Post by Celerous on Feb 27, 2018 7:47:50 GMT -5
To whomever has to grade this, I'm so, so sorry.
‘Aya just had to kill the cub,’ thought Celerous as the bear’s large claw tore through his pant leg.
The damn things had come out of nowhere. He and Aya (who apparently had some sort of in depth hatred of bears) were just strolling through the forest when a small ursine cub had appeared. It was tiny, not even close adolescence. Cel didn’t want to kill it, even though they’d been hunting for dinner. He thought killing a small animal was wrong, even though that same bear would probably try and eat him for breakfast when he got older.
So, being the cruel murderer of their partnership, Aya decided to do the dirty work herself. One Ki blast was all it took to kill it. Done. Time to move on. But, Mama Bear had decided to stroll up right as she shot the small creature. She was much bigger than her offspring, even bigger than most of the bears Celerous had seen in the forest. Her mass of back muscles flexed beneath her brown fur. She looked dangerous, and Celerous knew that if it caught wind of them killing her cub, they’d probably be chop suey. So, of course she watched as her baby’s head was reduced to ash. She wasn’t very happy. She roared and it echoed throughout the forest. Celerous watched in horror as four smaller, but still large bears, tore through the underbrush of the forest. They didn’t look happy either. Aya told him that she could deal with two if he could deal with two, and then they would take the big one on together. So, being the show off that he was, Celerous, of course, said he could take the big one alone. Without the use of Ki. Right after he killed the other two.
Mama Bear was a bit slower, so he was able to take out the first two with ease. He slit both of their throats with his sword in record time. Then he turned to the largest ursine of the bunch. That’s where it all went wrong. The damn thing slammed into him head on, and sent him sprawling across the clearing they were in. As he was picking himself up, he realized something very important. Mama Bear was not slow. Mama Bear was just waiting for the other two to kill him, and when that didn’t work out, she decided to charge into the fight. He realized this, because she was already standing over him while he was picking himself up. Only his natural reflexes saved him from another blow. And that brought him to the present; the bear’s large claw raking through the lower half of his Gi
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her other claw rush to meet him. He changed his footing to face her left claw better. It smashed into the flat of his blade with the power of a semi-truck. The force caused him to stumble back, and he was helpless to stop the next blow. It struck him square in the chest and he smashed into the trunk of a tree.
As he coughed, Celerous wondered if he shouldn’t just flare his energy, and be done with this. But there was something desirable about fighting this animal with his power suppressed to almost nothing.
Dazed, Celerous picked himself up once more. To his horror, Mama Bear was already there, and she was about to hit him again. With a yelp, he jumped to the ground, narrowly avoiding Mama’s claw. Her sharp claws dug into the tree with an ear piercing creek. She ripped her claws out of the tree and stumbled back a little. She was disoriented. This was his chance.
Celerous jumped up and charged the bear, blade pointed out. He pressed his sword into the bear’s stomach, before tearing it out and slamming it into her side. She roared in pain and tried to whack him with her claws. Realizing that staying still would get him killed, Celerous backed up, abandoning his sword in the bear’s side. He blocked the beast’s right claw with his left forearm, and rolled out of the way of the left. She roared once again and lunged forward, claw outstretched.
Time seemed to slow down for Celerous. He summoned the power he needed from his body. He put his left foot forward, and tucked his left arm against his chest. He took a breath and held it. One more second. The outstretched claw slid along his back, shredding up the back of his weighted Gi (though thankfully leaving it intact), but just barely grazing his skin. With all the energy he summoned, he slammed his arm into the bear’s chest, a seemingly hopeless tactic.
But Celerous knew what he was doing. A millisecond later, the bear was sent flying away from him. She slammed against the ground, about twenty feet away, and continued to tumble at high speeds on the ground. She tore the ground up around her, making a storm of dirt and dust that was hard to see through, and only stopped when she impacted with a large oak tree.
‘Us Saiyans, am I right, or am I right?’ he thought to himself.
Smiling at his triumph, he looked over to find Aya. His heart dropped. During his skirmish, he failed to notice that four more bears had emerged. The two bear bodies on the ground about forty feet from her current position told him that she had dispatched her original targets at a range. But it looked like the other four jumped her at a melee range. That wasn’t good for Aya. He knew that she could usually hold her own in a fight, but she was weak from a lack of blood. These four bears just might be her match.
He watched her smack one of the bears with a hammerfist, and saw that it had no effect. The bear swung a heavy paw at her, which she rolled under with ease. In fact, he noticed that she was dodging all four bears with little difficulty. That was good. But she couldn’t dodge forever. Celerous had to intervene and help her.
He reached for his sword, and panicked when it wasn’t at his side like it was supposed to be. He looked on the ground around him, but his weapon wasn’t in sight. It was then that he remembered where his sword was. He looked towards the bear slumped against the tree. Lo and behold, his sword was still stuck in her side, scarlet red from the blood.
Celerous hastened to its body. His sword was deep into its side, deeper than he remembered embedding it, and he realized it was probably due to the tumble she took on her way to the tree. He knelt down. Grabbing his sword with both hands, he ripped it out of the bear’s side with a sickening slurp sound. He took a second to inspect it, making sure it wasn’t damaged from his last minute tactic. Satisfied he gripped it and looked back up….
To see the Mama’s claw smack him in the face, with even more force than the first time it hit him. For the third time in a few minutes, Celerous was sent sprawling across the dirt floor. He groaned, and his eyes were hazy from the pain. His back flared up in pain, and he could feel rivulets of blood dripping down past his waist.
‘Serves me right for suppressing my energy,’ Celerous thought, “but, I’m not about to cheat now!”
The wounded Mama bear loomed over him, her red eyes burning with hate. She raised her claw, slowly and dramatically, as if she wanted to savor the final blow. He looked for his sword, and saw that it was halfway between him and the tree. He must have let go of it while he was semi-airborne. That wasn’t great. Good thing he didn’t need it..
..Except that when he tried to pick himself up, his body didn’t want to move.
Her claw reached its maximum height, but it never had a chance to come down.
A warcry filled the air, and both Celerous and the bear looked towards the edge clearing, only a few feet from them. From the trees came a grey blur. It collided with the bear, who let out a painful roar. For beside her, with Celerous’ sword hilt deep into her previously uninjured side, was a young bio android with a blue carapace and a long pointed tail. His pink eyes, looking up at the face of the bear, burned with determination. With a grunt, he ripped Cel’s sword out of her side. However, the bear wasn’t done yet.
She swept at him with her right claw, which he ducked under with lightning-fast reflexes, before resting on his left knee next to her left leg. With his right hand, he sunk his blade halfway into the bear’s thigh. With his left hand, he pointed two fingers at the bear’s leg, and fired two Ki blasts into her knee. Mama bear roared once again, and the guy wrenched his blade free and leapt back, narrowly dodging her left claw. He withdrew his arm from its held out position, and held his sword out in front of him with two hands.
The young man looked Celerous in the eyes.
“Think you can help Aya out?” he tilted his head in said girl’s direction.
Looking over, Celerous noticed that she still hadn’t dispatched any of the bears engaging her in melee combat. Her face looked tired. She wouldn’t last much longer.
Looking back at his savior, he said, “Yeah, I can help her, but what about you?”
Rolling out of the way of yet another blow from Mama bear, he replied,
“I can handle Mrs. Big n’ Angry over here. Save Aya. I kind of like her not dead.”
Snorting at his bluntness, Celerous picked himself up and ran towards the Vampire.
“Alright! Don’t worry about Aya, I’ll help her! Just take this damn bear out for me! And keep your power low! We’re trying not to attract attention!”
Eyes trained on the bear, the guy yelled back, “You got it! Now go save the princess for me!”
He also swore he heard the guy mumble something like, “Looks like you were wrong after all, father.”
Celerous figured this blue shelled bug man wasn’t overly fond of his father.
Encasing his arm in Ki, trying to making himself some kind of arm-sword thing, Celerous wondered if Aya would slap him if he started calling her ‘Princess.’ With his arm laced in with Ki, he charged the four bears. Cel didn’t have time to think now. He could deal with ‘what if’s’ later. Right now, he just needed to save this stupid vampire girl.
He let out a cry, not unsimilar to the one let out by the guy who saved him, and planted his arm in the closest bear’s back.
The big bear was something of a force of nature. Legate eyed her (at least he thought it was a her) carefully, noting the wounds that she was completely ignoring. A large chunk of flesh was missing from her left side, and the blade in his hands had clearly been hilt-deep in her right side. Her left thigh had been pierced all the way through, and her kneecap had a gaping hole in it. She still moved at nearly mach speeds in her attempt to kill him. It took all of his effort to avoid her attacks, and he had been unable to land another blow since he sent the brown haired guy to help Aya.
The bear’s sharp claws narrowly missed Legate as he rolled under her arm. He thrust his sword upwards, tearing through the flesh and letting loose a spray of blood. The bear roared and brought her arm back, as if to hit him in the back. He jumped to his left, landing on his left side. Her arm passed closely enough for him to feel the fur tickle his cheek, but he received no real impact. Seeing an opening, he scrambled up and dove, sword first, for her right thigh. The blade sank into her leg, and the big bear groaned. He ripped the sword free from her mighty thigh, and sensing an incoming blow, swung the blade while pivoting on his foot. His senses were correct, for behind him, the bear’s arm came to flatten him against her thigh like a pesky bug. He intercepted her attack with the other guy’s blade at the wrist, and he felt it make contact with the beast’s bone, before slicing right through it and separating the claw from the arm.
She let out her loudest roar yet and she jumped backwards, away from him. Her landing made the ground around him rumble. She cradled her stump under her left arm (which would have made for a really funny pose, if not for the situation), and instead of roaring like he expected, she made a sound more akin to a wail. She looked at him, eyes ablaze with fury, and lowered herself onto her remaining claw. Legate’s heart stopped for a second as he realized what she was about to do. She charged him, headfirst.
He immediately leaped to his left, avoiding the bear. She continued past him and collided with a thick oak that marked the border of the clearing. Her thick skull cracked the bark, and she fell flat on her stomach. A second later, she was already up, turning herself to face Legate. Like before, she lowered herself onto her one claw, and charged. Legate, barely back up from the last charge, was forced to throw his body to the right this time. The bear missed him again, but he grimaced in pain as he felt his shoulder crack against a thick and gnarly root. He found himself at the base of one of the thousand oak trees in the forest.
He stood up, and pressed his back against the tree. He wondered how Aya and Spiky Hair Man (which is what he decided to call the other guy until a later date) were doing. Another roar interrupted his thoughts. Man that bear liked to roar. She was already back on her claw and feet, preparing to charge for a third time. She, knowing full well that he was now backed up against a tree, charged him with her head pointed right at his chest. Legate simply maneuvered behind the tree. He didn’t expect what happened next.
