Post by Zerori on Jul 1, 2016 9:25:29 GMT
Time was pretty irrelevant in Hell, it seemed. For what felt like a few days, upon finally getting her body back thanks to Etoru’s prayer, Zerori had been wandering the underworld. She’d met back with the ogre she’d had a scuffle with and had a chance to re-even the score out. She didn’t give him too much of a black eye, seeing as he didn’t destroy her at all. After a few jovial words exchanged, she questioned him about the prince that had been looking for her.
The conversation went as well as she could have hoped and now she was left with more questions – sans the answers she wanted.
And now, hands on her hips as she walked the grasslands of the great plains, Zerori was sour at the lack of leads she had. Slumped over with an angry pout on her face, she wondered why no one seemed to be able to give her a straight answer! This guy was an enigma, right? So he should be famous, or infamous or something, right?
Finally finished with walking aimlessly for a while, she stopped at a hill that looked like it led into an orchard. There weren’t many trees that Zerori could tell but she didn’t really care either.
Not after the last fruit fiasco…
Turning to plop down onto the grass with a grunt, she brought her arms up behind her head as she lain upon them. Closing her eyes, Zerori would relax along the lush vegetation and roll her shoulders a bit to help it along. Taking a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes lazily to gaze up into the sky.
“… I feel like I’ve been getting no where fast, while being dead,” She mused softly, muttering her gentle fears to no one in particular. She wanted to blame it on just how surreal everything was here; losing her body and getting it back again. But the fact of the matter was… she just wasn’t the same anymore.
With Ari at peace.
And with those she’d left behind – left to their own devices…
It was hard not to wonder the point of struggling to scratch out an existence.
She’d just begun to close her eyes again, feeling irritation gnaw at her for even being the least bit philosophical about her feelings, when a sound caught her attention. Snapping them open, she’d only just barely moved before a club smashed against the grass where she’d just lain.
Rolling onto her hands and knees, she snarled up at her attacker with a sadistic smile, “That’s the second time someone almost caught me off guard today and I’m getting’ tired of i-! Huh?” The words caught in her throat, she stared at the odd site that greeted her from above as she blinked in confusion.
Wrestling each other, a blue and red ogre would be locked in a contest of strength as they gnashed their teeth and pushed one other to knock their opponent down. At least, that’s what Zerori gleamed from it in the few seconds she had to watch. Glancing at the club that almost maimed her, she realized that it must have fallen from their back or something because just the sheer weight of the instrument made a warped dent in the ground.
“Holy… shit,” In awe, she looked back between the two and barely had a second to get back to her feet and jump away before they nearly trampled her. “Hey guys, what’s with the violence!?” She cried out, less in anger and more in curiosity as she kept her wits about her.
In the midst of their scuffle, the blue ogre would struggle to look over his shoulder to look at her. He seemed to surprised she was even there, “Oh! Sorry, didn’t see ya! We’re… competing for who gets to guard the tree-!” Getting pushed harder, he stopped short and almost tumbled.
Zerori jumped, hands raised like she wanted to help but kept her mind occupied, “A ‘tree’? You’re fighting over a tree?” Oh boy, did this sound familiar.
The red one spoke this time, a victorious smile on his face as he almost toppled his opponent, “Yeah, and whomever wins gets guard duty! And this time-!” He growled, trying to push harder, “It’s MY turn!”
Hanging barely from the hill, the blue ogre would sound as though he was choking as he tried his damnedest to not be felled.
From her place out of the way, Zerori contemplated the new information. Like the last scenario, she wasn’t in a hurry to get tied up in another tree with some sort of mystical fruit. However, watching them fight left her a little worried about the future of that tree in general. Did it grant longevity? Bring people back to life? Maybe it was like the tree of might and it gave them immense power?
…It’s got to go. That can’t just be left around to linger. Looking around, she noticed the largest (and really, only) tree in the area. Walking away from their stalemate, she got about twenty paces before she stopped – getting a good look at the tree from a distance.
At first, it didn’t seem so menacing. Narrowing her eyes on it, she realized… it appeared quite harmless. However, sure enough there were fruits bounds to it’s limbs and just… THERE for anyone to take.
