Chapter 1: New Day, Same Old Same Old
"You're dead now Syria!"
"In your face Green Man! It's your time to die now!"
"It
doesn't matter, I'm going to kill both of you!"
"Eat me, TYN!"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
And so the yelling went, although the situation was quite strange. The saiya-jin Tynzien, his Raeus female companion Syria, and his new Namek companion Lyre's argument had been raging as fiercely as if they all had blood feuds to settle with each other. And in a way, they did.
But they weren't trying to kill each other. Neither were they training. Instead, each was at his own computer station, rapidly pressing the controls and manipulating various actions on the screen. On Century's main monitor, each of the alien's actions molded together into one chaotic picture.
They were playing a video game. Specifically, an exploration and conquering spaceship game. However, in their case, the exploring was toned down, and the conquering…well, the argument spoke for itself.
"You're dead Lyre! I've got a full armada of Skullcrushers backed up with Sunblazer cannons! Prepare to be turned into space dust!" Syria yelled over her shoulder.
"I think not, Syria! Because I've got twenty squadrons of Wasps, Zappers, and Bloodflies that will fly circles around your ships while I take them apart piece by piece!" Lyre replied.
"And I have Hellblazer attack ships backed up by several brigands of Worldhammer warships! I'll blow both of you out of this game!" Tynzien shot out as well, as he keyed in complex attacking orders for the sprites representing his space army. Syria may have had brute force and mass firepower, and Lyre may have had numbers and annoyingly hard to hit ships, but he had more battle strategy in his head then they could learn in a lifetime, and he would grind them both into the dust.
The three armies charged at each other, Syria spewing projectiles, Lyre zapping around so quickly it was nigh impossible to get a bead on him, and Tynzien waiting for the exact moment for all the pieces to fall into play.
And then all the ships were exploding, all at once. Syria let out a cry of disbelief and non-serious grief, while Lyre made a noise of utter surprise. Tynzien only stared, then cursed in saiya-jin as he realized what had happened. Again.
"And while you three children were doing your endless bickering, I was calmly using all my resources to make one Annihilation Station, which as you can see, is quite effective." Century said, and Tynzien could almost swear there was a smug tone in it.
"Fuck! How many games is that again?" Syria cursed, yanking off her headset.
"32. In a row." Lyre muttered, and sighed. "The good thing about Century is that she doesn't eat all the pancakes."
Tynzien rolled his eyes at the latest of Lyre's many ridiculous observations. He did that a lot, especially when under stress or to try and take the sting out of a loss. Only went the situation was not lacking seriousness though. When a serious tone was needed, Lyre only spoke like the warrior he was.
"How would you know anything about pancakes Lyre? All you do is drink water!"
"Yeah. You should considering yourself lucky you don't have a dick, you'd probably spend most of your life in the bathroom." Syria added, spinning in her chair.
"Another game of Space Rulers, people?" Century asked.
"So you can win again? No thanks! In fact, I vote we ban her from all the games!" Syria snorted.
"You can't ban me from the games, I AM THE GAMES." Century replied. Tynzien snorted and made a sound that sound like an opening guitar chord for a song. "I created it in my programming. You can't get rid of me. Although I suppose I could withdraw…"
"No! We're gonna beat you yet! In fact, we'll make it even more interesting!"
"What are you going to do? Bet money on it?" Lyre said, as he flexed his antennae, waving them back and forth a bit.
"Sure!"
"Yes, that would be great…if we had funds of any kind." Century intoned.
"Well then, print some up, Mrs. I Can Do Anything Not Involved With Breathing!"
"Syria, are you asking me to COUNTERFEIT?"
"Well, what do you want us to play? Strip Space Rulers?" Syria shot back. Tynzien felt his face grow hot in a sudden blush. Lyre smirked at him and then turned.
"I'm not interested in stuff like that. I'm gonna go feed Jack. Do what you will." Lyre said, and he was gone. Tynzien felt the blush fading.
Then Syria spun around with a mischievous look in her eyes, and Tynzien felt it creeping back.
"Say…that DOES sound interesting…up to it, Tyn?"
"Um…well…er…Oh shit! I have to check on my project! Where does the time go…" Tynzien half babbled as he flew off after Lyre. Syria smirked.
"Syria, don't be so cruel."
"But it's just so EASY, Century." Syria said, her long white hair swirling around her as she spun back to face the large monitor that served as Century's face. "Are you SURE he had sexual relations with Zeen?"
"As far as…Syria! That is a rather private question!"
