GambolMuse

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

It was a good thing Takeshi wasn't in charge of handling criminals, evidently some of his father's methods had rubbed off on him. Either that or he just wasn't at all in favor of treating a bad guy nicely, that could be it too. To him it just made no sense, why put up someone who had done such nasty things? Sure they were in a cell, but they got food, got to go outside now and again, and they were alive. How many people, he wondered, were dead because of the General? A particular scene came to mind, back when they had first arrived and found that underground building all covered in what he now figured to be perhaps blood. It was something he was interested in discussing, but just one glance at Shu and he could tell this conversation really wasn't for the little guy. Sighing to himself Takeshi opted to end it then, instead going about trying to console his little brother and get him to relax. The little guy really needed to ease up a little, especially since they were more or less at their destination now. It may not be Shu's idea of a good time but they had to do this, for T'charrl's sake. And really, who was going to hurt them? There were loads of armed guards, the General was probably in a sorry state and there were three of them here. Unless they were somehow ambushed like before there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

It had to be certain that T'charrl was prepared to face the General, there was no telling how the Prince might behave in front of the man. After all that had been done to him hardly anyone would be surprised if T'charrl was angry with Garesh, and really it was unlikely anyone would stop him from relieving some of that anger. Though the guards had indeed given orders to the contrary many of them held the sentiment the man deserved a little something more for all the harm he had done, so turning a blind eye and letting the Prince blow off some steam wasn't out of the question. With nothing more to cover the head guard took out a key and unlocked the thick steel door, tumblers churning audibly and clicking as they released. Grabbing hold of the handles he gestured for his partner to swing it open, one hand resting on the hilt of his own sword as he watched. "Garesh, you've got visitors! You know the drill, don't try anything."

"Oh come now... Do you think I'd hurt anyone in here?" came an amused voice, emanating from the far end of the cell. Sat on a low bed was a large Kaesstrian, wearing some well-worn, brown slops with all four arms bound to one another. His hair had grown longer and looked unkempt, part of his face obscured by it all now. Though he hardly looked it this was definitely the once esteemed General, and even in his sorry state he wasn't any less zealous or confident in himself. "How poetic... The victorious Prince has come to pay the fallen General a visit. I am honored, truly," Garesh mocked, bowing his head with a smile. This was... Unexpected. T'charrl was not supposed to be here, he should be back at the ship. Ah... But his men would figure something out, he need not worry about it. Lifting up his head the General looked back at T'charrl again, his slightly sunken eyes holding the Prince curiously as he looked him up and down. "You're different... I see you've taken to the energy then. I knew it would work, I knew it. Tell me..." Garesh began again, standing up as his chains rattled and held him, "What is it like, having so much power? It must be intoxicating."

In order to draw out the Prince they needed some kind of hostage, and this man would just fit that bill. He was an unusual one, though vaguely familiar at the same time. Perhaps he had been part of the group who had killed their allies last time? Hard to say, but regardless this wasn't a personal vendetta, they were here on a mission. Since the Prince did not seem to be immediately present they had to take the next best thing and work from there. Watching Viral closely they worried they may lose him as he began moving back to the ship, preparing to pounce then freezing as he stopped and looked around. No way had they been detected, they were hidden as could be from him. If they hadn't been noticed yet they would be here soon as a move needed to be made, lest they lose their target. Exchanging looks with his two companions the lead Kaesstrian gave a silent nod, both men branching off into opposite directions to circle around Viral. Alone now the leader went ahead and jumped out of the tree he was in, slowly exiting the brush with a hand on his sword. They could not kill the man, but injuries may be necessary to subdue him. It was unlikely just intimidation would work here either given their past, they would most certainly have to use force. Easing his hand off of the sword then he crouched down, spreading his wings and bursting forward at high speeds in an attempt to grab Viral and tear him away from the ship. Size wise he was fair small comparatively, but they would find out who was stronger here soon. In the time he was doing that the others were making a move as well, one to the left and the other to the right, both closing in simultaneously on their mark.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Yeah, but that's if the guy gives a crap about what he's done. I've met some really crappy people T'charrl, our father is one of them, and they don't give a damn who they hurt with what they do. So do you really think locking someone like that up is better?" Giving someone like that a chance to live, even in a cell, was a little too good in his eyes. If you were that nasty to just kill an innocent person or really hurt others for your own ends then you didn't have any place in this world, or any for that matter except maybe Hell. He couldn't help but compare it to the Saiyan way of handling people, which while not the best way by far it certainly kept people from doing bad things. To him it just sort of seemed like letting the equivalent of a war criminal live was basically giving them a free pass, even if they were in a cell. "To be fair, our father is way harsher than anyone I've ever met, probably worse than this General guy even. So I'm speaking from that perspective where pretty much every little crime is harshly punished, you know? And I'm not saying do that, but for a guy like this... Clipping his wings and just putting him away somewhere, that's it?" Eh, it wasn't really his business to decide the fate of some guy on an alien world, no matter his opinion on the matter. Anyways he had other things to occupy himself right now, like Shu practically clinging to him. Smiling sympathetically Takeshi placed an arm around his brother's shoulders, giving his arm a rub to try and console him. "Relax Shu... Nothing bad's here and nothing's going to hurt you, yeah? We're perfectly safe."

