DB Multiverse

The Rebel Visitor

Krämm of Istaal knew his sword would have wounded if not even killed the Emperor. The most obvious proof: he had prevented the attack! Whereas for the others, he had endured them as if they were nothing.

Seeing his swords just two inches away from his body, paralysed by an immense strength, it was the worst sort of despair. Krämm had failed, the whole operation had failed. What was going to happen now? Was Blizzard going to kill everyone? Or allow the rest of his troops to get killed off (the members of the court were now largely outnumbered, and the death of Dijicharate put their level quite low). On that note, many had recognized the fearsome unyielding paladin, the undefeated warrior, Krämm of Istaal. They knew they were outclassed.

But the fear amongst the warriors of the court was nothing compared to that of the rebels, who not only had seen their plan fail, now only counted their last seconds of life on the goodwill of the Emperor. Run away? It was totally futile.

The imperceptible movement of the body of Blizzard informed all that the second-long truce was over. Was he going to reseat himself, and allow the rest of his soldiers to be massacred, or the rebels escape, or was he going to attack, and butcher them all, his own soldiers included perhaps?

The Emperor’s eyes shined and Krämm understood that the latter option imposed itself, and that he would be the first to die.

Two lasers of maddening power departed from the eyes of the divine monarque, passing through at two different points Krämm’s chest, and then the roof, and then all the superior floors of the palace, and then the sky.

The atmosphere was heavy at the Tsuful headquarters. The spatial arena was easy to track, and it would be here in less than half a day. And they main weapon was still bedded.

The follow-up conversations were hardly reassuring:

— How are things progressing?

— Well, she’s developing cancers.

— Several?

— One or two per vital organ.

Chiin-Lee was heading towards her office in her floating chair when a beep indicated her of an important message. She received it and her seat changed direction without her having asked for it to.

— We have a guest! Come greet him on the terrace.

Her chair was already heading in that direction. She’d have rather the change happen after they had told her why, but the simple fact that she had accepted the message was enough. Information continued to stream from the communication device.

— It’s an important fighter from the rebellion. Bourgo. He’s the Namekian.

Namek… that rang a bell… Oh yes, those near-mythical beings of mysterious origin that were loaded with magical powers. Some hours before the arrival of the enemy, he’d surely be a precious aid.

On the large terrace where transport ships sometimes landed, many Tsufuls had already gathered. A one-manned vessel, though of great size, was slowly landing where there was still space. Chiin-Lee told herself, with reason, that the vessel wasn’t a leisure ship, given it’s build and that there was only one seated place. It was a racing ship. A sort of space Formula 1.

The cockpit opened and the green alien got up from his seat. It did it without difficulty, but still needed a slight effort. One hundred meters per second squared, it was always an impressive gravity. As he had expected under such an environment, the beings that greeted him were small and massive. Now that he thought of it, the warrior on the video was too slim for such a gravity. It was one of the weird aspects of these Saiyans who had the body for low gravity on a planet with a high gravity. They had in them a powerful strength to hold onto such absurdity.

Bourgo landed near the closest Tsufuls. They raised their gaze, impressed. He was even taller than a Saiyan! What an impressive fighter!

The ambassador started the conversation:

— Master Bourgo, welcome to Plant! We are delighted to be able to count on your aid in these difficult times. We will immediately update you on the situation at hand, with our army and the opposing force. Would you like to drink or eat something before we get started?

— I want to meet your Saiyan fighter, firstly. It’s urgent we start with that.

— Our…? It’s difficult. She’s in Saiyan territory and…

— She’s dying. We must hurry.

— What… how, how do you know this…?

— You believe Namekians have magical powers, don’t you?

— Well, uh… It is what we were lead to believe at least. But…

— Well it’s true.

Bourgo was a Namekian, he was able to feel life-forces, a very rare gift in the universe, even thousands of years later. As he had closed in on the planet, he had been able to feel the power of the Saiyan fighter. That was how he had been able to detect and evade the Frost Demons, sometimes even solar systems apart. But now, the aura was absent. Or more exactly, he had felt abrupt eruptions and failings of power. It was from someone sick, with uncontrolled spasms.

