It hadn’t been long since they left the basement of the stadium. It didn’t take long for Aspa to disable the forces pushing in through the front of the stadium, having destroyed the defenses they had there. With Empress staying back to handle the final most troublesome member, Aspa felt assured making a run for the basement.
Only, he didn’t know how long they had been down there. Or, if he would even make it in time. The doors that led down to the basement were untouched. The guards, however, were missing. No doubt they had felt the disturbance inside and attempted to help, only to die.
Going through the doors, he came across a massacre. The lower floors were massive. It’s exact purpose, he wasn’t sure. A kind of super structure that existed under the stadium, but he could tell immediately that they had made a mistake. The basement was secure, yes, but… upon entering he could smell a stench he knew all too well.
The sewers. The basement went deep underground, and likely, whoever had broken in had done so through the sanitation network lying just below the surface of the city. He ran, noting the crushed bodies. Likely killed as quickly as possible.
He picked up the pace. Pushing himself to go faster, but by the time he met the mysterious figure, the final signs of life had been snuffed out. At the central point, he saw them. A towering figure, four arms. Something about their figure felt, familiar, though, Aspa didn’t know why.
Still, now wasn’t the time to think. Aspa charged forward, not even trying to be quiet. The figure didn’t move. A body in one of it’s hands. Even when Aspa readied a punch, the figure didn’t move. The moment Aspa shot out his fist, however, the figure did move. One of their four arms snapped out, grabbing his fist with an almost casual ease. Aspa quickly twisted his body, barely avoiding a sweeping arm. With another twist, Aspa managed to wrench his hist fist out of the figure’s grip, only to be rewarded with another punch that sent him flying.
The blow was heavy. He had barely managed to block in time with his arm. Even then, he could feel it shaking from the impact. His breathing was steady, and he opened and closed his hand. With each iteration of that action, he felt more sensation coming back.
The figure didn’t chase. No, they turned slowly. Looming over him. The lighting inside the basement was flickering wildly. The figures ominous energy bled out, making the shadows around them writhe and shake as if they were alive.
“Not strong enough. Not yet.” The figure spoke, their voice shaky, uncertain. “I need more. More.” They continued to ramble.
The way they spoke sent chills down Aspa’s spine. Knowing whoever this person was, they were not only exceedingly dangerous, but on the brink mentally speaking. Even transformed as he was, he didn’t think he could win. A part of him hoped the figure would simply leave, but he knew he couldn’t. Not just that, but when the figure turned to look at him, something changed.
Their presence, that black energy shrouding their form suddenly seemed to come to life. Their eyes glowing, piercing through the veil of darkness surrounding them. “Saiyan.” He said, with fervor. “Super Saiyan!” He yelled.
Then, he charged forward, almost too fast for Aspa to see. Not that it mattered, his training pulled through, allowing him to dodge the coming punch. A step closer to the looming figure allowed him to step past another punch. Giving him the chance to send out his own blow. His fist snapped forward, crashing into the figure’s side. Yet, it did little damage. Aspa could feel that the darkness coating their figure had absorbed a majority of the blow, allowing only very little through. Perhaps enough to bruise, but not enough to do any serious damage.
He prepared to move back, when the figure cried out a name, a name he knew all too well.
“RETTAS!!!” The shout shook him, making him miss his next step, allowing an arm to crash into him and send him flying. He managed to land safely enough. The ground cracked around him. Cratering while it tried to stop him.
He glared at the figure. The dark energy flowing ominously. “You know Rettas?” He started, hoping for a proper answer, or at least, a way to avoid the fight. His voice didn’t echo out. It seemed to die in the darkness slowly surrounding him. More lights flickered and popped. Plunging more of the basement in darkness.
“She promised me a fight. To show me everything. We were supposed to, the finals, but… she didn’t. She didn’t!!!” The figure cried out, the energy around them going wild. “I wasn’t enough! I wasn’t strong enough! I NEED TO BE STRONGER!” A roar erupted from their mouth. Cracking the surrounding concrete and sending out waves of dust and debris. After that roar, however, the figure seemed more in control.
“You… are not Rettas.” He stated.
“No, I am not.” Aspa responded. Once more readying himself. The figure calmed. Standing tall, and yet, despite having calmed down the danger Aspa felt only increased.
“Is that so…” He trailed off, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the next second Aspa felt it in his bones. He ducked under a punch, only to receive another blow that once more sent him flying. The figure didn’t relent. Chasing after him with all they had. Their feet dug into the concrete for purchase. Their extra arms grasped at the concrete, propelling themselves forward. Their gait was less like a sentient being, and more like a beast.
