Such were the thoughts in Ryder's mind as he went about his morning routine, eating a hearty (although less than many Saiyans he had seen) breakfast. Just as he was about to head out for his morning jog the boy could feel a tug on his wrist. Turning, he found himself standing face to face with Raphael. "Good morning Raph." With a cheerful smile, the saiyan tipped his head in greeting to the namek, still grateful for the other's role in saving him the night before. "Good morning to you as well young Ryder. Hachi waits for you in the courtyard, prepared to resume your lessons," informed the Namekian, bowing his head corgially in return.

"Heh, that's my brother, always up early, always making plans to get the most out of the day." With a slight chuckle, Ryder took off through the palace, raising a hand to wave his thanks to Raphael for passing the message. Down through the halls ran the young man, filling his lungs with the cool air, preparing himself for the tasks that lay ahead, nearly oblivious to the beautiful ice sculptures that Hachi had filled his palace with. No, Ryder was a saiyan, kind and pure though he was, and there was one thing that drove a Saiyan more than any other. The challenge of becoming stronger, of being a greater warrior than the day before.

Before long, Ryder found himself running down the hallway he'd been looking for, with a window into the courtyard from a good 200 feet up that he'd noticed on his way in to his room the night before. Bracing himself, the boy leapt at the perfect moment, his hands forcing the thick window's open before a push of his other leg sent him soaring high into the air, seeming almost to fly as the friggid wind cut at his exposed flesh, the view below staggerring him. There in the courtyard Hachi had arranged a large number of pillars of ice, glistening beautifully in the early morning light, imposing as they soared into the skyline.

In moments, the young warrior flipped himself into landing position, coming to a smooth landing infront of Hachi, bending his knees to absorb the massive impact as snow burst up from the ground, exploding in a massive burst of white. "Sorry I'm late Hachi...." he began, before he caught sight of the other, coverred in snow and looking pure white, almost like a ghost, and burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha you should see yourself Hachi. You look like you crawled out of some pit of the dead somewhere." Upon seeing the seriousness in the other's eyes, Ryder clamped his mouth shut, straightening himself into a proper waiting position as his brother began the lecture, holding up a hand in warning whenever Ryder tried to interrupt with questions.

At long last, after what seemed like forever Hachi finally gave the nod, displaying that he was finished and ready to answer the questions the young saiyan always had to offer. At first, the elder warrior had seemed somewhat annoyed by Ryder's curious nature, but over the years he had not only accepted it, but encouraged and nuturing it, encouraging Ryder to seek understanding in anything he did. "All of them are evil Hachi? Every one? You mean... there's a whole race of people that are nothing but monsters? Every one of them really is un-redeemable? But... how is that possible? I remember our lessons on free will, how people always have a choice to do the right thing. What kind of creatures are they that there can be so many yet not one of them can be a good person."

Pausing a moment, Ryder waited, prepared for a full and detailed lecture on the subject, some kind of explanation as to why these people were so much different from him and Hachi. As soon as the elder had finished answerring that question, in whatever form he so chose, Ryder had another question primed, and would immediately throw it out for answerring. "So... these changelings can transform? Become more powerful by changing form? Like that great ape thing you warned me about when I was little and not looking at the full moon?" The memory of what had happened in his mind the night before came rushing back. The power, the beast within, and his father's words of warning. There was so much that Ryder didn't yet know about himself, so much to be uncovered.

OOC: 870 words

Hachi had finished with the lengthy lecture, explaining it was what they were that made them evil, not who they were. The origins were only briefly explained as to avoid useless or irrelevant questions. The second question he was asked was much harder to explain, as it brought up a number of issues from the past. “Why yes…but also no…”he cleared his throat “saiyans have two sorts of transformations…one is guided by the lunar body in space…which can one day be calmed and controlled to a degree…and another” Hachi smiled “drifts more into legends than anything else, though I know the known material on it, it isn’t something to cloud your head with” he looked to the ice sculptures “its called super saiyan, some dictate it’s a giant golden ape, some say it’s a massive boost in power…others even note there’s supposed to be multiple tiers of this super saiyan”

