~Raze's Journey;Director's Cut Chapter 13~

~A Drastic Turn;Wanted Man~

Garoose felt Allium's power beginning to drastically lower as he touched down in the middle of the lab filled with drones. Quickly stepping past them, he rushed toward the end of the cavern, 'Come on, don't die!' His mind was in just as much of a rush as his body.

The cavern was a quick detour as he moved to find himself at the end. Garoose saw all the newly destroyed tanks and even some of the bodies of his former crewmates. He gritted his teeth and jumped down to them, but found they were already beyond help. Garoose would have cried for them, but he had to stay strong. Somehow… Flying high into the lab, he felt for the ki being emitted by Allium and finally began to close in on him.

'Don't be dead!' He thought while trying to get there.

~Allium and Fhaze~

Allium fell forward, as Fhaze's arm was ripped from his back, "Oh… That's amusing! Looks like your friend came back despite your orders." Turning back, Fhaze gave a menacing grin toward the fast approaching Garoose who landed just beside the downed Allium.

Garoose faced the thing standing before him with an angered look, "Y- You bastard! What d- did you do to him?!" Garoose was picking up Allium who grunted in pain.

Fhaze hadn't expected a brazen question like that, so he indulged, "What does it look like I've done? Seems clear to me that there's a hole all the way through his back and out the torso." Fhaze then shrugged his shoulders, "I can give you a matching one if you need it."

Garoose held Allium as he coughed up a bit of blood, "I appreciate that you've come back, but this was a ba- *cough* no… horrible *cough* *cough* decision…' He trailed off as his body convulsed causing more blood to trail from the open wound he suffered from.

"S-Save your strength! We'll make it out of this!" Garoose said while Allium merely began to shake.

"N- No… Garoose… *cough* This is not that *cough* kind of situation." Allium stated as Fhaze nodded.

"He's right, you know. This isn't that type of situation. It's much worse." Fhaze stated to the man holding Allium up.

Garoose looked at Allium, confusion etched all over his face, "Y- You're giving up!? That w- wouldn't make any s- sense! J- Just who are you!?" He asked Allium who just shook his head.

"You- *wheeze* You should've just left! *cough* I would've been happ- *cough* pier!" Allium let out a pained gasp, "Now… *wheeze*" He stopped, as blood was seen trailing down from the wound in his chest, covering Garoose's hand, "We're both g- going to- *cough* ungh! Die!"

Fhaze nodded as he looked to the lab's wall, "Since Allium is leaving this mortal coil, would you like to entertain me? Er… Garoose, was it?" He asked the man who shuddered at the idea.

'I guess this is it… I knew it would be over, but… Damn. I couldn't just leave someone to die.' His steadfast willpower wouldn't let someone die alone, especially not someone who intended to sacrifice themselves.

Turning to Fhaze, his anger mounting, "How did you manage to attack Allium and hurt him this badly?!" Garoose retorted while holding the sagging Allium who seemed to be losing his life force by the moment.

Fhaze shook his head, "You want me to explain one of my abilities to you? Why?" He asked Garoose who gritted his teeth.

"It's not as simple as that! Why are you doing this?! There has to be a reason!" Garoose exclaimed while Fhaze started to chuckle lightly.

Crossing his arms, Fhaze chuckled a bit louder, "It's simple really. This isn't personal. For me, it's a way to get that little voice in the back of my mind to shut off." Garoose looked confused as Fhaze pointed to his skull.

Fhaze continued, "Confused? I would definitely be confused about such an explanation if I were in your shoes." He turned to Allium who was slumping more than he was attempting to stand up, "Let's just say that Sebastian is cruel to any of his closest friends, enemies… You name it! Even his own creations get some kind of defect on purpose." Fhaze watched as Garoose realized with his own startling discovery that Allium was no longer among the living and started shaking the corpse in his arms.

"N- NO!" Garoose shouted as Allium crumpled to the ground after a hard enough shake. Garoose fell to his own knees, pleading for Allium to get up, "You have to get up! PLEASE!" Yet, he'd get no answer to those pleas.

Fhaze merely leaned back into his hands, watching what he considered to be a pathetic display, "You shouldn't have come here." He said as Garoose stared back with tear stained eyes, "If you hadn't come back, he'd have not died in vain. This is on you. I'm still particularly glad you're here because this voice in my head wants me to do one last thing." He began to walk nonchalantly in a circle around Garoose while holding the back of his head in his hands and leaning back to enjoy the sights of the dilapidated lab.

"Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush. I have taken the communicator off Allium's wrist." Garoose was confused about this until his eyes widened, "You must be more perceptive than I thought. Do you know what I intend to do with this thing?" Garoose let out a choked sob and a nod.

"Y- You… You're trying to… P- Put out a m- message…" He trailed off while Fhaze gave a sinister grin.

"Yeah! That's exactly the plan. All you have to do is get this done." Fhaze said as Garoose turned away.

"It's password locked…" Garoose trailed off while Fhaze played with the little device nonchalantly twirling it in his hand causing Garoose to feel a greater resentment for the being, "Didn't you hear me?!" Yet, Fhaze just shrugged his shoulders.

"That's fine, what about yours?" Fhaze asked the man who suddenly gripped his arm to which Fhaze chuckled, "As if you have any choice in the matter." He stated matter of factly.

Garoose took a sideways glance at Allium's still body that's growing colder by the second, "Actually I do." Fhaze arched an eye at that with a small smirk on his face, "It's jammed." It was Garoose's turn to give the bastard his own grin, "You'll never get the chance to put out any type of message." He said coldly.

Fhaze was shaking, Garoose couldn't see the man's eyes underneath the bangs of his hair, 'I definitely got to him! My last laugh before joining Allium and all the comrades of the past.' However, it was for naught. Fhaze was actually starting to laugh uncontrollably. His laugh reverberated around the area, his eyes were wild, almost bugging out.

Wiping the first tear of joy from his face, Fhaze sighed in contentment, "That won't get old anytime soon." Garoose didn't give a look of amusement to this and Fhaze quieted up before continuing, "Look, I'm trying to give you a last chance to do something good for everyone before you pass on. This message will revitalize the military under Romaine." He said while Garoose got even angrier by the minute.

Fhaze ignored this growing warning sign while putting out his idea, "It's ingenious even. Just think, you'll be martyrs for the cause of finally taking down Raze Vestal and his upstart." Garoose gritted his teeth for probably the fifth time, "After all, he's your murderer. Even if Xeno gets off this world, that won't matter. They won't trust him!" Fhaze exclaimed while Garoose looked at the floor.

Fhaze was reveling in this cavalcade of ideas soon to take shape. So, lost in the myriad of thoughts running through his newly made mind. He snapped out of his stupor when a loud slamming sound was made evident to his ear drums. Turning to see that Garoose had made a fresh hole in the floor with his fist. Pulling up said hand, blood leaked around the knuckles, the pieces of his communicator were also in the hole. The physical trauma was nothing to the mental trauma he was going through currently. Then he let out a loud yell, practically cutting into the walls. Then silence fell in the underground lab.

"Y- You!" Fhaze said through gritted teeth, finally being thrown off balance for the first time since Allium had literally sent him flying earlier, but Garoose ignored him.

"I can't believe this… In such a short amount of time…" Garoose trailed off, his thoughts going out to the dead men currently in the makeshift tomb beside himself.

Fhaze was hoping for a bit more than that even in his angered state, "Is that all yo-" He was cut off.

"Shut the fuck up!" Garoose shouted before continuing, "Let me finish…" Garoose said quietly while Fhaze gave off a menacing look.

~On the Military Ship~

Clicking the buttons and activating the autopilot. Xeno looked around, watching Ruchel fly back and forth around the little ship. He was astonished by the technology being put on display. The ship whirred to life, beginning by closing the outside doors. Sand fell from the side, mixing back into the sand beneath.

Turning to look back, 'Garoose and Allium…' They hadn't shown any sign of getting back to where they were. Garoose had told him to leave, but Xeno still felt horrible about it. He was considering going back at this point, but he didn't want to leave Ruchel alone.

Ruchel floated next to Xeno, "You ready, everything looks ok. We should be able to leave without any issue!" He droned out while Xeno nodded slightly, still wondering about his newfound friends.

"Y- You're still wanting to go back?" Ruchel asked as Xeno stayed quiet.

Ruchel continued, "You can't! It's not good to be thinking like this! You can't help them! We need to go!" Xeno's fist clenched in frustration, knowing that his friend was right, "Let go of your pride for now! We can get back at that thing later once you're fully repaired! Right now, it's a fool's errand!" Xeno's clenched fist mellowed out, unclenching with a sigh of exasperation.

