Post by Pipa on Dec 11, 2014 16:17:01 GMT
[PTabbedContent]
[PTab=1. Vs Mrs. Munster]
A dim violet light filled the darkness, radiating from strange symbols that seemed to float in the endless abyss of a light-less prison. Two green eyes opened in the shadow, a shade made visible by the glowing violet symbols. Angered and confused at the appearance of these strange symbols and noises after what had seemed like an eternity in complete darkness, the shades eyes began to glow malevolently as it fired unholy green energy towards the strange invading symbols. As the being fired at them, the symbols began to take form and twist around the volley of energy. They coiled together like a large snake, launching themselves at the wraith in a quick and violent motion. The wraith struggled to slip free as the coiling symbols began to grasp around it, but failed as it continued to tighten around its ethereal body like chains.
The wraith cried out in anger as they finished grasping hold of it. The voice of the creature was shrill and echoed on forever throughout the prison of the void. The symbols began to burn into the disembodied soul, glowing a brighter shade as they left seemingly physical imprints upon it. The shadowy creature wrestled around like a fish out of water, holding on for dear life, but it was to no avail. The luminescent green eyes of the creature faded and it began to float upwards; it was being pulled towards the smallest and dimmest light breaking through the void. It was like a small fissure that led to somewhere else, wafting in an air of stale dankness. As the wraiths body approached this vacuum, it was pulled through in its formlessness like smoke blowing through a hole.
On the other side of this fissure was a small cauldron sitting upon an unceremonious slab of rock. A face was peering down into it, sickly looking pale blue eyes and elderly skin wearing a deep purple veil with golden accents along the stitching. This man was wearing a hooded cloak that matched the veil, and was stirring at the cauldron with a small wooden staff that seemed to be little more than a piece of charred oak. His old eyes widened as he watched the cauldron, the cheeks beneath the veil lifting up indicating that he was grinning happily.
From out of the cauldron the wraith came, violently bursting out of the waters and bouncing about the room disoriented and confused. It seemed to be blinded by even the dim lights of the torches that were lit around the small cave.
“Khandar!” the strange man said. The wraith immediately fell to the floor of the decrepit cave and began shrieking in terror. Laying upon all fours in a wracking pain, one of the symbols that had faded from the ethereal makeup of the wraith reappeared and began to glow again, a bright shade of purple. The man began to approach the dark creature, which immediately lashed out towards him.
“Estra,” the man continued, forcing the wraith to fall again, unable to complete its attack on the conjurer because of the wracking pain inflicted upon it by these strange symbols that had been ingrained into it.
“There now, do you understand? You are mine,” The man said.
Defeated the wraith remained upon the ground, the palms of its wispy hands on the ground and it’s back arched. Darkness seemed to flicker off of it, but it appeared as if it were melting into a pile of thick black ooze. As it melted it began to form a humanoid shape upon the ground; still not quite solid as the creature struggled to stay upright as it went from gaseous to a thick clay like liquid. The ectoplasmic fluid dripped off of the form, and the creature’s mouth opened to create a gaping hole as it screamed in agony at the pain, bits of ooze flowing down where its lips should be. As it hardened it seemed to turn a dark shade of green, and the dryer it became the lighter the shade of green turned.
The creature now had a humanoid form, forest green and chiseled like a statue. Around its lips and eyes were bits of loose flesh that didn’t belong, vestigial remnants of the oozing ectoplasm. Running down the body of the creature were the same symbols that had appeared in the void, though they were black and appeared to have been charred into the flesh. The symbols coiled up the creature’s body like a snake: up his right leg and wrapping its way up around its waist all the up to wrapping around his neck and ending at his throat. The new fleshling fell to the ground, letting another cry out as large lupine teeth came ripping out of its gums. Blood now spewed from it, staining the lips and the strange shreds of skin that hung from them unceremoniously. Its eyes were being stitched shut by the malformed skin that had dried over the top of them. Strangely enough, antenna had formed at the top of its head.
“Of all the forms to take on, you chose a Namekian?” the conjurer asked as he stepped forward at the crippled being. “You are awful at taking on forms by the way, I am going to have to cut off all this excess flesh. What a mess.”
The man began approaching him, drawing a wicked looking kris from his belt. With that the creature had lost consciousness, unable to endure the pains of taking on a mortal coil...
...When it awoke, it could feel an unbearable pain on its face and mouth. It went to grab at his face and he felt the sharp whack of a staff crack him across the ribs.
“No touching, we wouldn’t want the stitches to be damaged. You don’t want to know what will happen if you don’t let those heal.” The man said.
“Where am I…” the creature asked the man with an angry tone. His voice was hostile, but quiet and shrill.
“You are on earth, and I have called you here to do my bidding. You may simply refer to me as master,” Master said as he looked over his subject.
“I am going to kill you for what you've done!” the demon yelled at the man in a fit of rage and aggression, but felt a pain in his mouth from opening it to wide and nearly causing the stitching to come undone around his lips.
“Did what? Released you from a mystical prison on the wrong side of hell? At least with me you can move about.” Master said. “Do you even know why you were imprisoned?”
“…” the demon gave no reply, he hadn't remembered a time before the darkened void. All that he could remember is the endless sea of black, the misery of being nothing and having nothing. Yet somehow the physical world seemed familiar to him, as if he had not been in that state his entire life.
“Thought so. You are mine now, if you do anything stupid I just have to say the right word and you’ll on your knees begging me for forgiveness,” the Master told him. He lifted his staff back up, cracking the demon across the face and sending him into another bout of unconsciousness.
The demon awoke again, not able to move his limbs and bound to the same slab of a table that he had been on before. For the first time, the damned wizard was not present to heckle or hurt him. His head felt cloudy and muddled, the only emotion he could feel was rage and anger. This fool had to die, but how could he pull that off with the strange power he seemed to have over him he had no idea.
“Ah, it is good to see that you are awake finally… do you have a name demon?” the Master asked.
“…No,” the demon replied to the man, doing his best to keep his composure. He could just imagine strangling him. He could sense his power, he was weak but somehow had enslaved him.
“Well I need something to call you… nothing too splendorous, you are just a thrall after all,” the Master said to him, his veil was no longer on and he was stroking a thin white beard as he looked the demon over. “Pipa! that is what I am going to call you. What do you think?”
“…” Pipa said nothing in response to the man, he didn’t care what he called him.
“You had better learn to answer your master, the next time you don’t answer a question I am going to hurt you. Now come with me, it is time that you start earning your keep,” The man said.
The man began moving to the other side of the cave, nearby the cauldron that Pipa had been pulled from. As the man walked in front of him, Pipa wanted to pounce on him and start ripping him limb from limb. Although the demon would never admit it, he feared the power that the man had over him and he wouldn't risk an attack until he was sure that he could do away with this arrogant fool of a summoner. The man led him to a pile of clothing that was sitting on the ground a dark tunic with a head-wrap and veil, sitting next to it was a darkened breastplate that would only cover the shoulders and chest of the demon. The Master pointed at the pile, demanding that the demon cover his body in the wrappings.
“It was actually quite beneficial that your form is mostly humanoid… I need someone to take revenge upon my enemies, and these clothes should make it difficult to tell that you have a disfigured face.” The wizard droned as Pipa began putting on the clothing.
After the clothing and armor had been adorned, the Master seemed to be looking him up and down as if he were inspecting him. He looked to be pleased, and he walked away from the demon for a moment. The weight of flesh had already been unsettling to Pipa, the clothing and the light armor had been enough to make him feel as if he would fall to the floor. It was a frustrating thing to have to get used to. There was something comfortable about having his mouth covered though, still sore and full of stitches. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but it seemed as if his eyes had healed up leaving behind some nasty surgical scars but at least they were functional. Moments later the master had returned, carrying a blade that had been sheathed. It was a curved blade, a saber that he withdrew from the sheath revealing a blackened blade.
“Take this and go to the village to the north of here. Find the Munster family and eliminate them… I’ll be watching you with my cauldron, don’t think that you are free just because you put some distance between us. I can make that pain come back at any time.” The man said to Pipa.
Pipa grinned a little, even if he didn't like being used a little bloodshed would be a fun diversion from this dank cave. He could care less what the fool’s reason was for wanting this to happen.
“Shouldn’t be a difficult task, just a wench who betrayed me for another man. They think they would live their life in peace after all this, but they will pay!” The Master said followed by some maniacal laughter and salivating. Pipa rolled his eyes at him, somehow he knew that this “master” was going to explain the plot to him. It was nothing but a confusing annoyance. Grabbing the sword from the wizard, Pipa began marching towards the mouth of the cave.
As he came to the exit he winced again as he came into the light of day for the first time that he could ever remember. The cave was just a small part of this world, surrounded by a lush forest with large green trees and an unbearable sound of birds whistling and chirping. Pipa lifted his arm up over his eyes, trying to avert the light that singed and burned him so. He had immediately wanted to burn this forest to a crisp, to silence the tweeting and rustling of life all around him. He thought better of it though, he imagined that the conjurer in the cave behind him would punish him for scorching the earth around his lair. As Pipa became less dazzled by the light around him, he began trying to float as he did when he was in his shadowy form.
His body was too heavy, he had not gotten use to the idea of physics as of yet. He refused to give up though, in his mind he knew there was a way that he could still take to the air even in this world. Letting out a vicious growl, he jumped into the air. He traveled up as high as the tree tops, but the force of gravity seemed to push back down on him and sent him tumbling back to the ground. He managed to land on his feet, but the earth cracked as he landed and sent a shattering pain up into his knees. The Mazoku’s face scrunched in anger, and he lifted his head up and his eyes began to glow. Pointing it up in the air, two beams of faded green light shot into the sky as he let out a frustrated roar. Suddenly, the forest became much more alive as the rustling of hundreds of sparrows could be heard retreating from the area. After the flapping of wings, the only noises that remained were the ambient clicks of insects. Pipa felt relieved by this, although his anger did not subside. He stood at the exit of the cave, focusing his energy…
“Why can’t I do this simple thing!?” Pipa yelled at himself, again challenging the integrity of his stitches. He could feel one of the stitches at the edge of the left side of his lip come undone, but he was too angry to care about the way it would cause his appearance to be more mangled in the future. Pipa had failed to notice that he was now levitating about an inch off of the ground, as he looked down he let out an annoyed noise, wondering how long he had been floating there. Once he had overcome gravity, flying was like riding a bike, you never forget… but where had he learned how to do this in physical form. It all felt too familiar, but foreign to him at the same time.
