ve told her to shut up but all this running was making him breathless.

When he crashed through a curtain of vines into a shallow river Camas figured it might be a good time to take a break. “Running out of breath?” Essie asked with a chuckle.

“I repeat,” Camas replied between breaths. “Shut up.”

At this Essie laughed. “But you never said that.”

Camas breathed in deeply before he responded, trying to catch his breath. “Well I thought it!” He finally said at a near shout. Essie was about to reply when Camas heard rustling coming from beyond the river. He shushed the Legacy and turned to find the source of the sound.

He saw a white haired man standing on a tree branch looking down at him. “So, what do you know?” He yelled down at him.

Camas stood out of the water and moved toward the man. “What do you mean?” He yelled back, while moving a hand to Essie’s hilt. He didn’t want to fight, but he’d be ready for one.

“I mean,” the man jumped from the branch and landed inches from Camas. “What do you know about this.” The man opened his arms, as if to include all of his surroundings in his very odd greeting question.

“You mean the prize.” Camas guessed.

“So there's a prize,” the white haired man stroked his chin as if in deep thought, turned around and walked away.

Camas reached out and grabbed the man’s shoulder. “Hey, who are you and what’s going on?” Camas turned the man around only to be greeted by a quick punch in the gut, a quick shock rippled through his body causing him to double over and clutch at his stomach.

“That’s just a taste of what I learned earlier today.” The man turned and walked off toward the dense grouping of trees. “Just be glad I don’t feel like killing you today.”

Camas just watched him leave, he felt like a bolt of lightning had gone through his entire body, for a second he couldn’t move at all. Then, after the man was long gone, he finally collapsed back into the river.

[Zup]

...Smart missile launched.

A slot behind Bird’s right shoulder opened up and a small rocket roughly the size of an adult foot shot out and upwards into the sky. Vulres stopped in his tracks, taken aback by the display. “What is that?” he muttered under his breath.

Bird leaped forward before the rocket even started its descent onto the target. His pike twirled in his fingers, clanging against the steel bracers the hulking orc wore on his fists. Bird was much faster than his opponent and was landing small nicks here and there, but Vulres’s incredible strength and endurance gave the impression that he was unharmed by any of it.

The robot timed the missile to perfection. He jumped backwards in a flip to widen the distance between he and Vulres, and as the orc began to run forward, the smart missile struck him right on the eye, sending the titan tumbling to the ground in a cloud of brown dirt and dust. The beast roared in pain, clutching its face around the wounded eye. Bird’s eyes lost their red hue and he returned to his standby state. He replaced the pike onto his back, shutting it off as he did so.

Health scan in progress...Vulres Hellscream...health levels...94%

Bird was extremely intrigued by the outcome, and even walked up to the downed orc in order to inspect.

“I see...*chirp*...no visible wounds...Save for...*click* *click*...bloodstains around...the eye region...” The robot tapped Vulres on the shoulder and once again extended his hand, this time to assist the downed orc. “Would you like...*chirp*...some assistance?”

Vulres grunted and shook his head, removing his hands from his eye and getting to a kneel. The eye was completely shut and the skin around it was torn up, bleeding profusely. “That was...an impressive display, bird thing. I should not have underestimated you.”

Bird cocked his head to the side. “Most opponents do...My shell is dull and...*chirp*...needs a new coat of paint...*chirp*...I don’t look new anymore.”

The orc slowly stood up on his feet. Bird did as well, but didn’t step away in caution. Vulres nodded. “You are a fighter, bird thing. But know that it will take much, much more than...that to defeat me. And should you ever reach the point where you believe victory is in your grasp...” He clenched his fist, drawing Bird’s attention to it. “Know that your own death is near.”

The robot patiently watched as Vulres walked off into the wilds of the forest, curious as to what had transpired just then. Was that a threat? Should the defense systems activate? No...he didn’t perceive it as such. Vulres was walking away. All confrontation was over.

Bird hopped off back into the trees in a different direction, eager to see what other knowledge he could achieve while a part of this strange tournament.

[Redhollowlives999]

I'm only controlling Kazan to establish how we come in.

