Dragon Ball: Untold IC

[Atkemri]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

Jalid smiled, satisfied in some way that the Makyan patriarch had made a bit of a fool of himself and now attempted to apologise for his mistake. Not that she was especially offended--and Jalid knew her cousin would find it just as amusing, if not more so. No, Jalid simply enjoyed seeing people squirm a bit. After a few moments, Jalid blew a bit of smoke from her cigarette.

"Right this way, Your Excellency," she said, turning around and heading back inside the biomechanical fortress that was Glacia's home and seat of power. Jalid's courtiers followed behind her and Baharat as they entered the former temple. The living metal walls seemed to breathe and react to the Makyan prince, the frescoes and statues paying close attention to him as they ventured deeper inside.

"Is this your first visit to the PTO?" Jalid asked casually.

Baharat: The Patriarch of House Umami!

"Well of course it is you horned twat!" Was Baharat's first thought upon hearing the question, there was no chance that he would be able to lounge around in PTO space in a space yacht with the opinion the PTO had about the Makayan rule of Makyo Star, he probably would've been harassed by the PTO army and Galactic Patrol for so-called "Crimes Against Sapience" had he been so brazen about his exile. While he did occasionally dip into PTO space he wouldn't exactly call those trips as visits, they could more accurately be called ingredient gathering for alchemy. Granted the sort of materials that Baharat gathered had the tendency to kick and scream and cry for their parents as they were put on the alchemy table, but that wasn't exactly the sort of thing you would want to explain to those outside of Makyo Star. He had learned that lesson quickly after his exile after he made one too many jokes about child slaves and found himself mobbed by a bar. He distinctly remembered how poorly that went for the mob.

Refocusing on the question Baharat replied, "Ah, I can't say that I have. We both know of the...complicated history that our peoples have had together and because of that fact I've never had the honor to visit, until now that is." Baharat's eyes drifted across the strange biomechanical make up of the walls and was barely able to contain his curiosity. He simply found the building strange, it was so different than what one would expect from the prim and proper Acrosians that he simply could not stop himself from asking. "Princess Jalid, would you happen to know who exactly was responsible for the building of this palace? I find it very...interesting."

[Britanania]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

If Jalid seemed bothered by the bizarre nature of Glacia's home, the Arcosian princess didn't show it. Indeed, she seemed perfectly at ease, strolling through the living temple as if it were a park on Station Alpha, despite such structures being rare even among Arcosian homes.

"Hmm," she purred as the Makyan explained that he hadn't been to the PTOP before. "I do hope your stay is a long and welcomed one," she said with a cold chuckle as they ventured deeper into the fortress. When Baharat asked about the history of the fortress, and who created it, Jalid turned and have the patriarch a smile.

"Ah, you shall have to ask Her Majesty for more details," Jalid began. "She is the scholar, but I do know a little." The Arcosian female looked upwards, a fresco keeping its attention on her as she and the group walked.

"This place was a temple constructed by a race who predated the emergence of the Arcosians and Makyans are space-faring people by tens of thousands of years. They were called the Sephirah, and they built this temple to worship the Kai. The living-metal creatures you see are all that remain of them after they reached enlightenment and left these constructs as their only connexion to the mortal plane. Still, quite a few soldiers have reported seeing their ghosts wandering the halls, late at night."

Finally, the group reached a gigantic doorway that opened as they approached, revealing Glacia's throne room. Inside, hundreds of different alien races conversed, and courtiers from thousands of different worlds mingled.

And, far to the back, on an impressive throne, sat Glacia herself. Jaldi approached her cousin's throne and bowed.

"I present, Baharat, the Patriarch of House Umami."

[Finland SSR]

Noah

---

When the news transmission ceased, an uneasy silence set across the battlefield surrounding Noah. The bio-android continued holding Castor and Pollux, though both of the princes were lowered, their feet now able to touch the ground. The army continued to surround him - their orders now were to hold the bio-android in place as long as possible, and give them time to destroy the construction in North City. Perhaps they can nuke everything from orbit, just to be sure.

"I hope you don't feel any fear," Noah muttered under its breath, the words aimed to the two princes. "It does look rather frightening, so many weapons aimed at your faces..."

Suddenly, hundreds of mutants burst from the ground below, forcing themselves out right in front of the soldiers and grabbing one after the other. Utter chaos followed, and in a matter of seconds, the army units surrounding Noah began to shatter. Their personnel was getting turned into even more mutants in droves.

It was in the midst of this chaos that a portal opened on the battlefield, ten or so meters away from where Noah stood, and let out the members of the Wraiths Squadron, or the Justice Friends - getting the bio-android to glance at them over the shoulder.

"...You are here early."

[Britanania]

North City

Spicer remained silent as they passed through the portal, his eyes trained first on the assortment of weapons, but also on Serena's brothers as Noah lowered them to the ground. The mutant leader seemed satisfied, but of course, he would be. He held all the cards.

"Late, by the looks of it," Spicer stepped forward. "Late to end you."

---

Collab betwixt ASC and Brit

Eight and a half years ago…

Planet Glacia 24601, September 500 AU

“Now let’s see the beast!”

Danu barely registered Spicer’s words as rage filled her mind. Instantly her body began to crack and transform, huge bulging muscles springing to life under her PTO uniform. In mere moments, the great ape that was Danu rose to its full height and roared with rage at Spicer.

Likewise to Danuja, although perhaps less dramatic, Spicer’s body went through a similar transformation, where his opponent’s mind was presently lost to the vestigial Saiyan ancestry, Spicer’s mind remained as alert as normal, even as Danuja roared at him with fury. The memory of their battle on the GPO outpost fresh in his mind, Spicer was ready to face the full brunt of Danuja’s unrestrained power, but he went on the offensive first, charging at the slightly smaller Great Ape and attempting to tackle her to the ground.

Danu roared as Spicer barreled into her midriff. The ape knew no real fighting or tactics and instead went for the simplest possible attack. She bared her fangs and bit at Spicer’s throat, trying to pound him with her fists as she did so.

Spicer let go of Danuja’s waist as the Saiyaness chomped at his neck, pulling his arms back in a defensive posture as she flailed about and wildly struck at Spicer with her hists. When a free moment presented itself, the elder Saiyan sent a body jab to her abdomen.

The female ape seemed to double over before it suddenly shot back up, its mouth pointed at Spicers head. A powerful jet of energy escaped from the she-ape’s mouth, screaming and roaring at Spicer’s head, knocking Spicer backwards as he covered his face from the blast.

“Chay, listen and take hold of yourself,” he reminded her. “You are a Saiyan warrior, not a mindless beast!”

The ape roared, no thoughts piercing its head save for the desire for destruction. Spittle dripped from its fangs as it brought its fists forward and attempted to lay a barrage directly into Spicer’s chest, fueled by its rage.

The elder Saiyan stood his ground, spreading his legs slightly to better distribute his weight as Danuja charged towards him. As the she-ape led with her right hook, Spicer relied on his experience and control to sidestep the punch, charging into her and bringing his arms around her neck in a grapple before using momentum and weight to slam her onto the ground.

The she-ape hit the ground hard, though this seemed only to anger it. It roared and went for the quickest possible attack that it could. It brought its mouth forward and bit at Spicer’s shoulder.

Spicer gritted his teeth as Danuja chomped into his shoulder but steeled his resolve as he let go. With his opposite arm, he swung down towards her jaw. The pressure would let up but was likely replaced with a more painful sensation as Danu was sent flying off of Spicer’s shoulder, unconscious but with a not-insignificant chunk of her opponent still in her mouth. The Saiyaness crumpled to the floor of the room and swiftly transformed back into her humanoid form.

Spicer breathed a sigh of relief, albeit one laboured as the Great Ape took a moment to catch his breath before disabling the artificial moon in the training room, his body beginning to revert back towards his base form.

Rubbing his bleeding shoulder, Spicer pressed a button on the console releasing the security doors and activating the intercom.

