Not in the realm of Gods, but in a domain higher than that of Sheryashka, a few days after every other conscience had returned...
Golgo was back, baby! His conscience had, admittedly, gotten a little lost on the way back, and ended up taking a detour, but Golgo the great had returned! Well he was technically here the whole time but his conscience fragment was now back in his real body. The first thing he realised was that the F.O were tearing their hair out over this mess. They''d indirectly found out about Ares through rumours and leaked information! They had a man on the scene, one who should have returned first as his real body was the closest to the pagoda, and he still hadn''t gotten back yet! They regretted not sending someone a little less dumb... the F.O had to spend a lot of money this time around just to be in the loop. Through various means they eventually made contact with Veteran who explained a fair bit to them willingly. They were also Ares'' allies so he was open with them about what he knew. In turn, they made their announcement a little later than everyone else which made them somewhat of a laughing stock thanks to this incident. Their alliance had been leaked an entire day before they confirmed it! They were all over the news after this blunder... It was a small hit to their reputation, and not a major problem at all as people would forget about it in a week or two, but it was still annoying!
The man who was stationed by Golgo''s real body was practically in tears by this point as he was begging the man to get back already! It was hard enough trying to explain to Golgo that he would ''magically get new memories'' because the oaf just didn''t get understand the concept at play here. The guy stationed on this planet couldn''t tell if Golgo''s conscience had already returned and he was just being stupid or if was still yet to show up! Thankfully it was all cleared up when Golgo walked up to the guy and told him the good news. It was too late for the information but at least he was back safe and sound? It was hard to tell with this man as the way he explained things was... Questionable at best. Still, the F.O guy thanked Golgo for his hard work, took the notepad with Mako and Ares'' details on them, and left. The notepad''s usefulness at this point was limited but there were still some things there that mattered. Ares saying he would work like a dog for them if they aided Candy was a big one and Mako offering to help them also mattered. Basically confirmation of them both joining was the major thing this note provided and that was phenomenal news. There was also the not so great news that Ignizz had his finger up his ass and was being useless... The F.O would try and sort that out by contacting the Gods...
After handing over the note, Golgo started travelling back home. This entire planet belonged to him so he was free to take his time and smell the roses while greeting all his citizens on the way back. Generally, he was a well-respected figure due to his strength, loyalty, and friendly nature. Now the men of the planet weren''t too happy with him constantly sniffing around their wives but they shoved him away any time he got too close so he was manageable at least. Plus any woman who wasn''t already one of Golgo''s many wives likely had no intention of ever becoming one. It was something that either happened early in their lives or not at all. Some woman just wanted a happy, small family with a man who was the proud owner of more than 50 points of IQ. Golgo was a good guy, yeah... But man was he stupid... The women that didn''t mind that, for whatever reason be it looks, talent, or status, pretty much threw themself at Golgo and he accepted the all with open arms. There weren''t many people with as many children as Golgo and the only ones who could realistically compete had lived for millions more years than him. Golgo''s connection with his children depended. He remembered them all but some he saw way more than others. Specifically, the children he''d had with wives that he actually loved were typically more important to him and he frequently spent more time with them. Of all his children, one of the few he actually lived in the same building as was Havanah. Havanah''s mother was Golgo''s first love and so she held a special place in his big dumb heart.
Golgo arrived back home and he wanted to see Siri, Havanah''s mother, but she wasn''t home right now. In fact, nobody was home! Most of his kids that lived here were off-world right now so it made sense. This was quite rare, however, and it made Golgo a little sad even if he had a feeling in his gut it would be like this. A busy home was a happy home. On that, he and Ares agreed wholeheartedly with each other. More than anything though, it had been a while since his clone had seen any of his family and it kinda missed them. Although real Golgo had seen everyone all the time lately he still felt like entertaining the clone''s wishes... And yet everyone was out and about. It was unfortunate but it seemed like his clone, that didn''t even exist anymore, would have to wait for another day.
