They are not. Masques are magic. Freeza's first three forms are biological. However, the way Masques and restricted forms function in terms of power level changes are similar enough that they mutually serve as effective metaphors for each other.
[X] ...stretch of mountains, a way south of your current cliff. Ooh, that one has an avalanche going on!
Nosebleed Steroetype
You grin down at Maya. "Come on!" You then rocket off to the south. "I think I see an avalanche!"
You hear a dull thump as Maya accelerates through the sound barrier behind you, catching up in a few moments. "No- nobody's there, right?"
You shake your head, shoving ki into your vocal chords. All communication at this speed is a matter of ki; either telepathy, or enhancing your voice to push through the sound barrier and the howl of the wind. "I don't sense anybody. But it looks cool!"
You catch the barest hint of a laugh from her as you put on another burst of speed.
You come to a halt a moment later, over what is, indeed, a roaring avalanche. You stare down at it, grinning, as Maya draws level with you. An avalanche lacks the impression of visceral power for you that a human feels upon seeing it -- after all, you were all but immune to things like avalanches by the time you were three. But it's still a beautiful sight.
You glance over at Maya, and notice that that's not quite the case for her. It's something of which you been meaning to break her, honestly. She knows she's strong, but she hasn't really realized it on a more basic level. Head, not heart, and all that. You smile; if you were looking for opportunities...
She glances at you and then does a double-take, flushing. "Wha- wha-" She swallows. "What is i- it?" She blinks and pats at her face, looking a bit panicky. "Do I-?"
You wave your hand. "You're fine." You point down towards the thundering plume of snow. "Race you to the bottom?"
She blinks again. Then she looks down. Then back up at you. "You- you mean-?"
"Through the avalanche!" you say, grinning.
She frowns. "But won't that-? Oh..."
You nod. "Now you're getting it. Come on!"
She dithers for a moment, sucking in her cheeks, before sighing. "Okay."
"Okay!" you say. "First one to the bottom wins! On three: one...two...three!"
tsew
tsew
The two of you rocket towards Garenhuld, the wind shrieking in your ears. The avalanche swells in your vision before you punch down into the spray. You pull up, avoiding an impact with the ground, and tear off through the plume.
Flying blind is an interesting experience. A lot of it is firing of ki sense pulses, rapid fire, and listening to the returns; like sonar, except better at punching through stuff like this snow plume. It helps a lot; you don't feel the loss of your eyes as much. There's still a trick, though; you have to time yourself carefully. While a normal human would say that you get enough returns per second that you basically have a live feed, from your perspective it's a lot jerkier. For one thing, at your power level, even the power level you show in public, you don't deal in anything so prosaic as seconds. So, you get snapshots of your surroundings, small but noticeable amounts of time apart. Like a really jerky video that's always skipping frames. Flying blind is more like plotting a million courses in rapid succession than anything continuous. It's easier with living beings -- those actually give off ki to sense, so with them you can watch what they're doing live. Rocks, uprooted trees, and general debris? Not so much. Still, though, you've gotten good enough at ki sensing that the interval is small even subjectively.
Maya, on the other hand, has a lot to learn.
You snicker to yourself as you hear your friend start smashing through the larger pieces of debris carried along in the plume.
"Very funny, Karen!"
You curve smoothly around a tree tumbling down the slope. "Come on, Maya, you're fine!"
crunch
bang
CRACK
"KAREN I CAN'T SEEEEEEEEE!"
"That's the point! C'mon, ping me!"
pingpingpi-
WHAM
pingping-
crunch
Despite her distress, Maya eventually gets her trajectory back under control and starts dodging most of the obstacles in her path. You do pull ahead, though; the gap is pretty wide.
Still, you can feel her hesitation melting away with every second. She stops pausing and hesitating so much, and by the time the two of you reach the bottom, she doesn't even pause when she hits a rolling boulder and smashes straight through.
Laughing in glee, you pull up in a streak of white light and touch down onto a ledge higher up on the opposite slope from the avalanche, pristine thanks to your aura. You turn smoothly.
