Post by Aido on Sept 11, 2016 2:20:17 GMT
Aido winced slightly as he slowly opened his eyes, the bright rays of the sun shining radiantly across the tranquil plains of the island that the Namekian Warrior meditated on. He’d been on this planet for nearly a month now, wandering from civilization to civilization, performing manual labor for room and board when he needed it, and combating powerful warriors in numerous tournaments and expeditions. The Elders were right about this place. There was a wealth of potential for powerful warriors here. He was certain that with enough training on this world, he would gain the strength necessary to finally overthrow his brothers, and free his village from their malicious grasp.
The Namekian had been meditating for some time, now. Recalling previous battles, reviewing his form, trying to find ways where he could improve, when he felt an all too familiar chill run down his spine. Someone was near. Someone powerful. Uncrossing his legs and floating back down to the ground, Aido looked off in the direction he was feeling this immense power. There was no way to distinguish whether or not it was friend or foe, and so Aido decided to indulge his curiosity by taking off after it. The warm tropical air of the Southern Islands rushed past him as he rocketed onwards, his search bringing him to a secluded village resting on an island. As he drew nearer, he could sense sevreal other, lower power levels, some of them fading. His ears twitched slightly as he closed his eyes and focused, the sounds of battle clearly resonating from the small village.
Sounds like trouble… Aido thought to himself. Bracing himself for battle, the warrior began a cautious descent toward the village. As he came closer, his grasp of the scene became all too clear. Several simple looking huts were destroyed, some engulfed in blazing white flames. Large groups of villagers had grouped near the Island’s shore, cowering in fear as what appeared to be two martial artists attempted to fend off an attacker.
“Come on! Is this really all you have to offer!?” The attacker bellowed, his tone gruff and demanding. He stood tall, with a broad, muscular frame. His jet black, spiky hair went down to his shoulder blades. His deep black eyes were locked in a glare of disappointment and anger, as the two fighters struggled to get to their feet. The attacker, clearly a Saiyan, a battered and worn set of SSE armor, as well as a cracked red scouter. Aido crossed his arms, watching the spectacle unfold. He was likely a rogue soldier of the SSE. He’d heard rumors of their type, who would defect to other planets, choosing to terrorize only local towns and settlements, forcing their residents to cater to their needs. The coward’s way of claiming power, the Namekian thought. His muscles slightly tensed as he watched the fighters strike once more, their attacks sluggish and fatigued. The Saiyan merely laughed as he dodged them with ease, striking at the first fighter, a young, dark skinned man with dreadlocks, with a hard kick to the stomach. The second fighter, an older man with blue eyes, short, spiky white hair, and a white goatee attempted to strike the Saiyan’s blindside with a ki blast, but the alien simply swatted it away, sending it flying off of the island and into a mountain off in the distance.
“Bah! You humans are all the same! Pitiful! What use do I have for such a worthless village!?”
The older fighter tried to strike once more, but the Saiyan merely swatted his arm away before quickly grabbing him by the throat, lifting him off of the ground, his confident, sadistic smirc growing wider as he strangled the life out of the old man. “Psh… hardly a warmup.” he lamented, before shifting his gaze to the young man, who was struggling to get to his feet.
“Oh? And just what are you going to do, boy?” the Saiyan taunted. “You honestly think you have the strength to save your master? Well, by all means, you’re welcome to try and stop me!”
He let out a boisterous, taunting laugh, that only served to stoke the flame of the boy’s rage. He got to his feet, and sprinted toward the Saiyan, summoning all the ki he could muster into one single attack. He was just about ready to give his foe everything he had, when…
FZZZT!
The Saiyan let out a howl of pain, instinctively letting go of the old man, who hit the ground hard, quickly rolling away from the Saiyan as his student rushed to his aid.
“What the--!? Who DARES--”
A blazing white aura flared around the Saiyan in anger as he glanced up, his eyes landing on Aido, who hovered in the air, smoke drifting from his extended fingertips.
“You dare strike at the fearsome Okra!? Worthless Namekian…” The Saiyan spat bitterly as he glared at the visitor. Aido slowly descended to the island, not breaking eye contact with Okra the entire time.
“You may be a lot of things, but ‘fearsome’ isn’t one of them,” The Namekian replied, in a low, calm tone. Okra grit his teeth in anger as he tightened his hand into a fist.
“How dare you! I am an elite Saiyan warrior! Those who underestimate me wind up just like those two over there!” Okra chuckled as he gestured toward the old man and his student. The two fighters had managed to limp over near the shore where the rest of the villagers were, watching the exchange between Okra and this Namekian stranger. Aido threw a glance at them all, wounded and afraid. This Saiyan was likely a regular visitor, terrorizing their village and taking their resources by force. His brow furrowed in anger as he turned his attention back to Okra.
“Regardless of the titles you hold, I won’t allow you to terrorize these people any longer.” Aido stated, sinking comfortably into his fighting stance. “I’m only going to say this once: Leave, and never return, otherwise you’ll have to answer to me.”
Okra stared at Aido for a moment in confusion, before finally letting out a deep, taunting laugh, folding his arms over his chest as he wore an arrogant smirk.
“So, a mere Namek dares to defy the Fearsome Okra for the sake of these worthless peasants? Tch, figures. We should have conquered your pitiful planet centuries ago!”
Aido didn’t bother with a verbal answer. Instead, he decided that he would initiate the battle, dashing forward with blinding speed until he was right in front of Okra, throwing a hard right hook at the Saiyan, who’d just barely managed to block it. Aido followed through with a left hook too fast for Okra to catch, however, striking him across the face and stumbling backwards, wide open for Aido to continue his assault with a spinning back kick to Okra’s midsection. The Saiyan slid backwards, but managed to keep himself on his feet, clutching his gut in pain and glaring at Aido.
