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

[Mogtaki]

Viral couldn’t help it; his mind was crumbling with all of this simply slowing the fall in a painful realisation that he had lost his entire life because he allowed some evil man to take control of his already unstable emotions. He was distressed and couldn’t do anything about it, his mind not letting him find peace in anything they were saying. He had done a lot that had ruined everything for those who tried to accept them into his family, even if they tried to grant him peace. He was well aware that everything had been ruined from the start and the moment when he’s granted a family, he couldn’t ever be with them because he had killed them.

Viral was angry with himself too, he was just broken as far as health went and a failure to everyone around him. He knew fine well about his PTSD, it was all everyone was telling him that was what he had and they did say they were going to cure it, but if it’s been occurring for this long then he probably wouldn’t find himself rid of it. Keeping his face hidden he slowly shook his head, feeling lost and unable to find his place even with great thought put into everything.

Shifting on the ground and turning away from Vegeta Jr as he approached, he slowly scratched at his face as if trying to remove the shame that way. He thought it was too late to help him, he didn’t know why they were trying when the damage had been done and fixing something that had been done in the past when he was first created wasn’t exactly possible. He wondered what else that man had put in him, whether his ability to create a massive machine was all part of that too. If that was just with forced strength from his torture then who knew what would happen to him the stronger he got.

Barely reacting to their talk of brain damage and memory loss, he tried to calm himself from his mental breakdown before anyone else could possibly see his shame. He shouldn’t even be feeling emotion; all it managed to do was cause trouble and cause his powers to go haywire. Who cared if that doctor was still alive, he probably wasn’t even going to help anyway after all these years and the trouble Viral had caused in the past by killing his co-workers. Slowly shaking his head at the thought of going back to Earth, he twitched a little when Vegeta Jr touched his back with his only real reaction being a groan in return.

Hearing about his powers wasn’t exactly encouraging, especially when it just reassured him that his emotions were unstable and that he shouldn’t be feeling them in the first place if he wanted to remain stable, “All my shortcomings…my deficiencies; I have no victories…” he muttered, slowly shaking his head, “If I become too strong…then what am I going to become? Would Yumi have inherited the same triggers because they used my DNA to experiment on her and others?? They used me as a resource to create freaks…so what if they all gained what I can do?”

If there was anything that worried him it was the idea that he’d no longer be unique, that he’d be a generic fighter who couldn’t even use Ki or fly like every other warrior could. He was made to be a protector and to be unable to fulfil that role broke him completely. Whatever he was becoming, he’d be unable to stand up to any fighters that came Earth’s way as they advanced and he continued to be stuck in the same place he always was. It didn’t matter if his health got better, he’d always be the same failure he always was, “Son…? A mother and a father…? I wish I knew what it meant to me…”

He couldn’t tell whether they were saying such things just to try and make him feel better, as much as they were trying it still didn’t feel right to him when family was something he couldn’t fully understand or achieve. Slowly lowering his hand from his face, he stared down at the ground still with a dejected look upon his face. The brother quips didn’t do anything for him and the words of encouragement were very difficult to believe, “I’m supposed to be stronger than this, but everytime I get close, I fall flat”, he spoke, slowly shaking his head, “Who knows if I’d ever see you two again…after all these years…”

T’charrl simply wasn’t aware of what was going on, the only one he was able to understand still was Vegeta Jr when he kept his little gadget on his ear. It was difficult to tell whether things were ending or they still wanted to talk some more. With his soul being removed to conduct this ritual he couldn’t help but feel pretty tired and drained, but probably because he was technically dead like this. Slowly scratching his chest, he looked up when he noticed the man on the other side was facing him, talking in a language he couldn’t understand anymore, “Uhhh…? Me? I’m T’charrl…” he spoke, but to Aito it would just sound like a series of purrs and squeaks mixed in with some drawled words from his language, “How would I even start to learn this…? Only a few can speak that language here…”

[GambolMuse]

"You'll become a stronger warrior, that's what. If we weren't confident that you couldn't recover from this we wouldn't be acting like we thought you could." Aito couldn't quite put himself in Viral's shoes, as much as he might like. They knew the issue though, and he had a means to fix it, that was certainly better than nothing. "I'm sorry that I don't know what these shortcomings are, but listen... Everyone fails in life, it's a fact of it that we can't escape. My own research is a testament to that, don't you think? So many failures, failure after failure, only for one experiment to finally go right. Your life is like that right now, I feel... It's an uphill battle, and these obstacles keep getting in your path and knocking you further and further down. You've got to power through those obstacles, Viral. I know for a fact you're stronger than this, and you do as well. Maybe you need a helping hand to get there, and I have just the thing..."

Before Aito would go on something Viral said had caught him up. The mention of Yumi was a bit puzzling, he wasn't sure how she was involved. He remembered the young girl perfectly well, she had been Vegeta's childhood friend and arguably one of Viral's as well. Hearing she had been experimented on made the scientist fairly tense, not quite sure that he wanted to see what the Beastman was talking about. For the sake of his argument though, and perhaps for Yumi's sake as well, he needed to see it. "Yumi...? Please come here? Let me see what they did."

Yumi hadn't precisely been avoiding the conversation up until now, just not having any place in it. When she was finally brought into the middle of things it was over something she had rather not discuss, but she wasn't going to deny Aito. Maybe not as much as the boys she was eager to see him and June again, they had been second parents to her. Getting an encouraging look from Vegeta she exhaled softly, pushing herself up off the floor and nodding her head. With a hand grasping her left arm she walked over to the screen, her ears folded down shyly as she came into view. The soft gasp she heard from the other side made her head lower a bit, her eyes looking to the ground. It was easy to not think about what she was now when just out and about, she hardly noticed really. Being put on the spot like this though made the reality come crashing down on her.

"What... Who did this...?" Aito asked, frowning as he stared at Yumi in disbelief. Gene-splicing, it was the only way that was attainable. It had been well beyond his prowess, not that he had ever considered turning someone into an experiment himself.

"The Saiyans did, dad..." Vegeta remarked, moving from Viral to then comfort Yumi, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Some of them attacked Earth and... A couple stole her from the planet. She wasn't there that long either, which means they were able to do it quickly too..." Feeling his friend tense up he pulled her against his chest, giving her back a gentle rub to try and help her relax. There hadn't exactly been any discussion about what she'd experienced in her captivity, and now he was beginning to think it might be a good idea to ask.

"I see... I'm very sorry that happened, I can't imagine it was pleasant. It might not be permanent though... If they introduced genes then you may be able to reverse them... Turn them off, so to speak. It'd be terribly difficult, but not impossible. Reverting something like that would take a fair bit of practice." Aito mulled over that for a second, his brow pulling together as he rubbed at his chin again, a habit of his whenever he was deep in thought. "Yes... It could work. Isolate the gene, disable it, and over time she should return to normal. Theoretically, at least." Back to thinking, there had to be a fix for that. What could be done could be undone, there was always a way, they just had to find it. While lost in thought June took a turn to talk to Viral again.

"It means that you've got two more people that will always love you, no matter what happens," June offered hopefully, still trying to cheer Viral up. "We didn't think we'd get to see you again either, but here we are. And we'll try to find a way to talk to you more often, for what that's worth. Maybe there's some other way we can talk without having to do this. Just remember we're always rooting for you Viral, we know you can get better."

Seeing as his wife was chatting with Viral at the moment Aito turned his attention to the Kaesstrian, wondering precisely what he was. Assuming the alien to be the one making the portal he asked for confirmation, a bit confused when he spoke in a foreign tongue. That didn't exactly help him at all.

"His name is T'charrl, and he's the one making it," Takeshi replied, smiling at his friend as he spoke on his behalf. "And we'll teach you, somehow. Don't worry so much about it." Shu learned how to speak after all, nothing against him, that just proved that a new person could learn the language. Given enough time he was confident anyone could. "When we get back to Earth for that Ikura guy we'll start teaching you, it won't take that long."

King Kai had come back outside a little while ago, essentially eavesdropping on the conversation at hand. These were some adventurous kids, that was for sure. Traveling across the galaxy like that, it was awfully reminiscent of a certain orange clad Saiyan. Maybe that wasn't the right comparison, since more than just Goku had undertaken big journeys in their time. No, they were just the next generation, carrying on the proverbial torch of their forefathers. When you were around as long as he was it was always refreshing to see the next line of warriors come along, and he was definitely beginning to like these ones.

"Thank you for doing this T'charrl, I can't express how thankful we are for this opportunity. I can't imagine this being an easy thing to sustain, so we won't keep you much longer." Looking to his son again Aito smiled, certain he had a means of helping Viral now. "Listen to me Vegeta, I know how you can give your brother some help. As soon as you get the chance you need to find medicine for him, it'll help him cope with what he's going through. Bupropion and venlafaxine should more than suit his needs, and they're relatively commonplace. I would imagine you can find them places other than Earth too, you only need to ask. While I'd rather not resort to medicines he does need them, until he can see a professional. I'm a scientist, not a psychologist. Find those two medicines, in a capsule preferably, and have him take them twice a day. It's a serotonin uptake inhibitor, they'll help with his depression and anxiety. Can you remember all of that?"