Aspa, despite being clearly outmatched, was unphased. With the figure charging forward, Aspa used his ki to divert his momentum at the last second. Causing the figure to barrel past. Using the opportunity presented to him, Aspa immediately sent a wave of ki blasts out, only to frown at seeing how little they actually did.
The figure merely shrugged off the blasts, turning with all they had, digging into the ground and shifting momentum. Not a moment later they were once more scrambling towards Aspa, leaving him with little else he could do.
Once more when the figure closed, Aspa shifted. This time, not away from the figure, but towards them with a burst of ki. The sudden movement caught the figure off-guard and using his momentum, along with the oncoming momentum of the figure, he punched out. At the last second, the figure shifted, the blow aimed for the head instead crashed into their shoulder. Aspa could feel bones shift and the arm pop out of its socket. The blowback from the punch crashed into him, but with a twist of his body he managed to not only lessen the damage but get out of the way of the charging figure.
Aspa hit the ground rolling, and with a twist leapt back onto his feet. Once more taking a stance. The figure hit the ground as well, a result of both having moved suddenly, and trying to catch Aspa while he maneuvered. They rolled and ended up sprawled on the ground, yet, Aspa wasn’t assured, nor did he dare to close the distance.
Slowly and surely, the figure stood back up with one arm notably limp. Aspa could hear bones and muscles pop while they stretched. With a simple shrug, a loud snap filled the basement, only to die in the darkness. Following that snap, their limp arm shook and stretched, now working properly.
A few more shifts and the figure was standing tall once more, slowly they turned, once more looming. Despite the distance separating them, Aspa felt a growing horror.
“You… are not half bad.” The figure said slowly, a trace of clarity coming back. Almost as if a fog had been lifted and Aspa had no doubt that was the case. The figure had clearly been overwhelmed having absorbed so many Marked. Now, now they were aware. Their energy surged once more, but with purpose. Covering their body, the thick cloud obscuring them from view faded. Flowing into them, strengthening them.
This time, when the figure stomped forward, Aspa couldn’t react. The light, or what there was of it dimmed. A fist crashed into his side. The pain immediately forced him to react. Barely blocking another blow. Even then, the onslaught continued. Blows rained down, a constant thrumming beat. Pushing Aspa back nearly constantly. In a single breath, he had easily been hit over a dozen times. His body hurt. His bones seemed to shift and creak with every movement. Still, Aspa adapted. Quickly he caught on to his movement patterns. Maneuvering between the blows, returning his own strikes.
Yet, the more they fought, the more obvious it was that Aspa couldn’t win. He wasn’t doing enough damage, the sheer quantity of energy the figure had far outclassed him. Even with Super Saiyan 3 boosting his power to an absurd degree, he still couldn’t breach the figures defenses.
Aspa, did not like that. He grits his teeth, pushing himself harder. Trying his best to overcome to do something. Anything. Yet, the harder he tried, the less it felt like he could truly achieve it. He felt like something was holding him back. Like he was strapped to a massive weight. The more he tried to kick off that weight, the more he tried to push it aside, the heavier it became.
No matter how he hit the figure, he knew he wasn’t doing much if anything at all. With each additional strike he took, Aspa felt himself going weaker. Even when he felt his blood burning, the blood he had been given by Rettas, even then, he felt like he wasn’t going to win.
Something was missing. He could feel that blood calling to him, that Saiyan blood was more than ready to do something, anything, it just needed a final catalyst. It was just, Aspa had no idea what it was it sought. What it was that prevented him from pushing forward, excelling beyond.
A final series of blows crashed into Aspa, his organs and insides shook and quaked. Blood spraying from his lips. The final low sent him flying and crashing into a wall. He tried to move. Tried to step up. Do something, muster anything to overcome this challenge. In the end, he could do nothing. Only look up at the figure. Looming above him. Aspa knew, without a doubt, that the figure before him was going to kill him.
Idly, Aspa could feel that something was happening above. He could, now that he was beaten into the ground, now he had the luxury to sense what was going on. He could feel that Bailey was fighting something. That the people above were fighting and dying.
He could sense the countless ships entering orbit, and he knew… they had lost. And yet, Aspa was not resigned, but he wasn’t like Rettas. He couldn’t keep forcing out new potential… So, he stared up at the looming figure, their fist reared back to end all this. A bored look on their face. Then, he felt it.
A growing energy, a blazing ki he knew all too well. The figure froze, eyes widened. The stadium shook. Parts of the basement crumbled. In a short period of time, Aspa could feel the absolute chaos happening above. As could the figure. Yet, all Aspa saw wasn’t fear, but a growing manic smile. He laughed, and immediately left. His target clear, he was aiming for Rettas.
Seeing this, Aspa tried to once more force himself up, only to fail. Only to once more be reminded of his own weakness. Left in the darkness. Left all alone. With only the sounds of the battle occurring above. In this moment, Aspa could feel his hope dying. His hope of ever being acknowledged, of ever accomplishing anything.
