Assassin's Den Reviews: Knights of the Eternal Throne

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! Today, I'm going to talk about the latest expansion dropped for SWTOR, KOTET!

First off, the story.  KoTET starts off not long after KOTFE Ch16 ends; Vaylin has now taken the Zakuulan Throne, and Vitiate is now implementing his plan to take control of your body.  You have to fight off the efforts of both of them to bring about the peace the galaxy finally needs.  I actually enjoy the nine chapters of the KOTET story, and I was glad to see the majority of plot threads tied up, and the ones that weren't so good, like the Sion plotline, were abandoned.  In fact, the only thing you hear from the Sions is in an email after the story is over.

However, there are things I didn't like. For example, two big characters that I wanted to see return more than anyone did not. In fact, KoTET didn't have anyone return.  The only characters that came in for the expansion were Shae Vizla and Master Ranos, whom you only got if you got to a certain tier in the DvL event.  Something I didn't accomplish, so all I got was Shae Vizla.

I'm also not a fan of Galactic Command, since the focus after the story is over is multiplayer content.  However, this WAS a big contention point for PVP players and flashpoint/operation players, so they finally got the content they've been craving for a year.  Galactic Command gives some great rewards for people who like that stuff, so I'm glad to see them happy, even though that content is not my cup of tea.

However, we can't have an expansion without an engine change, and we got one with 5.0.  5.0's changes are all about mobility and making classes more distinct.  First off, we no longer start as one of 8 base classes; we start as what used to be specializations.  So you don't start out as, say, a Jedi Knight anymore, you start out as a Sentinel or a Guardian.  You still go through the Knight story, but your playstyle is different from the start.  Each class starts with their preferred weapon style (for example, a Sentinel starts with two training blades, while a Shadow starts with an electrostaff), and each has distinct abilities that are exclusively reserved for that class.  Also, some classes gained new abilities to compliment their playstyle; for example, a Gunslinger no longer uses Dirty Kick as a stun, because they are pure ranged fighters. Instead, they get a shot that does the same thing. Scoundrels also regain an AOE that either drops at their feet if they're not a healer, or can be sent a short range away if they are a healer.  (these changes, of course, go across the faction line; IA classes have the same changes but with different animations and names based on their faction).

On top of that, crystals were removed from the game; no more data crystals, no more radiant crystals, no more warzone commendations.  Credits are now far more valuable than they were before.  However, you still get a special currency for bounty broker missions and Galactic Command, but someone who actually does that content would be better suited to tell about that.

All in all, SWTOR KoTET and the 5.0 changes were beneficial.  Class changes make things more distinct, and the Zakuul storyline was wrapped up nicely.  The only downside, for me at least, is the fear that I'm going to be sitting for months waiting through content that I don't care for before I get more story.  But only time will tell.

But for now, check out my referral code, and stay beautiful freaks!

DBXV Character Profiles Round 9

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks!  With Xenoverse 2 out now, on a system I still can't afford to get, I'm watching videos of it on youtube, and thus, have gotten the itch to play the first one again.  So, here's another character that I may recreate entirely in Xenoverse 2 when I finally get it.  Hopefully, the profits from the book I'm working on will let me settle a few things and finally get a PS4.  But for now, meet my new Time Patroller.

Name:Kazaa

Age: 12 (Physically and emotionally, but not in terms of experience)

Gender: Female

Species: Majin

Home Planet: Earth

Profile:  Kazaa is curious about EVERYTHING.  Just barely into her species equivalent of adolescence, the world is bright and new to her.  She wants to learn and experience everything the world has to offer, and idolizes Alaka like no other.  In fact, she's figured out how to copy other people's move, just like her idol!  And while she doesn't want to copy her idol's fighting style exactly, she is doing as Alaka did in her efforts to stop Demigra; try out all kinds of moves and see what fits her best.

Personality: It's as if she's seeing the world for the first time, and that's not far from the truth.  She's the youngest time patroller in Conton City (the Xenoverse 2 hub world), and wants to show the older fighters that she's just as good as they are, all while absorbing all she can about world, both the scientific and mystical aspects of it. 

 

Job: Time Patroller.

Name Pun: Magic words.  And since she's supposed to tie into Alaka, her name ties into the magic word "Alakazam".

