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When Worlds Collide
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Miles north...
"There's definitely a power in that wreckage," Tien mumbled to himself as he sped through the air. "But it seems… Different. Repressed. Like… Like…"
Tien trailed off. As he looked below him, he noticed that all the trees had been blown down by the shockwave. But a quick glance back at the horizon told him he was still over a mile from the impact site. "Whoa," he muttered. "That must have been one big impact…"
Suddenly, Tien stopped dead in the air. The power at the impact site was changing. It fluctuated. It seemed to expand, to search out. Then it grew. Tien stared at the impact site with all three eyes wide open in shock. "It's… Waking up…"
As if to punctuate this realization, a deafening roar filled the air. And then, a dark form rose from the crater. It towered over the forest trees, and even over the rolling hills themselves. The creature reared to its full height, and roared, as if announcing its arrival, and daring any to challenge it.
Without thinking, Tien rushed forward to take that dare.
The beast noticed Tenshin immediately, and ceased its bellowing. Instead, it glared at the oncoming fighter, and growled. Acknowledging this, Tien scowled and powered up as far as he dared. As he drew nearer, Tien gathered his power at his hands, preparing to deliver a debilitating first shot.
Abruptly, however, the creature disappeared. Before Tien could react, a paw thrice his size swatted him from above. Tien hit the ground with enough force that he rebounded back into the air. He was then backhanded into a nearby hill. Half embedded in rock, Tien had only begun to recover when he saw a huge black tail swoop down on him. The tail struck him in the chest, driving him to the center of the hill, which proceeded to collapse on top of him.
With the pile of rubble giving him a moment's respite, Tien finally had a chance to collect his thoughts. "That… That thing was an ape!" He gasped. "With a tail. And… That looked a Saiyan chest plate! I'm dealing with one of those Oozaru things…" With a newfound determination, Tien raised his aura and blasted the rubble away from him.
The Oozaru, which had been roaring triumphantly, abruptly turned to face the disturbance. Upon seeing Tien, it roared in anger. Unfazed, Tien glared back at the beast. "Yeah, right back at you…"
The beast stepped forward and swatted town at Tien. This time, it was Tien's turn to teleport out of the way. He reappeared right above the missed swipe, and launched an energy blast at the beast's chest. The blow staggered the Oozaru, sending it crashing down onto a nearby hill.
Tien hovered in the air, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Now, we're even."
The Oozaru quickly righted itself, and roared furiously at Tien.
"And now," Tien continued, the smirk fading from his face, "I win."
Still furious, the Oozaru opened its mouth and expelled a huge blast of ki at Tien. Tien easily dodged, teleporting above the beast. Tien blasted the beast's head, just to keep it stunned, then launched a second blast at the base of the creature's tail. The blast struck true, but to Tien's horror, it did little more than scratch the beast.
"Uh, oh..." Tien could say nothing more before the beast reared around and backhanded the warrior across the sky. The beast then reset its footing, thrust its arms out, and sent another blast Tien's way.
In mid air, Tien managed to right himself, and just barely had time to teleport away from the following blast. Winded and surprised, he looked back at his adversary. "Okay, kid gloves are off... Whoever you are, Saiyan, you're going down. Now!"
Tien flew towards his target, darting from side to side to avoid more blasts. Upon reaching close range, Tien fired blasts of his own, keeping the beast off balance. At the last instant, Tien sped up and veered around the creature, halting himself just behind the beast's head.
Before the beast could react, Tien pressed his hands together, and aimed them at the beast's tail. Letting his power level peak, Tien drew his palms apart. "Tri--Beam Cannon!!"
A concussive blast of energy slammed down on the Oozaru's tail, severing, and crushing it. The Oozaru screamed in pain, but the scream quickly faded away as the beast lost power. Letting his own power level fall, Tien turned and watched the beast collapse, then slowly transform into the unconscious form of a Saiyan warrior.
Hoping to uncover some answers about the Saiyan's arrival, Tien floated to the ground to investigate. Now fully transformed, the Saiyan lay face down in the dirt. It wore a beat up chest plate, with no boots nor gloves, and a torn blue body suit. Its black hair was short, and seemed to sweep forward.
Kneeling down beside the Saiyan, Tien rolled it over to get a glimpse of its face. "It's a girl!" He quickly concluded. Though extremely beat up, the Saiyan's body was obviously feminine. Tien shook his head. "Vegeta's just going to looooove this…"
As if sensing the attention she was receiving, the Saiyan groaned slightly.
A scowl forming on his face, Tien none to gently tapped the side of the girl's head. "Come on, wake up. You've got some questions to answer. Starting with 'who are you' and 'what the hell do you think you're doing here.'" Tien grabbed the Saiyan's shoulder and shook her lightly. "Hey, I don't have all day, here…"
Finally being jostled into consciousness, the Saiyan groaned and sat up. "Ooooh," she muttered clutching her head. "Quis… Iorei to A? Quis…" Slowly, the Saiyan glanced up at Tien, then looked back at her hands. Her gaze suddenly shot back to Tien and she panicked. "Ko… A ronbenkt lu yew… Te kouk azz… Zea hanae… Zea hanea jay A!" The Saiyan's aura flashed, and Tien was sent sprawling backwards.
