The Hunt Begins
Yamcha and Krillan came barging through the door, Vegeta and Raditz trying to figure out where to start searching for Kakarot and Pepper. When neither one of them came, especially Kakarot, they knew something was wrong. While Kakarot could get difficult, he wasn't like Pepper. "Have you guys been watching the news?!" They shouted in unison.
"Why would we? There's never anything worth watching," Vegeta growled, scanning through maps and known locations of the Red Ribbon Army. He couldn't believe how wide spread they were, and it didn't seem to have any gaps in personnel. It almost looked liked a mini version of the Ice-jin Empire; it was definitely a concern and he could see why Pepper would want to deal with it if this was the reason she had taken off.
"You're probably never going to say it again after this," Yamcha predicted, grabbing the remote and turning on the television.
Every channel was featuring a live broadcast that was coming out of West City, everything in view lying in complete destruction as explosions landed in and around it. At the far end was a building, an energy shield preventing any of the mortars from hitting. "Remember that announcer from eight years ago?" Krillan asked. "He decided to stay in the city after an evacuation was ordered, and he hasn't left, despite multiple attempts to ask him to run. Aware of the risk he's taken, he says it's just as vital that people watch what was happening, to see the fight that was raging back and forth between the Red Ribbon Army and two people, one of them from that same Martial Arts Tournament."
All they could see was one person battling against the hordes of robots marching on the city, replacing their destroyed companions. "Is that Bardock?" Vegeta asked. "You said two people."
"I told you that Kakarot left West City a week ago and I would have known if he had gone back. My guess, Bardock probably told him not to. You and I both know Bardock doesn't get involved unless there's one particular person's life at risk. And judging from his banged up condition, he's not doing so well."
"When's the last time you talked to Turles," Raditz asked Vegeta. He kept his eyes on the broadcast, but the only person he saw fighting was his father, weaving in and out of the robots like they were nothing more than the buckets of bolts they were. It wasn't how weak they were, it was the sheer numbers that wouldn't stop replenishing themselves.
"He said not to contact him until after he's landed on Earth. That was two weeks ago."
"Damn it! He's probably known about what's going on! Of all the times to find ourselves without our scouters."
"Pepper did say that the two of you needed to learn how to sense energy without them. While those robots don't show any energy levels, the weapons they're firing off at the city could level it and the entire continent in an instant. Those are the ones that Bardock's been protecting the city from, and every bit of it has been on live television. If we wanted to send up a red flag of war, Bardock's doing that as he continues to stand between them and the thousands of people that are trapped inside of Capsule Corporation. They'll never give up trying to destroy it now that it's become the center of attention around the world."
"Sir... you should take a break; check on that girl while I keep recording." They heard coming from the Camera Man.
"You should probably do the same."
"All I'm doing is holding a camera sir. If I need to take a break, I can just sit on my but some more. That's not going to make me want to turn this off; not a single moment while we're still able to record. It doesn't amount to what those two are doing, but... It's the least we can do... Maybe those people you talk about so much... Maybe they'll see..."
The reporter nodded, putting down the microphone as he retreated. There was blood and dirt on his face, and he looked as if he had aged a few decades as the rubble they were hiding in shook from the mortar impacts.
A knock on the door, and everyone in Master Roshi's house turned to see the last person they expected to see standing in the doorway. Like Kami, he rarely left the lookout, and he looked worn down, battered and frightened. "Kami says that he can't hold off the assault on the lookout for much longer. Kakarot finally collapsed about ten minutes ago." They noticed the man on a flying carpet, his hat in burnt tatters.
"Why is he at the lookout instead of West City?"
"Pepper had him take something and someone away from there; Bardock gave strict orders for him to stay just in case the Army attacked it. It seems this monstrous military has enough forces that they can afford two main assaults at the same time. They're also sending stronger robots than what Bardock is dealing with."
"Where is my sister in all of this?! You honestly want me to believe she's going to sit back while Bardock and Kakarot are in the middle of a fire fight!"
"She's in West City..."
The Camera Man had mentioned something to the reporter about a girl. "Get to the lookout," Raditz ordered. "I can handle West City!"
"Are you okay?" Bulma asked the green guardian. She applied a damp cloth to Kakarot's burnt skin, feeling the exhaustion that demanded she sleep. Instead, she focused on tending to his injuries whenever he could afford a break. After that last attack that shot him from the sky, he hadn't moved, and if a miracle didn't happen and soon; Kami's energy was almost depleted, his breathing coming in shallow gasps. Were two dragon balls worth all of this? She wanted to give it to them, her eyes settling on her bag. If it would save their lives...
