Yeah, there was no doubt about it. Pran was definitely, completely lost. He was trying to avoid flying back so he wouldn't skip the second half of his run. He didn't really like taking shortcuts to his workouts, but it's not like had that much of an option. Unless...

Pran took out his C-Phone, typed in the passcode, and swiped across the screen a couple of times before finally landing on the page with the desired app: C-Maps. He always seemed to underestimate the use of this app since he was used to flying around all the time. All he had to do was type in his address and...

HMMMMMM....

He looked up from his phone as he heard a distinct warming up of energy. It wasn't exactly difficult to sense either, and it stunk of Jakai, the malicious component of Ki. He slowly began to turn around, bracing himself for whatever the source of this MASSIVE energy right behind him was. There was a familiarity to it, as if he had come across them before. However, it was... different somehow. Altered. Once he began to pinpoint who it could be, his eyes widened in terror. His heart began to pick up a couple of beats in rhythm as he was still in disbelief. He decided to say her name, hoping that maybe he was wrong and would be corrected!

"....L-Liari?!"

Before he could even completely turn around to see if he was right or not, he cried out in agony as the energy attack tore through his clothes from the waist up and exploded against what was now his bare back. His body crashed into the ground below him, completely caught by surprise and his guard down. His phone had flown out of his hands and landed a few feet away from him, though he couldn't say the same about his headphones. They had been caught in the blast, and what remained of them lied on the ground next to his head, in pieces. Pran's mind was racing as he gritted his teeth, fighting through the pain of seared flesh. He could feel the sharp sting from the air running over the exposed wound. The entire layer of skin in that area had been completely torn off, and blood had been running down toward his waist, beginning to soak the top of his pants in a dark red.

No. Not today. His training wasn't finished yet. He still needed at least a couple of days to prepare! If they fought in his current state...

No time to think about that. She's here. Get it together.

Pran dug deep and took a deep breath. He got his arms under his chest and slowly pushed himself up on all fours. Seeing the shadow form under him, he looked up over his shoulder to see that he was unfortunately absolutely right about who it was. Only, she looked... Different. A lot different. She had also gotten stronger... MUCH stronger. It was hard to believe that so much power could be held by one person. It was too much even, too much for one person to have.

...What the hell had he missed?!

"So- Ugh. So, this is it, huh? Come to... Finish me off, along with this whole planet?" He asked, coming to terms with the fact that the final conflict was now upon him. That wasn't the only worry though. Hazel Village was definitely not that far from here. He had to keep her talking. With energy that absurdly high, there was no way that Lara didn't sense it. Pran knew his mother well enough to know that, while the urge to save her son would be strong, she would ultimately follow protocol and evacuate the village.

Time was what they needed most right now. Time. Pran had to keep her talking. Even if he couldn't defeat her, he could at least prevent as many lives from being taken as possible.

WC: 660
TWC: 1232

"A t...test dummy?!"

Pran could barely get his words out while the majin's fingers were wrapped around his throat. He was pushed back, landing right on his backside before being warned that he better brace himself or it might cost him his life. He needed just a little bit of time to get his bearings so he could properly defend- well, attempt to defend himself from Liari. Practically scrambling at this point, he needed a bit to gather energy to reach his higher ki mastery levels. Working as fast as he could, he immediately began to channel as much Genki as he could. On the bright side, at least Liari was going to give the time he needed.

Or... maybe not.

To his horror, Liari had already begun to initiate her attack again! He could already feel the small, but REALLY powerful gathering of ki at her fingertip. Not good, she definitely wasn't bluffing: He might ACTUALLY die from that. Especially in his current state. At this point, it wasn't a question of if he was going to get hit, but where? As she fired her blast, he slightly adjusted his position so at the very least his heart wouldn't get obliterated by her attack.

In the time it took for her to fire her blast, Pran had reached his Invigoration level, having slightly increased muscle mass while also becoming more toned. This granted him just enough speed to get himself to what could only be referred to as a "half knee". This was to lower the area where he would get hit, which was right below his sternum. The energy beam cut through muscle and flesh, cutting straight through his liver! His jaw dropped as he went to cry out in agonizing pain, but he didn't even get a chance to get out a single sound before getting absolutely ROCKED in the face by the follow-up punch!

