|
Post by Queen Taras on Nov 23, 2020 0:48:10 GMT -8
Mushroom hunting.When Bass had said that he would get her more money than she knew what to do with, she hadn’t imagined that it would involve doing honest work for honest pay. Her pocket already had a fat stack of bills, though, and hanging around with this guy for just the start of an afternoon has shown her how to sharpen her senses. “What has the world come to, when even the rightful Queen has to work for her supper?” It is a half-hearted grousing, though. As the pair of them headed into the mushroom forest, Taras genuinely found herself interested in the way these mushrooms looked. She’d walked amongst the petrified mushrooms in the Southlands often enough. She’d even been forced to break off pieces of those ancient stalks and brew them up when food got really scarce. But these ones weren’t like those at all. They were an undeniably impressive sight. Twenty, thirty, even forty feet tall, the immense mushrooms had as many uses as there were colours of cap. Medicine, dyes, and of course the obvious foodstuff. She could probably have fed her whole gang for weeks off just one of these mushrooms. The technology had been strange enough to try and wrap her head around, but the more the Queen explored the park, the more obvious it was becoming that there was an entirely different world out there. One where people didn’t have to fight and struggle and scrape just to survive; one where food was plentiful and temperatures between ‘furnace hot’ and ‘sub-zero’ existed. Knowing that all this had been just one train journey away for years was difficult to countenance! Casually, she swiped out with one clawed hand and tore off a chunk of mushroom stalk which she brought up to her mouth. She chewed on it thoughtfully as they carried on, though the fact that her mouth was now filled with juicy stalk didn’t do a thing to dissuade her from continuing the conversation. “So, you said that they’d had a problem like this before? Did you figure who was responsible? Life-sucking mushrooms sound like the worst. Not that I’m worried. There’s no mushroom in the world strong enough to threaten a dragon! I’m sure between the two of us we should be able to deal with anything this forest has to throw at us.” As the pair pressed on into the forest, though, they were watched. Behind them, a man in a bright red Pilaf Land janitorial staff uniform touched the hole where Taras had torn out her snack. The oozing mushroom juices stained his gloved fingers, and he bowed his head. “… more vandals come to damage the pipes.” He murmured, the brim of his cap casting his features in dark shadow. “Enough is enough.” From his toolbox, he pulled out the largest wrench he had – an enormous bolt-tightener which he shouldered with purpose. “I will defend this Mushroom Kingdom, or my name isn’t Meerio Meerio!” (Wordcount: 517)
|
|
|
Post by Bass on Nov 23, 2020 12:45:54 GMT -8
Walking through the mushroom forest, Bass vividly recalled the last time he took a similar job. It was supposed to be simple, he'd thought- a chore at best, but apparently what he and Will had encountered that day had the potential to destroy Earth with one too many wrong moves. Bass needed to go above and beyond back then- and he was still paid in meagre sums. Listening to the few things Queen Taras said, he'd raise his voice and answer her questions in turn. " Last time is already looking a lot different than now, me and Will had to deal with a giant mushroom in an otherwise normal forest. Catch was, found out the hard way it was invulnerable to energy blasts a little late. A pretty powerful thing for such a low tier job, but Pilaf Land claimed they were not responsible for things they were never aware of." It was about then that the power signature behind him started to feel relevant, and sure enough a voice called out with conviction towards the two of them. Spinning around on the spot, Bass looked towards this so called 'Meerio Meerio' with a mere look of distaste. Like getting coal for Christmas, the Namekian judged the character behind the tough words and wrench. " That's great and all buddy, but last I checked these mushrooms aren't necessarily making friends with people. We'll deal with the problem and then go back, thanks." Bass said with a brief raise of the hand in a dismissive waving motion. Sure enough however, as he suspected this guy was pretty set in his beliefs. That voice called out again. "No so fast! Fungal vandalism may not be a crime where you came from, but it is in the Mushroom Kingdom! On guarde mamma mia!" He said as he burst forward towards them. His speed was impressive, but Bas contemplated just how cursed this mushroom forest seemed to be. Two low strain missions of the same type in the same place, and the second appears to be turning out as unlike the contract as the first. The person in front of them wasn't even a mushroom. The Namekian intended to step in front of Queen Taras as the mustache menace closed the distance and raised his wrench. He was not exactly certain of how powerful the guy was, but by the contract and tier of the job this should be a breeze for the Namekian. Narrowing his eyes as the wrench raised high into the air, Bass disappeared in a flash and 'Meerio Meerio' appeared to lose grip on the wrench which flung off and embedded itself into a nearby mushroom stalk. Catching wind of what'd happened, the man looked over and let out something between a shriek and a gasp. "Nooo! Not my sweet sweet fungus!" He shouted as he ran over and pried the makeshift weapon out from the soft mushroom tissue. It'd be noted that the guy had started to get a bit more angry with his movements, his face contorted into a slight rage that no doubt would be fuelled further with more damage to the forest. Not that Bass was trying to terrorize the poor man- he just wanted to give Queen Taras an opportunity to fight without being overly obvious about it. 554 1,069/4,000 Queen Taras
|
|
|
Post by Queen Taras on Nov 24, 2020 0:15:16 GMT -8
Meerio may well be one of the strongest plumbers on the planet, but it has to be said that it isn’t a particularly crowded field. His wild swing and inadvertent damage to the very mushroom he was trying to protect was mightily enraging; and naturally, he isn’t about to blame himself for that.
