QUEST FOR POWER 2:
CHALLENGE KINGDOMBy Konrad
PART 1
"Hmpf! Not bad, kid, but you can do better. You lose, you know what you gotta do." Android 18 said smirking as she threw a punch at Gohan. "You clean my clothes for two weeks!"
"Nuh-uh!" The boy replied. He dodged 18's blow and launched a kick that was deflected. "You clean my clothes for two weeks!"
Despite the fact that Yoshuro's spaceship was slightly cramped for that kind of activity, Gohan and 18 saw the opportunity to fine-tune their reflexes in a light spar. Tenshinhan looked at their interactions in curiosity, with Vegeta sitting nearby staring at the passing stars in reflection. Meanwhile Yoshuro was busy at the commands.
"Hmmm, I wonder how it'd be like to clean Lunch's clothes." Tenshinhan wondered. He looked mischievously at Vegeta. "Hey, Bulma make you clean her clothes?"
"Just her under…HEY, that's none of your business!" The Prince yelled indignantly. Tenshinhan chuckled lightly.
"Well that sounds like fun!" The Triclops mocked while Vegeta turned away ignoring.
Meh! How will I figure out all the answers? Vegeta thought as he recalled the recent events. The Z Squad was asked by the alien Jubians to assist them in a war. A powerful warlord named Dudan wanted an artefact, the Power Stone, which could make him a threat to anyone in the galaxy. Dudan was eventually defeated but at a great cost. Thousands of Jubians perished in the conflict, including the young woman named Lulu, one of their strongest defenders. The Earthlings themselves seemingly lost both Trunks and Piccolo. It's been three days since the remainder of the team has left the Jubians. At the suggestion of Tenshinhan, the team, including their newest Jubian friend Yoshuro, is heading towards the home of Freezer's race.
The Kosajin, that's what they're called. To think, there's an entire race of them and I was working for just one! And we fought others like Freezer. The Prince reflected grimly. Still I must go there. That Kosajin… Sulfus… He talked about Saiyans being alive somewhere. He said I even have a sister! How could that be possible? Yet, that was unmistakably a Saiyan that Piccolo fought the other time so maybe there are others. If there's one way I can find out the truth, it must be with the Kosajin!
"Hey guys, we're almost there." Yoshuro called out, drawing everyone's attention. Reclaiming his normally stoic expression, Tenshinhan approached the helm of the ship. Ahead of them, an emerald giant, dwarfing by several times planet Earth, awaited their arrival, lazily executing its orbit. The nimble jet's trajectory was accelerated by the massive gravity drawing it in. Within minutes the ship had pierced through the atmosphere. "Here we are! This is planet Motu, as far as anyone knows the home of the Kosajin race."
"Motu, huh? It's about time." Tenshinhan spoke. "Hey, anything you can tell us about these Kosajin?"
"Well I don't know much besides stuff any commoner would know." Yoshuro started. "They're divided between several clans… Apparently, there might be some sort of civil war going on."
"What do you mean?" Gohan asked.
"Well it's really confusing. Like I said I don't know much since I'm not an expert or anything. There was a breakout between the clans about three years ago. And that's not counting the bad blood because of those that left their home to go in the Planet Trade."
Three years ago? When Trunks killed Freezer and his father? Vegeta reflected.
"I'm not sure I'm getting everything." Gohan said.
"That's ok, I only know the basics…" Yoshuro started before the blaring of the ship's sirens drowned the team. "What the… Oh crap!"
"Yoshuro, what's wrong?" 18 asked.
"Somehow we flew straight into an electrical storm. But it formed out of nowhere and it's too strong, it doesn't seem natural." The Jubian stated. Ahead of the ship, a mass of black clouds swarmed rapidly and darts of purple lightning lashed out from them. The Z Squad watched in horror as they plunged into the darkness. "Brace yourselves, people!"
