(Back at Capsule Corp)
For the next two minutes, the group watched and listened in as Paprika administered swift and decisive discipline upon their foe. The blasts were coming in so aggressively with such consistency that the group was worried the Makyan might actually tunnel all the way through to the other side of the planet. She certainly had the strength and power to make that happen. But, thanks to her precise and almost perfect control with her technique, she was able to keep that from happening. Normally an excavation like this would've already struck lava, but the hearty young woman was doing so well at stopping herself short that no eruptions took place at all.
She was definitely on a roll today… and was letting off quite a bit of steam at the same time.
Eventually, her continuous barrage of energy blasts came to an end and Paprika stopped with her hands held out. Sweat pouring down her face and ragged breaths of air leaving her lungs, the woman kept both eyes forward and on the fissure, wondering to herself whether her adversary would try for the hundredth time in a row to break loose.
She'd stopped screaming and throwing curses at her a full minute ago. There was a good chance she'd probably been knocked out.
Catching her breath, the white haired demon woman then narrowed her eyes in an attempt to see whether her target was going to try for another run. Sights locked and her hand primed and ready to fire, all she needed now was someone to shoot at.
However, just as she was prepping herself for a second round…
"PAPRIKA! LOOK OUT!" a horrified Videl shouted at the top of her lungs.
Her warning came too little, too late. All of a sudden, the Makyan's eyes widened in shock when three separate sets of pain went shooting through her body in different directions, causing her to lurch forward and stop her attack dead. Blood flying out of her mouth as she began to fall, the white haired fighter then noticed that while she'd been preparing to hit her target in the hand-shaped fissure, three golden lances had materialized out of thin air in her blind spots and impaled her.
Now, not only had one of the staffs gone straight through her back and out her chest, a second had also gone through her collar and out her hip, and a third had gone through her side and out the other.
Baffled by the simultaneous hits, Paprika was unable to stop herself from dropping out of the sky like a duck. When she hit the ground, she landed directly in front of Piccolo and Goten, with the latter quickly rushing forward to her aid. He was soon joined by an equally concerned Trunks and Videl, both of whom rolled the demon girl over to assess the damage. Needless to say, it did not look good.
"Paprika!" Goten shouted, a terrified look on his face as he saw her spear-riddled body begin bleeding out all over the place. "Oh no."
"Whoa. That attack came out of nowhere," Trunks exclaimed, unable to believe what he'd just witnessed either.
A pained expression framing her face, the white haired fighter groaned and looked up. When she did, she saw through a blurred vision her favorite little demi-Saiyan in the world kneeling over her, as well as his friends standing in the background. The sight, though as messed up as it was, brought the woman some moniker of comfort as she lay there in a crumpled heap, with three large spears stamped with Roman engravings sticking through her body like she was some kind of voodoo doll.
"Ugh. This hurts… so much," the Makyan croaked out, obviously straining against the metal shafts piercing her lungs.
Not really wanting to touch her, in view of her current state, Trunks settled for staring down at the teen in worry. "Are you alright?"
Paprika's gaze slowly shifted to the inquisitive youngster. "Really? I have three spears… shoved through my chest and torso… and I'm bleeding all over the floor. Does it look like… I'm alright?"
The lavender haired youngster recoiled at the angry look in the woman's eyes, "N-No. Not really. Sorry."
Before the conversation could be taken any further, all the Z-fighters' gazes quickly snapped towards the crater.
The moment their sights locked onto the literal landmark, they saw the glowing form of Hasky rise up from the earth like a demon. Bearing a few scuff marks from the beating she'd taken at the hands of the Makyan, the blonde set her infuriated glare upon the team of Z-fighters several yards away from her. When she saw them form a defensive line in front of the fallen Paprika on the ruined yard of Capsule Corp, the female assassin in the cuneiform black suit folded her arms and huffed.
"Okay. I think I'm done. As fun as it's been watching you dogs run around like headless chickens… that little temper tantrum back there wasn't as enjoyable as I wanted it to be." She said the last bit with both spite and venom. Immediately upon doing so, the floating Hasky then lifted her right hand and wagged her finger through the air. When she did, the red lines on her suit began to glow. "Now it's mummy's turn to express some rage."
In the blink of an eye, the air floating directly behind Hasky became filled with a cloud of golden dust, the entirety of which came together to form a cluster of over a hundred bladed weapons and pointed in the Z-fighters' direction. The group scattered on the ground in the woman's line of sight gawked at the high volume of spears, swords and daggers that'd materialized around the assassin, literally forming a wall of floating death behind the woman. Even Piccolo and Android 16 expressed utter disbelief at the amount of blade works that'd now come into the picture, and one of them was barely emotional to begin with.
