AN: I was surprised to discover that this is the longest chapter I've written for this story so far. Then again, a lot happens in this chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter Seventeen: To Death
This is without a doubt the scariest situation you have ever been in; even scarier than when he first left you all alone in the desert. People have already died here; people that you knew and cared for, and you're vaguely aware in the back of your mind that you could die very soon as well. So could he.
He yelled something at you a little while ago, but it's barely registered in your mind. The fear has blocked everything else out, leaving only cold, blind terror, and a body that won't seem to respond no matter what you do.
The biggest, scariest Saiya-jin stands in front of you now, willing to take you out, and still your legs seem absolutely unable to move. Even when a ball of deadly light comes hurtling towards you, you can do nothing but stand there.
And then he's there, right in front of you, blocking the attack and stopping it from doing any damage whatsoever to you. You're so happy that he saved you but at the same time there is something else as well; something about the way he stands which makes you uneasy.
The attack stops, and he falls to the ground, and only now do you realize the price he had to pay to save you. His entire body is burnt, from his toes to the tips of his antennae and pointed ears. It looks so painful that you cry for him already, before you even know for sure how severe the damage really is.
He looks at you then; your eyes meeting, and he almost smiles. It's the kindest you've ever seen him. Then you realize why this bugged you so much.
You knew, if only in your subconscious mind, what this would do to him. No one could have taken an attack like that head on and survived; not even him.
Later on, you will wonder why someone that acts as cold as him would do something so kind for someone else at such a cost to himself. Even later you will understand that even back then there was something so strong between the two of you; something you had given him that no one else could. Right now, all you know is that you don't want him to leave.
He whispers his final words to you. You only half hear him through your own sobbing. You are the only person that cries as he leaves this world, but even that is more than he had before he met you, and that just makes you cry harder
--
Vegeta didn't need to be notified when the first Sentilese ships came crashing down to Earth. That level of chi couldn't have been disguised from him even if they had tried. The Sentilese were strong fighters, that could not have been denied, but the sheer number of them that had been sent at once made him jerk awake suddenly.
Kakarot, who was laying down beside him blinked sleepily a few times, before his chi flared and he sat up just as quickly as the Saiyan-jin King had.
"How many of them?" Kakarot asked him.
"At least ten thousand," Vegeta answered making Kakarot clench his fists as his fears were confirmed. Vegeta hesitated for a few seconds, one single drop of sweat making its way down his forehead as worry set it and he began making calculations. Kakarot let his eyes follow the drop's trail down his lover's cheek, choosing to focus on this one small thing rather than the difficult challenge they had ahead of them.
"Get the troops ready," Vegeta said, his voice swiftly changing him from a worried soldier to a fearless leader. Kakarot nodded.
--
"So," Gohan asked of his companions as he looked up at the pointed towers of the Sentilese capital. "This is it huh?"
The three beings with him all nodded, but Piccolo's gesture was the only one that seemed to be as solemn as the situation really demanded. Neither of them had yet told Goten and Trunks what their real purpose for being on Planet Sentil was. There was no doubt in their minds that Trunks and Goten wouldn't have been as helpful if they had. Neither Goten nor Trunks had expressed any great love or respect for their leader, but neither had they expressed any displeasure at her reign.
Gohan's gaze fixed on the palace. He could sense Sierra in there somewhere, along with a barely suppressed Buu.
"They both seem pretty calm," he noted. "I doubt that they've realised we're here."
Piccolo signalled his agreement with a slight nod of his head.
"Hey," Goten piped up as he realised that he and his lover hadn't been told some crucial information. "What are you two talking about?"
Gohan looked at Piccolo, silently asking his lover whether or not he should tell their rescuers what their true reason for being on Planet Sentil was. Piccolo shrugged, sending almost no emotion over their bond whatsoever. Gohan found himself pouting.
Well, he thought. You're no help whatsoever.
He smiled nervously at Trunks and his brother's lookalike, wondering what he could possibly tell the two men that had saved Piccolo and his life.
"Sorry," he settled for. "I'd love to be able to tell you, but I have a feeling that if I did, the two of you would be in a lot of trouble so..."
He grabbed Piccolo's arm, silently making the Namek aware of his plans. "Thanks a lot for everything," he said, powering up his chi enough that he lifted off the ground slightly, getting ready for flight. "And sorry, but we have to leave you now."
