@* Dragonball SU : Reboot! *@* RPG THREAD

[Blademaster]

X4: equal to Rothax

Oh if only it were that easy...

Chita

Chita landed on the deck of Rothax's ship, a scowl on her face. Never had her pride been so insulted. Those wretched Saiyans had made a mockery of her and almost killed her! She would pay them back DEARLY for what they'd done to her.

But first, she had to get to the medical bay and have her hand looked at. She opened the door...

And she was greeted by a bloodbath. Tennan's green ichor and someone else's red blood soaked the floor, walls, and ceiling before her. Shreds of fabric and chunks of armor (as well as Tennan's exoskeleton) were strewn all about, and, on closer examination, what looked like an Earthling's skin was thrown over a pipe like a rug.

'...'

Chita stepped back and shut the door.

'I'll take the long way.' she thought dryly.

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

A short walk later, and Chita had found the medical bay. Thankfully, it was relatively unscathed.

"Rinetst," Chita said firmly as she walked through the door, "my hand is injured. I need a-"

She stopped in her tracks as Rinetst's unconscious body came into view on the other side of a bed.

A bed occupied by a dead soldier.

Chita ran to a cabinet and pulled out some sort of syringe that looked something like a glowing pen with a thin metal tip. She brought it over to Rinetst and rolled him over, before sticking the needle into his arm and injecting it.

"Unnnh..." the doctor groaned, before slowly pushing himself up. "Vhat... happened..." he muttered, looking around. His eyes fell on the dead soldier next to him. "ACK!! VHAT HAPPENED?! WHO TOOK HEEM OFF LIFE SUPPORT!?"

"I don't know," Chita replied impatiently, "but my hand is broken and Bandlim is running amok and having a buffet one deck down. Maybe you could focus on THAT before you worry about this pile of meat, hm?"

Rinetst looked ready to snap back, but between his injuries and the likelihood that Chita would snap his neck if he didn't do what she asked, he simply grumbled and began to gather his supplies.

"Vhat has sat monster gotten into SEES time?" the doctor muttered, offhand. "Anyvun else needs treatment?"

"Tennan and one of the Earthlings." Chita answered. "They're both dead."

Rinetsts cursed to himself. "Sat monster..." he growled. "Vhy deed I ever agree to help create such a sing...?"

"Because Rothax would have killed you if you didn't." Chita replied flatly, her thoughts drifting. With Tennan dead and Rothax and Shimuto not on-board, she would have to handle their duties for the moment...

"I'll be right back." Chita said, grabbing the dead soldier and turning and leaving the medical bay. "You finish up here."

"Vhat?! Vhere are you going vis heem?!"

"The bridge." Chita replied. "I have work to do, and if I find Bandlim, I don't want him to use me as a chew toy."

"ZAT IS AN OUTRAGE!" Rinetst bellowed. "BRING HEEM BACK NOW!"

But Chita wasn't listening. She quickly made her way to the bridge, where Tennan's monitor was still running.

'The Kwalis,' she thought as she typed with one hand, 'Blaque and Whyte, and now Tennan are all dead. And we still have no leads on the last two Dragonballs. I have to find them, and quickly.'

The monitor zoomed out, sweeping over the entire region. Power level readings popped up everywhere. Chita was confused for a moment, before she realized that Tennan had set the power level reader to 1 for some reason.

'Idiot.' she thought, readjusting it to 10,000. Immediately, all of the power-level readouts vanished, except for a few small groups. The first was a massive blotch of red with two smaller ones moving around it, not more than 100 miles from the ship.

'Rothax has transformed?' Chita thought, a small smile crossing her face. 'I wish I could see that, but for now I have work to do...'

She zoomed out so that the entire planet was mapped on the monitor, the 5 Dragonballs in Rothax's machine generating enough energy for the computer to detect their signature from thousands of miles away.

BEEP! BEEP!

Two spots appeared. One was far to the north of Rothax's ship, and the other was west of it. Chita focused on the one to the north first... It was coming from the direction of that floating island Chita had fled from, and it was being carried by someone with a power slightly greater than Chita's...

"Him?!" Chita yelped, her anger peaking again. "He mocked me, broke my hand, AND he had a Dragonball?!"

But it was then that Chita realized that he was approaching two more power levels, one of great strength.

'Shimuto...' she thought, a sinister grin crossing her face. 'Perfect. He'll have the Dragonball in a matter of minutes... Now what about the other one...?'

She punched in a few commands, and the monitor swept across the map, towards the other Dragonball...

Rothax

WHAM!

The human who had been a former captive went flying from the force of Rothax's punch.

SMASH!

Vegeta flew the opposite way as one of Rothax's elbows smashed him in the face, likely breaking his nose.

"KAIO-KEN TIMES FIVE!"

Rothax sneered as he felt Vegeta's power level skyrocket again. The Saiyan flew at him, but Rothax spun around and inhaled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH H!!!!!!!!!!!"

Vegeta halted mid-flight and covered his ears, Rothax's Supersonic Scream sending him tumbling back again into a rock face. The Saiyan's ears would probably be ringing for awhile after that one...

Rothax smiled slightly, before a pair of balled fists came down on the back of his neck. The alien warrior's eye flew open, temporarily seeing stars. Just the opening the human who'd struck him needed: He spun around and swung a sideways axe-kick that sent Rothax stumbling to the side.

Vegeta got to his feet, giving the human a quick look of gratitude before bringing his fingers to his forehead and charging his power.

"MAKANKASAPPO!!!" he yelled, thrusting out his sparking fingers and sending that yellow-purple corkscrew of energy flying at Rothax. The alien crossed his arms over his chest protectively, his power level skyrocketing as the piercing beam struck him.

"URNGH!!!" Rothax groaned as the blast seared at his arms, trying with all of its power to break right through Rothax.

"HRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Vegeta yelled with exertion as the beam blasted into Rothax. It surged and pulsed, beginning to force his burning arms apart.

"AAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!"

Rothax's power surged higher than ever, before he finally began to force the beam back. Strength massing, Rothax forced his arms open enough for his second set to 'catch' the beam, and then counter with his Ozone Burst Ray. The two blasts cancelled one another out in an immense explosion, sending dust and great chunks of the ground flying.

"You're getting a bit too close for comfort." Rothax snarled as the dust settled. "And I'm losing my PATIENCE!" He clenched his fists and yelled out, his power building ever-higher. Across the battlefield, Vegeta's Kaio-Ken vanished, a look of hopelessness on his face as Rothax's power level rose ever higher... If he still had his scouter, Rothax's power would likely be no less than 150,000 by now, and it was STILL going up!

"It's unreal." the human mumbled. "How can anybody be that strong?!"

"NOW, YOU DIE!!!" Rothax boomed, his four arms pulling back. Midnight-blue bolts of energy arced between his four palms, creating an 'X' of crackling power.

"...thax... Captain.... ...re are you?"

Rothax's antennae twitched. Did he just hear Chita's voice...?

"Capt... ...found a Drago... ...ear your position!"

Rothax's attack cancelled itself, and he turned around.

Several hundred meters away was some of his broken armor. And, as luck would have it, its communicator was still attached, and it seemed to be mostly undamaged!

"Drago..." Rothax mused to himself. "Dragonball?" He couldn't risk it. Turning from his enemies, he flew off and picked up the burnt bit of metal.

"CHITA!" Rothax yelled into it. "This is Rothax! Repeat your last transmission! This thing is broken!"

"...repeat," Chita's voice answered, "...last two...gonballs have been foun...!"

"The last two Dragonballs have been located?" Rothax echoed, a big grin crossing his face.

Chita

"Yes." Chita replied loudly. "One is approaching Shimuto's location to the north. A male Saiyan in blue and white armor is carrying it."

"One... proaching Shimu..." Rothax's staticky voice replied. "Saiya... blue armor...that correct?"

"Yes. And the other is being held by a female Saiyan not far from my location-"

"WELL THEN GO GET IT!" Rothax predictably responded.

"With pleasure." Chita replied, her eyes falling on the Dragonball's location. The female Saiyan and her human friend... Chita clenched her repaired hand into a fist.

"I have a score to settle with this one..."

Rothax

"Very well." Rothax replied. "I'm returning to the ship for now. I want to know where Shimuto has been slacking off myself. After that, I'll meet up with you. I expect you'll give me a good show...?"

"Yes, Capt..." was Chita's garbled reply.

Rothax smirked, then he turned around.

"COUNT YOURSELVES LUCKY." he called to Vegeta and the human. "I HAVE MORE PRESSING MATTERS TO ATTEND TO RIGHT NOW, SO I'LL KILL YOU NEXT TIME."

And then, he was gone once again, leaving Vegeta and the human in silence.

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

In an unexpected turn of events, one of Rothax's own minions has inadvertantly saved Shitagi and Van from certain death. Will our heroes' luck continue to see them through the coming battles for the Dragonballs? Or will the winds of change soon be blowing in Rothax's direction? Find out next time, on DragonBall SU.

[Master Rudy]

This won't be too long. Just getting Shitagi moving again. Anyway in case it's not obvious to some of you Shitagi has help in the form of the now deceased Victoria. She's playing Goku to my Gohan so to speak. Just to keep things straight her lines will be in this color. This way you can easily tell what she's saying and keep it seperate from Shitagi's thoughts ^_~

Shitagi Summers (AKA Prince Vegeta)
------
Following my last Makankosappo I fell to my knees. The combination of Kaio-Ken along with the injuries I had recieved were starting to take their toll. I was still having trouble hearing when Rothax began to power up a massive attack that would be the end of me......

......then suddenly he was yelling into a broken piece of armor and the next thing I knew he was gone.

This change of events had me confused. Rothax had the battle won. At the very least he could have finished me off. Why didn't he? Why did he leave me alive? It made no sense to me.

He's apparently figured out that you left the Dragon Balls with Retasu and Basawe. It'll only be a matter of time before he reaches one of them.

"The Dragon Balls?" I asked just as my hearing was starting to some back to me. "He's going after them?" It was at this point I suddenly remembered Van was there as well but from his response he seemed to think I was talking to him. "Yeah....that was some sort of communicator in that broken armor" he told me. "Whoever he's going after is going to be in big trouble." I couldn't let that happen. I stood up ready to give chase.....that was when I promptly fell back down onto my knees again and coughed up blood. Now that the danger was over I was starting to get a sense of how badly I actually was hurt as I clutched my left side. He got me pretty good. I'm a mess right now and I'm sure my extended use of Kaio-Ken didn't help these injuries. Suddenly I saw just how much blood I had coughed up. Seconds later I had to spit more up. It was at this point an extremely bad thought crossed into my mind.

Oh no.....I'm dying aren't I?

This wasn't the first time I had spit up blood. I'd been in my fair share of battles during the Tenkaichi. However the amounts I was spitting up now just weren't normal. Van wasn't saying anything but the look on his face said what I needed to know. I needed medical attention but my options were limited. Rothax's ship is nearby and it's bound to have some kind of treatment on board. However that beast of his is there as well. It killed Mom with no effort. I'd never make it by that thing.

What about West City? Don't tell me you forgot about it Shitagi? It's actually not far from where you are. You just might be able to make it there!

Despite spitting up a little more blood I couldn't help but chuckle. "Mom you are an absolute genius!" I said with a mix of relief and excitement. This time Van shot me an odd look. "You're a strange one Vegeta. You look like you're ready to die yet you laugh about it." With a slight smile as I tried to stand again I said "Please Van....just call me Shitagi." Once again he had an odd and confused look on his face. Before he could ask however I said "It's my real name. Vegeta kind of is and isn't my name......it's complicated."

I started to hover in the air but it quickly became apparent that I wouldn't be able to do so under my own power. Van however was quick to get one of my arms over his shoulder and help me into the air. "Ok then.....Shitagi. I just hope you aren't planning on going after that guy. You really aren't in good shape right now." Anger started to flood back into me but I kept my cool. The last thing I needed to do was get worked up and possibly make my injuries worse. "I wish I could go after him but I'd never make it. Then there's the matter of the Dragon Balls. However until the rest of my friends can get together I dare not go anywhere near that animal he's keeping on his ship." At this moment I had another coughing fit. After that it was starting to get a bit harder to breathe. "Well do you have a plan then?" Van asked me. "Y-yeah" I said as I started to feel somewhat lightheaded. "I've got to get to West City. He's.....destroyed it. However if I'm going to live.....it just might be my only chance. I just.....need help getting there."
------

And just because it's starting to become popular to copy Blade and his "next time" blurbs at the end of his posts I'm also gonna copy his ass. However rather than do the generic DBZ style ending I'm going with Kai

Hey guys it's Shitagi! Rothax has left me in pretty bad shape and is starting his hunt for the remaining Dragon Balls. I've got to place my trust in Van and somehow make it to West City. I just hope that a certain part of Capsule Corp managed to survive the attack on it. Even if it didn't I think I sense something else.....is that Kuji?

