Becoming Perfect (Drexx's Adventures)

[Deleted]

~Year One- part 1~

Drexx sat staring out of the view port of his space-pod watching stars fly by specks of light against the infinite blackness of space. His body was still sore after his sparring match with Orenji, it was slow healing, but the comfort of the space-pod and the lull of the engine filled Drexx with a serene calm. A wire snaked itself out of Drexx’s wrist and integrated with the space-pod.

Greetings new master. How may I be of assistance.

Drexx was taken aback. The voice of the spacepod was that of a female. The wire quickly shot back into Drexx’s arm. He was unsure of how to feel, he had never integrated with a female machine before. He sputtered out a quick apology but the damage was done, they were connected.

I apologize Master, did I do something wrong?

“No… I just… This is… Awkward for me. Drexx wasn’t sure of the social protocol in this situation. He felt unsure and awkward for the first time in his existence. It was a bad feeling.

I do apologize Master Drexx.

She said his name with such formality that he squirmed in his seat. He almost laughed out loud; surely none of his friends were experiencing this sort of awkwardness on their flights to Earth.

“Just Drexx is fine… what should I call you?”

My full name is Technological Assistance Reconnaissance Aircraft. I suppose you may call me Tara.

“Tara, what a pretty name” Drexx thought. He was suddenly taken aback by his own thoughts. Then he realized the ship could hear his thoughts. His face reddened and he cursed his creator for installing a blushing feature within him.

If you choose I will ignore that Drexx. The way she said it was almost teasing.

Am I flirting? Drexx questioned internally, and then swore again. She could hear his thoughts. He resolved to just sit quietly and be embarrassed the rest of the trip to earth.

There’s nothing to be embarrassed about Drexx. If you would like I will activate Hibernation protocol and a gas will fill the pod, sending you into a deep sleep for the remainder of the trip.

Drexx was about to protest that the gas would have no effect on him when the chamber started filling up with gas. It, as predicted, had no effect.

The gas is merely theatrical. A shock jolted Drexx and he was rendered unconscious. He dreamt that night for the first time. It was a strange dream filled with flashes of images of his father and beings he had never met but seemed to be fighting. A huge being the color of fire. A large reptilian being covered in black scales. Fighting another android, his father shouting orders at him, his face twisted with a rage Drexx had never seen before. A brain in a jar telling them to save him. He tossed and turned in the pod and Tara tried to no avail to wake him up. She could tell he was disturbed by the images, she herself was disturbed by the images he was seeing. Was the one fighting the aliens in the dreams really the same innocent looking being sleeping before her?

She resolved to ask him later, when he was awake. It would be rude to intrude upon his dreams.

A loud beeping noise filled the space-pod and the door opened. Sunshine filled the pod and Drexx could hear birds chirping. He looked around to see Kazama, Sohko and Orenji all crawling out of similar pods, though he doubted that they had inadvertently flirted with theirs. Drexx imagined that filling his lungs with the fresh air would feel very refreshing, and not for the first time, he longed for lungs.

The group discussed amongst themselves where they were headed. Drexx deferred to Sohko’s judgment, it was his idea to come to this planet after all and so Drexx figured he knew what he was talking about. They all lifted off the ground and flew towards the nearest source of life. Drexx was astonished to see the size of the city they came upon. It was filled with more life-forms then Drexx had ever seen in his life.

Suddenly people were screaming. Drexx was startled by it all and was unsure of what to do, he looked around for the cause but saw no meteors falling to the earth, no Ki blasts descending from the heavens, he scanned around but the only major power levels he could sense were that of his compatriots and other strong power levels miles away. A surging crowd drew Drexx away from the scene and deposited him in an alley. There were a few humans milling around and they didn’t seem to pay Drexx much mind. A poster on the wall caught Drexx’s attention.

For those that wish discipline, strength and honor through training come find the New Crane School. Founded by Tienshinhan carried on by the honorable Jorlaxl.

If he had to guess, that would be where the others were headed. Drexx needed to be the perfect protector, and this would be an excellent way. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his sensors. Kazama was headed to the location printed on the flyer; apparently he too had seen the flyer and gotten the same idea. Crane school it was.

~Year One- Part 2~

They had been at the crane school for months now, training and training and training some more. Jorlaxl had proven to be a fantastic teacher, one of the like Drexx had never had before. Benjin had been a reliable teacher, kind, patient, and he taught Drexx all he could about science, math, history, life and even fighting. But Benjin had not been a fighter. Jorlaxl was.

For the third time in as many days Drexx found himself in quiet meditation above a small koi pond. Sunshine floated down all around him and fish swam back and forth in the pond. On the outside Drexx would appear calm, but there was an inner turmoil within him. He kept having flashes of images. Things he had never seen before but at the same time felt like he had. They were like memories that someone had hidden away.

He had been having nightmares lately. Something he had never experienced before and wondered if it was because he had come to Earth. Earth had had a bad history with androids Drexx had learned. Jorlaxl not only taught them physically, but he taught them mentally as well, and Drexx supposed spiritually as well.

Jorlaxl had come to them all earlier and told them about the world tournament. Drexx had been confused. He understood the purpose of sparring and training, but he didn’t understand the purpose of competitive fighting. Was it to train? Why would you want glory from fighting? Fighting was something one should do only as a last resort; Benjin had told him that… hadn’t he? Drexx open his eyes and furrowed his brow. He found he was having conflicting memories about Benjin. Part of him remembered Benjin as a loving father, the other part? Benjin was a wicked man, a war monger who sold androids to militant groups. Who hunted down those who didn’t pay him, who didn’t agree with his terms. Who killed a nefarious yet disabled space-pirate when he had promised help.

Where were these memories coming from?

Drexx found he could no longer meditate, his thoughts were too scattered. He floated over towards the dojo. It was deserted, so Drexx could train alone. He forced himself to remain calm and practiced focusing his ki. Jorlaxl had been attempting to teach Drexx the Dodonpa ray but Drexx had yet been unable to master it. His android nature made it much easier for him to learn techniques, but his clouded mind and thoughts made it all but impossible. He gathered his energy into the palms of his hands and attempted to create the Dodonpa ray again, but his ki flooded out of his hands and Drexx loss focus again.

Unlike Drexx Kazama had decided to join in in the world’s tournament. They had risen early one morning, all of them wearing t-shirts with the Crane school emblem on them. Kazama was the only one out of their motley crew that was participating. Drexx made his way to his seat and observed from there the various fighters. The power-levels of those gathered were staggering. Those gathered were the best in the world, and Drexx could see why. He was not envious of Kazama, his wasn’t the weakest power-level there, but it by far wasn’t the strongest.

Drexx watched captivated as fight after fight occurred. These were the best fighters in the world and he watched their every move like a hawk. Finally Kazama’s fight came. He was fighting a human by the name of Zach.

Drexx was impressed by the roar of the crowd, the ovation for Zach was incredible. The stadium shook with applause and cheers. Zach was clearly a hero to these people. Drexx almost felt himself cheering for the blonde haired human as well. Drexx cheered for Kazama as he came out, but he and Sohko were the only ones really cheering, at best the rest was polite applause.

The disparity of the power-levels between the two fighters was staggering. Zach had nearly double the power-level Kazama had. Drexx feared for his friend, the match would possibly be over before it started. The bell rang and the contest was underway. Drexx was more than surprised when a blow from Kazama seemed to strike home and then the Majin landed a hearty uppercut on the blonde human, sending him into the air. Then a solar flare, then another blow. It looked as if Kazama actually had a chance in this fight. Then things turned bad for the Majin. Crimson energy seemed to explode off the blonde warrior and his power-level skyrocketed. Standing in front of Kazama was the strongest power-level Drexx had ever felt. It was astonishing. Drexx looked over at Sohko, who looked back with wide eyes. Zach flew quicker than Drexx could see at the Majin warrior, landing blow after blow, sending the Majin backwards while clearly beating the hell out of him. Then a blow struck home and Kazama flew into the wall crashing towards the ground. The match was over and Kazama had lost.

Drexx walked to the back and tried to cheer up his Majin friend but he was beyond consoling, his pride hurt as badly as his body.

They made their way back to the Crane School and Drexx found himself wandering again. He was determined to reach the level of those fighters in the tournament. How would he be the perfect protector if he wasn’t powerful? He gathered his Ki like Jorlaxl had shown him. He would be perfect. He turned and faced the practice dummy. Tara’s voice came into his head. She had been communicating with him since their integration in the pod.

