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Post by T on Sept 29, 2018 22:25:25 GMT -5
A Heavenly Plane
[ Morning ]
Grass as green and evenly fluffy as any other laid spread around a lush, beautiful globe. Gentle winds rolled up and down each slope of every hill. Grand fields remained bountiful with life or more debatably unlife; to discover and interact with. A true paradise as far as the eye can see, stretching for as long as the mind can imagine.
One could guess that an adolescent who somehow managed to end up on the Upper World would enjoy the luxuries and special treatment provided. Russ however, was unsatisfied. He was unsatisfied at the fact that he had so much more to learn, unsatisfied that no one knew how or why he vanished from existence, unsatisfied that the planet kept running out of Tutti-Fruiti flavoured Jelly Beans.
He began to think that the Jelly Beans of aforementioned flavour were a lie.
Either way, the Saiyan sought a way to get himself out of this place. As it turned out, Heaven was filled with skilled people of all sorts that had done good in their life: Ki-Wielding Fighters, magicians, super paramedics, etc. He found one among the lot who possessed a specific ability in helping him leave.
“So what you’re saying is that I just have to put myself somewhere else?” Russ asked with a metric ton of confusion dancing about in his brain.
“Ki ki ki.” The magenta alien replied simply.
“I mean I know what you’re saying,” the boy spoke as his right hand raised up to scratch the back of his head. “It’s just that I don’t even know how.”
Nodded sagely, did the Yardrat. “Ki ki ki.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll keep trying.” He shifted his index and middle finger to the centre of his forehead, and concentrated.
Truth be told, he had been doing this for months at a time. Two whole years was dedicated to training with the dead warriors and studying ancient scrolls. Yet after all of that effort, Russ failed to utilise the mystic energy at all. All he seemed to get of this was additional physical capability. Sure he could bench press the weight of a small planet now, but what good would that do against people that defied logic?
All of the things they said, all of the supposed ‘words of wisdom’- none of it helped him. Maybe he was just not cut out for this sort of practice. Russ started to believe that the ‘immense latent power’ they described ‘sensing’ within him was just another lie to get his hopes up. If anything, none of it held true in the slighte-
Schwip-
Aaaaaand he vanished.
Kabocha’s Orbit
Morning
Pop.
He teleported about twenty-five thousand kilometres above Kabocha’s surface. Then he began the arduous task of plummeting downwards while flailing his arms wildly in a panic. Falling down with little to no control of where he went just about made him do that.
( Word Count : 0, 515 ) [ Total Word Count : 0, 515 ]
Cassava
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Post by Cassava on Sept 30, 2018 8:20:17 GMT -5
Tired eyes glanced over the LED screens of the local defense terminals.
Meiku had been tirelessly updating vital framework and software since taking over some of the logistics and defense protocols for Kabocha. She coordinated off world trade and validated every ship that came into Kabocha airspace, it was a tedious job, but in this day in age---extremely vital.
Luckily for the woman, there hadn’t been many attempts to invade or attack the ailing planet. That meant that the engineer could focus on her other tasks like removing the Tree of Might from the barren rock. It was one of her main goals, or else ultimately Kabocha would fall after all the resources were sucked from it’s soil. She was in a race against time, and she had a bad disadvantage by coming on the tail end of things.
“Hn? What the--” Meiku mumbled to herself as flashing lights and a blaring alert notification blasted through her ears. She rushed to another terminal and spotted the disturbance. Something had broken through their outer atmosphere shield---normally it would be disintegrated on site. How? Her eyes narrowed as she focused the facilities’ cameras struggled to keep up with the falling, and flailing body.
Zoom. Zoom. Zooooom. The display showed the unknown person’s acceleration and current altitude. Her brain began to whirl. She ran the numbers through her mind, forming graphs and calculations in a matter of seconds. Thirty-Seven minutes! It would take thirty-seven minutes for the unknown man to smash into the sandy deserts of Kabocha.
“WHO IS THAT?! WHY--” She yelled to no one. It was Sunday, she worked alone that day to save her the trouble of social interactions.
Hastily, the woman ran out of the laboratory and to the outside world. Luckily she had grabbed a scouter and affixed it to the side of her head. A slender finger pressed the button and immediately it locked onto the boy’s power. Perhaps the pure fear or adrenaline made his aura flair up, either way--she began to fly off into his direction as her curiosity consumed her. Meiku assumed whatever invader tried to hassle Kabocha she would easily be able to handle.
However, she grew wary as she drew closer to the man.
He was finally in eyesight. Wild black tufts of hair whipped around as his arms flailed in an attempt to halt or slow his impending doom. She scanned the sky and surrounding area for a ship. However, there was nothing more than the half-scavenged ships that had long ago crashed upon the surface. By whatever means this man got here, it wasn’t with a vessel. Odd.
She targeted him, flying alongside of his frame as he fell. The look on her face was curious, yet wary. Cam would kill her if she allowed a threat to slip onto the planet, so--she had to be prepared for anything.
“Um hey---this is restricted airspace...you can’t fl---erm...occupy it,” Meiku spoke normally at first---but soon her voice began to yell for him to hear past the deafening winds. She hadn’t grabbed the man to stop his fall, no---she almost mockingly flew face first towards the ground alongside of him.
“I’M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE!” Meiku cupped her mouth to try and project her voice further---still, she couldn’t imagine the other cared much about her words in such a perilous situation. Gray orbs locked onto the ground which still seemed to be far away---but soon they would hit the clouds and upper atmosphere of Kabocha. H-How were they even getting enough air up here? It didn’t help that what oxygen they did receive was high polluted and thick.
T WC: 611
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Post by T on Sept 30, 2018 12:50:36 GMT -5
Throughout history, many lines had been uttered by people of all sorts. A prominent pair of individuals from the Saiyan race had that much in common with them. Philosophies regarding strength and combat were very important aspects in the lives of those who actively clashed fists. Any reasoning otherwise and one may as well have been a mindless being who caused wanton destruction to any plane they stood upon.
“Power comes in response to a need, not a desire. You have to create that need.”
Motivational to its very core. No doubt the person who said this tried to encourage the listener to push past their limits. Yet those limits required a motive to be present in the first place. A special kind of ‘need’ so to speak. Whether the true cause of this quest for strength lay in a rationale to simply improve self, or for some other purpose was unclear at best. Nevertheless, the grounds for enhanced abilities had to be understood and explored.
