[2] Group XTREME - Underground

[Burter]

10. Android 18
13. Raditzu
14. Goten

You're underground, no idea where you are. Raditzu is still learning how to control his new powers, and thus it might get whacky.

You don't know what happened after the incident. You don't even know if any of your former group is alive

[Android-18]

?What the?? The sound of rocks grinding against each other ricocheted through her skull, which added to the throbbing sensation burning against her left temple. The android found herself against a pile of loose rocks, obviously it concealed their entrance. What had happened? She recalled the bomb, and how Raditzu and the green creature had gone to disable it. Their assumption of it being a dud had been wrong, and it had gone off. It had actually been rather weak. It was all coming back to her; she had leapt to save the long haired warrior, and had picked up the boy as she went. Now they were within some hole that had been covered by the falling rocks. Things seemed to be settling, but an uneasy feeling sat within her gut. Where were the others? Even as pain flared within her head, the blond turned to face the wall of stones and searched frantically for some source of light, some way to get through. There was none, they were separated. A sigh escaped her lips and she sat on her haunches. It was then that she heard a noise behind her. She was not alone! She turned to the other two, thankful at least for their company. The thought of the others being dead was also in her thoughts, but she had to hope they had made it.

?Are you alright?? She moved to the elder Saiya-Jin. Goten was up, rubbing his head and making a sound of pain. It was then that they both watched as Raditzu?s hand took on the shape of a few odd things. ?Uh?? 18 could not speak, what was wrong with him? His hand soon returned to normal, and they all stared at each other.?

?Well,? He started, ?that was odd.? Indeed it was. Something had happened to him down in that bomb, or when it had exploded. She hoped it was nothing serious. Aside from the strange happenings of his hand, and a few scrapes and bruises, he and the others were fine.

?We?re separated from the others.? The android took in their surroundings. The crack she had slipped into had laid them within a stout passage. She could see pure darkness ahead, which could mean a number of things. ?I think there?s a larger cavity ahead, should we move?? She glanced at her two companions. ?We?ll need to find our way out of here?I have no idea where ?here? is either, just that we?re deep below the surface but above that lava.? The thought of dying within that pit of lava was not nice, she hoped that they did not mix up their up from down. ?I?ll scout ahead, I should be safe considering no one can really sense me?but just in case, I?ll have my Q-Wave on Raditzu.? She gave him a look, which lingered. She noticed that he looked slightly pale, but maybe it was just the darkness.

On hands and knees, Android 18 slowly crawled through the arrow tunnel. It was big enough to move around in on her knees, but too short to walk. It continued in this fashion for a few moments, the darkness consuming her every sound. She smelt the earth around her; it was stale, and cold. There was also a metallic taste to the air. She had hoped she would feel a stray waft of air, perhaps from some hole leading to the surface, but all she found was the open area she had predicted. ?Well, at least I got this right.? She said to herself and stretched out her legs. The sound of water dripped echoed throughout the barren hole. The darkness made things difficult, and a slight fear edged against her nerves. What could be down here? Maybe whatever had killed the men in the base was here, maybe it was smart. She had not moved from the tunnel, her eyes scanned the room but of course nothing could be seen.

Timidly she stepped forward. The dripping continued. Plink, plink, pink?It was a little soothing, but her body was still on edge. She took another step. The dripping carried on; obviously there was some source of water. She took a gulp. Perhaps scouting alone had been a bad idea, but she was not that far. Another step and she noticed a change. Tap, tap, tap. It was close?Too close. 18 grew suddenly aware of her own breathing; the way it came in, and then escaped passed her lips. Her heart quickened, her eyes widened. She wasn?t along. A series of droplets sounded and a warm feeling enveloped her face. Spittle landed upon her cheek, but she was frozen where she stood. Within the darkness, she could see large white stalagmites inches from her face?no, they were not stalagmites, they were teeth. A puff of breath issued before her, the grinning maw before her like that of some keen monster.

?R-r-r-r?? She started, and the teeth separated. Fear gripped her heart like a fist, and her own mouth opened. ?RADITZU!!? She screamed, her body now no-longer frozen. Her aura flared to life as she fled to the small tunnel. The monster was a hulking beast. It rose from the depth of a lake, its body as black as tar. Water slid from its skin as if it were made of wax, the droplets did not cling, perhaps afraid to stay upon the flesh. The beast had a long neck, its face oval and serpentine, with beady black eyes that matched its grin of white razor teeth. The android had no where to run, that thing had a neck long enough to snatch her legs in before she could crawl into the tunnel. Why didn?t she simply bonk it on the snout? Fear was deadly, like that, she was stunned. The creature?s hulking body, like that of some prehistoric monstrosity, was now completely out of the water. Soon he would be upon her, that gruesome grin would be covered with blood and gore from her own flesh. A sound emitted from its throat, it was thrumming, touching right to her core. Her hands flew to her ears, and she cried out. Was this the end for her?

For Christ sake, get a back bone. The noise ceased and a glob of saliva touched upon her face and grossly slid down to her neck. ?UGH!? She said, and for a moment the sound halted her foe. ?How dare you!?? The android scooped the sticky substance from her throat and tossed it back. She rose from her hunched position against the wall, her aura flaring to new heights. A noise came from behind, but she no longer cared for sounds. ?NO one spits on me and gets away with it!? Frankly, that was one thing the girl could not stand, spitting. She raised her fists and let her power soar. ?Bring it on you ugly son of a bitch.? Perhaps it was stunned, for it had simply watched as the pathetic human (which it thought she was) transformed from a scared morsel into something that bit back. Now, however, it seemed to get into a fighting position of its own, even given its size. One bite from its mouth and her limbs would be gone. It arched its neck and let its face come close, but the android would fight the obscene beast until she could fight no more.

[Raditzu]

"So much for my brilliant idea.? Rad rubbed the back of his head as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Luckily his hand managed to stay relative hand-shaped.

?We?re separated from the others.? 18?s voice floated from the darkness that seemed to be everywhere. ?I think there?s a larger cavity ahead, should we move?? Rad didn?t have time to reply. ?We?ll need to find our way out of here?I have no idea where ?here? is either, just that we?re deep below the surface but above that lava. I?ll scout ahead, I should be safe considering no one can really sense me?but just in case, I?ll have my Q-Wave on, Raditzu.?

