by Jamie L. Word
Zephyrrian Saga
Chapter 4
The Planet Zephyrr.
Aboard Jiani's ship, Akira's pod was placed in storage in the hangar bay, and Akira was in a strange place in the ship with Jiani. The chamber in which they were standing seemed to be boundless, without limit, and with only one door in sight. Akira noted the gravity within the chamber, and he smiled. Jiani smiled at the sight of the Saiyan smiling.
"The gravity feels like that of planet Vegeta," he noted aloud as he clenched his fists and then hopped up and down in a boxer's dance.
"This training chamber gives you endless space in which to train, and the gravity is ten times that of the average planet," Jiani explained. "I can increase the gravity for you at will, but you must be wearing the special training bands."
Upon uttering that explanation, she extended to him a pair of muscle bands. He took them from her graciously and strapped them about his biceps. She admired his gracious acceptance of her offer, and the formidable power she sensed from him.
"Your power seems much greater than before," she commented as she sensed the potent strength of his energy.
"Yeah, we Saiyans increase in strength after every battle. The more serious the fight, the more serious the power increase," he answered before he suddenlt regarded her with a curious gaze. "Hey, how can you sense my power without a scouter?"
"It is a skill which must be discovered within you and then mastered," she explained with a smile. "I can teach you how to not only sense and read power levels but also how to hide yours from your enemies. Perhaps those skills should be your first lessons."
"That would be a good place to start," Akira replied, holding up his busted-up scouter in his hand. "All of our scouters were destroyed in the battle, and they won't be doing me any good now, unless you know how to repair them, that is."
"I'm afraid those devices are too far gone to repair," she declared while shaking her head in certainty. "Sorry."
"There is something I want to tell you," he said, getting Jiani's attention. "I wanted to thank you for helping me give my teammates a proper burial. It meant a lot to me."
"It was my honor," she responded to his extended gratitude with a pleasant smile. "Now, we should get to your training."
"Let's do it!" Akira replied with a big grin on his face, eager to begin his new training under the tutelage of the Kai Jiani.
Jiani smiled with him, sharing his enthusiasm for the training ahead. In fact, his enthusiasm inspired her to new heights of excitement over the prospect of training him.
Meanwhile, Kuang and his entourage knelt before a hideous, short individual who closely resembled Garlic Junior. This horrific half-pint had dark grey, patchy skin and pointed ears, and his mouth was filled with rows of sharp, pointed teeth. He wore a black, hooded cloak over a black robe, and his dark eyes hinted of an evil malevolence festering just below the surface. Kuang and the others bowed reverently before him.
{Lord Shigeru.}
"Lord Shigeru," Kuang said as he maintained his reverent bow before his lordly sovereign. "The deed is done, and the Saiyans are dead. We ground their faces into the dirt as we destroyed them. Feng even took out a small force of the natives' warriors before we returned here to report of our success to you. We're ready for phase two now."
"Really now?" Shigeru commented in his gruff voice as he gazed upon his elite minions as if to peer into their souls to verify their statements. "And what of the Saiyans' leader? What became of Akira?"
"He was a tough bugger, that one!" Kuang responded with an overt hint of respect in his voice. "He fought us harder and fiercer than any Saiyan I've ever seen! It was really quite amazing! I mean, that monkey was tougher to kill than we could ever possibly imagine! It took three of us to finally snuff the furball, but we did it!"
"You may rise," Shigeru decreed to his elite minions with a lordly, commanding air about him, prompting the foursome to rise to their full height and look upon him. "Let's begin phase two of this operation. Seek out and eradicate all remaining life forms on the planet."
The fearsome foursome broke into sinister laughter in their excitement over the decree of Lord Shigeru as they gleefully accepted his commandment. He smiled in his sinister glee. In a matter of moments, he joined them in their evil laughter.
Meanwhile, an Earth ship entered the Zephyrrian atmosphere. It was a Capsule Corporation space ship, a modified version. Inside the space ship, there were three humans, including the pilot. They seemed excited about arriving on the planet.
One of them was a young lady with long black hair. She was a strong-looking woman, athletic in build, and she had a pretty face. She wore an outfit like that which Chi Chi wore.
{Emiko.}
Another of them was a young, bald male with no nose. He was well-muscled, and he wore a dark blue sleeveless tunic underneath an orange martial arts gi with orange pants, dark boots, a black belt, and wristbands, similar to the attire that Goku was known for.
