Time Skip II -- History Rewritten, Part I
When Sarada returned home with Ishtar after three months of training on Earth, they were both immediately accosted by her younger brother and cousin. They seemed much more interested in Ishtar than in whatever Sarada had been doing the last few months. The moment they saw the blue Oni walk into the nursery behind Sarada, they flew up to her and started poking and prodding at her horns. While the Saiyan was irritated at their rudeness, she couldn't fault them. This was the first time they had ever seen anything like Ishtar before.
A stern look from Maiz stymied any further hands-on investigation the two young children may have had in mind. “Sorry,” they said in chorus.
Sarada shook her head and flopped down on the sofa. “It's been a long few months. I'm finally glad to be home. Nerds, this is my, ah, what was the word... husband? Right. This is my husband, Ishtar. Ishtar, this is my brother and cousin, Pinach and Rutaba. You already know Maiz.”
“Husband?” Pinach looked like he was on the cusp of asking what happened to her boyfriend when she cut him a dissuading look. “Well, it's nice to meet you, Ishtar.”
Rutaba ran out of the living room, then returned moments later with a flower necklace, which she handed to the Oni. “Me and my friends make these to give to visitors. We don't get a lot, though.”
Sarada filled her family in on what all they had been through in the last several months. She left out only the most explicit details of what she and Ishtar did, for the sake of the children. She spoke in detail about the vision she had while in Junjo bondage and how she was the one who offered the killing blow to Jagam. That still gave her confidence, but she wouldn't be supremely so until she trained with Ishtar in the Room of Time and Spirits. Assuming they got much training done. She was sure they were going to spend much of their time together in the bedroom.
Then again, considering they often left each other bloodied messes after only a few hours, a year's worth of that level of primal mating was sure to give Sarada some kind of zenkai boost.
She especially enjoyed telling Maiz that she ran into Enoki on the planet they crash-landed on. She recalled the two old bats being close before Enoki left to join the Galaxy Police.
They spent several hours there resting after their long trip, chatting and catching up with Sarada's family. Maiz was particularly intrigued by how affectionate Sarada was acting with Ishtar. No surprise, as the last time they spoke, the Oni had only said they were going to mate. It was obvious to the elder Saiyan that they had grown far too close to simply be bedmates.
When the two were alone, she asked her ward of their status. When she said she loved her, it came as little surprise. “Hmph. She's a good woman, that's for sure. And she obviously makes you happy, which is all I can and will ask for. Though, have you given thought to what you will do when the urge to have children hits?”
Sarada tried to resist. She really did. The mischievous smile on her lips made Maiz immediately regret asking. “She has a—” She was cut off by a raised hand.
“On second thought, I don't want to know. I'll just let you two figure it out when the time comes.”
“Aw. Well, I'm glad you're happy for us. I don't know if this will last or not – she's immortal and I'm not – but I'm going to enjoy every second I have with her. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without her.”
Maiz smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “You sound like I did when I met my life-mate. I think you two will be just fine. Besides, if you really wanted to, you can just use the dragonballs to wish for immortality.”
That was a thought she hadn't entertained. She wasn't even sure that was possible. Was it? The balls could resurrect the dead, though obviously with limitations, so why couldn't they grant a person eternal life? It was something to look into, certainly. Though, she'd have to wish for eternal youth also; what good was immortality if she spent the majority of it looking like an old geezer?
When nighttime fell, Sarada took Ishtar to her apartment so they could get some sleep. Her home was simple. There was some furniture, since she often had friends over, but there wasn't in the way of actual decoration. There weren't any pictures, no plants or flowers, the color scheme was simple, and the furniture was what one would expect of a teenager living on her own.
The [URL="https://i.imgtc.com/qv8Mo2r.jpg"]bedroom[/URL] was the same. The only difference was that there was a single photo on her bedside table: one of her and Avoca from when they were little girls, seven and nine respectively. That it was the only photo she had in her home spoke volumes about the kind of relationship the two shared. Even if they were no longer lovers – confirmed by Parsley stating that she was Avoca's lover now – they were still close friends.
