The peaceful serenity of the city was destroyed by a large explosion ripping into its heart. The citizens of the large city kept running, fearing the absolute worst about the city. The army deduced the ki blast came from the cliff and charged forward, determined to defend their people before a combined red and blue energy wave annihilated them in a second. Sitting at the top of the mountain, firing another red blast of ki, was one of the few Lieutenants of the Freeza army, Zuchino. Next to him was the general, Cui. They had been given the job to take down the Mad Titan's fortifications in part of the East Galaxy. Of course, this would be considered an act of war, but Freeza deemed the stalemate was lasting for far too long.
"I love how they try to escape, it only makes it more fun," Cui said, firing off a blue ki blast into the city yet again.
"It does." Zuchino chuckled; he looked over to Cui and said, "How much longer do we need to stay here? I can't help but feel like we should get out of here before the Black Order arrives."
"What, are you scared or something? It's just the Black Order, those fools couldn't even handle Strawberry, let alone me."
"Yes, Cui, you are the greatest terror in the universe; that's just why I have a higher rank than you, fool," Zuchino smirked, looking over at his fuming rival.
"Shut up, Zuchino."
"Oh, did I strike a nerve there? Maybe that was going too far, I'm sure Freeza has something special for you to do. Who knows, maybe you'll shine his boots when we get back." Zuchino cackled, looking landscape.
In a flash, Cui pulled out a syringe and aimed it directly at the neck of the Saiyan. However, while it seemed to sink into the neck of the Saiyan, his body became translucent and faded away.
"Ah, what the fuuuuack?!" A white-gloved hand gripped his wrist, causing him to drop the syringe right into the Saiyan's free hand.
"I thought you were being too nice to me today." Zuchino examined the syringe for a second before saying, "Koriah, one of the most potent poisons in the world; most known to temporarily neutralize a being's power and drop their power level down to practically zero. Now, why oh why, Cui, would you try to inject me with this?"
"Unhand me, monkey!" Cui roared, raising his hand and blasting the Saiyan point-blank. His wrist was free, presumably by the Saiyan's disintegration. Cui began to cackle before the smoke cleared, stopping his cackling. Zuchino stood, completely unharmed and looking even more annoyed than before.
"So, once again, let me ask you: why were you trying to poison me?" Zuchino asked, taking a small step forward towards the trembling alien.
"F-f-freeza told me he wanted you weakened." That elicited a great deal of shock from the Saiyan. Why would Freeza ask him to be poisoned? Unless...unless he knew!
"Fuck!" Without even batting an eye, Zuchino fired a red beam of ki towards the cowering Cui. The purple alien didn't even have time to scream before the blast incinerated his body and exploded in a massive ball of ki, fueled by Zuchino's rage.
"Corma!" Zuchino screamed into his comms, trying to reach Planet Vegeta. "King Vegeta! Cucumba! Does anyone copy?!" They disabled his comms. "Shit." Zuchino spat before blasting off towards the explosions in the distance. He had to leave now. Freeza isn't stupid. He knew Cui wouldn't be able to handle a mission against. That would also explain the 5 large power levels that his scouter was beginning to detect now.
It also was his only warning before someone's foot collided with the back of his head and slammed him down into the ground. The force of the Saiyan colliding with the ground ripping up ground within a mile.
Once he stood, he looked over to where the five power levels had congregated. It was the most feared elite force of the universe; more feared than the Black Order or any army that could be seen: The Ginyu Force.
"Zuchi, it's been some time. Congratulations on the promotion, by the way." Ginyu said, a mock Saiyan salute to the Saiyan. "Why don't you make easier on yourself and just come with us?"
"Yea, Lord Freeza is downright pissed, mate." Jeice hopped in. "Wouldn't want to keep him waiting for you."
Zuchino remained silent, contemplating his options. He knew, even with his full power, he would not be any match for the Ginyu Force. In fact, he would've preferred that Zarbon or Dodoria had come instead; he probably would've stood a much better chance. The only one whom he could possibly take at the moment was Guldo. Maybe if he performed that technique he learned from the Triclops, he could make his getaway. But only at the right moment. The planet's sun was a few seconds away from the perfect position.
"What is going on?"
"We don't know, but it's enough to have Lord Freeza blow up a few planets," Recoome answered as Zuchino waited for a second. "You know how you've always been his favorite; I'm curious to know what you did something wrong this time."
"So yea, stop stalling and he might now just kill you outright," Burter said as Ginyu smirked. Now! He quickly splayed his fingers across his face and screamed, "Taiyōken!"
