My RPG

[Wolfstar]

The warriors instantly set out from the planet in the Klidore system, setting their sights on the planet Klidore itself. "I can see why you guys couldn't just teleport straight there," Gohan commented, almost wincing from the assualt of power that met them as they left the atmosphere of the unknown planet they were on, relying on a combination of Miliardo's technology and Kone's magic abilities to shield them from the vaccum of space. "That power is intense, to say the least. I hope everyone is okay."

"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?" Miliardo asked, trying to piece together a plan in his mind.

"I think it would be best if we went straight for the head honcho himself," Gohan replied after taking a moment to consider the options. It seemed it was either that or help in the fight against the massively oppressive force, and Gohan doubted they could do much good over there, especially if they would still have to deal with Clidax afterwards.

"Straight to the root of the problem..." Miliardo nodded in agreement. "Everyone, we have to slow down a bit," he told them as the red, black, and blue sphere of Klidore grew to fill most of their field of vision. "If we enter the atmosphere going too fast, we'll burn up. Personally, that doesn't sound like a favorable way to end the day to me." The group complied and before much more time elapsed, they found themselves on the jagged, rocky surface of Planet Klidore itself.

"Now to go knock on Clidax's door and end this insanity," Gohan muttered as he spotted the massive tower in the distance.

***

OOC: Hopefully I'll actually write a good post in the near future...

[Wolfstar]

"How long until this floating chunk of space dirt makes it to Earth?"

"Terry! You shouldn't talk that way about the Library!" The blonde woman severed the link from the terminal that sat in front of her, shaking her head from side to side. "Besides, John already made it to Earth by now, and I'm sure he's made contact with whatever forces exist there to join the fight. Xain, have you heard from him yet?"

"No Mrs. Tracce, I have not," a man in white and green robes replied, turning away from a viewport to face the other two. "The sensors detected his presence on Earth, but soon after he arrived, I lost track of him completely... And within moments I detected a large scale spike coming from planet Klidore."

"Freakin' great!" Terry shouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest, in effect hiding the emblem on his shirt with the letters 'TW' inscribed. "So the Blast Man goes missing and Clidax lets his rabbid puppy dog from hell out for a snack? What other good news do you have for us, Xain?"

"An unidentified force has obtained the Rings of Power, the Time Matrix is missing, I am unable to contact Energon, and several new powerful factions have recently arrived on Earth," Xain told him without emotion.

"I really didn't want to know all of that..." Terry muttered, moving his hands from in front of him to his side, where one hand rested on the handle of his gun and the other went to the spot that held the remains of his time warper. "I remember the good ol' days... it was just me beatin' the tar out of Robo-Destroyer... then Tracce had to get me involved in his Heroic Union and all that and my life went to hell in a handbag..."

"Stop complaining," the blonde woman, Mrs. Kathryn Tracce, snapped. "For being the guy that lead the World Force Officers in the future, I would have expected you to whine less."

"Sorry... just having a bad day," Terry replied. "I've felt pretty useless after my warper got broke for good..."

"Worry not, Time Warper," Xain told him, "we should be arriving in the Solar System within the next 10 hours, and Earth by the next 11. We will find Energon, and then you will be able to put all of this right."

"I sure hope so..."

[chibi cajones]

"Do you know anything about the Yasha-Tabe?"

"... No," Kejek answered.

"All I know is the vague stuff that Dende said," Kairin said, "But..."

"Wait," Kejek said, raising his wand as he stopped walking. Kairin stopped, keeping his quad blade drawn and in a defensive position.

"Sense anything?" Kejek asked, keeping his voice low.

"It's all vague," Kairin answered, "But we should probably be ready to jump." Kejek nodded and scanned the uneven ground that surrounded them. After finding nothing loose enough to manipulate from afar, he pulled out his coin, careful to keep it concealed from sight.

"Now!" Kairin shouted, jumping into the air and coming around behind Kejek in time to slash away a bolt of energy that had been heading for his back. At that moment a group of half a dozen creatures that were either robotic or wearing robotic suits came running out from the cover of the uneven mountainside and surrounded the two, a somewhat blocky-looking warrior with an enlarged arm amid them, wielding a sword.

"Keep the circle and attack," the warrior commanded. The quantrons moved in quickly, forcing Kejek to raise his wand and put up a defensive barier to throw them back.

"You're supposed to cover me," Kejek called to Kairin, who had just planted his foot into the torso of one of the enemies to send it flying. He then turned and charged for another that was assaulting Kejek's barier, slashing it aside with his quad blade.

