Capsules always stupefied Raspin. Ever since he was a child, he was completely lost on how there was anyway someone could fit such massive objects inside such tiny devices. As he matured into a young adult, he remained just as clueless. Still, he wasn't complaining about the amazing little gadgets. Especially when Corset dashed one against the ground and summoned a hovering camper van. Hobbling after the scientist, Raspin whistled in approval, awed by it's sleek and modern design.
"Nice." Raspin coughed, the pain in his ribs still bothering him, "And here I was looking forward to sleeping under the stars for the next couple of weeks."
"Urgh," Corset looked repulsed by the mere suggestion, "What do I look like, a dog? No. Unlike you, I'm a civilized adult. I prefer to sleep in a warm bed with a roof over my head."
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it. Roughing it out for a few days might do you a bit of good-"
Raspin stopped mid sentence, a fresh rush of pain racing through his body. His lungs objected to his sass in their damaged state. Coughing up blood, he collapsed at the camper's doorway on a single knee. Grimacing, Corset aided him back to his feet.
"Yeesh. It's a miracle you're kicking. Don't worry; I also took the liberty of installing a recuperation tank."
Corset dragged Raspin towards the back, past the bunk-beds but just before they entered the restroom. There, set into the wall with a mess of tubing, was a long pod that reached would easily fit a man of Raspin's tall height sitting down.
"Easy does it," Corset chided him, letting him rest against the railing of the bunk-beds as he fiddled with the console at the pod's side, "Just a few hours in here and you'll be right as rain. Never had to use it myself, fortunately. Ever been in one?"
"Once or twice." Raspin responded lowly and with a pained wince, still clutching at his rib-cage.
"Then I don't have to waste time explaining. Get your ass in there." Corset said, his bedside manor nonexistent.
Grumbling, Raspin shuffled inside the pod, not allowing the scientist to glimpse his back. Slowly setting himself inside, he slapped on the oxygen mask and let his pained body relax into the cushioned, waterproof seat provided.
The martial artist was already expecting the low hiss before it arrived. That hiss signaled the rush of emerald fluid as it began flooding the pod's interior. Squeezing his eyes shut, Raspin breathed in the sleeping gas and pain killers mixed in with air supply and let the fluid consume his entire body.
"There we go." Corset mewled, tapping his hand against the glass, "Just take a little nap, big guy. I'll set us on course for the next ball. I'll leave you some fresh clothes in the shower room after you're all healed up."
Raspin didn't necessarily enjoy the arrogant geek talking down to him as if he were a helpless child, but he was stripped of options. Shooting Corset a weak thumbs-up, he let sleep consume him.
The drugs provided a sound sleep. They also provided relief for the pain; mended his wounds, made him stronger than ever. But they were precisely the problem. The healing solution aided his body at the grave cost of his peace of mind. It as that sickly chemical scent. It totally filled his sensitive nose, dredging up memories his mind had done it's damnedest to suppress.
Everything was dark. Soon enough, he found something had changed. He wasn't big or strong anymore. He was just a boy; a scarred little boy standing as defiantly as he dared against a monster.
The terrifying man towered over him, his stark-white lab coat and pale face making him look a terrifying phantom. The pale man's red-orange eyes burned down at the child like a death-hungry supernova.
"So… you tried to escape again, number seven?" the pale man mewled down at the boy – his jaw made no movements. It was clad in iron, a speaker set into the front echoing what he had to say with a tinny reverb.
The child Raspin swallowed down the lump of fear lodged in his throat. Cold sweat raced down his clammy skin, sticking the raggedy yellow jumpsuit to his boyish muscles. Weakly, he raised his shaky fists to show he was willing to fight. Even he could tell it was an entirely pointless gesture.
"My… my name isn't number seven, you bastard! It's Raspin!"
The malicious doctor laughed. It was deep, the reverb from his artificial jaw twisting it into a grating, bone-chilling whine and drilling it deep into Raspin's skull.
"You're designated as project number seven. And that's all you shall respond to. Understand? Or are you in need of more… disciplinary action?"
The doctor raised one of his pale hands, red bolts of electricity crackling along his digits. Raspin's meek cries of rebellion went still in his dry throat. He clenched his tiny fists all the tighter, and small bits of blood dripped from where his fingernails dug into his palm. Against his meek facade of bravery, his whole body went trembling.
