Viral felt a little stupid, considering he could barely breathe when the whole exercise was supposed to be focused on taking calming breaths. It made him feel a little lightheaded to try, but he couldn’t get all stressed over it. Rubbing his chest slowly, he lowered his head a little with a grumble as he looked back up at the man, frowning a little. This was just feeling completely pointless; he wasn’t going anywhere with this and just felt like he was going backwards with all the problems he had before completely tripping up over all of it. He highly doubted anything could be done for him, this whole talking thing already proving to be a waste of time, “Hmph, sure…another time…” he mumbled, leaning back on his chair, “You won’t be happy for very long…”

Viral didn’t feel very comfortable sitting up like this and could probably do with some other way that didn’t make him feel like he was put on the spot. He knew it was for his treatment but it didn’t mean he was supposed to like it. He was pretty unsettled and having a hard time calming himself was never a good thing, but he was trying to keep settled if only because of whom the man was. Hearing that he helped create him put him a little on edge, not knowing just what part he took charge of and how much it had influenced in his creation made him wonder if he could help any of his recently developed problems at all. If this was going to be the start of it all, he wished it was at least going to be painless.

Folding his arms, he gradually tried to calm himself down again, closing his eyes for a moment before looking back at the man with a frown. This was a pretty difficult question and his conclusion wasn’t very pleasant either, his life instead coming to a near halt with the possibility of him dying off pretty soon. He didn’t think he was worth much except as a sign of accomplishment for this man and Vegeta’s parents, also probably a good bit of money for his genes whether alive or dead. Feeling like he couldn’t answer that, when the next few questions popped up he sat up a little, moving to speak only to sit back again, looking a little confused. He didn’t know what he was good at anymore, especially when there was millions out there who were even better than him and everything he thought he was good at he was suddenly being shown up by others. He was not good at anything, he was fairly average at best now and was even bested by a bunch of moths. Shaking his head, he folded his arms and looked away, “I have nothing to be proud of. What use am I anymore? If you can’t fix me, then that’s it. If there’s something I’m good at, it’s destroying everyone’s plans, ruining fights, failing, getting people to pity me and going crazy! Are those things I should be proud of?”

It was all negativity stemming from Viral, his depression was most definitely a major issue then. Judging by whether or not he had been suicidal it could be a minor or moderate depression, or serious if he had. Without getting into great detail about his recent endeavors it was impossible for Ikura to confirm or deny these claims. Most certainly however there was something the Beastman could take pride in, it was often too difficult to see that though in this kind of state. Even clear victories were dismissed as luck or circumstance, people rarely appreciated the good when they were depressed. "Forgive me for saying, but I don't believe that is true. And your friends seemed perfectly content on bringing you here, you've not ruined anyone's plans or inconvenienced anyone." No, both Yumi and Vegeta seemed to earnestly want to help their friend, there was no doubt about it. Wherever they had come from it must have been a fair distance away by the sounds of it, goodness knows where. To travel all the way back here and find him for this purpose, that said something about their dedication to the Beastman.

"Viral, let me ask you something, if you'd not mind... You say that I will fix you, what exactly do you mean...?" It was a rather general statement, and Ikura wasn't sure if it only pertained to his condition or not. Leaning back in his seat the old man folded his arms over his chest, examining Viral for a brief moment before smiling. "Tell you what, let's try this. Let me know what it is you want to get out of our discussions. I can help with your depression, your anxiety, PTSD, or whatever other issues you might be having. What is, to you, your priority? We'll address that first and the rest will follow suit." All they needed to do was get the proverbial ball rolling. Once it was, presumably, they could get to the other problems much easier. This was all of course provided that the information was shared with him. No progress could be made if everything was a mystery to him.

Viral just couldn’t pull enough courage together to think of anything that might had been positive, his mind struggling to comprehend anything that he had done could possibly be good. He couldn’t understand his purpose in life and everything he apparently had been made for was suddenly done better by everyone else. When they made him, there wasn’t such thing as the other kids fighting for the planet while Vegeta was just a little kid; organic warriors were just superior to artificial ones. Feeling pretty fed up, he kept his eyes off Ikura as he spoke, not looking indifferent to what he just told him, “Tch, please. They were all set on going out to fight the big fight, gaining reinforcements to defeat a great evil until they were so fed up with me that they sent me back here! Yumi was already on the end of her rope with me, so believe what you want”.

Viral didn’t believe the reassurances he was given, feeling as if he was just trying to be soothed and comforted when he was really the worst fighter out of all of them. It took the Saiyans to try and make him better to try and compete with other warriors, advancing his abilities. Their plans failed; without their control, he was nothing compared to others. Feeling a little defeated, he gave Ikura a quick glance, frowning, “Hmph, nevermind the fixing thing…” The thing about this guy was he had no idea if he even knew biochemistry or did anything to his actual makeup; he could had just been in charge of health and making sure he wasn’t going to die early in his life. While that was all still important, it wasn’t what he needed help with. Looking back to him, he sighed and shifted a little on his chair, “How should I know? They’re the ones who wanted to get help for me”, he spoke, frowning, “What am I supposed to care about first? What exactly were you in charge of when it came to creating me…because if you can’t help with everything else, then just fix my mind and be done with it…”

"I don't believe they were fed up, Viral. I think they came here because they needed help, that's all. If they were fed up they wouldn't have bothered making the journey back, don't you think?" That claim seemed counterintuitive, they wouldn't have came to Earth to find the doctor if they had given up on the Beastman. And certainly they wouldn't be waiting outside for a word on his condition too, they were truly vested in his well being. Smiling sadly Ikura shook his head again, folding his hands in his lap. "She may have become exasperated, but Yumi is not through with you, or angry. It's hard, not being able to help those we care for. It makes us angry, but not with the person suffering, only with ourselves. Understand that no one is blaming you for what's happening, no one thinks you're at fault."

