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Post by Cress on Nov 5, 2019 17:25:22 GMT -6
After flying around for a bit, Cress noticed something rather large in the Diablo Desert that he hadn't before: a seemingly very deep crack in the Earth that looked like it went on for about a mile.
"I've never seen this before..." Deciding to go check it out, Cress changed his angle of approach, descending rapidly. He pushed his feet to his front, landing softly on the ground next to the crack. He began getting closer to the edge of the crack to look into it, and as he did an unfamiliar feeling washed over him, one of which he'd never felt before. It didn't bother the saiyan too much, though. Unbeknownst to him, this was Dark Magic that he was feeling. He eventually made it to the edge, and when he looked into the crack he saw the darkness, just as he'd done from the air. Why'd he expect it to look any different than in the air?
"I wonder who made this." This massive crack definitely wasn't natural, probably made by someone testing out their strength or caused by an attack during a fight. The latter guess appealed more to him, and given his nature, it wasn't surprising. Holding his hand out and pointing it straight down over the edge of the crack, he spread his fingers. Cress let out a small grunt as he fired a ki blast at the bottom, watching its light carve a path through the darkness during its quick decent.
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 6, 2019 14:16:56 GMT -6
When Vegeta fell Kalabas sought refuge on Earth, or rather, the rescue ship took him there and he was left largely to his own devices. He wandered for a time, eventually settling in Diablo Desert, and there he built with his own hands a homey little shack - with a pool! - from what first amounted to few sandworn planks and straps of leather. The shack eventually grew into a proper home, and then a manor, and little by little Kalabas turned it into a home far from home... Well, just like the real thing, this one didn't last. He knew that Muscle Tower was trouble when that witless arcosian had his construction team work day and night, not only because the arcosian was indeed one of his people, but also because the route his cars and ships flew right over and beside by his home. With an entire desert of nothingness, couldn't they at least swerve? Well, now that he was returned, it was with great surprise that the Duke found a massive gaping maw in the sand. First Strongbone Manor and now Sand Shack? Was the ghost cursed to live without home now?
Much to his surprise a familiar energy neared, and for once, that was good news. Last time they had argued politics and departed a bit sudden - it Kalabas' fault, really -, but now they could pass time without the looming threat of planetary destruction. Hopefully. "Shoot first, think later?" he joked, borrowing the adage from a... friend. What were they now? Why didn't he think of her before? He would search for her next, another name to the list. "Hm... I fought in these grounds, some time ago. There was a big tournament and all, very fun... Simpler times, I suppose." Kalabas patted Cress on the back "Well, whatever went down here could prove useful, should we send some mystics there? What about you, Cress, fancy yourself one of the dragon clan? Haha!" another, albeit stronger, pat was given "You ought to smile more. So, how have you been?"
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Post by Cress on Nov 6, 2019 19:23:03 GMT -6
Cress watched the light become smaller and smaller before a distant explosion went off at the bottom of the crack. Yeah, that solved it, this crack definitely wasn't natural. His imagination running wild, he came to the conclusion that he could make a crack deeper and wider than this if he tried. While still staring into the crack and his mind wandering, a familiar voice suddenly made itself known, startling him and causing him to quickly turn and begin to send a punch at the source before he realized who it was: Kalabas. No wonder he didn't notice he was coming. With him being a ghost and all it was like he wasn't even there.
"Dammit, Kalabas! Don't sneak up on me." Unlike Kalabas, Cress wasn't able to sense ki, a technique that he'd put off learning for a long time now, although it came up in his to learn list every now and then. He just found other techniques to be more important than that, relying on his smell and hearing to alert him to anything he couldn't see. This proved why he needed to learn to sense ki. If Kalabas had of been an enemy he could've possibly ended up dead without knowing what happened.
Cress un-clenched his fist and let his arm gently fall to his side, loosening up his stance although still on edge. Kalabas informed him that a big tournament went down here, although not the cause of this massive crack. "I've yet to hear about this tournament you speak of. You didn't think to invite me?" After saying that he remembered that he was probably frozen at the time. He spoke of summoning members of the namekian dragon clan to their location. "I take it that weird feeling that I'm getting right now is magic, then? Do you think that's what caused this?"