Gohan turned away quickly, and he and Piccolo took off in the direction of the Palace at lightning speed.
"Wait," Goten called after them, but by that time Gohan couldn't hear him, and Piccolo wasn't listening. Goten sighed and turned to face his lover, who was still staring after the retreating Namek and demi-Saiya-jin with a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you think they're doing?" Goten asked Trunks, becoming more and more worried as the frown on his lover's brow became increasingly pronounced. "Trunks?" he added, when his lover didn't respond.
"We should help them," Goten continued, his determination showing on his face.
Trunks eyes narrowed as he focused on the two figures, now suspiciously close to the Palace, and raising their chi to levels he had never experienced before. "No," he told his lover. "I don't think that we should."
--
"Men!" Vegeta's voice echoed over the empty plains. In front of him, nearly one thousand Saiya-jin warriors flicked their tails anxiously.
"This will be a challenging battle!" Vegeta continued, meeting the gaze of any of the Saiyan-jin warriors proudly, despite his small stature. "The Sentilese outnumber us ten to one, and many of them are almost as strong as the average Saiya-jin! This could be the biggest battle that the Saiya-jin race has seen since the reign of Freiza!"
The responses of the warriors included bared teeth, balled fists and a few impatient battle cries. "I trust you'll all enjoy this!" Vegeta finished, grinning a teeth-baring grin that was echoed by most of the army. The warriors all cheered, each and every one of them anxious for a long awaited challenge. Vegeta nodded at them, and turned to focus his gaze on the horizon, where the last of the Sentilese ships were now touching down.
Kakarot's gaze joined his own, taking in the battle to come.
"Many of them won't survive today," Kakarot pointed out, his tail not swishing quite as enthusiastically as many of the other warriors.
Vegeta nodded almost imperceptibly.
"This would have been a hell of lot easier if Gohan and his Namek hadn't buggered off," Kakarot pointed out.
"And whose fault is that?" Vegeta questioned. For a moment, Kakarot thought that his lover was angry with him, but a glance over at the King and the grin that was on his face proved him wrong.
Kakarot returned his lover's confident smile.
"Besides," Vegeta continued. "We have the advantage."
"Hmm?"
Vegeta's tail began twitching at a frantic pace then, and a feral grin spread on his face. "We actually want to fight."
--
Gohan and Piccolo hovered above the palace guards, staring down at the two Sentilese who apparently had yet to realise that they were being watched.
"Do we get rid of them?" Gohan whispered as quietly as he could manage while still being understandable. "Or do we just blast a hole in the wall and head straight for Sierra?"
Piccolo didn't even bother responding, but made a quick, noiseless dash to a position just behind the guards and applied two very well calculated hits to the back of their necks. The two guards dropped to the floor instantly, before Gohan had even had time to question what Piccolo was doing.
"Don't worry," Piccolo told Gohan when he felt worry flow over their link. "They're just unconcious. We can't have anyone telling everybody that we're here and interrupting our fight with Buu."
"So we knock down any guards that could possibly disturb us?" Gohan double-checked.
The grin Piccolo gave him then was all the confirmation Gohan needed.
--
A rather ominous and confident sounding chuckle echoed throughout Sierra's throne room.
"Indeed," Sierra said after her most recent bout of laughter. "It would be terrible if we were interrupted, wouldn't it Buu?"
One perfectly manicured hand came to rest on Buu's head and pat it gently. Whether or not Buu could understand what his mistress was talking about, he grinned manically at her words.
"We can't do anything which would alert them to our plans though, can we?" Sierra purred. Her eyes narrowed underneath sharply defined eyebrows, and her grin widened.
On the other side of the room, the head of Sierra's personal guard watched his queen nervously, awaiting her order. She looked up at him then, and smiled at him as though noticing his presence for the first time.
"Send four of our best fighters to intercept them," she commanded.
--
The Sentilese and Saiya-jin armies clashed in a series of blows that led to hundreds of broken bones and plenty of snapped limbs. A soft shower of blood fell on the ground below as the weakest of Sentilese were quickly eliminated by the Saiya-jin warriors.
Kakarot stayed as close to Vegeta's side as he could in such a battle, but as their individual opponents moved them in different directions, they soon found themselves drifting apart.