Viral might have a particular area he wanted to approach first. With PTSD came a plethora of issues after all, and there was no exact order to address them. Well, that wasn't right, depression should be a priority. However there was a want to let the Beastman to feel more in control, as often times the person with this condition might feel powerless or stripped of their own will. Unfortunately Viral wasn't certain of where to begin, or how to get started even. "Me? What was I in charge of?" Ikura repeated, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully," Well let's see... I helped handle your genetic coding, and I personally oversaw the splicing of your DNA. In addition to that I handled a great deal of your education after your successful inception. Frankly though Aito did most of the work, I just made sure you held together and taught you what you'd need to know, book wise. Aito handled your survival training as well as combat, I'm afraid I'm rather lacking in that degree."

"Viral... I know it'll be painful to do this, but sooner or later we must recount what situation brought you into this state. I can see you're far from inclined to discuss it right now however, so don't worry just yet. I am wont to ask though... Why did you ask about what I did for you? Did you have any questions about that?"

Viral didn’t see how they could possibly feel that way, especially when it meant travelling right across the galaxy just for some one on one talks with this man because they couldn’t handle him anymore. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they all left him on Earth, feeling as if he should retire from the fight. There was little good he could do in fights now with everyone being as skilled as they were, his main problem and advantage being his ability to cause havoc against his will. It was the Saiyans who did it to him, his mind damaged pretty badly from all the torturous experiments they put him through to try and advance his powers as well as steal them; however, it was probably best that he stayed with them rather than being discovered by the King’s sons. His mental state would have been forcefully intact and nothing bad would have happened to it.

Rubbing his head slowly in an attempt to relieve the stress, he looked up to Ikura with a frown, “She shouldn’t be angry because of that, she shouldn’t have to care!” he spoke quickly, not quite understanding why she would ever have to be worried over his mentality, “I’ve seen how they all look at me, like I’m some project…but…I don’t need to be pitied…” This was very difficult, all he was doing was repeating the same words he had told the others many times before they simply got annoyed at him or saddened. Trying to ease the pressure in his head, he looked back to Ikura when he recalled what part of him he worked on, looking down a little in his own thoughts.

So he did have something to do with his genes, but whether it was something he put in or something the other man from the RRA coded was still a mystery. Maybe that solution could be found first before his crippled mentality, even if they ran out of time with this man to fix his mind. The nightmares, voices and images would have to wait; the physical pain and problems could come first. Leaning forward a little as if afraid people beyond the door might hear him, he gave Ikura a good staring at before deciding to speak, “Yeah, and they’re pretty important considering my future whether you see me as an accomplishment or not”, he spoke lowly, hesitating a few seconds before speaking again, “…My abilities, whatever the hell you gave me, are not fully under my control anymore. Whatever the hell you gave me in terms of powers are beyond my control and new things are forcing their way out with often disastrous results! That form you gave me…it’s no longer under my control and is just getting stronger, I’m able to create metal monstrosities myself and even more recently my powers are manifesting into something new! Those feline genes you put in me seem fairly adamant about dominating over my others, you know…”

"Ah... But they do care Viral. Their concern for you is a mark of your friendship, it's expected frankly. No one wants to see you in this state, myself included." There went the objectivity again, drat. Perhaps not a bad thing though, it certainly came across as Viral needing some positive reinforcement. It wasn't as easy as simply giving it however, he wasn't receptive to any sort of positivity in his current condition. The more they spoke and the more he heard Ikura was getting a clearer idea for what was going through Viral's mind. Diagnosing and treating him then was going to be fairly easy, so long as he was patient and let the process work itself through.

Ah, the abilities, that was the source of confusion. Curious though, Ikura hadn't expected Viral to forget those with his memory wipe. An unfortunate side effect, one that had clearly caused some distress. "The powers you've got, that's causing you distress? I see... So I would imagine you'd wish to regain control over it." That would most likely require retraining, which unfortunately again had been handled by Aito. It wasn't a total loss, Ikura was thoroughly aware of each transformation and the prerequisites for bringing them about. If he recalled the words of his former associate rightly Viral could trigger them on will as well, but that methodology was lost to him right now. Perhaps consulting his notes would shine some light on that subject. Ah, at least he could clear things up a little right now. "Your forms, all four of them, are given to you by us, and each for a particular reason. I'm sorry to hear that you've lost your control of them, but please allow me to explain them. Perhaps having knowledge of each will help you better reign them in."

