A Gift or a Curse?

[videl1999]

*The ship, the Draco’s Honoo lands on the lonely planet of Cursia. When the door opens and the ramp is lowered, two large beasts rush out sniffing the air intently. One of them, a battle-scarred wolf yips playfully to a menacing looking panther who just growls back and bares its teeth. Undaunted, the wolf yips one more time before running out with his ears pricked forward and his tail held high over the large meadow to go exploring. The panther watches the wolf leave before sitting down and waiting patiently in front of the ship. A few moments later, the cloaked figure of Videl emerges from the interior of the ship. She looks briefly at the panther and smiles before sighing as if something is weighing heavily on her mind. This place was a place she didn’t like coming to but often visited. The panther known as Shiji walks quickly over to Videl and stands by her side looking up at her expectantly. Videl forces herself to smile at him again before starting to walk into the meadow. Shiji follows her doggedly but casts numerous glances up at her as if wondering why they had come to this planet. Videl’s face was blank without any trace of emotion as she seemed to be in her own world lost in her thoughts. His master’s silence worried Shiji so he nudged her hand with his muzzle to bring her out of her haze. Videl blinks before smiling grimly down at Shiji and patting him briefly on the head but she still seems to be preoccupied. Still confused, Shiji continues to walk with his master to wherever Videl was headed. After awhile, they come to a clearing where a large cherry blossom tree stands majestically on a slight hill. Nestled between its twisting roots, three grave stones meet Shiji’s questioning eyes. These grave stones have the names Yona Ryu, Rikki Ryu and Shirko Ryu etched into them. This place was where her brother was buried and two graves were made for her parents. Videl’s parents, Shirko and Rikki had been killed by a band of assassins from Teskara’s troops. This was the final resting place of the dragons, the name Videl’s family was known for because of their ferocity in battle. Videl had come from a long line of assassins and her family’s skills were almost unsurpassed and Videl was no exception to this. She had been trained by her brother and a half Maknan/Ctarl Ctarl assassin by the name of Namu. As the last remaining member of the Ryu family, Videl came to this planet whenever she felt alone since she had no living relatives to turn to. But for the moment, Videl isn’t looking towards the graves but instead looking at ring that hung from a necklace around her neck. Too large for her to wear and engraved with a carving of a dragon, the ring was passed down from father to son for many generations. As sole survivor, Videl carried it now, it had been given to her by her brother, Yona before he left on a mission 8 years earlier. Videl then looked solemnly at the graves with a sorrowful look shining in her eyes, suddenly feeling more alone than ever now. After awhile, Videl looks over at Shiji to signal for him to come with her before powering up force lightning and firing it up into the sky. Within a few moments, her wolf Kuroi runs up to the pair and falls in step behind them. The rest of the journey back to the ship, Courasant, and Master Yogurt’s Bar and Grill is silent as Videl seems to be lost in thought.*

[Zangai]

There is no escape and that is for sure
This is the end we won’t take it anymore
Say goodbye to the world you live
You have always been taking but now you’re giving
Our brains are on fire with the feelings to kill
And it will not go away until our dreams are fulfilled
There is only one thing on our minds
Don’t try running away 'cause you’re the one we will find.-Metallica’s Seek and Destroy

Memory, a thing that can be a gift or a curse. This ability can be helpful when we need it but gifts aren’t always what they seem. The same ability that can help us can also cause us pain, for our memory keeps the images we don’t want to remember as well. Such memories can be blocked but they always resurface. Forever allowing us to remember the images we try to keep locked away. The source of all we would rather forget lies within our ability to remember. So in a way, our memory is both a gift and an accursed burden. And this same ability makes the lives of a select few Zeiram a little more interesting. The Zeiram are a warrior race with an almost unbeatable skill at fighting also had yet another helpful ability. A select few were born with the rare ability to use memory against their victims. By entering the minds of their victims, these Zeiram unlocked their victims’ locked away memories. And as the person fought their inner demons, these Zeiram stole their very lifesource, leaving behind only an empty shell of what had been. It was this very thing that had brought Zangai to Courasant, he had heard the Jedi and Sith often had tragic pasts. Their minds and souls would be his since no one yet had been able to fight his power. He put his cloak’s hood up to hide him from view before walking into Yogurt’s Bar and Grill. Zangai looked around with his eyes glittering in anticipation, there were many tortured souls here. He smiled baring razor sharp teeth when his gaze fell across a very likely candidate.