Within moments Pipa was above the forest, and he had already spotted the small village to the north that the master had demanded he go to. Pipa took the time to note the world around him. He was surrounded by mountainside, and to the south he could see a large city with another forest bordering it to the west followed by an expanse of farmland. The large city intrigued him the most, it was large and boasted itself to be powerful. He stared at it in envy, wondering what it would take to make such a place his own. Even from here he could feel the massive amount of life forms concentrated in that city, a disgust that he would have to remove if he could ever break free of this wizard and conquer it for himself.
Pipa began speeding towards the small village nestled in the mountain tops. Smoke rose up from a small bellow and the homes were scattered along the base of another cave. It was a mining village, using the resources of the earth to profit. Pipa wondered who the master of these people were, and how he managed to keep so many subjects in line. He flew right atop the village, hovering in the air. He had once again wanted to simply destroy it all, but he had to be careful to not upset his new master if he didn’t want to end up in anguish yet again. Several of the villagers had stopped what they were doing in order to observe the humanoid that was looking down upon them. Many of them began rushing inside, afraid of his presence.
Pipa landed upon the ground and saw a target of opportunity. A young woman who appeared to be speaking to herself with an oddly shaped piece of metal in her hand. She had bright orange hair and was wearing a denim jean jacket shirt, pink bubblegum blowing out of her lips and popping as she spoke. Pipa was upon her before she saw him coming, drawing his blade as he approached her and pointing it at her. As the blade moved within inches of her throat, she had finished blowing a bubble in shock that met the pointed tip of the saber that pointed upwards towards her mouth. As the bubble popped, the woman dropped her cellular phone and she seemed to be in a fearful shock.
“Where are the Munster’s?” Pipa asked with his shrill voice. He had a commanding tone, he tried to make it clear that he didn’t have any time for games.
“Oh Bobby! You and your practical jokes.” The woman said with a laugh. She put her hand against the blade and moved it aside, Pipa to confuse to stop her. “You always keep me on my toes, now take that silly mask off and give your girl a kiss. I didn't know you were coming back from the mines early today!”
The woman grabbed at Pipa’s veil, shrouding his face. Pipa was too shocked to stop her and just in awe at what was happening. Once removed it was quite apparent that this was no mask. The demons lips had stitching running on the sides, holding together unnatural flesh that stunk like a foul weed. Many of the stitches had come undone and Pipa’s teeth could be seen through various holes that ran around his gum lines on the sides of his face. His scowl was awful, and he shoved the woman onto the ground.
“Hey… you aren’t Bobby, are you?” the woman asked Pipa, on the floor looking up at the demon with eyes now full of fear. Pipa quickly returned the veil onto his face and stepped closer to the woman.
“Where are the Munster’s? Tell me now or die!” Pipa growled at the woman.
“I…don’t… “ the woman said as she cowered towards the closest building, scooting backwards with her body facing the demon. As she spoke, Pipa felt a rock hit him in the back of the head. With a growl the beast turned back to see that a gathering of villagers had circled around him.
“Get out of here demon! Leave that girl alone,” one of the men yelled. Instead of complying, Pipa grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her up into the air. Showing her to the villagers.
“Now. One of you is going to tell me where I can find the Munster’s, or I am going to kill this thing.” Pipa announced to the crowd. Everyone seemed to be shivering as they watched.
“I am here, just let the girl go. My husband is in the mines.” An elderly woman approached, she had graying hair and seemed to be about the same age as the master had been. She was wearing a bright summer dress with a disgusting vomit of flowers all over it.
Pipa looked at the woman, and then back at the young lady that he was clutching in his right hand. Rather than let the girl go, his eyes quickly glowed green and shot a beam at her. As the energy came into contact with the girl her life was snuffed out and Pipa dropped her corpse onto the ground. He could hear the screams of many of the villagers and watched as many of them fell to their knees. It felt like being worshiped to Pipa, they now could respect his power. The woman who had approached stood there, looking angrily at the demon who had gone back on his word.
“You will regret that you foul creature. I was once a capable witch before I gave up my life of wickedness, I will break my vow to avenge the innocent life you have taken,” Mrs. Munster said.
One of the bolts of blue energy above the woman’s head came racing towards Pipa, and he could tell that it would be weaker than the attack he was charging. Letting loose the furious green energy in his eyes, he shot it towards the blue bolt, consuming it easily as it began heading towards with witch. The witch didn’t seem to be concerned with getting out of the way, waving the arms above her head quickly like a bird flapping its wings. The other two bolts of energy curved around the incoming beam, and moved so quickly that Pipa did not have time to react. Both of the bolts struck him violently, while the witch had bought time by slowing down the energy of his own attack with a simple weak bolt. She was able to move out of the way before the eye laser technique had reached her. Pipa, on the other hand, went crashing towards the town. Crashing into a small hut and getting covered in a pile of rubble.
[/PTab]
[PTab=2. Vs Foreman Munster] Pipa had defeated the mis’ess and left much of the little town in ruins, yet this wizard who controlled him had wanted more from him still. Before he had killed the bitch, she had told him that her husband was inside of the mines. Pipa had already noticed the large opening in the cave, with strange equipment littered outside of it. Seeing that he would not fit inside of this dungeon in his current massive form, he willed himself to be smaller. For a moment it seemed like it wouldn’t work, that Pipa would be stuck in this giant form forever. It was powerful, but he needed the advantage of being smaller at times. Realizing that the form was somehow tied to his increased rage, Pipa took small breaths.
“Just take deep breaths… try to calm yourself…” Pipa remembered a phrase that he had been told, but where had he heard this? Pipa punched a small building with the side of his fist. Who was he and where did he come from? Why couldn’t he remember anything before the wizard captured him? Was he really a demon? Pipa’s rage continued to grow as he asked himself these questions. In his gigantic form he let out an echoing voice that boomed through the small town, shattering nearby windows and setting off car alarms. The sound of the car alarms were painful to the Mazoku, and he held onto his antenna as he growled before unleashing eye beams at all of the cars within the area.
Pipa’s fury had gotten out of control, and he couldn’t even remember what he was supposed to be doing. He began using his eye lasers to set fire to as many buildings as he could, all the while smashing buildings and throwing cars. He could hear the sounds of high pitched screams, which drove him completely nuts. These creatures, with their disgusting high pitched noises and strange metal contraptions deserved nothing less but to die. Pipa continued to destroy everything in sight, but he took no pleasure from it as he had when he had killed the witch woman. His rage would not subsume, though he could not even remember what had gotten him seeing red in the first place. Many villagers had ran towards the mine, attempting to warn the men and escape the demons wrath.
Pipa continued to decimate the small city, and after fifteen minutes the small and peaceful mountain-side town looked as if it had been through an apocalypse. Bodies lay outside of crumbled homes, crushed by the rubble of collapse, children were shaking mothers who would not respond, and nearly everything had caught fire. Suffocating smoke rose into the air, and Pipa choked as he wafted it away from his nose. Looking back on what he had done, Pipa picked his teeth as he watched the children who he had made orphans. Something about watching the living suffer gave Pipa a sick satisfaction, he wondered what they would do now that they had nothing. He would spare the rest, that way they could suffer and ask why for the rest of their lives.
He finally got it! A bone had gotten stuck in his teeth after he had devoured a few of the townsfolk. It had taken a lot of violence to satisfy him, but he had shifted from anger to pride. Look at what he could do with his power. Finally, he was calm enough that he naturally began to shrink back down to his normal size. He watched as the world returned to a normal size, and the destruction that he had caused seemed all the more real to him now. He couldn’t remember a time that he had felt better, like he had mattered. Then something had crossed his mind, he was supposed to be killing another target. With the angry side of him satisfied for now, the part of him that enjoyed the sport of it all had returned. A small grin crossed his cracked lips as he began walking towards the mine. It didn't matter who he was anyways, he would carve out a new existence for himself once he found a way to break the binds of service with the wizard, he would make all of these creatures bow down or die.
He continued walking up the only paved road in the village, elevating as it got closer to the stone grey mountains. The village had grown silent and lifeless, all had fled for shelter. The silence was a welcome change to the Mazoku, as was the decreased amount of life that he could sense slithering about. Still, the caves nearby still had many within, and the silence itself almost seemed too good to be true to the demon. He came to the mouth of the mines, a cave opening held up by wooden pillars fastened into gray stone by iron. Footprints old and new covered the entrance to the mine, and a small track made of wood and steel was aligned to the left of the entrance.
The path of the mine moved upwards into the mountainside like a hill. As he climbed up the first hill he came upon a dip, which descended towards another hill. Tools were scattered about, mining picks and security harnesses. The walls of the cave here looked as if they were picked barren of minerals. Still, Pipa had not yet seen a life form within the mines…
A screeching noise could be hear, which immediately sent Pipa to his knees at the sound of the awful racket. Holding onto the brim of the wrappings, where his antenna had been concealed under, he let out a groan as the screeching seemed to get louder. Getting a grip of himself, Pipa managed to look up and saw what was coming, but it was far too late to react. A mine cart, packed with something strange inside of it. Red sticks piled up high with thin black threads on the ends of them, all alit with a fire that hissed up the little strings. The cart was moving relentlessly fast, and as it got close to Pipa the fuses had all run out. Ignorant to what that meant, Pipa saw a blast of light and a popping in his ears as the explosives detonated. Heat surrounded him, and before he could regain his senses much he could feel the bludgeoning impact of a large pile of rocks covering his entire body. The explosion had collapsed much of the caves around Pipa, and he became trapped within the rubble. Despite his demonic power, Pipa was unable to maintain consciousness from this devastating attack.
“Get out of here, you can’t play with us if you can’t fly,” a voice echoed from the body that Pipa seemed to be occupying, guessing by the sound of the voice it had been another child.
“But… I just wanna play too, we used to all play on the ground,” one of the other children said, a tear rolling down his cheek. He was a much wimpier looking Namekian than the others had been.
“Well, maybe if you would have paid more attention when the elder was teaching us, you wouldn’t have that problem!” the child whose eyes Pipa was seeing through spoke with a snappy tone. He could feel the child crossing his arms and scrunching his lips into a half scowl, looking upon the other child with annoyance.
“Come on [], just let him play, we just won’t fly this time,” the third child said, seemingly just wanting to get on with what they were doing and to avoid any trouble. This child didn't seem to share the others arrogant disposition, he simply just wanted to play.
“No! That is silly, why should we be held back by his weakness?” the child responded. Then he felt a chill as he noticed someone looming over him. Turning around, an adult sized Namekian with wrinkled olive green skin and flowing robes had been behind the child and had heard what he had said. How long had he been there?
“Now []… You are better than this, remember what we said about pride? You must learn to contain it, [] is your friend. He has just struggled with flight, just as you have struggled with your temper. It isn’t befitting of a young Dragon Clansman to be looking down upon his peers, realize that we all struggle with different things as we train,” the elder Namekian lectured.
