Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Losing Control.
Eventually our dinner ended, our communion coming to end. There was a charge in the air, like atoms sticking together unwilling to separate. An explosive ending awaited. I eyed her as she finished her food. Delicately, calmly, with an almost savage grace. Like a warrior princess.
Seeing her posture, the way she held herself even in my own presence. Something tickled my instincts. The monkey in me sniffing, unsure, ready to bare fangs. There was a fight on the horizon. Whether that meant the next few minutes or in the next decade I didn't know. Only that she was more then she seemed.
"What's your plan?" I cocked my head and leaned back. My feet hit the table as the seat creaked under me. She didn't blink as she sipped at her beverage, long and slow. "I plan to head to DEPP, maybe run the outer systems. Primarily see if I can't attract trouble."
"A good plan. You should plan on meeting with the various pirate organizations if you're planning to be near the frontier."
"Is that a recommendation?"
"I have a few." I lifted my legs, letting my chair slam down as I stand. "It was a pleasure working under you, Fera." I extended my hand, a calm grin barely kept. She looked confused, but it wasn't like she could turn me down. Not without this becoming a fight. "I am glad to hea- "She grasped my hand, but before she could finish, I pull her in. She pulls back. Our hands entwine, elbows slamming into the table. Dishes crack, fall, and rattle as we grip each other's hands. Fangs out.
Feeling the thump of her heart through her hand. The power inside. I felt my own heartbeat echo through me and into my own hand like a radar. Like the loud Ping of a subway seeking a threat in the deep ocean. Only for a Ping to return as her own heart echoed back. I felt my ki surge our faces closing, Fangs displayed as we began an impromptu arm-wrestling match.
Our power slowly ratcheting up. The table under us quaking under the force.
"You noticed then?"
"A hunch. Your smell is familiar." I made a point to breathe in and laugh. "Blood and war." I pushed myself, the table underneath cracking through as she matched me. I expected her to deflect, but instead, her lithe frame coils, her heart rate momentarily spiking. Her body expands as muscles flex instantly doubling her height. What was left of the table is shattered as we grip onto each other. She laughs.
"Truly a warrior race. I must admit… When I saw you, I did entertain the notion of fighting you. But I knew a fight with you would only make my situation worse. People don't want a fighter; they want someone they could use."
"A wolf in the hen house." I responded. My instincts crying for a battle slowly peaking. She could match me, it told me. Even with my ki. My ki began to flow in slowly and then rushed out like an open dam. The room around us rattling as we slowly ramped up. Our lust for battle beginning to spike. And just as it peaked, when our grip was about to transit to the one thing, we both shared. The world shook.
We stopped cold. Ears perked. Like the calm during the storm, we listened. A fluke? Those thoughts were dashed as the world shook once more, followed by the rapid-fire minor quakes. We both moved, slamming through the private room's doors. I blitzed through the panicking crowds whilst Fera crawled and moved seamlessly along the walls and ceilings. Both of us reaching the entrance, our eyes locking on a massive ship in the atmosphere. Small black dots raining upon the planet.
I looked over and saw Fera back in her calmer form. Her hand to her ear, a swear on her lips. "Seems the senator wasn't happy to hear I was making a move…"
"Pirates I take it?"
"Mm…"
We stared at the ship as it fired into the city. People screamed. The world quaked. An announcement finally kicking in.
"Attention citizens! This is not a drill! Pirates have breached the planetary defense force! Please retreat to designated shelters! Please retreat to designated shelters!"
I sighed. "Guess our fights called off." "Not like we were going to fight." She bites back, both of us chuckling… "Think you can handle this?" She frowns. "Probably, but… if I mobilize to handle the crisis it will make it hard to get the votes I need."
I wasn't too big on politics. And my monkey brain was currently geared off to fighting. Mm, in fact I felt almost denied, angry. Blue-balled? "I can handle it then. Just don't get too weak." She gave me an odd look as I took a nice big breath in, taking a familiar stance. My hands clamped together.