Some ways further down the corridor the cells became fewer and fewer, but also a bit larger and with heavier duty doors and locks. Naturally this was where the more dangerous criminals were kept, and the population down on this end was fairly light, maybe 3 or 4 people at most. Garesh's room was all the way at the end, and even with the guard escort there were yet another two placed outside of his door, both armed with swords at their hip ready for use. Obviously no expenses were being spared in keeping the man locked up, which probably was warranted given all he'd done. The escort saluted the other two upon arrival and dismissed them, evidently they were switching shifts as well. Once handed the keys to the cell one of the men turned to the trio, frowning as he held them up. "Now boys, we've been given very explicit instructions for how this will be done. We'll stand at the door and keep an eye on you as you speak to Garesh, and you are not under any circumstance permitted to strike the prisoner. T'charrl, your mother was abundantly clear with this point as well; if we deem it is too strenuous for you to see him then we will take you out of the room, just as a precaution. We don't wholly know what your abilities are and we'd rather be safe than sorry." Expecting a surprised response from sharing that information the guard smiled slightly, "We're among the few who were informed, and don't worry, none of us think any worse of you for it. Now, are there any further questions?"

Two dozen vials of stem cells, that should be enough to help get Viral on the fast track to recovery. Yet Vegeta still had his doubts, even after crunching the numbers and running whatever kind of tests he could without administering the cells to Viral himself. This would be his first real test for gene therapy, never mind the brief foray into it their first visit to Kaesstra; the chances of something going awry or it not working completely was larger than he'd like to admit. The chance of success was still higher than that of failure, statistically speaking by a large margin, but he loathed to have anything over 10% for failure. "It is our only option, and I'm running out of time to work," Vegeta said, trying to justify the work itself, "Viral will have to make due with this, I can develop a cure further once he's at least stable." So then, should he go about starting treatment now? Unless something went wrong he should be able to handle this like routine shots, just ask Viral to come in now and again for the injection and let him be on his way. Not too intrusive, and it meant the Beastman could retain some degree of autonomy during the process. Well, at the very least he could go ask and see what his friend wanted, and depending on the response they could work from there. Sealing up the container for the cells Vegeta sighed, heading for the door to go fetch the Beastman.

Leave it to the General to come up with a brilliant plan even while stuck in a cell. To strike at the Prince in the dead of night, and to whisk him away to a secret location for extraction, it was a sure fire success given the setting and their expertise. Kaesstrians could use camouflage in the middle of the day and it was nigh impossible to see someone unless you were really trained for it; concealing oneself at nighttime made the person utterly invisible. Their people had a modest sense of smell, but if one was to keep downwind or out of the wind entirely even their scent couldn't be detected. The trio of Garesh's men kept this in mind as they stalked towards the ship, intending to infiltrate it and track down their mark. It wasn't difficult to find the vessel in question, it stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the forest. Locating the ship itself wasn't the problem, but getting inside of it would be tricky. What's more as they drew nearer to their destination they caught sight of someone outside of it, walking around the area as it seemed. A patrol? Unlikely, they wouldn't possibly know something was planned for tonight. Just coincidence then, so how to handle it? There were three of them and one stranger, the men were confident they could take him down. But rushing right on out would be foolish and draw unwanted attention, they would need to be careful about this. Coming to a tree some few dozen meters shy of the ship the three stopped, perched on different branches as they all discussed how best to approach the man.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

