Whoa! I haven't been writing in ages. ^_^;; Sorry bout that folks! Well, it's always easier to apoligise to a smaller crowd *looks around and spots a person in the audience...asleep* *Sigh* Anyway, here it is for those of you who were loyal enough to wait.
Disclaimer: No! Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z do not! (I repeat) DO NOT belong to me!!!!!!!
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The Saiy-jin Scouts
by Crystal Rose
Chapter 8 ~
Voices
"How is she?"
"I'm...not sure, but I think she'll pull through..."
"Mina..."
Voices surrounded her. It was if she was lost in a sea of nothingness, unable to move or think.
Light...golden...warm
She reached for it, longed for it with all her might, but it recoiled, staying just out of her reach. The voices became hushed and subdued, whispers at the edge of her mind as she tuned them out. In the silence she could hear a single voice, soft and gentle. It emanated from the small light, now pulsating with life as it shined brightly.
"No...no little one...you must return to yourself...awaken..."
Suddenly, everything faded from view, the bright golden light disappearing as her surroundings became cold and barren. She could feel herself being torn from this place, now dark and lifeless, no longer holding the comfort she had initially felt. She screamed...
Or at least she tried to. Instead, she inhaled a mouth full of water. Gagging immediately as a reflex, she opened her eyes in shock, a developing sense of fear beginning to take over her mind. She'd been imprisoned in some sort of water tank. Looking around, she quickly discovered there was no way out. The monitors beside the cell began to give off a sound of warning as her heart beat escalated at an alarming rate. She panicked and began to bang on the cell's glass barrier.
Seconds passed.
The door burst open as Bulma rushed into the room. The girls were hot on her heel as they rushed over to see what all the commotion was about. Various looks of fear and worry adorned their faces. There, in the tank, Mina was slumped against the glass on her knees, just barely holding on. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard them enter and feebly raised her head. Looking on through her oxygen deprived state, everything seemed to blur together as she struggled to continue holding her breath. The urge to give in seemed increasingly welcome as the seconds ticked past. An anguished look came upon her face as she tried to convey her message of utmost regret to her friends. Her entire body became limp as she lost consciousness, floating once more in that lonely sea of nothingness.
Meanwhile, Bulma just kept tying and typing, the only sign of distress being a small frown...
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For the second time, the world came into focus around Mina as consciousness returned to her. The sense of lethargy passed and her senses began to sharpen. The sound of a machine running became audible, the monitor just beside it beeping softly. Her head began to clear as memories sorted and rearranged themselves. Then, she remembered...
Gasping for breath, Mina found herself sitting upright in a small cot, the thin material of the gown she wore rustling slightly. A variety of wires ran from her body to connect to machines that lined the walls. She looked about the small room with confusion.
"What..." She didn't get a chance to finish, though, as the girls burst in, followed by a few Z soldiers. Bulma weaved her way through the crowded room agitatedly.
"Back it up, you guys," She shooed them away before putting a hand on her hip as she lectured with the other, "I need some room to work, and she," Bulma emphasized while pointing to Mina, "needs breathing space, not to mention lots of rest, which she can't get with all of you hanging around!" She took a deep breath at the end of her small speech before whipping about to get a look at her patient.
"Now let's take a look at you..."
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Outside, the others waited impatiently. The girls all bore looks of anxious worry, while in the corner, Vegeta, who had somehow been bullied into coming by a certain someone, sulked in a corner. That certain someone sat across the room from him, giving him a look that spoke of certain death if a certain complaint was spoken. He pursed his lips silently and turned to glare back at his impertinent, younger sister. She crossed her arms and raised her nose slightly in a haughty manner as she turned her back on him to join in on her friends' conversation. He smirked.
This exchange was lost, however, on the rest of the occupants in the room, as they did not know of their kinship and were too concerned with their own discussions about matters at hand.
"So, what do you think that was?"
Yamucha questioned the small group in a whisper. Beside him, Tien frowned slightly and Goku stared down at the floor, lost in deep thought. Piccolo, who had been silently observing the scene, moved to speak, his face shadowed with suspicion.
"Whatever it was, the result was incredibly powerful," he ground out.
The others all nodded in agreement and fell silent, as there was no more to be said. However, back in the girls' corner, the discussion was far from over. Huddled together, their faces grim, the girls talked back and forth urgently, their voices just above whispers. Currently speaking, Rei stood tall, coolly reprimanding the group.
"Serena," her voice was short and clipped, "You know as well as I that merging is highly dangerous and should only be attempted by those well practiced with utmost caution."
"Yes, but you know how Mina is. She was only trying to help and..."
"Mina should have known that she wouldn't be able to hold control of her body. It was her first time and she was inexperienced in that field as it was."
"I know Rei. It's just that I don't think she should be condemned for saving our lives. Even if there was such a risk involved."
With that, Serena broke off, biting her lip as she stared at the floor, trying to hold back the tears. Rei sighed and moved to comfort her friend, draping an arm across her shoulders as she leaned down to smile sweetly into Serena's red face.
"Hey," she soothed, "It's alright. I'm not mad, just frustrated. I know how worried you are about Mina, but I just don't want any of us taking any unnecessary risks."
"I know, Rei," Serena glanced up tearfully, "but I'm just so afraid...for all of us."
Rei nodded and moved to embrace her reassuringly. Ami, who had been quietly analyzing their situation, turned to look at Lita, an unspoken question in her eyes. Lita merely nodded. Ami took a deep breath before timidly stepping forward.
"I-I think that it would be best for us to tell the Z soldiers about our ability to merge." Serena stared at Ami, a slightly confused look on her face.
"Why?"
Behind her, Rei's eyes reflected the same question as she mumbled to herself, "Yes, why indeed."
The shy girl looked down, slightly flustered, "Well... I think that by telling them more about ourselves that they, in turn, will reveal more to us. With fewer secrets between us, we'll be able to understand one another easier and... gain one another's trust. It will benefit all of us greatly if we do so and we'll be able to function better as one large team."