Kakarot found himself paired up against a Sentilese easily twice his size, with limbs the size of tree trunks and a scarred mess replacing what had once been his left eye. The two spent a few seconds sizing up their opponent, before they flew at each other, the Sentilese attempting to land a kick to Kakarot's head which the Saiya-jin blocked with his forearm. Kakarot used the split second this failed maneouvre cost the Sentilese to land a punch to his enemy's stomach, feeling at least one of the warrior's organs become squashed under his fist as he did so.
The warrior fell back, and grimaced for a few moments, before his body was wracked by coughing. Flecks of blood appeared on the warrior's face as he coughed, and Kakarot knew that he had won. He sent a relatively small burst of energy straight at the enemy's neck, ending it quickly for the Sentilese.
Meanwhile, Vegeta had fired a blast of chi into a small cluster of enemy soldiers, killing two of them instantly. The others now crowded around him. Two of them attacked him simultaneously, one aiming a punch at his face, the other attempting a flying kick to his lower back. He twisted around the both of them though, sending one flying with his elbow and then circling around so that his elbow connected with the side of the other's face.
The Sentilese Vegeta had attacked last barely seemed fazed however. He spat a broken tooth out of his mouth, smiled at Vegeta, and attacked again, with enough speed that Vegeta barely had enough time to block his attack.
Kakarot saw Vegeta's fight from where he stood, and attempted to rush over to his lover's side. He was blocked however, by a pair of warriors. Kakarot scowled at the two of them, and moved to attack them, but he only made it half way before a third warrior landed an precise kick to the back of his neck.
Kakarot stumbled back to his feet, and powered up a small attack. He fired it quickly at the two Sentilese in front of him. One of them was quick enough to roll out of the way, but it made it's mark on the other, and when the dust from the attack cleared, the new scratches on the Sentilese's face were easy to see.
Kakarot quickly whirled around to attack the Sentilese behind him, his punch hitting the side of the warrior's face with a sickening crack.
Vegeta was finding that his own opponent was not so easy to beat. The Sentilese was almost twice his size, but moved so quickly that Vegeta had not been able to land a single hit. Luckily however, Vegeta had also been able to dodge any attack that the Sentilese attempted.
Vegeta focussed all of his energy, and fired a series of small ki bursts at the Sentilese. Vegeta's opponent dodged all but one, which hit his ankle, tearing through his armour and grazing the skin beneath.
The Sentilese scowled at the Saiya-jin, and sent a rather sizeable burst of ki straight at the King. Vegeta jumped away from the blast and sent another at the Sentilese. It hit the enemy on the shoulder, once again breaking the armour, but barely doing any damage to the flesh beneath.
"Too slow," Vegeta smirked.
The Sentilese glanced down to the patch of bare skin left behind by Vegeta's attack and scowled. He was clearly becoming annoyed by the ease with which the Saiya-jin dodged his attacks, and sent another, less-than-perfectly aimed attack towards Vegeta.
--
The halls of Sierra's palace were eerily deserted. Every single footstep they took resounded in the large halls and came back to Gohan and Piccolo's ears a thousand times. Their own breathing was almost deafening in the total silence.
"I don't like this," Gohan commented, knowing through the link that Piccolo shared his worry.
Then, they both felt it. Ahead of them, no more than a room or two away, came the faint, barely distinguishable glimmer of a life-form's chi. It didn't feel like much at first; barely strong enough to be an adult.
"Can you hear anything?" Gohan asked his lover, knowing that something wasn't right instinctively.
"Don't trust it," Piccolo told Gohan. "There's at least three of them up ahead; all of them very good at supressing their chi. They're almost making no noise at all."
Cautiously they rounded the next corner, gently pushed open the door, and were greeted with an almost completely dark and empty room apart from the very middle were a female Sentilese, younger and smaller than both of them stood as though waiting for someone.
The girl looked up at them as though surprised to see them.
"What is this?" Gohan whispered. "Is this one of Sierra's illusions?"
Piccolo didn't answer, but his eyes flew to all the dark corners of the room, squinting as his eyes attempted to adjust to their new surroundings.
The girl in front of them cocked her head to one side, and smiled as though she found something about their presence amusing.
