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

[Mogtaki]

Shu was pretty thankful that everyone seemed to be okay, even with everyone being so split up for that fight. If they got injured at a time like this then he was going to have to really pull his weight or they would have no choice but to back out. There was no real way to get more people to help them, he already saw it as pretty ridiculous that they were going to be the only ones in this place to begin with when it was filled with guards and dangers. That was probably the first concern he had when he was told that only the few of them were going down there and it certainly made him pretty anxious with the thought that he might have to face all this alone at one point. Raising his hands momentarily when Takeshi ruffled up his hair he bounced on after him, looking around at what had happened while they had been fighting as well. Feeling pretty happy that Viral didn’t look too bad he quickly looked to Takeshi at the suggestion for more Elites only to look to Yumi, giving her a smile. He didn’t really know if he could handle an Elite himself so he was happy to agree with Yumi and only think Takeshi would be happy with such a fight. Oh well, for now they had to try and find the Beastmen and where they might be, only problem was Yumi couldn’t seem to smell them anywhere. “Ooh! I smell? No no! Already had wash before!”

Viral wasn’t exactly the most confident after a fight like that, more because he was worried about his own ability to keep fighting like that if he had to. His energy was feeling somewhat low after that which was definitely his own fault for not trying to improve his health that much. He just hadn’t the will to try and make himself better by doing everything he had been told typically because of how it affected his mental state. He was only having to act confident in his abilities to keep up with the stronger opponents, but after that fight he didn’t know if he was going to recover in time if another Elite showed up that he had to battle. Moving on for now he stared at Yumi when she tried to find where the Beastmen might be, frowning when she thought sniffing them out might work. Sighing, he quickly turned and started heading away. “They’ll be in a different part of the base compared to this stuff, like a vaulted door to keep them separate from the offices and to make sure they are in one place. We just have to keep moving for now…”

[GambolMuse]

It was somewhat disheartening that she couldn't sniff out the Beastmen, Yumi was hopeful she might be able to be of some use. Then again without knowing what any of them smelled like to begin with she supposed tracking a scent was impossible anyways. Smiling amused when Shu got slightly defensive she shook her head, pointing at him with a laugh and explaining, "You smell even when you're clean Shu, it's just a different smell. You smell nice actually," she added, winking playfully before turning to Viral. "Right, somewhere probably locked away so we can't get to them, only problem is we'll reach them no matter what." For emphasis she gave her knuckles a crack, more than confident they would win the day. Fighting the Elites had taken a lot out of them but they would recover, and by the time they did they could handle whoever else remained in their way. Another Elite? Bring it on, she was ready for them. Before she got ahead of herself though they had to actually find the Beastmen, and common sense told her to move further into the facility to track them down.

"We kicked the crap out of two Elites and loads of soldiers, I don't see what else they can throw at us," Takeshi said with a grin, starting off down the corridor, throwing his hands up in the air eagerly, "This place is as good as ours!" If Elites couldn't stop them then they were as good as done already, it was just a matter of finding the people they were here for. Seeing as they had only one way to go too they might as well go forward, past where the Elites had been and further into the facility. Placing his hands on the back of his head he hummed to himself for a moment, stopping as he glanced back and looked at Viral, smirking as he raised an eyebrow. "So what's the plan when we find these guys? I mean they might come with us now that we've beaten all of the guards, or they might not. We really shouldn't force them to you know?" he added, looking ahead and rubbing his hands together excitedly, "If there's another Elite then Shu and I got dibs on them!"

[Mogtaki]

Viral didn’t think it was unusual that the Beastmen wouldn’t be possible to track, it was already difficult to tell whether they were in the right building if it wasn’t for the fact that the Elite that was supposed to be guarding the place had found them so quickly meaning he was already nearby by the time they broke in. It must’ve been somewhere around here, but they couldn’t keep going around in circles either. If the Beastmen were going to be anywhere it was probably down underground somewhere to keep them safe from invaders who would assume anything other than the place being a simple base. The only reason the Elite was willing to admit that there was Beastmen here was because Viral himself was part of the project even if the man was determined to call him a simple tool. Looking to Yumi when she spoke to him he sighed, rolling his eyes. “You’re getting worse at this storytelling gag. I don’t need to be hearing you talking like you’re on a television show…”

While Viral was pretty annoyed at them he still knew he wasn’t going to be able to do all of this by himself. He lacked in a lot of fighting techniques that other fighters would have and there was probably no chance that the Beastmen would want to go with him alone. He probably looked terrible already and was only hoping he was going to shake it off and look much better by the time they found these Beastmen. He probably took more hits than he should’ve, but it was definitely something he could show little care about for now when he was used to this kind of punishment. Looking to Takeshi he narrowed his eyes before looking away. Takeshi was way too excited over this mission, in fact they were all acting like children. The worst part about it all was they were all better than him at fighting and winning battles while he was just getting lucky so far with reckless enemies. “I don’t care if you and your brother want to fight the next Elite, it’s childish to call ‘dibs’ on a warrior’s fate…” he spoke lowly, feeling pretty close to just punching Takeshi in the face, “I doubt they’ll come with us too just because we took down a few guards. Just because you said something happened doesn’t make it spectacular. If it was me I would be looking for power and leadership and I don’t see that in any of you”.

While he didn’t believe he was going to be worth the title of leader he was still going to try and take out the higher command so that they might feel they had no choice but to come to their side. There were low chances of it ever being successful, but if that didn’t work then he was probably going to have to call in Aito to ‘show off’ his own power to convince them to come over to their side. This was never going to work. There was already dread filling his face as he was inevitably starting to lose hope that this plan would ever work by the time he finished his thought. Clenching his teeth as he briefly stared down at the floor he glanced up when he noticed the change in the setup, looking around at first before moving on ahead quicker. Investigating further down the hallways he eventually found what he thought was a possible lead, but to anyone else it just looked like a large elevator. Running on up to it he stopped right in front of the doors, looking up and down them before to the panel. It looked like it needed a keycard of some sort, but that was one thing they didn’t have. Growling, he quickly hit the panel with his fist before slipping his claws inbetween the thin gap between the doors, pulling hard to try and get them to open.

