Post by ladyscarlet on Apr 23, 2023 22:03:27 GMT -5
Lady Scarlet pushed herself off the ground and dusted herself off. She gazed at the world around her in wonderment. The sky wasn't dirty gray, there were no tendrils. This place was downright welcoming. Compared to where she was from, this was paradise. She hoped this was the right world, the planet of the saiyans. She was told that people called Saiyans were the finest warriors in the universe, and that waas what she desperately. If they wouldn't fight for her willingly, then they would fight with her unwillingly. Or actually they would be willing when she was done with them. At the very worst, she could take their essence and hopefully their fighting spirit. She spead her jagged, leathery, red-gray wings, stretching her arms and shifting her stance. Yes, this place would do nicely. Now to find some slaves. Lady Scarlet needed a palace. Now that she was left to her own devices, she had a feeling she was going to have some fun, oh yes! A smile crept over her scaly lips and she couldn't help but giggle a wicked giggle. She took a deep breath, taking in the air of Plant. Perhaps when she was strong enough, she would hold a tournament to find the strongest and most... creative.
PL: 24,000 WC: 212 KP: 6/6 MP: 0/6
Last Edit: Apr 27, 2023 11:15:43 GMT -5 by ladyscarlet
Lettuch couldn't help the wanderlust that struck her in her very weakest moments. That feeling that urged her to escape, to return to a life among the stars. The other Saiyans certainly didn't want her here, they'd made that abundantly clear, but Lettuch couldn't just turn and flee like a coward.
She scoffed. She wished they'd just try to kill her outright. At least then she could let off some steam.
So, she found herself flying as far away from the city as she could manage, still wearing her work uniform, without so much as the patience to take it off. To all the world it might have seemed as if she were on patrol, and to her own astonishment, it seems she would have to be.
Her scouter, green and gleaming like a sheet of emerald, pinged in her ear: an odd power level, on its own, this far from the city. Certainly, it could just be another elite blowing off steam, and if that were the case, she could afford to heckle them until they threw the first punch. She flicked a glance in the direction indicated and changed the direction of her flight, Ki leaving a blazing trail of lavender across the sky which cut into an odd left-hand turn as she closed in on her scouter's target.
And she wasn't sure what she was expecting, in that moment she touched down on the ground, but it certainly wasn't this. Lettuch isn't sure how to describe that which stood across from her, some kind of mangled-looking woman, with a wingspan that seemed as if it could lift a Saiba-Rex. She'd seen stranger aliens in her time away from home, but certainly wasn't expecting one so odd so close to home.
Lettuch inclined her chin. Her tail swished idly behind her, back-and-forth, a slow and methodical motion. "You look a little lost," she called, "not very many lose their way this far out and live. I can take you back to the spaceport, if you need to go back to your home planet. Plant isn't very kind to outsiders."
For a long time, Tunnip had let his strength wane and his body grow weak as he grew disillusioned with the Saiyan and Tuffle war. His power level, once something that he bore with pride, began to drop instead of rise and muscles that were once filled with power faded away. If things had kept going as they were before, if peace had not been found between the two peoples who shared the battered but unbroken planet… It was entirely possible that he would have let himself wither away into nothingness as he grew older and older.
But that didn't happen. War no longer raged across the surface of Planet Plant, and because of that the old Saiyan no longer had any reason to let himself go.
Perspiration dripped down his body as Tunnip clenched his teeth, and with a roar, let the energy wave he had been charging up blast a nearby pillar of red stone to ash. It was hard work, honing skills and sharpening a body that had wilted through time and ignorance. But, as he glanced around the clearing to take in the rubble and remains of his previous work while the dust settled, it was all worth it in his opinion. He'd get back in the saddle, no matter how long it'd take him.
Figuring that it was about time to take a breather, the veteran let out a sigh and planted himself down on a nearby boulder. Wiping the sweat from his face with one of his hands, he was about to dig into the sack he had brought out with him before his scouter, which he had set down nearby, began to go off. Frowning, he picked the angrily beeping device up and placed it over his ear to see what the kerfuffle was all about.
The Borgos Bluffs were a popular training area for Saiyans of all stripes, so it was no surprise that someone else was around and working to improve their strength. He could respect that. Some younger Saiyans thought they were invincible and barely bothered to improve themselves. Needless to say, they never tended to last very long once they slipped into that mindset. But as Tunnip tracked down the source of the signal, he noticed that there was not one, but two fairly strong energy signatures nearby. Decent challenges for sure, if he was looking for a fight to pass the time and hadn't been seriously training beforehand. But maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't end up being a brawl? He'd like that, it'd give him more time to rest his arms.
…
Oh, who was he kidding? Of course there would be a fight.
