It didn't take long for the two fighters to clash after they had both prepared themselves, and surprisingly, the much smaller Nase was still holding his own in this struggle. Though Tanga's body became even more muscular and was tensed all over, the mutant cyborg seemed to have a high level of physical ability now, to the point that they were now equally as strong.
This transformation truly was amazing. Though Tangerine's steroid buff usually made her become too physical-focused to keep her usual composure, there was something that far outweighed any muscleboundness that would arise from any drug. And that was her curiosity.
Before she was a Brigadier-General, she was a Tuffle, and even before that, she was a scientist. Though some might refer to her extreme interest on physical experimentation of a person as 'eccentric' at the nicest, Tanga couldn't care less. It was her job, and what's the shame in enjoying what you do? Unable to restrain the smirk on her face from forming, the now pupilless researcher clenched a fist as she swung her shielded arm in a wide arc, pushing off the ghastly figure that she was facing against. Lowering her stance and opening her hands, she jumped forward as if lunging at prey and got a tight hold onto his shoulders. Unfazed by this more than slight annoyance, the captured Nase just leaned into the push and stood his ground as he pulled back his head. Quickly slamming his forehead into hers, he removed himself from the grapple and swung his strangely elastic looking arm into her stomach, which she was unfortunately too slow to stop. The collision sounded with a heavy thud, one that it's creator seemed to be very proud of.
"Heheh."After taking a step back, she saw a pale hand claw at her with noticeably sharper fingers than any Tuffle should have. Parrying it this time, the red-maned warrior spun around to her opponent's backside, giving her a great advantage in the brawl, if she gets a hit on him like this, that is. And hit she did. Striking him violently where his spine was, Tanga watched as he was sent into the air with spit flying from his mouth and his eyes rolled up as he fell. Landing on his hands and a knee, the machine mutant grit his teeth as he started to stand up again.
Even after that?!"Ha..."Having not turned around yet, his face was shrouded in darkness as Tanga thought of her next move. She as exhausting many of her ideas since it was obvious at this point that brute-forcing him wasn't much of an option anymore. Looking down to her arm as she began to feel a small bit of tiredness wash over her, she saw her golden shield and remembered how she knocked him out from before. Maybe she could try it again and it'd have the same effect as last time. No, she couldn't really on that alone, worst off when she might become weaker after any more of his attacks. This enhancement of hers wasn't permanent, after all. She'd just have to hope that his was the same.
Readying her shield arm again, she swung after the back of his head, aiming to at least knock him over, but came out with something much worse than what she bargained for. As she swung, she noticed the red light illuminating his face as he noticed her movement.
Slash! It only took an instant for the leather keeping her shield attached to her body to be cut off by Nase's ki blade, and it only took that instant for Tanga's entire course of action to be disrupted. Staggered by the surprise manoeuvre, the army leader was at a loss at what to do now. She was barely even able to stabilize herself! Stomping down her leg behind her to try and retain her battle position, Tanga struggled as Nase hopped up and his hand shockingly grabbed her wrist with a force equal to (or even passing) her own. She never noticed it before, but on the backs of his hands, had large blue symbols on them. Deep blue emblems of
食 had begun glowing like most things on him, and Tanga started to feel...
Strange. It hadn't even minutes yet, but she felt a sort of weakness akin to the power stimulant failing on her after it passed through her. But it couldn't be... unless he was...
"...Draining?!"Realizing his hands, while no longer as stigmatic as they once were, were still very good at stealing the life force of others, Tanga forced a huge amount of energy into her other arm to launch him off of her. Though his grip was strong, her first was clearly stronger, as he was swiftly sent flying into a wall, giving the ISLET member time to breathe.
"(Guh... Hah... This... Should not be happening. He couldn't have been more than a speck of my peak ability. Has it been this long already, or has the transformation given him truly all of this power? I... won't let him pass. Not like this.)"Hearing the sound of him standing up again, Tanga looked down at him again, this time, actually wary of his ability and clenched her fists again. Someone who had existed for not even a tenth of her existence was not about to instil fear into her proud heart. Not even standing fully up yet, he was seen with his dominant hand in the same position that it was in when he blew up the machine's control panel, this time giving Tanga a sort of warning. Blocking her mainly exposed body with her arms, Tanga flared up her ki aura and power output as a defensive measure, activating this at just the same time as a streak of light shone on her body and background behind her.