Although Golgo was the king that didn''t mean he was burdened by work. He had a few odd jobs here and there but remained relatively free and had a lot of downtime. This wasn''t some kind of pencil pushing society with legal documents a plenty, it was a vast, grassy area in which everyone was welcome to do as they pleased provided they obeyed a few simple rules. Namely not hassling other people in any way. Of course this was just this region, there was actually a city on this planet where things were a bit more civilised and not everyone in the neighbourhood was a farmer trying to protect their wives from Golgo 24/7. Havanah frequented the city often as she seemed to really like it. She''d defended the city from invaders who knows how many times at this point and she made Golgo proud each and every time. The city was her base of operations for the most part and was under her official protection. Speaking of, she''d left for the city a couple days ago so whatever it was she was doing there must have been dealt with already. Havanah might even return back home today if Golgo was lucky!
The king sat on his throne, a rocking chair, and spent the day scratching his balls and watching televised sports, occasionally drinking a beer when he was feeling brave and wanted to spice things up a bit. Don''t let the tv fool you though, Golgo''s house wasn''t modern in the slightest. It was like a gigantic barn if anything. It''s just that, one day, when he was visiting another planet, he had an opportunity to watch some ''tee vee'' and he thought it was fun. Afterwards he went and got one installed and it became his new favourite past time. Before this he would usually just laze around and sleep or train so it''s not like it was taking up precious time or anything. There wasn''t much to do in the way of entertainment out here so this tv rapidly became talk of the village. Eventually, via Golgo''s connections, every house around here had one. The husbands were happy they had something to do in their spare time other than tend crops and bang their wives and the wives were also happy to finally have a break from their insistent and persistent husbands. Win win! Although some of the guys got a bit lazy and didn''t want to work as hard anymore. A quick smack over the head from their incensed wives tended to fix that particular problem though.
The day passed and it was starting to get a bit dark out. Golgo was considering going to bed to get an early night, and he was about to, when he heard a knock on the door. Someone was home! Probably Havanah if his guess was correct. Golgo stood up and walked over to the front door. He peeked through the keyhole and his guess was proven correct! Although there did seem to be a plus one. Havanah had brought back her pouty friend, the mind pillar. Golgo opened the door and threw out his arms wide, welcoming the two into his ''hum-ball ahb-ode''.
The mind pillar, Sanity, was a woman who''s face only ever had one look on it, and it was a mix of boredom and belittlement. Everyone was stupider than her and it annoyed her to no end. Plus, having the ability to read people''s thoughts got really old after a while as they mostly tended to think the exact same thing about her. ''Pompous, arrogant, rude bitch''. She wasn''t annoyed because of what they they thought, she acknowledged that they were entirely correct, it''s just that she wished they would either express it in a different manner for once or actually have the cojones to say it to her face. Though she was outwardly reserve, there was a psychotic lady who took on her appearance residing in her mind called, ironically, Insanity. Yes, Insanity was in Sanity. It was better to just accept that this woman was a bit of an oddball... Anyway, coming across Insanity was rare and that was for the best as she wasn''t a polite person, unlike Sanity who always remained cordial no matter how much she disliked you. As for her outward appearance, she was a ''K9'', a dog kin, who was less furry and more human in appearance. The only really distinct dog-like traits she possessed were sharp and pointy ears as well as a rather elegant tail that had a mind of it''s own but was infrequently ever in Sanity''s way. Her face screamed that of a woman who was superior to you in every way. A pointed chin, glasses that were resting on her nose so she could look down at you over the top of them, and combed back hair into a ponytail. She almost looked like a strict teacher but her choice of clothing made her lean more towards a moody secretary as her suit was quite professional. A standard black suit and white shirt were her choice of everyday clothing and it was a good fit too so she rocked it well. If she ever made any effort to smile she would have actually been a considerably attractive woman but smiling was evidently not in the cards now or ever. Contrasting with her dull demeanour, although it couldn''t be seen right now, was her rainbow coloured, psychedelic mana. All of the fundamentals'' mana had a unique property/colour to them and the mind pillar was no different. Ares'' was primarily gold but could also be deep, pulsing red or pitch black, Mako''s was neon, Sanity''s was rainbow coloured and trippy, and Havanah''s was a hearty, shiny bronze. Though they hadn''t been discussed yet, the black pillar''s champion''s mana was inky and the white pillar''s fundamental champion''s mana was scorching hot and flickered like fire.
