Chapter Fifty-Seven: Stop Balair

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Stop Balair!

Balair laughed arrogantly at the ten CRP officers and twenty Calmagian guards gathered around him to destroy him. He had knowingly landed in their mist in a small meadow that they had been patrolling. All of the men there now had laser guns and tanks cannons pointed at the Sistrai warrior.

"Fire!" one of the commanding officers ordered.

All of the guns and cannons shot at once, blinding them all with the great light and smoke that the blasts emitted. Balair's wicked laughter could be heard through the light and smoke, but the soldiers and CRP officers continued to fire anyway. Finally, after five minutes, they stopped, allowing the smoke and light to clear. In the fading, blinding mist, Balair proudly stood on his two feet, resting back on his thick, muscular tail, a red beacon of pure evil slightly glowing, as the smoke cleared.

"Great light show!" Balair crowed at the startled, stunned men. "Now it's my turn!" And with that, Balair slowly vaporized into that thick red mist of death, spreading himself throughout the group of brave men fighting him. Whenever he vaporized, he had to leave his armor behind on the ground, but that never bothered him, for it was rarely that he ever needed it. Balair was now the deadly red gas that enveloped the troops and entered their nostrils even as they foolishly continued to fire at him.

They fired too late.

In minutes, many of their bodies began to expand and bloat, their eyes bulging and literally popping out of their sockets. Many eyes dropped to the ground with sickening plops, as their bodies began to burst into blood and cartilage, splattering the tanks and the trees and the ground. The bodies were no longer bodies, but busted balloons of blood and flesh that had once belonged to living beings. The bodies continued to self-destruct, two and three at a time. Great explosions sounding like bursting trash bags could be heard throughout the meadow and nearby wilderness under Magan skies.

Only one tall, well-built elderly officer had been able to hold his breath long enough to escape, and he was now fleeing on foot, knowing that he had no chance against the red menace that had mercilessly caused his comrades to self-destruct. Five minutes later, Balair solidified himself back into his armor, so that he was in solid state again, and he flew after the fleeing Calmagian CRP officer, swooping down from the air to pick him up.

"Help me!" the ash-blond-haired, green-eyed CRP officer screamed into the air.

Balair grinned, holding his hostage in his thick, reptilian hands, as he flew in the air. "Tell me how you want to die? Should I blow you up? Should I just blast you? Or should I just break your scrawny neck?"

"Please spare me!" the terrified officer begged, as Balair began twisting his arm hard, breaking the bones in it. "Please put me down!"

Balair laughed cruelly. "As you wish!" He lifted the CRP officer into the air and threw him hard towards a tall brick wall. The CRP officer screamed in terror, knowing that he was about to die.

But he wouldn't die then.

Someone caught him in her arms-barely.

The CRP officer trembled in the arms of a tiny, fragile-looking girl with gigantic brown eyes and long inky black hair braided and twisted into a coronet to keep it out of the way. A boy about the same height and size as her with golden-brown hair and green eyes was floating in the air besides her. They both looked at Balair with extreme contempt and hatred.

The CRP officer gasped thankfully, "Thank you! Thank the Kais! I'm glad that Astorians can fly!"

The girl handed the CRP officer to the little boy and told him to take him away from the field, and the boy did so quickly. The girl landed on the ground, standing tall and proud for her short height.

Balair appraisingly and grinned maliciously at her. "Nice catch, little girl."

The girl gave an unladylike snort and said coldly in a usually silvery voice, "Leave here now, and don't ever return. That is your one and final warning." She was unnerved by this giant reptile, and a little scared, but she hid her fear well beneath her mask of contempt.

Balair looked at her skeptically and lustfully at the same time, assessing her delicate appearance. He shook his massive, Tyrannosaurus Rex-like head with regret; she was beautiful for her age, but too young really to become his next plaything. Or maybe not. Anyway, it amused him that a little girl would dare stand up to him. She might be fun to play with for a while, and Balair had not been able to satisfy his urges in a while, not since before his arrival on Calmag.

Balair finally laughed at her. "You are so funny! I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you! You're a baby, practically, but I think I could have some fun with you." He quickly vaporized himself into his mist form, and the red cloud floated gracefully into the air towards her. Balair then solidified himself back into his normal state. "Let me ask you something, sweetness: have you ever mated with a Sistrai warrior before?"

The brunette girl looked at him with a combination of fear, revulsion, and disgust. "I wouldn't want the honor."

Balair chuckled, as he made a grab for her, but she ducked quickly; she had lightning speed and grace. Balair tried to snatch her several times, but she was too fast for him to catch. She was wearing the red and gold uniform of a Clan of Chloe warrior, and she was a black and red blur, as Balair continued to fly after her. He was probably stronger than she was, but she was much faster. Balair quickly grew impatient.