"Your initial form, one I would imagine you're familiar with, is your reptilian form. This is your primary combat form as it has the greatest raw physical strength and makes the most offensive uses of your capabilities. Secondly is your feline form, which by the sounds of it you've become acquainted with." Ikura smiled slightly as he stood up from his seat, walking over to the window and looking out in thought for a moment. "The feline form, as it might suggest, is for speed and nimbleness. It was intended for you to travel quickly. Your third 'Beast' form is a shark-humanoid, with rather coarse and durable skin and razor sharp teeth. This form quite obviously is best suited for amphibious and aquatic combat and is arguably the most durable of the three. The 'metal monstrosity' you mentioned is your Enki. That is perhaps the most useful out of all three, arguably, and is a collaboration by the three of us. Enki harnesses and amplifies your power and also enables you to traverse environments that would otherwise be harmful. Coupled with its innate ability to gather energy for you during its use its by far the most sustainable form you've got. Unfortunately it lacks the raw durability, speed or strength of the other three, but is the jack of all trades if you will. Each form, you see, was given with a specific purpose in mind. Your current being encompasses each of the three beastial forms, the Enki is solely from your energy."

"Now then... I'm sorry to say I can't tell you how to control them, not just yet. I'd have to go over my documents to see if I've notes on the matter, or you'd have to locate Aito's. can tell you that the forms will trigger by default under states of great duress. Things such as starvation, physical injury and the need to protect yourself or others can bring about these forms, but even then you do have the power to stave off a change. If we can just rekindle your knowledge of how to do that then you'd not have to worry about them. With my notes, if you'll give me the time to consult them, I can figure out how you precisely control them as well." Ikura was glad to be actually able to help, but they were getting a bit off topic. The primary concern was his mental well being, not the forms. Yet perhaps it wasn't a total deviation, Viral did sound to be upset over his transformations. Maybe a sound mind on that subject would help ease his stress a little. "Any other questions in that regard?"

Viral was pretty distressed over the possibilities of what was happening to him, whether his genes were breaking down and he was going to end up becoming one of those things permanently. They all forced their way out rather than being quick, his largest form practically being pulled to the surface instead of finding control. If he could find the answers to that then maybe he might feel a little more confident about his abilities, but by the look of Ikura’s expression something told him it wasn’t going to be that easy. Pulling back a little, he let out a sigh and looked away again, folding his arms for a moment before suddenly feeling confused, “What? I don’t…”

He could only count three forms he took, but the larger one was definitely something conjured rather than a form. He felt a little worried, considering how his other forms turned out he was a little worried about his future again. Staring at Ikura as he explained what they were, he seemed a little confused over what the third one was, especially considering what it essentially was. He didn’t know how he was supposed to feel about that and the fact that it hadn’t manifested yet worried him a little, knowing he was going to have to go through it sometime in the future. Not knowing how he managed to create Enki made him concerned, especially when he was essentially creating machinery.

Not finding the answer quite yet, he leaned forward a little with the intent to listen for it carefully only to get no real answer, backing off again and letting out a sigh. Wherever the documents actually were, to hell did he know; he was doomed for another day, it seemed. Leaning on the arm of the chair, he stared at the man before growling, sitting up quickly again, “How long will that take?? Is there anything else I should know about myself? What’s in the future for me? How am I supposed to cope? I am constantly getting injured, I can’t bring myself to eat and I don’t know what the hell would even trigger this…shark-humanoid…but what does it matter?? No matter what I become, I’m still outclassed! So much for that battle plan, or were you all counting on me getting injured to become these monsters?”

"Oh! I have the notes somewhere with me, I keep them with myself everywhere I go. It's highly sought after material you see, so I never leave it in an open space. However... Since I didn't imagine I'd be seeing you today it's currently back at my temporary residence, locked in a safe. If we repeat this session tomorrow I can bring everything I have in and we can go over them together if you'd like." It was a little embarrassing he didn't know more of the information off hand seeing as he'd a great part in creating Viral. Some fifteen years had passed since he'd even seen the Beastman, there was the excuse of time as to forgetting all of the specific details. Ikura took a seat on the bed, the edge closer to Viral, and smiled at the Beastman gently. "I don't know what I can tell you about yourself that you don't already know. As for the future... I can't tell you that either. I helped create you, but you were never given a distinct guideline to live your life. We had hoped you'd be a protector to Vegeta and Yumi, and clearly you accomplished that job, they're both still here with us. And you've defended the planet, seeing as we're all here. Regardless of how you believe you did I know myself and Aito couldn't be prouder of you. And your future is not our design, that's for you to choose. We've only given you the means to seek the life you desire."

Battle again was not Ikura's strong suit, Aito was much better at speaking about it than he was. Though maybe he could find something in Viral's being to reinforce his self-esteem and confidence. "Naturally you're weaker than Saiyans, there's no denying that. But through training your strength improves exponentially. You've the capacity to grow to heights we couldn't likely even imagine, and you still are. Combined with your forms' ability to nullify Ki attacks and you're most certainly not outclassed. With enough training you'll be the most powerful warrior Earth has to offer, I don't doubt that in the slightest." That raised a curious thought, he wondered how strong Vegeta and Yumi had become. Vegeta was part Saiyan after all, he had that natural inclination to become powerful. Yumi on the other hand, perhaps with exception of her latest change, was just human, but a very gifted one at that. Both were certainly strong warriors, and Ikura liked to think the fact Viral was in their company alone was a testament to his own strength. "Your 'monsters' as you call them are a safety feature, we actually imagined you would rarely use them. The fact you do use them isn't bad though, it's a natural response, survival instinct if you will. Once your health has returned you will better be able to control your forms and they won't surge in order to preserve you."

