"If you're not having fun, it's because you're not wearing any kind of safety belt!" Kale shouted over the comm, hitting the controls hard on the runner craft, throwing it into a tight loop that would make even the hardest pilots cringe. But then again, that's what he was.
"Where are they!?" One of the saiyajin children shouted, throwing his head into the cockpit.
"How should I know?" Kale was never too fond of children, and this definitely was not the time for them to be bugging him. One of the G-X9's whizzed by the view port, beckoning him to follow. He mashed the controls starboard.
"Isn't this your ship?!" The saiyajin fell backwards into the passenger section, tumbling over himself.
"Fat chance. Mine's in the shop. This thing handles like moglark feces." He took a deep breath as he stayed close on the G-X9's corkscrew maneuver. "And it smells just as bad, too."
He gunned the pulser turrets then, narrowly missing his target as it swooped to the left, looping in a high arc skyward. Kale grit his teeth, pulling the ship up to match the other's vector, attempting to cut it off at its own game. It raced over head, firing several bursts of gunfire his way, each one passing in a line on the portside. He veered right, and angled the nose of the runner downward in order to further speed his own advance. They passed low to the ground, and then shot back up to follow the Galactic fighter. In his view port, he could make out the figure of Piccolo, having his own time with one of the agile ships. "Crazy Namek," he grunted. In the past, he didn't much care for aliens, either. However, anything was better than a Galactic…
"I found them!" The other saiyajin child shouted.
"Congratulations, kid, you have motor skills," he commented dryly. "Now hold on and shut your mouths."
He threw the runner into a gut-wrenching turn, following closely on the haunches of the G-X9. It raced low to the ground, attempting to blind his vision by kicking up the dust that layered the area. Kale grinned. Galactic pilots never gave enough credit to humans… He unleashed a tempest of gunfire through the haze, knowing that he was going to hit absolutely nothing. In a sudden change of direction, he threw the ship into a tight roll, watching as his opponent came roaring through the dust with turrets rotating. At that point, Kale shifted his whole body with the ship, punching it into a nearly impossible one-eighty, bringing the nose of the runner to bear down rapidly on the hull of the Galactic jet…
He only wished he could hear the alien scream. In a quick pull of the trigger, the G-X9 was no more.
"Yeah!" Kale gave a war cry that music to his ears. It had definitely been too long…
"What happened?" One of the kids asked from another portion of the ship.
"Never mind," he answered, reaching for the comm. "How are you holding up, Piccolo?"
-------
"Absolutely fabulous," Piccolo muttered, spreading his arms and twirling away from the blaze of pulser ammo that was threatening to tear his body apart. "You?"
"Just took down one of the bastards," Kale's reply came through the static in his earpiece. "And from the looks of it, it might be one of many."
"I hear you," the Namekian responded, weaving in and out of stray blasts of gunfire. "This needs to end, and soon."
"I sure hope it does, these kids are getting on my last nerve."
Piccolo couldn't help but chuckle, even amidst the battle going on around him. He whipped around to face the pursuing jet, angling his body sideways as he launched out of its line of fire. "Makekansappo!" The spiraled beam of ki ripped through the side of ship, effectively tearing it apart into two separate halves that exploded immediately.
"I wouldn't get worked up too soon, Kale," Piccolo breathed. "Those kids could incinerate you, if they wanted."
"I'm willing to take that chance if I can give them just one good slap in the head to keep 'em quiet," the pilot laughed.
"By all means, do what you have to," Piccolo said. "But right now, find the androids. Ubuu and I are on the way."
"Sure thing."
Now where was-
"Ubuu!" Piccolo shouted, spotting the progeny of Goku. The figure of Ubuu was engaged in a tight struggle with the General Abgar, the two wrestling in a strong grapple. The wayward must have heard Piccolo's cry, for he suddenly pulled the Galactic's arms forward, using his own momentum to somersault him away.
"Ka Me Ha Me HAAA!!" The blue blast of ki erupted from Ubuu's hands, its spectacular color reflecting from the surface of the concrete, flying across the night sky. It slammed into the bulky body of the alien, launching him into the distance. Piccolo smiled. Ubuu had definitely come a long way in the time that he had spent on Earth. Goku's teaching had proved quite impressive, as the young boy had turned rather instantly into a grown man. While his fighting prowess was not quite matching that of the Namek's, he was a great deal stronger, and the instinct would eventually take over with time.
"Piccolo," Ubuu called, throwing the being's thoughts off track. "How are the androids?"