 

I went with Videl's clothes as a whole "young girl fighting outfit" thing, instead of the "Majin pride" thing that we see on Alaka.  Hopefully, when my book comes out and I've paid off a couple of things, I'll be able to get a PS4 and Xenoverse 2, and create Kazaa in effect there.  

 

And yes, I am writing a book. A work of original fiction, which is a LOT harder than I thought it would be.  I'll keep this blog in the loop in the process, but like any story I've ever written before, the start is the hardest.  

 

But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

DBXV Character Profiles Round 8

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  

 

So, I'd been playing around with the character creator yesterday, and I realized that I'd built another human that looked exactly like Rayne, but with a change in her clothing.  So I was like "Wait, a second, this gives me an idea."  So I went ahead and deleted her, rebuilt her, and named her Rayne again.  But now, I'm giving her an updated profile, to reflect the changes she's gone through during the storyline of Dragon Ball Xenoverse. So here's Rayne's updated look and profile!

 

Name: Rayne

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Age they came from: 818

Home Planet: Earth

 

History: Trained in the style of the Turtle School by her grandfather Krillin from a young age, Rayne knew that she was outclassed by the alien fighters she grew up around.  And she refuses to undergo the extensive cybernetics that her grandmother went through in order to get a power boost.  To make up for these power based shortcomings, she researched different ways to manipulate ki; to poison, burn or freeze superior foes to give her a more even playing field.  And when Shenron, the Eternal Dragon of the Dragon Balls, told her that someone from a faraway land had called her, and to come forth, she happily accepted the offer, eager to see if her techniques could be integrated into Turtle School teachings for humans.

Personality: Rayne's confidence went through the roof after defeating Demigra by herself. (There's two possible endings for the main story of the game; one where, if you let your health get too low, Goku teleports in and helps you beat Demigra, with the final cutscene being you and Goku doing a Kamehameha together.  The other one, which is the only one I've gotten myself, is where you don't let your health get to that point, where you beat Demigra on your own, and you do that final Kamehameha by yourself, and get energy from the main cast.  It's a very moving scene, and I encourage you to look it up on youtube.) She still outwardly appears to take nothing seriously, always having a joke or a quip or a bit of sarcasm to offer at any moment to brighten the mood or demoralize an opponent.  But she's no longer afraid.  Rayne knows what she can do, knows that she's strong enough to defend history with her own strength without resorting to trickery.  She now relies on technique and skill, confident in her ability now.

Special: She no longer uses the Kaioken, but she's still equipped with the Spirit Bomb move. I've now modified her supers to be more unique to her, using moves that I don't normally use on my characters.

Name Pun: Rain. As in “water that falls form the sky.”  While she does not conform to the familial “named after chestnuts” thing, I figure her father has a weather type name, and the name came from there.

 

 

 

This outfit's called the Time Patrol Suit, which you get after beating the game the first time.  It's actually the clothes used for the promotional Time Patroller, the male Saiyan who looks like Gohan with red hair. You can also change the color of it, and this is the color scheme I like for it. I changed Rayne's hairstyle, because her original one clipped through the collar, and I thought the sunglasses fit her new look.  She's really come into her own after beating Demigra, and doing like all true masters of the Turtle School and truly making her fighting style her own.

Look forward to more DBXV/SWTOR stuff in the future, and stay beautiful freaks!

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DBXV Character Profiles Round 7

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  Today, I'm posting a few new characters from Xenoverse that I've created and deleted.  And on one of them, I came up with an interesting idea. Anyway, on with the character pictures and basic profiles.

Name: Ario

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Species: Namekian

Home Planet: Earth

Profile:  Ario loves Earth. He loves everything about Earth.  The sights, the sounds, the martial arts, the clothes, all of it.  And the culture. The culture of the Earthlings (and Saiyans by proxy, since they've been intermingling with the Earthlings for over a century) that he adores. Other Namekians tell him that their own culture needs to be protected and cultivated, but why?  The Namekians lost. Their homeworld was destroyed by Mira in Age 853, and their warriors are hardly the strongest beings in the universe.  Earthlings though? They have so much opportunity to do great things, from fighting to science to philosophy.  And Ario will fight to defend the world he loves so much.

Personality: Wide eyed and idealistic.  Ario wants to do everything that the Earthlings do and take part of the world they've created.

 

Job: Time Patroller.

Name Pun: Like the other Namekians, Ario is taken from a slug species, the Ariolimacidae family of slugs.

I put Ario next to an in game Namekian to show how short he is. He is literally the smallest body type for Namekians.

