Disclaimer: I do not own nor have the rights to Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT. This is done as a fan, and is not meant to infringe on any copyrights in any way.
Dragonball: Bloodlines
Part 1: The Last Warrior
Chapter 1: A Powerful Youth
Author's note: This story takes place many years after the end of Dragonball GT. The Z warriors have all passed away from old age, even Goku. With the absence of these heroes, the Earth has been conquered by Kane, a tyrannical being from outer space. And now, the story begins.
The young man's eyes had adjusted to the dark; the night had changed the small world of his rented room into an abyss of dark blue and black. The bed looked comfy enough, but the youth had no desire to sleep in it. He had been traveling for a long time without the luxury of a bed, and tonight he had decided to splurge for one. Now that he saw it, and felt the cold quiet of this room, the thought of sleep had left his mind. The steady hum of the ceiling fan was the only noise, as well as the occasional bump or muffled voice of the other patrons of the hotel. The sound of the fan was relaxing to the young man, and his mind soon drifted back to the past.
"I swear bro. I swear upon this sword, revenge will be ours!" Those were the words his brother had proclaimed so long ago, almost as if in another life. The young man looked at his hands, to the object they held. A long shining sword, an object closer to him then even he realized.
"Now bro, that task is mine." He spoke softly to himself.
Daybreak came with its golden light, shining through the front windows. Changing the blackness to the normal array of colors usually associated with the objects in the small tavern in the lobby of the hotel. The owner had been awake since before dawn, and was already into his usual task of setting up the wooden tables and chairs, dusting them off and arranging them to their proper spaces. He could smell the breakfasts being prepared off in the kitchen. He smiled as he saw the one of his workers going upstairs to administer the wakeup calls.
"Showtime." he muttered, as he went back behind the bar, noticing, not for the first time, how much the place resembled a saloon that one might see in a typical western movie.
The guests began to slowly trickle down the stairs. Some still yawning, wiping the sleep from their eyes. Others looked as though the rest had completely rejuvenated them. All were eager for breakfast as the smell of food had permeated almost the entire building.
In the midst of helping his employees and other guests, the owner heard another set of footsteps coming down the stairs. Looking toward the stairwell, the owner saw his newest guest, one who had only come in last night. He was a very young-looking man, and from his own guess, the owner would have said he was no more than 18 years old. He had long black hair that went down to his shoulders, and dark brown eyes. He wore a dark green trench coat, blue faded jeans, and a black t-shirt with what seemed to be some kind of strange armor over it. He carried a small bag down the stairs with him, but what the owner noticed most about this boy, was the large sword he had strapped to his back. He sat down at the bar, and the owner came around to him.
"Good morning there young man." said the owner, making the usual small talk. "How's it going? Sleep well? I hope the room was satisfactory."
The young man looked up bleary-eyed, but smiled at the owner.
"Yeah, I slept ok." he said in a kind voice. He was a nice enough kid, thought the owner. The youth's stomach then gave a loud growl. The owner raised his eyebrow and smiled at the boy.
"Hungry?"
The teen smiled and gave a weak laugh. He then nodded and said,
"Yeah, just a bit." he then looked a bit more serious and said, "It's not extra is it?"
"Well, since I believe kids should get as much nutrition as they can, I'll let it slide." Said the owner with a smile.
The young man smiled back. The term "kid" had annoyed him slightly, but in the face of a free meal, he decided to also, let it slide.
The owner had him take a seat at a table, and soon a waitress brought him out a steaming plate of food, which the youth began to inhale like he hadn't eaten in days. The owner was a bit surprised by this show of appetite. A young lady who worked in the inn, who was about as old as the young man, walked up to the owner.
"He's a bit odd huh sir?" she said.
"Yeah, I mean, I know kids have appetites, but that's just crazy." the owner replied.
"Yes, when I went to wake him up, he was already awake, sitting there bare-chested and doing sit-ups on his bed." She said, blushing a little.
"Keeps in shape then huh?" said the owner, smiling a little again.
"Yeah, he's really muscular." said the young maid, "Kinda cute too."
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." The young man had come back to the bar with the intent on paying for his stay. He smiled and winked at the maid, who went a deep shade of red and went back to helping the other customers. Both the owner and the young man laughed a bit at this, then the youth pushed the money for his night at the hotel across to the bar to the owner, who took it up, gave it a quick count, and shoved it into his back pocket.
"So just the one night for you eh?" said the owner.
"Yeah, I still have a ways to go." said the young man. He then looked out the open door and asked,
"Is there anywhere around here that sells traveling food?"
"Yeah, there's a fruit stand outside, but it's a bit expensive. You know how it is. Kane raises the taxes; we have to raise the prices."
"Thanks pops." said the young man. He then walked outside.
The sun hung bright in the sky, with next to no clouds to block its rays. The young man took no notice of the heat as he made his way to the small fruit stand the hotel owner had told him about. He looked about the town as he crossed the dirt road. It was a small village, not very wealthy, but better than many he had seen in his travels. This town still had some folks who could smile. He bought some dried fruit at the stand, and hoped that it would last him to the next town. As he handed the money to the vendor, he saw two boys out of the corner of his eye. They seemed to be playing what looked like a game of tag. From the way they would argue one minute, and go back playing the next, he guessed they were brothers. He smiled a genuine smile at this. The next minute though, the smile was replaced by an angry scowl. The two brothers had been violently shoved to the ground by a group of large men of were obviously not humans. They all wore the same type of body armor with a small K over the heart, a symbol of a soldier of Kane. Some of them had what looked like guns on their hands, and they all wore devices over their eyes that the young man knew were called "scouters".
"Get out of the way you little brats." Said one of the men.
