They faded away.
Wabi watched it unfold.
Atom by atom, the woman met her fate, screaming.
They weren't even tired. It took him hardly a thought to heal someone back to full capacity — body, mind, and all. It was something he did on command, and he'd done it over and over, dozens of times, as fast and effectively as he could, for both in the squad. The enemy was just too strong.
The barren planet violently began to rumble and quake with tremors across the ground and thunder in the sky. Someone was much angrier than he was about this, and the guilty party's end wouldn't be quick.
The knowledge did nothing for him. He stumbled over to a remain – a piece of jewelry – and buckled before it. It felt like a second had passed before he was suddenly yanked up by the one whom the deceased had left behind.
"ALL YOU DID WAS LAY BACK AND HIDE! SIERE NEEDED YOU, AND YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"
He was medical support. It was his job to hold back and avoid danger until he was needed.
"WELL!? SAY SOMETHING, YOU BASTARD!"
… it was a simple reply. And yet he couldn't raise a finger in his own defense.
"... you're pathetic. You'd better hope we never meet again." He dropped Wabi, picked up the trinket of his mourned, and left.
Wabi was left with himself, after a day of endless movement.
Soon he began to whimper.
[ OP: B'z – Into Free ~Dangan~ ]
Battle Eleven: Dina vs Kazikum!
{ AGE 1201 }
"Log 4309: After what feels like years… wait no. It has been years."
The wide and blue-eyed, polka-dotted man stared at the transportable scrawling mass of bristles – a book, in human terms – and softly, quickly brushed his finger over the glowing ones. Their light dimmed, before he licked his small tendril of a finger and relit each one in a symbol.
"After years, I've discovered a new life form! Happy to find that is, in fact, NOT the dung of a food-poisoned Hfoofus, this creature favors broad plant life, especially that of trees. Actually, it seems to be quite the glutton pertaining to such." He looked around, noting the vast expanse of bare, twig-like trees, contrasting the sea blue-oak mammoths in the distance.
"It resembles a caterpillar in appearance, about a pace in length and a…" he compared the creature to his tendril finger. "...flimgu in width. Fuchsia coloration, five eyes, a dauntingly-long and sharp proboscis, no limbs to speak of." He looked it over, contemplating picking it up before reclaiming his professionalism.
"I'll be right back."
A while later, through leading the creature with a large tree, the man had it outside his lab.
"Can lev… itate… without wings… Namin… proces… soo…" he wheezed on his desk before passing out, the animal leisurely chowing down out back.
"Log 4310." He wrote with bags under his eyes, as incomprehensible screeching continued outside.
"It has taken to making very loud noises. 'Kzaaaa.' Notably intelligent, as it only started after the fifth tree, and changes frequency once my ears adjust to the last. Does not stop until fed. Dthgfbhfrdtnthgfm-"
He had started curling his flimgu in agitation, scratching their tips across the bristles. He sighed, did what he could to remediate and wrote something before going out for another tree or two.
"Upsetting."
"Log 4312: Kaza has a face." He slowly lowered his book, made eye contact with all five of its red and black eyes, and brought the book back over his face.
"Uncannily nothing like a bug's. Seusianoid. Smaller eyes, three more than usual. No nose. On further reflection, it lacks any means of adaptation to this planet. Could be proof of life beyond the stars." He looked up into the sky; a window into space and its majesty, thinly veiled by misty black clouds. "However unlikely that sounds."
He looked back down. The thing, with its freaky Seusianoid – pretty humanoid, in human terms – face, continued to stare.
"... what're you lookin' at? Eh, Kaza?"
The Kaza smiled. The man hid his face again.
"Log 4315. She grew. Can confirm, female. Seusianoid. My size. Given a Dynamic Strong Suit to cover up and adjust to any other sudden spurts."
He looked outside. Muffled repetitions of "Kaza" could be heard as she played with something large and malleable that he made at the last minute.
"Responds to Kaza. Will name Kaza. Intelligence of a three-year old, despite vast differences in physical characteristics. Has developed tendrils leading off the peak of the skull for about a pace downward. Reminds me of a child."
He heard something break.
"Kaaaazaa—!"
The researcher sighed. "Far too strong for her own good. I will need time to adjust."
"Log 4320. Kaza grew again. Frequently smashes head on top of entrance. Is beginning to subtly mimic Seusan qualities. Two eyes instead of five, white and blue. Can infer hands under gloves resemble flimgu instead of sticks. Has taken to calling me-"
"Papa!"
A smile threatened to creep up his face. He wiped it off, before turning to her.
The fuchsia girl raised her hands to each side of her face and started biting at air.
"(If this keeps up, she's going to eat the forest.) Will require some form of plant substitute in near future, for sake of Seusian biodiversity."
"Papa, look what I can do!"
"H-HOW DO I WORK THIS THING AGAI- LOG 4… THOUSAND… SOMETHING, SHE CAN MAKE THINGS OUT OF NOTHING!"
His unshaven face stared in abject awe as the six-year-old made a giant tree from a rock and proceeded to lift it with her mind.
"IT JUST… IT JUST HAS TO BE MAGIC! NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE!"
"Neat?" Kaza asked with a dumb grin.
"YE-HES!" the researcher replied with a maniac cackle. "VERY NEAT!"
"Day… I don't know. Kaza made a painting. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the universe. It's childish, of course, but she has a great understanding of the way certain celestial bodies operate. Stars look like crudely drawn behemoths of constant fusion, not… y'know, geometric shapes. She's proud of it. I hung it on my refrigerator."
"Homeschooling Kaza has been a ride. Honestly, it all went better than expected. She grasps concepts at a level above most children, though retention is a problem at times. In any case, we held a private ceremony."
"I'M A BAL… BALLET… VALEDICTORIAN! YAAAY!"
"You heard her."
