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Post by Gandigan on Nov 19, 2023 0:25:23 GMT -5
Gandigan had definitely felt the improvement in his own strength since beginning his training with the three deceased Namekians he had found in Otherworld, but there was still quite a big elephant in the room. No amount of power he gained would matter if he wasn't able to achieve a new life and get back to the mortal realm, which is something he needed to begin thinking about. He had attempted to discover the method that Lottus used to regain his life, but so far he had failed.
The Shinjin 'friend' of the Namekians, Kaeru, had promised to take Gandigan on a journey around the galaxy in search of finding a potential means to restore his life, which the Mazoku was now prepared to begin. He had no idea where Kaeru may be taking him, and to be honest he suspected that Kaeru didn't really have much of an idea either, but being dead up here meant he had plenty of time on his hands, and he was going to find anything sitting around in the some places forever.
Almost as though the Shinjin could read his thoughts, Kaeru appeared in a puff of smoke right next to Gandigan, carrying in hand none other but another six pack of Hetap which was no doubt meant for the others. Gandigan didn't quite like the taste of that stuff, though the others couldn't get enough of it. Kaeru was on his side of that argument, very angrily tossing the Hetap through Sheng's open door rather than delivering the stuff personally.
"I swear if they deliver a single can to my home again... oh, hi Gandigan. I didn't see you there." Kaeru almost looked flustered, making Gandigan wonder what it was the Shinjin was about to say, but he quickly changed the subject before he could ask. "Well, I have a feeling that I know what it is you want. I promised you I would take you around Otherworld, right? Well Otherworld is a pretty big place so I hope you're ready for a long journey."
Gandigan had seen some small parts of Otherworld already, including most of Hell but the upper reaches still remained a mystery to him. When he had flown to this world he had come across a few others which possessed a myriad of interesting architecture styles, but he was unable to sense anyone else living around here. He knew that dead people must have possessed some form of Ki as he was able to sense the Namekians, but that was it.
"Say, Kaeru, how many worlds are there out in Otherworld, and how many people are living on them? When I flew up here the first time I wasn't able to sense anyone. You sure we'll be able to find someone who can help me?" The Shinjin laughed in response. "Most people up here practice hiding their power levels when strangers from down below float around places where they shouldn't be. I imagine that's what happened when you came here."
Well, that wasn't too surprising. Technically speaking Gandigan was breaking the rules by being up here. He always had to be on his guard for any tattletales who might go running to Yemma if they saw him. Thankfully the people he had been interacting with had been mostly cool with him so far, but there was always the chance he might run into someone not so happy with him being around here so he tried his best to stay incognito.
"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. Do you have any idea how many planets there are in total? I saw quite a few on the way here, but I imagine that there's probably a lot more, right?" Kaeru placed his hand on his jaw and hummed for a moment, thinking over his response. "Hundreds? Thousands? Honestly I can't tell you. Planets don't grow very big up here exact for the Sacred Kai's world, so I guess there's more space for them. But there's bound to be someone useful on one of them."
Hundreds. Thousands. Damn. It could take longer than Gandigan thought to find somewhere useful... but at the very least they had plenty of options, just like Kaeru said. "Well, you know this place better than I do. Any ideas on where we should start? I'll follow your lead." The Shinjin bounced up and down with excitement in response to that one. "As it just so happens I was scouting out a smaller world last night that looked very promising."
Without warning Kaeru would grab a hold of Gandigan's arm and teleport the two of them to another world. When the Mazoku next opened his eyes he was surrounded by a field of meadows as far as the eye could see... though there weren't any people in sight. Kaeru floated up into his sight line and pointed north, flying off in that direction while leaving Gandigan to follow. The Namekian walked for a while until finally something came up in the horizon.
From Gandigan's view, it looked like a small village, though the huts that he saw were in a design he didn't recognize. Oak had been cut down and formed into triangles, and outside of the homes were a group of small creatures that Gandigan could only describe as looking like a marshmallow in appearance, with their colors ranging from everything within the color spectrum. "Just what the Hell are these things, Kaeru, and how are they supposed to help?"
Kaeru gave another laugh, before giving Gandigan a pat on the head. "These are the Phebians. They're an ancient race; all died off far before your time. I know they may look a little strange, but you'll have to trust me when I say that they're incredibly powerful... when they want to be. Others have traveled to this world in search of the power that the Phebians hold, but very few have been able to actually give them what they want in return. Maybe we can be different?"
Gandigan wasn't quite sure he liked the feeling of this, but so far Kaeru had done well by him and the Namekian saw no reason to distrust him... yet. "Well, uh... do you have any idea of what they might want in return? Sounds like you've dealt with their kind before while I'm new here." Kaeru had to hold his hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. "Maybe I do... maybe I don't. But I think it'll be better if you go and find out for yourself."
Looks like Gandigan didn't have a whole of choice here. Letting out a deep sigh, the Namekian would stand up and begin to make his way over to the gelation creations, hoping that he might have what it was they wanted. The closer that Gandigan got, the more he was expecting some sort of bad reaction, yet the aliens didn't seem to notice him. As he inched closer he was still expecting something... anything to happen, yet even as he was right outside of their village the creatures still continued their song and dance.
"Um... excuse me? I do not know your names, but I have heard you are called Phebians, correct? I wish to... acquire something of yours. Some sort of power you are said to hold. I have been told that you require something in return for this power. Please tell me what it is that you desire and if it is within my power then I shall deliver it to you." The Phebians all stopped on a dime, ceasing their merriment to turn and stare at Gandigan. Their happy expression shifted to one of a calmness that almost frightened the Namekian.
Gandigan took in a deep breath, slightly worried for what might happen next... until the Phebians rushed to surround him and started singing and dancing again. "New Friend!" They chanted at him, switching from whatever their native tongue was into the universal basic. "Oh, uh..." He might have said more, until one of the Phebians grabbed a hold of his hand and dragged him into the center of the village. "New friend must play with us. Dance with us. Sing with us!"
Gandigan looked over at Kaeru, who was still holding his hands over his mouth. Is that what he was talking about earlier? What no one else was able to provide? Gandigan looked down at the little marshmallow creatures and cringed. "I uh... don't have too much experience with singing and dancing and the like... is there anything else I can give you? Maybe some menace that needs to be defeated in battle? I'm more of a warrior myself."
