Of Monsters and Men (Open)

[Perma]

The sun rose just like any other day as Perma sat under his favorite tree. He opened his eyes to meet the sunrise and sighed softly to himself, “Best not waste the day.”

The seclusion of the mountain afforded Perma any things; A quiet training ground, ample food when he needed, clean water, but the one thing it didn’t provide, companionship. Ever since he landed on earth he has been shunned. The small village near his tree tended to treat him as a monster to scare the children. “Don’t be bad or the demon of the mountain will come and take you away!” Whatever makes them comfortable Perma would think to himself. But that didn’t ease the loneliness he felt inside.

As was his routine as of late, Perma rose up into the air and flew down to a nearby field and began his training. Punches and kicks flew through the air and remarkable speed and effficacy. The almost sonic boom inducing tail whips knocked over a nearby tree and the Icerian laughed to himself. Unbeknownst to him, he had an audience in a young child no more then five or six.

Perma noticed the tiny person watching him from behind a nearby rock and fixed his gaze on him. “You can come out now, I know you’re there.” A scared yelp came in response from behind the rock formation followed by the frantic footsteps of someone running for their life. The Icerian wiped the sweat and grime from his brow, whipped his tail around, and sighed, “I’m not as bad as I look...” Slowly the young alien turned and began the make his way back up the mountain to search for lunch.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

Nearby, Ohkara was working with a small village at the foot of Mount Paozu. They had been rather low on supplies lately, and the green-haired woman had taken it upon herself to aid in their cause. There were plenty of elders and children in the village, and having lived a hard life herself, she had to do something. After having flown in a few crates of supplies, she readied herself to leave, only for a small boy to come running in from a nearby forest.

“H-help! T-t-t-the monster!” he roared, tears falling from his eyes.

Ohkara looked as the villagers gasped, a mother quickly snatching up the small boy and looked desperately at Ohkara, “You’re a fighter, right? Please, you have to do something about this demon!”

Ohkara was intrigued; tightening her hairband, she stepped forwards, ”A monster?” she echoed, ”A demon? They’ve been causing trouble?”

“It’s why we’ve been so low on supplies. No one is brave enough to come and risk their life for the little bit of zeni we can offer…” an old man said as he stepped forward; the village elder. “Please, Ms. Minamaru. I know you don’t owe us anything, but if you’re truly a warrior, we beg you to help rid our village of this beast.” Bowing his head to her, the rest of the village following suit, the elder pleaded, “please, help us.”

Ohkara’s eyes narrowed and she gave a nod. If this threat was enough to halt life in the village, then it was enough for her to investigate, ”No problem!” she exclaimed with a serious look, nodding her head, ”I, Ohkara Minamaru swear to you that I will solve this problem.” tightening her wristbands and weights, she adjusted the bright yellow umbrella at her hip, and headed towards the place the boy had come from, the villagers cheering at her claim at her back.

Pushing into the forest, Ohkara felt for any nearby presences. There was one, or moderate power. No doubt, this would have to be the monster the villagers where scared of. Venturing forth, she set her sights on the energy signature, masking her own presence just in case, ”Alright, you demon, its time you pay for your crimes against this poor village.”

[Perma]

Having just started a fire for the huge fish he caught on the way home, Perma heard a voice. It sounded female by his knowledge and it sounded mad. What could he have done this time? Sighing, the young Icerian got to his feet as he took a bite out of the fish. Perma followed the sound of the voice to the same clearing he was training in earlier.

“I don’t want to have to battle a woman. But, if I’m a demon so be it! By all means bring it on!”

Reluctantly issuing his challenge to the green haired woman, Perma took his stance. He had no intention of harming the village, but if they had sent their ‘demon hunter’ he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to test his skills. The woman appeared to be no older then he but clearly had far better training then he. Thinking through the proper mode of attack he launched toward the woman. He would first attempt to throw a combination of punches followed by a whip from his tail. If that failed he would be wide open to an attack from below. Playing the battle out in his mind Perma smiles to himself. Maybe this place could be fun, maybe it could help him improve.

Although Perma hates unnecessary conflict maybe it would be his life. He had heard stories of the tyrant that he calls his anscester, Frieza. Maybe the sins of his forefather has followed him to this backwater planet. Becomeing distracted during battle would prove to be his downfall. Should he embrace it and overcome? Perma would see. In the distance in spite of the current battle he heard the roar.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

At her call, the culprit emerged from the trees into her sight. He was clearly an alien, an Acrosian, if her memory served her correctly. By no means did that mean he was the monster he’d been accused of being. Still, the village had pleaded with her to straighten things up, and that was what she planned to do. He was quick to take a stance, and even quip at the woman.