"Stop, I order you!" he snarled. "I'm through playing games! Stop and come to me now!"

The girl raised her hands in front of her heart-shaped face and cried, "Solar Flare!" The light blinded the Sistrai warrior temporarily, and when he was able to see again, she had disappeared completely.

"Where in the hell did she go?" he wondered angrily.

He turned on his scouter to search the area for her, but he found nothing, could sense nothing. He growled furiously; how dare she defy him?

"I'll find you, you little slut!" he roared. "And when I do, you will be mine!" Balair vaporized himself into his gas form again and spread himself throughout the air, hoping to spot her before she fled too far.

Tayla was enormously relieved to escape unscathed from the giant red lizard she was certain was the cruel Balair. Dirkan had told her much about the cold-hearted Sistrai warrior and about the Sistrai in general. Sistrai men were chauvinistic and sexist, ten times worse than the men in Calmag's royal family, even worse than Alberm. Dirkan had told Tayla that during the Battle of Chloe, Balair had vaporized himself into an awful, deadly haze that had spread into the lungs of two hundred Astorian fighters, causing them to self-destruct. Many of those brave fighters had been older warriors around Shalila's age who had also rebelled against the Saiyans to take back Astoria. Balair was also known to torture and toy with his victims before he killed them, whether they were male or female. He had not done so on Chloe, but on other planets that he had successfully conquered, he had raped and molested his female victims before killing them and their people. He was near the top of the Intergalacticpol's "Most Wanted" List, and his crime record was nearly as long as those of Frieza and the Saiyans. He was well known the be one of the most vicious and powerful of all of Frieza's minions, but then Balair was a Top Elite officer, and Top Elite fighters were reputed to be the deadliest of Frieza's fighters, among the deadliest enemies in the universe.

Tayla knew from Bendros, who worked for Intergalacticpol off and on, that many Intergalacticpol officers would rather fight a Saiyan than one of Frieza's Top Elite. Just as the near-extinction of the Saiyan race had not necessarily relieved the minds of the Astorians, it had not relieved the minds of Intergalacticpol, who still had the strongest Saiyan warriors still alive and Frieza's minions to contend with.

She knew that while she was much stronger than she had been five years ago, the surviving Saiyans and Frieza's minions were also much stronger. Tayla had already wisely assessed that Balair greatly outmatched her in brute strength, but her speed far surpassed his. If she had to fight Balair, or any of the other Elite officers, she would, but Nama had cautioned her that if she was ever alone with any of them, to fight only long enough so that she could flee.

"Don't try to take any of them on by yourself," Shalila had warned her. "Flee as quickly as you can until you find some people who can back you up."

Tayla was quick to heed her Nama's advice, so she continued to fly over the wilderness until she felt the ki signatures of Riccan, Arlon, Lukan, and the CRP officer that she and Riccan had rescued. They waved to her from the ground, and Tayla swiftly and gracefully landed among them on her feet in the wilderness.

"Balair's on his way!" she panted.

"He must be the one with that unusually strong ki we've been sensing," Arlon told her a bit nervously.

"Is this Balair as strong as they say he is?" Lukan inquired worriedly.

"Dirkan and Bajal says he's one the deadliest enemies that they ever had to fight," Arlon told him. He briefly explained some of Balair's most heinous crimes, and Lukan was stunned.

"He's stronger than a Saiyan!" Lukan declared. "He sounds like he is anyway, even stronger than Prince Vegeta himself."

"We can take him!" Riccan boasted. "Astorians are the strongest people in the whole galaxy!"

"Slow down, Riccan," Arlon told his excited, eager nephew. "It's not going to be easy to defeat these creatures as you think."

"Still," Riccan asserted, "I can't wait to fight for real!'

Lukan and Arlon both sighed; Riccan was strong and powerful for his age, but inexperienced in warfare. Lukan privately agreed with Gracina that he was too young to be fighting. The CRP officer looked at Riccan and shook his head sadly, tears running down his face.

"I wish I had your faith, young one," the officer said sadly.

"We'll make that ol' ugly Balair pay for killing your people!" Riccan promised him, raising seven fingers to swear Seven Moons Oath before Tayla caught his hand.

"It's not good to swear Seven Moons Oath on things that you cannot fully control," she told him.

The CRP officer turned to Arlon and Lukan, with one faded green eye on Tayla and Riccan. "Are you sure that your leaders know what they are doing in letting two young children like these two fight, particularly the girl? Girls don't need to be fighting."