As the last sentence tumbled from her lips, she stole a glance towards her teammates, and found them all speechless and in thought, that is except Lita. Truthfully, it had been her idea in the first place, but she had thought it better that Ami present it to the group with her genius to back it up. After the incident with Mina, she had rushed over with her suggestion. Ami thought it was brilliant and secretly admired Lita for such tactical thinking.
"Good idea, Ami!" Serena smiled brightly. Ami blushed.
"Well, actually it was Lita's..."
"I agree," Rei suddenly spoke, "but we should still keep information that is irrelevant to the mission to ourselves." Her stern voice left no room for debate. The girls nodded their assent and the atmosphere lightened considerably. It was then that they realized that the room had gone silent. Someone yawned.
"Gee, I wonder how Mi..." The rest of Lita's sentence was cut off as the door to the small infirmary slammed open. There, in the doorway, stood Bulma, a wide grin plastered on her face.
"Hi, guys! I'm all done here." She cheerfully stepped aside to reveal a surprised Mina who stared out into the crowd of people, eyes wide.
"Uh...h-hi," She stuttered, her voice small and unsure. The room exploded with noise.
"MINA!!!"
"How do you feel?"
"We were all so worried!"
"Are you hungry?"
"Would you like to take a bath?"
"You want to come sit for a while?"
The questions droned on and on as the girls surrounded her, squealing with excitement. The Z soldiers all looked on in awe. Some covered their ears miserably, their heads pounding painfully as large headaches developed. Vegeta gritted his teeth in frustration, sick and tired of this foolish behavior.
"SILENCE!!" He barked. The girls all stopped to stare in surprise, as did the rest of the room's occupants.
"Hmph! You'd think they'd teach you some manners back where you came from," he snorted in contempt.
His 'sibling's' eyebrows rose at the statement, but she refrained from commenting. That was no problem, however, as Bulma conveniently covered that area.
"Vegeta! You leave those girls alone and be nice!!"
"Woman, I don't answer to anyone," He sneered.
"Aw come on, Vegeta," Goku cut in, "Just let them be. How would you feel if someone you cared about got hurt?"
"How would I know. I'm not a pathetic weakling like you, Kakarott," Vegeta retorted crossly.
Finally, Rei couldn't resist any longer and strutted forward slyly, a smirk on her face as she fixed her gaze on the Saiy-jin prince.
"Well that's funny. Last time I checked, 'Kakarott' had the highest power level."
Rei came up to Vegeta and imitated his stance, the two facing off in a battle of wills with Rei still smirking and Vegeta narrowing his eyes hatefully. Time seemed to stop as the two stared into each other's eyes, both of them stubborn as mules. Someone coughed and Vegeta seemed to come to some sort of realization as he snorted and turned away.
"I don't have time to play childish games." he said as he left the room. Goku seemed to perk up at the comment.
"H-hey! Wait up, Vegita!!"
Jumping up, he raced after the irate Saiy-jin like a child running after the ice cream truck.
The room was silent. Before anyone could say a word, though, Ami quickly spoke, much to the surprise of Rei.
"We, I mean the girls and I, have decided that perhaps more important matters should be discussed over dinner."
She paused a moment to look suggestively at the gang of warriors, who were a bit dumbfounded and slow to respond.
"Fine."
The rough sound of Piccolo's deep voice came from the back, surprising Ami slightly. She was allowed a view of the Namekian as the Z soldiers parted like of herd of sheep for their shepherd, looking to him for guidance. Her eyes widened momentarily as she took in his appearance.
"Uh...Mr. Piccolo was it?" She asked uncertainly.
He grunted in response, thus thickening the tension in the room. Bulma decided that now would be a good time to jump in and break the ice; feeling such, the woman awkwardly bounded into the room with a smile that was more likely better suited on a clown.
"SO! I guess it's settled then. I'll go ahead and start getting dinner ready. Chi Chi you'll give me a hand won't you? Meanwhile, why don't you all freshen up and get to know each other better."
And with those few words of encouragement, she left the two groups of fighters to their own devices. All was silent for awhile as everyone struggled to come up with something to do, something to say. Someone cleared their throat.
"So, anyone care to fill me in on what's been going on?"
With the whole episode between Rei and Vegeta, they'd all forgotten about Mina.
"Hmph, no thanks," Grumbled Rei, "I'll leave it to you girls."
She stalked off, much in the same manner that Vegeta had previously. Mina looked down, slightly ashamed as Lita sighed.
"Hey, you know she's not really angry at you," The tall brunette tried to soothe the bite of Rei's words.
"Yeah, you know how sensitive Rei is when it comes to...well...you know," Serena smiled kindly.
Mina heaved her shoulders in an exaggerated sigh, "Yeah, well I guess I can't really blame her. It was really reckless of me, seeing as I'm not really experienced in merging at all!"
The rest of the conversation faded out as the girls headed upstairs to clean up and prepare for dinner. The rest of the Z soldiers had left earlier. Tien, Chaozu, Yamucha, and Krillin headed off to Master Roshi's while Piccolo headed off to meditate.
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A few hours later, the dining room table was covered in dishes of food as the last of the girls arrived. The Z soldiers were already eating, Goku and Vegeta stuffing themselves full as the girls picked at their food. Lita smiled and ventured to complement Chi Chi on her cooking. The woman blushed and the two struck up a conversation immediately. Serena ate quietly beside her and Ami seemed somewhat nervous while Mina smiled brightly, occasionally giggling at something one of the Z fighters said. The one who seemed most disturbed about their situation, however, was Rei. She sat with her hands in her lap, staring down into her food at something no one else could see. No one save Vegeta seemed to take notice. His eyebrow rose slightly before he took on his customary smirk.
"What's the matter? Does the food not meet your expectations?" The Saiy-jin prince mocked her. Rei sniffed hautily before replying, "No, it just seems that the sight of you has caused me to lose my appetite."
