Watch Your Step!

[Achido]

With the Bullets, grenades, and exploding insects behind them, Achido was looking forward to exploring more of the facility and getting answers for what was going on in this mysterious building. Whatever it was, it had Konja frozen in her tracks, even beginning to turn pale in the face and arms. "Hey.." He spoke softly, hoping that everything was fine, but by the looks of things the saiyan was far from that. A look of concern swept over the face of the human, as he slowly stood back to his feet and stepped closer to Konja. "Konja, did you hear me?" His voice was raised a little higher this time.

Konja still wasn’t responding, so whatever it was that had her like this, it was the very first time Achi saw the saiyan in this condition, which was causing him to become more worried than before. He looked down at the kennel, then around the room, and back to the saiyan woman, snapping his fingers to help her come back to reality. "Come on, Konja, snap out of it already!" His tone was worrisome and softer than usual. Achido was scared and worried about Konja’s well being. It was at that moment when Konja fell to her knees. Achi instinctively reached forward to grab her upper arms for stability in case she were to fall on her face or back of the head.

As Achido was doing his best to make sure Konja was going to be fine, the cameras in each corner of the room began to zoom in on the two. This gave the poachers the exact location of where to send the next set of guards. The alarm may not have been ringing within the building, but the systems were well aware of the intruders and were now relying on the cameras to keep an eye on their location. "Send in the Androids. We cannot let them destroy my newest creations, so program the Androids to lure them away before they attack." The main villain spoke with haste, hoping that the droids would end this once and for all. The scientist nodded and pressed in a few commands, then activated the two Androids, and waited for them to come out from their chambers.

The machines hissed for a moment before smoke pushed out from the two chambers. Within a few seconds a pair of Androids that looked exactly like full-grown saiyan men. Their tails swayed back and forth and a smile cracked from their faces as they stood across from the main poacher. They were outfitted in Tuffle armor and equipped with Blaster Rifles, and most certainly ready for some action. With a swift nod from the poacher, each of the Androids walked off to the cloning room where Achido and Konja were currently located. This only meant that they would only have a select amount of time until the Androids would find them.

Achido had his hands on Konja’s shoulders and slowly began to shake the woman back to reality. The flashback really had a lure on Konja with no intentions of letting go any time soon. The blonde finally caught a glimpse of the camera in the corner, causing him to panic for a moment. "All right, we need to hurry, there are cameras in here so they have to know where we are. If you don’t snap out of it soon, I am going to carry you AND the infants." He was dead serious and ready to get a move on. Once Foxxi was rescued, then they could get answers, and come back to save the clones if that is what they choose to do.

Word Count: 611
Total Word Count: 9,406

[Konja of Clan Korm]

Deep breaths.

This wasn't real.

She was not on a surgical table.

They had not cut her open.

There were Saiyans in tanks...

Saiyans...

Other Saiyans...

Not her.

She was free.

She was on a mission.

She was with Achido.

Achido.

Konja closed her eyes. She tried to picture his face. Opened them again.

Operating table.

Someone shook her. A voice called out. It was... familiar. Distant, and yet clear.

She closed her eyes as he called out again. Not just familiar. Readily apparent. He was with her. So close now, and yet...

The Saiyan opened her eyes again. He was here. Achido was here, right in front of her. Not the table, not her guts...

"I..." Close by, the pups cried. "N... no, it's alright. I can..." Her hands started to move, feeling the cold floor at her fingertips. "I can still..."

Konja pushed, calmly as she could. Even still, her rise back to a stand was unsteady. She wobbled slightly, but did manage to make it back to her feet.

To focus, she kept her eyes on Achido. Not the... atrocity that surrounded them. He was her anchor keeping her in this present moment, while everything else threatened to push her back into the past. The pups cried again. That was another reminder of the now.

"Let's go get Foxxi. W... we can think of what to do about these other captives later." There was no question about it now.

Of all the peoples and groups on this world, no other could be capable of keeping this many Saiyans in this kind of scientific captivity. Yes, there were prisons built for Saiyans, she had seen those on the news and online. But nobody else kept them so enthusiastically in this fashion.

"Tuffles... it has to be..." She muttered, holding onto Achido for support. She was still unsteady. "But they don't usually stay on the surface like this..."

Were they now becoming more brazen somehow? "We should move."

Knowing first hand what they did to their subjects, they couldn't possibly have anything good planned for Foxxi.

[347/11737]
Achido

[Achido]

Achido was a bit confused as to why Konja was acting the way she was, but he was sure that the saiyan would explain when the time was right. As she finally spoke, a soft smile stretched across his face. Not because of the situation, more because of the fact that there was hope for them to continue, and to find Foxxi so they could escape the facility once and for all.