"Kaza accompanied me on the way to town today. I told her about the way people react to abnormalities, but she insisted. She was, in fact, on her best behavior. At least her idea of it. It went about as well as I expected it to. I never really… liked… hanging around public spaces, that's why I chose seclusion to continue studying the seldom-explored forms of life, but… but never before have I been so… angry. The looks were one thing, but she tried helping someone with her magic, she DID help someone, and you know what they called her? DEMON. I just, I can't BELIEVE the NERVE of some… but that's neither here nor there. She's somewhere in the woods, still crying. I need to go console her, or I'm going to lose it."
"Some psychopath came up to my door today. He's not from this planet, so I have no idea how the hell he found me or knows about Kaza. He started going on and on about how Kaza is some, some 'Demon' from the beginning of time, and that she destroyed his world and countless more, and that 'the gods' have sent him here to… he said 'slay' her. SLAY. LIKE SHE'S SOME BEAST IN A KID'S TALE. THAT IS A CHILD. I naturally told him to schmope off. That was the first time I've cursed in… quite a long time, mind, but no Gwrabli bite could compare to an insult like THAT. If he'd stayed for one more second, I would've punched him in the jaw. Would've done me more harm, that was a VERY imposing and armed man and I am skin and bone, but… it would've driven the point home. He just walked off after that. I don't know when he'll come back, because I DOUBT someone like that just listens to reason, but… I'm not letting anyone hurt my dau… huh."
He wiped his face.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm not letting anyone hurt my daughter."
"Stay here," the researcher ordered, the both of them behind a mass of multi-colored shrubbery.
"But-"
"No buts. We're big kids now. You'll find a way to keep going if things go bad, I just know it. I'm gonna go talk with these people. If something happens, RUN."
Kaza began welling up. The researcher held a flimgu up to his lips, before entering the trap door. Not long after, she heard the door of the small home open in the distance.
"There he is! There's that sorcerer!"
"All of you, get the HELL off my property!"
"GET HIM!"
"WHERE'S THE DEMON, YOU CROOK!?"
A loud bang sounded off into the air. "Any of you take another step, and I swear, the next splitter's for you!"
And then, the scary voice from before.
"Everyone, please calm down! This man is NOT the sorceress, she's long dead! He's just misguided, that's all!"
"MISGUIDED!? YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL A CHILD, YOU SICK SCHMOPE!"
Gasps escaped from the crowd.
"I understand that you see it that way, but that's only a ruse! If we don't stop her now-"
"GET. AWAY. FROM ME."
"... Sir, please calm down, let me explain-"
"I, HAVE HEARD, ENOUGH, OF YOUR DELUSIONAL BABBLING, I WILL TELL YOU ONE MORE TIME. LEAVE MY HOME, AND TAKE THESE ANIMALS WITH YOU, BEFORE I START DEFENDING IT."
"... I know you're just another victim in all of this, but I can't let you hurt these innocent people!"
"STAY BACK! I'LL SHOOT! I SWEAR!"
"Fine, I tried to warn you…!"
A faint, grisly sound, like a distant twig breaking, followed by the researcher's screaming.
"I… I DIDN'T MEAN…"
She heard a solid clank on the ground, and another bang soon after. All of a sudden, her legs began moving on their own.
When she arrived, he was on the ground, still screaming. The scary man was looking over at someone else, who was falling to the ground. Light left their eyes, a smoking black hole through their heart area. They didn't get up.
That was called death. Papa taught her that, once.
Hundreds of people started screaming at once, as stomping shook the land. A wave of people began to swallow her papa.
"WAIT, HE-"
"RUN, KAZA! RUN!" he screamed, before a fist flew into his face. And then a kick.
She could still see it. She felt him start to fade away, slowly.
Terror enveloped her, petrified her. It reached a tipping point.
Kaza screamed. When she stopped, there was nothing. Just her and the sky.
The home was gone. The people were gone. Papa was gone.
The bad man was still there. He turned to her, too stunned, too enraged to act.
Papa had told her to run. So she did.
Aside from that of a divine blade atomizing her from the inside-out, never again would she feel warmth.
{ PRESENT DAY, PRESENT TIME }
As far as that timeline knew, of course.
"Wanna go out for Bullion's?"
Now she had an excess of it.
"No. Ice cream hurts my brain."
"That's because you're eating it too fast…"
"Any 'food' capable of conjuring such a feeling must be no good, doubly so for one like me, with such a weakness as having a brain."
"(That's the most hurtful compliment anyone's ever given me!) You know…" Kaza raised her finger.
"Ice cream cake doesn't give you brain freeze!"
Mei stopped walking. "The name 'Bullion' echoes on the wind, beckoning us forth."
Kaza paused alongside her.
"Eh…"
She clenched her fist. "Let us not keep it waiting!"
"(That type of intensity's gonna melt his product…)"
"Apologies, but I'm placing your 'ice cream' date on hold."
Both girl's minds went blank. The mere pointed shadow of the man now blocking their path was paralyzing.
"You, Demon Godling." Vegeta pointed toward Kaza. "You'll be accompanying me instead."
Mei's Fight response kicked in before Kaza could even consider the alternative. Her aura straddled out in a golden mess of threads and senkenki.
"OVER MY DEAD-"
Kaza shot her a frantic glare; the sheer force of the thought "STOP" knocked her out on the spot. Vegeta raised a brow as she caught the human mid-fall, propping her against a wall.
"Hmph. You have a decent head on your shoulders, helping that idiot keep her own. I'll give you that much."
Kaza looked back up at the man who, despite his vertical stature, dwarfed galaxies with his presence. And despite that, Kaza's eyes retained a stern resolve.
"... are you going to kill me?"
"If it were up to me, we wouldn't be talking in the first place. But that isn't my call to make. Your commander has requested you, personally." Vegeta pointed behind himself with a thumb, saying nothing more. Resistance beyond that point would seal her fate.
If nothing else, she finally knew about the horror that lurked within her, what it was guilty of.
"(... I'm sorry Zinco, Mei.)"
She stood and accompanied the prince.
If this was the end, then she'd have a bit of closure.
—A hospital. Not the best place for an execution, but she didn't get her hopes up.