"Lousy Kane soldiers. Pushing us around because they know we can't do anything to stop them." said the fruit vendor in a very low whisper. The young man didn't respond. He kept his eyes on the soldiers as they walked into the same hotel he had come from. He turned his head away then.
"Better not do anything." he thought to himself. "Can't risk a scene."
No sooner had he thought this, a scream came from the hotel. Sighing a bit, he raised his bag to the fruit vendor.
"Hold this." he said, dropping on the counter and walking off towards the hotel, ignoring the babbling of the fruit vendor as he went.
"You want us to what old man!" said the large soldier that had pushed the kids into the dirt. He broke a table with his fist as though to proclaim his outrage.
"Please, I just asked you to pay for the food and drinks you had last time you were here." the owner said desperately.
"How disrespectful." said another soldier. "We put our lives on the line to keep you all safe, and you treat us like common folk?"
"Please stop, there's no need for this!" said the young maid. A soldier promptly grabbed her and held her arms.
"Hmmm, maybe we can forgive this disrespect, for a kiss my dear?" said the purple-skinned soldier, who unfurled his long tongue and licked the side of the girls face, causing her to scream.
"Leave her alone!" yelled the owner. The large soldier shoved him hard with his hand, causing him to fly backwards into the bar. The other employees went to help him. The large soldier spoke again.
"More disrespect?" he said, cracking his knuckles. "I'm starting to think maybe you don't want the protection we give you."
"The only thing anyone here needs protecting from is you."
The soldiers looked to the door to see where this latest outburst had come from. Standing at the door was the young man, a strange smirk, like half a smile was on his face.
"What did you say you little punk?" said the large soldier.
"You heard me." said the young man, slowly walking inside. "Scum like you that picks on people who obviously can't fight back makes me sick. That goes for Kane too."
A few people gasped at this, and the large soldier looked angrier than ever.
"How dare you? Insult Kane in front of me? Do you know who I am? I'm Captain Straug of Kane's army."
"You have me confused with someone who cares." said the young man, still smirking.
Straug seemed as though steam would shoot out of his ears in a second.
"Get'em boss!" said the soldier who had his grip on the young maid.
"As much as I'd love to fight with you guys, I think the owner here has had enough of his furniture broken," said the young man, pointing at the owner who was being supported by a few of his employees. "So why don't we step outside."
"Sounds good to me kid." said Straug, cracking his knuckles in anxiousness.
The two men met in the street. Straug's men stood on the sidelines, as well did all the people of the village. Straug's lizard-tongued crony still had the young maid in his grasp. She looked on with a very worried look on her face, as did the rest of the villagers.
The young man took this time to appraise his adversary. He was much larger then the rest of his men. He was also very muscular, with light blue skin and Green hair that connected in a moustache on his face. He sneered arrogantly at the young man in front of him.
"Teach that little rat a lesson boss!" said one of Straug's men.
"Give me a second there Vladi." Straug as he pushed the button on his scouter. It displayed a variety of numbers, and then stopped on one. Straug laughed.
"Power level 10? Ha ha ha ha." he said, sneering wider. "You're dead meat kid."
"Take your best shot, blue boy." said the teenage fighter calmly.
Straug ran at the young man and swung his fist in attempt to knock off the kid's smart mouth. But where the boy's head had been a second before, it was gone. The boy dodged several more of Straug's attempts at an offense before catching the blue soldier's fist and crushing it with his own.
"Is this all you can do? It might be enough to pick on innocent people, but not for a real opponent like me." said the young man as he continued to apply pressure on Straug's already throbbing fist.
"OWWWWW! OWWWWWWWWW! Let me go!" Straug pleaded.
"Why?" said the youth, his smirk growing wider, "The fun is just beginning."
The boy was then enveloped in a blue light, which began glow brighter and brighter. Straug's scouter began to flash and flicker again.
"No! That's impossible! 5000! 10000! 50000?" The captain screamed before the scouter exploded on his face.
"Too bad, I'm just getting warmed up." The youth proclaimed, kicking Straug hard in the chest and knocking him back into the dirt. The rest of his men went to his aid.
"Don't just stand there you idiots!" Straug screamed, "Kill him!"
The villagers gasped as the soldiers raised their weapons or fists in preparation to carry out the order. Before any shots were fired however, the boy was running at them all, unsheathing his sword. He then disappeared, no one seeing where he was, but some thought they could see flashes of light among the soldiers. The young man reappeared on the other side of the soldiers. He stood up, re-sheathed his sword, and turned around. He was no longer smirking, but just looking at them all, his eyes cold and piercing. The soldiers stood motionless for a while, and then one by one they all fell down to the ground, dead. Straug was the only one still standing. He looked at all his dead men, and at the boy who had killed them. A second later, his armor began to slide off in neatly sliced shards. Straug fell down from shock and fright. The villagers all began to laugh at the spectacle of the so called, "Mighty Straug" whimpering in terror from a teenager.
"You'll be sorry; I'll get you for this! Just you wait!" Straug yelled as he jumped in the air and flew away. The young man watched him and smirked again. He then brought his attention back to the ground, where to his surprise, the villagers began to crowd around him with there adulation. The maid who had been a hostage jumped on him and kissed his face repeatedly. The young man was being as humble as he could be, saying how it was nothing. The hotel keeper was thanking him the most.
"Those men are always causing trouble. Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
The young fighter's face had gone slightly red,
"Well...Now that you mention it..." He began, but his stomach, which gave a loud growl at that moment, finished the thought for him.
"C'mon inside, I'll give you as much food as you want." said the owner.
"Thanks." said the young man.
"Think nothing of it. You'll always be welcome here from now on." said the owner. "Stay as long as you like."
"Well, I should be leaving soon. But thank you." Said the young man.
"I just realized, you never told us your name." said the maid.
"My name," the young man said, "is Slade."