“Back to the changelings, I’ve seen a number of them and talked to them on a fairly regular basis” Hachi began “the form you see them run around in is actually what you might call a weakened form, their natural forms tend to be an average power..” he scratched his chin “they’re forms are different but still hold most of the same ‘looks’ you would find…you know, the armored look, some horns, possibly even a thicker or stronger tail…they tend to have four forms, but rumors and bragging have stated a precious few can have five…though I myself haven’t seen such a feat yet...at least nothing worth bragging about. Every form is something like a healing phase, though to what degree I’d have no clue” rubbing his neck as he ran through the information he had on the annoying and resilient race “oh…they can also breathe is space…not sure how, but I think they may be able to just hold their breath for a seriously long time” he ended with something like a joke.

“but the two dominant races need to be ruthless and powerful or else they’d never survive this icy hell” He moved to one of the ice pullars “the planet itself I said is an opponent, and you can use it to your advantage…like here” he tapped the pillar “if this were to fall towards you, it’d fall and set off another pillar to falling in any random number of directions, increasing the chance you’ll be crushed under a huge cylinder of ice…so too is it an enemy if you fight for long periods of time in the open….now picking up on this, I had a choice of getting fire manipulation or ice manipulation…obviously ice here is abundant and is not unseen in other planets whereas fire is not quite something to find just lying around and by itself is not dangerous” he continued, waiting for any questions from his little brother Ryder.

OOC: 666

"Hachi..." Began Ryder when his brother paused, having finished his discussion of demons 'evil blood and upbringing' only to clamp his mouth shut as the other began a discussion on the transformations that changelings and saiyans were capable of. ~Controlled... that's what that voice in my head meant by taking the ape by the tail. I need to learn how to control that, before I can lose myself to it.~ He thought, concerned of what he might be capable of in such a wild, uncontrolled state, with such power at his fingertips. ~Legends of a super saiyan.....~ He didn't know what it was about that phrase, but something inside Ryder pulsed with anticipation at the statement. Something inside him longed for that achievement... to become a super saiyan.

What exactly WAS a super saiyan anyway? Hachi had mentioned a list of possibilities but none of them had truly registerred with him, none called to him the way the simple statement had. ~If anybody can help me unearth that legend, I know it is you my brother. You've always been able to draw out the greatest within me. We walk this road together Hachi, and there's not a man in the universe I'd rather have at my side.~ Every day Ryder found himself growing stronger, more powerful, and more committed to his family. There was not a force on earth that could tear he and his brother assunder.

~I didn't get a very good look at that guide... but he did seem kind of reptillian and armored...~ ponderred the young warrior, carefully absorbing all the information he was being given, cautious not to miss a bit of it. ~When they transform, they get stronger AND they heal!? How the hell is that fair!~ He exclaimed in his mind, awed at the very idea of being able to heal one's self by transforming into a more powerful state. ~Four forms... and there may be a fifth... oh Hachi you've dug us into a hornet's nest in this one. I knew coming in it wouldn't be easy but this is a greater task than I ever expected.~

"Hahaha, holding their breath really long. Good one bro, and here I was worried all these plans would be killing your sense of humor!" Smiling innocently, completley unnaware of what really lurked beneath the surface of his mentor, Ryder continued on, asking the questions that he'd been preparing as he listened to the lecture. "But there's something I'd like to know big brother. What kind of... blood nature.... do you have? Your the only prothian I've ever met, or heard of even. What kind of planet do you come from Hachi? Maybe we can visit it some day?"

With that question out of the way, Ryder turned back to the ice collumns, going over Hachi's explanation of it all once more in his mind. "Ruthless and powerful... it's going to take a great deal of effort to overcome that my brother. I can already feel stronger than before I came to this planet, but this is quite the task. We not only have to oppose the violent peoples that are destroying the peoples here, but we also have to fight the planet itself, and may face other's who've had your training, and can focus the planet's nature against us. We will have to exercise great caution.

