Dragon Ball X
Hey guys! I know I haven't updated for about a week, but I finally figured out the exact plan of this entire story, so I thought I'd do a chapter now.
Oh yeah, Gravity Question, your review made me laugh. Yeah, that was a mistake on my part. I've gone back and fixed that error. Thanks for pointing that out, by the way.
000
"Nearly there..." muttered Arnika, as she typed the last few commands into the program on her computer. The girl was sitting in her lab at the base computer of the Large Dragon Radar, and standing behind her were the Saiyans, her brother, her father, and Zeang, all watching her intently. Hoping for the best, Arnika put her tongue between her teeth, and pressed Enter. The screen blinked, and then the Large Dragon Radar flickered to life, showing the map of the world. On it were seven flashing dots.
"Yes!" cried Arnika. "I've got it!"
"Good work, sweetie," said Don, impressed.
"You did extremely well, Arnika," Zeang complimented.
"Yeah. Nice job, Arn," said Kenta, grinning. "You've recalibrated the Radar!"
"Now we can search for the Dragon Balls again, right?" asked Makurin.
Arnika nodded. "Uh-huh."
"Great," Makurin answered. "So, when do we start?"
"Hang on," said Zeang, who was inspecting the Radar. "Look at this." He pointed at three dots that were practically right on top of each other. "These are the Dragon Balls that we have; the Three-Star, the Seven-Star, and the One-Star Balls." Then he pointed at two other dots that were also right next to each other, on the other side of the world. "Look at those two. The Four-Star and the Two-Star. They shouldn't be that close together. That can mean only one thing."
Rhuna voiced his thoughts. "Someone else is collecting the Dragon Balls."
Zeang nodded. "Exactly."
The room went quiet. Finally, Kenta broke the silence. "So, what do we do?"
"I don't know," confessed Zeang. "We could keep collecting the balls, and then buy the last two from this person after we've got the others."
"That's an option," said Don. "We could contact them and make a deal? Maybe it would be better if we had all of the others first, before we try that, though. If we had all of the Balls except those two, they might be more inclined to give them to us than if we just had the three that we have now."
"I agree," said Blitzo. "What say we go out right now and get a Ball quickly before dinner?"
"Yep," said Makurin. "Let's go now."
"Agreed," said Zeang. He turned to the Radar again and pointed randomly at one of the two remaining Balls. "Zoom us in on that one, Arnika."
She obliged, and within seconds they were looking at the location of the Dragon Ball he was pointing at.
"Oh, wow!" exclaimed Arnika. "It's in a Slavo tomb!"
"A what?" asked Rhuna.
"Millennia ago, on Haven, there was an ancient civilisation called Slavo. The Slavoans were powerful; they had a large army, and were capable warriors," explained Don. "They used to bury their kings in tombs that stretched deep underground, and were full of lethal traps...well, lethal to Haviens anyway...well, normal Haviens. They wouldn't have much effect on Kenta here, or Ferris. Arnika loves researching Slavo tombs; they're full of historical stuff."
"Sounds like fun," said Blitzo. "We'll have a great time breaking in and stealing the Dragon Ball. Let's go. Coming, Kenta? Zeang?"
"Of course," said Kenta. Zeang also nodded his head.
"I'm coming too," announced Arnika.
Kenta shook his head. "No way, sis. It's too dangerous."
"So was that gunman at Diamond Beauty last week. You protected me then, and this time we also have the Saiyans and Zeang for backup. I'm sure that between the five of you, I'll be safe," said Arnika fiercely. Kenta knew that she wouldn't change her mind, and grudgingly nodded. "Well, seeing as she's going, what about you, Dad?"
"Oh no, I'm too old to be running around in tombs," said Don. "Besides, I have business to attend to. I'll see all of you later. And make sure that she doesn't get hurt," he added to Kenta.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of her," said Zeang. Arnika rolled her eyes.
"I don't need protection. I'll be perfectly fine, as long as I watch my step."
"Well, alright then. Bye, now!"