Next time on Dragon Ball SU: The Hunter and the Hunted!

Just hang in there guys! I'll be there as soon as I can!

[Master of Paradox]

[Van Osiku]

"Shal-Kirath" is seen on a piece of pottery of unknown origin, on a pot purchased from a Namekian stall. It shows a dragon that does not match any dragon described in folklore.

The battle was over, and Van was not sure what had happened. And now this... boy, there was no other word for it, was giving orders and making demands. Who did he think he was?

But still, he was newly orphaned, with the blood of his mother staining Van's body. He decided to chalk the rudeness up to the boy's shock. Turning to the west, he prepared to fly...

...and then felt the power fade from him. Damn.

Shitagi slid out of his arms, and they both plummeted like stones to the earth.

Van hit the ground hard, groaning as he felt exhaustion fill his limbs. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he tried to catch his breath.

"What... just happened?" Shitagi moaned, having managed to survive.

With an effort, Van said, "The power I tapped into... doesn't last forever. And it wipes out my own strength when I lose it."

"Oh... damn."

They laid there for a time, helpless.

And as Van closed his eyes and sought to rebuild his strength, a very quiet, very unwelcome voice whispered in the back of his skull: Did he call himself "Vegeta"?

What are you doing here?

Vegeta... was the name of their king. The king of the Saiyans. The king of the murderers.

But he's not one of them. Just because he takes the name doesn't mean he's a Saiyan...

It is weak and diluted, but he shares their blood. This boy dares to call himself prince of the murderers? Prince of the filth?!?

No... not now!

Van writhed on the ground, hands gripping his head, trying to hold the wall in place within his mind.

Shitagi stood up, wavering on his feet, not daring to approach the other man. "Are... you all right?"

He must die.

No, he doesn't!

He must die!

Don't make me do this!

KILL HIM!

And Van, exhausted and spent, could not resist.

"SAIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Shitagi stumbled back, covering his eyes, as energy burst from Van Osiku's prone form.

The energy died down, and Van stood up, body crackling with power, his eyes a blank red as he stared into Shitagi's face. "So this dying wretch dares to call himself a Saiyan? Butcher of my people! I'll rip your head from your shoulders!"

Every muscle in Shitagi's body screamed to run, but he knew he didn't have the strength to flee. Instead, he braced himself.

[Bear]

Hammer ~ On the way to [West City?]

As Hammer and Basawe streaked across the sky toward where Gamma and Shimuto were, Hammer very abruptly stopped in midair, his energy aura dissipating. Basawe stopped several yards beyond him and turned in surprise.

"What's wrong Hammer?" Basawe inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Hammer was silent for a couple of minutes, staring back in the direction they had come from. While he remained silent and motionless in his gaze, Basawe floated up next to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"What do you sense?" he asked again, knowing something was amiss.

"Something is wrong..." Hammer responded, continuing to stare into the distance, "the huge power level that was with Shitagi and Van has been gone from that area for some minutes now..."

There was a lengthy pause.

"...and?" Basawe asked, prodding Hammer to continue.

"...but for some reason Van's power has just flared up again." Hammer finally finished, turning his stare to Basawe.

"What does it mean?" Basawe asked aloud, trying to figure it out himself.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it. The danger is not present to them anymore, so Van has no reason to be powering up." Hammer thought vocally, unlike usual.

"That is true, but perhaps Van is just staying powered up in case Rothax comes back at them?" Basawe posed one logical conclusion. Hammer nodded in agreement.

"Van's eruption of power could be attributed to that, to be sure..." Hammer replied, "but what concerns me is the pattern of his energy signature. This energy is Van's, but it feels different. It follows the same pattern as when..."

Hammer trailed off before finishing his sentence.

"When...?" Basawe anxiously awaited his hypothesis.

"...when Van turned and attacked Kura." he finally finished.

Basawe's eyes widened considerably, signaling his disapproval.

"No..." Basawe said in a bit of a dejected tone, looking down at the ground, "that is not good..."

Hammer did not reply, but nodded in agreement.

"Damn! If that theory is true, Shitagi is in major trouble. A reckless power like that will kill him before Kuji even gets there!" Basawe continued, unhappy.

Hammer felt something welling up inside him. Normally his composure was not easily shaken, but he felt some kind of peculiar urge. A strong urge to protect...

"...I will go." Hammer said after his brief internal conflict was over, "I will see what is happening back there."

Basawe did not immediately approve of his decision.

"But you can't! What if Van kills you too? And what of Shimuto and Gamma?" Basawe protested.

Hammer smiled very slightly and put his hand on Basawe's shoulder, reassuringly.

"Your Saiyan strength has far more potential than my own. Gamma is going to need all the help he can get against that abomination, and I fear my own power would not avail him much. You stand a better chance at leveling the battlefield..." Hammer responded, turning and beginning to fly away.

Before he took off, he turned to look back at Basawe, giving him an uncharacteristic thumbs up.

"I'll be fine." Hammer grinned, firing off toward the horizon in a brilliant beam of light. Basawe was left there for a moment, pondering the situation. Eventually he resigned himself to the plight, and continued on the heading he had taken before.

----

So Hammer is on his way to save Shitagi from being killed by Van. Following your typical DBZ rules, he should finally arrive at the last possible second before Shitagi is killed. If this is ok with all parties involved, I will stop here so that MoP and Rudy can post character posts detailing the situation before Hammer arrives. This of course leaves Basawe alone to assist Gamma, but with his newfound confidence he should be just fine. And what has become of Retasu?

[Kuro Espeon]

Kura Satou - Back and better than ever...

Kura stared down at Zaito’s unconscious form with her hands on her hips, curiously raising one eyebrow.

“My…hero?” She shook her head and, despite herself, gave a small smile. “I guess he over exerted himself.”

“Humans tend to do that often?” Retasu commented, half statement, half question. Kura had only just noticed her standing there and found herself a little bit surprised, having almost forgotten that she had last seen her old friend disappearing into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber not too long ago. After a brief moment of thought, Kura responded.

“Almost as stubborn as Saiyans, really. And they don’t know how to follow instructions either.” She strode over to kneel down beside Zaito, pressing her fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse, once she found one she stood up again. “He’ll be alright. Nothing Kuji couldn’t fix.” Retasu let out a small, disgruntled noise that Kura chose to ignore. The immediate danger having passed for now, Kura stepped back and took a few moments to examine herself. She look down at her hands as she clenched and unclenched her fists and also looked down at her freshly healed torso. Other than a slight bit of scarring where the wound had been, it was almost as if it had never been there. She didn’t fully understand how those little beans worked, but it had definitely done its job well; and because of the natural Saiyan ability to become stronger after healing from near-death, she felt even better than before. She stretched out her limbs experimentally and threw a few test punches and kicks. She felt stronger and lighter, and she had a brand new fire burning inside her.

“Man…” she said finally, “I need to get my ass kicked more often.”

“I don’t know, Kiy--- Kura, you cut it pretty close. But…I’m glad you’re alive, my friend.” Retasu gave the other female Saiyan a hearty thump on the back, jostling her and sending her stumbling forward slightly. After she regained her balance she rubbed her shoulder at the point of impact.

“I see you’ve had some…improvements as well, Retasu. I assume everything went well in the Chamber?”

“As well as can be expected when one is training with Earthlings,” She gave a small shrug. “Even if one of them IS technically a Saiyan , and the other is only a half-breed.” Kura figured the latter of the two was Shitagi, the half-Saiyan heir of the Capsule Corp empire. Retasu crossed her arms over her chest thoughtfully, “That boy is a real conundrum. He claims to be Vegeta’s heir, but he is descended through the female line. I am not used to how the Saiyan’s of Earth handle these things, but is definitely a new concept to me. On the other hand, he does have Vegeta’s blood in his veins, and it’s possible Vegeta himself may have picked him, but I am still unsure of how to approach this situation. It is not exactly ideal.”

Something told Kura that there was more to this story than she was getting from Retasu, but she was sure she would hear the rest of the details from either Shitagi or Basawe later. She regarded Retasu silently for a moment before kneeling down to adjust the straps on her boots. “I think you focus too much on the concept of blood, Retasu. It seems to me that the content of a person’s character and their strength of will is far more important when determining the makings of a truly great leader.”

It was Retasu’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“I’m just saying that a person’s present and future is more important than their past. We all must make our own choices in life and set our own path, regardless of the ones who came before us.” Retasu was silent, watching Kura as she stood up again and brushed the dirt from her legs and arms. Kura looked up at her friend again, pausing a moment before continuing, her voice deep with dark recollection.

“A lot happened after Kabu and I left, Retasu. I don’t think I told you everything before. We left to escape the persecution and turmoil on Planet Vegeta only to be betrayed once more by people that we had assumed to be our allies, simply because we shared Saiyan blood. Spinak murdered Kabu in order to get to me… and I was unable to protect him.” Kura swallowed a small lump that formed in her throat.

“…Kiyabet…” Retasu said, with an undertone of warmth and concern, “I didn’t know---” Kura held up a hand to stop her.

“Politics. Loyalties. Bloodlines. It was then that I decided that I would no longer put my faith in any of them. I would align with no one. I would swear loyalty to no one. I would fight for myself and my own reasons alone, and I wouldn’t let anyone else determine who or what I should be fighting for. Call it selfishness if you will, but at least I always know I’m doing what I believe to be right.” She looked away from Retasu and off into the distance. “I believe that Shitagi and the others are doing the same. They all have their own motivations, to be sure, but I’m sure their fortitude and resolve are equally strong. Royal blood or not.”

Ending her rather long-winded speech with a long exhale of breath, she turned her attention back to the matters at hand. “There is a dark feeling in the air. I can sense that there has been a lot going on and plenty of it in the ‘not good’ category. Care to fill me in?”

Retasu seemed to snap out of deep thought at Kura’s question and took a moment to respond. “When we emerged from the Chamber, we found out that Victoria Summers had gone to make an attempted assault on Rothaxs’ ship, the android Gamma had gone to confront Shimuto, and Zaito returned to inform us of your condition as well as the theft of the Dragonballs. Shitagi went after his mother, Basawe and that Namekian, Hammer, went to assist Gamma, and Zaito and I came here to help you. I don’t know what has happened since then, I’m afraid, but I confess that I am at a great unease. I have a sneaking suspicion that things have not gone well so far.”

“Hmm… Well in that case, we had better get him back to the Lookout,” she jerked her head to indicate Zaito, “and back on his feet quickly. We’ll need all the help we can get.” She turned and began to move to pick up Zaito’s body but she paused in mid-motion when she sensed a familiar power level that was moving in their direction. It was weaker than before, but it was definitely the same. Kura’s fist clenched. Chita…

“On second thought, let’s wait here a moment,” Kura said casually, standing up again and turning her attention to the sky. “I get the feeling that I’ll get the chance to redeem myself here in a few minutes. That Chita gave me a rather unexpected gift the last time we met, and it’s about time I thanked her for it…”

Once Chita arrives, the ass-kicking can begin! :3

[Blademaster]

Ask, and ye shall recive...

Rothax

Rothax was not happy, as hard as that may be to believe.

He'd returned to his ship and discovered that his navigator was dead and his second-in-command was in the middle of nowhere slacking off. Again. Also, his pet had gotten out of its cage in the recent security breach and he'd had to subdue it. Bandlim was more than a bit cranky, but Rothax's power and his yelling quickly reminded the creature of its place, and it had wisely decided to leave him alone...

Only to go and try to maul his doctor instead while said doctor was repairing his eye. THAT had prompted Rothax to punch the creature in the head with enough force to send it back into the depths of the ship with a few whimpers.

"I'm surrounded by incompetents..." Rothax growled on the deck, a new communicator fastened to his lower right wrist. "Chita, I can't get through to Shimuto. Once you get this Saiyan wench out of the way and we have the Dragonball she's carrying, I'm going to find him and personally tell him what a poor job he's done today."

Rothax's fist clenched, pale blue light gleaming from within his palm.

"He's a good man," Rothax muttered, "but too many of my men have been lost today. Had he actually been here, many of those casualties could have been avoided. He's notorious for neglecting his duties, but he's gone too far this time...!"

Chita emerged from the ship, wearing a new suit of armor, as well as gloves with pointed metallic fingertips to protect against her hand being crushed again.

"What will you do in the meantime, Captain?" Chita asked, more out of respect than actually caring. That Saiyan woman and the Dragonball she held were her top priorities, and they alone filled her mind right now.

"I'm going to accompany you." Rothax answered, lifting off of the ship and blasting into the sky, Chita following suit. "It's been one disappointment after another today! Seeing you destroy this Saiyan in battle will cheer me up, I'm sure. You know how I love to see a plan come together."

"Yes, Captain."

The two continued their flight, until Rothax suddenly came to a screeching halt. His attention was on the ground not too far from them... There, amidst the rocky wastes and rubble, was Vegeta and the Earthling who had been helping him in their battle against Rothax earlier. Rothax considered going back to finish them off, but before he could decide on a course of action he took a closer look and realized the two of them were now fighting with one another!

