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[3] Loners - Wastelands - Burter - 10-25-2005
Quote:4. Piccolo
6. Android 17
29. Toma
32. Bido
The Namek/Android duo is off to find another victim...only to find Bido and Toma wandering around seperately.
Someone else is around too...
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Banned Dana - 10-25-2005
Last time on Friend or Foe II...
The power was enough for every single being on the asteroid to feel it, if the ability was there. Power strung into power, and light threaded into light. Piccolo Diamoun had put up a valiant fight, but the powers of the Super Namekian outmatched his own. There was no way he could win the fight, and he knew it.
A flash of light ensued, causing the older Namekian to vanish from sight. The two murder-struck warriors moved forward to check on the Namek's state. Out of no where, from the dust, Diamoun roared forward, a defining "Arrrrg!" screaming through his beaten mouth. He used a sharp rock to cut into the Super Namekian's cheek, and rip it open. Android Seventeen then blasted the broken warrior in the head, finishing him.
Piccolo growled, holding his face which was regenerating. Diamoun was gone, but he hadn't gone down without a fight.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The green flesh quickly began its regeneration process as the Superior Namekian held onto his cheek, trying to sub do the pain. It had been a Nasty little trick, but it had worked, Piccolo Diamoun died, leaving the Super Namekian in a load of pain. The attack made Piccolo realize one thing, they were mortal. They too could feel pain. Sure, a two on one made it easier to kill off someone, but it still wore them down tremendously. A resting period was what they needed.
Fully regenerated, the Jade warrior sat cross legged on the wasteland surface. It?s hot sun as unforgiving as ever as it seemed to have intensified since the beginning of their fight with Diamoun. Droplets of sweat formed endlessly over both warriors bodies as they sat for a moment, catching their breath and regaining their composure. Android 17 pushed his hair from his face, exposing a small cut across the mechanical beings left cheek, only a small amount of blood seemed to show within it. Suddenly remembering the Siabamen, Android 17 commanded them to return to seed form and the little green men instantly began to shrivel up and return to their small forms. Picking up the three seeds, Android 17 dropped two into his pouch and one into his Namekian partner?s pouch. Turning back toward Piccolo, Android 17 continued watching his partner as he seemed to leave his body.
Meditating, Piccolo pushed his mind far from this pace. He needed to escape the asteroid, even if it were only for a second. The physical and mental strain that was bearing down on the Namekian was too great for him to handle and though he had snapped, everyone once and a while he would regain control and the homicidal side would just vanish, this was one of those times. Floating just inches from the ground, Piccolo entered deep concentration and Android 17 just watched. It was strange for him, to be paired up with this Namekian. Sure, he was a powerful being, but Namekian?s were known for their peacefulness, not for their power. However, ever since their training in the Room of Spirit and Time, he had become to know Piccolo as more than just a Namekian, but as a force to be reckoned with. Their training had been intense, each pushing each other a little further every day. Both of their minds and bodies had pushed far beyond their limits and then some. And now, with their minds completely broken, they had killed off Piccolo Diamoun, another Namekian, who stood beside them to fend off the evil Bio-Androids.
Meanwhile, inside Piccolo?s mind . . .
Trees were slightly swaying in the gentle breeze in a small village near the ocean. Children were running through the sand at the beach while the young teen females bathed in the hot summer sun in hopes of receiving a dark golden tan. The teenage boys were out surfing, trying to impressing the girls and hopefully make one of them their girlfriends. The girls all giggled as each boy slowly took a fall into the water.
Suddenly, a scream came from a nearby shopping center. The woman screamed again as a man walked out from the store, holding another man by his shirt. The man was bleeding profusely. The attacker seemed to be questioning the man.
Then the attacker punched his stomach, sending his fist straight through the man. The vender's eye?s widened and his face showed him to be in both confusion and fear. The attacker pulled his hand free and the screaming woman fainted. The attacker looked at the man once more, then tossed his lifeless body to the ground, he watched it bounce twice, then he fired a small ball of energy that destroyed the body.
Looking up into the air, the attack?s body was slowly revealed. It was Android Byrk. He had successfully unleashed the demons upon the Earth. And the mayhem was overwhelming.
?I will find you Namekian!? The evil Android yelled into the air. Then, as if knowing Piccolo was watching every second, he spoke again. ?When you return from that place, you will die.?
Piccolo broke his concentration and gasped. Android 17 looked quickly at the Namekian, who had developed more sweet than before. Standing to his feet, the Android walked up to his Namekian partner. Waving his hand in front of Piccolo?s face, 17 found it difficult to get the Namekian?s attention. Slapping him hard, the jade being snapped out of his trance and looked directly at Android 17's face. Shaking his head, Piccolo decided not to worry the Android with the events from Earth, it would be much too risky for him to worry about the Earth and the fight at the same time. Piccolo knew he would go through his burden alone, and he had already accepted it.
Standing up, Piccolo avoided Android 17's piercing eyes. Patting the Android on the back, the Namekian walked a few feet away from him and his scouter instantly went wild. Two power readings nearby, one east and the other just north of the first. Glancing at Android 17, who had blood lust still in his eyes, Piccolo turned to face his brother in arms.
?One rule.? Commanded Piccolo. ?No killing these two. We need to rest our bodies, besides, I sense something else in the area, but I cannot get a lock on it. We must be careful and we must join with these other beings, however, if they are hostile, do as you like.?
Android 17, hesitant at first, nodded in agreement, half hoping they would be hostile. Piccolo bound into the air, his aura flashed only once as he took his first step, then it died. Android 17 noticed this, but figured it was just something the Namekian did to take flight, what he didn?t know was it was his Shapechanging ability once again taking over his mind.
Before, when Piccolo had just earned his Shapechanging abilities, the Namekian had little, if any control over the technique, instead, it controlled him. And it seemed that with the strain on his mind, the technique was once again coming forward, taking control. He would keep a close eye on his Namekian counterpart, for he wasn?t going to be alone, not yet at least. They made a great killing duo and only together did they truly stand a chance.
Following closely behind Piccolo, Android 17 began to wonder who these two new energies were. A few thoughts had been there, but with a lack of ki sense and a scouter, it made it difficult to pick up on anything. Maybe it would be two people with extraordinary powers that would join them and then they could kill off everyone else as a group. But the thought that they maybe super powerful also shook up the android, what if they were hostile. He and Piccolo had fought long and hard against the semi-powerful Piccolo Diamoun and it was Piccolo?s Super Namekian technique that actually finished the elder Namekian off, but now both were weakened, but how much?
Flying across hundreds of acres of the seemingly never ending wasteland, Piccolo suddenly changed direction, swooping down to the ground, a figure stood darkly in the distance. As they approached the figure, the Namekian came to the ground, landing just feet from the new warrior. The fighter had watched the Namekian and Android approach, but had hoped that they would continue on their path, away from him. Obviously, they did not. What did these two beings want?
Piccolo smiled. He had remembered who this figure was, though he was doubtful that he knew who the Android and Namekian duo were. Sticking out his hand, the fighter took his hand and shook it. Knowing that he wasn?t hostile, Android 17 followed suit, shaking the mysterious warriors hand.
?Long time no see, Bido.? Spoke the Namekian carefully, shaking the darkness from his voice.
Bido shook his head back at the Namekian and Android. He had been walking for a while now and was slightly happy to see that the first people he met actually know him. Squinting, trying to remember who this green man and white boy were. Suddenly, he remembered one of the two.
?Ah.? Spoke Bido surely of himself. ?Piccolo. That?s right, but you, I don?t seem to remember you.?
Android 17 smirked.
?The name?s 17.? Spoke the android smartly. He was excited to see that the warrior wasn?t hostile, but still slightly disappointed. His blood lust was still surging through his mind. He wanted to kill, but he wouldn?t go against his partner Piccolo. He had promised the Namekian he wouldn?t and he was a man of his word.
?I was wondering if we could continue onward with you.? Spoke the Namekian smartly. ?There is one other person just north of here, would you care to join us??