Don walked out of the laboratory, down the hall into his office. Meanwhile, Arnika grabbed the Small Radar, and the group left the house and walked out of the city. When they were out of sight of the city, Arnika climbed onto Kenta's back, and they all took to the sky.
000
A fierce wind blew as the six of them landed, three hours later. They were in a desert, near some old ruins of an old stone city. Before them was a deep valley, filled with entrances to tombs.
Arnika led the way into the valley, using the Radar as a sort of compass. Soon, she had located the entrance to the tomb that the Dragon Ball was in. It was blocked by a heavy stone door more than a metre thick. On the door was written some strange text, carved into the stone thousands of years ago.
"Alright, I found it," Arnika said. "Now, let's look at this inscription."
The rest of them waited while she translated the text. Luckily, she had always been fascinated by the Slavoans, and had therefore committed their alphabet to memory.
"Ok. I think it says: 'Only those who can prove their worth may enter the sacred tomb of Raj-Cof. If you can break the seal to the tomb, you may enter.' But how do we break the seal? This door is closed shut."
"Allow me," said Rhuna, stepping forwards and raising her hand. Arnika realised what she was about to do at the last second and dived backwards as Rhuna unleashed an energy beam, hitting the door directly in the centre. Arnika screamed as there was a massive explosion, and a cloud of dust erupted from the door, covering all of them in its smothering blanket. Slowly, the dust cleared, leaving a gaping hole in the door.
"Apparently we're worthy to enter," said Blitzo, and stepped into the hole. The others followed close behind, Arnika at the rear, who was looking slightly shaken up. She seemed a bit overwhelmed by the force in which Rhuna had used to gain entrance to a sacred tomb.
Inside the tomb was utter darkness. However, as they journeyed a bit further in, lamps on the walls burst into flame, illuminating the way ahead. The group saw that they were in a long tunnel.
"Nifty," said Makurin, as they penetrated the tomb even further."Looks like the Slavoans were pretty clever."
"Whoops," said Blitzo, as he stumbled over a plank of wood poking from the ground. It fell out of the socket that it had been placed in. Suddenly a loud rumble echoed throughout the tunnel that they were in. Up ahead, they ceiling caved in and a massive boulder fell through the hole, and began to roll towards them. It took up the entire tunnel.
"Watch out!" screamed Arnika, but no one else was worried. Kenta strode forwards towards the giant rock careering towards him and launched an explosive kick, shattering the boulder into hundreds of pieces. Arnika gaped, and Kenta smirked at her shocked face.
"What a weak trap," he said.
Arnika shook her head at her brother's own strength and they continued on. As the tunnel got deeper, the lamps grew fewer, and the darkness became more pronounced. Eventually, though, the tunnel grew wider, and the lamps increased in number again. Finally, they turned a corner and saw that the rock walls of the path had turned into polished stone. Halfway into the room was another stone door, blocking the way. Like the first one, it also had Slavoan text carved on it.
"There's the entrance to the tomb," said Arnika. "Be careful. There will be traps everywhere from now on."
"Wait a minute," said Rhuna, confused. "If we're not in the tomb yet, then where are we? You mean we're in some random tunnel?"
"Not really," said Zeang, who, like Arnika, was fascinated by tombs like this and knew a lot about them. "Tombs often have a sort of antechamber to try and lure people away. That giant rock that Kenta smashed would have crushed any normal person. Most people wouldn't even make it this far. Through there is probably a maze of tunnels, before we get to the inner chamber."
"Cool," said Blitzo. "Well, in we go then!"
He raised a hand and obliterated the door blocking their way. As soon as they stepped through the door, another one fell shut behind them, trapping them in the crypt. Not that any of them cared. It would be all too easy to blast their way out when they got the Dragon Ball.
"Onwards," announced Zeang, and the group began to make their way into the tomb of Raj-Cof. There were now lamps everywhere on the walls, and the path was brightly lit. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were all made of the same shiny rock, glowing yellow from the flames. Against the sides of the tunnel were statues of people made out of solid gold.
