I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 59: Renegade
The hours passed slowly for Verto as he stared out one of the windows into the passing stars. He had elected to remain alone as much as possible to meditate. He found it difficult to concentrate though, as a feeling of dread filled his mind. He attempted to shake this terrible foreboding, but it was all for naught. This feeling was not unfamiliar to him, but he didn't feel that the actual mission was the root cause of it. Ever since he had spoken to Yogen, he had felt this aura of impending doom. The eventual source of it remained as much a mystery as the story was. Verto was in no hurry to solve either one, I can't help but feel as if the world is about to crumble around me, but why? And who? I don't think it's Frost, and even though the signs are directed at the Renegades, I don't feel it's them either. Maybe I'll know more once we encounter them. The door opened behind Verto, interrupting his thoughts. He didn't bother turning around when he sensed multiple strong ki signals, it was obvious who had come in.
The girlish laughter followed, "What's up, little boy?" Zangya asked. Verto ignored her and continued his silent stare. He sensed Bido stepping closer, but remained relaxed.
"Little punk is lucky that I haven't ripped his monkey heart out yet!" Bido claimed as he stuck out his chest. Verto's eyes shifted to Bido's faint reflection, but he still didn't turn around.
"You're the lucky one, idiot. Next time I won't be going so easy on you," Verto warned in a calm tone.
Bido growled loudly, "What did you say, tiny?"
"You heard me just fine, so go away. I don't feel like trading words with an overgrown flunky," Verto claimed as he resumed staring at the stars. Bido dared to get closer while the others laughed aloud.
"Now now Bido, you know what Lord Frost said. He is not to be touched, or else!" Bujin warned.
Bido scoffed slightly and walked off, "Bah, little shit isn't even worth it!" A few silent moments passed once Bido left, but the other two did not depart.
"Was there something else you wanted with me?" Verto asked.
"Bujin, are there any listening devices in here?" Zangya asked instead.
"Negative."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "What is this about?"
Zangya stepped much closer than Verto would have liked and dared to whisper directly into his ear as she bent down, "Our master Bojack has a favor to ask of you. He can't be here to ask it himself, so he sent us instead. You see, he wants Lord Frost out of the way. You already know that Master Bojack is much weaker than Frost, so he can't assassinate him personally. We want you to do it."
Verto snorted slightly, "I see Bido isn't the only one who likes to play with fire. Why should I?"
"Surely you don't believe Lord Frost will simply let you leave when this is over. He wants all Saiyans dead after all, and that includes all of those that happen to live on Planet Earth. You don't want that now, do you?" Zangya cooed slightly as her breath blew across the back of Verto's neck. She couldn't see the front of his face, which featured his nose flaring a bit.
"Tell me, what are the advantages to trading one dictator for another? One that will probably be even more reckless than the first," Verto said carefully.
"Well for one, you will be greatly rewarded," Zangya claimed as she dared to wrap an arm around his waist. Before she knew what happened, Verto had spun and put a hand to her chest.
She glanced down in surprise and blushed slightly with a deep smile, "I see you like the great rewards!" Verto didn't return the positive reaction and promptly shoved her backwards, where she flew back and crashed into the wall.
Zangya held her head in pain, "How dare you take advantage of me that way!"
Verto crossed his arms, "You're the one trying to barter a child, right? I have no interest in your sexual advances just to get what you want. I've seen enough of that to know better." Zangya snarled as she stepped towards him, until Bujin stopped her with his arm.
"Easy Zangya, the boy has a valid point. And he isn't…mature enough to be swayed like that," Bujin reminded her.
Verto wasn't sure if he should take that as a compliment or not, "Whatever you want to call it."
Zangya scoffed, "Probably has a toothpick down there anyway."
Verto's head snapped back to her in an instant, "Well I'm sure everything seems like a toothpick when you've been stretched and plucked enough times." Even Bujin's eyes widened at this, and he had to hold on as Zangya began to drag him along when she stomped forward.
Verto's blue sword was already out, "Another step and it's off to hell with both of you!"
Bujin complied, pulling Zangya back by the hair, "Stop, we don't want to make enemies. You know what Lord Bojack will do if he finds out you ruined this opportunity!" Zangya looked alarmed and nodded slightly, retreating to several paces away from her partner.