[GambolMuse]

Yumi's brow twitched slightly when Viral commented on what she was saying, a forced smile crossing her lips as she tried to be friendly with him. "It's called optimism, I'm just trying to be positive about this. We've beaten Elites already so what more can there be?" They had done what should be very difficult and beaten Elites, that had to be a measure that they were improving. So there was being slightly emboldened by that and the confidence at having your friends at your back that lent itself to her optimism. That being said she wasn't nearly as optimistic, or perhaps cocky was the right word, as Takeshi. It was fine to be confident and another to be arrogant, that had always been a line that he'd had trouble staying on the better side of as long as she'd known him.

"What do you mean a 'warrior's fate' anyways? It's not like we're killing the guy," Takeshi retorted, frowning as he rolled his eyes, "I figured I guy like you who wants to test himself would get it. We don't get anything from fighting run-of-the-mill soldiers, you know? I don't know if we've gotten any better yet." Shu was nervous about it yet he had no reason to be, the two of them had taken down Elites before. They were stronger now, and even if the little guy didn't know it he'd been taught some actual moves, it was just a matter of actually replicating them. When Viral took a shot at him and his ability to lead Takeshi grew red in the face, holding up a fist as he glared at his friend. "I've got plenty of power right here if you wanna see it!" he snapped, pointing then at the Beastman, "And I am too a leader! I can easily get these- Ow ow ow!" Yumi had clearly had enough as her hand was now firmly gripping his ear, tugging him along as he struggled to keep pace and not topple over from the awkward angle. Blinking back tears he glared up at her, too hesitant to try wrenching her hand off of his ear. "Okay okay, I'm done! Stop, you're gonna tear it off!"

"Well if that's what it takes for you to not run your mouth then I just might!" Yumi shot back, releasing her grip and huffing as Takeshi nursed at his sore ear. "We're here to fight the Saiyans, not each other." Keeping in line behind Viral they continued moving through the halls, finding no resistance as they continued on. It appeared almost like their fighting had scared everyone else off, either that or they were regrouping somewhere else to fight. Nothing seemed to come of their exploration until Viral caught sight of something and ran ahead, stopping at an unassuming large set of doors. Unassuming to everyone but Viral as he quickly went about trying to pry them open, and after stepping in to help with it she and Viral managed to part them. What was revealed on the other side wasn't the Beastmen but a massive lift in the center of a spacious room, completely void of anyone else despite the size of the space. Furrowing her brow Yumi poked her head in, making doubly sure they weren't going to be ambushed before approaching the lift. "Where do you think this goes...?" she asked as she glanced at the control panel, looking to see then if there was a hole in the ceiling. Down, it had to go down, but what was beneath them?

[Mogtaki]

Viral couldn’t be bothered with Takeshi’s annoying voice, especially when he didn’t get his own way. All he did was complain and whine like a spoiled kid. Not even Shu’s voice annoyed him as much as Takeshi when he was complaining about nothing. Despite how annoyed he was at Takeshi he still managed to focus and find where he was going, only problem was it was an elevator and was obviously not going to open for him. Releasing his frustration on it momentarily he tried to pry it open, growling as he exerted pressure to tear it apart. It didn’t matter if he had to break his claws to get this door open, he was going to do it before any of them offered to blow open the doors. When Yumi approached him he was a little hesitant until he saw she was simply going to do the same rather than offer to blast it open. As the door powered open finally he stared at the massive room that was the elevator, hesitating for a moment before walking in over to the panel. It seemed to be functional despite the fact they broke into it, but he wasn’t going to trust it fully until it took him to the Beastmen. “Well it doesn’t go up, now does it?” he spoke as he pressed the button to go down once everyone was in, “We’ll see where it takes us when we get down safely”.

Shu didn’t really know where they were going but he was willing to follow along without having to take responsibility to try and find what they were looking for. He was not good at recognising stuff that would tell them where the Beastmen might be or anything scientific when he didn’t know what most of the stuff even was. Everyone apart from him was familiar with this kind of place so leaving it all to them was definitely his only option. After a little bit of wandering and Takeshi getting all mad as usual they soon found what Viral seemed to think was a lead. Hurrying after Takeshi he stared at the elevator as it was opened up, disliking how much of a large box it was. If he remembered correctly from the ship these things moved and sounded pretty scary to boot. He couldn’t help but wonder if it might ever come crashing down with them in it. Frowning, he stepped into it and looked around, feeling a little nervous and curious about it and if it was the right place.

[GambolMuse]

That lift took them somewhere, and Yumi was willing to bet it was where the Beastmen were hiding. Why else would the Elites have been blocking this way if it wasn't where they wanted to be? Walking over and examining the panels she rolled her eyes when Viral patronized her a bit, sticking out her tongue and stepping back to give him access to the panel. "I don't imagine this is going to be very sneaky, seeing as its a huge lift and all. We should probably be ready to fight when we get down," she pointed out, glancing around as the clasps on the lift released and it began to slowly descend. Lights along the walls lit up as they moved deeper and deeper into the facility, illuminating the passage that stretched several dozen meters before it finally came to rest. Initially the room it stopped in was pitch black, the lift itself barely illuminated by the lights above. With a dull droning hum however lights began to come on, revealing yet another spacious room with a set of hefty doors before them. That had to be it, Yumi couldn't imagine anything else being in a place tucked away like this.

"I don't suppose we're prying these ones open," she mused as she approached the doors and craned her neck to look all the way to the top of them. They were quite high, easily 15 meters, and lightly rasping her knuckles on the door itself she guessed fairly solidly built as well. So pulling them apart might not be the best idea, and she doubted it was a good plan to blast it open either. The alternative then? Going over to the panel beside the door she gave it a staring at before pressing a series of buttons, furrowing her brow when the pad buzzed and turned red in response to her faulty passcode. "Come on you stupid thing..." Yumi growled as she tried again, and again, failing to guess the password 5 times in a row. Finally growing frustrated she grabbed the sides of the panel and ripped it off the wall, finding wires inside that were torn apart from the act. Inspecting a handful of them she began grabbing them one by one and pressing the wiring against itself, and at last managed to complete a circuit and prompt the doors to open. Smiling proudly she turned to enter the doors, pausing at the baffled look Takeshi was giving her. "What? I've had to hotwire vehicles before, I just kind of guessed it would work," she stated, shrugging it off.

