GambolMuse

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Now Haku was seriously confused that the creature and T'charrl were talking. Not to mention he felt left out, how come he couldn't speak with it? Not fair considering it had come to him initially. It seemed to be trying to help out T'charrl which he was all for even if he couldn't help much himself. Hearing something about thoughts he scratched at his own head curiously trying to make heads or tails over it and what the creature could have meant. Happy thoughts? Was that all it took to help heal the world? "O-Oh? Uh, happy thoughts... Happy thoughts..." Jeez what were some happy thoughts? Thinking of it himself there wasn't much in his own life he would consider terribly happy, having been more or less a grunt since the day of his birth. There was one thing though and maybe it would help. "What about when you started traveling with your friends? That had to be happy right?" he suggested hopefully, shrugging as he rubbed at his arm, "I never had friends before this really, so... It makes me happy having some now. And I'm happy we're friends too."

-----

"Not always no. Korian does it with people we're not completely sure about. It's nothing personal, but where you came from made some people uneasy about you being with us, so we had to prove you weren't a bad person." It was most certainly a trial by fire if Sasha had ever seen one, and indeed there might be better ways to test a person. As Korian and others argued though you didn't know someone's real character until they were against a wall and in danger, which if that were the case they had certainly seen that of Kiton today. "We were standing by in case something happened, York would have been fine. And no we wouldn't have killed you if something happened either, killing you wouldn't have fixed anything." It was part of their philosophy, that killing someone for having killed your own did no good in the end, it was only revenge and revenge was pointless.

Ricken found himself moderately annoyed with how Kiton was taking this but kept his complaints silent for now, knowing he'd be cussed out if he so much as said a word on it. "You passed, you're allowed to remain on Uuonoe and travel with us if you want, consider that a good thing," he pointed out impatiently, "Even if you don't stay with us, as long as you don't go be a complete asshole you'll be recognized as an ally of ours. I don't know if it will make the Galactic Police stop harassing you but it'll keep other people from thinking you're some kind of criminal. So you're welcome for that."

"Easy Ricken, the boy has just been thrown through a loop, we can do without the attitude for now," York said tiredly, waving a hand dismissively before glancing down at Kiton. "I'm sorry I had to do that, but I agree with what everyone else has said, you've done admirably today. I know I'll certainly be happier to count you among allies in the future than enemies, welcome to the fold," he added, extending a hand out to be shaken, "No hard feelings."

-----

"Sorry, I think its just something people do when they're taking care of someone," Yumi answered uncertainly, shrugging as he laid her hand across Viral's paw, "It's like how hugs make people feel better, maybe?" She hadn't much noticed any difference in how she was treating Viral, kiss aside. If the others were being more handsy with him too then she hadn't noticed that either. Now that she was with him though there wouldn't be any unwarranted touching if she could help it; if Viral was upset or in pain he was liable to be given a hug still. "Punch him? If you really want me to I can do that," she said with a small laugh, "And no, I can't get painkillers. I can ask when Aito gets back though and he might bring you some. I think they just don't want to give you some every time you get hurt, you might get addicted or something." None of them used painkillers even though they were often banged up as well. Nothing wrong with taking them, Yumi just figured she'd let herself rest up without medicine. "Anything more you need? Besides hitting Aito and painkillers that is."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Speaking with people was always so difficult! It only knew a few words and it wasn't even sure if it was using them correctly or not but it had to try communicating. This one wanted to help, it could tell, now it just had to show him how. Leading T'charrl to a nearby barren patch it smiled when followed, yipping before nudging the dirt at its feet. "Heal! Heal!" it told him eagerly, patting the soil with its paws before jumping, "Seeds! Life! Heal!" Despite it trying to be as clear as possible there was still confusion the spirit noticed, tilting its head to the side before walking a bit closer to T'charrl again and nudging his leg with its head. "Happy? Happy thought! Happy thought heal!" That was how it healed things, it thought of good things and its energy did the rest. Did this one work the same? They had to try, maybe he would be happier if he was able to help.

Haku watched on silently and confused, not sure who T'charrl had spoken to just then. It seemed like he and the spirit were somehow talking with one another and he hoped that meant his friend would relax a little as a result. Surely by now he could see the creature was harmless and only trying to help, no bad things made flowers and grass grow like that. Of course he could be completely wrong too, here he was sitting in utter silence with nothing but the occasional breeze ruffling some debris, waiting for something to happen. Unsure of what to do with himself now he decided to get up from where he sat and go to a nearby pile of rubble to clean it up, or try to anyways. He couldn't make plants grow or anything of the sort but he could do simple labor, he'd help out where he could.

