Viral didn’t know where that came from or why he did it, especially to Yumi of all people. It was that part that frightened him the most, knowing he could easily turn on Yumi at random for some unknown reason that even he didn’t know. Trying to shake off what he’d just done he grabbed his head and shook it, growling to himself before looking to Yumi. “Just…let him rest, okay? I don’t want him to get up just to get me something only to end up working again”, he spoke quickly, dismissing the idea, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t do anything more for me”. He was feeling pretty bad for doing that to Yumi and now she was probably frightened and completely put off by him. He didn’t mean to do that, he didn’t know why he did that either when it just slipped out. That was just so stupid of him, allowing himself to show aggression towards her when she hadn’t earned any of it. He really wanted to apologise, but he didn’t know how he was supposed to when it wasn’t something he could control. He was not feeling okay at all, but he couldn’t let himself get all caught up by this. Holding his head low as he walked on he barely glanced at Yumi, mumbling, “Great…great. More sitting and watching me because I screwed up…”

Shu didn’t have a clue to why T’charrl would be down there, but then again Shu didn’t have much of a clue to what the appeal of that place was. Last time they went down there it was so dark, large and empty, but then again maybe he liked big, dark and empty places. If it was a problem with the lights then he could see why he’d want to sit around in the dark. Looking to Takeshi he gave a smile, hiccupping as he bounced along, “None yet!” he squeaked as if hiccupping when he spoke. He was starting to get a little bothered by them now, feeling as if he was just starting to get sore from them. Bouncing and huffing his eyes soon went to Takeshi again when he gave him some tips, feeling a little lost to what he meant. Holding his breath for a brief moment he soon hiccupped through it, giving his head a quick shake. They would eventually go away he figured, especially when he didn’t have any water around to help him.

Following after Takeshi was beginning to feel a little like a trek, but eventually Takeshi made a stop and they were finally there at the door. He didn’t know if he could hear anything going on in there, but then again once those doors were closed everything sure did go pretty silent unless you were actually in the room itself. Looking to Takeshi he slowly backed off, giving him some room to work through the door. He swore he could feel some strange energy going on somewhere, but whether it was here he had no idea. Looking up to Takeshi and back to the door he frowned a little, backing off, “Uhh, maybe all quiet is-“ Takeshi soon had the door open and immediately he peered in as well, tilting his head at whatever the large shape was that wasn’t too far into the room before it soon came to light. That was T’charrl alright, but he was near beyond recognition with large spines, huge muscles and those giant glowing eyes through what he thought was a mask. Squeaking, he felt at his chest before getting a fright as Takeshi suddenly let out an odd scream and promptly fell to the floor, his eyes watching him go down, “Ooh! Takeshi?” he squeaked, squatting down beside him and poking him in the side, “Takeshiiiii…? It’s Friend! Ooh?”

T’charrl had spotted them when the light shone in, his large eyes turning to the pair of them beyond the Spirit who continued to try and bind him down. The orbs felt like they were being held down by it, even his head making a struggle to see the pair. He didn’t recognise them as evident by his horrendous snarl, his body still trying to move as it continued to slowly get worse. The Spirit was at first relieved when Takeshi and Shu popped open the door, its eyes quickly turning towards them but no sooner had it gone to open its mouth Takeshi had done the same, letting out a scream before passing out, ”Ah! No, wait!” A lot of good that had done and now the kid was also distracted, the Spirit not having a good time with this at all, “Please, help us! Your fear is only feeding the corruption and that’s not going to help at all…” The Spirit was trying to be as nice as it could about this but T’charrl was still warping beyond his control, any more and he may mutate further. It was already worried that this might have some implications when he finally found his true form again, but if they had to cross that road then the Spirit would help guide him beyond simply being it’s vessel.

Though she wanted to get Viral some help right now Yumi eventually relented, letting Vegeta get the rest he needed. So long as they kept to Viral's room and she did what she could to keep him calm they ought to be alright. "Okay, we'll just go relax in your room then, that's fine by me," she replied, smiling slightly, "Maybe we can find something to pass the time... I don't know, a game or something." Maybe what she really needed to do was keep the Beastman's mind preoccupied, not give him a chance to focus on anything that might make him change. Unless it was his energy doing that, in which case she hadn't a clue how to help. Best to just play things as they went along and help where she could rather than try to find a single solution she supposed. Turning her head back to Viral she frowned, giving her head a shake before looking straightforward again. "What happened isn't your fault, you know that right?" Yumi asked, smiling slightly, "You would never do that to any of us on purpose, I know that. So don't feel like you're wrong, because you're not, it's whatever is making you do this that's wrong." Now Viral was going to be all guilt ridden, and it really wasn't his fault. Sigh... If Vegeta really did have the answer to all of this then he needed to get around to administering it pretty darn quickly.

For something to make one of the Princes scream like that... Haku must be insane running towards it. Heck, he was already insane siding with the rebels anyways, once the King found them he was as good as cooked. He tried using the rationalization that if he helped somehow now he might get in good with these people though and maybe not be cast out like he had been, like he was back with the Saiyans. Fanciful thinking perhaps but it was worth a shot. In spite of his rather powerful urge to turn tail and run away he forged ahead and kept running into Gods only knew what awaited him. At his pace it didn't take long to find what he was looking for, knowing he'd gotten the right spot by recognizing Shu's wild mane of hair from a ways off. There appeared to be something on the ground beside Shu too, but from here it was difficult to make out just what it was. It wasn't until he had come much closer that he realized it was Takeshi lying there and seemingly out cold, but how? Shu was just sitting there prodding his brother's side, so maybe it wasn't all bad if Shu wasn't freaking out. Skidding to a gradual stop he looked at the brothers rather confused, staring at Shu for answers, "What happened? Why's he on the ground like that?" he asked, speaking rather quickly. Out of the corner of his eye he managed to catch something else, and slowly he turned his head to see what it was as he felt a chill run down his spine. What he saw sitting there in the storage room was... Well even he could recognize that it was T'charrl. But what in the hell had he turned into?! Staring wide eyed he froze up a bit, reaching down blindly to try and grab Shu, "Uh... W-We should probably g-go...."

“A game…? I’m not familiar with games, or care for them”, Viral mumbled, not exactly understanding how that would cheer him up, make his mind better and help him in this particular time. She could play something if she had something to play with, but he wasn’t confident that such a thing would help. The very suggestion made him feel as if such a thing was just for Yumi to stop her from getting bored or to distract her from the truth, but either way it made him feel uneasy and a little bit like a burden. If it was okay for him to be left in his room and left to cool down then maybe that would be okay, but then again if he didn’t cool down and just got worse in his room then anybody who decided to come into his room was probably pretty doomed. There was just so much negativity flowing through his mind, but then again staring at the floor as he walked didn’t give him much to distract his mind. Feeling a little lost in thought it was Yumi to break that train of thought and bring him back, but instead was trying to make him feel better. Letting out a grumble he slowly shook his head, “It’s part of me. It’s always been a part of me, just…the switch is broken”, he spoke, sighing as he looked up, “…And it’s breaking down further. I can’t do anything about it”. Everything was just unsettling, even the walls of the ship made him feel on edge. They were like a hospital, or rather as close to what he could understand a hospital being like when compared to the laboratories of the Saiyans and Capsule Corp. Everything felt like it was closing in around him all the time, even now. Coming to a crawl he slowly looked around, remaining crouched like a feline as he stared at the walls with a feeling of unease.

Shu had no idea what he was getting himself into or knew how to react, but his hiccups were sure gone and he wasn’t going to be bugged by those anymore; however, the biggest bug he had to deal with right now was their friend. He had never seen this before, as if his largest form had become all bloated, covered in spines and extra orbs too. His face was especially scary to look at and it was no wonder Takeshi had screamed like that, seeing how it was a lot more bug-like than before. Poking Takeshi to get up he frowned when that wasn’t working, his eyes turning up to whatever was speaking to him now. The Spirit wasn’t glowing but was instead a mist in the darkness, but he could see it whenever T’charrl moved his head and the light from his eyes and orbs managed to show it off. Frowning, he slowly stood up again, backing off a little, “Uhhh…u-umm…how do I-“ Squeaking, Shu didn’t think there was anyone else there until they spoke up, his eyes immediately going to Haku before back to T’charrl. His friend was in a lot of pain, he could tell just by looking at him and yet here Haku was, trying to drag him away, “No! Friend needs help!” he squeaked, pulling at his arm, “We have to help him!”

The Spirit had a little doubt when Shu didn’t seem to know what to do, but when Haku turned up there was a sudden realisation that maybe this could all get better. He was the one who managed to reverse it just by talking to him, so maybe he was here to do it again; however, the flush of fear that went through Haku suddenly told it otherwise, especially when he was trying to drag Shu away, “No! Don’t! Your fear is making it worse!” it spoke up, but a sudden cry from T’charrl told it things were definitely getting worse already. T’charrl was trying to resist something from happening to him, but the Spirit couldn’t pinpoint what until large daggers emerged from his lower arms, his upper arm’s set growing ever larger and causing his claws to grow with them, creating long daggering arms with huge muscles to support his swollen body. Letting out a snarl he was soon able to push himself off the ground, trying to break free from the Spirit’s hold, “Do what you did before! He can hear you!” it spoke up in a panic, looking back to Shu and Haku, “Wake him up! He needs positive energy…even if it is your Ki!”

