So from what Crotona had heard she had missed some big battle. She had not heard about it at all. Something about trying to destroy a statue or something! She still had been feeling from her injures. When she heard about that she was really mad. Look, she didn't like that she was missing these fights. She knew her body was not as strong as it had been before but she didn't want to be there for the fights. She had to help those who were in need! Crotona had to go get some space to think by herself. So she went into these Whistling Caves. She had wanted to check them out before but she had little reason to until now. Now, she was there to enjoy the sites but she was more thinking about how she had missed the fight.
She didn't know much but the fight had not gone bad. But what if it had? She should have been there. Her father would have been there but she was not! Crotona grumbled as she walked the caves. "I hate this feeling." Crotona sighed shaking her head. She could not be so hard on herself but she was. She hated it and she had this funk for a while. She had wanted to win. She needed to win. When she fought Vocado, she had lost it. Jackie? When she lost she couldn't even talk to her. Was she addicted to winning only now! It was such a negative feeling. She didn't like it one bit! "AHHHH" Crotona yelled out annoyed in the cave as she was thinking about all of these feelings.
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Echoing off the walls of the cave and twinkling among the collections of crystals in funny ways. One of the crystals on the ceiling grew a face; cartoony and devilish all at once. It winked at Crotona, and then oozed some sort of black goo. With a wet plop it fell to the ground, and from it arose a shape.
Morphing and twisting. Cracking and contorting. The blob became a man, and the man became recognizable. It was Erebos! He bowed like a stage performer, hands on his hips soon after.
”How’s it going, girlie? I thought you got teleported to a different dimension after our fight with Phakk.”
His attire was different today. Instead of the usual armor, he had a more casual outfit. Something an astronaut might wear on their day off. The dull gray and sharp reds of the ensemble betrayed it being a shadowy creation. One of Erebos’ newer spells, it seemed.
”I’m glad you’re back either way. Funny we run into one another here, too. Something troubling you as well, I imagine?”
His hand came up as he walked, fingers wiggling back and forth. As he passed under a particularly thick stalactite, there was suddenly a gem atop his knuckles, rolling back and forth as if it’d always been there.
Crotona heard a voice call out to her. She turned to see a shadow that seemed to be moving in quite the cartoon fashion. She raised an eyebrow to that before the shadow formed into Erebos. Oh, she forgot he was a shadow demon he could do that? Wait he was still on namek? She assumed him of left after the battle. But guess he had wanted to stay? But why would he stay on namek? Was he not some bad guy? Maybe he had been one of the people defending. Crotona crossed her arms as Erebros arrived. He seemed to look far different, no longer the armor and cape of an edgy prince. He seemed to be more of trying to head to space. Guess that confirmed he must have been considering leaving. Or maybe he just wanted to have a different fashion than just armor.
"I got flung all the way to plant. It was not fun, to be honest. But lucky, I survived that and now I'm back here. I actually been back for a while. Recovering from my wound." He had been at the battle, so Crotona might as well show him what had happened to her and why she had just up and vanished from fighting so long. She lift the bottom part of her shirt to show the scar she had gotten from the battle of Phakk and Ward. It was a circle-like shape on her stomach to show where the blast that nearly ended her life cleaved through. "They blasted me from front to back. I don't remember it hurting that much but it reminds me of what we almost lost there." She then realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her shirt back down in a huff of embarrassment. As for his question she nodded. "I heard there was another battle on namek? I don't know what happened. I was still recovering so I couldn't do anything. Did anything bad happen were you there!?" Crotona nearly grabbed Erebros to shake him around as she wanted the answers to her questions badly.
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Last Edit: Jan 24, 2022 13:42:21 GMT -5 by Crotona
”Wow. All the way to Plant, huh? Definitely a trip. Sorry I wasn’t able to stop the spell that sent you away. I noticed it too late, unfortunately.”
He approached, flicking the gem into the air and catching it in his palm. He closed his hand, and when he reopened it, the gem was gone.