"Th-… That's impossible," Kana murmured, taking count of all the weapons she could see. From the amount of sweat now rolling down her face, you could tell that bad things were about to take place.
Hasky, grinning as the last of her plus one-hundred swords had formed, then took the same right hand from before and pointed it forward. "And… Blade Storm." Multiple flashes of light quickly filled the air as wave upon wave of deadly weapons were sent hurtling at the Z-fighters. The attack occurred almost instantaneously.
Piccolo, Kana, Videl, Goten, Trunks, Paprika and Android 16 barely had enough time to shield themselves before their entire position was bombarded by golden streaks of light, the earth and front area of Capsule Corp being ripped to shreds. The field around the troop went up in an inferno of multiple explosions from the sheer force of the weapons raining down on them, completely blocking out any and all view of the warriors in the heart of the barrage.
Though it seemed like the attack would end once all of the swords Hasky had created were used up, the reality was that every single time a spear or sword was sent flying, it was instantaneously replaced by another, different weapon, which was also let loose. This meant that the attack was not only immense, but also continuous. The result was the battlefield stricken front lawn of the Briefs' property suffering the brunt of the assault, with the barrage of swords even reaching the edge of the main building. All those watching from the windows literally had to duck and cover when the salvo of light-formed blades tore through the ground floor walls and ripped sizable holes in the main structure.
Even if they weren't the intended targets, there was no denying how effective and wide-spread the attack was.
When the barrage eventually ended at the behest of the user, the entire field revealed itself to be covered in bladed weaponry, all of which were sticking out of the scarred and uneven ground. A heavy cloud of dust and smoke hung over the battered front, which then slowly lifted to reveal the ultimate result of the torrent. What Hasky saw from where she was floating brought a wide, victorious smile to her face.
The Z-fighters she'd been fighting this entire time had been reduced to a broken down wreck. While Paprika still maintained the same amount of damage she'd received beforehand, those that'd taken the brunt of the assault in her place were in an equally terrible state. Goten and Trunks, both had reverted back to their base forms, were lying directly beside the woman, covered in scratches, burns, scars, and their respective gis torn to shreds. Their tops were nearly gone. Piccolo was standing in front of Videl, with two swords lodged in his torso, while the raven haired girl had a lance through her shoulder. The two of them were also covered in scratches and scars, and had their clothes ripped in dozens of places. Kana and Android 16 on the other hand had been brought to their knees, with the former's plug suit riddled with damage, and two daggers and a broadsword embedded in her arms. The cyborg alongside her had a Spartan sword sticking out of his chest, a spear through his waist, and an arrow lodged in his skull.
All in all, the group of heroes had survived by the skin of their teeth.
Coughing up purple blood, Piccolo then looked behind him at the others with one eye shut to stop the cut along his brow from dripping into it. "Is… everybody alright?" he asked in a strained tone of voice. "Speak up if you can."
Grabbing the ground tightly, a badly shaken up Videl looked up and choked, "More or less."
"Augh… swords… so many swords," Trunks muttered over and over under his breath, unable to even comprehend how such an attack was physically possible. Even Goten was stunned, groaning as he struggled to his knees and gripping the massive gash in his side, which had been caused by a lance that'd come too close for comfort.
Looking across from where she was slumped over, Kana turned her attention to her cyborg companion's head. When she saw the arrow lodged in the red haired man's cranium, the Seirei cringed, "Whoa. Are you okay?"
Android 16, eyes flickering with random numbers, promptly diagnosed his condition. "My cranial shell's integrity has been compromised and my secondary processing unit has received minor damage. But I am fine." When a spark of electricity ran up the arrow and over his head, the stoic robot's tone suddenly shifted drastically. "The temperature is currently twenty five degrees."
Not really knowing what to make of that last readout, the orange haired Seirei forced a smile, "If you say so."
As they were talking, the group suddenly noticed all of the swords scattered across the desolated grounds vanish into clouds of golden dust. Even the weapons impaling Paprika and the other martial artists disappeared, leaving their forms riddled with holes and open wounds.
When the stricken and battered Z-fighters directed their glares towards their incredibly powerful foe, they saw Hasky throw them one of her signature grins. Despite the battle scars riddling their almost broken bodies, the woman had no intention of showing them any mercy whatsoever. "I admire your ability to stand up after an attack like that. Your group is definitely made up of strong stuff. However…" When she raised her right hand a second time, several more clouds of photons accumulated behind her, from which another hundred or so blades took shape from the fumes. The broadswords, katanas, lances, spears, and daggers pointed in the direction of the group, causing all those in sight of the woman to shrink back in alarm. "I wonder how all of you will fair against weapons of a higher class?"
