The sun slowly rose over the grassy hills of Sadal's outskirts, illuminating the vast canyon dividing the large stretch of plain and awakening the animals on the surface. On the edge of the canyon was a grid of metal, rectangular buildings, housing the dorms and training facilities of the Sadal Defense Force.
Inside one of the rooms, Cabba woke up to a start as the warm sunlight shined through the window and directly on to his face. Glancing at the clock on the desk next to his bed, he noticed that it would still be another 20 minutes before the soldiers in the base would be awoken to complete their training and other duties for the day. Nonetheless, the Saiyan groggily lifted himself from his bed, slipping out from under the covers and fetching his battle suit from his dorm's closet. He made his way down to the dining room on the second floor of his dorm building where he would fetch his breakfast. Upon stepping into the sterilized, crystalline white room with a light blue floor, he was surprised to find Kale already at one of the tables with her back pointed towards Cabba and with her battle suit equipped, identical to the commander's with the exception of the light purple robe being a red color, denoting her lower-ranking position. Cabba went up to greet her, only to notice her rocking her leg and back and forth. She turned to her friend, her pupils dilated and with a grimace on her face. "H-h-hey Caba-ba-ba-ba!" she said with gritted teeth. In her hand was a gray mug with an orange liquid in it, some of which was dripping down the side. Oh dear... Cabba thought to himself.
"You're not used to Balsa juice, are you?" he asked as he grabbed a mug from the kitchen counter, went over to a nearby vending machine and poured a few drops of the drink into his mug. He took a sip, and was immediately energized, and went on to explain in more detail. "Balsa fruits are tasty, but they contains lots of caffeine. You're only supposed to drink a little bit in the morning to help yourself wake up. From the looks of it, you drank half a cup..." Cabba said the last part amidst stifled laughter. "No, I'm totally ok!" Kale replied, her voice trembling as she struggled to get the words out. As the minutes passed, various other soldiers poured into the the dining room for their morning juice and breakfast, having a good laugh at Kale's erratic, but steadily relaxing behavior. Their hobnobbing was cut short by King Potat's advisor barging into the room, requesting Cabba come outside with him to speak in private.
The two walked out of the building into the middle of the military complex. As they spoke, groups of soldiers walked all around them, bustling in and out of the district's buildings.
"Master Cabba, two Namekians have appeared at one of the space ports." began the red-headed, mustached advisor. "They claim to know you from the Tournament of Power and need your help. It's an emergency situation, they say." Cabba immediately remembered the two Namekian fighters he had met as the Universe 6 team was being created. While they hadn't had much time to interact prior to the Tournament of Power starting, he did recall them being a bit more anxious and reserved in the training their team did; even the silent assassin Hit was able to crack more jokes in the face of such a horrific situation. Whatever this is about, Cabba thought, it must have something to do with the Tournament of Power. At least, I hope it is…
"Do the Namekians go by the names of Saonel and Pirina?"
The advisor nodded.
"Advisor Okra, inform the border guards that I will be arriving shortly. In the meantime, let the two past security, but keep them within the building."
Okra nodded again, pulling out a scouter from his pocket and turning it on to relay Cabba's order to the immigration workers. As this was happening, Cabba felt strange, like someone was watching them. He turned around, and sure enough, hiding behind a nearby hangar was Kale, timidly looking upon the two men. Upon making eye contact, she tried to hide behind the wall of the hangar to no avail. "It's OK, Kale. You can come along if you want!" Cabba said. The Saiyan girl peeked out again from behind the hangar. She took a moment to process what had been said before walking over, her spirits newly elated.