"I'm just asking, considering how tense he gets whenever I mention sex! I mean, sheesh! I thought we left that behind on Velas!" Syria muttered. Century didn't reply that it wasn't the concept of sexual activities that bothered Tynzien, it was when Syria mentioned them. Nor did she say the reason behind that either, although she had an inkling where even Tynzien didn't.
"I mean…hey Century! He doesn't have porn stashed on you, does he?"
Century would have rolled her eyes if she had them. Sometimes Syria had no tact whatsoever. However, the lack of it alternated between a bizarre charm, humorous, and annoying.
"………NO, he doesn't. The only reason I ever had that material was for research."
"Which was still dumb. Well, hey, what's the records for Space Rulers?"
"I've won 123 games, you have won 65, Lyre has won 23, and Tynzien has won…two."
Syria snickered.
"It's not THAT amusing Syria. His problem is he keeps trying to form these complex strategies…while you and Lyre basically just fly in and blow stuff up."
"It works, doesn't it? I'm sure there are other place's Tynzien's brain is useful."
"Not really Syria. I once beat him at 3,332 consecutive chess games…"
Tynzien needed to cool off a bit, partly from his pitched state while playing the game and partly from Syria's comments. He knew she knew that he disliked it, along with the annoying "Tyn" nickname she had given to him. But Syria was incorrigible, and although he would never admit it, it was one of the reasons Tynzien liked her so much. Now, if she could just keep it from causing her to fly off to fight half-cocked…
Tynzien came to the door he had been looking for. He keyed in the six-digit access code and entered the room.
He whistled. The orb almost seemed to glow, although there was nothing in it or being focused in it to reflect light. Still it seemed to shine, a soft pale blue. It was slightly larger then a baseball, and it looked harmless.
Appearances could be deceiving though. This orb was a pet project of Tynzien's, and it was deadly for one reason: what was being done to it.
It had begun as an idea for Tynzien to flex his mind. He'd been doing too much fighting lately, what with Malleus, Emperor, and Parkussion/Torchixstra. He needed to exercise his brain as well. And hence he had begun this.
The coldest state that could apparently be achieved by an object was Absolute Zero, or roughly –278 Celsius, give or take a degree or two. At that point, all heat officially ceased to exist as the object's molecules stopped vibrating. Tynzien had had an idea: was it possible to decrease an object's temperature even more?
It was definitely a brain twister. First of all, whatever had to be chilled had to be suspended in mid-air, because if it was touching anything, it would always have a source of heat from SOMEWHERE. Hence, he'd had to conceive of and build a field that not only levitated but cooled as well. And once he'd finally figured that out, built it, and worked out all the kinks, his first several attempts had met in failure when he attempted the cooling process too quickly, or the innate unstableness of the object at extremely low temperature had caused it to shatter. Now Tynzien was down to the last trick he had. The orb had been as specially designed as Tynzien could make it, and was being cooled extremely slowly. It was getting there, at nearly –260, but Tynzien was taking no chances. Once it hit –279, or less then that, he would celebrate his success. And if it failed, well, there were always other things to ponder.
Why like Syria has such a filthy mind…"Tynzien!"
Tynzien jumped as if he had been caught doing something bad, and considering that Century had an uplink wired directly into his brain, she could very well have done so.
Then he realized it had come from one of the outside speakers, and he relaxed. The last thing he wanted was another debate.
"I though I should tell you. Our solar reserves are running low."
"Oh, great. Well, I suppose you have a solution."
"Indeed I do. There's a planet coming up, by the name of Locustus. It has a very strong sun, a Class B Xipixin. Pretty fierce, but nothing we couldn't handle. However, such a strong sun will allow me to recharge a great deal of our lost solar power while we switch to one of our alternate fuel supplies, hence saving us the trouble later. It is a prime situation Tynzien, and I advise you not to pass it up."
"What's the catch?"
"Um, there is no…"
"That's what you said when you decided to take us through that dead sector of space "for peace and quiet", and we all know how THAT turned out."
"We did rescue Lyre."
"We almost all got killed!"
"That's a common occurrence, if I remember correctly."
"Oh shut up! Fine, what's that planet like?"
"Barren, most of it. That star that circles it doesn't let much live. However, it has been settled by two species, who use technology to ensure they have plenty of food and water they would not be allowed to have alone. Most of the populace lives in VERY large cities…they can span hundreds of miles and have tens, hundreds of millions of beings living there…although the cities tend to be divided, each species keeping its own side. Why, I do not know…"
"I have an idea. What species are there?"
