DB Multiverse

Treason

The heavy body of Krämm of Istaal plunged to the ground.

The bright toothpick that served him as a blade twirled between the fingers of the Emperor, who was going to throw it like a dart to nail the maybe still living paladin to the ground.

The combat was about to start anew! Each warrior of the court was ready to do his best to demonstrate his utility and escape an execution by their master. It would be easy for them, seen as the rebels had all but given up. Such a dismal ending! In the end, the warriors of the decimated court weren’t all that powerful and the only true elite would have been Dijicharate. The Super Saiyan had done much better than all of them…

But before the slightest blow could be shot, before Blizzard could throw the sword, a new aura invaded the room.

Few knew at this era how to sense energies, but the presence was too powerful to not be noticed.

Blizzard was so suspicious that he kept the sword in between his fingers, thinking he might have to change target. Because the aura was hostile.

— No one’s killing anyone! shouted a voice from the shadows of a corridor.

Before an audience mesmerized by fear and apprehension, a humanoid lizard with silver reflections made his entrance. All had recognized the physical characteristics of the species. It was a…

But who was this new Frost Demon?!

Only the Emperor recognized him.

— Snower… he grumbled in a deep voice.

What was he doing here? Why had he waited for the heart of the battle before revealing himself?

— What are you doing here? his father asked menacingly.

The room filled with apprehension. This wasn’t one of the demon’s plans? His father hadn’t been informed? No surprize he was angry… And his son wasn’t answering, he was taking his time. He was standing straight and wasn’t advancing anymore, but he wasn’t entirely motionless. It was ever so slight, but Snower’s body was trembling slightly from the excitation. He was a calculating and calm person, but in his original form, he had difficulty remaining straight. He had been in his third reduction form since years, the immense power he was emanating surged him with an electrical energy.

Blizzard had closely followed all the battle plans. Each plan, he knew them. He naturally mentally reviewed the routes of each spaceship and took into account the reports and issues. He couldn’t see the flaw. Snower should be far from here. If he had never left, there’d have been too many noticing his absence. Blizzard had seen the conference. He had won several battles. He had…

— Yesterday you destroyed a planet that’s 13 days travel from here! screamed Blizzard.

— Father, said Snower with a smile, it’s my second-in-command who destroyed that planet. He’s a good bombardier and can imitate quite nicely my attacks.

— I saw you do it!

— Did I not inform you previously that it was possible to make good false videos with a little effort?

The audience froze.

Snower had double-crossed his father!!

Hanasia and Bourgo were flying towards the Saiyan royal palace.

The prospect of meeting and talking to Tsufuls didn’t please Hanasia. She’d have rather celebrate her healing with a good fight, or a feast, though surprisingly she wasn’t hungry. Or at least simply see some friends or a lover. But the alien had told her of a menace and evidently she had to take care of it.

Despite the disaster that had been her trip to space, she told herself it was the right idea, seen as invaders were still coming.

Once at the castle, she found a group of worried Tsufuls.

— There still many of these Frost-thingies? Hanasia asked the group.

— There are still three remaining, but the one approaching is easily the strongest of them.

— But the worst is that he intends to destroy the planet before any combat can take place. We must intercept him before that.

— We will regroup with the other rebel fights already present here, Bourgo said. We only have a few hours to prepare a plan to counter them. We must meet up with the spatial arena as soon a possible to keep it at a reasonable distance from Plant.

The Tsufuls were all-too happy to leave the palace, and embarked on their ship. They prepared a rendez-vous at sea as usual, with the largest open platform, so as to allow as many as possible to come.

The present group could not be more heteroclite. In addition to the Tsufuls, bunched up in a corner, some seating in flying seats, there were also some Saiyans, and different aliens.

At the head of the group, there was obviously Hanasia, who had changed from her usual garb into a royal attire. Again this story of “image” that she didn’t understand. Next to her, Corrne, storyteller, Counsellor to the Queen, Tsuful contact, and part-time boyfriend. He was wearing the weird electronic bracelet that allowed him to speak and hear far. The other Saiyans could have been behind them, but obviously were not. There were five new high ranked members of the army, instructors both female and male, recognisable by the emblem on the shoulders of their clothes. As officers, they were more disciplined than the average, which is why they were galavanting around the platform observing without restraint the Tsufuls and rebels in a bothersome manner, but at least without touching. The other Saiyans, members of the army handpicked by Hanasia, were now neatly filed behind their Queen. They had been scolded enough as it was.

