POWER LEVEL
354,508
Tech Points
28/75
Forms
Epic Majin [x34]
Zeni
23,106
Majin
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Jul 16, 2022 20:10:55 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Jul 16, 2022 20:10:55 GMT -5
Jorey was sent flying by the majin's kick but this time, Quash more perceptive, her foot phasing through his... his afterimage? Liari had almost completely MISSED where he'd gone! Had it not been for his intense, BURNING energy signature and her eyes being able to track the butt-end of his movements, what he had planned next would have caught her completely off guard!
"Heh... Clever boy..." Liari muttered as Quash came DOWN upon her like the executioner's axe, his fist ARCHING DOWN at her... right into a waiting open palm! At first, the majin had thought it to be a casual deflection, something easily caught and thrown aside... but, to Liari's shock, QUASH WAS ACTUALLY PUSHING THROUGH!
"NNGH!" Liari grunted, digging her feet into the sand and actually PUSHING back against the sayain to keep him at bay, veins bulging up her arm and across her shoulder, fingers digging into his glove to display just how hard she was trying! The earth beneath her feet exploded UP AND OUT over the area around them! The impact of his fist into her hand almost BLASTED apart the air around the in a MASSIVE sonic boom, all life, for what it was worth, OBLITERATED in such a ruthless display of force! "Heh... Or what..?" She questioned, Quash DEMANDING she shut her trap! "...You're doing better, but don't get cocky. I-" Suddenly Quash would attempt to FIDDLE with her arms, planting his boots on her shoulders for balance as he began to tie her up! Curious, Liari actually allowed him to do so, the sayain grunting and growling about how someone that knew Callion should KNOW better than to be this arrogant!
"...And what do YOU know of him, Quash?" Liari growled, his comment touching a nerve! "...Callion is a great man. He gave up his life for you in ways you will never know." Liari's arms slowly began to melt together and reform, the knot disappearing into an amorphous pseudo-liquid before separating back into two arms! Liari would reach up and GRAB Quash by the straps of his armor, pulling him down to her face, her sanguine eyes... almost PAINED to go along with her irritation!
"...I KNOW what he thinks of me... I have him in HERE!" She tapped her temple with her tentacle. "I know what he thinks of you too. You want to know what he thinks!? HE-"
Liari's attention was taken as Jorey CALLED for Quash to flee, the majin looking over her captive's shoulder to see... JOREY FIRING A HALF-DOZEN BLASTS DOWN UPON THEM! Immediately, Liari's gaze flashed back to Quash's, her eyes showing a glint of worry! If the saiyan noticed, he might see that the concern was not for herself... but for the man she was holding!
"MOVE." She cried before THROWING Quash to the side, Liari only having a moment after to CROSS her arms over her head and body, her body BULKING slightly and hardening as the blasts glinted and BURST upon her now ROCK-HARD hide! As Jorey TORE UP the ground with his blasts, Quash might be able to identify Liari's defense as another one of Callion's moves: Immovable Object, where her body was just too HARD to be damaged seriously!
"...Jorey. Is this your idea of a challenge...?" Liari asked through the smoke... BEFORE A HAND SHOT OUT FROM IT, ARCHING UP TOWARDS THE SAYAIN LIKE AN ELASTIC SNAKE AIMING TO GRAB AND SQUEEZE THE WRIST of the hand charging the ki, dissuading him from gathering more! "You're making Quash do all the legwork. Here... let me give you... A HAND!" Suddenly, if Liari was able to get a grip in saiyan, would SWING him down towards the ground like a flyswatter, aiming to SLAP him against the earth! "Sorry to jerk you around, Jorey... but at least now you're a little more... down to earth."
WC: 645 TWC: 3609
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|
POWER LEVEL
169,132
Tech Points
17/38
Forms
Super Saiyan: [x16]
Zeni
4,692
Archived
|
Jul 17, 2022 15:07:23 GMT -5
Post by Quash on Jul 17, 2022 15:07:23 GMT -5
As the shockwave exploded outward from Quash's fist making contact with her hand, he growled in frustration. Crap, he was a hair's breadth too late! If only he were a little faster! Still, it wasn't over yet! He just had to overpower Liari! He tried as hard as he could, and while it looked like he was making some headway in the beginning, it proved to be no use! He simply wasn't strong enough, there was nothing else to it.
After he had managed to tie up her arms, Liari would mention that Callion... had died? This was news to him, as it felt like he had seen him not too long ago. How did he die? She said she gave up his life, did he sacrifice himself for something? For what? Quash didn't know what was going on, but he didn't have to time to process it! Liari had easily freed herself from the knot the Captain had tied her in, and had grabbed him by the armor to bring him face to face with her. He struggled to break free from her grip as she yelled at him, but it was no use. She said he was... in her head? What the heck did she mean by that?
Quash looked over his shoulder at the sound of Jorey's voice. His partner had fired another ki blast, and if he didn't get out of the way he was going to get caught in the blast! Goddamnit, he couldn't have waited like two more seconds? The ki blast had split into multiple different ki blasts as it got closer to them, which made Quash a little more nervous. This wasn't good, he couldn't free himself from her grip. Maybe if he used his Savoy Sword, he could free himself in time? Whatever he was going to do, he had to do it NOW! Quash turned back to Liari as he began to flood his ki into his hand again, about to go with the only option he could think of!
Or, at least he was.
Quash froze for a moment when he saw Liari's face. Maybe he was seeing things, but he could've sworn she looked concerned for him! Almost immediately after this, he chastised himself before losing focus. He had missed his chance to avoid the attack, and now he was going to take the full force of Jorey's attack... or maybe not! Completely out of nowhere, Liari had thrown him out of the way to tank the attack herself with some brand new move that he hadn't seen her do before, which only increased his state of confusion! Why? She could've easily used him as a meat shield, just like she did before. Quash body hit the ground yet again, but that was far better than getting hit by another energy attack. Maybe, just maybe, his friend was still in there? Even so, she had picked a hell of a time to start being concerned for their safety. Especially after they've been fighting for this long.
As he got up to his feet, he was still trying to process what Liari had told him. So, for whatever reason, Callion was dead. He could only assume that Liari was speaking metaphorically about her having him inside her mind. After all, how CRAZY would it be he was literally in there, right? Bonkers. Still, it was hard to believe that he was really gone, given the strength that he felt when he sparred with him. It was a shame too. The Captain hadn't been impacted too hard by the loss, given how little he actually knew about him. However, he could tell that Callion was a good man, and his death was a tragedy, Quash wished that he could've been there to help him with whatever it was he was dealing with. If they had just stuck together, maybe his death could've been prevented. Was that why Liari was wearing his clothing? Maybe it wasn't something she wore because he was her master, but instead something to remember him by?
Quash, now kind of zoning out of the fight for a minute, was racking his brain trying to figure out the reason for Liari's behavior. The more that was revealed, the more puzzling it became. Was all of this Liari's way of dealing with grief? Was she secretly hurting? That was certainly a possibility, especially having demonstrated her capacity to act like a child. Having invaded countless worlds, this wouldn't be the first time seeing someone act irrationally after experiencing the death of a loved one.
But, if that was the case, that didn't explain everything. If she was really lashing out, she would've been acting way more out of control than this. The strategy, ki control, and precision in her fighting style were not something she'd be capable of doing if she had really gone berserk. Hell, if she had truly gone berserk he and Jorey would probably be dead by now. He hated to admit it, but she had already demonstrated that she was more than capable of obliterating them with a thought.
So, she probably wasn't lashing out, but she might've still been mourning given how she reacted when Quash brought him up. But if she was this upset, wouldn't make more sense to at least talk to your friends instead ATTACKING them? He couldn't even do some mental gymnastics and call this a sparring match where maybe she could air out some of her frustrations in a healthier way. This was way too aggressive for that. It was clear she was trying to put them down, even if she wanted to have fun doing it.
But, she was trying to put them down, WHY WOULD SHE SAVE HI-
GODDAMMIT. I'M GOING IN CIRCLES NOW! Quash thought. There was no point in trying to make sense of this by himself. This was going to sound stupid, but he had no choice but, well, to ask her.
Putting his attention back on the fight, Quash realized that he had been thinking about this for WAY too long. Jorey had been attacked, and he needed some assistance.
The Captain flew right back at Liari, firing two ki blasts at her to get her attention.
"What do you mean Callion gave up his life? What killed him? Come on Liari, talk to me!"
It was time to get some answers, and there was no time like the present. He threw a volley of punches at her when he got close enough, trying to give himself some more time to speak.
"We're supposed to be friends, but now here you are attacking us for no reason! None of this makes sense!"
WC: 1120 TWC: 6534
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|
I've made a terrible mistake.
POWER LEVEL
111,973
Tech Points
25/26
Forms
Oozaru [x10]
Zeni
47,380
UNSORTED
|
Jul 18, 2022 19:55:13 GMT -5
Post by Jorey on Jul 18, 2022 19:55:13 GMT -5
Before Jorey fired off his Shatter Beam, there were a few things he was able to pick up on. None of it was really major, or at least, he didn't think they were major. Liari and Quash seemed to be talking to each other while they were fighting. What exactly they were talking about, the Saiyan had no idea what it was, but he wasn't going to sit around and ask. That would make no sense, considering the situation they were in. It also seemed like Quash was really fed up with the situation they were in right now. Oh, so now he's finally getting angry. Good, if he gets angry now, we might have a chance to do some real damage and make it outta here alive. There's no telling when Liari will finally go full power again.
Even until right before Jorey fired his Shatter Beam, it seemed like they were still in conversation. What was going on right now? Sure, they did know each other since they've met before, but right now they were enemies. What was the point of engaging in conversation now of all times? Especially since neither one of them was subdued. Speaking of being subdued, there were a couple things to note, one good and one bad. Quash seemed to be able to literally tie Liari's arms into a knot. That was strange to the lone wolf, but it worked regardless. That would make his Shatter Beam even more effective. At least, that was the hope, since her arms would be tied and she wouldn't be able to block with her arms. You never know, Liari could actually be more able-bodied with just her feet. The other thing to note was the fact that Liari made her arms melt like an ice cream on a scorching summer day, and then re-solidified them over Quash, trapping him inside a bubblegum tomb. That was a really bad thing. Oh, you gotta be kidding me.
There was no time to redirect the Shatter Beam, and Jorey had planned for the worst at this point. If he'd harmed Quash, he'd be more than pissed. However, something interesting and confusing happened. She just threw Quash away. Jorey even thought that he heard her say "move" to him. What was that about? Wasn't she the one trying to kill them right now? What was her objective in this situation? Jorey's mind trailed off immediately. The thoughts that zipped through his brain were only of what he was thinking about before. What was the purpose of this exercise? Why was she doing all these things? Was it to test her strength? Surely, that would make more sense now, but for some reason, Jorey felt like she already knew the bounds of her strength. If she didn't, why did she bother knocking herself down a few pegs? Jorey knew that he didn't have an ability that lowered her Ki like that, and he figured Quash didn't have one of those abilities either. Assuming both of those things were true, that meant Liari did this of her volition, and that she wasn't trying to test her strength. Then, was it to play with them? No, definitely not. In that case, it would have been even better to have the Shatter Beam blasts hit Quash again like last time. Toying with them wasn't what Liari was trying to do. Nothing made sense, and Jorey just wanted to make sense of everything. What was this woman's goal? As the dust cleared up, Jorey realized that Liari was virtually unharmed. Why couldn't he do any damage at all this time? Was the last Ki blast that hit her in the face a fluke? How come this time she's just standing there no problem? Dammit, none of this shit makes any sense! Liari called out to Jorey, much to his surprise. Was this his idea of a challenge? Was she trying to mock him? Unfortunately, Jorey just fed into it in the back of his mind. Yes, dammit! How the hell did just make it through that unscathed? Aren't I the one being challenged right now!? Doesn't matter, I'll blow you away with this next on-
Jorey felt a power signature coming close to him rapidly, and saw Liari's hand traveling at hellish speeds just to reach him. The Saiyan widened his eyes, flared up his Ki to dodge instead of charge up some more, but only made it about two inches before being caught by Liari's hand, his leg secured completely. The blue badass also seemed to have a clever quip to go along with this, before Jorey was flung to the ground. "Ahhh, that's a clever one- AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Saiyan's body hurdled straight to the ground, with his arms up to try and shield his face from as much of the damage as he could. Once he hit the ground, the pain surged straight through every crevice in his body. The sheer force of him hitting the ground was enough to make him bounce back up and then hit the ground again. He gritted his teeth as he laid on his back. The Saiyan was slow to get back up, but not slow to react to the other quip Liari had in store for him. "Ha...haha, huh...that one's also a good one."
While Jorey was getting back up from the ground, Quash was already back on the offensive. He could hear him asking multiple different questions, as he threw out a volley of punches. Why ask her all these questions right now, was the only thing Jorey could think of for a little while. However, he made himself eat those words, as he had many questions, too. It just isn't clicking with me, and I dunno what I gotta do or see so that it does. Liari was originally so hostile with us, so ready to kill us beforehand. Yet, now, she's actually joking with us? I mean, she made a "down to Earth" joke while throwing me into the ground. She's even entertaining Quash enough to hold conversations with him. I get that they used to be friends, but she also originally said she wanted me dead more than everything. What was all that beforehand? Did she mean those things? Was she just tryna provoke us, egg us on so we'd actually treat this like a life or death battle? If she found it fun for us to be in despair or to just toy around with us, then wouldn't she just...wanna...