The saiyan reached outward, as though to stop the android, then realized she probably wouldn?t be able to see him -- another stroke of brilliance on his part. He was going to suggest that he go on ahead, since he had developed ways of hiding his own ki from others; ways that often worked as well as 18?s own method. So, there was Rad, trying to stand up straight ? something the earthen ceiling had a differing opinion about ? and floundering in the dark with his nephew. At least that?s who Rad assumed it was. The ki was similar enough and he was pretty certain Cell hadn?t mentioned Goten in his genetic inheritance.

?Ugh? Cell??

The name left a somewhat bitter taste in the saiyan?s mouth. Of all the black-speckled bio-android?s to owe his life to? of course Rad had to follow him, and of course he would need saving. Figured. Right then and there he made a vow: next time he saw a bomb floating over a deadly pit of boiling lava, he was turning around and leaving. Fuck that. Rad?s mind continued to trace events backwards, hoping to see where is generally infallible logic had gone wrong, when a fairly uncharacteristic scream echoed into his ears.

?RADITZU!!? Her voice was panicked.

?18!?

The saiyan yelled back, though he had no idea if she had heard him. He lunged forward instinctively, but ended up simply driving his head into a wall. His bulky, muscle-bound body was not terribly well-suited to cramped spaces. Something he had been aware of for a long time. Moreover, his awe-inspiring speed became somewhat less than useful. Unless throwing yourself at break-neck velocities had become a valued commodity. Suddenly, a small light shone into the room. It was coming from the direction that 18 had gone? probably. Rad really hadn?t seen her leave, what with the blinding darkness and all. The light was outlining a small passageway. Painfully small.

?Rad, maybe I should go first.? Goten tried to plead the logic of the situation, but it was lost on his instinctive elder.

?Maybe next time, kid.? Rad had already dove for the hole.

Something he immediately regretted doing. Rad just couldn?t catch a break. When he first woke up, he had been praising himself for having managed to grab and don his armor before the whole bomb fiasco. Now the shoulder blades were creating a somewhat less than pleasant screeching as they rubbed against the sides of the passage. Goten had to stifle a laugh . Rad?s hindquarters were working furiously to continue towards through the passage, but it was an uphill battle. Various, very poetically chosen, obscenities echoed out of the small hole.

?Of course 18 could fit? she weighs 80 pounds?? the long haired saiyan over exaggerated. He had similar comments about Goten, as the youth was not exactly what Rad would describe as ?bulky?. ?Tch? stupid darkness? stupid caves? I freaking hate these things??

The saiyan?s grumblings soon turned to nothing more than a low growl. Luckily for him, however, the passage seemed to flare outwards as it continued on. Quite a bit, actually. The light that was coming from the other end also grew substantially brighter. Sooner the warrior?s growling subsided and his minded focused wholly on getting to 18. After a moment of crawling, Rad found himself able to fully extended his legs and really start moving. The opening of the crawlspace was upon him in no time and the source of the light quickly came into view. 18?s aura was burning fiercely as she prepared to face off against some kind of weird creature. Rad was quick to act. The ground beneath him became little more than a blur as his body shot towards these beast. The saiyan quickly understood why 18 had freaked out: this thing was huge. He was going to need to pack a little extra ?oomph? to his punch if he wanted to take this beasty down quickly. If a simple mental command, the saiyan summoned a set of claws from the store of katchin he kept in his armor.

?What the hell??

Goten came crawling through the small passage shortly after Raditzu, but was caught completely off-guard by what he saw. He tried to yell something to the long-haired saiyan, but he didn?t have time to argue. His claws flashed as they violently raked the flesh of the offending creature. Rad braced himself for some horrible wail of ultimate pain? but none came. The monster didn?t even seem to see him. He looked around, to see if 18 or Goten had leapt into action, but they seemed to content to simply watch. Apparently they were so awed by the viciousness of the saiyan?s attack that they couldn?t do anything more than stare with their mouths open. Not that Rad could blame them, he truly was a sight to behold. Which was a sentiment that their monster friend didn?t seem to share. Its elongated neck craned to get a good view of the saiyan that was tearing at its flesh. It didn?t seem to think much of the saiyan, and it soon became obvious why. In a single motion, it flung Rad across the room with one of its massive limbs. Rad tried to get out of the way, but even his speed could compensate for the sheer size of the beasts appendage.

With as much grace as a dancing hippo, Rad bounced off the far wall of the cavern. He tried to pull himself back to a standing position, but his feet failed him entirely. The darkness of the cave was closing in on him and there didn?t seem to be anything he could do about it. The last sound he heard was some sort of screech before consciousness left him.

And the first thing he heard when it returned was something along the lines of uncontrollable laughter. Very slowly, Rad managed to get himself back to his feet. His head was pounding and whoever was laughing wasn?t doing much to help. He looked up to see who the offending party was and almost had a heart attack. They were huge! 18 and Goten stood on either side of the saiyan, but they were titanic towering behemoths. Rad was about eye level with their shins? and moments ago he would have had to lie down flat to achieve that. 18 knelt down and looked down at Rad. Her eyes were wide and she had a hand covering her mouth. It looked like she was trying really hard not to burst out laughing in his face. He cocked his head to one side and raised his hand to ask a question, but she completely lost it. The androidess fell backwards, unable to contain her glee. Rad looked to Goten, completely dumbfounded, but he was suffering a similar fate. The youth?s eyes lit up, as though a brilliant idea had just dawned on him. Apparently is was an idea that involved picking Rad up by his hair. He tried to struggle against the titanic demi-saiyan, but his diminutive stature made that as ineffective as his attack on the cave creature.

?Here? look.? It took Goten a painfully long time just to get out those two words.

Rad looked where the youth pointed, but didn?t see anything. The Goten?s aura flared up and Rad thought he had gone completely insane. He could see Goten plainly. His angel kept him from being able to see 18, but her continued laughter insured him that she was still present. What Goten was holding was a long cry from the imposing, powerful, intimidating, awe-inspiring, dead sexy saiya-jin that everyone had come to know and love. What Rad did see was? a cat. A cat that had managed to inherit Rad?s beautiful raven locks? but a cat nonetheless. Had Rad been able to articulate words, anatomically, he would not have been able to express what was going through his mind.