"Bring it on!"The ensuing explosion, while enough to seemingly burst open the metal door that they entered from and burn the walls of the area around her, did next to nothing to actually maim the empowered scientist. At least she had that going for her. Though Nase had recently battled against
a certain magical foxgirl, he still hadn't fully understood the match-up, so to speak, especially since he had
lost that spar of theirs. Tangerine, on the other hand, hadn't had such losses tainting her record.
"Hah, if it's a battle of attrition you want, it's a battle of attrition you will get."This apparently angered the mutated boy, as he formed another ki blade over his fist and launched himself towards Tanga with gritted fangs bared. Knowing the sharpness of this from the last time he used it, she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop it. She could take the hit, sure, but without her shield, she'd just have to take the brunt of that sword and try to stop him as she did so. She'd just have to risk her arm to beat him.
"Die already!"Tensing her body as hard as she could, she readied herself to take the hit, but then-
The heavy bang that the general heard at that point was so loud that if her body was any frailer, she wouldn't be able to stand from the shockwave. Tanga hadn't even closed her eyes, and yet... she couldn't see what happened. Slowly looking over to her right, she saw that her arm was somehow, completed unharmed. It wasn't even nicked! And when she turned... Wh-what happened to him? The originally maniacally determined and ki-charged mutant was now suddenly slammed against the ground at the side of the room, as if he was just pushed back by some force she didn't get to see. Even the metal wall that he hit into broke! But how was that possible? Pit and Cherry had left a long time ago, and even then, Tanga didn't think that even the guardians outside were capable of doing something like that.
"(But then... who?)"While Tanga's supersized brain tried to think on what could have caused this type of damage so fast, she heard the sound of the supposedly destroyed door behind her closing gently. Turning around with a start, the brigadier's eyes opened wider and wider as she saw the figure who stopped Nase in an instant. Though the woman who had entered was much shorter than the redheaded titan, the pressure that she gave off
was larger than anything on earth. And besides, her hat more than made up for her shorter stature.
"C-Colonel?!""I was hearing of your issues with a containment breach in our newest experiment here..."Gesturing with a weak hand to the man struggling to lift his head up, the impassive commander resumed her sentence, taking a second to look at the destruction around them.
"Though I know that this type of scenario is not new for you by any means, I did feel the need to appear in case our transformation was too much of a success. It seems that you have been protecting the others for a while now if you were willing to risk a limb for them. Your elixir isn't finished as of yet, you know."Not one to fangirl (openly), Tanga quickly composed herself and stood tall, still in awe of her leader.
This wasn't the first time she's been like this either. Taking steps forward, the decorated colonel nonchalantly turned her gaze from her junior and onto the male of the three finally finished his struggling and had started to stand up again. He was still grunting from the pain, however, and it was obvious by how he put his hand on his forehead he was still in considerable pain.
"(...Just how hard did she hit him? He's still recoiling from it!)" Eventually, Nase put both of his hands to his sides as he stared back at the woman who attacked him. Seeing this, Tanga got into her battle position again, while the uniform-wearing colonel just stared at him, seemingly carelessly. Staring for a good couple of seconds, Nase looked up and down the dichromatic warrior that had arrived and raised his chin to look down on her.
"...Just who the hell are you?"The unnamed girl in the military dress simply stared at him, her face unreadable due to it being partially covered by her clothes. Slightly squinting her eyes, the ISLET commander slightly flexed her right hand and twisted her dark boot to the side.
"The stories of your ability weren't far off." Within seconds, Nase appeared in front of the bored-looking girl with a slash attack aimed straight for her neck, his newly red aura burning around his pale form. He didn't even create a ki blade at this point due to his agitation. He was going for a straight chop and by the time Tanga reacted to this, it already had become just a centimetre away from impact. There was no way she would be able to defend her superior in time...
"Unfortunately for our needs, however, you do seem to lack some." ...But it would seem she wouldn't need to. Latched onto his open palm like a crab's claw, the smaller hand of the colonel stopped Nase in his tracks, causing him to flinch as he couldn't move his hand away from her.
