Chapter 1: Invasion
The Planet Lartharia. Located deep within the Eastern Galaxy (right on the edge of the universal boundaries to be exact) and was it a sight to behold. Tales of its beauty were practically legendary since no one dared to travel that far out to find them for one of three reasons. For one, it was considered "legendary." The second reason was far more understandable, a few clicks away from the planet was a severe asteroid field, one too difficult to begin to navigate. Finally, the last reason was that it was well within the territory that belonged to Thanos, the Mad Titan. With the exception of the extremely powerful Freeza, no one dared to challenge the Mad Titan Thanos.
For all the Latharians, the day started off just like any other. The King made a broadcast across the planet, with the people pledging their dedication and loyalty to Lord Thanos. Once they completed their task, they went about their everyday lives. Everyone had an assigned duty to keep their planet thriving and prove his or her worth to Lord Thanos. Their king was a benevolent ruler, appointed by Thanos, and protected them from most threats, outside or inside. Until today.
It was almost the middle of the day when the sensors picked up something coming towards the planet and fast. They radioed for support from the Black Order, but the Black Order was off fighting another war with the Makyans at the time and mission control would try to dispatch one of their greatest warriors right now. They wouldn't arrive in time. Just an hour after they picked up the approaching objects, they entered the atmosphere and crashed in the middle of the Royal City. Five objects in total, all white spaceships with red glass. Inside containing an elite team of Saiyans.
Even though the Lartharians had limited contact with outside planets, they knew who the Saiyans were. They were almost a legend across the cosmos, the tales of their brutality and power scaring almost every planet at the mere mention of their names. Rumor has it the strength of one Saiyan was enough to destroy a planet with minimum difficulty…and they would have to contend with three.
The pods opened up and out stepped two males and one female. The Saiyan to the right was what they always imagined the Saiyans to look like, walking buildings of muscle. His spiky hair pointed to the side, almost like he kept it raised up and pushed it to the side. His white and gold armor covered only his torso and shoulders, almost making him look like a golden god in the sunlight.
The other male Saiyan stood nowhere near his companion's stature, more along the height of a Latharian. However, his height and relatively smaller muscle mass did not ease any tension away from the fact he had command presence about him that practically screamed he was in charge of this squadron. He pushed a few strands of his jet black hair from his eyes as he gave a smirk to the Latharians watching his movements. His red and black armor had small markings on them, all possibly hinting several accomplishments in the Saiyan army.
The female Saiyan was just as muscular as the smaller male but stood a few inches taller, wearing blue and black armor that was fitted to her body. She also flipped her black hair around her back, giving a cocky smirk at the aliens. They levitated from their pods, taking in the fearful looks of the birdlike aliens around them.
"Lartharians, or whatever you like to be called," the smaller male spoke out, "I am Zuchino, commander of this great squadron in front of you. We come under the order of the Galactic Ruler, Lord Freeza and declare this planet as the property of the Freeza Force." There was a silence that took over the place until one brave soul decided to speak up.
"But Lord Thanos is our ruler."
"I understand, but as of now, you are no longer subjects of Thanos. His rule in this universe is soon to be erased and it would best if you stand on the right side of history." Zuchino explained, giving his most genuine smile.
"Yeah, thanks but no thanks." Another braver soul spoke out, stepping out. He was a far more buff Lartharian, standing a little taller than Zuchino and his beak was marked with the branding of the planet's warrior class.
"Hey bird, we weren't asking." A taller Saiyan fired back, stepping forward.
"Now, now, Cucumba. Let's hear them out." Zuchino said, raising a hand to his comrade; Cucumba crossed his arms and smirked. Zuchino looked back at the Latharian with a smile. "Please continue."
"We are loyal to Thanos and Thanos only, so you monkeys can get back into your ship and make your way back to Freeza and tell him we said no. And just so you know, Black Order is already on their way and will kill you if you don't leave now." The Lartharian lied but knowing that the Black Order was another name that would strike fear into the heart of anyone.
"Oh wow, Thanos' little hit squad is on their way? Oh no, I'm shaking in my boots." The female Saiyan mocked, flipping a few strands of her short dark hair from her eye.
