Tarrasqing a Question

[Albert Wesker]

Kuzan had been left with little choice the night before but to accept Dio's 'offer' of staying the night. Given that he didn't have anything better to do in the interim hours, and that he was in no position to turn down getting some sleep, he didn't exactly see any reason to refuse in the first place. It was to such an end that the former Admiral had finally retired to a room he had been directed to after inquiring for directions only a short while after the end of the event the previous night. He had busied himself with taking care of such things as summoning his sleeping mask, and doing away with the stuffy uniform of his old Navy days. In its place came the more lax, work-ready attire from his even older years as a Vice-Admiral. It dredged up unpleasant memories, but it was easier to work in if a battle was to be expected, and still looked somewhat presentable than the increasingly-ragged green coat and other attire he'd been wearing.

The events of the night were minor at best. He tried to excercise his powers, to see just how far his abilities had fallen, and with his mind actually put to the task directly, he was apalled and shocked at how comparatively weak he had become. While far from weak by the standards of a normal human, he was barely a shadow of his former power. He had been stronger than his current level of strength nearly from when he had first joined the Navy, so many years ago! It was enough to bring a deep, angry scowl to his face. No wonder things had felt off to him... As it stood, he couldn't even harness proper control to take on his Logia state, the nigh-invulnerability it offered coming as a sharp, severe loss to him. He was smart enough not to rely on it entirely, but it was unquestionably effective and a tremendously useful power. To have it simply gone...

He pushed that thought away, not wanting to dwell on the consequences of trying to reflexively turn into ice, only to remain flesh and blood and get pulverized by whatever he had been trying to avoid. He would have to return to his old ways of thinking and fighting, when he couldn't rely on his unrefined control of his Devil Fruit powers to protect him from most harm. When he'd had to either toughen up and learn to take a good punch or wind up beaten, broken and possibly dead. Pirates and criminals weren't known for their fair play and kindness of heart on the best of days, let alone when it came to the Navy interfering in their "business". He'd managed to get by just fine then, and he'd do the same now. At least now he had the benefit of experience and twice as many years of wisdom under his belt to speed things along. He was...more than a little rusty, having not needed to use more than part of his abilities, or been put up against a truly worthy foe to test his skills in a number of years -- barring the chaotic events of the "Whitebeard War"....and the events following it...

He put a hand on his left knee, feeling the cold ice just below it where he had lost his leg in the duel against his former colleague, Akainu... The entire thing had been an admittedly pointless battle. If he had won, he would have ended up in a position he didn't particularly care for. And when he had lost, he had resigned from his position as Admiral and been severely injured in the fight. It was a miracle he had survived at all. That either of them had survived. As his visit to Punk Hazard before being grabbed and plunked down here in this strange new place had shown, the island still hadn't recovered from their duel.

Then again...neither had he. The ugly scars on nearly his entire arm, torso, and missing leg attested to that, and would be permanent, panful reminders of his own foolishness. Sengoku and many of the Marines under his command had called his effort heroic and commendable. But the pheasant had had his wings clipped and his pride damaged that day when Akainu not only bested him, but spared his life in what was supposed to be a duel to the death. It was only ever so slightly heartening to see that even Akainu had a heart buried somewhere beneath all his magma and intense rage, but it was a blow to his pride and foolish honor that he had been spared. That Akainu had had the gall to spare him at all, given the condition he was in, himself!

Slowly, the ice-man shook his head, flopping down upon the bed in his borrowed room with a disgruntled huff. He slid the sleep mask down over his eyes, folded his arms behind his head, and made an effort to doze off.

He dreamed that night, though of what he couldn't tell you. He only remembered bits and pieces. Flashes of events in his various battles, of his powers being used, pirates cowering and fleeing, his allies and suboordinates praising his skills...and of true monsters like "Diamond" Jozu, Whitebeard, and even Akainu... It was almost as if his mind was taunting his power loss, trying to drive him to gain his abilities back by any means. Of course he had every intention of doing just that, but he was stuck somewhat on the how. He knew that the Omnilium substance he'd been collecting was useful for things beside summoning, but... He didn't need any reminders from his brutal past encounters to encourage him.

He didn't wake up in a cold sweat, so much as he woke up cold. At a knock upon his door, his eyes snapped open under the mask over them, seeing nothing but darkness as he fumbled to sit upright, pulling the mask up onto his forehead. Darkness and the all to clear imprint of Akainu's magma fist inches from his face. He rubbed at his face, trying to dispel the already-fading images more quickly. He didn't need to be reminded of his failures and almost-failures before he was going to do something so important as hunting down a monster like the Tarrasque.

He finally opened his eyes to stand up and see the entire room covered in a fine layer of frost. Where he had been laying on the bed it was particularly of note, being more akin to a solid sheet of ice. Whatever that dream had been about, it must have bothered him more than he expected... He set about doing what he could to quell the frost and ice about the room, melting it seamlessly, leaving not a drop of water behind to cause any fuss over. It still left the room more than a little on the frigid side of things, but it was probably still better than leaving it frozen. That would have just been an insult to his ever so gracious host.

He opened the door in a cloud of frigid air and mist, onl y to see a beautiful little blond-haired girl. And food. It was fairly plain, given what he had seen the night before, but he couldn't complain. It was still hearty and filling, and he ate with much gusto and appreciation. Soon enough he was called out by Dio to the main hall of the manor, presumably to discuss their strategy or plans for the day. Kuzan took the time to finish eating, and extract his sleeping mask back to the component omnilium he had used to make it in the first place, somehow feeling he wouldn't have any need of it. He debated for a moment re-summoning his sunglasses...but a quick reminder of the general dismal-ness of the Moors, and the lack of particularly bright sunlight made up his mind for him.

He made his way down to the entrance hall, arriving well behind everyone else, it seemed. He didn't offer an apology for his unintended tardiness, merely listened to the outline of the strategy and general plans for the day. So...he was going to be on scouting duty with Aang and Alain. He idly stroked at the shadow of a beard on his chin, listening to the informaiton given. Go out scouting, while Dio and Homura trained for the encounter against the Tarrasque...hmm. He didn't say anything about his thoughts, merely nodded in acknowledgement. Being careful about throwing around Dio's name wasn't something he should have too much issue with.

As they were dismissed and told to move out, Kuzan ambled his way outside, rubbing at the back of his head as if in agitated thought. He looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes against the dim light. A long, low sigh soon escaped him and he dropped his gaze back down to earth, catching sight of his two allies for the day. He stuck his hands in his pockets and made his way toward the stables, and the other two members of their scouting party. He lifted a hand in a lazy wave. "Ready to be off...?"