As if that wasn?t enough to jar the saiyan?s sense of reality, without warning, he burst into a cloud of smoke. Goten suddenly found himself holding a full-grown saiyan by the hair. Rad shot a glare over one shoulder, and the youth released him. With Rad back to his original state, at least for the time being, Goten felt no compulsion against letting out the laughter he had been struggling so hard to hold back. At the sound of the hybrid?s outburst, 18 propped herself up on one arm to see what had happened. With her other arm she was wiping tears from her eyes. When she caught sight of her un-anthropomorphized boyfriend she dropped back to the ground in another volley of laughter.

----------------

?So let me get this straight,? Rad began, ?I just came out of that hole and I was? well? I had changed??

?Yeah? heh? that about covers it.? Goten answered

Goten and 18 had taken their sweet time recovering from Rad?s venture into the realm of shapeshifting. In the meantime, The saiyan was content to simply sit in a corner and make nasty remarks about their parents under his breath. Once they had finally composed themselves, the pure-blooded saiyan was eager to find out what, exactly, the hell had happened. That he had simply changed wasn?t a comforting thought. After all the time he had spent training to control his new Super Saiyan strength, the last thing he wanted was to be in the middle of a battle and turn into a cat. With his current string of luck, that wouldn?t happen until he fought Vegeta. Wouldn?t that be a lovely thing for the Prince of All Saiyans to have to taunt Rad with.

?And neither of you thought to say something?? Rad cocked eyebrow at the duo.

?But you were so cute.? 18 had to suppress a giggle.

?I was a freaking cat--?

Rad never got to finish his sentence. At the mention of being a cat, he vanished under a puff of smoke. Only to return as his lovable alter-ego. Or something like that. For the sake of what little ego Rad had left, he simply pretended he didn?t hear Goten and 18?s laughter.

----------------

?You sure?? Rad looked from 18 to Goten.

?Yeah? yeah, we?re fine.? 18 responded, placing a reassuring hand on Rad?s shoulder.

?And we promise we won?t use the ?c? word,? Goten confirmed.

The aforementioned promise was something Rad demanded of them while still in kitty-cat-mode. He had discovered that its quite difficult to look stern about something when you?re a foot tall. Luckily enough, though a cat lacks the anatomy to properly speak, it didn?t hinder the saiyan?s telepathy.

?We need to focus here.? Rad vainly attempted to get his group-mates minds off of his smaller form. ?Now we have no idea where we are and we?re even further away from finding that clue than we were before. We need to get out of here and either get back to that base, or find somewhere else that might have a clue.?

?Sounds good to me.? Goten stood up and walked towards a far end of the cave.

Between bouts of lycanthropy gone awry, Rad had fanshioned, more or less, a street light in the middle of cave and placed a ball of ki in it. It was a simple way of illuminating their surroundings, though that ended up being fairly disturbing. Bits and pieces of the monster that had attacked 18 lay scattered about the floor of their pro-tem dwelling. Throw in a few entrails here and there and even a battle-hardened soldier was a bit nauseated. Goten and 18 seemed to have dealt with their opponent appropriately. With the darkness around them now abated, they were able to identify the opening they had come in from as well as an exit. They had all agreed that going backwards wouldn?t be any help. Rad and 18 stood up to follow Goten.

?Coming, babe??

?Sure, Raddy-poo.? The android patted Rad on the top of the head, as if to mock the saiyan, but quickly retracted it. A burst of smoke returned to group XTREME their make-shift mascot.

Oh? for the love of? I give up. The cat let its head drop to the ground with a quiet little thunk, then looked up to 18. The little furball leapt up into 18?s still outstretched hand, then onto her shoulder. Rad took a moment to find a comfortable position, then pointed with an outstretched paw. Group XTREME, move out!

----------------

They had wandered around the caves for what seemed like hours, getting just as far they had been. It seemed like, no matter which way they went, they ended up in another giant cave. Their first experience, however, had told them that lingering was a bad idea. With Rad?s eyesight now accustomed to the dark, he led the group with mental commands. His ?condition? didn?t show any signs of improving, so he was content with his seat upon 18?s shoulder. His biggest worry there was that her hair would cover his eyes. And, as far as worries go, that was a pretty good one to have.

Goten wearily led the way around another bend in the tunnel, expecting to find another one of those stupid caves. His cry of excitement, however, told a different story. 18 picked up the speed, bouncing around the corner and almost throwing Rad off his perch. The neko-saiyan?s claws dug into the back of her neck to keep Rad from being flung into the proverbial abyss. When he finally did manage to pull himself back up, he was almost blinded. Light was pouring into the cave from between a few rocks. Though it was a minor amount of light, Rad?s sensitive eyes had trouble adjusting. With a couple of well placed blows, Goten dislodged the rocks from the resting place (does ?breaking into little pieces? count as dislodging?). The trio bounded through the opening and into the fresh air. They had made it out of the caves.

[Burter]

EVENT

Group XTREME is out of the caves and now in the wastelands. Rad has a map and can go to any location on it. If you wish to seperate, make is apparant in your roleplays.

Depending on your ki sense level, you can tell where some people are. The collars only allow you to sense other players.

[Raz]

"Aha! Deactivated!" Falling like an angel from above whom wings had given out, the canister fell with its explosive innards. The opening in the metal womb bore two figures that instantly disengaged their positions to take flight into open air again. Another pair hovered above, next to his elder brother as they consisted of being 'wingmen' rather then the task force which had been assigned in secrecy to the bug and Saiyan below.

From below an eruption of flaming waves whipping upward licked the sides and torso of the two retreating warriors, the gentle caress of the fires leaving singe marks upon their bodies which remained in motion in an escape.

Eyes turned to watch the duo leave for but a second before the next blast touched the air with a devastating ripple effect, the containment unit had settled in the flowing sea of molten rock just as the hybrid was turning in mid air for an escape of his own. The rush, the flames, followed by utter silence and speeding of the mind occurred while Goten frantically looked about... the boy had suffered a minor case of shellshock. An additional resistance was put into play as the scorching hot pieces belonging to the bomb's metallic frame shot up, scrapping past a white hot line of pain along the Saiya-jin's arms and cheek. Goten might have been able to take a punch, but Mother Nature always found a way to be a bitch when it came to using the environment to her favor.

At this moment, his brother had left his mind entirely. Not knowing which way to turn, the hybrid began to climb in altitude before his hand was seized suddenly. All about him a thick smog had begun to lift from the formal introduction between heat and certain chemicals released by the bomb's detonation, obstructing the view of the teenager for the time being. With this in mind, there was an agreement to where he was being pulled, allowing himself to follow where he was being tugged.

