Journey to Nowhere

[Illidan Stormrage]

It was a long trek through a harsh and empty landscape. Despite his mammoth reserves of energy in his world, he found flying over the white and pulsing earth to be disproportionately draining. His anger only burned brightly for so long, and soon the fatigue of fast, sustained flight consumed it. Orion's boots hit the ground, aura breaking into dissolving crystals of light, and started walking. Why he moved he didn't know. For all he could see, the void stretched out for an eternity with no other object or landmark to demarcate distances. But he couldn't just sit still. That wasn't his style. Besides, while he was no stranger to spilling blood, staring at a skull fountain gushing with it wasn't his idea of relaxation.

And standing still led back to ... fresh memories.

In the distance, Orion spotted something rising out of the bland horizon. He headed towards it and soon found a strange stone arch set alone without a building nearby. Its edges were coarse and crumbled, like it had stood for eons and endured a weather system that no longer persevered. Within the arch shimmered a purplish mass of light. Orion had never dealt with one directly, but his instincts told him this was a portal. A way to pass out of the glowing eyesore and into another realm.

Portals were almost always products of magic. Magic made him nervous. Saiyans didn't deal in it, and the few races he had encountered in his life that did were quite formidable and unpredictable. Ki and sorcery worked on separate levels; a ki blast wouldn't necessarily stop a bolt of arcane power in its tracks, nor could magic fireballs be doused with water.

Orion pushed his hand through the portal tentatively, half expecting his glove to sizzle and sear. It didn't. Instead, the purple sheen rippled like a lake, his hand completely submerged in the portal. While he didn't know what was on the other side, it was better than an empty void. Steeling himself, the saiyan warrior walked through.

Sunlight pierced his eye, blinding him. He didn't think that could have been possible after his hours long journey in a burning white dimension, but the sun caught him off guard. As he blinked away the bruise coloured blemish in his vision, he felt a warm breeze roll over his skin. A wide, grassy plain sprawled out before him, an odd tree bursting from the landscape to break up the monotony. The fresh air carried hints of rain; indeed, grey clouds congregated overhead.

A dirt path beaten into the sparse grass wound off into the distance. With no other direction in mind, Orion followed it.

After a few minutes walking, Orion noted the scent of smoke and something wonderful cooking. He looked around and spotted a campsite a short walk off the track. Three tents crowded around a burning fire, and three fat logs provided makeshift seats for three men staring intently into the crackling flames. Clothes and supplies were piled without regard behind one of the tents, along with a handful of knives, spears and bows. A skinned carcass of some description roasted over the fire.

Orion's stomach grumbled at the welcome aroma of cooking meat. He had forgotten how hungry he was. Maybe those angry looking fellows would share their meal?

Fat chance.

Before Orion had a chance to say something, one of the campers caught sight of the saiyan and stood up. He was skinny but lined with lean muscle. A good runner, no doubt. "Hey! Look guys! He looks rich!"

A similarly built man peered over the savannah, placing his fingers against his forehead to block out the sun's harsh glow. Despite the clouds, a gap had formed about the sun perfectly. A bandage hugged his right forearm. "Yeah. Look at that robe. That's not something you buy for small coin."

The third man, after his own appraisal of Orion, hopped off his log and grabbed a spear. "Told you we'd find some clown on the trail if we waited long enough." He threw the spear to the bandaged man, slung a quiver of arrows over his back and hoisted up the bow. "Heh, I always wanted my very own eyepatch!"

"Just try not to damage the robe," the lean man said, ripping a set of machetes from their sheaths hanging on his belt. "Or get blood on it. It costs too much to get it out."

Orion humphed. Three on one wasn't great odds, but he was an elite saiyan warrior. Sometimes three armies didn't pose enough of a threat to him. Of course, on other occasions, a single warrior could prove to be a challenge. Orion tried to scan them and get an idea of their strength, but every time he queried his NOVA unit, a sharp sting penetrated his skull. Must be on the fritz again.

Unable to procure an approximation of the campers' power levels, Orion had to play it safe. However, there were always other, less direct methods of exposing an opponent's confidence.

Orion focused on his ki coursing through his body and thrust it into his centre. What were once subtle, calm rivers of energy were whipped into raging torrents, crashing and flooding into his core. A gentle gust of wind tussled his hair and robe, a portend of things to come; a second later, a navy blue aura exploded to life around Orion's body. Jagged edges of light pulsed around his form, uniting in a single spike at the top of the aura, acting like a blazing blue fire.

He looked up. His foes had taken a step back, weapons held in position for battle. The archer clutched the feathers of an arrow, though it sat slack in the string. They hadn't expected Orion's showcase of power. Good. At least they weren't overly familiar with ki manipulation.

"I'll tell you what. You men look like simple but honourable hunters. What say you gift your roast dinner to a famished traveller? I'm certain you could find another creature to fill your bellies, but alas, I do not have the skill to hunt. Also, I wouldn't have to kill you." Orion's stern countenance did not twitch as he stared the hunters down.

The archer pulled his bow taut, the arrowhead glistening in the sun. "That's our food. Just stand still and we'll make this happen as fast as possible."

The rage that Orion barely suppressed earlier bubbled in his gut. The heat rose through his chest and kneaded the back of his skull, irritating and frustrating. He clenched his fists, aura still flaming up his body. He had to be careful here. Losing complete control would put him in a worse position than when he first arrived.