{Kenji.}
The pilot was an old man with white hair and a white bushy goatee. He wasn't of an athletic build, certainly frail was a more apt description, and he wore glasses and a white lab coat over dress slacks, dress shoes, and a white dress shirt.
{Dr. Mitsuo Sakamoto.}
"How soon before we land, Dr. Sakamoto?" the noseless martial artist inquired of their genius pilot, seeming eager to explore the planet.
"Well, I'd say in about thirty seconds to a minute, depending upon the amount of turbulence and gravity of the planet, Kenji," the old scientist replied as he concentrated upon his duties as ship pilot.
"Isn't that great, Emiko?" Kenji inquired of the female, his enthusiasm more than just a bit obvious as he grinned anxiously.
"It is amazing, Kenji, but you should save your eagerness for when we actually begin exploring the planet," the young lady advised him with a smile.
"I'll bet if Master Roshi could only see me now, he'd be envious!" Kenji said as he looked out the ship window to see the planet as they approached.
"Yeah, I bet he would be," Emiko muttered with an obviously sarcastic tone in her voice as she remembered the fact that Roshi was a 'dirty old man' first and foremost.
Elsewhere in the planet's atmosphere, a Nameccian space ship was arriving on the scene. Inside the ship was a single passenger, a strong-looking Namek warrior. He wore deep purple, loose-fitting long pantalons, a deep purple, sleeveless tunic, a reddish colored waist sash, and brown Nameccian footwear. He monitored the ship's descent into landing approach with a careful eye, but he didn't seem to be of a grim sort. He was well-muscled, and he had a strong-looking face with a square jaw.
{Yun.}
"There are several strong powers on this planet," the Namek thought to himself with a hint of concern as he prepared to land. "I don't recognize the energy signals, but they do feel to be quite evil in nature. All of the good power levels I sense are significantly weaker. This might not work out so well. I'm afraid a couple of these strong powers are even stronger than I am."
Meanwhile, back on board the Kai's ship, Akira and Jiani were taking a break for a moment as he tested his newly learned abilities. Jiani stood there to access his newly-acquired skills he learned from her.
"You've mastered the art of hiding your power level quite well," she acknowledged with a sense of pride. "I can barely feel your energy at all. Now, try to read my power level."
His gaze fell upon her, and he focused his senses upon her position. For several seconds, he scrutinized her, searching for an energy signal. His gaze lingered upon her long enough for him to notice her begining to blush. At this sight, he began to blush as well, but then he sensed her power signal, and he focused upon that.
"Your power level a little less than a fourth of mine," Akira declared when he had finished reading her power level.
"Very good, Akira," she commended him as she turned her back on him to hide her aggitation over his accurate gauging of her power. "Now, we should move on to other lessons. Are you ready to begin again?"
"Ready whenever you are," he answered with more than just a hint of eagerness to learn new abilities. "Show me more!"
"Very well," she replied with a smile he could not see due to the fact that her back was to him, reveling in the prospect of instructing the eager Saiyan warrior. "Let's begin."
Elsewhere on the planet, a powerfully-built, male Zephyrrian warrior stood within his meager abode with a young, male Zephyrrian child, the hairless, golden-skinned representatives of their race. He was attired in a white, sleeveless tunic and a pair of loose-fitting, long white pantalons, completed with white wristbands, a black waist sash, and black boots. He seemed grim and determined, focused upon some task.
{Shude.}
The child was quite young, and he was attired in a robe-like outfit of a baby blue shade, and he was wearing black slipper-style footwear. He seemed very concerned about something, and his worried gaze was upon the well-muscled warrior.
{Yifu.}
"Shude, you should let me come with you!" the Zephyrrian child pleaded with the adult warrior. "I'm really strong, and I can fight!"
"No, Yifu," the warrior admonished the child in a deep, baritone voice. "You are but a child, and these evil beings are far too powerful for you. If you were to go with me to fight against these fiends, then you could be used against me by them. Please, stay here."
"Please, be careful!" Yifu pleaded with the mighty warrior, prompting Shude to turn his attention towards the young child and eliciting a reassuring smile.
"I will," Shude replied to Yifu with his reassuring smile, somehow managing to put the youth's mind at ease. "Don't worry. I'll do my best."
Without another word between them, Shude exited the modest house and took flight into the distance to fight with the invaders. Yifu looked as Shude disappeared into the distance, and he couldn't help but worry as he also sensed the power of their enemies.
