I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 12: Mission
Fasha and I came up to a slightly better looking door than the entire housing area had been, but the halls were messy and stained. She opened the door, revealing a decently sized room, bigger than the house Vegeta had rented out. Inside there were three other Saiyans, one in dark blue armor with a white cloth tied around his arm and hair sticking straight up. He was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed. The other two were at a table, eating a lot of food. One was a large Saiyan that looked in need of a diet. His hair was bull cut and not spiky at all, and he wore a tattered brown bodysuit with blue armor, shoulder straps only. The other was bigger, but not as massive, and he was mostly bald with a little hair sticking out from the back and sides.
"Fasha, any news on our next mission?" The tall one asked in the chair asked.
"Bardock is bringing the details in a little bit, he had to stop by his place," she said, stepping inside a little more so I could come into the room.
"Who's the kid?" the fat one asked in between fist fulls.
"He's our new team mate, his name is Verto," Fasha said for me, stepping aside.
"A rookie huh, great. Did Bardock pick him out or did they just assign one like usual?"
"No, Bardock got to pick him out," Fasha said.
"Rookie, what's your power level?"
"Twenty-two hundred," I grumbled as I finally got to say something.
The other two choked on their food, "And you're a low class?" I frowned slightly at this; they didn't have much room to talk.
"Don't take it personally Rookie, but there isn't too many inexperienced low levels with power levels over four hundred," the big one in the chair said, getting up and walking over, extending his hand, "I'm Tora, Bardock's second in command. Don't sweat it, Bardock may seem a bit, off, but he really is a good leader. That is Shugesh and Borgos across from him," Tora pointed at the table respectively. They grunted in between bites of food for a greeting, earning a chuckle from me.
"So how much training have you had Rookie?" Tora asked. Okay, remember what Vegeta told you to say.
"Plenty, on the planet I was raised on there was a huge civil war going on. I started getting involved when I was about five, which is about two and a half Zurals according to, father. We won the war a few years ago," I explained the lie, hoping it would fly. Vegeta had made me memorize this before he dropped me at the registration station.
"Ah, that was planet Bluron wasn't it? We heard about that one, no one wanted to go there and help the rebels. It was believed Frieza would have to go himself until a small Saiyan family managed to turn the tide on a full moon," Tora said. I nearly fainted, Damn, Vegeta planned this really good, now I know he had to have planned it ahead of time. I better play along best I can, I'd hate to ruin his fun and screw up all time and space because of it.
"Yeah that's the one, but it's not a place I really want to visit again. The rebels had a bad habit of mistaking us for the government, something I ended up in medical a lot for," I trailed off that lie with a slight grin.
"That explains your higher power level I guess, you'll fit in with us. We get beat up a lot too, well we used to anyway, now we give out the beatings," Shugesh exclaimed from the table, an empty dish in front of him. I felt a little more sure of myself, yeah I'm sure I can keep this up, as long as I don't have to fake getting hurt. That may draw some questions.
"Okay Rookie, your bunk is in that room there next to Fasha's, and don't pay attention when she mumbles in her sleep or jumps into your bed. She likes to pretend she has a mate!" Tora laughed, before Fasha hit him sharply.
I chuckled, "Do me a favor though Tora, sir. Don't call me Rookie, it's Verto."
Tora laughed a little, "Sorry, it's a habit. I'll do my best not to if you do your best not to call me sir. If you want anything to eat there should be some grub left in the cool storage over there, along with some wine." Since I had eaten at Satan's mansion, I wasn't really hungry. I wasn't much of a drinker either, Saiyan or human, so I simply declined and sat at the table in silence.
-
The crew spent most of the night telling me random stories and jokes about each other, including their respective power levels at this point in time. Tora was the second strongest at fifty-five hundred, high elites only reached that level according to him. Shugesh and Borgos were nearly even with each other at forty-four hundred and forty-two hundred respectively. Fasha was considered the low end of the group at three thousand flat, but she had an attitude that rivaled Chichi and Videl put together.
"Well I guess since you're the lowest now we can't pick on Fasha for it anymore. By the way, did she explain how training goes when were on leave from missions?"
"No."