A blinding light flooded the entire area, earning curses from the elite group in front of the Saiyan. Turning on his heel, he quickly flew off into the air, ready to fly off into space and hope for the best. A hard left hook knocked out of his ideas and straight into the ground like a bullet. After instinctively rubbing his cheek, he looked to see Burter looking down at him.
"One of the things about being the fastest being in the universe: being able to evade attacks that even move at the speed of light. Good try, though." Burter smirked as the rest of the Ginyu Force, now fully recovered from the attack, walked down.
"We gave you a chance, Zuchino." Ginyu proclaimed as Zuchino looked around. With no other options, he charged his ki and prepared to attack.
He never even stood a chance.
Zuchino was on the ground faster than he ever thought possible, taking an old-fashioned beating as everyone got their hits in. He thought he heard someone laughing, but he couldn't be quite sure of anything real after the initial punch to his head. He tried to give a punch or kick when and where he could, even managing at one point to get back up to his feet. But he was outnumbered five-to-one and he was severely outmatched. After someone's boot connected hard with his temple, he was left completely dazed and out of it. He stopped trying to fight back and could only make vain and feeble attempts to protect himself from the vicious assault as they brutally battered him.
Crying out in desperation and fear as his eyes snapped open, Zuchino was sitting up in his bed and breathing rapidly for almost a minute before realizing that the events he was experiencing had only been a dream, but this didn't stop him from sweating profusely while gripping the sheets so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Looking over at the red illuminated numbers on his alarm clock, he saw that it was only a little past two in the morning… but the good news was that he was safe inside of his apartment… instead of that nonexistent planet.
"Just another dream." The Saiyan quietly chanted to himself, turning to sit on the edge of the bed. "It's okay… it's okay."
The Triskelion
Washington, District of Colombia
July 2nd, 2013
4:15 A.M.
Zuchino dodged a flying Ki blast before twisting his body to avoid another. The balls of ki bounced on the spherical devices and the walls, specifically designed to bounce the energy around the room at high rates of speed. That wasn't to mention that the entire room was set to 50 times Earth's normal gravity, which was five times Planet Vegeta's gravity as well. Fury had it constructed under the Potomac River after Zuchino's last training session over the Arctic Ocean ended in a few freighters almost being capsized. It also went without saying that even though Fury used some of the hardest materials he could to construct the room, the construction crew emphasized that the power of Super Saiyan far exceeded the room's limitations.
It didn't bother him though, he finally had his own area to train and somewhere he could come when he needed to block off some...things.
He dodged a few more before firing off two more into the bunch. He also fired off four more when two blasts collided, doubling up on it. At some point, the number of ki blasts was practically uncountable at this point and it was beginning to wear on him. In his distraction, a few ki blasts collided with him. They simply felt like bee stings, but that annoying sting was still enough to shake off any sign of fatigue from the Saiyan warrior.
After rubbing his eyes, he reopened them to see something on the side of the gravity chamber, floating in the air. He couldn't exactly see what it was, given the flurry of ki blasts making out the detail on anything more harder than usual. Dodging forward, he got closer and closer and was able to make out a few more details. It was bipedal, given the way its body looked. It also had long black hair and a skirt-like dress. Wait for a second, is that...
"Corma?!" Zuchino cried out at the figure, reaching forward for it. That's when the figure blinked out of existence. In its place was a red ki blast heading directly towards.
His eyes widened before the ball of energy slammed directly into his lungs, forcing all the air out of his chest and sending him flipping backward. Then, another hit him in the back of the head, flipping him into the air before another slammed him down. It only took a second for all the remaining blasts to rain down on the disoriented Saiyan before one final blast slammed into his chest yet again, sending him careening down to the ground.
The Saiyan fell nearly 10 feet, slamming down into the ground on his back. He sat there for a second before rolling onto his side, groaning at the dull pain. This most definitely wasn't his best night.
He began to stand, ready to try again before a mechanical "BEEP" echoed across the room. The previous red light switched off and the gravity returned to normal. Zuchino rolled his eyes, knowing the only person with that clearance to control the gravity room beside him.
Fury scrolled in and threw the Saiyan a towel. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"Can't." Zuchino began drying off his forehead while he turned to look at him. "What are you doing here so late yourself?"
"I run this place. I'm always here." Fury answered before his look turned into an inquisitive one. "Are you okay? You seem pale."
"I'm fine," Zuchino answered, coming off a bit more defensive than he wanted.
"You've come here for the past five months almost every night to train. I wouldn't call that fine." Fury replied. "Is there something you need to talk about?"
"No, I just...I just want to make sure that what happened in New York doesn't happen again." Zuchino sighed, knowing that what he was saying wasn't the entire truth. "That bomb showed me how careless I can get, especially when I think I'm superior."