"Ah, hell. I'll go see what's going on. Might be interesting." With his mind made up, he pulled himself up off his impromptu seat and took a moment to dust himself off. When he had judged that he looked somewhat presentable, he swung his sack over his shoulder, turned to face the direction of the two energies, and leapt off into the sky. He wouldn't need to fly in order to reach the duo, so as he grinned in anticipation, he decided he might as well make an entrance.
Like a cannonball fired from the heavens, the mid-class warrior came hurtling down to the ground below, shattering the stone that had been bravely sacrificed to serve as his landing pad beneath his feet with a mighty boom. A moment passed, and soon the dust kicked up from his arrival finally cleared up enough to reveal a crater where there had once been perfectly flat rock. A crater that quickly proved to be occupied as a hand rose up, and after grabbing onto the lip of the hole, pulled free the huge Saiyan they were attached to from the earth.
With his feet back on even ground, Tunnip took a moment to check that his tail was still wrapped securely around his waist, and when that was done, look over the panels of his armor. He gave them a little bit of polish with his one free hand to clean up the worst of the mess and dirt that now clung to him before finally, he turned his attention towards the two who had piqued his interest.
One of them was, as expected, a Saiyan. A little slip of a girl who almost seemed to be drowning in the armor and outfit of an elite that was far too big for her. But no matter what she looked like, her strength was more than enough proof that she was worthy of the designation. Hopefully, she was one of the smarter ones too. Tunnip was just about to call out a greeting to his fellow warrior before he laid his eyes upon the other being present, cutting his attempt short. Wings, eh? Well, she certainly wasn't a Saiyan. He had absolutely no idea what she was. An alien? Some kind of Tuffle bio-weapon? He'd encountered a few of those during the war. Whatever the case, he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Sorry to interrupt," he began, his eyebrow raised, "but I was training on the other side of the cliffs over there and couldn't help but notice you lot nearby. You wouldn't mind telling me what this is all about, would ya?"
Post by ladyscarlet on Apr 24, 2023 21:03:32 GMT -5
When the first warrior arrived, Lady Scarlet counting herself blessed. She wouldn't have to go looking. Lady Scarlet appraised the girl. She certainly didn't look like a warrior, though she wore some kind of armor, so perhaps so. Lady Scarlet was aware, though, that not everything was as it seemed.
"You look a little lost," she called, "not very many lose their way this far out and live. I can take you back to the spaceport, if you need to go back to your home planet. Plant isn't very kind to outsiders."
Lady Scarlet smiled softly, "So kind dear..." she began and then the ground exploded as a warrior obliterated a rock near the two as he landed, blowing dust about. Lady Scarlet wasw forced to cover her eyes. She knew his kind, the sort of brute who thought with his fists and who actually believed his own false bravado. Not that Lady Scarlet was lacking in false bravado but she knew it for what it was...a facade, the purpose of which was to fool his sort. She knew if she was to try a violent action now, she would be outnumbered and very possibly overwhelmed. Her only advantage was that neither knew her intentions, though the newcomer was no doubt itching for a fight so in this case, she should gain the girl's trust and leave the buffoon posthaste!
"Sorry to interrupt," he began, his eyebrow raised, "but I was training on the other side of the cliffs over there and couldn't help but notice you lot nearby. You wouldn't mind telling me what this is all about, would ya?"
"Thank you Sir for your concern but I am merely lost as this girl suggested and she was kind enough to offer to escort me to a safer place so that I might depart this scary planet. Good day to you. Now, shall we dear?"
Only, it was just a second too late. She swore; a second was all it took on the battlefield. Suddenly, and all at once, things indeed began to resemble a battlefield. It began like this:
To the sound of the explosion came the terrible rumble as if it were the anguished cry of the earth. The hair on Lettuch's tail stood up on end, poofing up in immediate alarm. She would never admit it, but she half-turned with her fists clenched, ready to stand and answer the threat...
And then...
With a hand, a figure crawled out from the crater, silhouetted in smoke and debris. As he stood, he seemed to stretch higher into the air than Lettuch tended to fly at cruising speed, and his shoulders were nearly the width of four of hers across. With uniformed bootfall, he stepped out from the desolation and made himself known. Now, this was a proper Saiyan: his uniform no longer gleamed like beetle shell, its reflective surface made matte by wear, but he was no less admirable for it. It was something that her fellow elites could never understand. A soldier, a survivor of a war he never asked for but refused to back down from.
Then, she laughed, an ugly bark of a sound. Unladylike, but very Saiyanlike. Now that is how you make an entrance, she thought to herself, charmed, shock and awe.
The sound of Lettuch clearing her throat marked a demand for attention: eyes forward, posture straight in a moment. She spoke with the clear intonation of a commander, but her voice still had a touch of humor to its lilting tone as she barked. "Report, soldier. What's your name?"
Lettuch offered a stiff salute in exchange: her left arm crossed over her front, right arm crossed over her back. The perfect practiced form of a proper elite. Too practiced. "Lettuch," she reported, eyes high, "seventh-born and heiress of House Sabbage."
