A New Development (Apexle)

Apexle's breath was heavy as he continued across the Outer Plait. His trip to Namek this time was much more eventful, and painful. Than his last trip. His muscles and bones ached as each step caused shocks of pain across his limp muscles. He'd returned to his space pod prior to this just to drop off his weights. In his condition he just couldn't wear them. His body felt and most likely looked like a pile of bricks had hit him. Dirt patched littered his black cloak. A red mark on the left side of his face, and a bit of his own blood here and there dripped onto his black shoes and coat.

He was tired at this point. Black bags under his eyes were a clear indication of that, however he continued to walk forward. He couldn't sleep in his space pod it was a bit too obvious, and after his encounter with a group of them he didn't want to even bother trying. As he moved he noticed a familiar structure off in the distance.

A massive tower stuck out to Apexle. Since most of the structures on Namek were round in nature Apexle knew this one had to be a bit special, and hopefully wasn't over run by aggressive Namekians looking to take everything he had. As he grew closer around a hour walk from the structure suddenly it vanished. Apexle quickly rubbed his eyes and looked again to find nothing. "What the hell" He muttered taking flight forward cutting the time taken down by a while.

After a bit he noticed a figure moving in the same way that he was. Unlike the previous Namekian's he'd seen this one was alone for some reason. Quickly the Tuffle would land on the ground behind the Namekian. "Hey there" Apexle would call out around twenty feet away. He was a lot more cautious now. He wasn't sure if this was one of the ones who'd attacked him prior or if it was another clan that was around the area. Either way Apexle was prepared for just about the worst case scenario.

For the first time in a long time Apexle let out a sigh of relief on the green rock known as Namek. His eyes had finally found a familiar sight in the form of Gandigan. Although meeting only momentarily on Konats it was a sight for sore eyes to have seen him again. Although a bit disheveled looking Apexle was still alive and breathing and lucky enough to run into a not so dangerous Namekian.

Gandigan was quick ask why he was there. Apexle letting out a sigh spoke up. "Got into something like an argument on Konats" Apexle explained promptly. "So instead of heading where I was meant to be going I put a random coordinate in on the space pod and blasted off" Apexle said with a few breaths in between his words.

"Unluckily for me this place is a literal hot spot of danger and I was looking for a place I wouldn't be attacked while I tried to sleep" Apexle admitted. He'd been up almost two days trying to avoid the violent individuals on Namek. His tongue clicked in his mouth as he spoke again. "Gotta say Gandigan I'm really glad you aren't as insane as the rest of the people on this planet" Apexle added as he joined up and next to Gandigan. "So by any chance are you planning to head towards that castle I saw flicker out of existence?" Apexle asked Gandigan pointing towards the nothingness in a certain direction like a mad man.

Apexle was glad to see Gandigan hadn't transform into an unfriendly Namekian in the time they were apart. That probably wouldn't end with a good outcome. Much like his most recent encounter with the other inhabitants of the green rock. Apexle mad sure to listen closely to what Gandigan had to say. After all he probably knew more about the castles than Apexle did. The Tufyan was only so informed about the area, and so instead he knew he could reply more on Gandigan than most likely anyone else on Namek.

Finally Apexle began to respond to Gandigan. "Yeah it was the same direction you were heading. It was kind of build between and a little behind those two mountains. I could barely see it but since they built it between the largest tower gave it away" Apexle explained pointing towards two massive mountains with an area between so large it was easy to tell Apexle wasn't lying. Even if the structure wasn't there.

"Well it's good if you're looking for a castle so am I" Apexle said with a bright smile. "I had a run in with a Mazoku who literately dug himself out from the ground, and I was hoping stone might keep that guy away" Apexle said with a bit of a laugh. Obviously trying to keep the mood up a bit after meeting the creature before. He didn't hate many things, but it was definitely hard to like that guy.

As Gandigan went into explaining Apexle gave him all the time he needed before replying. "So the reason I can't see it any more is probably due to being to close and the magic being more potent. They probably didn't care about people coming this way and seeing it, because seeing a castle on Namek is easy enough to write off as a delusion." Apexle commented in addition to what Gandigan had said.

Apexle smiled as Gandigan finished and Apexle quickly replied. "Well like I said it was between those two mountains" He said pointing once more. "Although it might be a bit hard locating the castles perfectly I'm sure they'll reveal a bit more the closer we go. After all the magic must be old and worn down by now. Hopefully it'll shatter if we hit the castle or something" Apexle said walking next to Gandigan towards the castle that flickered out of sight just a little while earlier.

The journey towards the castle had begun. Both individuals having their own reasons for trying to find the castle. Although Gandigan's reason was a bit more shrouded in mystery Apexle assumed it was something to do with the creatures who'd infected him. The memory made his blood boil. He'd been a victim to experimentations just like Gandigan, however he was treated much differently from his Namekian counterpart. Where Gandigan had to run Apexle was more or less forced to stay confined with his creators. It was easier for Apexle to understand the unwavering pursuit the man had towards finding out his truths.

It was around then that Gandigan brought up his own troubles. He mentioned not having too much time left. The thought left a sour taste on Apexle's tongue. That being for two reasons. Firstly the creature inside of him must be harming him. It was obvious due to how much more sluggish Gandigan seemed to be compared to their last encounter. It was true that his power had risen much higher, however Apexle had to think about the cost that he'd suffered. Although he thought this he also had his own ideas on why the Namekian felt that way.