”What’s Plant like this time of year, anyways?”
Crotona lifted her shirt, revealing the wound she’d sustained. With a concerned whistle, the Oni leaned in, inspecting the scar closely. Definitely something that wouldn’t go away. For a moment, he thought about offering to cover it up with magic, but he wasn’t a big fan of that kind of thing.
”Lucky you didn’t take a piece of Phakk with you.” He smiled up at her and she shoved her shirt back down. ”Imagine if she blasted you with some of her corruption magic instead! You’d be walking around with an extra limb sprouting from your tummy.”
The topic of conversation shifted rather quickly, with Crotona hurriedly demanding information on the recent battle. In all honesty, he’d forgotten about it for a minute or two.
”That’s kinda why I’m here,” he admitted, ”but don’t worry. It wasn’t like some crazy brawl. Some Saiyan guy swung by; he’s possessed by a demon. Tried to destroy Porunga’s shrine. Me and a couple others calmed him down, and now we’re trying to find a way to exorcise the little critter.”
There was more to the battle. Like the pirate woman and Erebos’ old roommate Sing showing up, but that was all a little confusing and hard to explain, so he kept that to himself.
”But I’m having a bit of a dilemma. Call me a softie, but seeing a demon just latch onto somebody makes me… it makes me sad, yknow? This demon didn’t choose to possess Nasu: it was created by some other demon! It didn’t have a choice, so now all it knows it anger and chaos. I wanna help it. Give it its own body, yknow? Give it a chance to make its own choices… But I don’t know how.”
“Yah it was a trip. But don’t worry about it. You guys needed to focus on stopping Ward and Phakk. If you used energy on me then maybe they of taken advantage of that.” Crotona gave a thumbs up. No reason to be worried. Going to a plant was not the worst thing in the world. She had met a few people and recovered. She couldn’t be mad that Erebros could have stopped her from being flung into space. Erebos did make a note that it was good she didn’t get blasted by some corruption magic and grew a tendril out of her stomach or something. “Yah that of been a lot worse. If you put it that way I made it out pretty good.” Crotona whipped her forehead in relief. She may have almost died but considering what could have happened, guess she avoided the worst outcomes.
Anyway, there was indeed a battle and Erebos was more than fine telling her about it. Some saiyan who was being controlled by a demon or whatever. He wanted to destroy the Porunga shrine but Erebos was able to stop it along with some others. She whipped her face again. “Thank goodness. I would not of wanted to been unable to fight and hear that people had been wounded and killed.” This was the best outcome she could imagine. But it didn’t seem to be over as Erebos was here to actually think. See, they were not exactly sure what to do with the demon. Help it out by giving its own body. She nodded. “I mean, I am not an expert on demons, but that does sound dangerous. Not sure how you do it either? But I think if you believe that is the right choice then you should do it.” Crotona gave a thumbs up. She trusted Erebos wanted to do the right thing.
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Last Edit: Jan 25, 2022 12:11:14 GMT -5 by Crotona
”Psshh. People getting hurt? When I’m around? Puh-lease.” Erebos flexed sarcastically, intentionally avoiding the fact that Crotona did indeed get hurt in his presence. That was kinda part of the joke, though.
”Demons come in all shapes, so it’s hard to pin down any one spell or tincture that’d cure a possession.” He gestured to himself as evidence. Shadowmancers weren’t one of a kind, but their rarity was incredibly high. Concocting a spell to banish Erebos would take a special kind of holy magic. ”But I have to try. If I don’t extend the same kindness to him that’s been afforded to me by people like you or Fend, then what kinda hero am I?”
That word bounced around in his head. Hero. Was that really what he wanted to be? It’d certainly caused him more trouble than he expected in the long run, but what it gave him in trouble it also made up for in relationships. Crotona here was proof enough of that.
”Whatever. I’m sure I’ll figure it out before things get bad. I always do!” He flicked his wrist lazily, and a black goblet shot out of a shadow on the wall. He sipped out of the straw, though the contents of the cup were an unknown.