Ecliptor stepped closer, his head suddenly detaching from his body and floating about a foot above it. Green beams of light shot from his eyes at Kairin, who took a deep burn to his left arm before spinning, knocking away several quantrons in the process. He then flew at Ecliptor, holding the quadblade so that it absorbed the next blast. Eclitpor's head and body rejoined in time for Kairin to release the caught blast at him, but Ecliptor blocked with his sword. Kairin spun to the side, slashing with the quad blade, which Eclitpor easily blocked. Kairin then came in and locked blades with Ecliptor for a moment before jumping back And flying for another side of the Quantron crowd, attacking each of them with such speed and force that they were scattered.

"Don't think I don't recognize your energy," Kairin shouted when he had enough room to turn back to Ecliptor, "You were there when that dragon caught Katar!"

"Remarkable senses for a human," Ecliptor commented. Before he could respond further, Kairin put away the quad blade and threw his arms outward.

"Dragonfly Attack!" The built up energy rushed at Ecliptor, knocking him off of his feet and further scattering quantrons that were too close. Kejek then rushed over and grabbed Kairin's arm.

"It's time to go," he declared, and there was a loud crack as he and Kairin vanished from the scene.


They reappeared just south of where Elohssa, Kyu and Shaoten were walking.

"Dende's group has moved," Elohssa informed Kairin and Kejek, "And it looks like the enemy is disoriented. We should all move inside now before they can regroup." Kejek nodded.

"I just hope Dende can keep track of what we're doing."


In a few seconds, the group had reached the inside of the Resistance base, undetected by the UAE.


*****

Again with the crappy endings and too-long posts. But yeah... You can have your people enter now too, Wolfstar... I think we established enough cover, and from here things should probably get moving... I just don't think I can do more until I know where everyone else is.

[chibi cajones]

Shairo had fallen out of Super Saiyan and was attempting to keep from losing energy while he sat next to At. Even if At managed to use Buu's powers to heel him, Shairo was out of the battle, but he wasn't quitting until At was in Buu form.

Terra Dax wasn't having an easy time regaining a good stance as the poison combined with Atomic Blast Man's attack left his leg more handycapped with each passing second. This didn't stop Terra Dax from taking out his fury, however, since at the moment his other limbs were still usable and is incredible energy was still mind-numbing. At had enough time to get back to his normal state, the effort of such rapid morphing leaving him gasping for air as he began the move to Buu's form.

In an attempt to buy more time, Trunks took to the air, flying hornet-like around Terra Dax. He didn't waste energy in attacking--only dodging Terra Dax's angry attacks, which became increasingly difficult as Terra Dax regained some semblence of composure.

Shairo's senses were too blurred to keep up with Trunks's movements by the time At was fully in Buu form. A couple seconds later, Buu's powers took care of that problem, and Shairo blinked his eyes back into focus. He didn't stand however--to do so would have been a waste of energy.

"Thanks," he said to At, "Now hurry." The pink blob that was Buu's body lifted into the air and rushed to where Yabu had fallen, quickly administering his heeling powers. Finally, he threw out his antennae, extending it to wrap around Tratz and pull him out of the temple wall.

****
OOC: Umm... I think writing that Tratz was heeled is hard to do without sounding redundant, so consider him restored unless you just want to pick up on it. So yeah... we've got our firepower back?

[Wolfstar]

"Thanks... whoever you are," Tratz muttered as he clenched his fists tight. "Now it's time for me to get back to business." With Terra Dax focused on Trunks, Tratz had no difficulty amassing a large ball of energy in front of him. "This should serve to get his attention." The Ni Asyas warrior thrust has hands forward, sending the energy ball directly at Terra Dax's head. It smashed into the beast, causing it to stumble against the wall on the far side of the temple, seemingly shaking the planet at its very foundation.

Before Tratz could follow up his strike, he too was blasted by a ball of energy, smashing him through a pillar and to the ground. He sat up in time to see the priests focusing their energy together to build another ball of energy. He jumped over the second one and kicked a piece of debris upon landing back on the ground, stiking one of the priests in the middle in the torso and knocking him to the ground. Trunks swooped down low, picking up one of the priests before taking off into the air again to avoid Terra Dax's thrashing tail. Trunks threw the priest at his comrades, knocking two of them down and only leaving 3 standing.

Trunks and Atomic Blast Man both came to land near Tratz for a second. "Aim for his leg," the super hero told Tratz. "The shape shifter over there poisoned Terra Dax with a cobra bite to the leg. That's our one advantage right now."

"Well then... what are we waiting for?" Tratz asked, an arrogant smirk crossing his face. "This monster is up past his bed time..."

[Wolfstar]

Gohan and the others lifted off the ground, choosing to make their entrance at the opening near the top of the tower, rather than attempt to go through the front door. They raced up the length of the large tower only to find three people waiting for them at the balcany that jutted out from the opening.