The bear smashed into the trunk, but instead of being forced to a stop, ran right through the thick trunk. It splintered into pieces as her head drove into Legate’s chest. All of the air in his lungs was completely forced out of his body. His vision was red, but he could feel his back dig into another tree, and completely smash through it. His carapace took the blow for him, but he could feel a pressure on the bane of his spine nonetheless. He fell to the ground and as he took a breath, and great weight pressed him into the dirt. The little air that he had managed to recollect into his lungs was driven right out again. Then the pressure was gone, and a wave of pain spiked down his spine. The bear had just stepped on him.
His vision was still hazy and red, but he could make out the big bear as it smashed head first into yet another tree. Only this one managed to stop it, and the blowback forced her backwards. She landed on her back, and began to shake and wiggle, as if she couldn’t get up.. Legate blinked, and it took him a few moments to understand: the pain of all her wounds was finally catching up to her body. She was having a seizure!
Legate stood up weakly and leaned against the nearest, unsmashed, tree. His lungs burned as he tried to fill them with air. He kept his eyes on the bear, who was trying to roll off of her back. She reminded him of a turtle, and he chuckled to himself despite the situation. The large bear roared at his chuckle, and doubled her efforts to flip herself. Taking one more large gulp of air, Legate took his weight off of the tree. He raised his left hand and pointed two fingers at the bear once more. Only this time, he was pointing at her skull. What he was about to do, Legate knew, was cruel, but this bear needed to be put down.
He slowly walked towards the bear; his legs felt weak and wouldn’t allow him to move faster. The bear thrashed about, sensing what he was about to do. She roared loudly, and for a minute Legate was worried that more bears would show up. But they didn’t. It was just him and the last ursine. Finally, he reached her. He summoned up a few dregs of Ki into his fingertips, and released the air from of his lungs.
With his left hand, he positioned his aim at the creature that was still thrashing about. He wasn’t particularly good with Ki blasts, and his still hazy vision wouldn’t help his aiming, but three feet wasn’t far to shoot. He let power surge through his hand once.. The blast of Ki narrowly missed her head as she moved erratically, but it still managed to sink into her neck. She thrashed about even more. Figuring that trying to aim for her head would actually cause him to miss more, he decided to just let out as many shots as possible, and as quickly as possible. Ten blasts pierced the air and burnt their way into the bear’s flesh. With one last defiant roar, the beast slumped backwards and finally died.
‘Good riddance,’ Legate thought.
Letting out a sigh, he suddenly became aware of just how fatigued the battle had left him. If he was judging his physical condition properly, which wasn’t a guarantee, he had a few torn muscles under his carapace. He knew he was lucky. Getting smashed through a tree and getting stepped on by a bear weighing half a ton would have killed most people. He could only accredit his success to his father, who had engineered him to be the perfect weapon. Actually, that wasn’t even entirely accurate. The entire android line his father had created had massive power reserves, and they always had. He was simply a byproduct of a long line of failures.
‘Which means that this victory isn’t mine,’ Legate thought glumly, ‘Like all of my other achievements, they belong to my creator.’
Legate was shaken from his thoughts when he became aware of a small thump from behind him. He spun around with his hand held out, praying to Kami that there wasn’t another bear behind him. His ancestors must have heard his prayer, because the thump had been caused by none other than Spiky Haired Man killing the last of the other bears with his arm enveloped in yellow Ki energy.
“Legate! Are you alright?”
Legate looked over to the Saiyan’s left to see Aya’s yellow hair bob as she ran towards him. Spiky Haired Man turned and caught up with her, running behind her with a huge grin plastered on his face.
“Legate!” he yelled, “Man that was amazing! Have you ever used a sword before? Because I’ve been properly trained and I would have had trouble there, suppressed as we were!”
“It was stupid and risky! You need to stay hidden from the cities!” Aya shouted as they drew near.
“You were in danger,” Legate spoke quietly, “you’re the only person of the Earth that I can call friend. So I came to help.”
Aya and Spiky Haired Man stopped in front of the two of them.
“Your dad won’t be happy with that reasoning. He won’t be happy with any of this.,” she retorted.
“What were you doing out here?” Legate asked, ignoring her last statement.
“Oh!” she brought out her hands, and Legate saw that they were well bloodied, “I was looking for something to drink! Tall, pale, and stupid over here doesn’t keep blood in his Tower!”
Spiky Haired Man scowled at that, his green eyes turning dangerously dark for a second “No self respecting person keeps blood in their fridge. And it isn’t my Tower. I’m just… Housesitting.”
The Vampire stuck her tongue out at the Saiyan.
“But, all corrections aside,” the Saiyan continued, “It’s time I made my way back to the Tower. I’ve been away too long. Thank you for the help, and uh, can I have my sword back?”
Legate blinked, before realizing that he was still holding Spiky Haired Man’s sword. He offered it back to the bulky man, before asking, “who are you? Are you one of Aya’s friends?”
The man quickly denied that, “My name’s Celerous, and no. Not even in the slightest. I stopped her from assaulting someone in the middle of the night in West City, and now she follows me around like she’s my stalker. I’d pummel her to send her away, but that’s what I did in the first place, and it didn’t get me anywhere.”
Aya looked up at the brown haired man, and nodded.
“How can I pass up tagging along with you? Wherever you go, there’s bound to be someone for me to feed on!” The Vampire squealed enthusiastically.
Celerous frowned darkly once more, and Legate felt his spine tingle from something other than pain, “you’re not going to feed on anyone. People are not your cattle. If you wanna feed on animal blood, fine, be my guest. But other sentient beings are off limits.”
Aya gave a small “hmph,” and smirked, like she wasn’t giving up. Legate decided to introduce a new topic.
“I am Legate. Thank you for curbing my friend’s bad habit. She has a tendency to ignore the safety of others.”
“Yeah,” Celerous commented dryly, “I noticed. Like I said, I pummeled her for attacking a woman in an alley.”
The swordsman sighed, before opening his mouth once more, “I owe you one. So, if you ever need anything from me, you can find me in the Sacred Lands near West City. Until then, I’m off.”
And with that, the Saiyan tore into the sky, leaving Legate behind with his crazy vampire friend.
Staying on the Earth, after everything that had happened, was the hardest thing Celerous had ever done. Half of his home was barren; a wasteland destroyed in a number of pointless tragedies. West City was all that remained of the once pristine planet, and the city’s population was dwindling harshly.
Celerous supposed he could hardly blame the Earthlings. Their home was in tatters, with no hope of rejuvenation. Galen’s Tower was empty, the only real occupant being Celerous himself on the days he cleaned it. The Lookout, which Celerous had never dared ascend to until recently, was deserted. Earth’s Guardian himself (or herself, Celerous had never actually met them, so he wasn’t sure) had either seemingly vanished, or died in the ensuing chaos four months ago.
As far as Celerous knew, there was no one left to keep the Earth safe, save maybe him. And he was hardly strong enough to call himself one of Earth’s Defenders. And even if he had possessed the power, he still wouldn’t disgrace the good name of Earth’s Heroes by donning their title. They had been here when the Earth was under siege. Celerous had been on Namek, on vacation.
It was a fact that sickened him to his core.
And yet, it also inspired him. Through his self-hatred, he gained a sense of clarity. After twenty years of not knowing what he wanted from life, other than being more than a simple farmer, Celerous had finally found a purpose. Earth needed its protectors, now more than ever, and Celerous would dedicate the rest of his life, however long or short it may be, to defending his world.
He wasn’t strong enough for this. He wasn’t fast enough either. His bones broke too easily, and his body tired far too fast. But nonetheless, he would stand firm in defense of his homeworld. He might fail, and the Earth might fall, but Celerous would never leave his planet in the hands of others again. For better or worse, his very short days of traveling were over.
His ship was grounded, and would remain so until it was covered in vines, and crumbled to dust. This was his choice, no, not just a choice, but his obligation to the Earth. Its ground had always been below his feet, for better or worse, and its once beautiful rolling hills had been his safe haven. And though those hills were decayed and drained of life, and the dirt barren of foliage, he would remain on Earth’s crust until the crust was no more.
Plus, there was still half a planet to preserve, the population of West City to safeguard, and the Karinga Tribe to protect. With Galen gone, and Kami nowhere to be found, someone had to carry the burden. And since Celerous hadn’t seen a single other soul capable of carrying out the task, he decided to take it upon himself until someone else could. While he was far from qualified to protect anyone, as Galen’s student he had a responsibility to uphold the man’s legacy.
Galen… That was a name that held a lot of emotion for Celerous. Even mentioning it sent his gut into turmoil. There was a lot Celerous regretted when it came to his (old?) master. How he should have spent more time training with the man, how he should have asked after his duties in the Tower. Celerous didn’t know a thing about what Galen did for the Karinga Tribe, and he didn’t know how to help them other than to float and watch over them.
And there was so much more to regret. The massacre of the women and children in North and South City… Galen would have been able to stop it, or… or something! But Celerous? He tried where he could, but to no avail. He had been entirely useless; too weak to do anything, and not crafty enough to find someway to help others escape. If something similar happened to West City, if someone came looking for trouble, what in the world could he do?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but he had to try nonetheless.
Celerous felt powerless in the wake of all the tragedies, but who didn’t? He’d just have to push on through. Life went on, the Earth still turned, and the Sun still rose everyday. Dwelling on all of his mistakes and regrets would get him nowhere, he knew. The only way he could go was forward. And so forward he went.
In the four months since the tragedy, Celerous had extended his hand wherever he could. He kept an eye on the Karinga Tribe, ensuring that their sacred lands weren’t ruined anymore than they already were. At night, he would fly the streets of West City, making short work of those that preyed on the weak. It was the cruel and the heartless that tried to take advantage of the people in the aftermath of such drastic events. And while the hoodlums he stopped were nothing more than just that- hoodlums, and nothing worth being proud about, he still took satisfaction in the fact that he’d managed to help someone, however small.
He also, of course, farmed. Cabbages, radishes, carrots, bean sprouts; Celerous could name them all, and they all grew in his family’s garden. His family had been fortunate enough to live in the Southern Hemisphere, where the Earth was still alive, and Celerous had been determined to use that good fortune to the advantage of everyone. They sold their food as cheap as dirt, making no profit, just to ensure that the refugees and remainders of the Earthlings at least had food. For once, Celerous was thankful for his boring life on the farm. It was small help to the world, but it was better than nothing.
His days had been full, and long. Before he knew it, four long months had passed. Struggle and misfortune had become normal, and still, Galen and Kami had not returned. With each passing day, it became more and more apparent to Celerous that they likely never would return. He had held out hope, pointlessly so, that they had just been in hiding.
But they weren’t. Galen was dead, along with whomever lived above the Tower. And even if they hadn’t been, was there really any point in them returning.
It was during one of Celerous’s routine cleaning days, dusting the interior of the Tower and mopping the floors, that Legate had informed him of someone trespassing on the sacred grounds.
