GambolMuse

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"I suppose covering it up is preferable... To a degree. If it eases your pain then it's not bad, but it's not a solution either..." That was the real struggle, finding a solution. To find that much they needed the problem to begin with. Time and time again Vegeta had told himself this, and yet his efforts were fruitless. He hated hearing Viral say medicine was his only option. Whether that was the case or not it was disheartening to hear, it was the equivalent of being backed into a corner. All the more reason to work harder, all the more reason to figure this out. At this point he was exasperated, not with Viral but with himself. For all his intellect this eluded him, why? Why couldn't he solve this? Was his father's level of work so far above him that he couldn't grasp it well enough? He was just about to answer Viral's questions when something caught his eye on the display. Thinking it first just as a trick, having been staring for so long, Vegeta double checked to be certain. On his father's work, the original, there was a series of genes that looked to be intertwined almost. In Sayomi's early work they were disheveled, but still clumped together. And the most recent? One almost looked to be missing, and another smaller than before. Meaning that the genes had quite literally vanished or been deactivated. But how? What would have caused that?

Vegeta though it too good to be true, so he had to check once more. There it was, plain as day, an in-congruent set of genes. What they related to and how they had changed weren't clear just yet, but they were definitely different. "No way... Has it been this the whole time...?" Obviously not, the genetic mapping showed it was over time. Genetic deterioration... It could be the explanation to Viral's problems. Difficult to cause but not impossible, and it was a safe assumption that the Saiyan's could have unknowingly caused it. Okay, so now they had something to go off of, but this didn't tell them everything. Now came the hard part of deciphering precisely what these were, though he already had a safe guess. Considering the symptoms Viral was displaying it was likely they were tied to his energy, and somehow furthermore to his transformations as well. In theory then correcting these anomalies would make things right. But how was he supposed to do something like that? And what's more, there were still more genes to go over. This might not even be the whole issue, just a part of it. But it was a start, more than they have had up until now. "Viral... I think I might have found your problem."

All Takeshi felt like doing at that moment was lying down, maybe just put an ice pack there or something. If Shu had any idea how uncomfortable he was feeling the little guy probably wouldn't be hopping about like a rabbit. Shu didn't understand what his brother was getting at, surprise surprise, to which the older boy could only groan. "Family, kids," he said shortly, glancing over as his sibling came near. Seriously? As if his being sprawled out, groaning in pain wasn't explanation enough Shu still had to ask? "Because you knocked me in the groin you dope!" Takeshi retorted, sitting up abruptly as he did so. In rising he applied pressure, wincing before laying back down. "Ah... Gonna whiz red..." Dramatics aside the pain was already easing up, it was more the surprise of it all. Somehow the younger boy began to think something was inherently wrong with him now, despite not having been the one who was struck. Glancing up, Takeshi lifted his hand, prodding Shu in the forehead with two fingers. "No you're not boring, and I do like playing with you. I'm just... Lying down for a second. Why don't you decide what you want to do next?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Resorting to the pills was never a good thing. Vegeta still loathed the idea of using them at all, but was reluctant to admit they did work. Viral was certainly easier to work with while using the medicine, albeit it was hard to appreciate that with all the negatives too. Just another reason to help the Beastman get better, no more of that blasted medicine. He know Doctor Ikura was only trying to help by prescribing it, and some therapeutic talk was supposed to coincide the prescription. Vegeta wouldn't try pretending he was a therapist, his knowledge of that was miniscule compared to a professional's. "Would it be bad of me to say I wouldn't mind you running out?" he asked, smiling faintly, "I just loathe the idea of being dependent on medicine. That's not solving the problem, it's just covering it up. Don't take that the wrong way, I'm for your using it if it helps, but I don't want to keep you on it much longer." Another reason he couldn't help with therapy, he was much too attached to Viral. Regardless of what the Beastman believed, Vegeta was nothing but sympathetic towards his friend. It was impossible for him then to be utterly objective without letting his personal feelings get in the way.