“Why you… take this!” In single motion, Okra momentarily vanished from sight, catching Aido off guard.
“What!? Where did he--” the Namekian was cut off when Okra suddenly appeared mere inches from Aido, slamming a hard punch into the Namekian’s face, hard enough to send him reeling back. Okra continued his assault, rushing after Aido and hammering a relentless barrage of punches at his foe. A good amount of strikes managed to connect before Aido could recollect himself, bringing his defenses up, his arms vanishing into green blurs as he blocked and parried Okra’s lightning fast strikes, until his keen eyes noticed a breach in the Saiyan’s form. Dodging his last strike by mere inches, Aido retaliated quickly with a strong uppercut, digging his fist firmly into Okra’s stomach, a sharp snap resonating in both fighter’s ears as Aido’s fist cracked the Saiyan’s already damaged armor. The Saiyan grimaced, but reacted quickly, violently charging forward and ramming Aido full force with his shoulder.
Aido was launched backwards by the attack, but Okra quickly halted his flight by grabbing the warrior by the ankle with both hands, summoning a great portion of his strength as he spun in the air, dragging Aido with him before finally launching him into a nearby mountain on an adjacent island. Aido’s descent into the mountain was too fast for him to slow down, and he violently crashed into the side of the mountain, finding himself in a deep crater as pain spiked all throughout his body. Just as he moved to get to his feet, however, Okra was already on him, raising his palm as a brilliant, magnesium white orb began to form, steadily growing in size, illuminating Okra’s mocking grin. Thinking fast, Aido shot his own arm outward, sending a powerful kiai outwards, striking Okra before he could launch his attack. The Saiyan reeled from the blow, giving Aido just enough time to counter. He blasted out of the crater, flying at Okra at full speed and ramming his knee into the Saiyan’s gut, following through with a hard elbow between his shoulderblades. Okra let out a pain cry before plummeting down to the island. Aido flew in after him, intent on finishing his opponent off, but Okra reacted faster than he’d anticipated. Just before making contact with the ground, Okra managed to flip forward and right himself, landing on his feet, the stone beneath his feet shattering at his landing. Thinking fast, Okra sent a massive volley of ki blasts at Aido to halt his assault.
The Namekian quickly went on the defensive, blocking and swatting the energy bolts away, before finally launching an attack of his own, flipping through the air and delivering a powerful ax kick, intent on crushing Okra’s skull. The Saiyan saw it coming however, and blocked the attack, sending out a massive shockwave in all directions, disrupting the flow of the tide near the shore and causing a large flock of birds to fly off in fear. Aido quickly leaped back, landing several feet away from Okra, the two staring each other down, panting heavily.
“Heh… You’re not half bad, Namekian. I had no idea your race could produce such capable fighters.” The Saiyan gave a sneering grin, a mocking tone behind the comment. Aido merely stiffened his stance and took a deep breath. It felt as though he was dead even with Okra in terms of strength. He would have to get creative if he wanted to get an advantage over his opponent. The problem was his incredible offensive. Once the Saiyan started attacking, it was difficult to get in a decent counter. He’d have to be the one to act if he wanted to turn the tides of the battle. While the Saiyan had a lot of raw strength, he had trouble focusing it. He’d have to exploit that somehow.
“You’re a tough one to put down, much more of a challenge than those worthless Humans, for that I’m grateful. I haven’t had a good fight like this in a while!” Okra continued, his menacing grin widening as he raised his arm and tapping the large red button on his scouter. The damaged device beeped to life, immediately scanning Aido. Several seconds went by, and the scouter gave two high pitched chirps, displaying Aido’s power level to Okra. The Saiyan gave a respectful huff.
As I thought… we’re about even. Looks like I’ll have to pull out ll the stops this time. Good.
“I suppose I’ll fight seriously now.” He said with finality, entering his fighting stance, his ki steadily rising as he locked eyes with Aido, The Namekian gave the slightest of smirks. “That’d be a nice change of pace,” He said calmly. Okra’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he grimaced at his foe. “Prepare yourself, Namekian!” The Saiyan shouted, lifting his arms and aiming his palms at Aido. White hot sparks of electricity began to course through the space between his hands, as a brilliant, pure white ball of ki began to form, steadily increasing in size, until it was about half as large as Okra himself. Aido’s eyes widened in surprise. The attack was immensely powerful, in such a short amount of time. Before he could react, Okra gave a mighty shout.
"Anarchy Blast!"
With a deep boom, the ki sphere shot forward, erratic sparks of electricity trailing behind it as it barrelled toward Aido, who acted on instinct and quickly took to the air, rising high and out of the blast’s line of fire.
Okra merely smirked, tightening his right hand into a fist and quickly pointing his middle and index fingers upward. The Anarchy Blast immediately rocketed upwards after Aido at a straight 90 degree angle. Th Namekian swore under his breath as he saw the attack rocketing toward him. With no time to dodge or fire a blast of his own, he was forced to cross his arms over his face and bring up his defenses as high as he could before the impending collision. The world around Aido exploded, pain shooting from his arms and traveling down his body as his body was sent flying up higher from the force of the atack as it made contact. It broke his defensive form almost immediately, singing a portion of his robes as well as his skin. His eyes were forced shut as he rocketed faster through the air, slowly opening them just in time to see Okra flying in after him. Before he could lift his arms to defend himself, Okra’s fist had planeted itself firmly into Aido’s cheek. A lightning fast assault of punches followed suit, Aido’s body rocked in all directions from the force of the blows.