"No Bulma! They cannot have those! If we make it out of this alive, I will explain everything, but for now I need you to take them and go inside the door behind me. If possible, drag Kakarot with you. I warn you, while it will serve as protection, it can also prove as a mortal danger. Do not step outside the building you will find yourself in. Now go."
Bulma touched Kakarot's injured face. She had no idea who he was, but if she ran and left him here after he had risked his life to save hers... Gritting her teeth in determination, she started to tug and drag him... While the door was only a couple of feet, Kakarot was dead weight, and she had never lifted anything past a five pound dumb bell. With a scream of desperate fear, she managed to pull him the rest of the way and shut the door that Kami told her to go through, watching as it disappeared.
"Commander. The two dragon balls suddenly disappeared off our radars!'
The assault eased back, and Kami had to take the brief moment to regain some of his strength. With the dragon balls in another dimension, the Army wouldn't know how to find them, and if he had no other choice, he would destroy the door that separated both worlds from each other. It didn't matter if the two inside would remain trapped inside and never came out again... The future Pepper and Bardock had seen was far worse. If the Army remained unopposed, they would expand across the Universe like a plague, eclipsing even the Ice-jin Empire.
Just as the air assault decided to continue, several energy blasts came from all sides, destroying the planes and landing around Kami. Mr. Popo helped Kami to sit, and the guardian couldn't recall a battle that had gotten close to the lookout in close to 60 years. "Are you okay?" Krillan asked, running up with a medical kit. While he had kept his promise to keep getting stronger, he had also started studying how to become a first responder, and he used that training now as he began to treat some of Kami's injuries.
"Where is Kakarot?"
"I had the human female drag him into the building behind us. It's imperative that she not come out. While the Army may come back; they cannot track what's in her possession, and Kakarot needs the time that the room will give for him to recover his strength. I won't lie, this assault will not end in a hurry like most. The longer it drags on, the stronger the opponent seems to become."
"What are you talking about?"
"Kakarot noticed it this morning. In the beginning, the robots easily fell apart when he hit them. However, they're not doing that any longer. It's taken everything he has just to take on one; and their fire power has increased as well. If we do not put an end to this and soon, the enemy will destroy both West City and the Lookout. However, because they're not aware of where I sent Kakarot and Bulma, the items they're so desperate to destroy the world for, they will never obtain."
Pepper thought she felt someone giving her a sip of water... She had no idea how the human would have gotten it, and she opened her eyes to see the reporter kneeling beside her, a damp cloth in his hand as he pressed it against a broken water line. "Everyone else ran when they had a chance... Why?" She whispered. The Camera Man shifted focus and settled on them... He didn't know why, but he felt that the conversation that he was hearing needed to be heard. She had fallen two days before, covered in burns, her clothes in tatters, but she was stubbornly refusing to give up. "Why do you refuse to run?"
"I know it seems foolish to you, but like a fighter on the front lines of a war, there are doctors that stay and tend to the wounded. They know it's dangerous, but they feel so strongly about the person that they're trying to save and pull out of harm's way. A teacher will stay behind when there's a fire raging through their school, ensuring all their little charges get out. Throughout history, humans will show surprising courage and stand against the darkest of forces... Even if they die, it doesn't matter so long as they remain standing and show the rest of the world that they to have that same will to fight against the impossible. I'm a reporter and my job is to show the kind of horror that they will face if this Army remains unopposed. Besides, if I run away and leave a little girl behind... That is so uncool."
"You're an idiot..." she hissed, struggling to sit up. The reporter helped her... "...Always the entertainer. I thought that what you did was stupid and pointless... I never considered that even someone like you could have a purpose. How baffling and surprising."
Bardock came hurtling through the wall, sliding to a halt on the ground. He had smoke coming from his armor... "I guess I'm up," she whispered, staggering back to her feet. Neither human could grasp the kind of courage it took for her to limp back to the entrance of their make shift bunker... the male fighter was no different. While the reporter wasn't familiar with him, he was like the others that had fought eight years ago in the Tournament.
It was at that moment, that several rows of robots and machines vanished, Pepper glancing up in surprise. Dropping down, the reporter started to cry, his Camera Man staring at him in shock. "Sir..."
"He came... I don't know why... Maybe it's because of her, but it doesn't matter."
Stopping in front of her, he glanced first at her, and then at Bardock who gave him an exhausted look of exasperation before blacking out. "You and I are going to have a long discussion after this," Raditz snarled.
"Believe it or not," she whispered, too tired to stop herself from leaning against him. Raditz didn't push her away. The fact that she was showing how vulnerable she had become, told him that the situation had passed the critical point. "All I wanted to do when I came here was to read a book."