-----

"I am so very happy you've passed! I was so worried!" Leto shouted despite their proximity as he held his embrace fervently. It was only when he noticed Kiton's tail pulling at his arm did he release the Frost Demon, an apologetic yet ecstatic grin plastered on the man's face. "Forgive me, young sir! You seemed so distraught I couldn't just sit back any longer! You shouldn't be sad, you should rejoice! You've done the most manly thing a soldier can do and spare his enemy, even after supposedly losing your comrades! That takes true strength!" he continued, breaking into a series of exaggerated poses to flex his physique, "And believe me, I know a thing or two about strength!"

Right, shame he didn't know a thing or two about keeping quiet. Sasha's mouth twitched in mild irritation watching Leto but she kept a clamp on it, sighing when he finished before smiling at Kiton again. "We couldn't tell you, otherwise you would have acted differently. We didn't lie when we said Korian has some people fight their former allies, because that's what you thought we were doing. And for all purposes they were pirates, as long as you believed that then the exercise would work. We're sorry we lied to you about all of this." They were done though, there was no reason to keep going with the test at this point when Kiton had managed to pass. Reaching out Sasha tried to grab hold of Kiton's arm, hoping to guide him down to the ground so he could rest and be seen to by medics.

"Not the smoothest of tests, but he passed," Ricken mused aloud as he watched Leto and his sister above deal with Kiton. Down with him medics were checking over the rebels unfortunate enough to pull guard duty, their role requiring them to be genuinely knocked out. He'd had that job before and it was never fun, knowing you were just standing around waiting to take a very painful nap. He and Sasha had already apologized to their comrades much to their amusement and now everyone was helping to wind down from the exercise. "He did a number on you, and all he did was smack you around a bit. So much for your big talk," Ricken pointed out as he glanced at York who was sat on a crate, medics currently patching him up.

York scoffed before smiling slightly amused, looking in Kiton's direction thoughtfully. "He's very powerful, but he seems like he's a bit too driven by his emotion. It's good that he felt upset by your deaths, shows he's got heart, but he tore the place apart over it. I think with some help he'll make a fine soldier," he answered before nodding appreciatively as the medics bound his last wound. Standing up to his full height again he gave his sore jaw a rubbing, rolling his neck again and groaning as there was an audible pop. "Oomph... I'm going to be feeling this for weeks... Next time have someone else play the villain..."

-----

"There's no rush then. We'll do it when you feel ready," Aito added in as he fetched Viral's change of clothing. Once they had him changed and dressed he took his son outdoors once more, opting for a chair to keep him in the sunlight. The chair itself was lightly padded and should prove some comfort to Viral's fatigued form and hopefully the sunlight would do him some good as well. "That defeats the entire purpose of trying to help you, letting you play whack-a-mole with yourself," Aito pointed out with a slight chuckle, "Water is more reasonable, and if you'd like something hot then I could brew some tea. I believe they've provided a few different types for us, let me go see what we have." Clasping Viral's shoulder gently he glanced back towards the house as the door opened up, smiling seeing Yumi standing there. "I believe I'm being relieved, I'll go make your tea all the same and be out with it shortly."

Yumi smiled patiently as she waited for Aito to walk back inside and leave them be, watching the door close behind her. Letting out a sigh she cut across the yard and stopped just beside Viral's chair, lowering herself to one knee and looking up at her friend hopefully. "Well you're dry and dressed now, you're already looking better," she teased as she reached up and placed the back of her hand on Viral's forehead, wondering if he might be ill from being wet for so long. Surprisingly not, albeit this wasn't exactly the best way to test for a cold. Lowering her hand she placed it on one of his paws instead, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the thing you fought? It's being contained back at the rebels headquarters, in some kind of high tech cell. I'm not saying that we should go there at some point and you can question it, or whatever you want to do... But just saying that's where it is," Yumi said with a shrug, looking down at the grass for a moment before back at Viral, "Anything I can do to help you? Whatever you need."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

"Well... You said they wouldn't want you around because of that right? Because it's all you're good at? If they want you to stay then that's not the reason right? I mean if they don't want you to stay because of that, but they still want you to stay, then they want you to stay for a different reason." Ethan sure hoped he'd said that right, it made perfect sense in his head. Cecil had effectively just contradicted himself after all so he was convinced at this point his friend was just trying to find any reason for them to leave him. It wouldn't be easy but he refused to let that happen, and Ethan was self-assured that even if it seemed hard now Cecil would be happier for staying later.

