~Raze's Journey; Director's Cut Chapter 12~
~On This Planet, I notice~
Roarin: Alright, Part 2 of the last chapter! We gotta get this story to the masses! Hope you all enjoy it!
Ruchel the newly minted drone floated down to his companion, looking over Xeno's body for any signs of life. He grew excited as soon as one of Xeno's fingers twitched in response to a poke being received from one of Ruchel's own hands, specifically the index finger. Then, Xeno began to twitch entirely and floated off the ground. The little drone next to him showed a very happy and amused state of being at this.
"I see it worked well! Welcome back, Xeno!" Ruchel said as Xeno looked at his palm and moved his rickety leg that threatened to snap at the slightest gesture.
"Hmm..." Xeno said as he decided to punch with his one arm, but found that to be undesirable as well, "I won't be fighting, but maybe I can get us both out of here." He said while taking in the sights of the incapacItated drones all around him and Ruchel.
Ruchel zoomed around him excitedly, "Yes! We should probably avoid that thing and leave this planet as soon as possible." At least, he would have stayed excited, but then some calculations went across the green sclera on the screen acting as Ruchel's eyes.
"Xeno, we may not be able to make it out of here." Xeno turned to the little drone in question who seemed to be seeing something Xeno was not.
"Is something wrong? Is that thing back?!" Xeno questioned as Ruchel shook his little drone head.
"Ah, it's two other guys. Approaching us now. We should get out of here. They could more than likely take us out with no issue even with your power." Ruchel told his friend who shook his head and gritted his teeth in anger.
"Back again and still can't save us. Are we just going to die again?" He questioned himself out loud as the two figures got closer and closer.
Ruchel floated on the shoulder of Xeno, ready to meet their fate together if need be. Yet, despite their approach, nothing was happening. If these guys were strong as Ruchel said, it wouldn't be too much for them to close the distance and even less to beat them down. Ruchel could feel how rickety his body had become since his beatdowns. His breathing was becoming a bit more erratic.
Garoose cupped his hands around his mouth, "Hey! We can see you both!" Ruchel was dumbfounded by what Garoose had just said.
He replied, "Well, duh! We're standing here in the open!" Ruchel shouted back as the echo went down the cavern to Allium and Garoose.
Xeno shook his head as he walked further out from the small destroyed lab they had been inside, figuring that there was no point in trying to remain remotely covered. Allium and Garoose were getting a good look at them thanks to the lights off their suits. Seeing a one armed and one legged robot with a small white drone floating next to it was strange enough. Allium was still feeling the fatigue and anger from earlier though.
"YOU! DID YOU KILL MY MEN!?" Allium roared while getting ready to charge at his perceived enemy.
"W- Wait a second, A- Allium?!" Garoose exclaimed, but he was already in the air.
Blasting forward, Allium appeared before Xeno. Xeno flew backward, trying to stop any contact because he knew that death would be the only thing awaiting him and Ruchel if this connected. Surprisingly, Garoose had teleported just in front of Allium. Which he reacted promptly to by stopping in midair and jumping back with a gust of wind.
Allium gave a growl of frustration, "What are you doing, Garoose!?" Allium questioned him with gusto.
"Hey! W- We gotta question them for r- real first! We d- don't know if they did it f- for sure!" Garoose said to his superior who snorted.
"Don't we get a say in this?" Xeno questioned them both to which Garoose shook his head.
Ruchel seemed to lower his head, "Great… More ultimatums. More Athena…" It trailed off as Allium reluctantly agreed with Garoose.
"Fine… I will reserve judgment. For now… So, tell me what you two are doing here in the first place." He spat with barely concealed venom.
Xeno sighed, scratching his metallic chin, trying to find a way to explain the bizarre situation, "Well, it's actually tough to explain… Okay, I used to live on this planet as a leader of a village…" He explained his story to Allium, who looked more and more sad the longer it went.
Getting to the end of the story, Xeno had fallen out of the air. Sitting down in a darkened stupor he finished, "And that's pretty much everything. We've been through hell. Yet, it still feels like the past won't let go of me." He said as he looked up to Garoose and Allium.
Garoose was in tears, "T- That's horrible! We should have come here all that time ago! Wait… I wasn't even in the military at the time!" He said while trying to wipe away the tears from his face.
Allium had lost his will to fight Xeno by this point. After hearing that story, he felt even worse about his own comrades who'd just died on this planet. Captain Collateral… The rest of them… What were they going to do now? He punched the earth below, cracking the ground with the force and making Ruchel speed back to Xeno's shoulder.