The rebels weren’t a close knit group as they were independent powerful combatants. But they had the civility to participate in the discussions, listening more than anything else really, and remained in place. The strongest rebels had left to attack the empire and the nine present here weren’t important enough to have been nominated, especially this one, who would get himself killed as of the start of the battle.

Bourgo was the strongest of the rebel group, and by far. But one should also take notice of Tagarrion, a male or female being, slightly taller than a Saiyan, entirely covered in a heavy and resistant armour, coupled with two thin but sharp blades. Even here Tagarrion was in full armour and never had one seen the slightest bit of skin. Many thought a great mystery surrounded his true nature, until the time came to eat, at which point he had removed his helmet and ate without the slightest note of hesitation. There was also an enormous fighter, as tall as he was large. Hanasia couldn’t remember his name, a little like the others, so simply called him Fat. He’d surely be able to feed an entire village during a feast, she thought to herself.

After unending presentations, between names that weren’t pronounced properly in several languages, and people changing place once presented, and mistakes from many of the speakers (“Yes but who’s he again?”), the Saiyans finally assembled behind Hanasia, much to everyone else’s relief.

A Tsuful chieftain explained the situation, because the Saiyans not only didn’t know the danger, but also its nature. The spaceships, the travel time, all that was complicated, and what “destroy the planet” meant flew completely over their heads.

Some of the rebel fighters were patient towards Hanasia’s ignorance. They had travelled across many worlds, often to counter attacks from an armed vessel of the Frost Demons against a planet with limited technology.

Others on the other hand were gritting their teeth and almost started a fight to pass the time, if Bourgo’s piercing gaze hadn’t immediately changed their minds.

— So, they’re coming with a space transport thingy.

— Yes, but it’s very big.

— Bigger than the capital?

— Yes. It’s big enough to be able to fight without holding back.

— Bigger than the whole capital?

— Yessssssss.

— How did they pick it up?

— Listen, this isn’t the right time is it? And with your strength you could do as much if you wanted to.

— No, that’s the point. Pieces would fall off from the side, from everywhere. I thought I could with a big enough rock. A rock is solid right, well at half-way, it broke and I went through it. The Counsellor, the old one, not this one, told me it was because the weight of the rock was concentrated on my hands, which are really small compared to the rock, and that’s why it broke.

— But you don’t lift a spaceship! And it’s not imp…

A rebel pushed an angry sigh. Everyone turned towards him as he extended his arm to the sea.

There was a shake followed by a loud noise from the water. A large mass of liquid lifted itself from the surface of the sea. The hole that was had backfilled though it was so large the waters remained tumultuous after. The incredulous mass, both by its size and incoherence, continued to rise and a shadow covered the entire platform.

— This is how you lift a city! Happy now, slob?

The cube fell suddenly, causing a big wave of which the final drops reached some of the people present. Bourgo noted the weight of what had been lifted and understood that the fighter would not have held a second longer, even though he had made it seem as if the task had been easy for him.

Chiin-Lee, on her side, hid her face in her hands. A nearby Tsuful told himself they’d have to rely on one less rebel fighter for this coming battle.

But, apparently not knowing the definition of the word “slob”, Hanasia simply responded with a smile:

— Yes.

Or maybe the automatic translator had been diplomatic.

Hanasia did a round-up of the group. The Tsufuls assembled in a corner, some of them were terrified by their situation, being surrounded by large fighters with angry spirits, wouldn’t fight against the invader. The aliens however would help. She didn’t really understand why these people coming from afar felt concerned. It wasn’t their planet.

But they were here and seemed for many of them to be stronger than Saiyans. But not by much. And certainly not stronger than an Oozaru Saiyan, except perhaps the tall green one. In the previous battle, this little group would have been cut into pieces by the four assholes that had attacked at the same time, or pulverised as if they were nothing by the tall one that had come with the Frost Demon.

It was her new army. She knew the Tsufuls were thinking of something different, but what they wanted wasn’t going to happen. She took things in hand:

— Ok, you’ll need a distinctive sign, because you all have different heads, like the invaders. We don’t want to hit you by accident.

