The Last Warrior

Chapter 12: Emotions vs. Instincts

By: Daniel Graffio

April 24, 2005

"Anything unusual soldier?" said the Captain, looking down upon the grunt at the monitor. The grunt looked back up at him.

"No sir, nothing significant to report."

"Well keep sharp." snapped the Captain.

"Yes sir." said the grunt, returning to his work quickly. The captain had just barely turned around when the monitor started beeping like mad.

"What the-" he started, but at that moment, a different noise overshadowed the beeping console. The sound of the door's exploding off their hinges. Every soldier was frozen in terror as the explosions got closer and closer, until finally the door to the room in which they stood was blown apart. Seven people quickly rushed in, pointing their hands and commanding them all to freeze. Some tried to resist, but were quickly beaten down. When the soldiers finally surrendered, one of the fighters, a young man who seemed to be the leader, began to speak.

"Listen up! This base is now under the control of The Z Warriors. So all of you soldiers kindly get the hell off of our property."

"What..." the Captain began to protest, but he was then shoved out by a large man.

After the ones calling themselves The Z Warriors had finished evacuating all the soldiers and prisoners held in the base, they helped themselves to whatever spoils they wanted from the base. The leader was keeping his eye on the group of soldiers as they moved a few hundred yards from the base. Then he took a small radio from his pocket and spoke into it.

"Aiden, how's it going in there, you got everything?" he said.

"Roger boss. Its all clear, move at your discretion." said the voice of the one called Aiden.

"Right, tell Glenn and Eve to meet me over here, you take the supplies and the prisoners back to the base, we'll figure out what to with what when I get back." said the leader.

"Yes sir." said the voice.

The leader of the gang then put the radio back, as two people, a man and a woman landed out of the sky next to him. The captain then watched as a large ship seemed to come out from the forest around the base and fly off. The leader had obviously read the look of confusion on the Captain's face, as he smiled a sinister half-smile.

"Like it? It took us awhile to get the technology to be able to slip under your radar, but I have to admit it was worth it." he said.

"You're just a lousy bandit, that's what you are." snarled the captain. Rather than get angry, this statement seemed to amuse the rebel leader, as he put his hand mockingly over his heart.

"Oh, you wound me so." he laughed, "But seriously, if that isn't an extreme case of the pot calling the kettle black. You've been raiding the towns and cities in this area for years, taking what you wanted. You sicken me."

"Hmph." said the Captain, trying to rise to his full height. "So you rebel dog, what is it you're going to do to us and the base now that you have both at your mercy?"

The young man looked over to the base and put out his hand. All his fingers were together standing straight out, with the exception of his thumb, which was crossed over his palm. The boy then fired a blast straight into the building, causing it to explode and leave nothing but a large crater. The soldiers, and the Captain included were stunned at the young man's power. He turned his gaze back to them, and they backed up slowly.

"That answers part of your question," he said in a calm voice like death, "As for all of you...you're free to go."

The soldier's jaws dropped.

"That's right," The leader continued, "You can go and do as you please. You can go back to Kane right now if you want. But, I'm making you all this offer. You can join us in our fight if you wish. It's been my experience that some of you soldiers may have more a desire to fight against Kane than for him. So if any of you have that desire, speak up now."

No one said a word. The leader sighed and said to them,

"That's disappointing, but oh well. We'll be going now. Just remember, when you go back to Kane, to tell him who did this." The young man's belt than unfurled on its own, until the collective soldiers realized it was a tail. It shook at them mockingly, before its owner and his two companions flew off into the distance. The soldier's stood in silence for a good long time. On their minds was one thought. The Saiyan had left them alive.

Slade and the others returned to the base in a few short minutes and were looking forward to some rest. They had gone through this routine for the past few months. They attacked Kane's base's around the planet, freeing the captives there, taking back the money Kane's officers had stolen, either for Kane or themselves, and returning it. Slade also made it a point at every base to ask if any of the soldiers desired to join their cause. Most hadn't, but Slade had had some success. These soldiers who joined them usually had ulterior motives for joining Kane's army in the first place. Aiden had questioned Slade's judgment on this, as Slade suspected he would. Slade finally took him aside and stated,

"I'm gonna leave it up to you to watch them closely. If you find any evidence they either have or are going to betray us, then kill them. Or better yet, tell me, and I'll do it." This had put Aiden somewhat at ease. Slade had no worries about any of the converted Kane soldiers. He could sense in each of them what they wanted, and that was an Earth free of Kane. Slade's reputation had slowly but surely changed during these months. He still couldn't go into the town, but for entirely different reasons now. Kane's soldiers had been place on high alert ever since their first raid on a base. Word did travel to Slade from other's who could sneak into town that he was now seen as a hero to them. This helped strengthen Slade's resolve.

"How was I?" he asked Eve as they walked down the hall talking about the mission.

"You were very good," Eve said, then in a playful tone added "Very dashing."

Slade blushed a bit, then got to his knee and kissed Eve's hand.

