Tasuda Chronicles: Crash and Burn

Crash and Burn

Medium Quest

Requirement: Must have completed Rogue Namek

Reward: 2,000 zeni and +15 Hero Points.

You arrive at the final Elder's village, to find it in ruins. Doing a little scouting, you find that an Xeno starship has arrived. Apparently they're a group of slavers who have abducted the whole village. Defeat the slavers and free the Elder, and he will give you the last recommendation you need to meet with the Grand Elder.

Smoke rose up in the distance. The smell of burnt concrete filled their noses as they rushed towards the village that had become an inferno. Fires rarely lasted long, if they even happened. Namek was warm all of the time with the three suns. The never ate. They discarded plant remains into the ocean. The only time any of them started a fire was to entertain guests and cook them food.

When a fire got out of hand, there was always water nearby and was quickly put out. Namek was an island world. Very few lands were big enough to have water out of reach and they rarely had any villages on them and when they were on them, they stuck close to the water. Water was the life source of Namekians.

As they got close, they realized why the fire wasn't out yet. No one was around. This was even more concerning. Namekians never abandoned their homes, not when they had family and this was one of the larger villages. They had to have kids around.

They touched down and began the process of putting fires out. Most of the buildings were damaged beyond repair while others needed a little repair work. None came away without damage. They looked around but no bodies were found. Nothing existed. It was like they vanished among the flames.

Vilin crouched down to look at several foot prints. "The villagers weren't alone. Someone that was heavy was here as well. Probably several of them."

"No one died." Commented Tasuda.

Vilin stood up and walked over to where his burden stood. There were a couple dozen burnt spots. But it wasn't from the fire. They were perfect circles. "How do you know they are alive?"

Tasuda looked up into the green sky. The clouds were parted and slowly coming back together. "There were several beams that hit these spots. If it were weapons, we'd see ash from bodies. I think these are beams from teleportation. Who we are looking for are right up there."

Vilin looked up but saw nothing, only the parted clouds. How Tasuda knew this he wasn't sure. He didn't think teleportation was a real technology. Everyone he's seen had taken shuttles. With the exception of Tasuda who seemed to appear out of no where. And that's when he began to get a bit more suspicious of the Namekian brother.

Tasuda gripped Vilin's shoulder and they vanished from sight, leaving only a dust devil behind. To the guardian, his vision swam. It seemed to take ages to get to their destination. His stomach twisted as his eyes fought to get a hold of an image. Something to get his balance. And when they appeared, he fell to his knees, breathing heavily, ready to spew.

Tasuda looked down at him. He hadn't ever felt that way, even on his first trip. Was this due to them being from different universes? Vilin stood, recovering from his moment of disorientation, though still a bit dizzy.

"Ok?"

Vilin didn't say anything in response. Only nodded. Tasuda could tell they were in a cargo hold and from the size, the ship was massive. There was no way a ship that kidnapped people were unarmed.

"I'll go this way, you head through that door."

Vilin wasn't so sure they should split up, and he protested. "We don't know their strength."

"And they don't know we're here. If they find one, they won't find the other. Try and stay hidden as much as possible and sneak around and find the villagers. If you find them get out. A ship this size will have plenty of escape pods, or some ships in a hanger."

Vilin wasn't sure how he knew so much about spaceships. Not many Namekians did. Only those who built them on Namek knew and they were few. He was a traveler, so guess it made sense. Maybe he really was right though.

Tasuda stopped at the corner and looked down the hall way. The ship was massive and it would be difficult to find the hostages by normal searching. There were a couple soldiers down at the other end. Probably doing guard duty. He stepped out and with a quick wave of his hand, had both down as energy blasts struck them in the sides of their heads. It wasn't long before more security guards showed.

Tasuda put his hands up and fell to his knees. They were quick to report in as they cuffed him and hauled him away. He came to a door which opened up to reveal about sixty Namekians. They tossed him in and the door shut. He heard a bit of a click. He pulled on the cuffs and they snapped.

Standing up, the Namekian prisoners surrounded him. "Don't worry, I'm getting you out of here."

One of the Namekians, an elder by the looks of it said, "There's about two hundred of us total that were taken."

Tasuda shook his head in amazement. "Why hasn't anyone noticed this before? Guru should've sensed something."

"Is this not why you are here?"

Tasuda nodded. "Yeah, but I had to go to one of the villages to find out you were taken."

The old Namekian shook his head. "Guru is old. He's loosing his touch with his children. It was bound to happen. He's lived longer than any Namekian ever."