"Well, one half is a Tarlos settlement…"
"Tarlos, Tarlos…why does that name ring a bell?" Tynzien said, snapping his fingers as he tried to recall a fuzzy piece of info.
"Zarbon." Century supplied helpfully.
"Ah yes, Freiza's right hand man. That's his species, isn't it?"
'Yes, although his cruelty would appear to be the exception rather then the norm, thankfully. Still, he is revered as something special by his species…I guess they lack good role models…Most of their business comes from crime and illegal activities. Drugs, weapons, prostitution, the like."
"Peachy. I sense more pain coming up."
'I'm
sure you can handle it, Mr. Legendary Super Saiya-jin. The other species are
the Roes, a strange humanoid/avian mix. They have human bodies, but they also
have large wings growing from their backs and feathers instead of hair…"
"Shades of the Shiar…" Tynzien muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Oh. Well the Roes were the original settlers of the planet, some sort of mining operation that has been abandoned for a while now. There's a pretty old species, most have money dating back centuries, even eons…a very aristocratic and artistic species…also rather stuffy…"
Tynzien cocked an eyebrow.
"So you mean you have old money living side by side with young punks? No wonder they don't get along."
"Indeed, but when the Tarlos came, the Roes couldn't just turn them away. Also, the Tarlos had some new technology the Roes wanted to get their hands on, and the Tarlos are a lot stronger, with much higher fighting potential. Nothing like having some powerful friends in case of a war or something else. So they looked the other way while the Tarlos settled and "went into business", and now the contracts and expeditions the two species have formed with each other over the centuries are so twisted together neither can live on the planet without the other, so they have no choice but to live with it. The Tarlos are "kind", if I may use such a word, to keep their business out of the Roes homes, pardon the rhyme. Most of the time. The Roes mostly keep to themselves and basically look at their neighbors with disdain, if not outright disgust."
"Bad, bad way to live."
"Not much you can do Tynzien. You weren't there when they set it up."
"Hmmpphhh. Ok, set a course for Locustus. Tell me Century, any worthy fighters?"
'Other then Zarbon? Not that I know of by reputation."
"Pity…although I wonder…do you think I'm strong enough to take on Freiza? All this time I've been avoiding him…maybe I can take the bull by the horns and…"
"We can discuss that later Tynzien. Now we have to refuel."
"So do I. I'm hungry." Tynzien said, and left for the nearest kitchen.
"Explain this again. Why are we landing there?" Syria asked.
"It's our fuel Syria. While the Star Obsidian has four different fuel supplies, they aren't infinite. So we are landing to switch to one of the other supplies, and while we're there, Century is going to recharge the ORGINAL fuel supply. Once that's done, we go on our merry way."
"Oh. A drop and shop. Ok, how long will that take?"
"Shouldn't take much longer then a week." Century replied.
"A WEEK!?!?"
"Two at the most." Century added.
"What the fuck am I going to do for two weeks?"
"Train?" Tynzien suggested.
"I don't want to look at your ugly mug all the time, Tyn!"
"How well put." Lyre added. Tynzien glared at him. The Namek just stared back.
"Meditate?" Lyre finally said, offering another suggestion for Syria.
"Good if done sometimes, BO-RING when done all the time!"
"It makes do for me." Lyre said, and indeed, he had been floating in mid-air with his arms and legs crossed before he had added his own two cents a few seconds earlier. Syria stared at the strange position.
"Why do you always do that anyway? You kind of look like you're trying to take a mid-air crap."
"It's just something my species does, I'm sure I'm not the only one who meditates this way."
"Argh! Well fine, what are YOU going to do, Mr. Smarty Saiya-jin?" Syria asked.
"I think I'm gonna give the shields the overhaul they've needed for awhile." Tynzien replied.
"Yeah, and then they'll prove useless as another threat you couldn't possibly have predicted comes out of nowhere and plays pinball with us." Syria replied, sitting down in her chair with a false angry flourish and fastening her harness. "Well, I'm not getting tossed around this time."
"Not
to worry Syria, I can't sense any danger at all. We are now beginning our
descent." Century intoned. Her main monitor flicked on to show an image of the
planet they were rapidly approaching.
"The good thing about that planet is that it's cat's eye shaped with only half
the calories." Lyre quipped, petting Jack, who was dozing on his lap now.
Tynzien rolled his eyes.
"Hey Century, you make sure we didn't have to announce our arrival or something?"
