Testing Xero... Again! (Hellbringer)

[Blaze]

Blaze was just settling in to his home on Namek. The Bear head he had taken on Amizonica fit nicely over his little fireplace, and he had a spot picked out for the skull of whoever caused the slaughter at the Ancient City. He was in his second form, as he wasn't tall enough to reach in his first one... but now he kept bumping his head off stuff.

He walked back outside and took a stance. Balling his fists, he clenched his whole body stiff and focused his power down. His power dropped rapidly back into his base range, his body shrinking back to his first form size. Even his horns shrunk... witch made no sense to him.

He sat down cross legged, and entered a meditative state. His Metazone technique was his focus, training his sensory and psychic abilities. Though it appeared he was just sitting there, one could feel the telekinetic energy around him if they came too close. To spook him could result in an accidental throwing of a person.

His previous form had ten times the power he had in his first form five years ago. If someone knew his energy, they'd of sensed him from miles away...

[Deleted]

Xero's time on Namek had already been eventful. In just the past day, he'd met two people, each with something he was seeking. This made Xero's chest swell with pride. Virion would be pleased. As he leaned back in his chair inside his Namekian hut, he let out a please sigh. Life was good lately.

As his eyes slowly closed and he neared the brink of REM sleep, a bolt of lightning shot down his spine, the shock jolting him into an upright position. There was a powerful, but familiar energy nearby. As he stepped out of the hut and lifted himself into the air, he could feel the power much more clearly. Though it had been years since feeling the power, it had not changed.

"Could that be?" he asked aloud a he rocketed towards the source of the energy. And when he found a small Icer at the other end of the signature a smile slid over his face, "Blaze!"

Landing far enough away from the Icer to avoid striking distance, he looked over his old friend. Though it had been a long time, Blaze had not changed very much, aside from his power level. And Xero hoped the Icer's personality had also stayed in tact. Would he recognize Xero? Perhaps he would not. As look of worry shot over his face as he waited for the Icer to respond.

[Blaze]

He sat cross legged in nothing but jeans and a black tanktop when someone plopped down in front of him, saying his name. "I'm not interested, I'm not buying, Go awa-" he started, opening his eyes.

Xero.

"Xero!?" he jumped up, a little confused. "When did... what happen..." he was trying to get his words straight. "Where the hell did you even go!?" he asked. First time meeting again, and the first thing that Blaze remembered was Xero running out of the Fortress after Carnel had healed him.

Blaze didn't sense a whole lot of change in his power, but it could be a ruse. Xero might notice Blaze's new power, and that he now had a different taste in clothes. And his horns, witch had been cut off last time, had grown, they curved backwards and up.

[Deleted]

At first, Blaze did not recognize him, but as the Icer opened his icy blue eyes, realization struck his face. He had trouble working out the words, but asked a good question. Where the hell had he gone?

Blaze had found Xero in an awkward time. He had been tortured by demon Namekians and left without any other contact. He was broken, but not by his captures. He had been beaten down by the Infection. It had changed him in more ways than he'd want to admit; it had given him a taste for power, battle, and blood.

When Xero finally came to, he found himself being cared for by Blaze and Elder Carnel. The idea of cursing either with the Infection was too much, and he left. He had made the right choice, and had set out to control it. Though his power might not have changed much, there was something much different about him. The way he stood, spoke, or walked, all carried an aspect of pride; something that was missing when the two first met.

"I owe you and the Elder an apology for my disappearance. To say I was going through something rough would be an understatement," a friendly smile slid over his face as he extended an arm to shake. Upon said shake Xero would pull Blaze in for a quick one-armed hug, hastily releasing him afterwards. "However my travels have brought me here, to my home."

Stepping back he raised his arms to the sky and heavily inhaled the crisp Namekian air, "Have your journeys been kind?"

[Blaze]

He chuckled when he said 'apologize'. "It's cool, you had shit to do. Nothing to apologize for." he said, letting him continue.

"My travels..." he started. He crossed his arms and looked sideways at the ground. There wasn't alot of good for that topic. "I ended up on Kold. And seen alot of people die. And I should have just avoided it and been here, stopping the attack at the City." he said. "Seen the wastes of Vegeta, some chaos on Amizonica... Watched my parents and their home planet die in a recorded simulation."

He shrugged. "Otherwise, everything was wonderful!" he said with a change of tone. "And yours? Hopefully better..."

Blaze was capable of bottling up all the stress and disappointment he had for himself from some of that stuff. But he'd let it out when he fought or trained, ending in something exploding. And that felt kind of good in a twisted way.

