The Green Day Burns Red [CARNAGE]

Zuqetta would seem nearly lost in thought as she streaked across the skies; her senses panned the planet, but try as she might, Lottus' energy was gone. Several were gone in fact, not least of which included her own robot buddy, Patchwork; those others she could still sense were fading, but seemed to have been evacuated from the battlefield. Zuqetta grit her teeth, lamenting her decision, but not regretting it; something positive had come from it, and she knew she had no choice but to simply accept the bad with the good. As she raced, dashing between each of the minor fights that were happening between the more aggressive Mazoku, the Shokun, and the forces she and Ticoga had brought, her own focus had begun to settle on a single individual... Yangcong...

She could feel her aggression rising, though just as it had, she would suddenly be caught off guard by Gira's mental message. She flinched, her mouth open as if to speak yet not a word would be spoken; she would blush as her eyes locked with Gira, and would quickly turn her gaze away. She was unsure how to respond to Gira's confidence, though as Gira continued Zuqetta would feel a calm come over her. Smiling, she'd glance back to Gira and give a thumbs ups coupled with a wink to the girl.

(((I trust you completely-))) she'd respond, (((-regardless of what happens, so long as we can save the rest, that all that matters!))) she'd finish, her expression softening for a moment before she'd return her gaze ahead of her once again.

Thinking about Yangcong, thinking about all he'd done to her, to her sister, to her cousin and to her friends; she believed there could be nothing more felt but hatred for him. With Gira by her side however, Zuqetta felt her lingering hatred washed away, more so than hatred, she now felt only pity for what Yangcong had become. This became especially true as she and Gira drew nearer, and this stranger of a man came into view.

This wasn't even the Yangcong she knew, but his energy was hardly different from who she remembered. It was him, as different as he appeared; Zuqetta was no stranger to altering appearances, so she wouldn't be deceived. She hardly sensed a lick of magic on him however, indicating his current form to be his actual self; malnourished in her opinion, he seemed like a walking corpse. The pity she felt for him grew, as to her, he was hardly even a man amongst the living any longer; he was merely a corpse waiting for the end without true purpose. It wasn't like trying to turn Tulse into a tree served any purpose after all, so whatever Yangcong had been doing up till this day, was merely the actions of a depraved.

As her gaze narrowed, her body tingling with the mass of energy culminating in the sky above, she would begin to tap into the Way of Patience, steadying herself. Just as Gira, her form would erupt around her with a golden aura once more as she retook her Super Saiyan form. She could feel Gira's touch in her mind, putting her only slightly off balance as face reddened once more. The telepathy she shared with Gira felt different than how she used it with others, as though it was deeper and more natural. It was more than that, but too difficult to explain; as she knew, was that as Gira began to make her motions, Zuqetta could feel them and would respond in kind.

"Prepare yourself!!" she'd shout in unison with Gira, giving Yangcong a single moment of notice.

"Kaaaameee-" she'd begin, the words coming to her mind for a technique she'd never once performed.

"Haaaaameeeeeee-" Her body moved naturally as she came back to back with Gira, mimicking her motions as her energy culminated before her palms. She couldn't help but smile as she shared a glance with Gira, her energy around her surging until...

"HAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

An attack unlike the magical blasts she was accustomed to, almost completely draining if not for the energy she felt being alongside Gira. A blueish white beam surged forth, combining with Gira's into an even great power that careened towards Yangcong. She had never felt such a rush of power, the technique near caused her a shiver, but the warmth she felt performing it alongside Gira would overcome the feeling. So too could she feel Gira's intention within the attack, and as she looked at Yangcong, she would relent. The power of their strike would burn, even concuss, but it would not kill; as much as she hated the man, she would spare him, seeking only to end his manipulation of the Mazoku and use of the shokun.

With Gira by her side, Zuqetta would show him mercy; though while she wouldn't kill him herself, she also wouldn't step in between Yangcong and those others whom he had harmed...