He could've sworn he blacked out for a moment on impact. Pran was rag-dolled a great distance, flying WAY off the path and cutting through thick branches. His body ricocheted off of the side of a couple of large rocks before he hit the ground and rolled to a stop, lying face-first into the dirt and grass. He, in a daze, just laid on the ground for a moment, trying to process the pain and try and at least stay conscious. His thoughts had become mangled and cluttered, and he couldn't even understand what he was trying to tell himself. It was almost as if someone had straight-up rebooted his brain, and now its cognitive functions were trying to get itself back into a place of basic coherency.

Eventually, he managed to slowly roll over onto his back with one hand over his now broken nose. He began to breathe out of his mouth as he could smell blood within his clogged nostrils. He put his other hand over the entry wound. He was bleeding profusely from his abdomen and his back, and he had to act fast before he blacked out. Or worse.

His adrenaline began to spike as he knew he was still in immediate danger and was inching closer and closer to death. Luckily, he knew at least a little first aid from Lara growing up, though this surely was an injury that required way more than that. He was going to need REAL medical attention, but right now he just needed to keep himself awake and alive.

Oh man, this is going to hurt soooooo bad. He thought to himself, channeling ki into his hand to form an energy sphere. He went to apply this to his open wound, but the second he did so he immediately SCREAMED in unbearable pain. Even though he knew what he had to do, this was his first time actually DOING it.

After momentarily being paralyzed in anguish, he had to give himself a mental pep talk, taking a few quick deep breaths.

Come on. Out of the count of 3. One, two, three!



Reaching inside of your own body to essentially BURN yourself was not exactly an experience he could train for. Hell, he wasn't even sure if it was actually working, or if he had to do anything else. He figured he was in at least a better place than he was before.

Though he wasn't out of the woods yet. It had a clean pass straight through, meaning he was bleeding out of the exit side as well. That was going to be a little trickier to pull off, considering the awkward angle. He rolled over to his side, propping himself with one arm before reaching towards the center of his back with the other. Admittedly hesitant to go through this unpleasant feeling a second time, he stalled for a bit by thinking of a way to get ahead of the problem. There was no way Liari was through with him yet, and he was in no shape for a drawn-out fight. He could hide his energy, but it's not like he could move around very well. It would only be a matter of time before she found him.

On top of that, he needed her to keep her focus on him. The last thing he needed was for her to somehow pinpoint the energy of the villagers not too far away from them. He needed to get more of her attention on his terms. If only there was a way to communicate with her remotely...

Pran's face lit up as he suddenly had an epiphany.

Well, now is as a good time as any to test this out for real. He thought, remembering the technique Lara taught him a few days ago.

Telepathy.

Still a beginner in this technique, normally it would be hard for Pran to establish a Shoki link at this distance. However, Liari's energy was so COLOSSAL that it was practically effortless to target it and maintain a stable connection. Closing his eyes and concentration, he'd broadcast his mental energy in her direction, trying to anchor it in hers. In a sense, it was as if he was tossing a can with a string attached to his own so they could have a sort of "telephone line" between them.

Even if he managed to get a hold of her, he needed something to talk about. Considering how bad the situation was with Bugman, it was probably not a good idea to bring that up. Talking about the weather probably wasn't going to be a good idea either. He needed something good, something that'll last a while. Something with depth. Something like...

Suddenly, he hatched an idea. He felt really, REALLY dumb for doing it, but it was so far-fetched that it just. Might. Work. Plus, it was all he had.

Man, I can't believe I'm doing this. Athren would be laughing at me right now. Wait, I'm thinking right now. Can she hear this? Frick, maybe she can. Uh, this is awkward. Liari? Liari? Ugh, now I feel dumb. Okay uh, sorry. Start over.


Hi Liari, this is Pran. As you can see, I got some new tricks. Anyways, please, for goodness sake, can you just like- CHILL. FOR ONE SECOND? I just wanna talk- alright? He asked. Following his mother's word, and putting up his own belief system against that of the Saiyan warrior in Crimson Lake, he was going to make a hail-mary attempt to REALLY understand her this time. Try and figure out what her whole deal is, and how she came to be. Maybe, just maybe, he could talk the tiniest bit of sense into her!

Listen, some guy reached out to pretty much everybody's head and told us that some crazy catastrophe was coming. Considering you're the most powerful, and most... Uh, no offense, out-of-pocket person I know, I figure it's gotta be you, right? I mean, you're even rocking a new look with that crazy strength growth you've got there!

