Chapter 9
Today proved to be very fruitful.
All the spoils of war that my wives and I had garnered for the day was ludicrous when compiled together. The Ruin Guard was sure to be a massive boon for the future once Irene got her perfectly manicured mitts on it. I promised to share tales of the other variants of the war machines as began to do some early workshopping over the idea of potentially introducing them to the city of Mondstadt as an extra defense for the city. Of course, we needed to buff out a ton of inconsistencies with our current inactive ancient model.
First, we had to make sure that they couldn't be overridden and used against the city. Then there was the source of power that will be necessary to run the automaton since it's current core is basically ruined (heh), and lastly was the task of Irene using her magic to protect the machine's core since it was such an obvious, glaring weak point to exploit by the enemy.
The looks on Jean's face when I present the idea of "Favonius Ruin Knights" will be glorious. Though that future prospect just pales in comparison to the fact that I now have the Anemo Archon AND Eighth Fatui Harbinger frozen and floating on the far-left corner of our sizeable living room in our Mondstadt home. In a way it was downright ridiculous to see two important figures cast to the side as if they were mere decorations to brighten up the room.
Paimon laughed as Maya had even dusted off the two frozen individuals off before searching for more to do around the house. Well, we did need to move them so that all of us could lounge on the three couches and chat amongst ourselves about today's occurrences.
I was personally attending to Irene, who had shamelessly asked for a pillow lap from me as a reward for her great work. I offered that and so much more, but she seemed to just want to use my hard thighs as pillows. Aether and Paimon received just as much affection from me as I summoned two clones to attend to their wishes on their own individual couches. Aether, the sweetie that she was, all but settled for tiredly leaning her head against my clone's shoulder cozying up to them.
Paimon on the other hand…
"Hahahah! Yes, feed me! More! More!"
"Yeah, yeah…" My clone humorously huffed as he cradled the small angel girl in his arm and lap while delicately feeding her grapes. Hey, she was free to ask for anything after all of the shit they went through with getting led by the nose from Kaeya to do her dirty work.
"Iri, did you really just attack the Harbinger and her posse of guards while they were on route to Mondstadt through the Dragonspine Mountains?" Aether tiredly asked with some exasperation in her tone.
"Of course not, dear." Irene giggled and shrugged much to Aether's short-lived relief. "I simply enchanted a fiercer snowstorm that was already plaguing the mountain range to bar their path. The dense snow gave me ample room to pick off her subordinates one by one, enchant their own weapons to resemble her dead subordinates and have them attack her when she was most vulnerable once they reached the midpoint of their path."
Aether deadpanned at this, but Irene still continued. "Now obviously they didn't do much feasible damage to hinder her, but it provided me the opportunity to make the first strike." Irene's smile looked downright wicked. "Unfortunately for her, it was also the last strike needed to decide thing in my favor. After that well, I certainly had fun showing that "rat" her place after using an enchantment to deny her body the usage of both her Pyro Vision and Cryo Delusion."
Y-Yeah, Irene was seriously broken with her Enchantment magic. The fact that she was now lucid with fewer of her canon psychoses weighing her down had basically made her a monster. I mean, she'd already figured out how to apply the concepts of this world with her enchantment magic to deny her opponent's the ability to use their Celestia granted Visions.
She then held up the two trinkets of elemental havoc for all of us to see before handing them to me to observe. I scratched off some dry blood to get a good look at them before leaning down to kiss Irene on the forehead. "Again, you did great work, Irie."
"Thanks, dear."
"But this still doesn't answer the letter of challenge that you brought." I looked over to the open envelope and the letter scribbled in Irene's handwriting. Being the issuer and provoker of my soon-to-be "opponent", she had disclosed the exact time and location of where our bout will take place.
"Oh, right, the interloper." Irene drearily inspected her nails. "Apparently, the Harbinger had requested that her compatriot join them in the shadows midway through her travels across the Dragonspine mountain range. The girl did manage to surprise me by trying to stake me through the back, but I've dealt with more enthralling assassinations in the past. Her attempt to kill me was mediocre if I'm in the mood to be generous."
"S-Scary…" Paimon whispered to herself in fright, mid-bite of her next grape.
"So, what are we going to do now with the Fatui Harbinger? Give them over to the Knights of Favonius?" Aether suggested.
I sighed. "Not quite." I looked over to the frozen pillars containing Venti and Signora. "First, I'll have to capture those two and from there I'll see about having Venti give his gnosis over to La Signora and build some proper coordination between myself and our new spy within the ranks of the Fatui Harbingers."
"Still hoping to regain some semblance of control, yes?" Irene cheekily giggled at me. Yeah, after spilling the news in regard to my findings at Wolvendom, I desperately needed to ensure that some of canon is still maintained. Things were already off the rails as it is, and I may appreciate the boons gained from capturing La Signora but taking her off the board would only make things complicated for me in the future.
