IC Posting Section

With everyone filled in on what had been happening on Metahnn, everyone gathered up on the ship and Pyro ordered them to take off. It took a while to discuss and settle on a location, lest they wander aimlessly and chance being detected by either the Darkhoods or Omnizwart.

They settled on a small backwater planet not unlike Earth, but only around 2/3 of the size. It was just isolated enough from other systems of interest that it seemed a perfect place to sit back and strategize whilst using the new training facilities to prepare themselves for any fights they may have in the future.

Era and Valkyrie immediately had a sparring session in one of the rooms to test Era's progress against Valkyrie's Super Saiyan power, and it ended the same way it did before. Era spent the better part of five minutes testing her Ki attacks and physical techniques against Val, and she discovered that even though Valkyrie had tremendous power her nerve point attacks had the same effect they always had on other opponents. It seemed like, contrary to her previous belief, that no matter how powerful someone was it only took one good nerve point strike to do the trick. She had previously believed that the more powerful one was, the more their Ki helped them resist such attacks.

Not so.

It was a good lesson for both of them. The nerve attack Era used would normally knock someone out, but Valkyrie's power did allow her to resist the knockout shock that came with it though she did become dazed for a few seconds. Had Era used a follow up attack to the same spot it would have knocked Val out for sure.

The next morning, Era decided it was time to train with Fae again. However...

"Good morning Fae." Era said as she happened upon Fae in the hallway of the ship.

"How about a sparring session?" She asked.

However before Fae could respond Era put a hand on her shoulder.

"But before you say anything Fae, just know that if you accept this request to train together I won't be holding back on you this time. I will use my full power, which thanks to my training with Valkyrie is now 7.9 million."

She then removed her hand from Fae's shoulder.

"So how about it Fae? Care to train with me when I'm going all out?" She asked.

D. Rex D. Rex ChazGhost ChazGhost Retro-Grey Retro-Grey
 
That one day off, she had come to the conclusion that there wasn't anything wrong with her. Something else was at play. She spent the time traveling figuring out what it was. Holing herself up in one of the training rooms, and worked solo. While certainly not as effective as training with others, she was in there all day. Coming out only to eat. With which she gorged herself silently, lost in thought, only to head right back in soon after.

While she didn't spar with anyone, people could feel her ki rise high and fall quite often. As if she was practicing charging ki blasts. The feeling of her ki spreading was quite frequent during early session, a signature of her her ki anchor technique. All this in between general training, meditating during rest, and the rest of her usual heavy workout routine.

The day of the sparring between Era and Val, went much like before, working hard to make up for lost time and catch up to her comrades. Along with the ki control training that felt so prominent in recent training sessions. However, today she decided to stop earlier than usual. Apparently satisfied with having made up for the day off, or just understanding her body needed a rest. As tired as she seemed that evening, it was likely the latter. Then again, it could also be due to the fact that she sent a robot to the repair day and didn't feel like punching a wall. But knowing Fae, she wouldn't have minded.

She woke up the next day, right as rain. And after some stretches and a morning working out to warn her up, she recovered the robot from the sick bay. As she walked through the hall, with a torso sized robotic sphere floating behind her, Era happened upon her.

"Good morning." Fae replied, seeming in a pretty good mood.

When Era asked for a sparring session, then added the stipulation of her wanting to go all out. Fae cooked her head a bit, and put her hands on her hips. Thinking, Era was growing pretty fast. At most, Fae barely clocked to about 2.6 million, after the training of days prior. Hardly any match for Era's power. Though... this could be a chance to explore the idea she had been working on, and try it out in practice.

"Alright. I think it could be a productive workout. Though I hope you have been working on some new things aside from just raising that power level of yours." She said, oddly confident despite the difference of power between them. "I hope you stretched too. I won't go easy on you either." She said with a smirk and walked past Era, heading to the training rooms.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Era smiled and cocked her head slightly to one side.

"Fae, how long have we known each other?" She asked teasingly.

"Don't worry Fae. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep you on your toes. And I think one of them is going to really surprise you because it's rather out of character for my usual combat style." She said with a smile.

She didn't mind giving Fae that hint. Era's style was very fluid and relied a lot on memorization of her enemy's attack patterns. Once she had the general flow of her opponent's style, she could organize countermeasures and use her nerve attacks on the openings which she deemed safest to use.

This time, however, she had found a technique while sparring against Val which went against that routine but had proven rather effective even against Val in her Super Saiyan form. Granted Val wasn't really fighting back all that much, but it still proved effective all the same and it didn't require a single nerve strike.

"Let's get to it, shall we?" She asked.

She led Fae to one of the training rooms and they both entered and set the atmosphere to that of Metahnn's.

Breathing in the air of her homeland, Era's body visually relaxed itself upon taking in a single breath as that familiar scent and sensation of Metahnn's atmosphere cascaded over her body. Era opened her eyes and turned around to face Faeora as she slowly took her stance.

"All right Fae. It's time to see how you fare against me at full power, and with a near full arsenal of new techniques to use against you!" She said forcefully.

Era powered up immediately to maximum. Doing so took less than a second which demonstrated her mastery of her Ki. With her power at maximum, she remained in her stance waiting for Fae to demonstrate her new power so that the match could begin. Era had almost two dozen new techniques to try out on Fae, and she wanted to see how Fae would handle herself against Era when the latter was truly going all out.

"I'm really going to come at you Faeora." She warned.

"For this match only I will treat you as I would any other enemy, and I won't be pulling punches to spare you any injury. Even though your power is lower than mine, I expect you to do the same this match. Don't pull anything. Give me all you've got." She ordered, letting her energy flare.

D. Rex D. Rex
 
Faeora could not help be feel a tinge of self consciousness of the excitement she was beginning to feel. In the way that she did not want to become overconfident or too playful. Yet Fae was just as eager to show off her own new skills as Era seemed to be.

The short saiyan took her stance, a slightly altered version of the one she often used. No doubt adjusted for her new abilities. Fae knew of Era's preferred method of fighting, and one of the reasons she enjoyed sparring with Era was of how well their styles clashed. Just as Era took critical advantage of an enemies openings, Faeora took advantage of her own openings to lure in the enemy to deliver devestating counters and control the direction of close combat. Fae always thought this was a great way to test the limits of each of their styles. And just as Era would no doubt anticipate the ebbs and flows of Fae's style, Fae, too, was apt at the anticipation game.

"I can't wait to see what you have." She grinned as she watched Era power up. Her saiyan blood boiling at the thought of this sort of challenge. Going all out... Era may have access to her nerve strikes... but thus would also mean that Fae would be able to use the demolition fist. There was no doubt one of them were going to need to be carried out of here.

"Very well. We shall fight for real." She said as her face turned serious. A green aura surrounded her as she went up to full power. "You want my all, then I shall give it to you!" She said firmly.

Fae's eyes widened and her ki flared.

"YO-SEI-SHIN!" She chanted, her voice like a kaio shout, as the flare of her ki suddenly turned into an eruption. The bright green aura exploding into the color purple as her power seemed to skyrocket to over five million in that brief instant. No, this wasn't hidden power. This was no doubt something else.

Yet Fae would give Era no time to soak in what just happened. Immediately Fae clenched her fist which began to glow green, as she thrust them forward, rather than usual four or five small ki blasts that Fae normally expelled in this manner...nigh fifty blasted forth from each hand, shooting out at blinding speed towards Era.

Fae didn't care what hit, the dust and smoke that came from those that hit the ground around Era she used as cover. Kicking off from the ground, she left a crater. Jumping high, she kicked off again from the ceiling of the training room. Using the solid ground to gain more speed than flight along from her powerful legs.

Fae was coming down from straight above, ready to slam into Era. The fist charged with ki to explode the ground upon impact to give herself some clearance from a counter if Era chose to dodge.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Era was happy to hear Fae's reply, but her face didn't lose its serious edge as Faeora powered up herself.

She kept a close eye on Fae, and as Fae yelled Yo-sei-shin and her aura erupted into a purple light around her, Era was momentarily caught off guard. It wasn't just the power up that caught her attention either. It was the way the power felt. She knew Fae's max wasn't this high, so how did she multiply it like that? Was this similar to Elprede's technique? And if so, how did Fae learn to do something like that on her own without Elprede's help?