Bokcho!

Lettus!

Olve!

Rutabal!

Okara!

Together, they are the Okara Squad!  A Saiyan Team who escaped left Sadala before its destruction (In all timelines, not just Peparia's), these five Saiyans found a sort of immortality in the farthest reaches of the universe, unexplored by the greater civilizations.  This immortality made it so they would not age, would not die from age, but are not invulnerable; they can still be killed by enough damage without healing, they still need to eat and drink, and they still need to sleep.  However, this immortality comes at a price; none are able to have children.

For the past 300 years, the Okara Squad has traveled the farthest reaches of the universe, bringing justice where there was none, and clashing with Frieza's Empire, and the Ginyu Force in particular.  Their main point of contention between the two teams is the symbol on their armors; to Okara and her team, the symbol represents the planet they left behind and subsequently lost, but to the Ginyu Force, it to represent their devotion to Frieza.  

However, Frieza and his empire do not see them as Saiyans, due to their lack of tails; like the Sadalan Saiyans in Universe 6 of Dragon Ball Super, these Saiyans have mastered the powers of the Oozaru, but without the need to transform. They have the 10x power boost, but without the need to use the moon to get that boost. This, combined with what the Saiyans became on Planet Vegeta, gave them more than enough reason to willingly cut off their tails permanently.

The Okara Squad are physically between the ages of 30 and 50, but due to their unaging immortality, all are over 300 years.   They have centuries of combat experience, and joined the Time Patrol after being asked by the Slayer of Demigra to lend their strength for the future.  (Alaka and Peparia in my case, but they were brought in by any future "Future Warrior" that I create. Right now, I'm trying to grind out outfits, moves and other stuff, so I'm not really focusing on a new "Future Warrior.)

Oh, and for Okara herself, the hair color's not natural.  A pureblood Saiyan's hair is black, so Okara dyes her hair every 20-50 years as a distinction as leader.  

As for my stories; I'm working on finishing Lair of the Shadow Broker, and then Arrival.  From there, I will finally do chapter 2 of Ragdat's Darkest Days.

But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

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Dragon Ball Xenoverse Character Profiles Round 6

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  It's time for yet another round of DBXV characters, and unlike the most recent ones, one of the two gets the full treatment.

Name: Yoguri

Age:45

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Age they came from: 781

Home Planet: Earth

History: Yoguri was one of the many fighters over the years who trained for, and fought in, in the Tenkaichi Budokai tournaments. Unlike many fighters, however, she trained specifically to face Goku in the 24th tournament.  She'd even put in the effort to utilize ki, which allowed her to increase her physical strength and speed, boost her durability, fly and shoot energy beams from her fingers. However, that tournament that did not happen in the required timeframe; 11 years passed between the 23rd and 24th tournaments, and in that time, many things had changed.  Goku was revealed to be an alien fighter and surpassed her while he was out in space.  And even after he returned to Earth, he continued to grow stronger, and Yoguri knew she had no chance against the man who had once been her peer.  It didn't help when she noticed the weaklings that fought in the tournament were nowhere in her league anymore, if that idiot Mr. Satan had become the champion just before the Cell Games.

She missed her opportunity to fight Goku again in the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai seven years later, though, due to him being dead for that time, though between the weaker crop of fighters from the 24th tournament and the surprise that Goku was indeed brought back from the dead, she was able to forgive herself, and began training for the 26th tournament, only to bow out when she found out that Goku wasn't coming.

It was at that moment that the Time Patroller Trunks at finally getting a chance to have the fight with Goku that was denied her, by using their stable Time Machine technology and finally getting a chance to face the man she had been training her whole life for.

Personality: A happy-go-lucky woman who is serious about her training and bettering herself, she is content with just testing her strength against worthy opponents and training others to bring out their best.  She encourages healthy rivalries, since her own with Goku brought out the best in her, though the rivalry was unknown for years until they had the chance to talk in Toki Toki City.

Special: Yoguri is actually strange among humans in that she has the strange ability to temporarily copy the strength of the one she is fighting.  Had she actually fought Goku in the 24th tournament, she would have been strong enough to take him on in his fully mastered Super Saiyan state, though not necessarily beat him.  She also has the ability to mimic a technique that does not require her being a specific species in order to utilize it, such as the Kikoho or the Kamehameha. She can do it at least once in the "mimic state", but due to her extensive knowledge of ki and fighting techniques, it doesn't take her long to be able to figure out how to do it on her own.