"If I may change the subject... You said you can't eat any longer. Why is that...? Can you share with me why you find it difficult to eat?" So many issues with this poor man, Ikura couldn't help but feel heartbroken. He was certainly going to have to remain in East City a bit longer, there was no way he could leave knowing what a state Viral was in. "If it's too painful then don't force yourself, but perhaps I can alleviate some of that for you now."

There was a moment of quiet relief when he heard about the notes being with him, but that also made him suddenly feel paranoid about the man. Who knows who could take the notes from him because he does such a thing; anybody could steal them and end up creating more of him. The RRA and Saiyans already knew of a way to counter his energy and near enough disable him, them knowing how to make more of him and create a way to counter the energy just made him feel broken. If more Beastmen could be created, he would be considered obsolete. Feeling lost and confused all of a sudden despite the good news, he slowly rubbed his head just with the hope that things would improve, “I would have thought you would put them in a secret hideout or something…” he groaned, removing his fingers from his scalp, “Vegeta and Yumi are both stronger than me and the first battle for the planet I was the first to give up. I don’t even know what I want for my life…”

What a load of crap this was turning out to be with just everything going against him already and he had barely been in the room for that long. He could barely take it, the thought of going off to be somewhere by himself being awfully desirable right now. Frowning at the mention of his strength or rather lack off, he shifted in his chair uncomfortably before slowly looking away with little interest. It wasn’t as if Earth was going to have many warriors at all once all of them had moved on and he was alone, that was the only way he could ever be the most powerful warrior on Earth. There was barely any point in such an accomplishment when the Earth hadn’t been attacked in so long since Goku died, the reason the threats had come was to challenge Goku and nobody would want to challenge an artificial creature made to be better than normal Earthlings, “Oh good, considering I’m supposed to rarely use them, anyway…”

Feeling pretty fed up with himself, he looked back at Ikura with the mention of eating. He didn’t particularly want to talk about it again, but he felt as if he had mentioned it so many times now that it was probably pretty irrelevant to keep back. It still was hard to talk about it, but it was hardly something he should be scared of saying when all it did was the same thing everytime. Hesitating, he stared at the man as he slowly pushed his back against his seat more, “…I tried to eat a Saiyan after mauling him to death because his armour was in the way of the meat”, he muttered, frowning, “I was close to eating him immediately…and Vegeta was there…and Yumi, both screaming at me with hate. I did try to eat fish before arriving here, but that was to show some Saiyan up…only to end up with a fever so bad the next thing I remember I was a big cat! However you’ll fix that, how the hell should I know…”

"Don't feel discouraged if you're uncertain. Really you're still young, regardless of how you might appear physically. It's perfectly normal for someone your age to be uncertain. I can understand too the increased stress given your situation as well. I assure you though, there's no pressure to decide what it is you want to do with yourself." Ikura did question the viability of Viral doing anything but being a combatant. He had plenty of other skills for certain, but his primary design had been to fight. All of his transformations, his healing, his abilities, all of it was aimed solely at being a warrior. If he could perhaps find a fulfilling way to use those then that might make his outlook a bit better. Smiling sympathetically the doctor shook his head, not wanting the Beastman to get the wrong idea. "Let me rephrase that. It's not that you shouldn't be using them, it's that they were designed with a purpose in mind. Being your power they're used to your discretion, no one can tell you otherwise. I was merely explaining the intent when we gave you those abilities, but we had every desire for you to find uses on your own."

Perhaps now they should move on to another topic, albeit not one any easier to discuss. Viral wasn't eating, and psychological implications aside that was obviously a problem. Admittedly the explanation behind it had taken Ikura aback, but only for a second. After letting that process for a moment he nodded his head understandingly, looking back at Viral. "And because of that you feel any food reminds you of the event... Yes? And the very act of eating is unnerving." Giving a shake of his head the doctor reached out once more, gently placing his hand on Viral's shoulder. "I doubt they were yelling at you with hatred, they were likely frightened and wanted you to stop. Viral... What you did does not go away easily, but we can help it. We'll work on it, but you must remind yourself of this; The food is not the same thing. You ate countless times prior to the event, that is proof enough you can eat these things without inhibition. My conjecture would be you had been starving yourself already, and while assuming one of your beast forms it sought to sate your hunger the only way it knew how. What happened then, assuming you lost control, is by no degree your fault. You cannot and will not be held accountable for what was done, understand?"

