[IC] Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

[Mogtaki]

Krom let out a groan, looking away for a second before back to Takeshi. “Say what you want, but Viral stepped into that capsule willingly”, he sighed, shrugging lightly, “He saw no future on Earth. You act as if I’m one of the scientists or something! Isn’t that just a bit silly…” He saw no reason to argue on the subject: if Takeshi wanted answers then he would have to go to Viral for them, not himself. There was little reason for Takeshi to get all angry at him when he was the one that oversaw the King’s actions and decisions. For now, there was more important stuff to get done and one of those things was getting to Uunoue even if it was going to be bad news for him.

Giving Takeshi a long staring at when he tried to make the decision to who would fly, he waited until Taskeshi figured out he was the only one capable of flying while everyone else looked tired and injured. Rolling his eyes he soon let Shu down only to watch as Takeshi instead took a fit at the sight of his brother, staring at him in disbelief before rolling his eyes. The kid was both completely out and normal, it wasn’t as if he was suddenly going to change and start mauling him. Staring at him and Yumi he only watched as Takeshi retreated to the back of the ship instead, snickering lightly before sighing. So much for this kid and his brother being best friends, what a shame too when the youngest didn’t even know he had done wrong yet.

Folding his arms momentarily he stared at Yumi and Shu, watching her try and be there for Shu while Takeshi coward away like an idiot. If he was going to be acting like this then training this bunch was going to be a massive pain in the neck. Laughing lightly at his misfortune he soon sighed and looked to Yumi, staring at her before shrugging. “I get that a lot. If it makes you feel better, I’ll tell you everything once we get to your base”, he spoke, letting out a sigh as he moved around to the captain’s chair, waving his hand, “Don’t worry about it! Besides, we’ve known where the base has been for years. It’s not like I’m going to single-handedly invade it like that idiot Yulian you recruited…” Moving into the chair he looked over the controls calmly, flipping a few switches and locking the doors now that everyone was settled and strapped in. Sure enough the coordinates were already in there and he was ready to go. Pulling at the controls he moved the ship into launch, the only thing going through his mind now how he might be able to upgrade this vehicle if this was one of their best for travelling short distances.

[GambolMuse]

The whole of what Krom was saying didn't seem right, there was no way Viral had willingly gone and joined the Saiyans. Surely no one else in the shuttle believed that either, right? With how angry and vindictive the guy was towards his father, Takeshi just couldn't imagine it having been his own decision. "Right, it's silly. For a second I mistook you for someone with brains," the Prince retorted, frowning as he tried to get to tending Shu. On any other day it wouldn't have been an issue at all, handling his little brother, yet today saw an interesting little change. The mauling earlier hadn't been terribly traumatic, yet it was enough to trigger the mauling in which he'd lost his tail. The sudden and painful onset of that memory hit him fair hard, and after freaking out a bit Takeshi had to distance himself from his own brother, much to the amusement of Krom. There was just no way he could handle that right now, not if it meant he risked a third attack. Sitting down on the furthest open cot he could find he kept his gaze off of everyone else, ashamed by how he was acting as he hoped they would just ignore him now for the trip.

"That would be for the best, though I doubt even that is going to win any hearts," Yumi responded, frowning as she continued to stroke Shu's hair, "I would imagine that 'idiot' was just following your orders, or am I mistaken? Maybe not yours specifically, but someone's. Unless you mean to tell me that he somehow got the idea himself of invading a world he probably didn't know about?" She wasn't going to warm up to Krom any quicker than the rest, certainly not if he was going to be so condescending about everyone he spoke of. Watching him head to the controls she turned her focus again to the youngest member of their group, smiling sympathetically at his sleeping form. "You're going to be okay, everyone is..." she mumbled, closing her eyes and letting out a silent sigh. They hadn't beaten the King as they had hoped, but at the very least everyone made it out alive, that's what mattered most. How easily she and the others had been thrown aside though... They had a lot of training to do if they meant to really beat the Saiyans.

Most everyone had taken a brief nap on the journey back to Uuonoe, albeit it didn't do much to alleviate any pain. Out of just concern for any hidden damages Yumi had gotten Krom to open up communications before they arrived, arranging for some medical personnel to be ready once they landed. She didn't know how they would explain the Saiyan's presence, but she figured he must have something in mind for the impending witch hunt that was to follow. Arriving once more at the familiar world they were indeed greeted by a plethora of medical personnel, as well as Aito who looked to have taken time off from working with Viral. There was no hiding the fact there was injured and Yumi knew that, yet it didn't make disembarking the shuttle any less awkward for her. As soon as her friend's father saw them, all bandaged and bruised, he immediately gave a serious look of concern. "We're all fine, honest," she assured him, smiling nervously as she waved her hand, "Shu and T'charrl are just tired, that's all." Okay, well the latter was a bit beaten up, but he would be fine now that they were here, right? And Shu was just exhausted... She hoped.

Aito, not having learned of the mission until they left, was neither overly pleased nor hopeful that they were successful; just seeing everyone alive however was a surprise, and a much needed one at that. Dealing with someone of Yamate's caliber on their own was suicide, even if they did have strength in numbers. While the medical personnel went ahead and began looking at the others, Aito made it a personal point to visit Shu and T'charrl first and foremost. Shu was, as Yumi had said, exhausted, and his energy levels suggested he had expended astronomical levels in whatever had gone on in the fight. T'charrl on the other hand showed heavy signs of being in battle, even if none of those were life-threatening. "You never should have gone there, you're all lucky you're even alive," the doctor said to Yumi, frowning as he looked at her disapprovingly, "I'm glad you're all back, but surely you understand the gravity of what you just did?" Seeing the vaguely familiar face in the crowd he glanced to Krom then, "And you... What are you doing here?"

[Mogtaki]

Krom didn’t have to care for what they thought of him or whether they thought what he said was true, he was the one who had all the insider knowledge from the other side and it was never in their realm of knowledge to acquire it freely. They were all annoying kids anyway, he shouldn’t be getting all annoyed at them for being so stubborn. They’ll see it from his perspective eventually, it wasn’t as if he was going to hide much from them at this point. Taking the ship up he soon blasted off the planet, feeling fairly glad to get off this planet after all they had done to it. If the citizens didn’t get the message after all that then he didn’t know what else could be done, but he wouldn’t be making that decision this time round.

The whole journey had felt rather exhausting for a number of them. Kai and Choi had slept the entire way despite their anxiety towards Krom, but T’charrl and Shu hadn’t even stirred since getting on. Shu had very little injury but T’charrl looked like he had been hit by a truck, but luckily he was still breathing. Upon arrival on the planet, Shu was looking a little less settled but T’charrl was still completely out of it. As Krom took the ship further down into the landing zone the number of personnel around made him wonder just how many were at the base at this particular time, half expecting Korian to be there too. He really must’ve been off the planet if he wasn’t there to give him a welcome party.

Settling down the ship it was a matter of waiting for the others to get off before he followed, taking a look at the logs of the ship in the meantime. There really wasn’t much going on at the moment, it seemed, or at least for this ship. It must’ve been all the big ships that were out and about instead of these smaller transporters, probably not a good sign for the Kingdom or the Rebels. Letting out a groan he soon got up from his seat and made his way out, only making a quick glance outside before finally stepping out. It was strange having very little guards to apprehend him, but maybe that was a sign that they really did have a lot of their best men out on the field. Looking around he couldn’t say he recognised a lot of them, but one particular individual that had been absent from the fight was also missing here, or maybe he was hiding away out of sight. Frowning, Krom turned to one particular individual he didn’t really recognise and yet seemed to be addressing him, his eyes looking up and down before he placed his hands on his head. “I am surrendering myself, is what. I am defecting, turning myself in. Seeing how they fought on that planet has made me realise just how weak you all are and we can’t have that, especially when there are…well, ‘bigger threats’ than this silly Kingdom battle. I’d rather not talk too much about it here. Where’s Korian? Who are you?”

[GambolMuse]

Saying everyone was in disarray was an understatement, it was a miracle no one had died on that mission. Frankly Aito wasn't sure whether he was more relieved or angry at the children right now, though he knew that snapping at them for being so reckless wouldn't help anything. At any rate there were other matters that were requiring his attention now anyways, particularly the newest addition to this team of theirs; where had this man come from? Judging by his attire he was in the Saiyan military, perhaps one of the King's men. Seeing someone like that on Uuonoe, the rebel bastion, was unnerving from what he could tell, hearing talks all around him about the enemy amongst them. Being the only able bodied fighter present then the doctor took it upon himself to figure out what the deal was here, and just who this man might be.