Job: Yoguri is a trainer of Time Patrollers after discovering her two unique abilities, and teaches young fighters the strengths and weaknesses of the different species that they'll end up fighting on patrol.

Name Pun: Yogurt.  

Name: Angus

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Species: Saiyan

Home Planet: Earth

Profile:  Angus was a poor kid who ran away from home and lived on the streets of East City, and supported himself by being a pickpocket, but eventually found a talent for fighting.  It was revealed later that he was a Saiyan descendant when Time Patrol Trunks revealed his nature and offered him a chance at an honest living.

Personality: Angus tries to play it tough despite knowing how many fighters in Toki Toki City are better than he is.  He knows that he went from being a big fish in a small pond in East City to a small fish in a big pond in Toki Toki City, and he knows that these people have spent their lives as martial artists, but he's learning, and learning quickly.

Special: Trained under Yoguri from the moment Trunks brought him here, he has mastered the state of Super Saiyan, represented in game by the Super Vegeta transformation, signaling him being a descendant of Vegeta many times removed.  He lacks Yoguri's ability to copy moves by sight, so he utilizes a LOT of basic ki moves in game.

Job: Time Patroller.

Name Pun: Angus is a species of beef from the UK; the Angus region in Scotland, in fact.  It's also a reference to the Black Angus Steakhouse here in the United States.  It's also a reference to the fact that I used the tallest and beefiest body types in the game for his creation.

Thes two exist in all potential timelines for my 2 main characters.  I actually wanted Yoguri to have WON the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai, which was the first tournament that Goku had not participated since the 21st, but the wiki said that Mr. Satan had won that one shortly before the Cell Games, so that was out. So I had to come up with another backstory for her, which led better into the Time Patrol storyline that I have for her.  

Anyway, Angus' profile is going to be how most of my CaC characters will be from now on; telling what they do in Toki Toki City and a brief history instead of what I had done before.  Look forward to the next round of characters, and stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales KOTFE Photo Dump

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

Over the past week, I've been running through the Dark Vs Light Event as well as going through Chapter 16 of KOTFE, so I've had a chance to look at all my characters again.  And I've also been looking at videos of other people playing through content, so I've been making changes to my character's outfits, and doing other characters for the DVL event.

So, here's a round of pictures.  None will have profiles.

This guy's a Pureblood Sith, but when I realized that I'd remade ColMallus exactly, I chose to have a helmet on.  Which actually fits him better than I'd intended.

I like these gauntlets better than what I had before.

This fits better with the concept I had for her in Rise of Mamine, and her fall to the Dark Side.  This outfits screams, to me, "life support and stimulants to enhance combat capability".

I put this on her because the Voss Mystic robes kept getting caught on air and dragging behind her in cut scenes.   This also removes the whole connection to the Voss, due to Voss being one of those worlds that was under Arcann's thumb due to those stations he had above it.  Be hard for a Jedi Master to hide there, so I'm changing her to have been hiding "somewhere" while still leading the Jedi Order from exile. 

And these pictures are armors I could afford for them.  They're not exactly what I wanted for them, and Adaso's color scheme is not perfect; I wanted black on black, but that's extremely expensive on the GTN.

But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

Dragon Ball Xenoverse Characters

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  Today, I'm posting a little story based on a dream I had.  Yes, I dreamed of a backstory between two of my DBXV characters. I am a huge nerd.

But before I get into things, I need to state two things; first, I upped Peparia's age to 50, not 40, which means she's in her late 40s when she has her son.  Which, for a Saiyan, is not unreasonable for her to give birth for a second time; Saiyans age much slower than we do, as stated by Vegeta near the end of the series, and illustrated by Goku throughout.  I mean, look at how long it took Goku to truly reach maturity; he was well into his 20s before he had the current look he has now.  And that's not even mentioning how Vegeta gained a full head in height by the end of the series. 

Also, with only 10 years between Peparia and Rutin, that would have made Peparia VERY young when she had Celes; 13, to be exact. Humans, while reproductively capable at that age, girls are not old enough to be able to carry a baby to term and remain healthy during and after.  And if we judge Goku's development as any indication of Saiyan development, neither would a Saiyan.  At 23, however,  while a Saiyan will still have a few years more to grow and develop, Peparia would be perfectly old enough to carry a baby to term.