“Do you get it now, you fool!?” Okra shouted as he continued his assault. “This is what happens when you pick a fight with a Saiyan!”
Aido dug deep within himself, bringing out his ki reserves as his aura began to steadily intensify. Dodging a final right hook from Okra, Aido let out a mighty shout, sending his ki out in all directions in a massive kiai, forcing Okra back and granting Aido the distance he needed to launch his counter attack. He shot his arm forward, extending it several feet and wrapping his fingers around Okra’s neck, squeezing tight and retracting the extended limb at an incredible speed. Once Okra was in range, aido placed a hard front kick to the Saiyan’s abdomen before quickly spinning around, finally releasing his grip on the Saiyan’s throat by violently hurling him back down to the earth. The Saiyan hit the ground hard, creating a large crater, but forced himself to his feet, glaring at Aido. The Namekian swooped downwards quickly, meeting his opponent head on with a charging flykick. Okra quickly brought his arms up, blocking the attack and quickly shifting his free arm to fire a ki blast at point blank range in retaliation. Aido was quicker, however, and with a powerful shout, a small ki blast shot from his fanged mouth, colliding directly with Okra’s face, who shouted in pain, his hands over his face. Aido took advantage quickly, striking Okra’s torso with two hard, definitive punches, followed by a hard uppercut to the chin, launching the Saiyan upwards, only to recieve a hard spinning back kick between his shoulder blades half way through his descent back to earth. The Saiyan flew through the air, skidding along the ground like a flat stone skipped across a river, before rolling to a painful halt.
This is it, I’ve got to end this now! Aido thought to himself as he flew forwards, preparing the killing blow. Seconds before he could deliver it, however, Okra made his move. He’d intentionally waited for Aido to get in range, surprising the Namekian by suddenly forcing himself up off the ground and aiming his right index finger at the warrior. Aido’s eyes widened in shock as a thin, white energy beam shot from Okra’s finger, and right through his right pectoral.
Aido let out a choked, painful shout, violet blood sputtering from his mouth as the force of the blast sent him backwards, landing on his back and clutching his wound. Okra slowly got to his feet, marching over to the downed fighter, a malicious grin on his face as he lifted another finger, shooting a second beam through the Namekian’s shoulder. He shouted again, his blood mixing with the island’s sand as Okra’s form hovered over him, blocking the sun’s light.
“Unfortunately for you, it takes more than that to kill a Saiyan.” He said triumphantly, lifting his leg and slamming his boot down on Aido’s stomach. Pain shot throughout his body, the wind knocked out of him and rendering him unable to screm this time.
“Let’s see what it takes to kill a Namekian, shall we?” Okra asked sadistically, lifting his finger and aiming it right between Aido’s eyes.
“Such a shame. If you’d simply known your place, this could have been entirely avoided,” Okra taunted, giving a satisfied laugh. Aido shut his eyes and braced himself for the worst, but was met with a loud, pained grunt from his enemy instead of oblivion. He felt Okra’s foot suddenly leave his stomach, and quickly snapped his eyes opene to see the Saiyanstanding over him, hunched over in pain, smoke sizzling from the charred armor on his back. One of the fighters on the island, the young, dark skinned one, had flown to the adjacent island the two warriors faught on, and attacked Okra just before he could finish his Namekian savior off.
Aido didn’t take time to question things, acting fast and rolling to his feet. Panting as pain shot throughout his new wounds. He pushed his body onward, however, knowing that Okra wasn’t in much better shape himself.
“You putrid, wretched Human!” Okra yelled angrily, the jet black hair on both his head and tail seeming to stick upwards in anger. The Fighter slumped down to his knees, having expended all of his energy on that last attack. Okra limped toward him, his fists clenched in pure rage as he gave a low, seething growl.
“I’ll wipe you, that Namekian, and your entire village off of the face of this Earth!” He shouted, lifting his arms upward as he powered up, preparing to wring the life out of this worthless fighter’s weak body.
“There will be nothing left of you and those you love!” He shouted. The Fighter met Okra’s gaze, nothing but pure defiance in his eyes. The Saiyan respected the fighter’s resolution to die with his head held high, but his death would be painful all the same. “Nothing but Ashes, echoes, and--”
One second, he was going to kill that damned Earthling, and the next he was soaring through the air again. It didn’t take long for him to peace together what happened. Aido acted while he was distracted, dashing at him and striking hard with heavy kick to his side. The Saiyan crashed into a large boulder, practically sitting in the massive dent he made as he slowly raised his head, pure anger in heis eyes as he stared Aido down.
“You… worhtless… little…”
The look in his eyes was almost primal. He grit his teeth hard enough to crack them as he raised his arms upwards.
“Nobody… makes a fool…. Of me….!” He shouted, summoning every ounce of his power. This was not where the Fearsome Okra was going to meet his end. Not here. Not at the hands of these filthy creatures. He was going to kill them all, and would go to any lengths to do it. His honor would not be tarnished.
“What!?” Aido shouted in surprise. “He still has enough energy for an attack like that…!?”
He quickly turned to the panting Human beside him.
“Go to the others!” He demanded. “Get them to safety!”
The fighter was hesitant, but knew that he was nowhere near strong enogh to be any help in this fight. Reluctantly, he slowly got to his feet and sprinted off, leaping high over the small gap of seawater and landing on his home island. Aido turned to face Okra, whose Anarchy Blast had grown immensely. “Damn, I’m not sure I can dodge this one…” Aido thought to himself. “...Guess I’ve got no choice.” He slowly raised his right arm, aiming his palm at the wounded Saiyan, a steady, crimson red sphere of ki building as he poured the last of his ki into one, final technique. It always served as Aido’s trump card in a pinch
“Heh… I swear… I get stuck with it every time…” Aido said to himself, recalling the numerous battles where this technique was the defining move that meant victory or certain death.