[videl1999]

*Videl sits in the B&G, looking around at the patrons. In a darkened corner, the large cloaked figure of Zangai looks around as well. As they both look around, their eyes meet and Videl tries to get a closer look into the dark recesses of Zangai’s hood. A pair of glowing red eyes stare back at her before she feels something enter her mind. Videl grimaces and tries to put a block on her mind but for some reason it doesn’t work. Inside of her mind, all of her bad memories begin to course through, her parents’ death, her brother’s death and the faces of those she had killed over the years. But towards the back of one of her memories, Videl notices something that shouldn’t be there. In the distance, she can see the shadowy form of the figure from the bar* (Why can’t I block him out? He should be able to have this much control over my mind. What the hell is he?) *Videl thinks as she begins to channel the force. Force lightning begins to surge up and around her before she sends out a jolt of it towards the figure. But when the smoke clears, the figure is nowhere to be seen. Videl glares at the place where the figure was but decides not to go after him*

[Zangai]

In a darkened alley, Zangai smiles wryly. His head throbbed a little from the jolt Videl had given him but the pain would soon fade in time. He had been rather surprised by Videl’s attack, he hadn’t expected her to be able to fight back. Normally his prey just gave into to his mental torture, he had never known one to be able to fight back. These "force users" would be interesting, quite interesting indeed.

[Taibi Hitori]

Back at the bar, another figure had been watching the course of events. When the smoke had cleared, he looked around for Zangai but to no avail.

Dammit! Lost him! Today is just not my day-the figure curses before walking out of the bar to find Zangai

[videl1999]

*Videl grimaces as the images continue to course through her mind and as one in particular shows, Videl grimaces again, for this was the memory of the night her world was torn apart. Born on the planet of Myce, Videl lived a normal life until she was about 5 years old. On a dark snowy night, Videl awoke to the sound of yelling in the next room. Nearby, her older brother Yona signals for her to be quiet and they both listen intently. Videl could hear her father and mother yelling and several voices she didn’t recognize. The sound of the door opening and slamming shut is heard as her parent’s voices faded somewhat. Videl glanced over at Yona who was walking towards the door of their room. Videl gets up and follows behind him. Suddenly a scream from their mother breaks the foreboding silence and causes both children to freeze in place. They hear their father yelling and a gurgling sound follows. Videl stays frozen in place until a sound from Yona brings her out of it. He hands her one of their father’s swords before looking into her eyes*

You know what we have to do. Can you handle it or do I have to go alone?-Yona

*Videl nods slowly, Yona frowns grimly and they both head out the door. As soon as they step out of the door, the sight of blood stained snow meets their eyes. Slumped across a fallen log, the body of their mother lies with a fatal stab wound to her stomach. The children look up as the sound of laughing is heard. Not too far from their mother’s body, a small band of warriors are gathered around the body of Videl’s father. One of them stands a little bit away from the group with a look of disgust crossing his felinoid features. He growls as he watches the other men, but doesn’t take any part in their laughter.*

Hehe, these two were too easy, they were hardly worth our time.-one of them laughs

Hey, look what I found-another yells suddenly, holding up a silver ring.

*A loud growl is heard again as the felinoid moves forward and backhands the one with the ring across the face. He next grabs the man by the neck and lifts him off his feet* Put that back, Carnage! Have you no respect for the dead?!?!-he yells *then throws Carnage down hard to the ground. Carnage winces as he rises to his feet, but before he can move any further, he shudders violently and a small stream of blood trickles down from the side of his mouth. The felinoid raises an eyebrow before Carnage falls heavily to the ground and Videl can be seen behind him, holding a now blood soaked sword.* What th---* is all the felinoid manages to say before another warrior is cut down by Yona. Videl looks at the felinoid coldly before charging towards him. He dodges, grabs her by the wrist and holds her at arms length. Yona moves forward but is caught by one of the other men. The warrior draws out a dagger and prepares to slash Yona’s throat*

Yurei, stand down!-the felinoid *yells, Yurei lowers his weapon but still holds Yona captive. The felinoid glares at Yurei for a moment before turning his attention back to Videl* Now what to do with you?-he *says quietly as Videl struggles in his grasp*