So it was purely dumb luck then she'd managed that? At least she admitted it was a stroke of luck and not her actually doing that, he doubted she'd know how to do something that complicated. Vegeta maybe, but not Yumi. Watching as she and Viral went ahead into the room he smiled reassuringly at Shu, placing a hand on his back as he eased him through into the room as well. Lying beyond the massive doors was a long room, similar to a hangar, with several lights mounted on the wall illuminating the floor below. At the head of the room there were massive monitors with some kind of diagrams plastered on them, and even if they were visible from here Takeshi doubted he'd know what they meant. As they got further into the room however he began to notice something else along the walls too, something that was fairly unsettling. Embedded in the walls were several steel doors with sliding hatches at about eye level, and presumably beyond them were the people they were looking for. Takeshi felt his stomach churn uncomfortably at the sight, recalling some of the cells and holding blocks he'd seen back on Kortal. His father and his men had some weird fascination with these fricken things.

There was no mistaking it, beyond those doors were the Beastmen. Yumi could smell people locked in those cells and yet as she went to one door she found no handles, furrowing her brow as she tried to push it open to no avail. Blowing them open or breaking them was out of the question, they could accidentally hurt whoever was inside if they weren't careful. Was that what those computers at the front of the room were for then? "Just hang on, we're going to get you all out!" Yumi shouted before running to the computers, hoping to find some way to release the doors. As she began fiddling with the screens however she found quickly there was no way she'd know how to do it, she had no clue what half the buttons were or how to even get off the screen she was on. After trying unsuccessfully a few times she let out a sigh, turning to the others with a sheepish smile. "I uh... I don't know how this works," she admitted, rubbing her hands together and looking at Viral. "Can you try it...?"

Just behind her she heard something scrape against the tiled floor, her ear twitching in response to the noise. Glancing over her shoulder to see what it might have been Yumi quickly ducked when she saw a weapon aimed at her, narrowly avoiding a projectile that was fired. She dodged it handily, but while it had missed her she watched in silent horror as it went straight for Viral, nailing him in the right shoulder. "Viral!" Getting back to her feet she rushed over to try and help her friend, stopping in her tracks when a blaster went off and the shot narrowly hit her feet.

"Oh my... Well, I suppose I'm not much of a marksman now am I?" a voice laughed from the shadows, and soon after emerged a scientist. A short man with green skin and rumpled orange hair he smirked as he removed the blaster from his wrist, throwing it aside and breaking into an eager grin. "I missed you young lady, but it seems like I've struck the former Commander! Not a bad accident if I do say so!"

Yumi whipped around on her heel to face the scientist, glaring at him as she flexed her hands. "What did you just do?! What did you shoot him with!" It wasn't a blaster, and looking back at her friend she saw it was some kind of dart; inside that dart was a vial containing a very special serum, something which she couldn't possibly know. "Viral, are you okay?!"

"He won't be for long my dear, he'll soon be another one of my puppets!" the scientist laughed, clasping his hands together as he eyed Viral, "Inside that projectile is a serum I've created for the more... Unruly Beastmen. It's a sedative that puts them into a very submissive state, and it makes them do as I say. It's fast acting too, so it'll only be mere moments before Viral is under my command. And when he is..." the scientist laughed again, "I'll have him kill all of you! I've no use for you woman or the King's traitorous children. Once the King sees how well my creations work I'll be given a promotion for certain! The program will be given more funding, I'll be given more subjects, and soon we'll have an army that no one will be able to stop!"

[Mogtaki]

Shu didn’t know how they were going to do in the lift until it started moving, his eyes watching the panel curiously as if seeing that as the part to be worried about if something was to go wrong. Everything seemed to be okay so far and turning around he watched the walls curiously, finding it most strange how this machine functioning. It seemed handy that they were able to see where they were going, but it seemed like such a long way to travel considering what the facility apparently held. He didn’t expect it to go this deep so that was pretty surprising. As it finally came to a halt the vibe he was feeling just beyond the doors ahead made him feel quite uneasy, like it was all familiar stuff from here on out.

Half expecting Viral to do the same thing that he did to the door before it seemed to be Yumi who was going to try and open this one, but she was going to be taking the calmer route it seemed. That was quite pleasant in a weird way, as if trying to be safer about how they were going to enter. Maybe there was some alarms that might go off, but when Yumi ripped the panel off the wall he doubted that she was concerned with alarms at all and just wanted the door to open. Sighing lightly, he smiled nervously in hope that she knew what she was doing before squeaking when the doors suddenly opened. Staring into the room he couldn’t help but feel that everything about it was wrong, like the place was made specifically to cause misery. Feeling incredibly hesitant and scared he looked up to Takeshi who tried to reassure him that everything was going to be fine, staring up at him with a frown before he moved on as well.

Viral had been fairly patient with Yumi doing her own thing to open the door before he decided it was time to get on with everything as the door opened, his eyes searching the room for possible soldiers wanting to ambush them. It was oddly surprising that the place seemed fairly empty of hostiles, but then again this place was not the kind of place anybody wanted to be in. It was oddly horrific to look at, as if it was recently abandoned and everything had just been left on. Giving Yumi a quick glance as they continued on his eyes soon went to the cell blocks lining the area. What a horrible flashback this place was turning out to be and what was worse was there was probably thousands of these things within the entire facility with many waiting to be filled. Letting out a groan as he tried to take his mind off his own past memories he turned back to Yumi who was trying to understand how the system worked, approaching her slowly as he looked down at what she was attempting.

