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Post by Kiryu on Sept 26, 2019 15:17:18 GMT -8
Out here in the fields I fight for my meals I get my back into my living I don't need to fight To prove I'm right I don't need to be forgiven Don't cry Don't raise your eye It's only teenage wastelandPerhaps, one day, Kiryu would find a more efficient method of travel than using his prototype motorcycle. He was sure that flying would be quicker. Even without a plane, as he grew stronger, Kiryu could feel the bonds of gravity hold less and less sway over him. Stories of ki users in times past mentioned that several of them had perfected the art of using ki to fly, slipping the fetters of the Earth entirely. Kiryu did not think he was far removed from that power... but even with such an ability, even with greater efficiency, when he had the time, Kiryu thought that there was no better way to travel than this.
The Earthling raced through the flats of the open desert, The wind whipped his hair about and the music blazed over the bike's speakers. It had been far from the most important part of the prototype, but the commercial version of the motorcycle was intended to have superb speakers and audio fidelity, so Kiryu enjoyed the soaring vocals and immaculate riffs of The Who as he sped towards his destination.
This one was a bit of an odd one. Kiryu had taken to viewing himself as something of a rural hero in the South, traveling from desert to desert, righting wrongs, making allies and growing in strength. It was his Path, and he was immensely enjoying the journey, but the reports of this particular problem were... a little outside of his area of expertise.
According to a new report he had dug into on his smart phone, large numbers of chickens and ostriches had been... apparently abducted? After they were taken, letters had been sent to the board members of CAOFA; the Chicken and Ostrich Farmers Association. A group calling themselves PETOF (People for the Ethical Treatment of Fowl, it seemed) had taken credit for the deed, and had told the CAOFA in no uncertain terms that they had taken the birds, and that they would be protecting them.
Kiryu was vaguely familiar with groups like this, but he had never heard of one taking such drastic action.
Kiryu had decided to head to one of the villages that had been affected by the thefts. To many of the farmers, these chickens and ostriches were their sole livelihood, and sometimes even their only means of feeding themselves and their families. Kiryu could sympathize with wanting to ensure that animals were not cruelly treated, but the keeping of livestock for food and other necessities was something that Earthlings had been doing for the entire time that their species had existed, and no matter what the members of PETOF believed, at this point, they were little better than the bandits that could be found throughout the lands.
Still, Kiryu was certain he could figure something out, to get the farmers back their herds, and avoid injuring the misguided activists. Before long, he arrived at his destination, then set out to find someone that might know what's going on.
[WC=542]
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Post by Bass on Sept 26, 2019 15:49:01 GMT -8
With the Tree of Might having been safely exported to South City, Bass needed to decide what to do with the rest of his free time. To fill in any time thinking, he would meticulously train in the most intense method he could conjure up in his head. It was no small miracle the routine he went through these days, something that helped balance and strength. In a way it even helped speed if only minor, bursts of movement that was essential to keeping an opponent on their toes as one made their assault. Bass's training started with a log. A simple log that he walked out onto the open road with.
Taking it in his right hand his entire body tensed as he slammed the log into the air easily the weight of a small smart car. A terrifying whistle as it pierced the air and an painful burst of sound as it plowed through the sound barrier was only the beginning of the power that hurled this thing out of viewpoint and over the clouds in less than a second. The second step to the start of his training had him going right after it, being his body at the knees down to the ground before leaping with tremendous power and soaring after the log. If he wasn't so technically clueless, he'd realize that feeling coming from his feet was actually him flying and not just residual force from such a powerful thrust from the ground. Of course, it was used with such a clueless approach that quite frankly it only made a difference of a couple hundred meters. Just enough to make it to the log after bursting through the clouds.
Landing upon the log, he'd begin his stretches. Legs, arms and body. The real advantage of this training was that he was fighting against an overwhelming tsunami's worth of wind pressure going up right against his body. The stronger he got too, the larger he was and the more wind resistance he'd have making moving against the wind that much harder. Laying back on the logs, he'd start doing sit-ups with his front against the wind to force him to exert an extreme amount of force to even lift his body up once against the torrential wind resistance. That was merely one of the exercises he did during this journey.
Another started after he and the log fell beneath the cloudline again, then he'd manoeuvre himself around the log so that he was under it. Using his legs to wrap himself tight against the loud, he'd begin pulling his body up to a parallel with the log before letting himself fall back again. Still moving against the wind, it was an exercise that got his entire body burning and at this point, it was the only thing that effective got him sweating and exerted without having to spend thirty minutes prior just doing a lot of inefficient workout routines.
Though it was during this exercise that he'd see a familiar figure; more like a familiar bike from his height. With a smartphone in his hand, that same simple dark hair color but most importantly that bike he was almost sure who he was looking at even if he was a thousand feet above the other's head. He wondered where he was going, and frankly he wondered if it really was Kiryu. He'd have to check at any rate. Still lagging somewhat behind the motorcycle, he'd realign himself and kick the back of the log.
Whoops.
Using too much force, the thing shot out from below him and went shooting ahead like a bullet. Almost instinctively he jumped towards it and the weirdest thing was he actually 'jumped'. In truth he just shot out a large quantity of energy to jet him forward, but to him he was just so jacked that he managed to jump off of pure air his movements were so explosive. Catching up to the log he'd ride it the rest of the way until he saw Kiryu turn into some town. Only then would he bring his foot up and tap it against the front of the log to send it shooting downwards like a spear from the heavens. In but five seconds it'd crash down at lightning speeds and literally disappear under the dirt it was moving so fast. Leaping off at the last second, the Namekian landed with a thud ten feet off. Just on the outskirts of town he'd start to make his way in as well.
