Dragon Ball: Universe V2: They Came From Outer Space (IC)

[New Rnclave]

OOC

Dragon Ball Universe V2: They Came From Outer Space Saga

Introduction:

Theo Daigon

Thirty whole years since that Black Tie debacle.

The aging martial artist wished he could say the years had been kind to him, but he was still human at the end of the day, and an old fart of a human at that. Watching his daughter bound up the steps of the tournament grounds was only a further reminder, really. A six year old was almost too much, even for a man like him, not even making mention of how strong she was getting.

Little terror had almost broken his hand during their last training outing to Mt. Pazou.

"Slow down up there, kiddo" Theo called up mirthfully, the girl's excitement doing enough to pull him out of his bitter musings, "The tournaments not gonna start without us!"

"I know daddy! I just can't wait to see the light trick!"

The light trick?

Oh yeah, that one.

Smiling slightly, his hand stretched out, ruffling the Chisa's hair in response as they passed more and more tournament goers. Old or not, everyone still got a kick out of the same technique he'd used to bring down Commander Black's army. There was something macabre about doing this verifiably lethal technique for spectators, but they loved it, and more importantly, Chisa loved it. It also didn't hurt that it brought in more and more spectators every year. The martial artist would much rather have his name tied to the rebirth of martial arts that his defeating the Black Ties had brought on.

But that wasn't in the cards, Theo supposed. An old man known for murdering a bunch of brainwashed soldiers.

There was a feeling of real exhaustion that brought on. This day always seemed to make him a sourpuss, which was even more exhausting when everyone else seemed to get so worked up about, Hell, he could hear them playing the same strange highlight reel they'd played last year. Grabbing his daughter around the waist, Theo plopped the girl down on his shoulder as they approached the archway leading out to the stage. It took a headshake and a deep breath, but the man let his face stretch with an almost real smile as they broke the threshold, the screams and shouts of the crowd becoming that much more real.

"NOW INTRODUCING, MASTER THEO DAIGON, MASTER OF THE BEAR AND DEFEATER OF THE DASTARDLY BLACK TIE TERRORISTS!"

Showtime.

Pulling a breath deep into his chest, the cheering of the crowd and vibrating excitement of his daughter fell away as the very air became heavy, muscled arms drifting into their positions, one spreading its fingers towards the ground while the other stretched into the sky in movements practiced hundreds of times before he'd ever even heard of ki. If age gave him anything, it gave him more than enough years to master himself.

VOOOOSH

Twisting ethereal pillars of golden light materialized across the stage, some stretching into the sky while the others twisted like fine angelic hairs into a vibrant dome. It was a feeling that did more than any pep talk could to push his worries and laments to the back of his mind. The world was alive. Every fiber of the concrete, the grass and the sky itself were there in the forefront of his mind, interacting with his energies in such an intimate way, he was almost sure Diana would be upset with him.

BOOM

All at once the pillars of gold became significantly more intense, the blinding light washing across the entire arena in an, not to toot his own horn, impressive display of gold and skill, the pillars joining together momentarily before wisping away back into dust. It was somewhat like coming out from underwater, his senses trickling back in as the cheers of the crowd and, better yet, his daughter met his ears.

"Hello everyone!" Theo called finally, truthfully bellowing before his vision had fully returned, the martial artist having to take very careful steps to not stumble and toss Chisa off as he crested the stage, "I welcome you to the Twenty Third Annual World Martial Arts Tournament!"

"As a martial artist myself, and proud master of the Bear style, I thank you all for your attendance, and even more so, thank those here today to participate. Let us all do our best, and make this year the best yet!"

[Britanania]

New Arcos

The grand chamber of the Arcosian High Council was an imposing sight, a vast hall lined with crystalline columns that shimmered with an icy glow. In the centre, a long, sleek table of polished black stone stretched across the room, around which sat the most powerful figures in the PTO. At the head of the table was Empress Glacia, her regal form exuding cold authority. Though the galaxy might now be at peace, her calculating gaze never wavered from the long-term goals of the PTO’s expansion and stability.

Glacia leaned forward, her red eyes scanning the room. “I have received Chillax report,” she began, her voice smooth but firm. "In the two decades since the Forever War ended, profit margins across the galaxy have surged.”

Chillax leaned forward, a pleased smirk playing across his face. “Profit has exceeded even our most optimistic projections, Your Majesty. With the war behind us, our focus on rebuilding infrastructure, expanding trade routes, and re-establishing control over key sectors has brought untold wealth to the PTO.”

Blizzara, her hologram flickering slightly as she joined the conversation, nodded in agreement. “The client worlds, especially those that were heavily contested during the war, have begun to stabilise. Some of the former ITU-controlled territories are now among our most profitable sectors. Integration has been smoother than expected, though a few local rulers still need… reminders of their obligations.”

Glacia allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. “The galaxy prospers under our rule,” she said. “But prosperity is not enough. Stability must be maintained. Our enemies are not gone, they are merely waiting—be it among the stars or within our own ranks.”

Permafrost gave a short nod, his voice measured. “Indeed, Your Majesty. While our military is no longer at full wartime deployment, we have maintained strategic garrisons in key regions. Any rebellion or insurgent activity is dealt with swiftly. However, I would recommend a continued build-up of reserves, particularly in the outer territories.”

At this, Frostrex interjected, his voice barely above a whisper. “The outer territories are largely quiet, for now. But our intelligence suggests that remnants of the Saiyan forces—those who survived Babos’ defeat—may still harbour ambitions of revenge. It would be wise to keep a close watch on those regions.”

Glacia’s gaze turned to Blizzara. “Your sector, Minister. What do you know of this?”

Blizzara straightened, her hologram slightly adjusting. “The Saiyans who remain in my jurisdiction have been monitored closely. They are fractured and disorganized. The defeat of Babos broke their spirit, but some still cling to the hope of a resurgence. I have already increased our diplomatic efforts, while maintaining a tight leash on potential agitators.”

“Good,” Glacia responded, her tone cool. “We cannot afford to let old enemies become new threats. We have brought peace to the galaxy, and we will maintain it—by force if necessary.”

Tundra, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. “What of the new trade routes through Namekian space? They’ve been lucrative, but there have been murmurs of discontent among the Namekians. They have never fully accepted PTO rule, even after their subjugation.”

Chillax chuckled darkly. “The Namekians are a peaceful people, Tundra. They may not like us, but they don’t have the means to resist us. As long as the profits keep flowing, any discontent can be managed.”

Glacia raised a hand, silencing further discussion. “Let us not be complacent. The Namekians may not pose a direct threat, but their unique abilities could be exploited by others. Keep a close eye on them, and ensure that any dissent is crushed before it can spread.”

She leaned back in her seat, considering the broader picture. “The galaxy is vast, and while we have brought it under control, there are always elements that wish to challenge our rule. But we have proven time and time again that the PTO is unmatched. We will continue to prosper, and those who stand against us will fall.”

The council members nodded in agreement, their faces reflecting the cold determination that had seen the PTO through the centuries-long Forever War. The galaxy was at peace, but it was a peace maintained through strength—and Glacia had no intention of letting that strength waver.

“Now,” she continued, her voice soft but carrying the weight of command, “let us ensure that our profits and stability continue to rise. There is still much to be done.”

The meeting moved on to specific sectors, trade disputes, and military logistics, but the message was clear: the PTO ruled the galaxy now, and under Glacia’s reign, it would continue to do so—no matter the cost.

[The Republic of Atria]

Aurellia

It'd been a good several weeks since her initial landing on the planet known as Earth. She found herself quite surprised at just how similar they were to her own homeworld. Then again, she wasn't quite sure what she expected. The majority of them went about their business, only occasionally giving her a side-eye, but the citizens seems to be quite the mixture of human and various other animal folk, which was probably why people hardly ever gave her a second glance. Among her travels, she caught wind of quite a bit of advertising for something called the "World Martial Arts Tournament." Part of her really wanted to enter and demonstrate her skills, but the more logical part of her kicked in. It's likely she wouldn't be able to use her sword, it was a martial arts tournament, not a swordfighting one. Second, she was an alien and it seemed rude it intrude on their cultural events. Lastly, she felt it would be very unfair to utilize her powers to win. Sure, no one would ever find out, but she would know.

That being said, she was there to help secure an alliance with the humans, and seeing the potency of their famed warriors first hand would probably help. Maybe afterwards she could try and demonstrate her own abilities. Surely such famed warriors would have important connections that would help her negotiate. It wasn't purely for her own enjoyment. Yes, it was absolutely research and building trust.

She arrived at the arena the day of the Tournament and found her seat, and started to noticed that she was quite overdressed for the event, but no one else seemed to care. Noted for next time, but shortly after the host of the tournament, a large, muscular human man by the name of Theo. She wasn't quite sure who the "Black Tie" terrorists were meant to be, but her own tie was gold, so no worries on that front. What followed was a surprisingly good lightshow involving pillars of light. It wasn't as spectacular as those put on by Lady Tiamat, but that felt like a poor comparison.

Nothing left to do now but sit back and enjoy the show!

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Barley was still catching his breath when the grand opening ceremony began. He'd barely been able to catch some sleep last night from the excitement of actually participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament - he had watched it every year on TV for as long as he could remember, and old man Bourbon had even taken him to see it live once or twice. In a way, it was still hard for him to believe that he was now one of the many martial artists that would soon be taking to the arena to show off their styles - not that he wasn't confident in his abilities. Master Bruce had been a fantastic teacher, after all.

Ironically that same excitement was what had nearly caused him to be late to the stadium. After waking up, getting everything ready and throwing on the black gi that his master had given him, the young man had decided to go for a walk to clear his mind. What was supposed to be an affair of just a few minutes turned out to take over an hour as he wound up conversing with a number of people who had come from various parts of the world to spectate the tournament and even helping out a street vendor whose stall had been vandalized by a group of bikers. Time slipped past him rather quickly that morning.

Still, he was here now. And just in time to witness Theo Daigon himself, hero of the Black Tie Rebellion, show off his special technique, the same one he had used to save the world and end the war. He'd seen it before, of course - mostly on TV - but even so, it was quite the spectacle to behold. Even as dazzled as he was, a small part of him wondered if Master Bruce's special technique was quite as flashy. The old man had mentioned it on occasion, but had refused to pass it on to him, arguing that he wasn't ready just yet and that such a move required great mastery and patience to even attempt.

No matter. I'm sure he'll change his mind when he sees me rock this tournament!

After the show of lights ended, the ceremony progressed quickly, with the old martial artist welcoming audience and participants alike with enthusiasm. A rumble of cheers erupted from the backstage, and Barley was more than happy to echo the sentiment. He could hardly wait to get started!

But waiting, unfortunately, was a necessity, and so the young man opted to take this moment to appraise his fellow combatants. Master Bruce was always nagging him about how observation was one of the most important abilities a martial artist ought to cultivate, and that knowing one's enemy was only second in importance to knowing oneself. Now was as good a moment as any to try putting some of that into practice. There were quite a few tough-looking customers here, a good number of them larger and more muscular, though others seemed to have a far more subdued physique, such as-

Are those rabbit ears?

Seeing them caught him off-guard, though he supposed it wasn't that odd. Their king was a canine beastman, after all. The rabbit ears belonged to a pretty girl, though the clothes she wore gave her the air of a tougher woman. She looked rather like those bikers from earlier, now that he thought about it.

As he continued observing the crowd, his eyes went from the strange to the familiar.

"Hey, Kale!" Barley approached with long strides, waving enthusiastically at his old friend. "Man, I haven't seen you in forever! What are the odds I'd find you in here? I had no idea you were gonna participate in the tournament too. How's everything back home? You still work for the old nerd?"

The appreciation most likely wasn't mutual, but even then, Barley was more than happy to see someone from West City here.

Tucked away in a corner of the backstage with her arms crossed and significantly less fired up than the other contestants in the room was the aforementioned girl with bunny ears, Cotton. Unlike most everyone else here, she didn't exactly have the background on what that whole 'Black Tie Rebellion' affair was about, or who the old man in the arena was - though he had to be very powerful to pull off that flashy technique, that much she was more than willing to admit. She was here as part of a trial assigned by her master and nothing more, so a part of her wished they could just get on with it instead of waiting around. However, she did understand that things were different for most of the other fighters gathered here today.

She imagined they wouldn't be quite as loud if that weren't the case.

As she leaned against the wall and stared at the TV that had been set up in the backstage for the martial artists' use, she wondered who her upcoming opponents would be. If it was someone like the old man, that'd certainly give her a lot of trouble. These other guys, though? That was harder to say.

[New Rnclave]

Kale Brieve:

Money and prestige were no object to him.

Splayed out across a couch backstage at the tournament grounds, with two babes on either arm and a bottle twisting between his fingers, Kale knew he'd missed the opening ceremony, but it was hardly his fault. You didn't just get up and leave the kind of attention he was getting. Not that he wanted to either. A giggle came from his left and a half smirk split open the young man's face as he traced out where his companions attention had gone to, and found a half rabbit looking chick standing off by herself in the corner.

Freaks and geeks covered the entirety of the backstage really, but it didn't stop his own mirthless laugh. There was a reason they all had to stand out there and mill about the rest of these sweaty freaks, and someone like him, got to sit in his own section smoking and joking.

People respected strength, and since his pops owned the biggest technology corporation in the world, Kale had more than enough strength to spare. Far more than enough to not need to come and show off at this stupid tourney. But the Doctor wanted him to do this dance and fake a few fights with the regulars, and Kale wanted to keep living the good life unabated.

So here they were.

"Hey, Kale!"

Lifting his head, the young adult blinked at the rapidly approaching man, the weirdo waving at him in big wide swings as he made his way over to the, roped off, section of the backrooms Kale had claimed for him and his crew. Peeps didn't respect the rope anymore.

"Man, I haven't seen you in forever! What are the odds I'd find you in here? I had no idea you were gonna participate in the tournament too. How's everything back home? You still work for the old nerd?"

"Uh yeah," Kale enunciated slowly, taking a swig off his bottle as he did so, wracking his brain for who the Hell this guy was, "Burley, right? It has been a long time. I don't work for the old nerd, no, he's my dad so-"

Even through the haze of smoke and laughter, the young man felt... something. It was like an itch at the back of his mind, or several now that he was focusing on it.

"Shut up for a second, will ya?"

Feet plopping down onto the carpet, Kale sat up for the first time in at least two hours. Part of him wanted to pass it off as a THC induced headache, but there was something very weird about the way his brain itched. Absentmindedly, fingers found the spot at the back of his head, amongst the tresses of carefully cared for locks, and scratched at it, truthfully wishing it'd sate whatever odd feeling was there.

But no dice, so, almost on autopilot, he climbed to his feet, hopped the ropes and started walking towards the archway leading out to the tournament stage, like the open air was going to either answer his curiosity, or get rid of it. There was a part of him that didn't wanna investigate, if only because his public image as the most fuckable bad-boy this side of the planet could be compromised by the fact that he was milling about like a weirdo scratching the back of his head.

The other part, really, really needed to fucking know what this was.

And out in the sky, Kale got his answer, and it put his stomach in his feet for a second, his eyes straining as hard as they could to try and make sense of what he was seeing.

Eight streaks of fire were burning across the sky, the blue sky drowned out as the backdrop of these strange circular objects. One of these objects, somehow almost moving by itself, struck home against a skyrise off the coast of South City, metal and rock careening through the air just far enough away that they looked like pebbles tossed in the wind.

The itch, far more intense now that he was outside watching what seemed to be another space vessel crash, was drowned out as screams began to belt out of the audience. Something about alien spaceships or attack pods or something dumb like that.