Takeshi might ask what Shu was doing, why he was thrashing about like... Well like a monkey. He might have asked if he could form a remotely coherent sentence right now. The only noise escaping his lips were groans and winces, his hands defensively lingering over his nether regions. Shu didn't just hit him there, that was near a proper kick. Sheesh did it hurt something fierce too. And the little guy was celebrating all while he was hunched over in pain! What a little twerp. Watching his sibling's display as he fell onto his butt, Takeshi followed suit, sitting down much more gingerly than Shu had. "Ah.... I didn't make you do nothing..." he groaned, leaning forward and hanging his head. "Sheesh... Well for starters say goodbye to your nieces and nephews you just crushed..." It would subside soon enough, but until then it was just pure discomfort. Leaning back he sprawled out on his back, his legs pulled up and pressed together almost defensively. Staring up at the high ceiling he ran a hand over his face, sighing softly. "I don't know... You pick again... I'll do whatever."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Vegeta wasn't implying he didn't care about the Saiyans having data, because he did. The fact someone else had his father's work infuriated him to no end. But marching over to the Saiyan home world, probably by themselves just to retrieve data wasn't a good idea. Like it or not that would have to wait until the invasion, and that wouldn't come until the rebels notified them. Their hands were effectively tied until that happened. "We don't have the resources to attack them right now," he began, voicing his thoughts, "And do you honestly believe we could slip through unnoticed? They'll be on guard because of the attacks, and if we're caught it's not guaranteed we'll have back up, the results could be disastrous for us. That's why I'm saying no." They would get the information back, eventually. Now they should focus more on fixing themselves rather than external problems. "I will scan you soon enough if it will help settle you, alright? Let me do this first," Vegeta added, frowning as he tried focusing on his work. "Pills? Counter along the far wall, third drawer from the left. Just take two, but you knew that already." Maybe this would afford him the moment of silence he needed to really concentrate.

Takeshi had just barely managed to catch Shu's tail, having to block at an awkward angle. That was one thing that made fighting the little guy so fun, the way he wrestled was so irregular. No one else either had a tail or used their tail like he did, it made things interesting. How Shu could suppose that he'd be able to squeeze his older brother into submission was a mystery, considering he could scarcely reach all the way around. Some tickling would easily pry him off, and maybe he'd wet himself into giving up. Wishful thinking, but nope. "Give up and I'll stop tickling!" Takeshi laughed, pressing on. It became nigh impossible to continue when Shu began thrashing, making his older sibling have to distance himself a bit. Laughing all the same he watched Shu try to break free, quickly being silenced when he got a boop to the nose, and then another to a lower, quite sensitive spot. Squeaking indignantly Takeshi dropped his brother altogether, his hands going down as he wobbled a bit in his spot. "Y-You... Ooooow...." he whined, his face contorting into one of discomfort. "Don't hit me there Shu! It hurts!"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

It was one step forward and three steps back with Viral. Every time they made progress something happened, either he was injured or a new issue presented itself. In spite of that Vegeta was still determined to fix this, regardless of how long it may take. Ideally he wanted to solve it prior to getting his parents back, but time would tell. Being at the end of his ideas as they were now he certainly hoped they found the problem, otherwise it was completely back to square one. "I may be making hapless conjectures here... But if the rebels do retreat, and the Saiyans drive back this new force, then the rebels loose their position. And the Saiyans might gain momentum. I would guess that's why Korian isn't pulling his troops back just yet." He was no commander though, taking charge of troops was a lot different from running some business. It was not a responsibility he wanted for himself, handling that many lives was just too off putting. "I have considered looking into your brain, and have. I've done scans of it before, and checked them already, no anomalies. As for your spinal cord, that isn't something I've examined. I don't believe it would be damage to that though as you're not suffering any sorts of disabilities." Examining the spinal cord would require more scans, those would come later. Vegeta glanced back at the display, starting to pour over the images again. "No more blood work, don't worry. I know that has nothing to do with it."

Wrestling was always fun, Takeshi would be hard pressed to refuse this. A nice part about them doing it too is they were so used to one another it made things fluid and fast. No awkward scrambles or grappling, just the two of them tossing about like fools. Grinning as he rolled over onto Shu he tried to pin the little guy down, hoping to keep him there. And there were the kicks, quick and fitful as his younger brother was trying to break free. They didn't hurt persay but it was tricky to keep a hold on Shu when he was being struck. Laughing he was made to let go, using his forearm to block Shu's tail. "Strongest ever huh? Shortest maybe!" he teased, backing off a bit. Pretty quickly thereafter Shu was on the attack, leaping at the older boy and latching onto him. With a surprised yelp Takeshi stumbled about, looking down at his brother amused. "What are you trying to do, hug me to death?" Managing to lift his arms just so he got his hands beneath Shu's arms, and poking his fingers into his armpits he started to tickle, hoping that might get him to let go.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Viral, I'm not thrilled with sitting back like this either. Believe me, I want to get this over with so we don't have to worry about it anymore. At the moment however we're waiting on word to come back, until then we're going to stay put. No point in getting involved in more messes than we already are." There was enough on their plate as it was, they didn't need to add another enemy to it all. They really ought to try getting in touch with the rebels again though, just to see what the situation was. Silence could be good or bad, it either meant the situation was resolved or it had escalated to a point where contact was impossible. "If I had a means of accessing their computers I could easily hack them. The issue therein however is I don't know what kind of network, if any they use, or how I'd get a hold of it. The rebels might be able to supply something, but again, they're tied up at the moment. I can only hack something if I can get access to it." Just one problem after another, though Vegeta had little intention of hacking the Saiyan computers. Whatever data they had on Viral was useless without him present, there was no reason for concern. Yes, countermeasures could be created, but Vegeta could find ways around those as well. "We'll restore control soon enough, just hang in there a little longer, that's all I ask."