I guess, I guess the question I have to ask is why? Why are you going through all this trouble? I mean this is like the... I don't even know, GAGILLIONTH time you've attacked us? What do you get out of it? And don't tell me it's all about the fight. I mean, the Saiyans are a bloodthirsty bunch and there's plenty of them here. Well, maybe not for long from what I hear the government's trying to do recently- but they aren't exactly attacking cities every other Thursday either. What gives? I know you have no reason to really open up to me, and we don't really like each o-

Pran's voice would suddenly cut out.

"GYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"

A cry could be heard through the mountainous region as he finally managed to seal the wound on his back shut. A short pause would follow before he'd begin to mentally communicate again.

Sorry, just ignore that. I was doing something. Anyways, it's not like we like each other. Like, at all. But I mean, it's not like you woke up one day and you were like "I gotta kill erbody." Ain't no way. I just- I just gotta know.

WC: 1531
TWC: 2763

Pran wasn't sure what kind of response he was going to get once he managed to get inside her head.

But it sure as hell wasn't this.



It was like a pit of confusion, despair, and hatred sucked him in like a black hole. Something was wrong. Normally, it was supposed to be simply a mental link and nothing more. He hears her thoughts, and she hears his thoughts. That's it. But what he got was way, WAY more than that. He heard many voices, none of which sounded like the majin that just knocked him into next week. It was almost like trying to navigate a school cafeteria, all the noises and the voices just piling together into just an auditory mush. The worst part was that it kept getting louder, and LOUDER.

He quickly found himself in a mindscape, HER mindscape. And he was beginning to be pushed to the brink, even after such a short time. There was just no end to it He kept hearing snippets of threats of violence and pleas for salvation, though he could hardly separate one voice from another. They were all around him with no sign of a safehaven away from them. Where were they coming from? Who are these people? He could feel that he was beginning to lose himself in her mind. He could hardly focus, hardly think. He wanted to exit, IMMEDIATELY, but he couldn't concentrate enough to even pull that off.

Pran took a moment to take a metaphorical deep breath, trying his best to recall his training. Given that he had an increase in mental training prior, the techniques to keep himself grounded and centered were fresh in his mind.

Apple. Brute. Cash. Dream. Eat. Fox. Ground. Hexagon...

It was a simple but effective technique. Thinking alphabetically forced his mind to put effort into other cognitive tasks, meaning there was less room for that insanity he was in right now. Eventually, he was able to seemingly regain control of himself, though he could still hear the voices quietly arguing in the background.

Geez, Liari. You know, a heads-up would have been nice. He thought, not even realizing what was about to hit him.

His own mind was practically blinded by images of Liari, only that she was being, albeit barely, restrained. Restrained by a... smaller girl? She was also a majin, also blue-skinned. She was trying to say... something? But he couldn't hear what it was. In fact, out of all the voices he could hear, hers was the only one that he KNEW wasn't one of them. Who was this? Why are there so many different people here? Why could he SEE her, but only hear the others?

There was no time to answer that now. Something strange was beginning to happen. Just barely managing to maintain the connection, he could see that Liari was staring straight at him. At his soul. The smaller majin tried to stop her, but she proved to be no match for her. Even though all of this was happening in her head, Pran could still feel a desire to defend the little girl. If only he could. It took a huge amount of concentration to just be as he was. He might get completely lost in Liari's mindscape if he did anything else besides pay attention to what was going on.

With the girl in her grasp, Liari proceeded to explain how she came to be. She explained that this innocent girl used to ACTUALLY be her! Hard to believe considering how different the look in their eyes was. One filled with child-like innocence and a good heart, the other having that of a dark, cold-blooded killer. She went on to say that the more powerful she became, the more her mental state began to deteriorate. Plagued by dreams of what would pretty much turn out to be her future, she saw help from... Changelings. Their images now in full view. The people of Frost. Considering the growing amount of Changelings affiliating with the Planet Trade Organization in recent years, Pran could already see where this was going.

But maybe... not quite?

Yes, she was tempted to do evil. But, it wasn't blackmail or anything. It was an offer. A deal. A mutual agreement. In other words...

A choice.

He didn't understand. Liari was so concerned about becoming a monster, that she... ended up becoming one of her own free will? Why...? It seemed so counter-productive. Especially considering that this was basically the equivalent of a random guy in a van offering candy to a child if they got insi-

Wait a minute. Changelings conquering a city? That reminds me of the West City incident that made the news! That was YOU?!