"Well, we're supposed to each spar with each other in according to strength. Borgos and Shugesh spar each other cause they are so close, and I usually get Bardock. You will get Fasha most of the time, because of your lower power, but Bardock will train you also. Since he's the captain he can decide who gets who," Tora explained. More like training in how to hold back and look weak, I thought with a slight door swung opened and smacked the wall harshly, leaving an already good size hole crumbling away.
"Bardock," Tora announced.
"I've got our mission, leaves tomorrow. We're going to planet Treme on orders from Prince Vegeta and Frieza. We're to help the government take out the revolution that sprung up there," he explained.
"Treme, that could get ugly with the Rookie over there. Maybe he should hang back a bit on this one," Shugesh suggested, before catching my slight distaste.
"We'll evaluate the situation better when we arrive. I couldn't get another pod so you're going to have to share one with Fasha. It's the only one with room, and you two are small enough for a tight fit," Bardock smirked slightly.
"Gee, thanks," I muttered.
"Looks like Fasha might actually get something out of this after all, I hope she doesn't kill him while she's having fun," Shugesh joked.
Fasha picked up a chair and smashed it over his head, "Shut it lard ass!" Shugesh whined in pain for a moment before breaking out in laughter. A sudden thought of a skillet coming out scared me a bit.
Tora bent down to my ear and whispered, "Don't be too frightened kid, she really is a good girl. It's just that most men she comes in contact with get beat up pretty bad if they don't end up dead! That's what happens if you don't let her do what she wants!" Thanks Tora, I needed to know that, I thought as I sighed.
"Yeah kid, if you're lucky maybe she'll mark ya!" Shugesh cracked under pressure of laughter. Even Bardock was laughing now at Fasha's expense. I didn't know much about Saiyan mating habits, Vegeta hadn't explained them yet, but marking had to be part of it, because another chair struck Shugesh.
"Okay you knuckleheads, turn in! We leave at nine hundred hours and I'd like to get a little natural sleep," Bardock ordered, stomping off to a room at the end of the hall and slamming the door.
"That's Bardock for ya," Tora said with a smile. Shugesh and Borgos rose and headed for another room attached to the hall, one that Tora entered a minute or two later.
"Good dreams of battle kid, you're going to need the rest," he said. That left Fasha and me alone in the living room. I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous as I mostly stared at the ground, replaying the day's events through my head like a slideshow. I sensed she was observing me, even though I wasn't doing anything. I glanced at her, seeing a slight smile creep up on her face.
"You haven't told us much about yourself, the strong silent type eh?" Fasha asked.
"I usually don't talk about my past, that's all," I replied.
"That's okay, but I'm pretty open about things. My father beat and raped my mother all the time before he was put to death by the King," she said softly, "You really should get to bed. I know it's hard to with excitement before a battle, but trust me, sleeping on the way sucks," she said, getting up and heading to our room. I shrugged and followed entering the small blue colored room with dirty walls. She shut off the lights in the main rooms as I took off my armor plate. The bed, if you could call it that, was harder than concrete, no pillow and barely a rag for a blanket. Her's looked a little better, but not by much.
"Home sweet home," I muttered as I took off my plate armor and climbed onto it.
She laughed a little as she took off her armor, "I like your style kid." I rolled onto my stomach and laid my head on my arms, letting my tail be loose from its usual waist spot. I sensed she wasn't in her bed yet, as the light was still on, and I just happened to look over as she was taking off her bodysuit. I blushed and turned away in embarrassment, while she giggled slightly.
"We're not bashful around here kid," she ensured while she hit the light and climbed onto her concrete block of a bed set right next to mine.
"Sorry, I'm just not used to other Saiyans yet," I said, as part of that was true.
Fasha laughed slightly, "That's okay, I'll break you of that. Just do me a favor, RELAX! If your this tense while were stuck in that pod together, I'm gonna vaporize you!" Yeah I'd like you try. I smiled and attempted to get what sleep I could, it had been an exhausting few hours of the day.
-
"Wake up junior!" A hand and voice shook me from my rather decent slumber. I slowly opened my eyes to see Fasha with a stern look on her face kneeling over me, unclothed. I was wide-awake in a big hurry and quickly looking for a place to hide before her boyfriend came calling.
"Works like a charm," she chuckled and put on her body suit and armor. I glared at her as I remembered what all had happened.
