Going Native: Feeling of Old Animosities (ch.58) (Patreon)

That was the wrong thing to say, I quickly learned, because the alien was really set off by that. A wordless scream of rage escaped his throat. His ring glowed an ominous red before a red beam of light raced towards me. I dodged effortlessly, sailing forward towards him to put an end to this fight before it could begin, only to be put off when five red flames appeared above him.

Now I remembered him, I thought as the flames fired off beams of light that gave chase to me as they moved erratically. He was the alien that had fought Vegeta way back on Planet Vegeta. I pretty much forgot all about him. Actually, I thought he was dead, so it wasn't completely my fault that I didn't recognize him.

Ki gathered in my hands and I fired at the speeding red flames that gave chase. The moment they collided, extreme heat washed over me as they exploded. The heat was powerful enough that I felt my eyebrows get singed despite the fact that the harsh red fire never touched me. I didn't have time to linger because the other four flames raced through the fire to slam into me.

Deciding that I had to treat them like black hole missiles, I backed off to give myself room to maneuver. Only for the alien to give chase, blasting through the fire with a blood-red blast that reminded me of a ki blast. It raced towards me, far faster than the flames. My eyes narrowed into slits as I reached out to catch the construct, intending to break it, and instantly I realized the difference between the other colors and the red.

The palm of my hand sizzled, the skin cooking, then burning to a charred black. It was like it was poison. Something volatile that cared nothing about durability or resistances. It was something that had a singular desire -- to destroy the enemy. My face twisted into a snarl as I sunk my fingers into the construct, warping the blast before I threw my hand to the side. The alien met my snarl, not slowing down as more red fire gathered in his hands while the shots he fired before were closing in.

Ignoring the pain in my hand, I gathered ki in them and fired off four blasts as I rushed to meet the Red Lantern head-on. Fire washed over us, burning my cape and armor while the hard plastics of my visor began to swelter. A sword appeared in the Red Lantern’s hands, a construct that he used to slam into the ki that gathered around my hands. It ate away at the ki, forcing me to constantly reinforce them to avoid losing a limb.

“I…” The Red Lantern began, glaring pure murder at me. That question really did set him off. “Am!” He continued, trying to push me back with pure strength. He couldn’t. In a contest of strength, there was no comparing us. “Wrath!” He screamed as another half dozen red flames bloomed above him in a half-circle, making my eyes narrow.

Just as they surged forward, intent on tearing through me, I lashed out with a foot and caught Wrath in the chest, undercutting his dramatic proclamation before I quickly backed off. The flames chased after me, leaving behind a trail of smoke before I detonated them with a quick ki blast. As heat washed over me again, I smelled smoke and looked down at my cape to see that it was on fire.

“Ada’la?” I started, tearing the cape off and letting it fall down to the planet’s surface. The fire began to clear to reveal Wrath hovering on the other side, his ring glowing and the scars on his arms doing the same. In response to my question, I heard jumbled words -- the speakers were damaged. “Warn Lord Frieza that we may be dealing with Red Lanterns as well for me,” I ordered before I took off my visor as well and tossed it away.

I had others. There just wasn’t a point in bringing them out if they were just going to get melted. Even my armor had suffered, so I tossed that off too, leaving my upper body covered only by a black long sleeve undersuit. Keeping it on wasn’t going to help with the heat, and if the ambient heat was enough to melt it partially then a direct hit would destroy it. The last thing I needed was melted armor in a wound to make it more difficult to heal.

“I remember you now,” I told him as I wrapped my tail around my waist. After years of having it stuffed and protected by armor, it was rather freeing to have it out in the open again. “Your race was the one that preached about how evil my race is while trying to commit genocide on us.”

Wrath’s eyes narrowed into slits, likely thinking I was mocking him when I wasn’t. He seemed like an angry guy, so there wasn’t any point trying to reason with him. “I thought my brother had killed you?”

Wrath seemed to shake with… well… wrath as he glared at me, “I teleported myself out of the way of the blast. But I was too weak to continue the fight. My people… you… you slaughtered them. You refused their surrender and hunted them down like animals.”

I met his gaze evenly, recalling that moment when I made the choice to do exactly what he said. “I did,” I confirmed.