Pran knew that she had been around for a while, but a while was really... A WHILE. With everything that had been happening to Earth, West City's takeover felt like a lifetime ago. That was a shocker, but as shocking as what came next.

He braced for impact as the voices took hold as the Majin explained that her friend, who, more or less, died in the conflict that occurred there and ended up being ABSORBED INTO HER! The voice of that same guy surpassed the others in volume! As she continued explaining, the weight of the situation began to set in. The voices, all of them, they were all of the people who fell victim to this same absorption! This was bad, really bad. There were, at the VERY least, three voices in here. How many? How many lives did she take?

Mr. Bugman described his absorption in a way that was vaguely similar to hers. If he had taken Pran up on his offer to donate energy, would he have met the same fate as Liari did?

The way she was describing it, it was as if the personalities of her victims had been preserved in her mind. She had become a prison in her own consciousness, and she was fighting with herself as much as she was with the rest of the world. Pran could see why it was a such struggle. He had hardly been in here for that long and he was already ready to get out of here. He couldn't imagine dealing with this every single day. The noises, the visuals, it was all getting a bit much for him...

Wait a minute. The visual internal struggle, the manifestation of suppressed personalities, Lara had told him that this technique allowed him to enter the subconscious of another if he was allowed inside. Pran hadn't simply tapped into her mind. This place, the images, this was it.

This was Liari's Paracosm.

...Or at least, part of it? The only way Pran knew how to enter his own was through meditation, as letting yourself freefall into the hidden parts of your own mind was not exactly something you could simply just "do". However, Liari's mind was breaking down and it was only beginning to progress. Combined with the personalities of MULTIPLE other people all against EACH OTHER, the barrier between her subconscious and conscious mind must have been... dissolving? Leaking into each other? Maybe even combining with her victims? Were such things even possible? He wasn't sure, but it was his current theory. It would also explain how she was doing what she was doing, as one wouldn't really be able to actively control their own Paracosm in such a way. When he established his Shoki link and Liari let him in and took him on this slideshow of her past, she might as well have straight up allowed him into BOTH parts of her mindscape.

While this was all... A LOT to take in, he still had to home in on her current "mission statement". The way she was talking about fighting and combat, it was almost like a hunter talking about catching game. They wanted the chase, the hunt, all to have their next triumphant meal and do the whole thing all over again. It never stopped.

Okay well, uh. Golly gee. That's- I mean wow. Okay. Let me just get my words together.

After about a 10-second pause, his thought would resume within her mind.

Okay so, first of all, I'm confused. Are you sure you're fighting the right battles? This whole thing seems like a horror show, no offense, and it looks like you know that. You say you're fighting for fun and all that stuff to satiate your hunger, but from the looks of it you're way past that now. My father used to tell me that sometimes when we do something but don't why, our brain likes to make up reasons to fill in the gaps. From where I'm standing- laying? It looks like you want this whole thing to end.

If you keep fighting and eating, isn't this going to continue? More voices, more temptations. From what you're saying, your will is barely doing the job as it is. What happens when it's not enough anymore? What happens when you finally pop? Do you even know?

I'm no psychologist, but this can't be healthy. This isn't even MY mind and I'M losing it in here! The way you talk about fighting, this constant hunger you talk about, this isn't what fighting is for! It's for discipline, strengthening character, becoming your best self, defending those who can't defend themselves! Not inflicting harm on others. It sounds like there was a time when you might have been on my side on this, but er... It looks like you haven't been in the best of spirits in a long while.

Is there a way to undo this? You absorbed them, right? From what I've seen from you so far, you have... a really large toolkit. Can't you free them and ease your mind a little?

Pran kind of felt like an idiot for offering a pretty obvious solution, but he was just throwing stuff out there at this point. He wasn't exactly an expert in Majin mental health, but there had to be some kind of chink in the armor here.

WC: 1,692
TWC: 4,455

Liari did NOT take kindly Pran's attempts to get her to see reason. At all.

She went on and on about how she had heard all of this before, even bringing another one of the voices of her victims to the forefront. Only, this voice sounded familiar. REALLY familiar. It took a moment for him to put his finger on it, especially because the other voices were still bickering in the background, but this was the same voice that had called out the people of Earth to alert them about the coming threat! He was one of her victims? But... that timeline didn't make much sense. Then again, the Majin had mentioned when he killed him "the first time".