"The reason you chose the ice seems clear to me. Fire is against your nature brother. It's explosive, destructive, and leaves little in it's wake. You are not so destructive, not such a maelstrom. Like the ice, you take your time and choose your options wisely, careful to cause the least harm possible. I've never seen you to make a decision that didn't have positive benefits for months if not years down the line. Ice is something that can build and create, like this beautiful palace of yours. In some environments it is fleeting, but even when the ice leaves, there is something good and useful, water, left behind inspiring growth, ressurecting the planet and bringing life to the plants once more."

OOC: 800 words.

“Natural age does not effect a prothian as most races, given a gift that let them live hundreds of years at worst, thousands at best” the daemon folded his arms and closed his eyes “my parents had me very late in life…even later regarding the planet…maybe at seven years old..i was in a chamber, acting as the safest part of the ship…when the planet exploded, the shockwave hit our vessel and my parents didn’t make it” he cleared his throat affecting long since gone sadness in his voice “when the ship came down, it was on the planet earth…I was raised there until I could buy a ship and search for my home planet…I ended up settling down on new vegeta after some time…until I found you bro” he smiled “and as of today, I’m a month away from turning one hundred and seventy six” the daemon finished his act, remembering what the true prothians looked like; hulking war mongers destined to survive anything, redundant nerve systems, back up organs, a scary speed of regeneration, all taken out because their home had been too close to the suns orbit and a lucky meteor had knocked it ever so closer.

“back to the teaching at hand Ryder…I know you both like a challenge, and probably see the changeling race as a thing to caution, however I’m here training you to show that while every race has their capabilities, it’s who we are more so than what we are…a lazy changeling would fall before a diligent saiayn, just as a diligent changeling will fall before you my brother, and many many more if they stand to keep this icy planet corrupt and chaotic.” Hachi said to pump the saiyan up, letting the information of the ‘prothians’ and the small pep speech he gave sink into the saiyan. “These people may have a rich culture, however the modernized world and their sheer small numbers have all but destroyed it… the demons are not here for themselves, they are here to corrupt further…their place is in the other world, not the living world, I don’t like the idea of shedding unnecessary blood, but the terms ‘unnecessary’ is in the hands of the Icer people…we cannot control how many still wish for such evils to populate the landscape, we cannot control the evil souls standing before us awaiting judgement, we must only strike them down whenever we are opposed…lest they further harm this planet”

His frown deepened in thought as the boy gazed into his mentor's eyes, believing himself to see the sadness he imagined there. "I'm going to age and die too. I can't begin to imagine the burden you must carry Hachi, I know I couldn't stand the thought of such a long life without my brother. I don't like the idea that I might lose you in battle and have to live a NORMAL life without my only living family. Having to go hundreds of years alone is more than I could bare." Reacting impulsively, the young Saiyan reached out and wrapped his elder brother in a firm but gentle bearhug, only slightly squishing him.

"I'll make you proud Hachi, you'll see." He whisperred, a single tear dripping down his face as he came to realize the faith his brother placed in him, before continuing, his voice rising as he grew in confidence and conviction. "We'll make things right here on Icer, we'll cleanse the corruption, cut the weeds from the crops, and help the planet grow to be a pure and just place, even if we're fighting against thousands of years of history to do it! I will not stand by and watch people suffer under the corrupt fist of the vile creatures that have taken hold here. I will do what is required of me my brother, you can count on me to stand by your side until the end. No more harm shall come to this planet or it's peoples!!!"

Lost in the righteous fury that had overcome him, Ryder could feel himself shaking with power as he slowly released the hug, backing away from his brother, who's ear he very well may have damaged in his excitement. With slow, measured breathing the saiyan warrior took that fury, and focused it, concentrating it and channeling it through him, committing himself to the task that lie ahead, focusing himself to his purpose, sharpening himself like a swordsmith sharpens the blade, resolved to let nothing stand in his path. In his heart and mind he could almost feel the suffering these people went through, and would stop at nothing to see them set free of the evil that plagued them here in their own homes.

"I am committed my brother, I will stand with you in this, as a champion of your cause. Tell me what more you have for me, give me the rest of the information you called me out here for. We have a lot of work to do Hachi." Closing his eyes, relaxing as he let the conviction dissipate back into his soul, hardened and locked onto the mission for which he had been raised. "A great deal of work indeed, and a great challenge that lies ahead. Lets not waste any time, there are only so many hours in the day."

