>>6182315He lets out an accepting grunt, and the two of you focus. First off, a bit of a spar through this image training, just to get a decent connection started. You share with him some of the things you and Keli learned through Master Pybara, showing how you were able to better regulate your Ki, better draw it out to its fullest, letting him experience things through this image training. You are able to kinda run circles around him in it, but you don’t do it to show off. Just keep him thinking that even with that, he can close the gap. That he can get better.
The focus then shifts to Ozotto, and how he was able to steal away Tien. You and Lao replay much of the same events in your heads as before, right up to the tail grab, and you trying to knock the Mafuba container out of Ozotto. Now, you are able to see how Lao got to pry open Ozotto’s jaws in one more attempt to free Tien, yet… that vision is replaced with darkness, and swirls of colors, and… the broken Earth. It’s… somehow worse than you feared. It isn’t just that it’s barren and broken and scarred, cracks in the surface showing massive trenches of molten rock, it’s that there’s NO life there at all. It’s empty. So empty. Not just a grave of billions of souls, but there aren’t even any plants or animals roaming around.
You shudder as you look at it and realize that Lao could have been trapped there too… for who knows how long.
But that’s not what happened. He was saved. Pulled back away from that hellscape. And so, the events play out in your heads again, similarly… but this time, you’re both better prepared. You have much more you can try out against Ozotto. Lao has more people that’ve got his back. The two of you can picture it. Freeing Tien from his imprisonment, through all the methods you now have at your disposal, especially with Forced Spirit Fission at your disposal, and getting out of there before Ozotto can try any more sneaky tricks.
When you open your eyes, you find that Lao’s energy has calmed, focused, but also found a balance, a point of rest. And what’s more, he’s smiling. Confident. Good. When he opens his eyes again, he lets out a calm and appreciative, “Thank you, Son Peppa. I… do not think my unease is completely gone, but it has been quenched. I’m ready.”
You grin. “We’re all ready. Now let’s do this.”
>DRAGON BALL TUFFLE QUEST KAI #55… Paused.>Twitter account is @KatoQm, will have status updates there, and now also @qmkato over at bluesky>Got some questions for the QM? Suggestions? Put them in the thread or those accounts I’ll try to answer them as best I canAll right folks, that’s all for tonight! Thank you all for playing! Did y’all have fun? We’ll be back tomorrow ~6:30 pm PST, so stay safe out there and see you then!