Well it seemed like it was his turn to take over and see if he could figure out how to work the panel, taking a look at it briefly as he tried to see if he could do anything to fix it; however, seeing the screen this had been done on purpose and just as he turned around there was only a brief moment left of alert before it all ended when a force suddenly jabbed him in the joint of his shoulder. Whatever it was had hit hard like a bullet and pierced his skin, his paw reaching up to it but soon he was starting to feel awfully strange as he gradually started to feel colder than normal and slightly dizzy. Looking to Yumi as she rushed to his aid he stared at her before quickly looking to see who was talking, his drained look turning into slight annoyance as if he recalled the man from somewhere.

This was not good at all. He was feeling pretty terrible as if he was going to pass out at any moment but he kept strong and standing, his paw once again reaching around to the dart and pulling it out. Holding it out in his paw he looked to Yumi who quickly questioned his health, staring at her before quickly looking back at the scientist who was very eager to tell them just what exactly it was. Growling lowly he quickly dropped the serum and started moving towards the scientist, his claws ready for an attack before he suddenly collapsed onto his hands and knees. Shaking and gasping he found his body in a moment of pain, his paw going to his head before both of them were grasping it as he remained bent forward. He tried to speak but couldn’t, he felt paralysed yet still able to feel his body. Gasping in seeming pain he soon slowly stood up, breathing heavily as he stared at the floor looking as if he was stuck in a dream state.

[GambolMuse]

What had that man done to Viral?! Whatever had been in that shot was causing her friend a great deal of pain, enough to drive him to his knees even. She wanted to tear that man apart for what he'd done and make him regret it, yet Yumi knew he might be the only one with a solution to... Whatever this was. Watching silently as her friend slowly rose to his feet she took a small step forward, eyes widening at the blank stare he was sporting now. "What... What did you do...?" she repeated as she approached slowly, not at all understanding what had happened. As she was about to reach out and touch Viral she was yanked away by Takeshi who darted towards her, struggling against his grip and giving him a glare as she was released. "He needs us you idiot! What do you think you're doing?" Yumi shouted angrily, trying to move again and being pushed back.

"The doc said he was trying to control him, do you really want to get that close?" Takeshi warned as he held his arms out at his sides, refusing to let Yumi get anywhere close. He wasn't going to let one of his friends get hurt again, not if he had something to say about it this time. Though in this case to keep Yumi and Shu safe he may have to hurt Viral, something he'd prefer not to do if it could be helped. Glaring at the scientist then as he continued to laugh he gave his knuckles a crack, approaching the man and growing only more annoyed as he continued to laugh. "Hey, unless you want to be in a full body cast you're going to fix what you did to our friend, you got me? Give him an antidote or whatever he needs, right now."

"There is no antidote you idiotic boy, it's not a poison! And I think you'll find you're in no position to threaten me," the scientist chuckled, beaming as he folded his hands at his back. "This entire room is full of Beastmen, weapons to use as I see fit. They're all pawns to wield and send of to battle, and they do it simply because I tell them to! And now your friend, the Commander, is but one of my many tools! It takes only a single command from me to unlock all of those cells and they'll be set upon you within seconds. Do you truly believe you can beat all of them, and your friend?" This fight was over before it even began, they had walked into a trap completely unwittingly! There was a moment of hesitation with Viral present, but with him now under control he had nothing to worry about!

Takeshi gritted his teeth and turned on his heel, storming towards Viral as he rolled up one of his sleeves. "Hey, don't be some guys puppet, you hear me? You're better than that crap!" he shouted, watching as his friend continued to simply stand there and stare at the floor, "Come on and snap out of it already, we gotta kick this guys butt!"

[Mogtaki]

Shu had backed away with immediate hesitation as everything started to unfold with the immediate worry that something hideously terrible was going to happen. It had always been his experience in these places that nothing but disaster happened and now Viral had been shot by a drug that was causing his friend nothing but pain and distress. He didn’t know how he was going to help his friend or if this was already it for them all over again. Staring at the scene in front of him in fear he gradually backed off, his hands going to his neck as he watched Viral struggle. This was the collars all over again and the resistant to try and stop that, but this time it was so much worse when it could be administered at any time. Wincing as if he was in pain too he shrunk down a little, closing his eyes as he tried to get the horrific images of his past struggles out of his head. “No…no please, not again…” he mumbled, shaking his head, “It’s the collar…! Need to be good o-or…”

Viral looked completely absent as the drug took effect, his own personality appearing as if it had just been stabbed to death right in front of him as his mind quietly contemplated what it might be like without it. Everyone sounded so distant except for the voice of the scientist and as his continued to invade his mind everything else continued to turn clouded. He was trying to stop it as it tried to push everything about him out of his own mind, all his memories and his own thoughts being forced into an oppressed state with only the pressure of all of them collectively only barely stopping them from disappearing completely.

As his eyes continued to stare down at the ground his index finger barely twitched as Takeshi approached him, demanding that he’d return to them and beat the man whose voice echoed in his mind clearly. Takeshi’s voice sounded like nothing to him but he was there and obviously talking to him, or rather shouting at him as if that would make a difference. Continuing to stare down his claws soon started to twitch, almost looking like he was trying to break free right up until that last twitch that turned into a clenched fist, his pupils sharpening before he threw his fist straight for Takeshi’s face.

[GambolMuse]

Seriously what was with Viral? He was supposed to be all healed and better by now so no way was some stupid little drug going to screw that up. "Come on Viral, you're better than this! Just fight back and kick that guy's ass!" Takeshi continued as he approached, intending to smack his friend upside the head to knock sense into him. As he raised a hand to smack the Beastman his face was suddenly throbbing painfully and he found himself on the back, wincing as his hands shot up and covered his nose while he rolled back and forth on the floor. "Ow, you hit me you ass!" he whined as he sat up, one hand still covering his nose as he blinked back tears, "Come on, you're seriously going to take orders from this dork? Let's kick his butt already!"

While Takeshi went to, er, "confront" Viral, Yumi noticed that Shu was having a hard time of things. Before he even uttered a word it was obvious he was panicking over what was happening, and judging by what he was doing she could only guess he was having flashbacks of his time with their father. Hurrying to his side she got to a knee at his side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. "You're okay Shu, no one is going to hurt you here," she whispered softly, giving his back a rub. Hearing an audible smack her head bolted up to see Takeshi being laid out on the floor, rolling his eyes as he dramatically rolled about and began shouting about being struck. Nonsense aside however Viral had hit their friend and worrying was the fact he may be under that madman's control. Keeping Shu in her arms Yumi frowned, trying to get Viral's attention by clearing her throat. "Viral...? Please tell me you're okay, say something."