Celerous knew that he must not have looked very intimidating at the time, what with his adornment of a pink apron and yellow rubber gloves over joggers and a tank top. His hair was also likely messy, though that was pretty typical. He had just finished waxing the lower floor of the Tower, trying to get that perfect sheen, when the blue bio-android had busted in (ruining his hard work, though Celerous didn’t mention it) and went on a long rant about how some punks in a minivan were heading for the Sacred Land, from the direction of West City.
Though he didn’t voice the thought, Celerous found it oddly impressive that a bunch of punks in a Kami damned minivan had managed to make a roadtrip to Tower, despite the Earth’s ruined state. Where had they gotten gas from? It’s not like there were many petrol stations still open, at least, not in the Northern Hemisphere. Still, whether it was impressive or not (and it was), these punks were still trespassing on ground they shouldn’t, and it was his job to turn them around.
So he sighed, told Legate that he would be right down, and tossed his apron and gloves aside. He still had hours of maintenance ahead of him (who knew that the Tower required so much upkeep?), and he’d still only managed to wax the bottom floor, which Legate had prompt screwed up. And now, he had this to deal with.
Celerous scaled the stairs to the upper level of the Tower, which he had kept immaculately clean in Galen’s absence, with the exception of his own sword leaning against one of the marble pillars, and his weighted gi draped over a chair. He quickly threw the black gi top over his head, and rolled his shoulders, trying to adjust to the added weight. Celerous then grabbed his sword from its perch, and tightened the strap across his chest.
While he was sure his sword would remain undrawn today, the sight of a weapon usually discouraged delinquents from doing something too stupid. It tended to come in handy when Celerous did his nightly flybys of West City, and there was no reason to think that it wouldn’t come equally in handy today. Plus, the familiar weight of the scabbard on his back was reassuring.
With “hup,” Celerous leapt straight of the edge of the Tower, and took to the skies. The horizon was blue, and clear, devoid of clouds and smoke. It almost looked peaceful. Almost. The dead Earth beneath him robbed the day of that description, as it had every day since the conclusion of what had happened in the North. The grass below him was dead and curled, barely more than dust on the infertile soil it rested upon. The trees were but shriveled husks of what they once were, equally as lifeless and without so much as a single leaf on their limbs.
It was an incredibly depressing sight, but Celerous couldn’t dwell on it now. He stuck to his usual patrol route, low to the ground, sweeping over the lands of the Tower. Legate had told Celerous that the van was approaching from the direction of West City, which would put them roughly South West of the Tower itself, but Celerous wanted to do a full sweep of the grounds before he went to handle that. It was incredibly unlikely, but possible, that the van was a simple distraction for someone or something else. The hybrid needed to make sure that nothing else was gonna creep up on the Sacred Land while he dealt with the wayward vehicle.
Besides, the van could only move so fast over land, and Celerous was much faster in the skies. He’d be finished with his patrol long before the van got close enough to actually bother anyone. So he zoomed through the vast blue sky, his eyes scanning the tops of the dead trees below. Much to his relief, Celerous spotted nothing other than the odd tent; the remnants of the Karinga Tribe that once lived under Galen’s watchful eye.
With the land barren now, they had been forced to pack up and migrate South, where they could still grow and hunt for food. It was disheartening to Celerous, to say the least. But, Karinga Tribe or no Karinga Tribe, the Sacred Land still needed someone to watch over it. And so, with one last glance over his shoulder, Celerous spun himself around in the air, and took off in the direction of West City.
It didn’t take him long to spot the van Legate had spoken of; it would have been hard for him to miss the damn thing, considering everything else in sight was either brown or a really dark yellow. The vehicle was bright blue in color, with dents and dings all along the body. It clunked and sputtered as it crossed the dead grass, moving much faster than was safe for an off roading vehicle, kicking up dust particles in its wake.
From his vantage point, Celerous could spot three people in total. A man sat in the driver's seat, his skin dark and his hair curled and poofy. Next to him, in the passenger's seat, was another man. This guy was smaller than the driver, with much paler skin, and blonde hair that was slicked back. He wore outrageously big glasses, and had an arrogant smirk on his face as he talked to his friend. Celerous already didn’t like the guy.
The hybrid forgot all about the jackass in the passenger seat, however, upon spotting the woman sitting in the back of the minivan. She had bright yellow hair that trailed down to her lower back, and a face that Celerous would recognize anywhere.
Aya. Long ago, Celerous had run into her in the dark alleyways of West City. She had been trying to drain a poor woman dry, by drinking her blood in its entirety. Cel had, of course, responded appropriately, by beating the ever living snot out of her. Instead of making her flee, as he had expected, the beating had made the stupid Vampire attached to him, and no matter how many times he kicked her off the Sacred Lands, she just kept coming back.
And apparently, she now had accomplices. No doubt, they were just two regular dudes that had been tricked into being her unwitting snacks. Aya’s feminine mystique came in handy when it came to seducing men. Too bad for her, then, that Celerous was going to free these guys from whatever horrors the girl had in store for them. He just had to decide on how he was going to do it. And with a grin, he did just that.
Without any warning whatsoever, Celerous dropped from the sky, his power flared to maximum. The two guys in the front seat freaked out, which was appropriate, and the driver of the van just barely managed to maneuver the car as to not ram into the hybrid that had just spawned in front of him. The van tore past Celerous, who let a smirk cross his face, before screeching to a halt on the dead grass. A second later, the door opened, and Celerous turned around to face the driver.
“What the Hell man? You nearly got yourself killed! You can’t just jump in front of a car like that-”
Celerous decided to cut the man off. Despite the small amount of joy he got from scaring the driver, the hybrid really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more trespassers. Especially trespassers that were probably only invading the Sacred Lands on the request of the Vampire in the backseat. Cel noted that she had yet to show herself.
“Look, that car wouldn’t have hurt me. It would have rammed into me, crunching the bumper, and then the airbags would have gone off in your faces. Now, get back in your van, and go back to West City. These grounds are sacred, and not meant for tourists.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do!” The driver puffed up like a blowfish, and Celerous just sighed. Then, he leveled a glare at the man, and approached the beat up van. The man didn’t give any quarter, which Celerous had to admit was impressive. The driver wasn’t anywhere near as fit as Cel himself was, and he must have known how a fight with him would have played out. Lucky for him then, that Celerous decided on a show of power, rather than a beatdown.
With one hand, Celerous grabbed the roof of the van, and crunched the metal under his grasp. The driver gawked at him.
“Please leave,” Celerous reiterated, “and while you’re at it, kick the girl out of the van. I’d like to have a few word with her.”
The driver quickly scuttled back into his seat, and after a few heated words, Aya emerged from the backseat of the van, with a smirk on her face. Celerous turned his glare to her, but remained wordless at the van started back up. The engine revved and sputtered, before the driver put it into gear, and spun the van back around. The driver and his friend took off back in the direction of West City, kicking up dust once more.
“Did you drink them?” It was a pointed question, and one Celerous wished he didn’t have to ask.
“Of course! After a bit of flirting, they practically stuck out their necks for me!” Aya, as usual, was far too cheerful for a girl who was talking about sucking someone’s blood.
Celerous groaned, and for the briefest moment, wondered if he shouldn’t just blast the girl into oblivion. Then he wiped that thought from his mind. No. He wasn’t cruel like that. Though Aya deserved punishment for what she’d done, at least in Cel’s eyes, killing her outright was far too excessive. And though he wouldn’t say it to her face, the hybrid had to give her credit for not killing the two men. She’d shown a level of restraint Celerous hadn’t expected from her.
“We talked about this. Cattle. You know, cows, pigs, things like that. You can’t just go and drink from people! It’s not-”
“It’s not right, blah blah blah! You’re like a broken record!”
Aya took into the air, speeding in the direction of the Tower.
With a sigh, Celerous resolved himself to follow her, and prepared yet another lecture in his head. Tonight was gonna suck.
And there was no way he was going to be able to finish waxing.
It was a stormy afternoon in East City. Dark clouds loomed overhead and rain poured while lightning cackled. Most inhabitants of the proud city had taken shelter indoors, hoping to pass time with idle chat and hot coffee. Even the cities' illustrious gangs were nowhere in sight. Still, the streets weren't completely empty. A few stragglers ran through the rain with their books, newspapers, and even weapons held above them in a vain attempt to keep dry. More than a couple newspaper kiosks were still open, hoping someone would come by and pick up a sopping newspaper before bolting home.
Among the few remaining poor souls, a young man stood still on the corner of a sidewalk, wearing his black weighted gi. It offered no protection from the rain, nor did it keep him warm.
Celerous Fark rolled his shoulders, hoping the movement would grant him some warmth. It didn't. He turned his head to look down the street to the right. It was large enough for three lane traffic moving in two directions and was lined with buildings ranging from three to six stories. Normally, the traffic was so heavy that people would form lines on the sidewalks, waiting quarter hours just to cross the street. But now it was empty and lifeless, a trait that made Celerous shudder. Or maybe that was the cold.
‘I should have done this alone.’ He thought, ‘I am not waiting on you any longer.’
As if on cue, a loud clicking noise resonated from behind Celerous. He immediately spun around to see a gorgeous young woman in front of him. She wore a violet leather jacket over a black v-neck with blue skinny jeans and black high-heeled boots. In her right hand she held a large black umbrella. She had bright eyes and wore dark eyeliner and blood red lipstick. But her most defining (and most beautiful in Celerous's opinion) characteristic was her straightened blonde hair that went to her trailing down her back.
"Awe Celerous? Are you finally starting to warm up to me? I am beautiful, to be fair."
Celerous frowned at her words, but only because he realized that he’d been ogling her. Disgusting. Aya was violent, cruel, and repulsive. He forced his mind to occupy itself with something else; with chasing down the gangbanger that had killed his mother during the confusion of Earth’s calamity.
"Oh Kami," The woman would have face palmed if her hands had been empty, "Can’t you take a joke anymore? I swear, you’re no fun sometimes!”
"Then stop following me around," Celerous said with a scowl, “I’m not here to entertain you.”
"I don’t see why not," Aya deadpanned, “It’s not like you do anything other than puppy guard that stupid tower.”
"It’s not stupid-"
Aya ignored him and motioned to the streets with her empty hand, “Are we gonna get going or not? Because I’ve got some stalking to do after this.”
“We’ll get going in a moment, but if I catch you stalking someone to drink from again-”
“Oh my Kami” She exclaimed, this time raising her empty hand to the sky in some sort of “help me” gesture.
He frowned, “If you don’t want the lecture, then stop trying to drink from people. Or stop hanging around me. Or do both! Kami knows I don’t need you hanging around Galen’s Tower. I’ve got enough on my plate without trying to keep you from killing someone!”
Aya went wide eyed and Celerous spotted a clear look of annoyance on her visage. It was just as beautiful as her normal glare (so she was attractive, what of it? She was still repulsive in nature), but it made his heart beat a little faster. Though, it was only because he was worried that she would try and drink from him when his back was turned. Her face suddenly brightened, and she held her umbrella up in front of Celerous's face, hoping it would get a reaction out of him. When he didn't respond, she shook it a little. The only reaction she got was a shrug from the soaked man.