"There's only one way for them to learn more about you and that's by sticking around, right? If you think about it we've only known each other a few days, that's not much time to learn about someone," Ethan said with a smile as he walked towards the edge of the roof, taking it especially slow as he was liable to trip over himself. Peering over the edge he saw a family of three walk by, smiling as the child looked up and pointed his way, waving back with a goofy grin. "I'm certain they'll be honest with you, and I'm very certain Nymira will be honest if nothing else," the Magi continued with a chuckle, glancing back and motioning for Cecil to come over, "Hey uh... Mind helping me down? I really don't want to land on my face again..."

Were Nymira and Zander not on opposite ends of the table she'd have given the healer a good smack for such an idiotic question. Perform magic in the middle of a tavern, as if she'd do something so stupid; the smallest of flames would cause smoke, and even if people did not see the spell they would surely see the smoke, that was liable to raise some eyebrows. If the paper was indeed magicked too there was no way of knowing what might happen if it burned, it was too risky. At least Zander was wise enough to recognize his own absurd question and apologize for it. So long as he didn't go requesting that she burn anything else down today she might have to excuse his idiocy entirely.

"Geoffrey will return if Amuné does, and she'll only return should Ethan return. For a child so young she has far too much on her mind," Nymira commented with a frown, placing her utensils on her empty plate and glancing about, uncertain what to do with it now. "She's not unlike many Dimuran youths back home. I had my first taste of war at only 5 years, many have it even younger than that even if they can't understand it. She has that air about her, though I don't know what she's been through. I know this journey has not been kind to her yet either." Yet the child would be stronger for it, most were. It would be hard now while going through it yet given some time she'd become stronger for it, nothing made a person grow quite like adversity.

The sound of doors swinging open and disgruntled shouts pulled Nymira's attention towards the door, rolling her eyes seeing Ethan stumbling back inside and nearly knocking another patron over. To his credit however Cecil was at his back, not at all seeming like he wished to be here. Not expecting them to be back quite so soon she arched an eyebrow as the pair approached, sitting back in her chair with her arms folded across her chest. "Welcome back, I trust some fresh air helped you clear your heads?"

Ethan had to smile at Nymira, if only because he didn't want to potentially get her to snap and upset Cecil again. Even he had some limits and the fact she wasn't apologizing irked him just in the slightest. "Yeah, did a bit for me anyways. Heads still spinning a little," he admitted with a sheepish laugh, tapping the side of his head before pointing back to Cecil. "But there's someone here who might need a little helping hand clearing his. Nymira, when you said we weren't friends earlier did you mean it? We're only servants to you?"

"I did not say servants, I said retainers, there's a difference," Nymira pointed out with a frown, glancing past Ethan and at Cecil, noting his distraught appearance. Letting out a silent sigh she sat upright in her seat before rising to her feet, circling the table and standing before the Machina. "But yes, I said we are not friends, we've hardly known one another long enough to be friends," the Dimuran pointed out as she met Cecil's forlorn gaze, "That being said it's not impossible we become friends. Nor am I wholly opposed to it. I realize what I said earlier was unwarranted, and I realize how it could be taken the wrong way."

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief hearing that Nymira did in fact acknowledge her mistake. At least her pride wasn't getting in the way of anything, he had to give her credit for that. "So do you want him around then? You don't want him to leave right?"

Nymira nodded in confirmation, glancing briefly before looking again at Cecil. "I never wished you would leave us Cecil, and I apologize if I gave that impression. Combat prowess aside I can tell you're a good person, and I've met very few along my journey here who I would count an ally, and fewer still I think I could befriend. It would be a shame if we were to lose you."

"And Zander, you feel the same way too, don't you?" Ethan urged with a hopeful smile, wanting the healer's input as well. The more people who supported Cecil the better a chance he would stay, they only had to convince him. There were two people notably missing from the table as well he was now realizing, and one of them desperately needed to speak with Cecil. "Uh, hold that thought, I'll be right back!" Hurrying through the room Ethan rushed up the stairs to the bedrooms above, searching briefly until he found Geoffrey stood outside one of the rooms, appearing to be speaking to someone. Going over to join his guide he smiled and put a finger to his lips, rasping against the grain of the door with his knuckles. "Hey Amuné? You in there?"

He truly was a simpleton wasn't he? As if it would have been completely missed as to what Ethan was trying to accomplish here. Give Cecil a sense of belonging and prevent him from leaving, it was something that had to be done with troops now and again. Make their accomplishments and contributions feel bigger than they might be, give them a sense of worth. In some cases it was false to simply bolster morale, to get troops to continue to fight. Nymira supposed she had to commend the fool though for trying this, it was the best way to keep Cecil with them.

