The Processor - Shana (Complete)

"WOAH! What is that thing?" Shana felt as overwhelmed as Goku looked as she gazed at the massive torrent of discharged energy before her. The clouds, darkened with nature's fury, suddenly seemed less intimidating than the cyclone of power before the girl's eyes.

"I-I'm not sure," Shana answered in confusion. Tentatively, she reached a hand forward to try and touch it. Immediately, Okibi let out a snarl that gave the girl pause.

Idiot! Would you stick your hand in a bee's nest? Show some caution for both of our sakes! Shana frowned, bringing her arm back. Electricity danced around the clouds above, causing the fine hairs on her arms to stand up erect. Okibi fell silent; Shana could almost picture him brooding over the task at hand. Finally, he spoke privately to the child once more, his voice more calm than before. Shana, did you pay any attention to your science teachers?

The question caught Shana off guard. What would that have anything to do with this? Not really, she admitted sheepishly. It never interested me much.

Okibi sighed as if his patience with his host were wearing thin. Clouds are nothing more then condensed vapors. Water, in fact. Hot air rises, cool air falls. So, if you were to heat up the air some, the rising heat should be enough to dissipate the clouds. Before the human could marvel at the thought, Okibi immediately spoiled the plan. In theory, at least. I'm not sure if it would work in this current scenario...

The human girl was still willing to try. Even if she was unnerved by the ungodly powers radiating from above. It was enough to make her skin crawl and to make a cold layer of sweat form upon her brow. Whatever was behind the barrier... it was strong. Goku would have had no idea what conversation had transpired between the god and his host; Shana turned to him.

"I'm going to try something, but you may want to get back," she announced, giving enough pause for the Saiyan to comply. Widening her gait, she slipped into a stance and concentrated her power. It didn't take long for a red hue of flames to erupt around her form, licking the air around her like a lost puppy. The crackling of her fire could be heard over the roaring wind and powerful thunder as heat began to rise from her makeshift bonfire.

I think it's working! Okibi exclaimed. Shana could tell he was right. Already, the power from above was becoming much more clearer. It wasn't just one power! It was hundreds! They were clumped together so closely, that it had seemed to be one massive power. But what could be above?

Precious minutes trickled by and Shana's own skin began to crawl from the heat. Her brow dripped with sweat and she gritted her teeth, trying to weather out the flames. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but necessary to achieve their goal.

I think that will do! Okibi roared at her and the girl immediately ceased her production of flames.

"Hurry up! Follow me!" she waved wildly at Goku as she ascended up into the thin barrier of clouds. Her form pierced through the wall of clouds simply enough; the sensation was much like trying to fly through jello. After a bit of a struggle, she was through. A massive expanse of azure skies greeted her. But that was hardly the first thing the host of flames discovered. Suspended in the middle was a gigantic black cloud. Multiple tubes had skewered the odd-looking artifact. And hundreds. Literally hundreds of aliens swarmed around the machines to press buttons, monitor the devices, and bark orders at each other.

Shana watched in horror. The cloud itself had an energy to it that felt much like a life force. Slowly, the cloud seemed to be withering. The life force was shrinking in turn.

"Stop!" she yelled out at the army of defilers. "What are you doing?"

Silence greeted her words as every single alien paused in their work to stare curiously at the human girl.

You damned fool! Okibi admonished with a roar. Do you think anything out? Hostile looks were creeping across the aliens' faces; some of them reached for what looked to be mechanical blasters of some kind. They strapped them to their arms and held them out. Shana backed up slightly, feeling her heart skip a beat. One Saiyan and an eleven year old girl intruder were facing off against what seemed to be an entire army of powerful warriors.

A cold drop of sweat fell from her cheek. This isn't going to end well...

Word of Shana: 781/781

With a mingled roar of fury, the throng of aliens launched themselves at once at the human. A few of them stayed back, but by the sounds of them cocking their arm blasters, it wasn't out of fear. The host of fire let out a startled gasp. The numbers were so high, that the aliens' forms blotted out the sun. In truth, the human didn't mind; this high up into the sky, there was no more clouds to help filter out the star's brilliant radiance.