"Miliardo... I am surprised at your betrayal. Especially after I saved your life," the strongest of the three said, setting the point of his large sword on the ground in front of him. His red and black armor already seemed to have a dent in the chestplate, as if he had already been struck, Gohan decided. "Morlagan, Fralagan... would you show these guests out. I'm afraid I'm already entertaining others." A sinister smirk spread across his face as the green and white clad man and woman both unleashed a high-powered barage of energy on the group.

Gohan and Miliardo both met the twin blasts of energy head on, knocking them away from the group with tremendous force. However, the action left them open allowing the man, Morlagan to strike Gohan in the torso and the woman, Fralagan to attack Miliardo with a hammerblow technique. Gohan dodged a second attack, but Miliardo was kicked higher up in the air, leaving him completely open for a third attack. Fralagan hastily summoned a ball of energy and threw it at Miliardo, who managed to bring his tumbling to a stop. He struck the blast with his bent sword, cutting the ball in half and sending the two pieces spiralling off behind him, out of control.

"It seems you lot have a bit of skill to you," Fralagan said with an excited smile. "This could be tons of fun, brother."

***

OOC: Yeah... uh... you can have any of your people attack if you want. I think Clidax will mostly stay out of it for now, unless something is directed at him.

[chibi cajones]

OOC: I may puppeteer a few lines, but I'll try to just move my people so that you guys can still have room with a ... ur... narrower? Opening. Or... never mind, I can't describe it, so posting I shall go!


**********


"These abilities are astounding," Ioru said, observing the progression of the fight between Gotenks and Captain Krysalor, "Deflecting crystals is no easy task, unless you design them." He glanced around; Aldran wasn't exactly relaxed, but he was less than astonished. Goton seemed more outwardly relaxed, though he seemed focused on the fight--it seemed that he could make more sense of the lightning-fast movements of the combatants than Ioru could, and he was undoubtedly learning from them. And below was the bizarre cell where the woman was being held, behind a barier that defied logic, so far as Ioru could imagine. It was easily enough to make one's head spin.

"If I could just get closer without getting crushed..." Ioru said, observing the violence with which Krysalor or Gotenks would move upon receiving or delivering an attack.

"Don't interfere," Goton instructed, "It's his fight."

"Shouldn't we be more worried about freeing the prisoner?" Ioru objected, "Prolonging the fight only..."

"You have to understand the difference between a warrior and a savior," Aldran said, "It's possible to be both, but from what I can tell Esrevni isn't a place for warriors." Ioru sighed, his eyes still drifting across the entirety of the scene in steady intervals.

"Does anyone object to calling help on opening that barier? I'm not much of a technition, but my Copilot should be able to tell us something else." He brought his hand to his chest, but pulled it away empty. ". . . I'll have to send a messenger crystal... apparently this section of the facility blocks transmissions."


*

~:. . . I'm not fond of the idea of taking another step in this place,:~ Ioru's copilot spoke into his console, recording a response, ~:But if you can hold out for a minute or so, someone even better should show up. . . The EIA will probably find their way inside by the time the crystal gets back to you.:~ He pushed a couple buttons, and the small crystal was released from the ship's right roof cannon, moving somewhat slowly toward the crystal from which it had emerged moments earlier. Once it had reentered the prison cave, it picked up speed greatly until it found its target: the barrel of Ioru's blaster, where it snapped into place and replayed the copilot's message.

Indeed, by the time the crystal had returned to Ioru, two sleak, black recon ships had descended from the ceiling of the entry chamber, circling the carnige-ridden room in search of a landing spot. When one could not be found, one of the ships hovered in a corner, allowing one of its passengers to jump into the room and land on a spot big enough to stand without touching the remains of the guards that littered the chamber. Soon a third ship entered, and after some coordination, half a dozen black-uniformed operatives were on the ground, quickly at work examining the carnige and the room itself. These first six were of the same race, their faces similar in color to various human skintones, though with a shinier, firmer look and tougher feel, and their scalps were marked by a thicker layer of colored chitin, mostly black with some brown and red here and there, antennae on all of them. Most had their antennae flat against their heads, but given the nature of the area, two of the agents held their antennae aloft to learn as much as they could about their surroundings.

The door to Ioru's cruiser opened and the copilot greeted one of the agents in the entrance. After relaying what he knew, the Copilot returned to the controlroom to wait for further action. The agent assured him that several other ships were circling the facility, and it would only be a matter of time before a larger team entered to extend the investigation further.