The private vessel of the Sadal Defense Force cleaved through the sky as it flew away from the military complex. Inside its steel cockpit enshrouded by glass, Okra took on the role of pilot, carefully guiding the ship above the vast, wooded canyon. Right behind him was a small set of red leather seats for passengers, one of which was occupied by Cabba, his legs crossed and eyes closed as he took a brief respite. Meanwhile, over at one of the right windows, Kale stood, her face and hands squished up against the glass, eagerly surveying the clusters of trees, rocks and hills that made up the Sadal wildlands. As she looked on for the next few minutes, the trees grew progressively sparse and the bumps and crags of the terrain became less pronounced. More interestingly though, littered throughout the new landscape were a couple of houses, typically accompanied by swathes of irrigated farmland and cultivated fields where livestock pranced. As the trip resumed, the houses grew bigger and their quantity increased. The materials from which they were built became progressively sturdier; from wooden shacks to sturdy, semicircular brick-and-mortar abodes. Not all of them were farmland, either. Elementary gravel roads started to run through the sets of houses as well. Kale decided to lift her head from the glass of the ship's side and look ahead, seeing how dense the sets of houses would become. She gasped when, just over the yellowed horizon, she witnessed a massive formation of buildings of inconceivable heights. From this distance, she was able to make out a few specs travelling between and away from the buildings, on the ground and in the sky.
"Have you never seen big cities like Sadal City before?" Chimed in Cabba with a tap on the shoulder, having noticed the poor girl's shock. Kale hesitated for a bit, ultimately uttering a solemn "Of course I have, it's just that…" she paused before speaking again. "Me and sis have done quite a few robberies in nearby towns and cities for a while now, and we've… Well, we've certainly left our mark..." As they got closer to the city, the booming engine of a passing airship distracted them. Cabba waved to the tourists snapping pictures of the military ship through the windows of the blimp's larger-than-normal cockpit. While this was happening, Kale saw some corporate logos plastered onto the blimp's side, reminding her of heists she and the rest of her former gang had done in months and years long past. This brief distraction was not enough to stop their ship's course, nor slow it down for long.
The terminal of the Sadal Spaceport was bustling with Saiyans and other aliens, riding through a complex network of escalators and security checks to get to their flights in and out of the planet. Colored banners lined the railings of the building's second floor, composed of bulletproof glass with small restaurants and shops lining the northern wall of the floor. Even amidst all this commotion, however, Saonel and Pirina stuck out like a sore thumb. Tucked in the corner of the first floor, the two had been sitting the compact, square-shaped immigration office for nearly half an hour; an unusual length of time considering how quickly such things were handled with the Spaceport's up-to-date flight accounting technology, courtesy of Tuffle engineers. The Namekian pair, in spite of being unfamiliar with the typical pace of commerce in the facility, were nonetheless painfully aware of the sort of attention they brought to themselves by merely sitting down in the plastic chairs in the middle of that carpeted room, and how said attention was ramping up every second they remained there. Every so often through the translucent windows of the office, they were able to distinguish faces of confusion and curiosity in the arrivals and departing passengers. They think we're bloody terrorists… grumbled a teenage soul within Pirina as he saw a gaggle of Saiyan women in colorful dresses staring at them through the glass, uttering unintelligible gossip. This small commotion was stopped by an immigration officer. Having formerly resided the empty desk in front of the two eagerly awaiting Namekian men, the gray-coated Saiyan wielding a visorless, curved white helmet shooed the group away before walking into the office. "Master Cabba shall be arriving in a few minutes." was all he said before slipping off his helmet, plopping back into his rolling desk chair and attending to a supple stack of paperwork that had been tucked within the desk's drawers.
Sure enough, a few brief minutes later, Commander Cabba walked through the doors of the office, with Kale following close behind him. He too took a seat, a firm handshake from the humble smiling soldier able to temporarily distract Saonel and Pirina from the severe situation they were in. At his request, the two explained they events of the past few days; the promise to their people and how they had failed to adhere to it, the depopulation of their tribe and villages as a result of their botched promise and their trial where they had managed to stall their demise by a fair bit. They also explained the procedure and dangers of Soulsowing, and ultimately their true reason for coming to Sadal; not to flee, but to join their Defense Force in hopes of being able to complete some sort of mission that would redeem them in the eyes of their people. Cabba and Kale nodded in understanding, guiding them out of the spaceport in silence.
"Where are we going?" asked Saonel as the party of four headed towards the front doors of the space port.