Concentrate! Okibi scolded her. Don't let your attention slip once! If you screw up, even I won't be able to save you! The point was taken; Shana tensed her muscles, trying to find the alien that would reach her first.

There! She managed to wrap her grasp around the first attacker's wrist as his fist came towards her face. Twisting at the hip, the human caught his cheek with her own fist; he let out startled yell as she jerked him away. His form pierced the cloud barrier to never be seen again. But with one down, at least five more aliens had taken his place.

Shana gritted her teeth. With multiple blaster fire falling upon her, the human couldn't directly engage the new group yet. With a crimson aura enveloping her tiny frame, the human was forced to ascend higher. Her eyes fell upon the machine that seemed to be sucking at the nimbus cloud. She needed to disable it! But with multiple explosions pelting the air around her, she hardly had the time.

Below you! Okibi's warning came too late. A gloved hand wrapped tightly around her ankle, causing Shana to stop in mid-flight. Her ebony hair rose slightly as the alien tugged on her form. He was an ugly brute, and the sadistic smile upon his wide face made him all the more fearsome looking. The air to Shana's right heated up, causing her to glance over in time to see a beam of discharged energy spiraling towards her. The aggressor was a spiny alien, still holding his blaster much like a gun. Two more shots were swiftly fired. The host of fire had no choice but bar her arms before her and let her forearms take the punishing blasts.

The explosions ripped at her guard, causing a stinging pain to creep up into her torso. The energy hurt. A lot. It was enough to burn her soft skin, that much was for sure. The human could feel that Okibi was near the breaking point. Though his anger wasn't at his host, (Okibi's snarls were aimed at Shana's attackers) Shana still cringed at the spawn of fire's fury nonetheless.

Word of Shana: 447/1228

Okibi's growl was not a threat. It was a promise. A promise of death and destruction. Just as another alien's fist crashed into her cheek, the gateway clasped tightly around her neck began to glow. Raw flames billowed from it; with an orange flash, Okibi's massive form clawed his way free from Eden's realm. His claws glinted with flames as he struck once. Immediately, three of the aliens fell with the single strike.

The new foe was powerful enough to give Shana's attackers a pause. Muttering uneasily to each other, they cast glances around as if seeing who would be brave (or foolish) enough to tackle such a feral and dangerous looking foe. And Okibi was powerful. The flames that billowed around his form like a storm was enough to make Shana shy away. His blazing amber eyes darted around the throng of aliens, simply daring anyone to draw close enough for him to retaliate with unsheathed claws and fangs.

"Okibi!" Shana greeted the lion-like spawn of flames, feeling relieved. Already, her body was aching. Though she was stronger than the assorted fighters guarding the machine and Nimbus, she was certainly not strong enough to tackle all of them. Even if she had the combat experience of Blackfire, there was no way in hell that she could win.

"Keep alive," Okibi growled. "There's no time for pleasantries!" Shana nodded tersely at the god's dialog, narrowing her brown eyes. She could feel the heat radiating from the god of fire as he pressed his form to her side. Together, both host and god faced the throng of aliens. A silence passed over the realm of clouds. It seemed as none of the aliens were going to make a move. Okibi let out a roar, and a column of flames erupted from his gaping maw. It shot across the sky, slamming into one of the aliens in the front of the group. The unlucky target fell immediately, smoke billowing up in a column as his charred body fell through the bottom layer of clouds. Just like his ally before, the human did not see him again. As if in a sign, the rest of the crows came forward like a wave.

Word of Shana: 369/1597

The next stages of battle seemed to pass in a blur. There were so many attackers, Shana could hardly begin to keep track of them, much less try. Luckily, the presence of Okibi did two things. One of them served to intimidate the mass of aliens. The other was to strengthen Shana's own confidence. Okibi's power was magnificent; his powerful form was threatening enough to force most of the aliens attack him, leaving Shana with a much less threatening group to deal with.