And from behind him, his fuzzy brown tail went rigid before tucking near his waist.
Raspin reacted in the only way he knew how. Cocking back his arm, he roared and sprung towards the doctor, trying to slam his fist into the bastard's chest. Instead, the waves of pain ended up shooting through his arm. The doctor pulled out his other hand and blocked Raspin's punch with a hand of smooth metal; an artificial apparatus that quickly went on to seize the young boy the wrist.
Dragging Raspin closer, the doctor slammed his crimson electric charge into the boy's chest, his smooth coolness that a normal man would use for filing papers rather than putting down a rebellious child. Raspin cried in agony, tail rising and body violently shaking as the bolts raced throughout his being.
With the calm yet brutal efficiency that was more machine than man, the doctor slammed the smoking boy into the cool ground. He stomped atop Raspin's neck, using his artificial hand to seize the boy by the tail. Raspin's burned body went from went to rigid. His teeth clenched and eyes squeezed shut from the agony coursing through his body.
The doctor lifted him up. Raspin couldn't see, but he could smell the doctor's cheap cologne, sweat, and the stink of oil. He felt the icy metal finger prod the nasty wound burned into his chest, and he whined as even more pain wracked his body.
"It's time for your time out, number seven."
Raspin felt his head being slammed in the floor. He felt his world titter out and go dark. But he could still smell that sickly sweet medicine.
The young martial artist bolted from his nightmare with a start, hearing the helpful ding of the rejuvenation chamber as it confirmed he was in perfect physical health. The used healing solution flushed down the drain at his feet, and he watched it go with a thumping heart and wide eyes. The second the fluid was gone, the door swung open. Raspin ripped his mask off, trying to ignore the sweet stench that the medicine had left clinging to his body. He padded out of the pod, feeling even more vim and vigor fill his body, his strength back and swelling like magma under a volcano.
Taking a few short hops to wake up his sleeping legs, Raspin stumbled into the restroom, yanking off his soaked pants and boxers. Taking a quick shower, and utilizing his super-speed to quickly scrub down his body, Raspin shortly began drying off with a fluffy towel. Removing it from his hair, he was disheartened to find his mess of jet black spikes still as rebellious as ever. Batting them down as well as he could, Raspin slowly craned his neck over to his change of clothes, praying that Corset hadn't left anything that'd make a clown out of him.
A blue tank-top and black sweatpants. Plain, but he wasn't a flashy sort anyway. He slapped them on, finding them a bit tight, but figuring it was better than wearing nothing but tattered remains of his gi. The second he slipped on his fresh shirt, he felt his belly growl from underneath the thin fabric. It dawned on him that he had never got around to shopping and picking up lunch. Looking out of the camper's window, he saw nothing but a dark sky with twinkling stars rush by. He'd have to make up for his lost carbs during dinner.
Raiding the kitchen, Raspin began with several boxes of cheese-flavored snack crackers as an appetizer, washing the salty treats down with an entire jug of water. He started up several boxes of instant noodles while the pizzas were baking, shortly enjoying them with an assortment of energy drinks. Wolfing down more goodies and chugging beer in the meantime, he left the kitchen an absolute nightmare in his ravenous wake.
It was in the middle of his fifth bowl of cereal that Corset sleepily stumbled in, eyes bursting wide as he witnessed the feeding frenzy.
"Dude!"
"What?" Raspin asked, gulping down what was in his mouth.
"You're eating all of my food! Good grief, where are you even putting it all?! All this crap should've ruptured your stomach by now! I've only ever seen majins eat like this, and they can make their stomachs the size of a damn swimming pool!"
"I guess I've always been a big eater." the nonchalant Raspin chuckled, sticking a chicken leg into his mouth. Quickly, he yanked it back out, leaving the bone completely naked, "Ah, don't go crying. A fellas gotta keep himself fed to keep his strength up, right?"
Corset furiously rubbed his temples in a fruitless attempt to sooth his incoming headache, "Fine, fine. Whatever. I suppose there are stranger things out in the universe than a single man cleaning out an entire kitchen for dinner. If you're that hungry, then eat all you want. I'll have more than enough money to make up for it after I get my wish."
Raspin nearly chocked on the scrambled eggs he was shoveling down. Looking incredulity up at Corset, Raspin wagged his dirty fork at him, "Is that seriously all that you're after? Money? I thought you said you were the president of the Capsule Corporation. Shouldn't you already be rolling in zeni?"
