The Last Warrior

Chapter 8: Monster or Not?

By: Daniel Graffio (Neoguy23)

April 11, 2005

Doc Foster had never had a problem with helping out Eve or her group. He would do his best to help any of them, wounded or sick. He felt it was his way of contributing to her resistance as best he could. He hated Kane and his soldiers as much as them, seeing their contempt for life and devoting his life to healing people as much as Kane was killing them. He was a middle-aged man, who looked, and spoke like he was much older than he was. He had brown hair that was graying at the temples and base of his skull. He wore thick black-rimmed glasses, and had a big bushy mustache which was gray like the rest of his hair was turning. He dressed like a typical doctor, with a white coat over a suit shirt and pants. He typically worked in a hospital in the city, but every so often he was contacted by Eve and the resistance members for some medical help, as their medical staff wasn't really adept at treating major injuries. When he arrived at the base, he looked at the young man in the bed, broken and bloody, and was told the story of how he had gotten that way. He examined the young man, who was a stranger to him though that didn't matter to a true doctor, for hours.

"It doesn't look good at all." said Doc, as he was called by the group, "He has many internal injuries, a broken arm, two broken ribs, and his spine looks like it could be bruised. He may have trouble walking for awhile."

"I see." Eve said. Her voice was distant, almost as if she was lost in thought.

Doc looked at her face, and could see tears forming in her eyes, but she was obviously trying to keep them falling down. He smiled at bit, noting how strong a girl she had become. He put his hand on her shoulder, jogging her out of her daydream.

"Don't worry though, he'll recover. This boy clearly tougher than he looks."

She smiled at him.

"You don't know that half of it." she thought, smiling again down at Slade. Doc left her alone in the room, going outside where the rest of the group that had attacked Kane's palace was gathered.

"How's he look Doc?" asked Aiden.

"Well, like I was saying to Eve, he's in bad shape, but he should recover. Though I'll need to monitor his recovery closely, if you don't mind me staying here that is." said Doc.

"Not at all, would you like me to take you to a room?" asked Aiden.

"Oh no, not right now, but I am a bit hungry. I remember where the cafeteria is though, so I'll go myself. Besides..." he looked back into the room, where Eve hadn't moved an inch from where she was watching the unconscious Slade. "The person in that room may need your support."

"Well, I don't think you need to worry about Slade." said Kado with a wink, "He's a tough guy."

"Yes," Doc laughed, "but I didn't mean the boy." Then he walked away whistling. The rest of them looked at Eve inside the room, and then at each other.

"That Kane," said Glenn, "he's a monster."

"This guy's not exactly normal either if you remember." remarked Aiden.

"Hey, just cause he's a Saiman or whatever, doesn't change a thing about him." said Kado, annoyed with his friend's comment.

"That's Saiyan." corrected Una.

"Whatever," said Kado, "The point is, he didn't even know about it, so how should that change the kind of person he is."

"Well, I'm a bit more worried about her right now." Ena said, pointing to Eve's back. She had sat down in a chair now, but her eye's still hadn't left Slade.

"Smart money says she won't leave there unless we drag her out." said Glenn.

"Well, I know I don't want that job." said Aiden, rubbing his stomach and remembering the incident at the lake.

"What job?" said Eve, who had apparently got up and went to the door. They all stammered a bit and recomposed themselves.

"You okay?" Aiden said, with the air of a big brother. She looked up at him and smiled a very fake smile, one that almost hurt him to look at.

"I'm fine." She said, "But all this excitement has made me tired, I'm going to bed." She then hurried off down the hall, a little too quickly it seemed to them. For awhile after she disappeared around the corner, none of them said anything.

"Wow," said Kado, "She must really have fallen for him at some point." Then they all walked off, thinking the same thing.

Eve made it to her room ok, then she lay down on her bed and buried her face in her pillow. That's when she could hold it in no longer. She started sobbing, her tears soaking her pillow. They weren't all tears of sadness over what had happened to this man who had come into her life, but tears of joy that he was going to be ok. She cried for hours, until she had finally fallen asleep.