Smoke started spewing from Jorey's ears and head. He was thinking way too into all of this, and he needed a break from it. There were nothing but contradictions running through his head, and he couldn't pick out which ones were truth and which ones were false. Maybe all of them were false, and that wouldn't help Jorey's thought process one bit. He needed a distraction, and fortunately, there was one right in front of him. Snapping back to reality, Jorey unleashed his Ki once more, coating his body in the reddish-purple aura. He considered his options before heading straight in or releasing his Ki in a technique again. Okay, so first off, Shatter Beam is banned for the rest of the day. Shit ends up never working out. I'd rather not intrude on their one-on-one right now, buuuuut...
Jorey darted straight over to Liari and Quash, while Quash was letting out a flurry of punches. Following his lead, Jorey would unleash his own flurry of punches and kicks from the other side of Liari, attempting to catch her off guard and really do some damage. Word Count: 1,278
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|
POWER LEVEL
354,508
Tech Points
28/75
Forms
Epic Majin [x34]
Zeni
23,106
Majin
|
Jul 19, 2022 21:04:30 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Jul 19, 2022 21:04:30 GMT -5
Jorey ate more dirt in that technique than... uh... something that eats dirt usually does, Quash then stepping up to cover his friend, firing a VOLLEY of blasts in her direction! He CRIED out for the majin to explain herself: What did she MEAN Callion gave his life? PLEASE speak to them! Do it for 'friendship!'
...All of this only ENFLAMED the majin's temper. All that jokey, harr-harreeness Liari displayed just a second ago disappeared, her expression darkening rapidly!
"Why should I talk to YOU about it, Quash?" Liari rumbled, WALKING towards the sayain as HE shot at her! "Where were YOU when West City was burning? Why didn't YOU help him? You could have... and you stayed away." Liari SMASHED a blast Quash fired at her AWAY with a backhand, the next she reached out and CAUGHT in her hand, slowly CRUSHING it into nothingness in her palm! "You had all the power in the WORLD! Why did you make him fight us alone?"
Quash would RUSH IN, throwing punch after punch at the Majin, Liari catching some... and taking others, his blows bouncing off her face, stomach and jaw rather easily, the majin throwing her own if only to keep within the rhythm of the fight! "Friends..." what a CROCK. Liari might not want to CLEAVE Quash's head from his shoulders at this moment... but who was HE to invoke "friendship" when he left Callion to DIE? He could have made a difference if he tried... this.... this GREAT SOLDIER OF THE SAIYANS could have burned a SWATH across Zero's plans and brought them all to an end! She just KNEW IT!
...Why...? Why was it Callion and not her...? ...Why did nobody help him... Why did they let him die...?
"Don't you dare call me 'friend' after what you did, Quash... Don't you DARE!" Liari would suddenly SWING her leg around in a reverse roundhouse, aiming to CRACK the saiyan captain across the jaw, stun him just long enough for Jorey to make his appearance! Together, the two men pressured the majin in a dead-on collision Liari... actually being made to try as her attention was split between two different opponents! Their fists and legs SLAMMED off one another in a ferocious combination of heavy shockwaves, them growing in such frequency and strength, those who couldn't see the battle would have easily misinterpreted the shaking of the earth with an earthquake!
"You... and the rest of you 'heroes...'" Liari SPAT, SWINGING her arm around to BACKHAND Jorey to the ground, Liari bringing her foot down to STAMP of Quash's toes before GRABBING his head and SLAMMING his forehead against her own... and holding it there! "...You were supposed to save people... You had POWER. You could have made a DIFFERENCE... Now look what you made me..." Liari glanced down at herself, a disgusted snarl flashing across her lips. "I watched as my friends died because YOU couldn't be bothered to help. I was made to FIGHT Callion and ABSORB him because YOU weren't there to SAVE him." The majin would then, if Jorey was still lying on the ground, SCOOP him up and CLAP him and Quash together, aiming now to slam THEIR heads together!
"...All you had to do was try... and you couldn't even do that." The majin glared HATEFULLY at the two fighters... before dropping them and hopping back a distance herself. "...You cowards... You bloody cowards. How DARE you call me your friend! After I'm done with THEM..." Liari alluded, holding a clenched fist up at Quash. "...I'll kill you. You and your stupid friends. I'll make you watch so you know how much it HURTS to see them die. I'll..." Liari's hateful voice CRACKED, her expression almost melting into one of despair and agony.... before hardening again! "...I'll make you pay..."
WC: 640 TWC: 4330
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POWER LEVEL
169,132
Tech Points
17/38
Forms
Super Saiyan: [x16]
Zeni
4,692
Archived
|
Jul 20, 2022 11:21:36 GMT -5
Post by Quash on Jul 20, 2022 11:21:36 GMT -5
...What?As Quash's attacks were thrown, he couldn't help but feel like he had missed an entire season's worth of events. Liari had a hand in Callion's death? How much did she contribute to it, and why? Not only that, but "West City burning"? There was an attack? How did he not know about this? The Orange City incident was not that long ago, that couldn't be a coincidence. Was Athren in on this too? Maybe he was part of the "us" that Liari was talking about. Maybe Earth had finally pissed off the wrong person, and now they were slowly taken over by an opposing force. Still, if there was an entire war being waged against Earth, why are none of the Earthlings doing anything about it? He had been to the cities. No defenses had been put into place in any of the other cities, no announcements made on the action they were taking to take down this new threat, nothing. Besides the saiyan registration, it was like everyone was blissfully living in ignorance of what was going on. This only reinforced what he told Ayu: Earth had it coming. The hit rocked him so hard that he was sent into a daze. Liari was clearly not playing games anymore, consumed by vengeance and frustration. It was a good thing Jorey had come in with his own offensive while he recovered, or else the Captain would've been left wide open for an attack. Realizing that this was their chance to gain the upper hand again, Quash got back into the fight. He began throwing hits along with Jorey to try and turn the tide yet again. He observed their blows landing one after another. He was thinking that maybe they could finish her off now, while she was taking all these hits. With two people on top of her, there surely wouldn't have been enough time for a counter attack! Or so he thought. Liari did a complete 180, easily overpowering the both of them. Quash cried out in pain as his foot was crushed under the weight of hers, closing one eye as he winced in pain as his head was slammed into hers! She began to yell at him about how he would've been powerful enough to save Callion and that he turned her into this. However, one thing that really stood out from ALL of this was that... She had ABSORBED CALLION?! As Quash was presumably slammed into Jorey, his mind was running at a mile a minute. First of all, he didn't even know that she could DO that. Just add it to the list of absurd things she was capable of. Second of all, so Liari didn't just have a hand in his death, she was straight up the one who KILLED him! Now it all started to make sense. Quash sensing his energy inside of her, her clothes... was her power increase a result of this as well? Her fighting style... How much did she take from him! On top of that, Quash had sensed a third energy from her too! It had to have been another absorption, who else had she gotten to? As Quash was dropped to the ground on his knees, blood trickling down his forehead from the trauma done to his head, there was one particular emotion that had hit harder than even Liari's attacks: Disappointment. After staying silent, hearing out all of what Liari said in her whole long and painfully drawn out rant, Quash was more than happy to remind her of the reality of the situation. "Made? Don't give me that."The saiyans were all about getting stronger, surpassing limits, becoming the best you could be, and even breaking through that. But, it was even more than that, it was the ability to defy destiny. They held onto the belief that there was nothing that they could or couldn't do, and anyone that told them otherwise was welcome to try and stop them or sit down and shut up. If you were presented with an option you didn't like, you'd either carve out your own path or die trying. Quash had been struggling with dealing with his own weakness recently, beating himself up over how weak he had become and low on the pecking order he really was. So to hear this from his former friend, to hear all this blame going around to anyone but herself, the fact he and Jorey were now fighting for their lives because of this, well... It was infuriating.Quash's aura flared more violently and explosively as he slowly began to stand up, his fists clenched and his energy giving off a sort of primal rage. The ground began to shake violently as it became more and more unstable. Anyone who would've been standing near him might've had to take a few steps back from how intense it was. It might've not actually been more powerful than it had been previously, but its nature had completely changed. Now fully on his feet, he'd shoot a knife-piercing glare at Liari. "You dare call us the cowards? It was you who turned against him, it was you who chose to absorb him and take his power for yourself, and it's you who, even now, won't take accountability for your own actions.
When we first met, I told you that what really mattered were your actions and your choices. Did you think I was kidding?
No one made you do anything. You choose what you want to be, or you die trying. That's how it goes, that's how it's always been. You failed, Liari. You failed him, and you failed yourself. You were almost as powerful as I was with abilities that I've never seen before. Am I supposed to sit here and believe that you couldn't have helped him in any way? That you couldn't have teamed up and stopped whatever you were facing together?"
His aura exploded once again, even bigger this time. "Grow. Up.
I don't blame myself for what happened to Callion. I didn't know that there was even something going down in the first place. I'll tell you one thing, though. I've fought alongside my brethren in real wars. I've cheated death more times than I count. Have I had known that there was some colossal threat to a fellow saiyan, I would've stood by his side and fought with him. If we have to die together, then we'll die with dignity and honor.
What I wouldn't have done is tarnish his memory by using his death as a sorry excuse to wreak havoc on those who would've helped you had they been given the chance. You're weak. You were weak then, and you're weak now. And rather than face that weakness, you decided that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you had, so you blame everyone but yourself instead. And you call us the cowards? How pathetic. Did you even get revenge on whoever it was that "made" you kill him?"Quash paused to let her answer before continuing. "When I first arrived here, I felt fear. Now, I only pity you. What a joke you turned out to be."The Captain knew that there was only one thing he could do for Callion now. "Whatever you do now no longer matters. It's too late. You've made your bed, and now I'm going to make sure that you lie in it."He got into his fighting stance. She had spilled saiyan blood and betrayed her friends. There was no going back for her now. In his eyes, she was too far gone. "A hero? I'm no hero. I'm a Saiyan Warrior. An elite soldier."His aura swelled one more time before finally settling. It was time to restore the honor of a fallen warrior. "And it's time to do my duty."
WC: 1318 TWC: 7852
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I've made a terrible mistake.
POWER LEVEL
111,973
Tech Points
25/26
Forms
Oozaru [x10]
Zeni
47,380
UNSORTED
|
Jul 20, 2022 22:41:05 GMT -5
Post by Jorey on Jul 20, 2022 22:41:05 GMT -5
As Jorey shot straight over to Quash and Liari, he was able to make out just a little bit of their conversation. It wasn't much, just bits and pieces. He heard something about "friends," something very vaguely about "West City," and something else about "power." None of these things made sense to the Saiyan, unfortunately. He'd been in West City before, a while ago when he met Zerori and those two Changelings. He also could have sworn he'd been in West City another time. Was there another time? "Friends" was something Jorey just assumed had to do with Liari and Quash's relationship. Maybe it was also a mutual friend they were talking about, but that wasn't something Jorey was too concerned with, nor was it something he felt he was going to get an answer to soon. None of this stopped him from going straight for Liari to unleash his flurry of attacks. This could be a huge turning point in this battle. The opportunity wasn't going to get wasted. Right before he got to Liari, the Saiyan watched as she sent her leg straight to Quash's face, nailing him square in the jaw and sending him into a daze. Before she could react and do more damage to Quash, Jorey yelled at the top of his lungs and started sending as many punches and kicks her way. He could feel the impact coming from his legs and fists, such satisfying, beautiful impact. Yet, it seemed like it wasn't doing a single thing to this monster. Just how strong was she that she wasn't begin effected by any of their attacks? Jorey knew that she was extremely powerful, judging by the display she put on way beforehand, but even after reducing her strength, she was still so much more powerful than both of them. It was frightening and infuriating. At this point in time, the Saiyan realized one more thing: Liari was no longer being friendly or cracking any jokes. Quash had said something that definitely set her off. She was much more serious, and it felt like she was much more willing to end them now. She demanded that Quash not call her a friend. When Jorey thought they were actually going to be making some progress, it turned out they were just moving in place instead. Liari sent her fist back to Jorey's head, to which he was able to stop his assault to go completely on the defensive to block the attack. That didn't necessarily stop the attack from hitting him and stunning him a bit, adding on to the pain he was already in. With the amount of times he had hit the ground this day, Jorey's skin started to chafe and get scratched up immensely. He was slow to get up, but his ears were always listening. Despite being hit a lot today, he knew his ears didn't deceive him. Liari just admitted to absorbing someone, not just someone, but a Saiyan entirely. Holy shit, that's possible!? This kinda creature can do that!?