It encouraged one to look at why they carried on. Instead of doing so without rhyme or reason, take a step back to ponder upon it. All the better for this next line to come into play.
“Even the mightiest warriors experience fear. What makes them a true warrior is the courage they possess to overcome their fears.”
The highest mountain, the sturdiest wall, and even the liveliest wind. All of them can be destroyed, deconstruction, and disrupted in one way or another. Still they continue to be. The common theme of both these lines was understanding.
First to understand oneself, next to keep moving. Great quotes from legendary figures.
And then we have:
“-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”
-Russ, Circa Age 1354
Arms swinging, legs trashing, and screaming at the top of his lungs as he fell from the sky. Clearly, this Saiyan teenager stood at the very pinnacle of linguistic prowess. Though now that he was thinking and screaming; but mostly screaming; about his fall, Russ realised that this fall took quite a bit. How far exactly did he manifest above a planet’s surface? Upon thinking further about it, he was just grateful that the technique failed to bring him into the centre of a red sun or something else.
There also appeared to be a person approaching his path of descent via flight. Hence, he shifted his posture to match a more calm demeanour- as did he with his tone. Arms crossed as the adolescent pretended to not care that he plummeted ever closer to Kabocha.
Little did they know, he cared immensely that he was falling very fast to an unknown planet.
“Oh.” He looked over at Meiku. “What?” True as gold, a peep of what she said could not be heard over the WOOSHWOOSHWOOSHWOOSHWOOSH of every almost every type of air current known to mankind flowing past his eardrums.
After finally hearing her though, the boy raised his own tone. “I CAN’T DO THAT THOUGH.” Quite literally so. He would rather take his chances talking to people on some foreign planet than trying to teleport somewhere else in the infinite void of space. Also he was unable to fly.
( Word Count : 0, 548 ) [ Total Word Count : 1, 069 ]
Cassava
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Post by Cassava on Sept 30, 2018 19:56:32 GMT -5
Meiku could admit that someone falling to through the atmosphere was an odd sight. She could also admit that the boy seemed to not have a care in the world as she approached him. Quickly his posture changed from terror to that of something that resembled intent. It was almost as if the man wished to delved head first towards the ground, but Meiku could obviously see that was off. From thrashing around he soon seemed to be calm as he hurled towards the ground at g-force speeds.
Curiously the female Earthling found her gaze fixated upon him. He spoke so calmly to her despite his situation--perhaps he could fly away at any moment and was purely teasing the woman. However, the ground grew closer and closer---Meiku couldn’t help but figure the boy was either mental or arrogant.
“WHY NOT? YOU GOT HERE EASILY ENOUGH? CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE?” Meiku yelled past the abrasive current of air that failed to carry her puny voice. While she tried to be as assertive as she could, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Sure, the woman could yell over the sound of a power wrench, but when it came to a little bit of air her voice seemed to sound comparable to that of a mouse.
That was when the Earthling female realized that the man may be a bit in over his head. She gazed at the barren deserts below before her gray orbs traveled back towards the Saiyan. She paused, her hand reaching over to his limber forearm. She would stop him mid air, or at least control his fall until they were in somewhat of a stable atmosphere.
Meiku inhaled sharply, her sullen eyes looking Russ up and down before her apprehensive voice pushed through.
“Erm, I’m sorry to stop your voyage through the kilometers between here and the surface---but did you mean to come here?”
Obviously the man appeared to be lost, if not concerned about his situation. To be frank, the whole thing seemed off. Some random Saiyan crash landing on Kabocha? Was this some sort of a spy effort? If he didn’t resist her aid, he would be stopped somewhere in the upper atmosphere. However, the woman would quickly descend towards the entrance of her laboratory if he didn’t want to land face first into the sand that was.
“Um. W-Who are you?” The raven-haired Earthling couldn’t help but be intrigued by the seemingly similar looking man. Considering he still didn’t explain his reasoning for being in such a restricted space, Meiku was certainly concerned about his persuasion to be there.
“Why are you even here---I’m more concerned about how you got through our defense systems. I---I failed emperor Cam!~” Her voice seemed to falter as she explained the full extent of her failures. The young and wrinkle-free face of Meiku looked towards Russ while she turned toward the entrance of her lab curiously.
“I--I mean, obviously I don’t think you came to destroy the planet by yourself---d...did you?”
T WC: 504 | 1115
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Post by T on Oct 1, 2018 7:57:15 GMT -5
Russ kept his stance collected and still. He was as cool as a flaming cucumber on the surface of a dwarf star. In actuality, the young man had no idea where he was, who approached him, or even what was happening. None of those factors stood as important aspects to his current predicament. No, the greatest threat to him currently was him acting like a goof in front of the first living person he met in two years.
Though all things considered, he probably failed at making his descent look stylishly deliberate. Holding; or failing to hold; a conversation with all the intelligibility of two screaming eagles talking over a plastic cup phone probably had something to do with that. Speaking of which:
“WHAT?” He hollered out while attempting; and once again, failing; to face his left ear in her direction so as to catch a sound wave or two. “I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF ME FALLING VERY FAST.” True to a T, but one would be careful not to mention that alphabet too often. “IF YOU’RE ASKING WHY, THE ANSWER IS THAT I JUST CAN’T.”
At that point in time, even he was unsure if he could pull if off again. This instance of successful instant transmission was just an accident as far as he knew. Regardless, another matter completely drowned out all thought within his mind.
A girl was holding his arm.
Radio static consumed his mental faculties. If he carried a doughnut on a plate, someone could slap said donut off his hand and he would not have noticed. If he fell from the stratosphere and slammed into the planet at the speed of sound, he would not have noticed. If the sun blew up, creating a hyper nova in turn which went on to consume the entire solar system and bring about a chain reaction to envelop the universe, he would not have notic- Alright, maybe he would notice that one.
Because he did manage to notice being asked a question. Ergo, the bubble had been burst.
Pop.
“Op- oh- huh- oh.” He shook his head rapidly. This was something that he needed to get over sometime in the future- hopefully sooner than later. In any case, he was lucky that the incredibly strength and durability aided in helping his arm stay on despite the sudden change in momentum. “Oh. No, I didn’t mean to come here.” Looking from left to right at the desolate, polluted land, he grimaced mildly. “Like, at all.”
‘At all’ being a lighter way of expressing how much he did not mean to be there. On a scale of one to ten of how much that was the case, it would be just about on the same level as ‘a polar bear on the moon’.
