SHONEN ALLIANCE
RE:BIRTH
OPENING THEME: KU ZEN ZETSU GO (Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters)
Debauchery staggered backwards, reeling from the powerful blow Piccolo had landed into his gut. He had been caught completely off guard by the Namekian's strike and was still trying to process how he'd been so outmaneuvered by such a being.
For his own part, Piccolo merely assumed a fighting stance, his expression and body language making it clear that he was more then ready to take down the Dark Saiyan. Debauchery steadied himself and swung for the Namekian warrior, roaring with fury as he did. Piccolo rose his forearm to intercept the blow, but Debauchery followed his attack with a kick from Piccolo's side. The kick connected, striking Piccolo, but failing to even move him an inch.
Piccolo gritted his teeth a bit at the impact, but then grabbed Debauchery's leg and spun, flinging the Dark Saiyan towards the far wall. The Dark Saiyan nearly struck the wall, but managed to stop his momentum just before he did. Floating for a few seconds before gently returning to the ground. He turned to glare at Piccolo, but was shocked to see only Toshiro standing where Piccolo had been, tending to Teresa. He didn't have to wonder long where his foe had gone as Piccolo struck him with a jarring elbow drop right on the crown of his head! Dazed, Debauchery staggered forward, then backwards, trying to reorient himself. Piccolo didn't give him a chance, landing a spin kick that slammed Debauchery into the very same wall he had narrowly evaded crashing into earlier.
A cloud of dust obscured the Dark Saiyan of Lust as a portion of the wall collapsed from the force of the strike. Piccolo quickly jumped back, not wanting to be to close to the vision obscuring cloud. Just as he had feared, Debauchery took advantage of the blinding dust and rocketed out to sneak attack Piccolo. This time, as the Dark Saiyan's fist, struck his Namekian foe right in the stomach, Piccolo doubled over, gasping as the blow propelled the air forcefully from his lungs. Before he could recover from the blow, Debauchery's other fist struck him in the chin, knocking him flat onto his back!
Thinking he was needed, Toshiro rushed between Teresa and Debauchery, holding his Zanpaktō so it pointed towards the Dark Saiyan.
"Reign over the Frosted…" he began.
"Back off Hitsugaya," Piccolo roared, rising to his feet before cracking his neck and glaring back at the Soul Reaper Captain. "I'm only going to say this once. This guy is mine. Stay out of this."
"Hmm, I understand," Toshiro acknowledged, returning his blade to its sheath, "it seems the Saiyans aren't the only ones with a fair amount of pride."
"Heh, I'd expect another warrior to understand," Piccolo lectured.
"I didn't say I didn't" Toshiro admitted. Piccolo smiled a bit as he returned his attention to Debauchery.
"I was starting to worry you weren't going to be worth my time," Piccolo admitted, "but that last strike wasn't half bad. This fight could be a bit more interesting then I thought."
"You surprised me, Namekian. I won't make the mistake of underestimating you again," Debauchery chided, "now I've seen how powerful you are, I can adjust accordingly. You still have no chance against me."
"Is that right? Well, seems you have it all figured out, but there is one problem with your plan," Piccolo replied.
"And what would that be?"
"I don't recall ever saying I'd shown you my full power."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Debauchery's forces outside his palace showed no signs of thinning as the battle raged on. The Knights of Lunaria stood their ground, fighting furiously to hold the ground they had gained, though it didn't amount to much, as their general spurred them forward.
"Stand your ground, brave soldiers of Lunaria! If our lives are the price to pay for the safety of our queen and our princesses, then it is a small price to pay!" he roared over the din of the battle.
Naruto and Luffy had found their rhythm, skillfully fighting back to back against a horde that had surrounded them. The foes would have already been outmatched even if the far larger portion of the horde hadn't been focused on Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, and Gohan.
"SPIRIT BALL!" Yamcha shouted, directing a ki orb skillfully through the horde, flattening every one the orb crashed into.
"DESTRUCTO DISC!" Krillin shouted, jumping over a horde that had surrounded and converged on him before throwing his deadly energy disc back down at them. One disc split into seven, slicing through anything they touched, flesh or stone.
A massive number of the monsters charged Tien from the front, seeking to overwhelm the three eyed Z-Fighter. As his hands formed a diamond in front of him, the simple minded brutes only realized too late how much of a mistake their tactic had been.
"TRI BEAM!" Tien shouted as his powerful ki blast atomized his attackers.