As Terra returned to the battle, she threw a few ki blasts at some of those Mazoku who still tried to fight the weaker ground troops; nothing lethal, but something to either motivate their retreat or leave them unconscious. It was an unnecessary step, as they were already on the back foot and a largely scattered force, but it was the least she could do. If the Heran couldn't fight on the level of those around her, at least she could help against those far weaker forces. She was still far more powerful than most, and that would never be taken from her until the day she died.

She tapped her Scouter as she approached the blasted open cave again. It seemed both Yakito and Ginko were safely away from the cave and castle, on a ship flying away from the planet. Good; despite the poor state of each of them, they should be able to live with the Empire's medical care. She had to assume that Verst got them to safety, to do it so quickly. Did that mean that Ticoga had managed to handle that rogue swordswoman while she was gone, or did something else happen to her? Though there was no sign of her, her ki signature was already hidden. Still, it felt unlikely that she was still here; it was unlikely Verst could have evacuated the others if she was.

More obviously visible were the overwhelming attacks launched that mad scientist's way. The Super Saiyans' conjoined beam was almost incomprehensibly powerful, yet she knew enough of ki to note the odd restraint. Were they trying to spare that monster? If anyone in the universe deserved to die for their actions, it was him. His crimes were innumerable, far too many to list. The less powerful Saiyan was far less restrained with her meagre power; truthfully, Terra didn't know enough about her to even know if she could restrain her power. Verst's ship was also firing down upon him, the raider yelling as he did so.

She watched as the attacks converged upon the madman. There was little need to do anything personally; any attack she attempted would be meaningless in the face of the Super Saiyans' beam and the imminent Supernova from Ticoga. Even if she hated the evil scientist for his actions, she had no personal grudge against him. The encounter they had on Earth was surely one of his more benign moments, even if it could have easily led to the death of Gelus. Yes, he had tried to kill her repeatedly today, but this was a battle, perhaps the one context where such violence was expected. Time without her life being actively threatened gave her time to consider that fact, and to calm her mind slightly. She hated him, but many others had more personal reasons for their hatred.

Yet, she couldn't suppress her desire to do something, the irritation of how useless she felt burning through her. That criminal had very much earned this. While Terra typically had no desire to see another die, this was an exception. Without saying a word, she pointed a finger upwards. In practical terms, it was a far weaker version of the Supernova, merely double the size of herself rather than a ball that could imitate the sun. With an abrupt flick, the pink blast raced towards Yangcong, weaving past the beam to strike him, exploding on contact with destructive force, but not lethally so. It would not kill him, but if he somehow lived through the other attacks, it ensured he would not leave unscathed. Truthfully, she only held back in case someone else wished to take the kill for themselves, whether that be the Emperor or another, such as the Saiyan next to her.

There must have been blood in the water, the group that had escaped from the main fight returned unscathed. The sole true Namekian returned and spoke with Yangcong before retreating. The two super saiyans raced ahead of their other companions, sending forth a blue beam of energy simultaneously, combining as it flew through the air. Its light was almost too brilliant for the viewing screen to capture.

What had escaped Verst’s notice was the return fire from the tuffle, as it glowed brighter and brighter towards the Relentless. It was coming straight towards him. He began to muster his power to return the attack or deflect it when the ship's shields caught it and reduced it to nothing.

As the blue beams raced towards their target, he saw Ticoga’s blazing sun racing towards the tuffle also. Blazing away, eradicating all it came in contact with, ‘The power of the Emperor…’ Verst sat at his control screen in awe, with the rest of the crew as the attacks converged. It was going to be over…

The Captain stood up, whilst the rest of the crew remained glued to the view screen as he navigated his way out of the ship, barely able to notice the pain in his leg any more, wishing to see the devastation with his own eyes. He floated up, his eyes could barely stand to look, Verst hung in the air with the overwhelming silence as the strikes grew ever closer. Terra and Tulse had both now rejoined, sending their own strikes against Yangcong. He was already in a crater, now would be more appropriately called his grave.