Beyond the hate and rage, pain shone in his eyes. A wound that hadn’t healed regardless of how much time had passed, and it was unlikely that it ever would. My brother and I… we were the source of his rage. And I’m guessing that it was that rage that attracted that ring to his finger, and why he was before me now. A lesson to be learned.

Kill your enemies, else you will face them again stronger than they previously were.

“Why?” He questioned, his tone… desperate. And angry. And sad. He was a volatile mix of emotions, but all of them fueled his rage.

I wished I had a decent answer for him. The truth wouldn’t satisfy him and it would only make him stronger. Still, he deserved honesty. If only because lying to an enemy to make them weaker left a poor taste in my mouth. I met his gaze evenly, unwavering, and gave him the truth. “Because it was convenient for me.”

Wrath blinked, his lips parting like he couldn’t understand the words that I had just said. So, I clarified. “I had recruits that needed to be tested by fire. You were an enemy that was attempting to wipe out my race. The test I had planned for my recruits didn’t pan out, so you were a convenient alternative.” I didn’t have a hand in Vegeta wiping out his race, but I hadn’t exactly done a whole lot to stop him. I gave a vague reason not to by bringing up Lord Frieza, and that was about it.

“You…” There were tears in his eyes and his scars glowed brightly with a sinister red light. There was a tremble in his voice and he faltered for a moment. After that moment, his gaze hardened and his face settled on a blank mask as his anger transcended mere rage. “You’re dead.” It was impressive how much hate he could fit in two words.

With that, he moved. Fire formed and launched itself at me in a steady barrage, forcing me to dodge as I raced to clash against him once again. A chain construct emerged from his ring that lashed out at me, and when I dodged, more chains erupted from the links to follow me. I slashed at them with a ki blade, driving them away to get in close.

A familiar symbol appeared before me before I could land a blow. I curled my hand into a fist and slammed it into the red symbol, knowing that I was too closed in to back off. Wrath flew backward, forced back from the force, but I paid the price. I felt bones snap in my arm, the force I delivered returned tenfold. My muscles were more than tough enough to keep my bones in place, so it mattered little.

Vegeta had whittled Wrath down until that symbol became ineffective. That was before he became a Red Lantern, so I don't think that was in the cards anymore.

The flames continued to follow me, circling around to give chase and I waited until the last moment to dodge. Throwing myself up, I flipped out of the way to dodge, ki gathering in my hands. With one hand I detonated the flames, setting off a chain reaction to destroy the others and the same moment incredible heat washed over me, I formed a bubble shield to protect me from the blast. It forced me back from the point of impact, but my shield held up. I took a moment to glance at my arm to find that it was bleeding but functional.

That didn't make sense. For the past six years, I had engravings marked onto my soul to make me resistant to magic. What should have happened was that I broke through that symbol and killed Wrath. Instead, my arm was the one to break. So, either Narra had lied to me, or that wasn't magic.

I had practiced with her a fair bit on dealing with magic, and it had worked then. I don't think she was lying to me, so what was different?

Spiked red chains erupted from the fire, wrapping themselves around my shield, telling me that Wrath wasn't dead. The opposite, really. He flew through the fire, unbothered by it, while a large red flame gathered around one hand before shaping itself into a burning red lance. The tip was aimed for my chest, intent to skewer me through the heart while the chains kept me in place.

Wrath, I thought as I expanded the shield, forcing a gap between the chains so I could slip through it, was a tricky enemy to fight. The chains attempted to grab hold of me, but I cut them away to gather ki in my hands. That symbol of his meant that long-range wasn't viable and between his magic and his power ring, he could dominate at long range as well. Close range was the best bet that I had, but the same problem persisted.

Meaning I had to make use of small gaps in his defense, like when he attacked.

With ki coating my hand, I reached out to grab the tip of the lance. The palm of my hand burned, the tip of the lance barely poking through on the other end, but I was able to hold the magic. The lance bulged, buckling at the sudden stop, and through his rage, I saw surprise flash over Wrath's face while a grin spread over mine.