...Only, with one small mistake: her tail, frozen mid-swish near her knee.
After a long, sheepish second, her tail slowly coiled itself around her waist, nice and tight, completing her battle-ready form. Embarrassing. No Saiyan would be caught dead unawares with their tail on display - certainly not in the presence of a complete stranger. It was as if she had been caught underdressed.
Her cheeks darkened, just a touch.
"Ah-hem. This woman here seems lost," Lettuch gestured, moving swiftly along and answering the old soldier's question, "out here in Borgos, it's not safe for those unfamiliar with the region. To say nothing of the topography, less-disciplined Saiyans might pick her off just for the fun of it. The war might be over, but our jobs never are, am I right?"
She laughed at her own joke, tip of her tail twitching as if unused to being wound. Indulging the insistent ping of her scouter only now, she tapped an indicator button on its side, squinted her right eye shut so that her whole world was dyed in emerald. Then and there before her stood a warrior whose power was measured near-identically to her own, and she felt electrified by the prospect. He was no elite by birth, but he stood taller than many elites she knew. Oh, how it would scorn them to know that a lower-class warrior had surpassed them...
After all, he was a Saiyan, and a soldier no less; she could know for certain that he knew how to fight, and how to fight well. If they weren't in the middle of something, Lettuch would otherwise be tempted to propose a sparring match, right here, see how much steam she could let off without killing him. The planetwide pastime, that.
To the suggestion that she leave her fellow soldier behind on behalf of the alien, Lettuch only offered an insulted huff. This girl, she had said. How dismissive. And ludicrous. She cast the alien an inquisitive look, utterly perplexed. There was safety in numbers, that she knew. Of course, there wasn't a single low-class bandit that could so much as graze her, but this alien knew nothing of their culture or the structure therein. If she was going to grant assurance of safety, she would do so with another Saiyan at her side.
The only thing more fearsome than a Saiyan was two Saiyans, after all.
"Nonsense. There's no better guarantee than two high-class Saiyan warriors. He's welcome to join us if he should choose to do so," As a matter of fact, she'd order him to if she weren't off the clock. "We'll get you off the planet faster that way."
Lettuch cast a sideways glance to the alien in question, and followed up on that annoyed feeling twisting a knot in her stomach. "You'd prefer that, right?"
Power Level: 24,000 WC: 811 TWC: 1,180 Posts: 2
Last Edit: Apr 24, 2023 22:33:46 GMT -5 by Lettuch
A wide smile stretched across Tunnip's face in response to the girl's laughter. It would seem that he had made a good impression! That was nice, and he was more than happy to know that this particular elite wasn't as stiff as she first seemed. Honestly, some of the buggers acted as if they had never smiled once in their entire life. Even if they had a fancy title, they were still Saiyans. Everybody should be able to have a little fun sometime.
He never understood how they managed to go on without boring themselves to death.
Before he could throw out a casual greeting, the sound of a clearing throat made the veteran stiffen up a bit as he came to attention. Probably a good thing, he thought. Even if the reaction to his arrival had broken the ice, they were still strangers. With her prompting, he launched into introducing himself.
"The name's Tunnip. Mid-class and middle-aged." He couldn't help but inject a bit of humor into his own words as he offered her a salute with a grin, despite the class difference between them. He was old after all, and given the fact that they seemed to be on good terms, he figured he could get away with it. And in return, he received her own name. Lettuch, eh? Of House Sabbage? He'd never heard of that lot before, but then again, he never really paid attention to politics or the nobility. Not even before he started to wither away. Well, whoever they were, it seemed that at least one of them had a good head on her shoulders.
Fighting back a goodhearted chuckle as he watched her mess up her salute, he waved her embarrassment off with one of his hands. "Don't worry about it, kid. Nobody here's gonna give you crap for slipping up a little, least of all an old man like me." Even with that one small mistake, the rest of it had been sound. He could admire diligence like that.
Lettuch didn't let things linger on her blunder for long, and as she moved on, so did Tunnip. His lips pressed into a small frown as he listened to her explain the situation he had just walked into. The woman got herself lost out in the Borgos Bluffs? That was strange. If she had come to Plant on a ship, she would have needed to pass through one of the many spaceports dotted around the Vegeta region. Did that mean that she crashed down somewhere nearby instead? They would just need to find the wreckage to confirm things, but that seemed more likely. The Bluffs weren't exactly a tourist attraction, and for good reason. Even Saiyans had to be wary when travelling around the place thanks to the vents and icy cold winds. If you weren't prepared, you'd just end up dead.