"It truly is a shame you all are deciding not to listen to that offer, but I guess it is a bit much. So, here's the second one and, to be frank, it is my favorite." Zuchino declared as he raised his hand up to the alien, his index finger curled into his thumb. "You can all just die." With a flick of his finger, a small ball of black energy shot at the Latharian and detonated in a large explosion of red energy. The Latharian fell to the ground, blackened and completely still. All of the Latharians were still for a second, shocked at the display of cruelty from the Saiyan until they realized just what he said. Masses of panicked Latharians took off from the city as the squadron continued to float.
"I love making them they have a chance." Zuchino chuckled before he deemed enough scattered that it would be fun. "All right, points equaled out. RegularLatharians are worth twenty points. Warriors are fifty. Whoever finds the king first wins. But, above all else, kill them all." Zuchino said as his comrades nodded. "Let's go."
"All right, sis, you win," Zuchino muttered, not wanting his sister to see the disappointment on his face. It didn't take Corma long to locate the hidden ruler in the hangar for this planet's space-traveling devices. He must've received word that the Saiyans were not only on the planet but heading towards his castle. While he and Cucumba never took that into consideration, leave it to Zuchino's older sister to think ahead.
"Haha, in you asses' faces." She smirked as she put her hands on her hips. "Make sure to transfer those credits over when we get home."
"Yea, yea, yea," Cucumba rolled his eyes at his teammate before looking over at the blackened ruler, "did he put up much of a fight?'
"Nah, it was actually a bit disappointing," Corma answered, looking over at the body as well. "He did beg…a lot."
"Never mind that, we still have to get back to purging this planet; I'd prefer to leave before the Black Order arrives." Almost on cue, all three scouters beeped to life, detecting a large power level heading over to the planet.
"Too late," Cucumba stated as he pressed a few commands into the hologram of the scouter. "From what I'm seeing, it's only one power level; might've sent a scout to come to check on the planet if word got out of our purge."
"Come on, let's go greet our new guest; Cucumba, take care of this and then catch up," Zuchino commanded as he and Corma charged up before taking off towards the ship. Cucumba levitated into the air, stopping enough to have all of the city in his view.
It was fair, to say the least, that the city was one of the most beautiful cities he's seen in his 2 cycles: all the buildings seemed made of diamond, emerald, and ruby. The strange, yet suitable color pattern made the city more elegant in the sunlight, that reflected almost a rainbow into the sky. Under any other circumstance, he'd take some time to admire it, maybe take a picture with his scouter. But he had work to do.
Raising two fingers that radiated with brown energy, he quietly charged up his ki. Immediately, a golden sheen wrapped around his body before he swung his fingers over the city. At the Saiyan's command, the sparkling city erupted in a massive explosion, the power nearly knocking Cucumba back. Once the light and dust finally cleared, Cucumba looked down at his handiwork with a large grin: a large, seemingly bottomless crater where the once beautiful city stood. With his duty done, he quickly took after his teammates to catch up.
A small, ring-shaped ship landed in a small field outside of the cities. The Saiyans stood in anticipation of the intruder. The ship itself was a sign that the member was a part of Thanos' army; they were known for those "Q-Ships" across the galaxy in the same way the Saiyans were for the Space Pods and the Acrosians were for their crab-like ships. Almost immediately after the ship touched on the ground, the side door opened up to reveal a tall being, wrapped almost entirely in a black cloak. His outfit consisted of a purple top, a purple sash, and black pants as well as yellow foot coverings (they looked like they were made of a type of wood). The being walked off the ship and continued walking over to the unamused Saiyans. His face was completely covered, so they knew nothing about what he was.
"Are you the ones who killed this planet's inhabitants?" The being finally asked, stopping just a few feet away from the Saiyans.
"Yes, we are," Zuchino said. "And if I were you, I'd stand down and leave this planet while I'm feeling a bit merciful."
The figure reached up and ripped off his cloak in one singular movement, exposing his green skin to the Saiyans.
"Oh wow, a Namekian." Zuchino expressed. "I'm shocked to see one of you would work for Thanos after the devastation he laid upon your world."
"I did it because Thanos was right." The Namekian said as he threw the cloak to the ground, letting it land in a heavy thud. "We Namekians should've learned the disaster overpopulating a planet after the Great Drought centuries ago. However, thankfully Lord Thanos came to show us the error of our ways and helped us."
"Yeah, killing off nearly all of your warrior race was really for your own good." Cucumba snarked, earning a laugh from the Saiyans.
"You Saiyans are nothing less of uncultured swine. Gorging yourselves on food just to go out and annihilate whole races of people because your ruler knows how to keep you all down like good, little-trained pets." Scargo snarled, immediately ceasing the Saiyans' laughter. One could feel the anger in the air, though the looks of murderous rage that the Saiyans wore helped express it.