"When will you idiots understand, he's mine now! He won't take any orders from you children anymore!" Hehe, how satisfying! After suffering the humiliation of the collars failing he could now redeem himself with this, and then no one would be able to deny his service to the King! Smirking as Takeshi tried to shout again he shook his head, folding his hands behind his back as he walked towards Viral. "Please, as if the Beastmen have any sense of loyalty or morals. They're simple machines made by scientists as tools and nothing more. He became disillusioned into thinking he was his own person, you idiots are treating him like he's more than he is. Like any of these projects are anything but tools," the scientist scoffed, placing a hand on Viral's shoulder and breaking into a grin, "I'll show you how empty those ideals and friendships of yours are as he tears you limb by limb. Viral? Kill them."

[Mogtaki]

Shu was going pretty pale as he fully realised what was going on and what was going to happen next, even when Takeshi and Yumi didn’t understand. This was just the beginning of it all, what came next was the conditioning and the torture to clear their minds and force them to forget their past lives. They were finished here now that Viral had been drawn to their side and what was worse was there was no collar to get rid of it. Panicking as his mind went to dark places he felt like he had the collar placed on him, his wide eyes blankly staring forward before blinking when Yumi whispered to him. He didn’t even realise she was hugging him, his eyes slowly looking up to her before he gasped when he heard what could only had been Takeshi hitting the hard floor. Viral had hit Takeshi pretty hard and while it was not completely out of character for Viral to do such a thing, to hit him so viciously was not like him. What if they couldn’t get Viral back? There was no way this was happening, not again.

Viral was fairly deadpan after hitting Takeshi, pulling back his fists as his eyes returned to a tired state. Other than his shaking fingers as he slowly uncurled them he should very little signs of resistance any longer, his shoulders sunken and his posture suffering from a sudden lazy stance. It looked like the drug had taken full effect and as he stared forward he completely ignored Takeshi’s and Yumi’s words, his pupils looking as if they were struggling to focus on one thing. As the words of the scientist rattled in his mind he slowly turned to look at him as the man placed his hands on his shoulder, staring at him before his eyes darted back to the others. It didn’t look like he was going to ignore that command and as his fists tightened once more he immediately went straight for his first target, that being Takeshi. Immediately throwing his fists down at him he twisted around for a kick, aiming to cause as much damage as possible even if he wasn’t using his claws.

[GambolMuse]

Damn it that hurt! Viral really wasn't pulling punches with that hit, was he honestly going to do what this man was saying? Between himself and Yumi there was hope someone would get through to him and it wouldn't come down to a fight. Boy did he want to blast that scientist off the face of the planet right about now, she smug jerk. Getting back to his feet seeing Viral coming for him he grit his teeth and deflected the punch by knocking Viral's arm away, throwing his arms up then and absorbing the kick as he was pushed back along the floor. "Viral, I'm not fighting you, not like this! It ain't worth beating up a big puppet!" Takeshi shouted, using his Ki then to evade another punch, coming behind Viral and simply pushing at his back to get him away. Forget this crap, he'd just take out the scientist and that would be that. Charging up Ki he prepared a blast to just incinerate the man, and as he was going to fire off he instead had to drop that plan and roll aside to avoid being struck again, cursing as he glared at Viral. "Come on, stop being an idiot!"

They were supposed to be saving people here, not fighting among themselves! That was the plan and everyone was so on board with it yet now they found Viral had become the enemy. She was certain he wouldn't succumb to that, like he had enough willpower to resist whatever it was the scientist shot him with, yet clearly she was wrong. Disheartened she could only watch then as he went after Takeshi, trying to keep Shu from having a total meltdown in the process. "Takeshi, don't hurt him! It's not his fault!" she shouted, watching nervously as they darted about in their fight. Neither of them had really been hit yet aside from Takeshi getting a good punch to the face yet she was concerned it could escalate at any moment. Keeping Shu against her she slowly tried to ease him to his feet, almost debating letting go of him to try and break up what was going on. "Viral, you have to stop! All of these Beastmen are waiting for us! We have to save them!"

"Oh would you shut up already? 'We're friends, don't do this!' 'We have to save everyone, we're the good guys!' It's sickening to listen to people like you!" the scientist snapped as he shook his head, "Always thinking you can fix things, that you can save everyone or stop people from being hurt or killed. That's not how the universe works girl, this is war and people die, plain and simple. I am simply making weapons to ensure that the right people die." The Saiyans had the right to rule, they were powerful and could unify the universe if all of these clowns would just give up their petty resistances. This girl should be taught the way of the universe and how it worked, her naivete and hopelessness were sickening. "Viral, change of plans! Kill this girl first, I'm tired of listening to her!" the scientist commanded, grinning as Yumi seemed to pale at the remark, "Dead at the hands of your beloved friend, this will show you just how cruel the world is!"

[Mogtaki]

Viral was going straight in with hardened knuckles and solid kicks, his target being Takeshi for now. He was completely ignoring Yumi and Shu, it was Takeshi that had been causing the most problem not to mention he was the one who was the closest to him when things had been taking a turn for the worst. Despite his dream-like state he was still managing to put a lot of power into his attacks and chased after Takeshi when he tried to flee from him. He was just not fighting back and while it would’ve been disheartening if he had his senses he showed no signs of emotion towards how disrespectful it was to have no will to fight back. As Takeshi continued to shout at him as if it meant anything he continued to try and hit him, his eyes going the scientist quickly as Takeshi aimed for him.