Shu's and his anger problems weren't something that could be swept up under a rug. Sooner or later they would have to be addressed if they ever wanted to get over going berserk. Since they weren't working on their anger they might as well find something else to do in order to pass the time. Whatever that was would be up to Shu, Takeshi couldn't be bothered to think too much right now. "Play and train, eh? I guess that could work. Though you're already plenty strong, and we're not exactly that far apart in strength." He might be a bit stronger physically, but they were both adept with Ki now, and Shu was faster. They had their own strengths and weaknesses, and far as he could tell that was fine. They fought together all the time so they covered each other's weak spots, that was how teamwork was supposed to go. Lying back on the floor and closing his eyes he waited for Shu to reach a decision, which didn't take long. Something grabbed at his arm, and with a confused expression he glanced over, finding his younger sibling wrestling with his arm. Puzzled he just watched for a moment before smirking, "So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Takeshi's smile widened into a grin as he rolled over, trying to tackle Shu and pin him on the floor.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Vegeta didn't take Viral's outburst personally, it was justified after all. Anyone would be frustrated in the Beastman's position. That was just all the more reason to keep working and hurry towards a solution, they needed to give Viral something to look forward to for a change. All the more reason for Vegeta not to take a break and keeping on running through this data until he found what they were seeking. "The RRA is powerless, relatively speaking. And the King is busy with whatever disrupted the battle. Neither are an immediate threat, and you won't be fighting alone when we encounter them. That aside, perhaps the King did do this to you. In fact I'm certain of it. But at the present chasing down him and his men just isn't going to work. Things at Kortal sound to be a mess still, we would never get close enough. For the time being we have to use what we've got to make this work." And that meant using data accrued by several sources, Saiyans included. Staring at this genetic mapping was proving to be tiresome rather quickly, it was all beginning to just melt together. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Vegeta turned away from the screen for a moment, looking back at Viral. "How are you feeling today, by the way? Physically, I mean."

Both he and Shu were stumped, not a good start to anger management. Maybe it would come to them like an epiphany and they'd just randomly get it. One could only hope because Takeshi had no idea how they'd find out otherwise. He wracked his brain for ideas but nothing came to mind whatsoever. "Gah... Man this is a pain in the ass!" he complained, dropping down on his backside. They couldn't ask Yumi, this had to be between them or else it wasn't really a solution. Sighing to himself he looked at Shu when he sat as well, frowning at the suggestion. "I guess we can do something else. We're not getting anywhere trying to figure it out anyways..." With some luck they could think of something later, no reason to get a solution right this instant. So, what else could they be doing? "I don't know, what do you wanna do?" Takeshi asked, laying back on the floor and spreading his arms out at his sides. "Play... I guess we could train. Maybe see what everyone else is up to. Uh... Not really hungry right now... Could always try teaching you too, I guess. I don't know." Shu could pick, he wasn't too picky right now.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Please stop jumping to conclusions, I'm not disappointed in you," Vegeta replied flatly, still examining the charts. "I was curious if you'd tried or not, that's all. And you know I can't be training you right now, not if we want to get this figured out." Training might be fun right about now, but there were priorities in place. First and foremost was find the solution to the Beastman's woes, and only once that was done would he relax and train. With the notion that there was some time before they were going back to the rebels in mind there wasn't quite the same urgency to train as before either. This might go faster if more than one person was working on it, and so he prompted Viral to grab some sheets and start reading. "I know you don't like Korian, but Sayomi has done us no wrong and is an ally. She's done nothing but help you and the rest of us. It's not as though I let the enemy get this." The King likely had data already anyways from their time holding Viral, so worrying about that now was a moot point. They wouldn't be able to do anything about that until they got onto Kortal itself and destroyed the data there. "We're both scientists, its normal for us to keep records of data like these. And the reason we're looking over these is to find what's going on, both of us are perfectly capable of finding anything unusual."

