[Pain Train] (PL, Complete)

[Rensou Hiruen]

Life within the Saiyan military was one unsuited for the faint of heart. Though more disciplined than the men whom had fought and died beside him in the arena, those who pledged their lives for the longevity of Planet Vegeta could prove to be more ruthless. There was no time for talk in the training exercises, hardly team to breathe or think. Do, or do not, and if one did not, there were terrible repercussions for those that failed to perform. Rensou watched as his fellow soldiers were forced to perform the most strenuous of tasks. Saiyans whom would have faltered left to their own devices push up with two arms once more, twice more. . .

Rensou felt the soothing burn within the fiber and sinew beneath his skins, the familiar quake as the arms refused what the heart demanded. The last Hiruen had made the mistake of believing he had pushed himself to the limit he could possibly be moved, but under the negative reinforcement of officers that outranked him not by power, but by experience, he thrived with all the grace of a workhorse under the whip.

“Is that it, low level trash!?” the graying drill instructor spat into the face of the struggling warrior, kneeling so that Rensou might fully understand the disgust emblazoned so eternally upon his visage. Rensou gazed upward. Shuun Kalhu was an old Saiyan, his entire body telling tales of war and other, more unmentionable things, penned in scars and tattoos. A fighting Saiyan like Rensou Hiruen, once Shuun had been at the mercy of a drillmaster not unlike himself. . .an endless cycle of cruelty breeding cruelty. The perfect inspiration for a squadron of merciless warriors.

Two onyx orbs lifted with controlled rage to the single sneering coal of Shuun before those shivering appendages surrendered, and the body of the gladiator turned soldier began to steadily fall to the ground, and with it. . .certain defeat. Shuun returned to his full height, his standing as a breaker of Saiyans fully intact. The old warrior spat an acrid brown liquid inches from the soldier opposite Rensou, whom had already submitted to fatigue long ago. His arms lay limp beside his collapsed body. The red soil of the planet was several shades darker with all the sweat he could produce.

“Let a few simple push-ups fuck ya, eh?” the old Saiyan continued, raising his voice for the entire unit of fifteen Saiyans to recognize the impact of his words. A few was an understatement, most of the men had managed over a thousand, and Rensou himself was on the cusp of two thousand, being one of, if not the strongest Saiyan on the planet. “Just like you're going to let that Icer bastard do your home and people, eh!?” questioned the old Saiyan, rhetorically. It seemed he had little faith in the men he was being forced to whip into fighting shape in a simple month's time.

The warriors of Planet Vegeta could not hope to stand against the Icer Lord of the World Trade Organization, Touketsuki Yakedo if they submitted to their fatigue in this dire time. By letting their blood and sweat and tears dissuade them from a simple pushup, they were submitting to the rule of a foreign leader. They were surrendering their freedom to do as they pleased and conquer as they would. That piece of scum had demanded a hefty sum of zeni or a strong fighter from the planet once a month to command his armies, or that very same fighter in a struggle to the death.

Vegeta would be torn apart with such things taken away at such frequent intervals. And besides, it was not within their fighting spirit to yield to a race that they considered undoubtedly weaker. It was not even within them to submit to the limitations of themselves as the squadron roused to the challenge of Shuun as surely as they would against the Icer undoubtedly headed for their home now.

Rensou Hiruen gave an audible snarl that was accompanied by fourteen more, and a cry of frustration evolved from it as he set his bleeding knuckles against the packed earth once more. Twenty eight arms pushed up in unison, some of the men vomiting with the stress and failing. Drawing up on every bit of strength and resolve he never should have had, Rensou Hiruen straighted his arms and completed the task that had been asked of him. While many of his brothers and sisters-in-arms managed the feat with him, others failed.

However. . .

All of the Saiyan race was willing to rise up against Touketsuki Yakedo.

“Well, I'll be goddamned,” the graying instructor smiled, spitting out another mass of saliva and tobacco. Perhaps there was hope still, perhaps. However, the victory was short as he issued the next order, “An hours leave. If you're fortunate enough to have Senzu, I suggest you eat one,” he suggested, for a terrible thing lie in store for the assembled fifteen. “Report back for combat training at 1100 hours.”

[Rensou Hiruen]

1100 hours came far too soon for Rensou. His posture was slumped and his arms nearly worthless, the level of his exhaustion so complete that as he returned to the training grounds in mid-flight his control of his inner ki faltered, and he toppled among his squadron mates only to be lifted to his feet by a fellow soldier. Rensou shot him a grateful nod, but refrained from speech, he would need all his strength for what Shuun had in store for he and the fifteen assembled.