“My name’s Russ.” Replied the Saiyan as he looked over towards the Horizon. At the very least, he could imagine he was flying. His free arm out reached by his side, Russ ever so subtly mimicked an aeroplane under the guise of simply stretching. “I’m from Earth. Thanks for saving me by the way”
And for her last question, he answered as aptly as could be. “That’s a no.”
An eyebrow cocked as the teenager as he pondered upon the girl’s self-berating. Strange, it seemed that an air of self-consciousness ran commonly among the two of them. In a galaxy full of fighters possessing larger-than-life personalities, he did not get to see this often at all. Perhaps for once, he could be the one giving a word or two about it.
“Not sure what you’re talking about, but this was just an accident.” Both eyes closed as he spoke on. “I really don’t think I can do that again.”
It was not much, yet it stood as all he could say without venturing into the area of complimenting without rhyme or reason. Reassurance provided that this was simple miscalculation on his own end that led to a barely-noticeable speed bump for whoever this person worked for.
“Where are we anyway?”
( Word Count : 0, 709 ) [ Total Word Count : 1, 778 ]
Cassava
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Post by Cassava on Oct 2, 2018 18:25:01 GMT -5
It was clear that their form of communication was failing, greatly. The raven-haired man hooped and hollered at the woman, which she did the same. Their conversation was growing stagnant, however---she was able to read his lips pretty well. It was a skill that she picked up working in the loud mechanic shop back home. She could still hear the impact wrenched obnoxiously belting her eardrums, but---that was in the past.
As she took ahold of his arm, they dramatically halted. She lowered the pair towards the sandy desserts below---luckily her home base wasn’t too far off. Even if the man was unsure of how he got here, she would still have to vet him before releasing him back to---wherever the hell on Earth he came from. That much she picked up during their earlier ‘conversation’.
“Oh? Well, welcome to Kabocha anyhow,” Meiku mumbled while revealing their location. She was unsure if he knew much about the planet, up until a few months ago she hadn’t an idea herself. Still, the opportunities and work she had been doing while here had far surpassed her achievements on Earth. She was able to thrive in an environment that encouraged the wild and dangerous plots she thought up.
She could admit though, who really did want to travel to the war-torn planet. It was mostly sand and soldiers, not much of a tourist industry---yet at least. She was sure a young lad would much rather head to Space Vegas---if he was even old enough for that. His face was lacking wrinkles, yet scars decorated his face and bare chest. She felt her cheeks flustered before she averted her lingering gaze and pointed towards a large building in the distance.
Luckily, she had already hailed her shuttle. Since having access to Ikondan salvaged technology, Meiku had perfected a lot of AI software. One in particular that acted as a taxi service. She could drive of course, but why when you could have an Uber free of charge?
“Rus huh, I’m Meiku, I’m also from Earth. I run a research and development program here to spearhead the restoration of Kabocha,” perhaps the woman was a bit too forward or open, but she saw no need to hide such trivial details in her life. She was a doer, she tried her best to make anything she could think up possible.
After he revealed he had no intentions to harm the planet or it’s assets, Meiku felt a bit of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to fight today, not that she was against that. SInce joining the efforts of Cam, she had increased in physical and magical strength ten-fold. She felt as if now she could take on the world, if only her rationality didn’t play all of the ways things could go wrong through her head however. She was imaginative, but not brash enough to tango with a strange man falling from the sky.
Though, she supposed she could just fly away from him if it got too bad. She chuckled at the thought, her fingers idly running through her jet-black river of hair.
“Well, even if you can’t get home, I can get you a pod home at least,” Meiku offered while walking towards the katchin plated blast door of her nearby base. It wasn’t a long walk, but trudging through the sand made it a little more difficult. Once outside the entrance she waved her wrist and spoke what sounded like a verbal password.
The heavy doors hissed as they opened to reveal a rather sandy entrance. Here one may change their clothes, boots, and otherwise kick off the dirt before entering more professional areas.
Meiku kicked some spare sand from her boots before proceeding to the next door and opening it like the one before. However, within this one was computers lining the rooms. Tools astray. Hell, there were even empty containers of food from where the girl failed to go out for proper nutrition.
“This is my lab, er---I can make arrangements here to get ya home Russ,” Meiku turned to the boy and shot him a friendly smile.
T WC: 688 | 1803 |
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Post by T on Oct 3, 2018 11:36:11 GMT -5
Kabocha. This encounter definitely added a new word to his mental dictionary. If he had anything to say about it, it would be that this place was a lot less nice than Earth. Wastelands, deserts, deserted wastelands some bits of wreckage here and there- this planet appeared to have all the makings of a war-torn setting. In all likelihood, it probably was though Russ did not want to assume that.
Maybe a catastrophic event had occurred, rendering this world to one that could not be comfortably inhabited. After all, his rescuer did say something about her being a researcher to fix the planet. That reminded the Saiyan that he should pick something to pursue for further studies soon. Maybe a trade school stood right up his alley.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Meiku.” He disengaged air-plane mode in order to fully engage the entirety of his mental faculties in this conversation. Apparently, there were space-crafts for use in travelling around the galaxy. That was surprisingly convenient. “Usually I have to call a space bus or a friend to pick me up, but I kind of lost my phone.” Two years ago. He lost his phone two years ago.
Weighted clothing transferred over to the afterlife weirdly enough, but cellular devices did not. The boy preferred not to think about what could and could not be transferred over when dying either way. What he did occupy a large fraction of his processing power conversely, was the amount of SAND being tracked in the soles of his footwear.
Russ had no idea why this was bothering him, but it did. Despite the short walk, every step on the sandy area felt like an eternity. Sand, so much sand everywhere. It felt familiar. Too familiar. Too familiar for the Saiyan boy in the slightest. Something needed to be done about all the SAND covering this SANDY part of the planet.
If only he could fly above all this SAND.
In spite of these irksome particles, he did manage to make it all the way to the laboratory without exploding at the very least. Not that he was capable of exploding in the first place, but he very well might have. Maybe all of a sudden he could turn into broccoli. Nobody knew what would happen next- especially not the adolescent himself. He did, however, tap the tip of his shoes upon the ground in an attempt to rid himself of any dirt that may have collected before nearing the lab.
Upon hearing she could get a pod for him , Russ nodded his head all the while continuing to tap boot after boot. Only until all particles were gone from sight did he finally stop with the movement. “Thanks again for dealing with me, Miss,” said the boy to reiterate his gratitude.