Rothax smirked.

"On second thought, Chita," he called, before dropping down to ground level "you go handle business with this Saiyan woman on your own. I think I've found something to do in the meantime."

Rothax folded his arms over his chest and watched the scene unfold, chuckling softly. Above his head, Chita acknowledged him once more before turning and flying towards Kura, vanishing almost instantly.

Chita

A few minutes later, Chita caught a view of Kura on the horizon.

'It's payback time.' was her only thought as her eyes dilat-... wait...

She squinted.

'Is she standing...?' Chita thought. 'No, that can't be... Her knight in yellow armor must have arrived and found her carcass. Oh well, I suppose I can live with just squeezing the last few ounces of life out of her and leaving without a fight...'

As she drew closer, she saw a figure on the ground. That must have been her.

'Perfect.'

Chita's eyes dilated, and she was plummeting to the ground seconds later, ready to loot the Saiyan's corpse and maybe snap her boyfriend's neck before returning to Rothax.

But her concentration suddenly vanished as a look of shock overtook her: The figure on the ground was the male Earthling, not Kura; She was not only standing up, but she was somehow fully healed! And just to complete the picture, ANOTHER Saiyan woman was with her.

"Rothax, sir," Chita quickly said into her communicator, "the Saiyan has backup. There's another female Saiyan now. I can't tell which one has the Dragonball from here."

"Then find out." Rothax growled through the communicator. "You already nearly killed her once. Do it again to both of them!"

"Yes, sir." Chita responded dutifully. This time, there'd be no escape...

Chita dropped and landed about 20 feet from the two Saiyans.

"We must stop meeting like this." she said flatly.

"You again..." Kura snarled, raising her fists. "I hope you have your will made out. Rothax won't have enough left of you to bury when I'm done with you!"

"Is she the one who attacked you?" the other Saiyan asked, stepping forward. But one of Kura's hands flew out and stopped her.

"Yes." Kura said, smirking a cruel smirk. "And I owe her for that. So stay back: I'm handling this alone."

"I don't know how you've recovered from our last battle," Chita said flatly, "if our last meeting could rightly be CALLED a 'battle,' but the outcome this time will be no different. But first, I need that Dragonball you have."

The Saiyan with Kura seemed a bit surprised, but Chita had worked her magic before anything else could be said. Time flowed like molasses in January as Chita frisked her enemy, searching her armor and person for the Dragonball. But she was unsuccessful in finding anything...

'This makes no sense...' Chita thought as she hopped back, her concentration fading.

The Saiyan with Kura didn't seem to know what had just happened, but Kura herself did. She'd sort of seen it... and she'd also felt it. Her face was totally red. "You could have at least taken me out to dinner first!" she snapped in a mixture of humiliation and... mild arousal?

"I'm here on business, not pleasure." Chita responded, assuming a combat stance. "Wherever you've hidden that Dragonball, I will find it. After you're in a more compliant state!"

And then Chita attacked, charging Kura with enough speed to leave afterimages behind as she socked the Saiyan across the jaw. The flew back a few feet, before Chita charged in from the side and struck her with two balled fists. Kura flew sideways, and Chita's eyes dilated. Her fingertips charged with power, and she lunged at Kura.

"Quantum Spear...!" she hissed, pulling back her hand and preparing to use her finishing move on the Saiyaness for a second time. Her concentration faded as she thrust her fingertips forward...

But Kura caught the assassin's wrist just as the tips of her fingers touched her armor. Chita gasped as her hand was pulled in sideways, Kura's other elbow slamming into her face and smashing it back a good ten feet. Chita yelped and clutched her nose, glaring at Kura with a look of pure hate in her eyes...

"Now," Kura said in a frigid voice, her battle stance unwavering, "it's MY turn..."

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

It looks like the beginning of the end for Chita. With Rothax distracted by Van's and Shitagi's unexpected quarrel and no other form of aid anywhere close, Kura is ready to battle Rothax's Lieutenant for the second and final time.

Will Chita manage to survive the double trouble of Kura and Retasu? Or has time finally caught up with Rothax's last elite warrior? Find out next time, on DragonBall SU!

[Master Rudy]

Last time on Dragon Ball SU!

Shitagi engaged Rothax in battle and finally proved that the monster wasn't so brutal after all!

"MY NAME IS VEGETA AND YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE ROTHAX!"
However the young Saiyan quickly learned that simply taking on the name of his ancestor wasn't going to be enough as Rothax showed that he still had tricks up his sleeve!
"Now.....'Prince'......which of us did you say was one blast away from death?"
The situation quickly turned for the worse for Shitagi and Van before a last minute message from Chita saved their lives.
Captain! I've found a Dragon Ball near your position!
With the threat over for now Shitagi has attempted to focus on getting himself much needed medical attention in the most unlikely place: West City. However he's about to find out that keeping your friends close may sometimes result in bringing your enemies closer!
"So this dying wretch dares to call himself a Saiyan? Butcher of my people! I'll rip your head from your shoulders!"
Will Shitagi find a way to keep himself alive? Or is his luck finally about to run out?!

Shitagi Summers (AKA Prince Vegeta)
Out of the frying pan and into the fire I go......
------
"HHUURRRAAAAGHHH!!!!"

Somehow with what little power I had left I managed to dodge out of the way of one of Van's attacks. I didn't know what provoked this sudden change in him but it quickly became obvious that my current situation just got far worse. Right now I was already injured and more than likely having a very slow and painful death thanks to Rothax. Van in his rage was about as strong as Rothax was in his second transformation. As for myself I was at about half my normal power. With a Kaio-Ken at just the right level there was no doubt that I could overpower him. However in my current state I was likely to do more serious damage to myself. Plus if it turned out that I really was dying then it would only bring my fate upon me that much quicker.

I cursed under my breath as Van came around for another shot at me. I didn't want to leave him to die but a very dark thought came to my mind. Had I not given this maniac my Senzu Bean he'd have been dead, I'd still have it and I wouldn't be in this sorry state right now! I didn't know what kind of battle Van was fighting in his mind but I was having one of my own right now: would letting him die have actually been the better option?

A sudden and low kick to the back of my legs snapped me back to the situation at hand. Can't think about that now! I thought to myself as I started to fall backwards. Despite the pain I managed to get my arms above my head and turn the fall into a flip. As I landed on my feet however the impact of the landing quickly reminded me that I had broken ribs. I did the best I could to not show any weakness but it would have been obvious to anyone watching that I was hurt bad.

Crazy or not the last thing I wanted or needed right now was a battle with Van. I knew it was likely foolish to do so but I felt maybe I might be able to reason with him. "V-van!" I started to say as I attempted to catch my breath. "I don't know....what your problem with.....Saiyans is. But please listen! The sins and crimes of my.....ancestors should NOT reflect on me. Think about it. If it wasn't for the likes of Saiyans such as Goku and Gohan the Earth would have been destroyed......a long time ago." It quickly became clear that trying to talk to him just wasn't going to work as he rushed me. Running out of options I did the only thing I could think of. Ignoring the pain I stood my ground, braced myself and powered up as much as I could.

"KAIO-KEN!"

Despite my mastery over the skill even my base Kaio-Ken hurt like hell to use. It did however manage to even the slowly increasing gap that was beginning to form between me and Van. Anger started to build up in me as the two of us traded blows and blocks. While I could tell it wasn't his fault I was angry that I had to be wasting time with a loose cannon while I was injured this badly. I was angry over the fact that my friends were fighting for their lives as well. Most of all I was angry over the fact that I might not have a choice but to put Van down. While I didn't want to kill him I knew that it was possible I wouldn't make it out of this alive if I didn't disable him somehow. Even if I did somehow survive this the real question was how long could I keep going?

Eventually Van managed to get his left hand up and catch my right fist. Knowing what was coming next I brought my left leg up in an attempt to block the knee that was attempting to seek out my injured ribs. As he attempted to push past the block I just did with my leg I saw his right fist coming out of the corner of my eye. I just barely managed to move my head out of the way of the swing. Before he could recover however I wrapped my left arm around his right arm and locked it up in a hold that prevented him from pulling it back.

The entire sequence of moves took less than a second. If a casual observer was watching and blinked then they would have missed everything and only saw two men standing there in a very akward and and questionable pair of stances as they both stood on only one leg. Now at a stalemate I risked looking down and quickly came to the conclusion that whoever lost their balance first was going to get creamed. Knowing that it'd likely be me in my current state I did the only thing I could think of. I gave Van a smirk and asked him a question.

"So.....are we going to fight or are we going to dance?"

Despite the murderous intent in his eyes the comment clearly caught whatever was controling Van off guard. Seeing a chance I took it without thinking twice.

"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWO!!"

After breaking free of his grip on my hand I quickly jumped and did a flip that landed my right foot squarely into his chin. I hated that it had come down to this but I was out of options. While still making my turn in the air I pulled my hands back and got ready to end this. However the injuries and my Kaio-Ken useage really started to take their toll as I landed bad and stumbled. Before I was able to recover Van was already launching his counter. Out of instinct I got my right arm up to block an oncoming kick.....

To be more specific it was my already injured right arm while I was under the effects of a higher level of Kaio-Ken.....

Before the attack even landed I knew what the outcome would be since I was already in a weakened state. The crack as my arm was broken at the elbow was very audible and hit with enough force to actually spin me around before I fell to my knees with my back to Van.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

I couldn't ignore it anymore. With the injuries starting to pile on I let out a scream that almost sounded like I was admiting defeat to my own ears. I struggled to push myself back up but I was beaten, battered and nearly broken as I let my Kaio-Ken fade away. I was actually strong enough to make the ground under me crumble to dust but with only one good arm now I barely had the strength to get back up. I could sense Van starting to power up an attack at point blank range and even felt the heat on the back of my head as he charged it. "It's time" Van said with ice and mallace in his voice. "Now you will pay for the crimes of your race!" It's all over.....I can't do this anymore was all I could think as I looked down and waited for the inevitable......
------

As those of you who may have seen it while it was up the first time may have noticed this is indeed my original post. Seeing that MoP's post hasn't changed I felt it was still relevant to what is going on. I've just simply cut it off prior to the point where issues were taken with it to allow Hammer to get in there for the save ^_~

[Bear]

Hammer - Praying he reaches Shitagi and Van in time


Clouds flew past as if they were nothing. The wind was howling and jetting behind Hammer, but his aura prevented it bothering him. He had only one thing on his mind--reaching the battlefield before Van dealt more permanent damage to Shitagi. Hammer silently cursed himself at his lack of foresight.

Van's behavior exhibits a pattern I have not seen before, nor do I understand. I should have seen he was unstable and made better preparations. Ugh...

As Hammer continued to streak across the sky, the situation was becoming dire for Shitagi. Battered, beaten, and broken, his strength had nearly left him. Van's relentless assault showed no signs of easing, which would mean death for Shitagi if he could not defend himself. As he dropped to one knee, panting heavily, he looked up at the sky with solemn repose.

Is this how I was meant to go? The heir to the Saiyan throne, destroyed by one of his own allies? Perhaps Vegeta's arrogance and cold heart have come back to haunt me, as karma comes back to serve people their just desserts...

Another blast struck Shitagi in the shoulder, sending his body tumbling along the ground. He came to rest at the foot of a large rock formation, which he assumed would become his tomb. Van landed just feet away from him, that same peculiar rage in his eyes. As Shitagi helplessly looked up at him, Van uttered his eulogy.

"Die, Saiyan." he deadpanned with an eerie calm.

He stretched out his fingers and flattened his palm, facing it to Shitagi. A red energy ball began to form, and grow. Powerful energy emitted from the ball, enough that Shitagi knew it would kill him.

"Why..." Shitagi gave up, closing his eyes and smacking the ground weakly with his fist.

However, just as Van was preparing to deliver the deathblow, a loud impact was heard. Van's body suddenly shot like a bullet off to the side, crashing into a nearby rock column in a cloud of dust. Shitagi, who had been preparing for death, slowly opened one eye to see what had caused it. The glaring midday sun silhouetted a tall figure, purple outfit billowing gently in the breeze. His face was not recognizable, but Shitagi could see the two antennae protruding from his hairless head. That, combined with the color of his clothing, helped Shitagi recognize him.

"Hammer?!" Shitagi exclaimed, completely surprised. Hammer did not speak, but knelt down next to him.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Shitagi probed, his voice still weak from injury.

"Don't worry about it, just rest now." Hammer responded, helping Shitagi sit up and lean his back against the rock.

However, no sooner had Hammer gotten Shitagi semi-upright than did he hear the sounds coming from where Van had landed. Small rocks and boulders rolled off the pile of rubble, and Van emerged from the debris. He was a distance away, so Hammer could not tell if his eyes were still glowing that peculiar color. He slid into a defensive stance just in case...