One creature fell to a fierce kick from Gohan! Another attacked him from behind, but got nowhere as Gohan grabbed it, threw it over his shoulder, slammed it to the ground, and finished it with a final, savage punch. He stopped his assault for a moment when his senses detected something that drew his attention to the crystal palace.
"Piccolo?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Vegeta had sensed it as well and growled angrily.
"Damn that Namekian!" He cursed as he sensed both Piccolo's and Debauchery's energy rise for battle, "this was supposed to be my battle!" He glared down to where Renee and Silphia were trying to protect a group of injured knights and spat angrily. "If you're going to steal my fight, you'd better not dare lose!" he cursed as he charged towards the princesses' attackers.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Debauchery struck first, landing a powerful blow squarely to Piccolo's jaw, knocking him backwards a few spaces. Piccolo's counter was swift, taking the form of a powerful punch of his own that caught the Dark Saiyan in the gut, causing him to stagger back a pace before recovering.
A fierce melee ensued with neither fighter willing to give any ground to their foe as they traded each other blow for blow.
Unable to rise to her feet, Teresa could only watch in frustration. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was more frustrated with her own weakness or the fact that, if the current fight was anything to judge by, Debauchery hadn't shown her his full power at any point during their fight. If he had, the fight would have been over far quicker then it was and she would have likely joined her mother and sisters before help had arrived.
That thought drew her attention back to Karina, Valeria, and her mother, all three of whom were focused on the battle. With Debauchery's focus directed exclusively at Piccolo, she had her chance. It took an immense amount of effort, but she managed to get to her feet and begin staggering towards her family. She'd covered about half the distance between her starting point and her target when her mother spotted her approach. Immediately, Queen Fiona began pulling against her restraints, letting out muffled cries through her gag.
"Hang on, I'll… get you loose," Teresa promised, her weakened voice barely audible.
Only when the light blue skinned woman with orange hair landed between her and her goal, arm outstretched and ready to fire an energy blast, did Teresa realize her mother's intent. She had tried in vain, despite her best efforts, to warn her weakened and distracted daughter of danger. Toshiro was moving towards her, having spotted the danger before she had, but it was no use. The woman fired at Teresa without hesitation.
Whatever situation Goku had thought he was Instant Transmitting into the middle of, a powerful ki blast striking him in the chest almost immediately after he had appeared was not part of it, and he crumpled to his knees, gasping to recapture the breath that was knocked out of him!
"Goku!?" Teresa exclaimed in shock.
"Owowowowow," the Saiyan cried as he rubbed his chest, "what was that?"
"What're you doing here?" Hitsugaya asked, clearly confused by his sudden arrival.
"I sensed Piccolo getting ready to fight that Dark Saiyan so I wanted to watch. See if maybe I could get my turn in before Vegeta got here," Goku admitted.
"You arrived just in time," Teresa admitted, coughing weakly, "as things stand, I don't think I would have survived that blast."
"Huh? Whoa, what happened to you? Your power's so low right now, I could barely even sense you from outside."
"It's a long story," Teresa coughed, dropping back to her knees.
"It'll have to wait," a familiar voice declared. Kakashi had found Piccolo and Toshiro's entrance and was calmly walking over to join his comrades, "we have company."
Almost on cue, nearly two dozen of the crystal soldiers appeared, joining Debauchery's servant and surrounding Goku, Kakashi, Toshiro, and Teresa.
"You weren't kidding," Goku admitted.
"So what's the story with this woman?" Toshiro finally inquired about the blue-skinned woman, "the way she's dressed, she looks like one of Debauchery's prisoners, but if that's the case, why is she fighting us?"
"She's not wearing one of those crowns like the woman Zoro and I found, which means she's probably not being controlled. She must be willingly fighting for him."
"Huh, I feel like I've seen her before, but I can't quite place where," Goku admitted, "well, someone who kind of looks like her, at least."
"She's of the same race as a space pirate who once ravaged the galaxy," Teresa admitted, "though, even my mother's records say nothing about that pirate's fate, and even if they did, he was a man. This couldn't be him."
"Space pirate? Oh, that's where I've seen someone like her before. She must be from the same species as Bojack," Goku realized, "never got to fight him myself since I was kinda dead at the time he attacked Earth, but I think he had a woman with him. Oh, this couldn't be her though. I'm pretty sure Bojack killed her himself."
"Bojack? You've faced him?"
"Gohan did," Goku revealed proudly, "no reason to worry about him anymore."