He laughed, "I suppose I can understand how intimidated you must be by my power. It's no wonder you can't even bring yourself to eat in my presence," his smirked smugly at her, almost as if daring her to contradict her.
"Oh, please! Don't flatter yourself so. It's making the others sick," she replied, eyes closed as she took a bite of food.
Vegita glanced to the others, his gaze lingering particularly on Goku, Gohan, and Trunks, who had recently returned. He raised an eyebrow mockingly in a look that clearly said, 'Is that so?'
Rei's jaw clenched painfully as her eye began twitching in irritation. Letting out a deep breath, she quickly dismissed her anger, her voice taking on a serious tone.
"Anyway. On to other business." The room quieted suddenly, even Goku had stopped eating to listen.
"I suppose we owe you an explanation for the past few events," Rei began, looking to the other girls before continuing.
"Well, first of all, perhaps you should know that in our galaxy, each planet worships a god or goddess relative to the planet and each planet's deity guides the people of their planet, determining their way of life."
Looking up from her lap, she addressed all of those present with the burning gaze of her bright red eyes.
"You see, as inhabitants of those planets, we, the girls and I, have the ability to connect spiritually with our gods and goddesses, enabling us to draw upon their infinite wisdom and power to accomplish all sorts of feats. That is our simple right in living under their guidance."
"So basically," Goku jumped in, "it's kinda like asking your parents for help, right?"
"Uh, I suppose you could look at it that way..." Rei said hesitantly.
"Kakkarott, you idiot. What does that have to do with drawing upon a god's power?!" Bulma nodded in consent.
"For once, I'd have to agree with Vegita. I mean, just look at it this way, Goku. King Yama's not your father, is he?"
After hearing that, Goku cringed slightly and seemed to wilt in his chair.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
"So, if you've got access to all that power, why did you come here?" Tien asked in an accusing tone.
"It's not so simple!"
"And why not?" He countered.
"It...well..." He snorted contemptuously at her stuttering, convinced of her guilt.
"You don't understand!" Mina stood up suddenly, startling everyone as the other girls had nearly been forgotten since Rei had taken over the discussion.
"It's not a thing to take lightly! Merging could be fatal and only a few of us are capable of it!!" Once the words left her mouth, Mina's eyes widened minutely and she quickly turned to face Rei. She gasped as everyone watched Rei crush the glass in her hand, the blood starting to drip on the table as her bangs obscured her face from view.
"Rei...," Bulma looked up with concern.
Standing from the table, her face still blocked from view, Rei quietly walked from the table and disappeared up the stairs.
"Merging..." Mina continued quietly as she looked down, a look of shame on her face, "...merging is a dangerous process. Only those with the highest skill should ever attempt it, and with the utmost caution," Mina recited Rei's words from earlier and the room became silent.
The sound of a chair being scooted backwards immediately caught everyone's attention as they all looked up to see Vegita getting up from the table. Turning his back to them, he started towards the stairs.
"Hey, Vegeta. Where ya goin?" Asked a confused Goku.
"Upstairs, if you couldn't already tell," he replied irritated.
"Oh..."
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Upstairs in the bathroom, Rei lay in a heap on the floor, her long mane of fiery red hair draped over her crouched figure to pool on the cold floor. Her eyes, a deep blood red now, stared off into nothingness as her hand, still covered in glass shards, lay lifeless beside her.
Only a few of us are capable of it!
She unconsciously clenched her injured hand into a tight fist, reveling in the pain it brought her, a way to escape the harsh reality. To others, perhaps she was overreacting, but...
You can't... You're not nearly strong enough...
The voices...they all mocked her...mocked her dream.
His power is too strong to be controlled... You must never attempt it!
She'd always been the spiritual one of the group, living by her religion and being a devout worshipper. She'd always felt there was some special connection between herself and the gods, something that drew her in. However...
Impossible! Chaos shall ensue...
She would never be able to take the final step, the ultimate proof of her devotion. Merging with her god was almost unheard of as, first of all, only a few ever reach the level of skill required to even attempt such a thing, and secondly...secondly, the risk was all that greater because of who her planetary god was. Aries, god of war. It was recorded that hundreds of years ago, the merging of a man with Aries caused a civil war so horrible, almost two-thirds the population had been annihilated. Since then, it was almost forbidden to attempt this. Almost because there was a way, but there were so many laws surrounding that subject that people no longer bothered. Breaking those laws was also not worth the reward, as the punishments behind each were very severe and in many cases demanded death. Her mother had strictly forbidden her from ever even thinking about it, but she dreamed of the moment she and her god would be one.
When she'd told Serena she wasn't angry about Mina's actions, she only told part of the truth. She bitterly admitted to herself that she'd been resentful and almost envious of her, spiteful because she'd succeeded with such blind luck.
'And on her first try too...'
"Well, there'll never be a first time for you, so just forget about it," She whispered to herself, the overwhelming feeling of self-pity growing from within.
Just then, the door swung open and standing in the doorway was Vegita. Startled from her reverie, she blinked in confusion as he simply stood there, not saying a word. She watched as his eyes darted to her bloodied hand, before moving back to her face. He walked in and grabbed her wrist firmly. She squirmed a bit in his grasp, confused at his actions. His hand tightened painfully and she gasped. His eyes narrowed and he loosened his grip as he spoke for the first time then.
"Keep still."
He then began carefully extracting the jagged pieces of glass from her hand, placing them on the bathroom counter. During the whole process, Rei refused to look at him and had her face turned away in shame. She closed her eyes against the tears when he moved away, but they snapped open in surprise again when she felt him gently bandaging her hand. When he'd finally finished, she waited for the stinging remarks to come.
"So, are you just going to give in to your own weakness?" The prince spoke in a surprisingly resigned tone of voice. He sounded almost...disappointed.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just worried for Mina, for all of us," she paused slightly, "There's so much--"
"Bullshit," the prince abruptly cut her off, his voice low and dangerous. "I can't believe you're even related to me," he spit out venomously.