Don’t hurt my sister!-Yona *yells and struggles to free himself*

Hurt her? I had no intention of hurting her, unlike these idiots I don’t kill children. Now child, if I let you go, are you going to attack me?-he asks Videl

Namu, are you sure this is wise?-Yurei
*Namu ignores him, still waiting for Videl’s answer*

Why shouldn’t I kill you? You killed my parents!-Videl yells

Hmmm, just the answer I had expected, but I didn’t kill them, the two you children killed were the ones who killed your parents. I’m not here because I like to be, small one, I’m here under orders not by my own free will. Now I’ll ask you just one more time, if I let you go, will you attack me?-Namu

I’ll slit your throat as soon as you let me go!-Videl

Such an angry child-Namu *tightens his grip on Videl’s wrist until she drops the sword. While still holding her, Namu stoops down and picks up the sword* Now how will you do that without this?-Namu
*Videl grimaces but says nothing*
As I thought, I’m going to let you go now, but you and your brother are coming with us, Teskara will want to see the children who attacked and killed two of his warriors. Yurei, take the boy’s sword and let him go-Namu *says he lets go of Videl*
*Yurei does so, and Yona runs over to Videl. Not too far away lies the ring worn by their father, Yona looks up at Namu who has his back turned to him before Yona picks it up and puts it in his pocket.* It will be all right, Videl. If he wanted to kill us, he would have already done it by now-Yona
*Videl says nothing but looks at him resolutely*
*After Videl had been forced to go with Namu, Teskara, a sort of space warlord, had forced her and Yona to work for him. Namu had taken care of Videl and Yona and watched over Videl as if she were his own daughter. But when Yona was killed 7 years later, Videl escaped and fled to the outer reaches of space. She wandered the planets for several years until she met then sith lord, Rama Sha and joined TSE a few weeks later. But in a little less than a year, Videl resigned from TSE and joined TSO*


*Back in the present, Videl curses loudly as she looks at the silver ring hanging from the necklace around her neck. As the last surviving member of the Ryu family, Videl now owned it since her brother had left it with her when he left for a mission that he never returned from.* Kuso? Why am I remembering this again? It must be because of that thing-Videl

[videl1999]

*But Zangai’s interference had also uncovered a memory of someone Videl had forgotten about. When she was 11, she had met a warrior on a planet Teskara had ordered to be purged.*
*9 years earlier*
*Videl walks with Namu through the demolished streets of a town Teskara’s other lackeys had pillaged when a noise attracts her attention*

Do you hear that?-Videl

Yes, it’s probably just some of the men raiding a store or something-Namu

No, it’s something else-Videl

Well it’s not our place to interfere, the other guys will handle i---Dammit, Videl! Get back here!-Namu *yells before running after Videl*
*When Videl finds the source of the sound, she finds the ground soaked in blood. Several of Teskara’s men are gathered nearby, surrounding someone but still keeping a cautious distance away. A scream of rage breaks the silence before one of the men is sliced in half and Videl catches a glimpse of a boy that can’t be much older than 9 years old. Blood streams down from two lacerations across his left cheek and jawbone, making a cross shaped wound. The youth stops for a moment to catch his breath with his fiery red hair falling over his eyes. Videl watches, noting the anger and desperation in his eyes, she knew she couldn’t let the warriors kill him. Covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds, Videl does a front flip and lands next to the boy. The boy glares at her but Videl smiles at him to show she means him no harm before she draws out a pair of sais*

Daken! Hardez and the rest of you, lower your weapons now!-Videl

And why should we, brat? Get out of the way!-one of the men yells

I’m not moving!-Videl

Well we’ll have to go through you then-the man laughs

Hurt her and I will kill you all!-Namu yells from behind them

Namu? I was only kidding, we weren’t going to hurt her, I swear-the man says while shaking in fear

You better not even ever threaten that again, Carsidia, or I will slit your throat understood?-Namu *says while growling and with the fur on the back of his neck bristling up*

Yes, it won’t happen again-Carsidia *says timidly. He knew better than to challenge Namu, the felinoid was known for his mysterious fighting skills and anyone who had crossed him was always found dead within the next few days, for Carsidia to harm Videl would cause him a slow and painful death. Backing away slowly, Carsidia and the others fade into the shadows*

