"Moving on," Trunks continued as he traveled through time, his father having already left for a separate distortion. "Who are your best fighters?"
The DBG unit looked up. "Who are our best fighters?"
Two figures stepped to the plate. One, a tall, verdant, scarred namekian in long robes, a stringy cape, and bagged pants; they also had an additional pair of discolored arms, locked in a perpetual dhyana mudra behind his back. The other, a young adult and yet completely white-haired human in a white, dual-tailed tie, a long, all black tailcoat with giant sleeves and ankle-level dress, and modern spectacles; she carried a furred, needle-tip yari with a ringed, body-length and seemingly-scaly pole, clenched by a left arm wrapped in ofuda carrying the kanji "DEVIL SEAL."
"Stupid question, I'll admit it," the DBG unit cooed to himself, amidst low giddy murmurs of "Holy shit!" and "It's finally happening!"
The singed-faced namekian let loose his white-and-black, clashing aura and took a soft, flowing stance. "As long as it fortifies the next patrollers against demonkind's evils, I'm fine with a spar."
The dead-eyed human, in spite of her small sigh, followed suit with a calm, bubbly energy, pointing the ringed end of her spear at the namekian. "No harm done."
To not limit the two warriors, the other personnel bolted back, running a certain distance before disappearing in an array of small beams. All the while, the clouds above began to reverse direction, as a misty haze grew across the tile-laden plane.
The two vanished, and a crash split the clouds, mist, and tiles alike. The downward arc of the human's spear had collided with that of the namekian's chop, shifting the very colors around them before they both shot toward each other again, the back-end and sides of the spear on the defensive against the tireless and seamless stream of knife-hand strikes in an unending blur that could only be traced by the periodic bursts of bent light that clattered across the sky like divine fireworks.
Their mystical, high-speed clashes across the arena brought to light three major changes.
First, it was less restricted. The stands, trademarks of tournaments, were gone in favor of an expansive tile terrain. Flat for a few kilometers, they varied in size and elevation as distance increased.
Spotting the smallest of holes in his attack, the spearwoman thrust forward, unleashing a sudden bubble barrier that forcibly broke the sorcerer's posture before slamming the mace-end of her weapon into his side in one fluid motion, finishing with a tremendous blast of ki from her spear that amplified her own output over a hundred-fold. Sent into a family of clouds, the sorcerer formed a mudra with both normal hands and his two extra appendages.
"HOOOO—!"
The blast broke into streams around him before it could hit its mark, though the sheer force behind the attack sent him careening into a gargantuan "wall," leaving a cloud of dust comparable to a sandstorm.
Second, the massive stage was now surrounded by four massive monoliths dwarfing any mountain. Stone cubes etched in the Budokai Tenkaichi logo, on top of them were carvings akin to demon masks; one laughing, one screaming, one wailing, and one stoic, eyes rolled toward the sky.
A swirling white, black-speckled aura showed itself through the cracked forehead of the mask, as if the angry demon was opening a third eye, before cracking to pieces. A dozen meteor-sized ki blasts flew toward the spearwoman at a speed she couldn't perceive, and yet, as her eyewear flared intense-enough to hide what lay beneath, her weapon seemingly moved at its own equally-blistering pace. Each attack flying toward it was shattered, before it met the side of the sorcerer's hands once again, his two discolored arms reformed in dhyana.
A distressed, unnatural croaking, like that of a grumbling stomach, rolled from the human's weapon, as she was placed on an ever-strained back foot. The pain in her sealed arm steadily rose, all the while.
"(Tch…! Hate this stupid stick!)"
The namekian's lower arms began to grow in murky, black-purple energy, twitching erratically as white ki violently around his body, almost attacking its voidish counterpart.
"(Nnh…! Curse these arms…)"
Amidst their battle, the eyes of the masks – including that of the reformed, raging demon – began to glow. The phenomenon went unnoticed by the two until the light illuminated the battlefield, casting hard shadows across the two.
"Hm…!?"
"Wha…?"
The third alteration…
The sky seemed to glitch out, as if it was a bad TV in a storm. Soon after fading to black altogether, the stage had changed.
The namekian scanned the area in shock. "What is this?" He turned back to his opponent.
Who stood there. Frozen.
"This is…" she whispered, face stricken with grief. Her horror-filled eyes showed emotion for the first time.
It was a small mountain town in fresh ruins. Speckled throughout were households destroyed in a fashion reminiscent of an animal's rampage, an ever-expanding trail of carnage starting at a small, barely open Demon Realm gate.
The thought of a young girl, having just witnessed friends and family be killed, taken, or eaten, desperate for any sort of weapon, grabbing an otherworldly forge that ate through her arm, and all the unending pain that came with it, tore through her psyche like a typhoon.
"... ah…"
Her concentration shattered, the seals around her arm shattered. On-cue, the needle end of her spear shifted and grew, revealing said needle to be the end of a tongue; now present was a monstrous head, screaming at a pitch that shattered the ground and sent the rest of the rubble flying away as the spear's body fused with the human's arm, who screamed in pain all the while.
"No!" The sorcerer cried, charging toward it as he cast forth pure-white ki in tendril form. The weapon's cheeks puffed as if preparing to vomit, before demonic energy spewed from its mouth, blowing back the purification with pure power. Using its former wielder as a host, it bolted toward the sorcerer, who desperately engaged its puppet-like fighting style, gradually being overwhelmed by the sheer speed and power now on display, coupled with the ever-present threat of the creature's tongue darting out at random intervals. His own focus became divided between quelling the evil that'd taken his comrade and surviving the encounter, he suffered a blow that shattered his left arm, knocked away in an airborne tumble as the creature took another large inhale. Demonic energy leaked from its nostrils before it poured in a torrent toward the sorcerer, who launched a one-handed beam in retaliation.
"DON'T GIVE IN!" he yelled as he struggled against the former weapon, starting to hold his ground as more strands of ki struck at the creature. "YOU'VE KEPT THAT MONSTER AT BAY FOR YEARS! DON'T RELINQUISH CONTROL NOW!"
As the spearwoman began to grit her teeth, the spear's stinger-like tongue darted outward, eager to shut up her ally.
The sorcerer's eyes widened, and he looked down; his face contorted in anguish.
The tongue had been grabbed.
"Curses…"
The arena glitched once again, before shifting form. It was the namekian's turn to be shaken to the core.
They'd found themselves inside a cavern, its walls scribbled with shackles and inscriptions of incantations too horrible to be chanted aloud. Racing through his head at once was the thought of being surrounded by innocents of Earth and Namek alike, either dead or left with no more desire to live, they and himself at the whims of a mage that'd fallen to dark arts and the lingering demonic influence of a fallen Great Demon King, and who'd found the now-sorcerer's rare compatibility and resilience especially fun to tamper with.
Too stunned by the sight to reseal himself, the sorcerer's two arms erupted in a black-purple power that consumed the white ki and distorted the space around them, its user's eyes going red.
The DBG-unit shared collective horror at what'd befallen its upper echelon. "This needs to be stopped, or they'll be devoured!"
"No, hold position."
"WH-WHAT!?"
Trunks, keeping track as he finished rectifying a time discrepancy, stared down at his gauntlet with resolute eyes. "I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. The last matches we held gave me something to reflect on, and the messes we've had to clean up lately gave me the perspective to put it into words."
All the while, having lost his mind, the sorcerer tore off his broken arm, sprouted a new one, and charged at the rival demon in a violent haze of fists, his abyssal power punching holes in space and striking in impossible places.
"Each student showed unreal levels of power and skill when placed against trials just like this, when the worst-case scenario was at play, when lines were being crossed far beyond the point of return. Most of all, when they were brought to both physical and mental limit. I hate the idea but, I hate the alternative even more; struggles like this, happening out on the field, have killed too many patrollers to count, and left even more broken."
One of the Purifiers lowered their head. "... they have." Reluctant agreement spread throughout the unit.
"That's exactly why I want to give this a shot. Something I'll call 'Isolated Adversity.'"
The two demonic forces tore each other apart in violent clashes that sent chains, vials and tanks of unholy fluids, and rocks of various incantations and sizes flying, chaos growing.
"If we can place them in an environment that can bring them to those exact same limits, and eliminate the factor of irreversible death… then the next patrollers will be damn-near unbreakable."
The older namekian balled a fist. "... how cruel."
Foaming, the sorcerer brought all four arms together and fired a space-tearing beam at the demonic weapon, who responded in kind by vomiting out unparalleled amounts of dark energy.
"... I'm just tired of watching people die. If it brings an end to that, I'll be the cruelest bastard imaginable."
The cave erupted, the constructed moon overhead bringing in light. The sorcerer's mouth opened once again in a twitching fit, and the spear's head did likewise.
It changed one final time. A brand-new stage presented itself; a hybrid of wicked cavern and town ruins. The spearhead screeched and writhed, as the sorcerer's dark aura ripped apart the ground.
"... El…der… O Di…vine…"
"... Can….dle… Amid… Storm…"
The sorcerer fell to his knees in agony, his darkened arms slamming craters into the engraved ground as his original pair fell into a meditative mudra. The spearhead's wails were now accompanied by frantic thrashing.
"Lending… Great Blessing… Across Jade Sky…!" he chanted in Namekian between grit teeth.