The blonde man reached down and helped Konja back to her feet, while holding onto their waist to keep them from falling back to her knees. Seeing her like this almost brought a tear to his eyes, but he sucked it up to help them both stay confident. "Konja, are you sure you want to continue? You can turn back now and I will find a way to get Foxxi back." He spoke softly, trying to reassure Konja that everything would be fine regardless of her choice.

Before Konja could even respond to Achido’s question, the sound of steel on steel stomping was coming from their right. There were two other doors in the room not including the one they came in from, so Achi tugged on the saiyan’s arm and tried to pull her towards one of the doors where the sound wasn’t coming from. With the kennel in his other hand, he started to make his way through one of the other doors with Konja by his side as well. Whatever was on her mind she had no other choice but to fight through it for the time being, as they were on a dire mission to save Foxxi from whoever the poachers were.

Once they made it through one of the exits to the cloning room, the group found themselves in another hallway. This time they were not going to be bothered by any security, at least not for the time being. Achido stopped just as they went through the door and quickly set the kennel down before turning to face the door once more. The blonde man had no time for any more tricks, so he simply punched the device next to the door and watched as it slammed shut and locked itself. Achido let out a sigh of relief, before turning his attention to Konja. "Everything WILL be okay, I promise. I just need you here with me in the present time. Whatever is on your mind we can discuss when we get Foxxi and these infants back home. Their safety is our number one priority." He stroked her cheek softly, hoping that the woman would put whatever was on their mind in the past for now.

The sound of the steel on steel stomping became closer and closer with each passing second, which caused Achido to lean over, picking up the kennel from the ground and walking at a much faster pace than normal towards the next door in their path. Just when they made it to the entrance of the next room, the door behind them suddenly opened and two figures stepped into the hallway with their feet clanking against the ground loudly. Achi quickly looked over his shoulder to see what looked like very large saiyan men, decked out in the latest technological armor. It wasn’t familiar to him in any way, but the fact that they were now being chased by two crazy being caused him to panic just a bit. "Um, don’t look back, Konja. Just, um, move fast!" He said to the saiyan in a panicked tone of voice, before placing his free hand on the spine of her back and pressing it firmly to make sure she knew to kick things into overdrive.

Just as Achido, Konja, and the infants entered the next room, the door locked itself from being able to shut. It was as if someone was blocking the controls manually from the main console of the building. The room they were in was massive, but it was empty besides the elevator on the opposite side of the entrance. There was a keypad and card reader beside the elevator, so that only meant they would need a card and code to make it through the elevator to get one step closer to finding Foxxi.

Achido quickly ran up to the elevator and began to press buttons, hoping that it would just open so they can get away, but that was not the case in this situation. The androids were getting closer and their time was running short. "Konja.." He spoke softly once more, then turned to face her with the kennel still in his right hand. "We have no choice but to fight.." He stated, and set the kennel down in front of the elevator, waiting to hear what she would have to say on the matter.

Word Count: 803
Total Word Count: 10,209

[Konja of Clan Korm]

Konja could see something in his eyes. It wasn't clear to her, exactly. She usually saw a number of things in a person's eyes, depending on who they were. The twinkle of joy, or a spark of irritation for a friend. Sometimes even anger, if she had said some fighting words. Fear or determination for an enemy. Perhaps glee, if it was someone who was on par with her, who enjoyed battle as much as a Saiyan.

What she found in Achido's eyes as he helped her back to her feet was unclear. But whatever he felt, it was strong. So strong that her senses could pick up on certain muscles of his tensing up as he held back this feeling. He confirmed again, whether she really wanted to carry on.

It was understandable if one were to stop and think about it. A previously confident and arguably invincible Saiyan suddenly falling to her knees was quite jarring. Especially since the last time she'd had such an attack with him nearby was two years ago. Back then, Achido was probably fortunate enough to be focused on winning the cargo container race to notice that she had almost swatted some children who were testing her own focus.

Which would make this the first time he'd really seen her in such a state. This stimulus was far more powerful, after all.

This trauma was something that did not let go so easily. And just like her days as the Tuffles' lab monkey, the conditioning of that time was starting to exert itself again.

Still, her pride would not allow such a thing. A Saiyan didn't back down from a fight... even if they were afraid. Her father had taught her to face her fear all too well. And she had seen a number of families on the television being too soft. On Planet Plant, there was no such luxury.

She would be damned if she would say agree to Achido's easy way out.

Circumstances kept her from saying anything, however. New presences announced themselves, and one of the two doors opened up. Achido quickly led her through the silent door and forced it to shut. At least for now, she had some more time to get a grip.

His tune had immediately changed. Someone weaker would have panicked, but at least now, Achi was cooperating with her preferred conditioning. Konja's Saiyan pride silently rejoiced.

