SHONEN ALLIANCE
RE:BIRTH
OPENING THEME: KU ZEN ZETSU GO (Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters)
The Dark Saiyan of Gluttony had been bested and the army of creatures that had infested Karakura Town had been exterminated. Fortunately, the city had suffered no severe damage during the attack and the heroes had suffered only minor injuries during the battle. Isabella and Orihime were working together to treat the wounds.
"Get over it, Moss Head! I took out way more then you did," Sanji declared firmly.
"No way in hell," Zoro replied, "I took down way more then you did, so you get over it!"
"Pretty sure I took down more then either of you," Naruto shouted proudly, "so I think that makes me the winner!"
"YOU'RE NOT PART OF THIS WHISKERS!" Sanji shouted angrily at him.
"Whiskers?" Naruto repeated, confused.
Teresa stood away from the others, deep in thought.
"I knew there were likely beings out there stronger then we were, but to so easily best one of the Dark Saiyans, she muttered to herself, trying to make sense of what she had born witness to. Goku didn't even seem to be all that tired as he stood, exchanging stories with Ichigo, Yugi, and Moka. "With power like that… we might just have a chance!"
"Have a chance against what?" Teresa had not noticed Clare's approach, "do you talk out loud to yourself often?"
"I've been told I do," Teresa sighed in response, "it helps me straighten my thoughts and I have nothing to hide from you. Now that the danger is past, I suppose it's time I explained our situation to you.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Orihime's apartment was far to small for the group that now gathered so the group met up under a picnic shelter located in a nearby park. Luffy's head was slumped down on the table, staring hungrily at a grill set up in the shelter.
"Sanji! I want meat!" he wailed to his crew chef.
"Suck it up," Sanji ordered, lighting a cigarette, "and pay attention. We all want to know what's going on here."
"I could go for some meat, too," Naruto groaned.
"I suppose I owe you that much at the very least," Teresa admitted, holding out her hand towards the table. Several orbs if silver light appeared over the table, then flashed, leaving several stacks of raw meat and other ingredients on the table, "chef, do you suppose you could make a meal from this?"
A wry smile spread over Sanji's lips after the request. "Well, if the lady's going to ask, I can't very well refuse," he admitted analyzing both his ingredients and cooking equipment. "I just hope there's enough food here. Not hard to tell we've got some big appetites in the crowd."
"I wouldn't hold my breath. We've got Luffy to feed, remember," Nami sighed.
"If he's half the bottomless pit Goku and Vegeta are, we might be in trouble," Krillin joked.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
The fear proved unnecessary , though not unfounded. By the time the eating stopped, no one was sure who had eaten the most. Goku, Luffy, and Vegeta had each put away enough food to probably feed ten people, and likely could have put away more.
What's more, the Saiyan appetite clearly wasn't limited to the full blooded Saiyans. Gohan, Goten, and Trunks put away a fair bit as well, and Flora had plowed through almost as much food as Goku. Miraculously, though, despite the shear amount of food being devoured, Teresa's offering proved sufficient for the job, though only just barely.
"What did I just watch?" Kurumu asked, still shocked by the display.
"Seems gluttony isn't an uncommon trait among Saiyans, dark or otherwise," Deneve commented.
"As much as I appreciate the meal," Ichigo cut in.
"You want to know what you've been fighting," Teresa sighed, "I will tell you everything, but to understand our enemy, you must know the story of my father, a Saiyan scientist named Nion."
"You said his name before, but I've never heard anything about such a Saiyan," Vegeta declared.
"Your father would have known the name," Teresa admitted, "after all, your father did try to have mine killed."
"Hmph, I wouldn't take that bet. I doubt my father remembered the names of very many of the people whose blood he spilt," Vegeta declared.
"To be fair, it was no petty reason that drove your father to seek to take my father's life. In fact, I think it fair to say he had a very good reason."
"Explain," Vegeta ordered.
