Opening his eyes and pushing himself up to a sit he looked to where the voice came from. Spotting Icey standing at the doorway to his room with folded arms he just raised a hand in a light wave lazily. "Hey Icey." The truth of the matter was that she'd been staying with him for a while until she had enough Zeni to actually get her own place. Though it was sort of a stay until you want to go type deal, Bass didn't necessarily mind the company after all. It was nice to have someone around to encourage you when everything might seem bleak otherwise. Pulling the sheets off from him he stood up wearing simple black pajama pants and his classic wizard-style sleeping hat. Speaking up from the other room now that she'd woken him up Icey's voice carried through the modestly sized apartment.
"I went out and got some of that Central Spring water you love so much. There's the whole carton in the fridge, I didn't really bother to unpack each bottle individually because that's just a waste of my time. If I wanted to do that I'd still be back at my village. I think I've taken pretty well to the city life, y'know?" Is what she said, Bass respectively giving a reply when he opened his wardrobe and started to pick out what he wanted to wear for the day. "That's good to hear. I just thought y'know, if you wanted me to come back to the village so much why not just go where I am? Seems a lot more convenient instead of hoping for something that may never be. After all, I live all the way out here." The words came out of his mouth without too much meaning behind them, though the woman in the other room was thinking like a person that doesn't reproduce asexually, not that Bass ever even considered the thought of having kids ever.
"Uuuuh... Yeah. Anyways, while you're still on your 'medical leave' that you were spending saving people... Up South? I won't report you-" She teased, continuing, "-but I should get going to work now. You take it easy and don't get into too much trouble. These islands are only so big, but if there's a bee's hive waiting to be kicked if anyone'll do it it will be you." She said with a laugh, the sound of a lock clicking and a door opening as she went to step out.
"See you later!" Answered with, "Yep, see you!" And the door shut.
The truth of the matter today was reserved for something pretty special. Important really, the Tree of Might was a nice start, but with the prospects of his first scoop of course he'd been lured into looking for other treasures. The Tree of Might may always be in his front lot for someone to find, but maybe getting one's power from eating a fruit wasn't the most noble way to go about it. That undercut hard work and effort, it just was. Perhaps he could turn up some business with it. The previous day he had taken some time to go to the same rumor mill that had spit out the information about the tree of might. It was a reputable source considering they were highly respected by the other people they were connected with that ran the fighting ring and with an asking price of 120,000 Zeni if they were lying they'd probably be dead by some other cut-throat criminal. Though none of these criminals knew to ask about these rare artifacts. Thinking back, even with the Tree of Might it was a rumor that led him to ask deeper into it. Just some people dreaming about being stronger and a response that there was a fruit that could do that somewhere; supposedly. With his foot in the door a world of different ancient objects that held power seemed to become known to him. Not literally known, but had the potential to be known but for a hefty price-tag attached. That was where he was yesterday for a portion of the day and after coughing up 120,000 Zeni he got his next scoop. Specifically he'd asked for something similar to the Tree of Might and rumored to be local. The answer he got was an artifact located in the Southern Islands specifically referred to as the Armor of Vegeta the IVth. Someone that Bass had no knowledge of but apparently he was a big deal. On the side he got a little bit of ancient history, nothing to really have an idea on who this person was but... It was enough to know that they were an example of someone that Bass saw similarities in. A cold head to the grindstone will to work, work, work. To reach the greatest height with effort whether that be because that's all they knew or because that's what they thought was right.
Considering how local the object was he got more of a briefing than a lead which he appreciated greatly. The Armor of Vegeta the IVth was located out in an anomalous patch of terrain South-East of the main island. Unlike all of the other interconnected islands of a more conventional make this particular island as sighted by overhead helicopters and planes that got close enough looked to be entirely coated in ice. Not like a drifting glacier from the Northern Lands but legitimately the geography of a typical island looking like an isolated tree-dense hill just flash frozen. Trees, bushes, animals and everything were just frozen in place, a moment having passed that doomed them all in their tracks. That is something that as far as scientists understand didn't happen naturally. Instead the sightings rumor a threat there. In the center of the island lies the only sign of something. Surrounded in tall frozen trees it's hard to make out, but it's a solid color and not the same reflective blue-white of the rest of the island. That was said to be the resting place of the armor after a dangerous clash between two forces happened there long ago to cause the event to transpire. How that information had gotten out was too deluded over the generations, but the information itself had been retained by some of the most reputable informants in the world. This one here in South City was Bass's number one man for setting him up with this sort of thing now. Who knows how many times he would go on these journeys.