"Since you two are unfamiliar with our society and Kale has been an outlaw for quite some time," said Cabba, "I have decided to give you a little tour. For now, don't worry about catching baddies or adhering to your deal with the elders: Just sit back and I'll guide you. OK?" Saonel, Pirina and Kale nodded as the glass doors to the spaceport lobby swung open, revealing a majestic scene of towering skyscrapers, flashing neon lights and clusters of small vehicles flying between buildings, casting a shadow as the fierce sun of the Universe 6 Saiyans' planet shined behind it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sadal City!" exclaimed Cabba as the group walked out into the busy street in front of them.
The roller coaster wheels glided down the crimson metal tracks, its patrons screaming as the vessel twisted and turned. Cabba and Kale had taken the very front car, at the front of was attached a scaly model of the head of an Oozaru. Saonel and Pirina were in the car directly behind it, wearing a relatively uninterested look compared to everyone else on the ride. As the coaster slowly climbed up the biggest drop of the coaster which immediately preceded a lengthy corkscrew, Cabba's showed an uncharacteristic boldness. "I've wanted to be on this coaster since I was a young one," he shouted down the row of cars, "but I was always too scared, particularly of this drop. With my newfound military expertise and power, I'm gonna finally conquer it!" By the time his speech was over, the coaster had already reached the peak of the drop; not even 2 seconds later, it lurched and shuttled downward, the tail on the back of the coaster beginning to wag in response to the increased speeds. The Namekian warriors continued to bear their disinterested expressions, now with their long ears closed up to block the noise of the attendees, their yells louder than ever. Cabba and Kale grimaced slightly and held on tighter to their seats, but they did not scream.
Following the exit from the corkscrew, the Oozaru-themed rollercoaster slowed down, riding along a straight stretch of track preceding the station. The passengers piled on to make room for new ones; Saonel and Pirina had scarcely changed, and Kale was a bit dizzy, but otherwise unaffected. That left Cabba, who was standing in front of them. His back still turned to the party, he said "Well, I was right, I didn't get scared this time." He turned his face to the Namekians and Kale. "Doesn't mean it was a good idea, though!" Saonel smirked and Kale giggled softly as Cabba cupped a hand over his mouth, running over to a nearby trash can with bulging cheeks and wide eyes.
Following their visit to theme park, the group then walked down the street, passing by a nearby shopping center. The area was semicircular, with a ring of stores wrapping around a square parking lot, at the center of which was a large statue depicting an ancient Saiyan warrior holding a sword. As they passed by, Cabba noticed a discrepancy at the very base of the statue.
"Step right up, boys and girls!" Exclaimed a large, bald Saiyan wearing a top hat, suit and tie. He gestured towards a yellow high striker behind him, decorated with simplistic, poorly drawn pictures of muscular men with Super Saiyan hair. People were gathering around, each taking turns giving money to the man to grab the rubber hammer and try to strike the puck up to the 3-meter tall bell, typically failing. "Oh brother…" Cabba mumbled under his breath as he ran over to the display, Kale and the Namekians in tow. Upon arriving there, Cabba pulled the owner of the attraction aside. "Hello there, I am Cabba of the Sadal Defense Force. Have you obtained a permit from the landowners to host your game in this parking lot?" The Saiyan reached into his pockets, shrugging as he pulled out nothing but money. "In that case," Cabba continued, "I kindly ask you to immediately remove this attraction and pay all the money you've earned as a fine."
The haughty Saiyan did not heed to this order, however. Crossing his arms, he glared at the comparatively short commander. "Oh yeah? And why should I listen to you? I bet you're just scared that you'll be too weak to complete the game. Ha, you probably can't even get it half-way!" Cabba was now beginning to grow irritated with the man's arrogance. His friendly tone gone, he firmly began to state "This is no laughing matter, sir. I am a high ranking official. If you keep up this behavior, I can gladly increase your fine and perhaps even make you serve time in prison." Even with this threat, the man continued to heartily laugh. Just about ready to cuff him, Cabba noticed Kale. Her usual neutral expression was replaced with a light smile. She winked at Cabba, the iris of the winking eye slightly dilating and flickering yellow for a split second. Her commander immediately understood. Turning back to the insubordinate man, he spoke again, he too wearing a similarly sly grin. "Alright then, sir, we'll make a deal." He pointed to Kale. "If my partner over there can't win the high striker game, I'll pay you double the amount of money you would have owed me as part of the initial fine. If she doesn't succeed, I pay you " The man chuckled the hardest he ever had thus far upon eyeing the unassuming Kale.
