Ultimate Rivalry [Open]

With a cheer across the crowds, the platoon of Saiyans would rush from there defensive position and charge the Tuffle brigade. Shots from the Tuffles blasters would fire overhead and the once tranquil white noise of the falling rain would give way to the hectic sounds of the battles start. With the many mercenaries and bounty hunters about, it was easy for Zuqetta to rush across the field and remain out of sight. While the military platoon led the frontal charge as the main force, the smaller units of non-military hires were free to go about the battle as they saw fit.

Keeping low to the ground, Zuqetta rushed from cover to cover until she made it upon a mostly intact six story building. Without hesitation she rushed inside, turning the corner and dropping to a sitting position as she caught her breath. So loud! She thought, attempting to calm herself as her heart raced, I knew it would be loud but... it's still louder than I expected.

She had no idea where to go or what to do; this was war, the ongoing war that Vennel often spoke of, but Zuqetta felt as though she had no business here. Jumping back to her feet, Zuqetta rushed up the stairway of the building; aiming to reach the top floor. "What am I even doing here?" She questioned lowly as she ascended, "What's the point on this fight?" She growled, before finally making it to the fifth floor; only to find the rest of the stairway collapsed in, "Tch..." It would have been a simply matter to remove the rubble to reach the final floor, but drawing attention to herself was her last desire. Instead, this would be her stop; quickly she would make her way into a room and crouch beside a window.

The sound of blaster fire, amongst other unknown sounds, was almost deafening. Though, from her position, it all almost seemed muffle; yet at the same time it was all-encompassing. With her Morality Sensing, Zuqetta could feel the intense storm of emotions that flooded the battlefield; even if she couldn't sense the energies of those who fought. Keeping her hood on, Zuqetta would peek out from the window to witness the battle from her new vantage point. From so far away, it was almost impossible to discern the difference between the fighters. The Tuffles were much small, and heavily equipped for combat with blasters and intricate armor; while the Saiyans were larger, brutish, with a particular armor that had existed amongst their kind for generation. Besides these nuances, Zuqetta was surprised to see just how similar they all were.

"So... they look like us?" She questioned; finally seeing Tuffle kind for the first time. Until now, she had believed the Tuffles to be some form of strange alien creatures; bug people, or some other such creature, but they weren't. They were like smaller Saiyans, without tails; albeit, with a bit of a more colorful palette when it came to their hair and armor. With all that in mind, it made even less sense than before that the two groups would be fighting; what exactly was there to gain for the victor? Zuqetta wanted to help, not to fight, but to help; but there were too many ongoing skirmishes to focus on the task and she had to ask herself, what would even be considered 'help' in this situation?

Suddenly, a chill would rush down Zuqetta's spine as she felt an ominous sensation behind her thanks to her Morality Sensing; coupled with a quick series of beeps from a scouter. "Target acquired!" A diminutive man would shout as he and his squad quickly entered the room; the suddenly alert startling Zuqetta and causing her to turn about swiftly, her hood falling back as a result, "A... kid?" One of the men would question; several of the group lowering their weapons in concern, "Don't be fooled! FireFireFire!!!" Obeying the order, the group would quickly raise their weapons back up and open fire without remorse.

Without much recourse, Zuqetta would jump back and fall out from the window to the ground below; quickly taking to flight and zipping away from the location as quickly as possible. "What the heck!? I thought I was being pretty cautious!" She questioned as she rushed throughout the battlefield, low to the ground whilst still in flight. Making her way deeper into the combat area, she had turned a corner and dropped out of flight; donning her hood once more while attempting to catch her breath. "Damn it, how did those guys find me so quickly!?"

---

A voice had called out, and a familiar one at that! Peeking out from around the corner, Zuqetta would immediately be met with the sight of Rensou flying in at high speed; more than likely chasing after her.

"Rensou!? Is that really you??" Zuqetta called out, revealing herself from her hidden position behind the wall, "What the heck are you doing out here? This is a battlefield ya know! Not the city!" She clarified as she approached; remembering his intent to head to the capitol during their last encounter back in the wastes.

Regardless of what his reasoning may have been, it had admittedly been a calming sight to suddenly see Rensou of all people. With all the fighting around them however, the open area of the battlefield was likely NOT the best place to attempt catching up with one another.