"You know... Board games, something like that! Or even card games, anything to help keep us busy." Yumi just wanted to keep Viral doing something, she was worried that his being idle might lead to something bad now. Albeit action seemed dangerous too if going by their sparring sessions so really she wasn't quite sure what to do. The only relief she could find in all of this was they were going to be in the Beastman's room, and all the needed to do if he went rampant was somehow keep him in there. Not a particularly thrilling notion considering how dangerous that would be but she'd do it if the need arose. Looking back at Viral she adopted a sad, sympathetic look as he spoke, feeling nothing but sorry for him. The last thing he probably wanted was someone feeling sorry for him and having them baby him, but that was exactly what Yumi felt like doing right about now. Just everything worked against him lately and there was not a whole lot going for Viral anymore, everything that could go wrong did. Unable to keep herself from even trying she walked over to her feline friend, smiling sadly as she leaned over a bit to come to his level. "I know things are bad right now, but they're going to get better..." Yumi said gently, linking her arms around the Beastman's neck in a hug, "Just hang in there, Vegeta and I are going to help you get better no matter what."

Haku was utterly beside himself, having one Prince being out cold and the other a bumbling mess. Or maybe that was just how Shu normally was, he didn't really know nor care. All he knew was after seeing T'charrl as he was now they really should be leaving, sticking around could only end badly. Grabbing hold of Shu's arm he tried dragging him away, frowning when he got staunch resistance from the other boy. "What the hell are we going to do to help that?!" Haku asked, speaking of course of the Kaesstrian, "Whatever's going on is beyond us, we should just leave!" Try as he might to pull Shu away though the young Prince wouldn't budge, he vehemently wanted to help out. Torn between saving his own hide and that of the brothers he finally stopped pulling, frustrated as he glanced back at T'charrl. Help that how? The alien looked like he was ready to tear them all to shreds and they were supposed to help him? Whilst staring at T'charrl he began to notice a peculiar voice, one that didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular. Looking around the area baffled he finally looked back at T'charrl, gathering it was somehow related to what was going on here. "W-Wait... Give him energy? How in the hell do we give him energy?" Haku asked, speaking to whatever in the world was talking to him. Groaning he shook his head, pushing Shu aside as he walked closer to T'charrl, trembling slightly. "A-alright then... If you want energy then h-have it!" Holding his hands slightly apart he gathered Ki as quickly as he could, scarcely enough for an attack before just tossing it at T'charrl, hoping that was what the disembodied voice had meant.

Viral didn’t know why he was feeling this way, especially when he was so used to this place by now. The suggestion of board or card games did make him wonder whether Yumi was aware that he didn’t have hands to use right now, but he couldn’t quite care about that when he was going through bigger problems now. He could feel his own doom emanating off the walls as if they were going to be the last thing he’d remember before his mind vanished completely, all these memory gaps threatening him with something even worse at every moment. He didn’t want for this to affect him, but it was intimidating him greatly and causing him to express that through movement unwillingly. Staring up at the walls as they walked onwards he gasped a little when he realised Yumi was approaching him, raising a paw slightly before lowering it again. She had no reason to look at him like that, he didn’t deserve to be gazed upon like that. Letting out a groan he looked away, gasping when she instead decided to wrap her arms around his neck and not let go. Going pretty stiff he raised a paw, going into try and get a hold of her; however, he thought otherwise when the only way to properly grab her would be to claw at her. Sighing heavily he simply lowered it to the floor again, looking away from her, “There must be worse than this and that’s all I’m relying on right now. Dying from disease, being limbless…being found out by Vegeta…hmph…”

Shu didn’t want to go anywhere, knowing he was needing to help his friend if he was looking like that, “Leaving doesn’t help Friend!” he squeaked, pulling back from Haku to stop himself from being taken away, “I’m not scared! He would never hurt me on purpose!” Shu wasn’t wanting to go anywhere, especially if T’charrl was struggling with what was clearly an inner evil trying to break out. Nothing from his powers had ever shown this before, not to mention if he got stuck like this then who knew what would happen to him. He was in a mild state of panic, he didn’t know what to do to help his friend and if he got stuck like that then their friend was doomed to this room. Looking back into the room he searched for the voice again; however, the sound of T’charrl suffering had him getting anxious and worried. His friend was just changing further, his claws changing more into dagger-like stilts. He was gaining the strength to stand and surely nothing good would come of that, even if he couldn’t get out of the room. Feeling a little panicked he tried to look around hastily for the Spirit before to Haku, feeling pretty startled when he fired off several attacks.

T’charrl didn’t have much awareness of anything other than the pain he was in and the struggle he was going through, but something was driving him forward. Slowly managing to lift his body up he let out a snarl, his large head slowly turning towards the door before he let out a sudden yell as a Ki attack hit him directly in the face. Pulling back quickly he stumbled but fell onto his side with a thump, his claws twitching as the Ki was absorbed. “Don’t hurt him! I meant transfer!” the Spirit snapped as it fell over with T’charrl, “Gently, please! Positive! Don’t kill him!” Despite the attack, T’charrl’s head orb had a distinct bluish glow to it again through the corrupted energy but in Haku’s hasty attack it had left him blinded temporarily. Snarling, T’charrl slowly shook his head as he made an attempt to get up again, his back legs straining before there was a violent spurt of growth in them, his thigh muscles swelling up greatly and his shins extending largely. The back of his body was lifted up despite the massive weight, looking more like kangaroo legs with massive claws for toes at this point right up until spines burst out from the back of his legs and orbs grew out of them. He was much more of a threat now, his ability to move increasing greatly.

Being pretty much at her wit's end Yumi resorted to giving Viral a hug after everything else. It wasn't much and likely wasn't going to do anything but she just wanted to give him one. It was like when you heard someone tell you something really sad and there was just that weird urge to give them a hug for comfort, sort of like that. Of course hugging the Beastman never went as she wanted, and sure enough the words coming out of his mouth scarcely sounded like he was comforted. In a way thinking that his situation could be worse was being positive, kind of. At least he wasn't saying or wishing that would happen to himself which was surely a good sign. "Yeah... It could be worse, and it is going to get better," Yumi stated again, letting go of her friend as she stood up with a smile, "It can't be much longer now, you know that. Once Vegeta has something he wants done he'll work until it's finished, especially if its with one of us. So you can pretty much guarantee you're going to be better soon." With his smarts and work ethic there was no way Viral was going to be suffering for much longer, she was positive of that. And once he was finally better they could get back to doing things like they used to, and more importantly Viral could fight with them again, something he had been dying to do for quite a while. That alone was bound to make him pretty happy, and of course just being healthy probably would play a small role in that as well.

Haku was borderline fainting himself, so the directions given to him by the Spirit weren't entirely clear. Giving energy sounded like a simple enough task, he could do that by just tossing Ki at the alien, right? Before anyone had a chance to tell him otherwise he did precisely that, hurling a small orb of Ki at T'charrl and maybe thinking he would absorb it. At first it looked like his attack just hit the Kaesstrian right in the face, making the Saiyan cringe when he watched T'charrl fall over. Blinding or hurting the alien wasn't exactly what he was trying to accomplish here, so he was relieved when things seemed alright. Relief quickly became unease again when the Kaesstrian got back up, doing so in a sluggish manner but managing to rise to an upright position. Jeez this was freaky, that was one hell of a menacing look for T'charrl. "How the heck am I going to be positive?! Do I have to hug him or something?!" Haku asked, again not totally sure just who he was talking to. Positive, positive, what in the heck did that mean? He hadn't the faintest clue but figured that he could try just transferring energy. He knew how to do it through training, he'd shared some with a few soldiers before when asked so he was familiar with the process. Eying T'charrl nervously he swallowed hard, feeling a cold sweat forming on his body. Well he'd come to help and he was going to, but this stupid business was probably going to get him killed. With one shallow exhale he vanished, darting around as quick as his feet would carry him to end up behind the Kaesstrian. Looking at all the spikes uncertainly he jumped up, finding a clear spot before placing a hand on T'charrl's back, quickly getting his Ki flowing and trying to send it into the alien. "Come on... Take my energy T'charrl!"

---

First the Rebels on the doorstep and now this nonsense. Things were progressing too quickly, much more quickly than they had anticipated. If the situation continued on as it was then this would become a two front war and that was the last thing either side needed. The newest enemy to the fray was allied to no one but itself and a threat to Saiyans and Rebels alike. Whether the other side liked it or not they would have to face this foe first before the war between them could truly be settled. In a way the Saiyans should be grateful that these damnable creatures had decided to appear when they did. With the Rebels being within striking distance of Kortal it would have been one hell of a battle, a battle in which the Saiyans were not wholly ready to commit to. This distraction allowed them to gather their forces again, yet once they had the Rebels had moved off, leaving the remainder of their latest foe for the military to clean up. A few ships had been invaded by the creatures, and one by one they were being cleared of the pests. It was difficult if not nigh impossible to really know if all of the beasts were slain so every ship remained on alert until it was absolutely certain no more threats were nearby.