"It's our battle as well as theirs," Tayla told him stubbornly.

"And Tayla's being a girl has nothing to do with her abilities," Lukan defended her. "Why without her, we would not be here now. Five years ago, she was one of the main heroes, saving Astoria from three Saiyan boys, the most powerful Saiyans that we had ever met."

"You fought against Saiyans, child?" the CRP officer said to Tayla, looking at her with slow, new respect.

Tayla nodded briefly; she was not one to brag much about her victories. But that didn't stop Riccan from wanting to boast about his powerful little aunt.

"She whooped Prince Vegeta single-handedly! Why she used a big, powerful Mirror Shield attack 'gainst Vegeta, they said, and then---why is that air over there red and hazy?" He saw a cloud of red mist carrying a suit of armor.

The CRP officer's green eyes widened in fear. "It's him-no, not him! He vaporized himself and made my comrades self-destruct!"

"Balair," Tayla whispered in a mixture of fear and awe.

Balair solidified himself into solid form inside his armor. His evil, sharp-toothed grin was the most fearsome thing that Tayla and the others had ever seen. "So we meet again, little girl, and I see you have company!" Balair purred.

Arlon, Lukan, Tayla, and Riccan pulled out their swords, although it probably would not do them much good against someone who could vaporize and liquefy himself at the same time. The CRP officer trembled, pulling out his laser gun and praying to the deity of Calmag that the Astorians would be able to fend Balair off.

Balair started to vaporize himself again, but before he could finish, Tayla and Lukan flung themselves at him, throwing punches and sword swings. They could not touch him much, for Balair was able to vaporize whatever part of himself that was targeted for attack. Balair shoved Tayla away from him with one powerful punch, nearly flinging her into a tree. Her sword fell out of her hand. He then seized Lukan's throat with his meaty fist and began to strangle him, while his lower body beneath his waist remained a cloud of gas, so that Lukan could not kick him. His free hand snatched Lukan's sword away from him, and he flung the weapon into a tree.

Arlon and Riccan charged at Balair next, but Balair shot powerful bolts of pink light from his thick free hand at them, knocking them onto their knees. He continued to shoot powerful ki blasts at Arlon and Riccan, and neither one could use Mirror Shield to deflect them because doing so would harm Lukan as well as Balair. The Sistrai warrior continued to choke Lukan, and Lukan was gasping for air.

"And now your demise," Balair told him silkily, as the body above his waist slowly began to vaporize. He planned to enter Lukan's nostrils and lungs and force him to self-destruct.

"Any last words," Balair hissed in a purring note, as his body faded into gas. "Say good-bye, rabbit---OW!---what the hell was that?"

"OW!" he shouted again, as another hard punch hit him in his upper ribs before he had a chance to vaporize them. A third punch that was meant for his ribs hit his arms with the force of a stone column ramming into his limb. Balair shrieked with horror, as he heard a bone break. His body instantly and quickly solidified itself until it was solid, not gas.

"NO!" he cried. He tried desperately to vaporize himself again, but he couldn't, for his main line of defense had been shut down. He struggled now to liquefy himself, but he couldn't do that either. He turned his head to the causer of his agony.

"You little whore!" he roared. "Do you realize what you've done? I can't vaporize or liquefy myself now! You broke my arm, slut, and you'll pay for that!"

Tayla, who had delivered the hard punches, had managed to pick herself up and attack Balair. She did not know exactly what she had done that stopped Balair from vaporizing, but she guessed that breaking his arm had something to do with it. Balair threw Lukan away from him, and he clutched at his broken arm, crying in agony, not from the pain, but from the humiliation that his fighting ability had been lessened.

Balair released his broken arm and charged after Tayla, but before he could succeed in reaching her, Arlon wrapped a Rings of Saturn Scarf around his body and began to drain his energy. Tayla quickly ran to Lukan and carried her injured brother away from Balair. Tayla flew away from the Sistrai warrior with Lukan in her arms. Balair was fighting furiously against the energy scarf that Arlon had around him, but the more he fought, the faster his ki drained.

Tayla and the others watched in astonishment. She looked down at Lukan in her arms and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Lukan nodded weakly and gave her a faded grin.

"Thanks," he whispered hoarsely, and he closed his eyes for a few minutes.

Arlon continued to drain Balair's ki as steadily as he could; he was a bit nervous, for it was the first time he had ever used a Rings of Saturn Scarf outside of training. Arlon was doing well however, and the others were able to draw a few breaths of relief.

That is until ten little green Saibamen came jumping down upon them from the trees. Tayla dragged Lukan to his feet, and Riccan ran to retrieve both of their swords. The CRP officer fired at a few of the Saibamen, blasting their heads off with his laser gun. Tayla, Lukan, and Riccan crowded around Arlon to guard him against the Saibamen; Arlon had to finish draining Balair's ki.

