Chapter 2 - The
Dart
If you do not clearly see
the phrase "To be continued..." at the bottom of this
page, then the page hasn't loaded properly or completely.
The text in olive
is a 3rd person narative which Sakina knows nothing about.
It's kinda like my way of explaining what happens outside of
what Sakina sees. I will be using a lot of this in the chapters
to come, so don't just forget about it after this chapter!
"Pick your battles big enough to win,
small enough to matter." - Source unknown (so I can't
remember! Sue me! ...Uh, on second thought, don't.)
Every time I go through the
portals, I take the chance that I might run into one of the Black
Plague's minions or even the Black Plague himself since
energy can't be sensed crossing from either side. To top it
all off, the experience itself if not one which I would want to
have every day.
First comes a sharp feeling of
falling or rising coupled by a blinding flash of light that sends
the traveler down something which seems like a long tube. The
appears like it is lit up by a constantly
shifting mass of blue and green light. Then comes a sense of
complete disorientation as the traveler is spun around so fast
that normal people become more than nauseated. At this point, any
attempt to stop the spinning would result on the perpetrator
being thrust into a dimension unknown. I have only witnessed this
scene once and it is enough to deter me from attempting it. After
spinning for a while, the traveler will usually get used to the
sensation and it will seem like he or she is standing still as
long as that person doesn't open his or her eyes. Any
vocalizations within this point sound flat and meaningless as if
there is nothing there to carry the vibration even though the air
still exists. Then, a terrible, gut-wrenching feeling jerks all
of the person's senses at once as all directions change
instantly and the spinning stops suddenly. Finally, the traveler
arrives in the new world, spit out of the portal like a piece of
old chewing gum. Each time, the person will land on the ground
dizzy, disoriented, and utterly helpless. When I go through, it
takes me almost a minute to reorient myself, a minute where I am
left totally defenseless to whatever is on the other side. Like I
said, it's not something I would want to go through every
day.
Today was no different than any
other. The bright light, spinning, nausea, disorientation, and
finally the rough landing all made themselves very real on this
day.
When I was spit out of the portal,
I felt a sharp smack on my forehead as if I had hit something
extremely hard. Everything in my sight was a blur, I had no clue
where the ground was, and the throbbing pain on my forehead
didn't help one bit. Jeez! It's really hard to
get used to that.... I mumbled, though it must have sounded
like a foreign language to anyone who heard me. I located the
ground, tried to push myself up, but was overcome by dizziness
and fell over again with an Anyone who has just
come out of the portals (besides the Black Plague for some
reason) is always a comical sight to see.
Dianna
called. In my disoriented state, I could barely tell what she was
saying let alone if it contained laughter, warning, or a scolding
thought. Dianna had been the first one through the portal and I
was the last, so her minute was probably already almost up.
I managed to
squeeze out through my nausea. I'm sure it didn't sound
anything like , more like .
I shut my eyes to stop the image
from spinning and making me dizzier and groaned. Things were
slowly getting better and I could now detect sound clearly. I
placed my hands over my face and pressed down to stop the pain on
my forehead. I had probably hit a rock again.
Dianna
called again. This time, I could detect the worry in her voice.
I growled
through my hands.
she half
stuttered, half gasped. It was something bad, but I couldn't
do anything about it at the moment.
Dianna, I can't do
anything right now. I still feel like throwing up. I
groaned, the sound muffled by my hands while I massaged my
throbbing forehead. I gave up after a few more seconds and lay
sprawled out on my back facing what I believed to be the sky. I
opened my eyes; the entire thing was blurry and still spinning. I
breathed deeply and sighed the air out.
Over to my left I heard the sounds
associated with a fight. Oh, shit. I thought.
What's going on now?
Sakina! MOVE!! Dianna
screamed a second later. I rolled over on my stomach while my
whole body shrieked in protest, therefore, I just barely dodged a
crushing blow delivered to where my head had been a moment
earlier.