"Weak? They faced off against the King of Saiyans, anyone is weak against him," Aito said, frowning as he approached Krom, "And listen to me... Whatever your name is. Korian isn't present, he's off fighting the war that your sides have been waging for an unnecessarily long time now. Yamate and Korian have been going at it as long as I can remember, and I know full well what the situation is." This was all said under his breath of course, as it was information he was positive none of the kids were privy to yet. The fact that this man was informed told him it was a higher ranked fighter, an Elite perhaps. Defected? Not likely, he hardly seemed injured and yet here he was. So what was their game here with sending this man along? "My name is Aito, and I'm the man that you'll be answering to while you're here. Those are my son's friends you injured there, either you or your comrades. If you don't wish to end up in a shallow grave then I advise you cooperate with me and tell me everything." Giving Krom a brief glare he then stepped away and went over to Yumi, smiling sympathetically as she barely looked like she could stand. "These people are here to help, go with them Yumi. I'll let Vegeta and Viral know you've all returned, I know at least Vegeta has been worried sick. Go ahead and get some rest."

"Y-Yeah... Right, thanks..." Yumi mumbled, scrunching up her shoulders slightly when Aito ruffled her hair affectionately. She would much rather go and check in on Viral right now, not to mention be certain the others were fine too, but she couldn't neglect her own health. Her wounds were hastily patched for the journey back and her head was still throbbing, it was important she get that looked at before doing anything. Walking over to a pair of paramedics she shook her head when offered a stretcher, smiling tiredly and waving it off. "I can walk, just... Take it a little slow, okay?" Surprisingly they obliged her, probably in part because she didn't look to be in dire straits really. T'charrl was already been wheeled off into a vehicle and likely taken to a hospital, one where she hoped he'd make a fast recovery. Glancing back at the others she caught sight of Shu who was still out, and Takeshi off by himself. Was he still really all uneasy about that? The twins looked like they were still tired, but at the very least they were getting attention and were awake now. Kabocha looked pretty sore but he was currently trying to push away some IV bag, who knows what for; Haku was freaking out over something, and she could see it was the medical personnel trying to change him into a hospital gown on the spot. Everyone would be fine, even with the brothers having a bit of a bump in the road, she could go and not have to worry.

Takeshi really did want to be with Shu right now, but he was still uneasy and couldn't bring himself to do it. Maybe once the little guy came to he would go and visit, as it wasn't like he'd realize he was there now anyways. He wanted to go and check on his friends as well, but after the display of freaking out over Shu and feeling like he failed he couldn't do that either; he'd thought he had gotten stronger, yet everyone was now hurt because of him, with T'charrl being especially injured by Krom, or whoever had hit him. If he'd just not slacked so much and gotten stronger then they'd be fine, it was all his fault. Glancing up at the medics who came to tend to him he wrinkled his nose in annoyance at them, wanting to tell them off but wincing when he rolled his shoulder and agitated his wound. "Just... Fix me, then help the others," he grumbled, looking away as they got to work.

[Mogtaki]

Krom had no idea who this guy was and didn’t even know if he was supposed to be talking to him right now. He could be talking to a scientist for all he knew and that wouldn’t be a very good image for him. Being a little more hesitant with this guy just incase he wasn’t the man he was looking for he frowned when he tried to take authority anyway, sighing lightly at his demanding response. He didn’t recognise the name nor did he recognise the man’s face, just making him reluctant to answer the man even though he knew he had to. “Hmph. Your son’s friends? You look barely my age”, he spoke, keeping his hands on his head, “I’m Krom, Yamate’s right-hand man and this would all plan out of Korian was here! I don’t want to discuss what I am here for with you. You’re not in charge here, your threats mean nothing”.

The twins were both standing staring at Aito and Krom as the medics continued to harass them with their demands, trying to get them to take off their armour right up until Kai got too annoyed with it and threw his arm around only to pull it back in pain. It was a mixture of confusion and irritation from the medics, mainly because they continued to get the twins mixed up while being perplexed at their injuries. The twins both had the exact same injuries in the same places that had appeared gradually after the other received injury so they were both equally sharing the pain. They had to get the injuries seen to, especially when Kai appeared to had bruised or broken ribs. It was more of a race before Choi somehow broke his too, but it was also worrying incase Kai developed a shoulder injury like his brother. Eventually managing to pull them away from looking at the scene between Krom and Aito they were soon complying with the demands to get on the stretchers before they were taken away to the wards, neither looking in the best of shapes.

Shu was being seen to by multiple people, seeing how everybody else was being seen to. They didn’t appear to know how to sort him when one mentioned the kid didn’t like wards and how he had managed to be spared severe injury like the others. He had bruising but he was low on energy and exhausted from lack of sleep at the same time. After wrapping the bruises and disinfecting the deeper cuts on Shu’s body he was wrapped up in a towel to keep him warm and placed on a stretcher, deciding to take him to his room to recover.

[GambolMuse]

"There have been... Extenuating circumstances surrounding myself for the last few decades, but I assure you I'm older," Aito replied plainly, "I knew Yamate when you were likely still a child, I'll leave it at that. And if you're looking for Korian you're correct, he's not here. Neither is anyone else from command, so I've taken it upon myself to handle you." Did this man earnestly believe he could come here as an enemy and expect to negotiate the terms of his detainment and questioning? He was in essence a prisoner the moment he stepped onto Uuonoe, and until they could verify otherwise he would be treated as such. "At any rate Korian doesn't seem to understand the true situation we're in, nor do I imagine he'll hear it from you anyways. So for the time being you answer to me, and I'll relay anything pertinent to him, understood?"

All things considered Takeshi really didn't have any wounds that demanded attention. Some abrasions from being knocked around, the cuts from being attacked by Shu; in all he could move and everything just fine, he didn't think he needed the help. More or less ignoring the medics as they patched him up, soon as they were through he waved them away, scowling when one tried to further help by offering to check his abrasions and scrapes. "I said I'm fine! Go make sure the others are okay!" he snapped again, watching the pair slink off pretty quick after that. By now everyone was being taken off to get checked on, with Shu and T'charrl being the two that worried him the most. T'charrl was only so injured because he couldn't defeat Krom on his own, and Shu was out because he'd been allowed to change and couldn't be stopped. In both cases he was too weak to help, too weak to know how to protect them and to save them from unnecessary danger. Damn it all, if he was only stronger, he should be able to beat at least Krom by now, so why couldn't he?

Aito, along with a handful of rebel soldiers stationed on Uuonoe, had led Krom off to the base in the center of the city. While what Krom had said was true, he was not a rebel himself, the men and women stationed there had allowed the doctor to precede over the interrogation given his knowledge of what was going on. With only the two Saiyans in the room now, Aito felt he was perfectly capable of getting everything they needed to from the Elite, and perhaps giving him a little insight into what was going on as well. "So let's start with getting this out of the way... We both know the truth behind this war, and why the Saiyans are doing what they're doing. I still believe the methodology to be insane, but up until now I haven't been able to stop it. I also have no intention on aiding the rebels in the war, as fighting now is only going to make things worse later. Given we've both an understanding of the bigger picture here, I'm curious... Why hasn't Yamate simply come out and revealed the truth yet? What is it he's trying to do by deceiving everyone?"

Takeshi had to talk to Viral about what Krom said, he just didn't know how to bring it up. It was insane to think that Viral had willingly gone to the Saiyans, especially since the guy seemed so resentful for everything that had happened. Krom just had to be messing with his head, yet he had the tiniest question on the matter and it needed answering. Finding the place that the Beastman was staying at was a bit tricky, but with some asking around he managed to locate the guy. After checking in through the rebels who had been posted outside he went right on in, surprised to find only Viral in the room; either he'd been getting better or Vegeta was out of the room, either way it was a bit surprising to find him by himself. Stepping into the room he took a curious look around, noticing how few machines and tools there were about, like they were hardly using anything on him. "Nice pad... Weird you have so many plants though..." Takeshi joked lightly, running a hand along one of the broad leaves idly, "Miss us?"

[Mogtaki]

Krom stared at Aito without much of a clue to who he was or what he was supposed to do with this guy, whether he was supposed to be treating him like a man of the rebels or as simply the strongest they had at the moment. The guy was trying to be threatening meaning he was the strongest at the moment, but he wasn’t exactly intimidating when the man should know the rebels would want him alive. Staring at the man he hardly believed he was as old as he said he was, but it wasn’t of any concern at the moment. He’ll probably get told what it was all about later or on something. “Hmph, I don’t feel comfortable with these terms but whatever. You are the man of authority, for now. I trust what I say gets passed directly to Korian and not through some third party…”

Being taken away from the base by so many people Krom did wonder if he was going to actually meet Korian sometime when he finally returned. Even Sayomi was away, it seemed. Being taken away by all of these soldiers didn’t make Krom feel the least intimidated, even if they were probably trying to show force while all the stronger soldiers were away. Eventually, Krom and the soldiers all arrived at their intended destination for interrogation, placing Krom in restraints incase he tried anything before having him placed in a room with this Aito person. This was hardly private, especially when there was also two other Saiyans standing there waiting for him to do anything that might call for his extermination.

