A Mysterious Warrior

by Broly 8/10/2012, 7:10 am

The Turtle Hermit

Easy Quest

Requirement: None

Reward: 1,000 zeni and 10 Hero Points

After Roshi's death, he has since back to life by the hand of the Kais, with his youth restored and on a mission to help raise heroes to face the oncoming darkness. Before agreeing to teach you, he will test your heart to see where it truly lies. He sends you to a remote mountain temple where you will face a masked warrior. Fight with honor and respect, and your earn place as a student of the Turtle Hermit.

--

He had come here after investigating rumors of the Turtle Hermit's return; he had expected to find the old man, but instead all he'd found was a pile of rubble and energy residue. It was obvious that the bug had been here long ago, probably in order to kill the old man. After all, they had coordinated their attack upon the Earth's greatest masters. To his knowledge, they'd both been successful. He'd seen an extra head in the fire. However, something about this crushed dojo still seemed eerie.

The flames had died down long before his arrival, likely by the time the bug had returned home with the bodies. Snarling, the Saiyan cast his eyes around the piles of shredded wood and crushed stone. The devastation was impressive; however, it was clear that there were no other targets to choose from. What remained of the roof was riddled with holes from needle-like energy, or torn asunder by what looked like some type of severing blast.

The cuts were too precise to be anything but ki. Regular fire would have ravaged these ruins in a heartbeat. As his eyes came to rest on a torn and tattered gi resting on the ground, Broly's gaze focused. Didn't the old man wear orange all the time? He stepped forward and kneeled, slowly reaching forward in order to pick up the bright, tattered cloth. It was covered in a thin layer of dirt and the material was soggy, likely from the recent wet-streak that the sky seemed to be on.

He lifted it to his nose, inhaling the scent; he was like a hunting dog. It was indeed the old Turtle; he smelled exactly as the Crane had told him. He had smelled like weak aftershave and sweat, the results of working to sustain your physique. Where normal warriors had done this for personal satisfaction, Roshi had done it in order to please the women and gain some company. He was Broly's polar opposite; thriving upon the contact and the interaction.

Broly would be alone here, if it hadn't been for the insistence of a rather persistent young Saiyan. He had insisted upon accompanying the warrior in his quest for dominance, as he was under the rather misguided impression that Broly needed his help. It would be cute, if it weren't so stupid. Still, the boy had his uses. If he were useless, Broly would have simply thrust his fist through his chest in that cave. Setting the tattered gi back upon the dusty flooring,

A barely audible 'ping' rose over the sound of silence as Kale's scouter went off. Someone had emerged, obviously. Broly could sense the new arrival's ki far more efficiently than any scouter. What unnerved him was the fact that he hadn't sensed it before; regardless, he turned to face the rather entryway-like pile of rubble at his right hand side. It was the place he had locked onto the signature, the place where Kale had been looking when the scouter pinged.

He had felt the boy's eyes move off of his back immediately after he had pinned the location in his mind. That itself was enough indication of his accuracy. It seemed like the child was always trying to stare holes through him, as if to detect some kind of fallacy or deception in his strength. Unfortunately for him, that would never happen. Broly's strength was the real deal; the true thing, the genuine McCoy. The warrior drew a breath through his nostrils as he examined the new man's boots, exhaling sharply as he reached the mask.

“B-Broly, this guy's at like 100,000”, Kale chimed in with a number to match the power before them. One-hundred thousand wasn't something Broly had to worry about. The Saiyan clenched his fists tightly as he looked deep into the fox-mask's slits, trying to pin down an eye color or identification. Unfortunately, he had not taken up the habit of memorizing the faces of dead men. The halo above the man's head had denoted his status as deceased.

”What do you want, spirit?”, Broly's voice rose above the sound of rising wind as he addressed this man. He was not particularly shaken by the fact that this man was already dead. All that meant was that he had nothing to lose, and that he would fight with his full strength if it came to it. Fortunately for Broly, it often came to violence. Violence was something he relished. It let him blow off steam and relax.