A sudden memory of the fruit she’d eaten on Kanassa flooded her memory; biting into it’s flesh, feeling the juices glide down her throat and then… the pain as it forcefully expanded her power. Stretching, tearing and repairing all at the same time.
Swallowing, she tried to force the memory to the side. “Damn it…” Where most wouldn’t be so affected by the piece of fruit – she loathed its’ existence. It was the reason she so selfishly decided to assist the queen and (even if for her own desires) she’d received it as payment for services rendered. The queen was not to blame.
Another thought came to her and she grimaced, crossing her arms before looking back over at the fighting ogres.
Voicing the stray thought, she barked at the two. “If only one of you is supposed to guard the tree, what does the other do?!”
Impressively multitasking, the red ogre responded without looking at her, “The loser gets to spend the day in shame with a day off!”
Zerori screwed up her face in wonder, “Y’mean they don’t get a piece of the fruit?”
Like she’d just mentioned sacrilege, both ogres seemed to stop their fight to look back at her in horror. “OH NO! KING YEMMA WOULD KILL US!” And just as impressively… they said the same thing, at the same time.
Holding her hands up in surrender, Zerori looked away with her eyes closed to show no argument. “Hey, it’s your tree,” She mumbled tersely, before adding in keenly, “But… lemme just say that it’s awfully-” She paused, thinking of the word. “-Irresponsible… to just leave the tree for anyone to take a fruit while you guys fight out whose actually ‘guarding’ it.”
Despite the wisdom of her words, she felt a little regret at giving these two ogres a mile when it came to their own job. But if that tree really did belong to that big lug upstairs… then cutting it was a no-go.
Looking at Zerori, realization in their eyes, they seemed to contemplate what to do. The blue one spoke up first, “Say, uh… who are you?”
Blinking, the saiyanes pointed to herself before responding, “Zerori. Not famous or anything, if that’s what you’re… curious about.”
Shaking their head, the red one would respond now, “No, no! We just wanted to know because we’ve been at this a while and… well,” They looked between each other before he continued bashfully, “-we’ve been fighting because someone keeps stealing fruit from the tree!” At this, Zerori’s mouth fell open staring at the two in absolute shock.
“Y-You guys are serious, aren’t you?” She asked, worried that they might be pulling a joke on her.
The red one shook his head, “No! If we’d known that, we’d have stopped a hours ago!”
Zerori gave a sigh in relief, “Oh shit, I thought you’d done this for way longer,” She muttered, faith restored in their capabilities. Crossing her arms, she looked back at the tree as she asked, “So, uh… what are the names of these ‘Tree protectors’?”
At their dumbfounded look, she gave them a dry expression before elucidating that she was asking for their names. “OH!” The blue one cried, giving a sheepish grin, “I’m Goz.”
The red one adjusted his glasses, a disgruntled look on his face, “And I’m Mez. We guard the tree dutifully for King Yemma and are the best in Hell.” He said such so matter-of-factly that Zerori almost believed it.
Giving a nod, she wondered what else was left for her to do here besides… just be on her way.
Oh. Wait, shit. An idea struck in her mind, Zerori hit her palm with her fist. “Hey, so… I’m lookin’ for a guy-” Pausing for dramatic effect as she re-attracted their attention.
Goz gave her an odd look, “There’s no good guys here, sorry to say! If you’re lookin’ for a date, though,” He put on his best smile and seemed to try and adjust his shirt.
Flattered but also creeped out, Zerori laughed nervously, “Not that kinda guy,” She cleared her throat before continuing, “I’m lookin’ for a guy named Beelzebub. Prince of Darkness. Lord of Chaos,” At the extra alias’, she snorted when they seemed confused. “I’m kidding. Just the Prince of Hell, I guess. Said he was looking for me but I honestly haven’t gotten any good leads on where to find him. So, uh… help a girl out?”
Her request, despite the explanation, must have surprised them because one moment they were hunkey-dory with her and the next-
“Hey, if he’s lookin’ for YOU that means you done some really bad stuff!”
“Yeah, there’s no way we’d help out a girl like you if HE’S interested in you!”