“FEEL MY SAIYAN WRATH!” Okra shouted with all his might.
This is it... Aido thought. Time seemed to slow down, as both fighters, down to their last legs, pushed to their very limits, let out everything they had into one, final attack.
”ANARCHY BLAST!”
”SHELL CANNON!”
The brilliant white sphere of energy shot from Okra’s hands and rocketed toward Aido, who’d unleashed his own technique simultaneously. A thick, powerful, ruby red beam of ki shot from the Namekian’s extended palm. In the space dead in the middle between the two fighters, their techniques clashed, a sharp boom echoing throughout the island cluster, wind whipping around in all directions, arcs of electricity dancing through the air as the techniques struggled against each other. Aido pushed and pushed until his body had absolutely nothing else to give, and then he pushed some more, but was making no progress. The two attacks were dead even, neither gaining any strength over the other, until slowly, but surely, Aido felt Okra’s blast slowly inching back. Just... a little... more...! Aido’s mind thought as his muscles ached in protest. He could do this. He had to do this. His tired legs began to shake, and finally buckle as he fell to his knees, still doing everything he could to pour his strength into his attack
“Just… a little… more!” He shouted out loud. The world around him began to fade from existence. The chaos around him blocked everything else out, the brilliant light of their clashing ki, the sand and debris flying in all directions, the wind whipping past him like an army of wild serpents. He couldn’t even hear his own shouting, which he knew he was duing due to the burning sensation in his lungs. Then, just as he felt as though his body was going to finally give up, a radiant, white light bathed him completely, as an invisible force knocked him off of his feet. The two blasts had simultaneously detonated in a chaotic stalemate.
Aido’s body limply rolled backwards, coming to an abrupt halt on his back as he hit the shore. The cold water of he tied licked at his skin as it rolled onto the land, a refreshing sensation as his muscles burned in agony. He remained there, panting heavily, his eyes shut tight as pain radiated all throughout his form. Before long, his consciousness began to fade away, even lacking the strength to see if Okra was still alive.
Aido awoke with a start, quickly sitting up and immediately regretting it, pain shooting from his wounds as a collection of concerned gasps echoed around him. As his vision came back into focus, he realized he was surrounded by the villagers. They all wore concerned looks on their faces, backing away and giving him distance as he slowly recollected himself. His robes were torn to shreds, and there were numerous wounds all throughout his body. It hurt like hell to move, but he was alive.
“Whoa there, take it easy, friend.” A fatigued, yet inviting voice said. Aido turned around to see the young fighter who’d intervened in his battle with Okra knelt beside him, resting a firm hand on the Namekian’s shoulder.
“You’ve been through the ringer, Namekian or not, you really ought to conserve your energy and rest.”
He wore a warm smile, and Aido noticed a number of bandages on his bruised body.
“Nng… how long was I out?” He asked. “And.. the Saiyan…”
“He’s dead.” the fighter said curtly, almost as though he were afraid to say it, as if believing that he was truly gone would somehow jinx it and bring him back.
“You’ve been out for about two hours now. That was a hell of a shockwave your little fireworks display made… got everyone into the huts for cover just in time.”
Aido took a deep breath and chanced getting on his feet. His body ached in protest, but he had to see it for himself. The battlefield looked like a mess. A deep trench was dug into the ground from the sheer force of both the attacks, a massive crater in the center. At the opposite end, still imbedded into a crater in a massive boulder, was Okra. His figure was slumped, hair over his now lifeless eyes. Aido simply shook his head. Proud fool. The Saiyan had put his life force into that last attack. He likely died the second that blast left his hands.
“Excuse me, there.” Another voice called out. Aido turned to his right to see the second fighter approaching him. The old man.
“I’m… not entirely sure who you are, or what you’re doing here, we’re forever in your debt for saving us from that monster.” He said, bowing deeply at Aido.
“I appreciate your gratitude, but you owe me nothing. Warriors like him have no honor. Using your power to oppress is wrong. He got what was coming to him.”
“Agreed,” The old man replied. “I am Master Taiyo, and that there is my student, Suna. We were at the end of our rope when you showed up, I’m sure that Saiyan would have killed us this time around.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“That we won’t” Suna added as he approached the two. “That was a hell of a fight, by the way. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Aido added with a slight smirk. “I’m not sure I’d be alive right now if you hadn’t intervened when you did.”
Suna gave a modest shrug, saying “It just… felt like the right thing to do.”
“I’m curious,” Taiyo chimed, folding his arms. “What’s your name? It’s only prober we know who our savior is,”
“I’m no savior, just someone who believes in what’s right… but you can call me Aido. Just a mere wanderer, seeking to better myself as a warrior” the Namekian said. Taiyo gave a humble nod, shaking the Aido’s hand.
“Wanderer, eh? Well, I insist that you stay with us for a while. At least until your wounds have properly healed. It’s the least we can do after all you’ve done for us.” Taiyo added.
“And while I may not be as spry as I was in my prime, I still might be able to teach you a thing or two about martial arts, if you’re interested.”
“And I could sure use a sparring partner,” Suna added.
“You’ve got some serious skills, I’d love to test my strength against you one day!”
Aido smiled at the young man, who chuckled and brought up his fist.