"Thanks, now I'll have nightmares of random guys trying to kill me," I muttered.
Fasha blushed, "Why thank you, that has to be the best pick-up I've gotten in at least three zurals! You got anything else besides being a quick sweet-talker?" I grumbled and slid my armor on over my head, wondering why the registration desk had given me full green sleeves instead of half or no sleeve. Well duh, they probably get burned off or something. Probably happens a lot with ki blasts… oh boy, that reminds me. I need to suppress my power.
"Fasha, did you spend all night telling him about your supposed courting of the rich elites again?" Tora said from the door just as I was getting my power back down to where I remembered it needed to be, "I'm sure he had no problems sleeping!"
"Oh shut up, at least he isn't a noise machine when he sleeps. He's actually quite pleasant to listen to. I'll bet I can look forward to more," Fasha said with her arms folded with a bright grin. What was that supposed to mean, don't tell me she actually stayed up and just watched me sleep.
"Did she get you in your sleep kid? She's a tail grabber," Tora chuckled.
I cocked an eyebrow at this, "Was that supposed to mean something? I slept fine."
"Yeah, I'll bet you did," Tora laughed harder.
"Oh shut up, you liked it when you were in here with me. Besides it's the one thing to keep your noisy asses quiet once you start snoring!" Fasha said sternly. I didn't have the foggiest idea what they meant at first, but I did need to use the bathroom pretty bad.
"Where's the facility?"
"Down there, second door," Tora pointed, slightly grinning. I quickly walked down, closing the door pretty fast. When I un-did my jumpsuit pants, I realized exactly what Tora was talking about. Oh man, no wonder I slept so well on that concrete block. Geez, what next? I finished and emerged, my face in full blush. And a hoard of laughter awaited me once I hit the front room, Shugesh and Tora in lead choir.
"You survived the initiation! If you can sleep on that stone bed with Fasha in the same room, you can do about anything!" Shugesh laughed loudly.
"Oh shut up, I barely touched him! Just the first phase," Fasha shouted. Even Bardock managed to smirk a little, but he kept his hard exterior. Great, it's Goku with Vegeta's attitude, minus the arrogance.
"C'mon you bums, we need to go," he barked orders and opened the door. I grabbed my scouter off the table and strapped it on as they had already done. I don't see why I need this stupid thing; my ki sense works a hell of a lot better, if I'm paying attention. My answer came a half step later when I wasn't paying attention and the thing beeped and pointed to the right. There was Clerpe, or whatever her name was. At first I didn't recognize her, but the fact that she took up half the hallway gave her away.
"Low level scum marching to their deaths, try and enjoy hell!" she claimed. There's one face I didn't want to see today. Unfortunately my mouth decided it was time to start showing off my wit before thinking about confrontations.
"Oh push off bitch, do us a favor and go hold up a rod during a lightning storm or something!" I could have sworn I heard a cricket or two chirping nearby. I saw her go from cocky to pissed in very little time and was already charging at me. No one around me moved to intercept, so I took the liberty to react. She raced ahead, lining up a punch and pulling it back. She was so slow to my heavily advanced eyes, it was like watching a turtle crawl a mile. When her punch reached my face, I tried to pull my hand up and block just in time. But my speed overshot it and brought it back down to my side, more than likely faster than anyone saw, and her fist made direct contact with my forehead. Since I was more than ready for it, I forgot to act hurt. I scowled at my mistake since her ki level was higher than mine was suppressed. But unluckily for me, I had learned long ago that suppressing your ki doesn't take away from your physical abilities. You just can't power them down like you can power them up, so faking pain might not have done any good. I heard a few bones stiffen and crack in her fist, and I glared at her hard.
"You had best walk away now," I warned, keeping my low energy level stable. I heard a scouter go off behind me, running like they were checking something.
"Strange," Tora whispered. After a gasp festival, Clerpe decided she didn't want any more of me and walked off holding her hand. She looked back for a moment, but a small smirk lit up for just a moment before she scuffed slightly and stomped off.
"Wow, no one has scared her off like that! Even when I threatened to eat her," Shugesh said with a grin.
"She's just a bag of hot air, a big bag," Fasha said, giving me a small wink.