WHUMP
Maya slams down next to you, shivering and covered from head to toe in powder. She gasps at the sudden sting of the wind. "Karen why?"
You snicker, clapping your hands and blasting the snow off. "Sorry. I thought you'd have fun."
She wraps her arms around herself, trying to will warmth back into her skin. "Maybe if I ha- hadn't gotten frozen." Hello, little prey.
You roll your eyes. "Come on, then." You step forward, wrapping your aura around her to share the heat, and take off, grabbing her by the wrist. You hear a stifled squeak as you fly up to the summit of your current mountain. You wince at a sudden stab of pressure in your skull and sheepishly reinforce your aura. Honestly, at your power and skill level, letting air pressure get to you is just embarrassing. You reach the summit and set down, setting Maya next to you, your aura still flaring around her. "I can keep us both warm like this. And we can see the view!" You watch as the spot you were standing is obliterated as the avalanche hits the bottom of the slope, grinning.
Maya, cheeks, flaming red, mumbles something indistinct before settling in. ...a Seer. Kanassan, unless I miss my guess...saiyan?! How?
You stare out at the mountains, enjoying the view, but...you're starting to have some trouble there. Your thoughts keep turning back to the dragon. Do they now?
You know that it's coming. It's due in a week, according to all the visions you and the other Seers have had. Of course, visions aren't perfect if a seer is messing around, but the dragon is coming from space. Nothing you could do would change that. You would be surprised.
But all of that is irrelevant. Because the deadline is in a week. And there's something you've been putting off.
You sigh. Maya looks up.
"Ka- Karen? You okay?"
You don't answer for a moment, still looking down the slope. Then, not moving, you say, "Maya, there's something I need to tell you."
You actually hear her heart rate triple. "Ye- ye-" She swallows. "Mm?"
You look up, frowning in concern, and she gasps in shock. "Karen! You're bleeding!"
She points at your face. Confused, you raise your finger to your nose. It comes away red. Ah. Sloppy of me. Well. That's my cue, then.
You frown. "What on Earth-?" T̡I̳̫͠M̢̦E̘̖̜ ̜̱̖̪̠͡T̩͖O̴ ̣H͠Ư̮NT̛͙.̷̮̜̩͈̱
* * *
T̴͆ͣ̑͆̚h͆͑̇̇̆̚͏ȇ̡ͪ͛ͫ͊ͭ͒reͦ͒͂͂ͨͪ͊
* * *
It coasts through space, not by the grace of its wings, but by the effort of pure will. Impulse alone moves it, and in that manner it covers distances that light would envy.
It does not navigate space with its eyes; those are a pointless vulnerability to all of the tiny pieces of debris it might encounter. It flies by sense, saving itself the trouble of protecting them with the same will that moves it.
But it is no longer deep in space, traversing the gap between stars.
Eyes open.
Wings unfurl.
* * *
B̴̩̭̪̘̳̥͔̳̤͍̘͉̥̠͙͡͠À̸̡̞̖̻̰́͘C̡̩͙͍̙̲̣͇̀́K̙͈͓̮͡͝
* * *
You come to with Maya shaking you by the shoulders. "Karen! Karen, what is it! What are you see- ack!"
You bolt to your feet in the middle of her sentence, staring skyward.
As you do, a hideous, powerful ki presence unfurls in orbit, laced with malice and contempt. High up, you see the first hints of orange fire as it begins its entry. You dash the blood from your nose and shove ki through your face until the broken vessels heal.
You hear Maya behind you, her voice thready and scared. "Ka- Ka- Karen...wh- what is tha- that thing?"
Your eyes widen. Oh, kais, and it did this right now, too!
You whirl, setting your hands on her shoulders. "Maya, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you, I promise, I was just about to tell you when I got the vision, but it's here now a week ahead of time and I'm sorry!"
Her eyes fix on your face. "What's happening?"
You take a somewhat shuddering breath and hug her. "It's a monster, and it's coming, and I need you to stay back. My Dad and my Grandma and Jaron's Grandpa are all going to handle it, and I need you to go far away, before you get hurt!"