That brought him back to the present where he was getting dressed. He knew where he needed to go. So dawning a baseball jacket over a black turtleneck, a toque, gloves and big baggy grey sweat-pants he headed out for the day. With him he chose to bring another load of trophies he had gotten during his time in the Southern Lands to his office. Riding his bike through the streets he pulled into a parking space at their offices and very discretely out of sight flew up the side of the building and opened the window to his office. Dropping the load off he hopped back out and landed on the ground with a hefty thud. Bringing the bike back to the complex parking lot where his apartment was located he was ready to go. South-East it was. Getting a little bit of Zeni he waited at the bus-stop for the bus to arrive. The idea while it didn't look amazing was to take the bus to the city outskirts where he could then fly without as much worry to causing any unrest. If only he didn't give Demon-vibes. Though you win some and you lose some. Sure enough when the bus rolled up he stepped in and offered fifty zeni into the till, taking his transfer and dropping down towards the back of the vehicle. From there he really just needed to fall asleep, and fall asleep he did. In forty five minutes he would be nudged awake by the bus driver with a poker of all things, supposedly not wanting to actually poke him out of intimidation or outright fear. Opening one eye Bass spoke, "Huh? We're here." To which the driver answered, "Yes, end of the line buddy. Off you go."
Nodding, Bass picked himself up and started making his way out. The driver himself perplexed at why the Namekian had winter clothing with him, but it wasn't the kind of thing the average person rudely openly questioned and instead something he would keep to himself. As the driver pulled away to go to the last station and finish work for the day (even though it was still morning), now located on the outskirts of South City it was safe enough to fly. Lifting from the ground he looked around, with the sparse buildings and the single bus driving away he was fine. Shooting up to the sky he went up, up and up until he puffed through the clouds and came out at the other side. The cloud coverage wasn't a hundred percent, there was just the occasional thin cloud that rarely obscured the sun on the otherwise very blue skied sunny day to be. Given it was morning however there was still a warm glow to the sky. Flying over he could only imagine what he might come up against. If it was anything like the scale of what he dealt with last time it would be interesting, but he'd gotten so much stronger that it ultimately wouldn't even be that much of a challenge. Now if it was something even more powerful that would be something that might capture his interest. He might've severely underestimated the extent of the search for this island though. The ocean is a big place and the South East covers a lot of ground.
So for the next three hours Bass would begin a large scale search from the skies. While maybe if he had some foresight to think it over he could've asked some pilots if they've spotted this particular island, he didn't have that foresight and so he found himself in another head to the grindstone brute force situation. Meticulously sweeping back and forth to make sure there were no gaps in his search it became a matter of time and not a matter of chance. That just meant he would need to put the minutes and hours in, something he was all too familiar with when it came to his work week that he had been used to before all this had began. Going back the conditions would be better certainly, but now it was still fresh in his mind the pit he'd always have in his stomach waking up to have to go to a bad nine to five job over and over again. Getting off just felt like the next shift was that much closer, there was no winning and no getting ahead of that sort of mentality. Things were thankfully getting better now though. Left and right, forward and back Bass scoured over the ocean meticulously. Getting closer and closer and passing by multiple conventional islands until he found a sign of this island even if it wasn't the island itself. A drifting small two by two chunk of ice that was just bobbing in the ocean. Getting closer to investigate however he noticed a trail of sand flowing off as it melted. It was a chunk of sand frozen solid; somehow. Looking at where he came from he began to follow the path of scattered now free sand as he got closer and closer to the island. Five minutes of straight flying would pass until he found another smaller chunk of ice that looked to be in the shape of a coconut. Picking it up with his gloves and tossing it around for a moment as he flew he'd eventually give it a solid knock with his knuckles to shatter the ice off of it. The coconut beneath while extremely hard even more than normal due to the freezing conditions actually seemed alright and preserved. Which was strange, because normally ice has a tendency to destroy the molecular structure of the things it freezes, hence freezer burn is a thing.
Maybe this would mean more than simply getting an item of ages past. Perhaps there was a way to fully restore this island to life. Carrying on flying over the water the Namekian found himself within viewing distance of the island. Like an ominous misty coastline it loomed just on the horizon and almost had an eerie vibe about it. Life suddenly frozen in place, unable to know how long it had been frozen for. It could've been centuries for all Bass knew, but he wouldn't know the truth unless he investigated further. A suspicious that would be confirmed the closer he got is from when he was breaking the 'ice' on the coconut. It wasn't really cold to the touch, it felt more like a plastic added that it was wet from the water it was drifting in. Merely odd, flying forward into a distance that there should be chilled winds from the icy island and not feeling any was enough to confirm that this wasn't actually ice. Thinking about it that just seemed obvious; or at least it wasn't conventional ice as most understand it. Why would ice last this long under these conditions? The more he thought about it as he reached the 'icy' coastline the more he realized just how silly the notion of it being actual ice was. Sure enough when he landed he still felt himself overheating from the hot winter gear despite standing on ice and being on an icy landmass. Leaning down and touching it once more and feeling no chill, that was enough to shed the layers. Dropping his jacket, removing his snowpants and tugging off his toque and cloves he tossed them all on a frozen bush to act as a little bit of a hanger for when he left. All that he was left in was some black slacks and a black turtleneck; plus of course boots and socks. Still a little hot with the beating such being absorbed through the dark clothing he was reluctant to remove his turtleneck. Debating it he figured he wouldn't be outside for too much longer, so it should be alright.