Her head bowed low at his comment and a few teardrops splashed onto the bathroom counter.
"Saiy-jins..." The prince began again, his voice softer now, "never give up and never back down. We're a stubborn race, but in the end, we always get what we want."
She waited for more, but was surprised when his hand lifted her chin upwards, forcing her to face him.
"Where's your sense of pride...Leitanna?"
She looked up in shock, but he was already gone.
Leitanna...
The name sounded so familiar. She was sure she'd heard it before. She thought back to her childhood, her mind straining to remember, but it seemed the information she so desperately sought was just out of reach. She groaned in frustration, a hand going to her temple. She was developing a headache again. Like every time before, whenever she tried to remember certain details of her past, she always came up empty, and all she got for her efforts was a large headache. Even stranger, when she was around seven or so, she remembered asking her mother why she couldn't remember how old she was at times. Her mother had responded simply that I just wasn't old enough to keep track of such things, not seeming bothered by the least by the odd question. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed to her. She sighed. Her life had always been surrounded with mystery. She should learn to get used to it.
Brushing her hair back from her face, she gingerly took care of the glass left on the counter and looked at her reflection. Vegeta was right, for once. How could she just give up. No, she'd train hard to become strong, hopefully strong enough one day for her dream to come true. Her eyes hardened with determination, her reflection staring back at her in an unspoken challenge. She grinned, the fire in her eyes burning hotter than ever.
"I won't give up, and you won't either!"
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Meanwhile, downstairs the table had been cleared and most of the Z soldiers had left. Sitting alone at the table was Mina. Unusually silent, she'd stayed behind as one by one, the others left for some reason or other. The girls had all gone up to bathe. Night had fallen a couple of hours ago, but here she still sat, thinking. What had happened during that time she'd been merged with the Venusian goddess? All she could remember was a bright golden light, warm and loving as it enveloped her with...with.
"What?" Mina wondered aloud.
From what the others had told her, she'd somehow 'connected' with the two androids, as the girls put it, though how they didn't say. However, she had become somewhat suspicious of the reason ever since the girls had recounted the story, blushing and giggling the entire time. Thinking through all the possibilities, she herself blushed a bright red. Hurriedly pushing the thoughts out of her head, she brought her mind back to the subject at hand.
'Which was?'
She sighed. Who could remember what her original purpose had been with all the jumbled thoughts floating about. Standing abruptly, she walked out onto the balcony and stared out into the night sky and her thoughts suddenly turned back home. I wonder how mother's doing? I hope they hold out all right. The girls and I still have a lot to learn, but I pray we'll become strong enough to save you all. She thought back to the attack on the Moon Palace and remembered their weakness. Then her thoughts came back to today and the other recent events. Looking down at the battle worn ground, it struck her that she hadn't seen the androids ever since the battle. Thinking hard, she suddenly remembered vaguely seeing two other tubes beside her own when she first awoke in a panic-stricken state.
Walking back inside, she carefully retraced her steps and found the laboratory she'd been in just this morning. It was considerably large and had many different rooms and sections. She spent a large amount of time just making sure she wasn't getting herself lost, something she was sure would bring her great embarrassment come morning when they'd have to find her if she did. Tiptoeing through the large laboratory, she wondered why she was even going to such lengths to find him...them...and with such secrecy. Why didn't she just ask Bulma?
'It's too late,' she reasoned, 'You can't just go and bother her in the middle of the night because you can't sleep.'
With this fact established, she silently moved onward, hoping to stumble upon the room as soon as possible. Luck was with her that night as she suddenly found herself in a large room with a high ceiling. Before her were three long tubes of glass, the ends connected to the ceiling and floor. Looking around, she finally found a light switch and eagerly turned it on. She was slightly surprised to find that instead of flooding the room with light, like she had previously thought, the switches turned on lights that illuminated the three tanks. Casting an eerie blue light about the room, the three tanks seemed to glow as she approached them curiously. The one in the center was empty, no doubt the tank she had occupied recently. To the left, android number eighteen floated lifelessly, her blond hair curling up and away from her face, which was tilted downward. Her heart started beating a bit faster as she turned to the last tube, knowing what, or perhaps who, awaited her.
'There he is,' she thought, strangely excited.
His dark hair floated about his face, a few strands straying across his forehead as he slept peacefully. Her eyes roamed down past his face to inspect the rest of his body. He seemed unharmed for the most part, but his clothes were ripped and torn in places. Walking closer, she gently laid one hand on the smooth surface of the glass. Watching him, she almost felt sorry for what she'd done, if the situation was as she'd suspected. She searched his face closely, looking for some sign of her magic's effect on him, but saw nothing. She sighed. She wouldn't know for sure until he awoke. The only true visual sign that he'd been affected was the slight orange glow he emitted, which was caused by the traces of magical residue left behind.
"Number Seventeen..."
She yawned, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. Sitting down on the cold metallic floor, she leaned back against the cool glass, her eyelids drooping. Her last conscious thoughts consisted of one dark haired boy, his icy blue eyes wide with shock as she...
CRACK
She stirred slightly, slowly coming out of her deep sleep as her eyes fluttered open in confusion. What had awakened her?
CRACK
She jumped slightly, her head whipping around towards the source of the sound, only to find with horror that the glass was cracking. Her eyes widened; just as she got to her feet, the glass tank exploded violently, shards of glass flying everywhere. Thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion, Mina lay sprawled on her back, her arms protecting her face from the flying debris. When her breathing had finally calmed, the adrenaline wearing off, she moved to sit up, but as she did, she realized for the first time that there was something heavy draped over her. Her eyes widened and she gasped as the thing on top of her stirred, propping itself onto elbows and knees before a pair of clear blue eyes were revealed. They widened in shock as they took in her face.
"It's you!"