TLDR: Verst leaves the ship to watch the carnage.
Thread PL: 50000 x8 = 400000
KP: 3+2 = 5
MP: 1+1 = 2
HP: 112%
Resources: Supremacy, Durability(used), Die by my Hand (used), Restrained Might (Inactive), Avenger (used)
Items: Armor(used), Blaster(used), Ruby
WC: 3580+271=3851

A myriad of lights would envelop the stage, a cacophony of sounds like the rage of a typhoon coupled with a thunderstorm acting as the accompaniment to the display. Tulse's beam, and Terra's mini Supernova, though significantly weaker in power, would be the first things to assail the war criminal, setting him off kilter. As Ticoga's own miniature sun fell from the sky, Yangcong would make one last ditch effort of resistance, using his technology to its maximum degree to catch and then redirect the attack up and outward where it would explode harmlessly in space.

The criminal had clearly believed his battle now won, confident in himself as he mocked the Emperor; the barrier Ticoga made may as well have been useless with how Yangcong brushed aside his attack, such might have been the war criminals thinking, but this couldn't have been further from the truth.

Yangcong had only a moments notice before his body was struck, barely any chance to react, managing only to get a few words off before his form was completely overwhelmed. His body would be engulfed in the Kamehameha created by the twin hearts of Gira and Zuqetta; his weapons and armor destroyed, the cold technology representative of his solitude incapable of withstanding the bond of love shared between the two Saiyans. Yangcong would be pressed by the attack, nearly destroyed by it as it plummeted downward into the barrier created by Ticoga. When all was said and done, the energy finally dying out, what would remain would be a shallow mess of a man, clinging tentatively to his last vestiges of life.

A brief silence would begin to loom as the sounds of attack died down in the distance.

There Zuqetta still hovered in the air, gasping lightly for breath as electricity sparked along her form, dying out as her energy returned to moderate levels. Her hands shook, and with a large breath to calm, she would lower her weary arms and drop from her Super Saiyan form. Her eyes wandered the scene; with the lack of destruction thanks to Ticoga, it was easy to pick out their defeated target from everything else as he lie there, beaten and broken.

"We made it-" Zuqetta would say with a relieved breath; despite her words however, she knew in truth that she'd been too late for some. Still, with Gira's help Yangcong had been defeated, and those that remained were spared, "Tira, thank you!" Zuqetta would exclaim, turning and quickly jumping into Gira with a firm hug.

As much as she wished to stay, the hug couldn't last long; though Yangcong was defeated, there were pieces to pick up, and Zuqetta quickly realized she was still maintaining radio silence. She would break off from Gira, giving her a confident smile before jetting off towards Yangcong position. Materializing her scouter back upon her face, she would immediately take notice of the chatter happening upon Dreadspawn's frequency-

["Unit B6 reporting! Strategy successful, the persuing Shoken have self destructed, no casualties."]

["Unit C1, tailing Mazoku group successfully led into the pincer. They've agreed to immediate surrender-"]

["C2's group captain here, we've got some injured but no casualties. Found some Saiyan stragglers tryin' ta prove themselves against a group of Mazoku."]

The reports continued, with varying degrees of success, bringing great relief to Zuqetta. She'd adjust the frequency of her scouter, lowering the range for a moment. She'd look back to where Tulse had fired her attack, forming a small bullet of energy and firing it off into the air to get the woman's attention.

"Tulse, with me!" she'd call out on the scouter, her direction towards Yangcong rather obvious. Her focus wasn't solely on Tulse however, while her own attack with Gira did little destruction, it was clear there were already scars of a battle prior to this moment, causing Zuqetta to fear the worst. "Captain Celary, do you copy?" she'd call out, finding a ping from his scouter, though the energies in the air from the battle seemed to hamper her ability to find the location, "Celary, if you're in the area, report! There are stray Saiyan soldiers everywhere, and I've got Tulse back here too."

There would of course, be no response; unbeknownst to Zuqetta, Captain Celary had never been to begin with.