Then there was Havanah. A Panthera just like her father but not quite as hairy. She still had some fur around her elbows, knees, back, armpits, and midriff; plus there was a thin tail, sharp fangs, and some black cat ears, but other than that she was mostly human. Her skin tone was a similar shade of bronze to that of Rhea''s, although perhaps a little deeper, but wasn''t particularly lustrous. She was a haphazard go-with-the flow kinda woman who''s skin had been hardened and scarred by countless brawls and scraps. There was a negative chance her skin would ever be clean because she made no effort to keep it smooth or shiny. What was the point when she was just going to get dirty again by the end of the day anyway? Havanah was usually a lazy woman who would randomly become extremely violent, scrappy, and aggressive at the drop of a hat whenever provoked or looking for a fight. She was a bit of a thuggish punk at times and spoke like one too, rolling her ''r''s whenever she got excited. Her black cat ears were more diagonal that vertical and pierced with two small golden rings on each. Her black hair was similar to that of her faither''s in that it closely resembled that of a lion''s. Heavily layered, fairly abundant, and straight. The majority of her hair, however, was hidden beneath a black, peaked, military hat that rested comfortably above her head. gravity magic was at play to prevent it from ever falling so the hat was here to stay even during fights. She also wore glasses in a similar fashion to Sanity but hers were sunglasses and her heterochromatic eyes peeked out slightly over the top. The left eye was bronze and the right burgundy. Both were seemingly minding their own business and not giving a damn about the world around them but, the second a fight kicked off, they would become more distinct and focussed. The same was also true of Havanah''s facial features and general expression. Her face was quite curvy but it was offset by the pointed lashes above her eyes and a few small whiskers that straightened it out a bit. She had a giant scar on the left side of her face that took up about half of it and even covered a part of her eye. She had a mutation on her body in the form of a few, subtle, white markings on her jaw, on either cheek, that were shaped like scratch marks.
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As for her apparel, she wore a half jacket, half cape sort of piece of clothing. The two layers were distinct as the cropped bronze jacket covered her sides, a part of her chest, her upper shoulders, and came up to her collar where it connected to the cape part of the design. The cape was pure black with a few bronze horizonal stripes and straps in various locations. It came down a little further over her shoulders than the jacket and draped over her upper arm. At the back it came all the way down to below her waist and flowed freely behind her with a small gap for her tail down the middle. Stylish military general was perhaps the most appropriate description for her get up but there was still hints of her oafish nature as the plain white shirt she wore was only buttoned in the middle. The top and bottom few buttons were lazily undone and her belly button and neck bone / parts of her chest were all visible. Whereas Candy intentionally showed off her skin, as it was in her teasing nature to do so, Havanah simply looked like this because doing the buttons was a hassle and made her uncomfortable. her arms were covered in bandages that were hiding her scars. She wore them not because she waw ashamed but just because she liked the feeling of the pressure the bandages created when they were wrapped tight. She also wore a pair of punk, biker gloves with some small bronze chains wrapped around them. Down below she wore plain black trousers and some simple black boots with some golden anklets resting above them. It was quite a busy and flamboyant appearance considering her relatively tame self but it became more fitting when she was going crazy during a bout. Normally she wouldn''t dress like this but the jacket and hat were personal treasures, and really good ones at that, so she acquiesced. She was imposing, awe inspiring, a little off the rails, and could be described as a berserk professional when in her element. She was considerably toned, perhaps more than even Bellona, and she was a curvy woman too. Her legs in particular were bulky and thick as she''d spent a great deal of time training them with her gravity magic. She needed to be able to wield her heavy weapon even without her magic so she frequently strained herself, buffing up her legs and arms to a notable degree.