The way Okibi was fighting seemed... restrained, almost. It was as if he were only using a tiny portion of his true strength. Even so, his speed, raw power, and ability were all far superior to that of Shana's. The human began to suspect that the lion-like spawn of flames were holding back for sport. Stuck in Eden's Realm could not have been fun. Blackfire had told her the story passed down from Alexstrasza, the life-binder; Okibi and his competitive group of feral gods had warred against each other constantly in a never-ending war of attrition. Constantly encroaching upon each others territory, the elemental spawns would fight and fight and fight. Perhaps part of that aggression was pent up over time. Perhaps it needed a release.

Or perhaps Shana was simply reading into it. After all, the Conclave of Elements was supposed to be a group working together for the betterment of the universe. The god of fire could have held back as to not kill the aliens.

Whatever it was, it didn't matter much to Shana; she had her own problems to deal with. The amount of aliens who had decided to engage her instead of the furious god of fire were all over her. Only a small amount stayed at a distance holding a rough semi-circle perimeter around her to pelt the human with energy blasts.

Weaving through the melee attacks and energy rifles was hard enough. Counter attacking on top of it? It seemed to be a feat short of impossible. But with a look of determination etched across the human's face, she wasn't going to let herself be backed into a corner.

Word of Shana: 359/1956

Shana fought furiously. It seemed an odd adjective to describe the fight from an eleven year old girl, yet if one were to witness her plight, they would agree upon the same word. Set on the path to win, Shana was no longer going to fight meekly. Seeing Okibi's fury incarnate seemed to be enough to give Shana the confidence to fight. The confidence to win. Blocking and dodging incoming attacks. Beating down each adversary though hundreds remained, outnumbering her a thousand to one. Yet Shana was a host. She boasted the strength of a thousand men.

The sound of Okibi's snarls seemed to melt into the distance. Only the people attacking her mattered. With each alien Shana defeated, two took his or her place. It seemed to be a fruitless endeavor, fighting off the waves upon waves of attackers. Yet Shana and Okibi both knew one small fact. Their numbers were not infinite. Okibi had seen so many battles. Shana remembered one day when the fire-like spawn had sat her down. He felt the need to tell Shana what she was going to become. What she would be facing as a host of fire.

"My previous host died many centuries before you were even born, Shana. I remember it clearly. You don't know what fear is. What true fear is. True fear is when you have a million Voracious Eaters barreling down upon you. True fear is when their numbers blot out the sun itself. He fought for seventy two hours straight. The Voras didn't pause once. There were no breaks, no reprieves from battle. He simply fought. Fought with all of the fury he could muster. At his side, I did my best to help. But eventually, he fell. He couldn't continue." Okibi paused to glance at the horror-stricken face of his host. Shana was sitting cross-legged, looking as if she was suddenly less sure about being a Vessel.

Okibi raised his head. He needed to tell her this, no matter how hard the human took it. "We're fighting one hell of a war, Shana. Sometimes, it seems as if the Vora are as limitless as the stars in the sky. No matter what, though... We fight. We aren't fighting for glory, honor, or pride. Those days are over. We fight for the universe's survival. The Voras will destroy everything. The remaining four of us Elemental gods will beat them back or die trying. Some people may look at it as a losing battle, but I consider it an act of selflessness. Even if we do lose. Even if our existence is erased so that nobody even remembers the gods who died to try and save the mortal pane... We'll know. We'll know that the Voras had to fight for every damn inch of territory to control! That is what being a Vessel is about!"

Word of Shana: 477/2433

Eventually, it got to the point where Shana couldn't even keep up with the events transpiring. The human whipped about, frantically trying to find another target until Okibi's voice sounded close to her ear.

"Enough, Shana. It's over. That was the last of them." His eyes were narrowed as if he were deep in thought. He spoke once more as Shana turned to address him. "You brought out your strength there. You... you did good."

"I remembered what you told me about your previous host," Shana admitted, causing Okibi to flick up his ears in surprise. Shana swept on, rolling her stiff and sore shoulders. "You said that the Vora were almost infinite in number. Yet here I was struggling against a few hundred opponents..." Shana looked away. "What kind of Vessel struggles like that in combat?"