Indeed, another pair of ships entered the chamber shortly, releasing four more agents--this time another humanoid with green scales rather than hair among them--and they quickly coordinated a strategy with the rest of the team.

The facility had been found, and with what they knew, the Esrevni Intelligence Agency was prepared to launch a full-scale mission into the heart of the prison.


*****

OOC: Meh. Took too long. Yeah, they'll probably arrive near the battle shortly; anyone can have that happen in their next post with this scenario. I don't expect massive interference in the fight, but I do think there'll be stuff to work with... and I do recall there were other Hermalyans in the facility somewhere... so nya. They'll be busy, but there's more stuff. So have fun.

[chibi cajones]

Yabu stood in silence, attempting to recover his energy to its maximum. Although the advantage was on their side, Terra Dax was far too powerful to attack head on without a plan, and he assumed that Trunks or one of the others was already working on a strategy, if not already implementing it.

He finally floated closer to the others that were still on the ground and landed.

"I think if we have two concentrate enough energy on one side," he said as though he had been speaking all along, "We might be able to do enough damage to escape. We'll need someone to run enough interference to prevent it from breaking our attack. If you have a better idea... I'd be glad to hear it."


*****

OOC: Meh...


*****

Kone looked at Clidax coolly. "Is this how you treat all guests, or is this the custom for the rulers of planets?" Her eyes had shifted to a color between gold and brown during the trip to the tower, and they didn't seem to be ready to change either way.

***

OOC: Blah! I just thought of something useful to do with that though, so I'll leave it.

*****

Liquaro and Rani stood back to back and vanished, reappearing between Morlagan and Fralagan. Liquaro launched a tight beam of energy at Fralagan's side, while Rani did the same toward Morlagan. The attacks did little damage, but were meant only to provide a flanking assault. Before either Klidorian could counter attack, Liquaro and Rani leapt for their respective targets and unleashed twin flurries of energy-glowing kicks. Rani was struck in the chest, Liquaro hit with a small ki blast. Both landed where they had begun, back-to-back, but still ready to continue.

***
OOC: Bleh, bleh, bleh... alt+s.

[chibi cajones]

"Hold your fire," one of the people in the tunnel called, "It looks like allies..."

"I didn't expect to be back so soon," Goten said, smiling faintly toward the half of the team of warriors that had gathered near the entrance of the resistance base, anticipating possible discovery by the United Alliance of Evil. Needless to say, there was much relief when the intruders turned out to be allies... allies that had managed to throw the UAE off of their trail long enough to get into the facility.

Between the technology that the Freedom Fighter Alliance base had and the senses of several of its inhabitants, the resistance had managed to keep track of the general progression of events over the past few days. Still, there were several details that were unclear, and with the arrival of many that had witnessed many turning points first-hand, a great many mysteries were resolved. Word was already beginning to spread that the Hermalyan empire had been over thrown, and soon the few local occupiers that remained in cities across the Earth would be forced out and reconstruction could begin.

However, many mysteries still remained: Cyba's fate was unknown, the appearance of the UAE was tied only to a mysterious wildcard, and of course there was the matter of Klidore.

Since reaching Klidore before the oppressive energy there could be lifted would waste time and energy, the councel turned to handling the reappearance of the United Alliance of Evil, which seemed to still be moving in the mountains above. But that wasn't all, for the gold-clad monkey warrior that had interfered in the attack on Dende was also recognized.

"Goldar! How could he be back on Earth?"

"I take it you know of this guy too, Adam?" Goten asked.

"Yes," the now middle-aged human among the gathered members of the resistance answered, "And if he's here, he probably isn't alone. In fact, I don't think he could get here unless something seriously wrong happened elsewhere. Goldar was a top warrior that worked for Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, an alien couple that spent the past dozen or so millennia battling the forces of good for control of the universe. I know at one time they were affiliated with the United Alliance of Evil, but they always acted on their own. I think we could handle them if they attack Earth again... but if their dispute with the UAE turns into an alliance, we'll have a lot of trouble on our hands."

"So they just randomly came back to Earth when the Hermalyan presence was decreased?" Kyu asked.

"I don't think so," Adam answered, "They must have a bigger plan than just renewing their attack... otherwise they wouldn't have risked letting you see them to protect Dende. They're definitely up to something that should worry us."

"Why don't we head them off before they can cause more trouble?" one of the younger warriors, an Emiemarc, asked.

"We have a lot to deal with at the present," Elohssa intervened, "There is a need to investigate the situation on Klidore. The United Alliance of Evil is wasting no time in getting their shot at us, and we have the apparent plot of Zedd's. We are many, but so are they."