It was stupid. Really fucking stupid. But something about it made Kale drop the bottle still twirling between his fingers, the glass and juice splashing across his, designer, boots and spreading across the concrete as he kept his eyes on the now smoldering tower.

"WE'RE BEING INVADED!"

"IT'S THE BLACK TIE ARMY AGAIN!"

"ALIENS ARE HERE TO EAT OUR BABIES!"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Barley nodded along, unsurprised that the other man didn't quite remember his name. That just wasn't Kale's style - he was frankly surprised that he got as close as he did. "Barley, but yeah. So you got adopted? Sweet! Yeah, sure." He promptly shut up as requested, observing the other man curiously as he sat up. Maybe he heard something strange? It would be a bit strange if that were the case, given that he didn't hear anything, but maybe-

Nope.

He had a pretty good idea of what was going on with Kale now.

Either that, or there was something completely unrelated currently causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. It was a peculiar sensation. Not entirely unfamiliar, but... completely unexpected. He made his way out of the backstage as well, part of his mind coming up with excuses he could offer for going and disrupting the opening ceremony, though at the moment this felt like the least of his concerns.

Stepping outside, he was greeted by the sight of eight blazing trails falling from the sky in a strange trajectory. One of them struck the side of a high rise, all but destroying it... and anyone who might have been inside at the time of impact, not to mention anyone struck by the falling debris.

At the sight of this havoc, any and all thoughts about the martial arts tournament were pushed to the back of his mind.

Barley suddenly took off, moving like a bullet as he ran through the stage and out of the stadium, taking to the streets.

---

Trailing behind the others, Cotton too had made her way out of the backstage and into the arena in the middle of the martial arts temple. In spite of how much sharper her natural senses were compared to a normal human's, her 'sixth sense' so to speak was not as honed as that of some of the others present, likely owing to the time she spent training by her lonesome. The beastman hare was a fairly hands-off master all things considered.

Still, she was not blind, nor deaf. Far from it. She could see and hear the pandemonium breaking out in the audience. She could, just barely, discern the ovoid shape of the strange objects that were painting red lines in the sky above. She could almost hear the crunch of concrete and steel.

Overall, just a whole lot of strangeness, without any context for her to interpret it by.

"Issat normal for you city folk?" Cotton spoke with a gruff voice, for possibly the first time since she set foot in Papaya Island, while pointing at the sky.

---

Thanks to his enhanced speed, Barley was able to make it to the coast in short order, though it was there that his momentum came to a grinding halt. The zone of impact was South City and its surrounding, but what was the best way to get there? He wasn't sure he could just run over the water and even if he could, he'd likely just exhaust himself before he could help anyone that way. A shame he didn't have a fighter jet of his own... or even just the ability to fly like one of those comic book superheroes he'd sometimes read about as a kid. Something like that would be real handy right now.

Looking around, he spotted some speedboats moored nearby. That was the solution. There was no one nearby to stop him or witness as he stole one of them. And it was stealing, no way around it - he wasn't exactly a guardsman or a police officer, or really anyone with the authority to commandeer a vehicle, just a concerned civilian. He'd always been told that stealing was wrong, and went against the family's ideals of honor and service.

Hopefully he'd be able to make up for it by helping. He could always just give it back later, too.

The journey wasn't long at all, thankfully - the reason they were able to see the chaos in South City from the martial arts temple was because Papaya Island wasn't all that far from the mainland. As he approached, he looked up and was able to see the falling objects much more clearly: oval shapes of sorts, leaving colums of fire in the sky after breaking through the atmosphere. Already several were beginning to crash land in the vicinity of South City. Barley could only imagine the thundering noise, the force of the impact, the crater that would result from even one of these making landfall.

He soon realized he didn't have to imagine anything. There was one of them just above, heading straight down.

CRASH

The young man put his guard up just before the impact, letting his ki soak up the hurt from all the flying sand and debris. When the dust finally settled, he approached the object. It was a... pod of some sort? It was nothing man-made, that was for certain, but it was advanced technology nonetheless.

That, and he could feel a... presence, inside. The sensation from before was back in full now, and much stronger. He remembered now - Master Bruce had once taught him that if he concentrated, he could feel the presence of other talented fighters. This was similar to what he felt back then, except...

This aura is much, much stronger...

The pod suddenly opened with a hydraulic hiss, and out of it emerged a muscular humanoid figure clad in some sort of battle armor, albeit one that didn't cover his legs and had frankly massive pauldrons. His skin was a dull, flaky gray, marking him as something most definitely not human, and a long mane of unkempt white hair flowed well past his shoulders. There was some sort of high-tech monocle on his eye, which seemed to flare to life as he lazily climbed out of the pod and looked around with a yawn, seemingly disinterested in the destruction his arrival had caused.

"Who are you?" Barley asked the stranger, who in turn stared at him for a few moments.

Then, with no warning or attempt at communication, he pulled out something that looked like a pistol and trained it on Barley. He barely had enough time to react, moving out of the way. However, when the stranger pulled the trigger, there was no explosion. Not at first at least. It wasn't a bullet that came out of it, but rather a thin, long beam that snaked its way past Barley and harmlessly hit the water behind him.

BOOM

Soon enough, the young man was pelted by the falling sand and water that had been thrown around by the explosion the blaster caused, not to mention - yep, that was a piece of the speedboat he'd 'borrowed' earlier, falling to the ground in flames. So much for trying to give it back later.

The alien figure seemed amused. "Ohoho, the rat can dodge. Maybe this won't be so boring after all." He chuckled darkly as he corrected his aim.

"The name's Juzu. Remember it when I send you to the other world, pest."

[Naval Monte]

The air felt electric. That is the only words Nymphaea can find to describe what she was feeling. Perhaps she was having jitters over the fact she was finally participating in the world tournament, her fighting skills and spirit on full display for the whole world to see! Or perhaps, it's the fact she can finally get to meet Theo Diagon himself! Now she thinks about it. That was the most likely reason for both the buzz in the air as many others felt the same way, it was also why she felt her nerves were starting to act up.

The way she felt right now was bringing back uncomfortable memories when she was given the lead role in a school play for the first time when she was a little girl. The fact cameras would be present in this event too didn't help ease her mind from drawing such comparisons.

The Saiyaness was bouncing on her heels as her tail warped around her waist. Her heart was racing fast even though she hadn't thrown a punch. She can feel sweat beginning to build up on her forehead. "Just take deep breaths Nymphy. You trained your whole life for this." she took a deep breath and exhaled, doing it again when the first attempt didn't work and doing it slower. She would slap her own cheeks. "You can do this." she said it only once with her mouth, but in her mind she repeated them like a mantra.

Her mental gymnastics would come to a screeching halt as the man of the hour would make his grand debut. Theo Diagon, the hero of the Black Tie Rebellion has arrived. The old legend would display his awesome power and she was not immune to the same awestruck many within the audience had with the radiant display of the martial artist's supernatural feats. He showed her where she could probably be if she continues with her training.

Nymphaea clinches her fist, sparks of energy dancing around her fist. Her anxiety and concerns melted away like ice cream on a summer sidewalk. In their place was a raging inferno. One born of determination to leave her mark on the world stage and to show both her idol and mother what she was capable of!

A confident smirk formed just as a hovering camera drone that bore the logo of her mother's company flew by and caught her with the other fighters. It's lens picking up the other fighters from the air for the viewing public watching the event in their homes.

---

Nymphaea was unaware that her mother was currently seeing her looking determined from the booth she reserved for the event. Alexandria Ashwood, The mother of magitech and matriarch of the sole company that can effectively rival the most powerful tech company on Earth, couldn't help but to smile to see how determined her adopted daughter was for this event. She still had her misgivings on allowing her to fight in this tournament but seeing her in this moment she felt that she made the right choice to allow her to participate.

"Hey Kale!" the small tv screen that was in the booth said. Alexandria was surprised to see that among the fighters was none other than Kale Brieve, son to the CEO of Microtechnologies. "You have got to be kidding me?" she leaned back in her red plush chair, rubbing her forehead. Of course it made statistical sense that with an event like this the Brieves would make their presence known but what was the chance the doctor would allow his adopted son to fight?

"Gods. I can already see the betting pool being made on whether Nymph and the Brieve kid will fight each other." she let out a sigh. She was so focused on her mental musing that she practically ignored the fact that Bale was speaking to another contestant, even missing when Kale sat up and began to walk away. Yet whereas the mother failed to notice that her daughters didn't.

Instead her mind went over to her rival, Doctor Brieve. "What's game now old man? You're trying to one up me in this tournament because you're still bitter that you can find an effective counter to my magitech?" a sardonic chuckle came from her as she reached for a glass of red wine. "Fine, I'll play your little game. We'll see which of our adopted kids is the better fighter." She raised her glass. "May the space star child on Earth win." Her confidence in her daughter's victory was as assured as the sun setting and rising again tomorrow. She had no real worry on who would win in their hypothetical fight.

Just as she was about to take a sip from her glass the screen would shift to an emergency broadcast. "What the devil?"

---

Back with the contestants Nymphaea can feel something was amiss. It felt as though a pressure was building. She clenched her chest as she felt as though something was rushing towards her. When she saw Kale walking out she felt an almost overwhelming compulsion to follow him. Her instincts taking control she moved her body without thinking, following the two contestants out of the stage.

The action was picked up by a large eye-like being with membranous wings and many tentacles below it. The cyclopean demon would use its magic to share what it was seeing with its summoners. The eldest daughter of the magitech empire was at the backstage of the event. She had snuck to the back to patrol to ensure no one else would be there to sabotage the event. So far her search was proving to be fruitless as she had not even felt the presence of a malign power. She was gonna quit when she was struck by a vision by her scout.

She saw her sister following two men outside. She saw eight streaks of fire from the sky as they fell from the Earth. The vision ended. Both the eldest and youngest daughter gasp in surprise at what they saw. Outside Nymphaea covered her mouth as she saw one of the falling objects strike a building, raining down debris onto the people below and no doubt killing people that were at the wrong spot in the building during the impact. All thoughts of proving herself in the tournament faded as she ran out to try to figure out what was happening.

Nymphaea was unaware of the small demon flying behind her as it followed after the Saiyanese as she went to investigate what crashed and to save anyone she can find along the way.

---

"No, it isn't." Cotton would hear a lethargic and monotone voice replied from behind. Several people would scream in surprise at the sudden appearance of the eerily pale woman grabbed with Stygian black clothing, and deep red eyes that seem to stare deep into their souls. For some the pale skin and long messy black hair brought to mind stories of vengeful earth bound female spirits that would torment the living. Some who were more sensitive would feel a dark presence from the strange woman as she eyed all of them. The only clue as to her means of appearing was a black wisp in the air as it faded from existence.

"However, I may have some suspicion that they could be" she told the hare. Her eyes briefly glanced up at her long ears before returning back to her eyes. Sullen, vacant, almost lifeless red eyes staring into the much more lively blue. "If you assist me in investigating these crashes I will reward you for your service."

The woman in black looked at the other people present. "This offer goes to everyone here."

Normally she isn't too keen on working with people but the cambion knows her sister was already getting involved long before she even thought through with any plan. Her mother was already getting involved as she most likely drew upon the same conclusion that she did.

The strange objects in the sky were spaceships and inside them were aliens.

No doubt she suspects it may be a repeat of what happened with Nymphaea or something close. So of course she would leave to get her mech, ignoring all calls even from her eldest. Typical behaviour from her mother honestly.

---

Inside the hovercraft Alex had used to get to Papaya Island she heard news anchors talk about what was occurring over the strange objects crashing. She looked at the strange revolver-like weapon she had on her lap.

She always suspected that one day Nymphaea would learn about her alien origin. She had always planned on telling it herself, especially since she was never shown if she had family out there among the stars.
But now that opportunity was most likely lost if what she suspected was true and that what is crashing on Earth are more alien pods.

She wants to hope that within them are more children with tails. Interstellar orphans that need parents to raise them right so they don’t become destructive beasts. But the caster gun on her lap was there encase the most optimistic scenario was wrong.

The craft carrying her mech suit would arrive soon at the drop out sight. Summoning by magic would be too risky if the aliens are hostile. She needs to be inside it before she encounters anything that might try to kill her.

“Please be safe out there Nymph.” she prayed as she saw the sky pass by as she flew to the drop site.

[The New Fallen Jedi]

Sakuhara
Papaya Island | Earth, Sol System
__________________________________

Sakuhara always had an aversion to cities.

Like many of his kin before him, the wayward Namekian always found comfort in that of small towns and even the wilderness, and his time on Earth had done remarkably little to change that. Even so, during the Black Tie Rebellion did Sakuhara avoid the limelight, helping where he could and moving on as soon as the threat was dealt with. This combined with countless hours of Image Training had made it so that he was always on the up-and-up when it came to fighting experience. When the Rebellion came to an end, the Namekian Mage returned to living in the quiet countryside, always keeping his head down and avoiding attention. Frankly, he preferred it that way too, wanting to be left alone with his thoughts.

Ever since he first landed on Earth, there was a longing in Sakuhara to somehow find a way to return to Namek and hopefully free his people from the jackboot of PTO oppression. But there were two things that stood in the way of that: One was the fact that he didn't have the strength to do it on his own, the other was that he had no way to get back to Namek given that his spaceship was out of action. His plan now was to basically come out of the sidelines and hopefully make some allies who could hopefully help him in his efforts; and the best place to start was the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, where he figured that the strongest of Earth's warriors were likely assembled. Was his plan easier said than done? Absolutely, but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

And so he made his way towards Papaya Island.

The air was cool and crisp against his skin as he flew towards the Island, his form just barely touching the waves beneath him; cloak billowing in the wind. "I wonder if this is what the air feels like back home." Sakuhara remarked to himself, his mind adrift in contemplation as he converged on the Island. After a few minutes, Sakuhara blew past the coastline, the city outskirts in sight as he landed on a nearby cliff overlooking the city proper. He'd heard of the Martial Arts Tournament before because of course most everyone on Earth heard of it, Sakuhara didn't live under a rock thank you very much. What he DIDN'T hope to find was smoke billowing from several areas of the City; Did he seriously travel all this way to participate in a World Tournament only to stumble upon a battlefield?!

"WE'RE BEING INVADED!"

"IT'S THE BLACK TIE ARMY AGAIN!"

"ALIENS ARE HERE TO EAT OUR BABIES!"

While Sakuhara was in the midst of pondering on whether the Black Tie Army or a Roach would win in a competition of persistence, he narrowly dodged an energy blast that was directed his way. He looked down towards where the shot came from, noticing what looked to be a Blue skinned Humanoid with stark white hair that looked a lot like the tail of a skunk? "What?" The Mage inquired, almost thrown off with how absurd the man's hair looked.

"Blimey, ain’t every day you spot a Namekian, mate! You’re a real unicorn in a sea of kangaroos, aren’t ya? Must’ve been a right sneaky so-and-so to dodge all the drongoes tryin’ to catch ya!" The being remarked, a small, albeit malicious grin on his face, wrist mounted blaster still at the ready. "Fair dinkum, you’d fetch a squillion bucks on the black market, mate! You’re a bonza find, like a gold nugget in a paddock of dirt!"

Did he just stumble onto an open area Sanatorium, or did the whole city already lose its mind?! Sakuhara was so taken aback by this alien's figure of speech that he almost didn't notice the battle armor it was adorning -- the same type of armor that he vaguely remembered seeing during the fall of Namek. The Mage's eyes narrowed as his befuddlement was quickly replaced by a level of grim determination. So it wasn't the Black Tie Army but rather the Planet Trade Organization that was launching this attack. He noted that the being before him didn't necessarily look like he was a high rank… Did they just stumble on Earth that they'd send.