It would make sense why Jorey was able to sense Saiyan Ki inside of her; it was because she absorbed at least one other Saiyan. Was it even possible to absorb more than one? This all caused another thought to buzz through Jorey's head. If she was able to absorb people, why didn't she want to absorb either Jorey and Quash? Were they that weak and without regard that she didn't even want to bother absorbing them? That was even more infuriating than anything else that was said or demonstrated today. The hurt that Jorey's pride felt was indescribable. He knew he wouldn't be able to recover from it today, but he nonetheless was extremely bitter and pissed about it. It didn't matter that he spent less than half his life on Vegeta; he was still very peeved about this situation. Well, on the bright side, he wasn't getting absorbed. That's something he didn't want to happen. However, what pissed Jorey off the most was the fact that he wasn't even on Liari's radar. How weak was he that he wasn't even worth absorbing? How weak was he that he wasn't even worth fighting? Give me a fuckin' break!
Immediately, Jorey let a surge of energy go through him, and he pushed himself up a bit to launch himself straight at Liari. However, when he lunged at her, she simply grabbed onto him, snatching him from the ground and slamming his head against Quash's. "Gah!"
The pain surged straight through Jorey's forehead, tingling down his spine, and vibrating throughout his entire body. Damn, this was not a good situation to be stuck in. As he was dropped to the ground, he let his knees hit the sand, and then dropped to his arms, down on all fours. He rubbed his forehead a bit, trying to massage the pain out. Thankfully, his forehead wasn't being nearly as abused for the duration of this fight. That didn't take away from the pain he felt. Liari herself jumped back a bit, her anger only surging by the moment. What did Jorey do in this whole situation? He was the least involved in all of this, and what, now he was being lumped in with whoever else was involved? He didn't even know who this "Callion" person is, or was since he's dead now. Who the hell has the audacity to lump him in with everything else going on in this planet, when he not only didn't want to have anything to do with it, but also literally had nothing to do with it? Everything about the situations going on was continuing to piss of Jorey. The Saiyan was slow to get to his feet once more. He needed to find the conviction to keep pressing on, recover quickly, and to keep on an onslaught to push Liari to her limits. Such a thing seemed like a pipe dream, but even those kinds of dreams were possible with enough determination and effort. As he rose to his feet, Jorey listened to the things Quash had to say in response to Liari. His speech was a great one, if it meant conveying his emotions and where he stands. There was a lot of objectivity to it, as well. Quash didn't seem to know anything about this situation, and as such didn't even know it was going on. It was the same with Jorey. However, if there was one thing Jorey had to disagree with, it would be the dying together party, with honor and dignity. Preferably, I'd rather not die, so I hope you're talking about yourself and this Callion guy. Otherwise, go for it. If I'm gonna die, I'll die alone, the same way I have been my whole life.
Quash did say a pretty badass line to Jorey, though. "You've made your bed, and now I'm going to make sure that you lie in it." Pretty tough, if he does say so himself. It's just unfortunate that you gotta say something so badass just to have us get absolutely fucked in the end, but hey, as these young kids say: go off, sis.
When Quash's aura completely stopped surging and swelling, Jorey was back on his feet. He dropped his hand from his head, and looked down at it. There was Ayu's handkerchief, still tied around his wrist. It wasn't the best place for it, now that the Saiyan thought about it, but it was the most memorable spot. He'd be able to see it no matter what, and he'd be reminded of what it meant to him. It meant compassion for someone he looked out for, it meant protection for the people that he managed to value in his life, it meant something he wanted to give up long ago: hope. He gritted his teeth and became pissed at thinking about it. If you asked him what pissed him off more, the fact that he was somehow remembering hope or the fact that he wasn't even considered a threat to Liari, he wouldn't be able to tell you. However, there were a couple things that were certain: Jorey was no hero, not by a long shot, and he wasn't a coward either. Just because he'd rather not die, doesn't mean he was a coward. He'd been in dire situations before, life threatening all the same, and he'd been able to make it out of them alive. He'd lived as a mercenary for so long, not knowing if there was a target painted on his back, and he never once cared whether he was going to die or not. Living the way he did, sometimes you'd want to embrace death. None of that meant he was a hero, and none of it meant he was in any way a coward. Jorey didn't really know what to say. He was remaining quiet, with all of his fury pent up inside him, unable to be unleashed. This was Quash's time to speak, and he said his piece. What else was there left to say? Here, we have a soldier trying to defend his honor as one, a man who's done more wrong in his life than he can remember, and an insanely strong monster, bent on avenging her fallen allies in a very twisted way. Was this her idea of vengeance? Could she even call this vengeance? What would Jorey say to this? Would I tell her this is her fault? No, that wouldn't make sense. It would only make it worse for us, and that's the last thing she would want to hear. Maybe she already knows it's her fault? But, besides that, she's...hurting. Why do I...relate to that?
Memories flashed through Jorey's mind. He watched his brother, smiling and training with him, then turn into a bloody mess of a corpse. He witnessed his father's heroic lessons, and then witnessed his death at his uncle's hands. He saw his mother's cunning smile, listened to her reprimands, and then gazed upon her lifeless body, her face covered by darkness. He lived through his uncle's lighthearted quips and instructions, only to live through his own suicide once more after he'd killed his family. A strange realization rang through Jorey's entire body. Liari had something in common with the broken Saiyan. There was someone she really cared about, and one way or another, she ended up watching them get killed. It wasn't her intention to have this "Callion" person get killed, but at the end of the day it happened, and she regretted every moment of seeing it happen. Just like Jorey, she had no one to blame for the instance. The individual to blame was either up in the air, lost to the person who wished to place the blame, or they were long dead like in Jorey's case. They were very strikingly similar, and the realization pissed off the Saiyan. It didn't piss him off because he didn't want to relate to her; it pissed him off because he didn't understand why he was feeling empathetic now of all times. None of his anger was displayed on his face anymore. He couldn't possibly do that when he felt such a kinship to Liari. Suddenly, with his face stone cold and speaking without a single doubt in his mind, he did another unthinkable thing. All he could think of was the fact that this also happened with Ayu. "I watched my whole family get killed in front of my very eyes."
Jorey paused for a bit, recalling every single detail of the event. It was painful to remember, but for some reason he couldn't stop remembering. He continued, his tone of voice unchanging, still delicate and sincere. "We had a family friend that my brother and I liked to call our uncle. He was a really nice guy, very lighthearted, very trustworthy; the kinda guy you'd wanna tell your secrets and troubles to."
Jorey looked right up to the sky, as if he was looking right into the eyes of his family's murderer, then looked back down to Liari. "He was the same one who killed my family. He killed himself right afterwards. I didn't find out 'til some years afterwards why he did it. Turns out, man had a lotta debt, and was contracted to kill the ones he loved to make up for it. It was very complicated, not worth mentioning the whole story right now."
The Saiyan paused for a bit. He knew that he was saying a lot of stuff that was unknown to most people, but he knew that Quash wasn't the type of person to tell anyone. He could trust in that at the very least. Liari was a different thing entirely, but she was the person all of his comment were directed to now. He took in a deep breath, and then continued. "I tried to look for someone to blame for years, someone to take revenge on. I couldn't take revenge on him, since he was dead, and I tried to take revenge on those debt collectors, but I couldn't find fault in them at the end of the day. At this point, I'm just living with the trauma from it."
Jorey paused a bit once more, then slowly got into a fighting stance. He spoke as he moved. "You have every right to be pissed, 'cuz I'm still pissed to this day. I dunno who this Callion guy was, but I'm sure he was a nice guy, just like my family was. My uncle included. I ain't gonna tolerate you tryna make me at fault for his death, and I may be too weak to make you eat your words right now, but..."
Jorey finished getting into his stance, his crazed Saiyan smirk reappearing on his face. "I'll give you one helluva fight right now, as best as I can, in honor of your fallen friend. Hopefully, that'll ease your pain a bit."
The Saiyan's Ki flared up once more, settling a bit as he readied himself for combat. Confessing this much about himself was something he wasn't really used to doing, and he felt a little awkward doing it. However, he related too much to Liari's emotions and her history, even if that history did happen not too long ago. While he was very pissed off for many different reasons today and still held onto those sentiments, he found a new sentiment deep within him that he would associate with this day. He was no longer fighting to save his life; now, he wanted to fight to help Liari live her life, even with her regrets. Word Count: 2,451
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POWER LEVEL
354,508
Tech Points
28/75
Forms
Epic Majin [x34]
Zeni
23,106
Majin
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Jul 21, 2022 7:16:58 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Jul 21, 2022 7:16:58 GMT -5
Liari had nothing but hate in her heart as Quash desperately attempted to deflect responsibility away from himself. Not a drop of intimidation manifested as Quash's power SURGED FORTH from his body, SMASHING THE GROUND FLAT under the pressure and tearing at Liari's body! Not a bit of sympathy was considered when the sayain proposed his "points," all of them being chalked up to a coward's attempt at self-defense. What got her those most was that now Quash wanted to pretend like he was there, like he KNEW everything that went down after this WHOLE TIME he was desperately defending himself by saying the opposite was true! So typical of a coward like him to jump to the opposite position when it suited him, unwilling to defend what really mattered when it counted the most!
Grow up. It was funny how two words could hurt the Majin more than any punch Quash could have hit her with. Sometimes it felt like that was all Liari had done since that day at West City, "growing up." Liari had become aware in a matter of seconds how CRUEL the world really was, how spiteful, hateful and blissfully apathetic people could be. She learned that friends weren't friends when it counted and that people would happily kill their own kind if for no other reason than to preserve their own existence. Liari had learned that someone she had thought was the coolest guy, if the goofiest she'd ever met, was actually some no-named loser who would use the excuse of ignorance and personal problems to justify the death of a comrade.
Liari HAD grown up. And she hated everyone for it.
"Yeah, I DARE call you a coward, Quash." Liari fired back, her own aura EXPLODING around her, CLASHING with the saiyan's power Liari ZIPPING right up to him and getting in his face! "You want to pretend that you KNOW everything that happened there now because its convenient for you. You want to blame ME now because its too hard for you to face the truth: You FAILED. You are a LOSER. You couldn't save someone when it mattered so now what happened is MY fault. Coward. Weak. Pathetic! The fact you BREATH is a disgrace on your people." The majin bent down so that her face was level with Quash's, her sanguine eyes DRILLING into his!
"...What do you know of 'betrayal?' saiyan?" Liari hissed. "What do YOU know of desperation and pain? How many nights have you spent sleepless, driving yourself insane because of the things you see when you go to sleep? None, you worthless excuse for a man! How hard did you try to SAVE your friends, willing to even CHANGE YOURSELF FOREVER if the alternative is death? YOU DIDN'T, and you want to know WHY I know...?" Liari reached up with a tentacle and tapped Quash's forehead. "...Because if you really WERE a soldier, you would know sacrifice. This power I have MEANS NOTHING TO ME except as a reminder that my friends are now DEAD. All I have that matters is their MEMORIES. As a soldier, you SHOULD have understood that, making the HARD choices. You would have KNOWN that between watching them be TORN APART by reptilian tyrants and helping them live-on in some way, there was ONLY one choice!"
Liari broke out into a cruel, harsh laughter as Quash fell back on his ignorance once more... as if that somehow vindicated him of his crime.
"'Have I known...' Do you tell yourself that at night to justify the blood on your hands, saiyan? What a COLD comfort for the people not coming BACK. What, are you unable to sense energy? Did your little eye-doohicky not boot up that morning? ...Or did you hide under your bed, shaking and sweating like you were when you saw me, crying yourself to sleep because THAT was better than standing up for your friends? Either way it doesn't matter because that makes you ONE of THREE things!" Liari held up a fist, before extending her pointer finger: "You are a coward and a liar." She extended her middle finger. "You are incompetent and deserve to die." Liari extended her ring finger. "You are a vindictive, treacherous bastard that, if there was any justice in the world, would have DIED long ago."
Again, the majin's harsh, almost FORCED laugh as Quash tried to turn all this back around on HER, remarking how he was insulting Callion's memory.
"And what are YOU doing to honor it, huh? Finding your big-boy panties for the first time since you got here and be a REAL saiyan? You can't even do THAT right." Liari JABBED a finger into her chest. "I'M more saiyan than YOU are. ...And is says a lot that you feel NOTHING for Callion's death... except maybe some small amount of vindication for your cowardice..." Liari's expression grew crueler. "...Because, due to your inaction, you, at least, now stand one pathetic level higher up on the pecking order. I hope that when you die, Callion throws you into the deepest pit of hell and GRINDS your face into the dirt... Because at least THEN you won't be able to deny your crimes."
Liari's eyes then SHOT to Jorey who had started to speak, CHALLENGING to say just ONE THING in Quash's defense with a glare that could SHRED the soul FROM ITS BODY... But, to her surprise... Jorey really DIDN'T speak up for Quash. No... instead, he tried to appeal to the Majin's sympathy, relaying his OWN sob-story... And Liari would be a liar if she didn't admit that she felt it. His "uncle," Someone Jorey loved dearly took everything away from him because.... money. He owed a debt and he decided his own personal well-being was more important than everyone else's.
...The moral of that story PUNCHED Liari in the stomach harder than anything Jorey ever threw, Liari's gaze softening once more, that raw, aching underbelly revealing itself for a moment... before it was again covered by the spiteful HATRED brewing in Liari's heart!
