The Power to Protect (Complete)

A pair of mechanical doors opened as Sairai walked into the bridge of the Big Gete Star. “Status report on the upgrades,” was all that he said.

The Star seemed unresponsive for a moment before commenting. “Almost complete sir. The bridge and main areas are taken care of. All that is left is the maintenance halls, for any additions you wish to make.”

Sairai looked up at the computer monitor which still sported a carbon copy of his face and smiled lightly. “That’s good. I am sorry about messing with your programming after we made our deal, but I had to ensure you wouldn’t harm the people of this world or any other that we may visit.”

“I understand, sir, and as long as I get the information I need, I’m more than happy to serve you in this capacity. At least you left my core personality programming unaltered.”

Sighing, Sairai sat back in the command chair. “Yes. You will learn much more from studying how the beings across the galaxy live than how their body are built. I promise you this much.”

“Understood, sir. The modifications are nearly complete. Was there anything you needed to do?”

The Changeling thought about it for a second and considered his options. “Hmm... Yeah, there is something I need. Prep the elevator for the new training area. I’m going to be practicing in case another creature like that Balzar thing begins to threaten the Earth.”

“The elevator is prepared to take you to the training station.”

Sairai stood up and cracked his neck before walking over to the elevator. I need to reach a new level of power before something even stronger than that demon shows up. I know we Changelings have more than just three forms. I’ll have to push myself beyond my current state of power if I want to be able to defend the people of the world.

A single tear rolled down his cheek as he stood in the elevator, the grief he only allowed himself in private moments beginning to surface once more. “Sir, why is condensation forming on your face?”

“It’s nothing. Just some bad memories cropping up. It’s called crying, by the way.”

“Definition registered.”

The young man rolled his eyes and continued his ride down to the training platform in silence. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but some day he would have to find a way to overcome his grief and feelings of guilt over what happened in East City. He reached into the protective pocket of his old Planet Trade Organization uniform and pulled out the three star dragon ball.

“When all seven are brought together, a wish can be made... Perhaps that will be my saving grace. Maybe, just maybe I can return all the people killed during the battle between myself and Balzar to life. Just maybe...”

His thoughts were interrupted by the training hall opening up before him. He exited the elevator and walked out to the middle of the newly constructed room. “Prepare to analyze my power level as I train. I’ve given you the programming of the standard scouters from my home planet. Do you think you can calculate my current level of power?”

“Affirmative. It should prove a most interesting study of how your race performs in a combat situation.”

“Agreed. I need all the power I can muster if I’m to continue acting as one of the guardians of this planet.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so focused on safeguarding a planet of such underdeveloped life forms?”

“It’s simple really. The strong should not rule the weak, but instead defend their freedoms and lives. That is our role as the strongest. There are, of course, those who would lord their power over life forms weaker than themselves, but it is not something I would allow to enter my consciousness most of the time if I had the choice.”

“Understood. I’ll keep not of that in my memory.”

Without any further talking, Sairai pushed himself beyond his normal limits and began to transform into his second form. “I will defend this planet!” he yelled between his screams of pain. His body blew up to three times its normal size, first his torso, then his arms and legs, and finally his head. His horns turned black and curved upward like a pair of bull horns, and a grim smile crossed his lips.

He allowed his ki to flow outward from his body, the sheer power of it causing the room around him to creak from the power. “Keep track of my power level and keep the auto repair on standby. There’s a chance this room won’t be able to handle my power yet. Track the damage done, repair it, and bolster it against damage of at least five times that power reading.”

“Yes, sir.”

The floor began to crack into pieces under him before regenerating, and then it began to curve inward under the sheer gravity of his power, before it immediately righted itself.

“What’s my power level?” he asked through gritted teeth.

The computer seemed to freeze for a few moments before loading up a holographic image detailing his power level. “I will keep the number on this screen so you can track your power level at your convenience.”

“Good man.”

The reading on the screen showed a picture of Sairai and next to it a number. “Let’s see... Whenever my power level falls, freeze it at the highest number. I need to know the peak number, nothing else.”

“Affirmative.”

The number froze at the number one hundred and eighty-five thousand. He looked up at the number and smirked slightly. “Well, this is certainly a promising number. I don’t think I’ve met very many people with a higher power level than that, if any.”

He could feel the power coursing through his veins, but knew it wasn’t his limit. “Alright, let’s see how far I can push this in my third form.”

Without a second thought, he was hunched over himself as his power spiked once moe. He could feel the pain tearing through his body as he screamed. The pain was agonizing, but there was just something within him that told him to push it even further. His head slowly began to elongate as strange bonelike spikes began to push from his head and his horns shrank back into his head, forming two pairs of spike like protrusions on his head.