Now to get into the pla-
There was a halo floating above his head, and higher up than the entrance spanned. He never attempted to touch it before. Two years of having a halo floating above his head and the Saiyan did not so much as lay a finger on it. Was it intangible? Could it bump into surfaces and fall off? Was he an angel?
Considering he knew none of the answers, Russ decided not to test them. “Just gotta-” He bent his back while squatting down as he paced on through. “Theeeeere we go.” Avoid having the halo touch anything. Avoid having the halo touch anything. Avoid touching anything with the halo at all.
Panicked caution moved aside to make way for observations at hand. His own room back on Earth resided in a state comparable to this workspace, apparently. The only exception to this would be the empty nutrient containers. He learnt a long time ago that failing to clean those out resulted in the attraction of insects.
“Whoah...” Wide eyes peered around the room with childlike wonder. “Is that...” Once his gaze finally settled on an object in the corner of the room, he nearly gasped in surprise. “Is that Root Beer soda?” A query raised while his right index finger pointed over at a cylindrical canister with a brown logo. It could have been root beet soda, or it could have been something else completely. Hopefully it was the former.
“I could go for some Root Beer soda right now.” The boy had not drank a drop of the liquid in five years- longer than he had was dead for. After catching himself speaking his mind too much, he straightened his posture. “Oup- uh. Yes. Going home. Hmmm.”
Not much else to do while he waited. Maybe he could make smalltalk.
“Go go, Earthling social skills!” Announced the Saiyan mentally.
“So.” Russ started off. “Why are you working here anyway?”
A question that was perhaps a touch personal for someone who traded names with him less than five minutes ago, but he stared at Meiku as if he knew what she even did before moving on to why.
Then he conceded. “Alright, not really sure what to do now- but I’m trying to make smalltalk.”
( Word Count : 0, 893 ) [ Total Word Count : 2, 671 ]
Cassava
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Post by Cassava on Oct 4, 2018 16:00:53 GMT -5
The look that reflected off the boy’s face at the mere mention of Kabocha confirmed her thoughts. He had not a clue of the planet, like her only months before. Her plump lips curved into a smile as she continued to pave her way through towards the laboratory. Only then did she feel at home--but more importantly, she was eager to get back to work on her current projects.
Still, she knew she couldn’t be a bad host. Honestly, the woman was a bit thrown off by the use of the word miss. It wasn’t something she heard often--perhaps this kid was younger than she thought? Meiku wasn’t upset that he was talking to her however, lately she had been encountering a lot of the silent type.
“Lost your phone eh? That sucks--I do a lot of my work remotely, I would be like a knot on a log without some sort of mobile device,” Meiku mumbled in response. “It’s not an issue, I have so many of these pods hangin’ around you can keep it for all I care. Hell, I salvaged most of the parts free of charge in the desert here.”
Meiku confessed her dirty passion of taking broken things and making them whole again. She was a fixer of things, but an engineer of fresh ideas as well. Hopefully by utilizing both of these skills the woman would be able to remove the Tree of Might from this very planet.
Perhaps she was so shocked to see someone falling from the sky like some sort of broken angel, that she failed to notice the literal halo over his head. As they entered the building the young man bent backwards to avoid the glowing ring from knocking into things. However, was it a physical manifestation or just raw light? The way he played limbo inferred the latter.
The woman turned her back to the lab and presented it lazily. She was a bit embarrassed by the random take-out containers that littered the place; however, she would always clean them up later. That or invent a robot whose sole purpose was that of housekeeping. Now that she had the thought she quickly grabbed a small tablet from one of her workspaces and typed out the basis of ideas for the side project; of course, this was for after her more imminent and pressing experiments.
“W-What is up with that?” Meiku eyeballed the halo above his head while pointing an awkward finger. She could admit it didn’t make much sense scientifically. However, her use of magic and portals wasn’t the most sensical either. It was hard being a patron of both the sciences and----un-sciences.
“Root beer?” Meiku chuckled a bit as he pointed at one of the half-empty cans that sat upon her desk. She was sipping on it just prior to leaving, a bit of condensation balled up on the outside of the aluminum can. “Y--Yeah it is? You can have one! No issue.”
The Earthling female was a bit caught off by his reaction to a soda so easily accessible on their home planet. Her eyes narrowed as she bounced over to a mini-fridge nestled in the corner of the rooma way from precious electronic panels. She pulled one from within and tossed it across the room at the boy. Hopefully it wouldn’t spew from the throw.
“Um, well---a few months back a lot of changes happened with my body. Like--weird magic shit. Random objects were falling out of my limbs, I had no control over it. Ultimately I realized I was able to use magic---which I didn’t even believe in…”
Meiku looked towards the ground as she tried to gather the words. “Sometimes the powers hurt those close to me, they outcasted me. I was living alone for a long time, until I met Emperor Cam. He noticed my mind, and put me to work. We also trained my body and ki---so that I could control the magic manifestations. Now they don’t bother me, unless I need to call on them.”
The woman inhaled sharply, her fingers now sliding through various images of the pods she had in inventory. She picked a modest one with enough leg room and durability to last Russ for a while. She had her helpers work on servicing it while she vetted the boy some more. Since he had no clue of where he was, she assumed he was no threat. She too had crash landed in the deserts of Kabocha, so she knew how bad the interrogation could have been if she hadn’t gotten to him first.
“Small talk? Don’t worry about it. It’s suppose to come natural.” Meiku tried to comfort the muscular boy while leaning into the steel paneling of one of the terminals behind her.
“Anyhow, I crash landed here as well---ironically enough. That’s how I met Cam. Now I have a purpose, I work for him and get the notoriety for my skills and projects. It’s been nice frankly.”
Meiku chuckled and shot Russ a wink before her lips parted once more.
“Kabocha is a dying world though. On the planet is one of the Tree of Might, it produces a well sought after fruit, however these days it’s dying. It’s sucked up most of the resources from the planet, and will continue until both the host and the parasyte die. My objective is to remove the tree without causing catastrophic collateral damage. I think Cam, the emperor of Kabocha, entrusted me with this because he believed in me. At least, I hope that’s why…”
Meiku lamented, her face filling with worry and self-doubt.
T WC: 938 | 2741
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Post by T on Oct 5, 2018 23:36:22 GMT -5
“Oh this thing?” Russ lifted his right index finger to point up at the ring floating up above him. In turn, his eyes went up in a futile attempt to look at it. Whenever he tilted his head, it moved as well. Sometimes it remained vertical, sometimes it tilted along with him. Inconsistencies were prone to happen in one way or another. The Saiyan only seemed to be able to catch a glimpse of the object from reflective surfaces. “It’s a-” He stopped momentarily, rubbing his chin.
