Mollusc sat in the stands, as he was watching the matches that was the Trial of Peace. He didn't exactly get the name since fighting was not exactly peaceful. He understood spars existed but after his own experience in sparring, he knew how dangerous those fights can be. Even if you didn't intend to do harm you could really hurt someone. Either way, it was different from what had dealt with the past months. There been a lot of fear and battles going on that Namek was fully at stake in. Now? They were hosting some nice tourument where people could just have a nice spar with a great prize at the end. He had considered entering but felt he needed to do more training physically and mentally. He knew they were so many people stronger then himself so he hardly stood a chance. Furthermore, he needed to control his emotions still. He had been in fights to the death only recently, or other dangerous battles. So in a friendly tourument. He was not sure how he'd act and fight. No, he still wanted to be careful.
Regardless, he was going to support those who were on Namek. Even if from what he heard so far from Marimba and Nero's fight was concerning. Seems there was still a lot of tension between the people of Namek. Another battle of sorts they had to be sorted out after this tourument. There was also that Heran warriors in the tourument, he couldn't remember his name but he had fought adjunct to them at the shrine. They were some other battles but he didn't know everyone as well in those battle if at all so Marmbia, Nero's and Dosu's battle were the ones Mollusc was focusing on for the time being.
Had Tinker been aware of the Trial of Peace at an earlier time, he most likely would have tried to compete. Sadly, the bracket was already filled by the time the Fauxbian could do anything about it. He'd been a bit too busy getting everything in his life back in order and working out assorted other stuff to focus on a foreign tournament. Hell, he'd even been too late to witness the preliminary rounds. Of course, he knew he wouldn't have won. It would've given him a good chance to gauge his own power in a mostly safe environment against those who, presumably, actually knew how to fight. He knew he could handle most people with ease, but there were still many who were stronger. He knew that's where problems would arise. It would have been nice to have a functional place to fight without the risk of dying, but that wasn't something he could do anything about now. He'd probably have to visit Sol Colloseum for that.
Now, he'd have to make do with eyeballing the strength of others from amongst the audience. He could probably learn something; at the base level, about how the other people generally fought. It didn't hurt that fights were pretty fun to watch, so being a spectator wasn't simply for analysis. It might even help him to relax a bit since it'd be others fighting, rather than himself. After the pirate, being able to relax a little was probably for the best.
There was no real preference for any given fighter here, he hadn't paid too much attention to who was actually competing. Though he'd struggled to keep up with much of anything lately, so there'd be very few names that he would recognize even if he had checked the competitors. He should probably try to remember whoever was fighting here, just in case.
Post by LORD SHROOM on Mar 21, 2023 20:00:21 GMT -5
Shroom sat near the top of the stands beside two much larger individuals. Shroom wore his hood up and over his brow, the rest of the cloak covered his entire person. To Shroom’s left was Lebu, Lebu Jax and to his right was Ricu Flari. Lebu was a giant in comparison to shroom, and to everyone in the arena by standing around seven feet and five inches tall. He wore a dark red suit and a dark sunglasses.
Ricu wore a similar suit, his was light blue, he liked that it complimented his blonde hair. His hands were tucked under his armpits as he sat, not watching. Ricu’s glasses were transparent so anyone could see his eyes were closed. Shroom’s eyes were busy. They darted across the arena from face to face in search of his next companion.
The two beside Shroom were unwaveringly loyal. This was by design, but not of their own. Ricu a shinjib and Lebu an oni, were not of this world but both had deep fascinations with it; the realm of the living was their second home and this, on the other hand, was by their choice.
Ricu had visited the planet Namek many times in its young existence as a Shinjin, but this time was for the Trials of peace. The shinjin was stalked, Shroom could smell the otherworldly scent that Ricu had from a mile away. He also could smell how tainted Ricu was. Recently Shroom found the shinjin in a precarious situation and offered him freedom unlike any other, he had no choice but to accept. Ricu was Shroom’s.
Lebu was contacted by Ricu after Shroom’s impression was made. Ever since the interaction with Bael, Kirksey and the Guru of Namek, Shroom had a hunger for power. The way he was able to control the others to do his bidding excited Shroom, it drove him, it became his muse. Lebu met the two, here in Dend, and not before long was the demon under control of the old Namekian.
