Author's note: I know it's been almost a year, I know. But what can I say, real life got in the way, and it sucks so much. Oh well.
I'll keep writing the story during my free time, but sadly I don't know when I will be able to post the next chapter. It could take weeks or even months. I'm really sorry. However, this is the way it's going to be, so if you truly like my story and want to find out more, I'm afraid you'll have to wait. Moving on.
Disclaimer: I am the proud owner of nothing.
Chapter seven: Murder Incorporated
"Piccolo!" Gohan felt immensely relieved: Goten had understood his request, and now he could finally have a proper conversation with someone on the outside. "Yes, I can hear you loud and clear!"
"Good. Your brother told me about this Dome thing, but I didn't think it was so...massive. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, thank you. What about you? I can barely sense your spiritual energy from here!"
"Same for me. It's probably because of the Dome, it's also interfering with my telepathy."
"How so?"
"Well, I could only contact you once I got very close to the city, and even now, your voice is not coming in quite as clear as it should."
"I see...has anything out of the ordinary happened out there since yesterday? I'm worried about my mother, Krillin, Bulma and the others..."
"Hard for me to say, since I was in deep meditation until a short while ago, but judging from their ki signatures, they look good and out of danger."
"That's a relief. What about the rest of the world? Heard anything about strange accidents, other domes, anything similar to what is happening here?"
"Negative. As far as I understand, this strange phenomenon only took place here; right now, the eyes of the whole world are on Satan City."
"Mmmhh...then why here? What, or who, do they want from this place?" the half-Saiyan thought to himself, in reference to the supposed alien invasion. The Namekian, however, could not follow his train of thought.
"Gohan, what's going on in there? Is someone else with you?"
"I...I don't know where to start. I've just had a run-in with an alien, but that's only the last thing on a looong list of problems to solve..."
"Hold on, did you say alien?"
"Yeah. He practically appeared out of nowhere, picked up a fight with me, then disappeared once he realized he was no match."
"What was he like? Was he one of Frieza's soldiers?
"No, at least I don't think so. He didn't wear a scouter or a battle armor like the ones we saw working for Frieza."
"Was he alone?"
"Yes, but he said there were more of them coming, even though I can't sense them, assuming they are on this side of the Dome. Do you think they set it up?"
"It's a possibility. I'm inspecting its surface right now, and I have never seen something like this, so it's plausible."
"Yeah, Vegeta said the same thing yesterday..." I wonder where he is now he thought, still trying to detect his ki, to no avail.
"This is so unreal, I can't tell if it's highly advanced technology, or just pure magic." Gohan could hear the slight note of irritation in his mentor's telepathic voice.
"I fear there's no way to bring this shield down by normal means, the surface is invulnerable to pretty much anything." The Namek paused for a moment before continuing: "So I guess we should focus on finding out the source of the Dome."
"The source? You mean, like a generator or something?"
"It could be an object, or maybe even a person, who knows? But there must be something that controls the Dome, and that's what we're looking for."
"And where do you think this generator might be? On my side, or on yours?"
"That's a good question. But if you met an alien in there, and there's more coming, then they likely have a base of operations somewhere. With a bit of luck, you might be able to find a way to disable the Dome once you find it. In the meantime, Goten and I will look for some clues on the outside."
"Understood." The half-Saiyan was approaching the prison, or rather, what was left of it. The perimeter wall had been mostly breached, and parts of the main building were heavily damaged, with cracks and holes from which fire was still burning. Screams and explosions could still be heard from the inside, while on the outside, a fierce gunfight had ensued between a couple of dozen police officers, sheltering behind their cars, and some heavily armed thugs. There was even a wrecked police helicopter laying not too far from the street: the place looked like a battlefield.
Man, this is bad. Looks like the prisoners are getting help from the outside. I hope Videl is not hurt!
"Hey, Piccolo, what about the dragon balls?"
"What?"
"The dragon balls!" The idea had suddenly struck him. "We could ask Shenron to make the Dome disappear, or at least tell us what caused it and how to disable it. Do you think it could work?"
"Hmmm...I'm not sure. I guess we can try, if everything else fails, but only as a last resort. I'd prefer it if we could handle the situation by ourselves, but if things get out of hand, we'll use them straight away."
"Agreed. Now excuse me, but I gotta take care of a few things here. Talk to you later!"
Gohan had just landed in the middle of the fight, facing the thugs. He quickly knocked them all out with a powerful Kiai, then, ignoring the police cheering him on, he ran for the main entrance.