A Tsuful vessel with a high roof arrived with haste and several Tsufuls who were used to Saiyans accompanied Bourgo. Chiin-Lee ensured she was part of the group. Her colleague sped off to warn the Saiyan Counsellor of their arrival, and they tried in vain to find a way to drop-off their colleagues discretely at the capital. During the flight, the Tsufuls quickly realized the situation. Never they would have tried something of this sort in normal circumstances. How were they going to pull it off? It was because of the charisma of the newly arrived and the urgence of the looming war that such a reckless act as going into the heart of the Saiyan city happened. One of the passengers started repeating to himself quietly, to try and find the proper pronunciation “I’m not good to eat” in Saiyan tongue.

— We will never manage to go unnoticed, concluded a Tsuful on the telephone. There are too many people in the capital. We can land in the interior court of the castle and be surrounded by wall, but we will still need to descend. Many many Saiyans are flying… they’ll notice the landed ship.

— And what if, as soon as we land, they made a makeshift roof over the court, for example with a large sheet?

— They don’t have the necessary materials. And it’s not within a few minutes they will find a way to stick many sheets together. We are not exactly dealing with… artisans.

— Then we need to be honest. We will ask the army to keep the others from getting too close to the ship or getting too curious. It seems that the soldiers of the army obey rather well.

— Obedient Saiyans? Pff! Said a Tsuful with a sarcastic tone.

Bourgo listened with passion. It was interesting how the two species saw each other and interacted together.

The army of the Queen was an army in name only. Almost all the original soldiers had been killed during the previous attack from the empire. Among the living remained only a handful of dodgers and cowards.

Through the storytellers, hundreds of new recruits had come during the previous days. Many of them curious, because this story of battle intrigued many Saiyans. Hundreds of Saiyans against hundreds of enemies? For those more habituated to duels, it was a new concept. It wasn’t unheard of that a group of Saiyans start beating on one-another, but generally it was everyone for themselves, until everyone tired out. There were rarely any deaths, because these fights were often started simply for amusement, often aided by alcohol. One group against another, that wasn’t normal. Even if two villages had animosity between each other, it was taken care of between chiefs. Especially seen as, given the small distance between villages, inhabitants of one village were often relatives or ex-members of the neighbouring village.

The curious ones were discovering the capital and its roads, its neatly organised houses, and its slightly pompous inhabitants. They discovered the cemetery. The first and last monuments to the dead of the Saiyan people, erected where the bodies of numerous victims had been burnt.

Some of the Saiyans understood then that for their survivals it was safer to immediately return to their village far away. But most couldn’t help themselves from wanting to participate in the next battle that they were told was imminent. They were then sent to an instructor, often young and inexperienced, but the others weren’t around anymore. The latter would talk to them of artificial moons, of synchronising attacks, of having to wait and to please, wait before taking any personal initiatives, which in Saiyan language was pronounced “acting normally”. They only had a few days to learn all this. And people were still arriving. Those would only have a few hours.

The Counsellor was talking to the soldiers of the previous attack, meaning for some they had been hired only weeks ago. They were a large handful, and half of them had returned elsewhere in the city, as instructors.

— Your roles will be to surround the flying machine of the Tsufuls when it will come and land in the training grounds. Push back the rabble and other curious people. Check above all else the surroundings of the castle and remind the tourists they can’t damage the walls. Don’t hesitate making brutal examples from the beginning.

— But why are the Tsufuls coming to our home? Asked a soldier woman by raising her hand.

— Well, we are allies, so they’re coming to talk, that is it.

— Can I challenge one?

—  ...What? Said the Counsellor, with a bead of sweat.

— I’d like to fight against a Tsuful.

— N… no! The Tsufuls are weak, they’d be incapable of answering to a duel! They don’t know how to fight.

— Ha ha! said another soldier. If they don’t know how to fight, how are they still alive?

For Saiyans, not knowing how to fight was akin to not knowing how to walk. Who can grow and live without walking? Surely a passing animal would have eaten them.

— Listen, that’s probably why they live far from us. Where they live, they don’t need to fight. It’s like that. So you need to…

— If they are so weak, why are we helping them? said a soldier with a scornfulan angry tone, raising his hand halfway through his sentence, remembering that it was necessary before talking.