"Before pride cometh the fall." Fury said before turning around and walking to the door. He slightly turned and let his one good eye fall on the Saiyan, "I've hear some people can't go a few nights without sleep before they begin hallucinating. Go home and get some sleep, then I want you come talk with me; this time, tell me the truth. That's an order." With that, the door closed behind Fury. Zuchino rolled his eyes and continued out of the door, letting darkness wash over the chamber.
After landing on the roof of the apartment complex, the Saiyan quietly made his way down the stairs to his apartment. After flying off to the ocean to calm his racing heart, all he wanted was to isolate himself into his room and talk to no one. No doubt he'll have to field questions from Natasha and Steve the next time he ran into them. But, for now, he was just happy to make it home.
After a few seconds of grasping the doorknob as he steadied his breathing again, he entered his apartment. His entrance halted when he immediately noticed the being sitting at the couch, his feet on the table and a snot bubble emerging from his nose while he snored. It was a short blue imp that seemed to wear sunglasses and a hat that antenna jutted out from.
"Who the hell is this?" Zuchino muttered and tried to feel out the being's ki…but he felt nothing. There seemed to be no energy coming from him, even though he was obviously alive and sleeping on his couch. There was only one being that evaded his ki sense and that was Loki…which meant that this being could be in league with the Norse god. It'd make sense, send someone to kill him in case the battle went south and the Avengers defeated Loki. Or maybe trickster god had contracted someone to come kill him before making a second move to take over the planet. He summoned a ball of red ki in his hand and aimed it directly at the being.
"Hey!" Zuchino called out as the bubble popped; the imp groggily leaned up and found himself staring directly in the path of the Saiyan's energy wave.
"WAH! What are you doing?!" The imp's nasally voice called out as Zuchino looked at him bemused.
"What am I do-What are you doing in my apartment with your feet on the table like you own the place?!" Zuchino fired back as the energy ball grew in pulsed and grew. "You have five seconds to explain tell me whom you are working for and why I shouldn't blast your sorry ass into nothing!"
"I'm not working for anyone! I'm here to recruit you!"
"What if I said no?" Zuchino asked as the ball pulsed and grew even bigger.
"Please dissipate your energy, I'm not here to attack you!" The imp demanded. "I am your Kai, you will do as I say!" That made the Saiyan's eyebrow shoot up. That would make sense, given that divine ki was not able to be felt by a mortal like himself and he doubted Loki would be foolish enough to send such an incompetent being to kill a Saiyan. The red energy ball evaporated and the Saiyan lowered his arm to let his steel glare look directly at the Kai.
"Explain yourself," Zuchino commanded as the imp let out a relieved sigh and gave a small proud smile.
"I am North Kai, the guardian of this section of the galaxy. However, you may refer to me as King Kai." The short blue imp announced as Zuchino looked at him with a small glance of confusion.
"So you're basically Kami?"
"Yes and no; I am a God, but I am not 'the' God, but that explanation will need to wait for another day, I've come because I need your help." King Kai stated as Zuchino, shaking away his confusion, looked down at the small imp.
"What is it you need my help with?"
"You are the one to have defeated Freeza, am I correct?"
"I am."
"Then grab my shoulder." King Kai ordered the Saiyan. While still hesitant and untrusting of the small blue imp (for good reason), the Saiyan complied with his divine superior and held King Kai's shoulder. In a literal instant, the world shifted from Earth to a new place; the sky was now pink and yellow clouds lined it. To his left, he could see a small dome-shaped house off to the side, with a garage to the side (a car parked in the driveway) and a well in front. Because of his extended stay on Earth, he could feel the gravity increase comparable to that of Planet Vegeta's. Finally, in front of him, he saw three other entities.
All of them dressed similarly to King Kai, the only difference being height and skin color. The short, purple one in front that wore a monocle stood in the front with a smirk on his face; the yellow female looked at him with a shock that showed even behind her glasses, and the tallest one was pink and had a hint of shock as well.
"So is this him?" The tallest Kai asked as King Kai stepped forward.
"Yes, this is Zuchino, the most powerful Saiyan in the universe." King Kai stated as Zuchino gave him a strange look. The way he worded that was strange.
"He's the one who defeated Freeza? This kid?" The small Kai muttered in disbelief. "He looks like he can barely take on a Derivean, let alone dethrone Freeza." The insult knocked the Saiyan from his daze as he glared at the Kai.
"That is enough, West Kai." King Kai stated as Zuchino's angry glance gave way to cool humor.
"You want to repeat that?" Zuchino asked, a smirk crossing his features.
"I said I believe you're a dirty liar, there is absolutely no way you could defeat and kill Freeza. Prove me wrong!" The Kai shouted before a powerful gust of wind shut his mouth and he realized it came from the runt.