"Your serious?" Teresa gasped, "my mother's records indicated that Bojack was more powerful then Frieza!"
"Well sure, but I told you once already, didn't I? Frieza really isn't all that impressive to us anymore. We left his level of power behind a long time ago."
"I don't know who Bojack is," Kakashi admitted, "but I'm guessing it's safe to say this woman is a bit stronger then Debauchery's other goons?"
"Probably," Goku reached into the brown bag tied to his belt. Rummaging around in it for a second, he pulled out a Senzu Bean and tossed it to Teresa before retying the bag shut. "That should help a bit."
"Thank you," Teresa thanked him, ingesting the bean. It did it's job quickly, restoring Teresa's strength allowing her to rise to her feet.
"Kill them!" the woman ordered as her crystal knights charged the four.
"Let's go," Kakashi ordered calmly, lifting his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye.
"Reign over the Frosted Heavens, HYŌRINMARU!" Toshiro called out, swinging his sword as a dragon of ice emerged from the blade, flying into several of the soldiers, freezing them solid.
"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" Kakashi shouted, blowing a ball of fire that engulfed several more soldiers, melting the crystal, but not stopping the knights' approach. The reached the Shinobi and swung their crystal swords at him, but he jumped over the blades and threw a kunai knife into the ground in their midst. They began to approach him when he landed, noticing to late the paper bomb attached to the kunai. It exploded in their center, blowing five of them to pieces!
Teresa still felt her body moving sluggishly as she caught a knight's sword, mid-swing, and blew it to pieces with an energy blast. She had known full well that the Senzu Bean would only have a limited effect on her condition, but she'd hoped it would improve more then this. She was grateful to be facing opponents that didn't necessitate that she transform into a Super Saiyan, uncertain as she was that her body would withstand it very long. Even so, she wasn't about to keep back and leave rescuing her family to the others, as she jumped and kicked the crystal head off another Knight, causing it to drop.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Your friends look like they're in trouble," Debauchery mocked as he faced Piccolo.
"Hmph," Piccolo grunted dismissively, "they'll be fine. I'd worry more about myself if I were you."
"You must realize this will not end well for you."
"Shut up and fight."
Seemingly done trying to taunt or distract Piccolo, the Dark Saiyan vanished from sight. Piccolo wasn't able to react in time before the Dark Saiyan struck him in the side of the head with a sweeping kick attack. The blow disoriented Piccolo for only a moment before the Namekian recovered and countered, striking his Dark Saiyan foe with a backhand attack to his cheek, knocking him back away.
Piccolo followed, throwing a series of punches to pressure Debauchery who managed to defend against all the attacks. The Dark Saiyan swung his arm, parrying one of Piccolo's punches and knocking the Namekian off balance, giving Debauchery an opening to deliver an overhead hammer blow to the crown of Piccolo's skull, driving him towards the ground.
Piccolo recovered before hitting the ground and landed gently, forming an energy blast in each hand before beginning to fire a barrage of Ki blasts at his foe.
"SCATTER SHOT!"
Piccolo's attack seemed erratic and random, allowing Debauchery to easily evade the few wild shots that got close.
"Getting desperate already, Namekian? You'll never even come close to hitting me with those wild shots.
"Heh, I wasn't aiming for you," Piccolo admitted, a wicked grin crossing his lips.
"What do you…?" Debauchery began to ask, the words catching in his throat as he looked around himself. Piccolo's attack hadn't been as erratic as the Dark Saiyan had initially assumed. Instead, every blast had been expertly aimed and now hovered in the air around him. The Dark Saiyan was completely trapped in a mine field created by dozens of floating, yellow, energy blasts!
"Damn you! A trap!?" the Dark Saiyan roared in anger.
"Heh, you catch on quick," Piccolo mocked him, spreading his arms out wide. He quickly brought them back together in front of his chest! "Not quick enough though! HELLZONE GRENADE!"
Debauchery's expression changed to one of shock and horror as the orbs converged on him. He couldn't defend against the bombardment that followed. The energy blasts struck like angry hornets from all sides, relentlessly assaulting the helpless Dark Saiyan! When the final blasts finally hit home, a cloud of smoke covered the Dark Saiyan of Lust.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Goku effortlessly shattered a crystal soldier with a powerful backhand attack before grabbing another and throwing it into one of its companions before shattering both with a ki blast!
Toshiro and Kakashi meanwhile fought back to back, Hyōrinmaru and a Kunai knife slicing through crystal like it was little more then green gelatin. Soldiers dropped by the dozens under their onslaught.