"I don't know, but we're about to go find out," Piccolo answered. From the compound, he could feel a ki rising dramatically. Probably the one that Kale hit with the runner's turrets…
"And we'd better hurry."
-------
"Oh, joy," 17 commented, observing the two approaching Slashers that whipped past them above. "It looks like we have more friends joining us."
"The more, the merrier," 18 replied.
"Let's end this, shall we?"
"Aww, but it was just getting fun."
Another slew of energy bolts raced between them, breaking through the concrete. It collapsed afterward, revealing the subway system below. Behind them, the Slasher dipped low, swooping into the hole left by the devastation…
"You know, I was just about to say the same thing…" 17 said.
Suddenly, various rounds of gunfire began to rip through the surface of the road, launching upwards past the two androids. It spanned from one side of the pavement to the other, like a long claw of energy, erupting from the ground. 17 leaped away, never breaking in his stride as they followed the Kalinsi. Its own guns were blazing now, joining in with its partner, as the two tried to catch the androids off guard.
"How does it know where we are from down there?" 17 asked.
"Tsk, tsk, brother," 18 scolded. "You haven't been keeping up to date, have you?"
He groaned. She knew he hated it when she called him that. Especially when two Galactic pulser rifles were calling their names…
She chuckled at her brief victory. "Slashers are equipped with all kinds of sensors… including pressure. It can sense our weight on the street."
"Then why don't we get off of the street?" 17 grunted.
"Way ahead of you," she said slyly. "Who do you think it's been shooting at?" She let out another one of her little laughs.
"Point," he muttered under his breath. He leaped to run vertically across the buildings, removing his body from the concrete below. The Kalinsi was getting closer by the second…
"That makes it what, for today? Two to one?"
"We'll discuss this later," he offered. "Care to disable the Slasher for us?"
"With pleasure."
At that, she thrust her body away from the buildings on the other side, flying towards the center of the street. She let her feet hit the concrete for only a second, long enough for the Slasher's sensors to pick it up… A blast of energy emerged from the road, and 18 took her window of opportunity. Lifting herself from the ground, she threw a small ki blast before her, diving towards the small hole it made…
For a moment, she was gone, leaving 17 alone to watch in wonder. She was clever, he had to give her that. Without warning, the concrete suddenly broke into several large chunks of gray rock, propelling outwards into the air as the Slasher came roaring up into view. 18 was sitting on its nose, with her hands outstretched…
The explosion was swift and violent, and the clouds of smoke and debris alike were sent flipping through the air. Large pieces of twisted metal landed smoking all around 17, who made his curve back to the city street, to join 18. She came hurling forward from the haze.
"Impressive," 17 complimented her.
"Three to one?"
"Sure, why not?"
The sound of the next wave of Slashers met their ears just then, prompting them to turn around. They were approaching, and fast, from the sky a distance down the crowded thoroughfare. 17 smiled. This kept getting more and more bizarre.
"Now what?" He inquired.
"Get to the kid, I'll handle these," 18 answered. She spread her arms and turned, letting the wind resistance help her trajectory the other way. 17 watched as his counterpart sprinted towards the knife-like transports, and made an abrupt turn down a narrow alley. The Slashers hastily followed, leaving only 17 and the Kalinsi.
He turned to face the freighter once more, kicking up his focus another notch. With speed that surprised even him, he darted forward, closing the gap between himself and the metallic frame. The turrets screamed to life again, attempting to cast him away from the ship. With calculated ease, the robot vaulted himself to the side, bounding off of a parked civilian craft to arc himself over the stream of gunfire. He landed alongside the Kalinsi, still weaving in and out of the river of energy. Until it stopped. There was his window…
17 jumped atop the freighter, diving to grab a hold of the pulser turret. In a quick motion, he ripped the gun straight from the seams of the frame, throwing it aside as he dug his hands into the armor. Like a can of tinned food, he peeled the Galactic freighter open from end to end, yanking the top off and tossing it away hurriedly. Inside, three aliens scurried for their weapons, as the one in the pilot's seat screamed orders to them. One of them was heading towards the saiyajin boy…
17 made short work of him, disintegrating him instantly with a blast of ki. The other two looked at one another, sliding to a halt in their attempts to lash back.
"Which one of you wants to be next?"
After a brief hesitation, the one on the left lunged towards him, only to receive a sharp blow to the stomach by the android. He used the Galactic's body as a projectile, throwing it painfully against the other, who was instantly knocked out.
"Come, on kid," 17 called as he took a hold of the unconscious saiyajin. Together, they burst upward from the ship, as the android extended his hand towards it. It erupted in a brilliant explosion, the heat following right on the edge of their feet as they raced away.