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So...um what'd you guys think? REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and by the way, I'm not sure if I got it right or not. That guy in heaven with the big horns who sits in the humungous desk judging dead people IS king Yama right? Please correct me if I'm wrong. ^_^
Crystal Rose ^_~
Disclaimer: No! Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z do not! (I repeat) DO NOT belong to me!!!!!!!
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The Saiy-jin Scouts
by Crystal Rose
Chapter 8 ~
Voices
"How is she?"
"I'm...not sure, but I think she'll pull through..."
"Mina..."
Voices surrounded her. It was if she was lost in a sea of nothingness, unable to move or think.
Light...golden...warm
She reached for it, longed for it with all her might, but it recoiled, staying just out of her reach. The voices became hushed and subdued, whispers at the edge of her mind as she tuned them out. In the silence she could hear a single voice, soft and gentle. It emanated from the small light, now pulsating with life as it shined brightly.
"No...no little one...you must return to yourself...awaken..."
Suddenly, everything faded from view, the bright golden light disappearing as her surroundings became cold and barren. She could feel herself being torn from this place, now dark and lifeless, no longer holding the comfort she had initially felt. She screamed...
Or at least she tried to. Instead, she inhaled a mouth full of water. Gagging immediately as a reflex, she opened her eyes in shock, a developing sense of fear beginning to take over her mind. She'd been imprisoned in some sort of water tank. Looking around, she quickly discovered there was no way out. The monitors beside the cell began to give off a sound of warning as her heart beat escalated at an alarming rate. She panicked and began to bang on the cell's glass barrier.
Seconds passed.
The door burst open as Bulma rushed into the room. The girls were hot on her heel as they rushed over to see what all the commotion was about. Various looks of fear and worry adorned their faces. There, in the tank, Mina was slumped against the glass on her knees, just barely holding on. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard them enter and feebly raised her head. Looking on through her oxygen deprived state, everything seemed to blur together as she struggled to continue holding her breath. The urge to give in seemed increasingly welcome as the seconds ticked past. An anguished look came upon her face as she tried to convey her message of utmost regret to her friends. Her entire body became limp as she lost consciousness, floating once more in that lonely sea of nothingness.
Meanwhile, Bulma just kept tying and typing, the only sign of distress being a small frown...
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For the second time, the world came into focus around Mina as consciousness returned to her. The sense of lethargy passed and her senses began to sharpen. The sound of a machine running became audible, the monitor just beside it beeping softly. Her head began to clear as memories sorted and rearranged themselves. Then, she remembered...
Gasping for breath, Mina found herself sitting upright in a small cot, the thin material of the gown she wore rustling slightly. A variety of wires ran from her body to connect to machines that lined the walls. She looked about the small room with confusion.
"What..." She didn't get a chance to finish, though, as the girls burst in, followed by a few Z soldiers. Bulma weaved her way through the crowded room agitatedly.
"Back it up, you guys," She shooed them away before putting a hand on her hip as she lectured with the other, "I need some room to work, and she," Bulma emphasized while pointing to Mina, "needs breathing space, not to mention lots of rest, which she can't get with all of you hanging around!" She took a deep breath at the end of her small speech before whipping about to get a look at her patient.
"Now let's take a look at you..."
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Outside, the others waited impatiently. The girls all bore looks of anxious worry, while in the corner, Vegeta, who had somehow been bullied into coming by a certain someone, sulked in a corner. That certain someone sat across the room from him, giving him a look that spoke of certain death if a certain complaint was spoken. He pursed his lips silently and turned to glare back at his impertinent, younger sister. She crossed her arms and raised her nose slightly in a haughty manner as she turned her back on him to join in on her friends' conversation. He smirked.
This exchange was lost, however, on the rest of the occupants in the room, as they did not know of their kinship and were too concerned with their own discussions about matters at hand.
"So, what do you think that was?"
Yamucha questioned the small group in a whisper. Beside him, Tien frowned slightly and Goku stared down at the floor, lost in deep thought. Piccolo, who had been silently observing the scene, moved to speak, his face shadowed with suspicion.
"Whatever it was, the result was incredibly powerful," he ground out.
The others all nodded in agreement and fell silent, as there was no more to be said. However, back in the girls' corner, the discussion was far from over. Huddled together, their faces grim, the girls talked back and forth urgently, their voices just above whispers. Currently speaking, Rei stood tall, coolly reprimanding the group.
"Serena," her voice was short and clipped, "You know as well as I that merging is highly dangerous and should only be attempted by those well practiced with utmost caution."
"Yes, but you know how Mina is. She was only trying to help and..."
"Mina should have known that she wouldn't be able to hold control of her body. It was her first time and she was inexperienced in that field as it was."
"I know Rei. It's just that I don't think she should be condemned for saving our lives. Even if there was such a risk involved."
With that, Serena broke off, biting her lip as she stared at the floor, trying to hold back the tears. Rei sighed and moved to comfort her friend, draping an arm across her shoulders as she leaned down to smile sweetly into Serena's red face.
"Hey," she soothed, "It's alright. I'm not mad, just frustrated. I know how worried you are about Mina, but I just don't want any of us taking any unnecessary risks."
"I know, Rei," Serena glanced up tearfully, "but I'm just so afraid...for all of us."
Rei nodded and moved to embrace her reassuringly. Ami, who had been quietly analyzing their situation, turned to look at Lita, an unspoken question in her eyes. Lita merely nodded. Ami took a deep breath before timidly stepping forward.
"I-I think that it would be best for us to tell the Z soldiers about our ability to merge." Serena stared at Ami, a slightly confused look on her face.
"Why?"
Behind her, Rei's eyes reflected the same question as she mumbled to herself, "Yes, why indeed."
The shy girl looked down, slightly flustered, "Well... I think that by telling them more about ourselves that they, in turn, will reveal more to us. With fewer secrets between us, we'll be able to understand one another easier and... gain one another's trust. It will benefit all of us greatly if we do so and we'll be able to function better as one large team."