They sat. They sat and watched. They watched the fighters, they watched the officials, the commentary team, the water bringers, everyone was under observation. Lebu’s eyebrow raised and he sat upright which immediately blocked two rows behind him from seeing anything at all.
“Shroom.”
A deep voice bellowed.
“We got two. Six rows down, three over to the left. Thirty-Five. Thousand. The other, fifteen over from center. Four rows down. Twenty-Two. Thousand.”
Such a deep voice it was scary.
“Hmm. That ain’t nothin’. These guys don’t got it like Flari. Hmph..”
Ricu huffed and puffed with his eyes still closed.
“Yes. Shroom sees them both. Good job Lebu.”
Shroom grinned, his dirty fangs showed.
Shroom saw the two individuals that Lebu had sensed, picking out two prime minds. The namekian felt outwards with his mind, swimming over the heads of the crowd until it reached the one with a twenty two thousand power level. Shroom entered the alien’s mind, it was unlike any other he had taken so far.
'Hello. Can you feel me? Do you feel our connection? It is good.'
A familiar voice would play in Tinker’s head as if it knew it for all of its life.
'Why are you here? I know why. Only I can know. I know you so well! Yes… you are here to regain your family!'
The voice was comforting and inviting, very unlike Shroom’s actual voice. Tinker would want to accept that the voice was his own thoughts, that he understood and related to what the voice was saying. Shroom would push with his mind more intensely.
'Stand now. Do as I say!'
The voice in his head commanded the alien Tinker to stand on its feet!
Power Level: 18,000 (Anti-Sense On) Ricu: 1,500 Lebu: 1,500
Lebu Used Ki Sensing to Discover Tinker & Mollusc Shroom Used Planetary Telepathy on Tinker Shroom Used Mind Manipulation on Tinker to Persuade Him & Make Him Stand Up
Utility Technique || Mind Manipulation (Mind Control) The ability to manipulate others to do their bidding. The user is extremely persuasive with little effort given outside of confident commands, demands or proclamations. (OOC permission needed)
Utility Technique || Planetary Telepathy Allows use of telepathic communication between nearby or familiar characters on the same planet as yourself, letting you and your friends always converse internally. This technique is passive and does not require KP.
Mollusc would sense outwards as he could pick up some people heading into the crowd. Guess they were a lot of people who could not get into the tournament but were still here to watch. It was understandable, they were going to scout for how strong people were and see how they could get stronger, or it at least be a good fight at this time. But he decided to focus back at the fights. They were going quite intense. Marmbia and Nero were going really hard. He could hardly keep up with the battles. They were damn strong. Mollusc wondered if he could reach that level? Maybe he could since Marmbia had been at around his current level only a few months ago. Guess he just needed to keep training harder. Bael and Dosu were in an intense battle. He was surprised to see that Dosu seemed to be really struggling. Bael was really pushing him, but it seemed his power was rising up now. His power had increased to a point where he was above Bael, so he was sure that Dosu would overpower Bael’s and win the fight. He glanced at Zhalla and Eriba fight for a moment, it seemed to be going at a slower pace but he’d sure it pick up soon. So keeping his eyes back on the fights he was unaware of what Shroom was planning in the background.
Wc:238
Last Edit: Mar 21, 2023 21:06:56 GMT -5 by Mollusc
Tinker had been enjoying watching the fights. The bout between a Namekian and the Guru of Namek had caught his attention. Though he didn't know what being Guru of Namek entailed, both were obviously powerful and at least seemed in the ballpark of each other's strength. This wasn't the peak of power in the universe, that power likely lay at the tournament on Arcose. What was on display here felt far more attainable, even if it was far beyond his own strength. Perhaps he'd reach the level of those on Arcose someday, but that was something to think about later.
Before he could think further, words ran through his head. Something about a connection, then about how he wished to find family. Before he realized what was going on, he was already standing on his feet. Most didn't notice, more focused on the fight before them than some small alien standing up. Even if those who did notice would likely chalk it up to the diminutive alien trying to get a better view of the battle.
"What the...?" Tinker muttered to himself, trying to work out why he was standing. Why he was thinking that he needed to find anything here. The alien knew why he was here already, so why was his mind trying to distract from that? Any sense of family had nothing to do with this, so why would he think about that now? Standing wasn't something he minded, but he was fine sitting earlier. Why had he bothered to stand then?
