#chirad

[19 February 234 Before Age.  Toth-Thoth]

Detective Bret ducked under the brightly colored ribbon that cordoned off the crime scene and found a group of lawmen huddled together.  He headed straight for them and introduced himself.

"Glad to have you on this case, Bret," said Captain Neier.  "I usually hate it when they call in people from other precincts, but this time we could use all the help we can get."

Bret nodded. "May I look at the body?" he asked, pointing down at the tarp lying at their feet.

"Sure," Neier said.  He titled his head and glanced over his shoulder.  "Over this way."

Bret looked past him, and spotted a covered body lying on the ground.  "I don’t understand," he said, pointing to the tarp they were standing around.  "If that’s the body, what’s this?"

Neier sighed.  "I’d better show you the victim first."

Bret shrugged and followed him to the other tarp, which Neier pulled back to reveal the corpse of a humanoid male, six feet in height, lying face down in the alleyway.  He couldn’t tell much from the first look.

"No signs of a struggle," he said. "No obvious wounds.  Can’t say I’m surprised.  This guy looks like he could handle himself in a fight."  He sat on his haunches to take a closer look, and noticed a rip just below the belt-line of his trousers.  "Is that...?"

"A hole for his tail," Neier said. "He’s a Saiyan."

Bret looked up at him in amazement.  "Who could have done this to a Saiyan?"

"That’s what I’d like to know," Neier said.  "Between you and me, this is one perp I’d rather not find.  With any luck, the killer’s already left the planet, but it’s not like anyone here would have been a threat to him, you know?"

Bret shuddered at the thought.  He removed a pen from his jacket and carefully manipulated the fabric around the tail-hole to get a better look.  "So where’s his tail?" he asked.  "Some Saiyans cut them off or lose them in battle, but this must have happened recently, or he wouldn’t need to rip a hole in his pants."

"And that’s why we called you in," Neier said.  He waved for Bret to follow him back to the first tarp, and nodded for one of the other police officers to remove it.

It was a pile of Saiyan tails.  Bret took an involuntary step backward as he realized what he was seeing.  Something about the sight of all those furry appendages lying together made him nauseous, even before the smell wafted up to his nose.

"We’re assuming one of them is his," Neier said, "but we’ll need to run DNA tests to be sure.  Best guess for now is that this collection goes back about two months."

"There must be..." Bret stopped to wait for his stomach to settle down.  "Must be twenty of them there."

"I counted twenty-four," Neier said.

"But there haven’t been that many Saiyans on Toth-Thoth in the past two *years*," Bret said.   "I don't think there's two dozen Saiyans in the whole sector."

"Like I said, whoever did this may already be long gone," Neier said.  "I don’t know why he left behind his collection of trophies, but I doubt he’s finished hunting.  He’s out there somewhere, waiting to kill again."

*******

[26 February 234 Before Age.   Nat-Chezz II.]

Inspired by Luffa's exploits, Zaperc had tried to follow in her footsteps, but the path was even more difficult than he had expected.   Most of the galaxy only knew Luffa by reputation and rumor, and even the planets she had fought for had only a vague idea of who she was and how she operated.   In desperation, Zaperc had turned to an unauthorized biography-cum-self-help book entitled "The Luffa Way".   He then assembled a band of followers and led them here, to Nat-Chezz II, where he planned to protect it from invaders, just as Luffa had done for other planets.   It was going well, right until the real Luffa showed up and turned his entire movement upside down.  

Meeting her was an honor, though she was very different from what Zaperc had envisioned.  For one thing, Luffa was a woman, and she acted very much like most off the typical Saiyans he had known throughout his life.  At the same time, she had an idealistic streak that put his own lofty dreams to shame.  

Zaperc longed to achieve greater glory, if not for himself, then for his son, and for the Saiyan race as a whole.    Luffa, however, seemed to have an almost apocalyptic worldview at times.  She never quite came out and said so, but she seemed almost disappointed that she wasn't constantly fighting a desperate battle to the death.  All Saiyans loved to fight, but there was something different about her, something that ran deeper than the golden transformation she used to manifest her immense power.  

He wondered if Luffa had been changed by her evolution, or if she had been that way from the start.   As he and his followers sat in a half-circle to learn at her feet, he hoped that the answers would come forth through her lessons.   Thus far, however, all he had learned was that she was a very unorthodox teacher, and she didn't seem to care if it made her students impatient.  

Standing before them, Luffa balanced herself on the toes of  her right foot.   She then crossed her left leg over her right thigh, bending her knee such that her left foot was pointing toward the sky.    

“I know this seems a little weird,” she said, “but it’s a pretty effective technique, especially when you’re surrounded by multiple enemies.   Now, you’ll want to put your left arm up like this, elbow straight, with the wrist bent so your hand is over your head, palm down.   Then you put your right arm up like this, parallel to your shoulders.  Bend the elbow and bring your right hand palm up in front of your chest.    It’s like you’re using your hands to sort of frame your face.   The pose is critical to the technique, so if you get it wrong you could be wide open to an attack.  Any questions so far?”

Brockle raised his hand.   Zaperc smiled with pride.   While he was grateful for all his followers, he hoped that his son would benefit from these lessons most of all.   Brockle was extremely talented for his age, and with the right guidance, Zaperc was sure he could become a warrior on Luffa's level.  He lacked patience, true, but at least he was asking questions about Luffa's skills instead of resenting her for them.  

“Go ahead Brockle,” Luffa said.  

“Why the hell are we doing this?”  Brockle asked.  

Zaperc sighed and closed his eyes.   Brockle still had a long way to go.

“Because the Shiei Fist is a brilliant technique,” Luffa replied.   “I picked it up while fighting a horde of shadow warriors on Planet Zansu.   The Zansans who developed it couldn’t do a whole lot with it, but in the hands of a Saiyan, the explosive wave is--”

“This is stupid!” Brockle growled.   “You said you would teach us something useful, and you’re showing off alien dance moves.”