Without hesitation Viral immediately jumped at Takeshi once more, throwing off his building attack. Despite who he was before he still showed loyalty to the man who poisoned his mind, willing to risk his life if it meant the man would live. With Takeshi cornered for now he could hear the scientist once again mocking the others, looking over his shoulder. It was as if he could tell where the man was going with his little speech, his eyes soon going in Yumi’s direction. While he kept his fists clenched and ready to attack Takeshi if he dared make another move the moment the order to kill Yumi was given he spun around and immediately darted straight for Yumi and Shu.

Shu was trying to calm down now that Yumi was there but he really was useless and hindering Yumi with his fears, but his mind was just all over the place. He had to do something to help his friend and brother, but he felt paralysed. Slowly standing up again with Yumi’s help he stared at the ground for a moment before gasping at the command being given by the man, staring at him before seeing Viral coming straight for them. He knew it was bad that they had to fight each other but he couldn’t let Viral hurt Yumi. After only that brief moment of hesitation Shu immediately raised his hands, letting out a yell as he suddenly blasted Viral with wild Ki. Viral showed no resistance to being hit and took it full on, the attack blasting him right away from Yumi and throwing him against the wall with a hard crash. “Ah! I-I’m sorry, Mister Viral!” he squeaked, watching his friend slide onto the floor, “Give present later…”

[GambolMuse]

"Damn it Viral! Quit. Being. An. Idiot!" Takeshi shouted as he dodged strike after strike, refusing to fight back. The guy wasn't himself and fighting him wouldn't do any good anyways, the scientist had to be dealt with. Yet trying to attack the alien only got him attacked in turn, it didn't seem like this would be easy. Cursing his luck he swatted away another of Viral's fists and tried to get an attack ready on the scientist again, yet halted himself when the man began speaking. Just like that Viral had a new target and it was Yumi of all people. Cursing under his breath Takeshi tried to take off after the Beastman, frustrated his friend had a head start on him. Seeing like he wasn't going to get there in time he prepped a blast to knock Viral away as a last resort; Viral was blasted though not by him, as Shu took it upon himself to send the Beastman flying. Stopping in his tracks Takeshi watched in surprise as their friend went flying across the room into a wall, not at all expecting his little brother to do that. Well, it certainly stopped the attack.

Yumi braced herself as Viral charged her down, more willing to take a hit than strike him; controlled by someone else and made to attack his own friends, attacking back was only adding to the punishment. To keep Shu safe she tried to hug him tighter as to avoid having him be struck, flustered then when he suddenly pushed off her and reached out her arms. Wordlessly she watched as Viral was blasted and sent flying back across the room, cringing when he smashed into the wall and slid to the floor. "Ah... Yes, a present might be good..." she muttered, wincing inwardly as he just sat there for a moment. One couldn't blame Shu for what he had done and she wouldn't yet she did rather wish he'd been blocked a bit less... Violently. On the bright side there was no real visible damage to their friend, save for his clothes being slightly charred from the attack. Worried for his well-being Yumi eased her arms from Shu, giving his head a gentle pat before approaching Viral. "Please tell me you're done? Viral...?" she asked, slowing her pace the closer she got, "I don't want to hurt you..."

[Mogtaki]

Viral had been hit hard against the wall but other than being temporary stunned he wasn’t badly hurt. Once he slid to the floor he looked to Yumi with a dazed glare, still appearing to be focusing on her for attack. As he slowly raised his paw up he pressed his claws into the dented metal, pulling himself up as he remained focused on Yumi. He looked like he was going to try to kill her no matter what he might try, but a hit like that meant the scientist was going to get frustrated over his failure to get close to her. He could sense the man’s frustrations as if it mattered above all else, even over his own health. If the man was unhappy with his actions then he was doing a poor job and had to do better, even if he had no will of his own or concern over his own health. He was going to take down everyone that opposed the scientist without any feeling or moral to what he was doing, he just knew he had to kill Yumi first because he was told to.

As Yumi approached him he was back on his feet, his eyes continuing to stare at her as his senses came back together. Despite all that she was saying he wasn’t processing any of it, her words coming out empty and meaningless to him. Just when he was about ready to go after Yumi again there was definitely a pause, but not because of what Yumi had tried to approach him in her familiar way. The scientist was familiar with his most powerful form and why not destroy them all as a near unstoppable monster? That would make tearing them apart so much more satisfying to watch. Unfortunately for Viral and the rest of them he was going to have to comply with it, even if he hadn’t transformed since he lost control of its power.

Freezing for a second his claws started to twitch as his energy rolled over him like electricity, raising his claws up to his head as the energy output grew rapidly. While he had a dull and sullen look before this time he looked like he was in a great deal of pain and anger, his eyes sharp and glowing lightly. Letting out a pained growl it very quickly turned vicious as the large horns started sprouting from his head, his claws pulling away from his head as they lengthened. Just as his energy was beginning to reach its peak he let out a sudden roar as it consumed his body in light, his body growing large and changing before finally the energy broke him free to reveal his monstrous form. Still buzzing with energy he let out a vicious snarl, his sharp eyes focusing on Yumi as he slowly moved around her as if acknowledging no matter what they did they were going to die at his claws.

[GambolMuse]

"Viral...? We don't have to fight. Please, listen to us," Yumi urged again, stopping as she held out a hand to her friend, "I know you can hear us, don't let this man order you around." The fact he'd listened at all up until now was certainly disconcerting, yet she hoped that Shu's blast had managed to knock some sense into him. Watching as Viral rose to her feet she put on a brave smile though she could feel her skin crawl and her heart race, knowing things could go badly very quickly. She had to trust Viral had himself under control, he was strong enough to do it. Seeing him pause she though perhaps they had finally gotten through to him and took another step forward, her nervous smile becoming one of relief. "I knew you'd come around to us, that stupid scientist doesn't know what he's talking about," she commented, trying to reach Viral and comfort him somehow. Before she ever got a finger on him however she stepped away hastily, watching with alarm as his energy began to spiral out of control. "No!"