Perhaps he was noticed by Kiryu and Cade if he was around here by then, or perhaps not. Though villagers that were nearby found themselves wide-eyed and speechless. Bass just sort of jogged by, trying to find the man he figured might've been Kiryu. Sure enough he'd spot the man and begin approaching from behind.
"Kid. Didn't think we'd see each other again so soon."
[823] [T: 823]
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Post by darthlunchbox on Sept 26, 2019 17:45:51 GMT -8
Times were hard in the Southlands for people who worked the earth and tended to her creatures. They were more often than not, even without outside interference. As he strode determinedly down the road, puffs of dust danced around Cade's feet and swirled away on some barely felt zephyr. His eyes and face were shaded by a large straw hat to keep the worse of the heat from the mid-afternoon sun from driving him to the shade. He had somewhere to be after all; he had heard the gossip from the next town over about what was going on. Chickens and ostriches being kidnapped... fowl-napped? Stolen. Those no good PETOF people were talking their nonsense and claiming responsibility. They were a thorn in the side of any farmer that kept a chicken or ostrich for extra food or income. His pa had run them off the farm more than once when they tried to let ol' Ostin and Ally, their mating pair of ostriches out of their pens.
Cade looked up and squinted, seeing the town was finally in sight. He smiled and felt his heart lift as his feet picked up the pace. It always felt good to be among folks as was like him, and even better to be able to help them out. It didn't take him too long to get a name of one of the affected people in town, a rancher named Grant Balding. Mr Balding... was a short middle aged fella... and he was bald, sure enough. Cade had to bite his lip not to laugh at the irony at first, but as the rancher told him about what had happened, he got himself under control. He started to help bale the man's hay as he listened, hands almost blurring as they moved without him really thinking about it as he concentrated on the story.
It seemed that a week ago, one of the other farmers in town had reported that he was missing most of his chickens, and that there were fox tracks but no blood or feathers. the same thing had struck 6 other places since then, including Rancher Balding, who had been hit just two nights ago. Then last night, the village elder had gotten a letter that was written on paper that obnoxiously had recycled watermarks all over it from PETOF smugly claiming full responsibility for the "liberation" of the chickens and ostriches. Cade heaved the last bale of hay up on top of the pile in the barn and wiped the sweat from his brow before he turned his attention back to the farmer. "I'll do what I can for ya, Mister Baldin'. I'm gonna go and snoop a bit around town and then I'll come back and see if I can't find out what's what. I'll let ya know as soon as I find somethin' out."
Cade wandered back into town and started poking around and looking for anyone who looked like they didn't belong, since they would likely be someone from PETOF looking for more fowl to steal. He stopped at the well at the center of the village and drew a bucket of water. He took a few deep drinks, then splashed the lukewarm water over a bit of his face under his hat to clean some of the sweat and dust off. He heard a loud growling noise that caught his attention; he started walking towards it and saw a young fella getting off of it and starting to walk into town. Then there was a boom and a big cloud of dust a ways out and a huge blue Namekian fella landed at the outskirts of town and started talking to the motorcycle rider. He shook his head and muttered, "Whelp. I'se looking for something weird and something standing out. Danged if they ain't it."
He approached the duo and cleared his throat, "Hello there folks. Name's Cade Kendrick. I just wanted to see if you're from PETOF and here to steal more chickens and fowls. and to warn you that I am going to stop you if you are." He crossed his arms and tried to stare sternly at them... but he wasn't honestly sure he could take both of them. They looked pretty tough.
713/713
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Post by Kiryu on Sept 27, 2019 11:08:38 GMT -8
"Holy crap! Bass! Uh... why are you all dirty?"
The last person that Kiryu had expected to see here had been the almost stupidly powerful Namekian that he had met a short time ago. They had experienced much in a short time, and had had to rely on one another in a dire, desperate battle in an ancient ruin, far beneath the flesh of the Earth. Kiryu couldn't keep a slight smile from his face as the thought struck him, and he realized that his life had of late pretty much been a metal album cover; traveling the world, fighting powerful foes, destroying haunted specters and retrieving items of power.
In their travails, a bond had grown between Kiryu and Bass. It was a tenuous thing still, to be sure, but Kiryu still felt is presence and wished to nurture it. He didn't yet know what category Bass slotted into; a true friend? A rival? An object obstacle, something to measure himself against? If the worst should come to pass... would Bass be an enemy? Kiryu had had these thoughts in the days since their initial adventure together, and he was no closer to an answer now than he had been when they first parted ways, but one thing was for certain. He would not see Bass as an enemy, of himself or the world, if he had any power to sway the Namekian's heart. And that meant he would have to spend time growing closer to Bass.
Before they had a chance to converse much, one of the locals (or at least that was what he appeared to be) approached the pair. Unlike the other farmers and folk in the area, however, this being possessed strength, enough to stand out from the crowd. As the young man spoke, Kiryu found more than a little of the rural accent of some of the Southern villages present in his speech.
A local, then.
Kiryu nodded a greeting, flashing an easy smile.