"Not necessarily," a deep sigh rumbled around in Corset's chest, "Haven't you ever heard of Capsule Corporation before today?"
Raspin's mouth was full of ham, so he wagged his head side-to-side.
"It was founded and been operated by the Briefs family for generations. For a long while, we were among the most wealthy and influential people on the planet. Hell, our founder was the one who invented capsules... though, the name should've made that bit obvious."
"Then what happened?" Raspin asked between mouthfuls of chow-mein, "Did ya'll invest in bad stocks or somethin'?"
"Not quite. See, it was my grandfather that had lost a legal battle, and the patent for our capsule technology along with it. With our secrets made public, our rival companies that hadn't produced anything but cheap knockoff brands suddenly overtook us in the market. In thirty years, Capsule Corp was no longer a household name. Now, its barely able to keep itself afloat."
"That sucks." Raspin hummed after gulping down a mouthful of fried rice. He reached for some lager to wash it down, but sadly found supply was tapped out. He waggled the empty can towards Corset rather brusquely, "Yo, ya got any more beer? Damn, you buy some good shit. Usually the watered-down piss my master and Kash buy is enough for me, but if nothing else, you've got some fine taste in-"
"Forget about the freakin' beer!" Corset roared, cherry-red in the face as he slapped the aluminum can away, "I'll buy you a damn mansion made out of kegs as long as you help me find those stupid dragon balls!"
"...yeesh. Y'know, if you were so damn eager to get the balls, you could've hired a mercenary or something."
"Like I said... I'm almost totally broke. And I've taken out so many loans I'm basically blackballed from every bank on the planet." Corset grumbled sourly, "And I don't think I could convince any merc worth his salt to come with me on the promise I'd get the money from some ancient legend. Hell, barely anyone even knows about the dragon balls. I'd probably get chucked in the loony bin for even asking around."
"Jeez, I thought you were smart. How'd you get neck deep in all these money problems?"
"I'm a mechanical prodigy... but I can't deny that business isn't exactly my forte. I'm thinking about just handing the business affairs over to a secretary or something until I can produce an heir worthy of the company."
"Well, good luck with that." Raspin chuckled after a chug of beef stew, "I can't exactly picture the ladies stampeding over to your place to get knocked up."
"W-what the hell is that supposed to mean!?"
"Nothin'." Raspin chuckled, licking his bowl clean, "Maybe I just have a crappy imagination."
Silently fuming, Corset just removed a flask from the depths of his cloak and took a few deep swigs. He pulled it away, coughing and red in the cheeks. Raspin could practically feel the anger radiating from the blue-haired geek.
"A-anyway..." Raspin began again, trying to change the subject, "Who were those guys that attacked us anyway?"
"I ran into them just a few days ago. As you might've surmised, the majin was named Zam. The wizard? He called himself Dabra."
"Menacing." Raspin sarcastically mumbled through a clump of chewed apple.
"Don't talk with your mouthful, you filthy animal." Corset scolded him, "As I was saying... my mother had always told me stories of how our family would hunt down dragon balls for wishes anytime the need arised. I'm a man of science, but researching the subject, I found there might've been a bit of truth to the stories. Using a radar I uncovered in the Briefs family vault, I tracked down a dragon ball in a pawnshop not too far away. Guess who was running it?"
"Short, ugly, purple robes?" Raspin hazarded a guess.
"Yes. It was Dabra. Apparently, he had been tracking down the balls for most of his life, but only ever found one of them. He told me he had given up the search entirely... but I doubt that was the truth. He was just waiting until someone with a reliable method of tracking them showed up for his ball."
"And you took the bait."
"Unfortunately, yes. He sicked Zam on me, and through the aid of my mech, I managed to escape with the dragon ball and radar still in hand. That would only be the beginning of my woes... the little coot started stalking me, trying to snatch my radar. I figured if I could make my wish, I'd have no further use for the radar. I'd hand it off to him, and he'd piss off."
"Aside from the fact Darba is a clearly unhinged lunatic, good plan."
"Oh, put a sock in it. Like you would've hatched some ingenious scheme."
Raspin smacked a balled fist into an open palm, and it landed with enough force to rattle the mountain of dirty dishes before him.
"Yeah, I would've... beat 'em till they pissed their pants."