Personality wise, she was a casual, layabout drunk usually, kind of like Sadie, but she got quite into it during combat as she bared her fangs and became uncontrollably manic with a dangerous and cocky smile. She didn''t use her fists or claws typically, although she certainly could, but rather the gigantic broadsword floating behind her back was her go to choice of violence administration. The broadsword had a bronze sheen, various white patterns along it, and the aura it possessed indicated it was a powerful treasure not dissimilar to that of Ares'' Primordial Blade. The destruction pillar was not the only one creating legendary weapons for its fundamental champion. Every single champion was currently in possession of one such treasure even if some of them weren''t capable of wielding them yet. Mako''s was quite interesting but he was still working out the kinks in his garage at home and, like Ares, was unable to wield, or rather pilot, it. That being said, Ares was at a significant advantage comparatively now that he also had the Bindings. Plus the Celestial Prisms were on his person too so, in terms of legendary treasures, Ares was acing it currently. That being said, unlike the white, black, reality, and mind pillar champions, he and Mako didn''t yet have any legacy treasures. Havanah''s jacket, hat, and her gloves were both legacy treasures. As for what these kinds of treasures were exactly... It would take Ares a long while to find out. The fundamentals outside the barrier had gotten a LOT of support and their cultivation was far higher than that of Ares or Mako. As such, they''d reached the ''legacy'' cultivation realm very recently, a realm somewhat above transition. Legacy treasures were quite unique but there was no point covering them now as they wouldn''t be relevant for a while... Although Ares did technically have one on his person even if he didn''t know about it. One that would go on to cause him a small bit of trouble in the upcoming months as the original owner was going to come looking for it...
"Yo pops, ya good?" Havanah''s voice was deep and smooth but her words were elongated and drawling. Her speech was usually a tad quicker than this but she must have been tired from working in the city so she wasn''t putting any effort in to any of the syllables leaving her mouth.
"Havanah!" Golgo gave his daughter a big hug and smiled contentedly.
"Ok big guy, it ain''t been that long. What''s gotten into you? Been feeling lonely ''cos everyone else is gone?"
"Da pagooda clone jus'' got back and ''e ain''t seen no family for ages! I''m sayin'' hello to yous for him!"
"The pagoda... Yeah that''s right, it was cleared recently by that Ares guy or whatever? I take it you met the two other fundamentals... Any of ''em strong? Not that I mind still being the strongest of the fundamentals but it would be nice to have some competition. Whitey comes close but it ain''t enough to get my engine purring."
"Ares is good guy, strong too. Me thinks he make good mate for yous."
"Oh really? Cool. When the pagoda comes back around I''ll give it a go and see if he''s strong enough. Damn, now I''m feeling a little excited. I''ve been wanting a mate for when I go into heat but none of the chumps around here are my kinda style. They''re all way too weak. I''m not giving it up to anyone unless they can beat me in a fair fight, plain and simple... Ares, huh... I''ll remember the name. Actually, I''m surprised you did. You''re not usually any good with names... He musta made an impression then? What about the other fundamental champion?"
"M... May... May ko... Mayo?"
"I''ll take that as a ''no'' then." Havanah walked inside the house and turned to gesture to Sanity. "Yo, bitch, why you waiting outside? I told you it''s fine to stay the night." Havanah and Sanity had a sort of love hate relationship with one another and generally got along like cats and dogs... Well they were cats and dogs so maybe that had something to do with it?
Sanity snarled lightly under her breath before turning to face Golgo. "Sorry to intrude but finding another accommodation this late would be quite the inconvenient task." Posh, wordy, and demeaning, that was Sanity alright. In a way she was quite like Eagerton just without the added literary flair. She was welcomed into the house and promptly walked to the nearest available room to sleep. It was still somewhat early but Sanity was a woman who stuck to her schedule quite rigidly. If nothing else this made her a punctual person and that was a well respected trait by those who had any sort of dealings with her.