"W-what?!With one quick motion, The hovering figure quickly was spun around in the air and slammed into the metal floor, once again cracking the ground from the force to the point that the room was turning almost unusable.
Well, the place was trashed already, anyways. Losing all of the momentum that he had when he rushed his opponent, Nase's body was sent straight up into the air as he was dunked headfirst into the ground by the aloof girl.
"Gh!"Stuck in that position for a second, Nase was ultimately released from this position, only to be spun around as his legs fell and once again, an ISLET member's boot had found itself on top of Nase's head.
Just great... Struggling against the oppressive power, the male Tuffle found himself unable to move from his spot underneath the quadruple centenarian's heel. As he tried to push up using his arms this time, Nase was beginning to realize that this girl wasn't going anywhere unless she felt like it. Groaning as he pushed up against her, Nase watched as the aloof girl stared back at him with her unnaturally coloured irises.
"To answer your question, though you may not want it anymore, I go by Colonel Attis Weetsop here and while Tangerine here has been dealing with breakouts to the point it is second nature, I am the one who first 'dealt' with the Saiyans that escaped their constraints."Flexing her fingers again, the Tuffle commander leaned in as she said the word
dealt, making sure to get her message across. She really did seem to have more experience with this, whether or not she was telling the truth. Not being one to be diplomatic anymore, Nase continued to glare up at the two of them as the more colossal of the two finally breathed out in relief.
"(She was fine, of course. She's the most elite Saiyan hunter in this battalion. I should not be worrying at all.)"The only person that was really worried right now was Nase, as he found his arm twisting more and more the more he resisted. Eventually, he learnt to back down from trying to attack in this position, but his piercing eyes never weakened their glare at her uncaring face. For any weaker person, that probably would have freaked them out, at the least unnerved them. Luckily for ISLET, Weetsop wasn't one to get moved easily.
"This does seem... questionable, however. Your body does not seem to be able to activate its liquidation ability. Could it be that your form is incomplete?"Weakening her grasp temporarily on his wrist, the colonel noticed that almost immediately, his arm dropped to the ground and Nase was airborne once again.
"The hell are you on about?! I don't need any transformation crap from you!""Eh?"Without wasting even another half-second, the enraged Nase felt the shock in his stomach he felt in his face not long ago.
"(A...gain?!)"If Weetsop was attempting to hide her latent sadism during this 'visit', she was starting to fail in that regard. One punch was apparently just not enough to defeat him this time, as the commander opted for a group of rapid jabs into his solar plexus, causing spit and blood(?) to fly from his mouth in quick succession. And when she was finished, Nase could see under her high collar, and saw a devilish smirk hidden under the fabric. What on earth was this woman, wasn't she supposed to be the 'righteous' one right now?!
"(She's... a monster.)"Crashing next to the table he was first interrogated at, Nase slowly moved his head up as he opened his eyes, seeing that his attacker had already reached the spot before him, gingerly leaning against the table.
How was that even possible?"You don't need our transformations? Then what about your original cybernetics? The machinery you experienced was enough to unlock ki manipulation in someone, and gave its user the ability to passively absorb the strength of those around you to increase your own. Why do you think you could access power levels up to eight thousand six hundred only months after starting your journey? Earthly training alone would not get you that far without assistance."8,000? Is that how much he used on Waka? He didn't actually realize, but he had been going at MUCH more powerful levels than he ever expected, even to the point that he didn't think he had gone past 5,000. The fact that Weetsop could get such a distinct answer just by looking at him, told him that her attacking him without even an aura forming meant that he didn't even want to know what her power level was. A ki storage like that being used as if it was nothing only had served to make Nase angrier...
and hungrier.Apparently becoming tired of watch Nase struggle to stand over and over again, the white-haired woman began to sit on the table behind her as she spoke, adding to her commanding exterior even more. Cocking a foot up onto the table, Weetsop spared no expense in letting Nase know that she wasn't going her best, and whether it was just his irritable attitude or the effect of the transformation, he became more upset at this as it continued, which she seemed to enjoy. Then again, it was still difficult to tell due to her stoic demeanour. Meanwhile, Tanga hadn't had to do anything to stop Nase for a while, so she was able to recollect herself after her battle with the Neo Machine Mutant. When Nase and Tangerine first met, he could barely hurt her whenever he tried to swing at her imposing figure, but now thanks to the experiment, they seemed to be almost equal! This did not make her fear the young man,
obviously, she could always become stronger, whether by extensive training or powerful enhancements, but the fact that he had made this giant leap so quickly... there was much for her to learn if she were to become stronger. She'd been relying a lot on her intelligence and brute force to defeat her opponents, but if she does not get time to plan, she can only go so far.
