And here is my post-Thanksgiving chapter. I just love them sweet potatoes. Makes my year every year. Hope ya'll had a good one as well.
Alright, things were starting to get weird; at least that's how Gohan saw it.
The normal blackness that was space was starting to show different colors. Reds, blues, purples, and greens looked painted on the dark landscape. At first, he and Sixteen had thought an electrical storm was heading towards them but those fears subsided when nothing occurred. Not even Piccolo knew what was happening despite his experiences in space.
And that was a very concerning thought.
Currently, their ship was headed for the universe's center where Babidi had directed them. They had made a quick pit stop on Namek to enlist some aid but had been denied; the Nameks instead wanting to make sure their home planet was back under their control. Gohan hardly blamed them for that but he still didn't like being rejected.
So without wasting time, he and his group headed this way and had stumbled onto this phenomenon. "So what do you think is really happening?" the saiyan asked out loud.
A series of head shakes indicating a negative response was his answer. Well, all except for one person.
"It's so preeeeeeeeetty," Erasa said, staring out of the ship's window.
Staring at the girl in silence, it took awhile for Gohan to finally look away from her and towards Sixteen. "Do you have any idea what this could be?"
"I'm sorry but I have nothing," the android responded. "It could very well be that this is the natural appearance of the area but that is very doubtful."
The saiyan's eye twitched. "Well, do you have any idea how far we are from our destination?"
Once again, the warrior didn't get the reply he had hoped for. "I also do not know that. I've never been to this part of space before."
"Perfect," Gohan growled under his breath. They didn't know where they were or where the place they were looking for was. All they did know was that they were in the vicinity of it.
"I got something!" Tien suddenly announced as he stared at a monitor. Pointing at it, the triclops said "Right there, that's a planet."
Looking at it, Gohan confirmed the human's claim. "So which direction is it?"
"The readings I'm getting says its right in front of us."
Turning his attention to the main window, the saiyan stared out into the colorful abyss. At first he couldn't see anything but soon could see the planet they sought. It was in the middle of a light red spot, nearly camouflaged since it was a reddish orange color.
"Alright, here's the plan," Gohan said, "we're gonna land on that rock and show this demon guy who's boss."
"So who's all going?" Tien asked.
"Everyone. I don't know what's on that planet but I doubt this demon guy is some amateur. He'll be expecting us and probably have an ambush ready to kill anyone at the ship. It'll be in the interest of everyone if we stayed together."
"Alright!" Videl shouted. Finally she wouldn't be left behind while all the guys went to go adventure.
"But what of Erasa?" Sixteen brought up. "She has no fighting experience whatsoever."
"Well, as long as she stays out of the way of our fighting, she'll be alright, right?" was the saiyan's response.
Somehow, the blonde in question didn't hear a word they said. She was still staring out the window at the colorful expanse.
"Not a pretty place, is it?" Goten commented.
"Got that right," Trunks agreed. "What is it with us landing on barren planets that have some evil bad guy on them?"
"Perhaps the bad guy just doesn't have an eye for a good planet?"
"Maybe."
"And that's enough out of you two," Gohan interrupted. "We have to move out."
It hadn't taken long for the group of saiyans and humans to land on the planet. Once they had, they secured the ship and pretty much stood outside of it until someone drug Erasa out.
The blonde had resisted every order to leave the metal haven of hers. Anything that would keep her from exiting the ship's door she grabbed a hold of. It wasn't until Videl and Tien took one of her arms each and pulled her out that she finally left it.
Presently, the girl was not happy as she trudged behind the bold bodyguard. Videl walked right behind her friend in the off chance that Erasa took the chance to run back to the ship.
Behind the Satan girl was Sixteen, who was currently using his scanners to detect any life form that could pose a problem to them. But something was wrong with his system, though he didn't mention it. All he seemed to pick up was static and the android didn't like that one bit.
Picking up the rear of the procession line were Trunks and Goten, who walked casually as if nothing could harm them.
Heading the group, in front of Tien, was Gohan, who looked around the area, trying to find something that would tell him where they needed to go. All around them, rocky mountains and canyons dotted the landscape. Every once in awhile a plateau stood up, but that was about it. Colors of brown and orange made everything seem duller than it actually was. The only thing that was different was the black sky that showed the stars as plainly as you would see in space. It was almost as if they were on a moon rather than a planet.
Trunks let out a sigh of irritation. "Can someone tell me why we're walking rather than flying?"
"Cause I don't want to alert any guards to our presence," Gohan replied from the front.
"You're a bit late for that."
Everyone froze in their place. Simultaneously, they looked up to where they had heard the voice.
Up on a ledge were four fighters, each of them staring down at them.
Standing on their left side, a tall, bulky, brown alien with long shaggy red hear a snout, and two white, bull like horns in his head. Purple boots with dark blue tips, purple armor with dark shoulder guards, and purple gloves covered his body. His arms hung at his sides as he looked down at the group.