"IS THAT HER-... AH… ah… ow…"
Trunks slowly sank back down into his bed. Vegeta's scowl twitched.
People weren't usually so jumpy to kill someone, but she'd seen such people at that point. Even fought one.
… they could probably be blamed for this entire predicament, but Kaza tried to hold no grudges.
"Act your darn age, fool!"
"Right, right. So, Kaza! No doubt my father's put some fear into you. Don't worry, he's usually like that, especially toward unknowns like you."
Being called an "unknown" was a dead ringer for, at minimum, being thrown into a time crack like the other iffy threats to history. Kaza braced for the worst.
"No, we're not going to kill you. Or lock you up. Or experiment on you, or any manner of things you may've been led to believe." Trunks settled into a reassuring stern. "If you were really an agent of evil in the making, Shenron wouldn't have brought you here."
Vegeta looked like he wanted to bash his head against a wall. A bit of weight fell off her shoulders, but it still felt like the short noble was standing atop them.
"In fact, the reason that development caught my eye in the first place is that a certain patroller shares your odd situation."
It took Kaza a moment. And then it hit her.
"You mean…"
Trunks nodded. "Our very own-"
"SUPER-MEGA-HYPER-ULTIMATE-MAJOR-XXXL-PLUS-ULTRA-NEO-SHIN-TENGEN-TOPPA-GOD-EMPEROR-GREAT HERO OF HISTORY, MORE EQUAL TO HEAVEN THAN OTHERS ESPECIALLY-YOU-ACE!?"
"..."
"..."
"... ᴾᵘᵈᵈᶦⁿ, ʸᵉˢ."
"ᴬⁿᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵒⁿᵈᵉʳ ʷʰʸ ᴵ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ'ᵛᵉ ᵏᶦˡˡᵉᵈ ʰᵉʳ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵖᵒᵗ…"
Trunks cleared his throat. "(Who the hell keeps putting that in student material-) Unlike the HERO OF HISTORY, is her official moniker, what you currently lack in control of that 'minor dark factor', you make up for in SELF control. You've made that clear through the convictions shown throughout the tournament, proving that you're FAR more of an asset than you are a threat." He started to talk with his hands. "If we can find a way to help you control your abilities, we'll have another Demon Goddess… hell, maybe even a DARK QUEEN fighting for time!" With every word he spoke, Trunks sounded giddier. Kaza couldn't relate.
"... that wasn't an accident, you know."
Trunks stopped. "Huh?"
"What you saw down there… it wasn't me losing control of my power. It was 'someone else.'"
Vegeta butted in. "So that wasn't a transformation. It was a different entity altogether, like a split personality."
Kaza nodded. "I saw some of her… my old memories while the other me had control. There were kaioshin, and a demon sorceress who used me for a century… and I 'hatched' from them both. The person who killed me once called me a disguise, a false identity to hide away from justice for all the worlds I've ended. I never knew what he was talking about until recently, when I hit someone for the first time in my life."
Trunks recalled the harrowing few minutes in the preliminaries, where Kaza snapped and began screaming at nothing. "I see…"
"Then by all means," Vegeta interrupted, "Explain the events of your last battle, and make it quick!"
Kaza took a portion of her strong suit into her fist. "I placed all my faith in Zinco… and fell into the dark." She smiled. "And he caught me. Like I knew he would."
Vegeta sucked his teeth. "How romantic. Do tell, 'Kaza,' how do we know we're not speaking to a facade right now?"
"You don't. But it kept telling me that once it took back complete control, I'd disappear thanks to living out my usefulness. But thanks to my friends, I was able to imprint myself onto this body. And thanks to Zinco, that 'Evil Me' is just a confused thought in my head, and I'm slowly taking control of everything."
Trunks eyed Vegeta. Vegeta eyed Trunks. Kaza immediately regretted her big, fat mouth.
"(Could this be a ruse, too?)"
"(There's no surefire way of settling it. That's what makes her dangerous. The past events could've very well been an act, as far as we know.)"
"(... then I'll bet it all on the Dragon Balls. Besides…)"
He recalled Zinco's performance, and the very-real power he displayed. "(That kid…)"
"If this is the only way to stop this, then I'll fight the fight!"
"(Something tells me she's the reason he's been able to come so far. He's something abnormal, as well, contesting divine demon energy on a level like that… he reminds me a lot of Ace, in some regards.)"
"(Are you saying…?)"
Trunks nodded, giving Kaza the shakes. "(Let's just say… I really want this to work out. I'll show some faith.) I'll take your word for it, Kaza. Honestly, I wish Puddin were still here to-"
Trunks suddenly grimaced.
He pulled out a jar labeled "You Wish I Were There To Unfuck Your Fuckups Jar" and added company to the six zeni already present.
"Anyway, in the meantime, keep reeling in complete control. I wish there were less pressure, but we're all counting on you to win that fight within, Kaza."
"Yes!"
Trunks gave a thumbs up. Vegeta interpreted.
"Alright, now get the hell out!"
"Y-YES SIR!" she hastily responded, finally free of the planetary weight that was Vegeta's silent condemnation.
Trunks chuffed at her sudden drop in posture. His smile then loosened. "... oh. I remember now."
Vegeta looked over. "Remember what?"
Mei woke to Zinco and Neo. She immediately shot up, telling him about Kaza before running off. The half-breed's eyes shot open, before the former vagabond pushed him forward and anxiously shouted a command. He nodded with haste, and shot off.
"That girl. I think it was two years ago, actually."
He recalled someone — an emotional mess who couldn't graduate due to grades and abysmal attendance, who couldn't find it in herself to unbury her heads from her knees as she sniffled alongside a corner far from the commotion of the next patrollers. Her differences compared to other majin had drawn his attention months beforehand, but she was horrid in everything she did, especially when there were eyes on her.
"I'd been checking on her progress every now and then. But she was going nowhere. None of her peers wanted anything to do with her, especially not any majin; it was like she reeked of something only they could sense. That day, the last I spoke to her before things got busy again, she said…"
"I want to fade away."
Vegeta kept his arms folded. "And?"