"You were here to read a book; that's it? If that's true, then why did Kakarot leave West City with a human and whatever they were after?"
"That was just a result of bringing him here to meet a girl he had seen in a magazine."
"Pepper, why would you encourage that?!"
"One, Kakarot isn't a child. Second, physically, the humans are compatible with us. Three, we're not on Vegeta-sai. Four, we don't get to pick who are mates are. It just happens. Besides, I'd think the incoming wave of robots would be more entertaining than worrying about who your brother will choose for a mate."
So maybe it wasn't a good idea to start a fight with him, but she was exhausted, emotionally vulnerable, and she was so damn tired of Raditz coming to her rescue just to take off again. Why have a protector if he was never around? "If we're going to make accusations; what the hell took you so long to get here? This battles been airing live for over a week!"
"I don't watch that box and you know it!"
"Well maybe you should!" The reporter and camera man looked back and forth between the two fighters.
"Uh..." the reporter asked, flinching when they both turned to glare at him. "Isn't the battle out there?"
"Stay here," Raditz snapped.
Pepper snatched his hair and yanked him around to face her, golden eyes flashing with fury. "Raditz... I'm not a child anymore either. I do not sit back and let you or anyone else fight my battles. If you want to help, then you go find your own robots to play with. But if you order me to sit down like a little girl one more time..." She slammed her fist as hard as she could against his jaw, sending him flying into a new formation of robots. "You won't have to worry about this army or Frieza kicking your ass!"
Lunging forward, despite the changes and modifications done to the robotic army, she ripped them apart. Bardock was getting too old for this stupidity, waking up to find the two of them at each others throat.
Tossing a tank at him, Raditz punched right through it, Pepper staring at him with defiant pride and fury. "I'll tell you what Raditz... Starting now... If you can get a higher robot count than mine... I'll stay home... For every robot that beats my final count, I'll stay put for a single day. Consider the one I gave you as a head start. You're going to need it. However, if I win, I guess the next time you'll see me is in two years. This army isn't going to crawl in a hole and hide... This planet has become our home and I will save it so that Kakarot and any other Saiya-jin that wants to live here, can do so without fear of another Empire replacing the one that we're trying to eradicate!"
Raditz did a spinning round house and sent a robot flying towards her, and just as he had done to his, her robot fell at her feet in pieces. "Are you sure those two are on the same side," the camera man asked.
"I give up," Bardock growled, sitting beside them as Raditz and Pepper tore through the enemy's rank. "I hope you're keeping count," he told the reporter.
"What for?"
"You did say the world wanted a rematch... What better stage is there than a live battlefield?"
"Are you crazy?! This isn't a game!"
"I never said it was," Bardock snapped. "However, where we come from, we have one sacred rule when it comes to a challenge, and regardless of the setting, time or place... We will never violate it. This is the second time she has challenged him, and while the human rules might have decided that he was the winner, our rules are very different. Neither one of them won that fight eight years ago and they've been at an impasse ever since."
The commander watched as his robot army fell apart, no match for the two super humans ripping through them. He had never seen anything like them... While the male was extraordinary, the girl... He couldn't help but think that she would be the one to stop the Red Ribbon Army. Neither male that came to help her had done it for the city or the humans... They were fighting because or for her. "Order the retreat."
"Sir?"
"The financial losses of this battle are not easy to recover from. While we still have a great deal of robots and firepower to throw at them, we cannot forget our main objective. The dragon balls are not here, and our victory no longer outweighs the benefits of continuing the search and leaving this city alone."
"What about the other battle being fought?"
"That force was crushed nearly an hour ago; that girl... While that fighter beside her might have made a difference, she was the one that stood her ground long enough for him to join her. She's hurt... she's tired... and yet here she is, keeping up with him."
Raditz and Bardock watched as the Army turned and left, Pepper sitting on top of her pile of robots and tanks. Like the first battle, there was no clear winner, and he felt disappointed. He sensed a distancing in her mind, and when he started to stand and leave, Bardock spoke... "I'm going to give you a warning... That girl is within the legal requirements of our Saiya-jin laws to claim. If you don't get your head out of your ass before Turles gets here, one of us will challenge you for her; that's not a threat."
"Turles has never met her!"
"Are you an idiot?! We're twins... he sees and feels everything that I do! He's had an interest in her for quite some time. You've let her walk away over and over... You allow her to do as she wants... She challenges you again and again... One of these days you're going to let her walk away and you won't have the chance to get her back. If you think she's still a child... you better look again. She's far from it, and that look on her face right now... There's more than one way to hurt someone without hitting them. She wanted you to win this challenge. If you truly have no desire to claim her, then don't go after her if she leaves again. If you don't claim her soon, one of us will take her from you. I suggest you make your mind up; we're not going to wait until after the fight with Frieza. That girl is determined to continue fighting on her own, and the only way that can change is for a Saiya-jin that has the guts and power to make and complete a full bond with her."