OOC: 605 words

Through everything, Hachi heard the voice, yet ignored it adamantly through his speech. While Hachi lectured the truth ; ‘First my brother, you should know well about the planet in which we reside…Icer is a deadly planet all its own…’ Hachi said, but in the back of his mind another voice called out ‘deadly to the stupid ones, Keep moving and you might survive….hahahah, Hachi you better teach this kid explicitly about ice’ the first signs of the spirits advantage came into view, he knew everything Hachi knew, and more.

‘Changelings have tails…dangerous as they have serious range…and unlike your kind...they are not a weakness…’ came next in Hachi’s long discussion about everything he intended to tell Ryder, but the voice spoke up once more and even louder ‘yeah, give the kid basic details, maybe he’ll die along the way, maybe you really just want to see your precious tool be snapped in half by a strong enemy’ and these words unconsciously made Hachi continue about a possible plan against a changeling. There were deep and denied emotions of brotherly protection and sibling closeness which the daemon spirit seemingly constantly provoked in him.

‘they look like changelings but vary much more, some have tails and some don’t, these things have forked tongues so to speak in that they will…try and cloud your judgment through lies and misinformation’ the first genuine lie in his small lecture and knowing that, the daemon spirit rose up and had a field day with the idea. The first thing it did was mock ‘yes Hachi lie to him, lie like you’ve done for a hundred and seventy years, deceive all who would trust you, then no one could possibly deceive you!’ it scorned as it rose up and continued to batter the warriors mind ‘soon enough you’ll have to come clean Hachi, every false word you feed this kid is another in in your grave’

When hachi explained the nature of demons he was not completely wrong, but he was also not telling the truth in any way. Demons had a choice to alter their path if they chose, but a majority was based off where in hell they lived, as some were as violent and blunt as saiyan warriors. ‘you know that your evil is both your own and of your upbringing, why hide is as you do…do not become weak, but rather embrace the situation as if arrives, tell him your evil soul…tell him you are everything he stands against!’ but Hachi knew he couldn’t do that, he intended to wait until the seemingly pure saiyan could be corrupted and turned to his side for the use of evil, without the constant blinding of the truth.

The subject of ice came up, something the spirit within Hachi could do nothing but use savagely to attack Hachi’s mental state. ‘tell him why you really chose ice, kid! Tell him the fire teacher is that of good and not evil! Show your true colors to your only relative still on the mortal plane… you chose ice fore ease and you chose ice so you could strangle the life out of everything on Icer, to do what the planet failed to do thus far! Or is it that you believe you are what Ryder says, some bastion of good? Don’t kid yourself, you’re pushing for the same evil intentions you always were, he is just a very grand pawn, a very fitting warrior to aid you in your cause.’ The spirit spoke true as well, if not very harshly.

Slowly, when Hachi began to recite the life he crafted for the ‘prothians’ which were as far from the true race as saiyans were to namekians, the spirit would not stop its laughter. ‘good one kid! Hahaha, making him believe you’re not a demon just to kill off both dominant species for your amusement and control! If he ever ends up in hell and meets the real ones, he’s gonna tear your ass in two…ahhahaha c’mon now, you can’t expect even him to believe this crap, right?’ though when the saiyan took every word as if it were absolute fact the daemon spirit had no choice but to shut itself up, as he underestimated Ryders loyalty to Hachi.

There was little else Hachi could resign the planet icer to, he would have to face his own kind along with formidable changelings, he needed every strong warrior he could get for now, and if it meant setting things out as a large base of lies and a large set for Ryder to fight on, Hachi had no issue obliging. The spirit kept laughing and mocking Hachi, for wanting to kill a number of ‘good’ races off and wanting to disown hi demonic blood, no, to disown his demonic blood brothers in favor of power and glory.

The words from his brother set Hachi into a wave of nostalgia and torment, his past with other daemon. The daemon Hachi disowned all his own kind for freedom, he disowned his parents for power, he even isolated him from those who would even have a semblance of his race, as some deep seated feeling of atonement perhaps, which must end immediately If he should continue on his quest for domination on planet Icer. Hachi shook the spirit off and continued his focus on his brother, someone he knew he was really hearing and seeing rather than a possible sign of insanity.

