[2] The Saiyan Showdown

[Friend or Foe]

Zena
Kokukashin
Dimitri

Orion
Ares



The original team that started under the angel statue in the abandoned town had split up to scout around the area. Zena had taken the saiyans and led her town east, towards the beaches of the island. With her was the loyal Kokukashin and the friendly Dimitri.

"I'll show that arrogant bastard," Zena was ranting again about the man who called himself Uzumaki. Even though she ranted regularly, she actually pushed it aside in her head. The ranting was her way of recalling the instance, despite how little importance it served. Zena was already thinking of ways to ensure Uzumaki's eventual elimination in the game of death they were playing.

"I wouldn't worry about him, Your Highness," Koku consoled. "He's unimportant."

Dimitri nodded, trying to pretend like he was listening.

"Hold up," he said. His focus had shifted instead to something nearby. He was positive he heard footsteps, and both Zena and Kokukashin were too busy talking to notice. "Someone's hear. It's the other group!"

Sure enough, moments before any of the three could even think to react, a muscular warrior with an eyepatch moved from around an abandoned home to slide in front of them, tensing as his fists balled up. "Back!" Zena said, "Both of you back up and leave him to me."

Kokukashin moved to obey, but when he turned, he and Dimitri were both face to face with another man, this one smaller and younger, but just as dangerous.

The three Hunted were sandwiched in by the two Hunters, and it was Friend or Foe was about to officially kick off.

[Sullivan]

The city was humming with a haunting air as the cycloptic man emerged to face Zena. She sneered, ordered the two other saiyans to leave her to her fight, and they had no outright objections to complying. Dust from the ground kicked into the air from the decrepit street with every gust of wind.

Dimitri and Koku turned from Zena to follow their Princess' orders, but found themselves face to face with yet another man of saiyan descent. He held an air of purpose as he took a tentative step towards Dimi and the saiyan scientist beside him, which put both men on edge. Dimitri gave him a moment before he had gotten into his 'personal bubble', then pushed from the ground and hurled his fist at the man.

The saiyan showdown had begun.

Ares quickly sidestepped with surprising finesse and threw a punch at Dimitri, who ducked and twisted around him for a chop to the side. Ares arched his body and dodged it before throwing a punch from his hip that looked like it held the force of a freight train. Dimi reeled away, allowing the punch to glide safely in front of his face.

From out of nowhere Kokukashin hurled a zinger of a punch at Ares' face that clipped him in the cheek and made him spiral to the side. The Hunter steadied and looked from one opponent to the other arrogantly.

"Nippy little brats," Ares said snidely. "No matter. You won't keep me from my payout."

The Hunter rose to his full height of nearly six feet.

Dimitri's adrenaline crashed through his veins like a tsunami and he stared back at Ares with coal black eyes full of bloodlust. "We'll see who gets their payout."

Dimi sprung up into the air, high, and a ball of energy sprung to life in one of his hands; then, like a lightning bolt from above he sent it raining down on Ares. The halfling threw his own ki orb at Dimi's and with a shocking crash that dazzled the senses, they met and erupted. The ki particles floated back down to Earth like shimmering snowflakes. Dimitri, however, did not. He remained hovering in the air defying gravity.

"Think you're something special!?" Ares shouted up to him. "I've got a newsflash for you!"

He lifted slowly and confidently from the ground himself, until he was level with Dimitri. The hunted saiyan shrugged casually before retorting, "Anyone can do it."

To emphasize the point, Kokukashin had also lifted into the air and was evaluating both men with an air of study. It was clear that Kokukashin was more of an intellectual than a warrior and, to Dimitri at least, he didn't look quite up to snuff.

"Two to one? You two fight like cowards," Ares barked.

"You were the one who ambushed us. YOU were the one who bit off more than he can chew. So come on. Chew on THIS!" Dimi roared.

He shot like a bullet towards Ares and flung his head forward. The two men's foreheads collided and Dimi was left disoriented as they plummeted in a blind freefall. Ares had locked onto him and the two were struggling for dominance as they soared quickly through the air.

A hard crash carried them straight through a wall, and they landed in a hallway within a pile of plaster that cushioned their impact. The fight had been taken to the ground and gone from clean to a messy grappling match. Like a physical chess match, each man was trying to up the other in ground fighting. Ares contorted himself and locked his leg's around Dimitri's stomach, squeezing the breath out of him. The younger saiyan gasped, and dropped bombs on Ares' face. The strikes deterred him slightly but not enough to make him let go.

Then, Koku soared through the opening in the wall. He landed on the ground while simultaneously throwing a boot at Ares' temple that connected forcefully. The Hunter let go and scurried away, though Dimi had rolled up as well and was pursuing him at a breakneck pace. They raced down the hallway, rounded a corner, and then Dimitri Carthage found himself alone.

A click happened and Dimi ducked. From behind him, a tranquilizer round soared and connected dully with a wall.

"Damnit!"

Ares quickly reloaded his pistol, while Dimi moved towards him. The saiyan hybrid was not quick enough however, because Dimitri threw an uppercut at his gut while he was reloading hastily. Ares staggered backwards, clinging to his gun and rounding the corner they had emerged from for cover.

"Fucking loser," Dimitri stated with a scoff, while wiping blood from his sliced open cheek.

The pure blooded saiyan paced cautiously towards the corner.

[James]

One less round occupied the makeshift satchel the Saiyan had constructed to keep his ammunition in line; this meant one less body he'd receive bounty on. Instinctively he went for the obvious route, ditching the gun after emptying its newly reloaded chamber and packing the precious dart away. Ares would have to directly inject the darts into the convicts if he was to ensure success.

He could hear the approach of the man onto his position that left him with little time to act with any justice to his normally spot-on tactics. From the elbow down his arms began to blister with heat, fumes rising to form a light shroud above the skin complimenting the whipping streams already dissipating into the air above.

Caution would play no role to Dimitri's act for once the point of his toe crept into the hunter's field of vision all sense of stealth went to hell.