It’s okay Drexx. You are the perfect protector.

“not yet.”
He launched the Dodonpa Ray at the dummy and blew it into pieces, tiny fragments flying everywhere. Another step down the road towards becoming the perfect protector.

End of Year One

Technique learned: Dodonpa Ray

[Deleted]

~Year 2 part 1~

The dreams had become more vivid. Tara would appear before him and try to calm his mind but it was to no avail. Every night Drexx would toss and turn, unable to “sleep”. He woke up again, unable to even shut his mind down, the thoughts louder than any actual noise.

Tara appeared before him, in a form she had chosen. She was a beautiful human female, but in a holographic pink flickering form. Drexx found her form visually pleasing, but would never say so. He found it awkward that he was developing feelings for a space-pod, but then again he wasn’t exactly normal.

They’re getting worse aren’t they? She already knew the answer

“They’re unbearable. Why am I having these… memories? That’s what they feel like. Memories. They haunt me and I’m uncertain on how to escape them. Who was my father, was he the honorable, good, kind-hearted man I remember? Or was he the war-monger, greedy, bastard that these dreams are trying to tell me he is?” Drexx sat up and rubbed at his temples. Tara sat down next to him and put a consoling arm around his shoulders.

There must be a reason for your dreams. Why not go and find out?

The thought struck Drexx like a punch to the head. Why had he not thought of that before? Surely there was something left in Benjin’s house or lab that explained Drexx’s memories. Surely if the dreams were real there would be evidence of Benjin’s building of androids for war. Drexx always knew Benjin built androids, that was nothing new, but the thought that he sold them off to militant groups for the express purpose of killing? That was unthinkable to Drexx. He had to know if his father was a good man or a bad man, and if he was a bad man… well then why did Drexx have no memory of that prior to coming to Earth?

He arose early the next morning and told the group of his plans. They were sad to see him go but they understood. It was important to Drexx and they could see that. Drexx set out to find himself, and to find his father, or rather who his father really was. He would begin his search on Earth, a planet Benjin had frequented for his dealings.

It took him a few weeks to find out any information. Eventually he heard rumors, faint whispers of a scientist who had rebuilt himself and was working on acquiring an android army. If anyone had any information about Benjin, it would be him. Tara flickered into life before him.

Do you really think it’s a good idea to go looking for a mad scientist in his mountain lair? Especially if he has an army of androids?

Drexx turned to face her, a smirk finding its way onto his face. He was about to say something stupid and macho but stopped himself. He wasn’t acting like he normally did. He was… different. It was as if he was becoming the person in his dreams. The one that followed the orders his father had barked out. The one that killed for him…

Tara raised an eyebrow and said nothing, a small smile on her lips. Drexx shook his head and crossed his arms.

“I have to know. I can’t escape these dreams and so I’m forced to meet them head on. I need to find out who my father really was.”

You’re changing you know.

Drexx almost yelled in frustration. It was obvious to him as well, but he didn’t know how to deal with it. He was so unsure of everything all of a sudden. He was changing and didn’t know into what. Tara patted him on the shoulder. She could sense his inner turmoil.

Drexx gave a sigh of frustration and flew up into the air. Tara dematerialized. He flew in the direction of the mountain the rumors had described.

Drexx landed softly on the side of the mountain rumored to be the home of the mad scientist. Tara appeared to give him a final warning, and if he didn’t listen to that, a good luck.
be careful

“I will, I just…”

I know

Drexx activated his long-range scanners and at first the only things he could detect was the various woodland critters frolicking about on the mountain. But something else was there too, or rather, wasn’t. there was a hole in Drexx’s scanners, right in the side of the mountain.

“I bet that’s where he is.”

Good call Einstein. Tara teased. Drexx turned to face her but she flickered away before he could respond.

Drexx approached the blocked out area cautiously, sure enough a large metal door was hidden in the brush. Drexx walked up and the door slid open. He immediately dove into cover but nothing happened and the door closed. Drexx got to his feet, ignored Tara’s teasing words in his head and walked back over to the door. Once again it slid open.

A long hallway cut deep into the mountain, cement walls lit by florescent flickering lights. Drexx’s sensors were still blocked. There could be enemies behind every corner and he wouldn’t know till it was too late.

All at once his sensors went wild, his scanners where overloaded and he shut down.

DREXX WAKE UP!!! Tara’s voice screamed in his head. He opened his eyes. He was clearly dazed but could see nothing. He was trapped in complete darkness. He was chained to a chair with Katchin chains.
A light appeared over his head and a deep male voice broke the silence.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The voice was instantly recognizable to him. The weight of it struck Drexx like a freight train. The familiar face made its way into view and Drexx gasped. Benjin’s face loomed over him, half robotic and half human.

“Dad…?”

The face withdrew and there was silence for a long time. Then Drexx heard footsteps. There were four different weights in the footsteps, four distinct sounds, four different people. Light flooded the room and temporarily blinded him. Standing in front of him were three beings he had never seen before, and his father…

“Dad…”

Benjin looked over Drexx with a look of disgust on his face. He spat to the side.

“I’m not your father. These are my kids.” The robotic Benjin swept his hands in the direction of the three other beings. They were a motley crew. Two were very tall; one stood at around ten feet tall and was probably as wide. He had muscles where most beings didn’t have places. His hair was closed cropped against his head and his jaw had been replaced by a jagged metal plate. The other tall one was around seven feet tall, thin and lanky; his joints seemed to bend at weird angles giving him a distorted appearance. He had long black hair covering most of his face and reaching down towards his waist. He had a chameleon like tongue that flopped out of his mouth. The third being was short and fat, around the size of a beach ball. He let out a girlish laugh and expanded to almost the size of the largest one, then deflated again .

Benjin himself was a patchwork android. Half of his face was robotic, the other half the face of the father Drexx had once known. The kind look had faded from his eyes however and what was left was emotionless. Dead.

“Father I don’t understand.” As the words left his mouth Benjin struck him hard with a backhand.

“You’re not my son scum. I just told you these are my children. Now tell me what you’re doing here, before I let them kill you.” Benjin stepped back and the lights shut off again. Drexx could feel the other androids moving around him, but with his sensors not working he could only rely on his eyes and ears. Benjin’s face loomed above him again.

“Who are you and why are you here?” He growled

“Drexx… I’m… I’m Drexx. You’re son.” He choked out the last words. He was completely unprepared for what was happening. Tara had been right; he wasn’t prepared for what he would find. He wasn’t ready for… this.

Benjin struck him across the face again. Drexx let his head hang and felt hope slipping away. How was he supposed to get out of this situation? How was he supposed to deal with his father being alive? And not only alive, but… this?

“WHO ARE YOU!?” Benjin screamed right in his face.

“YOUR SON!!” Drexx screamed and for the first time in his android life he began to weep. The android Benjin was taken aback. He regained his composure and sneered at Drexx.

“No son of mine would be this weak.” Benjin turned and walked away from him.

“Dad…” The footsteps retreated and Drexx was left alone. Or so he thought. A grating metallic voice spoke over his shoulder.

“WERE GOING TO RELEASE YOU NOW.”

Drexx was surprised. He was about to thank them when the voice came again.

“IT WOULDN’T BE RIGHT IF WE KILLED YOU WHILE CHAINED UP.”

“Well at least you’re honorable.” Drexx mocked. He flipped backwards out of the chair, having picked the lock long ago. He grabbed the back of it and broke it over the source of the voice. He had to get out, had to be able to see in order to fight this threat. What felt like a sledge hammer battered into Drexx stomach, knocking the metaphorical wind out of him. A whip like appendage struck him across the face and sent him flying into a wall. The androids were prepared to fight.

Drexx stood up as quietly as he could, hoping to escape the pitch-black room before more damage could be inflicted on him. He hoped that if he couldn’t see the other Androids couldn’t see as well. His hopes were dashed when the bulky android crashed into him sending him through a wall. He opened his eyes and found he was in another pitch-black room.