"This is me saying I’m here to help." She said exasperatedly.
Celerous raised his eyebrows, “You could just say it next time. Or maybe, I dunno, be on time?”
She huffed, and Celerous shook his head and continued.
"Look, I know this dude lives around this area of East City. If these gangbangers are still around, this is where they’ll be. Maybe they can help us find her."
“Are you sure he’s one of them?”
“Absolutely. My grandfather described him perfectly to me. The thug that killed my mom was definitely one of these gangbangers. We’ll find one, put the fear of Kami in him, and he’ll tell us where to find the murderer.”
“Well I’m sure they’ll love helping you track down one of their own,” Aya said sarcastically.
Celerous turned and said, "I could squash even the toughest thug with my pinkie finger. All I need to do is crush a rock in my bare fist, and they’ll talk. At least, if they’re smart."
“Ooo! Or, we could torture them!” Aya exclaimed, looking far too pleased with herself for Celerous’s liking.
Celerous turned his back, deciding to ignore Aya’s fantasies, and faced the direction they would be heading.
She didn’t say anything else, but Celerous could practically feel the sadism rolling off of her. Of course she wanted to torture people. No one really condoned torture, but Aya certainly didn’t care. If not for Celerous himself, the girl would likely have been a serial killer, or something else. It was a scary thought, but Cel pushed it aside for now. He could worry about that later.
Without warning, Aya walked past Celerous, umbrella above her head. Celerous shifted his left shoulder one more time, feeling the weight of his soaked Gi, and caught up to her stride. Side by side they silently walked down the soaked sidewalk, their feet splashing in puddles as they traipsed through the dark alleys and winding roads of East City. Celerous cursed his lack of a jacket, but at least the umbrella shielded him from the rain a bit.
With a sigh Celerous forced himself to ignore the cold, and focus on the streets before him.
The district in front of him was a sharp contrast compared to what it looked like before the half-death of Earth. Buildings were constructed out of cracked mortar and were often covered with dirt and grime. No vegetation outlined the streets, and the only park in the entire district was covered by the debris of a fallen building. The streets were bumpy and poorly paved. Some ran right into buildings and had to be closed off by metal railings and signs. The streets that were open for traffic were narrow and took sharp turns, limiting any type of navigation.
Celerous and Aya stood on a corner of such a street, trying to figure out where they were headed. The rain had since let up, and Aya’s umbrella hung from her waist. The two scoured East City’s map, but it was outdated, and didn’t account for some of the nore recently built buildings. It certainly didn’t account for the destruction caused by the recent massacre of the women and children of the city.
“Why hasn’t anyone taken the time to redraw the map?” Aya asked with an irritated sigh before lowering her map.
“There have been other things to focus on Aya,” Celerous said, still examining his map, “People were massacred here. The Earth is half dead. They’re more focused on mourning and finding something to eat.”
“Yeah, so what if some tree sucked the Earth dry?” She said, reluctantly returning her attention to the map, “this map is inconveniencing me! Someone should fix it.
“Well, I’m sorry you’ve been inconvenienced by the terrors that unfolded here,” Celerous retorted, resisting the urge to punch the girl’s lights out.
“Thank you, at least someone understands my suffering,” Aya smirked with self-satisfaction.
“That was sarcasm Aya. Your ‘suffering’ is nothing compared to what happened here” Celerous replied, a vein bulging from his head, “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re so self absorbed, but that’s pretty callous, even for you.”
“Ugh,” Aya moaned, finally putting her own map away, “I wish Legate was here. He would know how to navigate this city!”
“What? He wouldn’t know a thing about this city! I don’t he’s ever been here!”
“I know, but I like the big guy! He’s way more fun than you are! He doesn’t lecure me every ten seconds, or try and stop me from having fun!”
“Your ‘fun’ consists of bleeding people dry, or swaying them with your feminine charms into doing what you want. Both of those cross lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”
“Don’t even start with the moral crap. Do you know how annoying you are when you talk about being a goody-two-shoes? You’d think you were a police officer!”
“Well someone has to drill some sense into your head! You can’t go around hurting people! If you’d run into anyone else, they probably would have killed you outright!”
“Ugh, as if they could,” Aya boasted with a stupid grin on her face, “have you seen me fight? I’m amazing! And even if I ran into someone I couldn’t take on, Legate would do it for me! Or we’d do it together! Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun!”
If only this dumb Vampire girl knew the kinds of powers that existed beyond the Earth. Celerous himself couldn’t fathom how strong some people were, and he’d met and faced people like Toru and that Vampire on Namek. Powers like that were nearly unquantifiable, and if Aya even ran into someone capable of that level of strength, she’d be turned into beef jerky. A part of Celerous wondered if he should introduce her to someone like that.
Then he banished that thought. He wouldn’t stoop to that level, just to rid the world of one Vampire.
“Oh yes, Aya, you could take on anyone. Except Legate, or me, or the man who trained me, or the man who trained him. Or pretty much anyone stronger than me, which is just about every serious threat in the known Universe,” Celerous deadpanned.
“Can’t you take a joke? I swear, you’re so uptight all the time. How do you take yourself so seriously?” Aya asked, “‘I’m Celerous Fark, I’m the Earth’s Protector, blah blah blah Galen, blah blah blah The Tower, blah blah blah I suck.”
“Why do I put up with you? Why do I even bother? You just don’t get it do you? How important even a single life is?”
“For the love of Kami, would you just stop with the stupid heroic prattle! I want to tear my own ears off!”
Celerous blinked. He was about to do that for her.
“Just shut up, and let’s keep looking.”
Celerous tucked his map into his outer gi and kneeled onto one knee. Since walking in the rain wasn’t going to get them anywhere, Cel thought he’d try another route. Sensing Power Levels. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and placed his gloved hand on the pavement. He instantly tuned into his senses. He could feel the life energy, or Ki, flow through the city, all around him. Most of what he felt was insignificant; the average life forces of the denizens hiding from the storm indoors. But there were some stronger beings that he could sense. They were nothing compared to him, or even Aya, but it was a start. He took note of the smaller powers, and instantly ‘muted’ them, focusing only on the larger ones. He then sorted those into ‘small’ and ‘large’ and cut himself off from feeling those ‘small’ flows. He continued to do this for several minutes, until he had systematically narrowed his options down to the three largest powers in the city. Of all the power levels he’d sensed, Celerous was sure that these three were the only ones strong enough to outmatch his mother. Two of those, Celerous was sure, would have had trouble killing his mom. The third one, however, was definitely stronger than his mom had been. That had to be it, right?
“I think I have them,” Celerous said, “He, or she, is just strong enough to have killed my mother. And even if they aren’t the culprit, they must know someone just as strong.”
It was incredibly flawed logic, Celerous knew, but it was all he had to go on.
“Beat ‘em up?” Aya asked.
“Beat ‘em up” Celerous affirmed, “I’m gonna fly over. Keep an eye on me, and try and stop anyone that might be running away from me. But don’t kill them!”
“Wait! What if I want to-”
Celerous pivoted to the right and was instantly gone. His body rocketed forward at a lightning fast speed. He knew that Aya couldn’t keep up with him, and honestly, he was glad for that. She’d been far too annoying today, and Celerous wasn’t sure he could keep her in check if it came down to a fight.
He was nearing his destination. At about roughly a block away Celerous let the flow of the energy in his body, fade. The air that flowed around him like a storm dissipated into a gentle wind, and the hybrid’s feet gently touched the ground. As much as he’d like to fly right in and blast his way to whomever he had sensed, Celerous had discipline and restraint. He wasn’t going to be the first one to throw a punch.
Which is why he had to get here before Aya. He didn’t want her to go crazy on the first potential hostile they ran into. Knowing her, she’d pounce on them instantly, trying to either drink from them, or kill them. He couldn’t have that. For one, Celerous didn’t condone murder. Nor did East City. He refused to be responsible for such a drastic measure, nor would he allow himself to become an accomplice to something like that. Hopefully, by leaving her behind, Celerous would be ridding himself of a ridiculous headache.
It wasn’t as if he needed her help anyways.
A large metal cargo door loomed before Celerous. A power line lead to a very large garage, one he was sure had a secret basement of some sort. Either way, the place looked sketchy to the hybrid. Celerous closed his eyes, and knelt to the ground again. He could feel the excited movement of Ki energy below the ground. That all but confirmed Celerous’s suspicions about an underground basement.
He got back up. The metal cargo door looked reinforced. Not even a truck could drive though it. Celerous figured he could try knocking. Maybe someone would actually answer the door. And if that failed, he could always just lift the damn thing. The door might have been truck-proof, but it wasn’t Saiyan-proof.
To his surprise however, the door began to open. The metal creaked and groaned as the cargo bay opened up to reveal three very obvious gangbangers, who were clearly surprised to a hybrid wearing a sword on his back.
“Who the- This dude is pushing on our turf!” The first gangbanger exclaimed.
“Let’s get the others!” The second one yelled.
“Nah we can take him ourselves! This guy doesn’t look so tough, even with that stupid sword.” The third one boasted.
Celerous tried not to laugh. He barely succeeded.
The man closest to Celerous charged. He swung a crowbar down on Celerous, who raised his left hand to block it. There was the slap of metal hitting flesh, and the man’s eyes widened in surprise when Cel didn’t so much as flinch. Celerous grabbed him by the throat with his right hand and threw him back into the cargo bay. He tumbled into a pile of crates, and didn’t get back up.
The next two were smart enough to charge Celerous together. The first one attempted a diagonal with his knife, which Celerous parried by unsheathing his sword. The second one, also wielding a knife, moved to his left side, and attempted his cut at the back of his knee. Celerous sidestepped to the right, and forced the first gangbanger to pull his blade away.
Thug Two followed his missed strike up with a stab, that Celerous once again sidestepped. The man was unable to stop his momentum, so Celerous kicked his foot out and tripped the him. Thug One jumped forward and came down with an overhead blow. Celerous simply jumped back and the Thug’s sword clanged harmlessly on the ground. That was when Celerous made his move.
He shot forward, and brought the pommel of his blade down on the back of the thug’s skull.
“You see a man with a sword, and you attack him with a knife? Really?”
The thug didn’t get a chance to actually retort, as he was blacked out on the pavement.
Thug Two screamed in rage. Back on his feet, the man gripped his knife in two hands and swung furiously at Celerous.
“You stupid asshole, I’m gonna kill you for that.”
Celerous parried the sword upward, and quickly threw out a punch. His fist collided with the thug’s jaw, and he crumpled to the floor with his friend. Celerous just shook his head.
“I almost actually feel bad about this,’ Celerous said to himself, “that was just embarrassing.”
He looked forward into the dark garage. There were probably plenty more thugs in the hidden basement below.
Oh well. No one said tracking down his mother’s killer would be easy.