After having learned a bit more about Resonance it made sense to look into it more, try to find a way to help T'charrl return to normal. To this end they were really taking a leap of faith, putting their first chance in getting the information out of Garesh. The General had absolutely no reason to disclose where he'd found the spirit; he'd been beaten by T'charrl, so why would he help? They were going into this arrangement with little expectations but who knows, they may end up pleasantly surprised. The man in question was being held in the palace, down in the back in the cell rooms under constant surveillance. Even without the energy he'd taken the man was still dangerous, so it was necessary for around the clock guarding. A little reluctantly Eslaria had granted the Prince a chance to speak with the man, though he absolutely had to bring his friends with him. No worries there, they were going to come along one way or another. Haku had since returned to the ship which now left only Shu and Takeshi with T'charrl, but even that should be more than enough for their friend to be safe.

"Not going to lie, I'm surprised this creep is still alive..." Takeshi mumbled, glancing around the barren corridors leading to the cells, "If someone tried to do this to Saiyans they'd be killed, that was how it was back on Kortal anyways. Hell, probably on Earth too, the guy did some nasty stuff. I guess your folks are better people than that though." Maybe a lifetime in a cell was more of a punishment than just offing someone though, if you could look at it that way. How long did a Kaesstrian live anyways? He knew bugs back on Earth hardly lived longer than a short while, a few days even in some cases, but he seriously doubted that was the case here; T'charrl would be long gone if that were the case. The two guards that were leading them to the cells gave him a disparaging look with that comment, to which he only frowned and shrugged them off. Was it really such a bad thing to ask? Looking over at T'charrl he nodded his head towards their destination, "You ever been down here? What's it like? I mean I've seen some really lousy cells, and some really nice ones, how do you guys, you know, treat jerks?"

This had to be close, Vegeta had a gut feeling he was on the brink of sorting this all out. One gene, just one gene, that was all that was missing from the mapping. He'd already grown the cultures to begin the stem cell treatment, but with that one missing gene it wasn't a complete cure. How had he overlooked a gene? Twice he'd gone over the entire map, back and forth, and yet there was something missing. As it stood now Viral was precariously close to breaking down, did he have the time to make one more pour through and pick out the final piece? Or should he administer the treatment now, incomplete, and hope it would work? Putting his hands on the cold steel top of the counter he leaned forward, staring at the sheet of paper before closing his eyes and letting out a groan. Much as he loathed to admit it he probably needed to start treatment now, or as soon as Viral got back in the ship. There was no reason for the Beastman to be stuck indoors all evening, not while they were on Kaesstra and away from danger. Yumi would be nearby to help him if need be, and he himself was but a call away. All he should be doing right now is focusing on the cure, and once everything was complete he'd have to begin treatment, finished or not.

"Even so... I'd much rather it be complete..." Vegeta grumbled, sniffing in annoyance as he pushed away from the counter. How infuriating, coming short of his goal and being unable to achieve what he'd set out to do. It didn't matter than genetics wasn't his field of expertise, he'd done all the research and studied whenever he could so he should know the basics at the very least. Hell, Shu could grow a culture of genes with simple enough instruction, so his achieving that feat didn't mean much. Shaking his head he went to examine the vials instead, counting about two dozen in all. By his calculations he could administer two a day, one in the morning and one at night, and if he had done everything he was supposed to then the process would be complete in just under two weeks. Granted that was only reintroducing the genes into Viral and stabilizing him, it would be some time after that until he'd recovered entirely and was back to his full strength. "Father... I don't know how in the world you did this so many times, it's a headache."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Takeshi was sore in all the wrong places right now, not to mention he'd made a total fool of himself. To his surprise though Shu didn't immediately begin laughing when he took a tumble, though the little guy did come down to no doubt tell him how he'd messed up. Groaning as he laid himself out flat he squirmed uncomfortably, having no desire to move any time soon as he turned his head to look at his brother. "Oh really...? I thought we were supposed to attack the branch with our crotch!" the older boy retorted, wincing as he sat up abruptly and pulled something. Laying back down on his back Takeshi let out a long winded sigh, one hand going up and gingerly prodding at his red face. It didn't hurt much, but it probably looked like he'd been out in the cold and his face had gotten all rosy as a result. "I could have done it, I just... Messed up a bit, that's all. I'll get it next time." Sheesh, where was this fruit already? If it didn't show soon they were going to end up back in the trees, which meant he'd be trying the trick again, which probably also meant he'd end up flat on his ass once more after screwing it up.