Sarada kissed Ishtar passionately and pulled her down on the bed on top of her. As the two made love that night, Ishtar would find that Sarada's bed was much sturdier than any other bed they had mated on. It needed to be, otherwise, beds wouldn't last one night on Vocado.
When they finished, Sarada and Ishtar were absolutely wrecked, covered in blood, sweat, and other body fluids. The bed and the room in general were still intact.
When dawn rose, Sarada told Ishtar she had something to take care of, and to go to Maiz if she wanted to sight-see. She wasn't sure how the Saiyans in general would react to an Oni, something none of them had ever seen before.
She felt bad for leaving her lover, but this was something she had to do. She flew up to the summit of Mt. Oozaru. There, atop the snow covered mountain, was the [URL="https://i.imgtc.com/iiLTv8k.jpg"]Guardian's Temple[/URL], building built directly into the mountain itself. Its door was over four hundred feet high, and nearly impossible to open except for those with a special key or those of sufficient strength to push the door open. She was plenty strong enough, so there was no issue getting inside.
It had been five hundred years since anyone other than Sarada had been inside this place. It was covered on dust, snow, ice, and enough grime that made touching anything – even by accident – potentially detrimental to her health. [i]I should have brought some kind of breathing mask,[/i] she chided herself.
The [URL="https://i.imgtc.com/FUtbpIn.png"]interior of the temple[/URL] was constructed of stone. All stone, as that was the only thing that could support the immense weight of the statue above it without collapsing in on itself. The artificial lights had long stopped working, so Sarada had to use several ki balls to illuminate the corridors as they progressed through the temple.
She wasn't sure what she was looking for. Perhaps a place where the current guardian could convene with the ghosts of previous guardians, like it was at the Lookout on Earth. She wasn't even sure if such a thing existed in other guardian temples across the cosmos. What she did know was that Vocado needed a guardian again. And she had the perfect candidate.
Maiz, in her opinion, was perfect for the job. While reading Ceriac's journal, she came to realize that Vocado's guardian's main job was to keep the Saiyan race on the path of peace and dissuade them from giving into their more violent urges. Obviously, once Ceriac disappeared, Otatop IV had the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. This was their chance to really and truly cement them on the path to redemption. There was no one better at bringing out the best in a race of savages than Maiz.
She realized it was a lot to ask. Just from the tidbits Eva told about her duties, she could tell that being guardian of a planet was an full-time job. Even more so when said planet was inhabited by bloodthirsty fight-junkies like the Saiyans. However, that was why Sarada hoped Maiz would take the position. She was well-respected throughout the Empire for her positive work with the younger generations, plus she and Mato were of one accord. With them both in highly influential positions in the world, the Saiyans as a whole would surely – if not slowly – begin to shift their thinking to be more in line with how they used to be.
She hoped, anyway.
The corridors were dank and murky. The red illumination provided by her ki balls gave it an eerie presence, one that gave her a chill up her spine. The only sounds were her footsteps and whatever hushed words she shared with the empty space around her. She tried to keep her voice down out of concern that something would jump out at her. She wasn't afraid, of course, but was concerned.
[URL="https://i.imgtc.com/XX9xGL2.jpg"]Broken statues were lined up along the walls of the corridors[/URL], one every few hundred feet or so. They were mostly Saiyans, but she recognized the form of a Namekian among them. “These must be the former Guardians,” she commented in a hushed voice.
Hm.
She couldn't help but wonder what would lead Otatop to not only dismantle the guardian system, but also erase any and all mention of it from the history books. Not only that, but he completely changed the perception of Vocado, changing him from what he was – a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about his family, even to the point that he was willing to die just so the Saiyans could escape Glacier – to a bloodthirsty savage who loved fighting and killing.
It was all to suit the wicked king's ideology, but why go to those lengths? Why damn his entire race to five centuries of bloodshed? Why was he so different from the others?
Time Skip II -- History Rewritten, Part II
There were so many questions and nowhere for Sarada to get answers. It was all so frustrating. It didn't need to be this way. The Saiyans could have been a force of good in the universe, like Vocado intended. Tasure told her all about how Vocado really was. He wanted his race to help people once they learned how to travel space on their own, not harm them. He certainly hated hearing about how they enslaved people. It was a gross slap in his face after nearly giving his life to free them from enslavement.
