Welcome to Gaia! ::

KB took the offered picture, his gloved fingers obscuring the caption. He couldn't help but smile at the cheesiness of it. "Yeah, that's me alright. Please, call me KB." He told her, offering the photo back to her. It seemed clear that the vampire tired of being addressed as 'Kyle Baker'.

Rolling his shoulders in a way that sent a ripple of motion through his cape, his smile faded as the hem bounced. "What can I do for you this evening?"

And meanwhile he was thinking about how underdressed she was. It explained why their son was so disheveled. The apple had fallen far from the tree, concerning the illustrious Sieg.

"Certainly." He replied, gesturing with a hand towards a vacant table. The vampire would follow behind Athena, not making any effort to check her out or pull out her chair. KB considered Athena too manly for those sorts of things, if only because she kicked a lot more a** than most girls.

Sitting, he crossed his fingers and let his hands rest in front of him. "You'll have to forgive me if it seems as though GRAPPLE has overlooked you. While your accomplishments and renown speak for themselves, I've recently learned an important lesson about trying to take a woman away from someone. I'd hate for one of your investors or sponsors to hold a grudge against me!"

Athena sat herself down into the seat opposite of him, leaning back with her arms folded. Socially, she was suppose to be the one leaning forward to show that she was interested, with KB leaning back to be the one who is suppose to be convinced. But the swap of these roles clearly told of the current relationship going on here. That, and Athena was one prideful person.

"I do not belong to one sponsor. I am a promoter of several. And that is the message that I have been meaning to send to the world for quite some time. Seeing as Grapple has been on the rise, I figured it would be advantageous to both of us to help one another out. You sponsor me and I will increase your sales. Simple as that."

Friends, everybody needed them.

A group of close-knit buddies showed the world that you were an interesting and engaging person who was worth talking to, instead of just another loserous loner(like Deitric). While having no friends told the world that you were rude, aggressive, ugly, and possibly smelled bad (like Deitric). Since the size of your friends list was directly proportional to the size of your p***s, everyone had brought someone with them. Hired escorts, armed bodyguards, news reporters, even the wife and kids for a few men. Anyone would do in order to show the world that you weren’t a shut-in (like Deitric).

Unfortunately for Enrique his posse was small, a meager three man band. But they made up for their lack of numbers in sheer size. Yes, it was likely that his posse was the biggest one you could find in the Budokai.


Upon their approach to the ballroom entrance the first immediately recognizable face was Alucroas. Recognizable in the sense that one’s eyes were immediately drawn towards him, though it was not impossible that some of the more exploration driven Gaians had heard of the great dragons exploits. Which was exactly why he was noticeable…

Standing at roughly twenty-five feet tall Alucroas was the horrific fusion between an alien Xenomorph and an anthropomorphic dragon. He was big, thick, and lean. Every limb was a sweeping tree branch that ended in terrible hook like claws. His scales were a surprisingly calm shade of blue and there were spines jutting out from his body at every opportunity; between the wings, at every prominent joint, and especially covering his massive mace-headed tail.

The only human piece of clothing on the beast was a large Rastafarian wig placed near the center of his massive oblong head. It rested precariously against the crown of horns that made up his brow, draping its long dreads over an otherwise smooth eyeless face.

The observant mind would catch the subtle sound of beat-boxing coming from the monstrosities double jaw, even his tongue joined it.


Then there was Xelas, or rather a Xelite. The blob of gray goo was just a part of a much larger whole; this one in particular had been recovered during a story better left untold. The only detail people seemed to remember anyways was the part where it had been ripped straight from Alucroas’ a**s. The grey blob had recently watched a video from Naughty Gaia(Gaiaaaaaah) and had changed itself into the rough approximation of a porn star for accurate human interactions. Its large chiseled body had been carved to perfection, drawing the eyes of many a lady. While its unmoving soulless face and honestly fake looking animatronics quickly crossed into the uncanny valley and made those very same women balk with horror.

Last not least there was the alpha male of the pack. Enrique Satori was significantly smaller than his companions(though by no means a small man). He stood at only six feet two inches tall, which put him at chest-level with the Xelite and left him lost in the shadow of the wandering dragon. But at a solid two-hundred and twenty pounds was a well formed human at the least, if not a monster. His skin was bronzed to perfection and his face was probably pretty too, though it was impossible to tell at the moment. At all times, and in all situations, he wore the effigy of the jackal god Anubis. Its smooth black surface showed no marks or scars, the mouthless snout betrayed no emotions, and the beady black eyes showed a keen sense of interest as they follow every person around the ballroom at once.

Without a casual flick of his wrist Enrique brandished his official Tenkaichi Budokai Competitor Card, limited edition and let himself into the ballroom. His first thought was to scan the room for anybody who looked exceedingly official and with a sigh of relief he found… absolutely no one. Just a bunch of thugs in pretty suits.

He began to sneak around the perimeter, shoving and nudging various people out of the way to make room for his oversized company while whispering a few quick apologies along the way. Eventually he arrived in the darkest loneliest corner of the room he could find, the catering table, and propped himself up along the wall before addressing the nearest well-informed seeming person he could find.

“Aaah, sorry about that…” no response.

“Work kept me a little… late.” Enrique chose his words carefully. His normally casual business suit was in tatters. The perfect blend of orange and black had been smeared over with rusty red that smelled oddly of copper. Every section of his clothing showed the wounds of war from bullet holes to blade wounds, and yes… it looked as if someone had even taken a bite out of his shoulder.

But he had gotten better.

“So did I miss anything interesting?”

A purple haired porn star, what the ******** Gaia.

"What."

It was not a question. The murderous aura that accompanied the statement would likely chill all who were close enough to the person emitting it. That person in question however, was rather arguably and ironically, one of the most fiery people in the entirety of the ballroom.

City-destroyer.

He had heard Roen's entrance. He had dismissed it, thought of it as nothing more then a pointless boast made by man who had his head too far up his own a** to see straight. But Rhoslyn's attitude and words made him realise that there was indeed some truth to the devil's statement.

And the revelation of that incited comparably more anger within James then even the infamous bounty-hunter Ebris Dhifi and the bloodthirsty Khorne cyberpunk of Khorne Dzan Streea possessed between them. The dull pulse of his heart throbbed thick in his temple, and a crimson haze was over his vision. More observant people would notice blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth as he stalked his way across the ballroom toward the self-proclaimed "Darkened Devil"

"That sounds perfectly fair to me. Though, I'd like to retain his contract. Do be sure not to injure him irreparably Athena. Now, seeing as I don't have any of the relevant paperwork on hand..."

He stood and offered his right hand.

"...you'll have to take this on faith. If you manage to beat out our star, you will be the leading representative of Grapple. I wish you the best of luck."

The devil's smile and a cold hand were all that he offered her. His intentions would remain his secret, for the time being. In the meantime, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have Athena's publicity working to his advantage. That, and he could expand even further into the female demographic.

What fun he'd have then.