Shaking his head lightly to move his hair he sighed as Aito started to speak, looking to him lazily. He didn’t think much of this guy quite yet but was ready to be straight with him if he had to be. Staring at him as he spoke Krom frowned when he made certain to show his preferred side, trying to make them sound like the bad guys. Showed just how prejudice this guy was going to be during this interrogation, even if he denied his allegiance to the rebels. “You think people would believe Yamate? If I came along and told you what was really going on and you had no prior knowledge about it, would you believe me? Me, the King’s right-hand man? I doubt it. It’s not that simple”, he spoke, leaning forward a little, “You’re still not telling me what you know about it and how you know. It’s very hard to talk about such matters when you are not with the rebels and insist on talking to me like I’m yours to interrogate”.

Viral had heard what happened earlier and even though he wanted to go and see for himself he didn’t know how well he might handle the situation, finding it hard to see himself as anything but stable around somebody like Krom and seeing how injured everyone was. He could’ve been there fighting, but he had to have some freakish problem wrong with him that was weakening him greatly and making him a danger to everyone else. He hated it and just wanted it all to end, but it wasn’t going to be that simple either. Sitting quietly in the atrium contemplating over the use of his injector, he was suddenly alerted by a presence in the room. Turned out it was just Takeshi, of all people. How annoying; he was probably going to brag about the battle and how everything went, how they were still alive and even managed to convince Krom to go with them. Staring at him in annoyance he grunted as he pushed himself off the bed, leaving his injector sitting on it. “What are you doing here?” he spoke, hardly caring for Takeshi’s words, “You never talk to me unless you want something…”

[GambolMuse]

Aito took no pleasure in interrogations, but given the potential threat that Krom posed he was the only one who should do it. There was still no knowing what terms exactly the man was here on, and what dangers he may pose for the rest of this planet. If there was any indication that this might be a ploy then he'd kill the Elite here and now, or at the very least try to. Before things escalated to that degree, if they ever did, he needed to ask a few pressing questions. "If that had been his initial approach then I would imagine that people would be more willing to cooperate, particularly with the arrival of more and more of these beasts," the doctor responded, "I don't think that things would be quite so dire right now if the Saiyan military had been forthcoming, rather than making it look like a universal invasion." Of course this was too little too late, it had begun back when he'd first met the King, so anything he might say on it now was defunct.

"I'm merely a third party here. As I said, I'm neither working for the rebels nor am I trying to help the Saiyans, I'm simply looking out for the well-being of those children. As for how I'm familiar with this it's because I know Yamate. Or rather, I knew him I should say," Aito explained, frowning as he got up from his chair and placed his hands flat on the table, "I met your King almost 20 years ago on Earth, when he was attempting to create a new generation of Saiyan-Human children. Naturally I took exception to a powerful, potentially dangerous man on my planet and so I confronted him on the matter. His explanation for being there was innocent enough, but my curiosity prompted me to question him further. I don't know why it is he shared everything with me that day, but he told me all about what we're potentially facing; rifts opening up, more and more of those beasts appearing, and a threat alike to Frieza if not worse which may plague our universe. I know full well what's going on behind the scenes, as I said it's the methodology for approaching the problem I dislike."

"At any rate... I'm here to ask you questions, not the other way around. I've shared how I know about this, and for the time being that's all the information you need on me. There's quite a few other things we must get out of the way before we finish today. First and foremost... Your attempts at cloning Beastmen." Aito had heard of this through Vegeta, and the notion of mass-producing someone like Viral was both intimidating and unheard of. The exact science of creating life like that was incredibly advanced and took several of Earth's best minds to perfect, so he was highly doubtful they could replicate such a thing; more likely than not they would have hybrids, ala what Yumi was now. "I can understand your perhaps doing that for more troops, that makes sense. Yet with all the planets you've captured I can't imagine you've a shortage of fodder, which begs the question... Why the project?"

Takeshi didn't know how he was going to handle seeing Viral, if he'd break down or be able to play it cool. Had the Beastman heard about everything already? It was possible, which made the Prince ashamed to think that the man he sought to surpass would know of his failure. Upon entering the atrium he was surprised to find his friend all alone, trying to strike up some awkward conversation as a greeting. No big surprise that failed horribly, and Viral was pretty quick to call him out on why he was here. Frowning as he was scrutinized he rubbed at his injured shoulder uncomfortably, swallowing as he looked away at some of the plants for a moment. "Oh you know... Just uh... Coming by to see how things are going with you," he said, not really lying as he'd been wondering what the guy's condition was. "Feeling any better? I mean... I know it's been a short time, but they seem to be doing a lot here, you know?" Jeez, the guy was looking at him like everything he was saying was bull, he just couldn't dance around the topic could he?

"So I guess you heard about what went on out there... How we lost," Takeshi began, sighing as he looked down at the floor dejectedly, rubbing the toe of his boot on the tiles, "We all got away, but things got bad. Most everyone is all laid up in the hospital somewhere, T'charrl and Shu... They both changed, and my father ended up leaving Krom behind for some reason. I... Don't know how it went so wrong." Letting out a somber sigh he ran his hand through his hair, really not knowing how to bring up what the Elite had said about Viral without blurting it outright. Glancing at his friend once more he shifted his weight about, giving another nervous swallow before idly picking at his shirt. "Hey... Uh... When you were taken away by Krom before, to uh... Well, you know... Did you go willingly?" he asked, feeling terribly uncomfortable discussing this, "It's just, well... The guy said you kind of went along with it, but that doesn't sound right, you know? I mean... Why would you want that?"

[Mogtaki]

Krom was wholly convinced this guy was more concerned with getting as much information out for himself rather than listen to what he wanted to propose. He wasn’t comfortable in this position and would rather see someone he knew, not some random man he had never met nor seen before. He wasn’t going to attack or anything, he was supposed to be making a good impression despite his past and who he is. He would rather sit in a cell and wait for Korian to come back than to drop information down to someone he never met before. Staring at Aito, he sighed and shook his head. “You would think people would be, but stubborn hatred and aggression sure has ways to prevent a healthier relationship against a common enemy. A violence response is met with violence in return”.

Krom didn’t understand how this man could’ve met Yamate, seeing how young he was. This was just all so strange to him and made him feel a little uneasy, as if this man had just decided he was in charge over things he apparently heard. Frowning, he narrowed his gaze when Aito tried to explain how he met Yamate, talking about over twenty years ago. He was barely ten when all that was happening, but he decided to hear the guy out anyway. It was strange having to listen to all that and be told what he already knew, but he wasn’t going to freak out and get all annoyed that Yamate didn’t tell him, especially when it was so many years ago that he had told this guy. “Heh, Saiyan-Human children…I guess you don’t know about the youngest, either”.

At Aito’s dismissal over his own questions he sat back, not looking too happy to be treated like a second class citizen when it came to equal knowledge; it wasn’t as if he didn’t know about all of this already, he wasn’t just some random soldier after all. Raising an eyebrow at the question over Viral he turned curious, wondering who exactly this man was and how he got all this information. It was certainly a lot he had picked up which made him a bit nervous to give out this information. “You’ve certainly done your research, huh?” he frowned, sitting up, “It’s not so much being short of soldiers as it is having no method to exterminate the creatures completely. We cut them up, we shoot them, they regenerate on their world, they come back. The difference between normal soldiers and the Beastman is the energy he puts into killing them, cutting them up and shooting them with those sunbeams of his. They don’t come back. Isn’t that great? Shame we only had one Beastman, so experimenting and trying to insert the gene that produces that energy into other beings or cloning them from scratch seemed best. Of course, the Beastman had to go through a lot of experiments to see how durable he was and what he was made of before we started creating hybrids…not unless we wanted them dying quickly or having shortened lifespans. Gotta have ‘some’ ethnics, after all”.

Viral didn’t know why Takeshi decided he should visit when he barely had a care about him in the first place, seeing how he was constantly concerned with him being well enough to fight again. Maybe that’s why he had come around, just to see if he was getting better and how long it might take for him to recover. Nobody else really talked to him about that sort of stuff, everyone else was happy enough to ignore him. As expected, Takeshi was asking just that. “Hmph, oh yeah sure. If ‘feeling better’ comes with having constant flashbacks and headaches, then sure…” Viral wasn’t even going to talk about his genes at this point, especially when he wasn’t too keen on using the injector. He was trying to keep away from that thing unless he really needed it and so far there was no real reactions happening.