Now that the battle was over, the rush of adrenaline evaporated like the dew on a flower touched by the morning sun. Her entire body ached as the injuries began to be known. Half of Shana's shirt was ripped to shreds, revealing her white undershirt. She was grateful to be wearing it; it was chilly up here even with the sun beating down mercilessly overhead. Shana felt Okibi press his warm pelt comfortingly against her side.

"You're young and have very little combat experience, Shana. I didn't expect you to pull out a miracle. You may not be a natural-born warrior, but you are astoundingly powerful for your age. I doubt that there are any humans with the raw potential you possess. You will get more experience over time. Through Komand'r's training and actual combat, you'll become a powerful Vessel soon enough." His words were comforting. It seemed odd for the god of fire to suddenly show a softer side. But it didn't dwell. Okibi had an odd look on his face as if he had swallowed something particularly bitter. His form vanished. Shana hid a snort of amusement; the god of fire was embarrassed. Even through the gateway connected to Eden's Realm, the human could feel the lion-like deity's uneasiness. It pricked against her skin like holly.

A quiet cough resounded from her necklace. Now, don't you have a machine to destroy? Okibi reminded her gruffly.

Word of Shana: 374/2807

Shana couldn't help but let out a giggle at Okibi's sudden indifference to the entire scenario. It was quite obvious that he was too proud to admit his softer side, but Shana had seen it. It was there. Even if it was buried under thousands and thousands of years of elemental fury.

Machine! Okibi snarled out again. The god of fire was having none of Shana's antics. Shana turned her attention to the giant cloud suspended above the rest. Now that the massive army of aliens was gone, it was much more easier to tell what exactly was happening. There were three machines! Each worked methodically. One pumped a vile liquid into the cloud with a tube, the other seemed to be scooping great clumps of the poisoned Nimbus into yet another machine that zapped it. When zapped, the grey hunk of cloud would vanish, never to be seen again.

Shana couldn't understand much of what was going on, but it was revolving around processing the cloud in some way. Nothing made sense, though! Why was there so much security surrounding a cloud? Was it some kind of weapon? Korin didn't mention much about it aside that it was a cloud created by the gods. That meant that it had to be special in some way, right?

Taking a deep breath, Shana first focused her attention on the machine before her. Extending a palm, she allowed flames to wreathe around her arm until it formed a dangerous-looking orb at her fingertips. Immediately, Okibi chastised her.

No! Shana extinguished the flames and glanced down at the gateway. Didn't Okibi just tell her to destroy the machine? Think, will you? If you use destruction like that, you may harm or destroy the Nimbus!

"Oh..." Shana hadn't thought about that. But did that mean she had to destroy it by hand? The thought caused Shana to wrinkle her nose in disgust.

Word of Shana: 313/3120

Shana let out a sigh. She was starting to feel exhausted from the previous fight. Coupled with her extended flight, the human wanted nothing more but to curl up in bed and sleep for several days straight. She floated forward, wiping away a layer of sweat that had formed on her brow. Flicking it away, she inspected the machine pumping the Nimbus full of whatever chemical was stored there. There was a tank on the outside, Shana suspected that it was the container for the invasive liquid. Cocking back a fist, she prepared to punch a hole in it.

Wait. Shana staggered slightly from Okibi's interruption.

"Now what?" the human asked, feeling flustered from Okibi's constant intrusions of her plans.

We don't know what we're dealing with. Make sure you don't allow that liquid to touch you, he grunted.

"I... I knew that!" Shana lied, repositioning her arm in a slicing motion. She hesitated briefly before bringing the arching blow down. Her hand ripped through the metal like a hot knife through butter, spilling the vile contents of the machine. A thick silver liquid oozed out of the gash like blood, spilling down somewhat. But as it was exposed to the air, it evaporated!

"What was that stuff?" Shana asked as she yanked the remnants of the machine away and threw it carelessly over her shoulder.

I don't know. Perhaps you can ask that cat later. Let's deal with the rest of these things, though... Okibi answered.

Word of Shana: 247/3367

As Shana turned to the next machine, she could tell that the Nimbus was changing. Startled, she glanced over to see that the black cloud was beginning to become lighter. "O-okibi?" she stammered, unsure of what to do next.

Do you feel that change in energy? That machine was defiling the cloud! It's becoming pure once more! Destroy the rest!