Luffa dropped the pose and approached Brockle.  “Is that so?” she said.    “Well maybe you’d like to teach me something.”

Brockle sniffed with contempt.  “What’s the use?” he asked.  “You’re so strong, you can afford to use whatever sloppy techniques you please.”

“Oh, is that my problem?” Luffa said.    “You admit that I’m stronger than you, so you want to salve your ego by pretending you have more finesse.    Well I’ll tell you what, Brockle.   Why don’t you show me your finishing technique, your ultimate move, and I’ll evaluate it for you.”

“You’re on,” Brockle said.   “It’ll be worth it to put you in your place for once, woman.”  

In spite of the hostility between Luffa and Brockle, Zaperc was hopeful.   As much as he wanted Brockle to respect Luffa, he also longed for Luffa to recognize Brockle's potential, to see Brockle the way Zaperc did.  Perhaps this demonstration would show her that Brockle was worthy of her respect.    

Luffa waved for Brockle to begin, and he gathered his ki, powering up to his maximum strength.   Luffa watched him and crossed her arms, apparently fascinated to see what he would do.  

He held his hands in front of his face and made the tips of his index fingers glow crimson.    Then he began to wave his fingers in an intricate pattern, weaving a complex image of red light that trailed his hands as they moved.   In a matter of seconds, he had created a globe of criss-crossed energy tendrils, and he smiled arrogantly as it floated above his outstretched palm.    

“The Devil Mesh!” Brockle announced.   “I can make it change direction, but it can also alter its shape in mid-flight.  It can tangle enemies like a net, or impale them like a spear!”

Zaperc beamed with pride.   The Devil Mesh was based upon simpler techniques Zaperc had used for decades.   Brockle had managed to refine them into something far greater, and he seemed to complete the execution of the technique a little faster each time he tried it.  

Luffa rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she considered what he had made.    “Interesting,” she said.   “It’s a little too clever by half, but I like the versatility.”

“It’s only ‘too clever’ because you’re too stupid to do it yourself!” Brockle snarled. 

“Well, I’ll give it a try,” Luffa said.  

To Zaperc's surprise, she didn’t bother building up her ki.   Instead she simply made all ten of her fingertips glow, and she waved them around with an intense speed, completing a globe like Brockle’s in a fraction of the time.  

“That... you can’t...” Brockle gasped.  

“I just did,” Luffa said.   “It’s a little tricky, but kind of fun to play with.    It’d make a good training exercise for a kid.   And it’d be a good lesson on spotting weaknesses in techniques.”

“Fool!” Brockle growled.   “There is no weakness to the Devil Mesh!”  

Luffa pointed her finger at Brockle and fired a thin beam of light at the crimson sphere floating over his hand.    

It exploded in his face.    

“It’s so complex that it's unstable,” Luffa said.   She waited for him to finish coughing before she continued her explanation.   “If you actually made one of those in the middle of a fight, your enemy could easily sabotage it before you’d ever get a chance to use it.   It wouldn’t even take much power to pull that off.   Even a weakened or dying opponent could still have enough energy to take you down with him.”

Zaperc was stunned, almost as if the Devil Mesh had exploded in his own face.  Only a moment ago, he thought of it as his son's greatest achievement, and Luffa had deconstructed it with ease.  She didn't even need her Super Saiyan form to do it.   He knew she was powerful, and he had long assumed she was brilliant, but this was beyond anything he could have imagined!

She quickly dismantled her own Devil Mesh  before any of her students got any bright ideas.    “Now, maybe we can get back to the Shiei Fist?”

Brockle gnashed his teeth as he sat back down.  Zaperc wished he could offer him some sort of encouragement, but it was better to let things take their course.   Luffa's training was a bitter pill to swallow, but she *was* the Super Saiyan.   If she couldn't show Brockle the way to the next level, then no one could.

*******

Deep in the dense, treacherous jungle the Saiyan had been using for training, Zatte was helping Jikama to his feet.  

"How long was I out?" he asked as he rubbed his forehead.  

"About an hour," Zatte said.  

"You've been waiting here for me to wake up this whole time?" Jikama asked.   He rose to his full height, and while he wasn't quite as tall as some of his comrades, he was still massive enough for Zatte to fit entirely in his shadow.

"Normally, I wouldn't stick around," Zatte said with a shrug.  "But you're not nearly as sore a loser as the others.   Especially Hijik.  I took him down about six hundred yards that way.  Went back and shot him again twenty minutes ago, just to prove a point."

She patted the large pistol holstered on her hip as she said this.  

"It's because I'm only half-Saiyan," Jikama said.  "I find I'm not nearly as hot-headed as the rest of them."

"I don't care if you're half, full, or double-Saiyan," Zatte said.  "Hijik's a dick, and being a dick for no good reason is a good way to get yourself killed.  Anyway, my wife's as pure-blooded as he is, and she still knows how to show a little respect."

Jikama chuckled.   "Not to me, she doesn't," he said.  

Zatte made a concerned frown as she looked up at him.   "Something bothering you, Jikama?" she asked.  "I know Luffa's rough on you guys, but it's for your own good, trust me."

He shook his head and smiled.   "It's nothing I'm not used to," he said.   "Saiyans look down on half-breeds like me.  Oh, the others are accepting enough, but only up to a point.  Aliens like you are on thing, but a half-Chezzi like me will always be one foot in, one foot out."

Zatte nodded.  "But you did really well today.   That's why I hung around, to congratulate you.  You tracked me down to within fifty feet.   I don't know how you kept picking up my trail, but I'm impressed."

"I knew I couldn't rely on smell or sound," Jikama said, "and your power lets you hide your ki, so I decided to try focusing on the ki of our surroundings instead."  He waved his thick arm at the jungle canopy over their heads.  "I figured your powers would slightly affect my perception of the life energy from the trees and grass as you came into contact with them, and it worked, but the difference was too slight to get a fix on your location."

"Nice," Zatte said.  "You'll have to hone your senses until you can get a fix.  And I'll have to work on covering my tracks a little better.   You're resourceful, Jikama.   That's the high praise where I come from, and if Luffa doesn't appreciate that, she'll get an earful from me."