“I just wish someone could give me some answers.”
“Perhaps I can, young one,” replied a mysterious voice.
Sarada looked up, eyes wide and startled, and flared her aura. “Who's there?! Show yourself, coward!”
The voice, which sounded distinctly feminine, laughed. “Please child, spare me the bravado. It's been over six hundred years, but it still sounds the same.” With that, the disembodied voice materialized an intangible form.
[img]https://i.imgtc.com/tXDt7hA.png[/img]
Sarada felt her mouth beginning to drop. Not because the woman's face and form were nigh flawless, but because her forehead was massive. She really needed some bangs to mitigate it. She didn't mention that, mainly because it was far too late to do anything about it. Could ghosts even change their hairstyles? A question to consider later; for now... “You know why Otatop changed everything about our culture on a whim?”
The specter nodded. “I do. It's actually quite simple. You see, in every society, there come along people who run contrary to the established order. Some see the current ways of doing things as unnecessary and outdated. Others simply want to change things to suit their own viewpoint. The latter was Otatop's mindset. From this temple, I saw everything. He was much more violent than the other Saiyans, even as a child. He would provoke others into conflict simply because he was bored and needed a modicum of entertainment. When he was a young adult, he traveled to other worlds and wantonly slaughtered millions, simply because he was bored.
“After time, he realized that the Saiyans were far more powerful than the other races, so he attempted to mobilize our people for warfare. To do this, he tapped into our inherent need, our love of combat and competition. The prospect of fighting countless warriors as strong or stronger than us was too tempting an offer to ignore, and after years of resisting out of fear of abandoning the principles our first king, Vocado, established, they started to turn his way.
“The only person standing between Otatop and his dream of galactic domination was Ceriac, the final guardian. I advised him to stand fast between the king and his goal, for I knew well the ramifications of such an action. For many decades, he did. Until...”
“He left.”
She nodded.
Sarada fell silent after that. This was the history of her people, of how one man changed an entire race for the worst. Five hundred years of tyranny, genocide, enslavement, and wanton slaughtering of billions, all because one man was bored. It was unnerving how easy it was for learned behavior to take hold. It was unnerving how easy it was to make an entire planet abandon their principles, established by... “Wait. You said [i]Vocado[/i] was our first King?”
She nodded once.
“I thought he died fighting Glacier.”
“Hm. Yes, that was one of the many things Otatop changed about our written history. The truth, as recorded in Vocado's many journals,” she gestured to a chest behind her, “is that he just managed to escape Glacier with his life, then crash-landed on a planet known as Draconia.” She noticed Sarada flinch, but didn't pay it any mind. “After healing and spending some time there, he caught up to the rest of the Saiyans, who had been living on an uninhabited world for the last two years. Because he was easily the strongest out of any of them, they made him king. They had already named the planet after him.”
Vocado was Vocado's first ruler? It was fitting, certainly, and he was certainly deserving. “I see.”
“I presume that is not originally why you two have entered this place.”
“No,” she answered. “We...I want to reestablish the guardian system here. Vocado needs someone to bring us back to the way things used to be before Otatop got his way, and our current king isn't enough. We need a guardian.”
“You are sure it is safe? Surely, you know of the erosion of the Kami system on other worlds, and the disappearance of countless guardians, including Ceriac?” When Sarada nodded, the specter sighed. “I see. While I agree, it is too dangerous. Still, nothing excites us more than danger. Very well. Bring us a worthy candidate, and we shall appraise that person. Should we accept them, they shall be named the 19th guardian of the planet Vocado.”
With that, Sarada released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. The first step was complete. All that was left was convincing Maiz to take the job.
Sarada bid the spirit of the temple farewell and departed. As she exited the way she came, she stumbled across her statue, complete with a nameplate at the base. “Kail.”
Time Skip II - Homecoming: Prologue
The day of leaving came. After spending the night with Jinzi, they spent the day preparing for her trip. Added to the capsule wallet he gave her was the one that contained her personal belongings and weapons, one with food supplies for the trip, and a third that contained spare clothes and her armor.