Lightning raced through the sky. Several stray bolts struck the spacecraft, ripping into its outer hull. The ship shuddered violently as it ploughed through the storm.
"Damnit, what did you get us into?!" Vegeta cursed.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Yoshuro whined as he struggled to keep the ship on course.
"Vegeta." Tenshinhan hissed. The ship rocked more violently and Tenshinhan, Vegeta and 18 were sent sprawling to the floor. "Damnit!"
"This is going to hurt, guys!" Yoshuro yelled as a few circuits caught fire near him.
"Yoshuro, open the door!" Gohan called as he rushed to the ship's exit.
"What?"
"I think I can do something but I need to be out there!"
"Are you nuts, Gohan?!" Tenshinhan yelled as he struggled to regain his footing. However, Yoshuro, not knowing how else they could otherwise get out of this, immediately obeyed Gohan. The boy flew out before Tenshinhan could stop him. "Oh, great. Really great! Hold on everybody, let's hope the boy knows what he's doing…"
I got no clue what I'm doing. Gohan thought darkly as he kept pace with the ship. But I won't stand by while everyone's in danger. After all the super strong beings we faced, it'd be sad to be beaten by a storm. All around them was nothing but a colossal, black cloud formation that blanketed the view. Electricity crackled everywhere. Gohan wasn't sure they were even heading towards the ground. This storm is different. It's nothing but lightning. And there's a ki powering it… as if someone made it! The Saiyan reasoned.
Quickly a lightning bolt jumped at Gohan. He barely had the time to power up to Super Saiyan and he was struck at his sides. He grunted as he forced it away with his ki, slightly singeing himself in the process. That wasn't that bad. Now if I can do the same thing for the ship… Cerion! On Mesata, she said I was a godling and that she unlocked some of my godling abilities for me. Time, space, mind. Plus control over my transformations. Maybe I can use all that at the same time. With a further burst of ki, Gohan ascended to Super Saiyan Two then kept his focus on the ki in the storm. Several electrical sparks erupted in the area and the Saiyan boy saw the flash of one zigzagging towards the ship.
Time!!! Gohan screamed mentally in his mind, channelling all his enormous energy and his inner focus on the task at hand. Abruptly, the flow of time around Gohan was momentarily reversed. In a millisecond, the ship literally skipped backward for barely a feet while the purplish spark that was aimed at it seemed to withdraw for a tiny distance. That fraction of a moment disappeared and both the ship and the electrical ark were back at their normal course and places but that time, minuscule as it was, was all Gohan needed. He put himself between the spacecraft and the electricity and batted the latter away. A small drop of sweat formed on the Saiyan's forehead.
Wow, that was harder than I thought… Huh? A cracking sound interrupted Gohan's thoughts as another ark that he hadn't seen managed to strike the ship near the top of the hull. He felt three more electricity sparks that were coming at the ship. Damnit, I gotta concentrate! This is more complicated! He focused intensely, sending his power through the top. Again, he briefly reversed the flow of time to give himself a margin of maneuver. Gohan rushed to intercept one ark and swatted it away. Continuing his trajectory, he accelerated into Yoshuro's ship, knocking it slightly out of its previous path. That was enough to get it out the way of the second spark. The third spark was completely out of his way on the other side of the ship but, pinpointing it with his ki, he focused his mind on that spot. Instantly a ripple appeared between the ship and the lightning. The electricity passed through the ripple and reappeared harmlessly away from the craft.
Gohan's head throbbed and burned to a high fever from the effort of his new powers. While he continued on the heels of the ship, he felt for an end to the storm. Crap, how do we get out of this?… His lack of concentration rewarded him with a pair of lightning strikes directly at his body. Gohan closed his eyes at the burning pain, his open mouth not letting a sound out. He could now feel himself falling freely. A small explosion indicated that Yoshuro's ship had also been hit. Kami, will this end??? Gohan tentatively opened an eye when he felt another ki near him. Once his vision clear a bit, he could make out the form of a red, familiar looking Kosajin right ahead of him. Cooler??? Gohan's brain instantly scratched that thought as he felt no hostility. Instead the Kosajin grabbed him and dragged him downwards. Soon, Gohan landed roughly on grass.