Maylo. Bale-o. Kale-o. The word seemed was on the tip of his tongue, yet too far from being said. Such an annoying feeling to experience. This sort of thing happened every so often- especially with planet names, just like Namok or whatever it was named.
Then, just as the boy thought he had the answer:
“Magic-floating-donut,” he announced nonchalantly. That much settled in as a description not completely incorrect, though that definitely was not the right term. “I forget what it’s called. Probably gonna figure it out later, but for now- Magic-Floating-Donut.”
Arcane-LevitatingRing. Supernatural-Hovering-Toroid. Spiritual-Lingering-Aureole. Whichever string of words worked did not matter. What mattered to him was the word that he tried his hardest to remember. This irked him all the more as it was a synonym of ‘Aureole’, and still he managed to remember the word ‘Aureole’ first. In spite of this, more important matters had to be addressed.
“Neat!” A light grin formed on his face as his right hand lifted to effortlessly catch this can. “Root Beer! Thanks again!”
Just when Russ was about to open the can, Meiku launched forth into her own story.
Cursed with awesome powers and ostracised by the people around her for said abilities. The boy could have sworn that he read about that sort of scenario two or three, or fifteen times somewhere. Nevertheless, it seemed to be the exact opposite of his own experience with the powers, or ‘power’ he possessed.
Extreme durability coupled with herculean strength had only been discovered by him when strange people started showing up in his life and challenging him to fights. He had almost begun to assume all space people were weird like that. Space people liked to fight for some reason or another. Russ could not manage to understand what was so entertaining about Chronic traumatic encephalopathy and jittery hands.
Maybe they were all on something or another when they were fighting. The boy certainly failed to place his finger on whether that much was true. Though he could empathise with the lady’s position in the matter.
He had; or at least he thought he had; people that relied on him time and time again.
In Central City against the forces of the Big Red army, he jumped again and again to save the lives of those around him. He wondered where that scruffy-looking man (Legume) ended up now. Presumably, the artist was in a better place after the encounter in North City. Possession made people stronger- who knew?
And if the encounter against an immortal alien on Namek thought him anything, it would be that people can actually be immortal. Also to never give in or give up- equally; if not more; important than the previous lesson. There really was no telling what could happen if you gave it your all from start to end. Thus, he spoke his own part.
“I believe in you.”
Truth be told, the young man did not believe in himself. It was not to say that he lacked a sliver of self-confidence, yet any semblance of faith he possessed laid elsewhere. In spite of this disconnect, he never stopped trying to win for the sake of others. He might have died, yet giving up was not on the table, menu, clock, book, or list.
“So you can believe in me, alright?”
Asking that of a stranger stood as an odd action at the very least. Russ did not even ask that of the people he helped, but by the glint in his eyes and a warm, toothy smile held high, it was clear that the boy had something in mind.
“I’ll make you a deal.” Russ declared as he ambled away from the wall and towards Meiku.
“I’ll fix up this planet, and in turn, you have to go talk to those people that outcasted you.” He announced with utmost confidence. “Tell them how you’re doing, reach out and see if they’re willing to make amends.” Step by step, the boy came closer until he was about a metre and a half away from the Earthling. “If not, then they’re not worth worrying about in the first place.”
Then, he brought his right fist up into the air- his knuckles aimed at Meiku as he offered it for a fist bump.
“Up for it?”
A simple reply would have done just as well for this offer. How the boy could somehow fix Kabocha up was vague at best. He looked for an answer to the trade proposed. Odd, considering that he had nothing at all to gain from this ‘deal’ at all. Even Russ expected for a question or two to arise from this. The Saiyan fell from the sky, came into a lab, and now he was offering to save their world through some means or another.
This sounded weird to even him. No knowledge of the planet was had by him. The planet could be full of evil people and he just proposed to help fix up
“Oh wait the people of this planet aren’t bad or anything, are they?” He asked at the very last minute. A moment of uncertainty washed over his expressions as a few nervous laughs emerged from the boy.
( Word Count : 1, 003 ) [ Total Word Count : 3, 674 ]
Cassava
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Post by Cassava on Oct 6, 2018 8:51:48 GMT -5
Meiku couldn’t help but grin at the man as he pointed towards the golden ring that stay fixated in the air above his wild black hair. It moved and followed him, yet always stayed the same distance away. Such an oddity, yet something they had always heard about on Earth. When a person dies and are granted access to the afterlife, they gain a halo---some say wings too, yet this man didn’t look that close to an angel other than his crown.
She watched the boy struggle find the words. Thought she would think as a native of the same planet he would know such a myth---or...erm reality in this case.
“Magic...floating donut? Then I assume it tastes good too?” The woman jested while licking her lips teasingly. Of course she knew it wasn’t edible, but her jovial nature always seemed to shine through.
“I think the term you’re looking for is halo, if I’m not mistaken that is---W-Wait, why do you have a halo? Are you…”
Meiku’s face seemed to desaturate a few shades as she realized what the floating accent notated. Did this boy die? Was he even really alive? She thought back to the body riddle with scars and marks of trauma. Whatever he was, he had seen quite a bit of action. Luckily, Meiku hadn’t seen the face of battle enough to permanently mark her own body with such battle scars. However, this only added to the evidence that this ‘Russ’ was otherworldly.
After just recently accepting that magic was real and not some superstition or entertainment, how could she deny that him being reborn be possible? That would make her a hypocrite in the worst way. The woman kicked the toe of one of her black boots against the linoleum that lined the lab floor.
As he caught the root beer, perhaps her rant was a bit too much. She revealed quite a bit of the details, but without them Russ would have little to no context of her work here on Kabocha. Hopefully she phrased it in a way that made sense.
“I believe in you,” the voice rang through her head. 
Warily the girl’s gray orbs looked up towards her new companion. It was a bit striking to throw out into the conversation, with a stranger no less! This guy was a bit wei---Again, he spoke. This time asking for her to return the belief towards his own strifes and goals. Though, she was unsure what those were currently.
Soon however, Russ would elaborate a bit more into what he meant. All the while he began to creep across the room towards the woman. She watched him cautiously, unsure if he meant harm or was just being a genuine human being. However, she didn’t avert her gaze--she met his own dead in the eye. Anything that someone addressed her or spoke to her, she always was apt to grant them her full attention.