He had felt Videl's ki. She was inside the building, and Gohan knew she was in danger. It was as if he could feel the emotions she was feeling right now.
He made his way through a dark hallway, then turned left and proceeded up the stairs, almost tripping over...the dead body of a police officer.
Damn...
He clenched his fists and ran even faster, determined to prevent anyone else from meeting the same fate. As he approached Videl's location, he noticed more and more bodies on the floor, both belonging to prisoners and officers; some of the former were still grasping knives and other improvised weapons in their hands. There were also some sort of barricades made up with chairs and tables here and there, and at one time he was forced to quickly clear out an entire corridor with his ki in order to continue.
At last, he finally exited the labyrinth of hallways and stairs and reached his destination: an open space surrounded by multiple tiers of cells on each side, where a group of detention officers and riot policemen were fighting off a large gang of both inmates and outsider criminals. A huge pile of mattresses had been lit on fire and the smoke was filling up the room, limiting visibility. Maybe that was the reason he still couldn't see Videl.
"It's Saiyaman!" a voice shouted from his left. A second later, a shower of bullets coming from all sides welcomed his arrival. Gohan opted to summon an energy shield instead of deflecting them, fearing he might hurt somebody. Then he proceeded to single-handedly dispatch of most of the criminals by moving at high speed, while keeping an eye out and occasionally saving some police officers from certain death.
After putting the last of them to sleep with a swift punch, he approached one of the officers. "Where's Videl?"
"She said she was going ahead to help the chief. He and his men had been ambushed and got separated from us, they're holed up somewhere up there!" He pointed to a spiral staircase that led to the upper floors, penetrating the thick layer of smoke coming from the fire.
Gohan took a deep breath, took off his sunglasses and flew right into the smoke. Once again, he used his ki to sweep away the smoke and dust, making his way through the darkness. Following Videl's ki, he landed near an open door on the uppermost floor, and entered another narrow corridor. The smoke gradually dispersed, as he once again ran up another stairwell, with one last metal door waiting for him at the end.
He burst it open; the sudden daylight almost blinded him, forcing him to quickly put his glasses back on.
He was on the roof of one of the prison wings. In the distance, a gunfight between the police and some convicts was taking place, but that was not his main concern: on the left, between the roof's edge and a line of small turbines, an unarmed Videl was taking on two muscular thugs by herself; and in the immediate surroundings, leaning against a low wall, with one hand over his stomach and blood flowing through his fingers, was police chief Drake.
Erasa had just finished eating her lunch (a hot dog and a bottle of coke she'd bought from a kiosk down the street), and was about to leave the studio for a break. Her parents had allowed her to stay at the radio station for as long as she wanted, understanding her new responsibilities to keep the whole city informed about the crisis; also, they lived in the northern suburbs, far from the school and the other hot spots, so that was the best solution for her. The other Djs were all unavailable, some ill, some stuck outside the Dome, so Erasa was on her own.
That morning, her boss, the principal, the mayor and the chief of police had an informal breakfast meeting, in which they discussed the role of the high school in light of the recent developments, and after some debating, they had come to an agreement: the police would send their men to protect the building and the mayor would keep its power generators supplied through his 'connections'; in turn, the school, given its official shutdown status because of the emergency, would be temporarily converted to an informal police base of sorts, in an effort to strengthen their presence and maintain stability in that district, and the radio station would continue to operate independently. Erasa wasn't sure what to make of the deal: on one hand, after the assault at the City Hall and the recent rumors of a prison escape, it seemed there was not a single place safe from being attacked, so having some kind of official protection could only be a good thing; but on the other, those were still the incompetent and poorly equipped police officers that barely managed to fight off the increasingly dangerous criminals that plagued the city, so the effectiveness of their protection was highly debatable.
Yawning, she closed the door behind her and started making her way to the main entrance. Since she had no means of transport, she'd decided to take a long walk and kill some time at the nearest clothes shop. As soon as she stepped out, someone bumped into her, almost making her fall.
"Hey, watch your st...Sharpner?"
"Oh, hey Erasa, have you seen Videl?" the boy asked quickly.
"Nope, sorry."
"I stopped by her house earlier, but she didn't answer, so I thought she was here with you. Any idea where she might be?"
"I think she's probably out helping the police around town; you know her, she can't bear to stay put in on place for too long."
"With the police...great" he muttered.
"Are you ok? You look nervous..."
"I'm fine! It's just that...I need to ask her something..."
"Oh, I see...you want to ask her out again, right?" Erasa said with a wink, elbowing him.