"What the hell?" He said as he looked up quickly. Amazingly, the storm vanished completely within a few seconds, almost as abruptly as it came. The sky was a radiant blue with a few clouds. Yoshuro's ship descended shakily, with some parts of its hull charred. Gohan immediately rushed the ship as it landed. "Hey!"
"Ugh! We got lucky I believe." Yoshuro stated as he exited the ship with the others.
"Next time I say I want to join you on one of your adventures, knock me out." Android 18 whined while rubbing a few sore bruises on her arms.
"Gladly." Vegeta retorted.
"Gohan, you okay? I felt you go overboard out there, what happened?" Tenshinhan asked.
"Oh, right." Gohan said and he powered down. "I tried a few tricks but… it didn't all work out. I still don't get what happened."
"Me neither." Tenshinhan replied.
"Ahem!" someone cleared their throat loudly, catching the Z Squad off-guard. They turned their heads to see two Kosajin ahead of them. One of them was a female with red skin. She wore silver armour and helmet, with long flame coloured hair sticking out from underneath the latter. She bore a passing resemblance to Cooler, with a slimmer and smaller frame, and appeared to be in her teens. She had a shy, almost bashful expression on her face and she looked at the Z Squad from behind another female. This second one was slightly taller than the first but her composition was entirely different. She was mostly light purple, with dark purple patches in areas, and she had no apparent exterior armour. At the sides of her head were large, pronounced lightning marks while short, striped hair stuck out vertically. She didn't look nearly as shy as the other Kosajin. As a matter of fact, she looked irate.
"We're what happened." The purple Kosajin stated cooly. Tenshinhan groaned.
"We can explain." He offered wearily.
- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -
Given a couple of more weeks, he would've been up there. One of the best mercenaries at the service of lord Dudan. He'd be up there with his friends Cerion and Sulfus. But instead, Djoukien is roaming throughout the other World, walking along Snake Way.
"Oh well, I went out against some of the best." He often reminded himself, reflecting on the day he died. It hurt when Piccolo forced his hand through him. But then again, Djoukien had done such things himself. Not really put his hand through someone but killed people, sometimes neatly, sometimes gruesomely.
He lived the life of a mercenary for so long, subduing or killing thousands was his job. Within the vast Planet Traders' Guild that had cut a huge swath of territory across the North Galaxy, his rank had risen quickly. In no time he had the approval of the likes of Dudan and even Cooler. But it wasn't the power and the killing that got Djoukien, it was the adventures and the long quests that he relished in. It almost didn't matter that he was dead now, to him it was just an opportunity for more numerous and interesting adventures with plenty of time on his hands. No Dudan, less killing, no destruction of planets, just doing what he wants now.
"Death is life." He mused to himself in conclusion, feeling more satisfied than he had ever been. Not having grown weary of adventures and excitement during his tenure as a mercenary, Djoukien was on his own little mission now. From what a young worker-demon told him, the planets of the Kais are located at the end of Snake Way. They included the planet of the North Kai, the one who surveyed Djoukien's part of the Galaxy. However, the demon had seemed rather unreliable. He said it was the traditional location of the Kais but that in the past several weeks 'something was amiss' and Djoukien couldn't get more information. He only asked him because everybody else he tried to talk were too busy.
And now here Djoukien is walking on Snake Way on some information that may or may not be outdated. He wasn't in a rush though. He was dead. Along the way, he greeted quite a few warriors, all of them running towards the planets of the Kais and taking only a little time to relax and talk before rushing. Strangely enough to Djoukien, none of them were heading to the North Kai's residence. Weird. He thought. Not quite as weird as Princess Snake. A cute and affectionate young woman… until she turned into a giant snake and tried to eat him. He escaped easily though he's sure the Princess won't try to eat anyone in the short term. The thought made him chuckle slightly… Djoukien's thoughts were interrupted by a noise.