"I never wanted a woman for my own," Raditz admitted, too tired to argue. He looked at her, and while he couldn't deny the pull he felt at times, he didn't feel as if he had a right to take her. She was so selfless... It made no sense that she would want to protect these humans, but he found himself wanting to help her and more.
"Raditz... I think you need to trust that she knows what she wants more than you do. You keep acting as if she's going to break... she won't. If you let her walk away without her knowing how you feel or what you want... we're not going to let you regret that decision for long."
"Shouldn't she know already?"
"That's the funny thing about her visions... all it shows is a Saiya-jin protecting and fighting along side her against Frieza. It doesn't really give a clear picture about which one. While I've had a feeling it's been you... I've been wrong before. Visions and predictions are based on the choices we make, and if you haven't made up your mind, then she won't see it."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I'm tired of seeing her look like that. I don't respect a lot of fighters... She's a rare exception and maybe you should acknowledge that fact." Bardock left, leaving Raditz with the human reporter and his camera man.
"I know it's probably not my place, but may I offer some advice?"
"It seems that's all anyone wants to do at the moment," Raditz growled. "Considering I'm not in the mood to move yet... What?"
"I had a wife once; loved her more than life itself. She had cancer and she died. While that might not have a lot to do with what's going on between the two of you... I see the way you look at her... It's like a man that's found some rare treasure, but has no idea what it is or what to do with it. Son... you can search the entire Universe and never find another woman like the one that's sitting on top of that pile of rubble. She's brave, selfless, perhaps a little reckless... but her strength of will is beyond anything I've ever seen. She'll keep on fighting... If she's afraid... It doesn't hold her back. I think it would just push her to try harder. I can't say for sure... I've never seen the kind of fighters that your guys are... but I think you're holding back and that's not fair to her or yourself. Give her the kind of challenge she's wanting or don't bother accepting."
"You didn't just blast that all over the television, did you?" Raditz snarled.
"I could have, but no. That was off the record, a man talking to another man."
"Alright... if we're having such a bonding moment... what do I do with her? I don't know the first thing about a woman, what to do with them, or how not to break them."
"She just fought against an entire horde of robots for a week and you're worried about breaking her? This is the same woman that fought you at eight years old and forced it into a draw. And for the record, that's exactly what it was. The rules wouldn't allow me to declare it as such, and that's the only reason that you won. Stop making excuses; she deserves better than that and you damn well know it. As for what to do with her... You're telling me, as observant of a fighter as you are, you've never watched other men and women interacting with another? You're a Soldier... you watch people... You study their habits... and this shouldn't prove any different. If you don't know; perhaps you might want to do a little bit of research before you lose the one treasure any man would gladly sacrifice themselves to obtain. It seems that fighter that just left, sees her for what she is as well, and he's holding back as a courtesy, not because he has to."
As the two humans left, Raditz looked at her... It wasn't a glance, but the look of someone that wanted to see and understand what everyone was trying to point out to him. As the moonlight appeared through the storm clouds that had threatened to rain on them all day, his eyes widened. She was just sitting there, her silver tail the only thing that wasn't covered in dirt or blood. Her hair was a mess, her arms were a mess of cuts and bruises, but damn it... She wasn't a child, but he couldn't really say she was a full grown woman yet either. She was on the verge of a transformation and if he kept acting like an idiot, he really was going to lose her.
Standing, he took a step towards her, Pepper not looking in his direction. She had gone quiet like she usually did when she got like this. Perhaps it was her exhaustion, but when he reached for the link he had been ignoring for several years, he felt an aching loneliness inside of her that she didn't know what to do with. Over the years, she had enjoyed their little games of cat and mouse; it was like she ran away on purpose just to get him to go after and bring her back. It had developed into something else recently. She was wanting something, but she wouldn't ask for it. That wasn't how it worked for a female Saiya-jin, and he tried to understand. According to the ancient ways, the male hunted the female, caught and tried to convince her that he was strong enough to protect her. She already knew that he was strong enough, but unless he could admit that she was what he wanted, to take the hunts that she kept throwing in his lap seriously, nothing would change between them.
He had no idea of what he had in mind was appropriate for Saiya-jins, but he had nothing else to go off of when he slammed his foot against the pile she was sitting on. With a cry, the rubble collapsed and he got her in mid-air. "Are you so distracted that you'd allow someone to get this close without knowing it," he growled.