Leaping backwards with only a few seconds to spare, the true blood Saiyan narrowly avoided the crashing fist roaring through the very wall he stood behind. Ares halted in the hall in order for his prey to observe the technique of his demise...

"Fate comes in but one flavor... zesty." the fighter proclaimed, steam rising from the warrior's flesh about his knuckles as a noticeably reddened aura seem to pronounce the forearms. Tilting his head with a newly aroused grin caught Dimitri off-guard as the Saiyan shot towards him, right fist drawn back tight to his waist till coming in range by which it then ripped up in an upper cut.

Dimitri easily bent back missing the motion of the attack in time to throw one of his own towards Ares' exposed midriff, striking the tensed muscle strangely already prepared for the impact. In a fluid motion Ares reached out to grab hold of the boy's wrist with his free hand, pulling himself off the end of it; he turned, flinging the Saiyan back down the hall with the full degree of his strength through a door into a small office space nearly taking out Koku who ducked into a room nearby.

Ares wasted no time now freed from dealing with the prey looming over his actions, quickly plowing a fist down through the floorboards beneath him to burrow a hole big enough for the teen's body to pass without much effort. He covered the entry with a bit of cloth cut from the tents back at the camp he had brought along before dropping down into the room below.

Down the hall Kokukashin peered out from his cover to make eye contact with the recovering Saiyan pulling himself from the rubble. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just don't lose track of him!" the elder warrior nodded quickly making his way down back towards the room the battle had taken place in, slowing his steps to a crawl with the noticeable lack of a target. "He's gone." he called back.

"Chicken shit loser." Dimi growled.

Ares levitated down lightly landing in the room below as to not draw much attention to his position. From the room he had just vacated came the footfalls of the targets; they would be upon him in a matter of seconds and another round of grappling didn't feel to be in the best interest of an easy catch. Though thinking back their initial arrival hadn't the most strategic nor beneficial to their goal of taking these convicts in alive but little could be down now; he would have to make due with the situation at hand. With any luck this encounter wouldn't trickle down to a one sided brawl.

Hurrying through the door into the hall there was little space for error, turning every so often to blast another few entry points through the various halls and room in a very intentionally sporadic style.

Caution to his step, Koku glanced over an empty room with no sign of the hunter to be seen. Behind him entered the Dimitri still riled who surveyed equally displeased. "Where did he..." the Saiyan who had been at odds with the assailant muttered more to himself than his cohort.

"Maybe he gave up?" Koku submitted.

"Not likely," Dimitri scrutinized the scene to the very last detail, walking over to the strange piece of cloth out of place in the empty room. Lifting it he instantly angled himself for a better view of the room below through the hole. "He's beneath us!"

Before a move could be made a rumbling shook the integrity of the building down to its very core as shots echoed from all around; Ares had dismantled a wide array of the walls and supports below, working his way out back into the open again.

Gradually silence returned to the groaning structure.

"Ready for negotiations?" using the streets as his soapbox, Ares stood out in the open confidently.

"Is he screwing with us?" the younger full-blood questioned turning to the other in attempt to decipher this turn of events. Koku shrugged. Disdainful of the proposition with the confidence of their numbers against the warrior, Dimitri retorted jeeringly. "Save it, your word is no better than you are."

Igniting another sphere of ki within his clutch Ares shrugged half-heartedly. "Suit yourself." flinging the ball masterfully through one of the entry points he had made navigated the blast against the last remaining beams bearing the structure's weight. All at once the rooms inside began to crumble from the floor up to where the pair had situated themselves inside.

The youth crouched snatching up from his supplies two darts to each hand as he readied for their enviable escape out. If two thrown wouldn't be enough then the ones he would personally deliver would seal the deal.

[Celena]

“It’s the money isn’t it?” asked Zena, taking note of the adrenaline fuelled, one eyed man who had an intense look in his active right eye. Strapped around him was gun, which suggested that he was not fucking around, he meant business. “That’s your motivation. That’s what’s got you pumped. That’s what’s got you ready to strike.”

“Yes,” replied the man, who looked like he was in his mid thirties, yet there was something about him that she could not put her finger on, which made him seem a lot older than she estimated. He analysed her too. She was young and beautiful, yet her features appeared rough, the hair and clothes particularly, which gave him the impression that she had been involved in a scrap at some point. He thought back to the time when he and Ares showed themselves before the trio. This same girl had ordered her two male companions to back off so that she could face the one eyed foe in particular, and they had obeyed. Her powerful influence over them led him to believe that this young female was the leader of their group. If that was the case then she was no ordinary young woman. She had to be dangerous and therefore, he could not afford to let his guard down for even a second.

It was common courtesy to know the basic details of your opponent before a battle, therefore he asked, “What is your name and where do you hail from?”

“Zena, from planet Vegeta, and you are?”

So she too was a Saiyan. The brown strand flowing down her raven hair like a waterfall, and her brown eyes, suggested that she was not pure-blooded.

“Orion, from planet Vegeta too,” he replied.

Zena’s eyes shifted to the scene elsewhere, mouth opened with disappointment due to the commotion. “We can’t do this,” she said to the full-blooded warrior known as Orion. “You aren’t my enemy.”

“Your friends don’t seem to share the same opinion as you.”

“They aren’t my friends. They are my allies and they are too foolish to see the big picture here.”

“Oh I know. This has all been arranged for the purpose of somebody in particular’s entertainment, but the reward is very healthy.”

“Reward!” she yelled. “You aren’t the least bit offended that they brought you here against your own will, shackled you up as if you were a piece of meat and then told you that you had to play their game for the purpose of their own entertainment?!” She breathed in deeply in order to calm herself down.

“You’re mistaken. I volunteered.”

“Volunteered? But that’s impossible. Everyone in both groups were captured. There were no volunteers.”

“It seems you were misinformed. We were assigned to hunt down two groups, 100,000 zeni a piece for each capture.”