Thank you, Namu-Videl *says before turning to the boy* What happened?-Videl

One of those bastards slashed up my face and three of the others killed my mother, she was all I had left-the boy *says and the dangerous glint no longer shines in his eyes*
*Namu walks forward and checks out the boy’s wound* Pretty deep, you will probably have that for the rest of your life. What’s your name, kid?-Namu

Tai-bi-the boy answers

Tai-bi? Bonfire? A fitting name for a warrior like you and with that hair of yours-Namu

I did what I had to, I’m not proud of what I did-Tai-bi

I see the makings of a bounty hunter in you, would you like to come with us?-Namu

*Tai-bi looks at both of them* I guess, I have no one else left-Tai-bi *lowers his gaze to the ground as he puts away his sword*
*Tai-bi was gradually accepted into the ranks of Teskara’s troops and learned his trade very quickly. But Videl had almost forgotten about him completely up until now. Back in the present, Videl wondered what had become of him*

[Taibi Hitori]

Nearby, a cloaked figure watched Videl out of the corner of his eye. He had tried to tracked Zangai for several hours but had given up and come back to the bar for a drink. After finishing the last of his drink, he got up and put his hand lightly on Videl’s shoulder. Videl turned quickly and held a sai up to his throat. The figure gulps before speaking.
Videl, do you remember me?-he asks

[videl1999]

*Videl leans in to get a closer look and sees something very familiar in his startled eyes before noticing the cross shaped scar on his face* Tai-bi? What are you doing here?-Videl *says as she moves her sai away from his throat and puts it away*

What else? Bounty hunting of course, I was tracking that thing that was in here earlier-Tai-bi *says while throwing back the hood of his cloak*
*Videl smiles, Tai-bi looked almost the same as when she had last seen him, except of course he now looked several years older. The mischievous glint still shone in his amber eyes, eyes that matched his fiery red hair* What have you been doing all these years?-Videl

Looking for you mostly. You are rather hard to track, Videl, I can’t believe it took me this long-Tai-bi

Namu taught me well, I’ve been with the Sith for a little over a year now-Videl

[Taibi Hitori]

*Tai-bi raises an eyebrow* The Sith? So the rumors are true, you can use the force. I can see why you left then. Namu sent me out to find you but up until now I had failed that mission-Tai-bi *says while lowering his eyes to the floor*

Namu found me about 4 months ago. So what was that thing?-Videl

A Zeiram, one of the few with the ability to tap into people’s minds. I was given a contract by a man whose son was killed by Zangai. I saw the kid’s body, the horrified look on his face was disturbing-Tai-bi

I would think so, I’ve been remembering things since it got me-Videl

Well I don’t know anything about that, all of his victims so far have been killed. I don’t think he knew about force users until you. Will you help me find him, Videl?-Tai-bi

Hmm, I guess, I can’t allow him to do that to anyone I know. If he could get into my head, he could into theirs-Videl

[videl1999]

*But before Tai-bi can speak again, a man’s scream echoes throughout the streets. Videl scowls and starts to head out of the bar, but Tai-bi soon tries to follow her* I’m going with you-Tai-bi

No, you’re not, I’m going alone, you can’t defend your mind from him.-Videl *and without another word, Videl signals to her panther and wolf for them to come with her. Kuroi howls with a sound that would send shivers down anyone’s spine, then lopes out of the bar in typical wolf fashion, with his tail held high and ears pricked forward, his body a mere black blur with Shiji’s dark form following closely behind him. Videl smiles at her pets devoted obedience, they always knew what she needed, before running after them and in the direction the scream had come from. Less than a minute later, Kuroi’s howl resounds through the streets, so Videl knows they have found something. When she finds them, Kuroi nudges the still form of a man with his muzzle. Videl’s spirits drop sharply since she knew she was too late. Still somewhat hopeful, Videl checks his pulse but finds nothing. Videl grimaces as she notices something else, the man’s body was already very cold and she couldn’t feel even the slightest trace of energy from him. Usually bodies retained slight traces of energy for a least a little while after they died, he couldn’t have died more than five minutes before she had gotten to him. The whole thing bothered Videl, what was this thing capable of? Could he take souls as well? But a snarl from her panther, Shiji causes Videl to look in his direction. Shiji walks over to her and pushes something he had been holding in his mouth into her hand. Videl looks at it curiously for a moment, it was a ripped strip of black cloth, there was nothing unusual about it but Videl knew it was probably from Zangai. Videl looks down at Shiji and notices blood on his claws, she smiles and pats him on the head, apparently Shiji had fought the attacker off. Shiji brushes up against Videl before grabbing the bottom her cloak in his mouth and beginning to pull her in another direction. Videl raises an eyebrow to him before following after him. In a darker part of the alley, Shiji leads her to yet another person that was lying there. The figure’s face is covered by the hood of a cloak so Videl is unsure of what to do at first or even if she was too late again. But soon Videl walks forward, reaches down and checks for a pulse, she smiles when she finds one. Nearby Shiji purrs, seemingly very proud of himself. The person’s breathing is rather ragged but otherwise seems to be okay but it was too dark for Videl to be able tell how badly the figure may be injured or even if the person was male or female. Videl knew she would have to get this person moving if possible since she didn’t want to sit there and be a target if Zangai came back. Videl shakes the stricken figure lightly* Are you okay? Can you hear me?