To think he had to be bothered to come out here and reclaim his own vessels. If he had half competent troops onboard then this wouldn't be an issue and he could have remained back on Kortal. Since the Rebels had been so close however all Elites were recalled to the planet, leaving mostly standard soldiers to fend off the beasts. Being rid of the creatures was a fairly simple task even if Ki didn't work on them. Though that statement wasn't wholly correct, as Yamate had discovered. If you managed to strike from inside the beast, oh say by burying one's fist in it and releasing Ki, then it worked quite well. Messy, but it was a sure fire way of disposing of the vermin. Currently the King found his hands wrapped around the throat of one such beast, throttling the very life out of it with a cold, hard glare on the monster as it squirmed. Ignoring the sorry scraping of its claws on his chest he held firm until it finally gave up, giving it a good shake to make sure it was truly dead. Satisfied he tossed the corpse to the side, watching as it was gradually reduced to purple smoke, same as all of those before it. Slowly the body of the beast melted away until nothing was left, the smoke thinning out and seeming to vanish into mid-air. Such annoying opponents, these beasts. Blow them up, tear them apart, even decapitate them and all they did was turn into smoke, it didn't feel like they were truly fighting anything.

The other ships should be just about cleared at this point, and Yamate knew he just dispatched the last on this vessel. Glancing down at his chest he frowned while inspecting his armor, noting all the scratches and dents on it. He'd not brought his typical royal armor, opting for standard gear as he knew it was bound to get damaged. Good thing he had, it would have been quite bothersome to have that armor ruined by such a frivolous fight. Scoffing again at the notion of his being here the King turned around, and as he did he saw Krom coming towards him. He'd brought the other man along to help him in clearing this ship, seeing as it was one of their larger ones and thus more men would make the job easier. "Part of me almost wants to chase those damned Rebels down, just to let out this aggression I'm feeling," Yamate hissed, dusting off his chestplate as he approached Krom. "I don't like this, at all. These things shouldn't be appearing yet, we should have had more time. If they're beginning to appear then we need to move faster." Krom didn't wholly know his plan, not the truth of it anyways. He knew Yamate was seeking power, but that in of itself was quite vague. The reality of his design was his knowledge and his alone, and he intended to keep it that way for now. "We're going to need my sons again... You know this as well as I do. For us to defeat what's coming and the Rebels we need their strength, whether that's willingly or by force."

Viral felt pretty stuck and could only look back and realise he could have it a lot worse to the point where he would have to be disposed of or receive punishment that could be worse than death. He didn’t want to have to feel depressed about what was happening to him or have to make excuses where it’s not as bad as he thinks, but everything was working against him. She was right to believe that things would get better, especially when thinking things were going to get worse would just leave her depressed too. Sighing a little, he watched her stand up before looking away from her, his eyes slowly looking down before removing his paws from the floor abruptly. He didn’t want to be seen as too much like an animal and the way he was sitting around like a guilty pet made him cringe inside, “That’s the problem; I don’t want him working so hard that he makes a mistake because he’s too tired”, he spoke lowly, growling a little, “It’s expected to possibly take a month or so…” He didn’t know if he could last that long, especially when he was getting stressed from the limited freedom again. Slowly getting off his backside again he carried on towards his room, “I’m not blaming him, but I can’t see myself escaping this place anytime soon when I lack so much personal freedom”.

Shu wanted to try out some transferring of Ki, but his was way too wild to properly transfer to T’charrl, especially when even a quick blast from Haku managed to hurt his friend, “Ah! No rough! No rough!” he squeaked, panicking a little upon seeing him collapse. Even in his deformed state he was afraid for his friend, knowing even falling like that had to hurt a lot with that weight. It was really freaky seeing him like this, especially when he was almost exactly like a big evil skeleton moth so it was no wonder Takeshi fainted. Looking down at him quickly he was soon forced to look back to his friend, seeing his legs warp and allowing him to move again. Now that was scary, knowing he could go for them and possibly hurt them without T’charrl feeling that sense of control over it. Looking around hastily he squeaked when Haku decided to jump in, running off towards the giant mutant. Panicking a little he ran around on the spot, trying to figure out what to do before immediately grabbing the bag of fruit, running in as well, “Friend T’charrl! Friend! Look!” He needed to distract T’charrl so he wouldn’t grab Haku off him, if he could that was. Pulling out some of the fruit he held it up in front of T’charrl, “Food! Yummy food! Sniff, sniff!”

T’charrl wasn’t actually aware of what was happening to him and was just adapting to what was happening to him, his antennae moving around to try and get an idea to where the others were when he couldn’t see them. With his ability to move he slowly swung around, hissing angrily when he sensed Haku run up to him only to disappear, his antennae feeling around the area where he was just before vanishing. He didn’t have a clue that he was on his back, at least not until there was a flow of energy picking up there. Letting out a horrendous hiss he moved his head up, looking ready to try and throw him off before something else distracted him. The smell of fruit had suddenly moved to his face, his head turning once again. The smell danced around in front of him but he couldn’t quite pinpoint it, trying to catch it in its exact place as if finding some sort of pleasure in it like a cat to catnip. With his mind distracted the Spirit soon moved into the air again, going up to where Haku was and using that flow to spread it evenly through T’charrl. It appeared to be working as the mutations were gradually lessening throughout, his body accepting the Ki flow as the Spirit used it to suppress the corruption, “This poor child…you have done a lot for him now, haven’t you?”

---

The ships were holding up for now, battle stabilising briefly enough for movement and reports to be dished out and giving them a moment to think. Krom had been working hard to curve the tide of battle into their favour and it was working, but it was tedious considering what it was. There was no need for this to happen, it shouldn’t have happened and it wasn’t due, but for now he couldn’t worry about that and had to now worry about getting to the King to give his report. His area of the ship was clear and his soldiers were managing, at least for now. Immediately head for the King he wrapped up a wound on his arm, a minor problem regarding some of the injuries the other Saiyans had.

Finding the King not too far away was pretty convenient, making things a lot easier for him when he finally managed to get to him. Sighing lightly as he approached him Krom gave him his full attention, remaining silent as he spoke. There was little to tell the King, especially when he was probably well aware as to why he was there. Looking behind briefly he let out a sigh, his eyes eventually finding their way back to him once more, “My Lord, with all due respect, your sons will not be so easily tamed as their alliances grow”, he spoke lowly, generally seeing it as a wasted idea, “Your youngest would need to be tamed again and your eldest won’t come easily. The Beastman is still loose with them. How do you plan on retrieving them?”

Even if Viral didn't believe that things would improve they had to keep telling him that. If he lost all hope and had those around him saying the same thing then there would be absolutely no reason for him to go on. It wouldn't matter then even if they did make a breakthrough, if Viral had no notion of improving he might refuse treatment. Yumi was disappointed they couldn't go and see Vegeta, albeit Viral raised a fair point in that regard. Vegeta wasn't incapable of making mistakes and considering the gravity of this work they really couldn't afford to mess anything up. It would be best if their friend was completely rested and ready for the research, otherwise it could well be all for naught. "Okay, so we'll let him sleep for now then. Plus, if you really need him later then he can just come to your room, if you're worried still about everyone else seeing you that is," Yumi said, frowning a little, "Yeah, sorry about that... I just don't feel like I can let you be alone right now honestly. If I can keep you calm somehow, or at least keep you from going off then I'll stick around. But don't think I'm blaming you for my being here, I'm happy to help!" It was no trouble to be with Viral even in his condition, she didn't mind that in the least. Choi could wait, there was time to train and she had just eaten so there was nothing whatsoever calling for her attention besides the Beastman right now. And just as well, she didn't want any distractions at the moment.

Haku resigned himself to bug feed by the time he'd started moving, hoping like hell that didn't end up being the case. His best bet he figured was to get around T'charrl and onto his back, hoping that the Kaesstrian's arms weren't going to be nearly flexible enough to reach him. More worrying were the spikes protruding off of the alien, something he could see being skewered by if he happened to get pressed against a wall. All sorts of unpleasant scenarios went through his mind in seconds but he went ahead anyways, managing to get himself up and on T'charrl. Following what the Spirit had told him he placed his hands on T'charrl uncertainly, beginning to give over Ki as best he could. To his surprise it was being drawn a bit quicker than he'd liked, and found it hard to pull away all the same. All he could do was sit there with an uneasy look as he let the process carry itself out, hoping all of his Ki wasn't taken. Haku nearly wet himself when he came eye to eye with the twisted Kaesstrian, fearing he was about to be in a world of hurt. Mercifully Shu of all people came to his rescue with a bag of fruit and managed to draw T'charrl's attention away, leaving Haku to take care of his part. Breathing a bit easier now he began to notice some of the new changes undo themselves, spikes receded and fur began replacing the hardened-leathery substance on the surface. Either it was working or T'charrl was fixing himself, either way the Saiyan was just relieved. Again out of nowhere that voice began speaking to them, startling Haku and near making him fall off. "W-What...? I-I've done nothing for him...! Have I...?"