"My father was never particularly fond of King Vegeta. He believed your father to be far to willing to allow the Saiyans to be subjugated to the whims of others. He was no saint, don't misunderstand. He had no gripe with your father's methods, only with the fact that the Saiyans had to hand the spoils of their savagery to Frieza, rather then keeping it for themselves. So, he decided to take action."
"What sort of action?" Vegeta demanded.
"I'm certain your familiar with the Dragon Balls," Teresa inquired.
"Huh, yeah, sure, we know all about the Dragon Balls," Goku admitted.
"Of course, but are you aware that the sets on Earth and Namek are not the only ones in our universe?"
"Hold on? There are other Dragon Balls!?" Goku exclaimed in shock.
"Namekians have lived on many different worlds over time," Teresa revealed, "I am not certain how many sets of Dragon Balls exist in the universe, but I am aware of one other that exists aside from the two you know. At least, these Dragon Balls used to exist."
"Used to? So their creator passed away then," Piccolo deduced, "but what does that have to do with these Dark Saiyans?"
"The creator of these balls was eventually murdered by my father, but only after my father had drained away the power of these Dragon Balls," Teresa revealed, "these Dragon Balls were much smaller then the orbs your familiar with. Closer to a small set of seven pearls, each a dark, sickly gold color with pale white stars numbered from one to seven. My father worked tirelessly to track down these 7 Dragon Balls after learning of their existence, and captured their creator, bringing them all back to Planet Vegeta before destroying their planet of origin."
"Hold on, I was under the impression Dragon Balls wouldn't work if they were taken off of the planet they were created on," Piccolo objected.
"He had no intention of using them for a wish. Somehow, my father figured out a way to corrupt these Dragon Balls. Turn them into a sort of 'Dark Dragon Ball'. However, during the process, these Dark Dragon Balls lost their ability to grant wishes, meaning my father could not use the Dragon Balls to overthrow Frieza or Vegeta. At least, not by themselves. There were those on Planet Vegeta who agreed with my father, so he gathered together seven of the most loyal and powerful of his allies together."
"Not sure I like where this is going," Gohan admitted.
"I don't know how my father did it, his secrets died with him, I'm afraid, but somehow, my father was able to embed these Dark Dragon Balls into the bodies of his loyalists. Only then did he realize how terrible a mistake he had made. The resulting beings, the Dark Saiyans, were extremely powerful. Even newly formed, they would have rivaled Frieza's strongest underlings. The strongest among them may have even been powerful enough to challenge Frieza himself, but they were uncontrollable. The power altered them, making them angrier, more violent, and interested only in fulfilling their own twisted desires. These Dark Saiyans had become a greater threat then the Frieza Force and the Saiyans ever were. My father had to undo everything he had done."
"If these beings were that powerful, how could your father have destroyed them?" Piccolo demanded.
"I didn't say he destroyed them," Teresa sighed, "as you say, he couldn't. These beings were far to strong for any Saiyan at the time to defeat. My father had to settle for the next best option. Using the creator of the very same Dragon Balls he had corrupted to create his Dark Saiyans, my father created a new set of Dragon Balls. These Dragon Balls were very different from a standard set. They were not capable of granting wishes, rather they served as vessels to seal away the power of the Dark Dragon Balls and by extension, the Dark Saiyans they empowered.
"Sounds a bit like the Evil Containment Wave," Piccolo commented, "did it work?"
"For a time, it did, but my father made a fatal mistake. Once the Dark Saiyans were sealed, in order to prevent these Dragon Balls from being used and inadvertently releasing the Saiyans, he buried the Dragon Balls in the cores of seven planets then murdered the Namekian who created them so he could not lead others to the Balls. What he didn't realize was that while the Dragon Balls he had used to create the Dark Saiyans in the first place had become so corrupted they were unaffected by their creators death, the sealing Dragon Balls were rendered powerless with the death of their creator. While the Dark Saiyans were not immediately freed, the seal was weakened to the point that it could easily be destroyed, such as by the destruction of the planet they were sealed inside."