"It would seem that you understand my reasoning. Turning you into a machine mutant would not make you stupid, after all. The most it would do is change your priorities to be based more on instinctual needs than personal wishes. Though, through all that, I do not why you are so apprehensive about assisting us. You are aware we are on the correct side of this war, yes?""Another one of you trying to be diplomatic after beating me into dust. Don't you all get tired of this act?""We wouldn't have to keep defeating you if you would have complied with our requests earlier. Do you not grow tired of losing?""Grrr... HEY! I don't need to take this, you b-"At unreactably fast speeds, the golden, ripped-off shield that Nase took off of Tanga's arm previously found itself next to Nase's neck, the white-haired user glaring with an extreme intensity that not even the abnormal form that Nase had taken would allow him to ignore. The cold emotionlessness that Weetsop gave off was bloodcurdling in effect, to the point that he found himself unable to move, not dissimilar to the aura he felt when he first met people like Clove or Celerai, but on a much more antagonistic level. Powerful fighters that even if they felt like hiding their power, their menacing energy would seep through.
Gah..."You shouldn't risk your life like that. You don't seem to have any regenerative abilities as of yet."Still stationary in his sitting position, the now sweating experiment gulped slowly as she removed her threat from his person. Her blank state really sold her terrifying display of power when she wanted it to. Then again, she had already shown her true nature to him for a few seconds, so he had a small idea of what she was capable of mentally. But as both of these military women had been beating into him, that wouldn't get him out of here by itself. Clenching his offhand to the point that he was ripping up the floor, the sitting experiment simply grit his teeth and lowered his head. Even a rampaging monster could know its limits.
"Perfect. Brigadier Tanga, you can tell the others of my arrival now, so that they do not worry due to what your scientists might tell them."Hesitating for a moment, the red-maned scientist nodded and began walking off, not without taking a passing glance at the pastel boy looking up at her.
"Yes. Understood."And with that, she left the two powerful Tuffles to their own maniacal devices. Turning back to face Weetsop, Nase noticed that her gaze was at the moment, trained on the indiscriminate destruction he had laid out, namely, where he had escaped from his transformation pod and the burns, charred glass shards and metal shrapnel that was left in his wake. She seemed indifferent for the most part, but hanging out with certain people taught him how to read slight emotion. Letting his burning aura dissipate slightly, Nase let the interested commander think for a moment before speaking to him again.
"This makes this grouping even more necessary."Though he was surely hurt in more places than a normal person could take, the transformed figure stood up and continued to stare at the emotionless woman ahead of him with his almost shining eyes.
"I get it that my parents used to work here before I was born or whatever, but they left a long time ago. What makes you think that I want to help you, worst off when I don't even know what you people want?""Hm. No one had told you... But as for the topic of your parental figures, in most cases, attempting to leave are not allowed at best and referred to as treason at the worst. So your parents after they left did not hold much favour with ISLET anymore. But, that is irrelevant to us now, now that you have arrived."Moving off of the table and approaching as she said this, it was noticeably visible that while she was in no way defenseless, Weetsop had seemingly dropped all guard when regarding the young mutant; Meaning all Nase had to do was find a reasonable time to strike.
"So... I'm just supposed to be this shadow state's new plaything because I had some of your creation put into me?""It is more complex than that, but if you would like to think of it that way, then yes.""Gr... You haven't given me One good reason why I should listen to you yet."Pausing for a second, the woman lowered her head with her sadistic smirk once again as she responded.
"Well, if you join us... you would gain a bonus that I think you'd enjoy at this point."Before Nase could ask, Weetsop began to hover in the air. Though no aura formed, Nase with his rudimentary ki sensing could tell that she had a giant amount stored within her, basically like a ki nuke that was building up energy to detonate. So it shouldn't have been too surprising when it finally went off.