"Tch! Dammit… To think they were in our part of space for so long and we didn't even look into it!" Allium cursed under his breath at Karmel's lack of foresight, but he also knew that he couldn't blame their Colonel so easily. After all, any patrol could have found this accidentally if they'd had the budget which Karmel had fought tooth and nail for.
Ruchel shook in his little drone body, "That guys kinda scary. Speaking of scary… Where do you think that thing went, Xeno?" He asked his robotic friend who shrugged.
Xeno sighed, "Not sure… Whatever that thing was, I know it didn't find us to be a threat." Allium looked up at that and gave the both of them an intense stare.
"You guys saw something strange?" He asked them to which they both nodded in their own way.
Ruchel spoke up with his metallic tinge, "Yes! It stood bipedal and was a walking mass of muscles and blood. It's eyes were deep dark pits and it was just unnerving. I can't forget it. I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a while." Allium ignored the part where the little drone implied it could sleep and looked to Xeno.
"What about you? Do you have any more info about it?" He asked the machine-like man.
"The only other piece of info I'd have is that it made this cavern. Then it looked like it was disappointed in its power which I thought was strange." Xeno said before adding, "I think it smiled at me as if saying, "Watch this." before doing it."
Xeno's thoughts were turning and churning the little bit he did have, 'Maybe it has an ego… Athena did… Not really sure what that means though.'
"Great… So, it's not fully powered up right now." Allium said while getting ready to move, "Maybe we can kill it before it manages something more." He finished, trying to think of a plan to stop the being that had killed his men.
Garoose knew that Allium wouldn't be prepared to face the thing so soon. His emotions might cloud his judgment and so he stood up too, "You can't go alone! I'll go with you!"
Allium appreciated the sentiment, but shook his head, "We've lost just about everyone. I won't forgive myself if I lose literally everyone." His gaze was pensive as he held eye contact with Garoose, "You should probably get out of here. Take them with you." He pointed at Xeno and Ruchel, "We owe those two a debt. They've lost everything and I will stand to lose everything as well." Garoose turned to Xeno and Ruchel who both looked quite unsure about this, then he turned back to Allium who was already putting distance between them.
Garoose was about to defy that order until a light clapping was heard. Even Allium looked confused as he looked up to see a figure inside the cavern with them. It was clapping slowly, exaggerating the expression with a gleam in its eye. Xeno recognized the bio signature immediately as he couldn't ever forget it in the first place.
"That's the thing!" Xeno yelled as the figure bowed in mock respect.
"Yes… I am the thing. I am everything I need to be." The being responded to the small group.
Allium stepped forward, "So, you're the one who killed my men! You're not making it out of here alive even if I have to take you down with me!" He threw out a menacing aura that made the being chuckle.
"Don't make me laugh. You don't seem to be a saiyan of any sort. What? Are you human?" It asked while beginning to move toward the group. As it came closer to the light, Allium got a good look at the being. His eyes widened, surely that wasn't…
"You acted the same as that one guy I killed not too long ago. He called me some kind of name… Raze or something." He looked at his hand, still disappointed in himself, "I feel like I should be capable of being stronger than this… Oh well, Guess I'll be killing you all now." He stopped himself and then clarified, "At least, I'll be killing two out of the four you've got over there possibly…"
Allium leaned over as his aura intensified, boosting himself more than he had expected. It even pushed back the three standing behind him, but it barely vibrated the so-called Raze lookalike. The latter of which was seemingly excited by this boost.
"Oh?! I can feel this energy!" He exclaimed to Allium who was already tired of hearing that familiar voice that sounded exactly like Raze, but also had a bit more edge to it than the mentioned person.
"Shut your mouth! I'll be giving it my all! For them! So, you get ready!" Allium turned back to Garoose, Xeno, and Ruchel, "What are you all doing here?! Go!" He yelled as his aura sparked, transforming into an intensely vibrant red aura.
Garoose was shocked, "K- Kaioken?! That's just! Ngh!" The wind had buffeted his words, but his mind continued, 'He's taking a real risk to himself here! Damn…' Garoose
Xeno nodded, grabbing Ruchel with his one hand and heading back to the lab to find the entrance out. Garoose reluctantly turned to follow Xeno, leaving his superior to deal with this threat. Allium hadn't used this power in a bit, but his body was already getting back into the motions. He tapped into his mind trying to calm down, but also maintain the steadfast resolve to beat this thing quickly.
"I'm glad that you're the first real challenge for me! Perhaps I'll get a good zenkai off you after all!" The thing taunted as Allium reached his burst limit.
"Kaioken times thirty!" He roared as his body buffed up considerably and rocketed forward with barely concealed intentions.