---

The appearance of the creatures was coming too soon, they couldn't waste time any longer on trivial matters. Those damned Rebels were going to ruin everything too, if only they had any idea what they were doing by starting this war. Yamate needed his children back and he needed them soon if they were to successfully be rid of this new threat. To get his children back this time they were going to need more than a simple raiding party though, and he seriously doubted they were going to be foolish enough to just come to him again. They would have to be taken by force, and made to see things his way. For that he would need help, and here came one of the men who might be able to assist him in doing that. Yamate knew Krom had reservations but didn't particularly care, near most Elites had some issue with how he dictated things, that was just how their nature as Saiyans caused them to act. "How do I intend to retrieve them? By force, I'll take them from their 'alliances' and bring them here. No collars, no taming this time. I will show them our side is the side they should be fighting on, plain and simple. I won't allow the Rebels to disillusion them any longer." He was simply sick and tired of Korian's meddling, that man would be dealt with as soon as Shu and Takeshi were retrieved. "I don't have to tell you that you'd be part of this task of course, but humor me, Krom. Do you truly believe this is a fruitless effort, bringing my sons back?"

Viral had little doubt that Yumi would want to make him feel better whenever she could, but whether he could believe that she would be correct in assuming these would help him was a bit of a longshot. He did want to feel better and feel the wind on his face without the smell of despair in the air, but he was getting worse and not at all better ever since being released from the King. He was not very well and knew he wasn’t, even if his illness wasn’t that he was showing sickness. “Even if I was left by myself like this, I’d probably tire myself out, anyway”, he spoke lowly, frowning, “So long as you locked the door behind me. My only worry is I may attack you at any moment”. Despite his worries he was still willing to let Yumi in if she didn’t get hurt, even if the risk of that was fairly large. Finally making it to his room he glanced up and down the corridor, giving a frown before standing up and trying to get the keypad to work for him, struggling when it wasn’t picking up a response from his large fingers before it finally opened. His room was extremely empty and looked near enough like he had barely touched his bed if at all lately, probably because of all the time he had spent with Vegeta or near the lab on watch. Groaning, slowly he moved into his room while holding onto the wall, eventually moving into the centre of his room and just sat down, facing away from the door.

The Spirit found it so much easier to purge the corruption, but there was definitely that worry that T’charrl would never fully recover from this bout. It was quite aggressive this change and there may just be another mutation that will linger from this one, but there was no telling what that might be before it actually happened. There was no way any of their species could go through that much trauma without something happening to the sufferer. He had sustained that form for way too long, but hopefully whatever it might be it won’t be that traumatising. With Shu and Haku keeping T’charrl occupied it wasn’t long before the corruption began to recede, his fur returning and his body becoming a lot leaner. “You helped him reach his second form, kept him focused so he could fight off the corruption, fed him…now, you are giving him energy, even if you blasted him in the face…” it spoke calmly, becoming much brighter as T’charrl’s form became a lot less mutated, “Maybe you should tell him what you did…and maybe you should wake his friend up too.”

As T’charrl’s form soon began to resemble his largest form once more he seemed oddly weakened, even when he had received a lot of energy. His largest form had changed with his latest mutation, his face baring the horn-like adornments, larger mane with the several odd spines running down his back and limbs, but his skeletal structure had taken on a fairly hefty change. His secondary arms were lower than his main arms which had a sizeable gap, allowing him to use his secondary arms as extra legs to support the massive weight that was still his enlarged upper abdomen and arms while his main arms were free to remain off the ground, his spinal structure looking much longer between the two sets. His legs still resembled a kangaroo’s but his feet were much more spaced out as he reared up a little. Despite the massive changes they seemed almost natural, as if his form had been evolving along with his power. Trying to keep a focus on Shu he seemed to huff and puff, trying to open his large eyes before his body fell forward, nearly landing on Shu by accident.

Shu had to take a leap out of the way when T’charrl came crashing down, shuffling around his body before looking up to the Spirit and Haku, the former vanishing soon after he gazed at him. He wasn’t really able to catch what the Spirit was saying to Haku, but it probably didn’t matter all that much considering it was all over. He hoped Haku didn’t get bumped too much on the drop T’charrl took, but then again he was more worried about his friend considering Haku wasn’t exactly nice to him a lot of the time. Squeaking, Shu immediately ran around to T’charrl’s head again, giving him a pat on the snout, “Friend? Friend, are you okay…?” he asked, but with a hiccup he was soon backing off from T’charrl again as his body started to glow. With his energy lost he was probably going to change back, but the noise from T’charrl told him something else. He let out a whine instead as if something was irritating his mind, Shu tilting his head before sure enough T’charrl started to shrink. Pulling the bag to his chest he moved with him, watching him curiously before realising he was becoming smaller than he had been before, much smaller; in fact, he didn’t seem to have muscle at all. Staring at him for a moment he tried to work out why that was, but sure enough he soon realised what was happening. T’charrl had managed to shrink himself back to his more normal form, even if there was a few extras: his wings had changed to the spiny yet flowing wings and down his back and limbs were the same spines if much smaller and not as scary looking, his body still baring the orbs too if a lot smaller, his hair still long in places. He still had the horns from his transformation but even they were smaller and looked like ones he often saw other Kaesstrians with, although looking at his arms he still had those spines somewhere in there even if they were sheathed. Shu didn’t know what happened or how he managed to change back, maybe it was something in his head that did it or something temporary; either way he had to tell Takeshi about this, so long as he woke up in time to see it.

---

Krom didn’t want to have to worry about the King’s sons or did he particularly want to get them back, especially when they were shielded by some fairly tough allies. The Beastman was a particular problem considering what they found out about him, knowing he was more than capable of tearing through his army should he send one. The brothers themselves were a problem, but why the King thought they were the key to winning this fight made him wonder just what was going through the King’s mind. Frowning, the King sounded like he wanted to go in himself if that was the case, feeling none too confident about that one, “My Lord?” He certainly had a fair amount of worry when it came to such a plan, but the King’s question distracted him from that. He didn’t much care to give the King an answer, he was already questioning his work ethnics and had been for a very long time so believing it was a fruitless effort was like questioning how many men he planned to throw at them to get them back, “I merely wonder how they can help turn the tide of this battle, Your Highness”, he spoke, lowering his head slightly, “How are they significant? One is a wild animal and the other is hardly a match for you, nevermind these monsters…”

"I can probably avoid you if you attack me, I did last time. And maybe you can do whatever it was that calmed you down too?" There still wasn't any clear explanation for why Viral abruptly stopped before, nothing that really spoke out and said 'I'm the solution, use me!' Shame too because it was sort of driving Yumi mental not knowing what it was. Vegeta had apparently developed a method of bringing Viral out of this state but she hadn't been told it and the Beastman was anything but willing to share that with her. Much as she could probably prod and ask over and over there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she was going to find out. Not a complete loss, it just meant she was going to have to find her own method to helping Viral. After quite some time of being unable to do such a thing it was realistically unlikely that she was going to accomplish this, but hey, today could be the day. Upon reaching his room Viral went on inside, and Yumi was quick to follow behind him. His bedroom was near spotless and untouched, just a sign of how much time the Beastman had spent with Vegeta as of late. Maybe they had been working a bit too much, good thing then they were both taking a break from tests. Watching Viral take a seat in the center of the room she gave a sympathetic smile, walking over to him and standing at his side. "You've got the neatest bed in the whole ship I bet, so brownie points to you," Yumi said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. With a slight giggle she reached out and teasingly scratched Viral's head, eying him cheekily, "Though I guess cats can't have chocolate huh?"

Holding onto T'charrl and transferring energy was one of the wierdest sensations ever. It wasn't like normal Ki sharing where you controlled the flow and could cut it off at any point. Rather, sharing with the alien was more like having someone siphon your energy away, quite a scary sensation. Haku was close to just tearing himself away from T'charrl and leaving the rest to Shu, not wanting to be drained into a prune. Feeling the alien shift beneath him abruptly the Saiyan gasped and looked down expecting something to come swinging at him, but instead saw a sudden puff of fur basically sprout out of T'charrl. First a small clump on his back, then another on his shoulder, and another on his side. Gradually it looked like fur was re-emerging all over his body, and that wasn't all that was changing. His size was diminishing and the spikes were shrinking too, he was becoming a fair bit smaller. Quickly getting off of T'charrl he backed off a bit, looking down at his hands curiously to find his palms were red, as if he'd been slapping something repeatedly. Weird... Next time someone else could do that energy transfer business. "Gah, would you stop doing that?! It's weird hearing a ghost, or whatever you are!" Haku snapped, yet again being startled by the Spirit. Wow, this was weird, now he was beginning to see something floating there too. Holy crap it was a ghost! Recoiling slightly at the sight of it he stayed firmly where he was, making an awfully confused face when he was thanked for what he had done. "Uh... No problem? I guess? And you mean Takeshi...?" Glancing over at the older Prince he shrugged, figuring that was by and far the least dangerous thing he'd done today. Getting to the point where he loomed over the Prince he leaned down, slowly reaching out to smack the other boy in the fact. Before his hand got there though Takeshi abruptly shot up and the two smacked heads, sending Haku down onto his back this time a bit dazed.