His arms and legs elongated, to where his knuckles could easily brush the floor in his hunched over position. His face scrunched in and his skin took on that same lighter azure color as before, though the skin around his hands and face stayed the same color. “Dammit!” he screamed into the void.

“That shit hurts...”

WC: 1,140

With his third form opened up, he looked up at the screen. It didn’t change much, but he hadn’t powered up yet, so he wasn’t really surprised. As he prepared to unleash his new maximum power, the Big Gete Star interrupted his concentration. “Sir, we seem to have an intruder. Shall I eliminate?”

“What?! No, of course not. Guide whoever it is here.”

“He’s already on his way to this location. He seems to be looking for you, specifically.”

Sighing, Sairai allowed his power level to flair casually and floated up in the air, allowing himself to be supported only by a cushion of ki. “Seriously, what the hell is going on these days? Seems anyone can just break into your property without an invitation.”

Without much of a fuss, the person who had broken in made his way down the elevator and exited in the training grounds. To Sairai’s surprise, not only was it someone he knew, it was someone he hadn’t seen in months.

“...John!?”

The burly redhead looked at the younger man before him and smiled. “I was wondering whose energy that was I read. I was surprised to find this... uh... interesting object hanging in the sky.”

“Yeah, this is my personal interplanetary fortress, the Big Gete Star. What brings you here?”

“Well, I was going to see if this thing was nice or not, but it seems my question was answered. If you’re the one who’s piloting it, it has to be friendly. At least, by my estimation,” the man said with his infections smile. Even Sairai couldn’t help but smile, even considering the towering guilt hanging over his head about what had happened in East City.

“Yours is also the energy I sensed when East City was nearly destroyed, wasn’t it?”

Sighing, the Changeling nodded. “The other energy was a demon named Balzar. He...” Sairai closed his eyes as tears dripped from his cheeks. “He wiped out everyone in the city with thousands upon thousands of energy waves. I... I had no choice. I had to use that attack. If I didn’t kill him, there are countless millions of others who would have died by his hand. I’m sure of it.”

John patted the young man on the shoulder with one hand, nearly driving him to the ground with his sheer strength. “You did the right thing. That was an impressive fireworks show, even from over a hundred miles away. I’m certain anyone within thirty days’ travel of East City saw it.”

WC: 418
TWC: 1,558

Looking at John with a questioning expression, the Changeling asked, “How the hell did you get up here?”

“You don’t honestly think that as strong as I am, I haven’t learned a bit about controlling my ki, do you? I’ve been alive a rather long time, and I’d bet that I’m a lot stronger than you’re giving me credit for even now.”

“So you flew...” Sairai didn’t even bother to acknowledge the rest of what the human had said. “Alright, fair enough.”

John held up his hand, requesting that the other man be silent for a few moments. “You seem... different than last time. More than physically or even power wise. It’s almost like you’re a completely different person. What happened in East City?”

“I was looking for this,” the Changeling said, holding up a small orange globe with one hand and looking at the older man with a strange, saddened expression. “I... didn’t have the power to protect the people of the city. That thing unleashed thousands upon thousands of energy waves, wiping out everything for miles, and he enjoyed it. It was frightening, and... I lost it. I became so enraged that I used the Super Nova attack, the most destructive attack our race has at its disposal, to destroy him.”

He levitated over to the nearest wall and looked out one of the windows he had asked the Star to install and sighed. “What’s worse is, I’m certain there are others who are just as powerful as him out there, and I’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg. Balzar was the first I’ve encountered, and I’ve felt another energy very similar to his own, but still different. I think it was a human, but the air of cockiness and pure cold heartedness radiating off that being was also frightening.”

He sighed and brought a hand up to his face. “It’s troubling to think that my might alone will not be enough to protect this planet.”

John smiled and walked over to the Changeling before putting his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “You don’t think your strong enough, and you fear what’s to come. That thing wasn’t alone?”

“No, and it serves an even stronger power. I could feel the power being sapped from Balzar’s body right before he died. It was as if his master had taken away the very power that had been given to him.”

“His master, huh? This is getting fishy. I’ve never heard of an entity capable of granting power like that before, except for...” his eyes focused on the Dragon Ball in Sairai’s possession. “Well, except for those. The Dragon Balls are a source of near infinite power, the kind of which many have sought out, and some have actually managed to collect. Thankfully they haven’t been used for really malevolent purposes much.”

John went on, “There have always been people willing to do whatever it took to prevent the Dragon Balls from being misused, and they have managed to do the impossible as well. They’ve brought the Dragon Balls together before for the benefit of mankind.”