“A third group…” she uttered with a puzzled expression, “with the purpose of hunting. I could have sworn we were told…no, we were definitely informed of one other group, which we had to hunt down, 100,000 zeni for each capture.” She frowned as hard as she could, growling quietly at the same time while she subconsciously gazed at Orion’s chest. “Son of a…bitch,” she said, raising her angered gaze towards his face. “We’ve been duped! This is all a set-up! 100,000 zeni each. I doubt it. I bet we’re all just here to kill one another to provide bloody entertainment. ”

“No, that can’t be,” the armed saiyan denied.

“They blatantly lied to our group, so what’s to say they aren’t lying about the reward money? How much do you know about the people who guaranteed you a large lump sum?”

He could not answer that question.

“We have to stop the others from fighting,” she said to Orion, however, the one eyed man showed reluctance. “A woman's intuition never fails her,” she assured.

“Enough!” barked the hunter. He was just a regular, stubborn saiyan with typically, a lot of pride. They had talked long enough. With that sentiment in mind, he geared into a fighting stance.

“If you must, go ahead, fight me.” Her hands sunk to her sides in surrender and she froze like a statue. “But I won’t fight back.”

“Show some honour!”

“Go ahead, capture me.”

Orion growled. As expected of a stereotypical saiyan warrior, he was not going to attack her, knowing she had no intentions of putting up a fight.

“I’m not prepared to see my people tear each other apart,” she said to him. Thanks to Kokukashin’s devotion to her earlier, his willingness to support her against Uzumaki, she was able to realise the significance of her role unto her saiyan people. “The saiyan race is far more important to me than any amount of money. Countless races have tried to threaten us, but why have we prevailed every time? It’s because we are too strong to be defeated. Individually, we are the most powerful fighters in the universe, but as a nation, we are impenetrable.” Zena balled her fists so tight that her palms turned bright red as blood pumped through them. Orion watched as her aura came to life. “Saiyan’s don’t sell each other out for money. Goddammit, the changelings even tried to control us at one time! They used us because of our immense power! We don’t need anyone to control us! Where’s your damn pride?!” she roared, her power level growing. She turned her back on him. “Go ahead; get me while my backs turned.”

There was no reply, only the sound of her clear aura continuing to flicker around her body, and of the destruction ahead of her.

“I’m going to stop our allies, even if I have to knock sense into all three of them. I need you all in order to help me bring down the real enemies, the people behind this pathetic game.”

[Kokukashin]

Only moments before Ares had released the final blast of radiant energy from his hand, a thin smile curved onto Kokukashin's blood-red lips. He abruptly wrapped Dimitri under his arm and then kicked off the floor with his right foot, giving himself enough force to bust his way through the cheap drywall that the building was composed of. At the same time the ki blast went crashing into the building's last structural beam, causing it to collapse. Kokukashin and his young comrade safely rolled onto the fresh grass of the town, with nothing more than a minor headache from the collision. A sound similar to thunder filled the air whenever the building caved into the ground as if it were being swallowed by an angry earthquake.

"What the hell!" Dimitri nagged as he freed himself from Kokukashin's grip "I was completely ready for that!" he growled while somehow still giving the impression that he was thankful.

The crazed scientist had become accustomed to ignoring his younger comrade's complaints, instead focusing all of his mind on his opponent. Kokukashin was far from being the strongest Saiyain, however, like all full-bloods, he became excited at the opportunity to give death to whoever should oppose his will . Although Ares had maintained a laid back attitude so far, he was clearly not pleased by the fact the his two adversaries had managed to escape from his trap.

"So, how did he do it?" the light haired Saiyan contemplated aloud after regaining his arrogant atmosphere.

"I can see the near future. Your trap was no surprise to me kid..." Kokukashin answered in a patronizing tone before continuing "Do you want to continue to play games like a human, or do you want to fight, like a Saiyan?"


Of course, Kokukashin had known the answer to his question before he had even asked. Ares lost his cool, laid-back mood yet again as he darted through the air towards Kokukashin. A fiery scarlet aura was encompassing both of the youth's hands as he jabbed at the scientist multiple times.

"Glow in the dark hands?" Kokukashin taunted as he dodged a few punches. Without warning, Ares threw a punch out at a greater speed than the others he had previously launched. Kokukashin wasn't prepared for such a deceitful move, so he was slightly shocked whenever Ares's blazing fist slammed into his face, crushing a bone or two. The sarcastic attitude Kokukashin had wore faded away instantly as his cheek swelled, and ruby-red blood dribbled from his nostrils and lips onto his paper white skin.

"Isn't fighting just a game?" Ares finally answered the question with his own inquiry. A crooked grin formed on his face.

Ares had no mercy for his new foe. He loaded his balled up fist back into the air, and brought it crashing down towards Kokukashin like a meteor burning through the sky. Dimitri swiftly moved in between the two while deflecting Ares's arm gracefully.

"Games are fun" Dimitri started "Beating the hell out of a half-saiyan mutt like you is more of a chore to me"

Ares focused his attention on the pest that had interfered for a split second, which was enough time for Kokukashin to deliver a heavy uppercut into Ares's chest. The hybrid's muscles were unusually firm, which forced Kokukashin to wander if he had even dealt any damage.

Meanwhile, the youngest Saiyan in the group didn't waste any time. Although he was a little slow mentally, Kokukashin had to admit that the boy know as Dimitri could fight. He forced his palm right into the other teen's face with enough impact to kill a full blooded human. Despite this, Ares proved to be an excellent martial artist with plenty of pain tolerance and stamina to digest the attack with little sign of damage, yet again.

Ares surprised the pair by skillfully plunging a kick into the older Saiyan's chest. Kokukashin ground his heels into the ground so he wouldn't go flying back into the air, while simultaneously attempting to keep down the vomit that swirled about in his stomach.