[Zangai]

On the other side of town, Zangai watches his latest victim writhe as she tried to deal with her inner demons. The Zeiram smirks, this time he had planned ahead, as soon as he caught this one, he had pulled her close and covered her mouth with his hand to stifle any screams. He watched the woman quiver in pain as some obviously tragic moments ran through her head. Zangai enjoyed watching his prey suffer but he would end the woman’s mental anguish soon enough. Muffled by Zangai’s hand, the woman’s screams can hardly be heard as she struggles to get away but she soon falls silent. Zangai drops her and smirks at the hollow look in the woman’s lifeless eyes, he loved that look of pure terror. He smirked again as the woman’s memories now coursed through his head, yes this woman had lived a very tormented life, I did her a favor by ending her pitiful life. Zangai thought to himself as he walked away to find his next victim.

[videl1999]

*Curious, Videl reaches up and pulls the figure’s hood away from his face. The menacing face of a large canine-like man comes into view with his teeth still bared in a dangerous sneer. With a small scar just over his race’s native armor and a piece torn from the tip of his right ear, Videl knew this Hafarian well. He was none other than Okami Kori-shinzo, a fellow assassin Videl had met while trying to defeat Teskara. Teskara had brought Namu and Okami with him to help him defeat Videl, but in a surprising turn of events, this wolf-like creature had slashed the space warlord in half with one swift slash of his katana. Okami’s demeanor was often gruff and aloof, but Videl knew a heart still existed underneath his battle-scarred hide. Okami also had a high sense of pride and was often easily annoyed by taunts from Namu. Although tough as nails, Videl knew even the master of swords had been taken down by Zangai’s mental torture. Videl also knew what memory had probably taken over Okami’s mind until he couldn’t take it anymore, the death of his mate. When Videl had fought Okami, she had searched his mind to understand him better, the mere mention of his mate’s name had sent the warrior into an insane frenzy, in which he had attacked and killed Teskara in his blind rage. Although Okami and his mate, Yuki had served Teskara loyally, when Yuki had refused to kill a child, Teskara had her killed right in front of Okami while Teskara’s men held Okami back. After Okami had killed Teskara by accident while trying to kill Videl, his mood had completely changed. Instead of the battle hardened warrior he had appeared to be before, he had fallen to his knees laughing like a madman. When he regained his senses, Okami had gone off with Namu to find more Hafarians and Maknans and Videl hadn’t seen him since.* (What is he doing here?) *Videl thought to herself as she began to heal him. Upon feeling her touch, Okami’s eyes opened before narrowing into an icy glare as he started to rise to his feet to defend himself. Reaching behind him, Okami drew out his katana and brandished warningly in front of him* Get away from me! I will kill you unless you back off now, you thieving street trash!-Okami

Calm down, it’s me, Okami. I was just trying to help-Videl

*Okami growls before a look of recognition shines in his eyes* Videl?-Okami

Yes, now put that away and where is Namu?-Videl *says while silently telling Shiji and Kuroi to stand down and not attack Okami*

*Okami raises an eyebrow as he puts his katana back into its scabbard* Namu? I don’t know, I can’t remember anything since that thing attacked me-Okami

You don’t know? How could you not know? Tell me where he is before I hurt you!-Videl yells