Saiyan power wasn't supposed to be naturally inclined to do this.

But then again... What was "natural inclination" when it came to Ki anyway. It was one of many things Era had thought about when she studied Ki with Elprede. The Nephelem was confident he knew just about everything there was to know about Ki and how it worked given one's Ki pathways, race, and how their Ki felt, but he'd been proven wrong many a time before. If he was wrong about the way one's Ki was supposed to work given such factors, then she shouldn't be surprised now by the change in Fae's power.

But she was surprised all the same as Fae's progress was nothing short of outstanding.

As Fae's fists began to glow Era expected a Ki attack, but what followed with the flurry of 50+ Ki blasts was a bit of a pleasant change of pace from the usual handful Fae was known to launch. But Era smiled as the attack came her way.

"All right Fae," Era thought to herself as her stance shifted.

"Time to show you that I've been changing too," she thought.

Her smile faded as her energy rapidly condensed around her body, becoming a subtle glow no thicker than around 3-4mm from her skin. Era's Ki began to change within her, making the signature almost unrecognizable as Era's. What came next was also atypical of Era's style in that she didn't try to dodge a single Ki blast. While focusing her mind on Faeora's position, Era's body reacted instinctively to the incoming Ki blasts by forcefully batting away every single one which came close enough to present a threat to her.

One by one the Ki blasts were deflected, but not just into random directions. Era batted them in an arc which followed Fae's previous movement path up towards the ceiling as the shorter Saiyan descended down upon her with her fists charged with Ki. And even if Fae batted the Ki blasts away as she came down, Era stood firm as Fae continued her descent.

In the moment before Fae reached her, time almost seemed to freeze for Era. The rush of adrenaline both excited her and, oddly, made her happy. As Fae came down towards her she couldn't help but smile at her old friend. She was going to treat her like any enemy and fight to her fullest, yes. But at the same time she couldn't help but be happy and excited to be testing her old friend's new limits in this manner, and a final friendly smile seemed only appropriate to share with Fae in that single instant.

With the smile shared, it was time to continue. Era's smile vanished the moment Fae came within range, and Era again broke character as her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched. Fae's fists were coming down on her, and instead of dodging Era threw both of her own fists out and met Fae's head on stopping the shorter Saiyan in her tracks and causing an explosion of concussive force to erupt from between their fists. The impact was powerful and caused Era's arms to bend slightly, but not enough to change anything about her strategy for handling this fight.

The very instant she knew Fae's momentum had come to a stop, Era pulled back her right fist and shot it forward at full speed and full force at Fae's jaw. Fae's close-quarters technique was geared towards redirection and using momentum of techniques against the owner, but if she stuck to her traditional methods then Era had a surprise ready and waiting for her.

How Era responded now depended entirely upon Fae's response to this punch. One way or the other Era had something planned for her old friend, and all of it save one option was atypical of Era's fighting style and sure to catch her old friend off guard.

D. Rex D. Rex
 
Fae kicked off from the ceiling before the majority of her deflected ki blasts made impact, and used her free hand to swat away those that were in her path as she sped off and her fist collided with Era's in an explosion.

In that brief instant, Fae could not help but return the smile. This chance to go all out was something she had been itching for for a while now.

As the fist made contact, and Era's arm bent slightly... it may have not been enough to change Era's style, but it created the ideal outcome for Fae. As soon as her fist made contact, two things happened. Firstly, Fae anchored her fist to Era's. Second, Her opposite hand was pulled back, and began to glow as if charging ki for another blast.

The charge was seemingly interrupted as Era delivered the jarring punch to Fae's jaw. Already tasting blood, Fae did not use this as she normally would and use the momentum to spin herself into a counter kick. Instead, she let herself be thrown by the punch, yet while still anchored to Era through their fists, she used Era's arm as a swing.

Her momentum swinging Fae arching to the ground to Era's side, planting her feet amd anchoring herself to the ground with enough distance to try and keep Era's arm overextended and off balance. However, Fae seemed also open, as the hand that had been charging was now curling around as if Fae was going to shoot a blast at close range.

Yet with a clench of Fae's fist, the light dissappeared as focus flashed across Fae's face. She used the energy she had charged , transferring it through her body and into the fist that was anchored with Era's. Fae used what she normally never did against Era, the demolition fist due to it not being a friendly attack. The ki went from Fae's fist, and injecting itself into Era's arm in an explosive fashion. Unleashing a kinetic shock wave through muscle and bone of the entirety of Era's arm. If they were of even power, this could have shattered bones. Though this would not likely be the case with Era still being the stronger of the two.

Fae knew this of course. She wasn't fighting Era like an equal. Fae knew with how strong Era was, that she had to take extra care. She couldn't just tank hits or counter as she normally did. Instead, Fae would do her best to focus on maintaining the superior position and doing what she could to keep Era off stance. And with the hint that Era had something surprising up her sleeve, Fae was quite wary. The ki anchoring she used, she didn't intend to use it to tank hits for this match. Rather, she was using it to blast her into her Flash Step. With which was prepared now. Fae knew for a while now that with such strong people around, she would need to focus more on evasion than she normally did. Heh, it was sort of an amusing thought. Era blocking and countering aggressively while Fae had to dodge and maneuver.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Era's punch connected which was ideal, but what came next most certainly was not ideal. Not for her at least. Fae managed to use her momentum to pull Era off balance and then used the Demolition Fist technique to send her Ki explosively arcing through Era's arm.

Era shrieked in pain as the attack assaulted her muscles, tendons, soft tissue, bone and even her blood. But it didn't take long for her to begin regaining control as she growled against the pain and glared at Fae.

Era then did something drastic, as she didn't want Fae anticipating the maneuver which came next or even thinking about anything other than what Era was about to do. Era used her rear leg to kick away from Fae and used that momentum to pull her arm that Fae was holding completely out of its socket. With her shoulder now free, Era contorted her body in a way that it shouldn't be able to do. Her head went down, but her body went parallel to the ground and rolled over the shoulder which she just dislocated. As she came fully around her free arm was right in position to slam her fist down into Fae's nose or forehead, whichever it reached first.

But again, Era didn't want Fae thinking about what came next, as hidden behind Era's contorted body was her knee which was now on a collision course with Fae's ribcage. One of these techniques was going to land. It was up to Fae's reactions to determine which one it would be. Having the fist slam into her face wasn't ideal, but it would be far less damaging than the knee which was aimed directly at Fae's solar plexus.

D. Rex D. Rex
 
What Era did next was most certainly something that Fae had not been anticipating. As Era pulled her own arm out of her socket, it gave Fae a blink of pause. This sudden development making her rethink the next series of anticipations. Slowing her thought down too much to react to evade.

As Era contorted in front of her, she saw the fist coming. Already, Fae knew that too many more blows to the head would render her too addled to continue the fight... however... this particular situation was a predicament that her style often put her in. To block a devestating hit, or sacrifice defense of her core and her own position of counter. With one arm predisposed, and currently immobile, she had to make a choice. She decided to take the risk, choosing to keep with her style. Positioning had to take priority.

Faeora brought her head forward, moving her head enough that Era's fist collided with the thick of Fae's forehead. And like the punch to the jaw, it jarred her head, causing Fae to flinch and close her eyes. Yet unlike the previous blow, Faeora was not in a position that she could make some advantage of it.

Yet Fae was already trying to take advantage of Era's open core, her free hand about to deliver an upper cut into Era's solar plexus... however, it seemed that Era was quicker on the draw, and by the time Fae realized too late that Era was curling to deliver a knee strike, like she was using Fae's own tactics against her.

Faeora barely had any time to react, having not seen it coming, it was all that Fae could do to put her own hand in front of Era's knee to try and block. It was too close to do that effectively, and even though she was able to use her hand to absorb a portion of the impact. The strength of the strike was still more than enough to drive the breath out of Fae's lungs, and shock the air around them. The purple aura around Fae flickered out for a few winks before returning, and her anchor onto Era's fist faded as her own focus broke with the stunning hit. It was all that Fae could do to maintain the anchor to floor and her Yoseishin.