"Hmm, another fallen warrior going to see the Kais?" he immediately figured and he turned around to see no one. Stunned, he paid more attention to the sound. On second thought, it clearly wasn't that of someone, it was more of a big disturbance somewhere far. Some part of the noise was screeching, another part, he could tell, was people screaming. Djoukien looked over the edge of Snake Way at the thick yellow clouds.
It's coming from below, from Hell. Djoukien thought. "Hmmm, sounds like some sort of trouble. Maybe I should go down there and help… Heh, I guess now's as good a time as any to change." he shrugged.
As Djoukien floated off Snake Way, he was surprised as an incredible force pulled him down. Once below the yellow clouds, the force had disappeared, leaving him to float down to the ground where he landed in front of a sign that read 'CAUTION: do not venture into the Shadowlands!' Glancing around at his surroundings, the young Saiyan took note of this new environment. The ground was an unusual assortment of dark red and black patches and stripes, making it look as if an unholy dark fire was dancing on the ground. It was also uneven with small hills and rugged terrain. Several towering spires and stalactites erupted from the landscape and from beyond the horizon. Directly above himself, Djoukien could see a small strip of yellow clouds. That's where Snake Way was. However the rest of the sky, immediately to the sides of the strip, had a dark blue color with black clouds travelling the realm
"What??? This place isn't Hell…" Djoukien wondered aloud.
The Saiyan took note of whimpering sounds from behind a small hill. He flew over there as stealthily as he could. When he got to the other side, he was surprised to see three people there. One of them was a blue demon, wearing a white t-shirt with equally white shorts. On his shirt was the acronym HFIL 'Home For Infinite Losers', the other name for Hell as Djoukien had learned not too long ago. The demon was sitting down, eyes closed, crouching as much as he could as he held two small children, a boy and a girl, probably eight or nine. They were humanoid in appearance with peculiar coloration. Their skin was a mix of pink and green, a dark blue stripe ran down on each arm after starting at the base of their necks. Their hair was pale and their frail bodies were barely covered by the brown garments they wore. Djoukien was perplexed as he looked at them. The kids were huddled in the arms of the little devil and all three of them had their eyes closed, scared and shaking. After a moment's hesitation, the Saiyan figured it was best to bring them back to reality.
"Hey!" he said loud enough to startle them. Upon hearing him, the frightened kids jumped up and opened their mouths to let out the most high-pitched scream Djoukien had ever heard. He stumbled backwards, falling on his behind.
"Gaaaah!…Aaah…Aaah!…" The Saiyan stammered out with hands on his bleeding ears. The trio facing him had by then realized that they weren't in presence of whatever they were expecting. The kids blushed in embarrassment while the demon rushed to Djoukien.
"Oh man! Sorry 'bout that but the kids are kinda afraid right now and so am I with good reason… Um, you ok?" asked the demon. "Oh, by the way my name is Og."
"Ugh! Smarts… Nice to meet you, I'm Djoukien… please don't talk so loudly." the Saiyan replied while getting up, his hand still to his right ear. He looked on at the three characters facing him. His gaze fell on the children who immediately recoiled from his stare. His eyes widened in surprise then he took on his most sincere smile, a conspicuous broad grin. "Hey, it's ok, little ones. I'm not here to hurt you." The kids ushered closer to Og. "Hmmm, well I guess I still have to wash off some of that mercenary training."
"Don't worry, kids." Og tried to reassure them. "He's here to help us."
The little ones looked at Og then at each other. The boy said something in an alien language to the girl as the two grown-ups looked on. After a rather short exchange, they turned to Djoukien and smiled, taking a small step towards him.
"Alright, they seem to trust me now." Djoukien said content.
