It was a certain Wednesday of a certain hectic week in the life of Alexander West.  Being the week after spring break he was busy catching up on homework and other things and he couldn't stand to be bothered.  Too bad the people on his floor couldn't get that through their thick skulls.
     Alex was busy reading for his film class when the walls began to shake.  Thinking it was an earthquake he dove under his desk.  When the shaking didn't subside after a few seconds he realized it wasn't a natural disaster but the bass from his neighbor's speaker system.
     "That's it!"  Alex shouted to nobody in particular, "I'm getting sick of this crap!"
     He was about to hoist his hand into the air and transform when the phone rang.  He answered on the second ring and was relieved to hear Jason's voice.
     "Alex, you're not going to believe what I saw today!"  Jason exclaimed.
     "Naga taking her clothes off?"  Alex asked sarcastically.
     "Um... nope.  A flyer for the virtual arena.  Fighters from all over the glove are traveling there to test their skill and more or less improve their technique."
     "And what does that have to do with me?!"  Alex shouted over the loud music coming from next door.
     "You can blow off some steam and get away from your floor mates for a while."
     "Thanks.  Later."
     Alex slammed down the phone and sat down to resume studying when his walls began to vibrate once again.  He cursed, grabbed his pack, threw some clothes and other stuff in, raised his hand to the sky, and shouted his power up phrase.
     "Star Crystal POWER!!"
     Once he transformed he made sure everything was locked and secure, jotted a note to his friends, slammed the door, and held the note to the door.  He took a throwing knife and slammed it through the note and into the door.  Turning on his heel, he left.
     Once outside he looked at the clear night sky and decided to take the first leg of the journey by air.
     "Ray Wing!"
     A magical aura surrounded him and he took to the air, his cape billowing in the wind.  His destination was unknown at that moment, but the direction he was traveling was definite - he was heading east by north east.

     After flying for a couple hours he conjured a light spell to make out the land below him.  Once he saw a clearing he descended to catch his breath.
     "Well, Lina was right,"  he sighed, "Levitation and Ray Wing will take a lot out of you."
     As he rested he felt a strong energy nearby.  He got to his feet and drew his star sword.  From the surrounding forest came many beast - men, all snarling and drooling.
     "Great, now I'm surrounded by monsters,"  he groaned, holding his blade before his body, "Just what I DON'T need right now."
     The beast men took that moment to attack.  Alex turned his head in time to see one with a blade above his head, ready to cleave the hero in half.  Alex collected energy about his body, forming a ghostly aura. He screamed, "Giga CRISIS!!" before releasing the energy in the form of an expanding wave which not only tore the ground to pieces, but destroyed a majority of the beast men. The remainder of the beast men regrouped and began to charge at Alex.
     Alex, not really thinking chanted an incantation.

     The following morning he awoke with the sun, stretched the kinks out of his body, and took to the woods.  After hiking for a couple hours he sat down to rest and realized just how hungry he was.
     "I'm starving,"  he sighed, "how much further is the next town?"
     The answer to his question came in the form of a farm girl who was out looking for kindling.
     "Hello traveler,"  the girl said, approaching, "how are you doing?"
     "Pretty well,"  Alex said, "but I'm hungry.  You wouldn't happen to know where a starving traveler could get some breakfast, would you?"
     "I sure would,"  the girls replied, grinning from ear to ear, "my mom cooks one heck of a good breakfast, not to mention really big."
     "Lead on,"  Alex said, leaping to his feet and slinging his pack over his shoulder.
     The girl retraced her steps through the woods, Alex following a few steps behind. After many minutes they came to a fairly nice cabin nestled within the woods with a worn path to the road, a nice field, plenty of nice trees to provide shade, a well, and flowers EVERYWHERE.  The air was filled with wonderful smells, varying from hot pancakes to fresh coffee to hash browns to the aroma of wildflowers.
     "Mom, I'm back,"  the girl called as she opened the door.
     "Did you bring the kindling?"  a woman's voice called from the kitchen.
     "Yeah, and I brought a hungry traveler!"