"Flame… Under Sea…" she recited, illustrating Kanji in blood on divine paper; an old piece of torn shrine ofuda.
"Grant Thine Wish… TO ALIGHT ALL PATHS…" The agony he'd experienced for so long slammed back into him; only now, it strengthened his resolve, knowing such horrors still lay in wait to befall more innocents.
"SPARK… TREKKING FALLS…" She started to focus on every vivid detail of that one horrific day, reminding herself why she devoted herself to the arts with such unwavering conviction.
"SO THAT WALKING DREAM KNOWS NO DARK!" From the sorcerer sprang forth a bright ki, having spent so long struggling against the demonic that it'd begun to manifest bits of the divine, it and the dark energy in a spiritual tug of war.
"MOON ABOVE NIGHT!" The spearwoman, with her human arm, slammed down a makeshift, ki-reinforced and life force-imbued talisman with the single kanji for "Kami" onto her demon, sending up traces of divine energy and sending it into a frenzy that threatened to deafen her. The bubbly aura she once held returned, enveloping the creature in a sphere of positive ki in tandem with that of the divine energy.
"(WHAT EXCUSE OF A PATROLLER, WOULD LET THEIR PAST CONTROL THEM!?)" They shared a single prevailing resolve, respective war cries as they fought against their demons.
The two auras melded into each other in a cyclone, the result as a spiral of sprouting God Ki. Every surrounding color seemed to shine tenfold in brilliance, the entire plane vibrating with a pleasance one could only describe as heavenly.
"OOOO—H!" the elder hooted alongside the rest of DBG.
And then, silence. Not an eerie, deafening absence, but rather a peaceful calm, like that after a rainstorm. Such was common if-not expected during or following the presence of a god, and two patrollers, one senior and one junior, had just replicated that feeling.
Speaking of, the two were barely awake, on further inspection by several DBG operatives. The human's spearhead had shrunken to such a degree that it was now more of a mace, one with several perpetually-floating hollowed discs, and her hand had been engraved with the kanji written on the divine paper. The namekian's arms were no longer discolored, now as verdant as the rest of him; though, both arms had lost their creases.
"They're fine, sir." One operative turned to the seasoned namekian. "No traces of dark energy whatsoever."
"You…"
The same operative turned back to meet the sorcerer.
"Who… won?"
"... Draw."
The scarred one smiled. "Hmph."
The spear-wielder smirked. "Draw. That's a drag…"
The older Purifier looked down to his wrist, and as expected, Trunks was far too busy taking care of another rift.
"(As ruthless of a trial this is… if this new generation can surpass it, there won't be much that can stop them.)"
As the DBG's optimism rose…
Trunks flew through timespace once again. He pulled himself from his gauntlet and focused ahead.
"... damn it. I'm right."
[ OP: B'z – Into Free ~Dangan~ ]
Shifting, Shifting! Moving Ahead To The Quarter-Finals!
Neoru looked to the left.
"Uh…"
Neoru looked to the right.
"Uh-huh…"
Reality set in for him.
"This can't be good," he surmised, recognizing that sky, and those pillars. Though one was more magenta than usual. And the others were somehow cracked.
"Can't help you there, brother mine."
Socai laid on the beach, alongside his little brother. "I never faced anything like this."
"So not once in your life have you EVER overused this Tlatla shit?"
Socai shook his head. "Never needed to. Kuole could always pick up my slack when I reached my limit, and even before that, I was always great at controlling it, those rare moments when it came to the surface in full."
"And Cleo's path up and disappeared on me…" Neoru blew a raspberry. "I'm officially lost on what the hell's goin' on with me, besides how it's the reason I wound up back here."
"... Neo…"
"Yeah?"
"... the only reason you'd be here… is that some aspect of yourself is at risk of dying."
Neo's eyes took on those of a cornered mongrel's. "... huh?"
"And from what you're telling me, hermano…"
Now outside of that space in-between, aura in an uncontrollable steam around him, past a sea of empty IV bags, leaning against the side of an open automatic doorway, was Neoru.
"That aspect could be your soul."
He tried getting a bead on any familiar signatures, only to immediately recoil in pain, like a nail had been driven into his head. In fact, a trickle of blood came down his forehead soon after.
"Shhhit, I'm pretty much blind."
Keeping that portion of he and his bro's talk in mind, he recited the end of it.
"... so a bit more than a day, huh?"
He sighed, rubbing his parched throat. "Just when I was startin' to like it here…"
Neo left the building.
.
.
"what in the actual fu
"Cap'n just called in. Seemed right stoked for a fella with 'is teeth bashed in."
"Was he really taken out that easily?"
"Taken by his blind side, more like. I mean, he's a good ways above Lord Frieza's classic 530,000… can't be that many runts left that're THAT strong, or all this crisis crud's been a bust!"
The tall, cobalt creature scratched his noggin. "No offense to Lord Frieza, but I think he rushed this takeover…"
His red-skinned, long and white mullet-headed pretty boy companion sighed. "What tipped ya off first, mate? The 'more than half our forces dead or on life support' bit, or the fact that our debrief was lit'rally 'run amok' before gettin' tossed out here?"
A bloodied hand weakly grabbed his ankle as he spoke. "You monsters…you're not getting away… with thi-"
The red one kicked the hand off his ankle before bringing it back around heel-first, whacking his victim in the face with a dismissive expression. "Goes to show how much ol' Lord Frieza values our service."
"Let's look on the bright side," said his blue buddy in broken black armor. "We've done a swell job so far!" He bent down and grabbed his red friend's shoulder. "Even if we do run into one of those 'monsters,' not even the captain's able to keep up with us when we're in sync!"
"... well shoot, I'd be hard-pressed to argue with'at, ey?" The two tightly crossed forearms. "Yeah, what was I thinking!? Let's keep tearin' it up!" The duo walked off, leaving behind the scattered rubble and bodies.
"Where to next?"
"I'm thinkin' drinks!"
"Hey, did one'a you see two folks pass through here?" Neo asked a bruised girl hobbling with her partner's arm slung over her shoulders.
"Huh?"
"Uhh one's blue, other's like, the only guy from Brench here, y-y'd know if you saw 'em I'll take a finger pointin' towards where they are right now."
The slung boy spat out blood. "Luka, we… have to keep moving…"
"hey let her answer fucko jeez-"
Darting between the boy and the better-for-wear boy, Luka hatched something in her desperate, tired brain. "You, you're the kid from our class!"
"Woooah no waaay you're the chick that got her PDA stolen and got teach to dump all our shiiiit, do you know or not? I'm inna rush."
"khh-" Luka shook her head. "Look, you're a lot less hurt than I am! Please, take Fenerel somewhere safe!"
"Dude I'm fucking busy. Just said."
"This is a BIT more important than what you're planning right now! Even if you did leave us for those two, there's no way you can beat them alone, as strong as they are now! And would you PLEASE hide your battle power-"
"Beat them- THE HELL ARE YOU TALKIN' ABOUT, I LIKE THOSE GUYS!"
"... WHAT!?"
"WHADDO YOU MEAN WHA- EVERYONE KNOWS THEM!"
"YEAH, AS EVIL BASTARDS! HAVE YOU READ A HISTORY BOOK AT ALL!? HOW COULD YOU LIKE THEM!?"
"OH, YOU RACIST SONNOVA- YOU THINK JUST CUS HER SKIN'S BLUE SHE'S EVIL, AH!?"
"AH-Wha-... she?"
"... you're a fucking dumbass, screw this-"
"I-it doesn't matter what gender they are, WHY ARE YOU ALLYING YOURSELF WITH THEM, YOU TRAITOR!?"
"CUS THEY'RE COOL!?"
"THEY'RE KILLING PEOPLE!"
"EVERYONE'S KILLING PEOPLE RIGHT NOW, STUPID! WHAT, JUST WANT 'EM TO STAND THERE AN' TAKE IT!?"
"GHH… THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE, YOU IDIOT! IF THEY WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT STAYING ALIVE, THEY SHOULD'VE STAYED AWAY IN THEIR OWN DAMN SPACETIME!"
"... WH-W-I-I SHOULD KICK YOUR FUCKIN' ASS, I REALLY SHOULD!"
"You won't… get the chance…!"
"F-Fenerel!? But your legs were broken!"
"... EY FUCKLO, YOU COULD WALK THE WHOLE TIME!?"
"Shut up… I won't let anyone else hurt Lu-"
"NANANANANAH I GET IT, YOU WERE JUST PULLING SOME PITY BULLSHIT SO YOU PULL SOME 'SAVE THE GIRL' MOMENT OUT YOUR ASS, AND GET A FREE RIDE IN THE PROCESS, AIN'T THAT RIGHT SHITLORD!?"
"AH-SHUT YOUR FACE!"
"OK SO," Neo dragged his finger to Luka, "YOU'RE A RACIST," he then dragged it over to Fenerel, "AND YOU'RE A SHOWTIMER! HOOOLY FUCK YOU'RE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Feneral got into a stance far too stable for someone working through depleted stamina and bad leg. "I WON'T SHOW YOU ANY MERCY, YOU BACKSTABBER!"
Neoru spat to the side. "BRING IT, BITCH!"