On the right side, a short, plump red alien stood with small whisker like things sticking out of his face. Light blue pants and white boots covered his lower half, a green long sleeve shirt with a black vest like armor on top of it. Shoulder guards of the same color as his shirt completed the armor as white gloves covered his hands. A large yellow collar covered his neck and came down his back like hair as a brown sombrero sat on his head. With a smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest, he stuck out like a sore thumb with his comrades.
Behind him, another bulky purple alien with shaggy brown hair stood, even bigger than the brown one. Dark blue spandex covered his lower half as teal armor chest plates covered his upper torso, teal forearm guards on his arms. A cut in his spandex showed off his abs. White boots covered his feet as a strange, light brown hat covered his head.
Kneeling next to the short red alien, a light blue man of average statue was with spiky white hair on his head. The top of his arm and shoulder guards were a light purple, along with forearm guards and boots. A dark purple fabric covered the rest of his torso, opening around his stomach to show his abs. A beige cape hung down his body.
The bulky purple alien started to laugh, a hint of a southern accent in his voice. "Looks like we caught these weaklings by surprise, Spice."
"Looks like," the kneeling alien replied, his voice smooth and pleasant to the ears. "What do you suppose they're doing here?"
"Beats me," the brown one responded, a deep snuffed up sound coming from his mouth.
"I guess we'll just have to find out then, won't we?" Spice said. "Would you do the honors Mustard?"
The red alien smirked as he nodded. "So what are you weaklings doing here?" he demanded in a raspy voice.
Gohan scowled. "That's none of your business."
"Why you?!" the purple one growled, preparing to go in for the attack.
"Calm yourself Vinegar," Spice commanded. "He's just trying to rile you up."
"And why would I try to 'rile' ya'll up?" Gohan replied, a small grin forming on his lips. "You're not worth the time to do that."
That caused all the alien fighters to glare and growl, all except for Spice.
"Hold on Gohan," Tien suddenly spoke. "I'm not sure who these guys are or how strong they are but it'd be meaningless for all of us to waste any energy here."
The saiyan looked at the bald human. "And what do you propose?"
"You, Goten, and Trunks keep going. Me, Videl, and Sixteen will take care of these guys."
Gohan just stared at the bodyguard before nodding his head. "Okay, we'll do that. Goten! Trunks! We're going ahead."
Without waiting for a reply, the saiyan took off running; the other two saiyans leaping over the humans and following him.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Vinegar shouted after them, gathering his ki for a ki blast.
"Hold it Vinegar!" Spice ordered. "Conserve your strength. As a member of the Spice Boys, you must never lose your cool. We're the leaders of Lord Dabura's army and it would be unbecoming of you to attack blindly. Besides," the white haired alien smirked, "the first wave isn't too far behind us. They'll run right into them."
This caused the purple fighter to calm down and smirk. "Good thinking Spice."
"If you're done talking to yourselves, maybe we could get our fight started," Tien called out. "In a better location preferably."
"Anxious aren't we?" the white haired leader commented. "So be it. We'll find a better place for your graves."
That was when the brown alien spoke. "There's a descent sized plateau not too far from here."
"Good work Salt. Let's head over there."
Slowly, the Spice Boys lifted off of their perch and drifted through the air. In response, Tien and Videl went after them, Sixteen picking Erasa up from the ground, an arm wrapped around her stomach causing her to just hang in the air.
True to Salt's words, the plateau wasn't too far away. The fighters went to one side of the open plain as the humans landed on the opposite side, Sixteen putting Erasa down and the blonde scrambling to get behind him.
"Is this a good enough place for you?" Spice called out.
"It's fine," Tien answered. Then looking to Videl, he lightly threw his head back, indicating for her to move with him. The two fighters walked towards the middle of the plateau and fell into fighting stances.
"So they want to fight with two huh?" the Spice Boys' leader said. "Salt, Mustard, they're all yours."
Both fighters looked at each other and smiled wickedly. Then both of them moved to a place opposite of the human fighters, both of them with their arms crossed in front of them.
"I guess they're gonna give us the first move," Tien whispered to the Satan girl, who only nodded her head.
However, that assumption was quickly squashed as Mustard threw one of his arms out and fired a red ki blast at the humans, surprising them.
Simultaneously, both fighters leapt high into the air as the beam hit the ground they had been standing on and exploded.
Suddenly, as Videl came to a stop in the air, Mustard appeared a ways in front of her, smirking devilishly at her. With her attention on the small red fighter, she never expected Salt to appear behind her, his hands clasped over his head. With a mighty swing, he jackhammered the dark haired girl, sending her flying back towards the ground.
Smirking, Mustard aimed his arm at the falling girl and gathered his ki, firing the blast at her.
However, Tien swopped in before the beam connected with its intended target and slapped it away. Keeping his third eye on his charge, he saw Videl recover herself and flip in midair, landing on the ground safely.