Viral was sure this man was going to end up driving him nuts with trying to pull all these memories out and just doing exactly what they had always been doing for so long. He didn’t feel better for telling the man all of this; it was just making him feel pretty bad. He wasn’t young, maybe young to him considering he was aging but being young and old had to imply you could age. He should had decided what he was going to do in life when he watched the others grow up, but he was too confident that he would still have a sense of purpose; however, as Vegeta’s strength grew beyond his and Yumi left to seek further training he was left behind. All he had left was his ability to transform, but that just outright made him a monster whenever he used them, “You also had to give me a trigger to stop them from going out of my control, but that has broken…again…”

Viral probably had less of an understanding over his abilities than he thought, recognising that he was probably going to be a bit naïve regarding how important they were for him to have, but he still didn’t feel comfortable knowing they existed with such unstable consequences. With the unsettling feeling that he was going to become a monster-shark in his future, he looked back to the man when he came to a conclusion as to why certain things were happening and why it was so forceful. Frowning a little, he sighed and leaned back, “I get it…I get it! And…I hadn’t had food for a very, very long time…” he muttered, shaking his head, “I was starved off food for so long, my gut unable to take it. I don’t want to say what happened, but it was near a year later until I ate again. All primal urges were suppressed, but I wasn’t allowed to think for myself either. It’s difficult getting back into something you were forced off for so long”.

This issue was far deeper than Ikura had originally thought. The initial problem wasn't attacking the Elite Saiyan, at least he didn't believe it to be. Something else had to have started it off, and everything since had only been a snowball effect. Difficulties after the fact, lack of nutrition, lack of proper rest, other stressors, they only served to amplify the problem. A week certainly was not going to suffice in this case, not without medicinal aid. He rather loathed prescribing pills and the likes, but given their time frame, and even the few days extra he might be able to get they hardly had the chance to make proper headway. An explanation of Viral's forms served to shed light on the mystery, though it didn't appear to ease his thoughts at all. If anything he was more uneasy now, perhaps over his lack of knowledge and subsequent control over his powers. That was an issue that could be resolved with training, and that would have to be left in the hands of someone like Vegeta, or even Yumi. Before they parted ways again he would have to divulge all of his information to Vegeta, the boy would know how to make use of it. Plus that way too it would be safe from prying eyes, eyes that had been dogging him quite often as of late.

"So the starvation is because food triggers the memory of what you did, thus rendering you unable to eat... Seems we would have to address that issue first and foremost. Without a proper diet it's quite difficult to improve much else, I'm afraid. You'll need it for your training as well, we can't have you doing that on an empty stomach." To resolve his trauma on eating the Saiyan... Now this was a first. Ikura had never treated someone for eating another person, and for a moment he was rather beside himself. Collecting his thoughts for a few moments the older man sighed softly, lifting a hand to rub at his head. "Viral... A means of addressing events like these is re-exposure to the event. We can try that, and through that we can build a defense against it so you're not as adversely effected. Now I don't mean recreating it exactly, but a similar scenario. If you think you'd be able to partake in such a treatment I can arrange something for next meeting as well. I'm sorry to say I've not very much on me right now to help anything."

Viral didn’t think any of this was helping him, all he was feeling was insecure with having to tell this man all of these things with no solution other than to put it fresh in his mind again. He didn’t like it and didn’t enjoy sitting around here for so long with all these possibilities of his future passing by. It would had been a whole less painful to go through forced memory loss than have to talk about all of this, especially when it was always on his mind and plaguing his dreams too. He didn’t have an answer to his transformations either, despite the man trying to give him one. Sure, he had another somewhere, but them coming out because of certain influences with the triggers making him lose his mind was always a concern that they were growing beyond him. It was such a pain; he felt so weak and yet there was nothing else he could do to get strong again and it was impossible to get stronger than the others now, not unless he transformed. He was such a pathetic excuse for a warrior, especially when he was the weakest of the bunch now. He had been made and existed in the completely wrong time.

Giving Ikura barely much of a glance, he let out a grumble at the talk of food, not really enjoying it beyond what he already had to talk about, “Hmph! Humans train on an empty stomach…so why am I different…” he grumbled, looking elsewhere, “I don’t care for hunger so long as I can keep it at bay. I was fine with the stomach aches and suppression…” He didn’t know how they were supposed to sort that problem when it was completely related to health; any other creature who stayed off food for this long probably would be dead, so Ikura should at least be interested in the fact that he was not dead yet. He may as well have been dead thinking about it, his problems way too out there to be fixed. Feeling fed up, he quickly looked back again at the mention of reliving the events, giving him a look of disbelief before turning around to face him again, “A similar scenario?? Are you crazy? Or are you just sadistic??” he asked up, feeling completely against the idea, “Look, this isn’t only things to do with near devouring someone; that problem only stems to my appetite a tiny bit! Do you want to make me kill myself??”

"I know, I know. It's not a very pleasant idea to re-experience that kind of thing. But please understand where I'm coming from. By going through the event, or something similar, we can build up a tolerance and proper coping method. We'd be able to better temper you against things like that, so in the event it ever happens again you won't be as severely crippled by it." That was one of a few ways they could help Viral, though Ikura favored it above the others. By addressing the issue as directly as possible they had the greatest chance of success. "I won't try to make it sound pleasant, because the process will be anything but. In order to make progress however we must do some things that may not necessarily be easy for you. If you're not fond of that suggestion we may certainly try another." A handful of treatments were available to them, after all, the least of which included medication. Aside from developing coping methods with the event, for example, they could take on stress in a general sense and find means of reducing that. There was a little skepticism as to how that would help a more defined problem though, Ikura would rather be direct and attack it at the source. The means in which they would go about this however all depended on Viral.