Ohkara sneered, shaking her head, ”Worrying about my sex is a bad move, big boy!” she growled, taking her stance as he did. Obviously, talking was out of the question. As the Acrosian rushed forwards, Ohkara readied herself. His speed was impressive, but even with her weighted clothing, she still had the advantage.

His fists came in a fury, Ohkara anchoring a foot into the dirt as he attacked, blocking the assault with her forearms. However, with a whip from the side came the man’s tail, which connected and sent the girl flying sideways. Arms shooting out, she caught herself on the ground and cartwheeled her way back to her feet. Quickly retaking her stance she eyed the man once more. It seemed that his tail was much more of a threat than a Saiyan’s.

Kicking off the ground, she vaulted forwards, drawing a fist back; however as she neared her opponent she’d feign a high punch, and instead dive low for a sweeping kick. If it connected, she’d throw a second kick with her other foot, intended to hit the Arcosian’s back, while jumping back into a handspring. If both hits were successful, she’d land on her feet a few meters back, and use his airtime to her advantage, firing a barrage of blasts at him as he rose and then fell back to the ground.

[Perma]

The distant sound turned Perma’s attention away for just long enough for the woman’s attack to fully connect. The low swinging kick knockiing him of balance, followed by the incredibly hard upward swing of her leg sent the Icerian flying into to air at a surprising speed. Throwing out his arms and legs to slow himself from traveling any farther Perma saw the ki blasts chasing after him and braved himself for the impact. This would definitely hurt, Perma though to himself

Boom... boom...

He heard the footfalls coming closer and closer. The Icerian gritted his teeth as the explosions faded around him and grinned down at the girl. “I haven’t had this much of a challenge since I landed here! This is fun!”, Perma panted trying to regain his breath. Ignoring the sound of the creature, believing it to just be just on its daily hunt for food, Perma divebombed straight toward his opponent. As he approached the ground Perma began to spin in an attempt to connect with a powerful ax kick that would cause significant damage. Following this attack should it follow through the young alien would then continue with a spinning backhand to the jaw before flipping backward landing some yards away.

BOOM... BOOM...

The sounds were distinctly coming closer now. This would be bad as the beast would surly have the the two combatants scent and be coming for a easy meal. Perma needed to end this quickly or surely the both of them would both have a bigger problem on their hands. Focusing his ki into his right hand and forearm, he formed the energy into a three foot long blade of glowing lavender energy. “I’ve been practicing this technique recently, so I don’t know how long it will last... I hope you’re as excited as I am to try it out!” Following this exchange Perma charged toward the woman.

GRRRRROOOOOW!

The sound of splintered trees and the upheaval of earth surrounded the pair as the mighty beast made its appearance. Standing at least 6 stories tall, the beast was reptilian to the untrained eye. Many of the dinosaurs that made their home on the mountain lived on the other side, but this beast preferred to dine on travelers and merchants that made the treacherous journey around the peak. A deathly green in color mottled with spots of brown and grey from its advanced age complimented by the many battle scars and wounds it suffered from the many territorial fights and some more recent damage from Perma himself lent to the terrifying look of the beast.

“This day just keeps getting better and better...”

[Ohkara Minamaru]

The sound of an approaching dinosaur didn’t seem to worry the girl at all. She’d spent plenty of time in the islands surrounding Metropolis, and there these beasts were a very common sight. Her focus was solely on the task at hand; defeating her opponent. The Acrosian was sturdy, quickly recovering from her attacks. And quick to retaliate. Rocketing downwards, he aimed a spinning kick towards the girl.

Her right arm rose, quickly blocking his kick with a forearm. Her left hand shot to the side to block the backhand with amazing precision. If not obvious before, these quick moves made it clear she was well versed in the art of combat. Jumping back, she watched at the Acrosian formed an energy blade and brandished it at her. A smirk slid over her face, her left hand grabbing the handle of her umbrella, ”It’ll take much more than a tiny sword like that to slay me!” she taunted.

However, with a sudden eruption from the tree line, her head quickly turned to the dinosaur who made his presence known. Jumping back, Ohkara took a place near her opponent, a few meters to his side. Her eyes narrowed, and she quickly glanced to the alien, ”A friend of yours?” she asked skeptically; there was no way that was true.

Her index finger clicked a button on the handle of her umbrella, and she whipped it from her cyan belt, the hilt pulling away and revealing a cyan rapier hidden within. Taking her low stance, she eyes the dinosaur, ”Seems we’ll have to put our battle on hold for a moment. Don’t worry, this won’t take too long.”

Her right hand rose to the blade of her sword, and it began to glow a vibrant toxic-green, ”Weaponize!” at her call, her ki exploded around her, cycloning at her feet, the energy in the blade seeming to explode as well, returning the weapon to its normal cyan color. At the peak of her base level, her power boasted a strong one hundred thousand.