A chaotic mess of thoughts brewed in his mind, trying to make sense of this before he dismissed them. He probably just had to calm down, to just relax, watch the fights and maybe learn something from them. He tried to focus on the battle between Marimba and Nero again, remaining in his standing position and shunting the errant thoughts aside. He'd probably missed something important in that battle from the strange distraction, but the fight clearly wasn't over.
Tinker is standing, but is focusing on observing the fight. WC: 334 TWC: 645
Post by LORD SHROOM on Mar 22, 2023 21:32:58 GMT -5
The arena boomed with each clash the fighters made down below on the dance floor. The crowd was well invested in the show and each member of the audience had eyes on a fist or a weapon. Ricu Flari was overly bored and was borderline asleep sitting next to Shroom. Lebu was focused and ready to move a moment's notice. Shroom’s face twisted into a sinister smile, most of his face hidden beneath his hood’s shadow. He spoke into the mind of Tinker and urged him so.
‘Together you and I could conquer, together you and I could accomplish greatness. I need you as you need me… and I need you now. Seek the Namek! He, as you, have been chosen!’
The voice spoke to tinker in his head.
The voice was inviting. The voice echoed throughout the alien’s head over and over as if it was on repeat. Tinker felt aligned with the voice the more he heard it, the voice of a friend, a loved one, one's own self.
Shroom would command Tinker to approach the Namekian with the power level of 35,000, he sat only a few rows below. Tinker would walk through the audience without notice of any of their feelings, and stand before the Namekian Mollusc to speak.
‘Who are you Namek? Speak to your brother for a moment… I feel your energy and it is familiar. Let us speak… ?’
The voice would suggest Tinker to speak these exact words.
Shroom watched from afar, his minions beside him both ready to move upon the old namekian’s command. He had a penchant for manipulation and this Tinker was proving to be useful already as long as it lasted, he was formidable but Shroom was confident and calculated. His mind worked intensely behind his strong red eyes, urging Tinker to fall deeper within Shroom’s control. Shroom licked his cracked lips and drool spilled onto his lap.
Tinker would suggest that Mollusc follows him away from the stands and out towards the back of the arena area. The way would be pathed off by conveniently placed "Under Construction" signage that Ricu just conjured leading the two down a specific walkway into a secluded dark storage area.
Power Level: 18,000 (Anti-Sense On) Ricu: 1,500 Lebu: 1,500
Shroom Used Planetary Telepathy on Tinker Shroom Used Mind Manipulation on Tinker to Speak To Mollusc and Fall Deeper Under Shroom's Control
Ricu Used Magic Materialization To Create "Under Construction" Signage
WC: 369 TWC: 992
Last Edit: Mar 22, 2023 21:36:54 GMT -5 by LORD SHROOM
Trying to focus on the Namekian's fight did nothing to ease the words that ran through his head. It only made them worse, as it now prattled on about conquest and how he was chosen for something. Much of him wanted to accept the words on their face, to go along with what they said. But a stubborn, persistent part of him had no idea what the voice was talking about, why they were even supposed to think such things That part of him had but a single pressing question.
Why the hell am I listening to this?
That other voice was not his. Those thoughts were not his. No matter how prettied and nice the words sounded, no matter how many times they repeated in his head, they weren't words the Fauxbian would think. He knew that on an intrinsic level, but was listening regardless. They felt right, but any thoughts that broke through the endless repetition raised so many questions that the repetition wouldn't answer. Why conquer, why talk to the Namekian? Why would he ever want to be chosen for anything? This was wrong. This was all wrong.
He had no way of knowing what was doing this, why it was speaking in his mind, why it acted as if it were him, why he wanted to believe it was his own mind thinking those words. He knew none of that, but he knew it wasn't him. It felt like it was, it felt like it should be. But it couldn't be. It didn't make sense to be him. None of it made sense. This was wrong. Something was wrong. He wanted no part in whatever these false thoughts wanted, but he also wanted to listen to them. To accept this voice. His legs began to move, trudging forward slower than the voice probably wished him to.
He had to listen. He wanted to refuse.