After one last meal together, she prepared to board the ship that would take her back to Chroma and in 120 days return her back to Earth. A final kiss goody, and she was soon inside the craft, strapped into the pilot chair and blasting off towards her home planet.
The trip took less than a week since the cr4aft was small, light and could move much quicker than a larger space ship.
Once the planet was in sight, she checked the controls and programmed in the coordinates for a landing spot that was both out in the open and devoid of people or obstacles.
The landing went smooth, with the landing gear extending in time to cushion the impact with the ground. Once all systems reported green, she shut them down, gathered her belongings, and exited the craft. The trip back to her home city would be an hours flight, but it felt good to stretch her wings, in a manner of speaking.
Taking flight, she orientated herself and headed off, headed back home.
Time Skip II -- The Reluctant Guardian, Part I
Sarada returned home instead of flying directly to Maiz's from the temple. She knew that what she wanted to ask of her care-nurse was a lot, so she wanted to make sure she had plenty of points in line, as well as rebuttals prepared. She didn't want to come across as though she was trying to force this on her, but she needed her to understand just how important it was that Vocado have a guardian again.
If all else failed, then she would just take her to the temple and have Kail explain it to her herself. Hearing it from a ghost was likely to be far more convincing than hearing it from a second-hand source, as strange as that sounded. When she was ready, she left as soon as possible.
The trip to Maiz's nursery was a short one. Sarada wanted to waste little time, even though she knew it was going to take some convincing. She didn't realize just how much, as the elder Saiyan was highly skeptical of the entire thing. It wasn't until Sarada showed her Ceriac's journal that she started to believe.
“So, all this bullshit is true,” Maiz muttered as she gingerly flipped through the age-worn pages. “And what exactly does this have to do with me, Sarada?”
She chuckled nervously. “Hehe. I was hoping...”
“No.”
“You... you didn't even hear me out!”
“Don't have to. I already know you want to get me caught up in the nonsense. The answer is no.”
She knew she'd get turned down, but she thought Maiz would have at least given her a chance to explain her reasoning. She didn't want to come across as desperate or trying to run the woman's life, but seriously. “I thought you'd want to be guardian, Maiz.
“You thought wrong.” She sighed heavily and sat down slowly. Sarada could hear her bones creaking and popping with every movement, a testament to how quickly a Saiyan's body decays when they finally hit old age. “Listen, I appreciate the duties this Ceriac fellow performed when he was still alive, but those duties don't fit my prerogative. I just want to raise children, not oversee an entire race. That's best left to someone younger than me.”
She wanted to argue, but hearing Parsley in her head calling her selfish stymied any and all urge to do so. “Okay, I understand. Just... just keep it in mind? This is really something we need and there's no one else here better suited than you.”
With that, she left it alone.
Maiz did, however, keep it in mind. After Sarada and Ishtar left, and before she went to bed for the night, Maiz stayed up reading Ceriac's journal. The thoughts of a man long dead had her thoroughly enraptured. It was fascinating to read about Vocado back then through the eyes of a man who held so much importance and influence.
However, what most attracted her attention was how his journal entries stopped abruptly. Literally, he stopped midword, as if he got up from his table to get something, then never returned. It was odd, but most of all, it was eerie and unnerving.
While she was curious as to what happened to him, she knew that such an intellectual journey was dangerous, and best left to Sarada and her friends.
As the children in her care slept, she stepped outside for fresh air to clear her mind. The full moon shined harmlessly, its blutz waves blocked by a transparent dome around the planet. A new, much needed innovation from Turrip. As she breathed in the fresh, clean air, her mind kept replaying what Sarada said to her just before leaving. [I]“There's no one else here better suited than you.”[/i] It was pure flattery, but she was damned if it didn't get her thinking.
Maybe Sarada was right. Maybe she was the perfect person for the job. But, did she even want it? Her life's work was to raise the youth of Vocado with a few others and help them become productive members of Saiyan society. And she felt that her track record was pretty darn good. If she could expand that success to the entire planet, then she could die knowing that she accomplished something worthwhile that benefited everyone, not just children.
It was an exciting prospect, but not one to be taken so lightly as to be decided one way or the other right away. She needed to sleep on it. When she woke in the morning, she would be able to think more clearly.