What in the hell was that?! Last thing he remembered was seeing some freaky bug thing, and now his head hurt like hell and everything was all quiet. Oh jeez, was he dead? He really hoped not, he still hadn't gotten a girlfriend! And Shu would be all alone, and... Oh wait, his eyes were still closed. Opening one slowly he winced as he nursed his head, peering into the storage room again. Expecting that monster to still be there he scooted back preemptively, stopping a few feet away and staring into the room. There was no big bug monster anymore, rather a little bug... Not monster. Wait a second, was that T'charrl? What happened to the nightmare fuel he had just seen a second ago? And there was Shu standing over their friend looking quite confused, which was nothing terribly new. If that had been T'charrl before then he must have changed back, and that meant he was better! Breaking into a smile he began moving back into the room, pausing briefly and looking at the dazed Haku confused before sighing, reaching down and pinching the other boy's nose. It took a second but pretty quickly Haku began flailing and Takeshi let go, smiling as he turned his attention back over to his brother and friend. "Shu...? What the hell is going on? What happened to T'charrl?" A closer look at the Kaesstrian revealed all was not completely well, not just yet. He had certainly improved and now resembled more his original form but had yet to truly reclaim all of it, still having little bits sticking out here and there. Still, it was the closest he'd been since they left on this journey and that was certainly something. "Holy crap he's actually better!"

---

Yamate felt it was necessary for them to reclaim his children, they were crucial to beating these creatures. Krom should be able to recognize that given their heritage and the history of Saiyan half-breeds. It sounded as though that reasoning was lost on his subordinate, frustratingly enough he was going to have to explain things. Sniffing impatiently the King shook his head, beginning to walk back towards the bridge of the ship. "Hardly a match for me perhaps, now anyways, but don't forget they bested you twice," he pointed out, smiling slightly in amusement, "They have the potential to become my equals, both of them. You know as well as I do that we will not remain the strongest force forever if I'm the only member of our race to achieve Super Saiyan, more must reach that point. While our race has gotten weaker other races have been growing stronger, meaning we're at a disadvantage. It's only a matter of time until we face an enemy that we cannot defeat, and if we cannot beat them then who can?" It was his concern that these beasts, and whoever was controlling them was precisely that enemy. There had been brief encounters with them before, with creatures different from the ones they were facing now, and their power was formidable. Numbers unknown, true strength unknown, and who knew how many variations of beast there were. In all it was a daunting and harrowing set of odds the Saiyans would have to face.

"Their unique heritage enables them to grow stronger than any of us could hope to in such a short time, we all know this. Humans and Saiyans breeding together has always produced unusually powerful children, that is why I had my boys borne of human blood and not Saiyan. But they either have not reached their potential or don't know how, and the time for them to learn is growing short. If they are to learn how to truly become powerful then they need true Saiyans to guide them, not traitors like Korian, or whatever alien miscreants they might be with now. Unless we intend to take on these monsters alone without any outside aid we need them on our side." Given the current state of affairs and the general outlook on Saiyans it would be impossible to gather support from other races for the fights ahead. Perhaps the method used of uniting worlds had been wrong, maybe there was some chance that the other warrior races would have agreed to an alliance of sorts. Yamate wasn't so sure of that however and still doubted the chances of any peaceful agreement, it was why they had to conquer and enlist other worlds. For the greater good, that was always the intention, with the Saiyans leading the helm. As of late though it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain that goal with all the outside forces pushing in. "The enemy is closing in on all sides, I know you can see it too. Unless we gather more strength and quickly there is a good chance we could lose this war."

Viral was not happy to hear Yumi dismiss his possible angry bouts so quickly, especially when they were dangerous and not something to not care about. He was just trying to warn her about a possible bout that may cause problems again, but she was intent on getting information out of him, “I can’t do anything! Not yet…” Feeling a little annoyed at himself and everything else that was going on he was soon sitting in the middle of his room in a bit of a sulk, not too happy with anything. He didn’t even like what sort of urges he was feeling like wanting to groom or claw at something, all sorts of things that would generally humiliate him in front of Yumi. Sighing, he slowly rubbed his head, generally ignoring Yumi’s comments until she decided to give him a scratch, his ear twitching, “I’m not a cat! Despite how I look”, he snapped, moving his head as if either trying to get more of the scratching or to get her to stop, “I can eat anything you can! If I couldn’t I’d be dead a long time ago…”

Shu was in a brief moment of panic, not knowing what to do in regards to T’charrl looking near enough normal. If he wanted to be honest, T’charrl didn’t look much different to what he was before and didn’t think it was a big deal, at least. Wanting to go to Takeshi but also stay with T’charrl he was somewhat relieved when Haku decided to go off to him; however, the reaction from Haku was hardly anything he wanted when he wanted Takeshi to be fast. Frowning when Takeshi instead banged against Haku he decided to turn his attention back to T’charrl, giving his head a little pat, “It’s okay, friend! No change until Takeshi see”, he spoke, wondering if this was just temporary or whether he truly was back to his old state. Moving his hands back to the sack of fruit he pulled it forward, putting his hand in to move the fruit around a little before letting out a squeak, his eyes going to Takeshi, “Ooh! You yelled and fell”, he spoke quickly, pulling his hand out the bag and giving T’charrl a quick petting again, “He was all big and evil! But now little”. It was a big deal, but it would be even better if T’charrl woke up. Moving away from him he looked up to Takeshi, frowning a little before back to T’charrl, “Ooh! Is he? I don’t know, that was really scary…and it’s dark!”

---

Krom didn’t need reminding that he got beaten by those kids, especially under the circumstances surrounding their wins. It was that youngest one’s fault; it wasn’t as if he expected him to change like that and maul his face. Krom would like to see the King put up with that and see how he gets on with it. Sighing in annoyance he lowered his head a little, staring at Yamate as he gave him the answer he was somewhat looking for, “Maybe we have grown weaker due to our rather lazy lifestyle. We should send the Elites out more”, he spoke calmly, “Send them against your youngest and see how they come out. A trial to prove their worth…hmph, that’ll get them scared enough to desire further strength and stronger children like your own”.

All joking aside, even trying to get that little monster under their control was a job and a half. It was either there wasn’t enough drugs in him or they didn’t get the drugs administered in time. Then there was the eldest and having to keep him under a leash too, forcing him into a state of fear for his brother if he believed they had Shu under their complete control. While it was cruel what they did, it was still necessary for reasons Takeshi will only despise them for. The eldest was certainly powerful when he was angry and with him knowing Shu was locked up had him angry day and night, but even then that was not the primary reason. “They have not had a challenge in a long time. The greatest Saiyans that ever lived were constantly put through trials, but those two…” he paused, folding his arms, “I’m not sure how you plan on getting those two on your side”. There were too many questions lingering and none of them knew how to answer them, especially when the King seemed to want to do all that out of desperation. “We still have the Project on our side; it is going well but is under high risk right now. If we could get the Beastman and that girl back too…we might still stand a chance. Let the enemy toy with us, Your Majesty, for we can still keep them occupied while we gather further strength”.

Maybe it was just an innate urge to pet Viral like a cat, or maybe it was a desire to just try and help him relax. Whatever spurred Yumi to begin scratching her friend ended up with Viral quite flustered and her breaking into an amused if not apologetic smile. "Sorry... But you're really soft..." she said with a laugh, "I noticed it when I hugged you earlier, your fur is so soft and smooth, it's weird. I like it though." Plus if this was distracting Viral from sulking and being upset then that was only even more reason for her to keep doing it. For someone who vehemently denounced his being a cat he looked almost like he was enjoying being petted, leaning his head against Yumi's hand ever so slightly. "Well I didn't know! You could have a cat stomach for all I know, I have no clue how your transformations work." Cats couldn't have chocolate, and from how he looked Viral was all cat, so it wasn't a totally stupid idea. It didn't matter what Viral did and didn't eat anyways since he was hardly eating to begin with, he might as well be fasting considering how sparse his diet was. Not that she could blame him for not having much of an appetite, he'd been through a lot as of late.

Takeshi was all sorts of confused at the moment and Shu did little to alleviate that. Why did his head hurt, what happened to the monster and why was Haku here, lying on the ground? Ugh... And why did his head hurt? He'd missed something serious he felt, something that had his little brother all fascinated and focused elsewhere. When he did glance over he was stunned to find T'charrl back to his old self. Well almost, there were some bits and pieces here and there that didn't look normal but all the same his form had nearly gone back to its original. Moving closer to get a better look he paused briefly at Haku to wake him up, leaving the other boy gasping and looking around awfully confused after having his nose pinched shut. No doubt, T'charrl looked more or less as he did when they had met save for a few little spikes and some horns. Not perfect but closer than he'd been in a long time, shame he wasn't conscious to see it. "He definitely looks better to me. Hang on a second, I'll get the lights," Takeshi said as he stepped back over to the door, flipping up the switch. The lights overhead hummed as they turned on and illuminated the room, showing off a much smaller T'charrl than before. "Yeah, he's definitely almost back to normal, wow... What did you do Shu?"

Man, first he was headbutt and then he got his nose nearly torn off, some thanks for helping out. Haku was just rubbing at his nose too when the lights abruptly came on, making the Saiyan hiss quietly as he squeezed his eyes shut from the sudden assault on his irises. Letting the blinding light fade a bit he slowly opened them again, still holding one hand over his nose defensively as he glanced back at the others. Wow, Takeshi wasn't kidding about T'charrl, he was definitely smaller. Nowhere near as threatening now, he was smaller even than when he'd encountered the Kaesstrian on Earth. So that was what he originally looked like then? No wonder it was a problem, he'd inflated like a balloon. "Ugh... Shu didn't do anything..." Haku mumbled, getting to his feet and giving his nose one more rub, "I did. Some ghost thing said he needed energy so I gave him energy, a lot of it..." Sheesh, just how much Ki had T'charrl take anyways? Now that he was standing the Saiyan felt tired and a bit lightheaded, quite a bit of energy must have gone to the alien then. It felt odd helping like that, especially when normally someone in his weakened state was vulnerable, as he'd learned with the military. So naturally when Haku's mind went to that he immediately felt a bit vulnerable, his eyes going between Shu and Takeshi. "If something's wrong with him don't blame me, I only did what I was told."