The next morning she awoke, dressed quickly and went off to the medical room. Just as she was reaching the door, she saw Doc coming from the opposite direction. Doc smiled at her as she came towards him.

"Oh, good morning Eve." he said brightly. She smiled back at him.

"Morning Doc." she said, and then with a look of urgency, she asked, "How is Slade?"

"I haven't gone in yet, but I wouldn't imagine much change yet. He's probably still unconscious." He then opened the door, and was immediately shocked by what he saw. Not only was Slade conscious, but he was at the window overlooking the lake. He still wore the bandages they had put on him and his arm was still in the sling, but he was standing as straight and steadily as he ever did.

"Slade?" said Eve tentatively. She was in as much shock as the Doc was.

Slade turned around to them both. His eyes looked sad and distant. Almost as if he didn't quite see them there.

"Hey." was all he said.

"H-How can this be? You shouldn't even be able to stand after that beating." said the Doc.

Slade sighed and turned back to the window.

"I guess monsters heal fast." he said in a disgusted tone.

"Slade." Eve snapped at him, "Don't call yourself that. None of us think you're a monster." Slade looked at her with a weak smile on his face, which made Eve blush.

"What is this 'monster' business?" asked Doc. Eve explained all about what Kane had said about Saiyans. Doc rubbed his chin.

"I see, that surely could account for this quick recovery."

Slade banged his fist on the steel windowsill, putting a dent in it.

"I can't believe any of this." he said, clearly frustrated, "I don't even know who I am anymore."

"Well son, most people can't say they really know who they are. It's tough for anyone to really find out." said Doc, trying to reassure this powerful but volatile young man. For the moment it seemed to have worked.

"I guess so, but still..." Slade trailed off, looking back out the window.

"Well Eve, it seems that the patient is well enough to be in your care for now, I must get back to the hospital, they'll need me back." said Doc, breaking off any uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, sure." said Eve, then she got a sly idea, "Slade, how about you take Doc back into town."

Slade looked up, not really knowing if he wanted to go anywhere right now.

"Now, I don't know Eve, Slade may be walking but he still might need some time to fully recover." Doc started, but then Slade took his arm out of the sling, and moved it around a bit. He smiled slightly, one that made him look like his old self for a moment, which made Eve very happy.

"Ok, let's go Doc." said Slade.

"Oh, I can't ask you to fly a ship in your condition my boy." Doc said, not sure if the risk was worth both their lives, but he was struck out of this thinking by Eve's giggling. Before he could ask what was so funny, Eve said,

"Don't worry Doc; Slade will get you there no problem." Slade smiled again at this, appreciating at least one person in the room believed in him.

In the dark citadel of Kane's palace, Zenyu approached the throne of his master, and bowed low to it.

"Master, I have done what you asked of me." he said.

"Very good." Kane said, his voice almost seeming like a laugh. "You serve me well Zenyu. Just as your ancestor, the great Captain Ginyu served Lord Freeza in the past."

"Yes sire, thank you very much." Zenyu said, bowing lower. He then walked up and took his place at his master's side. Kane could see though there was more on his general's mind.

"Speak Zenyu, I'll allow a bit more of talk out of you than anyone else." said Kane.

"Well sir, it's just, you never have told me exactly why we're destroying the Saiyans. I'll never question your orders to do so, no sir, but I just would like to know why you so desire them eliminated." said Zenyu.

Kane laughed a little, which put Zenyu at ease, as he could read his master's reaction as that of compliance rather than he was getting ready to kill him for asking questions.

