by Jamie L. Word
Zephyrrian Saga
Chapter 2
The Planet Zephyrr.
The smoke filled the area where the villains had blasted the Saiyans, and the sinister fiends laughed in pleasure over their handiworks. As the smoke cleared, the Saiyan battle team was obviously worse for wear in the aftermath of the assault, but they were not finished yet! The villains seemed impressed by the sight of the Saiyans still surviving their attack!
"You were right, Akira!" Haruki bellowed in his seething rage, a shared sentiment amongst the entire team of Saiyans. "We were set up!"
"Let's stop talking about it and just go kick some butt!" Ayano growled in her anger as she powered up for battle, prompting the rest of the team to do likewise.
"Stay frosty, team!" Akira yelled out to the others as they prepared to respond with a furious reply to their attackers. "They're all very strong, so don't take them lightly!"
The villains monitored the power-ups of the Saiyans with their scouters, noting their rising power levels with a hint of surprise and maybe just a hint of concern.
"What's this?" Kuang muttered with just a bit of surprise in his voice at the readings he was getting from the Saiyans. "They're stronger than we gave them credit for! Take them out! Show them no mercy!"
At that command, the villainous foursome without blasters attached to their forearms began powering up as well, and the minions with forearm-mounted blasters began charging their blasters to fire at the Saiyans!
"Those minor league henchmen are no match for us, but Kuang and his three suped-up cronies are a different story!" Akira thought to himself as he prepared to attack his enemies. "They're even stronger than we are! We're all hurting from that initial attack! They've got the early advantage on us! This isn't good!"
With raging battle cries, Haruki and Ayano launched themselves at their enemies first, almost simultaneously! Ayano attacked a grouping of the blaster-wielding henchmen, and Haruki attacked the massive brute Feng! Akira immediately followed them into battle, closing with Kuang to do battle! Takao went after Cong, and Miyoko attacked Wei! Takeshi charged at a group of blaster-wielding minions, and Yasuhiro finally joined in the fray, attacking a group of blaster-wielding minions as well!
Ayano, Takeshi, and Yasuhiro were dominating the henchmen that they were fighting against, almost with ease! Takao and Cong were fighting as near-equals, with Cong only demonstrating the slightest edge in the clash! Wei was dominating Miyoko with his greater power and skill, and she was struggling to remain in the fight! The battle between the hulking brutes was pretty much an even clash of skill, and the fierce fight between Akira and Kuang was likewise pretty much a stalemate! Noting Miyoko's troubles with Wei, Takeshi broke away from the blaster-wielding minions to go to her aid, evening up the fight with the skillful alien villain! The fighting was fierce and brutal, but the end didn't appear to be right around the proverbial corner for either side!
The sky was a-fire with the intensity of the conflict raging across its landscape! The blaster-wielding henchmen lit up the night sky with their discharging weapons, but Ayano and Yasuhiro still managed to evade their attacks, biding their time for a counterattack! Wei struggled to fend off the concerted efforts of both Miyoko and Takeshi! The two giants Feng and Haruki were still on equal footing as they matched each other move for move! Takao still managed to challenge Cong in one-on-one battle, and Akira and Kuang continued the most intense fighting of the lot of them!
"These Saiyans are much stronger than we originally had anticipated!" Kuang thought to himself as he fought Akira. "For such low-class filth, they're actually putting up a decent fight!"
"These guys are the toughest we've ever fought!" Akira thought to himself while battling Kuang. "I just hope the rest of the team doesn't manage to lose their concentration during this conflict and allow the enemy an unguarded moment in which to strike!"