“THIS ENTIRE BUILDING HAS NO LIGHTS ASIDE FROM THE HALLWAY. WE ARE IMMUNE TO THE SCANNER-SCRAMBLER”

This was bad. This was very bad. Drexx had no way to fight these guys if he couldn’t see them. His scanners still weren’t working. He heard the three walk into the room but saw nothing. He felt himself get grabbed by the front of the shirt and lifted high into the air, then a massive fist connect with his jaw and send him flying once more.

Something crashed into his back and sent him forward, only to be struck from the side by something large with the consistency of pancake batter. Drexx stumbled and fell. It was impossible to fight these odds in this situation.

Drexx rose to his feet and fell into a fighting stance, if he was going to die here… well he would go down fighting.

DUCK DREXX Tara’s voice out cried out in Drexx’s head. He instinctually followed the advice and ducked, felt the air off a punch pass over his head and struck out, connecting a powerful blow to some part of one of the androids bodies. He couldn’t tell who he had hit or where he had hit them, but the blow had been powerful. Enough to cause the android to cry out.

“YOU HIT ME!?”

Drexx was bull rushed through another wall. This time sunlight flooded into his eyes. He looked up to see the broad android with his hands around his throat.

“What are you trying to do?”

The android looked puzzled and put more strength into crushing Drexx’s imaginary windpipe.

“CHOKE YOU!”

“I’m an android idiot. We don’t breath. God where you built yesterday?” Drexx was shocked as the words left his lips, though he had to admit that it was pretty funny. It just didn’t feel like something he would say.

The bulky android pulled back his fist and brought it down into Drexx’s face. Drexx felt the structure of his nose break. He pulled his legs into his chest and put all his energy into pushing the bulky android off. He flew into the air and Drexx lost sight of him. He stood up and brushed the rubble off of himself and stood up to find the lanky android right in his face, not more than an inch away. They looked into each other’s eyes. There was a moment of awkward silence as they stared at each other.

“Uh… hi.”

“Hi.”

“How are you?”

“Can’t complain.”

“That’s… good.”

They stood staring at each other in awkward silence for a little while longer. Drexx put his hand behind his head and laughed.

“I gotta tell you this is probably the weirdest thing that’s happened to me today and I just met my resurrected father.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“We should probably fight now huh?”

“Probably.”

Drexx fell into a fighting stance. “Uh… no hard feelings…”

“Ditto.”

From the side Drexx was tackled by the android with the body of the size of a volleyball.

“KIzAR! DoN’t JUST talk! FIghT!” He screamed.

The lanky one charged him limbs flailing. It seemed as if his joints operated on swivels. He didn’t have a defined fighting style; he seemed to just let his limbs do whatever damage they could on their own. He connected with blow after blow on Drexx, they were just too unpredictable to block. The beach-ball android would throw in an occasional blow to Drexx’s body when he could but Kizar was doing most of the damage. Drexx had no choice but to keep backing up and keep on the defensive

Suddenly Drexx’s foot hit nothing but air, and he was falling. He quickly corrected and flew into the air only to be stopped by the solid wall that was the broad-chested android. He laughed a laugh that sounded like a rusty grate sliding open.

“Hey buddy, how was space?” Again Drexx was puzzled by what he said. His personality seemed to be at odds with itself, saying things that weren’t like him.

The android responded with a vicious headbutt to Drexx’s face. He lost control of his flight and fell fast towards the ground. He twisted midair and halted his fall, speeding back up towards the hulking android and using his momentum to uppercut the androids face, following up with a spinning kick sending the android into the mountain. He turned and faced the beach-ball.

“I’m going to pop you.” The android paled when Drexx said that. Drexx also paled. Why would he say anything like that? What was he becoming? Who was he really? He needed to get back into the compound and question the Benjin android.

The beach-ball android flew at Drexx, who launched his eyebeams. The beach-ball flew straight into the beams and sure enough the android popped. Drexx’s eyes widened. He turned to face the lanky android.

“Did you just see that?! I didn’t mean to actually pop him.” As soon as he finished his sentence he was hammered into the ground by the hulking android. Drexx pulled himself up out of the crater and looked up at the two remaining androids.

“Hi guys, listen no hard feelings right? I didn’t mean to pop your friend, you didn’t mean to steal my father and pervert him into a bastardization of his former self. Wanna call it even?”

The big one launched himself into the air and came down hard on Drexx’s spine. Drexx cried out in pain and felt his limbs go numb. Feeling quickly returned and he screamed in pain. That was the last straw. The hulking android went to do it again but Drexx slid out of the way.

“BESERKER DRIVE!” Drexx’s irises turned black and his power-level rocketed up to three times it’s prior limit. He leapt into the air and met the hulking android midair.

“WHAT THE HELL?” The android noticed the change in Drexx, and looked scared. Drexx charged up his Dodonpa ray. The android’s eyes widened as the blast rocketed into him and blew him into pieces. Drexx turned his attention to the lanky android.

“uhh… this went poorly.”

Drexx nodded.

“Any chance I could just run away?”

Drexx considered this. It was a mistake. The lanky android quickly rushed over to the body of the beach-ball android and snatched his body off the ground. His jaw unhinged and he gobbled it down.

“Did you just eat that guy!?”

The lanky android quickly changed in front of him, all at once getting shorter and bigger at the same time. After the transformation a muscular child android stood in front of him. Drexx scanned the android and was shocked. The things power-level was close to his own, but Drexx still had the advantage. Drexx powered up another Dodonpa Ray. He would end this here.

The child android turned and launched a volley of ki blasts at Drexx, who avoided each one easily. It was another diversion. The child android flew swiftly over to the remains of the hulking android. He inhaled all the spare parts. Drexx swore and launched a volley of his own ki blasts at the changing android hoping to disrupt the transformation. It didn’t work. The transformation complete, a muscular humanoid stood before him, handsome with sharp features. Black hair matched black irises belying the evil inside the being. Drexx scanned the creature and was horrified to find it stronger than him, much stronger than him. Drexx had barely sixty percent of the creature’s power. The android as if sensing his thoughts, turned and smirked at him. Drexx quickly charged a Dodonpa ray and launched It at the android, who backhanded it away.

Drexx flew at him and unloaded a barrage at the creature’s midsection. He stood there and took every punch, his body barely reacting. His rock-solid chest not feeling anything from the blows. He laughed, a rich harmonious laugh.

“Drexx… I feel bad for what’s about to happen. I do. You fought valiantly. Now die the same way.” The android brought his knee into Drexx’s chest and grabbed him by the hair. Drexx looked into the android’s eyes, and there was no pity there. They were black as night. The android charged a ki blast and smashed it, fist-and-beam, into Drexx’s already broken nose. Drexx collapsed and stayed down.

“That’s it?! I expected more from you Drexx. Some son you are.” Benjin’s voice called out through the ringing in his ears. Drexx could barely lift his head to look upon the man he once called father. He felt Benjin’s spit land on his back. A fire was lit inside him. He put all his energy into his palms. He would end this now.

“Finish him Zar.” Benjin said chuckling. Drexx heard Benjin walk away. He felt Zar grip his hair and yank him to his feet. Zar clearly didn’t notice the ki charging in his hands. Zar smirked and punched Drexx in the stomach once more, almost causing Drexx to lose concentration. But he did not. He put every last ounce of his ki into his palms.

“Any last words you pathetic excuse for one of Benjin’s creations?”

“Yeah.” Drexx spat blood and oil into Zar’s face. “DIE!”

He put his hands on either side of Zar’s head and released his ki. The head exploded in his hands and Drexx’s hands burnt off. Drexx fell to the ground, and the headless body of Zar landed next to him, oil still spurting out of his head. He heard the amused laughter of Benjin the last thing he felt was Benjin lifting his body up and carrying into the compound. Tara screamed in his head to wake up, but Drexx couldn't if he tried. He was spent. And he was captive.

[Deleted]

~Year 2 part 2~

Drexx awoke to having his wires played with again. Different sensations of pain and pleasure, agony and despair, joy and elation passed through his body. Benjin laughed at every different reaction to his tinkering in Drexx’s systems. This had occurred every day for the past few months… was it months? Drexx had lost track of the time. He had left all semblance of hope behind. Benjin was not the father he knew. The Benjin he knew died in that bed on Vegeta a long time ago. What was left was a complete bastardization of the man he once knew. It was a cruel twisted being, who took pleasure in pain.