"What? No, it's not that!" he reddened, visibly fuming. "It's serious, I need her help!" he added, lowering his gaze. Erasa gave him a confused look.
"Her...help?" Now that's strange. That's not the Sharpner I know...
"Yeah, I...I'm in a bit of trouble."
"What trouble? Come on, what happened?"
"Alright, but let's go somewhere else. Too many...indiscreet ears around here" he said, hinting to a couple of police officers casually walking by.
The teens walked in the direction of the parking lot, where Sharpner had parked his old gasoline-powered brown coupe. The two entered the vehicle and Sharpner started the engine and set off.
"So tell me Sharpner, what's going on?" Erasa asked her friend.
"Ok, so remember that night when I had that accident with my uncle's car, a couple of months ago, while my uncles were out?"
"Of course! How could I forget it, your uncle would've killed you if he'd found out!"
"Yeah. Anyway, thankfully I managed to scrape together enough money and get it repaired before they came back."
"I know, you already told me."
"Yes. What I didn't tell you, was that I...borrowed that money. From someone I barely knew." He stopped at the traffic lights.
"Who?"
"His name is not important, what's important is that he's a member of...the Red Shark Gang."
"WHAAAAAT?"
"I didn't know at the time! I was desperate for money, and he offered to help me out...damn it, I was so stupid!"
"Sharpner, how could you be so careless! They're one of, if not the, most powerful gangs in the city!"
"I know, I know, but when I realized it, it was too late. I started working with my uncle after school so I could repay my debt, but every time I brought him the money, he always said it was not enough, you know, interests and all that crap." The lights turned green, and Sharpner turned right to Summerdale street. A lot of police cars coming from the opposite lane passed them by at full speed.
"So one day, when he called me and asked for some 45000 Zeni more, I told him I've had enough and hung up the phone. Not the wisest of moves, I know, but back then I thought I could handle him somehow. Luckily for me, the very next day, he got arrested for drug and gun trafficking. Awesome, right? I thought that was the end of the story, that I'd never see him again. But I was wrong: he somehow got out of prison and started calling me a few weeks ago. I didn't answer, so he came knocking at my door and waited for me for days. I managed to avoid him until this morning, when I casually ran into him while I was strolling at the park."
"And what did he say?" Erasa asked, growing worried.
"Now I owe him 600000 Zeni. And I only have one week to pay up." He placed one hand on his stomach. "He didn't outright tell me what would happen when the week's over, but it doesn't take a genius to see that it's something very, very bad."
"Only one week? That's crazy!"
"It is. And it's all my fault."
The two remained silent for a while, before Erasa spoke up again: "Why didn't you report him to the police? Sharpner, these guys are danger-"
"If I do that, then I might as well dig my own grave, roll inside and wait for death to come. They have eyes and ears everywhere, Erasa! Especially inside the police department. I can't trust the cops to help me out on this one. Besides" he briefly paused while moving his car on the right edge of the road, allowing a particularly fast grey van to surpass him, "these types of cases are low priority to them, they use a great deal of time investigating every single detail before taking action, and time is a luxury I can't afford. And even if they do manage to arrest him, do you really think that will stop the Red Shark from hunting me down? No, the only one that can help me here is Videl."
"Are you sure?"
"She always comes up with the right solution. I have to at least try and tell her."
"Sharpner, why haven't you ever told us anything? We could have helped you..." Erasa sniffed, fighting back the tears that were forming in her eyes.
She felt really, really bad for her friend, and the only thought of anything bad happening to him made her so sad. They'd known each other since they were little kids, she knew how difficult it was for him to grow up: his father was an alcoholic and abusive who walked out on his family when he was four, his mother died shortly after, and he was raised up by his maternal uncle and his wife. They'd faced some serious financial problems when his uncle lost his job, which only added to Sharpner's inferiority complex, something he hid behind his tough jock facade. And even tough those days were so far away now and he'd gotten over his childhood troubles, she knew that deep inside, he was still suffering.
Sharpner didn't answer. His sole reaction was to tighten his grip on the steering wheel.
An uneasy silence fell over the car as they cruised aimlessly the streets. Finally, after what seemed to be ages, Erasa broke the silence: "So, where are we going now anyway?"
"I dunno. Maybe we should just get back to the school and wait for Videl."
"Alright, let's get back." Even tough the girl wanted to spend her break somewhere else, helping Sharpner had now become her top mission.
"Hey, did you know that Gohan's been caught up in all this too?" Sharpner casually asked.
"Gohan? What does he have to do with your debt?"