Before he could react, I clenched down on the lance while I lashed out with a ki covered hand. The tip of my blade slid under his ribs, cutting through the red aura that covered him. Purple blood erupted from his mouth, but he was too angry to let a blow like that kill him. Knowing that, I slashed to the side, intent on bisecting him, and I half managed the task. Only for glowing red thread to trace over the wound, burning it shut to keep his body intact.

There was the difference, I thought as I pressed the attack. Wrath retreated, trying to put some distance between us, and to buy that time, a glowing red symbol appeared between us. Instead of hitting it with my fist, I grabbed hold of the symbol and crushed it in my fist. I could destroy magic attacks and defenses.

"Damn you!" Wrath screamed, so pissed that he didn't seem to notice as another ki blade punched through his chest. He grabbed onto my arm, the symbols on his flashing a moment. Then I felt a tug in my gut, but I resisted it. He screamed at me, a wordless mad howl of rage and hate before he recalled that he had a ring. It flashed as I went to sever his head, and both of us fell into a portal of swirling red.

One moment we were in atmosphere above a planet and the next we were in space, a thousand miles above our previous location. There was a savage grin on Wrath's face because he knew only one of us could breathe. A hand went to a pocket that contained a capsule that carried my mask and spare visors, only for a chain of red to wrap itself around my leg.

I hastily destroyed it, but the damage was done. The capsules were destroyed.

Turning to glare at Wrath, I saw that his lips were moving but I couldn't hear him. I didn't have a scouter to pick up what he was saying and there was no sound in space. Not that I could respond in the first place. I had half a lung full of air, so I either needed to defeat him or get back planetside before I suffocated.

Gritting my teeth, I raced forward -- I had to cut off his arm, then his head. With that thought in mind, ki coated my hands and I sent an arc of it at Wrath. A symbol appeared between us as flames sparked to life above him, ignoring the lack of air to burn brightly. He rushed forward to meet me, his ring firing blasts as my ki arc hit his symbol. I felt pain lacerate my body, cuts appearing, and even the probing strike could cause some damage.

The flames fired out, attempting to drive me away from the planet, while he used his ring to the same effect. He had learned his lesson, annoyingly. He wasn't letting me get close to him. The ki in my hands shifted as I shaped it into a different attack. Six ki balls raced from the palm of my hand to slam into the flames, bathing me in fire but I pressed forward as my undersuit was being burnt off. Sailing through the flames, I caught a glimpse of a red flash before I saw that Wrath had teleported himself further away from me.

Okay. That was irritating as all hell. If he learned that lesson so well then he wasn't going to make the same mistake as he did last time. Meaning I had to bait him into making a new mistake.

He was angry. Furious. He wasn’t thinking rationally. How could I use that?

The answer was obvious.

A hand went to my throat, my mouth opening to show that I was gasping for air. I attempted to breathe in, expecting to be unable to take anything in, and the shock on my face only sealed the deal when I felt air enter my lungs. My mask was off, I was in space… my necklace? It was made of Nth metal, but I had thought it wasn’t near enough to let me breathe in space. While I took in a deep breath of fresh air, Wrath’s eyes narrowed into slits.

The symbol faded as he cupped his hands together. A flaming ball of red light was dyed a multitude of colors until red was just another one in the mixture. The attack that destroyed evil. I had been unsure if that attack would do any damage to me before, but now there was no question that it would. My list of sins was long and soaked in blood.

It all came down to what mattered more -- the runes etched into my soul or the evil I had committed.

He raised the blast up high, cradling it like the sun in his hands before he thrust the spiraling colored attack at me. I flew forward, expecting this attack, and reached out with my hand. A split second later, we made contact and I slipped inside of the stream of magic. The runes allowed me to push through the attack, but… I felt it. The attack washed over my body, even as I pushed through it.

The pain was… different. It should be something that I could brush off -- between the Wrath State and the etching on my soul, my pain tolerance was vast. Yet, the pain was sharp and near-crippling. Like I was suffering countless wounds all at once. It was trying to destroy something in me, something that would kill me and reduce me to ash, but the runes on my soul were a stalwart defense.

I guess I had my answer now. I was undeniably evil.