Though the new collection of projectiles didn't seem any different from the last batch, every single one of the swords and lances floating behind the blonde had been specially modified and crafted for a final, devastating assault on her enemies. Unlike the models from before, the weapons in this cluster were surrounded by a golden, ethereal shroud that had them all glistening brightly under the sun. Despite the fact that all of the other tools beforehand had been incredibly well polished, these blades were enchanted in nature and were made of a much denser material. In addition to the engravings decorating their surfaces, they also had jagged edges and intricate curves in their molds, allowing for deeper, cleaner cuts in their targets.
Even Piccolo noticed that these swords were different from the ones that'd cut them down before and brought his fists up as high as he could in anticipation of the coming salvo.
These weapons weren't just created to intimidate; they were built with the express purpose of maiming and killing their targets.
Seeing the members of the troop in front of her brace themselves for her attack, the blonde assassin smirked and, without the slightest glimmer of hesitation, waved her hand towards them. "Ta-ta." Once more, and hopefully for the last time that day, bright flashes of metal filled the area as the wall of seemingly infinite swords was sent flying at the Z-fighters all at once. Golden death rained down upon the team in a haze, the attack ripping the landscape apart and explosions of rubble and dust engulfing the defenseless heroes.
This time the main building of Capsule Corp was spared from the assault, as Hasky had deliberately aimed all of the blades away from it and squarely upon each of her targets. However, this concentrated and insanely accurate storm of attacks didn't stop a black cloud of smoke from rising into the sky, giving the impression that a nuke had just been set off in the middle of the city. When the rumbling from the bombardment eventually settled a full minute later, the veil of smog that blanketed the property lifted to reveal the battlefield underneath and the amount of damage that had been inflicted upon it. Even Bulma and Chi-Chi were astonished at how badly the property had been hit.
Confident in her victory, Hasky took a deep breath, smiled, and stood back to admire her handiwork. With the amount of swords she'd fired in that one barrage, she was positive that all of her opponents had been reduced to nothing.
"Ahh… there's no kill quite like over ki-" the woman began, before her words were promptly cut off the second she saw the dust settle.
Standing in the center of the sword covered battlefield, in a ring formed by the barrage of blades, two new figures suddenly emerged from the mist. Positioned at the front of their wounded compatriots, a transformed Vegeta and Zangya, both dressed in spandex uniforms, were glaring up towards the blonde floating several yards in front of them.
Given how instantaneous they'd moved to cut off the hail of swords from taking out their friends, you could see why Hasky appeared so surprised.
"Hey! What in the-? Where the hell did you two come from?" the assassin practically barked, her hair bristling in frustration at seeing her attack so successfully intercepted. She soon relaxed moments later when she recognized their faces. "Hang on a second… aren't they…?" Though the blonde and red hair threw her for a moment, after taking a closer look at the two of them, Hasky was able to work out the identities of the newcomers. It had the woman narrow her eyes irritably. "Their profiles were in the files Vi sent me: Vegeta and Zangya."
When they saw their opponent perform a double-take, the two fighters' expressions steeled. Vegeta's especially, and while the Super Saiyan 2 kept his eyes locked on the blonde woman, the Super Hera took that opportunity to look behind her and take stock of the others. As soon as her eyes panned over them, the alien woman nodded, "Is everyone okay."
Hand pressed against her abdomen, the stricken Makyan gritted her teeth and groaned, "That all depends… on your definition… of okay." She did her best to keep her blood from dripping all over the floor, but even with her rapid healing powers, she was still having a tough time keeping it all together.
"My head hurts," Trunks groaned.
"Mine too," Goten wheezed, trying his best to keep his balance when he finally got up. Blood running over his eye, the youngster glanced across at Android 16, who he could see was kneeling nearby with a hole in his temple. The spiky haired runt then pointed at him with a deadpanned expression, "Not as badly as his though…"
Sparks flying out of the crack in his skull, the cyborg's eyes slowly shifted over to Zangya, "My pain receptors have been shut down. Therefore, I am still…" His eyes then went blank for a couple of second and, after his body emitted a weird computer shut-down sound, he then started to speak in a woman's voice from the radio. "News just in from South City, pop star actress Mitsuki… Mitsuki… Mitsuki… Mitsuki…" After repeating that name a few times, the android's head perked up before speaking in a normal voice. "System error."