“Yes, this is General Spicer. Prepare two medical pods…”

[Atkemri]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

If Jalid seemed bothered by the bizarre nature of Glacia's home, the Arcosian princess didn't show it. Indeed, she seemed perfectly at ease, strolling through the living temple as if it were a park on Station Alpha, despite such structures being rare even among Arcosian homes.

"Hmm," she purred as the Makyan explained that he hadn't been to the PTOP before. "I do hope your stay is a long and welcomed one," she said with a cold chuckle as they ventured deeper into the fortress. When Baharat asked about the history of the fortress, and who created it, Jalid turned and have the patriarch a smile.

"Ah, you shall have to ask Her Majesty for more details," Jalid began. "She is the scholar, but I do know a little." The Arcosian female looked upwards, a fresco keeping its attention on her as she and the group walked.

"This place was a temple constructed by a race who predated the emergence of the Arcosians and Makyans are space-faring people by tens of thousands of years. They were called the Sephirah, and they built this temple to worship the Kai. The living-metal creatures you see are all that remain of them after they reached enlightenment and left these constructs as their only connexion to the mortal plane. Still, quite a few soldiers have reported seeing their ghosts wandering the halls, late at night."

Finally, the group reached a gigantic doorway that opened as they approached, revealing Glacia's throne room. Inside, hundreds of different alien races conversed, and courtiers from thousands of different worlds mingled.

And, far to the back, on an impressive throne, sat Glacia herself. Jaldi approached her cousin's throne and bowed.

"I present, Baharat, the Patriarch of House Umami."

Baharat: The Patriarch of House Umami!

So it seems like with all things, the Acrosians had stolen this very palace from a race that had been long dead. The tale of the Sephirah was an interesting one and one that could be of future use to Baharat, if they had left anything more useful behind perhaps it could be an aid to Baharat's return maybe even past that. Of course such things had to wait until he actually retook Makyo Star and if he wanted to do that he would have to get past this meeting first. Even here, at Glacia's throne, it could all come crumbling apart should Glacia decide that she would be best rid of Baharat and send her entire capital at him and while he was sure he could handle her and the fodder she called soldiers even he wouldn't risk having to fight multiple Acrosians and whatever generals that laid in waiting here. Regardless of any worries he had, he was here now and he knew that now he would have the chance to take back what was rightfully his.

Baharat began with a bow, "Hello, most gracious Lady Glacia. It is truly an honored to be allowed inside your court so that I may offer my most humble appeal to your highness." He rose, moving his hands over his heart, "I know our peoples have had a troubled history but I hope that our talks today will help to remove that sordid past. Allow me to explain why it I am here, you see the illegitimate Emperor of Makyo Star and his cronies-" Despite Baharat's best efforts malice filled his voice when he began speaking of the clans and emperor who had disgraced him so, making his opinions on them evident to everyone listening, "-have deposed House Umami and have attempted to finish the last of my bloodline, that being me. As you could imagine, I have great interest in reversing this injustice but alas I cannot fight off the entirety of Makyo Star by myself." He smiled for a moment, "...That is not without help I can't. So I have come here searching for your support in ousting the corrupt Houses of yore and replacing them with-" Baharat gestures to himself, "-one more open to the kindness of the galactic community."

Baharat waited to see the response from Glacia, hoping that his offer was something that she would be interested in. He had even brought himself so low as to imply that he'd work with the PTO after he had taken power but surely that had to catch her attention. If she said no, he wasn't quite sure what he would do, perhaps find some isolated part of the PTO and try to carve out an empire from that? He could probably accumulate enough manpower to get his revenge that way, but it would likely have the entirety of the PTO on his back and that wouldn't do. Such plans could wait for later though, it probably wasn't the best idea to think about failure now that he was at the precipice of success. Time would tell if he would have to use these plans yet.

[Britanania]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

The diminutive empress sat regally on her throne as the Makyan patriarch positively prostrated himself before her, her tail swishing about wildly, her eyes focusing on him like a cat watching her prey. Still, Glacia remained silent as Baharat explained to her why he cam before her. The empress did find it amusing; a Makyan had never stepped foot inside her palace until today.

When he was finished, Glacia glanced first at Jalid, who merely shrugged with some indifference. Jalid's brother, Ghaiccio, stood near her and seemed interested in the Makyan's story. After some quiet, the delicate, icy voice of the empress came out, and as loud as the court chatter had been when Glacia opened her mouth, all were silent.

"Why do I deserve your generosity?" she started, with a smile. "I said I would see you because I have heard you are a serious man, to be treated with respect, but let us say that I help you; I have only recently ended a war against the Hegemony, what would you offer me if I do agree to place you on the throne?"

[Naval Monte]

North City

When the portal was open Elizabeth was the first to step in. When she step foot on the city she would see the chaos surrounding her as more mutants began to be "born" from the soldiers sent to fight against Noah. Elizabeth saw the structure that would separate the Earth from the universe as a whole and looked at it dismissively.

Her attention would return to Noah once he commented them on being early. "Well we could have come here fashionably late but seeing that our favorite restaurant in this city is now in ruins thanks to your mutants you didn't give us much choice. Plus Serena wants her brothers back so if we took too long to get here than she would have my head on a silver platter."

Elizabeth would be covered by a dark aura as she got into a stance. "So how about you let go of tweedle dee and tweedle dum and skip the monologue to get straight to the fighting."

[Turkducken]

A collab between Turkducken and Brittannia

Planet Glacia 24601, 506 AU

Several weeks had passed since the situation on Strazhdannya exploded, the planet in open rebellion now against the PTO. Its governor, Polara the Fifth, was presumed dead. The PTO was doing its best to keep that information a secret, but, rumours spiral, despite the increased troops allotment.

Not a word from Polara or his honour guard had been heard in weeks, and if the news of the rebellion was accurate, he was the first Arcosian to die since Fuar, nearly five years prior. Not a word has been heard, until today.

A runner rushed into Glacia’s drawing-room, where the empress was enjoying some tea with her cousin Ghiaccio. The alien soldiers apologised profusely.

“Your Majesty, a ship is hailing us, using codes that belong to Lord Polara.”

Ghiaccio rose, looking first at Glacia before turning sharply to the soldier.

“Any response from the ship?”

“No sir, just requests to land, and word for the empress to come alone.”

Ghiaccio turned back to Glacia, who simply put her cup on its saucer.

“It will be all right, Ghiaccio. Polara would not dare an assassination attempt, and I can handle anyone who might have stolen those codes.”

The Empress rose from her seat and told the soldier to make the arrangements as she made her way to the landing site.

Descending from the sky above, a strange bulbous disk fell from the stars. At a distance the reflective black gloss of the exterior sent light cascading away from its smooth surface, but as it grew closer the landing the more detailed and perplexing the surface appeared.

The recognizable shape of a PTO vessel, a round disk with very little defining characteristics, was absent. The oily black ship touched down completely silently on the smooth egalitarian material of the landing pad before the Empress. Its exterior covered with strange blinking lights and looked almost wet, as the spindly legs emerged from the underside.

A smooth ramp emerged from the entrance, the door opening with the unmistakable hiss of depressurization. A portal lay beyond the darkness of the entrance.

The sight of the craft made onlookers uneasy, as it hardly seemed natural. The team of soldiers looked onwards as Glacia approached the craft in her hoverpod and disappeared inside its ghastly interior. The entrance slid to a close behind her as she entered, hissing of air and a ruffling feeling as the pressurization normalized to the interior.

As she passed through that it was a literal ghost-ship: not a single crew member was in sight, and Glacia concluded it must have been entirely automated as she ventured towards its central command chamber.

The whole vessel, in its entirety, was vast, dark, and silent. Other than necessary structural walls, the whole vessel was open, strange lights blinked in the darkness. The only light being the repeating pattern beneath her as she made the seemingly correct path into the heart of the ship.

Above and below her pod wires of all sizes ran towards her destination, and despite the abundant machinery and computational power on display, the whole system was eerily silent.

Ahead of her a door opened with a small hiss. As the Empress stepped through the gateway, dim lights powered on around her. As they grew in luminosity Glacia’s eyes adjusted from the near darkness. A slick looking computer terminal was to her left, but before her was a monstrous clump of wires.