"Kale?" 17 switched on his earpiece. "I have him."
"Where are they!?" One of the saiyajin children shouted, throwing his head into the cockpit.
"How should I know?" Kale was never too fond of children, and this definitely was not the time for them to be bugging him. One of the G-X9's whizzed by the view port, beckoning him to follow. He mashed the controls starboard.
"Isn't this your ship?!" The saiyajin fell backwards into the passenger section, tumbling over himself.
"Fat chance. Mine's in the shop. This thing handles like moglark feces." He took a deep breath as he stayed close on the G-X9's corkscrew maneuver. "And it smells just as bad, too."
He gunned the pulser turrets then, narrowly missing his target as it swooped to the left, looping in a high arc skyward. Kale grit his teeth, pulling the ship up to match the other's vector, attempting to cut it off at its own game. It raced over head, firing several bursts of gunfire his way, each one passing in a line on the portside. He veered right, and angled the nose of the runner downward in order to further speed his own advance. They passed low to the ground, and then shot back up to follow the Galactic fighter. In his view port, he could make out the figure of Piccolo, having his own time with one of the agile ships. "Crazy Namek," he grunted. In the past, he didn't much care for aliens, either. However, anything was better than a Galactic…
"I found them!" The other saiyajin child shouted.
"Congratulations, kid, you have motor skills," he commented dryly. "Now hold on and shut your mouths."
He threw the runner into a gut-wrenching turn, following closely on the haunches of the G-X9. It raced low to the ground, attempting to blind his vision by kicking up the dust that layered the area. Kale grinned. Galactic pilots never gave enough credit to humans… He unleashed a tempest of gunfire through the haze, knowing that he was going to hit absolutely nothing. In a sudden change of direction, he threw the ship into a tight roll, watching as his opponent came roaring through the dust with turrets rotating. At that point, Kale shifted his whole body with the ship, punching it into a nearly impossible one-eighty, bringing the nose of the runner to bear down rapidly on the hull of the Galactic jet…
He only wished he could hear the alien scream. In a quick pull of the trigger, the G-X9 was no more.
"Yeah!" Kale gave a war cry that music to his ears. It had definitely been too long…
"What happened?" One of the kids asked from another portion of the ship.
"Never mind," he answered, reaching for the comm. "How are you holding up, Piccolo?"
-------
"Absolutely fabulous," Piccolo muttered, spreading his arms and twirling away from the blaze of pulser ammo that was threatening to tear his body apart. "You?"
"Just took down one of the bastards," Kale's reply came through the static in his earpiece. "And from the looks of it, it might be one of many."
"I hear you," the Namekian responded, weaving in and out of stray blasts of gunfire. "This needs to end, and soon."
"I sure hope it does, these kids are getting on my last nerve."
Piccolo couldn't help but chuckle, even amidst the battle going on around him. He whipped around to face the pursuing jet, angling his body sideways as he launched out of its line of fire. "Makekansappo!" The spiraled beam of ki ripped through the side of ship, effectively tearing it apart into two separate halves that exploded immediately.
"I wouldn't get worked up too soon, Kale," Piccolo breathed. "Those kids could incinerate you, if they wanted."
"I'm willing to take that chance if I can give them just one good slap in the head to keep 'em quiet," the pilot laughed.
"By all means, do what you have to," Piccolo said. "But right now, find the androids. Ubuu and I are on the way."
"Sure thing."
Now where was-
"Ubuu!" Piccolo shouted, spotting the progeny of Goku. The figure of Ubuu was engaged in a tight struggle with the General Abgar, the two wrestling in a strong grapple. The wayward must have heard Piccolo's cry, for he suddenly pulled the Galactic's arms forward, using his own momentum to somersault him away.
"Ka Me Ha Me HAAA!!" The blue blast of ki erupted from Ubuu's hands, its spectacular color reflecting from the surface of the concrete, flying across the night sky. It slammed into the bulky body of the alien, launching him into the distance. Piccolo smiled. Ubuu had definitely come a long way in the time that he had spent on Earth. Goku's teaching had proved quite impressive, as the young boy had turned rather instantly into a grown man. While his fighting prowess was not quite matching that of the Namek's, he was a great deal stronger, and the instinct would eventually take over with time.
"Piccolo," Ubuu called, throwing the being's thoughts off track. "How are the androids?"
"I don't know, but we're about to go find out," Piccolo answered. From the compound, he could feel a ki rising dramatically. Probably the one that Kale hit with the runner's turrets…
"And we'd better hurry."