Bido thought it over for a moment. A Namekian and an Android. A very unlikely duo, but something was different about the Namekian. He had felt his energy just minutes ago, why? What reason did he have to push his body that far? Whom had he fought?
?One question.? Bido retorted. ?Do you feel that other energy??
Piccolo nodded. He had felt that dark energy, but his scouter was unable to pick up a location on it. It seemed that he could sense it with his ki, but some how, the energy was cloaked from scouters. Glancing into the distance Bido had pointed to, Piccolo once again felt the dark ki. It was closer now, he could now make out a more exact location now. It was just west of the other ki signature.
?I feel it.? Spoke Piccolo. ? I felt it a while back, right as I picked up on your energy and the other, who I?m thinking is Toma.?
Android 17 looked at Piccolo, how could he know something like that? To just see an energy reading then know exactly who it is, it just didn?t make sense. The Namekian, seeing the look on his partners face, answered swiftly.
?I took a reading and recording of every fighter, all thirty-two, when we all first arrived on the asteroid. I thought it?d come in handy later on.? Instructed the Namekian. ?And this reading copies the same reading the Sayajin Toma had recorded.?
Both 17 and Bido where both slightly impressed.
?So how?s about it?? The Namekian asked again. ?Join us??
Bido thought over the proposition one last time. Being a loner meant following no rules and no fear of backstabbing, however, moving in a group promised a longer life span and more protection and with this other ki signature, Bido wasn?t sure being alone was the best option.
?Are you sure it?s Toma?? Asked Bido.
Piccolo checked his scouter once again, the ki signature matched easily with Toma?s. There was very little doubt in Piccolo?s mind that it was anyone else. Turning back to Bido, Piccolo smiled.
?No doubt in my mind.? Replied the Namekian.
Bido placed his hand on his chin and thought out the proposition one more time.
?Let?s go.? Commanded Bido. ?If Toma is alone with this other person, there?s no telling how long he?ll last.?
Piccolo turned to Android 17 and smiled. Their lonesome duo had just become a trio and hopefully, they would add one more member to the group. Their chances of survival had just increased tremendously, for now. No one really knew what kind of power this ?other person? held, but they all agreed that if they combined powers, they had a much better chance at surviving.
One after another, the three warriors took to the air, Piccolo leading the charge, followed closely by Android 17 and Bido. Toma was walking through the wasteland, his power slightly suppressed. It wouldn?t take long for the trio to find the Sayajin, the only issue was, would Toma join them, or fight against them?
OOC: Post number 1
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Android 17 - 10-26-2005
The trio of fighters hadn?t traveled very far when it happened. Seventeen felt the crippling pain in his ears first?his hearing was eclipsed by the horrible, ear-splitting cries that filled his head. Distressed and frightened like the cries in his mind, the machine-hybrid stopped and covered his ears, but the screaming grew worse. So worse, that warm blood began to ooze from Android Seventeen?s ears and seep through his fingers. Piccolo and Bido were trying to ask what was wrong with the android, but Seventeen could here nothing but the maddening noises in his head. Within seconds, the suffering had slowly forced the machine-hybrid back to the ground.
Blurring vision reduced the android to a twitching mass crouched on the earth. Large drops of blood were plunging from Seventeen?s blood-covered fingers, and forming pools on the red dirt. The android?s eyes widened as the piercing shrieks slowly became muffled and garbled, but now his fingers felt numb and cold. Android Seventeen stood up?too quickly?and fell back to the ground. The two figures that we rushing to help looked nothing like Piccolo and Bido. A duo of black, twisted shades were closing in on the panicky android. They grew and shrunk amid the sea of grays that comprised the machine-hybrid?s worsening vision.
?Stay away from me!? the android screamed at the shadows warping and shifting as they closed in on him. Even though he was half blind and deaf, the machine-hybrid managed to struggle up to standing position, and just as the blurry shapes were about to leap upon him, Seventeen screamed and leaped into the air. Speeding away, the cybernetic warrior left behind a bewildered Piccolo and Bido. The Super Namekian went to give chase but decided against it. Something was horribly wrong with his android ally. Perhaps the realization of what they just did had set it, or maybe Android Seventeen was less stable then even Piccolo perceived. Whatever the reason, the namekian knew that the asteroid was small, and his collaborator would be fine on his own for the time being.
Already vanishing into the horizon, the distraught android found that he was quickly losing consciousness all together. His breathing had become labored and rushed as the android began to lose feeling in his extremities. Seconds later, Android Seventeen fell out of the sky altogether?plummeting erratically for several stories before slamming directly into a tall, jagged spire. Bones split and vessels tore open internally upon impact, leaving behind a faint trail of blood as Seventeen slid painfully to the burgundy dirt. Seconds quickly became minutes before the android started to regain his awareness. Android Seventeen propped his body against the spike of rock and slowly fought to pull himself up. Agony struggled valiantly to keep the machine-hybrid from obtaining even one small victory. The recent clash with Daimaou had ended in victory, but the current thought was that it may have cost more then it was worth.
Had the aged namekian put a hex on his murderer? Was this all a final ploy to punish the warrior who had put the final nail in his coffin? Android Seventeen had made it to a standing position?even if he was leaning against a wall of stone saturated in his blood. His vision and hearing had completely returned, but the machine-hybrid was questioning whether or not he wanted to see the wastelands. Nothingness as far as the eye could perceive was not a happy thing, nor did the thought reassure the android of his current predicament. Something had tried to kill him from the inside, and the cybernetic warrior badly wanted to understand what had just happened.
A low, ghostly whisper permeated the atmosphere and chilled the damaged android down to his broken bones. The voice sent a shiver down the machine-hybrid?s back, but it was the site of the monster that what truly terrified Seventeen. A black demon rose up from the red dirt. It was bathed in ebony flames that danced over an overly-muscular humanoid body. The only color visible was the long, silver blade the demon gripped in its right hand. Clean and glinting, the sword had been prepared for this certain encounter?Seventeen could tell. The demon threw back its bald head and cackled, the noise reminding the android of how he had sounded when he was pummeling Piccolo Daimaou. There was a flash of steel, and then the machine-hybrid felt fresh blood escaping from his throat. Even though he was expecting another attack, Android Seventeen was surprised to see the behemoth vanish into the ground once again.
His immediate problem gone, the android soon realized his throat had been slashed open. The cybernetic warrior covered the wound with his previously bloodied palms, but the strength slowly left him. A few moments later, Seventeen stumbled away from the rock wall and fell to the ground. His own blood was now flowing freely on the earth, but it seemed that Death was not willing to grant the android an escape. A very familiar humming noise caught Seventeen?s attention, and soon the machine-hybrid found he had been rolled over to his back. Staring at the red clouds overhead, warmth spread over Android Seventeen?s body as he felt his pain start to leave him. It seemed like an infinity passed?a long, slow, eternity?before the feeling ended, and he could move himself.
The woman perched over his fallen body stared down at him with a frown; however, it was one of those sad frowns. Paige seemed to be on the verge of tears, but Seventeen could still feel blood and throbbing in his throat. Had his angel failed him?
?It still hurts?why does it still hurt?? Seventeen croaked with a broken, strained voice.
?I didn?t think you were the one they sent the avatar after,? Paige murmured despondently, ?I thought the warning I sent you would have been able to steer you through this sick contest,? her voice was growing more dejected.
?I?I?what?s an avatar?? Seventeen stuttered. He was finding it more difficult to speak, and Paige?s attitude was worsening his condition.
?I can?t believe you killed him,? Paige mumbled, ?my powers to heal will not work to their full capacity on those black of heart,? the angel orbed away in her usual magnificence, but she had left Android Seventeen feeling like a callow bastard. Collecting his thoughts and emotions, the machine-hybrid touched the ill-healed scar across his throat. He remembered the warning from the specter back at the hospital and realized it had not lied. The android looked up into the blackness of space and made a vow to Paige. Seventeen knew that something had to be amended, or he would not live through Friend or Foe. The machine-hybrid took to the sky, swallowing down the burning sensation in his throat.