He assured her that everything would be fine. But she had to do her part right now. There would be time to share her thoughts with him after Foxxi was safe. In the cold darkness of the facility, his touch was warm. Reassuring. "Yes. You can count on me." The words were instinctive. Fast enough that they could outrun the doubt in her mind. Now that she had committed, there was no more room for hesitation. Pride and training acted as one to overpower the learned fear of Tuffle captivity.

The metallic steps closed in, and Achido took the lead to the next door, clearly hurried now.

The door behind them opened up, and the footsteps clanked louder, no longer hidden behind steel.

Achi looked behind them and told her to keep going, alarm in his voice.

She could understand if he thought she had not yet completely gotten ahold of herself. But how bad could it have been? Still, he was the one with the right state of mind at this moment. "Alright." She could at least trust his judgement, especially if he was insisting with his hand to push her even further ahead.

They dashed into the next room, a cavernous elevator hall, from the look of things. One worrisome thing was how she didn't hear the door shut behind them.

Well if whatever was chasing them was enough to make Achido panic, the door wouldn't have made too big a difference anyway. But even a split second's delay would have been useful, if a fight was this unavoidable. They could have gotten better positioning...

And given the card reader on the elevator panel, a fight was indeed inevitable. Especially since even Achido's technical magic didn't seem to be enough to bend it to his will.

He had resigned himself to fight. He didn't even need to say anything. His giving up on the panel to look her in the eye was all she needed to know.

Konja nodded as he set the kennel with Foxxi's pups down. "I told you," she turned around to see what they had been running from. The sight was horrifying. And immediately, her mind connected the dots between the babies in the vats and what now stood before her.

A gasp escaped her lips, and her mind briefly wandered back to the lab, and her own time in captivity.

Unacceptable.

She bit her tongue until it bled slightly. The pain and metallic taste brought her back to the moment.

Konja clenched her fists and entered a fighting stance. "You can count on me."

Her head was light and was threatening to pull her back into that horrible place. But she continued to bite her tongue.

[855/12592]
Achido

[Achido]

The clanking stopped and the noise was quickly replaced with two voices speaking at the same exact time. "No more running. Both of your destiny’s end here." After speaking they simply looked at each other and laughed before finally placing their attention on the human and saiyan. Achido shook his head and listened to the words come from Konja. He couldn’t let her do this on their own, so he dropped into a fighting stance as well. "They’re right, no more running, Konja. We have to end this now!" He spoke in a stern voice that echoed throughout the room.

The Androids took a few steps forward and smiled simultaneously at the group. They did not seem threatened one bit by Achido or Konja and that had Achi worried for the time being. "The doctor wants you both alive, so we must do as he wishes." They spoke, but as soon as they finished, both Androids pushed off the ground and launched themselves towards Achido and Konja. This was it. Achido had no choice but to fight. He had to. Not only for himself, but for Konja, Foxxi, and her pups.

There was no more time for words, so Achido leapt forward and met the shirtless Android with both of their fists colliding together. The impact alone let out a pulse of energy, but Achi took a step back just as the Android did the same. The blonde human was only getting started, testing the saiyan android with the basics first. There was no need for him to expel his energy right from the start, so he kept it simple for the time being. That was not the case for the Android, as their energy supply seemed to be unlimited.

The shirtless saiyan Android smirked before opening its mouth and launching a massive yellow beam of energy at Achido. The eyes of the young human lit up in fear for only a second, before he grabbed the kennel and quickly jumped out of the way of the energy beam. It collided with the wall and exploded on impact, causing it to blast a hole through it with ease. After the smoke settled, the sun was starting to shine through the hole in the way, which gave Achido a good idea. "Konja, follow me!" He yelled out, hoping that she was able to handle the other saiyan on her own.

With the pups still in his hand, Achi leaped out of the hole and landed on the soft grass gently. He quickly found a spot to put the babies, then he went back to investigate the hole. Just as Achido peeked his head through the large hole, the shirtless android launched through with a massive hook that landed directly on the bridge of Achido’s nose. He was sent flying back into a roll until he finally managed to stop himself. There was a moment where everything was spinning and the tunnel vision hit hard. The young man pushed himself up off the ground and shook off the pain with a smile that led to a laugh. "You make me sick." He spoke and spat blood down at the ground, before reaching into his pocket to pull out another tiny capsule. Achido tossed it up into the air and it exploded, but what popped out was unexpected. A gigantic sword appeared and dropped down piercing the earth a bit.

Achido reached over and grabbed the hilt of the sword before pulling it out of the ground. Not only was the sword massive, it was heavy and extremely difficult to handle. He found himself holding it with two hands because he would easily lose his balance and fall over if held with only one hand. Achi looked around to spot Konja before he wanted to keep going, so he knew that she was perfectly fine with the other bio-warrior.

Word Count: 646
Total Word Count: 10,855