Chapter 2
Betrayal


All Nauris could think about that night was the upcoming battle. Whenever he closed his eyes, flashes of war would project on his eyelids. It was needless to say that he did not get any sleep that night. He recalled a fight he had with one of the Crekets - the one who had kidnapped his family. Fighting it was impossible. If he was lucky to land a hit, he knew it didn't do anything to it. Even when his energy shot through the roof with his rage, he was no match for the Crekets' advanced technology. He could only watch in horror as the beasts took his family away from him. Why he was left behind, he'll never know. Nauris clearly remembered destroying his own home in his rampage. That's when Commander Aspar found him, and he was pulled into all of this nonsense. The Saiyan sat up and turned, sitting on the edge of his bed. His tail swished around excitedly behind him. Nauris stood up and opened his window, taking a deep breath of the early morning air. He had no idea how long he had been awake, or a sense of the time. All he had to go on was the sun was just peaking over the horizon. "Casava..." he whispered, "I'm coming to get you." His hands tensed on the windowsill. Suddenly, Cumber opened his door. It was time to go. With a sigh, Nauris turned and left his room. The other members of the Task Force were waiting out in the hall. They all looked well rested. With Aspar at the head of the line, the group stepped into formation and marched out of the building. Once they were outside, they could hear the battles going on in the city. Explosions, screams, fires and smoke all painted the landscape beyond them. Aspar cleared his throat.

"Men, this is it!" he said proudly, "Today, we fight the Crekets and regardless of the outcome, we will go down in history!" The soldiers, excluding Nauris, all cheered heartily once more. "We will crush them beneath our feet! The insects that have invaded this proud planet of ours, enslaved our powerful race, and committed crimes most heinous will no longer breathe our air! The universe will be cleansed of their filth!" They cheered again. With these words of encouragement, Commander Aspar jumped into the air and a bright flash of white light surrounded him as he flew off like a bullet towards the battle. Four of the six men on the ground followed suit, as Nauris and Cumber stood behind.

"You're a fool," Cumber said, taking a step forward, "You won't save your family. If I were you, I'd forget about them and help us. What's two lives to a whole planet, Nauris?" The other Saiyan felt his hands shake as he closed them into fists.

"I'm the fool?" Nauris whispered. "Aspar is herding us like sheep to a slaughter. He knows we don't stand a chance. The Crekets won! You know that, and I know that!" He took a step forward, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to save what I can. I'm not going to be a coward. I'm going to fight alone, for what I stand for and for who I love. I may die," he glared daggers at Cumber, "but at least I'm strong enough to admit it." A blue aura surrounded his body as he shot up into the sky and flew off towards the city. His words shook Cumber down to his core. Nauris was right - Cumber was being a coward. What was a cowardly Saiyan? Their race bred excellence. Being a coward was unacceptable. The man lifted his shaking hands and placed them on his chest.

"I won't allow the Crekets to take what is mine..." he whispered. He closed his eyes.


Nauris felt the wind caress his face as he flew, his lips in a frown. He felt a familiar energy behind him suddenly disappear and he let out a grunt of approval. Suddenly, he felt heat blast up to his face. Fires were starting all over the crumbling city. He stopped, floating high up in the air, watching as the mechanically enhanced Crekets destroyed his race left and right. Saiyans were falling to their knees, helpless to stop the onslaught. His eyes were wide with horror. He flew down as fast as he could and ducked behind a large chunk of metal that was wedged into the ground. A fellow Saiyan, one he had never seen before, was laying face down in the dirt. Nauris knew immediately that he was dead. Something was odd about the body, something that really caught his eye. His tail had been removed. Was it before or after he died? Nauris knew he wouldn't have time to wonder, for as soon as he stood up, he felt a blast graze his shoulder. It burned and it hurt, more than anything he had ever felt before. He turned to see three Creket soldiers lined up. Nauris dug his foot into the sand. The mechanized warriors began to shoot wildly at him, their intentions to kill. Nauris flipped, moved, and dodged as best he could, deflecting some blasts with his hands and feet, as well as shooting a few of his own. The Saiyan had a very distinct blast - while most of them used Ki that took on a yellow hue, Nauris focused his energy to a green blast. Though he knew it was no stronger than yellow Ki, it did make him stand out. The Crekets seemed to realize this. They had been caught off-guard by the odd color and that opened them up for a free strike from the Saiyan. Nauris shot forward and landed a punch on the middle one, sweeping around to kick the right one and deliver a blast to the left one's face. Planting his hands into the dirt, he shot another blast to use as propulsion, making for a clean getaway. He could hear the three muttering amongst themselves. Something about analysis...? Nauris thought to himself, listening intently. As he hid inside a dusty building, he tried his best to keep his power level unnoticed. As long as his emotions were in check, the task wasn't too difficult. The man ran up ten flights of stairs, resting on the tenth floor. Nauris gulped hard, panting heavily. Suddenly, without warning, one of the Creket soldiers burst through the window, and managed to tackle the Saiyan to the ground. Fighting for his life, he moved frantically, closing his eyes tightly. He felt his back burn as the insect on him shot him a few times. Screaming out in pain, Nauris roared into the air. A blast of red light flooded the room, and he was once more surrounded by the same red flames from the previous night. The force knocked the Creket off his feet and he stumbled back. With a few backflips, the Saiyan charged up a green sphere between his hands and let it loose. As soon as his opponent stood, he was obliterated, leaving behind nothing but ash. Nauris lowered his arms with a smirk, then suddenly realized he had just killed a Creket - a feat that few Saiyans could claim. As the red light faded around him, the remaining two Crekets that were out for him shot up into the room. "Damn," Nauris growled, "They must have followed my energy signal. Once they realized that their friend was dead..." He had no chance to make a getaway. The Saiyan was sent careening through the ceiling, going up many floors before landing with a thud on the twenty-seventh floor. As he struggled to stand, four more Crekets materialized in front of him. He closed his eyes.


