DB Multiverse

The Battle of Plant

On that day, it wasn’t only the Queen’s army that was assembled over the capital. Nearly all of its residents were present, as well as people from the outskirts and others who stuck around following celebrations.

They formed an immense disorderly black cloud, standing out from the ranks of the army. Young and old, male and female, all flocked in readiness to face the invaders. Excited, motivated, they had just heard their Queen’s speech that echoed through the sky thanks to the magic ball.

— I wonder how the Tsufuls will pull it off with something like this, said a Saiyan to the one next to him.

— Well, I wonder why we never see them, the other replied.

Small canons on flying platforms were making their way above. Part of them landed and hid in thickets, while other remained afloat and fired several shots. The projectiles were strange energy balls that slowly ascended the sky.

— Funny those things.

— If this is their way of firing energy blasts, we don’t need this Tsuful crap.

— No, it’s what’s replacing the moon.

— Oh.

The Saiyans made room between each other, as the energy balls seemed to explode mid-air, turning them into huge shining spheres. The sky was now adorned with a dozen full moons.

Before this incredible display, all were left speechless, before feeling the characteristic spark running through their bodies and the hair on their tail bristle. And so, their teeth grew sharper, their hair grew thicker, and they grew larger, and larger...

They had to make more room between each other, since this was an enormous mass of hairy apes walking across the plain, and they were naturally stepping on each other’s feet. Some managed to keep their flight, but only a few Saiyans mastered the ability in this form, and opportunities to train were rare.

After taking the time to appreciate the fact that they were apes in the middle of the day, a loud sound could be heard from space, and thousands of ships arrived at the same time. With the doors already open, the empire’s gargantuan cargo released a battalion of armored soldiers, hundreds of battle shuttles, and a few spread out brutes, all of which were warriors of great strength.

— What the hell are those!?!?

— Giant monsters! They’re... everywhere!

The soldiers all wondered where they were. This lot of loudmouthed animals was a far cry from the troops of locals they imagined.

At the center of command, the screens displayed the scene as it was: nothing short of a zoo.

— In only a few seconds, General, they’ve all transformed into gargantuan beasts!

— It’s... unreal. But this doesn’t change anything. Destroy them all!

— Soldiers! These monsters are the natives you have to fight. They may have changed forms, but it isn’t cause for concern!

— General, this doesn’t make any sense. If they could transform like the Frost Demons, why did they not do it in the video with Lord Chilled?

— It’s as I thought, this planet is a den of traps, and this here is another one of their deceptions.

— General, began the lieutenant. From what we see on the video, we can assert that it was the balls of light that transformed them.

The general pulled up a visual of the exterior. The giant monkeys were howling terrifying cries, and were jumping all over the place at hundreds of feet in the air, rendering an escape through the air futile. The foot soldiers were being decimated as all combat vessels were swatted like flies.

— Find... find a way to destroy those spheres, said the General. Even then, I fear that, past the point of transformation, it’s already too late...

Oncoming fire from the battleships and soldiers were at best powerful enough to keep the monsters’ fur warm, the latter group spitting energy blast of unfathomable strength back at them. With nearly all them in a state of blind rage, berserk, even, they would fire not only at larger ships but also at clusters of enemies, without worrying that much about their allies. Despite that, each shot fired was amply in favor of the apes.

The flagships were falling back, but a large portion of them was nevertheless annihilated.

— We weren’t told we were dealing with monsters individually as powerful as the warriors of the court! Exclaimed the general. Even our elite troops are dropping like flies!!! And where’s the Hot Squad?!

— They... they haven’t left yet, announced a soldier, the shameful bearer of bad news.

The general rushed to another room in the ship. They were just casually sitting there, comfortably slumped in their couches as they watched the battle unfold like it was a ballgame.

— Are you freaking kidding me?! Shouted the general. We’re losing down there! The other court fighters have already left!

— Silence, said Chili to the highest authority onboard beneath God. Assira is thinking.

