My RPG

[Wolfstar]

"You're going to have to be more specific than that," Trunks told the man in the white suit, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He nearly chuckled slightly at the thought of that. He realized that he wasn't really crossing his arms at all. It was all an illusion created inside his own mind by this man... this... thing in front of him. "How are you going to help us?"

The man in white smiled slightly. The look made Trunks want to squirm, want to run away and hide. The look created fear itself... pure and horrible. "I can bring you power. But more importantly... I can bring the Unifyer out of hiding."

"Oh?" Trunks asked, narrowing his eyes. It was a bold claim. "And how the hell will you do that?"

"I have powerful friends. The Unifyer isn't the only hidden power in this universe, he is just the only one on the move right now." He paused for a moment. "You don't think that this is the last threat the universe will see, do you? Haven't you noticed something? Perhaps how every time you defeat an enemy, another half-dozen spring up in their place? Yes. For every foe you defeat, more rise up. Granted, they don't all become genuine threats, but at least one of those that rise will surpass the previous. It's an eternal dance, an eternal battle. There is no victory, there is no peace... just pause."

"There's worse than the Unifyer?" Trunks asked. He wanted to collapse. He thought about shouting at the man, calling him a liar, but he wanted to hear what he had to say. "We'll have to fight even after this is all over?"

"Perhaps," the man said simply. "But perhaps not. I'm not saying your generation will need to continue the battle. Just know that some time, somewhere, somebody will. So what do you say? Will you help me so I can help you?"

Trunks turned away from him for a moment. "I'll have to ask my friends. I won't command them to do something I'm not sure about myself."

The white room faded away from Trunks, and he was left in darkness, with pain. He could tell his physical wounds were being healed though by the sorceress woman that came with Gohan. It would take some more time before he could decide though.

[Wolfstar]

OOC: I feel a quadrapost coming on here...

***

"We have enemies in orbit," Xian shouted back to the rest of the crew.

"How many we looking at here?" Terry asked as he jumped up to look at the screen himself anyways. "We're swarming with fighters of some sort and... wow, the Moon is buzzing with activity too! Can we still slip in unseen?"

Xian shook his head. "I have my doubts, Time Warper."

A red-clad man came out of the lift on the far side of the ship command station, his face grim. "I saw from downstairs. I think we might be screwed."

"That's no way to talk, Red Knight," Kathryn Tracce chided, shaking her head in disgust. "If John were with us right now, he'd be telling you all to stay positive. We have fighters, and the Library itself is not defenseless."

Terry took his blue and black helmet off and started walking toward the lift. "You heard the lady," he said to Red Knight. "We have a job to do. Xian has to stay with the ship and Kathryn isn't trained in aerial combat like we are. Let's go kick some goon ass!"

***

OOC: Uh... I figured the UAE would have some sorta space defense or something... so unless I'm wrong, I think a little space dogfight might be kinda fun to change up the pace.

And Klidore time!

[Wolfstar]

OOC: This is the end of all hope!

***

Trunks slowly opened his eyes, then immediately turned over, ignoring the pain all over his body. "Anoreha? Anoreha, how is she?" he demanded, temporarily forgetting what he had seen in his head.

"She's going to be fine," Kone muttered as she pinned Trunks back down, then continued her magic. "But if I don't get to seal your wounds, you might not be. Hold still."

"I know we're not out of danger yet," Pahn announced, running a hand through her black hair. "The Unifyer is still putting his plans in motion, no matter how many of his flunkies we knock down. So what now?"

Gohan coughed while taking in a breath to reply, but managed to speak anyways. "I think we need to see what condition the Earth is in. There's been so many battles... gosh, that planet can't continue to take such brutality for much longer."

"I have a lead," Trunks spoke up. Everyone turned their attention to him, causing him to scowl at his own foolishness. Was he seriously going to bring up the man he had 'seen' in his mind? "I... uh... had a vision of this man that told me he could help us if we went to Planet Agteka. He said he had powerful friends that would help us if we could help him. He also told me that a man named Lord Zedd is attempting to release these monsters called The Watchers, and that to do so, he needs to destroy the seals. One of them is on that same planet."

"So what do we do then?" Tratz asked, starring off into the distance. "Needless to say, we're going to be overwhelmed no matter what in our current state."

***

OOC: Up to you now!