This was about the second or third time Liari had mentioned coming back from the dead or experiencing dying. The first was when they briefly went over when Pran had fought her and the Saiyan Queen, and the second being when they had met up with Mr. Bugman. As much as he wanted to pry into that, she had said... A LOT. She had said that he was apparently quite the player, having abandoned what was his significant other, though that part wasn't really important compared to all of her other points. She said that all of his words were meaningless, that she could do anything she wanted... After all, who could stop her?

As she went on and on about how stupid the voice was, how stupid Pran was, how the lives of the weak were meaningless, and how the old version of her was foolish to trust them. How his father was a fool, who did nothing, who WAS nothing. A man who lived a meaningless existence. A rage had seemingly begun to take hold of her as she straight-up cracked the environment around her!

Pran tightened his fists, completely revolted at what he was hearing. The complete disregard for life, this greed for more and more power, calling his kindness weak. It was getting harder to stay calm. Something deep within him began to bubble up. Something that he had only seen a taste of before, the last time he had entered his own Paracosm. That voice that spoke out to him then, that told him to eradicate evil, to despise evil, to hate every aspect of it, to never forget the damage that it has not only done but that it can still do.

It was beginning to slowly show its face.

He looked down at the little blue majin who was just now recovering from the damage inflicted on her by the self-proclaimed, "superior version".

Pran replied, heartbreak in his voice. Instead of caution or intimidation, it was deep sadness and disappointment that he felt once Liari had concluded her rant. He, and those who came from the same place he did, took great value in the life of a conscious being. It was a gift, an experience unlike any other. And the craziest part is you only get one, as far as they knew at least. To see someone who was the complete opposite, who saw them as meals, as tools to feed her ever-growing power, was something that struck home. Was that how the people who attacked his village thought? This "RRA" group, whoever they were? Is that what they were thinking when they took his father away from him? Were his whole village and its people just a stepping stone to them?

The more he dwelled on this, the more the sadness began to turn into anger.

Through the cracks, a purple energy began to seep through. It began to surround the three individuals, almost like smoke. A deep, intense aura of hatred and malice could be sensed from it, but it wasn't coming from Liari. Those who could sense energy could tell it was coming directly from Pran, even if not visually. Traveling along the Shoki link shared between the two of them, the Jaki generated from Pran's physical body made its way into the mindscape they were currently sitting in.



The energy around them began to change, creating an illusion of the destroyed cities in the state that they were right after the attack had appeared on the news. The fires and ruins caused by her and those like her: Who treated Earth as their personal playground.




Self-preservation had basically left the building.

Ohhh noooo, you're mighty! You're powerful! You're Liari! Big whoop-dee-fuckin'-do. Look around, genius. You're falling apart at the seams. And you're only feeding the fire. Your mind is LITERALLY beginning to break apart at this point.

I can't even fuckin' believe you. People are losing their homes, their business, their lives. Families have been separated. They live in fear every goddamn day, wondering if this is the day that it all finally goes to hell. The government is becoming wearier of EVERY galactic foreigner because some random JACKASS decided that they're gonna raise hell for the millionth time on a Wednesday afternoon. Saiyans basically need a license just to EXIST here because the Saiyans from Vegeta decided to attack Earth for a SECOND time.

You know they're STILL trying to identify the lives lost as far back as Orange City? There are STILL people who can't go back there because they're still doing repairs. There are still families who do not have closure. Still holding out hope that mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters are STILL ALIVE somehow. And that's if they're LUCKY. The ones who know the important people in their lives are gone forever are doing everything they can just to TRY to move on, trying to accept that things will never be the same again.

Only the neat thing is, we have to deal with the fact that THIS WHOLE CYCLE MIGHT HAPPEN AGAIN AS SOON AS TOMORROW.

That's what we have to deal with every single DAY.

Pran began to take a much more sarcastic turn, mockingly quivering his lip at Liari's struggles.
But OH BOY! Poor you! AWWWWWHHHHHHHHHH!!
You had trouble speaking! AAWWWWWWHWHHHHHHHHHH!!!
You wanted to fight people! AWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Some people are telling you what to do! AAAAAWWWWWHHHHHHH!!!!
You had some wittle nightmares! AAWWWWWHHHHHH!!!
Some random guy broke your friend's heart! AAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHH!!!

His face suddenly switched to that of glaring at Liari before he stared at the ground and began walking around in circles. He was basically throwing his hands up at the absurdity of the situation. At this point, it might have been a little unclear if he was talking to Liari directly, or if he had just forgotten she was there and ranting about her to himself.