“Yes Elder [],” the child responded. “Sorry, we will just play on the ground for now. Maybe I can help you learn how to fly later!”
The visions of the children and the elder soon began to fade. Pipa's dream began to shift itself, jumping seamlessly to another scene that didn't seem to have anything to do with what had occurred before it. He was now himself again, though he was standing next to another version of himself adorned in white robes. Pipa felt the urge to reach out and touch this doppleganger, but as soon as he attempted to the Namekian turned his back on him. As soon as the back was turned, Pipa could feel himself falling into a black ooze. His body as dissolving into a noxious puddle that dripped and spewed. As Pipa's head melted into the puddle, his mouth opened wide and turned into the black ooze, letting out a shrill moan as he dissolved.
As the dream state came to an end, Pipa's heart began to beat unnaturally fast and his forehead scrunched up against the tattered remains of his headdress. Pipa’s eyes opened up slowly, still feeling woozy from the concussive force of the explosive blow. His vision was blurred. His body was standing upright, and he felt a stiffness in his arms. As he went to inspect them, he realized that a metal substance had been melted over his limbs. Preventing him from moving his arms and legs. He still felt weak, unable to pull his arms free of the trappings. He lifted his head up, examining that he was inside of a large circular room that emitted a strange smelling gas that was thick and clung to the floor like fog. Above this natural rift in the caves, was a staircase carved from the stone that wrapped upwards several stories up onto a stone platform. Atop this stone platform was a man with graying hair, looking down at the demon from above. He had a fresh cigar in his mouth, and was wearing a simple white garb on his body. Immediately, Pipa’s eyes began to glow green, he was going to send this pink skinned human to the afterlife for crossing him.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the human said with a grin as he watched Pipa’s eyes glowing green, taking another drag of his cigar. Pipa paused, only because the man’s confidence seemed to be for a reason. “That gas around you is pretty explosive, at least one hundred times more than the explosives we hit you with when you entered. Not to mention, this is as far deep as we have gotten into this mountain and the structure isn’t very stable yet… I really probably shouldn’t be smoking around here.”
Pipa scowled as he continued to exam the gas around him. The energy in his eyes had faded away, the first time that Pipa could recall relenting an attack. He watched this man, wondering how he could even escape himself if what he was saying was the case. Pipa laughed, he had to be bluffing.
“You are full of it, no one would be stupid enough to blow themselves up like that,” Pipa called out to the man up above him. He had a nervousness in his voice that seemed alien to him.
“That is where you are wrong demon. We humans have a thing called love, and I would gladly end my life so that the others can find some sort of peace after what you have done. I’m old, and you’ve taken my wife from me, there isn’t anything left in this world for me because of you,” the old man called back down to him. His voice seemed serious and full of grimace.
What strange creatures these were, they didn’t even seem to care about themselves and they spent their lives digging into a large tunnel for no reason that Pipa could understand. This guy was just going to kill himself over some other human? Pipa couldn’t understand, he didn’t even have the capacity for love within him; the only thing that mattered to him was himself and he didn't have a way to relate to the human. This guy was bluffing! He charged his eyes up and shot them at the fool…
As soon as the energy left Pipa’s eyes, the gasses all around him began to ignite. This circular region of the cave filled up like the chamber of a gun and shot pure explosive energy upwards into the tunnels of this expansive mine. Everything began to shake and rumble, Mr. Munster was eradicated within a split second by the terrible blast. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks collapsed their way down throughout the mines. Pipa let out a blood curdling scream as he felt fire all around him, and his voice was then snuffed out by the bludgeoning force of rock and sediment covering his entire body.
The surviving villagers who were already loaded up into vehicles and preparing to leave their village, could hear and see the ground quaking. Dirt, ruble, and debris came pouring out of every man made entrance to the mountain. Many of the villagers let out cries of happiness, the terror that had ruined their lives had been made to pay! Others remained silent, thankful for the beasts destruction but to shaken by all that had been lost. Not only had many of them been killed, but the mines that they relied upon for livelihood had now been destroyed. They would have to move on and find a new life, far from the reaches of their mountain homes. They would head for the eastern capital now, in hopes of seeking assistance from the government there in finding relocation. They at least had the satisfaction that the beast had been taken care of, and that they wouldn't have to wait upon the slowness of the bounty office to get the justice that was deserved.
Back within the lair of the one known as the master, the man let out a wicked grin as he watched his crystal ball, two birds had been taken out with one stone. Not only was his former lover and her husband punished, he no longer had to deal with the bothersome chore of banishing the demon now that it had completed its mission. Things had gone without a hitch, it was all perfect! The wizard turned his eyes away from the crystal ball and went to laugh and enjoy this revenge.
[/PTab]
[PTab=3. Vs The Master]
For hours, the mountain stood still. The sun soon fell in the sky, creating a vibrant red horizon in sky and a shadow under the jagged earth that had imprisoned Pipa. The village still stood smoldering within the shadow, small embers still alit among the rubble. The eerie stillness of these ruins were only disrupted by the squawking of the carrion birds, it had become a new feeding area for nature’s most despicable creatures: praying on misfortunate at any given opportunity.
Deep within the confines of the mountain, Pipa felt the all too familiar feeling of being helpless and trapped. He had managed to survive the blast, though much of his body was burned and he was in a great deal of pain. His survival had only been through happenstance. Although his body was powerful enough to withstand the explosion and the bludgeoning force of rocks tumbling down upon him, he would have suffocated if not for the fact that the rocks themselves were large and rigid. Small air pockets had managed to remain within the space created by this infinite stack of rubble and bedrock, but oxygen was lacking nonetheless.
Pipa huffed and puffed, unable to see anything and inhaling small bits of sediment with each passing breath. He had slipped in and out of consciousness several times already, and every time that he had attempted to struggle more and more rock had come piling back down onto him. Inside of his head, the demon was distraught. Hours ago all he had to do was find a way to get some fool of a wizard out of the way and he would have free reign to do as he pleased on a world that would be his for the taking. Now all that awaited him was hours of more suffering followed by whatever new prison would await him after this body gave in. Despite his lack of empathy for others, Pipa had a capability for self-pity within him. Why was he always being trapped and prevented from doing what he wanted? Why did it seem like the universe didn’t want him to be free. Maybe he should just give in and accept his fate?
No. Pipa wouldn’t allow himself to give in here. He was so close to true freedom that he could taste it, and the dark void from whence he came had been a far stronger prison than this rock. If he was going to die here he would at least give it all he could. Freedom was worth fighting for, he would no longer let himself be oppressed by others or even the universe for that matter.
His eyes opened and his brow furled and tensed. His heart began to beat intensely. He painfully clenched his fists that were still partially bound by the metals that had been smelted to hold him in place. He drew in the deepest breath that the little pockets of air left around him could offer and a guttural growl filled the air as he arched his back, filling it with a stinging pain as a jagged rock poked against it. Black energy began to form around the false Namekian, whipping and thrashing about like ethereal tentacles.
Pipa’s body began to swell, once again beginning to grow as it expanded. It pushed the rock around it and disturbed the disorganized clusters above and below him. As his body grew flesh got caught upon rock, ripping at his flesh and causing dark red blood to drip from his torso and limbs. The pain itself had been a new hell for the demon, this was unlike anything he had ever gone through. Although this fleshy body was the key to his salvation from the cold void, it was very mortal and compared to what Pipa had grown accustom to as a specter it was fragile.
His body had grown again to be nearly ten times the size of his original form. Hate and determination was seething out of the demon, his eyes began to glow an unholy green that lit up the darkness around him, and the gas vents that had been a threat before had already been closed up by the falling of the rock. Pipa was still, the only thing animated within the demon were his eyes. With each passing moment it seemed that the energy within them was building, so much so that it began to make a crackling noise. Charging up the power was getting unbearable, he had focused all of his remaining energy into this attack and holding onto it was a burden. The demon could feel his blood dripping down his leg, coming to the realization that gravity was pulling it downwards. He turned his body the opposite way that the blood had dripped, it just had to be up. Not able to bear it any longer, the demon let loose the attack from his eyes and the beam began to effortlessly tear through the rock above. The attack melted through the mountain like butter, surprising even Pipa with its efficiency. The attack tore through the mountain above and finally broke free to the outside, cold evening air rushed in and the demon let out a relieved sigh. The beam of energy continued to travel upwards into the atmosphere before it dissolved into nothingness, or perhaps had gotten too far to be seen. In essence, Pipa had formed an ant-hill like passage that led upwards.
Thanks to the speed and power of the attack, very few rocks had fallen out of place from the attack. Above him was an escape, but it would be fragile to movement. It had also became a predicament now that he would have to shrink back down to his normal size in order to fit through this hole. As soon as he shifted he feared that the stones on the edges of the escape he had forged for himself would topple and fill in his only hope for freedom. For now he would maintain this form and try to devise a plan.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough after expending that much energy in his weakened state. He could feel his body beginning to shrink slowly, and the rocks above already gave protest. In desperation, the mazoku struggled to get to his feet, pulling them out from underneath the rock but ignoring the pain as his adrenaline spiked. Pipa began a desperate flight into the air above, his still somewhat enlarged body couldn’t help but brush against the walls. Rocks began tumbling gown, larger stones that were less broken by the explosion from below. Pipa bobbed and weaved through the falling rocks, rushing towards the shallow exit like a bat out of hell. As he continued to climb it was as if the mountain was chasing him, the energy of his kai causing looser rocks to form a chain reaction that was filling up the way from whence he came. He hadn’t been able to dodge perfectly every rock either, taking blows that slowed him as he ascended upwards.
As Pipa got closer to the end, he could feel a snag catching his leg. He had gotten so close to the top, but he had been cut short. The shock of the sudden shock had a strange effect, and it was as if all of the demons energy and will continued to move upwards even as the body had stopped. While the body remained dormant, Pipa’s very soul continued forward. The black twisted wraith made it through the hole in the mountain, but the body remained. He looked about, examining his ethereal arms. Being free of the body had made him feel much more powerful, perhaps he didn’t need that husk after all.
After a few short moments, the wraith of Pipa began to feel a fading sensation. As if he would soon fade from existence. Terrified, he darted downward again towards were his body had been buried in the shallow top of the mountain. As he jumped back into his body, it took a moment for it to begin working again. His senses returned, and he could taste the dirt filling his mouth. Pipa begn digging his fingers into the mountain desperately. Finally he had broken free, launching himself out of the prison with a burst of energy and flying into the air. That energy had been all he had left, and his body crashed downwards against the mountain. Again, Pipa had lost consciousness, but he felt relieved as he knew that he had escaped.