Staring at them as they pointed fingers and threw accusations, Zerori felt like she was going to be dizzy as she looked between the two and their declarations. Finally, having had enough of their words, she snarled at them and sung her arm out. In a massive gust of wind, they would find themselves thrown back before she yelled.
“HEY! It was just a simple fucking question and if y’didn’t wanna answer – that woulda been fine with me!” Long gone was the suppression of accent as she berated the two with her ire. As betrayed as she was, this too was figured in her mind. As such, she did have singular revenge tactic she could employ.
And employ, she would.
Stepping towards them as her demonic power thrummed around her, expanding higher and stronger than what she could currently attain, she grinned at them with malicious delight. “Since you two seem determined to get on my nerves, there’s hell to pay and that ain’t a pun!” Quickly thinking of a clever line, and punishment, she placed a hand on her hip and pointed at them as she declared. “The price to be paid is ONE FRUIT! And it is I, Zerori, who will be taking it!”
Staring at her in fear, obviously intimidated by her perceived power, Zerori briefly wondered if maybe she was laying it on a bit too thickly.
Nah, they’ll need it if some real bad shows up. Maybe next time they’ll actually work together, She mused inwardly, hoping more for the best with them than the worst. She might be bad but it was all heart when it came to sad saps. If Nicolas was any indication of her weaknesses.
“Please don’t take a fruit!” Mez would cry, not daring to challenge her physically.
Goz chirped in, “King Yemme will get so bad and we’ll lose our jobs! Challenge us fairly at least!”
Letting out a grunt of annoyance Zerori scoffed, “Fairly isn’t my style nowadays, and besides – my power far trumps yours, obviously!” Looking down at them from her nose, she made to end this, “I’ll find him on my own, you lugs, but maybe – just maybe that fruit will assist me!” A smirk came to her face snidely, “I could use immortality…”
Goz stopped, giving her a blank expression. “Immortality? Where’d you get that idea?”
Zerori’s eye twitched.
“It… The fruit. It doesn’t grant immortality?”
Mez adjusted his glasses again, chirping in, “No, of course not. The most it would do is give you a power boost. We’re here to keep the bad guys from getting it.”
Zerori’s face fell, though she really did wonder about the validity of the fruit, “So why not just keep it in heaven?! With the good guys?!”
A moment of silence passed, making the hybrid wonder if she’d introduced another dumbfounded moment between the two before finally-
“We don’t know. King Yemma just… can’t have it anywhere, but here!”
At a loss for a clever comeback, Zerori just gave a sigh and calmed her demonic force. They’d suffered enough, but she wasn’t quite done yet. “You’ve caused me a lot of headache for my being merciful, y’know. The least you could do is lemme take one and call it quits.” Scratching the back of her head, she looked off to the side, “Look, there’s a kid I’m trying to get to and he could be in a lot of danger for all I know. This fruit could be what I need to keep him safe if I ever… WHEN I ever get back to the living world.”
Not expecting her plea to ‘bear fruit’, she was about to just book it towards the tree when Goz seemed to grumble about something.
“I… I guess we can let you take one…”
Mez followed, “Yeah, she didn’t kill us so… she can’t be all that bad.”
I’m totally still here…
Giving a nod, Goz seemed more appeased with the agreement of his partner. “Fine, go grab you one! But if King Yemma hear about this-!”
The saiyaness grinned, waving him off. “Don’t worry – I’ll tell him I beat you up good! I’ll even make it look authentic,” She sneered, enjoying their blanched expressions before she turned to the tree and disappeared in a whirl of wind.
..
.
At the tree, looking up from her place at it’s base, it felt a while lot bigger up close. Looking around for a nice, juicy big fruit – Zerori leaned forward and jumped up to the one she found most interesting. With a snatch, she plucked it and landed in a fluid motion before looking it over. “Huh… Doesn’t look special but it does kinda remind me of that last fruit,” Lips twitching at the memory, she did her best to repress it before taking a bite.
At first, she didn’t feel anything. It wasn’t until she was done with the entire thing that she felt as though her entire body was warm. But it was… pleasantly so! Nothing like that tree of might with it’s gross-apple-reject taste! Looking back up, she mumbled with a lick of her lips.