Zuqetta would land a few feet from Yangcong, taking a few steps forward as she came to a halt. She'd look over his form, a pitiful gaze from her while her tail beat the ground with some agitation.

"It sure has." she'd remark, listening as Yangcong rambled on about heroics and vengeance.

She readjusted the frequency of her scouter to her private signal to her commanding ship, and most importantly, Shivvz. She hardly had any words for Yangcong, and had already resigned herself to sparing him. When she thought of her life, compared to the lives of others, she was reminded of Tulse's words back when they spoke in the Grand Hall. Tulse was sure to be here in moments, and if any deserved to take Yangcongs life, it was the woman who lost her family in the war criminals acts of betrayal. Zuqetta however, would turn her attention elsewhere-

"Shivvz, do you copy?"

There was a moment of silence, prompting Zuqetta to nearly speak again; however she'd find herself interrupted as her second in command spoke up.

["The amount of ways I can describe to you the foolishness of your actions is innumerable."] he'd state in a rather low tone, prompting a nervous chuckle from Zuqetta, ["When you took to the field of battle, there was a degree of expectation in your participation. Furthermore, you're not only the head Commander of Dreadspawn, but the Monarch of a nation. Do you realize the disarray you caused!?"]

"I know, I know, I'm sorry! Yell at me later though, that battles over, Yangcong's been defeated and it doesn't seem like any other major Mazoku contenders are on the field. Whats the status above?"

Shivvz would sigh before speaking again, ["Our ships faced enemy bombardment from the surface, strange destron charged blasts. From such a range however, our shields held and the destron gas was dispersed into the vacuum of space."] he would explain, ["Our perimeter was maintained, and we've managed to detain several ships attempted to flee the planet. Many of which could simply be civilians fleeing the planet in fear, so we're moving with caution under that pretext."]

["We lost four transport ships however, but it appears the Emperor's forces cleaned up whatever was attempting the assault on our ships. Two reported casualties so far, and over forty wounded; many of the assaulting Mazoku seemed to quickly issue retreat, likely receiving orders from whomever was in command."] he's say, pausing for a moment as he hummed with a contemplative thought, ["Strangely, some few we've captured didn't seem like the Mazoku in the reports; I know not all need be Namekian, but besides being of a different species, these fellows came across as... brutish, and running the information of one of the men linked him to an identity as a mercenary for hire."]

"A mercenary? Hmm, well, not like they can't be both a Mazoku and also work as a merc." Zuqetta would remark, crossing her arms as she thought about it, "Whatever, the Mazoku weren't our goal. Any captured are to be turned over to Ticoga's forces for him to deal with, except for those that surrendered non-violently, I'll negotiate with the Emperor on their release." she'd order with a tired sigh, "Begin to withdraw our forces and send a transport to my coordinates... possibly with a body bag."

["Understood-"]

With that her transmission with Shivvz would end, and her attention would turn back to Yangcong. She felt an awkward irony in the moment, as had it not been for the terrible man before her, she'd likely have no idea how to command forces. Between he and Blizzard, it was criminal how integral they'd been to her growth; yet at the same time, they'd caused her just as much pain in comparison. Whatever anyone else had to say to the criminal, if anything, was none of Zuqetta's concern; just before his inevitable death however, Zuqetta would speak up.

"War Criminal Yangcong!" Zuqetta would shout, approaching the man and adjusting her crown, "You're charged with crimes against the Saiyan AND Tuffle people, with a list of crimes far too long for me to care reading. You will have no trial." she'd declare firmly, "As reigning Monarch of the Saiyans and ruler of Planet Plant, I hereby sentence you to exile and disavow you of your decorated history within either sides forces. You will henceforth be nameless, clanless, zeniless and forgotten. As a person, you will not even be considered an existence, your life and the lives of those connected to you stricken from any and all records; you are now, and will forever be nothing. An existence less than the dirt beneath even worms!"