Ruchel closed his one green sclera in relief as Xeno moved to click the starting button, the claws holding the ship upright retracted inside the body as the engines ripped. Energy pouring out the bottom, it left the ground. The roaring of the engine could be heard even far away. Fhaze and Garoose knew that they wouldn't be found on the surface of Kanaasa. In turn, Xeno took with him the knowledge that his new allies would most likely die.

"I won't forget you both." He whispered to himself, "Your debt will be repaid." He said just a bit louder than intended which Ruchel heard from the side.

Ruchel felt for his oldest friend. He resolved to make sure that Xeno would get repaired no matter the cost. The planet shrunk as the ship flew higher into space. Xeno was hoping this ship might take them straight to Raze. He would help them for sure!

~In the underground lab~

The sounds could be heard of the ship leaving Kanaasa behind. Fhaze looked down upon Garoose who seemed to be smirking, "I told you… It won't matter that we never made it off this planet. So long as anyone does… That's good enough for me." Fhaze put both his hands in the air, shrugging to show that he didn't care, but Garoose didn't stop, "As for your other plan… It won't work either. You can't torment my superiors or my friends any longer and you'll be killed by Kronos and Karmel the moment they find you. Face it, you won't and can't win!" Garoose said to Fhaze who finally cut him off.

"Congratulations. You've finally done something worthwhile with your existence. Now you can pass on unimpeded." Fhaze began to chuckle before elaborating, "I've recorded your words and will use an AI to synthesize your voice thanks to this small drone I've got here." He pulled it out from behind his back causing Garoose to gape in horror.

"E- Even still! That won't matter, you don't have any kind of signal here!" Fhaze merely smirked, walking over to the man.

"Who do you think jammed the signal in the first place?" Fhaze asked him to which he received only a glare from Garoose, "Yeah… Me. Now, even if the signal doesn't come from your devices. If an emergency had happened… It's not unbelievable that you wouldn't have tried to use an alternative source." Fhaze said while Garoose could only grit his teeth and look away.

"Second, the other reason why I haven't killed you yet is because I'm in need of some clothes." He looked disdainfully to the side at Allium's corpse, "Those ones are quite a bit more dirty than yours. So, I'll be borrowing what you have and lopping off your head for some much needed closure." He said with unrestrained hatred as Garoose stood up, his own anger flowing through his blood.

"You won't k- kill me that easily." But this didn't phase Garoose's aggressor.

"You're welcome to try fighting me." Fhaze got into a crouch, put his hands into positions that arched near his head and just below the belt, "But I promise to break you quickly." Fhaze then flipped his right hand ever so slightly and beckoned for Garoose to try.

Garoose, knowing full well that he stood not a single chance in hell decided to see if he had any alternative. He began to back up, wishing he'd listened to his superior and ignored his feelings, but Fhaze moved forward ever so slightly. Garoose felt the sweat dripping down his brow, his breath was halted by his nervous energy.

'I'm going to die!' To Garoose, Fhaze looked like a feral creature about to devour its prey.

"One step…" Fhaze uttered out while forcing Garoose to back up even further.

Garoose had barely any time before his mind made a decision for him. The tank just behind him was ripped in half with a fast heavy blow from Fhaze who had definitely aimed for a killing strike in just half a millisecond. Yet, Fhaze was left blasting forward in confusion upon having not hit Garoose whatsoever. Even as the debris crashed into the floor and Fhaze had landed on the side of yet another tank with a light tap of his feet, he was already scanning the area for any sign of Garoose.

"Urgh… Very resilient, but you can't just dodge me forever!" Fhaze exclaimed while examining every nook and cranny of the place. The dust and shattering of glass was making it much harder to find the person in question especially with their energy level being completely lowered.

Garoose continued running while the sound of falling debris masked his footsteps. He had no choice now but to get out. Allium, Collateral, and everyone that had joined this small expedition were gone from this world. There wasn't a real reason to stay here after the fact. Jumping over each obstacle in his way, Garoose charged forward with an extreme desire to live. Fhaze pointed his hand to the other side of the lab, firing a ball of energy straight toward another towering tank. The blast ripped apart, blasting the area and sending Garoose who happened to be close to that area flying away from the intensity of the wind.