It was something her dad always taught her---yet his attention had long since fleeted. To be honest, it was like they forgot she existed; not that she blamed them. With as much damage and problems she caused in the early stages of her magic use---it wasn’t pretty. She had blown up half the house, destroyed the shop and other people’s vehicles and property. She was doing more harm than good by staying around them. While her family forced her away from their home, part of her felt as if she were only a burden anyhow.
The boy came closer. Her face was clearly flustered, but she tucked down the awkwardness of personal interactions. For most of her life she had been raised around men, hung out with men, and joked around with...men. Growing up around and working with that career made sure of it. If anything Meiku was a tomboy who was finally trying to figure out the nuances of womanhood. Without the distraction of work or projects, she sat idly wondering if there were better things in life than work and discovery. Perhaps even, the woman needed companionship after all, even if that was just a close friend.
“A deal?” Meiku paused and listened to his idea. She about cackled out loud at the boy’s proclamation of fixing up the planet. But, she would need all the help she could muster to achieve her goal of removing the Tree of Might and then focusing on the restoration of the planet, it’s resources, and even something as simple as water for the civilians.
To be honest, her work was cut out for her. Even now her sole plan of removing the tree would take even the help of all people of the planet. It would be a massive collaborative effort--but Meiku tried to remain confident amongst the looming task.
“Talk to my family? I---I suppose that wouldn’t be too difficult. I just feel bad about the damage I caused to them---I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to have to force me away, but it was for their livelihood that I also agreed to it. Perhaps you’re right though Russ. I can agree to your deal.”
Meiku smiled brightly, now realizing just how close the man had lingered from her. Yet, his shining charisma made the woman release her doubts of where he came from, his motives, or even what he had to gain from all this. Perhaps the ‘feel-good’ emotion provoked by helping another is what fueled his desire to help?
“Ahh, the Kabochan’s are good people, Emperor Cam has shown me nothing but kindness. But with power there will always be conflict--those who want to flex their proverbial muscles and cause problems. I’d be dumb to think that a whole planet of people would be all ‘good’ or all ‘bad’.”
Meiku admitted before looking at the fist that lingered in front of her. It was an age-old agreement, similar to that of the pinky promise. She sent forth her fist, the warm skin squishing into his own as she cracked a stupid grin.
“Russ, when I send you home, what will you do? What are your goals? What drives you? I couldn’t just accept your help and advice and not return the favor. I’m sure there is something you seek, right?”
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Post by T on Oct 6, 2018 10:58:07 GMT -5
Meiku reporting the contrary concerning Kabochans being evil gave Russ some relief. If he could trust her word on that, then the boy had nothing to worry about. Thus, he elected to do just as he said- believe in her. Words from a subordinate did not do much to explain the motive of their true master. Nevertheless, they were taken at face value.
“Ah, neat,” said the teenager as wide eyes shrank to their normal, somewhat calmer state. “As long as the guy doesn’t start taking over other planets or something- that’s fine.”
The question that came next hit rather hard.
Now that the Saiyan put some thought into it, he had no idea what kept him going. He always just did. Russ lacked the burden of traumatic events occurring in his life. The worst thing to happen to him thus far was dying on a sandy planet before said planet was destroyed in its entirety. Other than that, he had little to worry about besides saving the worlds he was on.
On a lighter note, his mood brightened ever greater upon the lady’s acceptance of his trade-deal. ‘Trade-deal’ may have been an odd pair of words when taking into account his lack of reward in the matter, albeit he failed to mind that in the slightest. More focus was given to answering the rapid succession of questions brought up.
“Nah, not really,” he answered sincerely without hesitation.
“I guess when I get back to Earth, I’ll be doing what I normally do.” The boy shrugged his shoulders, beginning to list a few of the activities he remembered doing. “Delivering pizzas, fighting bad guys, playing video games- maybe I’ll even go to college later.”
Easier said than done, mostly. If by ‘home’ she meant the place where his parents lived as well, Russ doubted that he was ready to confront them. Even after being dead for two years, not enough courage had been mustered to tell his relatives that he died. He just returned to the realm of the living, after all.
And to respond to her last query, Russ continued. “Nothing.” Truthfully and finally settled. “I’ve never needed a reason to help people, and I don’t think I’m going to need one if they’re not horrible people.”
( Word Count : 0, 401 ) [ Total Word Count : 4, 075 ]
Cassava
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Post by Cassava on Oct 6, 2018 20:37:16 GMT -5
“Taking over planets eh?” Meiku searched her brain for a time where Cam did such a thing. She couldn’t pinpoint from personal experience. Everything she knew of the man was his negotiations with the Saiyan Dominion as well as his hopes and goals for the future of his planet. He was a simple man who wanted the best for his species.
The look of bewilderment that came from her inquiring of his drives was amusing. It was odd to think of someone living without something to push them. Even the simplest of farmers or commonfolk wanted to at least provide for those near and dear. Yet, this man simply replied with a ‘nah’. His goals and own personal drives seemed to be missing in action; she was now even further intrigued by the man.
“Delivering pizzas? You mean to tell me that you’re practising teleporting into atmospheres in DIFFERENT QUADRANTS...yet,---well I guess you’d be damn good at your job,” Meiku began to burst out in a fit of laughter as she pictures Russ teleporting between houses in record time. He surely would get a promotion as the best pizza lad on the block---if not the chain.
“Jesus, but---you…” Meiku searched the air to even collect a taste of his aura. Surely he wasn’t some common man, yet his behavior screamed that of ‘ordinary’. The woman rubbed her chin curiously as a notification came up on her tablet of the status of the pod she had prepared. It would be ready for him in around ten minutes, plenty more time for her to pick his brain til her heart's desire.
Russ was rather aloof in nature, earnestly she was curious if the lad comprehended the usefulness of his potential skill.
“So you’re simply a selfless helper? Hn, perhaps your parents raised you with better values than my own. I was always told that my efforts should be compensated in one way or another. Perhaps that was the business side of things talkin’, afterall ya have to make Zeni in this world to get anything. Without it my family would be in the slums after all.”
Meiku paused and ran her grab orbs over the screen once more as the time ticked away awkwardly.
“Your pod should be prepared shortly Russ; feel free to use it as a gift from me in the future. Since you couldn’t think of anything you wanted in your side of this deal per say. Maybe the urge to travel abroad will strike you? If not, you have a cool relic to note your time here, or even deliver pizzas in!”