"This is going too slowly."
"Shut up, besides, what do you want me to do about it? It's barely been day."
"Send them in. I trust them, after all they are my pupils."

"Muagh, I hate them. Fine. But they get no special treatment."

At the snap of his wrinkled, dusty fingers, a huge lighting bolt could be seen crashing in to the event area; near a lake.

"Now entering Red hollow, and Raul sado"

Red looked up. "Now what? I was in the middle of collecting a bounty."

Raul chuckled. "It wasn't even worth much. I'm sure they have a good reason."

The overlord's voice could be hear in red's and raul's head.

"You fools have a mission. Complete this tournament, kill of the contestants, and you will never need to worry about money ever again."

Red was very skeptic about the situation. "Did rajia approve?"

Raul looked at Red. "I doubt he is, master wouldn't pull us into just anything."

Red shook off raul's optimism. "Whatever, so what exactly is this."

The eerie voice responded in a fading voice.

"Survival of the fittest."

Raul looked back up. "Any assistance from you or any other of the over lords?"

The fading voice came back in a thunderous roar. "NO!"

"Heh, can we at least get our usual weapons/abilities?"

"Sure, if you can find them with those pathetic human eyes of yours."

"You BWWWAAAAKK!!!." Red began. "Tell us now."

"If you insist. You can find it by the arena. Its about an hour away; assuming you'll survive the trip. Good luck. Fools. Mwuahahahaha......"

"..."

Red's frown grew. "Tch."

Raul sighed. "He never did like us."

Red removed his frown and sighed. "Never liked him either. Master better be doing this for a reason."

Raul started to climb a nearby tree. He responded to Red with a slight amount of struggle in his voice. "We-ll, at this rate, well di-e, lets just find out where we are."

Upon climbing on top of the tree, Raul could see a stadium in the distance. But he also noticed an explosion.

Raul squinted to see the source, to no avail. "Lets go via tree top. Looks like the safest route."

Within a few seconds, Red was up the tree.

"I'll race ya!"

"You're on!

The two hopped from branch to branch towards the arena.

[Rammerrush]

Camas Rikehart.png

“This looks good enough,” Camas said as he approached a small cave, hidden slightly by a small tree. He pushed past a few branches and stood inside the dark space. It was dark and damp but a pleasant escape from the downpour that had recently begun outside.

“A Cave? Really?” Essie let out a sigh. Camas looked down at the sword and tapped the hilt lightly, as if he was giving it a quick smack on the head. “I refuse to sleep here, I’m not about to lay on this dirty cave floor.”

Camas walked to the mouth of the cave and unsheathed his blade. “Fine, have fun outside,” he leaned the sword against the small tree and headed back into the cave. “I guess you’ll be taking first watch.” He shouted as he tried to get comfortable at the back of the cave.

“Camaaaaas,” whined Essie. “Fine, I’ll sleep in the cave.” But, at that moment Camas was too relaxed to hear his friend whining for him to take her inside. He was exhausted. On most days he and Essie were forced to deal with some tough situations but nothing like this had ever happened to them.

So as the wind whistled through the cave, along with Essie screams for him to wake up and not leave her there, Camas fell into the sweet embrace of sleep.

[Redhollowlives999]

-___- Gonna have to take control of kazan again. Sadly. Expect this alot since he has like 6 classes this year >_>

"We're almost there."

Red let out a sigh. "Man, that thing is huge. Where is the entrance?"

Raul surveyed whatever he could; but they were still a few meters away. "I can't see it. Looks like we need to walk around it."

"Fine." Red and Raul stopped jumping from branch to branch and climbed down. It was really tiring.

"Lets walk Raul."

"I'd rather run. This area has left me uneasy. What if we're attacked?"

"I don't see anybody, lets move now; we need our weapons if before we can even think about surviving."

Red and Raul walked for the remainder of the way. Before they knew it, they had arrived to their destination.

Raul yelled as if he struck gold. "There's the door!"

"Let's move quickly! Who knows what is lurking around here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where's our stuff?"

Raul frowned. "That jerk lied."

"No, no, I'm sure he's BS'ing us." Red surveyed the area. "Look, there a freaking huge crack in the wall, maybe its behind it."