Zuqetta would turn away, her cloak flaring upward as she moved suddenly, looking towards Tulse should she have been near; else towards the distant horizon.

"Your life will be spared by me, though by way of your new status, none shall be punished should they deem to exercise their own form of justice upon you, so ends my decree."

Zuqetta would walk away, ignoring anything the man might wish to say in response and leaving his fate to any other, Tulse being her first thought. She would reach up to her scouter, now intent to contact Ticoga wherever he may have been.

"Ticoga, I've chosen to spare Yangcong, but have officially stripped him of everything that made him who he was. I've recorded his face, ki signature, and have attuned my mana to his magical variance; I'll send the data to your security detail later. My forces are withdrawing, and I'll be heading to the Relentless-" she'd remark, a slight choke in her voice as her eyes took notice of something nearby, "-in... just a bit, after I've handled one final thing. Anyways, Yangcong's fate is no longer my concern, I'm leaving Tulse with him so she can air out any... grievances, she might have." she'd say with a knowing tone, "Anyways, see you above for debriefing, we can compare notes and stuff... ahh, also, umm Gira will be there, we need to talk to you. Kay, over and out!"

She felt a bit nervous bringing up the last thought she had, she wasn't sure exactly what Gira was primed to do next. Still, she'd made a promise to Gira to try and help her friends, even if she wasn't sure how far that promise extended. It was a concern for later, her current concern was for the two halves of the body she was quickly approaching...

The attack fired by Zuqetta and Gira was devastating, though thankfully there was no major damage caused to the landscape itself. The Saiyan peered through the smoke and dust, eventually spotting Yangcong on the ground. He was completely defeated by the combined assault, now lying helpless on the ground. Gira sighed and gave him a sympathetic look. She couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret about how things turned out. Maybe in some other life, Yangcong could have been a real ally. When Zuqetta finally spoke, grateful they made it in time to prevent more people from dying, Gira smiled and nodded in agreement.

“The heroes always show up in the nick of time.” To her surprise, Zuqetta wrapped the young Saiyan in a tight hug, thanking her for what she did. Gira’s cheeks turned bright red, but she reciprocated the hug with enthusiasm, a blissful smile on her face.

“Y-Yeah. I’m happy I could lend you a hand.” The moment couldn’t last forever, unfortunately. This wasn’t completely over. Returning Zuqetta’s grin with one of her own, she would follow the queen. She couldn’t allow them to kill Yangcong and just remain silent. While she wouldn’t fight any of them for his survival, she had to at least warn Ticoga about what might happen if he went through with killing the war criminal. She questioned what Zuqetta might decide to do, however. She deliberately chose to go along with Gira’s plan to strike Yangcong nonlethally. That much gave her hope. However, whatever Zuqetta would decide to do, Gira would stand by her no matter what. They quickly arrived on the scene, the young warrior sticking close to the queen as she approached the battered and broken war criminal. Gira looked down at him with pity before averting her gaze from him. He said that she betrayed them, and Gira couldn’t help but feel he was right. The Saiyan was always loyal to the Mazoku, but they were going down a path that she couldn’t follow. She had one more chance to save them, and she had to make the most of it. Turning back to Yangcong, she wouldn’t say much to him.

“You lied to me. You tried to use me like you used Zuqetta. I’ve found your game out, Yangcong. You’ve lost, so just give it up.” When Zuqetta put on her official-sounding queen voice, Gira instinctively stood at attention. She remembered their first meeting when she used such a tone on her. She could definitely command one’s attention. At this point, Gira fully expected Zuqetta to order Yangcong’s execution. However, she was surprised to hear that instead, he was to be exiled, his identity and history to basically be erased. It was a harsh punishment to be sure, but Gira couldn’t help but believe it was fair. Despite the harshness of the punishment, she couldn’t help but grin with pride. After all Yangcong put her through, she still didn’t take his life when she easily could have. Gira even all but explicitly stated that it would be a course of action that she would not oppose. Still, the others were not going to be as fair. Ticoga and Tulse in particular were especially eager for his death. They would be particularly difficult to convince… especially without resorting to violence. Reaching out with her telepathy ability, Gira spoke directly into the minds of Ticoga and Tulse.

