The Death of Porunga

Chime had been, in a word, moping.  Over the past year or two, many things had happened in the world (all the worlds, in fact.)  Battles and wars were fought, the strong became stronger as steel clashed against steel.  All very poetic and impressive stuff, from what Chime had heard.  The little Namekian hadn't actually seen any of it himself.  While the world was growing and changing around him, he had largely kept his head down and tended to his own duties as a student of the Dragon Clan.  

...A student of the Dragon Clan who could not heal or cast any spells.  Ever since the incident back on Earth, he'd been unable to access his magic.  He had assumed time would resolve whatever mental block had developed, but even all this time later and he couldn't conjure even the simplest item.  Fixing it would likely mean going out and actively doing something about it, but that would mean confronting the fact that he needed help in the first place, and so far Chime couldn't bring himself to do that.  He had been relegated to simple tasks, like sweeping the shrine of Porunga.

Today found him standing there, broom in hand, amongst a nervous crowd as a human threatened to destroy Porunga himself.  She claimed to be testing them, but to what purpose Chime couldn't imagine.  The small Namekian stood half-hidden behind one of the pillars in the structure surrounding the shrine, just waiting and watching what would happen.  One minute ticked by, then two, and no one stepped forward.  Someone had to do something, surely...?

At two and a half minutes, Chime stepped out from his hiding place with his broom in both hands and raised his voice, uncertain as it was, above the murmur of the crowd.  "The Dragon Clan are healers and sages.  I-If you want a fight, you should go find the Warriors instead."

The others gathered went silent, and all eyes fell on him as he spoke.  This was a terrible idea.



TWC: 340

The broom shattered to pieces in Chime's grip before he could move to do anything, other than yelp in alarm.  His combat techniques were sparse to begin with, and those few he had were sorely out of practice.  Dozens of wood splinters and bits of hay stuck into his green skin as he stood there, dumbfounded with his shoulders pulled up to his ears from how he'd flinched.  If this woman was searching for the next defender of Namek, he certainly didn't look the part.

The hooded woman repeated her ultimatum, and then gave her further threat: She was going to start getting violent if someone didn't stand up and face her.  Chime could barely hear her words over the pounding of his heart in his ears.  Losing a limb wasn't the horrible, life-changing wound for a Namekian that it would be for most species in the galaxy, but they still felt pain the same as anyone else.  The other members of the crowd began to slowly back away in fear.  What was Chime to do?  He could try to call on one of his brothers for help.  Someone threatening the statue of Porunga would concern Nero, surely, but by the time he got here, it would probably be too late.  Someone had to do something now.  Chime brushed some of the splinters from his arm and stepped forward.

"Y-you only want a fight, right?" His voice shook as he spoke, "No one here is very strong, me included, but..." But she didn't seem that powerful, either.  Her energy wasn't much stronger than Chime's own, but he got the feeling she'd have him beat in terms of martial skill.  Still, the opinion of some random off-worlder didn't actually matter that much.  If she wanted to kick his butt and gloat about it, that was fine, so long as she left everyone else alone.

"...I'll face you.  B-but only if you promise to leave after you've 'tested' us, even if I lose."

---

TWC: 674

"Wait--!!"

Chime cried out and reached towards the statue, but it happened too quickly for him to do anything.  There was just that sickening sound of metal scraping against stone, and then silence.  He stared at the sword embedded in the statue, horrified.  It was so sacrilegious that he could hardly believe what he was looking at.  Porunga had never hurt anyone, the Dragon Clan had never hurt anyone, so why was she doing this?  Was she just a bully looking for an easy target, or was there some real purpose to this?

He looked to his left and right, casting around for any help, but he found none.  No one else here was very equipped for a fight, so he understood why they would be scared.  Chime was scared himself, but he'd hoped that at least one person would have stepped forward alongside him.  But no, this woman's aura was just too intimidating, and he had been the only one foolish enough to say anything.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked her, with his hands balled into fists at his sides.  "Why does it matter to you if we're strong or not?  Why is it up to you to test us?"  Some bits of the broom were still stuck into his arms and clothing, his antennae sat askew on his head, all-in-all not the most intimidating figure.  Yet, something else was beginning to show in his eyes, past the fear and the confusion.  Chime was getting angry.  What right did this woman have, to come into their home and demand they bend to her whim under threat of violence?  Why wasn't anyone else doing anything?

"Go back home, cause trouble there!" Chime shouted at her.  He held both hands out, one palm in front of the other, and fired out a small blast of energy towards the hooded woman.  The little Namekian wasn't accustomed to striking first, but... she had attacked Porunga.  That counted as her starting this, in his mind.   

His meager, fully telegraphed attack actually landing had been too much to hope for, but Chime would have liked if it seemed a little difficult for her. No, all she had to do was raise her hand and his Masenko was blown away, reduced into smoke and nothing. In his anger he had briefly forgotten how futile this fight was, but now the realization hit him in full force. It was written plainly on his face, easy for his opponent to see. Basic survival instinct began to take over where his anger abated, and he took one step back.

That was when she struck. Her knee struck his ribs before he'd even registered that she'd moved. A hollow oof sound was pushed out of him, along with all the air in his lungs.

Do a little better than that.

Chime didn't have better.  The small bit of martial arts that he knew was just to defend himself from whatever strange animals or monsters he might encounter in his family's travels, he didn't know much about fighting another martial artist, especially not a skilled one like this woman clearly was.  That survival instinct gripped him again.  He had to put distance between the two of them.

