Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Phoenix Chronicles ❯ First Contact ( Chapter 1 )

--- The Phoenix Chronicles ---

Chapter 01 - First Contact

On a quiet little planet, in the north-western reaches of the universe, the sound of a fight being waged rang loudly through the streets. All too soon however, at least for one combatant, silence reigned once more. The man, if you could call it that, his purple skin bruised severely in no less than three places, and small wisps of smoke still riding off his burnt flesh, twitched slightly as he lay in a heap on the ground, obviously dancing along the line between life and death.

His opponent, a man just shy of six foot, and with a mass of flame-like black hair, lowered his right hand, still raised from his last attack, and regarded his fallen foe with a glare. His voice was harsh, with a touch of arrogance, as he spat, "Next time, you should consider who you're dealing with before trying to rip them off." He walked over to him, pausing long enough for the fallen being to twitch harder, this time with fear, before reaching down and removing the pouch from his waist. Without so much as another sound, the man threw his coat on, placed the pouch into one of the pockets, and fled the scene, the sounds of approaching footsteps ringing all too clear in his sensitive ears.

When he was sure he was far enough away, he slowed to a walk, and allowed himself a breath before looking over his latest acquisition, the payment for his last job, albeit with a little 'bonus' for his employer's cheapskate attitude. When he spoke again, the words that came out were rough, guttural, and clearly not Basic. [The nerve of that fool! What sort of amateur did he think he was dealing with?!? I am a Saiyan warrior for Kami's sake! And that job was totally beneath me!]

He paused, both in his rant and his walk, and sighed before gazing up at the faded red sky, the large orange sun slowly setting towards what he guessed was north. He shook his head slightly and continued on, not really focusing on where his feet took him, and allowed himself to dwell in his thoughts. [Maybe being a mercenary's not the best way to go, but I need some way to get by, and fighting's one of the few things I'm good at... Besides, every fight makes me that much stronger, and brings me that closer to my revenge...]

His hands clench, and his teeth grind against each other as his eyes fall closed, and the faces of his fallen comrades swim in his mind's eye. [They were like family! When Korin died they took care of me, just like he would, and they died protecting me! Because I wasn't strong enough... Because I wasn't ready... Because someone was afraid of what I might become.] The images fade, and are replaced with the faces of those he suspects most. They appear out of reach, as if taunting him.

[Frieza! Vegeta! I don't care which one it was! They were right to fear me! They will learn to fear the name of Kapskaen, the Phoenix! I will make them pay for robbing me of those I hold dear!!] The Phoenix, a name he heard not long after he began his crusade. It's a funny thing, to hear rumours of oneself arrive on a planet before you do, and Kapskaen, or Kaen, as he's known to those close to his heart, almost laughed when he first heard it.

His vision swims again, although this time the faces are almost comforting. His mother, his father, his deceased older brother, and his 12-month old twin younger brother and sister, seeing their faces brings his a sense of peace, but it is the last face, that of a near three-year old girl, that almost brings the proud Saiyan warrior to tears, and causes his voice to drop to a near whisper. [Just... Just six more months... And now I'll never see her again...]

So caught up is he in his memories that he fails to notice the six and a half foot man headed his way until it's too late, and the two collide. He jumps back from him, so angry to be caught in this moment of weakness that he fails to notice the high ki of his opponent, not nearly equal himself in strength, but still a formidable opponent. The man who, on closer inspection, appears to have green skin under that turban and heavy-looking cloak, gazes down at Kaen, and says in a cool, even voice, "Watch where you're going."

Kaen directs a glare at the green man strong enough to kill lesser being, and barks out, "Watch your tongue before I rip it out and show it to you!"

The green man's ki rises sharply at the remark, now nearly matching what Kaen himself is putting out, as he directs a glare of his own, albeit a weak one by Saiyan standards. "You bumped into me, and I simply said for you to watch your step, idle threats may end you with a hole in the chest."

Kaen smirks at his would-be foe, his Saiyan pride overthrowing his danger sense. "Well, well, well. Sensitive aren't we?"