Meiku tried to remain optimistic, yet her gaze shifted towards the ground.
“When I do need your help to remove this damn tree though, you better bet I’m going to remember to call your ass. It’s going to take an army, and I’m not even sure that every citizen on the surface could complete the task."
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Post by T on Oct 7, 2018 9:56:19 GMT -5
An eyebrow lifted slowly as Meiku put on a rather excited display. He could understand that the pizza-delivering portion of his life may have been mildly funny, but the boy did not think to add teleportation into the equation. Surely, that much would make daily activities so much easier to accomplish. From the most arduous task to the tiniest chore, the possibilities were endless.
Out of groceries? Teleport to a supermarket. Need to take out the trash? Teleport to the trash, take the trash, teleport near a bin. Late for your job? You probably won’t be late for your job when you can just teleport to your job.
Walking too could be rendered useless with the power of teleportation
Teleporting to a different topic entirely, a strange Ki signature could be felt if one attempted to sense it.
While one’s own aura may have stretched in a small radius around themselves, Russ’ energy seemed compressed entirely within his body. Not a single flicker of Ki so much as wandered out past the boundaries of flesh. This could be mistaken for suppression of his true power if not for the fact that this level of latent strength felt absurdly immense for someone incapable of basic flight. Power yet untapped. Strength yet unleashed.
As he stood, the boy’s inner might could be compared to the likes of even a Super Saiyan or a mutant Frost Demon. In addition to that mildly unnerving aspect, the adolescent was relaxed. Unaware. At east. However tremendous his inner, current capacity stood was unknown.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” He then paced back to the other side of the room. Russ stood near the entrance, idly tapping the top of his can of root beer using a free index finger. “Spaceships are expensive. I’ll just send it back when I get to Earth.”
The mere mention of parts to assemble a ship turned him away from the prospect of simply purchasing one. If he emptied out his life savings, he might just be able to buy himself a nice car- not that he could drive one in the first place. On that note, Russ would probably have to find someone who could operate a space-pod in order to send it back. That was, unless it had a user friendly interface.
Touchscreens: the future of technology, right next to jetpacks and sliced bread.
Almost anything could be done by the use of sufficiently advanced technology. Something about a quote regarding magic said something along those lines, but the boy did not bother with it considering both magic and super-technology existed. With that, it seemed that the lady had a plan in mind to remove the tree and restore the planet.
Russ had a plan as well, but one that was a lot more straightforward. Also it was a secret.
“Oh. Ohhhhh. Eh, it’s alright.” A hand raised to wave from left to right repeatedly. “I’ll have this planet fixed up by the end of Spring.” Whatever timeframe he could come up with stayed reasonably short. Maybe too unreasonable for a random person appearing out of nowhere to make, albeit he did so nonetheless.
“Probably.” Tapping the centre of his forehead, shoulders shrugged once more. “Could be by the end of Spring or the end of this year.” Now that he thought about it, Russ should start sooner rather than later on his plan to remove the tree. Better for the surprise to take place quicker than expected.
All that he needed to do next was wait for the pod.
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Post by Cassava on Oct 8, 2018 7:57:04 GMT -5
As much as the Earthling woman was enjoying a brief break in the mundane day to day; she couldn’t lie she wasn’t eager to get back to work on her most recent breakthrough. With pure diligence and a positive attitude the woman truly believed she could bring anything into existence that she could ever crave. Be is a megaton warship, or even something as simple as a robot that could clean up the messes she left behind.
“Ahhh, not an issue. I can tell ya how to return it easily. Haha, sometimes I give away too many assets anyhow--I’m sure Cam wouldn’t approve of such.”
Meiku mumbled towards the man as her orbs seemed to focus on the tablet in her hands. Like a online pizza delivery system, there were progress reports on Russ’s space pod preparations for the long trek back to Earth. Not that it was terribly long, but traveling through several quadrants may take the man a while. She supplied enough rations to keep his appetite sated--not to mention all of her most recent models of the pods came with entertainment galore. From puzzle games to shooters, the occupant had many a thing to keep their attention off the dull and lengthy trips they may be taking.
Alas, the boy still seemed intent on following through with his side of the deal. Her lips cracked into a smile at the thought. If only it were that simple. If only the man could wave a hand and like magic the planet’s desserts were somehow overrun with flush vegetation to feed a starving and struggling people. Not that the emperor didn’t aid his civilian’s--but it was costly to import almost off of their goods. That or synthetically create everything.
Still, his next sentence seemed to show uncertainty. His promise shifting from spring to winter. That seemed a bit more accurate at least--but she wondered if he would actually be there if she did need his aid?
“Hahaha, the end of Spring? Or Winter? Who knows right? I even wonder how much time we have remaining on this ticking time bomb,” Meiku paused as a chiming sound radiated from the device in her hands. It was a clear notation that the pod was ready for boarding.
“So, looks like we are all set to get you back home.”
Meiku chuckled and turned her back towards the boy before waving him to follow her deeper into the building and towards the hanger bay. It took several more passwords and biometrics for her to even access this part of the facility. Yet, once those doors hissed open it felt as if there were in a movie or video game. Various completed and in progress vessels lined the futuristic looking room. Various teams of robots and living beings worked and buzzed around the room.
They all seemed to be laughing and having a good time besides having to be at work. Alas, as Meiku kept walking eventually they found a small single person pod. Salvaged from some newer age Saiyan technology, Meiku had outfitted it for more of a leisurely travel vessel. Using her tablet she ordered the door to the pod to hiss open and reveal the inner workings of his taxi-cab for the day.
“Here she is,” Meiku commented as she plopped herself into the vessel to show it off like a used car salesman. She popped open a side panel on the right to reveal some water as well as rations that would supply enough nutrition incase something went awry. Luckily, she managed to create a formula that didn’t taste like sandy mush! In fact, she secretly had been using the food instead of leaving the laboratory and wasting time getting a real meal.
“Here’s the main terminal, this is what controls everything in the ship. I’ll program you to the East City Space Port, that way I know you will end up on Earth.”
Meiku tapped upon the LCD panel that lit up the interior of the pod, besides the overhead lighting that could be turned on and off as well as dimmed to ease strain on the eyes.
She then showed him how to set the pod to autopilot and return it to it’s homepoint, which was of course set for this very hanger. Once she was sure the boy had a grasp on the inner workings she removed herself from the pod and gave him a friendly wave.