This time his technique was sloppy in his desperation, only one hand instead of both.  While the human was still close from kneeing him in the chest, he thrust one arm out and fired off another energy blast, the same blue as the first, point-blank at her chest.  If that afforded him enough leeway he would make a break for it away from her and towards the statue.

---

Chime uses Mini Masenko once again (20% | 400 dmg | -1 KP)

HP: 0/250
KP: 4/6
MP: 4/6

TWC: 1,303

Chime had to get to the sword. If he got that, then she would leave him and everyone else alone. That was what she'd said, anyway. He didn't trust her to actually keep her word, not really, but what other choice did he have? Attacking her head-on hadn't done much, even when his blast had hit. Winning on a technicality was the best idea he had right now.

He was just a couple steps from the hilt of the sword when she was on him again. The punch right in the center of his back knocked the wind from him again, the second time in a minute. While he gasped and struggled to get his breath back another punch came, then another, then three more. Chime had never been hit so much, so quickly. There was no spare moment for him to put up any sort of defense, and the final blow sent him sprawled out into the dirt, at the feet of Porunga's statue. He could only lay there for a moment, face-down and coughing, before he slowly pushed himself up on his elbow.

His eyes opened and saw the end of the crack running down the statue. He looked up and followed the fissure to its source: the sword embedded in the statue.

See, Chime did know how to enhance his meager power, technically speaking. In his studies he had learned the techniques and had performed them while meditating, in a safe and secure environment. It was never something he'd had to do under duress, until now, and he'd assumed it wasn't an option. So it was a surprise to him that, as he grabbed onto the statue and hauled himself up, that his body seemed to know what to do.

That same blue ki he had attacked with earlier was rolling off him in jagged waves now. It could barely be called a transformation, it was more like he had sprung a spiritual leak, his small body unable to hold the energy that was welling up within him. Both his hands wrapped around the hilt of the sword and pulled until it came free with that same terrible scraping sound from before. Then he whipped around to face the human woman, breathing hard.

"I said," His voice still shook as he spoke, but it was louder now, "Go HOME!"

Chime swung the sword at her, and the energy that was leaking out of it extended onto it as well. The attack was haphazard, betraying the fact he had never held a sword in his life, but it had all the force he could possibly muster behind it.

The blade shook where it was still pressed against Ramen's hand, and that tremor went all the way up Chime's arm. He hadn't actually been thinking straight since his power began to surge and he pulled the sword from the statue, or even thinking at all. Instead of proper thoughts, there was just a low roar of ki and adrenaline between his ears. It was starting to abate now, but was still there, along the with rippling, out of control aura that surrounded his form. More power than he knew what to do with was surging through him.

...And it still wasn't enough. The woman stood there, blocking the blade with her bare hand, and not a scratch on her. He had given everything he had, more than he'd even known he had, and in her own words, it wasn't good enough. Her power was overwhelming. Chime had sensed those just as strong as her in the past, stronger even, but they had never been directing that power at him. Sensing someone powerful across the village was very different than that powerful person staring him down, showing that strength specifically because of him.  

Chime's vision swam, and his head felt light.  The sword slipped away from the woman's hand and he did not wind up for another attack.  He just staggered one step, two steps, then fell back onto the ground as his vision blurred out.  The sudden explosion of energy had been too much for the little Namekian, and now it ended just as quickly as it began.  Blue wisps of energy fell off him until there was nothing left.  

Judging by the scrunched look on his face, Chime was just stunned, not entirely knocked out.  That, and the fact he still held the sword tight in his grasp.

---

Chime is a little baby and stuns himself from using all his resources at once. He drops his transformation.

PL: 2,000 (Base)
HP: 25/250
KP: 1/6 (+1)
MP: 1/6 (+1)

TWC: 2,043

Chime forced his eyes open slowly. His body ached, partly from the woman's earlier assault of a dozen or so punches, and partly from overexerting himself. He just wasn't used to channeling that much power at once. This encounter, frightening and terrible as it was, had helped him break through that barrier inside himself a little, the one preventing him from using his magic and full potential. It was still there, of course, it would take more than a random warrior knocking him around a bit to fix all his troubles, but it was a start.

Of course, Chime wasn't actually doing any of this soul-searching at the moment. The little Namekian was more concerned with the practical reality in front of him: This human's power had grown even stronger than it had a moment ago, when it had already been overwhelming him. Even if he'd been able to drag himself to his feet and pull that same stunt again, he couldn't hope to match her. What had been a remarkable surge of strength for him wasn't even a fraction of what was standing before him now.

One month. He had one month to match this. Was that even possible? Chime sat there frozen with the knowledge of how far he had left to go, and as he stared back into those red eyes, all he could think was Demon.

---

Chime didn't even realize he'd been struck until he awoke to one of the shrine tenders patting at his face with a damp cloth. He had taken quite a hit, they'd told him, but he was a youthful Namekian and would be better in no time. Injuries weren't what worried him, though. It was the ultimatum the red-haired warrior had given him. Only Chime had heard it, judging from how none of the Dragon Clansmen asked him about it. He decided to keep it to himself for now while he figured out what to do about this. Maybe there was someone he could ask without inciting a panic.

As he contemplated the road ahead, it occurred to him that he didn't even know her name.

---

Chime takes the full 12,000PL damage from South Seas Combo and gets KO'd

TWC: 2,398