Chapter 07 – The Armoured Squadron from Space
Chiri had been knocked out; a clean swipe practically identical to the one Krillin had suffered whilst he'd tried to warn Gohan of the monster behind him. Neither she nor the bald fighter were aware of the events happening around them, that Gohan had been grabbed by one of the men and had been questioned whilst being gripped by his recently regenerated tail. The Saiyan's weakness lies in their tails; any amount of pressure upon the limb would drain them of any power they may yield, unless one trained up their tail.
Gohan was furious inside; on the outside there was nothing he could do except possibly mouth off to these monsters! He wasn't even sure if he could manage that right now as he hung upside down, the blood rushing to his head and making his ears ring. He took the time to get as much information as he could from the two other monsters he could see. Clearly they were both aliens; the taller of the two opposing him had dusty-brown skin and looked a lot like he had a frog's head, though he was humanoid in shape. The other was a lot shorter and had blue skin with blonde hair, most of which fell on the left side of his temple. He looked far more human-like, minus the skin tone as blue was a very unnatural skin-colour on Earth! Both wore armour similar in style to the Saiyans as well as the familiar scouters upon their faces; this sent alarm bells ringing in the young child's mind. Were there still monsters enlisted in Freeza's army, or was it just a pure coincidence? On each of their armour plates resting around where their solar plexus would be, an insignia was placed; a ball with some strange spikes rising towards their shoulders. Gohan didn't recognise it at all.
"This is a Super Saiyan, the being that destroyed Freeza?" The warrior holding Gohan hostage snorted, roughly wriggling his arm up and down so Gohan flopped about like a helpless doll.
"Give me a break!" The amphibian alien chuckled with amusement, "His power level's only fifty!"
They knew about Freeza, Gohan realised. His heart thumped wildly in his ribs, now not singularly because he was struggling to break free from his captive's strong grip on his tail but also because any warrior dressed like one of Freeza's men could only spell trouble!
"Even if you do discount the fact that Doore's holding him by the tail," The shorter warrior spoke, "it's still pitiful... This can't be the Saiyan we're after..."
Gohan clenched his teeth in frustration. So they were looking for his father? His dad had been the one to defeat Freeza on Namek around three years ago now, although if they were going to be technical about it, the boy from the future had dealt the final blow upon Freeza's return to Earth alongside his father! His dad had merely taken Freeza's pride though he had spared him. It would have been one of the biggest mistakes to haunt him, Gohan felt, but fortunately everyone had survived the final battle. Were these men part of the Ginyu Force? They seemed to be high-level warriors from what Gohan could sense.
Krillin and Chiri both remained unconscious between he and the two other warriors; the shorter one had even had the nerve to take their food and eat it! Gohan hoped his father would return soon and that no harm would come to the two fallen fighters, particularly Chiri. She was only four; she had only recently been introduced to fighting and training. She wasn't ready for anything like this, not by a long shot!
"Hey!"
That was his father's voice! Gohan didn't have the strength to move his neck but he could hear the sloshing of water being dispersed as Goku rushed towards the three aliens. "What do you think you're doing?" The Saiyan barked.
"... And who might you be?" The alien holding Gohan demanded with a smug tone in his voice.
"My name is Son Goku – and the kid you're holding by his tail is my Gohan!" Goku responded, composure well kept despite the worry of his son's wellbeing.
The alien – now seen to be a tall, bulky green man with dark black hair falling down to his lower back – merely smiled. With one strong flex of his arm, he tossed Gohan aside, Gohan colliding with the nearby tent and knocking it down upon his landing. At last he could feel the strength returning to his muscles! Whilst the monsters muttered something about recognising his father's name and identifying him as the Saiyan that'd defeated Freeza, Gohan focused on the two sleeping fighters close to him. Cautiously he crawled towards them, encouraged further when his father ordered him to take care of Krillin and his sister.
Goku's feet suddenly flexed and he shot backwards, the three fighters who'd attacked his friends now providing him with their full attention.
Gohan glanced up and realised his father was deliberately luring them away from he and the others. "Be careful dad!" The boy shouted. He'd picked up some vital information from the trio just before they'd launched their attack; they called themselves 'Cooler's Armoured Squadron', or something similar. Gohan gulped down a rising fear of dread as the endless meanings of that crossed his mind. Cooler's Armoured Squadron? Was that just a long title or nickname for Freeza in some of his armies? No, from what Gohan understood, all of his soldiers had referred to him as Lord Freeza, never by anything else. So what did this mean? The feeling of dread grew larger and a small panic attempted to override his mind's wishes to remain calm. Whatever this meant, he knew once again they were all facing a terrible power. Three of the power levels were here; the strongest was not.
