The Results of Sins and Virtues

Examining the main road of facilities, Yatapi eventually came across a restaurant— a much louder ruckus reverberating from it compared to the relative quiet of the others. Just what was going on over there? Some sort of party?

Since it was an outlier, Yatapi decided to make his way over there. There was cheering, jeering, booing, celebrating, all in equal measure. As it turned out, there was some kind of eating contest going on. Patrons had placed bets amongst each other at their tables while watching the contestants at the giant table in the middle of the establishment. Most of them had gotten to their fifth or sixth plate, seventh if they were in any way lucky, some began to lag behind, others were trucking along. However, one among them was absolutely demolishing the competition with approximately twelve or so plates, it was none other than— “Lottus?” Yatapi muttered to himself as he quirked a brow, watching this go on.

It kept getting more and more ridiculous, the Saiyan just kept going, and managed somewhere around twenty-six plates. The next closest contestant, a gigantic blue Ogre, barely managed their seventeenth before holding their stomach in pain! A Saiyan’s appetite was truly something bonkers, but depending on the food that happened to be part of the contest? Yatapi felt that he could compete better than that when faced with a challenging opponent under this context.

“Must taste better than whatever you dug up from the dirt on Plant, right?” Yatapi casually approached once everyone had cleared off and gone back to their business, be it actual business or vomiting in the bathrooms.

Yatapi follows Lottus’ glance upwards to his ‘halo’. It seemed as though even the Saiyan was duped into thinking it was the real deal. It made sense, Yatapi supposed— if those that called the Otherworld home from birth couldn’t figure it out, how could a new arrival?

Still, Yatapi smirked, ordering one of the little nanomachine rings to slightly reveal itself from under his hair, but only to Lottus; revealing that Yatapi was in fact still alive. The Tuffle held a finger over his lips, signalling for Lottus to try and keep it a secret. “Well, I will say— the neutralizing agent and my other technologies worked perfectly, as I designed and ordered it all to do. What’s more, I accomplished something else beyond my goal...”

Yatapi smiled now, and there was a tinge of sinister glee to it. “Total undeniable vengeance on one of Destron’s primary developers, traitor to my craft, tormentor to many innocent in his perversion of science— the coward once known as Satsuma is now known as less than quarks— and all by my hand. I took everything from him.” Lottus, as a man knowingly built on selfish hate would of course easily be able to understand that as sinister as Yatapi looked in this moment, the vengeance he took was based on selfless hate.

“Aha, so a warrior’s death. I take it that you consider such a result its own victory?” It was certainly better than dying face first in the dirt choking on Destron. “Speaking of that battle, I picked up two sources of impressively high power readings. I have my own theories— and I have no doubt that they are correct— but could you enlighten me on that situation? It would hardly be scientific of me to not at least ask.”

“Indeed. He had no chance against me, so I doubt you would have had much to work wi—” Thwack. Lottus slapped Yatapi on the shoulder, almost sending the guy twirling around on the spot. “—thu-wah!” Luckily, his absolutely-real-and-not-fake halo didn’t come flying off as a result, that would have been embarrassing.

If there was anywhere for Satsuma to go, it would absolutely have been hell, of that Yatapi was certain. Readjusting his coat, Yatapi puffed out his chest slightly. “Oh yes, assuming my final strike upon him didn’t also eradicate his pathetic excuse for a soul along with his body.” Yatapi assumed that Otherworld effectively had infinite resources, and even then, wasting even the tiniest mote on someone he found utterly foul was idiotic. “Still, if you find him, tear him apart as you please, I couldn't care less.”

Yatapi nodded, satisfied that Lottus died the way he wanted to at the very least. As for the extra information about the battle, it sounded like Yatapi’s guesses were correct. Out of the three he thought could manage, it was Lottus and Nasu. “As I suspected. The only other option would have been Vocado, I think.”