I've deliberately left it open for MoP so he can choose whether to have Van snap out of his rage, or take up the fight with Hammer. This will be my last post until at least the 21st, so be aware.

[Kuro Espeon]

Kura Satou ~ Payback can be a real bitch

"Now," Kura said in a frigid voice, her battle stance unwavering, "It's MY turn..."

In the blink of an eye, though it seemed to take slightly longer for Chita, Kura flew forward and delivered a hard elbow into the alien’s stomach. Almost a mirror image of what Chita had done to Kura before, Chita let out a choked gasp, hunched over around the point of impact, her eyes bulging with a mixture of surprise, pain and rage.

As Kura drew back slightly in order to strike again, Chita made her move. As Kura swung, the alien seemed to disappear out of thin air once more, her super speed making her appear as merely a blur to the Saiyan’s eyes. However… Kura was ready for it this time. While Chita was still faster, Kura had gained some speed of her own, and the alien’s movements were no longer out of her range of vision.

She remembered Chita’s fighting style from before and anticipated the way she would move. The moment Chita disappeared, Kura moved her eyes along the trail that was left in her wake. ’She’s trying to get around behind me…’, she thought, taking a split-second guess at her intended trajectory. In one fluid motion Kura planted her foot, pivoted around and brought up her right arm, her palm out, just as Chita flickered back into view.

“Aishou-ken!!

A blast of blue energy erupted from Kura’s hand, meeting the oncoming alien at point blank range. It slammed into Chita’s torso and sent her flying back several yards until she crashed into a rocky outcrop, reducing it to rubble in seconds.

Off to the side, Retasu looked on, stunned. She had seen the two fighters moving, but it had only taken a matter of seconds. She rubbed her eyes and blinked, her brain trying to catch up with what her eyes had just seen.

Meanwhile, Chita staggered back to her feet, brushing bits of rock and dust off of her singed abdomen. Her armor had taken the brunt of the shot, but there was now a gaping hold in the front of it that was still smoking around the edges. If she hadn’t looked angry before, the expression that was etched into her face now was one of absolute hatred.

“Y-YOU!” She croaked, pointing an accusing finger at Kura, “You were not this strong before! Or this fast! How could you have possible improved that much since last time when I left you breathing through your goddamn stomach?!”

Kura regarded her with a smirk. “Funny thing about Saiyans, Chita. Ever heard of the concept of Zenkai? Well, I won’t explain the full mechanics of it so as not to overload your tiny little brain… but put simply it means that Saiyans grow stronger whenever they recover from near-death, both in power and speed. It’s a neat little trick. One of the few times I’ve actually been thankful to my race. And since you were the one who left me for dead the last time we met, I suppose I should thank you too. So thanks, gen’rul.” She raised two fingers to her forehead and gave Chita a mock salute.

Chita merely hissed in reply. Kura saw her bend her knees before she flickered out again, this time heading straight for her. Kura kept her eyes on the trail once more and brought her arm up just as she saw Chita reappear inches in front of her, blocking her energized punch. Rothax’s general continued to flicker in and out, attacking the female Saiyan from all different angles with a barrage of blows from her hands and feet. Kura was able to block most of them, the occasional hit sliding through her defenses and knocking her back slightly. Finally, on one punch, Kura was able to latch her hands around Chita’s arm just as she reappeared and, digging her heels into the ground, swung her opponent over top of her head with all her might, slamming her into the ground with a heavy crash. Not hesitating for a moment, she slammed her knee into Chita’s chest and grabbed her around the neck with one hand, pinning her to the ground.

“How…How can you…?” Chita choked, the veins in her neck bulging and pulsing beneath Kura’s fingers. Kura tightened her grip slightly.

“I also discovered one of the secrets to your little time-bending trick,” Kura continued as if nothing had happened, “It takes a lot of your concentration to keep up your tremendous momentum, but you can’t hold on to it and attack at the same time or else your attacks won’t do as much damage. In order to compensate and divert more power to your attack, you’re forced to slow down just long enough to get your move off. So the key lies in that one split second. That very brief moment when your concentration fades. Most of your opponents wouldn’t have the time to catch that since they will still be trying to figure out where you went in the first place, but as long as I can anticipate where you’re going to move… your hits will continue to miss the mark.”

“A—a---anticipate…this, bitch!” Chita managed to blurt out. Kura glanced down just in time to see Chita’s upturned palm just inches from her side as she released a blast of energy. Kura had just enough time to swear under her breath before the blast knocked her off of Chita and sent her spinning off to the side. She clutched her side as she skidded across the ground for several hundred feet before coming to a stop.

“Kura!” she heard Retasu cry from the sidelines. She noticed the other female Saiyan take several steps forward before she called out to stop her.

“No! Stay back, I’m all right!” She grunted in annoyance as she got back on her feet, cursing herself for her moment of carelessness. She needed to keep her guard up and not get cocky. Chita was also getting back up at the same time and was now looking at her opponent with a grin of satisfaction, somehow feeling like she had achieved some sort of victory. Kura knew that she would have to finish this with one, strong hit. And she had an idea of how to do it.

Her Onryou no Genkotsu.

Well, I WAS going to finish Chita off in this post, but it started getting too long and I ran out of time. XD So Blade, feel free to make a final post for Chita, even if it's a short one, and I'll finish things off when I get back from the wedding. ;D

[Master of Paradox]

OOC: Sorry, Rudy.

[Van Osiku]

Van Osiku has no scars.

In the depths of his mind, Van Osiku wandered, not sure what was happening to him. There was the occasional flash of pain, but it was as though it were happening to a fictional character, like in a movie. All around him was darkness and clouds, a road filled with fog and smoke, where the straight way was lost.

As he walked, Van looked at his hands. They were pockmarked, as though something were pushing their way to the surface. He brought them closer to his face...

And then his left hand disappeared.

Van looked to his left arm, only to find that it was gone up to the shoulder. Before he could even scream, his right arm exploded from the core out, scales forcing their way to the surface and shredding through his flesh.

He fell to his knees, blood pouring from both arms, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

The sound echoed in this empty place, swallowed up by darkness.
----
Under the rubble, Van Osiku seethed. Who had dared to interrupt him? He had a job to do, goddamit!

The rocks flew away, and he stood upright, his eyes crackling with energy. "This isn't your place, Namekian."

"You're trying to kill one of my friends," the Namekian replied, taking a battle stance. "That makes it my place."

"It is a sad world we live in when Namekians call themselves the friends of murderers." Van stepped forward once, and then flew towards the alien.

Their hands met, and both went back a step. Van feinted, and then went for the alien's ribs, but the Namekian countered with his own hand. Blow after blow, hand met hand, sparks flying with each hit. They twirled around each other, striking again and again, the air growing hot.

Now Van took to the air, the Namekian following, and they threw themselves at each other. Two comets met time after time, power echoing through the sky, light shining down to the ground.

They crashed to the earth, and finally Van found his opening. As the alien raised his arm to strike, he thrust a hand out, calling on the Pulse.

It blew the Namekian a few hundred yards away. He was still conscious, but this gave Van enough time to do what he had to do.

Van Osiku walked over to the bleeding, broken Vegeta, who looked up at him. The Saiyan-blooded forced himself onto his feet, breathing heavily, blood dripping to the ground.

Vegeta raised his only good arm, swallowed, and muttered, "Ka...me...ha...me..ha..."

A beam of energy, all that he had left, burst out of his palm. Van smirked and raised his left hand to block it.

There was a small explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Vegeta had collapsed, and Van crossed his arms, shaking his head. Then he looked down.

On his left hand, there was only burnt tissue to indicate he'd ever had ring or little fingers.

Without a word, Van reached down with his right hand, picking up Vegeta by his skull, and looked into his eyes.

"Got you..." Vegeta whispered.

"Pity it won't do you any good."

And Van closed his right hand. A moment later, he opened it again, and the body of Shitagi Summers (also called Prince Vegeta) fell from his grip.

And then Van shook, shivered, and blinked twice. The entire world seemed to change color.

He fell to his knees, gripping his head, and whispered, "Oh, fuck."

[Blademaster]

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!

[Bear]

Didn't realize Shitagi had actually died in MoP's post. After a re-read, I suppose it's time for Hammer to post again.

Hammer - desert, near Van and Shitagi

BRMMM!

Hammer crashed into the mesa at incredible speed, the sheer force of Van's attack leaving the rocky formation in ruins. Hammer was not injured, but he had been blown several hundred yards away from Van and Shitagi.

Not good...

Hammer pushed the rocks and boulders off of him and quickly jumped to his feet. Without even taking the time to dust himself off he took to the air, beelining toward Shitagi in the hopes of still saving his life...

...but it was too late.

Hammer didn't have to be close to the two to know what had occurred. Shitagi's energy signature had completely vanished, his life force extinguished as a candle in the breeze.

Shitagi Summers, direct descendent of the mighty Prince Vegeta, was dead...

As Hammer approached, he noticed Van next to Shitagi. But unlike a moment ago, his energy felt...different. Rather than hovering over Shitagi as a lion after a kill, he was dropped to a knee, clutching his head in some kind of pain. The sparks were gone from his aura, and his life force did not feel nearly as sinister as it had before. When Hammer got close he slowed up and landed next to him, rather than attacking. He took the last few steps on foot, standing next to Van finally. When he saw the body of Shitagi lying on the ground, he was briefly stunned. He stood there for a moment, silent. He then turned his head and looked down at Van, a stern glare in his eyes.

"What have you done?" Hammer asked Van, who was still crouched and holding his head. There was a momentary pause before he spoke.

"I..." Van said quietly, "I don't know..."

Van then collapsed, laying unconscious next to Shitagi as if the two had fallen in battle side by side.

"Ironic..." Hammer thought to himself as he viewed the pair of fighters.

For several minutes there was no sound. Hammer stood motionless over the bodies of Van and Shitagi. The desert wind picked up a bit, making a low-pitched howl that seemed to signify the ominous mood in the air. Hammer silently prayed over them, then looked to the sky.

Why did this have to happen? The great royal blood line of Vegeta, extinguished completely in one day. On top of that, we've lost two powerful allies in our fight against this great evil. Our hopes seem to grow more grim by the minute...

Hammer then looked down at the unconscious form of Van.

And this one...I do not understand. His energy and demeanor seem to change at random, and it is not voluntary. It is almost as if he is...afflicted by something, an illness. Its effects completely escape me, I've never seen anything like it. I fear that all of my knowledge and wisdom is not enough at the moment, I must study it further...

Hammer glanced over at Shitagi briefly, then looked back up at the clouds.

But that is not a priority right now. There are more pressing matters at hand. I must bring these two to the Lookout for safety.

As Hammer finished his inner monologue, he knelt down next to Van and Shitagi.

"I just hope our fortunes change for the better..." Hammer uttered aloud, picking up the bodies of Van and Shitagi and draping them over each of his shoulders.

When he had them secured, he lifted into the air. As quickly as he could manage, Hammer flew with the two bodies toward the Lookout, in the hopes of getting some answers about Van's condition and getting him back on his feet, as well as figuring out if there's any hope for reviving Shitagi. Hammer's figure faded to a silhouette as he disappeared into the sunlit horizon...

Hope that works for now. Might soon be time for Heald and I to implement our secret plan kekekeke.

[Kuro Espeon]

Kura and her two allies exchanged nervous glances.

Kinda hard to exchange a nervous glance with Zaito seeing as he's still, you know, x_x (<---unconscious). But whatev...


Kura Satou:

"So, Saiyan, what will you do now...?"

As Chita continued to chuckle, Kura glared across the battlefield at her. She despised dirty tactics such as this. Now it was no longer a question of who was stronger… it was purely a matter of speed. While Kura knew she had gotten a bit faster from her training and the Zenkai recovery, she also knew that Chita was right: If she detonated that bomb, there was no way she or Retasu could get out of the range of the explosion in time. Not to mention getting Zaito’s unconscious body out of the way on top of that. (She saw his body stir momentarily and she knew he was slowly regaining consciousness, but she couldn’t count on him moving his own weight.) There had to be some way of disabling that device without detonating it. She had an idea, but she had to hope it would work. For now, she decided, it was best to just keep Chita talking.

“Are you really sure you want to do that, Chita?” Kura calmly asked, a small smirk playing on the edge of her lips. The laugh on the aliens’ face froze at the question and, from there, slowly slid into a frown.

“What are you talking about?” She growled.

Kura shrugged. “Well, I just thought that you might be a tad bit more hesitant to blow us up considering we still have something that you want.” Chita’s expression remained unchanged. “You know… The Dragonball?” The alien’s eyes widened in realization and Kura could see a brief moment of panic flash across her face. Kura’s smirk broadened and she slowly took a couple steps to her right. The alien lieutenant kept her eyes on the Saiyan, watching her carefully. For every step Kura took, Chita mirrored her, keeping the same distance, as the two warriors slowly circled. As she moved, Kura began to focus her energy, slowly drawing it into a single point on her right leg.