"That's kind of you to say," Jikama said anxiously, "but I wouldn't want to cause any arguments between the two of you."

"Trust me, one more won't hurt," Zatte said.  "Maybe the other Saiyans won't respect you, but I expect better from Luffa."

"To be fair," Jikama said, "I will say that I find her a refreshing change from most Saiyans I've met."

"What do you mean?" Zatte asked.  

Jikama shrugged.  "She looks down on me, sure," he said, "but she seems almost more disappointed with the purebreds."

*******

[28 February 234 Before Age.  Bigreen.]

Chirad was a librarian and aspiring historian, but after he helped Luffa save Planet Bigreen from the evil Hamey, he had been hailed as a great hero.  He was only one-quarter Saiyan, and his power was only a meager fraction of Luffa’s might, but the Bigreenese still adored him as their local champion, and revered him as an expert on Saiyans.

While he appreciated their esteem, he knew he didn’t deserve it.  Luffa and her friends had done most of the work in liberating Bigreen, but they had gone and he had stayed, and so his role in the adventure had been amplified in the public opinion.  All that really mattered to him was that it got the girl from the Special Collections desk to finally notice him.

"Now just wait here, Emeral, I’ll speak with the Director and it should only take a minute and then when I get done heh-heh.  We’ll go see a movie!  How’s that?"

She lolled her head to one side and made a high-pitched giggle, which Chirad took as a sign of approval.  Just as he was about to enter the Security Director’s office, the door opened, and someone stepped out to greet him.

"Ah, you must be Chirad," he said cordially.  "Yes, of course you are I’d recognize that wild mane of black hair anywhere.  Very rugged, it suits a man like you, a descendant of the Space Warriors, mmm yes indeed won’t you come inside?"

Chirad was surprised.  "Uhhhhh... Director Pine I was just about to go into your office wow how about that, weird."

Pine led him inside and offered him a seat across from his desk.  "I’m afraid the situation is very serious, Chirad, though I wish it wasn’t ohhhhh, I certainly hope you can help us errr... please have a seat, oh, well you already have heh heh heh.  Very convenient.  I don't mind at all!"

Chirad only knew that a Saiyan had arrived on Bigreen recently.  This was not unusual in itself, as Bigreen was on very friendly terms with Saiyans from all walks of life.  But Chirad knew that something must have gone wrong, or they wouldn’t have asked for him to get involved.

"Director," he said, "if you need someone beaten up, well, I’ll help my planet any way that I can but I’m not that strong.  I mean I’m stronger than most people but when it comes to Space Warriors... uhhhh?"

"Ah, you’re too modest, Chirad," the Director said.  "But I only wish it were that simple.  Yes a powerful menace that even you couldn’t defeat what a treat that would be compared to this!  Even if you failed to save us we could always contact your friend Ruhffer to come and save us.   Yes, I doubt that any normal enemy could stand against a Space Super Warrior like her but our problem is very different look at this."

He tossed an envelope onto his desk and slid it over to where Chirad could reach it.  Chirad opened it to find several crime scene photographs of a dead woman clad in traditional Saiyan attire.  There was no sign of any wounds, except for the amputation of her tail.  There was also an autopsy report that concluded the Saiyan had been poisoned by an unidentified toxin.

"Now, Chirad, as you already know, we like to maintain good relations with the Space Warriors and their home planet of Saiya," Pine said.  "That’s why it’s especially bad that this woman isn’t just a murder victim oh no.  She was also a minister--that’s right-- in the court of King Rehval, yes the very King of the Space Warriors!"

"Then you mean the King of the Space Warriors sent his minister here?" Chirad asked.

"Hmm?  Not in an official capacity you see no she was here on personal business though I’m not privy to such matters, being personal as they so often are," Pine said.

Chirad understood.  Even if the minister hadn’t been attached to a diplomatic envoy, her murder would still be a strain on Bigreenese/Saiyan relations.  He still had more questions than answers, but at least now he understood why the highest law enforcement official on the planet was involved with the case.

What Chirad still didn’t know was how he was supposed to help with any of this, but somehow he doubted that he and Emeral were going to make it in time to see that movie he promised her.

[5 January, 237 Before Age.  Planet Bigreen.]

Deep beneath the surface of Planet Bigreen, the cult known as Society S3 was engrossed in a bizarre ritual.

Their High Priestess, an ancient and spiteful Bigreenese woman named Vien, had lain a nine-year-old Dorlun girl on a large stone crypt.  Guided by madness or a genuine mystic foresight, she was convinced that spilling the child's blood on the tomb would bring about the revival of its occupant.  

The child, a shape-shifter named Keda, struggled against mystic threads that held her arms down on the lid of the crypt.  These ligatures were made of pure energy, wielded by a pair of Vien's acolytes.  Vien herself raised a ceremonial dagger over the child's heart, and her eyes began to roll back with unholy reverence for the proceedings.  

"The hour draws near!" she cried.  The room was filled to capacity with her followers, all clad in dark red robes.  "Let us call out the name of our great Lord, the High Sovereign, his Majesty Lord Hamey all hail King Hamey as he rises to reclaim his throne!"

Keda set her jaw and kept her eyes locked on the knife held inches above her.  In spite of the situation, she refused to give in to despair.  There was still time.  There was still a chance to survive.  

Around her, the Bigreenese cultists began to chant in a low, ominous tone: "HAAA-MEYYYY-HAAAA-MEYYYY-HAAAA-MEYYYY-HAAAA-MEYYY-HAAAA..."

Vien raised the knife over her head, and plunged it down into Keda's chest as hard as she could.  Keda gasped, then fell silent as her blood flowed from the wound and pooled on the crypt lid beneath her.  

For a moment, nothing happened.  The cultists continued their chant nonetheless, and then suddenly the crypt began to crack open.  A green light shone from within, and grew in intensity.  

"He rises!" Vien shrieked. "H-Hamey!  This is glorious the moment we have all waited for is here at last! Oh--oh--Ahhhhhhhhh!"