"Crikey, you’re a quiet one for a Namekian, aren’t ya? Might’ve thought you’d be chattier than a magpie at dawn!" The PTO Soldier remarked, causing Sakuhara to twitch in mild annoyance. "Righto, since this’ll be your last breath, might as well give ya the lowdown. Name’s Brax, and I’m part of the 9 Stages of Grief, mate! Gonna make sure you remember that before the lights go out!" Without saying much else, Brax surged forward with a yell, a bright red aura surrounding Brax as he closed the distance between himself and Sakuhara, extending his fist forward as it clashed with the Namekian's own. "Blimey, you’ve got some real fire in ya, don’t ya? Fair dinkum, I like that!" He grinned, "Alright, let’s see what you’re made of, mate! Give us a squiz at what you’ve got!"

And this, this was why Sakuhara avoided the cities.

[The Republic of Atria]

Aurellia

She was eager to see the contestants whet their metaphorical blades against one another, something felt off. there were feelings of arrogance and aggression, but they weren't coming from the arena. No these were coming from a bit further away. Almost... Above them? She looked up and saw the pods raining down, much like they had all those years ago on Dracos. No, she wouldn't allow it. Back then she was powerless, but now she wasn't. Now she could make a difference. It was then the crowd descended into chaos, screaming about the Black Tie Army returning or aliens coming down to eat their babies. "I would never." She muttered to herself. "That's unbelievably disgusting. And impractical." Still, it was a good time to take her leave.

She floated above the stands and out of the arena. She looked back to see that someone tried to throw something at her, but missed. Not a good first impression, but there were bigger things at stake. She flew towards the islands and from the looks of things and pushing her own psychic senses, there were already people moving to deal with the invaders. A quick response! But the attackers still outnumbered the defenders. When she got closer, she could see quite the spread of people fighting. A Namekian? She didn't know Earth had Namekians. Already the potential for an alliance was skyrocketing, and hopefully her intervention and assistance would help secure it.

Aurellia swooped down, brandishing her rapier, ready to join the fray. There was barely any time for her to react as a blast flew by her head. "Another one? The backwater dump has dragons? Ah well, I want her hat!" The attacker said, armed with a pair of wrist mounted blasters, one on each arm, he aimed, and felt something in his mind slip for just a moment, delaying his blasting by just a fraction of a second enough for Aurellia to close the distance and thrust her rapier into the blaster's cannon and damage it. "Bloody hell! You almost hit me with that!" He said and fired the damaged blaster only for it to explode on his arm.

"You're from the PTO!" She shouted.

"Of course I am! Name's Queso! THe planet belongs to us now, so just lay down and die!"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Cotton continued to stare at the pandemonium unfolding right before her eyes until a voice responded to her absent-minded query. She turned her head only to see someone that hadn't been standing there before, a girl a couple inches shorter than her with long black hair and a terrible case of pink eye, although her outfit was pretty nice. She was pale to a degree that seemed unhealthy and she had something of a hollow, lifeless air about her.

All in all, she looked a lot like her old friend Yotte, right down to the pointy ears and bad juju. Although this chick didn't have no fluffy tail.

Either way, the answer to her question didn't exactly give her a lot to go off of. So this wasn't a common occurrence for city dwellers. Excellent, good information to have. Then what did it mean? The hybrid martial artist hadn't been on Papaya Island for more than a couple of weeks, and really, she hadn't left the mountains where Master Whisk and her clan lived for longer than a few months. She really had no idea what was going on.

Then again, judging by their expressions, words and actions, neither did anyone else here, so at least she wasn't alone there. Well, no one else except...

"Hmm." Cotton considered the weird chick's words. An admission of knowledge, and an offer of compensation. Technically speaking, that wasn't what she was here for, but her own curiosity was nudging her towards looking into whatever was going on, and now she was being offered something for it.

A shrug. "Sure."

The whole martial arts tournament schtick seemed to be dead in the water at this point anyhow, which meant the trial her master had given her was more or less forfeit. Maybe if she helped with this whole thing at least she'd have something to show for her time here. Plus, she'd get something out of it too.

Something to chew on hopefully. Her teeth were getting a bit long.

"Be right back." She said, before dropping into a horse stance and closing her eyes to focus. Focus on her breath entering her lungs. Focus on the blood pumping through her veins. Feeling the flow of energy, coursing through her entire body... and then bringing it out, strengthening her muscles, her flesh and bone. As she concentrated, the air around her began to shimmer, subjected to an unseen pressure. Dust and pebbles began to rise out of the ground.

The girl with the rabbit ears then flexed a little before taking off, her feet kicking off the ground with such force that a small crater was left behind as she soared high into the air, quickly leaving the martial arts temple behind. With a quick twist to reposition herself, she tucked in her legs and then kicked out again, compressing the air behind her and sending her flying off in the direction of South City like a raptor diving in for the kill.

It took a little time, regardless. Nothing interesting happened in the meantime.

As she reached her target, she noticed one of the pods headed straight to a small building on the outskirts of the city. Using her jackrabbit jump technique, she managed to get close enough to the pod to kick it out of the air, sending it crashing down towards the plains, away from any civilians. She then chased after it, crashing down just beside it a few moments after it had finally made landfall. Not a dent on it. It was sturdy, that was for sure.

She could sense someone's ki inside the pod, so she resolved to stand in front of it, arms crossed, until someone came out.

When someone finally did, it was a tall figure with snow white hair and, for whatever reason, piss-yellow skin. Not the most handsome fellow for sure.

"Strewth! Look at this, the locals put together a welcomin' party!" The figure laughed as it pulled out what appeared to be some sort of ray gun. Not that she knew what a ray gun even was. "Oi, little sheila, you'd better show some respect 'cuz I, Mayon, have rocked up to take over your world!"

Cotton rolled her eyes. Species were local, but personalities were universal. One of these guys.

Before Mayon got to say another word, he took a foot to the chin and ended up being more or less flung into the stratosphere.

[Naval Monte]

---

The half demon stared at the ever shrinking spec that was the hybrid martial artist as the dust cleared and pebbles began to fall back to the ground. "I should be surprised but she is a rabbit." Was the woman;s dull comment as she locked at the crater left behind. She felt assured of her decision to pay for that woman's service if her legs can do the same impact to alien bodies.

"I wish I placed a scout to follow after her so I know where she went." the goth sighed in resignation on the search. She could sense KI sure. But she wasn't sure where the rabbit went off and there were multiple powers all around her. It would be a pain for her to figure out which one was the rabbit and that time for searching was not something she had at the moment.

Elizabeth opened her hand and streaks of shadows began to fly around her as they congregated to fill the space her open hand made and form a sphere of darkness that hover inches over her palm.

"The dreadful night has come once more. Howl and shriek, oh forsaken children of darkness, for the accursed day is no more and the gods gaze upon the world has closed."

The woman chanted as the shadows grew more frequent. A strong gust was being picked up as more streaks of shadows converged into the growing sphere. The martial artists that remain in the temple watch with terror as they feel the air grow still and cold, a creeping dread filling their hearts as each felt they were witnessing something profane before them.

"Rise my minions! Rise for your mistress! Let you evil shine upon our enemies!"

The cambion raised her hand forward and launched the orb out in front of her. The orb would fly just a few miles away before it would expand suddenly into a large black circle that remained suspended in the air.

The other people would scream as something flew out from the circle. It was a massive winged creature. The creature had grey leathery skin, most of its body was serpentine in build that ended with white root like tendrils. The head was a ring of puffy flesh with strange whisker-like tendrils or laces, at the centre was a large yellow orange eye with the iris that made her think of a squid. Its arms were large membranous wings. The demon's baleful gaze fell upon the mortals yet its attention was on the summoner.

The other fighters all began to run away as they screamed in terror.

"DEMONS!"
"THERE'S A MONSTER IN HERE!
"DON'T TAKE MY SOUL!"
"I'M A GINGER, I DON'T HAVE A SOUL TO TAKE!"
"KAMI PLEASE SAVE US!"

Elizabeth ignored the chaos around her as she gave the demon a vacant expression that she gives to most people.

"I request your service. Let me use your wings so I can follow my paid warrior to ensure my money isn't being wasted on mediocre fighters." she instructed with surprising authority in her lethargic voice.

The demon would heed her command as it flew down so she could get on it. The woman climbed on and sat down on the demon. With a few flaps the demon would take off from the ground and fly off to the sky.

From above she can see the full scale chaos below as people tried to flee from the city due to the strange pods falling down. Cars were predictably stuck in traffic as people tried to cut off other people.

"I don't understand why you fight for the mortals, mistress." the demon's deep and gravelly voice echoed out despite the absence of a mouth. "They are so pitifully weak that at the first sign of danger most will flee for their lives and sacrifice their own to save their skin."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed. She knew the demon would say that. It wasn't the first to question her reasons to fight against demonkind and protect humanity from them. It wouldn't be the last time either. By now she was used to these sorts of questions, she was. But it didn't make the repetition of it any less grating.

"My reasons are beyond your comprehension." That line was rehearsed from a past conversation. It was almost second nature for the cambion to use that to anyone who asked her why she fights. But for demons under her service in particular it was the only response that can work for how she can use human emotions and thought processes to beings who live in a completely different reality from them? She also rather avoids being dragged into a philosophical debate on her goals while aliens are invading.

"They are also irrelevant. Our goal is to find the rabbit and investigate the source behind these pods so we-"

The cambion stopped in mid sentence as she sensed something above her. Looking up she saw a flaming object coming down towards her. From the smoke and flames she can see a metallic sphere from within. One she can remember seeing from a dark corner within a restrictive sector of her mother's laboratory.

The vacant and sullen eyes widened as emotions now flooded them; shock and fear. Both from the recognition of the object hurling towards her, and the fact it was going to hit her at the speed it was travelling.

The demon below her acted long before she could. It would turn around so it's stomach was facing the orb. Elizabeth's grip, weakened due to her shock, would loosen and when gravity began to pull her down she lost her grip and fell. As she fell she saw the orb hit her demon. The demon let out a terrible scream as it flew with the orb and both crashed through a building.

"NO!" she screamed out as she reached her hand out to the demonic familiar.

She can sense its life force still. It was weak. It was most likely knocked out and badly injured. It won't help her now.

"Damn it." The woman cursed as she reached for the grip of her sword. The sword would come out silently from its wooden sheath and the blade briefly reflecting the light of the sun. It was a slender, narrow blade that curved slightly the closer one got to the point. The red grip had spiral patterns on it that was coloured yellow to match the circular yellow crossguard and the yellow octagon shaped pommel. On the blade was a series of runic engravings.

The cambion placed her palm on the blade and closed her eyes.

"Let the veil between the realms of light and dark be severed. I call upon the great powers of darkness to break through and grant me passage to that wish is the most profane!"

Like with her earlier spell shadows began to gather around her but this time it was covering the blade of her sword.

"Now, let the barrier between our worlds be cast aside!"

She would slash her sword in the air and a wave of darkness would fly out much faster than her. The wave would form a massive tear that would swallow her immediately, she never saw it form the familiar vortex of shadows she usually sees.

On the other side a roaring storm cloud surrounds her as massive pillars of Earth are all around her. Lightning flashes both from a distance and dangerously close. The wind from the storm was hitting her now along with the wind from her fall.

She heard screeches as gargoyle-like demons began to fly towards her.

"And the welcoming committee is here to greet me. Great." She figured this would happen. Why should her luck improve in Maikai?

The first of the demons would strike as it swung its claws at the falling demon hunter but she swiftly parried with her blade, sparks coming off the contact. She would parry the claw off and in an instant would slash off the demon's arm. It would have a chance to roar as she cut its long neck and decapitated it.

She would grab on to the half of the neck still attached and move the body to use it as a shield as another demon crashed into her, pushing her close to the pillar. The cambion would stab her blade through the body shield and stab into the heart of the other demon, making it scream in agony as she kicked both of them off her.

Free from the two demons she would turn to see that she was gonna hit the rock wall. She would place her hand on the blade and recite another chant. One that was the inverse to the one earlier as she requested to leave Maikai. The other demons are gaining on her.

As the rock was getting close and she could sense the demons behind just inches from getting her she would slash the blade in the air and a new rift was open, she would come in and some of the demons would join her.

The demons and hybrid would both find themselves back in the city, both still in the air.

Elizabeth couldn't curse her luck as she smelled the demons just inches from her. In a flurry of movement she began to slash like a whirlwind. Each strike cut apart a demon that was just too close for comfort for her. Limbs and blood surrounded the cambion as more of the demon's bodies became tiny pieces that scattered around.

With one final slash a gust of wind blew out from all around her as the pieces of the demons scattered about from the cambion. Looking down she saw the ground was fast approaching. She would recite the same chant she uttered to summon her first demon and once the orb was of sufficient size she would throw it at the ground, forming a large puddle of darkness. From the darkness a large slimy slug-like demon emerges. Its back was dark blue with the stomach a turquoise colour. The cambion would sink into the gluttonous flesh of the demon before she would be pushed upward and flung up high into the air. In the air she would right herself and land back on the demon, once more going down before bouncing back into the air. Only now she jumped before she bounced back in the air so she would bounce off the demon.

She would perform a somersault in the air and land gracefully on her feat. She would turn to face the demon who looked at her with its eye stocks. "You did a fine job." The cambion complemented the being before she would use her Hell's Gate to return it back to the demon realm.

The hybrid would turn around and take a few steps before she stopped. She found her cap was on the ground. She patted the top of her head and found that it indeed fell off. Without saying a word she would pick up the hat, brush off any dust on it, before placing it on her head once more. A small smile graced her face once she felt the familiar weight of the headwear.

"Crockey. Here I was worrying that this world will be filled with nothing but horrible beasties." The cambion would look up and see a tall and muscular man floating above her. He wore white boots and gloves and wore strange armour that had overly large shoulder pads and for some reason felt comfortable to show off his black underwear. The man had long puffy white hair and black skin. "I'm glad my pod took it out before I got out." The man would lower down to the ground.

The man would pull out a strange firearm of sorts. It was rather bulky looking even though it was round. It made her think of those ray guns from those movies and shows Nymphaea likes to watch.

"So, little sheila, here is how things are gonna go for yea." the man pointed at himself. "The names, Nasie, you better remember it cause I'm your new boss here. Don't cause any trouble and me and the boyz may treat you nicely." The man gave the shorter woman a cocky grin.

Elizabeth looked at the ray gun on his hand and she would put her sword back at the sheath. "HA! I knew you would be smart. Now how about you-" Nasie words would hang on his throat as he saw the woman take out another weapon and if he was correct it seems to be a slugthrower of some type.

It was a large silver pistol with a cylinder drum and a piece of metal with holes cut into holes over the barrel and a piece of metal sticking up at the end of the barrel. If his memory was right some worlds called those slugthrowers revolvers, right? He wasn't that crazy over antiquated weapons since all he really needed was his own raw power and superior weapons provided by the PTO. If only he can get the good stuff.

For every bit the Brench-seijin could see there were parts he couldn't. Such as dark red wooden hand grip had stylized art on both sides like small pictures frames.

One side had a feminine angel who had her eyes closed and her body warp by angelic wings with a heavenly sky behind her. The other was a masculine horned devil who had horns curled forward and had his body wrap by demonic wings with fire and brimstone behind him. On the cylinder crane was a black rose marking and on the ornate engravings similar to vines were also found on the case. Those additions were not what she wanted but she couldn't complain since it didn't hamper the performance of the weapon, nor did it really offer much of advantage either. Though it did make Nymphaea give the weapon the name "Black Rose" and if she was gonna be honest she liked the name.