"YOU may have failed to find those responsible... But I have found ONE of them." Liari rumbled, her gaze flicking back to Quash. "These idiots who think they're good people... Who mascaraed as defenders of the planet, who BEFRIENDED each other... only to NEVER come to their aide because it was inconvenient. Good people are dead and its on THEIR hands. ...But maybe I WILL honor Callion today." Liari growled, slowly lowering herself into her own fighting stance. "...And dedicate this beating to him."
Quash declared now as the time to do his duty... and Liari only smiled cruelly.
"The time was when West City BURNED, Quash, but I don't expect YOU to understand that. No matter WHAT happens here today you're a failure and a disgrace. Your duty, your honor, your PRIDE... all die today."
WC: 1151 TWC: 5481
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POWER LEVEL
169,132
Tech Points
17/38
Forms
Super Saiyan: [x16]
Zeni
4,692
Archived
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Jul 21, 2022 12:46:32 GMT -5
Post by Quash on Jul 21, 2022 12:46:32 GMT -5
Quash simply continued to look Liari in the eye as the majin went on and on about how it was clearly his fault. That was he was a liar and pathetic excuse for a saiyan. That he knew nothing about betrayal, that he knew nothing of sacrifice, that he didn't show up because he was afraid. She pointed to the fact that he could've sensed their energy and probably did, but hid because it was a better alternative than death itself. He allowed her to air out all of her grievances, thinking that maybe she'd see how much of an idiot she was being this entire time.
The Captain couldn't say he was all that fazed by her insults and accusations. Liari truly thought that he would've refused to stand by Callion when he needed him most? That didn't make much sense, considering right now he was literally standing alongside Jorey despite facing overwhelming power. They had been getting their asses handed to them this entire time, and yet neither of them bailed on one another. Hell, Quash was the only reason why they stayed to fight in the first place. If it was up to his partner they both would've been long gone, or at least they would've tried to be.
Quash not showing up because he was afraid? Nonsense. He didn't really have a reason for why he didn't know that there was something going down in West City. It might've had something to do with the fact that he was more than likely recovering from the wounds he sustained from Orange City or maybe the distance between Mount Paozu, where he spent most of his time before he acquired his ship, and West City was too great? He honestly had no idea. He just simply... didn't know that something was going down. It was a shame. He really wished that Callion was still breathing. If he could go back in time and fix everything, he would, but he couldn't. There's nothing they can do to bring him back, and sitting here feeling sorry for himself over something he couldn't control wasn't going to fix anything. The only to do was focus on what they could do and just... do that. For instance, Athren kicked his ass and then manipulated him into destroying an entire city. He couldn't change what happened, but he sure as hell could train until he was strong enough to kick his ass as revenge.
Granted, it took a little time to get over just how MUCH stronger he actually needed to be. To be honest, he was still getting over it, but he didn't let his doubts stop him from doing what he needed to do. He still went out and got a Gravitron, bought weights, learned how to use a new weapon, got Training Mix, started learning new techniques, and anything else he could've done to try and close the gap as much as possible. It was a long journey, and he still had a long way to go, but what other option was there? To accept weakness? Not a chance in hell.
The only point Liari might have is he has never sacrificed. Sure, he could point to the saiyan children that were pushed to the brink of death during training and had even died after they had been sent to other worlds to start being a part of the real invasion force. However, Quash oddly didn't really feel that he could use it to say that he sacrificed anything. He wasn't sure if he was just that heartless, desensitized, or maybe had just detached himself that much, but that's kind of how he felt. Quash had long come to terms with the Saiyan way of life, and that this was just how things were. Even if you were a child, you were always ready to die the second you stepped foot on the battlefield. Even he was trained that.
Maybe he could point to the families and homes that he has stripped away from the people that he slaughtered during his quest for power. Well, assuming that there were any people left after he went through with them. During those battles, he had seen people do some pretty insane things just to protect the ones they care about. He's seen people charge straight into armies to buy time for their children to escape, Kings and Queens making one last stand in hopes of slowing down the saiyans enough so they couldn't do to other civilizations as they had done to theirs. He's witnessed sacrifice, but he's never personally been through it himself.
That being said, if he did have to sacrifice anything he sure as hell knew that he wouldn't end up like whatever the FUCK Liari became.
Quash couldn't help but feel even more pity once she was done. It was bold of the majin to talk about betrayal when here she was attacking her friend... AGAIN. It was obvious that Liari was doing some real mental gymnastics as she tried somehow to pin all of this on him. The fact of the matter was that she turned on Callion and killed him because she was too weak to stand by her own values. She didn't even have the decency to leave a body behind, she straight up absorbed him afterward. More saiyan than him? If Quash hadn't been so pissed at what Liari had done he probably would've laughed. What a saiyan represents can't be obtained by simply devouring one. A pretender, that's what she was.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this conversation was what Jorey said. So surprising that it even managed to grab enough of Quash's attention to calm him down a bit, allowing his aura to weaken slightly in intensity. So far, he had only known him as the Stoic, never too trusting type (with a sprinkle of assholery). It was shocking that he had this much depth to him at all, let alone be able to relate with Liari. Apparently, Jorey's family was wiped off the map by his own uncle because of some debt that was owed, or something like that. He proceeded to hammer home that he wasn't going to take how Liari was treating them lying down and that maybe he could get her to heal just a little bit from this fight. Quash saw his partner in a different light now, and had a lot more respect for him after what he said. The Captain was still totally going to send Liari on a one-way ticket to the Kais above, but still. It was admirable. He was glad to have a guy like him as an ally.
Maybe that's why he was always a little bit of a pain in the ass. It was just his own way of dealing with things. He made a mental reminder to himself to stop
Wow. That's rough buddy. He thought.
Quash couldn't relate to how Jorey was feeling too much. He didn't have a tight-knit close family back on Planet Vegeta. While he deeply valued his race as a whole, he didn't have much in the realm of family, lovers, etc. He never got the chance to. It was always the next fight, the next power level to achieve. The constant grind was why Quash was willing to take breaks every now and then, so he could just kind of relax for a moment. As much as he loved to fight and train, you have to breathe EVENTUALLY. Not a lot of people had his way of thinking though, so often he was left to relax by himself. Those other saiyans might've had a point, however, because oh boy was he regretting it now. Maybe he'd be further along now if he had just kept going after all.
Hell, maybe if he found something worth sacrificing for he'd be able to talk Liari down more. Either that or... what did she say? Have friends get torn apart by reptilian tyrants? What an odd and specific thing to bring up...
Wait a minute.
...
...
...
Son of a bitch.
Liari, you dumbass!
Quash was about one more act of complete stupidity from going completely apeshit and tearing her apart. Reptilian tyrants? There was only one group she could be talking about: The goddamn Planet Trade Organization. They were run by the Changelings of Planet Frost and were the archenemy of the USD. The Saiyan Military was by no means a group of saints, but the PTO was a whole different breed of evil. They were more ruthless than the saiyans may ever be. They had no honor. Sometimes they would send an invasion force, but he wouldn't put it past them to infiltrate a planet and take it over from the inside. You couldn't trust those lizards with ANYTHING. Everything they did had some kind of ulterior motive.
If the Planet Trade Organization really was behind what happened to West City, did that mean they might be connected to what happened to Orange City? That would explain why Athren would attack the USD out of nowhere, but Quash wasn't too sure about that theory. Why would a saiyan even sell themselves out to the PTO of all people? The Captain may have not liked him in the slightest, but he knew Athren enough that he felt confident in saying that he was too smart to work for them. There had to be another reason.
Liari on the other hand...
Quash was even more frustrated with her now than he had been before, and he didn't even think that was possible. How could she allow herself to get mixed up with them? Didn't she know about the most notorious group in the entire galaxy? Even if she didn't, it didn't take too long to realize that they were bad news. What's worse, is that that meant that she sided with the PLANET TRADE ORGANIZATION OVER HER OWN FRIENDS! That was a new level of low.
His aura began to clash even harder with Liari's as it tried to assert its dominance over her in response to Quash's frustration. Jorey's words may have gotten to her a little, but it was quickly overwhelmed by her hatred for the Captain after he "abandoned them". She was still trying to accuse him of simply not being bothered enough to do anything to help them when they needed him.
Anyone who saw Quash's current facial expression would know that she was simply just wasting her breath at this point.
"You fucking idiot... Are you seriously trying to tell me that you partnered up with the PTO, and then chose them over your own friends?"
Quash chunks of rock began to be torn out from underneath his feet. They came out from even beneath the sand. After all of what she said, he was ready to get back to the fight. He had the information he needed. It was time to finish her off so they could deal with the real threat behind all of this.
"Cry me a river."
Quash instantly shot his left straight out towards Liari's stomach, channeling as much power as he could to capitalize on the damage he'd be able to do. If successful, he'd make it a point to dig his fist further into her body, almost as if he was really trying to draw out a reaction from her. It was obvious that his entire movement had changed since the exchange ended, as there was no longer any doubt or hesitation in his attacks. Were sharp and precise, almost like Callion's. It looked like his mind had been, even if it was only for the moment, cleared up enough where he could put that training into good use. He may have not had the Three-Section-Staff right now, but he was more than capable of showing the increased fluidity in his movements.
He'd then proceed to launch an uppercut with his right, aiming right for the majin's chin. Whether or not it landed, he'd seamlessly transition into a kick aimed at her at her midsection once again.
WC: 2022 TWC: 9874
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I've made a terrible mistake.
POWER LEVEL
111,973
Tech Points
25/26
Forms
Oozaru [x10]
Zeni
47,380
UNSORTED
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Jul 23, 2022 14:31:44 GMT -5
Post by Jorey on Jul 23, 2022 14:31:44 GMT -5
As if the atmosphere here in the middle of the desert wasn't tense or hot enough, now it felt like it was heating up even more and becoming even more dense. A normal person would suffocate in this heat, but now, even Jorey was feeling the immense pressure coming from Quash and Liari going back and forth. If this kept on for too long, the Saiyan had no doubt in his mind someone was going to die today. It was a shame, but still all the more confusing. This jolly blue giant was obviously not so jolly in the beginning of their interaction, but showed signs of playfulness, sarcasm, and almost parental nature. It's like she was trying to teach them something, and then once the Saiyans finally were taught it and got it through their heads, she became a lot more relaxed around them. Albeit, she was still extremely strong, and Jorey had no doubt in his mind that a part of her wanted to bash them in so hard that even a physically abusive spouse would have their stomach toss and turn over the result. However, that feeling still remained somewhere in his heart, in the back of his mind, that Liari wasn't solely here to kill them, or cared much for killing them in the first place. That thought may have been in the back of his mind, but the situation at hand was something different. He didn't know what was the next thing to set Liari off, and with how Quash was talking, he could be set off at any moment too. He didn't know which one he preferred, since he knew the result either way: Liari would most likely be the one standing on top of Quash. There was nothing else Jorey could do to diffuse the situation, but it wasn't like he wanted to either. His Saiyan blood was pumping through his veins with tremendous excitement, and his craving for battle was at an all-time high. Of course, he didn't want to die, but he wanted to get as best of a workout in as he could. This pain would only help make him stronger. Speaking of stronger, Quash and Liari's argument had come to the point where Liari was firing back with her own Ki flaring. In the blink of an eye, Jorey perceived Liari being a considerable distance away, and then suddenly she was right on top of them again. Her ferocious Ki clashed with Quash's not-as-ferocious Ki, and he watched as she stared straight fifty caliber bullets into his eyes. The demon towered over the two Saiyans, and this was the point in time where Jorey really felt the heat of the desert. Back and forth, the Saiyan and the blue monster went back at each other. Back and forth, they ridiculed each other and criticized their actions. Back and forth, they went, one not even coming close to being able to understand the other. Jorey stood at the crossroads, understanding both fighters. Liari had lost someone very close to her, and even if she was the one in the end who ended up taking their life, it doesn't help to make her the culprit. She's still a victim, and she just wants to right a wrong. There is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, Jorey understands completely the coincidences life puts you through. Because Quash wasn't there, doesn't mean he doesn't care about the situation. There are some things that are out of your control, no matter how strong you are. There will always be someone stronger out there. Turns out, that someone stronger is standing in front of them. Never mind that; the situation at hand was heating up more than the desert ever could. There was something that did seem to cool things down a bit, and Jorey would hold onto that for the rest of the interaction he had with Liari. There, in Liari's eyes, painted on her face, Jorey saw a softness he could only compare to Ayu's. Of course, Ayu was the absolute queen of softness and innocence, so it wasn't like it instilled emotions inside of the Saiyan like the green girl did. However, it was evident what the Saiyan said to Liari spoke to her soul. It was quickly shot down, and Liari went back on the offensive, accusing Quash of his crimes once more and determined to make him pay for it. Although, now it doesn't seem like she's trying to kill him anymore. At least, that's what Jorey was hoping for. Ah, well, it was an effort, anyway. Gg's, Quash. R-I-P that boy. Good luck tryna survive Liari's wrath now.