[chibi cajones]

OOC: Yeah, the UAE has ships *points to Andros's intro*, but since they were restored by the evil energies that Mogayu had captured, as intense as they were, they aren't quite at full power... but still have enough to be a problem.
Oy, I'm going to have to try to imply some passage of time here... let's see if it can be done without stretching things too much.


**********

Kone and Kairin spoke at the same time.
"Lord Zedd?"
"Agteka?"
Kairin let one hand fiddle with the quad blade as he stepped back to let Kone speak.

"Agteka..." Kone's eyes were a fiery shade approaching brown as she seemed to gaze through Trunks. "I've been there; on a training mission. It's in the same system as Hermalya. But..." She fixed her gaze on Trunks' eyes, which seemed to add to the awkwardness that now hung in the air. "Something... Hmm." She stopped there.

"Lord Zedd," Kairin picked up, "According to Adam and Dende when we arrived at the Resistance Base, one of his top warriors showed up on Earth just after the fight with the Klidorians. But we weren't told anything about ceals."

Elohssa held up a hand and looked into it, where a golden coin was visible.
"Kejek is approaching," he anounced, "And he's far from alone."


*******

OOC: Ok, so there's ... urm... room in there for your characters to jump into the 'conversation' if necessary... and I'd imagine you'd want to take that route, because I'm not done yet... :sneak: .. time's a wastin'!

BIC:
*******

"The megaship will be in orbit of Planet Klidore in aproximately ten minutes," Deka anounced. Kejek was standing to one side near one of the banks of equipment, carefully tapping at his gold coin with his wand.

Andros was taking Kyu and Shaoten on a tour of the ship--something they weren't immensely eager to take part in at the time, but it kept them from pacing one of the decks and starting a spar that might damage something.
Meanwhile, Tommy was standing in the middle of the deck where Kejek was, practicing various kicks and punches, all the while adding very pronounced kiais that seemed to cause Kejek mild irritation.

When the coin finally started to glow faintly, Kejek quickly turned toward the main bank of equipment at the front of the deck.

"Deka," he said, "Can we get a visual on an active power source on the planet?"
"Affirmative," Deka answered. After a few seconds, the display behind the console flashed to a scene of a massive crater, a few figures visible in it--not all standing. After some examination, Kejek thought he was able to pick out Elohssa's distinct head and hair, and someone he thought was Yabu was near him. One of the dots of hair looked purplish, and he caught sight of colors that only members of Goku's family would wear. The most omenous thing in the image was a darkened spot in the middle of the crater; the light and the distance made it hard to discern the color, but Kejek had a feeling he knew what it was.

"What do we got?" Tommy asked, now standing at Kejek's shoulder.

"Trunks, Elohssa, Yabu, the rest of Goku's descendants from the looks of it," He looked down at the coin and tapped it a few more times, and the numbers flashed "1 4 all 2 4 dead". After a moment the coin glowed brightly and stayed that way for several seconds before fading.
"What's up?"
"It looks like everyone's alive..." Kejek took another look at the pool of blood in the display and then looked up thoughtfully. Without warning, there was a loud crack and Kejek vanished, but it was pretty clear where to, since another figure appeared in the display of the battlefield.

*****

"Kejek!" Rani and Liquaro both showed surprise at the sudden appearance of the wand-wielder.
"The desperation dragonballs," Kejek said to dismiss the question. He then looked around, surveying the group. "I thought it was us newbs that got this beat up." He then caught sight of Anoreha and his serious face returned. "An ally came out of nowhere to exchange information and strategies. He's got a pretty nice ship in orbit... and from the looks of it, we'll need somewhere to rest while traveling." The reactions on the faces of the small crowd of warriors were mixed. "And there's plenty of food, from the looks of it." Ignoring the change in certain people's expressions, he continued. "We retrieved the Zeo Crystal, but a powerful enemy showed up to steal it pretty quickly. Cyba made a dramatic return to help fight him, and then Lord Zedd launched an attack. We broke the Zeo Crystal into fragments and have three of them on the ship. There were several casualties at the base, but Dende, Videl and Adam are with them and seem to be ok. Last I heard, Cyba was holding up well against Zedd's forces, and we think there was some kind of interdimentional evacuation from the battle." He paused for responses, then continued. "We also have word on our old friend Nijam... any of you know anything about a shapeshifter or why he'd be trading crystals from another galaxy with Nijam?"