Drexx had heard the cries of others, had felt their presence, but the sensory deprivation was all consuming. Benjin clearly could see in the dark, and with Drexx’s sensors blocked he couldn’t use them instead of eyes. He was blind. But what would it matter if he could see? His hands had been blown off killing Zar. Benjin liked to point out the fact that Drexx was defenseless not only because he was blind, but because he was crippled.

The experiments didn’t seem to end. All times in the day and night Benjin would come and perform experiment on Drexx, or Drexx would hear him performing experiments on others. Drexx had asked him about it before but the only answer he got was Benjin’s maniacal laughter. Any question he posed to Benjin either resulted in further torture or more laughter.

Drexx felt himself led out into a familiar torture room, shuffling along slowly his legs shackled, the stumps of his arms shackled as well. Benjin had laughed as he put the arm shackles on Drexx, saying they were completely necessary for his protection, and then laughing at the irony of it. Drexx had long since given up trying to escape. He had tried for the first few months, but every attempt had been foiled, and without the use of his hands he was severely handicapped.

Benjin forced him roughly into the chair and opened a panel on Drexx’s back. He started tinkering with wires in Drexx’s back, sending him through the gamut of emotions. Drexx cried out in agony, being sent through that range of emotions in that short time was physically painful. Benjin laughed at Drexx’s pain.

“Father… why?! How did you get like this!?” Drexx cried out through the range of emotions and pains and pleasures. Benjin refused to acknowledge his prior life, he was either ignorant of it or he didn’t remember it. Either way the Benjin Drexx knew was dead.

Benjin Jammed two wires together causing Drexx indescribable pain. That was his usual response whenever Drexx asked questions like that.

This time Drexx fought through the pain. He needed answers, after all what was left for him other than that? He had lost hope and given up, given up on everything but learning the truth.

“BENJIN!”

The android looked taken aback, and then turned thoughtful for a moment, as if waking up from a long horrible dream. He looked around the room and down at Drexx and let out a yell.

“Drexx? What’s happening? What is this?” He looked very old and scared suddenly. His hand snaked up to his head and felt the robotic side of his head. He looked at Drexx with shock and fear in his eyes. “What happened to me?”

He quickly fixed the wires and closed the panel on Drexx’s back. He helped Drexx off the table and then noticed his hands.

“Drexx… for the love of kai what happened?!” He held up Drexx’s hands before his face and inspected them closely. “I can fix this. I can fix this.” He repeated the phrase over and over, as if in shock. And he was, Drexx could tell that this was the Benjin that he had grown up with, but he was clearly suffering from PTSD.

Benjin quickly went to work fixing Drexx’s hands, and within a few hours Drexx’s hands were good as new. He flexed them and worked each finger, making sure they each had full range of motion.

“Father? What’s going on?”

Benjin looked up into Drexx’s eyes, not knowing Drexx couldn’t see. There was a palpable sadness in the air even if Drexx could not see his eyes. Benjin was a tortured soul, unable to control his own actions. Drexx needed answers though.

“I… I don’t know. The last thing I remember is laying on my deathbed talking to you, telling you goodbye and now… here we are. Is this hell?”

It was an interesting question, and Drexx was inclined to say yes. For how many months Drexx couldn’t remember he had been tortured beyond tortured by his long-dead father. He couldn’t sleep, he was trapped in darkness, and screams of tortured souls called out at all hours of the day and night.

“In a way yes.”

Benjin sat down in the torture chair and rain his hand through the hair remaining on one side of his head. He started weeping openly. This was too much for he or Drexx to handle.

“We need to get out of here. We need to free the people remaining here and get out of here.” Benjin nodded and went to walk out of the building. Drexx stopped him.

“Father, I can’t see.” Benjin returned and gently took Drexx’s hand. He led him towards the sound of crying, for that’s all that filled the air now. Hopelessness had filled the silence left by the lack of screams. They released the prisoners who kept a healthy distance away from Benjin, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Benjin and Drexx, though Drexx wasn’t surprised. Benjin led the group outside. Drexx went to leave but Benjin stopped him before they could exit the compound.

“I remember… something…” Benjin grabbed Drexx by the hand and led him towards a room Drexx had never been into before. It was Benjin’s personal laboratory. He picked up a syringe and very quickly jabbed it into Drexx’s arm.

“Father?!”

“This is what I’d been working on. That was a syringe filled with nanobots. They will repair any damage done to your body. Small wounds will heal rapidly; larger ones will take more time. You won’t be able to regenerate whole limbs like a namekian can, but you’ll be able to reattach limbs.”

Drexx felt longtime wounds start to heal. Benjin smiled for the first time since coming to his senses.

“It’s the least I could do…” His smile faded away and he looked very old again. They made their way out of the compound and into the blinding sunlight. Drexx’s eyes took a while to adjust to the sudden brightness after months in darkness. When they did he took in everything he can. He turned to face Benjin, who looked old and frail, held together only by the machine parts augmenting him.

“father… I have to know… why am I having memories of you and I doing all these strange things that I can’t remember? Why are there two different memoires of you in my brain?”

Benjin looked sadly at Drexx, and Drexx could tell he was about to learn something very big. Benjin sighed and pushed the hair out of his face.

“I have a disorder Drexx. It’s something I only learned about during the last few years of my life… I have multiple personalities. One is the father you know and love; the other… the other is the one you’ve met during your last few months here. I’m sorry you had to meet him… that’s why I wiped your memory… You were different when the other Benjin was around as well… he made you do things, kill people in ways… ways I wish you never would have. You weren’t my innocent boy. You were a cocky murder, like the man that killed my other son. ”

Drexx’s eyes widened and the truth hit him like a sack of bricks. His memory had been wiped. He was having conflicting feelings because there was another Drexx making damn sure he wasn’t forgotten. His memory had been wiped, but enough had remained that it had started coming through. It was true then. He had committed all of those murders he had seen in his brain.

Drexx stared slack-jawed at Benjin, who again started weeping. After a long moment Drexx cut the silence.

“What happens now?”

“Drexx I need to ask something of you. It’s not going to be easy for either of us…” There was a catch in his voice, as if he was about to break down again. He composed himself and grabbed Drexx by the shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Drexx you need to kill me.”

Drexx took a step back and looked at the man who he called father. There wasn’t much to him anymore. Whispy strands of hair fell off the human half of his face. A dead ice-blue eye stared out of a sunken socket, his flesh was pulled taunt over the parts that remained. His entire left half was mechanical. This was no way to live, it was clear Benjin was suffering, but his other half had somehow gotten someone or something to come and rebuild him.

Drexx said nothing, simply nodded. Benjin hugged his son for the last time and stood back, ready to accept death for the second time.

“Father… I… “

“I know. I love you too son.”

Drexx closed his eyes and charged his ki, when he opened them he launched his Creator’s spirit attack at the android who was once his father. The ki swept over him, vaporizing the human parts and melting the metal parts. The last thing Drexx saw of his father was his smiling face.

Drexx fell to his knees and roared in anguish. He had lost his father twice now.

End of year 2

Technique learned Nanobot regeneration- Using nanobots given to him by his father, Drexx can heal from most any injury. Small wounds heal rapidly, large wounds take longer. He is not able to regenerate whole limbs, but he can attach them if they are removed from his body.

[Deleted]

~Year 3 part 1~

Drexx lowered his head as he walked towards his space pod in a daze. Tara tried to communicate with him, but he didn’t hear anything she said. It wasn’t so much as he was ignoring her, but he was in such a daze that he heard nothing. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Benjin that he walked right into the side of the pod. He shook off the momentary stun and entered the pod, strapping himself in.

Drexx!

He once again didn’t hear her, his thoughts revolving around Benjin. His father had been alive. He had had the chance to see him again, and the things he learned, the truths that he had discovered had crippled him mentally almost as much as the physical torture he had endured. He had spent almost a year in that hell-hole, he had learned after he escaped. Tortured in unimaginable ways for a year, but what felt like a life-time. He was a different person. A different Drexx had emerged from the compound. Tara wasn’t sure how to handle the situation; he hadn’t spoken with her in weeks. He would occasionally mutter responses, but nothing coherent. She had been with him through it all, couldn’t he see that? She should be closer to him than anyone now, she had been there. But he was a shell.

Drexx listen, I know what happened was tough…

He looked up at her through his bangs. There was a sadness in his eyes such as she had never seen before. The words caught in her throat. She faded into the space pod and started the engine.