You attacked East City, South City, AND West City. That's THREE FUCKING CITIES. SIT DOWN.

He stopped walking in circles and walked straight up to Liari's face, looking at her dead in the eyes!

SORRY WE'RE TRYING TO TELL YOU WAYS TO BE A BETTER PERSON, MY HOUSE JUST GOT FLATTENED AND MY ROOMMATE GOT ABSOLUTELY FUCKING CANNIBALIZED BY A PIECE OF CHEWING GUM THIS MORNING. I TELL MY THERAPIST I CAN'T EVEN SLEEP AT NIGHT FROM THE TRAUMA. DON'T WANNA ADD ANYMORE TO MY PLATE.


I mean honestly! What are we doing here bro! WHAT ARE WE DOING. You think you can't live your life?

NEWS FLASH HEADASS: THE ABILITY TO GO OUTSIDE WITHOUT LOOKING OVER OUR SHOULDER, THE ABILITY TO LIVE INSTEAD OF SURVIVE. THE ABILITY TO BE HAPPY. THAT'S THE LIBERTY THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN FROM US.

You keep acting like you're hot shit, but you're a slave to your own instincts! You're EATING PEOPLE. EATING THEM. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOU'RE BIOLOGY IS, THAT'S WEIRD MAN. THAT'S FUCKING WEIRD. And you can't even stop even if you tried, because you got like 4 different fuckin' people in here walking around with a stick up their own ass. I mean look at her!

Pran gestured to the old, child-like Liari.

YOU'RE LITERALLY FIGHTING YOURSELF IN HERE. YOURSELF. LIKE, DAWG. COME ON. HOW DO YOU NOT SEE HOW THIS LOOKS!

You keep trying to normalize all this bullshit you're doing when the only thing we need to be normalizing here is the art of SHUTTING THE FUCK UP.

WC: 1,392
TWC: 5,847

"YEAH, YEAH THAT'S RIGHT. WHATCHU GOTTA SAY NOW? NOTHIN'. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING A GODDAMN SMART ASS. I GOT THAT DAWG IN ME. ALRIGHT?! WOOF. YEAH, THAT'S ME."

He was taking full advantage as Liari let him have the floor, becoming more boastful. When she tried to warn him about talking too much, he'd only lean harder into it.

"OR WHAT? HUH? WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? YOU AIN'T BAD. YOU AIN'T NOTH- Oop."

He was sharply interrupted by her palm meeting his face. She began to go on her own long spiel about how he couldn't judge her, how she didn't care, how everything he was saying practically falling on deaf ears. That didn't seem to be entirely the case based on what Pran saw around him, but he was also only doing a little more than an educated guess. He may have taken a peek inside her mind, but it's not like he knew her completely and he couldn't just ignore all of the super duper evil stuff she was talking about. Still, that's not what most troubling at the moment.

What was most troubling was when she started to keep making threats about not only absorbing him, but also getting access to his friends and family. This would include his mother, who was the only family member he even had access to at the moment. There was no way he could let that slide. Still, in real life he basically had one foot in the grave already. It's not like he could punch his way out of this. He wanted to understand her more, but did that even matter anymore? After this whole discussion he felt pretty confident that he knew what her whole deal was. It didn't seem like she was interested in budging either. Was this whole thing a waste of time? How could she not see who she had become? WHAT she had become? How could she not care after everything that had transpired?

It was... ENRAGING.

His mental body was being slowly consumed by Liari's... brain flesh? Right now, she was in control. She left his mouth available so he could at least make his point short and sweet. Except, he had something different in mind.

This ki he was feeling creep up from deep within him. It was definitely Jaki. Only, he had never felt this much of it before. He could feel it influencing his thoughts and actions. It was surely the reason why he was acting this way, but he didn't know how to control it. It had managed to creep into Liari's mind via the Shoki link, and even have some kind of an effect within her mind. Was there a way to weaponize it? Was it even possible? Jaki wa s a weird area of ki, capable of a lot of things that wouldn't really be possible with Genki, Shoki, or Not only that, even if he could, this wasn't exactly his mind either. If he tried to and it didn't work, he could end up doing even more damage to an already messed up Liari. Her mind was practically falling apart at the seams as it was. On top of that, if she could fully control her unconscious and subconscious mind in this... "Overlap" they were in, she might pull a reversal and flip all of it back onto him!