The principle of raising your hand theoretically meant waiting for the chief to give permission to talk, but that part have proved to be too difficult for a Saiyan. They had learned to raise their hands, it was a start.

— They can make moons. That’s useful, no? It sure did help us. And their magic weapons can also kill many enemies in a battle.

— What magic weapons? We were alone during the battle, another soldier said accusingly.

The previous soldier grumbled while touching his arm that was far from healed. He didn’t like being reminded of the horrible battle and he wasn’t the only one.

— They have big flying weapons that shoot fireballs all the time. They can be even stronger than a Saiyan, the Counsellor finished with the end of his breath.

— So they are useful, said the soldier woman, though visibly not convined.

— Yes, said the Counsellor. It’s like with the libraries. We protect them, because it’s useful.

— First the libraries, now the Tsufuls, it’s a slippery slope, said another female soldier. Soon the strong will have to protect the weak, I’m telling you!

— Ha ha, as if! said her neighbour.

— Ok, said the Counsellor while massaging his forehead with his fingertips. We good? You all ready for your mission?

— Yeah, yeah, the troop more or less acquiesced.

— But… darted a small voice with raising her hand.

— Yesssssss…?

—  ... Can I challenge a Tsuful if he has a magic weapon with him?

The Tsuful vessel flew higher and higher as several machines disseminated within the city discretely emitted gas into the atmosphere. The slightly clouded sky quickly covered, and, a thousand meters above the castle, the ship remained invisible. It started its vertical descent;

Many Saiyans entered their homes as they believed the sudden clouds announced rain. However, the ship was of course spotted, and the curious ones quickly came to get a closer look, often bringing along their neighbour while they were at it. They were greeted by the soldiers of the army who didn’t look inclined to negotiate.

On the ground, the Tsufuls exited with the Namekian. Not all of them though. Some thought it safer to stay in the vessel ready to run away.

Though they were meant to keep an eye on the outskirts, the closest soldiers couldn’t stop themselves from fixating their guests intensely, which put them off more than anything else.

— Did you see, that Tsuful is much bigger than the others! He doesn’t look anything like them!

— Maybe it’s the daddy Tsuful, and the others are Tsuful kids. You know, like the clawed caterpillar, where the adults don’t look anything like the kids.

— Aren’t those the insects that have wings when they grow up?

— No, those are the butterfly caterpillars. I was thinking of the ones that get two-meter claws. But it’s the same principle.

Hanasia felt the life-force approaching. She felt that it wasn’t an attack force or with ill intent, but it was powerful and completely unknown. She was curious and had gotten up. She had made a few steps before dropping to her knees. She was furious to not even be able to swear out loud. Saiyans were not used to states of weakness. She lifted her body with levitation and tried to go further, but the effort finished her and she fell to the ground.

A big robot carried her back to the bed. It had been installed for that very purpose, and had repeated the operation tirelessly a dozen times since its installation. It had a certain form of intelligence and have noted that its task was significantly easier if it waited for her to faint before putting her back on the bed.

The arriving troop, accompanied by the Queen’s Counsellor, entered the secret room.

Bourgo had to duck while passing through the door, and walked directly to the bed without waiting for the official presentations. He passed his hands over the body of the sick Saiyan.

— These are outer space burns, he said.

— Exposition to high doses of radiations, said one Tsuful. In outer space without protection.

— There’s a race that knows how the heal these very well. In the system near…

— Yes, we were told, said the doctor who felt slightly insulted. But it is weeks from here.

— Ok.

Bourgo thought quickly. It wasn’t worthwhile to ask everyone to leave the room. The room was overflowing with cameras everywhere. What he’d do was going to be seen, now way around that. Nevertheless, some things had to remain a secret. He slipped his two arms under the Saiyan and lifted her up. Hanasia grumbled and started to wake up from the pain. She knew there were people around her, but she was only following along in dream.

— I’ll return in a moment, said the Namekian under the panicked gaze of the assistance.

— No! Wait! Not in that direction, no Saiyan can see her like this!

There was clearly no direct exit to the exterior from the secret room. The Counsellor and two military chiefs displaced a few guards and Bourgo arrived to the nearest window, from which he leaped out, at a speed that none could follow, fleeing far from the capital and its omnipresent eyes.