"Hey, there's no problem here, pal,"Kiryu said, doing his best to appear easygoing and harmless. "I'm not one of those guys, but it's a lucky thing you mention that! Or, hey, maybe it's fate. The way things have been going lately, I really couldn't tell you which I thought was more likely. Anyway, I happened to hear about all of the trouble that that PETOF group has been causing, and I wanted to poke my head in and do what I could to help. I grew up in a village that wasn't too dissimilar to this one, and I know just how much losing livestock can hurt a farmer. It's not like we're those corporations from the big cities, rounding up countless numbers of cattle and taking them through the slaughterhouse hundreds at a time so that office workers can stuff their faces! A lot of people out here depend on chickens and ostriches for daily food, not least from their eggs. So I figured I might see if I could find a peaceable solution to all this.
Oh, gosh, sorry! I've been rambling on and I haven't even introduced myself. Forgot my manners entirely! I'm Kiryu. I grew up over in Toshi Ranbo, maybe a week's journey on foot to the northeast. I've been traveling around the South, recently, trying to right whatever wrongs I can. Made some new friends... defeated some bandits. And now, here I am!
And this is Bass. He's a recent acquaintance, but we've already been through some serious stuff together. He's not a bad guy, and he's pretty handy to have on your side if a fight starts. But, uh, I have no idea what he's doing here right now. Pretty sure he's not involved with that PETOF nonsense, though.
You seem like you've got a vested interest in making sure this gets solved and this area stays safe. Maybe we should travel together? If you have any leads on where the stolen chickens and ostriches might be, we could try and rescue them, and maybe figure out what to do with PETOF along the way. At the very least, we might have an opportunity to spar, or something! I'm always happy to find skilled training partners. What do you say?"
[WC=708] [TWC=1,250]
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Post by Bass on Sept 27, 2019 12:54:01 GMT -8
"Wait, what?" Looking down, he'd check his clothes for any dirt. Pulling his new dress shirt around he'd notice a slight dirty patch from the hard landing, even if he did land at his feet. Perhaps it was flung over and hit him and he just hadn't noticed. Still he let out a defeated sigh and let his palm press against his forehead. "Damn, anyways I noticed you riding in here. Decided to cut my trip short to check what was up." He would say, looking back to where he came from. There would still be a distinct log-sized hole where the log sized... log busted straight on through and stopped against stone. Though it was deceptive at a glance from a distance, being under the surface and all that.
Though quickly he and Kiryu would be approached by someone who'd perhaps noticed his intense entrance. He looked... Strange to put it mildly. Raising a brow he'd start to connect the dots. He seemed like a Super-Farmer if that was a thing. A local hero, perhaps. He approached and asked a question. Quickly speaking up he waved a hand dismissively. "No fowl-play here." Before looking to the side with the greatest poker face ever after having just dropped a nasty pun. Though in truth that caused his curiosity to be peaked a little. PETOF? The... Poultry Eating Terran Ogre Force. Though more than that when the undertone of a threat was presented the Namekian just slowly turned his head towards Cade and narrowed his eyes.
"That's very brave of you, but do I look like the type of person that would commit their life to stealing chickens from people? No. Though if it means you'll give me an opportunity to test my progress, I'll be whatever you want me to be. Except anything weird... I guess that include someone who steals chickens..." He cupped his chin, brows twitching as he looked down and do the side. "Damn it all..." His right eye twitched, and then Kiryu went on to give a more elaborate response and generally inadvertently fill him in on literally everything he didn't know. After all, he literally just came here to see what Kiryu was doing after having spotted him riding towards the town itself.
As soon as he finished speaking Bass raised a finger to give him a window to make something clear. "So. I'm obligated to address this as the Branch Manager of Momentum Financial South City and a new member of corporate. I have never 'stuffed my face' as you put it. I occasionally eat food but otherwise I am sustained almost entirely on water, thank you very much. And I make sure my coworkers don't slack off or get too comfortable. Otherwise their paychecks are at stake, and their jobs. That's how it works in the Office. Anyways, moving on from that there's something I'm more curious about." He'd start with a squint, tilting his head slightly.
"So this PETOF group which I could only assume is the Poultry Eating Terran Ogre Force, a band of malicious gigantic monsters has been terrorizing this town? It seems awfully strange for them to take the chickens with them and come on multiple trips instead of just eating all the chickens right then and there. Am I missing something? I just came here to have a conversation with Kiryu and see what he's up to, but if there's some Monsters that need to be handled I'm more than willing to offer my expertise."
"And yes, as he said my name's Bass. I suppose if I am not a fowl-player I am a man seeking World Unification." He said, looking towards Kiryu. "Just to make sure, that does sound better than World Domination, right? I ran into an Android a little while ago and I asked a few questions on how I could make the delivery a bit less intense. Then again they were an android, so running it by you two might confirm that it's fine. They also said to say instead of ruling, leading." He mentioned with a shrug of his shoulders.
"So, where is this problem and what actually is it and uuuh... Why even?"
WC: 701 | TWC: 1524
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Post by darthlunchbox on Sept 27, 2019 17:48:33 GMT -8
Cade relaxed at the seeming honesty from the earnest man on the motorcycle, Keeriu his name was. Seemed like a nice enough fella. The other guy was... a bit more confusing. Something about business and World Unification. He took his hat off and fanned himself with it as he raked his fingers through his hair in a quick motion. Replacing his hat, he cleared his throat, "Well Keyryoo and Bass, pleasure to meet ya. I've heard tell of Toshi Ranbo, haven't made it up that way personally, but I hear it's nice. I would love to train with ya and maybe travel. Most of the reason I left home was to learn more and get stronger to help the folks down here more one day. I might take you up on that offer Mr. Kiryoo."