"My apologies for her irrational behavior, let us get back to the point. Lord Frost has in fact been a fair leader, but he is prone to poor and tactless decisions. Something about him has gradually changed over the past several years. He has become much more malevolent and ruthless to others. We recently found out about some problems he had as a child that may be to contributing to this. Something his father did to him to keep him alive from a genetic disease," Bujin explained.
Verto cocked an eyebrow at this, even though he knew full well what Bujin was referring to, "So? Frieza did a lot of cruel things."
"The point is, what saved his life is slowly making him more deranged and paranoid by the minute. He may not show it openly, but he means to drive this empire into the ground just for revenge. You probably haven't been able to tell because he's trying to gain your trust in order to get you to drop your guard," Bujin pointed out.
Verto grimaced, "Look, I don't need you to tell me not to drop my guard around Frost. You may not have noticed that he hasn't dropped his guard around me either. Whether we trust each other or not is a completely moot point, because it will never happen."
Bujin smiled lightly, "We are in agreement then?"
Verto turned his head slightly to give Bujin a glaring eyeful, "No."
The smile melted away in tune with Zangya's sudden snarl, "You brat!"
"Name calling won't get you very far. The point is, why should I take him out for you? Give me a reason," Verto demanded.
"I think we have already covered that," Bujin said.
"And you didn't answer me. I get it that Frost is a questionable leader and that he may be corrupted beneath the skin. I also have considered taking him out at the earliest opportunity, and I kind of doubt that I can do that easily. I'm very aware that he'll try to fuck us over the first chance he gets. But there's a mysterious threat out there that I might understand better than him and certainly better than you. Plus I have to consider what happens after all of this. What if I take out Frost, then I get to deal with the fact that the rest of you are just as much of a threat? So bear that in mind before you approach me again. Until that time, it's a mutual advantage to work together," Verto proclaimed.
"Fool! He'll kill you before you can even blink with that kind of hesitation!" Zangya declared.
"Did it look like I hesitated when I turned back your little advance a minute ago? Well, sorry, next time I'll fire the blast before I give a warning shove. It's called paying attention to all the details, try it some time. You know, important things other than who you're screwing later on," Verto said. Zangya stomped forward despite Bujin's silent protest with her arm drawn sideways. Her attempted slap stopped short when it was blocked by a single finger from Verto.
"Try it one more time bitch," Verto warned as light filled the room. Zangya's eyes filled with dread as she glanced down to the small blast forming in Verto's other hand.
"Calm down Zangya, the boy obviously needs time to think about this. We will discuss this later," Bujin said as he tugged her arm backwards. Verto allowed the blast to vanish as he traded hard death glares with Zangya before she followed her counterpart out the door. Verto took a deep breath and sighed, Well that could have gone better.
An hour after Bujin and Zangya's failed proposal, Frost summoned Verto to the bridge. The instant he arrived, all of the guards and operation soldiers were sent out. Frost sat at the main control station and waited for the door to close before speaking.
"Tell me, what do you think of Bojack and his men?" Frost asked.
Verto's eyebrow went up in question, "You want my opinion?"
"You may be as honest as you would like to be at all times," Frost added.
"I think they're pirate scum stuck to the ass end of space," Verto said.
"Crude, but accurate. I'm glad you share that opinion, I have a job for you." Verto resisted the overwhelming urge to the smack the side of his own head, Oh good god, now he's going there too. I better play dumb.
"Once the Renegade threat has been completely taken care of, I want you to eliminate them," Frost said.
"And why would you like me to personally do this? You and I both know that you could do the job easily," Verto pointed out.
"As could you. Consider it my personal guarantee that Earth will be left alone if you handle this little chore. I shall point out again that Bojack destroyed Rotaria," Frost stated.
Verto gritted his teeth, "Once again, under your orders."
Frost grinned momentarily, "I figured you wouldn't have a problem with it. You get along with them so well after all. I also have an inkling that they will betray me someday. After swearing an oath of loyalty, they question every decision, every order. I will not have that from anyone! They may even see you as the perfect opportunity to gain the advantage. Do not be surprised if one or more of them approach you."
"And if they do?"