“Y’think they’d notice me taking another…?”
[Zerori has eaten the Fruit of Mi- Oh, I mean the Ensenji fruit!]
The conversation went as well as she could have hoped and now she was left with more questions – sans the answers she wanted.
And now, hands on her hips as she walked the grasslands of the great plains, Zerori was sour at the lack of leads she had. Slumped over with an angry pout on her face, she wondered why no one seemed to be able to give her a straight answer! This guy was an enigma, right? So he should be famous, or infamous or something, right?
Finally finished with walking aimlessly for a while, she stopped at a hill that looked like it led into an orchard. There weren’t many trees that Zerori could tell but she didn’t really care either.
Not after the last fruit fiasco…
Turning to plop down onto the grass with a grunt, she brought her arms up behind her head as she lain upon them. Closing her eyes, Zerori would relax along the lush vegetation and roll her shoulders a bit to help it along. Taking a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes lazily to gaze up into the sky.
“… I feel like I’ve been getting no where fast, while being dead,” She mused softly, muttering her gentle fears to no one in particular. She wanted to blame it on just how surreal everything was here; losing her body and getting it back again. But the fact of the matter was… she just wasn’t the same anymore.
With Ari at peace.
And with those she’d left behind – left to their own devices…
It was hard not to wonder the point of struggling to scratch out an existence.
She’d just begun to close her eyes again, feeling irritation gnaw at her for even being the least bit philosophical about her feelings, when a sound caught her attention. Snapping them open, she’d only just barely moved before a club smashed against the grass where she’d just lain.
Rolling onto her hands and knees, she snarled up at her attacker with a sadistic smile, “That’s the second time someone almost caught me off guard today and I’m getting’ tired of i-! Huh?” The words caught in her throat, she stared at the odd site that greeted her from above as she blinked in confusion.
Wrestling each other, a blue and red ogre would be locked in a contest of strength as they gnashed their teeth and pushed one other to knock their opponent down. At least, that’s what Zerori gleamed from it in the few seconds she had to watch. Glancing at the club that almost maimed her, she realized that it must have fallen from their back or something because just the sheer weight of the instrument made a warped dent in the ground.
“Holy… shit,” In awe, she looked back between the two and barely had a second to get back to her feet and jump away before they nearly trampled her. “Hey guys, what’s with the violence!?” She cried out, less in anger and more in curiosity as she kept her wits about her.
In the midst of their scuffle, the blue ogre would struggle to look over his shoulder to look at her. He seemed to surprised she was even there, “Oh! Sorry, didn’t see ya! We’re… competing for who gets to guard the tree-!” Getting pushed harder, he stopped short and almost tumbled.
Zerori jumped, hands raised like she wanted to help but kept her mind occupied, “A ‘tree’? You’re fighting over a tree?” Oh boy, did this sound familiar.
The red one spoke this time, a victorious smile on his face as he almost toppled his opponent, “Yeah, and whomever wins gets guard duty! And this time-!” He growled, trying to push harder, “It’s MY turn!”
Hanging barely from the hill, the blue ogre would sound as though he was choking as he tried his damnedest to not be felled.
From her place out of the way, Zerori contemplated the new information. Like the last scenario, she wasn’t in a hurry to get tied up in another tree with some sort of mystical fruit. However, watching them fight left her a little worried about the future of that tree in general. Did it grant longevity? Bring people back to life? Maybe it was like the tree of might and it gave them immense power?
…It’s got to go. That can’t just be left around to linger. Looking around, she noticed the largest (and really, only) tree in the area. Walking away from their stalemate, she got about twenty paces before she stopped – getting a good look at the tree from a distance.
At first, it didn’t seem so menacing. Narrowing her eyes on it, she realized… it appeared quite harmless. However, sure enough there were fruits bounds to it’s limbs and just… THERE for anyone to take.
A sudden memory of the fruit she’d eaten on Kanassa flooded her memory; biting into it’s flesh, feeling the juices glide down her throat and then… the pain as it forcefully expanded her power. Stretching, tearing and repairing all at the same time.