Walking further into the caves, he beckoned Crotona to follow. ”Why don’t you tell me some part of your cooool backstory. We never really got to chat about our histories before. Might be good to delve into the past; get to know eachother better? Something less drab than all the talk of chaos and portals and magic and such.”
Crotona stared stone-faced as Erebos made his joke. Though after a few moments she did smile. "Yeah well, I'm glad that most people don't get hurt when you're around. They just get flung somewhere else. Not around just...you know related." Crotona waved her arm. Not funny but she was trying. Anyway, Erebos didn't know exactly how to help the demon. You know there was no one easy way to help the demon out. Erebos was trying to help out, like she and fend had helped him out, that is what a hero would do. Crotona put a hand on her head, covering the slight redness forming on her face. "How cute. But I'm not really done anything to help you all that much?" Crotona tilted her head.
Anyway, after a few moments, she calms herself down and follows Erebos throughout the cave. Erebos wanted to know a bit more about her backstory. They had never had a chance to talk about their history. Crotona nodded. "Well, I am from Konats. My father was a warrior and my mother was also a good fighter. Anyway, my father died when I was young. My mother took care of me. I think that made me idolize to you know be a fighter. But also to out about my parents who they were. My mother does not talk about him that much. So that is actually why I left Konats. Well, one reason, considering Konat's is not a good situation. There been this great storm that has been messing up the planet." Crotona explained as she kept walking with Erebos thinking back to Konats considering how long it had been since she been home.
”You don’t have to help me to be kind, Crow. All you’ve done is be my friend, and that’s kindness enough.” He smiled warmly. Crow. What a good nickname to use. He’d definitely use it more often. ”You wouldn’t BELIEVE the amount of people I’ve run into who try to throw holy water on me. It’s insulting!”
Twinkling lights and a gentle breeze were the backdrop of Crotona’s backstory. Her tale was interesting enough, if not a little generic. He’d heard a lot of histories before, and this one felt a little simple. Not like she could control that, though. What did pique his interest, though, was the mention of storms on Konats.
”A storm, you say? How intriguing. What kind was it? Electrical, rain, maybe magical?” In his travels, he’d run into many a storm across dozens of planets. If this one was long lasting, it could’ve even been something he’d seen before. Magical storms were a rare thing. It takes a skilled magician to pull such a thing off for more than a few minutes.
”Me personally, I’m a big fan of bad weather. Gloomy skies especially! Gives me lots of darkness to strut my stuff in. Kinda like this cave.”
He pointed to a huge cluster beneath their feet in a small cavern. It shone brightly, but as his hand traveled up, it was clear how many huge shadows it littered among the roof of the cave.
”You’d be surprised how many things I benefit from in a fight. Crazy stuff, huh?”
Oh jeez. Was he making this too much about him?
”So uh— your mom? What happened with her? She’s still on Konats?”
"Crow huh?" Crotona glanced as Erebos seemed to have given her a nickname. That was nice she supposed. "Well, we have not known each other that long but I'm glad you consider me your friend." Crotona would give Erebos a thumbs up. Anyway, after telling her story, Erebos wanted to know a bit about the storm. "I am not sure. Might be magically but that's what I'm going to assume. I was pretty young when it all started. A lot of Konatsian's left the planet. A lot stayed of course but it been tough. Last time I was there it was not that great one of the reason I wanted to go and explore the universe. But now I can't find the planet. So, for all I know it could be gone. I'll be honest I do feel a bit guilty about leaving and now having enough strength to help out the planet. But, I'm not there to do help." Crotona sighed. Not much she could do about it but she wished she could just find and help her people.
Erebos and her kept talking. Erebos admitted he was a big fan of darkness since that was his stuff. They were shadows all around for him to be close to. She nodded. "Right yah I sometimes forget your a shadow demon guy. This cave is a perfect place for you to fight." Crotona nodded as she kept walking. Crotona glanced as Erebos asked what happened to her mother. "She was alive last time I saw her. Not sure how she is doing. She is a blacksmith. She made my first sword." She shows her original blade. "Though now I mostly use this." She put that blade away so she could show She the hilt of the Z-Sword. "It channels my Ki into a blade so it can be extra powerful. Metal got its limits after all."