"There may be one way to help our odds," Adam said, "But I don't know if there's enough time." He revealed an object slightly larger than a calculator, the slightly uneven seams in the chassy revealing that it was hand-made recently. "There is an item that will help us, but it's currently in five pieces. Two of them are here, and I don't know about the others. A couple others and I have been trying to set up this device to locate them, but it doesn't want to work from in here."

"All right," Videl said, "So we find a way to use it without getting caught. It shouldn't take long to find the other pieces if someone that can travel quickly does the searching. We just have to find a way to get around the UAE."

"I can take it up without drawing too much attention," Kejek said, "But someone a little more aerodynamic will have to come with me."

"Kyu, Shaoten," Elohssa said, "You two are at full power--"

"No way," Shaoten interrupted, "If that monster energy on Klidore lifts, we're going up there to find Dad."

"Yabu would agree that the two of you can do more help here," Elohssa said, "And for all we know the search could end before we can get to Klidore." Shaotten's eyebrows lowered and tightened in frustrated defeat.

"I think the rest of us that aren't going should stay here and watch," Alex suggested, "We should avoid fighting again so soon if at all possible, and we can still learn more."

The discussion didn't last much longer, and soon the group divided into a number of individual conversations.

"Adam?" It was Kairin, who had made his way to Adam during the dispersing before he could give the "radar" to Kejek.

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard of the Yasha-tabe?" Kairin asked.

"Once," Adam answered, "An old... mentor mentioned them. All I know is that they're from a Filanzian planet and that they feed on evil spirits."

"So would they normally be able to feed on a person that is on Earth, but with a spirit body?"

"If the person was evil, probably," Adam answered. Kairin didn't answer immediately.

"What if the person wasn't evil, but... angry?"

"I don't know," Adam said, "I take it this happened though?"

"You could say that," Kairin answered, his voice quieter, almost angry.

"I've told you all that I know," Adam said, "If the spirit is truly good at heart, it will probably be able to hold out for a while... if you could find a way to purge the evil from it, the Yasha-tabe would probably be forced to release the good part."

"You wouldn't know a way to do that, would you?"

"A couple," Adam answered, "But I don't know if either is accessible right now. If this happened during the battle, you can wait until we start our search for the crystal pieces, right?" Kairin sighed and stepped back while Adam handed the radar to Kejek and explained its workings. Even though only a few minutes had passed, time seemed to be dragging on, and with it the chances of saving everyone that had been lost--Katar, Shairo, At, Trunks, Yabu, Cyba, Gotenks, Goton--seemed to grow smaller.

****

OOC: I need to learn how to shorten my posts. .

[Wolfstar]

'That golden monkey and the ugly fish-face guy are already really tense,' Flayk thought to himself as he looked down at them from his perch in a tree above. 'I bet I can get them to go all out, and they wouldn't even know I'm here, as long as I stay invisible and keep quiet.'

Flayk landed on the ground below lighlty, not even allowing his feet to make any noise upon contacting the ground. 'Now if I time this right...' Waiting for Goldar to point with his sword, a gesture Flayk saw him use several times during the exchange thus far, Flayk kicked the back of the hilt, causing the sword to thrust forward at Darkonda's chest. Darkonda barely leapt out of the way, snarling as he drew back.

"You... how dare you!" he yelled as he flung himself at Goldar. Flayk held back a laugh as he cleared the scene, choosing to hide up in his perch once more.

[Wolfstar]

Tratz floated higher into the air, keeping his full attention on Terra Dax's movements. The beast was slowing, but it was also focusing more on making all actions more diliberate. The monster was learning how they fought, which even in its weakened condition would make it an even more dangerous foe.

"You guys do the energy thing, I'm going to keep Terra Dax distracted,' Tratz told them, rushing at the monster before the others could respond. Instead of attacking outright, Tratz circled around, waiting for Terra Dax to strike at him. A hand came down to smash him against the ground, but Tratz increased his speed, giving himself just enough of a burst to fly out in between Terra Dax's fingers, then dipped back low again to avoid Terra Dax's tail.

Trunks and Atomic Blast Man began building up as much energy as they could. The fight had gone on long enough... they intended to end it. However, they were cut short when they noticed Terra Dax drawing in a massive amount of energy and bending down in a crouch that left the beast's head close to their level. Terra Dax opened its mouth and roared, forming a massive ball of energy in the opened jaws in almost an instant.

"That can kill us all!" Trunks shouted as the ball fired from Terra Dax's mouth, aimed directly at Trunks and the super hero. Out of reflex alone, Trunks fired his gathered energy to intercept the incoming assualt, with Atomic Blast Man soon following suit. When the points of energy collided, Terra Dax's energy ball erupted, surrounding all of them in a painful torrent of harmful energy "Can't... let it... win..." Trunks groaned as he wrapped himself in his own energy in an attempt to prevent as much injury as possible.