"What are you doing here?" she asked them. "This is such a big building. It would be so easy for people who weren't familiar with it to loose their way."
Gohan had enough time to feel a burst of panic across his link with Piccolo as the Namek heard their enemy before him, but not enough time to react as a burst of energy hit him in the back of the neck. Nearly anyone else would have been killed instantly, but Gohan and Piccolo barely stumbled beneath the sudden onslaught.
The two warriors that had attacked them dashed to the side of the Sentilese girl in the middle of the room, and another girl with longer hair dropped down from where she had been lurking in the dark rafters near the ceiling.
"Cowards," Piccolo growled as he rubbed the back of his neck, but none of the warriors seemed affected by his words.
The four Sentilese merely stood there, two male and two female, watching the half Saiya-jin and Namek with expressionless faces. All were slim, dressed mainly in black, and made no sound. Now that they faced their enemies, they no longer bothered supressing their chi, and Gohan could easily make an assessment of the upcoming battle.
He was disappointed by how easy it would probably be.
"I'm warning you now," Gohan told the Sentilese. "The four of you stand no chance against us, but if you back out now and don't get in our way, then we won't hurt you."
"Our Queen has commanded that we should fight you," the girl that had greeted them replied.
"You won't defeat us," Piccolo warned them. "Sierra has sentenced the four of you to death."
"We know," the girl assured them. "But we shall die for our queen, in a battle of great glory and honour."
She had barely finished talking when two of her comrades hit Gohan and Piccolo with a wave of attacks, kicking and punching with lightning speed.
Gohan blocked each of his opponent's attacks, sending her flying across the room with one punch. She was back on her feet quickly however, and soon the other fighter's joined in as well, so that Gohan and Piccolo both found themselves fighting a male and a female Sentilese at once.
The teamwork of the Sentilese was quite impressive, as they took turns attacking Gohan or Piccolo, landing a punch or kick, and then flying back at the very instant that their partner attacked. They were also very fast, and Gohan soon found that he had troubles keeping track of where both of them were.
He fired a few weaker ki blasts in the general direction of his enemy, and a couple of them hit their mark, slowing the male Sentilese down for just long enough to break the rhythm of the attacks, allowing him to make a quick dash over to Piccolo.
The two of them stood back to back then, and fired a wave of energy attacks in a circle around them, hitting all four of their enemies with enough force that they were killed instantly.
It also did far too much damage to the room they were in, and a few loose pieces of stone fell from the roof. Part of one wall crumbled, letting a patch of light flood the room and highlight the broken body of one of the male Sentilese.
Gohan wiped his forehead, disappointed to find not only sweat, but a small patch of blood from what must have been a more powerful attack from one of the Sentilese. It wasn't the only injury he sported either. There were broken patches of skin and clothing on his arms and legs that had definitely not been there before the last battle. A glance over his shoulder at Piccolo revealed that the Namek had not fared much better.
"That was more difficult than I thought it would be," Gohan admitted, wiping his hands on his pants in an attempt to get rid of the blood. "We can't get involved in too many fights like that, otherwise we won't stand a chance against Buu."
Piccolo made a guttural noise which must have meant agreement, and glanced around the room.
"Dammit!" he cursed, grabbing Gohan's wrist. "That last attack was too loud. Every Sentilese in the Palace knows we're here. We have to move, now!"
It would have been difficult for the guards that appeared in the room's doorway then not to notice them. The guard immediately reached to press the communication button on his scouter.
"I found them!" he shouted into the machine. "We have two intruders at my location!"
"Damn," Gohan cursed as more Sentilese appeared, both at the doorway and the hole in the wall.
"Don't worry," Piccolo growled under his breath. "Sierra already knows that we're here. If she wanted to escape then she would have already."
"I know," Gohan sighed, "but I wish we didn't have to kill all of these people."
Piccolo let out a short, throaty chuckle then.
"You always were too soft," he whispered, before the two of them sent twin bursts of energy at the Sentilese guards.
The guards continued to come though, and not all of them were weak.
"This is bad," Gohan commented. "If they keep on like this, we really aren't going to have any energy left when we fight Buu."
At that moment an explosion sounded from just outside the room, hitting several of the Sentilese. Gohan and Piccolo glanced at each other, but neither had fired a burst of energy that could have caused it.