The Phebians once against stopped their merriment, looking up at Gandigan with those same still eyes from before. "New friend sing and dance." Without warning a different Phebian took a hold of Gandigan's arm again and began to walk him around in a circle, while the others follow along behind doing their little dance. Gandigan found himself shocked at the strength the small creature possessed was this the power that Kaeru was talking about earlier?
The dance itself was simple enough. You'd walk two steps then kick your left leg out. Then you'd walk another two steps and kick your right leg out. At the same time your left arm was linked to the one in front of you, while your right was linked to whoever was behind you. Every time you kicked one of your legs out you'd have to spin your head around too. The dance started off with just the two of them, and after each leg had been kicked another Phebian grabbed hold until they formed a complete circle.
Gandigan did his best to keep up the fun times, though as he already tried to explain he was hardly accustomed to this sort of thing. His timing and rhythm was completely off of the others, and at several times he kicked out the wrong leg... though the Phebians didn't seem to mind. From his perspective it seemed as though the strange little blobs were just happy to have someone else partake in the fun with them. It must be lonely being all the way out here... and how often do people want to leave their little homes to visit others?
Abruptly the odd sort of music that the Phebians were playing would come to an end, as did the dance number. The aliens gathered into a circle, whispering to each other in their own strange tongue before turning back to Gandigan with wide smiles across their faces. "You look funny. Time for a makeover!" What? Was this some sort of joke? Gandigan tried to take a step back, but found that a Phebian was already waiting behind him with it's arms out.
It pushed against the Namekians legs, forcing him to move forward while the others swamped him and pulled him into a chair. When he was there two Phebians sat on his arms, while another two sat on his legs and a fifth on his lap. "Hold still now!" Another Phebian with a rather dignified looking mustache approached, holding some sort of wooden board with a range of colors on it. "Hmm... you will be... Green Pheby!" The others cheered. Gandigan was horrified.
Was this the price he had to pay for power? For his new life? If so then maybe... maybe he could stomach it. The blue Phebian waddled over to Gandigan and hopped up onto the chair, dabbing his brush into a light green paint before splashing it over the Namekian's face. Although the Namekian was already green over most of his body it would appear that the Phebians weren't a fan of his darker tones, as they all possessed bright colors in contrast.
Gandigan did his best not to move, but the paint had a strange smell to it and he couldn't help but wriggle around a little as the Phebian plastered his face. "Don't move too much! You ruin my work!" The Phebian stuck in him the check with the back end of the brush before continuing. For a while it felt as though it might never end, but finally the little creatures ran off and giggled, bringing back with them a large mirror for the Namekian to 'admire' himself in.
The Phebians had done their best to make Gandigan look like one of them, coating his entire body (clothes included) in a neon green that almost made Gandigan sick to look at. "It's... uh..." What was he supposed to say? It looked horrible. He looked like a freaking glowstick, but say that and who knows how they might react. "Um, I like it. It's very... green. Green is good?" Sweat formed over the brown of Gandigan as he awaited the Phebians response, before letting out a sign of relief as they cheered.
Just as they had before, the Phebians lurched forward and grabbed Gandigan by the arms, pulling the Namekian into one of their homes. Their homes were crudely built, but within looked relatively normal. The aliens dragged Gandigan over to a small oven and opened it, pulling out the tray that was sat within. "Time for cookies now. You cook?" Gandigan looked over to the nearby shelf. There was a myriad of ingredients placed out, though the Namekian wasn't familiar with any of them.
Gandigan had at one time consumed meat, but that was a time he'd rather not think on. That was about the extend of his knowledge when it came to cooking; these sorts of ingredients were as alien to him as the Phebians themselves were. "Why don't you cook? I think your cookies will probably taste better than mine?" Gandigan spun around to where the Phebians were before, but now they were all sat at a nearby table. They held out a plate in their hands, and not one flinched at the sound of his words.
"Alright then..." Turning back to the counter top, Gandigan got to work mixing together the unknown ingredients in front of him. A few of them had labels such as 'flour' and 'milk' but others had no information at all, like the unknown fluffy powder that sat in the bowl in front of him. How much should he use? And does everything go in all at once? Why the Hell were they asking Gandigan to do all of this? The Namekian grumbled under his breath but continued on.
Gandigan decided that the simplest course of action would probably be best here, so he dumped all of the ingredients into one bowl and mixed them all together, eventually producing a brown paste that looked like what he imagined batter was supposed to be. Once he had that in place he spooned the batter onto the tray and placed it in the oven before taking a seat next to the Phebians and awaiting the competition of his cookies.
The Phebians meanwhile were as quiet as Gandigan had ever seen them, with those same expressionless faces he had seen before when the Phebians were upset at something. Gandigan thought that they might be a bit happier with the cookies in the oven, but the remained entirely motionless. The whole situation started to make Gandigan a bit nervous so he decided to try and break the ice a little bit with some conversation. "So, my name is Gandigan. What are your guys names?"
The Phebians looked at Gandigan, and one by one the each recounted their names to him. Pheb. Phob. Phebo. Phab, Phebz. Phebby. Phebster. Phoble. "Oh... very nice names." Gandigan tried to play things cool and smile, but the more time he spent around the Phebians the more nervous he felt. "Gand... Gan... bad name. You're Phandi now." The Phebians laughed, before turning to the oven. "Cookies are done now. Bring them here."
Gandigan assumed that cookies would take longer to cook than that, though perhaps this was some sort of magical oven that worked differently that the ones he had heard about on Earth. Rushing over to the oven, Gandigan quickly placed on some oven mitts before opening the stove up and pulling the cookies out. Gandigan had never really seen cookies before, so he wasn't quite sure what they were supposed to look like. These ones looked a little... black, and had smoke coming from them.
Were they supposed to look like that? Spinning around, Gandigan rushed back over to the table and slid the cookies onto the outstretched plates, before sitting back down and waiting for the Phebian response. Each of them looked down at their cookie with a blank expression, before turning back to Gandigan and uttering a single world. "Burnt." Then came the screaming. Each Phebian pushed out their chair and turned to the Namekian, yelling the same word over and over again.
"Uh... do you want me to make some more?" That question only made things worse. The Phebians charged at Gandigan know, shoving him outside of the home and forcing him to run out of the village entirely. They only stopped once they reached the limits themselves, before turning back and resuming their song and dance as though nothing had happened, waiting for the next unsuspecting visitor to make the same mistake that Gandigan had.