An unshakeable feeling came over Jorey as Liari kept talking, as he listened to her words. The blue woman reminded Jorey of himself, but a much younger version of himself. At his current state, Jorey didn't trust anyone. There were a few exceptions as of late, but for the most part he had no friends or anyone trustworthy around him. He had no one to teach him about what life really is about. The Saiyan to this day still thinks there are many people out there who are corrupt, and who operate to feed their ego, greed, and other vices they may hold onto. However, it was undeniable to him at this point that there were exceptions, that there were anomalies, if you would. Ayu was the prime anomaly he encountered: someone who managed to stay innocent and kind no matter what, even caring for the lives of those who oppose her and want her dead. It was genuine, and Jorey couldn't understand that or fight it, but the fact of the matter is that she exists and she serves to contradict his own life lessons. Quash may not be an anomaly like Ayu, but he was an exception. From training with Quash, from speaking with him as much as he did, it was obvious Quash wasn't what Liari described him as. Quash wasn't one of those people who tried to pain himself as a good person for convenience, and then did the opposite behind people's backs. He wasn't one to intentionally stand by and watch innocents die. He wasn't even one to willingly hurt innocents. It was obvious the incident of Orange City affected Quash like it affected Jorey. For the other Saiyan, he was distraught and infuriated that he had to end so many innocent lives, due to his out of control Oozaru form. He may not be a hero, and Jorey wasn't able to speak for Quash' past self. For all he knew, he could have a history filled with the many deaths of innocents that he himself led. However, at this point in time, he was certain Quash wasn't anything like Jorey was. If there was anyone who should be condemned and killed for their sins and crimes, it would be Jorey. The reflection came at the worst possible moment. Feelings of regret and guilt swirled inside of Jorey, but he displayed no such emotions on his face. His poker face remained strong and a conflict within himself started brewing. How would Ayu feel about this Saiyan, knowing the past he had? Would Liari still respect Jorey after hearing of the life he led? Would Quash still be standing at his side right now if he knew what atrocities the lone wolf had committed for the sake of money and hopelessness? There was no telling for sure, but he was certain the opinions they had of him wouldn't be the same as right now. Wait, why should I care about what they think? I did what I had to do to survive, to make money. That's what this universe revolves around: capital. That's all that matters, along with fame. It's a society of fame and fortune, and they'll do anything to attain that fame and fortune. They're corrupt in their ways, and they deserve punishment.
Then, a random though occurred to Jorey, which started turning his world upside down. How does Jorey going out and killing these corrupt people make him any different from them? He'd be fighting for his own sense of justice, but who's to say that what he's doing is actual justice? Just like Liari wishing Quash dead for justice sake, it's all subjective. The objective part of what he was doing was that he was taking lives. They could have a reason for doing the corrupt things that they do, and if their reason was innocent or for the greater good, how does that make Jorey any better? Besides, he knows what he'd done in the past. It nagged at him at this very moment: the fact that he'd worked for corrupt and dishonorable people like the PTO. Fortunately, Jorey was freed from his self-reflection, as Quash's energy seemed to get aggressive again. The Saiyan mentioned something about the PTO, which really threw Jorey off. What the hell do they have to do with this? How do you know that she's working with them? Was it something she said?
Jorey looked through his databanks, searching for any mention of the PTO that Liari mentioned in their conversation. There wasn't a single one, but she did mention something about "reptilian tyrants." Well, I've met reptile people before—and enslaved them to the PTO—and I've met tyrants. The only people who could be both are Changelings, but it's not like she explicitly said that she met them and worked with them. If that is true, though, that she's working with those people, then it can't be good for her.
Jorey would make a lot of theories and connections in his head. Of course, they were all theories, and nothing was proven until Liari either mentioned she worked with the PTO, or until there was undeniable, hard evidence that Liari was working with them. If she was, though, then a lot of things would be explained. That's why she feels helpless, and that she could right a wrong by taking out Quash. If it's the PTO, maybe she's stuck in a situation where she can't get out or escape. Or, maybe she feels that she can't escape? Either way, she's not the one at fault here, either. Both of these guys aren't at fault here. If only I could get them to understand each other's situation!
Wishful thinking, indeed. Quash's power seemed to flare up some more as his anger increased. Jorey knew what was coming next. He braced himself as he watched Quash leap into action. He didn't know exactly how much damage he'd be doing with a punch like that, considering the gap in their power, but one thing was for certain: the fight was back on. There was no more talking or conversation that could happen that could convince Quash or Liari to hear each other out. It wasn't like Jorey wanted to make the fight cease to exist altogether; he still very much wanted to fight. This toxicity and heat, however, was a different story altogether. If gone unchecked and unmonitored, there was no doubt in Jorey's mind that Quash would die today. He couldn't have that happening, ESPECIALLY SINCE QUASH HAD A GRAVITY TRAINING CHAMBER. Okay, in all seriousness, it's not just the gravity chamber that's making me hope he doesn't die. He doesn't deserve to die, not yet at least. I'll get stronger, ascend to new heights, and when I can match up to the both of these guys, I'll have my rematch and show them the true might of a Saiyan! I'll show them the error of their ways, as well as my own!
Jorey would spring into action immediately. Staying close to this wouldn't be a good idea. He felt that if he stayed too close again, it'd give Liari another target to throw into Quash, or vice versa. He did not want that to happen again. As soon as Quash took action, the lone wolf Jorey sprung backwards a bit, keeping a distance between the two of them. He'd fire off some Ki blasts at Liari, hoping it could do anything to really assist Quash at this point. There wasn't much he could think of doing. Looking above Liari, Jorey would then shoot himself a good distance above the blue woman, then come straight down with all his speed and all his force, aiming to kick Liari in the back of the head with both his legs. As he came down, he wanted to say something to her, something to ease her pain, but he couldn't find any words. He didn't know what to say to help comfort her or change her mind about her friend dying, and her absorbing him. One thing was still for certain in Jorey's mind, though, and that was that it wasn't Liari's fault that she did those things. Word Count: 2,150
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POWER LEVEL
354,508
Tech Points
28/75
Forms
Epic Majin [x34]
Zeni
23,106
Majin
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Jul 24, 2022 17:22:45 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Jul 24, 2022 17:22:45 GMT -5
"Pretending like you know anything again, Quash? I'm not SURPRISED!" Their collective energies TORE UP THE GROUND in defiance of gravity, ripping chunks larger than themselves from the very earth, reducing them to sand a grain at a time with each inch they rose! It was as if the air itself had become acidic, dangerous to the rock, the dirt and the ore beneath, reducing it all to DUST and beyond as they drifted up past their faces, their aura RENDING all asunder! The sky darkened above them, as enraged as the sayain and majin below, thunder rumbling in time with their "conversation," lightning crackling as each took their turn. Clouds rolled in as if to defend the heavens they sat between, growing thicker, heavier, appearing almost as endless as the azure ceiling above, rolling over one another like a series of interconnecting tide-pools! "...You weren't listening at all..." She tonelessly whispered, her eyes flashing from an ENRAGED RED, glowing with the intensity of a star... to a cold, icy white, as if all of that energy had hardened and solidified into the densest rock of hatred the universe had ever seen. Her expression slackened into an icy stillness, her aura flaring less wildly. instead surging in measured, rhythmic pulses. There was a point in someone's emotional state that the wild madness and anger of one's initial response would cool and harden into something else, something that would strike fear into the rational and the sane. Some would call it "rage-breaking," Others would call it a "psychosis." It was like the other side of the coin to a moment of clarity, where someone comes to a true realization through raw emotion... rather than understanding. Hatred was no longer a sufficient term to describe the feeling in Liari's heart. It was too volatile, too... bestial. Before, that kind of rage was all she was capable of, all she could understand. It really was incredible the darkness intelligence could allow someone access too. Liari's mind had switched from something organic, human, perhaps, to something cold, hollow, silent and mechanical. Her body grew ridged, HARD, standing over Quash at her full height, her body stock-still as if she'd become a statue. Her snarl was replaced with a small frown, her eyes only slightly widened, just enough for her eyes to have full view of her prey and her surroundings. The air around her moved not an inch as if she stood out of phase with the rest of the universe, setting a tone of eerie, ghastly nothing! Quash would try to insult her once more, beckoning her to CRY for him... but not a response would come to Liari. It was as if the woman inside was gone, RIPPED from the pilot-seat and replaced with an unfeeling machine programmed with only ONE GOAL. With the piercing, almost android-like STARE piercing into Quash's exhausted, frustrated eyes, he could no-doubt imagine what that goal was. Throwing HIS NEW SURGE OF POWER INTO HIS ATTACKS, Quash would THROW a MASSIVE PUNCH into Liari's belly... only for the recoil to SHOOT RIGHT BACK UP into HIS SHOULDER AND BACK DOWN INTO HIS ELBOW! ...What was this....? SHE WAS AS HARD AS A ROCK! Her organs, her muscle, not even her FLESH budged an inch in response to Quash's attack! He would then move into a MASSIVE uppercut up into her jaw, her head only tilting up a LITTLE as his fist CRASHED up under her face! His third attack, a kick, would be JUST AS FEARSOME as the last two blows, impacting the majin's stomach with such FORCE, it OBLITERATED THE GROUND BEHIND HER AND SENT FORTH A VACUUM WAVE THAT SLICED THE ATMOSPHERE FOR AT LEAST A MILE BEHIND HER before CLAPPING back together in a rocous boom that might've been heard in every corner of the world! ...And still... Liari was unmoved! Jorey's blasts were treated with even LESS notice, each one BREAKING off Liari's hide into smaller fragments, flying off to the side before EXPLODING a second later! They felt... desperate, but not in the way one might expect. That kick to the back of her head went as unnoticed as his blasts, Jorey likely only hurting HIMSELF as his feet crashed down upon an object harder, stronger and tougher than anything they might've encountered before. Jorey felt helpless in his options, that he had no CHOICE now... And that was why she wasn't going to kill him. Her icy stare only considered Quash... Quash who only escalated this conflict, Quash, who refused to consider Callion's death other than to deflect responsibility. Quash who now had given up even trying to repair their burning bridge. Quash, who would sooner protest his innocence than cry for a fallen comrad. If Liari could feel at this moment, THAT was what would hurt her the most. Without a word, without a sound, without even a FLICKER in her expression, Liari's hand would SHOOT DOWN around Quash's kicking foot, TUCKING it under her arm before raising her elbow... and SLAMMING it down on his knee-cap with the intention to SMASH IT! Her snow-white eyes locked with Quash's every second as she brought her arm up elbow up again, aiming now to SLAM it upon his thigh and break his leg AGAIN before dropping it and allowing Quash to fall away (assuming all went according to plan). Slowly, as if taking her time, the majin would walk after the sayain, each step slow and deliberate, calculated and devoid of feeling. Slowly, she would raise a hand up to Quash's face, an orange-red energy sphere gathering in her palm its RAW intensity causing it to PULL AND BITE at Quash's face as if it sought not only to kill but also to consume him! ....And then... She fired. The eruption of ki turned the blackened sky RED as if it had been bled of all of its life-force, the surge of ki arching over the horizon as if the sun itself had chosen to march upon the world it once brightened. Rock was reduced to ash. Water, reduced to ash. Air, reduced to ash. Nothing but the husk of what once was remained: Ash. Liari would stare over the nothing, her expression hard, void of readable emotion, her icy white eyes overlooking the black, lifeless miles of nothing... scanning it with inhuman, unfathomable intensity. ...And the worst part about it all was... All fell silent. Tension was as dead as anything else caught in that blast, falling into a hollow, light and shadowy nothing that hung over them all like the shell of a great insect: Something was here... you can FEEL there should be something... but all that surveyed felt only the wind, now searing and dry, fluttering and meaningless. Hatred.