It was a gamble, and probably not great on a moral level, but right now it was all he could think of. He'd have to start on a simpler level. Something light, something... harmless. Harmless and Jaki didn't exactly go together though. This was his first being consumed by it, being... molded by it. But maybe, just maybe... He could aim it?

Hard. Hard to think. Subconscious. Deeper into the subconscious. Muddy the water. Throw her off.

This plan was growing riskier the more he thought about it. He might be able to plant an idea in her head, opening up a hole further into her mind. Only, once they fully crossed over, Paracosms were practically independent on their own. Liari AND Pran would both be completely helpless to what went on within it. Getting out is supposed to be easy, but this is a mind unlike any other influenced by multiple different personalities. What if they, the other voices, didn't want them to leave? Could Liari even leave on her own? And as for visitors, is it possible for someone to prevent them from leaving too? There were so many unanswered questions. Lara left him with so little information...

And yet, this was the best chance he had.

The idea would have to be something deep. Something that would cause at least the slightest, gut reaction, emotional response. Triggering thoughts and trauma tend to be rooted in the subconscious. That had to be it. The key.

There hadn't been a lot that the Majin had told him so far that was worthy enough to use. Like she had said, she didn't care about any of this stuff anymore. For Jaki needs a foundation of resentment, guilt, or something similar to work. A negative emotion. This "whatever" attitude didn't count. That being said... Maybe this Liari didn't care, but the OTHER Liari would. It wouldn't matter either way, they were both... "her" right? Aiming Jaki at the little Liari is just taking a shot at a different area of her mind... right?

The illusion began to dissipate into smoke once more, beginning to concentrate itself around the smaller Liari. He might be able to see her, but their collective presence could be felt all around him. The little good that remained in her mind shined through like the light at the end of the tunnel. The Liari that had captured him was in the driver's seat, which means that the little one had to have originated from her Paracosm directly. Being that she was physically here- or as physical as you could get, while everyone else were just disembodied voices, meant she might be a stronger source to use. Yes, use. He had to use her, use her as an anchor. A weight. One that would allow them to sink completely below the surface and deeper into the iceberg.

"My point... My point is that... Is that YOU FAILED YOUR FRIENDS. YOU KILLED THEM AND THEY MEANT NOTHING TO YOU. AND NOW YOU'RE PASSING THAT PAIN ONTO US. You're a pitiful monster, you always have been."

With the Jaki surrounding the smaller Liari, he would hope that he could draw out any feelings of remorse, anguish, ANYTHING. If he could do that, it would be amped by Pran's own negative energy. It might cause some kind of a chain reaction that would drag them all down together into... God knows what.

Who knows what they might run into. They might run into memories of her victims, she might have taken on their insecurities and hopes and dreams that would manifest in that space. They might have had demons of their own that they might meet. Hell, they might not even be isolated anymore. They might have merged together create something entirely new. What her full Paracosm might look like could be anyone's guess. It might something as plain as a white canvas or be that literal definition of Hell on Earth. There was no way to tell.

If this worked, both Pran and Liari were going to be in for one hell of a trip.

WC: 1250
TWC: 7097

Good News: The plan Worked!

Bad News: The plan worked.

As Pran, now resolidified into an image of his normal self, was left with just the smaller Liari in this mindscape, he saw what seemed like something deep within the little majin snap inside of her. For a moment, he thought he straight up iced her mind, which would've been REALLY awkward. However, it wasn't long before she began to get a little too... actually, WAY too giggly. Whatever Pran did to her might have worked a little TOO well. Seeing the crazed look in her eyes and her armor dropping to pieces, he stopped his mental attack and tried to reason with her.

Er, excuse me. What's up with y- WOAH!

Before he could even finish his sentence, the entire scenery had completely shifted around them. It began to morph around them, turning into something akin of a dying planet. The very ground, if you could call it that, shook underneath him and caused him to stumble about as he tried to find his footing, taking his attention off of Liari for the moment. After nearly falling straight into molten lava spewing up from below, he regained his balance and directed his attention back what was no longer the innocent blue child from earlier.

He cautiously observed his surroundings, still unsure of what he had just done.

He immediately noticed the corpse that lay before her, though he had no idea who that could be. Whoever it was, they were clearly not of Earth, but definitely not Namekian or Saiyan like most of the extraterrestrials that he'd come into contact with. Why this image was in her mind wouldn't be a mystery for long, as their blood fell from the Majin's hand. It was obvious that she killed them, but were they someone specific to her, something completely random, or something from one of the other consciousnesses that inhabited her mind? It was anyone's guess, but something told the human that he wouldn't exactly be able to ask questions.