Do you have any idea where we’re going?

He gave no reply, only pointed towards the sky. With a roar the space-pod rocketed into the sky and away from the Earth, away from the memories. Away from the bodies that he had laid to rest. Hundreds had died in the torture chamber, collected over a period of at least ten years. Whoever it was that brought Benjin back from the dead had been a wicked soul, and Benjin had continued his work. Drexx doubted he would ever get the image out of his head. Bodies stacked upon bodies in the basement of the complex. The eyes of the survivors… dead, empty, some of them barely hanging on. Some of them barely wanting to. They reflected what he felt inside. Empty.

He had lost his purpose. How was he supposed to be the perfect protect? How was he suppose to protect anyone after what he had been through? How was he supposed to value life when the humanity had been ripped away from him and all that was left was the shell of an android. Something made only for killing. Something Benjin had made… for what? To replace his dead son? Or to kill for him. Which Benjin had it been that created him? Maybe it was both. Tara couldn’t take the thoughts anymore. His pain was killing her. She zapped him with an electric shock, rendering him unconscious. Giving him some much needed rest. Or so she thought.

He was back in the compound, surrounded by total darkness. A light appeared and Benjin was in front of him. The kind Benjin he had remembered from his days as a young android. Before his eyes Benjin twisted into the being that had tortured him for so long. He screamed and tried to break free, but he was weighed down by chains. Benjin removed Drexx’s arms and threw them away. He smacked him across the face and spat at him. Drexx cried out in vain.

Drexx this isn’t real.

But he couldn’t listen. His was a broken mind. Tara could feel the despair in him, she could feel the hopelessness. But she felt something else as well. She and Drexx weren’t the only ones in Drexx’s mind. Something, someone, had joined them.

A bright light lit up the room. A being of pure energy walked over to Benjin and tapped him on the shoulder and Benjin blew apart into a million pieces. Drexx felt like his mind had been put back together when the being in front of him was gone. He felt almost… almost healed. He had to avoid looking directly at the being The being looked down at him and instantly Drexx knew him. It was Anubis X. He smiled down at Drexx, and then released him from his chains with another touch.

“My lord Osiris, I told you that I would always protect you.”

He genuflected in front of Drexx, who stared on in awe. Tara looked on, herself in shock as well. She knew of Anubis X from Drexx’s memory files, but she had no idea what he was doing here. He shouldn’t be there, she scanned his processors, but nothing on Anubis X was running inside the dream. That left only one plausible answer. Anubis X was actually in Drexx’s dream.

“What… Anubis how is this possible?”

“You are asleep my lord, and sleep is the closest a living being can get to death in life. I come to beg a favor.”

“You came to my dream to save me and then ask me for a favor? Of course I’ll help you Anubis.”

Anubis X looked as relieved as Drexx had felt upon seeing him. All at once the dream changed. They were standing in a desert, surrounded by vast pyramids.

“This is Ra. My home. Here you are the lord-god Osiris. Here I am… was… ruler. The role of pharaoh has fallen to my son, Horus V.

A young Pharaohnian appeared before them. He was the spitting image of Anubis X But there was a fire in his eyes that Anubis lacked.

“He is young and inexperienced. He is rash and head-strong. He follows his emotions in every decision. I fear he is not yet ready to take on the duties of Pharaoh.”

“I don’t understand. Why can’t you go and help him?”

Anubis looked thoughtfully at Drexx, but gave no answer. Instead he walked over to his son and put his hands on his shoulders.

“My lord Osiris, I plea for your help. Head to Ra. Help my son. Teach him how to rule, teach him manners, and teach him patience. Above all instill in him your kindness.”

Drexx was going to protest, but Anubis held up his hand putting a stop to any protest.

“Nothing has changed in you. You are still the Osiris I know and love. No matter what happened in that Compound you are still you, and I have every bit of faith that you are the one Ra needs right now. Head to Ra.

Drexx nodded. How could he refuse? Anubis had healed his mind. He looked up and Anubis was gone. He was alone. Tara appeared before him and touched his face.

To Ra then.

Drexx nodded. To Ra it was.

[Deleted]

~Year 3 part 2~

Drexx stepped out of the space-pod and into the harsh arid land of the desert. Tara had warned him that his land was harsh, but he could see now she had been understating that. Drexx used his long-range scanners and found that water here made up less than forty percent of surface area on the world. The other sixty percent was either desert or jungle.

“We overshot the landing mark by about ten miles.” Drexx wrapped his face in a cloth and adjusted his robes. He had dressed specifically for the harsh desert climate.

So fly…

He turned and gave her a look, she held up her hands in mock defeat. He lifted into the air and immediately landed back on the ground and whipped around to face her. Her eyes went wide when she saw why he had landed so rapidly. A giant sand storm was on its way, and they were about to be caught right in the middle of it.

Drexx. Get back in the pod. Now!

Drexx dove back in the pod and Tara shut the door quickly sealing it. The space-pod started flipping end over end tossed around by the powerful gales of the sandstorm.

Drexx we’re getting buried!

“It’s probably a good thing that neither of us need to breath then.” He yelled over the noise of the sand grating the outside of the ship. They weren’t in danger of dying; they were in danger of being lost under the dunes of Ra forever. Buried beneath tons and tons of sand. A fitting tomb for one called Osiris.

“Taraaa aaactive thrusters… we need tooooooo get out of here!” The shaking was making it hard to talk. The shaking was making it hard to even think. Tara tried to activate the thrusters. The first attempt failed.

“Taaaaarrrrrraaaaaa!!!!!”

Tara gave it her all and launched the space-pod out of the sand and into the air. They quickly were rocked around in the sky and then made it to orbit. A voice came on over the space-pods’ intercom.

“Attention space-pod XVIII. You are in direct violation of the no-fly order over the city of Isis. Leave now or you will be shot out of the sky.

“This is Drexx, pilot of space-pod XVIII. I am requesting landing within the walls of the city of Isis. I come in peace on a mission from Anubis X pharaoh of Ra.”

“Anubis X is dead. Long live Horus V. I repeat, leave now or be shot down. This is your final warning.”

Drexx looked at Tara who shrugged. He was about to reply when Tara yelled out.

DREXX, INCOMING!!!!!

“I guess they were serious. Evasive action!”

Tara bobbed and weaved, but a missile struck the ship and she cried out in pain. And then they were falling. Or rather, they were crashing.

“TARA!!”
Drexx hold on!

They crashed into the ground, the only thing saving either of them from total destruction was the soft sand. Wires hung down and things sparked. Lights flashed. The pod door creaked open. Drexx tumbled out and landed on his face. He was roughly helped to his feet by two very large Pharaohnians. A third smaller Pharaohnian stood in front of him. Drexx lifted his head and looked into the eyes of someone who looked remarkably like Anubis X. He was young and strong, clearly the leader. He carried a scepter in one hand and a kopesh in the other.

The Pharaohnian looked at Drexx’s face and then fell to his knees. The two Pharaohnians holding Drexx’s arm seemed taken aback.

“My lord? Why do you genuflect before this being?”

The Pharaohnian looked up at the two in disbelief. He ground his teeth together and shook his head.

“Look who you’re holding you idiots.”

The two Pharaohnians looked at Drexx and then instantly released him and fell to their knees. The smaller one rose and took Drexx’s hand in his own.

“My lord Osiris, I had no idea you were coming. I had no idea you were even still alive. How on Ra is it possible that you stand before us, but yet here you are. I would not believe it were I not seeing it with my own eyes. Welcome! Welcome to Ra! Welcome to Isis!” He swept his hands behind him and showed Drexx the splendor of the city of Isis.

Indeed it was a splendid city. It was one of the largest cities Drexx had ever seen. He recognized the Egyptian architecture, but it was blended with modern architecture as well. Drexx was astonished to see, that standing visibly in the center of the city, towering over most of the structures, was a statue of himself.

“Well that’s an odd feeling.” he muttered under his breath. Tara agreed. She reassured him that she was fine. That most of the damage done had been superficial. Nothing she couldn’t repair.

“My lord shall we show you around the city? They led Drexx on a tour through the city, and it certainly was magnificent. Every being in the city seemed to be happy. They seemed to be living a happy life. What’s more they seemed to be living with purpose. Horus seemed exceptionally pleased himself with the city.