“That’s right, Chita. Detonating that little bomb of yours would indeed make short work of us, but you would be destroying the Dragonball in the process. And forgive me for assuming, but I don’t think your boss would be too happy to hear that his only chance of getting his wish was blown to tiny bits by one of his own henchmen. “ Kura stopped moving and so did Chita. Kura gave a surreptitious glance over the aliens’ shoulder at Retasu and Zaito, who were now positioned directly behind her. She briefly caught the other Saiyan’s eye. “He might be pretty upset to have his victory snatched away from him like that.”

Chita’s eyes narrowed into a vicious glare.

“You’re bluffing,” she snorted, “The Dragonballs wouldn’t be destroyed that easily…”

“How do you know for sure? Are you willing to take that chance, Chita? If you’re wrong…. Well…I’m sure Rothax will forgive you. I mean, if there’s anything Rothax is known for, it’s mercy for those that severely disappoint him.” She let the sarcasm drip from her tongue like honey and she reveled at the twitch it brought to Chita’s face.

“What do you know, you filthy monkey?” Chita snarled, obviously riled. “You don’t know anymore about those Dragonballs than I do.”

“You’re right,” Kura replied, “I don’t know much about them at all. But there is something I know that you don’t. Something you should really learn.”

“Oh yeah?! What’s that?” Chita snapped. Kura paused briefly before answering, grinning at Chita.

“Watch your back.”

In the blink of an eye, a blur of green and white flew in front of Chita. Retasu, who had managed to sneak up behind the distracted Chita with her power level suppressed, grabbed the explosive device easily from Chita’s hands. Before Chita could react, she brought her arm back and threw it to the waiting hands of Zaito Zhin, who had regained consciousness and gotten to his feet just in time to catch the incoming projectile.

“W-WHAT? YOU!!” Chita had turned toward them with her eyes bulging with rage. She was about to attack, but it was too late - Kura Satou had already made her move. The moment the bomb had left Chita’s hands and she had turned her attention away from Kura was the split-second that the Saiyan warrior needed. With a powerful cry, she flew at Chita at full speed.

“ONRYOU NO GENKOTSU!!!”

All of her energy focused into a single point on her leg, Kura swung around in midair, and her foot collided with the side of Chita’s head.

*KRRCKISHHHHH*

With a sound that was a mixture of cracking bones and ripping tendons, the head of the black-skinned alien lieutenant was ripped off by the neck, Chita’s final emotion of rage and disbelief frozen on her face. The head flew several yards and then bounced a couple of times before rolling to a stop. Chita’s now headless body slumped forward and crashed to the ground with a satisfying THUD.

A brief, eerie silence followed as Kura remained hovering in midair above the lifeless form. Then, with a small grunt she dropped to the ground. She landed on her feet, but her legs quickly crumpled beneath her, causing her to drop backwards into a sitting position. Retasu rushed over, followed a bit more slowly by the hobbling Zaito.

“You…all right, Kura?” Zaito asked, still a bit short of breath as he struggled to remain upright. Kura waved her hand dismissively.

“I’m fine. Using that attack is good for a finishing move, but it leaves me temporarily drained. I’ll be all right in a minute or two.”

Retasu nodded. “Very good then. After that we should probably return to the Lookout and find out what’s been going on.”

*****

A short while later, Kura, Retasu and Zaito (supported on either side bu the two Saiyans) touched down on the Lookout and were surprised to find Kuji already waiting for them, a strange, unreadable expression on his face.

“Thank goodness you three have returned safely,” he said, moving quickly to assist Zaito.

“Chita’s finished.” Kura reported, not really feeling the need to go into details. There was something about the emphasis Kuji had put on the words “you three” that Kura didn’t like. “What’s happened?”

The Namek paused momentarily over his healing of Zaito, his expression tightening. When he spoke again it was in a quiet but firm voice.

“Shitagi Summers is dead.”

[Blademaster]

Well if M_c isn't gonna post, guess I've gotta push things forward...

Basawe

Basawe stood there in a daze for several long moments, his future - and the future of this planet - looking grim. He wasn't sure whether he was struggling more over the fact that Shitagi was dead, or that he was now the strongest defender of the planet left alive.

"What do I do...?" he muttered to himself, looking up at the sunset. The setting star was a fiery red, like Hell itself.

A bad omen.

As if to confirm that thought, he felt Shimuto's energy spike not too far in the distance.

'Gamma...' Basawe thought, looking up.

He removed from his armor the Dragonball he had been given by Shitagi.

'What would the others do...?'

The Dragonball seemed to respond, glowing softly in the dim twilight.

Basawe's brow furrowed. He replaced the Dragonball in its pouch and leapt into the sky, making a beeline towards Shimuto's energy signature.

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

A short while later, two powerful figures exchanged blows continued exchanging blows over an abandoned city, lightning crackling and shock waves echoing with each vicious blow.

Finally, one of the two figures landed a decisive blow, sending its opponent - a certain black-and-pink Android - flying through two buildings and crashing through the street.

Gamma slowly pushed himself up, his robed foe landing on the street not far from him.

"I don't know what you are,' Shimuto said in a low, angry voice as he approached the robotic soldier, 'but bloodless abominations like you are of no use to me."

Gamma shakily stood up, keeping his eyes fixed squarely on Shimuto's bladed weapons... Those weapons were now pointed at his neck.

"Goodbye..."

WHAM!

A faint whistle diverted Shimuto's and Gamma's attention; as they looked up, Gamma's advanced sensors barely registered Basawe as his boot heel smashed into Shimuto's face.

Unfortunately for Shimuto, he didn't have such sensors at his disposal; all he saw was a blur of blue and white just before the entire city began to spin wildly around him, followed by blackness filling his vision as he promptly ate a mouthful of skyscraper.

"Basawe...?" Gamma asked, a bit more incredulously than was likely proper for an Android.

"Looks like I got here just in time." Basawe replied as he landed and took up a fighting stance. "Are you brok-... uh, are you injured?"

"No... Thank you."

Shimuto groaned and got to his feet, rubbing his cheek.

As his vision cleared, he looked at Basawe; a small smirk crossed his face.

"Well, this will make things more interesting." he said, raising his swords once again...

Rothax

For once, Rothax was stunned.

He had been observing the battle between Vegeta and that strange human from a distance, and while it was clear that Vegeta was not going to come out of the battle in prime health, he never expected the feisty young Saiyan to DIE.

'I almost feel bad for the boy...' Rothax mused, a stern expression on his face. 'He fought well against my soldiers and even against ME... just so he could be done in by his own teammate.'

The Namekian warrior returned from his temporary resting place of jagged stone and approached the fallen warrior and his assailant.

'That human is far stronger than he should be,' Rothax thought, 'even against a weakened Saiyan. Maybe there IS something worth investigating about him after all...'

Even from his distance, Rothax heard the thud as the one they called Van hit the ground, unconscious.

'...Perhaps not.'

For several moments, there was silence. Rothax wasn't in the mood to wait for the brooding Namekian to decide on a course of action, so he decided to turn his attention to his new communicator.

"Chita," he began, "come in-"

He was quickly cut off by Chita, who was yelling at someone, her focus dedicated entirely to that person. For a few moments, Chita and her aggressor - a female, it sounded like - taunted and yelled at one another. Rothax quickly ducked behind a stone formation and lowered the volume of his device, not wanting the Namekian to hear the commotion.

“ONRYOU NO GENKOTSU!”

Well-timed: As soon as Rothax had relocated, some sort of foreign battle cry yelled out to Chita, followed by a loud ripping sound and then silence.

"Chita...?" Rothax asked. "Chita, do you copy...?!"

No answer.

Suppressing his power - and his rage - as much as he could, Rothax cursed to himself and jetted off the way Chita had gone. Within a few moments, he'd closed the gap and began surveying the area below, looking for any sign of his Lieutenant.

Finally, he found one.

Then, he found another.

"Chita...!" Rothax gasped, dropping to the decapitated warrior's side. "But how...?"

'My armies...' he thought. 'The Kwalis, Blaque and Whyte... Tennan... All of them I can understand. But Chita was stronger than any of them. She's NEVER failed me...!'

The seriousness of the situation began to dawn on Rothax. But before he could act on it, he heard a weak voice.

"Sir..." Chita's severed head wheezed.

"Chita..." Rothax approached his fallen Lieutenant's head and knelt down beside it. "Who did this to you?"

"Saiyan... woman... Dragonball..." Chita's eyes were glazing over, tears dripping from them.

"You were stronger than her...!" Rothax began angrily.

"Zenkai... Saiyan... ability... stronger... recover... from... great inj-"

She coughed up blood. Rothax's anger wavered for a moment... Was he really seeing his Lieutenant in such a state? Because of a SAIYAN?

"Captain..." she continued, her voice barely a whisper, "they... left... back... hi-........ hid........ing.... place...."

"Where?" Rothax asked, trying to remain calm. "Which way? Where are they hiding?"

Chita was silent for a few seconds.

"CHITA!" Rothax yelled.

Her glazed eyes darted off to one side ever so slightly.

"Fol........low..........." she sighed.

Rothax looked the way she'd indicated. There, flying off to the west, was the Namekian, Vegeta's body and the unconscious Van slung over his shoulders.

Rothax narrowed his eyes and smiled wickedly.

"I understand." he answered, looking back at Chita. She was all but silent now, barely breathing, but somehow still alive.

Rothax rubbed at his damaged eye.

"You've done your job." he said grimly, holding out his hand. "Goodbye, Chita."

The dull glow his hand gave off reflected in her eyes...

...

A moment later, Rothax reached out and slid Chita's lifeless eyelids shut.

Then, he stood up, turned and flew off into the dusky sky after Hammer, tailing him back towards the Lookout.

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

With his greatest soldier dead, Rothax has decided to follow Hammer to the Lookout himself... But for what reason?

Find out next time, on DragonBall SU!

[Bear]

Hammer - Currently en route to Lookout

This man's nature still confounds me. I've never seen nor studied a condition quite like his. Sure, schizophrenia would be an easy enough explanation for the personality shifts, but to the best of my knowledge it does not cause massive power fluctuations, nor does it grant the afflicted person enhanced abilities. About all I can gather is the transmutations are induced by an external stimulus, which seems to be related to the Saiyans...

Hammer continued pondering the situation with Van as he steadily made his way toward the Lookout. Unfortunately, his intense inner monologue kept him from noticing the menace that was tailing him.

...perhaps he possesses these powers in all states of mind, he just lacks the knowledge of their existence or the ability to control them in some stages?

Hammer shook his head furiously to re-focus.

I must not trouble myself with this right now. I will reach the Lookout first and then seek Kuji and Furuto's counsel. Their knowledge will be most valuable.

After a short while, Hammer spotted something in the distance. The long, thin totem bridging the Lookout and the Earth below came into view.

"Finally." Hammer spoke aloud, speeding up a bit and beginning to gain altitude. Before long the tiled, tree-lined scape of the Lookout was in clear view. Hammer allowed himself a very slight smile as he touched down, gently placing the bodies of Van and Shitagi against one of the statues. Hammer stood up straight, stretching his arms a bit after carrying that heavy weight for a while. As he rubbed his shoulder he looked around, and was puzzled to not see anyone.

"Hmm, I wonder where they are?" he questioned out loud, beginning to walk toward the pillared entrance of the inner areas. However, as he reached the steps, he heard the slightest *tap* behind him, causing him to freeze in his tracks. He did not need to use his eyes to know what had just landed.

"So, you followed me here..." Hammer said in a very low tone, just loud enough for his guest to hear.

"Correct." Rothax responded. "I'm surprised really, a Namek of your intelligence must know that the first rule of escaping is always check to see if you are being followed."

Ignoring Rothax's tease, Hammer turned around to face him squarely.

"What do you want?" Hammer asked curtly, not a muscle on his face twitching.

"What I want? Silly Namek, I wouldn't expect you to even be able to fathom what I want." Rothax taunted, glaring pointedly back at Hammer. "Would you like to see my mission statement?"

Hammer did not respond, simply maintaining his posture and staring back at Rothax.

"Man, I hope the rest of the Nameks are not as stiff as you. There is nothing more boring than annihilating beings with no sense of humor." Rothax jabbed again, a confident smile on his face.

Hammer had nothing to say, but the attention of both of them was quickly drawn to the approaching power levels that manifested in the distance.

"Ah, I see your friends are on the way. Perfect, I won't have to go looking for them then."

Alright, that should work to get things moving again. Now anyone coming back to the Lookout can jump in, since I'm honestly not positive on everyone's current location.