"No, not that, I'm talking about the whole Dome thing; I ran into him at school yesterday evening. He said he had an accident with his motorbike or something, and got stuck before he could leave the city. Can you believe it?"
"Is he alright? Where is he staying?"
"I dunno, probably at some hotel or something. Or maybe he's camping at school, who knows? Ahahah!"
"Poor guy, I bet he's feeling lonely. He doesn't know anyone else here aside from us. Maybe we should go see him."
"How? There's no way to contact him, you know."
"Yeah, you're right." With a sigh, she leaned her head against the glass and looked out the window: the streets were crowded and busy, as usual, but there was something different in the air. Something cold.
She could read it on the faces of the hundreds of pedestrians: Astonishment, uncertainty, fear. Nobody knew what was going to happen. Neither did she.
Gohan rushed over to the wounded man just as Videl delivered a jump kick to one of the thugs, who collapsed onto the other, knocking them both out.
"Chief! Are you alright?"
"Heh...I've been better..." he said; his voice little more than a whisper. Gohan carefully raised the hand that was covering his wound, revealing two copiously bleeding holes in his stomach, ones that could only have been caused by bullets.
"These wounds are serious! We need to get you to a hospital, immediately!"
"Oh no! Chief!" Videl rushed to the scene. "Saiyaman! Quick, you gotta do something!" She almost pleaded. The shock of seeing the man she considered her mentor, laying helpless at her feet, on the verge of death, had affected her deeply. Her legs were starting to tremble, and her voice had lost her usual confident tone.
"Right. Hold tight chief, we're getting out of here." Gohan leaned over and carefully lifted the wounded man, placing him in his arms.
"It's no use...I'm...already d-done for..."
"No, you're not! Save your breath, we're going to get you patched you up and-"
"No, just...l-listen to me...before it's...*cough cough*...too late!"
Both Gohan and Videl widened their eyes. "Chief..." the girl murmured, now visibly shaking. Gohan opened his mouth to protest, but the old man preceded him. "No, listen! There's no time! *cough* *cough*"
He paused, breathing heavily, then resumed: "Earlier this morning...before this mess happened...*cough*...a very s-strange event...took place on the Baxter Hill neighborhood. That's why...I tried...to...contact you!"
Gohan waited for the man to catch his breath. He could now feel his life energy slowly fading away, and at that moment, he knew rushing him to the hospital would be pointless: the old man didn't have much time left to live.
"A lot of...explosions...damaged the whole neighborhood...witnesses reported...some strange li-*cough* *cough*...light balls...coming...from the sky..."
Gohan raised an eyebrow. Is he talking about ki blasts?
"...some said...there was a man...flying...above...*cough* *cough*...whatever it was, Saiyaman, I know...you're the only one...that can stop it."
A man? Maybe it was another alien?
"Videl...come closer...please." The dying man turned to face the young heroine; their eyes met, and Videl felt a hard lump forming in her throat. She nodded and obeyed, feeling heavier with each step she took.
When she placed herself right in front of Drake, tears started running down her cheek, and she barely resisted the urge to look away and cry.
"In this moment...of great danger...*cough* *cough*...you two...are our best hope...*cough*...if you work as a team...I'm sure you'll be able to...*cough* *cough*...put an end to this...Dome...and save our beautiful city! *cough* *cough* *cough*...U-Understood?"
"We'll do our best, chief." Gohan looked down over the old man resting in his arms. Videl simply nodded, as more and more tears left her big blue eyes.
"Chief, please, don't leave me!" she sobbed, grabbing his hand.
"It's ok, Videl" Drake murmured, smiling painfully. "It's..."
But he never finished the sentence; for his heart gave out and stopped beating, his eyes became cold and lifeless, and his head limply fell on the side, as what was still left of his spiritual energy finally disappeared.
"Chief...no...CHIEEEEEEEEEEEF!"
Videl dropped to her knees, her face buried in her hands; no longer able to fight, to contain her emotions, she started crying desperately, and soon found herself on the cold ground. She no longer cared about Saiyaman, or the other officers who were still fighting somewhere around that damn place, or anything else for that matter. The kind and reassuring Patrick Drake, the man who'd first seen potential in her fighting skills when she was only fourteen, who gave her the opportunity to put said skills to good use and fight crime, the man who looked out for her when her father was gone, one of the very few people she could trust with her life...was gone forever from this world.
Gohan obviously didn't know about any of this, but judging from her breakdown, he understood that Drake and Videl shared a strong bond; maybe that of a master and his student...
