Zaks was training as Usual with her kids in the next room watching her as she bounced around the gravity room. She sometimes felt bad for the kids only being able to sit there and watch her for hours as she tried to become stronger to protect them. But after feeling the large power level the other day Zaks felt positively weak compared to it and it had awoken something deep inside of herself. Every damn night since feeling that power level over east city she has been dreaming of… him. She did not know how she knew who he was, only that he was real and he was her father. The being in her dreams was huge, the size of a mountain always looking down at her in his shadowy form. She could see nothing but his eyes judging her and for some reason it terrified her. Why did she feel like she was failing him and she honestly knew the reason why but why did it matter? Why did it matter that she was weaker than him by a mile and completely unworthy of even a fraction of his power. That Power that was always coming closer…wait it really was coming closer!!

As steam billowed out from the majin, her form appeared to deflate, Muscle, bulk, it all seemed to recede against her body, making her appear skeletal... almost emaciated and gaunt! The color of her skin, once a deep, dark blue, faded into something ashier, lifeless. Her energy sunk deeper into the darkest pits of sensation as if her signature were a fissure in ones senses, threatening to suck in and consume that which approaches. A low, almost whispering screech could be heard as the steam was enveloped by the fires coating her flesh, consuming whatever it was she had expelled and growing larger in turn... but never threatening to burn beyond its boundaries.

...And in the midst of this transformation, something blasted away. It could have been a normal person in a hovercar or it could have been a fighter of considerable might. It was on the edge of her senses, tickling her interest for the briefest of moments... and no longer. The burning, faded Majin rose to her full, impressive height, her eyes flickering back to an icy cold silver, her expression a deep, unfocused frown as she merely stared over the landscape. Hatred radiated off of her much as the demonic flames did, directed at everything... and nothing at the same time. Thought gave way to sensation, pain fading into a cruel normality, her body adjusting to the agony and merely letting it... and the misery it brought, bleed into a new normal. If left undisturbed, Liari would have stood there for hours, perhaps even days as she grew used to this new... her, taking stock of what she was capable of...

...But then, that... THING approached her. 

It was the invocation of her name that garnered Liari's attention, her eyes flicking to him as he... began chastising her! At first, confusion flashed across the Majin's face, neither recognizing this man NOR his authority to judge her! Did she know this man...? Did she care? Did he have a RIGHT to think he could even SPEAK to her!? Liari was leaning no towards all of these questions, her massive, gangling form turning threateningly towards the mobster. The thought of killing him crossed her mind before the thought of responding had, a thin, needle-like beam to the heart to watch him bleed out slowly. 

It would have been easy... it might've even been FUN watching that confidence drain out with his blood...

"...Who you?" Liari rumbled, her voice low, guttural and harsh, as if the flames on her skin had marred her throat. Her eyes fell upon Derry like three-million-ton weights, as if to kill him with the sheer force of her stare! She found herself wondering why she didn't just... destroy this place. She could feel the need in her veins, the compulsion to rest her hand upon the ground and erase everything beneath. It pulled at her fingers like a second mind, trying to urge her wordlessly to satisfy her hunger for destruction.

...But something equally strange was holding her back... at least for now. 

"Who you tell me what to do?"

WC: 515

Khyrop wasn't an idiot, naive about some small things from his years of isolation, but he was no idiot. After the events in the east he had been feeling a sting that turned into a sour impression showing him more than he thought he'd ever need to learn. He had been training making his body stronger than it ever was, but he still needed to assimilate worthy dna to fuel his own metamorphosis. Although he had found worthwile targets he hadn't been able to secure any of them as he still found himself at the whims of much stronger beings, it made him consider taking a new approach. After he had left the city he had taken the time to lick his wounds and make sure he was good enough to handle himself, not to fight, no to run if he would need to. In the end there was only one risky decision he could make that he figured would lead to him getting the strength he needed.

There was only one being who understood the path he was on and had already walked further, the same one whose rage had stopped him before. It was clear to him that to become what he needed he would need to follow the example of the blue terror, even if she was willing to cooperate or not. He had been hanging around Derry's hideout making sure they were protected and that he was around an ally at all times and was aware of when the mobster was leaving. He hadn't followed him, but he did leave soon after going in the same direction as he figured it would be the time for his own tasks. It wasn't until he arrived that he realized they were travelling to the same destination.

"....I guess I can't say I don't feel the same." Was the first comment Khyrop made to himself as he not only saw, but felt the rage the majin was expressing as though it were a pressure pushing on him. He watched, and noticed that there were others already there as he flew in. "Well at least I'm not the onl- wait is that Derry?"

His head swiveled as he saw a familiar face followed by its matching voice, talking to the Majin with confidence and calling her out about the situation without any fear. He wouldn't have been surprised that if at the reminder of the events Liari would've enraged further, but he knew he'd have to wait it out and see how it would go. He knew that he couldn't leave now even if he hadn't been noticed he would have to make sure his remaining allies stayed alive. He would need every one of them for his upcoming plans should this training endeavor work even at a fraction of what he was hoping. His head turned once again and he saw another familiar face, someone he remembered seeing back before his changeling allies had bit the dust.