To everyone else that probably sounded like utter gibberish, but Vegeta Jr had followed along perfectly fine. Smiling he nodded his head in understanding, looking back over at Viral. "You're cool with taking a few pills... Right? It'll only be temporary, like dad said. Until we can get some real help for you."

[Mogtaki]

Viral knew they could act all they want, it still didn’t discard the fact that he was not going to get anywhere unless he stood aside and let the others handle it. Getting gutted was the last thing on the list of things he could live through before he was unable to take anymore. Fighting was in his blood, but losing wasn’t and he could only take so much pain. Lowering his head a little and looking away, he slowly rubbed his head as he let out a sigh, “You didn’t have to make me, so failing at creating me would had just made you want to move onto a different project”, he spoke, giving a glance back at Aito, “I’m already at the bottom of the hill in that case…”

Viral had little hope to go on right now, his mind in major conflict with himself as he was still fairly stricken down when he had little to be glad about right now. He still had the knowledge that his existence managed to kill the two people in front of him, ones that were ready to let him into their family. Looking to the portal again before away, he was a little worried when he asked for Yumi. He didn’t want her to see him in this state, turning himself away as she approached the portal. He held onto his head, his fingers slowly going through his hair as Aito spoke. He was put off when one of them gasped at her appearance, feeling completely responsible for how she looked.

What did he mean ‘who did this’, it was obvious who was the one carrying the genes responsible for it. He did it; it was his entire fault so asking who did it was just making an excuse to blame the Saiyans once more. He shouldn’t had been captured in the first place, they wouldn’t be this far away from Earth if he hadn’t lost so badly and so quickly when the others were having an easy time fighting the Saiyans. He wouldn’t be able to measure up to a Saiyan’s strength; the last times he did manage to was through damaging his body or transforming.

What Aito was suggesting was definitely risky stuff, seeing as how Yumi wasn’t an artificial creature so messing with genes further might end up creating problems. He couldn’t tell whether Yumi was happy with the way she was now or was, but after seeing what he had to go through with his own abilities she was probably fearful over becoming the ‘monster’ he had. Everytime the others mentioned that form of his they called him a monster, but he knew it was still a part of him nevermind Aito and June telling him it was all a part of his natural instincts in his genes that he acted like that. Yumi was most likely afraid of becoming something what he was, nevermind making up the excuse that ‘it wasn’t him’ when it was obvious that it was.

Staring down at the ground before him, he looked up a little when June spoke again, frowning a little as she spoke. She didn’t have to put it that way; besides, whatever was ‘love’ and how did it affect him. He knew about love, he wasn’t that stupid, but the concept was still a little lost to him when he didn’t know what love felt like, “I wouldn’t know…seeing as how it was too late to use the Dragonballs when I was woken up, and even then Shenron would only be able to bring back two of you when there was three. There is no way other than using this alien…and you can tell just by looking at what he managed to do”.

T’charrl was a little confused, finding it hard to understand the differences in language and how he was supposed to make do. They could use their little communicators all they wanted, but if T’charrl was to talk to another alien who knew the common language then he was going to be very stuck. Slowly scratching his head as he stared at Vegeta, he nodded a little and smiled, “I guess so! Shu also didn’t speak your language? What other language did he speak if Earth uses that language you use…?”

Viral couldn’t think of any other way and knowing he could speak to them without being afraid of what they might think just made him feel somewhat powerless. T’charrl could do it, sure, but it was probably easier finding Goku when his energy was so massive, so much so that he wasn’t even home at the time they had managed to find it. Slowly rubbing his head, he looked to Vegeta Jr for a second, trying to catch up on what was being talked about. He didn’t like the thought of taking pills, knowing full well they were all full of nasty side-effects that would most likely make him feel worse; then again, he already felt really unwell with the headaches, insomnia, lack of appetite and horrible visions that tortured him. Letting out a sigh as he looked away, he gave a little nod, “Fine…whatever ‘real help’ is…”

[GambolMuse]

"You're right, I didn't have to make you. I could have let my first failure define me and never tried again." Aito replied, smiling and shaking his head. "But I didn't. I persisted and ended up succeeding, creating something greater than anything I could have envisioned. In spite of countless setbacks I persisted, and things ultimately worked in my favor. If I can be so bold to say, I think you're in the same situation." It was a little difficult to make claims, and he knew it wasn't going to make the Beastman feel any better. "I stopped at you because as far as I was concerned you were perfect, and you still are. And I know that you're capable of recovering from this, it's your own struggle for you to overcome. I've never known you to give up on something, and this isn't going to be any different."

"There is another set of Dragonballs you could use." King Kai offered, butting into the conversation. Smiling nervously as he confronted Viral he folded one hand behind his back, holding his finger up on his other hand as he spoke. "The Namekians have Dragonballs as well, and they'd likely be more than happy to help you. I could help you find them if you wanted, it'd be a bit of a journey I'm afraid. If you're hoping to bring these two back," he paused, gesturing to Aito and June, "Then they'll probably be your best bet. Otherwise you'll have to wait some time in order to use Earth's again."

Takeshi didn't really know how to respond to T'charrl. The entire time that he had known his brother he'd spoken English, even if his understanding of it was a little sparse. Thinking of it now he supposed Shu must have made monkey noises, not that he was quite sure how to explain that to the Kaesstrian. "You'd have to ask him, I can't tell you..." he admitted, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "Whatever it was though he doesn't use it anymore, and he obviously knows the language now. Just take it from him, he figured it out."

Vegeta Jr figured getting that medicine was their best bet. Other than some pills to regulate his mood they needed a psychologist to give Viral therapy, and there were none of those here. It was obvious what they had to do now then, they needed to return to Earth. There they could get the medicines the Beastman needed, and provided Ikura was still there he might be able to give Viral the therapy he needed. Like his father the Saiyan wasn't keen on using medicine, certainly not anti-depressants, they were liable to make things worse as far as he knew. But even if it only offered a marginal improvement then it would serve as a temporary solution. Viral didn't seem thrilled on the prospect of taking the medicine either, not that anyone would blame him. It was probably the last resort, though at this point the last resort was the only option available to them. Earth had to be their priority then, nothing else could distract them. Unfortunately... That included his own parents.

"No... Namek will have to wait. We've got to get Viral some proper help," Vegeta Jr said, looking at Aito and June sadly. "Mom...? Dad...? I really want to see you again, more than you can imagine. But Viral has been having a really bad time for a while, and I feel like I owe it to him to help since I made it worse. So... I guess this will be it for a while then?"

"I suppose so then, hm? We'll see each other again soon enough, I'm sure of it. You take care of what you need to, we can wait a little longer." Aito replied, smiling kindly. "Viral? I hope you feel better soon, and then maybe we can be back with the two of you."

"We love both of you boys very much, just be careful traveling will you?" It would be a moot point if, gods forbid, their children might end up here with them in Otherworld. June smiled sadly at the two young men, folding her hands in front of her and smiling weakly. "It won't take much longer, I'm sure of it." To the others then, she moved her hands so that they were clasped over her chest. "I'm sorry to ask this of all of you... But please keep Viral and Vegeta safe?"

"You got it ma'am, we'll keep them safe," Takeshi answered, smiling as he flashed a thumbs up. "Leave it to us." A mother's care, that was what this was. All the more reason to be excited about meeting his own mother someday, it would be amazing to have a person look out for him and Shu like this. Seeing June and Aito smile appreciatively the Saiyan let out an embarrassed chuckle, putting his hands behind his head and turning to face Shu once more, nodding his head towards the portal. "Think our own mother will be half this cool?"

"Well... We should let you all get on your way then, we don't want to keep you too long," Aito mused, smiling sadly. "We'll keep in touch as best we can, and I know it won't be long. I wish you all the best on your journey, be safe."

"Take care everyone! And thank you again," June added, giving a small wave. "We'll see you soon boys!"

[Mogtaki]

Viral wasn’t really having much of a good time trying to understand why Aito wanted to create a creature such as him when there were potentially many other projects that would have eliminated free thinking and the bother that was this whole crisis he was going through. It was probably akin to a mid-life crisis he was having, but definitely what his main problem was the constant torture that had destroyed his dignity and mind. He wasn’t going to tell Aito and June what happened, it was all too much for even him and he was the one who received it, “’Perfect’? Perfect compared to what…” he muttered, seeing no logic in that statement at all.