Now, even though Fae's body was incredibly conditioned, the strength of the strike to solar plexus was not something that Faeora could brush off or recover from so easily. She was in a horrible position. She couldn't breath, she was broken out of her defensive position, and she was well within range of a nerve strike from Era. The only option was to gain some distance.

Before Era could withdraw her leg, the hand that Fae used to try and soften the blow dug it's fingers into Era's knee. Holding onto her, rather than anchoring to her as as she did with the fist.

Fae kicked off from the ground, using the pool of Ki from her anchor to the ground to blast off at incredible speed straight upwards. Flash stepping to the cieling. Holding onto Era's knee and letting go quickly, yet enough to send Era into a spin rather than dragging her along, to force Era into a recovery as well to buy some time to get her breath back.

Fae's feet landing against the cieling, standing upside down, her aura flared as she began powering up, as she sucked up the pain enough to draw in the eventual breath of sweet air... but this time, rather than Fae's power rising from the powering up, Fae was dumping all of it into the ki anchor, pooling all her gains into it. Her eyes locked onto Era as drops of blood dripped from her forehead and mouth onto the floor below.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Era saw Fae's initial response as typical of her usual style, and the fact that her fist impacted Fae's forehead was an expected loss. Era could feel the small bones in her fist begin to crack as they impacted Fae's forehead, and though she was successful at using the blow to stun Fae long enough for her knee to make contact, it wasn't enough to protect Era from accepting the repercussions of her drastic measure.

With many of the bones in her hand now cracked, she would be a fool to use that same hand to strike again lest she risk breaking them completely.

Fae's reaction to Era's knee was not as expected though as her fingers dug into Era's flesh causing her knee to instantly start bleeding as Fae spun Era around by the leg before letting go and distancing herself. Era quickly regained control of herself and landed on the ground, dropping to one knee (her good one) and briefly inspecting the wound Fae left behind. Blood trickled down her knee and calf, and Era could see Fae's mouth and forehead had also begun to bleed.

Era stood up and let out a slow breath.

She then cracked her neck and grabbed her dislocated shoulder, popping it back into place with a grimace before rolling her shoulder to help relax the muscles and prepare them for another go-around with Fae. But this time Era would do something she'd never done before in a fight, and it wasn't just to throw Fae off. It was to prove a point.

Era slowly stood up straight and regarded her old friend.

"Faeora. I know you very well as a friend and ally, and your durability is one of your finest traits as a warrior... But you'd better focus on dodging this next attack, because there's nothing you'll be able to do to stop it." She warned.

She then began focusing her Ki into her hands in preparation for a powerful Ki blast which was something she had never done before. Era relied so much on her physical game and nerve strikes that she had never truly developed any Ki-based attacks except the Ki Lance, and this was no Ki Lance. The Ki Lance used her natural power level to focus her Ki into a blade-like extension which she could use by keeping it in contact with her hands which was entirely different.

Her energy began spiking to dangerously high levels as she concentrated it all in the palms of her hands.

Her hair was flaring out wildly behind her which was made all the more intimidating and unnatural by the fact that her aura was still highly condensed about her. There was no flaring Ki like usual. It was all contained. Focused. Pure. The cause of her wildly flaring hair was the air being heated around her body as her Ki increased which created miniature air currents out and about her person.

When one's aura flared and let loose a stray strand or arc of Ki, that was Ki leaving the body which was Ki they'd never get back. It was being wasted. However it was a natural part of the body's venting system to help them maintain an optimum level of activity and integrity when their powers were being pushed to their limits. The higher their levels became, the more the aura flared about them which, again, was a natural part of the process. Without the venting, their bodies would damage themselves.

But Era once again defied all natural expectations with her unorthodox methodology when it came to Ki.

Her body was not venting Ki at all. Her aura was tightly contained about the surface of her skin letting off a faint but easily visible crimson glow that only extended around 3-4 millimeters from the surface of her body. There was no Ki being wasted whatsoever. No arcs, flares, or even bio-electricity.

At some point during her recent training she'd developed a way to control her Ki so well that her body acted as a one-way net. It took Ki in, but it didn't vent it out.

This was very dangerous, however. If Era lost even a micro-spec of focus the lack of venting of Ki could cause a serious reaction within her system that could potentially damage her Ki pathways and leave her crippled (Ki-wise) for life. On the outside, she was perfectly poised while powering up while glaring at Fae as the Ki continued mounting in her palms. But on the inside her mind was racing to keep pace with what it was doing. She was fighting to control where the Ki within her body was going, when it went there, and how much of it went there versus how much of it went elsewhere.

Era was still relatively new to this method of Ki control, as she'd only recently developed the method. If she didn't keep a tight rein on the Ki traveling through her body and absolutely control where it went and when, she'd suffer serious backlash which would only end badly for her. Thankfully her focus was tight and on point. However she remained wary of what she was doing and would allow nothing to chance here.

By this point even though they weren't wearing Scouters to see exact numbers, it was be clear to both women that Era's power had nearly quadrupled by using this technique. Not an astonishing increase in relative terms given that many techniques could accomplish this basic feat. What made this so intimidating was the fact that Era's power was practically 8 million at its natural maximum, now quadrupled to almost 32 million. This meant that Fae was now in very serious danger of being completely overpowered and potentially even killed by the attack if she wasn't careful.

As a warrior Era was proud to challenge Faeora in this manner, as she'd promised to give her all and this was as powerful as Era and her attacks would ever become at this stage. But in her heart she was hoping sincerely that Faeora would be all right and was questioning if she was going too far. If Faeora didn't dodge or find a way to destroy the powerful attack before it reached her...

As Era said, Fae wasn't going to be able to just stop it as she had Era's physical attacks thus far.

Era's open hands came close to her core, palms still facing up. As she continued to gather Ki she concentrated it until it formed two balls in her up-facing palms. She turned her palms to face out and away from her with the two Ki balls resting in each hand. She held them firmly, as Fae would be familiar with the fact that if she opened her fingers the Ki would simply drop and fall away as anything physical would and dissipate or explode at Era's feet.

... Except...

Era threw her hands out to the sides, but the Ki balls remained exactly where she had previously held them in front of her.

That was not supposed to happen. It couldn't happen... Could it?

Era then stepped away from them a few feet, continuing to look up at Fae on the ceiling. Within Era's eyes was a subtle yet power glow of crimson Ki. Though Fae wouldn't yet know or understand until Era told her the secret of this technique, those glowing red eyes were indicative of a Ki-Link Era had created between herself and the Ki blasts.

It was inspired by Elprede's Spirit Link. But instead of linking their souls together, Era had linked her Ki blasts to her body via a small line of Ki which was invisible to the naked eye. If one used a thermal lens, they'd see a tiny line extending from Era's chest to the Ki balls which was how she was able to keep them floating in place. They were technically still connected to her by this Ki-Link, but they didn't look that way and they weren't in physical contact with her body anymore.

Controlling one's Ki whilst it was outside of and no longer in physical contact with the body was near impossible because Ki didn't have a mind of its own. As well there was no way to use one's mind to manipulate Ki that was no longer in contact with the user's body unless, again, one had some form of telekinesis. Once it left the user's grasp completely it was beyond controlling. The path it took was the path it took.

When one used a powerful blast of Ki which was a continuous stream, the core of which didn't leave the user's body (typically the hands), it was possible to focus it and "bend" it to follow a path. But it was very difficult. But once it was not in contact with the user? Near impossible.

For the second time in this fight, and in the span of less than one minute, Era had defied the impossible to demonstrate another potential goal for her friend to work towards as they continued training together in the near future.

The one major boon for Fae, despite the horrible odds she was now about to face, was that this was all still very new for Era. Inside she was uncertain of whether or not she'd be able to effectively use this attack against Fae. The attack was very powerful, yes, and Era would be in complete control of where it went. But would she be able to maintain her mental focus long enough for the attack to find its mark? Or would her mind become fatigued before the attack could see a conclusion and the attack dissipate/explode before ever reaching Fae?

If that happened it would be a waste of an attack (as well as energy) and rob Fae of a fantastic learning experience.

Era inwardly shook off the thought and snapped her fingers, and as she did so the first Ki ball flew towards Faeora with the other remaining stationed right where she kept it. Era would use it later for something special. For now she wanted to see how Faeora would handle a Ki-based attack which could actually follow her around with Era controlling its every move and which was powerful enough to completely overpower her.