"I think you know the answer to that. Act as you will, but know that disloyalty will be met with swift vengeance," Frost claimed.
Verto gave Frost a long, hard stare before continuing, "If they are feeling rebellious, they're hiding it well. I don't suppose there is anything specific that they would be disgruntled about?" Alright, let's see where this conversation goes.
Frost huffed a bit, "Those fools believe that I'm a living hypocrisy, the utter nerve. What they fail to remember is that I could have destroyed them at the very first sign of trouble, and I probably should have instead of rescuing them. Bojack's head must have done all of the growing over the past several years, his power certainly hasn't!"
"I find it hard to believe that he needed rescued, where the hell did he come from anyway?" Verto asked.
"He hasn't spoken of his past much, only that a select group of godlike beings sealed him and the others into a star. For whatever reason, the seal was broken nearly ten years ago, most likely from one of those beings meeting their demise. Bojack and his gang can survive in space for a limited time, so really they got very lucky when one of my scout teams found them. Ungrateful little peons," Frost said, annoyed.
"I take it he thinks he would lead your empire better than royalty would?"
Frost nodded, "Precisely."
Verto saw the potential in the conversation and continued to steer it, "Well you said he questions your decisions and orders. Is there something about that he doesn't like?"
Frost gave Verto a bewildered stare, "Are you trying to get sensitive information from me?" Crap, he sensed it. Gotta take this one further myself, he isn't going to budge this time.
"Look, I heard from Vegeta that you were experimented on as a child. I also heard that it may be affecting you mentally at this age. Therefore, I'm only trying to see if his claim is legitimate before I give you an answer. Even if it is, that doesn't mean that I'll support him or you," Verto replied. Verto felt a very sharp increase in Frost's ki level before it slowly dropped off.
Frost seemed to relax, "That's rather odd. I've never met a Saiyan who cared that much for facts, even when given the opportunity to crush an enemy."
"You may have noticed that I'm not like most Saiyans. Do I get an answer then, or another end around?"
"My answer is this: The very thought of me, the emperor of this empire, being affected in anyway by a childhood disease is asinine. I gained immunity years ago, well before I passed my father in strength. Now what do you say?" Frost asked in a clearly demanding voice.
Verto sighed slightly, "Fine, but only after this Renegade business is finished. Random assassination isn't my thing."
Frost smiled, "Oh I think I can fix that." Verto gave off a gruff defeated expression as Frost turned in his chair, facing the pilot station again. He couldn't help but notice Verto's glare reflecting off the nearest screen, and his eyes had turned a dark crimson color.
"Hmmm?" Frost mused. By the time he turned again, Verto was already walking off the bridge.
Several hours passed by quickly as Verto sat alone in the darkest corner he could find. He had been considering the promise he had just made, and the possibility of reneging it. Neither choice excited him. He felt it would have been much easier if both Frost and Bojack were established enemies. It was one thing when a decided enemy came along to destroy the world, but quite another when the defender strikes first. A loud alarm blared as a large planet came into view from the window, signaling the landing cycle had begun. I'll have to deal with this later. Right now I need to focus on this problem without distractions. They're going to push me though, I have to be prepared for that. Verto got up and walked steadily towards the bridge, dodging random soldiers that were running around. Whatever planet they were on, it quickly became clear that it was nighttime because the bridge had darkened almost completely. The ship shook a bit as it hit turbulence from the atmosphere. Red streaks of heat zipped on by the windows for many moments before fading away. Another half minute passed before one final but violent tremor rocked the ship as it landed. Frost remained seated as Verto entered the command deck, where Miruk and Bojack's crew were patiently waiting.
"Life signs?" Frost asked first.
One of the operation soldiers quickly looked at his screens, "Inconclusive sire, there appears to be a jamming field in place. None of our scanners are working, including scouters. We should still have communication though."
"I see, can we scan the system for any other vessels?"
"No sire, but we didn't pick up anything on entry. The jamming field appears to originate from our planetary base nearly two hundred kilometers away. We should be able to shut it down once we're inside."