Slamming to the floor, Garooset's ankle had twisted in the incident. Him withholding his ki was a true detriment to his body and he had much less defense as of now. Pushing himself up, spitting out some blood, Garoose hoped he wouldn't be seen by the monster. The dust brought about by the freshly wrought destruction was still covering him more than well enough. Fhaze looked in that direction, hoping he'd rung out the rat, but found that Garoose was still nowhere to be seen.

"Tch… You can't hide forever. If you make it out of here, you'll only expose yourself!" Fhaze hoped to get a response out of the man, but he heard nothing of the sort, 'I can't let him live or maybe I killed him already and just don't know it…' Fhaze contemplated on what to do if things didn't go exactly as planned.

Garoose crawled along the floor, continuing toward the hole in the center of the building. If he could hide within the sand piled up at the bottom, he might be able to preserve his life and escape from Fhaze. It might take longer without his ki, but it would be worth it. Maybe Fhaze would leave if he thought that Garoose was killed by his last attack. That was his only real hope of making it out and the only thing keeping his body moving.

Just as Garoose got there, he found Fhaze standing before him, "B- But how?!" Garoose let out in horror.

"Because you're not dealing with the average saiyan warrior anymore. Not that I was ever average to begin with." Fhaze said while leveraging his boot onto Garoose's outstretched hand before stomping down on his fingers. Garoose let loose a wail of pain as they cracked and broke under the force of Fhaze's attack.

Tears threatening to spill out his eyes, Garoose held an angry expression even as Fhaze began to charge his attack, "You know, since I was only born about an hour ago…" He trailed off, making sure that he had Garoose's attention.

Turning to the side, "I'm finding that torture really isn't my thing." Even while saying that, Fhaze ground his foot just a bit more, getting a pained gasp from the man while putting his hand up to point directly at Garoose, "So, I'll try to end this quickly. As for clothing, I don't think those rags really suit me." Light began to emanate from his palm, a sickly red attack covered in red electricity, "Also, your escape attempt made this personal." He fully formed the attack in his hand that quickly enveloped the area in sparks.

Fhaze had one last thing to say, "Having an extra set of eyes came in use after all. This Raze fella is full of surprises. I'll have to thank him for what he did to Sebastian and them. If not for that history, I wouldn't be here." He smirked at the soldier who's life flashed as bright as the attack that vaporized his body.

Fhaze saw the building beginning to collapse above as his blast cascaded through the area, destroying imperative support beams and making the earth itself fall with it. He quickly left through the opening to watch his first masterpiece become a tomb. Grinding into the sand, the building disappeared below the surface. Black ash poured through the desert floor as the bridges that had been attached to the side ripped off from the support beams, quickly tumbling down to the surface. Chunks of the two buildings standing opposite of this were the only way to tell other than the newly made holes in both buildings that they'd ever been high in the hair in the first place.

"Time to get going, what a waste of time that was." Fhaze finished as he flew off to the third building to claim what little of a birthright he had.

The very air conformed to his body, this feeling of jubilation inside him at the mere thought of being alive. He loved it, every bloody second of it. This man was ready for the long haul, to find his purpose in existence. But to find a purpose, usually you have to destroy another's. Fhaze would take joy in finishing off the two who had made it all possible. With every fiber of his hateful being.

Flying threw the already made hole by his predecessor in the third (second?) building. He landed next to the control panel. Walking up, he made a few strokes on the keyboard and watched as the computer came to life before his eyes. Fhaze took out the miniature drone he had appropriated earlier and proceeded to hook it to the machine. Loading up the files on it, he began to synthesize the voice of Garoose until the moment it sounded as genuine as the real deal. This took him about thirty minutes or so just for the specifics, but he felt in a strange way that it should be perfect.

"Yes, this will work." Fhaze said as he pulled out the communicator that had been on Allium's wrist. Once he hooked it up, the computer spoke back to him.

"You know, destroying my entire drone network was completely unnecessary." The unmistakable voice of Athena was a frustrating thing to the engineered saiyan.

"Don't question me, Co-Creator. I had to test out these abilities firsthand." He clenched his fist, admiring the work, "I'll say that it all worked out in the end. Especially my ability to regenerate." The screen seemed to brighten up at that, pleased to hear that something good came of keeping this monster alive.

Athena's leftover mind loved that, "I hope you enjoyed making them especially miserable." She said while Fhaze shrugged, leaning back.