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Last Edit: Jan 27, 2022 22:08:49 GMT -5 by Crotona
They kept on chatting, swapping topics left and right. So jumpy! It was fun. Like a carnival ride. Not so hectic, of course, but it kinda reminded him of Kaza. It'd been a while since he'd had a tried and true traveling companion. Maybe she was the right fit...? Maybe. Maybe not.
"Oh jeez. You forgot I'm a shadow guy huh? What, should I be all spooky all the time? Jeeeez." He stuck his tongue out at her, turning it a thick black, before it retreated into his mouth, wisps of shadow popping out from between his lips.
Erebos ooh'ed at the sword presented to him, tapping the hilt if allowed. "Preeeety cool." He whistled. That was becoming a habit. "You used it against Phakk, didn't you? I remember you pulling out some pretty cool sword moves back then. A little simplistic, all in all, but they really packed a punch."
With a flick of his wrist, he vanished the shadow goblet into thin air, allowing its shade to return to its place on the wall. He liked doing that; disrupting shades for too long just felt rude.
"A blacksmith, huh? Think she could help me out? I don't have a real sword. I just use shadows. It's useful, but having to spend magic on making one is... Well its not costly ANYMORE, but... Well, I dunno having a real sword would be nice. Yknow? You know what I mean!" He rubbed the back of his head. Sheepishly. Just a little.
"Whatever. Do you wanna travel with me maybe?" Whoops. That was too fast. "I dunno if you travel with anybody else, but my old traveling companion kinda ditched me so I need a new one. I kinda got Nasu but he's doing his own thing and... Well?"
Crotona nodded as Erebos noted that she seemed to have forgotten that he was a shadow demon. "Well, yah somewhat. I just think you're a demon that uses shadow powers. I don't know if that much of a difference? Get what I'm trying to say." Crotona would rub the back of her head. "Or is that how it works? Can't say I fully understand how you can turn into a shadow. I can turn into water but that through one of my monsters. It is not one of my natural abilities. Can demons just do that stuff?" Crotona was curious how that worked, but Erebos power did seem a bit more advanced than others. She would like to understand demons more considering she carried three of them around with her.
"I did use this sword against Phakk. It is a pretty simple sword I supposed. I didn't fully understand it when I first got the blade. But after a bit, I understood it meant to be a hilt and you flow ki into it. Maybe if I can find some good metal though, I'll have someone forge into a stronger blade the channel the ki into the metal. I'm sure that makes it even stronger." She rubbed her head. "If that would even work. Not sure how infusing ki into metal objects exactly works. Erebos also wondered if he could get a sword from her mother. "Well if Konat's opens up your free to visit and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help. Though I warn you my mother does not do stuff for free. At least usually." Wasn't she a mercenary once? She remembered hearing stories about that from other Konatsian's but she never had that confirmed.
Anyway, right after that Erebos asked if she wanted to travel with him, "Huh?" Crotona was confused. She turned red a bit. "Well..I.." But then he kept speaking. See, he needed someone to travel with. But his old companion ditched him. He did consider others but he needed someone to hang out with. She had gotten the wrong idea. Her face soured for a moment as she realized this. "That is a nice offer, but I got to protect Namek right? There is a lot of bad people who come here to cause trouble. This Nasu, those Kai's, and before that there was this Shakuhachi guy from what I been told was pretty bad too. If all the stronger fighters leave who would be here to defend. Plus, I started a farm here to help with the division between the clans. I am not sure it be right to up and leave that unless it was for something very important. So I'm gonna have to decline Erebos. I'm sorry."