”You go high, I’ll go low. We aim to kill.” she ordered, her tone rather direct and authoritative.

Drawing her blade back, she rushed forwards, letting out a battle cry of her own: ”Heeeeeeyyyyyeeeeaaaaah!” Nearing the beast, she’d leave an After Image at its front side, invisibly darting behind it, and slashing her towards upward, the blade connecting with the tail and severing it in one slice.

[Perma]

Nodding to the girl now, Perma flew upward to distract the dinosaur from above. With its attention now on him he swung the energy blade down across the beasts eye in an attempt to blind it. The rage filled roar that escaped the creatures maw was terrifiying. Perma grinned as the woman’s attack on its tail cleanly cut it from its body, “You’re good my friend!” Perma called down to the girl as he then whipped his tail straight down between the eyes of the dinosaur.

Flipping through the air backwards some yards in front of the monsterous dino. “Seems like those villagers somehow mistook this creature for me.” Perma scowled as the energy from his hand faded now. Damn, he’d have to practice more with it. With its attention pulled between two targets, the beast decided to take a stomp at Ohkara now. Seeing the opportunity, the Icerian was going to try and attempt to show his true colors and bolted down to where she was standing and threw up his arms to catch the foot of the beast.

It was far heavier then he thought, but braced himself to catch it. “A little help here friend?”, Perma stammered laughing now.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

It was a curious thought, but it did not seem out of the question. Someone who didn’t know what this alien was could easily mistake him for a monster. And if there was indeed something sinister going on, he would be first to have the finger pointed at. Plus, all in all, Ohkara didn’t sense any kind of sinister energy from him. Surely, it had to be a case of mistaken identity.

The Acrosian moved quickly, making a slash to the dinosaur’s eyes, and then quickly shooting downwards to block a stomp of its foot. Ohkara nodded to him, a kind smile sliding over her lips, ”On it!” she exclaimed, jumping into the air. Her left hand drew back, and then whipped forwards, the blade severing cleaning through the beast’s foot that was being held. With a flick of her wrist, she sheathed her sword, and rose a hand to the sky, ”Let’s see how you like this!” she roared as a spinning, saw-like disc of energy formed at her palm.

Expanding, it was quick to grow larger in diameter than the beast’s neck, ”Violent!” she started, drawing her hand back, and flinging the disc towards the dinosaurs sturdy neck, ”Frisbee!” The disc’s speed wasn’t too impressive, but with a severed leg it would be highly unlikely for it to evade such a brutal attack. Upon impact, it would bite hard into the beast’s neck, making quick work of the flesh and bone housed within, and sever it completely from its body.

Pointing a palm at the disc as it would exit the other side, she’d fire a simple blast, aiming to destroy the disc in a beautiful toxic-green display before it had the change to cause any unintended damage.

”Booyah!~” she’d coo, looking down to the Acrosian and giving him a cutesy victory sign complete with pose.

[Perma]

As the beast’s head hit the ground, a loud crash erupted all around the two. Perma released a relieved sigh as the dinosaur toppled to the ground. The creature was one of a couple creatures causing trouble in the area. Looking to Ohkara now and getting slightly embarrassed at the cute pose she gave him, Perma scratches the back of his head and smiled in return.

“Please forgive me for attacking you earlier. I mistook you for one of the many mercenaries the town has tried to hire to kill me. Though I have the looks of a demon, most certainly not one.”

The Icerian was lucky to have found help with the mighty beast. Normally, the beast tended to live on the far side of the mountain, but for some reason it moved closer to the village. “Most of my days here have been trying to keep that beast from attacking the village and to train. I don’t nessicarily fit in with the rest of the people that live here.” Thinking back on the course of events, something did strike Perma as odd. There have been caravans of trucks and transport vans with a strange symbol on the sides. Something that resembled a red ribbon like object. Many times these men would capture some of the more peaceful creatures, and when they returned their whole demeanor would be changed into something far more violent.

Perma locked eyes with the girl just now remembering his manners, “Oh I’m so sorry for not introducing myself, my name is Permafrost. You can call me Perma for short. You are a magnificent fighter, truly I hope to see you again.” With that Perma bowed and turned and started to head back to his regular spot. Stopping only for a second to look back at the person who had caught him only for a second before noticing how cold it was getting. This was going to be a long night the young alien thought to himself.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

Landing on the ground near the man she’d learn was known as Permafrost, Ohkara smiled kindly, ”Nah, there’s no need to apologize,” she told him. Unbeknownst to the Acrosian, the green-haired girl had experienced the same kind of treatment in her life. After her father had died, Ohkara was left to fend for herself, and she saw first-hand just how cruel the world could be. Many times her empathy had shown light in the world to people that had never had it. She truly understood where the man was coming from, and with that she held no hard feelings, ”I know how tough things can be when you don’t fit in… I get it. I really do.” As she spoke, her tone said it all. Perma would feel the pain and sorrow she’d felt, as well as the kindness she had inside her heart.