"Wake up, Krillin!" Gohan began to prod the small fighter, nudging him on the cheek in a bid to bring him back to the land of the conscious and aware. He could see in the distance his father and the three men battling; his father seemed to be holding his own against them with little difficulty. He didn't like leaving it up to his father to deal with alone; Gohan would have rushed in if he deemed it necessary but for now, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He would only join his father if it was vital to his father's survival. For now, he had to try and wake up Krillin and Chiri and warn them of the danger they were now in.
Chiri apparently was in a deeper sleep than Krillin! Gohan frowned noticing the look of concern still sat on her face, even in her slumber. Perhaps she could sense the danger they were in, despite being rendered unconscious. The older brother also felt a slight sense of relief that his younger sister's tail had not grown back, as his had recently. If it had been the case, he was certain those men his father were now fighting would have roughed her up in a bid to set him off. Perhaps it was better to leave her sleeping; she was only four, emotionally he knew she would not be ready for the fight occurring. He had been terrified at her age, scared to do nothing but cower and hide in fear of his life. Although his sister had been more willing to train and held far more guts in her than Gohan had at her age, she was still a small child. She could prepare her physical self all she wanted for battle; nothing could prepare her for the emotional turmoil until the battle would arrive.
His dad was doing well; Gohan took another quick peek away from his friends. His jaw gaped open and horror struck him as he realised the forth fighter had arrived; his father and the other three standing a fair distance away on the other side of the river. The forth warrior sent chills through Gohan's body; he couldn't believe his own eyes! Freeza! ...Or rather, someone that had a strong resemblance to the evil fighter. It couldn't have been – Freeza was dead! Gohan had seen it with his own eyes! What did this mean? They'd found out a year ago that Freeza did have family, as he'd brought his father along to Earth before both were slain at the hands of the boy from the future. This guy looked similar in some ways... was he family too?
Gohan clenched his fists with anticipation; he had to do something! This was now deemed as a situation where his father needed help. Deciding he wouldn't be able to wake up Krillin or Chiri, Gohan leapt from his side of the river and dashed towards his father, "I'm coming, dad!" He called.
Goku turned his attention away from their foes with a sense of urgency, "Stay away, Gohan!" His voice barely carried on the wind.
'I'm sorry dad but I can't do that!' Gohan clenched his fists and bared his teeth. He wouldn't usually disobey his father but now was one of those moments where he would never forgive himself if something awful were to happen! Disregarding his father's warning and feeling he'd grown stronger since his battles on Namek, Gohan closed in on the fight.
A flash of light suddenly shot out from the Freeza-lookalike's eyes. Gohan picked up the light, body barely having enough time to halt its movement and hover in place, eyes widening with fear from the imminent danger he was now in! He couldn't react in time!
Goku was suddenly in front of his son, arms clenching around the boy's frame, effectively pinning him in his father's grasp. There was a loud crack and the horrible smell of burnt fabric and flesh; Gohan felt himself being pushed backwards as his father lost control of his movement. Gohan gasped with horror when it occurred to him what had happened; once again he had been saved, he had been rescued from a fast death... again... His internal voice cursed him for his weakness despite all the training he had done! Outwardly he panicked as dark smoke suddenly poured from behind his father's hair; his back had been struck and was now on fire due to the burning fabric! "Father!" He cried.
Goku's movement became more violent as he began to spin on his descent, both father and son plummeting down towards the stream below. Just when Gohan thought his father was losing consciousness, the Saiyan suddenly became animated again; one arm leaving his son's back and extending outwards, firing a ki shot straight towards their opponents. Gohan was certain if it was a ploy to catch them off-guard, it would have worked on almost everyone except for Freeza. Indeed the pseudo-Freeza deflected the blast as if it were nothing, unfazed by the sneak attack.
The boy's heart sank, the facts were this monster had improved somewhat over the years... if it was indeed Freeza as they suspected. The shock of the ice-cold water hitting his skin was like being stabbed all over at once, it almost knocked all breath from Gohan's lungs! He was still pinned to his father's body, still held in his dad's arms even underwater. The currents down here were strong and there was little they could do to fight them; Gohan could not move his arms and his father seemed to be suffering from the strike he'd taken. Their world spun as the gravity changed; Gohan realised they'd come to a waterfall and were now plummeting straight for the river below!