It wasn’t only Chili’s towering figure of six and a half feet and his bright eyes that made him intimidating. Each of his words echoed with the charisma of ten warchiefs. And as always, they obeyed, whether subordinate or grand commander.

— We can’t step out at this time, said Mipan, whose head only reached Chili’s waist. What a mess! An army of trained soldiers, routed by a pack of unattended animals. Pathetic. I can’t make a public appearance in those conditions.

— Uh... added Assira, pensive. The large veins on his bald head seemed to pulsate.

— Warrior of court dead! Clamored Peronipe. Three beasts on him! Were together, not by chance!

The gargantuan Peronipe was a lot brighter than his speech pattern or confusion before a machine with more than two buttons would let on. He had simply focused his intellect on a field that would serve him best.

— Well observed, Peronipe, added Assira. The gorillas can be distinguished into two groups, which is something we have to pay special attention to. The first is comprised of their trained soldiers. They’re properly organized to act efficiently. They attack the court warriors in groups and don’t fire at their allies.

The general hadn’t noticed that. He wanted to get them on the battlefield, but Chili’s only sentence had him petrified.

— The second group is comprised of civilians. Nevertheless, they remain very powerful. Since they don’t have any clothes on -well, not anymore-, only their actions can reveal which group they belong to.

— Do you think we should focus our attacks on their army first? Inquired Mipan.

— Most likely. Our infantrymen have been reduced by 97% and haven’t brought down a single one of the simians. Our elite troops have been reduced by 65% and only managed to kill 35 of the primates at most. Our starfighters have all been destroyed, only managing to kill a single monkey. The admiral ships have taken down 12 of the hominids, but there are only 3 of them left, and since they fled, they’re no longer firing.

— I didn’t think we’d reached this point. They seem to be around the hundreds. Perhaps even a thousand?

— I’m not done yet. The court warriors have killed 66 monkeys, but two of them are already dead. Only Igmar, who is tiring, Talon, and ourselves remain. And the fighter who took Chilled down isn’t even here yet.

Hanasia was slumped against a wall inside her royal chamber in the capital. She avoided looking out the window. She had to avoid transforming into a great ape. She had to remain absent.

In spite of her eyes being tightly shut, she could see the battle unfold outside. They seemed to have the upper hand, but they mostly managed to only decimate the small fry. The stronger fighters were hanging in there, and there was no way the invaders could not have another trick up their sleeves.

— If you assume your ape form, we can’t expect aliens to recognize you, suggested the councillor, hoping for an easy victory.

— No, I would emit too much power. We lack self-control when transformed, so they would know I am the one they’re looking for right away.

So there she was. Waiting.

Back to back, court warriors Igmar and Talon seemed to be the only ones to survive the battlefield. Within only an hour of initiating combat, the vastest army the Empire had ever drafted had been wiped out.

The surviving elite soldiers had regrouped and tried attacking collectively, with some success, but were still hard-pressed beneath the number of giant beasts, who wouldn’t hesitate to hammer on each other to hit a single man, as one would smack another to swat a mosquito.

— Damn it... huff, huff... I don’t think we even got half of them!

— What the hell... is the Hot Squad doing? Those fuckers are waiting for us to all die so they can get all the credit!

A few monkeys charged them. The two fighters took off into the air to avoid them and hit one of them together in the spine, causing the beast to drop dead.

Talon had just felt the wind crash against him. It was a monkey that avoided him a few minutes prior. He remembered him well because of that. Here, the primate’s gigantic hand was crushing his back. Talon turned to take flight and avoid the next hit, but the ape was already gone. His opponent’s huge mass had already gone back around him to finish him with a mouth blast that consumed him, flying into the horizon.

Proud of himself, Nizucchi turned to the other warrior of the court.

— You see, began Assira. That’s one of their elite fighters among their grunts. I could spot eight of them, two of which are dead.

— Let’s go, announced Chili. Let’s try to keep Igmar alive. He owes me 300 brouzoufs.

In the Tsuful control room, Chiin-Lee and the rest of the team were congratulating each other for the plan’s total success.