Corset rolled his eyes and snorted, "Yeah, because that worked out so well for you down in the fields. Enlighten me; what would do if just bashing them like some dumb gorilla didn't work?"
A wicked grin broke across Raspin's lips, "Hit 'em harder."
"Of course." Corset muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I think I'm starting to get a read on what kind of guy you are."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm sure I can handle those two now that I've got my strength back." Raspin waved away his unlikely partners concern as he stood from the table, waltzing towards the bunkbeds. Even after his long nap, his unexpected day of fighting and full belly had left Raspin ready to collapse.
"H-hey! Hold up!" Corset called after him, "Aren't you gonna clean up after yourself?"
"I mean, I do usually... but ain't you gotta a butlerbot or something to do that for me? I mean, you built that big combat suit, right?"
"Sold all of my robots to afford that suit, actually." Corset stated matter-of-factually, "This rig's autopilot is about the only AI I have left under my command... speaking of which, it should get us to the general location of the nearest ball by morning. So, please – respect my property and clean up after yourself."
Raspin wanted to make a snarky comment about how many empty cans and bottles, crumbled chip bags, and carelessly discarded cigarette butts he saw littering the cockpit. But he figured that starting up a fight with Corset would only delay the inevitable and further increase tensions between them. With a tired grumble that'd put a grizzly bear to shame, Raspin relented and put his sonic-speeds to great use, cleaning up the unsightly state he had left the kitchen in.
When he finally found the time to hit the hay, he could only curse how anticlimactic an ending it was to his otherwise turbulent day, and prayed that he wouldn't be plagued with another hazy nightmare.
Raspin couldn't rightly remember what his dream had been about. But he did remember the key details of there being a relaxing beachfront and scantily-clad waitresses serving honey-glazed ham. Unfortunately, that was all dashed away when the trumpeting wail of an airhorn blasted into his ear and dragged him back to reality. It didn't take him long to find the culprit – a dour Corset with the offending object in one hand and a half-empty mug of coffee in the other.
"Wake up, knucklehead. We've got a dragon ball to hunt down."
"Didn't have to use a freakin' airhorn..." Raspin grumbled as he tore himself from bed, strapping on his boots and grumpily stomping to the kitchen to wolf down his breakfast. After eating a dozen raw eggs for protein and slugging down a carton of orange juice to wash out the taste. Still amazed at his begrudging partner's blackhole of a stomach, Corset could only sip at his coffee and watch through the corner of his eye.
"...h-hey, you done yet? I get you like to load up on carbs, but won't eating that much make you cramp up?"
"I don't cramp easy." Raspin eased Corset, finished frying up a rough pound of bacon with his ki. Swallowing it with a few voracious bites, he patted his full stomach, and aimed his gaze towards the camper's door, eyes burning with a fresh determination, "Right. Lets get going!"
Corset set his empty mug in the dish bin, tossing his usual labcoat back over his shoulders and stepping outside. Raspin was right behind him, jumping out to admire whatever scene awaited him.
It was only until his boots met the tall, unkempt grass that Raspin finally noticed what sort of environment they had tracked the closet dragon ball to. The camper van was set atop a cliff, and down below, a dense, sprawling jungle sat in wait. From out of the massive, spiraling trees, Raspin saw colorful birds fly into the morning sky, their rich plumes standing out even in the vibrant orange of the rising sun. In the distance, he even spotted a temple at the jungle's very end, crumbling and derelict yet still carrying an aura of foreboding.
"The jungle is too thick for the van to maneuver through – and the readings on this radar aren't exact. I'd chalk it up to it's old age. We're going to have to go in on foot and find it." Corset muttered, looking to already dread the idea.
Raspin, if anything, seemed excited to start, "Don't sweat it, four-eyes. Just stick close to me and I'll make sure you don't end up some monster's lunch."
"Be still, my beating heart." Corset mouthed bitterly, sealing the camper van back into it's capsule form and jamming it back in it's case just a bit too aggressively.
Floating gently to the general area with Corset in tow, Raspin broke the tree-line and landed atop a gargantuan, blooming flower. Thick spores of pollen shot from it's bright purple leaves upon contact. Raspin hopped off before the spores hit him, landing in the grass and setting down Corset.