The King wasn't trying to frighten T'charrl any, just to enlighten him on his ability. It was clear the Prince had never been told anything about it, through lack of knowledge or maybe some misguided desire to protect the boy. If he truly wanted to be safe with his power he needed to know what it was, as only then he could handle it properly. Using the story of the corrupted Kaesstrian was meant to be a teaching tool as well and yet it only appeared to unsettle T'charrl even more. It wasn't all bad though, there was a way to undo what had been done to the boy. "We don't need the man to do that though, that's the beauty of it. Nor do we need the spirit to tell us who it is," Aseel explained, smiling confidently, "We know the shrines in and around your kingdom, and I'm sure someone back home does as well. It's a simple matter of checking them all until we find which one was disturbed, something that would take less than an afternoon with enough manpower. Once we do that we simply restore the place in question and there you have it, your change will undo itself." That is, IF T'charrl wanted to undo it. There was a lot of power that came with harboring a spirit, enough so that some people wouldn't have minded the mutations and struggles it could bring on. He had a feeling however the Prince wasn't such a person, that he'd want more to return to his old self than retain this power.

Pyrus had finally managed to get back to the courtyard, with no small amount of headaches mind you. The King had purely asked for some fruit for himself and his guests and yet the cooks had toiled for minutes trying to debate on what best to serve the Saiyans. Meats? Breads? Some combination of the three? The adviser had to chide them back into just making the simple dishes, as both himself and Aseel figured their guests would enjoy the dishes regardless of what they were. At last he had gotten five cooks to follow him to the courtyard, each with a platter bearing a different kind of snack. Standing at one of the archways into the area he looked at how the group had spread out, tilting his head curiously before entering and clearing his throat. "Pardon us, your Majesty, but we've brought the food you requested," Pyrus explained, smiling as he let the cooks walk by him. It was a nice varied assortment, from fire seared fruits to fruits dipped in cream, and fruits tossed together with a bit of zesty leaves to make a salad of sorts. "We hope the food is to your liking, my friends. Please, if you need anything else let us know." One by one the platters were set down, and each cook took a small bow to T'charrl before turning and making their way back to the kitchens. Pyrus wasn't far behind them, making sure everything was delivered before taking his leave as well.

"Delightful! I know I just ate, but I was looking forward to this all the same," Aseel said, smiling as he rubbed his claws together, "Let's continue this discussion of ours after some food, hm? I would hate for you to miss out on some of this, and we've enough time to talk more afterwards I would think." Perhaps too some nice food would settle the boy's nerves, as it was obvious right now he was a little uneasy. Making a decision not in the right of mind could be bad, so they were better off letting T'charrl relax anyways. "Come, friends of T'charrl, come enjoy the food! Eat as much as you'd like!"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Takeshi was feeling a bit proud of himself, even if what he'd done really wasn't anything outstanding. Sure Shu had scrambled up the tree easier, but the kid was practically a monkey, that stuff was second nature to them. It was like him and flying, it was just something they could do easily, so doing something else was impressive. His balancing wasn't all that either but it didn't keep Takeshi from smirking as he stood on the branch. "It is easy, I don't get what the big deal is with this, I could do it in my sleep," he boasted, watching as his brother took to standing on one foot. Sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth he struggled to do the same, having to extend his arms out to the sides to keep himself from falling over. Just as he was feeling proud of that much Shu went and flipped on the branch, and of course he needed to replicate that. Glancing at the younger boy Takeshi grinned, nodding as he looked down at his foot. "Flip? Tch, no problem. You're asking that like it's hard to do." Right, so he just had to jump and land on his hands? Squatting slightly as he tried to prepare the older boy took a breath before jumping up, managing to flip himself upside down... And completely mess up. Misjudging how high he'd jumped (or not jumped) his hands missed the branch, his face being what would catch him instead. Immediately after coming down on his face the rest of him slammed down as well, with his legs splayed in a humiliating fashion and yet more of him hitting the tree. In a comical fashion he slowly rolled to one side, off the branch where he landed down on the ground with a dull thud. Red in the face and dazed, sprawled out he laid there, groaning as he twitched slightly.

