A/N – Truly sorry for the wait, but for some reason I just can't seem to kick this cold! Annoying! Plus I've had to siphon off my writing abilities for scholarships (I'm transferring campuses and the new one costs about double what my old tuition had cost). Enough excuses, I suppose it's about time to work on this now lol
Disclaimer: I own nothing. . . and I'm sick . . . isn't life grand.
I realize I didn't put this before, but from now on this will be the format:
"Spoken Word"
'Thoughts . . .and maybe telepathy if I include it'
"Speakers and oxymoron's . . . also anything real loud will be in bold"
Chapter 6 – Should've Stayed Put!
Gohan was wary. He remembered the insignia being one of two people and a star burst, seeming to suggest a fight, however, there was no one here as far as he could tell. The dome was quite large as he looked in all directions, systematically checking for incoming attacks or a battle already in progress. Nothing.
He flared his aura a couple times to flush someone out. Nothing.
He warily approached the nearest side and inspected the room with his back against the wall. The ceiling must have reached 100 yards, so far that he couldn't make out any real details about what was up there, save that if someone was there, they would have to be camouflaged. As he looked to his side he saw something that made him smile. He padded, no longer quite so worried about an attack, over to a small cabinet-like protrusion on the wall a few yards to his left. When he got closer he quickly stripped off the rather revealing hospital gown and scanned what was available.
To accommodate the variance in sizes among saiyans, the battle suit he had seen on both the "tickle-lady" and the "scardy-guy" had been made to be extremely flexible and conform to almost any body size, including one as small as Gohan's. They were organized into three categories that were very distinguished in size variance: The one to his left looked large enough to fit both his dad and Mr. Piccolo at the same time, the one directly in front of him looked like it would only have to stretch just a little bit to fit his dad and the smallest one looked like it would fit snuggly.
He picked out the vest, pants boots and gloves and pulled them on. He grabbed his now unneeded hospital gear and tucked it inside the cabinet, near the bottom in the place his boots had previously occupied, He always had been extremely tidy. He tapped the toe of each boot against the floor to settle his feet into a comfortable position and bounced on the balls of his feet a few times, amazed at the thick boots' flexibility.
He glanced around and was slightly disappointed, there was a battle room and no one to try this new suit out on! He wasn't a battle-phile like his Dad but he did find it exhilarating to test his skills against another worthy opponent, and getting new stuff did always make him a little giddy. He walked over to the ring and hopped into it. Now that he had a closer look the set-up was remarkably similar to that of the World Martial Arts Tournament. He saw a small monitor off to the side on a pole, held at waist hight to everyone else, and chin hight for Gohan. He tried to lift himself up high enough to get a good look, but couldn't find any convenient hand holds. Curiosity killed the cat, and Gohan was GOING to find out what this weird computer did. He thought about pulling the pole out of the ground, but that would make the computer stop working, as he sat down to think it occurred to him how stupid he would have to be not to realize the obvious solution. He stood back up and pushed some energy into his feet, just as he had been taught, it was odd though, the amount he had used before he was put in the bed didn't float him like it used to. It would pop him a few feet into the air and then he would slowly fall to the ground. He pushed more energy into it and it launched him a full three feet into the air and he kept rising. Frowning he decreased his energy until it was just enough to keep him steady. He played with it for a moment, making it more then making it less, seeing how far the increases shot him and how fast he fell for how much he reduced it.
Now that he had a handle on it he dived down at the computer and stopped just above the display. Before he could push anything resembling an "on" button he heard a mechanical whine and a gentle swoosh from the other side of the room.
(o,O)
Sasha was moving at break-neck speed. Using corners as opportunities to speed up she jumped and ran a few steps on the wall before shooting off in the next direction with her energy, even her team was having trouble keeping up.
'Why am I doing this? I just met this kid today.' Her facial features hardened and her eyes glinted dangerously at her own betraying thoughts. 'He's a good kid, and I wouldn't wish THEM on anyone!'
Another glance at her tracker and another corner. "HURRY UP!" Her team almost never heard her scream at them, they pulled out all the stops to keep up with her as best they could.
(o,O)
Gratz paced nervously in the Medical Center as Granth relayed his part in this. "So after I got done patching them up I took the elevator back up to this floor and started walking back here, jogging actually." Here his arm motions got a little more wild and he leaned forward as he spoke. "I almost ran into this kid! He barely reached up to my waist but I heard what happened to Kira when he blew up the Re-Gen tank! He said something in another language and I bolted. His power levels were all over the place! I didn't want to try and restrain him myself so I went to get you. . . . That's about it."
Dr. Gratz shook his head a little. "So let me get this straight. You ran away . . . From a little kid?" His eyebrow quirked. "Some sparring partner, maybe I'll have to find someone a bit more courageous hmm?" Granth blushed slightly and turned his head away in shame. "Don't worry about it. The Security Corps will get him, and since he's able to stand and walk on his own now, from my standpoint, he's free to go." His eyes were not without compassion but years of working in this field had taught him certain things. "It's out of our hands now."