The Saiyan-human hybrid then turned to Dimitri, and delivered multiple blows to his torso with his muscular, glowing arms. Kokukashin and Dimitri quickly made eye contact before nodding their heads in unison, as if they had verbally agreed upon something.

Kokukashin hastily channeled an orb of ki into each of his hands. The orbs were made of dark blue energy, with black electricity crackling around each sphere. Kokukashin ignored the growing pains in his abdomen as he watched Dimitri cup his hands together and form his own attack.

"Shoot now!" Kokukashin yelled as he released both blasts of ki into the air, watching as his fellow Saiyan warrior did the same. The orbs of compacted spiritual-energy ripped through the air before finally exploding. Neither Kokukashin nor Dimitri was sure whether or not any of the blasts had actually hit Ares point blanc, however, they would know whenever the smoke cleared.

[Orion]

There was no doubt. The blood that coursed through Zena's veins was the blood of a saiyan. Diluted, unfortunately, but that brazen outburst, those passionate, determined words proved her warrior ancestry better than any DNA test. Her stubbornness was resolute and unshakable; Orion could see that in her eyes, and hear it reverberate through her defiant speech. Even if the veteran fighter lifted his weapon, fully prepared to launch a tranquilizer dart into her neck, she would not budge. The dart would pierce her skin, the sedative would flow through her blood and her statue-like resolve would crumble. But she would never fight him, not as long as she had a free thought in her mind.

Orion folded his arms and let a light chuckle escape his lips.

Zena looked over her shoulder, hardly expecting the seasoned warrior to laugh at what she thought was a pretty damn convincing case for them to work together against Kai Demolic. This man had lied to her; surely his intentions towards Orion weren't on the level neither. Not to mention that they were saiyans and held some sort of blood pact that prevented them from being adversaries.

"What's so funny?!" she spat, her irises embedded into the corner of her eyes.

Orion let his smirk stay arrogantly painted on his lips, hoping to incite further rage in the saiyan hybrid. "Did you grow up on Vegeta-sei, girl?"

Her aura flared for a moment before settling down. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm judging that because you're not a pure blooded saiyan, you never truly lived on Vegeta-sei. You're young; a lot younger than I am. I can at least surmise that if you were actually birthed on our home planet, you knew nothing of what I endured during my life."

Zena's fury had dulled a moment, if only to hear the one eyed warrior's tale.

"You think that changelings forced the saiyans to become what they were, what they are? Well, of course, they played a pivotal role in the entire perpetual war zone that is our society, but it isn't just those filthy shapeshifters that had no honour. Most saiyans had not a single shred of pride. They were sheep, led along by those reptilian shepherds to do their hideous bidding. And most of them didn't even care. They just laid back and accepted their fate. Besides, the changelings pampered their main needs and desires."

Orion rose a hand, a finger rising from each point. "Fighting, drinking, and sex. For most saiyans, happiness boiled down to these three rudimentary desires. Satisfy those, and most didn't care about pride. Hell, throw zeni into that mix and no saiyan worth his salt could refuse it."

He folded his arms again, his voice growing in intensity. "I've seen changelings kill saiyans, humans, nameks, tuffles, and some races I've never seen before. I've watched from afar, floating in space as an Icer hurls a puff of energy into a planet and morphs and expands it into a brilliant supernova. None ever showed mercy to their victims. Their deaths were either sudden, struck by a cowardly tactic of the lizards, or toyed with as the last drop of blood fell agonisingly from their body." He grimaced as he minced the next words through his grated teeth.

"And I've seen saiyan turn on saiyan. When the opportunity rises, when it's life and death, there is no such thing as pride amongst us. We live purely for ourselves. Whatever it takes to survive, we will do it. Even if it means becoming slaves beneath a tyrannical dictatorship, we will succumb. And if it means forfeiting any concept of honour and brotherhood to our own kin, then we will do it. Don't tell me it has never happened." His one eye shrunk beneath his encroaching eyebrow. "I've been a victim of it first hand."

Suddenly, his blue aura exploded violently around his body. His violet-gold robe ruffled against the winds generated by his own inner energy. Hands balled into fists, he yelled,

"There is no honour amongst anyone! I've been promised 100,000 zeni for each of you that I take down, and I shall be paid in full! Be forewarned, Zena! If you decide to turn your back on me, do not believe that any false sense of saiyan pride lingering in my mind will abruptly stop me. I will turn to face you--"

His blazing aura's navy hue intensified, the jagged spikes widening as he declared,

"--and I will take you down!"

[Celena]

Zena’s head lowered dejectedly, due to Orion’s refusal to neither co-operate or united with her. Reflecting upon his attitude was effective enough to alter her mood. “You’re a fool!” she roared, turning around to show him her look of rage, her aura bursting to its full intensity simultaneously. This man had no honour. That was not all. He would do anything for an immense portion of money. She gritted her teeth. Orion’s words had touched her deeply, left her as emotional as she had ever been, but despite how disappointed she was with Orion, he was not to blame for the attitudes of her saiyan race in this time period. In Xena’s timeline, saiyan’s weren’t the way he had described them. The majority of them did have honour, and betrayal was such a rare occurrence. Loyalty however was a common one. In her timeline, the saiyan race was not perfect; nothing is, however, they had drastically evolved into one where the people co-existed with one another, rather than every person for themselves, like it is today. With the combination of Bra’s authority and Kirano’s mentality, the evolution had come to pass.

Knowing what was in store for her planet’s future; put a smirk on her face.

“Changed your tune?” wondered the one eyed warrior, oblivious to the reason behind her expression.

“I see the big picture, that’s all. As for you, well there’s no getting through to that thick skull of yours. I’d like to know though, the person behind this ‘programme’; what is his name?”

“Kai Demolic.”

“In that case, I have no choice but to eliminate the obstacles preventing me from getting to him.” She sighed disappointingly and then finally entered her fighting stance. “Since you refused to work with me, in my eyes, you’re simply a pawn working for Kai and I will destroy every last one of his pawns, if that’s what it will take to get to him.”