“Heh… I suppose I could stay here a while. You’ve got a deal,”
Aido raised his fist as well, lightly tapping it against Suna’s
An eruption of cheers sounded as the villagers celebrated the demise of the tyrannical Okra. They danced and laughed, feeling as though they’d finally been given their lives back, no longer having to cower in fear for the rest of their days. A flock of seagulls flew overhead, squacking cheerfully as the sun shoned down brightly over the Southern Islands, the promise of a new, bright day feeling more certain than ever.
The Namekian had been meditating for some time, now. Recalling previous battles, reviewing his form, trying to find ways where he could improve, when he felt an all too familiar chill run down his spine. Someone was near. Someone powerful. Uncrossing his legs and floating back down to the ground, Aido looked off in the direction he was feeling this immense power. There was no way to distinguish whether or not it was friend or foe, and so Aido decided to indulge his curiosity by taking off after it. The warm tropical air of the Southern Islands rushed past him as he rocketed onwards, his search bringing him to a secluded village resting on an island. As he drew nearer, he could sense sevreal other, lower power levels, some of them fading. His ears twitched slightly as he closed his eyes and focused, the sounds of battle clearly resonating from the small village.
Sounds like trouble… Aido thought to himself. Bracing himself for battle, the warrior began a cautious descent toward the village. As he came closer, his grasp of the scene became all too clear. Several simple looking huts were destroyed, some engulfed in blazing white flames. Large groups of villagers had grouped near the Island’s shore, cowering in fear as what appeared to be two martial artists attempted to fend off an attacker.
“Come on! Is this really all you have to offer!?” The attacker bellowed, his tone gruff and demanding. He stood tall, with a broad, muscular frame. His jet black, spiky hair went down to his shoulder blades. His deep black eyes were locked in a glare of disappointment and anger, as the two fighters struggled to get to their feet. The attacker, clearly a Saiyan, a battered and worn set of SSE armor, as well as a cracked red scouter. Aido crossed his arms, watching the spectacle unfold. He was likely a rogue soldier of the SSE. He’d heard rumors of their type, who would defect to other planets, choosing to terrorize only local towns and settlements, forcing their residents to cater to their needs. The coward’s way of claiming power, the Namekian thought. His muscles slightly tensed as he watched the fighters strike once more, their attacks sluggish and fatigued. The Saiyan merely laughed as he dodged them with ease, striking at the first fighter, a young, dark skinned man with dreadlocks, with a hard kick to the stomach. The second fighter, an older man with blue eyes, short, spiky white hair, and a white goatee attempted to strike the Saiyan’s blindside with a ki blast, but the alien simply swatted it away, sending it flying off of the island and into a mountain off in the distance.
“Bah! You humans are all the same! Pitiful! What use do I have for such a worthless village!?”
The older fighter tried to strike once more, but the Saiyan merely swatted his arm away before quickly grabbing him by the throat, lifting him off of the ground, his confident, sadistic smirc growing wider as he strangled the life out of the old man. “Psh… hardly a warmup.” he lamented, before shifting his gaze to the young man, who was struggling to get to his feet.
“Oh? And just what are you going to do, boy?” the Saiyan taunted. “You honestly think you have the strength to save your master? Well, by all means, you’re welcome to try and stop me!”
He let out a boisterous, taunting laugh, that only served to stoke the flame of the boy’s rage. He got to his feet, and sprinted toward the Saiyan, summoning all the ki he could muster into one single attack. He was just about ready to give his foe everything he had, when…
FZZZT!
The Saiyan let out a howl of pain, instinctively letting go of the old man, who hit the ground hard, quickly rolling away from the Saiyan as his student rushed to his aid.
“What the--!? Who DARES--”
A blazing white aura flared around the Saiyan in anger as he glanced up, his eyes landing on Aido, who hovered in the air, smoke drifting from his extended fingertips.
“You dare strike at the fearsome Okra!? Worthless Namekian…” The Saiyan spat bitterly as he glared at the visitor. Aido slowly descended to the island, not breaking eye contact with Okra the entire time.
“You may be a lot of things, but ‘fearsome’ isn’t one of them,” The Namekian replied, in a low, calm tone. Okra grit his teeth in anger as he tightened his hand into a fist.
“How dare you! I am an elite Saiyan warrior! Those who underestimate me wind up just like those two over there!” Okra chuckled as he gestured toward the old man and his student. The two fighters had managed to limp over near the shore where the rest of the villagers were, watching the exchange between Okra and this Namekian stranger. Aido threw a glance at them all, wounded and afraid. This Saiyan was likely a regular visitor, terrorizing their village and taking their resources by force. His brow furrowed in anger as he turned his attention back to Okra.
“Regardless of the titles you hold, I won’t allow you to terrorize these people any longer.” Aido stated, sinking comfortably into his fighting stance. “I’m only going to say this once: Leave, and never return, otherwise you’ll have to answer to me.”
Okra stared at Aido for a moment in confusion, before finally letting out a deep, taunting laugh, folding his arms over his chest as he wore an arrogant smirk.
“So, a mere Namek dares to defy the Fearsome Okra for the sake of these worthless peasants? Tch, figures. We should have conquered your pitiful planet centuries ago!”
Aido didn’t bother with a verbal answer. Instead, he decided that he would initiate the battle, dashing forward with blinding speed until he was right in front of Okra, throwing a hard right hook at the Saiyan, who’d just barely managed to block it. Aido followed through with a left hook too fast for Okra to catch, however, striking him across the face and stumbling backwards, wide open for Aido to continue his assault with a spinning back kick to Okra’s midsection. The Saiyan slid backwards, but managed to keep himself on his feet, clutching his gut in pain and glaring at Aido.
“Why you… take this!” In single motion, Okra momentarily vanished from sight, catching Aido off guard.