*****


OOC: Gaaaah! Done! Fill in any gaps you need to fill; goodness knows there are a fair few! There are several means by which we could get people onto the ship, so if you have anyone going up there (which, given the state of things, I'd be surprised if no one went), go ahead; we need a formal regroup/recovery anyway. Why I didn't use summaries to tell the story, I don't know... anyway, we're probably going to split up pretty immediately, since there are several places that need visiting soon... a group is definitely going to Onyx as soon as possible, and I'm unsure of another group I'm planning on sending off at some point in the near future... so go ahead and have your people plan for who's going where in the next post with this group.

[chibi cajones]

OOC: Ok, I'm assuming that Wolfstar's characters aren't planning on running off from our offer for free transportation (And even then, they can still leave after or during this post), and there's stuff that desperately needs to happen, so it's time for a time-lapse-not-quite-puppeteering move...
It is very crutial to continuing that we decide who goes where. Kairin has a quest in mind, someone's going to Onyx, and Agteka is on the agenda... and those are just those mentioned so far. We need to decide when and how we're splitting up, if we're taking it a little more linearly, Etc... and soon enough that it should happen in this post. I get the feeling that the one who we'd all be surprised if he wasn't Karzedna wouldn't mind the very important detour that is in the works, but...


**********

The megaship hadn't seen so many passengers since its construction. Now, nearly two dozen heroes were aboard, and most were worn out from the recent violence. There was food (though not quite prepared for a team of saiyans), and there were not-recently-used sleeping quarters; and there was the Simudeck, where Tommy was working out in a battle against simulated opponents.
But the heroes had to prepare in ways beyond the physical. Several had already decided that investigating Onyx would be crutial to gaining information on the Unifier's plans; however, Lord Zedd was apparently on the move, and according to their mysterious apparitional source, up to something well worth countering. And there was the matter of finding Mogayu the Yasha-tabe, though Elohssa had reminded Kairin that the shapeshifter that had met with Nijam was likely the only way to find the dragon.

While no resolution to who would go where when had been found (after all, not everyone was awake), it was realized that Serpentera likely wouldn't have the power yet to travel and destroy before the Megaship could catch up--at the least, there was a window to get close enough to Onyx for a group to go down and investigate. Whoever that group would be, they would have to signal for the megaship's shields to go down to allow teleporting back in unless another method was used.


*******

OOC: T.T. *headdesk*. <-- trying to get Onyx out of the way as quickly as possible. Going any further though would be totally bad though since lotsa Wolfstar charies are there. ... I counted 21 people in this group. WTPF! And 14 of them are mine... I think I have too many characters. <-- doesn't like killing them.
So, ok, unless someone has a big plot twist to throw in here, we need to decide on the team to go to Onyx, and we need to decide who is doing what else. We probably won't do any landing with the megaship, and I'm debating whether or not our characters can use the galaxy gliders... but we've got plenty of teleporters in there. I also think the passage of time here hasn't been quite as long as we need it to be if we're going for fully rested, so it's Wolfstar's call if we're splitting off on different missions at this point. But strategically, having a bunch of saiyans and humans popping into the Onyx Tavern will be just beging trouble (and strategically suicidal to the mission), so that'll probably be a small team; actually, I just thought of something to do with this that might just work out well... XD. And it might work best with a team involving multiple author characters... I'm thinking Tratz in particular since he'd probably look least out of place and Nijam at least wouldn't recognize him (though if anyone wants someone else to ... ). And we could disguise someone else, and At can hide in a morph or something... Oooh, or we could borrow an idea from GT where At morphs into Buu and goes in disguise while hiding someone in his stomach (ALA when they were sneaking on to planet Plant).

Now! There are other things that need doing, but I'm not sure how to deal with those, so that's where you guys come in!
And I've already taken too long, so that's all for today!

[chibi cajones]

OOC: After some thought, it seems to me that the best team to go into Onyx would be Tratz, Andros, At (morphed), and someone else that can hitchhike if At is in Buu form. I get the feeling maic would be nice, but if Kone goes the rest of the team is without healers, so Kejek makes the most strategic sense (Though I can see some character opportunities for Kone... Heh heh...).
So, yeah. We should decide at least on that, and that can get moving; in the mean time, Wolfstar can figure out how to move everyone else.
And yes, there's a reason Kikyo isn't free yet...