So the Saiyan dilemma would be their priority, since once a healthy eating habit was re-established getting Viral to cooperate and relax would be far easier. How to go about it though... "We need to reacquaint you with food, since a good diet will lead to good well being overall. In the absence of medication we'll need to use some kind of therapy to address this, I'll only prescribe pills if deemed need be, I hope you understand." Viral was definitely appalled at repeating the event, understandably so. Perhaps the actual motions shouldn't be of concern, but rather his feelings towards them. Yes, if they could somehow ease his guilt, fear or even anger then the problem may work itself out, ideally. "I'm speaking solely of this problem because it seems a good stepping stone to the rest. It will be a process, Viral, and we need to work through it together. If I can ask... What words would you use to describe your emotional state towards the event? Tell me precisely how you feel about it, or do your best to."

This man was insane if he thought going through the torturous experience again would help, especially when any other normal being would have died long ago from it. Viral knew he was going to be worse off if he went through that; it may work with a human, but no human could live through what he had to experience. Feeling pretty close to leaving, he gave a glance to the door before back to Ikura, growling lowly as he backed up on his chair, “Of course I’m not fond of that suggestion! That method may work for humans, but incase you never noticed when you were making me I am not a human! Hell, I’m not even in the same class as organic creatures! Just stop thinking I’m like a human…that’s not going to get you anywhere! And it’s not going to get me anywhere…”

This all seemed pointless; this ‘help’ he was supposed to be receiving wasn’t helpful in the slightest and just sounded like suggestions overall. This was not helping him in the slightest and it felt pretty awful, but maybe one problem that was causing the worst of them all around, at least in regards to hurting people. Slowly rubbing his head, he frowned a little as he stared at Ikura, “Great…however you’ll get me to do that”, he muttered, feeling a little down. The process of eating seemed easy enough, he had done it before with the fish, but he still felt ill after it and had managed to spark something in him that certainly didn’t help with the situation much. Scratching his stomach slowly, he looked a little confused, “My emotional state? I hate myself”, he grumbled, folding his arms, “How disgusting and disgraceful…literally sick to my stomach! It’s one thing hunting and killing animals, but tearing apart someone screaming at you in your language? I’d like to see you handle something like that…”

"Viral, you're more human than you give yourself credit for. Not to correct you, but the majority of your being is in fact based on human genealogy and cells." Now the genetic composition, that was something Ikura was rather familiar with. Viral didn't think he was human, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Smiling the old man held out a finger, folding his other arm across his chest. "True, you are not a 'pure' human, to put it that way, but you are human. All of your cells, the mixture of the animals that make you, they couldn't be combined on their own. We needed a catalyst, something to bind them all together and make it work. As it happened it turned out that, with some adjustments human cells were actually quite susceptible to altering, and through those we had managed to create you." Human DNA was the glue that essentially bound together a Beastman, so in a sense they were in fact humans. More so than even chimpanzees were if you were to look at similar genes. Simply put Beastmen were humans with added features, and indeed every bit as human as a regular one. "I figured you might like to know where your cells come from as well. Getting a donor had proven to be tricky after a while, because there was no guarantee of success. But we had one woman graciously give us enough to work with, and it resulted in your 'birth', if you will. That woman was June, Vegeta's mother and Aito's husband. For all intents and purposes she's your mother as well, biologically even."

In light of that revelation perhaps Viral would finally understand Vegeta and Yumi's claims that he had family. True, he had not been born in a conventional manner, but he was as genetically close to Vegeta as a regular sibling would be. Frankly they could have probably grown a human in the exact same manner, but that hadn't been their end goal. Digressing a bit Ikura smiled sadly as Viral opened up about his feelings a bit more. "But that was not your fault. As I said, your forms will override your reasoning when in extreme duress or when a need isn't being sated. In this event you experienced both, and thus carried out the act. But hating yourself for that would be akin to Vegeta changing and performing a deed. In the strictest sense yes, it was you, but it was not consciously carried out by you. I know you as well as anyone, Viral, even after all these years. You were tempered to be a warrior, yes, and to be strong. But you were not made to be heartless or attack like that. It's not in you to do that, you're far too compassionate when in control of yourself." The smile widened slightly, the corners of Ikura's eyes wrinkling as he reached out, patting Viral's paw. "Upon your birth you were like a child, full of wonder and cheer. That is the kind of man you are, believe it or not. And we will regain that, to some extent."

After all, Viral's childish behavior had something to do with his naivety of the world. Much as they had endowed him upon his creation there was no substituting first hand experience. Being aware of something and knowing how something works were two entirely different concepts. "You mentioned eating before, yes? You felt ill, though I would imagine it did feel nice too, having some sustenance after so long. While your body can go without nutrition it will have noticeable effects. Part of the reason you lose control of yourself when experiencing hunger is your human part, or to put it in another way, your rationale can't sustain itself before the more primal forms. That's why they assume control, to get the nutrition you've otherwise denied yourself. We'll work on your eating, but I'm positive that when you're back to comfortable habits you'll assume control as well."

