Pride comes in many forms (Open/Pride Troopers)

It was a stroke of luck that the Makaimorph had recently arrived in North City. He had already done his patrol rounds elsewhere and filed his reports. Now he was simply doing one last patrol around major cities and locations of interest— starting in North City of course!

Things were relatively quiet, there was a neighborhood dispute between two neighbours that had escalated into a battle of Ki, but the Makaimorph quickly put a stop to it by getting between the two before any lasting damage could be done and thankfully managed to get the two feuding people to talk things out. There was also a shoddy attempt at robbing a sports goods store that was promptly thwarted by Makaimorph as he passed by.

Other than that there was nothing notable... Until the Makaimorph noticed people acting a bit odd on one of the main roads. Looking around from the rooftops he saw people walking away from a Namekian that was darting around for some reason. Was that guy in distress? He certainly looked like he was. So why wasn’t anyone helping him?

It was then that the Makaimorph overheard the Namekian yelling, calling out for Pride Troopers. He had news for the group? That was enough for the Makaimorph, this man was in need!

Hopping down from the rooftops came the demonic wonder, a large individual fully clad in his glistening mystical crimson armor. The citizens were stunned for a moment, but they were also glad that one of their heroes had arrived so promptly, things were getting really awkward.

The holy white eye-like flames from within the visor of the hero's gnarly helmet looked over the stressed and frantic Namekian, they were strong, so whatever issue they had must be very dire indeed. "Greetings friend, I heard your call. You seek the Pride Troopers? I am one of them, I am the Makaimorph. What do you need?"

Things were looking pretty awkward from the perspective of the citizens, people looked out their windows to see what was happening. Awkward thankfully wasn’t tense, but it payed to put people’s concerns to ease. Makaimorph nodded to the Namekian, their tone of voice saying more than enough to the hero. There was something that the Namekian had in their hands, and it seemed they deliberately wanted Makaimorph to see it, and he saw a little seed. What could this mean? He needed answers, for he felt something within the seed. Faint, but familiar. "One moment, I shall reassure the crowd." He said, turning to the crowd, stretching out his arms to gather attention.

"Fear not, good people of North City. This Namekian here is simply stressed and in need of help, there is no need to be afraid. Please, extend your good will for this man who has likely travelled far on a most important mission." The Makaimorph ended his little speech with a bow. Response to this was very positive, people giving the Namekian apologetic smiles and small waves and well wishes as everyone went back to business, nobody was staring anymore!

Satisfied with things being relatively back to normal, the Makaimorph turned to the Namekian once more. "I shall take you to our base of operations. It is the appropriate place to discuss matters if you are looking for us." Makaimorph slowly floated off of the ground, waiting for the man to follow before flying off towards the Pride Trooper base, which was only a few streets over, near the center of the city.

Once the two had arrived, Makaimorph kept the lead and entered the building first, holding the door so that the Namekian could follow inside. "Everyone else is out on duty, we can talk in the meeting room. Please, follow me." He sighed. "I can feel the strength of your Ki. If someone as strong as you is suffering in despair, things must be quite dire..."

Finally after reaching the meeting room— a large spacious area with an impressively made table in the center, wich chairs stored away off to the side. Now, the discussion could begin in full. "Grim, dire, whichever sort situation might have befallen you, it certainly is not good." Moments later, the mysterious seed was handed over. Makaimorph’s intuition was on point, one of many things confirmed— this tiny seed felt familiar because it was all that remained of Synthesia. It was just as Chime said a day or so ago. Everything the Namekian said so far checked out.

"Synthesia. Indeed, he was one of us— he was a Nature Spirit, guardian of Fukurou Forest, a sacred ground on this planet... I know exactly where to bury this. You have my utmost gratitude. What is your name?" Makaimorph used his magic powers to form a protective see through container filled with preservatives that could aid plant matter’s condition, to keep the seed safe. "Hmm. This is the disgusting truth of a rivalry so deeply ingrained in people. As far as I know, both the World Trade Fleet and Saiyan Kingdom’s actions towards each other is based on ancient rivalries.. It sickens me that they have not evolved, it sickens me that either side perpetuates it.." The Makaimorph sighed, giving an apologetic nod, allowing the Namekian to continue explaining.

Greater details on the situation were given, and names were dropped. One in particular stood out. "Ramen? She is the one that killed Synthesia?" White flames from within the Makaimorph’s visor swirled to emulate angry squinting. "I cannot say I am surprised. I have heard some very unpleasant things about her. Furthermore, I have heard that she has some manner of bias against us Pride Troopers if citizen reports are to be believed. Regardless, the situation is far more complicated than I anticipated." There were so many more bothersome pieces to this puzzle, where could it go from here? After a moment of pondering, the Makaimorph pulled out a chair, offering the Namekian a chance to sit down. "If you are okay with me asking; I have some questions for you. I am willing to answer any questions you might have as well."