The interruption from King Kai was a little annoying and completely unneeded; he could had asked to interrupt them without showing off that he was eavesdropping on them. Growling lowly at the sight of him, he stared in annoyance at his little nosey in on their conversation without putting much thought into what he said. He knew that the people of Namek had far superior Dragonballs, but it was a planet that was hidden away from invasion and somewhere that would be difficult to reach. Grunting he looked away, lowering his head a little before his eyes went to Aito and June. What he was suggesting was definitely a stretch, knowing it was more of a taboo to do when they had been dead for so long, “Has that dragon ever revived someone from so long past? Earth’s Dragonballs have a year after death limit…”

Despite the conflictions in needs and wants right now, hearing Vegeta Jr choose to help him instead of his parents sounded positively stupid. Viral couldn’t see any logic in helping him before anything else, especially when how he felt wasn’t exactly important or life changing to any of them, “Stop putting me before everything else! I’m sick of being the centre of attention and pity…so just knock it off!” It was certainly aggravating, but it probably wasn’t going to stop them when they were all really stubborn too. Growling lowly, he stopped as he looked back to Aito again, frowning a little, “Tch, I’m not weak…”

Viral was completely conflicted and angry at himself, allowing such weaknesses to conquer him and yet he was being talked to and given solace over what he had done. He was angrier with himself, seeing as how it was all because of him that he was upsetting others and unable to fulfil this ‘perfected being’ role that Aito was proud of. Looking up to June as she spoke, he let out a sigh as he looked to Takeshi, frowning at his response, “I can keep myself safe! Nevermind what…happened…” he grunted, looking down at himself before looking back to June, “Don’t even ask about that…”

Shu was so confused over all of it and a little sad over Viral, but he knew the guy wouldn’t want to be worried over seeing how annoyed he got over it. It seemed nice to have loving parents, but it certainly seemed Viral didn’t understand the concept of parents either compared to Vegeta Jr. He was fair withdrawn from them and didn’t seem to give them the same attitude that Vegeta Jr held for them, his body language showing a more submissive stance as if they might hurt him. Letting out a sigh his eyes soon went up to Takeshi, giving him a smile, “Maybe! I mean…is this the way mothers act or do they act like T’charrl’s mother…?”

Goku had kept his distance from the discussion seeing as how it was between their family, his involvement was simply going as far as getting the other parents out of the frying pan. Speaking of frying, he could sure do with a snack after all of that, especially considering a lot of his time out on his little run he had been fleeing from a very angry Princess for taking her food and flying. Slowly scratching his neck, he gave a little wave from where he was to the portal, knowing it was time for it to close.

T’charrl looked between everyone since he was just feeling a little lost right now with one side completely without a means to speak like him and only catching half of the conversation, but the way they were acting meant he could finally pull his soul in before he just felt completely empty inside. Giving one quick check over he nodded, the portal slowly dissolving into flames again before he dragged them all in to his body again, feeling instantly refreshed when it merged with him. Letting out a sigh he shook himself a little, trying to get back into everything now that it had all finished up, “My head feels funny…uhh, their energy is a lot weaker than your friend’s, it may be hard to find them again”.

[GambolMuse]

The goodbyes had been quick, perhaps a bit quicker than anyone would have liked. The 'Things To Do' list was quickly growing longer, every day there was a new task added it seemed. Priority number one unanimously, much to Viral's probably chagrin, was to get medical attention for the Beastman. A fair bit of the new ensemble, chiefly the squad and their parents were perhaps a bit indifferent to the situation, but the others were determined. He had been suffering longer than any of them, and would continue to do so until he got help. Stopping their father, training T'charrl, even the boys finding their mother, all of that was put to the wayside for the Beastman's well being. Earth would be the next destination if it could be helped, and hopefully there they would find Doctor Ikura and be able to convince him to help Viral's case. Aito had been confident that his former colleague would, yet there had been near two decades since they'd spoken, and since the former's death. He could be too afraid of the Beastman to agree to get close enough to him. What's more there was no guarantee he was even around any longer. The RRA had been actively trying to get Viral during their time searching for the Dragonballs, so who was to say they hadn't been searching for the last remaining member of his development team too? There were a lot of ifs and uncertainties with this plan, but it was still their best course of action.

Before they could even depart there were a few final orders of business left on Kaesstra. After getting the newly rescued parents to relax at home Shu and Takeshi went into the city to see what was to become of General Yusef. In a pleasant surprise the city folk didn't seem panicked by the turn of events, albeit there was a fair bit of chatter about the massive tree that had appeared. Much of the general population was weary of the fighting and stress of a potential attack, so the war coming to an end was welcome news. Even though they had in essence lost Eslaria had made it clear very quickly she had no desire to impose any kind of rule over them, opting instead to form an alliance between the two peoples and work as one. There were some naysayers, as there always was when change took place, but the majority seemed okay with this course of action. The exact details hadn't been divulged as to how they'd work together, but surely that would come soon enough. The priority at the present was to see Yusef properly sentenced for his crimes, which included but was certainly not limited to murder, war crimes and deliberate misinformation of the state. There was plenty of reason for the people to hate him, as he'd sapped quite a bit of their resources in his quest for Kaesstrian dominance. His troops had even been called upon to act as a sort of protection detail, escorting the man to the city's capitol building for his trial, which would be public. In spite of the charges there was no death penalty given, when on many other worlds including Earth it likely would have been. Instead he was sentenced to spend the rest of his days imprisoned, deep within the underground city under heavy guard every moment. Some saw it as too soft, but if Eslaria wanted to gain the trust and loyalty of the people she couldn't start their new allegiance off with an execution.

The trial had passed, and Yusef taken away to begin his sentence. Eslaria and Garesh were understandably a bit disappointed that their son had not come along, hoping to see him off one last time. Understanding his hesitation though they left their best wishes with the brothers, giving them a warm farewell for all of their help. When they had arrived on the planet everyone was cautious of the brothers, and T'charrl was an enemy of the state. While the people didn't know it yet they quite literally owed all of this to T'charrl, and upon his eventual return hopefully they'd give him the recognition and praise he deserved. Shu and Takeshi were certainly getting their fair share of thanks, being sent out of the city with a chorus of cheers and farewells from the natives. It was a nice change of pace, since they seemed to be fighting and making enemies all the time now. Takeshi found himself rather euphoric from it all, glad to be getting thanks for doing something good for a change. It wasn't quite as self fulfilling as some of the things he'd done, but having other people be thankful for what he and the others had done was nice. If they weren't on a schedule he might even linger for a bit and enjoy things, give into his little desire to be heralded for a time, however brief. They did have important matters to see to, so hanging around wasn't an option. Besides, he still really wasn't a fan of all of this noise.

Vegeta had the forethought to bring the ship to the home while they were out, and as the brothers came back they'd see the twins and Kabocha helping their parents on board. Viral would be inside then, sitting at the controls with Yumi in the other seat to act as support if need be. T'charrl was already in the ship with the others, and Shu would go to join him. Two groups would be formed, with five of them taking to the Saiyan pods to lead the way. They had to follow the pods to the main ship, and in order to make things seem convincing the squad was taking prisoners, in this case Takeshi and Vegeta. The ship would follow behind, close enough to track but far back enough to evade detection. Once the five boys made it onboard they'd assume control and hopefully clear the ship, then the smaller vessel would dock. That was the plan at least, they'd see how things went once it was in action. Before they split up Takeshi grabbed his brother by the arm, smiling at him gently and pulling him into a hug.

"I'll see you in a little bit, alright buddy? And this time we're not going to be separated for so long." It was perhaps a little anxiety on Takeshi's part that he said this. Since recovering his brother this was the first time they'd be apart, and it unsettled him to an extent. So long as the ship kept its distance and they kept the attention of the troops everything ought to be fine. Letting go of Shu the older boy placed a hand on his brother's head, ruffling his hair one last time. "I'm counting on you to keep them safe if anything does happen though, and I know you'll be able to."

Getting that out of the way Kai, Choi, Takeshi, Vegeta and Kabocha took off, flying in the direction of the pods. They were going in the lead, being the only ones to actually fight if things went right. Or to be exact Takeshi and his squad would fight, just like old times. Vegeta's purpose was to hack systems as need be, and ultimately pilot the ship. Not a single one of them was quite as adept with technology as he was, so it was an obvious choice then to pick him for the job. Takeshi sent a cursory glance over his shoulder as they sped off, smiling and watching as the ship slowly lifted into the air, hovering a fair couple dozen meters above the ground. It would linger until they were off, then would follow their path right up until the Saiyan ship was in view. This would be the first time they were going to fight the Saiyan military on their own, no rebels to help them this time. It was like their own little rebellion.

[Mogtaki]

The thought of the journey was probably going to be the worst part for T’charrl as they all prepared themselves, especially when the farewell he had with his parents had been so brief before. He really hoped he’d be able to contact them when he was in space as opposed to having no way to communicate because of the planet’s energies. He would probably miss feeling those energies and talking to everything that was down there that nobody else could hear, but maybe there would still be something out there and even greater energy sources that he could mentally tap into. He was really nervous, but hopefully he would be able to adapt and not get too homesick.

Getting into the ship was a little awkward; it was a large ship but there was still a lot of people in here and he was very large himself now. He was a little squashed but to compensate he did wrap himself up in his wings and keep to the side just where he could see outside. He did hope the plan they had wouldn’t be difficult to pull off and he was a little bummed out that he couldn’t help in any way, but then again his powers were still unstable and he might end up mutating suddenly. Looking to the others, his eyes soon quickly moved to the window, moving a little to stare outside in a silent farewell to his planet.