The alien whistle. "So, Shelia. You want an old fashion shoot out?" the alien chuckle. His smirk and mirth would end quickly as he dodged a bullet that nearly hit him on the cheek. Elizabeth began to run towards him as she aim once more to shot at the alien

"Oi, you cheeky cunt!" Nasie would begin to run as he fired an energy bolt at the cambion which nearly grazed her head. The alien and hybrid would keep their weapons sights on the other as they ran by each other before the two turned as they began to run in a circle. The two would fire at the same time and both nearly hit the other. A bullet would fly over Nasie's head and a bolt almost got Liz by her hip. Nasie would pull from his second hostler a second ray gun and aim it at Liz. The cambion's eyes narrowed and she took another shot, the bullet hitting the alien firearm just as the black skin merc almost pulled the trigger.

The alien grunted as the weapon was recoiled back. The first gun would fire off almost by instinct by the Brench-seijin and that shot almost hit the half demon on her foot if she didn't jump at the split second needed to avoid losing the limp. She would roll on the ground and once stopped she had one knee to the ground and one foot pressed firmly down as she took aim and shot at Nasie's right thigh. The alien screamed as he lost balance and fell down, rolling on the ground.

The alien was on his side as he hissed in pain. How the heck did he manage to let himself get hit by a primitive hurling chunks of metal at him? The dark skin would punch the ground and use his arm to leave himself on his knees as he turned to face the earthling. She gazed at him with this contemptible lifeless eyes. Like this whole thing was a chore to her. He's gonna make her feel something by the end of this fight. He will get to see fear in those eyes before they become lifeless forever.

The alien let out a scream as a white aura burst from him as he launched himself into the air and hovered in place. "You made a mistake making the PTO your enemy!" He began to fire a barrage of energy shots at the earthling who was forced to run in a zigzag pattern to make it harder to aim for her. Liz made it close to an apartment complex that was close to her location. She saw a wood door and rusty metal knob. She aimed her revolver at the knob and fired the two remaining bullets, knocking the door knob off its hinges. The woman braces herself as she pushes through the door and enters the building. The alien snare before blasting a hole on the wall of the apartment and flying inside to find his target.

---

"The speed of that guy is unreal." Nymphaea complained as she vaulted over an abandoned car. The Saiyaness chose to follow after the other martial artists as she found that most people were able to flee and since those two were heading straight to the source of the chaos they were at the most risk to have their lives in danger.

A small part of her was also disappointed the tournament was cancelled so whatever was happening may provide her a good fight to make up for all the fights denied to her.

However her most pressing concern at the moment was that the man she chose to follow was incredibly fast. She had to channel her own energy to her legs just to have any chance of keeping up and yet she found some difficulty doing so. He was really pushing her past speeds she was normally comfortable with.

"Note to self. Improve my speed after all this is done." she muttered to herself as she could see the man. On a speedboat that he found and was preparing to turn on.

"Oh come on!" she screamed as she channelled more energy and pushed her legs more to increase her speed. Just as she thought she could reach him, the boat's engines were turned on and he began to move forward.

"No, no no!" she had to reach him somehow cause she rather not see if she can use her powers to walk on water. The warrior of the stars would be close to the end and once she saw mostly water from her view she would jump into the air.

The Saiyaness prayed that her hair brain scheme would work. The speed boat was getting close as it moved forward. A smile formed as it appeared she was gonna land on it. However the boat made a turn and the relief turned to horror as it looked as though she was gonna mess up.

her fall was coming in fast and thinking quickly she would channel her energy at her hand just before she landed on the water. She slapped her hands on the boat, pouring as much of her energy as she could. "Please stick. Please stick." she pleaded to herself as the boat began to gain in speed.

The poor woman would barely hold on for dear life as she was dragged along with the boat. Her hands almost slipped only for her to still cling to the ship by her finger tips.

"huh, how can this be?" she questioned herself. The question however had an answer quickly. "Wait, of course. My energy concentrates more on my fingertips than anywhere else on my hand. So long as I keep a steady stream of energy on them I should remain attached to the boat."

Her joy was short-lived as water splashed on her face. The woman spit out water before being splashed on the face once more, this time a fish bouncing on her head before falling off.

She was thankful the trip was short. The taste of salt water was beginning to make her feel sick. Once the boat stopped, a fish's tail was sticking out of Nymphaea's mouth. The soaked mystic warrior would spit out the poor fish, offering a quick apology as she finally let go of the boat.

"Finally, it's over." she allowed herself to float on the water. She was glad that she found a new application for her power and while normally she would have celebrated this wonderful discovery but seeing the fiery objects falling out of the sky reminded her why she clung to a boat like a human sized barnacle.

The crashes of the objects hitting the city would make the Saiyan of Earth swim away from the boat to find a way to get on land. As she swam she could sense a powerful presence nearby. One that was very different from the man she was following. Were there others around he came to help?

The loud explosion would cause her train of thought to derail as she turned around to look at the source. She found the smoke cloud where the speedboat she clung to used to be. Almost to prove that her hunch was right she would see flaming chunks of the boat fall into the water.

"Okay, they are not here to help."

The saiyan would eventually find her means to reach land and being close to where Barely was she would eventually find the man and a strange figure standing in front of him. One wearing strange armour, a monocle, and a strange arm cannon. "The heck? Why is a cosplayer trying to attack him?" the woman tilted her head slightly in confusion.

However as the man raised his weapon the space warrior began to run. As she picked up speed she would channel power throughout her body, increasing her strength and speed. She would bend down and stand on her legs as she began to do flips before she would put a burst of power to her legs to jump high into the air.

"Tornado Overdrive!" Nymphaea screamed as the mixture of Ki and Magic began to manifest as electrical sparks that covered her legs as she dived down towards the grey skin alien. The Saiyaness began to channel the energy to her lower body as she began to spin rapidly like a twister.

[New Rnclave]

Theo Daigon:

As his eyes adjusted to the smoke and fire, Theo's eyes took in the ruined state of the city. It was too much like thirty years ago for his tastes, the smell of carbon burning his nose and the screams of innocents drowning out his own thoughts.

" Who could've done this? No one on Earth is this strong," the aging martial artist thought aloud, scanning the city below.

His traveling companion, the young man's face twisted in annoyance, seemed unmoved by his questions or the destruction, continuing to hang off his wrist while they road the Nimbus cloud into the city.. Theo had met Doctor Brieve plenty of times, but never this boy, and frankly, it was hard to believe the two were even legally related. Kale was quite frankly... a brat, and Theo felt especially qualified to make that call, fathering a six year girl himself and all.

It was not his fault Kale had not been able to ride Nimbus, and also not his fault Kale could not fly. Although, he had half a mind to threaten to wash his mouth out with soap after the string of curses he'd been letting out since they took off.

Nudging Nimbus, the cloud lowered them down to the hot asphalt, Theo sighing as he took in the sight of the destruction from street level.'I can feel the others fighting, now that I'm away from the crowd.' Extending his senses across the city, the Earthling took in the larger powers duking it out across the city.

It brought a sense of pride and, small as it was, a bit of jealousy that he recognized several as youngins' from the tournament. What incredible talent these kids had to have.

There. He could tell a few immediately, like the bunny-girl and Master Bruce's ward, but they didn't seem to be struggling, in all honesty, the rabbit's power seemed to reflect she was having some fun beating up on.. someone. That's where Theo ran into trouble sensing these battles out. None of these powers felt anything light any fighter he'd ever met.

Maybe there were aliens after all, how crazy would that be?

With a huff, he heard Kale stomping up behind him before he interjected, " How long are we going to stand out in the middle of a terrorist attack like fucking idiots, old man?"

They didn't have to wait long.

The aging martial artist reacted first, feeling the energy scream to life behind them milliseconds before his own aqua aura set the air around him on fire. Sensing their unknown adversary's path, Theo rolled to the side, asphalt passing in a blur as he found his feet again. "Kale, look out!"

As if in slow motion, the young man turned towards him, his eyebrows only just beginning to rise as he recognized an armored warrior bearing down on him. The harsh crack of bone on bone followed, the attack launching Kale down the street through several parked cars, an echoing chortle of a laugh filling the vacuum of silence as Theo's eyes left the trail of destruction Kale had left down the street and turned back towards their adversary.

"Oi! Let the boys know we've got another blooming Saiyan out here," the armored warrior drawled, lazily tapping at some machine on his face as his feet clack clacked onto the asphalt, "Mate, a backwater planet like this? Havin' two Saiyan cunts like this? Fucking mental, I’ll tell ya. Winter’s gonna have a bloody aneurysm over this."

Theo, his fists shaking- with rage or anxiety, he couldn't tell yet, assumed his own stance as the armored warrior turned on him, purple face sneering as it flicked a mane of white hair over it's shoulder. "I don't know who you are, but you don't get to just come here and start destroying cities without consequence," Theo bit out, his energies washing across the emptied streets in a threat display.

"I gotta hand it to ya, you weird pink mites," the alien spat, his level of distaste very evident, "You’ve shocked us, having two bloody Saiyans on this rock. That’s more than I’ve ever seen alive in one place. Name’s Weiz, and you’re lookin’ at a member of the bloody Nine Stages of Grief.

"Tell the devil we killed ya, when you get to Hell, cunt HAAA" the alien, Weiz, continued, before launching a wave of energy at him from his wrist mounted device, Theo's eyes widening before he threw his arms out, dispelling the golden beam with a shout. The shout Weiz let out in turn was full of annoyance, several more beams following the first, but only finding brick and afterimages as the aging martial artist dashed out of range.

Wind screamed around Theo as he closed on the alien, burying a glowing fist in his midsection with another shout of his own, the shrieks of the two warriors energies interacting drowning out the gasp of pain from the alien. It was a rush in it's own way, fighting like this. It was what Theo was best at, truly.

Stumbling backwards, a trail of spittle worked its way down the aliens still sneering face." Oi, that was a pretty good shot," Weiz got out between inhales, trying to regain his composure, "But if you think that's enough to put a man like me down, you're bloody blind, old man."

Fire caught again around Theo, his aura reigniting and drowning out the sounds of the wind and the chaos around them. His only response was to gesture at the alien, beckoning him closer.

[New Rnclave]

Theo Daigon:

The burning air carried a weight thick with smoke and heat as the two warriors circled around each other in the beginning of their second dance. As serious a fighter as he was, Theo had to admit that the alien, silly as he looked, carried a lot more power than the human was. His aura alone was forcing Theo's away, but it also gave Theo an indication of how he could win.

This alien could barely control his own energy. It was practically pouring off of him unimpeded.

"Get over here, Rat!" his words finally broke the trance, his aura flashing to full crimson vibrance as the pressure in the air became that much more real.

Both warriors met in the air, sending clouds of smoke billowing away. A fist met Theo's guard, a palm strike met Weiz's hand, and their knees crashed together. Gritting his teeth, Theo knocked away the offending hand with a backfist, closing with the alien moments before a sizzling blast shot past his countenance, the aging martial artist's eyes flying to the blaster strapped to Weiz's wrist.

Close. Too close. He had to keep an eye on that, or it was going to empty his head out.

Twisting in the air, the human barely had time to return his vision to the alien before he hammered him down into the concrete, blood flying into his mouth and his ears ringing as he slapped against the asphalt. It was becoming rapidly clear close range wasn't going to work, problem being, he couldn't get distance with the speed this one had. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't came to mind.

Onyx orbs traced down the street towards where Kale had been struck. It would've been preferable to do this with the both of them, but the alien had made that choice for them. Well, no use crying over it. The air carried an even heavier weight as Theo pushed himself to his feet again, the alien dancing back and forth on his feet, laughing the whole time.

"Cunt like you, I figured you'd put up a better fight, but," the purple alien chuckled through breaths, "Oi, by the looks of it, I don’t reckon you’d be able to handle a bloody Space Dingo back on my planet."

"One hit ain't a win," Theo interjected, finding his feet again, "And I can tell by looking at you, that you don't have the discipline to stick this out. You're already getting winded."

"By the looks of it, I'd say you aren't used to fighting someone who can fight back," he continued, brushing the dust off his Gi as his energy ignited itself around him again, "Or taking the stairs."

"You.. little fucking rat!" Weiz cried out as he threw a fist out at Theo, a sloppy punch if he'd ever seen one. Setting his feet, Theo smiled, deflecting the fist with an elbow, the impact still managing to slide the human back several feet. It hardly mattered though, if Theo was anything, it was able to take a hit. Sucking a breath in, Theo let himself move with the impact, channeling energy into his palms as he did so. The glowing ball crackled brightly for a moment before Theo shoved it forward.

"Here! Catch!" Theo shouted gamely.

Panic was immediately visible on the aliens face, but he'd taken the bait, the orb wisping away as quickly as it had appeared, but not before Theo chin checked him, the impact picking the alien off his feet before the human drove the opposite hand into his solar plexus.

Teeth fully exposed, Weiz let out a growl that rapidly built into a roar as he dove back towards Theo, "You'll pay for that, you rat bastard!" bearing down on him, Theo had milliseconds to prepare as they clashed again. A mailbox, a car and the street itself were torn and thrown into the air as they met in another flurry of strikes and bone-shaking impacts as Theo was rapidly forced backwards.

Hopping at the last second, Theo barely avoided having his head caved in as the alien lashed out in a final combo of sloppy punches and energy blasts, Theo's hands finding a flagpole above them and -hands nearly vibrating with nerves- frantically pulled himself up and onto it, onyx orbs meeting as they both caught their breath for a moment.

'Looks like you're wearing yourself out quick," Theo offered, his own chest heaving from the exchange of blows, the taste of blood still strong in his mouth from the first hit, "We don't have to fight to the death here. I'm more than willing to-"

"Oi, shut it you bloody bastard! More like I'm gonna wear out your bloody skin, cunt!"

Energy screamed to life in the alien's blaster as he angled it up at Theo in a howl of anger. In a second that lasted forever, the human's eyes flew to the window next to him, already having picked up on the several tiny energies hiding inside the office. His next choice was a no brainer, even if Theo wasn't excited for it.

And when the blast, slicing through the air with a ferocious heat, met Theo's guard, the human set his feet and grit his teeth like he had a million times before in training, even if the power was like nothing he'd seen before.

Like he had when he'd defeated Commander Black, Theo would rise to the task.

[The Republic of Atria]

Aurellia

"Very well then Queso." Aurellia said, adjusting to a parrying stance with her rapier. "But I will warn you, I can see the future, and it ends poorly for you."

"You can see the future, eh? Not with a power level like that you can't."

"Numbers can be deceiving." She said, pushing herself into his surface thoughts. She smiled a bit, adjusted her hat and braced. "Show me what you can do."

Raise left blaster, and fire. The thoughts entered her mind just as Queso raised his blaster. As soon as he pulled the trigger she was already out of his aim, and the blaster bolt struck the ground. Missed!

He adjusted his aim. Fire... Fire... Fire

Aurellia dashed, pushing herself with her psychic might and was always just clear of the attack and jumping into the air. She felt her heart racing as the bolts flew either into the ground behind her or harmlessly into the sky. This was her first genuine combat encounter, and she felt like she was doing well! All the practice and meditating was paying off!

"Stop bloody moving and let the bloody blasts hit you!"

Rapid burst, horizontal

Aurellia dove down as her target fired wildly. Queso's irritation making him more prone to mistakes. Something she intended to exploit. She pulled up right before hitting the ground and swooped at the alien, masking subtle dashes to keep Queso's aim from recovering. As she approached, his thoughts were abuzz with hesitation to keeping firing or strike. An opening she use and slashed her rapier at the blaster, cutting it in half. "I certainly hope you can fight better than you can aim." She taunted floating just a few inches above the ground.