Pipa awoke later in the evening, his body laying upon the ground outside of the mountain. His clothes had long been shredded and burned out of existence beyond that of a few bits and pieces, and his skin was stained by a thick layer of grey sediment. Standing was difficult, but the demon knew that he could do it. His body felt broken, but his pride had never been so mighty. He stood and grunted at the pain, choosing to ignore it as he took to the sky. All that he could do now was return to that wizard who had enslaved him, he was sure that if he did not then that foul man would activate the runes and finish Pipa off. Flight was difficult, but he continued to press on. He didn’t know how he would deal with this conjurer in the future, but he was sure that the man would make a mistake at some point and then Pipa would be truly free.
The flight had been slow, but Pipa came upon the forest once again. It didn’t take long for him to spot the cave in which the little man had resided. The mazoku landed upon the dirt, feeling pain going up his knees as he landed on his damaged bones. Pipa moved forward, the torchlight within the dank cave bothered him no longer. He followed the path and stepped into the area where the wizard had resided. He still had the sword in hand, the onyx saber that the wizard had given to him. It had been the only thing that had survived his experience in the mountain other than his self. He clutched it, he would have to refrain for now.
The wizard was sitting at a small table, he appeared to have a bit of cooked meat in his mouth and a cheesy goblet with a ceramic skull face was sitting next to a jug of sugar drink in a plastic carton. The wizard’s eyebrows raised at the demon as he stepped inside. Was he surprised to see Pipa back? He stood up immediately.
“Oh, you made it out of there. I thought for sure you were doomed,” The wizard said with a chuckle.
“I am not that easy to kill,” Pipa told the wizard. “So, what is next then…”
“Well, unfortunately, I don’t really need anything else right now… So I am just going to seal you up inside of this bottle and I’ll let you out if I need anything else, how does that sound?” the Wizard said coldly.
“No! I won’t be confined again, I would rather die!” Pipa roared at the wizard with a hoarse voice.
“Ohh, very well then! Khandar!” the Wizard uttered the binding spell… this time, Pipa noticed that he felt nothing. He looked down upon the enslavement tattoos the wizard had placed upon him, not a one of them was glowing.
“Ahem…. KHANDAR!” the Wizard yelled again. “How did you? What?”
Pipa grinned, he thought back tying to figure out what might have broken the wizard’s enchantment. Then it occurred to him… that witch, she had uttered something. She was trying to get his attention before he had ended her miserable existence. She must have broken the spell. He stepped forward towards the man who had called himself “the master”. He felt rejuvenated as he walked towards him, the thought of ending this wretch’s life amused him to no end.
“Wait! I can give you Zeni, I have lots of Zeni!” the wizard said to Pipa, pulling out a wallet from his robe and showing Pipa some little rectangular papers.
“What is a zenni?” Pipa inquired. He had killed that witch to fast last time, he wanted to give the wizard a chance to give him information before he ended him.
“Zeni… it is money… you know, you give it to people and they do things for you or give you stuff.” The wizard said.
“Wait, so your species will do whatever you want for some little pieces of wood?” the demon asked with a smile on his face, he had just come to a realization about something.
“Well it isn’t that simple….”
“Sure it is, that is why all those fools spent all that time digging into that mountain. You will do anything for zenni,” Pipa said with a laugh. “Oh I am going to enjoy this, I’ll enslave your whole race with nothing but some tree flesh. How silly!”
His understanding of economics wasn’t really all there, he didn’t understand that it would take a huge amount of cash to bind humanity to his whims. “And why should I spare you… I will just kill you and take it from your rotting corpse!”
Pipa moved forwards towards the wizard. Holding his onyx blade, Pipa managed to get within inches of cutting the man across the chest, but he flew back with an unnatural grace for a man of his elderly appearance. More beams of purple light traveled towards Pipa, this time one had struck him across the chest and the demon let out a cry as he attempted to shrug it off and race towards the wizard. This time as he came after the wizard he let his eyes begin to glow green, he unleashed a beam of light at the wizard, but with some sort of trick the wizard used his staff to catch the laser and send it back at the demon. As his own attack came at him, Pipa felt it sting as it burnt into his shoulder. Still weakened by the events of the day, Pipa fell to his knees and was struggling to get back up.
He struggled to lift his sword arm. This wizard was too strong for him in his present state and he didn’t have the power to grow taller this time. “The Master” approached Pipa, he had a serious look upon his face as his staff continued to glow purple.
“End of the line, Pipa le Pipa. Time to go back to where you came from, you don’t belong here,” the wizard said as he approached. He got within several feet of the demon, before he pointed his staff at him and sent the beam flying towards Pipa’s face. In a panic, the demon seemed to figure out how to jump out of his body, which he feared would break with the attack. By some sheer luck, the beam hadn’t been a direct hit, only hitting the floor near where the demons body was and sending shrapnel at him. The wraith form of Pipa rushed towards the wizard, opening its mouth as it dove into the foul mans body.
Once inside he began ripping at the essence of the man’s soul with his ethereal claws. The master held onto his chest and made coking noises as his sin began to turn an off white. Moments later, the master fell on his back, and the shade of Pipa came crawling out. The demon quickly fled back into its body, and Pipa’s flesh became animate once more. Struggling, Pipa stood one more time and walked in front of the mages body.
“No one will ever own me again,” he told the wizard, whose eyes were rolled back into his head. Pipa bent down, seeing the man’s wallet had fallen out as he fell. He dug though the paper, recognizing the numerical symbols from somewhere… 500 zenni…. “I have to thank you though, I think that your silly currency will prove useful to me. Why kill the lot of you when I can use it to turn you into my slaves?”
[/PTab]
[/PTabbedContent]
[PTab=1. Vs Mrs. Munster]
Ḵh̖̳̲̰̳a͈̲̗n͝d͔̱̻a̬̱r̺͎͈̦͇ ̙̀E̫̙̮͈̖̺̦͞s͓͕̱t͏̪̹̯̜̰͍ra҉d̥̱a̗ ̱͓̀k̹͈̟h̻͚̀á̦͔̟nḑ͕̰̮͓̪o̥͕̼̞̦̠͟ͅs͚͉̜̼͉̹
̰̺͕̱̻ͅ ̹̻T̸h̀r̴͉͍̳̥̦u̻̱͈̩̺̮͡ṣ͙̲̹ͅ ̻̜̮̹̖̜̣i͏n̯͈̮͙͉̗͠d̶̹͕a̫̭̦͈̼ͅct͔͈̺̙u̳ ̧͖n̦̗͍o̠ͅs̘͍ͅf̵̤̘̪ͅŗ̣͖a̯̼̖̼̫n͏̟͚̜̳d͉u̫̦͖͞s
̙͚̳͕̭̥͙́ ͏̱̩̫K̷h̪̹̻͝a̧̺̺n͎̪ḏ̺͓́a҉͚̳̘͕͎ŗ̭̫̥̦ ͔̼̣̗͓de̹͓̯̫̙̣m̷̱̤̹̬̪a̟͕̣̫̮͇ͅt͓̟̬͙͕͙͎o̮͈̫͍͕ͅs͓̗̺̣̭̟ ̶̩̫̬͚k̪h͕̻̹͇̖͞a̡̺̹nd̻͓̻ą̺̣̻̠͙ŗ̻̮͔̭̲
“That noise…. What is that noise...”
Ḵh̖̳̲̰̳a͈̲̗n͝d͔̱̻a̬̱r̺͎͈̦͇ ̙̀E̫̙̮͈̖̺̦͞s͓͕̱t͏̪̹̯̜̰͍ra҉d̥̱a̗ ̱͓̀k̹͈̟h̻͚̀á̦͔̟nḑ͕̰̮͓̪o̥͕̼̞̦̠͟ͅs͚͉̜̼͉̹
̰̺͕̱̻ͅ ̹̻T̸h̀r̴͉͍̳̥̦u̻̱͈̩̺̮͡ṣ͙̲̹ͅ ̻̜̮̹̖̜̣i͏n̯͈̮͙͉̗͠d̶̹͕a̫̭̦͈̼ͅct͔͈̺̙u̳ ̧͖n̦̗͍o̠ͅs̘͍ͅf̵̤̘̪ͅŗ̣͖a̯̼̖̼̫n͏̟͚̜̳d͉u̫̦͖͞s
̙͚̳͕̭̥͙́ ͏̱̩̫K̷h̪̹̻͝a̧̺̺n͎̪ḏ̺͓́a҉͚̳̘͕͎ŗ̭̫̥̦ ͔̼̣̗͓de̹͓̯̫̙̣m̷̱̤̹̬̪a̟͕̣̫̮͇ͅt͓̟̬͙͕͙͎o̮͈̫͍͕ͅs͓̗̺̣̭̟ ̶̩̫̬͚k̪h͕̻̹͇̖͞a̡̺̹nd̻͓̻ą̺̣̻̠͙ŗ̻̮͔̭̲
“Leave me… be gone!”
Ḵh̖̳̲̰̳a͈̲̗n͝d͔̱̻a̬̱r̺͎͈̦͇ ̙̀E̫̙̮͈̖̺̦͞s͓͕̱t͏̪̹̯̜̰͍ra҉d̥̱a̗ ̱͓̀k̹͈̟h̻͚̀á̦͔̟nḑ͕̰̮͓̪o̥͕̼̞̦̠͟ͅs͚͉̜̼͉̹
̰̺͕̱̻ͅ ̹̻T̸h̀r̴͉͍̳̥̦u̻̱͈̩̺̮͡ṣ͙̲̹ͅ ̻̜̮̹̖̜̣i͏n̯͈̮͙͉̗͠d̶̹͕a̫̭̦͈̼ͅct͔͈̺̙u̳ ̧͖n̦̗͍o̠ͅs̘͍ͅf̵̤̘̪ͅŗ̣͖a̯̼̖̼̫n͏̟͚̜̳d͉u̫̦͖͞s
̙͚̳͕̭̥͙́ ͏̱̩̫K̷h̪̹̻͝a̧̺̺n͎̪ḏ̺͓́a҉͚̳̘͕͎ŗ̭̫̥̦ ͔̼̣̗͓de̹͓̯̫̙̣m̷̱̤̹̬̪a̟͕̣̫̮͇ͅt͓̟̬͙͕͙͎o̮͈̫͍͕ͅs͓̗̺̣̭̟ ̶̩̫̬͚k̪h͕̻̹͇̖͞a̡̺̹nd̻͓̻ą̺̣̻̠͙ŗ̻̮͔̭̲
"What is this?”
The wraith cried out in anger as they finished grasping hold of it. The voice of the creature was shrill and echoed on forever throughout the prison of the void. The symbols began to burn into the disembodied soul, glowing a brighter shade as they left seemingly physical imprints upon it. The shadowy creature wrestled around like a fish out of water, holding on for dear life, but it was to no avail. The luminescent green eyes of the creature faded and it began to float upwards; it was being pulled towards the smallest and dimmest light breaking through the void. It was like a small fissure that led to somewhere else, wafting in an air of stale dankness. As the wraiths body approached this vacuum, it was pulled through in its formlessness like smoke blowing through a hole.