---

"I'm looking to strengthen our men, Krom, not kill them," Yamate replied unamused, frowning at his subordinate's suggestion. Shu wasn't fit for battle in his current state, he just didn't have the mettle for it. The collar had been more to get the young boy to actually fight than anything, all the power his son possessed was useless if it couldn't be used. It was similar with Takeshi, they needed the leverage of Shu over his older boy in order to make him fight as well. There was no way those two would willingly battle with or for him now, it had to be done by force if at all. "I certainly never said getting them to align themselves with us would be easy. If it were simple they would be here already. Short of chasing them down and dragging them back personally I don't have much in mind at the moment." There were other things demanding his attention anyways, like preserving Kortal for starters. There was quite a bit of concern amongst the royalty and nobility that if the Rebels were to win Korian would not be corteous to those currently on the planet. Yamate would give he wasn't either, but they had to sacrifice commodities at home to bolster the military. Better to be safe and live without external threats then a lavish life where it could all be lost in a blink of an eye. "They'll target the research centers if they find them, no doubt. If it's going well though then we may have to try launching the project early... I don't like it, but we may need to. If we use our subjects as well that would further bolster our power, and there's no real knowing just how strong they could become."

Viral didn’t enjoy being treated like some animal, especially when he was supposed to show he was better than that. While he did look like one he was still feeling pretty testy to what it meant to look like this and apparently that meant being petted and given scratches. Looking like a right moody cat his eyes went to Yumi quickly before away again, looking down at his paw before giving his chest a quick feel only to be brought into a mood, his ears going down along with his head, “I’m supposed to be a proud warrior…” He didn’t want to have to be like a cat, but whether it was because he was broken internally or his creators never took notice that he might get his wires crossed in this form was going to be a mystery to him. Looking to Yumi with a pretty deep frown on his face, his head remaining lowered, “I don’t have the appetite for chocolate in this form, so I wouldn’t anyways…” he mumbled, giving his head a rub, “I just want to eat flesh. I know where some is too…some still in the medical bay. That’s not far…”

Shu was pretty sure he could help T’charrl wake up if he got him smelling some of the fruit, but whether he would be okay or not was a mystery. If he could do this changing into his normal form thing then he must have unlocked the ability to, but how that happened was a mystery. All he did was turn into a big nasty looking bug, but almost immediately after that he was brought under control and now he was like this. Backing away from T’charrl a little he soon stood up, looking to Takeshi before frowning at Haku’s answer. Letting out a squeaky growl he stamped his feet, not happy with Haku in the slightest, “You wanted to run away! I didn’t want to!” he squeaked, eventually stopping his huff, “I can’t give Friend T’charrl energy when mine is too strong…”

T’charrl seemed completely out of it, his frail-looking body completely lifeless apart from his breathing. That struggle took a lot out of him and everything was merely mumbles and too low for him to make out. As his own energy began to build up once more he was soon allowed to come back to the world of the living, his orbs glowing briefly before he began to move. He still seemed out of it, but gradually that twitch turned into fidgeting. As his orbs lit up again his body took an unwanted reaction, creaking as he began to grow again. He appeared to be in some measure of discomfort as it happened, but as his muscles grew large and his mass increased he gradually changed back into the form he had before the corruption took over. This time there was no corruption and the changing simply stopped where it had done before, the glowing in his orbs ceasing as he was brought back onto his face again, letting out a grunt before opening his eyes. He felt dazed and pretty sore, unaware of where he was and startled somewhat by the light.

---

Krom found it funny that the King called him weak only to find concerns for his other Elites when it came to his children. He had no problem with sending him out to try and get the children, yet he still questioned sending Elites out and suspected they’d be killed. Narrowing his gaze he let out a sigh, looking away for a moment before back to Yamate. There was always going to be that risk when going out to get those kids and while he was growing stronger too, those two always seemed to find some way to overpower him. “While there are all these attacks, it is best not to go out to find them yourself. We need you, after all”. If they didn’t have the King fighting these monsters too then there was probably going to be little chance for them, especially when Krom himself couldn’t be everywhere at the same time too. “We’ll hold off the Project for as long as possible…besides, the Rebels nor your sons know where the Project is. We should be training everyone available in the suitable arts to kill these creatures, Your Highness. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about the whereabouts of your sons yet, too…”

Yumi was doing her damnedest to try and get Viral to relax, even if that meant treating him like a true cat. Even if he wasn't this scratching had to feel good, right? Even with her trying to make him content though it wasn't any good, the Beastman was as upset as he had been a moment ago. "I know you're a proud warrior, I never said you weren't," she said, pausing and looking down at her hand before smiling bashfully and finally removing it. Proud warriors didn't get scratches or hugs, at least not Viral's idea of a proud warrior. She wished he could be a proud warrior and still let himself relax now and again, there was no reason a proud, strong fighter couldn't have fun too. Walking over to the unused bed Yumi sat herself down on the edge, looking at Viral uncertainly. "Uh... Or we can just stay here for a bit, maybe? See if you change back perhaps? I just don't know if going out right now is a good idea, even if you just want to eat." Despite joking around she wasn't wholly comfortable with letting the Beastman out of here quite yet, not with the chance of him attacking again. Being alone wasn't exactly thrilling either as she would face the brunt of his rampage if he did turn, but better it be just her then other people as well. Leaning forward in her spot she laid her arms across her knees, closing her eyes as she yawned, "Hm... Before you uh, went and changed, you were doing really well fighting with me. I mean really well, it's hard to believe you're not feeling well."

Haku wasn't going to let Shu steal his thunder, not if he had a chance to be looked at something more than just a pest or inconvenience. No way was he going to be the bottom rung here too, he'd gotten enough of that when he was with the military. The Prince might have been the one to distract T'charrl, sure, but he was the one that provided the energy and actually made him change back. He was finally looking good and then Shu had to go and try to ruin it, the brat. Glancing over at the other boy angrily he stepped a bit closer, ignoring the fact they were basically the exact same size as he tried to seem intimidating, "I didn't want anyone getting attacked if he went crazy, so yeah I wanted to run away!" he retorted, reaching out and putting a finger in Shu's face angrily, "You could lower your energy you know, you don't have to give him all of it!" Come on, what was he going to have to do in order to not be criticized and looked down upon here? He risked life and limb getting close to a rampaging Kaesstrian and even selflessly gave up a lot of Ki. Maybe not wholly selflessly, but he'd done it willingly enough that it should count for something. More than ready to keep arguing with Shu, Haku instead growled in annoyance as he felt his shirt be grabbed, being unceremoniously lifted off of his feet by Takeshi, as was Shu. "H-Hey, put me down!"

"Will you two please stop arguing? T'charrl's out cold and you're barking at each other, cut it out," Takeshi said, frowning when Haku began whining, "Look, thanks for helping, but don't go off on Shu. I've seen you freak out and run before, I'd believe him saying you did that over you defending yourself. So just shut it and we'll all get along just peachy, yeah?" Jeez, usually he was the one flying off of the handle and getting in someone's face. With Shu and Haku present he might actually have to play parent and keep these two from going at it. Sighing to himself he shook his head, releasing both of the other boys and rubbing at his forehead. "Let's worry about T'charrl for now, okay?" With his sight turned towards the floor he noticed a shadow being cast, meaning there was light coming from behind them. Furrowing his brow in confusion Takeshi turned around and looked at T'charrl, watching in disappointment as their friend changed back. Not into the nightmare fuel from before but the form he'd had before, the bulkier version of himself. They had finally gotten him to his original form, kind of, and he'd gone and reverted back near instantly. Unable to hide a groan he hung his head, lifting it promptly when the Kaesstrian grunted. Surprised that T'charrl was awake he squatted down, smiling slightly as he looked down at their friend. "Hey there... Surprised you're up after that."

---

Yamate hated that Krom was right, he was needed to deal with the creatures. Those capable of handling them were few in number, and those forces were split up to ensure the Rebels didn't try anything. With their total forces essentially halved they couldn't afford to lose anyone right now, least of all their leader. "I suppose there's no reason to rush the tests just yet, we still have time. You're right, we'll wait for now... As for training I can't imagine what training needs to be done. They're only receptive to blunt force, unless you can pierce their skin and then Ki becomes viable. Far as I'm concerned a simple announcement is all the preparation our troops need for that much." It wasn't worth gathering everyone up and running drills, that would take time and more importantly remove everyone from their stations. It was better that people remain where they were for now and let the information be passed around; Knowledge of an enemy's weakness was as valuable as any training. "I haven't the faintest idea where either of the boys are, no. Any attempts to locate them has failed, and with the Rebels closer than ever its near impossible to get a ship out to search for them. Again, you're right. I don't like being wrong so often..." How frustrating, his wants were being denied because of lack of information, information that they should be able to readily acquire. This attack couldn't have come at a worse time. "For now we'll disregard my sons, we've no other choice. I want you to head to the bridge and get someone there to relay the information on the beasts, make sure every commander sees that their men know how to battle. After that... Honestly I really don't give a damn what you do for now. Just be prepared for another attack."