The crypt crumbled into pieces, and Keda's body rolled off to the floor.  A muscular man with cerulean skin and orange hair floated from the rubble and rose to a standing position.  He looked at the red-robed crowd and smiled warmly.  

"I see you have succeeded in reviving me," he said in a noble, cheerful voice.  "Well done my loyal subjects.  You shall be handsomely rewarded for your efforts.  Now I need only conquer this planet, and my restoration will be complete."

He frowned, and concentrated on raising his ki.  A green aura rippled across his body as he yelled.  "Yes!" he shouted. "The dark magic spells are energizing me, drawing power from this very world!  I want it all!  Yes!  I WANT IT ALL!"

"Great Hamey," Vien said anxiously, "I congratulate you on your glorious return, but much has happened during your absence from this world.  I must inform you of--!"

She was bowled over by Hamey's aura, as were several other cultists who had been standing too close.  Hamey sneered at her.  

"I WANT THE MAGIC STICK!" he screamed.  

Vien scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could, and handed over the divining rod that had once belonged to him.  He held it in his hands and raised it to chest height.  Eldritch energies flowed from the rod and mingled with his aura.

"NOW I WANT TOTAL POWERRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr!" he yelled.

The mystic glow of the divining rod spilled across the entire crowd, and each of the cultists could feel it permeating their bodies.

"Wait!  What is he doing?" asked one of the cultists.  "To us?"

They all wondered the same thing.  It was the last question any of them would ever ask.

********

Luffa and Chirad arrived at the library just in time to see a column of green energy burst up from beneath the building.  When the light faded, Hamey hung in the air before them.  

"Who the hell are you?" Luffa demanded.  

"It's him," Chirad gasped.  "The Tyrant Demon who ruled our planet oh no!"

"I see you're a Space Warrior," Hamey said cordially.   He brandished his scepter  towards Luffa and made a contemptuous snort.  "No doubt one of Chanisp's descendants, but you're nowhere near as powerful as he was. I give you fair warning, I am the legendary king of this world you address the Great Hamey, and I am not to be taken lightly.  Go now, before I destroy you."

He turned to Chirad and regarded him with contempt.  "As for you, you should know that I am no demon.  I hail from the world of Hera, a world of powerful beings of fantastic strength, a world of your betters, which was destroyed many ages ago!  I came to this planet to rule it as a god, and you dare to stand before me with this Space Warrior?  Unthinkable?"

"Yeah, I'm a Saiyan," Luffa snarled.  "And so is he.  The way I see it, two of us ought to be more than enough to fill in for Chanisp tonight."  She looked to Chirad.  "You want to go first, or should I?"

"Th-this is incredible I can't believe I'm seeing this," Chirad gasped. "The Tyrant Demon of Bigreen isn't a demon at all but an alien from a dead planet?  This amazing stupendous it's too much!"  He shook his head and focused on Hamey.  "I know I haven't got a chance, but I'll battle with all the strength I got in me!"  

Luffa crossed her arms and backed away to give them room.  "That's the spirit!  Just save some for me, okay?"

"Oh ho, a Bigreenese dog wants to challenge his master this certainly is amusing!" Hamey said.  "Well come ahead then let's see what you can do.  Yaaaahh!"

Chirad swallowed hard, and raised his hand high above his head. Luffa sensed him channeling his ki, and a thin blade of light began to coalesce above his open palm.

"Magnetic Diiiiiiiscs!" Chirad cried.  He began to yell, and strangely Hamey started to yell along with him.  

"Yerrrrruuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh!" Chirad screeched.

"Rrrrrrrrrrggggg!" Hamey growled.

"EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhhhhYAAAAAAAA!" Chirad screamed.

Luffa was beginning to regret letting him fight first.  

At last Chirad launched his attack.  He missed Hamey completely, but before Luffa could complain, the discs of light arced back towards them, and zeroed in on Hamey's body.  Amused, the Heran tyrant floated just far enough in one direction to avoid them.  The discs returned, and he avoided them again.  At last he waved his Magic Stick, and a beam of light lanced out from the two prongs, dispersing the energy discs into nothingness.  

Chirad was frustrated, but kept calm.  He yelled again and raised his hand to prepare a second volley, but Hamey closed in on him with amazing speed. Before Chirad could react, Hamey thrust his knee into his gut, then followed with a left hook to his jaw that sent the Saiyan/Bigreen hybrid crashing to the ground.  

Hamey turned to face Luffa.  "And it is your arrogance that will destroy you!" he taunted.  

"It isn't arrogance," Luffa said.  She raised her ki as high as she dared.  "I don't know how you came back from the dead, but a Saiyan defeated you once and I can do it again."  

"The thing is, they're alike physically, but when it comes to right and wrong they're opposites," Hamey said cryptically.  "You may share Chanisp's blood, but you haven't a fraction of his strength."

"We'll see about that!" Luffa shouted.  She charged Hamey and speared him with her left shoulder.  The two of them sailed through the air until they hit a building and crashed through the other side.  Before Hamey could recover, Luffa threw a few punches to his head, then flipped away in midair to avoid his counterattack.  

"Impressive you're stronger than I gave you credit for," Hamey said as he wiped his mouth.  "But you're still no match for me."

He held up his diving rod and green lightning arced through the air and struck Luffa.  The pain was excruciating, but she had suffered far worse.  She rallied her ki and forced it outward in all directions, shielding herself from the lightning just long enough to fire back with a red energy blast of her own.  Hamey tumbled backward and struggled to right himself.

"I seem to be doing pretty well, Hamey," Luffa replied. "Maybe you're rusty after all those centuries of sitting around."

He lost his composure, and charged straight for her.  Luffa dodged with ease, and hit him with a kidney punch.  He tried to recover, but she simply knocked the divining rod from his hand and sent him crashing to the ground with a kick.  

"Come on, Hamey, I thought you Herans were supposed to be tough!" Luffa called out.  "Or would you like to find me a real demon to fight in your place?  Hah!  I'm starting to wonder if my ancestor was overrated!"