"Well, she shouldn't be bugging the kid much anymore. Let's get going," Bardock barked from down the hall. We followed single file and piled in. When we reached the base floor, we stepped into the middle of a bar fight. It seemed that some of the first class Saiyans and elites didn't agree about something, and were tearing each other up. Some second class warriors and low levels got dragged in as well. Bardock stopped just a few feet out the elevator, just enough for us to slide out and line up behind him. He didn't really respond to the scene ahead of him, but it was pretty clear he wasn't happy about it. Then suddenly he charged a ki blast and fired straight in the middle of the mob. That got everyone's attention and they spread apart from it, before looking up and glaring at us. I'll give Bardock credit, he had a great way to stop a bar fight. Then he started charging a white energy ball that glowed throughout the entire room. I winced slightly at it before my eyes went wide when I realized what it was. Everyone else in the bar seemed to know and backed away slightly.
"You call yourselves soldiers, don't make me laugh. If even one of you moves before we leave, then the entire place is going to be demolished!" Bardock warned as he held his Power Ball. The crowds silenced and kept up a contest of glares and growls as Bardock walked through them. Tora realized what was happening and walked through as well, and the rest of us lined up behind him, I got to bring up the rear. Lots of whispers went by my ears, mostly insulting.
"Low class trash!
"Runt!"
"I hope you die and rot in hell!"
Once out, Bardock extinguished his Power Ball and we kept following. He lifted into the air and flew off a short distance away. Following, we came up to what looked like a large command center, probably the one he had mentioned. There were Saiyan space pods lined up all over the place, some lifted off when we landed, giving me a good look at their take off speed.
"Wait here," Bardock said, going inside for a minute.
"So kid, this is your first actual mission isn't it? You nervous?" Shugesh asked.
"A little," I said, when in reality I wasn't looking forward to this at all.
"I was my first trip too. Hey Tora, is there a moon on Treme?"
"Yeah but it's cycle is about every ten Zurals and we're hitting right in the middle of it. Looks like we'll have to get our hands dirty the old fashioned way. If it gets ugly we can always make use of the trump card," Tora said. Oh thank you Dende! Wait a sec, you're not here.
Bardock came back a few moments later, "Launch pad nine." We followed to a deck with five space pods on it. Bardock motioned for me and Fasha to climb into one in particular while the others got in their respective pods.
"Since this is your first trip. I'll warn you ahead of time, the effects of stasis sleep are a little, unsettling to some, but you'll adjust. Just remember not to chew off Fasha's ear when you wake up!" he smirked slightly and hit the pod on the top, making the door shut.
"Okay kid, sitting side by side isn't going to work, and I'm not spending a week on my left side. So you're on the bottom and I'm on the top!" Fasha rasped slightly, hitting my stomach to get me to sit down. The pod shook slightly and lifted into the air, before zooming off with frightening speed. Fasha climbed onto my lap, facing the window at first, blocking my view of it. I figured this would be a good time for a question or two, especially since I was supposed to be the silent one.
"Did you do what I think you did last night?" I asked.
She looked almost startled, "Wow, he speaks! I guess I did cheer you up a little after all!"
I smirked slightly, "I'm finding out the hard way what a pain in the ass that tail is."
"Well then, we have about five minutes before Stasis kicks in. What do ya say we give it a trade off. Let me tell you, Stasis is like repeating the same dream for a long time, only it tends to be whatever happened right before it. You do me and I'll do you!" she smiled brightly.
"What?" I asked.
"You rub my tail and I'll rub yours, that way at least we can dream about something worthwhile while in cold sleep," she suggested with a bright grin.
"You're kidding right?"
"Man you're bashful, I'm not trying to mate with you. Besides, it's okay for those who are not mates with others yet. Fine I'll start, but you better jump in before the gas jets come on! If you hear a growl, just stop there and know you did good!" she said, unraveling my tail from its waist spot and turning around to where she was facing me, stomach to stomach. Great, amazing, one minute I'm at home guarding against an invading race, and the next I'm sent out on a Saiyan mission to kill a bunch of people. A job I'd feel better preventing then doing, and on top all that or me in this case there's her. Granted she's damn good looking, but I was trying to prevent physical contact.
"Come on junior, otherwise I'm gonna open the door and throw you out!" Fasha warned. I sighed and dared to make contact with her swishing tail. I did my best to be gentle, but I needn't worry. The moaning told me I was just fine.