"You're right." he nodded, growing serious for a moment as he agreed with the elite's words. "Despite the end of the war being a good thing, some of the younger and less-disciplined runts are getting a little antsy with nothing to shoot at. If you're visiting, it's safer to stick to the towns or the capital. Or to take a trip over to Tuffle territory. If ya walk around thinking you're invincible, Plant's gonna chew you up and spit you out."
With a smirk, he glanced back over at the alien to see her reaction to that little nugget of information. Not many people liked someone insinuating that they were weak, after all. Saiyans weren't the only people in the galaxy with their pride, that much he knew from experience. Sometimes it just happened to take on different forms.
If Tunnip still had the hair of his youth, his eyebrow would have risen up until it reached his hairline in response to the strange being's explanation, and subsequent dismissal. What was he, chopped liver? Frowning, he was about to start verbally laying into the alien himself before he heard Lettuch's reaction. Displeasure quickly turned to amusement as he crossed his arms and nodded along, lending his support to her response. As much as he wanted to hope that this alien or whatever was trustworthy, it was smarter to travel with company on a world like Plant.
Something about the situation felt odd to him. He couldn't exactly put his finger on why he felt that way, but until he knew, there was no way in hell he was going to let the younger Saiyan go off with a completely unknown party. He would be sticking around, no matter if the two women liked it or not.
Besides, he'd taken a liking to this new kid.
"The little lady is right," he said. "It'll be quicker and safer if the two of us escorted ya to the nearest spaceport or town, whichever you'd prefer. Not much sightseeing to do on this rock unless you like looking at craters, unfortunately."
Post by ladyscarlet on Apr 25, 2023 17:21:19 GMT -5
Lady Scarlet saw the two warriors' reactions to her calling the girl 'girl.' She made a mental note to not even think 'girl' but what to call her/think of her as. Wait, she had introduced Lettuch to the other warrior earlier. "I meant no disrespect. I meant it as a descriptor, that's it. Lettuch was it? Very um..." she thought quickly for an appropriate compliment to make up for her faux pas. She wished that she could read minds. Perhaps when she was stronger. "Vallorous name."
She looked at Tunnip, "I am not excluding you Sir. It just might be boring for you." Her plans were beginning to come apart. If she couldn't get one of them alone...but she never had much faith in that plan. She remember something. "Wait, you're Saiyans right?" She offers her scaly hand to each in turn. She really hoped to be able to let them live if so. From the tales she heard, the universe could use more of them, not less. As much as she feared if these two warriors ganging up on her, she feared even more what she was capable of and what she would be instinctively compelled to do if her back was in a corner.
She snorted at Tunnip's joke. Mid-class and middle-aged... Humorous as it was, it was no small accomplishment. The war hadn't been kind on those who'd been alive to fight in it. For that, Tunnip had her respect, there was no doubt about that. The two of them quickly settled into an easy-going rapport, and Lettuch was surprised by that.
Something Lettuch wasn't surprised by is that House Sabbage elicited no reaction. So, their small house really had been forgotten in the time she'd been gone. She wasn't sure what she expected; it had fallen from grace before she was born, to say nothing of its downfall in her absence. Last of her name, she straightened her back just a little bit... only to relax a second later, seeing no point in it.
Lettuch, for her part, appreciated Tunnip's laid-back nature, and she took that idle wave of a hand as permission to unwind just that little bit more. Her tail was a point of pride for her; when she was away from home, it was the only thing that easily defined her against human-type aliens, so she wore it low, practically daring her enemies to reach for it. It unwound from around her waist, like releasing a held breath, and it began to swish satisfied behind her, dancing somewhere around her ankles.
Then, though, she cast a raised eyebrow to Tunnip. She snorted again. "Hey. Little lady?"
She shook her head even as a grin stretched across her expression. The banter was nice. She was brought back to the present by the sudden lurch in the alien's body language, and Lettuch watched her switch mental tracks in real time. Lettuch knew this look. The look of someone who had just mis-stepped, much as she had when she let her tail wave freely a moment prior, and so she thought nothing of it for the moment, doing her best to set the odd alien at ease and follow-up on their attempt at flattery. She'd take it.
"Valorous? Certainly. It's one of the oldest names in my family, you know. Belonged to one of the founding members, a dozen generations back. My father used to say that my namesake was a Super Saiyan."
And then... the question.
For a moment, she seemed stunned. More effective than any well placed punch, the question had practically knocked the wind out of her. She glanced down at her own tail, then, over at Tunnip and his imposing presence. Lettuch understood that she cut a rather meager impression among her fellow Saiyans, a hair short of anything taller than five feet, but Tunnip fit almost every expectation that one would have of a Saiyan.
Watch out, she thought, we've got a live one.
"Yes, we're Saiyans, I... Are you well?" Lettuch tapped her scouter insistently as if it could tell her anything more about the woman other than her power level. Her prior odd behaviors, seemingly difficult to reconcile when placed in sequence, were starting to slot together into a model that was at the very precipice of making sense.