With that thought spurring me forward, I surged through the attack until I emerged on the other end. I saw Wrath’s eyes widen, but he was too late to react. My arms were still too short, so I borrowed a technique from Fasha and ki condensed in my hands to become two twin spears. One lashed out at his hand, severing the ring from him, while the other bit into his neck. Even as the ki staff cut through flesh and bone, his lips moved. I couldn’t hear his final words, but I could read his lips.

“Damn you.”

The blade emerged from the other side of his neck, beheading him(,) and with that he was dead. The last of his race, wiped out trying to achieve vengeance. If he had attacked my brother first, then he might have had a chance.

A sigh escaped me as I looked down at his body that was gently floating away. Then at the ki spears in my hands. Fasha was going to be mad, but I kinda liked them. Letting them fade into nothing, I went to the hand and pulled off the ring on the finger -- it matched the rings on my necklace. As much as I wanted to put it on now, I should probably wait until I clipped it with an anti-listening device and until I was in a place with breathable air.

So, I simply gazed down at my latest trophy, a single thought going through my head.

I was fighting half of the galaxy and now two separate lantern forces.

…

Shayera flew forward, smashing her mace into a Khund soldier while energy blasts smashed into her personal barrier. Looking to the source, she saw a tall Khund soldier rush towards her as he fired from the hip, his energy rifle spewing energy blasts while a group behind him fell back. In response, she threw her mace and it slammed into his knee, breaking it and making him fall while she flew forward.

Slamming a knee into the Khund's nose, knocking him out, she scooped up her mace and continued forward with a flap of her wings. More bolts hit her shield, but on her scouter she saw that the shields had barely been scratched. It would be shocking if it was anything different -- Nth metal was at the core of the energy shields, and even with her wingspan, she was protected.

She had been right. Prince Tarble did take care of his soldiers.

"Breakthrough, breakthrough at twelve o'clock. Vas?" Commander Avery called out, running forward as he fired a gun that should be too powerful for him. Around them was a once-proud military compound. Fires raged, lightning cackled in the sky above, and the sounds of uncontrollable combat rang out in her ears.

In response to Commander Avery, a massive lightning bolt fell from the sky. Shayera had seen lightning impacts before and it truly wasn't anything special, but what Vas unleashed on a building was more of a high yield missile than a lightning bolt. A clap of thunder nearly defeated her and the shock wave ruffled her feathers. Regardless, Shayera flew forward.

Khund soldiers staggered out of the building. "Surrender!" She demanded as she approached, giving her position away and the soldiers responded by firing at her. And she responded by breaking their legs.

Behind her, Avery and Canda, another member of Avery's squad, approached. Their weapons tore through the enemy with deadly pale blue blasts. The Khunds had good armor and weapons, just not good enough. The 501st got the best of the best in terms of equipment and it showed. Vas flew over, touching down not far away. The purple-haired woman glanced at the fallen bodies, lightning crackling in her hands.

"You good?" She asked the fallen enemies, a quiet sigh in her voice.

"We shall recover. Our thanks for your restraint. We will submit to prisoner protocols," One of the Khunds answered, offering Shayera a thankful nod. She returned it even as she thought it was odd.

The Khund empire was weird. They were hyper-aggressive expansionists that kicked off any native species they found on a planet they conquered, they were relentless in their attacks and would fight until the absolute bitter end… then they would just surrender when they knew they were beaten. More than that, Shayera knew she didn't have to leave a guard with them or tie them up until they could be escorted to a prisoner camp. They would stay there or they would escort themselves.

It was like it was a game, almost. It was the only way she could think to describe it. They were model prisoners and they would obey every rule unless provoked. The only problems there were were when they believed they were not being treated properly or if a Khund unit performed a rescue to free them. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen before.

"They respect the pipsqueak," Vas informed her with a careless shrug, probably thinking the same things she was. "He's following their rules of war -- not bombing cities, targeting soldiers only, as much as he can at any rate."

"This isn't the time for chit chat," Avery remarked as he continued to sprint forward. A waypoint was pinged on her scouter. "The general has been found." Shayera nodded, floating up while the others did the same. Neither Avery or Canda could fly naturally, Nth metal gave them the ability.