“As you can see my lord, we’ve been doing some terrific work since your last incarnation has walked these halls.”

They led Drexx towards the palace, the largest pyramid of them all. Drexx followed them down into the heart of the pyramid. Horus sent the guards away and led Drexx into a room lit with hundreds of black candles. Hundreds more remained unlit, intertwined in with the

“This is the saddest room in the palace. This is the Room of Pharaohs. They say that each Pharaoh has been, is, or ever will be has a candle.” He walked over to a candle and sighed. “Legend goes that the candles lit themselves whenever a Pharaoh dies. This… this was my father’s candle. He pointed at a candle that was steadily burning with a purple flame. Horus turned away and composed himself. When he turned back Drexx could see that his eyes were red with tears.

“When his candle lit up, I didn’t know what to do. I was to be crowned Pharaoh and… and no one seemed to care that my father had died. They only cared about the line of succession. I always knew I would be Pharaoh someday, that’s what I had been bred for my entire life. But now? I’m too young, too reckless, to fueled by emotion.”

“At least you’re wise enough to see that. Drexx offered but Horus dismissed it with a wave.

“These aren’t my words, they’re the words of my father. He disappeared suddenly one day and then came to me in a dream. He told me that you would be coming to help me, that Osiris would appear before a great storm. That you would teach me to be like you, that you would help me. Is that indeed what you are here for? Are you here to help me become a great ruler?” Drexx didn’t know the first thing about ruling anything, but the look in Horus’ eyes was so desperate, and he had promised Anubis that he would do his best to help his son.

Drexx nodded and the relief Horus felt was palpable. He hugged Drexx tightly and then withdrew sheepishly.

“I forget myself my lord, I apologize for hugging you.”

Drexx laughed for the first time since escaping the compound. Horus didn’t seem to know how to react. Drexx’s laughter died down and he smiled at the young Pharaohnian.

“I forget myself as well sometimes, I don’t feel like a god, yet your people put so much faith in me, based off of… of faith really. I am honored that you felt comfortable enough to hug me.”

Horus beamed with pride and led Drexx out of the Room of Pharaohs. He showed Drexx to his quarters and left him alone with his thoughts for a while, as per Drexx’s request. Tara materialized in front of him, looking a little banged up but no worse for wear. She brushed her hair out of her eyes as he sat down next to him on the bed.

You okay? You know you really had me worried. You seemed…. Broken.

“I was. I was lost and couldn’t find the light. Anubis saved me.

I tried…

“I didn’t meant anything like that you know… you were the only company I had during that entire time, you’re the only one who will ever really know what I went through. I can never say how grateful I am to have you.

Tara was taken aback; this was the first truly emotional thing he had ever said to her. Of he own accord that is. Sure while he was being tortured he would scream things out sometimes, that he loved or hated her, things of that nature, but she knew it was just the torture talking.

Drexx… I…

“You don’t have to say anything; I just wanted you to know that.”

He walked out onto the balcony and into the brisk night air. The sandstorm had come and gone and none of the pyramids looked any worse for wear. They were built to withstand the hard climate of the desert. Just like the people who inhabited them.

“I don’t know what Anubis expects me to do. I’m no leader, and I’m certainly not a god. I will teach Horus what I can…”

Tara patted him on the back and looked at him lovingly.

Whatever it is Anubis thinks you’re going to do, there’s a good reason he chose you to do it. I’m sure everything will work out in the end.

“I hope you’re right. For their sake as much as mine.” He looked over at the large statue of himself and chuckled. This was certainly going to be an adventure.

~many months later~

Drexx wiped sweat off his forehead and bowed at his opponent, whom he had just beaten for the first time. Drexx felt he was learning just as much from Horus as Horus was from him. Horus beamed up at Drexx as Drexx offered him his hand.

“I think you’re finally getting the hang of Pharaohnian martial arts my lord.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that Horus, it’s just Drexx, or Osiris if you prefer.”

Horus took his hand and flipped Drexx over. Drexx landed with a thud next to Horus. Horus landed a chop against Drexx’s windpipe. Drexx laughed and pretended to choke.

“You’re formal with your words but informal with your fighting, you certainly are something else.

Horus laughed as well and they both got to their feet. They’d been training together, learning together, in all but law ruling together. They had grown to be brothers. Drexx had taught Horus everything he knew, and Horus had done the same. Tara had thrown in her knowledge too when applicable. Horus had grown into a fine ruler, and Drexx himself had grown alongside him.

“Osiris you truly are a gift from the heavens. I can’t thank you enough.” He held out his hand and Drexx shook it.

A Pharaohnian solider rushed into the room and fell on his face, there was a hole through his shoulder and blood was pumping out. He grasped at his shoulder, and tried to speak.

“my…lords… the city is… under attack!” His death rattle caught in his throat and the light from his eyes faded. Horus looked at Drexx with panic in his eyes. Here was his first challenge of his leadership. Some of his civilians would die. People would die under his watch, it would happen. It already happened.

“What do we do? What do I do?”

Drexx stood up from checking the pulse of the Pharaohnian and turned to face Horus.

“We protect them.”

The rushed out of the dojo and into the heart of the city. Pyramids had holes in them, people were crying, screaming, dying. Horus took it all in looking stunned, as if someone had punched him in the gut. Bodies lay all over the place. Some were Pharaohnian, others were an assortment of aliens, all armed.

Soldiers and royal guard poured out of the palace behind them, rushing into combat. They swarmed into combat and retook the ground by the palace. A general came up to Horus and bowed.

“My lords, we’ve retaken the immediate area but the enemy still holds large ground in the city.”

“Who are we fighting?! Who is the enemy?”

“We’re not entirely sure my lord. There are members of all known races.”

“Could it be the WTO?”

“Doubtful my lord. Our best guess is it’s a group of mercenaries.”

“Who would contract a group of mercenaries to attack Ra?”

A large surge of enemies met a wall of Pharaohnians. Blasts of ki bounced off of pyramids and buildings. The scale of the destruction was enormous.

“We have to put a stop to this. We have to protect those people.”

Drexx and Horus flew at the enemies, yelling battle-cries at the tops of their lungs. They clashed with enemies and quickly dispatched them with skill. When they were finished bodies of aliens surrounded the pair.

“We need to find the leader of this attack and put an end to this, before more Pharaohnians die.”

Horus nodded and the pair flew into the air. The city streets were filled with Pharaohnians and alien invaders battling. The city was under siege in a huge way. Floating above the city, looking on and smiling, was a familiar face to Drexx.

He had bumped into this particular alien during a mission with Benjin. The alien was tall with black scales covering most of his body. His teeth were at least an inch long, razor sharp and pointed. He had long muscular arms that ended in claws as sharp as his teeth. He wore pants but little else.

The alien’s eyes followed Drexx and Horus as they flew up to him. He smiled a toothy grin at the pair. Wordlessly he launched himself at the pair, moving through the air like a crocodile moves through the water.

Then he was upon them, thrashing about, biting clawing and tearing through flesh and clothes. Horus cried out as the creature’s claw raked his chest leaving long gashes.

Drexx channeled his ki through his hands and launched two orbs simultaneously at the creature’s back, they ricocheted off the creature, who turned and smiled at the android whose eye’s grew wide as saucers.

“Little android. I remember you.” His voice was like gravel in a blender. He smiled an evil smile and launched himself at the android. Drexx dodged at the last second and Horus launched a ki wave he had been charging at the crocodile-alien. It ricocheted off the alien’s scales. The alien laughed and swiped at Drexx with his claws. Drexx dodged out of the way and launched another blast at the alien. The blast once again bounced off of the creatures scales.

“Ki isn’t going to work. We have to beat this guy down the hard way.”

Horus drew his kopesh from his belt and nodded. If they were going to save Ra, they would have to best this alien, and if they were to best this alien, they would have to fight him without using ki.

The crocodile creature spun in the air and smacked Drexx across the face with his tail. Drexx went flying through the air and landed in the midst of Pharaohnians fighting alien mercenaries. Drexx quickly dispatched the mercenaries and flew back up towards the crocodile creature, who was laughing and toying with Horus.

“BESERKER DRIVE!” Drexx’s powerlevel skyrocketed as he flew at the crocodile creature; he picked up speed and slammed his head into the creature’s chest. The creature cried out in pain as he rebounded through the air.