“What!? Where did he--” the Namekian was cut off when Okra suddenly appeared mere inches from Aido, slamming a hard punch into the Namekian’s face, hard enough to send him reeling back. Okra continued his assault, rushing after Aido and hammering a relentless barrage of punches at his foe. A good amount of strikes managed to connect before Aido could recollect himself, bringing his defenses up, his arms vanishing into green blurs as he blocked and parried Okra’s lightning fast strikes, until his keen eyes noticed a breach in the Saiyan’s form. Dodging his last strike by mere inches, Aido retaliated quickly with a strong uppercut, digging his fist firmly into Okra’s stomach, a sharp snap resonating in both fighter’s ears as Aido’s fist cracked the Saiyan’s already damaged armor. The Saiyan grimaced, but reacted quickly, violently charging forward and ramming Aido full force with his shoulder.
Aido was launched backwards by the attack, but Okra quickly halted his flight by grabbing the warrior by the ankle with both hands, summoning a great portion of his strength as he spun in the air, dragging Aido with him before finally launching him into a nearby mountain on an adjacent island. Aido’s descent into the mountain was too fast for him to slow down, and he violently crashed into the side of the mountain, finding himself in a deep crater as pain spiked all throughout his body. Just as he moved to get to his feet, however, Okra was already on him, raising his palm as a brilliant, magnesium white orb began to form, steadily growing in size, illuminating Okra’s mocking grin. Thinking fast, Aido shot his own arm outward, sending a powerful kiai outwards, striking Okra before he could launch his attack. The Saiyan reeled from the blow, giving Aido just enough time to counter. He blasted out of the crater, flying at Okra at full speed and ramming his knee into the Saiyan’s gut, following through with a hard elbow between his shoulderblades. Okra let out a pain cry before plummeting down to the island. Aido flew in after him, intent on finishing his opponent off, but Okra reacted faster than he’d anticipated. Just before making contact with the ground, Okra managed to flip forward and right himself, landing on his feet, the stone beneath his feet shattering at his landing. Thinking fast, Okra sent a massive volley of ki blasts at Aido to halt his assault.
The Namekian quickly went on the defensive, blocking and swatting the energy bolts away, before finally launching an attack of his own, flipping through the air and delivering a powerful ax kick, intent on crushing Okra’s skull. The Saiyan saw it coming however, and blocked the attack, sending out a massive shockwave in all directions, disrupting the flow of the tide near the shore and causing a large flock of birds to fly off in fear. Aido quickly leaped back, landing several feet away from Okra, the two staring each other down, panting heavily.
“Heh… You’re not half bad, Namekian. I had no idea your race could produce such capable fighters.” The Saiyan gave a sneering grin, a mocking tone behind the comment. Aido merely stiffened his stance and took a deep breath. It felt as though he was dead even with Okra in terms of strength. He would have to get creative if he wanted to get an advantage over his opponent. The problem was his incredible offensive. Once the Saiyan started attacking, it was difficult to get in a decent counter. He’d have to be the one to act if he wanted to turn the tides of the battle. While the Saiyan had a lot of raw strength, he had trouble focusing it. He’d have to exploit that somehow.
“You’re a tough one to put down, much more of a challenge than those worthless Humans, for that I’m grateful. I haven’t had a good fight like this in a while!” Okra continued, his menacing grin widening as he raised his arm and tapping the large red button on his scouter. The damaged device beeped to life, immediately scanning Aido. Several seconds went by, and the scouter gave two high pitched chirps, displaying Aido’s power level to Okra. The Saiyan gave a respectful huff.
As I thought… we’re about even. Looks like I’ll have to pull out ll the stops this time. Good.
“I suppose I’ll fight seriously now.” He said with finality, entering his fighting stance, his ki steadily rising as he locked eyes with Aido, The Namekian gave the slightest of smirks. “That’d be a nice change of pace,” He said calmly. Okra’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he grimaced at his foe. “Prepare yourself, Namekian!” The Saiyan shouted, lifting his arms and aiming his palms at Aido. White hot sparks of electricity began to course through the space between his hands, as a brilliant, pure white ball of ki began to form, steadily increasing in size, until it was about half as large as Okra himself. Aido’s eyes widened in surprise. The attack was immensely powerful, in such a short amount of time. Before he could react, Okra gave a mighty shout.
"Anarchy Blast!"
With a deep boom, the ki sphere shot forward, erratic sparks of electricity trailing behind it as it barrelled toward Aido, who acted on instinct and quickly took to the air, rising high and out of the blast’s line of fire.
Okra merely smirked, tightening his right hand into a fist and quickly pointing his middle and index fingers upward. The Anarchy Blast immediately rocketed upwards after Aido at a straight 90 degree angle. Th Namekian swore under his breath as he saw the attack rocketing toward him. With no time to dodge or fire a blast of his own, he was forced to cross his arms over his face and bring up his defenses as high as he could before the impending collision. The world around Aido exploded, pain shooting from his arms and traveling down his body as his body was sent flying up higher from the force of the atack as it made contact. It broke his defensive form almost immediately, singing a portion of his robes as well as his skin. His eyes were forced shut as he rocketed faster through the air, slowly opening them just in time to see Okra flying in after him. Before he could lift his arms to defend himself, Okra’s fist had planeted itself firmly into Aido’s cheek. A lightning fast assault of punches followed suit, Aido’s body rocked in all directions from the force of the blows.
“Do you get it now, you fool!?” Okra shouted as he continued his assault. “This is what happens when you pick a fight with a Saiyan!”