As the last sentence tumbled from her lips, she stole a glance towards her teammates, and found them all speechless and in thought, that is except Lita. Truthfully, it had been her idea in the first place, but she had thought it better that Ami present it to the group with her genius to back it up. After the incident with Mina, she had rushed over with her suggestion. Ami thought it was brilliant and secretly admired Lita for such tactical thinking.
"Good idea, Ami!" Serena smiled brightly. Ami blushed.
"Well, actually it was Lita's..."
"I agree," Rei suddenly spoke, "but we should still keep information that is irrelevant to the mission to ourselves." Her stern voice left no room for debate. The girls nodded their assent and the atmosphere lightened considerably. It was then that they realized that the room had gone silent. Someone yawned.
"Gee, I wonder how Mi..." The rest of Lita's sentence was cut off as the door to the small infirmary slammed open. There, in the doorway, stood Bulma, a wide grin plastered on her face.
"Hi, guys! I'm all done here." She cheerfully stepped aside to reveal a surprised Mina who stared out into the crowd of people, eyes wide.
"Uh...h-hi," She stuttered, her voice small and unsure. The room exploded with noise.
"MINA!!!"
"How do you feel?"
"We were all so worried!"
"Are you hungry?"
"Would you like to take a bath?"
"You want to come sit for a while?"
The questions droned on and on as the girls surrounded her, squealing with excitement. The Z soldiers all looked on in awe. Some covered their ears miserably, their heads pounding painfully as large headaches developed. Vegeta gritted his teeth in frustration, sick and tired of this foolish behavior.
"SILENCE!!" He barked. The girls all stopped to stare in surprise, as did the rest of the room's occupants.
"Hmph! You'd think they'd teach you some manners back where you came from," he snorted in contempt.
His 'sibling's' eyebrows rose at the statement, but she refrained from commenting. That was no problem, however, as Bulma conveniently covered that area.
"Vegeta! You leave those girls alone and be nice!!"
"Woman, I don't answer to anyone," He sneered.
"Aw come on, Vegeta," Goku cut in, "Just let them be. How would you feel if someone you cared about got hurt?"
"How would I know. I'm not a pathetic weakling like you, Kakarott," Vegeta retorted crossly.
Finally, Rei couldn't resist any longer and strutted forward slyly, a smirk on her face as she fixed her gaze on the Saiy-jin prince.
"Well that's funny. Last time I checked, 'Kakarott' had the highest power level."
Rei came up to Vegeta and imitated his stance, the two facing off in a battle of wills with Rei still smirking and Vegeta narrowing his eyes hatefully. Time seemed to stop as the two stared into each other's eyes, both of them stubborn as mules. Someone coughed and Vegeta seemed to come to some sort of realization as he snorted and turned away.
"I don't have time to play childish games." he said as he left the room. Goku seemed to perk up at the comment.
"H-hey! Wait up, Vegita!!"
Jumping up, he raced after the irate Saiy-jin like a child running after the ice cream truck.
The room was silent. Before anyone could say a word, though, Ami quickly spoke, much to the surprise of Rei.
"We, I mean the girls and I, have decided that perhaps more important matters should be discussed over dinner."
She paused a moment to look suggestively at the gang of warriors, who were a bit dumbfounded and slow to respond.
"Fine."
The rough sound of Piccolo's deep voice came from the back, surprising Ami slightly. She was allowed a view of the Namekian as the Z soldiers parted like of herd of sheep for their shepherd, looking to him for guidance. Her eyes widened momentarily as she took in his appearance.
"Uh...Mr. Piccolo was it?" She asked uncertainly.
He grunted in response, thus thickening the tension in the room. Bulma decided that now would be a good time to jump in and break the ice; feeling such, the woman awkwardly bounded into the room with a smile that was more likely better suited on a clown.
"SO! I guess it's settled then. I'll go ahead and start getting dinner ready. Chi Chi you'll give me a hand won't you? Meanwhile, why don't you all freshen up and get to know each other better."
And with those few words of encouragement, she left the two groups of fighters to their own devices. All was silent for awhile as everyone struggled to come up with something to do, something to say. Someone cleared their throat.
"So, anyone care to fill me in on what's been going on?"
With the whole episode between Rei and Vegeta, they'd all forgotten about Mina.
"Hmph, no thanks," Grumbled Rei, "I'll leave it to you girls."
She stalked off, much in the same manner that Vegeta had previously. Mina looked down, slightly ashamed as Lita sighed.
"Hey, you know she's not really angry at you," The tall brunette tried to soothe the bite of Rei's words.
"Yeah, you know how sensitive Rei is when it comes to...well...you know," Serena smiled kindly.
Mina heaved her shoulders in an exaggerated sigh, "Yeah, well I guess I can't really blame her. It was really reckless of me, seeing as I'm not really experienced in merging at all!"
The rest of the conversation faded out as the girls headed upstairs to clean up and prepare for dinner. The rest of the Z soldiers had left earlier. Tien, Chaozu, Yamucha, and Krillin headed off to Master Roshi's while Piccolo headed off to meditate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later, the dining room table was covered in dishes of food as the last of the girls arrived. The Z soldiers were already eating, Goku and Vegeta stuffing themselves full as the girls picked at their food. Lita smiled and ventured to complement Chi Chi on her cooking. The woman blushed and the two struck up a conversation immediately. Serena ate quietly beside her and Ami seemed somewhat nervous while Mina smiled brightly, occasionally giggling at something one of the Z fighters said. The one who seemed most disturbed about their situation, however, was Rei. She sat with her hands in her lap, staring down into her food at something no one else could see. No one save Vegeta seemed to take notice. His eyebrow rose slightly before he took on his customary smirk.
"What's the matter? Does the food not meet your expectations?" The Saiy-jin prince mocked her. Rei sniffed hautily before replying, "No, it just seems that the sight of you has caused me to lose my appetite."
He laughed, "I suppose I can understand how intimidated you must be by my power. It's no wonder you can't even bring yourself to eat in my presence," his smirked smugly at her, almost as if daring her to contradict her.