The terminal flickered to life.

Green text on a simple black display began typing itself on the screen.

BIO-LOGICAL PRESERVATION COMPLETE…

EMPRESS GLACIA, WELCOME…

REBOOT SUBJECT [Y/N]?

Glacia’s eyes narrowed at the terminal, not hesitating as she typed onto the console.

“What is your purpose?”

PRESERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL SUBJECT 001

POLARA THE FIFTH, HEAD OF HOUSE POLARA

EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 004: ICE AGE

“Query: What is Protocol 004?”

PRESERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL SUBJECT 001

IN CASE OF NON-NATURAL EXPIRATION, OR NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE OF SUBJECT 001, THIS FACILITY WOULD RECOVER NECESSARY BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL OF SUBJECT 001 AND BEGIN RECONSTRUCTION.

UPON DELIVERY TO NEAREST ACROSIAN HELD STATION OR WORLD, ACTIVATION OF SUBJECT 001 AND EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 001: ICE TIME

DESIGNED BY LORD POLARA WHILE UNDER STRESS OF REPRISAL FROM EMPRESS GLACIA AND EMPRESS FLOE

Glacia paused for a moment, considering her options. She wondered if this machine held the information she really wanted; namely, what happened on Strazhdannya. After some thought, Glacia began to type again.

“Reboot subject 001”

The screen flickered off.

Lights all around the Empress came on.

A few blinding moments passed as audible hissing and humming filled the room.

When she could see again, the horrible truth was revealed for her.

At the heart of the ship, both within and around the accumulation of wires and machines, was the visage of a broken humanoid form.

Things resembling appendages were suspended both above and below what looked to be a suitable chassis for mounting. Mechanical arms silently operated on the presumed body. A light in the center of the chaos ignited, and as more of the clutter was cleared, it became clear to see that it was a head. Misshapen and broken, well beyond any life form the Empress had seen as of yet, but a head nonetheless.

Flickering bulbs at the front dimmed and brightened as if focusing on something.

A violent explosion of noise erupted from overhead and all around.

“Empress…” a synthesized crackle came through, “How...Humiliating…” a powerful sense of malice and loathing emanating through the digitized approximation of speech.

The biomechanical nature of Polara’s life support system was oddly satisfying to watch for Glacia, in a rudimentary way, it reminded her of the own structures that existed within her temple-turned-palace, and she took some time to marvel at the engineering before addressing her relation.

“Polara,” she replied with a dim smile. “You have clearly been better.”

“Humor…” the synthesized voice crackled aloud again, “Perhaps...We...Reverse the Roles…?” clear contempt and anguish coming across the speech, “Disappointing...That...It’s You...Have You Come...To Finish Us…?”

Glacia shook her head.

“No, I want answers. What happened on Strazhdannya? You have made quite a mess, Polara, and the Council will call a tribunal over this fiasco.”

A sort of low roar came from the audio surrounding the Empress, “Damn Your Council! An...Acrosian was Killed…! Cannot...Let...This Stand…!”

The mechanical arms operating on what appeared to be his body began furiously managing something she couldn’t quite see. The synthesized speech ceased for a few moments, before beginning again, just as ragged sounding as before.

“Which...Questions...Would the Empress ask Us…?”

“Who is responsible for your...condition... and why? We have had our differences, Polara, but I cannot abide an outsider harming family.”

A much louder rumble of computerized static came across the communication.

Again the mechanical arms operating on the body furiously began managing something the Empress couldn’t quite see.

A polite feminine voice spoke instead, “Apologies, Empress Glacia, but memories and thoughts of the incident on Glacia Planet fifty-thousand fourteen cause immense emotional distress to Lord Polara and create complications with critical system interfaces.” the digitized voice beeped helpfully, “Biological Subject five thousand one escaped containment after imprisonment within the enclosed city of Glacia Planet fifty-thousand fourteen. Data inconclusive once containment was breached, but Biological Subject zero-zero-one had ceased all functions of life when recovery process was activated.”

Glacia sighed, knowing that at least presently, what really happened would remain a temporary mystery.

“When will Su--Lord Polara recover?” she asked the interface.

“While the Great Lord Polara’s knowledge of xenobiology and Acrosian biology was beyond compare, the designs for reconstruction were not meant to fully rebuild the Lord’s natural form.” the voice helpfully elaborated, “Substantial improvements have been made, but the condition in which remaining biological material was recovered was less than expected. Physical trauma was immense, characteristics typical of a Demon Level threat. Beyond what was determined to be damage from battle, was extensive destruction by blunt trauma. This was assessed to be smaller damage post-mortem likely sustained by malcontents on Glacia Planet fifty-thousand fourteen.”

The digital voice seemed to wait for a few moments before helpfully chirping again, “Would the Empress like to see recovered footage of the Demon Level Threat?”

“Yes,” Glacia replied after some consideration. “Show me the footage.”

Previously opaque displays lit up all around the Empress. Lining the walls around her was the recovered footage from a local security camera. The city had many of these, but only one survived with a good angle on the scene. The audio on the other hand was slightly garbled and distant.

The Empress could see on each of the screens around her, Polara’s limp form balanced against the towering form of the aggressor. It was hard to make anything out, dust had clearly clouded the vision of the camera and parts of the city were visibly ablaze. Seconds ticked by with only the slight movement of the towering figure giving away continuity. Silence inundated with white noise was the only audio.

Suddenly the figure spoke, slightly warbled and tinny in the recovered audio format, “Freedom Comes to Those Who Take It!” clearly rung out from the figure, and as the words were spoken, the Empress clearly saw the fiery eyes of the speaker.

Trapped in a moment of her own life, she saw the same burning red eyes of Enma. “Death is Near.” she could practically hear him whisper, “When a Fire such as This is Started, it is very hard to put out.” For another brief moment, the memory of being cleaved in two returned to her.

The Empress shook her head, paying attention to the rest of the recording. It wasn’t much else than edited footage of the citizens of the city beating the lifeless body of Polara.

Glacia the sighed as the footage cut to black. The rumours coming out were largely similar to what she was shown, although a few mysteries remained, such as the warrior who defeated Polara. Glacia hoped later Polara might be able to provide some more definitive answers.

“Polara,” she said after a few more moments. “I shall convene the Executive Council, where we can discuss the situation in more depth. Before then, is there anything else you want to say to me?”

Crackling over the audio surrounding the Empress a sole response was given, “Human...Destroy Human…” lights around the Empress began to dim, the displays of the carnage returned to opaqueness, and the hissing of the life support quieted.

Chirping cheerfully over the speakers the digital voice returned, “Apologies Empress Glacia, but it is necessary to cease higher cognitive functions of Subject zero-zero-one. To elaborate further on a query, Subject zero-zero-one will take some time to adjust, but may never fully recover.”

“Human,” Glacia muttered. As far as she was aware there were no humans in that region of space--certainly no Earthling outside of their stellar system. It was certainly an intriguing mystery, but one Glacia had to shelf.

“Very well,” she said after a sigh. “Place Lord Polara in stasis, until he is more recovered,” Glacia told the interface. “Inform me when his condition is suitable for further questioning.”

A small beep of electronic confirmation informed the Empress that her command had been received.

As the Acrosian Empress slid out of the central chamber. Lights shuttered off all around the remains of the Acrosian subject.

A Dark Aura emanated from within.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Danuja

Danu had had what amounted to her first good night sleep since her ordeal began within the palace. Her new benefactor, as she was now calling him in her head in order to cope with the situation better, was kind enough to let her have an actual bed if only for one night. She had learned his name was Noctis from overhearing some of the servants. She would have to keep an eye on him. She had met his type before, conniving, arrogant, and dangerously intelligent. She wouldn’t escape his grasp easily.

The room she had spent the night in was rather sparse overall, with little in it besides the bed. A false window provided views of some far off lush vacation spot that Danu knew likely didn’t exist on the cityscape that was the rest of the Maykyan homeworld. There was little within it that would be of use to her even if she had a way to escape. Not that it mattered. She had been too tired to truly inspect the room the night before. Now that she was awake it took all of a minute or two for a guard to open the door and say gruffly “Right then, hope you enjoyed your last peaceful night. We’re going to your new home.”

