DB Multiverse

With rage burning inside, Raditz flew faster than he ever had. However, so too was the Heloïte, and he had a head start and from a lower altitude.

The Saiyan's scouter indicated that his prince was also getting dangerously close to the zone. Frustration was added to his anger at not having completed his mission. The sanction would soon follow if Nappa killed-off the squirt before him. And that was without taking into account that he was physically diminished and that would also have a price. He was a good warrior though! He cursed against the lack of luck that kept trailing him.

On the ground, two men were scrutinizing the sky through their respective scanners. If Wigner was worried for Fuller, Nappa was delighted. The little worm had escaped Raditz, exactly what he needed for Vegeta to overlook his own short-comings.

Wigner told himself that wounded and pressed to rejoin him, Fuller might not have noticed the winner from the duel of chiefs going in his direction. Therefore, he sent a written warning via his immaterial visor all the while keeping an eye on the moustache-wearing giant who was but a few feet from him. The invader was visibly focused on the game of cat and mouse playing out in the sky... an occasion that he couldn't miss!

His suit had reconstructed quicker than his organism, and the leader of the Ultras noticed this as he slowly lifted is painful arm. His cells were still boiling and his thirst was becoming unbearable. Too bad! The diodes on his temples started flickering. He had taken the precaution to keep his head angled towards the clouds so as not to attract the barbarian's attention and he prayed his target would not be alerted by the lights. Wigner was aware that taking such an opponent by surprise was an exploit in and of itself at full capacity, so now...

Just a little more, and his objective would be within reach. As strong as the giant may be, none could survive the blast of a shot from his ultra-waver.

After the storm, a deathly silence dominated in the large meeting room. For the first time since he had integrated the Council of Sages, Radom had been obliged to use his authority to calm everyone down. Throwing invectives at one another never solved anything. The current problem was right there, represented in the centre of the thirty-odd chairs in the form of a dome where a three-dimensional video-stream of the current events of the Tregor hills was projected. The imperfect images were transmitted through numerous captors of the Thetor. Indeed, the numerous high altitude clouds blocked visual data and even though the thermal signatures of the invaders allowed to fill-in many of the details, analyzing the combats in real time proved difficult. Fortunately, the two Ultras who were still operational would soon reunite. Other than the fact that one theatre of operations limited the damage, the Thetor wasn't conceived for such reconnaissance missions, its captors couldn't track two regions at once. Ragus wasn't wrong: it would be prudent from now on to cover their planet with tracking systems. Had the council and the generals sinned by overconfidence in Helior's invulnerability? Was their exterior politics to be completely rethought? Had he himself made an error in ordering Wigner not to execute the murderers on-sight? Now wasn't the moment for debate. The current situation was projected in the form of three red silhouettes who's grip was tightening around the two Ultra units coloured in blue.

As his fingers caressed the soft form of his carefully groomed beard in an unconscious manner, Radom observed one by one the participants of the extraordinary meeting. Sages, high officers or advisors, he noted faces closed by anxiety or anger, sunken lines, nervous tics and beads of sweat despite the perfect temperature of the room... but no better solution, none.

He composed himself to seem as imperturbable as usual before raising an eyebrow to throw his sight towards the admiral in chief. Aware that he was the centre of attention, he finally gave his decision without his voice hinting at the trouble to his conscience:

— So be it.

Amidst the symbols that indicated their positions, Fuller could see clearer and clearer the silhouettes of Wigner and the massive barbarian on the ground. He raised his head, but a badly placed cloud blocked his sight from the human missile that was descending rapidly towards them. His scanners didn't allow him to know which of the two contenders for the leading position had won, but it didn't matter much. In his back, the hairy opponent was slowly gaining on him, but not fast enough to have caught up before joining his leader. The young man had a difficult time keeping his concentration. He had already been wounded during trainings, but in real situation, managing the pain and the fever were immensely more difficult.

An alert blinked suddenly in front of his right eye. In a sudden movement to the left, he deviated his trajectory sufficiently to evade a shot from the haired warrior tailing him. Despite his normally serious wound, the barbarian remained dangerous and insisted, apparently, on stopping him from reaching the hills from where they had left.

The large bald man burst out laughing loudly as an explosion hit amid the fruit trees.

Slightly surprised, Wigner thought he wasn't the only one happy the hairball had missed his target. It was now or never he told himself!

Arm ready, he suddenly was pushed back a step!

A ball of energy from above had just opened a crater between him and the savage.

Stupid! He was stupid!

The alert had blinked on his screen and in his ear, but persuaded that the detected attack concerned Fuller, he had chosen to stay focused on Lidar's killer to be sure to not miss. Inches closer and he would have been dead!