Viral just didn’t want to be given any sort of comforting, especially when the kind Yumi seemed set on giving him was something a cat might like. He didn’t want to be treated that way, especially when she might just find out how to change him back and hold the solution over his head for the rest of his days. Vegeta was a lot better at keeping the solution secretive and knowing when he couldn’t do that it was probably possible to use that device, even if he hated it himself. Letting out a groan as he looked away, lowering his head a little he looked to Yumi as she sat herself down, deciding to lay down on the floor with his head on his paws. “You’re right. Maybe that’s best”, he spoke, trying to get his head in a comfortable position, stretching his legs out behind him, “I don’t want to eat…but I do want to eat…hmph, it’s so damn confusing”. Even if she was just trying to help him he was in a bit of a mood over how he was feeling, but maybe that was just cat-like personality trying to take over again. Looking to her when she yawned he soon yawned too, opting to lay on his side instead. Giving her a little glance at her compliment Viral instead frowned, “Maybe it’s because the pain is unseen. I can’t make it go away without medicine and even that isn’t good for me. Sometimes my head bleeds, but that’s to be expected. I may not be well, but I’m still a warrior! I just don’t…win often enough…”

Shu did help out and didn’t want to be made out to be the one who stood around and did virtually nothing. It was a case of getting frustrated with him to the point where he’d just be trying to make a point over it sounding as if he just stood around and did nothing. Hissing when Haku stuck a finger in his face he stamped around again, not happy with him trying to justify what happened, “I don’t have that much control yet!” Getting all angry was one thing when he was supposed to watch that, but when Takeshi grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up he immediately flipped out, wriggling around and throwing out his fists and feet as if trying to claw the unknown force before realising it was Takeshi. Staring at him he frowned, holding onto his clothes before he was dropped again. Squeaking a little he moved closer to Takeshi, giving Haku a moody look before something took his attention too, his eyes going to the shadow before he turned around. Unfortunately for them it seemed T’charrl changed back, but this form was even different from the other one he had taken for a while now. He was a lot fluffier but also spiky and muscular, looking fairly tall yet large around his soldiers. For some reason he felt like jumping on T’charrl and riding him as he walked, but that wouldn’t be very polite of him either.

T’charrl felt pretty terrible and sore, his body in all sorts of pain. He felt pretty low on energy and heavy for just waking up, but despite how he was feeling he was more concerned with why he was even on the floor and in a brightly lit room, his tired eyes going up to Takeshi, “Huh…? What happened…?” he spoke up, moving his claws to his head he soon removed them, giving them a staring at before feeling the horns around his face. Nobody in his family had horns so he wasn’t sure why he had them, but of course that was his tired mind not thinking through what happened to him to get them, “I changed…? But when…? Ughhhh…tkh-tkh…” Trying to get up he found that it was a lot more difficult than he thought, his weight now completely shifted compared to his last transformation. Feeling low on energy he quickly spotted the bag of fruit from just the scent of it, his tongue reaching out and grabbing it from where Shu previously dropped it.

---

Krom did have ideas to what could be done and how they might be possible to accomplish, but he was sure the King would disagree if only because it wasn’t according to his plan. He wanted to get his kids back but there were more important matters to attend to, namely those creatures, “Sir, we should be either training soldiers to use weapons suitable to take these creatures down or find aliens who are trained warriors in the arts of swordplay, even if it does take time”, he spoke, looking away, “Ever since losing the Beastman we’ve lost a primary weapon master so we’re low on those who can use a sword”. Even if they could grab the Beastman again without the children it would certainly help them a lot to curb the tides of battle, but as of right now the use of weapons had become limited. Looking back to the King he stared at him calmly, lowering his gaze a little before giving a short bow, “As you wish, Your Highness”, he spoke lowly, hardly pleased with how he had been spoken to. Turning away from the King he started to head back the way he came, his first thought to prepare his soldiers once more for battle.

If there wasn't a real risk of Viral snapping again then Yumi would be all for letting him out. If he was hungry too then she'd gladly bring him to the kitchen, she'd even cook whatever he wanted. With the Beastman turning on even her however there wasn't a chance any of that was happening. It may be a bit selfish to think that she was special, but considering their history together the fact even she was endanger didn't bode well for the others. They were arguably in even more danger if she wasn't off limits, and she had only barely saved her own skin earlier. It was like beating a dead horse at this point but Yumi again tried to positively reinforce Viral, give him something to be proud of or happy about. She was sincere when she told him he'd done well in sparring, she had to put much more effort into it than she'd expected going into the session. That aside Viral couldn't appreciate how he'd done, even if he was told directly. "I know it's a bit of a stretch, but think of how much stronger you'll be for going through this?" Yumi suggested, "If you endure all of this and come out stronger for it then it won't be all for nothing. I mean think about it... You have some Saiyan in you, right? So maybe you'll gain some power after you've healed, and then you can train and get even stronger from there! And after you do all of that you'll begin winning battles left and right!"

The fact that Takeshi of all people was having to play mediator was pretty bad, it was usually him getting restrained or told off. Now though he found himself with a handful of both Haku and Shu's shirts, keeping the boys from probably going at it. While he only got a nasty glance from Haku, Shu started flailing in his grip and nearly caught the older boy in the face with one of his fists. Yeah... If these two were left alone someone was going to get hurt, good thing he was more or less always around. Sighing to himself he shook his head, setting both of the other boys back on their feet. "Are you done now...? Because I'll give you both a wedgie if you try anything else..." he threatened, glancing between Shu and Haku. They seemed to be done with his little brother in particular moving behind him as he did, hopefully now they could focus more on T'charrl. Going over to the Kaesstrian he got down to T'charrl's level, greeting him as soon as his eyes had opened. As he figured the poor guy was totally out of it and had no clue what had just happened. Probably just as well, otherwise he'd feel bad for making Takeshi nigh have a stroke. "We don't know when you changed, but you did. And now you changed back, sort of..." It was weird, almost like Viral in a way how T'charrl's forms were becoming all muddled. Watching their friend find the fruit he smiled and went to move it over, halting immediately when a long tongue lashed out and grabbed it instead. Smiling uneasily Takeshi pulled his hand back, managing a faint chuckle as he squirmed a bit. Eh... Yep, still a bug.

Haku was still steaming over Shu making him look bad but let it go, not quite keen on being smacked by Takeshi. Tch... Without that form of his the younger Prince wasn't all that scary, he might even be able to take Shu in a fight. Only problem was they were on the same side now he guessed so that wouldn't happen. Plus he always had someone with him which meant no single fights between them. And there was also the slight issue of being afraid of Shu actually changing and eating him, that was definitely a deterrence too. Ah well, he supposed it didn't really matter what Shu said, it didn't change that he was the one who actually had given energy. No matter how frustrated and flaily the Prince got he couldn't take that from Haku. Heh, T'charrl's supposed friend hadn't been the one to help him, how sad. "You were changed when I got here, so I don't know either. But hey... You're not all big and bony now so that's a plus." Of course seeing as how the alien was barely able to move his original plan of asking T'charrl to spar with him was likely out the window by now. If Haku was going to fight with anyone, which he would rather do than go sulk and be alone, it would have to be either Shu or Takeshi. Between those two he'd still rather Shu, reservations aside. Not having the faintest idea how to go about proposing that though he just stood where he was, hoping maybe he could somehow agitate Shu enough to make him fight.

Viral felt he had little self-control when it came to thinking for himself and what decisions he should make while in this form, his thought process feeling awfully narrow with all these wants and desires. He wanted to eat but he knew he shouldn’t yet still suggested he should, but of course Yumi was proving to be that little bit of self-control he needed to keep it together. He shouldn’t go out of his room and if Vegeta found him as he was currently then he’d have to make up an excuse, maybe something relating to food if Yumi didn’t speak up before him. He wasn’t too into the whole flattery thing that Yumi was trying when he had these thoughts in mind, feeling like he was unable to justify his strength in battle when he lost control not long after that. Looking to Yumi when she decided to change her thought pattern a bit he frowned at first, slowly sitting up and facing her properly, “You wish. Vegeta thinks I’ll be weaker than everyone because of how little I’ve actually battled”, he spoke, eventually sighing and looking away, “Hmph, I don’t even know if it was Saiyans genes I was given…that was merely an assumption. I wouldn’t go beyond basic Human anatomy. Wouldn’t it be too easy to assume I’ll come out stronger after this? All I’ve done is sit around like a useless stick most of the time”.

Takeshi was being a little controlling over Shu and Shu didn’t like it, even if it was his brother. He wasn’t one for being told what to do nevermind controlled and losing control of his feet certainly managed to send him flailing. He didn’t like it and Takeshi knew he didn’t like it, but he still continued to treat him like anybody else. Getting all anxious and annoyed didn’t last very long at least, not until he found that his friend was getting up and a little different. It was a shame, he didn’t seem to take to being normal for very long unless he only got normal when he was asleep, but then again that sounded anything but ordinary even for something like this. Maybe he could turn back somehow after all but he just didn’t know it, especially considering he was giving no actual reaction to possibly having changed back. “Ooh! Friend feeling okay, though…? It was lots of strangeness before, all nasty funny things…but you okay now, right?”