Interlude 12.1 –Vegeta's Concerns-
"Hey dad, when does Verto go on a mission?" Trunks asked, in-between bites of food.
"He left about an hour ago son, going to planet Treme will take about a week one-way. Hopefully he keeps himself under control and doesn't blow his cover," he said.
"Verto's the best at holding his power, didn't you teach him really well? He can sneak up on me and Goten when were trying to get food from the kitchen. He can blend in with the air, surely he can blend in with some Saiyans!"
"That's not exactly what I meant son. Since you brats botched up and made him older, he's almost reached prime mating age, and a lot of females will notice that he is unmarked. Even though were planning to make him young again in awhile, if he gets mated while in this predicament, well that would be bad later on. A mating bond could destroy him if we made him young again," Vegeta explained.
"What do you mean by that dad?"
Vegeta sighed, "Nothing, I'll tell you when you're older." With that said, Trunks went back to devouring food, as did Vegeta. What luck that I timed it well enough that he ended up with Kakarot's father, and if I remember correctly, him and his crew were put to death on planet Meat shortly before Frieza blew up the planet. Treme wasn't very long before that, so be careful kid. Frieza will no doubt have your eye on you. Hopefully he will start leaving his more pacifistic ways behind before we get home, I need that boy as ruthless as it gets before the Zerg arrive. If I can get him battle hardened before then, we may be able to end the invasion as it begins. And perhaps we could even bring some Saiyans back with us. It wouldn't hurt to have some more man power against the Zerg if their numbers turn out to be too great, we shall see. Vegeta returned to devouring food that Bulma had packed away in capsules, giving him some time before he would have to worry about it.
Interlude 12.2 –Location of Friends-
"Hey Bulma, could your computer core recall what code Trunks punched in there, it wasn't part of the panel that Vegeta blew up was it?" Gohan asked from inside the time chamber. The machine had blown up when Vegeta blasted the controls, but the basic parts were still intact, it just wouldn't work until it was fixed.
"Yeah it should be able to," Bulma said from the other side. It had been about two weeks since the event. Gohan, Chichi and Goku had temporarily moved in with her to help her cope, and to help with finding Vegeta and the boys. Goku had already gone to Namek once, but the Namek dragonballs wouldn't be recharged for four months. Apparently Porunga was pretty tired after the three wishes that Dende had made, and it wouldn't do any good to wait that long, as the Earth balls would be back by then.
"I got it out Bulma, let's plug it in!" Gohan said, dragging over a small memory core to Bulma's main super computer. He plugged it in as Bulma started up Trunks' old time machine for codes to determine where they had gone. The computer stopped with a match almost instantly, and Bulma couldn't believe her eyes.
"What is it Bulma?"
"According to this, Trunks punched in the exact code for about forty years ago in this dimension!"
"Really? Wow! Well that works out doesn't it? They just need to use that dragon radar you packed and get Shenron to bring them back here, no problem!"
"Yeah it is a problem Gohan, they aren't on Earth," she said solemnly.
"Where are they then?"
"A planet that used to exist before it was destroyed, and it was destroyed almost forty years ago according to Vegeta," she looked serious.
"What planet is that?"
"Planet Vegita, the Saiyan home world."
Gohan's eyes went wide, "Oh no, how long do they have before Frieza blows it up?"
"I don't know Gohan, but Vegeta always gets very distant about the same time every year that crosses the anniversary of the explosion. That is a few months off, surely Vegeta knows that, so he will do what he can to get off and not draw attention. But you know him Gohan, he's wanted the Saiyan race back for so long you never know what he'll do when he has a chance for it!"
"I don't think Vegeta will do something to screw it all up. Besides, it'll just create a new timeline won't it?" Gohan asked.
"Theoretically yes, but that's just a guess anyway. If he can get off the planet then he can get to earth or Namek and use the balls. But if Frieza's goons were to say, shoot him out of space, then where will we be?"
"Good point, I guess we should work on rebuilding this first then?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah, but we can start on that tomorrow. You have a date to get to with Videl don't you? Funny that both of your birthdays are next week, Go get em kid!" Bulma grinned slightly. Gohan didn't have quite the joyful reaction, but he waved and dashed out. Bulma continued at her computer, determination could drive her without sleep for a few days to get the time machine started.