"Ka…" I breathed, low, but thrumming with power. My ki burst out in a massive flare. Fera's eyes shot out in shock as my power flared out. "Me…" At the end my ki spiked again, the power held in my hands kicking like a wild horse. "What the hell are you trying to do!?" Her eyes were looking between me and my target.
"Ha…" The energy around me hit a deadly calm. "Are… you trying to hit the ship?" "Me…" Sound faded.
"You can't do that! That's insane! Re-think this!
"HA!!!" I loosed. The sound barrier smashed through as the energy blast launched out. I felt a connection with it as I guided it closer and closer. The hungry hungry beam devoured my ki as it grew bigger and bigger. Fera leapt back as it launched out, her eyes wide, but even then, I could feel the bloodlust emanating from her. With a final push, just to be sure I slam down at full Kaio Ken for the smallest moment, my energy eclipsing everything as the line snaps with a calamitous bang.
I slam back from the recoil, my arms smarting. I caught my breath as I watched the blast hit the ship's shield, the whole thing shimmering until the extra boosted bump runs up the line like watching a snake swallow a mouse. The shield held, at least, until the power boost hit. And suddenly. In slow motion it seemed the blast broke through. The whole world was holding its breath as the ship hung in air as the blast dug into its hull.
For a moment. A single moment. I thought it hadn't been enough. That I hadn't pumped enough ki in despite nearly emptying what I had… Then, a sun was born. From the atmosphere it exploded, sweeping the world with a cataclysmic wave of heat. The glass in every building shattered as the sound of its explosion boomed out. Killing countless people. Deafening countless more in a single instant.
We watched, ignoring the glass falling around us. The ship slowly fell planet side. The massive chunks threatened to destroy massive chunks of the upper city. Fera shot me a glance, a hungry glance. Her body bristling, quivering.
"Saiyan's, huh?" She whispered. Collecting herself she begins to walk away, stopping at my side. "I'll get the lower city prepped. There are still two more ships and countless landing parties still alive. You… have your fun." She said with a bit of envy. I didn't turn to watch her go. No. Instead I found myself too enraptured by the sight of the ship falling. A fitting start to a massacre.
I took a big breath, tasting the ash in the air. The heat on my skin. And I did what I did best. I hunted. No longer holding back I flashed my ki, blasting out as I broke the sound barrier with casual ease. I zipped through the shattered streets. The crippled bodies and screaming citizens. Focusing instead on the flares of gunfire.
First group I came too was a squad of infantry surrounding a ratty mecha. Bipedal, its arms replaced with massive guns that belched fire and death. They gunned down all they saw. I slammed down in front of them, the shockwave following me hitting them like a brick wall. It blew them back, but I wasn't close enough to actually spatter them with it. No, I didn't just want to wipe them out. I wanted them to know who it was doing it.
"What the fuck!? Who is that?"
"Dead." A baritone voice speaks over the mecha speakers. Guns point at me. I open my palm and blast out a nice fat load of ki. A waste for sure but seeing the mecha literally explode as it gets hit with the wall of energy is plenty satisfying. Especially as the pirates' stare at me in total dumbfounded silence.
I take my time. I rip through them, one by one. Smashing into them, using my speed and durability as a living battering ram. Until finally none are left. A quick blast of my ki blasts off the blood and bits on me as I seek my new target. The second group noticed me, calls of alarm ringing out as I closed. I didn't slow down this time.
The second group had two mecha, one with a sword and shield. Infantry followed with a variety of gear. The gunner mecha was blasted by a series of explosive barrages rendering it into junk. I followed up with a hard landing and leaping off the floor, cratering it in as I abused it with my strength. I slammed forward into the other mechas shield, cratering it as the multi-ton machine was slammed off its feet from the momentum I carried.