“You seek the Turtle Hermit”, his voice was serene and calm, as he dropped into his fighting stance. He was going to fight Broly, and try and ward him away from the old man? How unexpected. It was not often his prey offered him up a willing battle before he devoured them. Usually it was filled with running and chasing and tearing through scenery before he could corner them. This was a pleasant surprise.

”You know where he is.” He spoke as calmly as possible, as his fists tightened. Kale stepped back as Broly's power became evident. It was spiking into the hundred thousands, plural; a fair amount higher than his resting power level. He wasn't even giving off any signs of his strength yet either. Broly was truly a powder keg, waiting to explode for maximum damage. Still, something about seeing these two warriors prepare to go at it left him ill at ease.

Broly was easily twice as powerful as this man; the battle would be over and done with quickly. Though, that was not why the Saiyan neglected to take a battle stance. He didn't neglect a stance because he wasn't concerned about his opponent's power; he didn't take one because he didn't have one. He had never learned one from his father, nor had he ever needed one. He survived through superior firepower and a relentlessness unrivaled.

The old man came at Broly with speed far superior to anything Kale was capable of; however, it was still somewhat observable as a blur. The man's palm outstretched toward the Saiyan's face, his fingers tightly packed in order to pierce through the skull. Broly's wrist rose up with equal, if not superior agility to slap the blow away. The old man swerved and spun with the momentum, his leg now flying toward the Saiyan's face.

Broly's other arm rose up in defense, his forearm barely shifting as the masked man's leg slammed into his wrist guard. Momentum seemed to carry the man again, his body spinning through the air while his leg rose to head level. He was trying to outmove Broly in melee range; that was his first mistake. No, actually, his first mistake was challenging Broly in the first place. His last mistake had been not immediately backing down.

The Saiyan's free hand rose now, catching the man by his boot. This battle was far less impressive than he had imagined. However, to his follower, it was as if two great masters were facing off before his eyes. Still, it was clear which plateau each was on. Broly was easily a few steps above this masked combatant, evident by the lack of emotion visible on his features. He wasn't even straining himself, while pulling the man's body over his head.

Fixing both hands onto the man's boot, he slammed his opponent into the ground, kicking backwards across the dusty flooring afterward. The old man's body slammed into the broken wood with a loud 'thud' and the sound of creaking floorboards, accompanied by a pained groan. Obviously, Broly's physical strength had surpassed his endurance. That was to be expected; Broly's strength was capable of overwhelming almost every fighter in the galaxy, if not the universe.

As Broly's arms crossed over his chest, he looked down at the fighter before him, whose hand was now against his head. He had obviously been defeated; that was evident enough by the way he rolled onto his back to glance up at the superior warrior before him. Now just behind Broly, Kale straightened. It had ended pretty quickly and pretty painlessly; a rather astonishing thing. Usually, Broly eradicated his opponent before they had a chance at defeating him.

However, as of late, Broly had not been himself. Some would say it was his power leveling out with his hormones, some would say it was his own version of coming full circle. No one could say for sure what was bringing it on, but many would try to explain it away. If he had to guess? Broly was ready to ascend. He had long since reached his boiling point, rage wise. All he needed was some kind of trigger to push him to the next level, a little more gunpowder beyond the barrel and... And he'd be ready to go.

”Where is the Turtle, old man?”, he spoke with little consideration toward his hurt opponent's feelings. It did not matter to him, the opinions of the weak at heart and the weak bodied. He had defeated this man soundly. Shit, if he could have killed him a second time, he would have. However, he had serious doubts that the universe worked that way. Either way, he'd have to go back to the Afterlife soon enough.

“Heheh, you fought well, young warrior. I suppose I should tell you then; Roshi's on his Island, the same place he always is. However, when you find the Kame House, you will find more than what you seek.”

For several seconds, there was silence as Broly mulled over the old man's words; customarily, Kale broke it.

”What the hell does that mean?”

WC: 1,612