She pulls back. "What?!" She...glares...at you. "YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE?!"
You blink. "Maya, I-"
She snaps her hand across, and the shockwave shatters rock. "NO! NO, YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME TO LEAVE!" She breathes in, quick, skipping. "I'm stronger than you right now. If you can fight, I can too! I'm not leaving! I'm staying here to help!"
Kais why why did we let her think she was the strongest why?
You step forward, hands on her shoulders again. "Maya, listen to me." Your voice cracks. You close your eyes. You open them.
And you tell the truth.
"We have been lying to you. You aren't as strong as me. You're not even close. I'm not even human! I wear a human face and act like I'm one of you, but Karen isn't even my real name! And right now, this monster is strong enough that even we're scared to fight it, all together!" You close your eyes again, tears welling up. "I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted to tell you." You choke down a sob, and start to take off your Masque.
Maya stares at you, tears in her own eyes. "...who are you?"
You give her a watery smile. "I'm Kakara Gine Goku." You step back, and turn around to face the dragon.
You don't need to scream to power up, not anymore. But every fraction of a second, no matter how you're slicing them, counts now, and so you want your power level to be straining at the leash when you come out of Masque, ready to burst up to your max.
As your voices echoes back at you from the surrounding mountains, your muscles sharpen and streamline themselves, gaining the kind of definition that humans just don't get if they want to use those muscles for anything. You gain a few inches of height. Your face acquires hard, sharp edges and points that your human form lacks. Your tail sprouts.
The change completes, and your aura burns blue. You let the cry trail off, and peer up at the dragon. It's still in entry -- it doesn't even look like it's making a powered descent. It's taking its time.
The world burns gold as you blast the snow from the mountaintop, and transform.
In the midst of that storm of gold light, you palm a globe of light before throwing it in between you and the dragon. "Burst open and mix!"
The false moon bursts, and you feel your muscles start to seize as the light from your transformation abates. As you begin to grow, you send a message to every Exile on the planet, and Maya. THE DRAGON IS HERE!
You finish growing, the size of a small skyscraper. The power ball shuts down, and you peer at the incoming dragon. You roar in defiance.
The dragon is here. The other super saiyans are responding, and will be here by the time the dragon makes landfall, at its current pace. Where will you meet it?
[ ] You fight here, in the mountains. The peaks will grant you cover; that thing is massive, even more than you, so you'll benefit more than it will.
[ ] Take this to somewhere open. Grandma Apra will need the open sight lines for sniping, and all four of you will be able to combine fire more easily, this way.
[ ] Get away from land entirely, and head for the nearest ocean. You're miles from civilization in any direction, but you can't risk any Garenhulders seeing this. There are huge swathes of ocean that no Garenhulder has ever seen.
[ ] Write-in.
TWO-HOUR MORATORIUM. THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.
We are at HAPCON 1.
Big breath, everybody.
Then, the plunge.
A week ahead of time, the dragon has arrived. Making its way down to Garenhuld's surface on plumes of fire, Kakara is set for the fight of her life. With the other super saiyans still on their way, she must choose where the battle will take place. What's more, she must ensure that Maya stays out of the fight. Tune in next time for the largest battle yet, on Dragon Ball AE.
Why the hell were we expecting this to be on time? I mean, things showing up at the worst possible moment are the norm, and even though you can't predict exactly when that is, early is always a good answer.
This fight already feels like it's going to be one big funeral for every one else who's powerful and relevant in the series so far and maybe even for Kakara if were unlucky.
Why the hell were we expecting this to be on time? I mean, things showing up at the worst possible moment are the norm, and even though you can't predict exactly when that is, early is always a good answer.
She wraps her arms around herself, trying to will warmth back into her skin. "Maybe if I ha- hadn't gotten frozen." Hello, little prey.
