The Harsh Void (Complete)

[Virion]

((10x 'gravity', assuming i can do this while my buy thread is still waiting to be processed))

Excruciatingly cold. The heat from Virion's atmospheric exit had abated, giving way to the ripping cold of open space. Not only that, but the void also saw Virion bathed in the hazardous radioactive energy emanating from the sun, unfiltered by any form of planetary atmosphere.

Luckily, the Bio-Android was built once more to survive such a harsh, unforgiving environment. In space Virions momentum was maintained, and after accelerating to an amazing speed by combining his own force with the sling shotting effect of the larger planetary bodies he found himself flying past all the planets of earth's solar system into the great emptiness beyond.

It was somewhat unnerving, to be perfectly honest. Diving headlong into space, with only a planned destination and the distant stars for company.

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A long time passed, Virion still pushing himself to go faster and faster, no friction to slow his constant acceleration, yet still the nothingness stretched on at an incomprehensible distance. As he flew near a burning star he was reminded of his time in the empty realm. Just like the void of space, that realm had been harsh and unforgiving, and coming close to this burning sun he was driven through a similar transition from absolute coldness to colossal heat. The star was gone quickly though, and Virion was once again greet to the black darkness and piercing Cold.

Despite the resurgence of his Icer DNA, his body still struggled against the bitter coldness. He could feel his eyes icing over slightly, the anti-freeze elements of his physiology finding it hard to combat the deep freeze of space. Certainly his body was holding out marvellously, not many lifeforms could survive as Virion was, but even Icer's were brought much discomfort from prolonged exposure to the void of space.

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The bio-android cursed his dulled senses. It would be so much easier were he able to lock onto a namekian energy signature, and teleport there with his instantaneous transmission. Instead he was forced to make his own way there through flight alone. He tried reaching out, sensing for lifeforms in the space ahead that he could use to jump more quickly ahead. No luck for the moment, but he didn't give up.

Atleast he had found a way to make the trip more comfortable. By expanding his energy out around him, he cushioned himself against the more hazardous effects of space and it's radiation. While such radiation would have no permanent effect on his exquisitely designed body, it did prove painful in prolonged doses, and wasteful as his body constantly worked to repair the cell damage it was sustaining from this. By creating his energy field around himself he could repel the damaging energy when it came, and focus more on his goal. The drive he felt to reach Namek, and the confirmation he sought...

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Virions mind swept back to Gurin of all people. The Guardian of Earth had shown absolutely no indication of knowing who he was, had showed no signs of pursuit. Virion considered any number of possible explainations, it was indeed true that in his dishevelled appearance he looked nothing like the Virion that had destroyed earth in but an instant, but still for someone so close to the Kais' (the most powerful guardian under the North Kai no less) he seemed surprisingly unaware. Originally Virion chalked it up to the kais probably believing him long dead, or gone forever, but now another line of possibilities were presenting them self...

He would know soon enough.

Virion sensed up ahead again, and this time his efforts were greeted with the weakest traces of life. A small smile lit his features. He was finally leaving the dead zone of space, which meant his progress should be much faster for the next leg of his journey...

[Virion]

Virion cursed himself for being so foolish. In his haste to proceed he had stumbled into grave danger, and was now fighting for his life against this disgusting creature.

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Reaching forward with his senses in what was becoming a highly practiced manoeuvre, he locked onto an energy signature at random and had teleported to yet another unremarkable world. Paying no heed to the shocked alien onlookers, he sensed out once more in the direction he sought, but feeling no energy signatures to leap to, Virion had taken flight through the planets thin atmosphere, and with an intense burst was back out in space. From here he had flown onward, his mind wandering.

When a new energy signature up ahead brushed his consciousness he had leaped to it without thinking. His instant transmission had then lead him here, a dying space ship on a slow deathroll into the immensely heavy star before it, the decaying orbit weakening by the moment, and already far to close for comfort.

The stars pull was quite strong, and at this proximity exposure to it's heat and radiation was highly damaging, but this alone would not have been enough to stop Virion. Unfortunately, the energy signature he had locked onto to make the leap had been a strong one, indeed more powerful than Virion's own and belonging to a grotesque worm-like creature. The monster had itself knotted around the space ship, apparently lacking either the will or the ability to escape and avoid the same fate that inevitably awaited this dead space craft... Or perhaps it was the reason for the space ships current predicament. Either way, there was no crew left and the ship was irreparably damaged by the large space-faring creature, which seemed wholly unaffected by a lack of atmosphere or the damaging effect of the sun's radiations.

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Another massive crash rung out, drawing Virion's thoughts back to the task at hand. He narrowly dodged to safety as the huge grotesque space-leviathan smashed open yet another hole in the ship as part of it's attempts to eat the presumably delicious Bio-android who had appeared in it's midst.