"Yep." Zuchino sighed as he removed his scouter. "And I'll show you just how hard this 'pet' can bite," Zuchino replied back as he removed his gloves and threw them down. "You guys go finish up the rest of this planet, I'll handle this one."
"What?! Why do we get stuck with the scraps?" Cucumba inquired, anger seeping from his voice.
"Because I said so, don't forget your place." Zuchino turned his head back to the Saiyan, letting him see his left eye. "When I give you an order, you jump. Got it?" There was silence as Zuchino's eyes narrowed in anger and he repeated his question, this time more as a command. "Got it?"
"Yes, sir," Cucumba muttered, casting one glance at his leader before blasting off. Corma looked at her brother with a shrug before heading in the opposite direction.
"Ugh, good help can be in such short supplies these days." Zuchino raised his hand to his forehead to soothe an incoming headache. Seeing the opportunity presented to him, Scargo dashed forward and threw a fist ahead, power practically flowing off of the punch aimed directly at Zuchino's neck…before it stopped by the Saiyan's free hand caught without no difficulty.
Scargo let out a gasp as Zuchino removed his hand, exposing a wide grin on his face. "I was gonna give you a few seconds to get ready, but it seems like you're ready to get into this." With that, he flung the shocked Namekian back to his ship. After soaring through the air, Scargo landed on the ground and once again dashed at the smirking Saiyan. Zuchino slid into a fighting stance and raised an arm to block Scargo's kick, but he faded from existence. He reappeared with a savage punch to the back of the Saiyan's head, sending Zuchino staggering ahead.
Not giving an inch, he spun-kicked the Saiyan and fired off a purple energy blast. It collided and exploded against the Saiyan, sparking a large explosion. Just as Scargo began to ease, the Saiyan shot from the smoke and landed a punch in the cheek of the Namekian and flew after him, unleashing several punches and kicks against the Namekian's body before kicking him into a bolder. Raising his hand, he quickly sparked a yellow ball of energy, electricity crackling off of it.
"Flash Bomb!" He called as the energy ball shot forth, exploding the mountain in a massive blue light. Zuchino let out a smirk as he lowered his arm. He made up in his mind to go find Cucumba and pummel some sense into him; turning, the usual cool apathy Zuchino chose to always express on his face gave way to unadulterated shock: Scargo stood behind with his arms crossed, completely unharmed.
"Wow, you're more powerful than I gave you credit for," Zuchino said, brushing a few strands of his hair from his eyesight as he smirked at the Namekian. "So, how about this? We stop toying around and we fight seriously?"
"Agreed." The Namekian said as he slid into a fighting stance, Zuchino did the same as they watched each other a for a few seconds before they seemed to disappear.
Sonic booms echoed across the landscape, destroying the lush landscape and terraforming it into a rocky, barren wasteland. One particular sonic bomb had the fighters come back into view, with Scargo chasing the Saiyan's prone and flying form. When he reached it, he delivered double axe handle downward, but the Saiyan faded from view and appeared next to him with thrust his hand into the Namekian's chest. Purple blood spewed from his mouth before Zuchino, in one fluid motion, pulled his hand out before delivering a heel-kick to the Namekian nose. With a sickening crack, the force launched the Namekain into the ground like a falling star.
Landing next to the crater, Zuchino shook hand free of the blood as the Namekian stood up, his wound gone and his nose mostly unharmed. He took note of that before he dodged a yellow beam of energy and deflected the next ball of ki. The Saiyan was shocked to see Scargo coming at him right behind the ki blast and was left open for a kick to his jaw. The Saiyan flew back before slamming his foot into the ground, skidding him to a halt. He didn't have a chance to even take a breath before he blocked a dashing punch from the Namekian with his forearm, destroying the ground around them. Scargo did a sweep kick, knocking out the Saiyan's legs. Zuchino fell but launched a blue wave of ki that blasted the Namekian back. He disappeared and reappeared behind the Namekian. Scargo immediately spun-kicked behind him towards the Saiyan; the Saiyan easily grabbed it and twisted, relishing the sickening *SNAP* that emitted from it before releasing the broken appendage.
Scargo growled in pain as he floated away before it seemed to reset itself. Preoccupied with his leg, he looked up to see Zuchino's palm strike that struck him across the jaw and sent him careening through the air. Flipping to correct himself, he caught the Saiyan by surprise and slammed a fist into his face.