One or two of the rebels, not used to indifference, didn’t take well to the idea that the locals felt incapable of remembering their heads.

— It’s the invaders who will have a distinctive sign, said another. They all wear the same armour, you saw them in your previous battles.

— And what if one of them takes off his armour?

— Then you leave them to us.

— There’s also Yikoun, said another rebel.

— What about him? asked the first rebel.

— He doesn’t wear armour.

— Well we’ll just have to take him.

— Honestly, I think only Hanasia or Bourgo can take him.

— Well then Bourgo will take him.

— He might be the ideal opponent against Avoka the telekinetic.

— For fuck’s sake! How about we all wear a hat of flowers! That good enough for you?

— Well, it’s mostly that I just wanted to point out that, with the demon Frosty, there are monsters well above average in the spatial arena. And we only have one person near their level.

— For crying out loud: Have you never been in a war? If the fight was a given for, it wouldn’t be a fight! There was the whole Hot Squad in the previous battle. And Ice Kurima! And Chatterton. Chatterton, for fuck’s sake. The Super Saiyan who’s right there smashed them all. If you’re scared, fuck off, but know that what’s awaiting us is nothing compared to what she already did. Only Frosty is a danger. And much greater danger than his brother, but he’ll be alone. General Chatterton was defeated in one shot, just one!! Yikoun and Avoka will be pulverized. All we will have to do will be to sweep the surroundings!

Chiin-Lee didn’t know that rebel, but his words reassured her. It was true that only the demons were able to harm Hanasia. The issue of the battle seemed more positive. They just had to prevent the demon from reaching the planet. And for that, they had to leave quickly.

— Ok, she said. Our cargo vessels are approaching. Our army has a firing power strong enough to pierce the shields of the spatial arena. After that, all the fighters will enter the combat grounds. They will need to travel through space, from our ships, until the artificial atmosphere of the arena, but that should only last a few seconds.

— Saiyan Queen, asked a Tsuful who was in charge of the logistics. Your Saiyans, were they able to assemble at the capital, or do we need to send ships to more distant locations?

— No, said Hanasia. Her gaze was hard and unwavering, and her answer a little too firm.

— Oh, uh, so they’re all at the capital.

— No.

— They, uh… are a little late? attempted the Tsuful, who was starting to worry.

— No. They’re not coming.

The Tsuful seemed to melt on the spot.

— I cancelled all your messages to the villages. The storytellers either didn’t go or were caught up. Those in the capital don’t know, but they won’t be leaving either.

Chiin-Lee gazed at her feet. She had doubted as much. Hanasia didn’t want to see the same massacre again. She wasn’t saying it, but she was mad at the Tsufuls their idiotic plan to hide her during the fight. Of course, she hadn’t hesitated to show-up anyway at the beginning of the genocide and even if she had been there from the start, she wouldn’t have saved many people, compared to the final result.

— The Saiyans have already paid the price. They will not participate any further.

— I agree! said a Tsuful who had been against the plan since the meeting that had been held a few weeks ago.

— We can’t ask such a sacrifice a second time, added Chiin-Lee. She wasn’t going to speak initially, but now that another Tsuful had shown his position on the matter…

— Orti! Chiin-Lee! objected the chief. We are not reopening this debate on decisions that have already been made!

— Made without the presence of those concerned! Insisted Orti.

A squabble erupted instantly among the Tsuful group. Suddenly much less quiet, they were animated by the rage of a fighter. Most Saiyans found this quite comical, while the rebels simply sighed in desperation.

— Silence! Silence!! Screamed the Tsuful chief. He had amplified his voice using technology. We are in a hurry. There’s no room for a debat. If the Saiyans aren’t in the same place, and don’t know their mission, we can’t take them. Saiyan Queen, listen to me. Allow us at least to recruit Saiyans from the capital that want to.

— No. Only these ones are coming, Hanasia said showing the Saiyans behind her with her thumb. They were the most experienced and strongest soldiers at the time.

— Chief, let me try for a minute, whispered a Tsuful next to him.