As he began to walk towards the Namekian, he was doing his best to drag his feet, prominent claws digging into the floor to further slow his progress and tearing it in the process. "Shut... up..." He growled under his breath, his head bent to face the ground as he trudged forward despite his own resistance. He had to do something. Someone had to notice something was wrong. He had to make people take notice of him. Someone had to help.
The metallic tail abruptly slammed into the ground behind him, fragmenting the stone ground as it smashed into the floor; it had been created as a facsimile of the one he lost, but its design was still tied to his thoughts to function. His thoughts. The tail strikes weren't as hard as they could be if he had put his full body into the swings, but that was probably for the better. It was still enough to likely get others to look away from the battle to notice him. A random crowd member walking about earned no attention, no matter how odd their way of walking was, but when that random member of the audience began to destroy the area behind him indiscriminately, people would obviously take notice. A thick metal club that could shatter concrete wasn't something to take lightly, and hopefully, no one was struck by his flailing, but that was a worry for once this was over.
He faced the Namekian this voice cared so much about; though he had not gotten as close as the voice wanted, the flailing would likely have gotten his attention. A single scaly finger pointed shakily at the specific Namekian, before immediately dropping the hand. The words were obviously forced. "Who... are... you, Namek.....? Spea-" Before he could continue parroting that stupid line further, he outright bit his tongue to stop himself. Not enough to seriously injure himself, but enough to end the forced speech early. It obviously hurt, but there was a more pressing concern than a bleeding tongue. Before he could speak any further, he ran to the back of the arena. He couldn't know if he wanted the Namekian to follow.
Once behind the stands, his movement would become more resistant again, claws more actively digging into the ground to impede his own walking down the dictated path. He hated this, everything about this. A chaotic mess of thoughts swirled in his mind, and he couldn't fully tell which were his own. He'd just wanted a chance to relax, why was this happening to him?
OOC: Tinker destroys some of the seating area, starts talking to Mollusc before running around to the back. He is approaching the storeroom, but is actively trying to slow himself down. WC: 746 TWC: 1391
Noticing Tinker's destruction of the seats, Marimba sprouts Dragon-like wings and leaps above the stadium. Taking a moment midair to think about the best way to deal with the instigator, the mutant watches as the Fauxbian drags its claws across the stadium, tearing the ground as it walks. But before the vandal could take a step further, Marimba swoops down from above, grabbing the Gator painfully tight before soaring back into the air.
"Got a screw loose, metalhead?!" "You might have gotten away with destroying other people's things back on your own backwater planet. But here, there are bigger fish in that will make you pay for it!"
Marimba sprouts an extra pair of arms, which grab onto Tinkers mechanical tail, pulling, twisting, and threatening to tear it off.
"This here should cover the cost!"
Before Marimba finishes his violent deed, he stops, loosening his grip on the tail as he notices something peculiar. The tongue of his captive was bloody, clearly bitten by the user's own powerful jaws. Furthermore, he had not attempted to stop Marimba from grabbing him earlier. Now that the mutant was thinking about it, the Gator didn't seem to be consciously trying to destroy the floor earlier, either. It was like his claws and legs were trying to go two separate ways. Something was definitely off here. Perhaps his cybernetics were malfunctioning?
With this in mind, Marimba tries to establish a telepathic link with Tinker, sending a message directly through to his consciousness and allowing him to respond in turn.
"You there. What's going on?"
"You better have a good reason for destroying our stadium."
Mollusc looked up at the Crocodile man struggled to speak as he asked who he was. Mollusc glanced around for a moment, then the man seemed to just walk off. Mollusc got to his feet to follow the man, his hands at his sides as he walked behind the arena to see what was going on. His head tilted around and his ear twitched as he sensed around. He didn’t sense anything wrong with Tinker. But clearly something was wrong and he was fighting back against it. That was when Marmbia burst onto the scene trying to grab the man and throw him around. “What are you doing Marmbia.” Mollusc didn’t yell but clearly he was a bit annoyed he just ran in. Now this guy was gonna get away.