"That's no question I don't mind answering Zenyu," Kane said, "Rather I'd be happy to tell you. Back when Lord Freeza reigned supreme over the universe, I was his chief advisor. Lord Freeza at that time used the Saiyans to conquer planets for him. They, like the other races under Lord Freeza's rule were inconsequential to him. I never really though much of them either, until a Saiyan prince was born, one of incredible power. Almost as if a catalyst, we then began to notice how strong the other Saiyans had become. They were certainly still no threat to Lord Freeza's incredible power, but still, they were becoming a problem. Zarbon, one of Lord Freeza's main henchmen, suggested that the Saiyans be eliminated. I agreed with him. The Saiyans were a strong force, and could one day have had the power to defeat Lord Freeza, So Lord Freeza destroyed the planet Vegeta and the Saiyans, only a handful who were not on the planet at the time survived. Later, He learned of the Dragonballs, and went to Planet Namek to acquire them. Lord Freeza was defeated on that planet, and later I learned it was none other than a Saiyan who did it. Too make it worse; it was a Super-Saiyan, a warrior even the Saiyans only spoke of as a legend. Lord Freeza was nearly destroyed, but his father Kind Cold and I found him, and restored him. We remade him with cybernetic implants, and we went off to Earth, this planet, to find the Super Saiyan and kill him for good. When we arrived though, another Super-Saiyan appeared and destroyed both Lord Freeza and his father. I hid myself, and when it was safe, stole the ship the Super-Saiyan who had originally defeated Lord Freeza brought back from Namek with him. I escaped back to planet Freeza, where I began to formulate my revenge. I trained my body to its utmost and beyond, trying to attain a power that would equal Lord Freeza's. I also underwent numerous medical procedures to extend my life and increase my power even further. I decided to take up Lord Freeza's crusade to rid the universe of the filthy Saiyan race." Kane looked at Zenyu smiling,

"And I will too."

Doc Foster seemed to have less trouble with his first time flying than Eve had, but he still looked a bit nervous to Slade. To put him more at ease, Slade landed on the outskirts of town, and they walked the rest of the way. As they walked, Slade began to notice that people were staring at him. At first he thought it was because he had bandages all over him, but then he noticed people glaring, menacingly almost, and pointing. Some seemed to be afraid of him. Then, on the side of a large building, Slade saw the cause of this behavior. It was a flyer with his picture on it, a picture that had been taken inside Kane's Citadel. Slade's expression in the picture was a mixture of anger and utter hatred. Naturally, he looked very scary to everyone else. Below was written: "BEWARE OF THE SAIYAN SLADE. SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND VERY DANGEROUS." Slade tore the flyer down, but saw many more like it all around town. He felt as though he could blow up every building in town just to get rid of that haunting image of himself. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't hard or threatening, just there. He turned and saw the doc looking at him with a worried expression, almost like one his brother wore when he saw Slade upset.

"Pay it no mind Slade." said Doc.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Slade said as he turned and continued walking back with him. They finally arrived at the large hospital building, and went inside. Almost immediately, both men heard a shriek. Slade and Doc looked to the side and saw a large nurse heading there way.

"Oh, Dr. Foster! There you are. We've been worried sick, what with that thing on the loose."

"Why were you worried Nurse? You know where I was." said the Doc, then he was interrupted by Slade.

"What thing are you talking about that's loose?" He said with a definite tone of anger in his voice. She looked at him, and recognized him from the flyers. She shrieked again.

"It's him, the Saiyan. That monster from the flyers! How dare you try to take our Dr. Foster!"

"Nurse that's enough." said the Doc, "This boy hasn't done anything to deserve your accusations or your fear. I merely went up there to help him heal from..." he quieted down at this part, "Help him heal from a fight he had with Kane himself." There were gasps heard at this, some people whispered to each other. Slade looked and saw the nurse still didn't trust him, but he didn't care, he was glad at least one person here believed in him too.

"I'm gonna leave now Doc, I'd hate to be the source of any unpleasantness." he said.

Doc gave him an apologetic look and bid him good-bye. Slade turned and left. As soon as he got out the door, he saw a mob of people waiting; apparently they had seen him go in. Many of them were screaming,

"Look, it's him. The Saiyan." much as the nurse had done. Some parents were trying to hide their children from him, as though he would shortly be trying to devour them. Slade gritted his teeth, and then flew up into the air and back towards the base.

"So this is what you're doing now huh Kane?" Slade thought. "Trying to get everyone believe I'm some kind of monster. One that's worse than you." He then slowed down a bit, and thought more deeply,

"Though at this point, I'm not sure you're wrong."