Folding his arms he stared at Takeshi as he spoke about the battle, how badly it went and the outcome. Of course T’charrl and Shu would change, that guy was practically a mutant and the kid had serious angry monkey issues that everyone enjoyed denying, but Krom deciding to come along was still a bit of a surprise. He assumed it was on the King’s orders that he would rather than him defecting or being kicked out. Staring at Takeshi he watched how he moved curiously before frowning at his question he seemed so anxious to ask, turning away as he decided to press on the subject. Growling lowly he folded his arms tight, not really wanting to discuss it but if he didn’t say something Takeshi would continue to press him for information until distrust built up which would never go away. “…I surrendered myself to them, I went in the capsule myself without resistance…so what? It wasn’t my fault you decided to follow me! What does it matter to you?? There was nothing for me left on that planet! Just fight, win and go back to living a meaningless life? Why does it matter??”

[GambolMuse]

"A hatred and aggression that the Saiyans have perpetuated through their actions. Don't say that as if it's the fault of other peoples. There were other ways to approach this situation, and again, Yamate chose poorly." It didn't matter if the empire tried reforming now, so much time had passed and so much harm had been done that Aito couldn't see it ever working out. Realistically the only thing that would do at this point was for a new power to take over, put order back in the universe and abolish this one-ruler idea that the Saiyans had. "I suppose you mean Shu, don't you? I don't know what he is just yet, but anyone with even the smallest degree of knowledge knows he's not just human and Saiyan. Of course I've been curious, yet it's not my place to look into it and so I haven't." One didn't necessarily have to be exactly alike another to be a sibling after all, just look at Vegeta and Viral for proof of that.

There was a lot of information to mull over in regards to the current events, and a few holes that Aito needed closed in. If anyone knew the exact details of what was going on as of late then Yamate's right-hand man would be the go-to source; whether Krom was willing to speak about anything he asked was another matte entirely. One thing that had been plaguing the doctor since finding out about it was the attempted Beastman project the Saiyans had put on, something he had condemned right on the spot. It was a project that could be very gruesome and taxing if not done properly, of that he had experience, and really was something that just shouldn't be done in general. It was easy for him to stand there and say that though, he'd done the same thing. Yet hearing that they had experimented on Viral had him particularly agitated, and having Krom affirm that angered him a fair bit. "That Beastman is also my son!" Aito snapped, smashing his hand onto the table and denting it, "There are ways to harness solar energy for weapons without experimenting and mutating innocent people! You and your scientists are playing with something you have no business in!" Realizing he was getting a bit worked up he stepped back, letting out a breathy sigh before running a hand over his face. "So they're to combat the threat of the beasts... Fine, but it's impractical. The time and resources it would take to develop a group large enough to fight would be immense, it's just not a good way to go about this. Frankly none of what you've all been doing makes much sense."

"Oh... Well uh, you do look a bit better, if that's worth anything," Takeshi remarked, shrugging his shoulders as he smiled awkwardly, "I mean you're not totally better yet, but glad to see you're improving." Well this was going swimmingly, as even when he tried showing some concern the guy just got angry with him. Trying again to get out what he really wanted to say he ended up going on about the battle first, trying to put off asking the big question long as he could. When he finally got it out there it was met with a silence at first, one which made the Prince very anxious as he awaited the answer; how would everything be if they found out Viral had gone along willingly? Or was Krom just lying to them? If their friend had actually wanted to be with the Saiyans then that said a lot about what they had been doing, and it'd probably make everyone feel pretty bad over it all, himself included.

Takeshi had fully expected to hear that Krom had been lying, that Viral was taken against his will and tried to fight them. That was the Viral he thought he knew, a guy that wasn't going to roll over even when beaten. But to hear that his friend had not only gone along with it willingly, but done so because he felt Earth had nothing for him? It was like getting a sharp blow to the chest, and for a moment Takeshi could only stare at Viral, a look of pure confusion and even hurt plain on his face. "So... Us risking everything... All of this that happened... You wanted to go with them...?" he repeated, lowering his gaze as he tried to process that. Viral had seemed to loathe them though, but now he went with them willingly? This didn't make much sense, and did this mean that their bringing him back wasn't what he wanted at all? Thinking it over struck him oddly as funny, and letting out a slight chuckle it soon turned into bitter laughter, with Takeshi placing a hand on his forehead before smiling at Viral. "So we risked our lives, Shu was captured and changed, even Yumi, because you wanted to go with them? And so all of this, us trying to help you, has that been the exact opposite of what you wanted?" he asked, laughing again before shaking his head, "Wow! That makes me feel awesome! Tell you what though, I'll keep this between you and I, because you don't want everyone else knowing this," he added, frowning then as he looked at Viral, "Glad to know everything we sacrificed to get you out though was against your wishes. Sorry we had to ruin your plans or whatever."

[Mogtaki]

Krom felt like he was talking to the wrong person about this still, especially when it relied on him getting entry to the base without too much monitoring. This guy had nothing to do with that and was still going to be something he would have to explain to Krom. He knew what he had to do and what he was allowed to say, but he still didn’t feel comfortable revealing certain things. “Look, I didn’t ask to be born a Saiyan Elite and take this job because of my power. You act as if all Saiyans wanted to be part of a war. It’s a Kingdom, not some race battle…” He still got annoyed that he was being seen as the bad guy. To face the resistance when they were trying to save a planet from being taken was always going to happen and the only way to deal with the aggression would be to get rid of the aggressors. “Well, Yamate didn’t tell me completely either, but he did say he was an experiment of sorts. Makes me nervous, really”.

Yamate certainly seemed like the scientific-type which was always weird to Krom, he was never into science and all that but he wasn’t going to judge anyone about it. If they wanted to do science then they can do science, but he wasn’t going to get involved. Telling this man about the Beastman project didn’t seem like a big deal when he already knew they were doing something with them, or rather Yamate and his team of scientists were doing something with them. He didn’t like it, he hated seeing his own people being treated like fodder regarding these situations. When Aito suddenly snapped at him he was taken back a little, staring at him in disbelief at first before hardening his gaze again. “Your son? You experimented on your own son? I guess you and Yamate aren’t that different then”, he spoke, adjusting his hands under the table since he couldn’t fold his arms, “They’ve been trying to harness solar energy for weapons since before I was recruited and even if you can fire it from a machine, it doesn’t have the same effect! There’s got to be a life force behind it and unless you want people strapped to these weapons and harvested, making them into warriors is probably the better option!” Feeling annoyed he leaned back in his chair, sighing lightly. “Well you shouldn’t be asking me about time and resources because I’ve never had a part in all of these experiments. Science isn’t my thing and I want nothing to do with it. Hearing what goes on in those labs is bad enough”.

Viral was already feeling completely unsettled so having these questions set on him didn’t make him feel any better, like he was having to admit everything before he died. He might as well just do that, even if it wouldn’t make him feel better it would probably make everybody hate him enough to want him gone. Keeping his arms folded and his eyes diverted he became increasingly tense when Takeshi decided to go on a definite conclusion without questioning him further, just repeating what was said. Letting out a sigh to try and calm down so he could talk again, he went to open his mouth to talk but was interrupted by Takeshi letting a rather disgusting laugh. Turning slightly, Viral toughened up his hold on his arms, growling lowly as Takeshi just continued on with his condescending attitude. He was trying to tell himself it was none of his fault and to just interrupt Takeshi with the truth, but a constant voice in his head was just screaming at him telling him it was his fault.