"I tried Tynzien, but I got no communication, no hails, nothing. I guess they either don't care, or their equipment is down."
"Or they have something more important to care about. Something that will probably result in much pain for us." Syria said cynically. She pulled out her ever-present sunglasses and put them on, a sure sign she was annoyed. Tynzien could live with it.
"Descent going smoothly. It certainly is nice making a normal descent for once, isn't it?" Century said, as the planet swelled to fill the viewing screen.
"Beats getting shot down." Tynzien said.
"Or being pulled by a tractor beam." Syria added.
"Or getting rammed by a dying ship." Lyre also added. Now the Star Obsidian was descending through the atmosphere. Yellowish clouds swirled around the viewscreen.
"Pollution, Century?"
"No, just the natural way clouds are on this planet. Must be the atmosphere."
"Is it…?"
"Yes, you can breath. Two species live here, remember?"
The Star Obsidian broke through the clouds. Tynzien scanned the landscape. AT the moment, all he could see was desert, mountains, and a few sparse pockets of what could be greenery. It was desolate, but an innocent kind of desolate. An "I-just-grew-into-this" kind of desolate caused by the impartial hand of nature. Not like the last planet Tynzien had been on. The sheer bleakness of THAT landscape made this one seem to be a bonifide garden of Eden.
"Mountains or desert landing, Tynzien?"
"Mountain. We might sink in the desert."
"Not to mention how long it would take to get the sand out of our clothes." Syria added.
"The good thing about deserts is that they haven't replaced desserts at the end of meals." Lyre added in the latest of his long string of ridiculous observations. Tynzien rolled his eyes once more. Why did all of the people he took along have to be comedians?
"Ok, I've found a decent spot. Get ready to land."
"This is where something blows up." Syria muttered.
The Star Obsidian spiraled around, and with a slight jolt, placed itself down on a large flat rock outcropping. The ship did not move after the loan jolt. Syria looked around, and then slowly slid off her sunglasses.
"Well, I'll be damned."
"Landing a success, Tynzien. I shall begin the transference between fuel supplies…although it appears we have landed approaching nightfall. I will have to save starting the recharge until the next dawn on this world."
"A sunset? Ohhh, I'm there." Syria said in some delight, She unfastened her harness and flew out of the room, heading for the doors that opened up to the top of the ship, an addition after a failing takeover had drilled the holes needed anyway.
Tynzien glanced over to Lyre.
"I'll be fine. Go after her." Lyre said, and went back to meditating.
Tynzien blinked, and then headed off after Syria. He didn't feel like starting a major project now anyway.
The sun may have been harsh on Locustus, but it made for a dazzling sunset, especially when set across a backdrop of mountains. The mountains apparently marked the edge of one of the deserts, as it was considerably cooler then Syria had expected. Perhaps the mountains led into a forest or something similar…or maybe the deserts on this planet were just not very hot…or maybe…eh, she could figure it out another time.
Adjusting her sunglasses, Syria watched as the sun continued to dip below the horizon. It was a lovely sight, something that needed to be …shared.
Syria was so engrossed in the sunlight she never heard the flapping of wings. Although the owners of said wings were taking great pains to be quiet.
She definitely heard the voice though.
"Don't move."
Syria started a bit, and turned around.
Hovering in front of her, wings flapping every now and then, was a group of Roes. Make that a large group of Roes. Make that a very large group of Roes. Make that…well, there was definitely a great number of them. That was not enough to alarm Syria.
It was their large spears that all of them held that did that. She blinked. I KNEW it.
The Roes' facing her had a very light skin, almost white, although there was various colours scattered around, including a few who were quite dark. It appeared the feathers' colour was somehow tied to the skin, as it usually was the same or very similar in colour. The feathers on their head were rather different, as they were shaped to closely resemble the strands that formed hair like hers. Most wore their "hair" in an upward style, although a few had longer feathers shaped into a more complicated design. But the avian characteristics ended there, or so it looked to Syria. She really didn't care if their bone structures resembled birds more then primates, or whatever other link they might have to flying creatures. Evolution was strange sometimes, it was foolish to judge by that.
None of the men wore shirts, although whether this was a battle ensemble or everyday living Syria did not know. Most did have one or more straps along their chest and shoulders, in which was strapped various tools. The female Roes in the army facing her wore shirts though. They all wore tight black pants and boots, and some wore headbands. Rather stylish, actually. The high society of the Roes even came through in their military.