When the energy deminished, Trunks dropped to his hands and knees. He raised his head just enough to see around him. A pile of debris shifted a few meters away with an arm reaching up, the torn red and blue fabric indicating that it was Atomic Blast Man. A heavy, earth-shaking thud signaled Terra Dax's loss of leg control. The beast layed splayed out on the ground of the temple, the oppressive energy force slowly but surely weakening as the body began to change from flesh back to stone. Tratz landed in front of Trunks and almost instantly fell over, releasing Shairo and At in his Majin Buu form as he swayed to regain his footing.

"So... looks like we pulled through," Trunks muttered as exhaustion struck him.

***

OOC: I'll let you decide what happened with Yabu.

[Wolfstar]

Gotenks did not allow Krysalor to plan his actions, chosing to rush at the Klidorian warrior with his fists flying, striking repeatedly. Krysalor pulled back, but found himself pressed up against the wall before ducking a blow aimed directly at his head. Gotenks's fist cracked the wall of unknown substance, but did not break through it. Reacting on the opening, Krysalor kicked off the wall with both feet, tackling Gotenks. They both tumbled across the floor and through a piece of machinery, which exploded as they bounced out of the other side.

"You're not as tough as that Aldran kid made it sound," Gotenks sneered as he found himself with the upper hand in the struggle. The Saiyan drove his fist into Krysalor's chest again, pinning him to the ground as the rolling stopped. With few options left, Krysalor grabbed Gotenks by the head and slammed it down on top his own. Gotenks fell back, blinking away stars for a brief second before kicking Krysalor back while the Klidorian attempted to stand up.

"That's enough!" the Klidorian shouted as an explosive bubble of raw energy radiated from him, securing room for him catch his breath for a moment. "I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself so far, Saiyan, because now I'm about to tear you up, bub!" The cracks in Krysalor's torso and chest fused back together, creating a fresh crystaline body. Two large crystals rose from his shoulder blades, rising until they were nearly higher than the top of his head. His color shifted from a pale orange to nearly completely clear as new crystal growth sprouted from his knees and elbows, forming crystal blades about half a foot long each. Smaller crystal spikes formed on his knuckles, each on around an inch long and very sharp.

In a blur of motion, Krysalor darted from his energy bubble, raising his palm and striking Gotenks on the bridge of his nose. The Saiyan recoiled as his head snapped back, bringing his arm up to block a second strike before phasing out of view for a split second. He appeared above Krysalor, aiming a kick in between Krysalor's shoulder crystals, but the Klidorian also vanished. He returned to view several paces away, a smirk covering his crystaline face. "Looks like you can't hold up against me anymore, bub. Surrender to me and I'll make sure my torture sessions last less than an hour each."

[Wolfstar]

The Rogue surrounded Goti in a wall of fire, but the Chaotic Super Saiyan pushed the flames back with a bubble of Chaos Energy. The Rogue was knocked off balance, stumbling backwards a few steps before regaining his composure. He summoned spikes from the ground, attempting to skewer the young man where he stood. Goti kicked off one of the stone spikes and blasted through others as he navigated the maze that formed before him in an effort to reach his foe.

Just as Goti flew out of the maze of spikes, the Rogue's fist bashed him back into it, sending him crashing through several more of them. Thinking quickly, Goti directed a blast of Chaos Energy at the ground, proppelling him upward and away from the spear-like stone spikes the Rogue conjured up.

The Rogue reached out with his palm facing the ascending Goti. His hand detached from the body in a blur of motion, streaking off toward Goti until the fingers gripped the warrior. With Goti secured, the hand dropped back to the top of the tower. <Seru Kai is closed to you, Walkers of the Mist.>

"We'll just have to see about that!" Goti shouted as green Chaos Energy shone through the gaps in the Rogue's hand that grasped him. In a much more violent flash of green, the hand that gripped him was reduced to nothing more than dust. "We've come to make sure the Time Matrix is safe, and we won't stop until we've done just that."

[Wolfstar]

Gohan caught Morlagan's hand before the man slammed it down on Rani's face. The two broke into a thunderous chain of punches and kicks, each countering the other move for move. Trying to gain an advantage, Gohan ducked below a high kick, catching Morlagan's leg as he lowered it. Using leverage, Gohan flipped Morlagan on his back with bone-crushing force, cracking part of the stone floor beneath him.

With a grin, Morlagan pushed his hands out, throwing a small ball of energy at Gohan's face. Gohan fell back, but twisted around to land on his feet in time to call on the powers of the Ring of Stone to pull a wall of rock in front of him.

