~Guardian of Earth~ (Easy/Alberdyne Style)

Guardian of Earth

Easy Quest

Requirement: None

Reward: 1,000 zeni

You've learned of Kami, the chosen Guardian of Earth, who is also a renowned warrior and teacher. Wishing to see if he would take you as his pupil, you decide to ascend to Kami's Lookout, which lies far above Korin's Tower, in the clouds. Upon arriving you are greeted by a robust black genie who tells you his name is Mr. Popo. Mr. Popo is very polite to you and a very generous host. However, he wishes to test your skills before he permits you to speak to the Guardian Kami. All you have to do is land a punch. Beware, despite his jovial appearance, Popo is a fearsome warrior.

Al stood up and saw something in the clouds. He was dreaming, he knew, or was he? With his newly acquired ability to Sense he was in control of the mind, a powerful weapon and tool. His sharp eyes spotted the object in the cloud, his companion, a guy named Mark looked at Al strangely. Al knew that Mark had trained extensively with psychic powers, but his training was Earth-training, and not Kanassa-training. Al knew there was a difference between the two schools of the psionic arts, but those differences were as subtle as fine cheeses. Al's eyes saw the object in the cloud and he smiled, he knew he had to go there next. He looked towards his friend, Mark, a fellow Capsule Mercenary. "I'm gonna have to head out for a while." Al said. "Please tell Captain Harley that I will return to service as soon as I can." He said.

"What's got your attention, bro?" Mark asked.

"It's too soon to tell." Al said and his eyes kept glancing back towards the strange structure he saw. He was on the Astral Plane with Mark, and the two had been sparring when Al spotted it. "But I think it's where I have to go next. Keep up your training, Mark. We should be getting some more on-field time soon."

"All right, Al. You be careful out there." Mark said.

And the two astral bodies faded back to the mortal coil.

***

Double-checking his gear, Al made certain everything was ready. His eyes were narrowed as he searched for the object. Strange, it was there yesterday. He thought to himself as he studied the clouds. Then, a cloud moved and he saw it! There it is again! Releasing Ki Control, Al felt his Ki flare out of his body, and he activated a Power Flight. Immediately, he blazed trails and flew up as fast as he could towards the object he had discovered. At the time, he was not certain what he had stumbled upon. As he flew upwards, he gained speed and made his way in a spiraling movement towards the object. His body tensed the higher he flew, and strangely enough, it was a lot farther to get there than he actually had anticipated. Al finally reached Kami's Lookout about five hours into the trip.

About a third of a day had passed.

Al had no idea that it was the legendary Kami's Lookout when he initially arrived. However, a giant of a man was spotted in what appeared to be a garden. Al flew towards that individual and landed near him. When Al saw the man's reaction, he smiled. The man was completely surprised to see Al's approach on the area itself.

"We don't get many visitors these days." Mr. Popo said with a heavy accent. "And a Kanassan at that, oh my. Master Kami will be most please." Mr. Popo stared at Al suddenly, and Al could feel a mysterious pull in the back of his mind. Al decided that Mr. Popo was not hostile, and allowed the mental probing to continue. "Very good young, Mr. Cormyr." Mr. Popo said. "You have passed the first test, not many make it past this part. Strange. You know that kid, Yamcha. He has never spoken of you before."

Al folded his arms across his chest. "Yamcha has been here? I want no parts of this place." Al began to turn around and ready himself to leave.

"Wait." Mr. Popo said. "Forgive my manners. I am Mr. Popo." I know who you are, Son of Michael Cormyr. Al heard in the back of his head. "You are a strange Kanassan to be out here in the realm of The Humes."

"I would say that you are a strange one yourself. You have power. True power, am I right to assume that you helped Yamcha get strong?" Al asked.

"That is only partially correct." Mr. Popo said. "Yamcha trained under my master, Master Kami. It was a most...unpleasant experience."

Al attempted to hear Mr. Popo's thoughts. His gut instinct told him that the obsidian hued man was hiding something. However, he let it all go.

"What is this place?" Al asked. "Am I still in Earthrealm?"

"You are." Mr. Popo said plainly. "However, this place is a little hard to explain. It is a watchtower. A warding place against the forces of darkness. Think of it as a go-between, or an advanced training center of the warriors of light."

"You guys are protecting The Earth from darkness?" Al felt more than a little angry. "A hell of a job you been doing so far. What, you guys didn't get your union benefits or something? Have you noticed how many Portals to Hell have been opening of late? Get real. You guys aren't defending anything." Al was referring to his recent encounter with The Demons as a hireling of Capsule. There had been an Overlord too, and... "What are Overlords doing on this plane?" Al asked bluntly.