Notably, she did not take the woman's hand. She stared at it for a long while, with her discerning eye, and didn't accept the handshake.
"What's going on here? You're acting rather strangely," she said instead, "How about this. Why don't you tell me what you're up to. What's your name? If you're not up to any trouble, then we can just take you to the spaceport like you asked, and I'll apologize for the inconvenience, because I'm just nice like that."
The threat was implicit. If there wasn't any trouble, and everything she had said up until now was truthful, then she would naturally be given the escort that she'd apparently wanted. If she tried anything funny, then she was outnumbered two-to-one by two on-edge Saiyans. Good thing, too. The alien's power level was closer to Lettuch's than she would be ordinarily be comfortable with on a non-Saiyan. If a fight broke out, things were in her favor, thanks to Tunnip.
Naturally, she was an elite; things would have been in her favor regardless.
Hopefully, things wouldn't have to come to that. This alien here seemed clever enough to at least try to lie - and seemed is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence - so Lettuch wasn't expecting a fight. What she was expecting is some kind of trick, maybe another hastily-assembled excuse to get herself out of this new unfavorable position she'd put herself in. She wouldn't put it past her, if she had been lying already. All said, if the alien agreed to be escorted away, then there wouldn't be any problems at all, and Lettuch would just feel slightly rude by the end of it.
Power Level: 24,000 WC: 807 Bite Of: 1,987 Posts: 3
The older Saiyan couldn't keep the grin off his face as he joked and bantered with Lettuch. Even though there was a good thirty-odd-year gap between them, Tunnip couldn't help but be reminded of his old squad back during the war. The soldiers and comrades he had fought, ate, and slept alongside before he grew disillusioned with the whole thing. He wished he could have remembered all of their names, but some of them…
Some of them just didn't last long enough for him to get to know them properly.
"Well, can't exactly go around calling an elite a runt now, can I?" He shot back in response before letting out a bark of rough laughter. With a little bit of effort, the burly warrior let his own furry tail slip free from his waist to drift from side to side behind him, matching the smaller Saiyan as he sat on the sidelines and let her take point unless he was addressed specifically by the alien… bioweapon… thing. He really needed to figure out just what she was before he opened his mouth and made a fool of himself.
"Ain't like I got anything else to do right now. Just finished up some training of my own, after all. A little flight would be perfect to help me unwind." The statement was followed up with several loud cracks as he stretched his neck from side to side, and a sigh as the newly released endorphins began to do their work.
The alien was still acting a bit strange, and Tunnip couldn't keep all of his suspicions hidden as he raised his eyebrow once more. Flattery? Maybe that might have worked on a Saiyan with their head more firmly wedged up their backside, but from what he had seen so far, Lettuch wasn't one of those types. He just couldn't figure out what the creature's whole game plan was here, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. The younger Saiyan's response was a welcome reprieve, and a look of surprise briefly flashed across his face as she casually mentioned that she might have been named after a Super Saiyan. Hell of a thing to drop, considering some recent events. Maybe he could ask about it later? He'd have to keep it in mind when he came across the kid next.
That moment of astonishment was nothing compared to the next bombshell that got dropped, though. He was fairly certain that he'd dropped the name of the planet they were on earlier, and surely Lettuch had said something along those lines too. So why was she asking if they were Saiyans?
He would have thought the tails would make it obvious, but it would seem that was the wrong assumption to make.
For a few moments Tunnip was reduced to standing there, almost completely still as his mouth opened and closed repeatedly. He struggled to think of something, anything to say in response. It was a good thing that the other Saiyan in the room beat him to it, otherwise, he might have been there for hours trying to work his jaw. This alien… No, if she was an alien then surely she would know just what exactly he and Lettuch were. This creature really was clueless, wasn't she? Eventually, he managed to pick his jaw off the floor and get his thoughts in order. Enough for him to speak, at least.
"Yeah, look. I don't know what your deal is lady, but you're pretty obviously lost and ya barely even have a clue as to where you are, let alone whose planet you're on right now." He began, his voice calm but firm. "I don't even know your name, but we can't just let ya run around out here in the wild without knowing what you've got planned. Come with me and Lettuch, and we'll get you somewhere safer than," he gestured to the area around them, "this. I'd bet even you would prefer warm food and a bed to sleep on over slummin' it out in these parts."
His response was notably less threatening than the other Saiyan's, but it was supposed to be. The carrot and the stick. The woman would have to pick getting escorted back to civilization, or else she'd have to somehow deal with two upset warriors who would drag her back there by force. And Tunnip didn't think that she was strong enough to endure a beatdown if she chose the hard way.
At least, he hoped that was the case. Lettuch didn't seem worried though, so he figured they had this in the bag.