“Oh what, do I get to live in a spa now?”

Danu felt the now all too familiar pain of her collar activating. As she fell too the floor, the guard smirked and said “I’d watch the tongue slave. Where your going there’s just as many people who would cut your throat for it rather than just hurt you.”

The saiyan queen pushed herself of the floor as she grimaced. One day, everyone on this stupid planet would get what they deserved. She kept her mouth shut as the guard clapped a set of manacles on her wrists and led her out of the house to a transport vehicle. This time they didn’t bother putting a bag over her head at least.

The flight itself was shorter than the one from the prison to the mansion. The purple hues of the city flew past as Danu watched out the window, trying to determine where she was being brought. The answer itself was obvious. A stadium, not unlike that where the Tenkaichi Budokai was held on Earth, rose atop a large skyscraper. Though it would be a grand sight on her homeworld, she could tell that on this planet it was something more akin to a minor league. All the better she supposed, it meant her initial opponents would be easier to defeat.

Danu was led from a dock below the stadium up into it’s lower chambers. A number of cells filled with monsters, various aliens, and machines passed by as she was led down the corridors. This was clearly an older structure, as it had physical doors rather than the magical ones Danu had encountered thus far. Some of the fellow slaves jeered as she walked past, others remained silent. The only one that stood out in particular was a hooded figure leaning against it’s cell door. It spat as Danu walked past, saying simply “Saiyan.” Danu spat back, which seemed to amuse it.

Finally they arrived at the location the guards seemed to be looking for. The cell door opened and Danu was shoved into it. The guard removed her shackles before stepping out, closing the cell behind him. Danu looked around. Yep. It was a prison cell. What a shocker. She sat down and leaned against a wall. It was only then, with the sound of a deep laugh, that she became aware of the presence of another in the cell. An orange alien sat within the cell with her. Shadow seemed to morph around him like water. He finished chuckling and said “So, you’re the recruit Noctis spent his life savings on. You don’t seem like much to me.”

“And your opinion matters why?”

“Because I’m whats gonna keep you alive out there.”

“Oh really. I think I can handle myself pretty well. I don’t need the help of some random shadowy alien.”

“Oh you don’t? You’re just like every other hot shot million ducat slave I’ve ever met. You’ve fought so many opponents haven’t you? Probably killed more than your fair share with nothing but your hands and some ki?”

Danu spat and said, venom in her voice “You don’t know the first two things about me bug.”

“I know everything about you. You’ve probably never even swung a weapon before. Ever heard the swing of a sword?”

“More times than you could guess. I’ve seen your type before as well. Old timer who thinks he knows everything. Can’t say I’ve met many talking bugs before though.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What, bug? It’s the truth.”

“My name is Kalath.”

“Mine is Danuja, though I didn’t ask for yours bug.”

The orange alien sprung to his feet, rage in his eyes. Danu had clearly struck a nerve. The two approached each other, sizing the other one up, waiting for the other to strike first. Before either could however, the cell door opened once more. A guard with Noctis’s insignia threw a small figure into the cell. Danu looked over and realized the figure wasn’t just small, this was a child, an unconscious one at that. Danu looked at the guard, rage in her eyes “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“Now now M’queen, don’t be so harsh on your new teammate”

Kalath spoke up “Noctis can’t be serious. This has to break some kind of arena-”

“The arena rules are that slaves fight. She is a slave. She’s your problem now.” The guard left the pair in stunned silence as he strode away. All Danu could do was wonder what kind of a sick creature had she made a deal with.

[Finland SSR]

Noah

---

Ikki followed into North City after Spicer and Liz, though he did not say a word. Instead, he was eyeing the bio-android's movements - if Noah dropped Castor and Pollux, even for a second, that is where they had to jump in, as he thought, to make sure that the two kids don't get hurt. Especially not when Spicer and Serena were here.

Noah watched Liz's announcement in silence. Across the battlefield, more of his mutants were burrowing themselves out of the ground, including the surviving Lieutenants - their power should be enough to hold the army at bay. So, Noah's hands suddenly released Castor and Pollux from their grasp, and pressed onto his gilded armor - instantly releasing a burst of exotic energy from within which flooded the area.

By the time Ikki - who instantly forced himself past Spicer and Liz, transformed into a Super Saiyan - swung his first punch and it got caught, an eerie atmosphere surrounded the bio-android, the two twins and the Wraiths Squadron. Where once was a scarred battlefield and the North City skyline was now an endless plane, surrounded by a dark, sky-like veil.

"Consider this a proof of concept for Earth's soon-to-come veil," Noah announced, and twisted Ikki's fist in his hand. "The brilliant Shuichi Kita, our father, designed it for me so I could fight villains challenging Earth without becoming a threat to my surroundings. North City will merely be me giving some alterations to the technology. Until then, here... we can fight unabated."

[Britanania]

North City

"How noble of you, giving us a fair fight," Spicer said, his words dripping with sarcasm. The Saiyan general's eyes did not divert themselves from, Noah, except briefly when the android let go of Serena's two younger brothers. To Spicer's relief, it seemed like the pair of half-angels were unharmed, and he allowed himself a moment to breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank the gods, he said to himself, his attention fully back on Noah after the mutant leader explained what was occurring. Spicer took a step forward, wincing somewhat as the mutant twisted Ikki's hand.

"What are to be the rules for our engagement?" he asked. "Someone with your...programming is surely to have rules."

[The Republic of Atria]

Ovan

Well, this was it. Supposedly, Dr. Kita had some way of either weakening or defeating Noah, and they just had to buy him some time. He could probably maintain his full power state for about ten minutes under the extreme conditions. He did have a better grasp on Noah's direct, but highly efficient fighting style. It would help, but unless they had a way to overcome his regeneration, there wasn't much they could do except buy time and hope for Kita to come through for them.

That little bit of hope and desperation would have to make up for the gap in power. He had a wife and child now. Despite that, he knew that letting himself fall to rage would just make things worse. He had to focus it and direct it without it affecting him too much. He nodded at Spicer. "Let's save the world." Again...

It didn't take long to arrive, but their time table was clear: Two hours. They needed to hold him off for two hours. He'd have to adapt some new tactics, but that was where he learned best. He just hoped the others had tricks up their sleeves that would help make up the difference. When they arrived, Noah surrendered the twins, and took them to a pocket dimension, showing them his plan for earth, as well as giving them all the ability to fight unrestrained, though he doubt it would mean too much. "Seems like those're the stakes."

He had a few ideas in mind. He was probably the strongest, Ikki wasn't too far behind, knowing him. Would it be smarter to have the stronger fighters go first and see if he and Ikki's combined strength was enough to weaken him enough that the others could put up a far better fight, or would it be better if everyone attacked him at once, and the haphazard and unpredictability make it harder for Noah to figure out an effective strategy? The group didn't have much experience in fighting as a unit, and that could have consequences as well.

"So. You want to do this the old fashioned way, or should we all just come at you at once?"

[Finland SSR]

Noah

---

Noah threw Ikki onto the floor of the pocket dimension and turned its eye to the other Saiyan and the Earthling, both of whom asked a similar question - if this is where the fate of Earth will be decided, then what will be the rules of engagement? Coming at him one after another, or all at once? Noah was about to answer, when Ikki suddenly yelled:

"One by one!" After the yell, he pulled himself back to his feet. "And... no killing, at least for now. You don't want us dead anyway, I assume."

Ikki stepped back, stopping next to Ovan and whispering:

"We need to hold him for two hours, not necessarily beat him in that time. So I think we should delay him as long as possible."

Noah's arms folded, and the bio-android's eye narrowed. "Sure. We can go with that. Whenever you choose your order of battle, you may begin."

[Britanania]

North City, 509 AU

Two hours, Spicer said to himself. That's how long they had to defeat--or at least delay--Noah as Dr Kita and Helios worked on the serum necessary to render the bioandroid harmless and to reverse the mutations he caused on the hapless citizens of North City.