WC: 9559
Asking Pl, plus 25% Weighed Clothes bonus.
‘Aya just had to kill the cub,’ thought Celerous as the bear’s large claw tore through his pant leg.
The damn things had come out of nowhere. He and Aya (who apparently had some sort of in depth hatred of bears) were just strolling through the forest when a small ursine cub had appeared. It was tiny, not even close adolescence. Cel didn’t want to kill it, even though they’d been hunting for dinner. He thought killing a small animal was wrong, even though that same bear would probably try and eat him for breakfast when he got older.
So, being the cruel murderer of their partnership, Aya decided to do the dirty work herself. One Ki blast was all it took to kill it. Done. Time to move on. But, Mama Bear had decided to stroll up right as she shot the small creature. She was much bigger than her offspring, even bigger than most of the bears Celerous had seen in the forest. Her mass of back muscles flexed beneath her brown fur. She looked dangerous, and Celerous knew that if it caught wind of them killing her cub, they’d probably be chop suey. So, of course she watched as her baby’s head was reduced to ash. She wasn’t very happy. She roared and it echoed throughout the forest. Celerous watched in horror as four smaller, but still large bears, tore through the underbrush of the forest. They didn’t look happy either. Aya told him that she could deal with two if he could deal with two, and then they would take the big one on together. So, being the show off that he was, Celerous, of course, said he could take the big one alone. Without the use of Ki. Right after he killed the other two.
Mama Bear was a bit slower, so he was able to take out the first two with ease. He slit both of their throats with his sword in record time. Then he turned to the largest ursine of the bunch. That’s where it all went wrong. The damn thing slammed into him head on, and sent him sprawling across the clearing they were in. As he was picking himself up, he realized something very important. Mama Bear was not slow. Mama Bear was just waiting for the other two to kill him, and when that didn’t work out, she decided to charge into the fight. He realized this, because she was already standing over him while he was picking himself up. Only his natural reflexes saved him from another blow. And that brought him to the present; the bear’s large claw raking through the lower half of his Gi
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her other claw rush to meet him. He changed his footing to face her left claw better. It smashed into the flat of his blade with the power of a semi-truck. The force caused him to stumble back, and he was helpless to stop the next blow. It struck him square in the chest and he smashed into the trunk of a tree.
As he coughed, Celerous wondered if he shouldn’t just flare his energy, and be done with this. But there was something desirable about fighting this animal with his power suppressed to almost nothing.
Dazed, Celerous picked himself up once more. To his horror, Mama Bear was already there, and she was about to hit him again. With a yelp, he jumped to the ground, narrowly avoiding Mama’s claw. Her sharp claws dug into the tree with an ear piercing creek. She ripped her claws out of the tree and stumbled back a little. She was disoriented. This was his chance.
Celerous jumped up and charged the bear, blade pointed out. He pressed his sword into the bear’s stomach, before tearing it out and slamming it into her side. She roared in pain and tried to whack him with her claws. Realizing that staying still would get him killed, Celerous backed up, abandoning his sword in the bear’s side. He blocked the beast’s right claw with his left forearm, and rolled out of the way of the left. She roared once again and lunged forward, claw outstretched.
Time seemed to slow down for Celerous. He summoned the power he needed from his body. He put his left foot forward, and tucked his left arm against his chest. He took a breath and held it. One more second. The outstretched claw slid along his back, shredding up the back of his weighted Gi (though thankfully leaving it intact), but just barely grazing his skin. With all the energy he summoned, he slammed his arm into the bear’s chest, a seemingly hopeless tactic.
But Celerous knew what he was doing. A millisecond later, the bear was sent flying away from him. She slammed against the ground, about twenty feet away, and continued to tumble at high speeds on the ground. She tore the ground up around her, making a storm of dirt and dust that was hard to see through, and only stopped when she impacted with a large oak tree.
‘Us Saiyans, am I right, or am I right?’ he thought to himself.
Smiling at his triumph, he looked over to find Aya. His heart dropped. During his skirmish, he failed to notice that four more bears had emerged. The two bear bodies on the ground about forty feet from her current position told him that she had dispatched her original targets at a range. But it looked like the other four jumped her at a melee range. That wasn’t good for Aya. He knew that she could usually hold her own in a fight, but she was weak from a lack of blood. These four bears just might be her match.
He watched her smack one of the bears with a hammerfist, and saw that it had no effect. The bear swung a heavy paw at her, which she rolled under with ease. In fact, he noticed that she was dodging all four bears with little difficulty. That was good. But she couldn’t dodge forever. Celerous had to intervene and help her.
He reached for his sword, and panicked when it wasn’t at his side like it was supposed to be. He looked on the ground around him, but his weapon wasn’t in sight. It was then that he remembered where his sword was. He looked towards the bear slumped against the tree. Lo and behold, his sword was still stuck in her side, scarlet red from the blood.
Celerous hastened to its body. His sword was deep into its side, deeper than he remembered embedding it, and he realized it was probably due to the tumble she took on her way to the tree. He knelt down. Grabbing his sword with both hands, he ripped it out of the bear’s side with a sickening slurp sound. He took a second to inspect it, making sure it wasn’t damaged from his last minute tactic. Satisfied he gripped it and looked back up….
To see the Mama’s claw smack him in the face, with even more force than the first time it hit him. For the third time in a few minutes, Celerous was sent sprawling across the dirt floor. He groaned, and his eyes were hazy from the pain. His back flared up in pain, and he could feel rivulets of blood dripping down past his waist.
‘Serves me right for suppressing my energy,’ Celerous thought, “but, I’m not about to cheat now!”
The wounded Mama bear loomed over him, her red eyes burning with hate. She raised her claw, slowly and dramatically, as if she wanted to savor the final blow. He looked for his sword, and saw that it was halfway between him and the tree. He must have let go of it while he was semi-airborne. That wasn’t great. Good thing he didn’t need it..
..Except that when he tried to pick himself up, his body didn’t want to move.
Her claw reached its maximum height, but it never had a chance to come down.
A warcry filled the air, and both Celerous and the bear looked towards the edge clearing, only a few feet from them. From the trees came a grey blur. It collided with the bear, who let out a painful roar. For beside her, with Celerous’ sword hilt deep into her previously uninjured side, was a young bio android with a blue carapace and a long pointed tail. His pink eyes, looking up at the face of the bear, burned with determination. With a grunt, he ripped Cel’s sword out of her side. However, the bear wasn’t done yet.
She swept at him with her right claw, which he ducked under with lightning-fast reflexes, before resting on his left knee next to her left leg. With his right hand, he sunk his blade halfway into the bear’s thigh. With his left hand, he pointed two fingers at the bear’s leg, and fired two Ki blasts into her knee. Mama bear roared once again, and the guy wrenched his blade free and leapt back, narrowly dodging her left claw. He withdrew his arm from its held out position, and held his sword out in front of him with two hands.
The young man looked Celerous in the eyes.
“Think you can help Aya out?” he tilted his head in said girl’s direction.
Looking over, Celerous noticed that she still hadn’t dispatched any of the bears engaging her in melee combat. Her face looked tired. She wouldn’t last much longer.
Looking back at his savior, he said, “Yeah, I can help her, but what about you?”
Rolling out of the way of yet another blow from Mama bear, he replied,
“I can handle Mrs. Big n’ Angry over here. Save Aya. I kind of like her not dead.”
Snorting at his bluntness, Celerous picked himself up and ran towards the Vampire.
“Alright! Don’t worry about Aya, I’ll help her! Just take this damn bear out for me! And keep your power low! We’re trying not to attract attention!”
Eyes trained on the bear, the guy yelled back, “You got it! Now go save the princess for me!”
He also swore he heard the guy mumble something like, “Looks like you were wrong after all, father.”
Celerous figured this blue shelled bug man wasn’t overly fond of his father.
Encasing his arm in Ki, trying to making himself some kind of arm-sword thing, Celerous wondered if Aya would slap him if he started calling her ‘Princess.’ With his arm laced in with Ki, he charged the four bears. Cel didn’t have time to think now. He could deal with ‘what if’s’ later. Right now, he just needed to save this stupid vampire girl.
He let out a cry, not unsimilar to the one let out by the guy who saved him, and planted his arm in the closest bear’s back.
The big bear was something of a force of nature. Legate eyed her (at least he thought it was a her) carefully, noting the wounds that she was completely ignoring. A large chunk of flesh was missing from her left side, and the blade in his hands had clearly been hilt-deep in her right side. Her left thigh had been pierced all the way through, and her kneecap had a gaping hole in it. She still moved at nearly mach speeds in her attempt to kill him. It took all of his effort to avoid her attacks, and he had been unable to land another blow since he sent the brown haired guy to help Aya.
The bear’s sharp claws narrowly missed Legate as he rolled under her arm. He thrust his sword upwards, tearing through the flesh and letting loose a spray of blood. The bear roared and brought her arm back, as if to hit him in the back. He jumped to his left, landing on his left side. Her arm passed closely enough for him to feel the fur tickle his cheek, but he received no real impact. Seeing an opening, he scrambled up and dove, sword first, for her right thigh. The blade sank into her leg, and the big bear groaned. He ripped the sword free from her mighty thigh, and sensing an incoming blow, swung the blade while pivoting on his foot. His senses were correct, for behind him, the bear’s arm came to flatten him against her thigh like a pesky bug. He intercepted her attack with the other guy’s blade at the wrist, and he felt it make contact with the beast’s bone, before slicing right through it and separating the claw from the arm.
She let out her loudest roar yet and she jumped backwards, away from him. Her landing made the ground around him rumble. She cradled her stump under her left arm (which would have made for a really funny pose, if not for the situation), and instead of roaring like he expected, she made a sound more akin to a wail. She looked at him, eyes ablaze with fury, and lowered herself onto her remaining claw. Legate’s heart stopped for a second as he realized what she was about to do. She charged him, headfirst.
He immediately leaped to his left, avoiding the bear. She continued past him and collided with a thick oak that marked the border of the clearing. Her thick skull cracked the bark, and she fell flat on her stomach. A second later, she was already up, turning herself to face Legate. Like before, she lowered herself onto her one claw, and charged. Legate, barely back up from the last charge, was forced to throw his body to the right this time. The bear missed him again, but he grimaced in pain as he felt his shoulder crack against a thick and gnarly root. He found himself at the base of one of the thousand oak trees in the forest.
He stood up, and pressed his back against the tree. He wondered how Aya and Spiky Hair Man (which is what he decided to call the other guy until a later date) were doing. Another roar interrupted his thoughts. Man that bear liked to roar. She was already back on her claw and feet, preparing to charge for a third time. She, knowing full well that he was now backed up against a tree, charged him with her head pointed right at his chest. Legate simply maneuvered behind the tree. He didn’t expect what happened next.