Zuchino floated back for a few seconds before looking back at the Namekian, a small trickle of blood running from his leak down to his chin. The Saiyan chuckled, wiping away the small trickle before, with almost undetectable speed, pointing his finger and firing a thin beam of red ki that pierced the Namekian's chest yet again. Scargo growled before dodging yet another red beam of ki. Zuchino's chuckle turned into a sadistic cackle as he continuing firing the beams, adorning Scargo with various scratches and puncture wounds that bled purple blood. Finally, he stopped and admired his handiwork: the Namekian practically changed from green to purple with his head down and his hands clutching two holes burned into his body.
"I've been holding back, so I thought this would be a nice show of force." Zuchino chuckled before he noticed Scargo's chest heaving…like he was laughing.
"Funny thing is I have too," Scargo said before quickly raising his head and fired a yellow energy wave directly at the surprised Saiyan. His sneak attack worked, evident by the Saiyan being thrust back by the explosion; not giving an inch, he quickly gathered two energy balls in his fists. "Divine King Cannon!" He called as he launched both the energy waves at the prone Saiyan. Zuchino corrected himself with enough time to look up and see the beams collide with him and explode in a sky-filling blast.
Scargo smiled proudly to himself as he watched the smoke. If the leader of the Saiyan platoon here was this weak, then it would be far easier than he thought. His hopes were dashed when once the smoke completely cleared and the Saiyan's body was gone. Before he could question where the Saiyan went, a foot slammed into his back. Flying forward, he never even got a chance to correct himself before an uppercut sent him flying upwards. Yet another foot slammed him down before the process repeated. After being kicked and punched around, a red ball of ki shot him down into the ground with a massive dust plume erupting into the atmosphere.
Zuchino landed near the crater, his arms crossed and an ear-to-ear grin splitting his face. Once the dust faded, Scargo stood from the crater, the clothing around his torso destroyed. After a few seconds, the Namekian glared at the Saiyan and slid into a fighting pose.
"Oh my God, you still want to fight?" Zuchino laughed at the Namekian. Scargo's bemusement gave way, but he quickly steeled it.
"Why are you laughing? In case you don't realize, I had the advantage before you snuck attacked me." Scargo reminded as the Saiyan stopped laughing for a second before looking at the Namekian with a glare. At Zuchino's quickly changed expression, Scargo began laughing himself, bellowing, "I thought you Saiyans were supposed to be terrifying, almighty, and damn near unbeatable; yet here you stand, losing to a Namekian!"
"So, you haven't realized what I've been doing yet? Lovely, you're more stupid than I gave you credit to be." Zuchino cut through the triumph laughter. "So, we've been battling 'all out' for…about ten minutes now, am I right? And you have yet to notice I've taken little to no damage from your attacks. Sure, it makes sense that you wouldn't show much wear and tear, but you have that nifty regeneration technique…I don't. See where I'm getting at?" Zuchino asked and there was not much of a reaction from Scargo, but Zuchino could feel the fear generating off the Namekian. He was a connoisseur of the stuff, and he could smell it off anything.
"I know you know the answer, but I'll just say what I know you're thinking right now: I am not anywhere near my full power. That attack you threw at me drained a good portion of your energy, but I'm still standing, which means your fight is now over. "
"Shut up!" Scargo screamed as he shot forward like at subsonic speed, his fist cocked back with the power practically dripping from it. He punched forward, aiming to hit the Saiyan right in his babbling mouth. However, his punch hit…nothing. It was like the Saiyan literally blinked out of existence in that one instant.
"And you're running out of gas." The voice cut through his head like a nail behind him. He quickly turned and launched an energy ball at…nothing. The ball of energy detonated in the distance, sending dirt plummeting into the air. Knowing this trick, he began looking around him. He searched in every direction at least five times, trying to look for the Saiyan.
"I'm sorry, I can't watch this anymore." The Namekian looked up to see the Saiyan hovering upside down above him. His black eyes practically shone with sadistic amusement as he continued to look down at his prey. "It's grown sad." With a flash, he was back in front of the Scargo with what could only be described as reality-bending speed to the Namekian. He's never seen a being move that fast.