"Get them, men!" Aspar called out. He took a few steps back, falling back from the ranks of his soldiers and disappeared from the battle. He shot up into the sky like a bullet, flying towards the capital building. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind. Were his soldiers going to survive? Why had Cumber not arrived? Where in the world was Nauris? It was a short trip to the capital - it was the largest building in the city and the only one that wasn't completely decimated. He entered the structure through the two large glass doors and clenched his fist. The bottom floor was swarming with Crekets, and many dead Saiyans. A sharp pain went through his heart at the sight of so many of his fellow brethren dead. The technological insects immediately turned their attention to the Commander with a hungry look in their eyes. "I'm here to see your leader." The words had barely left his lips before a large booming noise filled the room. The group of Crekets parted and before Aspar stood a gargantuan of a bug. Much taller than the rest of the Crekets, at a towering twelve feet, their leader was a bright green and encased in a pearl-colored machine. The beast took a step forward and muttered something in his native tongue before speaking in a clear language:

"Who is he who seeks I?" His voice was deep, raspy, and a faint clicking sound filled the room after every word. Aspar cleared his throat and pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. The Saiyan didn't dare speak in front of the leader of all the Crekets, fearing for his very life. He slowly moved forward and the behemoth of an insect snatched it up. After a moment or two, the creature's features lit up and he turned to his comrades. Once more, he muttered something in Creketian and the room exploded into cheers.


Nauris collapsed into the dirt, a cloud of dust surrounding his body. They were just toying with him now, throwing him around like a rag-doll. It was a sad sight - the powerful Saiyan race reduced to almost nothing by a group of bugs. He slowly tried to stand but remained kneeling, wincing in pain. He felt blood trickle down his chest. Fighting was a chore at this point. He felt a metallic leg slam his back and he was sent flying through the air into the town square, crashing into the stone obelisk erected to remember past Saiyan Kings. It crumbled upon impact, having taken a lot of previous abuse. With a scream, Nauris felt the tip of the rock crash into his hand, leaving a large gash. He was crying at this point, never before had he felt such pain. He managed to stand up without being kicked. When the beating didn't come, he turned to look over his shoulder. The group of Crekets were communicating with each other, having just received what he assumed to be good news. They were...smiling? As best an insect could smile, at least. Nauris ran a hand through his hair, panting heavily. It was caked with dried blood. His ears twitched to the sound of mechanical footsteps. As they approached him, each one took an arm.

"Eeeets Oooveeer." They managed to spurt out of their mouths. It was quite clear that they were unfamiliar with the language. The two beasts, backed by the three other Crekets, escorted Nauris to the capital building. The Saiyan had no idea why he was there until he was thrust inside the doors, landing with a thud on the slick floor. With a wince, he stood up slowly. His gaze was foggy. It didn't take him long to see the large Creket in the middle of the room. He had only heard rumors of how large the leader actually was as no Saiyan had really lived to tell the tale. It was then he locked eyes with Aspar.

"Commander?" Nauris whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing," Aspar said cooly, turning his head. He didn't want to make eye-contact.

"The five who brought me here said something...'It's over'. What do they mean?" Suddenly, the Leader roared to demand attention.

"Your commander," he said in a clear tone, "surrendered his forces to ours. This now means that all of Saiya belongs to the Crekets!" Nauris' heart dropped into his stomach.

"ASPAR!" he roared. He felt a crash on the back of his head and he was down.

This was the beginning of the end.