The bear smashed into the trunk, but instead of being forced to a stop, ran right through the thick trunk. It splintered into pieces as her head drove into Legate’s chest. All of the air in his lungs was completely forced out of his body. His vision was red, but he could feel his back dig into another tree, and completely smash through it. His carapace took the blow for him, but he could feel a pressure on the bane of his spine nonetheless. He fell to the ground and as he took a breath, and great weight pressed him into the dirt. The little air that he had managed to recollect into his lungs was driven right out again. Then the pressure was gone, and a wave of pain spiked down his spine. The bear had just stepped on him.
His vision was still hazy and red, but he could make out the big bear as it smashed head first into yet another tree. Only this one managed to stop it, and the blowback forced her backwards. She landed on her back, and began to shake and wiggle, as if she couldn’t get up.. Legate blinked, and it took him a few moments to understand: the pain of all her wounds was finally catching up to her body. She was having a seizure!
Legate stood up weakly and leaned against the nearest, unsmashed, tree. His lungs burned as he tried to fill them with air. He kept his eyes on the bear, who was trying to roll off of her back. She reminded him of a turtle, and he chuckled to himself despite the situation. The large bear roared at his chuckle, and doubled her efforts to flip herself. Taking one more large gulp of air, Legate took his weight off of the tree. He raised his left hand and pointed two fingers at the bear once more. Only this time, he was pointing at her skull. What he was about to do, Legate knew, was cruel, but this bear needed to be put down.
He slowly walked towards the bear; his legs felt weak and wouldn’t allow him to move faster. The bear thrashed about, sensing what he was about to do. She roared loudly, and for a minute Legate was worried that more bears would show up. But they didn’t. It was just him and the last ursine. Finally, he reached her. He summoned up a few dregs of Ki into his fingertips, and released the air from of his lungs.
With his left hand, he positioned his aim at the creature that was still thrashing about. He wasn’t particularly good with Ki blasts, and his still hazy vision wouldn’t help his aiming, but three feet wasn’t far to shoot. He let power surge through his hand once.. The blast of Ki narrowly missed her head as she moved erratically, but it still managed to sink into her neck. She thrashed about even more. Figuring that trying to aim for her head would actually cause him to miss more, he decided to just let out as many shots as possible, and as quickly as possible. Ten blasts pierced the air and burnt their way into the bear’s flesh. With one last defiant roar, the beast slumped backwards and finally died.
‘Good riddance,’ Legate thought.
Letting out a sigh, he suddenly became aware of just how fatigued the battle had left him. If he was judging his physical condition properly, which wasn’t a guarantee, he had a few torn muscles under his carapace. He knew he was lucky. Getting smashed through a tree and getting stepped on by a bear weighing half a ton would have killed most people. He could only accredit his success to his father, who had engineered him to be the perfect weapon. Actually, that wasn’t even entirely accurate. The entire android line his father had created had massive power reserves, and they always had. He was simply a byproduct of a long line of failures.
‘Which means that this victory isn’t mine,’ Legate thought glumly, ‘Like all of my other achievements, they belong to my creator.’
Legate was shaken from his thoughts when he became aware of a small thump from behind him. He spun around with his hand held out, praying to Kami that there wasn’t another bear behind him. His ancestors must have heard his prayer, because the thump had been caused by none other than Spiky Haired Man killing the last of the other bears with his arm enveloped in yellow Ki energy.
“Legate! Are you alright?”
Legate looked over to the Saiyan’s left to see Aya’s yellow hair bob as she ran towards him. Spiky Haired Man turned and caught up with her, running behind her with a huge grin plastered on his face.
“Legate!” he yelled, “Man that was amazing! Have you ever used a sword before? Because I’ve been properly trained and I would have had trouble there, suppressed as we were!”
“It was stupid and risky! You need to stay hidden from the cities!” Aya shouted as they drew near.
“You were in danger,” Legate spoke quietly, “you’re the only person of the Earth that I can call friend. So I came to help.”
Aya and Spiky Haired Man stopped in front of the two of them.
“Your dad won’t be happy with that reasoning. He won’t be happy with any of this.,” she retorted.
“What were you doing out here?” Legate asked, ignoring her last statement.
“Oh!” she brought out her hands, and Legate saw that they were well bloodied, “I was looking for something to drink! Tall, pale, and stupid over here doesn’t keep blood in his Tower!”
Spiky Haired Man scowled at that, his green eyes turning dangerously dark for a second “No self respecting person keeps blood in their fridge. And it isn’t my Tower. I’m just… Housesitting.”
The Vampire stuck her tongue out at the Saiyan.
“But, all corrections aside,” the Saiyan continued, “It’s time I made my way back to the Tower. I’ve been away too long. Thank you for the help, and uh, can I have my sword back?”
Legate blinked, before realizing that he was still holding Spiky Haired Man’s sword. He offered it back to the bulky man, before asking, “who are you? Are you one of Aya’s friends?”
The man quickly denied that, “My name’s Celerous, and no. Not even in the slightest. I stopped her from assaulting someone in the middle of the night in West City, and now she follows me around like she’s my stalker. I’d pummel her to send her away, but that’s what I did in the first place, and it didn’t get me anywhere.”
Aya looked up at the brown haired man, and nodded.
“How can I pass up tagging along with you? Wherever you go, there’s bound to be someone for me to feed on!” The Vampire squealed enthusiastically.
Celerous frowned darkly once more, and Legate felt his spine tingle from something other than pain, “you’re not going to feed on anyone. People are not your cattle. If you wanna feed on animal blood, fine, be my guest. But other sentient beings are off limits.”
Aya gave a small “hmph,” and smirked, like she wasn’t giving up. Legate decided to introduce a new topic.
“I am Legate. Thank you for curbing my friend’s bad habit. She has a tendency to ignore the safety of others.”
“Yeah,” Celerous commented dryly, “I noticed. Like I said, I pummeled her for attacking a woman in an alley.”
The swordsman sighed, before opening his mouth once more, “I owe you one. So, if you ever need anything from me, you can find me in the Sacred Lands near West City. Until then, I’m off.”
And with that, the Saiyan tore into the sky, leaving Legate behind with his crazy vampire friend.
Staying on the Earth, after everything that had happened, was the hardest thing Celerous had ever done. Half of his home was barren; a wasteland destroyed in a number of pointless tragedies. West City was all that remained of the once pristine planet, and the city’s population was dwindling harshly.
Celerous supposed he could hardly blame the Earthlings. Their home was in tatters, with no hope of rejuvenation. Galen’s Tower was empty, the only real occupant being Celerous himself on the days he cleaned it. The Lookout, which Celerous had never dared ascend to until recently, was deserted. Earth’s Guardian himself (or herself, Celerous had never actually met them, so he wasn’t sure) had either seemingly vanished, or died in the ensuing chaos four months ago.
As far as Celerous knew, there was no one left to keep the Earth safe, save maybe him. And he was hardly strong enough to call himself one of Earth’s Defenders. And even if he had possessed the power, he still wouldn’t disgrace the good name of Earth’s Heroes by donning their title. They had been here when the Earth was under siege. Celerous had been on Namek, on vacation.
It was a fact that sickened him to his core.
And yet, it also inspired him. Through his self-hatred, he gained a sense of clarity. After twenty years of not knowing what he wanted from life, other than being more than a simple farmer, Celerous had finally found a purpose. Earth needed its protectors, now more than ever, and Celerous would dedicate the rest of his life, however long or short it may be, to defending his world.
He wasn’t strong enough for this. He wasn’t fast enough either. His bones broke too easily, and his body tired far too fast. But nonetheless, he would stand firm in defense of his homeworld. He might fail, and the Earth might fall, but Celerous would never leave his planet in the hands of others again. For better or worse, his very short days of traveling were over.
His ship was grounded, and would remain so until it was covered in vines, and crumbled to dust. This was his choice, no, not just a choice, but his obligation to the Earth. Its ground had always been below his feet, for better or worse, and its once beautiful rolling hills had been his safe haven. And though those hills were decayed and drained of life, and the dirt barren of foliage, he would remain on Earth’s crust until the crust was no more.
Plus, there was still half a planet to preserve, the population of West City to safeguard, and the Karinga Tribe to protect. With Galen gone, and Kami nowhere to be found, someone had to carry the burden. And since Celerous hadn’t seen a single other soul capable of carrying out the task, he decided to take it upon himself until someone else could. While he was far from qualified to protect anyone, as Galen’s student he had a responsibility to uphold the man’s legacy.
Galen… That was a name that held a lot of emotion for Celerous. Even mentioning it sent his gut into turmoil. There was a lot Celerous regretted when it came to his (old?) master. How he should have spent more time training with the man, how he should have asked after his duties in the Tower. Celerous didn’t know a thing about what Galen did for the Karinga Tribe, and he didn’t know how to help them other than to float and watch over them.
And there was so much more to regret. The massacre of the women and children in North and South City… Galen would have been able to stop it, or… or something! But Celerous? He tried where he could, but to no avail. He had been entirely useless; too weak to do anything, and not crafty enough to find someway to help others escape. If something similar happened to West City, if someone came looking for trouble, what in the world could he do?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but he had to try nonetheless.
Celerous felt powerless in the wake of all the tragedies, but who didn’t? He’d just have to push on through. Life went on, the Earth still turned, and the Sun still rose everyday. Dwelling on all of his mistakes and regrets would get him nowhere, he knew. The only way he could go was forward. And so forward he went.
In the four months since the tragedy, Celerous had extended his hand wherever he could. He kept an eye on the Karinga Tribe, ensuring that their sacred lands weren’t ruined anymore than they already were. At night, he would fly the streets of West City, making short work of those that preyed on the weak. It was the cruel and the heartless that tried to take advantage of the people in the aftermath of such drastic events. And while the hoodlums he stopped were nothing more than just that- hoodlums, and nothing worth being proud about, he still took satisfaction in the fact that he’d managed to help someone, however small.
He also, of course, farmed. Cabbages, radishes, carrots, bean sprouts; Celerous could name them all, and they all grew in his family’s garden. His family had been fortunate enough to live in the Southern Hemisphere, where the Earth was still alive, and Celerous had been determined to use that good fortune to the advantage of everyone. They sold their food as cheap as dirt, making no profit, just to ensure that the refugees and remainders of the Earthlings at least had food. For once, Celerous was thankful for his boring life on the farm. It was small help to the world, but it was better than nothing.
His days had been full, and long. Before he knew it, four long months had passed. Struggle and misfortune had become normal, and still, Galen and Kami had not returned. With each passing day, it became more and more apparent to Celerous that they likely never would return. He had held out hope, pointlessly so, that they had just been in hiding.
But they weren’t. Galen was dead, along with whomever lived above the Tower. And even if they hadn’t been, was there really any point in them returning.
It was during one of Celerous’s routine cleaning days, dusting the interior of the Tower and mopping the floors, that Legate had informed him of someone trespassing on the sacred grounds.