Finding it hard to concentrate through the constant voice in his head and Takeshi’s blame game he soon held his head, pressing his claws hard into his scalp as he tried to get a grip just to speak up. It was very difficult when his mind was completely against him, even telling him to attack Takeshi for bringing this hostility. Immediately finding the guilt trip Takeshi was delivering too much he soon let out a hostile growl, marching over to Takeshi. “Fine! All of that is MY fault! Does that make you happier?? Knowing this is all because of ME??” he snarled at him, almost raising his claws to him but resisting the urge. “I was promised the planet’s safety, Yumi’s safety, if I went with them! And you know what? I accepted their promise! Nobody had to go after me! YOU never had to use the Dragonballs to go after me! Shu was captured because I thought what I was doing was right, but it wasn’t right! It’s all my fault! I did all that! I defected to your side once you removed the collar from my spine and Yumi was taken because I broke the bargain! Who knows how many more Earthlings they took with her!” Turning away he walked off again, stopping short of the bed as he pressed his hand against it as if for balance. “Go ahead and tell everyone! I don’t care who knows! Tell Shu it’s my fault he had to sit in that cell and be experimented on for months, tell Yumi it’s my fault she’s different! I already know I did it, so go ahead and spread the word! I don’t care anymore…”

[GambolMuse]

"You're right, you didn't ask for it. Then again neither did Korian, and at least he's trying to stop the atrocities. Even if I don't agree with what's going on we both seem to know that something has to be done, yet you've made no efforts from what I can see to stop it. Yamate truly does wish to save everyone, but he's doing so in a fashion that weakens the whole. We cannot rely on the strength of a few for the salvation of many, it has to be a concentrated, group effort. And the fact that Shu is the product of an experiment..." Again, could Aito really judge Yamate? He had done the same with Viral, in fact the exact same thing. Perhaps the nature of the process itself had differed, but each child had been born with becoming a protector of sorts. Krom didn't miss that fact either and was fairly quick to point it out, more than likely eager to paint the doctor in a poor light this time.

So solar energy was the bane of these beasts, was that it? Interesting, though Aito wasn't certain why that was. Despite having been arguing with Krom just a second ago he was now silent, letting the man spoke as he thought. "I see... It would make sense I suppose, if you think about it enough," the doctor mused, folding his hands behind his back as he began pacing, "Their bodies have likely developed in a place with minimal solar radiation, which means they aren't used to focused solar energy, much less solar attacks. Ki is powerful enough to break the cells apart, but not to destroy them entirely, which is why there needs to be a combination. I see... That makes sense." Well it made sense, but that didn't mean he liked it. Viral was then the ideal candidate for becoming the two-in-one fighter, but the process of gifting him Ki wasn't going to be an easy one, if it was even possible. If they could manage it though... They would have a very powerful, seasoned warrior to combat the threat. "I can actually understand their thought process, though the steps taken to achieve the result is deplorable at best. Perhaps a combination of fighters..." he mumbled, frowning before glancing back at Krom, "So you don't know the science behind it, fine. But tell me, have you seen any of this field tested? These other alleged Beastmen your people had created, like Yumi... Are they successful?"

Viral had wanted this? To become a pawn of the Saiyans? Was he seriously that jaded that he thought Earth had nothing for him? What about his friends? His family? The fact the place was his home! It pissed Takeshi off to no end hearing such a thing, and it also made him feel like an incredible sucker for risking so much for the guy. Wanting to just leave now he turned to go, stopping in his step when Viral began shouting back. Wait... He'd struck a deal with them? This was the first time anything like this had come up, why? Turning back around he looked at the Beastman confused, his eyes widening when he revealed the entirety of the situation to him. "So... You... Tried saving us?" he asked, eyes downcast as he began immediately feeling like utter crap. He couldn't have been further from the truth, could he? "Viral, I... I'm so sorry, I never knew... It's not your fault, I..." What could he even say after that? The guy had been bearing this burden for so long and now that it was finally out there was likely nothing that Takeshi could do. Why didn't he say anything? They might have been able to help him. Aside from him he was pretty sure no one blamed the guy, and now that he knew the truth even he didn't. Shaking his head dejectedly he looked up at the Beastman, wanting desperately to try and say something to make things right but not having a clue as to what. "I'll... I'll leave you alone, sorry..." he mumbled, turning and leaving the atrium.

So that was the truth of it then? Viral had gone to try and spare the rest, a noble gesture. To think that he'd been trying to stop them from having to take the risks to save him; had no one chased after Viral then maybe none of this would be happening now. Vegeta let out a sigh from his spot on the wall, having been standing just around the corner and listening to the whole conversation. Well now that was out in the open, how he and his father were unaware of that before... "No one thinks what happened is your fault Viral, don't tell yourself that," Vegeta spoke, entering the room while giving his brother a steady look, "I wish you had said something about this before, this would change our approach completely." It was one hell of a weight on one's shoulders, and they had been addressing the wrong parts entirely. Or, rather, they had been addressing products of this guilt, not the guilt itself. Walking over to the bedside he reached out and tried to place a hand on Viral's shoulder, offering a slight smile as he did so. "Believe me, no one blames you for what happened, certainly not if this is brought to light. What happened was all of our own volition, you didn't make anyone do anything. Please, just take a seat and breathe, calm down a little because we need to talk."

[Mogtaki]

Krom frowned before shrugging. “Turning a fight into one that now had three sides was never a wise decision either, honestly. I don’t see how it is sensible to do such a thing when everyone can be on one side instead”, he sighed, shaking his head, “The rebels aren’t all sunshine and sparkles either, you know”. Both sides were just as bad as the other but when it came to power it was definitely the Kingdom that had it, the rebels simply trying to weaken that power. He couldn’t have much of a say in it, he was only supposed to make sure everything the King did was carried out and to be the strongest of the Kingdom other than Yamate. It was difficult to make decisions sometimes, but the King seemed to know the most of what was going on and how to combat it. “I don’t know everything about that kid, but apparently the fact that he becomes a mad tiny Oozaru is a ‘success’. Can understand why they gave him a control collar for that crap…”

Krom didn’t really like talking about all this scientific stuff when he had better things to discuss, but this guy wasn’t going to let him talk until he spilled all that he knew about these monsters. He was a particularly dull subject for him and he didn’t like being involved in it too. Listening to the man talk on about the monsters he only stared in slight boredom, still taking in what he was saying but also finding himself disinterested in it too. “Uh huh…well, yes. A life form firing off the solar energy is like a Ki blast, but actually kills them”. Scratching his cheek with his shoulder he slowly leaned back, feeling less tense now that the man had stopped shouting about sons or whatever. He just wanted to talk to Korian, even if it might be painful at first since it meant he would get it over with too. “Hmm, Yumi? Well, we barely had a chance to test her before Viral decided to try to eat the Elite who was supposed to be testing her out on the field. The other projects…well, I’ve not seen yet. The King went himself to check on them so he knows. You won’t get much out of me regarding that unless you want me to lie. I’m not telling you where they are, though…mainly for the same reason stated. They’re more his little project with his science team”.

Viral was finding it hard to stand after letting off that much steam, the whole ordeal not making him feel better in the slightest. He had done all that and Takeshi knew it, probably everyone knew it and was probably keeping it all to themselves when they didn’t know the direct answer. They were probably ready to blame him the moment they heard it was because he decided to go and join the King, how he dragged them all to Hell because he thought he was doing the right thing. The Earth was hardly his home, he didn’t have a purpose there nor did he offer it anything in return, so the only thing to do was to save it from any further harm by sacrificing himself. Takeshi saying all that just drilled in exactly what he thought everyone would think of him. Letting out a low grumble as Takeshi did a complete turnaround in his accusations he slowly scratched his ribs, still keeping a hold of the bedpost. “Don’t bother! You’re just…saying what everyone else thinks…”

It was easy to have little faith in himself after that stunt turned horribly wrong. He was the one who destroyed all their lives and all Takeshi did was say what everyone else was thinking. If he never did surrender himself, nobody would be in the states they were now. Sighing, Viral slowly rubbed his head before gasping lightly, turning to look to see where the voice was coming from. It seemed Vegeta had been spying on him from the start much to his despair. Staring at him in confusion he soon let out a groan and looked away from him. “I never wanted to say anything about it”. Viral was about to walk away from all of this when Vegeta placed a hand on his shoulder, his eyes going to him briefly before giving him a short glare and looking down. He was only saying all that to keep him there and prevent him from leaving again, knowing he would if he wasn’t there. Growling lowly he soon let out a huff and sat down on the bed, looking rather angry at first before deciding to rub his face, his fingers digging into his head. “There’s nothing to talk about…you heard it all! Nothing can reverse the damage I caused!”

[GambolMuse]

"You're right, expanding this conflict was never a good idea, but both sides are at fault for that," Aito said, "The Saiyans refuse to operate in any way other than forming this empire of theirs, and meanwhile the rebels wish for everyone to be independent of a central rule. Even if the goals are aligned the approaches are polar opposites, and with neither side budging it is inevitable that conflict would arise. I'm well aware that the rebels aren't wholly innocent in this affair, no one is." They had to come an agreement and cease this fighting of theirs, something which the doctor was acutely aware of being nigh impossible. Each man, being Korian and Yamate, had their own agendas, and neither was liable to back down from their stance even in the face of a greater threat. That was more infuriating than anything, seeing both leaders willingly risking so much just to be right. "They lack control though, that's not a success. This collar, I've only heard bits of it, but it sounds like a neural transmitter meant to induce almost a comatose like state in a patient, making them susceptible to suggestions. Again that is not a success, it's the equivalent of drugging someone to make them open to orders."