He turned to the big blue Bass fella and looked him up and down. Then he looked to the again behind him and saw the big hole... and he could see a bit of a log. Was he ridin a daggone log through the sky? Who even does that? He mentally revised the odds of how long the fight between him and the blue giant would last... subtracting several seconds in the blue fellas favor. He shook his head for a moment before saying, "You're a biggun and no doubt about that. PETOF stands for the People for Ethical Treatment of Fowls. I usually call them Punks Eating Tofu or Ferns though. They ain't ogres, their a bunch of city hippies who have more time than sense. They come out and make trouble for the poor farmers cause they can't mess with this big corps. It's a big deal.. a lot of these folks can't afford to replace these animals. Imagine if someone took your car, it might put you in a tight spot, you depend on it, yeah? These folks depend on the birds to eat and sell. I don't really get all your company talk... but World Unifyin sounds better than dominatin' if that is what you were asking there. if'n you're both of a mind to help, I'm actually looking into the disappearances of a number of chickens and ostriches. I was just talking to Rancher Balding. He had a mess of ostriches stolen a couple of nights ago, we might be able to track those city hippies down if you all want to help." Cade waved the two men on and led the way to the Balding Ranch.
He took them to the pen and showed them the tracks, faint in the hardpan but still there if you knew how to look. "Here we go. We can try to follow these tracks to the hippies. Then we can get these folks their birds back."
463/1176
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Post by Kiryu on Sept 27, 2019 20:01:36 GMT -8
Kiryu blinked at Bass. "I mean, yeah, 'World Unification' does sound a lot better. You ruin it a little bit when you then announce loudly that it's just a euphemism for 'World Conquest'. Just, you know, as a general note."Kiryu cocked his head as the man that had introduced himself as Cade spoke. His near constant mangling of the pronunciation of Kiryu's name did not bother Kiryu. Instead, the adherent of the Path of Joy found it oddly charming. Cade possessed sort of a rough, country magnetism. He seemed like one of those guys that you could ask for help with carpentry, maybe get a beer with. A solid, salt of the earth sort of person. Kiryu dearly hoped that his initial read of the man was correct. As Bass excused himself and his company, Kiryu chuckled, amused. He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Ah, well, please do consider me duly informed, and consider Motion Financial South City exempt from my blanket statements about lazy city dwellers. I can personally attest to the fact that their most esteemed Branch Manager here does indeed subsist mostly off of water, though I have known him to enjoy the occasional bite of jerky!"Kiryu shrugged, thinking about the question that Bass did not quite pose. "I'm not sure if there are gonna be any monsters or not, but the wilderness around here can get pretty dangerous. All sorts of predators, including some ferocious dinosaurs."Kiryu listened dutifully to Cade's description of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Fowls, and he could not fault it. Hippies that wanted to feel like they were making a difference more than they actually wanted to do the work that making a difference would entail was pretty much right on the nose, as far as Kiryu could tell. "Well, that might be exactly what the doctor ordered. Cade, if you can track these fellows to wherever they're hiding out, we can go ahead and try to rescue the livestock. And, not to toot my own horn, but I can definitely help us ride in style."Kiryu turned to regard Bass, then gave a lopsided grin. He snapped his fingers, and his motorcycle suddenly sprouted two lavish, comfortable sidecars extending from either side. Kiryu turned back to Cade, shrugging. "Little trick I've picked up over the course of my travels. Now get in, nerds! We're going on an adventure!"
As they motored through the desert, Kiryu blazed his music. Any objections would be met with a shrug and a blithe "Driver picks the tunes, passengers shut their pie holes!" Kiryu relished the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair as the guitar blared. Well you walk into a restaurant, strung out from the road And you feel the eyes upon you as you're shakin' off the cold You pretend it doesn't bother you but you just want to explode Most times you can't hear 'em talk, other times you can All the same old cliches, "Is that a woman or a man?" And you always seem outnumbered, you don't dare make a stand Here I am On the road again There I am Up on the stage Here I go Playin' star again There I go Turn the page After a few hours of travel, following Cade's directions, the group came to a canyon, one that was deep and well concealed. As they got closer Kiryu could sweat that he heard noises, as though an almost unbelievable amount of animals were huddled together, penned in and nervous and...
Was that clucking that Kiryu heard?
[WC=601] [TWC=1,851]
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Post by Bass on Sept 27, 2019 20:37:39 GMT -8
"First off, I don't use a car. Cars are a crutch where hard work should get you from A to B. And Kiryu- I mean, I know I mean World Domination but when I say World Domination it's not really 'ruling'. Like the android said it's like leading, leaving people their own agency to choose to follow or not. Though I think I said this before somewhere but what I'll be pitching is pretty hard to pass up. After all who wouldn't want better lives, and less danger threatening their lives." Bringing one arm over the other, he stretched it for a moment while listening to Kiryu further. His eye twitched for a moment as Kiryu called it 'Motion' Financial South City and almost immediately went to respond.
"Momentum, not Motion. Though I guess poht-ay-toe, put-ah-toe, until I actually take the full reigns it's just one of thousands of different office buildings just like it. I have a lot of interesting changes in mind, I'm already running out of things that further my strength, so I'll have to invent my own methods. I was thinking of investing in constructing one of those Gravity Chambers, I've heard mixed things about them but what's the worst that could come from it? Probably just people that can't handle the heat." He'd pause, before adding.
"And yes, sometimes actual food is nice for the taste, and it's not wasteful because there's water in just about everything. If it's cooked right at least." He'd say with narrowed eyes, "On the topic of fowl, dry chicken is the worst. Might as well be taking the water out of me as opposed to hydrating me." Letting out an annoyed sigh, he just noted Kiryu's final bit of information before turning towards Cade and listening to their exchange. This group was the People for Ethical Treatment of Fowl. There were some ironies that Bass was only just beginning to recognize in retrospect with what he was learning and what he'd gathered from the village.
Looking back towards Kiryu directly, he could only consider rolling his eyes as he realized what Kiryu was starting to talk about and well... Frankly, conjure. Sure enough not half a minute later and he was looking at a bike with two side cars. Raising up a finger he'd quickly start to trot backwards towards the hole in the ground. "One sec, if we're heading out I need to grab this." Turning to search for the hole he'd find it in a couple seconds, crouching down and jamming his hands into the hole. With a couple fingertips gripping the log he'd begin to tear it out, causing a large swath of soil to start lifting up in a small mound around the log before collapsing once it was no longer being pulled on, filling in the hole. Dinging the log against the ground, he let all the soil shake off of it before hoisting it over his shoulder and walking back towards them. "Alright, ready to go now." He'd say as he approached them.
Taking a seat in the bike he'd just jam his fingers into the wood to make a solid grip and hold it off to the side as they rode considering the space didn't exist to store it otherwise. Though eventually he'd lose his patience when music he simply didn't like started to blare and after asking for it to be changed and being denied, he sought to travel his own way. "Alright, have it your way. I need a workout anyways; this is just slacking off. I'll be above you two, but out of earshot until we get to our destination."
And so after leaping from the sidecar and landing on the road behind them, he hurled the log like a javelin into the sky. A loud bang erupted as it nearly scraped the clouds after a moment's travel before the Namekian burst from the road to follow after it. Though interestingly enough there was no way that was all force. He was staying in the air without riding the log well longer than he should've. How? It would be difficult to say, though to Bass it was just his ability to jump in the air. Multiple times if they were keen to watch his ascent they'd see him squat when his momentum started to slow before leaping again as if he'd just kicked off of solid ground. Bursts of condensed air shot from his feet; odd to put it simply.
Though one way or another he wound up on the log and would sail above them doing air resisted sit-ups and pull-ups for the trip. He refused to slack off, and the one time he was going to just take the leisure opportunity he found himself scared off by music he wasn't a fan of.
Getting to their destination the Namekian footed the log and shot into the ground again, arms folded so he was neatly able to land atop the end of the log as it plunged into the ground. Knee's squatting.
"Why has it two for two been a canyon on trips with you..." He'd say, palming his face and shaking his head. If they hadn't yet stopped, he'd have leapt after them to catch up and... Bear the music for a couple minutes, anyways. He would plug his ears though.
WC: 894 TWC: 2418
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Post by darthlunchbox on Sept 28, 2019 12:18:10 GMT -8
Cade relished the chance to ride in Keeryu's motorbike sidecar. The wind was hot but still refreshing, whipping around his face and trying to steal the hat from his head which he had clamped firmly down with his left hand. It was a lot more relaxing then running the whole way, he just had to point the trail out for the city folk. He even liked the music and drummed his finger along with the beat on the side of the car and hummed along. He watched the big blue fella, Bass, drop with his log and jump again, riding it along like some kinda weird sky surfboard or something. "So, Keyriu, do you hang out with that big blue fella much? He gets around in a bit of an odd way..." He watched as the big blue fella was coming down again, "There he goes, Bass is dropping again. Never seen nothin' like it." Shaking his head, Cade peeked over the side, he pointed once again, this time to the mouth of a canyon. As Kieryoo brought the motorbike to a stop, Cade grabbed the sides of the car and levered himself out. He looked over as the big blue fella brought his log crashing down nearby and joined them. he shook his head and muttered, "I swear I ain't never seen nothing like it. You train super hard, I might need to get some pointers from ya on what I can do better, you seem to be all about that, Bass. Between you and mister Keeryou here I might be able to get a better grasp on martial arts and control myself."
He stretched his legs and listened carefully, then perked up suddenly, "You boys hear that? That's the sound of chickens. And Ostriches. I bet them no good hippy folks is in this canyon. Let's go and see what's what." Cade led the way into the canyon, sure that the stolen fowl were close. Sure enough it wasn't too far at all; a few bends in the canyon wall brought them to the makeshift pens and the fancy tents of the thieving PETOF people. It also brought into view a scene of utter pandemonium. Chickens and fellas with man-buns were running everywhere, along with some ostriches... and was dinosaurs chasing hippies and chickens? Cade stopped and scratched his head for a second, the utter unexpectedness of the scene confusing him momentarily before he shrugged and sighed. Nothing ever seemed to be as straight forward and easy as it should be some days. "I guess we can;t let them dinosaurs eat the hippies. Definitely not the chickens or ostriches either." Grinning, he looked back to his companions, "Guess we gonna beat up some dinosaurs, guys, you up for it?"
[461/1637]
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Post by Kiryu on Sept 29, 2019 16:56:40 GMT -8
Kiryu offered a hapless shrug to Cade when he asked the question.
"Bass is a relatively new acquaintance, and, uh, the... log surfing? I guess we have to call it? That's new. You're not wrong, though. The guy has got more power than I would know what to do with. He's... an interesting fellow. I mean, I don't really have a handle on it yet. But someone that strong that's an office worker? There's some strange stuff rattling around that brain, I would imagine. I'm doing my best to make sure he stays on the side of the angels... and hope that that's all I ever have to worry about."
Kiryu continued along the way that Cade indicated, the scenery blurring around them as they traveled. When Cade mentioned learning from both Bass and him, Kiryu nodded his agreement.
"You're not wrong. My power has increased exponentially ever since I've started adventuring, and a huge part of it has been my exposure to a variety of different martial artists. I never would be where I am if I hadn't met Bass, and a few others. I've got the feeling you'll be following in those footsteps yourself before too long."
As they made their way closer to the livestock, leaving Kiryu's vehicle behind to approach on foot, Cade pointed out the danger; a dozen or so dinosaurs threatened the herd, thinking them easy meals. If Kiryu, Bass and Cade had not been there, they would have been right. Kiryu, however, sprang into action, rushing to begin to defend the herd and their foolish, well meaning abductors. The herd was already beginning to stampede, breaking their fetters and rushing all around. Kiryu swore to himself; nothing in his experience gave him any clue how to calm down panicked animals. He decided not to focus on that at the moment; instead, Kiryu made his way towards the dinosaurs. They were not gargantuan, but several of them were as large or larger than Kiryu. They moved on two legs, quickly beginning to close with the herd.
Kiryu darted forward, dashing and leaping, using a bit of ki to give him great speed and agility. He leaped into the thick of the advancing swarm of raptors, trusting his superior intelligence and training, coupled with his enhanced reflexes, to keep him safe. Kiryu did not want to kill the dinosaurs, if he could avoid it. They were not evil or rapacious; they were animals, an the ostriches and chickens were food. They were merely following their nature, and that was no reason to eradicate them.
Kiryu briefly focused, conjuring a flexible staff made of spiritual energy. He began to whip the staff about, striking some of the raptors as they passed. He was serving as a distraction right now, trusting his reflexes to protect him from the raptor's claws in the hopes that enough would be tempted by his vulnerable flesh to at least allow Bass and Cade some time to figure out how to best handle the situation.
[WC=504] [TWC=2,355]
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Post by Bass on Sept 30, 2019 8:30:21 GMT -8
As Cade spoke to him upon landing, he looked the locals way and simply raised a brow.
"I suppose it isn't something you see everyday, no. Then again it's admittedly not the most efficient way of travel if I was going just for speed. I do it mainly because it forces me to not slack off even during long trips. If I'm careful and maintain balance - also a form of training, I can push my body even when others usually do not. Optimizing your time is key to performing well and nurturing your body. Of course..." He'd gesture with a hand lightly, "I don't expect most Earthlings to even be able to physically contain as much power as I can, Kiryu's the closest but even then it's not much. Impressive in general however."
Letting his gesturing arm fall back to his side, he put more focus on the canyon in front of them. He could pick up on the sounds well enough, and so when the group would begin to head down he'd be not a meter behind the two of them taking up the rear. It would become immediately apparent that the place was being swarmed by monsters. It was almost comical, if he'd known the full extent of the situation's irony he'd have definitely commented on it. This PETOF instead of saving the fowl decided to send a notice to the farmers which they could easily assume would instigate a retaliation or rescue attempt which could only endanger the chickens most. Even beyond that, they let their little canyon camp get attacked by dinosaurs.
Then Kiryu was upon them, watching him leap up and squabble among the dinosaurs was almost enough to make Bass laugh. He'd fought with much larger dinosaurs than this before, what was most peculiar is that his companion didn't seem to be trying to kill them. That was lost on him, at the very least they could make food out of them at the end of the day for these PETOF people. Nonetheless in his mind he'd oblige the lowest common denominator and also not try to be lethal. It complicated things, but something that challenged him in any interpretation of the word was simply an opportunity to improve. In this case it improved his strike control and precision. Spar's were common place and while his strength was enough that a fist wouldn't instantly kill back then, moving forward if the gap keeps widening he'll have to deliberately tone himself down if he wants to stay in the 'excessive force' territory and not 'beyond the limits of Earthling exterior's' and end up accidentally punching a hole in someone.
Otherwise his solution was just about as simple as they get though. Moving forward he'd begin to manhandle the raptors with incredibly strength. One of them that ran by Kiryu immediately let out a sound and turned to dart at him with an open maw. "I didn't know these things were vegetarians... Alright, have it your way." He'd say, sidestepping and flicking the raptor in the side of it's head. Immediately it was knocked out and the body went limp only to slide on by and end up resting about ten or so meters from where it was struck. That would be enough force for these threats; if he could even call them that yet.
Though something that nagged at his mind was to never underestimate an enemy. There could be something stronger lurking around a corner, these could be more than they could appear. The possibilities open up dramatically when one considers what the world is actually capable of. Still, for the moment Bass was cleaning up raptors in abundance and with ease of motion. As it stood now he was simply so much more powerful than these rather ordinary monsters that it only took a fraction of his might and technique to properly dispatch one. Raptors began to pile up as they followed in the charge after the first. Unconscious bodies ragdolls and came to a sliding halt just next to the first, beginning to pile up.
"So, what has me the most interested is there being raptors in a canyon. I suppose a collection of meat just being packed into one spot is enticing; just not what I would normally expect for a monster of this sort. Used to seeing them in the Central Lands."