Swallowing, she tried to force the memory to the side. “Damn it…” Where most wouldn’t be so affected by the piece of fruit – she loathed its’ existence. It was the reason she so selfishly decided to assist the queen and (even if for her own desires) she’d received it as payment for services rendered. The queen was not to blame.
Another thought came to her and she grimaced, crossing her arms before looking back over at the fighting ogres.
Voicing the stray thought, she barked at the two. “If only one of you is supposed to guard the tree, what does the other do?!”
Impressively multitasking, the red ogre responded without looking at her, “The loser gets to spend the day in shame with a day off!”
Zerori screwed up her face in wonder, “Y’mean they don’t get a piece of the fruit?”
Like she’d just mentioned sacrilege, both ogres seemed to stop their fight to look back at her in horror. “OH NO! KING YEMMA WOULD KILL US!” And just as impressively… they said the same thing, at the same time.
Holding her hands up in surrender, Zerori looked away with her eyes closed to show no argument. “Hey, it’s your tree,” She mumbled tersely, before adding in keenly, “But… lemme just say that it’s awfully-” She paused, thinking of the word. “-Irresponsible… to just leave the tree for anyone to take a fruit while you guys fight out whose actually ‘guarding’ it.”
Despite the wisdom of her words, she felt a little regret at giving these two ogres a mile when it came to their own job. But if that tree really did belong to that big lug upstairs… then cutting it was a no-go.
Looking at Zerori, realization in their eyes, they seemed to contemplate what to do. The blue one spoke up first, “Say, uh… who are you?”
Blinking, the saiyanes pointed to herself before responding, “Zerori. Not famous or anything, if that’s what you’re… curious about.”
Shaking their head, the red one would respond now, “No, no! We just wanted to know because we’ve been at this a while and… well,” They looked between each other before he continued bashfully, “-we’ve been fighting because someone keeps stealing fruit from the tree!” At this, Zerori’s mouth fell open staring at the two in absolute shock.
“Y-You guys are serious, aren’t you?” She asked, worried that they might be pulling a joke on her.
The red one shook his head, “No! If we’d known that, we’d have stopped a hours ago!”
Zerori gave a sigh in relief, “Oh shit, I thought you’d done this for way longer,” She muttered, faith restored in their capabilities. Crossing her arms, she looked back at the tree as she asked, “So, uh… what are the names of these ‘Tree protectors’?”
At their dumbfounded look, she gave them a dry expression before elucidating that she was asking for their names. “OH!” The blue one cried, giving a sheepish grin, “I’m Goz.”
The red one adjusted his glasses, a disgruntled look on his face, “And I’m Mez. We guard the tree dutifully for King Yemma and are the best in Hell.” He said such so matter-of-factly that Zerori almost believed it.
Giving a nod, she wondered what else was left for her to do here besides… just be on her way.
Oh. Wait, shit. An idea struck in her mind, Zerori hit her palm with her fist. “Hey, so… I’m lookin’ for a guy-” Pausing for dramatic effect as she re-attracted their attention.
Goz gave her an odd look, “There’s no good guys here, sorry to say! If you’re lookin’ for a date, though,” He put on his best smile and seemed to try and adjust his shirt.
Flattered but also creeped out, Zerori laughed nervously, “Not that kinda guy,” She cleared her throat before continuing, “I’m lookin’ for a guy named Beelzebub. Prince of Darkness. Lord of Chaos,” At the extra alias’, she snorted when they seemed confused. “I’m kidding. Just the Prince of Hell, I guess. Said he was looking for me but I honestly haven’t gotten any good leads on where to find him. So, uh… help a girl out?”
Her request, despite the explanation, must have surprised them because one moment they were hunkey-dory with her and the next-
“Hey, if he’s lookin’ for YOU that means you done some really bad stuff!”
“Yeah, there’s no way we’d help out a girl like you if HE’S interested in you!”
Staring at them as they pointed fingers and threw accusations, Zerori felt like she was going to be dizzy as she looked between the two and their declarations. Finally, having had enough of their words, she snarled at them and sung her arm out. In a massive gust of wind, they would find themselves thrown back before she yelled.