But…it didn't look like much. The spears looked fearsome, but it did little to enhance their image. The Roes all seemed rather frail (perhaps that was an example of their link to birds?). The ones directly in front of her seemed to be the most muscular, and they only seemed as ripped as she was. Some were downright small. Syria reached out with her mind, but their ki was so low she could barely sense it. Tynzien was right, this was not a fighting species, not when it came hand to hand. They flew by their wings and used weapons.
Then again, Syria didn't recall developing an immunity to weapons. She had best be careful and respectful. She wasn't up to anything, surely she could convince her audience as such.
"…………………I come in peace?" Syria said, raising her hands slowly, even as she winced inwardly for being unable to think of anything to say except that tired cliché.
The Roes seemed to relax just a bit. For all she knew (damn, she was thinking that a lot), they thought she was as helpless as them. Unless they have scouters like Tyn, then they might start think elsewise).
"Why have you come here, girl?" said Head Roe. Syria relaxed a bit. Good. Now she would just calmly explain…
"Hey Syria, what's going on? Whom are you talking to?"
And then Tynzien popped up the same exit she had, landing on the roof of the ship. He immediately saw the Roes and was somewhat taken aback. Syria glanced over her shoulder as her partner tried to compose himself and say something.
Then she saw it.
It had spread through the entire group like a ripple, delving deep into all the bird creatures as soon as they got a good look at Tynzien.
At the bizarre spiked hairstyle.
At the unique armour design.
And at the tail coiled around his waist.
"Oh shit." Syria muttered.
"A SAIYA-JIN!"
The calmness was gone, as the Roes exploded into action, flying away from the ship and around it in fancy patterns. It was almost like a dance.
A dance of death.
"It's a trick!" Head Roe was bellowing. "He must be here to sell our planet! ATTACK!"
Tynzien was now coming to the same realization Syria had reached, as he threw up his hands and frantically waved them as he tried to make the head Roe realize they were mistaken.
The bird creatures leveled their spears at the two.
Syria got ready to dodge.
Then the tips glowed and energy blasted from them, thin red beams, dozens of them.
Syria heard Tynzien curse in his language.
Then the beams came down and the top of the ship was consumed with explosions.
Alarms went off as Lyre snapped his head up.
"What's going on?"
"We've been attacked!………..Again." Century added, her tone almost a mourning one and yet a "Why am I not surprised" one. "Get out and…"
Lyre was already gone, his casual wear morphing into his soldier outfit, the battle colours blazing down the hall in a blur.
Tynzien and Syria shot up out of the smoke of the explosions, circling each other as they tried to avoid bumping into the Roes that were still flying around. There seemed to be hundreds of them.
"You ok?" Tynzien asked.
"Yeah!" Syria replied. The blasts hadn't been that bad. They had hurt, but in a "Ow-that-damn-bee-stung-me" hurt rather then "Oh-god-I'm-bleeding-all-over-the-place-I'm-dying-help" hurt. "Does this happen often?"
"Oh yeah, but usually they don't have the guts to attack me. They may not be very strong, but they certainly are brave." Tynzien said. By now the Roes had realized their attack had not resulted in the death or crippling injury of their opponents and were re-organizing themselves at the order of their commander.
"Hurry! It's getting dark, and we can't leave them out here!" someone yelled. Tynzien's brow shot up.
Then more beams shot at him. Tynzien and Syria blurred away. But the Roes were catching on, and it only took them seconds to fire more blasts at the two.
Lyre flipped up onto the ship roof and struck a battle pose, ready for anything. When he saw that Tynzien and Syria were getting shot at by a bunch of opponents, he growled and began preparing some ki blasts.
"Wait Lyre, stop!" Century yelled from a speaker.
"Why?" Lyre growled, his mindset in the process of slipping into fighting mood.
"I think this is a case of mistaken identity! Hold yourself! If I'm wrong, go ahead and blast them."
Lyre growled again, but he dispersed the power he was gathering and cooled his head as he watched. Indeed, Tynzien and Syria weren't fighting back.
"Shit! Fuck! AH!" Syria cursed as a beam grazed her, and went off into a stream of curses in her language as she fought the urge to strike back.
Tynzien blurred before the Roe he had decided was the commander. The look of shock on his face would have been priceless if the situation wasn't so serious.
"I am not here to attack your planet! Please listen!" Tynzien begged.
"LIAR!" the commander Roe yelled, and twisted his spear before he tried to skewer Tynzien with a series of rapid-fire stabs. Tynzien dodged each one easily, but he was getting really aggravated. If this didn't stop soon, he would have to disable all the Roes' weapons.