"Vegeta, Trunks, Verto, I hope you keep safe and come back to me."
-
A loud beeping noise pulled me from a very deep sleep. The dream I had was repeating just like Fasha said, and just like she said, it was the last thing we did before the gas knocked us out. As pleasant and pleasurable as it was, I wasn't sure I wanted to repeat it. She still hung in suspended animation, her arms draped around my neck, her tail and mine intertwined. I hope my jumpsuit is dry. The beeping continued, and a red button flashed on my side. I pressed it, and a groggy voice came on over an intercom.
"Hey Fasha, wake up! You to kid! We will be arriving in about ten minutes, Tora out."
"Oh, there already. I was just getting used to this position," Fasha grumbled as she slowly looked up, her head had been resting against my shoulder. I managed to rub a little sleep from my eye before she promptly slapped my face. I stared at her grin, though she had managed to rouse me a little better.
"Well, good morning sleepy tail," she giggled. I felt like I had just come out of surgery, barely with it at all. She must have noticed, cause she gave me a playful peck on the side of my cheek, bringing me to my senses in a big hurry.
"There you are, I thought I was sleeping with a zombie for a minute there! By the way, thanks for the good dream! You did good!" she said. I blushed some as I recalled it pretty well.
Fasha laughed some more, "Oh don't sweat it, partners do that all the time, since it's technically not mating. And you're not even nine Zurals yet, it wouldn't be possible. Well half of it would be, which is the fun part. It's okay, even the guys do it when they're forced to pair off." That made me pale and wish my stomach wasn't growling.
"Just kidding, geez!" Fasha grinned. She turned on her seat, namely me, and slowly she untangled our tails. I wrapped mine back up the instant it was free, causing her to chuckle a bit more. A big brown planet filled up the window all of a sudden.
"There she is, planet Treme, we'll be landing in the government controlled area," Fasha pointed out as we began our descent.
-
Saiyan pod landings weren't too bad, until you touched down. I found that traveling at sub-light speed gets a little disturbing when you come to a very sudden stop. The ship absorbed most of the jolt, but I still felt a piece of it even as Fasha opened the door.
"C'mon you lug," she smirked some more as she jumped out into the crater the pod left behind. I rose, feeling a bit cramped up from sitting so long, and exited the pod. A large group of brown looking aliens with darker brown faces and wearing blue robes awaited us above the craters. Bardock and Tora were already out talking with them. I almost approached to listen to our mission details, but I decided otherwise. It was pretty obvious what we were supposed to do. I glanced around at some of the aliens that surrounded us. Most of them were dressed in barely rags of blue, like commoners. They resembled humans to an extent, though their noses were oddly shaped and stuck out a bit. The people Bardock was speaking to were dressed better, but not much. The area looked like it had been hit with a massive attack despite the pod landings and the people were scared. The captain finished his discussing and lifted into the air.
"Let's go you bums, we have a rebellion to put down!" Bardock ordered. We lifted off and followed behind Tora, who followed behind Bardock.
When we first came up to the war zone, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. What I saw didn't surprise me though, and it almost felt better considering what we were about to do. The government troops were dressed in blue, the rebels in red. Laser fire was spraying everywhere on the ground, some were ki blasts, not a lot though. My scouter had downloaded information on the war here and had begun informing me of information on it. The Treme rebels for the most part made me sick. The rebels that would capture the troops would torture and punish them, whereas the troops that captured rebels would simply lock them away and keep them alive. According to the information, the war had been started when the government shifted to democratic rule rather than dictatorship. That didn't make much sense to me, why would you fight to be back under that?
When we arrived, the last major government fort was under attack and was starting to lose. These people used conventional weapons, except for the occasional hand blaster that charged a soldier's ki for him, so most of it was a laser firefight. The scouter told me that these rebels had hijacked a few of Frieza's supply ships and they had taken the blasters, telling me Frieza's angle in all of this. A beeping went off in my scouter, and I reached up and pressed the button.
"Here's the plan, Tora and I will fly ahead and take out the main rebel forces heading this way. Shugesh and Borgos will take out the rebels in the surrounding area. Fasha, and the kid will re-establish control of the base. Remember, the ones in red are you targets, go forth and bring swift death to the enemies of the Saiyans!" Bardock's words rang loud and clear as he and Tora blasted off into the distance. Shugesh and Borgos took off as well, in a different direction.