WC: 1132
TWC: 6613
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POWER LEVEL
169,132
Tech Points
17/38
Forms
Super Saiyan: [x16]
Zeni
4,692
Archived
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Jul 24, 2022 20:28:40 GMT -5
Post by Quash on Jul 24, 2022 20:28:40 GMT -5
Quash could feel Liari's red-eyed gaze look right into his soul. It had been a look of nothing but pure, unadulterated rage. He had never seen such a look on someone's face before. It was like something... sub-human had taken over. It was so intense that it had even weakened the Captain's newly found resolve a little. Despite being slightly shaken up, Quash managed to, mostly, brush it off. They had a job to do. It didn't matter how scary she became or how feral she was. While she hadn't confirmed Quash's guess that she was working with the Planet Trade Organization, it didn't exactly make the situation any better. She was at least working with some kind of Changeling, which honestly might as well have been synonymous with the PTO in his head. She needed to be put down and that's exactly what he was going to do. No matter the cost. He should've known how this fight was going to end as soon as the first punch landed. Quash's first punch backfired so hard that he almost dislocated his shoulder upon contact. His knuckles were screaming as his punch hit hers, it was like it struck solid steel! It was obvious that her skin was strikingly different from what it was moments ago. Up until this point, hitting her was almost like hitting a rubber band. If anything, her malleable characteristics acted almost as cushions for his physical attacks. One eye closed as he tried to fight through the pain, knowing that the second he let up was the second that the majin to have him completely at her mercy. No matter, he simply had to hit her even harder with the next attack he did! Right? Wrong. Very very wrong. CRUNCH!It felt like the bones in Quash's hand shattered as his right hand made contact with her chin when he performed his uppercut. He cried out in pain this time, knowing full well that his right hand was broken. A humbler fighter might have realized that this was a pretty good sign that physical attacks were definitely a no-go at this point. Unfortunately, Quash was surprisingly too proud to back down. Their energy had been clashing so ferociously that he almost saw this as a competition to see who would establish dominance. Determined to not lose that struggle that superiority, he powered through in order to transition into the kick. Predictably, that wouldn't go too well either. In fact, it would turn out to be the worst thing that Quash could've done. Liari had no sold the blow completely! The shockwave that emitted from the attack proved that it was no ordinary blow either, but he guessed that Liari was no ordinary opponent either. Quash was frustrated at the results. Despite everything he did, nothing had worked. No matter he badly he wanted to defeat her in Callion's name, to put a stop to this monster that was born from some twisted combination of grief and vengeance, all of this effort was proving to be futile. Even with Jorey helping out with his own power, it wasn't enough! She was in a league of her own. The Captain's eyes widened as Liari grabbed his leg and raised her arm up in the air. He knew what was coming and desperately tried his best to yank his leg out of her grip. No matter how much he struggled, it proved to be no use! He saw Jorey attack her from behind in an attempt to assist him and, while the Captain had hoped that his comrade's power was at least enough to create an opportunity for him to free himself, his attempts proved to be as meaningless as Quash's were. Liari had barely acknowledged his partner's presence let alone taken the time to respond to the attacks sent her way. The majin brought down her elbow towards his knee, with the saiyan struggling harder and harder the closer her attack got to him. No, not like this! There had to be another way, there had to be SOMETHING that he could do! He couldn't let her do this to him! Come on, come on, come onnnn!The pain was almost too much to bear. Quash roared in absolute agony as his leg was broken. His aura, and the power that had been built up in him, immediately dissipated. It was as if someone had hit the panic button and it immediately bailed on him. His voice could be heard by everything living thing that might've been around the fighters. The top of his fibula from his lower leg had ripped through his skin and clothes, poking out from the back of his knee. It was soaked with blood, the red liquid dripping down from the source of the wound and onto the ground beneath them. This pain, this was new pain. Different pain. All of the confidence he had only moments ago was now long gone. But, that wasn't all. It looked like Liari really wanted to make sure that he felt it this time because another blow was already on its way! There was a loud SNAP! As his femur was broken in two as her elbow was driven into his thigh! Quash's screams were louder this time, the black in his pupils fading into a very light gray color as he was completely overtaken by the torturous feeling that covered his body. So much for "restoring honor". Quash's leg was finally allowed to fall, the saiyan falling to the ground trying to desperately hold onto the will to keep fighting. He could hardly even feel his leg now, let alone attempt to move it. He stared at his leg with a look of horror and rage on his face. Was there any way he'd be able to fight like this? The crazy part of all of this was that Liari STILL wasn't finished yet. It turned out she still had one more thing up her sleeve. Sensing the build-up of energy, he looked at his opponent, who now looked very much like a skyscraper from this point of view. He squinted as a bright light appeared on his face. The energy teased him, slightly shooting out and burning very small parts of his cheeks and chin. He was too weak to fly out of the way, and there was no way he was going to be able to get up in this condition. With only one option left, Quash held his left, unbroken hand in front of his face. A thin energy barrier formed around his body in an attempt to soften the blow of the attack. There was no chance in hell that it'd be enough to protect him from the blast, but it might just be the difference between life and death. As the blast was fired, Quash felt like, for just a moment, that he had seen the grim reaper himself. The barrier shattered like glass. The heat that radiated from the resulting explosion had scorched his skin and turned his saiyan armor to dust. The blood dripping from his wound had completely evaporated as quickly as the hope he clung to. Quash's energy dropped sharply as he was forced to take on the full power of the attack, being brought to the brink of death. His body laid in the crater left behind by the energy blast, chest to the sky. It was a miracle he was still alive. It looked like the energy barrier was the right move after all. As silence filled the atmosphere, the Captain's vision was getting hazy. He couldn't help but get a feeling of deja vu. The only other time he had been anywhere near this disorientated was when he got decimated by Athren. That being said, that state he was in at the end of that fight was nothing compared to this. After a few moments, he slowly began to roll over onto his stomach. It took all of whatever was left of his willpower to do so. He knew it was all hopeless, but he still felt the need to fight. He couldn't give up, even when it was clear it was already over. Barely hanging out, Quash was very slowly making his way to Liari by crawling with his left arm alone. Every movement felt like someone stabbing him, but what else was he going to do? Lay there and die? He also had absolutely no idea if Jorey made it out alive from the blast either. The explosion had covered a really wide range, and he didn't get a chance to see if he managed to distance himself from it. He had to hand it to him though. For someone who didn't even want to fight in the first place, Jorey fought like a warrior. The Captain found himself appreciating his willingness to try taking on Liari even with how outclassed they both were. After everything that had happened, loyalty was something Quash really needed right now. Whenever Liari would finally come into view, Quash would see her for the force of nature she had become. He figured this was probably it now. It was a shame too because he wanted his last words to be something really clever, but right now he was way too weak to even speak. There was practically nothing left in the tank. At least, not enough to make a meaningful impact. However, if he was going to die, he was going to die with his dignity intact. After all, there was at least some pride in knowing that, after fighting countless battles throughout his entire life, it took THIS much power to finally put him down. WC: 1621 TWC: 11,495 (wowie)
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I've made a terrible mistake.
POWER LEVEL
111,973
Tech Points
25/26
Forms
Oozaru [x10]
Zeni
47,380
UNSORTED
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Jul 26, 2022 15:36:45 GMT -5
Post by Jorey on Jul 26, 2022 15:36:45 GMT -5
Uselessness, worthlessness, uneasiness, hopelessness; these are all feelings many people are familiar with. You can feel it when you've graduated from college, unable to secure a job with whatever degree you had. You can feel it after you've watched everyone you love die right in front of you, unable to save them from the impending tragedy. You can feel it when you've tried all that you can to accomplish your goal but still fail, unable to bring that dream into a reality. Jorey was now one of those people. In this moment right now, he felt nothing but those feelings. In fact, you could even say all those feelings were understatements to how he really felt. The situation right now that the two Saiyans were in could be described with many different words. You could call this a tragedy, you could call this hell, you could call this a disaster, or despair, or damnation, or whatever you want to call it. This was far beyond any of those words that Jorey could use to describe the present torment they were suffering through. With Liari's sudden change, there was only one thing Jorey could think of that could compare: it was like he was living in a separate reality, where Liari was the god and Jorey was the only mortal living under that god. He knew that anything he did was being monitored, and he could watch her watching him. If he made a wrong move, who knows what would happen, but it's not a guarantee Liari will react. No, she could let him get to the far reaches of the universe, and then decide to pounce on him with whatever punish she could imagine, or she could let him scour the endless plains of eternity to find a way out, only to find he was trapped there eternally. This was beyond any hell imaginable. No, even the devil himself would have nightmares of this. The Ki blasts Jorey had let out as soon as Quash went into action did nothing to the tyrant. That was it, nothing. It didn't piss her off, it didn't distract her; it was as if he didn't shoot anything at all. He probably would have been better off not doing anything at all, because when he saw that his attacks did nothing, he only got pissed off from it. How was it that he was doing actual damage—even if it was minimal—beforehand, and now he wasn't doing anything? It was then that he felt Liari's power skyrocketing, further than Jorey's, further than Quash's, further than they could really compete with. There was a very subtle change inside Liari that the Saiyan couldn't quite put his finger on. Her energy was different; it was much more volatile, much more violent. Her Ki demonstrated clear signs of bloodlust, but when did that even change? Wait, who was that aimed at? Jorey's eyes widened in realization, knowing exactly who that look was for, and exactly what that Ki of hers was trying to accomplish. Oh, shit.
Immediately, the lone wolf sprung into action, hoping his next attack would actually do something. He tried to dive kick Liari from way above, gaining as much momentum as he could and putting his everything into his legs. It did nothing. As a matter of fact, instead of doing just nothing to Liari, it did something to himself. The Saiyan winced in pain, his adrenaline masking the damage at first. It didn't feel as bad, but when he touched down onto the floor with his legs, he felt a sharp pain shoot through them, from his knees to his calves to his toes. The Saiyan's pupils dilated to microscopic pixels, and he dropped to the floor, grabbing onto his legs. They were definitely dislocated in more than one area, and Jorey could identify each of the spots his legs were dislocated: in both his knees, in both his ankles, and his left hip, where his femur attached to his hip. Jorey rolled over onto his back, the pain still shooting through him with full force. This wasn't the time to be sitting around in pain; Quash was caught in between some metal and a hard place, the hard place being the corner he was in and the metal being Liari herself. He needed to get himself back into action before things really got out of hand. If there was anything that could describe the wounded Saiyan mercenary right now, it would be tenacious. Well, bold and stupid as well, but tenacious was definitely a word to describe him. This fight could be described as anything but a victory for them as soon as the Saiyans stepped into it, but Jorey didn't back down still, and he wanted to see this through to the end after the provocations from Liari. If it meant that they could survive this by the skin of their teeth, it was worth a shot. Everything screamed in pain, and the hot sand only added to his discomfort, but it was now or never. The broken Saiyan immediately tried his hand at relocating every single part of his legs that were dislocated. First was his ankles. He popped those back into place, groaning and yelping in pain as he did it, taking breaks in between to try and stabilize his headspace and his rapidly beating heart. All the while, he could hear Liari giving it to Quash, and feel her power fluctuating as she delivered each blow to him. He needed to distract himself from the pain a bit so he could keep going, not having to stop in between. At this point, he'd make his teeth recede back into his gums with how hard he was biting down. Instead, he angled his head to bite onto the weights he had on, chomping down onto the straps on his shoulder as if he was a dog and this was a new toy. It helped a bit, but he still winced in pain and stopped for a bit after he relocated both legs at his knees. The popping and cracking sounds didn't make it any better, and there was still pain coming from his legs, but it was a lot better than the pain he felt from them being dislocated. Now was the final push. All he had to do was pop his leg back in place at his hip, and he could jump back in and try and distract Liari enough for Quash to get out of that hell he was currently in. Jorey's breathing was intense, the heat around him suffocating him as he tried grabbed ahold of his left leg at his hip bone. His hands shook, anticipating the pain he was about to endure from popping it back into place. Just placing his hands on his thigh was enough to make him feel intense pain. He growled, angered he was put in this situation. Then, he roared, only wanting to be through with this and get back on his feet, literally. Suddenly, he moved his hands and popped his leg back into place, roaring even more as he felt a surge of pain shoot through his entire body. He immediately got to his knees, clamping his hands down on his left hip, his head almost half buried in the sand. Jorey had to spend a few moments trying to calm his breathing and come back from this pain. It was too much for him to handle and be done with right there; he needed this time to recover mentally and physically. When the pain subsided enough for him to get back onto his feet, he slowly pushed himself up and put his feet down, wincing a bit at the lingering pain. The Saiyan was finally back on his feet after a few short moments, and he turned back around to Liari. He'd hoped that there was still something left of Quash by this point in time. The lone wolf knew where his power stood, and he wasn't anywhere close to putting even a dent into Liari. He needed more strength, and Quash might have had that strength they needed to actually knock the Majin on her ass. However, it didn't look like Quash was in any condition to fight or live, anymore. Simply observing the spectacle that was the Saiyan's tattered and broken body was enough to make Jorey want to dislocate his legs again and just lie there. It looked like something straight out of a horror film. No, I take that back. Even horror films have horror films about how bad Quash looks right now. Can this even be shown on national television?
That was when Jorey felt a sudden surge of power from Liari, Ki being concentrated into her hand. It was being aimed straight at Quash from point blank range, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Jorey knew how weak he was in the face of Liari right now; nothing worked in distracting her. Hell, he even knew that a Halo Buster wouldn't do anything to her at this point. There was only one thing for him to do: run. This woman is insane! Does she wanna destroy the whole fuckin' ecosystem!? That's gonna do more than kill Quash; I won't even be able to find his corpse if you hit him with that! Fuck! There's nothing I can do about this, anyway! We just HAD to get into a fight with her, right!?
Jorey immediately did another one-eighty degree turn, bolting it in the opposite direction of Liari and Quash. He stumbled, his legs still in immense pain from being dislocated, and he landed on his hands and knees. Sweat dripped down his entire face, and it felt like he hadn't been able to blink once since Liari powered up and went ballistic. With one more look back at Quash, the Saiyan gave his final regards, assuming he was going to die here and now. I hope your death isn't that painful...
Jorey's power spiked, his Ki flaring in the wind, and he took off as fast as he could, flying away from the impending blast. While he was flying, he felt the energy go off, and turned around to observe what was happening. That Ki blast was fast approaching and extremely powerful. There was no way he was going to make it out alive without putting more power into it, and he didn't have enough time to take out the weights. With a loud roar, Jorey started using Rapid Movement in quick succession, disappearing and reappearing away from the blast. It was still fast approaching, but not by as much as before. "Come on, come on, come on, dammit! Move!"