Morning came far sooner than she hoped, and she was no closer to a decision. This didn't seem like a decision that could be made on one night's sleep, that much she realized. While it was important, she didn't want to go into it half-hearted. If she decided to take on the immense responsibility, that was.
After breakfast, Maiz left for Mt. Oozaru. Her intention was the commune with these so-called spirits that Sarada spoke of that resided in the abandoned temple. If it turned out to be the truth and not Sarada just talking out of her ass, then she would listen to what these specters had to say. If they assuaged her concerns, then she would give it more serious consideration.
If not, then she would wash her hands of the entire thing and just chalk the whole thing up to a fever dream.
[i]Hmph. I can't believe I'm actually going to try to talk to a bunch of ghosts. How absurd![/i]
The door to the temple had been left slightly ajar, more than enough for her to squeeze her way through without too much trouble. It was dark, outside of the small sliver of light provided by the outside sun. Lighting her hand with a thick film of white ki, she moved slowly and carefully through the only recently traversed corridors. She took in all that she could, taking not of the artwork on the stone walls, as well as any sound that may have echoed through the empty space.
She felt an eerie calm overtake her the further she got from the entrance. It was as if the temple itself was attempting to calm her nerves so she could open her mind. It was strange. It felt like she... was supposed to come to this place?
How odd a sensation this was.
Suddenly, the moment she stepped foot into the corridor that housed the statues of former guardians, the entire area became alight with a bright white light. Maiz grunted and covered her eyes to keep from being blinded. “What the hell?”
“Welcome,” came a sudden voice.
Maiz's eyes shot open and beheld over a dozen spectral entities floating before her. Seventeen to be precise. A lone Namekian stood at the fore, surrounded by sixteen Saiyans. “Greetings. I am Lord Flute, the very first Kami of this planet. To my right and left are the sixteen Lords and Ladies who have come after me.”
“We have been expecting one such as yourself to enter this place,” stated Lord Kassaya, seventh Saiyan guardian.
For the first time in her entire life, Maiz was speechless. For her entire life, she believed that once a person died, that was it. There was no immortal soul that wandered around aimlessly near their place of death. There was no afterlife. There was nothing except ignorant darkness, an eternal slumber. It was cynical, yet also comforting to believe that there was no means of eternal punishment for her past sins. Yet, today, her beliefs were shattered into pieces. Before her stood nearly two dozens spirits of past Saiyans – and one Namekian.
“Have you nothing to say, young one?” Lady Coriflo, tenth guardian, pondered aloud.
In an odd sense of amusement, Maiz snorted. “Young one?” She supposed these spirits ranged from five hundred to two thousand years old, and older. A ninety-five year old might as well have been an infant compared to them. She sighed heavily. “Yes, I do have some things to ask you. First, what's this entire 'system' all about? I've never heard of it until last night, so forgive my ignorance.”
Lady Coriflo flashed a genteel smile, one that Maiz was shocked to see on a Saiyan. “Of course. But first, I would know the name of the woman with whom I am speaking.”
“Maiz.”
“Hm, Maiz. The guardian system was established two thousand years ago by Lord Flute at the genesis of the planet Vocado. At the time, it was created in an effort to effect leadership of some kind until Vocado could find his way back to his people and lead them himself. When that took place two years later, it was discussed and decided upon that Flute would remain on Vocado to help King Vocado lead the people.
“As I'm sure you're very well aware, Saiyans can be quite difficult to keep docile. Our natural inclination for violence and combat, as well as our lust for stronger opponents, makes peace a tentative, oft fleeing ideal. In order to maintain the current course of non-violence, two calming presences were required. Once Flute decided to finally return to his native home with the rest of his people, he chose a successor.”
“That being me,” spoke Lady Okora. “I was taught everything Flute knew, and was given a portion of his life-energy so that when he died, that energy would manifest into the form you see before you. That form possesses every ounce of knowledge, experience, and wisdom the living Namekian possessed, and was thus able to guide me through any troubles I found myself confronted with.
“That is the main objective of the guardian of Vocado. The secondary is to be the first line of defense against any and all threats the planet and the people may face. And, there were many. Shortly after I become guardian full-time, Glacier's children arrived to eradicate us as revenge for their father's much deserved death. Vocado and I slaughtered the majority of them and sent the rest fleeing. We felt putting fear into their hearts was enough of a deterrent.”