Sairai continued to look out the window with a frown. There was something John wasn’t telling him, and he wasn’t going to respond until he knew what that something was. The human looked at him in an odd way for a few moments, as if expecting a response, and then sighed. “Alright, alright, you win... What is it you want to know?”

“Just who exactly are you, to know all of this information and not act on it?”

“You could say I’m just old and tired of having to step in to fix other peoples’ problems. Or you could say that I prefer to merely watch, and refuse to step in unless I see it is necessary. Or you could just say I’m lazy or care nothing about this planet. The truth of the matter is I don’t step in because there are enough people on this planet that truly care about it to do what it necessary to protect her. You proved that yourself. You did what was necessary to contain something truly monstrous.”

Sairai wasn’t entirely convinced, but he allowed it to slide.

“What are you doing? I could feel your power surging beyond anything I’ve ever felt from you before, except for the event in East City.”

“I’m trying to calculate my maximum power level, so I can push myself beyond it and hopefully not have to watch as others die. I want to prevent destruction, not merely punish those who do it.”

“Ah, fair enough. It is a laudable goal.”

“Since you’re here, though... Mind helping me train? This will go much faster with a sparring partner.”

“Uh... sure, I guess so. You don’t expect to beat me or anything, do you?”

“No, I just need to be pushed to my limit so that I can... well, transform one final time.”

“Ah... Alright, then. You can count on me to help.”

WC: 833
TWC: 2,391

“But first let me get my work clothes on,” the human said, which Sairai considered quite strange.

“Work clothes?”

“Yeah, well... uh... How do I explain this? Remember when you met me and I said I was a traveler? I wasn’t lying, but I wasn’t telling the whole truth either. I’m not from Earth. I’m a galactic traveler. I’ve been all over the Northern Galaxy. I’m from a race on a distant planet somewhat akin to humans, but shorter, and with much more spiritual power as a generalization.”

“I see...” the Changeling replied.

“We also have a special power that allows us to... ahem... achieve a power greater than that of most humans. We can transform, too.”

Of course, this took a few seconds for the Changeling to take in. He was used to the Changelings being the race most capable of transformations. “You’re serious?”

“Well, every race has the capability to transform themselves, to go to a new level of power that causes their bodies to change shape in some way or form. I hear Master Roshi has the ability to increase his muscle mass considerably, which gives him exponentially more strength and spiritual power. I can do something similar, though you might want to stand back a little.”

Sairai of course did as he was told and took a couple of steps back as the man began to scream. He could feel the man’s ki radiating off of him like a tidal wave. “Big Gete Star, track this man’s power level. I want to see exactly what I’m dealing with.”

The computer of the Star immediately brought up another screen and showed the Xeno’s power level to be roughly five hundred thousand. The Changeling looked up at the screen with a slack jaw. There was no way that reading could be right. “Are you sure this information is correct?!” he almost screamed at the computer as the man’s muscles began to bulge out.

“It’s still climbing, sir. I am waiting for his transformation to complete itself before I calculate it any further. The sensors would overload otherwise.”

“Understood. Keep me informed of the changes.”

“Yes sir.”

Lightning appeared to start radiating off John’s form. The pure energy tore holes into the hull of the Big Gete Star, which immediately began to repair itself, nano machines working to alter the form and build of the walls to a strength that could withstand the power radiating off of this being. “His power is absolutely amazing. I can’t believe any being is capable of this, much less someone I’ve known since I came to this planet.”

A black look crossed the Changeling’s face. “How many others like him can there possibly be? There are bound to be others out there just as powerful as he is, and I’m not looking forward to meeting them, that’s for sure.”

John finally seemed to come under control of himself and stood back up at an impressive height before stretching. “Alright, this should be more than enough,” he said as he cracked his neck and his knuckles. He looked at Sairai with a confused expression. “What? You thought your race was the only one that could grow larger through the use of a transformation? Let’s see... Last time someone with a scouter looked at my power level with this form it clocked in at-“

“One and one half million,” the computer said. “His power level is one and one half million. Be careful, sir. I don’t think that I can repair the damage if he attacks the hull at full power.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. I have grown a bit stronger since then. Shall we begin?”

Sairai rushed him and began throwing a series of strikes and kicks toward the man’s midsection. Of course, John easily dodged them, using his superior speed to his advantage. “Come on, man, surely you don’t think that this measly power is going to be anywhere near enough to protect this planet. Hit me with something hard!”

Sairai jumped back and swiped his hand across the void between them, creating a line of ki in the air that hung still for a moment.

“Ah, so you’ve learned the Lightning Shower... Impressive.”

“Lightning what?” Sairai asked. He swiped his hand back across as thousands upon thousands of white-blue shards rained down upon the Xeno across from him. The man did not dodge or move out of the way, but instead just stood there and took the attack, before dusting himself off with little more than a few cuts on his skin, which were beginning to heal over already.

