Adolescence

It didn't take long for her friend to answer the call; wherein one moment there was an absence of energy within the corridor, in the next it was awash with Zerori's power. The suddenly influx of energy sent a bit of a shiver down Zuqetta' spine; it was certainly something that she was going to have to learn to adapt to if she wanted to continue fighting in the future. As it stood now however, since she lacked ki of her own to sense, she couldn't properly gauge the strength of others any longer.

In spite of Zerori's attempts, Zuqetta would hardly be startled by the sudden shout; besides Zerori's massive pool of energy announcing her arrival, she'd long since grown accustom to her friends antics. It was clear that Zerori was still running of the high she had of hearing Ise's confession; it seemed like nothing was going to break that momentum. Rather than respond immediately to Zerori's arrival however, Zuqetta couldn't help but stare for a few moment at the 'trick' that Zerori was trying to show off.

"You're... like a bunny." Zuqetta would say quaintly, slightly flustered at the adorable sight before clearing her throat and taking a step back to allow Zerori the room to climb out of her dimensional rabbits hole, "A-anyway -ahem-, took ya long enough!" Zuqetta would say as she crossed her arms, "Heh, were ya schmoozin' it on up with your girly-friend~?" She would tease with an excessively sharp, toothy grin before giving in to a bit of a laughing fit.

It was much nicer to be able to have such nonchalant interactions such as these, especially with how strained and difficult things had been recently. It didn't change the fact that Wards warning loomed however; whether the things he said were likely to occur was anyways guess, but it was a good idea to prepare none the less. Such was the reason that Zuqetta had called upon Zerori to begin with; and after allowing her friend a moment to get over the teasing and to remove herself from the rift, Zuqetta would then gesture to the utterly black corridor the two stood in.

"Hmhmhmm, I've got a trick ta show you as well!" Zuqetta would say smugly as she backed up towards the wall behind her, "How 'bout ya step into MY rabbit hole for a bit?" She would say before falling backwards into the wall, vanishing on sight as she seemingly phased through the wall, "Oh, nice outfit by the way! Where'd ya get it?" She'd announce from behind the illusion, before sticking her hand out to take Zerori's in an attempt to pull her through in case the hybrid had any bit of hesitation, "Looks very... post-apocalyptic chic!"

While an illusion of a wall certainly didn't stack up against the ability to create a universe traversing portal, Zuqetta hoped Zerori would be adequately impressed with her improvement in 'magic'. The concept of the impossible was still a bit difficult for Zuqetta to grasp, but magic seemed to be the only functional term to use. Still, this didn't change the belief Zuqetta held tightly to; magic was simply a science that couldn't yet be explained.

"Hehehe, weeeeell, I don't mean ta brag-" Zuqetta would begin as she crossed her arms triumphantly, "-But it IS a pretty advanced technique!" She would state proudly, despite the fact that it of course, was not. Rather, the illusion was simply a failed attempt to make an actual wall; though the end result had simply managed to be a favorable one.

"Spent a good time masterin' this lil ol' technique all by myself!" Zuqetta would say with a sharp grin as her gaze darted away; a minor tell to the fact that she was fibbing. The truth however being that she had failed to advance her magical capabilities by herself, and had sought guidance from her supposed 'goddess' friend, Lilith.

The victorious moment began to feel short lived however, as Zuqetta quickly noticed the competition she was losing at. It may not have been an actual competition, but the result was all the same and was easily noticeable now that the two of them were standing eye to eye... or at least it SHOULD have been eye to eye. Zuqetta's overly proud demeanor would quickly deflate as she noticed her gaze looking UP towards Zerori's eyes; it had only been a couple weeks since they last spoke, and yet there had been such a big change, and it wasn't just in Zerori's new outfit.

"I uhh, I see you're castin' a little 'magic' yourself too, huh?" Zuqetta would question lowly as she she narrowed her gaze; tip-toeing as she did so to make the new difference in their heights less obviously, "I have chairs by the way... if ya wanna... SIT for this conversation." She state, gesturing to the small wooden chairs and table as she added emphasis to her remark, "They're the perfect size too... materialized them myself." Zuqetta would finished with an annoyed expression as she looked over Zerori's form more and more.

Zuqetta would question internally just how Zerori could have changed so much; it was true that her friend had been training hard, and was certainly looking much more fit recently that when they'd first met, but had she truly paid so little attention? Besides being taller, her arms seemed thicker and her face more refined. The outfit certainly added to it all, but Zerori seemed much larger than before; it was as though she was looking at some kind of 'teen Zerori' or something.

Zuqetta face would begin to redden slightly with embarrassment as she realized just how long her gaze was lingering. This certainly wasn't a mere call to catch up; whether the chair was the perfect size or not, there were things they needed to talk about!