[Kuro Espeon]

Well, at least Bear gave me something to go off of... lol

Kura Satou:

Kura stared blankly back at Kuji as her mind tried to determine if she had indeed heard him correctly. Shitagi Summers is dead. That was what he had said. She could tell by the shocked silence that followed that Retasu and Zaito were having similar reactions. While Kura herself hadn’t really been close to the boy, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret at the loss of a comrade. It was also pretty grim news as far as their battle prospects were concerned. If Shitagi, the self-proclaimed heir of Prince Vegeta, and arguably one of the strongest of their number, had fallen to Rothax, then what chance did the rest of them have? ‘Basawe could stand a chance,’ she thought, ‘if he can find a way to stabilize his condition. But the chances of that are uncertain at best. As for myself…’


Kura sighed and shook her head with grim resignation. Her tail unfurled itself from around her waist and flicked irritably from side to side as she pondered the situation.

“The others?” she asked.

“Alive, as far as I can tell,” Kuji replied, turning back to finish his administrations on Zaito. “Gamma left some time ago to take on Shimuto and Basawe went after him. Hammer went to help Shitagi, but…”

“He arrived too late?” Retasu finished.

Kuji gave a curt nod in her direction before continuing. “I can only assume Hammer is bringing Van and…Shitagi back here for now. I sensed his energy about the same time as you three were arriving, so presumably he should be here by now.” He looked back over his shoulder toward the other side of the Lookout that was blocked from view by the central building. “Yes…yes, he’s here and--- and someone else as well…”

Kura froze as the tone of Kuji’s voice changed notably. The power level was faint, as if it were being purposely suppressed, but it was definitely there, and there was no doubt in Kura’s mind who it was that had followed after Hammer. By process of elimination it wasn’t that hard to figure out. A quick glance around at the other faces in the group showed that they were making the same assumption. Kura swore under her breath.

‘You could still walk away from this, you know,' a voice in her head seemed to say, ‘It would be so easy to just turn tail and run. Leave this entire mess behind. It’s not your responsibility, anyway. Why risk your own neck and probably get yourself killed for something you didn’t even ask for in the first place?’ Kura shook her head as if arguing with her own inner monologue. ‘No. I can’t leave now. The Dragonball… it has to be kept safe. It’s my only chance… it’s his only chance. …What would you do, Kabu?’

He would do what he thought was right.

“Damn it all to hell!” Kura swore, this time out loud. She cracked her knuckles as she quickly tried to formulate a plan. “All right. I’ll go and help Hammer. Zaito, you and Retasu take that Dragonball and get as far away from here as you can. I’ll try to hold him off with Hammer but I can’t make any promises. Kuji, it may not be a bad idea for you and Furuto to make yourselves scarce for now as well.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kura!” Retasu interjected, throwing out her arm in a dramatic gesture, “We shall not abandon you to fight alone. I will stay and fight with you, my friend.”

“Look.” Kura replied forcefully. “That Dragonball may be the only one left. Rothax wants it and we can’t let him have it. Until we figure out a way to finish him off once and for all the only thing we can do is keep it out of his hands. Now move it!” Without waiting for further discussion, Kura pushed off the ground and flew into the air, up and over the top of the main building, heading toward the other side of the Lookout where Hammer and Rothax were waiting.

*******

There! Something! I may do another post later, but I'll give other people a chance. If people are still paying attention to this RPG anyway...

[Heald]

Zaito Zhin

Zaito was in no condition to join in the conversation go on around him, but just as Kuji's healing had finished, he was able to feel that Rothax had indeed arrived at the Lookout. An overwhelming sense of fear and hopelessness began to fill him.

"Shitagi is dead, we are divided and we have lost most of the Dragonballs...and now Rothax has come at the worst possible time"

He sat up as Kura began walking away from them.

“All right. I’ll go and help Hammer. Zaito, you and Retasu take that Dragonball and get as far away from here as you can. I’ll try to hold him off with Hammer but I can’t make any promises. Kuji, it may not be a bad idea for you and Furuto to make yourselves scarce for now as well.”

She and Retasu exchanged words before Kura flew off to meet Rothax. Zaito looked at Retasu's face and, for the first time, there was a look in her face of complete and utter disbelief; having been in this for herself this entire time, and now her friend was off to meet her certain death in order to buy us all some time, seemed to reach her in a place she never even knew she could feel with.

Kuji brought everyone back to reality.

"Listen! There isn't much time so we have to work quickly."

Retasu was only half-listening. She was cradling the Dragonball in one hand, contemplating what to do. Zaito watched her face with great interest; Zaito knew that the Saiyan was not reliable in terms of being able to see the bigger picture, see beyond her own selfish aims, but if Kura's selfless act had reached her, then perhaps she could be reasoned with.

"Retasu!" Zaito spoke up. Retasu snapped out of her little trance and fixed her eyes on him.

"This isn't going to be easy, but we need to gather all the Dragonballs as soon as we can. At the moment, they are our only hope. Or, that is, the only way we can bring back our only hope."

Retasu's eyebrow raised at Zaito, but Kuji knew what Zaito was thinking.

"You would wish to bring Shitagi back?"

"Think about it, Shitagi is the only one of us to have actually gone toe to toe with Rothax and live, he was only killed by Van, and with the power of the Saiyan Zenkai, his power would have increased significantly once he is brought back to life."

Retasu was not impressed with Zaito's answer.

"You'd wish for him to be returned? Why not immortality? If I was immortal then no matter how strong Rothax was he could not defeat me!"

"No," Kuji spoke up. "True, he would not be able to kill you, but at this moment in time he is still a superior fighter. Your immortality would only frustrate you as you would not be able to kill him."

"But-"

"Besides, the Saiyan Zenkai is only one part of Shitagi's appeal," Kuji continued. "For right now he is in the Other World receiving training from an elite warrior from Earth's past. The time he spends with this warrior will be short if you intend to wish him back, but the training will be much better than a similar timespan on Earth. Only in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber would you receive a greater opportunity to train up in such a short space of time."

The mention of the chamber gave Zaito an idea.

"Then we need to use every second we have," he said. "Retasu, the rest of the Dragonballs should be on Rothax's ship, if you can get there whilst he is distracted, they should be easily taken."

"And what about Basawe's one? Have you forgotten he has already gone to face Shimuto?" Retasu inquired.

"I'll go and retrieve the Dragonball from him. We'll have to meet somewhere in order to make our wish."

"Hmm. And I suppose when we make our wish, should this plan of yours get this far, I don't want to play by your rules?"

"Because after everything that has happened, all the death, all the destruction, all the pain, I want to believe that this is finally our moment of hope, and I also want to believe, after everything we've been through, that our chance to finish off Rothax isn't dashed by your selfishness. We all have to make sacrifices. Look at Kura, she has almost died, more than once, today, and yet she continues as we speak to risk her life for the rest of us. How much of a coward does that make you look?"

Zaito stared dead right into Retasu's eyes. Up until this point he had been somewhat intimidated by Retasu but he could see under her tough, elite, proud exterior she was no different to the rest of them.

"Then it is decided. Furuto, try to retrieve Shitagi's and Van's bodies, if Shitagi does get revived, it would be best if we had his body. As for Van, well we still need every fighter, and he has proven himself against Rothax and his men in the past, so I will attempt to revive him"

Furuto nodded and prepared to help Hammer and Kura, as hopefully Rothax would be distracted enough that he would notice if he collected their bodies.

Zaito then remembered that there was one final step to his plan. He turned to Kuji.

"Kuji, I require 5 minutes in the Time Chamber," he requested. Kuji was startled by this request.

"You wish to train at a time like this? Even if the enemy wasn't right at our doorstep what could you achieve in 5 minutes? Why that isn't much over a day in there!"

Zaito straightened up.

"You have healed my body, that is true, but my strength is only a 10th of what it could be. Unlike these Saiyans and you Nameks, power doesn't come naturally to humans like me, instead I must build it and store it, and at the moment I have very little. A day of meditation in the Time Chamber," he said, before lifting a fist up and clenching it, "And even I could give Rothax a match! Not only that, but my speed would also be increased. The 5 minutes I spend in there would be more than made up by the rate I could reach Basawe in. It would probably take me over an hour from here in my current state. If I could maximise my inner energy, I could make the journey in minutes."

Kuji was somewhat astonished by this answer, but then nodded. "That would be much handier, very well, follow me."

And with that Zaito and Kuji retired to the inside of the Lookout.

---

I will put a post up for Shimuto soon. Would be nice to have a 'meanwhile, in the Other World' post from Rudy to tie in nicely here

[Master Rudy]

Did someone call for me?

Shitagi Summers (AKA Prince Vegeta)
The definition of powerless is not being able to help......
------
"With all due respect I don't think you understand how bad things are on Earth. You have to......"

Saying that was apparently a mistake as the colossal man behind the desk apparently hit his breaking point. "Young man I don't have to do anything and quite frankly I'm a bit angry over the fact that you seem to think I don't know how bad things are on your planet! You are the one that doesn't understand. I am King Yemma, the judge of the of dead. I've been dealing with folks from your home all day long. You yourself are cleared to move on but if you want to try me and hold up this line even more then I can change your destination quite easily!"

Feeling a tap on my shoulder I turned to see a blue skinned man in a suit standing next to me. "You may just want to drop it and move on sir" he said in a whisper. "Lord Yemma hasn't had to process this many folks in years. He tends to get into a bit of a foul mood when it comes to genocide."

I wasn't going to let it go however. As I started to walk away a thought did come to mind. Stopping I turned back around and said "I may be able to help you cut down that workload King Yemma. Would you be willing to hear me out at least?" Yemma let out a deep sigh loud enough to almost sound like a train. Just when I was about to finally give up and accept the fact that I was out of the action for now he turned his chair towards me and said "You have 60 seconds Shitagi." Then with a smirk and a chuckle he added "Or is it Vegeta now? It's sometimes hard to keep track when you mortals insist on using different names." Feeling thankful that he was willing to at least listen I made it a point to be quick about it. "You've no doubt dealt with my family on many occassions sir so I would assume you know what Saiyans are capable of upon either recovering from critial injuries or their revival. The people who have attacked Earth are down to just the main leadership. Even so they still possess the ability to kill many people in pursuit of their goals. All I am asking you for is the chance to return to Earth and end this. I know it's possible. You sent the last Prince Vegeta back during the crisis with Buu. I'm even willing to accept the risk that a fatal injury in my current condition would outright destroy me. Please sir.....I just want the chance to save my home and my friends."

With that King Yemma turned his attention to the massive book on his desk. After spending a few moments looking at it he grimly shook his head and said "It is true that I did send your ancestor back all those years ago. However I am afraid that I cannot honor your request Shitagi. This being you are fighting is merely a threat to one planet. I understand how that must feel to you but Buu was a special case. Those of us here in the afterlife are bound to non-interference with the mortal world. Except for the rare case where a warrior is allowed to visit his family for day the only way I could send you back is if Rothax somehow became a threat to all of existance itself."

Feeling shot down and defeated I finally accepted the fact that there really wasn't much I could do. As I began to walk away Yemma called out from behind me "If the situation does somehow get to that point however you'll be one of the first ones I contact." Without turning to face him I grimly responded "If it gets to that point then there's nothing I can do. Rothax will have won."

Suddenly a new voice in the room chimed in and said "Well considering that your friends will most likely get you revived then perhaps we should get to work!"

Turning back around I saw perhaps one of the strangest looking beings ever. He was a very short man with blue skin who appeared to have had his fair share of meals. Not only did he look odd but he dressed strange as well: black robes with sunglasses. As my eyes fell upon the symbol on his clothing however I suddenly had a feeling I knew who this was as I had seen the symbol before. "King Kai I presume?" I asked somewhat having a hard time believing this was actually him. As he approached he proudly said "The one and only!" Soon I found myself wishing I could keep my mouth shut as I said the only thing that came to mind. "Huh.....I thought you'd be taller." King Yemma however was not amused by this.

"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT THE HONORABLE KING KAI!"

King Kai however was laughing a bit over this. "It's quite alright Yemma. As a matter of fact I've got things from here." With that King Kai took my hand and had teleported us to an area that looked similar to the stadium where Earth's Tenkaichi Budokai took place. "You'll need to forgive me if things seem somewhat thrown together at the last minute. Regretfully I've only learned how bad the situation was on Earth once your mother arrived. I feared it would be only a matter of time before one of you arrived here. I was only just beginning to make preperations when you yourself showed up at the check in station." Still marveling over the sheer size of this arena in the Other World I said "Well I'm thankful for you taking the time to come here but there's plenty on my mind. Is there anyway I can contact my friends before we get started? Ever since I died I've been in the dark about what's happening." With a slight nod King Kai told me "Of course Shitagi. I assume you'll want to contact them at the Lookout. Just place your hand on my back and in just a moment you can begin to speak to them." I did as King Kai said and true to his word within moments I was listening in:

"You'd wish for him to be returned? Why not immortality? If I was immortal then no matter how strong Rothax was he could not defeat me!"
No.....it's true, he would not be able to kill you, but at this moment in time he is still a superior fighter. Your immortality would only frustrate you as you would not be able to kill him."

It was Retasu and Kuji speaking. I suddenly got worried at the mention of immortality. Was that seriously her ultimate goal or was it just desperation speaking at that point? As I was thinking I suddenly noticed I was zoning out and not paying attention to what they were talking about.

