Southern Front (Open DE continuation)

A sudden chirping from her scouter alerted her to an approaching individual, but it was huge. Vennel wasn’t sure if it was on the fritz or not, but it certainly was a power level far higher than any she’d seen before.

What the hell?! Was a power like this always in league with Breech?

She’d never noticed this person before, but once they approached she was able to get a good look at them. Dark asymetrical hair, strange horned helmet, and pale skin. Their appearance was strangely alien, and Vennel couldn’t put a finger on their species, but what was most curios was that their power was unnatural. She couldn’t feel it at all, and if not for her scouter she wouldn’t have noticed them approach. So they were mechanically enhanced to some degree, pointing more to being in league with Breech.

The man made a simple request, as he noticed the general panic below, which honestly surprised the saiyan. They hadn’t done anything to harm the population, so their panic seemed odd. But it wasn’t just the cybernetic population in a mad rush somewhere. It was the majority of it, even the organic ones. Were they somehow being controlled as Plato said? Or maybe her declaration frightened them all.

“If you’re referring to the panic, I haven’t the faintest idea. Plato is endeavoring to take back his throne from Breech and his goons. I’m simply here to make sure that more of Breech’s allies don’t interfere with Plato. So, unfortunately, I can’t let you pass.”

She looked him over, sizing him up. He didn’t seem overtly hostile at the moment, but he could easily change that if he so chose. She was ready to do whatever she felt necessary to ensure she lived up to her side of things. The fact that he was stronger than her was what excited her most. The prospect of a truly interesting fight got her blood boiling, like any true saiyan’s would.

“So, what’ll it be. You can wait here, turn around, do as you please. Hell, we can sit and talk here for all I care. But if you have any desire to go into the city, you’ll have to go through me.”

With a grin, hovering in the air, Vennel awaited the man’s reply.

The people below certainly seemed to be panicking prematurely. She looked about and the worst thing she could really observe was Kizuki had probably gone and transformed again, based on the sudden spike of power coming from the north east. Furthermore, it seemed the newcomer was similarly confused. He also had no quarrel with Plato, which was good.

But what wasn’t so great, was based on what he said next. There was a demon who was involved with the assault, that the android had a bone to pick with him. Now, who did she know that fit all of those criteria? Alaistair. Her expression remained unchanged, as she continued to listen to his defense of the urgency for entering the city.

Lastly, he asked her a question, and this one was what forced a visible reaction from her. Did she hold loyalty for her people and her Empire. Many aliens thought ill of her people, and for good reasons. They feared the saiyans. She grinned and nodded.

“I do. I am, and always will be loyal to the Empire, so long as it’s ideals remain true to the Saiyan cultural ideal. Now, as for your previous statements, it’s good to hear that you have no intention of sabotaging Plato’s bid for his throne. And I think you’ll be pleased to hear that Plato has given us express directions not to harm the locals. Merely Breech and those who would allow him to remain in power. However,”

She paused, partly for dramatic effect, but also because she wanted to emphasize what she was to say next.

“If you’re referring to Alaistair, I’d hardly call him responsible for ‘madness,’ unless you consider hospitality a form of madness. Which, honestly, it could be in certain cultures. And even if your quarrel were with a different demon in the city, or your words were more metaphorical, I still can’t let you pass.”

Crossing her arms, she wondered how the automaton would respond. She refused to budge. Nothing would force the warrior out of the way. She took pride in her work, whether it was something glorious as a grand victory for the Empire, or even something as lowly as contracted mercenary work. Either way, if this android was truly set on entering the city, they’d have to throw down to do it.

Something inside her caused her nose to twitch, tingle, and finally force out a sneeze, and then a second one. If she were the superstitious sort, this would be a portent of things going on beyond her observation, and she’d know what it was. But she wasn’t, so it was rather a moot point as to what made her sneeze. All the same, the man-bot before her continued seaking. He went on about Alaistair’s presumed past, and what cemented it as being about Alaistair was the mention of someone named Xylo.

Yep, has to be him. Never heard anyone talk about that guy as much as him.

Listening on, her white clad friend talked about something called the Mazoku Dominion, and it’s goals of destroying the Saiyan Solar Empire. How Alaistair was somehow responsible for this Xylo person taking control of the world, and how that was supposedly her responsibility then, to help him aid the SSE and destroy Alaistair.

Vennel appeared to be mulling the subject over briefly, as the android finished speaking. If what he said was true, then Alaistair had kept a bit of truth from her. After all, he’d told her vaguely of Xylo, and of Namek, and the alliance the two of them once had. But Xylo had betrayed him once he’d gotten far enough along in his plans. But she’d never heard about their desire to see to the end of the Saiyan Solar Empire. Sure, she’d heard Xylo was, but Alaistair?

She chuckled.

“So, you think that Alaistair is still working with this- Xylo thing? Seems for once I’m not the one the most out of the loop. Alaistair is currently working to combat Xylo after the latter betrayed the former. And as for what they’ve done to the Solar Empire,”

Her pause afforded her time to fold her arms, and better form her words. She got the feeling that this man wanted a fight. If her words couldn’t persuade him to give up on his own personal goal, which was seldom the way things ever went, then she’d be ready for a fight.