"Oh, please! Don't flatter yourself so. It's making the others sick," she replied, eyes closed as she took a bite of food.
Vegita glanced to the others, his gaze lingering particularly on Goku, Gohan, and Trunks, who had recently returned. He raised an eyebrow mockingly in a look that clearly said, 'Is that so?'
Rei's jaw clenched painfully as her eye began twitching in irritation. Letting out a deep breath, she quickly dismissed her anger, her voice taking on a serious tone.
"Anyway. On to other business." The room quieted suddenly, even Goku had stopped eating to listen.
"I suppose we owe you an explanation for the past few events," Rei began, looking to the other girls before continuing.
"Well, first of all, perhaps you should know that in our galaxy, each planet worships a god or goddess relative to the planet and each planet's deity guides the people of their planet, determining their way of life."
Looking up from her lap, she addressed all of those present with the burning gaze of her bright red eyes.
"You see, as inhabitants of those planets, we, the girls and I, have the ability to connect spiritually with our gods and goddesses, enabling us to draw upon their infinite wisdom and power to accomplish all sorts of feats. That is our simple right in living under their guidance."
"So basically," Goku jumped in, "it's kinda like asking your parents for help, right?"
"Uh, I suppose you could look at it that way..." Rei said hesitantly.
"Kakkarott, you idiot. What does that have to do with drawing upon a god's power?!" Bulma nodded in consent.
"For once, I'd have to agree with Vegita. I mean, just look at it this way, Goku. King Yama's not your father, is he?"
After hearing that, Goku cringed slightly and seemed to wilt in his chair.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
"So, if you've got access to all that power, why did you come here?" Tien asked in an accusing tone.
"It's not so simple!"
"And why not?" He countered.
"It...well..." He snorted contemptuously at her stuttering, convinced of her guilt.
"You don't understand!" Mina stood up suddenly, startling everyone as the other girls had nearly been forgotten since Rei had taken over the discussion.
"It's not a thing to take lightly! Merging could be fatal and only a few of us are capable of it!!" Once the words left her mouth, Mina's eyes widened minutely and she quickly turned to face Rei. She gasped as everyone watched Rei crush the glass in her hand, the blood starting to drip on the table as her bangs obscured her face from view.
"Rei...," Bulma looked up with concern.
Standing from the table, her face still blocked from view, Rei quietly walked from the table and disappeared up the stairs.
"Merging..." Mina continued quietly as she looked down, a look of shame on her face, "...merging is a dangerous process. Only those with the highest skill should ever attempt it, and with the utmost caution," Mina recited Rei's words from earlier and the room became silent.
The sound of a chair being scooted backwards immediately caught everyone's attention as they all looked up to see Vegita getting up from the table. Turning his back to them, he started towards the stairs.
"Hey, Vegeta. Where ya goin?" Asked a confused Goku.
"Upstairs, if you couldn't already tell," he replied irritated.
"Oh..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upstairs in the bathroom, Rei lay in a heap on the floor, her long mane of fiery red hair draped over her crouched figure to pool on the cold floor. Her eyes, a deep blood red now, stared off into nothingness as her hand, still covered in glass shards, lay lifeless beside her.
Only a few of us are capable of it!
She unconsciously clenched her injured hand into a tight fist, reveling in the pain it brought her, a way to escape the harsh reality. To others, perhaps she was overreacting, but...
You can't... You're not nearly strong enough...
The voices...they all mocked her...mocked her dream.
His power is too strong to be controlled... You must never attempt it!
She'd always been the spiritual one of the group, living by her religion and being a devout worshipper. She'd always felt there was some special connection between herself and the gods, something that drew her in. However...
Impossible! Chaos shall ensue...
She would never be able to take the final step, the ultimate proof of her devotion. Merging with her god was almost unheard of as, first of all, only a few ever reach the level of skill required to even attempt such a thing, and secondly...secondly, the risk was all that greater because of who her planetary god was. Aries, god of war. It was recorded that hundreds of years ago, the merging of a man with Aries caused a civil war so horrible, almost two-thirds the population had been annihilated. Since then, it was almost forbidden to attempt this. Almost because there was a way, but there were so many laws surrounding that subject that people no longer bothered. Breaking those laws was also not worth the reward, as the punishments behind each were very severe and in many cases demanded death. Her mother had strictly forbidden her from ever even thinking about it, but she dreamed of the moment she and her god would be one.
When she'd told Serena she wasn't angry about Mina's actions, she only told part of the truth. She bitterly admitted to herself that she'd been resentful and almost envious of her, spiteful because she'd succeeded with such blind luck.
'And on her first try too...'
"Well, there'll never be a first time for you, so just forget about it," She whispered to herself, the overwhelming feeling of self-pity growing from within.
Just then, the door swung open and standing in the doorway was Vegita. Startled from her reverie, she blinked in confusion as he simply stood there, not saying a word. She watched as his eyes darted to her bloodied hand, before moving back to her face. He walked in and grabbed her wrist firmly. She squirmed a bit in his grasp, confused at his actions. His hand tightened painfully and she gasped. His eyes narrowed and he loosened his grip as he spoke for the first time then.
"Keep still."
He then began carefully extracting the jagged pieces of glass from her hand, placing them on the bathroom counter. During the whole process, Rei refused to look at him and had her face turned away in shame. She closed her eyes against the tears when he moved away, but they snapped open in surprise again when she felt him gently bandaging her hand. When he'd finally finished, she waited for the stinging remarks to come.
"So, are you just going to give in to your own weakness?" The prince spoke in a surprisingly resigned tone of voice. He sounded almost...disappointed.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just worried for Mina, for all of us," she paused slightly, "There's so much--"
"Bullshit," the prince abruptly cut her off, his voice low and dangerous. "I can't believe you're even related to me," he spit out venomously.
Her head bowed low at his comment and a few teardrops splashed onto the bathroom counter.