And Lottus, as well, the Saiyan general reminded himself, folding his arms as Ikki returned to his feet. The group needed some strategy in selecting their order of battle, but regardless of what order they went with, it would be a daunting task, regardless. In Spicer's mind, their strongest warriors needed to go last--either Serena or Ovan, he reasoned.

Scallion as a middle option, after Elizabeth, Spicer reasoned as well, staggering their warriors, glancing at Serena's brothers who were clearly in no shape to continue the fight.

"I should go first," he announced to them. "I'm the weakest warrior, after all."

[Atkemri]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

The diminutive empress sat regally on her throne as the Makyan patriarch positively prostrated himself before her, her tail swishing about wildly, her eyes focusing on him like a cat watching her prey. Still, Glacia remained silent as Baharat explained to her why he cam before her. The empress did find it amusing; a Makyan had never stepped foot inside her palace until today.

When he was finished, Glacia glanced first at Jalid, who merely shrugged with some indifference. Jalid's brother, Ghaiccio, stood near her and seemed interested in the Makyan's story. After some quiet, the delicate, icy voice of the empress came out, and as loud as the court chatter had been when Glacia opened her mouth, all were silent.

"Why do I deserve your generosity?" she started, with a smile. "I said I would see you because I have heard you are a serious man, to be treated with respect, but let us say that I help you; I have only recently ended a war against the Hegemony, what would you offer me if I do agree to place you on the throne?"

Baharat: The Patriarch of House Umami!

Baharat was annoyed. He had expected Glacia to happily take his offer without question where then he could march into Makyo Star, murder and enslave all of those whelps that destroyed his house, and then find a way to weasel his way out of whatever agreements that he had made with the PTO in the aftermath. He did have some reasons for Glacia to give him aid just in case, but it bothered him that he'd have to appear subservient before the Arcrosian hag for another second. Nevertheless, it seemed that he would have to do so.

"A wise question Lady Glacia, you see aside from the cessation of conflict between the PTO and the Hegemony, I would also open relations with the PTO should I be instated as ruler of Makyo Star. Trade, science, and my people's arcane knowledge could be shared between our two nations propelling both into a new era of peace and prosperity. Of course this can only be achieved if assist me in taking the throne, the current Makyan administration is not very likely to ever offer you anything like this." said Baharat, masking the fact that he too also wasn't actually planning on letting the Acrosians into the heart of his home for very long at all, let alone allow their empire to mingle with the one he'd have not too long from now.

Baharat just hoped that Glacia would believe him, if she didn't then his plans became much harder to actually put into motion. Not that he needed Glacia to help, the Great Patriarch Baharat needed no help in taking revenge on the traitors that had sold out his House, but he did not want to spend another 35 years as an exile and certainly if she refused him now that's what Baharat would have to look forward to. In that case his only hope would be that his father would learn to stop nagging him, but hopefully it would not come to that.

[Britanania]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

Glacia leaned back on her throne, crossed her short legs, and leaned her temple on her fist, seemingly bored by the Makyan Patriarch's words and proposal. Still, the Empress' mind was hard at work, thinking over what Baharat was telling and offering her. The Arcosian lady was reminded of something her uncle told her once, not long before his death, back when Glacia was serving primarily as the chief archivist of the PTO.

"There exists a species of space shark," she remembered him telling her one day as they toured Imperial Art Gallery on Station Alpha. "Fascinating lifeforms that lack any thinking beyond fighting. And yet, on occasion, an intelligent one arises and watches as two sharks battle, while he waits. He waits until the survivor is so exhausted that he cannot defend himself, and then, he strikes."

Glacia smiled, despite herself.

"And what support do you have within the Hegemony, Lord Baharat?"

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Danuja took in the practice dummy in front of her, focusing her hate onto it. In the smug smiley face that had been painted onto it, she saw so many faces. X-9, the Android who had killed her father, Rads, Spicer back when he used to make her train. She felt the now all to familiar slight burning of her collar as it contained her spiking ki once again. Gritting her teeth, she growled and swung the twin hatchets she had been given. The blades whistled through the air as they made a clean strike and passed through the dummies wooden neck. The smiling head bounced to the floor and rolled in front of Danu. She gave it a good kick and sent it spinning off into the corner that was used as a refuse pile in the training pits. Danu picked up the rest of the dummy’s remains, and dragged it over to the pile. Before she would have been able to throw it with her pinky, but now it was mildly difficult for her to haul the heavy practice tool over to the trash. Hefting it onto the pile, she wiped the sweat from her brow.

Looking around the pits, she saw several other Gladiators training, mostly in teams. Danu sighed. Kalath was no where to be found, and the child was off hiding in the shadows, refusing to come out for anything. Danu wasn’t even sure they spoke the same language. Looking around at most of the other gladiators, Danu definitely understood the child’s reasoning. The majority of them were from a horrific set of species, resembling more monsters than anything Danu had encountered before, including in Maikai. If she were a child, and knew that these things would be trying to kill her any day now, she’d run and hide too. Danu sighed and walked over to the part of the pits where new training dummies sat, waiting to be taken. As she reached up to grab the head of a new dummy, Danu found her wrist grabbed by a large orange hand. Looking over to it’s source, she recognized the form of Kalath materializing from the shadows. It was an annoying little trick of his, especially when she would be able to see right through it if she wasn’t wearing the damned collar.

The orange alien smirked and said “You’re slow. Makes sense, I’ve seen the way you use those axes. You’ll die quickly if you don’t get faster.”

Danu ripped her wrist from his grasp and spat back “I’m plenty quick, I just need to learn new weapons. The base martial arts that I learned don’t have kill moves, and if we are to live through our fights, I need to be able to put our opponents down for good.”

“Show me then.”

“Wha-” Danu was cut off by Kalath’s right hand suddenly swinging up and striking her in the side of her face, sending her spinning to the ground. She spat a bit of blood from her mouth from biting the side of it.

“Show me your ‘base martial arts’. I’ve been in these pits for near two decades now, I finally have the opportunity to be rid of this gods forsaken world, and I’m not taking any risks. Show me what you can do.”
Danu cracked her neck and rose from the ground, raising her fists into a fighting stance. She began to circle Kalath, who began to mimic the movement. Realizing that he was unlikely to strike first, Danu quickly swung up her leg to deliver a kick at the alien’s side. Kalath did his best to dodge but still took the blow. Letting out a slight oomph on the impact, the Alien nodded, saying calmly “Good, you are somewhat fast. Gonna have to hit me-” Kalath was cut off by Danu tackling him to the ground, throwing punches as the pair fell over.

Dust obscured the squabble as both parties rolled, threw their weight around, and punched, trying to gain the upper hand. Kalath landed more than a few good hits that Danu suspected she would continue to feel into the coming days. Still, she was sure that her opponent could say likewise. Finally, Danu managed to pin Kalath’s arms to his side with her legs, bringing herself to a kneeling position over the bugman, her hands raised to deliver a devastating set of strikes. Before she could however, she heard the child cry out from across the room. The moment of distraction was all Kalath needed to free his arm and deliver a quick strike to Danu’s face, knocking her back to the ground. Danu coughed and said “That was a dirty blow.”

“So was you tackling me.”

“... I hate you.” Danu pushed herself up and scanned the room, finding the source of the noise. A team of three gladiators had cornered the kid against a wall. Danu shrugged in the direction to Kalath, who nodded in response.

The three warriors laughed about the kid’s “stupid orange hair.” The largest, a bruiser whose species resembled humanoid forms of the elephants Danu had known growing up, raised his fingers to flick the child in the head. He stopped however, when his opponent went flying into the wall, his head impacting with a sickening crack. Danu stood in his place, having just shoulder charged the creature. The Elephant let out a confused trumpet, before his other compatriot was tackled by Kalath. Before Danu could react, the Elephant barreled into her, knocking her to the floor. He brought his leg back to kick her, but Danu found the handle of one of her hatchets, and sunk it into the Elephant’s fat ankle. The alien trumpeted in pain, before Danu lost her sense of hearing to the pain of her collar coming to life. When she came back to her senses, Danu found herself laying next to Kalath, the child touching both of their temples. Danu felt the normal muscle soreness that accompanied the activation of the collars fade away. She looked at the child and asked “Are you… doing that?”