D. Rex D. Rex
 
The day started out like any other, the mechanics were making repairs, the doctor was checking people over, and the cooks were of course cooking. Some of the crew went out drinking and/or shopping. Most people left were relaxing in the mess hall watching the TVs. One of them was playing with the control when they changed the channel to a camera view of the training room Fae and Era were in. It was a surprise but when the two started fighting the crew started cheering who they wanted to win. Of course bets started to be made for both sides and the rest of the TVs were switched to that channel.

"Whats going on here?" Pyro asked entering the mess hall.

"We have a camera view of Era and Fae fighting in one of the training chamber. We also having a betting pool for who'll win." said a random crew member.

"What the odds?"

"1.5 times your money for Era winning and 3 times if Fae wins"

"... I'll put 500 on Fae then"
 
Fae narrowed her eyes as she looked down at Era. While it crossed her mind that the warning wasn't technically going all out... it was only fair sense they were trying to kill each other. Also technically. But going all out brought that risk. Warning noted, and Fae ceased her charging as Era began to flare up her ki.

First thinking that Era was about about to charge at her with her ki lance... but it quickly became apparent that this was not the case... all the more reason to stop charging given that in all likelyhood, even with the Yoseishin, she would not be able to push herself to win a beam struggle against Era if she went full power.

Still, Fae was colored intriqued. Seeing Era prepare a ki attack was actually quite exciting. She was definitly evolving her style. Though this forced Fae to switch her strategy away from her intended beam against Era, as trying to block either of those orbs would be quite detrimental to her health. To put it lightly.

Yet as Era's aura virtually dissappeared, Fae was left momentarily perplexed.But her eyes quickly widened slightly at the realization of what she was doing. Bottling up her ki like that. That was truly a dangerous game that Era was playing... and that even with the warning, it was clear that Era was taking this serious. Good... besides... it wasn't like Fae could lecture her on dangerous self ki control...

But alright. Two ki balls, powerful yes, not too difficult. Internal ki control. Unorthodox, but not terribly farfetched. However Fae fully expected the orbs to be blasting at her the momens Era moved her arms, and her eyes had to recover from anticipatory tracking to center back on them just floating there. Fae thought this had to be some sort of trick at first, but she could more than feel the power in them. How Era was doing it was beyond yer, unfortunately she didn't have enough to think deeper on it, as with a snap of Era's fingers, the orb blazed straight towards Fae.

Surprised, but without too much fret, Fae returned some of the ki in the pool, back into herself, charging into her each of her hands, her fists glowing as she prepared her own attack, leaving enough in the pool to flash stepping away. It required wasting some ki... but wasted ki was a small price to pay for not getting hit by that thing.

Using the flash step, Fae blasted off the cieling, out of the line of fire... or so she thought. As she landed, she was all the more ready to dodge the second ki ball... yet it didn't come... and more strangely, neither did the sound of an explosion. Wait... she could still feel the orb... and it was coming closer?!

Fae looked up, with disbelief, that the ki ball was almost directly on top of her. She had barely enough time to blast off off again, back to the cieling. This time actually watching it turn and follow. Trying to ignore the amazement for the time being and focus on surviving, Fae leaptook away again. Trying to lose it, but it became very quickly apparent that this wouldn't happen. All of the bobs and weaves, the ball moved like it had conscious thought. Like Era was controlling it.

Only one solution crossed Fae's mind. destroy the ball, or destroy Era. Or at the least hurt her badly enough that it stops following. Given that he direness of the situation, Fae would try to do both at once.

With a final landing, she kicked off one more time, flash stepping to directly in between Era and the ball. Fae's arms outstretched to either side, like that of a T. Her fists still charged with the ki she saved for an opportunity to attack, and this was it.

With both arms extended, one pointing at Era, and the other at the ball, Fae pointed her her index finger at each. The ki transferring into the tips of her fingers, first as a sizeable orb, but they shrank just as quickly... condensing themselves into something less destructive... but still more dangerous something meant to peirce defenses and ki . It was struggle to hold both of them at the same time. But she had to make it happen.

From each finger, launched a thin and quick moving green beam. Aimed at the ki orb and the other aimed at Era's torso. This was her brothers technique. While she was still knew to it, she was confident that she could use this competently... if she could rupture the ki ball behind her, then she would be safe, and if she could force Era to block with the second ki ball, and it ruptured too, then maybe she could be caught up in the explosion. One could hope. But if this didn't work, Fae would have to take drastic action.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Fae moved to dodge the first Ki ball using the stepping method she'd used against Era earlier, but when she landed Era could see she fully expected the ball to explode against the ceiling. The flash of shock on her face when the ball continued to follow her was well worth the risk of this attack. Fae's response was at first mildly filled with panic knowing that the ball wouldn't deviate from its intended target, but it didn't take long for that panic to be replaced by determination.

That was the point of Era's using this attack. Their enemies would use attacks like this with tremendous power in the future, so the more ready Fae was for something like this the better.

But Era misjudged how far Fae was willing to go to defend herself, as she saw Fae land and point her fingers at Era and the ball as it followed her. Fae fired the attack, and Era was surprised to say the least. Two thin Ki beams clearly meant to pierce a target rather than engage in a power struggle came forth, and it was already too late to stop it.

The beam struck her first Ki ball and plowed its way right through the center destabilizing the core of the attack and causing it to explode just far enough away that Fae would be generally unhindered by it even if she was momentarily destabilized in her footing. It was the second beam she fired at Era which was the issue, but because of how much concentration it required to keep the two Ki balls on their intended course forced Era to remain virtually motionless, and she didn't want to risk losing the second Ki ball.

... So be it.

Era grimaced as the blast came closer while bearing her teeth with her jaw clenched tightly as the beam struck her in the torso. It broke through her armor, pierced her chest, and exited on the opposing side. It was not dead center, but it was central enough to have just barely missed her heart. It did, however, plow straight through her left lung causing her to immediately cough blood and begin choking as the lung began to fill with blood.

Era lunged forward with what strength she had left in that moment to grab the other Ki ball so she didn't lose it, and dropped to one knee. Her free hand found its way to her chest where the wound was and her aura began shifting from all around her body to surround her hand. With the light concentrated, she shut her eyes tightly as she blasted through the wound with a strong and concentrated blast of Ki.

Era shrieked in agony as the red energy surged through her wound. From the red burst of Ki emerged intense heat and steam pouring forth from the wound causing it to cauterize, and then she let the beam subside as her aura once again encircled her body. But just as quickly it concentrated around her wound as well allowing her to use it as a way to "see" what was going on inside. Once she was sure the wound was cauterized and the blood had stopped flowing freely, she allowed her aura to return to her entire body.

Era looked up and her eyes were filled with a strange new determination she'd never shown before. Despite being now mortally wounded, Era was not going to give up the fight.

She stood up and breathed heavily to catch her breath after what Fae had just done to her and after what she had just done to herself. The other Ki ball was still clutched in her hand, and the red light in her eyes was still present though it was visibly dimmer now that the first Ki ball was gone. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth and chin as she breathed and glared Fae down.

"Not bad Fae..." She said in a slightly raspy voice followed by another cough of blood.

She then pulled her hand back and threw the other Ki ball at Fae. The ball itself had all the power of the previous ball, but Era did not have the power she once did after that attack. Though her control over it was much the same, she herself was now much more vulnerable not only to making mistakes, but to being attacked physically by Fae since she still had to remain very still to maintain her control of the ball.

Would Fae try that same attack twice and punch another hole in Era, or would she have another way of dealing with it now that she'd seen the attack once already?

D. Rex D. Rex
 
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Shock waves of the explosion from the ruptured core of the ball of Ki rocked Faeora in the air, pushing her forward and blowing her short hair. Fae gritted her teeth and kept herself from being blown out of stance. And while the explosion was dangerous enough to reflect on, her focus was more on Era right now.

Era had done nothing to evade or block the beam. It had penetrated straight through her. Not only could Fae think about how reckless that was, it was still very impressive that she was able hold onto the other Ki ball, and maintaining the focus required to manage her ki the way it was. Era was really taking the hits, really getting in up clone and bringing serious offense.

