Meeting of the fallen [Holly/Ask]

Some people had bodies, some people had half the bodies (just the upper half while the lower half was still cloud) and just a handful had full afterlife bodies to call their own. Maybe it was indeed something reserved for those who had the most accomplished feats, but if he had to be fair, he didn't pictured himself as a very accomplished warrior at all; he had failed every time the planet was relying on him, though not for lack of trying. Maybe it was the intention and a pure heart that would set the difference in between those considered worthy of retaining a body and those who would just be granted the passage to the upper realms. In any case, he was hoping he could find Holly, he needed to talk to her, he needed to help her, and they both needed to get out of this world, as the world of the living still needed them both.

As he was looking for her, he sensed a faint presence reaching his mind and he quickly opened his natural barriers to allow that faint energy to establish a line of communication; and good thing he did that, as the one reaching his mind was no other than Holly. <Your grace!> he exclaimed as he heard her echoing voice. He chuckled in happiness to know she made it to the upper realms. Some doubt was place in his heart due to his interactions with Rukia down there, but there was no way to mislead the judgment of Queen Aka. If Holly was here, she was still someone who deserved the oath of his sword. <I see you now!> he said as he identified her cloud form and quickly flew over towards her.

He shook his head upon landing and kneeling before her, so they could remain on the same level and, although she had no visible eye, he was way too used to dealing with special magical clouds to know where their "face" was supposed to be. "I'm glad you are okay. I mean... You know what I mean. And I would like to apologize... I could not protect you there and I ended up dying at the hands of the Demon Queen." he sighed, scratching the back of his head as he blushed a bit. "Some people call me a hero, but I always fell while fighting for Earth, so... Maybe I'm not the best hero..." he sighed, but then he shook his head and managed to smile once again, a gentle and caring smile. "I'm glad I could find you. And don't feel bad because of that... I know of some ways you can materialize yourself a body, and I know you have a strong enough will to pull that stunt." and upon saying that, his expression became more serious and he sighed. "I need you, Holly. I can't win against them all by myself. Would you be willing to train with me? I know some techniques... Maybe some that could fit your magical style as it is close to magic... I'm sorry to be saying that so suddenly but... Our world perished." and she was right to assume he was one to go straight to the point.

He sighed deeply when Holly said that he did everything he could. He knew she was right but that didn't stop him from thinking that maybe he could've chosen differently. Maybe if instead of the Spirit Sword he had used the Mafuuba against the Demon Queen he would've been able to stop her without dying and then proceed to defeat the other demons. Rukia played a major role in that and the fact that she failed to stop the Demon Queen despite his sacrifice was still bugging him a lot and making him question just how much could he trust the President of the Capsule Corporation; even though they knew each other - even her ally Saeko - from way back, he didn't really feel like he knew her heart and that was bothering to him, but there was no point in thinking about it right now. His heart was lightened though, when he heard she saying she didn't blame him and his smile was that of peace and relief, but he still carried some guilt deep inside his eyes.

"I keep on second guessing my choices, though. So many people entrusted their hearts and their techniques to me and yet I couldn't save our planet. I know dwelling in our past failures does not help, but I can't help but wonder what I could've done differently down there..." he sighed, shrugging and shaking his head. His self-pity vanished, though, the moment he sensed the hopelessness inside Holly's heart. Galen's brown eyes were fixed at the cloudy form of the Queen as she questioned what was the point in even trying now that everyone was dead. Galen's eyes shifted from the shame and guilt to that of determination and power and he approached the cloud to the point he was but a feet away from her.

"Don't give in to despair, Queen Holly! There's still much we can do. This is not out end! This is not the end of our people and not the end of Earth! I intend on going back, on making sure we can restore our world, our people and our peace. I won't rest until I can do that, but unfortunately fate has already revealed to me I cannot do it alone... But..." and as he paused, he reached for a part of the cloud where it would feel like it was her hand - he seemed to be quite familiar with the "anatomy" of a cloud-shaped being. His touch was gentle and tender, but also firm and filled with will. "If you are with me we have a way better chance! And I can assure you we will be finding many others willing to fight the good fight! Don't let the sparkle of hope in your heart fade away!" he said, nodding to her and cracking a gentle smile.