[Deleted]

It seemed to Xero that time had been unkind to Blaze, just as it had himself. As Xero listened, he nodded slowly, a smirk crossing his face as the Icer mentioned Kold. As he finished, Xero placed a hand on Blaze's right shoulder, "The past has passed. We have plenty of similarities in ours." Releasing Blaze's shoulder, Xero took a step back, "I too spent some time on Kold. As you can tell, I had the fortune of leaving before all hell broke loose. After my departure, I tried to head back here, but it was as if something was hiding Namek. I have had very little luck finding out why that was. I spent some time on a planet made of organic metal, in which I was considered a God. And once I left that planet good luck brought me back here."

Letting out a light chuckle, Xero's left hand scratched at the back of his head, "But in all honesty, I thought I would have had more time to train... I am far below the level I hoped to be five years ago..." Though Xero tried to make it seem like he didn't care, there was a hidden tone of disappointment and shame in his voice. Though Blaze had always been stronger than Xero, he could feel that the Icer was at least one-hundred times stronger than him now. He felt like an ant in the hands of a giant.

[Blaze]

It was quite similar, the things Xero has been through in comparison to Blaze. But he understood the situation at least, placing a hand on his shoulder. That helped. He had no idea he had also been on Kold and tried to get onto Namek as well.

"I didn't sense you on Kold, but then again, I was preoccupied with some Saiyan General. And as for Namek, I too ran into some kind of... force field? I couldn't blast through it no matter how hard I tried." he told Xero.

He also wondered about this Organic Metal planet. "You're a god to some robots? What planet is that, I never heard of it." he said. He'd also tell Xero "You shouldn't allow your power to discourage you. Even in your state, there's much you can still do. I mean... I trained with Touketsuki Yakedo for a little bit. That's... intimidating. All my power could barely begin to mach his potential."

[Deleted]

Blaze gave Xero little information about the force that kept them out of Namek. It seemed like no one knew anything. Perhaps it was better that way, "Perhaps the two of us could do some investigating while we're here. I would like to know more... When it came to matters of curiosity, Xero could not help but ask questions. Even for Xero it was hard to tell if that was his true nature, or an effect of the Infection.

As Blaze continued, he asked Xero about the metallic planet, to which Xero responded to with bo more than a shrug. He also told Xero he'd spent time training with Touketsuki Yakedo, the man that ran the World Trade Organization. When it came to matters of his peoples demise, the WTO was suspect number one. This was valuable information for both Xero, and the infection.

"... Yakedo..." Xero echoed, looking to the ground, "I could feel him on Kold... His power was truely amazing..." his voice trailed off as he began to think about how massive the gap between the two was.

Suddenly, his eyes perked up and a smile formed on his face, "I learned so much from our last bout. How about the two of us have a warm up match?" Half of him hated himself for asking. It was hard to tell if the Infection would resurface during a fight. Xero had trained to keep it under control, but battles always seemed to bring it out. However, the other half wantd to see how much Blaze had grown. He was strong before, but now the Icer seemed completely different.

[Blaze]

So Xero was willing to spar again. But it wasn't going to be possible with Blaze's current power. He was only at 50% power, but that was still too much. Blaze smiled and took a stance and his energy began to lower dramatically.

In seconds, he was even with Xero's power. "There. We should be about even now. But... lets move away from the house. Like alot." Blaze requested. He hoped to move off across the river.

He wondered what kind of new power he had and techniques he learned. He hoped Xero wouldn't hold back, Blaze whas hoping for a challenge.

[Deleted]

It was a pleasent sight to see Blaze take a stance and actually lower his power level to match Xero's. Blaze had not changed his sense of fairness. A smile formed on Xero's face as Blaze told him that the two would be even, and that they should change location. With a nod, Xero leapt into the air and motioned for the Icer to follow.

With a gentlemanly tip of his hat, he took of like a shot from a cannon. He would take Blaze to one of Namek's very many small islands. This was also a great way to test Blaze's speed. Taking the more scenic route, Xero would direct the two through a small, but thick forest, a set of steep perpendicular mountains which narrowed as they ended. He would also shoot through the emerald sea that Namek was made of.

After dipping, ducking, and dodging the obstacles, he landed on a barren island, scarred from training of his own. The island was contradicting to the lush green island, as it was barren soil and scattered rubble. Perhaps one square mile, this island would make the perfect arena for the battle that was about to begin.

Looking to the ground, Xero began, "Before our little mishap with the Demon Namekians, I would come here to train. It was here where I vowed to become strong enough to avenge my people," a wild-eyed smirk masked his face as he looked back up to the Icer, "I believe it will suit our needs."

Taking his normal erect-standing stance, he readied himself for an attack. Though Blaze had lowered his power level, he was far from the "takin' it easy" kinda guy. He would make sure that if Xero won, he would have earned it. And that was just what both Xero and The Hellbringer were looking forward to.