“Lightning Shower, an attack that crystallizes ki and sends it hurtling toward an opponent, like so.” John followed Sairai’s example and swiped his hand back and forth across the void before unleashing a similar attack, only colored a light orange instead of the almost white blue that Sairai had used.

Using a sudden burst of speed, Sairai barely managed to avoid being cut to ribbons by the attack. “You have got to be kidding me. I thought I made that move myself!”

“Nothing’s original, Changeling,” John responded from above him and he opened his palm and unleashes a ki wave into Sairai’s face that caused him to crash into the ground, leaving a large dent in the metal that immediately began to repair itself.

“Son of a... How did you?”

WC: 898
TWC: 3,289

“How did I do that?” the man asked from the other side of the room. “It’s simple, really. I’ve been alive a lot longer than you have, and I had to learn to defend myself against threats that Earth could never dream of coping with. King Cold, for example. Terrible example of a good person, but one hell of a fighter. His power, when fully transformed, is frightening to behold. I trained with the PTO for awhile before I came to Earth. I decided the whole planet selling thing wasn’t for me, but at the time, King Cold barely had anyone working for him, so he had to train the new cannon fodder himself, and believe me, training with him had its benefits.”

John reappeared in front of Sairai and pulled him to his feet before chucking him halfway across the room and into a wall. “You’ve got to stay on your toes! If you’re fighting someone, keep them in your eye line at all times, no matter how much faster than you they are!”

Sairai caught himself in midair and turned to face the Xeno with a wicked smile on his face. He let loose with dozens of Death Beams. John held up a single finger and did the same thing, countering each of his blasts with one of his own. He seemed to be yawning while he was doing it as well.

“Angry yet?” the man asked from behind him. Sairai swiped out with his tail only to have it caught in mid-swing. John took yanked up on his tail and slammed him against the ground repeatedly before throwing him across the room again.

“Ka-me-ha-me-ha!” He screamed, unleashing a wave of bright orange ki at the Changeling before he disappeared from sight again. Sairai brought his arms up to defend himself, but the wave was too strong and sent him careening against the nearby wall. Sairai crawled back through the hole he had made with his body and bent over, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to piss me off, cause it’s working!”

“Good!” John replied, coming down from above with an elbow to Sairai’s head. The Changeling swore he heard something crack under the pressure of the blow and put his hands to his head.

“Alright, that’s enough!” he screamed, his power radiating off of him like blue fire. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’ve had enough!” The pain radiating through his body was little more than an annoyance compared to the fact that a man he had trusted was treating him like a punching bag.

“What else you want to say, huh? You can’t beat me. You can’t even lay a scratch on me.”

Sairai’s head was beginning to throb as his ki continued to radiate off him. His vision was blurred and the anger shooting through him made him want to vomit. Suddenly, he felt as though the cracking sound was coming from all directions. “What’s that bloody sound?!” he screamed, looking around for the source.

“Look at yourself. See the cracks in your body’s natural armor. Let your power continue to push beyond that limit. Look at me,” John said. Sairai did, and with his vision as blurred as it was he saw... No... it can’t be... He looked at the face more closely, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. Balzar?!

With that last bit of a push, Sairai screamed in pain as his body cracked further and finally seemed to shatter into thousands of pieces. There was no mess on the floor, no broken shards of armor to pick up, though. As the dust finally cleared, Sairai stood there, his form much smaller than before. Gone were the horns and bone protrusions. Gone was the armor. All that remained was a small, lithe form, tail swaying in the wind, strange spikes jutting off of his arms, and a black, nearly murderous look on his face. Sairai had finally achieved his fourth form, the Changeling’s pinnacle of power.

His vision cleared and he saw John standing before him again. “Wh-what did you do to me?”

“I brought the memory of the demon to the forefront of your mind and made you think it was me. I’m sorry, but it was the only way I could cause enough emotional strain to push you to this level. I’m glad it wasn’t in vain though.”

The man walked over to the window and looked out toward the Earth below. “Congratulation, Sairai. You’ve now reached what most of your race would consider the peak of your power, but be warned, there are many out there just as strong as me, some stronger, and you will have to be at your best if you ever hope to confront them. Be ever vigilant, be ever aware, and most of all, keep training. I’m sure some day you will be the first Changeling in history to achieve the ultimate of ultimate forms.”

“What do you mean?”

“This won’t be your last transformation. Just... something tells me that much more awaits you on the other side.”

With that concluded, the two stood at the window and stared out at the Earth, neither knowing what awaited them ahead, but both certain that Sairai would be able to handle it, or die trying.

WC: 888
TWC: 4,177