During the vicious conflict, Ayano charged up a ball of energy in her hand and threw it into the midst of several blaster-wielding henchmen, and the explosion scattered the henchmen like petty debris! Yasuhiro charged up a sphere of energy above his head over one hand and threw it into the chest plate of one of the henchmen's armor, and the explosion hurled the fiend from the sky like a shot and into the ground with a mighty crash! Miyoko and Takeshi both simultaneously charged and fired beam-style energy blasts at Wei, and Wei responded by charging up and firing a massive beam-style energy blast of his own, begining an extended contest of energy blasts! Takao fired a bolt-style energy blast at Cong, and Cong responded by countering with a bolt-style energy blast of his own, causing a massive explosion in the heavens where the two blasts met!
Haruki fired a fast ball attack a-la Nappa, but Feng responded with multi-shot, rapid-fire energy discharge, destroying Haruki's fast ball energy technique as the remaining blasts streaked towards the burly Saiyan! Haruki weaved through the volley of energy attacks, closing with the slightly larger Feng as he evaded the energy blasts! Upon closing to melee range, Haruki slammed a brutal punch to the slightly larger brute's jaw, turning his head sharply from the thunderous impact of the attack! Feng responded by lashing out at Haruki with an even more thunderous punch to the jaw, knocking the hulking Saiyan across the landscape and into a butte with a crater-forming, dust-scattering, explosive-sounding impact!
Distracted and awed by this tremendous display of brute strength by the bruiser Feng, Takao, Ayano, Yasuhiro, and Akira were wide-eyed with horror at the sight! This gave the villains the opening they needed to attack the Saiyans during an unguarded moment!
Cong hammered Takao with a brutal flying side kick to the face, turning his head and launching him like a missle into the landscape with a similar effect to the end result of Feng's punch to Haruki! The henchmen swarmed all over Yasuhiro and Ayano, peppering them with punches and kicks in a frenzied flurry! Kuang charged a powerful energy blast and fired it at Akira at close range, and Akira managed to bring his hands up to "catch" the incoming blast even as it began driving him backwards from the knobby blob of a foe! As this was going on, the extended contest of energy blasts was still ongoing between Wei and his two Saiyan opponents, but the Saiyans were begining to gain the upperhand in the struggle!
Coming to Wei's aid were a number of blaster-wielding henchmen who opened fire on the Saiyans from different angles around them! Their blasts found their targets flush, enabling Wei to overwhelm their efforts against his energy wave and send not only his blast but theirs as well back at them! Before the explosions from the minion's blasters could clear, Wei's blast, accompanied by the Saiyans' own blasts, slammed into their position with a gigantic explosion, lighting up the sky and pushing those near to the explosion back with powerful winds!
Meanwhile, Haruki pulled himself out of the rubble of the butte he slammed into, bleeding from the lip and badly bruised by the attack! He snarled in his furious rage as he began his power-up to full strength! The ground shook in the wake of his rising fury as small rocks, stones, and pebbles began rising from the ground and electricity crackled around the angry Saiyan behemoth! Feng watched on, seemingly unconcerned, noting the power reading on his scouter for Haruki's steadily growing energy!
Also, Takao likewise extricated himself from the rubble of his unceremonious landing place and assumed a ready stance, badly bruised by Cong's attack and seething in anger! He too began raising his energy to respond, and a powerful energy blast began charging at the end of his extended hands as he aimed both palms at Cong! Electricity crackled from the charging energy charge periodically! Cong took note of Takao's building power and monitored it through his scouter with much the same lack of concern as Feng!
Yasuhiro covered himself to defend against the swarming fury of the henchmen who were pummeling him, trying to manage a defense to simply weather the storm at this point! Ayano, however, was absorbing the punishment as she just wildly lashed out at her attackers like a savage animal in a desperate fight for survival! Yasuhiro's strategy offered him a bit of protection from the assault he was enduring, but the henchmen were still able to land attacks against him where his guard didn't protect him! Ayano, on the other hand, was getting bruised and battered while ignoring the apparent need for defense, but she was whittling away at her attackers little by little as she returned fire with punches and kicks of her own!
Akira screamed out in his effort to stop the energy blast which was steadily pushing him backwards despite his resistance! He dug his feet into the ground, and the paths his feet were carving in the landscape became deeper as a result, but he slowed its driving momentum! Kuang noted this, seemingly impressed by the Saiyan's determination and tenacity!