“You’ve got some surprises don’t you?” He flew back and grabbed Drexx by the throat. He started crushing Drexx’s windpipe. Drexx kicked him in the stomach and punched him hard across the face. The creature stumbled backwards and looked at Drexx in shock.

“You came to this planet only to kill, you’re going to gather your men and you’re going to leave right now. You’re going to never hurt anyone again, and if we ever cross paths again and you’ve hurt more people. I’ll kill you.”

The crocodile looked taken aback. Then he burst out laughing.

“You think this is over? Oh little android, you disappoint me with your naivety.”

And before his eyes the crocodile creature began changing. He began to grow lithe and lean. His claws grew shorter, his teeth receded. His scales formed into a smooth layer against his skin. He stood in front of them looking lithe and lean, but his power-level had quadrupled.

“Now then where were we?” his voice was smoother, charming even. He sped towards Drexx faster than the eye could follow and shoved his fist into Drexx’s stomach. Drexx coughed up blood and oil. Horus stared on in shock. Drexx landed blow after blow on the creature’s chest, but his fists had no effect, even in his Berserker Drive mode.

Drexx looked over at Horus and yelled at him to run. Horus turned to leave and the alien cried out after him.

“Yes little Pharaohnian, run. Run far away. After I kill this android, I’ll kill each and every last Pharaohnian. Wouldn’t your father be proud?”

Horus turned back and looked at the crocodile with fire in his eyes. Red started dripping from his snout and covering his body. His body grew longer and lithe. The fire in his eyes grew into a blaze.

“You come to my home, you kill my people, you insult my father. You’re going to die. You’re going to die badly.”

Horus flew at the creature and punched him hard across the face. Drexx followed it up with a spinning kick. The creature laughed as he collided with a pyramid. He peeled himself out of the crater he had made.

“So now there are two of you at half my power. You’re still not going to save your planet.

His claws stretched and flew quickly at the pair. One of the stabbed through Drexx’s shoulder, another went through his leg. Horus took one through the abdomen. The claws retracted and the two were pulled towards the crocodile alien.

Horus looked over at Drexx, both were losing their wills to fight. Horus nodded. Horus started plastering the creature with ankhs, until the creature was covered head to toe.

“You honestly hope to stop me by covering me with ankhs?”

The crocodile started laughing at the two. His laughter was cut short by Horus.

“They blow up asshole.”

The crocodile’s face paled. The ankhs blew up. Drexx and Horus were splattered with the remains of the crocodile alien.

Drexx and Horus spent the next few days tracking down the aliens throughout Ra and rounding them up. Then they shipped them off world. Ra had been saved. They met up at the palace the next day. Drexx announced his plans to set out back to Earth at once.

“I can’t thank you enough Osiris. You will always be my friend. You will always be my brother.” They hugged and Drexx said his goodbyes to everyone in the palace.

He strapped himself into the repaired space-pod and they set out back to Earth. Drexx had found himself on Ra, Anubis had save him, and he had saved Horus. It was time to go back to The Protectorate. It was time to go home.

End of year 3.

Technique learned: Eye of Horus- A blast with Drexx at the epicenter, The Eye of Horus appears under Drexx and then explodes upwards doing massive damage to anyone caught in it's diameter.

[Deleted]

Year 4

Drexx stepped out of the space-pod and took a deep breath of the earthen air. It felt good to be back. He had only spent a year on Earth before, but his friends were here. He supposed they were his family now. He didn’t have anyone else.

I heard that.

Drexx turned and looked at Tara, who stood in all her hard-light holographic glory behind him. He smiled. He had grown to appreciate her company… he had to admit, he had even grown to love her.

I heard that too. She said in a softer voice. She put her arm around his waist and they walked together up to the doors of the Crane school. He was home. After everything he had been through, the trials and tribulations he had been through. He was home. Sohko met him at the door and they embraced.

“You wouldn’t believe how happy I am to see you. Drexx took a step back and looked at Sohko. He was exactly as Drexx remember him, and that made him happy.

“Don’t go getting all emotional on me rusty.” Drexx and Sohko walked through the Crane school, Drexx taking in the familiar sights. He had missed the school; he had missed the lifestyle, waking up every day and training. Not being tortured. Not being tortured was one of Drexx’s favorite parts of everyday life.

“So what has everyone been up to since I’ve been gone?” They stopped in front of the koi pond Drexx had meditated over so often. He watched as the fish swam back and forth under the waves.

“Red’s been gone for some time now. I… well I’ve been on quite a few adventures myself. I became master of the Sword School.”

Drexx embraced his friend and patted him on the back. He was elated. Even when he was trapped in that compound time had moved forward. His friends had persevered throughout the time he was gone.

“That’s great! I’m so proud of you!”

“What have you been up to, where did you go? Did you find what you were looking for?”

Drexx face took on a somber look. He stared off into the distance forlornly. Sohko held up his hands defensively.

“Clearly there’s a lot in that black bag, and I can’t handle it without a drink or five.”

Tara materialized and Sohko was taken aback. Suddenly standing in front of him was a beautiful hard-light holographic woman. Harold snuck out from behind Sohko’s back and looked Tara up and down. He clearly liked what he saw.

“Well hello there. I’m Sohko and this is Harold.”

I’m spoken for. She took Drexx’s hand in hers. Sohko threw up his hands in the air. The look on his face was priceless.

“Sohko this is Tara.”

“Even the android is getting more than me.” He laughed out loud and stuck his hand behind his head. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Drexx and Sohko showed Tara around the compound, even though she had already seen it all from Drexx’s memory files. After the tour the three sat down and had tea.

“So Sohko, are you taking students?”

“Of course. Why? Are you interested?”

Drexx considered it. He had learned so much from his travels already. But his pursuit for power, for knowledge was never ending. He nodded. Sohko looked elated.

“Excellent! We’ll set out tomorrow. I’ll teach you everything I know about handling a weapon. No that’s not a sex thing.”

~many weeks later~

Drexx parried a blow with his shield and drew his kopesh. He had learned to wield the kopesh on Ra, but Sohko taught in a way with intricacies that Horus hadn’t been able to. Drexx was a fast learner and Sohko, much to Drexx’s surprise, had been an excellent teacher. It was clearly a passion of Sohko’s instilling knowledge of sword-play and weapon mastery in others.

He had even materialized Drexx’s shield and kopesh. Drexx had made modifications to both so that his shield popped out of his left arm and his kopesh popped out of his right arm. They were both activated by thought, and could be activated separately.

Drexx parried Sohko’s sword and they fought for an hour parrying and riposting, only to have their reposts blocked and reposted themselves. After a while Sohko nodded in approval and then put his sword away. He and Drexx bowed at each other and Sohko beamed with pride.

“Drexx you’ve come so far, I’m so proud of you!” Drexx’s weapons folded and retracted back into his flesh. Drexx bowed towards his sensei. Sohko returned the bow and took a swig out of his flask.

“I have something else to teach you. This is going to take a lot of practice, but once complete… We’ll it’s going to be amazing.”

And so they trained the special technique. The special technique was called the Fusion Dance. It was a dance that allowed two trained fighters to fuse together. Drexx was wary about it, but Sohko seemed confident and so Drexx went along with it. They trained posing for hours, days. They wanted to get it right the first time. Tara watched on with a smile plastered on her face. She laughed every time they went through the ridiculous motions of the dance. They hoped they would get it right.

Of course they didn’t.

“I suppose we should actually try huh? Practicing the moves can only get us so far.”

They went through the motions and touched fingers. Tara couldn’t hold in her laughter. Standing in front of her was an obese mixture of Sohko and Drexx. He waddled over to her.

“Don’t laugh! We have to wait thirty minutes to wear off…” The combination’s breath was labored. He had difficulty moving. He sat down on the bench next to Tara and the bench exploded beneath him. Tara broke out in hysterics. He rolled back and forth but like a turtle couldn’t get back on his feet. He begged Tara for help but she was incapacitated by laughter. The thirty minutes wore off, and the two peeled apart.

They spent some time apart for a while after that. When you’ve been half of a morbidly obese person with someone, things tend to get awkward.

After a few days they tried again. They lined up across from each other and started the dance. When their fingers touched there was a bright light.

Tara burst out laughing again. The mixture of the two was tall and thin as a bean-pole. His ribs were clearly showing beneath taunt skin. The beat of his heart was also clearly visible. Each breath was labored.