Aseel was more than happy to discuss this topic, if only because he knew how difficult it was. He'd grown up with the powers and in an age where Resonance was far more common among their kind, more was known about it and it was more accepted. Only after a few bad seeds with the abilities began abusing their power did it become a sort of taboo, warranting the execution of countless innocent souls with the power. Nowadays there were those too young to recount the atrocities, and those old enough to recall and still fear. "I do understand what you're going through though... I know what you're doing all too well. It's not unheard of, and actually I knew a friend who went through the same thing." Readjusting himself in his seat the King laid his hands across the table, leaning forward a bit as he noticed a few people walking by the far end of the courtyard. "Our ability makes it so we can draw power from nature, this I've explained. But we are also able to call upon powers of a deity to aid us in battle. No doubt the man you fought learned this and tried to harness the power, probably by using something associated with the spirit inside of you. Long before the kingdom wars had ever begun those of us with resonance were capable of great things, and we were the pride of our respective lands. We were considered closer to the gods than anyone, powerful and we were respected accordingly. Unfortunately one man who sought to further his own abilities discovered a way to permanently take on the power of a deity by absorbing their essence, in a sense. Using the relic associated with the god he took in the spirit of the god itself and gained immense power, but at a great cost. As you're well aware doing such a thing causes great trouble for our bodies, and it can for the mind as well. The man who had made the discovery ultimately became a monster and we were forced to put him down in order to ensure the safety of our people. The damage unfortunately was done however, and people came to fear those with our ability."

"But don't let this dishearten you. This was an extreme case, and the man in question was far more power hungry and reckless than you appear to be by long and far. You've changed due to absorbing a deity, but you've enough strength of your own to resist the temptations the power brings. I would imagine having your friends around you as well helps relieve some of that pressure." Speaking of what in the world were they doing? When Aseel looked over at the Saiyans he saw Haku napping beneath a tree, Takeshi sprawled on his back and Shu up above him in the tree. Curious little ones, though at least they seemed content enough where they were. Turning back to T'charrl the King smiled, reaching out and giving the Prince's shoulder a gentle patting. "It can be undone as well, a fact we discovered only after the man had been dealt with. By giving the spirit enough power to stand on its own and by restoring whatever had harnessed it before it can return, and you in turn will change back to normal. We would need to know which deity it is that is within you before we can begin the process, but once we have that part figured out the rest will fall into place."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Takeshi didn't have near the finesse that Shu did while climbing a tree, and it was probably rather amusing to watch him move up the trunk. He'd never really bothered to climb them much, it was a little redundant when you could just fly to get up into the tree. After no small amount of shimmying he'd managed to reach the spot Shu had, swinging up onto the branch carefully and promptly taking a seat. Without even looking at his brother he could feel the amused smile on his back, giving a roll of his eyes when Shu began giggling. "Did not, I just was being careful, that's all," he lied, oblivious to how sorry an excuse that was. Sticking out his tongue childishly at Shu the older boy carefully rose to his feet, watching as the little guy sprung over to a different branch altogether. If he tried doing that he'd probably break the damn things seeing as he was likely quite a bit heavier than his brother. "Eh? Balance on a branch? What do you mean?" Takeshi asked, watching Shu go ahead and demonstrate curiously. Tch, yeah he could totally do that, his toes were made to wrap around things and he had a tail to support himself. Oh but he didn't need a tail, that was nice. Letting out a sigh he put a hand on the trunk of the tree, slowly standing out then shuffling a ways out on the branch until he was standing on his own. "See, nothing to it!" he declared, smirking despite his slight wobbling.