“Destroy me? It’s a fight to the death then.”

“To the death,” she replied, leaping towards him. Their forearms clashed with a thud. Orion was the first to strike, however his fist was obstructed by the young woman’s other wrist. Their hands then conjoined in a test of strength. Both heaved with groans as they tried to reduce one another to their knees. The outcome was a stalemate and just when it seemed a dominant combatant would not be determined, the woman’s hands slowly retracted. The man wearing an eye patch expressed his satisfaction of dominance with an arrogant smirk. Zena would wipe that expression of his face as she used his own momentum against himself, using their joint hands to yank the taller forward. Due to his towering height, she had to spring off her feet while arching her head forward, in order to ram it into his face. He moaned in agony, recoiling with three quick backward steps, holding his face. She strode forward, relentless to continue her assault, swinging her fist into his jaw. The man’s blood sprinkled to his left hand side and accordingly, his face tilted in the same direction. Quick to retaliate, he threw a hard punch of his own that was powerful enough to lift her off the ground and make her head snap backwards, before she landed back first to the ground.

A low murmur escaped her mouth while her eyes were shut, due to temporarily losing consciousness. Her temple throbbed. She should have been squabbling in agony, but his punch had the complete opposite effect on her. Yes, her temple was bruised, but the feeling was comforting. Orion, with trails of blood leading from his nostril, down to his chin, wore a confused look on his face as Zena chuckled, her brown eyes now wide open and fixed on him. She abruptly sat up, her smirk representing her stimulation, which had been provided by the one eyed man’s punch to her forehead. She had never been punched so hard before. She was sure he would be a tough challenge for her, a greater opponent than the boy at the bar named Carter, and the ideology of that left her in a state of ecstasy. “I’m going to enjoy killing you. I hope you’ll enjoy trying to kill me too,” she said to Orion, finally climbing to her feet.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you all of a sudden, but I’m glad you’re into this fight,” he retorted. The fingers and thumbs on both of his hands began to twitch and then golden ki swirled from within his palms, forming two netball sized ki balls.

“Good!” Zena replied, and then copied him as two golden balls of ki the same size, formed from with her smaller palms. His own were more concentrated, but she did not care. She could have made hers larger than his in order to even the playing field, but she was smart enough to realise that it would involve expending more of her energy.

Orion raised the balls towards her midsection and then joined them together to form one, twice the size of the originals. Again, she mirrored him, and then at the same time, they released them. The balls, which were both attached to waves of ki, travelled towards each other like a positive and negative magnet, and then it happened; they collided with each other like two heavyweight boxers. Both warriors screamed, using both of their hands to apply pressure to their attacks. The combined tones of their screams were just as loud as the sound of the ki attacks brushing against one another. The more energy they contributed, the large the ki balls became. Zena soon found herself being pushed backwards. Her feet dug into the concrete as they while they were being scraped along it, creating two trails of tread marks.

Kai Demolic must have loved this. Zena pictured a rich man in his big office, feet up on a hand crafted, brown desk. She depicted a cigar in his mouth while he had a huge grin spread across a middle-aged, yet healthy face. It was this image that motivated her to keep pushing, veins emerging from the skin of her neck.

I’ll fucking slaughter every last one of his pawns, and then… once I capture Kai Demolic, I will torture him. I will show him no mercy. I will leave him in a bath of his own blood and watch as he slowly dies. I will love it, yes, I will love it.

“That all you got Orion?! It’s not good enough! I demand… more! Give me more!” she growled, slowly taking a step forward, saliva trailing down her lips. “GIVE, ME, MORE!”

With more animalistic cries, both applied more energy until their ki balls squeezed against one another, forming semicircles. “HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as golden static formed around the attacks. “That’s what I’m talking about! I fucking love this!” The conjoined attacks expanded, forcing both warriors backwards until an explosion occurred. The impact sent the saiyan’s sailing in opposite directions. Zena had taken a harder fall. Once she stopped rolling across the floor, she lay on her front, motionless, and then her blood stained, left hand moved across the concrete floor, while her eyes remained closed. Orion sat up, dust falling from the front of his hair onto his lap. Despite the carnage, neither combatant was done.

[James]

Smoke streamed like fire from where the dual charges collided headlong with their respective target now residing within the thick cloudy barrier, nothing more but the sound of steadily heaving breaths resonating from ground zero while the echo of the clash waned.

From the blissful silence broke an utterance from inside the haze.

"Did it hurt?" addressing the damage done on the elder Saiyan, Ares' voice rang out dripping in venom coming from the dissipating murk with a vengeance. Visible through the thinning fog his figure began to define, forearms crossed out in front of his face still adorn in their glaring crimson coating with hands turned out, fingers buckled.

His arms lowered simultaneously releasing the condensed energy built up within them, gradually bringing the color of his skin back to its normal hue. Blood trickled down his chin from the upward curve of his smirk from where his defense leaked; his shirt torn at the shoulder where one of the blasts grazed him close enough to draw fluid.

"More than I anticipated," Ares raised his arm, wiping the blood off on his sleeve. "But if you think that's where it ends-" dropping the arm to his side his head mockingly motioned them on. "There’s more to a true Saiyan warrior than you think."

"Cocky shit." Dimitri grumbled irritably.

Kokukashin forced a chuckle only now feeling the pain subsiding from his stomach. "So... money, is it? That's what this is about?" biding his time to recover from the shot, the elder questioned.

"Hardly." the hunter replied casually.

"Then what?" snapped the youth at halfling's leisurely attitude.

Ares turned his head towards the sky, toying with his lip with the back of his finger with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Not sure entirely. Guess I'll just have to wait and see."

Sputtering something of a growl, Koku turned towards Dimitri "One more like that, got it?" he muttered, receiving a nod from his younger cohort- but Ares was already upon them. The hired wrangler leapt at them bringing the full weight of his body down into the punch with Dimitri's skull as the destination of choice.

