Our battle was legendary. The pair of us went at each other like wild beasts. Neither giving an inch while we wailed on one another. But, quickly it became apparent we weren’t alone. Bailey was acting in the background to provide cover, but the vampire was quickly making ground. Needles of blood rained. Wolves and bats made of blood came charging at me, forcing me to expend ki to kill them, lest they bite into me or explode. Both were likely.

On top of that, of course, was a new addition. I had no idea where she came from, but the second I saw her, I knew who they were. Carrying an ominous blade, a blade that sent shivers down my spine, she appeared. For the most part, she stayed at the edge of our fight, not directly intervening. Only attacking when I beat back Arms, or when I had a moments reprieve.

Bailey could only do so much. Especially when I was totally being jumped. Yet, even outnumbered, I found myself exhilarated. A feeling shared by those trying to kill me with all they had. The honesty in their attacks and strikes, conveying a singular will. These were my people. Through and through. Of that, there was no doubt.

Arms would swing his fists like a living punching machine. Rapidly firing punches, as if he was trying to dig through a mountain. Leaving craters in his wake, while I twisted and dodged. Funnily enough, as I was, I couldn’t directly overpower him. Even in my blue form, I doubted I could outmuscle him. He was just that much bigger and stronger. His corrupted ki towered and grew. No doubt consuming him from the inside out to erupt with greater power.

In much the same way, the vampire fought. Draining blood from the countless bodies buried in the rubble. Constantly bolstering her sea of blood. Utilizing it to lock me down and wear me down. Only Bailey’s assistance kept him from being truly difficult. She sent out pinpoint attacks that gave me a moment’s breath, a refuge in the storm, so to speak.

Even then, I could feel her growing desperation. As it was, I would lose. Especially with that shinobi girl sniping at me. Sending out spectra blades, or energy slashes towards me whenever I seem to be winning. Content to simply wait out their turn.

I was being hemmed in, but not really. I was being suppressed, but also, not really. It was, strange. It was fun. Though, trying to put in words why it was fun exactly, I don’t know. I was a bit frustrated as to why, Fera wasn’t here. Why it was that Jake wasn’t here. More annoyingly, was the absence of Baron and everything else, but I instinctively knew something was going to change. I also instinctively understood why nothing was happening.

I couldn’t quite be sure, but honestly? If Jake had gotten involved at this juncture, I might just kill him. Waiting this long, and only coming out now? It really would piss me off. I was having fun. Moving and dodging, slipping through attacks. Sticking close to Arms as we duked it out. The pair acting to make sure neither of us chicken out.

And Fera? I wasn’t sure what to think. But I could feel something. A charge in the air. Something building. A tension. Every movement we made wrecked the surroundings. Screams echoed out, along with gunfire. People died, left and right around us. It was perfect. Absolute mayhem and I was loving every minute of it…

 

 

The tension grew. The line tightened. Threatening to break. A man was hiding. Huddling in rubble. Hand to his head, curled up in a ball. Fear. It was all he felt. The coming soldiers, those demons fighting around them. it was all so much. All his life, this man had never been anything special. Just a normal office drone. Going to work and leaving. Living his life.

Now, all of that was gone. His office building destroyed, his coworkers dead. The more the man thought about that, the more he realized… Just how much he had lost. That cute waitress at the bar he frequented, the one he planned to ask out when he finally got that promotion he was promised. A promotion that never seemed to come.

Dead. His work dead, along with it, that promised promotion. Not just that, but… his boss was likely dead. His bosses boss. Dead. The more he realized, the more he felt… numb. He had no real relatives to speak of. His parents having died years ago, something he was glad for, because he wasn’t sure if he could handle that kind of tragedy now…

No, if anything. Looking around at the few other survivors nearby. All hiding away. The odd gunshot firing, taking out a mother or father, even children weren’t safe. He thought, he considered, ‘It isn’t fair…’ He blinked and suddenly, he didn’t feel very afraid.

A running woman was immediately reduced to flecks of meat before him. A blur was all he saw, of the two clashing monsters. How weak they were. Perhaps he was in shock? That was he thought when he reached for his face, feeling blood on it. The woman’s blood. Sound faded away, the cries and growing fear. None of it mattered in that moment.

Just, the repeating thought in his mind. Like a broken record. Replaying, over and over and over again.

It’s not fair.

Why were they weak? Why couldn’t they fight back? And the more he thought, the more the fear faded, replaced with a growing heat in his chest. Anger. Hate. Rage. A burning fire that sought to ignite his whole being.

What if… he didn’t want to be a sheep? He didn’t want to be afraid? Didn’t want to run and be led to the slaughter like cattle? What if, for the first time in his life, he wanted to fight back? Against this unfair situation, against those trying to kill them, against… society itself?

He imagined, for the briefest moment, freedom. He looked up at those clashing titans. A momentary pause in their clash had him see something, something that seared itself into his mind. A woman, with a monkey tail. Scars on her body, and a scar on her face. Yet, for some reason, when he saw her, his heart thumped. That wide smile she bore. That pure joy.