Stepping across the white-blue slippery- it still had that property - land, Bass found himself observing the moments frozen in time. A squirrel on a branch eating an acorn, some birds that must've been flying overhead having fallen from the sky and clattered through a tree before hitting the ground. The ice coating them had been cracked, he only hoped if they had a chance at being returned to normal that they weren't damaged from that. Oddly enough there was even a person there. They seemed to be some sort of martial artist based on their clothing. Some sort of Dojo Gi, and as Bass gave them a walk-around to really get an idea of which school on their back he deciphered that it very well could be the closest school he knew of, the turtle hermit school. The answers to what happened here and the artifact he was searching for lied only deeper. So walking inland further Bass went to find the single structure that had been rumored to exist by his informant. It was easy to spot when in sight, the only thing that wasn't glazed over in this ice that lacked temperature.
A small building that looked almost like a matte grey shack built out of some kind of metal. With smooth plates that clunked together with slight creases between them. The entrance looked to be a metal door sealed shut with a pad just outside of it. Lining the structure was several what looked like pod-sensors? Little plates attached to the smooth surface with aqua lights in their centers. Perhaps that was part of the reason why this structure wasn't frozen whenever all of this had happened. Reaching towards one just in the event that was the case, as soon as his fingers went to wrap around it the object's light turned off and an alarm started going off within. Was it really to detect movement? That might've been stupid of him to do. Still he'd committed himself to this. Tearing off the pod with sheer force he'd look at what was holding it onto the building. Flipping it over in his hand he noticed it was a simple suction device. With the adhesive now ruined he would simply keep it in his pocket for the moment. With the sound of an alarm going off he'd have to move quicker than he had been before. Moving towards the door he readied his fist, pulled it back and slammed forwards with enough power to blow the door down.
As expected he blew the door down, some things go just as planned- thankfully.
As the doors blew inwards immediately they would start tumbling down a massive lift. Clattering and severing some cables which caused the lift within the plummet for what seemed like a couple miles before a massive crash signalled it reaching the very bottom. Leaning in wide-eyed, Bass scratched the back of his head and let out a low hum. Crouching at the edge he'd lean forward and spot two different doors he could see. Though before he could really speak much more there was a voice that shouted through the intercom.
"All members on deck! We have an intruder who has breached the complex! Activate all security protocols and alert the commander! Start warming up the Cyrowave Device!" With so much to process the fact that Bass didn't move immediately gave them time to at least start activating some security measures. Plates shot out from the wall at various levels, starting at the level he was at. Two different places sealed the way further save for two small holes where the elevator cables would go through to avoid damaging their own infrastructure. Knocking on it, the plates seemed no more durable than the door itself. So with a leap into the air and both feet slamming down he blew through that defensive measure as well. With the two massive doors now falling down, they'd stop much sooner than expected as they hit the next series of plates. Plates that looked to be darker and made of a stronger metal. Falling with them he'd fly just before impacting and allowing the collision between the busted plates and the former ones to occur. As a testament to this stronger metals strength they were only scratched by the impact. Letting out a sigh Bass landed on that level. He could go down further even if he beat the crap out of this particular defensive barrier, but he was more curious on what was on this level. After all, the more answers he got the better off he would be. It was difficult to think with the blaring alarms, but thankfully they had almost faded into background noise. Gripping the doorway with both hands he started to tear both ways. The metal not meant to be forcefully pulled open groaned and ached as cables snapped and mechanics were damaged in the brute approach. Sliding both doors open easily once all automated mechanics sealing them were snapped in Bass's effort to open the doors themselves, the Demon Clan Namekian stepped into a high profile white-walled lab looking environment. It was almost bright with how clean it was and the white coloration. What he saw was panicked people running all over the place. Though these weren't really what he would refer to as people. They looked to be stubby alien-like figures. With scales covering some of them, they just looked like little green meatballs clad in all of these uniforms that he didn't immediately recognize.
Though from the physical description he was given of the Armor of Vegeta the IVth, Bass paled as so many of these figures had similar armor. Thankfully there was no way this fully grown man would wear the exact same sized armor as these things, but nonetheless who knew what other individuals lied in here. Another announcement played through the loudspeaker as the green things scurried around and panicked to get ready to defend themselves still. "The Cryowave Emitter is thirty percent charged! ETA five minutes until Cryowave Burst! Make sure to have your Cryosuits on within the time period. Those that are not suited up will be freed after the threat has been resolved!"