Seventeen was sick of Brim?s sick and twisted games. If he stayed on this asteroid any longer, the android knew he risked not only hurting others?he risked permanent damage to his body and mind.
(OOC: If you didn't follow that...Seventeen has left this group)
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Banned Dana - 10-26-2005
A chill rose up the Namekian?s back. His green eyes took in the movements of a dark figure just to the left of Bido. Pushing his new partner out of the way, a large blue blast of ki cleared the two fighters harmlessly. Bido turned to face the Namekian, but found that he had his eyes fixed on a new fighter. A woman.
?Find Toma, then return here.? Piccolo ordered, Bido did not budge. ?NOW!?
A giant gust of wind seemed to pick up as Piccolo yelled. The blonde woman tilted her head back, keeping her golden hair out of her eyes. The Namekian watched intently as Bido finally made a move, but only a slight one. The woman smirked at Bido?s hesitance. Finally. Bido made a break for it, leaving the Namekian to fend for himself against this blonde chick. Laughing as he flew off, Bido could sense the anger within Piccolo.
Slowly the wind died down and the female was no longer tilting her head back. She flexed her powerful hands, letting them clench and unclench. Her cold black eyes stared into his, nothing would be spoken. He knew she was ready to fight, and he was as ready as he could be. Carefully the woman plucked a few strands of golden hair, neatly she placed them behind her ears and made sure they would stay. Her evil smile flashed across her dark lips, and she gave a subtle nod. It was time for the fighting to begin.
Her slender form came searing through the air at him. The ground seemed to crack with the velocity of her passing. She cocked an arm backward and readied her attack. The air seemed to roar from the sheer speed, it sliced apart as her fist shot forward and she was close to his body. Her appendage moved forward and she yelled as her fist collided hard with his jaw, she was fast, too fast for him to even contemplate. Her clenched hand drove hard into the Namekian?s jaw like a hammer to a nail. His jade body was sent twisting one way and he could not help but let the force of the hit take him down. His body hit the ground hard, it bounced and he groaned, rubbing his sore face. The female fighter stood waiting. Piccolo was surprised she would not attack him while he was down. Why wouldn?t she?
Quickly, Piccolo shot in toward her, his muscled arms rippled with intensity. She watched with excitement. He would hit her, he had to. She waited, her eyes widened and her grin grew. Standing in her front stance as his fist came in hard toward her jaw there was a loud sound, as if something had cracked, but it was not such. His fist had hit hard, hard enough to cause a sound from the impact, but not well enough. She let the force push her back ever so lightly, but it did little pain at all. Her smile faded and a frown replaced it. She stared at the Namekian warrior for a moment and then sighed. Though her jaw did sting, she simply ignored it as if it were a bug bite. Quickly she rushed forward to close the gap between them.
The blonde woman?s fingers curled around the top of his clothing and she used all of her speed. Swiftly she made a full circle and tossed him, though he struggled, the kicks hit her with no reaction. Moving quickly behind the flying fighter, she raised both fists high. As he sailed closer, she threw her hands down to smash into his chest. His body sailed at an even faster speed and he could not think quickly enough to make a move. She once more moved with lightening speed below the Namekian and sent a snap kick right into the back of his head. He cried out and found himself now flying forward and seeing the ground rush in toward him. Quietly the battle scene seemed to grow dead. He did not move, and neither did she.
Slowly but surely, the Namekian warrior moved. The woman watched carefully as he picked himself up from the cracked ground and proceeded to wipe his face. He turned to her with a stern look. Suddenly, the woman lifted a hand and motioned for him to attack. Piccolo smirked and suddenly disappeared.
The woman suddenly felt a sharp pain in her face and stumbled back in awe. Piccolo stood breathing deeply, his fist still hovering in the air. Blood dotted his tough scarred hand and the blonde woman started to feel the blood trickling lightly down her lips. She wrinkled her nose and felt a shot of pain fire its way through her face. He had broken her nose. The woman shook with anger.
With a roar of her voice she cried out and sent her hands into his chest. The force knocked the breath out of him as he sailed high and fell hard onto the ground. Her eyes suddenly burned with such annoyance that it could frighten even those who knew her. Uncontrollably she shook and pointed a bloody finger down at his upright form.
?You and your friends shall die.? Spoke the blonde woman threateningly.
Suddenly, the blonde woman vanished from sight, leaving Piccolo alone. Who was this blonde woman? Without warning, Piccolo?s head smacked up against a wall. Separating Bido and the Namekian. Apparently the whole ordeal had happened in Piccolo?s mind, for Bido was still beside the Namekian and he had no damage on his body what so ever.
Placing his hands on the invisible wall, Piccolo soon realized that someone did not want Piccolo and Bido to be together. Shaking his head, Bido smirked.
?Looks like you are on your own Namekian.? Spoke the being that was Bido.
Turning from the green man, Bido flew off, continuing on his own toward the area Bido was in, Piccolo however, was once again alone. Punching the wall, Piccolo was sent crashing to the ground. Smashing violently into the cracked dirt, a large cloud of red dust burst into the air, surrounding the Namekian.
Lifting himself to his feet, the Namekian looked around his surroundings. It was obvious someone wanted Piccolo to be no where near Bido or Toma. He would have to make due alone for now, but where to go now? His scouter couldn?t pick up on any readings nearby, and his ki sense was minimal, after all, he hadn?t had much practice with the technique.
A faint ki signature was off to his far right, but who was it? His scouter was just out of reach to read the ki, it looked like he?d have to move onward alone, surviving by himself. For now at least.
Bursting into the sky, his green aura surrounding his Super Namekian body, the Namekian took to the air moving at incredible speeds. His body separating the wind, Piccolo found himself moving faster than ever. His power was rising nicely on this asteroid, it was a shame he wouldn?t be here long enough to get some serious training done, after all, this was a television show.
Suddenly, a fist shot out of the ground and took a firm grasp around Piccolo?s left leg. The white cracked hand pulled feverishly at his green leg, trying to pull the Namekian into the ground. The jade warrior fought back as hard as he could, making very little lee way against the hand. Finally, flipping backwards, Piccolo pulled the being free of the ground, sending him crashing violently against the hard surface.
Landing daintfullly on his feet, the Namekian looked at his new opposition. The figure was as pale as a ghost and his old decrepit body seemed to be almost identical to one of the zombies Yajirobe had killed back in the abandoned hospital. A look of pure disgust was firmly planted on Piccolo?s face, but that didn?t slow the Namekian any. Concentrating on his form, the Namekian instantly began to shape change into the thing he thought would best defeat this being. He had seen this fighter once, so he wasn?t sure how well this transformation would go, but he had to try.
Pulling in energy from his surroundings, Piccolo?s body began to shift. His green flesh began to glow white and his antenna began to sink into his green skull. His Namekian hands began to shrink and finally, his clothes began to re-form. The Namekian?s head almost looked like a green skunk as white hair began to form on his bald green scalp. A black shirt and red overcoat began to seep from each of the Namekian?s pores. Two gun holsters began to form around Piccolo?s legs and slowly they were filled with handguns. A big sword began to form around the jade warriors back and soon, the transformation was over.
It was almost perfect. His short white hair, his devilish eyes, weapons, and even his body structure were almost exact, the only problem was Piccolo had failed to notice his feet, which still bared his white boots. Shrugging off the missed change, Piccolo began his fight as his newly changed body.
?Dante.? Spoke Piccolo, noticing the confused look on the zombies face.
Running at the zombie, Piccolo slid under the zombies spread leg, pulling his guns out as he slid across the ground. Spinning onto his back, the Namekian fired both full clips into the zombies back, sending the dead being soaring to the ground. Flipping himself to his feet, the Namekian reloaded his weapons, watching the zombie at all times. Suddenly, its body began to sink into the ground and it quickly vanished. Piccolo ran up to where it disappeared into the soil. Nothing was left, no clothes, no blood, nothing.