[Wolfstar]

OOC: Before I do what I need to do... we need to decide a) where Zedd is going (if that hasn't already been said and I simply missed it...) and b) what the planets with the Seals are.

[chibi cajones]

OOC: Zedd is going wherever he needs to be going; I'd imagine toward one of the ceals, but I don't really know which; you can decide that.
As for the ceal planets... I think we've decided that one is on Drakengard's place, it sounds like one is on Agteka (assuming Karzedna isn't lying); I think I've picked a planet for one that will be fitting for the characters in this saga ... . *thinks Gotenks should pick the remaining one* XD.
And this reminds me of more things I should have added to DBR Neo. -_-. But yes... my planet choice is related to DBR.
And if you need people on the megaship to know about Zedd's destination, you can find a way I'm sure... XD

[Wolfstar]

Pahn bit her lip slightly as she leaned back in her seat on the Megaship, closing her eyes and reaching out across the universe with her senses. Cyba had indeed vanished once more, again without a trace as far as she could tell. She sighed to herself as she began to scan for her children. Midway through her search she felt Goti and Bardock on a planet not all that far away.

They weren't alone, and most of the accompanying powers did not feel friendly.

"Are the scanners picking up any signs of battle on a planet about 20 light years from here?" she asked suddenly as she jumped out of her seat. "I think Goti and Bardock are in some serious trouble, and this family has been apart for far too long..."

***

OOC: Uh... I'm not really sure what we'll want to do about that. I just know that if she goes alone, she might not live, given her energy-drained state.

***

"Before this goes any further," Uryu said, materializing his bow made of blue light in one hand while conjuring and drawing an arrow with the other. The weapon was pointed directly at Wolfstar's head, and his face was completely serious. "Tell me why I should not just kill you now. And while we're at it, tell me why Soul Society has been cut off from accessing the living world."

Wolfstar snorted a laugh for a second. "You can't kill me. You aren't strong enough. However, if you fire that bow, I will break both your arms."

"Just try me," Uryu snarled, forcing more energy into his bow. "You won't be the first Arrancar I've killed, and I have doubts that you'll be the last."

"Uryu..." Orihime started, reaching out to put an arm on her companion's shoulder.

Uryu brushed her away. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten who it was that attacked the base. These two are our enemy, just as much as any other we've fought in the past. And now we're deep in enemy territory because of him. And I'm not so sure about that other Saiyan over there either," he said, motioning toward Cyba.

With a moan, Alex sat up from his position on the white sand that covered the ground in an endless coat there in Hueco Mundo. "I agree, Ishida, except when it comes to Cyba. He was the one that stood up to Dashyr at the beginning of the Hermalyan Invasion, him and Trunks. There isn't anyone more loyal than him. Those other two though..." The pain from the wound to his face made him stop talking.

"I have already warned you, Quincy," Wolfstar said, forming a ball of fire in the palm of his hand. "Fire that arrow and your life is forfeit."

"That's enough you two!" Cyba roared. "Don't you think we have enough trouble as it is? Lord Zedd and his army alone seem to be more than we can handle, and he wasn't the only force Enerjak and I detected near Earth. We've got enough on our plate as it is, no need to add each other to it!"

"But he just told you that he was an enemy!" Alex countered. "Why are we cooperating with him now?"

"You have no other choice, that is why," Wolfstar replied, his eyes narrowed. "You fight me, you die. You go on without me, you die. I offer you the only temporary alternative. However, I need that Zeo fragment and whatever you use to power it, human," he said, turning his full attention to Adam and ignoring the energy arrow aimed at him.

"Haven't we already played this game?" Cyba asked, but Wolfstar ignored him.

[Wolfstar]

"Amazing," Songi muttered. "Yes. I must have it now. The Time Matrix is mine!" Thrusting his closed fist forward, Songi unleashed another blast of his Hyper Lightning at Vahn, this time hitting his target and throwing the man back. He raced toward the Time Matrix, reaching a palm out, already reveling in his victory.