On the other side of this fissure was a small cauldron sitting upon an unceremonious slab of rock. A face was peering down into it, sickly looking pale blue eyes and elderly skin wearing a deep purple veil with golden accents along the stitching. This man was wearing a hooded cloak that matched the veil, and was stirring at the cauldron with a small wooden staff that seemed to be little more than a piece of charred oak. His old eyes widened as he watched the cauldron, the cheeks beneath the veil lifting up indicating that he was grinning happily.
“Khandar!” the strange man said. The wraith immediately fell to the floor of the decrepit cave and began shrieking in terror. Laying upon all fours in a wracking pain, one of the symbols that had faded from the ethereal makeup of the wraith reappeared and began to glow again, a bright shade of purple. The man began to approach the dark creature, which immediately lashed out towards him.
“Estra,” the man continued, forcing the wraith to fall again, unable to complete its attack on the conjurer because of the wracking pain inflicted upon it by these strange symbols that had been ingrained into it.
“There now, do you understand? You are mine,” The man said.
Defeated the wraith remained upon the ground, the palms of its wispy hands on the ground and it’s back arched. Darkness seemed to flicker off of it, but it appeared as if it were melting into a pile of thick black ooze. As it melted it began to form a humanoid shape upon the ground; still not quite solid as the creature struggled to stay upright as it went from gaseous to a thick clay like liquid. The ectoplasmic fluid dripped off of the form, and the creature’s mouth opened to create a gaping hole as it screamed in agony at the pain, bits of ooze flowing down where its lips should be. As it hardened it seemed to turn a dark shade of green, and the dryer it became the lighter the shade of green turned.
The creature now had a humanoid form, forest green and chiseled like a statue. Around its lips and eyes were bits of loose flesh that didn’t belong, vestigial remnants of the oozing ectoplasm. Running down the body of the creature were the same symbols that had appeared in the void, though they were black and appeared to have been charred into the flesh. The symbols coiled up the creature’s body like a snake: up his right leg and wrapping its way up around its waist all the up to wrapping around his neck and ending at his throat. The new fleshling fell to the ground, letting another cry out as large lupine teeth came ripping out of its gums. Blood now spewed from it, staining the lips and the strange shreds of skin that hung from them unceremoniously. Its eyes were being stitched shut by the malformed skin that had dried over the top of them. Strangely enough, antenna had formed at the top of its head.
“Of all the forms to take on, you chose a Namekian?” the conjurer asked as he stepped forward at the crippled being. “You are awful at taking on forms by the way, I am going to have to cut off all this excess flesh. What a mess.”
The man began approaching him, drawing a wicked looking kris from his belt. With that the creature had lost consciousness, unable to endure the pains of taking on a mortal coil...
...When it awoke, it could feel an unbearable pain on its face and mouth. It went to grab at his face and he felt the sharp whack of a staff crack him across the ribs.
“No touching, we wouldn’t want the stitches to be damaged. You don’t want to know what will happen if you don’t let those heal.” The man said.
“Where am I…” the creature asked the man with an angry tone. His voice was hostile, but quiet and shrill.
“You are on earth, and I have called you here to do my bidding. You may simply refer to me as master,” Master said as he looked over his subject.
“I am going to kill you for what you've done!” the demon yelled at the man in a fit of rage and aggression, but felt a pain in his mouth from opening it to wide and nearly causing the stitching to come undone around his lips.
“Did what? Released you from a mystical prison on the wrong side of hell? At least with me you can move about.” Master said. “Do you even know why you were imprisoned?”
“…” the demon gave no reply, he hadn't remembered a time before the darkened void. All that he could remember is the endless sea of black, the misery of being nothing and having nothing. Yet somehow the physical world seemed familiar to him, as if he had not been in that state his entire life.
“Thought so. You are mine now, if you do anything stupid I just have to say the right word and you’ll on your knees begging me for forgiveness,” the Master told him. He lifted his staff back up, cracking the demon across the face and sending him into another bout of unconsciousness.
The demon awoke again, not able to move his limbs and bound to the same slab of a table that he had been on before. For the first time, the damned wizard was not present to heckle or hurt him. His head felt cloudy and muddled, the only emotion he could feel was rage and anger. This fool had to die, but how could he pull that off with the strange power he seemed to have over him he had no idea.
“Ah, it is good to see that you are awake finally… do you have a name demon?” the Master asked.
“…No,” the demon replied to the man, doing his best to keep his composure. He could just imagine strangling him. He could sense his power, he was weak but somehow had enslaved him.
“Well I need something to call you… nothing too splendorous, you are just a thrall after all,” the Master said to him, his veil was no longer on and he was stroking a thin white beard as he looked the demon over. “Pipa! that is what I am going to call you. What do you think?”
“…” Pipa said nothing in response to the man, he didn’t care what he called him.
“You had better learn to answer your master, the next time you don’t answer a question I am going to hurt you. Now come with me, it is time that you start earning your keep,” The man said.
The man began moving to the other side of the cave, nearby the cauldron that Pipa had been pulled from. As the man walked in front of him, Pipa wanted to pounce on him and start ripping him limb from limb. Although the demon would never admit it, he feared the power that the man had over him and he wouldn't risk an attack until he was sure that he could do away with this arrogant fool of a summoner. The man led him to a pile of clothing that was sitting on the ground a dark tunic with a head-wrap and veil, sitting next to it was a darkened breastplate that would only cover the shoulders and chest of the demon. The Master pointed at the pile, demanding that the demon cover his body in the wrappings.
“It was actually quite beneficial that your form is mostly humanoid… I need someone to take revenge upon my enemies, and these clothes should make it difficult to tell that you have a disfigured face.” The wizard droned as Pipa began putting on the clothing.
After the clothing and armor had been adorned, the Master seemed to be looking him up and down as if he were inspecting him. He looked to be pleased, and he walked away from the demon for a moment. The weight of flesh had already been unsettling to Pipa, the clothing and the light armor had been enough to make him feel as if he would fall to the floor. It was a frustrating thing to have to get used to. There was something comfortable about having his mouth covered though, still sore and full of stitches. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but it seemed as if his eyes had healed up leaving behind some nasty surgical scars but at least they were functional. Moments later the master had returned, carrying a blade that had been sheathed. It was a curved blade, a saber that he withdrew from the sheath revealing a blackened blade.
“Take this and go to the village to the north of here. Find the Munster family and eliminate them… I’ll be watching you with my cauldron, don’t think that you are free just because you put some distance between us. I can make that pain come back at any time.” The man said to Pipa.
Pipa grinned a little, even if he didn't like being used a little bloodshed would be a fun diversion from this dank cave. He could care less what the fool’s reason was for wanting this to happen.
“Shouldn’t be a difficult task, just a wench who betrayed me for another man. They think they would live their life in peace after all this, but they will pay!” The Master said followed by some maniacal laughter and salivating. Pipa rolled his eyes at him, somehow he knew that this “master” was going to explain the plot to him. It was nothing but a confusing annoyance. Grabbing the sword from the wizard, Pipa began marching towards the mouth of the cave.
As he came to the exit he winced again as he came into the light of day for the first time that he could ever remember. The cave was just a small part of this world, surrounded by a lush forest with large green trees and an unbearable sound of birds whistling and chirping. Pipa lifted his arm up over his eyes, trying to avert the light that singed and burned him so. He had immediately wanted to burn this forest to a crisp, to silence the tweeting and rustling of life all around him. He thought better of it though, he imagined that the conjurer in the cave behind him would punish him for scorching the earth around his lair. As Pipa became less dazzled by the light around him, he began trying to float as he did when he was in his shadowy form.
His body was too heavy, he had not gotten use to the idea of physics as of yet. He refused to give up though, in his mind he knew there was a way that he could still take to the air even in this world. Letting out a vicious growl, he jumped into the air. He traveled up as high as the tree tops, but the force of gravity seemed to push back down on him and sent him tumbling back to the ground. He managed to land on his feet, but the earth cracked as he landed and sent a shattering pain up into his knees. The Mazoku’s face scrunched in anger, and he lifted his head up and his eyes began to glow. Pointing it up in the air, two beams of faded green light shot into the sky as he let out a frustrated roar. Suddenly, the forest became much more alive as the rustling of hundreds of sparrows could be heard retreating from the area. After the flapping of wings, the only noises that remained were the ambient clicks of insects. Pipa felt relieved by this, although his anger did not subside. He stood at the exit of the cave, focusing his energy…
“Why can’t I do this simple thing!?” Pipa yelled at himself, again challenging the integrity of his stitches. He could feel one of the stitches at the edge of the left side of his lip come undone, but he was too angry to care about the way it would cause his appearance to be more mangled in the future. Pipa had failed to notice that he was now levitating about an inch off of the ground, as he looked down he let out an annoyed noise, wondering how long he had been floating there. Once he had overcome gravity, flying was like riding a bike, you never forget… but where had he learned how to do this in physical form. It all felt too familiar, but foreign to him at the same time.
Within moments Pipa was above the forest, and he had already spotted the small village to the north that the master had demanded he go to. Pipa took the time to note the world around him. He was surrounded by mountainside, and to the south he could see a large city with another forest bordering it to the west followed by an expanse of farmland. The large city intrigued him the most, it was large and boasted itself to be powerful. He stared at it in envy, wondering what it would take to make such a place his own. Even from here he could feel the massive amount of life forms concentrated in that city, a disgust that he would have to remove if he could ever break free of this wizard and conquer it for himself.
Pipa began speeding towards the small village nestled in the mountain tops. Smoke rose up from a small bellow and the homes were scattered along the base of another cave. It was a mining village, using the resources of the earth to profit. Pipa wondered who the master of these people were, and how he managed to keep so many subjects in line. He flew right atop the village, hovering in the air. He had once again wanted to simply destroy it all, but he had to be careful to not upset his new master if he didn’t want to end up in anguish yet again. Several of the villagers had stopped what they were doing in order to observe the humanoid that was looking down upon them. Many of them began rushing inside, afraid of his presence.
Pipa landed upon the ground and saw a target of opportunity. A young woman who appeared to be speaking to herself with an oddly shaped piece of metal in her hand. She had bright orange hair and was wearing a denim jean jacket shirt, pink bubblegum blowing out of her lips and popping as she spoke. Pipa was upon her before she saw him coming, drawing his blade as he approached her and pointing it at her. As the blade moved within inches of her throat, she had finished blowing a bubble in shock that met the pointed tip of the saber that pointed upwards towards her mouth. As the bubble popped, the woman dropped her cellular phone and she seemed to be in a fearful shock.