“HEY! It was just a simple fucking question and if y’didn’t wanna answer – that woulda been fine with me!” Long gone was the suppression of accent as she berated the two with her ire. As betrayed as she was, this too was figured in her mind. As such, she did have singular revenge tactic she could employ.
And employ, she would.
Stepping towards them as her demonic power thrummed around her, expanding higher and stronger than what she could currently attain, she grinned at them with malicious delight. “Since you two seem determined to get on my nerves, there’s hell to pay and that ain’t a pun!” Quickly thinking of a clever line, and punishment, she placed a hand on her hip and pointed at them as she declared. “The price to be paid is ONE FRUIT! And it is I, Zerori, who will be taking it!”
Staring at her in fear, obviously intimidated by her perceived power, Zerori briefly wondered if maybe she was laying it on a bit too thickly.
Nah, they’ll need it if some real bad shows up. Maybe next time they’ll actually work together, She mused inwardly, hoping more for the best with them than the worst. She might be bad but it was all heart when it came to sad saps. If Nicolas was any indication of her weaknesses.
“Please don’t take a fruit!” Mez would cry, not daring to challenge her physically.
Goz chirped in, “King Yemme will get so bad and we’ll lose our jobs! Challenge us fairly at least!”
Letting out a grunt of annoyance Zerori scoffed, “Fairly isn’t my style nowadays, and besides – my power far trumps yours, obviously!” Looking down at them from her nose, she made to end this, “I’ll find him on my own, you lugs, but maybe – just maybe that fruit will assist me!” A smirk came to her face snidely, “I could use immortality…”
Goz stopped, giving her a blank expression. “Immortality? Where’d you get that idea?”
Zerori’s eye twitched.
“It… The fruit. It doesn’t grant immortality?”
Mez adjusted his glasses again, chirping in, “No, of course not. The most it would do is give you a power boost. We’re here to keep the bad guys from getting it.”
Zerori’s face fell, though she really did wonder about the validity of the fruit, “So why not just keep it in heaven?! With the good guys?!”
A moment of silence passed, making the hybrid wonder if she’d introduced another dumbfounded moment between the two before finally-
“We don’t know. King Yemma just… can’t have it anywhere, but here!”
At a loss for a clever comeback, Zerori just gave a sigh and calmed her demonic force. They’d suffered enough, but she wasn’t quite done yet. “You’ve caused me a lot of headache for my being merciful, y’know. The least you could do is lemme take one and call it quits.” Scratching the back of her head, she looked off to the side, “Look, there’s a kid I’m trying to get to and he could be in a lot of danger for all I know. This fruit could be what I need to keep him safe if I ever… WHEN I ever get back to the living world.”
Not expecting her plea to ‘bear fruit’, she was about to just book it towards the tree when Goz seemed to grumble about something.
“I… I guess we can let you take one…”
Mez followed, “Yeah, she didn’t kill us so… she can’t be all that bad.”
I’m totally still here…
Giving a nod, Goz seemed more appeased with the agreement of his partner. “Fine, go grab you one! But if King Yemma hear about this-!”
The saiyaness grinned, waving him off. “Don’t worry – I’ll tell him I beat you up good! I’ll even make it look authentic,” She sneered, enjoying their blanched expressions before she turned to the tree and disappeared in a whirl of wind.
..
.
At the tree, looking up from her place at it’s base, it felt a while lot bigger up close. Looking around for a nice, juicy big fruit – Zerori leaned forward and jumped up to the one she found most interesting. With a snatch, she plucked it and landed in a fluid motion before looking it over. “Huh… Doesn’t look special but it does kinda remind me of that last fruit,” Lips twitching at the memory, she did her best to repress it before taking a bite.
At first, she didn’t feel anything. It wasn’t until she was done with the entire thing that she felt as though her entire body was warm. But it was… pleasantly so! Nothing like that tree of might with it’s gross-apple-reject taste! Looking back up, she mumbled with a lick of her lips.
“Y’think they’d notice me taking another…?”
[Zerori has eaten the Fruit of Mi- Oh, I mean the Ensenji fruit!]