The Raze lookalike was surprised by this shift and tried to avoid Allium's attack, but it was far too late for that. His fist crushed into the thing's face, actually tearing the skin right off and breaking the jaw bone alongside the cheekbones lining the side of his face. Rocks and earth shifted around them, falling out of the ceiling. The hit was so vexing to the engineered saiyan that it sent him blasting back through the cave. Allium floated in midair, taking a look at his own fist to see the blood and skin attached to it while more dust crumbled to the floor.
That was an action he hadn't felt in a long while. A thirst for battle that the long years of peace couldn't quench. Allium chose to return to his stoic demeanor, but wanted to enjoy this conflict for as long as he could. Looking up, he left to find the being and made sure to cut off his kaioken for the trip. Relaxing for a bit, Allium didn't bother looking back.
Garoose and Xeno were currently floating up the secret passage to the top. Garoose was conflicted, leaving Allium behind wasn't exactly in his top priority yet he couldn't just ignore a direct order. So, he'd bide his time, that's the only other thing he could do. Xeno seemed eager to get out of there, Garoose couldn't blame him.
'Maybe if we all make it off this world… I'll have to get him repaired.' Garoose thought while taking a look at the rickety limbs that fell to and fro.
Xeno only focused on getting higher. Ruchel was hanging onto his shoulder, waiting to see the light of day after all the darkness, "According to the map I have of this facility, we're almost there. The end of this passage is just five minutes up. What's the plan once we get there?" He asked Xeno who looked down to Garoose.
"Do you have any ideas? Because I can only think of escape. The only thing I'm not sure about is leaving your friend behind to fight that thing." Xeno said as Garoose sighed.
"He won't listen to me… He's going to fight that monster by himself regardless of what we do. I'm not sure what he's going to accomplish." Garoose turned to look at the generic looking metal they were surrounded by, "If I had to guess, he plans to die to help us escape." He said matter of factly.
Xeno grimaced at that, 'Another one… So many lives that once held meaning… Gone.' He shook his head, preparing a response for Garoose, "I don't want that, I've watched too many people die here. If that thing is based on Raze, it's probably holding back." Xeno remembered the last few days vividly, Raze had torn him apart with ease.
"R- Really?!" Garoose frowned, thinking about leaving the two robots to find the leader, "I er…" He finished abruptly, causing Xeno to grunt in response.
"Are you feeling like we should go back and ignore his orders?" Xeno asked Garoose who grinded his teeth in thought, those thoughts led to the consequences of doing such an action.
"I- I'll hold off on that idea… J- Just for now!" Garoose said as Ruchel sighed in relief.
"Nice! Dodged a bullet with that one!" Ruchel said as Xeno shook his head in disappointment at Ruchel's words.
~The Way to the Room of Tanks~
Allium saw his men from squad one as he got closer to the place he'd sent that monster. Stopping to take a look, the gruesome appearance of their corpses were nothing to scoff at. They laid in various positions and some looked like they had been begging for their lives when they were at the end. He had felt ki disappearing early on, but tried to keep the mission going regardless.
This had been a fool's errand from the start, 'I've gotta kill him. He can't be let go for this…' Allium's quiet rage was permeating the area.
He took a note of how far Garoose's power had gotten away from this location. He smiled at that despite the tears he was shedding. Perhaps at the very least, they might escape. He could take solace in that.
Turning back, Allium moved forward toward the next room. He promised the men laying behind him that he would avenge them for all the suffering they had endured in such a short amount of time.
~The room of tanks~
An impact on the far side of the room was evident by the great indenture on the wall opposite of the cavern. Within the devastated puncture was a defeated looking Raze whose face was marred on one side by the incredibly swift punch of Allium. Perhaps this wouldn't get him very far, pretending to be someone else was taxing on the body. As his neck began to reshape itself and unsnap from being permanently sideways.
The thing decided to heal its face next and prepare a counterattack. Tapping into his reserves ever so slightly, the fake Raze ripped his arms out of the wall followed by his legs as he completely broke free and landed on the top of one of the tanks. He reveled in the sight of the unsightly corpses that had helped to give him life.
'At the very least, they were useful for something.' He thought while taking a look at his own reflection, watching the bones in his face restructure and the muscles regrow until finally, the skin would take hold, 'I gotta hand it to Sebastian… He does good work. Such a shame that I'll be having the last laugh over all of them.' He noticed Allium's energy signature getting closer and began to power up his own aura, readying for round two.
A burst of dark energy outpoured from his being, 'Gotta come up with a good name… This Raze thing is going to be annoying…' He then brightened up as he thought of it, 'Yes! That should work.' He thought with a heavy excitement.