“I don’t care, honestly. The Saiyan Solar Empire, as lead by Zucceta, were reckless, foolish, and they made a fool of everyone who called themselves saiyans. She ruined the Empire, and apparently, left it in shambles. That woman deserves to die for what she did to my people. As for what Alaistair and this Xylo person are responsible for, or at least, what you’re crediting them with, that’s the nature of battle. We saiyans enjoy a battle, but this recent trend of ascension to that stupid golden form, is breeding complacency and weakness, and that idiot of a woman calling it the ‘Super Saiyan,’ form, does nothing but make our people weaker.”


As if to emphasize that, for the first time in a long time, her aura flared up to life. Her power soared compared to her original base form. She felt her power grow and multiply, her hair standing a bit more on end, it's color shifting and gaining a golden brilliance seen in many of the most powerful saiyans. Her eyes changed as well, the naturally dark saiyan eyes almost instantaneously assumed their new, emerald hue. As her power reached it’s potential under her own golden form. Her face was a contorted mix of disgust, and boredom about it.

[Mastered Super Saiyan activated.]

“It’s laughable to think this is what a Super Saiyan is. And calling it that, fills fools and simpletons with ideas of grandeur beyond their station. But like I said, Alaistair is no more responsible for his actions than my people are for theirs. A battle takes more than one person to have. Therefore any losses the Saiyan people suffered were their own fault, just as much as they are Alaistair’s.”

She grinned as she looked at the android. Even with her ascended state, she wasn’t strong enough on her own as she was. Just as she’d thought. She was significantly closer than she was before, but not nearly enough.

“Besides, death isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, from what I hear. I’ve met several a people, all of which who claim the same things: They’d died. Hell, apparently even Xylo died as well, and he either found a way back to the land of the living, or willed himself alive again. But when he was there, he’d received special training, or similarly found a means to grow far stronger than he’d ever been. So if Mayze died, as you said. He’s better off for it, by all accounts.”

Her cloak billowed around her as she reached for the lapel and tore it from her body. She knew her words wouldn’t sway the man. If they did, he’d leave simple as that. But she’d need more power if she was to take him on. Power she couldn’t achieve on her own. She looked up at the night sky, her eyes homing in on the celestial body above.

She’d never tried this before, not alone, but she was confident she’d have no trouble controlling it’s power. After all, she was able to control both her mastered form and the oozaru form. At worse, it might be difficult at first. But she didn’t imagine it’d take much more than she was already capable of.

Her pupils dilated until they disappeared, and her muscles convulsed, and expanded. Her face elongating into a muzzle as her body grew to several times it’s normal size. Her armor expanding along with her body thanks to the elasteel materials of them.

[Golden Oozaru form activated.]

With her power significantly stronger than her previous form alone, she at first had a brief moment where she felt like it would be easy to give into the power her form presented, and give in to the blood lust of the oozaru. But she was able to keep her focus, her edge as it were, because she had trained herself to do as much. When she went to speak, her voice had become drastically deeper, as the deep tones shook the area around them, she remained suspended in air, being careful not to let her body destroy or harm the area around her, as per Plato's precautions.

“Now then. I do not intend to back down, so rather than belittle my sense of honor- as though I would ever go back on my word, you will leave here, or fight me. The choice, is yours!”

---

From the look of things, her words had struck a chord with the cybernetic life form. He was now contemplating whether force was the optimal choice in this scenario. He spoke about how Alaistair’s goals had indeed been different than he thought them to be. And honestly, she herself, without seeing this falling out between the devil and Xylo, wasn’t too certain of her claims. But Vennel wasn’t about to let her own misgivings be portrayed to this individual. It wasn’t so much that she was afraid to fight him, on the contrary, she was prepared and willing to do so. However she wasn’t sure just what tricks Breech may have up his sleeve, and whether or not she’d be called upon to do something more than she was now. She could scarce afford to be weakened before a more important confrontation.

When her would-be adversary began to talk about his ‘new form,’ and her own, it seemed as though he were considering a fight between them, if nothing else than just a sparring match. Her ape-like visage twisted into what could be construed as a grimace as she shook her head. Her beastial voice echoing out with a new basso.

“Be careful what you’re asking for. I assumed this form to prevent a proverbial sucker punch. I do not transform lightly. If you want to fight, I will only do so under the premise you’re trying to enter the city. I was not joking before. Leave now, or I will strike to kill.”

Her eyes narrowed, as she gazed upon the comparatively tiny man before her. His power last she checked was, by her calculations, still a fair bit higher than her own. But the gap should have been closed enough that they were fighting on roughly even footing. She still wasn’t sure if he had anything left in his bag of tricks to turn things in his favor, and likely he did if he were so confident in his abilities. Her arms folded over her chest, tail wrapping itself around her waist. She may have seemed as though her guard was down, but perhaps he was unused to fighting with oozaru, she hoped. Perhaps then, he’d not consider that even in her current form, her speed was not hindered in the slightest, and that she could react as quickly as ever. And with the size advantage, he’d likely have to play it smart to overcome her new might.