Takeshi sighed under his breath, placing a hand on his face exasperatedly. They couldn't be relying on Yumi constantly for help, or even him. Shu needed to figure this out on his own. The same could be said, he supposed, for himself too. That meant there were two people who needed help and neither had any idea how to go about it. "Alright, fighting is a stupid idea, forget it," he said, taking a seat on the floor lazily. "I get it, you can't get angry at me. It's when someone hurts your friends it happens, right? That happens to both of us, I just can't change like you can. So what can we do to stop it..." Sure, a few ideas came to mind, but Takeshi was skeptical about how well they would work. On paper they were solid but in practice they were likely to be anything but, making the decision even tougher. Voicing his annoyance in a groan he laid his head down on his knees, lifting it up after a moment and giving his head a rubbing. This should be easy, they were given plenty of tips from both Vegeta and Yumi alike. "Man... This sucks. I don't get why we can't figure this out, you know? Maybe we're just missing something..."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Meticulous was a fair way to describe these tests. Every single strand, every little bit had to be scrutinized for him to find the issue, if there were any. Some machines back in his personal lab could do this in a matter of minutes, yet he didn't have those here. As if he would have expected to be doing genetic mapping while out in space, hindsight on his part. He would be busy with this for some time, hopefully Viral understood that. Did the Beastman intend to just sit around and wait? He could train, do something else. If he was worried about not having a partner then surely the brothers or Yumi would train with him. "No training at all? Hm... I see." Vegeta didn't know about making the problem worse, though it was fair to be cautious. Until they new what the problem was it was best that they refrain from any risky activity. A bit absurd to think training could fall under that, but in the past it had caused changes. And when the training was geared towards transformations, well, the probability of accidents was even greater. "If you want to help, you can do some reading in the mean time," Vegeta said, gesturing blindly to the papers on his desk. "There's notes from Sayomi, myself and father on there. It might be a bit odd reading them, but you know your powers better than anyone, perhaps you can find something."

Now... How were they going to go about this? Anger management was a bit of a silly thing to leave up to someone like Takeshi. Hell, after all he needed it as well. Yumi had correctly said he was a good choice because he would be determined to help Shu, but that didn't mean he knew how. The only methods he could think of were ways of coping, ways that he'd never gotten to work for himself. Maybe forcing out anger to begin with was a good start, then they could work from there. Only, Shu didn't sound very enthralled by that idea. "I mean Yumi could help... But the point of this is so you can control your anger, you know? We won't always be there to help you, so you need to know how to do it on your own." Provoking Shu was a dumb idea, he'd admit that. Plus, with Haku and T'charrl present it was a bad idea to chance him changing. Takeshi might be attacked, but he was confident in his ability to stop his brother. The others... Not so much. Sighing to himself he rubbed at his head with a bandaged hand, putting his other hand on his hip. "Uh... Maybe the best way is to just get it out? If you're fighting and letting out your anger, there's no time for change, right?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"True... But you could also transform if you're somehow unstable, which considering your current state that isn't that much of a stretch." There was no doubt that Viral was unstable, the question therein was where exactly did his instability lie? That was the reason for all of these mundane tests, and they would keep at them until the cause was found. Only then could they work on a solution. "I don't think Takeshi would have stayed away for long. His pride kept him away if anything, but even he should know you're the only one that can train him. As for the strategy, perhaps that's right. But these new events notwithstanding I believe your strategy, simple or not would have led the rebels to victory." Plus, it had been a good enough strategy for Korian, so that ought to be indicative that it was a good idea. Something had been bugging Vegeta though about that. The rebels, particularly Korian and Sayomi should be brilliant tacticians by now. So why rely on Viral's plans? Either they really were out of ideas or they were trying something new, either way it was a bit odd. Glancing at the centrifuge, Vegeta leaned over slightly to peer at the display on top. "Though now I suppose any strategy is null, seeing as we're not fighting right now..."

Having all of their friends at the table might be nice, they hadn't done that in some time now. Really none of them had spent much time together at all, and since they were supposed to be a team of sorts it only seemed right that they should be. There was a sound of almost unanimous displeasure at the idea, to his chagrin. Well at least they were finally agreeing on something, Takeshi mused. "Alright, so not everyone. As long as you guys are fine with me cooking. I'm no Kai or Choi, so my food isn't going to be some fancy, five star cuisine." He wasn't trained to cook for a king, not like the twins. Evidently his method of cooking over an open fire wasn't good enough for their standards, or was so simplistic it was looked down on. Hmph... He could cook just fine without their kind of training, he'd prove it. Preparing fruit would be easy enough to do, though he wasn't sure just what they had left in the way of it. "Ah... I don't even know if someone brought it in, or if it's still in the shuttle," Takeshi mumbled, frowning as he rubbed at his chin, "Well.... Even if it's still in there, I would guess there's a bit left. If we cook plenty of other stuff too then we'll have a big enough meal for the four of us."