At last, Allium appeared. He looked over the area and saw his comrades, their entrails had been spread all over the area in which they had been looking into. He even noticed what appeared to be a crucified Captain Collateral hanging on the wall just below the thing's impact area. He closed his eyes, thinking about what they had probably gone through in their last moments and even shed a few tears.
Yet, the thing below wouldn't allow him even a moment to grieve, "Don't feel too bad! It was alright. They put up a fight… Well, a little bit of a fight. Your men held out quite well despite the atmosphere of death surrounding them." Following the gaze of Allium to the one that was crucified, he chuckled, "That one was incredible for about five minutes! Then he just… Well… Gave up on existence. Then I graciously helped him onto that wall!" Allium breathing was starting to rise, his anger mounting.
"Are you going to float up there all day?! I'm trying to get a reaction out of you, you know?!" He exclaimed as Allium's face began to contort, his blood vessels were getting enlarged from all this burning rage inside.
The being below could see the effect he had on the man, "By the way, I've come up with my own name! It's not glorious by any means, but I do enjoy it." Allium was floating down, looking very menacing as his aura began to light up the area out of its own virtue, yet the being continued, "It's Fhaze! You see?! Just like what they called me, but with an "Fh"! You can be impressed now!" He yelled as Allium turned his aura to a ferocious fiery red, the wind bursting forth from the force of its energy sent Fhaze sliding backward.
Leaning forward into the onslaught of sheer rising power, Fhaze grinned, "Bring it on! You'll either give out or I'll die! Should be fun!" He yelled as Allium disappeared into thin air, the only thing showing his presence being the metal kicked up by the sheer force of his movement.
This shocked Fhaze, who turned only to catch a fist through the stomach. His mouth was immediately impeded by the blood encroaching on his ability to breath causing Fhaze to cough up a large bit of it. Fhaze was surprised by the amount of pain he was feeling, but couldn't so much as utter a hoarse scream due to the blockage that turned into yet another cough. Allium finally gave an unhinged look at Fhaze, but Fhaze couldn't take any pleasure in this as Allium pulled his arm clean back out through the body of the created saiyan.
Stumbling backward, Fhaze tried catching his breath, but ended up coughing up more blood. His eyes widened in sheer panic at the sight of the monster he hadn't figured would be in his opponent. Falling onto the ground and scrambling backwards as his body tried to heal from the injury while Allium gave him a cold stare was really taking the cake. Allium then began to walk forward, looking calm yet angered at the same time. This feeling constantly takes him back to much worse days in his life when peace was never guaranteed. He wasn't the second in command for nothing.
Yet, despite Allium's position and power, his body wasn't truly used to this much stimulation. Allium's vision was getting fuzzy and his ears were starting to ring incessantly. He gripped his head and though Fhaze felt a large amount of fear, he stopped scrambling ever so slightly once Allium fell forward onto one knee and began to pant. Fhaze smirked, waiting for his own chance to strike back while Allium started to take on the effects of using such a high level of Kaioken.
~Garoose and Xeno~
They had just reached the top of the passage. Standing in the third building's bottom floor and main entrance. The shift of energy was felt from where they were. Garoose gripped his head in panic. Ruchel clung to the jacket that Xeno wore in fear of what might be coming next. The little drone could also see a disparaging power gap beginning to widen.
Garoose snapped, "No! It's too much for him!" He felt Allium's energy beginning to fade in and out.
Xeno floated just to the side, his energy sensing equipment had been damaged for a while, but he could feel the atmosphere having changed, 'Not good, if he can't stop that thing…' He thought while Garoose looked down at the secret passage.
"I can't leave him here…" He trailed off while looking back up to Xeno.
"You should get out of here. Our ship isn't far away. There aren't any survivors. If you go, I can try to save Allium." He said to Xeno who shook his head.
"Dammit! No! I can't watch more people die around me! I'm the reason that thing is alive. I was forced to bring him into this world! It's not right!" Xeno yelled to the stunned Garoose.
"But you can't help. I see how rickety you are. You'll break down long before even fighting that thing." Garoose said while preparing to jump back into the hole.
Xeno bit back a retort, knowing that Garoose was correct. Then he thought of something, "Wait!" Garoose turned back to the machine man with an arched eye as Xeno continued, "I don't know how to fly your ship in the first place."
Garoose rolled his eyes, unclipping his wrist mounted holophone and passing it to Xeno, "Take this. You can use it with the code 1984 to get admin control of the ship and turn on autopilot for the nearest civilized planet." Xeno grasped it with his one arm, but it felt much heavier than any holophone should be.