Almost instantly the young full-bred planted himself solidly to absorb the girth of the force as he caught the blow, drawing back and launching a strike of his own with his free hand that in turn found its way into Ares' waiting palm. Using both firm grips between them the hybrid hoisted himself up and over in a flip, twisting about behind Dimi with a leg in full swing again towards the Saiya-jin's waiting head.

Koku foresaw the moment of advantage, already in the process of rearing back a hand blistering with waiting energy for deployment. Taking the chance, he let loose a blast at an exposed point in the hunter's screen which would've connected hadn't Ares taken into account the Saiyan's supernatural ability. Leaning himself back ever so slightly allowed the assault to darted harmlessly by while losing momentum to his spin, the elder Saiyan had at least succeeded in throwing off the attack.

Taking the opening, Dimitri seized the half-Saiyan by the leg unexpectedly, turning as he slammed Ares down against the hard asphalt spider webbing at the point of contact. Barring a look of determination the Saiyan fighter drag the prisoner in a full circle till the captured warrior was able to whip himself around, taking his foot across the youth's face. Released but still in motion he slid, crashing with his back against a wooden stand along the sidewalk several yards away.

"Now! Fire!" both worked in perfect unison, their hands flowing out from their bodies after a short charge, releasing bolts of raw energy... but Ares was prepared this time.

Directly after an energy attack there was the briefest split second pause by which the two retracted from once their blasts had been dealt, the abuse suffered from the first wave hadn't been entirely for show. Working through sheer thrill of the fight, Ares rose gaining footing as he produced four tranquilizers from his pouch, diving from the course of the two separate energy shots as he flung his four projectiles in line with the two Saiyans.

[Orion]

Orion coughed, expelling a layer of dust from his lungs in a puffy cloud. He had sustained minor injuries so far, but this Zena held in her the unbridled fury of a saiyan warrior, despite her impure blood. Obviously, however, it had been quite some time since she had either fought, or let her fighting spirit control her battle. Those maniacal, unrestrained bouts of laughter showed an unusual sense of enthusiasm, even as a saiyan. Orion loved a fight as much as the next saiyan, but never did he act in a manner as Zena, nor had he seen one of his race.

Standing to his feet, the cyclopian saiyan brushed off the rocky debris from his crash landing off his shoulder. Zena was still laying on the ground.

"Get up," Orion ordered, cracking his knuckles. "You wanted a fight to the death, and now you're motionless after that warm-up? Are you sure you're saiyan?"

A light feminine chuckle emanated from Zena as she sat up, her left hand shaded red.

"Oh, I'm sure," she said with a sly smile. Pain flowed from her wrist; she reveled in the sensation. "Just enjoying the moment."

Orion grunted. "I don't have time for games, child."

Raising a hand, the elder warrior fired an energy bolt. Quickly igniting his blue aura, he gave chase after his own attack. The unprovoked move forced Zena to evaluate her situation. Unfortunately for Orion, she could see through the attack. Trailing close behind, the one eyed fighter expected the half blood to bat the ki blast away, clearing the way for a surprise melee smash.

Zena leapt to her feet, dropping into a combat stance just as the energy wave approached her. She waited for the split second --

She dematerialised. The ki attack sailed through empty space where Orion anticipated a deflection or block. The split second of confusion was capitalised further when Zena's form reappeared above her foe. Orion turned around just in time for the hybrid to deliver a stunning kick to his jaw. The momentum of the strike knocked the veteran fighter to the ground.

"Hahahaha!" Zena laughed.

Orion smudged the trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that."

"I'm full of surprises."

"I bet you are."

A brilliant flash of light engulfed Zena's sight, as if a blinding sun detonated right in front of her. Moments later, she recognised the familiar sound and heat of an energy wave approaching. Orion stood at the opposite end, one arm fully extended, funneling his inner energy into the amazingly abrupt attack.

Zena chuckled, readying both hands in retaliation. "We tried this already, remember? Stalemate?" Ki pooled into her palms. "Oh well."

Thrusting palms forward, Zena mimicked her adversary's movements, firing her own column of energy. The two beams collided, generating a powerful gust of wind that shattered the windows of the nearby dilapidated houses. Lightning snaked about the impact point, shaking the very earth they stood upon. Loose rocks broke free of the binds of gravity, hovering upwards. The grinding and sizzling of the ki waves blocked out almost every other sound.

Orion strained, sweat rolling down his face. Using a one handed ki blast against someone using both hands put him at a disadvantage straight away. Despite his inner affinity for energy usage, he couldn't overpower Zena with one limb.

But that was his plan all along.

The hemispheres of the opposing beams struggled against each other. As much as he tried to prevent it, Orion's ki wave was losing. Zena grinned in glee as she watched her side slowly pushing back her foe's energy column. In a moment, her attack would engulf Orion's, and him along with it.

"As much as I enjoy battles," the one eyed warrior called out over the deafening static, "I don't think you're in the same league as me. So if it's all the same to you, I'd like to end this. Now!"

Orion thrust his unused arm forward. His energy beam suddenly widened threefold as the extra ki screamed down the line. It shrunk back to its normal size after the initial flow, but now Zena was having trouble. Orion's natural skill in energy based attacks was shining through. His denser, augmented ki coursed through his blast, aggressively pushing the head of Zena's attack backwards.

"What?" she called out, her advantage vanishing before her eyes.

Orion bared his teeth, pouring as much power into his energy column as he could afford. To completely overcome her, he needed the element of surprise, letting her believe she was winning to lower her guard. Then, thanks to his talent in ki manipulation, a sudden bolster to the ki wave was enough to turn the tide.

"This ends ... NOW!" Orion roared, pulsing one last exertion of his ki into the furious energy contest.

"No!" Zena protested, but there was nothing she could do. Orion's blast overwhelmed her own, tearing it asunder. Now there was nothing left between the head of the beam and Zena. In desperate hopelessness, Zena shrieked as the light came to swallow her whole.