"Wait, before that, we need ta find cover!" Zuqetta asserted, "I was hiding in a building a bit ago; I don't really know how, but despite my best efforts to remain low and stealthy, a group of Tuffles found me almost immediately..." Zuqetta explained as she went to duck back behind the wall for cover; with Rensou hopefully following suit for the moment.

---

"We do..." Zuqetta struggled to say, wearing a furrowed brow as she did so, "I... I want to protect my people, but..." She was conflicted; in spite of the things she saw, the conflict in her heart would not wane. While she knew she had no connection to the Tuffle people, it wasn't as though she wanted to see them all slaughtered. She'd seen Tuffles gunning down Saiyans, and the sight of it left a lingering fire and desire for revenge; it was a feeling that WASN'T present when she saw a Saiyan take down a Tuffle. She felt hypocritical for even having such feelings; especially after her fight against Vennel.

Before she could continue her statement however, another Tuffle platoon had suddenly ambushed the two. "Wha- You!?" Zuqetta exclaimed as she watched the grizzled old Tuffle soldier tackle down Rensou, "How did you find me!?!?" As she attempted to lash out, blaster fire would impede her actions; the rest of the mans platoon had arrived, leaving her no choice but to defend herself against the group while Rensou dealt with the old man.

She could feel that same hate boiling up inside of her; a hatred towards the man that dared to attack her friend. She thought back to Planet Fruti, and the situation that had caused her to flee. As the Frutians attacked her, she felt nothing; she'd defeated them and tied them up for questioning, still holding no issue with their attack. When Vennel and Onnio arrived, slaughtering the defenseless Frutians; she'd felt sorrow, and rage against Vennel for doing so. An important detail had been slipping her mind however, a detail she had glossed over in the heat of the moment...

Shaking her head of the unnecessary thoughts, Zuqetta focused on the fight before her. "You got this Rensou!!!" She shouted before dashing off towards the rest of the ambushing group; weaving through blaster fire before delivering devastating non-lethal strikes upon each, one-by-one. While Rensou wrestled with their leader, Zuqetta did her best to maintain focus on her own fight; a momentary distraction cause a blaster shot to graze against her left arm.

Unlike the Frutians, constant war had made the Tuffles much more resilient; she was now through with more than half of the platoon, yet as she moved onto the next individual, the men she'd just taken down would begin to reawaken. Advanced Tuffle technology had softened Zuqetta's already held-back blows; and automatic injections would stimulate their senses, allowing them to return to fighting form. Zuqetta hadn't yet taken notice, but it was clear the Tuffles were in this fight until the bitter end; their technology would help them to achieve that goal, as death remained their only intended coursed towards a resolution.

Whether it be by the death of the Saiyans, or by their own deaths...

---

Yet another blaster shot came from seemingly nowhere, grazing against the same placement of her arm as before; eliciting a slight grunt of pain from Zuqetta. Quickly, upon downing another Tuffle she would turn about; just on time to see one of them lunge at her in an attempt to subdue her movement. He was already too close to counter, meaning she'd have needed to wrestle the foe off lest she be struck down by an arrangement of blaster fire whilst unable to properly dodge. As luck would have it however, Rensou had quickly joined her; though with far more force than she had wanted.

She watched the man get sent flying and raised her guard accordingly; the reality of the situation was beginning to set in, but she simply couldn't bring herself to do it. "I-" She began, just barely dodging a blaster shot as it went past her head, "T... take em out!" She shouted with a pained expression, clenching her fist tightly as her energy erupted around her.

Holding back didn't appear to be an option, and reality proved to be crueler and crueler with each passing moment. Zuqetta would blast off from her position; hurdling towards one of the soldiers as quickly as she could before delivering a devastating mid-air kick. As her foot made contact with the mans head, she could almost hear a terrible cracking sound just before the man was sent flying through the air and crashing through a wall. A cold and terrible chill ran down Zuqetta's spine, momentarily halting her movement as thoughts ran through her head.

Why was she here? Why would she think coming here was a good idea? She hadn't wanted to hurt anyone; if anything, she wanted to help those who had been injured! Unfortunately, war rarely held courtesy for the injured; and the desperation of the Tuffles fighting tactics was clear.

Another blast fired off while Zuqetta had been distracted, hitting her on her outer lift thigh. "GAH!!!" She cried out, as the searing pain of the shot burned through the underlay she war and into her flesh. Without hesitation, she would blast off through the air and come down upon the man with an axe kick from her uninjured leg; crashing the strike upon his shoulder and shattering his collar bone.

"Rrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!" The man would cry out in agony as he fell to his knees; beginning to shake and cower, "D-d-d-dont! Don't eat me!!!" He screamed, dropping down to the ground and covering his head with fear.

A cacophony of emotion welled within Zuqetta at the sight; why couldn't things have just been black and white? Good guys versus bad guys; instead, the universe ran with a confusing assortment of grays. Before her was a man, a soldier armed to the teeth with advanced technology who had swore to fight for his people to the death; and yet, here he cowards and cried, begging for his life and throwing aside all of his convictions. Zuqetta felt empathy for the man, but also hatred towards his actions and words.

"I'm not gonna eat you!!" She shouted angrily, "I would NEVER do that!!" She continued, her words unfortunately meaning nothing to the man who simply coward further.

---

The call of retreat was beginning with both sides having suffered heavy casualties; Zuqetta's attention was hyper fixated on the man before her however. While she felt sorry for the man after Rensou explained his condition and options, she also couldn't help but feel an unbridled rage towards him for his ignorance and statement.

But was it truly ignorance?

Vennel, Vocado, Onnio, and many other Saiyans she knew would... eat... the victims of the worlds they laid siege too. Zuqetta hadn't been aware of how prevalent of an issue this was before; but since her journey to Planet Fruti, the truth had become painfully obvious to her. It was in fact incredibly likely that once this skirmish ended, the Saiyan battalions would be quick to return to scavenge the bodies for just such a reason. While she had no doubt they they wouldn't eat their own kind; the same could not be said for what the Saiyans would do to the fallen Tuffles.

Her thoughts would snap back to the situation at hand as Rensou hurried her to make a decision. With their level of power, taking the man to Tuffle territory would have been far too dangerous; especially considering the injuries that had already been suffered. Her movements would have been to slow to continue to dodge an arrangement of blaster fire while carrying a wounded man. It was also incredibly unlikely that the Tuffles would hold their fire simply for the sake of one of their own; the moment they took notice of an incoming Saiyan, that would be it.

"Fine..." Zuqetta said lowly, lifting her hand towards the man and forming a ball of energy.

She didn't want the man to suffer, but was this really the only way? Her body began to tremble as her gathered energy rose; with her hand shaking sporadically as the energy necessary to end his life formed. It was done, and the attack was ready to be launched... but she hesitated. She narrowed her eyes with a pained expression as her gaze shifted about frantically; after a few moments, she would quickly drop her hand and dispel the formed energy before lowering her gaze and releasing a held breath.

"I... I can't..." She began, shaking her head, "We'll... we'll need to be fast! They'll shoot at us without reservation, we gotta be careful!" She said firmly before lifting her head to look at the man, "Take him, together, we can get him to safety!"

Unfortunately, Zuqetta's hopeful words were not too be; as upon hearing her utter the words to 'take him', the man ignored all other things...

"You won't be taking ME you DAMNED MONKEYS!!!!" The man exclaimed, choking on his blood as he did so before swinging his good arm to slam on a dial attached to the chest of his armor.

The mans body would quickly begin to glow; with Zuqetta special senses warning her of an impending danger. Quickly, the mans energy began to build to an unstable degree; turning him into an energy bomb. As a terrifying chill rushed down Zuqetta's spine and out her tail, her body would react naturally in an attempt to survive. Time would feel as if it slowed, yet all would occur within a split second. Instantly, Zuqetta would reform the sphere of energy within her hand; glancing towards Rensou momentarily in the hopes that he would catch on to the situation.

With that, whether Rensou added his power or not; Zuqetta would fire off the energy she held with all of her might; briefly activating her Raging Spirit form for the attack. Her power would completely overwhelm the detonating Tuffle man, sending his body hurdling through building after building as it dissolved away. Before finally, his body would erupt in a massive; albeit significantly smaller explosion than it could have been; far off from causing anyone nearby any harm.

Zuqetta would sit motionless against the wall with labored breath; her arm still held up in place as she stared with an empty gaze in the direction of the man she'd just destroyed. Her body quivered with an unexplainable mix of emotions; as the reality of what had just occurred set in however, she would finally drop her arm and hang her head.

"... what... have I done..."

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