With a light sigh of relief, Zuqetta would take her own seat across from Zerori; her eye twitching slightly as the materialized chair that Zerori sat in nearly buckled under her weight, while Zuqetta's own chair proved to be the perfect size. Rather than focus on the unnecessary however, Zuqetta would take the opportunity presented to her to move the conversation along. Zerori was quick to question the summons, making relatable assumptions as she did. While it wasn't Zuqetta's intention to show off, it also was too far off from the truth; showing off every now and then was fun after all, and she'd felt she'd improved her skills a decent amount in the short time they'd been separated. It had become clear however that Zerori had improved much further, which made it easier for Zuqetta to steel her resolved for what she would say next.

"I'm leaving." Zuqetta would say plainly in response, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Ever since Hatchi City, and that talk with Ward... I've been thinkin' a lot." Zuqetta would explain, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair, "I'm starting to understand the things that Azoth used to say about "necessary sacrifice", just... not in the way I'm sure he hoped I would."

Her thoughts were still muddled and astray, but a single thought remained constant; she no longer wanted to stay.

"Y'know, I never explained myself to you-" Zuqetta would begin, closing her eyes as she took another, deeper breath, "I've never had a mother, she died after my birth." She would say suddenly as she continued on, "My father was abusive, probably grief stricken... hell if I know..."

Zuqetta's tail would twitch violently as she spoke, while her now clinched fists began to shake; with this and the fur upon her tail beginning to frizz, it was clear that Zuqetta was forcing herself to speak. Her eyes would remain narrowed, focused upon the table between the two of them as the memories of her upbringing flooded her mind. She came from nobility, but could hardly tell if she was spoiled or not; there were liberties and freedoms that the lower class had that she didn't, and yet the same could be said of the opposite as well.

"That broken, burnt down super large house we were at? Y'know, where I came into my -ahem- 'magical' power, and ya thought I was offing myself?" Zuqetta would begin, "Ya, that was my house once, the manor I lived at with my... father, my guards, my servants..."

Zuqetta would hesitate, there was still a truth, several truths that she was keeping from Zerori. The pained expression on her face as she wondered what became of the rest of the staff said it all; in this moment, she was thankful that Zerori was too keen on reading people.

"The guards and servants have gone elsewhere, they're safe." She began again, "My father on the other hand." She would continue firmly as she moved her gaze to peer directly into Zerori's eyes, "He's dead."

Zuqetta would end her explanation there, allowing the truth to loom in the silence. She'd already spoken so much; though she had more to explain, it wouldn't do to overwhelm Zerori with more information than she could handle. In all honesty, she expected Zerori to already know most of this; after all, Zriracha had learn about most of it during their first encounter. Considering Zerori's actions up to this point however, it had steadily become clear that this wasn't the case.

"There's more ta my explanation, but for now, any questions?" Zuqetta would ask casually with a forced smile.

Zerori's reaction was justified; from her perspective, all this information must have seemed sudden. For Zuqetta however, this exposition dump of her past was merely to give explanation to her reason for leaving. She would give no comment to the consultation of the loss of her father however, choosing blatantly to move past it, focusing instead on Zerori's second response.

"Heh, guess it's easy to be caught off guard when you're betrayed by someone you trust I suppose." Zuqetta would say sarcastically with an apathetic tone, "He flaunted a false strength, bullied those weaker than him, and made no attempt to build any close relations." Zuqetta would explain in a calm and calculative manner, "With the manor void of servants and guards, even a lowly mob armed with nothing more than torches and information could do in someone like him." She'd finish sharply, narrowing her eyes with a scowl as she gazed down towards the table.

She was reluctant to give the exact reason for his passing for rather obvious reasons; she knew Zerori wasn't a fan of killing, and it wasn't as though she was either. If she'd brought it up, it was likely to spark tension and confrontation; this wasn't the conversation she wanted to have, so it was best to avoid such a tangent.

"In any case, what's done is done; that's all in the past, no changin' it." Zuqetta would state nonchalantly, "As for why I brought it up? Simple, we are what life makes us." She'd say; giving a stretch as she did so before gazing up at the red, starry night sky above, "Friends, family, validation, relations... I never had none of it, but that doesn't mean I never wanted it." She would explain in a melancholy tone, "Heh... hehe, but, I guess such things just weren't meant for me!" She'd exclaim with a sharp grin as she lowered her gaze back towards Zerori, "I was selfish! After I ran away, I tried to have it all, but one buy one, I lost all of it!"

Zuqetta's tail would unfurl, slamming and sweeping against the ground in agitation as Zuqetta struck the table with her clinched fist. The actions were abrupt and sudden, with the false smile Zuqetta wore never wavering; she borderlined the unhinged, but the memories of all that had transpired up to this point had begun to break her.

