The Aftermath [Vocado]

Virus watched on callously as Vocado jumped to his senses; Certainly, the Bio-Weapon's decrepit appearance was the last thing Vocado had expected to see, and the Saiyan immediately assumed the worst.

Virus stood perfectly still however, simply watching Vocado drop to his knees in fatigued weakness. A small, barely-audible scoff escaped his maw, a mixture of lingering anger and lamentation of Vocado's apparent frailty.

"Correct." Virus stated with an aggressive flatness in his tone. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever Virus had come here for, had left him intensely angry. The creature stood as stiff as a board, every muscle fiber tense with unrest and rage.

He twitched in response to Vocado's question, unable to help but flash a twisted half-smile half-sneer. Virus' breathing grew ragged and stifled, eventually letting out an airy laugh.

Suddenly, Virus let out a shrill roar as he slammed his fist into the walls of the cave, volatile energy flickering from his fists like sparks from a flame. That hollow and demented smile faded, replaced with a trembling grimace that oozed with anger.

"AZOTH IS DEAD."

His red eyes, staring at the ground below, whipped up to pierce Vocado's gaze. Virus' maw trembled uncontrollably, showcasing rows upon rows of teeth. The Bio-Weapon retracted his shaking fist in silence, and breathed to himself.

Emperor Azoth died. Died before Virus' very eyes.

---

Word Count: 236 + 229 = 465

He wasn't surprised with Vocado's reaction. That stiffness. That utter, void blankness. It wasn't just an assumption. No, it was a certainty. Virus did not return a word. His message was clear, and his very existence had been soured because of it's truthful nature.

Perhaps it was mere instinct, but Virus returned Vocado's obscene power spike with his own, accepting the seemingly endless wave of pure, destructive energy without resistance. The stone surrounding them eroded into nothingness, as the blistering heat that rivaled suns battered away at his carapace.

It burned and ached, melting Virus' exoskeleton and sizzling away at his flesh. Yet he stood; not even resisting it. This pain, it was nothing compared to the agony he felt at the loss of Azoth's might.

An arm reached out through the blinding energy, snapping towards Vocado's wrist with a vice grip. Nails potentially dug themselves into flesh, as slowly but surely, Virus' mangled and deformed face surfaced.

"BEHAVE YOURSELF, APE." His words were seething with maddening hatred, his own anger projecting onto the Saiyan. Virus was only barely able to resist the urge to snap Vocado's wrist like a twig.

"IT WAS YOUR KING, THE NEW BLOOD."

Virus advanced, taking a single large step toward Vocado as he aimed to pin him against what remained of the rocks behind them. Slamming a claw into the stone beside him with unrestrained might, he sneered with blood-drenched teeth.

"Do you have any clue how much I am suffering?! Did you think you'd be the only one!?!" Virus trembled with rage as he spoke, barely able to contain himself. Every fiber of his being wanted to lay waste to all that surrounded him. Paint these Bluffs with Vocado's innards. But no. Not yet.

"He was taken from me! My one chance at challenging the mightiest was SNATCHED AWAY BEFORE MY VERY EYES BY THAT WORM!!" 

Caustic spittle flung itself from Virus' maw as he screamed in Vocado's face, pounding away at the stone behind him with every single word. Shockwaves of volatile energy echoed drastically across their surroundings, crumbling the stone spires that surrounded their location.

"I cannot stomach it, Vocado. I can barely resist SHATTERING every bone in your body!" Virus snarled between ragged, raging breaths.  "I am losing myself...!"

---

Virus instinctively powers up into his x6 for a PL of 392,400.
Using [Light]Hardened Carapace to defend for 78,480. 256,995 bleedthrough is reduced by -30% for 179,897 Total Damage.

KP: 4/6 (-2)
MP: 2/6 (+2)
DMG: 46/250
Word Count: 465 + 379 = 844

An inhuman snarl escaped the creature as Vocado's powerful aura pushed him back. The boundless anger clawing at the inside of his skull coupled with the Saiyan's deranged tantrum was becoming too much for Virus to bear. The creature was inches from completely losing himself.

Waves upon waves of insults were hurled from the Saiyan's mouth, holding little meaning apart from pure and utter projection. They struck the Bio-Weapon where it truly hurt: His hubris. The worst of it all was the cutting accuracy of Vocado's taunts - Azoth indeed, hadn't even noticed him. The Emperor escaped his clutches like a phantom, slipping between the cracks in his grip, never to be seen again.