He proceeded his ceaseless usage of Rapid Movement, until his body gave out on him and he plummeted into the sand once more. It was painful, yet again, and Jorey's training suit only ended up in more tatters than before as the sand dug into his skin and cut through his clothes. Picking up his head slowly, he watched as the radius of the blast got closer and closer, and the Saiyan assumed the worst. However, the radius ended up ceasing progression soon enough, and he was just barely out of the blast zone. The bright light of the Ki blast shined like a brilliant star through the sand, making the Saiyan look away so that he wouldn't be blinded. Once he felt the energy disperse and fade away, he looked again at the desolate wasteland in front of him. Nothing but awe filled the heart and eyes of the lone wolf. He hadn't seen destruction like this before. It couldn't even be called destruction at this point. With Jorey's current power level, this was more like what the rapture wished it could be like. It was nothing but a crater in front of him, and the only thing standing there was Liari. Fear was settling in even more than ever, as Jorey felt that he was the only thing left trying to fight this horrid freak of nature, or space magic, or whatever she was made of. He was slow to his feet, and just as slow in taking to the skies and floating his way back over to Liari and the assumed corpse or dust of Quash. Thankfully enough, there were two power levels Jorey could feel, not including the ones inside of Liari. Quash was still alive, but it felt like it was just barely so. Remember that look that was on Jorey's face beforehand? His sweat-dripping, awe-stricken face, with eyes dilated to smaller than a micro pixel, sand in his hair, and clothes all beaten up and tattered? Just imagine that, but with his sweat glands completely dried out from fear and unable to produce anymore of that salty liquid. That's what he looked like now. He was in awe because of two things: Liari's insane, desert leveling power, and Quash's miraculous survival. There were so many things going through Jorey's mind, that it was too hard to even keep track of which thoughts to concentrate on. What the hell do we do now? Liari just leveled a whole desert. Well, not the entire desert, but holy shit. It's all fucked. There's a huge crater where I used to be standing and fighting this thing, and Quash is still somehow kicking. How the hell do I get him outta here!? If Liari knows he's still alive, she ain't gonna let him leave that way. Is there any way we can get outta this alive? Is she coming after me next? How am I being allowed to live this long, anyway!? Where the hell do we go from here? Is there anything else past here? Aren't we just gonna die here?
His body on autopilot, Jorey couldn't find the thoughts to focus on and elaborate on as he floated back to Liari and Quash's bodies. When he finally got there, he found himself at a loss for words, too. What was there to say in this situation? He couldn't just be there like, "hey, can I get my training partner's body back? He's still alive and I kinda need him not dead. Oh, I can? Thanks, I appreciate it! Okay, see ya!" No, that would surely get him killed, and then Quash will have no way of actually surviving this encounter. Jorey needed a surefire way for them to make it out to safety. He needed a strategy of some sorts. However, the more he tried to think of a strategy, the more he ended up with nothing but negative progress. The situation was too dire, and Quash's state looked worse up close than it did before. Liari didn't seem to notice Jorey's presence there. Either that, or she just wasn't paying attention to him at first. He couldn't tell, and he was hoping she just wouldn't notice him and fly away. Unfortunately, in his stunned silence, Jorey felt the need to break that silence and open his dumb mouth. "Liari..."
Great, such an amazing idea. It took all of the Saiyan's power to finally break away from staring at Quash's sorry state and to finally looked at the one who did this to him. His eyes were still wide, his body shaken from utter fear and anticipation for what comes next, and his pupils were still virtually nonexistent. What the hell was he supposed to follow up with after saying her name? What exactly was there left to say? Not a single word or phrase passed through Jorey's mind as he tried to say something to follow up on him speaking up. A question, a plea, a sign of determination, anything at this point. He didn't want to go down doing nothing, but he didn't know what to do in the first place. His throat kept getting stuck every single time he tried to speak up. Silence fell from Jorey's mouth more times than he could count in this instance. As much as Jorey wanted to say something right here and now, every single thing that came to mind was shot down, out of fear of getting done in worse than Quash. He scoured his brain for something to say, anything at all, and got desperate. In his desperation, he finally settled on something to say. Involuntarily, he spoke his thoughts into existence, not sure what the outcome of his words would bring. Through a cracked, stuttering, and defeated voice, Jorey unleashed the sentence his mind spoke to him. "What...what are you...exactly...?"
That was all the Saiyan could muster. At this point in time, he felt as if he was at the mercy of the monster in front of him. He didn't dare want to call her such a thing, though. He knew what she spoke beforehand, about her friend Callion and how she blamed Quash for this situation. He wants to say this was all Liari's fault, but he didn't think it was Liari's fault. He wanted to say that none of this was Quash's fault, but he could see how his failure to understand where Liari was coming from could provoke her to do such a thing. He wanted to say that he himself was still a force to be reckoned with, but after watching what had just happened in this desert, he felt no more important than an individual grain of sand. Nothing here was their fault, but everything here could have been avoided. That was all he could think of and settle on as truth. At this point in time, he simply awaited the wrath or mercy of the great Liari. There was nothing else he could do. He floated there in the crater, behind the blue creature, wondering what was going through her head and wondering how she was going to react to his question. That was probably not the best thing to ask in this situation.
Word Count: 3,005
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POWER LEVEL
354,508
Tech Points
28/75
Forms
Epic Majin [x34]
Zeni
23,106
Majin
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Jul 26, 2022 20:25:05 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Jul 26, 2022 20:25:05 GMT -5
...There was no satisfaction in this, no resolution... only destruction and pain. Quash had managed to shield himself in time with the pathetic power he harnessed... but all it did was prolong his suffering... HIS pain. Liari's expression was unmoved, seeing what remained of the once mighty sayain captain. Broken in body.... and the state of his spirit didn't much matter. As far as she was concerned, there was no pleasure in snapping the toothpick psychology of a man content to leave his friends to their fates for the guilt alone would eat them alive in time. T'would be a far more suitable fate for men like him, whose honor they wore over their backs like a cloak. ...So she left Quash there, left him to burn in the hot desert sun. Maybe if the marks she left on him wouldn't make her point, the oppressive heat of the desert days would. Something had to stick... and her point WOULD be made whether by herself directly or by the results of her actions. ...Just like how Quash's inaction had sealed his fate in the past, so too would it rend the path of fate into his flesh and bone. A senzu might clear it from his flesh... but his body would remember this forever.
Liari...
The Majin's piercing white eyes flicked over her shoulder at the sayain... Jorey. Ah, the rat... The coward... who perhaps wasn't one inside. She had almost forgotten he was here... or perhaps assumed he found a suitable hole to hide in. Either way, here he stood, confident enough in himself to stand before the monster that had just blown away his stronger friend and several megatons of rock. Liari could see the man squirm in his combat-boots as he beheld her terrible shape, his own power PIDDLY compared to her own. It was as if an ant were asking a question of the foot that hung over it, a grape to the teeth about to grind it to nothing. Liari wordlessly turned to face the sayain, towering over him like the azure shadow of death, all but her white eyes masked in the shadow cast by the sun against her back.
His question was one of those non-simple simple questions: What WAS she...? She could have answered swiftly by raising her foot up and BRINGING it DOWN ON HIS NECK, GRINDING IT AGAINST THE BLEACHED-BLACK ROCK. She could have answered it more basically, telling him of her race. She could have said nothing and left instead, allowing the sayain to fill the void with whatever he wanted. Liari could have done a lot of things...
...There were a lot of things she could have done instead...
For the longest time, Liari said nothing, simply considering the much smaller, much meeker sayain the way a hawk might consider its prey. Her gaze was icy cold, her head ticking from one side to the other as if musing on Jorey's question.
...Suddenly, Liari's arms would BLUR as if they were phasing out of existance, the air pressure around them suddenly growing a MILLION TIMES HEAVIER! If Jorey looked up... he would see... a cataclysm raining down from the sky... AFTERIMAGES of a hundred fists, a THOUSAND FISTS, MORE THAN EVEN THE CLOUDS IN THE SKY COULD CONTAIN! ...And in the next minute... they were all impacting with the planet.
IN AN INSTANT, countless impacts would SMASH into the planet, the strength of which SO MIGHTY, they might've very well knocked Earth off its axis! The desert, desolate before the battle, flattened and bleached during, was now reduced to little more than a swiss-cheesed climate of canyons SMASHED INTO PLACE by Liari's sudden outburst! The sound was deafening to say the least, the SHOCKWAVE of impacts like a hailstorm of meteorites, all of which creating flash-bang explosions mighty enough to blind and deafen even the most stalwart and FEARSOME of lifeforms on the planet!
...And Jorey...? He would survive unscathed, assuming he didn't move from his spot, the majin intentionally missing him with every blow... if for no other reason than to keep the messenger alive to deliver news of this fight. Liari would not be lied too... She would not be GASLIT... She would not be condescended down to by an arrogant liar like QUASH...
"What am I...?" She repeated the question, the detonations dying with the sound of her voice. "...I'm mad, that's what." Liari would walk right up to Jorey across the broken, dying land, hopping over each crater between them with an eerie, unnatural grace! "...Quash was supposed to be better than that... He was supposed to take responsibility for his failure and own it. He was supposed to be STRONGER... but he disappoints." Liari raised her hand, summoning forth a small sphere of energy before tossing it over her shoulder at Quash, the blast BURSTING next to him, potentially sending him FLYING... but doing little more than that.
"...He masquerades as a sayain captain, one of the most brave, powerful and proud races in the universe, ones who ride valiantly into death... and with a military record besides. For all of his achievements, his victories, he buckles under the weight of an accusation he knows to be true. Battles could not break him... but his own cowardice could. Do you understand, Jorey?" Liari questioned, now standing over the sayain! "...I have lived on this world for a long time. I have seen people do terrible things... I have seen them to amazing things... but never before have I seen someone with the ability to help someone... defend to the death a lie that there was NOTHING they could do for them as their blood drips onto their face. His is a weakness so THICK and VILE it makes me want to wretch. His is a pollution so insidious and contagious, people will be lining up to follow his example because it's easier than doing what one must: fulfilling their duty to their friends."
...Liari would bend down, digging her fingers into the rocks at her feet with her fingers before RIPPING loose a chunk... She would then raise it up to Jorey's face... and CRUSH IT, allowing the sand to run through her fingers.
"...Time is running out for FOOLS like him." Liari uttered darkly, her voice dropping low into a menacing whisper! "...These heroes, these... fakes playing dressup, pretending to be heroes until the world really needs them. West City could have been saved if they tried... They could have made a difference if they tried..." Liari scooped up another rock, this time her tentacle raising up to it and ZAPPING it, the stone transforming into a statue of Quash in a pink puff of smoke!
"...False Idols have no place in this world. I will not tolerate it. Either they WILL be the person they parade themselves to be or..." Liari took the statue in her hands... and SNAPS it in two, the whole thing crumbling to dust at her feet. "...Or they will die. Mark my words, Jorey. I have been betrayed by people I thought were my friends for the last time. Do you understand?"
...Should Jorey show SOME SIGN of getting what she's putting down... Liari's expression would soften a bit, her white eyes flicking back to their.... more natural red hue.
"...Despite what I've said before... I won't kill you. Out of everyone here, you were the most consistent. You acted as to what was in your nature and pushed through your fears... Whether or not I like you is irrelevant. You didn't act like the coward Quash did. Even when you knew your power meant nothing to me, even when you were clearly the weakest link... you stood firm. For that alone, you deserve to live..."
Liari's scowl returned quickly, the majin suddenly pointing a finger at Jorey's throat as if it were a dagger!
"...But know this: Keep that SCUM away from me, Jorey, or next time, I won't be so... nice." Liari annunciated that last word with as much disgust and slime she could muster. "...And you would do well to stay away from me too."
...And with that... Liari left. Unless she was stopped, the majin would SHOOT off into the sky at speeds almost BREAKNECK-LIKE to those in Quash's or Jorey's position, her speed leaving SHOCKWAVE PULSES in the air behind her. She didn't know where she was going... but if it was anywhere but that desert, she was more than content with it.
WC: 1422 TWC: 8035
Learning "OT2" :Gum-Gum Bombardment " and OT3: "Gum-Gum Apocalypse
EXIT...?
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POWER LEVEL
169,132
Tech Points
17/38
Forms
Super Saiyan: [x16]
Zeni
4,692
Archived
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Jul 27, 2022 9:17:24 GMT -5
Post by Quash on Jul 27, 2022 9:17:24 GMT -5
Not good. Not good at all.
He could still smell the smoke from the explosion that occurred just a few moments ago. Quash's entire body felt like it had been completely incinerated inside and out. The friction against his body felt like hell as he kept trying to drag his own weight. The pain in his injured leg had now died down into a little more than a dull ache. If he didn't try to move it like an idiot, it would stay that way. How exactly was he going to do something like when he finally managed to get to Liari? Well, he figured it was going to be something that he had to improvise.
The Captain was moving inch by inch, barely getting anywhere. He was kind of wondering what the point of this was. To get a warrior's death? Was there a fine line between dying with honor and just throwing your life away? When your life was that of a warrior's, was there such a thing as wasting your life in a situation like this? This the way it was supposed to be... or maybe he was supposed to live to fight another day? Too many questions. He thought, so exhausted and hurt that he could hardly think.