"Yeah, that's what I thought you said." Zuchino gave a dark chuckle before an angry yell escaped his mouth. The atmosphere of the small planet became denser, prompting the cocky smirk the tall Kai wore to give way to an awestruck expression. Zuchino let out another yell, sounding more like a roar. The muscles across his body bulged and grew; his hair began levitating and his eyes went from black to turquoise. One last yell and his hair went golden and a blazing golden aura wrapped around the Saiyan's body.
"Whoa." The female kai uttered as she took in his new form. "Now it all makes sense, why they said a legendary warrior was the one to finally defeat Freeza. He's a Super Saiyan."
"I told you all; I noticed that power spike on Earth last year. Tracked him when the Chitauri tried to take over the planet and put two and two together." King Kai explained as Zuchino powered down, his point proven. "So, now with that established, allow me to introduce you: the tall one is South Kai, the lady is East Kai, and the ugly one is West Kai."
"Hey!" The shorter imp in the front screamed at King Kai, who let out a snicker before continuing.
"We've summoned you because we feel like you are best suited to carry out this mission." King Kai explained as he led Zuchino over to his house. The fellow Kais followed closely behind the duo. Once inside, they all took a seat the table and King Kai poured tea into everyone's cups. Once he served everyone, he sat down at the head of the table and looked at Zuchino.
"So, as I was saying, we all convened and decided you were best suited to help us in this mission."
"And what mission are you referring to?" Zuchino asked, taking a small sip of the mint tea.
"There is…something…in the South Galaxy destroying planets like crazy; just yesterday, we lost 200 planets." South Kai explained. "At this rate, we fear that by in three months, this being will fully eradicate South Galaxy.
"Damn; any idea who or what it is?"
"No, I haven't been able to get a lock on it. By the time I find out about a planet, three more have already been destroyed."
"…okay, so I fail to see where I fit in here," Zuchino explained as King Kai looked at him; he knew but didn't want to believe what they were asking of him.
"We need you to find the source and, hopefully, kill him."
"Yeah, no," Zuchino answered. "You do remember I am still considered a wanted fugitive from my time off in the Freeza Force across the universe, right?"
"Zuchino, the stake of not only the Western Galaxy but the entire universe. Please, we need your help." West Kai pleaded.
"I can't help anyone if I get caught by some space patrol or some other bullshit. Listen, I want to help, I do, but I'm just not your guy. Besides, I…I just don't think I'm the right person. I'm not some grand savior or hero, I only killed Freeza because he killed off all of my people. I only defeated the Chitauri because I needed to defend the planet I'm currently living on, simple as that."
"Zuchino." East Kai said, making the Saiyan look over to her. "You say you're not some hero, yet you defeated the biggest dictator in the universe and one of the most heinous armies of all time; you may try to run from your destiny, but it's there. Now, what if this threat comes to your planet and you can't stop it? Steve, Natasha, Tony, all of your current friends die because you couldn't stop this threat before it came to your planet? So what if you're a criminal? We are gods begging you for help, that should at least mean something. Trust us, if we could stop this threat, we would. But we can't interfere in these things; hell, we've broken a great bunch of the rules just getting you here. So, on behalf of the universe, we ask you again to please put an end to this threat before it becomes worse. Please."
Zuchino looked at King Kai with a hard glare for a few seconds before rubbing hand through his hair. "Fuck." He muttered as he looked back at the Kais. "I'll do this one thing. Mostly because I feel like I…I…" he looked down for a few seconds, "I guess I should do it to repay for all of my evil." He said lowly as East Kai gave him a smile.
"I'd say you did that when you defeated Freeza, but at least you're going through with the mission."
"And don't worry about possibly not being powerful enough, I will train you; I have a couple of techniques I teach you that will certainly help you along the way."
"Thanks. But before we start, can you…do whatever you did to get me here and send me to S.H.I.E.L.D., I have to talk with someone first." Zuchino asked as King Kai nodded.
"Of course."
Author confession time: I just couldn't do The Saiyan Rebellion. Something about that story just caused me severe writing block and I couldn't really convey everything I wanted in it. It's not that I didn't know where to go or anything, I had the entire story mapped out, but translating it into a story was just difficult. So I decided instead of stalling anymore to just move on with the sequel and include the flashbacks (partially because the story was already pretty short without something else driving it) and it's works for the best in my honest opinion. Still though, I sincerely apologize to everyone who wanted to see the prequel.
I'll also moved The Saiyan Rebellion's first chapter into being the first chapter of the Deleted Scenes section. There will more to come and I promise you that updating will be a lot more smoother for this story.