"That, well, you see..." Mr. Popo seemed genuinely uncomfortable. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I am not going to lie." Mr. Popo began. "There has been trouble keeping the realms in check of late. Something big is happening, right under all of our noses. And I think you may be a part of it all." Mr. Popo tapped his chin. "There hasn't been many Kanassans on this world..." He said. "And to think, a Kronith! My, this is a rare find indeed." Mr. Popo said.

"Get to the point." Al found himself saying. "What do you want from me? You have clearly summoned me here, in much the same way we use The Astral Crystals."

"Oh that..." Mr. Popo said. "Something is coming. The timelines are all swirled into one big stream, normally there are many realities side by side. More are created constantly to ensure the ebb and flow of the fates. But recently there has been a Crisis of Infinite Earths." Mr. Popo's voice actually worried Al. "Because of this crisis something very bad is going to happen very soon. We need to train warriors to prevent it." Mr. Popo looked at Al quite seriously. "You have been chosen by my Master, Alberdyne Cormyr. I do hope you accept this invitation to train under Master Kami."

Al hesitated. "What do I have to do?"

WC=1,086

"As always. We must begin with a test." Mr. Popo said. "This test is rather simple, but many have spend an entire lifetime trying to complete the task. That's why we are running out of options. When the event occurs, there must be warriors ready to defend the world. The threat that is coming will be beyond anything that we have ever faced, and it is already moving against us. Time is moving against us. With you, I must ask you to do something that has never been requested of any other potential pupil. Typically, the test consists of a physical melee attack, standard in nature. But you possess a soul that has greater strength than you can possibly know. For that, I must nurture your soul." Suddenly, a cold air seemed to touch Mr. Popo and he became quite serious. "Let me taste the power of The Cormyr Clan." Mr. Popo said. "Hit me with your people's Omniverse, if you can."

"You're serious?" Al suddenly asked. "This is why you have summoned me all this way? Not to instruct, but to be instructed?" Al felt sincerely offended. Only one other person in his life could get him as angry as he was at that moment. And Mr. Popo was not Michael Cormyr, his Father. "You're wasting my time. You have nothing to offer me that I cannot learn on my own. Good bye." Al prepared himself to fly back whence he came.

"WAIT!" Came a booming shout. The shout was followed by a powerful ki signature that Al guessed was Kami himself. Al turned towards Kami, and his eyes narrowed when he saw what appeared to be an old Namek.

How are an Old Namek, Mr. Popo, and this place all connected? Al wondered quickly before he acknowledged Kami.

"I have no time for servants, it's about time the master himself, shows." Al said, glaring at Mr. Popo.

Mr. Popo, to Al's annoyance, kept a grin on his face. "Apologies Son of Cormyr. No disrespect was meant. This trial is a simple trial that is adequate for all warriors. I figured since you have a rare power that we would benefit from seeing it in action.."

"That's not what you wanted." Al suddenly interrupted. "You wanted to steal my people's secrets. That's it isn't it?" Al glared at Kami, as if challenging the old Namek. His face was a twisted mask of anger. "This isn't a training ground..." Al felt his anger turning rapidly into disgust.

"You judge too harshly, Kanassan." The Old Namek suddenly said. "Your Father was much the same when he first arrived. You are very much as stubborn as your Father was." Kami continued. "Forgive the apparent insolence of my apprentice. He meant no harm. He merely wished to test you. But you have proven your will is strong, and saw right through deception." Al noticed a sparkle in the old Namek's eyes. "I meant to learn the secrets of your people so we could teach it to other prospective students of The Omniverse. It was I who lured you to this place." Kami said.

"A more direct approach would have been more tactful." Al said. "I am afraid you are wasting my time. I have to get back to my own training." Al was stubborn to a fault, and he was a hot-headed youth. He wanted no parts of Kami and Mr. Popo. He was going to leave right then and there. Turning around, Al was about to prepare a Power Flight.

"You know your Father wanted to leave at first too. Aren't you interested in what secrets we have to spare? What power we have to give? That's what got Michael to stay. Perhaps you will listen to the same reason."

Al growled loudly, like the wild man he was. He turned towards Kami and Mr. Popo. "Listen well." Al began. "I am not my Father. I am my own man, and I go my own way." Al was fed up. No matter where he went he could not find a place that was not touched by his Father's legacy. Al's magnificent halo surrounded him. "You want secrets? Go steal them from some other idiot. You two jerks don't win today." Al was about to leave, when suddenly...

"Arrrrgh!!!" Al screamed in tremendous agony.

"Who are you to insult us and forsake our ways?" Kami suddenly was upon Al and assaulting his mind. "If you won't teach us your secrets, we will force them from your rotting corpse, you ignorant fool!"

Al felt powerful hands clasp around his head, and he felt Kami's hot breath upon his neck. Then, the invading tendrils touched his mind. Al had been through such psychic torture before, it was inbred into the Kanassan school of training. Al began to cry under the weight of invasion of the mind. Al was held in place, but he resisted bringing up his mental shielding.