It fell onto the surrounding soldiers, crushing them as soldiers panicked and fled. I stood atop the machine, watching as it struggled to orient even as more and more critical systems failed. Ending it with a blast to the cock pit as I kicked away the shield. What followed was as promised. A massacre. Mecha were obliterated. Men and women slaughtered with impunity. The occasional armor and tanks were used as effective battering rams to sweep the people away.
It wasn't long before they were in full retreat. Seemingly gathering at a central point. I let them… There wasn't a point chasing them down when they were taking the chance to gather. My ki was running dangerously low. Which meant I could be in danger, but that only made it more exciting.
I took the moment to watch them, stretching out the kinks as they gathered. And once satisfied I flew down. And walked up to them, a bloody grin on my face. I could see the way they flinched with every step. The way they backed off as I closed. Tripping over themselves as I got closer and closer like an inevitable horror.
None of them fired. A curious trend, but one that I could deal with. But it was getting tiring.
"Is this all you're capable of? The big bad pirates!?" I mocked and I saw them shuffle, afraid worried, but… they held… why? The answer came from the heavens. A drop pod slamming just before them. A man stepping out, no, a massive suit of armor. Near seven foot tall. Plated metal layered and a spear that crackled with lightning along its tip. A massive pack on its back. The look similar to something I remember.
It stood before me, a champion. "hoh…" I said in admiration.
"I will not let you continue to kill my men." It declared over speakers. The voice carrying like how a whip cracks. Deep and baritone. I took a breath, filled my lungs. And leapt. With my exhalation I smashed into the things chest, or tried too. My eyes widened as I whiffed… I whiffed? The thought was still ringing in my mind as I barely caught the back swing of his spear.
A burst of ki found me distancing myself from the suit. I eyed it, confused… How did I miss?
"Where'd all your spunk go, you monkey." He mocked the tone, not the words making my blood boil. No matter. I can find out the hard way. I slammed down, stopping just short as my eyes were on him like a hawk as I in an instant sent a dozen blows. Even seeing the results, I couldn't understand. The bastard was dodging and deflecting all of my blows, or near all my blows.
I pushed, faster and faster. Leaning into the knowledge that he couldn't keep up. His form like a leaf in a whirlwind. I couldn't touch him, the thought shaking me. The few times I hit barely made a dent in his hulking frame. The armor was thick as ship plating. I didn't have long to think as I was hit. The spear he had was awhirl. Moving at seemingly random intervals and trajectories, but it suddenly veered off as my mind wandered for the briefest of seconds. Said spear finding itself slamming into me and forcing me to back off.
The blow was heavy… Not quite devastating even though I coughed out some blood. Out with the old and in with the new. I wiped the blood, only feeling more and more excited. He was dodging me on instinct I surmised. There was no way he could see me, not with the speeds I moved. No, not even that. Being able to dodge and react like that meant something. I just didn't know, only that fighting him presented a good opportunity. One I was more than happy to take.
I flexed a bit more as we continued our standoff and began anew. But to test, just to test. I loosed a massive array of explosive and piercing barrages. Pulsing the energy faster and faster to push him to the limit and provide me with an opening. It worked, a bit. I was able to actually hit more and more, but my ailing ki was draining like a leaky tub bringing me closer to the true danger zone. Which meant soon enough I found myself getting hit more than not. And was once more pushed back.
I was smiling so much it hurt. I was really beginning to feel it. My body adapting to this frenzy. My ki was already fading to near nothing, the juries piling up all over me. Even standing was getting hard as I felt faint, but I felt my self getting closer to achieving what I needed to win.
"Done yet?" He said in ridicule. "Mm… Just getting started." I replied as I spat out a loose tooth and stretched out my sore muscles. I felt some of my bones crackle in protest. "Really now? With those injuries?"
"Tis but a flesh wound." I laugh at my own joke, knowing I'd heal up just fine, even the missing tooth. The man opposite of me, however, was unamused. "Well, unfortunately, I'm done."