"We'll see about that, Sheila!" He charged at her ready to brawl right jab, left jab, right, left, right and the thoughts poured in as Aurellia dodged side to side. Finding an opening in hand-to-hand was harder than she thought, despite being able to read him, he was moving far quicker than she expected and it took her full concentration just to make sure she didn't get clobbered. Even with dragon blood, she was still having trouble with the foot soldiers? MAybe it was her lack of true combat experience but there was a sliver of doubt that broke her concentration just for a moment, and Queso struck her square in the gut.

Aurellia dropped and tumbled across the ground as she forcefully sucked the air back into her lungs and staggered to her feet with a death grip on her weapon.

"Ya had me going for a minute there sheila." He said slightly out of breath. "But just like everyone else who tried, ya ain't gonna beat the PTO."

Charge, heavy blow with right arm

Queso flew straight at her and just as his thoughts said, extended his right arm to finish her off.

With what remained of her strength, she moved just enough to cause him to miss, and grabbed his outstretched wrist with her left hand, and thrust her rapier straight into the PTO grunt's neck, and letting him crash into the ground as a gagging, bleeding mess.

"That was for my family and my home."

[Britanania]

Arlia, Arlian Sector, Outer Territories

Spicer stood at the edge of the smouldering battlefield, his eyes locked on the ruins of Arlia’s capital. The rebellion had grown quickly, spurred on by whispers of revolt in the streets and murmurs of discontent among the planet's leaders. It hadn’t taken long for those whispers to turn into shouts of open defiance against the PTO. Spicer, however, had expected this. Arlia had been a volatile world for years, its insectoid population brimming with resentment.

Now, the cries of defiance had been silenced. The air hung heavy with ash and the scent of burning debris. Corpses littered the once-thriving city, their twisted forms the remnants of a failed uprising. The few who remained alive cowered in the shadows of the ruins, knowing the end was near.

Spicer, clad in his battle armour, surveyed the carnage with cold detachment. His scouter beeped, indicating the remnants of life scattered through the rubble, but none posed a threat. The Saiyan General’s hand curled into a fist as he glanced skyward. The full moon loomed large, bathing the landscape in an eerie silver light. He had waited for this moment.

With a roar that shattered the oppressive silence, Spicer allowed the primal power within him to surge forth. His body swelled, bones cracking and muscles expanding until he towered over the battlefield. In a matter of moments, the man had become the beast—the towering Oozaru, eyes glowing red with unchecked fury.

Spicer’s massive foot crashed down, obliterating what remained of the capital’s central tower. Arlian survivors scattered, their shrieks drowned out by the rumble of collapsing buildings. But there was nowhere to hide. The Oozaru’s breath came in heavy, thunderous bursts as he surveyed the devastation he had unleashed. The city burned beneath him, a dying world gasping its last breath under his relentless onslaught.

He strode through the ruins, each step sending tremors through the ground, flattening whatever remained of the rebellion. The insectoid leaders who had dared to oppose Glacia’s rule had already fallen, their bodies crushed beneath Spicer’s earlier assault. Now, their people shared the same fate. His tail lashed behind him, knocking over structures and sending debris flying. Fires erupted, consuming whatever had been spared from his earlier wrath.

Spicer did not hesitate, did not relent. The Oozaru’s power coursed through him, filling him with a rage that demanded destruction. He turned his gaze toward a group of survivors huddled near a wrecked transport. In a single bound, he landed before them, his massive hand sweeping down to crush them without a second thought. Screams echoed for a brief moment before they were silenced, lost beneath the Oozaru’s roar.

He had not come to negotiate or seek peace. There could be no survivors, no lingering resistance. Arlia would serve as an example—a message to any other world that dared to rise against the PTO.

By the time the moon dipped below the horizon, nothing remained of the capital. The fires still burned, casting an orange glow over the desolation, but the rebellion had been utterly annihilated. Spicer stood in the midst of it, his transformation slowly reversing. His massive form shrank until he was once again a man, standing amidst the ashes of Arlia’s last stand.

He exhaled, his breath steady as he adjusted his armour. The rebellion had been crushed, as he had promised Glacia it would be. He turned toward his ship, his scouter beeping faintly as it picked up the final remnants of life in the distance. They would not survive the night.

---

Spicer stood aboard the bridge of his warship, the wreckage of Arlia still visible through the viewport. The charred remains of cities and the scorched landscape stretched across the planet below, a testament to the brutal efficiency of his campaign. He activated the communications console, summoning a holographic connection to Blizzara, the Governor of the Outer Territories.

Moments later, Blizzara's figure materialised in front of him, her cool, calculating gaze sweeping over the Saiyan General. The distance between them, both literal and political, was palpable, but Spicer didn’t let it affect his report.

"Blizzara," Spicer began, his voice low and controlled. "The Arlian rebellion has been crushed. Their forces were no match for ours. The planet is pacified."

Blizzara’s hologram remained perfectly still for a moment, her violet eyes narrowing as she processed the information. "Pacified?" she asked, her tone dripping with scepticism. "You mean to say you've left nothing behind but rubble."

Spicer didn’t flinch. He had expected this reaction from her. "Arlia resisted to the end. After assessing the threat level, I made the decision to eliminate them entirely. Their capital is gone. No survivors. But the resources in the southern hemisphere remain intact for mining operations."

Blizzara raised an eyebrow, her expression one of mild amusement. "Efficient as always, General. I will arrange for salvage teams to secure the remaining assets."

Spicer nodded, his posture rigid. "Understood. I’ll ensure the transition is smooth. The planet is ours again."

Blizzara’s expression softened slightly, though there was still an edge of cold detachment in her voice. "Her Majesty will be pleased. But remember, Spicer, your strength is valuable because it serves a purpose. We don’t burn worlds for pleasure, only for profit. Don’t forget that."

Spicer inclined his head slightly, acknowledging her thinly veiled warning. "I am aware of my place, Governor."

Blizzara’s hologram flickered slightly as she leaned forward. "Good. Now report to the Empress. She won't want to be kept waiting."

The transmission cut off abruptly, leaving Spicer alone with his thoughts for a brief moment. He turned back to the communications console and initiated a new connection. This time, it would link him directly to Glacia.

The image of the Empress appeared before him, seated upon her throne in her private chamber. Her icy presence filled the air even through the hologram, and Spicer immediately straightened, his eyes locked on hers.

"Empress," Spicer began, bowing his head. "The rebellion on Arlia has been extinguished. The planet is secured. Their leadership is no more, and the population has been removed."

Glacia's gaze was inscrutable, her lips barely moving as she spoke. "How complete is the devastation, General?"

"The capital is in ruins. The primary cities are gone. There are no survivors to rally, and their military has been eradicated. However, the southern mining facilities remain intact, as instructed," Spicer said, his voice steady.

The Empress's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of her throne. She remained silent for a few moments longer.

"Very well," Glacia said, her voice as cold and sharp as ever. "Arlia will serve as an example to any who think defiance is an option. Ensure the remaining resources are harvested and redirected to sectors that can benefit from them."

Spicer gave a curt nod. "It will be done."

For a moment, Glacia's eyes flickered with something resembling approval, though her expression remained carefully controlled. "You have done well, Spicer. The galaxy trembles under our rule, but the work is far from over."

Spicer bowed lower this time, the weight of her words settling in his mind. "I live to serve, Empress."

The connexion flickered as the Empress's image began to fade.

"There will be no more rebellions. Make sure of it."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

"Run, ya little dingo! Run while you still can!" Juzu laughed manically as he fired off a volley in Barley's direction, expecting, as was often the case, for the pest to just give up and die. Instead, the human dodged every shot with relative ease, his prodigious speed affording him some breathing room as he sped from place to place, letting each thin ray of energy slip past him - though the powerful explosions that ensued reminded him that under no circumstance was he to face this creature with his back to any populated areas, lest the destruction spread even further. The sea was a fine enough backdrop for now.

It's alright, Barley, just breathe. Remember what Master Bruce taught you: a battle is like a dance - if you can hear the beat, you can see the steps.

Still, despite his master's teachings, he was itching to do something. Fight back. This sloppy bastard wasn't too hard to read, the only issue was that he had a strong air about him, and was packing enough firepower to make any mistake potentially fatal. No good to be rushing his moves in a match-up like that.

Just keep some distance, wait for an opening, he's bound to run out of ammo soon...

...That thing uses some sort of ammo, right...?

"Tornado Overdrive!"

Before the young man was able to contemplate that thought in further detail, a girl about his age jumped in from out of nowhere, practically crackling with electricity as she closed in to deliver the mother of all kicks straight unto this alien prick. Juzu noticed the incoming attack just in time to brace for the attack, aura flaring to life as he put up his arms in a cross to resist the impact. Alas, rather than desist the girl began spinning, aptly enough, like a tornado, drilling into the alien's guard as he was slowly driven back. It wasn't hard for Barley to see that Juzu was now descending into a mild panic, utterly shocked not only about the fact that these people were rolling over, but about who was currently attacking him. Barley knew nothing about it, but Juzu could tell.

Regardless, he wasn't about to roll over and die, either. Channeling his ki into his arms, the gray-skinned alien pushed back against Nymphaea's drilling tornado kick, managing to drive her back with a mighty swing of his arms, hoping to earn himself some breathing room with that.

There!

Without wasting a moment, Barley went from 0 to 100%, speeding towards Juzu like a bullet train as his aura coalesced around him, leaving a long groove in the dirt below. Before Juzu was able to recover from Nymphaea's attack, or even comprehend the incoming threat, the young martial artist reached him and just didn't stop, shoulder checking him hard enough to send him flying straight into a nearby hill, the impact sending dirt and dust everywhere.

"How's that taste alien bastard?! Who's the dingo now, huh?!" Barley shouted after the gray-skinned man, admittedly a little exhilarated about finally letting out some aggression - in a blow that seemed plenty devastating, no less. Another foe felled by his mighty Shredding Charge. Great job, me!

Taking in a deep breath, he turned to look at the girl who had jumped to his aid earlier. "Hey! No idea where you popped out of, but thank you very much for the assist-actually, wait, didn't I see you at the backstage?" He spoke cheerfully, somewhat recognizing her now as a fellow martial artist.

Before he could say anything more, however, a shiver ran down his spine. Suddenly, he could feel an immense killing intent, coming from that same hill.

"Vanilla? It's Juzu. Yeah, I did. There's a fucking Saiyan nepo-baby here mate. Fuck off, 'course I didn't. Yeah, I'll take care of it. Fuck you too." Juzu spoke into some sort of communicator before letting out a sigh. His aura had swollen up since earlier, crushing loose pebbles nearby to dust, and as he stood up once again, he cracked his neck and then took off, flying high into the air. He grabbed another pistol from a holster on his belt.

"HOW DARE YOU BITCHES STAND UP TO ME?! YOU'RE JUST TRASH WAITING TO BE CRUSHED UNDER THE HEEL OF THE PTO, YOU HEAR?! YOU'RE NOTHING!" The raging alien bellowed as he began raining down a barrage of explosive laser beams upon Nymphaea and Barley. He was going into half-time.

Shit, shit, shit!

Now Barley was the one panicking. He would've much preferred to strike up a conversation with the cute chick with the tail, but no. This alien son of a gun had to go and get up again. He gritted his teeth, keeping an eye on his enemy even as the window to dodge each blast grew shorter and shorter.

You've got another thing coming, bastard!

Meanwhile, Juzu continued firing away until the entire battlefield was covered in plumes of dust and smoke. He could hardly see a thing now, and in different circumstances, he would've considered his job done. But not this time. He could still feel two distinct ki signatures down below.

What he didn't expect was for two pinpricks of light to suddenly pierce through his laser guns, rendering them completely inoperable.

Standing below in the settling dust was Barley. Now wreathed in an aura of his own, strangely tinted with a light green that almost bordered on gray, his dark green hair now bristling - it too appeared to be a shade or two lighter now. He had both of his hands extended towards the sky, index and middle fingers pressed together and pointing right at Juzu, with the thumbs outstretched and the rest of the fingers curled out of the way.

"I may be trash, but at least I'm not a quickshot!"

[Naval Monte]

Alexandria

"Fucking Microtech Parvus! It just had to do a forced update on my bloody mech when I needed it the most!" the woman slammed the back of her helmet head against the chair. "I swear to Kami, I'm gonna make my own operating system just so I don't have to use their crappy system." The woman let out an exasperated sigh. At the time just using that operating system was good as it saved extra money in R&D

For those who only knew Alexandria Ashwood as she presented herself to the public the undignified outburst would be significantly jarring. Those who knew her in private however would not be surprised. The founder and CEO of Industrial Illusion lives up to her company's name by presenting the world with a carefully curated illusion of herself to make investors and customers alike see both herself and her company trustworthy and likeable enough to spend their hard earned money on her inventions and patents.

Inside the mech she felt comfortable to slip off her mask just a bit. Of course her metaphorical mask wasn't the only thing she slipped off. Sitting on the cockpit of her mech the magically inclined CEO was no longer wearing her fashionable and elegant clothing. In their stead was a skintight body suit that left very little to the imagination. It wasn't made for just eye candy, even if that was a secondary feature. The suit was connected to a system within the mech that would draw out Alex's magical energy, and in layman term, allow the mech to use magic itself.

Infact the flight system it was using was powered by her and an internal generator, the generator doing most of the work, if she was to be frank. Attached to the mech back was a backpack-like machine with four pylon-like wings that ended with glowing crystals. The machine was using her own take on anti-gravity to float and other mechanisms to push it forward.

Surrounded her were screens that displayed the world outside of the cockpit. The machine was picking up radio frequencies on what was occurring throughout the city. She heard of strange spherical objects falling from the sky and rumours of explosions and strange lights coming from parts in the city.

"Aliens? Of all things to happen on this day, it had to be aliens?" The woman wasn't sure whether to laugh at the absurdity or cry at the fact these aliens will most likely have more advanced technology and weaponry than humanity. She is confident about her magitech being used to solve all problems but somehow saving the Earth from a hostile alien empire is pushing it. Sure magic can do many miraculous feats but the people behind it are still mortal, with all the frailty and limitations that comes with it.

"We have also gotten reports from some people in the temple of what some claim to have spotted... monsters? Yes, you heard me folks. Monsters have appeared within the temple."

The woman looked confused at the broadcast but soon one possible answer popped into her head. "Lizzy." she let out a tired sigh. Well, looks like she might have to do some damage control over that one. Though considering what is going on she can't blame her eldest daughter for summoning a demon in broad daylight. Can't really keep the public calm if there is no one alive after all.

From a smaller computer screen she would see the map of the city showing two red dots. "There you two are. I wonder which one of you two I should play the role of heroine to?" the woman chuckled at the amusing thought. Though her choice was made already.

Nymphaea was more willing to enjoy such theatrics and would appreciate having her assistance. Elizabeth was far too independent to ever willingly ask help unless she felt forced to, and not to denigrate her adopted daughter's skills, but her eldest has been fighting literal demons for years now. If there was anyone who can deal with an alien warrior on her own it was her.

"Besides, I rarely get to see how my little starfire fights. This might be a wonderful show for me. I will only step in if things are about to get very dicey."

Her choice was that she would control the mech to follow after Nymphaea's energy signature. "Just sit tight dear. Mommy dearest will be there shortly."

The mech would effortlessly weave through the high rises and skyscrapers as it plotted course to it's destination.

The computers would begin to blare out alarms as an object was detected coming fast.

From the screen she would see a figure surrounded by a white flare of energy flying towards her. She would slow down her mech before stopping as the figure would make a sudden stop. The aura vanishes as she can see the figure fully.