"Why thank you dear lady," he said in a phony accent. "You do me too much honor."

Eve giggled, and then pretended to curtsy.

"You're welcome dear sir." she said in an accent as fake as his. They both laughed. They had become closer friends over this time, and were seen together a lot. Most of the people around the base were beginning to wonder who would confess to whom first. Slade got up and the both of them started walking again.

"I was disappointed a bit though," he said, "No one wanted to join us."

"There might have been," Eve reassured him, "They might not have the courage though."

"Yeah, well, hopefully we can find at least one at the next baAAAAAAOOW!" Slade's head went back suddenly, looking down. A small girl, a little taller than Slade's knee, was pulling on his hair, which had always been long but was now at his waist. The girls name was Nami. The Z warriors had rescued her and her mother Lelia from one of Kane's internment camps, along with about a hundred others. Unlike the others however, Nami and her mother had nowhere to go. Nami's father had been killed in the war with Kane before she had even been born. She and her mother were taken prisoner when Nami was 4 for failing to pay taxes. Two years later, Slade had liberated them, and allowed them to stay at the base until more suitable lodging could be found for them. Slade down looked at the six year old girl with an expression of mock anger that didn't fool the girl for a second.

"Hey, that hurt." he said.

"You're hair's too long." she said back at him. He couldn't help but smile at that, he picked her up and held her.

"Well, I was thinking maybe I could put it in a ponytail or a braid or something." he joked.

"Naw, that'd look silly on you." she laughed as she hugged him around the neck. Eve smiled at the two.

"Maybe you need a haircut Slade." She said.

"What!" The mighty Saiyan warrior said in surprise, "C-Cut my hair?"

"Yeah," said Nami, "Cut your hair!"

"What's wrong Slade?" Eve teased, "Not afraid of some scissors are you?"

"Yeah, not afraid of scissors are you?" said Nami, matching Eve's tone perfectly.

"No, it's just; I kinda like my hair like this." Slade said meekly.

"Well Slade," Eve explained matter of factly, "How long do you think you can grow it out before you have trouble fighting?"

Slade sighed,

"Point taken." he said in a defeated tone.

"So which base are we hitting next?" asked Kado as he sat with in the break room with several other Z warriors, including those recent convertees of Kane's army.

"Well, Nax said there was a base about 200 kilometer's west of here. Right Nax?" said Aiden, turning to the first one of Kane's former soldiers who had joined them. It was from Nax that Slade got the idea to ask for volunteers. Nax had come out of the group of soldiers, thrown off his armor, and told Slade he wanted to join. He was a young man, older than Slade but not by much. He was also about Slade's height, with brown hair and a small but athletic physique. He was a human. He looked up at Aiden's hailing,

"Yeah, that's right. I was stationed there before I went to the base you guys found me at." he said. Out of all of them, Aiden felt most at ease with Nax.

"So when are we leavin'?" said the gruff voice of Guldan. Guldan was a Rewor, a large cat-like beast with shaggy fur. The Rewors were rumored to be second in power only to the Saiyans, though most of the Z warriors believed these rumors to be Guldan's own making. Regardless he was a strong fighter and an overall pleasant person, despite his booming voice and gruff manner.

"I guess we go whenever Slade is done doing what he's been doing for the past hour or so." said Janice, another human soldier, but a female one. She was fairly tall, but slender, with long blonde hair and dark brown eyes. The Z warriors had been amazed at her strength when she had sparred with Slade one day, once actually managing to get the best of him in a confrontation. Slade had been the first offer her congratulations, before sweeping her feet out from under her.

"More like what I was having done to me." Said Slade as he walked through the door. The rest of the fighters looked at him with a stunned expression. His hair was now many times shorter, and stuck up on his head in numerous spikes. After staring at him for a few minutes, they all burst out laughing. Slade found this very annoying.

"Shut up!" he snapped at them all.

They stopped, but still smiled at him.

"Sorry Slade, We're just not used to seeing you with hair like that." said Glenn, struggling not to laugh again.

"Well neither am I, but I didn't laugh at myself when I looked in the mirror." said Slade.

"Yeah you did." Said Eve, who had appeared behind him.

"You keep out of this, butcher." Slade said.

"What was that?" Eve said, holding up a pair of scissors threateningly.

"Nothing nothing." Slade said, trying to sound like he didn't care, though his hand crept up to his head. The room burst into laughter again, Slade joining in.

"Ok then," The young rebel leader stated, "We're gonna be off to West Base tomorrow."

They nodded, and he continued.

"This is a big one people. Intel says some high-ranking officers should be stationed there." Slade's half-smile grew on his face.

"You gonna get them ta join ya too?" said Guldan.

"I'm hoping so." said Slade.

The next morning they all met in the hanger, a few of them boarding the ship they would need to transport people and goods. The rest would be flying.

They arrived at the base shortly before the afternoon, and snuck in as quiet as could be, taking out guards stealthily until they finally got to the main door. It was a large steel contraption; it was also closed and locked with a passkey.