Even knowing that she was likely the center of this mess, that she was also responsible for all of this. He thought, he desired, he yearned for even a fraction of that happiness and freedom.

He realized, he wanted… Power. And in that moment, a voice whispered in his ear. An offer, an offer he took willingly.

A shout erupted from his lips. Power flowing into his veins. A mark searing into his skin on his forehead. “I’m tired of hiding and running!” The terrified people stared at him, and yet, they didn’t move. They watched. “I don’t want to die like this! I want to die, on my own terms!” And like that, empowered by his mark, he leapt out of the rubble. Gunfire erupted out. Hitting the man, and yet, he still closed the distance. With ease he tore a few soldiers to pieces. Continuing his rampage until he is finally gunned down.

But, what they all saw, the soldiers, the cowering civilians, was the smile. That wide peaceful look on his face when he died, his face looking up to the sky. Their hearts moved and as one, they began to pray for that same power.

“I need to defend my children!”

“My wife!”

“I still haven’t gotten a girlfriend!”

“I want to live!!!” Cries, voices, prayers. All seeking one thing. Power. And, the Majin wasn’t shy. Each and every one of them was granted their wish. The few refugees, the civilians, they erupted. Like wild beasts they hunted. Tearing into the soldiers, and they too saw the changes in them. They too heard their prayers, and so, they too prayed. So too, were they granted power. After all, the Majin doesn’t discriminate. Any who sought power were granted it, for through conflict they fed, and gained power through it all.

It was all the same. Hero, villain, it didn’t matter. To the Majin, it was all the same. In orbit, Devi’s song had ended. She collapsed and was carried off to the med bay. The soldiers in the enemy fleet regained themselves.

A man, stood over the dead body of his brother. His hands drenched in his brother’s blood. He remembered, every moment. Unable to break free, unable to stop or decide for himself. A mere puppet to another's will. He screamed. Desiring only one thing, to kill those responsible. And for that? He would need power.

The active mutiny among the ships halted, and yet, order was not restored. A soldier cried out, their friend lies dying, a bullet in them. Their blood slowly flowing on the corridor floor. He knew the other crew members had been possessed or worse, but… Logic? Reason? None of that mattered.

What was lost, could never be returned. The fights grew worse, the Majin, handed out marks left and right. Feeding more power to those desperate and seeking it. Even those soldiers beset upon by the Saiyans, began to pray. Facing off with almost godly beings, capable of shrugging off most weapons and blast through hulls with body might alone, well, they needed more power. Their newfound power, granted by their new god. The Majin. Enabled them to fight back. To push back the Saiyan threat.

All at once, the paradigm shifted. It was no longer an organized battle. It was simply a gathering of frenzied beasts. Fighting for their lives. It was no longer about ideologies, or beliefs. It wasn’t between the Silver Suns against the Freedom Coalition. No, it was simply, individual against individual.

Only the Silver Sun fleet was mostly spared, but the new chaos was not welcome. Each and every grouping of ships huddled down and waited and watched for the storm to end. Knowing that earning the ire of the now frenzied groups would end poorly. It was simply better to sit back and watch.

Yet, seeing it, was sobering. Watching them consume each other. Kill each other. It terrified them. Even the most hardened of former pirates were cowed into silence. All they could do, was watch.

Once more on the ground, the fight continued. Jake watched from afar, surrounded by his brides. A solemn look on his face, and yet, none of them moved to assist or stop it. He could feel it, those sheep, becoming wolves. Hungry beasts baring their fangs. Beside him, his father frowned. Even he, mostly dead to the world, felt what was happening.

The death of an era. The end of society. The rise, of something more primal. But not everyone was watching, Fera was making her way towards the fight, soldiers moving in. She’d dealt with her own problem. The enemy leader had so foolishly attempted to confront her, only to die by her hands. The power thrumming through her veins was enough to achieve what she wished, and with what she was seeing and witnessing…

She knew exactly what she had to do. Whereas another witness was watching the tragedy unfolding. The Admin was panicking. Seeing society collapse in real time, a sickness was spreading all through RON, a mass psychosis. People bucking authority, eliminating the system. A choice needed to be made, only… what could they ever hope to do?

 

 

Another series of punches. More bloody rain fell. I stepped back, only to be cut off by a sudden surge of ethereal energy slashes. I still wasn’t going all out. Not yet, at least. At any second though, I might actually have too. Their teamwork was getting better, but not only that. The growing madness around us. The people had completely lost themselves. Taking the Majin’s power left and right, and when they died it fed right into these three. Slowly making them that much stronger.

Truthfully, at some point, I had even stopped doing any real damage to Arms, my blows hit, but his corrupted ki only resisted me all the more. Though, if I actually wanted to transform, I don’t think I could. The transformation was a quick thing. But it still took me a moment to transform. A moment that would see me obliterated if I even slowed down for a millisecond.

Bailey was, mostly useless now. She had no God Ki, and she was clearly exhausted. At some point, she had even reverted to base state, but even then, she tried to help. I could feel that she too was getting desperate. Only her own sensibilities kept her from accepting the Majin’s power, something I wholly approved of. She was so much more than that.