"I don't want to attack! I swear on my blood!"
"SAIYA-JINS HAVE NO HONOUR!" was the screamed retort. More spear stabs. More dodging.
And then another scream.
"A GRALOUP!!!!!!!!!!"
And the whole attack plan seemed to fall apart, as the commander forgot all about Tynzien and flew back, yelling for a retreat. Tynzien was immensely confused.
Elsewhere, a Roe warrior was trying to get a bead on Syria when he heard the scream. A second later a huge shadow fell over him.
He turned and let out a shriek of pure terror.
Then massive teeth clamped down, slicing and crushing his body in a spray of blood. Tynzien blinked.
"Holy…"
Bloody feathers fell from the creature's mouth as it chewed up its meal. It appeared to be some kind of bizarre combination of a wolf, a lizard, and a bat, possessing the lupine facial features of a wolf, the body structure of a bat, and the scales of a lizard in a bizarre quilt of features. However, the strange appearance did not take away from the fact the creature was the size of a building, and that it was clearly carnivorous.
The "Graloup", as the Roes had called it, finished the poor Roe it had caught, and swooped down to try and snag another one as the bird creatures frantically fled. Some fought back, firing beams of energy or even throwing their spears at the creature, but both just bounced off the creature's tough hide. As Tynzien continued to stare in horror, it swooped down and snatched another soldier out of the air. The scream was painfully short before it became a gurgled moan and then silence.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" The commander was screaming, as his soldiers frantically fled. Tynzien looked over at him, and finally realized why the commander had wanted to be done with them before nightfall. The creature was apparently a night hunter, and it clearly fed on Roes. Something had attracted it, and now the Roes were paying the price for leaving their safe city.
Tynzien growled as energy crackled into existence on his hands. He didn't think so.
"Retreat back to the…" the commander was yelling, when a high scream caught his attention. His head jerked as he saw the Graloup bearing down on one of the female soldiers. She was firing her weapon and having as much luck as her compatriots.
"Villa! RUN!" the commander screamed, as he turned his slow backwards flight into a steep dive at the Graloup, firing his own weapon.
The Graloup looked up, almost in annoyance as the Roe bore down on it, and then it twisted and smashed the Roe commander with a long thin tail. The commander cried out as he was thrown downward from the assault. He hit the ground hard.
"Fruetion! On no!" Villa wailed as she flew over to the commander. It was clear he wasn't getting up to fly any time soon, as his wings were twisted and laced with blood. The Graloup turned in a slow lazy half circle and charged at the two.
"Villa…I told you to run…" Fruetion spat out.
"My life is nothing without you! I won't let you die!" Villa retorted, his face filled with righteous fury as she stood up and began firing at the Graloup again. It continued to have no effect. The monster almost seemed to be grinning at the two as it closed in.
And then with a loud crack and a shower of sparks, Villa's weapon jammed and shorted out. She looked at it in disgust and horror, and then tossed it aside as she knelt down next to her commander and apparent lover.
"Pray its quick."
And then Tynzien blurred into existence in front of them, putting himself between the couple and the Graloup. All three wore the same look of surprise, the Graloup even screeching to a halt as this small animal appeared out of nowhere in front of it.
"Bad doggy." Tynzien growled.
Whether the Graloup knew it had been insulted or whether it was just hungry was not known, as the creature snapped and lunged at Tynzien.
Its jaws closed on thin air as Tynzien zapped up slightly. As the thing's eyes slid up to look at the saiya-jin, Tynzien held out a hand crackling with golden power.
"Play dead."
The blast blew the creature's brains to atoms and catapulted its massive body backwards as the blast pierced through and burned a massive hole what appeared to be an abdominal cavity. The huge corpse crashed to the ground with a small rumble.
Tynzien lowered himself down to the ground, still looking at the body. There was a slight noise, and then Syria landed next to him. He glanced over at her. She had the same look of distaste he wore.
Syria snorted and whipped a ki ball into existence.
"God, I hate wildlife."
Syria threw the ball at the creature and an explosion consumed it, burning it to ash.
"Indeed." Tynzien said, and turned.
The Roe soldiers had ceased their flight to see this event and now they were gathering behind their commander named Fruetion, although a brave few were trying to help Villa in lifting him up to assess his injury. The hostility had faded somewhat, but it was quite clear that Tynzien and Syria were making the Roes very nervous.
"You
see that?"
"He killed a Graloup like it was nothing…!"