I growled as I
began to struggle to get to my feet. This is not going to
be a good day... halfway through my struggle, I felt a
sharp bite in my back. My hand whipped back there in an instant
causing me to lose my balance and fall back on my face. My
fingers brushed up against something feathery and soft connected
to a short shaft. I yanked it out and winced in pain. It was at
that time that my ki-sensing ability kicked back in. Behind me, a
particularly small Rodent stood, probably not more than a month
old. The thing I had pulled from my back was a dart, probably
tipped in poison as otherwise it would be pointless of them to
shoot me with it. I already was beginning to feel a searing,
white-hot pain shoot up my back all around the entrance area. I
put the dart in my jacket's front pocket, its only pocket,
and sighed. My sense of balance more-or-less returned and I stood
up. Until I was completely oriented again, I wouldn't be
able to go SSJ. Since my eyes were still floating around, I would
have to rely on my ki sense to tell me what was going on. It was
a small band of Rodents that had jumped us; I counted 12. Two of
them were picking on Max and Sarah and Katrine was fighting and
losing to two herself. Dianna was working on blasting 6 of them
and was holding her own in doing so. That left me with the runt
and the one with the nasty footwork who now stood off to my left
side, readying for another attack. These Rodents had obviously
not been in any of the groups that had met me before or they
would have all tackled me at once to bring me out of commission.
I took a fighting pose, ignoring
the creeping back pain. Dammit, I hoped the suspected poison
wasn't fast-acting! There was a sudden movement to my left.
I brought my arms into a defensive position thereby catching and
deflecting a nasty kick from the larger Rodent. My opponent was
stunned, and I used this moment of confusion to deliver a blow of
my own. Deprived of its defenses, even though the punch
half-missed, the little animal took heavy damage. The
2-foot-tall, long-tailed, beady-eyed creature promptly
reconsidered me as a tough opponent and struck again. This time,
my gut took the blow. At that instant, my sight fully returned. I
staggered back a bit, caught my breath, and floated up a way.
There, I powered up to SSJ, hoping that no other bands of Rodents
were near enough to notice, and stretched my hands toward the
Rodents that had been my opponents, palms out.
I was going to use an attack that
my father had learned by witnessing Goku as he used it during the
Cell Games. I shouted as I began to gather energy
into my hands. I continued. the
ball of energy flickered and appeared in my palms before
beginning to grow at a rapid pace. the Rodents
tried to use their electric bolts to reach me where their fists
could not, but I was up too high even for that. I
concluded as I fired the large ball of energy in the form of a
beam toward the Rodents. They were disintegrated from existence
as soon as the blast overtook them.
Dianna had already defeated five
of her opponents and was working on the last and strongest one
full power now. I flew over to Katrine, snatched her two
assailants up into the air with one arm, and delivered another
blast to them, instantly defeating them. They weren't very
strong. Katrine then began to fight the small Rodent which was
hurting Sarah and Dianna, who defeated her last opponent, began
to walk over to the other Rodent which was apparently the boss of
the group; his power level was highly apparent in my senses like
a match when the flame is at my fingertips. He was standing on
his tail and slapping Sarah around continuously while she cried.
As Dianna approached with a furious look on her face, the
, as I knew the subspecies to be called,
dropped Sarah to face this new and more exciting opponent.
Katrine defeated the last remaining , as her
opponent's subspecies was known. Dianna stopped about 12
feet from the Rodent and they both sized each other up. A white
fireball appeared around Dianna and the Rodent took a scouter
reading. After a few seconds, the mechanical device beeped and
the Rodent laughed.
Then, he spoke. Apparently, this
was a rare feat for the older members of the Black Plague's
force of minions, but this skill had become mandatory for the
younger soldiers. Your power level is less than
one-twentieth of mine! Hahaha! he laughed. Dianna flared,
gritting her teeth. Her tail flicked angrily back and forth.
I see. You must be of that dying race, the Saiyins. My
master has already killed many of you; he made it seem so easy
too. I've heard from him that two still exist that we know
of. One of them was let go for a future battle. He nodded
upward toward where I floated above them. That must be her;
I vaguely recognize her from my master's description. The
purple locks when she's calm or slightly miffed, the yellow
spikes and energy oval when she's angry. That is how it
works, am I right? he waited for a while and upon receiving
no answer from either of us, continued himself. The poison
that my smallest in-training private delivered to her would kill
her within a few hours if she was a normal human, but I'll
give her maybe three days to live, two to be active, just because
she's special. he smirked at the last word.
Dianna's fireball flared even more and mine grew slightly.
This guy was beginning to get me POed. As I am sure you
don't already know, I am Admiral Chu, the highest commander
of the Rodent Army. Yes, we stole our ranking system from the
Navy of one of the other worlds, but it does come in quite handy.