Images of Piccolo sacrificing his life to protect him against Nappa's powerful attack, and a far younger version of himself crying over his dead body came before his eyes, fresh and vivid as the day he'd first experienced them. He would never forget those terrible moments...
He didn't know how long he stood like that, carrying the lifeless body of the chief in his arms, thinking about the past, while Videl still mourned down at his feet. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps brought him back to the present; a pair of officers had emerged from the door, guns in their hands, followed by a paramedic who was pushing an empty stretcher, and another officer with a bandage on his forehead.
When they recognized the identity of the body, the small squad ran up to Saiyaman and helped him secure it on the stretcher. One of the officers tried to comfort Videl, but she was too devastated and demanded to be left alone.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine" Gohan answered as the bandaged officer approached, asking him if he was injured. He watched as a sobbing Videl slowly rose up and made her way down an emergency stairway, taking a different path, probably to avoid having to see Drake's body once more.
The battle was over. Emergency teams had arrived on the scene, and everyone was now busy assisting the injured or extinguishing the remaining flames. And so, for the first time in his superhero career, Gohan was left alone.
Normally, whenever he'd save the day, there would always be people celebrating, thanking him, reporters trying to interview him...but not this time.
The chief of police had been killed in action, and he wasn't even the only victim. The maximum security prison had been severely damaged, and some parts had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of burning rubble. And even if there was no way to tell right now, he knew that at least a small part of the convicts must have escaped.
This was no victory. There was nothing to celebrate.
The young hero clenched his fists. If only I had arrived earlier...
He had lost precious minutes in his fight against the mysterious alien. Maybe if he hadn't, he could have at least saved the chief...
I have failed...again...Damn it!
His body suddenly tensed, and for an instant, bolts of bio-electric lightning sparked wildly around his body, while his hair stood even more straight up than before, swaying slowly. But it was not for long, as the boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and the growing aura around him quickly dissipated.
Now that he had regained his composure, he started to think about what to do next.
Ok, so first I have to make sure if the authorities still need my help. Secondly, I need to get back to Videl's place before she does, or she'll get suspicious. Then I have to find out about those strange aliens...they seem to appear and disappear at will. And then there's still the matter of finding Vegeta...
Vegeta...the Saiyan had already gone missing twice within the last two hours, and had been acting strangely the last time he saw him. And that alien had mentioned his name...but how could he possibly know him?
Wait...there is a possibility! Maybe he's part of a survivor group of a race he'd eradicated back when he was still working for Frieza, and now they want revenge!
He hadn't thought about that one. But the only way to know for sure was to directly ask the person concerned. And right now, he had no idea where he was.
A good distance away from the prison, a grey van with tinted windows parked with the engine still running in an alley next to a seemingly abandoned warehouse, on the eastern outskirts of the city. The sliding door opened, and two men wearing balaclavas and sporting assault rifles jumped out of the vehicle. Once they made sure there was no one around, they gestured for the others waiting inside to come out: a small commando of seven men, all wearing similar equipment, quickly came out of the van. Among them was an old and skinny man dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. As soon as everyone was out, the driver of the van closed the door and drove away, in the direction of the city.
The small group opened a rusty back door and quickly entered the warehouse. It was pretty dark on the inside, so they carefully walked trough the large machinery until they arrived before a small metal door. The sentinel stood up, rifle in hand, and after having recognized the newcomers, told them to wait there and murmured something on an old wall-mounted intercom.
After a minute or two, the door opened, revealing a slightly short and round man, smoking a finely crafted cigar. His little eyes carefully scanned the group: when they fell on the man in orange, his lips curled into a smile.
"Doctor Light! It's good to see you again." He walked towards the man, while the armed commandos stepped back to give them some space. "How was your trip?"
"A bit frantic, but I can't complain. After all, I'm a free man now" he answered, returning the smile. "I guess I should thank you for my untimely release?"
"Don't even mention it. We've known each other for a looooong time." The man took a puff from the cigar. "I just wanted to help a friend in need."
"Knock it off, Jeff. I may be getting old, but my brain here is just as sharp as ever" he tapped on his own forehead. "So, why is my assistance required all of a sudden?"
"Straight to business, eh? I see you haven't changed a bit. Very well then." He let out a cloud of smoke. "I want to take my revenge on Saiyaman. In order to have the means to do so, I hired one of the best corporate spies in the business to acquire Capsule Corporation's top secret projects. After a few months, he succeeded, but the technology he'd recovered is...too advanced to be included within my own little project; my team of scientists could not fully grasp the science behind it. That's why I need someone who knows how to reverse-engineer that technology. That's why I need you." He concluded his little speech with another puff.