"And we will never give that buffoon liquor again," the Dimuran muttered aloud, having noticed Ethan nearly trip on the first step on his way up. Rolling her eyes again she looked back at Cecil, seeing his still uncertain appearance. "It's none of my business to ask what you two discussed, I'll let that remain between you and Ethan. I'd like to know this much though: Do you wish to stay with us? Even if we want you to stay we shouldn't force you to, that isn't right. People are led best when they want to follow, anything less and there's turmoil and dissent. So I would suggest letting us know now, honestly, if this is what you want."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Should we take bets on how long he lasts?

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

You're fine bud xD Take a breather and relax.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

The creature just wanted to help T'charrl relax, it could sense he was in distress. When it had approached the other person he'd relaxed quickly enough and even seemed happy now so why was this one so nervous? They had been contacting spirits earlier even so it shouldn't be that, was it scary looking? Very confusing. Hoping to relay something to the being it settled down beside T'charrl and let its energy flow freely, creating a vibrant patch around them before yipping proudly and waiting to see T'charrl's reaction. Even if their goals were aligned and they both wanted to revitalize the forest it didn't appear like its sprouting plants did anything to help T'charrl relax, how sad. "Help! Help!" the creature said telepathically, finally managing to pick up on some scraps of the language being used around it. Yipping happily it wiggled its rear before nudging T'charrl's leg with its snout, springing up on its feet before padding over to a nearby dirt patch. "Heal! Heal! Follow!"

-----

Hells, what power Kiton had. He couldn't say he'd ever battled anyone quite like this before, throwing massive chunks of the ground around like that. The Frost Demon said he could have killed him any moment and he'd believe it. York expected more attacks after the ground at his feet was blasted away yet it appeared as though the battle was done. Despite what he had done, supposedly killing dozens, he was being spared. Quite a bit of damage was done to the town and he was rather beaten, but by all standards Kiton had performed as one might hope one of theirs would. Coughing out some dirt and spitting to the side York trudged after Kiton, frowning seeing as he was starting to fly away. "Kiton, wait! Get back here!" he called, annoyed with himself that he hadn't the Ki left to take flight and go after him. "You don't understand, come back!"

Well so much for this, though it seemed like Kiton had somehow managed to pass. Ricken was going to go out and fetch their newest recruit when Sasha opted to instead, and probably for good reason given her brother's penchant for stirring trouble. Racing out towards the site of the battle she passed right on by York who was being seen to by some medics, with Sasha flying up to where Kiton was. Getting ahead of him she stopped in mid air, an apologetic smile on her face as she placed herself in his path.

"Kiton... I know you're probably confused right now and you might even feel betrayed, but I just want you to understand something, before you say anything. This was a test and you passed, with flying colors." Well, maybe there was a little more destruction than they would typically have liked. Aside from the building they had blown up a few suffered some minor damage from earth being tossed about, yet overall it had gone smoothly. Approaching Kiton, Sasha reached into the back of her suits and pulled an injector from her belt, holding it out for Kiton to take.

"It's some of the serum from healing tanks, its been changed a bit. We can use these in the field to help heal ourselves, and I brought it for you, just in case," Sasha continued, getting right up to him and reaching out, taking his hand and placing the injector in it, "We're sorry for deceiving you, but like I said... Every one is tested. We would never make you really fight people you may have once fought alongside, we're not that heartless."

Another power came surging towards Kiton and Sasha, one that the former was probably dreading to feel. A figure far larger than Sasha's sprung up behind him and two massive, trunk-like arms embraced the Frost Demon in a hug. "Kiton, I am so very pleased that you've passed your test! It fills me with unimaginable joy!" Leto shouted, tears streaming down his face as he tightened his hold, "I feared the worst for a moment there, but I am happy my fears were unfounded! Oh joyous day indeed!"

-----

Aito put his hands up defensively after making the tease, relieved to see Viral wasn't that exhausted. Tease as he might he'd never tell anyone else, it wasn't his place to share. They should get him outside to get some sun and start healing, albeit even with the sun it would doubtless take most of the day for Viral to feel right again. At the very least there was nothing prompting them to leave any time soon, he would have all the time he needed to rest. After tasking Vegeta with fetching a new set of clothes for Viral the doctor returned to the kitchen, giving Viral a once over just to double check for any injuries he may have missed. "Well once you learn how to control that form it shouldn't activate so suddenly, and we can work on that later. I don't imagine you're feeling terribly up to training at the moment," Aito pointed out, smiling slightly as Vegeta then returned with a stack of clothes. Thanking him he gestured for his son to be on his way, placing a hand then on Viral's back to guide him towards an adjacent room. Once Viral was dressed again Aito helped him outside, leading him over towards one of the chairs as opposed to the cot. "Anything we can get you for now?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