“I’ll show the pair of you what the pride of a plumber means!!” He roared as he, finally, managed to pull the wrench free. For once in her life, Taras was speechless. She didn’t know what a plumber was, but this guy was clearly a massive jerk – and she thought that she could be unreasonable! She hadn’t even DONE anything here yet!
“So the mushroom we’re looking for absorbs energy?” She said, scratching behind the back of her head, “Ara ara, what a pain. Normally I’d just blow this guy away, but I guess I’ll try to talk him down.”
Taras might be uneducated about a lot of things, but she wasn’t stupid, and that’s an important distinction. She knew that Bass was infinitely stronger than she was, and if her nose didn’t betray her, this guy was somewhere between the two of them. She might not have the overwhelming physical advantage that the big blue Namekian had at his disposal, but she was still a Queen, and she was sure that he had her back. Now it was time to prove that she could pull her weight!
“Now listen up.” She said as she approached the struggling man. “I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m Queen Taras, and that guy over there? He’s…”
Wait, had they actually been introduced to each other? She couldn’t remember. She didn’t think so. She’d just assumed that he knew who she was, and that was good enough for her. “… a big deal as well!” She exclaims, which is certainly true, even if she doesn’t know all the specifics.
“You’re making a real fool of yourself here!” She continued, blustering on as best she could, “We’re being MAGNANIMOUS enough to help this park out, so go find your supervisor and lodge a complaint if you don’t like the way we’re helping out!”
Hands on her hips, her Ferocious Queenly Indignation technique had been delivered with flawless style; from the furious upset on her face to the haughty tone of voice she really nailed it. Unfortunately, Meerio’s Working Class Pride was a flawless defence against such techniques.
With a triumphant shout he pulled the wrench free, and it was only the fact that Taras is far shorter than him which saved her from being clobbered by it. Faced with such a diminutive opponent, though, Meerio’s instincts took over and he leapt into the air.
When he came down again, it was right on top of Taras’ skull. The Queen was driven flat into the dirt with an almighty CRASH, her arms and legs splayed out beneath her as he let out a joyous, “WAHOO!” And used her as a springboard to leap directly at the far more intimidating figure of Bass.
Did he just jump on her head?
Who DOES that?!
(545 / 1614)
|
|
|
Post by Bass on Nov 24, 2020 8:15:48 GMT -8
By this point Bass was just at the sideline with his palm to his face. This Meerio guy was something else, so far so that it was beyond irritating and just insanity-inducing in a joking way. Still, he needed to remember to stay focused and keep tabs on them- after all with lower power levelled individuals it was always difficult to gauge how sturdy they were. If that big wrench connected with the supposed dragon queen it could be dangerous or it could be funny depending on how she took the blow. Ready to burst into action at a moments notice, she watched him decide to leap into the air... Impressive jumping skills at that for a normal(physically... ish) person. Coming down on Queen Taras' head Bass visibly winced and shielded his eyes, that was some kind of next level brutality. When he heard the wahoo that followed and pulled his arm back he'd notice that the 'Meerio' figure was leaping towards him. The Namekians eyes narrowed. The gap closed faster and faster, most of the time Bass was considering how to handle this. He didn't want to end up killing the guy by accident but he didn't necessarily know how strong he was. There was a vague read of his power, and from what he'd witnessed with Taras it seemed to be on the lower end, but well.. " Here, let's try this." The Namekian pulled back a fist as Meerio raised back that wrench of his. The air compressed around Bass's hand, and a boom echoed throughout the Mushroom Kingdom as the punch flew forward. Cutting through air and slamming into the plumbers core he found himself flying back like a bullet. With the massive mushrooms acting as sufficient padding he'd drill through five or so of them over the span of a hundred meters roughly before sliding out of the final one unconscious and coated in goop. Shaking his hand off, Bass figured the guy would be alright. He could shrug off worse back when he was weak, so he doubted someone with the fanatical conviction of Meerio Meerio would let himself die from a single hit heavy or not. At any rate, he started to recall what the job was again before a beat of sweat formed on his forehead remembering what Taras had said about the mushroom. " Wait wait wait no no no no no-" He started shaking both hands in a sort of halting motion. " -it's not like that. This was last time, and for the sake of my sanity let's assume that was a one time thing. Also for the sake of Pilaf because if this mission lied about its difficulty for a second time I'm getting some proper answers." With that Bass closed the distance and started to wander once more. Meerio aside, their actual target was a mutant mushroom of some kind. Fungus and mutation felt like similar things, so Bass wasn't surprised it happened at least twice in one year. " It might look pretty similar to a lot of the other mushroom stalks, or really different. Might be best if we try sensing for an abnormal power signature of some kind. Now that Meerio is... I think unconscious, it should be a bit easier to tell out our suspect from the rest of the clutter in the area- oh, and before I forget again." Bass turned towards Queen Taras, walking backwards at this point. " You can call me Bass, and if you're a Queen I'm a South City Salaryman." He said before spinning around to continue walking through the forest. 600 2,214/4,000 Queen Taras
|
|
|
Post by Queen Taras on Nov 24, 2020 10:46:07 GMT -8
Taras had definitely looked better before the heavy impact of workman’s boots to her skull! When the woman managed to pry herself back out of the ground, blood trickled clear, bright and scarlet down the centre of her forehead. Her crown, though, escaped unscathed – and really that’s the most important thing.