Elsewhere, Kuang and his three cronies were butchering an entire village of Zephyrrians, few of them warriors though. The villains seemed to revel in the carnage they were causing as they fought the Zephyrrians with merciless brutality. The Zephyrrians were helpless against the quartet of destruction.
After several moments of this, Shude arrived on the scene. Kuang's scouter registered the approaching warrior, and the villains all turned in unison to face the mighty warrior after disposing of the villagers. Shude looked angry at the sight of his fallen brethren, but the villains seemed unconcerned as they laughed at his power reading.
"I don't know what you're laughing about," Shude rebuked them with grim animosity as he glared at them menacingly. "I don't think any of this is funny, ... not even the fact that I'm about to destroy you!"
"Oh, you're a comedian, eh?" Kuang mocked in between fits of laughter. "I hope for your sake you know what you're getting yourself into! Wei, get him!"
Wei flew at Shude to attack him, grinning from ear to ear in eager glee as the others watched on, still laughing about this latest development! Shude quickly gathered more energy as Wei approached, briefly charging a pale, flaming energy aura around himself and registering his power increase on their scouters! Wei hesitated in a moment of surprise as he closed with Shude, but the others had yet to stop their laughing!
Taking advantage of Wei's lowered guard due to his state of surprise, Shude laid into him with a series of brutal physical attacks which resounded like gunshots across the landscape! Wei was being battered and bruised by Shude's sudden string of attacks, and he was also being bloodied about the nose and mouth when hit there! After almost a dozen power attacks of fierce impact, Shude drove a spinning front roundhouse kick to Wei's jaw, hurling him to the ground where he slid through the dirt to stop prone at his teammates' feet! Wei was still conscious, but he was definitely taken a-back by the suddenness and the formidability of Shude's mighty attacks! The others ceased their laughing as they regarded the situation!
"Well, it looks like you're stronger than we gave you credit for!" Kuang replied at this spectacle, very much impressed by the Zephyrrian's skill and power. "Wei, are you going to just lie there, are or you going to get up and take that local yokel down?"
With a grimace of rage and a grunt of emotion, Wei stood up quickly and assumed a fighting stance, prompting Shude to assume his own fighting stance! With an extended battle cry, Wei flew at Shude again, this time with a more serious countenance, an angrier one! Wei launched a flurry of physical attacks at Shude, but Shude matched him move for move in their latest engagement! Their skill level was pretty much equal, but Shude was a bit more composed in his fighting than the embarassed Wei! As Wei pressed harder for a hit, Shude dodged a punch attempt and responded with a driving knee to the midsection of Wei, stunning him and doubling him over in mid-air! Shude then hammered Wei with a two-fisted smash to the back of the head, driving him to the ground like a shot! Wei smashed into the ground with a loud crash, scattering dust into the air where his plummeting body made a crater upon impact!
Seconds passed as the dust cloud slowly dissipated, and the other three villains looked on in incredulous disbelief! Shude remained focused upon the task at hand, sensing that his foe was not finished yet! Wei came up from the crater like a shot, screaming like a man possessed as he flew up at Shude! Shude sidestepped Wei's charge and allowed him to streak past him skyward, high into the air! Upon ceasing his movement and returning his attention towards Shude, Wei began charging a powerful energy blast in the palms of his two hands while pointing his hands towards Shude! Shude likewise began charging an energy blast of his own while aiming his two hands towards Wei!
After several seconds of charging their attacks, they both fired upon each other simultaneously! Their beams collided in mid-air and began pushing against each other, even as the two warrior's cried out in their exertion to continuously power their beams! In moments, however, Shude's beam was pushing Wei's beam back towards him, a result of Shude being able to generate more energy than Wei in the same amount of time! Wei screamed in terror as he saw both beams rising up to meet him! In a desperation effort, Wei disengaged from the duel of energy beams and leapt from the path of the skyrocketing beams! He was still hammered by the outside rim of the passing energy, and it knocked him back to the ground after smashing a portion of his armor away! Wei crashed to the ground stunned and on the verge of unconsciousness, and the others looked on in astonishment!
"That guy's stronger than Wei!" Cong cried out in wide-eyed disbelief, as he stood with his mouth gaping like his teammates. "He's definitely in our league!"