The Namekians of this universe seemed weaker. More complacent than his universe. This was going to be a problem. But now that he's found them, and surely Vilin would've been caught by now himself and hopefully thrown into the other housing to prepare them. He knew what he looked like so he could quickly teleport to him.

"Alright, I can't take very many, but I'm going to take you guys back to the planet. If the children could please come forward. I will take you all to Guru's island." The children did as they were told. There were maybe fifteen.

He held onto them and they vanished, leaving the older Namekians alone. Tasuda and the children appeared before Guru. "Guru, we've been attacked by a ship in orbit and our people have been kidnapped. Why have you not felt this?"

Guru's face didn't change. Maybe it was age. It was impossible to sense his emotions. He couldn't display them. "I have felt it. It is why I sent you to the village." Was he lying? Or was that true?

Tasuda shook his head in disbelief and vanished. Only to appear with some of the adults and the remaining children. After a few more trips he was done but he was feeling the strain badly. He was pushing himself hard and his body was resisting now. He was already drained of energy, but he had so much more to do. He wanted to clear out all of the namekians before he did anything about those that committed this atrocity.

He vanished again, but when he appeared, he fell to a knee. He was done with this room. His breathing was labored and sweat poured from him. Alarms went off and he heard those over the loud speaker saying the namekians had escaped and were using the escape pods. It made Tasuda smile.

He stood back up, legs weak from the strain he was putting himself through. The door opened up behind him. “They’re gone! Only one remains!”

“Kill him!”

Looks like he’d have to push himself once more. Blasts cut through him, and in a moment they were all down as the image faded. Tasuda looked at all of them. Five of them were unconscious. He wanted to kill them now but they’d die with the ship crashed. He left the room, stumbling a little as he walked. More guards showed up. He let out an exhausted sigh as his hands pulled back. Each hand glowed brightly with energy and as they were preparing to fire, he unleashed a wave of energy that washed over them.

Cries of pain could be heard as they were cooked in their armor and uniforms. Tasuda stumbled to the left and slammed into the wall. He slid down and sat there eyes shut taking a breath. He had to get more energy back.

He felt hands grab him, but he was too weak to fight back or even open his eyes. They drug him along the hallway. He opened his eyes for only a moment, but everything was so blury. A door hissed open and he was thrown down.

“He doesn’t look injured, but he’s pretty out of it, almost like he is too exhausted to fight back.”

Another voice spoke. “From what reports say, he is able to fire lasers from his hands. With a single blast he’s taken out an entire group of twenty well trained soldiers.” THe voice paused a moment.”Maybe it uses up their life force. Maybe this one is dying. He looks near death.”

Death... such a nice thought. He could easily just return to heaven and relax for the next several hundred years. That sounded all dandy, but he had Namek to save first. He could feel more and more energy enter into the pores of his body. He was becoming more and more rejuvenated by the second. Soon it’d just be enough to act. Maybe he could simply take them out physically.

“I guess just kill him and put him out of his misery. We’ll have to gather the rest. We need them harvested for our people. Prepare the soldiers and collectors. Let’s get this over with quickly. I don’t want to be here much longer.”

“Yessir.”

Tasuda’s fists clenched. And a second later he was on the move. In the second it took everyone to realize he was awake, the security was down. All that was left was the captain who stood in shock and the remaining bridge crew of the ship. The one who had ordered his death was the captain, and now he was dumb founded.

“How?”

“How am I alive? You have to ask yourself why you aren’t dead.” Tasuda walked over to the console. The controls reminded him of the Avalonians. “Who are you?”

The Captain shook his head and snapped out of his daze. “I am Captain Ladiv of the Urus. You sir are under arrest!”

Tasuda saw Urus was the name of the ship. The naming convention wasn’t Avalonian. He was thankful as he couldn’t imagine them doing something like this. Yeah they had hunted down those with power, but that was a whole other bad situation that simply got worse.

“Well Captain, I suggest you find yourself an escape pod if you want to live.” He entered a set of coordinates, then planted his hand on it. The console overloaded and set off a chain reaction. The ship moved.

“Where are we going?” the Captain demanded.

“Frieza. Assuming it’s still there. You’ll like them. You may not like what they do to you, but the two of you have a like mind.Now give my regards to Frost or King Cold if they’re still around.” After that, he vanished. He appeared in the mass of Namekians who were all thankful of what he had done.

The sky lit up with escape pods that rained down from space. It was one hell of a spectacle. The fiery streaks were like shooting stars. They landed in all kinds of locations which meant Tasuda would need to start searching for them shortly. He collapsed to the ground. After he rested for a bit anyway. His eyes were closed and soon the world became quiet. He felt like he was dead again. Again, at peace. His mind cleared of all worries and desires.