WC: 732 | TWC: 3150
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Post by darthlunchbox on Sept 30, 2019 11:56:10 GMT -8
Cade glanced around the campsite, looking for anything he could use to help drive the raptors away from the hippies and fowls they were endangering. He saw a wooden pole from a collapsed tent sticking out from a plie of canvas. He quickly retrieved it and started hunting about for some cloth. He took a couple of tee shirts from a pile of clothes nearby and wrapped a couple on each end of the pole, wrapping them securely and tying them down. He started to trot towards the middle of the camp, where there was a fire with a pan over it with something frying. A hippy ran near to him, looking back over his shoulder at the raptors... and running right towards one. Thinking quick, Cade lashed the staff out at his ankle, calling out, "Sorry, Hippy boy!" taking the fellas feet out from under him before he started smacking the raptor over the head with the staff to stun it momentarily before he kicked it in the snout, cracking one of it's teeth with a loud SNAP. The raptor fled from the camp with a low wailing growl.
Cade looked back towards the others; Keeryou was using a staff made out of his own ki it looked like. That was a pretty neat trick. Bass was... flicking dinosaurs away. The power this guy had was absolutely incredible. He turned his attention back to helping them and made it to the fire, kicking a pan of tofu away from the fire and sticking first one end of the staff then the other into the fire, lighting the tee shirts. He charged into the wild fray, smacking raptors with his fiery staff. He actually caused a section of them to flee warbling towards the opposite end of the campsite. Between Keeryou's measured strikes, Bass' overwhelming power, and his own liberal application of fire, the dinosaurs began to retreat... making that funny keening sound... it reminded him of something he couldn't quite place at first. He dragged the ends of the staff into the earth, extinguishing the flames and leaving the charred would exposed.
He leaned against the staff and looked back towards the others and was about to congratulate them on a job well done with driving the dinosaurs off when he realized what the sounds reminded him of. It was the sound of an animal calling for it's mother.... He squinted and looked closer at their fleeing foes and now he wasn't so sure they were all raptors... "Uhh... guys.... I think we're about to have... a larger visitor I reckon." He could feel the vibrations in the earth as something larger than the raptors approached.
[447/2084]
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Post by Kiryu on Oct 2, 2019 22:05:11 GMT -8
As rhythmic, heavy concussions began to vibrate throughout the ground, Kiryu looked around. He, Bass and Cade were holding their own well enough against the herd... and then it all changed. The raptors, nearly as one, froze, ceasing their movements as their bodies went rigid. Their heads snapped up and, in unison, swiveled to peer on top of a ridge. Kiryu wanted to press his advantage, but he thought better of it, and turned to look.
At first, he did not see anything, but after a moment, another concussive thud sounded, echoing throughout the cavern, and...
Getting higher?
It continued, and as it did, the raptors turned tail, running at their top speed, making for a point of egress in the canyon that had been concealed by overgrown foliage. It was stampeded over, as the raptors fled.
Just as the last of them made their way out, the largest hand that Kiryu had ever seen appeared, gripping the top of the ridge.
The word "canyon" did a poor job of describing the area they were in. The walls stretched several hundred feet in the air, and the bowl was a wondrous network of caves and wildlife. It was large enough that Kiryu doubted his ability to traverse it without the use of ki.
And something had just climbed up it, from the outside.
The clawed hand, which looked large enough to completely engulf Kiryu, pressed down. The stones seemed to groan under the pressure as the largest dinosaur that Kiryu had ever seen pulled itself up onto the ridge. It was bipedal, and it was covered in thick scales. Fangs the of Kiryu's arm were visible in a gigantic maw, and malevolent eyes the color of rubies stared out from a monstrous visage.
As the ridiculously large predator turned it's gaze on the flock, it let out a rapacious roar. Kiryu could feel the very stones of the canyon shake with the force, and he covered his ears with his hands, protecting them from the cacophonous onslaught. The already panicking herd of ostriches were whipped into a frenzy, the appearance of the massive dinosaur an obvious point of intense fear for the birds. Kiryu lobbed a ki blast at the beast, planning on distracting the dinosaur as best he could. He was utterly shocked when his ki blast was deflected by the dinosaur's armor like scales. Still, the blast had been enough to draw the dinosaur's attention. It turned it's baleful gaze at Kiryu, and bellowed challenge. Not wasting any time, the dinosaur actually jumped down into the canyon.
It was large enough that the drop was short, and easy for it to handle. The entire canyon rumbled as though there had been a mighty earthquake, and Kiryu stumbled, struggling to keep his feet as the very ground roiled beneath his feet. He looked over to Bass.
"This is a new one! Cade, this thing is looking dangerous as hell, be careful! Bass, keep it occupied and focused on us. I'll try to find a vulnerable spot to land a shot!"
[WC=511] [TWC=2,866]
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Post by Bass on Oct 3, 2019 6:45:10 GMT -8
Looking towards the massive creature as it pulled up over the ridge of the canyon with finesse that he normally wouldn't give a dinosaur credit for having, Bass just tilted his head and narrowed one eye suspiciously. This was more than a dinosaur from that simple action alone, let alone the attributes that it would display in the coming moments. This thing actually seemed serious. Leaping the relatively speaking small distance downwards to land in the grand chasm with them, the entire room shook and knocked some of them nearly off of their feet. Yet Bass seemed to be firm in his footing. Not without strain, the ground around him cracked as he quite literally used the ventilation of Ki from his body to focus and act like a pressure to keep him in place- coming from above him.