Lottus was also keen to give a demonstration of his new power, unleashing it almost casually. He erupted into a golden flame and transformed. It was just as the stories would tell in aesthetic. Where many would recoil in fear, Yatapi instead leaned forward slightly, intrigued and highly curious. Now this was one hell of a weapon. Power unyielding, but honest and straightforward unlike Destron. This was the kind of strength that would be required to bring Yatapi’s goals to fruition. This was something he could take a shot at emulating if he got the chance. “The legend may be ridiculous by many accounts, but the truth is where anyone smart would look to. The pair of you obtained what was thought to be impossible, then you chose your own uses for it. This means it can be replicated repeatedly by almost any Saiyan... Perhaps even matched by another race entirely.” Yatapi chuckled. “Something is only legendary until made real, anyway. Even children know that.”

“I see, an understandable perspective.” Yatapi nodded. “However, since you proved that the gap between you and him could be closed and surpassed, it is just as likely that Vocado himself will close the gap that now exists between him and you. The roles are reversed, yet the principle remains the same. If he is the prideful type, then I doubt he will let that gap sit unchallenged.” Yatapi shrugged. “It isn’t my business what he does though, it is his power to seek if he chooses to seek it.”

Only time would tell— and it always told eventually.

“There is no sense in dwelling on what could have been if it was not. I cannot imagine someone like Nasu would have let you. I met him briefly once, he seems like that kind of man.” Yatapi quirked a brow, curious as to what Lottus meant by Nasu being in Cheri's pocket. “A Super Saiyan is preferable compared to Destron, that much I can say for certain.” Bonus points when said Super Saiyan was, as far as Yatapi knew, a morally upstanding individual.

As for how Yatapi arrived here, it was simple, but he spoke in a hushed voice to avoid being found out by the Ogres. “I had unearthed a broken magical antique that had strange readings and experimented on it. I constructed a device that could use it’s ‘fuel’, which allowed me alone to cross the barrier, and whenever it runs out, I shall return to the living realm as I am tethered to it.” He explained. “I had not expected to run into you, actually. I had intended to investigate something else.”

“True, but the lack of you might not stop him.” Yatapi also gave an indifferent shrug. He didn’t particularly care if Vocado closed this gap or not, it was simply a possibility. Even if it was not by using Lottus as a yardstick, there was Nasu; and King Taori too, apparently! “Oh? Taori also achieved that form? Interesting.” More points of reference for ultimately emulating the power was always a good thing to have, Yatapi supposed.

In any case, Lottus was interested in what Yatapi had actually intended to look into. Yatapi sighed, somewhat apprehensive in speaking about it. With good reason, but he knew Lottus would appreciate being direct in any case. “Remember when we first met?” Yatapi began, thinking back to that time himself. “I was retrieving bodies, those that were killed and petrified by Destron. Since then of course, I have not only properly buried them, but cleared that area of Destron.”

Yatapi looked out a nearby window, the view outside was of the sprawling streets and then the mystical clouds that this realm sat upon. “I want to know if Destron has any further side effects that persist beyond death, to do that I would need to seek the souls of those taken by it in life.” He knew roughly who to look for out of those he had buried, but there was another one he knew of— one he heard Vocado and Lottus argue over, Rapini. Yatapi wondered if she was somewhere here, and of what condition her soul may be in. Perhaps it could give Lottus some closure? Still, Yatapi chose not to bring her up, it was a matter for Lottus to speak on of his own accord.

Time dilation, now that was an interesting concept. However, as Yatapi observed, he theorized that it could be something more, that it was potentially not that simple. Still, what Lottus said did give the Tuffle something to think about. “I see. Still, it is something worth investigating.”

Yatapi had seen various disembodied spirits so far, so Lottus’ observation made sense. There were some featureless clouds, few physical bodies, some that willed their form to resemble their bodies, and all manner inbetween.

Apparently the initial ‘cure’ administered to Lottus’ system, though in the alpha stages of development, apparently purged a majority of Destron from him. “Could’ve fooled me. At first it looked like you were about to keel over and die right then and there.” Which was why he stopped the apparatus from doing anything further while Lottus was convulsing in the dirt at the time. “Still, that is some form of tangible evidence. Granted, a sample size of one hardly makes this reliable or well thought out research.”

Yatapi looked towards the door. “I think I should try and see what there is to find out there. If anything of note is found, I think you should be witness to it as well, given your perspective on Destron.”