Shu had a little moment where he was going to miss being close to Takeshi as he gave his own little departing note as they were promptly moving onto their mission. He was a little nervous, but he still gave Takeshi a nod when he gave his prompts, “Yeah…in a bit! Don’t blow it up because we need it…” He was definitely more than a little anxious, but he would have Yumi and hopefully that would make him feel a lot better and more secure. Smiling a little as Takeshi ruffled his hair, he nodded before letting Takeshi go off to do his own part of the mission, knowing it was going to be dangerous. He really did hope everything was going to be okay, especially considering Viral was going to be driving them and whether he could manage was definitely the question.

Viral knew how much was riding on him completing his part of the mission, considering he was the only one who could drive it while not being a Saiyan and important to the mission. They should had just used him as the substitute for Takeshi, then again the guy probably had no clue how to fly one of these and would probably screw it up completely. Locking onto Kabocha’s pod as planned, he made sure everyone was seated and in suitable positions before doing the system checks. His expression was neutral the entire time, his eyes looking over everything to make sure it was all right. Giving a quick look to see how much distance he was able to hold onto in regarding the pod, he waited a few moments before starting up the engines, raising the ship into the air before firing it off and actively chasing after the pods.

T’charrl let out a squeak at the sudden lift-off, a little more than surprised at the speed it was going at already as his planet gradually began to disappear. Staring out of the window, he could see the trees slowly vanishing into a carpet of green before it was replaced with the slight fog that was the energy of his planet. It was unlike anything he had ever seen and he was the first of his kind to see such a sight. He felt special for a moment, but soon enough there was nerves picking up again as he was now entering a universe filled with deadly warriors and aliens unlike anything he could had possibly imagined.

[GambolMuse]

Five people in three pods, the arrangements were less than ideal as far as space was concerned. They weren't exactly big by themselves, but when only so much space was available to them it didn't take a lot to make the area feel tight. Takeshi had squished in with Kai, and Vegeta with Kabocha, leaving Choi as the only one with any room to spread his legs and relax. The only solace they had was that the ride in these vessels was always incredibly smooth, even upon entering an atmosphere. They wouldn't jostle about or be tossed side to side nearly as much as the others would be in the rebel ship. Still though, it seemed small consolation. There wasn't time to complain, they had to get going and get this mission of theirs underway, Once everyone had settled and a brief pre-flight diagnostics run the three pods simultaneously rose up into the air, rising through treetops and breaking off a few branches during their ascent. In no time at all they were well over the trees, able to see for leagues in either direction. It was a beautiful sight, yet they couldn't linger. Giving the go ahead Choi's pod would go off first, seeing as he'd have the easiest time piloting being alone. Kai followed close behind his twin and Kabocha would take up the rear, being the pod that the others would tail. In a series of white streaks they shot across the sky, climbing quickly up into the cloudy cover of Kaesstra before entering the vast emptiness of space.

Takeshi couldn't hide his disappointment at leaving so soon, having been keen on actually taking a breather for once. It was obvious why they were leaving, they had to. When he was hoping for a break though, and wanting to give Shu all the fruit he could eat it was a bit of a letdown. Watching the planet slowly shrink against the canvas of black he let out a sigh, easing himself down onto the floor of the pod as Kai was in the single seat. With the pods homing in on their mother craft it was really a hands off journey, the only one having to do any manual piloting being Viral. If there was debris the squad would have to avoid it themselves of course, other than that they had little input. Now that they were well free of the atmosphere and on their way to the Saiyan ship it was probably a good idea to make sure everyone was doing okay post-take off. Or really Takeshi just wanted to check up on his brother, knowing how he fared in tight spaces.

"Shu...? Can you hear me buddy?" Takeshi asked, pressing the open channel button on his communicator. "Just want to make sure you're okay and not having a bad time of things. The ride up wasn't too bumpy?" Maybe he was being a bit protective, a bit overprotective even. Being the eldest sibling and the only family Shu had he definitely had a sense of this innate need to be almost a parent figure as well as a brother. Hopefully he wasn't going to end up smothering his sibling doing this.

"Hey, boss? Emergency use only mean anything to you?" Kabocha chimed, grinning as he spoke. "I'd hate for the soldiers to figure out what's going on just because you had to say hi to your kid brother." Vegeta shared the sentiments, even laughing slightly as Kabocha chastised their friend. Knowing him he was beet red with either anger or embarrassment right now, probably both. Had he seriously forgotten that it was an open channel for everyone with a scouter, meaning their entire group.

Yumi hid a small giggle behind her hand, finding it both adorable and amusing that Takeshi was being such a worry wart. It was amazing how much he fussed over Shu now, he never used to be like this. It was definitely a nice change, certainly from the arrogant and mouthy kid he used to be. He'd never want to hear it, but in a way Viral used to be much the same. It had been a while ago, but the Beastman had acted almost the same way. Always looking out for her and Vegeta, being more or less the epitome of what a big brother would be like. If someone should cross them though, or if one of her childhood admirers happened to get too close or be rude then he could be awfully sour. Looking over at her friend out of the corner of her eye she smirked knowingly, resisting the temptation to tease him about it. He needed to focus on flying the ship, not her little jokes. Those would wait until later. With little need to help pilot their craft she adjusted her seat, leaning back slightly and closing her eyes, letting out a soft, squeaky yawn.

"Do you mind if I take a five minute nap...?" Yumi asked, not opening her eyes. "I haven't slept very well lately, I could use it. If you need a hand I can... Stay up though."

[Mogtaki]

Kai wasn’t exactly what you would call ‘relaxed’ when compared to his brother, feeling a little annoyed that he was left without space to move and had to carry the weight that was Takeshi. He had lost out on the gamble to decide who should take whom and right now it was definitely Choi who had all the luck. It probably shouldn’t matter considering how they weren’t going to be travelling very long, but it was certainly claustrophobic in the pod and he could do with some breathing space of his own. Travelling through space probably shouldn’t be too much of a hassle; they shouldn’t run into any traffic in this side of the galaxy if anybody was to spot the larger ship that really wasn’t that far away.

The ship had been inspected before they were all set off on their journey, its speed and size meant it would be able to keep the pods on the radar but it had to stay back enough to keep away from the enemy’s own radar too. If Viral was up to the task then he’d be able to keep the ship away and know exactly how much it had to keep away by. Viral was a skilled pilot, he could get the job done so long as he didn’t need to worry about losing his mind halfway through and end up ramming into the side of the ship.

When they made it into space and were all safe to go, Shu was up out of his seat and trying to drag T’charrl out of his too. It was a fair exciting journey they were going on and Shu was anticipating it quite a lot. He was a little nervous about the prospect of capturing a ship and finding somewhere to put everyone on board; they had to go somewhere, after all. Busy trying to drag T’charrl out of his chair, he heard the voice of Takeshi in his scouter, feeling confused at first before his eyes went to Yumi and Viral, “Huhhhh…? Umm…” he mumbled, pressing the button on his scouter, “I-I’m okay! Uh huh, I’m just lightheaded…” he spoke, feeling a little confused, “I’ll be fine…umm, you have fun getting captured, I guess…”

T’charrl really didn’t know if it was okay to get out of his seat, but it was probably best to when it was a little uncomfortable to sit on such a chair. His anatomy was a lot different compared to what Saiyans had so he had to sit at a slouch while watching out for his own lower abdomen; this was definitely a factor preventing Kaesstrian space travel, their way of sitting wasn’t completely compatible with other races. Slowly managing to get out of his seat with Shu’s help, he kept crouched down as he slowly shimmied over to the window, staring out of it as space passed by. There was so much out there, everything was wonderful and yet so black and empty once he was able to see what was around everywhere. He had always wondered what it would be like to be immersed in the vast wonder of space, but now that he was all he could think about was what else was out there.

Viral was just concentrating on his job with his attention being put fully on flying the ship and the status on the radar. He was forcing himself to not worry about anything and extinguish his thoughts while he concentrated on his job, his own worries and problems having been pushed to the side completely. It would had been a lot easier to do this job if there was more to concentrate on other than a beeping and keeping on a straight course, especially when his energy was so low and he had little sleep. Everything was on his mind right now, but his job was so important that he couldn’t afford to let his mind deteriorate to the point where he’d fail everyone and they might end up getting captured again because of that. Slowly lowering his head to the controls, he looked to Yumi when she asked for a nap but already appeared to be taking one. Grumbling, he looked back to the console, “Do what you want. You wouldn’t know how to pilot this without a extensive training, anyway…”

[GambolMuse]

"Oh, well okay. I'll be right here if you do need anything though," Yumi offered, smiling slightly before slouching in her chair a bit. "I won't be long... I promise..."

With any luck she'd get a restful nap in for a change and not be plagued by uneasy dreams and thoughts. It would be wrong to say she was as deeply effected by what had been done to her as Viral was, he definitely had a worse time of it. She had her own little problems though, certainly big enough to upset her. Not nearly as debilitating as Viral's problems were she could bide her time to voice them, as comparatively she was perfectly fine. Rolling over onto her side to face the Beastman she gave him a sweet smile before closing her eyes, gradually trying to drift off to sleep. The trip wasn't supposed to take more than half an hour, so it'd be quick, but she really could use the shuteye.