There were seven Saibamen left, and all three Astorian fighters were shocked, for they had never seen them before. Riccan charged at one of them, kicking and punching the creature before electrocuting him to death. Riccan kicked the dying Saibaman away from him before the green monster exploded into sloppy fragments.

Tayla beheaded two of them with her sword before they had a chance to jump on her and Lukan, and Lukan blasted another couple of them with a quick ki blast until they exploded. But they weren't able to stop one of the remaining Saibamen from leaping onto Arlon while they were distracted. The Saibamen punched Arlon in the back of his head in two quick punches, and that ended Arlon's Rings of Saturn scarf attack, giving Balair back the energy that Arlon had stolen.

"Thanks, little green man!" Balair cried happily. He still could not vaporize or liquefy himself, but he could still destroy the Astorian fighters now that he had his ki back.

Riccan angrily sliced the Saibamen that was on Arlon's back in half before the cretin had a chance to self-destruct. The halved monster fell off of Arlon with a sickening splat. Balair took that opportunity to fly at Arlon and punch him in his jaw, breaking it. Arlon fell down backwards, but he managed to catch himself before he fell to the ground. He quickly drew his sword from its sheath, and he swung it at Balair, but Balair caught the blade of Arlon's sword in his thick, impenetrable hand. The sword barely cut through the flesh of his meaty appendage. He took Arlon's sword from him in one quick yank and punched the Astorian prince hard in his stomach with his free hand. Balair threw Arlon's sword from him like a javelin, for he did not need it.

Lukan tried to attack Balair from behind with his sword, but Balair heard him coming, and he ducked before Lukan's sword could behead him. He turned sideways away from Arlon, and he rammed his large left fist into Lukan's stomach, causing Lukan to spit out blood. Balair then used a medium-sized ki blast to blow away Lukan a good ten miles away from him. The others screamed when they saw Lukan blown away.

The CRP officer charged at Balair with his fists, and Riccan and Tayla dashed at Balair with their swords away, but Balair used a special ki attack on the CRP officer, who was assaulting him from the right. This ki attack, which he had developed recently, was called Fire Flare. Fire Flare consisted of Balair shooting a fine stream of orange ki from his hand, and this stream would spiral around the victim's body like a snake. The stream of energy would transform into a conical, cyclone-like shape, and the victim inside the cyclone would began to burn and melt away in a hot temperature at one-hundred times his or her normal body temperature. When the attack was complete, the victim would be no more than a pile of melted, molten ooze. The cyclone would be flashing a bright, hot light, too hot for anyone to come to the victim's aid. Balair didn't have to do anything else, but stand back and watch his victim perish.

The CRP officer screamed in terror, as Balair's cruel Fire Flare engulfed him. Balair laughed loudly at the CRP officer's horrific agony. Tayla and Riccan tried to run to him, but it was extremely hard for them to fight through the heat and blinding light.

"Help me!" the officer screamed, but those words would be his last.

Tayla and Riccan could not reach the helpless officer in time, and when the attack was completed, the CRP officer was a pile of blackened ooze and roasted flesh.

Riccan screamed in horror, clinging to Tayla, who clung to him as well. Tayla kept her hand over her mouth, trying not to scream, as the tears slid down her cheeks. Nothing at Kami Orchida's had prepared her for this. Orchida had taught her many new attacks and how to fend off or reverse some of the attacks of Frieza's Elite fighters. No one had told her about Balair's new technique.

She and Riccan held on to each other, shaking in horror, for it was the first time they had ever seen anyone die. Riccan was trying not to cry, but a few tears slipped before he could stop them. He was only nine years old, fighting in his first war, and it was the first time he ever saw someone perish. The little Astorian warrior prince had now just learned the ugly side of battle---imminent death.

Tayla was equally horrified and shocked; she knew that she would see people die, but she had never truly realized the full extent of what war really was about-killing or be killed. She and Riccan were now frozen in shock and terror, as they embraced each other for dear life.

"He-he's dead," Riccan cried hoarsely, his body still violently shaking.

"If it's any comfort, little boy, you and your girlfriend will soon be joining him," Balair cooed, as he prepared to launch another Fire Flare. Before he could do so, however, Arlon leapt up from the ground and threw himself at Balair's midsection. He landed a hard punch in Balair's crotch at the same time, and Balair was forced to divert his attention on his assailant. Balair and Arlon began to wrestle each other on the ground, punching hard and kicking whenever possible.