"This guy is stronger than Miliardo," Gohan muttered as he broke through the wall of rock and landed a punch on Morlagan's chin. The man vanished before hitting the ground, reappearing above Gohan and rocketing into the Half-Saiyan, knocking both of them off the balcany of Clidax's Tower.

***

Clidax rested a hand on the pommel of his sword, his eyes barely brushing over Kone to regard her presense. "Aren't you going to help them?" he asked as he focused on the battle at hand. "Or are you here to repent for your betrayal of Cort? I could use your magic in my army, even though your physical skills are a bit lacking. Perhaps those could be trained as well." His voice trailed off as he saw Gohan activate the Ring of Stone.

"It appears similar to the Rings of Power that Hermalyan Flayk promised me... the same rings that ended up in the hands of that cloaked man. Tell me, witch... what do you know of that man with the rings fighting Morlagan?"

***

OOC: I think that could turn into an interesting revelation of some sort... I just don't really know what yet...

***

Fralagan kicked Miliardo's chest, throwing him back at Liquaro. Liquaro caught Miliardo, then jumped out of the way as Fralagan lashed out at the two of them with an intense energy wave.

"Come now boys... you are going to have to step up your game if you are to keep up with me. I want to enjoy this... Please, give me your best."

"I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you," Miliardo said after Liquaro let go of him. "I hated you even when I was in the service of Clidax. You have no redeeming quality... you do not fight with purpose."

"Maybe some of those repressed memories of yours are finally starting to surface," Fralagan replied with a smirk, more energy crackling at her finger tips. "I was surprised when you decided to join Clidax. Especially after what Morlagan, Commando Joe, and I had done to you so long ago..."

Miliardo pulled his sword in front of him once more. "What happened on Earth? What did you three do?" His questions were met only by Fralagan's high-pitched laughter. "Tell me!" he shouted as he rushed at her, his bent bladed sword in an attack position next to his body.

Fralagan unleashed her built up energy, throwing Miliardo against the wall where he dropped back, propped up against the wall behind him. Another kick to the chest sent the air rushing out of his lungs as she bent down lower, putting her head just above his. "I think it may be time to finish what we started so long ago, human. I'm glad you switched sides again... I never would have had this chance otherwise!"

[chibi cajones]

Kone's first response to Clidax's question was to regard Gohan: truthfully she knew little of him other than what she had seen first hand over the past few days, although she had learned some of his family and had come to understand the legendary nature of his past. She also remembered how he had finished off Donnyr--the very person to whom she had at one time been close while on Hermalya. But Kone's mind quickly reached a conclusion: she was, at present, subordinant to no one.

"I know that he is a warrior of honor," she said, "that fights only to defend and liberate. I did witness the invisible soldier of my old emperor's army on Earth... but even if I knew more, it would be fit only for ears that have earned my trust." She stopped. Trust certainly had become one of her most horded gifts ever since arriving on Earth. "... Why do you desire these things?" Kone finally asked, referring to all which, in a mere two statements, Clidax had expressed desire for.

***

Liquaro was quick to phase behind Fralagan, delivering a knife-handed strike to her back. The attack resulted only in Fralagan's elbow snapping into Liquaro's forehead, knocking him back.

*** OOC: Blargh, I can't decide what else to do... I wanted to do something more than that though. *sigh*.


*****

Yabu let the shimmering cloud of energy around his torso withdraw into the darkness as he regained his breath. Terra Dax's final attack was far from a laughing matter, even for the undead saiyan.

"Are we going to wait here until someone with better transportation capabilities is free?" Yabu asked the rest of the group, his voice somewhat diminished, "It seems that as a group we should recover energy before fighting again, though it seems some that might transport us are fighting nearby..."

*** OOC: I lose again! .

*****

When the uncomfortable sensation of being completely pressed by space itself subsided, Kyu, Shaoten and Kejek were standing in what had apparently been a section of thin woods not too long ago. The straight patterns in the stumps and cleanly cut trunks scattered behind them, along with the clear distance to the clear pavement path across a field of ditches and grass made it evident that a large force had been working here--Hermalyan by the style of the slashed treestumps.

Kejek sighed and pulled out the device that Adam had given him. Kyu and Shaoten said nothing. Although they would ordinarily had asked questions about where they had arrived, they had more pressing matters on their minds.

"We're in luck," he said dryly, "I can't tell if it's good or bad though. It looks like all three crystal fragments are in the same place, about a thousand miles to the west."

"We couldn't get closer?" Shaoten asked, "I don't mind flying... but it'll take longer to fly than teleport."

"I can only appearate to places that I know," Kejek replied, "And this is the closest place I've got to where those crystals are."