"Yeah, now we gotta get outta here, you gotta help us!" Og's voice suddenly took an urgent tone. He pointed to the south. "We can only go one way through the clouds up there and that's going in. So the closest exit from here is over there. Come on." He said as he started walking hurriedly, followed by Djoukien and the kids.
The Saiyan frowned. "What's going on here… what is this place? I know this isn't HFIL."
"Well, this is a lesser known part of Hell, a danger zone that was dubbed The Shadowlands long, long ago. Very few souls inhabit this area. And sometimes, souls stumble in here like these children that I was trying to retrieve…" Og went as he looked at the kids with a slight hint of disapproval. Though they didn't seem to understand too much of the language, they understood his facial expression enough to bow their heads in apology.
"Heh, don't be so hard on them. So what's so special here?"
"No time for that now, I'll explain when we get out of here." Og stated as he started marching off to the north, followed closely by Djoukien and the kids. Almost immediately however, a loud thunderclap sound was heard in the distance, startling them to stop. Djoukien only managed to open his mouth to ask what was going on when more thunderclaps rang closer around them. They were accompanied by beams of light that appeared seemingly out of nowhere to cut the very fabric of the air. It was as if the air in their vicinity was being torn apart in several places at once. The sight frightened Og and the kids to no end and Djoukien had a feeling something bad was taking place.
"Oh no, no!" Og muttered.
"What's going on?" Djoukien demanded as he looked around puzzled. Where the lights had previously appeared, black rifts quickly replaced them. Light wailing and screeching sounds emanated from the rifts. Djoukien felt chills down his spine. Og and the children shook visibly.
"Oh no, this is real bad!" The worker-demon yelled again in a panic.
"Quiet, this is not the time to panic!" Djoukien said, exasperated. "Og, I need to know what's going if I'm to be of any use."
"That's what we're trying to get away from! Those things are portals to another dimension."
"Huh, what kind of dimension?" The Saiyan asked. The shrill wailings became louder and louder until black forms started seeping out from the rifts. At the sight, the children screamed jumped into Og's arms. "What the hell…"
"It's some kind of twisted dimension with different types of demons in them." Og explained, his eyes widening in fear. "They're called Shadowland Creeps. For the past several weeks this place has been acting up, with portals leaking out these monsters more often. We gotta get out of here or we're gone, even you!"
Djoukien watched as one of the black forms stretched outwards followed by another. Soon, an elongated, man-sized chunk had emerged from the portal. The entire form changed shape, growing spindly legs and arms until it look a recognizable form. It looked like a shadowy, ghost-like creature with clawed hands and feet. Glowing eyes searched the environment until they fell on Djoukien's group. The creature opened its mouth to emit a high-pitch shriek. Immediately, other screams followed and more creatures poured out.
"Hmmm, well I won't argue with that. C'mon!" Djoukien said as he gathered the three others in his arms.
The Saiyan immediately flew in the direction Og had indicated as the exit. As they crossed the landscape, they looked on in shock at hundreds of more rifts opening, with as many Creeps seeping out from them. The entire landscape was soon drowned in constant wailings and shrieking.
"So many of them…" Djoukien mused. "What could bring these things out?" His reflection cut short when he was scratched in his shoulder. Djoukien yelped in pain and involuntarily let go of Og and the children.
"WAAHHHHH!" Og cried as he and the kids started to plummet to the ground.
Djoukien turned around to see a Creep behind him with bat-like wings. It's claws dripped with his blood. Angry, he assaulted the creature with a swift punch. His fist tore through the Creep's body and it dropped. Djoukien then dove to the ground. He found the kids relatively unharmed, sitting atop a dazed Og.
"Hey Og, you ok?" Djoukien asked.
"I'm fine." The little demon whined. "My back broke my fall…"
"I can't fight while carrying you guys." Djoukien stated. He quickly noted the hordes of Shadowland Creeps closing the distance between them. "You guys go ahead of me. I'll cover you."