Avery, Shayera found, was a good commander. He was the commander for all of the 501st and from what she could tell, he led them well. He leveraged their diverse abilities well, and even if he was not the strongest, fastest, smartest, or oldest of their number, all seemed to respect him.

It was a lucky break that she was assigned to him. Prince Tarble's armies were spread out, meaning that she wasn't even in the same solar system as Broly, but given that he was assigned to Elery's squad, it was only a matter of time before their paths crossed. It was simply a matter of waiting until then. And surviving, of course.

"Vas, make a flashy entrance. Canda, you're with me. Shayera, support Vas. Rocky, drill up on the coordinates I gave you," Avery ordered as they spotted the enemy fortress in the distance. Vas gathered her energy while similar lightning crackled around Shayera’s mace. Their final squadmate was currently below the surface, but the order had been confirmed.

The fortress was on high alert, so it didn’t take them long to get spotted. Beams of light were fired up at them, forcing them to scatter. Vas and Shayera dove forward, intent on breaking through the defensive line while Avery and Canda fell back. Vas gathered up her lightning into a ball that she condensed into a hand before she thrust her hand out towards the fortress. White lightning blinded her for a second, through her closed eyes, but when she opened them she saw a line carved through the fortress.

The defensive line was cut in two, a jagged line carved upward from the point of impact that continued over the ground and through the fortress. The metal glowed an angry red, and they had their entrance. The defensive line faltered, recovering from the shockwave that hit them, and her team used the moment of respite to sail directly into the building.

Smoke billowed up from the blast, but Shayera flew through it, and on the other side she saw a command center. More of a throne room, really. At the center of it all, on top of a half dozen platforms that got smaller the higher they were stacked, was a large white throne with a sizable woman sitting on it. A mane of red hair, her skin a light pink while she wore armor of gold and red.

There was a smile on her face as she rose from her throne, "Welcome warriors! I am Warlord Gilguk," Gilguk introduced herself as her team landed just after her. She was the warlord in charge of the armies that were based in this sector. As she rose, she hefted a massive axe -- over twelve feet tall with the axe head the size of a Thanagarian. An unwieldy weapon. Just not for Gilguk because she lifted it with ease. "For what reason have you come here?"

"Your immediate and unconditional surrender," Avery answered, taking aim with his rifle. They all knew what the response would be. Shayera tensed her muscles while Vas covered her arms in electricity. Canda split herself into three copies, each taking aim at the Warlord.

Gilguk smiled brightly, "I refuse!" She exclaimed and that was the cue for the battle to begin. Shayera flew forward, swinging her mace while Gilguk rushed to meet her. In a blur, she swung the huge axe, slamming it down upon Shayera. It would have cleaved her in two if she hadn't placed the shaft of her weapon between the axe's sizable edge and herself. Shayera's feet sunk into the ground, the metal warping and tearing under the force, but Shayera didn't falter.

The smell of ozone filled the room and a blast of lightning shot towards Gilguk, forcing her to defend. The bolt of lightning slammed into the flat of the axe, but Shayera heard no pained scream. Ripping her feet free, she used the opening to race forward to press the attack. Gilguk hefted her weapon and her eyes widened a fraction as Shayera swung. In the split second, Gilguk switched her grip so the shaft of her axe absorbed most of the blow.

All the while the others flanked around. Canda opened fire and the pale blue bolts slammed into Gilguk as she was knocked back from the blow. At first she attempted to tank them, only to realize that she couldn't -- Shayera wasn't sure how Canda's ability worked, but everything on her was duplicated by her clones. Down to her weapons. The Nth metal powered energy bolts packed a punch, no matter how tough you were.

Gilguk used the flat of her axe as a shield, and Shayera guessed that was a decent enough reason for it to be so oversized. Just over the edge of the axe head, she looked at them, her eyes following Canda. Knowing what she was planning, Shayera dove to place herself between Gilguk and Canda the same moment that the Khund warlord moved to take her out.

Gilguk was faster than Shayera, but a bolt of lightning that Gilguk was forced to dodge delayed her enough that Shayera was able to reach Gilguk in time. As the warlord swung, Shayera did as well, only her target was the oversized axe. Her mace slammed the axe's edge into the ground, sinking it in deep to save Canda's life. The triplets simply rolled out of the way, backing off as they fired in unison like a well-oiled machine. Gilguk reacted, keeping one hand on the axe's handle, she twisted to lash out with a foot that she planted in Shayera's gut.