My only master is the Black Plague himself, and he would hate me
to pieces if I shredded his chew toy before he got a crack at
her. he shook his head slightly to indicate me. My lip
curled into a snarl and my power level rose about 100 points. The
war was almost over before it began. Unless I could find an
antidote for the poison... we would be down not just one, but two
fighters as my counterpart would also die. The countdown
till crunch time began roughly at noon. He floated up a
little bit, shocking both Dianna and I a few points down our
power levels. Ah, you see, I have learned how to use
electromagnetic energy fields to move around in the air as you
do. Quite handy, if I do say so myself. I clenched my fists
and snarled even more, therefore unintentionally raising my power
level again. He shifted to face me more fully. I see that a
Saiyin's anger is the key tool in releasing their power.
Quite intriguing, actually. If there weren't so few of you
left, I'd want to do a study on your abilities. he
took a scouter reading of me. he shrieked
when the scouter finally beeped. You are indeed a worthy
opponent, only around 100,000 points below my power level! Truly
extraordinary! I am in the multiple-millions, as I am sure you
can sense. Oh well. I have orders not to kill you, so I'll
have to settle with destroying these four in compensation for
what you did to my troops-
No you won't!!! I
screamed as I flew with most of my speed at the
3-and-a-half-foot-tall monster, catching him off-guard and firing
a punch through his armor that sent him reeling into the ground,
creating a nice crater. I rested in my new position for a second
or two before he got to his feet and continued to talk, spitting
to his side.
Hmmm. I must admit, that was
a nice punch. It did a bit of damage. Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm.... But if
you'll excuse me, he turned to Dianna who was now
almost growling in suppressed rage. I have some business to
take care of. he flew full speed at Dianna, a speed that I
could barely track let-alone see or counter for her, and kicked
her face aside while delivering a powerful blast of electricity
to her. Dianna fell over, shocked and with her hair smoking. The
Rodent landed next to her, laughing. Max broke into a
temper-tantrum and rushed to the Rodent to pummel it with plenty
of ineffective blows.
You leave my sister alone,
you big bully! he yelled, crying.
The Rodent gleefully smiled,
flicked him back with one finger, and turned to where he landed.
At the same moment he turned, Sarah ran to the Rodent, followed
closely by Katrine, in hopes that she could succeed where her
brother could not. When they got within two feet of the creature,
they stopped suddenly as if they had run into a brick wall.
Admiral Chu was using an electromagnetic field to stop them. He
moved a finger and the two girls went flying back in Max's
direction. Katrine flew farther than Sarah and struck a wedge of
concrete. Dianna overcame her shock and rushed at him, but he
dodged her and sent another lighting bolt through her system. The
Rodent's full attention was on the four people below me, so
I flew higher and began to charge up for another energy attack.
I whispered,
positioning myself in the same pose I had held the last time I
used the attack. the Rodent kicked Dianna's
already-hurting stomach and she winced, giving almost no
resistance as her energy was almost all drained.
he kicked her again and she threw up. he laughed
and turned to walk over to where Max and Sarah landed. The ball
of energy was absolutely huge before me. I just hoped his scouter
didn't alert him to it. I shouted as I
released it. The energy ball impacted with a devastating effect.
Katrine and the kids were pushed back to the edge of a giant pile
of rubble, Dianna tumbled over the edge and to the other side
where she was sheltered from the debris that flew out her way,
and various rocks and other fragments of rubble flew into the
portals. I just hoped that they didn't hit any innocent
people on the other side. When the explosion was over, the dust
cloud that remained covered everything except for the outside
ring where Katrine and her kids now were and the sheltered ditch
that contained Dianna. I was panting from the effort put into
that Kamehameha and floated down toward Dianna after a few
seconds to see how she was doing. Hey girl. I spoke
softly as not to hurt her ears. Are you ok?
I'm just fine.
she tried to get up, but couldn't and fell again. Ok,
so maybe that creep took a few bites out of me. No big deal.
I'll be good enough to fly again in about a minute. Just let
me rest. Can you check on Mom, Max, and Sarah for me? I need to
know if they're alright. she winked at me and gave me
a thumbs up. I knew she would be alright.
I kicked off the
ground, now partially rested, and flew around the dust cloud to
land by the kids. They were standing up and apparently ok.
Katrine was walking slowly toward where I now was. Everyone
surprisingly suffered only minor injuries. I was still in the SSJ
form.
Is Dianna ok? were the
first words out of Katrine's mouth a few minutes later when
she finally reached us.
Yeah, she's alright. I
was just over there. I rubbed my stinging back, noticing
for the first time just how much it hurt.
What about that
poison? Katrine continued, now worried about me since her
daughter was reportedly ok. What are we going to do?