On the bright side, it looked like Jorey was still alive. Quash could sense him coming back to where he and Liari were. He must've gotten out of the blast radius. If he didn't have one foot already in the afterlife, the Captain actually would've laughed. Was he really going to try to fight Liari alone? He would've thought that his partner's fighting spirit would've fled after the explosion happened. After all, Jorey seemed like he was the kind of guy who knew when it was over and when it was time to bail.
A staggering number of punches rained down from the sky and struck the ground. The shockwaves radiated throughout the landscape they were on. The wind had kicked up so fiercely that it threatened to carry the downed warrior off toward the horizon. He dug his fingers into the ground with the last of his strength, clinging desperately to the ground. Even on the brink of death, Quash could practically feel the rage and hatred from those attacks.
Quash was close enough to still be within earshot of the other two. From what he was hearing, it looked like Jorey was in as much awe as he was, but Liari didn't seem to focus too much on that. He would've loved to hear what the rest of their conversation was going to be, but it looked like he wasn't going to get the chance. It turned out that the majin hadn't completely taken her attention away from him after all, because she fired yet ANOTHER energy ball at him! As the ball closed in on him, Quash braced for impact. Well, mentally.
His body was completely ROCKED yet again by the attack, getting ragdolled a long distance away! To be honest, he was expecting to have died right there. She definitely could have. It kind of reminded him of how she saved him from Jorey's attack earlier. Was she trying to keep him alive for some reason? Quash couldn't help but feel a little concerned. Did she need him alive for something? She was working with Changelings, did they have a greater scheme that involved him? The theory wasn't too out of left field. If they were also behind the Orange City attack, they probably knew who Quash was. He was a little paranoid, to say the least.
When his body finally hit the ground, it hit the ground pretty hard. His broken leg had moved and twisted in different directions, causing him immense pain. His body rolled to a stop and was now practically motionless. Just like that, he no longer had the energy to move. His vision started to fade rapidly, which really sucked because that meant that he was blacking out. As he began to slip into unconsciousness, he had begun to think about what his new mission had become. It looked like he was going to have to put his plans for Vegeta on the back burner. She was more of a threat to the Saiyans than King Braccus or the USD ever would be.
If he was going to seriously consider fighting her again someday, assuming he managed to survive this, he was going to have to do some serious training. He thought that he had already been progressing quite nicely, but it obviously wasn't even close to enough. He needed new techniques and new strategies. Not only that, he really had to change his attitude Enough with caution, enough with the uncertainty. If he couldn't even find the confidence in himself to finish the job, then it didn't matter how much he trained or how many times he fought her, the battle was already lost.
Saiyan Pride...
Where had it gone? Hell, when did he lose it? Maybe he's never had it in the first place...
His eyes closed, with his last remaining thought being the face of his new enemy.
-EXIT-
WC: 862 TWC: 12,357
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I've made a terrible mistake.
POWER LEVEL
111,973
Tech Points
25/26
Forms
Oozaru [x10]
Zeni
47,380
UNSORTED
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Jul 27, 2022 14:43:43 GMT -5
Post by Jorey on Jul 27, 2022 14:43:43 GMT -5
Useless. Any effort to communicate with this individual standing in front of him was absolutely useless. She was a walking bulldozer and he was simply the building in its way. Why would Jorey even decide to speak up? What was the point? This moment could very well be his last. However, if it meant he could go down as a warrior, if it meant he wasn't going to go down without a fight, then putting himself in front of harm's way was an easy task. What Jorey needed was power. What he wanted was to get stronger, strong enough to stand up to Liari in a legitimate way. This wasn't legitimate at all; this was pathetic. Here the two Saiyans were, one completely broken and battered from head to toe, the other too weak to even be considered significant. It was truly, wholly pathetic. If there was one thing Jorey didn't want to be seen as, it was pathetic or pitiful. Well, he certainly got her attention. Jorey watched as Liari glared daggers at him from the side of her face. She was still very intimidating, but Jorey was way too stunned to even move or change expressions. His eyes still stared at Liari, confused and intimidated by the situation as a whole. Quash's body was still laying there, broken badly, and he wasn't getting any closer to helping the fallen Saiyan out. Being at the mercy of someone else, Jorey realized, was one of the worst feelings he had ever experienced. He doesn't want to fall victim to this experience again. As it turns out, it looked like the Saiyan was actually worth paying some attention to. Liari turned around to face Jorey, just as he was facing her. The giant, juiced up piece of bubblegum stood tall, but the Saiyan could still feel her strength pouring from her in the distance. This was the point in time where Jorey could leave, run as fast as he could. This was where he could just forget this whole day happened. However, his pride didn't let him do that. His pride would be hurt if he did that, and most importantly, he would never be able to live the humiliation down. If he somehow did survive this, then he'd have to live with the fact that he ran away and let his ally die in the face of greater danger. That was something he would not be able to choke down for as long as he lives. For a while, all they did was stare at each other. Why wasn't she responding to the question Jorey asked? Well, a part of him definitely was pleased that she wasn't trying anything, or that she didn't suddenly become hostile. Either one of those two things, and Jorey didn't think he'd be able to stand up against her. It was difficult enough for him to stand in the presence of an absolute powerhouse with all the damage he just suffered. Especially since his legs were literally weak from the stupid decision he had to try and send them full force into Liari's rock of a head. He'd have to heal from this, but how? That was none of his concern for now. Right now, there was a more pressing matter at hand, and that matter was moving her arms at blinding speed, fading into and out of existence like that SCP that only exists in the corner of your eye. The Saiyan readied himself for combat instinctively, wondering what was even going on and what she was trying to accomplish. Then, he felt immense pressure settle around him, and an energy signature coming from above. Slowly, Jorey looked up into the sky to see a countless number of enormous hands, balled up into fists, ready to rain down on the entire area. The Saiyan knew that this wouldn't be something he could avoid. This kind of attack would kill him fifty times over at least. Oh, well, screw me. I guess we're both dying here, Quash.
Jorey put his hands up and tried guarding himself as the fists came down. Surprisingly, though, none of them hit him. They all pounded at the floor around him, making holes in the desert sand, holes that turned into canyons. The entire landscape of this biome was turning into something completely different from what it was before. What was happening? When Jorey realized what was going on, he immediately stopped shielding himself and looked around, confused. "What the hell?"
Liari repeated the question Jorey asked her, as if she was trying to understand the audacity of the question itself. Instead, however, she answered it, genuinely. It wasn't the answer Jorey expected. He almost expected her to call herself a monster, no, a demon. A part of him also expected her to tell him what species she was. It was still a mystery as to what kind of organism Liari was to the Saiyan. He'd never met anything like her before in his life, and he didn't know what to really make of it. She was mad, and rightfully so, or rather, understandably so. Jorey knew why she was mad, and he couldn't blame her for it. Losing someone like that takes a toll on a person, no matter how close they were to you or how messed up in the head you are. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Liari continued on, talking about how Quash was supposed to be the person to take responsibility for the failure she put on him. Whether or not Quash could have actually prevented this stuff from happening, Jorey wasn't sure of, but he knew that Quash wasn't necessarily to blame. He knew Liari wasn't to blame, either. Some things are beyond everyone's control, but it's not beyond repair. Then, the insanely powerful force of nature shot an energy blast at Quash. The Ki blast did nothing more than just send Quash flying, but it was still something Jorey wished he could react to. He flinched as if he was going to run forward to stop it, but ultimately stopped himself right when he started. His eyes still widened beyond belief, the Saiyan stopped himself dead in his tracks as Liari got closer and closer to him. She proceeded with her monologue, asking if Jorey understood where she was coming from, but being too stunned to really react to it. At this point, she was now towering over him. The things Liari was saying at this point, it all reminded Jorey of himself. The things she'd seen people do, the corruption she'd witness, the weakness, were all things that Jorey had recognized in his life, traveling from planet to planet. Everyone works on their own agenda, to fulfill their own desires. That's what they want in life: themselves to be happy. People can watch others accomplish things, say it makes them happy, but it doesn't. At least, that's what Jorey had thought for a very long time. He still believes the universe is a corrupt place, but after witnessing the powerhouse that Liari is, after meeting Ayu and training with Quash, he was confused mentally. He just wanted peace of mind, to settle on a set of ideals and not be contradicted by himself. He wanted to live his life comfortably now, but he wasn't comfortable at all. Ever since his family died, he didn't know what comfort was. Liari bent over and ripped out a pretty big rock, then crushing it in her hand, letting the sand from it drop to the floor. It was a time analogy, and for some reason with the way Liari was talking, it was as if she was some giant purple monster hellbent on attaining six rocks to control the fate of the universe. Why did that sound so familiar? West City has fallen, and Jorey had no idea this was happening. A battle was being fought, and it seemed like this battle wasn't one they all had the luxury of staying out of. This was something much more dire. Quash was deemed a false idol in the eyes of Liari. Jorey more than understood where Liari was coming from, but he knew that she wasn't entirely in the right. She needed to be shown direction, but like Jorey still needs to be shown direction in his life. He just didn't know if he was the one to show her the right way. He was still broken and hurting, just like she was. This Saiyan didn't want to admit it, but he still didn't know how to make sense of his family's death. That's why he ended up the he way he was. He never had freedom, like Athren said he had when they first met. He was always still shackled down by the death of his family. He wasn't hopeful or compassionate, like Ayu was. He had condemned it when he saw his family die, and was made a slave to the concept of discord and discontent. However, now he was questioning things, things he had always accepted as truth, as absolute. Now, because of the people he had been meeting, he's been having second thoughts about his way of living. Because of all this, he understood all too well what Liari was getting at, and what she was feeling. He bowed his head, remaining silent. He didn't protest to what Liari said, but he knew that she could be shown the truth. Whatever that truth was, it was better than living the way she was, better than living the way HE was. Liari would then admit that she wouldn't kill Jorey, much to his surprise. He looked back up at the woman in disbelief. She respected Jorey, for sticking to his beliefs, it seemed. If only she knew the journey of this Saiyan. If only she knew the hardships he went through and the pain he made himself suffer over the years, due to his own foolishness. If only, but that was beyond him to tell the raging creature right now. Admitting all that would only make her kill him right here and now, he supposed. It was true, though. He knew that he wasn't going to make a difference in the battle against Liari. He knew that he would either get in the way or just get his ass handed to him, but he still fought anyway. Why did he keep on fighting? Because his body told him to, because Liari provoked him into doing so, and because his Saiyan cells raged to get stronger. Right now, what he desired, was strength, strength to stand up to Liari and be able to defend himself. After that, what would he want to achieve? Even more strength, and the thrill of combat. That's what a Saiyan lived for, right? Regardless, it seemed as if that was enough for Liari to want to let Jorey live. However, she let him off with a warning. The Saiyan was taken back, and lifted his head in response to Liari putting her finger to his throat. She didn't want to see them again. If she did, she would end up destroying Quash for sure. For Jorey, she wasn't so sure. Did she not want to see him again just because she cared enough to not want to have Jorey die, or because she simply didn't want to be bothered with him? He wasn't sure, but her tone was a lot more soft when it concerned him. With that, Liari left, sending shockwaves through the air as she flew away. Jorey covered his eyes as sand kicked up and the wind blew his already tattered clothes around like it was nothing. Her power got even more distant and distant, until she was out of sight. Uncovering his eyes, the Saiyan traced Liari's power level go further and further away. All that remained on his tongue was a broken promise he couldn't fulfill, and he knew he couldn't fulfill it. These words, he spoke to himself under his breath, in reference to Liari. "If there's one thing I learned, it's that I shouldn't make a girl a promise, if I know I can't keep it. Next time you see me, Liari, we'll duke it out, again. I'll be a lot stronger next time, so count on getting your pretty blue ass beat pink."
Jorey looked down at his hands, balled up into fists. Rage coursed through his veins, fueling the anger he expressed to himself for being useless and weak. His Ki flared and his anger burst out of control for a second. "I WILL COME BACK STRONGER! I WON'T LOSE!"
Jorey's Ki calmed down, and he looked over to Quash. Sure enough, he still wasn't moving, but he wasn't dead either. There was blood all over the place. The Saiyan was surprised that this captain survived, somehow. The tenacity and stubbornness he showed was remarkable, to say the least. Jorey sprinted over to Quash, wincing in pain from his legs. He then slid down and knelt next to Quash. He was not conscious anymore, and he needed medical treatment immediately. The sight was painful just to even look at, but this time, he didn't waste any time in getting this man the attention he needed. Jorey put his arms under Quash and scooped him up, holding him like the princess in distress he seemed to be right now. He made sure that his left side was holding the part of Quash that was least bloody, afraid to get Ayu's handkerchief dirty. "Quash, we got a lotta work to do."
He then turned himself towards Quash's gravity chamber/ship, his eyes focusing and narrowing on it. He knew the ordeals that waited ahead, and how strong he'd have to be to surpass his oppositions. The Saiyan prepared himself, smirking a bit. He knew what was in store for him, and he knew that it would only serve to make him stronger. Excitement welled up inside him, but dread stayed looming over him because of what happened today. Jorey's mood would most likely not improve until he got some sleep. With that, he took to the skies and darted straight for Quash's ship. "You better hope your ass has a rejuvenation chamber in that ship of yours."
END OF THREADWord Count: 2,388 Total Word Count: 17,662
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