     From a hallway came a pleasantly plump woman, about a head shorter than Alex.  Her long, brown hair was tied into a large braid, which hung down her back, ending a couple inches above her waist.  Her large, brown eyes shown with intelligence.  Her face was also pleasantly plump, with big, red cheeks.
     "My, my, my, he is handsome,"  she said to her daughter, eyeing Alex from head to foot.
     "Now that the light is better I guess he is,"  the girl replied.  Alex eyed her from head to toe and figured she was between 17 and 18.  She shared her mom's brown hair and eyes, yet she was taller, with a small, thin frame and well defined features.  She wore a pink dress with a red coat and brown boots.
     "It's been so long since we had a visitor,"  the mother said, running off to the kitchen, "Aeris, have him come in now."
     "Coming mother,"  Aeris said, taking Alex by the hand, "this way please."
     Aeris led Alex into a big kitchen, filled with shelves of jars and counters with other goodies.  By a window sat a table with three chairs.  The table was set for three, with a large stack of pancakes sitting in the center, surrounded by a pitcher of syrup, a kettle of coffee, orange juice, a couple small plates with sausage, bacon, and hash browns, and a bowl with bananas, apples, oranges, and some other fruits.  Aeris took a seat at the center of the table and beckoned Alex to sit in the chair to her right.  Alex nodded and seated himself.
     "I hope you're hungry sugar,"  Aeris' mom said.
     "I'm starving,"  Alex replied, stabbing his fork into the stack of pancakes and picking up six or seven, which he deposited on his plate.  He doused them in syrup before helping himself to the bacon, sausages, hash browns, and a ripe Granny Smith apple.
     "Good gracious!"  Aeris exclaimed, "You weren't kidding."
     As Alex ate, Aeris and her mother asked him numerous questions, which he answered between bites.
     "So traveler, what's you name?"  Aeris' mom asked as she joined Alex and Aeris for breakfast.
     "It's Alex.... Alex West."
     "You can call me Mrs. Gainsborough, and you've already met my daughter, Aeris."
     "So, where are you heading Alex?"  Aeris asked, nibbling on some grapes.
     "I'm off to the virtual arena,"  Alex replied, downing a cup of coffee.  Mrs. Gainsborough gasped at his reply.  "What's wrong?"
     "Nothing,"  Mrs. Gainsborough replied, "why would you want to go there?"
     "Primarily I'm going to blow off some steam, and secondarily I'm going to improve my fighting skills.  I also hope to learn some new techniques."
     "That's cool,"  Aeris said, smiling and sipping a cup of tea, "When you finish will you come back and teach me some of what you learned?"
     "We shall see,"  Alex said before stuffing an entire pancake into his mouth, "we shall see."
     Once Alex finished breakfast he cleaned himself up, helped with the dishes, and, after hugging Mrs. Gainsborough and Aeris, took to hiking again.

     Many hours later he reached the coast.  Looking out to sea he saw how the sun reflected off the water, turning it a brilliant green - blue.  Since there was no wind and plenty of sun he took to jogging along the beach, his cape billowing behind him.  As he ran he began to pick up on some bad vibes.  He stopped running and turned towards the beach.  From beneath the sand came an army of beserkers, all growling and snarling, weapons raised.
     "Why do all the stupid, blood - crazed monsters always come after ME?!"  he groaned, producing his glaive.  He leapt into the air, the blade above his head, sunlight glinting from the well polished and well sharpened edge.  Dark energy began to gather in and around the blade, forming a ghostly aura about it.  He screamed, "Giga Flare!"  before swinging the blade downward.  At the lowest point of the downward swing the accumulated energy was released in the form of a black thunderbolt, which struck the ground at the center of the army.  A small energy dome formed, which quickly expanded to a radius of a quarter mile before dissipating.  Once the smoke cleared, Alex viewed the results of his attack; the army was gone and the coastline received a new cove.