— This is awesome! The Saiyan reinforcements from the other villages haven’t even reached the battlefield and we’ve already won! Without even using our ships, or the Queen!

— Yes. The power of the Saiyan race under the influence of the full moon is certainly impressive. No doubt, requests for aid in other battles throughout the universe will increase.

— They’re destroying the “moons”! Cried a technician. They tried every type of laser beam they had at their disposal and have finally found one that works.

— We just have to create more, said a Tsuful. Tell them to fire up the cannons.

— No! Interrupted Chiin-Lee. The cannons will only fire more moons when we’ve lost nine tenths of the moons out there! That way, they’ll be inclined to believe that they’re not doing anything useful. Or at worst, that we cannot fire anymore.

— Very well.

— Additionally, when you fire them, only do so with a small portion of the cannons. And only fire from others when you’ve lost the ones you were initially firing from. We need to keep the locations of our cannons a secret as much as possible.

— Perfect, we should be able to hold them a good while this way. And unless they have another trick up their sleeve, our victory is assured.

The Hot Squad left the admiral ship.

Nizucchi felt a sharp pain. Like a needle piercing through his body. He saw something exit from his stomach. A fighter had went through his body like he was made of butter. He didn’t sense him coming, he couldn’t believe it. His vision was failing. He could feel the cold enter his body through the wound, and fell flat to the ground.

— You monkey die! Peronipe shot another blast at a Saiyan, who died on the spot.

— Good glory! We must absolutely salvage all this fur, it must be worth a fortune! Said Mipan as he twirled between two fists bigger than him. He switched directions and kicked an enemy in the head, who fell to the ground.

— You are an elite member of this force, said Assira to a great ape who was indeed the chief instructor of the Saiyan army. You killed one of the warriors of the court, 27 elite soldiers, 83 infantrymen, destroyed 32 starfighters, and one of our flagships.

Assira caught one of the apes trying to punch him by the finger, and pulled its entire body closer. Surprised, the instructor fell forward, his face only a few feet away from his tiny adversary, who had his hands extended in front of him.

Assira fired a blast at point blank range, leaving the ape to continue his fall, headless.

— Massacre your congeners! Yelled Chili to an ape. This order echoed in the mind of the Saiyan, who slowly began to fade. He was no longer on firm land, but in the middle of a torrential sea. Sharp voices would pierce his ears as hands would emerge from the water, trying to drown him.

So he bit on one of them, to the point of drawing blood, in blind rage. But that arm belonged to another Saiyan, who cried out in pain. Still berserk, he then hit him in the chest, breaking his ribs and killing him.

Hanasia sensed those four signatures, much more powerful than the others, that had just arrived. She could also sense the disappearance of all of her subjects, dying one after the other at an alarming rate.

— They’re getting massacred out there! I knew it, there’s a Frost Demon among them!

She hopped out the window, only to stop in her tracks. She turned back and went to her wardrobe. She tore a few clothes apart and wrapped them around her head until she could not see anymore. She then took off towards the energies she sensed, shattered the dual-layered window of her royal chamber.

Assira smirked, fired a few energy blasts to wipe the battlefield clean. Seven Saiyans were hit, and another injured.

— Mipan has killed seventeen of them, I’ve killed twelve, and Peronipe tweny-one. Chili has driven five of them insane, who have killed eleven of their own. Our battle has only begun a minute ago, and we’ve already turned the tide of battle around. It’s only a matter of time before we’re done with them. Unless...

His gaze turned to Hanasia, flying in their direction at full speed.

— Unless an untransformed local, suspiciously veiled in rags interferes with operations.

— Hanasia has come out! Declared a Tsuful behind a screen in the control room.

— It had to happen. Even as great apes, our Saiyans are helpless in the face of these warriors of the court.

— It’s the Hot Squad! Bawled a military councillor of the rebel army one a monitor. They are among the strongest fighters in the Emperor’s court!

— Indeed, they know what they’re doing. The Saiyans are falling one after the other. The four of them alone are doing a much better job than their entire regiment...