It was Nabane Musaceae Zingiberales Commelinids, a terrifying diplomat who was renown for getting what she wanted. Chiin-Lee hated her. But at least, she knew that with her, it’d go down well. Because Nabane had a habit of always being liked by her interlocutors. Even manipulated to the opposite of their initial sentiment, her victims often thought they’d won or changed their minds on their own. She was always expert in everything, and it was insufferable. She was surely expert in Saiyans and the Queen’s psychology. Nabane lifted herself from her seat and exited the group. Thus doing, she placed herself as the only interlocutor and could master the flow of the debate. She looked Hanasia directly into the eyes.

— You are the Saiyan Queen and your decision is absolute.

Hanasia smiled, she preferred this kind of speech. It was of course the aim of the Tsuful.

— It’s up to you to decide which Saiyans come. I see you have chosen strong warriors who you can trust. After the big sacrifice your people has already made, we are honored to have such quality support.

Ignorant to such elementary manipulation techniques, the Queen crossed her arms and enjoyed the situation. Nabane didn’t need to gauge the force of a Saiyan to know the present group represented the elite, at least the living one.

— You know the pain of such a battle, but the newly arrived at the capital, who asked to be part of the army, they won’t understand why you refused to let them fight. What will they think of your decision?

— Huh? Well… I don’t care.

— But yourself, you wouldn’t accept to be put aside, wouldn’t you.

— Yeah. No but, ok, I get it they’ll be mad at me. But they’ll be alive. I prefer that. So stop trying.

— And what’s more, said a Saiyan in the group behind Hanasia, there’s only three invaders, the other guy said that earlier. Whereas all of us, we’re like, ten.

— He understands nothing, and doesn’t even know how to count, thought a rebel with spite. There was 15 Saiyans and 9 remaining rebels.

It was the perfect interruption for Nabane. She smiled inside towards the Saiyan, oh yes, thank you!

— Oh, I’m sorry, she said feigning surprise. We didn’t explain well. Please excuse our mistake.

— Huh? Hanasia and the other Saiyans didn’t understand. The Tsufuls stayed quiet and many hoped it would work. The rebels, in front of the obvious bad faith looked away. One of them sat down and pretended to take great interest in his handheld device.

— There’s many more than three invaders in the spatial arena. There’s a whole army. And three of them, indeed, a lot stronger. We must have forgotten to say it clearly. I am sorry.

And it was true. For that matter, they had explained that clearly at the beginning of the meeting. Most Saiyans of the group had understood that. But when their friend had talked about their being only three members, most said to themselves they hadn’t understood, and that it was an army of three. The Tsuful, admitting her mistake, reassured them, they had made a mistake in the number of bad guys, it was the fault of the Tsufuls.

And now, they understood the point of fight numbers with numbers, and to go fetch a few more Saiyans. This, simply by making them realise a piece of information they already knew, and teaching it to them again!

But Hanasia had well understood there was an army in the arena.

— Numbers don’t change anything. A weak army will be smashed in minutes by a strong guy. I’ve seen it.

— All the soldiers of this army aren’t that weak. I’m sorry for the imprecisions on our part.

— Don’t worry about it. I’m planning on killing everyone who’s a little too strong, as soon as we get there.

— Hm, uh… that’s extraordinary, we can count on you! But… I’d be very curious to know how?

— I find them, and I fire an energy ball for each of them. A nicely concentrated one, like it should be done. If they’re ten or twenty in the group, I can do in a second when we get there. Worst case, I miss one.

Hanasia had disliked being occupied by the demon while the other one was killing Saiyans. She had to stop these kind of people, before she started her fight against the new demon.

— But how will you find them?

— I sense their lifeforce.

— You can sense their lifeforce, like a detector? To the point of who’s the strongest in a group?

— Yes.

— In this group, can you?

— The strongest is him, said Hanasia pointing to Bourgo. Then him, then him, then her…

— It fits the reality, thought Nabane, who had read the files of each rebel fighter, on top of which the Tsufuls had added the values of their lifeforce.

— Good! Hanasia accompanied her interjection by levitating, showing everyone it was time to go, and now. I think everything’s said and done, let’s go to those ships for space, we’re leaving now.

The other Saiyans took flight immediately, happy the talking was finally over, ready to fight.

Several of the rebels with similar mindsets followed suite.

The Tsuful chief would only confirm the departure through his communicator, everything was indeed said. He called the vessels to them. Nabane, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped, looked to the left and the right, not daring to stop them. Everyone had followed Hanasia, like that!!

— Ah ah ah, in your face!! thought Chiin-Lee.