No, we needed things to right back on course. Irene had shared that La Signora was returning to Mondstadt after her trip to Liyue to make a contract with the Geo Archon. Giving her the Anemo gnosis will set things right on course until the Inazuma conflict with the Raiden Shogun. Yet even that plan can fall apart if I don't manage to capture Childe during our upcoming battle.
I had asked Irene about the challenge's conditions, and she spoke of simply them arriving at the designated area at the designated time. They were to avoid bringing backup and informing their allies of our apprehending of La Signora. Knowing how pragmatic Childe was behind their battle loving attitude, he probably wouldn't uphold most of those conditions.
"We'll respond to the interloper's tricks accordingly when the time is right, beloved." Irene dashed my worries by bopping me on the nose with her finger.
"Yeah, I'll be there to help too!" Aether nodded in steadfast determination.
"As will Paimon too!" Paimon excitedly sat up and headbutted the grapes out of my clone's hands. "Noooo!" She wailed and fruitlessly reached out for the dropped fruit.
"Thanks guys…" Not everything was set in stone yet since I had to actually involve the two frozen occupants in the room about the plan after Shroud capturing them along with the Childe loose end, but so far things seemed fine. I REALLY got lucky with figuring out and handling that Andrius situation before it was too late.
However, I felt the need to take a bit more initiative than necessary after what happened today.
But first…
"You didn't tell us how you managed upon Venti." I asked.
"Yeah, Paimon's been wondering about that too!"
"Oh, him?" Irene drolly inspected her nails. "I stumbled upon the bard during my walk back home after capturing that Harbinger. He was drunk and hugging an empty bottle of wine in an alleyway while sitting beside a pool of his own vomit."
"…What?" I croaked. Did Venti really…How? I spent most of my spare time this entire month when we moved into Mondstadt trying to locate the little bastard. And the way that I finally managed to get him was because he blacked out drunk in some alleyway?
I shook my head and quelled the urge to smash open that ice pillar and fuck the ever-living shit out of this city's Anemo Archon. Right now, I have more important shit to do. Flicking through my phone, I opened the Company App, and clicked one of the untouched icons that I've yet to fully explore until now: [Missions].
The Agent responsible for pitching my current career and inducting me into the ranks of the Company had given me the specifics about the responsibilities that I held as an Agent. Progress was expected to be made, and despite time being irrelevant to a Multidimensional company, they still kept track of everything you do or fail to do. Luckily, the Patron [Archduke of Eternity] that I signed under was fairly lax on the duties that his Agents do for him as long as they're capturing targets or fulfilling missions/jobs.
The severe punishment that the Archduke would impose upon a Contractor that has yet to make any progress would be them freezing their access to their credits, perks, rides, pocket dimensions, and etcetera until they at least captured someone or completed an assigned task. That's a hell of a lot better than what the Fae do to their Agents when they fail the number one rule established by their patron: Never bore the Fae.
So, I'm on this little diatribe because I'm looking at Missions taking place in other worlds. Access to the worlds in particular is only temporary for some as I'm quite literally locked in until I accomplished the task or failed it. Once my success/failure is made known to me, I'm able to return to my Starting world and should [Exit Stage Left] ever reach 100% (right now it's 45%), I'll be given the opportunity to go to that selfsame world that I undertook that mission on.
I flicked through the many options that were provided before I spotted THE one for me.
Available Mission: "The Saiyan Job"
dragon Ball
Scope: Quick
Our head of the Catalog department says we're actually lacking some diversity in our Dragonball listings, and we need more Saiyans. Personally, I think he's had too much skooma, but orders are orders. Head to these coordinates, and capture as many T5, and T7 Saiyans as you can before Frieza blows them all up. The minimum is five, but you can do better. You should show up five days before the short man himself appears.
Any Saiyans you choose to keep for yourself don't count toward your total.
Do this and we can source a geneticist to help you with any certain deficiencies.
Conditions:
Don't get caught by the Frieza Force or Time Patrol both are on high alert
Do not kill anyone while on Planet Vegeta
You'll have to source a Frieza Force uniform on arrival
Reward [ Perks ] :
Template Stacking I: Saiyan, Hybridized. We'll include a free tail too.
Additional objectives:
Objective 1: Capture ten Saiyans
Reward [ Perks ] : Company backed Gravity Chamber added to your Home/Island
Objective 2: Captures include Goku, Gine and Bardock
Reward [ Other ] : Unlock Saiyan God ki, you'll need to unlock Super Saiyan separately
Objective 3: Capture twenty-five Saiyans
Reward [ Other ] : Blutz wave Generator added to your Gravity Chamber
Objective 4: Capture fifty Saiyans
Reward [ Other ] : Upgrade the Gravity Chamber to a full Room of Spirit and Time with 5:1 time compression.