“If you will be the champion to my cause brother, you must train, you must prove your skills and your loyalty… you have already proven you are a man, but it is not me who you will be fighting later for control of this planet, for the good of this planet, you will be fighting ruthless enemies with hearts black as coal… you must be ready for anything” he breathed out slowly and readied himself in a fighting stance, it was time for them to start fighting and training for what was to come. The pillars started to be used at this point, there were a great many and very thick, posing a problem should they be falling. The first step of their fight and training was to allow movement from unpredictable areas, Hachi would start off by sending an ice based attack around the area, multiple directions so Ryder couldn’t predict where to move, then slash down an ice pillar, the intervolves and the locations would be as random as the daemon could make it, but also as more fell, they would collide with another and set a number of unpredictable chain reactions through the network of ice pillars.

The pillars were dense, and would cause harm if they crushed him, though that was not to say all Ryder could do was dodge, he could very well attack them, probably with some pain to his arm or leg should he try it on some of the larger ones, the goal was to let Hachi see how Ryder could react to the new and unknown, as well as giving Ryder a good reaction and speed workout. It was Hachi’s job at that point to watch out for himself, as easy as that sounded, as well as making sure if things got too serious for Ryder, that Raphael was well within healing distance to prevent unwanted and painful death.

The spirit plaguing the daemon laughed at the situation ‘yer giving him too much slack, this aint worth his time and it sure as hell ain’t worth yers…throw some spikes from the ground if you have to, just make it harder for him!’ and with that odd sense of advice, Hachi did just that, trying to push Ryder to the limits with spikes, waves, blasts, and needles during the entire workout, the idea was the cylinders could be used defensively as well as being a force to avoid, simulating natures effect in battle. ‘Now yer getting it Hachi…fuck, I thought you’d baby him forever’ it laughed ‘and here I thought you had no emotions, well…maybe yer just learning what the emotions are huh?’ the spirit kept mocking, without care of the battle and training which lie ahead.

Should the saiyan manage himself well in the current form of training, Hachi was ready to go at it hand to hand, delivering fast projectiles to keep the warrior on his toes. The second part of the fight was going to be more like a steady brawl, where both of them could test their mettle against each other along with learning more about their brothers attacks. The voice in Hachi’s head screamed that he should pull the saiyans tail, and pull it tightly, though he didn’t quite see why he would, given that such an act would leave Hachi the victor and Ryder in severe paralyzing pain. The voice retorted to such low ideas that it would save them both for the time being, as it was a major weakness to be hacked off and that it would protect any transformations that may happen during the Icer lunar cycle.

The words escaped Hachi’s lips mid training “Brother….Icer’s moon will rise soon enough, and we cannot sacrifice our training a week or so to keep both of us safe from the savage form you posess….we need to tear it off” the daemon paused, remembering “as I recall it’ll grow back in the same time it’ll take the lunar cycle to pass, correct brother? You have nothing to fear with it being lost forever…it would be like trimming the weakness from yourself as we become stronger”

Though he wasn’t sure if such an explaination would leave Ryder to sacrifice his tail for the week, it was more than worth a shot, the power a giant ape would bring down recklessly around the planet would prove very toxic to his plans of conquest and of training. The tail had to go, one way or another, Hachi was looking forward to night fighting to help him take control of his senses in the sterile icer wasteland that surrounded them and covered the planet.

OOC: 1,801

A glance upward's showed which pillars it would strike as it completed it's fall, and the direction they were likely to take. With a powerful leap of his conditioned legs, Ryder leapt towards another pillar just as the one he'd been fleeing slammed into it's mark, breaking the fresh pillar in-twain as one half fell in each direction, setting off further reactions. Just as the Saiyan warrior's feet pressed against the Pillar, a powerful blast of ice nearly caught the side of his head, only a swift shift of his torso managed to evade it. But there was no time to rest, even as his knees bent against the pillar's wall, yet more blasts erupted around him, spikes beggining to manifest from the ground and the columns. With another leap, the boy bounded towards another tower just as the one he'd landed against shatterred under the force of a neighbor's collapse.

