"Well well, aren't you as serious as a bison." Charlie said, still smiling. "Here's the deal. We needed to make our little game more interest'n, so we summoned y'all hear to play it, simple as that. Now, the rules are simple. It's a pyramid style battle where y'all have to battle to get to the top. There is only one winner, and only one can go home. The rest become fighters for entertainment. They're one on one battles each, so y'all gonna have difficulty if ya can't fight without your mates. Each battle will be in a different environment, so your skills will vary.

"There are no real rules except that y'all may back down from the fight at any time, and the winner is the one who isn't unconscious. Other than that... All's fair."

Almost everyone was pale. Only one could go home? There was no way... They couldn't do that. But not all thought that though. An eerie smile came from one. Akarui. He didn't care about the others. He just wanted out of there.

"So, what y'all's goals?" Charlie asked.

"Well, I'm sure I'll win. I AM Lord Death's son." Team Kid cheered. "But afterward..." He glared hard at the judges. "I'll make sure to bring my friends with me."

"Ahh... Well, how 'bout you Rikki?"

"I only want to prove to Nikki that I have changed and am not bad." He paused. "Though winning wouldn't be bad..." Nikki 'hmphed' and turned away.

"And you, Nikki?"

"I just want to beat Rikki and go home." Rikki frowned.

"Elodie?"

"I'd like to win, but I don't really care."

"Soul? What do you think? What's your goal?"

"I don't know if I'll win or not, but if I do, I'm bringing all my friends back with me. It wouldn't be cool to leave them here." A couple girls in the audience fainted.

"And Patty? Liz? What're y'all's goals?"

"I'm gonna kick everyone's butts! Then I'll go home with Liz and throw a parade! And I'll even ride a giraffe!"

"But what about me?" Kid asked.

"Eh. You can get your own giraffe." Patty replied.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to win," Liz said, "So please spare me if I have to fight any one." She went back to painting her nails.

"Hmm... Ok. Lilliana, what are your goals?"

"Well, I've had amnesia for a while now, so I don't know much about myself, except what I've been told from people. I hope to make allies and friends, and get some information about myself."

"What a wonderful goal! How 'bout you April?"

"I want to find my meister... If they're not here, then I want to win so I can find someone else... Somewhere out there..."

"Oh, that's nice. Akira? Rein? What are your goals?" Chris asked. "~I can probably guess. You want to both win so you can go and get married someday!~"

"As we TRIED to say before, we're JUST FRIENDS!" The two yelled.

"But neither of us want to hurt anyone, but we both want to go home." Akira said, looking at Rein.

"Maka?"

"If I win, I'm going to make sure everyone here gets back home. I don't want to see anyone hurt in pointless games for your enthusiasm."

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine. What about you Noboru?" The schoolboy had ditched his apron quickly.

"Er... Well, I want to become a really famous cook one day. And I'd like to return to my family."

"Nice. It's great to have a goal for the future to strive towards."

"But if I loose than I-" He was cut off.

"How about your goals, Hope? You must have something interesting..."

"Well, I definitely want to win the game. As to my other goal... I'd rather not say." Her face turned a light shade of pink.

"Oh, I bet you have a lover or something waiting back home for you, right?" Her face got redder.

"Say that again and I'll- No, no! It's not like that. Well..." She didn't say anything else, just handed the mic to Black Star.

"I'm gonna win this fight! Then I'll prove that I'm the biggest star here! Ahahahaha!"

"What about surpassing God?" Chris asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'll do that too."

"Ok. Avalyn?" Black Star passed the mic over to the girl.

"I just want a good fight. Otherwise this entire thing isn't worth my time."

"Oh, don't worry about that. You'll get your fight."

"And Tsubaki, what 'bout you? What's your goals?"

"Well... I don't want anyone to get hurt. I want them to be safe afterwords... But I also want everyone to get home."

"And Akarui?" Silence. He didn't even take the mic. Finally he spoke.

"I live to survive. That is my only purpose. I don't care who's in my way. They'll burn. They'll all burn." More silence.

"Let's get on with our first battle then. How 'bout it y'all? Want'a see them fight?" The crowds cheered.

"OK! Let's go to the first board!" A screen dropped slowly in the center of the room. When it stopped, it's black screen turned a light gray. Suddenly, the eighteen contestant's faces all showed, going through over and over, really fast in the same spot. It started slowing, then stopped.