The scientific aspects of this conversation had taken over Aito's focus, if only because this was something he could make an impact on. There were a lot of unknowns in this situation, and coupled with that fact that there was no exact way to combat the monsters yet only further increased his investment. "I have to wonder though, particularly with Yumi as she's the only proof of concept I've seen... Does introducing the Beastman gene weaken their body?" the doctor mused aloud, frowning as he placed his hands on his hips, "If the individual has the same strength level as before and has more power introduced then naturally their body may not be equipped to contain it all, so what happens? Is Ki energy lost in favor of this solar-based power? I just wonder if this idea of melding the two could actually be weakening fighters..." It was all theory really as he'd never thought to do such a thing, or at least never gave consideration to the consequences of such a thing. Hearing Krom would not divulge the location was a bit disheartening as well; it would make sense to let someone like him, with intimate knowledge of Beastman anatomy, to oversee such an endeavor. "Your King is going to be the harbinger of the end of his own empire if he continues on this path... He's trying to do too much, where you should be focusing on at most two things, I don't see it ending well."

If Takeshi had just known the truth of the situation, he'd never have said what he just did. Nothing had ever come up that suggested Viral had done that for their good, and because of that he'd just painted the guy to be a selfish ass where the truth couldn't be any more different. He had no right to be talking to Viral after that, he'd only make things even worse for the man who was already struggling with so much. After managing out a meek apology the Prince promptly left the atrium, not wanting to be a bother any longer and let the Beastman get back to whatever he had been doing. Today was just turning out awfully crappy, maybe he should just go check on Shu... Oh, right. He had a small anxiety attack seeing his little brother earlier, should he really try that again so soon? Takeshi couldn't face his friends either after freaking out like that, ashamed by how he'd acted and guilty that they'd been hurt due to his inability to fight. There really wasn't anywhere then he could comfortably go, which meant he was spending this afternoon alone most likely. Letting out a soft sigh he rubbed at one of his arms, eyes downcast on the road as he walked along. Maybe he should ask Vegeta's father about what to do, he was a smart guy and probably had an answer; there was only one little problem with that though, he hadn't a clue where he and Krom had gone off to.

Vegeta hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but once an argument had begun he'd wanted to see how it played out. As expected, Takeshi spoke before thinking and Viral immediately buckled under guilt, showing there quite literally could not have been any two worse people for that exchange. They hadn't made terribly much progress with the Beastman yet, though with that brief discussion he now worried what little they had made was undone. "You should have though, then everyone could dispel that concern," Vegeta remarked, frowning as he placed a hand on Viral's shoulder, "No one thinks that you're responsible for this. I've not heard a single word from any one person that would suggest such a thing." Though he was far from articulate about it, it didn't seem like Takeshi had been sincere about it either; as usual it was more the kid's emotions making him unpredictable, which was nothing new. Watching Viral take a seat on his bed, Vegeta moved around and joined him, folding his hands in his lap and looking at his brother somberly. "What I heard was an irrational fear and profession of guilt from someone who doesn't have all the facts. Granted, neither do we, or neither did we, but now we do. Tell me this much: If I had everyone gather together, and we explained what you had done, how many of us do you think would say they actually blame you?"

[Mogtaki]

Krom had little tolerance for all this stuff Aito was openly accusing him and his race of when he was seeing it from one side, hence him asking him all these questions. It was annoying being called out as bad guys just because of the way they operate and how they got the job done. “What the rebels are trying to do is weaken the planets and their resistance to these creatures! Those planets don’t know how to fight those beasts and soon enough their planets are going to be gone and that’s it for them!” Krom spoke up, raising his cuffed hands up quickly in frustration before dropping them again, “It’s not like we’re the Planet Trade Organization...if we were, Uunoue would be gone by now”. This was rather frustrating, especially when it wasn’t getting him anywhere. He wanted to get started as soon as possible but as it stood he was wasting air discussing this all with this man. “I never liked those collars. Not all of them turn them into zombies. Because of Viral’s deal, we had to make one that would make him lucid yet still fiercely loyal to the King no matter his state of mind. Took a lot of testing to get that one working…”

All this talk about science and junk was definitely making Krom tired and hungry, thinking he could last through this interrogation. He did wonder if he was going to be allowed food after all this, even if he had to eat in a terrible cell. Frowning at his next questions he soon let out a long sigh, finding it to be a little too much to think about when he was not a fan of any of it. “Yumi would be feeling the effects if it did weaken her, so I doubt it. The subjects have to be strong fighters to begin with so it doesn’t add any strength, I don’t know about other aspects, though”, he shrugged, “The plan was to have Viral teach them how to use solar-based attacks. She could use Ki just fine but it wasn’t solar energy when we tested it. Think of it like an ‘addon’ for her, or whatever…” Getting annoyed at Aito’s accusations he growled lowly before huffing, leaning back in his chair. “It would help if the rebels were not trying to get in the way all the time…”

Shu was having a difficult time resting up the more he recovered, his exhaustion soon fading away and being replaced by panicked dreaming. It was always the worst whenever he dreamed and having been forcefully put to sleep made things worse for him, only managing to terrify him until he would finally wake up. He wasn’t waking up for some time as he continued to dream, his dream practically starting from what he remembered when he was awake only everything was so much worse. He was destroying everything and he couldn’t stop himself, chasing his friends as they tried to desperately flee from his flying claws. Just as he got close to Takeshi again he managed to catch him, opening his mouth as he gathered energy as he stared at Takeshi’s terrified face it was then he woke up. The first thing he saw was the light on the ceiling of his room, panic immediately setting in as the dream was fresh on his mind to which his automatic response was to flail and jump out of his bed, bounding on all fours to the corner of his room. Huddling right in the corner he took rapid breaths, shaking in fear as he tried to place where he was. He was in an empty bedroom by the looks of it, no top on but all bandaged around his torso and arms instead. He was terrified and confused, panicking a fair bit as he tried to figure out where he was and what was going on. He was all alone, that much he could see.

Viral only felt a fair deep regret, getting all angry like that. He probably should had kept everything in check and not let Takeshi get to him like that, just accepting what everyone thought of him. This was just going to make everyone else feel guilty instead and they didn’t need that, they weren’t the one who went and put their lives at risk. He could handle the hatred of others, he had been subjected to it for a long enough time to grow a spine, but this was plain confusing. All that damage had been done long ago and all this was going to do was make people think he was lying to cover up his mistakes. Sitting down on the bed he tried to ease his head, the stress fair built up after all that. Eventually looking away he let out a sigh, his fingers twitching in anxiety and anger as Vegeta tried to speak to him about future plans with this information. “I’m not scared of anything. Don’t even suggest that…” he muttered, keeping his eyes off him, “But I am not speaking about it again. They’ll never believe me now that it’s been so long, so just let them remember I was taken first! Nobody else was taken that day…Takeshi went after me with his brother on their own free will. Isn’t that better than knowing I joined willingly??”

[GambolMuse]

"I won't argue that their actions are hurting things, but then so are yours. Both sides are at fault here; the rebels want to separate everyone and thus weaken everything as a whole, and the Saiyans are trying to gather everyone, by force, for strength in numbers. All of this stems from your King's inability to be straightforward. And you're right, you're not the Planet Trade Organization, for which I suppose we should be grateful. Nonetheless, what you've been doing isn't much better." He did realize he was playing devil's advocate and critiquing the empire more, but then that was the point of this; what did someone in the ranks think of their activity? Not to be unexpected the Elite was quick to bash the rebels for their activities, and he was certain if this were Korian or someone else in the chair they'd do the same. "See... In my eyes the collars are nothing more than something to bend the will of those around you, not strengthen it or align them to your cause. I can perfectly understand the viewpoint, to gather the strongest army possible to confront the enemy, but I cannot condone how it was approached, as I've said many times now. If you return to your King, be certain he understands the ramifications his actions will have, even if the efforts are successful. People will not forgive this easily."

There may be a plentiful amount of side-effects that turning someone into a Beastman could bring about, no one knew for certain. The reason Viral never showed any signs of degradation prior was because he was 'naturally' like that, meaning nothing new was introduced into his body. One only had to look as far as Yumi to see if it had any clear adverse effects, and this far luckily it didn't seem so. That being said however it didn't absolve her of risk, it may be some time until they could say with absolute certainty. "It just seems like Viral should be paired with a powerful Ki user, albeit that doesn't solve everything. That pair couldn't be everywhere at once, which means more solar energy users are needed. That... Or we develop the proper weaponry for it..." Aito mumbled, frowning as he looked over at Krom, "The rebels would not be getting in your way if they knew the truth, don't you think? Or perhaps they would, but at the very least then they could be helping to prepare for whatever is on its way. I'm not siding with them, I'm just saying you cannot blame them, since at face value all most see is the Saiyans being aggressive and trying to overtake worlds. Hardly inspires camaraderie and trust, now does it?"

