The Last Warrior

Chapter 18: The Warrior's Rage

By: Daniel Graffio

April 27, 2005

Anger. Slade had felt the emotion before, had lived with it all his life. But never so much as at this moment, had he felt it boiling inside him. His eyes were burning, his mouth had gone dry, and his hands were shaking, Eve's blood still dripping from them. He felt as if he would explode. He looked at Eve, lying on the ground. The three Z warriors with her had covered her wound more, but none of them were even sure if she was still alive. The sight of her fueled Slade's anger more, and as it grew, his power grew with it. The sky above them grew pitch. Lighting struck everywhere and the wind blew ever more violently. The ground began to crack and break, debris filling the air and swirling around them all in the ever-blowing winds. Aiden and the rest looked at Slade with fear and awe. His eyes kept flashing green and back again. More noticeable was his hair, which would flash brilliant gold, then go back to its normal black. Aiden fell backwards from the shaking ground around them.

"What the hell is this?" Aiden thought, "What's happening now?" He looked over to Alex and Nax and saw they were thinking the same thing. The only one who seemed to know anything about this phenomenon was Kane, who was speechless with fear. Zenyu was looking from him to Slade and back again, as though hoping for an explanation.

Slade's pupils had disappeared completely now, but his hair still flashed between gold and black. In his mind swirled thoughts of everyone in his life that Kane had taken away. His mother, his father, his brother, and now Eve. All four of them had willingly put there lives on the line for him, without a thought. Why? Why was his life worth so much to them? He had failed them all. He had failed to protect them when he should have. That thought, more than anything, filled Slade with an indescribable fury. His ki flared brighter and more violently than ever. Why did he keep losing people! He could feel something inside him slipping...slipping...slipping...

"This...This can't be!" screamed Kane, "This can't be happening!"

Slade's hair turned gold.

"Master, what's going on?" Zenyu said desperately, "WHAT IS HE?"

Slade's hair turned black again

"He's a..."

Back to gold.

"A..."

Black.

"A...A SUPER SAIYAN!"

With one last feral scream, Slade's ki exploded in a blinding white flash that robbed everyone gathered there of sight for a few moments. When the light had dissipated, Slade stood there, floating above a much larger crater than he had previously created. His eyes were bright green, his hair standing straight up on his head, flashing brilliant gold to match his flaring ki. He stared down Kane and Zenyu with contempt in his green eyes, his face blank.

"No...this can't be...a Super Saiyan. It's not possible." Kane muttered repeatedly, shuffling his feet backwards. His eyes and mouth wide open in fear. Zenyu looked at his master, then at the golden-haired young man. His ki flared up and he launched himself at the boy.

"ZENYU! STOP!" Kane warned, but his subordinate didn't listen.

"I don't care what you are; you'll never be more than a bug to me!" Zenyu yelled as he flew at the boy from the side. Slade didn't even look at him. Zenyu raised his fist to attack, but before he had even swung. Slade reacted.

WHAM!

Everyone observed the grisly sight. Zenyu floated in midair with his arm raised, not moving, his eyes and mouth wide open, as if struggling with a scream he couldn't let out. Slade's eyes turned to him, his arm pierced through his chest and out the other side of his body. Slade withdrew his arm and kicked Zenyu into the sky. He then zanzokened behind him and knocked him back to the ground with the heel of his foot. Zenyu hit the ground hard, the impact creating yet another crater in the dusty field. Zenyu coughed his own blood into the dirt next to him, looking up at the boy he never thought would do this to him. That same boy then raised his hand and flared his ki again. He shouted,

"BIG-BANG ATTACK!"

The attack hit its mark with deadly accuracy, the explosion disintegrating General Zenyu forever. Aiden and the others quickly picked Eve up and moved away just in time. The explosion had both widened and deepened the crater significantly, but Slade was unconcerned as he turned his gaze towards Kane. Kane jumped back a little from Slade's piercing eyes. He looked at the crater that had once been his right hand man, then back to the Super Saiyan who landed a few feet away from him. His friends landed close behind, carrying the body of the girl he had hit with his blast. Kane's expression turned from fear to anger, though his fear had not left in the slightest.

"Why...you..." he said through clenched teeth.

Slade just stared at Kane, and then he spoke,

"You guys get Eve out of here. She needs help." His tone was more commanding than ever.

"But Slade..." said Alex, "It doesn't look like she's even breathing anymore."

Slade turned to them slowly. He pointed his palm towards Eve, and shot a tiny golden blast at her. Rather than destroying her, the blast surrounded her with a golden light, which seemed to go inside of her. After a few moments, Eve breathed in sharply, coughing up a little more blood.

"My God." said Alex.

"Now go." Slade commanded, "Take her to the hospital. That energy I gave her will be for nothing if you don't hurry."

"But..." started Aiden.

"Remember the promise you made!" Slade yelled, then turning back to Kane he added, "And tell Eve, I'll keep mine."

"Right Slade," said Nax, picking Eve up and flying off, the others following close behind. Slade's eyes were burning with anger as he looked at Kane. Kane returned the icy stare, but Slade could sense his fear.

"It's time for round two now." Slade said.