Have fun getting captured? Well that was one way to look at things, he supposed. Takeshi was technically going to be a prisoner of war now, at least as far as the enemy was going to be concerned. It would be a tall bill to sell, given that he was a Prince and Vegeta was fairly strong in his own right as well. They were in a bit of luck though, as Takeshi's clothing was still a bit torn, dried blood caked across the fabric. His wounds had healed but there was plenty of indication he'd been injured, meaning his capture would be a little more believable. For good measure he figured he could always ask Kai to hit him once or twice, just to make things look better. The idea of letting his friend wail on him just to get a black eye out of it wasn't overly appealing, so unless necessary he wouldn't bring it up. Resting his head back against the wall of the pod he stared out the glass again, watching as stars and other celestial bodies zipped on by. Space travel had kind of lost its wow factor for him since he'd done it so much in the last year, it was about the same as riding in a car now. He could only imagine how T'charrl must be feeling right now though, he must be ecstatic.

"Kai...? I just thought of something... Were there any Elites on board with you three?" Takeshi asked, looking up at his friend. "Between the five of us I don't think we'll have any problems, but it's best to prepare just in case. Or anything that might be worth sharing about the ship now would be a good time."

With or without Kai's input the ships were steadily approaching their destination. Notably the Saiyan vessel had shifted since the squad had disembarked it, now quite a few hundred kilometers away from where it had initially been. The pods had their course and adjusted promptly, and shortly thereafter the vessel was coming into view. It had been a long while since Takeshi had seen one of these ships, designated as what was known as a gunboat more or less. It was stark white, standing out well against the black void of space like a sore thumb. The main portion of the body was two stories high and the length of at least a football field. In the center of the front portion of the ship jutted out a long cylindrical bit with a slanted face, being the bridge of the ship. To either the left or the right of the body were two great discs, housing both thrusters on the rear and turrets on the top that would come out of their casings when firing. The "wings" as they were changed orientation based on use, either folded at a downward angle for travel or propped horizontally for combat. To the end of the ship was another thruster, the main source of power for the entire vessel. A broad, semi-circular cover laid over the thruster to act as armor, and fins on both sides of that cover were used to help redirect the ship's course. It was definitely a Saiyan ship, with the king's insignia painted on the side as proof, and far larger than what they were using right now. If Takeshi remembered rightly there could be up to one hundred people onboard, a ten man crew being enough to manage it. Given they were about the size of the crew it would more than suit their needs. Taking the ship might be a little trickier than they had anticipated though, as it was docked in a space station. Not only did they have to get into the ship and commandeer it, but now they had to avoid any other ships that might be there. Lovely.

"There it is... Wow I forgot how big some of our ships are..." Takeshi mumbled, giving a shake of his head. No other races really made something this large, Saiyans definitely were the most exuberant when it came to ship building. As far as he could tell it was lightly armed too, so possibly even just a reconnaissance vessel, odd for something of that size. There had to be more weapons somewhere, it seemed odd that it'd only be furnished with two cannons. "Why is it docked? You weren't gone that long."

"We were supposed to be in and out on the job," Kabocha explained, slowing his pod as they approached the large craft. "Since it was going to be quick there wasn't a ton of supplies brought onboard, so I'd guess they're restocking things. If we time it right we can let them fill up the cargo then take it, we'll have food, medicine, everything we could need. Otherwise... Erm... We might be getting off with an empty ship."

[Mogtaki]

Viral wasn’t really too bothered by Yumi’s want to rest, considering she didn’t need to be doing too much just now and Shu was busy showing T’charrl what was out there beyond the ship. The alien was having a good time looking out at the world beyond his, even if it mainly composed of random asteroids and stars in the distance. It was certainly something to keep the kids happy, at least the big guy acted like a kid. Letting out a sigh as he slowly slouched forward, he did a few system checks before slowly leaning back, shutting his eyes for a moment. It was quiet apart from the noises coming from the alien and Shu, the air growing tense as he knew they were closing into the ship and would soon have to play the waiting game in hope that they would be able to remain unspotted.

Kai was a little impatient, probably because it was definitely a little harder to think this through when every other concern was getting in the way such as forgetting what they were supposed to do because it was so far away. He remembered that he had to take Takeshi and Vegeta to the Commander on the ship, but how they were going to take down the guy was definitely something to question. Looking to Takeshi as he spoke up again, he raised an eyebrow a little before giving his head a scratch, “Hmmm well, I wouldn’t say ‘Elite’; more someone who is literally a quick pick to take over Viral’s job”, he spoke, staring out of the pod, “He’ll be tough to take down so we should definitely mob him, but don’t think he’s anything like Viral”.

If there was ever anything to worry about it would have to be trying to retaliate against the other soldiers on board and there would probably be quite a lot. Going against one guy wasn’t bad, but when it’s about twenty more of him at different strengths it may prove to be a little difficult. If they could get down the Commander and subdue him quick enough then the soldiers should back off. With the pods travelling at a decent speed and everything slowly coming into view, Kai and Choi slowing down their pods respectively to let Kabocha get ahead a little. They had to go into their formation if things were to look normal with Kabocha being the leader of their squad and to go first no matter who they had.

Staring out at the ship, Kai sighed when Takeshi spoke, finding it a little odd that he could forget something as terrible looking as that ship, “Really? It could do with a paint job if that’ll help make it smaller”, he spoke, scratching his cheek, “The white really makes it look like the biggest wart in the galaxy”. If they were to take over that ship and successfully capture it, painting it would definitely be on Kai’s to-do list. With all that said, Kabocha was right about their job and considering they had been gone for so long there would definitely be suspicions raised. The most they would have to say as an excuse would be the energy of the planet made it a lot harder to find their target, then there was finding Takeshi and Vegeta along the way. It would show that they managed to subdue him and his friend, something that could have ended their lowly life as expendable meatshields and gotten them a promotion, “Kabocha, you have to go in first considering you’re still technically the leader of the squad. I hope you have a suitable report set up before we do what we need to do…”

With the Saiyan ship in sight as nothing more than a white dot in the distance, Viral put the ship into complete shutdown and placed it into standby mode. It was a little rough and the lights dimmed, but they couldn’t afford to get any closer unless they wanted to fly into view of their radar and end up getting caught. With all the systems off except for their scouters, Viral let out a sigh and slowly leaned back in the chair again, folding his arms and closing his eyes. His job was easy, but it was also boring and leading to an unwanted moment of relaxation and silence that would probably end with Yumi waking up just because she was feeling guilty about sleeping through the silence.

[GambolMuse]

"So we should expect a fight when we get onboard?" Takeshi liked the sound of that for some reason, smiling at the thought. A moment ago he'd been yearning for some peace and quiet, a chance to just relax for a change. Now faced with the prospect of fighting an Elite, or perhaps an equivalent he couldn't well be bothered to sit down and do nothing. In part it had to be his nature as a Saiyan, he simply loved to fight no matter what the case. There was the chance of getting back at the Saiyans for hurting his friends and family too, certainly reason enough to fight.

"Do we have to mob him, think he's that strong? Why don't we draw straws or something, see if one person can beat him first?" Five on one seemed a tad overkill for anyone, save perhaps Yamate. "I want to see how my wounds are holding up since T'charrl healed me. Think I can maybe just go first?" No doubt a group attack was going to be faster, and a lot safer. Takeshi was eager for a chance to fight, and even to show the others what he could do. Try as he might to change he found there was still a little part of him yearning to be stronger, stronger than the others. It wasn't as prevalent or as commanding an urge as it once had been, but definitely still there. Beating an strong opponent on his own was just the kind of thing he needed.

The Saiyan gunboat quickly came into view, the pods slowing down gradually to adjust to their inevitable landing. Kabocha moved to take point, as Kai pointed out he was the assumed leader of the squad. The plan thus far was to land in the ship bay, get inside the main hall of the ship and begin their attack from there. It would be tricky, driving out the enemy without killing anyone, but it was the intent. In order to get inside without causing any alarm they needed an alibi, something that hadn't really been discussed until now. Kai was fair fond to point pout that a report would be needed, again something Kabocha hadn't considered. He'd come up with something on the fly then, hopefully it would be enough.

"I've got this, don't worry." Kabocha replied, smiling slightly as the hangar doors to the ship began to part, revealing a spacious interior beyond the metal slabs. "Just don't do anything to tip them off early and we'll be fine. I'm talking to you, Takeshi."

Yumi wasn't precisely asleep yet, just dozing off really. Her seat was awfully comfortable, or maybe it was just her being tired that made it feel that way. Slouched back and her legs tucked up with one arm under her head, it would be very easy to go to bed like this. It might be anyways were she not still having trouble clearing her mind. The moments just before she was to get some rest had been the worst since being released, and right now was no different. Flinching slightly as the lights suddenly dimmed and the engine powered down she instantly became conscious of how dark it was, both outside and inside the ship. Immediately becoming uneasy about this she curled up tighter in her seat, her ears folding flat against her head as she scrunched up her shoulders. Viral was right there, she told herself, there was no reason to be afraid of the dark. Regardless, she was definitely going to have a hard time getting rest now, being too preoccupied with being afraid.