She didn't truly believe any of it.  Hamey had reserves of power that her senses couldn't quite perceive.  Luffa was sure he was holding back his true ability, but she wanted to see his full strength before committing to any strategy.  

Suddenly, Hamey was right above her, and he pummeled her with rapid-fire blows.  She nearly raised her ki out of reflex, but she stubbornly maintained her power level and weathered the storm.  When he finally let up, Luffa shook it off and grinned at him in defiance.  

"Is that all you've got for me?" she scoffed. 

Hamey's furious expression was all the answer she needed.  

*******

Below, Chirad struggled to get back to his feet.  Hamey's attack wasn't enough to finish him, but it had convinced him to let Luffa take over.   He looked around and saw the the hole in the library that he had come from, and decided to investigate.  When he went inside the building he took the elevator to the lowest sub-basement, and found a blue-skinned little girl climbing out of the hole in the floor.  

"Are you all right?  What are you doing here this is no place for a kid wha--?" he squealed.   Chriad helped her out of the hole and noticed the bloody wound on her chest.  

Keda laughed weakly.  "They tried to kill me down there.  Some kind of cult.   Needed my blood to resurrect..."

Chirad caught her by the shoulders before she could topple over.  "It looks like they stabbed you, how on Bigreen did you survive uhhhh this is kind of creepy too much for me."

"I'm Keda," she said.  "I'm a shape-shifter.  I saw the knife coming straight for my heart, so I moved it.  My heart, I mean."  She patted her chest weakly.  "I lost a lot of blood, but they missed my vital organs.  After that, they lost interest in me.  I think their reborn ruler was a little more than they expected.  They all went into some kind of trance, and he blasted his way up to the surface.  That's where this hole came from."

Chirad was about to suggest taking her to the hospital, but then he noticed several figures floating up from the hole in the floor.  They all wore hooded robes of dark red, and their eyes glowed an eerie yellow color.  Their faces looked blank and expressionless, as though they had no idea what they were doing.  

Then they began to advance upon Chirad, their arms raised menacingly.  Chirad placed himself between them and the child and took a defensive posture.  

"You should get to safety, little girl, I'll try to hold 'em off!  Hmmm!"

"No," Keda said.  She raised her right hand, and revealed a small ray gun pistol.  "I picked this up on my way out of that hole.  And I think I know how to use it."  

"Uhhhh... who is this girl?" Chirad stammered.

*******

The battle had not gone well.  Luffa and Hamey were both holding back, but he seemed to be gaining ground against her.  After several minutes of fighting, he had drawn first blood, while Luffa had yet to slow him down.  

"You should give up now, Warrior," Hamey mocked.  "This is my world, and I shall conquer it whether you interfere or not.  Even now my loyal subjects receive my power, and they shall go out to do my bidding!"

Luffa's response was a ki blast to Hamey's jaw.  It struck him, creating a cloud of smoke, but then he emerged unharmed and struck back with a punch to Luffa's cheek.  She went into free-fall, but then Hamey caught her by the hair.  

"Let me show you just how hopeless your struggle is!" he said.  He descended to the streets below, where a column of Bigreenese security forces had gathered to make their stand.  

"There he is men get ready to do your duty now open fire!" their commander shouted.  

His troops obeyed, and their weapons and vehicles poured out a stream of energy blasts into their intended target.  None of it touched Hamey or Luffa, as he had erected a mystic force field to deflect the attack.  

"I shall need more loyal subjects to subdue this planet," he sneered.  "Fortunately my magicks are quite effective on the people of this world that is why I selected it for conquest!"  He raised his divining rod and it roiled with purple energy.  It sent out a beam of light back into the soldiers, and when it faded, they all lowered their weapons and saluted.  

"Hail Lord Hamey!" they shouted in unison.  "His Sublime Majesty Lord Hamey!"

"There you see?" he asked Luffa.  "Their minds are quite easy for me to manipulate within a few days they will all be totally loyal to me you are fighting for nothing--ARRGH!"

Luffa had used a beam of energy from her fingers to cut off the hair Hamey had clutched in his hand.  Before he had noticed, she had taken that same hand and bitten into his palm.  

Hamey screamed and borught his divining rod down to aim it at her.  Without releasing his hand from her teeth she raised her own hand and fired a ki blast at his face.  This one hit home.  Hamey's whole head was engulfed in red energy, and he dropped his divining rod to clutch at his face.  Luffa finally let go of his hand and slipped around to his back to deliver a kick to his lower spine.  Then the inside of his left knee.  Then his right.  Then his ribs.  She would dismantle him, whittle him down inch by inch until there was nothing left.  

The soldiers charged towards them, now eager to defend their new master.  Luffa swung out her hand and launched a wide field of energy, enough to force them back without seriously hurting them.  She debated kicking Hamey in the groin, but she decided to save that for later.  Instead she went for his ribs a third time--

And Hamey was ready for her.  He caught her ankle and flung her over his head, face-first to the pavement.  

"YOU INSOLENT--!" he howled.  "You'll regret this!  YOU'LL REGRET THIS!"

Luffa kipped up to her feet and saw she had left a large burn on the left side of his face.  He was clutching the hand she had bitten in the other.  She smiled wickedly, and she could still feel the warmth of his blood on her tongue and lips.  So far she wasn't regretting anything.

Then he started to change.  His blue skin began to change in hue until it was a yellow-green.  His orange hair became blood red, and his green aura tripled in size and intensity.  Luffa could sense the increase in his ki.  Hamey was finished holding back.

"You should feel honored," he said.  "I used this form to fight your ancestor Chanisp.  He was stronger then, but he still failed to destroy me so what chance do you have?"

Luffa raised her fists and and set her jaw.  "I'm a Saiyan," she said.  "That's all the chance I'll ever need."

Before he could make his next move, a third fighter appeared on the street, taking position at Luffa's side.

"Wampaaan'riix?" Luffa said, glancing to the massive, white-haired creature.  