Before a ridiculously-preventable skirmish could break out, a cluster of rapidly-approaching footsteps caught their attention. They slowed pace the louder they became, until rounding a corner was a platoon's worth of Frieza Force soldiers.
"So, this is where you ran off to… heh, looks like you went and tried netting yourselves your own reinforcements, hmm?"
"Darn it!" Luka cursed. "We wasted all our time talking to this idiot!"
"Yeah, you n' me both," Neo cosigned.
One of them threw out their arms. "Well, nowhere to scurry off to now, kiddos. It's high time to pay for what you did to the others, in blood!"
Another broke into cackles. "Even if you slip past us, once Sir Jeice and Sir Burter finish up with the other riffraff, they'll ensure your last moments will be those of utter agony!"
Neo's eyes widened. "Jeice and… Burter…?"
Fenerel and Luka tensed up, as the soldiers raised an inquisitive brow, hearing interest from the boy.
"Hey, those're the guys from that one Namek quiz I screwed up! What're they doing here?"
Fenerel crashed to the ground, his legs reminded that they were broken. "Oww…"
"But… you described Burter and Jeice just now…" Luka pointed out, suspicious.
"I was talkin' about Mashii and Katlij! I-I was just bein' an ass when I called you retarded earlier on but, holy shit maybe I was onto somethin', you're EXTRA special for that!"
"SHUT IT, ASSHOLE! OF COURSE I THOUGHT THE WORST, HAVE YOU BEEN UNDER A ROCK THIS ENTIRE TIME!?"
"I'VE BEEN IN A FUCKIN' SICK BAY SINCE THIS MORNING, GET BENT!"
"GRRRK…! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY THEIR NAMES, YOU IDIOT!?"
"FUCK YOU, YOU'RE THE ONE LEADIN' ME ON LIKE YOU KNEW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE WHOLE TIME!"
"Y-YOU- YOU'RE JUST HOPELESS, YOU KNOW THAT!? HOPELESS!"
"I'M NOT THE ONE DRAGGIN' MY CRIPPLED BOYFRIEND 'ROUND A CITY UNDER SOME KINDA FUCKIN' SEIGE!"
"H-HE'S… I MEAN… AH…"
Neo suddenly lashed out with a kick. A plasma-borne hole in the ground shot up smoke beside him soon after.
One of the soldiers spat in disappointment. Another seemed deep in thought.
"Those two names… the brats back there were calling themselves that before the Comet Hurricane came on the scene."
Neo lost his indifference.
"Heheh, yeah that's right. Little shits bit off more than they could chew with the best of the Ginyus. They've gotta be pushin' daisies by now!"
The thugs were expecting a desperate rage or panicked demands.
They weren't expecting to be stared through.
"... huh?" Neoru began walking forward, at an ever-growing pace.
"Oh. Oh, you think you're gonna stop them?" A spiked scoundrel chuckled. "Think you can make it, little Earth bitch? You think we're all gonna clear a path 'cus you make a spooky-"
Falling into a frantic trance, Neo began sprinting.
"Hey! Slow down, sport, since your friends are dead, why not start fre-"
[ BGM: skankfunk – NEO-FRANTIC ]
Neoru careened into him hard enough to hit the dozen grunts behind him, before the thug went flying.
The nanosecond his feet hit the deck, he shot forward again, eyes and aura flaring in translucent magenta smoke.
"ALRIGHT MOTHERFUCKER, YOU ASKED FOR IT! KILL HIM!" The commanding grunt immediately ate shit after the statement.
"(It's faint but… I'm starting to make something out! Feels like them!)" Neo surged forward, disappearing as he lit the ground and rocketed past anyone stupid enough to stand in his way.
A bozo vainly attempted pursuit, giving in as soon as the boy vanished. "SON OF A… tch, whatever. At least I've got you two pricks to take it out on-"
"HYAAAAA—!"
Luka and Fenerel's aura-imbued fists flew into the goons face, sending him cross-city with a deafening crash.
"Hey, you can walk again… again!" noted the plaid-shirted saiyan, smiling.
"(OH GOD EVERYTHING HURTS, HOW AM I EVEN DOING THIS!?) YEP!" Fenerel responded, forcing a chipper voice. "GUESS I'M STILL FULL OF SURPRISES!"
Luka beamed. "That's so cool!"
Fenerel caught an even greater second wind. "KH-HEH-HEH-HH-MH-MHH! L-LET'S FOCUS ON A COUNTER-OFFENSIVE RIGHT NOW!"
"RIGHT!"
Across the city occurred magenta explosions, followed by soldiers toppling over and a teenage boy screaming some breed of obscenity before vanishing again. With every occurrence, the source became stronger.
But even more bizarre, all those inside each "blast zone," regardless of injury sustained, were able to shoot back up and fight with a zealous, maniacal intensity. Pacifists, cowards, even those who'd never thrown a punch found themselves letting off a battle cry and cutting loose with reckless abandon.
"THERE HE IS, SESAMI! STOP HIM DEAD!"
NUAAAAAA-"
The ten-meter, back-spined oaf in question pumped himself up, countless spikes erupting from his chest as his heels burrowed into the ground.
He bore witness to a winged energy serpent's gaping maw.
"-AAH… AA-HAAAA-"
It suddenly died out, crashing into his skull. His spikes had shattered on contact with the draconic aura.
"SH… HIT…!"
Having crashed several times before that point, Neoru picked himself up off the titanic twit's head, looking off into the distance, relief washed over his face.
"That's them! THAT'S DEFINITELY THEM!"
The little lech accompanying the big guy shot up, blaster aimed as the latter's hands rose to crush the human. He looked like he was prepared to say something before being atomized by Neo's instant advance, the giant crashing into the ground head-first.
"(This time…)"
"(This time…!)"
"(This time I WON'T BE TOO LATE!)"
He was at the point that he lost any idea of where he was going, or how fast, or what was in front of him.
In fact…
"(... WAS THAT NEO!?)"
"(IT… COULD HAVE… I…)"
He'd passed his goal a while back, he just couldn't stop.
"AH FUCK FUCK FAH-"
The loud shattering of buildings, hover cars, fire hydrants, and various other noises – mundane, extra-terrestrial, and mystical alike – followed.
Burter and Jeice stared in the direction of the commotion. recovering from being blasted back by a heat encroaching upon the sun for a brief moment.
"Oy mate? The shittin' hell was 'at?"
"I saw a dragon."
"Think you're havin' a bit too much fun on that one."
"No, I know what I saw."
"Ehh I can't see dragons havin' potty mouths, though."
"You've never spoken to one."
"Eh, fair point."
From the smoke of the fallen portion of the city that was like that before Neo got there he swears, panting with his aura uncontrollably blazing, the boy ran.
"Thank… God…" he wheezed, coming to a stop. Before him, worse for wear but alive, damn it, were Mashii and Katlij.
"Neo…? You're alright…"
"You're a bit more than alright, I'd-" Katlij spat out some red phlegm with a small, relieved chuckle, "-say…"
"Woah, you two… you look like sh… you look GREAT… yeah…"
He fell over onto his knees, coughing up smoke like a pre-teen picking up a habit.
"Hot…"
Jeice rubbed his chin. "Come to think of it, radio chatter's been yappin' about some pretty-colored kid runnin' around, cuttin' us down faster than we could recover. What're the chances he ran into us lookin' like THAT?"
Burter cracked his knuckles. "That's three birds with one stone! Drinks AND a pay raise!"
"Now now, Burter, some nice words from Lord Frieza's all we really need, right?"
"..."
"... alright fine, that space carrier won't pay for itself."
The two FF elite took a step forward.
"...?"
The two junior patrollers followed suit, in front of Neo.
"Hey, Mama," said Katlij. "Can you take care of our friend here? He could use a drink."
Moments earlier…
"Oy, sellin' alcohol to the kiddies?"
The two rose up in alert.
"Well that's not the upstandin' behavior I'd come to expect from this city!" a red man in a long, white mullet and an "NVCC!" t-shirt.
His tall, blue, completely red-eyed buddy in an oversized, over-designed TP sweatshirt gave a stern, mocking nod. "For shame! Honestly, what's this city come to?"
Both Katlij and Mashii bolted up, stances raised without delay. "Tough talk coming from the lackeys of a lackey!"
Jeice snorted, looking his "fellow" Brenchling up and down, coming to a conclusion. "Ya suck up to some sticks n' stones militia on a failin' mud ball all ya life, luck out once ya get what's comin', suck up to ANOTHER valley'a goody two-shoes, and now you're better than everybody else, ay?"
The pale brenchling flared up. "IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE YOU ABANDONED OUR HOME THAT HISTORY PLAYED OUT THE WAY IT DID, YOU BASTARD!"
"(Katlij…)" Mashii glanced over with sullen eyes, having never seen him get so emotional. Burter's amused chuckles recaptured her attention.
"This kid's from your planet, ay Jeice?"
The red brenchling waved his hand dismissively, as if dispelling a bad smell. "C'mon, no need to blow your top over it! After all, that's spilled milk far past due date, innit mate? I'd say we could settle it over a round'a drinks, but I'm positive the strongest pint you've ever gone through's been fruit punch."
"K-KH… LAY OFF HIM ALREADY, YOU JERKS!" Mashii shouted.
"Aww, his girlfriend's stickin' up for him!" Jeice goaded.