Aido dug deep within himself, bringing out his ki reserves as his aura began to steadily intensify. Dodging a final right hook from Okra, Aido let out a mighty shout, sending his ki out in all directions in a massive kiai, forcing Okra back and granting Aido the distance he needed to launch his counter attack. He shot his arm forward, extending it several feet and wrapping his fingers around Okra’s neck, squeezing tight and retracting the extended limb at an incredible speed. Once Okra was in range, aido placed a hard front kick to the Saiyan’s abdomen before quickly spinning around, finally releasing his grip on the Saiyan’s throat by violently hurling him back down to the earth. The Saiyan hit the ground hard, creating a large crater, but forced himself to his feet, glaring at Aido. The Namekian swooped downwards quickly, meeting his opponent head on with a charging flykick. Okra quickly brought his arms up, blocking the attack and quickly shifting his free arm to fire a ki blast at point blank range in retaliation. Aido was quicker, however, and with a powerful shout, a small ki blast shot from his fanged mouth, colliding directly with Okra’s face, who shouted in pain, his hands over his face. Aido took advantage quickly, striking Okra’s torso with two hard, definitive punches, followed by a hard uppercut to the chin, launching the Saiyan upwards, only to recieve a hard spinning back kick between his shoulder blades half way through his descent back to earth. The Saiyan flew through the air, skidding along the ground like a flat stone skipped across a river, before rolling to a painful halt.
This is it, I’ve got to end this now! Aido thought to himself as he flew forwards, preparing the killing blow. Seconds before he could deliver it, however, Okra made his move. He’d intentionally waited for Aido to get in range, surprising the Namekian by suddenly forcing himself up off the ground and aiming his right index finger at the warrior. Aido’s eyes widened in shock as a thin, white energy beam shot from Okra’s finger, and right through his right pectoral.
Aido let out a choked, painful shout, violet blood sputtering from his mouth as the force of the blast sent him backwards, landing on his back and clutching his wound. Okra slowly got to his feet, marching over to the downed fighter, a malicious grin on his face as he lifted another finger, shooting a second beam through the Namekian’s shoulder. He shouted again, his blood mixing with the island’s sand as Okra’s form hovered over him, blocking the sun’s light.
“Unfortunately for you, it takes more than that to kill a Saiyan.” He said triumphantly, lifting his leg and slamming his boot down on Aido’s stomach. Pain shot throughout his body, the wind knocked out of him and rendering him unable to screm this time.
“Let’s see what it takes to kill a Namekian, shall we?” Okra asked sadistically, lifting his finger and aiming it right between Aido’s eyes.
“Such a shame. If you’d simply known your place, this could have been entirely avoided,” Okra taunted, giving a satisfied laugh. Aido shut his eyes and braced himself for the worst, but was met with a loud, pained grunt from his enemy instead of oblivion. He felt Okra’s foot suddenly leave his stomach, and quickly snapped his eyes opene to see the Saiyanstanding over him, hunched over in pain, smoke sizzling from the charred armor on his back. One of the fighters on the island, the young, dark skinned one, had flown to the adjacent island the two warriors faught on, and attacked Okra just before he could finish his Namekian savior off.
Aido didn’t take time to question things, acting fast and rolling to his feet. Panting as pain shot throughout his new wounds. He pushed his body onward, however, knowing that Okra wasn’t in much better shape himself.
“You putrid, wretched Human!” Okra yelled angrily, the jet black hair on both his head and tail seeming to stick upwards in anger. The Fighter slumped down to his knees, having expended all of his energy on that last attack. Okra limped toward him, his fists clenched in pure rage as he gave a low, seething growl.
“I’ll wipe you, that Namekian, and your entire village off of the face of this Earth!” He shouted, lifting his arms upward as he powered up, preparing to wring the life out of this worthless fighter’s weak body.
“There will be nothing left of you and those you love!” He shouted. The Fighter met Okra’s gaze, nothing but pure defiance in his eyes. The Saiyan respected the fighter’s resolution to die with his head held high, but his death would be painful all the same. “Nothing but Ashes, echoes, and--”
One second, he was going to kill that damned Earthling, and the next he was soaring through the air again. It didn’t take long for him to peace together what happened. Aido acted while he was distracted, dashing at him and striking hard with heavy kick to his side. The Saiyan crashed into a large boulder, practically sitting in the massive dent he made as he slowly raised his head, pure anger in heis eyes as he stared Aido down.
“You… worhtless… little…”
The look in his eyes was almost primal. He grit his teeth hard enough to crack them as he raised his arms upwards.
“Nobody… makes a fool…. Of me….!” He shouted, summoning every ounce of his power. This was not where the Fearsome Okra was going to meet his end. Not here. Not at the hands of these filthy creatures. He was going to kill them all, and would go to any lengths to do it. His honor would not be tarnished.
“What!?” Aido shouted in surprise. “He still has enough energy for an attack like that…!?”
He quickly turned to the panting Human beside him.
“Go to the others!” He demanded. “Get them to safety!”
The fighter was hesitant, but knew that he was nowhere near strong enogh to be any help in this fight. Reluctantly, he slowly got to his feet and sprinted off, leaping high over the small gap of seawater and landing on his home island. Aido turned to face Okra, whose Anarchy Blast had grown immensely. “Damn, I’m not sure I can dodge this one…” Aido thought to himself. “...Guess I’ve got no choice.” He slowly raised his right arm, aiming his palm at the wounded Saiyan, a steady, crimson red sphere of ki building as he poured the last of his ki into one, final technique. It always served as Aido’s trump card in a pinch
“Heh… I swear… I get stuck with it every time…” Aido said to himself, recalling the numerous battles where this technique was the defining move that meant victory or certain death.
“FEEL MY SAIYAN WRATH!” Okra shouted with all his might.