Objective 5: Capture one hundred Saiyans
Reward [ Perks ] : Replace with Template stacking I: DBS Legendary Super Saiyan, Hybridized
"Darling, is everything okay?" Irene questioned.
"Yeah, you have that weird smile on your face." Aether nodded.
"Yup-yup! Paimon knows that smile can only mean no good at all!" Paimon sagely nodded.
"Not true when was the last time my smile meant trouble?" I halfheartedly retorted.
"Oh, Paimon doesn't know. How about the time you got vaporized by the Traveler's new sword after insisting that you test it out!" Aether hugged my clone's arm tightly in embarrassed shame at the mention of that incident.
That was a fair point, but the urging look that Irene shot at me from my lap had me cave in and explain my current set of plans to undertake a quick mission into another world. Irene and Aether were at least intrigued by the idea until I revealed that I was going in alone. It took some heavy convincing after I explained a way that I can avoid detection from the world's dangerous alien forces and time police.
Plus, I basically had to remind them that I was immortal thanks to the template I got from Sun Wukong. Nothing less than Beerus "Hakai'ing" me or Zeno erasing me would permanently put me down. Unless the Future Warrior from Xenoverse 2 shows up, then I'd have to be EXTRA cautious. That was more than enough proof for Aether and Paimon to hesitantly agree with my plan, but Irene needed some more convincing before I could go through with it.
"What of the Challenge tomorrow? You said that this mission would take you five days." She spoke to me on the opposite couch in front of me with Aether on her left and Paimon on her right. "This would lead to further trouble if you don't arrive."
Good point. Sadly, I have a good counterpoint. "Since this mission is temporary, the time of the world that I'm currently in would essentially pause until I return to it."
"W-Wait, so does that mean us and everyone in Teyvat will be frozen until you return!" Paimon paled in terror.
"No, none of that. To you guys, I'd essentially return back the moment that I left when I'm done." I eased her and Aether's worries. "You won't even notice whether I've gone or not by the time I finish everything."
Aether's shoulder slowly lost their tension while Paimon rubbed her sweaty forehead.
"Phew, well, that's a relief to Paimon."
"And if it's that quick then I guess it's fine, but…" Aether deeply frowned. "What if you don't come ba-."
"I will." I'm not going to kick the bucket away from my retinue, especially with them trapped in this world as a result of that. I wouldn't have chosen this mission if I didn't know the risks and how to avoid them. "This is designated as a "Quick" mission for a reason, ladies. I'll be in and out in no time."
"If you require a chamber with a high level of gravity why don't you let me create a separate space for you back home that can accommodate your needs." Irene offered.
"That would sound fantastic and I'm regretting that I hadn't thought of that sooner, but can you dilate the time for a single year in the space to be about a single day on the outside?" I asked because the mission promised a Hyperbolic Time Chamber that worked with a 5:1 time dilation of day being the equivalent of five years in the chamber.
Irene sighed. "Unfortunately, no, the best I can do with my enchantment is dilate the space's time to a month on the inside for a single day to have passed outside of it." Damn I really should have thought of asking about this a month ago because that would have been super useful in building up my strength.
"Then there's nothing left to say. Look, I'm going to fine guys, I'll just transform into a mosquito and use Dragon Hoard to bite and capture the Saiyans with no fuss. I can literally transform into anyone there and since my monkey tail is actually common for Saiyans, I can easily blend in. It's just five days, I keep my head down to the ground and when it's time for the planet to reach it's final days, I'll zip back home to you all in one piece."
I mean, technically, I could survive the massive cataclysmic destruction of the planet and earn a massive Zenkai Boost from it, but I'll just keep that to myself to spare them the trouble of further worrying. My explanation did serve to ease most of their worries, but it was mostly the fact that they couldn't join me that had them in opposition to this idea. I didn't want to risk them dying since unlike me, they don't have bullshit Immortality regeneration to fall back on.
Aether may have Reinhard's abilities, but they're still a Tier 4 and WAY physically weaker than the Saiyans. I don't want to watch her die and subject her to that pain. So, my going will be quick and to the point. After going over my plan again with my wives, I bid them ado with hugs and kisses as I accepted the mission and entered the ominous portal that materialized in our living room.
"See you all real soon!" I happily waved each of them goodbye before stepping through the portal.
A couple of things that I noticed upon going to my next destination.
One, I forgot that Planet Vegeta's skies were oddly red and yellow.
Two, it was humbling to sense the multitude of higher power levels in comparison to my own across the planet.