I would if I could but I honestly don’t know-Okami

*Suddenly a voice speaks from the shadows as a figure comes into view, leaning heavily on the wall to support his weight. As he nears, two jade green eyes glow and glimmer in the starlight. Shining white teeth also appear as he smirks and his fur is black with stripes spreading across it, giving him the appearance of a striped panther. As he smirks, he stretches out a thin, jagged scar that cuts over his left eye and down the side of his face *
Calm down, Videl. I’m all right, Shiji saw to that, if it wasn’t for him, that creature would have gotten me too.-Namu *says while wincing slightly in pain*

*Videl walks over and lets Namu lean on her as they walk over to Okami* Tell me what happened so I know who to kill-Videl

Well we were headed that bar where the Jedi and Sith are said to hang out in to visit you when we noticed something in an alley. Okami drew his katana but suddenly dropped to his knees holding his hands up to his head in pain. In a less than a blink of an eye, that thing covered the distance between us and grabbed me. I fought back but none of my hits seemed to cause any damage, it was like that thing was nerve-dead. Before I knew it, I was seeing Ziyadah’s death and soon I was no better off than Okami was. But it was all over very quickly as something knocked him over and I was free and the next thing I saw was Shiji running back to get you.-Namu

About how big was it? And did its eyes glow bright red?-Videl

Pretty big, it towered over me by a least a foot. And yes, its eyes did glow, how did you know that? Have you seen this thing before?-Namu

Yes, we’ve met but it ran away before I could hurt it severely. Okami, come here and help me get Namu back to the bar, there’s someone there you may want to see-Videl

*Okami raises an eyebrow before walking over to help Videl and Namu*

[videl1999]

*As Videl walked with Namu and Okami, she caught herself wondering how her life would have been if Teskara’s men had never come to her home-planet. How her life might have been had things happened differently, how different her life could have been. How her life might have been had she been given a choice 15 years ago but she had never had that chance or the choice to decide how her life would play out. Taken along with her brother after her parents were killed, Videl grew up in a world where only your closest allies were to be trusted and all others were the enemy. Brought up to kill since she was five that was the only way she knew. Her normal childhood before then had been only a distant memory, instead she killed and didn’t seem to realize the pain she had been causing. Even her brother Yona had been hardly able to remember life before their parents had been killed and had also not seemed to grasp what they were doing. The life of the assassin had just become the only way they knew and they saw no harm in it. Under the teaching of Namu, both children had learned to kill quickly and almost silently as Teskara had ordered them to be trained. At first both Videl and Yona had just gone along with it out of fear, but when the threat of death faded, the training had already set in before either child ever noticed it. The strange thing about the training was that even though Videl and Yona killed criminals and innocents alike, their victim’s lives had no meaning to either Videl or Yona, ending their victim’s lives was just like killing villains in a twisted video game. At only 12 years of age, Videl had already ended the lives of billions. Teskara had been very pleased with the children’s progress and had sent them out to help Namu at every opportunity. But one day the impact of what she was doing hit home, the day her brother was killed.*


::Begin Flashback::


*Videl walks down one of the many halls of Teskara’s base upon returning from her latest contract kill. When she walks into her room, Namu stands there, his eyes focused on the ground. He looks up as she enters but seems to have trouble speaking for a moment*

Videl, I have something to tell you that you won’t want to hear-Namu *still seeming unable to look Videl in the eye*

What? What happened?-Videl asks

Videl, Yona was killed today-Namu

What? How? When?-Videl *yells before it sinks in* No, it can’t be, this can’t be right, I just saw him before I left today. Please tell me this is just a joke, this can’t be happening-Videl *yells again as she collapses down to the floor in grief*

I wish this was a joke, but it isn’t, Yona is gone-Namu *says as he crouches down to look Videl in the eyes so she can see in his eyes that he wasn’t lying to her*

*Videl only half listens as the life she was living was finally sinking in. Now because of this life she had lived, her brother had paid with his life. Up until this, no one’s life had any real meaning but now the only one she had left was dead. The only one she cared anything about was gone forever, her own brother cut down and she would never see him again. With this realization, Videl lost it, and as she looked up, a dangerous glint in her eyes caused Namu to step away a few feet. Drawing out her katana, Videl walks towards the door before stopping to look back at Namu*