Squinting, Bass stepped into the room and just followed the scattering masses. So far they were just fleeing, most likely workers and such. The Cryowave must've been what caused the outside to be the way that it was. He wondered just where this device might be located. Looking around he noticed more of those pods along the inside of the structure as well, about one every few feet in the intersections of the wall. It only reinforced his theory that these devices prevented something from freezing over in their vicinity. Though to be one hundred percent sure he'd have to take out this machine before it was allowed to go off. Starting to pick up the pace to a jog he practically ignored the little people freaking out around him until he rounded one particular corner and a volley of blaster rifle fire tore towards him. Pulling back around the corner he'd start charging up an attack he'd been learning. He called it the 'Borehole Cannon', and in a fashion true to it's name when the fire stopped and the ki was charging in his hand he steadied his arm in that signature style he'd been crafting and with his left hand steadying his aim fully he shouted. "BOREHOLE CANNOOOOOON!" As a massive condensed chunk of energy charged ki soared to the far end of the hall and exploded, a series of shouts and scrambling as well as falling infrastructure signifying that he'd practically resolved the problem. Continuing to move he'd survey the floor until he found the first sealed door that just wasn't opening- yet. Bringing back his fist he slammed it forward and the door tumbled inwards and bounced over a...
Empty, massive white walled chamber. White floors, a white ceiling. All of these panels that must've been at least four hundred meters squared in all directions, it was seriously gargantuan. Looking around the chamber as he stepped in merely because he saw a doorway on the other side there was a shout on a more local intercom. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Take that, meddling intruder!" Was shouted as the entire wall behind him lowered to block the entrance he had used to get in. "Now you'll never escape! Though don't worry, we have use to research someone of your power level! It has been a long time since we've seen something at your tier, so we'll take great care of you once you've turned into a block of ice! First however, allow me to introduce you to the group that will help analyze your combat potential before you're never able to swing another punch. Ahahahaha!"
The far doors opened in a flourishing display and blinding light entered the chamber that made Bass raise a hand to shield his face. Through it he witnessed the silhouettes of five different figures. Each had a different stature and form to them. The first was small and chubby looking, the one right next to them was rather thin and normal sized. The third and center-most was a bulking powerhouse just like Bass. The fourth was hard to make out looking more like an oval and the fifth loomed off to the side, standing a whole head over the center member and being twice as bulky. The spotlight from the door they came through continued to shine on them and in almost humorous fashion the loudspeaker announcer began to introduce them one at a time. "On your far left you have... GURD! Able to alternate the direction of gravity at will if he slaps his belly! Next to him you have... drumroll please...-" A drumroll started to play as the light was turned away to turn the silhouette into a whole figure revealing the most normal looking figure. "GIIIRRRRRDEEEEEEEER! A technical mastermind that can command a fleet of a hundred drones at any one time with his ultimate ability to multi-task!" The light then started to slowly glaze off of the middle figure for a dramatic visual display as the opposing shadow was slowly defaced as the rooms inner light was more powerful.
"The Captain... The amazing, the ultimate, the commander of the Great Bas Defectors of the REDACTED Force! We're not allowed to talk about that around here sorry buddy- thought you'd make us spill the beans huh? Hahahaha! Nope! Anyways meet the amazing, the ultima-" Another voice cut off the first. "-Hey you're repeating it you sound dumb stop you're hurting the amazing, the ultimate, the comm-" Then that voice was cut off, "-You stupid knuckleheads aaaaaagh do I have to do everything! Captain Gurrot, an all rounded amazing fighter that can after eating some of his specially created poopy parsnips- it has to rhyme okay because it's coated in chocolate so that's like the only thing we could think of - get a power level higher than yours! And you have to fight all five of these people, and even if you get passed everyone here which is impossible you'd still have to fight him. I'll put the other guy back on now."
With the sound of some clattering on the loudspeaker and someone clearing their throat the introductions started up again. As the light peeled away from the oval shaped figure the voice kicked in in full swing once more. "And here we haaaave... The team Mascot, G! We couldn't find another worthy warrior with G so we got an official mascot! Though don't underestimate him, he is the backbone of the team even if he can't fight himself. His cheering inspires the others on the team to fight with everything they have! Gooooooo team!" On queue the oval shaped figure was revealed to be a large green banana with holes for arms and legs and two little holes for eyes. Raising one hand up that was holding a pom pom in the air the mascot did a little wiggle and shouted across the room, the voice fading from the excessive distance.
"Gooooooooooo teaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam...!" Bass swore he could hear the grumbling and muttering of the other team members. Though before he could debate on the pain this mascot inflicted on his 'teammates' the voice kicked in to introduce the final member.
"And finally we have the unbreakable wall! We've seen the power in your punches on the cameras and we can confidently say any hit you could throw he could soak up like a sponge! Meet the unbreakable wall of doooooooom, THWUD!" The spotlight revealed a massive figure picking it's nose and looking cross-eyed at the booger. As the attention was on him Thwud just went. "Eeeeeeeer...? Wut? Wut happening?" Before going back to picking their nose. "Ahahaha..." Came the loudspeaker announcers voice, "... Thwud isn't exactly our brightest member, nor is he our most motivated. Though he is an amazing defender that protects the team. Now, are you ready team, get ready for your pose!" Thwud suddenly looked up.
"Now!"