But given that she didn't try to dodge... it was likely that she couldnt... meaning that she was sacrificing a defensive position for that. Which was a bad move given the state she was in right now. Throwing the second ki ball, now left her open. Tantalizingly open.

Yet there was still the ki blast to consider. now, the easy thing would be if Fae could launch another beam strike against it to destroy. It had already shown it could work. However, not only would Era expect it again, but Fae would not have the time to charge one properly before the ball would hit her.

Fae could also try and outlast the ki ball. Run until Era could not control it any more. But Fae didn't know when that would happen, if it even could. Besides, Fae also didn't know how long she could maintain her own form, and it failing while she was to merging to merging run and way would mean certain defeat. And even if she could hold it indefinitely, the ball would surely catch her eventually. Fae needed to remain offensive for this.

Fae remained composed, remaining levitating for a blink after Era launched her attack. she blasted off immediately to the ground, where she landed and pointed her finger at Era. Fae's ki flared as if she was desperately trying to charge another beam attack to use on Era. Fae knew she wouldn't have enough time to charge one, but Era probably wouldn't, giving Era all the more reason to position the ball between Fae and Era to block it. If if it wasnt, it didn't matter.

Thankfully... Fae wasn't charging for the beam. Her pose was a feint, as she was actually pooling her ki into an anchor again. Making it look like she was going to try and do it again. While she wouldn't have enough time to charge a beam, not by a longshot, and Era probably wouldn't know that. However she didn't need that long to charge a flash step.

Timing was everything here. Too late and the ball would hit Fae. Too early and Era could correct the course of the ball and just slam it into Fae headfirst. Judging from what she knew of Era's react speed, Fae stood there, charging, placing her gamble on the feint. She stood firm, despite the instinct to dodge like one might when something deadly is hurtling at you. As fast as it was moving, a single mistake here could get Fae killed. And to be honest... Fae didn't want to get killed.

This was all happening so fast, Fae didn't really have the time to make precise calculations like Era would. And just like the instinct to dodge a deadly blast... she relied on this instinct for the timing.

Now. Faeora blasted off from position. Using a combination of her flash step and muscular legs to rocket forward. Ducking low under the ball of ki, as she did the hopefully unexpected of going right under it. She could feel the heat and power of the ball as she got that close. And if Fae wasn't the brave sort, being that close would have been fear inducing.

Instead, her sights were solely on Era. The distance gap was closed incredibly quickly, but Fae knew she wasn't safe, as Era could just as easily turn the ball around. Which Fae was already anticipating.

Coming in low, Fae's fist was ready, and it's target was quite the vengeful one as it plowed up into Era's solar plexus, with more than enough force to knock her away. Rather than chasing, Fae immediately kicked herself away, in case the ki ball was not disrupted. And while not pursuing the attack would give Era a possible chance to recover, Fae couldnot risk getting hit by the ki ball or caught in its explosion.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Era's concentration was waning, yet everything was happening as if in super slow motion to her. She had to attribute this to the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins from the pain she was in. Her body was trying to maintain its optimum efficiency, and though it paid the price in her ability to move due to her Ki attack she was able to see everything unfold before her all at once.

Fae's first dodge was expected, but when Fae appeared to be charging a new beam attack Era's mind went into overdrive.

Fae wouldn't dare use the same technique twice. To top it off there's no way she'd be able to gather the energy for it so quickly. Not at her level... That means one of a few things is about to happen, and the two most likely candidates aren't exactly favorable. One, it's a ploy. Two, she actually has found a way to rapidly gather Ki and is going to launch that same attack at me. She thought.

Those were Era's thoughts the instant Fae began gathering her Ki for the attack, and Era's mind once again went into overdrive as the ball grew closer to Fae.

Fae knows me. And she knows that I know her. Our knowledge of each other's fighting styles betray us, even if we've both been developing new methods of combat to use against our enemies... So what are my options?... ... ... ... I have two that I know will work, so the question is which method will work best no matter what Fae does? She thought.

Fae then launched herself forward towards Era, ducking the Ki ball at the last possible moment and flying straight towards her with a punch at the ready.

No choice... Here it comes! She thought.

Era braced herself as Fae came in and threw her punch for all her worth right at Era's solar plexus. In the few precious moments she had before Fae reached her, Era concentrated all of the power she had left into her stomach to absorb the blow. She was pushed back a few feet, skidding across the ground, and thankfully Fae kicked away so as not to remain too close in the event Era did something to retaliate.

Luckily for Fae, there wasn't much Era could do.

Even that simple maneuver of diverting all the power she had to soften the blow took a heavy toll on her in her wounded condition. It was everything she could do to remain on her feet as the ball came hurling at Era since she didn't alter its course after she made it chase Fae here. Thankfully she was able to get control of it quickly enough to stop it just before hitting her, and she brought it to her hand and clutched ahold of it as she once again dropped to one knee.

She had to force herself to remain balanced using her stomach muscles, as the arm nearest the hole Fae blasted through her had gone numb and was now hanging limply at her side. Most of that side was numb above the waist which wasn't a good sign at all. Era knew she wouldn't last much longer with a wound like this, so she had to end this quickly which meant she couldn't rely on the Ki ball anymore.

There's no way I can take Fae hand to hand in this condition... Not without some help. She thought.

Era slowly forced herself to her feet, and she looked horrible. Her eyes were becoming bloodshot from the mental strain of maintaining her power with such a wound, and her skin was growing pale which meant that even though she wasn't losing blood anymore her body was beginning to shut down. A combination of pain and her pierced lung having collapsed forcing her to rely on a single lung was becoming too much.

It was all or nothing now, and if Era was going to win she couldn't afford to pull any punches. Not even in this condition.

"Faeora..." She said weakly as she brought the Ki ball in her good hand to her chest.

"This fight has been rather brief thanks to your previous attack." She said, looking to the hole in her chest.

"But even so... I have thoroughly enjoyed it." She said, looking up at Fae with a weak smile.

Her legs were starting to shake.

"I have one arm left to use against you, but if this works it's all I'm going to need. One way or the other this fight is about to end Fae. So brace yourself... Here I come!" She yelled.

Era then took the Ki ball and held it above her head. With a single scream of effort the Ki ball began to glow red along with her body and was slowly absorbed through the palm of her hand. Era's Ki began to skyrocket again, absorbing the energy she gathered to create the attack and adopting it as her own. With her power now even greater than it was when she was gathering power for the attack, Era pulled her good arm in and grit her teeth against the pain of launching herself forward towards Fae.

Era could only use her right arm, but both of her legs were still viable weapons as was her tail if the need arose. Her base power was around 8 million, but thanks to Fae's attack her base had dropped to around 3 million. However, added to the roughly 32 million she had when she gathered the attack for the Ki ball, her power was now 35 million. And all of that power was now racing towards Fae as fast as Era could afford to move.

But there was a problem right away. The instant Era launched herself at Fae her body began to lock up. Her joints felt like they were filled with glue and her muscles felt like they were made of lead. Despite her power being as great as it was now her body was fighting against her because of how much damage it had taken not just from Fae's attack, but the strategy Era was using to continue the fight. By powering up so much with her body in such a state, Era had driven it to its breaking point.

Era skidded to a halt about halfway to reaching Fae and dropped to her knees. Her good hand found its way to the ground to support her as she began to fall.

Her breathing was ragged and forced, having only the one lung to rely on and also being so exhausted and in pain. Her body was beginning to convulse and her hand gave way causing her to fall onto her stomach. She was gasping for breath now, fighting desperately to get air in her one good lung as the rest of her body convulsed in pain as her Ki began to plummet. Era's hand clenched into a fist and she fought to rise, but fell back down as her body convulsed once again against her will.

Dammit! I can't-...

Momentarily Era fell unconscious and her power dropped even further until it was down to the double digits.

A few moments passed before Era's eyes slowly slid open once again, and she found her body had stopped convulsing. Her good hand came up slightly and pushed against the floor until she was on her knees once again. She brought her right leg forward and used it and her good arm to push herself into a standing position, but she faltered and fell once more to the ground with a, frankly speaking, pathetic grunt/moan of agony.

Era tried once more, but her hand slipped and she stayed on the ground lying on her stomach.

"No..." She whimpered.