Every trace of breath was knocked from her lungs and it felt like her organs had just taken terrible damage. Even still, Shayera grabbed onto the ankle of Gilguk as she grit her teeth, her wings flapping once to help her pivot. Gilguk made a noise of surprise when she felt herself being lifted, then quickly slammed into the ground with all the strength that Shayera could muster.

It was then that Avery made his move. He appeared from nowhere and jabbed the barrel of his gun in her face. And, at that same moment, Rocky made himself known. Cables erupted from the ground, wrapping themselves around Gilguk to keep her in place. "Will you reconsider your surrender?"

Gilguk glared, "I will not. It will take more than some petty energy blast to end my life."

Avery nodded, "It will. Which is why I'm going to use a Nth metal slug fired from a railgun at hypersonic speeds." That wiped the smile off of Gilguk's face. She opened her mouth to answer, only to be cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. The team reacted instantly, Canda pointed her guns at the source, Shayera's wings fanned out to fly, Vas gathered energy in her hands. Only Avery kept his gun pointed at their defeated enemy.

Shayera's heart sunk when she saw the source. Two men. She didn't recognize either of them, but it was impossible to mistake who they were. One was a Green Lantern -- dark skin, dark eyes with dark hair cut short. He appeared to look like a Thanagarian, but his appearance had too much in common with that of a human. Floating next to him was an alien she did not know.

Pale blue skin, his face lacked a nose and his eyes were pitch black. Instead of hair, he had a long tendril of some kind. There were markings on his face that seemed to follow the curves of his face, going around the eyes and curving where the bridge of his nose would be, flowing near the edges of his mouth with markings at the corners going up to join. Most notably, however, was his uniform. A blue and black version of a Green Lantern with a different emblem at the center of his chest.

The blue one offered a small smile, "Please forgive the interruption -- I'm Bro'dee Walker, and this is John Stewart," He introduced himself and the Green Lantern next to him, who looked down at them with his arms crossed. He had a soothing voice, Shayera found as she clutched her mace tightly. Two Lanterns was a tall order. "Please, lower your weapons and surrender. You will be treated kindly. I swear it."

Shayera glanced at Avery, who seemed to be mulling it over as he continued to look down at Gilguk. "Will you surrender personally?" He asked her, ignoring the Bro'dee's request. Gilguk's eyes narrowed into slits before she craned her head back to look at the Lanterns. Her thoughts were her own as she stared at them before looking back at Avery.

"I, Warlord Gilguk, offer my personal surrender," she said, and the cables holding her in place released before Avery removed the gun from her face. Gilguk stood up with little trouble and ignoring the growing tension, she walked over to her axe and picked it up. Once it was back in hand, she walked up the steps to her throne and sat down in it. Feeling all eyes were on her, she smirked at all of them. "Avery, Commander of the 501st, you have proven your valor and your actions reflect well on Prince Tarble. Prove your worth now and your Prince shall receive the surrender of my armies."

Her voice rang out over the large room. Shayera looked at Avery, who simply pointed his rifle at the Green Lantern. She turned to glare at them as well, readying herself for the fight that was to come. Their rings glowed in response, realizing that it would be a fight. Shayera's muscles tensed, ready to attack and dodge, waiting for the signal-

"Sorry to ruin the moment," A voice said from above the Lanterns, a smirk in their voice that broke the tension that had grown so thick that Shayera could barely breathe. Emerging from the smoke was another Lantern and, to her shock, she recognized him.

Hal Jordan descended from above, dressed in a Red Lantern suit, but one of his hands were green. On it resided a green ring. It shined brightly as green lines, almost like circuitry, crawled up his arm where the green construct began. Almost as if the green was infecting the red.

Both of the Lanterns recoiled in shock at his sudden appearance, but Hal just threw on an easy-going smile.

"But I need to have a talk with these two about the Guardians and what they've been getting up to the past couple billion years," Hal explained his reason to be here, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. That smile of his grew a fraction as he took in the situation.

"So, how about we talk this out?"