Kenta whistled. "We should break into tombs more often; this stuff would be worth a fortune."
Arnika shook her head. "There's no way I'm stealing any of this. All of the artefacts are probably cursed or something. No, the only thing we should take is the Dragon Ball."
"Fine," said Kenta shortly. "Shame, though."
Finally, they reached a section of the path where the statues of people ended, and were replaced by statues of animals, namely snakes and what looked like Minotaurs, holding various weapons such as swords and spears.
"This place is creepy," said Blitzo. "Those statues look pretty real if you ask me."
"Oh, there's nothing to worry about," said Zeang, and no sooner had the words come out of his mouth when one of the statues of a Minotaur moved suddenly, and swung the axe it was holding at Zeang's head. Zeang twitched his eyes and the Minotaur stopped dead, but not before one of the snake sculptures had also come to life and lunged at him. Zeang caught it in mid-air using his telekinesis and wrapped it around the frozen Minotaur's throat, all without touching either of them. The two statues fell to the hard ground and shattered.
"That was weird," Zeang said casually, as if he had just seen something mildly interesting, instead of being attacked by unnatural beings. "I wasn't expecting that."
"O-KAAAY, that was creepy," remarked Kenta. "Can someone please explain to me what just happened?"
"I don't know," said Arnika. "But my guess is that those statues were bewitched thousands of years ago to stop intruders."
"Even though that's not possible," muttered Kenta under his breath.
"Anyway," said Rhuna. "Shall we carry on?"
But before they could, there was a loud clanking noise, and they back to the direction from which they had come to see every statue they had passed coming to life. Most of the humans were armed with swords and other weapons, and the Minotaurs were of course armed. As one, they turned and began to march towards the group.
"This might not end well," said Kenta nervously. "Arnika, get behind us."
She obliged gladly, and watched as Makurin took a step forwards.
"My turn," he said. "I'll handle this."
Two of the Minotaurs lurched at him. He intercepted them, grabbing them and knocking their heads together. The two gold beasts crumbled to the ground. Despite the fact that they were inanimate, they seemed to be able to be knocked unconscious. Makurin walked right into the midst of the stautes and began to effortlessly dispatch all of the attackers. When about half of the statues were lying on the floor, completely out of it, Rhuna waded in, grabbing Makurin's shoulder and pulling him backwards.
"You've done enough. Leave some of the fun for the rest of us."
She ran forwards before Makurin could react and kicked one of the statues so hard that its head cracked right off, flying across the tunnel and hitting another, knocking ithat one out as well.
One of the archers up the back nocked an arrow into his bow, pulled back and fired. Rhuna twisted to the side, stuck out her neck, and caught the arrow in her teeth as it went by. Blitzo folded his arms.
"Show-off," he grunted. "Let me show you how it's done."
Rhuna stepped back to the group and Blitzo walked forwards, presenting himself to the remaining statues, who greeted him by savagely running forwards swinging their weapons wildly. Blitzo held his arms out to the sides of his waist. Two yellow orbs formed in his palms, and he bought his hands together in front of his chest, where the orbs converged into one large one.
"Kensei-Gan!" he bellowed, and thrust his arms out in front of him. The orb turned into a beam, which cannoned down the tunnel, obliterating every single statue that stood standing, as well as the dead ones on the floor. Arnika's hair stood on end and was blown around from the force, and she could feel the heat from where she was standing.
Blitzo ended the beam, leaving nothing but a pile of singed rocks and melted gold in front of him. Grinning, he turned back to the others.
"Who doesn't like a good light show, eh? Well, let's get going."
They continued on downwards into the tomb. Once again, the lamps on the wall grew fewer, and the path split into several forks.
"Which one do we go down?" asked Makurin.
"Simple," replied Zeang. "Arnika, check the direction that the Dragon Ball is in."
Arnika pulled out the Small Radar from her pocket and inspected it. Then she looked up and pointed down one of the forks.
"That way," she said. "The others probably just lead to treasure chambers, but we want the Inner Chamber. If the Dragon Ball was anywhere in this tomb, that would be where it was."