“The guardian is tasked with determining the best means of protecting their planet,” continued Lord Lemogras, ninth guardian. “They work closely with the current monarch and often give them insight into how to approach a situation. Often times, they agree. However, there are times when guardian and monarch disagree. Such was the case with Lord Ceriac and King Otatop IV.”
Time Skip II -- The Reluctant Guardian, Part II
Maiz listen silently, taking in all the long-dead spirits had to say. She had read all about Otatop in Ceriac's journal last night and this morning. She knew how doggedly determined he was to turn the Saiyans into a war mongering race. He succeeded only because Ceriac vanished suddenly. “Yes, I am aware of that situation. I must ask why Ceriac left so suddenly.”
The spirits suddenly grew very reticent. Almost fearful, as if just speaking about it would bring some untold wrath down upon them.
When no one answered for several moments, Maiz raised an eyebrow. “I'm sorry. Will the answer only come after some kind of initiation? Is it something for me to figure out on my own?”
“No,” Lady Kail answered softly.
“I... that is best left to history. It isn't important,” Lemogras insisted.
It may not have been important to them, but it was to her. If she was going to take this position like Sarada – and part of herself – wanted, then she needed to know [i]all[/i] the risks that awaited her.
It didn't escape her notice that while the Saiyans were shaken, the lone Namekian had disappeared. Her eyes narrowed, but she decided to just drop it. Since it was so important, she knew that the truth would come out eventually. Perhaps they didn't know as much about it as she hoped.
Regardless, the conversation thus far had given her much to think about. She had a few more questions, but those could wait until another time. This decision wasn't going to be made right away after one discussion. “Well, I suppose it will have to wait. I came here to help myself come to a decision, to gather more information. It has been very worthwhile. Still, I will need time.”
Kail nodded knowingly. “Understood. This decision is not one to be rushed or poorly considered. It's a life-long commitment. But, please do not feel as though you are obligated to accept. If you have any prior engagements that you find yourself unable or unwilling to separate your attention from, just decline and we will await the next candidate.”
“However,” Lemogras followed, “should you accept, you will have to abandon every other aspect of your life. This will require your full attention. Any distractions could and will be detrimental to the planet's safety.”
She swallowed raggedly. Pinach and Rutaba immediately came to mind. They were her main and really only focus in life. She couldn't very well abandon them. They'd be heartbroken. “I will keep that in mind. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Maiz.”
With a single nod, she turned and walked out. Right before she exited that area, she turned around. It was pitch black again and the spirits were nowhere to be found. A small part of her mind wanted to believe she had slipped, hit her head, and had just hallucinated the entire thing. The larger part of her knew better. There was far more to this life than what she had seen with her own two eyes.
She had much to think about.
When she returned home, she found that she had been gone for over six hours. [i]Huh. It didn't seem that long.[/i] Sarada and the children were in the living room watching television. Maiz tried to sneak past them, but the oldest of the three noticed her and followed her into the kitchen. “So, you were gone a while,” she stated casually.
Maiz grunted and opened the refrigerator. She pulled out a bottle of water and started drinking from it.
“Hum. You're glowing. Like you've achieved enlightenment or some shit.” Her head tilted to the side as she smirked mischievously. “Ah! You went and got some dick, didn't you?! Ah, Maiz, you freaky girl!”
Maiz's water was sprayed all over the floor and counter.
Sarada howled with laughter, even as her care-nurse glared menacingly at her. “Come on. What else could you have been doing all this time? It's not like you went to Mt. Oozaru. Right?”
“Hmph. So what if I did? It changes nothing.”
“I beg to differ. Kail probably told you a lot more than she told me. So?”
She sighed and sat down on a stool. “If I take this responsibility, and that's a big if, I'd have to give up managing the nurseries. I'd have to leave your brother and cousin in the care of someone else.” She hated how broken up she sounded at the very prospect of doing either of those, let alone both. “I figure I still have about a hundred years left in me. There's still so much I'd like to do, to see, to experience. I can't do that if I'm stuck here, on that mountain.” She grew quiet. A soft frown furrowed her brow.