“If anything goes wrong you can also use that terminal to call me, Meiku. That’s my name---did I mention that?” Her mind was tired and weary. She probably needed to hit the hay as soon as the boy was safely off the planet’s surface. She had already radioed ahead to space security of the boy’s departure.
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Post by T on Oct 9, 2018 9:39:04 GMT -5
It seemed as though the conversation was coming to an end. Pity, Russ felt like staying around for lunch. It had been a while since he had kebab or just about any solid food at all. Despite being dead, the residents of the afterlife were capable of eating. Regardless, the boy spent most of his time in the Other World training.
He remembered facing warrior after warrior in various sparring matches. Though the lessons they imparted still stayed with him, not a single one of them managed to bring forth the unused potential of Ki within him. All he got out of the exercises was additional strength, durability, and speed. Pity that no new fighting styles were learnt during those two years. As it turned out, a lot of great fighters relied solely on being absurdly powerful in comparison to the people around them.
One could only wonder what they would achieve with proper footwork. Some martial artists also resided in heaven, yet they were far and few in-between. A Xeno told Russ that the greatest fighters were either off doing other things, or continuously improving themselves somewhere else.
Still, he did learn something useful- namely the existence of dragon balls.
Thinking upon this made for a neat little time-waster as the lady prepared his method of travel through space. Every so often, he nodded his head to affirm her of his attention. Where she was leading him definitely looked far more advanced than almost anywhere he had been before. Among the two places thought to be more technologically advanced than this to him, this should have placed at second place or a high-third. The first being a space centre while the second/third was one of the Earth’s transport points.
At that, he climbed into the pod. Sitting himself down, the young Saiyan looked back over at her.
“Yeah, you mentioned your name earlier.” His right thumb was raised to give the lady a thumbs up as he pressed a button in order to close the pod’s door. “Thanks for all the help, Meiku.” Russ waved a hand while the ship began to depart. “Remember your part of the deal- you’ll be better for it.”
Up, up, and into Kabocha’s atmosphere the pod ascended. At first, it slowly began to levitate at the pace of a balloon floating. Yet sooner than one would expect, the sphere shot right up- air whistled and howled around the force of this metallic star-craft travelling at speeds faster than light.
“See ya!”
Now that the encounter was over, all he needed to do was kick back, relax, and- Russ noticed that he still had a can of Root Beer in his left hand. “Oh huh, I nearly forgot I had this,” mused the boy to himself. It probably already turned disgustingly lukewarm from the heat of his hand. He just realised that he held it in his hand for over five minutes while they talked in the room, talked in the pod, and sent him to space.
The teenager settled on opening it despite it’s temperature.
Chk-k -
FSHHHHHHH.
Internal pressure caused streams of foam, bubbles, and Root Beer alike to shoot everywhere in the pod. It build up first from when Meiku threw said can to Russ, then as the boy moved around while holding the can, and finally from travelling through space at speeds faster than light. It got on the ceiling. It got on the walls. It got on his clothing. It got everywhere except his mouth. Luckily enough, he had his eyes closed throughout the entire ordeal.
“O-” Slowly lifting his eyelids, he blinked a few times. “Darn.”
No root beer soda for him today. Though the pod did manage to get a lot of it in almost every nook and cranny of it’s internal components. All the more trouble for when he attempted to reach past the control panel to grab a towel. His elbow accidentally pressed against the deliciously-root-beer-flavoured GUI.
>Namek. . .
A hologram of a bright green planet was displayed along with two options: ‘YES’ or ‘NO’.
“No.” He pressed on the latter choice using one of his index fingers. “No Namek.”
Unfortunately, the liquids interfered with the external surface of this LCD panel. This, in turn, caused it to mistake the position of his input elsewhere.
>Namek. . .
“No no no.” Russ repeated once more, trying to do the same. “Not Namek.”
>NAMEK. . .
By that point, he had wiped off most of the soda from this panel, yet it accepted the coordinates of his finger to be directly on ‘YES’. ‘Namek’ became capitalised prior to shifting right in the middle of his screen.
“NO NAMEK.” In a panicked state, he attempted to press on the screen to simply cancel the entire operation.
>AUTOPILOT CONFIRMING COURSE FOR NAMEK.
“CANCEL!” Russ shouted at the top of his lungs. Eyes grew wide as jet-black irises focused upon the image of the planet he was bring brought to. Voice command was his last hope in the situation. Though seeing as how Root Beer soda clogged up half of the microphone’s input systems- it heard ‘Namek’.
>COURSE CONFIRMED.
“WAIT!” He commanded while holding a hand in front of the screen. For a moment there, he almost tried his hand a machine-o-mancy. It was a silly notion even without considering his lack of expertise in Ki.
>Would you like to activate EXTREME RECLINING?
He stayed silent. ‘Extreme Reclining’ did not sound good at all in his books. Touching the screen failed to work, voice command failed to work, and asking it nicely would probably fail to work too. The Saiyan disliked the idea of finding out what ‘Extreme Reclining’ entailed. For all he knew, it may as well have been a codename for ‘Self Destruct Protocol’. However, the meaning soon became apparent to him as the space pod then decided on-
>ACTIVATING EXTREME RECLINING.
His seat started to rotate within the pod- spinning up and down and in all sorts of other directions.
“AAAAAAAAA- Oh hey.” After his own screaming stopped, he realised that this had little effect on him. Sooner or later, it probably stopped either way. Hopefully sooner, but Russ had little say in when it would. “That’s not bad.”
> ACTIVATING COMPLIMENTARY MUSIC - EXTENDED TEN HOUR VERSION.
Music. Questionable music blared through every speaker of this one-person vessel. With upbeat lyrics, and a catchy tune, it sounded almost comically in place for his current situation. His only qualm with it was that it did not stop at all. At first, an hour passed. Then two hours. Three hours. Three hours and fifteen minutes. Three hours, fifteen minutes, twenty-four seconds, eighteen milliseconds, and one juice-box later, he started to think he was losing his mind.
A sigh left his lips. “Just bear it Russ.” He spoke to himself nonchalantly. Trying to hold his sanity together, the boy inserted one end of the straw into his ear as he began to chew on the empty carton. Or did he insert the box into his mouth and the straw into the box? Another mystery of the universe for someone, somewhere, on some planet to consider.
“You’ve been through worse.” Probably. Maybe. In any case, Russ had never gone through anything like this before.
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