I figure that if your Gohan
is still anything like what my father displayed him to be, a
great scholar and all in the realm of biology and chemistry,
he'll be able to figure out an antidote. I sounded
sure of myself, though the truth was I doubted my
would work. Well, I'm going to go
tell Dianna that you're all ok. I told them after a
few more minutes of thoughtful silence. The dust cloud had
dissipated quite a bit, so I kicked off and flew straight into
it, holding my breath along the way. Inside the dust cloud, the
particles still stung my eyes so I shut them too.
Suddenly, while I was still inside
the cloud, something snatched my leg and pulled me down. I
shrieked and struggled, but to no avail, so I tried to
away at top speed. All this did was create a wind
what swept the rest of the dust away and revealed my
assailant's identity. It was Admiral Chu.
Listen closely and remember
well the name of the foe whom you fought for it will be the sound
of doom in your ears! he growled with something resembling
fire ablaze in his eyes. I am Admiral Chu and no one defies
MEEEE! he screamed as he whipped the sharp tip of his tail
into my back and delivered a powerful blast of electricity.
I screamed in pain like a wild
animal caught by a predator. When the blast was finally over, he
let me fall to the ground, now robbed of my SSJ form, my violet
hair again streaming down my face. I hit the ground with a dull
thud, but didn't feel it as the slice in my back was robbing
my other senses of their effectiveness. I
thought, I couldn't just mind my own business. I just
had to pick on a talking, lightning-throwing rat. I could have
just raced everyone away from here, but noooooo- My
thoughts were cut short by someone's hand placed on my
shoulder. I was still twitching from the left over static.
It was Dianna.
She was still weak, but had gotten over here nonetheless. Admiral
Chu laughed overhead at her attempt at comforting me. He had the
upper hand and we all knew it.
Dammit, this sucks. I
plainly stated. We've got to get out of here. Dammit,
I dunno if I can still fly...
That's ok. I have a
plan. she whispered. I turned my head slightly to see her
smiling.
Must be better than anything
I could come up with right now. I struggled a bit and
managed to get on my hands and knees. Hope it works.
I gave her a thumbs-up before running out of energy and crashing
back to the ground, breathing heavily.
Dianna flew up angrily to where
Admiral Chu floated confidently. You want a piece of
me? she challenged him. You want one? Well, come get
one. I ain't got all day! she screamed, firing a small
energy ball which Admiral Chu dodged with ease.
Is that the best you've
got? he mocked her. Well, I'll accept your
challenge, though it isn't much of one. he rushed at
her and she dodged by pure luck and floated upwards toward the
sun...
That was her plan!?!?
Dianna put one hand on each side
of her face and shouted, SOLAR FLARE!!! A blinding
flash of light was reflected into Admiral Chu's eyes,
blinding him temporarily. A moment after the flash, a huge force
hit me in the stomach and before I knew what was going on, I was
flying with it and away from our foe. Dianna had picked me up
along with her family and was now flying as fast as she could in
her chosen direction. I relaxed and lost consciousness as the
wave of adrenaline caught up with me. Little did I know just how
precious that rest would seem in comparison to the things to
come...
***
In the home base of the Black Plague...
You stupid
fool! a booming voice rang out from the darkness of a
large, dark, science-fictiony room. In the middle of the room,
Admiral Chu cowered in a spotlight.
B-but
master, I- he stammered.
the Black Plague demanded. I gave you strict orders not to
touch that girl! She will be MY prey! IS THAT CLEAR!?!
Y-yes
sir! Admiral Chu choked in compliance out of his fear for
his master.
Good. I am
assigning you a new trainee group in a few days. Starting
tomorrow, all of the top officers of the Rodents will congregate
here for a meeting. There was a short pause, and then the
Black Plague addressed Admiral Chu on the subject of how his job
was to be carried out. You may do as you like with the
other life forms on these worlds, but if that girl, that Sakina
survives the poison, she is mine.
***
I don't know how long I was
unconscious, but when I awoke, I was in a strange, metal-walled
room.
She's awake!
someone shouted. The voice struck me as oddly familiar, though I
couldn't quite place the flitty, little-girlish attitude it
carried with it.
That's good.
Katrine responded. I was getting worried.