A twitch from his father alerted Gohan and he realised his father was still conscious. The Saiyan kept the two hidden under the curtain of water, both still falling down the side of the falls until once again, the cold water struck them. Gohan was running short on breath and needed to surface soon before he drowned. His thoughts raced in his mind as it occurred to him he'd left Krillin and Chiri unconscious. Neither would be able to defend themselves against any possible attacks from these monsters! What had he done? Maybe he should have heeded his father's words and stayed with the others, yet what choice had he been left with? His father was in imminent danger and it was the only thing Gohan felt he could have done!
Goku's hold on Gohan tightened suddenly. In less than a second later, water was suddenly thrown about violently as a terrific explosion rocked the waterfall bed; Gohan tossed from his father's arms in the impact. Through all the confusion, he was sure he could make out the Freeza-lookalike hovering above the top of the falls. The water threw him about, knocking him about until finally, the currents returned to normal. Though visibility was good, it took a while for Gohan to spot his father floating nearby, almost limp in the water. Gohan knew he had to get himself and his dad free from the currents before they both drowned. Using the remaining reserves he had, the young boy swam over towards his father, grabbing him by the left hip and pulling him towards the surface. If the Freeza-lookalike and his men were waiting for them...
Air filtered into his lungs as they broke the surface against one of the banks; the grass and trees providing them with hopefully adequate protection from watching eyes. Gohan felt the relief as the breath he'd so desperately craved filled his lungs, providing him with the energy he now needed. He kept a firm grip on his father, who thankfully was still alive, albeit barely conscious. The Saiyan had taken a large amount of damage from that eyebeam strike and seemed to be suffering for it; Gohan gasped when he saw just how much damage he'd taken. Indeed there was a large hole in the back of his shirt where the material had burned; underneath it Goku's skin had been badly charred. No wonder he was in pain! The Saiyan collapsed clinging to the grass, almost slipping back into the water! With as much strength as he could muster despite his shaking limbs, Gohan managed to pull himself and his father free from the river.
The world returned slowly. First the sense of feel, then her sense of smell and hearing, and finally her sense of sight. Chiri opened her eyes cautiously, expecting to see a pair of evil, alien-like eyes looking down on her, ready to hurt her or worse! Fortunately that didn't seem to happen. Confusion then struck her; what had sent her to sleep... and why did the back of her head hurt? Chiri gasped and sat up bolt-upright, wincing when the head-rush struck and momentary dizziness hit her. Cautiously she began to look around.
Their tent had collapsed in on itself. Their fire was still burning but their food pot had been moved. Krillin was nearby sleeping... Chiri looked around further, mouth opening a little when she spotted the pot they'd been cooking with off a fair distance near some rocks just on the edge of the forest. She got to her feet and trotted over to it, ever cautious and trying to find those four large ki signals she'd sensed earlier. Dread suddenly stopped her in her tracks as she realised all four ki signals were nearby; three of them on the move in the local vicinity.
Eyes fell back onto the pot, her stomach growling loudly at her demanding she eat the food within the pot, even if it wasn't finished! Chiri frowned anxiously, she knew that some uncooked foods could potentially make her sick but her pangs of hunger overrode that warning. She approached the pot and lifted it up. Panic hit her when she found it easier than expected to lift it off the ground from its side. 'No, please tell me...' She glanced into the pot.
It was empty.
There was no food left. Either someone else had eaten off of it, or it had somehow fallen from the pot. She couldn't see any remains scattered on the ground around them, not even the fish her father had caught earlier remained near their dishevelled tent. She was hungry... she was hungry and someone had eaten their food. Her initial reaction burst free and Chiri wailed loudly, tears streaming down her cheeks as the realisation of how unfair her situation was struck. "We have no food!" She cried distraughtly. Angrily she threw the pot against the ground (denting it in the process so it resembled a can that'd been crushed!) and ran towards Krillin, thumping her fists against his chest in protest. "Krillin! Krillin! There's no more food!" She screamed, taking in large, noisy breaths before continuing to scream her lungs out.
The commotion was enough to bring Krillin out of his slumber though Chiri didn't really notice him waking until he grabbed her wrists! "Hey! Not so loud Chiri!" The warrior hissed, feeling his bruised chest ache as he sat himself up. "Calm down, we need to keep our voices down!" He'd automatically gone into defensive mode, remembering what had happened just before he'd been knocked out. He quickly scanned the area, concern hitting him when he realised he and Chiri were the only ones present. "Hey, where're Goku and Gohan? Chiri, you need to stop crying! We'll be spotted and killed!"