But there was no reason why he couldn't drip feed his fury, spicing up his mood just enough to add an edge to this imminent fight.

He resisted at first, but a line crawled out of the recesses of his mind and forced its way to his tongue. He thought he was done with such frivolities. Omni, however, proved that one's life could change in an instant. For now, only his saiyan past would keep him together.

"Tell me," he uttered icily, "have any of you ever fought an elite saiyan warrior before?"

[Illidan Stormrage]

The men looked at each other. The spearman shrugged. "Does it matter? Everyone is something weird in this place."

Orion frowned. "You haven't heard of a saiyan before?" That didn't bode well. He had hoped that there would be other saiyans in this world, and if they were here, they would have certainly earned a reputation. "Then I guess all of this is going to be new to you."

Orion threw out an open hand and a ki ball materialised from his palm. It flew straight into the spearman, knocking him to the ground in a fast vanishing puff of smoke.

"It's a Prime!" the archer shouted, stringing his bow. "Take him out!"

The arrow loosed and bore through the air. Orion rose a forearm and it smashed into his metal guard, though the hit reverberated through his bones with greater force than it should've. Strange.

The spearman had bounded back to his feet, a blackened smudge on his naked chest. The machete wielder sprinted towards Orion, arms straight and dragging behind him.

Orion hadn't put much power into his ki blast, true, but he expected more than a superficial scorch mark on the impact point. Normal, non-ki trained individuals' flesh tended to be soft and spongy, and not resilient at all to explosive ki attacks. The spearman should've at least been bleeding, if not had his ribcage exposed slightly; a bit of red and white jutting from his skin.

Was ... he weaker in the Omniverse?

Time to test out his theory. Another ki ball congealed in his open hand, and he took aim at the charging lean man. He poured his energy into the fluctuating orb, giving it time to strengthen, and giving the machete wielder the extra strides needed to build his confidence. It was funny though; the closer an untrained fighter grew to their target, the more they lowered their guard. Orion couldn't count the number of enemies he'd slain simply because their anger or bloodlust overpowered their common sense.

Two more steps and a machete would be buried in his head. Orion fired.

A beam of bluish white energy soared from his hand, the head of the attack crashing into the lean man's torso and lifting him from his feet. The machetes shone with reflected light as the lean man collided with a nearby tree. A bright explosion and a scream resounded from the tree's base. When the smoke cleared, the lean man lay face down, a red puddle expanding from beneath him.

Hmm. Better, but Orion still expected to have vaporised the man. What had happened to him?

His thoughts were cut short by a powerful force shoving him in the shoulder and a searing pain exploding in the same point. An arrow speared into his flesh, blood weeping down his arm. The arrow penetrated his skin? A measly, flimsy arrow?

He was a saiyan! His skin was bulletproof. How did an arrow manage to burrow into him?

Orion wrapped his fingers around the shaft and tore the arrow free of his skin. The arrowhead hadn't dug in far, which showed that his body still retained some of his natural resilience, but that was small comfort to the saiyan warrior. He clenched his hand and snapped the arrow in two.

His aura raged with new life. "This fight is over."

The spearman closed in on Orion, but he ignored him. He burst forward, feet rising over the ground, eye locked onto the archer. He took some small measure of delight in the look of shock on his face, though Orion didn't let it show. Apparently levitation wasn't a common trick either.

The archer hurriedly fumbled for a new arrow from his quiver, but his fingers couldn't snatch one, instead milling them around. This was too easy.

Orion cocked back a fist and threw it forward, slamming his knuckles into the archer's face. His target lifted off his feet and landed onto a tent, imploding it all around on him. Orion gave the collapsed tent a quick eye, but there was no movement.

The saiyan warrior spun to face his last opponent.

"You're some kind of freak ..." the spearman said in hushed tones.

Orion narrowed his eye. "The inferior fighter always claims his better's skill and power is reliant on him being a 'freak.' Perhaps you should submit."

The spearman stood gritting his teeth, ostensibly torn between pride and his survival instinct.

Orion decided to choose for him. He ran at him, roaring, clenching his fists. The spearman bent his knees and thrust the spear forward at Orion, but the saiyan adeptly stepped to the side, feeling the wind rustle his robe. Tensing his bicep, Orion flooded his fury into his strike, knocking teeth loose and feeling the spearman's nose crack and collapse.

The last of the hunters hit the dirt and didn't get up. Orion grabbed his hair and yanked his head up, checking to see if he still breathed. The saiyan thought he could hear the rasped wheezing through the new gap in the huntsman's teeth, but Orion couldn't tell if it was the blood pumping through his ears.

It didn't matter. Orion dropped the head and strode over to the cooking roast. He probed it with a finger; firm, likely cooked. Hell, even if it was still raw he would eat it. Saiyans had hearty stomachs.

Orion stabbed fingers into the meat and tore the item off the spit, taking a huge bite. Juice and grease dribbled down his chin. The smoky flavour swam on his tongue, and he ripped another greedy chunk off with his teeth. His stomach instantly welcomed the hot savoury meal as he walked back onto the trail, leaving the scene of violence behind him without a second thought.

Chewing on the last bite, Orion threw away the skewer of the roast and found himself on the edge of a shoddy little village. Hope sprung anew. Perhaps someone here knew something about Omni's location. Then again, there was a chance that he would run into another gaggle of unwashed miscreants and a fight would break out again.

Either event would make Orion happy.