“And yet, there's so much good I'd be able to do. I'd be better able to help Mato reform the planet. It needs serious work, even now. I don't know. I'm glad you think so highly of me.”
Sarada had grown quiet as well. She sat down next to her and placed her hand on top of hers. “Just give it some thought. It may seem impossible today, but who knows where your head will be next week or next month. No one's expecting you to accept the job tomorrow.”
She grunted a chuckle and smiled softly. “Well, listen at you. You sound like me.”
“I haven't ignored [i]everything[/i] you've ever said.” She smiled back. "Now then. Tell me all about the hot young stud you fucked when you left Oozaru. Because surely you didn't spend six hours talking with a bunch of dead people."
Maiz groaned.
A Lament for Jack, Evangeline, and the Weakness of Humankind
When Evangeline fell from her station, before she slipped completely into the ether from her wounds she revealed another desperate design. It was the Ronin who had said it, that as ever the steward of this world saw a reverb in the many strings that bound its destiny. It was a fatalistic summons beat by frail butterfly's wings that brought Ochazuke to the Lookout the first time. The same now shuffled the dead Guardian beyond the veil, and after Jack Knave in a journey beyond the darkness.
He said little as it unfolded and not so much as a breath followed when Kai explained this plot. Rather, he left the observation deck, wordlessly pacing to the inner sanctum of the Lookout's East Wing. Within the respite of the Meditation Chamber he contemplated their mortal dilemma.
[RIGHT][URL="https://youtu.be/NRCrqec5uA4"][SIZE=1]BGM - Fear[/SIZE][/URL][/RIGHT]
In the space of that moment as his energies twist apart the manifest intent of Chris the Knife, Ochazuke had felt again through the vector of his Meditation Field the effects of the devil Banefire. From the cold, smouldering rot it lay about the divine premises, he saw its shape and form, and little escaped the powers of his insight. A desperate man wielding a little piece of the fallen raised himself up by it. He point it at his fellow man and turned its full wrath on them, and when the cold fire lashed against Jack's flesh and burned the young man's body to white ash, he had directly felt his soul fade to the winds.
To fell a man is often a surprisingly swift endeavour, and so often had it happened of late that one death is felt as inconsequential as the next. Long had Ochazuke trained the inisght bequeathed to him by the Hermit under the Mountain to cultivate awareness, to discern truth.
Long ago it was Jack who, at his wit's end before the carnage their group rendered onto itself, had questioned the Guardian. He asked her earnestly why she had to reach beyond her pale, blue sphere for to change the outcome of their home's fate. As ill omens seemed to rise from ancient plots, Evangeline had spoken in no uncertain terms that Earth alone would not be enough.
[I]Fragile. So fragile.[/I]
Today, as then, Ochazuke gained an awareness of what made made humanity fodder to their own weakness. It was this confrontation with his own mortality that made a man fly brazenly into pursuits of strength, what made him shed his form for fear of the ambitions of another. It was what made a man change his image from some tepid, uniform creature of reason easily destoyed to something simpler to understand. A Knife. A Champion. A Lion.
[I]Even a Crane.[/I]
They would throw away their humanity to escape that hollow feeling of weakness. To salve their pride and cut short their fear, darker dealings in the pursuit of strength raised them to their station. In the pursuit of power, only those who possess it may decide what is forbidden.
[I]So concerned with surpassing another, to see humanity stand in solidarity is folly.[/I]
The hundred warring factions on the surface below, each clambering for something to call their own, reached viciously over one another, sacrificing virtue to survive and bringing all to ruin. Yet among the stars it appeared that the galactic culture was very much the same as this primitive Earth. The atavism of countless starving races sought to feed off another, and by force or deception stake their claim through blood or the yoke. Now they turned their maleficent gaze towards the Earth.
Jack had worried that they were weak at this meagre end of the universe. Even the Guardian for all her hope had little faith in her charge and so bent destiny to compensate for this frail human race, for it hadn't even the strength to save itself.