-------
"Oh, joy," 17 commented, observing the two approaching Slashers that whipped past them above. "It looks like we have more friends joining us."
"The more, the merrier," 18 replied.
"Let's end this, shall we?"
"Aww, but it was just getting fun."
Another slew of energy bolts raced between them, breaking through the concrete. It collapsed afterward, revealing the subway system below. Behind them, the Slasher dipped low, swooping into the hole left by the devastation…
"You know, I was just about to say the same thing…" 17 said.
Suddenly, various rounds of gunfire began to rip through the surface of the road, launching upwards past the two androids. It spanned from one side of the pavement to the other, like a long claw of energy, erupting from the ground. 17 leaped away, never breaking in his stride as they followed the Kalinsi. Its own guns were blazing now, joining in with its partner, as the two tried to catch the androids off guard.
"How does it know where we are from down there?" 17 asked.
"Tsk, tsk, brother," 18 scolded. "You haven't been keeping up to date, have you?"
He groaned. She knew he hated it when she called him that. Especially when two Galactic pulser rifles were calling their names…
She chuckled at her brief victory. "Slashers are equipped with all kinds of sensors… including pressure. It can sense our weight on the street."
"Then why don't we get off of the street?" 17 grunted.
"Way ahead of you," she said slyly. "Who do you think it's been shooting at?" She let out another one of her little laughs.
"Point," he muttered under his breath. He leaped to run vertically across the buildings, removing his body from the concrete below. The Kalinsi was getting closer by the second…
"That makes it what, for today? Two to one?"
"We'll discuss this later," he offered. "Care to disable the Slasher for us?"
"With pleasure."
At that, she thrust her body away from the buildings on the other side, flying towards the center of the street. She let her feet hit the concrete for only a second, long enough for the Slasher's sensors to pick it up… A blast of energy emerged from the road, and 18 took her window of opportunity. Lifting herself from the ground, she threw a small ki blast before her, diving towards the small hole it made…
For a moment, she was gone, leaving 17 alone to watch in wonder. She was clever, he had to give her that. Without warning, the concrete suddenly broke into several large chunks of gray rock, propelling outwards into the air as the Slasher came roaring up into view. 18 was sitting on its nose, with her hands outstretched…
The explosion was swift and violent, and the clouds of smoke and debris alike were sent flipping through the air. Large pieces of twisted metal landed smoking all around 17, who made his curve back to the city street, to join 18. She came hurling forward from the haze.
"Impressive," 17 complimented her.
"Three to one?"
"Sure, why not?"
The sound of the next wave of Slashers met their ears just then, prompting them to turn around. They were approaching, and fast, from the sky a distance down the crowded thoroughfare. 17 smiled. This kept getting more and more bizarre.
"Now what?" He inquired.
"Get to the kid, I'll handle these," 18 answered. She spread her arms and turned, letting the wind resistance help her trajectory the other way. 17 watched as his counterpart sprinted towards the knife-like transports, and made an abrupt turn down a narrow alley. The Slashers hastily followed, leaving only 17 and the Kalinsi.
He turned to face the freighter once more, kicking up his focus another notch. With speed that surprised even him, he darted forward, closing the gap between himself and the metallic frame. The turrets screamed to life again, attempting to cast him away from the ship. With calculated ease, the robot vaulted himself to the side, bounding off of a parked civilian craft to arc himself over the stream of gunfire. He landed alongside the Kalinsi, still weaving in and out of the river of energy. Until it stopped. There was his window…
17 jumped atop the freighter, diving to grab a hold of the pulser turret. In a quick motion, he ripped the gun straight from the seams of the frame, throwing it aside as he dug his hands into the armor. Like a can of tinned food, he peeled the Galactic freighter open from end to end, yanking the top off and tossing it away hurriedly. Inside, three aliens scurried for their weapons, as the one in the pilot's seat screamed orders to them. One of them was heading towards the saiyajin boy…
17 made short work of him, disintegrating him instantly with a blast of ki. The other two looked at one another, sliding to a halt in their attempts to lash back.
"Which one of you wants to be next?"
After a brief hesitation, the one on the left lunged towards him, only to receive a sharp blow to the stomach by the android. He used the Galactic's body as a projectile, throwing it painfully against the other, who was instantly knocked out.
"Come, on kid," 17 called as he took a hold of the unconscious saiyajin. Together, they burst upward from the ship, as the android extended his hand towards it. It erupted in a brilliant explosion, the heat following right on the edge of their feet as they raced away.
"Kale?" 17 switched on his earpiece. "I have him."