It did not last long, however, as a massive blast gouged a trench in the ground, catching Songi in the savage explosion. After being pushed around by the blast, Songi finally managed to flip himself to the side, escaping any further damage as the energy struck somewhere in the West Voz Forest, which had already been made all but barren due to the years of highly concentrated Mist exposure before Vahn, Noa, and Gala destroyed the nearby Mist Generator, the one that had previously been Zeto's base.

Bardock hovered in the air above Juggernaut, then flicked his hand forward, signaling the Sim-Seru beast to continue the attack. Songi looked up at the man with a scowl, leaping up in the air at him. His effort was halted as the Juggernaut smashed him out of the air with a large clawed paw, forcing him back to the ground once more.

"Where did you get the power to control Seru?" Songi demanded.

"Our former employer, friend," Bardock said, adding mock emphasis on the last word. "I don't remember much of my days while under Cort's control, but I get the feeling I didn't like you back then either."

Two fast blasts knocked Bardock out of the air, but Songi was not the one to fire them. "In a bind, Songi?" the black garbed man with the pointy hat asked. "I'm none to happy with that one. He stole my toy. I say we finish him first."

"The Time Matrix is our objective, Dohati," the winged woman countered.

Two more figures joined the scene almost immediately, coming forward in fury of air that signaled the use of a Door of Wind. One was a man garbed mostly in blue, and the other was a woman wearing green. Both had Ra-Seru attached to their arms.

"Songi... the game is over," the man announced.

"Seriously, I think you are as deluded as ever," Songi shot back. "The days where you can ruin my fun are long gone, Gala. We aren't at the monastery anymore."

"I'm not going to let you hurt anymore people, meanie!" the woman shouted, sticking her tongue out at Songi as she took a fighting stance. "We're here to stop all this!"

"Fools," Dohati's voice boomed. "You barely defeated Zeto. How are you going to fight the three of us, who are much, much stronger?"

Goti's green aura strengthened as he maximized the Chaos Energy he could hold. "You're about to find out, ugly fish head."

[chibi cajones]

OOC: Let's do this!

*****

"Affirmative..." Deka's voice spoke from some source in the area where Pahn and some of the others were, "Several unique energy sources are currently being analyzed from the direction of Legaia planet. One source strongly resembles chaotic power. The second cannot be identified. . ."
"Goti?" Liquaro looked around at the others.
"And the time matrix?" Rani added.
"... A lot has been happening I haven't heard about." Andros had entered the area, Kejek at his side.
"Goti and Bardock," Pahn explained quickly, "After the battle with Cort they went to Legaia to take care of some things, including retrieving something important that was stolen from us."
"How useful is the Time Matrix against the Unifier, you think?" Liquaro asked.
"Time Matrix..." Andros said thoughtfully before looking up toward an inconspicuous terminal in a wall. "Deka, can we secure a path from Onyx to Legaia?"
"Affirmative." Andros looked over those in the room. "Having a Chaotic on our side will be a big help... and it sounds like some people could use our help as well. Even though a lot of you are still recovering from the last battle, I think there are enough to split up for a short while..."
"We think we should investigate Onyx while we have the chance," Kejek picked up, "Though it seems like it could be a trap considering the clues... We have a plan for getting in without drawing too much attention. But we'll need some of Majin Buu's talents." At had been lying out of the way, and had been sleeping until the talking and anouncements had started. Still, he hadn't moved until Buu had been mentioned.
"What do you need Buu for?" At asked, sitting up and edging closer.
"We don't want to be recognized," Andros explained, "Plenty of people there will jump at the first sight of anyone resembling a human or a saiyan. And if I understand correctly... you could sneak in a couple extra people using Buu powers?" At nodded. "If you're up to it, then, come up with us to the bridge. Deka... set a course for Legaia."


***

Adam had demorphed upon entering Hueco Mundo, and now stood with his arms at his side, though one could easily feel the tension in them.
"Usually," he said evenly, "Ranger powers aren't traded lightly. And you did kind of bust into our base and your sidekick killed. But... your power and a piece of the Zeo Crystal would be quite the boost. Of course... if you turn on us... getting it away from you might be rough. So I think we have enough time for you to explain a few things. For starters... who are you and what do you plan to do?"

**********

OOC: Bah! The Adam part turned out blegh!

[Wolfstar]

"Onyx?" Tratz asked, suddenly interested in the conversation. "You mean the galactic rogue's den? You'll want some muscle with you if you're going there."