“Saibamen,” the helpful Soldier said simply, digging through a satchel and handing Rensou half of a senzu.

“Saibamen?” Rensou repeated, unsure of what exactly the Saiyan was referring to. He was aware of the plant creatures with vicious agendas, for they were plentiful within the rainforests of Vegeta. Surely, they would be pitted against Saiba in some manner. . .but no single one was a match for any of the assembled Saiyan warriors. Two to three would be hard-pressed to give any but the weakest among them trouble. Coal orbs flitted upward to note the skies were darkened with water heavy within the clouds. Perfect conditions for Saiba.

“Several hundred,” the helpful soldier concluded, “My brother told me about it, and this will be my third attempt.” So, apparently this particular soldier had failed full honors within the military because of a test that involved a large number of the vicious creatures was a vast task for any particular soldier would be nigh impossible. It was at that moment that the bastard instructor, Shuun, touched down from the skies like a meteor with a satchel held tightly within his hand.

“Dearest weaklings,” he began, and Rensou and the others listened well to his words. “As some of you fucking failures already know, you will be pitted against a large number of weaker enemies as a single, united force,” and with that the old man lifted his three fingers to emphasize his next sentence. “For first timers, you're given three opportunities to defeat this force and keep your comrades alive, and if but one of them falls,” Shuun chuckled, his eyes closing for a moment as glorious rain began to pepper the surface of Vegeta.

“Then each and every one of you fail,” and with that the Saiba seedlings were slung behind him with an opening of the satchel and a whip of his hand. Almost instantaneously some of the seeds began to burst with vigor and life, stirring as if they were eggs upon the verge of hatching. Rensou released a light, guttural growl as he glanced about him to many nervous Saiyan, some whom looked hopeless – certainly these were upon their third and final attempt towards gaining full rank within the Saiyan military structure.

“I'll be back with medical personnel,” the old Saiyan winked as the most mature of the seeds began to turn into something vastly different. Tiny humanoid creatures that were clearly somewhat plantoid, with slashing claws and piercing fangs. Shuun blasted into the skies, leaving the recruits on their own.

Rensou quickly took command of the worried Saiyans as the Saiba began to swarm around the outnumbered, but not yet outmatched fighters he was determined to keep alive. The training exercise had existed for many years in the Saiyan culture, and was aimed strongly towards producing a group of fighting Saiyan whom could fight against overwhelming numbers with lower powers; a basic planet conquering exercise. Despite the origins of the drill, this level of combat would certainly aid in preparations for Touketsuki Yakedo, the bastard Icer whom assumed he could simply come to Vegeta and take what he would whenever he liked.

Rensou had news for the Saiba and Icer alike. The Saiyan would not go down easily, not without a fight, and Rensou had a plan for the current battle he had found himself locked in. “Ki fighters, get high. Those of us more melee oriented, keep them occupied!” Not a moment had passed before his last word left his lips and the 200 Saibamen charged the front lines of the Saiyans with all the combined viciousness of a pack of wolves.

[Rensou Hiruen]

Fifteen warriors stood resolute against an overwhelming force of more than ten times their own number, with seven taking to the skies to do the wondrous work of killing as the remaining eight formed a tight sphere of defensive capability. For now, the dreadful beings were contented by the thunder of blood surely waiting to be spilled by the closest of prey, and they slinked forward. Shrieks and roars rippled up from the carnivorous things, and certainly would have induced defecation and vomiting when lesser men realized that all hope was gone. One moment perfect sanctity had been their existence, and in the next they were thrown into the very heat of a battlefield primed to explode at any minute.

No cries for mercy rose up from the assembled throats, nor any of the aforementioned dishonorable acts. Those fifteen were a fearless bunch, with not a drop of distaste for combat within them. On the contrary, they had been born and bred for such situations. There was not one among them who would retreat or surrender to any enemy. Only one option was within them, to fight.

Perhaps they would fall and perish under the odds presented to them, to fertilize the next crop of Saibamen. Few Saiyan worshipped any deity, and the afterlife was a thing of fiction to most. To have their final pages written here was to be nothing, none among them, save a single soul, had any recognition to his name. That one would simply be known as a great gladiator to the next generation and the one after, but then. . .then he would fade into obscurity.

“Saiyans! Today, we become soldiers!” cried that one, Rensou Hiruen, positioned so perfectly at the front of that circle where the Saiba had thus far dared not assail, but their hunger grew steadier by the moment. These were creatures of intense metabolism, the need for nourishment a thing unheard, unprecedented throughout the galaxies. The Saiyans employed them as weapons of war as well as training device, as they were being used now.

