Oozaru. That was the name of the monster that had brought low the Tuffles in a feat that had quickly spread throughout the universe for its brutal simplicity. The destruction of an entire race was not exactly an uncommon thing, but usually one as advanced as the Tuffles would have been a task of several days, not a single night. Everyone knew the old stories of how they had clashed with the Saiyans. How they had pitted their high technology against the Saiyan might. How they had even made gains, pushing their foes back in a grinding but inevitable victoty.
Then, the night came. The rare full moon which summoned forth the bestial forms of the Saiyan. The next day, there were no more Tuffles. Just burning cities and twisted bodies. He'd never thought to see it up close; he'd never imagined what it would be like to stand in the presence of one of the giants, one of the creatures that almost seemed to stand in for a god of war. The monstrous apes against whom no defence was a match, who waded through fire and worse, and never knew defeat.
He was feeling it now. The Arkosian would-be King floated in the void of space as the Oozaru let loose another primal howl, the sound seeming to worm its way past his armoured skin, and attack his insides with knives of fear. It was massive; a towering shape that threw the ship into its shadow. Though, perhaps that was simply for the fact that it currently wanted to tear his face off. Clothed in the broken armour of the Saiyan who had become it, there was no light of reason in its eyes. There was only anger and fury.
He was going to die.
The Oozaru charged, one giant hand clashing down to crush him like the bug he appeared to be, but the Arkosian leader pulled himself together and jolted to the side, barely avoiding that fate. Each move brought new pain lashing across his nerves. Shattered chitin, humiliated arm, and numerous other injuries each demanding treatment. He ignored them and pushed on, as he had done before. As any Arkosian could be expected to do; but the rock-hard faith in his own mission was wavering now in the face of the monster. Panic was swelling in his alien breast, and he had to force himself to remain calm. It was like facing down the very stuff of nightmares, a real-life monster coming just for him. What could he do but fall at its hands?
Still, he fought on. Some deep instinct driving him to defy defeat even now, bursting into a dash to evade a mighty strike, and then rising like a star, three hands filled with power as he blasted energy down at the beast. The Oozaru howled, but thick fur absorbed most of the punch, and the creature caught him with a wild backhand. He spun, frenzied pain ripping at his body. Managing to exert some control over his flight at the last second; a searing beam lashed out across the path of his fall, and he realised with cold logic that it would have killed him were he even a second slower.
The Arkosian was no stranger to the concept of death. He had faced it before, on Arkos during the war against Frieza. Even now, thoughts of that war – war? More like battle! A single day of fighting to end a history of glory! - thoughts of the war made him burn with fury. It gave him some extra speed and strength, letting him stay ahead of the beast as it advanced, swatting at him with its giant arms. The monkey-like face pulled into a snarl. He blasted a beam towards its eye, but it intercepted with one hand, then forced him to duck back as it swept a blast of its own towards his location.
Damn it, he was going to lose like this! The bald one had been tough enough… Nappa, he'd called himself, right? That had been a close fight, closer than the Arkosian would ever admit to anyone else. In the end, he'd seen his chance and moved in for the kill, but if Nappa hadn't slowed, the insectoid wasn't sure that he would have won in the end. Now, he was facing one of the legendary beasts of nightmare, on of the creatures he'd always been taught were unmatchable.
He had to think! He had to find some way out of this, that was why he had been chosen for the suicide mission, that was why he had been the one to go. Because he was trusted to adapt as new things happened that hadn't been planned for. The fate of his world rested on him, they expected him to come up with some brilliant way to turn this around.
All he felt was terror. Terror like he'd never felt before. Terror that no single foe had ever inspired. This monster wasn't mortal, wasn't flesh and blood. It was rage itself, bathed in the cool light of the moon. What could he do against such a thing? What could he possibly achieve except to die in a pointless duel in distant space that would one would ever seen again? His body crushed and mangled, his spirit shamed with the defeat. His cause lost, his world afire.
Everything was lost to him if he didn't act now.
He couldn't allow hesitation! He had to fight!
The Arkosian sprang forwards, rising higher as he summoned yet more Ki reserves, forcing past the pain and the fear and the desperation. He was a Hive-Prince, a would-be King who had given up his throne. The best of his world, the most elite. Even if he had to die here, he wouldn't do it trembling like some half-grown child. He would stand and fight, and battle to take his foe even if that was impossible, even if he had to die pointlessly, it would never be helplessly as well!
"For Arkos!" The beams lanced from his hands, playing across the great ape's form. Probing and testing for weakness, hoping to do damage, to open wounds and to draw blood. There was nothing. Attacks that would have killed that Saiyan outright failed to even get past the thick fur that covered the beast. His strongest and most powerful techniques could not even force it to wince. It bathed in his power, coming through without harm. Blasting at him with a screaming energy wave fired from the mouth. He dodged and wheeled, forcing a protesting body to move past its limits.
If energy won't do the trick, then maybe…
He dove in, picking up speed, and cupping two of his hands to form a hammer-like shape, which he brought crashing down against the creature's furred body. Up close, the fur felt more like metal, not giving an inch even in spite of his attack. He snarled and kicked away, but the ape clipped him, and an explosion of pain told him that he was probably bleeding. Again.
Pain washed through his body, threatening to dull his mind. Threatening to get him killed. The next two attacks, he only dodged barely. He felt himself flowing; the loss of blood finally starting to tell.
Damn it, he couldn't die here! Not after everything that had happened, not after all that he had sacrificed.
He thought of Arkos. The great spire-cities, raising like the biggest trees into the sky. Their armoured exteriors glittering as though they had captured the light of the stars themselves. The howling wind beating against them, but denied by their strength. Each one, a reflection of the people who had built them. Strong, proud and defiant.
At least, before Frieza had come. Before the dark times had set in. Before they stopped being warriors, and started to be slaves. The shame of it! Their ancestors surely had to be disgusted at their actions; at how far they had fallen. But submission was better than destruction. Submission offered a chance to strike back in the future, it offered the possibility of freedom. The loss of honour was striking and terrible, but honour and pride could be reclaimed. Life could not. Survival could not.
Frieza had taught them them much since those days. He had taught them of slavery, of shame, and of a people perverted into obedient soldiers. He knew of the fate that would await his species should he fail. Destruction, and then slavery of the survivors just as with the Saiyans. In a real way, he wasn't just fighting an enemy, he was fighting what his people might become.
Why? Why couldn't the Saiyans see the truth? Their species was gone! They had no chance for survival. Now or in the future, they would die out. Why wouldn't they sacrifice themselves to deal a striking blow against the monster who had decided their fate? It was no less than he was willing to do himself! The Saiyans should have understood! The Saiyans should have been his greatest ally…
''If we're going to die, we'll do it as the ones who killed Frieza!''
Foolishness! Didn't they see? Even this monster he now duelled was paltry compared to that beast. Was this really what they had become? Where the Arkosians had lost their pride, had the Saiyans gone the opposite way? Sacrificing until that pride was all that they had?
''You're just giving up. You've decided there's no way you can beat him, so you're getting him out of the way instead!''
No. It wasn't surrender to see that victory was impossible. A warrior who fought on in the face of oblivion was pointless. Battle was for glory, and to preserve the hive and clan. If it would serve none of those purposes, why would you want to fight?
For pride, of course, for warrior's pride.
That voice was not that of a Saiyan. It was his own, echoing to him from long ago. From before the chains and the slavery. The Arkosians had once been a warrior race, like the Saiyans. Pride had been important then, it had been everything.
Have we really fallen so far, that we've lost something as vital as that? The Saiyans can't be right, can they? Of course not, all they have is words. They'll never be strong enough on their own! This way is the right way.. the only way.
The Oozaru unleashed a roar, and struck forwards. He rolled, avoiding it by the narrowest of margins. Taking advantage, he dove upwards, hoping to crack a blow against the monster's sensitive snout, but the long tail swept out of nowhere, bashing into him with the strength of a falling building. A cry of pain tore free from his battered throat. He was hurled back into the void, the ship retreating; his goal getting further and further away.
In the end, he was helpless.
Just like with Frieza, just like with before. This was an enemy who was beyond his power. No matter what he did, he would die in the end. Why not just submit? Why not just make it fast and surrender…?
The same words. Those were the same words that he had heard once before. During the battle, during their greatest failure.
''My Queen, we cannot win this battle. Already, more than thirteen hives have been destroyed, surely ours will be next, as one of the biggest surviving targets. The enemy has already shown that they cannot be stopped. Why not surrender and spare ourselves? Our pride for our survival, the trade does not seem so bad...''
It had been a mistake. Even as his mother had given the order, he'd known it was a mistake. Pride was more than just a word, losing it had cost them and changed them. Made them into slaves. Worse than this, slaves who had willingly taken to the chains. Should they have fought to the death instead? He had no real answer, but he did know that his people had been so much lesser since that day.
This was their chance. Perhaps their only chance, their way to regain what they had cast aside. To become warriors again, to have purpose rather than empty existence. This was the way forward, his people were depending on his success, surrendering wasn't an option. He would accept death or victory, and nothing else.
Knowing that the former was far more likely than the latter, he attacked. Casting a wide net of energy which broke against the creature. The Oocaru slapped at him, and he dodged. A second blow came at him from the side, forcing another evasion. Then, he lashed a wave of power at the monster's eye. It blinked, but the attack landed and the creature howled in pain. He drove forwards, sending another half-dozen waves of energy into its upper body, but most were absorbed with little harm. Blinking furiously, it counter-attacked, entering a frenzied state of all-out attack. He dodged blow after blow, using his smaller size as the only advantage that he had. Then, the tail swept out again, trying to entrap his legs and slow him down. He jumped, watching it slide past below him.
Then two things hit him at once.
The first was a memory.
The second was a fist.
The fist belonged to the enraged ape, crushing down against his body was bone-pulping force. He felt armour splinter; felt a searing pain as what felt like several organs were ruptured. Felt his very life begin to ebb away.
But none of that mattered compared to the memory. As he had said, the Arkoaisns had always admired the Saiyans. Admired their history and their lore. This was how he knew of the Oozaru form in which he was being attacked, now, he recalled that legend in detail.
''A Saiyan standing under the full moon in possession of their tail undergoes a terrifying transformation. They become a giant ape, an Oozaru. A bringer of destruction and ruin. Woe to any foe who faces such a monster, for they do not stop for pain or weariness. They do not rest until the moon fades, or until there is nothing left to kill.''
Until the moon fades. That was probably impossible right now. The fight had carried them further from the ship, and the false moon orb was protected by shield, nestled inside the hanger. The other part, though…
A Saiyan has to have a tail to transform! But this one is already changed, will removing the tail do anything at all?
Honestly, he didn't know. But it was the best shot he had, and so, he would give it his all. For Arkos, and for what had been taken from them.
His body was floating. Still weak from the pounding he'd taken. He forced life back into his limbs, and flipped up right. The Oozaru, who had been watching to decide of its prey was still alive gave an angry growl. An energy beam began to charge in its maw, and he forced himself to action. Dashing forwards to avoid the detonation, shockwaves of which rolled over him and threatened to tip his balance. Closer to the creature he came, closer to the giant mass of fur and muscle. It ploughed one fist through space, forcing him to nimbly dodge – or at least, he hoped it was nimble. In truth, he was at the end of his reserves, and didn't have much left to use. At any rate, he avoided the hit. A follow up punch proved harder to dodge, and he was forced to try and block. Which, as you might expect when facing a giant monster whose fist alone is bigger than your entire body, is a somewhat fruitless endeavour. He took the hit as best he could, and as his wounds screamed, pushed forwards again.
The Oozaru next attacked with a wave of Ki from the mouth. Like some legendary monster spitting fire, the energy crackled and twisted as it came at him. He avoided, but the detonation was an area of effect, and he felt the energy slam into his back. He cried out, it felt like his legs were on fire! And they very well might have been, but he didn't have time to check. Again, he threw himself forwards. Desperation fuelling him. This creature used its tail as a weapon, he just had to bait it into doing so again!
Just one more time, just once more.
Please.
The Oozaru curled a massive fist around him, he felt the fingers close and lock about his body. He didn't have the power to stop it. Titanic muscles crawled beneath thickly furred skin, and the pressure started to build. Already in pain, he could only endure. Waiting for death and for release; but even as the pain mounted, and even as his body started to fail, desperation did not leave him, and he still waited for his chance. Even as it seemed more and more likely that it would never come.