"And I guess we're going to have to carry you?" Kyu asked, almost retorically.

"I think I can conjur a temporary tether; we'll just have to hope it can withstand your speed."

Kyu and Shaoten both turned to face westward--opposite the dreggs of rising sunlight--and rose syncranously into the air. Kejek moved the locater to his left hand and pulled out his wand, flicking it at both Kyu and Shaoten. They both felt something like unto an invisible rope tightening about their waists, which they took as the signal to take off.

The rope held just fine; it was the wand that was in most peril. Kejek managed to form more invisible rope that ran about the wand, entangling it with his arm and spreading out the force of the flight.

"... You feel that?" Kyu asked without turning his head, only a few seconds in the air.

"How couldn't I?" Shaoten shot back, "That crazy power is fading... a lot of good that does, though; I still can't tell what condition anyone up there is in, and we're too far out to teleport there anyway..."

"He's stronger than both of us combined," Kyu said, almost as to assure someone, "I get the feeling he's in perfect control..."

"A lot of crazy stuff has been happening," Shaoten reminded him, "I'm not worried about the fighting..."

"... Explosions...?" Kejek's voice was all but lost on the wind. Kyu and Shaoten slowed, turning to look back.

"What's up?" Kyu asked.

"Looks like a battle below," Kejek said, "Some flashes ... and now that there's less wind I can hear something..."

"Definitely a battle," Shaoten agreed.

"We're on a mission," Kyu pointed out, "The sooner we complete it, the sooner we get to find out what happened to Dad and the others."

"We're only about thirty miles from the fragments," Kejek announced, "And it looks like they're moving eastward... maybe even toward this place." Shaoten looked downward.

"Let's get closer," she said with a sigh, "We'd be better to continue on foot anyway."

Before they reached the ground, they could pick out some peculiarities about the battle. It was taking place on the outskirts of a city on the edge of a small region of desert, backdropped by a Hermalyan fort that had seen completion some time in the past five years. There were certainly Hermalyan soldiers on one side of the fight--apparently one of the small isolated groups that hadn't been ran out of the region in the short time since the fall of the empire. It was the otherside that was mysterious, however. Their energies were awkward--not even real ki, but a sort of evil force that animated them and gave them strength. From the air, little could be seen of them other than gray and silver bodies. Even when the three had landed, the group fighting the Hermalyans was hard to identify. They seemed to be humanoid enough, but they were entirely of a gray material, though their torsos seemed almost armor-like. They weren't exceptionally large, but they still seemed built for large-scale melee, moving around rapidly and obstructing the brutish attacks of the Hermalyans while launching occasional kicks or lunges of their own. Their backs were to the three, who were on the edge of a narrow irrigation trench. Where they stood, Kyu, Shaoten and Kejek could easily here the whooshes of fiercely moving limbs and the whirs and rushes of discharged energy, but layered over all of that was an incoherent, tongue-wagging babbling, seeming to come from each of the gray fighters. When finally one of the things was knocked back by an unsceen attack and left prone behind the others, a little more detail could be seen, at least with Kyu and Shaoten's saiyan eyes. The creature's seemed to have faces, although they weren't quite human, perhaps even mask-like, but the same color as the rest of their bodies. A symbol seemed to be present on the creature's chest, and a little bit of squinting revealed that it was a Z imposed on a circle whose color blended well with the rest of the creature.

No sooner had the Z been identified than the creature was taken in light, disappearing into the dirt without a trace. Around that time, a female voice shouted over the babble and violence, yelling "You're finished! Hand it over!" The answer was a huge eruption of energy that took down three of the gray-silver troops, one of them rithing on the ground momentarily before bursting into pieces that quickly dissolved. In the opening created while the remaining two were down, a flash of a figure in gold was visible, but quickly lost in the mayhem of the battle.

"Any idea who they are?" Kyu asked, keeping his voice too low to carry to the combatants.

"Not with the UAE," Kejek answered, "At least, I don't think so... they're probably working for Lord Zedd, which means the local Hermalyan Lord has something that they want."

"We aren't going to choose sides, I hope?" Shaoten asked.

"I'd imagine that Zedd's forces will pull out when they get what they came for," Kejek answered, "But... that's all I can guess. We could try to stop them and risk getting unwanted attention, we could help them to free this place from Hermalyan control, or we could just go for the crystal fragments and report back to the base..."

A stray blast from the battle moved like a burst of air toward them, and Kyu raised a hand to disperse it.

"We need to decide quickly," Kyu said, scanning the line of fighters for another glimpse of their apparent leader in gold.


*****

OOC: Bleh... This took too long. .