The Makaimorph also bowed his head, showing his respects for Synthesia’s passing. "I know I must seem pretty cold, but know this—" White flames flickered violently within the hero’s visor. They were not directed at Mollusc of course, the Namekian was innocent. "I am processing emotions beyond what words can describe. I do not wish to concern you with how I feel as a sign of respect for you." Things like this were tough to figure out— and there was no sense in taking out frustrations on someone who was not at fault.

"Mollusc. I shall remember you and what you have done for us. You may call me ‘Makai’ if my full title is inconvenient for you." The armored demon nodded as he sat down in his own chair. He waited for Mollusc to also take a seat before continuing their meeting.

From what Makaimorph could discern from this interaction, Mollusc knew Ramen— more than just her name. How else would people on different sides of a likely violent encounter know each other’s names? Surely they knew each other prior. "I am trying to figure something out here. There are multiple things at play here and I feel as though many are misinformed on many things right now. In order to make sense of these things I would like to know— what do you know about Ramen? Were you friends at any point, perhaps? Furthermore, have you ever heard the name Banzo before? Or have you maybe met them before? They were a Saiyan and a friend of Ramen’s as well."

"Thank you. I felt it appropriate to at least be clear." Makaimorph nodded, with a slight chuckle. "It is nice to meet you too, sir Mollusc. Though in my heart of hearts I wish it was under more positive circumstances."

Mollusc noted he was friends with Ramen, past tense being key. It came as no surprise, the Namekian saw her murder someone with little reason in his mind. "... I am sorry that your friendship didn’t work out. It must be hard for you to process."

Banzo was somewhat familiar to Mollusc, maybe they didn’t know each other but he was told about Banzo’s demise. At least, a biased account of it. "The problem with that is, she does not know the truth. You can ask any Central City citizen— hell, any Earth citizen at all— and they will tell you that an enraged Oozaru attacked Crop Co in Central City in an attempt to destroy the company, the CEO Carro Hofferson and all others involved. After the rogue Oozaru killed others that stood up to defend Crop Co, Koban with his last breath tried to stop the Oozaru’s rampage. They both died fighting each other."

Makaimorph waited for Mollusc to speak up just in case he had any input before continuing the explanation of the scenario. "At the Hero’s Memorial in Central City, as detailed in a citizen’s report in the aftermath of the tragedy, the Oozaru in question was later identified as Banzo by the then King of the Saiyans— Vocado. The report further states that the citizen present at the time, as well as Vocado himself claimed to have seen Banzo’s spirit— a ghost returned from the afterlife to deliver the truth; he said he was brainwashed by CURE Industries a rival company to Crop Co that has since faded into obscurity for the most part following the disappearance of their CEO. I for one find that suspicious. Nobody suddenly just vanishes after an accusation like that starts floating around unless they have something to hide."

Makaimorph found Mollusc’s stance on his friendship with Ramen admirable in a way. The Namekian wasn’t giving up on someone at all, the opposite in fact, he never gave up on Ramen at all! "I see. You know, Mollusc, the fact that you still believe in her is admirable." He said, trying to reassure Mollusc and let him know there was someone that supported him. "The bond of true friendship is incredibly strong. I am sure you will get through to her one day— hopefully soon."

It seemed that Mollusc was also quite misinformed until now, but the fact of the matter was that he seemingly wanted to also know the truth. "Indeed. In a perfect universe, the attack would never have even happened. Alas, a perfect universe is not something we live in." Makaimorph exhaled sharply. "The best we can do is help the universe eventually be better, to ensure tragedies like this do not happen.."

Interestingly enough, the Namekian knew a little bit about CURE having met two members. Ghoti and Chromo, those would certainly be names to remember. "I see. Could you tell me a little bit more about these two? Further physical description and the general area where you met them?" The last name also rang a bell, far more than the other two. "Hmm, Tanga... Yes, that does sound rather familiar. In order to be sure I shall have to do more research." Makaimorph said, pondering as to why one of the other two would be mad at this woman and what their true connection was.

"Hmm. A tough situation to be in. Do you feel as though you are at a loss on what to do exactly? I am not sure what kind of advice I can give— if you even want any, that is." Mollusc seemed reasonable and Makaimorph wasn’t necessarily one to intrude on personal matters. The only scenario the hero would find it okay was if doing so was absolutely necessary in order to perhaps save someone from themselves and their own darkness. "I hope you end up making the right decision on this regardless."

Appreciative of Mollusc’s help thus far, Makaimorph nodded. Diablo Desert would have to be surveyed for a few clues sometime soon. Interestingly enough, Chromo was apparently unhappy with Tanga, something about revenge in regards to siblings? Was that still the case? If it was, Chromo might be willing to give information... The Makaimorph still doubted that they would be helpful for some reason. "I understand, Mollusc. I greatly appreciate the help you have given. Do you have any questions for me, or will this be all? I want you to know that you are welcome to visit."