Saiyans to the right and left of Rensou began to instill inspiration and reinforce the comrades that stood beside them, and those poised in the skies added into the fray as more words of encouragement rallied a group of individuals into a conjoined force. Saiyan love is a selfish thing, and each would fight to save the others. . .but only because it meant the possible continuation of oneself. In this manner, the Saiyan race had persevered throughout the ages and when the last humanoid with that whipping tail drew his final breath, they would be remembered as a race unconquerable.

“I kill this many each morning before my breakfast!”

“Bring on a thousand more, Shuun!”

“Attack already, freaks!”

It seemed that the cries from the Saiyans incited the first charge of the amassed Saibamen, and when they came together upon the ground the initial bloodbath was evident. Several of the team fell to the center of the circle, but that circle only tightened before the fallen rose to retake their positions as the Saiyans with a more ranged focus began to rain down a plethora of different colored energies, battering the reinforcements of the pack. At first, the Saiyans undoubtedly held the upper hand. Once the Saiba realized their plight, they began to attack in droves rather than single, frenetic instances of man versus beast.

“Hold the line!” Rensou roared as he unleashed his inner power, the Kousho. His aura outshined all the rest as it reached twofold higher than any other. One of those bastards had driven in close, but he dispatched it with an elbow and wounded another with a jarring knee to the abdomen. The things were simply approaching too quickly, and far too numerous. The black eyes of the last Hiruen flitted upwards, following a Saiba whom had noted the warriors above them and sought to bring them back to ground level. Though it could not fly, the leaping prowess was something to behold. Rensou reached out and grabbed his newest foe by the face, clenching his fist around a skull that nearly fit within the palm of his hand and killed the jumping one with a bomb of energy.

The rains of the thunderstorm streaked the landscape with a sea of Saiyan and Saiba blood alike, and the creatures had begun to fully take to the skies, engaging the warriors above and distracting their efforts, which, for the most part, had destroyed nearly a quarter of their numbers. It was suddenly brutally evident that those whom had focused entirely upon their ki suffered in melee against the frenetic tearing claws and slashing teeth of the green monsters.

“Ranged fighters, fall in!” Rensou ordered, suddenly realizing his ability to lead his brethren in combat. . .he hoped he was adept enough to complete the task at hand as he dispatched two more with a quick right and a left. The flying warriors descended, recharging their resevoirs as the circling Saiyan diminished the circumference of their circular formation to allow a few of their number to dissuade any of their enemy from jumping above the protective outer layer to tear at the withered insides, for the resting were certainly in dire need of it.

“Just a bit longer!” was the next command, though it was a loose one. Rensou began to focus himself on not being grievously injured with the activation of his Tsurunoha, and the orbs went to work defending against a number of attacks that had grown to great for offensive measures. The fellow warriors of the outer wall began to shun wounding and killing as well as their limbs grew heavy and breathing grew haggard and gasping. Just a bit longer. . .

There could be no more than a hundred left, Rensou estimated, chancing a look over his shoulder to count the wounded. Five Saiyan could stand and fight no longer, but Rensou was returned to combat as his assessment earned him a deep bite into his shoulder. The last Hiruen ripped the thing loose and blood sprayed outward, pumping furiously with every thundering beat of his heart.

“This is it. . .forward maneuver oozaru!” and with that, the final command was given. The Oozaru maneuver shunned safety of self in favor of the all out offense, much like the transformation it was named after. Zanzokens and streaks of aura burst outward from the protective confines of the circle, leaving the wounded unprotected. A risky attempt towards victory.

Remaining Saibamen were scattered like lambs under the attack of a pride of lions as the final ploy worked with a bloody efficiency. Thus seperated, the Saibamen were easy pickings for the faster, stronger Saiyan warriors. Rensou himself was a whirling and blurring berserker, his body a canvas for the paint that was Saibaman blood as his body became eight points of crimson chaos.

His elbows had become thrusting spears rather than flesh and bone, and his knees battering rams. Shin and foot became a sweeping sword with each lash of his legs, and his fists completed his arsenal as crushing cudgels. In the final moments, Rensou Hiruen had slain more than twenty Saibamen himself. At the end of the brutal affair, he rested upon his hands and knees as many of the warriors clutched bleeding arms and gashed faces. Some collapsed, too weary to stand any longer.

As for Rensou, he stared with exhilarated eyes down to the sea of blood that rose up over his wrists and calves. Where his body shaded that ocean no rainfall rippled the beautiful reflection of a magnificent killer.

[Zach]

Review in progress...

Power Level increase of 3900 awarded. Enjoy.