12-29-2006, 12:25 AM
This was it. This was the final showdown between Dante and Outcast. Cell Jr. was the only acting officer left, the rest of his superiors dead and gone from previous excursions. And now, there he stood, barricaded within the castle of Sanguine. His soldiers watched on nervously as the enormous Dante force stood in formation on the edge of the battlefield, just out of sniping range. Broli walked along the back of the formation, watching as a group of his men continued their construction of the tools that would be necessary to breach the castle?s defenses.
Broli?s king came to his side. ?What do you think?? Vejita I asked, eyeing the massive building before them.
Broli shook his head. ?I?m not sure if there?s going to be anyway for us to do this that isn?t going to cost us a great deal of the soldiers? lives, if not ours as well.? Burori spat to one side, pulling from his pocket a white cloth. He tied it to the end of a wooden pole, and with a nod to his king, he began walking towards the castle.
The men of Dante held their breath, the siege workers dropping their tools as they watched in anticipation. Broli waved the white flag above his head as he stepped towards the castle. Though his face was firm with resolve, his insides were screaming for him to turn back, to not take a further step.
As he reached a point between the forces of Dante and Sanguine Castle, he slammed the pole into the fresh earth.
?Men of Outcast!? His voice was carried into the air, booming to the ears of both sides. A nervous sniper squeezed his finger, a single shot crying out. Broli side-stepped it, swatting the ki away with his hand, clenching his teeth irritably as he began again.
?Men of Outcast! Dante stands before you today, ready to take your castle from you. We took Hyperton, a fortress defended far greater than Sanguine, and we have survived to come to you this day with a proposal. I want simply Cell Jr. I want the small, scared alien shivering in the deepest room of your Castle. Will you not answer my request? Surely, you share the same distaste and contempt for your Commander, the same distaste that caused the Bajir and Outcast Forts to step aside! Surely, you possess the same revulsion that caused Oblivion Tower and the Lethe Supply Checkpoints to both perform a coup and join under us!?
Broli held his open hands before him. ?We didn?t come here to fight you. We simply want Cell Jr. You all know that you can?t win against us, not with our numbers, not with our methods, and not with a United army two-thousand strong coming to assist us. Why give your lives today? Why sacrifice yourselves for Cell Jr.? He is no Android Seventeen! Seventeen was a valiant warrior, a warrior that I could see in him why all of you chose to fight for him.?
?But now,? he took a step forward. ?Now, Seventeen is gone, and a man deserving no respect, deserving no loyalty or servitude, a man of cowardice has taken Seventeen?s place. Will you fight for him?! Or will you hand him over to us?! Give him to us, and I assure you, with the word of my being, that every single one of you will live today. Now, when I walk away from here, your Commander will attempt to prove me wrong. He will say whatever is necessary in order to spur you all to fight, in order to motivate you to keep him alive. Keep in mind that I said in order to keep him alive, not you alive. Whatever he says, that?s fine. But keep in mind what I have told you today.?
The Saiya-Jin lifted the flag from the ground, placing it on his shoulder. ?I await your reply.? With a bow, he trekked back to the Dante camp.
Vejita sat in a chair, leaning back with his hand against his chin. ?What now??
Broli tossed the flag aside, looking back at Sanguine. ?Now, we wait and see what they do.?
Broli?s king came to his side. ?What do you think?? Vejita I asked, eyeing the massive building before them.
Broli shook his head. ?I?m not sure if there?s going to be anyway for us to do this that isn?t going to cost us a great deal of the soldiers? lives, if not ours as well.? Burori spat to one side, pulling from his pocket a white cloth. He tied it to the end of a wooden pole, and with a nod to his king, he began walking towards the castle.
The men of Dante held their breath, the siege workers dropping their tools as they watched in anticipation. Broli waved the white flag above his head as he stepped towards the castle. Though his face was firm with resolve, his insides were screaming for him to turn back, to not take a further step.
As he reached a point between the forces of Dante and Sanguine Castle, he slammed the pole into the fresh earth.
?Men of Outcast!? His voice was carried into the air, booming to the ears of both sides. A nervous sniper squeezed his finger, a single shot crying out. Broli side-stepped it, swatting the ki away with his hand, clenching his teeth irritably as he began again.
?Men of Outcast! Dante stands before you today, ready to take your castle from you. We took Hyperton, a fortress defended far greater than Sanguine, and we have survived to come to you this day with a proposal. I want simply Cell Jr. I want the small, scared alien shivering in the deepest room of your Castle. Will you not answer my request? Surely, you share the same distaste and contempt for your Commander, the same distaste that caused the Bajir and Outcast Forts to step aside! Surely, you possess the same revulsion that caused Oblivion Tower and the Lethe Supply Checkpoints to both perform a coup and join under us!?
Broli held his open hands before him. ?We didn?t come here to fight you. We simply want Cell Jr. You all know that you can?t win against us, not with our numbers, not with our methods, and not with a United army two-thousand strong coming to assist us. Why give your lives today? Why sacrifice yourselves for Cell Jr.? He is no Android Seventeen! Seventeen was a valiant warrior, a warrior that I could see in him why all of you chose to fight for him.?
?But now,? he took a step forward. ?Now, Seventeen is gone, and a man deserving no respect, deserving no loyalty or servitude, a man of cowardice has taken Seventeen?s place. Will you fight for him?! Or will you hand him over to us?! Give him to us, and I assure you, with the word of my being, that every single one of you will live today. Now, when I walk away from here, your Commander will attempt to prove me wrong. He will say whatever is necessary in order to spur you all to fight, in order to motivate you to keep him alive. Keep in mind that I said in order to keep him alive, not you alive. Whatever he says, that?s fine. But keep in mind what I have told you today.?
The Saiya-Jin lifted the flag from the ground, placing it on his shoulder. ?I await your reply.? With a bow, he trekked back to the Dante camp.
Vejita sat in a chair, leaning back with his hand against his chin. ?What now??
Broli tossed the flag aside, looking back at Sanguine. ?Now, we wait and see what they do.?