Post by ladyscarlet on Apr 25, 2023 22:17:46 GMT -5
Lady Scarlet was amused by the banter between tghe warriors, then...one of the worst things that could have happened to her plans...an ultimatum. This gave her pause. What did she screw up for things to end up this way? Lady Scarlet dismissed the thought. It didn't matter. She took a few steps then clasped her hands behind her back. "The truth...the truth is it? Well I guess...the jig is up, isn't it? I could lie to you some more. But after observing you, you wouldn't have bought it. Here's the truth. I really am lost, but I was hoping to end up here. I am from far away. You can call me Scarlet. I sought out saiyans because I had heard you were the greatest warriors in the universe. I need your help with something." She tried not to smile while she focused her intent while trying not to change her facial impression. She tried to make it subtle when she snapped her fingers behind her back, casting her Charming Wave while both warriors were in range. Her thoughts rushed around in her head about what was going to happen. She forceably brought her thoughts to order and tried to calculate the odds of the charming wave working, what would happen if it didn't, and her next move. With luck, she wouldn't have to use violence in this situation. She abhored violence, but she among many, were designed to serve her planet's needs so she was more than capable of it.
"Certainly not," she nodded in repsonse to Tunnip's words, arms crossed, "just as I suppose old man is out of the question."
She grinned, all teeth, seeming to all the world like a little girl who had just received approval from an older sibling as she watched Tunnip's tail unwind. It was an odd habit of hers, something that earned her no small amount of ridicule. It was a childish, immature thing, to leave one's tail free. Especially as a soldier. Doubly so if that soldier was an elite.
This was... approval? She'd almost forgotten what that was like. It was a small thing, but it was nice. While Lettuch stood with her arms folded and her back straight, her tail swished happily, a betrayal in her own body language. Then, Lettuch practically jumped from the sound of Tunnip's neck cracking "Whoa," she said, mostly to herself, and didn't even seem aware of the fact that she'd said it.
Then, it was finally the alien's turn to talk. Or, Scarlet, as she was apparently called. Based on the phrasing, that very well may have been yet another lie. No matter. At that, Lettuch nodded appreciatively, seemingly getting what she wanted. She wasn't wanting to cause any more trouble; she'd given Scarlet a hard enough time as it was. Really, she had given her the benefit of the doubt, and though she regretted treating her with such suspicion, could Scarlet really blame her? She had been acting suspiciously!
"See? That wasn't that hard, was it? Listen, I don't even care. Really - I don't even blame you. You're a fool for coming to Plant willingly, I can tell you that much. Only the dead and soon-to-be-dead come this far unprepared... but you got one thing right, at least."
Lettuch grinned, jabbing a thumb into the center of her chest. "We Saiyans are the greatest warriors in all the universe, and you're speaking to some of the greatest of them."
She laughed then, another ugly bark, and then - she felt it. Like a static shock crashing from one temple to the other and back again, a pressure pounding at the inside of her head, the onset of a headache. Her eyes, wild and alive, locked onto the alien standing across from her, the alien who had tricked her again and again. She'd been a fool to let her guard down. As if she could simply take the alien at her word and just believe that she was out of tricks. She was an idiot. An idiot.
Lettuch's aura flared to life, a dangerous purple flame that lifted the pebbles and cracked the dry earth beneath them. Her tail, fur bunched up and poofy, wrapped itself tightly around her waist. With heavy steps, she crossed the distance between herself and Scarlet, and it seemed to all the world that she would have picked her up by the front of her shirt if she was so much as wearing one. Lettuch stared up at the taller figure with a wild look in her eyes, furious and frantic. She could feel the compulsions eating away at her subconscious, suggesting that she calm down, urging her to let go of all that anger.
It was something she couldn't just fight with her hands.
It was terrifying.
"What did you just do?" Lettuch hissed from between her teeth, elongated incisors bared, and then...
and then...
She seemed to relax, suddenly, and all at once. Her shoulders slumped forward. Her tail unwound from around her waist. Something in her brain must've tweaked, for she found that she no longer felt much anger in that moment. It seemed rather odd, in fact, that she had been angry at all. It may have been because very little of her brain was actually in use at the moment. The only thing she was really thinking about was how rude she was just being, really. Honestly, how could she? She ought to apologize.
Lettuch lapsed into an odd and eerie kind of quiet. She staggered back, one unsteady step, and then another. She stared at her hands, as if surprised by the violence she was about to inflict with them. It seems, for a moment, that she had forgotten that she was a Saiyan.
"Sorry about that... Of course I'll help you with something. I'd do anything for you," She murmured, drunken, as if there was honey behind her lips, "Lady Scarlet."
"Hah!" Tunnip hollered as he began to laugh. "You wouldn't be the first to call me that one!"
Any further banter would have to wait until later, unfortunately, as the creature responded to their ultimatums. Her words soon proved that Tunnip had been in the right when he suspected that something was off about this whole situation. She had been lying, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was even any truth to her story to begin with. Couldn't exactly trust someone much after they just confessed to fibbing to your face, after all, no matter how much they claimed that they were now being honest. At least, finally, the two warriors managed to get a name out of her.