After about ten more minutes of walking, disarming several more small traps involving arrows, another boulder, and a pit of bright green acid, they reached a cavern. To call it small would be the understatement of the century. The cavern was probably about a kilometre squared. The walls were perfectly straight, and had a lamp about every five metres. The ceiling was so high that it couldn't be seen, and there were several pillars and statues everywhere. A marble path led from the mouth of the tunnel to the centre of the cavern, where there was a large slab of white rock, just the right size to hold a body. Behind the slab was a large statue, taller than the rest, holding its hands out to the sides.
"We're here," said Zeang. "The Inner Chamber. There won't be any more traps from now on; they wouldn't dishonour the chamber like that. See that thing in the middle? That's where Raj-Cof will be buried. The Dragon Ball should be with the tombstone, right Arnika?"
The girl nodded, staring at the Dragon Radar. "Yep, according to this the Ball is dead ahead."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Blitzo, and he hurried forwards, the others hot on his heels. Within moments, they had arrived at Raj-Cof's burial rock. The Dragon Ball wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Where is it?" asked Rhuna, rather bluntly.
Arnika shook her head. "I don't know! This Radar says it should be within a five metre radius."
"Well, it's not here!" exclaimed Makurin. "Are you sure that you configured that Radar right?"
"Of course I did," snapped Arnika. "Ask Zeang, he worked on it the whole time with me."
"She's right," said Zeang. "There's no way we could have made a mistake. The Dragon Ball is here, somewhere."
Blitzo's eyes lit up. "It must be in the tombstone!" he said, pleased with his own reasoning. "Let's open it!"
Unfortunately, there was no visible way of opening the tombstone without breaking it open, and Blitzo had an odd feeling that committing such an act would set off a large trap.
"Oh well, it has to be done," he thought, and raised a hand to blast open the rock, but Zeang stopped him.
"Don't," he said. "That might not be a good idea."
"No, it wouldn't be!" called a voice out of nowhere. "Because the Dragon Ball that you seek is not in there!"
All six of them spun wildly, trying to locate the voice, before it spoke again. It was low and gruff, and made Arnika's hair stand on end. The voice was dripping with evil.
"Up here."
They all looked up. Next to them was an enormous pillar crafted out of marble. It stretch high into the air, and was one of the tallest in the entire vast room. And there was something standing on top.
Its feet were grey, and had three long toes on each foot, with sharp claws on the end. On top of each foot there was a spike, about three inches long. The feet were attached to long, muscular legs, which darkened from grey to black. The stomach area was a dull sort of red, but its sides were also grey. On its black chest was another spike, this one longer. The shoulders were bulging with muscles, and the folded arms were long, with grey hands. At the ends of the fingers were blood-red nails. Halfway up each arm was another spike. The skin of the entire body was very smooth, and seemed almost tight on the muscles. Poking out just above its rear was a long red tail, which was about a metre and half long.
The being's head was in darkness. The light from the lamps didn't reach as far as the top of its body. Whatever the head looked like, Blitzo estimated the height of this person, if you could call it that, at over two metres.
"Looking for this?" it asked, and unfolded its arms to reveal the Dragon Ball in its left hand. The Ball seemed to almost be pulsing, as if it were trying to escape the demon that held it. "Well, I'm afraid that you can't have it. "The Dragon Balls are mine!"
"We need it badly, so hand it over!" called Zeang.
The demon laughed. "If you really want it so much, then feel free to come and take it from me!"
000
And so we introduce the villain! He's already featured in chapter 7 and 9, but for the first time he meets the heroes! But who is he exactly? And how strong is he?
Wait and find out!
Oh, by the way, I've made a few adjustments to the first chapter, to fix an error. Previously, Blitzo accidently turned the gravity up to 100x Vegeta's, but last chapter I said that the Saiyan-made gravity chambers couldn't go higher than 2x, so I chaned it to...aw hell, what am I telling you for? Just go read that first chapter again, lol.
Well, I'll see you sometime in the very near future!