The pods near slowed to a crawl as they passed into the ship, silently dropping down onto the metal sheet flooring once beyond the doors. For a moment no one left their pod, taking a minute to gather themselves and get in character, so to speak. For good measure Vegeta had gone and torn his shirt up a bit, then doing his best to make himself appear exhausted. Takeshi still had his ruddy attire to vouch for him, all he needed to do was act the part to make it convincing. Kabocha gave his passenger one last glance before nodding, reaching overhead and grabbing the latch to disengage the door's seal. The pod quickly decompressed, air hissing out as the door swung down and out, exposing the passengers within to the hangar outside. Kabocha stepped out first, grabbing his assumed prisoner Vegeta by the arm right after and pulling him out on his feet. To his surprise when they exited there wasn't a single other being in the hangar, save for the rest of the squad. They were totally alone, which meant the pods had communicated with the ship to let them inside. Was no one at the controls of the hangar door then? Maybe they could bring the ship inside now then.

"What's the hold up...?" Takeshi whispered, frowning as he watched Kabocha and Vegeta through the glass. Someone ought to be seeing to them by now, but they were just standing there looking fairly uncertain about things. Looking up at the top of the pod then out again he sighed, wondering precisely where the crew might be or why no one was present besides them. "Kai? Open up the pod will you? Let's get out and see what's going on."

[Mogtaki]

“They won’t attack us immediately”, Kai sighed, feeling a little exasperated already. Takeshi was definitely way too impatient at times, the guy barely knew whether he was going to be fighting but was definitely hoping for a fight rather than hope to get passed everyone quietly and get to the Commander before he was any the wiser. It was a little annoying; Kai had a good plan to get in and take down the Commander and Takeshi seemed set on letting them fight their way through and cause even more trouble. They didn’t need to use aggression if they could get right where they had to, it was just Takeshi being difficult.

“Draw straws? Geez…this isn’t something we’re doing for fun, you know”, he sighed, shaking his head, “Can’t we just go in and take him down for once? If it didn’t mean the ship might end up getting damaged and us having to try and find money to get it repaired then by all means! Draw your straws! Go first!” He was definitely nervous, seeing as how he would have to put up an act in front of his former colleagues and make it out as if nothing was wrong, “C’mon man, I just want my heart to stop racing like its fleeing from fire…”

Viral was enjoying the dim light, feeling a little more relaxed than he would had been if everything was left on and they shone like a star. Even if he didn’t like waiting, finding just that moment of peace as he stared out into the black abyss. He shouldn’t find peace in staring at nothing; it probably wasn’t healthy when it meant everything else irritated him to a degree. This was probably the closest to sleeping as he was going to get without actually falling asleep, but he was still keeping his mind open to listening out for any prompts to get moving. It wasn’t as if he’d be able to get any rest anyway, especially when his mind was so erratic and sleep was something he had to be knocked out or drained of blood to be put under.

Shu wasn’t too sure how he was supposed to act in the dim light, whether he was supposed to be quiet or carry on what he was doing. Standing with T’charrl at the window, he looked up to him before he slowly wandered over to his seat, sitting down calmly and giving a smile to T’charrl. Whether he wanted to sit down too was entirely up to him, seeing as how it was his first time in space and maybe he wanted to view the stars and planets some more. Letting out a sigh he stared ahead, tilting his head a little curiously when he couldn’t see where exactly the ship they were supposed to be getting was. He assumed Viral could see where it was, but to him there was nothing at all out there and the other ships had gone ahead completely.

T’charrl didn’t mind the darkness, his species were very active during the dark if even more so. He wasn’t sure what the ship looked like so trying to find it wasn’t on his to-do list, plus it would be better if he saw what the ship looked like when they finally arrived. Everything was truly fascinating, but he couldn’t understand how nobody could feel lonely out here when everything was so far away. Letting out a sigh he looked to the others, tilting his head a little when he saw how they were all relaxing. He had no idea how they could relax at a time like this, his mind was completely buzzing with so many thoughts including whether the mission would go well for them ending with his ability to contact his mother all the way out in space.

As the pods came in to the docking station, the station being completely empty was definitely a little unsettling. Neither Kai nor Choi knew where the people were and there should had been somebody there to take their report, but there was just nobody. As the pod decompressed and opened up, Kai looked over Takeshi before he grabbed hold of him, holding his arm behind his back, “Stop complaining”, he grumbled, looking around cautiously. He didn’t know what was going on or why there was such a delay in soldiers acknowledging that they were back; it wasn’t as if they had done anything suspicious, after all. Frowning a little, he looked to Choi who quickly ran out of his pod, grabbing Takeshi’s other arm while just letting Kabocha take a hold of Vegeta, knowing just how odd it might appear if the twins didn’t take a hold of their most important prisoner in terms of status.

[GambolMuse]

"Oh come on Kai, you can't blame me for wanting to knock a few skulls," Takeshi quipped, smiling as he shrugged his shoulders. "They've caused me a hell of a lot of grief, and you guys too. I know we're supposed to be taking this ship, but if anyone gets in our ways I'm not exactly going to hesitate to knock them out." Rolling his eyes a bit at the other boy's woes he let out a soft sigh, lifting a hand to scratch at his head. He wasn't going to run out and attack someone, that was just stupid. He didn't even plan on attacking unprovoked, only if someone decided to come at them first. He was just expressing his earnest desire to smack someone around for what had been done to them. Unfortunately for these troops they'd also be getting the remnants of his anger of Yusef and his troops out of his system. Anyone who crossed them, simply put, was going to be black, blue and awfully sore.

Since he was technically the leader Kabocha knew he had to lead the way here. Sharing well in his counterpart's anxiousness he opened up his pod, climbing out past Vegeta before pulling the other Saiyan out with him. Surprisingly the hangar was absolutely devoid of other souls, unusual for the ship. Even if it was docked in the station there should be someone on board as they had hailed the ship not so long ago. Yet even as he looked up at the control room overlooking the room Kabocha couldn't see a single figure there. There was no evidence of anyone having been in here at all. No tools were left lying about and everything appeared neat and orderly, as it would while they were traveling. No engineers working on maintaining the other ships, no flight attendants, everyone was gone. There was a definite eeriness to that, this place was never this quiet. Maybe everyone was inside the station, after all there was no reason to stay onboard when they were docked really.

"Should it be this empty...?" Vegeta whispered, frowning as he looked around as well.

"No... There should be a ton of people here, or at least one. This is weird...."

Takeshi stepped out of the pod graciously, just happy to have space to stretch his legs. Glancing back as the twins each took an arm in his grasp he sighed, sobering up quickly and adopting a more defeated look. It was a wasted effort as he quickly realized there was utterly no one around to see them. Just as confused as everyone else he took a glance about the hangar, unable to see anyone besides the five of them in here. The doors made plenty of noise as they opened and closed, so surely someone must have heard something. Yet even as they all stood there for a few moments not a single soldier came to check on them, and the silence was beginning to become unnerving.

"Should we head into the ship more...? Maybe they're all in the mess hall or something?" Takeshi suggested, giving his shoulders another shrug.

"Could be... Though even then someone would have come by once we turned up. Someone coming on board isn't something that is typically ignored, even if we were the ones to signal them. Something seems really off here..." None of it made sense, something had gone wrong. They had gotten inside only because of their ships being integrated with the system, no one had let them in. Could it be possible that there might actually be nobody on board? If that was the case then this hijacking just became a dozen times easier. "Vegeta? Think you can get those doors open? Let's get everyone else inside, no use in having them wait." he added, letting go of the Saiyan.

Vegeta gave a curt nod, more than willing to get the others out of their exposed situation. It couldn't be too hard, hacking this, he'd had a little bit of exposure to Saiyan technology over the years. Turning himself then towards the control center he flew off silently, landing on the catwalk outside at a barred door. To his chagrin there was a keypad that allowed entry into the room, and nine buttons to go with it. That meant there was something absurd like a billion possible combinations, if the code was nine digits long. Far too complex for him to crack in any degree of allowable time, he'd have to bypass that. Placing his hand on the handle then Vegeta gathered his Ki, releasing it slowly and spreading it out over the thinner strip of metal, melting it with fair ease. As the handle vanished the door itself began to give way, his energy melting through the metal like fire to ice. In a brief moment he had managed to punch a hole through, breaking the other handle and the bolt that kept the door sealed. With a self satisfied smile he walked right on inside, immediately going to the controls to work his magic.

Since there was no real need to remain restrained any longer, certainly not if Vegeta was about, Takeshi shrugged off the twins and rolled his shoulders. Well, if the others were coming in then it was safe to say they weren't going to be nearly as cautious as they had planned to be. In that case they very well should just start searching the ship, just to make sure there really weren't any soldiers on board before they tried taking off in it.

"Figure we ought to go explore a bit?" Takeshi suggested, looking at the twins and Kabocha. "I mean... If the thing is empty we can just fly off, can't we?"