Haruki continued to build his power as he prepared to unleash his fury against Feng, and the sky trembled slightly in response! Strong winds blew out from him in all directions, buffetting the landscape, and the electricity continued to crackle around the tensed Saiyan!
Takao, meanwhile, had finished charging up his two-handed energy blast, and he fired it at Cong! Cong's eyes widened as he noted the power level of the incoming blast, and Takao continued to scream out in the exertion to channel so much of his energy against Cong!
"Power level of twenty-five hundred! For that one blast?!?" Cong cried out in disbelief as he prepared himself for the incoming attack. "He just dumped the bulk of his energy into that blast! He won't have much left after this attack!"
Cong charged a massive blast of his own and fired it into Takao's incoming blast, slowing it steadily as he continued to pump even more energy into the blast! Cong continued to scream as he pushed the power level of his blast higher and higher in an effort to defend himself against Takao's attack! The ground shook in the wake of such massive amounts of energy being exchanged between the two combatants!
Yasuhiro was driven from the sky by the swarming, pummeling henchmen who were attacking him, and, upon touching down on the ground, he began firing rapid-fire energy blasts back up at his opponents! Ayano was wavering in her struggle against the swarming henchmen, but she was whittling down their numbers nonetheless! They finally managed to force her from the sky as well, and she responded precisely as Yasuhiro responded to that scenario!
Wei watched as the smoke cleared over the area where he and the henchmen had brutalized Takeshi and Miyoko! On the ground below, mixed in amongst the rubble and debris, were the prone, motionless forms of the two unfortunate Saiyans! It was not readily apparent whether they were unconscious or dead, only that they were incapacitated! Wei and his henchmen cronies then turned their attention to Yasuhiro and Ayano, ignoring all other conflicts across the battlefield!
Haruki continued to raise his power to its maximum as Feng watched with almost eager resolve to vanquish his rival giant! Haruki's rage was growing with his power, and he seemed almost anxious to unleash his pumped-up fury upon Feng!
Cong and Takao's clash of energy blasts continued as Cong continued to pump energy into his blast! Cong's blast continued to slow the advance of Takao's blast, slowly but surely! Takao was concerned over the situation as it developed before him, and Cong was growing more and more confident by the moment!
Akira continued to push back against the energy blast which was driving against him, continuing to slow its momentum as he dug in even deeper with his feet into the ground! Kuang was becoming more impressed by the moment with the tenacious Saiyan! Akira continued to scream out in his effort, simultaneously noting the situations of his teammates!
"Takeshi! Miyoko! No!" Akira thought to himself as he noted his teammates conditions around the battlefield. "Now, Yasuhiro and Ayano are also in grave danger! Haruki is powering up to his maximum strength to attack that larger brute again, and Takao is locked in a losing duel of energy blasts with his foe! I have to ditch this energy wave technique so I can help my friends, and I've got to do it fast!"
Wei and his henchmen allies flew at Yasuhiro and Ayano to attack them! The henchmen swarmed over Ayano again, overwhelming her in their attack! She was pummeled with fists, feet, elbows, and knees in the midst of the brutal henchmen! Wei swatted aside one rapid-fire energy blast after another as he closed with Yasuhiro to within melee range! Wei then began pummeling Yasuhiro at will, and Yasuhiro seemed helpless to defend himself against the highly skilled alien warrior!
Takao screamed in horror as he saw his energy blast's momentum cease, and then Cong detonated his energy blast, causing Takao's blast to explode as well! The explosion sent waves of force out from it in all directions like powerful gusting winds, pushing against everything on the battlefield with incredible force! Takao was blown from the sky by the force of the explosion and to the ground with a gentle-but-forced landing! Cong was driven from the sky and almost to the ground in similar fashion! Takao was incredulous over this turn of events!