The entire team started to move into comical poses, doing a little routine before leaning inwards to all touch fingers. From their positioning Thwud had to lean over and down, turning his entire body to the side in order to do so instead of the sideways lean everybody else did. Across the room Bass could faintly hear. "G-Team!" And then finally they went back to standing normally after the point where it was starting to get awkward. Bass just sort of rubbed the back of his head and furrowed his brows. The loudspeaker announcer spoke up. "Hey, so. We can actually hear you so before you're beaten up and frozen forever we would like to know your opinion of the G-Team. We just formed recently and after they've fully perfected their routine they are going to go out and start taking over other islands for the GBD! When they do we want to make the best impression possible so that we can feel good about ourselves before we finish taking over the world! MUAHAHAHAHHAHAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAAHAAAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA-" The laugh kept going. "-UHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA-" And going, "-AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA-" Until suddenly there was the sound of a loud slap followed by a, "Shut up idiot." What followed next was an eerie silence, one only broken as the thoughtful Bass, arrogant as ever gave his response even though he was running the clock. He recognized whatever this device was he wouldn't get to it in the given time already, so why not put faith in whatever this device was?
"Well... Gurd is fairly neat. If what you say's true that's a fascinating power that should force me to stay on my toes unless I want to fall right over. Then you have Girder. I mean, it's something? I would have to actually see what kind of tech it is I guess. I've had my hands on Katchin before so, I'm not sure how high you could raise the bar above that. Gurrot seems like the most impressive person here, because everything after him is just pretty annoying to say the least." As soon as they heard that the three squad members besides 'G' (the mascot) and Thwud shouted in unison, "RIGHT?! WE'RE SO HAPPY SOMEONE AGREES!!!" Nodding once, Bass continued. "You say you brought on the mascot just because you wanted five people that had G at the start of their name, but then you immediately contradict yourselves when you bring someone onto the team called Thwud." A response came from Gurrot, "Well you see, Thwud was such a valuable asset that we kind of had to make an exception for him!" Nodding again, Bass rubbed his chin.
"So then... Thwud is the T in G-'T'EAM would you say?" Immediately there was an ecstatic response and a shout, "That's brilliant! We've done it lads, after this we can go destroy the world to prove to our god that we're worthy of serving him! Thank you so much, so sorry we have to beat you up! Maybe if we ever decide to thaw you out you can join G-Team generations in the future when we've conquered the universe with our god!"
Squinting, the loudspeaker activated, "Oh my god guys time flies so fast when you're having fun the Cryowave Emitter is 99.95% charged it's gonna go any second get your stuff ready if it's not already looks like you're on cleanup duty bring the guy in a-" As Bass reached into his pocket and took out the pod there was a blinding flash and suddenly darkness. Bass couldn't see, he couldn't move much, he couldn't hear or smell or sense. He just...
Couldn't.
Except for the one thing he could use. He could feel, touch, still experience the faint flow of outside air. From his hand fell the pod and he could hear muffled sounds. Though he was pissed now. So this was what all of those creatures were having to go through, an existence where you were just barely there enough to suffer in permanent solitude and inability. Turning his wrist he formed a finger-gun towards his own head. From his finger a charge of ki blasted forward and slammed into the ice, shattering it off as it was practically a defensive layer, freeing Bass's head. As it fell from his head the G-Team appeared to be closing in noticing that he was going to get free, they wanted to take him out before he had a chance to get free.
Letting out a roar of pure rage Bass started to conjure up reasons to go all out. The atrocities these people were going to commit simply for the sake of doing it. Even the worst version of himself wanted to rule the world by force not destroy it for kicks and reputation. For all he knew when the world was gone no one would be around to take a resume with that bullet point on it. The sound of his roar grew louder and louder until it was an uncanny reverberating force that shoot the entire chamber. With one solid movement he shattered out of the confines and his entire body grew larger. His turtleneck stretched until it tore right off of him while thankfully his sweats remained clinging to him. He looked terrifying, a wall of power and muscle, it looked like he could arm-wrestle a person with the antennae on his forehead. Taking a deep breath steam shot out from his ears, mouth and nostrils from the sheer heat produced by the forming and growing muscle in his body.
The one man war was on, and Bass had for all he knew achieved his first true breaking of his limits. His first true time to have reached a new level entirely.
Immediately after he would collide with G-Team, the one that met him being Gurrot. Without having eaten his poopy parsnip ahead of time he was quickly dodged and smashed into the far wall of the room. The voice on the loudspeaker frantically called out to every speaker in the facility. "THIS IS AN EMERGENCY, CRYOWAVE EMISSION DID NOT CONTAIN THE INTRUDER! G-TEAM IS WARDING THEM OFF WHILE ANOTHER WAVE IS PREPARED TO STOP HIM ONCE AND FOR ALL! THE GBD WILL PREVAIL! But just in case prepare the shuttle bay please." A wave of drones peeled out from the panels all around them and started firing bullets towards Bass that as he raised his arms pinged off leaving scrapes and such for a moment until he disappeared completely out of sight and reappeared above them all, shouting in a massive booming voice. "BOREHOLE CANNON, RAPID FIRE MODE!" Straining his technique he steadied his arm with his new massively bulked up size and sent down three different BOREHOLE CANNON shots and two additional energy blasts to clean up any drones that still remained. As explosions chain reacted across the room as the cannon shots erupted into blinding blasts Girder found himself already terrified at the sheer strength of Bass. Flying back towards the door they came into he shouted, "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING UNTIL I GET MORE DRONES GUYS! GIRDER OUT!" And he backpedalled out of the room and started running. Either just running in general or running to get more drones readied.