“Where are the Munster’s?” Pipa asked with his shrill voice. He had a commanding tone, he tried to make it clear that he didn’t have any time for games.
“Oh Bobby! You and your practical jokes.” The woman said with a laugh. She put her hand against the blade and moved it aside, Pipa to confuse to stop her. “You always keep me on my toes, now take that silly mask off and give your girl a kiss. I didn't know you were coming back from the mines early today!”
The woman grabbed at Pipa’s veil, shrouding his face. Pipa was too shocked to stop her and just in awe at what was happening. Once removed it was quite apparent that this was no mask. The demons lips had stitching running on the sides, holding together unnatural flesh that stunk like a foul weed. Many of the stitches had come undone and Pipa’s teeth could be seen through various holes that ran around his gum lines on the sides of his face. His scowl was awful, and he shoved the woman onto the ground.
“Hey… you aren’t Bobby, are you?” the woman asked Pipa, on the floor looking up at the demon with eyes now full of fear. Pipa quickly returned the veil onto his face and stepped closer to the woman.
“Where are the Munster’s? Tell me now or die!” Pipa growled at the woman.
“I…don’t… “ the woman said as she cowered towards the closest building, scooting backwards with her body facing the demon. As she spoke, Pipa felt a rock hit him in the back of the head. With a growl the beast turned back to see that a gathering of villagers had circled around him.
“Get out of here demon! Leave that girl alone,” one of the men yelled. Instead of complying, Pipa grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her up into the air. Showing her to the villagers.
“Now. One of you is going to tell me where I can find the Munster’s, or I am going to kill this thing.” Pipa announced to the crowd. Everyone seemed to be shivering as they watched.
“I am here, just let the girl go. My husband is in the mines.” An elderly woman approached, she had graying hair and seemed to be about the same age as the master had been. She was wearing a bright summer dress with a disgusting vomit of flowers all over it.
Pipa looked at the woman, and then back at the young lady that he was clutching in his right hand. Rather than let the girl go, his eyes quickly glowed green and shot a beam at her. As the energy came into contact with the girl her life was snuffed out and Pipa dropped her corpse onto the ground. He could hear the screams of many of the villagers and watched as many of them fell to their knees. It felt like being worshiped to Pipa, they now could respect his power. The woman who had approached stood there, looking angrily at the demon who had gone back on his word.
“You will regret that you foul creature. I was once a capable witch before I gave up my life of wickedness, I will break my vow to avenge the innocent life you have taken,” Mrs. Munster said.
Mrs. Munster had once been a witch, and lover of the one that Pipa knows only as “Master”. Many years ago, she left the demonologist that she had fallen in love with in order to live a life of peace. She fell in love with a miner named Louis Munster, and she thought her days of magic were long behind her. “Master” had never forgiven her, and after finally learning of her whereabouts he has summoned a demon in order to exact his revenge upon the woman who had broken his heart.
The elderly woman began levitating effortlessly into the air, the area around her eyes turning black as she rose. Pipa followed the old witch into the air, rising slowly and examining her. The power that she was exhuming was somewhat greater than his own, but he was determined that he could defeat this old woman easily. The two of them stopped, several hundred feet above the little village. Many of the villagers below had retreated into their homes, though some of them ran towards the mines. Undoubtedly they were going to warn the miners in the town of the events taking place.
“Why do you befoul this village with your presence, you wretched thing?” the woman had asked, but she was already examining the demon herself. After a few moments of divination, she could see through the demons outer shell and into its soul. She could see the markings that the master had left upon the demon, and her wrinkled old face formed a frown. “After all these years, he found me. If you are listening Gargmyl I am going to come and skin you after I take care of this pup of a demon you’ve sent.”
Pipa listened, although he cared little about the plot happening between the two magi. He had thoughts of leaving the woman alive, hoping that she would go and destroy the master, a man she referred to as Clay. It would definitely serve his purposes if he could manipulate the outcome, but when the old witch called him a pup he lost all sense of rationality. With his saber in hand Pipa charged towards the witch in the air, attempting to make quick work of her before she could use any sort of magic against him.
Mrs. Munster stood very still as Pipa approached in his fury. As the demon swung his midnight black onyx blade at her his eyes widened, finding that she had used some sort of technique to create an after image of herself. Pipa examined the area around him, he could feel the presence of the witch but he couldn’t find her with his eyes. A blast of blue energy came spiraling towards him, smacking him across the back and burning into his black cloak.
She had been right behind him, and blue energy was radiating around her like a flickering flame. She had a grin on her face, mocking the demon for his foolish haste. Pipa could still feel the singe on his back, although it wasn’t enough pain to affect his combat abilities. He faced back towards Mrs. Munster and once again charged towards her, his eyes begging to glow green with light as he rushed forward with his blade. As he got closer to the woman he stopped his charge and whipped his head back, letting loose a beam of green light that went off into the distance.
“What, you think I’d use the same technique twice in a row? Guess again!” The witch hadn’t moved this time, Pipa’s attempt to counter the technique she had used last had been useless. As if out of thin air, a large mallet popped into the witches hand and she bashed it across the back of Pipa, who didn’t have the time to turn around completely and defend himself from her blow. Crashing into his right oblique, the Mazoku flew several feet downwards towards the village. Without hesitating he shot a weak eye beam at the witch before her hammer dematerialized, finally making contact with the old woman and causing her to let out a small grunt of pain.
The woman raised her hands up towards the sun, with her palms facing toward the ground. In a fluid motion, the blue energy that had been around her began to twist into several bolts. Three bolts were now being concentrated above her head, and she seemed to be stuck in a stationary position as she concentrated upon the attack. Pipa’s eyes began to glow during this brief pause, building up with fel energy as he watched the woman intently. There was no way he was going to let some old woman make a fool out of him.
The woman raised her hands up towards the sun, with her palms facing toward the ground. In a fluid motion, the blue energy that had been around her began to twist into several bolts. Three bolts were now being concentrated above her head, and she seemed to be stuck in a stationary position as she concentrated upon the attack. Pipa’s eyes began to glow during this brief pause, building up with fel energy as he watched the woman intently. There was no way he was going to let some old woman make a fool out of him.
One of the bolts of blue energy above the woman’s head came racing towards Pipa, and he could tell that it would be weaker than the attack he was charging. Letting loose the furious green energy in his eyes, he shot it towards the blue bolt, consuming it easily as it began heading towards with witch. The witch didn’t seem to be concerned with getting out of the way, waving the arms above her head quickly like a bird flapping its wings. The other two bolts of energy curved around the incoming beam, and moved so quickly that Pipa did not have time to react. Both of the bolts struck him violently, while the witch had bought time by slowing down the energy of his own attack with a simple weak bolt. She was able to move out of the way before the eye laser technique had reached her. Pipa, on the other hand, went crashing towards the town. Crashing into a small hut and getting covered in a pile of rubble.
“How can she be stronger than me? I can’t lose like this. I will defeat her…” Pipa thought to himself as he struggled under the rubble to get up. Rage was seething inside of him, stronger than it had ever been before; even when the wizard had enslaved him. The dark energy within Pipa began to grow and stir, and he could feel the flesh of his body pulsing rapidly. Suddenly, the world began to feel like it was a smaller place. Pipa’s body grew, pushing itself outside of the rubble and smashing into several buildings.
(Trigger-Demonic Will: x3. Flavored as Great Namek)
As the body stopped pulsing and growing, Pipa could feel a surge of power that he hadn’t ever felt before. He let out a wicked laugh as he stood, ten times the size of the form that he had been. Towering over the building of the mining village. Opportunity had come, this woman expected that Pipa would rejoin her back in the sky, but she was dead wrong. He peered at the village, she couldn’t use her fancy attacks as easily if here were to stay around the things she held dear. As an extra incentive, Pipa would remove his veil. He began pulling the roof off of one of the homes within the village, finding a lone villager cowering in fear as he looked up at the gigantic demon. Pipa tossed the roof towards Mrs. Munster, and then grabbed the little man.
Mrs. Munster managed to dodge the roof that was being thrown at her, but to her dismay she would get past it just in time to see Pipa dropping the poor villager into his mouth. As Pipa put the man into his mouth, he could feel the crunch of blood and bone. It was quite delicious, he might have to try that again sometime when he wasn’t fighting. The action had served its purpose however, the witch seemed to have a fury upon her face now. Pipa himself was now much calmer, his superiority complex had been satisfied by this increase in power and he was sure of himself.
Mrs. Munster charged towards Pipa, a ball of blue energy in her hand as she rushed towards him. He grabbed the woman, feeling the energy singe his hand as she squirmed around trying to break free of his grasp. He let the woman get her head free, just so that he could hear her beg.
“Nik sus bo shi as do rath!” The witch called out. A beam of light poured out of the old hags mouth and struck Pipa, but he couldn't feel any sort of damage from the attack. What foul magic had she used? It didn't matter, she was a dead woman.
“Wait, I must tell you-“ she said.
“No.” Pipa said as he threw the woman violently up into the air in front of him and released the energy from his eyes. In a flash of light the woman was gone, nothing left of her but a bit of dust in the wind. With her out of the way, all that was left was to defeat her husband and go back to the cave to inform his master.
[PTab=2. Vs Foreman Munster] Pipa had defeated the mis’ess and left much of the little town in ruins, yet this wizard who controlled him had wanted more from him still. Before he had killed the bitch, she had told him that her husband was inside of the mines. Pipa had already noticed the large opening in the cave, with strange equipment littered outside of it. Seeing that he would not fit inside of this dungeon in his current massive form, he willed himself to be smaller. For a moment it seemed like it wouldn’t work, that Pipa would be stuck in this giant form forever. It was powerful, but he needed the advantage of being smaller at times. Realizing that the form was somehow tied to his increased rage, Pipa took small breaths.
“Just take deep breaths… try to calm yourself…” Pipa remembered a phrase that he had been told, but where had he heard this? Pipa punched a small building with the side of his fist. Who was he and where did he come from? Why couldn’t he remember anything before the wizard captured him? Was he really a demon? Pipa’s rage continued to grow as he asked himself these questions. In his gigantic form he let out an echoing voice that boomed through the small town, shattering nearby windows and setting off car alarms. The sound of the car alarms were painful to the Mazoku, and he held onto his antenna as he growled before unleashing eye beams at all of the cars within the area.
Pipa’s fury had gotten out of control, and he couldn’t even remember what he was supposed to be doing. He began using his eye lasers to set fire to as many buildings as he could, all the while smashing buildings and throwing cars. He could hear the sounds of high pitched screams, which drove him completely nuts. These creatures, with their disgusting high pitched noises and strange metal contraptions deserved nothing less but to die. Pipa continued to destroy everything in sight, but he took no pleasure from it as he had when he had killed the witch woman. His rage would not subsume, though he could not even remember what had gotten him seeing red in the first place. Many villagers had ran towards the mine, attempting to warn the men and escape the demons wrath.