"Nah, I got kinda bored with the whole "Sadistic Torture" pretty early. Well, at least until one of them tried his best to escape me." Fhaze frowned, "Yes, I'll remember him for a while, that Garoose." Shaking his own head at the unfortunate guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Athena's voice didn't respond to that. This thing sitting opposite of the ai was supposed to be a killing machine that was built to enjoy the suffering of others. Yet, he seemed down about it. If her original body were here, it'd be disappointing. So, it focused on hacking the communicator instead of acknowledging that low hanging fruit.

Within a minute, it finally spoke up, "It's done. Shall I send out your message?" The Athena impersonator said with a wicked thought of its own.

Fhaze grinned, "Yes, let's make Raze's life a little more painful." He didn't mention his other goal, hoping to keep it secret from this thing.

~Across the West Galaxy on Every Coded Line~

"I- Is this thing on?" A few pokes of the mic could be heard as static interference, "T- This is P- P- Private G- Garoose." A few coughing noises were heard over the line.

"I went to… *gasp* To a planet known as K- Kanaasa." A heavy breaths accompanied this, "We w- were sent t- to investigate." Another cough and he continued on, "A m- mysterious *screech* incident!" He halfway said between another gagging cough.

"K- Kidnapping, m- murder, you name it…" His labored breaths could be heard by many who were just starting to tune in.

~On Guerdon with Kronos~

He had a headset on, listening to the dying breaths of a soldier he knew was under Allium's command on the secure line, 'What is this about?' Kronos thought while the message continued.

"Long st- story short… W- We were ambushed." A grunt of pain accompanied that last bit before Garoose's message continued, "It happened s- so fast. He a- attacked everyone. Le- Leaving me and Al- Allium here." The voice seemed to get more urgent, worried.

"I- I may not have m- much t- time left. Even n- now, I can hear him c- coming." Kronos was more focused than he had been before with worry beginning to even overcome his features.

'Dammit, who?! Let us know who!' Kronos thought while continuing to listen to what could be a final call for help.

~With Karmel~

He was trembling, gripping his desk until his fingers made indents in it, 'N- No… Goddamn!' Karmel's thoughts were much less refined as he learned that he had sent his men to a death sentence. His mind raced about what he should be doing this very instant. Even readying to head out there to Kanaasa himself even if Karmel would be late. He would have a chance to kill whomever was there.

"I- I could only g- get away just l- long enough to get this m- message out. I'm s- sorry Kar- Karmel. I t- tried my b- best to help Allium. H- He died bravely fighting that m- man." Karmel leaned in a bit more, wanting to hear what that name was. He wanted nothing more than to be there for the courageous soldier, tears were starting to bead in the corners of his eyes, listening to the dying words of a private that would be remembered forever.

Feeling more angry and at loss than he could ever remember being before, Karmel nearly tore a hole in his desk. The tears spilling down his cheeks now would be repaid in whoever's blood was meant to be spilled for this act. His energy was starting to flare up and items in his office began to shake along with most of the building. What he didn't know was that this sentiment was being shared by everyone inside the base as they heard these words being spoken.

~King Romaine's Throne Room~

He sat in the pitch dark room, surrounded by nothing more than his own thoughts while that message continued on, "T- That man, T- The one who sl- slaughtered my comrades. *cough* It was R- Raze Vestal! P- Please don't l- let us die in v- vain!" The connection cut at that moment.

King Romaine's features could be seen in the surrounding darkness, a familiar pressure could be felt rumbling the building he sat inside. In fact, if one were sitting in a ship just outside the atmosphere of the planet. One would notice a shift in the clouds below. A quiet rage was what was being exercised.

'So, my own son would commit an atrocity on my own people… No, our own people. A second act of violence much the events of 9 years passing.' King Romaine shifted in his chair as several people rushed to his door, opening it from the outside only to be greeted by the pressurized wind blasting them back onto their asses. The King had appeared just before them, even before they had a chance to realize it.

"I see that you've all heard the same message as I. Then we will act swiftly, get all personnel currently on the planet to my castle. We will be enacting an emergency proclamation!" He yelled, as if he didn't have their attention already.

"Raze Vestal is to be captured to be put to death or killed should he resist capture! Get this message out there! I will be making an official statement today." King Romaine then turned to his Royal Grand Vizier, "We have business to attend to." The Royal Grand Vizier nodded quickly, getting up to follow him as the others made haste to get the message out.

~End of Chapter~

Roarin: Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review!