Hm? And he fled…? I made to follow, but… Something tingled, a sense. An instinct. I looked up at a satellite in orbit. It shined, reflecting the sun. Oh… Two thoughts were strung together. The fucker had an orbital laser targeting me… I could survive it, but… The fucking thing was also reflecting the damn sun! I didn't have time to shut my eyes or bolt away as I felt the change take place.
"NO! FUCK!!! NO!!!!!!" I screamed as loud as I could, and I swear I could hear the fucker laughing. And that… That made me go ape shit… Then, the monkey took the wheel.
…
Idiot monkey! A certain pirate was saying. The captain, the champion of this crew. She fought hard, no, not just hard. Frankly it was monstrous. She shot down a capital ship, dismantled all of our landing parties before we could reach our objective. And worse still, nearly drained my suit's battery. Which was… Freaking monstrous! This thing was plated in capital ship grade armor. It weighed more than the mecha we fielded, and it even had a shield generator attached. That fucking monkey near burned it out with her energy blasts.
Her fighting style was shit, but… It was like the longer we fought the more she improved. The monkey was using me to improve her skills. Well, shit luck for her I never planned to fight fair. The orbital laser was provided by our employer to ensure we wiped out his rival's political base. More of a last resort, just in case. Or so he said.
Luckily, we could hit two birds with one stone. Leading her to just above her employers' base and destroying both her and the base with one swoop? Genius if I may pat my own back. The loss of a ship was… Devastating for a small crew like us, but we could recover with the promised funds after this. And we could get an in with a political figure. Something all pirate outfits need.
I could hear her swearing as I bolted away. Even if she fled, the excess energy would vaporize her. And if not, well… We'll be long gone. A ship was going to go in for a dead drop near our spot, I just needed to make it.
The laser hit. I could hear it, my sensors going wild. I laughed, but… A beam lanced past wiping out the column in retreat right in front of me. Vaporizing soldiers and mecha in a single breath and leaving naught but ash in its wake and scorched boiling earth. I quickly turned, orienting myself to face the blast whilst keeping my vector. What I saw made me confused.
"Pirate 1, is the laser functioning okay?"
"This is Pirate 1, yes, it is. Why?"
I stared as the orbital laser was… Refracting? Almost spiling like a massive hand was diverting a waterfall. And that, that made no sense! I was about to speak again over the comm, when the orbital laser burst for lack of a better word. Beams of concentrated energy were slamming and scarring the planet. Even those parts of the planet not on this side as the blasts refracted and curved around the planets curve.
This went totally FUBAR… The employer planned damage on this area, but not everywhere else…
"This is Pirate 1, do you read?"
"Ah, yea… I read."
"We lost contact with the satellite. Honestly, it looks like it blew up?"
I was just as confused as he was.
"Did it do its job?" The command ship followed up… Did it? It should. Was it defective?
"Oi, captain we're picking up something strange on the sensors! ITS HUGE!"
I couldn't reply.
"What the hell is that!?"
"It kinda looks like…" The channel was a mess. Pirate one and two arguing and discussing…
"A giant monkey…" I finished for them as the smoke cleared. Revealing a massive monkey. A small tube top covering its chest, too tight shorts, and those boots. Those goddamn boots!!!
"I think… I think we fucked up somehow." I said over the line. I couldn't hear the replies as the thing, the monster, that monkey from earlier looked at me. Its eyes bored into me with sheer hate that nearly gave me a heart attack.
"I NEED SUPPORT!" I screamed over the comms as I punched it. My instinct saving me as a building went flying over my head. I turned briefly seeing the monkey literally belching fire before I saw something even more frightening in my vision, the fire seeming to condense.
I juked hard, nearly puking blood as my organs reeled from the maneuver as something sliced through the air. The air seemed to freeze, my mind for a brief moment questioning if my instinct was right, only to see the world explode in hellfire.
"Uh… this is pirate 1, that monkey just lanced half the planet with whatever that was. We're bugging out."