Mollusc had a plan in mind to figure out what was going on to Tinker. If this figure had controlled Tinker, it must mean he had less confidence in controlling Mollusc. He was nearly twice as strong afterall. And Tinker seemed to be already resisting the control. Mollusc would keep his guard up glancing around. “Marmbia let go of the man for now.” He would ask as he’d speak up around. “I assume he wanted to talk to me. So I’ll let him talk to me. He must have a reason, and then after that if you need to take him in for property damage, we can arrange that with the Guru or Toury organizatiers, whatever is more accessible at the current time.”
Wc:257
Last Edit: Mar 31, 2023 12:31:25 GMT -5 by Mollusc
Post by LORD SHROOM on Mar 31, 2023 20:17:39 GMT -5
Shroom watched as the larged winged namekian took flight, Lebu’s eyes switched to watch him as soon as he appeared. Lebu sensed how formidable this new namekian was, Shroom understood through their mental connection.
Ricu understood as well by the namekian’s appearance alone. Ricu was well versed in the different species of this sector of the galaxy, he liked to dabble in things in the mortal realm of course, and never had he seen a namekian such as this. Both of Shroom’s companions remained calm and still, their eyes hidden behind their shades.
Lebu had experienced his fair share of scenarios within his one thousand years plus of existence, so he knew when to apply certain strategies. They all watched as the small group made their way towards the back of the arena away from any onlookers. Lebu looked down to Shroom and understood his intentions without any words.
Shroom’s hunger for control was far from satiated but he considered this to be enough of a snack. So many minds floated around him as he sat in the arena stands, his mouth watered as he felt them all. The fights never stopped amongst the quick bit of commotion in the stands. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the tournament floor, any ruckus amongst the crowd was quickly forgotten, Shroom was also to blame for this, passing his mind’s suggestive abilities across the attendees that were nearby to pay no mind to all of Tinker’s damage.
‘I know you know how… I know you have it in you… Shroom believes in you… SHOW THEM YOUR POWER! MY POWER!’
The voices in Tinker’s mind commanded it to attack!
Shroom, Lebu and Ricu all stood and snaked their way down a secluded stairway. After walking down some steps, out of sight of any in the audience, Ricu focused his imagination upon the walls of the stairwell and opened them like a doorway. They entered a room which held Ricu’s pink limousine, revving and ready to roll. They each entered the vehicle, Lebu the giant, Shroom the miniature, and Ricu the brash. Each had fit perfectly in the magical limousine. The room led to a tunnel, an exit from out of the ground far outside of the tournament.
Shroom sat in the back of the limousine with mixed emotions, knowing he went another moment without a new recruit, without a new member of his army, but not without a seed planted. Shroom’s nails dug into the leather seat as he thought of his failure. He needed more, more power, more everything that he never had that was taken from him so young. Shroom was old but he was always learning and this moment was one he would scribble in his scribbles for memory keeping. The limousine drove down the subterranean tunnel with the darkness guiding the way.
A lot of things happened far faster than Tinker could have anticipated. He'd been too trapped in thoughts, his own and others, to pay attention to much of anything in the world around him. If he'd been focused on anything outside his mind, it was on stopping himself from going where the voice wanted. That he was dragging his feet through the ground to try and do this wasn't something he had thought about, only trying to halt his own progress. This left him unable to avoid the Namekian as he charged him since he didn't realize a Namekian was charging at him until he was caught in a grapple.
The tail was also built to be durable, deceptively flexible despite the rugged design, and was firmly attached to the reptile. That said, the subtle groan of stressed metal indicated that the bulky Namekian likely could break it if he truly wanted to. That would probably happen before it was torn out, at least. Fortunately, the harsh treatment wasn't quite as painful as it would be were it a natural tail. Unfortunately, the metal tail was still attached to Tinker, so it still hurt like hell to have it treated like that. Limbs flailed inarticulately to try and get the Marimba to let go, less out of aggression or another's control and more in a vain attempt to avoid serious injury or anything breaking.
While the initial moments after the link was established were filled with inarticulate panicked thoughts, this panic lessened as Tinker realized the hold had become less harsh, and that he wasn't being treated quite so roughly in general. As he calmed down to coherence, he noticed the mental voice was far different than his own and the one pretending it was his own. Was this the Namekian speaking? It did not speak of dominion, power, family, or anything he had been forced to listen to a moment before. It merely spoke a question and demanded an explanation. Not to say that Tinker was happy about the mental intrusion for numerous reasons, but he could somewhat accept this new voice.