The King had sorted out what T'charrl was on about fair quickly, and it wasn't just due to his words. Even with the clothing on that he had Aseel could see the faint traces of orbs on the Prince's body; feeling the energy emanating from the young Kaesstrian was a dead giveaway as well. It was similar to the way Saiyans could sense one another's Ki, as Kaesstrians with the Resonance ability could detect one another. It was difficult to do, especially over long distances, so it was only natural neither of them had noticed one another before now. From what he was being told T'charrl had no knowledge of his powers, a fact that many people on his position had found themselves in over the years, himself included. "Everything you're going through I'm sure others have. I had my own fair share of troubles when I was growing up as well my boy. Please, don't fear turning me away or offending me, I'm a friend here and I have the answers you seek, but you need to ask the right questions. Otherwise I may ramble, and trust me no one wants that!" Chuckling to himself the King's belly shook a little, a smile plastered on his face as he laughed at his own expense. "Ah... Forgive me, it's inappropriate to be laughing during this conversation. But please, do speak whatever is on your mind, I'll do what I can to put your worries at ease."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Okay, by that logic Takeshi could sort of understand why Shu loved fruit then. If there was only one thing you could really eat you'd pretty much have to like it, otherwise you'd be starving yourself. He'd never had that problem being as close to a city as he was, though for a good while he subsisted mainly off of sandwiches and smoothies; his adoration of that local stall had begun quite a ways back, and he thought it funny in retrospect how apparently Yumi and Vegeta had been to the same one. Weird how life worked like that sometimes. Standing at the base of the tree after near having his arm torn from its socket Takeshi glanced up at it curiously, having no idea what they were going to do now. No doubt Shu had something in mind, probably some game that was just out of his capacity to play. Evidently he was over thinking things as all the little guy ended up doing was scrambling up the trunk, leaving the older boy at the base confused. "Sheesh... Alright, alright, I'm on my way," Takeshi responded, smiling as he shook his head. Giving the trunk a good staring at he found no real places to grasp onto, scratching his head confused. Okay, well Shu had managed to scramble up easily enough, so maybe if he just copied him. Trying to dig his hands and feet into the tree unsuccessfully he eventually settled on wrapping his arms around it, shimmying up the trunk and pushing himself with his feet. Once he'd reached the point where Shu was he swung up onto the branch, plopping down on his backside with a smirk. "Nothing to it! Climbing is easy."

Dealing with your enemies was never an easy task, regardless of how you approached it; peaceful means were often shot down or disregarded, and fighting only bred further violence. Aseel had been fortunate enough that most everyone had been wary of war when he assumed power, so dissuading his opposition through compromise had been easy enough to do. The difference therein he supposed was he had gained power, whereas in T'charrl's case someone was trying to take it. One was inherited, the other was trying to steal, so no wonder the threat was so fierce. Looking at the Prince in surprise at his retelling of his fight the King shook his head, frowning as he lifted a hand and rubbed at his beard. "The youth should not be made to suffer for our mistakes. I don't know the entire situation surrounding your kingdom, but I am terribly sorry for it. This is precisely why I despise any kind of war, children are made to suffer for those of us in power, almost like pawns. It's a disgrace really." That was one sentiment near everyone in the kingdom could agree on, even so long after the kingdom war had ceased. No one wanted to send their children to combat, nor anyone else's for that matter, so the best way to circumvent that was to just not fight. Ah, but what had T'charrl wanted to ask about? Giving the Prince permission to speak again he listened closely, a smile finally crossing his lips when all was said.

"A strange power...? Rare to our people...?" Aseel mimicked, smiling as he sat forward some. "My young friend, it doesn't sound strange at all. In fact, if you're speaking of what I believe you are you're in luck. I assume you're speaking of being one with nature? More than just simply living in it, but feeling it. The trees, the wildlife, the very planet itself, you can sense all of it can't you? But there's more, I'd wager..." How exciting, to think another person had inherited this ability. So far and few between were their kind now that the King had almost given their unique traits up for dead, thinking his line to be the last with it. Hearing now that someone from another kingdom might share the ability sparked new hope in him, evident by the excited twinkling in his eyes. "You can speak to those no longer with us as well, yes? I know all too well what you're asking about, T'charrl, because I too share in your gift, as does my eldest child. What you're referring to we have come to call Resonance. Some of our people are born with an innate sensitivity to the world around us, our bodies pick up on energies that otherwise may go unnoticed, and we draw strength from them. This ability of ours used to see us branded as monsters, killed or exiled for fear of what we could do. Nowadays I'm afraid we're but a myth even amongst our closest peers and family. Forgive my ramblings," Aseel added, laughing as he shook his head, "I did not expect to find another person like myself ever again, to say I'm thrilled would be a disservice. Tell me then, what exactly do you wish to know of our ability?"