"I met a woman named Vennel, she was my mentor, I looked up to her like a sister-" Zuqetta began once more, "She went off and died on some planet somewhere, following her 'Saiyan Way'-" She'd explain quickly, "Oh, took my first ever friend to the grave with her I assume, considering I've never heard from him again after he joined her!" Zuqetta would laugh; leaning back in her chair as her tail continued to sweep about, "I've had two other mentors, and can you BELIEVE that BOTH of them were war criminals!? Crazy right! What luck I have!" Zuqetta would state in a sarcastic tone as she referenced Yangcong and Blizzard; her tail beating against the ground in agitation at the thought of them.

"It's ridiculous! My friends, my family, my teachers; each and every one of them is either dead or a traitor! I have nothing and no one!" Zuqetta would exclaim with a laugh before giving a deep sigh and pointing towards Zerori, "You, just you-" Zuqetta would say calmly as she settled down and leaned forward onto the table, "You're all I have left, for now..."

Zuqetta would fall silent as she lingered on the remark; her hand fiddling its way into her coat pocket to take hold of a scouter within.

"Heh, even that whole 'war' was useless; if you could even call it that." Zuqetta would state as she averted her gaze, "Am I too young to understand? Was that even a war?? Aside from some property damage, all it amounted to was a dangerous game of tag!" She'd say with a laugh, "Our good King knocked the other guy over, said we win, then went back home... no treaties, no prisoners, no reparations... pffft, what was I even fighting for??" Zuqetta would laugh, "Hehe, and like, what the heck did all the fools in the past die for if it could all be resolved so easily? Ha, dummies! Every soldier who ever fought in that war is such an idiot; we're idiots, Onnio's and idiot... my m-"

Cutting herself off, Zuqetta would take a deep breath as she pulled on her hood and laid her head down upon the table. She realized her frustrations had caused her to say more than was necessary, but she had gotten her point across.

"Z... I'm sick of all of this, these people... this life... this planet..." Zuqetta would say calmly, "There's nothing to be had here, not for anyone; and those who think there is? They're just fooling themselves, just like I was... so like I said, I'm leaving."

As she calmed, Zuqetta began to realize just how much of a tangent she had gone on. Her face began to redden slightly with annoyance at her own immaturity; this was exactly one of the reasons as to why she wanted to leave. She had always felt anger, but until recently she could recall ever snapping at people so much. Though she may have had a lot of things she was holding in, it was painfully apparent that she was changing; she had snapped at Ward, and now at Zerori, neither of which deserved it.

"I want- no, I NEED to change..." Zuqetta would state as she sat properly in her chair; giving a heavy sigh as she thought of Zerori's words, "There are things I need to confront about myself, fears I need to face... and I need to do this alone." She'd say firmly as she removed the scouter from her pocket and placed it upon the table between them, "I'ma go to a few places; I'm not keeping them a secret, but I... I can't tell ya just yet." She'd state with a bit of a nervous creak in her voice as her gaze shifted to the side.

She'd open the scouter, shifting her gaze back to it before punching in a code and placing it upon her face. Through the scouters lens, it would almost seem as though she was looking directly at Zerori as she scrolled through the information. Finally, with a few more inputs, the scouter would shut off; with that, she would remove it and place it down directly before Zerori. The expression Zuqetta wore was a mixture of seriousness and a hint of worry; a curious expression for something so simple.

"Tomorrow, at exactly noon, this scouter here will unlock." Zuqetta would begin, "DON'T try ta hack it!" She'd snap playfully with a sharp grin, "It'll erase everything that's on it if you do... but... there's some information on it you might wanna see." She would say sheepishly as she stood up from the chair, "Um... you can find me back at my old apartment after you've seen that information... tomorrow..."

This was a lie.

"Anyways, yeah... heh, I'll tell ya where I'm going and... and about everything else tomorrow." Zuqetta would finish with another forced smile; this time, unable to hide the pain expression the seeped through her false gaze.

With that, Zuqetta would make her way towards the illusionary wall; placing her hand upon it and causing the construct to vanish at her touch, once more revealing the alleyway. She hesitate for a few moments as she waited for a response from Zerori; there was so much more she wanted to say, and so much she wanted to respond to. As she was now however, she simply couldn't; her thoughts were clouded and mind muddled. It was no reason to leave without saying good-bye; such a response in this moment however felt... painful.

The illusionary wall was gone, yet now Zerori acted as a figurative wall to bar Zuqetta's path. A mix of emotions twisted within Zuqetta, contorting her expression between frustration and regret. She would quickly tug down at her hood to hide her expressions, realizing just how intuitive Zerori really was when it came to reading emotion. It was difficult to fight against; all Zuqetta could do was lament her inability to properly control her emotions. She knew she had to though, as that very inability up to this point had only caused more and more problems. With a deep breath, Zuqetta would calm herself as she pulled her tail up and into her jacket, wrapping it around her waste.