The sound of fighting soon came from behind the wall, then after a few seconds Piccolo smiled knowingly and continued to fight the Sentilese. Gohan looked between Piccolo and the wall in confusion, before two familiar faces appeared at the hole created by his and Piccolo's earlier attack.
"Hey!" Goten called, hitting the nearest guard over the head. "Need some help?"
"You know" Trunks added, walking into the room just in front of his lover, "I wasn't going to help you at all. I told Goten that we wouldn't be strong enough to be of any help the two of you..." Trunks paused mid-sentence in order to deal a rather painful sounding punch to the nearest guard's face.
"But," Trunks continued, "Goten insisted, and if there's one thing that wins any argument, it's puppy-dog eyes and a pout."
"Just as well we showed up huh?" Goten added, firing a burst of energy at a group of guards.
Gohan smiled warmly and nodded at the two Sentilese.
"Thanks," he said as he fired a quick attack at the last of the guards, "but what are the two of you doing here?"
"Helping you, obviously," Trunks answered casually, leaning against the nearest wall.
"You do realise what we're doing?" Piccolo double-checked.
Trunks raised an eyebrow at Piccolo and nodded.
"We knew who you guys were from the beginning." Goten explained.
Gohan stared at the two of them in shock. Piccolo's reaction was a lot less obvious, but Gohan could still feel his surprise over their link.
"Pretty hard not to," Trunks continued. "It was pretty big news when the Saiya-jin diplomatic party arrived here. We saw your faces quite a few times in newscasts and photos."
"It took us a while to work out exactly what you were doing here, but I think we should have guessed from the beginning," Goten continued. "Seeing as how we're technically at war."
"Then why did you help us?" Gohan asked.
"Simple," Trunks answered. "We want Sierra dead too."
Gohan and Piccolo both stared at the two Sentilese men, waiting for a further explaination. After a few seconds Trunks sighed and continued.
"Most of us want her dead. I mean, if she takes you in as one of her pets then you've got nothing to worry about; you'll be treated like royalty. But the rest of us are forced to survive on practically nothing."
"She wouldn't care if any of her sujects lived or died," Goten added. "We'd probably be better off if the Saiya-jins took over."
Gohan was reminded of the four warriors he and Piccolo had fought only minutes earlier, who Sierra had sent to the slaughter with apparently no remorse or hesitation.
"We want to help you," Goten continued.
"All we ask is that we can escape with you off planet once this is all done," Trunks told them. "In exchange we'll stop anyone from getting to you and Sierra."
Gohan and Piccolo glanced at one another, making sure that they were both in agreement on the issue, before Gohan nodded at the two Sentilese men.
"It's a deal."
--
Vegeta sent another blast of ki straight at his enemy. The Sentilese was finally beginning to show signs of weakening. Vegeta sported a few minor scrapes, but nothing as serious as his opponent. The larger man was using his right leg to support all of his bulky weight, proving how bad the injury to his left knee really was. Vegeta had been lucky enough to land a significant blow to the joint, and now the skin was broken and already showing signs of brusing. The Sentilese was covered in other injuries as well; enough that he was beginning to pant and sag.
Vegeta aimed a kick at the Sentilese, which the warrior just managed to dodge, but he was getting much slower now, and Vegeta's next blow collided with the side of his enemy's head.
Vegeta spared a second to glance over to where his lover was still battling with a large number of Sentilese warriors and barely holding his own. One of the more powerful of Kakarot's opponents fell to one of the Saiya-jin's attacks, but another appeared to take his place.
He realised he had let his attention wander for a little too long when his enemy used Vegeta's distraction to his advantage, landing a punch to Vegeta's chin which sent the Saiya-jin King flying back a few metres.
"You should pay more attention to who you're fighting," the Sentilese growled, grinning at Vegeta as he did so. "You could get hurt."
Vegeta snarled at the Sentilese, before charging at him and landing a series of kicks and punches that were too quick for the Sentilese to block all but a few.
The Sentilese stumbled beneath the onslaught, scowling at Vegeta. He now sported a bloodied eye and broken chin, but showed no signs of surrendering.
A loud cry reached Vegeta's ears, and he glanced over to where Kakarot had been hit by a rather powerful attack from one of the Sentilese warriors. He contemplated rushing over and helping his lover, but Kakarot powered up to super Saiya-jin and continued to fight.