She saw a man with hot pink skin and long puffy white hair that she was honestly feeling envious of. He wore strange armour that had impractically long shoulder pads and hip guards. It also left his groin exposed and showed off his muscular legs and thighs. The sight of which did not distract the techno witch. No it did not.

"You can crush watermelons with those thighs." the witch absentmindedly uttered.

"Pardon?" the very confused alien asked, making Alex cursed as the speaker of the mech was on and it caught what she said.

"Uhh, who are you pinky and why are you ruining my daughter's special day!" she stammered out to try and save herself from her screw up. Yet she felt she just dug herself deeper into the hole she made.

"Right," the alien was wondering if he just stumbled upon a horny idiot or a weirdo. The pink man would make a flamboyant pose. "I am Pitya of the Nine Stages of Grief. The elite vanguard squad of the Planetary Trade Organization, the greatest power to ever rule the universe. Your world has been given the honour to be incorporated within our glorious empire. If you surround yourself quietly perhaps we can find some use for you, but if you resist," the man licked his lips.

"Well, that is where I can have some fun. Though I promise you won't enjoy it."

The mech was silent for a few seconds before a sigh escaped from it. "Why is it that all the good looking men are either taken, gay, or insane douchebags? Looks like even in space that fact of life remains the same. It's just my luck that the first alien I meet is an insane gay douche." The robot's mono eye moved from side to side to mimic a head shake

Pitya glared at the robot as he first began to charge with Ki. "I'm not insane you mechanical buffoon! Just for that insane I will take you into scraps for our men in engineering to play around with." Pitya raised his arm cannon at her, charging it

"Not really helping your case there, space man." Alex would command the mech to brace it's arms in front of her.

"Ether Drive activated. Executing Code Number: 503. Magecraft Sequence Complete: Barrier 2!"

Blue hexagons forming a honey cone sphere would surround the mech as the beam would hit it.

"A barrier? How pedestrian." Pitya scoffed as he brushed aside a lock of his hair. "That barrier will not save you for long."

The space man would see missile racks extend out from the shoulders of the mech. "Launching Bufu-series Missiles!" The missiles would fly off the man who looked confused by the name

"Bufu what?" the man would aim at the missiles and shoot at one of them. When the missile explodes a thick cloud of ice particles and cold wind would hit the air. The other missiles would come through and the alien would fire at each missile, destroying them all, but not without complications.

"Freezer weapons? I didn't think you savages can make those." the man said as he began to shiver. Pitya was expecting at most slug throwers to be used. He didn't expect them to use energy weapons or even shields. How did these primitive bugs manage to evade the notice of the PTO if they were advancing this quickly?

"Bolt Beam firing!" a beam of electrical energy would tear through the cloud and Pitya almost was hit but the man dodged just in time, only having parts of his hair burn due to being caught by the beam.

"MY HAIR!" the man panicked as he reached back to pat down his burning hair. The missile racks would come out again and without wasting a beat Alex would call out.

"Launching out Agi-series Missiles!" The rockets would fly towards the alien.

This time the alien would flare out his aura and take up into the air, the missiles following him up. He would fire his cannon at each missile and a great conflagration would emerge with each missile destroyed.

"Incendiary weapons? Shouldn't these be considered a war crime to you people?" Pitya heard that in some worlds the use of incendiary weapons, or flamers as some call it, was banned. The weapon either be called cowardly or too cruel depending on who you ask.

The mech flew through the cloud of fire and smoke as it raised its rifle. "Technically, you're right. Me using incendiary weapons on combatants on Earth would be a war crime." The alien can feel a threatening aura coming from the robot as its eyes seem to glow even brighter. "But you're not from Earth, now are you?"

From a distance the sound of explosions can be heard as the alien invader shot at more missiles sent after him. If one was close by they could swear to hear the maniacal laughter of a woman and the screams of a man in great distress.

---

Elizabeth

"Come out here you cunt!" Nasie screamed out as he rounded another corner in the hallway. The black skin alien was getting annoyed now. The spooky savage somehow kept disappearing and reappearing like a ghost! The alien kept looking at every shadow to see any signs of his elusive opponent.

He heard a creaking and he turned to find a door opening by itself. Nasie would fire off a barrage of energy bolts at the wooden door. The metal door knob was shattered into pieces as splinters flew everywhere. The hinges would break and cause the door to topple over. The Brench-Senjin was screaming as he tore the door to pieces. The alien would let go of the triggers. He was taking deep breaths as he could feel sweat travelling down his body.

"Damn witch." he snarled. He was losing his cool over a coward's parole trick and mind games. He would stop over the broken door and enter the room. He found that it was a one bedroom apartment. The only thing of note was that it was a mess and it was so before he started shooting things off the wall and shelves.

"Blimey, this place reeks." he covered his nose as the smell was becoming noxious. "Don't these savages know how to clean themselves?"

He would hear something from behind. He quickly turned to the kitchenette and found nothing. Nothing save for a black smoke in the air.

"What the?" His ears would pick up the click of something metallic. He quickly turned and from the doorway he found Elizabeth with her gun aimed at him. The man would jump out of the way, rolling on the ground, just as she pulled the trigger and shot a bullet at what would have been his head. The alien crotch next to a wall and would stick his hand out of the corner and fire a bolt at her.

He didn't hear her scream so he knew he missed.

"Damn it. How can this cunt do this? Is she an actual witch or something?"

Nasie would hear a beep coming from his scouter. He cursed to himself as he pressed the button. "Sorry boss, but you called at a terrible time. I think I'm fighting either a witch or a ghost or something. I found an earthling that keeps on disappearing and reappearing without warning. I think I" He and whoever he was speaking to would hear the closet door break open as the alien saw a black figure rolling from the floor and stop as she laid to her side, her gun aimed at him.

"Crap!" He took aim but before he could shoot Elizabeth pulled the trigger of her gun and fired, the bullet hitting the scouter. The bullet would lodge deep into the machine. A few sparks would come out before it exploded. The man screamed in pain, but he kept one eye trained on his rival as he would return the favour and fire a bolt of energy at her. This time it struck as the bolt would go through her stomach. The cambion gasp from the shot. Seeing the look of pain made Nasie smirk.

He can make her feel something after all.

He would fire again and this time he would return another favour by hitting her right thigh. The next shot would go to her left shoulder. The woman hissed in pain as she aim her gun at Nasie. The man would dash in the air and grab her wrist, squeezing it tightly until he heard something snap. She let out a yelp as she lost her grip on the gun.

"You gave me a good scare. I'll give you that one, sheilla. But it's over now." he pressed the barrel of his gun at the side of Elizabeth's head. "It's a shame. Seeing you up close I think you're kinda cute, for an Earthling. But cute looks isn't gonna be enough to save your sorry butt from me and my boss because he now knows your tricks. It ain't gonna work on him."

He pressed the barrel of his ray gun deeper into her skull. "Not that you have a next time. Got any last words."

The infuriating woman still gave him that same blank look. Like her dying didn't bother her.

"I have a question for you actually." Nasie looked at her with confusion. "What's your question?"

"Do you... think I am.. Pretty?"

Nasie's blood turned cold as he heard the feminine, yet distorted voice coming from behind him. The Brench-seijin reluctantly began to turn his head to see who.. no, what, was behind him. The air felt cold as gradually he began to see more of the figure, each reveal made the pit in his stomach grow as he almost wanted to throw up.

He found another "earthling" standing right in front of that damn closet. Yet something was off with her. Not just with her whole vibe but her very appearance was off. The earthling was a tall woman with long, dishevelled black hair that reached past her shoulders. Most of her face is obscured by her hair, and her face was covered up in bandages as well as her hands. She wore simple black shoes, white leggings with red polka dots, and a light brown trench coat that was closed around the waist.

Sure the bandages was odd but that should be another Earthling right? So why in Winter's cold black heart is this cunt scaring the living daylight out of him.

"Am... Am I... Pretty?"

The woman repeated herself. Nasie didn't see the rusty, blood soaking, shears on her left hand.

"W.. What.." the Brench-Senjin can't find any word for this bizarre encounter besides what he uttered. The words would have an effect as the woman snapped the shear close.

Nasie would suddenly find his sense of hearing from right ear was gone. He would hear a wet slap on the ground and feel something wet and sticky travel down his face and neck. He placed his hand on his neck and when he pulled up he found blood. He felt for the source and felt something. No, he felt the absence of something. His eyes slowly went down and his skin pale as he found what lay on the floor.

There, on a puddle of blood, was his severed ear.

Nasie aimed a gun at the woman as he screamed in a mixture of rage and fear. The woman merely snipped at the air with her shears. Nasie would lose the feeling of his hand instantly. He would see to his horror that his hand fall down to the floor.

The man would try to back away but he instead tripped on and fell on top of Elizabeth, making the two groan in pain. The tall woman would move forward.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" The alien screamed as his aura flared uncontrollably. He would fly up and through the window. He didn't care if his mates and boss would mock him for leaving. They weren't stuck in there with a witch and a demon! He had to warn the boss that actual demons were in this world! By the grace of whatever gods existed they have to burn this world to ashes before they unleash hell upon the galaxy!

He looked back and didn't see the demon following him. Nasie began to laugh to himself like a mad man. A tidal wave of mad euphoria washed over him as he almost couldn't believe he managed to escape with his life.

He would keep on laughing at the demon even as he flew to the jaws of a white dragon that was waiting for him. The last thing he would see was the dragon's teeth as they closed down on him and his entire body was reduced to shatter armour pieces and organic paste and fluids.

The dragon's bulging yellow eyes looked at the building where its prey flew off and would fly towards it.

Inside Elizabeth, now able to get up as her injuries have healed, watch as the white dragon approach her. "You did good back there." she told the tall feminine demon. "As for your question. You are the fairest in Maikai." The demon seems to be satisfied as she would willingly enter the rift the cambion conjured. Elizabeth would climb up the broken window and jump off, landing on the back of the dragon as it flew by to catch her.

The half demon instructed the dragon to go in the direction she sensed the rabbit.

[The New Fallen Jedi]

"Alright, let’s see what you’re made of, mate! Give us a squiz at what you’ve got!"

Sakuhara
Papaya Island Forests| Earth, Sol System
__________________________________

Sakuhara found himself on the defensive far too easy, having been forced to withdraw from the city entirely as Brax pursued him tirelessly. It was only thanks to a combination of tenacity, agility, and his ability to extend his limbs that the Namekian Mage hadn't been pinned down yet. Now the pair were in the midst of playing an extremely high stakes game of chicken, Sakuhara weaving and winding through the tall trees as he dodged blast after blast from Brax's wrist mounted blaster. "Damn it, if only I had gathered Natural Energy before then things'd be easier!" He cursed internally, extending one arm forward towards a nearby tree branch, correcting himself in mere moments, other fist extended to deliver a powerful punch Brax's way.

Only for the Brench-seijin to reciprocate the gesture with a fist of his own.

"Well, ain’t you a livewire! Full of beans, aren’t ya?" Brax laughed, the Blue skinned Brench grinning maliciously, gripping Sakuhara's wrist with his other fist and flinging the Namekian against a tree. "Oi, is that all you’ve got?! C’mon, I reckon you’ve got a few more cheeky tricks up your sleeve!" There weren't many aliens that the Nine Stages of Grief encountered that could give them much of a run for their money. Namekians were a rare find indeed, mostly because their Biology could make them unpredictable.

He wanted more! He wanted to run this Namekian ragged!

Sakuhara in the meantime, squinted at the Brench-seijin with a prying eye. Every moment the Mage stood still was every moment he could absorb and mend natural energy, there wasn't enough energy within his system to activate Yara'Sen quite yet, but he was getting there. "This forest… There's too much natural energy here to be normal…" He noted with a growing suspicion, he knew Earth was abundant with natural life, but to this extent? Something was off… "You know..." Sakuhara began, still in a battle stance, speaking for the first time since the battle began. "If you give me a few moments, I can sure as hell give you a real fight." Truth be told, Sakuhara did not know if Yara'Sen Mode would be enough to defeat this alien, but he had to try something. After all, it seemed as if Brax wanted a real fight, who was he to deny the Brench that opportunity?

"Whaddya reckon, make me hang around and wait?!" Brax practically demanded, sounding affronted by the mere notion of just sitting here and waiting. No he liked seeing his prey squirm around, constantly resisting with the knowledge that they were fighting a losing battle. With a sadistic grin on his face the Brench-seijin cocked his wrist mounted blaster. "Nah, I’d rather watch ya squirm, Namekian! Don’t you dare slack off now, unless you fancy a one-way ticket to the great beyond!" As he surged forward with a dark glint in his eyes, Brax shouted, "Now get up and fight!"

In that moment, time seemed to fall still, Sakuhara bracing himself for a one sided fight...

That is, until a wall of blue flame arose between the two.

While Brax came to a screeching halt, Sakuhara's eyes widened. Blue fire? He hadn't heard of anyone capable of conjuring up something like that! Before he could so much as think of anything, a lone figure came crashing down to the ground. "A Namekian?" The figure mused openly, not so much as turning to face Sakuhara. The figure bore what looked to be a seat of jet black wings that extended outward in a show of what presumably was force. "Aren't most of you supposed to be on Namek. Or did the Planet Trade Organization get to you too?" Black wings aside, the figure bore a predominantly red plumage with a set of ornate armor to boot.

Who was the guy? Better yet, WHAT was he?

"Don't just sit there. Hurry up and do what you were going to do. I'll hold him back." And without a word, the figure -- R'Tariik Skraak marched forward, the flames parting for him before closing as he crossed the metaphorical rubicon. It was there that he stared down Brax, his gaze intense and yet devoid of any and all emotion as he stared down the Brench-seijin. He examined the soldier's battle armor, it was definitely of PTO make, the insignia indicating he was part of the Expeditionary Corps. R'Tariik remembered that it was the exact same Corps that first encountered the colonists on Emperor's Landing before terrorizing them to no end. Now mind you, R'Tariik wasn't exactly the vindictive type... But he was going to enjoy tearing this guy to pieces.

"So you're part of the Expeditionary Corps..." R'Tariik commented, reaching for the sword that was holstered on his back. As the blade came fully unsheathed, it was promptly wreathed in Blue fire, the flames licking against the dirt surface of the forest floor. "I'm guessing the Planet Trade Organization likes to send thugs to soften up the natives, am I right?"

"That’s the one! And we get to have a bit of a roam around, too!" Brax replied, his grin filled with a sense of confidence as his Scouter got to work scanning the opponent in front of him. "Crikey, your power level’s sittin’ around 475, huh? Don’t reckon you think you’re gonna take me on with that, do ya?" The Brench-seijin chuckled as he all but glowered at the Miidari before his scouter pinged out in warning, the name 'R'Tariik Skraak' on display as it gave him the rundown about what the higher ups knew about him. "Strewth, you’re the Blue Inferno! Looks like I’ve landed myself a real ripper of a catch, haven’t I?!" The last the PTO had heard, R'Tariik fled Skanaa with their so-called Emperor in tow. If he was here then… "Oi, if you spill the beans on where your Emperor’s hidin’, I might take it easy on ya. Might even fight with one hand tied behind me bac-"

Before he could say anything else, R'Tariik leapt into action, spurred on by the Brench-seijin's inquiry. No longer was he going to delay; But rather he was going to give this alien a taste of vengeance long since overdue.

The wrath of the Golden Lotus unbidden.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Issat all?"

Cotton was looking up at the sky, with a hand over her brow to shield her eyes from the sun. That ugly-looking alien she kicked into the sky hadn't actually broken through the Earth's atmosphere - she wasn't quite strong enough for that yet - but, neither was he coming back down. That was odd. He continued to scan the horizon only to finally spot the little pinprick of contrast in the sky, which made her realize that he was, in fact, coming back down. Just, not like anything as heavy as a person ought to come back down. No, it was slow and gentle. Like a swan feather in a night with no wind.