Suddenly the area about him darkened and there was a crashing of rock and debre from behind, a lifting of dust and dirt that seem to stick to his skin from the perspiration of being so close to the flames. There wasn't anything else he could do from here... there was one power level nearby, though he couldn't be sure if that had been the one whom had brought him here, either way he was thankful... and so he began to rest a bit...

...

Hard gravel flooring wasn't the easiest thing to sleep on, though in a way he considered it a 'bedrock' if anything. Pain ran amuck amongst the limbs of the hybrid as his mind had became clear once again thanks to the forgiving shadows that surrounded him, giving a cool feeling over the halfling's overcooked body. Groaning slightly as he lifted his body up from the horizontal position upon the floor he had been in, bringing a hand up to the back of his head as the hybrid recognized injury again almost instantly.

"So much for my brilliant idea.? Nearby there was the shuffling of dirt where the voice had come from, breaking the silence that shrouded about the small group.

Holding for a moment as the drifting of voices ceased, relaxing with the veil of his eyelids till another began speaking. Not really giving too much a care till the unaccounted for person of the trio began, bringing the demi-Saiyan's attention back to the matter at hand.

"We?re separated from the others.? A female's voice now picked up in response to the deeper toned one, echoing off the empty shades of black before reaching a destination. "I think there?s a larger cavity ahead, should we move?? There was silence. ?We?ll need to find our way out of here?I have no idea where ?here? is either, just that we?re deep below the surface but above that lava. I?ll scout ahead, I should be safe considering no one can really sense me?but just in case, I?ll have my Q-Wave on, Raditzu.?

"Raditzu." Whispered the half breed under his breath, placing the 'Itzu' in with what he had been told what seemed like years ago. One of the figures knelt down and entered in exploration of a small entry way while the other larger form brought a hand out in a light swipe. Only after did he ease back did a small follow up growl come from the Saiya-jin full blood.

?Ugh? Cell??

The room they resided in hadn't been very big at all, Goten barely scrapping the cold damp ceiling with his fingertips in a stretch after rising from his seated position upon the ground. Giving a little more of a clue as to size after listening to how quickly the echoes had bounced to and fro before reaching their points of contact.

?RADITZU!!? That female's voice again.

?18!? Came the almost automatic response to the shrill call as the bulky Saiyan dove down into the small opening in the wall, becoming instantly enthralled in a battle against... himself? Rad shook violently as the 'oh, that's right' section came back into play. Goten's eyes having adjusted to the small demeanor of light given as he now saw the dilemma that had plagued the warrior in the wall.

"Rad, maybe I should go first." A half decent suggestion, considering what was going on at the moment had little to no progression even after several minutes of work.

"Maybe next time, kid." Again the hulking fighter pushed on inward, scratching the shoulder guards mounted upon his armor so that an irritating grinding noise issued up from the hole. Barring his teeth as the struggle between the comedy of this and the over all annoyance that something was going on and he had no way of getting to it. After a moment it appeared as though Raditzu had become a clump of hair stuck in a shower drain, the half breed almost biting his tongue to surpress laughter at the sight of it.

"Yeah, like there will be another time to debate whose ass'll fit in a hole." Kneeling down to put an arm on his knee, the halfling rested his chin within his palm in wait for Rad to break his way on through. At this rate the Saiyan would have broken so much of the tunnel that Goten could simply stroll on through.

"Of course 18 could fit... she weighs 80 pounds..." Scuffling and low slung remarks filtered up from the small opening as the hybrid sat in wait, rolling his eyes slightly as soon as a few mentions of his name were made. "Tch... stupid darkness... stupid caves... I freaking hate these things..."

Finally the presences of a being on the inside of the tunnel vanished, leaving way for the Saiya-jin youth to bend down and slip in himself. The noticeably larger opening almost brought a smirk to the hybrid as various small pieces of rubble decorated the area he crawled through, finally emerging from the rock tubing with but a few seconds before stopping dead in his tracks. Here the massive beast was squaring off with all six pounds of raging furry fury... a feline formally known as Raditzu. The Saiya-jin had become a vicious ball of fuzz as he attacked the beast head on, claws glistening as they slashed furiously against the blackened skin the beast was coated in. With little more then a turn, the creature sent one of its limbs around to bat away the cat who was flung away into the darkness with but a smack against the wall to accommodate where the Saiya-kitty had landed.

Flames of ivory color whipped across and inhaled the hybrid's body as a yell luminated both silence and shadow alike, burning away as he had become a sunspot in the darkness about. The fear installed by the beast and its way of hunting was suddenly suspended as the familiar air of battle flushed over the spirits residing in the cave, metallic and organic alike.

"Let's pick up the slack." Goten said plainly as his eyes were trained upon the creature whom had struck down the transformed Saiyan, something the female android didn't even have to respond to as her burning aura igniting to further decrease the shades of black suspended within the cavern. The ground quickly becoming a memory as either of the two shot forth from their positions, the hybrid's mind tracking over to the more in depth casing... keeping distance, speed, mass, everything of his enemy to a reasonable guess as these small bits of information may be vital.

18 was the first to make contact, her agile form swaying in motion away from the darting jaws as her target was a more direct assault upon the body. Not far behind had been the hybrid who had the self appointed task of keeping the attention set upon him... which he thought he did quiet well. Slamming an opened hand against the muzzle of the beast while his other hand took point at the lower jaw, keeping the two separated as bursts of strength fought to close the massive fang lined trap down upon the demi Saiya-jin. The struggle began to grow as Goten began losing grip, a growl issuing forth from his lips as this creature's bite was indeed worse then its bark till finally the hybrid was able to make a break. Opening the jaws wide enough to place his boots down after kicking in a few teeth for footholds, altering the way he held on with his hands as the teeth dug down into the skin of his palm before a quick jerk of his wrist snapped the fangs off to form handles upon its muzzle.

Actions unto which were unknown to the hybrid occurred as suddenly the beast lost flooring and tumbled down, the androidess having preformed something enough to shatter legging beneath the beast. Goten's back aligning as he extended the full height of himself on the inside of the creature's mouth, arms raised high till a noticeable sound of flesh and bone breaking was heard... a spew of liquid flew forth from the beast's mouth splattering against the hybrid who jumped out of the monster's gullet, the lower jaw swaying sickly back and forth from its head as a mixture of horror filled yells broke forth from within the bleeding cranium... drops of black substance falling from the wound as Goten's arms reared back, glistening white spheres of energy forming within his hands that luminated the sight of what he had done. A pair of pale eyes staring at him as the blood covered flesh hung loosely as he allowed the blasts to fly, bolts flying down into the throat of the beast, tearing away from the inside out as holes began forming within its hide from which oozed forth more of the strange substance.