The child nodded, and Kalath said with some sarcasm “Well isn’t that just grand.”

Danu watched as guards removed the Elephant and his companions from the room, despite the trumpets of protest. “Any idea of who that was?” asked Danu.

Kalath laughed and said “That, my friend, was Drishva. He’s the local champion, with a mean streak a hundred corpses long. And I think you just guaranteed he’s our first opponent, so thank you for that.”

Danu rolled on her side to face the orange alien, saying “Look, we could snipe each other back and forth for eternity, but I think we both realize the same thing. I’m not going to let this kid die, and no offense to her, I don’t think she’s going to be exactly useful out there. So I propose a truce between us, for the sake of keeping all of us alive.”

Kalath remained laying on his back, before saying “I hate you.”

“So we have a deal?”

“Thought that much was obvious. Hey Kid, if we’re gonna be keeping you alive, you mind telling us your name?”

The child looked at Kalath for a moment, before dropping her head and saying in a feminine voice “Raljeck”

Danu noticed for the first time that the girl was a Heran. She must have taken a harder knock to the head when she was captured than she initially thought. Sitting up, she felt a familiar feeling fill her head. Excitement, the rush for combat. That elephant didn’t know what was coming.

[Atkemri]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

Glacia leaned back on her throne, crossed her short legs, and leaned her temple on her fist, seemingly bored by the Makyan Patriarch's words and proposal. Still, the Empress' mind was hard at work, thinking over what Baharat was telling and offering her. The Arcosian lady was reminded of something her uncle told her once, not long before his death, back when Glacia was serving primarily as the chief archivist of the PTO.

"There exists a species of space shark," she remembered him telling her one day as they toured Imperial Art Gallery on Station Alpha. "Fascinating lifeforms that lack any thinking beyond fighting. And yet, on occasion, an intelligent one arises and watches as two sharks battle, while he waits. He waits until the survivor is so exhausted that he cannot defend himself, and then, he strikes."

Glacia smiled, despite herself.

"And what support do you have within the Hegemony, Lord Baharat?"

Baharat: The Patriarch of House Umami!

"...well, that is an...interesting question Lady Glacia." Bahrat's mind raced for some answer that would be better than the truth. He couldn't imagine that Glacia would give him support upon hearing that he had no internal support to speak of, at least to his knowledge, maybe there were some small houses that would be willing to support him but even that answer was likely to make his position look weak and that was the opposite of what he wanted. So it seemed that he would have to put a few twists on the truth of the situation and then perhaps some more, "You see, while I have been disconnected with Makyo Star for some time I have been lead to believe that there are various facets of Makyan society who would be willing to overthrow the current tyrants that rule over it. Furthermore there is my father who has been locked away by some princeling from what I understand. Should he be freed he would be a great help to my-" Baharat stopped himself for a moment, "-our efforts."

While mentally kicking himself for that slip of the tongue, he contemplated how well his words would reflect onto Glacia. He technically hadn't lied; should he come in with a large enough force and strike against the major houses and the Emperor there definitely would be those in Makyan society who would take the opportunity to rise up the ranks one way or the other though he couldn't guarantee that they would side with him and not break off into a million separate revolutionary groups and his father was locked away and could be useful if let out of his binds and let free. Granted he was the one that had his father locked away in his ship (his bodyless spirit at that), but again he technically hadn't lied and as far as Baharat was concerned technically telling the truth was the best kind of truth. He hoped that Glacia would share that sentiment should she ever find out.

[Britanania]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

Glacia remained silent for some time, as she considered the words of the Makyan prince. The Empress of the Known Galaxy turned to Jalid, who seemed largely disinterested in what was going on. The court itself had returned to its own business, giving some attention to Glacia and Baharat, but only for her sake, and not for his.

Still, Glacia had ideas, her mind looking at the various possibilities and contingencies that she could muster within her powerful intellect, drawing up plans within plans. With a slight smile, Glacia looked back down at Baharat.

"I shall provide you aid," she said at last. "I have just the person in mind."

---

Spicer stepped towards Noah and looked at the mutant commander.

"I'll be your first opponent," he told him.

[Naval Monte]

North City

Elizabeth looked around as the world suddenly distorted and changed before them into a land of perpetual shadows. The witch couldn't resist but to admire the dark world they were in. It reminded her of Maikai slightly.

The half demonese turn her sights back at Noah. As Spicer talked with the being about rules of engagement the cambion was reminded that they have two hours to keep the mutant busy until the older Kita can use the failsafe against it.

Elizabeth began to stretch out her neck, making several cracks and pops as she did so. She would hear Ikki suggesting the roles and a tsk would come form the cambion.

"You think he would keep his word to that?" she and the dragon within her both said at the same time, both voices sounding out as one.

"But fine. We will play that game." the two said as Elizabeth sat down on the ground as Spicer volunteer to be the first one to face the mutant. "But before we begin this fight I want to know something." Elizabeth, and for right now solely her voice ringing out, said. "Where is my sister Noah?"

[Finland SSR]

Noah

---

The bio-android could tell immediately that the defenders of Earth were stalling for time - however, Noah was not particularly concerned by that. As far as he knew, that would affect little in the end - even if they sought to delay him here so they could destroy the Earth dimensional separation machine, all of the planet's most powerful fighters were now with him, and anything he could imagine them throwing at the machine outside of the pocket dimension could not match his most powerful mutants.

Spicer volunteered for the battle first - though, not before Elizabeth suddenly intervened, demanding Noah to explain one thing - where was her sister? The bio-android briefly smirked, and raised its chin.

"Your sister is healthier than ever, Elizabeth Ashwood," Noah answered. "At least, for now. Time beyond our dimension is not frozen. All those soldiers fighting my kin are fighting your sister as well. So, while we are here... hope that none of them bring some superweapon against her."

Then, Noah spread its arms, turning attention to Spicer.

"Fine then! General Spicer, the technique I inherited from you is among the most effective in my arsenal, so I will gladly show you just how well I can wield it."

With a grin on its face and fists imbued with power, the bio-android lunged forward, opening the battle with a powerful swing by both of his arms.

[Britanania]

Collab between Fin and Brit

Pocket Dimension, 509 AU

Noah attacked swiftly, moving at speeds far higher than Spicer was used to, giving the Saiyan General only enough time to pull up his arms to defend against the double-barrage attack from the bioandroid.

Damn he’s fast, but I only need a single opening.

After the sudden opening strike, Noah briefly pulled back. The bio-android briefly watched Spicer’s sudden defenses with an offensive fighting posture, searching for any weakness to exploit, then split into several after-images. Moving around the Saiyan like a team of clones, they charged at Spicer from every direction.

The Saiyan smirked sardonically as Noah’s after-images honed in. A familiar trick, yes, but one that could be quite effective against even a veteran warrior. For his part, Spicer leaped into the air and took flight, charging energy spheres in both of his hands and continuously firing them down onto the ground as scatter shots, seeking to snuff out the real android.

One after another, the blasts descended down on the ground, slamming into after-images and revealing them as illusions. New illusions would appear, however, changing position and drawing fire from the Saiyan.

“Watch out!” Ikki suddenly yelled. The real Noah was descending from above and raised its finger to fire a Death Beam at Spicer, striking the Saiyan general through the back of his left shoulder blade.

Spicer roared out in pain as he quickly spun around at the real Noah, firing twin beams of energy from the spheres he held in his hands as he gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain that rushed through his nervous system.

The sudden charge surprised Noah - the bio-android had calculated that the part of the body he struck would have caused debilitating enough pain to slow the victim down - at minimum. Against the twin energy beams, it crossed its arms, taking the full force of the attack and getting engulfed by an explosion.

Soon, it dissipated, and Noah called out:

“Tell me, how long can an average Saiyan stay conscious with a bleeding pierce wound?”