A nurse was making her rounds about the hospital, checking up on the latest patients coming back from their last mission. Rumor had it they had fought the Saiyan King and lived, a very impressive feat. Obviously they hadn't killed the man as otherwise Uuonoe would be erupting into fanfare, but the fact they'd made it back was still good nonetheless. Having just left Haku's room she stopped just outside of Shu's getting her chart together before entering. With everything in order she went ahead and knocked before entering, blinking in confusion seeing the young Saiyan's bed empty. "Shu...? Hello...?" she called, walking in slowly while looking about. Spotting a nest of hair just on the other side of the bed she hurried over, looking at the little boy worriedly as he was quite visibly shaken and panicked. Placing her clipboard on the bed she hurried over and knelt down, reaching out to try and help him up to his feet. "Shh... You're okay little one, you're at the hospital on Uuonoe. You were brought here after the fight ended, you're safe now. Just take a few deep breaths and relax, nothing's going to hurt you here."

"Okay, perhaps afraid wasn't the right word for that, but why wouldn't we tell them the truth? It would absolve you of this guilt you're feeling, wouldn't it? Right now you think everyone blames you or holds a grudge, but I can guarantee that isn't the case." No one had shown any signs at all of questioning Viral before now, Takeshi was the first to say anything on the matter and he'd quickly changed his mind once he knew. The others were far less opinionated and prone to outburst than that knucklehead was, he was positive that Viral had nothing to be concerned about. "You joined willingly, but it's not as if you joined for power, nor did you join because you hated everyone. You said so yourself, you joined because you were told it was going to spare us any trouble. What you did was the greatest sacrifice short of giving your life for us, and there's not a single one among us who will think poorly of that. Viral... You say you failed in protecting Earth, but I beg to differ. You protected Earth just fine, it's we that failed you. As things stand everyone believes you were kidnapped, no one knows you joined willingly. If you can please tell me how people will possibly view knowing you tried sparing everyone any trouble as a bad thing then please, tell me."

[Mogtaki]

Aito was still trying to defend the actions of the rebels even after all of his admittance that the rebels weren’t doing a terribly good job, managing to irritate him quite a lot. The rebels were assuming they were doing good when all they were doing was leaving the planets they won vulnerable to attack when they all decided to be placed under their own rule again. They didn’t know what they were doing and this was the point on his surrender, but it didn’t help matters that he couldn’t complete his first job when the man wasn’t even here. “You’re only saying that because you believe you’re on the ‘good’ side…” Maybe once Korian got here things would be better, but then again maybe he would just sound exactly like Aito before deciding to openly put him in the docks and torture him repeatedly for his actions. “Hmph, I don’t care for your words that much when you’re constantly bashing my existence, but the collars are something I don’t agree upon either. Having slaves is lowly; it’s better to convince people you’re on the side that does it best”.

Krom was still only wanting to get off the scientific talk incase he said something that was out of line, that he wasn’t supposed to reveal to the enemy. The collar stuff was fine, but the fact that this guy knew about the Beastman project made him wary to tell too much. There was always the possibility he may end up having the King know and come to terminate him before he spoke too much about it, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight if that was the case. Talking about Viral so much was annoying him a little bit, especially when he was still an artificial creature and not a natural soldier, taking his strength from science. “Viral could create a mech out of nowhere after half a year of his recruitment, used it to level settlements. Don’t know what it is but doubt he needs a partner. Creating artificial fighters was the best solution, not that I know how many there are now…hmph, rather disgusting if you ask me”. He knew whatever they’d create wouldn’t be like Viral, but they could still try if it meant winning the war against the creatures. “They probably know the truth but don’t care! So what if our methods are a little…aggressive, Korian just wants to be the top Saiyan and just sees the monsters as a pest!”

Shu could barely look around the room without feeling trapped and confused, his head still in pain after his last transformation. His body was still sore and weak, but scampering into the corner proved he still had strength in him somewhere. From what he could tell he was in a small hospital room completely isolated from anyone, but that didn’t help him after what he dreamed and knowing it was a reality not long ago. Letting out a light whine he pressed himself into the corner, trying to isolate himself from all of these thoughts and fears before he let out a squeak when he realised someone was there. At first he thought he had been captured again after hurting all his friends, feeling completely terrified that he was going to be taken before instead the woman decided to try and help him stand, telling him his location. Staring up at her as he was helped to his feet he let out a pining whine, trying to weakly cuddle against the nurse. “…Did bad…bad things! Friends hurt because I-…” he paused, trying to raise his arms up to hold onto the nurse but he was too weak, “I bad little Shu! Very bad! Bad Shu hurt friends! Brother hurt by Shu…where brother? Bad Shu, making hurt…”

Viral was not optimistic about telling everyone what happened back then, knowing it would just sound like an excuse for his capture. It had been so long since he spoke up about it and telling them what he had intended just to make them feel better felt like it wouldn’t work in the long run. It would make them sound like he was fooling them into some complicated lie he had been working out over the year. “For all they know I was just taken and adding new information into the mix would make me sound guilty no matter what I say. If they already guessed I was taken because I let them but don’t speak up about it, that’s fine with me”. He felt he was being backed into a corner over this, that he had to go out and tell them everything he knew about what happened. Not having the biggest chunk of confidence left in him he looked to Vegeta, staring at him as he tried to convince him to think otherwise. He really didn’t know what to make of the whole notion, finding it hard to come up with an excuse. Growling lowly he looked away, slowly rubbing his head. “I am…not sure. Even if I told everyone on the field that day that I was going to spare them the trouble, they would’ve tried to come after me. They would never accept my decision to become one of them, to allow them to use my genetic makeup to their advantage. There was no other way to stop the attacks other than through bargaining but even then, what kind of solution is that? I’d still be gone! But I wasn’t of much use while I was on Earth either. The Earth offered nothing for me and I still took the bullet to try and save it! What kind of sacrifice is that? That’s not heroic! That’s just…me taking a free ticket off that planet…”

[GambolMuse]

"I am not on the good side, nor am I on the bad side. I am the mediator here, trying to make certain that two men with larger-than-life egos don't bring about the end of the universe," Aito retorted sharply, frowning at Krom as he spoke, "Yamate is guilty of creating dissidence and loathing throughout, and Korian is weakening the overall efforts to protect the worlds, both are at fault. You may not be a leader but you're complacent in your King's orders, which gives you part of the blame. Then again I could have killed Yamate and prevented all of this as well, so I'm no better." Now there was no way of knowing if he was the King's equal or not, whether he could even back something like that up. When they had first met years and years ago he was positive he could have done it, even if it might have cost his own life, but now he wasn't so sure. "Convincing people through reason or even coercion is better than force, I'm sure even you and your King must understand that. Troop number means nothing when there's no cohesion among the ranks, as soon as something happens I would wager everyone's going to break off and it'll be a disaster..."

It was an abysmal way to look at the situation, but that was Aito's greatest concern now; without being informed everyone was fighting for a cause they didn't believe in. If they were told it was to protect their worlds from a threat then there'd likely be far more likely to side with the Saiyans. In fact, if everyone knew the truth then people would be lining up to join, there would be no need for invasions or conscripts. "That mech is a last ditch safety measure built into him. It was meant to be used in worst case scenarios, as its very taxing and can be hard to control at times. The fact that you made it easier to access concerns me, I've still yet to figure out exactly what potential risks it has." The men could agree there at least; creating artificial life so callously was hardly an ethical thing to do. Aito had done it, but he'd done so with the full intent of providing his creation a full, meaningful life, not to use them solely as a military weapon. "Maybe that's the truth, maybe it's not, I can't say. But if anything is going to be done then the two sides need to have some kind of discussion, before things get worse."

It was very strange to see a Saiyan like this, people who were normally so vicious and intimidating; Shu was nothing more than a little boy who happened to be a Saiyan by heritage, he didn't look like he'd hurt a fly. Feeling terribly sympathetic for the child, the nurse walked over and tried to help him to his feet, eyes widening a bit in surprise when he hastily cuddled into her. "There there... Your friends are all here too, and they're okay. No one was seriously injured in the battle, that includes your brother," the nurse said gently, smiling as she put her arm around Shu and stroked his hair, "Please, don't worry so much, they're being taken care of and will make a full recovery." Hoping to take care of this boy now she eased him into a sitting position back on his bed, smiling kindly as she did so. "I just need to check a few things dear, so please sit still for me?" Reaching into the pocket of her white coat she pulled out a small scanner, turning it on and slowly moving the device over Shu's front. "It's an x-ray machine, it let's me see if anything's broken on the inside, but you seem to be perfectly fine! Can I get you anything? Something to eat? A drink?"