Chiri sniffed and tried to stifle her sorrow when the mention of murder was brought up. Feeling flustered and scared, she quietened down and tried to sense her brother and father. Worry hit her and another bout of tears threatened to strike again until Krillin put a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"Something's gone wrong," The former monk spoke calmly. "We need to get out of here and try and find your father and brother. We'll need to stay under the cover of the trees to lower our chance of being spotted. Keep your ki as low as you can." He rose to his feet and picked Chiri up from the ground. "I'm sorry but we need to move as quietly as we can."
Chiri nodded, suddenly feeling quite anxious about being left alone with Krillin. Normally she'd spend time with him alongside her brother, her father, or both! She hadn't been alone with him before and it made her feel shy and fidgety. Regardless of this and knowing it would be idiotic to stay out in the open like this, she followed Krillin under the dense forest curtain, making sure to lower her ki as much as she could. Once more her stomach growled furiously at her, this time Chiri put a hand on her stomach in a bid to sooth it, still upset that she hadn't had any dinner. The sun had set behind the mountains in the distance. Another thought crossed her mind which filled her with dread; her mother would be furious if she found out she had stayed up past her bedtime!
"... Um..." Chiri trotted forwards to keep up with the small fighter, who was walking with long strides. "Mr Krillin... I'm really hungry..." She mumbled quietly, sensing perhaps this was not the best time to be bringing it up.
"I'm really sorry, Chiri," Krillin responded, eyes quickly darting towards her, "but we need to keep on moving and find your family as quickly as we possibly can. We don't really have time to be eating..."
Chiri frowned disappointed, another well of emotion threatening to hit her. No food to stop her stomach from hurting? This wasn't fair at all! Why was this happening to her? She thought on camping trips everyone was allowed to eat their dinner! Had she done something wrong to not deserve it? Despite wanting to launch a complaint, she kept herself quiet and followed the bald fighter. She hoped they could find her brother and father soon so she could eat something!
Another hour passed of travelling through the forest, both fighters having to slip through small gaps, quietly wade through bushes, and leap over small streams of water that trickled through the forest. Her hunger pains grew worse and soon her stomach was punishing her, causing her great pain. Her stomach wasn't the only thing choosing to rebuke her either; her arms and legs were growing shaky – because of the lack of energy or because of the chill, Chiri didn't know – whilst her vision was blurring a little. It was difficult to see through the dense woods as the natural light continued to fade. It felt like they'd been walking for ages in silence. Eventually Chiri started to cry silently to herself, the only sounds she made coming from her sniffles and her stomach.
Suddenly Krillin stopped, head rolling back as he looked up to the skies... or where the sky would be had the trees not been sheltering them from it. A look of worry crossed his face, causing Chiri to panic. "What's wrong, Mr Krillin?" She asked through her involuntary hiccups.
"... They're destroying the forests..." Krillin growled through bared teeth. "We'll need to be on guard even more now. They're probably looking for Goku as well... or maybe us..."
Chiri now noticed the shudder she could feel was not her limbs but tremors in the ground. She could feel the explosions and just about hear them now, somewhere off in another part of the woods. It sent chills through her body knowing that many, many animals were suddenly finding themselves caught in the crossfire of those explosions. Her silent tears slowly turned to audible ones.
"Chiri, remember to be quiet!" Krillin hissed.
The sound of a small pebble cracking against the ground stopped both in their tracks, horror paralysing them both momentarily. Slowly both fighters looked over to their right, eyes peeled in the darkness for any signs of movement.
This was it, thought Chiri. This was going to be it. Never mind the two years worth of training they still had to fight the androids; they would not live to see another day! Something big was out there in the bushes and it was going to kill her! She didn't want to die, she didn't want to die! The lump in her throat threatened to choke her and she whimpered.
Then suddenly, Icarus appeared!
Krillin cried out before breathing a small sigh of relief.
"It's Gohan's dragon!" Chiri beamed, wiping the drying tears from her eyes and cheeks. She approached the dragon who was easily twice her height and more! It had been a while since Chiri had seen the purple dragon; her mother hated it whenever it came to visit her and Gohan and would often complain whenever it appeared! Chiri didn't see what the fuss was about; Icarus was a lovely and well-mannered dragon and would play with her lots when Gohan was away! He wrapped her arms around the dragon and pressed her cheek against his stomach. "I'm really glad to see you, Mr Icarus!"
Krillin scratched his head, "How did he even find us?"
"Maybe he smelled us?" Chiri suggested, not knowing the correct grammatical term was 'smelt'. She turned back to the dragon. "Maybe Mr Icarus can help. We're looking for my daddy and for Gohan. Can you smell them out for us?"