"Whatever," she muttered. Pepper slid down and tried to pull away when she felt a strong push against the metal behind her, one hand on the flat of her stomach, the other grabbing the back of her neck. Taking a deep breath, she tried to process what was happening... He wasn't hurting her; so what... Looking into his eyes, she gasped.
Bardock! What did you tell him?!
What he needed to hear... And it seems that human had a lot to say as well? I think I'm starting to respect them. They have guts when they probably shouldn't. Did you think that you were going to go unclaimed for much longer? There's no way Turles or I would allow that to happen... We're both aware that he's your first choice, but I'm going to make it perfectly clear so that even you don't have any misunderstandings about what's at stake... If he doesn't claim you before Turles gets here... we're going to take that option away from him.
Pepper briefly struggled when she felt the heat of his breath against her throat. What was Raditz doing? This wasn't a game and she snarled a warning; one that he returned. There was a red haze building in his mind, his teeth extending... "I want to ask you something," he purred, his grip in her hair forcing her to look up at him. She had never seen him like this, and she trembled, not certain about how to act, if she should fight, if she should submit... "Our little cat and mouse game... Were you intentionally allowing me to find you?"
"I wouldn't say it was intentional," she whimpered, watching him dip his head and lap at her throat. Every now and then he would nip, and she closed her eyes, her mind a storm of chaos and fire. "I wasn't trying that hard to avoid you."
He had no idea what he was doing, his hand sliding down to her thigh and lifted her up, giving her no choice but to use his shoulders to hold onto. Her eyes were filled with confusion and panic; but there was also a flicker of hope and desire. "We already both know you're going to get involved with this human/robot war. I'm not going to stop you." Her fingers started to slide in his thick hair; she couldn't have stopped herself if she had wanted to. His mouth moved to her jaw, his mind a whisper against her own as he tried to figure out what got a response and what didn't. "In fact I'm going to give you a month... and make no mistake... I am damn good at our little game... I'm officially challenging you... right here... right now... I will hunt you... track you... I don't care how hard you try... I will find you and I don't give a damn if there's a battle waging around us... I will claim you. I've decided they're not going to have you."
Pepper growled back. Pressing her lips against his ear, she nipped down on it, not enough to draw blood, but to bring the Oozuru out more. "Do you really think you have what it takes to track and hunt me down, Raditz? I've allowed you to find me before. You're going to wait a month to start hunting me down? Are you that arrogant?"
The grip in her hair became painful, and he almost drew blood when he grazed his teeth along the column of her throat. "There's a difference between arrogance and confidence." She had no idea why she did what she did next, brushing her lips against his, lapping at his bottom lip with her tongue. Her fingers clawed at his back, and he roared, allowing instinct to take over. "I change my mind... I don't want to wait... You have the time it takes for me to put you down to start running, because when I start the chase I'm not stopping until I have you!" For a brief moment, they shared a savage look between each other. This was the true mating ritual that had once existed between the males and females. Now that it was initiated, anyone stupid enough to get in his way... human, friend, family... It wouldn't matter and he'd rip them to shreds.
She felt him lower her to the ground, their lips still tasting and exploring. When he pulled away, his eyes were glowing in the dark shadows, the moonlight making him appear all the more dangerous and predatory. In a flash she was gone, and he gave her only long enough to make it outside the city before he took up the chase.
Bardock wanted to fall into his bed, close his eyes, and not wake up until the battle with Frieza. He thought under the circumstances, it was a reasonable request. Landing on the lookout, he saw everyone sitting around, dozing as they slept off the assault for the past couple of days. "Where is Kakarot and the human female?" he asked, not seeing them.
Krillan jerked at the building behind them... "Kami said he had them hide in there until we were done with the fight out here. The door's been locked, and we haven't had a chance to go get them."
Bardock felt all the blood drain from his face... Vegeta opened his eyes and stared at him, wondering why Bardock looked like someone had just died or worse. "How long ago did they go in there?" he croaked.
"Two days ago."
Kami came out, having regained consciousness, and when he saw Bardock's pale complexion, he briefly remembered Kakarot and Bulma. "I guess I forgot to tell everyone about the time differences of that world and this one."
"You forgot?! They've been in there for two earth days and you think that's something that we should be forgetting about?!"
"Kakarot was injured when he went in there... I don't think a couple of days would have made much of difference. The battle's over," Krillan said, trying to understand why Bardock was about to lose it.
"Two Earth days is equivalent to two years in there! You guys left a human female, alone, with an adolescent Saiya-jin male, and you think that I'm over reacting!"