You roll your eyes. "Come on, then." You step forward, wrapping your aura around her to share the heat, and take off, grabbing her by the wrist. You hear a stifled squeak as you fly up to the summit of your current mountain. You wince at a sudden stab of pressure in your skull and sheepishly reinforce your aura. Honestly, at your power and skill level, letting air pressure get to you is just embarrassing. You reach the summit and set down, setting Maya next to you, your aura still flaring around her. "I can keep us both warm like this. And we can see the view!" You watch as the spot you were standing is obliterated as the avalanche hits the bottom of the slope, grinning.
Maya, cheeks, flaming red, mumbles something indistinct before settling in. ...a Seer. Kanassan, unless I miss my guess...saiyan?! How?
You stare out at the mountains, enjoying the view, but...you're starting to have some trouble there. Your thoughts keep turning back to the dragon. Do they now?
You know that it's coming. It's due in a week, according to all the visions you and the other Seers have had. Of course, visions aren't perfect if a seer is messing around, but the dragon is coming from space. Nothing you could do would change that. You would be surprised.
But all of that is irrelevant. Because the deadline is in a week. And there's something you've been putting off.
You sigh. Maya looks up.
"Ka- Karen? You okay?"
You don't answer for a moment, still looking down the slope. Then, not moving, you say, "Maya, there's something I need to tell you."
You actually hear her heart rate triple. "Ye- ye-" She swallows. "Mm?"
You look up, frowning in concern, and she gasps in shock. "Karen! You're bleeding!"
She points at your face. Confused, you raise your finger to your nose. It comes away red. Ah. Sloppy of me. Well. That's my cue, then.
You frown. "What on Earth-?" T̡I̳̫͠M̢̦E̘̖̜ ̜̱̖̪̠͡T̩͖O̴ ̣H͠Ư̮NT̛͙.̷̮̜̩͈̱
Hello, little prey.
You roll your eyes. "Come on, then." You step forward, wrapping your aura around her to share the heat, and take off, grabbing her by the wrist. You hear a stifled squeak as you fly up to the summit of your current mountain. You wince at a sudden stab of pressure in your skull and sheepishly reinforce your aura. Honestly, at your power and skill level, letting air pressure get to you is just embarrassing. You reach the summit and set down, setting Maya next to you, your aura still flaring around her. "I can keep us both warm like this. And we can see the view!" You watch as the spot you were standing is obliterated as the avalanche hits the bottom of the slope, grinning.
Maya, cheeks, flaming red, mumbles something indistinct before settling in. ...a Seer. Kanassan, unless I miss my guess...saiyan?! How?
You stare out at the mountains, enjoying the view, but...you're starting to have some trouble there. Your thoughts keep turning back to the dragon. Do they now?
You know that it's coming. It's due in a week, according to all the visions you and the other Seers have had. Of course, visions aren't perfect if a seer is messing around, but the dragon is coming from space. Nothing you could do would change that. You would be surprised.
But all of that is irrelevant. Because the deadline is in a week. And there's something you've been putting off.
You sigh. Maya looks up.
"Ka- Karen? You okay?"
You don't answer for a moment, still looking down the slope. Then, not moving, you say, "Maya, there's something I need to tell you."
You actually hear her heart rate triple. "Ye- ye-" She swallows. "Mm?"
You look up, frowning in concern, and she gasps in shock. "Karen! You're bleeding!"
She points at your face. Confused, you raise your finger to your nose. It comes away red. Ah. Sloppy of me. Well. That's my cue, then.
You frown. "What on Earth-?" T̡I̳̫͠M̢̦E̘̖̜ ̜̱̖̪̠͡T̩͖O̴ ̣H͠Ư̮NT̛͙.̷̮̜̩͈̱
But Kakara not in seer mode at the moment due to her interaction with Maya so why would he detect her?
Sure when she or other seers actively scanning him.
But Kakara not in seer mode at the moment due to her interaction with Maya so why would he detect her?
Sure when she or other seers actively scanning him.
Well, what does everyone else think? Far from the people, a nice open place, and the ice layers are probably thick enough, and built up on enough rock that getting knocked down probably won't deposit you into the ocean to drown.