------

Orion dropped to a knee, trying to catch his breath. Wiping the thick droplets of sweat from his brow, he gazed at where Zena had been standing. A deep trench ran into the earth like a half-pipe where their energy blasts had crumbled the rocky foundation they stood upon. There was no sign of the eclectic half-saiyan female. Orion breathed a sigh of relief.

"I can't believe how close that was." He stood to his feet, brushing his hands over his chest. "For a fighter her age, she sure ---"

His reflection session was cut short by a ki ball rocketing towards him. Catching him off-guard, it exploded right before him, knocking him backwards into the faded wall of a nearby building. His back crashed against it, leaving a spider-web like crack in the stone. He caught himself on his hands and knees after the hit, looking up.

There stood Zena, her hand extended, obviously feeling the exhaustion factor as much as Orion.

"How ... how did you --?" Orion asked in amazement.

"I don't know," she murmured, her happy-go-lucky nature absent for the moment. "I guess I was just lucky."

"Lucky?"

Before Zena knew it, Orion's fist clashed against her cheek, jarring her head involuntarily to the right. The saiyan's rage came to show through his single eye. Just as Zena was about to soar away, Orion grasped her leg and spun her about, hurling her towards the same building that she herself launched him into. The hybrid's body penetrated the wall after being weakened by Orion. Dust blew out of the hole she created in the side of the building.

Orion walked solemnly towards the structure, fists balled. Finding the tranquiliser rifle on the ground that he was carrying earlier, he picked it up and pointed the barrel at the gaping hole where Zena passed through. He tried the fun way, but she wasn't going to comply. Now it was time for the easy way.

A single dart piercing into her skin, and that 100,000 zeni prize would be his.

[Sullivan]

"Now! Fire!" Kokukashin and Dimitri were as one entity of great power when a surge of bluey-white energy soared through the stagnant air towards Ares.

Ares was on his feet. As the pure energy pursued its crash course he was now prepared - as if something had beckoned him to move, the halfbreed jumped out of the way and demonstrated tremendous mental prowess under stress by flinging four tranquilizers out at his dual opponents.

Dimitri saw the tranquilizers moving towards him and imitated Ares' motion by diving. There was an untraceable feeling of elation as the danger passed over the full-breed that prepared him for more fighting with a surge of adrenaline. The empty way his brain seemed to be working on its own was mysterious but familiar to Dimitri - it was the sensation brought to anyone of saiyan descent by a thrill-filled fight.

He deftly moved to his feet and began running forward in one fluid motion with his feet pounding against the now-cleared pavement whose debris had been swept up in the action. Ares' eyes met with his own while he sprinted forward, growing closer and narrowing while the distance between them was bridged. The halfling threw his arm up, open handed to defend against Dimi's strike. The bloodlust had taken effect in him by this stage, however, and Dimitri perceived this motion.

Upon reaching Ares, Dimi hurled a fist at Ares' nose to be the harbinger of pain and a hand at Ares' own to be the stifler of retaliation. The hunter's eyes widened with sudden surprise while Dimi's hands moved methodically. The moment passed without struggle and Ares' face played pincushion to Dimitri's white knuckles. He was knocked backward but barked out with ferocity because he had a grip on the full-blooded saiyan's forearm. He jerked him in an arc.

Dimitri flew in a dizzying arc that put him in a heap on top of a nearby ruined car. He lied on its hood composing himself before the visage of Ares suddenly appeared above him, tainted hair-color waving in the wind: the proof that he was not of true blood in Dimitri's eyes. Even so, he proved a worth-while opponent. His face contorted in rage as an enormous motion brought a tranquilizer down at Dimitri's neck.

The saiyan rolled off the hood while hearing a highly dangerous thud behind him that signaled the syringe had plunged into metal. A curse rang out indignantly behind him while Dimi scurried forward without thought. His body was behaving on its own.

He got to his feet and turned to see Kokukashin struggling with Ares', a syringe of his own in one hand that he had probably gathered from Ares' earlier strike. Ares was growling fiercely as he struggled with the hand bearing down venomously on him, the stinger gleaming deviously. The halfling yelled suddenly and kicked in the style of a mule, both in stubbornness and physicality. His kick connected with Koku and lifted him off his feet.

Ares remained panting on the hood of the car where the struggle had taken place.

Dimi jumped onto its roof and murmured in a low voice, "I'm sick of you, half-blooded scum. I think it's time that you see the face of a true saiyan warrior."

He stomped down at Ares' head but not quickly enough. Ares tugged his body down at the perfect instant and fell to the ground before anxiously jolting away from his dual attackers. Dimi and Kokukashin were both hasty to pursue, however, and Dimitri tugged the syringe Ares had failed to remove from the hood of the car out for his own use before running forward.

Ares turned to stand his ground while meeting eyes with Kokukashin and Dimitri, each holding a syringe of their own, prey supplied by their hunter in a horrible irony. He cursed out loud at his own luck while looking at the two.

"You made a mistake by coming here," said Dimitri in a low tone. "I cannot stress enough that we will not roll over and die here. We are fighting not just for money at this point, but for our lives. For answers. I could carry on without a second thought if I killed you now. You are just a hurtle to me, on my run to the finish line, halfling. Just scum to be scraped up and tossed with the rest of the scum. You will die here."

He lifted his syringe, as did Kokukashin, and they moved forward ominously.

[Kokukashin]

Kokukashin quickly slipped a look to Dimitri, which was responded to with a modest nod.The Scientist dashed forward, holding his hand out as if he would soon thrust the needle into the half-ling's flesh. Ares instinctively hoisted his arm into the air to block the perceived attack, however, Koku withdrew his hand at the last second, and instead delivered a round house kick right into the hybrid's temple. Ares now had a dazed look on his face, which was doubled in intensity whenever Dimitri hammered his curled fist into Ares' spine.