When the Mazoku returned to Kaeru the Shinjin could no longer hold his laughter at the sight of neon green Gandigan. In truth he had nearly forgotten about the paint, but now that he had been reminded of it he decided it was time to do something. "Take me to somewhere that I can clean myself off, would you?" Kaeru nodded, leading Gandigan to a small lake that resided on the Phebian planet. Gandigan hopped in and scrubbed himself as hard as he could, and watched as the paint leaked into the water.
"So, I take it things didn't end well between you?" Gandigan nodded, still washing himself. "Don't worry. Most people who visit the Phebians end up in a similar situation. They're a tough bunch to please, but you got pretty close!" Gandigan responded by flicking some water up at the Shinjin. "Hey! I gave you an opportunity to prove yourself. Don't blame me for failing... anyway, that was just our first choice. It's time we go visit someone else."
Gandigan was beginning to question just how much of a grip Kaeru really had on this situation, but before he could even get a word in the Shinjin took hold of his shoulder and teleported him to another world. When his eyes opened he bore witness to a planet not too dissimilar to the one they had just been on. Green fields with beautiful plants and small creatures running about, though thankfully no Phebians anywhere in view.
"So, you going to tell me where we are or should I just guess?" Honestly it could have been any number of the innumerous worlds that inhabited this space. "We don't really have a name for this world. There's only a handful of people who even know about it's existence actually, and now you're privileged to be one of those few." Kaeru did a little bow before continuing. "A few of my Shinjin friends inhabit this planet. We're a group of... like minded individuals lets say. I've asked them to look into this problem of ours."
Kaeru floated off to the north. "Let's go pay them a visit." Gandigan followed along behind him, soon entering a dense forest that was filled to the brim with both fauna and flora that the Namekian had never laid eyes on. "My goodness... the life here would put even Namek to shame." The real jewel in the crown lay in the center of the forest though. A large mansion with the most magnificent architecture the Namekian had ever laid eyes on, and outside sat four other Shinjin who quickly approached Kaeru.
"Kaeru!? We were wondering when you'd show up. This must be Gandigan, huh? Nice to meet you." A red Shinjin in the same outfit as Kaeru was wearing approached and stuck out a hand, which the Namekian accepted in his own. "Kaeru has told us about your situation, and we've been trying to help him come up with a solution." The three others quickly gathered around him, looking very similar too each other aside from the differing skin tones.
Gandigan was escorted inside of the grand palace, where many other Shinjin appeared to be working as attendants. There gardens and ever small animal shelters that needed to be taken care of while Kaeru and his friends toiled away. A part of him felt a bit embarrassed that so much effort was being put into place because of him... if he had found his own way out of Hell by now then these Shinjin would be able to go on and live their lives in peace.
Gandigan was escorted to study room upstairs, with the walls having been practically replaced by bookshelves they were entirely full. While the Shinjin whispered amongst themselves outside Gandigan gave the room a quick examination, discovering books from all different peoples, written in some languages he understood, some he recognized and some that he could barely even consider writing. There must have been more knowledge within this room than some planets in the living realm held.
The library was divided among planets, and so when Gandigan came to the small section that was specific to Namek he of course had to go and take a look at it. There were a few basic tomes there that he was already familiar with, such as the fundamentals of a Ajisa garden which he had read during his recovery from Amon's parasite escaping him. Some basic alchemical formulas as well which he had studied when he has first taken up the craft.
There were some older books he didn't recognize too. One was a detailed account of the various Mazoku clans which existed at the time; it must have been incredibly old on account of the fact that Gandigan only recognized one in every ten names mentioned. He didn't realize that so many had died out... though most likely some of the older clans would have been absorbed by newer ones, so in a way there was some continuity.
Perhaps the work that stood out most to Gandigan was one that he became briefly acquitted with during his first meeting of Cello. The Hexfist did not give the work a name; only mentioning that it spoke of his clan and it's opposition to the other Namekians at the time. The copy that remained within Cello's home had been almost completely in tatters, but this one was in prime condition. Unfortunately Gandigan still had no idea how to understand what was written on it, leaving it mostly useless to him.
By that time the other Shinjin had finally stopped whispering an entered, taking seats around a small table while waiting for Gandigan to sit as well. The Mazoku followed suited and waited for one to speak up. "Well, Gandigan, I'm very happy to meet you. I heard all about your battle with that brute Lottus... a shame that you have died. We all believed you to have such great potential... but uh, I suppose that's a conversation for another time. As for your revival efforts..."
Hold on a moment. Potential? What was he talking about? Gandigan brought his hand up and interjected. "What do you mean by that? Potential? I don't... you mean you were thinking about me before my battle with Lottus? What's going on here?" The Shinjin looked around at each other before looking over to Kaeru, expecting him to speak up.
"Gandigan... I guess now is as good a time to tell you as any. Our interest in you is not entirely out of the graces of our good hearts... you see, Shinjin aren't really supposed to interact with the mortal realm. It's sort of against our code. Many of our brothers still do it but it's frowned upon. The problem is that sometimes... well, sometimes there are situations where we'd like to interact and help out, but we don't want to break the rules either."
The Shinjin nodded in unison. "And so we've book looking for... someone. Someone who may be able to act on our behalf in the mortal realm. It's our way of getting around the rules I guess you could say. We thought that maybe you could be the person, and well... I guess we were kind of hoping that in exchange for helping you get back to the living world you'd agree to help us."
So there it was. The real reason why Kaeru and the others were helping him. He had to wonder how much the Namekians knew about this if anything... but what was he to say to that? He wanted his life back more than anything else. So much was going on down on Namek and elsewhere that he needed to be a part of. But did he really want to be a puppet of this Kais? "What exactly does this role entail? You intend to control me? Is that why you've dressed me like this?"
Kaeru shook his head. "No Gandigan! That was simply a gift, and we wouldn't think of it. We wouldn't really ask you to do anything different than what you've been doing really... the universe needs someone to watch over it. Someone with the power to act where others cannot. Think of the lesson that Sheng has tried to teach you. We ask that you think beyond just Namek alone; Lottus and others like him pose a threat to the universe on the whole. All we ask is that you would look over as much as you can."
It was a lot for Gandigan to take in. Could he really be prepared to go along with something like that? He couldn't say for sure... so instead he tried to shift focus back to his revival. "I'll have to think your proposition over... but it doesn't really mean anything unless I can get back to life, right? So why don't we talk about that for now. You guys had said you've been looking over some things? What do you have to show us right now?"