"Funny you mention that," Mashii growled. "My own happened to be a casualty of whatever bullshit you bastards are pulling right now!"
Burter noticed how intensely she stared at him.
"Oops, did I do that?"
[ BGM: Takanori Arima – Crisis ]
The Hera responded by charging toward him. Jeice was on her immediately, shoving her off before Burter's aerial kick smacked her down. Both dove foot-first for a double-stomp, before Mashii threw herself to the side, Katlij lancing Jeice with an elbow and taking him away, murder in his eyes all the while. His subsequent overhead punch was woven through with a graceful pirouette into a heel kick into his ribs, before a high kick-into-axe kick sent him to the ground, Katlij catching his bearings and landing on his feet just as a bright-red ki orb sailed toward him, the black-haired brenchling catching it and, with a strain, front-flipping it back to sender.
"(THAT'S FAS-)" Jeice began, before he disappeared amidst a bright explosion. Katlij smiled, satisfied. "Take that, you vain bastard."
Mashii and Burter exchanged high-speed attacks. Both strained to keep up and dodged one more strike and throw at least two more, until Burter finally caught Mashii unawares with a feint into a quick second jab, staggering her enough for him to follow up with a strong punch in the sternum.
"HAH!"
"... is that it?"
"Huh!?"
With the glow of two earrings, the Hera began to grow.
"You're all speed. That's a shame."
A now red-haired Mashii yanked Burter and drove her fist into him, his turn to cough spittle. Her next punch was swiftly evaded, leading to a dozen punches and kicks into her back that she hardly felt. A swung backfist led to much the same result, the girl getting more and more pissed.
"(He's getting faster? When the hell'd he learn how to do that!? Damn it, I can't hold onto this boost forever!) STAND STILL, ASSHOLE!"
Burter sucked his teeth. "Like hell! I don't plan on standing there like an idiot!" He weaved under a kick and delivered a dozen more BB-gun blasts before fading again. "Then again, that's exactly what your pitiful excuse for a lover did, isn't it?" A sudden, wrathful swing, followed by a maniac scream, almost decapitated Burter; he avoided it due not only to speed, but by simply predicting the attack.
"WIDE OPEN!"
"ROGER ROGER!"
A knee suddenly shot into Mashii, just as Burter made his attack; the combo was so well-synchronized, it was as if an opponent three times her strength slammed into her.
"WHAT!?" Katlij yelled in a confused rage, gazing upon a bloodied-but-all-smiles Jeice before blasting off toward them. The dastardly duo gave one more synced dual kick to Mashii before sending her toward Katlij, who immediately threw out his arms to catch her, as a red ball suddenly flew ahead. Burter appeared just in front of it, smacking it down into the black-haired brenchling, a loud bang resulting as Katlij shot to the ground, Jeice dashing in with a kick. The older brenchling smirked in a preemptive satisfaction upon seeing Katlij's enraged grin, as if the red magma had fallen for a trap or acted in haste.
"(Watch this.)"
Katlij lashed out, going for Jeice's leg in no-doubt what would've been a violent slam-into-hold, his eyes dead set on breaking his adversary for ever-growing reasons. Jeice responded by pulling back his leg, rolling across Katlij while using his abnormal aura as a speed boost, and upside-down, firing a hand-based kiai into his back. Burter pressed the advantage, knocking Katlij upside the head with the same kick that Jeice had used for a feint.
"LET'S MAKE THIS A PUB TALE, BURTER!"
"MY PLEASURE!"
"NO!" Mashii screamed, bolting toward the two timespace terrorists. Jeice tossed Katlij at her, causing a sudden pause before the blue hurricane appeared again with the body, kicking him into her before both Ginyu elites raced back and forth, battering the two juniors as the former pair's auras gradually became red and blue, and then one large purple, sphere, going faster, stronger, and hotter with every pass. It suddenly broke apart, Katlij clutching hold of his bearings long enough to notice Mashii's power up had faded, and she looked worse off for it; like she'd lifted a 300kg weight as someone who normally maxed at 250.
And then the space around them became a cascade of violet splotches and black shadows.
"Can you guard?"
"I can't even feel my arms."
Katlij jumped in front of her; Mashii smacked her head against his back, feeding him her ki through contact.
The resulting barrier lasted for half the barrage duration, denoted by the pained screams. The dust cleared, and the two were struggling to lift themselves off the deck.
Jeice and Burter looked down with pride, before lightly fist-bumping.
"Team…"
"... works."
Both recombined, charging toward the pair below and starting to batter them in a fatal last combination…
And then came Neo. But he's downing water right now.
"We SMOKED you freaks!" Jeice argued. "You brats couldn' even walk when we were finished with you!"
"Yeah, what gives?" Burter cosigned.
Mashii shrugged smugly. "Friendship?"
"Right load'a crap that is! We're tighter-knit than a bowline, you're not gettin' one over us with any friendship!"
"Those sound like excuses. Maybe you're just not as close as you think?"
"Aw, piss on 'at! Tell the bird off, Burter!"
Burter stared.
"... Burter?"
"... Jeice, why didn't you ask if I wanted to see Dune Slayers 4?"
"... eh?"
"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE DUNE SLAYERS, DON'T YOU!?"
"M-mate! It was me and my girl's anniversary!"
"SO!? I COULD'VE SAT BEHIND YOU!"
"It's just that it's a special occasion, is all! Rules are different! Besides, we saw the fifth one together now, didn't we?"
Mashii and Katlij stared.
"TCH! NO WONDER THEY'RE STILL ABLE TO STAND! OUR BOND IS FOUNDED ON A BUNCH OF LIES!"
"BURTER! DON'T BE THAT WAY!"
Mashii shook her head. "(Let me take on Jeice)," she telepathically relayed to Katlij.
His eyes lit up, before narrowing to a razor-sharp point back over to her. "(What!? Why!?)"
A dire, concerned look stared back, undeterred. "(It's all over you. They're too tricky to just bludgeon to death like you're planning, I can't tag Burter, and their overall teamwork's almost unbeatable. You're starting to lose your cool, and if you keep letting him get in your head, we're both done for!)"
Katlij's eyes softened, before growing even sharper. "(... fine. Alright, Burter's mine.)"
Mashii smirked. "(Let's make this quick.)"
They both bolted in the direction of their former opponents.
"Shit! We'll talk this over later, Burter!"
"You're damn right, we will!"
And then, in an X, they crossed over.
[ BGM: Kenji Fujisawa – Maximum Attack ]
"(!?)"
"(!?)"
Katlij now faced down Burter. Without much option, falling back on his own self-proclaimed title, he delivered a speedy chop.
One FAR too speedy.
Thrown off-balance by his amped pace, Katlij threw a knee into the big blue blur that made him hack up something gooey.
Mashii now faced down Jeice.
"Y-YEAH RIGHT, BRATS!" He leapt back, throwing a hand to the sky, dozen of burning orbs around him. "CRUSHAAA—..."
Mashii continued her advance.
"VOLCANO!" The red magma threw everything he had at her, only for the sharp-haired Hera to wind back her arm, suddenly transforming.
"SHAA!" With a violent wave, she blew back the volley of ki, before surging to grab hold of Jeice's hand mid-toss of the last ball.
All the while, keeling over in pain, Burter bolted back up and shot forward with a more-concentrated punch, convinced of the previous occurrence being a fluke.
He shattered his skull into the ground before he knew what happened. Katlij stood static, leg out, upper body faced toward his opponent, with a smirk.
"Did I do that?" He remarked, before lifting his leg high and tight above Burter's spine.
"BURTER!" Jeice screamed, his pupils fading before lashing a knife kick at Mashii's larger frame, targeting the kidneys.
It tore a thin stripe through the side of a suddenly smaller Mashii's clothes. That was all.
"(I can't go full power for very long, right now.)"
Mashii chambered her leg, targeting a baffled Jeice.
"(Perfect.)"
Jeice turned into a pin cushion for a second; in other words, for a volley of tens of thousands of piercing kicks. The last blow struck across the red man's chin, cutting it open as his brain was taken through a crash course on trauma. Around the same time Burter lost movement below the neck, Jeice went catatonic, as the latter joined the former on the ground in an unconscious heap.
Both glared down at their defeated foes, and then…
"... huh."
With how much pain they were currently in, they fully expected to crash and burn after the battle's end. But they were both able to stand just fine. Both stared back.
Neo was still there, downing water. He noticed their stares, and lazily raised a thumb.
Mashii stared. "Eh…"
Katlij stared. "He's…"
Neither could quite wrap their heads around what the human between them was doing, as he pounded down glass after glass.
"Seasoning… water?"
Silent judgement drew the magenta-eyed boy's attention, and a glass slammed down. "What?" he barked in a pugnacious tone.
Mashii scratched her chin. "It's just that, and I might be wrong on this, but… salt's for FOOD, right?" Her tone seemed geared toward pissing him off.
"Yeah well, apparently, salt helps you keep in water, so it doesn't leave you as fast from sweat. Or the other thing, y'know, I'm drinking right now don't wanna say it-" he cut himself off by putting another cup to his face.
"...Does it at least taste good?" went Katlij, finally asking the big question. Neoru gulped down the crystalline water, finishing with a satisfied "Ahhhh—" before answering.