There had to be some way they could help T'charrl, it sucked seeing him so down like that. Knowing it was effectively his fault too made Haku all the more determined even if he had no ideas. No ideas anyways until he gave his newfound friend a passing glance and a smile crossed his face, surely his spirit could help T'charrl? After all he'd been freaking out moments ago and now he was fairly relaxed, if T'charrl gave the spirit a chance he could relax too! Making the suggestion to his friend it came as a relief when T'charrl accepted the idea; whether the creature could actually help anything or not was yet to be seen but it was better than nothing. "It hasn't seemed to bother it yet, I think you don't need to worry about that," Haku answered before giving the spirit a petting, nudging it gently to send it T'charrl's way. "It won't hurt you, I'm sure it won't. So uh... Relax and let it do its thing. Whatever that is."

Maybe now he could nuzzle against this one? The two spirits still had the creature very curious yet every time it went over the large being grew frightened. It struck it as funny, that something so big would be afraid of something so small. Trotting over to T'charrl's side it paused this time, watching him silently to see if he might flee again. When it didn't appear as that would happen it let out a happy yip and went all the way, moving up against his side and nuzzling its head along his leg, trying to convey it wished to be pet. Pet or not the creature would begin to subtly glow as it had before, not nearly as bright yet still noticeably glowing. In doing so grass began to sprout up around T'charrl along with some flowers, creating a bed around them as opposed to the dirt patch T'charrl had been on seconds before. It had assumed this person was sad because there were no plants, and while it was a bit too tired to revitalize the entire forest it could do this much, it was a start.

-----

Was this all it took to push Kiton? A building of supposed casualties and the Frost Demon all but lost his reason, not a good sign. As it was the captain had barely managed to stop himself from being smashed into the ground and yet it seemed like the ordeal was far from over. After throwing Kiton aside to get some space he frowned when it appeared like he was rearing up for another attack, poised to defend against a potential blast. What he would get instead wasn't a blast but a mammoth chunk of land, probably someone's back yard, being hoisted into the air and hurtled at him. "Can you truly not see it boy? At all?" he shouted back as he flared his power up, aiming to blast apart the first chunk of Earth before pausing in refrain; blowing apart the earth would cause debris to scatter and buildings be destroyed, they couldn't ruin any more than he already had. Gritting his teeth he tensed and caught the first chunk head on, shouting in exertion as he hoisted it up and sent it hurtling over his head, landing several hundred meters outside of town. Another chunk he had no choice but to blast, vaporizing it entirely and then finding a third smashing into him. Being driven groundward he tried to use more Ki to stop its trajectory, speeding down too quickly and smashing into the road as a result, being buried by the rubble.

"He's fucking lost it... He'll tear this place apart fighting him!" Ricken shouted as he slammed a fist into a nearby wall, "I'm stopping this, it's ridiculous." Trying to make for the door he growled when Sasha grabbed his shirt and yanked him back, swatting her hand away and glaring at her, "It's obvious by now he's not a fit! He's just some thug who doesn't care, he'll kill York if we don't stop this!"

"He just watched us supposedly die, you'd be pissed too Ricken. Give it a minute, York's not going to go down that easily." That being said the damage the fight could cause was starting to get dangerous, they'd only agreed to use that single building as a prop. Now some parts of this road were in tatters and the road itself had a massive hole in it, with York buried beneath the rubble. If going out wouldn't jeopardize the entire point of the training exercise then she'd gladly go out to help, but Kiton had to be able to do this himself.

It took a few moments from impact, but soon enough York was clawing his way out from the rubble, using a blast of Ki to finally clear himself a hole to emerge from. Dirtied and bloodied he managed to get back to his feet, smiling in spite of the pain as he wiped some gunk from his face. "Feel better yet? Would killing me make things right?" he shouted up to Kiton, stumbling out of the pit and back to the level ground, "Because my death will bring them back, right? Well go on then, stoop to my level." This was likely the tipping point, his bluff had been called and he'd taken one heck of a hit from that attack. Pouring all of his power into those first few attacks to try and seem more daunting too was backfiring, he wasn't a match for Kiton. "Come on then! Kill me, make your friends proud!"