Then, he heard it. A voice.
“Do you, desire power?” And he listened…
Above, while Aspa fought the figure, and the Empress fought her own battle. Bailey was at work. The people were easily herded, her power and the ability to make her presence known made it all too easy to get them in line. Even then, she was not optimistic. Information from orbit came in spurts. Small tidbits of information that all painted an ill picture.
They were losing. The fleet above had been shattered and scattered. Individual groups were doing their best to break off and retreat, or simply survive the onslaught. She could sense the ongoing fights elsewhere the sudden explosion of movement. With the hidden Marked making their move.
For the most part, Bailey could handle anything that came out. Along with those soldiers with her. Dealing with the mutinying element, belonging to what was the White Petal and the defense forces had proven difficult, if not costly for the refugees. Still, Bailey hadn’t held back her training since the incident. She had trained almost constantly with Aspa, and with anyone else willing to train with her whenever she had time off. Which meant she wasn’t weak, but… she so very rarely got to use that strength. Especially when she could be so much more useful doing other things.
More than once she wished she could directly fight like Rettas had or Aspa does. But, that rarely if ever happened. Though, she had a feeling she might get that chance sooner than later. Ships began to enter orbit. Shuttles and orbital drops sent soldiers and equipment down.
Seeing this, Bailey knew it was only a matter of time until they caught up to them. A part of her hoped they wouldn’t target the refugees. Another part of her knew without a shred of doubt, that they would. Not like she could do anything to change that outcome anyway. Knowing this, Bailey did her best to keep leading them.
Their first encounter with soldiers ended quickly enough. Ailey simply flew over and blasted them to pieces with some precise ki blasts, though, the sight of soldiers approaching did little to calm the crowd. If anything, Bailey felt something in the crowd bubbling up. Fear was quickly transforming into anger. The crowd wasn’t complaining anymore or crying constantly. Now, they were beginning to lash out verbally at the attacking army. Sending out curses towards them, not that it would do anything, but seeing this, Bailey grew worried.
Before she could even attempt to curtail what she knew was a threat, she sensed something approaching. A towering energy, that nearly every soul could sense. A woman coated in crimson light was rapidly falling towards them. Seeing her, Bailey’s eyes widened.
“EVERYONE! TAKE COVER!” At her words, they did so without a second thought. Just in time, since not a second later, a storm of bloody needles, each the length of a finger came crashing towards the earth. Everything in the vicinity was worn away, Bailey made a barrier of ki, managing to offset the majority of the damage, at significant cost to herself.
A figure made themselves known, floating above all. A wave of their hand had all those needles disperse into bloody streams. Instinctively, Bailey knew, this was a vampire. A very powerful one. The dress they were wearing was tight fitting, exposing her cleavage, and right in the center, was a mark she knew all too well. A stylized ‘M’.
She didn’t speak or gloat. The bloody streams gathered around her, forming an ocean of blood. With a point, it surged forward into the maw of a giant beast. Bailey grit her teeth and put her hands forward. Sending blast after blast of ki. Each blast disrupted the pool of blood, forcing Bailey to target key weaknesses in the structure. Slowly, but surely Bailey was whittling away at the bloody ocean, but down below she began to hear the sounds of gunfire. Of enemy soldiers making their way closer.
Above, the vampire watched amused, a wide smile on her face, content to simply force Bailey to protect the people, even as they die from below. Bailey wasn’t sure why this was happening. Where was Jake? Why hadn’t he appeared? What of Fera and her supposed support?
It didn’t make sense. Not really. And worse still, Bailey knew with every passing second that the situation was getting worse, quickly reaching a breaking point.
Luckily, though, perhaps it couldn’t be counted on luck, just as she felt her ki bottoming out. Her energy reaching its end, the soldiers below opening fire with greater regularity. A force, a familiar energy came careening from above. Bailey couldn’t see, not with the sea of blood blocking her view.
She did however see when the vampire when flying into the earth below. Cratering into the ground. The blood surged and followed, revealing to Bailey a familiar and welcome face.
“RETTAS!” She cried out, the woman sent her a glance before focusing once more below. Bailey saw the blood sea boiling and out of it came the vampire laughing. A hand raised to the heavens. The boiling blood hissed and spat, spawning countless bats the size of a small dog.
Each of those bats carried a terrifying energy. Baily flew up. Standing beside Rettas and spoke. “I can help deal with the bats.”
She merely nodded in response, her eyes flickering to the people below screaming in terror while the bats split, most heading for us, but others headed for the citizens below.
Bailey had no idea how she got here, but… this couldn’t be more perfect, right?