"I told her not to give in. That this city was still growing. One day, she'd find something, someone, that'd make her glad to have this second chance."
Kaza ran to the start of the descending steps, and saw two people halfway, sweating like mad.
"She didn't respond. Just buried her head again, and cried."
"Disrespectful brat. What's your point?"
She waved with a reassuring grin and, despite the usually-present tensions between the two, they shared a sigh of relief, returning the grin.
"That I was right. We don't need to change history in order to restore hope to those who died in regret. It's as simple as a smile from someone who's walked down a road just as hopeless." Trunks smiled wistfully. "Seeing small miracles like that… It gives me confidence in the path I've chosen. Where it's led. What it's cost." He turned to his dad. "Don't you feel the same?"
Vegeta said nothing. His brows eased up, and he closed his eyes, as if in thought.
"Don't count on it."
.
.
"Why is it that we don't just use Senzu to heal wounds?"
"We get 100 a month and double the number of patrollers deploying on Five-Star missions, minimum, every week."
"... I don't follow their agriculture, can't we just speed that up? Surely Chronoa sees their value?"
"We DO speed them up. That's why we get 100 a month."
"... huh."
"And also Karin's a cat. He's inclined to screw people over one way or another. I've seen him grow more, he's just holding out on us."
"Hm."
"... 'cus he's a stingy, mangy-"
"PUSSY!"
The fist shattered full-sail across the scuffed wall. Its owner hardly reacted, taking deep, raspy breaths.
"(If you keep fucking thinking like that, dipshit, your head's next.)"
Kazikum slowly reeled it back in, studying his blood as it trickled down.
— his blood.
Remembering just who he shared it with made him furious. "(That cocksucker's fucking blood should be pouring off my fist, alright…)" He growled, the minor would slowly, steadily correcting itself.
"(... besides, who the fuck cares when I'm THIS close now?)" He began putting together his fantasy to-do list. "(The first thing I'm gonna tear from his fucking throat is my 'why'.)"
He thought of the countless saiyans he'd seen across Conton City, how they compared to his father. "(That FUCKING liar. If nothing else, the shitheads here sure as fuck don't kill their own. Was that his idea of a fucking joke?)"
He balled his slowly regenerating fist. "(He'll try his cryptic bullshit. In that case, I'll make it slow. I'm gonna tear his skin apart so slowly, it'll feel like years are passing by. Once I rip my answer out of him, I'll start shredding him. WHO'S A PISSANT NOW, FUCKFACE!?' Fuck yes, I can see it now. I'll rip off whatever I can get my hands on, until he's in a puddle of his own shit and piss, begging me to end his sorry ass. And then I'll walk away. Just like that.)"
It all felt so close, now that he had a plan.
"(I don't care how long it takes, all I have to do now is play the waiting game, get stronger, and be a good little worker ant,)" he chuckled to himself, "(And I'll have my hands around his sorry throat in no time!)"
He had to stop himself from cackling. "(AND JUST WHAT THE FUCK IS THERE TO STOP ME!?)"
The door opened on him.
"Hey Kaz, we have a few hours to kill before Demon Decon's done so I figured we could…"
Wabi stared at Kazikum.
Kazikum stared at Wabi.
"... So I figured we could play some Tenkaichi. Mello out."
Kazikum slowly brought his hand from off his mouth.
"I want to ask what happened to your hand, but… bluff it." Wabi threw out a capsule, and a wireless game system, box television set, and two controllers appeared.
"..."
"What, can you not use that hand?"
"It's fine."
"Alright, if you say so."
"... why the fuck are you so tired?"
Wabi shrugged. "I've lost about 12 gallons of blood total, from the time of Towa touching down to now. If I wasn't rushing to heal someone in some far-off timeline, I was doing what I could in Conton. The second I touched down here, someone was seconds away from death, so I had to stick with them for a while." The teal healer chuckled a bit. "I have way more stamina now than I used to. I… I amazed myself. Collapsed a few times, and I'm as weak as ever, but… yep." He blushed a bit. "Someone called me 'Magic Man'."
"That's fucking peachy."
"Hey, can't I at least have that!?" Wabi joked. "... say, Kaz."
Kazikum grunted.
Wabi set up the game as he talked. "Why do you want to become a time patroller?"
"Huh? What stupid fucking question is that? To help your sorry ass."
"You don't need to half-truth things, Kaz."
The half-spawn's eyes inched a bit wider.
"I know you wouldn't just give up on revenge so easily, especially now that you're so close to winning. Right? Isn't that why you were so giddy?"
He felt like he was being set up. "Why the fuck did you ask, then?"
Wabi didn't seem to have a tone anymore. "Well, no more secrets, for one. And also... I think I'm just disillusioned. I spend all this time working myself over the edge for just a bit more power, and yet... I'm not even strong enough to keep up the one thing I can do well."
[ BGM: Kuniaki Haishima ‒ Part ]
He started inputting things on the game. "I don't mind being used, not anymore. That's my lot in life, after all. I just think you're strong enough now to kill your father, so I'll help you any way I can, and I'll make sure to take the fall afterward. It sounds so wrong, a healer helping someone kill their loved one. But... it's as simple as giving you a path to it... Ha. I guess it's me doing some form of permanent healing, huh? That'd be nice." Wabi wistfully glazed over. "That'd be nice. Permanence. If I'm just a tool for that, then fine. Go wild, man."
Kazikum stopped.
The obnoxiously-loud character select screen caused him to refocus. "I'll warn you, I've been a die-hard Blue Kaioken main for years, now."
With a sigh, Kazikum took a seat, picked up a controller, and stared at it awkwardly.
"Don't worry, that thing can take way more than you can dish out. It's battle tested. Go ahead, figure it out as you go along. I'll go easy on you until then!"
Kazikum picked the stupid-looking saiyan that insisted he was a devil, and then had his ass kicked for thirty minutes. He didn't get the concept of losing in a video game, so to Wabi's subtly immense shock, he never raged.
Not at the game, at least.