And last but not least…
"Shit…"
THUUUD!*
The high amount pressure placed upon my body as soon as I set foot onto the other world. It took everything I had to remain on all fours as ten times Earth's gravity weighed heavily on me.
Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I can't possibly move much less transform into a mosquito and fly like this. Taking a deep breath, I considered my location and sensed around my location for any life. Thankfully, the only life around here were animals that also possessed a higher power level than me. Superb.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to push past my new Saiyan instincts that dully warred against the logic of my next course of action and projected my element of [Infinity] onto myself, more specifically, my body's innate ability to process the stress placed upon and continually adapt to it. First, it had taken me a great effort to even breath and sustain enough strength to stay on my hands and knees.
But once five minutes passed, I was able to breath normally. Four minutes later, I was now able to lift my head and look at the sky. Three minutes later, I could now sit up and move my arms. Two minutes later, I was able to shakily stand on my own two feet. One minute later, I could walk with no difficulty.
Thirty seconds later, and I felt no more pressure placed upon my body. In fact, I felt like usually did back in Teyvat. I opened and clenched my fist in amazement with how quickly I adapted to this planet's strong gravity. It took Goku days to acclimate to such gravity on King Kai's planet, but with my element, I was able to accomplish this in just about 15 minutes and thirty seconds. Phew, my Saiyan physiology, regenerative immortality from the Sun Wukong template, and my Dragon element of Infinity really smoothed out the process. Again, the Saiyan part of me is frustrated that I didn't train for this sudden surge in growth, but I smothered it underneath my usual pragmatism.
I can't just waste my five days here training to adapt to the gravity before starting my mission. It's risky and not worth the trou-.
Three hi-. Huh, they don't seem so strong anymore when I compare them to myself anymore. Anyways, they were still coming in hot toward my direction. Transforming into a fly and suppressing my energy, I flew over to one of the many trees in the area and watched as three Saiyans in battle armor tore through the foliage of the forest.
"Feh, I told you Cumba! There's no way that a Battle Power of 5,000 pops up out of nowhere." Guffawed a fat and bearded Saiyan.
"Shut it, Tato! I know what I saw. My scouter detected a Battle Power of 450 steadily rising in this direction!" Hissed one of the scarred Saiyans fiddling around with their scouter for any trace of the source. Too sad for him that I'm nothing but a simple fly beneath his notice.
"And I told you that was a load of Arlian shit! Hey, why don't you get yourself a pair of new eyes once you're done tossing out that malfunctioning scouter?"
"You fat fuck do you wanna go!?"
"Hey, what about me, assholes? I followed you assholes here because I thought we were eating out after clearing out that weird pudgy bear planet!"
""You stay out of it, Leriac!""
And like that they all devolved into fighting each other. I wasn't surprised in the slightest since this was just prime Saiyan behavior, at least for Universe 7. Also, shit. I guess using my Infinity like that did sort hike up my strength a little too rapidly. I only hope that I didn't catch anymore attention beyond these three stooges.
Well, I do have five days to lay low and try to capture 100 saiyans.
Speaking of whom…
In a burst of energy, I buzzed and targeted the necks of each of the three saiyans' necks without their notice. My bites were deep enough to draw blood without garnering their attention. Well, they were too bust beating the shit out of each other to notice the bug bites, but like that I managed to garner my first three captures.
Now to capture 97 more. Man, I really hope that the rest of this mission will go this smoothly.
AN: Hello, I hoped that you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that it's short, I just got the urge to write it after reading "What's Good About Life" made by Silver W. King, and "Beyond a Failed Future" by 0Jordino0. Make sure to check them out.
The reason for the SI choosing this mission is simply because I had the urge to write more for DBZ. He is not staying in this world after completing the mission, but he will gain some great rewards and perhaps a companion that he'll keep to himself without handing them over to the Company among the other Captures.
Now as for the SI using his [Infinity] the way that he did, I just decided to go along with it just to avoid getting complicated with the concept. His body boundlessly adapted and grew in the harsh gravity of Planet Vegeta so quickly thanks to his Saiyan biology and the bullshit regeneration of Sun Wukong's immortality. It's a cheat way to gain his new surge of power, but as an Agent, he's given these tools in the first place to survive his career and be a potentially valuable asset to the Company.
This mission will be quick as detailed in the Mission log itself, and the SI won't be coming back to this world, but instead the next world that you guys voted upon.
Battle Powers (Power Levels)
Michael Abbot (Base) - Before mission: 450
Michael Abbot (Base) - After 10x Gravity Adaptation: 5,000
Average Saiyan Warrior (Low-Class to High-Class): 1000 - 4000
Well, I hoped that you all enjoyed this quick chapter! I'm Out so Peace Out and have a lovely day!