"Oh? And I suppose you think you can handle it?" Miliardo asked from the door. He slumped up against the door frame, gently rubbing a bruise on his face. "That place isn't a walk in the park."

"What better person to go on a mission to the headquarters of intergalactic troublemakers than a Ni Asyas Deamonous?" Tratz countered.

[chibi cajones]

OOC: Well, I'm going to make some more ambiguous scene shifts for time reasons, since I don't know how long it would take everyone to prepare... and I'm not interested in leaving us at an awkward stalling moment. So for this post I'll be assuming a couple things; if I screw anything up, correct! ^^


**********

"Ni Asyas... this could be perfect!" Andros hovered near the coridor leading elsewhere in the ship. "We'll want to leave as soon as possible; we should gather the team at the bridge and then hed out. The megaship should reach Legaia before we get back, even if things go perfectly."

Eventually Andros, At, Tratz, Kejek, Kyu and Shaoten were gathered around a holographic display of the planet Onyx. It was a forboding red color, and further details were for the most part restricted, but a flashing display in one corner kept pointing to a certain section of the planet, indicating some numbers and letters. It didn't take long to explain the point of the mission: get in, figure out as much as possible about the plotting between Nijam and the shapeshifter, and get out with whatever could be useful in the fight against the Unifier.
The group then headed toward a set of jumptubes in the back of one of the decks. At took on the form of Majin Buu, then contorted Buu's body so that he resembled some deformed sculpture of a hairless Yamcha made from bubblegum, and finally created a pocket of space inside where Kejek, Kyu and Shaoten could be concealed--though they didn't enter without a moment of hesitation. Andros then stepped toward one of the jumptubes and indicated for the others to follow.
"We'll be taking the galaxy gliders," Andros explained, "They're harder to track than the megaship and more maneuverable in small environments, but can only safely transport one or two people over a relatively short distance." He then jumped in, followed by Tratz and At Buu.
It turned out that in Buu form At could easly attach an appendage to the edge of Andros' glider and keep up; thus they were able to travel almost as a streak of light toward the planet below.

They landed in a secluded alley of sorts on the blindside of a building. Andros let his galaxy glider stay in the shadows there and dawned a cloak and gloves--the same ones he had worn when he had witnessed Nijam receiving the crystal--and led Tratz and At around to the entrance of a tavern. The doors were watched by a pair of bird-warriors and a couple fish-like creatures, but they didn't respond to the arrival of the three as they entered the building.


*****

OOC: Blegh, right? I figured since Tratz volunteered it wouldn't hurt to get them this far. So yeah...
And... umm... if Miliardo was supposed to go,tell me and I can change it... It'd ctually make sense for him to go now that I think of it, since so far as anyone knows he's still working for Clidax (unless Klidore spread news already, but since everyone's on the tower that would know and we just left there...).

[Wolfstar]

OOC: I know... about nothing in regards to Onyx... so... carry on?

***

"With those powers, I will fulfill the conditions of my agreement with the Unifyer and bring her back," Wolfstar said levelly, keeping his eyes focused on Adam. "Give me your powers and from this moment on I shall leave you all alone forever. I need to bring her back! This soul, ripped, torn... it obsesses! There is nothing of greater importance!"

"She is dead, Wolfstar," Cyba hissed, reaching forward with one hand to stop him from reaching out and grabbing Adam. "If the Unifyer could fix death, don't you think Cort and his band of psychos would be back here, subjugating the planet again?" Without blinking, Wolfstar slammed his other fist into the side of Cyba's head, smashing him into the trees of made of quartz crystals and the lifeless white sand. Cyba flipped back to his feet, lightly rubbing the point of impact with a single hand, his eyes locked firmly onto his former master. "The insults and condescension I can handle. Your strange new mannerisms are tolerable. But the fact that you can't listen to reason... that really pisses me off!"

Green flames pranced around Cyba as he dashed in front of Wolfstar once again, this time kicking his former master into the sand. "You taught me well, Master," Cyba called over. "I remember when you taught me that the primary concern when forming an alliance was to make yourself the dominant one. I am challenging you right now for dominance. And to make it a bit more interesting for you, let's add a side bet into the mix."

"What bet?" Wolfstar growled, brushing white sand off of his black cloak. "If you are about to suggest what I think you are, you are too much of an idiot to have ever been my student."