[I]What is the true measure of our strength?[/I] He stood in the centre of the chamber, shifting turmoil in the imagery of his mind. Memory-echoes of times long past would avail him little, no Old Turtle would reach down to his salvation, no fallen Tiger would gaze back to pull him forward, no Crane, Elder or Fledgling, would ever make their peace at this late hour. [I]What is the worth of my fist?[/I]
A Snake's skin was forever shed. The Dragon's fire embers among the kindling. Everything would be snuffed out when the Guardian's words came to fruition in mere months' time.
Ochazuke could only wonder why she and Jack faced their deaths with a smile. A myriad of twisted, powerful denizens could with a thought grasp this planet between their fingers. All Jagam had to do was squeeze.
It was then Ochazuke reached into his coat pocket and held the device that plucked their assembly to the stars in the first place. Folding his fingers about the Neural Stunner pistol, he crushed its magazine matrix, and felt the nullification energy cool the surface of his hand in the interplay of this all-too familiar energy, dissipating shortly as his ki soon righted itself.
"Cheh."
Here he left the chamber with a small notion. The gulf between him and the others began to widen, and someday soon the chasm between Humanity and the Universe would stretch insurmountable; but some struggles are not won by simple force, for it is will alone that makes material the immaterial.
Rewinding and catching up
The peaceable atmosphere of the Meditation Room was meant to bring thoughts to clarity, but as it was the last time he uncovered the sub-chamber from three-hundred years of neglect, in these warlike times Ochazuke only found a familiar length of uninterrupted, weary thought he'd known before battles to come. There is a common misconception that the practice is meant to snuff out thought, as if that would somehow make purchase of greater powers of focus. That could not be further from the truth; when focus is heightened, so is awareness, and in the wake of silent mourning he was ever mindful of the shortening moments of passing days.
Totoma had been explicit that ten years ago Jagam was a foe beyond him then, and that even at that level so long ago there was only one-tenth a chance that they could claim victory as they were now. A decade is a long span of time, and if even a partial Saiyan's warrior ethic applied to this one, he would not have been idle. Neither could they afford to be.
It had been Evangeline's joy - and a muted source of shame for her centuries-spanning neglect - that the annals of Earth's history had been gathered in an exemplary collection on the Lookout. While the forms that guided Ochazuke's hands for years had been his advantage for as long as he had known, to bridge the ten year advantage their opponent had he would have to find another edge. Strength for strength, such a quality would not be cultivated properly in less than a half year's time. He would need to search for his edge elsewhere.
[QUOTE=Sub-Zero MKA;3790360]Parsley was just about to demand who this man thought he was comparing her to the imbecilic Saiyans of the old generation when she remembered she killed an entire family just an hour ago because they annoyed her. That perhaps would have lessened the impact of her indignity.
"...very well. I will be on my best behavior while on this... charming world." She gave him her most charming smile, then turned away.Directly into view of her sister and Ishtar embracing one another. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought they hadn't seen each other in years. Oh, she knew exactly why her younger sister clung to the older(?) woman so tightly. For comfort, her naturally calming presence, for help putting on a strong front with which to face the world. It was all very... noteworthy when she remembered back to Sarada insisting that she 'loved' Ishtar with all her heart.
The display taking place before her gave credence to that claim. Whether it would last or not remained to be seen. Certainly a development Parsley was looking forward to seeing, one way or the other.
The excitement was over and there was no desire within her at all to speak to any of these people, so she decided to wander about inside this minuscule palace for something worthy of holding her attention. Perhaps even a library, assuming this planet's denizens read anything other than sleazy garbage.[/QUOTE]
The ancient doors parted with a heavy creaking, light from the outside flooded the passage until the door reset itself silently. Ochazuke exhaled curtly, straightening the battle-stained white collar of his suit as he approached the stacks in pursuit of a specific set of knowledge. A millenium, maybe more, it was bound to be in here. However, with the Ronin's attention split between attending divine and domestic duties, finding what he wanted would be a trying task. It was as if some violent episode had happened in the heart of the chamber, like somebody had a fight in here.
Certainly, as soon as he set foot in here, he knew he was not alone.
"You're a long way from home," he said. The energy signature was distinct, and yet something about this Saiyan stranger was not dissimilar to the ones he'd known. "If you're seeking familiar faces, I doubt you'd find either of them in here."