It might not have even mattered, as the Paracosm rarely made sense as it was.

The view shifted once again, this time the alien corpse being completely replaced with more of them. Pran almost threw up at the sight of them. This time, they were various other living beings... though he couldn't tell who they were from the sorry state they were in. They were viciously assaulted, ripped to pieces. It looked like Liari's capacity for violence was far more than he had imagined, which was saying a lot considering what she was already known for. This maliciousness wasn't making sense. He had drawn on the part of the mind from what was supposed to be the good part of her, right? These images should have been representative of guilt, despair, or something like that. Not this... bloodthirst.

If anything, this should have come from the other, clearly more EVIL Liari. Was the Jaki still affecting her? He should have called it all back now. It sure as hell FELT Like he had recalled it all, as he could still feel its flame lit within him. He didn't know how to calm it down, how to get himself back feeling normal. Maybe he did something wrong...?

Even then, Jaki can't create something out of nothing. It only feeds on what's already there. He might have tried to plant an idea, but he could only do that using the information that she had given to him. Create a new narrative using bits of her already existing inner thoughts. It was as if he was undoing a puzzle, reshaping the pieces, and completing a brand new one of his own creation.

He couldn't ask too many questions, as the scene shifted again, this time a SEA of bodies had been spread out all across the landscape. Those who had fallen to her onslaught were scattered an immeasurable distance. Upon closer inspection of the body that lay in front of him, he realized it was none other than himself. Absolutely terrified of death, he could feel his heartbeat begin to quicken as panic began to set in. Seeing those lifeless, pale, dead eyes in himself shook him to his very core. Sweat beat down the side of his forehead as he looked from his own lifeless corpse back at Liari, who was now soaked in what was presumably his and everyone else's blood, mocking him as she seemed to have imagined herself as his killer.

Come on Pran, relax. She's just fucking with you. It's all just game to h- WAIT A MINUTE...

Liari was screwing with him?

They were clearly far deeper into her subconscious now, as this setting was far more advanced than anything he had seen up until this point. They should be completely in the Paracosm, where everything was seemingly random. Out of their control. Where the imagery could be practically anything. The majin using this hellscape to fuck with him shouldn't have been possible.

It IS impossible... right?

Pran raced to try and make sense of the situation.

Evil Liari is swept away, gone. For now, at least. The good one completely snapped, turning into... this. But that's the thing, she's good. She's, as far as I can tell, whatever remains of her conscience. So where could all of this have come from? Think Pran, think. I used her fear, her guilt... She talked about dreams of her being a monster earlier. Yeah, when she was talking about her sob story or whatever. This was before she met the Changelings, so she still would have been in a goodie two shoes then. Dreams are often our subconscious coming to light. If that's the case, if I brought her negative emotions to the surface while plunging myself deeper into whatever keeps her awake at night, then this is....

The good Liari... isn't here. She must have gotten swept away too. Which means this THING in front of me... This is the monster she was afraid of becoming. I basically confirmed that she was that, so it must have manifested in this Paracosm. In a weird way, this is her "guide". Kind of like what I ran into in my own experience. If that's the case though, this makes things WAY worse. This is a mental construct, which means I can't exactly, even more so as a guest in someone else's house, punch it out. It's up to whoever's mind it is to do that, except Liari isn't exactly here right now.

...Shit. This is bad. I'm in her playground now. And she makes the rules.


This was the current theory Pran was running with, although he wasn't too certain he was reading the situation accurately. After all, there was a lot that he still didn't understand, and his own hypothesis still had a hole or two in it. For instance, if what was in front of him was basically the equivalent of her own "spirit guide" or just some kind of figment of her nightmarish imagination, why did she simply switch to the personality? As much as he wanted to simply chalk it up to Liari's mind just being out of this world, everything that happens in this realm is a reflection of SOME PART of the person one way or another. The small, innocent girl suddenly becoming straight up feral had to have some higher meaning.

He was missing something.

Whatever it was, he better figure it out soon, or he might not make it out of this.

Bracing himself for whatever he would face next, Pran muttered to himself frustratingly and nervously.

"I just stepped in a load of crap..."

WC: 1,283
TWC: 8,380