"Shall we knock?" said Eve slyly.

"Allow me ma'am." said Slade smiling his half-smile. He put his hands out in front of him and began moving them around in a complicated series of gestures until finally bringing them back in front of him, and blasting the door down. In the rush to get inside, Slade could have sworn someone mutter, "Showoff."

The base was taken as easy as expected, and the routine of hoarding the soldiers, freeing the prisoners, and taking what they liked commenced. When it was done, all the Z warriors gathered by Slade. The Saiyan fighter then went into his speech about joining them, and to his delight, and everyone else's surprise, one man did join. He was a tall man with dirty blonde hair. His name was Alex DuVrey, a general in Kane's army, and one of note. He explained to Slade privately that by joining the army, he hoped to get close enough to Kane to kill him. Now though, he felt he had a better chance with the Z warriors. Slade turned to leave with his new ally, when another soldier spoke up, one with a very different statement to make.

"That's right, you run back home monkey! You're just prolonging the inevitable. You, your team, and all those traitors you've got to join you. You'll all be killed by Master Kane. There is no way you'll ever beat him, and one day he's going to find you and rid the universe of your kind forever you stupid ape!" He then laughed a wide open-mouthed laugh. The Z Warriors looked to Slade to see what he would do, but he was no longer in the place they thought he had been. He was now standing in front of the laughing man, his index finger in the soldier's open mouth.

"Open wide." he said, no smile on his face. Then he fired a blast from his finger that went straight through the man's head, killing him instantly. Everyone present was shocked, except for Alex.

"That idiot was always shooting his mouth off." he said to Slade.

"Well now I just did it for him." Slade responded coldly. "Let's go."

No one said anything on the way back, except for everyone explaining to Alex what exactly being a Z warrior entailed, and what Slade said would happen if he were caught betraying them. Alex commented he was starting to like Slade.

Back at the base, everyone went there separate ways to talk about the day's events. Slade went straight for his room. A few hours later, he was joined by Eve.

"Well?" she said.

"Well what?" he asked.

"You know what I mean." She said hotly.

Slade sighed a frustrated sigh.

"You wanna know why I killed that guy."

"Yes.

"He asked for it."

"But did you have to kill him?"

"Maybe not, but I wanted too."

"So you do whatever you like, is that it?"

"You wouldn't understand the real reason."

"Oh I wouldn't?" Eve was getting very angry now.

"Probably not." Said Slade, trying to keep calm.

"Try me." Eve said, and from her posture, Slade could tell she wasn't going to budge. He though, didn't feel like talking at the moment. Eve saw this, and said,

"Well, the others are just as shocked as I am by this."

"Why, we've killed Kane soldiers before, why was this so different." Slade said, his voice rising.

"It just...wasn't like you." Said Eve, her voice almost cracking, "It wasn't like you at all."

"Is that the way everyone feels?" asked Slade in that deadly calm voice that scared Eve.

"No, some of them are impressed, but...but..." she started. Slade looked and saw her hands were shaking. His anger subsided, and his expression and voice softened.

"I...I didn't mean to scare you." he said, "My Saiyan side may have just gotten overzealous."

She looked at him with her round blue eyes, eyes that always seemed to pierce right into Slade's soul. She raised a hand and put it to his cheek.

"Slade," she said, "Part of you is Saiyan, but don't forget that part of you is human too. OK?" She then surprised him by kissing his cheek. She then left the room. Slade stood in that spot for a long time. He touched his cheek where both her hands and lips had touched, then looked down at his hand. He clenched it into a fist, and smiled to himself.

"Damn you Eve," he thought, "How did you do that?" His smile grew wider.

An hour later, Slade walked into the break room. Everyone was there, but nobody noticed him until he cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him as though nothing had happened, as though he were about to announce the day's menu or something. No one even mentioned the dead soldier until Slade spoke up.

"How many of you have a problem with what I did today." he asked, his tone showing them all he wanted to know from them as friends. Many of them raised their hands.

"How many of you would have done the same." Alex, Nax, and Guldan raised their hands. Slade smiled a bit and sighed.

"Let me explain my reasoning then. I've had to hear what that guy had been saying for longer than I want to remember. The mocking names, the threats, and the statement that almighty Kane is gonna kill me. Well I had had enough. I figured just this one gets shut up by me. Then maybe the rest of them will keep their mouths shut as well. Maybe I was out of line, but I don't regret doing it. The only think I to regret is causing my team to wonder about my mental state or code of ethics. For that I apologize." He bowed to them slightly, and they all bowed back.

"I think we all understand Slade." said Aiden. "I think though, if that guy had kept talking, I'd have beaten you to killing him."

"Hey not before me you wouldn't have." said Alex, "That guy was on my list for a long time." This started a discussion on the day's events in a different light. Most people now agreed that they might have done the same in Slade's position, even Eve said so. Slade looked at her, and still saw worry in her eyes, and at that moment he'd have given anything to make that look leave her.