The head of the group, who Kaeru revealed in a whisper to be named Geb, stepped up and cleared his throat. "Yes, well uh, we've been looking at a number of different things as I said and I believe we may have found something with a lot of promise: become Yemma's friend!" Gandigan nearly collapsed. "What?! Are you serious?! After all this time that's the best you've come up with?!"
Geb frowned at him. "Couldn't you sound a little more grateful? You know how hard we've been working? The plan is perfect! Yemma is the one who controls where people go. All you've got to do is cozy up to him real close and win his heart. Then he'll be sure to give you your life back!" The Shinjin all jumped up in unison and hugged each other, as though the case was already closed with a victory. Gandigan had to be the bearer of bad news.
"Excuse me, but have any of you actually seen Yemma use this ability? Bringing people back to the life? Just because he decides whether people go to Heaven or Hell doesn't mean he can bring people back to life." Geb and Kaeru looked at each other in confusion for a while before turning back the Mazoku. "Uh.... well... I guess not but... hmm... I guess we'll have to try plan B then!"
Well, at least they had a plan B, though after hearing what plan A was Gandigan wasn't so sure what to expect. "Well, come on now. Let's here it then." Geb ran around to the desk that was sitting the back and took out a small fruit that the Mazoku didn't recognize. Running back over to the table, Geb placed the fruit down and slid it over to Gandigan. "Here you go! But don't eat it yet... not until you know the price."
That didn't sound good. "Alright, what price are we talking about here?" Geb looked as though he didn't really want to say, but after some prodding from Kaeru he finally spat it out. "Well, you see... we call this a Mortulia. A long time ago others tried to do what we are attempting, and they found a... well, a half solution. They believed they could achieve life through means of alchemy and botany, and their combined works resulted in the Mortulia plant, which is exceptionally rare."
The Mortulia was a small, dried sphere that looked like it would have been green if were ripe, but now? It was a sickly looked brown. It also looked as though Gandigan would hardly be able to keep it down; even the smell from afar was enough to have him gagging. "That effect is common among those who are not used to being around the Mortulia. Don't worry; your body should get used to the smell after a while. I've never tasted it myself, though I've heard it's as bad as anything you've likely tried before."
Gandigan didn't need to taste the Mortulia to know that. "So, you mentioned a price?" Geb nodded. "Aye. You see, the Mortulia is the flower of half dead, half life. Those who consumed it are brought to a sort of... undead state? Somewhere between a life and a death. So in effect... well, you'll be a zombie. You'll be alive for a good amount of time, but your body will be slowly decomposing from the inside out. You're fighting power will decrease with that decomposition. Oh, and you'll smell terrible pretty much all of the time."
Gandigan had heard enough. "Are you joking? You want me to be a zombie?!" Geb jumped up and attempted to cool the Namekian off. "No. No! Of course not. But we haven't been very successful in our searches so far... we wanted to bring up everything that we had found so far though, and this was one of those things... personally I would recommend against the Mortulia flower, but I cannot say that we have anything else to present to you today."
This lot was useless. Why did he feel bad about wasting their time again? They'd wasted his... it would seem the hunt for revival would be placed back onto his shoulders for now. Where should he turn to next...? Shifting around, Gandigan got up from his seat and moved back over to the section of the library where he was before. Picking up the same old text from Cello's clan, the Mazoku held it up for the others to see. "This. Where did you get this from?"
Geb looked at the other Shinjin. "Oh. That thing? Uh.... yeah, there's an old Mazoku clansmen who lives on his own world somewhere out there. We're a collector of books like that, so when we heard about him we ventured out there and asked if he had anything he could spare. He only had the one copy, but using our magic we were able to duplicate it. Don't quite remember what his name was... to be honest he didn't seem like a very nice man."
One of Cello's tribesmen was out here? Gandigan needed to meet him. The Hexfist's clan had access to powerful magics which could be of some use in his revival. "Do you remember where he lives, though? Could you take me to him." Geb looked confused, but was prepared to honor Gandigan's request. "Sure, I guess. Not sure what it is you'd want with him, but I can take you there."
Without warning Geb rushed over to Gandigan and grabbed hold of his hand, teleporting him off of the world they were on and onto another. When Gandigan opened up his eyes he found himself inside of a deep jungle, though this one wasn't as well maintained as the one of the world of the Kais. It looked wild... but he could sense something familiar deep within. Looking behind him, he saw Geb and Kaeru playing around, allowing him to go off on his own.
Walking towards the familiar sense, Gandigan came across a small castle that looked nearly identical to the one that he had found with Cello. But before he could continue forward he felt his body lock up... he couldn't move at all. "You there. What brings you to my domain? Answer me now." The voice was old and deep, but the source was unknown. "I am Gandigan; once King of the Mazoku. I have come to ask for your help."
A few seconds went by before the unseen shackles around him were dropped. Looking up a figure emerged from within; an old Mazoku who wore clothes that looked similar to Cellos. "I can not confirm or deny that claim, though few would claim to rule the Mazoku. A heavy burden that is. I am Tarron. You say you seek my help? Why do you believe that I can help you?" Despite his cold demenour, the old man did offer a hand to help Gandigan up.
"I am dead, as you can probably tell. When I lived on Namek I meet another from your clan. I learnt of the powerful magics that your kind possessed, and I thought that you might be able to help me find a way to regain my life. Is it possible? I know that others have done it, but now how. I need someone's help."
The old Namekian looked a bit confused. "Another you say... his name; what was his name?" Gandigan took hold of Tarron's hand and stood. "Cello." Tarron rubbed his jaw before responding. "Long after my time. I cannot say I know this name, but if you know about my people then I cannot doubt these words. Before I answer you please answer me this: how does my clan do today? have we survived?" A painful question with a painful answer.
"I'm afraid the status is... unknown. Cello was imprisoned. I free him and we returned to your land, but it looked ransacked. There may have been survivors somewhere, but I died before I could investigate further." The answer looked difficult for Tarron to accept, but he pushed on. "I see. It is unfortunate that I could not be there to help them in their time of need, but there is nothing I can do about that now. Perhaps I can help you though..."
Tarron looked off into the Jungle, to where Geb and Kaeru were. "I know of some... theories that could work, but they all come with a price. To restore one's life is not easy. I will do what I can to help you, but not now. First I must prepare myself. I must remember the old words, and gather the right ingredients. You shall have to do the same; the process will not be easy on your body. Continue to train and then return some other time, and make sure you do so alone. Those ones you have brought with you... they will not like what I have to say."