Though suddenly the gravity shifted and even with most of the fighting going on in mid-air the new shift in local gravity made Bass flail for a moment until he was steady. In that time he felt a fist hit his backside, the little Gurd actually packed a wicked punch for his size and Bass went flying through the air to crash into the chamber wall, making another crater in the process. Bursting immediately out of his crater he charged to smash Gurd into the wall but in his attempt to do so the wall, Thwud came into the way. His fist that would turn many into mist if he was using it recklessly impacted Thwud's stomach and only made a dent that quickly filled out. Looking upwards in shock, Thwud looked down and said. "Thwud no like fighting fighting very bad." He shook his head, "But you know Mr. Bad Guy? Last thing you gunna hear is 'thwud'." As a big meaty fist attempted to come down onto Bass's head. Thankfully unlock his defensive power his attack was incredibly slow, he dodged out of the way and put Thwud into an arm-hold before throwing him into the ground.
This technique proved a little more effective by at the very least getting Thwud out of the way, sending the giant tumbling through the air and slamming into the ground to no real damaging effect against the defensive monster. Though it gave him an opportunity to go for Gurd and as he turned and rushed the creature he heard a shout. "THWUD WARN GURD WATCH OUT!!!" And with a panicked shift in gravity that was quickly compensated for by Bass Gurd found himself flying like a bullet through the room after taking a hit that immediately knocked him out, meaning him smashing into the wall just added to how long he'd be clonked unconscious for. Steam escaped from Bass's nostrils as he turned to look at Thwud below, the Mascot that was shouting from across the chamber almost unable to be heard, but it was shaking the pomp pomps and then over to check if Captain Gurrot was taken care of. Though the crater was empty.
"Looking for me?" What?! Bass felt the incredibly power of a punch right to the back of his head send him topping forward like a missile towards the ground, slamming into it he could only turn himself around, beaten and bruised from that hit alone to see Gurrot lowering down from above. "You didn't take the poopy parsnip seriously did you?! You almost had me punk, even if it was just a lucky shot. Unfortunately it looks like before I could recover and power up you had already dealt with Gurd and Girder, it just looks like I'll need to take you out myself, doesn't look like that'll be much of a problem now does it? No, I didn't think so." Landing outside of the crater Gurrot reached in and picked up Bass, a grin forming over his face as he was getting confident at his incoming victory. "You know what? All that pride and honor crap fighters always prattle on about doesn't really sit with me. I don't really want you for myself, I don't need to brag about beating the strongest fighter I've ever met, no. I'll toss you to Thwud to kill. You can be crushed as you contemplate the miserable last moments of your existence."
Bass was feeling too weak to even really focus let alone respond, he had tunnel vision and everything seemed further away than it really was like he was beginning to fade out of consciousness. Though as he was thrown and Gurrot got further and further away he would be caught by another figure in a bear-hug from the back. And as he heard a dopey laugh and the arms around him began to tighten he was immediately pulled back and let out a scream as the agony was almost unbearable. Wide eyes, loud roars of pain echoed through the chamber as Gurrot watched and the Mascot cheered. "Tough guy not so tough anymore huh? Thwud might not be fast but like Thwud say Thwud gonna be the last thing you ever hear yup yup!" He said, squeezing tighter and tighter trying to break just about every bone in Bass's body. As several ribs did break Bass let out another agonizing scream of rage and pain. Looking forward towards Gurrot he could only see this ending poorly.
But it was exactly for that reason that he couldn't give up.
That smug grin, having thought he had already won. The idea of the entire world being attacked by these people, if they could take him out as far as his understanding went the world was doomed at large. While very untrue he was one of the strongest acting fighters today, and being defeated by people who wanted to destroy the world was no good. He couldn't let it happen. Images of Icey and his coworkers floated through his mind. His adventures with Kiryu before, the fight with Duke and Ahri somewhat but most importantly his mind was on the warm memory of rescuing that village from sickness and grief. It was one of the best feelings ever and he could only imagine a world without those amazing people. The miners that put every day they could into tough working conditions so that perhaps on the surface they could be paid, but a lot of their motivation had to go deeper than that. They did it so the world could get little trinkets and items that made them that much more happier. The greatest currency isn't Zeni. It isn't rare objects or materialistic things. The greatest currency of all is the currency of happiness. The happier you are the brighter your world is and if you're happy anything is possible.