"Destruction of the planet? Hold on, was one of these balls sealed on Planet Vegeta?" Vegeta demanded.
Teresa nodded affirmatively. "Their leader, the Dark Saiyan of Pride, Corruption. My father feared his power and wanted him sealed away where he could observe Corruption, so he placed the sealing Dragon Ball containing him in Planet Vegeta's core. Unfortunately, King Vegeta had discovered my father's plot against him and my father was forced to flee the planet to avoid execution. Eventually he made his way to a planet and crash landed near a small kingdom on the planet's surface. He was badly injured and likely would have died, had he not been discovered and nursed back to health by my mother, the kingdom's queen. The story might have ended there. My father, after all, lived the remainder of his days in peace. He died of disease about a year after Flora and Kayla were born, thinking that the Dark Saiyans were behind him. I suppose they were for him, but for us, the story was very different. He died unaware, after all, that Corruption was free."
"After Frieza destroyed the planet," Vegeta cursed.
"My father wasn't even aware the planet had been destroyed," Teresa sighed, "only my mother was even aware father was not from our home world.
"Hold on, if Corruption was freed so long ago, why are these Dark Saiyans only beginning to act now?" Vegeta demanded.
"Corruption was weakened due to the years he spent sealed. He had to rebuild his strength. Besides that, he was determined to release his comrades as well. It took time for him to track down the other six Dark Saiyans, but in time, he did. It took years, but eventually, he found and destroyed the remaining six planets, freeing all seven of the Dark Saiyans. They spent a few more years rebuilding their strength… and then, about a year ago, years after my father had passed away, his creations arrived on our doorstep, seeking revenge."
"And with our father gone," Valeria interjected, "they decided to take their revenge on his legacy instead."
"We were completely overwhelmed. We suffered one loss after another, unable to do anything to stop their onslaught. We have seen our friends and our sisters mercilessly butchered by those monsters until… until only we 8 and our mother remained," Teresa revealed, her expression showing the pain she was feeling. "The only thing that saved us was the fact that six of the seven Dark Saiyans left the seventh to finish us off and set out to accomplish their real endgame."
"And what would that be?" Piccolo demanded.
"Their goal is to subjugate our entire universe. They are born of the darkest desires of the universe, and were created to be beings that could potentially overthrow Frieza," Teresa revealed, "and they are likely even more powerful now then when they were initially created. They won't be satisfied until every world in our realm has either bent the knee or been burned to ashes."
"I'm guessing the one that kept attacking you was the one we just beat," Goku concluded.
"No, I was honestly surprised to discover he was even here," Teresa admitted, "no, our tormentor intended to inflict a fate far worse then death upon us. One I can only hope my mother was able to escape."
"Fate worse then death? What's worse then being eaten by that freak?" Moka inquired.
"Better to die with some dignity at least, then to be stripped of it and made the prisoner of Debauchery, the Dark Saiyan of Lust," Teresa cursed.
"Dark Saiyan of Lust?" Moka questioned, "sounds like someone I'd want to steer clear of."
"I'd recommend it, if at all possible. He embodies his sin every bit as accurately as Devour did. While his fellow Dark Saiyans were building their strength, Debauchery was traveling the universe, decimating and enslaving entire civilizations for the sole purpose of building his personal 'trophy collection'. He remained with the intention of adding us to his collection as well, but my mother rallied our remaining forces to draw his attention long enough for the eight of us to flee to other worlds to find help. The fact that we were followed means things likely haven't ended well for her."
"Then we need to get home!" Renee shouted forcefully, "mother is going to need our help."
"And what help can we give?" Valeria asked, "I'd rather avoid winding up chained to a wall for that Dark Saiyan to ogle at his discretion, which is exactly what's going to happen to us if we try to fight that guy without help."