Shit this wasn't good! It was one thing for Viral to attack him, he almost felt that was normal, but Yumi? Had Shu not blasted the guy like he had then she might be injured right now, and they still could be in the thick of it. Watching as Viral's energy began to surge Takeshi gritted his teeth angrily, desperately trying to think of a way to diffuse the situation. As the Beastman transformed he gathered Ki in one hand and lobbed it at his friend, watching dejected as it smashed into his back and didn't even leave a scratch. His attack had done nothing and didn't even get the attention of Viral who was now circling Yumi, this was going to end so badly. "Yumi, move already! He's not listening!" Takeshi shouted as he began charging Ki again, a great deal more than what he'd just thrown. He didn't want to have to blast Viral, but if the guy wasn't listening to reason then they might have no choice. "Move dammit!"

"Oh what's this? He's transformed all on his own, how delightful! And I thought he was going to destroy you before! Splendid, this will be a show for the ages!" It would be so gruesome, he couldn't wait! That damned Prince was trying to be such a pest and ruin the spectacle though, he wouldn't allow for it! Grabbing his blaster back he took a few shots at Takeshi, missing them all but doing enough to disrupt his would-be blast. With a smug smile he then redirected his gaze onto Yumi and Viral again, practically squirming in his spot he was so eager to watch the attack. "On with it already you puppet, kill her! Tear her limb from limb, then those stupid Princes! Kill them all!"

Yumi remained where she was despite every fiber of her being screaming otherwise, and ignoring Takeshi's protests as well. Viral was their friend, he wasn't going to attack her. He was getting healthy again and he was strong, no simple serum was going to turn him into a cold-blooded killer. While trying to reassure herself she kept her eyes straight ahead, not looking up to meet Viral's as she felt sweat forming on her face. "You don't have to listen to him Viral, you know who you are. I won't fight you," she repeated, tightening her hands into fists and closing her eyes, "Please... Don't listen to him, don't ruin everything you've accomplished up until now..."

[Mogtaki]

Viral had gone into overdrive as his energy went through the roof, his body completely transformed into what might as well had been a death sentence to the others. He didn’t even give Takeshi a look when he was blasted in the back. He had orders to destroy Yumi first so even if the blast gave him a little bit of an itch he remained focused on her. All signs that it was still him in there was only visible by the style of hair, otherwise he was acting like an animal with all intentions to kill. The scientist getting all giddy in the corner over his transformation was ignored mostly, his eyes only going to him when he gave the prompt to kill everyone before turning back to Yumi as he slowly stood up to his full height.

Viral approached Yumi slowly as she remained still, snarling at her defiance. She continued to try and talk him out of it despite reeking of fear. He barely looked phased by it and continued, his claws flexing calmly. She may as well had been wasting her time with all this pleading and trying to get through to him with useless words, she should’ve just fled while she had the chance. Snarling as she closed her eyes he moved his claws down to her, slowing down as if appearing to simply savour her distress before his eyes widened and with no warning he suddenly darted away from her. Moving quickly on all fours he suddenly darted straight for the scientist and grabbed him instead, pinning him down to the ground and roaring in his face. The control that the scientist had on him had waned and Viral was absolutely pissed off, definitely rather upset at what he had to go through. Ceasing his roaring he eventually let go of the scientist only to bat him to the side.

Shu felt like he couldn’t move throughout the entire thing, even though he had managed to hit Viral away. Seeing him transform not only terrified him but the power he gave off made him feel useless to help Takeshi and Yumi any longer. They were going to die by the hands of their own friend, or at least that’s how it appeared right up until Viral ran straight for the scientist. Staring at Viral as he let out a startling roar he remained frozen, his knees shaking as he tried to control his own emotions. All this anxiety and fear building up inside him certainly made him feel terrible, his whole body feeling like it was in pain. Trying to remain composed and get over it all himself he found it was increasingly difficult, but was trying to suffer quietly as he tried to deal with it himself before anything happened.

[GambolMuse]

Every fiber in Yumi's being told her to run, to fight, to do anything other than just stand there. She wanted to be confident in Viral not attacking her yet she knew his history and the very real chance she was in harm's way. If she did flee or fight back now then he'd feel bad later and she wanted to avoid that at all costs; recovery was finally happening for Viral, she didn't want to undo it by giving him a reason to be depressed later. For her own sake he had to close her eyes while it all happened and her body tensed up considerably when she felt his claws on her shoulders. Was he actually going to attack her? Sighing shakily Yumi began to amass Ki in her right hand behind her back, prepared to at least push Viral away if the need came to pass. Yes he'd feel bad if she fought him, she figured, but he'd feel even worse if she just took it for refusing to fight him. Swallowing uneasily she frowned when the weight of her friend's hands left her shoulders, opening her eyes at the roar and gasping seeing him set upon the scientist. What in the world was going on?

Yes, this was going to be excellent! These children would pay for ruining his program and making him a laughing stock among his peers! Watching with baited breath as Viral loomed over Yumi he expected an attack that would never come, anticipating her to be slain in one fell swoop. What he got instead was thrown onto his back, followed by emitting a frightened scream as Viral roared at his face. "Get off of me! You're my tool, you obey ME!" he shouted, his voice breaking on the last words. When Viral did back off slightly the scientist curled up and covered his head just in time to be smacked away, sliding across the floor and hitting a shelf that toppled over on top of him. Groaning in pain he tried to push it off of himself, finding it heavier than he'd like and unable to do so. "S-Stand down you stupid beast! OBEY ME!" he shouted in frustration and panic, "Get this damned shelf off of me and KILL THEM!"

Well things had taken a turn for the interesting, at least now it seemed like they weren't in any real danger. Viral couldn't be under that guy's control if he was attacking him like that so with luck this was all over with. While he probably should try and stop his friend from mauling that asshole to death there was a small issue with Shu, being he looked like he was borderline going to have a panic attack if someone didn't help. Rushing over to his brother's side Takeshi grabbed him up in a hug, shocked by how much the younger boy was shaking even while in his arms. Was all of this really that bad for him? "Shu, you're okay, I'm here," he reassured with an uncertain smile, "Your big bro's here and he's not going to let anything hurt you, okay? Viral's okay, Yumi's okay, you're okay, everything is okay." He sure as hell hoped so, fighting Viral now would really suck.