Almost instantly, Tien was back on his feet and in a fighting stance. "That's it, girl, I've had enough! Either explain yourself and surrender, or I will put an end to you right now!"
The Saiyan wasn't listening. Now on her knees, her aura was cackling out of control, and she was frantically clutching her head. "…Teah u pwah!" She screamed, ignoring everything around her. "…Kras teah u pwwaaaa--aaaauuuggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!" Mid-scream, the Saiyan's voice modulated and she underwent the seemingly excruciating transformation into an Oozaru. With its aura still cackling, the Oozaru extended its arms and roared with rage.
Knocked even farther back by the transformation, Tien looked up apprehensibly. "That… Wasn't what was supposed to happen…"
Hearing the voice of its adversary, the Oozaru lowered its head and glared at Tien. Baring its fangs and narrowing its eyes, the beast growled menacingly. Tien could do nothing more than gulp nervously.
Wasting no more time, the beast lunged at Tien. As Tien jumped out of the way, the Oozaru's fists tore through the Earth. Now airborne, Tien launched his own energy blast in retaliation. However, his blast was deflected away, and the Oozaru lunged again.
This time, the beast's fists connected, and Tien skipped across the landscape. The beast growled, and teleported towards its foe. Just as Tien skidded to a stop, the Oozaru appeared right above him, and stomped him into the Earth. The beast raised its foot, opened its mouth, and spat another ki blast directly into Tien, leaving a smoking hole in the hill. As it caught its breath, the Oozaru stared at the blackened crater.
Bruised, battered, beaten, and extremely pissed off, Tien momentarily forgot about strategy. "Haaaaahhhhh!!" A searing lance of ki shot up the hole, striking the beast in the throat. As it roared in pain, Tien himself flew up the hole, his aura cackling around him. Before the beast registered his presence, Tien hit it with a hard right hand to its stomach. As the beast doubled over, Tien readjusted himself in midair. He shot upward and hit the beast with a missile kick to the bottom of its massive jaw. Despite the enormous size difference between the two combatants, Tien's blow was enough to take the beast off its feet and send it rolling across the landscape.
As the Oozaru struggled to its feet, Tien hovered where he was. As he regained control of his rage, a rudimentary plan formed in the former assassin's mind. The Oozaru had hurt him, but he could still take it down--again--without weakening himself too much. He just need the beast to cooperate for about three seconds…
Pushing itself back to a standing position, the Oozaru roared, then glared balefully at Tien.
That was all the cooperation he needed. "Solar Flare!"
An intense light filled the sky, blinding the Oozaru. As it flailed about, trying to restore its vision, Tien moved in. Picking up speed, He flew straight at the beast, and struck the back of its head with both his feet. The Oozaru was knocked forward, flat on its face.
Wasting no time, Tien brought his hands together to form a triangle emblem. Making sure his aim was true, he powered up, and blasted the beast in the small of its back. As the base of its tail was crushed, the Oozaru screamed and once again transformed back into a battered Saiyan warrior.
Hurriedly, Tien rushed to the Saiyan's side and turned her over. Just as last time, the transformation had left her unconscious. Heaving and apprehensive sigh, Tien placed his right hand around the girl's throat. "I hate to do this," he muttered to himself, "even to a Saiyan. But I can't risk you waking up again…"
As he slowed his breathing, Tien closed his eyes. After a moment, a red glow formed around his hand. The glow then left his hand, and moved to the neck, head, and chest of the Saiyan girl. The glow remained there for a moment, then dissipated. Exhaling loudly, Tien opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.
He had always hated that technique. Even when he was an assassin. Draining a victim's life force, leaving them a dried up husk, always struck him as an exceptionally dishonorable tactic. Though he had been taught it long ago, he had never before actually used it. Not even in practice. He had never been willing to, and had never seen any real purpose for it.
"Well," he mumbled to himself. "There's a first time for everything. That should at least keep her unconscious for a while." Brushing himself off, Tien stood up to consider the situation.
"Now, that was fun," Tien thought out loud. "Another Saiyan falls from the sky and lands practically in my back yard. She immediately turns into that ape thing, and then attacks me without a second thought. I cut her tail off, wake her up, and she goes ape again. And the whole while, she's creaming incoherently in some language I don't understand..." Absently tugging on what was left of his shirt, Tien sighed loudly. "Whatever's going on here, I hope Vegeta can make sense of it. 'Cause there's no way I will…"
Reluctantly, Tien scooped up Saiyan in his arms, cautiously powered up, and took to the air.
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Linguist's note: You shouldn't need to know this, but you may like to anyway. From Siayan to English...
"Quis… Iorei to A?" -- "What... Where am I?"
"Ko… A ronbenkt lu yew..." -- "No... I shouldn't be out..."
"Zea hanea jay A!" -- "Get away from me!"
"Kras teah u pwah..." -- "Just make it stop..."
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