She spares a single glance of disdain back at the trail of destruction wrought by Bass in taking the berserk plumber down, and gave a short, approving nod. From within her dress she produced a filthy scrap of cloth which she wrapped around her head, binding the wound as best she can. She’s tougher than she looks; she’ll be fine, but the overall effect definitely undermines some of that regality she was trying so hard to project. If there was any justice in the world she would at least have a silken handkerchief, but isn’t that the great tragedy of her life?
Still. She was quite used to dealing with the many injustices that her rough and tumble life seemed determined to throw at her. Destiny might try its best to rob her of her dignity, but a true Queen would never let it succeed!
“Thank you for taking care of that.” She said as she brushed her dress back into place. “I suppose there are all sorts of strange people in the world. When you are at the top of the food chain, as we are, it is only natural that the scavengers would come sniffing around.”
She took a moment to regain her composure, and tried to again focus on the task at hand. Mutant mushroom. That shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out, should it? Not that she was an expert in living mushrooms.
“I’ve heard of South City, but I haven’t yet been.” She continued, as she squinted at the mushrooms. Hopefully none of the five that had been felled by the obnoxious plumber in his escapades would prove to be the mutant one they were looking for. “That’s the place with all the business and the beaches, right? I have to admit, I don’t really see what is supposed to be relaxing about sand, but maybe I just take it for granted.”
For her, sand was an enemy as perpetual and bitter as the World Government. Sand, too, had a way of sneaking into her home and making itself an irritant. Admittedly, if she were willing to wear more practical clothing it might be less of a problem, but what sort of Queen let practicality dictate her fashion decisions?
“You’ll have to show me around some time, Salaryman Bass. When we’re done here, of course.”
She paused for a moment before she added.
“You know, if that guy loved mushrooms so much, surely he’d have seen if there was anything strange going on? We could always beat him until he tells us what he knows. Or I could take a bite out of each of them until we find the one that tastes different. After that, unpleasantness, I’m not sure I can concentrate well enough to sniff it out.”
(529 / 2743)
|
|
|
Post by Bass on Nov 25, 2020 8:47:57 GMT -8
Looking at the state of her injury for a moment, the Namekian wasn't necessarily surprised Queen Taras was having some difficulty focusing on a newfound difficult to access skillset- maybe if she'd gotten more experience before getting wahoo'd, but the world truly could be cruel in that way. Nevertheless Bass figured he could handle it as his hands rested within his pockets and he paced forwards. " A-hm." The Namekian started to speak but stopped himself, was something on his mind? He quickly moved on with other things he had planned to say instead. " South City offers a lot more than just commerce, I'm starting to worry perhaps I've given it a reputation for something it used to not be known for. It's a big place, most people never see much of the corporate competition that goes on there. Beautiful place, honestly. Not to mention lots of sun exposure." With that the Namekian continued to wander forward, by this point he'd started to get a grasp on whatever their target was- or at least a point of interest. A power signature period, something beyond the mere ambient power signatures that things like grass and trees and small critters gave that all blended together- a spike of sorts. With that the direction he was walking changed. " I don't think we need to question him, might've found it here. Besides, crazy or not I don't much like pestering misguided people compared to say, chasing down bad ones." The question that still lingered on his mind was definitely a personal question, something that stood out to him like a red flag. There were so many different unique things about the world that it was easy to get lost in familiar lands but foreign places. This was one such case where he felt something didn't quite align, that as advertised she wasn't where she was supposed to be. Despite this, he walked through more and more fungal forestry. Far in the distance through the cracks visible between multiple mushroom stalks was one that seemed to faintly be glowing as if radioactive in a way. It wobbled on the spot and most threateningly the thing seemed to shift and move around on the spot. That must've been the culprit who'd been jeopardizing the safety of nearby civilians. " Looks like that's the one we need to go for." Still, he didn't really rush along per say. Just kept his pace, the mushroom didn't look like it was planning to go anywhere. In fact, he took the time to raise his wrist and check his watch. " But yeah, I could show you around the city. I'll be heading back there after all of this anyways. Which if I'm recalling correctly we have quite a bit to get through... After this there's an easy job I spotted earlier that we'll need to get done, then there's a pretty big one, a-" The Namekian rubbed the side of his temple. It seemed as if he was thinking about the details. " We're about twenty percent through everything that needs to get done. It'd go a lot faster if we had more hands, you don't by chance know anyone around here do you? If not I might be able to get some contacts to make things run a bit more smoothly. As for the zeni at the end of it all, at least the getting zeni part, how does just shy of seven million for each of us sound to you?" While letting that gateway to financial freedom sink in, the Namekian decided after she'd had time to process and answer the question to ask the one that'd been on his mind for a few minutes now. " I have a question. Queen Taras, right? Queen of Dragons I believe you'd said. If that's the case... Is there a reason you're not with y'know, the people you lead? If it's a sensitive subject, that's fine, just surprised to see someone of your status around Pilaf Land without an escort.