"Oh no, this shit's awful." He readied the 47th cup of iodized salt water. "But s'long as it's good for me, I don't mind." It was a no-brainer that any normal human would, bare-minimum, be in critical condition trying to pull off such a stunt; never mind sodium intake, just the amount of water alone was enough to put someone down. As to why Neoru wasn't lurching over dead, the constant steam emanating from him served as a possible explanation. Normal humans couldn't do THAT either, after all.
"(What happened between his match and now?)" Mashii thought to herself, as Katlij helped Neo through a sudden coughing fit. She recalled the event that'd taken place a few minutes ago, and noted everything that was off. "(Everything's warm around him, his eyes have lightened up... and he used to be better at concealing his ki. But right now, his battle power's nothing compared to what he showed off on arrival. Like two different entities…)"
"MMH… MH. MH." Neoru heaved, chuckling a bit. "Thanks, man." He then noticed Mashii's hard gaze. "Hm? What's up, Mash?"
"... you, uh… your aura spoiled my cocktail."
"Oh, yeah, my bad. Can't keep the damn thing down, lately… wait aren't you like 16? How the hell're you drinking?"
"Hmph." She hurriedly cocked back the half-drunken fruity alcohol, finishing with a small gag. "As long as we stick around here, anything and everything's on the house!"
Neoru stared at the bartender, who'd been silently hunkered down behind the counter. "Hey! You're just sellin' beer to kids, so long as they're coverin' your ass?"
Having her actions read back to her in such a way, the mama's head slowly fell in shame.
"Bitchin'! I'll take post if ya give me one'a what Mashii got. Just iodize the shit out of mine."
Katlij's head sank to the table, in front of his daring chocolate mocha.
Heavy footsteps approached from behind, coated in hostile intent, and the three shared a collective sigh.
"Time to earn our keep, I guess." Mashii stood up, and immediately fell down.
"... oh."
Katlij attempted to lift up his head, in vain. "Crap…!" he strained out. Neo looked over to both.
"Fuckin' bums." He stood, shaking himself out. "Fine, I'm feelin' a bit better, anyway. Hey, whaddo ya know, it's that one big Ginyu Force guy, the ginger."
The man in question didn't respond.
"Ray Kem or somethin, right? Yeah, you're late, sucks. But no worries." Neoru walked up to the massive, mohawk'd man. "You don't hafta join your pals on the floor. Just take them, fuck off back to where you came from, and everything's peachy."
With white, lifeless eyes, the man held his silence.
"... coulda swore you talked more, big guy."
[ BGM: Hidenori Shoji – Beast Itself ]
Recoome proceeded to lower himself in a stance.
"... huh?"
"Recoome…" Mashii ever-so slightly propped herself up for a better look. "... became a martial artist?"
Without warning, like a cockroach, Recoome sprang toward Neo with a savage, claw-like palm. By the skin of his teeth, Neo dodged it, but the condensed, hurricane-dwarfing wind pressure threw him off balance just enough for the following torrent of ripping claws to slam into him. Retaining bearing, he caught one and sent his silent foe flying with a one-arm shoulder throw, the FF elite flailing through the air like a test dummy before – after a tumble in which he steadily gained more and more balance – bounding to his feet. He opened his maw, a horrible noise akin to a tiger bursting from it, before charging in once more.
Mashii spectated, Neo matching Recoome's intensity with each hard strike parried, before noticing an anomaly.
"Wait… that style he's using… it's one from EARTH!"
"Wha!?" cried Neo, before sidestepping a two-handed strike like that of a beast's fanged jaws.
"He's using the Tiger Fist! He couldn't possibly learn that style, not without an Earthling showing him!"
Neo parried a couple claws and limbo'd under a surprise leaping kick from below. "So what're you saying!? That we're dealin' with some sorta…" he revved up a fierce compass kick,
"TRAITOR!?"
Right into his lumbering opponent's liver. He expected at least a second of stagger; instead, his eye-opening surprise, Recoome tucked his leg under-arm, spun 'round, and slammed him into Conton's katchin-mogging pavement. He tossed him away like a sack of potatoes, the boy crashing into the drink stand, the bartender tucking even further into her corner in response.
"O-fuckin'-kay… ain't shit that can will through something like that…"
Katlij shifted his head to Neo, getting his first clear visual on the fight's progress. "Are you winning?" He said in coy.
"Dunno. We're both bleeding, but he doesn't give a shit. He powered through a kick to the liver, is what I'm saying." Neoru took a gulp of his unfinished cup of iodized water and shrugged. "W'nn' tr' s'm'th'n', th'gh."
As Recoome charged him again, Neo inhaled through the nose and spat salt water into his eyes, rolling under the violent palm soon after. To his displeasure, Recoome jet back around with a spinning tiger palm, eyes noticeably worse for wear yet still raging on. As his ghastly foe twirled through the liquid particle-laden sky, for just a millisecond, Neo caught glimpse of something refracting light across Recoome's wrist. Just long enough for Neo to root himself to the ground, leaving him without room to dodge and forcing him to take what came next head-on with raised forearms.
"That settles it… guy's a fucking machine!" He turned to Mashii. "WAS HE LIKE THIS ON NAMEK!?"
"No! Besides the strength difference, he never moved so spindly, either! It's like he's possessed!"
"(Possessed?)" Shoving away Recoome, Neoru sucked his teeth. "Possessed or not, he still ain't moving if I break enough of his parts!" He read another attack, dove in, and knee'd the FF elite full-force in the pelvis. Recoome belted out a claw-fist in his direction, but he ducked beneath, grabbed a leg, and tuck-and-rolled into a leg lock, knocking the soldier onto his face. Focusing ki into his core, he shattered Recoome's shin, and as his other struck out at him –
"The fuck!?"
– he went low, then threw himself up with a handstand and brought his knees crashing down onto the spare limb's femur. He leapt back up in satisfaction. And then his jaw went free-fall in morbid awe.
Recoome, with legs alone, lifted himself back up.
"... ok Mashii tag in."
"uh-uh."
It was like he was on stilts. Something was very-blatantly propping him up, something higher. Recoome's own jaw-drop only further emphasized that, silently roaring before dull-pink ki started brimming within. He was more a weapon being primed than a fighter using a technique, violently shaking before the blast launched toward Neo. He stared it down, forming something in his head before, with a fierce kick to the heavens, diverting the beam, briefly leaving the sky a polluted shade of rosé.
"This ki…" Mashii muttered.
Neoru agreed. "It's all wrong… wait up…"
[ BGM: Jim Dooley – Unfinished Business (2:52) ]
Under the darkened sky, something about Recoome stuck out to Neoru. Something that pissed him off more than anything prior.
"Bitch…" he growled, magenta eyes burning as the sky recovered.
This time, Neoru took the offensive. He weaved over a horizontal wheel kick and, foot clad in focused ki, swiped at the air, seemingly missing Recoome; however, the leg nearest to Neo's struck area suddenly fell limp. The tribal-vested boy landed sprawled out on all fours and, as Recoome flipped into an axe kick above him, sprang up into an uppercut, crossing the kick's path; soon after, the leg, and the arm on its side, fell down lifelessly.
"I don't understand," said Mashii, "how are-"
"Just watch."
Soaring forward with one hand, as if mocking a western superhero, Recoome attacked Neo with a barrage of jabs quicker than any previous attacks; that said, Neoru masterfully parried each and every strike, until pivoting beside one, clutching "empty space," and yanking it – and with it, the arm. Recoome's head lashed out, trying to bite Neo, but he dodged and flanked, running atop the soldier's back, biting the air over his head, and stomping it down in the process, as his arm was pulled around his neck.
"Shee?" asked Neoru through his teeth. "Yer right, he ISH bein' posheshed. Akshully…"
Rearing back his leg, he leapt up and cast a crescent kick. Mashii, focusing, could see the golden threads falling alongside the giant before disappearing.
"Fucker's not even alive. He's just been someone's puppet."
His head began to wander, surveying the area. "AIN'T THAT RIGHT!?"
No one answered.
"NOT GONNA LIE, PRETTY FUCKED UP TO TARGET A GUY FRESH OUT THE HOSPITAL! WHY DON'CHA CRAWL YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND EXPLAIN!?"
"Mashii, who's he screaming at? No one's answering."
"No idea."
Neoru scrunched his face and spat. "Fine, fuck you, too."
He turned.
Guldo was there.
Hanging. Skewered by a mass of golden threads.
"When did…!?"
Above, a message in blood and qi.
降
伏
Guldo was the period.
"..."
"..."
"... what the fuck does that even say?"
"huh?"
"I can't read Kanji."
"S-since when!?"
"He can't read Kanji?" Katlij asked, regaining the strength to raise himself.
"Hey shut up, it's not that deep."
"How… how did you get so far in class? Kanji was EVERYWHERE!"
"Just tell me what it says, dick! Since you're so damn smart!"
"That's likely why you don't know it in the first place."
"ZINCO knows Kanji!"
"NUH-UH!"
"We're sort of straying from the greater topic at hand, I- OH, oh they changed it."
Neo and Mashii looked back. The message was now in crappy, hastily-written hiragana.
QIT, STUPID BOY.
"..."
"..."
"... I can still barely read that shit."