     "Well, that takes care of that,"  he said, his glaive vanishing back into sub - space.  Unfortunately an army of ogres appeared from the ocean, snarling and drooling worse than the beast - men and beserkers.  The ogres charged towards Alex, who drew his star sword and engaged in mortal combat.
     "Eat this!"  he shouted as he cleaved a pair of ogres in half.  As a third raised its club over its head, Alex thrust his blade into the creature's chest, following up with a Mono Bolt which turned the ogre to ashes a couple seconds later.  Three more came towards him, but were hurled back by a shockwave attack.  The ogres soon caught onto his fighting style and began throwing combo attacks at him which he couldn't block.  In a last ditch effort to save his ass he invoked a spell which he knew little about.
     "Flow Break!"
     A dome of purifying energy formed over his body, rays of purifying light shooting off in several directions.  The dome quickly expanded into an energy wave which disintegrated the ogres and left him in a huddled mass, his body aching, cuts bleeding, and gauntlets bent out of shape.
     "Teach you to mess with me,"  he said sarcastically to the ashes floating in the breeze.  He then decided to lay in the sun and let the healing spell he was casting take effect and make him good as new.

     By the time the healing spell finished running its course, Alex realized how hungry he was.  He reached into his pack for a candy bar and instead pulled out a foot long tuna salad grinder with lettuce, peppers, pickles, and cheese.  Attached was a note from Aeris and her mom.

     After flying for what seemed like an eternity, he looked down and saw the brilliant lights of what appeared to be an old fashioned arena, with some smaller buildings around it.
     'That must be my destination,'  he thought as he descended at a rate similar to when he took a nose dive with the Phoenix.  When he was close enough to the ground he broke out of his steep dive and landed on his feet.  He looked around at his new surroundings, noticing a sign with 'Registration: This way' painted on it with an arrow pointing to the left.
     "Might as well go and register,"  he said to himself as he walked in the direction the sign pointed.  After walking for a couple minutes he reached a building about the size of a small cabin.  Inside was a middle - aged woman with horn - rimmed glasses, piercing blue - gray eyes, and blond hair piled on top of her head.  Her simple attire gave Alex the impression of someone who must have trouble getting a date.
     "What do you want?"  the woman asked in a Brooklyn accent.
     "I'm here to register for the arena,"  Alex said, a sweat drop forming on his head.
     "Name?"
     "Warrior Saturn."
     "Limit Break?"
     Alex thought for a minute before saying, "Giga Crisis - an expanding energy wave which deals great damage to the enemy and to the surrounding area."
     "Esper?"
     Alex thought for a couple minutes, remembering when he called upon Ridley the space pirate during his battle with the multi - parted angel.  "Ridley - a giant dragon bird.... the infamous space pirate."
     "Esper's attack?"
     "Plasma Wave - he appears and breathes super heated flames on the opponent, burning them to a cinder before vanishing."
     "Super Arts?"
     Alex pondered, trying to remember strong attacks he only used when his skill was at its peak.  "Super Art 1 - Explosion Array.  It's an incantation followed by the ground beneath my opponent buckling and exploding upward.  If my level is really high it becomes Mega Explosion Array, which deals far more damage than Explosion Array.
     "Super Art 2 is Tornado Strike.  A tornado funnel with tremendous wind speed picks the opponent up, hurls them half a mile into the air, then vanishes, leaving them to drop half a mile to the arena floor.
     "Super Art 3 is Giga Flare.  Basically I channel dark energy into the blade of my glaive, leap into the air, and slash downward, which releases a super thunderbolt of energy which strikes the ground near the opponent and explodes into an expanding wave of energy and 10,000º heat.  Not only does it destroy the ground, but it deals massive damage to the enemy."
     "Near Fatal attack?"
     Alex pondered this question for a while, never remembering a time when he was near fatal.  Then it hit him like a rock.  Technically it was that band of ogres he had fought before flying the last leg of his journey.  He didn't know much about Flow Break, but he had an attack that was similar. "Solar Flare - I gather energy around my body and radiate it in the form of solar intensity heat and flames."
     "Weapons?"
     "Silence Glaive, Star Sword, and my hands and feet."