Not that you need one, but that's just how it works with most royalty." Bass fell silent as he listened for the answer, rubbing the back of his neck not quite knowing what to expect from his new ally of a sorts. 708 3,451/4,000 Queen Taras
|
|
|
Post by Queen Taras on Nov 25, 2020 10:47:17 GMT -8
Seven.
MILLION.
Zeni.
Whatever complaints the Queen might have had about the injury she had sustained thus far retreat immediately from her mind. One could practically see the zeni signs in her eyes as she thought about what she could achieve with that kind of cold, hard cash. True, she hadn’t been in civilisation very often in the past seven years, but she knew how much a week of supplies cost, how much money bought the loyalty of men, and how much could make a secure bolthole in the middle of the desert wastes. Seven million was more than she had ever dreamed possible. Right now, her gang was living it up on the ill-gotten gains of their heist, and that was probably a scant few thousand. What couldn’t she do with seven million?
“I have some people back in the desert.” She said, jerking her thumb in a general Southlands-ish direction. “At least, if the Fist of the South Star hasn’t hunted them all down by now. Ara, ara. That was… a whole, situation. I’m not sure if it is worth the effort of trying to smuggle them in, though. Honestly, most of them are pretty lazy. They’ll do what I say if I shout at them loud enough, I guess.”
It’d certainly be fair to say that she’s no classic Queen, and when he asks about that directly, the mildly-concussed woman gives him a long look of consideration. Normally, she wouldn’t think twice about telling the truth as she saw it – but some people reacted badly, or thought she was crazy. Was the truth worth risking a seven million zeni payday?
In the end, there’s only one possible answer. Of course it is. If they were going to get a score that big, they’d have to trust one another; there can be no secrets between them.
“There’ve never been many of my people, and most aren’t… contactable.” She explained, “Goji-sama, my father, said he knew perhaps half a dozen more hibernating throughout the world. Most of us are trapped by the World Government, or enslaved by King Piccolo. The rest are hibernating, waiting for the day when a meteor or something else wipes out the competition and they can wake up for easy pickings again. We’ve always been a… competitive, people.”
She jabbed her thumb into her chest, then. “I am the last of the Royal Line not in hibernation. Maybe the only one awake in the whole world right now. Thousands of years ago, this whole planet belonged to us, but the dog people stole it. So. As far as I’m concerned, this is MY world, and those traitorous dogs don’t have any right to it! But, it isn’t like we’ve got loads of cash or riches on hand. All that got stolen when we were forced into hiding.”
“So that seven million zeni? That’d be a BIG help. And of course, if you help me take my throne again, I’ll repay your kindness a thousand times over! A true Queen’s generosity is only matched by her beauty, after all! Ohohoho!!”
Naturally, she covered her mouth when she laughed at her own little joke. Recounting her history seemed to have helped her recover from the head wound at least. There was certainly a determined look on her face when she spied the glowing mushroom.
“Now, allow me to take us one elegant step closer to the big payday!”
She sprang forwards, sucked breath into her lungs, and in a single explosive ROAR, unleashed a torrent of flame over the crackling fungus. Immediately, the air was filled with the scent of roasting mushroom, and the thunderous bellow of her people. For all the obvious pomposity and ridiculousness, that mighty shout was undeniably impressive; the kind of prehistoric bellow that one really could imagine belonging to some ruler of the land before time rolled on and civilisation crept over it.
You really do meet the most interesting people on the road, don’t you?
(Wordcount: 685 / 4136) (Total Cumulative Wordcount: 4136 / 4000)
|
|