"ʸᵉᵃʰ ⁱᵗ'ˢ ᵐⁱˢˢⁱⁿᵍ ᵃ ᵁ ᵇᵘᵗ It looks like someone really doesn't want you entering."
"Bummer. 'Cus I've been aiming for that 'someone' for a while now. And I don't wanna die before I can see how I measure up to 'em. In the meantime…"
Neoru walked up to the threat and, forming a knife hand, cleaved clean through it. The mangled Guldo fell, and Neo caught him, laying him down on the ground.
"Can't really bury 'em, can I?" He mumbled to himself, kneeling down and placing a hand on the dead four-eyed scoundrel's chest.
"Huu—..."
A compact geyser of ki surrounded both Neo and the body, compressed to the point where it looked more like a hardened beacon than a storm of spirit. Not a trace of the soldier was left by its end, his ashes shot into the sky.
"Couldn't that fucker stop time or whatever, how'd Mei even…"
Neo saw them off, before going over to do the same to Recoome.
Someone began to pass him mid-rites and, unthreatened by their presence, he freed the body from the physical plane. Once the spirit explosion died down, both his friends were up and able.
Neoru did an initial double-take. "Hey, nice! Was that the new guy?"
Katlij confirmed with a nod. "I feel better than I did waking up today!" he added, stretching out.
"My hangovers gone!" Mashii cheered. "Thank you. Magic Man!"
The teal-skinned namekian in question giggled. "It's nothing! Just doing my job!"
Neo noticed the dark circles around his eyes and his sickly demeanor. "Rough day, huh?"
Wabi shakily sighed. "Like you wouldn't believe."
The teen shoved hands in pockets, blowing out air. "Yeah, looks like everyone's workin' their asses off but me. Hey guys, 're we up?"
He received a raised thumb from each in response. "Sick, let's get moving."
"What about them?"
Wabi pointed to the decommissioned Jeice and Burter. "Are you really just gonna let them go? After all they've done?"
Neo gave pause. "... why not?"
Wabi looked insulted. "Why not!? Those monsters have killed and injured countless innocent people, all just to satisfy their evil desires! How could anyone show them any mercy at this point!? They don't deserve a lick of it!"
"Dude, they're fuckin' vegetables, calm down."
"Huh...!?"
Neo walked over to the two laid-out lackeys. "If you're gonna cry 'justice' like some lunatic, don't do it over two schmucks who won't ever wipe their own asses again." He gave Burter a light kick, resulting in a hushed, pained groan. "Hell, they're not gonna be able to do much of anything ever again. They die now, they get a free pass from living like weak, dependent nobodies for the rest of their lives, after all they've done to people. So screw 'em, they don't GET to die yet." He looked back. "'Course, I'm talkin' like that's my call to make."
Mashii and Katlij's expressions went grim.
"... yeah, screw them. We're leaving."
"Let them lament the path they've chosen as prisoners in their own bodies."
Katlij led the way, and Mashii tilted her head, signaling Neo to come with. Neoru shrugged, before obeying.
"Court adjourned. Life."
Wabi saw them off, his balled fists loosening in defeat.
"(I guess they're not entirely wrong...)" He stared at the downed Ginyus. "(And as awful it is to say, I'm almost thankful for the trouble they've caused. If it weren't for all of this, then…)"
"Win or lose. Kazikum would've been leashed like a dog by now… for the rest of his life, most likely."
"AND YOU SHOULD BE BLOODY-WELL ECSTATIC AT THE THOUGHT!" Selaine declared. "Do you've any idea how terrifically awful demonkind is?"
"Oh, you're one to talk."
"GSFH-OH SHUT UP! I'll have you know I've had a stern-enough talking-to on that matter from Captain Underpants, the royal prick…"
"Besides, Kazi's different. You'd expect any normal demon to immediately resort to the worst forms of violence imaginable, but he did his darndest to end the fight as quickly as possible in the beginning. He doesn't eat people, he doesn't swallow souls, he's CLEARLY no devil, just like how I'm not a raging behemoth inclined to violence just 'cause I'm a Saiyan. He's just an arse who doesn't know when to shut his face."
Selaine held her head in dismay. "Good lord, the fiend already has her under his spell. How tragic, you clearly need my aid more than I could've ever anticipated…"
"I said not inclined to violence, not unopposed, mate."
"Yes, yes. Look, dear, my point is, you are NOTHING to that monster at your current level. He'd utterly trounce you, and there'd be nothing you could do if, God-forbid, he became a Super Saiyan."
Dina groaned. "That's why I'm placing so much effort into training. Training that I REALLY should be getting back into right about now…"
"Ah yes, what a splendid use of your time, that training. Do remind me, Spaurk, how long have you spent in your hospital bed now?"
Dina's eyes trailed off to the side.
Selaine took her expression as a sign of victory. Her "Peace-Peace" sign reflected either that, or the four hours the half-blood had spent in the ER. Either way, it pissed Dina off.
"ALRIGHT BUSTER, WHAT'S YOUR GENIUS ALTERNATIVE!?" she yelled, Selaine modestly covering her ears all the while.
"Well, surely you know of Yargfolk's affinity for magic, even if you're a Lowborne."
"Uh-huh. It's there, I guess? Sort of useless without anything channeling it, and even then, it's not worth shite compared to what a cloud-huffer-"
"HIGHBORNE, YOU. TWIT."
"... Sure, look I would have parlor tricks at best, compared to your necronomicon. I don't even know how to use the shit I've got now."
"Well, what if I told you, that I know a spell that enhances one's conduction of magic to their maximum output?"
"I'd probably be annoyed that you didn't lead with that. And that something of the like probably would've ended Yarg's inequities single-handedly."
The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Believe me, we could talk for hours on why you're wrong, but never mind that! I'm offering you this for free because you are now the sole representative of Yarg, and I will NOT stand for you losing to, while acting AS, a mindless brute."
"Thing is, right? I don't know the half of using magic besides the fact that it's there. How would I be any better off than using the power source I've been using since I was a kid?"
The sorceress went smug. "I'm glad you asked!"
Green flames simultaneously brightened and darkened the room, casting a visual story in the air.
"Unlike your 'Ki' that's within all that lives, Magic is all around you! It's the outer force of reality that one alters with their soul and hones with their mind. The more 'connected' one's mind and spirit is with this outer world, the stronger and more vast their control of magic becomes! However, while it's of no physical cost, going beyond your magical limit will leave you dreadfully light-headed, and using all of it at once could be fatal! Without a conductor or elixirs of high quality, it'll take days at the least to reestablish your harmonization once broken. However, as long as one stays within and gradually expands their limits, the possibilities are endless! You are, after all, bringing forth the impossible into the universe!"
"So you're giving me yet another reserve to keep check on, lovely. Besides, I'm a lOwBoRnE, right? Even after unlocking what mystic potential I have, aren't our magic reserves worth piss-all without a conductor, like a wand or a gun?"
The storytelling flames abruptly popped. "GUN!?"
"It's probably in some history book somewhere, who cares. Just tell me how this is helpful, would you kindly."
Selaine recomposed herself. "W-well then… that's precisely why I'm granting you this spell! After that, while still utterly PALING in comparison to proficiency like my own, you should be able to rein in a decent control over whatever initial affinity you may have."
"Ooh, affinity like wha-"
A hand suddenly pressed into the center of her collarbone.
"We'll see in a moment," Selaine said, almost in a whisper as she sat by Dina's side.
"H… hey…"
"Oh, stop it. Imagine my discomfort, being this close to you."
With a punkish expression, the half-blood tried turning her head, only to be dragged back in place by the sorceress's free hand.
"Stay still. Bring your hands to mine. Open. And stay calm."
Dina obeyed.
Selaine began to whisper in Dina's ear, in an ancient tongue the latter couldn't make out. A slow, small light blossomed from Selaine's cupped palm.
She began feeling light-headed. And tingly.
Really, really tingly.
"...!?"
"Ah. How fitting."
The light slowly faded.
And red sparks abruptly shot throughout the room.
Winds from nowhere began to circle the room, picking up bigger and bigger objects as it intensified. Soon, a localized supercell encased the building.
"WHAT THE…!"
"Calm down."
Dina's head sprang up. Selaine looked back with a smile.
"Release yourself. It's more fun like that."
"... heh." Dina gave in to the odd feeling, one like seeing a new spectrum of color and trying to understand it, and closed her eyes. The new, seventh sense was overwhelming, yet exciting.
The supercell expelled itself in a flash. Breathing slowly, Dina opened her eyes. Between her hands, sparks of lightning shot back and forth, as a draft from within the closed room caused her hair to flutter up and down.
"Now, how do you feel?"
The red-jacketed girl struggled to find words, settling for the closest that she could think of. "Different."
"Nature magic is a common affinity, much simpler than most other forms and yet most effective and cost-efficient. The sky is the limit considering its study and mastery; example, moi."
The phenomenon between the saiyan's hands dissipated. "O-oy!"
"Now now, that's perfect. Just beckon it back to you."
Dina looked at her like a lost kitten, and back at her hands with the same expression.
"Hh… haa—a-"
"No, stop it, that's not how you go about it at all. They appear similar at points, but be assured, ki and magic are two different properties."
Dina looked over, annoyed. She went back to her hands.
"Lightning Bolt. Mmm-LIGHTNING BOLT. LIGHTNING BOLT! Th-thunder! SPARKING!"