Viral grumbled a little at his conclusion of being mostly human, not finding all that much care for such a statement. They all constantly tried to get him to believe he was pretty human, but everything he did was not the same as those humans he had watched over for all these years. He didn’t want to be like a human, he was struggling to find a place to belong and while that was happening he was definitely not finding the humans to be a very welcoming community. Feeling lonely because he didn’t have his own kind wasn’t a big concern of his; it was just something on the side that bothered him. He didn’t really know what he was made of completely or why he happened to be made of those things, but having a human base didn’t concern him too much. Feeling little interest with what he was told, he sighed and looked away for a moment, only giving a little glance when June was mentioned.

He wasn’t void of guilt over what he did in the past so being constantly reminded lately that Aito and June were alive at one point, feeling constantly torn by it. It was as if reminding him that he did have someone genetically close to him, but he killed them and now he just has a metaphorical family. Vegeta could keep calling him ‘brother’, but he’s done nothing to earn that title towards Vegeta. It felt as if Vegeta was only calling him that out of guilt for what he did, but he shouldn’t feel guilty when it was completely deserved after being delayed all of these years. Lowering his head a little, he sighed lightly and shook his head, “What if that was what happened when I killed Vegeta’s family? Maybe the RRA man simply directed me? What if he’s done more to me than you think?”

His mind was running with possibilities, every one of them being pretty terrible. Whether he had secrets within him or not, it still worried him, even the possibility that he had a shortened lifespan and could die at any time. Looking down at Ikura’s hand, he frowned at the decision to pet him with words that only made him feel depressed, “Hmph, I’ll believe it when I see it…” he spoke, looking up at him, “I am definitely not like that, otherwise I wouldn’t need to be the adult all the time! Hmph, wonder and cheer…like a child? Maybe because I was one, briefly, and I can’t even remember that!”

Feeling a little vulnerable mentally, he sighed with a feeling of dread with how the man might attack his mind next. He didn’t know how he felt about all of this anymore, his emotions were just fluctuating all the time. The thought of eating again didn’t please him either, he didn’t know what this man was talking about with all of this ‘feeling nice’ after eating; all he could feel after eating was pain with a fever and he never got ill usually. Groaning, he rubbed his stomach at the thought of it, not feeling too good, “And what happens if I eat again and I just change again? It wasn’t that long after eating either and I just felt awful before that; how is that remedied, exactly? I don’t want to feel constantly in pain and then constantly endangering everyone I know! It’s not going to happen overnight, you know…”

Ikura gave a shake of his head, smiling sadly as he looked at Viral. "No, that wasn't the case back then. You were completely healthy, the only way you would have triggered a change unknowingly in that case was someone with the knowledge forced it. Seeing as myself and Aito hadn't done such a thing it only points to our other... Associate. But that is even more reason to not be at fault for what happened, you had absolutely no control over the situation. Matters were out of your hand at that point." Not a very solid counter-argument, but it was the truth. Regrettably he had still yet to find the means in which Viral had been controlled, meaning the method was still out there. The only subsequent way to steel him against it would be to either develop a counter-measure or deactivate the genes responsible, which would rob Viral of his transformations. "We'll consult my notes together and we'll find out what happened, but just remember, none of it is your fault. That traitorous snake is the only one to blame here, you had no part in it aside from being a means to an end."

"Perhaps wonder and cheer was an... Exaggeration, but your mood was certainly more chipper than this. Skipping and singing you were not, but you enjoyed yourself and the company of those around you. It will take time, but we'll bring you back to that point." It would not be simple, not in the slightest. The more they spoke the more issues mounted and the more dire Viral's situation seemed. Much as Ikura loathed to say it medication would most certainly help in this situation. While not a complete remedy it would help soothe the Beastman and, side effects withholding, would calm him enough to be more open to therapy and perhaps even eating. "Should you change then we'll simply keep you from harming yourself or others. I don't imagine your friends will be terribly indisposed to helping this process along, they'd be more than happy to help in fact."

Right, on to the topic of medication then. A disgusting idea frankly, but there was no denying the potential benefits. And were it to not work they would hurriedly back off of the pills and move back to straight therapy. "If you'd be willing to do it I can give you medication here and now to use. Mind you it's not an instant fix, but it'll help regulate your anger and stress to more manageable levels. Depending on how you feel while taking them we can either continue the regiment or stop it altogether, but it might do you some good." Reaching over to his desk Ikura grabbed a sheet of paper, a sheet specifically for prescribing medicines. Beginning to fill it out he sighed, not very thrilled at doing this, "I really do wish we could continue this session, but there's something that requires my attention this evening. Here's your prescription, if you decide to take it though," he added, handing it over. "Bring it to the nurse downstairs at the front and someone will fetch it for you. You'll want to take one in the morning and one in the evening, each with water followed by a meal. We can meet here tomorrow, same time and place if you wish to continue our sessions."

Smiling kindly Ikura reached out, patting Viral's shoulder again. "You will get better Viral, it's just a matter of time and effort. I swear to you that you'll be happy before we're done here."