"I'll take care of him! Don't you worry your pretty-boy head about it!" Feng declared with a resurgence of confidence, smiling at the notion of a good fight. "Just leave it to me! I'll have this native son hero groveling at our feet in no time!"
"Good deal!" Kuang replied with a smile, savoring the thought of watching Feng demolish Shude. "He's all yours, Feng! Have at it!"
"Thank you, chief!" Feng responded to Kuang's permission with an eager-but-refined excitement as he took a few seconds to gather more energy for the fight. "I'll just be a minute!"
Feng slammed his fist into his other open hand and grinned sinisterly while gazing up at Shude, but Shude hovered in mid-air with a grim, focused demeanor. Feng then chuckled as he cracked the knuckles of both hands in preparation to demolish the enemy warrior. Shude seemed unimpressed by this attempted intimidation.
"You know, you seem pretty calm, cool, and collected for a guy who's about to be pounded into fertilizer!" Feng declared with much bravado.
"You've got a big mouth," Shude answered with unwavering resolution to stand his ground. "The sooner you shut it, the sooner we can get down to business!"
"Oh, a wise guy, eh?" Feng responded to Shude's tough words with a restrained aggitation, trying to keep his jovial demeanor. "That's okay. I'm still gonna break you into little pieces and use you to fertilize my garden! What do you want for an epitaph on your tombstone, tough guy? I'll make sure it's inscribed for you!"
"Shut up and fight!" Shude somewhat calmly rebuked the joking giant as he assumed a fighting stance in mid-air.
"Sheesh! Can't a guy have a little fun around here?" Feng joked in response to Shude's statement. "Party pooper!"
With that said, Feng flew up to engage Shude in battle! His approach was more calculated and careful than Wei's had been, and Shude knew this would not be so easy a fight to win! He noted the brute's confidence layered with the necessary caution to engage a formidable enemy, and he grimaced in the wake of his lost advantage! Feng closed with Shude and threw a punch at his face, but Shude ducked under the punch and drove a short uppercut into Feng's midsection! The impact echoed like a gunshot, and the big brute froze there as if stunned by the attack! Shude immediately followed that up with a haymaker punch to the jaw, turning Feng's head, and then he drove a side kick into Feng's torso, knocking the jesting giant back away from him!
After a short movement backwards, Feng stopped his momentum to hover in the air before Shude! He smiled at the Zephyrrian warrior, causing Shude much startled concern! Feng then laughed heartily at the surprised Zephyrrian!
"Very good! You can really pack a wallop!" Feng taunted Shude in great confidence, seemingly unphased by what Shude had done to him. "I hope there's more where that came from! Are you ready for round two?"
Grimacing in anger, Shude charged up a powerful blast and fired it into Feng as Feng lifted his arms and crossed them in front of the blast! There was an explosion of great magnitude, and smoke enshrouded the sky, obscuring the view of the hulking behemoth! After several moments, Shude was horrified to see the big brute still there, little worse for wear!
"He-he! That was a good one! My ears are still ringing!" Feng taunted him once more with a big grin on his lantern jaw. "Oh, don't stop on my account!"
Shude growled in his frustration, and then he began peppering the gloating brute with a rapid-fire mulitple-energy blast attack! The explosions of that attack created another view-obstructing smoke cloud in the big brute's location, but Shude kept peppering the location with blast after blast for quite some time! When he had finally stopped, about twenty seconds later, he watched eagerly for the smoke to clear, and the other villains watched on eagerly as well!
"This is nuts!" Shude thought to himself while waiting to see what effect his blasts had on the brute this time. "He's tougher than anything I've ever encountered before! Some of my best techniques have barely even scratched him, let alone actually hurt him! I can't sense his energy either! The others I can sense quite well, enough to know that the bloated, knobby one is twice my power level! Why can't I sense this one's energy! He's obviously using it to defend himself from my attacks, so I should at least be able to sense the energy he's using to this point!"
The smoke finally cleared, and Shude was horrified once again to see Feng still hovering in mid-air, his cocky grin intact! He didn't seem to be affected in the least by Shude's attacks! The other villains were pleased, and they celebrated as if the fight were already over!
Is the fight really already over? Can Shude find a weakness in this powerhouse Feng? Why can't he sense his power? What of the newcomers to the planet? What role will they play in these nightmarish events? Will Akira learn all the techniques Jiani has to teach him in time to save the planet Zephyrr? The answers to these and other questions are answered in Chapter 5 of the Zephyrrian Saga!