"I sensed your battle and decided to see for myself," Wampaaan'riix said.  "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said.  "But this guy's too much for you to handle.  Clear out.  I've got this."

"Like hell," Wampaaan'riix said.  "You're not even using your full strength against him."

"I'm using all the strength I need to use," she grumbled.  "Now beat it!"

"What's the matter with you, Luffa?" Wampaaan'riix demanded.  

Before she could argue, Hamey leaped between them and struck them both between the shoulder blades with his elbows.  As they toppled over, he grabbed Luffa by the collar of her jumpsuit and swung her around into Wampaaan'riix's abdomen.  Then he fired a ki blast at close range, and both of them were propelled into the sky, far beyond the horizon.  

[5 January, 237 Before Age.  Planet Bigreen]

"I trust your research is proceeding smoothly, Ms. Ruhffer," called the librarian at the front desk.  "I suppose you must be taking a break yes that must be it but please if you need anything just let us know we’ll be happy to get it for you!  Mm-hmm."

"Research?  What are you talking about?" Luffa asked.  She pointed to Chirad.  "He’s the bookworm."

The two of them had spent the afternoon talking about Saiyan lore.  Chirad was only one-quarter Saiyan--possibly a little more depending on the pedigree of his three Bigreenese grandparents.  Still, his fascination with Luffa's culture was enough to make up for his mostly alien heritage and bizarre speech patterns.  They had come to the great library of Bigreen's capital city so Chirad could show her some documents he had in his office.  And yet, the staff seemed to recognize her, even though she had never been here before.  

"But you’ve been using one of the private study rooms for most of the day," the librarian argued.  "Don’t tell me you’ve been eating in there, oh I understand the, er,  Space Warrior appetite is insatiable but we don’t allow food in this establishment it would be highly inappropriate although a special exception can be made--"

"What room?" Luffa asked.  "I’ve never even been here before-- Wait... Keda."

After a hasty explanation, the librarian directed them to Keda’s reserved room, only to find the door open, and the room empty.  Her books were scattered on the floor, and there was a scorch mark on the far wall.

"Something’s not right here," Luffa said.  "Keda might have impersonated me for some reason, but I don’t think she would have left things like this."

Chirad crouched down and looked at some of her notes.  "Gee I think she was researching Chanisp just like I was.  I wonder if she found something out."

"Not again, Chirad, I told you not to bring that foolish business up anymore," the librarian scolded.  She turned to Luffa with a put-upon expression.  "Please excuse him but he insists on perpetuating these ridiculous stories of a conspiracy to revive the Tyrant Demon now I suppose he'll try to blame this on them utter nonsense."

"Well someone took a potshot at that wall," Luffa said.  She looked out the door and spotted another scorch mark on a bookshelf.   "But who would want to kill Keda?  She's just a little kid."

"Maybe they mistook her for you, Ruhffer," Chirad suggested.  "I mean if she really is a shape-shifter she could have looked like anybody and so whoever did this might not have been looking for her at all."

"I guess, but if you're going to sneak up on a Saiyan you'd want more than a common ray gun," she said.  "Maybe this guy was just a dummy."  

"Now you two cut the amateur speculation," the librarian said.   "It's there."

Luffa ignored her and looked around the room.  She wasn't sure what to do in this situation.  Her senses could detect powerful ki energies from far away, but Keda's life force was rather weak, much like the librarian or any other Bigreenese civilian.  Whoever attacked Keda would be just as difficult to find.  If he had any substantial ki energy, he would have used it to attack Keda rather than a weapon.  She thought about calling Dr. Topsas and Wampaaan'riix for help, but she had burdened them with enough of her problems as it was.  Besides, they were no better equipped to solve a mystery than she was.  

Fortunately, Chirad discovered a lead.  "Gosh, I think this might tell us something," he said in his infantile voice.  He held up a piece of scratch paper with numbers written on it.  "It looks like coordinates we should go there and see what's up, hmmm!"

"See here that won't do at all.  If there's been a kidnapping we should contact security and the local police force how can we be sure they won't want to ask you questions about this?" the librarian stammered.  

"They can reach me through the hospital," Luffa said, "But first I want to check this out."  She waved for Chirad to come along, and they headed for the nearest open window, leaving the librarian to shake her fists in useless protest.

*******

Keda found herself still alive, and still disguised as Luffa.  Both of these conditions pleased her.  She wasn't sure until now if her powers worked while she was unconscious, or if she would revert to her normal form of an nine-year-old Dorlun girl.  

Not that her current resemblance to a Saiyan woman was doing her any favors at the moment.  Wherever her captors had taken her, it resembled some sort of catacombs.  Her wrists were bound behind her back, and she sat in a chair that seemed to be made of scorched planks of wood.  Two women stood guard on either side of the chair, their hands held up in an odd pose, as if they were about to cast a magic spell on her.  They were Bigreenese natives, with pale green skin and half-red, half-blue hair.  Their outfits looked like cheap theater costumes.

She struggled against her bonds, more to test them than anything else.  Keda was concerned for her safety, but she had learned from infancy how to maximize her odds of survival.   At the moment, she was in no immediate danger, so her first priority was to learn as much about her surroundings as she could.  She expected that she could alter her shape to slip free of her bonds, but when she tugged on them, she felt an interesting sensation, and she noticed the women's fingers jostle slightly.  She tried again, and produced a similar result.  At last, one of the duo decided to explain it to her.

“We have created an interlocking energy shield using our power within it will encircle all around you," boasted the one on her left. "The harder you fight the tighter our energy field will bind you until you are powerless heyeahheh!”

"We are the Terror Twins," bragged the one on Keda's right.  "We always win!"

Keda then noticed nearly-invisible threads running from her wrists to their fingertips. They glistened slightly from time to time, but Keda reasoned that they must be made from the women's ki.  They were probably no match for the ki of genuine fighters like Luffa or Wampaaan'riix, but it was sufficient to keep Keda from escaping.  No matter how thin she made her wrists and hands, the 'Terror Twins' would simply tighten their 'energy field' to compensate.  