The hunter coughed up enough blood to stain a good portion of his own shirt, yet he refused to give up. Dimitri chambered his arm, preparing to deliver another attack. Ares was ready this time. He pivoted around at an amazing speed before using a knife-hand to deflect Dimitri's fist, knocking it into the window of the rusted car. The glass shattered, some pieces even mercilessly pricking themselves into the youth's hands.

A wave of rage covered Dimitri's face as he freed his own hand, and swung it so close to Ares' face that the shards of glass ripped open fresh wounds in the hybrid's face. A drop of blood fell through the air and splashed into the ground. Ares' face now contained the same anger that had manifested on Dimitri's a few moments earlier. He held his face for a split second, while Dimitri tried to observe how much damage he had done. Ares forearms suddenly let out a burst of red ki. He punched with each of his hands at the same time, landing both hands side by side into Dimitri's chest. The boy's eyes opened as wide as tennis balls as he flew through the air until a huge, unforgiving oak tree stopped his body.

Ares felt the skin on his back rip open. He leaped forward while turning his neck to see Kokukashin. The scientist held his lanky katana out in front of him with both hands. Anger burned in his eyes like the fire of hell. The sword released a navy-blue burst of ki, similar to how Ares' arms had done. Kokukashin swung the blade again, smashing it right into Ares' arm. The blade dug it's way into it's opponent's wrist, however, the concentrated energy in Ares' arms prevented the sword from slicing off his hand. The two warriors swung their weapons into each other multiple times, each time a sonic boom would fill the air.

Ares finally got sick of his assailant. He hammered the sword so hard that it was submerged a few feet into the soil. The hunter raised his hand again, and brought it right down on Kokukashin's head. The scientists head moved against his will, speeding down until he collided into the dirt of the ground. He slowly tried to stand, but Ares slammed his fists down again and again. Ares brought his hand up in the air, ready to deliver the coup de grace. As expected, Dimitri noticed his comrade being clobbered, so he rose to his feet and delivered at least 20 ki blasts. Despite the fact that they were pretty weak because they were lightly concentrated, they all burst into the skin of Ares' back, grabbing his attention. Kokukashin ripped his sword out of the soil, pulling himself together to finally finish this guy off. He slashed his blade twice, gouging into his adversary's chest each time, forming an "X" shape.

Ares was heavily wounded. He had been blasted, smashed around, and even had his flesh ripped open by a huge sword. He was clearly outnumbered. Despite this, he was not at a complete loss. Several of Kokukashin's bones had been broken, and the scientist had thrown out tons of energy to keep up the fight. Dimitri had his fair share of wounds too.

"Well, I really did enjoy it" Ares snarled, trying to hide his injuries "but I am seriously done playing these games, grampa."
Kokukashin laughed at the nickname he had been given, considering how he was only 34. Ares ignored the chuckle, instead he bulged his muscles to their maximum as he erected his hands up in the air. As he brought his hand crashing down to kill Kokukashin, ignoring the blasts that had hit his back earlier, he felt an arm wrap around his neck, like a snake around it's prey.Ares identified the lib as belonging to Dimitri's.

In Dimitri's free hand, he held his syringe next to Ares' temple. Kokukashin felt a tingling rush of adrenaline as he clutched his own syringe, and dashed at the restrained hunter, with the needle gripped tightly in his hand...

[Friend or Foe]

Kokukashin was in mid-leap, running at full speed on his damaged legs to tackle Ares, who was pressed up against the wall of a buildings. Ares was held up by one forearm of Dimitri, the needle of the tranquilzer so close to his vulnerable throat. He tried to push him away, but the pain in his X-marked chest was too much to bear.

He was about to be stabbed with his own needle. He wasn't about to just be knocked out by a drug, no...these men were going to try and kill him. Ares had to summon every amount of energy he had to tense up and jolt his body. His foot spasmed to the right, catching Dimitri in the gut, and causing him to stumble backwards. Just as Kokukashin came up on him, Ares threw his body to the side.

"Got you!" Koku shouted as he injured arm smashed into the wall, missing by a great distance. Ares caught the arm as it connected and shattered, chopping it upwards and rendering it useless. As Ares lost his own balance, his foot came up, bringing Koku down to the ground, wrestling-style.

All three men were tired. There was nothing anybody could actually do to get an advantage, considering just throwing a punch was a huge chore. Dimitri was the only man standing, gripping his syringe and looking down at Ares, who couldn't do anything to stop it.

"This is it," Dimitri said between panting breaths. "It's finally over."

"Do it, then," Ares coughed out.

As Dimitri's hand raised, a pop could be heard. A needle stuck suddenly out of the neck of the young saiyan. His eyes dropped immediately. Then his arm. Then his body, with a thud.

Ares looked up just in time to see Orion standing nearby. He was holding a tiny girl over his broad shoulders. With Dimitri down and Ares not able to move, only Kokukashin remained standing. Always the saiyan, the scientist stood up, standing on spread legs, breathing deep. "Put her down," he demanded of Orion.

"You should stand down," Orion suggested. "Your battle is lost."

Of course, he was a saiyan. So was Kokukashin. So the one-eyed warrior knew exactly how this was going to end. He was out of needles and there was only one way to end this so he could collect his money.

"I will never stand down!" The stubborn researcher shouted at the top of his lungs, using almost all of his energy. He ran forward, putting his momentum in front of him and hoping it would carry him towards Orion.

His opponent was tired as well, but hardly in as bad of a shape as his partner was. He raised his unoccupied arm up and opened the palm of his hand. With one blast of energy, Kokukashin was hit right in his chest, flying backwards and smashing into the wall behind where Ares was struggling to get up. "He's head," Orion said, "Leave him."

"Don't have to tell me twice," the injured man said, standing up, trying to get his energy back. "Thanks for the assist."

Orion lifted up the limp Dimitri over his other shoulder. "Let's go. This is 100,000 zeni each. Back to the manor."

















(Kokukashin is eliminated from the competition. By the time he wakes up, FoF employees have already found his body and transported him off the island.)