"Dammit! You can't do that!"
"Look boss, you're the one that wanted to take this shit and well, giant planet busting monkeys? Uh, yea… nope."
I felt an unbridled rage take me, only slightly cooled as I heard a voice over the comm. "This is pirate 3, we'll support you cap."
I calmed down and focused on dodging the buildings as I saw the monkey beating its chest. I just knew it was going to chase me down any second now.
"Thank you."
"What are friends for cap? We'll get in low orbit and see if we can't give that thing a test of heaven's might."
I chuckled at that, but the unease didn't fade. The monkey finally stopped pounding around as it decked it towards me. My friend would make sure a shuttle reached me, but he couldn't do it with a big ass monkey on my tail I needed to lose it first and foremost. I could use buildings and people to weave through and hopefully use them to distract it. The monkey though, it didn't care about collateral. It grabbed buildings and ripped apart high-rises as if throwing toys. People and bodies flew by. Seeing it all, the eyes locking on me only cementing my desire to live. I couldn't die to a fucking monkey on a shithole world like this!
"This is Pirate 3 in orbit, raining heavens judgement now." I nearly chuckled as I saw the streaks of high velocity slugs. The earth cratering as parts of the upper portion buckled into the machinery below. The smoke slightly hiding the monkey within. It couldn't be killed by that, but I felt the danger lessen slightly.
"This is Pirate 3, please confirm effectiveness."
I turned on the comm as I saw its figure, bleeding, injured, but… "It did something, but not enough."
"Not enough, huh? May as well go all in then." I never got the chance to say anything more. The monkey's eyes locking on the sky. For a single second my instinct screamed a piercing wail. And then… It went silent as a massive ball of energy formed into its hand. It screamed to the heavens, and… threw it like a professional ball player. Just… chucked it. The ball launching into the sky, and as I thought it'd miss it curved. Impacting Pirate 3… vaporizing it. It beat its chest as I stared… My system beginning to beep at me due to low energy…
Oh… Its eyes locked on me. I could see its smile its grin… Was it… mocking me? The thought made my chest hurt. The thought of Pirate 1… laughing at me. They both mocked me. Another face appeared in my mind, that insufferable old man.
"NO!!!" I screamed and I moved as fast as I could. If I could just make it to an elevator, pull it into the lower quarter I can escape. The monkey, as if understanding, bolts at me faster than before. It flings debris, it blasts house sized blasts of energy at me that gouged chunks of the earth away. My destination is so close. My instincts screamed again, denying me as I juked away from salvation.
A tail whipping just past me as the monkey cut me off. I felt something in me crack.
"YOU WANT TO FUCKING FIGHT!?" I screamed, faced with the end. I charged pushing above and beyond. Scoring large, horrible wounds along its body as I cut into it with my spear. It was too big, too easy to dodge. It unleashed barrages of energy that arced into the sky and rained down upon us, breathing fired as it tried to swat me from the sky. The world around us swirled and crackled with energy as the beast raged. I would kill it! The thought pushing me harder and harder. My honed instincts grew sharper and sharper!
And the moment I knew I had won… My armor locked. Energy drained, fuel empty… I blinked… suddenly all my rage gone. Everything… just… gone… Our eyes locked. A fist slammed into me, punting me back and into the ground. The giant monkey towered over me, beating me, the armor cratering ever so slowly as it blasted and stomped me… Slowly crushed to death in my own armor… The safety release long made useless…
I realized… My mind made a series of insane connections. A stupid thought… I had researched that monkey… Rettas… Watched the talk shows. Heard her chattering almost as if eager to spill all of her secrets like an idiot.
A seeming joke she had made.
"Well, ya know I go ape when I see a full moon…" And in some ways… Didn't the satellite look like one? Huh… The final thought he had… He should have just fought her normally. Because in that moment, he truly realized he had fucked up. If only… if only he had believed in himself a bit more.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone