Yangcong more like Yanggone - Invited

Taori wasn't quite out on the front lines, but he was close enough to them that he was uneasy. His power level, which he normally had no issues with allowing to sit at its full potency when back inside of the Vegeta region, but out here? He made sure to keep his energy low enough so as not to stand out from the small crowd of Saiyans that were stationed out in the wastes. While not officially stationed here, Taori liked to come out and keep tabs on things, check in with a few of the guys he'd known from his time in the strike units. It seemed like every time he came out, he saw fewer familiar faces.

As he arrived at one of the outposts, he gave a wave to Sago, a Saiyan he had been in basic training with for a few years. "Hey," he said, "Good to see you again." "Yeah, same to you," Sago replied as the two of them shook hands and exchanged weary smiles.

"How's Alpinia?"

"Good, good. Safe."

"Good."

"And Cyna?"

"Also good. We actually just put our son in a birthing tube."

"Ah, congratulations! Alpinia and I aren't quite ready for that, haha."

"Bah, give it time. You two'll make great parents."

While it was nice to catch up with the old pal, Taori couldn't help but notice the slight anxiety that plagued Sago's face. "Something bugging you out here?" he asked, and Sago shrugged. "Yeah, just, uh... Two of our guys went out to check on what looked like a Tuffle or somethin' getting too close to us for comfort, and they aren't back yet." That wasn't good. Two Saiyans should have been easily able to handle a Tuffle if they were all alone.

"Hmm," Taori replied, "Want me to take a look?" Sago seemed hesitant to accept Taori's offer, initially, but he was well aware of what his old friend was capable of. So, he relented. And, thanks to his scouter, it didn't take too long for Taori to find two unconscious Saiyans laying on the ground. They were still alive, but... A power level of 5,000 was still lingering nearby. A scowl on his face, Taori decided he might as well teach whoever this asshole was a lesson before he took the two soldiers back to the outpost.

He marched into the cave to find... "What...?" Taori stammered in disbelief. "Yangcong, is that... You?"

Taori stood in silence, his arms crossed as Yangcong made feeble attempt to talk with him. First, he asked about if Taori had heard news of the attack on the capital. Taori didn't answer. Then, he asked about how Alpinia was doing. Still, Taori didn't answer. And still, he remained silent all throughout Yangcong's little speech about how he wouldn't kill anymore. The only thing going through Taori's mind at the moment was how much he'd have liked to blast a hole through the head of the old, rotten bastard that was standing in front of him.

Even as Yangcong coughed up his own blood, Taori didn't so much as flinch or blink. If the old man was dying, then good. It seemed karma was going to do its thing to him, one way or another. After Yangcong had stopped making noise, Taori let the silence hang for a few more moments until he finally did speak. "You're pathetic," was the first thing he said. "A sad excuse for a Saiyan that should've known when to die." It took all Taori's willpower not to just power himself up right then and there and blast Yangcong into oblivion himself.

...But he had a feeling that wouldn't work. He knew Yangcong's power level was beyond his own - it had been well documented after the attack. But if he was really so downtrodden and in despair, then maybe Taori could get him to come back to Sadala to accept his fate. "Are you gonna come quietly back to the capital with me to face your crimes," he asked, "Or do you intend to keep sniveling around and wasting away out here, like the coward you've proven yourself to be?"

Tch, so that was how Yangcong intended to play this, huh? Taori frowned as the old man goaded on about how Taori was putting too much faith in the news, and how he'd never understand the 'reasons' behind the attack. As far as Taori was concerned, there were no good reasons for what Yangcong had done. He had attacked a civilian population, unprovoked, and in an ambush. If Taori and Alpinia had still lived in Sadala, Alpinia could have easily lost her life in all of the chaos that had ensued. And if that had happened... Well, Taori imagined he'd be in a similar state to the one Vocado was in right about then.

As Yangcong stood up and threw off his coat, presumably to intimidate Taori, the Saiyan didn't give the old halfling the pleasure of pulsing out even the smallest ounce of fear. He wasn't afraid of Yangcong. He didn't care what kind of power difference there was between the two of them. "I don't watch the news, you imbecile," he replied. It was true - he really didn't. If he did, he'd have found out about the attack a whole lot sooner.

"And you sure give up on that tired, defeated old man shtick quick, don't you?" Taori was tired of being manipulated by Yangcong. How many of the things he had told them in their last encounter had been complete lies, total fabrications? But, still... Taori was a little curious to find out just how that crooked old brain of his worked. "Why don't you explain to me all the lies in the news, then, if you think you're so justified in your slaughter of our own people? Or, I guess they aren't our people, since you're half Tuffle." 

Taori let that sink in for a moment. "Yeah, some mystical guy named Ward told me the truth about you. Guess I should've figured no pure Saiyan would betray his own people like that. You being half scum makes the whole attack make a lot more sense."

Yangcong was finally giving Taori his spiel. And what a spiel it was. Taori stood with his arms crossed and listened in silence to the ramblings of an old man whose mind had clearly deteriorated with age. He'd have almost felt sorry for Yangcong if what the halfling had done wasn't so despicable. He had been an honorable warrior he aided the Kingdom in many ways, back in his younger days, but it was clear now to Taori that Garrick's death had wounded the man in a way that no punches or laser beams could. It had taken Yangcong's sanity from him.

Taori had entered the cave angry, looking for revenge, but now? He just felt an odd amount of pity for how far the old man in front of him had fallen from grace. All Yangcong had to do was retire in peace and settle down, maybe even seek help for his troubles. Now? It was far too late for that. The only way Taori saw things ending for Yangcong were in bloodshed, and it was doubtful the old man was going to meet any sort of peaceful end. The brief flexing of Yangcong's true power revealed that it wouldn't be Taori who would deliver that end - not on that day, at least.

"I'm going to entertain your line of thinking, just for a moment, here," Taori replied. "You claim that this 'Ward' fellow that I met is responsible for planting Rosemary on the throne, and that they're part of some secret society that intends on taking over the universe?" It was a far-fetched claim, although Taori could possibly see some Saiyans falling for it. "I spoke with Ward. He doesn't like Rosemary. And he doesn't exactly seem like the type to mince words on that sort of thing."

"As for what he told me about you... It was nothing. All he told me was that you're half Tuffle, which you just confirmed. So if there is some sort of 'fish lens' at work, that means you're looking right through it just as I am." That settled the Ward topic. And then there were still all the other outlandish things Yangcong had rambled on about... Where to even start?

"I know it hurts to lose people, Yangcong," Taori said, his tone slightly more compassionate than it had previously been. Even if he hated the man, he could still put himself in Yangcong's shoes. "And there are some people you feel like you just can't live without. I don't know what I'd do if Alpinia ever..." Taori paused, then let out a sigh through his nose. "But you have to move on, Yangcong. Garrick is gone, and so is Malina. It hurts. It probably always will. But if you let yourself be consumed by the need to avenge their deaths, you'll never heal. You'll die suffering just as much as you suffered the moment you lost them."

"Whether you can accept it or not, you've killed people, too. Good people. People just as good as Garrick or Malina. You've taken them away from their families and friends all because you couldn't accept the deaths in your life. You're not some tragic hero, Yangcong. You're a murderer, just as bad as the Saiyans you claim to be fighting against."

Yeah, Taori had kind of figured that trying to appeal to Yangcong with words was a vain effort. The time in which the old man could've been appealed to had long past - it had likely already been too late not much time after both his student and Garrick's death. It was clear that fifty years of war had taken its toll on Yangcong's mind as well, as the man himself even admitted. But Taori wouldn't be so easily swayed by Yangcong's swan song. If anything, it made him feel more contempt for the old fool. "You act like you're the only one who's been fighting in this war," Taori curtly replied.

"If you're hoping to garner some sympathy, you're looking for it from the wrong guy. There's thousands of Saiyans who have been fighting since not long after they were born. And none of them betrayed their people and played the victim as hard as you've been." Yangcong really was a disgusting creature, wasn't he? Taori wondered if there was any reason left at all inside of the man. He had claimed that two other 'strong individuals' were with him and going to work with him to dethrone Rosemary, but... Would having Yangcong or his allies on the throne really be any better?

"I don't give a shit what you've done for the war effort, Yangcong," Taori spat at him. "You don't hear me droning on and on about all the 'special missions' I've done or about all the Tuffles I've killed. You know why? Because I've got a life outside of the war. As do so many other Saiyans. And you think I want some race of godly beings barging in on the war? I see why Ward told me he hated your guts."

Taori was pretty much in the same boat. If it weren't for the massive power disparity between the two of them, he'd have punched Yangcong in the face. Hell, he still might. But he hardly trusted Yangcong's sanity to hold up well enough to remember his whole 'no killing' vow. He kind of doubted Yangcong had even been following that vow in the first place. 

"You know what I find funniest about all this, though?" Taori mused, "The war had pretty much halted for a good while - no active fighting, just small skirmishes here and there. And then you pull your fantastic blunder at Sadala, get a bunch of Saiyans and Tuffles killed, and suddenly, the war is sparking back up again. Larger scale battles are happening. There's talks of invasions. And this Queen you hate so much is only on the throne in response to your failed attack."

He shook his head and let out a snort. "You're either a huge moron, a massive hypocrite, or you actually want the war to continue - in which case, you're kind of a genius."

"They haven't been skirmishes the entire fifty years, you old coot," Taori replied. "Just the last, oh, I don't know, however long it's been since the King and the Tuffle Chancellor killed each other." That sure was a whirlwind of a day - Taori could still quite clearly remember the shock and panic of the Saiyans, and he was certain a similar feeling was felt throughout the ranks of the Tuffles.

Yangcong sure seemed to think Taori was stupid, though. Taori didn't much like being talked down to, but he knew if he threw a fist at the old man's face, then, well, Yangcong quite very easily break his arm in half like a twig. One day, that wouldn't be the case, but at present, he wasn't a much for the senile old man standing in front of him.

The fact that he was no match for Yangcong made it especially surprising when, out of seemingly nowhere, the old halfling offered his arms up in surrender. "...What are you playing at?" Taori asked him almost immediately. He knew it'd be useless to slap any sort of handcuffs on Yangcong, not that he had any. What did Yangcong stand to gain from being arrested by Taori, here? Taori racked his brain trying to figure that part out, but, well, he was kind of coming up empty.

He initially thought that maybe it was for Yangcong to have an audience with the Queen so he could try and jump her, but with his power level, he could pretty much have barged into the capital to fight the Queen anytime he wanted. There had to be some sort of gimmick at play, but Taori couldn't figure it out for the life of him.

"Put your hands down," he ordered, "If you're really surrendering to me, then you'll walk quietly with me back to the outpost, I trust." He glanced back outside the cave. "From there, we'll call in a shuttle to bring you to the capital." Taori made a move towards the exit to the cave, then glanced back at Yangcong. "...They'll execute you, you know. No way you'll be able to talk the Queen down. She's right pissed at you." He didn't know why he was warning Yangcong. He supposed he'd just have wanted to be told if he was about to be killed himself.

From there, Taori stepped outside, with Yangcong hopefully in tow, gathered up the two unconscious Saiyans, then made his way back toward the outpost. He could hardly imagine the look on Sago's face when he came back with both his scouts, and the most wanted man on the planet.