"Oh, wow, you actually combo'd into a beam that time. Sweet."
"... why the fuck are you ok with it?"
"I mean, I've never hit anything like that with Broly. I'm sure anyone with time on him could do it, but you're just playing the game and you can already-"
"You know what I'm talking about, dumbfuck."
"Um… no I don't. Sorry?"
Kazikum stretched his neck to the ground, as if trying to fold in on himself, before throwing the controller down.
"I'm fucking using you. You said it yourself."
"... so?"
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN 'SO'!?"
The look in Kazikum's eyes was starting to scare Wabi. It didn't look anything like him.
"K… Kaz?"
"YOU'RE OKIE-FUCKING-DOKEY WITH BEING MY MEANS TO AN END!? WHAT THE FUCK!? THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE!"
Wabi stood up. "Hey, calm down! You're still helping me out, right? What does it matter?"
That haunting look in Kazikum's eyes intensified. "YOU… YOU DO FUCK-ALL BUT TRY, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, AND… AND NOW YOU'RE JUST OK WITH BEING SOMEONE'S TICKET!? WHY!? WHY AREN'T YOU FUCKING ANGRY!? HATE ME! SCREAM AT ME! CUSS ME THE FUCK OUT! SAY SOMETHING!"
"... Kaz, I'm just a healer, anyway. Like I said… I exist for other people's benefit. That's all." He laughed a bit. "There's no point in someone like me getting mad. I'll never be strong enough to make it matter. That's your job."
Kazikum was now actively showing something other than a level of anger. It looked just as intense.
That terrified Wabi.
"K-Kazikum, I-I'm sorry, I-"
"Shut the fuck up. You didn't do anything."
Wabi looked and felt shot through the heart.
"... Do you even know what'll happen to you?"
Wabi stared at the ground. "Likely something bad. Potentially be memory wiped and returned to the point in which I died last, only without a second chance. I'm alright that, though."
"... if you're really alright with it, fine. Knock yourself out."
Kazikum departed.
"(Anything it takes. I'll do whatever I need to, if it means I gut the pile of shit by the end of it all.)"
He trudged down the hallway, blindly pacing around the looping path until the match began. "(I'll use Wabi to get there. If Dina wants to get in my way, then fine. I'll knock her to the side. All I care about are his life and my answers.)"
"(So stop acting like anything else is worth jack shit.)"
"(Man, I'm bad at speeches.)" Neo heaved a sigh of relief, passing some tall mopey guy. "(Thank shit that Kaza did what she did.)"
He scratched his chin. "(I dunno, maybe before the semi-finals, I could… I dunno… try that dating thing Dina's always whining that one guy won't do with her. I dunno.)"
He suddenly stopped. "(Ooh shit, that's right. Dina's up next. No idea where the hell she is, though.)"
"You!"
Neo turned around. "(Is that her?) … what the hell are you-"
"There's been hearsay floating about that I'm apparently some feeble weakling that could be bested in hand-to-hand by even the likes of YOU." For some reason, Selaine was now wearing long, silk boxer shorts and a frilled, turtleneck no-sleeve with a family crest of sorts on its front. "If you truly call yourself a man, then accept my demand for a proper duel of fisticuffs!"
"Don't you use magic or whatever? The hell do you get from fist-fightin' someone?" Neoru pointed to himself. "I can still kick your ass, as weak as I am now."
Selaine swung her hair – out of pure habit, as it was bundled in tight, western princess braids – with a frown. "Well if you're so certain that I'm some frail weakling to be dismissed, then go on and prove me a fool through force!"
Neoru shrugged. "Sure, if it'll get you off my case."
Tengano stared. "... what-"
"Piss off, I get it," replied a now bruised and bloody Neo.
Selaine changed her attire and redonned her amulet with a wave, brushing her frizzled hair. "I think... this flower... has made her point quite clearly," she smirked at Tengano, who seemed drawn to a nearby wall at that particular instance.
Neo glared over at her. "You hit me five times."
"Of... hm... of course! Five strong blows were all it took!"
"I was landin' hits like every other second 'cus your guard was ass."
"Irrelevant. Besides, I merely gifted you those attacks for sport!"
"That took thirty minutes. You 'let me hit you' for thirty minutes."
Selaine deadpan stared at Neo.
"God you are SUCH a sore loser. How can Spaurk stand you?"
As Neo gave her the finger, Katlij redirected his attention from the screen. "Speaking of Dina…"
The noble and former vagabond looked over curiously, then in the direction of the brenchling soldier's finger — the screen.
"... oh dear, what's the girl doing down there?" Selaine held her forehead in woe. "She's so far gone that she's resorted to fighting ghosts…"
"I just lost to some asshole who's never heard of shadow boxing." Neo sank down a wall onto his ass, head falling to a knee. "I'm losin' it."
Selaine harrumphed. "Giving it a name like that does such a looney practice no favors, I assure you. What's she doing on-stage so early, anyway?"
Mashii finished her drink. "Maybe she's just clearing her head with some last-minute practice."
"Ah, so martial artists consider such things as headspace, as well? I'd always assumed you lot threw yourselves at each other until someone keeled over." Selaine insidiously held her chin. "It musn't be that far from magecraft after all, for I'm already quite proficient in such a field! Not to mention that, by law of transitive property, I've already bested TWO esteemed martial artists in one day!" She did her stupid, inexplicably Frieza-esque laugh. "Who knows? I may very-well be a martial arts prodigy!"
Baubi UGH'd belligerently. "I totes spanked your little hiney in a 'magic duel' that one time you showed up to school without your tackey little egg thingy. Almost like being stronger makes you stronger or something. Shocker."
"Q-QUIET, YOU!" Selaine hissed, Baubi rolling her eyes.
Mashii looked over to Neo with a "you just lost to that?" expression. Neo stared at the ground.
"Sh-sh-sh-sh, rrHm!"