T’charrl felt confused to what they were meaning or talking about, feeling that he was just not catching all of it. So he did change, but how they found him and why wasn’t entirely known to him. Grabbing the bag with his tongue he brought it closer to his face, taking it with his claws once it was close enough before he looked up at Takeshi, frowning a little, “I’m, uhh…sorry. I should know better”, he spoke, feeling a little guilty when he knew Takeshi was scared of him and probably didn’t like him being a typical hungry Kaesstrian, “I changed…umm, really big, right? I should remember that, ohh…” He was worried now, his memory not exactly the best after changing like that. He was worried that he might lose his mind again if that was the case. Pulling open the bag and munching on the fruit as he thought about it his eyes soon went to Haku, frowning, “Bony? What does-…uhh, I-I should see myself later. I don’t know what I am. I-I didn’t scare you, did I…? Am I scary now? Please tell me…”

"Even if you are weaker you can always train and get stronger again. Once you're healthy there's no reason you can't improve and be as strong as Shu and Takeshi are, or even stronger. I mean if you were that strong once then I don't see why you can't get there again, or go even beyond that." It wasn't going to be easy, none of what Viral was going to go through would be. After he was stable again he'd have to make the long journey to getting back to his former glory, let alone getting to a point where he was stronger than most of them. Viral knew that already, she didn't have to say anything on the matter. All Yumi needed to do was be there to help him along the way and keep him going, not let him give up even if the gap between himself and their friends might seem daunting at times. "Maybe it is wishful thinking, maybe you don't have any Saiyan genes in you at all," she said, shrugging her shoulders before scratching at one of her ears, "But know what? Even if you don't have them you don't need them. You were stronger than any of us when we all met, remember? You could have kicked Takeshi's butt easily if you two weren't busy playing tag. So once you get better and you start training again you'll be stronger than any Saiyan. And after you get better too you can finally get the King for what he did to you." Revenge wasn't something Yumi was keen on but she knew Viral was. And maybe if he had that goal to look forwards to then he would stay more optimistic and persevere, even if things got rough.

Haku wasn't sure if he ought to stay around or leave now that he'd done his job. A part of him quite wanted to spar still, and since T'charrl was out of commission he wasn't going to be doing it with the Kaesstrian. Left with only the Princes as choices then he had to pick between them, and neither was a particularly exciting prospect. The only real bright side he could see to battling one of them was if he was beaten then he'd get stronger, albeit it would be quite a painful process. And training that way was awfully stupid regardless as you were useless if you didn't know how to use your power, ala Shu. T'charrl sounded real off and confused about everything, odd to think he had absolutely no recollection of what had just happened. Even without knowing, or maybe especially because he didn't know he was worried about it and asking all sorts of questions, to him of all people. "Huh...? Scare me...? Well uh... I mean you were pretty big, and there were spikes, but I don't know if I was all that scared," Haku lied, trying to sound all big in front of the others. Knowing Shu was just dying to say something to the contrary he glanced over at the other boy warningly before smiling, rubbing at his nose smugly. "In fact, I think you scared the crap out of Takeshi. When I found him he was all lying down and- OW!"

Takeshi started glowering at Haku as soon as he heard his name come up, he didn't want T'charrl knowing what he'd done. Gritting his teeth he stormed over to Haku who was too busy blabbering to notice and smacked him in the back of the head, staring at the younger boy as he leaned over and covered the forming welt. "I slipped earlier, but I was fine T'charrl, don't worry about it," he said, flushing a slight red in embarrassment, "You didn't hurt anyone which is what's important. Everyone is okay now and we can focus on getting you somewhere to relax, you're our concern at the moment." Figuring Haku knew to keep his mouth shut for the time being the older boy went back to T'charrl, looking down at their friend a bit reservedly. It was just T'charrl, nothing frightening or threatening there. Inhaling through his nose he leaned over and grabbed the Kaesstrian carefully, slipping one of T'charrl's upper arms over his shoulder to help him to his feet. Eeeeh... He could feel the hair brushing up against his neck and it was really odd, and not a good kind of odd. Shivering reflexively Takeshi put on a smile, looking at Shu and gesturing to the fruit with his foot. "Can you grab that buddy? My hands are a bit full right now," he asked, then turning to T'charrl, "How about we get you to your room now, yeah?"

Despite it being his idea, Viral was already feeling trapped in his room even with his attempts to relax. He couldn’t sit still or lay on the same spot for more than a few minutes, getting fidgety very quickly. Whether Yumi was noticing wasn’t a concern to him, he would rather she didn’t take notice of anything that was bothering him. Letting out a groan as she spoke he lowered his head a little, ending on a sigh, “I can only question how when I can barely keep up with my opponents”, he spoke lowly, his eyes going to the wall as he looked up it, “I’m going to have to train myself to breaking point or go back to Earth…if I survive”. Feeling fairly uneasy he decided to move again, this time going to the corner of his room and pressing himself against the wall, sitting against it with a sigh. It didn’t make him feel all that much better but he wasn’t panicking so much, “I may had been stronger then, but look at me now! If I was able to control myself I would fight him right now, but…hmph, the King is beyond my capabilities. You know what it feels like to be reduced to this? Even in the King’s army I had a better time…”

T’charrl looked between the three of them with a confused stare, trying to figure out what had happened to him. He didn’t know what ‘bony’ meant, but it couldn’t be good if it hadn’t been used to describe him before. He really wanted to know, already feeling like he missed something. He could vaguely remember starting his metamorphosis, but everything after that was a big black hole. He was scared and terribly self-conscious now, knowing they were scared of the way he looked and continued to appear as. It certainly managed to give him some good panic attacks and right now he was getting answers which could only sparking some. Looking between Haku and Takeshi he found neither of the things they said to be too encouraging, especially when Takeshi was willing to resort to violence to get him to change his story. “Slipped…? Uhh, I-I see. I’m sorry you slipped, but I’ll be okay!” He wasn’t given much of an option as Takeshi soon took hold of him rather awkwardly but still managed to pick him up, his head spinning for a moment before he too tried to stabilise himself, his claws going to the floor.

He could feel Takeshi react to touching him, certainly not on purpose but it still made him feel pretty bad when that was always his and everybody else’s reaction to touching him. He did wonder why they would want to touch him in the first place considering what he was. He did want to know what happened to him, but if they weren’t going to give much details other than big and having other questionable afflictions then maybe it was best he didn’t know. Looking back to Shu he smiled as he took his fruit quite happily, finding him to be the only one who was not giving him much curiosity over how he was feeling, “My room…yes, thank you”, he spoke quietly before sighing, “I’m sorry I left so fast…I-I mean, I didn’t mean to do what I did. I took way too much energy to be safe…”

Yumi tried her darnedest to encourage Viral to stay positive, offering whatever she could to get him looking on the bright side of things. It wasn't easy, he was chronically depressed as it was and even if he was told something true he'd ignore it or find a way to turn it into a negative, as he just did. "Okay... So you've hit a bump in the road, or more like a pit... But that doesn't mean you can't get better again, right? And once you get better you can get stronger, stronger than you were even before all of this!" She sincerely believed Viral was capable of this, he'd been the strongest of their group before for a reason, it wasn't just luck. Sure he may need help along the way but Viral was guaranteed to get the strength he wanted if he really worked at it, and he would once he was better, she knew he would. Watching him sulk off to the corner Yumi felt her heart sink, it was always so sad seeing him like that. Getting up from where she was she walked over, squatting down before Viral and offering a small smile as her ears twitched a bit. "Being a warrior is all about overcoming challenges, right? And being stronger for it? I remember you told me and Vegeta that once. Well we followed your advice, and now you can follow it too!" She just wanted him to be happy, that was all. If it was going to take power to make him that way then she'd do whatever she could to help him achieve it. For now all she could do was offer some positivity and hope it would rub off. Pepping herself up slightly Yumi broke into a smile, reaching out and poking Viral in the forehead playfully. "If two brat kids can do that then I know our mentor can too! We all believe you can, now you just have to believe right along with us!"

They were going to tell T'charrl what had actually happened, eventually. Takeshi just didn't feel like filling him in right away was the best thing to do, and maybe he was wrong about that, but that's how they were going to do this. It was a fair lame excuse saying he had slipped and it was surprising the Kaesstrian bought it, he was not exactly a klutz like that. If it worked for now though then they would leave it at that and focus more on getting the Kaesstrian somewhere that he could relax. Since Shu and Haku were fairly short neither of them could quite help T'charrl walk comfortably, it fell then to Takeshi to support their friend. Getting so close wasn't exactly thrilling but he had little choice unless he wanted to just carry the guy back. Leaning over he managed to link one of T'charrl's arms around his shoulders, and slowly but surely they stood up together, Takeshi being sure to let T'charrl use him to alleviate some pressure. It felt odd having all that hair brushing against him, it was like a bristled brush scraping against his skin. "Hey, don't be sorry. You did what you thought was best, you know? No reason to apologize for that," he replied, smiling as they slowly made their way to the door, "If you want to be sorry for something then apologize to my shirt, it's gonna get stained with fruit juice."