Cabba, Saonel, Pirina and all the other citizens stood back as Kale made her way up to the lever, the formally-dressed host at her side, snickering at the thought of the supposed failure to come. Instead, he found himself being knocked off-balance by a sudden shockwave. He looked over to Kale, her muscles thicker and her hair extended and shining green, emitting a mighty roar as she smashed her fists into the button. The mechanism crushed under the weight of the blow as the puck flew up so fast as to shatter the bell in half and skyrocket into the air, completely vanishing from sight. Cabba and Saonel looked over to the host, about to request their reward. Before they could speak, a wallet stuffed with coins smacked Cabba in the face as the man who had hosted the high striker piled into a small white ship and blasted off. The two looked back at Kale, who was still in her controlled Legendary Super Saiyan form and looking upon the stunned crowd with a slight blush. Before she could power down and apologize, a young Saiyan boy hoisting a blue backpack on his shoulders walked up to Kale. "That was soooo coool! Can I get an autograph please?" the boy exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a pencil and notebook and handing it to the surprised, but secretly proud soldier girl.
The day continued to pass by. The sun slowly rose over Sadal City as the hours came and went, and eventually began to set, giving way to a slowly emerging starry night sky, marking the arrival of the afternoon. By this point, Cabba and his friends were relaxing on the top floor of one of the city's taller skyscrapers, its lower rooms home to a vast mall. The man himself was sitting at a table, looking onward at the various activities going on around him. Kale was the entertainment for the evening, giving the younger children piggyback rides and autographs and arm-wrestling with the adults, all while practicing controlling her emerald-haired form. What really caught the commander's fancy, however, was Saonel and Pirina, both of whom were at the edge of the balcony, staring outward into the moon-lit half of the sky. On its own, this wasn't so strange, but Cabba recalled the pair having been in that exact position around half an hour ago. It didn't take a professional psychologist to figure out something was wrong.
Cabba walked up and tapped Saonel on the shoulder. "Is everything OK? I know you're probably still anxious over the trial, but I still think you should try your best to let go and socialize a bit."
"That's not the issue." the Namekian responded at a speed that caught Cabba off guard. "For the past hour or so, Pirina and I have been feeling positively dreadful. It's definitely fear, but it's not about the trial; it's something stranger, more distant." He outstretched his hand in front of his face. "All the souls inside us feel it too. They've been deathly quiet for this past hour. That isn't normal. If they were in their original bodies, they would probably be shuddering right about now." He dropped his hand to his side, once again resuming his staring.
"I… we don't know why. But we have this unshakable feeling something horrible is about to happen…"
Xylo exited out of his pensive trance, waking at the sound of a familiar call. "Greetings Elder Xylo," Cello proclaimed, poking his glasses as he entered the room Xylo was standing in, "how have you been feeling?". The red-robed, pudgy elder merely ignored his lifelong friend's question, continuing to stare blankly out of the window. This window, combined with the height of this floor of the Hall of Elders, allowed him a vantage point through a line of trees to see a large tower in the distance, merely a silhouette against the olive-green backdrop of the night sky of Namek. Cello emitted an exasperated sigh, knowing what his friend's response, or rather a lack thereof, meant. "You feel it as well, I imagine? This frightening, numb sensation?" he asked. "In case you were wondering, the villagers are feeling it, too. Some of them can't muster the energy to work, even." Xylo responded with a sound "hmph", returning to his concentration. For about a minute there was an awkward silence, the pair thinking to themselves. Cello walked up next to Xylo and prepared to speak. The truth was, he had an idea - no, he knew deep down what this strange sign meant, but he did not wish to name his suspicion out loud. "You know, Xylo, it is said that many eons ago, every Namekian in Universe 6 was united into one entity." Xylo scoffed at this statement. "Cello, I may be worried, but I am certainly not an amnesiac! This is the most basic, well-known story there is, I'm fairly sure they were telling this to us when we were but hatchlings. Why do you feel the need to remind me of this?" Cello adjusted his glasses before continuing. "Well, as you know, when we were all united as the Original Namekian, it is said that he could feel the emotions of all those inside of him. If enough were sad, he too felt sad. If enough were angry, he too became frustrated. He was particularly receptive to evil, however; if even just a few of his souls were plotting something awful, he would immediately catch on and dispel the evil thoughts of those men."