Max, get me some more cold
water and a clean cloth. I bet she has a headache after all
that. That was Dianna, and she couldn't have been more
right. I felt like I had been hit by a comet. I rolled onto my
side and groaned. I was in a bed and covered by a blanket;
someone had taken my jacket, shoes, and sword and apparently
placed them at the foot of the bed. I opened my eyes slowly and
they adjusted to the light. Two men directly ahead of me sat in
chairs, one looked around 75 with gray hair that stood in a style
only described as the after effect of sticking a fork in a wall
outlet, the other one looked only around 50 years old and had
slightly graying hair that flopped over to one side. The second
man sat in a wheel chair with his arms and legs strapped in and
covered. He looked as though paralyzed from the neck down. I
sensed Katrine at the head of the bed and Dianna was tending to
me, though she herself was in terrible condition. Someone else
was rushing around her. She was a young girl around my age for
what I could guess about her flitty attitude. Max and Sarah were
being go-fors and retrieving the things that Dianna and the other
girl asked for.
Dianna placed a cold cloth on my
forehead. It felt really good and I smiled lightly, shifting in
the covers. She laughed at my almost comical expression.
Hey girl, you're safe
in the Nest, our home base. So, how are you doing? That was one
awful blow you took. Our isolation chamber is out-of-order, so
first aid is all we can offer. Here, it's time to change the
bandage on your back... she leaned over and I relaxed for a
moment, then shot straight up as if a bullet had hit me before
Dianna even touched the bandage underneath my black T-shirt.
OMG! The poison! I
yelled, wide-eyed. I was running on energy reserves I didn't
even know I had now. Where's Gohan? I'm going to
die if I don't get that antidote! How long was I down?
I asked rapidly as if I had just drank 15 pots of coffee and
eaten a truckload of sugar.
You weren't down for
too long. Dianna assured me. Only about 3 hours.
Considering your injuries, you should have been out longer.
Gohan's over there. she pointed to the 50-year-old
man.
I stood up quickly, but a
sharp pain in my back brought be back down to the bed. I
continued when I had gotten a hold of myself. Gohan,
you're a great scholar, right? Well, while I was fighting,
some twerp got me with a poisoned dart.
He nodded, beginning to assess the
situation. I see. Do continue.
Well, I have the dart in my
jacket's front pocket. Admiral Chu said I have 3 days to
live, 2 until I can't fight anymore if I don't get an
antidote for the poison.
He nodded again. Sarah,
bring me that dart from her pocket and be careful not to touch
the tip. Sarah did so.
There's one more thing.
We have a theory why the Trunks and Bulma of your world
died-
the other man
interrupted me, Katrine already explained that. he
growled. In case you can't figure it out with that
thick skull of yours blocking the way, I'm Vegita, and I
don't like it that my only living relative will die if you
happen to screw up. he scowled at me.
Grandpa! Don't be so
mean. She saved Dianna's life! the other girl yelled
at the man. I was shocked as I saw her for the first time. It was
almost like looking into a mirror. She wore a blue girl
power T-shirt and ripped blue jeans. Her purple hair was
kept neatly in two pigtails to either side of her head and she
wore a huge grin on her face. The only major difference between
us (besides the clothing and hair style choices and our obviously
different perspectives of life) was the fact that she had a tail
and I didn't.
You're my counterpart,
I can safely guess. I said matter-of-factly.
Yep! That's me!
I'm Ki-ki! she told me in her hyper,
little-girl's voice.
I'll guess that's
your nickname. You can just call me Sakina. I sighed and
relaxed as my remaining energy gave out and let me fall back to
my original position on the bed. Dianna changed my bandage at
last and Gohan began to study the poison on the dart by
levitating it around.
Hmmm... I'll have to
run some tests. His wheelchair drove through an automatic
door as if directed by his thoughts (which, as I later found out,
it was) and into a lab set up with a few almost-empty bottles of
various chemicals, a few microscopes of varying power, and
various tools. The door shut behind him and began his work with
Sarah as his aid.
Vegita scowled
some more.
I closed my eyes, but continued to
talk. So, you're my grandpa. You're everything my
dad told me you were. I smiled lightly.
Mirai Trunks. He was a good
kid. Vegita sighed. Not like Chibi, he was a real
brat, all the kids of this time are.
Hey! Don't talk about
my daddy that way! Ki-ki scolded him.
Vegita rolled
his eyes and re-gained his hard-faced scowl. I let out one sigh
as a
giggle.
In my world, you're
already dead. I told him. Defeated by the
androids.
You're father told me
that already. He growled at the inconvenience of hearing
that again.
I sighed again. I'm
going back to sleep. Wake me up if you need me. When I'm
rested enough, I'll show you all what I can do
before... I thought a bit. I was already considering
another confrontation with the Rodents, but especially Admiral
Chu. Before I go take care of some business. I rolled
back over and was asleep before anyone could ask me as to clarify
what I meant.
To be continued... And I know
you can't wait! ;)