Pipa continued to decimate the small city, and after fifteen minutes the small and peaceful mountain-side town looked as if it had been through an apocalypse. Bodies lay outside of crumbled homes, crushed by the rubble of collapse, children were shaking mothers who would not respond, and nearly everything had caught fire. Suffocating smoke rose into the air, and Pipa choked as he wafted it away from his nose. Looking back on what he had done, Pipa picked his teeth as he watched the children who he had made orphans. Something about watching the living suffer gave Pipa a sick satisfaction, he wondered what they would do now that they had nothing. He would spare the rest, that way they could suffer and ask why for the rest of their lives.
He finally got it! A bone had gotten stuck in his teeth after he had devoured a few of the townsfolk. It had taken a lot of violence to satisfy him, but he had shifted from anger to pride. Look at what he could do with his power. Finally, he was calm enough that he naturally began to shrink back down to his normal size. He watched as the world returned to a normal size, and the destruction that he had caused seemed all the more real to him now. He couldn’t remember a time that he had felt better, like he had mattered. Then something had crossed his mind, he was supposed to be killing another target. With the angry side of him satisfied for now, the part of him that enjoyed the sport of it all had returned. A small grin crossed his cracked lips as he began walking towards the mine. It didn't matter who he was anyways, he would carve out a new existence for himself once he found a way to break the binds of service with the wizard, he would make all of these creatures bow down or die.
He continued walking up the only paved road in the village, elevating as it got closer to the stone grey mountains. The village had grown silent and lifeless, all had fled for shelter. The silence was a welcome change to the Mazoku, as was the decreased amount of life that he could sense slithering about. Still, the caves nearby still had many within, and the silence itself almost seemed too good to be true to the demon. He came to the mouth of the mines, a cave opening held up by wooden pillars fastened into gray stone by iron. Footprints old and new covered the entrance to the mine, and a small track made of wood and steel was aligned to the left of the entrance.
The path of the mine moved upwards into the mountainside like a hill. As he climbed up the first hill he came upon a dip, which descended towards another hill. Tools were scattered about, mining picks and security harnesses. The walls of the cave here looked as if they were picked barren of minerals. Still, Pipa had not yet seen a life form within the mines…
A screeching noise could be hear, which immediately sent Pipa to his knees at the sound of the awful racket. Holding onto the brim of the wrappings, where his antenna had been concealed under, he let out a groan as the screeching seemed to get louder. Getting a grip of himself, Pipa managed to look up and saw what was coming, but it was far too late to react. A mine cart, packed with something strange inside of it. Red sticks piled up high with thin black threads on the ends of them, all alit with a fire that hissed up the little strings. The cart was moving relentlessly fast, and as it got close to Pipa the fuses had all run out. Ignorant to what that meant, Pipa saw a blast of light and a popping in his ears as the explosives detonated. Heat surrounded him, and before he could regain his senses much he could feel the bludgeoning impact of a large pile of rocks covering his entire body. The explosion had collapsed much of the caves around Pipa, and he became trapped within the rubble. Despite his demonic power, Pipa was unable to maintain consciousness from this devastating attack.
“Got him boys! Now let’s get this son of a fish snake out of there so we can make sure the job is done,” a man with a cigar puckered into his lips said to a couple of men wearing some dirty yellow helmets with lights on them.
"But boss! No way anything could of survived that, it is dead," one of the men said.
"Don't be so sure, there was a lot more to my wife than you people might have guessed. I need to make sure this thing is dead, just do it for my closure, and the closure of all of the people who lost their loved ones today." the man said.
"Your the boss, boss!"...
Pipa’s Dream…
Everything was surrounded in a blank white, an infinite area of blankness. Pipa felt as if he were occupying another body, one that he had no control over, just spectating through the eyes of another. There were two children in his presence, green skinned and small. Each of them wore white robes with purple vestments over them. One of the children seemed to be on the verge of tears, while another seemed to be nervous.“Get out of here, you can’t play with us if you can’t fly,” a voice echoed from the body that Pipa seemed to be occupying, guessing by the sound of the voice it had been another child.
“But… I just wanna play too, we used to all play on the ground,” one of the other children said, a tear rolling down his cheek. He was a much wimpier looking Namekian than the others had been.
“Well, maybe if you would have paid more attention when the elder was teaching us, you wouldn’t have that problem!” the child whose eyes Pipa was seeing through spoke with a snappy tone. He could feel the child crossing his arms and scrunching his lips into a half scowl, looking upon the other child with annoyance.
“Come on [], just let him play, we just won’t fly this time,” the third child said, seemingly just wanting to get on with what they were doing and to avoid any trouble. This child didn't seem to share the others arrogant disposition, he simply just wanted to play.
“No! That is silly, why should we be held back by his weakness?” the child responded. Then he felt a chill as he noticed someone looming over him. Turning around, an adult sized Namekian with wrinkled olive green skin and flowing robes had been behind the child and had heard what he had said. How long had he been there?
“Now []… You are better than this, remember what we said about pride? You must learn to contain it, [] is your friend. He has just struggled with flight, just as you have struggled with your temper. It isn’t befitting of a young Dragon Clansman to be looking down upon his peers, realize that we all struggle with different things as we train,” the elder Namekian lectured.
“Yes Elder [],” the child responded. “Sorry, we will just play on the ground for now. Maybe I can help you learn how to fly later!”
The visions of the children and the elder soon began to fade. Pipa's dream began to shift itself, jumping seamlessly to another scene that didn't seem to have anything to do with what had occurred before it. He was now himself again, though he was standing next to another version of himself adorned in white robes. Pipa felt the urge to reach out and touch this doppleganger, but as soon as he attempted to the Namekian turned his back on him. As soon as the back was turned, Pipa could feel himself falling into a black ooze. His body as dissolving into a noxious puddle that dripped and spewed. As Pipa's head melted into the puddle, his mouth opened wide and turned into the black ooze, letting out a shrill moan as he dissolved.
As the dream state came to an end, Pipa's heart began to beat unnaturally fast and his forehead scrunched up against the tattered remains of his headdress. Pipa’s eyes opened up slowly, still feeling woozy from the concussive force of the explosive blow. His vision was blurred. His body was standing upright, and he felt a stiffness in his arms. As he went to inspect them, he realized that a metal substance had been melted over his limbs. Preventing him from moving his arms and legs. He still felt weak, unable to pull his arms free of the trappings. He lifted his head up, examining that he was inside of a large circular room that emitted a strange smelling gas that was thick and clung to the floor like fog. Above this natural rift in the caves, was a staircase carved from the stone that wrapped upwards several stories up onto a stone platform. Atop this stone platform was a man with graying hair, looking down at the demon from above. He had a fresh cigar in his mouth, and was wearing a simple white garb on his body. Immediately, Pipa’s eyes began to glow green, he was going to send this pink skinned human to the afterlife for crossing him.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the human said with a grin as he watched Pipa’s eyes glowing green, taking another drag of his cigar. Pipa paused, only because the man’s confidence seemed to be for a reason. “That gas around you is pretty explosive, at least one hundred times more than the explosives we hit you with when you entered. Not to mention, this is as far deep as we have gotten into this mountain and the structure isn’t very stable yet… I really probably shouldn’t be smoking around here.”
Pipa scowled as he continued to exam the gas around him. The energy in his eyes had faded away, the first time that Pipa could recall relenting an attack. He watched this man, wondering how he could even escape himself if what he was saying was the case. Pipa laughed, he had to be bluffing.
“You are full of it, no one would be stupid enough to blow themselves up like that,” Pipa called out to the man up above him. He had a nervousness in his voice that seemed alien to him.
“That is where you are wrong demon. We humans have a thing called love, and I would gladly end my life so that the others can find some sort of peace after what you have done. I’m old, and you’ve taken my wife from me, there isn’t anything left in this world for me because of you,” the old man called back down to him. His voice seemed serious and full of grimace.
What strange creatures these were, they didn’t even seem to care about themselves and they spent their lives digging into a large tunnel for no reason that Pipa could understand. This guy was just going to kill himself over some other human? Pipa couldn’t understand, he didn’t even have the capacity for love within him; the only thing that mattered to him was himself and he didn't have a way to relate to the human. This guy was bluffing! He charged his eyes up and shot them at the fool…
He wasn’t bluffing, he hadn’t been bluffing at all.
As soon as the energy left Pipa’s eyes, the gasses all around him began to ignite. This circular region of the cave filled up like the chamber of a gun and shot pure explosive energy upwards into the tunnels of this expansive mine. Everything began to shake and rumble, Mr. Munster was eradicated within a split second by the terrible blast. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks collapsed their way down throughout the mines. Pipa let out a blood curdling scream as he felt fire all around him, and his voice was then snuffed out by the bludgeoning force of rock and sediment covering his entire body.
The surviving villagers who were already loaded up into vehicles and preparing to leave their village, could hear and see the ground quaking. Dirt, ruble, and debris came pouring out of every man made entrance to the mountain. Many of the villagers let out cries of happiness, the terror that had ruined their lives had been made to pay! Others remained silent, thankful for the beasts destruction but to shaken by all that had been lost. Not only had many of them been killed, but the mines that they relied upon for livelihood had now been destroyed. They would have to move on and find a new life, far from the reaches of their mountain homes. They would head for the eastern capital now, in hopes of seeking assistance from the government there in finding relocation. They at least had the satisfaction that the beast had been taken care of, and that they wouldn't have to wait upon the slowness of the bounty office to get the justice that was deserved.
Back within the lair of the one known as the master, the man let out a wicked grin as he watched his crystal ball, two birds had been taken out with one stone. Not only was his former lover and her husband punished, he no longer had to deal with the bothersome chore of banishing the demon now that it had completed its mission. Things had gone without a hitch, it was all perfect! The wizard turned his eyes away from the crystal ball and went to laugh and enjoy this revenge.
[/PTab]
[PTab=3. Vs The Master]
For hours, the mountain stood still. The sun soon fell in the sky, creating a vibrant red horizon in sky and a shadow under the jagged earth that had imprisoned Pipa. The village still stood smoldering within the shadow, small embers still alit among the rubble. The eerie stillness of these ruins were only disrupted by the squawking of the carrion birds, it had become a new feeding area for nature’s most despicable creatures: praying on misfortunate at any given opportunity.