[Mogtaki]

This was definitely a little more than a bit odd, especially when anybody with the right gear could break into the ship before anybody was any wiser. It wasn’t normal for a ship this size to be empty, sitting out in space with everything still running. There had to be people in there somewhere, probably elsewhere on the ship. It was probably best to try and find them, even if they were the enemy. Kai and Choi both looked around simultaneously, Choi checking on his scouter for any Ki being used just incase there really was something wrong and they were just missing facts. Frowning a little, Choi turned to Kai before his attention was taken to Vegeta and Kabocha as they too became suspicious.

Kai didn’t think there was anybody within a few rooms from here, the people most likely up and away closer to the front of the ship occupied with something that was more important than security. There was definitely energy somewhere, no doubt about that. Giving Takeshi a quick look, he frowned a little and pressed his own scouter, looking in the direction he knew the mess hall to be in. They didn’t appear to be that way, so the only way they could find anything was if they pressed onwards and actively tried to find other people.

Seems all that was left to do now was to get the others in seeing as how everything was clear and they could get inside without having to worry about being shot down. Watching Vegeta go off to do his business, Choi and Kai let go of Takeshi with Choi wiping his hands down, frowning, “You know, I’m kinda glad I don’t need to carry you all the way up to the control room”, he sighed, looking around, “Although, still concerned about this. The scouter can’t really find anything because this place is so anti-Ki”.

“Exploring is probably the best thing, just make sure your pals know they can bring the ship in whenever the hatch is open”, Kai sighed, walking on towards the halls, “And don’t worry about opening up the hatch while people are in here. The anti-gravity shield goes up whenever a pod or a ship enters or leaves…so Takeshi, you wanna lead the way since you’re so eager to fight?”

[GambolMuse]

"You say that like I'm dirty or something..." Takeshi grumbled, narrowing his eyes. He then looked back down at himself, remembering he looked like a proper mess and smiling sheepishly at that. "Oh yeah... Well I don't exactly have a change of clothes. Maybe I'll be able to find some armor or something on here..."

While he hadn't checked the scouter himself just yet Takeshi couldn't even feel any nearby energies, just as Choi pointed out. A big part of that was the ship being anti-Ki, another thing he had managed to totally forget. The walls were lined with a special metal that dampened energy signals, to be used as a sort of stealth capability when sneaking up on other races or rebels. It seemed silly for a snow white ship to try to be stealthy, it would stand out like a sore thumb after all. It was definitely going to need a work over before they really started to travel around, otherwise they'd be drawing a ton of attention to themselves. Where the heck did they get a massive ship painted though?

"Want me to take point? Fine by me," Takeshi mused, smirking as he raised a hand to his scouter. Looking up to Vegeta he flashed a thumbs up before turning to the hangar doors, opening the group communications channel. "Hey Viral...? You guys can come on inside, the place is empty. Vegeta's going to open up the doors for you, just fly on in when you're ready. We're going to go inside and see if anyone is around, so you all just hang tight in the meantime." There would be more than enough 'bulk' in the hangar with everyone there to keep themselves safe. If Vegeta was going to remain at the controls too he may even be able to hack the entire system from there, meaning he didn't have to come along. So it'd only be Choi, Kai, Takeshi and Kabocha then... The old squad. Shame it wasn't possible to be fond of that fact.

Landing was definitely something that the others could handle on their own, there was no reason for the rest to linger. If the squad wanted him to take point in this then Takeshi would gladly do so, he couldn't really be bothered to care otherwise. Watching as the doors began to pull apart and the energy field quickly sprang up in its place, locking in the oxygen in the room while blocking out the coldness and vacuum of space. Giving a wave to his teammates then Takeshi strode across the large room, heading right to a set of double doors that gave entry into the hallway beyond. Of course there had to be a keypad here as well, and he was most certainly without the combination. Gesturing for one of his squad to take care of it he was a bit surprised then when the doors split apart, glancing up once more at Vegeta surprised.

"I've got remote access from this console, so I can at least get that door for you," Vegeta said, smiling proudly as he brought up a command console again. "Give me a little time and I should be able to access other systems from here too. Just tell me where you are while you're exploring and I can zero in on that particular door, got it?"

"Yeah, sure thing. Thanks Vegeta." Poking his head into the hall before going in revealed a pretty long corridor spanning off in each direction. Like the exterior of the ship the walls were a flush white, broken up occasionally by red doors and various signs on the walls, probably designating rooms and directions. The floor was a soft beige tile, helping a little with the eyesore that was the ship so far. Stepping out into the hall Takeshi reached up and scratched at his head, confused as to where they should go. After a brief moment's contemplation he opted to go right, resisting the urge to run as he broke into a fast paced walk. "If I go the wrong way just yell at me. I don't want to be wandering around all day."

[Mogtaki]

Choi looked up and down Takeshi before he frowned, only to smirk a little, “Yeah, you’re covered in crap that I can only assume is blood from those bugs; I don’t care if you’re going to roam around naked, just so long as you get out of those clothes sometime!” Choi didn’t like being filthy himself, but to have to touch somebody else who was just came to be a little disgusting and definitely a turn-off from ever wanting to know what else Takeshi’s clothes were carrying. He may as well had been rolling around in the corpses of his foes with the stink he was carrying.

Back on the ship, Viral was just beginning to relax a little bit until Takeshi came through in a call, a sigh sounding from Viral as he leaned forward and listened to what was being said. That was certainly fast, but ‘fast’ also meant something had gone wrong and they needed to investigate it. It was definitely not a good sign; ships just shouldn’t have an empty hanger. Feeling a little annoyed with not getting the rest he deserved, he fired up the ship again with all lights turning on bright again before he blasted it forward as a squeak of surprise sounded from Shu.

It was entirely possible to suggest that Viral was a little more than annoyed at having to be called over so soon. If they had screwed up and were calling for back-up then they were definitely doing it all wrong with this lot, not unless they wanted to shove T’charrl and Yumi into the mix to find out what was going on. If there truly was nobody to be found in the hanger then the problem was definitely internal and something bad must had happened to call away the troops because the King would definitely not allow a hanger to go unchecked, “Yumi, you can stop pretending to sleep now. The idiots have encountered something and need us now”, he spoke, flying at full speed towards the ship, “…And the closer I get, the more I don’t like the feeling of it…”

Giving a quick glance back at Takeshi before back to the doors, Kai cracked his knuckles just incase there was going to be a fight around the next corner with the squad just waiting to ambush them. It was entirely possible they had been found out after somebody reported their parents missing, but then again the only way to find out would be to enter the possible fray and demand answers. Watching the doors slowly open up, his eyes soon went to Takeshi as he slowly moved behind him, shrugging a little at his doubtful sense of direction, “You’ll know, I mean…not unless you think the entire crew really has gone missing”, he spoke, sighing, “I guess they’ll be somewhere near the helm. If in doubt, think ‘forward’ to find the other end of the ship”.

“Do you smell anything?” Choi asked out, poking out from behind Kai, “All I smell is Takeshi’s nasty clothes…a-and remember what blood smells like…?” With a Saiyan’s sense of smell, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out whether or not there had been a fight; however, all Choi could smell was Takeshi and that was probably the case for Kai too, not unless Kabocha’s stink was overpowering enough. He was really worried that there had been a bloodbath somewhere and they’d have to end up cleaning it all up, especially considering they were supposed to be taking over this vessel and knowing that people died on it was probably the least encouraging thought on his mind.

[GambolMuse]

"Heh... It's probably some of my blood too." Takeshi answered, smirking sheepishly. Grabbing at his tattered shirt he lifted it up to his nose, taking a wince and grimacing immediately afterwards. He wouldn't go quite to the extreme that Choi had said, but he more than readily enough lifted his shirt up and off, exhaling graciously as he removed it and held it in his hand loosely. "Okay, so it smells a little bit. If you guys don't mind I'll take a look around real quick for something to wear."

Anything would be better than his ragged, soiled clothes that he had now. While he could easily take off his shirt, the pants and even boots were going to be a bit more of a problem. There should be a few changing rooms onboard, some lockers with a few extra sets of clothes and armor inside. He'd prefer not to wear Saiyan garb if they were going to be stopping on other planets, he'd hate to give the wrong idea to the denizens they encountered. Kai, Choi and Kabocha all still wore armor too, so it was a moot point to worry just about himself. Just because repetition was necessary Choi brought up the stink again, not able or ready to leave it well enough alone.

"I get it, I get it, I stink." He couldn't help it, not until they found either a shower or a change of clothes. "Unless you want me walking around naked, deal with it. I'm looking for a place to change, alright?" Takeshi gave the air a curious sniffing, trying to pick up any traces of possible bloodshed on the ship. Even just barely managing to get over his clothing's noxious odor he couldn't find a trace of anything else, meaning that presumably nothing had gone wrong. It was every bit as possible that the crew and its inhabitants were just no onboard right now, they were docked at a space station after all. Before they could go looking for the ship's proper owners, or lack thereof, Takeshi desperately needed a change of clothing. Sighing he continued to walk down the corridor, tucking his shirt into the band of his pants so he didn't have to hold onto it. "I want to stop smelling myself first, then we'll find where these guys disappeared to."