Fuller hadn't missed the scene and suddenly deviated to take a rising trajectory. Without slowing down, he activated his ultra-waver towards the one who could have killed his leader, the invader who had defeated the other chief.

Vegeta's scouter started emitting worried beeps. The prince smiled with confidence. As strong as the menace was, it was far too slow to worry him. Jubilation across his face, he nonchalantly raised his arm during the evasion.

Wigner had just taken flight to rally his Ultra as fast as he could as soon as he saw him deviate from his trajectory. He almost stopped mid-flight, taken by surprise.

Nappa could have tried to stop the Heloïte leader, he hadn't budged. He merely stayed in place, arms crossed. This one was for Vegeta. Now that he was back, it was his task... and it was what he had already started.

The ball of energy landed and a new explosion rippled through the Tregor hills.

Also stunned, Fuller had first prepared himself to avoid the shot from the short leader with the flame-shaped hair, before looking at the trajectory of his shot. After being surprised by the inaccuracy of the one named Vegeta, he now noticed that it wasn't him who had been aimed.

Now in a crater from his fall, the one-legged stranger was recovering his senses, his skin fuming, covered in bruises, burns and small cuts.

The chief of the barbarians flew right passed the young Heloïte without even according him a glance.

The next instant, next to his warrior, he sent him back to the ground with a violent kick to the head.

Wigner had just regrouped with Fuller. He didn't say anything, but addressed a warm look to his ally while putting him hand on his shoulder. The latter answered with a coy smile before returning his attention to the ground.

— What's taking them? he asked half whispering.

— Apparently, his men weren't supposed to touch us, I think he's punishing him.

— Lidar? asked the young Ultra in a breath.

— To make sure we took them seriously, I think.

Fuller was about to ask on the conduct to take, but he withheld himself. He understood by the attitude and the gaze fixed on his communication band that his leader was updating the command centre and asking the new orders given the evolution of the situation.

Below, the brute serving as chief to the barbarians was coming back to them, almost instantly followed by the wounded who had just taken a beating that would have broken a tank. These strangers were truly monsters!

A new message caught the attention of the Ultra commando, and a chill ran up his spine. Wigner gave him a forced smile that didn't fool him. The Heloïte commander must have noticed, because he accentuated his message with a "Ready?" at the end of his brief communication.

— Ready, confirmed Fuller in a voluntary tone.

"Then we take out the big one." appeared on his screen, just as the leader of the freaks joined them.

Vegeta deciphered easily the explicit message from the gaze that Wigner held as he slowed in front of him, offering in return the most ironic imitation possible.

— You are not very obedient for soldiers, he dropped.

The last syllable still on his lips, he already had his fist in Wigner's face as a condensed blast of energy shot from his free opened hand towards Fuller.

— Son of a bitch!!

The insult had come without retinue. Keeping his emotions in check was one of Wigner's strengths, however, in the instant, he let himself be submerged by a bloodshot that passed through his barriers.

Vegeta, who wasn't expecting such an excess of rage, was taken unaware by the counter-attack. For a few seconds, the Saiyan took the offensive of hits, dodging the most urgent only. He was surprised to see that an opponent his scouter analyzed as weak would be able to display as much force as the best. But after all, the Heloïte systems had been unable to analyze Saiyan energy, it was not ridiculous to think scouters weren't designed to perceive the unusual particularities of the warriors of this race.

Wigner passed the next gear and the light from his God's Blade almost reduced his opponent to the state of a cripple.

Fuller had risen from his fall with difficulty. Without immediate medical assistance, he knew himself doomed. But that wasn't important, he hadn't expected to survive anyway. Standing thanks to his anti-gravity system, he didn't have the strength for another flight. His breathing hampered by flowing blood, his sight was dimming and he had to concentrate to situate the different protagonists still standing. He was burning his last reserves to reach the big bald barbarian, who stayed immobile where Wigner had left him. It was the best he could do to help his leader, now alone, trying to contain the invaders in a space as small as possible.

The young commando knew the fight was in a particularly bad state. The unexpected offensive of the chief of the strangers, when they thought he didn't want to touch them, had obliged Wigner to attack the strongest one rather than use the grounded opponent as an anchor to attract the others closer. Both of them together, they could have surely put the giant in difficulty, obliging his acolytes to come save him. Of course, the wounded barbarian could have seemed a better choice, but an aerial combat exposed yourself to more risks. Because of the evil little chief, they were now in the worst configuration possible.

In the haze of his weakening conscious, Fuller noticed little beeps, he guessed they came from the detection gear from Lidar's killer. His own screen confirmed that his end was near.

Under the impressive architecture of the meeting room, silence was sole master. All the important people were locked in their high technology seats and had their attention on the three-dimensional dome. These imminent people, more accustomed to victories than defeats, were holding their breath with the terrible taste of fear in their throats.