"No way!" he muttered to himself in total shock and horror over Cong's display of power. "I put most of my energy into that blast! How could he do that?!?"
"You've depleted most of your energy, monkey boy!" Cong taunted the shocked Saiyan with a cocky smirk on his face. "According to my scouter, you're now down to less than a third of your energy at your disposal! I've still got four times more power than you do! Allow me to demonstrate, if you please!"
Cong began raising his energy even higher than before, and powerful winds began blowing out from him in all directions! Takao was almost consumed with horror as he could only watch in wide-eyed disbelief! Cong smiled evilly!
Haruki finally completed his power-up to full strength, and he then pulled both hands down to his sides and charged energy into them! With a sumo zumo-style energy technique similar to Recoome's, Haruki launched one rapid-fire energy blast after another at the cocky Feng! Feng likewise began firing a rapid-fire sumo zumo-style energy technique, countering Haruki's! Each of Feng's blasts hit each of Haruki's blasts, intercepting and destroying them in mid-air! After several seconds of this, the exchange ceased! Haruki was frustrated!
"Nice copycat to my technique, monkey boy!" Feng taunted the hulking Saiyan as the two stood locked in staredown. "Now, let me show you a new one!"
Upon that utterance, Feng inhaled deeply as if to release a gust of wind to blow out candles with! Haruki snarled in a mixture of seething anger and confusion! Upon exhaling with much vigor, Feng released a stream of "dragon's breath" flames at Haruki! Haruki screamed in horror as the flames washed over him!
Wei then unleashed a fireball-like energy attack at Yasuhiro, and the battered Saiyan was unable to react in time to defend against it! His scream was cut short as the fireball slammed into him and exploded! Ayano was beaten to the ground ruthlessly and mercilessly by the relentless henchmen, who continued to pummel her young frame long after she was prone on the ground at their feet! Wei then fired an energy blast into Ayano's prone form as the henchmen cleared out of the path of the attack quickly!
Upon seeing that, Akira's scream crescendoed with his effort to repel Kuang's blast, and he flung the energy blast skyward, where it exploded harmlessly in the sky like so much fireworks! Quickly, Akira flew to the side of Miyoko! He knelt beside her prone, motionless form and cradled her head in his arm as he held her close, his emotional state in turmoil! Kuang watched this with interest!
Cong then fired a powerful energy blast at Takao, and Takao screamed as the blast crashed into his form and exploded in its great fury! Cong smiled evilly at the sight! The remaining villains gathered around to watch Akira's moment with Miyoko!
"Miyoko," Akira whispered to the motionless female in his arms, his voice almost cracking in the emotional anguish which threatened to overwhelm him. "Please, speak to me!"
"Akira," the fierce female Saiyan muttered weakly, struggling to maintain consciousness to even speak to her team leader. "I'm ... so ... sorry. ... We couldn't ... fight them all."
With that said, she closed her eyes and fell silent as her body went limp in Akira's arms. His face was one of stunned shock and sorrow as he stroked the side of her face with one hand while still holding her head in his other hand. The villains watched on in amusement.
"Miyoko!" Akira cried out in great emotional pain as he held her limp form close to him in one final embrace before throwing his head back to scream his rage into the heavens with but a single, drawn-out word to signify his dismay. "No!"
As he screamed his anguish into the night sky, his sorrow turned to rage within him! Immediately, the a burst of invisible energy swept across the landscape like powerful winds coming out from the lone Saiyan in all directions! The Zephyrrian night sky was a-wash in the fury of his unleashed heartache, and he summoned strength from deep within himself during his act of mourning!
With all of his teammates defeated and fallen all about him and at least one of that number now known to be dead, can Akira hope to stand alone against forces his entire team was unable to defeat? Can he avenge his fallen comrades, or is this is own last stand? Can anyone defeat the forces of Frieza on the planet Zephyrr? The answers to these and other questions are answered in Chapter 3 of the Zephyrrian Saga!