(o,O)
In Gohan's book, this situation is classified as "Way Not Cool!" the minute the door opened a whole bunch of guys in the same suit jumped out with big gun-looking things pointed at him and screamed a few words at him. He had just blinked at them for a few seconds before they screamed something similar but with some extra words. He turned towards them and was in the middle of waving "Hi" before they opened fire. Two shots hit him in the chest but were dissipated on contact with his vest. He jumped backwards and hid behind the raised fighting stage.
This is where we find him now, huddled behind a fighting stage with 5 people firing at him non-stop. Definitely not cool. Suddenly he heard a shout above all the gunfire, actually it was more of a roar, and the firing stopped. He popped his unprotected head a little bit above the edge of the stage, and was slightly happy. All the gunmen had been knocked out and a large man stood in the middle, hands on his waist as he surveyed his handy work.
Gohan had lived a fairly sheltered life, most of what he had discovered was based on only one occurrence and he had nothing to back it up against to prove it. Thus he instantly trusted this man, after all, an enemy of an enemy is a friend, right?
(o,O)
Sasha was almost crying, she was almost there! Those shots were still being fired, either he was fighting back or they hadn't been able to hit him yet, she hoped for the latter. She raced down the emergency pipeline to the training center and typed a rapid password into the Combat Training entrance door before speeding in. She came in just in time to see Gohan, while looking over his shoulder at the massive Apoulden, push the "Begin" button.
The door pulled shut, blocking her inside and the rest of her team outside and immediately she could tell what happened. "The Gravity Generator!" She was pulled to her knees by the increased strain and, unable to move from that spot, was helpless as she watched Gohan be pulled to the ground as well, with the towering behemoth laughing at them from above.
(o,O)
Gohan felt heavy as soon as he hit the button, so heavy in fact, that he was pulled to the ground. The big man in front of him, who he now knew was evil, was saying something and laughing at his predicament. The man then picked him up by the front and tossed him into the air. Gohan was terrified, he knew now that the gravity had been increased somehow and that he would be falling at high speeds towards the very hard floor below. Even with his new armor, there was no way he would survive a fall like that unscathed. He pulled together all the energy he could and forced it out of his feet to try and hover, or at least slow his fall, but he might as well have done nothing, it seemed inevitable. His gaze wavered over to Sasha, it was almost like time had stopped, he saw her struggling to stand and then he saw the menacing Apoulden stomping over to where she was, a lustful grin on his face as he spoke in a language Gohan was beginning to think he should learn and licking his lips.
He didn't know much about what was going on, but he did know that the lady was nice, she had led him to her office and come to find him and that the Man was evil, he did knock out all the guys with guns, but he had also tried to hurt Gohan by making him fall and looked like he was going to hurt the lady too. Something inside Gohan just seemed to snap. Not a snap in the way someone angry yells something particularly vicious at someone else. Not a quick motion of the hand that hit someone when they weren't expecting it. This snap was more of a feeling of warmth that spread through his entire body through a dam of ice. Just like that dam, Gohan's restraints were broken.
(o,O)
"Oh, well look what we have here. It looks like someone was sticking their head in a little too deep." Apoulden walked towards Sasha, a sick grin on his face. She gasped for a breath of air. "You can't do anything. The collars will-"
-
Gohan reached the apex of his flight.
-
"Do nothing in here." He interrupted her slow speech with a surprisingly educated tone. "Of course you remember amendment 2, right officer?"
-
He begins plummeting towards the tiled floor below, catching sight of Sasha and Apoulden.
-
Her eyes slowly widened and she was overcame by a coughing fit from the high pressure put upon her lungs.
"I thought you would know." He walked at a leisurely pace towards her. "Any aggressive action inside the Combat Training Arena is allowed, so long as a program has already begun." He rushes forward and grabs her by the neck, easily lifting her off the ground. Not only was she slowly being suffocated but her entire weight was resting on her neck . . . Multiplied by 50. She tried to scream, but was helpless and her eyes slowly rolled back into her head.
Darkness.
(o,O)
Gohan's eyes snap open. 'Give up?! Would Dad give up?! NO!' Power began flowing through his body, seemingly from nowhere.
'I'
His muscles bulged and he all but stopped falling a few feet from the ground.
'WILL WIN!!!' Gohan landed on all fours launching himself forward at Apoulden while at the same time rotating so his back faced the floor. With his hands together he shot a massive blast at the control panel, obliterating it so completely that the only part left was a hollow pole with some cut wires trailing out and liquefied metal dripping down it's sides.
Apoulden was just realizing something was wrong when he felt the gravity return to normal. His head started turning towards Gohan . . . Just in time to be smashed back the other direction by Gohan's fist.
His entire face was pushed all the way back and the single punch actually rocked him back on his heels. Apoulden regained his balance and was about to scream at the kid, but before he was able to he was met with a knee in his gut, forcing all the air out of his lungs and cracking a few of his ribs from the front. His eyes grew wide and he hunched over, spitting up a small amount of blood. Gohan was going to finish it with an axekick to the back of his skull, but Apoulden had gained just enough presence of mind to block the attack, even though it numbed his arm to do so. With the other arm he fired a point blank blast to Gohan's face, sending the smaller Saiyan flying backwards a few meters and hitting the ground.