WC: 5,888
The Shinjin 'friend' of the Namekians, Kaeru, had promised to take Gandigan on a journey around the galaxy in search of finding a potential means to restore his life, which the Mazoku was now prepared to begin. He had no idea where Kaeru may be taking him, and to be honest he suspected that Kaeru didn't really have much of an idea either, but being dead up here meant he had plenty of time on his hands, and he was going to find anything sitting around in the some places forever.
Almost as though the Shinjin could read his thoughts, Kaeru appeared in a puff of smoke right next to Gandigan, carrying in hand none other but another six pack of Hetap which was no doubt meant for the others. Gandigan didn't quite like the taste of that stuff, though the others couldn't get enough of it. Kaeru was on his side of that argument, very angrily tossing the Hetap through Sheng's open door rather than delivering the stuff personally.
"I swear if they deliver a single can to my home again... oh, hi Gandigan. I didn't see you there." Kaeru almost looked flustered, making Gandigan wonder what it was the Shinjin was about to say, but he quickly changed the subject before he could ask. "Well, I have a feeling that I know what it is you want. I promised you I would take you around Otherworld, right? Well Otherworld is a pretty big place so I hope you're ready for a long journey."
Gandigan had seen some small parts of Otherworld already, including most of Hell but the upper reaches still remained a mystery to him. When he had flown to this world he had come across a few others which possessed a myriad of interesting architecture styles, but he was unable to sense anyone else living around here. He knew that dead people must have possessed some form of Ki as he was able to sense the Namekians, but that was it.
"Say, Kaeru, how many worlds are there out in Otherworld, and how many people are living on them? When I flew up here the first time I wasn't able to sense anyone. You sure we'll be able to find someone who can help me?" The Shinjin laughed in response. "Most people up here practice hiding their power levels when strangers from down below float around places where they shouldn't be. I imagine that's what happened when you came here."
Well, that wasn't too surprising. Technically speaking Gandigan was breaking the rules by being up here. He always had to be on his guard for any tattletales who might go running to Yemma if they saw him. Thankfully the people he had been interacting with had been mostly cool with him so far, but there was always the chance he might run into someone not so happy with him being around here so he tried his best to stay incognito.
"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. Do you have any idea how many planets there are in total? I saw quite a few on the way here, but I imagine that there's probably a lot more, right?" Kaeru placed his hand on his jaw and hummed for a moment, thinking over his response. "Hundreds? Thousands? Honestly I can't tell you. Planets don't grow very big up here exact for the Sacred Kai's world, so I guess there's more space for them. But there's bound to be someone useful on one of them."
Hundreds. Thousands. Damn. It could take longer than Gandigan thought to find somewhere useful... but at the very least they had plenty of options, just like Kaeru said. "Well, you know this place better than I do. Any ideas on where we should start? I'll follow your lead." The Shinjin bounced up and down with excitement in response to that one. "As it just so happens I was scouting out a smaller world last night that looked very promising."
Without warning Kaeru would grab a hold of Gandigan's arm and teleport the two of them to another world. When the Mazoku next opened his eyes he was surrounded by a field of meadows as far as the eye could see... though there weren't any people in sight. Kaeru floated up into his sight line and pointed north, flying off in that direction while leaving Gandigan to follow. The Namekian walked for a while until finally something came up in the horizon.
From Gandigan's view, it looked like a small village, though the huts that he saw were in a design he didn't recognize. Oak had been cut down and formed into triangles, and outside of the homes were a group of small creatures that Gandigan could only describe as looking like a marshmallow in appearance, with their colors ranging from everything within the color spectrum. "Just what the Hell are these things, Kaeru, and how are they supposed to help?"
Kaeru gave another laugh, before giving Gandigan a pat on the head. "These are the Phebians. They're an ancient race; all died off far before your time. I know they may look a little strange, but you'll have to trust me when I say that they're incredibly powerful... when they want to be. Others have traveled to this world in search of the power that the Phebians hold, but very few have been able to actually give them what they want in return. Maybe we can be different?"
Gandigan wasn't quite sure he liked the feeling of this, but so far Kaeru had done well by him and the Namekian saw no reason to distrust him... yet. "Well, uh... do you have any idea of what they might want in return? Sounds like you've dealt with their kind before while I'm new here." Kaeru had to hold his hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. "Maybe I do... maybe I don't. But I think it'll be better if you go and find out for yourself."
Looks like Gandigan didn't have a whole of choice here. Letting out a deep sigh, the Namekian would stand up and begin to make his way over to the gelation creations, hoping that he might have what it was they wanted. The closer that Gandigan got, the more he was expecting some sort of bad reaction, yet the aliens didn't seem to notice him. As he inched closer he was still expecting something... anything to happen, yet even as he was right outside of their village the creatures still continued their song and dance.
"Um... excuse me? I do not know your names, but I have heard you are called Phebians, correct? I wish to... acquire something of yours. Some sort of power you are said to hold. I have been told that you require something in return for this power. Please tell me what it is that you desire and if it is within my power then I shall deliver it to you." The Phebians all stopped on a dime, ceasing their merriment to turn and stare at Gandigan. Their happy expression shifted to one of a calmness that almost frightened the Namekian.
Gandigan took in a deep breath, slightly worried for what might happen next... until the Phebians rushed to surround him and started singing and dancing again. "New Friend!" They chanted at him, switching from whatever their native tongue was into the universal basic. "Oh, uh..." He might have said more, until one of the Phebians grabbed a hold of his hand and dragged him into the center of the village. "New friend must play with us. Dance with us. Sing with us!"
Gandigan looked over at Kaeru, who was still holding his hands over his mouth. Is that what he was talking about earlier? What no one else was able to provide? Gandigan looked down at the little marshmallow creatures and cringed. "I uh... don't have too much experience with singing and dancing and the like... is there anything else I can give you? Maybe some menace that needs to be defeated in battle? I'm more of a warrior myself."
The Phebians once against stopped their merriment, looking up at Gandigan with those same still eyes from before. "New friend sing and dance." Without warning a different Phebian took a hold of Gandigan's arm again and began to walk him around in a circle, while the others follow along behind doing their little dance. Gandigan found himself shocked at the strength the small creature possessed was this the power that Kaeru was talking about earlier?