*What happened in the next few minutes, Videl still couldn’t remember to this day. The next thing she knew, she was sitting in a stolen ship headed for places unknown to her and wondering why she was covered in blood that wasn’t hers. She didn’t remember anything about killing every warrior that crossed her path when she made her escape, the last thing she remembered was hearing Yona was dead, and nothing more.*

*End Flashback*

[videl1999]

*Back in the present, as Videl glanced at Okami and Namu again, Namu smiled briefly. He had always been proud of her although he would never admit it. Even though he was proud of how she had turned out he couldn’t help but feel guilty that because of Teskara, she hadn’t been able to live a normal life. But like Videl, he and Okami hadn’t been given a choice either, they had been assassins for a long time as well. Namu had told Videl once many years ago that he hadn’t wanted to bring Videl and Yona in but he knew Teskara would have found out who had killed Carnage and Rage. So he brought both children in right then to save them the fear of Teskara’s men coming back for them later. But one thing that Videl had never done was to blame Namu for how her life ended up. He could have just killed her that day and Videl knew it but he had spared both of them despite the fact that they had killed two of his allies. But that was not Namu’s way, he had been an unwilling assassin in Teskara’s band of warriors from the beginning. Back home he had worked with Himari, Aisha’s trainer under the guidance of Gahadize. Namu had been somewhat shunned among the Ctarl Ctarl due his halfblooded status but Gahadize had never seemed to mind as he trained Namu and Himari. Himari moved on to become the Ctarl Ctarl fleet leader and Namu had become a warrior under the Ctarl Ctarl empire. His striped jet black fur had earned him a lot of flak from his fellow Ctarl Ctarl but he had never let it get to him as he fought among them. His brother Ziyadah, a full blooded Ctarl Ctarl, fought at his side, determined to become just as good as his older brother. Together the brothers fought many battles for the Ctarl Ctarl empire up until the ill-fated day that a small band of CC troops ran into the troops of Teskara. The CC fought bravely but they were no match for Teskara’s seemingly limitless army. In the end, Namu and Ziyadah were captured and brought before Teskara. Teskara demanded Namu and Ziyadah’s allegiance to him and killed Ziyadah right in front of Namu when Ziyadah refused to join. After many weeks of torture, Namu finally gave in, he wasn’t about to let his brother’s death go unavenged. So over the next few years, Namu bided his time until Videl and Yona came under his training. He trained them both to help him defeat Teskara when they were old enough. But much to Namu’s surprise, it had been Okami that had ended Teskara’s life in a blind rage.*

[videl1999]

*Okami on the other hand was taken very early in his life when he was only about 7 or so. He had lived a mainly quiet life, living with his parents on the planet Hafaria. When Okami had turned 4, his parents had sent him to train under Hazard, the greatest swordsmaster on the planet. Okami was an apt pupil who quickly learned anything Hazard had taught him. But like most masters, Hazard also trained another pupil at the same time as Okami. Jet black as a starless night, Yuki, a Hafarian female, learned alongside Okami. Okami soon became a master of swords as well but fought only when necessary as his master had taught him. When Teskara’s men came to his planet, Yuki and Okami did their best to defend their home but were defeated by Teskara’s men. Teskara ordered Hafaria to be purged completely to be sold to another race later on and only the warriors that had survived the battle with Teskara’s men were spared. Okami and Yuki had no choice but to go along with what Teskara wanted and join him. Over the next several years, Yuki and Okami carried out the orders of Teskara until the day came that Yuki refused to kill the young prince of Sanra. Teskara was absolutely furious and ordered Yuki to be killed as Teskara’s men held Okami back. Yuki’s death had a very disastrous effect on Okami, he just stopped caring completely. Instead of a warrior that tried his best to do what was right despite being ordered to kill innocents, Okami became the polar opposite of what he had been. Ruthless and blood-thirsty, Okami killed indiscriminately with a total lack of remorse. With a death count too numerous to count , Kori-shinzo or Ice Heart as he came to be called, Okami continued to kill with a seemingly dead heart. Okami became extremely short tempered so much so that no one dared come near him. But instead of feeling alone, Okami liked the lack of people near him, it was how he wanted it, never to get too attached to someone again. With win after win on his record, Okami saw each of his numerous battle scars that marred his hide as a brand of victory. With his no losses record, Okami soon developed a cocky attitude as well, believing that no warrior could defeat him. His apprentices were trained in his malicious ways and earned similar ruthless titles as their unfeeling master. Okami lived his blood thirsty and lonely life until he was freed with the death of Teskara. Finally free, his whole manner had changed, no longer did he act like a heartless battle-hardened mercenary, instead he drifted back into to how he had been before Yuki’s death. He quickly became friends with Namu and Videl, willing to allow himself work alongside them. Namu often taunted Okami just for fun but Okami only threatened to cause his ally pain but never carried any threat out.*