Spicer smirked as he floated back down towards the ground.

“We’ll just have to find out,” he replied, forming another energy sphere, duller in colour but brighter in appearance. It hovered above his palm for a few moments before he chucked it at the bio android.

Noah answered the sphere with one of its own, raising one hand forward and firing a blast to meet Spicer’s attack - all while the bio-android descended back to the surface and stood ground.

“There is no healing pod in this dimension, your peers will not be able to provide aid, either, your only way out of this dimension is to defeat me. Can you do so with a bleeding shoulder?”

“I’ll manage,” Spicer said with a smile, not looking at Noah, but looking at the flash of light from the energy blast. Either the bioandroid failed to notice or didn’t care, but the energy sphere Spicer fired was no ordinary energy attack; no, it was meant to cause a false moon.

17,000,000 zenos entered through Spicer’s retina, triggering the transformation that, in a few moments, turned him into his Advanced Oozaru form.

“Ah...” Noah muttered, briefly, after witnessing the transformation, and lowered the hand he used to fire his energy blast, seeing that the attack had been unnecessary. It could register instantly that this was not an ordinary Oozaru transformation - though larger than normal, Spicer was nowhere near the size which the database on the information inside Noah considered ordinary for an Oozaru. Experiencing something new got Noah to crack a smirk.

“Alas, Father did not provide me with a Blutz energy-storing tail, but...”

Noah spread its arms, suddenly pumping energy into the body’s veins and growing several times larger in a single snap, stretching the armor on his body as if it were rubber.

“The inhabitants of New Namek are a part of my genome, and their warriors have the power to transform into giant versions of themselves. And so can I!”

“Sounds like you’re compensating, then,” Spicer countered with a smirk. “But I’m not here for a measuring contest.”

Spicer seemed to dissolve as he disappeared from view, reappearing moments later above Noah, opening his mouth and firing a large energy beam at the back of the bioandroid’s head.

The sudden energy beam pushed Noah back, sending the gigantic bio-android sliding across the surface of the pocket dimension - however, it was confused by the Saiyan’s reply, and so, before retaliating, it spoke:

“Measuring of... what?”

Then, Noah turned to face Spicer directly and unleashed a beam from the mouth, much like an Oozaru.

With barely any time to dodge, Spicer again braced his arms upwards as he hastily defended himself against the mutant leader’s attack. Whilst Spicer was able to block the worst of Noah’s beam attack, the sheer force caused the Saiyan to lose his momentum and plummeted back to the hard surface of the pocket dimension.

As Spicer slowly rose to his feet, the Oozaru bared his teeth at the mutant leader, charging at Noah and firing energy beams from his hands like a scatter-shot.

In response, Noah raised the left arm to block the incoming blasts and stretched the right outward, summoning an energy sword around the palm. Burning with dark red energy, it was humming loudly and extended far out from the bio-android’s fingertips.

Suddenly, Noah lunged forward, forcing through the barrage of energy blasts and then swinging the energy blade at Spicer’s shoulder, slicing through the flesh, muscle, and bone of the Oozaru’s shoulder.

Spicer resisted the urge to howl in agony, but, with Noah close, Spicer thrust his hands forward and blasted with as much energy he could muster against the bioandroid.

The sudden explosion of power caught Noah off guard - the energy blade broke apart from the blast and the bio-android was thrown back, sliding across the surface of the dimension before finally coming to a full stop.

This time, Noah took a short pause, and spoke:

"...have you had enough, General Spicer?"

Spicer smirked between labored breaths. The attack had clearly drained the Saiyan warrior, but he kept his stoic resistance up, standing up to his full height.

“Not yet,” he replied.

I have to give Helios a little more time…

With another burst, Spicer zoomed towards Noah, aiming for the android’s single eye.

The sudden strike smashed straight into the bio android's eye - although, during the blow, the Saiyan might have noticed that it was not squishy and fluid like an ordinary eye, but rather just as durable as the rest of Noah's body. The sheer force snapped Noah's neck and pushed the bio android's head all the way over - holding on by a little bit, it was dangling over the back upside down.

"Curious…" Noah muttered, the voice muffled from the rather gruesome outcome - regenerating flesh immediately built up in the neck to attach the head back to the rest of the body, while one of Noah's arms suddenly swung at Spicer's face.

With a crack, Noah's head snapped back to normal.

"...are you stalling for someone?"

The force of Noah’s punch forced Spicer back to the ground, who rose, staggering as he did so, from the ground of the pocket dimension, wiping some blood from his face.

“The more I dish on you, the easier it is for the others,” he replied, breathing laboured, as he attempted one final attacking blow to the giant bio android.

This time, Noah caught the blow with its own hands, stopping it after some pressure. The heavy armored boots dragged across the surface of the pocket dimension before finally screeching to a halt.

“And what will these others bring that will make the outcome any different?” the bio-android asked, then suddenly reached forward with its jaws, aiming to bite at Spicer’s shoulders - just like against Nymph.

As the mutant leader leaned in for his crunching strike, Spicer again opened his mouth and fired a concussive beam at point-blank range against Noah. The Saiyan doubted it would have much effect damaging Noah, but, creating separation was his plan.

I’ve lost this round, he conceded, but I may have given the others some space.

The sudden blast caught Noah off-guard and smashed straight into the bio-android’s teeth, smashing several of them out of the mouth. One after another, they fell to the floor one, while new ones immediately started growing in their place.

By now, seeing that Noah was trying to turn Spicer into one of the mutants, Ikki made a step forward, yelling:

“Spicer, get back! You can’t keep on fighting in this state!”

The Saiyan looked back at Ikki and nodded, relaxing his shoulders as he stood back up from the ground of the pocket dimension. With a long sigh, Spicer deactivated his transformation and returned to his base form, body battered and bloody.
“You win this round,” he said to Noah, pointing at the mutant leader before he returned to the lineup.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

The noises of the crowd echoed through the tunnel. Danu leaned against the wall, looking at the sealed doors that lead to the arena floor. Her tailed twitched at her waist, wrapped around in the belt like style that she had not used in years, for the fear of having it grabbed was never present when she was strong. Now though, all it took was one hand trying to find purchase and she would be dead. Through the din of the crowd, the sick noise of a wet stone sharpening a blade could be heard. Kalath sat in front of the door, sharpening a curved sword and muttering in his native tongue. Danu recognized praying when she heard it. Raljeck sat next to him, observing the insectoid with wonder. The girl asked quietly “What are you saying Kalath?”

“It is a request of Hyrkath, the Goddess of Victory. I am asking that she honors us, or else grants me a good death.”

“A good death?”

“One that is on my feet, sword in hand, with my head held high. My people, we believe that our actions in life define us in the worlds to come. Every action must be done with pride, and with purpose, or you will be remembered as a coward or even worse, you will be forgotten, and fade from existence.”

Raljeck nodded. Danu held back the urge to scoff. Even if she didn’t agree with the bug man at the end of the day, she could understand the sentiment, and it wouldn’t help them to get the kid down right now. The young heran turned her head to Danu and asked simply “What do your people believe Danu?”

Danu looked at the girl and said “A lot of the same. Though the death part is something we try to avoid if we can. The afterlife is not kind to us, and there is little to look forward to.”

“Not kind how?”

“We made an enemy of a very powerful person a long time ago, and he keeps our souls locked away when we die. Well most of us. Some of us are lucky and get to be reborn.”

“Are you one of those?”

“I am. It doesn’t mean I chase death though.”

Kalath nodded and said “Nor should we. But if it comes, let it be worth it.” The chains that held the door shut began to rattle and groan as the large entryway began to open. Kalath stood and said “Now is the time. I want you to know, that if we win today, I think we have nothing to fear.”

Danu joined him by the door and said “And if we lose?”

“Then I can’t say it’s been an honor, but there are worse teammates to die besides than you Danuja. Raljeck, if that second scenario plays out, then I am sorry that we could not save you.”