"Right," Teresa sighed, "we cannot stop these Dark Saiyans by ourselves," she admitted, looking around, "I am well aware that I have no right to ask your help for our problem, but I promise you, once we are beaten, the Dark Saiyans will not be our problem alone for long. They will come for every world eventually. I know it's selfish, but I must beg for your help."
"Hmph, Dark Saiyans huh?" Vegeta spat, disgusted by the thought of these beings, "if your story is true, then your father has created an insult to our proud race. The rest of you may as well run along home to your milk and cookies. I'll be crushing these freaks myself."
"Well, someone's sure of himself," Moka declared, "but hearing you say that just makes me that much less willing to go anywhere."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly inclined to back down because someone told me to," Ichigo declared, "even less so if these guys are going to try to attack Karakura Town again."
"Yeah, sorry about Vegeta," Krillin said apologetically, "he's not so bad once you get used to him."
"Somehow, I doubt that," Jack Atlas admitted.
"Well, as amusing as all of this has been, I have better things to do then to run around playing hero with the loser squad… again," Kaiba hissed in annoyance, "so if you wouldn't mind taking me back to my company, that'd be great."
"Kaiba," Yami warned, "if we ignore this, it's only a matter of time before our world is under attack again as well. Even you can't deny this has gone far beyond a game."
"I can try," Kaiba cursed.
"So, this is the legendary Seto Kaiba," Jack hissed, "a coward who runs away at the first sign of danger."
"Hmm? And who exactly are you?" Kaiba demanded.
"My name is Jack Atlus! The Master of Faster!" Jack declared firmly, staring down Kaiba, "I thought a legendary duelist like you would be more impressive then this!"
"Is that right? Well, Jack Atlas, the 'Master of Faster'," Kaiba replied dismissively, "I'm not concerned with what some chump duelist thinks of my reputation."
"Chump duelist!?" Jack shouted angrily.
"Welp, that fell apart quicker then expected," Joey sighed.
"Jack, let it go," Yusei pleaded, "we have bigger problems right now."
"Alright, tough guy!" Jack shouted, not even acknowledging Yusei as he held up his Duel Disc, "let's see who's a chump duelist!"
"You really want to do this?" Kaiba replied, facing Jack, a wicked smile on his face, "you wouldn't last two turns against me."
"This should be interesting," Valeria admitted, watching the escalating situation.
"Uh, should we stop this?" Kayla asked.
"Why, it's just a duel," Valeria replied, "no one will get hurt if we let it happen."
Teresa let out a sigh. "I suppose it was foolish to assume a group this large could be gathered without some conflict."
"I'm still not entirely certain about what's going on," Clare admitted focusing on Teresa over the ensuing duel.
"I'm not surprised," Teresa admitted, "to most, I suppose ideas such as Dragon Balls and Saiyans would be very confusing. I'm not certain where to even begin trying to explain it, but the most important thing is this. If we do not stop them, it is only a matter of time before no world is truly safe. The fact that we were pursued indicates that my world has likely already fallen to them. I intend to make sure that it is the last to fall to my father's creations, even if it costs my life. I cannot ask the same of any of you, but you should know that they will come eventually for your worlds as well should we fail. If that happens, you must be ready." Everyone was silent for a moment.
"I can't speak for everyone," Yami finally broke the silence, "however, I can't sit by and wait for these Dark Saiyans to invade my home. It's clear to me already that I'm no match for them directly. Even my Egyptian God Cards failed to phase that Dark Saiyan we fought before. However, even if we have no choice but to rely on Goku to deal with the Dark Saiyans themselves, I won't wait idly. If my power can help, Teresa, then you have it."
"I don't think Yusei or I are gonna disagree," Jaden admitted.
"Right," Yusei admitted, holding up his Signer mark, "if I had to guess, this is probably why the Crimson Dragon brought us back in time to begin with."