Selaine stifled a giggle.
"CAN IT, I'M GIVIN' AN EFFORT. Ghh… G-get out. Out, you. Um… Dina, use thunderbolt. C-crckle! K-tchu! AYBABAYAY!?"
The sound of her former opponent's barely-concealed snorts made her increasingly red.
"P-pretty please?"
Selaine let out a wistful sigh. "Alright, I've had my fun."
"YOU INSUFFERABLE TWATWAFFLE!" she yelled, causing a small spark to frizz her hair.
"... huh."
The blonde grabbed the brunette's hands. "As a lowborne, even with the enlightenment spell, you'd need some sort of incantation to invoke your magic. First, breathe. You need to be relaxed, first and foremost. An inner harmony is key for beginners."
Dina did her part.
"Now, an invocation. Let's see... ah, here we are. Try 'Kuark'."
"Alright, um... Kuuuuat the..."
Between her hands, small dots of lightning raced like electricity from a live wire.
"Well that's strange," said Selaine. "I'd say you've done that before, if I didn't know any better."
"MmmmI dun' geddit."
"Well, an affinity can sprout naturally from those with a born partiality to magic. Such was my experience with my Star Flames."
"Why the word, though?"
"Like symbols, certain phrases act as 'synchronizers' to enhance your control. For example, the term "Kuark" is a 'conduit' for magics with focus on, or magi with affinities for, lightning or electricity."
Dina looked down at her hand.
"Even IMAGINING the word can serve as a potent invocation for you. From there, will forth your desired effect. Of course, the larger or more potent the effect, the more costly the sp-"
"KUARK!"
Bored of all the talking, Dina imagined a really, really, really, really, really strong lightning flash.
And thus, after a thunder crackle audible for miles, Dina and Selaine went on a trip to opposite sides of the wall.
"YOU… HOPELESS… BUFFOON…!" The sorceress peeled herself off, falling to the floor. "You can't just spout off spells without a care, especially one like that! You're a Lowborne who's only just now using magic, and like I said, if you're not careful and spend too much at once…"
"Wwwhy'sa fowk fitso well'if it don't go in there, Da'..." the half-blood deliriously muttered, stumbling about before falling down.
"... that. That will happen."
"So I'm on magic training wheels right now," went Dina, her and Selaine now under the ethereal night sky after a successful vomiting session from the former, "and using them, you're expecting me to best a Demon God that can go Super Saiyan. Why?"
Selaine looked off to the side. "Because there's something I want to test."
"Hm?"
"Your red eyes mark you an utter Lowborne, but the fact that you're from Yarg should render your ability to manipulate ki absolutely moot. And yet it's decently up-to-par with other 'martial artists' of your level, if not a tad more lacking."
"thanks, it was worth carrying a milk carton around the world every day"
"wot?"
"wot?"
"... back to my point, I believe that magic and ki can influence and enhance each other."
"Really? How'd ya figure?"
"Well, I've seen martial artists use certain symbols before launching attacks, before performing impossibilities or techniques far beyond that of their power level. Sealing techniques, techniques that cut through space, techniques that can redirect energy entirely and duplicate one's physical state of being, techniques that can bay opponents that, by all other accounts, far exceed them. That's ignoring the fact that a strong-enough ki can dispel magic outright. If eastern blokes can perform such miracles with such a meager outer harmony, imagine what a proper Yarg with an apt understanding of both inner and outer fundamentals could accomplish!"
"uh-huh."
Selaine had preached to a wall. She sighed in defeat.
"... it's also my way of making amends."
"Hm? For what?"
"For… for subjecting you to dark magic."
Dina suddenly stopped, Selaine following suit.
"I needed to pick your brain on that, actually. A healthy reminder."
"... it's a magic only a wizard of the highest level can manage. Yet all it entails is opening a rift. From there, a connection is made to a world no mortal could even attempt to comprehend, lest they be driven mad."
"... where magic is such a constant, its study is a mere science."
Selaine nodded. "A normal spell invokes the raw mystic force of the realm, manifested in the form of a hand or hands that bend and writhe to the user's whim. Even that is a feat unfathomable to a great many Highbornes. It's akin to filling a balloon with a violent stream of air, then sealing it... only the balloon is a pocket of reality. There's no defense, magical or spiritual, physical or mental, that can withstand a concentrated assault like that. But the highest order of sorcerer can open a steady stream onto themselves. With the infinite power something like that is capable of producing, one would have power nearly equaling God. Control over time and space would be trivial matters. Which is exactly why use of such power, in any regard, is an unforgivable heresy. Death is the sole sentence for those found mingling with demonic magic."
[ BGM: Keita Haga – Ever-Present Feeling ]
"Then… why can you use it?"
"... in my timeline, sorcerers were labeled heretics, regardless of what they used. Those with your eyes were the supreme authorities on such matters. They never so much as considered mercy or understanding… so I figured, 'why not use every magic I could study against them?' I've done some awful things to awful people in my rage and, of course, two wrongs don't make right. I even wound up taking that anger out on you. And I couldn't be sorry enough."
"I mean, we DID antagonize the utter piss out of each other. It's really no wonder we threw everything in our respective arsenals… Kinda shocked we went WITHOUT murderizing each other!" Dina giggled. Selaine's reluctance to humor her made things even more awkward. The half-saiyan sighed.
As one had already dropped her barrier, the other chose to lower her guard.
"... I had a friend. Luna. She lived her entire life never knowing how incredible she really was, labeled a freak or used like a toy by nigh-everyone around her, every day of her life. She quite-literally did what you're referring to on an emotional whim."
"WHAT!?"
Dina nodded. "The first time, she could hardly control it… and the second, she, she… lost control entirely. And once everyone had turned their backs on her, she finally snapped altogether, and became a monster. I'll never be able to stop that from happening… I had my chance, and I blew it."
Dina turned to Selaine.
"But if I've stopped you from ever using that awful ability ever again, I'm glad. Means I've stopped someone from falling down that path."
"... that's sweet of you. But I've already used dark magic, not once, but twice. I can swear it off, never use it again and preserve my sanity, but my 'path' was set in stone, the moment I used such power. No matter what, I'm hellbound now."
"... well, fine. If that's the case, then I'll follow you straight down there, if you're ever feeling lonely. And I'll be right by your side 'till you're proper reincarnated. 'Cus THAT'S apparently a thing."
Selaine welled up. "Dina…"
The tomboy grinned a fanged, face-wide grin. "Call it numb-skulled all you'd like, I'll make it happen, and by force if need-be!"
A smile crossed the otherwise-reserved young woman's face. "I'd like that."
"So. 'Kuark' invokes lightning. That is my thing. I need to be calm, and will it out, staying in my limits all the while."
With an exhausted groan preluding a nod, Selaine confirmed. Dina balled a fist.
"Perfect. Welp, not much choice but to combat-test your theory."
"Unfortunately. Oh, if only I'd known a creature like you existed beforehand, you'd've known sooner."
Dina's small nudge was stopped mid-air. Selaine didn't notice, gazing up at the swirling violet-black sky.
"... maybe your victory would be a small step toward redeeming myself. Who knows?"
"I've got my own reasons for snaggin' a win, anyways." Dina stretched out, with a yawn. "No harm in addin' one more wish onto the pile."
The two carried on toward their respective flats.
"What, are you really gonna walk me home?"
"My complex is near yours, and you're a moron who's going to kill herself testing something she thinks would be cool. Besides, you're decent-enough company. I'm not horribly opposed to the thought, either way."
"D'aa—w, my own magic bodyguard!" Dina playfully shoulder-bumped the sorceress, who staggered in response. "Though I doubt I'd need one, at this rate. Seems things are finally dying down."
Selaine rubbed her arm. "Of… course. This city has the collective firepower of a thousand star fleets, every vessel independent of each other."
"Great to know I'll manage a small cat nap before this tournament…"
"You can train magic in dreams, Dina. Be sure not to forget." With that, the blue-eyed girl started to veer off. "... win, l'right? I'll make certain to watch."
The red-eyed girl nodded. "Mh."
"DINA! DINA, IS THAT YOU?"
[ BGM: CAFUNÉ – Tek It ]
She turned to see Baubi shouldering a battered Devine, the latter being shoulder-supported by the limping hoodie boy from the hellish island that Neo was apparently from, in equally-horrible condition.
"Oh my-"
"GODS, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU, LIKE, ALL DAY! YOU HAD ME TRIPPING THE HELL OUT!"
"Y-yeah, today got pretty chaotic out of nowhere. I'd say good to see you both in good health, but…"
"Oh, yeah, this? It's whateves, I've had like, WAY worse! I mean I'm a totes mess, but we're fighting a bunch, so like, duh!"
"why does she talk like that?" Selaine whispered.
"it's like how certain pricks base their personalities on consumed media, but with her, it's genuinely heartbreaking."
"oh. fair."
"OH AND I FOUND THIS HOTTIE WHILE I WAS FIGHTING THIS RED BULL GUY!"
Tenganosu waved. "ladies."
"I SLAYED THE BADDIE AND GOT THE GUY RIGHT AFTER, JUST. LIKE. A FAIRY TALE! WE TOTES KICKED MAJOR BUTT ALL DAY!"
"And I helped!" Baubi confidently FYI'd.