Virus could've had him. He could've had his fated battle...If it weren't for one thing.

Vocado's flurry of words and punches sailed towards the Biodroid like the raging seas themselves. A held guard defended against the brunt of the assault, as Virus desperately clinged to his last semblance of control. Yet the longer he remained passive, the more the aggressive snarl on his maw began to tremble.

...Until he couldn't take it anymore.

A violent growl escaped the Beast as his guard flashed open. In a single violent motion, Virus snagged Vocado by the wrist and tore the Saiyan towards him, aiming to plant a deep and concussive elbow into his solar plexus.

"I WAS PROTECTING THAT RUNT YOU CALL YOUR NIECE!"

The blow had to have been enough to kill the man under any other circumstances, yet Virus figured the sheer rage that fueled Vocado was enough to keep him breathing, at the very least. After the dull echo of Virus' attack had faded into the distance, the Bio-Weapon retreated his elbow, and tossed the Saiyan against the ground as if he were mere trash.

"I would've made it if it weren't for those incessant children! I would've had Azoth!" Virus snarled down at the Saiyan. It took every fiber of self-control to not just wail on Vocado until he was reduced to a bloody pulp.

"I could've saved that Android too!"

Everything Virus had built up to was falling apart in front of his eyes. The climax of the War was supposed to be Virus' gateway into gaining trust with the Saiyan Kingdom; He could've wormed his way into their circles while achieving the battle he oh-so desired against Azoth.

If Virus was only a minute sooner, everything would've gone perfectly...But no. For the first time, Virus truly felt the nasty sting of defeat. And so, his entire plan had crumbled into nothing.

...They could all die, then.

It didn't matter anymore.

---

Virus retaliates against Vocado using a BKB-enhanced, MP-boosted [Medium]Bloody Revenge to defend for 90% (353,160). Reduced by 159,750 = 193,410 +20% = 271,890 Damage sent back! Intent to Disable (NOT K.O) 

KP: 0/6
MP: 0/6
DMG: 46/250
Word Count: 844 + 437 = 1281

Pain.

Every perceivable type of pain coursed through Virus like a sea of nails. It tore at his very being; His body, his mind, his soul. It hurt everywhere, and it hurt so, so much.

The body, facing the unbound fury of a Saiyan on his very last legs. Energy that exploded outward with the force of a dying star, tearing away his carapace, muscles and flesh. It seared, tore, melted and burned.

The mind, knowing that everything he had worked towards for months, had crumbled into dust in the span of a day. Virus held a bright future in his hands, yet his grip was to tight that it turned to ash, slipping between the cracks in his fingers. Building relations with the Saiyans, challenging the mightiest in the Universe - It all. Lead. To. Nothing.

...And the Soul, met with the disappointment of reality. Virus thought he had found a kindred spirit within Vocado. That had also lead to nothing.

The unimaginably powerful energy that Vocado unleashed had long since faded into the horizon. Virus now stood before the unconscious Saiyan, his only company the sound of the howling wind.

The Saiyan's motionlessness, speechlessness - It was taunting, as if he had found a strange peace.

Peace that Virus couldn't dream of ever finding.

"...Tch!"

Virus' claw gripped into a tight fist once more, the burning, all-encompassing pain nothing but a small annoyance in comparison to the mental agony he felt. His rage bubbled again, screeching, clawing, at the inside of his skull.

Virus collapsed on his knees, and pounded away at the sand beside him.

This was all for nothing... Nothing...!

"G҉̡H̨͟R̶̕OÒOO̢O̴̕A̡͢A̴̸̸A͡AA̡̛͏A̸A̴Ą͢AA̶̡͡A̵͝A̡A̵̷͘A̵A̧̛A̢͠ÁA͘̕!͠!͘͠!"

Rage, agony, bitterness; Virus' beastly roar echoed for miles. He was brought past the breaking point; The beast's thoughts were reduced to a foggy, hate-fueled blur.

And that hatred, that undying thirst for battle, it lead to one place of clarity within his mind. One not shrouded in fog...

''Home''.

---

Virus takes the full brunt of Vocado's Warhead.

Virus takes an Emotional Crit! He exits the thread, leaving Vocado within the Wastes.

Total Word Count: 1281 + 325 = 1606