"And I know that you need the energy to regenerate. Why do you think I kept using attacks that specifically required you to regrow limbs and close holes? Add that on top of your overrated light shows, you've been losing energy while I've lost practically none. Sure, I need to project it in front of me to defend against your attacks, but that's nowhere near the fraction of what you used. So you're running low on energy and soon, you'll run out and you won't be able to regenerate at all. So my plan has been to whittle you down until you can't regenerate and blow you away."
Scargo connected his fingers like a cage of his paws and roaring, "No, I won't dare let you make a mockery of me! I'll kill you right here and right now!" In a flash, his purple aura traveled from his body into his hands, sparking a purple ball of ki in the cage. Zuchino continued staring forward with a smirk on his face, not even affected by the wind gusts slapping him in the face.
"That's good, I can almost feel that!" The Saiyan excitedly bellowed.
"Good, because in a second, all you'll be feeling is OBLIVION! LIGHT GRENADE!" Scargo roared in response as he fired off the energy ball at his opponent, shooting forward at Zuchino with blazing speed. In response, Zuchino simply gave a small puff of air; the ki-powered wind gust slammed into the energy ball and effectively shattered it before it could even make it to the Saiyan.
Scargo looked on in shock as fragments of his most powerful technique fell across the landscape, causing a miniature explosion around the battlefield. He then looked over at the smirking Saiyan, who uncrossed his arms.
"Okay, Scargo was it? This little game of ours has been fun, but I think it's about time to end this." Zuchino said as he began walking over to the Namekian at a deliberate stride. Scargo jumped back in fear before firing a hasty energy blast that Zuchino deflected with an absentminded backhand swipe. Another met the same fate.
"I will not be defeated!" Scargo screamed as he opened his palms and fired off a bright yellow energy beam at the Saiyan. For a second, it looked as if the fear-powered beam worked in stopping the Saiyan, until the end of the beam condensed down to show Zuchino continuing his stride through the beam, not even giving the illusion that it was affecting him in any way.
By the time he reached the startled Namekian, it was far too late for the green alien to dodge the savage right hook from the Saiyan. He flew forward before the Saiyan phased next to him. Zuchino used both his elbow and knee to crush the Namekian's sternum before kicking him in the air. He watched the green being fly into the air before he began falling back to the planet. At just the right distance, he kicked him again. And again. And again.
Tired of his cruel game, he kicked the Namekian before phasing in the air with his fist out, feeling and hearing satisfying crack upon impact. He grabbed the Namekian's leg and spun him until they were practically a blur. Reaching the velocity he wanted, he released the Namekian further up into the atmosphere. Sailing into the upper layers of Latharia's atmosphere, Zuchino phased in and out to fire small, but painful ki blasts at the Namekian.
Finally, Zuchino teleported above Scargo and flew downward with all his power. Once within range, Zuchino let his elbow crash directly into the incapacitated fighter's throat, sending the Namekian soaring down towards the planet. Scargo crashed into the ground akin to a nuclear bomb, causing the entire planet to tremble and tearing up ground for miles. Scargo, broken and battered but still alive and conscious, tried to take a breath. He couldn't, realizing that his windpipe practically exploded at the impact.
"I'm sorry, did I crush your windpipe?" Zuchino gleefully asked, phasing next to the downed Scargo. He grabbed the Namekian's antenna and held his head back. "Let me fix that for you." With a claw made of ki forming it, he plunged his finger into the Scargo's throat and ripped it out in a shower of purple blood. Before the Namekian could let out a cry…
THWAK!
The sound of Zuchino's fist colliding with the back of Scargo's head echoed across the dead planet. A new crater formed once he hit the ground.
"Oh, how hard they fall when their pride is shattered," Zuchino muttered, shaking his aching fist. He looked down at the still-breathing slug at his feet and telekinetically flipped him over on his back. Gurgled sounds escaped the Namekian's throat as he bent down next to him. "Buddy…are you still there? I just don't know, it sounds like you're trying to speak…but you just one motherfucker of a hit to your skull, my friend. I just popped you in the skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out." Zuchino said, referring to the Namekian's left eye hanging out of the head, only still connected to the skull by the purple optic nerve. "And it's cradling that line between gross as shit and awesome as fuck the more I look at it."
There was no response at his mocking, just the gurgling of a being in his final moments of death's throes. However, it would be best to just go ahead and make sure he wasn't coming back. He aimed his palm down, an electrified black ball of ki quickly growing to life at will.
"So, are you going to stay down or are you going to entertain me some more?" Zuchino asked one last time to no response, a sadistic smile slowly growing on his face. "Your choice." Then he fired.