They looked back to the flower, shocked to see the earth around it start to crumble away. A massive toad rose from the cool underground, and it soon became apparent that the flower was growing right out of the toad's lumpy back. It croaked angrily at the boys before hopping off to parts unknown.
"...yeah, you'd better run! Get your warty ass back to your lily-pad!" Raspin cried at the beast, shaking his fist at it.
Corset wiped a few droplets from his forehead, the muggy jungle air already starting to wear him down. He pulled his radar from his pocket, checking to see the ball was within a few yards east.
"Raspin. This way – and make sure I don't get killed, will ya?"
The martial artist was still half-tempted to go and smack around the gargantuan toad just to show it who was boss. But instead, he scoffed, turning the other cheek and catching up to Corset. They hiked through the uneven terrain, Raspin having a fair easier time than Corset.
Corset swatted a fat mosquito sucking greedily at his neck, "Urgh. This is why I don't go camping."
Just as the two lowered their guard, a wild an odd beast decided that moment was the best time to strike. It sprung from the moist brush, hairy and monkey-like in it's body, but armored with hard virdian shells all around it's limbs and stomach like a beetle. It hit the ground, bounced again, four clawed arms outstretched and aimed right at the duo.
Corset promptly drew a weapon from his coat shot the thing between it's six glowing red eyes. It fell back, violet, gooey blood spilling from the hole in it's head. As the life faded from it's body, it's long, spiked tail twitched, sweeping the grass beneath it.
"Nice shot." Raspin whistled the compliment. He looked down at the bug-ape's face, it's fangs still bore into a cruel grin, having been put down so quickly it's facial muscles hadn't been given time to relax.
"Thanks." Corset said as he holstered the blaster, "Designed this little beauty myself. Practically no kickback, and it's bolts can kill anything with a power level up to five-thousand. It's powered with a miniature triple-plasmite energy cell, which I rigged with a cooling system imported from planet-"
"Think we can eat this sucker?" Raspin interrupted the droll explanation, lifting the beast up by it's tail and shaking it like a some kind of demented pendulum.
"Err… sorry, I'm stuffed. Big breakfast, y'know?"
"More for me." Raspin sung, shrugging his shoulders before tossing the fresh kill over them.
"I'd be more concerned if there were any more of those things around instead of my lunch." Corset chided him, "Honestly. We're close to the dragon ball, but that doesn't mean we should treat this like a picnic!"
"Hmm… I'm not sensing a lot of strong ki's around here… though, all the predators here could just be clever enough to suppress their energy." Raspin explained, staring off deep into the thicket, watching for any signs of movement among the canopy of leaves and tangles of vines.
"Wait… you can sense energy naturally?" Corset asked, seeming unconvinced.
With a sly smile, Raspin tapped the side of his head like he was explaining elementary math, "I guess it's not a common thing with most people. But the Turtle Style also pushes your spiritual limitations."
Scoffing, Corset reached into his labcoat, "Sorry, I think I have a bit more grounded method of sensing energy."
"And what would that be, egghead?" Raspin scoffed right back, eyebrow cocked and fist planted against his hip.
Corset produced a small white device. Raspin would've described it as a single headphone, missing it's other half and the band – Corset popped it over his ear just the same, tapping a few buttons set into the side of the device.
"And what the hell is that?"
"Its called a scouter. It's based on older models, but I've made a few modifications to it..."
With a final press, a holographic screen appeared before Corset's right eye, glowing a deep sapphire shade. He pressed another button, sights right on Raspin. The device released a string of rapid bleeps, and a smile spread across Corset's face.
"Huh. Only three-thousand… you're not as tough as I'd thought. How'd you beat my Titan Crusher again?"
Raspin's chest heaved with a deep sigh. He laid the bug-ape's corpse to the side, squaring his feet into the jungle's moist dirt, "Wanna free bit of advice? Don't trust fancy little gadgets like that to judge someone's power."
Grunting and growling, the grass around Raspin's feet began to wildly dance. Then, the trees around them bent away from him, and Corset's found himself nearly knocked off his feet by a sudden rush of wind. Small bits of debris and tufts of grass floated around his shaking body, his spiky mop of hair dancing in turn.
Then, with an echoing roar and explosion of white aura, he raised his power to it's fullest extent. It lasted only a moment, but the extent of his strength was made clear. Corset could only stare, totally aghast, his eye darting from the man standing only a few feet away and back over to his scouter's reading.