Her fingers scraped against the ground and she finally managed to push herself up onto her knees again.

"I won't let it end like this." She said through gritted teeth.

Era fought her way to her feet and forced herself to remain there this time despite her shaking legs and her lack of energy.

"I can still-... *Cough*... I can still fight. I promise." She growled.

Era clenched her good hand into a fist and powered up, but her power wouldn't rise very far. It reached maybe 20-25,000, but it would rise no further. Her body was just too weak to sustain any further levels of power. But Era didn't care anymore.

Era used that remnant of her power to launch herself at Fae again and began to desperately use her good arm and her legs to try and do battle with Fae.

D. Rex D. Rex
 
Faeora didn't respond to Era's generous words. Rather, she was panting heavily and trying to regather her ki. Despite how it looked, Fae had been really pushing herself. Era was still stronger and faster than her, and if Fae hadn't been pulling out every bit and strength and speed and cunning she could muster, then it would have been over from the start. And with all the flash steps she had been doing, her thighs and calves were burning from over exertion. Burning over the increasing strain the Yoseishin was putting on her body. But she couldn't release it now...

And throughout all this, Era somehow stranded tall and strong. Era clearly wasn't done yet despite all that Fae had tried to put her through. Thus came a disheartening worry, as Era absorbed the ki ball and her power skyrocketed. The warning to brace herself was no joke. Even if Fae had tried to evade, the disruption of her position and her not beino fast enough to dodge a second time would have ended the fight quickly in Era's favor. Her only choice would be to hold firm, so she took in a deep calming breath and gritted her teeth bracing herself for Era's charge... that... didn't come...

Sure enough, Era seized up. She seemed in a state much for the wear, and her ki plummeted. It seemed that her attacks really had chipped away at Era. Faeora might have continued the attack, but as Era fell, she ended up picking herself back up again. Sure enough, Era's will was beyond that of anyone else. Even when she could, and should, end now, she instead found it in her to keep on fighting. Fae found herself smirking, proud of her friend despite the hazard she was in.

However, she was in a predicament. Because at the state Era was in, ending the fight now would be best. Yet such a suggestion would be a grave dishonor to her best friend and the will she was showing. They had entered this fight bith knowing they would be going against each other like enemies. Hard and merciless. Anything less now would be insulting of the trust they shared. After all, Fae would not have accepted anything less should the positions gave been reversed.

Fae's smirk dissappeared, and seriousness took its place. With a grim nod, she spoke, "I know you can."

Era charged. However she did not get any further than two meters before Fae apperated in front of her. Blitzing across the field in a flash step, delivering a devestating open handed palm strike to Era's chest. Sending a shock wave of air blasting out behind her. Yet rather than flying away or collapsing, Fae had anchored her palm to Era to keep her from doing just that. Her other fist came around, burying itself into Era's side, a kidney shot befitting of Fae's crippling style of combat.

It did not end here, as the palm was released, and Fae allowed herself a full on roundhouse kick, right into Era's injured arm. This time, it did send her flying across the room. Only to be met again by Fae, however kneed her into the air, only to vanish and reappear again above her and delivered a vicious double axe to send Era crashing hard into the ground. The only mercy being that Fae forgone use of her demolition fist to finish things.

Fae remained motionless in the air. Panting even more heavily. Vision blurring slightly. The swirling purple that surrounded her vanished. Her own ki dropped significantly and waves of pain she had suppressed in her mind was finally recognized. If she had held onto it for a few more minutes, she couldn't only imagine what horrid state it would have put her body in. Slowly she lowered herself to the ground, making sure that Era wasn't going to get back up again before hurrying over to check on her friend.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Era's attempt to reengage Fae met with a brutally negative response. Fae's flurry of attacks against Era in the state she was in provided her not a moment of respite to so much as gather the thoughts of how painful these attacks were as they landed. Era fought with all her might to retaliate, but she couldn't bring her body to move fast enough to keep up with Fae. Era was at her mercy and completely powerless as Fae slammed her down into the ground with tremendous force.

For a few moments Era lay face down, eyes closed, and completely motionless.

Her body would not respond to her brain's signals due to the overload that was taking place within her mind. Pain was all her body knew, and the only way it knew to deal with that pain was to remain still so her brain could process all the information it needed to regarding what to do next. But finally her brain's signals managed to flow more freely again and Era's eyes slid open slowly. Her fingers scraped the ground as her good hand clenched into a fist and shook rather violently due to her inability to properly control her muscles.

Against all odds and despite all that Fae had done to end the fight, Era stood up.

However as she did so it was clear she was in no condition to do anything at all against Faeora. Her face was pale. Her arms both now drooped lazily at her sides. Her legs shook with the effort of maintaining her standing posture. And her breathing had slowed to a crawl.

But what gave it away that Era was basically unconscious on her feet were her glassy and glazed eyes.

Her violet eyes had all but given up hope of life. There was no light reflecting off of them. No pupil to see within the now extended irises. No recognition or proof of life anywhere.

And yet once again Era defied all odds and expectations by smiling through this glassy and seemingly unconscious state.

"I-..." She began, her voice coming as little more than a whisper.

"I can still..." Her body began to gently rock forward and backward.

"... ... Fight." She said, falling forward and at last giving in to total unconsciousness.

D. Rex D. Rex
 
Rather than hitting the cold and unforgiving ground, the limp body of the unconcious saiyan fell into the arms of Faeora. Who wouldn't let her fall like that. "I know you can..." She whispered back faintly.

Victory. She had won. Yet there wasn't a swell of bragadocious pride or happy accomplishment to cheer over. Fae looked down at Era, and held her in her arms. Her own face somewhat blank and tired, with the only thing signifying her victory being a deep breath and exhalation, trying to relax her tense body. She stood there for a few moments, just looking at Era. This had been her first time really fighting her since she had left all that time okay.

A thought passed through Fae's head, and it made her give her friend a gentle smile,"There was that warrior spirit I knew you had..." She whispered. "You have really grown a lot. Believe it or not.. I wish I could be more like you."

Though, she couldn't just hold Era and admire her all day. Era needed treatment. The hole in her chest would obviously do her no favors. And while Fae could re-set Era's shoulder, Fae didn't want to risk damaging muscle and ligaments any more than she already had. Fae shifted Era in her arms, and turned around.

She hefted Era up onto her back, piggyback style. Letting her arms draped beside Fae's head, and Era's head rest in hers while Fae supported her weight by holding onto her thighs around her waist. And even though Fae was quite sore and tired, it was of little comparable effort that she gently levitated off the ground, and flew towards the medical bay to get some help.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Valkyrie was sensing the battle unfold from her room, and the result spoke for itself. Era's power dropped off almost completely, and though Fae's power wasn't anything to gawk at she was undoubtedly the one left conscious and standing by the end.

Valkyrie closed her eyes and sighed.

"You let your own experiment be your downfall. You idiot." She whispered to herself.

She'd known about Era's desire to change her combat mindset for some time now even though Era never really spoke up about it. Era's relatively soft heart meant she almost never killed her enemies before. But with the threat of the Darkhoods and Omnizwart she couldn't afford to be that way anymore. She had to adopt a kill or be killed mentality and fight with everything she had to survive. She'd been killed once already, and it was nothing short of a miracle that she was brought back from the jaws of death the first time.

Valkyrie could understand Era's desire for a newer and more aggressive fighting style, but to test out techniques like that in an all-out battle against Fae who was already known for her aggressive style? Not a wise decision. Era would have been better off asking Valkyrie to let her test her new strategies and techniques... But then again, would Valkyrie have the stomach to fight against Era in an all-out struggle as if they were enemies? Likely not.

Valkyrie sighed again and laid down on her bed staring at the ceiling. Surely Fae was taking Era to the Medical Ward by now, so she wasn't too worried about Era getting the medical attention she needed. Rather she was worried about what this would do for Era's confidence and her combat performance. Given that Era was a prodigy and known for succeeding where others often failed, she wasn't used to failure. Not like this. Would she be all right when she recovered?

Valkyrie decided to go check on Era's condition, so she left the room and wandered to the Medical Bay where Fae had only just finished bringing Era to the doctors. Era was on a bed with a breathing device placed over her mouth as the doctors and nurses began working on closing the gaping wound in her chest.