Cyba smirked, drifting into the air as he spoke. "You may have been changed by your conversion to an Arrancar, but the fundamentals of your personality are still the same. You still seem honor bound to preserve innocent life, and you made a promise you have been so determined to keep. You still have your honor, so any agreement you consent to will be completed, even if you give it your last breath. If I were to tell you that if you won I would not stop you from getting the Zeo Crystal, your ticket to the power you need, I know that you would consent, as it is your only option to get what you want."

"And your reward, in the unlikely event that you should defeat me?"

"You will break off your alliance with the Unifyer and swear loyalty to me," Cyba replied, driving each word as if they were nails into a board. "And after this Unifyer business is over, we can see what we can do about bringing her back."

"That is indeed what I thought you were about to suggest, you fool." Wolfstar reached into his black cloak, withdrawing a katana-like zanpaku-to from the sheath tied to his black belt. "I accept this, your final challenge. None of them are to interfere. If they do, I will no longer regard them as innocent lives."

"You heard the man," Cyba told the others, before turning to Adam. "Trust me on this one, even if it seems insane to you."

[chibi cajones]

"I don't see him," Andros said quietly to his companions as he scanned the room, "But he's still here; he's probably going to be back here shortly, so we could either wait or try to find him." Andros slipped a pair of small bags from under his cloak and handed one to each of his companions. "If we need to buy time or talk to anyone here, you'll find betting money there, but we could get a table to ourselves to wait."
Indeed, one of the aliens was walking up to them with a thin mask of patience under the mix of scales and warts that dominated its multi-colored face. "Can I get you something?" The voice was rather distorted, but understandable.
"We'll find our own place," Andros said, making his voice a bit lower and secretive. The alien looked the group over, then turned away with perceived understanding. There happened to be a empty table off in one corner of the tavern, and it was there that the group headed. At seemed to be having trouble controling the mind of Buu in the presence of so many foreign--and perhaps edible--things, and he and Tratz got a couple glances from one or two that they passed, but the collection of oddities that formed the patrons of the tavern were diverse enough among themselves that the three were only mildly interesting. Once they were seated, there was a slight moment of shock when Kejek's voice came from Buu's form--muffled and hard to project, but understandable to Tratz and Andros.

"No sign of him?"
"We're just sitting around," Tratz answered.
<We're safe, I think,> At added in thought-speak so as to maintain the freedom from suspicion.
"He's probably somewhere upstairs," Andros explained, "He was in the area when we left; he can't have gone far, and he wouldn't stay in the tavern at all hours of the day." An attendant moved over toward the table. Andros was about to wave him away, when At gave another thought-speak message: <You think we can ask him?>
"We're satisfied for now," Andros said to the attendant, "But if you could tell us about someone that has been here recently..."
"It's my job if I speak of private matters," the attendant said, quickly scurrying off before a threat could be leveled at him.
"It's an odd day when an Andalite shows up on Onyx." The words came from a tall, ox-man creature that walked over to the table, a helmeted tentacle creature by his side.
"No Andalites here, to my knowledge," Andros took up the oxman's conversation, "Just us stopping by until the next part of our journey is given to us." The oxman chuckled.
"I've got a few Titan bugs upstairs that seemed pretty agitated just before you came in," he said with confidence, "I'll bet my spear one of you three isn't what you appear." There came a soft mutter from the direction of At, and a telepathic message reached Tratz and Andros.
<Buu blocks magic.> So Kejek had tried to do something to the oxman and failed...
"Is that our guy?" Tratz asked quickly to Andros, secretly indicating a door at the back of the room. Andros gave a glance in that direction, catching sight of Nijam over the sea of aliens, and he seemed in no mood to chat.
"Diverting my attention?" the oxman said, his sneer revealing none-too-menacing teeth, "I won't be falling for that so easily." He made cautious examinations of each of the three at the table, and quickly added "... and I guess one of you has connections to Titan, too? What a day..." The tentacle creature swirled its tentacles anxiously, and the oxman had a hand casually at the spear that was fastened to his side. By now, Nijam was halfway across the room, and the look on the oxman's face was something of curiocity mingled with a dangerous excitement.


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OOC: Awe, I had to do some dragging out. . It seems out of character if Tratz doesn't do something here, so... do as you will?