Eyes shut closed, Dina glided across the arena floor, tossing rhythmic jabs and sudden, full-body attacks. Beads of sweat shot off the young woman's brow as she began implementing slanted parries and blocks. Audible grunts of pain and even staggers began to escape her before, out of nowhere, she went flying. After skidding across the tiles like a rock across a lake. "Shit…" she groaned, wincing.
"Not a great sign when the thought of someone is kicking your butt, huh?"
She finally opened her eyes.
Bending over at the waist to meet her gaze, down stared Pan. "Yo!"
The other half-blood got to her feet as fast as she could, locking her body. "G-good day, Ms. Son."
"Hey, no need for stuff like that!" Pan cringed. "We're like the same age."
Dina sighed in relief. "Was taught to do that for senior officers and whatever back in Yarg, always hated it."
"That pose is so stupid, too!"
"Honestly!"
Pan caught herself before she could tangent. "So Spaurk, why'd you come out so early? Demon Decon only just finished cleansing the place, yet here you are. Excited?"
Dina laughed nervously. "I wouldn't say that. I'm just clearin' me head using some last-minute practice, that's all."
"You all owe me money," Mashii proclaimed.
"You sound pretty tense."
"You noticed, huh?"
"Well you're not being subtle about it, that's for sure!"
"Yeah, I… suck at hiding things like that." Her small smile wilted.
"I'd be shaky if I was in your shoes, too. I've seen your opponent, what he can do, what he's ok with doing!"
"... he's just a bit troubled. That's all."
"You two have history?"
"I've known him for a year now. Our, um, 'relationship' has been a bit undecided. What I know is that he's a far cry from the boy I first met. He's made progress, there are just… deeply, rooted, issues, that I hope he can be worked through in time."
Pan cooed. "No wonder there's so much on your mind! You're fighting your crush!"
Dina went red. "I-uh-"
The patroller elite grabbed her cheeks all dreamy-like. "You're just an innocent girl from the city, who's the only one that can see the good in a hate-ridden devil boy trapped in his own pitch-black darkness! Oooh, it's just like the manga I used to read!"
"... h-heh, crud, that's exactly what this is." She went gloomy again. "... but there won't be much of a fight to begin with, I'm slowly realizing."
Pan caught herself. "You don't think you can win against him?"
"Against ANYONE left. Or the lot that made it this far, or even the few from the beginning. Literally any and every contestant is, and has been, leaps and bounds above me in one way or another. Power, abilities, skill, even in basic rubbish like hard work or willpower."
"That can't be true! After all, you're the 'Super Saiyan Shoujo, Dina Spaurk' that Trunks was talking about, right?"
"I'm literally about to fight a STRONGER Super Saiyan. Besides, even if that weren't true, and I was free from that damned form… the fact THAT would've been what separated me from the rest just reflects on how shite I truly am. The last match really drove it home, for me… I really don't belong here."
Her fist suddenly flew through the air in a hook. "But if I were still in this to compare myself to others, I would've bowed out at the start. As utterly mediocre I may be, in all aspects other than overemotional outbursts, I can still use this to better myself."
She thought of the anomalous feeling she felt, seeing Kazikum try his hardest to kill Archi.
"Or better yet…"
She threw a barrage of jabs as she paced forward, stepping into an invisible enemy's space.
"I'll learn more about just who the hell Dina Spaurk really is. The Human, and the Saiyan. What I really want, what I really… NEED!"
Dina found her leaping straight having been intercepted by a palm.
[ BGM: skankfunk ‒ Chain (Underwater Mix) ]
"You know, I'm nothing special, myself."
Dina shot a confused brow before wordlessly accepting Pan's challenge, pulling her into a shoulder that the patroller pivoted beside, leading into a throw.
"Sure, I've got heaps of power to throw around and plenty of skill behind it, but…"
Dina recovered, just to narrowly weave outside a fist, exchanging a flurry of blocks and punches – and kicks, from Pan's end – with the referee.
"When it comes to my peers, I don't have the transformations, the skill or the experience they've got!"
Dina sent a punch over her shoulder with a 45-degree parry before diving down and springing into a diagonal uppercut, slipping between Pan's guard and sending her onto one foot.
"Nnh…!"
Pan gripped Dina's outstretched arm, as her balance restabilized with a quaking stomp, sending Dina overhead and to the ground with a slam.
"Kh-oww…" Dina moaned, before a hand reached out.
"I just think on my feet and use everything I've got from there!" Pan smiled. "I'd say that's gotten me pretty far!"
Dina smiled, taking the hand and getting back up. "Thanks for the kind words mate, but I've sorta been on that all along."
"Well, you're right on one thing. You're sorta using everything."
"I… what?"
Pan put hands to hips. "I felt it with that punch, earlier. You threw 'everything you had' into it. Your intensity, the way your every muscle tensed, it was obvious. But then I caught it. I can't put that 'bingo' wording to it, but… it's like you're saving your 'real all' for something else."
"I mean of course, after all I-"
"You were scared, too."
"... pardon?"
"There was a 'yank' in your ki before it reached a certain point, like something deep down was telling you HALT! NO FURTHER!"
Dina jumped a bit. "blimey-"
"I'm sure you couldn't feel it, but… there's a chain around your power."
For a moment, Dina stood there, silently pondering.
And then it hit her. She'd been doing it for so long, she'd stopped noticing it.
"... some chains are there for a reason."
"I mean, yeah, but... why you? You're the last person I'd paint as having some evil demon creature inside them."
Dina gave a dry, amused sigh. "Funny. That's exactly what I'd call Super Saiyan."
Pan's eyebrows almost fused together. "Come again?"
"... That form is by far the worst thing that's ever happened to me. It's never resolved anything, it amplifies everything I hate about myself, and… I'd still have my friend… no, people would still be ALIVE, if only I didn't have THIS. It's the source of all my life's misery."
"You know, it's not at all rare for someone to damn the Super Saiyan, mostly because they're on the opposite end of it, but I've never heard of the OWNER cursing themselves until now."