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

"Officer, I'm holding it for someone, honest!"

Why was it not surprising that excuse didn't work? The several times it had ever been used before it never worked, so why would it now? If one really wanted to stay out of custody they would probably do a better job of evading arrest, or at the very least come up with a more plausible excuse. Instead of even attempting to keep out of this situation, Katsu had willingly given himself over to authorities, doing little other than offering that lame excuse beforehand. As was the case he now found himself in the back of a cruiser, the stench of oil burning filling his nostrils as the automobile chugged along the road. The officers who had made the arrest certainly looked pleased with themselves, having apprehended the boy who was responsible for 10 thefts just this week. They were little jobs really, and he'd not stolen from the same place more than once; repeat thefts were bound to lead to a mishap as he'd found over the years. This particular heist of his had been a simple one, just a routine pickpocketing that yielded a few dozen yuan and a ring, hardly anything worth getting busted for.

Katsu hadn't gotten arrested for some measly pocket change, and certainly not for a worn down ring with a missing gem. His mark was a little more elusive than that, and only accessible if one could get close enough to an officer. What he was after was not anything that would hold any real value, unless you sold it on a black market. What he was after was a badge, in particular one of the officers' badges. Criminals paid handsomely for these as one could use it to fool locals, gaining access to otherwise restricted areas or even sneaking into a police compound to spring one of your fellow crooks. In the slight struggle prior to his arrest he had managed to grab said item out of one of their pockets and now had it tucked away in the pocket of his pants, tucked away as he'd been sat down in the back of the car. Sooner or later the buffoons were bound to notice that he'd stolen something of theirs which meant he'd have to get away before then; escaping custody was something he'd done a few times, but it was a little trickier when in a moving vehicle. Glancing out the window he watched as the buildings raced by, laying his head back on the seat and letting out a sigh. Shame he had no way to get in contact with his crew, he would have to figure this out on his own then.

What would the best way of escaping a moving vehicle be? Jumping out whilst in motion was dangerous, he couldn't really do that while his hands were bound either. First thing's first then, he would have to focus on freeing his hands up before he could try any sort of escape. Glancing between the officers to make certain they were busy he stretched out his hands, managing to get one finger up against the chain that connected the cuffs. Inhaling silently through his nose Katsu then formed a small flame, letting it lick away at the metal gradually as he tried to hide the fire itself behind his back. From where he sat there was the audible sound of the fire flickering and the smell of burning metal, but to his luck the glass pane between himself and the officers should negate both of those. As the fire worked away at the chains he could feel its grip loosening, but he dared not try to break them for worry they might see him do it; once the fire had eaten through the metal entirely he felt his arms relax considerably, but again he kept them from moving too much, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Now, how was he to get out of the car?

To be a successful thief you needed two things: skill and luck. Knowing how to do the trade played a massive part in your success of course, and made the difference between the wealthy thieves and the failures. Had he any real concern for monetary gain Katsu would fall in the former, but he couldn't care less for it himself. The thrill of theft in of itself was all he desired, and every job both big and small delivered that thrill. Luck wouldn't get you by on your own, but occasionally even the best of thieves needed it to get by now and again. Some got it only rarely while others had it quite often, and fortunately for Katsu he fell into the latter in that regard. The opening he needed was just up ahead in the form of a traffic light changing to red, bringing the traffic and the cruiser to a gradual halt. The door would be locked, but that was no issue for him; burn the lock, kick the door open and run into an alleyway, that was the game plan. Sending one more glance in the way of the officers he met one of their gazes, a sly smirk forming across his lips. Something must have clicked in the guy's head that instant because he quickly opened his door to get out, but his reaction would come far too late. Freeing his hands from behind himself Katsu blasted the lock with a burst of blame, easily melting the metal and eating through to the exterior of the car. With one quick kick he then forced the door open, managing to hit and knock over the officer that had gotten out before scrambling out himself. By the time the other officer had gotten out of the car and helped his partner the thief was long gone, the faint sound of his laughing carrying out of the adjacent alleyway.