"Huh? You sure?"
"Yes, now don't make me regret this. Go, now!" the Saiyan spat. Obeying silently, Og scooped a child in each of his arms. He looked on at Djoukien for a few seconds, his expression grim. Then he quickly gave a 'thumbs up' before breaking into a run, the kids in tow.
Much better. Now, to the task at hand. Djoukien reflected in his mind before turning to the approaching legion. Dark demons, resounding terrifying shrieks and screams, converged on the lone warrior, most running excitedly, others flying in. Djoukien concentrated his ki in his right hand for several seconds, letting the energy grow until it formed a yellow ball. Finally, he threw the energy ball with all his might into the throws of running creatures. It detonated in the middle of the pack, creating a large ball of fire that engulfed everything in its passage, including the entire army of creatures. The flying ones were also caught in the explosion. When the resulting smoke cloud had cleared, Djoukien saw nothing left of the Creeps but torn and burnt bodies.
"Well so much for that!" Djoukien exclaimed with satisfaction. He smiled for a brief moment when he heard a rumbling sound from his side. He turned to his left to see another mass of demons cresting a ridge and running towards him. "What, more from that direction too?"
The Saiyan fired a barrage of ki blasts at the new group, causing much destruction in their ranks. The dying shrieks of Creeps filled the air to the clouds high above but they came nonetheless in greater numbers still.
"Hell, how many are there?" Djoukien said grimly to himself as he concentrated on keeping his ki barrage. As if to answer his questions, a stabbing pain flared in his lower back. Djoukien winced and turned his head to look at a demon that managed to elude his senses. While he was busy with the second army, a third group had appeared a bit further behind. "Let me go, you filthy thing!" the Saiyan cried as he sent the creature flying back with a sharp elbow.
In a moment's notice, Djoukien was surrounded by hundreds of angry, bloodthirsty demons. He quickly calculated his chance of survival at slim and smirked at them.
"Fine then. But I'm taking a bunch of you with me!" Djoukien yelled and he plunged into the group.
The Saiyan tore a pathway through his opponents. Creatures tasted his hardest punches and kicks, flying back in all directions. His Saiyan instincts in overdrive, Djoukien was in frenzy, knocking over anything in his path. He hadn't unleashed himself like this in a long time and the warrior in him relished the crunching sounds, the dying wails and the fury. Still, the odds were against him. The Creeps clawed and bit at him, aiming at the softer spots in his armour. Their sharp claws and teeth found their marks. His armour being gradually shredded, Djoukien tried his best to shrug off the pain but before soon it was too much. Deep wounds etched on his body, blood flowing freely from them, Djoukien tripped and fell to the ground ahead of him. A demon speared him in his sides and the Saiyan screamed to the stars. Accumulating his remaining ki, he blasted the demon. But then other demons knocked him around. His vision blurry, unable to move, Djoukien was in the arms of his assailants. Their gleeful expressions gave him only a slight idea of the pain he was about to go through.
This is it. This didn't take too long. Hmpf, what a way to end my existence in the next life. Djoukien thought. The demons shrieked loudly and he figured it was the time for their feast. However, as they screamed, Djoukien felt a crushing presence that had suddenly appeared. A ki so massive that he even felt it to every fiber in his body. In an instant it became clear that the demons' screams weren't joy in anticipation of his slaughter but rather fear in anticipation of their own. Swift movements of air in all directions rushed by Djoukien. He briefly contemplated a red streak through his vision. It breezed by at impossible speeds though he couldn't make what it was. Finally, Djoukien was free from the demons completely and, as he fell to the ground, he could hear hundreds of them dying quite vocally. Satisfied that maybe he wouldn't die from these nightmarish creatures, Djoukien, lying on the ground and his body literally on fire from countless wounds, allowed himself to slip into the blissful abyss of unconsciousness.END OF PART ONE