Viral could only keep trying to convince himself that there was nothing wrong with him, that he was just glitching or something similar, but no matter what the lack of self-belief left him feeling drained and unforgiving of himself. If his problem was that he was severely damaged and it was nothing to do with his hunger problems then he would probably be better off getting a complete fix up; of course, that would have to count on whether he was able to be fixed. He was pretty scared inside, even though he would never admit it, if not for himself but for his future. He could never get his strength beyond the others, that crushed him pretty well into the ground, but he’d be damned if he was going to end up being the cause of everyone’s death because he was broken.

Letting out a groan as he rubbed his head, he kept his eyes off Ikura as he stared downwards who continued to talk. He was trying to reinforce the idea that it was an accident, but until it didn’t happen again then he wasn’t going to be able to believe it, “Maybe while you do that, you can tell me whether you are able to treat me in a way that doesn’t involve me reliving everything all over again”, he sighed, shaking his head, “I am not wanting to do such a thing when it was the only thing I experienced for a whole year…hmph, I’d rather die then and there…”

Feeling as if there was nothing else to go for, he let out a sigh and tried to pull his mind away from such thoughts seeing how much it upset Yumi when he mentioned it back on the other planet. He thought about it many times before, but he’d definitely not be the one to kill himself and would rather he’d die in battle; of course that was going to be no problem in the future, seeing as how weak he was compared to every other super-powered being. Ikura certainly seemed to know a lot about his past before everything else happened, despite it being many years earlier. Finding it a little hard to believe, he groaned and looked towards the door, “Just how much do you think of me if you remember that…” he muttered, looking back to him, “Either way…I don’t know how much longer they can put up with me”.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if this was it for their discussions as medication was brought up, a frown immediately appearing on Viral’s face. Looking down at the prescription paper quickly, he looked back up quickly with an angry look on his face, almost blurting out his anti-anger problems argument until he realised he would just be proving Ikura’s point. Looking back down to the paper, he took the paper and stared at it, groaning as he stood up, “After a meal? What did we just talk about…” he grumbled, his eyes going to his shoulder as it was touched. He wasn’t amused by that, especially considering he had no way to eat without something terrible happening to him and medicine couldn’t fix that. Frowning, he turned to look at the door, “I don’t understand how that will be possible; you don’t even know half of my problems…”

Ikura put his hands up defensively, offering an apologetic smile as he nodded his head. "A poor suggestion, please pardon me. It's just one of the ways we can address PTSD, though certainly not the only one. We'll skip over that option." They still had other viable routes to take, the others didn't involve re-exposing Viral either. Regardless of what path they did ultimately choose he was going to at the very least have to speak about it. That was the one constant in any case, they couldn't escape that fact. However they went about this the fact of the matter was counseling was desperately needed. Viral was quite depressed, borderline major depressive disorder even. Things would only get worse the longer they sat, Ikura knew they had to fix it here and now, if at all possible. Or at the very least begin the process of recovery. "Put up with you? That suggests they're reluctant, and that's not the case. They care about you Viral, and they always will. True, they may not know how to help you, but that doesn't diminish their concern. If anything it makes them even more concerned. And having others care about you is nothing to feel guilty for or be ashamed of. It's a sign that others love you."

Now for the part Ikura would much rather avoid altogether; Prescribing medication to Viral. It was the option he nearly always avoided, yet given their limited time and number of sessions there was no escaping it. The pills would not be an instant fix, therapy would still be required to an extent, but it was better than nothing. This was all provided too of course that there were no adverse side effects. "The food does not have to be solid, if that's your issue. Apple sauce or something of the likes will suffice," the doctor replied, smiling kindly. "Or even some kind of nutritious beverage. Really you just need something else in your stomach to help the medicine dissolve and spread. Talk with Vegeta about it when we're done here, I'm certain he'll know what to give you." This meeting had been far too short, but there was no helping other arrangements. Ikura couldn't in good conscience put off other patients for Viral no matter how much he wanted to stay and talk. "And that is why I intend on hearing them all before we're through. I'll do as much as I can for you, Viral. We'll make some headway, I'm certain of it."

Ah, there! A nice stomach full of food had served to pep Takeshi up pretty well. No doubt after they finished with training he'd be sprawled out on the couch fast asleep, but for the time being he was geared and ready to go. At last having some time to themselves the older boy figured it was good an opportunity as any to train Shu a bit, and T'charrl as well. Both of them needed to learn some energy control, and they could do a little sparring as well. Just because it was downtime didn't mean they weren't going to stay active, he'd probably go nuts if they didn't do at least a little bit. Considering they were going to be using Ki attacks, and Shu's illustrious history with them, Takeshi had taken the precaution of leading both his brother and the Kaesstrian a fair ways from his home, though still on his property. Out by the forest now he smiled at the others, standing with his back to the trees.

"Alright guys, here's where we'll do our lessons! Now, I figure there's three areas we can go over to practice on," he began, raising a finger for each point, "We can do energy attacks, flight, or sensing energy. I figure we can do one or all of them, whatever you two want to do." Kind of a shame that no one else was out here, it would be nice to have a variety in training. Really aside from the regular basic attacks he'd picked up Takeshi only had one move of his own, and it was hardly worth passing on to someone. Then again they were here to learn basics anyways so there wasn't a whole ton of need for variety. "Why don't you two vote on what you want to start with? If it's a tie I'll be the tie breaker, fair enough?"