Indeed they were fated to lose in that battle and he knew that alright. He had hopes, but they were pretty much wishful thinking and now that they had failed it was all pretty much over, the demons had won and there was no changing the past. "That's true, your grace, we cannot change what happened in the past..." he started, slowly closing his eyes and widening his smile. She was hopeless, and that was clear as daylight, but he felt the sparkle of hope tickling his heart and filling all of his body with that marvelous feeling that he could do anything he set his mind onto. "But we most definitely can change the future!" and with those words, he opened his brown eyes burning with the blazes of determination.

"I don't mean to offend you, your Majesty, but for a magician, you really seem to have lost faith in magic." and he didn't say that in an overly criticizing tone, but he was still challenging her own core beliefs. "For magic is exactly what will allow us to change what happened with our world and our people!" he said, chuckling lightly in a kind and caring tone. Galen didn't let the mystery linger for long as he quickly revealed what was inside his mind. "The namekians have dragon balls, the wish granting orbs capable of granting the one who gathers them any wish." he started revealing his plan. "I intend on going to Namek as Earth's Guardian and ask for the blessing of their Elder Guru to use them in order to restore not only our planet, but our people." he said, pausing yet again so she could take in his words. "My former Master, Arion, he went to Namek before and we have a good relationship with them. Our wish will not be a selfish one, but one for making our universe a better, more peaceful place. We can fix everything. But in order to maintain the our future safe after we restore our world, we need to improve ourselves." he said, nodding and offering his hand to her.

"I can't do this by myself, though. I need you... I need you Holly!" and for the first time he was a bit more casual with her. His tone was kind and caring, but he meant every word he was saying. If anything, Galen was shining with hope right now.

It was always saddening to hear somebody had lost faith in themselves and to hear from Holly she had lost faith in her magic, one of her defining traits from what he could tell so far, it was even more saddening and he couldn't help but to sigh. But he was there to try and light the flames of hope in her heart once again, so he couldn't afford to look sad, even if said sadness was a consequence of his own empathy. He kept his smile there and chuckled a bit when she said they were both dead, she as a pure spirit form, and him as a spiritual body with the halo above the head indicating his condition. "Indeed we are dead, but dead is not so final if you have true strength in your heart!" he said, chuckling a bit more, and apparently his high spirits were a bit contagious, as she shortly after saying it they were dead, asked how they could go to Namek and he nodded.

"There are many ways out of the afterlife, but they are impossible at your current state." and he paused to look at the people who were half-body and half-spirit. "And even for them." and he paused again until he was back looking at her. "But when you manage to create your own body back, you can do anything. Moreover, our bodies here are far less limited than our living bodies and our potential to grow while we are here in the afterlife is much greater than when we are in the world of the living!" he said and pointed his thumb to his chest. "I'm much stronger than I was when I faced Caesar because of the training I did here. So..." he stood up again and looked around; this place wouldn't be the better for them to start training, but luckily Heaven was a very big place and he could easily reach a more deserted place.

"Follow me! I will help you with recreating your living body! And then we can talk about the details and, more importantly, the "when" we are going there." and as he said that, he started floating and after Holly showed him she was ready, he would fly towards a deserted yet beautiful valley a few miles from where they were, a place peaceful enough so they could focus entirely on training and, also, getting to know each other a little better. Somehow Galen was feeling happy to be near Holly, he felt like they had many things they would be able to accomplish if they worked together.

He chuckled, happy she thought the place was indeed lovely, and he agreed with her. It was calm, lovely and isolated, so they could focus on their training without anyone to bother them. Galen went to the afterlife with his body, a gift from Jie Shan when he fell to the spear of Caesar, but due to the fact that he spent nearly a year in the afterlife, he was able to learn a lot about it from people like King Kai and Master Mutaito. He took his time to get to know as many things and places as he could, even going as far as to go to Hell and meet some interesting people down there. Once there, Holly asked him to teach her how to get her body back and he nodded in agreement.

"Alright. The first thing you need to do is focus on your inner ki. It's really hard to sense it now as you have been reduced to the pure spiritual form. But with enough focus you most definitely can! You are a magician! That should be even easier to you, Holly!" he said, as he was now feeling comfortable enough to call her by her name, although never losing the kind and polite tone. "Once you do find this sparkle of energy, you need to mold it so it can expand. Remember your body! Remember everything that made you... well... You! And you will be able to break through the limiting shell of your soul. This is all about your ki control and your confidence! Believe in yourself, believe in your power, make it yours and you will restore your body!" he said. It was easier said than done, but he was certain she could do it, she was powerful and she was in Heaven, meaning her heart was in the right place.