Frost's tail swished just slightly, "Very well. I will remain here with the ship. The rest of the non-essential crew will accompany Lord Bojack. Report any findings immediately, and if there are any survivors, friend or foe, I want them alive!" Most of the elites in the room saluted along with Miruk. Bojack merely nodded and followed them off the ship with his own crew. Verto trailed behind all of them a bit, trying to sense what was ahead of them. It was difficult to detect anything around the planet, but he did sense a Psionic disturbance nearby. It didn't appear to be strong, pretty weak even.
"Well boy, you sense anything?" Bojack asked as he stepped off the ship. Verto stopped and glanced up at the alien nearly three times his size as well as the rest of the group. There were nearly three dozen in all, waiting for his answer. Verto couldn't help but smirk just slightly, This must paint a ridiculous picture that clearly tells everyone how size doesn't matter.
"I can't quite tell, that jamming field might be interfering. I do sense a weak disturbance up there, but that could be the result of several people having died. If these guys can suppress their energy like I can, I won't sense them right away," Verto admitted.
"We'll send a scout team first then. Report what you see, you five there are squad A, move!" Bojack ordered as he pointed to the first five elites that he saw. They all nodded and took off into the air at their top speed.
Nearly ten to fifteen minutes passed quietly before Bojack even said another word.
"Alright, we've given them a good enough lead, let's go," he barked. All at once, everyone rose into the air and took off, followed by the stronger parties. Verto slipped his provided scouter over his ear and turned it on as he followed the vapor trails. He heard nothing but static over the airwaves, aside from some random chatter from the larger group.
"Squad A, report!" Bojack grumbled. No response came for nearly a minute, prompting Bojack to repeat himself.
After the third try, a rough, scratchy voice answered, "Squad A here! Send help…everyone dead! No, please no….Ahhh!" The voice cut out just as Verto felt an energy spike from up ahead.
"Miruk, pick up the pace and find out what happened!" Bojack shouted. The elites doubled their flight speed and were into the distance quickly. Verto started to follow, but stopped himself upon seeing that Bojack and company had not.
"Don't be too eager for action boy. You will get it soon enough," Bojack suggested.
"You just sent them all to their deaths, but it looks like that doesn't bother you much," Verto pointed out.
"They would've been in the way. Best to send in the worthless cannon fodder first!" Verto grimaced and maintained his flight speed, offering no rebuttal.
Bujin laughed a bit, "Poor little boy has a soft heart! How amusing it is!"
"And here he was all tough before, looks like the little war machine is a fraud, just as I thought!" Bido claimed.
Verto glared back at the laughing cronies, "Think what you want, I don't care. But if you want the soft heart to go away, just ask and it's done."
"Can I just break him into two smaller pieces and get it over with? He might make a decent meal if we were to cook him. I wonder what roasted monkey tastes like," Bido wondered, ignoring the warning.
"Go ahead and try. I know what a roasted idiot looks like!" Verto countered.
"That's enough, the rest of the meat shield has arrived," Bojack announced, chuckling slightly. Verto's scouter blared to life with soldier chatter that couldn't be sorted out. Nothing really caught his attention, other than Miruk barking orders. It all ceased when Verto sensed another energy fluctuation, followed quickly by multiple ki signals flaring up and dying out rapidly. Verto could hear explosions over the scouter, but very few voices followed them.
The only one that did was Miruk's, "Contact established. Target looks like a Saiyan…Entire team wiped out…" Miruk's voice faded as Verto glanced over at Bojack, who was no longer as calm as before.
"Very well, let's go."
Upon arrival at the base, Verto took quick note of the many bodies lying around. All of them were Empire soldiers, and all of them were dead. Some of them were part of the group that had just been sent in, others were not. The base itself was of a decently large size with a few larger towers reaching for the sky. It was nearly the size of Frost's headquarters, except that this base had four towers instead of five. Other than the smoldering front entrance and a few random blemishes, the area was mostly untouched. A few of the corpses had notable smoking holes that clearly represented energy beams had been used, but many of them were lying in pools of their own blood. Verto sensed a tiny flicker of Psionic energy in the area, but almost no remaining ki aside from present company.
"Whoever is here is suppressing their energy," he announced.