Celerous knew that he must not have looked very intimidating at the time, what with his adornment of a pink apron and yellow rubber gloves over joggers and a tank top. His hair was also likely messy, though that was pretty typical. He had just finished waxing the lower floor of the Tower, trying to get that perfect sheen, when the blue bio-android had busted in (ruining his hard work, though Celerous didn’t mention it) and went on a long rant about how some punks in a minivan were heading for the Sacred Land, from the direction of West City.
Though he didn’t voice the thought, Celerous found it oddly impressive that a bunch of punks in a Kami damned minivan had managed to make a roadtrip to Tower, despite the Earth’s ruined state. Where had they gotten gas from? It’s not like there were many petrol stations still open, at least, not in the Northern Hemisphere. Still, whether it was impressive or not (and it was), these punks were still trespassing on ground they shouldn’t, and it was his job to turn them around.
So he sighed, told Legate that he would be right down, and tossed his apron and gloves aside. He still had hours of maintenance ahead of him (who knew that the Tower required so much upkeep?), and he’d still only managed to wax the bottom floor, which Legate had prompt screwed up. And now, he had this to deal with.
Celerous scaled the stairs to the upper level of the Tower, which he had kept immaculately clean in Galen’s absence, with the exception of his own sword leaning against one of the marble pillars, and his weighted gi draped over a chair. He quickly threw the black gi top over his head, and rolled his shoulders, trying to adjust to the added weight. Celerous then grabbed his sword from its perch, and tightened the strap across his chest.
While he was sure his sword would remain undrawn today, the sight of a weapon usually discouraged delinquents from doing something too stupid. It tended to come in handy when Celerous did his nightly flybys of West City, and there was no reason to think that it wouldn’t come equally in handy today. Plus, the familiar weight of the scabbard on his back was reassuring.
With “hup,” Celerous leapt straight of the edge of the Tower, and took to the skies. The horizon was blue, and clear, devoid of clouds and smoke. It almost looked peaceful. Almost. The dead Earth beneath him robbed the day of that description, as it had every day since the conclusion of what had happened in the North. The grass below him was dead and curled, barely more than dust on the infertile soil it rested upon. The trees were but shriveled husks of what they once were, equally as lifeless and without so much as a single leaf on their limbs.
It was an incredibly depressing sight, but Celerous couldn’t dwell on it now. He stuck to his usual patrol route, low to the ground, sweeping over the lands of the Tower. Legate had told Celerous that the van was approaching from the direction of West City, which would put them roughly South West of the Tower itself, but Celerous wanted to do a full sweep of the grounds before he went to handle that. It was incredibly unlikely, but possible, that the van was a simple distraction for someone or something else. The hybrid needed to make sure that nothing else was gonna creep up on the Sacred Land while he dealt with the wayward vehicle.
Besides, the van could only move so fast over land, and Celerous was much faster in the skies. He’d be finished with his patrol long before the van got close enough to actually bother anyone. So he zoomed through the vast blue sky, his eyes scanning the tops of the dead trees below. Much to his relief, Celerous spotted nothing other than the odd tent; the remnants of the Karinga Tribe that once lived under Galen’s watchful eye.
With the land barren now, they had been forced to pack up and migrate South, where they could still grow and hunt for food. It was disheartening to Celerous, to say the least. But, Karinga Tribe or no Karinga Tribe, the Sacred Land still needed someone to watch over it. And so, with one last glance over his shoulder, Celerous spun himself around in the air, and took off in the direction of West City.
It didn’t take him long to spot the van Legate had spoken of; it would have been hard for him to miss the damn thing, considering everything else in sight was either brown or a really dark yellow. The vehicle was bright blue in color, with dents and dings all along the body. It clunked and sputtered as it crossed the dead grass, moving much faster than was safe for an off roading vehicle, kicking up dust particles in its wake.
From his vantage point, Celerous could spot three people in total. A man sat in the driver's seat, his skin dark and his hair curled and poofy. Next to him, in the passenger's seat, was another man. This guy was smaller than the driver, with much paler skin, and blonde hair that was slicked back. He wore outrageously big glasses, and had an arrogant smirk on his face as he talked to his friend. Celerous already didn’t like the guy.
The hybrid forgot all about the jackass in the passenger seat, however, upon spotting the woman sitting in the back of the minivan. She had bright yellow hair that trailed down to her lower back, and a face that Celerous would recognize anywhere.
Aya. Long ago, Celerous had run into her in the dark alleyways of West City. She had been trying to drain a poor woman dry, by drinking her blood in its entirety. Cel had, of course, responded appropriately, by beating the ever living snot out of her. Instead of making her flee, as he had expected, the beating had made the stupid Vampire attached to him, and no matter how many times he kicked her off the Sacred Lands, she just kept coming back.
And apparently, she now had accomplices. No doubt, they were just two regular dudes that had been tricked into being her unwitting snacks. Aya’s feminine mystique came in handy when it came to seducing men. Too bad for her, then, that Celerous was going to free these guys from whatever horrors the girl had in store for them. He just had to decide on how he was going to do it. And with a grin, he did just that.
Without any warning whatsoever, Celerous dropped from the sky, his power flared to maximum. The two guys in the front seat freaked out, which was appropriate, and the driver of the van just barely managed to maneuver the car as to not ram into the hybrid that had just spawned in front of him. The van tore past Celerous, who let a smirk cross his face, before screeching to a halt on the dead grass. A second later, the door opened, and Celerous turned around to face the driver.
“What the Hell man? You nearly got yourself killed! You can’t just jump in front of a car like that-”
Celerous decided to cut the man off. Despite the small amount of joy he got from scaring the driver, the hybrid really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more trespassers. Especially trespassers that were probably only invading the Sacred Lands on the request of the Vampire in the backseat. Cel noted that she had yet to show herself.
“Look, that car wouldn’t have hurt me. It would have rammed into me, crunching the bumper, and then the airbags would have gone off in your faces. Now, get back in your van, and go back to West City. These grounds are sacred, and not meant for tourists.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do!” The driver puffed up like a blowfish, and Celerous just sighed. Then, he leveled a glare at the man, and approached the beat up van. The man didn’t give any quarter, which Celerous had to admit was impressive. The driver wasn’t anywhere near as fit as Cel himself was, and he must have known how a fight with him would have played out. Lucky for him then, that Celerous decided on a show of power, rather than a beatdown.
With one hand, Celerous grabbed the roof of the van, and crunched the metal under his grasp. The driver gawked at him.
“Please leave,” Celerous reiterated, “and while you’re at it, kick the girl out of the van. I’d like to have a few word with her.”
The driver quickly scuttled back into his seat, and after a few heated words, Aya emerged from the backseat of the van, with a smirk on her face. Celerous turned his glare to her, but remained wordless at the van started back up. The engine revved and sputtered, before the driver put it into gear, and spun the van back around. The driver and his friend took off back in the direction of West City, kicking up dust once more.
“Did you drink them?” It was a pointed question, and one Celerous wished he didn’t have to ask.
“Of course! After a bit of flirting, they practically stuck out their necks for me!” Aya, as usual, was far too cheerful for a girl who was talking about sucking someone’s blood.
Celerous groaned, and for the briefest moment, wondered if he shouldn’t just blast the girl into oblivion. Then he wiped that thought from his mind. No. He wasn’t cruel like that. Though Aya deserved punishment for what she’d done, at least in Cel’s eyes, killing her outright was far too excessive. And though he wouldn’t say it to her face, the hybrid had to give her credit for not killing the two men. She’d shown a level of restraint Celerous hadn’t expected from her.
“We talked about this. Cattle. You know, cows, pigs, things like that. You can’t just go and drink from people! It’s not-”
“It’s not right, blah blah blah! You’re like a broken record!”
Aya took into the air, speeding in the direction of the Tower.
With a sigh, Celerous resolved himself to follow her, and prepared yet another lecture in his head. Tonight was gonna suck.
And there was no way he was going to be able to finish waxing.
It was a stormy afternoon in East City. Dark clouds loomed overhead and rain poured while lightning cackled. Most inhabitants of the proud city had taken shelter indoors, hoping to pass time with idle chat and hot coffee. Even the cities' illustrious gangs were nowhere in sight. Still, the streets weren't completely empty. A few stragglers ran through the rain with their books, newspapers, and even weapons held above them in a vain attempt to keep dry. More than a couple newspaper kiosks were still open, hoping someone would come by and pick up a sopping newspaper before bolting home.
Among the few remaining poor souls, a young man stood still on the corner of a sidewalk, wearing his black weighted gi. It offered no protection from the rain, nor did it keep him warm.
Celerous Fark rolled his shoulders, hoping the movement would grant him some warmth. It didn't. He turned his head to look down the street to the right. It was large enough for three lane traffic moving in two directions and was lined with buildings ranging from three to six stories. Normally, the traffic was so heavy that people would form lines on the sidewalks, waiting quarter hours just to cross the street. But now it was empty and lifeless, a trait that made Celerous shudder. Or maybe that was the cold.
‘I should have done this alone.’ He thought, ‘I am not waiting on you any longer.’
As if on cue, a loud clicking noise resonated from behind Celerous. He immediately spun around to see a gorgeous young woman in front of him. She wore a violet leather jacket over a black v-neck with blue skinny jeans and black high-heeled boots. In her right hand she held a large black umbrella. She had bright eyes and wore dark eyeliner and blood red lipstick. But her most defining (and most beautiful in Celerous's opinion) characteristic was her straightened blonde hair that went to her trailing down her back.
"Awe Celerous? Are you finally starting to warm up to me? I am beautiful, to be fair."
Celerous frowned at her words, but only because he realized that he’d been ogling her. Disgusting. Aya was violent, cruel, and repulsive. He forced his mind to occupy itself with something else; with chasing down the gangbanger that had killed his mother during the confusion of Earth’s calamity.
"Oh Kami," The woman would have face palmed if her hands had been empty, "Can’t you take a joke anymore? I swear, you’re no fun sometimes!”
"Then stop following me around," Celerous said with a scowl, “I’m not here to entertain you.”
"I don’t see why not," Aya deadpanned, “It’s not like you do anything other than puppy guard that stupid tower.”
"It’s not stupid-"
Aya ignored him and motioned to the streets with her empty hand, “Are we gonna get going or not? Because I’ve got some stalking to do after this.”
“We’ll get going in a moment, but if I catch you stalking someone to drink from again-”
“Oh my Kami” She exclaimed, this time raising her empty hand to the sky in some sort of “help me” gesture.
He frowned, “If you don’t want the lecture, then stop trying to drink from people. Or stop hanging around me. Or do both! Kami knows I don’t need you hanging around Galen’s Tower. I’ve got enough on my plate without trying to keep you from killing someone!”
Aya went wide eyed and Celerous spotted a clear look of annoyance on her visage. It was just as beautiful as her normal glare (so she was attractive, what of it? She was still repulsive in nature), but it made his heart beat a little faster. Though, it was only because he was worried that she would try and drink from him when his back was turned. Her face suddenly brightened, and she held her umbrella up in front of Celerous's face, hoping it would get a reaction out of him. When he didn't respond, she shook it a little. The only reaction she got was a shrug from the soaked man.