“Listen, I know how you must be feeling. You’ve finally got the chance to have your revenge.I can’t say that you don’t deserve to have it. I just want to ask you to listen to me for just a minute. Please.” Gira pleaded inside the minds of the two individuals. She would pause briefly to gather her thoughts before continuing.

“Yangcong got to be the way he is because of the mistakes he made along the way. Every person he killed, every life destroyed… it ended up eating away at him until… this was all that was left. Yes, he deserves to die. Yes, you deserve to have your revenge. But… then you’re just gonna end up going down the same path he did. Once you start solving your problems by killing them, it’s gonna be a lot harder to stop. I know it might feel like the right thing to do right now, but i’m asking you to go against your instincts and think about how it’s going to affect you personally. Please. Just think about it before you do anything.” After speaking her case, Gira turned her back on the unconscious Yangcong, letting out a breath that she had been holding in.

“Goodbye, Yangcong. That’s all I can do for you. It’s up to the rest of them now.” She hurried to catch up to Zuqetta, stepping in close and taking her by the hand. Whatever happened next, she didn’t want to see it.

---

Main Thread WC: 3334


Power Level: 2,250,000 (Super Saiyan)


Hit Points
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 270%

Ki Points
▰▰▰▰▰▰ 4 / 6 (+2)

Momentum Points
▰▰▰▰▰▰ 1 / 6 (+1)

Resources
Sparking (1 / 1)
Saiyan Pride (OFF)
Antisense (OFF)
Burning Ki (1 / 1)

Items
Destron Flask
Senzu Bean
Charged Blood Ruby


ACTIONS
Gira uses her telepathy UT on Tulse and Ticoga, making one last plea for Yangcong's life! (Telepathy is indicated by text that is bold and italicized!) 
Gira then follows Zuqetta and tries to ignore what she believes will happen next.

Terra knew that her attack wasn't going to do much. At best, it would have been a simple distraction from far more powerful attacks from the Saiyans and her Emperor, but unlikely to do more than that. She could have hoped it would leave him in pain, but reason told her that was similarly unlikely. Though the criminal had been able to somehow hurl the Supernova away from himself, the twin beam was far too much for him, sending him straight into the dirt.

Terra did not hear the criminal's words, not that she would have cared for them, nor did she catch Zuqetta's punishment. Save Verst, considering he was in his ship, she was likely the most distant from him. She did see that both Zuqetta and Gira seemed content to leave his body there, broken as it was, but the remaining Saiyan was not nearly so lenient. The Heran felt the force as Tulse's fist drove towards the former general's head, hearing her scream.

Naturally, Terra made no attempt to stop her; it didn't matter to her who killed Yangcong. All that mattered was that he was no longer a threat to those around him, and the easiest way to do that was to leave him dead. Imprisoning him had been attempted before, and failed, so this was the only reasonable choice. It was likely an impermanent solution; one villain had already cheated death, and it was impossible to imagine that Yangcong couldn't escape if that Saiyan had managed to do so. However, this was likely the closest to a permanent solution they had.

Without sparing another look at the criminal's broken body, Terra walked towards Ticoga. She remained silent for a moment before speaking. "...I checked the other's readings on the way back. I'm glad that they're safe..." She told him. While she did not wish to die for nothing, it felt unfair that she was largely unharmed while they had to contend with life-changing injuries. That the Emperor and other members of the Squadron constantly had to keep her safe.

Terra calmed herself a little as she continued. Once this day was over, she would allow her regret to properly wash over her. For now, she just had to know what to do. If there was anything left for her to do on this day. A haze of ki flickered around her; she had put slightly more force into that attack on Yangcong, and it was easier to let it run its course for now. It was harmless, and helped calm her mind. "What now, Emperor?"