Was Bass happy? It was hard to say that for certain. Though the fire that drove him wasn't just about his happiness. He wanted to be able to nurture and guide a world of smiles together to the future. One could argue there were nefarious intentions, he wanted to exploit people for his own gains. Whether those claims were true or not would never be truly dispelled because a mans word only carries so much weight and if he died here he'd never be able to act otherwise. This was about more than some artifact, he was glad he came here today because he was actually making a difference. Perhaps if he failed he would've been expediting doomsday but with the fuel the things that he was fighting for gave him he wouldn't allow himself to fail. As the grip got tighter and tighter and his own screaming to him became more and more distant he took on a cold and unbreakable will, something that he'd shown once before on a lesser level when he tore his own arms off to regrow them more efficiently after they were broken. With all of his might he let out a massive roar that shook the entire complex and his hands started to push at Thwud's arms. An aura burst out around him and his eyes nearly rolled back into his head from the sheer force of power he was exerting in a single moment. Slowly the creaking arms of the stupidly powerful giant began to bend away from him despite every effort to get closer. And as Gurrot saw this he darted forward to kick Bass before he gathered too much momentum. Though as he got close he was repelled as Bass broke through another barrier in his power and sheer ambient force threw Gurrot away tumbling head over heels before steadying himself, only able to watch until the struggle came to it's conclusion.
In one climactic moment and with two insanely powerful punches Thwud's arms were thrown aside before Bass broke free and kneed Thwud so hard that he flew straight into the ceiling and smashed all the way up to perhaps even the surface. The faint light coming from above told him that perhaps not, that seemed more like another part of the complex. It was hard to tell. Radiating sheer power with an unbreakable will and insurmountable might Bass turned slowly to look at Gurrot that was understandably deathly intimidated by the Namekian's Power Level. It had climbed to 58,523, a number that Gurrot could not even fathom. He couldn't even see the number and when he tried to calibrate it with an outdated scouter it short circuited. Beginning to walk towards him, Bass spoke.
"Until you threatened the people of the world and everything they live for, I was fine to play to your tune, your games and your antics. I answered your questions and I planned to take this slow. What you failed to understand is that I to hold a claim for this world. I seek World Domination. Though the World I rule will not be a ruined one with grief, sadness and pain. It will not be one with destruction and tragedy, no. It will be a world filled with smiling faces, formidable fighters and unity. I will be the King of a just and righteous world that does right to the people that it houses and I will be the vessel to take this planet to the future and it's people to the stars for a new chapter for Earthlings, Namekians and Saiyans. When you look in history books are histories are wrought with tragedies where great fighters have come up time and time again to stand as paragons against the dark." Leaning forward, Bass's death glare got within an inch of Gurrot's eyes as he spoke with a deadly tone.
"So, do you have what it takes to stand against me? To stand against Earth as you tremble in your own skin. Do you seriously think that even if I was defeated you wouldn't be stopped? That you could crush the Earth when the biggest number you've ever seen had become a zero. You're so miserably mistaken it makes me laugh. There are hundreds of us in the limelight struggling to be the best, struggling to be the strongest. That's what Earth has over every other world, every other force and every other entity. The spirit of Earth is one of never-ending competition and adventure to make some of the hardest work enjoyable and motivating. Invigorating. Do I dare even punch you? If I was a bad person I just might, but where I normally hold back you've gotten me so angry that the best way I could hold back is to not swing at all, otherwise you'd turn to mist or have a hole in you.
So, Captain Gurrot of the GBD. Talk, tell me everything you think I want to know. I will count down from ten, if I ever hit zero I tear your head from your body. Each time you give me a fact I deem useful the timer is reset. Do you understand?"
Literally terrified through and through, Gurrot nodded his head and whimpered. What came next with the simple held fingers of Bass always either resetting or counting down was a list of useful information. The first of this information was the scope and purpose of this outpost. Apparently they were a portion of a fleet that was shot off course and crash landed below the ocean a couple of centuries ago. They had lied low and dormant amassing numbers and working their way back up to their standard of modern technology. The next bit of information was the layout in it's particulars. Each level, the location of the Cryowave Emitter and the stage of their development on something greater that would never see the light of day as Bass would rip through the facility. The third and final thing he told him was the location of something they had gotten their hands on long ago. Part of the reason their little force was sent to Earth to begin with. They had been sent there by their 'god' to acquire a particular individuals armor. Though so much time had passed that they were under the impression they would never be returned for. With all that said and done Bass stood back up to his full height instead of the piercing death stare he had been given prior and just cracked his neck both ways. Simply walking away was all he needed to do and Gurrot clutched at his heart in relief and staggered away thankful to be alive.