[videl1999]

*As the group of warriors continues to walk back towards the bar, Videl stops for a moment. Following her lead, Okami and Namu look around as well, trying to hear what Videl had. But they don’t have long to wait before a cloaked figure jumps down from the roof of a nearby roof and lands in front of them with a force hard enough to crack the ground beneath the form’s feet. The figure looks at them with its piercing glowing eyes for a moment before grinning* Scared ya, didn’t I?-Aisha *laughs*

Don’t do that! Himari did that and it used to bug the hell out of me!-Namu *yells*

Yeesh, sorry. I was only having a little fun, I would think you two would be happy to see me-Aisha

*Okami smiles widely as he always did around Aisha* Good to see you again, Aisha-Okami

*Videl smirks for a moment at the Hafarian before looking back at Aisha*

I would rather you act your age, Aisha, but then again Himari didn’t either until he was at least 25-Namu

Fine, so have you guys seen what’s been going on lately? Dead bodies keep showing up all over town-Aisha

Yes, we’ve all met up with the culprit, but so far none of us was able to hurt him yet-Videl

Really? So you’ve seen it too? Good, I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who had seen it, fortunately Griffen was able to fight him off-Aisha

Well we were just headed back to the bar so you might as well come with us, we will need everyone we can get to defeat this yaro-Videl

Whatever, terran, I could have defeated it if it hadn’t gotten into my memories. We Ctarl Ctarl can fight a hell of a lot better than you terrans-Aisha scoffs

Aisha, Videl isn’t a regular human, she’s a Mycejin, they are very similar but a lot stronger than normal humans-Namu

Is that so? I’d like to see that, maybe when this is done, I’ll test you, terran-Aisha

Maybe, but for now we have other matters to attend to-Videl

[videl1999]

*After awhile of walking through darkened streets and supporting Namu with the help of Okami, the group walks into Master Yogurt’s B&G. Videl then helps Namu into one of the bar’s chairs and begins to check for wounds*

Hmm, a shattered collarbone and a few cracked ribs, not too bad-Videl *says quietly before she mutters in her native language and begins to heal Namu’s injuries. She glances back as she notices Tai-bi who is watching curiously*

What are you doing?-Tai-bi

She’s healing him, be quiet or you’ll mess her up-Okami

*Tai-bi looks up at Okami, trying to see within the darkness of his hood* Master Okami?-Tai-bi

What? Oh, it’s you, Tai-bi, haven’t seen you in a long time-Okami *smirks slightly, he hadn’t seen his apprentice in 8 years, but that scar would always give Tai-bi away*

Well I’ve been busy, mostly trying to help Master Namu find Videl-Tai-bi

And you seem to have found her but not before we did a few months ago-Okami

*Tai-bi nods and Namu stands up as he is now fully healed*

I never did figure out how you do that, you’ve explained it to me but it still doesn’t make any sense-Namu

Well some things are best left not being understood, Namu. But just be happy that I can or you would have had to deal with the pain while those injuries healed-Videl

*Aisha looks quizzically at Tai-bi* Is he another Mycejin or an average human?-Aisha

I’m just average but I can fight better than most with my katana, right Master Okami?-Tai-bi

Yep, I wouldn’t go about challenging him too, Aisha, he was trained by me so he won’t be easy to defeat either.-Okami *chuckles slightly before smiling at Aisha again*

*Aisha looks away, sneering as she does so* (Why does he always do that around me? Stupid dog!) *Aisha thinks before ordering herself a drink, although knowing that any drink here wouldn’t be up to CC standards*

*Videl watches the group out of the corner of her eye, laughing briefly to herself at Okami trying to flirt with the Ctarl Ctarl again. She knew CC preferred to only be with fellow cat types and usually stayed away from races that were not cat-like at all. But soon getting bored, she then looks away, trying to figure out what should be done next*