"Xylo," he continued, "is it possible that the one triggering this sensation is a Namekian? More specifically, a Namekian so horrid as to revive the instinct of our ancient ancestor within us?" The Elder contemplated this. "It makes some sort of sense, but in that case, who could be triggering it?" Xylo questioned. "Before you bring them up, I highly doubt it would be Saonel or Pirina. They're undisciplined and tend to bite off more they can chew as you are so painfully aware, but they're far from evil, certainly not bad enough to trigger this feeling." Xylo looked back at the spire on the horizon. Even from his distance he could see the silhouettes of burly Namekian men, climbing the steps of the tower while escorting another, slimmer Namekian with them. At the top of the tower, candles were being lit and a stream of chanting could be heard all the way from Xylo's location. Xylo himself continued to think. What sort of Namekian being could generate this feeling…
At that moment, Xylo's eyes snapped wide open as recollection flashed through his mind.
Xylo lifted himself off the ground, groggy from the beatdown. His right arm had been cleanly sliced off, purple blood oozing and tainting his dirty red robe. The green morning skies were practically invisible, totally shrouded by the pillars of smoke emitting from the seas of burning huts. The stench of dirt and carbon greeted the dazed Elder-in-training's nostrils, and his ears were filled with the sounds of far-off screams and violence.
"Get up." A nearby man growled, his voice laced with unadulterated, primal anger. With great difficulty, Xylo bent up his head to face his foe once again. One could call him a Namekian, but that would be rather merciful; the pink strands of flesh on a typical Namekian's chest and arms were non-existent on this monster, replaced instead by grotesque, bloated muscles. Veins pulsed and twitched across the Namek's dark aquamarine skin, his antennae gone, his eyes totally white and his lower body covered with a black robe adorned with blood-red, stylized flame patterns sprouting from the bottom of the robe. As the beast stood there staring him down, Xylo was able to crane his head just a little more to see a large castle floating in the air amidst the chaotic scene of smoke and lasers.
"Too broken to arise?" the putrid Namekian inquired. "Hehe… Good. Now it is time to do away with you and your decadent traditions." At this call, the Namekian lifted his arms and placed his palms together. He extended them outward away from each other, a dark, swirling energy ball slowly growing in between the two giant hands. As he watched on in silent terror, Xylo tried to use his training to sense how powerful the ball was. No matter how hard he concentrated, however, he couldn't sense anything. Even some of the weaker warriors from earlier in the great battle he had been able to sense; nothing came from the tyrant's steadily growing blast. Finally, capping off his charge with a grin, the evil Namekian put his left arm to his side, pointing the ball with his right hand towards the crippled Xylo.
"In a way, Elder Xylo, your end is a true literary tragedy. The culture you have been trained to lead has thrived on bloodshed and a draconian code of honor, and yet you and your pitiful 'brothers' will die in disgrace, having begged to those damn Saiyans for assistance and still failing to lay a finger on me."
The Namekian let out a sickening, high-pitched cackle that totally contrasted with his deep, guttural voice before facing Xylo once again, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.
"Hakai."
"Elder Xylo, Elder Xylo!"
Xylo was shaken out of his stupor by Cello. "Oh, sorry," he quietly mumbled. "I was just… …thinking for a bit." Cello stood in silence for a bit in the face of this statement before leaving. Xylo knew full well he hadn't bought his excuse at all, but he didn't care.
The Elder faced back towards the tower. Now the silhouettes were on the very summit, the chanting having grown even louder. One of them stood over another silhouette, pulling out what could be distinguished as a small, yellow Ki dagger. As the man burrowed the weapon into the lanky Namekian's flesh, screams of pain interlaced with joy spread throughout the night. Amidst the cacophony of the sacrifice, Xylo uttered a prayer to Saonel and Pirina under his breath.