The dance itself was simple enough. You'd walk two steps then kick your left leg out. Then you'd walk another two steps and kick your right leg out. At the same time your left arm was linked to the one in front of you, while your right was linked to whoever was behind you. Every time you kicked one of your legs out you'd have to spin your head around too. The dance started off with just the two of them, and after each leg had been kicked another Phebian grabbed hold until they formed a complete circle.
Gandigan did his best to keep up the fun times, though as he already tried to explain he was hardly accustomed to this sort of thing. His timing and rhythm was completely off of the others, and at several times he kicked out the wrong leg... though the Phebians didn't seem to mind. From his perspective it seemed as though the strange little blobs were just happy to have someone else partake in the fun with them. It must be lonely being all the way out here... and how often do people want to leave their little homes to visit others?
Abruptly the odd sort of music that the Phebians were playing would come to an end, as did the dance number. The aliens gathered into a circle, whispering to each other in their own strange tongue before turning back to Gandigan with wide smiles across their faces. "You look funny. Time for a makeover!" What? Was this some sort of joke? Gandigan tried to take a step back, but found that a Phebian was already waiting behind him with it's arms out.
It pushed against the Namekians legs, forcing him to move forward while the others swamped him and pulled him into a chair. When he was there two Phebians sat on his arms, while another two sat on his legs and a fifth on his lap. "Hold still now!" Another Phebian with a rather dignified looking mustache approached, holding some sort of wooden board with a range of colors on it. "Hmm... you will be... Green Pheby!" The others cheered. Gandigan was horrified.
Was this the price he had to pay for power? For his new life? If so then maybe... maybe he could stomach it. The blue Phebian waddled over to Gandigan and hopped up onto the chair, dabbing his brush into a light green paint before splashing it over the Namekian's face. Although the Namekian was already green over most of his body it would appear that the Phebians weren't a fan of his darker tones, as they all possessed bright colors in contrast.
Gandigan did his best not to move, but the paint had a strange smell to it and he couldn't help but wriggle around a little as the Phebian plastered his face. "Don't move too much! You ruin my work!" The Phebian stuck in him the check with the back end of the brush before continuing. For a while it felt as though it might never end, but finally the little creatures ran off and giggled, bringing back with them a large mirror for the Namekian to 'admire' himself in.
The Phebians had done their best to make Gandigan look like one of them, coating his entire body (clothes included) in a neon green that almost made Gandigan sick to look at. "It's... uh..." What was he supposed to say? It looked horrible. He looked like a freaking glowstick, but say that and who knows how they might react. "Um, I like it. It's very... green. Green is good?" Sweat formed over the brown of Gandigan as he awaited the Phebians response, before letting out a sign of relief as they cheered.
Just as they had before, the Phebians lurched forward and grabbed Gandigan by the arms, pulling the Namekian into one of their homes. Their homes were crudely built, but within looked relatively normal. The aliens dragged Gandigan over to a small oven and opened it, pulling out the tray that was sat within. "Time for cookies now. You cook?" Gandigan looked over to the nearby shelf. There was a myriad of ingredients placed out, though the Namekian wasn't familiar with any of them.
Gandigan had at one time consumed meat, but that was a time he'd rather not think on. That was about the extend of his knowledge when it came to cooking; these sorts of ingredients were as alien to him as the Phebians themselves were. "Why don't you cook? I think your cookies will probably taste better than mine?" Gandigan spun around to where the Phebians were before, but now they were all sat at a nearby table. They held out a plate in their hands, and not one flinched at the sound of his words.
"Alright then..." Turning back to the counter top, Gandigan got to work mixing together the unknown ingredients in front of him. A few of them had labels such as 'flour' and 'milk' but others had no information at all, like the unknown fluffy powder that sat in the bowl in front of him. How much should he use? And does everything go in all at once? Why the Hell were they asking Gandigan to do all of this? The Namekian grumbled under his breath but continued on.
Gandigan decided that the simplest course of action would probably be best here, so he dumped all of the ingredients into one bowl and mixed them all together, eventually producing a brown paste that looked like what he imagined batter was supposed to be. Once he had that in place he spooned the batter onto the tray and placed it in the oven before taking a seat next to the Phebians and awaiting the competition of his cookies.
The Phebians meanwhile were as quiet as Gandigan had ever seen them, with those same expressionless faces he had seen before when the Phebians were upset at something. Gandigan thought that they might be a bit happier with the cookies in the oven, but the remained entirely motionless. The whole situation started to make Gandigan a bit nervous so he decided to try and break the ice a little bit with some conversation. "So, my name is Gandigan. What are your guys names?"
The Phebians looked at Gandigan, and one by one the each recounted their names to him. Pheb. Phob. Phebo. Phab, Phebz. Phebby. Phebster. Phoble. "Oh... very nice names." Gandigan tried to play things cool and smile, but the more time he spent around the Phebians the more nervous he felt. "Gand... Gan... bad name. You're Phandi now." The Phebians laughed, before turning to the oven. "Cookies are done now. Bring them here."
Gandigan assumed that cookies would take longer to cook than that, though perhaps this was some sort of magical oven that worked differently that the ones he had heard about on Earth. Rushing over to the oven, Gandigan quickly placed on some oven mitts before opening the stove up and pulling the cookies out. Gandigan had never really seen cookies before, so he wasn't quite sure what they were supposed to look like. These ones looked a little... black, and had smoke coming from them.
Were they supposed to look like that? Spinning around, Gandigan rushed back over to the table and slid the cookies onto the outstretched plates, before sitting back down and waiting for the Phebian response. Each of them looked down at their cookie with a blank expression, before turning back to Gandigan and uttering a single world. "Burnt." Then came the screaming. Each Phebian pushed out their chair and turned to the Namekian, yelling the same word over and over again.
"Uh... do you want me to make some more?" That question only made things worse. The Phebians charged at Gandigan know, shoving him outside of the home and forcing him to run out of the village entirely. They only stopped once they reached the limits themselves, before turning back and resuming their song and dance as though nothing had happened, waiting for the next unsuspecting visitor to make the same mistake that Gandigan had.
When the Mazoku returned to Kaeru the Shinjin could no longer hold his laughter at the sight of neon green Gandigan. In truth he had nearly forgotten about the paint, but now that he had been reminded of it he decided it was time to do something. "Take me to somewhere that I can clean myself off, would you?" Kaeru nodded, leading Gandigan to a small lake that resided on the Phebian planet. Gandigan hopped in and scrubbed himself as hard as he could, and watched as the paint leaked into the water.