"This is me saying I’m here to help." She said exasperatedly.
Celerous raised his eyebrows, “You could just say it next time. Or maybe, I dunno, be on time?”
She huffed, and Celerous shook his head and continued.
"Look, I know this dude lives around this area of East City. If these gangbangers are still around, this is where they’ll be. Maybe they can help us find her."
“Are you sure he’s one of them?”
“Absolutely. My grandfather described him perfectly to me. The thug that killed my mom was definitely one of these gangbangers. We’ll find one, put the fear of Kami in him, and he’ll tell us where to find the murderer.”
“Well I’m sure they’ll love helping you track down one of their own,” Aya said sarcastically.
Celerous turned and said, "I could squash even the toughest thug with my pinkie finger. All I need to do is crush a rock in my bare fist, and they’ll talk. At least, if they’re smart."
“Ooo! Or, we could torture them!” Aya exclaimed, looking far too pleased with herself for Celerous’s liking.
Celerous turned his back, deciding to ignore Aya’s fantasies, and faced the direction they would be heading.
She didn’t say anything else, but Celerous could practically feel the sadism rolling off of her. Of course she wanted to torture people. No one really condoned torture, but Aya certainly didn’t care. If not for Celerous himself, the girl would likely have been a serial killer, or something else. It was a scary thought, but Cel pushed it aside for now. He could worry about that later.
Without warning, Aya walked past Celerous, umbrella above her head. Celerous shifted his left shoulder one more time, feeling the weight of his soaked Gi, and caught up to her stride. Side by side they silently walked down the soaked sidewalk, their feet splashing in puddles as they traipsed through the dark alleys and winding roads of East City. Celerous cursed his lack of a jacket, but at least the umbrella shielded him from the rain a bit.
With a sigh Celerous forced himself to ignore the cold, and focus on the streets before him.
The district in front of him was a sharp contrast compared to what it looked like before the half-death of Earth. Buildings were constructed out of cracked mortar and were often covered with dirt and grime. No vegetation outlined the streets, and the only park in the entire district was covered by the debris of a fallen building. The streets were bumpy and poorly paved. Some ran right into buildings and had to be closed off by metal railings and signs. The streets that were open for traffic were narrow and took sharp turns, limiting any type of navigation.
Celerous and Aya stood on a corner of such a street, trying to figure out where they were headed. The rain had since let up, and Aya’s umbrella hung from her waist. The two scoured East City’s map, but it was outdated, and didn’t account for some of the nore recently built buildings. It certainly didn’t account for the destruction caused by the recent massacre of the women and children of the city.
“Why hasn’t anyone taken the time to redraw the map?” Aya asked with an irritated sigh before lowering her map.
“There have been other things to focus on Aya,” Celerous said, still examining his map, “People were massacred here. The Earth is half dead. They’re more focused on mourning and finding something to eat.”
“Yeah, so what if some tree sucked the Earth dry?” She said, reluctantly returning her attention to the map, “this map is inconveniencing me! Someone should fix it.
“Well, I’m sorry you’ve been inconvenienced by the terrors that unfolded here,” Celerous retorted, resisting the urge to punch the girl’s lights out.
“Thank you, at least someone understands my suffering,” Aya smirked with self-satisfaction.
“That was sarcasm Aya. Your ‘suffering’ is nothing compared to what happened here” Celerous replied, a vein bulging from his head, “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re so self absorbed, but that’s pretty callous, even for you.”
“Ugh,” Aya moaned, finally putting her own map away, “I wish Legate was here. He would know how to navigate this city!”
“What? He wouldn’t know a thing about this city! I don’t he’s ever been here!”
“I know, but I like the big guy! He’s way more fun than you are! He doesn’t lecure me every ten seconds, or try and stop me from having fun!”
“Your ‘fun’ consists of bleeding people dry, or swaying them with your feminine charms into doing what you want. Both of those cross lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”
“Don’t even start with the moral crap. Do you know how annoying you are when you talk about being a goody-two-shoes? You’d think you were a police officer!”
“Well someone has to drill some sense into your head! You can’t go around hurting people! If you’d run into anyone else, they probably would have killed you outright!”
“Ugh, as if they could,” Aya boasted with a stupid grin on her face, “have you seen me fight? I’m amazing! And even if I ran into someone I couldn’t take on, Legate would do it for me! Or we’d do it together! Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun!”
If only this dumb Vampire girl knew the kinds of powers that existed beyond the Earth. Celerous himself couldn’t fathom how strong some people were, and he’d met and faced people like Toru and that Vampire on Namek. Powers like that were nearly unquantifiable, and if Aya even ran into someone capable of that level of strength, she’d be turned into beef jerky. A part of Celerous wondered if he should introduce her to someone like that.
Then he banished that thought. He wouldn’t stoop to that level, just to rid the world of one Vampire.
“Oh yes, Aya, you could take on anyone. Except Legate, or me, or the man who trained me, or the man who trained him. Or pretty much anyone stronger than me, which is just about every serious threat in the known Universe,” Celerous deadpanned.
“Can’t you take a joke? I swear, you’re so uptight all the time. How do you take yourself so seriously?” Aya asked, “‘I’m Celerous Fark, I’m the Earth’s Protector, blah blah blah Galen, blah blah blah The Tower, blah blah blah I suck.”
“Why do I put up with you? Why do I even bother? You just don’t get it do you? How important even a single life is?”
“For the love of Kami, would you just stop with the stupid heroic prattle! I want to tear my own ears off!”
Celerous blinked. He was about to do that for her.
“Just shut up, and let’s keep looking.”
Celerous tucked his map into his outer gi and kneeled onto one knee. Since walking in the rain wasn’t going to get them anywhere, Cel thought he’d try another route. Sensing Power Levels. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and placed his gloved hand on the pavement. He instantly tuned into his senses. He could feel the life energy, or Ki, flow through the city, all around him. Most of what he felt was insignificant; the average life forces of the denizens hiding from the storm indoors. But there were some stronger beings that he could sense. They were nothing compared to him, or even Aya, but it was a start. He took note of the smaller powers, and instantly ‘muted’ them, focusing only on the larger ones. He then sorted those into ‘small’ and ‘large’ and cut himself off from feeling those ‘small’ flows. He continued to do this for several minutes, until he had systematically narrowed his options down to the three largest powers in the city. Of all the power levels he’d sensed, Celerous was sure that these three were the only ones strong enough to outmatch his mother. Two of those, Celerous was sure, would have had trouble killing his mom. The third one, however, was definitely stronger than his mom had been. That had to be it, right?
“I think I have them,” Celerous said, “He, or she, is just strong enough to have killed my mother. And even if they aren’t the culprit, they must know someone just as strong.”
It was incredibly flawed logic, Celerous knew, but it was all he had to go on.
“Beat ‘em up?” Aya asked.
“Beat ‘em up” Celerous affirmed, “I’m gonna fly over. Keep an eye on me, and try and stop anyone that might be running away from me. But don’t kill them!”
“Wait! What if I want to-”
Celerous pivoted to the right and was instantly gone. His body rocketed forward at a lightning fast speed. He knew that Aya couldn’t keep up with him, and honestly, he was glad for that. She’d been far too annoying today, and Celerous wasn’t sure he could keep her in check if it came down to a fight.
He was nearing his destination. At about roughly a block away Celerous let the flow of the energy in his body, fade. The air that flowed around him like a storm dissipated into a gentle wind, and the hybrid’s feet gently touched the ground. As much as he’d like to fly right in and blast his way to whomever he had sensed, Celerous had discipline and restraint. He wasn’t going to be the first one to throw a punch.
Which is why he had to get here before Aya. He didn’t want her to go crazy on the first potential hostile they ran into. Knowing her, she’d pounce on them instantly, trying to either drink from them, or kill them. He couldn’t have that. For one, Celerous didn’t condone murder. Nor did East City. He refused to be responsible for such a drastic measure, nor would he allow himself to become an accomplice to something like that. Hopefully, by leaving her behind, Celerous would be ridding himself of a ridiculous headache.
It wasn’t as if he needed her help anyways.
A large metal cargo door loomed before Celerous. A power line lead to a very large garage, one he was sure had a secret basement of some sort. Either way, the place looked sketchy to the hybrid. Celerous closed his eyes, and knelt to the ground again. He could feel the excited movement of Ki energy below the ground. That all but confirmed Celerous’s suspicions about an underground basement.
He got back up. The metal cargo door looked reinforced. Not even a truck could drive though it. Celerous figured he could try knocking. Maybe someone would actually answer the door. And if that failed, he could always just lift the damn thing. The door might have been truck-proof, but it wasn’t Saiyan-proof.
To his surprise however, the door began to open. The metal creaked and groaned as the cargo bay opened up to reveal three very obvious gangbangers, who were clearly surprised to a hybrid wearing a sword on his back.
“Who the- This dude is pushing on our turf!” The first gangbanger exclaimed.
“Let’s get the others!” The second one yelled.
“Nah we can take him ourselves! This guy doesn’t look so tough, even with that stupid sword.” The third one boasted.
Celerous tried not to laugh. He barely succeeded.
The man closest to Celerous charged. He swung a crowbar down on Celerous, who raised his left hand to block it. There was the slap of metal hitting flesh, and the man’s eyes widened in surprise when Cel didn’t so much as flinch. Celerous grabbed him by the throat with his right hand and threw him back into the cargo bay. He tumbled into a pile of crates, and didn’t get back up.
The next two were smart enough to charge Celerous together. The first one attempted a diagonal with his knife, which Celerous parried by unsheathing his sword. The second one, also wielding a knife, moved to his left side, and attempted his cut at the back of his knee. Celerous sidestepped to the right, and forced the first gangbanger to pull his blade away.
Thug Two followed his missed strike up with a stab, that Celerous once again sidestepped. The man was unable to stop his momentum, so Celerous kicked his foot out and tripped the him. Thug One jumped forward and came down with an overhead blow. Celerous simply jumped back and the Thug’s sword clanged harmlessly on the ground. That was when Celerous made his move.
He shot forward, and brought the pommel of his blade down on the back of the thug’s skull.
“You see a man with a sword, and you attack him with a knife? Really?”
The thug didn’t get a chance to actually retort, as he was blacked out on the pavement.
Thug Two screamed in rage. Back on his feet, the man gripped his knife in two hands and swung furiously at Celerous.
“You stupid asshole, I’m gonna kill you for that.”
Celerous parried the sword upward, and quickly threw out a punch. His fist collided with the thug’s jaw, and he crumpled to the floor with his friend. Celerous just shook his head.
“I almost actually feel bad about this,’ Celerous said to himself, “that was just embarrassing.”
He looked forward into the dark garage. There were probably plenty more thugs in the hidden basement below.
Oh well. No one said tracking down his mother’s killer would be easy.
WC: 9559
Asking Pl, plus 25% Weighed Clothes bonus.