"Well kid, it's you and me again. Let's first take out the initial attacking force over there. Then we can regain control of the base easier that way!" she said, swooping past the fort into the main mesh of troops. I followed, turning off the extremely annoying beeping of my scouter and charging ki into my hands, ready to fire. I moved away from Fasha towards one of the larger groups of rebels dressed in red.
"Hey kid, watch it! You're not a legendary Super Saiyan!" Fasha yelled behind me.
"Just handle that group over there, I got this!" I shouted back, heading toward my targets. I let loose multiple low power ki blasts over the rebels, who hadn't noticed me yet. They did in a big hurry after their little group was cut by a two thirds of it original size. The laser fire shifted upwards, and I had to focus on dodging the beams. A couple lucky ones got in since I was trying to keep my ki suppressed and therefore couldn't fly as fast, but they had nil effect.
"Destructive Wave!" I shouted, shooting a bigger blast down on a large group, wiping them out. Bodies started to scatter as my beam went through.
"Saiyan!" someone shouted. The rebels started giving off fear in their ki feeling. I flipped down to the ground and charged forward on foot, punching and kicking everything that was in my path.
Interlude 12.3 –Beyond Normal Ability-
Fasha couldn't believe her eyes at first. This kid with a power level not even with three fourths of her own was beating down the rebels like he was transformed. While they were physically able to beat down these rebels one on one like this, their weapons could do some damage. She blasted a few more rebels that had come her way, but most of them had either run away in fear, or had joined the battle against the kid. Her free hand went up to her scouter to track the boy's level. There's no way he can be at twenty-two and be doing that! Her scouter fluctuated a little bit as it tried to focus on Verto's power. Every time the boy killed a warrior, it dropped, every time he was about to kill one, it rose. That wasn't what surprised Fasha. It was the fact that it changed between twelve hundred and fifty-eight rapidly, pending the situation. The boy sure did his job well, cutting through the rebels like a hot knife through butter, mostly using physical combat, as the Treme people were pretty fragile. But even his physical strength was something she found amazing. Verto's blows were very precise and on target with quickness like she had never seen. Even with her Saiyan eyes she could barely track single punches and kicks, they were just way too fast. Soon the last of the rebels were running away, before he blasted them from behind. Hmmm, maybe he can control his ki a little better than we realized, I better keep this to myself.
-
I glanced behind me to see Fasha fiddling with her scouter, so I quickly dropped my power level. During the battle, my more savage instincts showed up and made me slip a little bit on the power control. To me it hadn't been much of a shift, but to them it could have been a shift of a thousand or more. I blasted the last warrior that was running for his life, turning him into smoke. Fasha was still messing with her scouter as I flew up to her.
"So, did you want me to negotiate with the government as well? You didn't do much other than sit there and fiddle with that thing," I chuckled.
"Oh shut up. Had you been careful like you should, you would have checked your scouter for weapons designs. Maybe then you wouldn"t have gotten so bloody!" she yelled, but it almost sounded like she cared. I laughed a little, looking at my red soaked armor, and body at this point.
"I think that's mostly theirs actually. I didn't get hit, or at least I don't think so," I said as I checked myself over, something difficult when covered in the blood of your enemies.
"Kids, I swear. Look, just be more careful next time you brat. Bardock isn't going to like it if his new fish on the team gets killed because of foolish decisions. Those weapons could have fried you with a few hits you know!"
"Wow Fasha, you care after all. Was I really the first one in a long time to give a good time," I smirked at her.
"Ugh, let's just get this area under wraps. You need a fuckin bath worse than any Saiyan I have ever seen! And I am not riding back next to your smelly carcass!" she claimed. Her power signal didn't reveal disgust though. It revealed something like relief crossed with lust. I shrugged and brushed off my sleeves, re-soaking my already red hands. I probably could have powered up some to remove some of the blood, only problem being the powering up part. That would equal either discovery, or at the very least suspicion. Fasha flew back towards the fort and I followed behind. Well, if all the missions are to take out the bad guys, I suppose this couldn't be too bad. My luck never holds out though.