"That parasite inside you" Apexle began giving Gandigan a sympathetic look. "It's not something I've ever seen before, but I do have an idea on what's going on." Apexle explained a bit more about his assumption. "I think that given the extreme cellular regeneration that your body had gone through, and is continuously going through is stealing the nutrients in your body" Apexle explain. "It's the basics of cellular regeneration after all your cells need protein and if it isn't given that the body itself might shut down, but in your case the parasite inside you would most likely instead start cannibalize it's host" Apexle said with a softer tone.

He had no evidence to prove the theory, however he was a Tuffle he needed to make his point known. It might either help or damn his companion, however he didn't want a possible answer to go unsaid since the Namekian already had so many mysteries to uncover himself. Apexle found respect in the Namekian where others would find pity, and perhaps that was why he felt open to speak about his thoughts on the ongoing mess of his body. That and like the Namekian only Gandigan and himself knew of the horrors that went on that day.

His eyes looked towards the note as Gandigan spoke once more. His eyes looking at the ancient text as he spoke. "Even if we don't alert them I'm not on the Mazoku's nice list right now. They tried to rob me earlier and I ended up in a scuffle. If it's not a large number, and they don't know we're coming then we can easily take out hundreds of them so long as they don't have any good fighters" Apexle explained as his eyes fell from the note the Namekian had shown.

Apexle listened to the next thing Gandigan had said as his eyes shrank a bit. "I personally have had a run in with these bastards. They're not strong, but they tend to flock together in packs, and that makes it a bit harder to ask questions when they get knocked out with a single hit, and I'm not really one for interrogations" Apexle admitted before moving onto the next topic. "As for the Saiyans. Be careful who you trust they'll probably try to take over the planet after they've managed to takeover Planet Plant. They're not exactly the kindest band of conquerors in space" Apexle said in a pretty obvious hateful tone. It didn't seem like he enjoyed the topic of Saiyans, and didn't seem to hold back when it came to slandering them either.

Apexle listened to everything Gandigan had to say. Luckily growing up he'd learned most of what the Tuffles had to offer in the way cells worked as well extensively looked for ways to increase the nutrients going to his bones and other weak areas his muscles would destroy should he take off his restrictions too soon. That was the only reason he knew that Gandigan was going to need more nutrients and most likely something from a raw source.

"Yeah I can imagine what you've taken to eating." Apexle admitted "I suggest you try for kidneys and livers. They'll have a lot more iron and protein in them, and almost creature imaginable has at least one of those organs" Apexle added scanning the ground as they flew in the sky. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy even now with what'd gone down. A few times Apexle himself thought that he was going to die, however luckily enough he managed to pull through.

Eventually it seemed they were getting closer. Apexle could tell because the conversation seemed to die down a lot more. Although Gandigan made Apexle chuckle a bit. "If I remember correctly I haven't killed a single person since we met" Apexle chided back. He wasn't wrong he'd also fought in the dreamscape, and even there he still hadn't taken a life.

As they arrived somewhere around the place they were meant to be Gandigan pulled out a note and spoke. "Yeah don't worry about me I've seen a fair bit of the weirdness around here a little more can't hurt" Apexle admitted standing behind Gandigan as he began to chant. The words themselves seemed to repeat over and over again. Apexle just patiently waited assuming this was how the normal ritual was suppose to go since he'd never seen one before.

Apexle gave a knowing glance towards the Namekian once he finished reciting his chants and began to speak. It'd been so long since Apexle had visited the planet he almost forgot the Namekians lived off water unlike the other species across the galaxy. It would have been a handy ability. Well if Gandigan actually had it. "Yeah chances are if there is a way to put it inside of you they'll have at least one way of taking it out" Apexle tried to say optimistically.

Around that time the veil the Mazoku had put up began to weaken. Apexle stared blankly towards the structure then began to look around them as well. He didn't feel right something was bothering him. They were right at the clans door step and yet not a single soul stepped forward.

Apexle looked towards Gandigan now on one knee. "Hey take it easy man" Apexle said as he move a hand to pull the Namekian up. "We should probably assume their forces are in there and take a minute to rest. You aren't looking too good to me" Apexle said removing his hand. "If their forces are here they'll definitely notice their ancient magic is down and come searching though. So we should move forward and try to find a place to hide. Unfortunately the castle probably has the most hiding spots" Apexle said with a sigh wanting to stay out of sight of the Mazoku line of sight as much as possible.

Apexle paid close attention to what Gandigan had to say. Luckily the Namekian probably had his fair share of encounters with the clan they dealt with now. From what Gandigan had said unfortunately meant the creatures they'd be facing weren't going to be as easy to take down as the previous Mazoku. "I was hoping to fight more grunts, unfortunately it seems like we might have to hit them twice as much now" Apexle mused trying to lighten the Namekian's mood. Gandigan probably needed a bit of a moral boost after all.

"Yeah I don't wanna find out what these guys do to people who trespass" Apexle agreed as he quieted his voice down to a whisper. He stood close. The didn't have to move all that far. Which was good since Gandigan looked to be struggling as they grew closer to the foor. As they arrived Gandigan would speak of the power levels. Apexle himself was a bit more concerned about his Namekian friend however his head swiveled to confirm.

"Yeah unfortunately it seems like we might have a few problems inside like you said" Apexle agreed "We might be able to sneak by if it's not too lit up though" Apexle added hoping for the best at that point since if it was lit up they'd be seen almost instantly.

After the door opened Apexle was the first inside. Luckily the Mazoku didn't care to add extra lights in the place. Which worked in the duo's favor. Apexle signaled to Gandigan that it looked all clear as he snuck behind a large pillar hoping Gandigan would enter and somehow know his way around the typical Namekian cave.

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