Deep within the confines of the mountain, Pipa felt the all too familiar feeling of being helpless and trapped. He had managed to survive the blast, though much of his body was burned and he was in a great deal of pain. His survival had only been through happenstance. Although his body was powerful enough to withstand the explosion and the bludgeoning force of rocks tumbling down upon him, he would have suffocated if not for the fact that the rocks themselves were large and rigid. Small air pockets had managed to remain within the space created by this infinite stack of rubble and bedrock, but oxygen was lacking nonetheless.
Pipa huffed and puffed, unable to see anything and inhaling small bits of sediment with each passing breath. He had slipped in and out of consciousness several times already, and every time that he had attempted to struggle more and more rock had come piling back down onto him. Inside of his head, the demon was distraught. Hours ago all he had to do was find a way to get some fool of a wizard out of the way and he would have free reign to do as he pleased on a world that would be his for the taking. Now all that awaited him was hours of more suffering followed by whatever new prison would await him after this body gave in. Despite his lack of empathy for others, Pipa had a capability for self-pity within him. Why was he always being trapped and prevented from doing what he wanted? Why did it seem like the universe didn’t want him to be free. Maybe he should just give in and accept his fate?
No. Pipa wouldn’t allow himself to give in here. He was so close to true freedom that he could taste it, and the dark void from whence he came had been a far stronger prison than this rock. If he was going to die here he would at least give it all he could. Freedom was worth fighting for, he would no longer let himself be oppressed by others or even the universe for that matter.
His eyes opened and his brow furled and tensed. His heart began to beat intensely. He painfully clenched his fists that were still partially bound by the metals that had been smelted to hold him in place. He drew in the deepest breath that the little pockets of air left around him could offer and a guttural growl filled the air as he arched his back, filling it with a stinging pain as a jagged rock poked against it. Black energy began to form around the false Namekian, whipping and thrashing about like ethereal tentacles.
Pipa’s body began to swell, once again beginning to grow as it expanded. It pushed the rock around it and disturbed the disorganized clusters above and below him. As his body grew flesh got caught upon rock, ripping at his flesh and causing dark red blood to drip from his torso and limbs. The pain itself had been a new hell for the demon, this was unlike anything he had ever gone through. Although this fleshy body was the key to his salvation from the cold void, it was very mortal and compared to what Pipa had grown accustom to as a specter it was fragile.
His body had grown again to be nearly ten times the size of his original form. Hate and determination was seething out of the demon, his eyes began to glow an unholy green that lit up the darkness around him, and the gas vents that had been a threat before had already been closed up by the falling of the rock. Pipa was still, the only thing animated within the demon were his eyes. With each passing moment it seemed that the energy within them was building, so much so that it began to make a crackling noise. Charging up the power was getting unbearable, he had focused all of his remaining energy into this attack and holding onto it was a burden. The demon could feel his blood dripping down his leg, coming to the realization that gravity was pulling it downwards. He turned his body the opposite way that the blood had dripped, it just had to be up. Not able to bear it any longer, the demon let loose the attack from his eyes and the beam began to effortlessly tear through the rock above. The attack melted through the mountain like butter, surprising even Pipa with its efficiency. The attack tore through the mountain above and finally broke free to the outside, cold evening air rushed in and the demon let out a relieved sigh. The beam of energy continued to travel upwards into the atmosphere before it dissolved into nothingness, or perhaps had gotten too far to be seen. In essence, Pipa had formed an ant-hill like passage that led upwards.
Thanks to the speed and power of the attack, very few rocks had fallen out of place from the attack. Above him was an escape, but it would be fragile to movement. It had also became a predicament now that he would have to shrink back down to his normal size in order to fit through this hole. As soon as he shifted he feared that the stones on the edges of the escape he had forged for himself would topple and fill in his only hope for freedom. For now he would maintain this form and try to devise a plan.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough after expending that much energy in his weakened state. He could feel his body beginning to shrink slowly, and the rocks above already gave protest. In desperation, the mazoku struggled to get to his feet, pulling them out from underneath the rock but ignoring the pain as his adrenaline spiked. Pipa began a desperate flight into the air above, his still somewhat enlarged body couldn’t help but brush against the walls. Rocks began tumbling gown, larger stones that were less broken by the explosion from below. Pipa bobbed and weaved through the falling rocks, rushing towards the shallow exit like a bat out of hell. As he continued to climb it was as if the mountain was chasing him, the energy of his kai causing looser rocks to form a chain reaction that was filling up the way from whence he came. He hadn’t been able to dodge perfectly every rock either, taking blows that slowed him as he ascended upwards.
As Pipa got closer to the end, he could feel a snag catching his leg. He had gotten so close to the top, but he had been cut short. The shock of the sudden shock had a strange effect, and it was as if all of the demons energy and will continued to move upwards even as the body had stopped. While the body remained dormant, Pipa’s very soul continued forward. The black twisted wraith made it through the hole in the mountain, but the body remained. He looked about, examining his ethereal arms. Being free of the body had made him feel much more powerful, perhaps he didn’t need that husk after all.
After a few short moments, the wraith of Pipa began to feel a fading sensation. As if he would soon fade from existence. Terrified, he darted downward again towards were his body had been buried in the shallow top of the mountain. As he jumped back into his body, it took a moment for it to begin working again. His senses returned, and he could taste the dirt filling his mouth. Pipa begn digging his fingers into the mountain desperately. Finally he had broken free, launching himself out of the prison with a burst of energy and flying into the air. That energy had been all he had left, and his body crashed downwards against the mountain. Again, Pipa had lost consciousness, but he felt relieved as he knew that he had escaped.
Pipa awoke later in the evening, his body laying upon the ground outside of the mountain. His clothes had long been shredded and burned out of existence beyond that of a few bits and pieces, and his skin was stained by a thick layer of grey sediment. Standing was difficult, but the demon knew that he could do it. His body felt broken, but his pride had never been so mighty. He stood and grunted at the pain, choosing to ignore it as he took to the sky. All that he could do now was return to that wizard who had enslaved him, he was sure that if he did not then that foul man would activate the runes and finish Pipa off. Flight was difficult, but he continued to press on. He didn’t know how he would deal with this conjurer in the future, but he was sure that the man would make a mistake at some point and then Pipa would be truly free.
The flight had been slow, but Pipa came upon the forest once again. It didn’t take long for him to spot the cave in which the little man had resided. The mazoku landed upon the dirt, feeling pain going up his knees as he landed on his damaged bones. Pipa moved forward, the torchlight within the dank cave bothered him no longer. He followed the path and stepped into the area where the wizard had resided. He still had the sword in hand, the onyx saber that the wizard had given to him. It had been the only thing that had survived his experience in the mountain other than his self. He clutched it, he would have to refrain for now.
The wizard was sitting at a small table, he appeared to have a bit of cooked meat in his mouth and a cheesy goblet with a ceramic skull face was sitting next to a jug of sugar drink in a plastic carton. The wizard’s eyebrows raised at the demon as he stepped inside. Was he surprised to see Pipa back? He stood up immediately.
“Oh, you made it out of there. I thought for sure you were doomed,” The wizard said with a chuckle.
“I am not that easy to kill,” Pipa told the wizard. “So, what is next then…”
“Well, unfortunately, I don’t really need anything else right now… So I am just going to seal you up inside of this bottle and I’ll let you out if I need anything else, how does that sound?” the Wizard said coldly.
“No! I won’t be confined again, I would rather die!” Pipa roared at the wizard with a hoarse voice.
“Ahem…. KHANDAR!” the Wizard yelled again. “How did you? What?”
Pipa grinned, he thought back tying to figure out what might have broken the wizard’s enchantment. Then it occurred to him… that witch, she had uttered something. She was trying to get his attention before he had ended her miserable existence. She must have broken the spell. He stepped forward towards the man who had called himself “the master”. He felt rejuvenated as he walked towards him, the thought of ending this wretch’s life amused him to no end.
“Wait! I can give you Zeni, I have lots of Zeni!” the wizard said to Pipa, pulling out a wallet from his robe and showing Pipa some little rectangular papers.
“What is a zenni?” Pipa inquired. He had killed that witch to fast last time, he wanted to give the wizard a chance to give him information before he ended him.
“Zeni… it is money… you know, you give it to people and they do things for you or give you stuff.” The wizard said.
“Wait, so your species will do whatever you want for some little pieces of wood?” the demon asked with a smile on his face, he had just come to a realization about something.
“Well it isn’t that simple….”
“Sure it is, that is why all those fools spent all that time digging into that mountain. You will do anything for zenni,” Pipa said with a laugh. “Oh I am going to enjoy this, I’ll enslave your whole race with nothing but some tree flesh. How silly!”
His understanding of economics wasn’t really all there, he didn’t understand that it would take a huge amount of cash to bind humanity to his whims. “And why should I spare you… I will just kill you and take it from your rotting corpse!”
Pipa moved forwards towards the wizard. Holding his onyx blade, Pipa managed to get within inches of cutting the man across the chest, but he flew back with an unnatural grace for a man of his elderly appearance. More beams of purple light traveled towards Pipa, this time one had struck him across the chest and the demon let out a cry as he attempted to shrug it off and race towards the wizard. This time as he came after the wizard he let his eyes begin to glow green, he unleashed a beam of light at the wizard, but with some sort of trick the wizard used his staff to catch the laser and send it back at the demon. As his own attack came at him, Pipa felt it sting as it burnt into his shoulder. Still weakened by the events of the day, Pipa fell to his knees and was struggling to get back up.
He struggled to lift his sword arm. This wizard was too strong for him in his present state and he didn’t have the power to grow taller this time. “The Master” approached Pipa, he had a serious look upon his face as his staff continued to glow purple.
“End of the line, Pipa le Pipa. Time to go back to where you came from, you don’t belong here,” the wizard said as he approached. He got within several feet of the demon, before he pointed his staff at him and sent the beam flying towards Pipa’s face. In a panic, the demon seemed to figure out how to jump out of his body, which he feared would break with the attack. By some sheer luck, the beam hadn’t been a direct hit, only hitting the floor near where the demons body was and sending shrapnel at him. The wraith form of Pipa rushed towards the wizard, opening its mouth as it dove into the foul mans body.
Once inside he began ripping at the essence of the man’s soul with his ethereal claws. The master held onto his chest and made coking noises as his sin began to turn an off white. Moments later, the master fell on his back, and the shade of Pipa came crawling out. The demon quickly fled back into its body, and Pipa’s flesh became animate once more. Struggling, Pipa stood one more time and walked in front of the mages body.
“No one will ever own me again,” he told the wizard, whose eyes were rolled back into his head. Pipa bent down, seeing the man’s wallet had fallen out as he fell. He dug though the paper, recognizing the numerical symbols from somewhere… 500 zenni…. “I have to thank you though, I think that your silly currency will prove useful to me. Why kill the lot of you when I can use it to turn you into my slaves?”
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