When he turned to leave, Ohkara rushed forwards, taking a gentle hold on his shoulder, ”Hey! Wait a minute!” she pleaded. Hoping to stop him from rushing off himself. Casting a quick glance to the defeated beast, she turned her attention back to the bio-armor clad fighter and smiled, ”How about we bring this big guy back to the village. We’ll show them you’re no demon. They told me they’ve been without supplies for a while now, and I’m sure that they could use this.”

Walking over to the beast, she took a hold on the bigger portion, lifting it over her shoulder with relative ease, seemingly paying little attention to its large size, ”The world doesn’t have to be loneliness, and darkness, you know…” she told him, her tone fading as if there was a point in her life where she wouldn’t have believed it herself, ”For lots of people, actions speak louder than words. So instead of being all by yourself all the time, how about we do something kind for the village you’ve been trying to protect. Something that they can see.”

Pointing a finger towards the severed tail, leg, and head, she let out a small giggle, ”Come on now!~ You grab up what’s left and come on down with me.” she told him, obviously not willing to take no for an answer, ”Everything will work out fine. I promise.” And with that, she turned and headed to exit the forest and return to the village.

[Perma]

Perma laughed and hoisted the parts on his shoulders with the same ease that Ohkara did and smiles for the first time in a long time. knowing that someone else in this world could show him kindness was more then welcome in his solitary life. Heading down the mountain the young man saw the village and exhaled heavily dreading the thought of entering the village, expecting the worst. But looking at the green haired young woman gave him hope that maybe he wasn’t the monster that people thought he was.

Hearing the cheers of the people when then first noticed Ohkara was a pleasant sound, but was suddenly a lot less pleasant when they saw Perma.

“There it is.” “What’s it doing here.” “I though the elder sent her to kill him?”

The many jeers and scowls didn’t really do him any favors, but remembering her words brought him some comfort. “I’m not the monster you think I am. I have been trying to keep your village safe from the many beasts that live with my on the mountain. We brought you what remains of one of the major troublemakers here. Maybe we could possibly have a feast to celebrate?” Perma let out a nervous laugh in hopes that his peace offering would be enough. Glancing a little worriedly at Ohkara he sighed softly before smileing at the woman.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

A tinge of annoyance rippled through Ohkara’s brows as the villages cheers turned to much more violent, distasteful comments directed to her comrade behind her. Tossing the beast down in front of her, she rose a hand, ”The man behind me is no monster,” she told them, her tone authorative and demanding attention; he whole village would fall silent as she spoke. ”And he most certainly is no demon.”

Stepping past the beast she motioned to the Icerian, ”This man is my comrade. My friend. And without him, we wouldn’t be here offering you such a bountiful haul. As you all know, looks can sometimes be deceiving. Sure, he may look alien to you, but I assure you that he is harmless.”

The elder slowly stepped forwards, his frail age and wisdom visible with each step he took. Casting a ponderous gaze towards the Icerian, he ran a hand through his thick, white beard and let out an audible hum, “You say that, but the problems we’ve been happening all started around the same time that he appeared. Now, we do thank you for the meat you’ve acquired. Its no doubt that this beast will feed us for some time. And we all know just how troublesome these things can be. But as the elder of the village, it is my duty to protect this village. And as such, I will not allow such a person to reside here. A demon, he may not be. But a harbinger for evil, we cannot be so sure. You must understand, Miss Minamaru.”

Ohkara’s face twisted, and she casted her own serious snarl at the old man, ”Fine then. It seems my words fall on deaf ears around here.” Turning her back, she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, ”If that’s how you’re going to be, I won’t stop you. But know that I cannot support a place as single-minded and bullheaded as this.” Her threat was an empty one; Ohkara wasn’t the kind of person to turn down someone in need- still, they didn’t know that.

”If he is the issue, then I will remove him from this place myself. But don’t come running to me when trouble reappears and you lose more than just your supplies, old man.” Lifting off the ground, Ohkara motioned to Perma, ”Come on. Let’s get out of here.” she huffed, shaking her head, ”What I said earlier still stands, but some people in this world just aren’t worth the time.”

The village was in stir as the green-haired woman left, her threat one that didn’t fall to deaf ears. The villagers all began to talk amongst themselves, and there was obviously a little disagreement in what the Elder had told them. Still, if they were to change their minds on the Icerian, it would take some time. And maybe some kind of situation to sway them.

[Ethan Snow]

Power level increase of 3930 awarded. Enjoy.

Perma may request grading of his portion of the topic if and when he returns.