A piss-yellow swan feather in a wack-ass armor, but still.

"You're a feisty one ain'tcha, little sheila?" Mayon spoke as he rubbed his chin, though whereas his tone before was conceited and relaxed, now it was filled with nothing but barely-contained rage. "Let's start over, eh? Name's Mayon, proud vanguard of the PTO, and I'm gonna FUCKIN' DESTROY YA!"

What a pain.

The girl with the rabbit ears didn't so much as flinch when the first shot went right between her ears - that is, well above her brains. The rage-induced barrage that followed wasn't much of a challenge, really. A tilt of the head here. A lazy half-step to the side there. A lifting of the arm, so that the shot would just slip under the crook of her elbow. Effortlessly guided by her fighting instinct, her body consistently found the path of least resistance to dodge each beam of energy and remain unscathed. She could've closed her eyes if she had so desired, but that would just be showing off.

Of course, it helped that Mayon was a terrible shot.

As she continued absolutely clowning this man, the words of her teacher echoed in her head, otherwise vacated of thought.

Remember, the root of your power is the natural shape of your soul: the beast inside you. He would say as the two meditated by the waterfall, his whiskers twitching slightly. You are the beast, and the beast is you. There is no barrier between the two. The mind is the body, and the body is the mind.

It matters not if they tell you that you are the prey. When battle comes knocking, let the beast hunt.

As the last of Mayon's blasts went wide, Cotton suddenly jumped into the sky at full force, rocketing towards the surprised alien, who merely braced for impact, only to realize that the hybrid wasn't actually aiming towards him. Instead, when she was just above him, she tucked in her legs and...

THUMP

Mayon was shot towards the ground at breakneck speed, while Cotton flew in the opposite direction before reorienting herself and chasing after him.

CRASH

The yellow alien would find himself, ironically, lying in a crater right next to the one created by his landing pod. He pointed his gun at the approaching martial artist, only to find out that the impact had left it non-functional. "It's buggered! FUCK!" He cried out in disbelief before tossing it aside.

Cotton promptly landed beside him, and this time, the invader would waste no time in closing the distance. If long-range attacks just weren't doing the trick, then he'd just have to brute-force it. With that in mind, he raised his ki, aura suddenly swelling up and even pushing back against the white-haired girl's. A powerful if sloppy left hook shot out, only to meet Cotton's outstretched leg after the latter hopped back and then countered with a lightning-fast kick. The alien reeled back from the pain in his fist. Bloody hell this bitch's legs hit like a fuckin' truck!

Shit, focus. Now's not the time to be a fuckin' pussy, Mayon!

"DONT'CHA GET COCKY BITCH! I'LL FEED YA TO THE DINGOES WHEN I'M DONE WITH YA!" He screamed as he redoubled his efforts, striking out faster and harder while also trying to close the distance whenever he could so that she wouldn't be able to freely use her legs against him. And, in spite of her beastly instincts and reflexes, it seemed to be working - forced to use her arms more, she found her striking power greatly reduced while his brute force was helping him close the gap. It didn't help that he was pretty much a meaty sponge, too - turned out he could take it as well as he could dish it.

Still, she was hardly out of the fight. She swiftly stepped out of the way of a punch Mayon committed too hard on and then began pummeling him with a sudden barrage of lightning-fast punches, each coming out after the other so fast that steam was coming out of the armor on his chest.

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

To top off her combo with a devastating strike, Cotton attempted to kick him again. That was her mistake. Mayon expected it as soon as the constant barrage slowed down and managed to catch her foot with one hand. Using it for leverage, he pulled her in and gave her a wallop right in the stomach, punching the air out of her lungs. He swiftly followed up with the age-old one-two to the face, before grabbing her head and pulling it down - straight into a rising knee. Having finally gotten the upper hand on her, he continued pummeling her with gleeful abandon, until he was satisfied.

By the time he finally stopped, he was panting heavily. "Let's see you get back up from that. Fuckin' cunt." He spat at the rabbit girl lying in a heap on the ground, before turning his back on her. Her ki signature had started dropping fast once he started whaling on her, so he was sure she was out for good.

She wasn't the only presence nearby, though. Somewhere to the east, there was another one, and as he turned to look, he spotted some sort of goth chick riding on top of a dragon. She'd heard about dragons from a veteran of the Dracos campaign, but this thing? It barely had power, surely there weren't any of those awesome creatures here in this backwater. Either way, Mayon decided to take his sweet time aiming this go around, closing one eye as he trained his energy gun on the approaching witch, ready to blow her to smithereens the moment she least expected it.

He didn't hear the slight rustle from behind. Didn't feel the sudden, terrifying swelling of ki until it was too late.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He screamed hard when he felt teeth sinking right into his shoulder like it was made of taffy. He screamed even harder when he felt those jaws begin to pull. With no easy way to reach behind him as something grasped his arm and neck, he kicked and screamed as hard as he could, to no avail.

Then his arm came off.

"MOTHERFUCKIN' FRIGIDUS AND GLACIA AND ALL THE SAINTS WHAT THE FUCK!"

His screams were promptly silenced when Cotton pimp-slapped him with his own hand, then spat his arm out. The terrified alien fell on his ass and began trying to crawl away from the girl with the bunny ears, whose eyes seemed blood-red for just a moment before fading back into blue.

"Fuck, someone help me! Chief Vanilla! Naise! Juzu! SOMEONE!"

A kick to the chin shut him up again and left him sprawled on the ground. He tried to summon his fighting spirit to try and get out of this bind, but it was pretty damn hard to do that when he was losing a shit ton of blood and had the living daylights scared out of him. He could only watch as the hybrid martial artist approached and stood over him, raising her knee as far as it would go, until her leg was fully compressed.

A deep breath followed as she relaxed, getting everything nice and loose. And then...

"Shoulda stayed in yer burrow, Doc."

Before her muscles contracted, driving her foot straight through his chest.

[New Rnclave]

Theo Daigon:

It burned much more than he'd expected, Hell, the blast itself had been more than he'd expecting after seeing the blaster work so far. The human hung there suspended above the ground, embedded in the brick and panting furiously. It soothed the burns a little that he hadn't been blown through the wall, and that none of the powers inside the building had vanished. But only a little, the unsoothed parts were still very real.

Gritting his teeth against the sensation and struggling to his feet, the last visual barrier between them cleared as the smoke billowed away, only to reveal that the purple alien had vanished. "Where the Hell did he run off-" Theo muttered, goaded into whipping his head around moments before a hand grasped his ponytail. He immediately regretted his gut instinct, the force of the yank on his hair carrying him down and hammering his body into the ground.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK!"

The resulting shockwave knocked the wind out of the human, "Payback time cunt!" still trying to catch his breath, Theo instantly cursed his oversight, seeing the aliens leg cocked back and primed to stomp him out. Reacting in a flurry of movement, the aging martial artist accepted the blow head on, teeth rattling violently in their roots as the blow made contact. Hands found Weiz's calf through the haze of pain, fingers digging in before he swung him like a club down into the asphalt.

'I have to put this guy down for good,' thought Theo, 'I'm hurting him and he's nearly killing me with every strike.' On the bright side, he wasn't down for the count yet, and the alien wasn't exactly fighting smart. Spitting out a mix of dirt and crimson, Theo steadied himself as the alien, now recovering from his brief stint as a baseball bat, stormed towards him, murderous intent clear in his twisted visage.

Back to basics it was. He couldn't outpower him, and his blaster served well to delay Weiz's exhaustion, something Theo, shamefully, had been counting on to give him the win. Rising to his full height, the human warrior extended both arms, letting his chaotic energies fade away as he tried to settle his hammering heart, doing his very best to ignore the tremors in his vision.

His heart and ki were nowhere near calm enough to pull this off, the alien had more than seen to that. But if his state of mind was lacking, his skill would fill the gap. Theo hadn't spent the last forty some years training to let it all go out the window because of a strong opponent. He was the Master of the Bear style.

Waiting until the alien was nearly breathing his air, Theo lunged forward, thrusting bladed hands past the aliens head before bringing them down with as much power as he could manage. Weiz's defenses almost instantly collapsed under the impact, the shockwave traveling down through his core before the human surged forward again, their heads meeting with an audible crack.

As he gathered more energy for another charge, he heard him screech out again, far faster than Theo hoped, all pretenses of trash talk and mirth lost as the alien almost instantly recovered from his combination of strikes, his face melting into a hateful sneer. Fueled by pure adrenaline, Theo tried to backpedal away from the rapidly approaching alien, only for his defenses themselves to crumble this time, Weiz batting away his arms and with it, it plans of ending this quickly, muzzle thumping Theo with the end of his blaster and sending him rolling away and into a parked car, the door collapsing under his weight.

"No more bloody games, cunt," Weiz all but screamed at him, his hands clutched out in front of them as if to throttle the human, "I'm going to pop that head off and wear it home!"

'He's got me on the ropes here,' Theo stared in mute horror, racking his brain for a solution. Keeping his eyes on the bloodied and murderous alien, Theo had just enough time to set his jaw and begin to gather his resolve before the alien's eyeglass shrieked to life, and along with it, the pressure in the air. A bright flash of energy blinded him as the alien's device screamed at a higher and higher pitch, crimson and gold energy swirling by so closely Theo felt his hair nearly catch fire.

In slow motion, the Earthling watched as Weiz, almost frozen in place with a horrific shocked expression on his face, vanished inside the heart of the blast, the sea of energy boiling through him, several cars and a storefront before erupting in a deafening thunderclap. A plume of smoke filled the street instantly, Theo's hands flying up to cover his face as it and the debris rained down on him.

"Fuck you! That's what you get motherfucker, yeah!" Theo turned from the destroyed street at the valiant cry, watching a battered but no worse for wear Kale come running down the street, pumping his fists in the air and grinning wildly.

All his thoughts, though, were stuck on the smaller detail of the attack. While Weiz had vanished inside if it, Theo couldn't shake the cold grip of sadness that struck him, despite the victory. He'd felt several tiny powers disappear in the blast, something he'd desperately been trying to avoid, so much so he almost lost the battle to keep it from happening.

Something he knew the young boy knew, and didn't seem to care.

That broke Theo's heart a little.

[Naval Monte]

---

Nymphaea wasn't surprised the grey man was able to put up a strong defence. If anything she might have been disappointed if he folded this easily. She would like to keep going with the attack but she was starting to lose momentum and fast as the grey's defence was strong. She was preparing to disengage when the grey did the action for her when he sent her back with a burst of his power and wild swing.

"Woah" she exclaimed as she flipped herself in the air and landed on her feet. She would get a first hand experience of Barley's speed as he suddenly appeared right in front of Juzu and sent him flying to a hill as quickly as he appeared. She rubbed her eyes to make sure they were still working.

"How's that taste alien bastard?! Who's the dingo now, huh?!" Nymphaea looked over at Barley. The man who as far as she was aware was the fastest man to date.

"That was awesome!" she shouted as the man noticed her.

"Hey! No idea where you popped out of, but thank you very much for the assist-actually, wait, didn't I see you backstage?"

Nymphaea nodded. "Yes. I saw you and your friend leaving the stage to deal with those metal orbs. I tried to follow but you were too fast so I snuck on board your boat while you were driving it." she explained, adding context for why she appeared drench. "I was glad my powers allowed me to cling to the boat. Though being dragged around wasn't enjoyable."

The shiver she felt was at first chalked up to her being cold due to being soaked. But the expression she saw on Barley told her that he felt it too.

They both turn to face the hill that Juzu was on. The alien was now in the air and unleashing a barrage of attacks from the air.

Nymphaea would display her agility and nimble feet as she not only jumped away from each shot but would do so with the grace of a dancer as she twist her body to avoid some, jump and flip in the air for others, she even cartwheeled to avoid some that came in a row.

"Will this madness ever end!?" she shouted as she jumped into the air once more. She saw a blast coming towards her. She took a deep breath and channelled her energy to her legs. She would spin in the air and kick the blast away from her, making it fly straight towards a building.

"Oops." The Saiyaness uttered as she land down as the battlefield was being consumed by dust clouds.

From the cloud Barley would distract Juzu with him destroying his cannons. This allowed for Nymphaea to climb up an angle wall of a destroyed building before jumping up to grab an exposed steel beam and pulling herself up. She would jump from one part of the building to another until she would peak out of the clearing dust cloud.

On her hand she held on three metal balls. "Now it's my time to shine." she would put two of the balls in her pocket as she began to charge the ball on her hand with her energy, cracking it with energy.

"HEY UGLY!" She shouted to get Juzu's attention. She began to spin the metal ball with her fingers. "How about you come down here and face us like a true fighter instead of flying around like a house fly and using your toys to give you an edge."

The grey alien would look down at her in rage. "How about you fly up here and face me yourself, Saiyan?"

The word made her confused but she chose to think on it later as she gave him a cocky grin. "Nah, I'd like fighting on the ground."

The spin of the ball was increasing to the point that it looked as though it wasn't moving at all.

"If your not coming down than you give me no choice but to use this!"

The crackles would increase in intensity as she would prepare to unleash it.

"Rotational Lifestream Overdrive!"

The ball would fly off from her hands, shattering the sound barrier and creating a small sonic boom as it flew off. Juzu was caught off guard as the ball would shatter through his chest armour and the ball began to twist and tear his skin. It was with a burst of his power that he prevented the ball from tearing through him entirely as he would send it bouncing off him.

The alien grasps his chest as he doubles over, gasping in pain and exhaustion. He would look down and he would see her spinning another steel ball.

"I got more where that came from, bub."

---

Elizabeth was not aware of the danger she was in, nor would it matter as much.

By the time the dragon arrived to the fight she would see that Cotton had already dispatched a carbon copy of Nasie. Only his skin was a terrible shade of yellow. The dragon would hover a few feet over the ground as Elizabeth jump off the dragon and landed.

She approached the body and got a closer look of the dead alien.

"Disgusting"

Was her only comment to the dead alien. "Did this one give you any trouble?" she asked, turning her attention to Cotton. "I tried to follow after you but I ran into a black copy of the alien you fought. He manage to shot me a few times but I had a contingency plan in place should he overpower me." What wasn't said was that the dragon was that plan.

The dragon's scales began to reflect a rainbow shimmer on them once the light of the sun hit it. It's budging eyes scanning the environment independently from each other. Sometimes one would land on Cotton, other times both would land on her.

Her eyes moved to the dragon.

"Don't concern yourself with your safety. The Rainbow Dragon is under my control." she explained. Yet the trail of blood on it's mouth and pieces of flesh and armor fragments didn't help to make her claims of it not being a threat feel genuine. At least for most people.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

No sooner than he'd fired off his cheesy one-liner after frying both of Juzu's guns - causing the alien warrior to cast them aside in anger - the chick with the tail sprang into action, making her way to the top of a building before attacking Juzu with... what the hell was that? A steel ball? It seemed plenty lethal, though, bathed in energy like that and nearly burrowing its way into the gray-skinned creature's stomach before he was able to deflect it.

That's cool as hell. I had no idea that was a thing!

A moment later, the young man promptly berated himself for standing there awe-struck. They were in a fight, and he had something to do. He had to help take down this invader, and protect the Earth from its evil mission. Who knew how many lives would be lost, if he and the girl didn't stop him here and now?

"Try again, bitch! Same trick ain't workin' on me twice!"

There he goes shouting again. He's got a pair of lungs alright.