A voice that sounded like a thousand stars exploding resonated in his mind. "You dare deny Heroes the training we offer them? You have no idea the mistake you've just made. Even your Father helped us!" The voice was echoing in his skull threatening to explode it. Al screamed in agony as Kami mind-tortured him.

However, his Kanassan training was his saving grace. Al, used to working under intense psychic pressure, did not buckle under the old man. Tendrils that were icy cold and sharp pierced the depths of his mind. Where Kanassans had their fiercest training. Kanassans were raised to withstand such invasion of the mind from youth well into adulthood. Using the advanced Kanassan technology to train the mind. Uninhibited, a Kanassan could withstand great psychic pressure until the body stopped working. Al was prepared to die then and there. He would protect the secrets of his people. Kami may have been heroic to some, but to the young Kanassan wild man, he saw the truth. They were nothing but cut throat thieves in the dark stealing the powers of young warriors and using it for themselves. Al screamed out loud as Kami, like a powerful drill, bored his way into Al's mind.

The war was on.

WC=1,043
Alberdyne WC=2,129

It was the calm before the storm.

For a moment, things went quite quiet, and the assault on the mind was the moment. Al lost all sense of time and rational space as he was mentally assaulted by Kami. Under normal circumstances, Kami's will would have crushed Al's mind. However, those were not normal circumstances and Al's Kanassan training would prevail. The mental link up worked both ways, just as Kami was reading Al's thoughts, Al could read Kami's thoughts. Memories pierced the veil and were burned across the momentary connection between Al and Kami. Al's mind saw the rapid exchange of memories and he clutched at Kami, gripping as tight on the old man as he could. That's when he heard the thoughts penetrating his mind. Al knew that Kami was attempting to brain wash the Kanassan Hero with a primitive form of psychic powers. On Kanassa, such attacks were elementary, and could be evaded with great skill and training. No psionic attack was without faults, and Al knew that the will of the psionic mattered. Kami would be challenged. When the epicenter of Al's iceberg like brain was reached, that's when the screaming commenced once more. This time, it was a scream of rage that swelled out of somewhere in the depths of Al's soul.

When he screamed, Al's body glowed, and The Omniverse flared out of his soul.

The symbols on his body all lit up creating a sort of ethereal version of the wild man. When Al charged up his power, he prepared to assault the old man. It was a frightful sight, but it was one that was necessary to vanquish his enemy. Al focused his power on a nearby tree with a round canopy. The tree was some sort of other world variety of oak. Al didn't care, with Omni he could sense the tree's molecular structure and was prepared to use it as a weapon. He would defeat Kami any way he could. If these bastards wanted him to land one hit, he would make it count. They will remember me from this day forward! Al thought whilst he had the mental connection with Kami. When the power was focused on the nearby tree, Al uprooted it. A moment later, the molecular structure of the bark was his to command. Even though the tree was organic matter, the bark was not, and Al focused on the bark, not the living parts of the trees. His mind ignored those bits. If the old man was attempting to steal The Omniverse, Al would be certain to protect his secret to the grave. When the power coalesced around the tree, Al excited the molecules within the bark. Though parts of the tree were organic, many parts weren't and it still counted as one inorganic object. The root was untouched, and left in the ground. Al snarled as he focused on the tree.

"You were warned, and didn't let me go. Now you are going to pay, old one." Al said. As he moved his weapon with his mind, Mr. Popo saw Al's intentions. Clearly. Even though Kami had a mental connection with Al, the older warrior was still distracted with attempting to steal The Omniverse directly. Without earning it.

"Stop! Master Kami! He intends to kill you!" Suddenly, the tree was floating towards Kami very slowly as if to prove Al's point.

Somehow, Kami heard Mr. Popo's warning, and released Al's mind completely. However, that didn't mean that Al was ready to lower his guard. He kept his control of the tree.

Al clutched the side of his head and growled at Kami. "That wasn't a bad trick. I'll give you that you old bastard. I am afraid play time is over now. Your friend is right Kami, I intended to kill you. You got out of a close call. You should thank your servant later." Al positioned the tree so that it was between himself and Kami. "If you attempt anything consider your life forfeit. I am not from this world, I am not privy to your pathetic gods and religions. Have a nice day."

As he left he cast The Omniverse's secret on the tree and it exploded into hundreds of super heated shards. He aimed the entire explosion right at Kami as he flew off with a scowl on his face. He didn't care who he was pissing off by attacking that man. The secrets of The Omniverse were Kanassa's children. Furthermore, Clan Cormyr prided themselves as being the greatest keepers of The Omniverse the universe had ever seen. He was the SON of Michael Cormyr, but not Michael Cormyr himself. Al went his own way. And if that meant breaking the establishment, so be it. He was a rebel with a cause.

~FIN~

WC=803
Al Word Count= 2,932