-----

"I've had my fair share in the course of my life. Or do you imagine I felt nothing when I saw my previous attempts, other 'children' of mine die?" Aito posed, smiling slightly before shaking his head, "Sorry, I shouldn't be making this about me. You're right, it's not fair for me to sit here and speak to you as I know. Everyone experiences stress but its presumptuous to believe I understand your plight completely just because I've had my own. I apologize Viral." It seemed he wasn't terribly good at joking about this, perhaps mostly due to a feeling this was arisen from his own incompetence. If he'd figured out Viral's problems sooner then this never would have come to pass, he could have left something for Vegeta to see it remedied long ago. "Well... Given all you've endured and the fact you still carry on is enough to be proud of. And the fact that you're regaining your strength and you're determined to fight to protect, that's something to be proud of. And you had your first kiss, that's plenty to be proud of," Aito added at the end with a playful wink.

Much as the doctor tried to ignore Viral's condition he couldn't do it, every little discomfort and pain was as clear as day to him. The fact his eyes were largely unfocused and his pupils distorted, not blind but certainly in need of attention. Doubtless it was due to being in a low light area for so long, but some time outside and time to take in the sun's rays should remedy that on its own. Nodding when Viral agreed to head outdoors Aito waited patiently for him to get to his feet, going to the door first and asking Vegeta to fetch a change of clothing. "Uh... Just over a day, give or take a few hours," the doctor recounted thoughtfully, "Almost two. You most likely changed in response to being in danger, a sort of survival instinct. No one can fault that, it's just your body's way of responding to a trauma."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Haku sat in silence with the spirit for a few moments, having to occasionally pet it just to keep it quiet. Assuming T'charrl would be able to work as he had before he looked around when his friend had finished and wasn't exactly amazed by the results. "Uh... I mean... Did you do anything?" It didn't appear as though T'charrl had, everything looked more or less the same. When he crawled over to inspect a patch of grass he swore it did look a little bit longer, maybe, so something had been done. Smiling slightly Haku looked back at T'charrl and shrugged, plopping back onto his rear and letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry I messed you up before, this little guy scared me though..." he muttered abashed, watching as the aforementioned animal came over to his side once more. Giving its head a stroke he smiled thoughtfully and looked at T'charrl once more before suggesting, "Let it sit next to you? It's not going to hurt you, and its helped me calm down already. Maybe it can help you with that too?"

-----

"I have my home boy, among my men! You could have a home too if you tried hard enough!" It didn't seem like the lesson was being put across, Kiton was only growing angrier by the second. The captain couldn't say he hadn't seen such a thing coming, and Korian had warned against provoking him too heavily. But blowing apart the building was just the kind of momentous attack they needed to really test the Frost Demon and so far results weren't promising. Expecting another blast in retaliation he watched in silent awe as Kiton's energy surged, his entire body being engulfed by his energy and glowing as bright as a star. This wasn't good, an attack like that was going to do serious damage. Glancing back at the buildings below the captain braced himself, spiking his own energy and trying to maintain where he was in the air. As the two bodies collided there was a loud explosion, Kiton managing to push him several meters down and nearly into the ground before the captain stopped him. Breathing raggedly from the impact he reached out to grab the Frost Demon and throw him away. "No regard for what else might be here, hm? What if you kill more people?"

-----

"It was a little joke Viral, humor can be a wonderful thing in times of stress," Aito said as he smiled, "I'm sorry if it seems I made light of all that's happened, excuse me if that's the case." Reaching out he gave Viral's hair a slight ruffling, a little surprised he wasn't swatted at for touching his son. Viral must be really fatigued if he wasn't trying to resist that kind of contact. "Well... Maybe being proud of you for streaking isn't quite what I meant. But you've done plenty that I'm proud of, and you will continue to do plenty. And whatever you decide to work on, be it forms or anything else, you'll have all the support you need to accomplish your goals. I imagine Yumi in particular will be happy to help," Aito teased as he took a seat back on the table. "Joking aside, I noticed your vision seems to be unfocused, and you're a bit paler than usual. Sorry, doctors notice things," Aito said with a small smirk, "I'd suggest we go back outside and sit in the sun for a while, that should help a little. And before you worry about your appearance otherwise you've got on what I'd equate to shorts right now, so you are dressed... Technically. I can have Vegeta get you a change of clothes though if you'd like?"

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Ethan was trying his damnedest to cheer Cecil up but it was equivalent to banging one's head against the wall. He knew nothing of Machina, he'd not even seen his first until just days before meeting his friend. He could stand here and argue all day for Cecil's sake and yet it made him no more of an expert than he was now, which to say was he had no expertise whatsoever. It was a worrisome feeling, knowing that someone leaving or staying may potentially hinge on what you said in the moment. They may or may not be okay without Cecil while traveling but that was hardly the point he was making here: they had traveled together so far and should keep doing so, it was not only safer for everyone but most had grown accustomed to each other.