"Her I was expecting, you not so much, or that one either." He spoke to Derry as he flew in beind him, seeing the situation at hand and knowing there was no sense in hiding he took up a place near his companion. "I hope my presence doesn't ruin whatever you're trying to do here, but I need her for my own reasons."

His head turned towards the raging Majin, he couldn't help but feel a sense of deep respect for her as he knew that she had consumed stronger fighters than him and put in the effort for much longer than he has. He wasn't sure if he needed to stay by her side and hope to gain the right moment, to listen to her, or if that he needed to train with her and test himself until he couldn't be tested any more. Regardless, as he stood there with an emotionless expression he could feel his fur raising as he waited to see how things would go.

WC:667
Bonuses: +65% pl gain (rookie bonuse) +75%pl gain (super heavy armor)

Transformed Pl: (69,019 x 15) = 1,035,285
Weighted Pl: 258,821

The majin's mind was like that of a storm, turbulent and wild. It was as if the ape had never left her inside, its fingers clawing at her brain in a feral bid for control over the body. She could feel it under her skin, attempting to wrestle the bones to do its dirty work, to get her to rampage, kill and smash with all the sweet, sickening promises of it making her feel better. Liari stared wordlessly at Derry as he proposed making "suggestions" regarding her next conquering attempt, seemingly fancying himself her advisor or... "friend" as he claimed it. Friends... What eve WERE those? Zero and Ryme treated her like a tool. Ayu had disappeared, leaving the Majin alone. Quash was a coward, disappearing after that... "tournament." 

Friends... What good were they if they simply disappeared?

...And then the bat-thing appeared, claiming to "need" her. Need...? HE needed HER? The Majin's icy silver eyes flicked to Khyrop, turning her wrathful attention upon the beast. Who was HE to need her for ANYTHING? She had given him a task and he had failed spectacularly... and yet here he was, acting as he she owed HIM something. Liari's wrist twitched, electricity arching over her hands and chest, bounding across her grey-tinted flesh for an instant... before her posture relaxed. ...She could kill them all here... and that was enough. Wasting her power here with that... SUPER SAYAIN flying about, able to pop up at any moment... She would rather keep her presence as reserved as possible... or at least, as reserved as her rage would allow it to be. Derry would then question if Liari needed to, perhaps, cool down after what had happened... and the Majin... simply nodded... waiting for more. 

...Was this all Derry had to say to her... or was this merely one of his "suggestions?" 

...She hated this... She hated EVERYTHING about this! The way she was being talked down to, having to hear these creatures' concerns and their wants... The resistance! She could have done something... She could have had EVERYTHING. Her power would have been untouchable! She would have been accountable, questionable, and surmountable to no one...

...And yet here she was, burning in a wasteland, fearful that the golden-man would appear beside her when she wasn't yet ready, listening to these... THINGS as they tried to... "help." She needed help... What a revolting reality.

"Speak." Liari demanded, her voice like thunder across the landscape. "If you want say something, say it. Now."

His eyes never shifted off of the Majin, no, even though Khyrop knew if she really wanted to he wouldn't be able to stop her from killing him. The bat had strength but every time he ran into her this other creature had always shown him that there was a bigger fish out there. It frustrated him but it also motivated the Bio-android beyond belief, even under his new calm exterior he couldn't help but keep his focus on her. It might've been caution, jealousy, respect, interest, or whatever you wanted to call it but to him, it was nothing short of an obsession. He thought his hopes of gaining her as an ally might've been diminished with the Saiyans ruining his plan but the fact that he hadn't been killed just yet gave him a small bit of hope.

Derry wasn't a threat either, he was a proven ally with both of them having already gained much from their partnership so he stood in front of him just a little bit so his back was to him and he could be in the way in case things went sour from before. He didn't want that to happen so his mind had already begun running through all the possibilities. He didn't know her well enough though, she was incredibly unpredictable so it he knew each plan didn't have a high degree of confidence.

"..I need to play my cards right." He spoke to himself under a breath as he took a deep inhale, and then took a powerful breath out of his nose before outstretching his arms. One of his eyes would look over at Derry for a second, he would take a moment to speak before he could ask his questions and hopefully not ruin the mood. "I apologize for before."

"I did not expect for the other to come so quickly to save his ally, or for him to leave the battlefield so quickly, I should've been stronger so I could've bat him back to you." He would hold one arm over his chest and bow folding his wings behind him even as he would show deference to her, if just for this moment. "I wasn't though, but I will make it up, I need to make it up."

He wouldn't admit it at this moment but he hated to do this, even during his bow he bit into his lip with one of his fangs, almost drawing his own blood. It might've hurt his pride but it wouldn't hurt as much as she could hurt him if she got mad, and on some levels, he was also mad at himself as he wished he had been strong enough to make the situation different. "I'm sure you want to get that Golden man, and I wanna get her, she's escaped me twice and its quickly turning into a deep and gnawing hunger."