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Last Edit: Jan 30, 2022 13:08:37 GMT -5 by Crotona
Erebos deflated at her rejection. Oh well. Sometimes you don’t get what you want. Kaza was going to be hard to replace, and even Crotona wasn’t the greatest fit. Their personalities didn’t mesh the same way.
”Alrighty.” He smiled, nodding. ”Namek will be just fine with you around, so I’m fine with that.”
Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset when he explained this next part. She wasn’t expecting Erebos to stick around right?
”Well, I’ve gotta leave soon actually. It’s why I was inviting you. Nasu has that whole demon thing, so we’re gonna do some digging across the galaxy. He’s got a buddy on Plant that’s apparently pretty smart, and I’ve got a couple favors I think I can pull. If they fall through, though, I’ve always got Fend as a backup plan.” The Oni cringed slightly at requesting Fend go up to Nasu and stab him in the chest to free him from a Demon. Something told him that wouldn’t be a well-received request from either of his friends.
”Since you’re staying, can I trust you to keep watch of everything? I was gonna ask Nero but he’s uh… Missing.”
Crotona gave a thumbs up. She was glad that Erebos understood. Erebos then admitted that yes he did need to leave soon. With Nasu's demon situation he was going to need to go across the galaxy to figure out what was going on. Crotona gave a stern nod. Erebos wanted to help out and figure out how to figure that all out. Nasu apparently, had a friend that was very smart. Someone that could hopefully figure this out. He also had a backup plan in someone named Fend that could be helpful in this demon situation. Crotona nodded. "Glad you have some people that can help. As I said, I wish I could have been helpful in another way but there is not much I can do." Crotona rubbed her head. She hated not being able to help except staying on Namek to stop any trouble. Guess that it was a good thing that she was doing. Erebos then asked if she could watch everything while he was gone. "Yah Erebos don't worry I can make sure any trouble will be stopped. You go help Nasu." Crotona gave a nod. Though she knew they were a lot of people that she could not be defeated. But she was going to give it her all to try to keep namek safe.
Man. He was kinda bad at serious emotional conversations. Erebos was never the type to hide his feelings, but it didn’t mean he was good at sharing the intensity of any one feeling or another. He looked around awkwardly. Crotona made it hard for him to talk sometimes.
”Wellllllll…. I’m glad we had this time to talk! Really cool and stuff.” His fingers tapped his thigh awkwardly. ”I should probably go. Get ready for my trip and stuff.”
Slowly, Erebos started walking backwards, glancing this way and that with his cheeks all puffed up in a funny way. His entire hand tapped his thigh now, speeding up bit by bit.
Before he rounded the corner to leave, though, he stopped. All that awkwardness faded away, and he gave Crotona a stern, serious look. Not angry or malicious, but determined.
”Hey Crow… When you decide it’s time to leave Namek. To go home to Konats? Let me know, okay? I wanna help you out. With whatever goes on down there. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of bad guys to slice up, and I gotta make sure you don’t get hurt and stuff.”
Erebos dipped around the corner, slipping into the shadows. They’d talk more about this later.
Guess that was the end, that was all he wanted to ask? There were some other spots she wanted to ask but the awkward air made her decide it was not best to ask about it. Not sure, it was really the time for any sort of conversation. The two of them seemed to be had some things that got the other a bit tense. So, another time. Yeah, they would get to talk another time and figure this all out. Crotona watched as it seemed Erebos left but just before he did he turned back to face her.
He noted that when she went to Konats, he wanted to know. He wanted to be able to help with whatever was going on there. She gave a stern nod back. "I'll go and find you to let you know whenever I can find Konats. I appreciate that you plan to help me. I think it won't be too bad. At least I hope nothing crazy had occurred on Konats while I have been gone." Crotona gave a thumbs up to Erebos. "Be safe on your trip Erebos. There are a lot of strong people out there and I know it is not easy to handle that alone." But Erebos was tough, he should be ok. He really seemed to have grown since their last encounter. Maybe that battle changed him as it had changed her? She didn't know but she wished that her change was as positive as Erebos's seemed to be.