Keeping his arms crossed over his chest, his tail slowly moved up and wrapped itself back around his midsection unconsciously as he kept his eyes on the troublemaker. Any grin or smile was gone, replaced with a small frown as he let Lettuch do the talking. Despite the admission of guilt, that feeling from earlier had begun to rear its head once more. This was just too easy.
Something was wrong, but just like before, Tunnip couldn't put his finger on what.
Every so often he would glance around as his hackles began to rise, his attention focused elsewhere while Lettuch boasted out loud as he searched for some unseen threat. Some ambush or attack or something that made the creature confident enough to start acting like this.
Unfortunately, it was something far more malicious that neither Saiyan would have seen coming.
"What-?" Was all he managed to get out as the mental attack battered his mind. It felt like a thousand needles or a swarm of angry hornets were jabbing their points into his brain, and for a brief moment, Tunnip had to fight to keep his legs from buckling beneath him. His hands came up to grab onto the sides of his head as he squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth from the pain. It was hard to move, hard to think. But the veteran was no stranger to pain. He'd fought on over a dozen battlefields and suffered plenty of wounds in his lifetime. He might not know a single damn thing about telepathy or mind manipulation or any of that fancy stuff, but if there's one thing that the experienced Saiyan knew, it was how to stubbornly dig in his heels and weather the storm.
Like crimson flames that angrily lapped at the air, his aura exploded into existence alongside Lettuch's purple energy as the invisible struggle continued. However, as he focused on his own battle, he failed to keep an eye on his fellow warrior. While the smaller Saiyan closed the distance between her and the creature, Tunnip held his ground and threw his mind, will and whatever else he had available against the influence trying to worm its way into his skull, forcing it back each time.
Sweat dripped down his face from exertion, and for one brief moment, it seemed as if he was about to falter. As if he would be overwhelmed, and enslaved by this creature.
But before that could happen, the pressure vanished. The pain stopped, and Tunnip was left to gasp as he staggered back a step, immediately finding relief now that the mental assault was over. His chest heaved as he greedily sucked air into his lungs, and after taking a moment to gather his wits, he glanced up at the scene before him.
What he saw made him wish that he hadn't.
"Oi, Lettuch…?" She didn't look angry or strained, or that she had just suffered immense amounts of pain. Instead, if he had to describe it, she acted almost as if she was drunk. Had whatever the creature done hit her harder than it hit him? "C'mon kid, snap out of it! This isn't the time to be messin' around!"
He had to strain his hearing to catch the words she mumbled, but as he processed what she had said, his blood almost felt as if it had turned to ice in his veins. Lettuch hadn't just been hit harder by the attack. She'd lost to it. And now, she was under the control of this damn 'Lady Scarlet'. His lips peeled back into a snarl as he glared at the thing and balled his hands up into fists.
Earlier, he had only been a little pissed off. Now? He was pretty close to being apoplectic.
"Alright you overgrown bug," he spat, "I'll give you five seconds to release the little lady from whatever fancy spell you've put her under. If you do, I promise I won't hurt ya. Much."
Post by ladyscarlet on Apr 27, 2023 11:02:55 GMT -5
Lady Scarlet looked upon her handiwork and couldn't help but smile. She'd rather have had it effect both of them so fighting would have been avoided. Not only that, no one would have known anything was wrong...at least not obviously. However, a giddyness overcame her since it was only the second time she used her power and certainly never against this particular species, and so didn't know if it was going to work at all. "Let her go? Hmmmmm...no I don't think so." Indeed, what situation would she be in if she did that. A worse one than if she hadn't used it. She only used it because she was backed into a corner and was afraid of how things might end up. Besides, she really didn't know if she could let lettuch go. But that was all in the past. for now, what to do? She feared if Lettuch went up against the veteran, she would lose. So she would had no choice. "Don't make us do this, Tunnip." If he were to persist, she would add, "Lettuch, why don't you help me fight this other Saiyan? After he is defeated, we can discuss getting others under my power so we can build my palace. Wouldn't that be good?" Lady Scarlet's goals would be better served the longer Lettuch was under her sway.
PL: 24,000
WC: 226 TWC: 1,120
Last Edit: Apr 27, 2023 11:13:49 GMT -5 by ladyscarlet
Tunnip's voice no longer seemed to reach her; it was as if he were so far away. Why was he yelling at her? Why did he seem so angry? She watched his body language shift, hands balling into fists, hackles raised. They were friends, right? Had she upset him somehow? She couldn't get a grasp on how the situation had changed... she only knew that it had changed, somehow, and that unnerved her. Her immediate impulse was to apologize, but she couldn't even figure out what for. Thinking was just so difficult right now.