Though, the absence of Aspa was concerning, as was the realization that the other children were clearly being pinned down in some way or another. Not that any of them would be of help, not at this juncture. I just needed an opening… Anything would do really.

A part of me wished that this battle could continue. Continue forevermore, never ending. Each of us likely felt the same. The vampire, the shinobi, Arms. In a way, I felt that we were connecting with each other. Our souls laid bare. The Majin mark, made them realize who they truly were. Ripping away the veneer, the mask everyone wore.

It was, everything I wished for. People grasping for power. Everyone constantly scrambling for more. Pushing back and against. It made me think, consider. Was the Majin truly evil?

The mark didn’t brainwash people, didn’t force them into a new role, or force them to behave a certain way. If anything, it only revealed their basest selves. Eliminated whatever held them back, allowing them to fully unleash their desires.

It was, beautiful. Hearing those below, shouting out their desires and wishes. To fight for those that depend on them, to fight for themselves, to fight for their future. It was selfish, every action taken rooted in a deep desire, but was that really wrong?

Could I blame them for seeking power? For grasping it with their own two hands? Like Arms before me, a part of me looked down on him, but wasn’t that hypocritical? Wasn’t I the same? A human that had wished for more, had made a deal with a being I couldn’t possibly begin to understand.

Were we not, the same? If I were in their shoes, would I not also grasp for this power? Would I not wish to also break free and live according to my own whims in their shoes? If I were not a Saiyan, what would I have done to gain power?

The answer was self-evident. Even if, I felt somewhat like I had accomplished something. Enough so that if I were to die here now, I knew I wouldn’t regret it. I knew that only happened because I had the chance.

People lust after wealth, constantly chasing and seeking it. Yet, if they were provided with nigh infinite wealth, at what point would they be satisfied? Would they constantly seek more, or at some point would they say, ‘ya know, I think this is fine.’

It was in the domain of man to be greedy, to constantly seek more, and I suppose I wasn’t much different. I was satisfied with how things were, but I wanted more. I still wanted more. It was why I was even doing this. Why I was fighting the Majin, why I was teaching those teenagers, why I raised those children. I could have just offed myself if I was truly satisfied, but I didn’t.

Yet, even now, knowing I would be satisfied, I still struggled for more. Constantly grasping and reaching, even when I knew that it would result in my eventual end. Gorging myself, consuming and eating, until finally my stomach fails to handle it and I die. It wasn’t beautiful. Nothing like those souls down below. Burning everything, sacrificing everything in an attempt to break free. Like carp seeking to leap over the dragon gate and become true dragons. They too threw themselves against fate. Trying to achieve something.

And what was I? A corpulent beast who had everything seemingly, and yet, I kept grasping, kept reaching for more. I had long passed the gate, long had I learned to soar the heavens. And yet, was that enough? Could I not be satisfied with good enough?

I didn’t need to do what I thought I did, and yet, my own greed pushed me forward. I didn’t just want to win, I wanted to dominate. I wanted to take everything. Claim it as my own. Yet, what was the cost of such greed? Was it even worth it?

I didn’t know, I couldn’t possibly begin to know. I only knew that I was going to remain true to myself, even to the end. Regardless of the cost. Of the sacrifices I would have to make, of the people I would have to hurt. No matter who they were. No matter the outcome, I would continue to be me. And only me.

Even if I wanted this fight to end, I knew, it wouldn’t. Soon the kids would show up to assist. Or something would happen, though, they were taking their time. I had no idea why, but I imagine, if those ships above were going through what we were below… well, I imagine they were having a tough time.

Maybe those teenagers would finally find something able to beat them back. It would help. Since they needed to face actual trials, something I couldn’t exactly just give them to grow. Funny, now that I think about it.

Seri calling me her mother, it made me think. Am I not the mother of all those Saiyans? Of those children, and now those teenagers… It was, an amusing thought. Still, continuing our fight, I knew something had to change. Knew something would change.

And change it did. I felt it in my bones. A new surging energy just on the horizon. I couldn’t look, but I knew their energy immediately. Coming right for me. Aiming at my back. Moving through the rubble and soldiers. Someone I knew all too well. It was Fera.

I didn’t know what to do. What I could even do, yet, sensing her closing. Not a word spoken. Her energy burning. Her intent unclear. I did what I could. Trying to prepare. Trying to guard myself, but the others didn’t so much agree. Arms pushed himself further, the Shinobi moved in. The vampire above had her ocean of blood surge out. Trapping me in.

I was, uniquely, exposed. I couldn’t do anything. My back open. Fera approaching rapidly. A single strike was all she needed to throw this off. To do enough damage that the others would be able to whittle me down, even killing me. And yet, I wasn’t angry. No, a calm came over me. I focused on what I could.

Dodging and weaving through arms strikes. Continuing to slap aside the bloody rain and lances coming for me with my ki. Avoiding or slapping aside ethereal blades. Then, I heard her. Her claws scraping on the rubble. Her energy surging. I could almost feel her heart thumping. Her ki singing out.

Then, Fera pounced. Right for my unguarded back.