“So what will it be? If we come to blows, I will do so with the intent to kill you. This is your only warning, if this is the path you choose.”

With a low pitched, growling snarl, her jowls reared back to show a row of large, pointed teeth- each large enough to stand on equal footing with the man. The ball was quite literally in his court. If he pursued his notions of a fight, she would do so with the gusto befitting a saiyan warrior of her caliber. She of course, would still be careful to not harm the civillians, though, they seemed to be fewer in number by this point, heading toward the center of the city at this point for some reason. Was this some sort of evacuation protocol they were prepped on? Just how prepared was Breech for their assault? Perhaps, Alaistair was a not as clever as he thought.

---

Good, it seemed she’d at last talked the man down from his fool’s errand of trying to get in the city. She let out a breath of relief to hear that, as he began to speak, and his body seemed to visibly relax. But just as suddenly as Vennel felt Plato’s power soar, she saw that the android paused his speech and his demeanor shifted.

Damn it, I was so close too. We’re going to fight now aren’t we? I bet we are…

It seemed that just as she was thinking her expletive, so too did the alien speak his own, wondering aloud why Plato had done… something? Was it the fact that his power had risen so much? Did he seem him as a better mark to fight against? Or was it merely his excuse to get into a fight with her and try to enter the city? She had no way of knowing, but she certainly wasn’t in any particular mood to find out.

As soon as he offered his apologies, he made a beeline for the city, trying to get around her.

Damn it! I knew it!

“I can’t let you do that!”

And with that, she swung out her arm, aiming to grab ahold of the android in some capacity, and hurl him away from the city. And should her primary reach have failed, she was prepared to use her other hand and even her tail as fail-safes.

[Vennel’s personal martial arts style [N1] was used.]

With her hands and tail working to reach for the robotically enhanced man, as he tried to get around her, she felt confident she’d at least force a response from him. Each ploy was meant to push him away, her back-up limbs aiming to swat him away, while her initial arm reached to grab him and merely toss him away. And should he have even tried to escape her and manage to get away from her first assault, she was prepared to use more more trick up her sleeve if she had to, in order to stop him in his tracks.

“I think you're forgetting something, or someone, here. And that'd be me. I can't let you enter the city, nor will I. So you’d best come at me ready for a fight!”

This was it. He could try and flee if he were so inclined. But she'd just go after him, and he'd have more to tangle with than just Alaistair, or just Plato. He'd have Vennel, and she was not going to fail in her duty. She'd drag him back out here kicking and screaming, or in a body bag, if she had to.

---

The great ape smiled as she watched the tiny body of the android hurtle back across the desert floor, kicking up debris as he skid along the desert planet. It was her tail that got him, which added to her pleasure in seeing her attack succeed. It seemed that most aliens seemed to forget the saiyans’ tail, even most of her kin did, could be used as a weapon as much as any other limb if trained properly.

When her opponent spoke to acquiesce to her stalwart proclamation, she nodded. Good, he would fight her. She didn’t want to play her trump card to force him to remain. But what happened next intrigued her. His body seemed to change as it was seemingly written upon by an unseen hand, illustrating runic imagery that covered his body. If this was some sort of technique, or transformation, she was unsure. But he definitely had more tricks up his sleeve. His muscles tensing seemed to make her more inclined it was a means of increasing his power, so too did she meet his challenge. Vennel’s muscles bulged under the duress of her own power increased to hopefully match his own.

[Bulking [SU] was used.]

She knew this form made her speed slower than she would like, but it was a necessary evil in order to grant a temporary boost to her own power. And as the two of them finished boosting their strength to vary degrees of success, her adversary offered his condolences. Her head cocked to the side, wondering just what he was saying until suddenly, his power began to manifest visibly in his hand.

Ew, he’s the sort of person to name his atta- SHIT!

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as a lithe ki wave burst forth at blinding speed towards her. She contemplated using something to stop it, as she had the capacity to do so, however she realized that would just be playing the short game at the expense of the long one. Her only recourse would be to try and evade it as best she could. Trying to maneuver away from the attack, she thought she was fast enough to do so, but forgot that she had lowered her speed in order to boost her strength. And as a result she wasn’t able to clear the attack, as it hit her arm still, just not quite the mark it was intended to strike. Still, it was enough to hurt, but perhaps the android didn’t put enough force into it as he would have liked.

A beam that thin was clearly meant to pierce clean through her, but thanks to her bolstered power, it fell short of doing so. Still, it penetrated her flesh, and her blood began to paint her golden fur along her arm with a crimson hue. Grunting in pain she glowered back at the man with all the fury she could muster.

“You’ll have to do much better than that!”

And as if pushing herself off the very ether that surrounded them, she darted forth toward the man’s position, her hulking fist rearing back and thrusting forward, with her good arm obviously, as she intended to pummel him into the ground before readying herself for what the pale man would try next. After all, she had something up her sleeve, time would tell if he took the bait.

---

+1 KP