"For Kai's sakes, man," Videl exclaimed, glaring at the red head with a concerned look on her face, "Shut off for a few minutes. Get some rest."
"Command acknowledged," the giant robot replied, "Shutting down." A low hum then echoed off of his body as his eyes slowly closed and his head went limp. The cyborg then remained there on the ground, as still as a statue, on his knee, and with visible fractures all over his frame.
Now that their robotic companion was out for the count, but still thankfully in one piece, Zangya quickly turned her attention to the one responsible for this whole mess. "So I wasn't imagining things. Something actually was going on out here and we didn't know about it. Stupid energy shields," she muttered. After training her crosshairs on the blonde and giving her a decent once over, the red haired woman deepened her frown and, raising a fist, gave the group behind her a thumbs-up. "You guys take five. Vegeta and I can handle her."
"Go right ahead," Paprika coughed, before then rolling onto her back and turning her gaze towards the sky. "I'll be cheering you on… from the sidelines…" She was quickly joined by Goten and Trunks, both of whom took up protective positions around the spot she was lying. "Just… watch out for her weapons. They can get you from anywhere."
While Videl moved over to make sure Android 16 wouldn't fall apart on his own accord, Kana and Piccolo picked themselves up from the dirt and hobbled to the front, where they stood on either side of their teammates. Given that they were in better fighting condition then the rest of their friends, the wounded pair was determined to carry on the fight and faced off against their adversary with both scorn and vigor.
Vegeta, sparing a glance over at Piccolo, scoffed at the man's appearance and turned back towards the front. "You're a mess."
"And you're late," the Namekian replied, spitting the blood out of his mouth to continue the face-off with dignity. "Caught up training again?"
"Of course. You think I would cancel my routine for any little thing that just happens to drop by unexpectedly?"
"Let's just skip the pre-fight banter and focus on the problem in front of us," the former guardian interrupted with a serious scowl in play. "While I don't know about you, I'm sure this one isn't the kind of person who would waste time and energy standing around trying to decide what to do with her opponents."
Narrowing his eyes, the Saiyan nodded at the blonde hovering in front of them. "Who is this woman, anyway?"
"The big guy back there said her name was Hasky; a very dangerous and prolific thief," Kana stated, shrugging as she continued to regard their enemy with caution and care. "She broke into the building, snuck into the hospital wing, and the others chased her out. Apparently she was there to try and kill Gohan-kun while he was sleeping."
That last bit of info had Zangya's body freeze up and her eyes widen in shock. When her mind was done processing the freelancer's announcement, the red haired alien clenched her fists and ground her teeth in a manner that was clearly anger. Her gesture was so intense that the other heroes standing alongside her could literally hear her top and bottom jaws filing together. It did well in setting the mood for the future conflict to come.
"She's here… to kill Gohan?" the Hera whispered, trying to keep her breathing under control and her vision from going red. When she saw the smug smile of the blonde gazing back at her from her position above the field, the woman with the green complexion snarled and took a major step forward. "Over my dead body."
A grin tugged across Hasky's lips, "If you insist." When the lines of her suit lit up, the area behind her filled with golden clouds of energy, which instantaneously formed into eight long swords and spears, all of which turned and pointed in the group's direction. This then led to the assassin craning her head like a curious eagle and marking each of her targets individually. "Being a hard working, self-made woman, I enjoy a good joust every once in a while to break the monotony of a boring week. But as much as I love to deal a good thrashing to those who think it's a good idea to get in my way, if it interferes with my work and takes up too much of my time, I absolutely despise it. So… unless all of you want to walk through the pearly gates with swords and lances covering your bodies, I suggest you back off now."
Piccolo's and everybody else's glares, only seemed to intensify. "Not a chance." This prompted the other three warriors to slide into fighting stances, showing they had no inclination of breaking the line they'd formed.
This only coaxed a harsher leer from the blonde warrior, who then closed her eyes in satisfaction. "I was hoping you'd say that." Tilting her head upwards, Hasky then flashed her venomous green eyes towards her foes, causing the weapons floating behind her to rattle. "As a goddess of the new age, it is my duty to purify the world and administer swift justice upon those unfit to stand in my presence. Die on your feet… mongrels." Then, in a flash, she unleashed all eight of her weapons upon the Z-fighters.
===============================
If you want to support me and also access 30 advance chapters, join my patreon with the link patreon.com/EddyHazArd Or just search "EddyHazArd" in the patreon searcher.