Havanah threw herself onto the sofa, with one leg dangling off it, and started watching some sports with Golgo. She drank beer and burped, lazed around, and occasionally scratched her ass while getting drunk. In other words, she was a sloth. Havanah trilled like a cat as she licked the claws on her hand to clean them before using the claws to clean her teeth and get some food that was stuck in them out. While Havanah acted like a bum, someone knocked on the door so Golgo got up to go answer it. From the bits and bobs of the conversation Havanah could hear from here she knew who it was and what they wanted. Golgo temporarily closed the door and walked back into the room as he spoke to Havanah. "Dem ad-my-ryr-ers is back. Dey want yous to be der mate."
"Tsk, buncha punks. Fuck ''em..." Havanah expressed her disinterest in putting up with the group of twenty or so Panthera who were looking to mate with a fundamental champion...
...
"... MREWAAOOWWWWWW?!" Havanah leapt of the sofa and landed like a cat on all fours after she was taken by surprise by Golgo who pulled her tail and was currently chuckling at her reaction. "How many times do I gotta tell ya to stop doing that shit?! Leave ma damn tail alone!... What? You want me to go tell them to get lost in person? Why? You aren''t usually this persistent. Usually you let me jus'' ignore ''em. What''s different about today?"
"''Cos me thinks times-a-changin''. Yous should be cleer wit dem and tell dem yous want nuffin to do wit ''em."
"I already have! They keep coming back. Even if I smack ''em upside the head they just come back with a concussion! I broke one of their legs and the fucker came crawling after me like some kinda zombie for Christ''s sake!"
"Maybe yous should tell ''em yous have mate now?"
"You''re really all in on this Ares fella? That''s unlike you. I don''t think you''ve ever tried to push any of your children a specific way before, especially not when it comes to relationships."
"Me no push, me just encourage ''cos me thinks yous make good couple. Choice is yous but yous can at leest lie ''bout it for now to get dem off yous back? If fundymental mate with fundymental den dem weaklings back off reel quick me thinks. Better yet, tells ''em if dey beet Ares in pagoda den you think about mate wit dem. Trust me, dey neva win."
"Hmm, alright. I''ll do that. Maybe I''ll finally get some peace and quiet ''round here. I hope this Ares guy ain''t a disappointment or I''ll seriously slap ya pops!"
"Heh, no slaps for me den." Golgo snickered as Havanah headed over to the front door. She slammed it open and hissed at the group in front of her.
"I got a mate already, so checkmate losers. Get gone before I make ya!"
One of the Panthera raised the obvious question that was on everyone''s mind. He was worried about Havanah lashing out and breaking his other leg but he had to know the answer to his question! "Who''s your mate?" If they could find out, and beat him a duel, Havanah would look upon them more favourably. She valued strength so this was the logical route for them to take.
"Some guy named Ares. Fundamental champion like me. If you wanna fight him, wait for the pagoda to come back then go challenge his clone."
"... ''Some guy named Ares''? You''ve never even met him?"
"Dun need to. If he''s strong, he''s mine. Apparently he''s hella strong so he''s hella mine. Now get lost and quit pestering me you pests!" Havanah slammed the door but not before using some of her bronze gravity magic to lift up the group and toss them aside like a garbage bag. The Panthera men got up and all looked at one another as they knew what needed to be done; Ares needed to be dethroned from the pagoda!... But not before spreading a bit of gossip... There was nothing else to do around here so word spread quickly about rumours and secrets and this was as good a rumour as any. What they didn''t realise, though, was that these rumours about the two dating, or rather mating, fundamental champions would spread like wildfire as info on Ares was hot right now. And thus, by the end of the week, through no fault of his own, Ares had officially become Havanah''s mate as far as the wider world was concerned. Right now, as he was shoving the F.O letter into Mako''s hands, he was blissfully unaware of what would happen over the next couple of days and would remain as such for a good while. Funnily enough, his clone would meet Havanah before he did! The clone would fall in love again before the real Ares even knew he was in love again! Golgo had really outdone himself on the matchmaking front with this one. Maybe being the Panthera king was old news and he should change jobs to become a love guru. Either way he was snickering away on his chair, happy about the chaos he''d wrought even if he didn''t quite understand it.