".....we need to use every second we have. Retasu, the rest of the Dragon Balls should be on Rothax's ship, if you can get there whilst he is distacted, they should be easily taken."
"What about Basawe's one? Have you forgotten he has already gone to face Shimuto?"

My mind was still spinning as I tried to absorb what was going on. This time it was Zaito and Retasu speaking. However the next words Retasu said caught me off guard.

"Suppose when we make our wish, should this plan of yours get this far, I don't want to play by your rules?"

Deep down I wanted to call her out right then and there over the possiblity of betrayal. However following the incident in the time chamber I wasn't sure if this was simply anger over our confrontation or if in the end she was truely out for herself. I knew better than to accuse her outright if she'd potentially have the Dragon Balls in her hands so I continued to listen in for a moment as I wasn't sure what to say yet. At the mention of Van I was about to speak up when King Kai got my attention.

"Shitagi I know you are trying to get a handle on the situation first but if you're going to speak to them I'd do it now. I'm afraid the Lookout is about to have an unwelcome guest!" Fear struck me at that point as I knew exactly who King Kai was talking about. Without wasting another moment I made myself known.

"Guys it's me! Hang on a second!"
"Was that......Shitagi?!"
"It's impossible. He died Zaito!"

Despite the situation I couldn't help but be my usual self at that comment.

"There's a funny thing about that word Retasu. The people of Earth use to say it was impossible for life on other planets to exist prior to the day the Namekians and Saiyans became common knowledge to them."
"I'm convinced. There's no way that's not him!"

"I'm sure Kuji would be more than happy to explain it if you guys had time. I know Rothax is on the way so I'll be quick. If you plan on going after the Dragon Balls use extreme caution. I haven't seen it myself but he was bragging about some kind of beast he has on that ship. Whatever this thing is it killed my mother in one blow and nearly killed Van. As for Van while he is an asset be very careful around him. I don't know what exactly triggers his personality change but he harbors an extreme hate of Saiyans."

I couldn't believe I was about to tell them as I felt it was far from his fault but we couldn't risk Van killing someone else.

I pray you don't have to do this but if Van should turn on you guys again then you've got to kill him. He may not be as strong as Rothax but he's easily just as dangerous.

There was silence after that and I didn't blame them. How exactly do you respond to being told to kill an ally? Deep down however I'm sure they all understood. Van was a wild card. In the end he would either be a great asset in the coming battle or he alone would be what doomed us.

One last thing. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye Retasu. Earth Saiyans and those from Planet Vegeta are similar but at the same time we're as different as night and day. Once I knew I couldn't get any stronger I just couldn't spend another day in the time chamber. I should have waited on the rest of you. Perhaps if I did Rothax could have been finished off before transforming again and I wouldn't be dead. For that I am sorry. I trust you and I know you'll be able to get the Dragon Balls. I won't tell you what to do with them but I do need to agree with Kuji. I'm no expert but I really doubt immortality is the way to go. I could be wrong but personally I would think that if you were immortal that would cancel out your Zenkai ability due to the fact that it would be impossible to bring you to near death. Whenever you do manage to get them however I know you'll use those two wishes wisely and do what you feel is right in your heart.

I was about to say my goodbyes for now but what sounded like an explosion in the background suddenly caught my attention.

He's here and it looks like he's wanting to remodel this place. If you want us to succeed you're going to have to get out of heads Shitagi!


Retasu was right. Despite my attempt to try to be to the point I actually spoke for far longer than I intended. King Kai broke off communications with the Lookout and turned back towards me. I must have looked visibly disturbed over the fact that Rothax had shown up there of all places. "Try not to worry Shitagi. It's not always easy to ignore what's happening elsewhere. However if you can't focus on your training here then the results will not be as impressive. If all goes according to their plans then you won't have much time here."

King Kai was right. If I didn't start focusing on what was currently happening to myself then my training would be for nothing. Getting serious I told him "In that case I don't want to know what's happening on Earth no matter how bad it gets. I assume you'll keep tabs on everything but until they get the Dragon Balls please don't tell me what's happening." King Kai nodded and then proceeded to tell me what was going to happen in regards to the training. "Well I'm going to be honest with you Shitagi. I myself don't train folks much anymore. I've essentially left it up to my students to train those who learn my skills now and from what I've heard you already know most if not all we could teach you. Instead I want you to mainly focus on your speed and your Kaio-Ken. To help you with that I've got two people to spar with you." Pointing towards a darkened hall along the arena wall he added "I'm fairly sure you already know one of them quite well. The other one has been wanting to meet you for some time."

Looking towards the hallway I saw two figures walking towards me. I knew who the first was almost instantly and wasn't surprised to see one of the people was my mother. She was now dressed in the traditional gi that the Z Fighters wore. The other one was a man. He too wore the familar orange and blue clothing and had long black hair. Curiosity turned to shock as he drew closer and I noticed the Son family kanji on the front of his clothing.

It was my grandfather......this man was Goten.
------

There you go guys. Essentially Shitagi heard most of what was going on with King Kai's help and is fairly up to date on everything. Unless someone else dies however he's going to be cut off from the most recent events until someone gets the Dragon Balls.

I've already spoken with Heald about the appearence of Goten. In a dire situation it'd be fairly unrealistic to assume that a former Z Fighter would NOT show up to help train someone who was in Other World. However the likes of Goku or Vegeta would both take things a bit far and be EXTREMELY out of the league of our chracters as they currently are. Goten seemed like the best choice to me for several reasons. First there's the obvious history with Victoria. Second is the fact that while Goten is by no means weak there's the fact that with so many years of peace following Buu that I'm sure he lacked serious opponents and had fairly few chances to seriously increase his power level. As a result in a straight fight with Shitagi (or anyone else who dies) there would be no contest. However training methods in DBZ don't always include a straight fight. If Shitagi is looking to improve his speed then who better than an opponent that would be extremely hard to hit.

I'll cover training a bit later. Right now the main thing was getting all the recent events out of the way and showing what's currently happening to Shitagi.

Also in case you are unfamilar with what Goten looks like post Buu/pre-GT then here you go. I'm fairly certain I don't have to tell you guys which one Goten is



If it help just think of Gohan when he had longer hair and then imagine if he kept his hair long post-Cell ^_~

[Blademaster]

Everyone else is scheming... I guess it's time to put my plan into motion, too.

Rothax

Rothax and Hammer were having a tense standoff.

While the Namekian likely was simply hoping that Rothax didn't decide to end his life right now, Rothax was showing a surprising amount of patience waiting for the others to arrive.

And arrive, they had. They were somewhere on the other side of the vast, seemingly floating structure Hammer had led him to. For a few moments, they didn't move. Obviously they sensed Rothax and didn't want to get anywhere near him. He could faintly hear them, but they seemed to know well enough to keep their voices low. He couldn't make out more than a few bits and pieces of their plan.

After a minute or two, though, some of them began to show signs of activity, their energies moving either into the structure or off of it. It was then that Rothax decided to act. He planted his feet against the floor of the structure, spreading his four arms... And then, to Hammer's horror, his power began to skyrocket again.

"EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU," his supersonic voice yelled, "GET OVER HERE NOW OR SO HELP ME THERE WILL BE FAR MORE THAN ONE DEAD CITY ON THIS PLANET BY MOONRISE."

Every voice was silenced, every power in the area stopping dead in its tracks. Hammer himself wore a helpless, infuriated expression. He seemed to understand what Rothax was doing, and he DEFINITELY seemed to disapprove of the method.

"You coward..." he growled.

"Watch your tongue, Namekian." Rothax warned him, his voice angry yet not loud. "Or you'll be joining that corpse you carried back here in short order."

Hammer's angry expression only seemed to tighten at that threat. Rothax met his gaze without flinching, partly because he knew how much stronger than the Namekian he was if he dared to attack...

But also because he knew now what it felt like to lose one's companions. Most of his forces were footsoldiers, coerced or forced into service. They were merely tools, albeit quite useful ones. The Kwalis were big dumb tools, and Blaque and Whyte were strange ones.

Tennan and Chita, however, were more than hired muscle. They had worked with Rothax for years, their reliability and loyalty unwavering. And now they were just as dead as the boy Hammer had carried back, who now lay beside Hammer's feet on the tile floor. Rothax looked down at the former warrior.

"...What a shame." Rothax finally mumbled.

Hammer looked like he wanted to respond to that remark, but before he could several of his allies finally dropped down by his side, having apparently chosen to either abandon or belay their plans for the time being in favor of more bodies piling up on the planet's surface far below. Rothax doubted that every last being on the Lookout had gathered before him, but there were enough of them to spread the message.

"I'm not sure whether to commend your obedience or goad your willingness to come stand before a new god," Rothax began, looking across the small crowd of fighters, "one who could crush all of you here and now like the vermin you are..."

"We aren't afraid of you." one of them replied in a biting tone, evidently eager to fight.

"I truly, TRULY doubt that." Rothax responded. "If you weren't afraid of me, you'd not be hiding here, trying desperately to keep those last 2 Dragonballs away from me."

"There's a difference between cowardice and a tactical retreat." Hammer responded defensively.

Rothax was silent for a few seconds. "I agree." he finally said. "That is why I've come here."

The warriors of Earth seemed ready to battle, but Rothax, to their surprise, began to - of all things - pace back and forth in front of them.

"I'll keep this short, since we all have business of our own to attend to." he said. "I know how you all see me... I'm a monster to you, invading your little planet and destroying your precious capital, all for the sake of my own gain..."

He looked at them, seemingly waiting for a response. But he quickly dismissed that notion and continued:

"I will admit, I can be a tad... temperamental. And being impeded by you all does not help my mood. But I'm far from a ruthless, heartless bastard. Push me too far and I WILL eradicate your cities, as I've shown. However... Cooperate with me, and you'll find I'm quite willing to negotiate."

"Like we should believe you?" one of his audience spat.

"I know that the Dragonballs can grant multiple wishes." Rothax said, not seeming to notice the reply. "Once I have all 7, I will use them to make myself all-powerful, and my first act will be to restore every life lost today."

For a moment, there was an almost stunned silence.

"You LIAR!" one of them finally shouted. "You'd never-"

"Just how well do you know me?" Rothax answered. "Everyone who has died today shall be revived. Your city, and my soldiers. And then," Rothax finished with a chuckle, "all will be as it should be."

"Even if you are telling the truth," Hammer answered, "and I don't for a SECOND believe that you are, what makes you think we'll let you have the last 2 Dragonballs anyway?!"

Rothax stopped pacing and looked at him. "Because you have no choice." he responded sharply. "I'm tired of your game of keep away, and furthermore, you've all somehow managed to transform from weaklings to matches for my earlier forms and my greatest soldiers in mere hours."

Rothax's power began to climb.

"I will not allow you to distract me anymore..." he said, a bit more loudly as a great gale began to blow from around him. "So I'm here to issue an ultimatum. I will send up a signal. Once you see that signal - and you WILL see it - you will have exactly one hour from that time within which to deliver the last 2 Dragonballs to my ship."

The gale became a miniature tornado as Rothax's power surged past almost twice the level that Vegeta had seen.

"If the Dragonballs are not delivered to me," Rothax yelled over the crackles of energy and the howl of the wind, "then this entire planet will be destroyed!"

Finally, the monstrous level of power began to taper off, the winds ceasing, the Lookout in a state of awkward - and fearful - silence.

"One hour..." Rothax repeated. "And I WILL know if you attempt to bum-rush my ship with your increased power levels. If anything with a level of strength that I deem dangerous approaches my ship and is not carrying a Dragonball, the trigger will be pulled, and this rock and all living things on it will die. I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if the core of a planet is suddenly disintegrated, do I...?"

Rothax's proposal, needless to say, was met with disapproval. But he ignored it - actions speak louder than words, after all. He lifted off the ground of the Lookout.

"I'll see ya soon." he said in a low voice, offering a mock-salute.

And then, there was a great crackle of light and noise, and he was gone.

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

A short time later, in an undisclosed location, Rothax briefly landed.

Then, he held out his hands and began channeling a massive amount of power in his four palms. The blob of energy swelled and glowed like a small, ghostly blue Sun, getting brighter and brighter, bright enough to blind a human, before finally Rothax launched it skyward at an immense speed.

Rothax took a deep breath, then smiled and took off once more. The signal had been sent.

And in the stratosphere behind him, a blinding light flashed into existence, filling the sky over half the planet and unleashing a powerful sonic boom that rippled out for thousands of miles.

60:00

59:59

59:58

59:57

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

Rothax has thrown down the gauntlet at long last, and now the clock is ticking down for our remaining heroes.

Will the coming night prove that things are always darkest just before the dawn? Or has the Sun set on Earth for the final time? Find out next time, on DragonBall SU!