Moving ahead in their conversation, Kalabas thought he ought to smile more, asking how he'd been right after. "I'll smile when I've met my goal. But I've been doing well, Kalabas. Have you come to a decision yet? I almost have my hands on a Dragon Ball radar." Cress was curious to hear his answer. Him and Vocado could use some help in the hunt, and if he helped him he could probably arrange some sort of deal.
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 8, 2019 12:17:46 GMT -6
Perhaps it was just because of his supernatural nature, but Kalabas was starting to get a kick from scaring people - it was not as strong as seeing a plan go just as planned, although it did scratch that same conniving itch just the same. Kalabas looked mighty pleased with himself, smiling with a childish glee that was very much not his, although the words that followed definitely were "Sneak? But I flew so slowly, so calmly, with my power in full... Why, I though half the world could feel me closing in on you!" his tee-hee was cut short as the Duke returned to his usual gruffs "Hrm... Sorry. Anyhow, you should consider training your ki sense, or lacking that, requisitioning a scouter. A warrior of your skill should have no trouble convincing a quartermaster to let go of a good piece."
"But ah, trust me, I would have loved nothing more than to fight by your side that day. I thought you were dead, you see?" he remarked all too casually, still staring down as the abyss, still wondering if he had left anything in his old home that was worth salvaging. He wasn't going to risk his afterlife for some porcelain knick knacks! "The irony does not escape me, no. Nor does the feeling of... this bode well in any way I try to look at it. Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from science, so let us hope that this thing has a logic and a reason behind it. Magic is such a cursed thing."
He clenched his fist. He felt real, and not the product of magic. The many facets of his condition resembled things of the natural world he had grown in, it was easier to thing of himself as simply a different sort of organism brought forward from exceptional situations that were in some part of his own design, and not just some... metaphysical rabbit in a see-through top hat. "Decision is... such a final word. Yet, we are the summation of our actions and inactions, and whatever regrets may come from them... The search for the balls always claims a number, always takes it toll. I have paid the ultimate price once, paying it again would trouble me less than letting you or Vocado do the same. So, let us say that for now, I am not against you, nor am I neutral or without a stake in this. I want life, Cress, if not from this wish then one of the three from Namek. Promise me that and, by the ancestors, I will wrench them from the kais themselves."
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Post by Cress on Nov 9, 2019 23:13:33 GMT -6
Kalabas assumed he could sense energy before coming to the conclusion that he could not judging by his statement. "You're right. I can easily get my hands on a scouter right now. I'll go and get one later. I'll get to work on ki sense sometime in the future, too. Hopefully not being able to sense ki doesn't prove too much of a problem until then." Kalabas stood at his side and gave him an explanation as to why he wasn't invited.
"So it was during that time, huh?" Cress felt a chill run down his spine as the memory of him blacking out before re-awakening months later by sheer chance resurfaced. "I may as well have been dead. I wasn't even aware of what happened, but it all worked out. Nothing can keep me held for long." Cress smirked in an attempt to cheer himself up a bit and boost his pride. That reminded him, that arcosian... he'd still not come across him yet. Chances are he was dead by now and he'd never get his chance to enact his revenge. Maybe it was a grudge he should let go of and move on. That sounded like the best option for him.
"It looks like it's a blast to use if you get used to it." He stood there, imaging himself making food from thin air for a second. Of course that'd be his first thought...
When his question came along Kalabas proposed a deal, one that he would hastily accept. "I will get you your wish, no matter what it takes." Cress was sure that Kalabas would do the same thing for him if their roles were swapped, so why not help him? Namek had three wishes after all. One for him, one for Vocado, and one for Kalabas. The wish that would be made on Earth would benefit them all for as long as they could fight and succeed.
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 10, 2019 9:22:48 GMT -6
Kalabas smirked at Cress' remark "Seems to me that warriors like us cannot be put down for long, aye? Be it death or stasis or a crippling wound, sooner or later we find ourselves again embroiled in more trouble than can we care to admit. Conflict is in our nature, I wouldn't have it in other any way..." he clenched his fist, painfully reminded that he could feel much from it "It is the kind of conflict we seek, as well as the ways we wage it, that differentiate us... Still, know this, the Kingdom comes first. Always." And that was the heart of the matter, wasn't it? "And it does to me as it does to you. Let us hope this ends well for all, then..." he said, keeping the conclusions to himself. Truth is that no matter how much he personally liked Cress, Kalabas knew that he would go down the path of those that came before, and wrong in all the same turns. He was an ally for now, or something resembling it, but he could just as easily become a danger, a liability... someone that the Kingdom would do better without. Even if they thought not.
"No matter what it takes..." Kalabas repeated, misty-eyed. Here he was planning the man's death just as he was promising him a new chance at life. But this went beyond a body or even any life, the Kingdom could not bear this stagnation, this crumbling war machine that would sooner or later break down and take down saiyankind with it "I forgot what it's like to have allies such as yourself... It is good to have you back, truly." he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand, turning his attention again to the chasm "About this... let us call it the Great Fissure, why not. What can we do about it, truly? I do not recall ever standing next to something so... malign, and I have stood beside some unsavory sorts in Hell. Then again, this is Earth. And hardly our problem, yes?"
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Post by Cress on Nov 12, 2019 0:27:14 GMT -6
If Cress were a pastor he'd have told Kalabas to keep preaching, but he gave him a nod and a 'mhm' instead and continued to listen. "Know this, everything I do is for the betterment of the Kingdom and its people Kalabas." Right now it was looking as if it was no different that how it was before the invasion that drove them to this planet nearly two years ago. Taking over Arcose with little resistance was a great feat, but he'd much rather have destroyed the world and nipped the source of the problem in the bud. Maybe it was better that it remained whole, though.
"It is good to have you back as well. You've proved yourself to be more deserving of a title other than ally, Kalabas. I consider you as much of a brother as I would my own blood." That was the truth. Kalabas had been willing to risk his life for him on Arcose, and he would've done the same. Was that not enough to make them like brothers? They fought alongside each other even though they had no real goal.
As Kalabas' attention shifted to the chasm his did the same. "This magic that I'm feeling would still remain even if it was filled. You'd have to get rid of the whole planet or get someone who specializes in things like this. It isn't our problem, though, but do you think we could harness this magic? Find some use for it?" He was curious, could he even learn to use magic? Shape-shifting sounded like a neat thing to have. Becoming as big as an Oozaru while in base form sounded rather fun.
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 16, 2019 6:17:25 GMT -6
There was no doubt that each warrior sought to elevate the Kingdom to an Empire, that they had and would again sacrifice much to see this dream realized, but even if their intentions aligned, it was in the details that Kalabas found himself unwilling to compromise. Their creeds had the same foundations, but little else to take as common ground. Still, they were brothers, and like any good brother Kalabas would see that Cress would not be swept away by either a tide of battle or a devious plot. No, should they ever clash, he would face him as an equal. "Likewise..." Kalabas press his digit down his death wound, over his open eye, still like cut glass "Forgive my unwillingness to mark this moment with a blood oath, from what I've read imbibing a mortal's body with even a drop ghost's ichor makes for a potent death curse." Then again, most of what he read were treaties writ by clerical pundits, hardly the kind of scientific authorities Kalabas would much rather rely on. He should find something, a dinosaur perhaps, to test this. Was Kraktus still around? He'd be a more fitting subject. "I have arranged my body to be kept in stasis, perhaps I could have one of my corporeal palms slashed, so that my true blood may mingle with yours?" he thought aloud, "Then again, who knows what agents those lizards may have slipped into my bloodstream as I laid dead and rotten. Potent stuff, I reckon, shrivelled as it is, my dead self yet looks like me."
Kalabas descended, urging Cress to follow him with a gesture "Earth does have a number of people with the kind of power needed to mend this wound, I suppose that in turn it means that it also has, or had, someone or something capable of opening more... I loathe magic, but it has its uses, a discipline capable of this could be used to shape a battlefield in our favour, but at what cost? After battle, a battlefield is simply a field, its earth must be mended, its life allowed to again flourish, so that something useful may be built upon it... No, a spell of this sort would be too destructive, and its use situational at best. Rather, I am more interested in the magic that would allow damage of this sort to be undone." Visions of a Vegeta as green and hospitable as Earth came to Kalabas' mind, but one step away from the planet becoming one city in itself. Progress of the arts and industry, no longer held back by the distances of space travel and a hostile nature... "Yes... We could do well with a wizard. A saiyan wizard."
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