Her head cocked to one side, like a curious animal. She didn't seem to understand why Tunnip was so upset. She felt fine, after all. More than fine, probably... Lettuch realized, after a long moment, that she wasn't actually sure how she was feeling. Everything seemed so far away, so jumbled and confused, as if her own body was being viewed through a kaleidoscope.
That was normal though, right?
Then, came Scarlet's voice, which sliced through the fog on the inside of her head cleaner than any knife. Lettuch grimaced against the sensation, and then it dawned on her. Oh, right. Tunnip was her enemy now. She felt almost foolish for forgetting so suddenly. Everything would start to make sense again once she and Scarlet built their palace together. That made sense... right?
"No," she said, oddly defiant, "No, I've got him on my own. I'm an elite... don't trouble yourself with the likes of him."
She was under Scarlet's suggestion, but she was still an elite Saiyan; following orders, being subservient... something about it ground against Scarlet's command. Her subconscious bucked like a bull, and she winced with the sudden sensation of clarity. It didn't last for long; within a moment, her eyes were glassy once again.
"I'll prove it to you. Don't get in my way... my lady."
Lettuch laughed again, but it was an odd sound, hollow and mirthless. Oddly bitter, even. She reached one hand up over her left eye, removed her scouter from her ear. She held it in her hand as if she almost wasn't even sure what she was looking at, then tossed it to the side. Her aura crackled to life around her as she assured her footing, steadied herself for the oncoming tide of Ki flowing throughout her body, letting it circulate throughout her body as naturally as if it were her very blood.
Without so much as a warning, without any need for Scarlet's command to deepen into finality, she sprang. Her body twisted through the air, angling a kick towards Tunnip's head. The most he could see of Lettuch was the bottom of her boot as she streaked towards him in a sudden flash of movement.
So that was the creature's plan, was it? To ensnare one of them and use them as some kind of enslaved minion against the other? Tunnip didn't like the idea of beating the crap out of a kid that he had just met, Saiyan elite or not, but he didn't exactly have any other options here. Any reluctance had long been drowned out by anger thanks to the words that kept spilling out of 'Lady' Scarlet's mouth.
Hopefully, the runt wouldn't be too upset about all the bruises he was about to give her afterwards.
"Fine by me!" He bellowed. "As soon as I've knocked Lettuch back to her senses, we're gonna make you regret that you pulled this stunt!"
In response to the girl's laughter, Tunnip brought his fists up in front of him as he took on a brawler's stance. No elegance, no finesse, just close to seven feet of angry muscle-man who wanted to bury his fists in someone's gut. If he was any younger, the fact that she still sounded almost the same as normal would have made his skin crawl. But he could hear it, that emptiness in her voice. There was no emotion there, no life. She sounded more like a robot than a Saiyan about to get roughed up in a fight.
But she was still there. And no matter what it took, he swore to himself that he'd get her back.
He let Lettuch make the first move. Reacting to her attacks would give him a better chance at taking advantage of any flaws or slip-ups her control over the Saiyan might have. As her aura sprang to life behind him, he dug his feet into the dirt to give him a better foothold. He took the power that flowed beneath his skin and held onto it tightly as he watched, silently waiting for the moment she would strike…
He didn't need to wait long. In a flash she was in the air, leaping towards him with her leg stretched out into a powerful kick. If he didn't move to defend himself, she'd nail him right in his balding skull.
So, he didn't let that happen.
Instead of crashing into his head, her boot found itself welcomed to the fight by the back of Tunnip's hand as he slapped it away with almost casual ease. Despite the situation and everything at stake, the older Saiyan couldn't help but smirk. Lettuch might have been strong, but he could see that it had been a long time since she had put herself up against a peer opponent.
Unless there was a drastic speed or strength difference between you and a foe, jumping up into the air where it was harder to dodge was a bad move.
With the distance closed between them, and the younger Saiyan left vulnerable as she hung in the air, the mid-class warrior launched his counterattack. Time seemed to slow as he swung his arm back behind him, muscles bulging as his body tensed and his grip forced his fingernails into his palm. And then with a mighty shout, Tunnip let his fist fly. Like a miniature wrecking ball, his clenched hand flew straight towards Lettuch's armored gut.
Mind-controlled or not, it was time for this old man to show this young 'un just how he managed to live this long.
Tunnip slaps aside Lettuch's High Speed Rush (7,200) with his own Dismissive Backhand(2 KP 20% SHIELD | 4,800). The remaining 2,400 is further reduced by 30% thanks to the Shield variant to 1,680 (7%), which he takes as damage.
In return, Tunnip uses Clobberin' Time (1KP 20% | 4,800) as he lays into Lettuch, boosting it with Raw Talent to gain an additional 1MP!
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.
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Yakito: I am the #1 Tenrec hater (Striker will be struck)