Katsu stopped running after he had gotten a few blocks away, ducking into an empty storehouse and pausing to make sure he hadn't been followed. After a few tense moments of silence he broke into a grin, wiping his forehead and letting out a sigh as he withdrew his mark from his pocket. "Hehe... Alfonso is going to be really happy with this..." he mumbled, tossing the badge up and catching it again. Alfonso was his connection to the black market, a man who knew how to ship otherwise illegal items with ease and bring in the most profit. Due to his own disregard for money the fence took half of each share, with the rest being distributed amongst his group. Gods know how much a badge would bring in exactly, but Katsu wagered it would be something fairly decent. Poking his head out of the storehouse he looked down the street before pocketing his haul, folding his hands then behind his head as he began a leisurely stroll back to his hideout. No doubt the authorities were going to be looking for him any moment, but they could be heard a mile away so it wasn't as though he was too worried about them. Nah, he was home free already despite being in the middle of the city, and soon he'd be back home bragging about his latest outing.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Just a placeholder for the roleplay right now while I draft up the initial IC post. Will be putting world information down afterwards :D

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Yeah, fruit does taste nice... But don't ya ever get sick of it? Eating one thing all the time would get really old, you know? I mean I wouldn't want fish all the time, or steaks. Smoothies maybe, but not those things. Gotta have some variety." Him talking to Shu about variety in one's diet was probably akin to talking to a brick wall, the little guy loved fruit and nothing was going to dissuade him from that. Really on the grand scheme of things it was far from the worst vice to have, and easily enough satisfied even if only for a short while. Since T'charrl and the King were going to have a one on one Takeshi figured they were best off finding something to do, at least until the fruit arrived. With all these trees around it was pretty self-explanatory what they should be doing; climbing and swinging in the trees would help Shu burn off some of his boundless energy. Pitching the idea to his little brother he smiled and gave a nod, "Yeah, I want to climb trees. Let's have some fun while- Hey!" Not expecting to have his arm grabbed or pulled he nearly fell flat when he was given a tug, stumbling after Shu as they raced over to one of the bigger trees in the area. Trees inside of a tree, this place really was something else. Once they had finally gotten there he was mercifully released, stutter-stepping a bit to stop himself before smiling exasperatedly. "Alright... We just climbing or what? What do you want to do buddy?"

What was Haku to do while they waited for the food? He had no place in the discussion between T'charrl and Aseel, nor did he really have a part in playing with the Princes. Looks like he'd be spending the time on his own, which wasn't all bad given the nice nature of the place they were in. Compared to every other planet he'd been on, Earth included, this was so natural, so underdeveloped in a way others weren't... And it was nice. Rare was it he ever went to a world where the beauty of it was intact, and even the parts where people lived here on Kaesstra were nice to look at. He doubted anyone shared his appreciation for that, or his enjoying nature over the hardness of concrete or the gray buildings which littered so many places. Looking between the two groups he gave up the thought of even trying to join either, instead going to a different tree and sitting himself down at the trunk. With his back to the bark Haku stretched out some, looking up through the canopy and at the sky above, enjoying the fact this place was so open. Though the people were a bit odd and he certainly couldn't live solely on fruit it was nice, he would certainly consider coming back here again.

Hopefully Aseel wasn't overstepping his boundaries by asking about Eslaria, but he was curious. "That's good to hear, I'm glad. The last I saw her she was but a child, it's been much too long. I would very much like to see her again now that she's come into her own, perhaps over a nice meal sometime." He understood there were things that had to be taken care of first, especially since the war had just been settled as T'charrl pointed out. Smiling at the Prince he laid his hands across his stomach, letting out a sigh as he leaned back against the bench a bit. "In my experience I've found compromise to be even more effective than force. By placating your opposition you prevent further trouble, and I've had some of my staunchest enemiest become my closest allies over the years. Far be it from me to tell you how to rule, but that's simply the policy I've used throughout the years." And what of the young Yusef, he wondered? Last he heard the man had risen in the ranks of the military to captain, how was he doing now? Musing over that he glanced at the Prince again, blinking owlishly before letting out a small laugh. "Oh but where are my manners! You had something you wanted to talk about, yes? Please, feel free to speak your mind."