"I don't remember where I came from either. I mean... I do, but I don't remember being born, no one does. I remember some things about being a kid but not much, and that goes for everyone. So just because you don't remember doesn't make you that different, loads of people don't remember." Though perhaps it wasn't the same thing, again he couldn't be sure. What Ethan was certain of was that he didn't want Cecil to leave them, he was concerned for his friend if he struck off on his own. Watching as Cecil backed away and became defensive Ethan stopped in his tracks, a sad smile on his face as he was accused of ignoring Cecil. "I'm listening loud and clear, I am. I just don't have the answer for you or the right words to say, and I'm sorry I don't. But leaving us isn't going to help anything, I'm just worried about you if you go off alone again."

It didn't appear as though anything he might say would convince Cecil to come back. Ethan was trying everything he could think of, saying anything that he thought might help and it only seemed to make matters worse. What was he missing? He was sure he was listening to Cecil, his friend felt like he didn't belong and he was a threat right? So all he needed to do was convince him otherwise.

"And you're a Machina," Ethan said in agreement, smiling slightly as he pointed to Cecil, "A Machina named Cecil, with thoughts and feelings and things he wants to do, and friends. We saw other Machina, remember? You're nothing like them, you're your own person. It doesn't matter if you were born or made, you're in the world like we are, experiencing it like we are. And I don't know about a lot, I know that. I'm just some idiot kid from a small town and most of this is new for me too. But I do know you can't pretend to be happy, or sad, or to want things or to have dreams. Those are yours Cecil, you're experiencing those, it makes you alive in your own way. We've never thought of you as a drone or a tool, we've only seen you as a friend."

All of that and still Cecil appeared to be too distraught to listen. How could he make the Machina come back at this point, when he argued against everything and still had no success? He couldn't just turn around and leave like Cecil was telling him to, leaving meant they would likely never see each other again. Looking at the roof beneath his feet, utterly beside himself, Ethan was about to plead again until an idea finally occurred to him. 'Your friends...' A knowing smile crossed his face as he looked up at Cecil, putting his hands up and nodding towards the edge.

"How about this... Let's go back down, together, and go see everyone. I can't be the only one that doesn't want you to leave right?" Ethan posed, slowly approaching Cecil as he lowered his hands, "If the others want you to stay too then don't you think you should stay? I think its only fair you hear everyone else out first, if you leave before telling anyone else about this then... I mean they would be upset, right?" That had to work, if more people wanted him here then he'd see it was all in his head, that the others wanted him around too. Now he only had to hope that Nymira wasn't going to be her usual curt self and say something off-putting, or that Amuné could forgive Cecil enough to have him stay.

-----

For the first time since their meeting Nymira couldn't offer rebuttal or argue with what Zander had said, he was right. Telling these kinds of stories to the sort who you couldn't care less for made it easy, you didn't need to concern yourself with judgment or opinions. Funny, that, she was pretty sure it implied she bothered to care about what the others in the group had to say. People she'd known for barely a handful of days at that, what a ridiculous notion. "I've always truly been myself, that doesn't change. I don't waste time putting on masks like people here do," the Dimuran remarked, "Negotiations and agreements should be made on trust, and you can't build trust when someone's playing another part."

Zander's laughter threw her back for a moment, she hadn't expected him to burst out like that. Thinking for a moment he may be laughing at her story she was tempted to hurl a well cooked potato at his smug face, refraining when she figured it was over her threat. An odd thing to laugh about yet she had to commend him she supposed for not cowering. The faintest of smile's played across her lips for a second before she grabbed her cup to conceal it, watching as the healer collected himself from his outburst.

"I'm not looking for pity for what happened. They are merely a reminder to me of what I am trying to accomplish here, I wouldn't say they're my driving force." No, her driving force was the very future of not only the Rumia clan but other Dimuran clans as well. If her kind continued to isolate themselves they would die out eventually, they couldn't let that happen obviously. This idea that they could ignore the rest of the world was idiotic, it was a decision only those who had never been outside could settle on. It was obvious even from her brief time away there was so much her people were missing and ignoring this would be fatal.

Nymira and Zander settled into a comfortable silence for a time as they ate, the former somewhat surprised no one else had come back yet. Had her comments really been that shocking? For a machine it seemed that Cecil had rather thin skin, and Amuné was behaving as a child, not too surprising, that. It would be inconvenient if everyone were to split up now just after they had begun moving, she'd hate to have to find a new group to travel with. That aside she had become accustomed, somewhat, to this group. To Amuné's naivete and simple outlook of the world, of Ethan's idiotic view that there was good everywhere you looked and Cecil's unique company. It was hard to say if she enjoyed Zander's presence yet, or Geoffrey's for that matter, but it was easier to retain what she had now than to start over again.