[Mogtaki]

Viral was definitely the least bit happy with being used by this man in such a drastic fashion and his out of control nature was definitely showing how he felt about it. He was sounding close to tearing the man’s head right off but was managing to restrain himself by batting him away as if he was a toy if also managing to cause some damage as the man had the misfortune of having a shelf drop down on him. He was incredibly angry and quite frankly looked like he was ready for spilling some blood. Staring down at the man as he continued to try and appear to be the superior party he growled as he started to walk towards him. With fierce eyes he watched as the man struggled to get out from his predicament, his head slightly tilting as he came to a stop a mere foot away from him. Slowly reaching down he picked the shelf off the man with ease, looking oddly like he was obeying him before he simply snatched the man up by his clothes and forced him against the wall where the shelf had previously been as he moved his face closer to the man’s own. ”…I…am…not a tool to be used…” he snarled lowly before roaring, ”Release the Beastmen or I’ll start picking you apart! Limb by limb…or your eyeballs first, you decide what’s more important to you!”

Shu was trying his best to calm down but everything was overwhelming him, even as everything started to turn in their favour. The noises Viral was making was as startling as the man who continued to shout at him, but even then he didn’t know how to see them as something positive now that Viral appeared to be back on their side. He was trying his hardest to calm himself down but everything was overwhelming and disappearing into a black void. The more troubled he felt the worse his fears became until all that was left was a shivering stunned kid that was trying his hardest to calm down for the good of everyone else. Borderline on the verge of losing it he gasped when Takeshi took him into a hug, his eyes shutting quickly momentarily before opening wide as he continued to shake. As Takeshi spoke to him to try and calm him down his irises threatened to turn from green to red, his shivering threatening to turn into something even worse; however, as Shu slowly reached around to hug back the moment he managed he let out a sigh, closing his eyes as his shivering ceased for now. “…Takeshi here…everything okay…”

[GambolMuse]

Why was he being attacked? Viral was under HIS command, he should be obeying orders! Beastmen were nothing but tools created by their masters and this went completely against the status quo. Being knocked away and pinned under a shelf was utterly humiliating, he should not be put in such a state by something that should be serving HIM! Snapping at Viral to come over he watched smugly as the Beastman did as he was told, figuring perhaps that was simply a momentary lapse in judgment. That assurance quickly dwindled however when Viral grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, causing the scientist to pale and squeak in terror at being threatened. Shirking when Viral snarled at him the man borderline wet himself, nodding rapidly when given an order. "Y-Yes, of c-course, right away!" he stammered, gasping as he was released and fell to the floor. Quickly picking himself up he ran over to the consoles and began putting in commands, trying to get the cells open as quickly as he could.

Viral could handle the scientist then, right now Shu needed more help than anyone. Rushing to his brother's side Takeshi knelt down and took him in a hug, doing what little he figured he could to settle the boy down. Part of him doubted he'd do any good given past experiences and was silently preparing to have to fend Shu off as usual, so imagine his surprise then when the younger kid actually calmed down. Blinking when Shu began to settle and his trembling all but ceased Takeshi sighed with relief, smiling as he nodded his head and gave Shu a pat on the back. "That's right buddy, everything's okay. Just take a deep breath and relax..." Sheesh that was close, last thing they needed was Viral and Shu both changing now. Wouldn't exactly leave a great first impression on the Beastmen. Easing off of his brother the older boy placed a hand on his head, giving his hair a ruffle and looking around as locks on the doors began to come undone. "Well damn, that was quicker than I thought it'd be," he commented, pushing himself to his feet and offering Shu a hand, "Come on, let's go say hi to the Beastmen, yeah? You're probably our best bet to convince them we're friendly."

"Maybe Shu should relax? We've got this," Yumi butt-in, smiling slightly as she waved for Shu to take a seat again. She was one of them, in a way, so she figured it may be best for her to give it a try first. Shy of Viral she was the closest thing these people would have to kin and she assumed they'd trust that more than a Saiyan. Taking a deep breath as the doors swung open she walked past the brothers, smiling as she waited for the Beastmen to emerge from their cells. One by one they gradually did, looking all kinda of confused and hesitant to leave. Letting them have a moment she cleared her throat, putting on a friendly smile as she slowly approached them. "Hi everyone! I'm sure you're all very confused right now, but I'm here to tell you that we've come to take you home with us. You won't have to stay in cells anymore or do what these people tell you, you'll..." Yumi trailed off as one of the Beastmen began approaching her, lowering her arms and quirking an eyebrow. The woman didn't seem terribly pleased with their being here, and she had to take a small step back as she stopped just inches from her.

"What makes you think we'll just leave with you?" the woman asked skeptically, folding her arms as she narrowed her gaze at Yumi, "This is our home, we like it here. In fact, we're supposed to kill people like you. Why should I kill you right now?" Scrutinizing Yumi for an answer the woman went silent as she noticed a smell, blinking a few times before wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Ugh... Did someone soil themselves?" Glancing around at her family she tipped her head slightly in confusion, looking to the head of the room then. Only now did she finally notice Viral and the scientist at the computers, with the latter trembling and... Smelling an awful lot like waste. Unable to suppress it the woman burst out laughing, brushing past Yumi as she walked towards the console. "Oh that's rich! We heard everything you were saying by the way doctor. Every. Little. Word." Stopping when the scientist stumbled back and fell on his rear she placed her hands on her hips, a smug smile playing across her face.

"So we're just tools to you? I'm fine with fighting, I love fighting, but we're not just tools. Other soldiers have told us that and some Saiyans have too, they even gave us names which is more than you ever did for us." Leaning forward she placed a hand on the console, crushing part of it as she tightened her grasp. "Maybe we should kill you instead of these people then? I'm sure the Saiyans won't be too mad at us if you end up missing, they have plenty of people like you to take care of us, don't they?" Smirking as he whimpered she rolled her eyes at the pitiful state he was in, leaving it be as she turned away from him. Facing up to Viral now she raised an eyebrow, giving him a look over before licking her lips. "Well now... Here's the alpha male, not bad," she commented, grinning as she reached up and pat his chest, "I take it you did this? Nice one, I've been wanting to do it for ages."