---

"There has to be something in here... There's nowhere else it could be..." Blood work had been fruitless, a routine physical had proved to be ineffective. There were no anomalies as far as energy was concerned, though that was difficult to measure. The only thing that could be wrong now was something at the basic level, genetic. Whether it was bodily or mental Vegeta didn't know yet, but he was certain he was cornering the issue now. Compared to everything else he had done thus far, this was where the real work began. Studying genetic coding meant pouring over countless strands of DNA, examining every individual piece and comparing them to find any irregularities. Most likely it was going to turn out to be a few day project, and he had only just begun now. Well, no one said helping Viral was going to be easy. Both sheets were copied and then displayed on a monitor, blown up to size so that the naked eye could detect discrepancies. Side by side, he should be able to spot anything, given enough time. Viral was back in the medical ward with him, and likely getting impatient already. "Have you tried any training lately?" Vegeta asked, not taking his eyes from his work. "I know I've neglected training you in favor of helping T'charrl, but that doesn't mean you can't do it on your own."

Not killing one another sort of made you friends, right? At this point it was about the only sign that this might work which Takeshi could see. The meal the other day had turned into a mess, with Haku flinging food at Shu, the young Saiyan reciprocating and then a food fight breaking out. Now they were trying to train as a group, T'charrl and Haku included. The former had been busy with speaking lessons as of late, he hadn't had a chance to train with the brothers in a few days now. And rather than work solely on combat, today was aimed a bit at tempering Shu's anger as well. Not that Takeshi knew how to go about that really, he was still flying in the dark on that one. "Maybe if we try agitating you... And you do your best to stay calm, that could work?" he suggested, glancing over at Shu. They had been bouncing ideas around for a bit, trying to come up with anything that could make some progress. Much easier said than done, unfortunately.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Blood work wasn't liable to yield very much in the way of results, but it was best they cover all their bases. Vegeta wouldn't miss the issue because he happened to forgo one little test, he'd be certain they did it all. Viral might not appreciate it, there was bound to be quite a bit of poking and prodding. Should it at last solve his dilemma then the Saiyan didn't think his friend would mind too much in the end. The Beastman sure was set on being abandoned, and while he chalked that up to depression there was the innate need to ask exactly why that was. The answer that he was given didn't surprise him at all. "The weakest, hm? Well then that Narbu must have been leagues weaker than he seemed, seeing as you held your own against him," Vegeta mused, frowning, "And you've been able to fight alongside us even in your failing health, but I suppose that's all a fluke as well. True, you're not in your prime, but you're not obsolete either, not by a long shot. You're still a perfectly viable combatant." On a good day he was still one of the strongest, unfortunately those days were just far and few between as of late. The only thing they could do about that was keep working to get better. "You're training Takeshi in swordplay, you helped devise a battle strategy for the rebels. You've been a factor in nearly every big fight we've been in lately, and we've won in part thanks to your help. True... You haven't had a clear victory on your own, but that doesn't make you a failure."

Man... T'charrl was really a nervous wreck. It was kind of awkward, looking down at their friend like this. Smiling sheepishly Takeshi rubbed at his neck, kind of hoping he'd pick himself up at some point. "Yeah, food. Fruits, vegetables, fish, beef, whatever you guys want I'll cook. I'm no Choi or Kai, but I should be able to make something." Hm... Maybe while he was thinking of them he should invite them down. Kabocha as well, since they were including everyone. It had been a long while since their whole group sat down for a meal, and they might as well now since who knows when they'd get a chance again. After this was the next planet, and then probably back to the rebels to fight their father. Waiting for a response, Takeshi watched T'charrl put on his scouter, putting a hand on his hip as he stepped to the side. "Well then we'll make this one a big one! When we get down there I'll call the twins, and everyone else. We might as well make this a big party." Out the corner of his eye he could see Haku pale a bit, the kid wasn't enthralled with the idea. Too bad, if he was going to be a part of this, willingly or not, he'd need to get used to being in a crowd. Waving the three on he started walking to the mess hall now, sending a look over his shoulder. "Hey... Shu? How much did we leave back in the shuttle?"