"It's probably why the Duel Spirits have come to our side as well," Yami concluded.
"Ya better believe I'm in," Naruto declared, smiling as he punched the palm of his hand, "how about you, Luffy? Ya in!?"
"Sounds like fun!" Luffy declared, smiling his goofy smile, "definitely count me in!"
"Heh, guess if the captain's made up his mind, we're all along for the ride," Zoro admitted.
"I don't hear anyone asking to be taken home," Moka responded, "I'm not about to miss the chance to put these Dark Saiyans in there place."
"Miria…" Clare began to address her comrade, only to be cut off.
"I know," Miria replied, "we can't very well ignore this, even if there's not much we can do."
"Sounds to me like we're all on board," Ichigo declared, "we'll help however we can."
"And you can leave the Dark Saiyans themselves to me," Goku declared, smugly.
"Hold it, Kakarot! I already said, I'll be the one to deal with these Dark Saiyans!" Vegeta shouted angrily.
"Huh? Ah come on Vegeta! Let's see, there're still six left right? So that means three each. That's fair isn't it?"
"You already had your turn fighting a Dark Saiyan! I'm not leaving dealing with these insults to my proud race to a clown like you!"
"I think you can pretty safely say we're in," Piccolo admitted to Teresa.
Teresa was flabbergasted. She had intended to warn these heroes of a threat she had thought would inevitably invade their worlds, but now found herself with a chance to save her own. She had to take a moment to compose herself before replying. "I don't know how to thank you, but you have my gratitude. With your help, we may have a chance yet to stop this threat from consuming another world."
The heroes conversation was cut short when a beam of dark, violet energy crashed into the ground behind them. A solitary creature leapt from the light, springing towards Teresa with a feral yell. The heroes tensed, but as quickly as it had appeared, the creature stopped. Thick black blood oozed from its mouth before it slumped forward, it's head rolling away from the rest of its body.
Moka watched the scene in complete confusion. Moments before the creature had fell, she had seen Clare grab the hilt of her claymore, however, the blade had seemingly never left the sheath before Clare had released it and the creature had seemingly been cut down. At first, she reasoned one of the others must have struck it, until she realized that Goku and Vegeta were looking at Clare, both looking genuinely surprised by whatever the Claymore had done. Moka's own expression changed to one of surprise as well as the explanation dawned on her. Clare had drawn, swung, and sheathed her massive blade with such speed, that only the Saiyans' eyes had even been capable of tracking her movements.
The severed head rolled to Teresa's feet and a green crystal fell out of it. Teresa's expression changed to one of despair when she saw the crystal and picked it up. "No, this can't be…" she stuttered.
"What is it?" Ichigo was the first to ask what they were all wondering.
"This crystal is one of my family's treasures. It's a message, and a challenge," Teresa revealed, gritting her teeth and clenching her fist so hard in a moment of rage that she accidentally powderized the crystal, "it's Debauchery's way of telling us that he has our mother."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jack watched in powerless horror as his Red Dragon Archfiend was utterly obliterated by Kaiba's Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
JACK ATLAS: 0 LP
SETO KAIBA: 3500 LP
DUEL OVER: WINNER: SETO KAIBA
"Hmm," Kaiba grunted in annoyance, "try graduating from Duel Kindergarten before you try taking me on, Atlas. I don't have time for second rate duelists with third rate decks."
ENDING THEME: BACCHIKOI (Naruto Shippuden)
That is the end of the "Heroes Unite Arc". While I take time to plan the next Arc, you can look forward to a new short story in SHONEN ALLIANCE: ALTERNATIVE.
Quick note regarding these short stories. Since they are meant to be short one-and-done tales, I won't have time for lengthy set ups or introductions, so when non SA characters are involved, which some will in this first story, a basic knowledge of the characters involved will be helpful. Just to wet appetites a bit, the first story will be a team up between a handful of Alliance members, Persona 5's Phantom Thieves, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.