"Hehe, birthdays must be difficult for ya if ya can't wait a day for a surprise reveal." She would say lowly in a somewhat playful tone before throwing back her hood.

She felt her thoughts racing and colliding as she searched for a solution; with the words Zerori spoke and the pained expression her friend wore doing little to help Zuqetta maintain her bravado. The desire to simply run away was strong, but she knew such and action would only lead to conflict and misunderstanding. As a solution steadily came to mind, Zuqetta couldn't help but to laugh a bit as she gazed upwards at her friend. While Zerori was certainly larger, she seemed much more like a child to her.

"That scouter-" Zuqetta began, taking one final breath to calm herself before steeling her resolve for the act to come, "-contains a special surprise!" She said firmly with a burst of excitement before crossing her arms, "Honestly, I'm jealous! I wanna look at it now with ya, but I'm not the one who locked it, so I can't get into it either." She would explain with a pout, "Besides, I was told ta give it to you; I uhh- it was given to me by a Tuffle, y'know? The ones we met at the library?"

Bit by bit, the tall tale Zuqetta spun was told; lie after lie piling on with increasing difficulty. She would not falter however, maintaining her expressive mannerisms; moving with a confidence that acted as though the last few minutes of negative emotions never happened.

"They didn't tell me what's on it-" Zuqetta would explain as she scratched at her head, "Just that it had information that would help in the search for your father..."

Zuqetta would nearly choke as she spoke the words, with her tail tightening painfully around her waist.

"That's why I said not ta try hacking it... I didn't want ta lose that information..." A tinge of pain crept its way through Zuqetta's voice; taking notice of her wavering resolve, Zuqetta would continue to act, "Ugghhhhh! If ya wanna know whats wrong, then fine, it's literally all of this!" She'd state as she casually brushed by Zerori before turning about to continue facing her, "I feel like a failure, I didn't manage ta help you fine out anything about your dad! But then when I went investigating, BAM, I'm just given the info like it's nothin'! It's annoying as heck and made me feel worthless, that's all."

The lies weighed down upon Zuqetta worse than the wound of any fight she'd ever been in. She felt as though a lump had formed in her throat, while her tail tightened in a manner that made it feel as though she would be split in half. Her stomach churned and heart ached; she couldn't imagine continuing this any longer, but for the situation to possibly be salvaged, she had to endure.

"So yeah... that's it-" She'd continue, nearing the end of her deception, "I've been up for a couple days straight, and I'm tired as heck; that's why I said I'd tell ya tomorrow, I wanna sleep!" She'd laugh as she playfully fell forward, resting her head against Zerori's chest, "Couple that with everything else we've gone through over the past few weeks... ugh, it's too much ta think about right now! There's no heckin' way I could tell ya my WHOOOOOOOLE itinerary for my trip!"

With her eyes closed, Zuqetta would wrap her arms around Zerori's waist as she gave a deep yawn; adjusting her position to instead rest her cheek upon Zerori's chest. While lies still dripped from Zuqetta's fangs, these ones were much easier to tell thanks to the slivers of truth within. She truly hadn't slept, and was truly tired; although, sleep was something much more difficult to obtain than she was letting on.

"Mnn, I'd sleep riiiiiiight here if I could-" Zuqetta would state before suddenly pushing off from Zerori, "But I got some things at home I gotta pack first! Gonna see Earth, and Namek, and Arcose, and sooooooooooo many other places after all!" She'd say cheerily before stretching with another big yawn, "So relax, I'm not freakin' out or noth-"

Zuqetta would pause, analyzing the situation before coming up with a final safeguard for the conversation.

"OH!! I'm not gonna be THAT alone either!" She'd say happily in an attempt to reassure her friend, "I'll have everyone onboard the Freezing Horizon with me!" She'd say, brimming with confidence, "So like I said, TO-MOR-ROW, okay? I'ma leave at midnight, so meet up with me tomorrow afternoon so we can take a look at that scouter together!" She'd finished before staggering back slightly to play more emphasis on her lack of sleep.

It was done, the lies had been said and Zuqetta could only hope the bait had been taken. In truth, tiredness hit her even heavier now that she'd finished her explanation; should Zerori had still had her doubts however, Zuqetta didn't think she'd be able to continue such a charade. How Zerori would respond all came down to luck now; was the act satisfactory? Did Zuqetta play her role adequately? She couldn't tell, but she knew she tried her damnedest to do her best and to be what constituted as 'her self' in this moment. All she could do now, was pray...