Bojack grimaced, "Bujin, Zangya, you're with me! We'll search the left wings. The rest of you locate Miruk and search the other side!" Gokua and Bido bowed as they landed, with Verto trailing behind them. The two teams split up once inside the base, which appeared to be losing power. Most of the normally bright lights were fading to a dim blink. Verto considered using his energy sword to light the way, but didn't in favor of tactics. It only took five minutes of room searching before Bido lost his patience.
"Come on out cowards! We know that you are here!" Bido shouted.
"They are afraid, typical," Gokua claimed when no one immediately answered. Verto rolled his eyes as Bido started to beat down doors instead of waiting the half-second for them to open.
"Real sneaky, make as much noise as possible," he muttered aloud.
"Let them come! This is boring!" Bido claimed. Another few minutes of this continued until they came to the mess hall. Miruk was lying on a broken table, battered and bloody. His bulky body was laying limp, and it looked like he had a serious head injury, but he was breathing.
Gokua immediately turned on his scouter, "Master Bojack, we've found Captain Miruk. He appears to be alive, barely."
"Very well, continue your search," Bojack replied.
"Understood." Verto wasn't overly surprised that they didn't bother calling for medical aid, but he knew full well that Frost was likely listening in. This is going to feel awkward. He stepped towards Miruk's mass and cast out his hands as he concentrated.
"What the hell are you doing runt?" Bido rasped.
"Saving his life, now shut up!" Verto's green energy spilled out and covered Miruk as well as the room with its glow. Miruk's eyes opened in surprise after a few seconds just as Verto stepped back.
"You can heal others?" Gokua asked in surprise.
"Yes, I only healed him enough to walk out of here, he won't be fighting," Verto replied.
"You saved me, how…unusual. I don't know what to say," Miruk said.
Verto snorted, "You're welcome."
"Fool! You should have just let him die! What a waste of energy!" Bido grumbled.
"Yeah, I could have, but I didn't. I'll decide what a waste of energy is, since it's my choice and not yours. So if you should end up half dead like that, maybe I'll take your advice," Verto countered. Bido didn't answer and turned on his heel, crashing through the next door.
"Captain, what did this Saiyan hit you with? Were there any strange techniques?" Verto asked.
"None that I could tell, he plowed right through the weak soldiers. If he has a specific power, he did not feel the need to show it, even against me," Miruk admitted.
"It's a very strong Saiyan then if I couldn't feel much energy output. And he definitely knows how to suppress his power. I thought so. He could be anywhere," Verto said.
"He left him alive as bait, perhaps he didn't expect three of us and chose not to attack. We'll have to use our eyes and ears until he strikes again. Good, I like a challenge," Gokua claimed. Verto grimaced, I should use my stealth technique for this, but I don't think I should reveal it to these guys. I'll wait till they're out of sight. Verto shut his eyes and suppressed his energy as much as possible. It didn't take long for someone to notice.
"What are you doing kid?" Gokua asked.
Verto glared at him, "Isn't it obvious? If this Saiyan can hide his power, he can probably sense others as well. Think about it." Gokua nodded slightly and his ki promptly went down considerably. Verto sensed no change in Bido's energy, though he was far enough ahead that he likely wasn't listening. Miruk's power was low enough now that it didn't matter much, but Verto doubted he could lower it any further.
"Captain, stay between us. I have a feeling that he may single you out, seeing as you're still alive and kicking. That way we can spread out while setting our own trap. I'll bring up the rear," Verto suggested.
"Why wouldn't he go after Bido first if he's so far ahead of us? He would be the easiest to strike at after all," Gokua pointed out.
"I'm not saying he won't, I'm just approaching this with Miruk being the weakest link here. If he goes after Bido first, we'll have a much better idea of his strength," Verto explained. Gokua and Miruk nodded to this and spread out accordingly. Verto let them have nearly two minutes to move ahead before he double-checked his surroundings. Once he was sure that no one was near, he concentrated his power and started to fade from the normal visual spectrum until he barely had the form of a shadow. Verto slowly crept around the next few turns, checking every shadow and every unmoving alien body. There wasn't anything there, but Verto had a nagging feeling of danger coming closer. He's close.
Bido remained oblivious to the team's more covert actions and rapidly stomped through the corridors, shoving corpses and equipment out of his way. Stupid little brat, giving me orders? I'm gonna rip his arms off!