— You must beware of them. They are known for their efficient battle tactics, and for their prowess in taking down strong opponents together.

— We’ll need to give an earbud to Hanasia, for this kind of situation...

— I’d already offered that to her, said Chiin-Lee, but she declined.

Hanasia detected the signature of the warrior closest to her. He wasn’t moving and had clearly noticed her. She darted straight at him.

— Suspicious element gifted with remarkable speed, radioed Assira to the rest of the squad.

At the last moment, he swiftly flew to the side to avoid the collision. Much to his surprise, however, she didn’t continue her course like the cannonball she was, but suddenly shifted her trajectory, and she was onto him within an instant.

He shifted into battle position and yelled: “We’re in troub…!!” But he never finished that sentence, crushed as he was by Hanasia assault.

The other three members turned to see their finest strategist drop to the ground, his body mangled, clearly dead. And they knew Assira was no weakling.

— Pero! Shouted Chili in his earbud, quickly taking charge as the de facto chief. Attack, don’t approach! Mipan ! You distract!

Peronipe fired several highly concentrated shots at their new opponent. Mipan quickly got up close and began to spin around her like a wasp.

Hanasia could sense the energy attacks and the ki of the hyper little guy who was definitely trying a “You can’t tell where I am!” tactic, which was ineffective. But she could also sense the dying life forces of Saiyans, at the hands of her own. And that threw her into a blind rage

She did not transform. She did however intensify her aura to the point of creating a shockwave that went in every direction, causing the great apes to lose their balance The ki blasts immediately slowed down a notch, and Mipan had stopped entirely, stunned.

And so, Hanasia rushed towards the third signature, the one that hadn’t budged since she’d made her entrance. He was the leader, for sure. She dodged the fire balls with ease, which crashed on the plains and formed vast and deep craters. Chili understood he was her target, and assumed his battle position. When she’d reached him, he sparked a few flames on the sides and threw a punch… which she caught, and grasped tightly enough to make him cry out in pain

— Let go… of my people’s minds! she howled.

The fire was coming straight for her, but using only her free arm, she deflected all of it away in a precise motion in spite of the fact she was clearly blindfolded. Her head reached Chili’s torso, and she would not rise it further.

— So it’s war, retorted Chili. He’d said that in manner he would know is worrisome. Every trick in the book is allowed.

The words, their shape more than their sound, pierced through Hanasia mind. Who had spoken like that? What was this upsetting power that could be felt in the voice speaking? Whatever it is, it’s definitely something very different from anything she’d encountered before.

So this was a Frost Demon at his full potential, the power she’d prevented from being unleashed in her first battle with them?

Chili probed his opponent’s mind. A strong head, but one that is already perturbed. She shouldn’t pose any trouble.

— Attack more? Pero not want hit Chili!

— No, said Mipan. Boss is trying to hypnotise her. This killing machine is going to massacre the monkeys better than Kuriputonitu on the Supamans that infest a Slump lord’s palace.

— Than what?

— I’m saying that we’re going to avenge Assira in the most gruesome of ways. This is the fighter who’s going to end the war, by killing all the friends he came to help out!

— Serves right!

Hanasia opened her eyes wide. But instead of seeing dim light permeate through the rags she was wearing, she was in the middle of a dense dark forest. The tortuous trees would change shapes and move around her. Certain branches who brush against her, which was an unbearable sensation. She no longer held her opponent’s fist, her hands busy trying to break the branches, flailing her hands around like one would to shoo away a swarm of bugs. All of a sudden, the trees grew even bigger, and swept further away as they laughed. She had to stop them, she flew through one of the trunks.

The tree cried out, from what sound afar, a painful howl, behind the mocking snickers of the other trees, Hanasia’s body was covered in blood. Saiyan blood. And that howl, she knew it well.

Hanasia tore her veil off and the dark forest was replaced with a dimly lit twilight. She turned around to see her friend collapse, her great ape hands clasping a gaping wound from which blood was pouring out

— Cetinia!! Noooooo!!!