Vegeta's Sentilese opponent grinned as Vegeta's attention returned to him once again. He had not missed the worry that had appeared on Vegeta's face when Kakarot had screamed in pain.
"Is he someone special?" the Sentilese sneered, nodding breifly in Kakarot's direction.
"Shut up!" Vegeta growled.
"You looked so worried then," the Sentilese continued.
"I told you to shut up!" Vegeta shouted, charging at the Sentilese. The Sentilese was prepared for the charge however, and instead of defending as Vegeta had thought he would, he twisted a little to the side, and grabbed hold of the arm that Vegeta had intended to punch him with.
"I told you that you should pay more attention to me," the Sentilese chastised Vegeta, squeezing the sovereign's arm with so much force that Vegeta screamed.
Vegeta forced himself to concentrate, and gritted his teeth against the pain. As his attention focussed more on his enemy and less on the pain he realised that the Sentilese was powering up a deadly ki attack with his other hand. The Sentilese brought his other arm up so that the ball of energy hovered only inches from Vegeta's face.
Vegeta struggled against the warrior's grip on his arm, knowing that if he didn't escape soon then he was as good as dead. The ball of energy began to fluctuate in the warrior's palm, and Vegeta knew that the Sentilese was about to fire.
Vegeta powered up to super Saiya-jin and just managed to pull away from the Sentilese warrior's grip.
The Sentilese changed his aim at the last second though, swinging his arm around to point in a different direction entirely.
Vegeta knew even before he turned his head that his opponent's target would be Kakarot.
The next second or two seemed to pass in slow motion as Vegeta forced himself to move faster than he ever had before. There wasn't even any time to think about it. All he knew was that he had to stop that blast from hitting Kakarot, even if it meant...
Vegeta spent the last moment of his life wondering at the irony of it all; that he, a King, should give his life for the son of a third class.
--
It was only ever there for a split second, and you didn't always sense it, but sometimes, you knew instinctively when an enemy had fired an attack at you. This time, Kakarot sensed it, and glanced behind him, preparing to dodge whatever he had sensed coming towards him.
Kakarot turned around just in time to see his King and lover get hit by a lethal wave of energy.
--
"Is she really behind there?" Gohan asked Piccolo as he inspected the door in front of them.
They both knew from their previous stay at the Palace that they had arrived at Sierra's rooms, and the Queen was doing nothing at all to mask her energy signature.
"There's no light coming from beneath the door," Piccolo pointed out. "This could easily be another trap."
"There's only one way we'll find out," Gohan decided, pushing the doors open.
Bright light immediately flooded the room as someone switched on the room's power. Gohan and Piccolo both winced as their eyes took their time to adjust.
After a couple of seconds a clap echoed throughout the throne room, and then, after a long gap another, and another. It took Gohan a few seconds to realise that Sierra was applauding their arrival.
"Well done!" Sierra's voice reached them as they were finally able to focus on her figure, standing beside her throne on the other side of the room, Buu squatting beside her. "The two of you are everything that I could have hoped you would be."
"What are you talking about?" Piccolo growled.
"Honestly," Sierra continued as though she hadn't heard Piccolo. "I haven't found anything to amuse me as much as the two of you have in years!"
She began to pace backwards and forwards in front of her throne as she spoke, in a way that reminded Gohan very much of a big cat sizing up prospective prey. Her hand moved to brush the top of Buu's head as she walked, and the pink creature looked up at her with eyes that didn't focus.
"Unfortunately," Sierra continued. "I doubt that either of you will ever leave this planet."
She glanced down at Buu then, and all of a sudden, the light seemed to return to his eyes. Sierra leaned down to talk to Buu then, and her words resounded around the room easily, so that both Gohan and Piccolo had no difficulty understanding what she was saying.
"Now Buu," she began. "You've been very good, but I need you to do something for me. You see those two over there?"
Buu's eyes swivelled around sharply to take in Gohan and Piccolo, and he frowned, his mouth twisting up in a parody of a smile.
"I want you to kill them for me," Sierra finished.
Buu needed no further prompting, and he sprang up from his position on the floor, crossing the room in an instant to attack Gohan and Piccolo.