Bido's scouter beeped for a few seconds before he pushed the button on its side, "What?"
"Bido, the internal sensors are functioning again. We're picking something up directly ahead of you," Bujin said.
"Got it, whoever it is will wish they weren't even born!"
"Settle your anger. This is an unknown enemy!" Bujin warned.
"Yeah yeah. Why don't you put that oversized head of yours to use and fix these damn lights!" Bido suggested. He shut off the scouter and violently shoved a set of double doors aside. The next room was a wide rotunda that connected a few main hallways nearly in the middle of the base. Bido's eyes locked onto the figure standing there, back facing Bido. A long brown tail unraveled and swished around under nearly waist long spiky hair. He bore a black jumpsuit with white stripes along the side, but had no armor on. The Saiyan was smaller than an average humanoid, but he did have a very athletic build.
"It's about time, I've been waiting for quite a while," the Saiyan said.
"Alright Saiyan, turn around and face me!" Bido ordered.
"That's not necessary, but if you insist." The mystery Saiyan turned, revealing multiple long bangs draped over his face, partially covering his smirk. His face was littered with light scarring that had likely come from teenage injuries.
Bido grinned, "I've got good news, I'm not allowed to kill you. But I don't think Lord Frost will mind a few missing limbs. You will know me as Bido."
"I'm surprised you even gave me your name, I suppose it would be rude of me not to give mine. It is Chal, and it's unfortunate that you won't know me for long. I'm afraid that I won't be holding back, because I don't believe in it. So you'll have to disappoint the son of Frieza," Chal claimed, though he seemed to change his mind a moment later, "Oh, I apologize for giving you false hope. You won't have to worry about him, not after you die."
"Go ahead and talk tough monkey, you won't be the first runt I destroy today!" Bido charged forward quickly, trying to punch the Saiyan's head clean off. Chal ducked out of the way at the last moment, and Bido stopped and swung his other massive arm into Chal. He fell backwards, apparently stunned from the blow.
Bido's grin intensified, "Get up worm!" Chal didn't move at first, until laughter struck the air.
Bido scowled, "Is death funny?"
"That would depend on who is dying. I promise you that it won't be me. I just find it amusing that Frost would send such strong warriors after little me. Granted it won't end up mattering, but it's obvious that he's concerned," Chal said nonchalantly.
Bido laughed, "Heh, you're a stupid fool. Why don't you just talk me to death?"
Chal got up slowly, "I'm sure someone of your intelligence would break quickly to something like that. Let's just see who the fool really is." Chal's palm erupted with swirls of red, blue and purple energy, all mixed randomly as he aimed forward.
Bido dropped any semblance of a defense and beckoned Chal to attack, "Go ahead, take your best shot!"
"Shouten!" Chal yelled as he fired a single bolt that sailed at Bido with surprising speed. Bido was unable to block it even if he wanted to, and it hit him square in the chest. The dust cleared quickly, showing Bido unscathed.
Bido laughed, "What was that supposed to be? You'll have to come up with a lot more power than that!" Chal fired again, same result.
"Come on, give it all you've got, otherwise this will be even more boring than it already is!" Bido dared.
Chal grinned slightly, "So be it." Chal rapidly pumped his arms as he released dozens of multi-colored blasts, each of them striking Bido. None of them appeared to do any damage, so Bido didn't even bother trying to defend himself. This went on for almost a minute before Chal stopped. Bido stood with his arms crossed, a smug expression plastered on his face. Residual energy appeared to have collected around the larger brute, giving him a slight glow all over his body.
"Is that all?" Bido asked.
"You're a true cretin. That's fine, you'll understand soon enough," Chal claimed. Rustling sounded from the open door as Gokua ran into the hall, a hand on his sword.
"So this is the Saiyan eluding us. Is he giving you trouble Bido?" Gokua asked.
"Oh please, the little crap can't do anything!" Bido declared.
Chal turned his head slightly, "Then finish it, if you're so sure of yourself."
Bido chuckled as he strode forward, "I'll have to apologize to Lord Frost for this, but you're not even worth capturing!" Chal looked as if he were in a deep state of concentration. He suddenly phased out, reappearing behind Bido. Bido blocked the kick aimed for his head just as a loud snap came from his partially glowing arm. Bido's eyes went wide with agony as he cried out, holding his arm limply.