While it didn't incinerate him like it probably should have, the light alone was blindingly disorienting with a high-pitched noise to match, but this wasn't the important part of the war captain's display, apparently. Every single inch of the space around them was filled with so much ki to the point that Nase couldn't even move. The only thing that came close to this was...
that Saiyan he met in Pilaf Land... and Nase couldn't even tell which of the two was the stronger. Though he had experience dealing with overpowering ki signatures before, this was the one that messed him up the most. This feeling... he knew it well, but still he had no defence against it. A mix of envy and anger caused by the fact someone might be stronger than him... and a desire to drain it to nothing for his own gain. Thinking back on it now, he always did show symptoms of whatever this
hungry feeling he was feeling. Maybe the previous enhancements had affected him mentally as this newer form did now.
"Gh... what the?!"However, it seemed that he wouldn't be able to focus on that now. Maybe it was the fact he was recently drained of his ki until he almost reached zero, maybe it was the fact that he had recently eaten a piece of the evil mushroom, or maybe it was whatever form his body had taken at the moment due to the transformation pod, but this feeling he had... was much more extreme than any other time. It was as if she was- no, she definitely was showing off her full ki signature doing this, causing Nase to become overstimulated by the power. Though it lasted for just a second, the marked Tuffle that stood next to her fought to retain his self-control. The urges that told Nase to reignite his battle were only held back by the memory of losing so severely just minutes ago, and yet, even that memory was starting to fade. Luckily, Weetsop spoke before something happened.
"If you were to side with our faction, you would be able to consume the enemy's power without any restraint, and if you stay here for long enough, you could become extremely powerful. Even to my level if you so desire."Though he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate at the moment, the captivating tone that Weetsop spoke in cut through his confusion and reached him all the same. Thinking on it, he realized that this was all a silly idea. Joining a secret faction with enemies you don't share, just for the hope of becoming stronger? That was just too insane for anyone to agree to, right? But even then, hearing what was being presented to him, he couldn't just up and refuse this, could he? Infinite power, the ability to take anyone's energy for himself, and being able to crush any enemy underfoot without worry... all sounded like things up his alley at the moment. Lowering his head, allowing his hair to go over his face, Nase- no, the Neo Machine Mutant Nase, smiled devilishly and began to chuckle again for a short bit.
"Well... Tell me then, what do you need?"Hearing his acceptance and meeting his mad smirk with a more refined one of her own, the Saiyan exterminator turned to face her newest recruit pridefully.
"Perfect."
Late at night in the West City of the Central Lands, a small Sheep Beastwoman left a quiet store after closing it for the day. Placing the key into the large pocket at the front of her apron-like tunic, the meek-looking girl made sure to look around her before walking out to the sidewalk, as to make sure no one as nearby. After a moment of waiting, the pleased shop owner patted her sides and began to walk into the streetlight to get home. Before she could, however, she heard something that sounded like a footstep coming from directly behind her. But that couldn't be right, she just checked around her already, and there was no one there. Not being able to turn around in time, the timid girl felt a hand land on her shoulder and immediately stiffened in place. Slowly, a pale figure with a red mark over one of their eyes was inches away from her face with a look of a person who had recently beaten someone unconscious and she was a witness to it. After her initial freak-out caused her to turn too sharply and fall onto her back, she saw the figure glare silently as they approached, the palms of his hands glowing as he raised them to her face.
The subsequent scream was so loud, that it was audible from the hovering vehicle that was hanging slightly overhead in such strong night camo that its lights from the front look more like stars than the front of a superweapon. At the moment, however, instead of being used as a weapon of mass destruction, it was monitoring another as the silver-haired woman stood from the open cargo door, holding onto the handle coming from the side of the opening.
"How's the test run going, Commander?""I think... we'll have the Saiyans here under our heels in no time."Now that his resistance had faded, the newest creation of the Tuffle Science Executive had been formed and now it was working for them. Though he wouldn't know it yet, Nase had evolved from just being a simple street fighter, for better or for worse. Becoming a Neo Machine Mutant, the first of his kind, Nase's body and mind had become something completely different from before. Something that he might not be able to control."You..."
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