"No one wants to see you walking around naked dude, please keep the pants on." Kabocha joked, giving a dramatic roll of his eyes. Like the others he couldn't smell anything that might hint at there having been a fight. It was really peculiar that there was no one around, someone most definitely should have come to check when they had landed in the hangar. Something had the crew occupied then, probably something on the station. The place was pretty much a city after all, with all sorts of attractions and places for the hard working soldier to unwind and enjoy themselves. Jerks were probably all having a feast and getting drunk while he and the twins had been out working. Typical...

Yumi had managed to slip off into a light sleep just as the ship violently jolted forward, causing her to stir fitfully. "Nuuuu... I was almost there..." she grumbled, not opening her eyes as she ship came to a gradual halt. Hearing metal meet metal she knew they had landed inside, they had been prompted to come in after all. Like a child she refused to acknowledge the cue to move, curling up in her seat and tucking her head against her shoulder, hopeful to resume her little nap. Viral then reinforced the need to get up, making her finally open up her eyes. Mumbling incoherently she rolled onto her back again, yawning squeakily before sitting upright and giving her eyes a good rubbing. "Wasn't pretending..." she replied, dropping her hands in her lap and sighing.

Looking to Viral curiously at this 'bad feeling' she tried to decipher just what he was talking about. Giving herself a second to wake up a bit more she tried sensing for any energies within the ship. only managing to find everyone within their smaller craft, and Vegeta in the control room above. She couldn't sense Takeshi and his squad any longer either, a bit confused as to why that was. There was definitely nothing that screamed "bad omen" to her, leaving her awfully confused as to what Viral meant. Scratching at her head she let out another yawn, stretching her arms up over her head then before looking at her friend curiously. "What do you mean you don't like the feeling...? What is there?"

[Mogtaki]

Takeshi was certainly a brute when it came to combat, unless the guy just enjoyed rolling around in blood then he would just be fairly crazy. The smell wasn’t affecting Kai too much, he did have to take the guy in his pod to get to the ship and it had worn away after some ten minutes of flight before it became something he could put up with, but when trying to find other people by using his Saiyan senses then it was proving a little more than difficult. If there was nobody on board then they could freely take the ship, but nothing could surely be that easy even with the docking bay empty, “If this ship isn’t spoiled by blood and we can take it without feeling guilty, then I’m pretty sure sending everyone to the baths will be the first thing we’re going to do”, he spoke, letting out a sigh, “Good thing the high profile ships have baths, I want to see if the so-called ‘Elite sauna’ exists, though…”

“Hey maybe if there is we could lock the Beastman in it until he stops stressing more than a merchant under pressure”, Choi joked, shrugging a little, “He could sweat out that PTSD and not be such a depressing sack”. There were certainly a lot of perks to being an Elite and hearing the rumours was always designed to make the lowly soldiers both jealous and desperate to get close to the Elite and hope to be invited into their little special rooms, but that was only if they existed of course. Taking the ship was definitely the most curious thought Choi had in a while, especially when he had no clue if any of the rumours were true.

Kai let out an annoyed sigh at his brother, slowly rubbing his head, “That’s not how mental problems work, Choi…” The thought of taking the ship was definitely the higher one on the list compared to what had happened to the crew, but if everything was still on then there must had been someone in the place that was operating the ship. Whether the entire crew had gone off and left just a few workers on board was definitely a question that had to be made. Keeping an eye out for anyone that might pop up, Kai sighed and shook his head, “If you want to find somewhere to change, then fine, but we should really find somebody first whether they’ll be in the control room or being idiots and not inviting us to some secret party they might be having”.

Anytime there was something unusual or when something had been completed way before anything else could have happened would definitely raise suspicions. Viral definitely didn’t like it, he knew there was something wrong but people would probably just think his paranoia from his ‘condition’ was messing with his mind. Flying the ship onwards, the ship soon came into view and gradually got closer with Viral only getting an odd feeling the longer he stared at the ship. Looking to Yumi when she spoke, he sighed and looked away again, concentrating on flying, “We’re being able to get into the ship way too early, that’s what”, he spoke, growling lowly a little, “Then there’s the tense feeling in my chest whenever I look at the vessel…”

Quickly coming in close to the massive ship, Viral took their own around the back of it as he looked out for the docking bay. Spotting the opening for his ship, he slowly spun it around to reverse into the opening. With cameras quickly appearing on the window of the ship showing the rear view, Viral slowly reversed in through the anti-space shield, passing through with the ship feeling heavier the moment it entered before finally with a solid bump. There was definitely a strange energy about the ship, something that was continuing to grow in emphasis now that he was in. It could very well be his condition playing up on him, but at this point he couldn’t really be sure. Unlocking the doors he let out a sigh, unbuckling himself, “Shu will need to stay here until this place is thoroughly checked…and I don’t trust that the idiots have checked already…”

[GambolMuse]

"Oh come on, you think those things really exist?" Kabocha asked exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. "It's crap made up by Elites to make us jealous. They've got regular showers just like the rest of us. I mean... Why would there be a sauna onboard the ship?" He didn't think there was anyways, it didn't seem like the king to indulge on anyone other than himself. The Elites got better treatment, sure, but nothing quite as extravagant as a sauna. This was all coming from someone outside of the fold of course, he liked to think that the Elites hadn't gotten treatment much better than the nobility had, meaning they got the essentials and that was it. Maybe better quality than most, but besides that it was all the same when one got down to basics.

Takeshi couldn't help but feel annoyed when Kai mentioned Viral's problems. As much as he didn't mind his squad now they didn't have a place to talk about the Beastman like that, he felt they didn't know him enough to have that liberty. It was a selfish thought, and he really couldn't say why he felt that way. Viral had friends though in himself, Shu, Yumi and Vegeta, they should be the ones to help him then. The fact it had been the squad to diagnose him already made him feel fairly inadequate in its own right. Opening his mouth to tell Choi to shut up the Saiyan instead closed it again when Kai did that for him, kind of. Good, he didn't need to hear about that right now. Viral's problem definitely wasn't something to joke about anyways, Choi wouldn't be joking if it was Kai with the issue.

"So we'll find the control room first then and go from there? Alright, we'll do that then." Takeshi smiled amused, looking back at Kai and shrugging his shoulders. "Think they could be having a party? I almost hope so now... I could so go for a nice big meal! I'm tired of just snacking all the time..." Putting his hands on his stomach he gave it a patting, sighing as he continued on down the corridor. "Haven't had a really filling meal since Uuonoe, so it's been a couple of days. Oh man,,, Just thinking about it makes me even hungrier..."

"Don't go putting yourself in a coma Takeshi," Kabocha replied, smirking amused as he watched their former leader sway as he walked. "This corridor wraps around the entire length of the ship, and the mess hall is more towards the center of the ship. We're not going to get there any time soon, not if we gotta get control of this thing first." Besides, he wasn't the only one feeling hungry at the moment. All complaining did was make it worse. Seriously... It was like Takeshi was a totally different guy now that he was out of the military.

For the life of her Yumi still wasn't able to pick up anything inside the ship. Try as she might she couldn't even really get past the walls of the hangar, only picking up sparks of the boys' energies now and again. Odd, it was like the ship was made to conceal Ki, something she didn't even know that metal could be made to do. Holding onto her seat Viral went about spinning the ship around, expertly backing them into the larger vessel to dock and wait for the okay to come out. There was discernibly greater gravity once they had passed through the shield, Yumi went from just barely touching her seat to being sat back in it normally. Looking to her friend as he unbuckled himself she copied his movements, getting up from her seat and smiling reassuringly to him.

"They'll do a check, it just might take them a while," she offered, certain that they'd get the job done. "And why do you look so uneasy? Is it that feeling you were getting?" Yumi tried once more to fan out her senses and pick up a trace of something but again came up empty handed. Maybe it was something she was missing, something she didn't know she could do as a Beastman now. Scratching at one of her ears baffled she looked at Viral again, managing a small smile. "Tell me where to look for it? Or what to look for, maybe I can find it then...?"

Vegeta waited until their ship was well inside before sealing the hangar doors again, more than readily locking them off as well. Anyone else that tried coming in would have to blast through the doors, hopefully no one went to that extreme. After making doubly sure that the hangar was suitable for them to get out he turned on his scouter, wanting to give them the okay.

"Guys? Feel free to get out of the ship and walk around, the hangar is safe. I'd suggest staying in there though, until the others can tell us for sure if the ship is safe." Vegeta then brought the command system back up on the display, studying the coding for a moment to try and make sense of how it worked. The gateways into other systems, they had to be here, he just had to pick them out between all the numbers. It would take another few minutes until he got into the mainframe then, and he debated going out into the rest of the ship as well just to find a more central access point to work from. Putting a hand back to his scouter he then decided to ask the squad where they were.

"How's the search coming everyone? Find anything yet...?" Vegeta asked, using one hand to scroll down the page of script, searching for a common algorithm that might hint at a way through. "More importantly, find any other consoles I can hack? I can do it from here... Probably, but it's going to take me a while. It'd be faster if I had a more general system to begin from."