Okibi's words brought a shimmer of hope to the human. Filled with renewed energy, she rushed to the next machine, tearing it away from the Nimbus. The shattered metal let out a shriek as it was forced to release its prisoner. The Nimbus gave a slight wriggle as if it were stretching for the first time in a long time. Free from it's prison, the now yellow cloud floated forward slightly. Confident that it was far enough away, Shana fired off a column of crimson flames at the last machine to destroy it.

Well done...

Smiling, Shana reached forward with a hand to touch the cloud whom she had freed. Yet to the human's disappointment, it shrank away from her touch as if it were wary. Though it caused the host of fire to frown, she could understand the Nimbus' distrust. After all, it had been through hell and back. Whatever those aliens had done to it... Shana didn't even want to think about it.

Well, I think we're done here, Okibi spoke, jolting Shana's attention to the gateway.

"Yes, I guess we are." Shana couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. The entire adventure, though fun, had been very anticlimactic. Casting one final gaze at the giant Nimbus, the human allowed herself to drop down by stopping the ki flow to her legs. Her eyes never left the yellow and god-created cloud until her body fell through the barrier of clouds that had hidden the Nimbus' realm.

As soon as she broke through the cloud barrier once more, however, a shocking sight greeted the human. There were multitudes of the aliens waiting around. Most of them sported claw marks from Okibi, but all of them sported frowns and arm blasters.

Look out! Okibi's roar exploded within her mind, but Shana was too tired to make heads or tails of the new situation. She was helpless to do anything as the throng of malicious aliens cocked their weapons and fired the blasters at the falling human at once.

Word of Shana: 400/3767

MOVE! Okibi's roar of warning was wasted. Unable to comprehend the surprise attack in time, Shana could only stare baffled as the energy exploded outwards from the arm cannons and pelted her tiny frame. Although one blast didn't hurt in itself, the focused fire was enough to set Shana's pain receptors on fire.

She let out a shrill cry of pain as the blasts slammed mercilessly into her body. Shana knew she had to try and escape the punishment, yet her body wouldn't listen to her commands. Everything felt numb. To her horror, the girl's vision blurred before blackening over. The last thing that Shana heard was the loud roar of Okibi's fury.

...

...

...

Shana grunted as she struggled to open her eyes. Her entire body ached with pain. Her appendages felt as heavy as stone; when Shana tried to get up, she found herself almost paralyzed with pain.

"Rest." The voice was deep, yet not that of Okibi's. "You took quite the fall. You're lucky you survived, in fact." Although it took a moment, Shana recognized the voice of Korin. A flood of memories crashed into her mind at once. The fight for the Nimbus' freedom, the ambush afterwards... As Shana's fuzzy vision began to clear up, she could see she was in the same place as before where Korin had greeted her and explained the situation. Yet, oddly enough, she wasn't inside of it. So what was she laying on?

With a small struggle, the human tilted her head, blinking several times against the sunlight. What she saw made the human's jaw drop in shock.

"Ahh, so you noticed. I dare say that it was what saved your life, Shana. The Nimbus shed a bit of its own existence to save you from falling down to Earth. I saw it catch you in mid air."

That left the question on where Okibi was. Last thing Shana knew, the god of fire was fighting her ambushers. The girl felt her heart skip a beat. Surely the lion-like spawn of flames didn't fall!

I'm fine, Okibi's voice reassured her, resounding deep within Shana's conscious. And so are you, thanks to that Nimbus...

Word of Shana: 362/4129

The Nimbus was unbelievably soft to the touch. It quivered and churned slightly as Shana touched it. Korin spoke up once more. "You managed to save the Nimbus, I see. And in turn, the Nimbus saved you. That portion of it will stick around with you, I believe."

Shana's mind was still reeling. "It can carry me around?" Just the thought of a cloud being solid enough to hold her weight up was mind boggling.

Korin nodded. "Well, there are certain perimeters, of course." The cat licked his right paw, drawing it over his whiskers thoughtfully. Shana knew that the cat-like demi god didn't know about Okibi. If he had seen the furious-looking lion deity, he wouldn't have been acting so calm about the situation at hand.