"Sweet," Dina noted. "Is Euu doing fine?"
"I made sure she made it to her apartment earlier on. Besides that, we're gonna stay over by the tournament entrance. Katlij wants us all to meet up there, just to be early."
"Oh. OH, HOW ARE THEY ALL DOING!?"
"Well, Katlij and Mashii are fine. In fact, they apparently handled Jeice AND Burter. Neo…" Baubi trailed off, to Dina's anxiety.
"What? What about Neo?"
"I don't get what they're saying about him, but he's alive."
Dina's eyes immediately darted to Tengano, expecting a better explanation.
"Well… he's alive right now. That's all that matters."
The three looked peaceful. Rugged after a day of nonstop fighting, they sat side-by-side in a slumber by the wall.
Dina gazed into the sky, using Neo's shoulder as a headrest. His warm aura was still flowing, despite being asleep.
She sighed. "What've you gone and done, now…?" The red-eyed girl quietly mumbled, as her eyelids went into freefall.
Everyone else had already followed suit.
Everyone but one, wordlessly standing over Neo.
"(So the only way you can even use ki now is the Tlatla, eh… Why so adamant on throwing all this away… the one bastard anything like me since I got here?)"
His palm cradled his face, his free hand knitted in a fist. "(Not even in an explosion, but a gas leak. And THIS is how you choose to spend the rest of it?)"
Tengano knelt down, his palm slowly sliding off.
"(You were the only bastard who could help me figure out what I really am, what I'm really capable of. And now, you're fading away.)" He fwacked the sleeping dragon's head.
"Burro de merda," he hissed between his teeth, before walking over to the further side of the wall.
Dina hadn't yet fallen asleep.
Time passed.
Frieza's siege was failing, despite all his closeted scheming. Those of his forces that could retreat were doing so, and the others were either dead or laid out. He'd underestimated those who sought to become patrollers, and sought strength for their own reasons. And Frieza, himself, was in his own battle.
The morning had come. How'd the nine sleepers know?
A crash, of course.
". . .ᵣₑfᵤₗ Zᵢₙcₒ, wₕₐₜ ᵢf ₕᵤᵣₜ yₒᵤᵣₛₑₗf bₑfₒᵣₑ yₒᵤᵣ ₘₐₜcₕ?"
"ₛ₋ₛₒᵣᵣy! ᵢ wₐₛ ₐₗₘₒₛₜ ₗₐₜₑ, ₛₒ ᵢ ᵣᵤₛₕₑd!"
"ₜcₕ! ₛₕǎ bī, wₐₜcₕ yₒᵤᵣ ₛₜᵤₚᵢd fₑₑₜ!"
"ₕₕ₋ₕᵤₐₐ—... wₕy'ₛ ₑᵥₑᵣyₒₙₑ ₛₒ ₜₒₓᵢc? ᵢₜ'ₛ ⱼᵤₛₜ ₐₙ ₑᵥₑₙₜ."
"ᵢₜ'ₛ ₐₗₘₒₛₜ ₗᵢₖₑ yₑₛₜₑᵣdₐy ₕₐₚₚₑₙₑd ₒᵣ ₛₒₘₑₜₕᵢₙg. ₐₗₛₒ, wₑ'ᵣₑ ₐₗₗ ₑₙₑmies, right now."
Neoru's eyes squeezed shut as Dina's slowly opened. Both awoke simultaneously to the sight of every other competitor.
"Shit. That was barely four hours."
"Ah, shut up, I got like four-fifteen and I ain't whining."
Neoru got a hand in his face, squishing it. "Mrrr I would've loved that, you ungrateful shiiit."
Kora looked over. "Except for them, apparently."
Neo and Dina stood up, causing a small chain reaction amongst their friends. Dina glared in spite at Baubi's mattress and Selaine's queen-size mahogany bed, even after they dematerialized.
"Glad you two were comfy…" she growled.
Baubi laughed nervously. Resentful stares from two other girls only amped it.
"The spell is poultry," informed a groggy Selaine as she whooshed her hair back to perfection, "even a beginner like yourself could pull it off with a day's worth of study."
"Wait, 'beginner'?" asked Kora. "You can use magic, now?"
Selaine dramatically froze. Dina gave a look.
"(Brilliant use of OpSec, as always.)"
Neo watched Selaine desperately try to salvage the situation from afar, before bringing up his hand. His expression became sullen.
"You are weaker."
She'd read his mind.
"Yep."
"Do you truly believe you can best me in your condition?"
He made a fist, squeezing and loosening it before letting go.
"Dunno. Wanna try, though."
There was silence for a moment, before his hand was violently yanked down.
"What stake could you possibly have that compels you to stay in my way!?" Mei hissed.
"I just wanna fight you, and legit. Maybe win. I think that's it."
"You… if that is your only point of reason, then you should-"
"Qit, right?" With a struggle, Neo broke free from Mei's grip. "No, fuck you. Also, double fuck you for usin' the dead the way you did. Asshole."
"What is it that you do not understa…"
"... what?"
"... are you ill?"
"No seriously, what?"
"I can feel it. Even now, you weaken."
Neo dejectedly shifted his gaze. "Tch."
"... Fine! Have it your way. Men and their ego…" Mei folded her arms and stormed off, brushing past Dina in the process. "A sick boy would raise a fist to me, and what am I to do? You are less than a bump in the road, stupid snake egg."
Neoru sighed. "(I don't think I even wanna win. I just wanna try. Can I hold on, until then?)"
"Oy, Neo."
He turned.
"You'd… um… you'd tell me if there was something wrong with you… right?"
"..."
He wanted to say "Yeah," and return to his thoughts.
But that moment between them on the beach came back to him.
He prepared himself.
"... I-"
武
[ BGM: Kenji Fujisawa – Journal Use ]
The kanji representing Bū lit ablaze, as did a circular outline around it.
"Dh... I'll tell you late-"
Not a moment later, the eight were suddenly transported. Greeting them was a robotic disembodied voice.
"Welcome, future patrollers."
They'd been taken to the grounds for the Tenkaichi Budokai. But it'd been refurbished, much more futuristic and mechanical in design.
"The tournament has been altered to better evaluate your ability to not only fight, but endure. Please do your best not to crumble, neither to the arena's ever-shifting and at-times 'familiar' conditions, nor to your foe."
"Moving forward, you will no longer in friendly competition."
The voice had apparently been living under a rock, but nevertheless.
"You are being trained by, and against, each other. The medical staff present are skilled enough to heal any damage incurred to you before, during, or after your battle, ensuring you do not need to hold back."
"So by all means, do not hold back."
[ ED: Eve – Last Dance ]
"Bit tryhard-y, isn' it?"
"Ah, no fuckin' doubt."
6/2/2023: Change in BGM choices for Mashii/Katlij vs Jeice/Burter; BT2's Crisis into Baki 2018's Maximum Attack. Because they sound just the same.
Yo! OPFC Here!
So like, remember when I said I'd be back at the end of August? Welp. It ain't August anymore. It's um, it's the end of fucking November, now. Funny how life be doin that. Well uh, 13k words of shit I've been working on since June is now here, and the quarterfinals have officially begun. Hopefully that makes up for my absence.
Speaking of, yeah. I was NOT sitting on my ass that whole time. I've learned a lot during this time. Success, failure, how to stand back up, my limits and how to break past them... it's been one hell of a training arc, and it ain't over yet.
Basically, I am the strongest fucking writer on this site, bar none. Probably. Eh. I could probably drill the best. Yeah, let's go with that.
A lot of stuff happened in all this time. World tensions are rising again (I'll be a BIIIIT more involved if shit should hit the fan), the fucking Queen has fallen, Shinzo Abe is no more, things are kinda grim again. On the bright side, Edgerunners was fucking flames, Chainsaw Man's got a solid adaptation, MP100 S3's beautiful, and I'm starting to progress in life as an adult. Hope you guys are keeping above water in these wacky woowoo times.
Onto story things.
Have fun deciphering my piece of shit magic system, lemao. Like holy shit, this fic uses literally everything at this point. To be fair, Dragon Ball's always done that. It's a part of what makes it so cool. But yeah, I added magic onto Dina's character, because she wasn't stacked enough. It'll be something she can't spam, but it ensures she's more than just a beat stick in the future. It's a new world of possibility, so who knows what'll be next for that shit.
I've been conceptualizing things on the side whenever there's downtime and I'm away from my phone, so expect better (I'm not kidding this time) explanations for things like Tlatla and Spirit Inheritance (Zinco's thing) when they come up in-story. I mean, they will make CONCRETE sense, now. I'm confident in that with the new material I have.
Don't worry too much about the stuff in the beginning, besides the specifics for the new tournament stage. I'm just doing more bullshit that I find cool, that's all.
Oh, and I had to move back to my phone to make fics. Sucks. Please forgive the errors that'll no-doubt pop up from time to time, I no-bullshit searched for them really, really hard.
What else I got?
Oh, did you know that Trunks in the Goku Black arc is wearing a real sweater? Yeah, it's military-issued and everything, they're called Woolly Pullys. I don't call them that, but people do. Somewhere.
But uh, yeah, that's about it. Next Chapter: Killer Kung Fu Spider Bitch vs PURPLE GUY!?
Always Faithful. See ya.