He awoke, groggy from his sleep, unsure as to how long he had slept. His body protested as he sat up. Muscles ached and head swam. Maybe he had pushed himself too hard. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way. Previously, he had simply died or been placed in a rejuvenation chamber.

He looked around the room. It was an ivory color and it brought back memories. Memories when the Namekians made a deal with the Changelings in his universe. His people were split then. That was why he went against those who wanted to advance the Namekians. Races such as the Changelings would abuse them.

Then memories of his son flooded in. He was strong, smart, and very much like he was when he was younger. Except Tasuda wasn’t brutal. Tasuda was quiet like he was now. Keeping to himself and taking every opportunity to grow stronger.

Garish didn’t exist any more. His home, his child. Then he realized, Alesia might not even exist. It was a planet he had fallen in love with and protected with every ounce of strength. Did Dabura destroy it here as well?

It was all too much for him. He got rid of those negative memories. With his life, the good were also tied with the bad memories. His son who was an assassin. Gohan who he had almost killed. Then Gohan becoming a drunk. Goku who vanished without a word.

Tasuda stood up and left the room. He followed the hallway outside and took in the fresh air. By what he saw, he wasn’t at Guru’s. He wasn’t sure where he was.

“They are all safe.”

Tasuda turned to face Vilin. So this was his place? Bigger than normal. Most homes were small, a couple of beds and maybe a few chairs. But they rarely stayed in doors. Tasuda was relieved to hear the remaining Namekians made it back. Soon the good Captain would be facing the Changelings and regretting his actions.

“Glad they are. How long have I been asleep? I didn’t even notice being taken here.”

Vilin stood next to him and they both looked over the emerald city that glistened under the three suns. “A week. Apparently you were pretty close to over exhaustion and death.”

Who ever healed him, he’d have to find out and thank. But right now he needed to relax a bit. He was just happy with being here. “Anything else Guru wants me to do?”

Vilin thought a moment. “Eventually I am sure. But for now, rest. Tell me though. Tell me about your other world.” Vilin was believing him more and more. It was the only thing that made sense. Namekians rarely left Namek, and those that do are generally because they are banished. Tasuda was a strange Namekian name, so it made no sense that he was even from here.

Tasuda took a deep breath and exhaled. “Like here, we’re in a constant battle with evil. But so far there, they seek to destroy only. I’ve seen some strange people here who don’t simply want to destroy. They want other things. I haven’t explored much so I don’t fully know.” His memories flooded back into his mind and it made him weepy. But he hid it. He fought against it. “It’s darker. Even Namek is darker. No one is safe or happy. A man roams free named Pico who takes pleasure in torture, murder and suffering. Another that just wants to destroy things. A group that wants to rid the universe of warriors such as you and I. We are constantly at war. There is no relaxation, no end in sight. I’ve lost good friends and see others turn.”

Vilin nodded. It didn’t sound all that appealing in anyway. But he didn’t say so. He only soaked it in. He wanted to see what someone from a place like that could do. He wanted to know more. To know more about the Namekian Guru seems so fond of. Maybe he had found the one who could bring forth the age of the Namekian warriors.

“The grand elder accepts you. He wants you to meet him. But there’s more we need to test. I don’t think you’re worthy to accept his gift. But if you are, I want to know for sure. If you go there, I want you to beat me and a few others. I want to test your power. If you can beat us, then you are what I hope. We need warriors. Those willing to protect Namek.”

Tasuda looked at Vilin. He knew Vilin didn’t like him. It was painfully obvious. And in truth, he knew he wouldn’t believe some of the things he’s said either. Vilin was a good Namekian. He cared about his peopled, but Tasuda couldn’t stay here. No, he needed to leave and explore and protect what he could. There were few heroes in his last universe. He hoped it was different here.

“Sorry Vilin. I can’t stay. I must move around the universe and help those in need. I need to protect everyone, not just Namek. Maybe one day I will return. I will accept Guru’s gift, but I must depart soon after.” He already knew Guru’s gift. He’d gotten it before, and he needed it now for sure.

Vilin nodded. “Then we must fight here. Should you beat me, then I will take you to Guru where you can accept the gift. But don’t waste it for it’s valuable.”

Tasuda nodded. “I already know what it is. He’s honored me with it before. And it’s something I could use now. More than ever.”

They walked apart and prepared to face one another. They stared one another down. With how each one stood, it was obvious their styles were different. Vilin was very balanced. He made sure he had no weaknesses as Tasuda focused on adapting to his opponent. He took a more defensive approach. Tasuda figured this would happen sooner or later. It might as well be now.

TWC: 3000