Secondly, this is LONG.  A four page word document.  So, go in to this post knowing you'll be scrolling through a LOT.

The fight between Peparia and Goku was amazing, Charri thought, as it winded down.  These two people are what she thought Saiyans should be like, instead of what the Earthborn descendants of Goku and Vegeta were becoming; yes, Saiyans weren’t the violent brutes that Vegeta grew up around, but neither were they like Goku anymore, either.  They’d lost their pride, and were nothing more than Earthlings with more potential power than the humans did.  Hell, Charri herself was the first Super Saiyan in the years since Goku and Vegeta had died!

She approached Peparia as Goku returned to the Kaioshin of Time to return to his home, and smiled slightly as she spoke up.  “That was one hell of a fight,” Charri said. 

Peparia, who had been breathing heavy after the battle, returned herself to full measure, and grinned.  “Yes, Kakarot is the epitome of what my people were trying to be before we were destroyed,” she said, placing her communicator, which looked like a Scouter to Charri, back on her ear.  “Strong but never looking for a fight, only taking them as they come along.  And he prefers to leave foes alive when he can, but never hesitates to kill when necessary.”

“Too bad his kids don’t take after him as much as they could,” Charri said sadly.  “Gohan and Goten turned out useless as they got older.”

“There have always been Saiyans like Gohan,” Peparia said.  “Kind hearted souls like him are more suited to keeping history or researching technology.  The only thing that I look down on him for is not keeping up with his training.  Everyone was expected to be able to fight on Sadala, whether they chose to or not.  

As for Goten, I agree with you.  He took the frivolous lifestyle of an Earthling after Buu was defeated, no matter what timeline I look at.” Peparia’s brow furrowed slightly.  “Forgive my rudeness, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Charri said, extending her hand.  “Son Charri.  Goten’s my great-grandpa.”

“I see,” Peparia said, smiling as she took the younger woman’s hand.  “That’s why you took an interest in my fight with Kakarot.”

“That, and not many Saiyans of my generation CAN go Super Saiyan,” Charri said.  “It’s exciting to see other Super Saiyans around, and especially to see the legends of the past.”

“In my day, the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan was a mark of tragedy,” Peparia said, her voice drooping slightly.  “Either that you experienced great rage, or extreme grief.”

“Which one was yours?” Charri blurted out, immediately regretting her words.

Peparia looked directly at Charri, a frown on her face, her eyes holding great sadness at the very memory of her transformation.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Charri said, covering her mouth out of shock and horror.

“It’s fine,” Peparia said, a sad smile creeping up her face. “It was a long time ago.”

“Just because 300 years has passed between the event and now doesn’t mean…” Charri responded, but was cut off by Peparia. 

“300 years for you, yes. But 25 have passed for me,” Peparia said.  “I was a member of House Dakkon, one of the noble houses on Sadala.  All noble houses had a duty to the people; it was how our founder became a noble in the first place.”

“What was yours?” Charri asked.

“House Dakkon’s role was to teach young Saiyans to completely and utterly dominate the Oozaru form,” Peparia said.  “The Oozaru form is extremely dangerous to everything and everyone around you, as your history shows with Kakarot and Gohan.  However, Dakkon, the first of my house, learned to beat the beast within us into submission, and was the first to be able to look at the full moon and not transform.  He began teaching other Saiyans this, and at that point, we were no longer restricted by the phases of the moon.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would be important,” Charri said.  “An entire planet of Oozarus would really not be able to build any kind of future.”

“Yes. Dakkon made our civilization possible,” Peparia said.  “We were actually one of the most powerful houses due to this responsibility, and that duty was drilled into us since birth.”

“So, what happened to you?” Charri asked.

“I was an up and coming member of the house when I was young,” Peparia said, a slight amount of pride in her voice. “I had mastered the Oozaru form in record time, and even had some modicum of control over it, though not to the extent that Vegeta had when he attacked your planet; I could recognize people and take command of others, but unlike Vegeta, I did not have the place of mind to speak and strategize.  So that is why I was chosen to help end an inter-house conflict.  

You see, there was always political troubles between the houses, as all were trying to get in the best possible position in our government.  But due to our importance, none of the other houses would declare outright war on us, because we were the only ones with the secrets of mastering the Oozaru form, for fear of us refusing to train their children.  Yes, others had tried to learn these techniques, but we had secret techniques that could only be taught while the student was IN the Oozaru form, so no one outside my family actually knew what was done to finalize the training.  But this house figured out how to handle their private vendetta against us; through financial means, social means, and when they could get away with it, one on one duels between one of their members and one of ours.”