Less then several heartbeats later it was done, the carcass and organs of a once living creature was no more. Shattered into pieces all over the cavern, whatever Eighteen had done it was without notice from the half Saiyan who had been caught up in the onslaught a little too much to realize anything more...

...

Nearby curled up in a small ball was the thing of fuzz that had battle so full of courage only to be smacked away with ease, hybrid and android taking place around the small feline for a second before the whole concept of the bulky warrior being transformed into this small animal finally hit them, causing the two to break down into uncontrollable laughter. Obviously it was enough to wake the Saiya-jin kitten who looked up with wide eyes of disbelief... this was too good.

"Here... look." Speaking between bursts of laughter, Goten managed to pick the cat up by its mane and walk on over to the large pool of water. His aura kicking up about his body once again to show both the hybrid and stray, the cat struggled for speech but all that it managed was a few short mews. Finally in a burst of smoke the Saiyan had returned to his towering height as the halfling held on still to the locks of hair the full blood wore, his head turning with a glare against Goten that was entirely lost in appeal as he fell back into laughter. This warrior of a great race had given him a look of death... after meowing.

After finally submitting to the pains in his side, Goten ceased laughter, Rad obviously not too appreciative of it as his words were very direct and serious.

"So let me get this straight," Rad began, "I just came out of that hole and I was... well... I had changed??

"Yeah... heh... that about covers it.? Goten answered simply.

All the time in the world couldn't be enough to stop the laughter from the two as Rad had retreating into a corner of the room, speaking under his breath till they were able to concentrate long enough to answer any sort of questions.

"And neither of you thought to say something?" Rad's eyebrow cocked itself up at both of them questionably.

"But you were so cute." Eighteen admitted through a suppressed giggle.

"I was a freaking cat-"

Not a second had passed after the word 'cat' was said before the Saiya-jin vanished in a veil of smoke, reappearing after the dust had settled as the small feline again... Goten thought his side was going to split open from all this laughing.

...

The Saiya-jin had reformed himself into the toughly built fighter he was again, and after a half hour long discussion of rules and regulations regarding "Kitty-cat Mode" they were able to begin again.

"You sure?" Rad looked at the two curiously.

"Yeah... yeah, we?re fine." 18 responded.

"And we promise we won?t use the 'c' word," Goten confirmed, secretly joking to himself. "Oh man, blackmail can't get any sweeter then this."

"We need to focus here." Raditzu began. "Now we have no idea where we are and we?re even further away from finding that clue than we were before. We need to get out of here and either get back to that base, or find somewhere else that might have a clue."

"Sounds good to me." Goten stood, strolling to the far end of the cavern and out of the length the make shift streetlight Rad had fashioned was able to shine in. Behind him words were exchanged between the fighters before a puff of smoke sounded against the walls of the cave, a sigh filtering past the hybrid's lips. "This is gonna be one looong night..."

Group XTREME, move out!

...

Hours seem to crawl by as the group search through the endless twists and turns of the caverns, some points the hybrid began to think maybe they had been one way or another already yet the thought of going in circles never met with the feline upon 18's should as he continued barking (or rather meowing) out orders. Sometimes forgetting of his speech impairment and attempting to speak instead of a telepathic link.

"Rad?" Goten said aloud, not bothering to turn around to make eye contact with the diminished warrior.

"What's up?"

"You were there, weren't you? At Dante's Abyss... you know... when I died?" The halfling thought he might as well busy himself with something, considering any sort of conversation among the group had vanished almost entirely. "You too, 18, I remember both of you."

"Yeah, we were." Came the response from an unlikely source of the android, Goten didn't think the female cared much for talking to him considering there wasn't much of a response between phrases.

"Why do you ask?" Rad wondered.

"After I was in Heaven I remembered what had happened and I started blaming people for what went on. Hell, I even thought Burter was in on it... I felt him there, but he didn't do anything." Goten explained what had been troubling him since the beginning of this thing, why he didn't really like talking to Rad... Or 18... Or Bojack. All of them were connected in some way, but for some reason it felt as though the hybrid shouldn't hate the Saiya-jin, as if there was another reason why he knew his ki signature almost like his father's.

"Sometimes you just gotta fend for yourself. We were in a tournament and besides, I'll be damned if I was going to help my kid nephew think he needed help from me to kill. You're a Saiyan, so start fighting like one."

"The hell?" Goten realized suddenly, no wonder Rad knew his Dad... he was his Goku's brother. It was all so clear that the hybrid could've kicked himself for not recognizing it sooner, it made sense now. "But Burter-"

"Fought against me, I know. He tried to jump into your fight, but that lesson was too important to have you fail it."

And in that moment, everything Goten thought had now been reunited. Now there was a new feeling within him... that 'lesson' was a failure of his, considering his uncle had been watching as well. The hybrid secretly promised himself to do whatever he could to make Rad, and hopefully his father too, see what he had become. No longer a child at heart, but a warrior by soul...

After another several hours of orders, twists, and turns the group came upon a break in the rocks. Light poured in through a crevice which was only magnified after the hybrid's fists made quick work in forming an exit for them all leading outside... finally. An endlessly rolling field of rock and dirt met their eyes now, dead and uneven as the trio stepped outside the cave's covering to breath in the scent of moving air instead of the stale breaths they had been breathing from within the gravel crypt they had almost come to accept. For a moment they stood out in the vastness of it all, taking in the free breeze before the hybrid in led turned about with his question.

A smirk crossing his appearance as he spoke jokingly to the small feline still resting upon the android's shoulder, "So where to now, Captain Cat?"

They were free again, less the bounding of their collars, but still without an thread to go off of for their clue. Below rolling skies and above empty plains they remained, a destination now was all downhill from here...