Her power mostly restored and with Debauchery occupied elsewhere, Teresa's attention had shifted back to her captive family, along with the last foe between her and them, the blue skinned woman. She hadn't expected much of a fight from this woman, but that expectation had been quickly shattered. The woman was stronger then Teresa's initial impression of her had suggested, and the two were locked in a heated exchange of powerful blows.
Teresa couldn't help but curse under her breath as she backed away from her foe after receiving a nasty blow to her left cheek. She didn't dare try to power up to Super Saiyan to finish her foe off, but she wasn't certain remaining in her base form would help much either. After all, while it would take longer, her heart would eventually begin to give out if she fought for too long in this state as well.
She debated trading places with Goku, but silently scolded herself for the thought. This battle was hers to finish, and as the Saiyan princess of Lunaria, she was determined to see it through.
The woman's charge broke Teresa from her train of thought and she rose her arm just in time to block a palm strike aimed for her chest. She countered with a backhanded swing that narrowly missed her opponents chin. The foe fell back and Teresa followed, prompting a brief exchange of blows, ending when both fighters simultaneously struck the other's cheek. Knocking both of them flat onto their backs. They seemed to move as one, both springing to her feet simultaneously and charging back at each other.
Teresa acted fast, firing a ki blast at the ground in front of her foe that kicked up a vision obscuring cloud of dust. The action disoriented her foe for a critical moment as her momentum continued to carry her forward. She was only just beginning to reorient herself when Teresa's fist found its target, striking a blow to the woman's stomach forceful enough to stop her momentum cold and drive her back several inches.
She dropped to her knees almost instantly, gasping to regain the breath the blow had forcefully propelled from her lungs.
Unfortunately, she wasn't alone on her knees as Teresa dropped beside her, also struggling to catch her breath, her right hand held over her heart as she struggled to steady herself.
"Damn it. The Senzu Bean didn't buy me as much time as I was hoping for," she gasped out, trying to rise, unaware her foe had already recovered.
Only when the woman's fist came down hard into the back of Teresa's neck did the princess realize her foe was already on her feet and standing over her. In her condition, she couldn't defend against the attack or the ones that followed. One after another, a barrage of kicks found solid contact with her ribs and side. What little air she had managed to get into her struggling lungs was quickly forced out as each kick only increased the eldest princess' agony. Stars seemed to explode before her eyes as one particularly violent kick cracked one of her ribs.
Just when she thought she was about to black out from the pain, the blows stopped. Teresa tried to focus her blurry vision to see if she had been saved, but before she could, her foe grabbed her hair and forcefully yanked her to her feet, drawing a pained scream from the princess' lips. Her vision was still blurred and beginning to darken around the edges, but the woman's figure was about all she could make out. She was drawing her fist back to continue the beating.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful not to damage that pretty face of yours to much. We wouldn't want to damage the crown jewel of Lord Debauchery's Lunaria collection after all."
For a moment, Teresa's vision focused enough for her to make out a sight that made her blood boil with fury. A smug smile had crossed the woman's face as she tortured Teresa. She was enjoying inflicting pain on the princess. She had likely done the same to every captive who had tried to defend herself against the Dark Saiyan of Lust, possibly even her own family. She was no innocent forced into Debauchery's service. This woman was perhaps as sinister as the being she called her Lord, only to happy to serve and subject others to his humiliations, always happy so long as she got to hurt them first. Teresa's vision snapped into focus as tense fury began to cause her entire body to tremble. Her foe mistook this fury for fear and her smile somehow grew even more callous and smug.
The woman's fist came forward as Teresa's hand shot up, catching the fist before it could impact. In a burst of energy and a roar of rage, Lunaria's princess erupted into her Super Saiyan form.
The woman's smug expression turned briefly to one of fear, then one of shock. She didn't realize it yet, but it would take her the rest of her life to fully comprehend what had happened in that moment. She was dazed and shocked as she stared down at the point of her stomach where Teresa's elbow had made contact, unable to consider anything beyond the fact that her pain was far to severe for having simply been elbowed in the stomach. Only when Teresa's blood soaked arm was extracted from the hole that pierced her stomach and exited her back did what had happened really dawn on her. Her eyes were already beginning to cloud when she looked up to see Teresa's palm pointed directly at her.
The powerful surge of silver ki that completely atomized Teresa's foe was really just overkill at that point.
ENDING THEME: BACCHIKOI (Naruto Shippuden)