“So, how did the conflict end?” Charri said.  She did find the information on the society of the Ancient Saiyans to be interesting, but she wasn’t sure where this story was going yet.

“The heads my house and the house we were in conflict with decided that the best way to end it was a breeding alliance; I was an up and coming member of my house and I was due to start training young Saiyans myself, and the other house had another member of his house that was poised for greatness as well, so we were selected to unite the lines with blood.  Luckily for us, we got along, and found each other attractive, so having a child together was not a problem.

Once Celes was born, it was decided by both houses that she would stay with me until she was a trained fighter and had mastered the Oozaru form,” Peparia said.  “Once she had mastered the physical, she would stay with her father’s clan and learn their ways.  From there, it was expected that she would grow and form her own house and unite all three.  Her father and I were to remain deeply involved in her life until she was grown.  And for a while, it worked.

Peparia’s face drooped slightly.  “But one night, the night of a full moon, everything changed.  A child that I was supposed to have trained transformed into an Oozaru and started terrorizing the city.  And even though it was the job of the full moon patrol to handle this, the child was my student, so I felt responsible for what was happening, because I hadn’t done my job.  I mean, yes, I did my job, but I didn’t really do my job, if that makes any sense.”

“More than you know,” Charri said, compassion oozing in her words, finally realizing where Peparia was going.

“I tried to reason with Rutin, but because I hadn’t gotten to know him like I should have, I didn’t get through.  So I had to fight him.  And I was not prepared to face an Oozaru, because I lacked a full moon patroller’s special training,” Peparia said, practically choking on her words.  “But Celes, my little girl, my joy, had followed me and wanted to help me.  But she was no more prepared to face and Oozaru than I was; less, in fact, because she was NOT trained to fight.  So she was swatted aside by Rutin and…” Tears rolled down Peparia’s eyes as she recounted the next few moments. “He began stomping her.  Over and over again.  So I did the only thing I could think of to save my daughter; I cut off Rutin’s tail.  And when he transformed back, I called the full moon patrol, told them of his location, and then rushed my daughter to the hospital.”

“Oh jeez,” Charri said, placing her hand gently on Peparia’s shoulder in a show of sympathy.

“The doctors could not help her,” Peparia said, wiping the tears from her eyes.  “Her internal organs had been crushed so badly that they’d never work correctly again.  She was dying, and all I could do was watch and hold her as she died.  My four-year-old little girl, my joy, had died.  And when she did, I was so overwhelmed with grief, with guilt, with so much rage at myself that I transformed into a Super Saiyan.”

“I am so sorry for making you relive that,” Charri said, not knowing what to do or what to say.  This strong warrior that defeated Demigra and saved time itself was now so sad, so vulnerable.

“I was put on trial a few days later,” Peparia continued.  “I was Rutin’s teacher, and the fact that he was of age to be able to control that form, to at least be able to not rampage while transformed, was my failure.  Because I hadn’t gotten to know him, I was responsible for his failure at control.  I had been focused on Celes, on the fame that I got from having her that I wasn’t concentrating on my duties to my people.

I offered no defense at my trial, and was willing to accept my punishment, to accept the death that they would certainly sentence me with.  Because not only had I not done my job with Rutin, but I had cut off his tail.  And that was considered a mark of shame among my people; it meant that you were not trusted to control yourself under the full moon, and that measure was only to be taken after great deliberation between the teacher, the student’s family and the city’s officials.  The fact that I did it to save my daughter was immaterial; I overstepped my authority and shamed Rutin.  

There were two things on my side though. First, Rutin was still young enough to regrow his tail.  Second was my advocate; it was Celes’ uncle on her father’s side.  He knew that having her die in my arms destroyed me, but he also knew that I still had potential. And he knew about my transformation.  Which, along with Rutin’s age, was his defense for me; he had me transform in the courtroom, though, since I had no training on how to transform at will, he forced me to relive Celes’ death, which was much harder on me then than it is now.  He brought up my guilt, and using the doctor’s report, accurately described what Celes was feeling as she died.  And, once again, I transformed.