"So, I take it things didn't end well between you?" Gandigan nodded, still washing himself. "Don't worry. Most people who visit the Phebians end up in a similar situation. They're a tough bunch to please, but you got pretty close!" Gandigan responded by flicking some water up at the Shinjin. "Hey! I gave you an opportunity to prove yourself. Don't blame me for failing... anyway, that was just our first choice. It's time we go visit someone else."
Gandigan was beginning to question just how much of a grip Kaeru really had on this situation, but before he could even get a word in the Shinjin took hold of his shoulder and teleported him to another world. When his eyes opened he bore witness to a planet not too dissimilar to the one they had just been on. Green fields with beautiful plants and small creatures running about, though thankfully no Phebians anywhere in view.
"So, you going to tell me where we are or should I just guess?" Honestly it could have been any number of the innumerous worlds that inhabited this space. "We don't really have a name for this world. There's only a handful of people who even know about it's existence actually, and now you're privileged to be one of those few." Kaeru did a little bow before continuing. "A few of my Shinjin friends inhabit this planet. We're a group of... like minded individuals lets say. I've asked them to look into this problem of ours."
Kaeru floated off to the north. "Let's go pay them a visit." Gandigan followed along behind him, soon entering a dense forest that was filled to the brim with both fauna and flora that the Namekian had never laid eyes on. "My goodness... the life here would put even Namek to shame." The real jewel in the crown lay in the center of the forest though. A large mansion with the most magnificent architecture the Namekian had ever laid eyes on, and outside sat four other Shinjin who quickly approached Kaeru.
"Kaeru!? We were wondering when you'd show up. This must be Gandigan, huh? Nice to meet you." A red Shinjin in the same outfit as Kaeru was wearing approached and stuck out a hand, which the Namekian accepted in his own. "Kaeru has told us about your situation, and we've been trying to help him come up with a solution." The three others quickly gathered around him, looking very similar too each other aside from the differing skin tones.
Gandigan was escorted inside of the grand palace, where many other Shinjin appeared to be working as attendants. There gardens and ever small animal shelters that needed to be taken care of while Kaeru and his friends toiled away. A part of him felt a bit embarrassed that so much effort was being put into place because of him... if he had found his own way out of Hell by now then these Shinjin would be able to go on and live their lives in peace.
Gandigan was escorted to study room upstairs, with the walls having been practically replaced by bookshelves they were entirely full. While the Shinjin whispered amongst themselves outside Gandigan gave the room a quick examination, discovering books from all different peoples, written in some languages he understood, some he recognized and some that he could barely even consider writing. There must have been more knowledge within this room than some planets in the living realm held.
The library was divided among planets, and so when Gandigan came to the small section that was specific to Namek he of course had to go and take a look at it. There were a few basic tomes there that he was already familiar with, such as the fundamentals of a Ajisa garden which he had read during his recovery from Amon's parasite escaping him. Some basic alchemical formulas as well which he had studied when he has first taken up the craft.
There were some older books he didn't recognize too. One was a detailed account of the various Mazoku clans which existed at the time; it must have been incredibly old on account of the fact that Gandigan only recognized one in every ten names mentioned. He didn't realize that so many had died out... though most likely some of the older clans would have been absorbed by newer ones, so in a way there was some continuity.
Perhaps the work that stood out most to Gandigan was one that he became briefly acquitted with during his first meeting of Cello. The Hexfist did not give the work a name; only mentioning that it spoke of his clan and it's opposition to the other Namekians at the time. The copy that remained within Cello's home had been almost completely in tatters, but this one was in prime condition. Unfortunately Gandigan still had no idea how to understand what was written on it, leaving it mostly useless to him.
By that time the other Shinjin had finally stopped whispering an entered, taking seats around a small table while waiting for Gandigan to sit as well. The Mazoku followed suited and waited for one to speak up. "Well, Gandigan, I'm very happy to meet you. I heard all about your battle with that brute Lottus... a shame that you have died. We all believed you to have such great potential... but uh, I suppose that's a conversation for another time. As for your revival efforts..."
Hold on a moment. Potential? What was he talking about? Gandigan brought his hand up and interjected. "What do you mean by that? Potential? I don't... you mean you were thinking about me before my battle with Lottus? What's going on here?" The Shinjin looked around at each other before looking over to Kaeru, expecting him to speak up.
"Gandigan... I guess now is as good a time to tell you as any. Our interest in you is not entirely out of the graces of our good hearts... you see, Shinjin aren't really supposed to interact with the mortal realm. It's sort of against our code. Many of our brothers still do it but it's frowned upon. The problem is that sometimes... well, sometimes there are situations where we'd like to interact and help out, but we don't want to break the rules either."
The Shinjin nodded in unison. "And so we've book looking for... someone. Someone who may be able to act on our behalf in the mortal realm. It's our way of getting around the rules I guess you could say. We thought that maybe you could be the person, and well... I guess we were kind of hoping that in exchange for helping you get back to the living world you'd agree to help us."
So there it was. The real reason why Kaeru and the others were helping him. He had to wonder how much the Namekians knew about this if anything... but what was he to say to that? He wanted his life back more than anything else. So much was going on down on Namek and elsewhere that he needed to be a part of. But did he really want to be a puppet of this Kais? "What exactly does this role entail? You intend to control me? Is that why you've dressed me like this?"
Kaeru shook his head. "No Gandigan! That was simply a gift, and we wouldn't think of it. We wouldn't really ask you to do anything different than what you've been doing really... the universe needs someone to watch over it. Someone with the power to act where others cannot. Think of the lesson that Sheng has tried to teach you. We ask that you think beyond just Namek alone; Lottus and others like him pose a threat to the universe on the whole. All we ask is that you would look over as much as you can."
It was a lot for Gandigan to take in. Could he really be prepared to go along with something like that? He couldn't say for sure... so instead he tried to shift focus back to his revival. "I'll have to think your proposition over... but it doesn't really mean anything unless I can get back to life, right? So why don't we talk about that for now. You guys had said you've been looking over some things? What do you have to show us right now?"