Valkyrie wasn't expecting that.

She rushed to Era's side to observe the damage, and inside the depths of her heart a flare of anger surged through her as she glanced at Fae out of the corner of her eye. But she knew she couldn't rightfully be angry. Fae was doing what Era asked: fighting all-out as if they were enemies. When she asked the doctors if Era would be all right they affirmed she would once they closed her wounds and put her in the Rejuvenation Chamber.

Fae, in the meantime, was told to rest on another bed nearby as one of the nurses gave her a shot for the pain and hooked her up to a water drip to help get her fluid levels up so she remained well hydrated.

Valkyrie was still upset by Era's condition, and she knew if she stuck around to speak with Faeora she'd likely snap at her unnecessarily. So to prevent any misunderstandings or angry exchanges, she left the Medical Bay and went to the training room the pair had been using. The walls were a little charred from the Ki blasts, but otherwise everything was still perfectly in tact almost as if nothing had happened at all. The only telltale sign of a struggle was the blood on the floor from both participants.

Valkyrie moved to the closet space by the main door and brought out a mop and got to work cleaning the blood before using the room herself. Once it was clean, she set the atmosphere to that of Metahnn and brought out one of the nigh-indestructible training dummies the C'thilians had provided them and began wailing on it with all of her might. Her anger about Era's condition and her frustration about the fact that they were helpless despite their race being ruled over by a Darkhood dictator with some new form of the Super Saiyan power all came out at once as she transformed into a Super Saiyan herself and wailed on the dummy at full power.

By the time she had vented all of her rage, the nigh-indestructible dummy was still perfectly in tact as if she'd never hit it at all. But nevertheless she was winded from her efforts and, in a strange sort of way, happy. Having vented all of her rage in her Super Saiyan form seemed to have an accelerated effect on her mood. Given that the form was attained by rage and sorrow in the first place, she wasn't terribly hard pressed to believe that when going all out in the form it helped to release such feelings in greater amounts leading to a more relaxed and stable mindset once she was no longer in the form.

After transforming back, she found that to be true. She was much more relaxed than she'd been in a long time after having vented at full power in her Super Saiyan form. She put the dummy away and left the training room, taking some time to go to the cafeteria and grab herself a nice big meal. She hadn't realized until that moment that she hadn't eaten for quite some time, and she was rather famished.

D. Rex D. Rex ChazGhost ChazGhost
 
When Era fell into Fae's arms unconsciously Pyro and the rest of the crew who betted on her cheered. "Pay up men. Fair is fair" Pyrp said smirking to the crew members who lost. After awhile of the losing crew members handing out the money to the winners Pyro said to one of his crew "take this and get Fae one my finer wine. She'll probably be resting after a fight like that but when she wakes up I want her to have a nice drink". Pyro then handed him some money and sent him off.

As the doctor took care of Fae and Era, starting the process healing them and as Valkyrie was revealing stress Pyro and dozens of other crew members were drinking and having a ball. The drinks were being served by some of the losing crew members. After a while even Pyro got a little tipsy but still had his sense about him. That is when Valkyrie came into the cafe. "Monkey! You came at a good time!" Pyro said drunk enough to be kinda of nice to Valkyrie. "We are having a bit of party here. We watched Era' and Fae's fight. And us winners are having a drink and the losers are serving us." Pyro said raising his drink to cheers. "Why don't you pull up a chair and join us"
ChoShadow ChoShadow D. Rex D. Rex
 
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Fae... surprisingly... was in much better shape than she imagined she would be going in. Not that she was well off, but thereally was definitely a disparity when comparing what Fae did to Era than what Era did to Fae. Nothing was broken. No holes. It hurt a little to breath, though, as a massive bruise was forming where Era's knee had impacted her abdomen. That said. Three connected blows did more than a fair number in her. But it seemed that what damaged Fae most was herself. Her whole body was in pain and fatigue from the Yoseishin and continual use of the flash step. While she was confident she could have used it for longer, there was no doubt that if she had, she might have struggled to walk to the medbay even alone.

Currently, Fae was holding an ice pack to her jaw to reduce the swelling of her jaw while one of the medics was currently stitching up the split on her forhead. He tried to engage in polite smalltalk, but she was off in her own mind thinking over the summary of the battle. She won. Actually won against Era. Which was no small feat given that Era's power level was still leagues above her own. Faeora afforded herself a small smile at this. That she was able to hold her own against people much stronger than herself. She wasn't useless. Hopefully this would make Val and Era take her seriously now. Fae also thought a pat on the back would be a nice touch, but like most thoughts like this she suppressed to the point of ignoring it.

She could feel Val approaching. Which Fae thought it would be nice to talk to her about what just happen. Not just because she felt pride at her achievement, but also because she figured Val would be a good person to talk to about the style Era was trying to achieve and how Val might be able to work those kinks out of Era and make it more viable for her. And surely Val would want to know that Fae was okay too.

But no...

Val went straight away to Era. Okay. That was fair. Fae looked iver to Val expectantly...But... the wave of anger that seemed to pass over her. Why? That glance... subtle as it was. It reminded her of the kind that her family had often given her. Cold anger. Dissapointment. Scorn. And like her family... paid her no more mind than that. Faeora felt like something stabbed her in the gut. Her insides twisted up. It hurt. Not physically. Just emotionally.

As quickly as she arrived, Val had left. Faeora had had to lay herself down. The feeling of victory taken from her. The medic came back, and she ignored him as he hooked her up to a drip, and gave her a shot. And as the pain killers entered her and mixed with sullen indignation, she soon fell asleep.

_____

It was only a nap. A few hours later she woke up, sore still. Stiff. And a bit gloomy. Her spirit was at least lifted as she noticed something by her bedside. Some money and bottle. It seemed like Pyro and his crew had been having a bit of fun. Fae found it a pretty nice gesture. Making it easy to push Val out of her head. The next few minutes she argued with the medic about the wine, as she wanted to drink it but he wouldn't allow it while he had her on painkillers. Which he went ahead and shot her up again so wouldn't argue any more. Oh well. Fae couldn't be mad at him. He was just doing his job. Besides, it probably would be best to save the bottle for a more convenient time to suitably enjoy the gift.

She laid back down and looked over to Era in the pod, as the medical wandered over to make sure that Era was doing okay. Watching Era, it didn't take long for Fae to fall back asleep.

ChoShadow ChoShadow ChazGhost ChazGhost
 
As Valkyrie walked into the café area she was greeted by the sight of Pyro and his men drinking and having a good time about something. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the sight of such jollity helped to keep her own spirits high as well. Pyro said something about "winners" and "losers" with respect to Era and Fae's fight, and she realized that Pyro and those of his men who were being served must have bet on Fae to win against Era despite the latter's higher power and prodigious talent for victory against the odds.

For a moment Valkyrie didn't know whether to be angry about them betting on the battle or entertained by their partying behavior.

Regardless Valkyrie had to breathe for a moment to calm down. She had been nothing but hostile to Pyro on the basis of the fact that he was a Frost Demon and the circumstances of how they first met. She had kept a chip on her shoulder this whole time which put her in a bad mood whenever she saw him or whenever he spoke about something.

Much like how Era had realized she needed to let go of her old combat mentality, Valkyrie was beginning to realize, given Pyro's easygoing behavior alongside his crew, that she was going to have to let go of that chip on her shoulder at some point and start trusting him. For better or worse he was their ally now, and an important one given that he's the one who owned the ship and who determined, really, where they went and why.

Valkyrie let out a soft sigh and did her best to keep her good mood alive as she turned towards Pyro and the others and walked over to their table. She wasn't speaking and she wasn't exactly smiling, her expression being halfway between a neutral face and half a smirk, and sat down. She looked over at one of Pyro's crew who sat next to her holding a drink, and took it from him before downing it in two big gulps.

He wasn't too pleased about that, really, but he didn't dare do anything to her for it.

Once she finished she wiped her mouth and handed him back his empty glass.

"I suppose there's no harm in enjoying our down time." She said at last, finally giving a real smirk to the crewman she stole the drink from.