[Android-18]

Light, blessed light. The darkness that had consumed them now became speared by the soft light of the outside world. It filtered through a hole that they had cleared of debris, and now they exited it and took in their surroundings. It was nothing but a wide open wasteland. The grey sky rumbled and slowly moved heavily above. ?Well, I have no idea where we are.? She looked around, wondering just how far they had gone from the military base. She glanced at the younger fighter, and then to where Raditzu sat on her shoulder in his cat-like form. ?Can I see the map? Considering your situation?? She picked up the fuzzy fighter and held him in her hands. He made a hacking cat-like sound and produced the map. ?I think I liked you better before.?

?Well from what I can see there a town, some forests, and over there,? she pointed, ?is a watch tower of some kind.? All three of them bent over the map on the ground, Raditzu seemed to pace, which made him look kind of funny.

Let?s go there. She got the message from the Saiya-Jin. He wanted to go to the tower, but why? Maybe there was a clue there; they had failed to find the clue in the military base.

?Well, I guess it?s better than hanging around here, let?s go.? She scooped up her cat companion and set him on her shoulder. Goten suppressed a laugh, and the android grinned. ?I?ll have to make some kind of holder for him, otherwise his claws are gonna leave marks I don?t need.? She held back a laugh, picturing one of those baby holders women wore on their chests; at least he would be able to see that way.

They traveled along the barren land, they hardly talked. She kept her mind busy by looking around at the land. Perhaps this asteroid had really been a part of some planet, and it had broken off. She didn?t really know many asteroids that had plant life on it. She wondered what really happened here; maybe they would all figure it out in the end. It nagged at her, she wanted to know. They walked for a long time, until the structure appeared in the distance. What dangers would there be this time? Could these three possibly find the clue? Before long the android stopped a fair distance from the place, taking it in. ?Here we are.? Was all she could say.

OOC: Short I know but I'm pressed for time.

[Raditzu]

Being one foot tall can really help put some things in perspective. Things, for example, that someone might not notice when they?re a towering bulk of sexy muscles. Like how hard it was to perch comfortably on the shoulder of a female android. Rad never would have guessed, in a million years, how uncomfortable a shoulder could be. Radcat, on the other hand, noticed immediately. His tail flicked through the air in a generic, bored manner. Having a tail was nothing new to the saiyan, but having a tail as long as he was tall wasn?t exactly run-of-the-mill for him. This whole Radcat thing was actually starting to grow on the warrior. Being a cute little bundle of fur could certainly have its advantages. Heightened senses of smelling and hearing couldn?t hurt, along with a crude form of night-vision. On top of all of that, Rad found that, though his physical abilities were limited by his size, his mental facilities were just as sharp as ever. In addition to telepathy, he found he could still sense ki, and use his Metal Binding technique. During their long walk, Radcat even managed to summon forth a minor amount of the planet?s energy, leading him to believe that a full-fledged Genki Dama wasn?t entirely out of the question.

The name ?Radcat? was the topic of severe debate for the long-haired feline. As a cat, he felt he was privy to some personality traits that he probably wouldn?t allow himself while in his normal, saiyan form. The first of which, obviously, was purring. Under no circumstance could Rad see himself purring? for anything. As a cat, however, that action was near-impossible to avoid. His big, shiny eyes also carried a ?cuteness? that Rad didn?t think a saiyan warrior should admit to. He wasn?t trying to ?manly? or ?macho? or anything like that? he just didn?t his himself striking fear into the hearts of his enemy as a cat. So, it stood to reason, that Raditzu was Raditzu and Radcat was Radcat; fairly similar, but with enough differences for the shapeshifter to make the mental distinction. He hadn?t made this new ?persona? apparent to those traveling with him, per se, but he wouldn?t be surprised if they managed to piece something together on his own.

Among the benefits of being a cat, there was one that stood out above all others in the saiyan?s mind, though it was not obvious at first. During their fairly mindless walk through the barren wasteland that they had found themselves in, Rad had grown tired of bouncing up and down on 18?s shoulder. After voicing, or not voicing in the case of this telepathic kitty, his complaint 18 offered to hold him for a while, suggesting that it might be more comfortable. After a short mental deliberation, the feline decided to give the androidess the honor of carrying him. After a short while in the android?s arms, which were actually quite a bit more comfortable than her shoulder, Radcat turned to ?say? something to her. Action was immediately cut short, for the saiyan?s view of the android?s face quite thoroughly blocked. The fact that he was the size of one of her breasts hadn?t actually registered in Radcat?s mind until just then.

------------------

?Here we are.?

Rad had, against his will, resumed his perch upon 18?s shoulder by the time they got there. The ?watchtower?, as it was marked on group XTREME?s map, was an impressive structure. From the outside, it looked at eight stories high. The body of the tower was little more than a cylinder, while the top flared out. It kind of looked like an air traffic control tower of steroids. The architecture was similar to that of the military base they had previously occupied, which didn?t bode particularly well in Radcat?s mind. Figuring out how to freely switch back to his saiyan form looked like it was going to be helpful if they were going to run into another plethora of traps. He didn?t question 18 or Goten?s ability to fend off a couple of lame turrets or flamethrowers, but he was a little weary of being caught underfoot once the action picked up.

?So? are we just going to bust in?? Goten stepped towards the door of the tower.

Sounds good to me. Radcat hopped off of 18?s shoulder and hit the ground with a grace that Raditzu had never bothered to attempt before.

?Is that your solution to everything?? 18 looked down at the cat at her feet. ?Haven?t you ever heard of knocking??

Without waiting for a reply to her painfully rhetorical question, 18 strolled past Goten and knocked on the door. Her knock could be heard echoing throughout the interior, but no response actually came. Rad was preparing some quip about knocking when a small panel above the door slid open. From the panel, a camera extended outwards and surveyed the small group. Before anyone could so much as move the camera snapped back into its little hideaway. A series of very mechanical noises preceded the door 18 had knocked on slowly opening. The interior, however, was just a corridor. At one end was this front door, and at the other was a stairway. Lights slowly flickered to life within the corridor and throughout the entire tower, it seemed, as the whole structure began to buzz with electricity.

?Shall we?? 18 asked.

Goten simply shrugged, but Radcat was a bit more cautious. His hair was slowly rising to stand on end. Something made him think that maybe turning around and leaving would be a better idea. His ki sense seemed to confirm that suspicion.

There?s something at the top of the tower. Rad informed his group-mates. It wasn?t there until that door opened. Goten and 18 exchanged glances, but didn?t say anything. Rad cocked his head, then scanned the tower once again. Whatever he had sensed was gone. Tch? fine, let?s go. Pumping his four, fuzzy little feet, Rad bounded through the door and down the corridor.