"Are you comfortable, my child?" asked an old woman in a dark crimson robe.  Her voice sounded more like a middle-aged man trying to sound like an old woman, however.  "You sit in the throne of the High Priesthood a seat normally occupied by me you should feel honored."  

"What do you want from me?" Keda asked evenly.  "I admit I'm not quite myself lately, but even sick Space Warriors are nothing to be trifled with."

The High Priestess chuckled an placed her fingers on Keda's chin.  "Your deception is futile my child you're not fooling anyone down here.  Yes yes, we know you are not a true Space Warrior but a trickster so why not reveal your true self to us?"

Keda sighed and relaxed her body, but only partially.  Her blue skin and red hair returned, as did her grey tunic and pants, but she retained the adult proportions of Luffa.  Perhaps, she thought, it might give her an edge.  

"How did you know?" she asked.  

"We of Society S3 know everything that needs to be known, my child, we have agents everywhere on Planet Bigreen," the Priestess gloated.  "Yes, yes, it was my faithful servant who spotted you that day, transforming your body to imitate your Space Warrior friend.  What was her name?  Yes Ruhffer I believe it was, you were much too careless."

"It's 'Luffa', blast it," Keda grumbled.  "With an 'oo' sound.  How do you even get 'Ruhffer' from that?"

The Priestess ignored her question and continued.  "It has been too long since I have hosted a child in this place so I'll tell you what I'm going to do.  I'll tell you a story.  You'd like that wouldn't you yes I think you would but you have no choice."

Keda wanted to point out that she did have a choice, since she could use her powers to close her ear canals from the inside, but she wanted to hear this.  Any information this woman could provide might give her an opportunity.  

"You see Chanisp was a Space Warrior like your friend Ruhffer, but he was different as you well know.  No doubt your friend told you about his invincible power, the power he used to overthrow the rightful ruler of Bigreen the ruler whose return we of Society S3 eagerly await yes it's true!"

"The way I heard it," Keda said, "Bigreen was grateful to be rid of this ruler you're talking about.  Even if he could come back after all these centuries, he'd never be able to reclaim power."

"She blasphemes our Sovereign!" one of the henchwomen hissed.

"Even as she sits upon his throne!" the other added.  

The Priestess raised her shriveled hand to calm them.  "It is of no concern, my angels, soon our Sovereign will be among us and able to answer such insolence personally.  You would be wise to show more respect, little one.  Act the age you try to appear.  Yes, you do not fool me I have seen your true self through the magic stick."  

She raised her other hand from the folds of her robe and revealed a long staff which forked into two prongs on one end.  "Yes, our Sovereign was a diviner as well as a great ruler he could see into the future and this was the secret to his illustrious reign.  He foresaw that the Legendary Warrior of Space would overpower him, so he laid secret plans to ensure his rule would be restored!  He only feigned defeat, while in fact he allowed the power of Chanisp to distract all of Bigreen while he escaped.  Then my ancestor, his most trusted adviser, began planting the seeds for his return!"

"And where do I fit into all of this?" Keda asked.  

Our Sovereign foresaw that there would one day come a shape-changer who would assume the form of Chanisp's hated race," the Priestess said, her decrepit voice dripping with contempt.  "He said that it was her blood, that is to say your blood, which will activate the means for his return.  I myself do not know why this should be.  Perhaps the blood of your kind has special powers to revive, or my great and everlasting Sovereign knew that your presence on Bigreen would be a unique occurrence, and thus ensure the correct timing of a resurrection that was bound to take place eventually.  We shall sacrifice you over his tomb, and when the blood drains from your body, he shall be rise again and be restored once more ha ha!  And there is nothing you can do to stop it!"

Keda glowered at the High Priestess.  She saw a chance to survive, but it was a narrow one, even if this cult's prophecy turned out to be false.  

And if any of it turned out to be true... if the ancient tyrant of Bigreen really could be revived...

Keda didn't like those odds at all.  

*******

"Whoa it's a monument!" Chirad gasped as he pulled away the last of the vegetation.   The coordinates in Keda's notes had been for a long-abandoned tourist attraction.  Luffa and Chirad had found it easily enough, but it had taken them nearly and hour to remove enough debris and overgrown weeds to determine what it was.

"A monument to Chinasp, I take it," Luffa said.  She used her ki to create a stiff gust of wind that cleaned the dust off of what appeared to be a museum exhibit.  "This place looks like no one's been here in a hundred years.  So why did Keda think it was so important?"

"Rats I was hoping we might find signs of the cult!" Chirad said, "but I guess I was wrong again darn what rotten luck who needs this?"

"What cult, Chirad?" Luffa asked.  "And what does it have to do with Keda?"

"They're a secret society that worships the Tyrant Demon whom Chanisp overthrew," Chirad explained.  "I found out about them during my research, only I couldn't find any proof they still existed they're really sneaky.  They believe the Tyrant will return some day and take over Bigreen.  Now that Chanisp is gone, there'd be no one to stop him and he could pretty much do anything he wanted anything at all."  

"Okay," Luffa said.  "So maybe you've got something there.  I mean, I can't think of anyone else who'd want to kidnap Keda, but why?  If they had a problem with her studying the legend, why didn't they ever come after you?"

Chirad chuckled nervously and rubbed his hand through the hair on the back of his head.  "Heh-heh. I guess I didn't think it through very well. I was hoping those coordinates she wrote down might be a big break something I never found out that the cult would want to keep secret like the location of their secret base but I guess I was wrong?"

"Well, if you wanted to set up a secret base, this would be a good place for it," Luffa said, knocking a pile of dead brush off of an electrical box.  "But I can't sense anyone here except you and me.  Dammit!"

"It's okay," Chirad said.  "The authorities can help us find her--"

"Great.  Swell," Luffa said.  "They can take care of the important stuff, and I can waste time convalescing and trespassing on old memorials!"  Chirad opened his mouth, but Luffa cut him off, anticipating his question.  She took a seat on a moss-covered slab of concrete and rubbed her temples.  