When a question was posed to her Nymira paused in her eating, glancing up at Zander with an emotionless stare. For a moment she simply looked at him, her eyes drifting once to the paper in his hand before finally casting her gaze back to her food. "I could reduce it to cinders in a heartbeat no doubt. Unless some powerful magic is preserving it," the Dimuran answered simply, taking another bite of her food, "But you're asking me, in the middle of an inn, to perform magic. I know enough of this place to understand the state of magic, and how foolish it would be for me to cast anything right now. I'll have to respectfully ask you to refrain from being such an idiot from now on Zander, can you do that for me?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"You can do it, I'll even try to help. Here, I've got an idea." It wasn't much really but Haku would do what he could and make things a little less stressful for T'charrl. Smiling at his newfound pet he clapped his hands to get its attention, waving it over and then giving his friend a thumbs up. "I'll keep him with me and you can do your bit, no problems then. Just uh... Let me know if you feel funny, I don't think anything is going to happen, but... Just be safe, right?" This way there was no worry about being bitten or their powers messing one another up. Once they were a few meters away Haku leaned over and rubbed the spirit's head, smiling and gesturing to a barren patch of dirt not terribly far off. Without speaking a word the spirit seemed to pick up on his request and trotted over, proceeding to glow once again as it started replanting what it could. The buildings and people were gone but with luck they could make the place look nicer anyways. Someone else could move back here once things had calmed down, it was their job to make sure it looked decent.

-----

"So you don't belong anywhere then! Just a criminal, drifting among the stars!" the captain laughed, forming two orbs of Ki in his palms, "No different than those you tried separating yourself from!" By the time the orbs were fully formed and poised to be thrown he was up high in the air, reeling back before throwing each at Kiton simultaneously and directing them towards the boy. As expected he darted away to avoid being hit and tried to retaliate with blasts of his own, eyeing the blasts that were thrown his way. Redirecting his own blasts the captain held firm, the two pairs of orbs smashing into one another and exploding between them. Using the explosion as cover he circled around it, reappearing below Kiton now as he readied two more attacks. With one in each hand he fired them away, directing them to take a wide path before closing in on Kiton from either side, trying to catch him in between. "Come on then, where's that dreaded Frost Demon power? You could kill me any second, let's see it!"

-----

Aito was sure to wait until June was through before letting himself in, not wanting to interrupt anything being shared between those two. Despite years apart it seemed like her doting behavior hadn't waned whatsoever and she was just as careful with Viral and Vegeta as she had been before. It was both heartwarming and amusing, the former mostly because they were all near the same age now. Joining Viral he took a seat on the table, making a little small talk as he tried to actively avoiding bringing up his condition. "She probably does I'm sure. Knowing her she'd like nothing less than to put you in a high chair with a bib and hand feed you. That would be an amusing sight," the doctor chuckled, shaking his head before itching at his cheek, "I suppose you're a bit too old for that, you all are now. It's strange to think there was a time when we did that for you and Vegeta..."

They had tried to avoid bringing up conversation on Viral's condition and yet he was asking about it himself. Aito had answers and he couldn't deny those to his son, he had every right to know what the situation was. "We were concerned because of how long you were out there, and transformed. The fatigue you're doubtless experiencing now is to be expected, anyone would be tired after maintaining a transformation for that long," Aito explained, smiling though as he set his gaze on Viral, "I am happy to say though nothing which happened was unexpected, nor will there be any side effects aside from the initial exhaustion. Your final form came out and while we've got some work to do with it I don't imagine there will be any further surprises, that's everything there is to see concerning your changing."

"But all of that can wait, there's no immediate health problems aside from fatigue and I imagine you've gotten some food while you were out, so there shouldn't be hunger. I'm just glad to see you managed to change back and made it home. Whether you had trouble while transformed or not isn't the focal point here, all that matters is you're back and everyone is better for it. There will be time later to help you through this last form of yours." And there would be time later to look into why Viral had changed when he did, though Aito already had a fairly strong theory as to why it happened. Being knocked off the dam as he had been, colliding with the water, even if no real damage was done the impact would have felt like being struck by a vehicle. Chances were the form came on as a survival instinct and nothing more, now came the matter of mastering it. Getting up from his seat Aito moved over to where Viral was sat, looking at him for a moment before reaching out, giving his hair a gentle ruffle. "I'm proud of you Viral, no matter what you may think otherwise. You've become a splendid young man."