     The woman jotted something down, then opened a drawer in her desk and took out a package.  She handed it to Alex and said, "Enclosed is the key to your room, the rule book, some snacks, and some materials in case you wish to write home or something.  I believe the kitchen is still open so if you're hungry you can swing by there.  Orientation is bright and early at 10 AM, so get a good night's rest."
     "I sure will, " Alex said, smiling and waving as he left, "Thanks."
     Once outside he noticed a sign post with directions to several destinations on the island, one being the kitchen, which was off to the right, another being the men's barracks, which was also off to the right.
     "Well,"  he said to himself, "since I haven't had a thing to eat since that sandwich this afternoon I think my first destination will be the kitchen."
     He then followed the sign to a building which was about twice the size of the registration office.  There were still lights on inside, which he took as a good sign.  He had little trouble finding the door, since it was ajar.
     "Hello,"  he called as he slipped in through the door, "anyone here?"  He was met by icy stillness.  "Guess not, which means I'm safe to look around."
     As he wandered through the well stocked kitchen he couldn't help feeling like he wasn't alone.  As he turned a corner he noticed the refrigerator door was open.  All he could see of the person was their feet, which resembled tiger paws.  To Alex's amazement a half man, half tiger being stepped from the refrigerator, holding a sandwich which must have been at least three feet in height.
     "Dinner is served,"  the were - tiger said, licking his lips before taking a bite from the sandwich.  When he did this, Alex got a good look at the inch - long fangs.  He was so startled by this he stumbled back, knocking a nearby jar of hot sauce to the floor.  The jar shattered, alerting the were - tiger to Alex's presence.
     "Who's there?!"  the were - tiger demanded, setting his sandwich down on a nearby counter.
     'Looks like sink or swim time,'  Alex thought, forming an orb of flame in his hands, 'Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand.'  When the orb was about the size of a basketball Alex leapt from behind the counter and screamed, "FIREBALL!!" while hurling the orb at the were - tiger.
     The fireball caught the were - tiger square in the chest, hurling him through the air and into a shelf of pots and pans.  Alex readied a Flare Arrow just in case the were - tiger tried anything funny.
     "Uhhh... my head.  What the hell hit me?!"  the were - tiger demanded, pulling a pot off of his head.
     "I did,"  Alex said, the energy bow sparking in and out of space, "if you try to hurt me you'll be sucking on this Flare Arrow!"
     "Who the hell are you?!"
     "The name's Warrior Saturn.  I just signed in a few minutes ago.  Who the hell are you?"
     "The name's Rei, and you're gonna get yours if and when we meet in the arena."
     "I'll take you up on that challenge,"  Alex said, recalling the Flare Arrow, "See you in the arena tomorrow."
     Alex turned to leave, grabbed the top half of Rei's sandwich, and vanished into the shadows.  He reappeared outside the kitchen, where he saw a sign pointing to his immediate right with 'Men's Barracks' painted on it.  He walked in the direction of the sign and arrived at his destination; a two story building, about three times the size of the kitchen, with a main door and windows coming from several rooms, some with lights on, others without.  He opened the package he received at the registration office and pulled out his room key.  Attached to the key was a tag with '130' written on it.
     'Well, now to find room 130,'  he thought as he entered.  After walking down a long hallway he ran into a wall of green flesh.  When he backed up he could tell it was a Namek.
     "Who might you be and where are you going?"  the Namek asked.
     "The name's Warrior Saturn, and I'm looking for room 130."
     "Down the hall and to the left.  You can't miss it."
     As the Namek walked off, Alex turned and asked, "Who are you?"
     "The name's Piccolo, and I'll see you bright and early, Alexander West."
     Alex turned and walked down the hall, reaching room 130 fairly easily.  He let himself in, closed the door behind him, and collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to undress or put his pack away.

     "In our next episode, Alex participates in his first battles, and finds out it isn't as easy as he thought.  He doesn't give up, though, and wins his third match.  Stay tuned for 'Orientation and After' and you may get some fan service."