This is it... Aido thought. Time seemed to slow down, as both fighters, down to their last legs, pushed to their very limits, let out everything they had into one, final attack.
”ANARCHY BLAST!”
”SHELL CANNON!”
The brilliant white sphere of energy shot from Okra’s hands and rocketed toward Aido, who’d unleashed his own technique simultaneously. A thick, powerful, ruby red beam of ki shot from the Namekian’s extended palm. In the space dead in the middle between the two fighters, their techniques clashed, a sharp boom echoing throughout the island cluster, wind whipping around in all directions, arcs of electricity dancing through the air as the techniques struggled against each other. Aido pushed and pushed until his body had absolutely nothing else to give, and then he pushed some more, but was making no progress. The two attacks were dead even, neither gaining any strength over the other, until slowly, but surely, Aido felt Okra’s blast slowly inching back. Just... a little... more...! Aido’s mind thought as his muscles ached in protest. He could do this. He had to do this. His tired legs began to shake, and finally buckle as he fell to his knees, still doing everything he could to pour his strength into his attack
“Just… a little… more!” He shouted out loud. The world around him began to fade from existence. The chaos around him blocked everything else out, the brilliant light of their clashing ki, the sand and debris flying in all directions, the wind whipping past him like an army of wild serpents. He couldn’t even hear his own shouting, which he knew he was duing due to the burning sensation in his lungs. Then, just as he felt as though his body was going to finally give up, a radiant, white light bathed him completely, as an invisible force knocked him off of his feet. The two blasts had simultaneously detonated in a chaotic stalemate.
Aido’s body limply rolled backwards, coming to an abrupt halt on his back as he hit the shore. The cold water of he tied licked at his skin as it rolled onto the land, a refreshing sensation as his muscles burned in agony. He remained there, panting heavily, his eyes shut tight as pain radiated all throughout his form. Before long, his consciousness began to fade away, even lacking the strength to see if Okra was still alive.
Aido awoke with a start, quickly sitting up and immediately regretting it, pain shooting from his wounds as a collection of concerned gasps echoed around him. As his vision came back into focus, he realized he was surrounded by the villagers. They all wore concerned looks on their faces, backing away and giving him distance as he slowly recollected himself. His robes were torn to shreds, and there were numerous wounds all throughout his body. It hurt like hell to move, but he was alive.
“Whoa there, take it easy, friend.” A fatigued, yet inviting voice said. Aido turned around to see the young fighter who’d intervened in his battle with Okra knelt beside him, resting a firm hand on the Namekian’s shoulder.
“You’ve been through the ringer, Namekian or not, you really ought to conserve your energy and rest.”
He wore a warm smile, and Aido noticed a number of bandages on his bruised body.
“Nng… how long was I out?” He asked. “And.. the Saiyan…”
“He’s dead.” the fighter said curtly, almost as though he were afraid to say it, as if believing that he was truly gone would somehow jinx it and bring him back.
“You’ve been out for about two hours now. That was a hell of a shockwave your little fireworks display made… got everyone into the huts for cover just in time.”
Aido took a deep breath and chanced getting on his feet. His body ached in protest, but he had to see it for himself. The battlefield looked like a mess. A deep trench was dug into the ground from the sheer force of both the attacks, a massive crater in the center. At the opposite end, still imbedded into a crater in a massive boulder, was Okra. His figure was slumped, hair over his now lifeless eyes. Aido simply shook his head. Proud fool. The Saiyan had put his life force into that last attack. He likely died the second that blast left his hands.
“Excuse me, there.” Another voice called out. Aido turned to his right to see the second fighter approaching him. The old man.
“I’m… not entirely sure who you are, or what you’re doing here, we’re forever in your debt for saving us from that monster.” He said, bowing deeply at Aido.
“I appreciate your gratitude, but you owe me nothing. Warriors like him have no honor. Using your power to oppress is wrong. He got what was coming to him.”
“Agreed,” The old man replied. “I am Master Taiyo, and that there is my student, Suna. We were at the end of our rope when you showed up, I’m sure that Saiyan would have killed us this time around.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“That we won’t” Suna added as he approached the two. “That was a hell of a fight, by the way. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Aido added with a slight smirk. “I’m not sure I’d be alive right now if you hadn’t intervened when you did.”
Suna gave a modest shrug, saying “It just… felt like the right thing to do.”
“I’m curious,” Taiyo chimed, folding his arms. “What’s your name? It’s only prober we know who our savior is,”
“I’m no savior, just someone who believes in what’s right… but you can call me Aido. Just a mere wanderer, seeking to better myself as a warrior” the Namekian said. Taiyo gave a humble nod, shaking the Aido’s hand.
“Wanderer, eh? Well, I insist that you stay with us for a while. At least until your wounds have properly healed. It’s the least we can do after all you’ve done for us.” Taiyo added.
“And while I may not be as spry as I was in my prime, I still might be able to teach you a thing or two about martial arts, if you’re interested.”
“And I could sure use a sparring partner,” Suna added.
“You’ve got some serious skills, I’d love to test my strength against you one day!”
Aido smiled at the young man, who chuckled and brought up his fist.
“Heh… I suppose I could stay here a while. You’ve got a deal,”
Aido raised his fist as well, lightly tapping it against Suna’s
An eruption of cheers sounded as the villagers celebrated the demise of the tyrannical Okra. They danced and laughed, feeling as though they’d finally been given their lives back, no longer having to cower in fear for the rest of their days. A flock of seagulls flew overhead, squacking cheerfully as the sun shoned down brightly over the Southern Islands, the promise of a new, bright day feeling more certain than ever.