The Heran girl nodded and joined them. The noises of the crowd became louder as the door moved past Danu’s face, revealing the arena, baked in purple and red lights from the scenery outside. A black floor made of a plastic like material filled the space between them and the other door, criss crossed with a grid of deep purple lines that lit the arena. Above them the crowd chanted and jeered as they took the field, though their opponents seemed to get a much stronger reaction.

The elephantine champion Drishva trumpeted to the crowd as he took the field. His sides were flanked by two less imposing figures, one resembling a black cat, the other appeared to be a Maykyan. Danu drew her hatchets and said “Remember the plan. I take the elephant, Kalath handles the other two, and Raljeck, you stay as much out of the way as you can.” The other two nodded.

High above them, floating over the middle of one of the sides of the arena, a grand party booth sat, filled with the team owners, their guests, and the announcers. Danu made eye contact with Noctis who raised his glass to her. Danu spat in response, bringing a slight grin to her benefactors face. Drishva and his team turned to the booth and raised their weapons, the Elephant’s great voice trumpeting “WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE, SALUTE THEE!” Kalath offered a similar gesture. Danu did or said nothing.

The gong signalling the start of the fight rang through the Arena. Danu yelled and charged at Drishvah, but found herself utterly ignored as the elephant barrelled past her in the middle of the arena, knocking her aside. Danu’s eyes widened as she realized what the elephant was doing. She had planned this fight back to front… she just hadn’t accounted for her opponent being so heartless that he would single out a child. Before Danu could react, the Catlike alien plunged a knife into her shoulder, cackling as he did so. Danu howled in pain.

She brought her hatchet up and slashed at her new opponent, praying to herself that Raljeck could run from the Elephant until she could stop her new opponent. Kalath seemed similarly preoccupied, the Maykayan giving him more than his fair share of trouble. Danu ducked under a kick from the cat, as she heard Kalath land a sickening blow on his opponent. At that moment, Raljeck screamed. Danu brought her axes up and locked her opponents weapon into a hold with them so she could have a look at what was happening.

Over her shoulder, she saw the Elephant slowly cornering the girl. Kalath moved on from his dispatched opponent, yelling as he charged the much larger arena champion. The Elephant turned towards him and with a simple swing of the club he carried knocked Kalath aside like nothing. Danu locked eyes with Raljeck, and saw the scared eyes of a girl staring back at her. In them she saw not only her own eyes, from many days spent regretting her mistakes, as well as the eyes of her daughter, whose childhood was being snatched from her by the idiotic demons who made her fight in this pit. Red filled her vision as she broke the lock she held her opponent in, and in a swift motion kicked him in the chest. Her collar grew white hot around her neck, but through the heat, she felt the slimmest flow of ki. With speed she should not have, she deftly removed the cat man’s head from his body, before turning to the Elephant.

Her feet carried her as fast as they could as she brought her bloody axes to rear. Her opponent turned to face her, but in the face of Danu with even the tiniest amount of ki flow that she had, the elephant was slow as syrup. Danu planted her right foot hard and jumped high into the air, her momentum carrying her forward. The Elephant realized what she was doing moments too late. He started to react, but by then Danu’s axes were already falling upon his head, their owner screaming as she brought them to bear. Her opponent fell to his knees as she let go of the handles of her axes, and dropped to the ground. The former champion keeled over, life already faded from his eyes. Danu began to notice the heat of the collar again as the ki fled her body once again. She scarcely heard the crowd chanting Saiyan as the energy left her body. All she could do was help Raljeck up, and walk over to do the same to the very

[Atkemri]

Planet Glacia 24601, 409 AU

Glacia remained silent for some time, as she considered the words of the Makyan prince. The Empress of the Known Galaxy turned to Jalid, who seemed largely disinterested in what was going on. The court itself had returned to its own business, giving some attention to Glacia and Baharat, but only for her sake, and not for his.

Still, Glacia had ideas, her mind looking at the various possibilities and contingencies that she could muster within her powerful intellect, drawing up plans within plans. With a slight smile, Glacia looked back down at Baharat.

"I shall provide you aid," she said at last. "I have just the person in mind."

Baharat: The Patriarch of House Umami!

Baharat's mouth turned into a wide grin as he heard that Glacia had decided to aid him. Finally, he would be granted the power that he so deserved and no one would be able to take it from him this time! All that he would have to do now was to invade Makyo Star, figure out a good way to get rid of the PTO lackies that had helped him, and then he'd propel the Makyan race (and himself) to eternal glory for all time! Baharat bowed as he did at the start of their meeting and locked eyes with Glacia from across the throne room.

"My gratitude cannot properly be expressed in words Lady Glacia, truly you are a benevolent ruler." he suppressed a chuckle and continued, "I will be awaiting your aid fair lady."

[Ranoria]

Collab between Ran and Anarcho

It wasn’t the most physically imposing siege ever conducted, given the relatively small force of Tohrans surrounding New Saiya, but it was no less effective for its lack of volume. Arashi hovered just outside the city’s perimeter. Disinterested eyes scanned over a handful of Saiyan warriors who dared to stand their ground, but neither party made any move to attack.

He tightened his glove, eyes moving up to scan the perimeter. “Any minute now,” he mumbled to no one in particular.

From the gleaming red spires of the palace that dominated the cities skyline, the air cracked with the sound of flight as a lone figure flew across the skyline, and impacted on the ground by the Saiyan warriors. Arsle stood up straight, her red cape floating in the wind. The Regent Queen’s battle armor glowed in the fading day light, helped with the half-scouter half face shield she wore over the scarred half of her face. With little fan fare, she nodded to Arashi where he was floating, and gestured for him to come over.

Arashi moved, none too quickly, and touched down a good distance away, just the faintest wisps of azure flame curling around his frame. “Arsle,” he growled, fingers twitching ever so slightly, “I hope you’re here to surrender.”

Arsle looked the Torhan up and down and said calmly “I thought you smarter than that Arashi. No, I’ve come out here to try and talk some sense into you, now that you’ve had your fun with this rebellion.”

“You’ll get your sense when you can explain the treatment of the Tohrans who took residence here.” The Tohran’s eyes went down the line of Saiyans in their vicinity. “But don’t get me wrong, if it’s one last fight you want, I’m game.”

Arsle looked at the Torhans face, before giving a quick smirk, and reaching up to remove her battle mask, revealing the burned side of her face. Stepping up to the Torhan, she spat and said “I’m surprised that the PTO never taught you the first rule of making demands boy. Know who you’re threatening. Do you think that you scare me? That you’ve won because I won’t send out the thin numbers of my race to fight you across this world in grand combat. I’ve seen far worse war than you can ever imagine. Brother stabbing brother for similar reasons of ‘poor treatment’. Hell, I was even on the lesser’s side in that war. But then I watched as my first world was turned to ash through an eye that had been burned half blind by my own husband.”

Arsle spat on the ground and said “I’ll let you have your fun Arashi. I’ll let you lay siege to this city for as long as you want. But I want you to remember three things while you do so. One, that I’ve seen far more combat, and infinitely worse opponents in war than you. Two, that I made a promise to my daughter that nothing would happen to her kingdom, and I will not dishonor the missing. And three, that your… rebellion, survives only by my mercy. That every day you sit out here is only because I don’t feel the need to kill all of you. That one day, maybe not this year, maybe not this decade, but one day, as long as you keep this up, you will wake up, and see a false moon hanging in the sky above our palace, and that death by a thousand oozaru will be coming upon you, and the bottom of my foot will be your final memory. The choice is yours Torhan. This is your last chance to walk away a free rock.”

Arashi took a step back at first, averted his gaze for just a moment with a grimace. Then he lashed out with an exclamation that was more a growl than intelligible language and lifted the Saiyan regent by her throat. “I told you before to stop what you were doing or I’d leave every one of you god damned apes to rot. Plot your strike back, sit here and mull. If you or any one of your monkeys leaves this city, they’ll be lambs to the slaughter.”

Arashi only then noticed his rapid breathing and clenched teeth. He’d lost to Arsle, again.

Regardless, he dropped her with a slow exhale. “Go to hell.”

The Tohran spun on his heel and took flight, retreating back to the outskirts of New Saiya once more.