"What…the hell?" Gokua asked.
Chal stood within inches of Bido, "What's wrong fool, did that hurt a bit more than you expected?" Chal then kicked low into Bido's large leg. At first, it didn't appear to do much, but the numb expression on Bido's face said otherwise just before the leg buckled. Bido crashed to the floor in pain, rolling around a bit as if he were on fire.
"Stay down you loud buffoon, and I may let you live long enough to tell the story. You're sword wielding friend won't be so lucky!" Chal ordered as he turned his attention to Gokua.
Gokua remained calm, "Hmph, I'd like to see you try. I don't know what sort of tricks you're using, but I can feel your ki. You're a weakling!"
Chal smiled, "And that's why you think yourself superior? You couldn't be more wrong." Chal's palm charged with another randomly colored round of energy. He didn't give Gokua much time to react before he fired a wide spray. Gokua launched into the air, avoiding the barrage. He reared back and fired a few blasts of his own. Chal deflected them with his bare hand, which in turn blew up a nearby wall. Gokua drew his metal sword as he rushed in. Chal parried the attack by hitting the flat side, and his palms glowed again. Gokua jumped backwards to avoid the close range attack, but he wasn't prepared for what Chal was about to do. The energy condensed into a thick but vivid stream of lightning just before it shot out.
"Shouten Beam!" Gokua never had a chance to dodge before it hit. Like Bido before though, it didn't appear to do anything to him. Gokua stood still, slightly confused as the red, purple and occasionally blue energy made his skin glow.
"What is this technique?" Gokua asked as he stared at his hands.
Chal landed in a three-point stance as he gazed up at the confused Gokua, "Your end!" Chal flew at Gokua with new speed, leading with his shoulder straight into Gokua's torso. Gokua's face lit up with pain as he fell backwards, flattened by the flying tackle. His chest was already bleeding in spots and appeared to be heavily bruised in others. Gokua coughed roughly as he spat blood in-between wheezy breaths.
"Don't judge anyone based on power alone, you will carry that lesson to the grave. Even if you two were on my level, my Shouten technique would still allow me to destroy you with ease!" On the other side of the room, Bido was struggling to reach his feet. Chal's hair whipped around as he switched targets. His fingertips lit up with blue light and sparked generously as Bido's eyes widened.
"I won't use Shouten this time, I want you to feel this one. Raiko Arc!" Chal shouted. A flat, narrow lightning stream shot from Chal's fingers, dead on target. Bido rolled to the side to avoid it, painfully falling to his knees. The lightning stream however was arcing towards him, seemingly on command from Chal. Bido managed to reach his feet just as the lightning reached him. It tore into his broken arm as he howled in pain, ripping through flesh as if it were butter. Chal eased up a moment later, and Bido dropped back down, holding up what was left of his upper arm. A long slash had been cut out of it all the way to the broken bone. Chal shifted his aim back to Gokua, who was also struggling to reach his feet.
Chal's lightning attack started to charge again, "This ends now." He fired straight at Gokua's battered midsection. His lightning was stopped in its path by a bright blue blade of energy, and its owner faded into view within seconds. Chal ceased fire as Verto remained still, but ready.
"You're a Saiyan!" Chal said.
"Your eyes work, congrats," Verto replied as he stood up straight and relaxed his guard.
"Why are you helping them?" Chal asked.
Verto glanced at Bido's whimpering and snorted, "If you want to call it help. Long story, and it doesn't even matter right now."
Chal looked puzzled, "Oh? And why is that?"
Verto locked eyes with him and pulled his sword back to an attack position, "Because I'm your opponent."
Chal grinned at this, "Good."
A/n: Shouten – Japanese for "Focus". Raiko – Japanese for "Lightning". I realize I could have stuck with just typical English on attack names, but I felt the need for something a little different. Well here we go. Here's the part where I could put in the ridiculous overly dramatic words to hype this fight, but I don't need to.
WDG: I'd do it for you, but I haven't seen the next one yet so it would be pure speculation rather than factual. I'm fairly sure you don't want me confusing the readers like that. :P
VB: Well I just sent it via express mail. And I confuse readers enough of my own.