"Saiy-jins..." The prince began again, his voice softer now, "never give up and never back down. We're a stubborn race, but in the end, we always get what we want."
She waited for more, but was surprised when his hand lifted her chin upwards, forcing her to face him.
"Where's your sense of pride...Leitanna?"
She looked up in shock, but he was already gone.
Leitanna...
The name sounded so familiar. She was sure she'd heard it before. She thought back to her childhood, her mind straining to remember, but it seemed the information she so desperately sought was just out of reach. She groaned in frustration, a hand going to her temple. She was developing a headache again. Like every time before, whenever she tried to remember certain details of her past, she always came up empty, and all she got for her efforts was a large headache. Even stranger, when she was around seven or so, she remembered asking her mother why she couldn't remember how old she was at times. Her mother had responded simply that I just wasn't old enough to keep track of such things, not seeming bothered by the least by the odd question. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed to her. She sighed. Her life had always been surrounded with mystery. She should learn to get used to it.
Brushing her hair back from her face, she gingerly took care of the glass left on the counter and looked at her reflection. Vegeta was right, for once. How could she just give up. No, she'd train hard to become strong, hopefully strong enough one day for her dream to come true. Her eyes hardened with determination, her reflection staring back at her in an unspoken challenge. She grinned, the fire in her eyes burning hotter than ever.
"I won't give up, and you won't either!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, downstairs the table had been cleared and most of the Z soldiers had left. Sitting alone at the table was Mina. Unusually silent, she'd stayed behind as one by one, the others left for some reason or other. The girls had all gone up to bathe. Night had fallen a couple of hours ago, but here she still sat, thinking. What had happened during that time she'd been merged with the Venusian goddess? All she could remember was a bright golden light, warm and loving as it enveloped her with...with.
"What?" Mina wondered aloud.
From what the others had told her, she'd somehow 'connected' with the two androids, as the girls put it, though how they didn't say. However, she had become somewhat suspicious of the reason ever since the girls had recounted the story, blushing and giggling the entire time. Thinking through all the possibilities, she herself blushed a bright red. Hurriedly pushing the thoughts out of her head, she brought her mind back to the subject at hand.
'Which was?'
She sighed. Who could remember what her original purpose had been with all the jumbled thoughts floating about. Standing abruptly, she walked out onto the balcony and stared out into the night sky and her thoughts suddenly turned back home. I wonder how mother's doing? I hope they hold out all right. The girls and I still have a lot to learn, but I pray we'll become strong enough to save you all. She thought back to the attack on the Moon Palace and remembered their weakness. Then her thoughts came back to today and the other recent events. Looking down at the battle worn ground, it struck her that she hadn't seen the androids ever since the battle. Thinking hard, she suddenly remembered vaguely seeing two other tubes beside her own when she first awoke in a panic-stricken state.
Walking back inside, she carefully retraced her steps and found the laboratory she'd been in just this morning. It was considerably large and had many different rooms and sections. She spent a large amount of time just making sure she wasn't getting herself lost, something she was sure would bring her great embarrassment come morning when they'd have to find her if she did. Tiptoeing through the large laboratory, she wondered why she was even going to such lengths to find him...them...and with such secrecy. Why didn't she just ask Bulma?
'It's too late,' she reasoned, 'You can't just go and bother her in the middle of the night because you can't sleep.'
With this fact established, she silently moved onward, hoping to stumble upon the room as soon as possible. Luck was with her that night as she suddenly found herself in a large room with a high ceiling. Before her were three long tubes of glass, the ends connected to the ceiling and floor. Looking around, she finally found a light switch and eagerly turned it on. She was slightly surprised to find that instead of flooding the room with light, like she had previously thought, the switches turned on lights that illuminated the three tanks. Casting an eerie blue light about the room, the three tanks seemed to glow as she approached them curiously. The one in the center was empty, no doubt the tank she had occupied recently. To the left, android number eighteen floated lifelessly, her blond hair curling up and away from her face, which was tilted downward. Her heart started beating a bit faster as she turned to the last tube, knowing what, or perhaps who, awaited her.
'There he is,' she thought, strangely excited.
His dark hair floated about his face, a few strands straying across his forehead as he slept peacefully. Her eyes roamed down past his face to inspect the rest of his body. He seemed unharmed for the most part, but his clothes were ripped and torn in places. Walking closer, she gently laid one hand on the smooth surface of the glass. Watching him, she almost felt sorry for what she'd done, if the situation was as she'd suspected. She searched his face closely, looking for some sign of her magic's effect on him, but saw nothing. She sighed. She wouldn't know for sure until he awoke. The only true visual sign that he'd been affected was the slight orange glow he emitted, which was caused by the traces of magical residue left behind.
"Number Seventeen..."
She yawned, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. Sitting down on the cold metallic floor, she leaned back against the cool glass, her eyelids drooping. Her last conscious thoughts consisted of one dark haired boy, his icy blue eyes wide with shock as she...
CRACK
She stirred slightly, slowly coming out of her deep sleep as her eyes fluttered open in confusion. What had awakened her?
CRACK
She jumped slightly, her head whipping around towards the source of the sound, only to find with horror that the glass was cracking. Her eyes widened; just as she got to her feet, the glass tank exploded violently, shards of glass flying everywhere. Thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion, Mina lay sprawled on her back, her arms protecting her face from the flying debris. When her breathing had finally calmed, the adrenaline wearing off, she moved to sit up, but as she did, she realized for the first time that there was something heavy draped over her. Her eyes widened and she gasped as the thing on top of her stirred, propping itself onto elbows and knees before a pair of clear blue eyes were revealed. They widened in shock as they took in her face.
"It's you!"
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So...um what'd you guys think? REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and by the way, I'm not sure if I got it right or not. That guy in heaven with the big horns who sits in the humungous desk judging dead people IS king Yama right? Please correct me if I'm wrong. ^_^
Crystal Rose ^_~