What he could not tolerate was the voice demanding that he fight back. The rejection of the false command was far more firm than the resistance from before, even if this was the first thing the voice said that he could kind of agree with. Even if a greater part of him than before wanted to listen and fight back, he knew that that would end very, very badly. The part of him that wished to retaliate and the one that was him balanced out to immobility, at least in terms of conscious retaliation. Especially considering his current position within Marimba's grasp; while his grip wasn't quite as rough as it was a few moments ago, Tinker knew that that would probably change if he tried anything.
No! No. I won't attack, don't want to attack anyone here! I won't. I'm sorry. Something else was controlling me. I... I had to stop it, I wasn't sure how. I had to get attention. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I'm sorry. Please get out of my head. Please stay out of my head. I don't want anyone in my head. I'm sorry.
Tinker's mental reply was halfway to himself and half directed at the Namekian holding him. There was an odd resistance to Marimba's mental link, but not enough to hinder communication in any meaningful way. He hadn't really noticed the other Namekian speaking, simply trying to breathe and calm himself down now that neither foreign thoughts nor a Namekian actively assaulted him. While errant thoughts and demands of violence remained, he could hold them back now that the odd voices in his head were dying down. For now at least, he felt confident that his mental voice was his own.
With Tinker still firmly in the flying Marimba's grasp, Mollusk floated up towards the two, ready to speak his mind.
“Marimba let go of the man for now.”
“I assume he wanted to talk to me. So I’ll let him talk to me. He must have a reason, and then after that if you need to take him in for property damage, we can arrange that with the Guru or Tourney organizers, whatever is more accessible at the current time.”
No! No. I won't attack, don't want to attack anyone here! I won't. I'm sorry. Something else was controlling me. I... I had to stop it, I wasn't sure how. I had to get attention. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I'm sorry. Please get out of my head. Please stay out of my head. I don't want anyone in my head. I'm sorry.
After hearing these messages, Marimba grimaces in frustration as he realizes the person he holds is not the culprit. The mutant closes his wings, using his Ki to descend gently to the outside of the stadium, attempting to get the Fauxbian out of sight of whoever was trying to control him. Once his feet touched the ground, the fat Mazoku released his grip on the gator and severed his mental connection with them before turning back to address Mollusk.
"This one was definitely being manipulated against their will."
"It's most likely the work of that "Shroom" degenerate that Nero warned us about. But I'm sure you realized that before me."
"It seems in my haste to protect the trial grounds I only ended up making things worse."
"He's probably gotten away by now. But I'll search the crowd just in case."
Marimba exhales sharply in anger before turning back to speak to Tinker.
"And as for you, I apologize for being forceful. I'll speak with the Guru and handle the cost of the damage on my own. You're free to go and do as you please."
With that said Marimba flaps his wings again, hastily ascending over the stadium walls to search the spectators for anyone matching the description of the powerful shriveled old Namekian. He would stop if Mollusk objected. Otherwise, he completes his search and ultimately deems it fruitless. Afterward, he would return to the stadium and take a seat, brooding in that spot until either someone comes to speak to him or the next match begins.
Mollusc was on edge he was not sure what was going to happen next but he knew he had to be prepared for anything. His fists clenched slightly as he glanced toward Tinker. He was ready to move in if it was needed. If this guy was being controlled then it was going to be tough to deal with. Still, Marmbia seemed confident that A, that was the case, and B, that he believed he knew who was doing it. Someone named Shroom. Though he didn't remember Nero talking about him. But maybe he had just been focused on other things. Either way, this was troublesome. A new threat that Namek was going to have to wrestle against. He glanced towards Tinker to see if he was going to attack but he seemed to just be calm in Marmiba's grip. So at least he was not going to be a threat.
"It is fine Marmbia, you do move quickly. We need to be careful though, this is different than Gandigan. This ain't a parasite if you are correct it is this other person Shroom controlling him. That is going to be much harder for us to deal with. Now that he has gotten away we have no idea what he is like. So I suggest that we control this fellow here and ask him some questions. He is on only lead. Maybe he can some connections so they help us. Or at least we will understand how this mind control works so we can protect ourselves sand other Namekians from it." They couldn't fix the problem now but they still had get some info. So he nodded to Marmbia when he went to fly off as he tried to approch Tinker. "Keep fighting it off, and when you come too, we need to talk my friend."