"I was a mercenary," she explained.  "Long story short, I took a job to defend Keda's home, and I blew it.  I became incredibly strong in the process, but it didn't do her a bit of good.  In the end, she had to come to my rescue."  

Chirad took a seat beside her and patted her on the shoulder.  Luffa found this grating, but decided not to object.  For all his awkwardness, at least Chirad was listening.  

"I'm here because I'm too strong, if that makes any sense," she said.  "That's why I'm wearing these sunglasses.  No one's sure if it's safe for me to transform into a giant ape.  But it doesn't really matter, does it?  I could be a thousand times stronger than I already am, and I still can't find my friend.  Hell, she could be safe and sound and I still would have no idea.  And I can't even get too worked up about it, or I'll have another... episode.  Trust me, you don't want to know.  You're not a full-blooded Saiyan, Chirad, so I don't know if you can understand.  Remember when you hit my palm to show me how strong you were?"  

Chirad nodded and made an excited noise.  

"You were excited to show off, even for just a minute.  Your Saiyan grandfather would be proud.  But imagine if you felt like that all the time.  Just... consumed with this urge to hit everything as hard as you can whether it makes any sense or not.  Now imagine you're so strong that nothing you hit can fight back.  You're not a warrior anymore, not even an animal.  At least animals kill to survive.  You'd just be... some kind of killing machine."

She looked at Chirad and saw in his eyes a mixture of terror and pity.  Luffa laughed bitterly.  

"All we want out of life is power, so we can do more, be more, fight more," she said.  "But it's a joke.  We're just fooling ourselves.  Because eventually you get so strong that there's no point to it anymore.  I envy you, Chirad.  At least you have something to work towards."

"W-well maybe you're just going about it wrong," Chirad said.  "That is, er, I mean you just haven't figured out what it is you need to do with your power yet uhhhhh... I hope that makes sense sorry if it doesn't."

She nodded and hopped up from her seat.  "You're right.  I have to deal with this whether I want to or not. I just wish that I-- What's that over there?"

Luffa pointed to what looked like a large structure in the back of the lot.  It was still covered in vines and dead leaves, but there was a piece sticking out from the middle that looked like a man's arm.  Together they cleared the debris and found a life-sized statue of a man atop a large platform.  

It was a likeness of a Saiyan.  

"Chanisp?" Luffa asked.  "I mean, it has to be, right?"  

Time had not been kind to the stone statues in the memorial park.  Many of their features had eroded from the wind and rain, and some had been vandalized.  But this one seemed to be built from a more durable material.  

"This is Polyphen Resin!" Chirad cried.  "But it looks pretty old, you can tell from the font on the dedication plaque down here, and the way the base is designed oh wow this is an amazing find we ought to have it dated but I bet it's from at least a thousand years ago."

"Did they have Polyphen Resin that long ago?" Luffa asked.

"Not much it was hard to make," Chirad explained.  "But it was available if you could afford it wow can you imagine this much of it must have cost a fortune!"

Luffa looked it over.  If Chirad's estimate was correct, the artist who produced this likeness may have actually had a living model to work with, and so this might have been what the real Chanisp actually looked like.  His hair and eyes were as black as her own (for now, at least), but his skin was much paler and dotted with freckles.  His chest and arms bore large scars, and his only clothing were simple white pantaloons and a pair of bracers on his wrists.  A golden diadem adorned his forehead.  Luffa would have found such jewelry repugnant on any living Saiyan, but somehow on Chanisp it seemed appropriate.  Was it a crown, or simply the fashion of the time?  

The sculpture was a classic Saiyan pose, with his feet apart, knees bent, and fists raised to waist height.  His bearded face looked as though he had been captured in mid-shout, frozen for all eternity in furious defiance.  She thought there might be a slight resemblance to herself in his face, but perhaps that was wishful thinking.  

"He's something, isn't he?" Luffa said with awe.  "My mother used to tell me he could defeat any ten Saiyans in combat, even though he had no tail."

"What, no tail!?" Chirad asked.  "Oh, right because that demon cut them off so he could eat them, ewwww gross!"

She checked the rear of the piece and confirmed that no tail was present, just a nasty looking patch of scar tissue where the tail had once been.  "He never gave up," she said.  "The demon who enslaved the Saiyans thought we were helpless without our tails to turn us into giant apes, and a lot of Saiyans thought he was right.  But Chanisp trained hard.  He was determined to find a way to increase his strength in his normal form, so when he confronted the demon, he could take him totally by surprise."

"Then he came to Bigreen and did it all over again, wahoo!" Chirad said.  

"That must be why Keda was interested in this place," Luffa said.  "She knew I was down in the dumps, so she probably thought if I saw this statue it'd give me a boost.  Heh.  She's a smart kid.  Here I'm whining about being too powerful.  If Chanisp were here he'd knock me on my ass to teach me a lesson."

She looked over to Chirad and smiled deviously.  "How about it, Chirad?  If he was standing here right now, in the flesh, you'd fight him, right?  Not that you'd win, but just to say you'd done it."

Chirad started making noises that could have been laughter or hyperventilation.  But the anxious smile on his face was all the answer Luffa needed.  "Well, we're wasting our time here.  We might as well head back to the city and see what we can find out."

But as they turned to go, they saw the sky had turned unnaturally dark.  Normally the lights of the city made the night sky look a dark pink color, but the sun wasn't supposed to set for another hour, and yet the sky had become a mournful brown.  Green lighting flashed over the city, but all of it seemed to converge in a single spot.

"Wh-what's going on?" Chirad stammered.  "That looks like the library!  Getting hit by all that lightning!  Oh no this is too bad."

Luffa felt something from that same location as well.  A powerful ki that was unlike any she had ever sensed before.  How had it emerged out of nowhere like this, and so quickly?

"Maybe that cult you were talking about was more real than anyone thought," Luffa said.  She turned back to glance at Chinasp's statue. "C'mon.  We'd better check this out."