The half-blood student glared down at herself. "There's no doubt about it — it's a curse." She gripped the core of her chest, taking a fistful of her shirt. "What infuriates me most is the one instance I COULD control it, I allowed it to take hold of me, and… hundreds of people died, as a result. My dad was humiliated, and I was the town monster to all but a few. Aside from my stupid outbursts, I guess I've had that chain there ever since, tugging it back whenever I feel myself getting too close to transforming… I'm not going to let some savage beast go unchained. Would you?"
"I don't think it should be chained in the first place." Pan caught Dina's focus. "I personally dig the videos where a beast isn't caged at all… and yet, they'll still find it in themselves to play around with the person holding the camera. The one inside you doesn't need to be chained, and you don't have to fear it. But if you stop yourself from nurturing it, and never conquer that fear… then it'll stay an angry beast, waiting to break out and tear everything apart."
"..." Dina apprehensively clenched the center of her chest. "I…"
Pan waited for an answer that never came. "The contradiction."
"...?"
"You want to learn more about yourself, yet you're too scared to read into what's already there. You're keeping yourself from you. I've seen what thinking like that can do to people, firsthand… I've lost important people from it. You'll never beat anyone at that rate." Pan walked away, behind Dina. "Don't lose that fight, Dina. I'm rooting for you."
"(... I don't have to look. She's gone.)" Dina looked at her fist. "(It's useless. If I let that aspect of myself free, I'll be swallowed whole. If there's anything I can do to stop it, then–)"
"Hey Trunks, can I kick this off early?"
/"Uhh sure why not, send it."/
GOOD AFTERNOON, CONTON!
Dina nearly shat herself.
DESPITE THE HECTIC SECOND MATCH, WITH DEMON DECON HAVING DONE A BANG-UP CLEANSING AS ALWAYS, I'M MORE THAN WILLING TO BUMP UP OUR SCHEDULE!
"HUH!?" Kora stammered, the headlock Devine had found herself in tightening.
"WHAT!?" Wabi stammered, pausing the game.
"Oi, OI, HOLD ON JUST A BLOODY-"
The glints of distant cameras gleamed like the scopes of sniper rifles.
COMING IN AT 174CM, 72KG, AND A POWER LEVEL OF 110077, SHE'S SO EXCITED TO GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD THAT SHE'S ALREADY HERE–
"I'M GONNA EFFIN' STRANGLE YOU, YOU TWIT!"
IT'S THE SUPER SAIYAN SHOUJO, DINA SPAURK!
She soon remembered that there were cameras, and anxiously waved. "H-hey, everyone, t-that's me, alrigh'..."
AND HER CHALLENGER IS…
The gravity around the ring seemed to spike.
"(oh sweet, merciful Christ and/or Kai…)"
AT 201.2 CM, I-KID-YOU-NOT OVER 24,000 KG, AND A POWER LEVEL OF 633222, IT'S THE SAIYAN ASURA, KAZIKUM!
Dina stared at the approaching half-spawn in the same way a fawn would a bear. "(oh golly gee, I sure wouldn't wanna fight a bloke like that, OH WAIT!)"
Kazikum continued to march forward, eyes covered by his two long bangs with his ever-present palpable aura of rage.
"(Alright, calm down. At this rate, I'm screwed if I can't think clearly. Well, clearly, I think I'm screwed either way. I'd been practicing for an amount of power double or even triple my own, but he's mogging me by a factor double-triple my pasty number. Power levels are bullshit until they aren't for fuck's sake.)"
Kaz cleared the stairs and ten additional meters with one small hop, landing right in front of Dina.
"(Fuck, he's still drop-dead gorgeous, especially with those broody eyes. Fuckin' 'ell, I don't exactly want to fight YOU either, big guy, but fucked if I'm just gonna drop dead. Yep, no choice; all I have here is my all. But that'll only come to fruition if I can orchestrate something that works.)"
ALL RULES REMAIN THE SAME, AND LIKE ALWAYS, MAY THE BEST FIGHTER WIN!
"(After all, win or lose, all I truly stand to lose is a smidge of pride. Beyond that, it's always been a learning experience, as in learning just how outmatched I am compared to everyone el- oh shut up, Dina! I can only better myself with what I learn from this. I'm perfectly fine with losing, especially to Kaz. Yeah, yes, I'm calm now!)"
THREE, TWO, ONE…!
"(No matter the outcome, just-)"
FIGHT IT OUT!
"(Just give it your all, and fight to the end!)" Dina reaffirmed as her limp body went soaring.
Pan held her mouth.
Kazikum retracted his fist and took a breath. He turned to the announcer.
"COUNT," he demanded, almost anxiously. Pan remembered her duties and did so.
She reached the Three-Count before Dina stumbled to her feet.
"( ʰ ⁻ ⁻ ⁻ ʰ ᵘ h ⁻ ⁻ ⁻ ? ) "
She was in such pain, so suddenly in such pain, she was too confused to even breathe right. The mere act felt too off to continue properly — something was scraping against something it shouldn't be, something a bit sharp, and rough.
All senses were inverted. Everything was a shaky panic, an overload of every sense and emotion. Looking down at her quadrupling hands, she noticed something wrong.
"( ⁿ ⁻ ⁻ ⁻ ʷ a ʰ ⁻ ⁻ ⁻ ? )"
She'd gone Super Saiyan off of pure instinct.
"( . . . a ʰ . . . )"
She'd done so in such short time, her skin was bleeding all over. Everything spasmed as she fell to her knees, before she vomited bits of just about anything one could vomit.
"NRH–!"
A now-golden Kazikum axe-handled the back of her head before more could go wrong, causing her hair to return to its light-brown complexion. He stopped her before her face met raw assorted bile.
Kora and Wabi butted shoulders on the way into the door, only for Devine to crash into them both, getting all three into the door.
Horror was etched into the faces of all watching parties.
Kora wanted to ask, but the screen spoke for itself.
Dina lightly convulsed on the ground, blood dripping from the back of her skull, her opponent coddling her as if she were a child.
"... huh?"
There was an uncomfortable quiet.
"Th… that…"
Kora's aura suddenly surged.
Everyone's attention was suddenly drawn, worlds of hatred surging through the building.
