Basawe



With Hammer gone, Basawe continued his flight towards Shimuto in silence. He didn't know Gamma very well, but he prayed for the Android's safety, mostly due to the fact that his enemy seemed to be just as ruthless as Rothax.

Maybe even moreso...

Off in the distance, he could detect several power levels. A handy trick he'd picked up since his scouter was destroyed in the Time Chamber... He could detect Shimuto's power fluctuating ahead of him, which meant the alien was likely fighting Gamma. Since the mechanical warrior gave off no energy signature, Basawe took the fluctuations as a good sign. As long as they didn't rise too high, Gamma would likely be able to hold his own for the time being.

'So far everybody seems to be alright...' Basawe thought, speeding up. 'I just hope that I can say the same in 24 hours from now...'

It was then that one more energy signature coursed through Basawe's mind. A powerful one, that had been quite high for some time now.

'Shitagi...?'

Basawe could sense the energy, whatever it was, struggling against the monstrous power that Rothax's signal had become. But then, came a glimmer of hope as the bizarre, almost staticky power level of that strange human, Van, appeared alongside Shitagi. And it was far stronger than before. Seemingly strong enough, in fact, to drive Rothax away!

Basawe grinned. Maybe things would be alright after all, with everyone working together...

But just then, Van's signature changed somehow... and it and Shitagi's began to clash. At the same time, Hammer's signature suddenly changed direction, beelining away from West City and towards Van and Shitagi.

'They're fighting each other?' Basawe thought, coming to a stop in mid-air. That was insane... Why would they be fighting one another? Did Rothax manage to brainwash one of them somehow?

Confused, Basawe hovered in the air for several minutes, trying to figure out what was happening. Whatever it was, Van seemed to be the cause of it, as evidenced by Hammer fighting against Van's signature next. And Shitagi's signature was weakening...

"What is going on?" he mumbled, preparing to change his course and go see what was happening. But Gamma could have been in danger as well... And Basawe still wasn't sure of whether he could trust Shitagi or not. What to do?

The choice was made for Basawe a few seconds later, when he suddenly felt a surge. Hammer's power flickered for a second, and Van's power had just changed again, dropping back to its normal level.

But Shitagi's energy... It was gone.

Basawe hovered in the air for several moments, his doubts about Shitagi suddenly wiped clean from his mind. Whatever Shitagi's true motives had been, wherever his loyalties had lain, it didn't matter now. If he had been putting on a facade, it was a damn good one... But Basawe didn't think it was a show anymore. That boy, the so-called true Prince of the Saiyans... Shitagi was one of the few people in Basawe's life to treat him with kindness. He respresented his planet and his people in a way Basawe had only ever dreamed of. He had helped Basawe in exchange for nothing and taught the rogue Saiyan his Kamehameha technique.

'He doesn't fight for bloodlust or conquest...' Basawe thought, 'He only fights for sport, and to protect his home and his people.'

Basawe wasn't quite sure why he spoke of Shitagi in the present tense. His energy had faded down to nothing.

"He's dead..." Basawe realized, not quite believing his own words. It just couldn't be right... Shitagi's Kaio-Ken made him the strongest warrior on Earth. Basawe had envied that, maybe even resented it a bit... Shitagi had that power, but he still told Basawe he felt uncertain about being a leader.

Now, with the young prince gone, Basawe finally understood that uncertainty himself. He felt it, as he grimly realized what Shitagi's death meant.

'The dead can't lead,' he thought, his brow furrowing, 'but what good will thinking that far off do when we won't even last until the morning?'

He looked up at the dusky sky, catching a glimpse of a single star before it vanished back into the spectrum's aether.

'I'm the strongest one on Earth now.'

Basawe swallowed the hard lump in his throat.

'I'll have to lead the fight against Rothax...'

Basawe closed his eyes and let himself descend to the ground, his stomach a frozen knot.

'...We don't stand a chance...'


Chita



"Quantum Spear!"

KRAKOOOOM!!

What sounded like thunder echoed across the battlefield as Chita's killer finishing technique continued to strike at Kura, again and again.

But somehow, the Saiyan's speed had increased to the point that no matter how close Kura cut her Hyper-Circadian Rhythm, Kura somehow kept managing to get an arm or a knee or some other block in the way before the Lieutenant could impale her again.

"You should go on a diet, Chita!" Kura taunted in as the two exchanged blows like machine gunfire. "Maybe it'll make you faster again!"

Chita's strikes began to grow sloppy. Her mind was fried from concentrating so much in such a short period of time. And being mocked was NOT making her mood any better.

"Shut up," she hissed as another of her strikes whizzed by Kura's head, "shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

Kura bobbed and weaved, falling back out of range for a second.

"That diet you put me on sure worked wonders!" she hooted. "I really think it'd help you, too!"

Another fist came at Kura, who ducked aside and then buried her own fist in Chita's gut. The black-skinned alieness choked and fell back, the wind knocked clear out of her lungs.

"That's right..." Kura said with a sneer. "Feel it. Feel the BURN!"

WHAMF!

Chita coughed up a small stream of blood as the Saiyan's knee buried itself deep in her gut. She was momentarily stunned, allowing Kura the chance to jump into a spinning kick that smashed Chita's jaw sideways, sending her flying 50 feet before she crashed into the dirt and skidded another 30 feet to a stop.

Chita shakily got up, bleeding from multiple wounds as well as from her mouth.

Kura was walking towards her.

"Still no hole in your stomach?" she asked. "Guess you're a bit tougher than I thought. I'm gonna have to use my Onryou no Genkotsu to put one there after all..."

Chita panted, glaring pure hatred at her enemy.

"Saiyan... bitch..." she rasped, wiping her mouth. "I am Rothax's Lieutenant! Fringe-world trash like you are barely worth my time... and you think you'll WIN against me?!"

Chita stood up straight, and then swung her arm back so she stood sideways.

"I'd sooner die than be beaten by backwater scum like you!"

"So we agree on the you dying part." Kura replied, cracking her knuckles. "Done and done."

Chita hissed, and then lashed out the arm that had been behind her.

Kura stopped, her eyes widening.

In Chita's hand was a whitish metal ball with a small light on the front and a seam around the middle. On either side of it was a short, thick antenna, and on its front underside, near Chita's thumb, was some sort of button.

"Is that..." Kura started to say.

"A controlled thermonuclear grenade." Chita responded, her frigid eyes now radiating with hatred. "Take one step closer to me and I press the button, and 2 seconds after that, FLASH! You and your friends are reduced to smoking piles of carbon dust."

Kura looked nervous for a moment, before she replied: "You'll die, too."

"With my speed?" Chita scoffed. "It'll be close, but this model is specifically designed for me. Even with my temporal manipulation, the blast radius is so large that I'll only barely escape. You three won't have a prayer."

Kura and her two allies exchanged nervous glances.

Chita, a mad glint in her eye, merely chuckled. "So, Saiyan, what will you do now...?"


------------------------------


Just as our heroes finally seem to gain the upper hand, Chita reveals her final trick, which could mean an explosive end for Kura and her friends!

Will Kura manage to figure out a way to put an end to the million-kilometer-an-hour warrior for good? Or are Kura, Zaito, and Retasu about to go out with a bang? Find out next time, on DragonBall SU!