The head of the group, who Kaeru revealed in a whisper to be named Geb, stepped up and cleared his throat. "Yes, well uh, we've been looking at a number of different things as I said and I believe we may have found something with a lot of promise: become Yemma's friend!" Gandigan nearly collapsed. "What?! Are you serious?! After all this time that's the best you've come up with?!"
Geb frowned at him. "Couldn't you sound a little more grateful? You know how hard we've been working? The plan is perfect! Yemma is the one who controls where people go. All you've got to do is cozy up to him real close and win his heart. Then he'll be sure to give you your life back!" The Shinjin all jumped up in unison and hugged each other, as though the case was already closed with a victory. Gandigan had to be the bearer of bad news.
"Excuse me, but have any of you actually seen Yemma use this ability? Bringing people back to the life? Just because he decides whether people go to Heaven or Hell doesn't mean he can bring people back to life." Geb and Kaeru looked at each other in confusion for a while before turning back the Mazoku. "Uh.... well... I guess not but... hmm... I guess we'll have to try plan B then!"
Well, at least they had a plan B, though after hearing what plan A was Gandigan wasn't so sure what to expect. "Well, come on now. Let's here it then." Geb ran around to the desk that was sitting the back and took out a small fruit that the Mazoku didn't recognize. Running back over to the table, Geb placed the fruit down and slid it over to Gandigan. "Here you go! But don't eat it yet... not until you know the price."
That didn't sound good. "Alright, what price are we talking about here?" Geb looked as though he didn't really want to say, but after some prodding from Kaeru he finally spat it out. "Well, you see... we call this a Mortulia. A long time ago others tried to do what we are attempting, and they found a... well, a half solution. They believed they could achieve life through means of alchemy and botany, and their combined works resulted in the Mortulia plant, which is exceptionally rare."
The Mortulia was a small, dried sphere that looked like it would have been green if were ripe, but now? It was a sickly looked brown. It also looked as though Gandigan would hardly be able to keep it down; even the smell from afar was enough to have him gagging. "That effect is common among those who are not used to being around the Mortulia. Don't worry; your body should get used to the smell after a while. I've never tasted it myself, though I've heard it's as bad as anything you've likely tried before."
Gandigan didn't need to taste the Mortulia to know that. "So, you mentioned a price?" Geb nodded. "Aye. You see, the Mortulia is the flower of half dead, half life. Those who consumed it are brought to a sort of... undead state? Somewhere between a life and a death. So in effect... well, you'll be a zombie. You'll be alive for a good amount of time, but your body will be slowly decomposing from the inside out. You're fighting power will decrease with that decomposition. Oh, and you'll smell terrible pretty much all of the time."
Gandigan had heard enough. "Are you joking? You want me to be a zombie?!" Geb jumped up and attempted to cool the Namekian off. "No. No! Of course not. But we haven't been very successful in our searches so far... we wanted to bring up everything that we had found so far though, and this was one of those things... personally I would recommend against the Mortulia flower, but I cannot say that we have anything else to present to you today."
This lot was useless. Why did he feel bad about wasting their time again? They'd wasted his... it would seem the hunt for revival would be placed back onto his shoulders for now. Where should he turn to next...? Shifting around, Gandigan got up from his seat and moved back over to the section of the library where he was before. Picking up the same old text from Cello's clan, the Mazoku held it up for the others to see. "This. Where did you get this from?"
Geb looked at the other Shinjin. "Oh. That thing? Uh.... yeah, there's an old Mazoku clansmen who lives on his own world somewhere out there. We're a collector of books like that, so when we heard about him we ventured out there and asked if he had anything he could spare. He only had the one copy, but using our magic we were able to duplicate it. Don't quite remember what his name was... to be honest he didn't seem like a very nice man."
One of Cello's tribesmen was out here? Gandigan needed to meet him. The Hexfist's clan had access to powerful magics which could be of some use in his revival. "Do you remember where he lives, though? Could you take me to him." Geb looked confused, but was prepared to honor Gandigan's request. "Sure, I guess. Not sure what it is you'd want with him, but I can take you there."
Without warning Geb rushed over to Gandigan and grabbed hold of his hand, teleporting him off of the world they were on and onto another. When Gandigan opened up his eyes he found himself inside of a deep jungle, though this one wasn't as well maintained as the one of the world of the Kais. It looked wild... but he could sense something familiar deep within. Looking behind him, he saw Geb and Kaeru playing around, allowing him to go off on his own.
Walking towards the familiar sense, Gandigan came across a small castle that looked nearly identical to the one that he had found with Cello. But before he could continue forward he felt his body lock up... he couldn't move at all. "You there. What brings you to my domain? Answer me now." The voice was old and deep, but the source was unknown. "I am Gandigan; once King of the Mazoku. I have come to ask for your help."
A few seconds went by before the unseen shackles around him were dropped. Looking up a figure emerged from within; an old Mazoku who wore clothes that looked similar to Cellos. "I can not confirm or deny that claim, though few would claim to rule the Mazoku. A heavy burden that is. I am Tarron. You say you seek my help? Why do you believe that I can help you?" Despite his cold demenour, the old man did offer a hand to help Gandigan up.
"I am dead, as you can probably tell. When I lived on Namek I meet another from your clan. I learnt of the powerful magics that your kind possessed, and I thought that you might be able to help me find a way to regain my life. Is it possible? I know that others have done it, but now how. I need someone's help."
The old Namekian looked a bit confused. "Another you say... his name; what was his name?" Gandigan took hold of Tarron's hand and stood. "Cello." Tarron rubbed his jaw before responding. "Long after my time. I cannot say I know this name, but if you know about my people then I cannot doubt these words. Before I answer you please answer me this: how does my clan do today? have we survived?" A painful question with a painful answer.
"I'm afraid the status is... unknown. Cello was imprisoned. I free him and we returned to your land, but it looked ransacked. There may have been survivors somewhere, but I died before I could investigate further." The answer looked difficult for Tarron to accept, but he pushed on. "I see. It is unfortunate that I could not be there to help them in their time of need, but there is nothing I can do about that now. Perhaps I can help you though..."
Tarron looked off into the Jungle, to where Geb and Kaeru were. "I know of some... theories that could work, but they all come with a price. To restore one's life is not easy. I will do what I can to help you, but not now. First I must prepare myself. I must remember the old words, and gather the right ingredients. You shall have to do the same; the process will not be easy on your body. Continue to train and then return some other time, and make sure you do so alone. Those ones you have brought with you... they will not like what I have to say."
WC: 5,888