"Even the Tarlos have trouble…"
All the murmuring ceased as Tynzien took a step forward. Some of the soldiers hefted their weapons, although whether it was due to a feared threat or force of habit Tynzien did not know.
"………….Yes…I am a saiya-jin…but I mean your people no harm…I come in peace…I am sorry if my presence attracted that creature in some way…I will work to repay you if that is the case…"
"It was not your fault."
The murmuring started up again and the Roes parted as a figure through them, heading towards Tynzien. Tynzien's eyes were focused on the figure and he barely noticed Lyre landing behind him.
It was another Roe, but instead of tight pants and a headband he wore a long flowing silver robe with blue markings and tassels. Two soldiers walked by his side, keeping step with him all the time. Guards of some sort. The Roe was quite clearly older then the soldiers, and from the way they acted around him, quite respected.
The Roe stopped in front of Tynzien, looking at him. Tynzien looked back. The Roe's feather-hair was almost the same silver as his robe. It was just a little duller in tone, otherwise his wings would have blended right in with his clothing.
The Roe looked him up and down.
"I sense no malice or dark desires in you. The saiya-jin is indeed speaking the truth, he is not here to harm us, neither are his companions. Let his aid in defeating the Graloup speak for him as well, as he showed bravery not found in the hearts of evil beings…like his species."
Tynzien grimaced. He hated to be reminded of his kind's bloody history. It haunted him wherever he went.
"Who are you?" Tynzien asked.
"I am Xalmer, a…what is the word in this common language…?" Xalmer asked, as his brow creased in confusion.
"A watcher?" Lyre suggested.
"Hmmm…I suppose that sums it well, Namekian. You may say I am a watcher…I observe my species for history…I saw everything from a distance, but my age kept me from getting here before they attacked you…"
"It's ok. It comes with the territory."
"Even so…you did not attract the Graloup. They are attracted by heat…and they hunt at night. However, this one seemed to have awakened a tad early…probably because of all the heat released during the battle. Let us hope we will be gone before another one shows up…"
"We'll deal with it." Syria piped up, cracking her knuckles. Xalmer cast an incredulous glance at her. Syria snorted. She knew what he was thinking.
"You better believe it, Xalmer." Tynzien said. Xalmer looked back at the saiya-jin. "She can do anything I can."
"You better believe it." Syria said, slipping her shades back on.
"………….Yes. Well, saiya-jin…"
"Tynzien."
"Tynzien. I would like to apologize again for the rash attack. If I may, I would like to make it up to you…you and your companions may accompany us back to our city…although I am afraid your ship will have to dock outside it, we lack the facility to house it…"
"It's ok, I'll just keep it here. Another one of those things shows up, I'll blow it out of the sky, or call Tynzien." Century said from a speaker. This startled most of the Roes, and even seemed to unnerve Xalmer.
"…………..My computer. She's not much on introductions."
"I see."
"In a way this is my fault. My computer tried to contact you and request permission to land, explain our situation…but we couldn't get through…maybe she didn't try hard enough…"
"I HEARD THAT!" Century "yelled". More Roes jumped. Tynzien just gave his ship a wry look and kept talking.
"So you see…"
"Oh, don't trouble yourself. Tynzien. You see, our sun has been acting up a great deal lately…it's jammed our whole communications network. It's no wonder you could not get through…"
"Sir!" one of the Roes said, flying up to Xalmer.
"Yes soldier?"
"The Tarlos are here."
And then Xalmer's whole countenance changed, as his diplomatic look faded and was replaced with an angry one. His small frail hands curled into fists.
"I am sorry Tynzien, I must attend to something else."
And then Xalmer stretched out his wings and flew up and away. Tynzien watched in some surprise. The old Roe's wings still worked, it seemed. He just needed a good reason to use them.
Tynzien's eyes followed the elderly alien as he flew over to another group of aliens. Tynzien's eyes narrowed.
It was the Tarlos, all right. Unlike the Roe army, the group was composed entirely of males, of all shapes and sizes, their green hair in a variety of styles, although the majority seemed to favour a tightly tied long ponytail braid. One thing that struck Tynzien was their greenish skin. It looked so…dry.
Not an unhealthy dry. More like an "If you tried as hard as you could to get here as quickly as you could your skin should be soaked with sweat but its not" dry. It could just be the winds, of course…or…
Suddenly Tynzien realized that the good reason Xalmer had needed to use his wings was not good at all. In fact it could be very bad.