"Perimeters?" Shana echoed, finding the strength to sit up and cross her legs. Every now and then, the human would peer over the edge of the cloud, feeling nervous.

"Yes, Perimeters. You see, the Nimbus only carries those pure of heart. Pure good, that is."

Shana cocked her head to the side. "Then what were those aliens doing?" Realizing that Korin likely didn't know what transpired, she started to explain what had happened in the Nimbus' realm. The host of fire felt Okibi tense up, then relax as Shana tactfully left the god of fire's help out. When she finished, Korin frowned, stroking his chin as he mused over the story.

"The only thing I can think of..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "They must have been trying to pump impurities into the Nimbus! As it stands, the cloud may only carry those with a pure good heart. They must have no taint of evil within their souls. If they cause the Nimbus to become impure... In turn, the Nimbus would have been able to carry those who had evil traits!"

Shana nodded slowly, wincing at the effort it took to hold the conversation and sit up at the same time. "That makes sense... but it's terrible, nonetheless!" She paused to pat the cloud affectionately. Shana couldn't swear to it, but it sounded as if the cloud had let out a purr at her touch. "But why would somebody do something like that?"

Korin shrugged, suddenly looking tired. "You'd be surprised what people do for greed, Shana. It's refreshing to see somebody like you. Here." The cat-like god suddenly produced a small green bean and tossed it to the floating human. Out of instinct, Shana caught it, looking down at it curiously. Was this the same bean that Blackfire had given Trunks almost a month ago?

"That's a Sensu Bean. It'll restore your strength!" Korin told her.

Word of Shana: 448/4577

At Shana's continued hesitation, Korin let out a sudden purr of amusement. "Really, Shana. If I wanted to harm you, I would have done so while you were unconscious!" Shana found herself believing the demi god. After all, his dialog did reveal that he still had no clue about the lion-like spawn of flames, Okibi. If he did, the cat would known what little chance he had to do such a feat. The god of flames would have protected her. Besides, Korin didn't look like much of a fighter.

He's a guardian. He doesn't fight. He watches, Okibi asserted, not sounding bothered by the cat-like deity's joke. With a small sigh, Shana popped the small bean into her mouth, screwing her eyes and nose up in distaste as the bitter and crunchy morsel slid slowly down her throat. It seemed like a minute punishment to handle compared to the healing sensation that gripped her broken body. The bruises and swelling began to subside. The cuts and lacerations closed, leaving behind a healthy layer of new tissue behind. The only two things hinting at Shana's previous plight was the crusted blood at the corner at her mouth and her tattered clothing.

It was only then, that Shana realized her predicament. Before the ambush, her undershirt was still covering her. But now... A red flush crossed her face as she attempted to cover up herself. Especially the parts not covered from the scraps of her burnt and torn shirt. The resilient denim of her jeans were okay, yet even it had been punished. Her right knee was exposed, and half of the pants' leg was missing from the left. At Shana's scurried and scrambled attempt at covering herself, Korin only chuckled.

"Child, there's nobody here. But you'll want to go home, no doubt."

"How do I get this Nimbus to fly?" Shana wondered, still clasping her arms tightly around her body. Even if Korin was a cat, the tattered clothes were an embarrassment to the human.

Korin tipped his head to the side as if the answer were obvious. Shana wondered if the cat-like deity had already explained it. "Just think where you want to go. The Nimbus will take it from there!"

"T-thank you," Shana bowed her head to Korin. To her surprise, the demi god showed enough modesty to hold out a paw.

"No need to bow, child," he said, "I feel that you will become more renowned and god-like than I could ever hope for. If anything, I should be thanking you!" He turned around, a sign that he was ending the interaction. After a moment's pause, Shana formed the picture of her home within her mind. Immediately, the Nimbus shot off at a surprisingly quick pace; it flew even faster than Shana could have! All the human hoped for now was that nobody in the streets below would look up. Oh, and if her parents weren't home, that would have been nice too.

We need to get you some body armor so that doesn't happen again, eh? Okibi mused, sounding amused.

"Shut up."

Word of Shana: 515/5092