When the rumbling stopped he was met with a Ki blast flying towards the creature that just seemed to do nothing more than piss it off. The blast literally bounced off like it had some kind of reflective armor. That was just awesome to watch, and the fact that a naturally (as far as he was aware) occurring creature with this amount of power would cross paths with them during... A heroic attempt to save livestock even if temporarily, was amazing. Though when Kiryu spoke towards him to help distract the creature, his attention shifted towards Cade. "Sure, seems simple enough. You, this could get crazy really fast. Be on your toes and keep your guard up. If you think you can help, do so. Otherwise don't stick your neck out any further than you have too." He'd say, his best shot at being considerate with the aforementioned knowledge of Cade being less experienced than himself and Kiryu.
Looking towards the massive behemoth he'd let out a growl as he drew out the Ki within himself. His body began to bulk up a little, ki radiating from him in feint what almost looked like heat-waves and mirages in the distance; yet instead they were surrounding his form. Looking upwards as the creature roared and began to lose interest with them not following up immediately and with a useless attack being thrown at it in it's eyes, Bass burst from the ground with his own cavern shaking force. Of course, maybe it was a little toned down to prevent a total collapse. A cave-in on this scale would be counter-intuitive for just about every reason in the book.
Soaring through the air the sheer motion and intensity was enough to draw the monsters eye, what Bass didn't expect however is when threatened just how fast such a bulky thing could be. He should've known of all people, considering how fast he can be despite his size. A massive claw snapped out in an intercept path and Bass found himself at the receiving end of a whole-body slap which in one monumental fraction of force sent Bass blinking across the battlefield in a dart-like fashion before slamming into the wall. "COME ON, THAT'S TWO FOR TWO NOW!" He said, more pissed than anything as he crawled out from the hole. Now just more angry than anything, he relentlessly pushed forward to continue to keep this thing focused on him. Though this time he had a little something he wanted to test, something he was still getting the hang of but... Also something that he was on the cusp of discovering.
Darting forward like before after kicking out of the crater, scuffs and bruises covering his backside; he would be met with a similar impenetrable wall. While he could test his might against it he felt like a head on collision between two forces this mighty in a cavern would be asking for some kind of collapse. So instead he would test a little something else. Twisting in mid-air as if he was going to punch the sky, his entire body began to rotate. He just appeared to be attacking mid-air and in a second would be splattered against the wall again. Yet as the hand went to swat him against the wall once more, he literally disappeared from the visible spectrum for a fraction of a second and reappeared somewhere entirely different. Positioned right along-side the monster now on the opposing side, his fist was perfectly aligned.
Slamming down there was a massive crack as a shock-wave was sent outwards. The scales on the creature almost like a crater cracked and caved in, some falling off completely to expose sore tissue beneath. If Kiryu couldn't find a more effective weak-point then this would have to do. Kicking off of the monster before it had time to retaliate, he used a bit of ki to push some extra force into his jump to speed out of striking distance faster. Landing a good fifty feet away on the opposite side of the monster compared to the other two... He'd look a little tired, with ragged breathing. That technique was far from mastered, even questionably still being learned. He probably used a lot to force that one out, who knows how much gas he had left.
WC: 860 | TWC: 4010
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Post by darthlunchbox on Oct 3, 2019 18:48:38 GMT -8
Cade's jaw dropped for a second as he watched the biggest and meanest doggone critter he had ever seen drop into the canyon. The ground shook and he had to shift his feet to maintain his balance. The dinosaur... and it was a real dinosaur not like the itty bitty fellas fleeing past it... started eyeing the ostriches and people like a wolf looking at sheep. At Keeryou's words, he threw a quick thumbs up, "Gotcha. We'll see what we can do!" He took a couple of steps and picked up the nearest PETOF member and jerked him to his feet, "Listen, you need to get all the people out of here, don't worry about the animals, we got this. Now get on outta here."
Turning back to the fight, he saw Bass get slapped away, Dang that thing is spooky fast... He augmented his speed with his ki as he charged forward, and them Bass was right back in the creatures face, doing some kind of blinking attack and landing a devastating blow. Scales exploded off of the dinosaur and it actually staggered back a step seeming dazed... which let Cade leap up and climb onto the rough pebbled hide of its back. He used the spine ridge on its back to get to a spot at the base of its neck that would be difficult to reach and the slammed the staff into the side of its neck. The thing started going wild, turning this way and that, roaring and growling as it tried to shake its rider. He knew he wasn't hurting it, but he wasn't trying to; he goal was simply to piss it off and distract it so Keeryou could take his shot on the opening Bass made without this thing charging him.
Cade discovered a bit of what it was like to be a rodeo rider. Even though they don't ride giant dinosaurs. Not yet anyway. The dinosaur tried to crane its head to the left and snap at him... he simply leaned right a little and smacked it again. And again. Its arms weren't built to reach back no matter how hard it tried... it even tried to smash against the wall of the cliff... He felt a brief impact and had some pain, but even though he earned a set of truly memorable bruises and a good cut on his cheek, Cade was saved by the creatures own spine ridge. He almost lost his lunch as he was hugged up closed to the thing to avoid getting crushed... This thing smells like it might take baths in a sewer... He tried not to hurl as he sat up to smack at its neck again. The dinosaur stumbled back towards the pens after the collision with the wall, roaring in anger as it was unable to unseat the little martial artist, Cade called out, "Here's your shot, take him down Keeryou! And hurry it stinks something awful up here!"
[496/2580]
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