While Nymphaea prepared to fire another shot at Juzu and the latter braced for the coming impact, Barley took stock of the situation and began trying to line up a shot at the alien. Ordinarily it wouldn't be too difficult for him at all, but the asshole had gone and more or less lined himself up with the sun, not to mention his aura was making things even more difficult on the visual end of things. None of this would be a problem if he could fly, but...

Ah, what the hell.

Opting for a different course of action, Barley waited for Nymphaea to fire off her next shot before jumping into action. Literally. The young man did a forward flip, but just as his body was completely perpendicular to the ground, he thrust his hand up (or down) in an open palm position. A number of concussive blasts immediately impacted the earth below, the ensuing explosive burst of energy sending the martial artist's body rocketing into the sky. With Juzu distracted by the Saiyan girl, the noise went unnoticed, and Barley got closer and closer as he continued rising into the air.

The alien warrior once more put his arms forward in a cross shape to block the incoming energy ball, and though it caused no small amount of pain, his ki-strengthened arms were more than enough to resist the boring effect of the sphere's rotation, at least for now. He laughed, clearly bluffing.

"See? Ain't no way you dingoes are gettin' the better of the great Juzu!"

It was then that he felt an index and middle finger pressed against his temple.

"You sure about that, pal?"

There was no fanfare. No explosion, no dying scream, no blinding light. There was just an incredibly thin strand of light coming out of Barley's fingers, going into one end of Juzu's head and then coming out the other end before dissipating entirely, limp body falling to the ground immediately after.

He started falling too, of course. But that was of no consequence. He braced for the impact, his aura coalescing to protect him, and when he crash-landed, he stood back up mostly unscathed. He took a few deep breaths, not entirely winded by the fight - getting to tag-team the space bozo had done wonders for his stamina preservation - but rather to steady his mind as it began to race with thoughts of what had just transpired here.

It was the first time Barley had killed a man.

Not a man, per se, but still. A part of it... didn't entirely sit well with him, but he tried to drown out that voice of protest. He was an invader, after all. Taking him down was for a noble cause, it was no different than what his mother was doing in the King's Guard, what his grandfather did.

It's no different from what Theo Daigon did. He told himself. Yeah, I'm just protecting the Earth. We're the good guys.

He looked up, and as he did, his spirits lifted comparatively quickly. He spotted the chick with the tail, still on top of that building. He didn't really get to talk much to her earlier, what with there being an alien on a warpath in their midst. With that problem solved, Barley cupped his hands around his mouth.

"HEY! You're pretty awesome too!" He shouted cheerfully. "Sorry about the boat thing by the way! My name's Barley, what's yours?"

---

---

Lifting her foot out of the hole in the ground where she'd put her alien foe, Cotton took a deep breath. Mayon was no longer going to be a problem for them, or for any other planet, but still, she'd taken quite a beating. Let him get the better of her for a bit there. Big mistake.

The pain from her injuries was starting to hit full force now that the adrenaline was wearing off - nothing she couldn't handle but still an annoyance. There was something more, though. She was feeling pretty flustered after that whole shit show, and her head was getting warmer and warmer.

Stupid animal drive.

She tried to shake it out of her head as she noticed something approaching. Something fairly ugly, though she didn't quite feel threatened by it. There was a ki on that thing that felt fairly familiar. A lot of bad juju attached. That gave her a fairly good idea of who was swinging by to pay her a visit.

"Yep." She agreed when the witch chick called Mayon disgustsing. Pretty much her thoughts on the matter, really.

"Uh..." She looked over at the corpse when Elizabeth asked her if she'd had any trouble. She was pretty sure she had a busted lip and a bruise or two on her face, not to mention the ones that couldn't be seen with her clothes on - speaking of which, they were looking a lot worse for wear, too. The blood covering her left shoe and the left leg of her jeans was one thing, but the short time she spent getting pummeled also meant a number of tears and whatnot.

"Who, him? Nah." The girl with the rabbit ears answered nonchalantly, before turning slightly to try and spit out some more of Mayon's blood that was still on her mouth. It would be one thing if all of that blood was hers, but no. This shit was purple. She wanted no part of that.

She turned back to the shorter chick to listen as she said the dragon was cool. She nodded along. "S'okay."

Figuring she ought to throw in a friendly gesture, she held out her fist in front of Liz.

[Naval Monte]

Alexandria

"FLARE BEAM!"

Alex's voice echoed out as the screaming pink alien tried to avoid the beam whose colour reminded him of lava. The beam would go through buildings easily, causing the concrete and metal to melt down to the ground as well as making the top halves topple down.

"Launching Zio and Zan-series missiles!" The mech began to fire off more missiles at Pitya. The Brench-seijin began to frantically fire at the missiles. Each one destroyed unleash powerful bolts of electricity before he struck another and powerful gales of wind would send him flying straight towards a building, impacting on the wall and leaving a crater shaped after his body.

"I'm starting to hate that machine." the alien moaned out in pain. His hazy vision began to clear as he saw the surviving missiles coming towards him.

The alien screamed as he began to shoot at the missiles wildly, missing most shots until he finally hit one. The missile would unleash lightning bolts that would strike all of the other missiles. Pitya's pupil dilated as he released the error of his action.

Alex would be pushed back as an explosive miss of electric and force magic would rock the street. Lightning and tornadoes would tear buildings apart, rip chunks of the street off the earth, and send cars, trees, and debris flying all over.

A gas truck would be sent hurling towards her.

The witch screamed as she formed a cross with her arm as her barrier form. The explosion upon the impact of the truck would send the witch flying all the way to a building.

As the storm began to clear away there would be no sign of any life after the miniature cataclysm. Yet from the rumble movement would be seen. A hand covered by a destroyed white glove would punch out. The beaten and battered form of Pitya would emerge. The man's long hair was cut apart as patches was missing. His armour was badly damaged and the man was bleeding from many spots on his body. Yet somehow he survived.

"Crockery. Lady luck is watching out for me today." the Brench-Seijin would wobble as he tried to move forward.

He would look around at the wasteland the missiles left behind. The alien began to laugh like a idiot as he saw that the machine was seemingly destroyed by it's own attack.

"Serves that bucket of bolts right. No one damages my beautiful hair and lives to regret it." the Brench-Seijin would find his scouter laying on the ground, miraculously intact.

"My fortune just keeps on getting better. I must tell Vanilla that these primitives have far more advanced technologies than we had anticipated."

As the alien slowly climbed down the rubble he would step on a loose gravel that would begin to slide down. Pitya balance would be thrown off and he would lean too much to the front, causing him to fall face first to the ground and slide down to the street.

The alien groans in pain. He would begin to crawl towards the scouter.

"I'm almost there." he pulled forward. He just needs to get the blasted device and then he...

His thoughts would come crashing down as a massive figure landed in front of him. It's mono eye staring down at him, glowing that accursed pink glow. It would aim it's rifle at him

"Lady luck is a royal bitch." Pitya would say as the light blue and white beam would hit him. Massive ice spikes would form on the ground around the alien as the beam froze the air around him.

The beam would stop and standing before her was a massive iceberg. Alex couldn't find the alien within the ice.

She would turn the mech over and spot the scouter. The cockpit would let out a hiss as the machine moved its hand over to the chest as it opened. Alex would step out and walk on to the hand as the mech knelt down and place the hand on the ground so she could walk off it and approach the scouter.

"Well, Well, what do we have here?" she said as she grabbed the device and placed it on her face. "Is this how they communicate with each other? Interesting. I think I'm gonna take this and whatever piece of technology I can salvage for my own projects." the woman smiled as she twirl around and began to go back to her mech.

As she resumed her seat on the machine and returned to the sky she would type down a message on the computer to send a team to collect the bodies, crafts, and technology for the labs own by Industrial Illusions. She had no intentions on letting the government, or Kami forbid Microtech, on getting the leg up on her. She didn't climb to the top by letting her competition get the edge over her. If they want the tech they will get what she can make from it.

"You better enjoy your dominance over this world Brieve. Because it's coming to its end soon. Soon it will be yours truly who would be queen of the world." Alex began to laugh haughtily as she imaged her inevitable success over her rival.

---

---

Elizabeth looked at the gesture with confusion. The rabbit succeeding on making her express emotions. She recalled the times her sister attempted the same gesture but back then she never did them cause she found them strange.

The smaller one hesitantly raised a fist and did a small tap. The whole gesture felt awkward for her. The only sign that she was embarrassed was the fact she rather look at anything but Cotton.

"Let's go. I still have a scout watching my sister so I know where she is." she added just to break the awkward silence. The dragon lowers itself so the two can board it.

"Grab on to the scales. Don't try to grab the whiskers. My sister almost lost a hand doing that." the hybrid warn the other as she ordered the dragon to fly. The dragon leaves a phantom rainbow trail as it fly in the sky.

As the two flew over the ruins of the city the cambion was forced into a situation she was not comfortable with.

Making small talk.

"So," she found herself drawing on a blank on what to say. "You asked if all this was normal? I take it you live in the countryside?" she asked. Figuring this was a better way to start a conversation than saying something stupid like "how's the weather".

"I live in North City. I only came here because my sister signed up for the world tournament. I don't have much interest in martial arts or spectacles like that. Especially ones where so many people are watching you." the smaller woman would shiver just a little at the thought.

"So, what made you come to the tournament?" she asked. She was silent for a moment as she realised something she forgot to say. "My name is Elizabeth Ashwood. I'm sorry for not saying that sooner." Once more she refused to make eye contact. It seems to be her default response when she doesn't want people to know that she is embarrassed.

---

Nymphaea frowned as she saw Juzu's body fall down. The alien was a threat and he had ever intention on killing people. In a way it was almost like what Diagon did back with the Black Tie Rebellion. They were against an enemy that will not stop until they were dead or he. But, she felt as though maybe there could have been another means to end this?

Her interspersion would end as she heard Barley shouting at her. She smiled as she repeated the same action and shouted back.

"Thank you! You are forgiven for the boat! You didn't know I was there! My name is Nymphaea!" she figure they would have an easier time if she could go down.

Barley would get a front row seat as Nymphaea began to jump from one steel bar and loosely held floor panel of the dilapidated building. Sometimes she would swing around a bar and roll around in the air before grabbing on to the next item.

Eventually she would be at a safe distance to jump off the building, rolling theatrically in the air, and landing on her feet. She even raised her hands up and bowed to her sole audience.

She gave him a smile as she began to run towards him. Her legs charged with energy as she ran towards him and appeared remarkably fast. Nothing to the great speeds he displayed though.

"That was amazing what you did back there. I never thought of basically "jumping" in the air to mimic flight. You have to teach me that!" the now excited girl exclaimed. "Also those beams. I can't do that normally unless I unleash my spirit animal. How can you do it on your own? Are you using some sort of magic I don't know about!?"

The girl's tail waggled with excitement.

"If you're using some new form of magic then mother would love to meet you. I owe her vast collection of magical text and some Ki scrolls she found to develop what I know now. Maybe we can use it so you can learn some new things? That would be the perfect way for me to repay you for teaching what you know." Her eyes radiated with joy

[Kogekitekinaheigosha]

Alpha Centauri, Orion arm, Milky Way Galaxy

---

"Hmmm, I should be approaching the sol system soon, about 30 hours, I should sleep until then"

Aspara's Spaceship activates a cryogenic sleep mode as it gets closer and closer to the sol system, its main destination being the planet earth.

While in his mind, Aspara uses image training, fighting and trying different ways of fighting against past defeated enemies he imagines in his head as stronger versions.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Cotton wasn't sure what to make of the shorter girl's hesitation, so she opted to simply make nothing of it and instead just followed along as she was instructed to get on top of the dragon. Anything to get away from Mayon's rotting corpse, really, plus she wasn't one to turn down a lift in general. With a single nimble hop, she was on top of the dragon, holding onto the scales as instructed - she could've gotten up without help, but that wasn't important.

The girl with the rabbit ears was content to sit quietly, not really bothered by the silence, which would've been considered awkward to some. She was, at the moment, more concerned with wiping all that disgusting purple blood from her mouth than anything else. Still, the other woman was clearly in a different boat, given she started asking about her home. A little confused, Cotton nonetheless nodded along. She figured saying that she lived in the countryside was accurate enough - there probably wasn't any point in specifying that she lived in a village in the mountains.

"Mhm." She replied.

That was enough for her to keep going, talking about how she had no interest in martial arts and was only here for her sister. She also displayed some measure of agoraphobia. Cotton was glad she didn't have to struggle with that. If she had any such tendencies, the communal life beat them out of her.

The topic again turned to herself, with the goth chick asking what had made her come to the tournament before suddenly backpedaling and introducing herself, offering an apology for not doing so earlier. "Uh..." She briefly pondered what part to address first. "S'okay. Name's Cotton."

She paused for a moment to try and get some more purple blood off - her glove was proving inadequate, so she resorted to her shirt's collar this time.

"Teach had me join. As a test." She finally explained. There really wasn't much to it, after all - that was the whole story of why she had been at the martial arts tournament. That things turned out to be more interesting that either she or Whisk had bargained for was entirely unrelated.

In any case, the other girl was clearly uncomfortable with long silences. Maybe it wouldn't kill her to pick up the slack with the small talk this time.

"So who's yer sis?" She asked.

That'll do.

---

---

Barley let out a merry chuckle as he saw - and heard - the girl return the shouting with just as much enthusiasm.

Nymphaea? That's an exotic name.

The young man watched as she promptly began climbing back down from the dilapidated building while displaying the full range of her agility and acrobatic prowess. This girl certainly liked to show off, but that was fine in his book. She wasn't just hot air after all, she was pretty good at putting on a show. Perhaps her skill with acrobatics was in part due to that tail of hers enhancing her balance? Then again, Kale had one, and Braley wasn't sure he'd pull that off. When she finally landed after twirling and rolling in the air and took a bow, he couldn't help himself and started clapping enthusiastically.

In a martial arts tournament that, while prestigious and exciting, looked to be mostly full of people like that rabbit chick brooding in the corner of the backstage or, hell, Kale, it was nice to know that he wasn't alone there, that someone like Nymphaea was around too. He loved her energy.

Not that it mattered much who was supposed to participate in the tournament, at this point.

As the girl finally reached his side and started practically gushing about his abilities, Barley found himself struggling to get a word in. Not because he was shy - in fact with all of this his confidence was at an all time high - but because it was just hard to keep up the pace with her.

"Thank you, thank you... Ah, what, magic? Um..." He tried to interject, only for his words to get proverbially carried off by the stream that was her rapid-fire speech. Magic? He hadn't been living under a rock for the past decade or so, so of course he knew about magic, but he didn't really know anything about it being used in conjunction with martial arts. Master Bruce had never told him anything on the matter, either. So why'd she ask that?

Snapping out of his own thoughts as the girl finished talking, he noticed her swishing tail and her eyes, brimming with joy and excitement.

Oh, gosh. That's too much for me.

"Um, I can't use magic, no." He clarified after taking a deep breath to get himself under control. "Those beams were just, uhh, I fire them off by focusing my ki on my fingertips. There's more to it obviously, but that's the gist." He explained calmly. "I'd love to teach you what I know! I'm sure Master Bruce wouldn't mind. He's always going on about how we martial artists should support each other instead of competing all the time. I'd also, uh, love to meet your mother as well. She may not be all that interested though, given I'm not actually a wizard." He chuckled. Barley the wizard, that had a nice ring to it.

"But you're not lacking in cool techniques yourself, are you? I mean, what was all that about making that guy nervous with just a little metal ball, huh? And your, uh, what was it... your tornado overdrive, yeah. That was petty cool too!" He spoke enthusiastically. "Who taught you to fight like that?"

As he conversed with Nymphaea, the young man was gleefully unaware of the white dragon fast approaching their location.