Virion made another dash, flying straight out the newly made hole and away from the ship. He had absolutely no interest in fighting with this creature, it was a waste of time and energy, and the intense burning made him acutely aware of just how dangerously close he was to the sun. Virion's latest escape attempt didn't work out any better than the last two before it though, the combination of the stars gravity slowing him and the worms high power meant that it had reached out and bodily blocked it's victim from escaping before Virion made it very far. The worm flailed around, apparently frustrated at it's lack of success in swallowing it's nimble meal. Virion tried to use this as his chance to finally escape, already out in open space now and further outside the worms grip than he had been during all the other attempts, but the worms flailing body twisted, moving at an unexpected angle, making a swing straight at the bio-android. Virion had barely enough time to block as it struck him towards the sun with great force.

He was sent flying, and the very real danger dawned on him as the heat behind him quickly intensified to excruciating levels. Using all his might he recovered from the blow, and in a risky maneuver used his bio-resonance to give him the strength he needed to pull out of the knockback and back away from the sun. He had a moments pause after getting himself under control, and from his now safe distance he looked back towards the ship, but the suns intense light made it all but impossible to see the worm's still flailing body.

Virion was rather worse for wear from this venture, the highly damaging effects of such extreme proximity to a star causing quite a bit of injury. He quickly got his bearings, and turned towards the direction of planet namek. Finally free of the ship he began to fly away.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the worm struck. Evidently it had dislodged itself from the space ship, and had gone in pursuit of Virion, it's body wriggling through space at an impressive speed and it taking advantage of the blind-spot created by the suns blinding light. The huge creature was big enough that it had swallowed Virion without him even touching the sides. For a moment Virion didn't understand why the light had disappeared, but as he sensed the Worms presence all around him he released what must have happed. He flared his aura as he began to struggle, giving light to the worms dark insides, but a number of spear-like shafts extended from the walls of the creatures mouth or throat(whichever it was), seeking to impale from all directions. Virion dodged most of them, and those he could not he lashed out at with his arms, leg and tail simultaneously, shattering them. Virion realised that they were similar to teeth in function for the worm, though they also functioned as a trap for anything it swallowed(preventing it from flying back out as Virion had intended to). The spears began to move down the creatures throat, pushing Virion back as more and more extended from the walls. Virion fought them off, avoiding being skewered quite masterfully, but one managed to get through his efforts, puncturing his shoulder and partially pinning him in place.

Virion let out an angry cry(silenced by the complete lack of air to convey the sound waves), before deciding he was finally done with this non-sense. There was no way he would be digested by this primitive creature, no stupid worm would bring about his demise. No More! Taking another bold risk he activated his Bio-Resonance again, flaring his power and destroying all of the spear-like teeth which still attempted to push him down towards the creatures stomach, causing them to shatter lack glass under the now vastly more powerful energy emanating from the bio-androids body.

Crossing both arms in front of himself in what appeared to be an almost defensive pose, he changed his energy into two ki balls, one in each fist. The balls cracked and sparked, lightning shooting all around as the intense power of Virion's Bio-Resonance was channelled into this attack.

From the outside the worm could be seen withering now, something was causing the creature strong discomfort.

From the inside the bubble of energy around Virion had expanded further, pushing at the walls of the creatures innards, the lightning arcing from Virion's body causing a sizzling smoke whenever it made contact with the soft, fleshy walls. Virion now had his hands out at either side, the two large balls of Ki energy pointed at the wriggling and writhing walls of flesh.

After but a couple more moments, Virion unleashed his attack. From the outside the sparks could be seen emanating from a third of the way down the worms body, and as a bulge developed there the creature's writhing grew into a more frantic wriggling, it was clear the creature was in pain. Suddenly it's sides split open, a great flash of light bursting in both directions. The worm-beast cried out as it was severed fully in half, the two pieces now quickly drifting towards the sun.

Virion floated, slime, blood and other fluids from the worm covering his body. His expression was locked into a murderous scowl, as he stood unmoving, his hands still help out to both sides and his aura still flaring as he watched the worm-like leviathan make it's entry into the threshold surrounding the sun, burning up with a crackling and peeling as the two parts were slowly engulfed in flame. The closer to the suns surface, the more intense the burning became, however the brightness obscuring the creatures final vaporisation moments later.

Virion let his arms drop to his sides, reverting back to his base state. His body was already fast at work healing his injuries, the hole in his shoulder where the worms 'tooth' had punctured closing and the burns across his whole body still covering over with new flesh. He limped away from the sun, venturing to a safe distance, before he finally allowed himself to rest.

After a while just floating there, allowing his internal processed to get to work, his body had finally healed his external injuries and repaired the celluar damage wrought by his use of the Bio-Resounance. He had also recovered enough of his energy to keep going, and although he wouldn't want to have to fight another of those worms right now, he was at least good enough to get a move on; the rest of his recovery could be done while travelling.

Luckily Namek wasn't too much further, and if everything went according to plan the last leg of Virion's trip would pass both swiftly and uneventfully.

He was not inclined to make the same mistake twice.

((I don't suppose it needs to be said but PL please))

[Gray Callahan]

1700 PL rewarded