"F-f-f-fifteen-thousand…?"
The aura surrounding Raspin calmed, leaving him sporting a cocky half-smile. Settling back into a casual stance, he aimed his thumb at his chest, further demanding Corset's focus.
"Oh, is that a good number? I have been training with the Turtle Hermit for a good ten years now."
"Thats… thats a bit impressive." Corset grumbled, "So you got that strong through just plain old training? No genetic modification? No drugs? No cybernetics? That's how most fighters in the galaxy power up..."
"Nope. Just push-ups, sit-ups… and plenty of juice."
The glare Corset was shooting Raspin could cut through diamonds, "Call me overly-skeptical, but I have a hunch you're leaving out a few key details there..."
Raspin grinned as brightly as the sun and moved to pick the corpse of the bug-monkey back up, "Right. Be sure to get plenty of protein to bulk up."
"Gah. Whatever. Keep your secrets, you muscle-brained dimwit. The dragon ball should be close by… be a good goon and help me find it."
Corset pulled out the radar as he said it, clicking it and running his eyes over the screen to double-check. Raspin leaned close, getting a peak for himself - and had absolutely no idea what he was looking at. Just seven little dots, three clustered together and four others scattered about.
"I don't get it." Raspin sighed, tapping his fingertip against the thick glass, "I mean, all those blinkin' lights are the balls, right?"
"What else would they be, you blockhead?" Corset sighed out in irritation, looking away from the radar to meet Raspin face-to-face.
"Yeah… but how the hell are you supposed to tell how far away they are?" Raspin shot right back, not taking a liking to the young president's tone.
"Look, all you have to do is-"
Both the boys felt a rush of wind between them. Heads jerking down at once, they found Corset's fingers gripping nothing but empty air. Watching the forest-green feathers float to their feet, the agape duo looked back up to spot a four-winged hawk soaring between the trees, radar clutched tightly in it's talons.
Sputtering, Corset had little recourse as Raspin grabbed him by the wrist and dropped their fresh kill. The martial artist's body was quickly shrouded in a flaming white aura.
"W-wait!" the scientist cried, "What do you think you're-"
"Hold on tight, four-eyes."
Corset grit his teeth, taking the other man's advice and gripping his wrist with both hands, lest his shoulder was dislocated – he knew what was coming next. Raspin took off, smashing through the trees and making short work of the thick vines twisted branches in their way. Corset could only duck his head and let the debris rush past.
The mutant hawk was ridiculously fast, but Raspin caught up to it with little trouble. Squawking in fear, the green bird spread it's four wings wide, banking hard to the right. Raspin made a lunging grab at it and just barely missed, his shoulder slamming into a thick tree and knocking it right over. He was right back on course, however, back after the bird before the tree hit the ground, the shell-shocked and grimacing Corset still clinging onto him for dear life.
As the jungle grew all the more dense, the thieving hawk still managed to weave through the foliage with the greatest of ease. Just as it came back within Raspin's line of sight, two more of the four-armed apes sprung out from above, claws and fangs bore and ready to shred into fresh prey.
Without missing a beat, Raspin used his free hand to send a blast right through the chest of the first one. If fell back to the earth, hollowing in pain and fear before the sickening crunch. The second one landed on a branch before leaping towards Raspin. But the martial artist was ready, landing a fierce backhand to the ape's cheek, snapping it's neck like a dry twig.
Raspin looked back towards the bird – all he saw was a towering venus flytrap, a dull copper in color with a single bulbous eye staring hungrily at he and Corset. He hit the breaks fast, his aura dissipating, stopping right before he landed in the plant beast's gaping maw. The sharp teeth snapped shut just before his chest.
"Shit! Shit, shit!" he swore, floating back as the massive monster took another lunging snap at him. Now looking pale as a ghost, Corset took the opportunity to climb onto Raspin's back, clinging all the tighter.
The giant plant opened it's jaws once more, spraying a jet of powerful acid at Raspin. The young fighter ascended further into the sky, feet coming to rest on a massive branch. Unfortunately, the acid ate through that tree in a matter of a second, making it tip over.
Brow furrowed, Raspin hopped from the branch, twisting in midair to dodge the beast's third attempt to swallow him whole. Corset increased his grip, one wrapped around Raspin's windpipe and the other gripping at his hair.