Putting all his attention on their opponents, the bodyguard charged at them, though he didn't quite make it. Out of nowhere, Salt interrupted the fighter's crash course, slamming his large knee into the side of Tien's face; knocking the bald human off his track as spit flew from his mouth.
But Tien recovered much faster than either Spice Boy had anticipated as the human got his baring and swung his body towards Salt, landing a vicious punch to his face.
As the brown alien drifted away stunned by the punch, Mustard swooped in and threw a barrage of punches and kicks, each blow being blocked or dodged, and followed by a counterattack. Soon, both fighters were exchanging strikes that were blocked and reacted to.
In the meantime, Salt had recovered himself and started to rush in on Tien, looking to tilt the fight's advantage in his side's favor. However, Videl intercepted him, appearing right in front of him with both of her hands raised; a ball of ki formed between her palms.
Not wasting a second, the Satan girl fired her charged ki, the attack exploding in her brown opponent's face. Next, the girl rushed towards the alien, swinging her leg at him.
However, despite the small cloud of smoke in Salt's face, he disappeared from sight as Videl's kick sailed through air. A little surprised, the human girl didn't allow herself the time to wonder what happened. Instead, she searched for her opponent with her ki senses, finding him closing on her from behind.
Swinging herself around, Videl raised her arms just in time to catch Salt's attack, gripping his knee tightly to deaden the impact.
As the girl stopped the blow, Salt pulled back an arm, ready to throw a punch at the tiny girl. His attack wasn't able to be launched though, as Mustard came flying out of nowhere and slammed right into his comrade.
Releasing her hold on the knee, Videl watched as Salt and Mustard tumbled in the air. When the two aliens managed to get control of themselves, the Satan girl heard Tien shout "Videl! Eyes!"
Taking the cue, the dark haired girl shut her eyes tightly, just in time to hear her bodyguard yell out "Solar Flare!" Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the brightness hitting her eyelids as the darkness her eyes saw became red. When that redness faded away, the girl opened her eyes to see both of her opponents clutching their own eyes, screaming in pain from the stinging sensation.
Taking this opportunity, Videl raised both of her arms to her head, the back of one of her hands resting against the palm of the other by her forehead. Recalling everything Gohan had taught her about this move as quickly as she could, a bright ball of ki appeared around her hands.
"Masenko Ha!" she cried out as she thrust her arms out, firing the blast. The large yellow beam raced towards her opponents, running right into Mustard and consuming him, an explosion erupting from the contact.
All Tien could do was just stare at the action, taken back. If he was right, that was one of Gohan's moves; but when did he teach her that? It couldn't have been before or after Namek since they were a bit busy then, running into Garlic Jr. and Babidi and all.
As the smoke from Videl's attack dissipated, Salt let out a roar of anger. "You killed Mustard!" he cried out. "I'll make you suffer for that!"
However, before he could move to make good on that claim, Tien had pulled through his astonishment and used a burst of speed to appear right before the brown Spice Boy. Throwing a punch, the human bodyguard's hit landed right in his opponent's gut, stunning him as all the air in his lungs rushed out of him, leaving him breathless.
Not hesitating, Tien quickly gathered his ki and released it in Salt's stomach, a large ball of ki pushing the fighter down towards the ground, the two crashing into one of the small, rocky mountains.
However, Tien was done just yet. With his other hand pulled back, the bald human had a bright orb of ki surrounding it. When he felt it was strong enough, the bodyguard let out a cry, thrusting the arm out and firing the ki blast; the attack racing towards Salt's crash site and detonating, flames consuming everything in the blast site.
When nothing but smoke was left of the area, and no sign of their remaining opponent anywhere, Videl and Tien drifted towards each other before they began lowering themselves to the ground. "Would you mind telling me how you knew one of Gohan's techniques?" the triclopes questioned.
Videl rolled her eyes slightly. "Obviously Gohan taught me."
"Fair enough, but when? I'm pretty sure we didn't have many places for you to practice on since we left Namek last time."
"Well, he showed me how to gather all the ki I needed while we where on our way here. We spent the whole trip practicing that," the girl admitted. "That was the first time I've had the chance to use it, though."
That caused Tien to look thoughtful. "Interesting," mumbled. "Well, I won't ask how you got him to teach you it."
For that, the Satan girl was thankful. It had taken a bit of persuasion to get the saiyan to do as she wanted, namely teaching her some new move she could use since she was pretty sure she couldn't handle Tien's Tribeam Cannon. Pleading, begging, and some threats were used but finally the warrior caved in and taught her.
Needless to say, the two of them didn't leave their room for awhile after Videl had understood the basic concept of the move. A deal was a deal after all and it wasn't an agreement she was against fulfilling.
Oh great, now she was becoming a pervert. What next? She'd start acting like Sharpner and then begin dressing up like Erasa?
Hmm, now that was a scary thought.