And as quickly as her rage broke, it withered and faded. "... what a shame. It's only natural, I guess." She turned. "Honestly, what an unbelievable guy. Can't wait to fight him in the semifinals."
"He's not a monster."
Kora's glare slowly, surely drifted to the source.
Wabi stared at the ground.
"He's an idiot. That's all." He looked back up. "Just look at him. He just wanted to end things quickly. He hit too hard, too sudden. He can barely believe what he's done."
Wabi covered his face with a palm. "He's just an idiot that doesn't understand people. I shouldn't've taken him here."
Something surfaced in the grey-haired demidevil. Staring down at her twitching body, each rise of her chest a confused, stuttering mess, he couldn't even move. He just stared down at her.
Before he could delve any deeper, Dina coughed blood. A splotch landed on his face.
He'd won. There was no further room for doubt. He set her down a distance away, before his black and fiery eyes flared over to the announcer. "END IT!"
Pan stared. She'd never seen something so gruesomely… real, as the way Dina's body flailed.
"I SAID END IT, BITCH!" Kazikum now sounded on the verge of panic. "DO IT! FUCKING DO IT!"
For once, the situation didn't call for a count. The girl needed to be seen by someone.
A-AND THE WINNER IS KAZIK-...
And then the worst-case scenario.
Pan's eyes widened in horror. "(Oh my god, no…)"
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU-"
"D-Dina."
Kazikum stared in confusion.
"I-it's over. The match is cut and dry, e-especially now. You don't have to fight anymore, j-just lay back down and get some rest. You could die, at this rate."
He didn't have the chance to look back down before it lunged at him. Right into the jugular, she bit into him.
Kazikum made a bizarre noise before reeling back and elbowing her in the gut. "What the..." He dug into the wound finding a nasty wound across his neck.
.
.
Undead.
Low, angry growling steamed from her mouth, red fluid trickling down her mouth like foam from a rabid animal.
"Kh... kh kh kh kh kh..."
She slowly, gradually began laughing.
Not one of joy, of course, and yet not a cackle of insanity.
She glared to the ground in a staunch scowl, angrily laughing, growing louder and louder, pulling up handfuls of Sadala's barren soil.
A golden geyser, like a pressurized typhoon or an orbital laser, sprang forth. It tore through the ground, through the air itself, creating a minor vacuum.
"(Yes. That's right.)"
Abruptly stopping, she dragged her head upward, deathly silent. Her red eyes flashed a violent teal constantly. Or maybe it was the opposite. With how blindingly her hair continuously ignited, it was no longer certain.
"(Screw this. I quit.)"
"KHH... DAMMIT..." Kazikum shot toward her, going Super Saiyan. "GOD FUCKING DA-"
Dina disappeared.
And then Kazikum's skull chipped.
He flipped through the air of Planet Sadala like a cadaver before recovering one bounce at a time, breaking through his own childhood house. He shook off the injury, before snapping focus to the pressure a dozen meters away.
… it was weird. He could've sworn that was the exact spot he'd once knelt, before going golden and tearing Sadala apart.
Except now she was there.
… she was a Super Saiyan. But something was wrong. Her hair had gone insane, spiked and a bleached yellow, like the inside of an explosion.
"... her eyes are red." Pan forgot her role as announcer. She had become a spectator.
"Wh… why are her eyes–"
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"
An enraged, paralyzing roar split the ground, her golden, volatile aura splitting the ground beneath her, creating fissures that extended and widened far past the horizon as chunks of land large enough to start towns upon flew into the air, a world-ending meteor shower in reverse.
She looked down to her shaking fist, battered by its impact against Kazikum's skull.
"Kh… khhhahaha… ha hahahahah…"
As she eyed her bloodied fist, her scowl mutated into a canine-clad grin stretched across her face.
"KUKIHIHIHIHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!"
[ ED: Eve ‒ Last Dance ]
Yo! OP Here!
So that's the first half of the third fight and the second half of the quarterfinals! Number terms are fun!
So a big thing in this one is Dina's change. What is it, specifically? Well, for starters, it's not any ultra special blood lineage shit like it is.
It's an explosion caused by years of suppression. I.E. very temporary power-up in the sense of a transformation, but it serves more-so as a mental potential unlock. What I mean by that is, the form allows the user to access their full power while muting other deterrents like morals and fear.
It's really close to Beast, yes. You could probably just flat-out call it that, honestly; if Ultimate was still a new base form, then Best would still be a loco boost in power. But for the future's sake, we'll call it "Beastlike."
Why eyes red? Oozaru. No I won't explain further.
This is almost the path I want Dina to go down. There's another segment of it that makes a certain past interaction pay off... I mean, that and a certain technique I've spent... dear god... years hyping up, but Dina uncovering who she TRULY is as a Saiyan and as a Human is her path to power. For the other hybrids, it'll be Zinco's dream and innate desires leading him to discover his own path, alongside Kazikum's own... y'know what? We'll talk more about Kaz on the next chapter, feel free to go over there now. Yep, another double post!
So yeah, Monster is still a masterpiece. Why? Its themes are real good, for one. Everything is paced fantastically. Events lead into each other, and most importantly, almost every character introduced adds another level of intrigue and has their own episodes where they're given time to be explored.
There's one character in particular that's risen to my personal Peak Fiction list. I'll let you finish next chapter to figure that out.
So anyway, Eminence in Shadow is also a fucking ride. It's just dumb fun and the protag is a delight to have in class. I like how he has actual motives, even pre-Truck aniki. Love shit that goes against the grain in their own small ways.
I don't have a bunch to talk about aside from that. BT4 might be out in like 2 years, so that's pretty dope. RWBY's actually starting to cook, too. I'm also through with all my testing; graduation from the schoolhouse is a bit more than a week. away, so hopefully I make it there.
Oh yeah, power levels. First and last time those fuckers will appear in a long time. Literally just so Pan can push Dina.
We'll talk more in a bit. Next chapter: Dina fucking works for it.
That's about it. See ya.