[Burter]

EVENT

The watchtower is skinny, but tall, going up to seventy stories in earth measurements. It only had three 'rooms.' The bottom floor, the middle floor, and the top floor. The two upper floors are used for watching, as you would expect.

Unlike the other building, the tower is not old and dead, but rather it's sparkling clean as if it was brand new.

An old man waits for the trio at the top floor, to give them food, and a temporary place to rest. He's a rebel, unwilling to play a part in Brim's game, but rather help those who need it. He'll answer any questions you have.

[Raz]

"Shall we?" 18 pronounced with a relatively calm attitude.

The android had been the first to the door's frame as the group consisting of cat and kid behind her looked on. Goten glancing down towards the small feline for a moment as the noticeable rising strains of fur upon the cat's back began to rise, making it look as though the puff ball were trying to ascend into the majestic form the Saiya-jin race had been known for. Instead it was the enhanced ki sense the full blood possessed now within this form, picking up a trace inside the tower before them.

"There?s something at the top of the tower." Rad took a glance over at the two after taking several steps inward; the strength hadn't been there till the door had opened. Raditzu cocked his head slightly as it appeared he was going another little scan over the structure, though for whatever he sensed was gone now. "Tch? fine, let?s go." Bounding forward like a miniature horse, Rad pounced through the door and down the corridor.

"Well I'm sure there's no worry about curiosity killing this cat," Goten thought to himself after chuckling slightly. "Kicking works just as well." A bad joke, making the hybrid all the more aware about saying it to himself as he was sure to receive an all too unpleasant look from Eighteen had he spoken aloud.

Android and hybrid struck out inward after the charging feline, entering into a lengthy hallway that seemed to stretch oddly longer then what the tower appeared to be. Inside the walls seemed clean kept and orderly, unlike with the military base, the rust had yet to make mark upon the surface of the metal. Each step bounced echoes off up and down the corridor causing any sort of stealth in their approach to be obsolete... as if they really needed to worry about that now. Far ahead the small furry brown speck halted at what seemed like an indention with the wall, a spiral staircase had been built leading up into the upper portions.

A predatory of the weak, prowler of the night, the vicious tiger that was Raditzu reared himself back slowly as his tail swayed through the wind like a cobra watching its timid pray. Ears pulled back while his hind legs stretched themselves to bend to appear as though he were bowing, entering into a 'battle-mode' phase. Suddenly, he pounced! Claws springing to life as teeth glistened brightly through the dimly lit hallways till... his front paws caught hold of the first step, holding for a not even a second before slipping off and on to his back again. Behind him both 18 and Goten stifling chuckles as the Saiya-kitten glared back best as he could in his cat form. The first step was at least a couple inches taller then the tip of his ears, and at Rad's size a couple inches meant allot. As before, the female android knelt down to pick up the Siaya-jin, beginning the long walk up the seemingly endless winding turns of the staircase...

"How long as it been?" Finally breaking the silence of the ascent, Goten glanced up at the two ahead of him.

"An hour or so." One of the plus parts of having an android in the group, someone who knew the course of time due to an internal clock never had to worry about such things as 'time'.

"... I think I'm hungry."

"You think?" 18 looked back over her shoulder.

"Of course, unless you can tell me otherwise."

"I'll leave that for you to decide."

"Okay, I am then."

"Nothing I can do about it."

"Then why did you want me to decide?"

"I didn't."

"But I thought you said to."

"No, I didn't want to hear about it."

Both born and built hybrid fell silence as the little conversation turned a little bit on the tension side, appearing as though that the youth's playful complaints to try and ease the walk away were in vain. Finally the Radcat turned to look up at the android for a moment before grinning as best as a feline could before throwing in a complaint of his own.

"Are we there yet?"

[Raditzu]

?Are we there yet??

Whoever designed this ?watchtower? must take great pleasure in knowing he was being reviled by all who ventured into his structure. Being at the back of the group meant Goten to see each individual step after everyone else had? he was probably clinging to some lost hope of an end in sight. A hope Rad and 18 shared. Marching up what amounted to a spiral staircase for hours on end got pretty old pretty fast.

There better be some clue in this stupid tower.

Rad turned his pointy-earned head back towards 18. She shared the feline?s sentiments. The military base hadn?t had anything for them except some stupid bomb and now they were wandering up a never-ending stairway. How was Stumpy hoping to get any ratings with TV like this? The most interesting thing going on had been the small observation deck they had passed a while ago. And that had been little more than an empty room with some windows. This game was very quickly wearing on the saiya-jin?s patience

Just as that thought entered the saiyan?s mind, they rounded the top of staircase and were met with a rather large door. Rad picked up on another spike of ki. This time he kept it to himself, as it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Radcat proposed the idea of him sneaking into the room on his own, then letting the others know when and if it was safe. The obvious objection was that he was, in fact, just a cat, but he would have none of it. He was a more than capable warrior, no matter how much of a cat he was. And that was that. Unlike the military base they had recently occupied, most of this structure was not impervious to Raditzu?s metal binding ability. Something he had been testing as they had been climbing the tower. He demonstrated this by created a small, top-hinged flap in the door before them. With his tail held high, Radcat bounded into the room.

And was immediately disappointed. He had been hoping to find some giant killer robots, or evil, creepy bug-mutants. Anyone else probably would have been lucky enough to be attacked by some state-of-the-art security system, but what did Rad get? Some old man. The raspy, rhythmic breathing seemed to indicate that the man was asleep. The fact that he was also standing up meant that he was? well? weird. The old man swayed forward, as though he was about to fall. Just as it looked like he was heading on a one-way trip to face-plant city, his eyes shot open and he flipped forward. The act of agility caught Radcat off guard, prompting a quiet hiss from the cat?s throat. Not quiet enough. The old man shot a glare towards the feline and, from nowhere, produced a metal staff to thrust towards Rad. While the man?s actions were defined and practiced, his body was a bit out-of-date. The old man made two mistakes. The first was that he had bothered to attack Rad, and the second was choosing to do so with a metal weapon. Before the staff was within a paw?s reach of the feline, it had melted in his hands. The old man jumped back and yet out a yelp.