"Of course. I worked shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Briefs himself for a while, some thirty years ago, before I decided to continue my researches alone, so I am the perfect man for the job."
"And I know you as well want to destroy that Saiyafool. He was the one who thwarted your plans, after all, wasn't he?"
"If I help you, what do I get in return?" the old scientist asked suspiciously.
"What do you get in return? My friend, we will be ruling this city, you and I. Imagine the possibilities!"
"Under the Dome?" he shook his head. "No thanks, my ambitions are far bigger than this filthy cesspit of a city."
"Wake up, doctor: we're all trapped in here, there's no way out. This is the perfect opportunity to take over and rule as undisputed kings!"
"It won't last forever, Jeff. And if it does, I will find my way out of here, that's for sure."
"Like you found your way out of jail?" Some of the commandos chuckled. "Please, doctor. You know you need my help now more than ever."
"Just like you need mine, Jeff" he retorted.
The two men stared each other down, the same confident smirk plastered on their face. They had been reunited for less than five minutes after not seeing each other for years, and here they were, already arguing like an old married couple.
Yup, just like old times...they both unknowingly (or maybe not) thought at the same time.
After a while, the cigar lover finally decided to break the stalemate: "All right then, let's hear it. What are your terms?"
"100 million Zeni" the other readily answered. "And a copy of Capsule Corporation's top secret projects."
The man known as Jeff assumed a serious expression. He took several puffs at his beloved cigar. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke: "You drive a hard bargain. Even more so, considering I just saved you from life imprisonment. But, if that's what it takes to hire your genius, then so be it. 100 million Zeni..."
"...and the secret technology" the scientist promptly reminded.
"...and the secret technology" the man concluded. He extended his open palm to the former. "Deal?"
The other smiled, meeting the open hand with his own in a firm handshake. "Deal."
Vegeta had truly experienced fear for the first time during his battle against Frieza on planet Namek. Since then, his life had been plagued by so many failures, but that feeling had never resurfaced again. At least until now.
There he was, laying on the asphalt of that cursed city. One minute he was following Gohan through the rain, and the next he was there, in an unknown place, alone under the scorching sun.
How did he get there? How much time had passed? And why did he feel so worn out?
He pushed himself up, and watched in disbelief as the ground below looked...burned. Actually, the whole street looked like it had been bombed by napalm: a lot of buildings where damaged and on fire, but it looked like the worst was over, as the firefighters acted like they had everything under control. The people were either watching the scene or talking to each other, but they looked more curious than worried about their safety. Not so far from where he was standing, a man was being questioned by a police officer.
"I told you officer, he was flying! I saw him with my own eyes!" he kept repeating to his interlocutor.
The Saiyan was struck by a sudden realization: the blackouts, the tiredness, his visions...and now this. Had he lost control of his own actions, AND sanity?
No! I'm not crazy! I can think straight! But...that laughter...those visions...damn, what's happening to me?
He was shocked, but not because of the devastation that laid before him; he couldn't care less about those humans. No...he was shocked at his own inability to control his power.
Something was attacking him from the inside, in a frightening and subtle manner. He wasn't used to it. He had always fought against physical opponents, but this...having his own mind, his will violated like that, this was no fight.
But he was the prince of all Saiyans! He would not be tamed like an helpless puppet!
...Yeah, easier said than done, a voice from the back of his mind said, but he stiffly ignored it. He had to hold onto his pride if he wanted to succeed in this. That's what kept him going through his most difficult moments in life. That was the only rule he ever followed.
Pride was power. And he was so powerful! More than he had ever been. Nothing in this world could stop him!
As if to prove a point, he once again turned into a Super Saiyan, pushing aside the seed of fear that was taking root into his brain.
All right, now where was I? Aaah yes, the brat. He was spewing some nonsense about his little brother. Well, guess I should at least hear him out before I decide the best course of action.
In a split second, he darted off in the direction of Gohan. Just as he left the place, a firefighter approached the same officer who had questioned that man earlier.
"What do you mean, you didn't find anyone? There were at least one hundred people inside that building!"
"All we could find were ashes. Those people were completely incinerated, and I don't think the fire is to blame!"
Author's note: I'm using Zeni as the official currency in the story. If you want to know how much is a certain sum of Zeni worth in US Dollars, just know that one Zeni is equivalent to one Japanese Yen, and do the math!