Gohan rolled over to push himself up with his arms, but without having eaten since his revival, and awakening those strange powers twice in a week, his energy reserves were shot and he could barely stand up as Apoulden advanced, murder written on his face.
(o,O)
Sasha groaned quietly and sat up slowly. 'I thought I'd died . . .' She then heard a cry of pain and looked over to a conflict in progress. Apoulden had Gohan by the neck and was repeatedly smashing his fist into the young boy's face and stomach. He looked like he was just moments from death and Sasha wasn't in very good shape either. Her hand crept over to her left forearm and hit a small button on a metal plate worn over the traditional armor. A small holo-screen showed several options she chose one with the outline of a human body, several large slashes marring the image. She didn't bother even looking at the directions on the screen, she looked at the grinning Apoulden . . . . and rapidly hit the button three times.
Apoulden hardly had any time to react. There was a brief shock, followed immediately by a sudden loss of energy and before he could even turn to see what was happening, that same energy was blasted through the cuffs, disintegrating his body, only leaving a pile of ash, followed by the clanging of the falling cuffs.
Apoulden was no more.
Gohan fell heavily to the ground and didn't move. Sasha crawled over to the doorway nearest to her and hit the emergency open switch. Her team burst through the doorway, guns aimed . . . and instantly lowered as they surveyed the damage. Sasha passed out shortly after her team appeared, the combination of stress, gravity changes and near strangulation overwhelming her as soon as she felt safe.
(o,O)
"It's a good thing we have a few extras." Dr. Gratz was looking at the two occupied Re-Gen tanks. He glanced over to Kira and Granth who were both maneuvering an extra tank into the space previously occupied by the one Gohan destroyed.
Kira put in one last shove before standing and leaning against the wall. She rolled her head to the side to address Gratz. "I set up the boy's to notify us 15 minutes before he will awaken, so we can avoid another mess." she glanced nervously over to Gohan's tank.
"I wouldn't be all that worried about the boy anymore Kira. Lt. Kiare supposedly vaporized a berserker. . . that big one you like so well as a matter of fact." Dr. Gratz grinned a little at the joke and was suitably rewarded when Kira made a face of disgust. "Anyway, she vaporized him to save the boy so he must be nicer when fully awake." He smiled slightly at Kira. She had become a little less rigid but was still wouldn't go too close to Gohan's tank. Gratz shook his head and chuckled quietly.
(o,O)
"Bleeagh!" Sasha was coughing and hocking up the gooey healing substance. "That stuff tastes NASTY!" She sat on a table, a towel around her to preserve her modesty as Kira did a basic checkup.
"Everything looks alright. You should probably avoid heavy activity for a few days, take some vacation days maybe?" When Sasha nodded at the suggestion Kira continued. "Go through that door there and shower off while I get your suit, I'll set it right over there." She pointed to a small shelf near the mentioned door. Sasha nodded and hopped off the table before padding lightly over to the door, trying to keep her tail from slinging the remaining goo everywhere.
She stepped into one of the semi-private shower stalls and dropped the towel in a small container. She reached out for the small shower control.
The shower stall itself is a five foot wall on either side that ends against the outer wall where the controls are mounted, leaving the person a bit of privacy but also making the area fairly easy to clean. The controls are set up in a circle, on the top there are several segments that form a half-circle with a space of about one inch separating these segments from the other half-circle below. The top segments range, from left to right, starting with a dark blue and fading into a bright red while the bottom segments started small and gradually grew, forming a set of curved, upside down steps. She pushed her index finger against the lowest dark blue segment and slid her finger around the circle, lighting the sections she passed over, until she stopped on a medium red segment about three quarters around the half-circle. She pulled her finger back and lightly hit the center button. Instantly, like a heated rain water started streaming down from the ceiling overhead, falling on everything within the stall's area. Sasha frowned slightly, the water coming down wasn't nearly enough to wash off all of the goo she had been submerged in. She reached for the segments underneath the button and pulled her finger from the small segment it was set at, almost all the way to the top, stopping just short by two segments. The light rain suddenly turned into a downpour as the water pressure was increased dramatically. She lifted her face to the ceiling and pulled her hands slowly through her hair, eyes closed in relief as her tail all but danced on its own behind her. Only one thought disturbed this moment of ecstasy, and the worst part was that she had absolutely no control over it.
'I hope the kid's alright.'
A/N – Well I took my time with this one and tried to get some character development in. Drugedgen suggested that I make them longer and I like the way this one turned out :) I hope you all enjoy! Btw if you've noticed how there is not much of anything written in Saiyan, and most everything is in symbols. This is so Saiyan's could market these ships to other races without too many adjustments to the design. Programming would be the only thing they needed to change for the most part. (And I would LOVE to have a shower like I just described, showering in heated rain :D)