That was when Rad noticed the ki. It was the same one he had felt twice now. It only acted up when the old geezer woke up to keep himself from falling. Classic. It could have been some teleporting creation of evil. Rad looked this man up and down, mostly up considering his height. He probably only stood five feet tall. He brandished a grey mustache and a fading comb-over. The most shocking feature was his left eye? or lack thereof. One of his eye sockets was empty and surrounded by an odd starburst of a scar. Rad exhaled slowly.

Calm down, old man. Wouldn?t want you to have a heart attack.

?Ah! Devil cat!?

Yeah? that?s what Radcat gets for trying. The Cyclops reared back at threw one hell of a kick at Rad. The cat managed to scramble to one side, but not by a wide margin. He darted under the old man?s legs then turned, took aim, and leap through the air. The flight path landed him gently on top of the man?s head.

What the hell was that for?! The saiyan let his claws dig into the man?s scalp, but it wasn?t needed.

?Rad? You ok?? 18 and Goten came bursting through the door.

Yeah, I?m fine, Rad informed everyone present.

?What the hell?s going on here?? The old man was shaking, but other than that, didn?t move.

That?s what I?d like to know. Radcat tapped a claw on the man?s head. We?re looking for some kind of clue. Something about a civil war that happened a while ago. Care to help us out?

[Android-18]

Step, step, and even more. They went on forever, up, and up, like the tower would never end. The android knew they had been walking up this staircase for an hour or two, maybe it was an illusion? They passed an observatory room, but it was empty and held no interest. They wanted to get to the top, something had to be there. Little conversation happened between them; frankly the female was wondering when Raditzu would return to his normal self. She sighed a little, and continued to climb the stairs. What would be there anyway? Some robot, or a trap, or even nothing would be there? Hopefully this trip would not be a waste, or else she?d really be angry.

Before they knew it a door was in front of them. The catlike Raditzu took lead and manipulated the metal to make a doggie door, or in this case, a cat door. So the metal here was normal, she considered that. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice and some commotion. She and Goten burst in to find their leader on top of some old guys head. Her first inquiery was to make sure he was ok, and then she realized that it was indeed a rather old man he was digging his claws into.

?Raditzu get off his head!? She cried and snagged the fuzzy warrior from the poor man. ?How can you attack someone like that?? He was about to argue, but she shut him out. ?Are you ok?? She looked toward the elder man, he took a seat at a small table in the room.

?I?m fine, damn devil cat scared me.? He took a deep ragged breath, while Goten took sight of a large window.

?Well, now that that?s over with.? She could still see him shaking; did Raditzu have to be so hasty to fight? She held back another sigh. ?You asked about the war, eh?? He didn?t look at them.

?Yeah, we?re playing some stupid game by a guy named Brim, and right now it?s gotten pretty boring. This here is Raditzu, for some reason he tured into a cat and we can?t figure out why, he?s really a powerful Saiya-Jin.? She grinned down at her feline companion but he seemed in a grumpy mood. ?That?s Goten, and I?m Android 18. We?re looking for clues about the war, and why it happened.? She paused. ?I?m also curious as to why you?re here, and this place is so untouched.? She gave him a long hard look, was there something to this man? Maybe he did have some answers for them.

OOC: Wanted to get my last post in.

[Raz]

"I?m fine, damn devil cat scared me." The man's deep shaky breath inhaled into his chest before exhaling, though the whole conversation grew less on the hybrid youth then it did on the other two. Retreating away to a large window near the far end of the room looking out the barren landscape that spanned the length of a desolate horizon.

?Well, now that that?s over with.? Spoke the elder, still trembling from the assault. ?You asked about the war, eh??

"Mmhm... Interesting topic." The hybrid held little interest to the discussion; thinking as though they were speaking of what had happened the last time this game was played.

"Yeah, we?re playing some stupid game by a guy named Brim..." 18's voice trailed off like a dimming light, Goten's eyes eased slightly while his forehead pressed gently upon the cold glass of the window. Thoughts seeming to swim in a void as the whole event of sitting down to an old man's stories bored him to no end, though it wasn't as though he didn't have any respect for the elder. There was a foreshadowing on the whole concept of this structure. Its height... visibility... randomly convenient location... all of it exactly after the group had escaped from what seemed like forever darkness. The halfling was probably just paranoid and quiet possibly hungry as his stomach had been giving him constant kicks in the side for some food.

"That?s Goten," Eighteen brought the sound Saiyan back from the mixture of starving and being overly cautious, moving away from the window to turn to her with a red mark where he had been leaning against upon his forehead. "And I?m Android 18. We?re looking for clues about the war, and why it happened." She paused. "I'm also curious as to why you?re here, and this place is so untouched."

"Is he a metal binder?" Talk ceased for a moment as the group turned to cast a glance at the demi Saiya-jin who instantly took note of the attention. "There was another ki spike... especially after Rad barged in, felt like it." Again all that was perceived from the collection of beings was a stare, the hybrid giving little more then a shrug before turning back to the window from which he was staring out. "Just a thought."

Again, returning to the curiosity of staring out into the landscape. Separated from the nature and wonder of this comet-gone-battlefield by nothing more then a slab of glass, for the moment...

[Burter]

END OF ROUND

After much bickering, the old man sat them down, prearing to tell them a story.

"I am the Watchman. I'm four hundred and twenty six years old." Needless to say, everybody looked a bit skeptical. "I wasn't born, I was created to watch over this civilization. Not to help it or hinder it, just to watch it."

Sounds like an easy job, Radcat butted in.

"You would be surprised, Devil Cat," the old man scowled. "This tower is sturdy, it will not fall so long as I am alive. I have never left this tower. I only know what I can see."

"We got that," Goten interupted. "The war?"

"Of course. The government relied on science, trying to become the most advanced culture in the universe. They didn't get far, as they went about the wrong ways. Using innocent people as test subjects, they began to have many unnessecary causalities. People rebelled, but the insane politicials only roared through by force. Eventually, through an accident, one scientist reanimated a corpse. He was immediately forced to do this again and again."

"He brought back dead people? That's creepy," Eighteen commented.

"I concur," the Watchman agreed. "I don't know much more then that. That isn't even a grain of salt on the massive details of the story. The civil war turned into much more then a battle between rebels and government, but a battle between the dead and the living."

I guess the dead won, Raditzu joked.

The Watchman didn't answer. Radcat turned his head when he realized he had spoken the truth.

"There are survivors in the Kala Mountains," the Watchman told them. "Perhaps you can find answers there."