[Heald]

Shimuto

[Demon versus Machine]

Shimuto ran at the android with both bone-blades spinning in his hands. As he reached the android, he swung both of them in a blurred motion, ready to slice the android into pieces, when the android concentrated his eyes on Shimuto and, suddenly, a blast of psychic energy hit him. For a second he resisted before being pushed back several metres. Shimuto landed on his feet but as he looked up, the android had thrown himself towards him, aiming a punch straight at Shimuto. Shimuto lifted a blade up to defend himself and kicked his foot to fly backwards. The android's fist broke the blade in two and he began to chase Shimuto.

Shimuto parried the android's attacks whilst being pushed backwards, eventually backing himself towards a tall building. He quickly shifted out of the way of an incoming blow and flew straight upwards. The android regained his footing and, looking up, followed. Shimuto landed on top of the building and awaited the android. The android flew upwards and, facing down to Shimuto, he stretched out two hands and unleashed a flurry of energy attacks on the rooftop. Shimuto blocked or dodged most of these, the rest hitting the rooftop and kicking dust up into the air. As the attacks stopped, Shimuto fired a blast from his mouth, clearing the dust but only hitting thin air as the android had disappeared! Suddenly, a leg connected with his back, hard.

Shimuto dropped his other bone blade and flew out of the dust cloud and off the edge of the roof.
"Ungh!" he grimaced, craning his neck around to see the android charging towards him again. He then gave a grin and outstretched his arm. The android gave a look of anticipation but it didn't prepare him for Shimuto's next trick. Shimuto's arm began to elongate quickly, growing several metres in length within a second, and straight into the throat of the oncoming android. The android stopped in mid-air and quickly gripped the forearm of this long arm to try and release its grip. However, Shimuto took advantage of this and, like a rubber band, used this shift in moment to propel himself towards the android and then upwards, dragging the android with him. Shimuto himself then stopped in mid-air, only his lengthy arm carrying on upwards, still with the android in tow. Gamma flew straight upwards too and Shimuto once more threw him arm, this time straight down.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he yelled, sending the android shooting straight down into the rooftop of the building. The force sent him through every storey to the ground floor and the shock brought much of the inside of the building down on top of him.

As the dust settled, Shimuto landed on the ground near the building next to a corpse with a bone blade in its back. He gripped the hilt of it and pulled it out slowly, with much blood still wet on the blade. He paid great attention to the building he had thrown the android into and as he did he brought the blade to his lips and performed a sword-eating style act. As he raise the bone blade out, the blood had completely gone and it seemed to have become longer and sharper.

Gamma came bursting out of one of the windows and landed near Shimuto. Shimuto smiled.

"Oh good, I didn't kill you. I was hoping to finish you off by cutting you into little, tiny, pieces. Now is that the best you have or should I finish you now?"

The android began to hover off the ground and then suddenly shot upwards in the blink of an eye. Shimuto tracked his movement as the android flew straight over him before landing behind him. Gamma then flew straight towards Shimuto's back, preparing an attack in his hand.

At the last instance Shimuto's head pivoted 180 degrees to look Gamma straight in the eyes. Gamma displayed a brief look of shock before Shimuto spoke up.

"Gotcha!"

Shimuto's then opened his mouth and a thick spray of boiling blood enveloped Gamma. The android staggered backwards, his face and eyes now coloured red and steaming. Suddenly a crunching knee landed in Gamma's gut, stunning him, before a fist connected with his face with incredible speed and force. Gamma's body blasted like a rocket across the street and into an abandoned store, which collapsed all around him.

Once the dust had cleared, Shimuto stood over the android. Gamma sat up, but only to have a blade thrust at his throat.

"I don't know what you are,' Shimuto said in a low, angry voice as he approached the robotic soldier, 'but bloodless abominations like you are of no use to me."

Shimuto then slammed an elongated arm into Gamma's face, holding the android down. He lifted up the blade.

"Goodbye..."

WHAM!

[Tenacious Warrior]

It was all a blur to Shimuto as a new assailant struck him with enough force for him to drop his blade and release the android. His body flew down the street and straight into the base of the building he had crushed Gamma into earlier. The force of his body striking the already brutally damaged tower caused it to collapse around and on top of him.

Shimuto lay in the darkness briefly and closed his eyes.

"I've been attacked...blindsided by...some..."

His senses reached out into the void. He could sense two beings out there, the android who he could only sense due to the fact he was covered in blood, and the new power...this one seemed to waver, but it was definitely the one that brought him down.

He dares to strike me in such a way...I'll...I'll...

His power then began to rush immensely.

I'll destroy them all!

The rubble of the building exploded around him, causing Gamma and Basawe to turn and face the source of the explosion. His ki now fully visible, flickering red, Shimuto began panting and stared straight at Basawe's eyes.

"You..."

He then quickly assessed Basawe's fighting power; judging by what he was showing, he had some power but he was no great threat. Shimuto regained his composure and smirked. He lifted both arms out and summoned two more bone blades from nearby corpses.

"Well, this will make things more interesting."

Shimuto flew at Basawe, who flew upwards with his back to a building. Shimuto clenched both blades and powered them up. He swung them both up in a crossing motion in an attempt to slice Basawe, who narrowly avoided them. The power from the blades flashed through the air through, slicing the top off the building. Basawe powered up a ki blast and fired it towards Shimuto, who seemed to effortlessly bat it aside and continued to fly up towards Basawe and aimed several more slices at him. Basawe managed to avoid each one narrowly and powered up an attack of him own. He attempted to fire a ki beam at point blank range at Shimuto who quickly backed off and stretched himself around it. He turned to Basawe.

"You're going to have to be quicker than that my boy-" he began, before two fists were planted straight into his gut.

Gamma had recovered and the distracted Shimuto didn't see him coming. Gamma then grabbed Shimuto's foot, swung him around and down into the ground. Shimuto managed to land on a foot and a knee but as he tried to compose himself, he felt one of their powers increase.

"What the?" he asked himself as a shining blue energy appeared in the sky.

"Kame-"

The energy grew further. Shimuto was intrigued, this Basawe's power level was now rapidly increasing.

"-hame-"

The power was being concentrated into a single point! Shimuto then smiled, perhaps this would be a challenge for him.

"-HAAAAAAAAAA!"

A blue beam of great power shot towards the grounded Shimuto, and he could barely registered the speed as it hit him straight in the chest.

"HNGH!" he groaned, attempting to resist, but the beam simply exploded.

Basawe and Gamma looked to each other.

"Surely...did a direct Kamehameha do it?" Basawe wondered to Gamma. Gamma began to sense for Shimuto's power level, but there was no need, as Basawe's answer was about to come.

A low, deep laugh began to come out of the smoke left by the attack. It grew louder and louder, each cackle unnerving the Saiyan even more.

"That was," Shimuto said as the top of his head became visible, "A good attack, but I'm afraid you will never kill me."

---

So Gamma and Basawe will have their hands full with the seemingly unstoppable Shimuto. However, with the last Dragonball with Basawe, the others will need to get there before Shimuto defeats them and takes it for himself!

[Mystic_clown]

Psycho Soldier Gamma

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

Gamma watched, his face still as the smoke from Basawe's attack cleared, revealing Shimuto, alive and well. There was severe scorching on his chest from the attack, and his robes were now in tatters, but overall. he looked fine and ready to fight. Good thing the two warriors were still good to go as well.

"Tough one isn't he?" Basawe murmured.

"Did you expect anything less from Rothax's second in command?" Gamma replied.

"No, but I sure hoped he was."

The look of superiority on Shimuto's face was infuriating. From what Gamma could pick up on his thoughts, he thought neither him nor Basawe were any real threat. He was quietly looking over the two, wondering who to kill first. The sheer arrogance caused hints of anger to swell up within Gamma. Anger...and emotion he really shouldn't be feeling. But he couldn't be bothered by that now. What he wanted to do was wipe that smug look off of his face.

Gamma quickly fired an energy blast straight at Shimuto. Without even trying, the murderous monster avoided the attack, making up his mind. The android should die first. That was he could enjoy Basawe's blood in peace. He shot straight at Gamma at top speed, blades swinging.

Only to be blocked by a blade Gamma seemingly conjured out of nowhere.

At least, that's how regular people would have seen it. However, Basawe and Shimuto saw it very clearly. During those split seconds before the attack, the air had almost shifted around Gamma's hand, forming a blade out of what could only be described as concentrated air.

"Quite a trick you have there," Shimuto smirked, pressing his blades against Gamma's, pushing him black slightly.

"The ability to shape matter with my mind," Gamma replied, trying to push back, "Quite a hand ability."

"Do you seriously think one little blade can hurt me? After what you just witnessed?" Shimuto's smirk broadened, pushing Gamma back further.

"No..." Gamma replied, "I just wanted to do this!"

It was at that point Shimuto noticed the second blade in Gamma's other hand, a split second too late. He tilted his head to the side, just as Gamma thrust his arm between his two blade's his own raking Shimuto across his left eye. He let out a sharp cry of pain, pulling his two blades back and slicing off the offending arm, before giving Gamma a sharp kick to force him back.

"Gamma!" Basawe yelled out, watching Gamma's severed arm falling to the ground. The android could worry about that later though. He watched as Shimuto dropped one of his blades, bringing the hand to his bleeding eye.

Now Basawe! Attack him now!

The saiyen blinked before charging towards Shimuto. He just barely managed to block the strike before counter attacking. As the two fighters swung punches at eachother, Gamma flew down to retrieve his severed hand, holding it up to his stub. His self repair system had been upgraded, but it would still take a few minutes for his hand to reattach properly.

Still, he had managed to injure Shimuto, and with only one working eye, fighting him might be easier. He had almost managed to make the murderer angry. Rage brought two things, power, and carelessness, and the android was hoping the latter would outweigh the former

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

Gamme finally did a harsh blow against Shimuto. If anyone's wondering about the blades, think of it as an upgrade to Gamma's "Matter Ball" attack, able to form blades as well as blasts.

[Asilynne]

~Restasu~
Misdirection...

I sighed as I looked at the others. They thought they knew what I was and what I wanted. They saw me as the typical saiyan elite, full of pride and arrogance, only wanting the fulfillment of their desires, and when you put it like that, it wasn't too far off base. But they thought they knew the reasons, and WHAT I wanted, and as far as that went, they couldn't be more wrong.

But that was fine, the less they knew about how I really was the better, because then they wouldn't expect it when I did something outside their realm of possibility. It's easy to know what someone is going to do when you know the reason for their actions. It's harder when that reason suddenly doesn't fit the pattern anymore.

Immortality, who really wanted that anymore? After dealing with life on Planet Ninjin, who really wanted to deal with that for an eternity? There was more to life than outliving ones enemies, and considering I never previously hid my willingness to sacrifice my own life to bring about the change I wanted to my Planet and my people, I was mildly surprised that they hadn't picked up on that and called me out on my misdirection. But when you have already made your mind up about someone, I guess it was hard to change it. People's perceptions would always outweigh the truth in their eyes.

The same went for Rothax, as he landed amongst us, making demands and giving us ultimatums. It was unfortunate that such a creature had chosen now to visit this planet and threaten its inhabitants, thus making my job harder. But maybe things happened for a reason. In the Time Chamber, I had started to think about many things. Nothing here was what I expected, and the more I learned about the Great Hero Vegeta, the more I realised that he was a lot different than I had made MY mind up about. I still wasn't swayed in my mission, for Vegeta and myself share the desire to self sacrifice for our people. But what I hadn't realised before was that Vegeta had considered these people, these humans of the Planet Earth, HIS people as well. And he had died for them at one time. That gave me a lot to think about, but thinking would have to come later, because before long Rothax's ultimatum flashed itself across the sky.

I looked around me at the people of Earth who still stood, processing the information we had been told. We had an Earth Hour. I thought about how my good friend Kura, who protected me and I her many a time, who almost died at the hands of these invaders, was all too willing to hand her life over to protect this planet. I thought about how the weakling Basawe grew to surpass me, by sheer will and need, as he, too, pushed himself to the limits for this place and the people on it. I remembered how Vegeta's heir also died for the same reasons, and his mother, the grandchild of my great King.

These people, had the spirit of Vegeta within them. They followed his ways, like none on Planet Ninjin besides our small, secret group did. While I wasn't totally sold on their motives and whether I could trust them or not, I could respect that. And for the moment at least, it seemed both of our goals were the same.

I felt the Dragonball in my pocket, and thought of the wish I would like to make. Two wishes, they said. I didn't yet know which way my wish would go, but at the moment, it was a moot point. If we didn't stop Rothax and get the Dragonballs back, there would be no wishes for any of us, and we would ALL fail.

And I could not do it alone.

Gazing at the afterimage of Rothax's Ultimatum, feeling the smooth texture of the Dragonball in my hand, my face hardened into a cold, determined expression.

"Over my dead body Rothax..."
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Poooosttteeddddd finally I do much better when I have a day off and I'm not being constantly pestered lol So yes, Retasu is aloof still, but the change is coming slowly, check out her HbTC post to refresh on the beginning of said change