Wc:306
Last Edit: Apr 11, 2023 14:14:49 GMT -5 by Mollusc
Tinker's more vocal thoughts tended to turn into a chaotic stream of short immediate thoughts when he really panicked. While coherent, they were far from complex, but that didn't matter when someone wasn't in his head. Fortunately, those thoughts were enough for the Namekian to relent and release him. He remained cautious of himself as he was released, but nothing seemed to be forcing him to go against himself. He flexed a hand and silently mouthed curses towards his prior controller to ensure there wasn't resistance or unprompted action.
His tongue still hurt, as did his body from the prior grappling. Nothing too major, though, and at least Tinker felt in control of himself now. While an apology wasn't expected, he certainly wouldn't complain that one was given. "I... it's fine, not like you knew what was goin' on. Was probably looking like a real ass back there, so I'm not gonna blame you for stoppin' me. Least you didn't break anything." He would have rightly deserved some rough treatment had he rampaged without reason, and no lasting harm was done here. Maybe he'd need to check the tail for any lasting damage, but it seemed to function fine.
Maybe the Namekian would have gone too far had Tinker reacted differently, but thankfully he didn't have to think about that. So he chose not to think about the subject more. "Oh, and, uh, thanks for handling the damage. Sorry 'bout that."
The other Namekian spoke up now, asking him to resist an effort that was no longer ongoing, not to his knowledge anyway. "Not feeling too controlled right now, so I can speak with you now if ya want. Be glad to help with this however I can, if it'll stop Shroom." He answered the other Namekian. At the minimum, it felt like there weren't any active attempts from Shroom to control him. Some desire for aggression still lingered from his last command, but that was safely fading to the back of his mind. Safe for now, at least.
The next round was starting to get underway. Zhallia and some kind of Heran pirate entered the arena to begin their bout. As much as Marimba wanted not to miss their fight, as it could give him valuable information for his loser's matchups, he felt irresponsible sitting around and spectating while Mollusk was still trying to gather information from the victim. Ultimately, the massive Namekian stood up as the announcer was fumbling Salvo's intro and leapt out of the bounds of the stadium, returning to where he had left Mollusk and Tinker.
"I'm back. It's as I thought. That nuisance either high-tailed out of here or is hiding really, really well."
Marimba swiveled his head to Mollusk to address him.
"You seemed confused when I mentioned this earlier, so I'll assume you didn't get the memo."
"Early this morning, there was a bloody battle between an outsider and a group of Mazoku. Nero showed up and discovered that it was instigated by an elderly-looking Namekian, who referred to themselves as "Lord Shroom" and was using some form of mind control on all of them. But he managed to escape in the chaos, so Nero sent me a message about the incident and warned me to watch out for people behaving strangely."
"Shamefully enough, I was so focused on the tournament that his warning slipped my mind."
"Even worse, Shroom has a 5,000 Zeni bounty on his head from Arcose."
"I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of bounty hunters or mercenaries poking their noses around Namek and raising hell to find him."
Marimba turns his gaze back to Tinker.
"If you really want to help, then tell us your name."
"Mine is Marimba and my partner's is Mollusk. We are Mazoku and some of Namek's finest warriors."
"You can also tell us about what Shroom's control is like, as my companion suggested. Along with any other useful details you can give on him."
"And if you manage to come across him again. Feel free to kill the bastard and cash in his head at Arcose."
Apr 6, 2024 1:21:15 GMT -5
Lottus: Friendly reminder for new folks to check the rules regarding art claims - AI Art is not accepted on Sparking for character sheets.
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:28 GMT -5
Lottus: Hey folks, got a new phone, but verification is preventing me from downloading Discord for now
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:57 GMT -5
Lottus: I won't be available until I get home from work!
Apr 17, 2024 14:44:58 GMT -5
Lottus: Feel free to dm me if needed!
Apr 17, 2024 21:13:47 GMT -5
Dingo: I'll post what you've said here up in the discord so it doesn't get missed!
Apr 18, 2024 19:19:20 GMT -5
Yakito: I am the #1 Tenrec hater (Striker will be struck)