Then, he had it. A single movement, probably not even conscious on the part of the ape. The tail flicked in annoyance at the resistance of its prey. Just for a moment, it was clear of the body.
He attacked. Throwing absolutely everything he had into one final blast of power. Ki screamed around his body, howling with the fury of his warrior race. Surging and building, the explosion burned the ape, and it howled, and released its grasp.
Then, he was moving. Fast. Faster than he'd ever gone before. He knew he was losing power already. This was his last opportunity. The tail was ahead of him, the Oozaru bearing down on him. Everything he was and everything he had done came down to this.
Kill or be killed.
He reached out, and fired the last dregs of his power. The energy beam caught the tail, and it was severed in a spray of blood. The Oozaru howled in agony, the sound so loud that it was painful. Then there was silence, quickly followed by darkness.
When he came to, he realised that the pain of his wounds had knocked him out. By the time he was aware again, there was no Oozaru. Just a floating Saiyan with long dark hair, wearing a by now spectacularly battered suit of armour. Alive still, despite the odds.
The Arkosian groaned. Every fibre of his being was in pain, he knew that to fall asleep again would mean that he would never wake again. He raised one hand to kill the Saiyan.
Then, he sighed.
"You can come out." The Arkosian said. "I know that you're here now."
"Is that so?" Said a new voice. A humanoid figure floating towards him from cover. The Arkosian turned, but really, it didn't matter who it was.
The figure was shorter than the other two, but clad in similar armour. He had spiky, up-swept hair, of a dark hue. If the Arkosian had any doubt as to his identify, the sight of the curled tail wrapped around his waist quickly killed them.
"Prince Vegeta." The Arkosian said. "Well met, I suppose. Are you here to kill me now?"
"Can you give me a reason why I shouldn't?" The Saiyan countered. "The damage you did to Nappa is going to set my plans back you know. That has to be paid for."
"You don't care for this one?"
"Not one bit. He's low class scum. But I suppose he's still a Saiyan. If anyone is going to kill him, it should be me."
"Hah. I suppose that's Saiyan loyalty."
"Are you not going to try and fight me?" Vegeta asked. "You fought against the others. Am I simply too much for you to take in?"
"Don't flatter yourself. If we met when I was in a better state, I would be quick to dissemble that pride of yours, prince. However, as it is, I'm spent. There's no point in fighting further. I don't even have the strength to throw a punch. Fighting two of Frieza's shock troops has left me understandably exhausted."
"Hmmp." Vegeta snorted. As though fighting two Saiyans and merely being exhausted was some great sign of weakness. "At any rate, I'm here to put a stop to your plans now. You don't have much of a chance. I'm fairly sure you're already dying."
"The wounds your fellows inflicted are telling, yes. But why, Vegeta? Grant me that, at least! We Arkosians looked up to you Saiyans, why is it that you choose to oppose us in this? Together, we could have done it! We could have banished Frieza. Instead, you've saved him. Why? Tell me that, Prince of the Saiyans, why have you doomed my people?!"
"Why? I'm sure the others could give you plenty of reasons. They could bring up pride. They could tell you that it comes down to a matter of honour. I know that Nappa would say that it was our duty to stop you, since revenge belongs solely to the Saiyans. We don't need help from a pathetic race like your own. However, that is not my answer."
"And what is? What is your answer?"
"Simply put?" Vegeta smirked. "You were too weak. I stopped you because I could. Because you weren't strong enough. A race so weak that it cannot succeed on its own deserves to be wiped out. As far as I'm concerned, I'm doing the universe a favour by letting Arkos burn."
"You bastard! I'll kill you for that!" He found power and strength he didn't know he had, righteous fury lending yet more determination. He threw himself forwards, one of his bladed hands cutting for the prince's throat.
Vegeta caught it. Easily. Quickly. The other hand was pointing at his face. Filling with power.
"Goodbye, Arkosian. When Frieza falls, it will be at my hands and no others."
Arkos, I'm sorry. I wasn't able to save-
There was a blast of light.
And then there was nothing.
I mean, Nappa without an arm, Raditz showing himself to have more potential than before... the story could change quite a bit!