A sharp pain from behind. Piccolo flipped out of his fall and saw the zombie standing fully erect behind him, his last attack had failed to damage the being at all. Landing on one hand, Piccolo bounce quickly back to his feet, de-holstering both weapons again, remembering this time that it was the head that finished zombies off. Running full speed toward the dead body, the Namekian unloaded two more full clips into the zombie?s head, however, the zombie was still undamaged! Thinking that the zombie would have fallen down, Piccolo fell victim the carcase?s clothesline! The jade warrior flipped violently before smashing hard against the unforgiving ground.
The zombie turned toward Piccolo and went to stomp on his white head, however, the Namekian blocked the attack with crossed arms and spun in a break dance fashion, landing a solid kick to the zombies head, knocking the carcase into the air for only a few seconds, which was enough time for the Namekian to land on his feet and holster his weapons.
Now ready to attack, Piccolo unsheathed his sword this time. Allowing the zombie only seconds to land, Piccolo swung the sword with all of his might, slicing easily through the zombies head, decapitating him instantly. The Namekian spun around and re-sheathed his sword, allowing his body to slowly re-form into his true Namekian form. The entire time Piccolo changed back to Namekian form, he kept a firm gaze on the zombie, who fell to his knees and then to his chest, his head just feet away.
Finally back to his normal self, the Namekian walked up to the zombie head an unleashed a tremendous ki blast upon the head, destroying it almost instantly. Turning back toward the remains, Piccolo watched as it seemed to glow then dissolve into the air as a gust of wind blew it to pieces. The Namekian, still concerned, turned into the wind and looked onward toward his destination. The faint ki signature was still there, however, it wasn?t stationary, it was now moving, either toward him or away, Piccolo?s ki sense left the Namekian unsure. Not wanting to risk losing the signature, Piccolo bound into the air, giving either chase or closure to the distant energy.
OOC: I left the group as well, moving away from everyone.
Side notes: Ok, the first fight against the blonde chick, Piccolo's insane...don't worry.
Second note, was a real fight, so yes, Piccolo is a little tired.
Post Number 2
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Android 17 - 10-28-2005
Seventeen was sick of Brim?s sick and twisted games. If he stayed on this asteroid any longer, the android knew he risked not only hurting others?he risked permanent damage to his body and mind.
Android Seventeen knew the answer to the question that was repeating in his head, but he was not willing to accept the fact that the entire asteroid was a desolate wasteland. The hospital had to be somewhere close, unless the android had traveled farther across the terrain then he had previously thought. Such feelings of helplessness would do nothing to extend his tenure in this game, but Seventeen could not help but feel as if he was no longer alone. The more he continued forward, the greater a weight he felt placed upon his entire body.
The wastelands continued to drag on and on as the android skimmed across the surface of the asteroid. The repetitive collage of spires, mounds of earth, and fissures was starting to agitate Seventeen, but he knew that he had to quell such unnecessary emotions. They were what had caused him to destroy Piccolo Daimaou or were they? That namekian, as the machine-hybrid remembered, had been with Kirano during the final battle of the CIA takeover operation, so Daimaou was one of the fighters responsible for the earthling?s death. That view made the android wonder if he had justification enough for his actions. Android Seventeen shook the incoherent thoughts from his mind?he needed to understand how weak he was mentally if he wanted to stay alive. Stress control and survival were the only two things he needed to worry about, but even the concept of remaining completely in-control seemed impossible.
A chill shattered the machine-hybrid?s short peace and brought him right back to reality in enough time to feel the sword from above pierce his leg. The wedge of cold steel tore through the muscles of Seventeen?s left thigh. The cold lasted for only a few seconds before the fresh blood warmed the blade, but the agonizing pain lingered on up until an elbow to the spine knocked the cybernetic warrior from the sky. Plummeting, Android Seventeen looked back up at his attacker to see only his worst fears realized. The avatar leered down emotionlessly at its plummeting target. Thoughts too rapid and confused filled the android?s mind up until he crashed to the ground. The trip had been a short one, but the impact was still enough to split and disrupt the red dirt of the wastelands. The incarnation of judgment began dropping quickly from above. A single, rational thought broke free from the android?s dazed mind, but even with an early warning of the events to occur, the machine-hybrid barely avoided having his skull split in two.
Rolling to the side, Android Seventeen jumped up to avoid another attack, but his injured leg deprived him of all-important mobility. The avatar, as unrelenting as it was intimidating, ripped its sword from the earth and gave immediate pursuit. Its android target took to the sky, because at least in the air, the machine-hybrid would not have to rely on his damaged leg quite as much. Fleeing as fast as he could, the android glanced back to see his stalker was rapidly gaining on him. The machine-hybrid stopped in midair and rocketed straight up, but the avatar was there before he could even think of another evasive maneuver. Suffering a solid, painful kick to the side of the neck, Android Seventeen felt the lesion on his throat reopen. Blood was soon leaving his body from two ghastly wounds, but the cybernetic warrior was not the kind to surrender that easily.
The avatar lunged forward as his prey went to fall away from him. The android felt a hand as large as his head close around his neck. While the pressure did prevent the bleeding, it did everything it could to slowly drain the android of his life. Tired eyes saw the sword tied to the single piece of clothing on the avatar?s body, and even less capable hands reached forward to collect the heavy blade. Realizing what was happening; the avatar tilted its head back, and then reacted as instant later with a head butt strong enough to split concrete clean open. Being released by the avatar to fall back to the ground so many hundreds of yards down was a tiny victory for Seventeen. Fresh blood was now tricking out from a gash in the machine-hybrid?s forehead, and Android Seventeen was sure that his skull had been dented or cracked by the sheer power of the avatar. Still, he had escaped a situation that could have easily cost him his life.
This was the second time the android had fallen from the sky, but this landing was not as simple as the first had been. The ground caved in for yards, creating a rather large crater for the injured machine-hybrid. Seconds had quickly become hours for Android Seventeen, but even with the knowledge that he may soon be murdered, the android opted to stand once again. It was a slow process, but one Seventeen had done time and time before. Then why had getting back up become such a hard thing to do lately? Recent events seemed to give the impression that the entire universe itself was out to get Seventeen. What seemed like miles overhead, quickly become measly feet as the avatar descended?sword drawn and ready. The first, authoritative strike killed the bottom of the crater. The cybernetic warrior took flight in the final seconds and managed to collapse at the edge of what could have very easily been his grave if he had been a moment slower.
Unrelenting in its attack, the avatar ripped its sword free and leaped over the android. Landing directly in front of its quarry, the avatar stabbed its massive blade right towards Seventeen?s heart, but once again, it failed to pierce its target. Android Seventeen?s roll was a success even with the continual blood loss, but what followed next killed any momentum the machine-hybrid was amassing. Deciding to go on the offensive against such an intimidating foe, the cybernetic warrior spun and punched with all his might. His fist penetrated the filmy, translucent layer of black flames that constantly danced over the avatar?s body; however, there was no reaction at all from the monster. The behemoth just stared straight ahead?its massive form dwarfing Seventeen. What followed next would undoubtedly scar the android for the rest of his days. The flames that covered the avatar?s body intensified without warning and leaped over onto the android?s right arm. Skin sizzled and started to melt off Android Seventeen?s forearm as the pain instantly forced the machine-hybrid to scream out. Even the horrific lamentations of the android could not break the avatar?s stone-like stare.
Seventeen pulled his arm away, whipping it in the air to try to kill the flames, but still, the black fire tormented his entire arm. In his state of shock and horror, the android failed to see the avatar arm itself with its massive blade, and the machine-hybrid never saw the black flames cover the sword. Android Seventeen tried to suffocate the flames with his bandana, but the red piece of cloth was quickly immolated by the painful, ebony flames that were unrelenting in their torture. Absorbed with the nonstop flames consuming his entire arm, Seventeen never saw the sword rise up, but the android would never forget what happened when it came back down. One single, swift swipe was all it took to permanently disfigure the machine-hybrid. Android Seventeen moved his unburned hand away just in time to watch the massive sword fall down and cleave off his right arm above the elbow.
The heat of the blade cauterized the wound and stopped the rest of the burning, but the damage had all ready been dealt. Seventeen tried to scream, but with the gash in his throat still seeping blood and his vocal cords strained from previous lamentations, it was impossible to cry out. The avatar shot forward, and the force lifted Android Seventeen off his feet. The android landed a few yards away and started to slip in and out of consciousness when he saw the avatar stop in its tracks. The cybernetic warrior?s CPU kicked in and sent sparks of electricity darting down the android?s remaining arm as a means of stimulation. Seventeen?s arm convulsed, lifting into the air long enough to unleash a single blast of energy. The yellow ki sphere disrupted the flames around the avatar?s chest and staggered the monster.
Fighting blood loss and overall weakness, Android Seventeen pulled himself to a standing position. His thigh quivered, sending a reminder of the stab wound and almost dropping the machine-hybrid to his knees. Seventeen raised his left hand, aiming at the motionless avatar, but then half of the android?s vision was suddenly tinted crimson. It seemed the blood from his forehead wound had got into one of his eyes. The cybernetic warrior bit his lip and discharged another blast of ki. This blast staggered the avatar even more and caused it to drop its massive sword to the ground. Android Seventeen stumbled forward, surprised that his stalker was taking this much damage from weak attacks. The thoughts were suppressed as the android?s CPU took charge in a final effort to prevent its own destruction.
Even on the verge of death, some unnatural force stirred within the android long enough for him to stagger forward and lift the sword off the ground. At this point, even the mechanical implants inside the machine-hybrid were starting to malfunction. Electricity, created by internal damage, was now moving all over the android?s body. The result was further damage to Seventeen?s skin, as the outer layers of tissue began to suffer from serious burns. Fighting back the agony, Android Seventeen darted forward with one, final residue of his fading strength. Even though the blade was almost too heavy to hold, the cybernetic warrior managed to drive it up through the avatar?s chest. The behemoth reacted instantly?the black flames around its body were replaced by a red and orange inferno. With a deep roar, the avatar?s entire body shattered before the android?s eyes. The monster?s bones, sinew, and flesh were instantaneously reduced to dust. With one final stare at the ashes of his attacker, Android Seventeen released the heavy sword.
Seventeen fell to his knees, watching as more of his blood continued to escape him. At least the sparks caused by his malfunctioning machinery had actually helped to cauterize some of his wounds. With one last, defiant smirk, the machine-hybrid fell to the ground?his consciousness quickly leaving him.
OOC: So what...maybe I enjoy disfiguring and torturing my character...
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Banned Dana - 10-28-2005
The faint ki signature was still there, however, it wasn?t stationary, it was now moving, either toward him or away, Piccolo?s ki sense left the Namekian unsure. Not wanting to risk losing the signature, Piccolo bound into the air, giving either chase or closure to the distant energy.
The wasteland was as desolate as ever. No withered bushes, no deteriorating vehicles, just nothing but ground and sky. It was almost as if everything had been completely erased. Piccolo didn?t believe that to be far from the truth, after all, anything was possible, a horrid truth the Namekian had come to realize. He had gone through a lot in the last few months, but this asteroid topped them all.
The distant ki signature was starting to act very weird. Piccolo?s scouter was having difficulty as it tried to keep up with its sudden constant changing of direction. Pushing forward faster now, the Jade warrior noticed that even though the signature was moving in different directions, it wasn?t fading, instead, Piccolo was finally catching up to it. The reading would bounce from the ground back to the sky, left then right. Fearing it to be a trap, Piccolo began to slow down. Cloaking his own energy would be the perfect way of sneaking up on the energy, but just as the Namekian went to push in the code, the ki signature split into two separate energies.
Watching the readings with great interest, it didn?t take the Namekian long to figure out that it was a fight, but between whom? The energies were still just too far to make out who they belonged to, but something inside Piccolo knew that one was Android 17, but which one, and who was he fighting? The android had left the group, bleeding and screaming, something Piccolo became accustomed to, but still didn?t like. Both he and 17 had fought long and hard in the Room of Spirit and Time, but for him to bleed without being touched, it was different.
Finally punching in the code to cloak his ki, Piccolo began flying toward the fight once again. The Namekian had only made it about fifteen feet before a great ball of white energy formed quickly in front of the jade warrior. Stopping instantly, the Piccolo watched the fallen angel finish his orb. Leo, the fallen angel, looked upon the Namekian in disgust. Obviously he wasn?t too pleased with the jade warrior at this point in time, but Piccolo figured he?d have to get over that eventually.
?Yes?? Piccolo fronted.
?17 is ahead, facing an Avatar.? Spoke the angel. ?He?s a class three demon. One of the many Byrk has finished unleashing upon Earth. So if you?d like to hurry and finish this little game of yours, we could use some help.?
Piccolo thought that Leo, of all people, would have known that the Namekian hadn?t come on his own terms. He had been forced, like so many others to enter into this television show against their will. Pointing to the collar around Piccolo?s neck, the angel shook his head, obviously he figured it out.
?Great.? Cried Leo. ?No wonder and here I thought you abandoned us. Well, I?ll gather the few we have and fend off the demons until you can arrive.?
Piccolo nodded and watched as Leo began to orb.
?Oh.? Spoke Leo through his orb. ?Try to bring 17 back with you, still in one piece.?
The angel disappeared in a brilliant display of white and blue balls, which thinned out into nothing. Piccolo was alone once again, trapped on the asteroid with no clue as to how much longer he would be here. More important things were at play here, so the Namekian shook off the feelings of loneliness, continuing onward toward the fight, Piccolo suddenly lost track of one of the energies.
Taking off full speed, Piccolo found himself thinking that 17 was killed and the many ways he could have been destroyed, but as he grew closer and closer, new hope began to seep back into the Namekian?s mind, the energy left standing was one that the jade warrior?s scouter had seen many times before, Android 17's. Seeing a black dot laying on the hard cracked ground of the asteroid, Piccolo swooped down, landing inches from the machine hybrid. He had been knocked out, his lacerations were still bleeding, meaning he had arrived just seconds before the android had fallen.
Piccolo?s smile faded quickly as he looked beyond the android and into the direction they both had been traveling. A giant building stood in their path. Its windows were blackened, showing signs of emptiness. A great big hole was where the door had once been and just above the hole, a sign the Namekian had hoped to never see again, a red cross. The Namekian and Android duo had made a complete circle. They had returned to the abandoned hospital.
Looking down at the Android, Piccolo wondered if 17 had known he was traveling this way, it was a question that would have to be answered later. Lifting the machine-hybrid into the air, the jade warrior flew toward the hospital, looking for any soft bed to lay 17 on. He needed to rest for a little while, just enough time to recover his wounds.
Breaking the hospital?s threshold, a cold chill ran down the Namekian, sending a shiver down his spine. Turning back toward the hole where the door should have been, Piccolo looked toward nothingness. He had been traveling for hours and hours, only to return back to the beginning of this horrible nightmare. Here he had faced many zombies, all of which seemed to want only one thing, his flesh. This time, he was ready for any kind of surprise attack. Piccolo?s eyes darted left and right nonstop, watching ever shadow, every light, and every door. He wasn?t willing to be taken off guard a second time, but more so, 17 needed healing, and the Namekian was ready to give his lift to make sure that?s what he got.
Opening a door, Piccolo found himself looking into a waiting room. Two couches and countless chairs were sitting empty here. An old soda machine stood darkly against the back wall. A pinball machine just to the left showed no signs of life, it was a dark room, but something seemed different. It wasn?t the dark kind of room that you expected to be attacked in, instead, there seemed to be some sort of calm in this room, like it was protected by some external source of energy.
Walking over to the couch, Piccolo laid the android on it, his cuts had already begun to heal, or at least the bleeding had stopped. The Namekian noticed a fresh wound on the android?s thigh, something sharp had pierced his leg, leaving something composed of metal exposed. It was weird for Piccolo to see that. He had known that Android 17 was part machine, but this made it all that much more real. He bled like a human, but had robotic parts, it was foreign to Piccolo, but not far fetched. He had heard of countless procedures being done to give human?s the ability to walk and to do various other things, but it still fascinated him. Thoughts of having metal place in his Namekian body began to form, but were pushed quickly from his mind as he began to think about forming his body completely different.
Turning from his mechanical partner, Piccolo got up and walked to the door, closing it, but just as the door was going to click close, the Namekian saw a shimmer of light from outside of the room. His adrenaline pumping feverishly, Piccolo opened the door slowly, hoping not to startle whatever it was that created the glimmer. Peeking through the crack, the Namekian noticed something on the wall of the room just across the hall. With the door fully open now, the Jade warrior took a step outside of the room, his head slightly cocked to the side, his gaze firmly planted on the gleaming object.
It was very bright and seemed to only get brighter as he neared it. The Namekian was now halfway in the opposite room, his eyes squinted almost closed so he wouldn?t be blinded. He was only five feet away from the object and still, he had no inkling as to what it was. It was just sitting there, gleaming brilliantly, almost mockingly. Reaching his hand out for the object, Piccolo could feel a warm breeze escaping from the object as his hand was only inches from the object.
The Namekian held his hand just inches from the gleaming relic for a few moments, wanting to touch it, but unable to force himself to. Fear of what may happen or what may not kept Piccolo as still as a stone. Removing his hand quickly from the object and turning back toward the opposite room, the jade warrior saw that Android 17 was beginning to stir. Shaking his head, trying to relinquish the fearful sensations he had been feeling, but it didn?t work. Turning his back on the object, Piccolo made his way back toward Android 17 and the waiting room. Turning only once to look at the gleaming object, the Namekian finally made it back to the couch, helping his crazed partner to his feet.
?Fancy meeting you here.? Spoke the Android smartly.
Piccolo smiled and held onto the android for a moment until he could stand on his own. Glancing in the direction of the gleaming relic once again, the Namekian motioned for the Android to part this room with him. Hastily, both warriors were out of the room and in the long dark corridor. A sense of foreboding was overwhelming. It had been there last time and it took both fighters by little surprise.
Pointing toward the gleaming object, Piccolo need say nothing as Android 17's face lit up as he saw it. It was bright, too bright for him to keep his eyes open. Now, both fighters squinting, they made their way back into the room, this time however, the object looked almost spherical and it began to glow a duller orange. As both fighters grew closer and closer, the object continued to dull until finally 17's hand was firmly around it.
It was indeed a sphere, but what was it used for and more importantly, who left it here?
OOC: Android 17 and myself are back in the Abandoned hospital looking for the clue that was left behind.
Post Number 3
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Banned Dana - 10-30-2005
Pointing toward the gleaming object, Piccolo need say nothing as Android 17's face lit up as he saw it. It was bright, too bright for him to keep his eyes open. Now, both fighters squinting, they made their way back into the room, this time however, the object looked almost spherical and it began to glow a duller orange. As both fighters grew closer and closer, the object continued to dull until finally 17's hand was firmly around it.
It was indeed a sphere, but what was it used for and more importantly, who left it here?
The Android looked over the glowing sphere in his hand, turning it over and over in his hand, it was completely foreign to him. Handing it over to his Namekian counterpart, the sphere started pulsating faster and faster. The dull orange became a sparkling fleet of yellow and red, then suddenly, the sphere lifted itself into the air, shooting out a hologram. It was some sort of recording.
Both Piccolo and Android 17 watched the recording with great interest, it seemed to be some sort of historical movie.
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From an altitude of thirty thousand feet, it's hard to determine where the blue of the ocean meets the blue of the sky. Consequently, my sense of direction had diminished greatly since leaving the military base at Prime Alpha, more than twenty hours earlier. Not that I really cared which direction I was traveling, I knew the destination well enough, but the disorientation only added to the sick feeling in my gut. It seemed the longer we were in the air, the more pale and silent the nearly three hundred GI's on their way to the great Asteroid Prime Omega became, as if a common virus had infected us simultaneously. No doubt, their thoughts, the real source of that sick feeling, were the same as mine. Would I ever see my wife, my parents, my home again? Would I come back with both arms and legs, or in a wheelchair, or worse, in a box?
Even conversations with the stewardesses were infrequent and short as we neared our destination. Not like when we first departed. Everyone firing his best lines as if he was on his way to some tropical paradise, for the hottest date of his life. In several ways, I likened the trip to an all night date between the three of them and three hundred of us. Strange, how we had gotten to know each other so well, in so short a time. They learned quickly whom to avoid in the aisle, when not to bend over and to turn off the smile at the appropriate time. We just as quickly learned their tolerance levels for ribald conversation and pushed our fantasies just short of their limits, when one of them paused for a few moments to talk.
While most of us had to content ourselves by undressing them with our eyes, as they walked down the aisle, a couple of the men did manage to spend some time in the aft compartment. That was I suppose, the girl's sleeping quarters.
Most likely, any man on board would have given a month's pay to spend time in that compartment with any of the three, at the beginning of the trip. Now, the lack of interest indicated they were starting to look like "the morning after," to most of the men. Their infatuation with us had come to an end also. Wrinkled uniforms, unshaved faces and the prevalent odor of men who had not showered recently, had greatly reduced our collective sex appeal.
My thoughts turned to the memory of Annie, my wife, waving to me from the terminal window. I recalled how I just wanted to get on the plane and go when I left, somehow thinking that the sooner I started, the sooner it would be finished. I let my own anger, fears and frustrations cause me to be short with her, as if it were her fault I had to leave. I have to realize she is just as afraid for our future as I am and more, she is going to have our baby while I am gone. How I wished I could hold her and tell her how much I love her.
Raw emotions had been full time partners of mine since the day I received my greeting from the president, which effectively shattered my world. We had a mortgage, car payments and assorted other bills that I had no idea how we could pay on a soldier's salary. Why me? I thought. I had a good job as an estimator and project manager for a large mechanical contractor. Why not take those guys who are shown on television, burning draft cards and demonstrating on campus? They're a worthless lot anyway. They should be here and guys like me who are willing to work to accomplish something should be home. Who am I kidding? We probably would not have a planet if we had to depend on their kind.
I remembered thinking when drafted, I don't like it, but I'll do my duty and when it's over I can hold my head up and be proud of our flag and myself. When I get home, I thought, I'll kick a lung out of any SOB I catch burning or spitting on our flag. If I get home! What chance does a PFC in an infantry unit have? They told us in training that our chances of being killed in a car wreck at home were greater than the chances of being killed at Prime Omega. That may be, but cars do not shoot bullets or throw grenades, or even worse. It was like Magic. Big balls of some sort of "energy", but that's later, for now, I must continue this story so you can learn from our mistakes and maybe you can save your own planet too.
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It's been five days since I recorded and already, my life is looking dim.
As we entered Prime Omega, the sky opened up with a monsoon rain. Even the heavens are against me, I thought, as I ran for the nearest building. At least no one could see the tears running down my cheeks in the rain. I really felt sick to my stomach. Hundreds of people, my friends, my family, had been extinguished by those horrid monsters.
The bullets from our M-16's did little against their rock hard skin. Every last pull of the trigger seemed to be all in vain. It seemed as if there was very little hope in our efforts, our grenades did very little if any, our nukes killed more of our own soldiers than theirs. Unfortunately it stayed that way for a while, until he arrived.
Private First Class Vegeta. He was a real class act, really weird too. He always wore an animal tail around his waste, why, no one ever got an answer, but all I know is that when that man arrived, the war started to turn to our side. Vegeta had entered into the 5th Sentry Infantry, mine, and he was the craziest SOB I?ve ever met. As we marched into war, he was always the first to pull the trigger and the last to leave the fight, it was almost as if he enjoyed the seemingly never-ending massacre. But that wasn?t the craziest part, no, there is more.
One day, and I?ll always remember this day, it was the day PFC Vegeta saved my life. It was warm, very unusual really, it had been so cold you could see your breath, but we?re moving away again. The evening rain was over, the clouds were dissipating as rapidly as they had formed and the sun was a bright orange ball in the western sky as it headed for duty on the other side of the asteroid. I knew I could not, but still I wished that I was going with it as I sat inside the musty smelling bunker, awaiting my turn on perimeter guard duty. At least, the sunset signaled the end of one more day in this, the armpit of the galaxy and meant I was one day closer to home.
Three men were assigned to each of the bunkers that protruded from the earthen wall that surrounded the base camp. Constructed of sandbags, each bunker was approximately eight feet square and contained two crude benches, also made from sandbags, which served as multi-purpose replacements for chairs, tables and beds. A series of stair-stepped sandbags led to the roof of the bunker, where the lookout man would sit behind a sandbag wall and watch the cleared area from the berm to the jungle, for signs of activity.
Each man would spend two hours on watch while the other two tried to sleep. However, the heat and humidity inside the bunker turned it into a reasonable facsimile of a sauna, making sleep impossible until well toward morning. Then, exhaustion wrought heavy eyelids and bodies too tired to care about surroundings, sought relief from the all-night vigil. This period of grogginess came during the last watch in the rotation and the man who drew it normally had a difficult time staying awake.
Since I had drawn the last watch, I had four hours to stew inside the bunker before my shift and I used the remaining minutes of daylight to read the graffiti that covered the inside walls. Among the most humorous was a drawing of a combat helmet directly on top of a pair of combat boots, with the caption, "Short." The proclamation, "If God had wanted men to be soldiers, He would have given them green baggy skin," caused me to burst out with laughter and the soldier sharing my temporary quarters jumped as if a bomb had exploded.
He was busily trying to finish a letter before the darkness encroached on us and I shrugged at him as if to apologize, before dropping down on the sandbag bench, to silently watch. I knew better than to bother a man while he was writing or reading his mail. Tempers are very short when a man is lost in thoughts of family and home and a bloody nose is often the reward for interruption.
My thoughts of home were interrupted by my Vegeta, who putting away his rifle, suddenly stood straight up, putting a finger over his mouth, signaling us all to stay quiet. Leaving the quarters, the mysterious soldier became even more mysterious. A loud yell from out side and suddenly, we were ambushed by a suicide bomber. As the asteroidite advanced, the crazed Vegeta began to glow! The man?s animal tail seemed to bolt right out and his hair spiked, turning golden yellow in the process. A big blast of yellow light erupted from the Privates palm and the suicide bomber disappeared, along with a long stretch of the ground where he had once stood.
Everyone in the camp came out to see what all the commotion was, but by then he was gone. Vegeta had placed two hands upon his head and disappeared, where to, no idea, all I know is that after that man vanished, hundreds of towns on the asteroid began to be destroyed mysteriously, I have a feeling I know who did this. Unfortunately for us, the mysterious destruction died out suddenly and once again, we were losing and once again, our bullets did nothing.
I saw Vegeta only one last time, he killed off our infantry within seconds, he used his ?magic? once again. Now, I?m the only one left. This hospital will be my shelter until I die, but alas, it?s as violent as ever even in this place. I?ve seen my friends, who were killed walking about this place. This room is the only room to be left untouched by that damned demon. I will remain here with hopes that someday, someone will release us from this devilish asteroid and hopefully, you, whomever is watching this, will be that person, for if you are not, God help us and God help you...
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The sphere dropped from the air at the same time the hologram died, it?s brilliant colors once again dulling to its awkward orange. The Namekian looked at his android partner. His blood covered body still ached everywhere, and his knees were shaking. Reaching over, Piccolo grabbed onto Android 17 and laid him back down on the couch, in the opposite room. Smirking, 17 tried to get something out, but Piccolo put a finger over his lips. His huge Namekian ears had picked up on a sound coming from the hallway just outside of the door way. Floating across the floor, Piccolo closed the door quietly and dropped the shades.
The dull light from the sphere shown just bright enough for the Namekian/Android duo to see the silhouette of someone walking past the room. Piccolo?s scouter had no matching ki signatures, meaning, this wasn?t someone he knew. Cloaking his own energy with his cloaking device once again, watching the silhouette intently. It seemed to stop and look towards the window with the closed shade. Slamming it?s hand into the unbreakable glass, it starred inward for only a moment more, then it walked off once again, leaving the namekian and android slightly shaking.
Walking up to the window, Piccolo peered out seeing the shadow of the figure turning a nearby corner, disappearing into the depths of the hospital. Watching for a few more seconds, the jade warrior turned back towards the sphere, it?s orange glow seemed to mock the team endlessly, warning them of the dangers of the asteroid, but giving no real clue as to what needed to be done. Maybe there was a hidden message in the story, it there was, he was going to be the first to figure it out.
?Don?t worry about me, Pic.? Spoke 17 as he noticed a worried look on the Namekian. ?Just a little flesh wound.?
Piccolo smirked at his partners resilience. They would have to move soon, there was no telling how long they would be safe here. The thing plaguing Piccolo?s mind the most, however, was that hologram and that figure outside of the window. It almost seemed as if they were connected in someway, but for now, game on. He was in the middle of a television show, so the Namekian finally decided that if it was a show they wanted, it was a show they?d get.
OOC: Well, it was a movie from the asteroids past, about the war that hit here, or at least from one soldiers view point.
Post number 4
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Android 17 - 10-30-2005
A single piece of paper offered the debilitated android the hope he had long been searching for. Pushing off the couch, Seventeen staggered over to the paper stapled to an aged bulletin board. Piccolo, noticing the movement of his wounded partner, walked over to offer some assistance. Leaning heavily on the namekian, the android made it over to the yellowed paper and plucked it off the wall. It was a small map of the lounge the two were in, and all of the surrounding rooms. Each of the faint rectangles was labeled, but only one had any importance to the injured android.
?Cybernetic Testing and Maintenance Laboratory,? Android Seventeen muttered weakly. The name filled both fighters with numerous questions, but with a single look at his mangled stump where his right arm should be, the cybernetic warrior understood that maybe there was slight hope for him in that room. Taking their time, the two made their way out the back door of the lounge, away from the direction the strange figure had traveled. Opting to walk on his own, Seventeen stumbled down the silent hallway alongside a cautious Piccolo. The namekian would have to be the eyes and ears of both fighters, because there was no way the android was capable of fending off attack alone.
The two stopped midway down the corridor and turned to face an aged, oak door. The map informed them that they needed to enter this room to find the door to the cybernetics? lab. Android Seventeen reached forward and groaned when he realized the door was locked. Piccolo stepped away from the door and motioned for his partner to do the same. The jade warrior charged forward, slamming against the heavy door with his full might. With a loud crack, the door fell away from itself?splitting in half vertically. The unhinged portion of the door fell inward, hitting the floor with a bang loud enough to stir anything in the quiet hospital.
Piccolo quickly ushered the machine-hybrid into the room. Both warriors remembered the strange figure that had possibly seen them back in the lounge. Android Seventeen was astounded at how intact this room appeared. Clean computer terminals and furnishings greeted the weary duo, and the entire place seemed to have been recently dusted and vacuumed. Not a single spec of dust was visible in the otherwise empty lounge. Seventeen began scanning the walls for the door to the laboratory, but besides a single, reinforced window, he saw nothing.
?The door should be around here,? Piccolo said, his gaze going from the map to the east wall of the room. The namekian stopped at a large shelf filled with dozens of moldy, old books about medical subjects. Seventeen, who had been busy seconds ago studying the deactivated computers, turned around and unleashed a small blast of ki at the tall bookshelf. Piccolo leaped back as the aged shelf and its even older contents were disintegrated by the energy discharge. The namekian just grinned as he tried to clear away some of the dust that had been released in the blast. Android Seventeen limped over to Piccolo, and both peered at what had been behind the bookshelf. The door was completely metal, far more advanced then anything either the android or namekian had encounter in the hospital thus far.
A small panel next to the door bore a tiny screen and a number pad. Injured and irritated, Seventeen blasted the panel into pieces and went to work on the panel, but Piccolo softy brushed his wounded partner aside and knelt before the metal door. After working his fingers under the thick door, the namekian?s aura flared with Super Namekian power, and with only a little effort, Piccolo hoisted the door up enough for Seventeen to duck under it and enter the room. The namekian let go of the door and rolled under it seconds before it silently hit the floor. Once inside the chamber, both the android and his namekian ally realized how dark it was.
?Has to be a light switch somewhere,? Piccolo?s voice came from across the room. Android Seventeen stumbled against the wall, searching for anything in the form of a switch or button. The android?s partner found the light switch first and flipped it?triggering the entire room to be filled with a blinding, white light. The duo cringed under the agonizing illumination for a few minutes before their eyes adapted to intensity of the chamber?s lighting. Seventeen started to look around the room and realized maybe entering it wasn?t such a good idea. The ?Cybernetic Testing and Maintenance Laboratory?, could have easily just been labeled a slaughterhouse. The edge of the room was a ring of countertops lined with bottles of medical supplies. After every few feet of countertop was a sink filled with a vile, greenish liquid. The only exception was a massive machine that dwarfed everything else in the laboratory. Cabinets covered the pale walls of the room?every one of them sealed with a strange, electronic device.
The center of the room was nothing but row after row of surgical gurneys, but the thing about the laboratory that shocked both warriors the most was the occupancy. Some of the bodies on the gurneys had been put in body bags, but a large majority had been left to decay in the open. Examining the nearest corpse, Android Seventeen realized the man had been a victim of scientific experimentation. The researchers apparently had attempted to graft mechanical parts to the poor person?s body. Apparently, the results had been disaterous, because the poor soul had been left horribly disfigured. The man?s face was wrenched in an expression of pure suffering. Even more shocking was how the man?s veins were a lot darker then they should have been. However, as freaky as the experiments seemed, it was the dead scientists and doctors that intimidated the android a lot more.
Some had been thrown to the ground and impaled with mechanical body parts, pools of blood drying around their twisted, maimed bodies. Other scientists had suffered having their skulls crushed against the steel countertops that lined most of the room?s walls. Other victims lacked heads at all?their spines had been torn out through the opening at the top of their neck. In the struggle that seemed to have been between the researchers and their creations, blood had been spilled and splattered upon nearly every surface in the room. Bloody hand prints could be seen on the wall near the door where one man had tried to crawl up to the panel, only to be dragged down and ripped in half.
Neither the android nor the namekian really knew who to feel sorry for. On one hand, the test subjects must have been forced to endure some horrific things, and it seemed that most had died in the process. However, the way in which the workers were killed was just so brutal and animalistic that it made the android wonder what the process had done to its guinea pigs.
?Come here and read this, Seventeen!? Piccolo seemed to be less shocked by the slaughter, but nonetheless, he had found something of interest. Stumbling over to the other side of the room, the machine-hybrid started to read the journal entry the namekian had collected from a maimed scientist.
We have recently experienced a major breakthrough in our research! Our engineering team has finally completed work on a mechanical and electronic storage device. Although bulky and rather ugly, the device will allow us to store everything from mechanical body parts to internal implants. All of this will be readily extracted with a simple number sequence. Now our research can progress at a much faster rate, and I even believe we can stabilize a human being by the end of the year!
Piccolo flipped through a few more pages before a distressing entry caught the attention of both warriors.
The research is not going as it should be?more and more of the subjects are reacting violently to the implants. In some cases, they suffer from internal rupturing of their organs and blood vessels. Worse yet, I?ve seen some experience having their blood coagulate internally. The morgue is running out of room to contain the failed corpses, and we?ve had to resort to just not bagging the failed subjects. I am growing weary of all the death in this room, I?m starting to think what we were promised isn?t worth using all these people as test subjects.
The duo flipped the page to see another short, rushed entry.
This is impossible! The drugs were supposed to leave them unresponsive for the duration of our work! But it failed! Now they are free?killing us all! I pray for my soul that the bastards in this hellhole suffer the same, merciless fate as we have!
The rest of the entry was too incoherent to understand, and the rest of the pages were blank. Without saying anything, Seventeen started limping down the long row of gurneys to the massive machine at the back of the room. As he walked down the line, he noticed some of the body bags had been torn wide open and more of gurneys were starting to appear mangled and broken. Piccolo walked ahead of the android, skimming the journal for the codes to operate the machine. By the time Android Seventeen had made it to his friend, the namekian had got the massive machine operational.
Large stripes of blue light hummed vibrantly as clean, maintained parts within the contraption started up for the first time in however long it had been since the massacre. The apparatus began to shift internally following Piccolo?s input of a simple number sequence. A large thud resonated in the tall chamber, and a small drawer slid out of the machine?s base. Inside, a metal arm awaited the astonished machine-hybrid. Seventeen picked the limb up and let Piccolo type in another code to deposit an elbow joint in the tray. With both parts in hand, the android stumbled over to the nearest countertop and started to pull out tool after tool.
?You are lucky these maniacs have all this equipment,? Piccolo said with a hint of sarcasm as he deactivated the machine, ?this man must have been the lead researcher, he has procedures for all the operations in his journal,? the namekian was glancing over the small book?s numerous diagrams. Piccolo arrived on the correct page and set the book down on the counter next to Android Seventeen.
?Can you get these drugs?? the android asked. The namekian nodded and tore open one of the metal cabinets. Inside were dozens of small vials and beakers of chemicals completely foreign to both Seventeen and Piccolo; however, the researcher?s journal contained the exact description and name of each and every drug the machine-hybrid needed. The process of attaching the metal limb lasted what seemed like hours, but in actuality it didn?t take as long as it would have without the book?s instructions. Grafting the new, metal joint to both his organic tissue and existing cybernetic implants was the most time-consuming and painful process. The drugs, however, dulled most of the pain during the procedure. The actual application of the mechanical forearm was a rather simple operation. All it required was extending Seventeen?s cybernetic nerves all over the metal arm, hand, and fingers and fusing the two metal parts together. The end of the job required merging small plates of extremely durable steel over Seventeen?s joints and palm.
?How does it feel?? Piccolo asked his fatigued associate. The android was flexing the joints of his new, mechanical limb to make sure they operated effectively. Although he was pleased to have two arms once again, Seventeen realized how ugly the limb looked. It resembled a bone too much to make him feel whole again. Seeing the metal joints and cold steel enraged the android and reminded him of what exiled him from normal human living.
?Fine?? the android finally said. Something was not right at all within Seventeen. For one, he couldn?t channel energy through the limb, but was this a temporary effect because he hadn?t adapted to it? Or was this going to be a permanent handicap? Even so, the next order of business was to patch up his numerous wounds. Android Seventeen found some fresh bandages and more drugs to nullify his pain in the large cabinets. However, the machine-hybrid had only managed to bandage his leg and forehead wounds when both Piccolo and he heard the noise. Something had fallen off a counter from across the large chamber.
?Shit, what was that?? Piccolo said, kneeling below the rows of gurneys. Seventeen dropped to the tile floor softly and quickly finished up bandaging his wounds. Then they both heard the footsteps?animalistic and fast. Something was scampering around the other side of the room, and whatever it was apparently wanted to meet the android and namekian.
OOC: Third and my last post.
[3] Loners - Wastelands - Burter - 10-30-2005
END OF ROUND
BAM! BAM!
That was what Bido heard. It was the sound of a familar gun going off. Without wasting any breath, the outlaw moved to go for the sound. There was no proof it was what he thought it was, but something deep down in his heart told him.
He landed near the body. The man didn't even stop to check to see if he was dead or alive. No question, he couldn't have lived. Blood oozed down the victim's neck as Bido turned and walked away from the sight.
Quote:29. Toma - DEAD