ChazGhost ChazGhost D. Rex D. Rex
 
The man Val took the drink of thought about complain to her but even as drunk as he was he was not stupid enough to do it. On the other hand Pyro laughed as Val gulped down the drink. "No harm at all! bring us another round" Pyro said smirking waving one of his crew to bring them more drinks. Moments later all the glasses were filled up again and Val even got her own. "Have you visited Era and Fae in the infirmary? They had one hell of a fight I have to say. You guys don't hold back even when fighting friends." Pyro said before taking a drink of his beer. "Through you monkeys get more powerful from your wounds from battle, so it would make sense."

The rounds kept coming as time went on. The other crew members started leaving or passing out after one to three rounds. Pyro was still their but was definitely getting tipsy at that point. "Hey Valkyrie... when do you think Fae and Era will get their golden hair... I mean they definitely have the possible to without genetic limiters now... The only question is when they will get to your level..." Pyro said obviously tipsy.
ChoShadow ChoShadow D. Rex D. Rex
 
Valkyrie, despite herself, began to enjoy the drinking and merriment that was going on. She even decided to indulge in a drinking contest with one or two of the crewmen and completely drank them under the table.

One thing about Saiyans was their remarkable metabolism which meant it was almost impossible for them to get drunk unless they really went all out and drank themselves into oblivion with only the strongest stuff on the market. As it was, this was good stuff. But it wasn't good enough to get Valkyrie trashed by a long shot. She laughed heartily as they passed out or left from frustration at her drinking them down, and as Pyro asked his question Valkyrie had to think on it a moment.

"I guess it's because they haven't experienced what I did. Based on what little we know of the Super Saiyan form, it requires an incredible emotional trigger. Era's death sent me over the edge and I just barely fought my way back. I don't know if those two will reach it by other means, but something tells us all that training by itself just isn't enough." She said as she set her empty glass down.

She took a big bite of a massive hunk of steak that she had brought to her and gulped it down before continuing.

"I suppose we could try to force each other to imagine such a scenario and see if we can't force it, but I doubt that will work. There's something about the form that feels like it fights against anything artificial, and that whatever the trigger is must be legitimate or it won't work." She said, taking another big bite out of the steak.

Once she finished her meal and was satisfied, she rose from the table.

"I'm going to go visit Fae. The two of us need to discuss what happened today." She said as she waved to them all and departed.

Making her way to Fae's room, she knocked on the door a few times and called to Fae asking if she was there. When she received no response she decided to return to the medical bay. Maybe she would be back there due to the doctors ordering her to rest where they could more easily respond to any complications that arose. Sure enough when she walked into the door she saw Fae asleep in another bed not far from Era in the Rejuvenation Chamber.

She pulled up a chair next to Fae's bed and sat down quietly waiting for her to wake up.

D. Rex D. Rex ChazGhost ChazGhost
 
Fae stirred in her sleep. As the the painkillers began to wear off, she began to drift ever closer to consciousness. And as she roused, and her mind came to, the first thought that came to mind was a curiosity of how long she had been out. Judging from how most of the soreness was now almost entirely replaced by stiffness, she wagered that it might have been a while. Stiffness was better than the alternative, but she knew her body well enough to know that it would quickly devolve into pain once more as soon as she started moving. With that in mind, she used that as an excuse just to lay there half asleep.

The adding of her mind, from sleep and drugs, faded soon thereafter. She still had no inclination to get up. Putting off even opening her eyes, at least until her awareness expanded, and she felt a presence by her bed. Valkyrie. This was odd, as she had figured Val was probably still angry with her. Unless she had slept longer than she thought.

Her eyes cracked open, and she saw the redheaded saiyan sitting close by. Having slept off the gloom of earlier, what expression remained was mostly just being groggy. "Val? How long have you been here?" She inquired.

ChoShadow ChoShadow
 
Val noticed Fae stir and drift halfway between sleep and consciousness for a few minutes before she finally came to and asked about how long Val had been there.

"Only a few minutes," she lied.

It had been nearly five hours.

"Faeora, I came here to apologize for the way I looked at your earlier. Ever since this business with the Darkhoods and the destruction of the outpost world we were on when Commander Korvaiis-..." She had to stop herself there as she realized her voice was growing more harsh.

"I've been angry with everything since then," she admitted softly.

"I don't think I've ever in my life been so angry for so long, holding a chip on my shoulder towards those who didn't deserve it because of my own powerlessness to have made a difference in the way things have played out." She said quietly.

She shifted in her chair.

This was new to Valkyrie. She'd never had to apologize in this way and she'd never opened up about anything like this to anyone save for her own parents and Era. Telling Fae the inner workings of her heart like this was new, but she felt Fae deserved to know why she'd behaved this way.

"We lost Commander Korvaiis. We lost our friends and fellow teammates that day. We lost everything save our own lives because the Commander knocked us out and threw us on Pyro's ship so he could stay behind and distract the Darkhood forces... He, along with everyone else, died that day to save our lives. And where were we? Asleep on a ship we didn't know bound for who knew where because the Commander wanted us to live above all others. We didn't learn until later that he knew about our genetics, but even with that knowledge it's still hard for me to accept that he and everyone else are dead because of us..." She said, her voice filled with regret and suppressed frustration.

"I'm sorry Fae," she said in a hushed voice as she looked down and hid her eyes behind her bangs.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated.

Her voice quivered, halfway on the verge of tears both of embarrassment and genuine regret. Valkyrie wasn't usually the type to open up like this because she had been taught not to by her father. Her problems were supposed to be her own to deal with as a warrior. If she couldn't solve her own problems then she deserved to bear the burden of the weight they placed on her shoulders. Telling Fae about all of this... It wasn't supposed to happen. But it was happening.

Valkyrie dipped her head slightly as her first tear fell into her lap from behind her bangs.

"I'm a Super Saiyan. A legendary warrior of our race. My genetic code has the secret to potentially limitless power for our race. And-... And yet..." Her fists clenched on her pants and a few more tears fell from behind her bangs.

Valkyrie brought her hands up to her face and leaned down even further, almost hunched so her elbows touched her thighs as she began to cry.

"... I failed at every turn!" She said in a louder and more forceful tone filled with self loathing as her gasps and sobs filled the room.

"All this power. All this potential... *gasp* And what could I do?... I-... *gasp*... I couldn't do anything!" She cried.

"The Commander. My friends. The people of that planet... They all died because of me!" She cried.

Valkyrie hadn't cried like this in years. Not since she was a child crying to her mother for how strict her father was, only to receive the knowledge that her mother supported the methods he used with her training. She had run out into the woods to cry alone after that, surrounded only by the curious animals of Metahnn's wilderness who didn't know what she was doing or why. Back then nobody had been there for her when she cried. Nobody had held her or said it would be all right. It was all her issue to deal with, but she never really had. All of Valkyrie's childhood insecurity and loneliness before she reconnected with Era sometime later in her teenage years was coming back to her. Only this time it was coming with even greater weight and consequences.

Her hands gripped her shoulders as she tried to be her own rock and calm herself down, but it wasn't working. This was exactly like back when she was a child. In the forests Valkyrie cried alone, holding herself because nobody else would. But it wasn't the same. It would never be the same. Valkyrie grew up knowing a father's love only through his kind words in between her harsh training sessions, and her mother refused to hold her until she surpassed her father which never happened until after she left Metahnn to become a part of Commander Korvaiis' team. Because of that and the fact that Valkyrie never had the chance to return to see her parents before all of this craziness started, her mother had only ever held her as an infant when she couldn't yet walk on her own two feet. But after she learned to walk and move about on her own, her mother stopped holding her and hadn't done so since... Not once.

Faeora of course didn't know any of these details because nobody had ever told her. But even so Valkyrie was reaching out to Fae in her own way, practically begging for her help. Era was still unconscious and in no position to help her, and even though she was beginning to form the first semblances of a shaky friendship with Pyro and his crew she didn't trust them enough to pour out her heart like this to them.

But even if Fae didn't understand or know Valkyrie's past, Valkyrie hoped in her heart that Fae would at least understand her enough to know that she was genuinely sorry for her behavior and that she was going to try to do better. She wasn't quite ready to accept the idea that the burden of her problems were not hers to bear alone anymore, but she was trying to take the first few steps along that road.

D. Rex D. Rex ChazGhost ChazGhost
 
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