Panting heavily, Ryder focused himself on the task, refusing to surrender, channeling his intent into surviving and overcoming the obstacles that assailed him. A leap here, sliding safely down the side of a column only to grip a horizontal spike and swing safely out of harm's way, on and on it went, with sweat continuously forming across his flesh, giving the activity everything he had. And everything he had was only barely enough, between Hachi's efforts to push and train his protoge beyond his limits, and the natural dominoing columns it was all that Ryder could do to avoid the damage that actively sought him out.

As he fought for his life, Ryder could feel himself moving faster, swinging and leaping harder. He found he earlier that morning he hadn't just thought he'd become more powerful. He HAD become more powerful. "Just you wait and watch brother..." he spoke to himself, the words coming straight from his heart, his mind lost in the dance with the death that assailed him at every turn. "I grow stronger daily, I will not fail you."

Suddenly, Ryder leapt against one final column, only to have it collapse behind him, falling away to leave the last there, right in the path of his leap. With grim determination almost glowing in his eyes, the boy channelled his full focus, the entire force of his being into that path. Nothing would stand in his way. Desperately, blasts of ice and snow assailed him from all sides, with the warrior deftly deflecting the dangerous attacks, ignoring the little scratches as he 'flew' towards his mark, legs flexed powerfully for the finish.

Suddenly, a massive spike of ice errupted from the side of the column, headed on a direct course for the young fighter. Without even thinking about it, Ryder yanked his legs upwards, the momentum forcing his body up a few feet, enough to evade the spike and find purchase on it, leaping fiercely from it as several more spikes speared the point he had just been, closing the final dozen meters as his body spun, gathering force as the tensed muscles in his leg screamed for release. In the last instant, he extended his leg, landing a perfect spinning-back kick to the largest of the towers of ice, exploding the entire thing in a massive burst of crystal shards.

To the casual observer, it would look as though he'd simply finished the tower and had been knocked aside by the force, bounding downwards to take a well deserved rest. But such was not the case at all, Ryder had kicked to change his tragectory, to aim his fall at his brother, who'd questioned his loyalty. If Hachi noticed, there is little doubt he could expect an attack, as he'd received the night before, though Ryder's actual intention was to land bending into a kneeling posture. If allowed to land and kneel, he would proceed to mock his elder. "Have I proved my loyalty to you yet... BROTHER, or am I still not worth your trust."

OOC: 820

The daemon clapped with a smile, a genuine smile and spoke his intentions clearly “why I knew you were loyal in mind brother, the heat of battle can often blur the lines of friend and foe, I needed to see your rather great and rather useful lust for battle be well controlled…as well as depicting to Raphael here how the harsh trainings start” Hachi smiled more and forced the now ruined pillars into the ground once more before leading his brother into the middle of the area, getting in a fighting stance, intending to explain things as they casually fought “you see, we need a base of operations, someplace closer to the cities but far enough away not to be surrounded or mobbed” the daemon broke off, throwing a few kicks with some power behind them. “a place that blends in with the area, as we don’t want to be found out and attacked, not like they’ll get far but hey”

The brief explanation with integrated with their battle, that they needed a discreet place to set up their base, a group of hopeful changelings to alter how their planet was, a number of upgrades for training purposes, and eventually capturing the areas from opposing groups or the general populace, called ‘identifying the areas cleansed’ though they were training, conversation could be held because they were roughly the same level in strength and speed now, barring some special circumstances under the proper alignment of stars. In the middle of their sparring mach, Raphael, who knew the cities very well spoke up, explaining he knew a place where it was an abandoned clinic, used to be a small hospital before the section of the city was overcome by a torrential blizzard, meaning the facility was sturdy, well equipped with raw materials, and could easily be outfitted into a base of operations.