"H-hey! Could ya calm down a little? It's hard to focus with you wriggling around back there!"
"W-w-w-why did you even bring me, you idiot?!" Corset screamed directly into Raspin's ear, "You could've just went after the bird yourself and came back for me!"
Somewhere in the back of Raspin's mind, he admonished himself for the admittedly stupid decision. But in the forefront of his mind, he was more concerned about the duplicates of the beastly plant rising from the jungle below, thick, green saliva escaping from their needle-like teeth as they flanked him on all sides. Sparing a glance below, Raspin finally noticed all the plant monster's were actually connected to a single rooted body.
His milky-white aura burst around him once more, his muscles flooding with ki, readying himself for action. The first head tried blasting another stream of acid at him, but he dodged easily, placing his heads atop of and vaulting over the top of another head as it dove for him.
Another head spat some sort thick, sticky goop at him. Raspin bent over, and the yellow sap hit the bark behind him with a wet thud. Corset squealed rather girlishly, nearly thrown off and sent plummeting by the sudden movement.
Raspin threw himself upright, sensing two heads fly at him from either direction. A smile broke across his stony face as he spotted an opportunity to defeat the furious plant hydra. He waited until the deadly jaws nearly snatched him up, waited until he could smell the sickly sap and stench of rot on their breath – then he burst skyward, escaping their jaws, breaking through the treeline just as the two heads slammed into each other.
As the hydra was still dazed and searched for him, Raspin summoned all his power into his palm,mustering a gigantic wave of amber ki in his palm and blasting it to the forest floor. It zipped through the treetops moved past the startled heads, then slammed right into the deadly beast's body.
A short explosion followed, a chorus of shrill screeches sounding as the heads were consumed by flame. Raspin floated out of the massive black plume that quickly billowed up, waiting until the hydra's dying screams before deciding victory was his.
"Well… should probably do something about that fire."
Corset, still blue in the face, could say nothing through his chattering teeth.
Raspin floated back down into the forest, placing both palms together as he launched a massive ki at the searing flame he had kicked up. A short storm of grass and leaves later, all that was left of the creature was a pile of blackened stalks.
"Don't… don't you ever do that again..." Corset whimpered, climbing off of Raspin's back, setting foot on the burned grass.
"Great. We lost the damned bird." Raspin grumbled, staring off in the direction it was last flying, "What are we gonna do now? It's ki was puny. There's no way I'd be able to track it through a huge jungle like this."
"Bah. Damned if I know..." Corset spat, sounding totally defeated. He kicked at the grass, falling back and taking a seat atop a large root. From there, he tucked his face into his hands, seeming to mull over what options he could've possible taken from there.
Raspin seemed to be throwing around ideas in his head as well. Slowly, he squeezed his shut, focusing on the countless energies specking the jungle – then they snapped back open, a wide grin breaking across his face.
"I know! We can find some of the locals. They might have some idea of the kind of hawk it was and how to hunt it down."
"There are no locals, Raspin. What kind of maniacs would live in this muggy deathtrap?"
The martial artist shook his head to both sides, pointing north-east, "I'm feelin' some other people's ki over that way."
"And how can you tell the difference between people and animals?"
"You'd have to be able to sense ki to tell – everyone has a unique signature, and you can usually tell who someone is by feeling it out. You can even tell if someone's evil by it."
Corset chewed his lower lip. He hopped from his branch, dragging his feet through the long grass, hands tucked into his pocket and eyes towards the twisting branches tangling together high over their heads.
"Well? Whats the harm in going to check? Unless you've got a bird radar or somethin', we don't have much options. If there really is a village or something around here, only they'd know how to hunt down the damn things."
Grumbling out every curse he knew under a single annoyed huff, Corset yanked out a bent cigarette from his pocket, quickly clenching it between his teeth and lighting it up.
"Fine, fine. You win, asshole. This better not be some hoard of flesh-eating monkeys or something." Corset spat, smoke trailing from the corner of his lips with each bitter word.
Raspin couldn't help but smile as the stubborn scientist relented to his will, Tauntingly, he turned around and poked a thumb towards the back of his shirt.
"Wanna ride?"
Corset spat his cigarette to the grass. The morning dew clinging to the long blades extinguished the embers, but he stomped it into the dirt with his heel anyway, small wisps of smoke rising up from under the sole of his sneaker.
"I'll walk, thanks."