“This… isn’t… funny…” The combination rasped. She laughed loudly and fell backwards out of her seat. The combination sat down on the bench and wheezed. He helped Tara to her seat, but she fell over laughing again. He let her fall. Thirty minutes passed and they separated. Sohko and Drexx looked at each other awkwardly and walked away from each other.

A few days passed and they tried again. They were determined this time. They performed the dance and there was a bright flash of light. This time Tara gasped. Standing in front of her was a tall muscular combination of Sohko and Drexx. Confidence radiated off of the combination and they smirked at Tara.

“Like what you see baby?”

Tara was at a loss for words. The combo sauntered over and took her face in his hand. He winked at her. She swooned.

“You can call me Sexx.” He turned and began testing his limits. He was incredibly powerful, more powerful than either man had ever been separately. It was incredible. Their thoughts were in-sink. On the outside they were fused, on the inside it was like floating next to Sohko, each man controlling an eye, yet working in sync. The thirty minutes ticked away and they separated. The two men looked at each other and then hugged.

“That was freaking awesome! Can you believe how awesome that was?! Can you imagine how awesome we would be if we did that and fought some one?!”

Drexx was as excited as Sohko was. He couldn’t wait to test their fusion out in battle. Sohko was a fantastic teacher, and Drexx knew their adventure together was far from over.

Technique gained: Fusion Dance.

Ability gained: Kopesh and Shield Deployment.

End of Year 4.

[Deleted]

~Year 5~

Drexx meditated over the koi pond, as he had four long years ago. He had matured much, and been through more than he could talk about. He had gained love, he had lost his father again, he had learned the ways of Pharaohnian martial arts, he had mastered the art of sword and shield, and he had even fused with Sohko.

It had been a hell of an adventure. It had been a nightmare, and it had been a dream. He had seen wonderful sights; he had seen things that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He would never be the same after these four years, but one thing was certain. His resolve to become the Perfect Protect was strengthened in a way it had never been before.

He knew who he was. He knew what he wanted. He looked over at Tara, who was reading a book sitting on a bench, light flickering off her surface. She looked up and smiled at him a warm loving smile. Drexx smiled back. He had grown to love Tara in a way he never thought was possible. She had become his everything. He would do anything for her.

She walked over to him. He ceased his floating and landed lightly beside her.

Want to take a walk?

He nodded and took her arm. They walked a ways away from the Crane School and into the forest, down a path made years ago by former students. They walked a ways down the path, talking about life, talking about everything they had experienced. Animals came and went; they didn’t seem bothered by the presence of the pair.

As they walked along, they failed to notice that they were being followed. The two walked in ignorant bliss, stalked from behind by an unseen force. Drexx heard a twig snap behind him and whipped around, but there was nothing. Drexx began to feel uneasy. He felt as if he was being followed but whenever he turned around there was nothing there.

He mentioned his trepidation to Tara, and she told him she had noticed it too, but had failed to mention anything because she had been taking pains to scan the area for hostiles. They both heard a noise behind them and whipped around. Standing there was… Drexx.

“Greetings.”

Drexx stared into his own eyes. His jaw dropped and he didn’t know how to react. He was literally looking at himself. Tara gripped onto Drexx’s arm tightly.

:”How… how is this possible? You… You’re me…”

The clone smirked. He raised his hand and a blast of ki tore through Tara. She didn’t even have time to scream before she blew apart into a million pieces. Drexx did, however, have time to scream. He roared and rushed at the clone, landing blow after blow on his exterior. His anger made him reckless however. The clone blocked a haymaker and kneed Drexx in the stomach, then brought his knee up into his face. Drexx fell to the ground and looked up at his imposter.

Drexx I’m fine, I’m just a hard-light hologram after all. Drexx breathed a sigh of relief. The clone noticed and kicked Drexx in the ribs. Drexx flipped end over end and his ribs struck a tree and went through it landing on the other side, body covered in splinters. His nanobots quickly healed the injuries and Drexx stood up. He brushed himself off and stared at the imposter.

“So what’s this all about? Clearly we’re going to beat the hell out of each other. Probably one of us is going to die. Probably you. But before we kill each other can you please tell me why you’re me?”

“I’m a final parting gift from Benjin. The real Benjin.”

Drexx slowly removed the tattered remains of his shirt. His muscularity had increased dramatically over the course of the last four years. Skin was pulled taunt over bulging muscles. The clone even looked impressed. He himself took off his shirt, and it was Drexx’s turn to be impressed. Their physiques were almost identical.

“Shall we?”

The clone simply nodded. They rushed at each other and a shockwave resulted from their collision. They were evenly matched. Every blow was countered, every counter was countered. They knew each other perfectly. They were each other.

They fought to a standstill after thirty minutes of fighting. Drexx jumped backwards and faced his opponent. They both were breathing heavily, though neither of them needed to breath. Sweat covered both men.

Drexx looked at the man with a begrudging respect. He certainly knew how to fight. Drexx knew there was only one way to finish this.

“BESERKER DRIVE!!!” Drexx’s powerlevel skyrocketed. He flew at the imposter and landed a chop across the clones next severing his robotic head from his shoulders. Or that’s what should have happened. Except as Drexx began to fly at the imposter, he too yelled something out.

“BESERKER DRIVE!!!” Drexx scanned the imposter’s powerlevel and it too skyrocketed, to exactly his powerlevel.

The imposter put his hand up and blocked the chop, and returned with a backhanded blow. Drexx blocked the blow and jumped backwards. They were too evenly matched. The imposter flew at Drexx full speed. Drexx summoned the Eye of Horus beneath him and ki rose up around the sigil. The imposters flesh burned off in areas. Drexx spun and kicked him across the face sending the imposter reeling. He spun through the air and landed on the ground. He quickly kip-up’d and fell into a fighting stance. Then the imposters skin started knitting itself back together.

“This is impossible, we’re too evenly matched.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” The imposter smirked and charged his ki. Drexx felt a flash of fear.

“BERSERKER DRIVE MACH 2!!!” The imposter’s powerlevel rose again. Drexx cursed as he unleashed a barrage of blows against Drexx’s flesh. Drexx reeled back from the blows and felt his internal systems freaking out.

“After I’m through with you, I’m going to go to the nearest city, and I’m going to kill every single being there.” He launched eye beams at Drexx, which tore through his shoulder. Drexx screamed in pain and suddenly the clone was upon him again. He launched a perverted version of the creator’s spirit at Drexx and it tore the flesh off his right shoulder and arm. Drexx screamed in pain. Drexx rose to his feet and popped his shield and khopesh out of his arms. This was one advantage that Drexx had over the imposter. The training and skill that he had with the khopesh and shield.

The clone ran at Drexx, who caught his fist on his shield and ran the khopesh over his Achilles tendon. The clone screamed in pain even as he fell on his face in front of Drexx. He turned struck out his fist and Drexx deflected it with his shield. Drexx walked over and slashed the other Achilles tendon. The clone cried out in pain. Drexx backhanded him with the shield arm with all the force he could muster.

“This ends now.” Drexx ran the clone through with the khopesh. The clone flopped around in its death throes and then laid still. Drexx breathed out a very large sigh of relief. Then he heard the ticking.

He ran as fast as he could away from the body of the now ticking android. The resulting explosion blew Drexx forward and through the air. He spun through the air and landed on his face, grinding through the dirt. He turned over and lifted himself up on his elbows. Tara materialized in front of him and knelt down to check up on him.

How ya feeling champ?

“Probably about as good as I look.”

I don’t know, you look pretty good to me.

The skin started knitting itself back together on his shoulder.

“I think I’m just gonna rest for now. It seems like I’ve been battling crazy super-powered villains for the past five years.”

They both laughed, Drexx fell into a peaceful slumber in the clearing he had collapsed in. It had been a crazy five years. He had suffered loss and gained love. He had been tortured and he had been rescued. He had made new friends and kept the old. He knew that whatever the future held for him, he would face it as he had faced all of his challenges, and that each challenge overcame brought him one step close down the road towards becoming…

THE PERFECT PROTECTOR

[Gray Callahan]

Lots of stuff happened, some of it might not have been entirely relevant but most was exciting and did, in the end, lead to the reinforcement of Drexx's end goal - as the Perfect Protector.

A nice 12,500 should help your character closer to that goal