There was little anyone could suspect of such an old and forgotten place, so it seemed like nearly the perfect place to set their base of operations, a place for a new beginning. When the major issue of their group was solved by the namekian, Hachi began to put more into the spar, making sure they both knew the paces for their fighting forms, almost by heart. Though things seemed to flow together and to fall into place very neatly, Hachi was still hearing the nagging voice in the back of his head, willing him to feel all the dark emotions his people treasured, to come clean about his daemonic heritage and be done with weak charades, but the daemon suppressed that badly, making sure the thought didn’t cross his mind again, ever again. The idea by the end of the training was to settle down and relax in the sauna to prepare themselves mentally for the task of retrieving the hollowed out building to convert it into a base for their plans.

OOC: 604

~Base of operations huh... this place isn't good enough Hachi?~ He ponderred as he listened to the other speak through panted breaths, blocking a kick and counterring, twisting aside to allow a punch to glide past his shoulder before sending an elbow flying at his teacher, violent, fierce, swift motions as the discussion, and battle, waged back and forth, Ryder's saiyan nature refusing to allow even a casual spar to remain non-competetive. "So we have to go into hiding, mask our position. Makes sense. I can remember a little of my old man talking about war and maneuvering before... before his time ran out." Replied the young man, memories of his father struggling to the surface as they battled back and forth, trying to overwelm him.

With an effort, the boy focused himself in on the battle at hand, listening carefully as Raphael reccomended a potential site he knew of, and the two proceeded to discuss turning the old clinic into an effective base of operations, a simple but defensible hide-away from which to plot their ressurection of Icer. As the conversation came to a close, Ryder could feel Hachi picking up the pace, the battle turning from a fierce if casual exercise and competition into something closer to a true battle. "Come on Hachi, don't start getting old on me!" Teased Ryder as he too, picked up the speed, sliding quickly from one move, to the next, to a deflection and counter-strike, on and on they fought, till once again the Saiyan felt himself sweating.

~Something is troubling you Hachi... I can sense it.~ Thought the saiyan, concerned nearly to distraction by the look he saw in his beloved brother's eyes. There was some kind of battle going on inside, something that tore at the old warrior, a conflict that waged within. ~Whatever it is my brother, I hope you know that I am here for you. When your ready, you can tell it to me. I am no longer a boy, but a man, you can tell me anything, and I will do my best to support you. I know we're walking in death's valley, but between the two of us there's nothing we can't overcome if we work as a team.~

Gradually, the battle wound down, leaving the pair soaked in sweat, Ryder beaming at having offerred his brother such a workout. The last time they'd fought he had hurt the man, but hadn't really put him through that much work. Here and now, Hachi was drenched just as much as Ryder. It felt really good to be a challenge again, to be able to push his brother as much as he himself was pushed. "So.... if you two old guys are done talking about the weather and the way your going to paint your rooms pink and fill them with 'My Little Pony' paraphanaia...... I'll race you to the sauna!" He called, laughing uncaringly as he twisted out of the way of a punch, a counter-palm thrust shoving Hachi backwards hard before running away, headed straight for the sauna and a relaxing steep in the hottub.

It didn't take long for the boy to reach the sauna, throwing the door open to close on it's own behind him, peeling out of his weights and clothes and tossing them all in the corner before climbing down into the hot, soothing waters of the tub. "That feels amazing...." he moaned, leaning back to relax and enjoy the bubbles when he rememberred something that Hachi had told him. "The lunar cycle is coming brother, will you let me remove your tail?" He'd been asked, though at the time the Saiyan had been too caught up in the moment to respond. "What a question to ask a guy. Give up my tail?" He ponderred aloud, thinking through the ramifications.

At a young age Ryder had learned to fight without his tail, wrapping it safely around his waist as a belt to keep it out of harms way. While some saiyans were dependent on their tails for balance and as a weapon in combat, Ryder's was little more than ornamation. "It wouldn't really be a big loss to me I suppose, but... what if we need to make an attack during the lunar week and we don't have the power to do it normally? I know how to travel with my eyes down, Hachi trained me well. I mean... I guess I could let it go... but what if something happens and I need the ape to save him?" On and on he would debate with himself, entirely unaware if the others had followed him in or not.

