Banding Together For Namek

Nero observed the discussion between Marimba and Mollusc quietly. There was value in what the both of them were saying. It seemed true enough that the combined negative response to Gandigan’s proposed plans for his future had struck him. There was probably a way to have portrayed what Marimba had in a more measured way, but eventually Mollusc relented. “I would have put it differently, however— sometimes you have to be a bit tougher in some circumstances regarding those you care about or have respect for.” Nero added afterward. He then gave Marimba a nod. “Still, I appreciate the honesty that you gave Gandigan. I’m sure he will too.”

Both Marimba and Mollusc freely offered their perspective on Nero’s thought experiment. First was Marimba, who went into quite a bit of depth on his opinion to which Mollusc generally agreed. “I see, that’s a solid assessment. To deny failure is to deny progress. Such a process is a big part of the journey that is life.” Regarding Marimba’s ‘greatest failure’ as he put it, Nero gave a solemn nod. He could understand a fair bit of what Marimba had gone through— since Nero was one with Saiyan blood, he understood the value of a true rival. “Must’ve been rough. I’m sure your rival would have been proud to hear this.” Mollusc was a bit more brief with his own failures, it seemed as though the event that had caused an impact on him took place many years ago where Marimba’s felt more recent given the emotion behind his words— it was interesting that Marimba seemed to put this level of value in remembrance of emotion.

Xaphoon and Tenoroon soon finished some conjuration and incantations. The pair turned towards the group with what looked like a stone contraption with a semi-transparent gem globe on top of it. “Ohhh, you’ve added a bit of a twist of randomness this time, huh? Cool.” Nero asked, examining the contraption while the sisters nodded sagely. “Right, well—” Nero turned to Marimba and Gandigan with a more serious expression on his face. “This contraption is designed to dispense carefully crafted crystalline orbs. In this case, these orbs will have symbols upon them that will mean different things and conjure a portal to present a certain trial. I know what most of them would mean since I’ve been training with the help of these two quite often. I could tell you what they each mean, but I think I’ll take a trial up myself to be fair to you two.” Plus, it would be a better measure of skill to see how they reacted naturally to any given trial first.

“So, to make this work, you just step forward and hold your hand atop the globe, it will then glow the colour of your Ki and dispense a trial orb.” Nero explained.

There would be many trial orbs hidden within this magical contraption, even some outside of what Nero himself may yet be used to. Some were more common than others as well, especially on the first level of the trials.

“As soon as you’re ready, go ahead and see what you get!” Whenever Marimba or Mollusc were ready to step forward and accept a trial, one of five coloured orbs would come out of the machine that had patterns etched into them, which would represent the following:

Silver, with a small dot in the center of a faded spiral— the Trial of Forgotten Youth, that would open a mental portal to one of the holder’s oldest memories that presented a great challenge from their childhood that at the time they did not understand in depth, but now have the chance to understand.

Yellow, with a series of jagged lines and an empty center— the Trial of Insidious Pain, that would open a mental portal to one of the holder’s saddest moments that they deny where they would be watching the moment repeat until they accept the sadness and grow from it.

Black, several small dots surrounding a diamond— the Trial of Differing Fate, which would open a mental portal to a version of the holder’s life events that went differently according to the decisions and circumstances of others rather than themselves.

Copper, with two vague figures, one leaving the other behind— the Trial of Hopeful Futures, that would conjure a physical, tangible manifestation of the holder with the kind of strengths that they could have if they accept more positive influences.

Blue, with what looks to be vague representations of doors— the Trial of Untaken Steps, which would conjure a physical, tangible manifestation of the holder if several crucial moments of their life played out in the opposite way under their past decisions at the time.