Xalmer landed in front of the group, which was headed by a tall muscular male with free-flowing hair and what might have been a set of armour like the ones Tynzien wore, if it had been worn for a dozen years and been repaired constantly. The Tarlos was standing in a slack stance, his arms crossed arrogantly, a slight smirk playing over his face.
"You incompetent fools! You are supposed to back us up whenever there is a call of alarm! Where were you!?!" Xalmer hissed.
"Take it easy, old man. It's not our fault. You were the ones who up and flew off without giving us a location. Sure, we could have gotten it from communications…oh wait, all the networks are down! So we had to fly around until we found you."
"LIAR! I know your species! You took your time! Because of your laziness or cowardice, we lost…"
"EXCUSE ME? Who is the one who is ten times stronger then any of your troops, birdbrain?" the Tarlos shot back. Roes were beginning to gather behind Xalmer, and the Tarlos behind the head one were beginning to assume positions of combat readiness. The air crackled with tension and anger. A fight seemed imminent.
"You filthy spawn! How dare you threaten me! I could buy and sell you…"
"Ohhh, eeeekkkk, eeekkkkkk!" The Tarlos said in mock fear. "You might have all the money, birdbrain, but I could kick your ass with one arm tied behind my back and blindfolded!"
"Deviant!"
"Shallow weakling!"
Now the insults were flying, and the Roes were charging their weapons.
"You walking excuse for a turkey!"
"Your corrupt excuse for a…"
"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tynzien bellowed as he materialized between the two arguing groups. He glared back and forth. "What are you people, little children?"
"Need your new alien friend to back you up, eh birdbrain?" The head Tarlos quipped.
Tynzien thrust a hand up as ki energy exploded on it. At the same time he uncoiled his tail and let it lash about. All the Tarlos fell silent, and some even looked afraid.
"Saiya-jin…" the head Tarlos said.
"Exactly. Now can it. Both of you." Tynzien growled, as he dispersed the energy and coiled his tail back up. "No one is to blame here. And starting a fight won't bring those soldiers back."
Xalmer opened his mouth to say something else. Tynzien gave him a warning look. Xalmer fell silent.
"Good. Now, I don't know if you got lost or took your time or if you all needed to take a piss, just try and be prompt next. Ok?"
"Aye aye captain. I'll let you suffer with the Roes for now." The head Tarlos said, and he turned and signaled to his companions. There was a massive rush of air as they lifted and flew off into the distance, heading back to whatever city they had come from.
Tynzien looked back at Xalmer, who now looked ashamed.
"I am sorry you had to see that…"
"No matter." I'm sorry too. "We had best be moving, I assume you can give us directions?"
"Hmmmm? Yes, follow us. I am sure your aid in saving us will be respected and rewarded…" Xalmer muttered the end of the sentence under his breath. Tynzien heard it anyway.
Unlike those filthy Tarlos.
"Ok, I'll go get my friends." Tynzien said, and headed for Syria and Lyre, who had stood back and observed. Xalmer began marshalling the Roes to leave, as some finished bandaging Fruetion's injuries and lifted him up slowly to carry him back.
"They certainly like each other, don't they?" Syria said as Tynzien landed.
"Its worse then I thought. The bad blood here…its as bad as anything I've ever seen. I think we've landed right in the middle of a pressure cooker of racism." Tynzien said.
"Peachy. More pain and battering." Syria replied.
"We have a knack for finding it, don't we?" Century intoned. "Before you ask Tynzien, I'll be fine. Go with them. I'll be in touch via our uplink."
"Ok." Tynzien said. He looked at Syria and Lyre.
"Well guys, we'll get to meet old money soon. Aren't we lucky?" Tynzien said sarcastically. Xalmer yelled something, and Tynzien looked back up at him.
"Let's go guys." Tynzien said, and rose to fly after the departing Roes.
The figure should have burned up within fifty million miles of the star.
Instead, it was somehow floating right in front of it, literally. The heat would have melted a planet. To the figure, it was nothing.
"I'm here, my friend…" the figure said, running the tips of his fingers over the surface of the star. "I can feel how lonely you are…out here all alone…left to look after those pathetic little balls of mud….but have no fear, my friend…the end is coming soon."
The star went on as it always did, but the figure looked joyous.
"You see, I have come to bestow apon you an incredible gift. You will be the center point in the dawning of the new age, an age free of all these pathetic life forms and fleshlings that pollute this world, that ignore you and take you for granted! You will touch it off. You will extinguish them forever, and then you will be with all your brothers, with me, together, forever."
The star went on. The figure however, smiled as if reacting to an answer.
"I knew you would be pleased."