Getting through the rest of the facility wasn't all that difficult. With the power in the next room being shut down with a simple attack the back-up generator wasn't enough to power the entire security system and instead just maintained the facilities air circulation and lights. The rest of the peons weren't much of a challenge and after a long drop in the elevator only stopped to shut down the in development project and the Cryowave Emitter two simple Borehole Cannon shots took both out of commission, and as soon as the Cryowave Emitter Stabilizer was taken out the ice that had been maintained for so long began to thaw at last. Though as it melted above it turned not into water but instead to a fine mist that rejoined that atmosphere. Life began to spring up on the surface of the island like it had never been stopped aside from some small discrepancies here and there, but otherwise a great deed had been done. A single turtle school fighter was astonished to be able to do anything again, and immediately took off to reconvene with his school.
Going down further and further, the Armor of Vegeta the IVth was the last thing Bass needed here. Dropping down and down the two mile lift he would start to feel warmer as he got further and further towards the mantle of the literal planet. It was fascinating how that worked, but with the sturdy internal architecture being top of the line refurbished alien technology it was a simple thought that this place was going to hold up just fine in those temperatures even without power. On the final floor where the wreckage of the elevator laid spread out. The door leading in had already been dented, a small sliver of red light from the back-up generator glowing through. Pulling it open fully he would be presented with a singular long hallway with a door at the far end and a door about halfway down. He figured the door half-way in was storage, which made him wonder what the last door was. Turning towards it he presented a taken key card and walked into the place. There were tons of blaster rifles and sets of armor, all a little unfamiliar being a tad alien in design. Though most importantly encased at the back of the room in almost what looked like a cryo chamber was a perfectly preserved suit of armor that almost looked a little outdated compared to the armor worn by the grunts up above. Stepping forward his fist, wrapped up in some of the cloth remaining from his turtle neck smashed through the glass and removed the armor from it's confines. It was incredibly cold to the touch at the moment, and naturally it was no perfect match for Bass but even just looking at it he felt reassured. He felt kinship in the marks along the armor because while perfectly clean the signs of wear and tear were present. The odd scuff mark that tore the paint, the excessive effort put in with this armor made him form perhaps a one sided silent admiration for the figure that once wore it. He'd bring it with him to inspire him to keep pushing even when things looked impossibly difficult to overcome.
Carrying it under his arm he was just about ready to go, however he would out of curiosity at least check that final room. With his one hand holding the key card he left the storage area and moved into the final room only to find it was pitch black. Silence was all he felt for a moment until... A rippling wave of air rushed passed him and pushed his antennae back to reveal a stupid, monstrous power level that had been suppressed for the entire time. From within the chamber two red dots formed to what was glowing eyes in the dark. Squinting he could all but hear just a few words come from the figure. They were powerful, straight to the point and almost like something Bass would say if he was in this figures position.
"You are not ready yet. I won't even bother giving you the humiliation of defeat." Came from that voice, and that made Bass grit his teeth in frustration. Though he was right. Even in his bulked up form with all that powering up he was still absolutely no match for this guy. It was a potency of power he never even quite fathomed, almost twice his own. So distant from the world and so uncaring to even raise a finger against it. Bass just... Realized the figure wasn't wrong. He stepped back and as the door slid shut a shocked and almost stunned Bass just wandered out of the complex, flying leisurely back up the elevator shaft to the surface. This wasn't the last time he would be here, he was certain of that much. When he would come back he didn't know, to have that much power would take training so intensely for so long that even Bass didn't know if he had the willpower to pull it off. It would take weeks, months, maybe even years of intense day to night training to get those results any time even in the foreseeable future. Flying out and over the see again, thankful that the island had been restored he soared over the ocean and back to the main land and to the place he felt adequate now. He had felt confident that he was so strong before, but he was nothing. Whether he wanted it to or not a target had made itself known for him to surpass. If they didn't want to give that reaction they would've just kept suppressing their energy levels. Later that day he would land on the outskirts of South City with the Armor of Vegeta the IVth in his arms. Riding the long bus home he'd then take his bike out to the 'rehabilitation center' more like intense training facility being developed. Setting it on display in an alcove higher in the training chamber Bass took in a deep breath and exhaled. What an anti-climactic end to such a crazy journey. Though what it had left was a slow burn and while immediately defeated a fire was being stirred in his heart again. While it made him feel hopeless that he was weak, it made him feel excited that he could become that strong. The opportunities that lied ahead for him to clash with people that were directly at his level head on at that tier was something phenomenal for him to think of. So with the armor put on display he would head out, going back to his bike, revving it up and driving back to his apartment.
Arriving late into the evening he would unlock the modest door that led to the comfortable little apartment. Preparing dinner was Icey, stood preparing some onions with a cutting technique that not even him with all his technical knowledge could reproduce. It was fascinating that skills could be so specific yet diverse. Though beyond a simple greeting he wouldn't even join her for food.
He had been so tired from the long day behind him that it was all he could do to get to his room before he collapsed onto the bed. Tucking himself under the sheets he let out a yawn and closed his eyes. Though when he closed his eyes all he could see were those eyes looking back at him from the darkness. That challenge that was just waiting to be undertaken. He was so excited.
[CHAPTER 2-10 | WC: 9187 | 0 remaining]