-
After a few hours, Bardock and the others came back. Their armor a little bit roughed up, not to mention a few cuts or scrapes here and there. Unlike me, they didn't have quite as much of the enemies' blood on their hands. I couldn't help it though, while holding my power down decreased my ki usage, my physical presence was just as high as ever, and the Tremens were very fragile. It barely took a tap from me to take them out, or at least take off an arm or a leg. Almost like fighting a bunch of very weak Buus, without the regeneration of course. Fasha had me stand guard outside just in case the rebels came back, whatever was left of them. She had gone inside to discuss things with the regional commander, who was busy staring at me with his jaw hanging. Shugesh and Borgos came back first, wiping a little blood from their arms and armor.
"Well well, the kid lived after all, looks like he got pretty diced up though. Might wanna visit the recovery tank when we're done kid!" Shugesh suggested.
I smirked slightly as him, "Whoever said this was all mine?"
This caused Shugesh to laugh rather hard, "That's the spirit kid!" he slapped me on the back. I noticed he was holding his bruised hand a lot after that. Borgos just looked around and pulled out some food he had stuffed into his armor, eating it. Fasha came out of the fort a few minutes later, carrying a raggy towel. She tossed it to me, and I started to wipe some of the blood off. Tora and Bardock's ki signals showed up in my senses, and they landed shortly after.
"Kid got roughed up a little bit Fasha. Did you send him to take out the troops on his own while you kicked back?" Tora chuckled. Fasha glared at him slightly, but said nothing. "That's okay kid, they got a recovery tank here if you're tired!" Tora put a hand on my blood soaked shoulder pad.
"It's fine, they had lousy aim," I laughed and grinned.
"You look a little like Bardock when you do that kid," Tora laughed, while Bardock grunted. I wiped the rest of the blood from my hair first, then my sleeves and armor. By the time I got to my legs and tail, the rag was dripping red.
Another towel hit my shoulder prompting me to speak, "Thanks Fasha." I cleaned up the rest as best I could, before wondering what exactly we were waiting to do next. Bardock had gone inside to speak with the commander.
"Why's your scouter turned off kid?" Tora suddenly piped up.
"Oh, didn't realize it was off I guess. I was a bit busy," I lied quickly.
"No, I saw you turn it off right before you engaged the rebels! What were you thinking? If you don't know what's coming at you, you won't be prepared and most likely will get killed!" Fasha's voice rose up as she scolded me.
"Sorry, the beeping was a bit annoying. I woulda been okay. I'm still here aren't I?" I reasoned.
"Don't pay attention to Fasha, she gets attached to new kids pretty quickly, and over time gets a bit protective like a mate would," Tora said.
"I do not! I just don't want to see a failed mission when the new blood gets cocky and thinks he can take on the world by himself. Then he may get killed and Bardock will come down on me for it!" Fasha shouted with a red face.
"Typical woman," Tora muttered with a shake of the head. And here I thought Saiyans were mostly heartless, but she acts like Videl, with Saiyan blood that is. I wiped the rest of the Treme blood off the best I could, while everyone waited for Bardock to show again. He did a few minutes later, stepping from the fort with a grim look on his face.
"What is it Bardock?"
"Guys, we need to go to the rebel capitol. Seems they have a powerful ion cannon stationed there. One that is able to take out about everything within a twenty-mile radius of its target point, and it is very accurate to within a meter. Seems they have activated it and are currently charging it up to fire on the government's remaining cities. Our mission is to take out the cannon before it fires. Once that is done, we take out the capitol's forces, which are a bit depleted now, but still a good three thousand strong. Let's move out!" Bardock shouted the last part as he charged his aura around him for flight. I followed suit, noticing everyone else's aura was blue and white, while mine was a silvery and clear because of my mystic power up. No one really said anything to the issue though, and we blasted off in pursuit of Bardock.
Power Levels:
Verto (suppressed): 2200, fluctuates between 1200-5800 during battle.
Clerpe: 2800
Fasha: 3000
Shugesh: 4400
Borgos: 4200
Tora: 5500
Bardock: 7000
Treme rebels: all below 300, weapons capable of 3500
A/n: Like I mentioned a few times, just because Verto is keeping his level WAY down compared to normal, it does not take much away from his physical nature.