The judges knew right then and there that whatever punishment the state could dish out would pale in comparison to what I had already been through.  So they did the only thing that they could do; they made me go see the hermit that taught how to master the Super Saiyan transformation.  I was also taken off my family’s training schedule and put on the full moon patrol, since I had more than enough power to take on an Oozaru now.”

“I am so sorry,” Charri said, unable to think of anything else to say.

“The story isn’t all bad.  After I had finished my training, first at mastering my transformation and then finishing the training needed to become a member of the moon patrol, my father, Rutin’s mother, and even Rutin himself asked the state if I could finish his training.  His mother said that, while she hadn’t forgiven me for cutting off his tail, this was the best way to make up for it.  My father said that this would help regain my status as a member of House Dakkon in good standing, and Rutin himself felt just as guilty about Celes’ death as I did, and wanted to make sure this never happened again.

Our training was monitored, of course.  My father and a member of the moon patrol were on hand while I taught him, though only the moments when my house’s proprietary techniques were used was the moon patroller not around.  But I finished Rutin’s training; by the time his tail regrew a year later, he was more than prepared for his next full moon with his tail.  But I didn’t just pass him off, as I was supposed to do; I moved on to the next state of training, and then the next and so on until he finally had the Oozaru form under his thumb,” Peparia said, a slight smile creeping up her face.

“Well, at least some good came out of the situation,” Charri said, nonchalantly.  

“There’s more,” Peparia said, smiling.  “We spent many years together; training begins at 6, and ends at 14.  House Dakkon’s teachers were meant to only train a certain age group, and I was supposed to train the 6-9 year olds.  I trained Rutin from age 7 to the completion of his training at 14.  So we got very close during that time.  I even trained him how to fight the way House Dakkon fights, which was far more extensive than his peasant upbringing would give him, so we got very close. He even joined the full moon patrol at the age of 18, when he had finally come of age, after doing something that no Saiyan had done in a century; he completely mastered the Oozaru form, to where he could think and talk and strategize.    That made him a very potent ally to the full moon patrol; he was able match a rampaging Oozaru in both strength and size, but he had the peace of mind to actually fight them and subdue them without hurting them, or the landscape.  Combine that with a Super Saiyan as his partner, and we were very effective at our jobs.

And by that point, we had both realized that we had fallen in love.  Which was incredibly unusual for us; as a warrior race where every member is expected to fight, courtship emotions aren’t normally maintained due to the fact that we all know we could die in combat at any time.  We usually just look for a mate with traits that were worthy of passing on, or through breeding alliances between houses.  We rarely bonded based on an emotional connection, but after so much time and so much bonding we had done over the years, we couldn’t help it.”

“Wait, what about hour husband?” Charri asked.  “You know, Celes’ father?”

Peparia chuckled.  “Celes’ father and I were not bondmates. Were it not for the importance of Celes to our houses’ peace agreement, we likely wouldn’t have seen each other again outside coincidence or circumstance.  But Celes was important to our families, so it was both of our responsibilities to raise her, despite how unusual it was.  Usually it was the mother’s job to raise the children due to maternal instincts, and the father’s job to teach the child how to be a warrior after the Oozaru training was complete.  But our houses wanted Celes to be loyal to both houses, and parental influence from both of us from day one was the best way to handle it.

However, by the time Rutin was 20, I was no longer an up and coming member of House Dakkon; I was the longest running teacher that House Dakkon had and a powerful member of the full moon patrol at best and a cautionary tale about responsibility at worst.  So Rutin and I went through the unusual ceremony to signify to the world that we had chosen to become bondmates, that chose to ‘marry’ in your terms, and we had a son several years later.  In that time, Rutin was adopted into House Dakkon, and worked with me in training our youngest students, telling them his side of the story of Celes’ death, and the importance expressing their doubts to their teachers, to ensure that they could tailor the training to them.”

Charri was quiet for a few moments. This was a huge revelation about the woman she admired so much.

“Unfortunately, his story ended as most on Sadala did; he, like the majority of us, could not get on the escape ships.  The most we could do was get our son Vegeta onto an escape ship to ensure our people’s future.  And we watched the escape ships, holding each other while we floated in the sky, knowing we saved our race, prepared for the star to consume us,” Peparia said.  “Well, until time froze for me and I was summoned by Shenron, but that’s neither here nor there.”

There we go.  I'll monitor the traffic for this post, as well as comments and likes, to see if there's interest in more stuff like this.  But for now, stay beautiful freaks!