"The only person who currently thinks you're guilty Viral, is you. Even prior to overhearing that exchange I never believed you were guilty, only that you'd been taken by force and made to do things against your will. The Saiyans were at fault before, and the Saiyans are at fault now, not you. I'm positive the others share my sentiments." Vegeta wasn't going to blame Viral regardless of what was said, he simply couldn't. He could still remember Krom having taken his brother almost like a hostage, using it as his way off of Earth. That had nothing to do with the Beastman, it was all Krom's doing. Even if Viral had agreed to go along to spare them trouble he'd still been taken by the Elite, again making the blame fall onto the Saiyans. "You were an immense part in finding the Dragonballs, and you were integral in defending Earth, even if you were taken for it. And it most certainly is heroic, you were going to sacrifice your own well-being, possibly even your life to save your friends and even the planet. There is nothing more heroic than that. In all honesty I kind of hold you up on a pedestal now, knowing that. It's not something many people could do, and it was an incredibly courageous and selfless act. Truly you're a better man than most of us here, of that there's no question. And it's only further cemented my desire to help you, to get you healthy again and back to your prime, like you deserve. You helped us, now it's our turn to help you."

[Mogtaki]

Krom was having a hard time believing Aito when he was not giving him the friendliest of words regarding his side and not really saying much about the rebels other than they are partly wrong, especially when he was being made out to be a common criminal. “Hmph, ‘kill Yamate’? Like you could do something like that…” he grunted, shaking his head, “You act as if it’s easy to know who is in the ‘right’ in all this, but I stand by the fact I am not the bad guy here! I follow orders, I don’t get killed; that’s it. That’s the life of a Saiyan warrior in today’s world”. This guy probably had the luxury of being a citizen on Earth for so long without knowing or caring what life was like elsewhere, not knowing the life of a soldier. Saying he was to blame was like saying he was purposely born into this role and that frustrated him. “Oh yeah sure, I’m sure many people would be super happy to be turned into hybrids so we can have an advantage against the monsters! We can’t rely on one Beastman to take down an organisation of those things…”

Krom was starting to wonder how long this was going to take now. They had been at this nonsense for some time now and all Aito was trying to do was make him feel bad for what he did. Sighing lightly, Krom tried to calm down just so he didn’t just want to leave and go back to whatever cell they were going to give him. He had no doubt there was probably a lot of rebels ready and waiting for him just incase he tried anything and yet that was proving to be a better thought than having to talk about all this irrelevant information. “Yeah well, he didn’t even know where it came from when he first used it so don’t lecture me about its use”. All of this talk was something that was probably better to be discussed with Yamate. None of this was his project and all he could do was watch and make sure the orders went through without consequences. “What do you think I’m here for? I came here to talk to Korian about all this! Those kids need proper training against those creatures and I was going to give it to them. Their performance against Yamate was laughable at best: Takeshi could barely lay a finger on me, the only one who could got blasted by Shu, Yamate had four on him and they all got blasted away while Shu turned on his brother with just a toss! Unfortunately, I’ve got to wait for Korian for all that, where ever he is…”

Shu was still scared even with the nurse present, not having been alone like this in a long time since his capture. He was scared for the others and worried that they might be badly injured because of him, knowing he changed and went on a rampage. Takeshi not being here made him worry that he really did hurt him as bad as he imagined, but the nurse was reassuring everyone was going to be okay. Staring up at the nurse as he squeaked quietly to himself he slowly moved to the bed with her, slowly sitting down on it with her guidance. “T-They’re…okay…? I-I thought…that…” Tugging at the bed’s covers a little he squeaked when the nurse held some sort of machine up at him, freezing up before relaxing. Not having a great understanding with what was happening he rubbed his feet together, staring down at himself before slowly pressing his fingers against his stomach. “I-I-…I don’t know. I don’t know what I want…” he squeaked, slowly shaking his head, “Feel all hurting…a-and not sure what-…where’s brother? I want to see Takeshi!”

“I’m supposed to be strong, but being the first to be taken must had cast doubt. To be taken when everyone else managed to beat them must had made me look so weak…the only logical explanation is to come to the conclusion that I betrayed everyone. Unless…they already saw me as weak…like I am now”, Viral spoke before letting out a groan, holding his head, “I can’t…shake it off…” The constant negativity and doubt continued to creep in, telling him he was wrong to think they thought he was innocent. He tried hard to overcome it but it continued to take over his thoughts, making him feel terrible every single time. It was agony at best and even if this kind of thought pattern was tame he still found it hard to fight. Running a hand through his hair he made a glance at Vegeta before looking away again, raising his shoulders. This praise was not making it through very well when he was constantly being told by himself that it was all false, but he didn’t know how to stop it. All of these thoughts and voices were what drove him mad the first time and he still had trouble keeping them at bay. “…You said this only ‘further cemented your desire’; you had doubts about helping me before? The desire wasn’t solid enough before? How do you even start to help this? I can’t even think clearly without being drive to madness from all these thoughts…my head doesn’t want to accept anything you’re saying. I’m not strong enough for any of this…’praise’…”

[GambolMuse]

"Now you're probably right, I don't know if I could kill the man. Before however? No doubt in my mind, the only question is whether it would have killed me in the process," Aito said bluntly, giving a shrug before rubbing at his head, "So you're a coward, in other words? Complacent in your actions despite knowing they're wrong to save your own life? You could have defected, try spreading the truth about what was going on, but instead you chose the easy route and remained at your post." He wasn't here to befriend this man, even if he was fully aware of the reasons behind his actions; there was this nagging feeling that Krom might know a bit more than he was giving, and the doctor was hoping to agitate him into letting that slip. If this Elite was Yamate's right-hand man then surely he knew far more than he'd shared, he had to.

The only thing that Aito had scheduled for today was working with Viral, and he'd only just left there to come here. Vegeta could handle his sibling for the time being, as right now the doctor was more determined to get everything they may need from Krom. "How strange... A bunch of children struggled against seasoned warriors with at least their lifetime of experience under their belts. Who would have thought?" he asked in a biting remark, frowning as he looked down at Krom, "I don't know where Korian is, though I would assume that he'll be called and arrive shortly now. Given that this room has audio recording," Aito mumbled, glancing around casually before shrugging his shoulders, "Our entire conversation has more likely than not all been overheard. So chances are they'll simply play him this, given they have anything, rather than Korian speak to you directly." There was no concern over what the rebels may think of his critique, he was simply put outside of their influence and was hardly going to censor himself for their sake.

"All of your friends are fine, Shu. They were beaten up when they came in, but everyone's resting now and expected to make a full recovery. Please try not to worry." She'd been told this young one might be a bit nervous, but he looked borderline panic attack right now. Poor thing, just what had they gone through out there? Now that she was here to tend to him it wasn't so much about the rest as it was him. Whatever he wanted, be it food or something to entertain himself, she'd dutifully bring him it. Shame then that he didn't know what he wanted, that complicated things just a touch. "Your brother...? Oh dear... I'm sorry, but he left the hospital earlier. We're trying to find where he went right now, but he's okay too if you're worried. I'll have someone bring him right down here once we find him though." He'd left in a bit of a fit as she'd heard, even threatening the nurse watching him before just up and going. "You hurt everywhere...? We have medicine to numb the pain, if you'd like it. Or just tell me what hurts the most and I can try and help you sweetie."

"As I recall we only defeated the lesser two fighters, Krom managed to avoid defeat however by taking you hostage. All I remember is my friend being used as a shield by some cowardly Saiyan to get away, and then Takeshi and Shu attempting to save him. Now that I know the truth of it too, that you went along to try and spare us, I can't help but think highly of the man who risked everything even when he was down and out to try saving those around him." Words like these were likely falling on deaf ears, but it was still worth saying them if even just the idea of it got through to Viral. Watching as the Beastman seemed to fuss over being praised, Vegeta frowned when he seemed to misconstrue what was being said to him. "I had no doubts, you're reading into it wrong. I wanted to help you before, but with this revelation that desire's increased many fold. I've been working nonstop since we arrived to help you, I don't think my commitment can be any more solid than that now can it? As for helping that... After talking with father, we think the best thing to do is find something to draw your attention away from that. Something to keep you busy and keep your mind off of it, suppress it even. We can't make the memories go away, but we sure can drown them out."