"If you'll let me have the chance, I just need to keep getting stronger, to keep training and eating all those against us." He was ending his comments lifting from his bow before taking another deep breath letting his tension leave with his last comments on the matter. "After all both of them are probably trying to do the same as we speak."

Once he was completely finished he would stand straight up and take a small step back, still slightly in front of Derry but closer to being standing in front of him at this point. It might've looked like he was posing for a photo even, but no he was simply holding himself tall and ready. Even if he didn't believe that he would have a chance if things went sour and so while he hoped his bet would work out he knew he'd have to try and escape if it didn't. His eyes still didn't move, boring down with a neutral indifference he had held all the time waiting for their responses to it all.


WC:660
TWC: 1327
Bonuses: +65% pl gain (rookie bonuse) +75%pl gain (super heavy armor)



Transformed Pl: (69,019 x 15) = 1,035,285

Weighted Pl: 258,821

Liari... was genuinely caught off-guard by the approach both Derrick and Khyrop were taking with her. Perhaps it was because she was in pain, but she was expecting these two to be as short-tempered and USELESS as Liari felt! She assumed they would have chastised her for her failure, call her a mess, and attempt some kind of retribution. Instead, all she received were apologies and expressions of concern. Liari... stared at the pair, both perplexed and confused. Suddenly, the compulsion to burn everything to ash subsided a bit, her posture relaxing. Seeing that someone SEEMED to care about her... didn't make the flames hurt so much... In fact, some of the color appeared to flush back into her face! 

"You..." Liari growled, her face contorting as if the words choked her in her throat. "...Couldn't... have done anything..." The majin looked towards Khyrop, her expression, while contorted in a snarl, seemed to be more of pain than outrage. "...You did... what you could..." Khyrop would note that all they would need to do is train and consume to grow stronger, to fight and improve if they were going to defeat the Golden Man. Liari slowly nodded, a small glint of excitement flashing across her sanguine eyes. Derrick would then step up, remarking that he had more than one concern regarding Liari's appearance. After all, she had "changed a lot" since they had last met. 

Liari would look down at herself, the flames running up and down her arms, the grey skin that pinned tightly against her "bones." A flash of anger flashed across her mind, the pain of her body burning raking across her thoughts... Liari shook her head and banished such distractions before they took her again.

"...It hurts." She said slowly, as if trying to find the right words. "...Whatever Zerori did to me... it's not going away." Derrick would suggest that Khyrop may have some means of helping her... and the majin shook her head. "If I could heal from... this... I would have. Enough worrying about this, though... I... will beat this... What matters here... is you two."

Liari fixed her gaze on Derrick and Khyrop, flexing her fingers in front of herself! 

"...You two need to get stronger. If we are going to destroy all who oppose us and control the rest, we need power. Strength." She glanced at Derrick. "You especially. I believe... we should begin with basic sparring. We will grow strong... It is only a matter of time."

WC: 417

WC: 442 | TWC: 1,858

---

It was still quite clear where Liari stood on Khyrop's efforts after the attack on the city and how they stood rock solid, albeit she did mention that he did what he could. Of course Derrick could tell that just because the bat did what he could, it isn't enough in the majin's eyes. They'll have to resolve that whole issue themselves, but right now Derry was a bit more concerned about Liari's current condition, and the fact that she was still in quite a bit of pain from those flames was still biting into her. However, Liari mentions a familiar name, a name that Derry had known of for quite some time and he's even worked with her for a while as well. Zerori apparently did thi according to the majin, which meant that she was that red armored woman back in the city. Well, the mob boss certainly does learn something new every day.

Of course, he's going to need to keep that information on the down low to avoid getting potentially swatted by Liari for even mentioning some form of relationship between the two of them, and thankfully the conversation was shifting away from speaking about Zerori. Now on the other hand, she turns her attention towards both Khyrop and Derrick, suggesting that the two of of them train in order to grow stronger, more specifically focusing on basic sparring. "Yeah... Probably for the best..." Derry replies, knowing that something basic is pretty much all he can handle given Liari's immense strength. There's no way he'll be able to keep up with her if they went all out, and he doubts that even Khyrop is capable of doing something so rigorous either.

These sorts of thoughts are, however, interrupted by the stranger from earlier, finally bringing herself into the situation and going so far as to offer to help get rid of the flames that still continuously pester the blueberry. "I'm sure she'd take just about anything to make this go away, miss... I, well, I don't believe we've properly met. Regardless, are you quite sure that you're able to handle something like this? I should warn you that the flames that fry Blueberry's flesh are demonic in nature. I hope you're a bit familiar with how demonic magic works, or else things could get a bit of out hand." Should he be so lax as to allow someone like this stranger to try and fix up Liari? Maybe. Maybe not. It's ultimately up to Liari herself, but he has a sneaking suspicion that she's likely going to say yes to having these flames removed.