It was then that the Saiyan looked inside himself once more, into the black void where he'd seen the ape lurking, and heard his father's voice, but now, in his time of need, he found nothing but his own voice. A strong sense of logic and reason, a sense of purpose and of doing what's right that guided him. "I'll do it. I can't control that form, it's not worth the risk, I could end up hurting good people if I transformed. What good would I be if I ended up being the same thing I'm trying to stop?" With his mind at last made up, Ryder maneuvered his tail up, till the tip was out of the water, softly stroking it with a thumb. "I'm sorry my friend, but it seems that your going to have to go. Don't worry about me, I'm strong, I'll be alright without you. And besides, you'll be back in a week, I promise."

And with those words, the saiyan released his attachment, his sense of ownership and connection to the tail. When Hachi was ready, Ryder would be prepared to allow it to be removed, lest he become the great ape beast that lurked deep within, sacricfing who he was and endangering those whom he sought to protect.

OOC: 1105 words

Total for the thread: 4200

“not slow, loyal” Hachi replied with a smile “you should do best to present your loyalty too…you should know I don’t tolerate the disloyal, Raphael” though his words were calm in tone, their meaning held a much more grave message, and Raphael kept himself quite about the subject, as not to aggravate Hachi further. The namekian took his leave shortly after the conversation with Hachi, intending to pack up his meger things in order to get ready for the move to the abandoned hospital.

As the daemon closed in on the sauna, he had heard his brother talking, explaining and debating about the issue of the saiyan tail, though it was an asset at the right time, the issue was the control, should he have no control, things could turn very bad very quickly. The decision must have been tough for Ryder, but Hachi knew it was only going to be a strength rather than a weakness to have it torn off now rather than become a blood rage induced giant ape in the middle of friendly forces and enemies.

As soon as Hachi got close enough, he heard the light mocking of decorations and of plush toys in their rooms, making him smile a bit. Though not yet, Hachi intended one day soon to tell Ryder about his older brother’s true nature and turn the pure saiyan evil in effect. When the daemon got to the door and opened it, apparently the saiyan had made the decision to relinquish the tail for a week as a way to help keep things running smooth for Hachi’s plan, though not without some sentimental goodbyes for the furry friend.

With a heavy sigh, Hachi pulled off his weights first, then his normal form of clothing to sit next to the steam maker, tossing a few shards of ice to make the place steam up some more “whew, so Ryder, you got a full day’s training out of the day, and as soon as tomorrow arrives we need to collect that base and make it ours… for every day we don’t, we offer the corruption on the planet to spread just so much further, and the sooner we put an end to it, the sooner the people of icer can find peace in the hostility.” Hachi cleared his throat “Raphael told me that the location we decided on housed a number of changeling people who share my views, who share our views… he has gone ahead to speak with them, to rally them to our cause” Hachi smiled a bit “so by tomorrow when we find our new base of operations, we will have a squad of warriors ready to back us up”

The idea seemed grand, and Hachi trusted the skills Raphael had at negotiation, at least to the point where they could meet the changelings in question and pull the tides for their side and rake in the final few undecided into their ranks. The daemon thought of the beginning of his group as the waves of steam enveloped him and the entire sauna, Raphael was still too frail to fight completely on his own, and he would have to be kept safe within the base most of the time, guarded by however many people were swayed to his side. Ryder would make an excellent warrior in both the front lines and in command of a small group, though it was best if the saiyan not be risked alone in some situations, hence where Hachi came in. The daemon would pay for their training, for the upgrades to their base as well as be an active fighter for his cause, though of course as leader he would not be put in such serious situations as to die and cause his entire team to lose its morale.

As the sauna worked its magic, Hachi was feeling more relaxed, and found the voice of the spirit only call to him faintly while he rested. The voice told him that he would need to train hard, train the others and to take places as quickly as he could, or else someone else would, which would cause serious problems for the group and Hachi personally. The voice was also clear about the internal workings of the team leader, that he was beginning to regain emotions, beginning to become stronger because of them, going through an evolution of sorts.

All the internal talk of evolution and of change wore Hachi out and made him fed up with the voice, his mind went blank for however long the sauna would last, giving the daemon precious peace until it was time to sleep, leaving Ryder to do what he would.

OOC: 905

Added (02.28.2010, 1:47 Am)
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OOC: thread done, my total post count: 5,270