When he stopped, it was high up in altitude, above a large empty field, amidst a large and opaque cloud, and with a hand closed around his neck. The hand was shaking terribly, but it could become powerful in an instant if needed.

— Ett ee gggu assa…

Hanasia wasn’t able to pronounce any more, but Bourgo was slightly telepathic, like all Namekians passed a certain age. He had understood “Let me go asshole.”

Bourgo crossed his legs and sat down in the air, placing Hanasia on top of the improvised crib, freeing his arms. Hanasia let go from the shock. She damned her weakened strength and reflexes.

— I’m going to heal you, her green kidnapper told her.

He rummaged through the lining of his clothing he had just ripped. Namekians could hide precious objects in their stomach, which since a million years of evolution didn’t digest anything anymore. An aptitude in and of itself useless on Namek where the concepts of hiding and stealing were senseless, but which had allowed the rebel Bourgo many precious deeds. But what he was looking for was the only exception. If he ingested this food, it would instantly, through an old magic, take effect and disappear in his stomach. He finally found it. A little satchel in which only three remained.

— It’s a seed forgotten by the Gods. You can find them on one or two planets throughout the galaxy; generally cultivated in secret by a sage that is careful about spreading it. The rare ones that know about it give them different names depending on their culture. My supplier calls them “Reset”.

Hanasia looked at the little dark green bean that he held in between his fingers with dubiousness. It looked like a piece of his own body!

— Eat it and you will heal.

The Saiyan didn’t think. She’d rather die poisoned than to continue living like this anyway. She opened her mouth, slipped the small vegetable in, and bit and swallowed it.

The sickness that had affected the Saiyan Queen wasn’t a normal one. Her body and mind had degraded during the past days. Suddenly, it felt as if she had woken from a long, terribly long, nightmare. She finally saw sharp. She finally smelled, heard, and thought sharp too. Her strength was there. She had regained her control.

Hanasia took flight at once from the Namekian and refrained herself from giving him a punch. She straightened in front of him and finally truly saw him. He was a tall alien that like all the others didn’t look like much, not even an animal she might know. She clenched her fists. She breathed in heavily. Her strength had returned.

The air started to heat around her skin. The difference in pressure caused wind. A small whirlwind formed around her as she increased her power. The air vibrated. Layers rubbed against each other, and shockwaves emerged. The clouds nearby dispersed. The wind grew in strength, vertical, and the entire sky started to tremble, then roar. High above her, other clouds formed. Bigger, darker and more menacing. Hanasia slowly reach out her arms allowing her power to continue growing. Bourgo felt it, he was close to being overtaken. Her aura was increasing so easily it was terrifying! But it wasn’t over yet. Hanasia was overjoyed to have regained control. She needed to unleash and feel the extent of her own power. She smiled while frowning. She pumped her chest and let her power explode outwards at once. The sky roared and lightning emerged from the black mass of clouds. It was as if night had suddenly descended.

The Namekian had uncrossed his legs and had more or less placed himself in a defensive position. It was a powerfully evil and destructive aura that surrounded him. It was a terrifying and aggressive force. It was what he had felt within each of the Saiyan guards he had met earlier, small brutes in a constant pre-fighting mindset. But this was a hundred times worse. He understood that though they were on the same side for now, it wasn’t a given fact for the future. This was a dangerous person, and who didn’t share the same sense of justice as him.

And her force now totally dominated his. She was stronger than him. He had to reach her in such a way that he would be respected, and quickly become her friend and ally. He knew what to do with such a kind of person.

— Don’t tell me it’s with that weak strength you defeated the Frost Demons?

Hanasia smiled.

Her eyes went from dark to light. A new aura enveloped her, immediately rendering the previous one obsolete.

In the Saiyan castle, the Tsuful committee, left alone without their rebel bodyguard in hostile territory were sweating heavily while hoping for his speedy return. One of them had his arm ring. He looked at the holographic screen that showed up with surprise.Those closest to him also looked at the interface they didn’t know, on which red flickering elements indicated for sure something abnormal. Several recognized maps, and a power-level meter, which was above maximum readings. The Tsuful turned towards his comrades with big eyes.

— The Saiyan Queen is healed!!