Raul ran up to the crack, it was deep, but the wall was still too thick for the 2. "No way we can reach it"

"Wait. Don't we have natural abilities? Like your hyperresonace?"

Raul's frown grew. "You forget, that ability weakens me drastically, so I only use it in emergencies. What about your bending?"

"No water, low vapor in the air."

"Your blade is in there, bend it!"

Red did a face palm. "Forgot about that. But who knows how much 'they' messed with our powers. But I'll give it a try." Red took a deep and focused on the image on his blade. Then almost instantly, the hilt shot out of the crack, but it didn't come out completely.

"What happened?"

Red frowned. "The hilt is too big."

"Keep trying; the force is breaking the wall."

It took Red til now to noticed how the crack got bigger. "Good eye."

"Just hurry, its getting dark."

Red started taking deep breathes and moving his arms. "Give me a few minutes."

[Zup]

Bird soared through the forest, ducking beneath some branches and jumping over and swinging from others. His movements were calculated automatically for him to take him down the best route towards the waterfall, and the small minimap on the corner of his HUD indicated that he was getting closer and closer.

Detecting...waterfall...0.4 miles...north...

So far, after the encounter with Vulres, the tournament had shown itself to have its moments of uneventfulness. No other competitors were picked up by his computer and he hadn’t heard or seen anything suspicious. Just...plants.

He didn’t even particularly like plants...

The waterfall proved itself to be the location in which the monotony and silence ended. Bird’s computers immediately picked up on what appeared to be another competitor in the tournament, though much different from Vulres’s hulking frame.

“Detect...*chirp*...hostility.”

His computer raced to focus on the figure at the edge of the pool below the waterfall as Bird stood behind bushes in case the person in question was dangerous.

Human adolescent female...Not a hostile...No threat detected...

Bird nodded and began to slowly stroll towards the girl. He didn’t want to scare her, but he also didn’t want to same mistake he did with the orc and end up in a fight. Besides...humans intrigued him.

The girl quickly turned towards Bird as he walked towards her. There was fear and confusion in her eyes and she backed away, hands up in defense. “You...have never seen...*click*...a robot?”

“A r-robot?” she asked. She nodded. “Don’t hurt me!”

Bird shook his head and cocked his head to the side. “I am...*chirp* *chirp*...not a hostile.”

The girl couldn’t help but smile a little at the odd way Bird acted. It was very much like a cartoon character, only he certainly didn’t look like one. She lowered her hands a bit and nodded. “I’m Clarissa.”

Bird extended his hand, though pulled it back when Clarissa didn’t respond well to that from a jerk reaction of defense. He nodded. “I am Two-Nine-Eighteen-Four...*chirp*...Codename: Bird.”

When Clarissa responded with a giggle, Bird quickly caught on and took an exaggerated bow, as had been programmed into his brain via videos his creators had shoved in there to help him understand human behavior.

“Clarissa...*click*....you are...” he cocked his head to the side again. “A competitor?”

The girl gave another confused look. “A what?”

“A competitor in...*chirp*...the tournament.”

Clarissa shook her head. “W-what tournament?”

Bird turned away from her to assess the situation. She didn’t know there was a tournament going on, yet the forest certainly couldn’t be out in a public place, could it? No, there shouldn’t be innocent civilians caught in the crossfire...

“Computer...analyze current...*click*...situtation.”

Involved in survival tournament...gathering of fighters...possibilities of permanent shut down through defeat...granted two days of no permanent shut down...Objective: gather research data...

Bird turned back to the girl. “Clarissa? *chirp* *click*...Why are you here?...in this forest?”

“I...I don’t know...” she replied. “I just remember waking up here. I also heard...i-in my head...that there would be...enemies here...what does that mean?”

Bird’s head shot up as his ultra-sensitive ears picked up the sound of feet clapping against the ground as if...running towards them.

Immediately, Bird stood in front of Clarissa with his back to her. His lightsaber pike was instantly in his hands and his finger rested over the switch.

Hostile detected...Hostile detected...Hostile detected...Hostile detected...Hostile detected..