Finally Balair chomped into Arlon's arm with his sharp, dagger-like teeth with the force of a steel trap. Arlon screamed in immense pain. "NO!!"

Balair quickly sank his teeth into Arlon's midsection, and blue blood flowed into his mouth. He relished Arlon's screams, as he bit him again. Arlon tried vainly to electrocute him, but Balair had long since become immune to Electric Touch, and he didn't feel it.

Tayla recovered long enough to break from Riccan's embrace and seize her sword. She ran at Balair and Arlon in hopes of beheading Balair and saving Arlon. Balair used his powerful tail to push Tayla away from him, nearly knocking the girl down. Before she could fall, Tayla took the chance to cut off half of Balair's tail with her sword. The blade neatly sliced through the appendage, halving the tail. The chopped-off part fell into the soft dirt and coniferous tree needles with a soft thud.

Balair screamed, and he shoved Arlon off of him, throwing Arlon onto the ground five feet away. Arlon's head hit a petrified tree, knocking him unconscious. He looked at his halved tail in horror; how dare that little slut do that! Balair emitted a feral growl, and his ugly features twisted into a grotesque mask of pure malevolence.

"You'll die for that, whore!" he snarled, jumping up from the ground. Tayla stood up as bravely as she could, with her sword raised towards Balair. Balair raised his meaty fist, as he was unfazed by her sword. Tayla swung her sword at him, but Balair, who was a fast kicker despite his girth, rammed his large foot into Tayla's stomach. The pain was so intense now that Tayla was forced to drop her sword and pull away from Balair. Balair jumped onto the tiny girl and seized her, pushing both to them back onto the ground. Balair seized her throat in his fist, as he pinned her to the ground. He held her in a viselike grip, and he had been wise enough to grab her wrists and squeeze them. Tayla had metal cuffs on to protect her wrists, but the metal cuffs were being crushed like tinfoil in Balair's hands. She could feel the supposedly protective metal cut into her wrists.

"Any last words, wench?" he hissed.

Tayla spat in his face; it was the only thing she could do, and she was rewarded with Balair biting into her shoulder hard, hard enough to rip into muscle and bone. Tayla's screams echoed throughout the forest, and her cries of pain infuriated Balair, who bit her other shoulder to punish her.

"Stop!" she screamed. "Someone help me!"

Riccan shook himself from his stance of fear, and he charged at Balair with his sword. Balair shouted angrily, "Step any closer, boy, and I'll bite her head off! And I will do it!"

Riccan was forced to stop, and he skidded to a halt inches away from Balair. He didn't doubt the Sistrai warrior's words for a minute.

"L-let her go!" Riccan cried in fear and anger. "You'll pay, if you hurt her! My Great-Nama and Dirkan will stop you!"

"They're not here now, are they?" Balair sneered, as he bit Tayla's shoulder hard again, forcing her to emit a piercing scream that hurt his ears.

Arlon scuttled to his feet, just reviving, but he could barely stand up for too long. He began to creep up behind Balair and Tayla, but Balair heard him rise. "Stay where you are, or I'll rip out her face with my teeth and bite her head off!"

"Let her go, you bastard!" Arlon hissed, but he stayed where he was. He then gathered what courage he did have left, and he yelled, "Why don't you release her and fight me like a man?"

Balair laughed. "You're not worth wasting my time anymore!"

"You coward! Let her go and fight me!" Arlon roared.

Before Balair could accept or refuse Arlon's challenge, a strong ki blast coming out of nowhere shot into Balair's side, pushing the Sistrai warrior off of Tayla with the force of a tidal wave. Balair's back crashed into a thick tree. Tayla wasted no time in scurrying to her feet, and Riccan joined her, as they fled Balair's presence. They ran towards Arlon. Arlon and Riccan were horrified when they saw Tayla's deep gashes, which were oozing blue blood. Part of Tayla's shoulder had been broken, but she bravely tried to withstand the immense pain. Arlon examined her the best he could, although he was not a healior like she was.

"Thank Orchida," she whispered, panting and moaning at the same time.

"Actually, I'd like to thank whoever shot that monster off of you like that," Arlon said gratefully.

"Well then, you can thank me, although you won't be able to enjoy Tayla's company for long."

Arlon, Tayla, and Riccan turned to where the voice had come from. Arlon shook, and Tayla's brown eyes widened in fear and recognition.

Balair's eyes widened as well, and then they narrowed to thin slits, as he lay against the tree. He glared darkly at Tayla's rescuer.

"Vegeta! You son of a whore! How dare you? Whose side are you on?" he bellowed.

Vegeta stood in the wilderness near the melted corpse of the CRP officer and smiled evilly.

"My side, of course."