Garoose nodded firmly as he patted the machine on its back, "Get on outta here. I'm heading back!"
Garoose leapt into the hole, throwing away any reservation about himself surviving. Xeno's grip on the remote was halfway taught. He shook his head, looking into the black hole that threatened to swallow him and Ruchel whole. Yet, he already knew that he should listen to Garoose. Perhaps the both of them could fight this monster off. Turning to his floating friend, he nodded and they both left for the front of the building to head for the ship.
As he flew down back to what could be considered hell, Garoose knew he'd be reprimanded, but he wouldn't turn his back, 'Hold on, Allium! I'm coming!'
~In the Room of Tanks~
The blurred vision of Allium's was starting to return to a much more visible take of his surroundings. Along with the alarming bulging of his muscles, his body felt an intense pain shooting through it. Like electricity, it pulsed throughout. He grunted in pain, but then he looked over at Fhaze.
The being's stomach and entrails were working their way back inside his body. The bones he saw inside had already snapped back together and though Fhaze looked to be in a state of agony, he was smiling throughout the process. Allium started to shake, realizing that if he didn't finish this now… He wouldn't get another chance.
So, Allium started getting back up, "W- We're not done yet!" He gasped out in pain as his muscles spasmed.
"Hehehegh! Sure we're not. I'm only just getting warmed back up." His back was already healed over with new skin while his front appeared to be closing as well. Fhaze grinned as he rolled over and got up. Cracking his neck and knuckles, Fhaze focused on Allium, "Yes, let's continue until your body gives out."
Fhaze let out a roar as his powerful aura blazed to the forefront, "Here I come!" A knee greeted Allium's torso before he felt the air rippling around his body as it came to a sudden end with a crushing slam into the side of the main wall just to the left of where Fhaze had landed originally from Allium's first hit.
Fhaze floated down just in front of Allium who looked to be trying to catch his breath, "Come on now… Don't give out on me yet. I just got my first hit in." Allium wheezed while Fhaze continued to grin, "Was that too fast for you? Imagine what I'll be like with Super Saiyan!" He taunted the man who was catching his bearings.
Allium grunted and coughed a bit, then he smiled back, "That's funny, I can't imagine you'll be reaching that far. *Cough* But I can feel that you're gloating too much." This made Fhaze get just bit angry, crossing his arms as Allium's body flashes red once again.
The force of it is still pushing back the engineered saiyan ever so slightly, "HAAAA!" Allium let it all out, "Kaioken Times Thirty! AGGHHH!" The wall exploded around him, Allium moving at such a blistering pace slammed Fhaze in the jaw or he would have had Fhaze not disappeared right before his eyes.
"I respect your power! I won't let you get the opportunity ever again to hit me!" Indeed, it had been an afterimage, but Fhaze reappeared without a second to lose, smashing Allium in the side with his shoulder. Sending them crashing through several pillars of tanks that exploded upon impact one right after the other. This attack had done nothing to Allium who just grabbed onto Fhaze's face and began to pull him to the front with little difficulty much to the bio saiyan's chagrin, he'd ended up taking two tanks to the face followed up with more deathly explosions of light that lit the place up.
Eventually getting to the southern wall, Fhaze was crushed into it with deadly force that not even his power could completely circumvent. His nose was bashed and broken with a concussion hammering inside his head. Allium began to repeatedly slam the saiyan's skull into the wall with extreme prejudice. The resulting impacts could be heard around the entire facility, even shaking the ceiling and floor.
"Goddammit! STO- *CRASH!*" Allium continued like this for the next minute until he couldn't even hear protests from Fhaze any longer. Pulling him back from the wall, Allium noted that he felt extremely satisfied with this new look he'd given the engineered saiyan. He then dropped Fhaze to the floor and flew down to deliver more blows to the battered body of the saiyan, hoping to kill him before he could do much else. Every punch was given an extreme amount of force, causing the area around to tilt and break with each strike. He was going to break anything and everything that Allium could possibly think to hit until he felt sure enough that one blast would do the trick. Finally, feeling like he'd achieved it when Fhaze no longer moved, he stood up.
Leaping back from the downed monster and preparing to fire a beam strong enough to vaporize him for good by placing his hands in front of his torso. Allium began to glow a deep green as the attack expanded up his arms and into his palms where he concentrated the attack, "This'll be it! I'll e- AGH!" A pain much more greater than anything he had ever felt was currently burning through his body. That's when Allium looked down, a blade of energy rippled through his torso. The energy he had been charging faded out like a dying light.
~End of Chapter~
Roarin: Yeah. I can't wait for this explanation. See you next chapter!