"Obviously not as sensitive as you," the green man remarks, looking like he'd be smirking himself were any emotion showing.

Kaen's smirk falters a bit as he looks his opponent over, the sheer calm the man radiates making him assess the situation better, and remarks, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

The almost-smirk strengthens a little as the green man replies, "Yes, a short man with an attitude problem."

Kaen's right eye starts twitching as this sinks in, and his glare returns. "Short am I?"

This time, the man does smirk. "Yes, it seems you need your hair and ego to make up for it."

Kaen bares his fangs, growling out, "Care to back that up with more than words green man?"

The man just shrugs his shoulders disinterestedly. "Perhaps, but it seems to me, that you might just be all talk."

Kaen, forgetting about the half-dozen fights already fought today, cracks his knuckles and removes his black cloak, revealing his tight-fitting black body suit and flame-red armour. He throws his coat at a nearby wall, creating a massive dent in it where the weighted coat struck, straightens out his black, fingerless gloves, and re-ties hid headband, it's colour matching the armour, before dropping into a stance with an almost feral grin on his face.

His opponent removes his turban, cloak and mantle and lazily drops them behind him, their combined weight spider webbing the pavement. Before he can make a move though, Kaen raises both hands, crossing them at his forehead, and cries out "Helios Flare!"

The area fills with a blinding light, and the green man staggers around a bit rubbing his eyes before straightening up, the technique having little effect on him. He throws Kaen an almost amused smirk as he says "Cute trick, let's see how you like this, " and firing thin ki beams out his eyes.

Kaen dives out of the way, the distance created between them by the Helios Flare working in his favour, and prepares to attack again. He holds his hands behind him in line with his hips, a red ball of flame-like ki forming in each, before he throws both arms forward until they meet at the wrist, the two balls merging into one, smirking evilly the whole while.

"Inferno Blast!" An intense streak of flame blasts out from between his hands, and his opponent has no time to put up a defence.

When the flames die down, thin streams of smoke can be seen rising up from his body, but he gives no outside show of the pain he's in. What is obvious, however, is the attack building in his hands. "Destruction Wave!" Kaen tries to avoid the attack by taking to the skies, but he's not quite quick enough, taking the brunt of the attack in the chest and falling back to the ground almost before leaving it.

Kaen shakes off the attack, as his opponent does the same, and regards him with a look bordering on respect, "Hmph, not bad. I actually felt that."

His opponent's expression is one of utter concentration, appearing to not have heard him, as he holds his arms crossed in front of his chest, two fingers on each hand protruding, and building up ki at each. "Demon Twister!"

The sheer power of the attack surprises Kaen, and he throws his hands in front of him, screaming "Heat Shield!" and forming a wall of flame eight foot in every direction around him, and successfully stopping the attack in it's tracks.

Kaen smirks, seeing his shield working, and yells out, "Not bad, but I'm better!" His opponent doesn't reply, and instead fires off another Destruction Wave, which also explodes harmlessly around the shield. In desperation, it seems, he fires off another of his devastating Demon Twisters, and unfortunately for Kaen, the sheer strength of the attack, combined with the exhaustion of his previous battles, causes his shield to fail, and the attack strikes home. Kaen looks at his opponent in shock, falling to his knees, and his last thought before darkness claims him is 'Look's like I might be seeing you again sooner than I would've liked Korin.'

His opponent staggers around a bit, finally letting his pain show, and his ki dropping by the second. He regards his fallen foe, and speaks in an exhausted, and clearly alien, voice. {He's... stronger... than I thought. Maybe... maybe, if it makes it through the night... he might just be what I've been looking for. He might just be able to help...} His musing is cut short, however, as the after effects of the Inferno Blast finally catch up to him, and he joins Kaen in unconsciousness.

End Chapter 01

To be continued...

Author's Notes:
That's the first chapter done. I admit that this one may have not made much sense on it's own, but it does have a purpose to the story, which will make more sense at it develops. This was merely based off our warm-up session, if you will. Please, stick with it at least another chapter or two. I promise it gets better later.