Hey, sorry about the later upload. I have been very busy and only just got a chance to proof-read this chapter. Anyway, yes, this is the finale of the current arc. More info at the bottom. Enjoy.
Chapter 23: A Different Power
So, there was going to be a tournament. That was exciting news for a lot of people around the world. Not just in terms of participants, but also people who were planning to attend or even just watch on TV. It was one of the biggest events held in this world. Previous winners include Mr. Satan (of course), Tien, Jackie Chun, and Son Goku himself. However, the last time the tournament was held, well, I'm sure you remember.
Either way, everybody hoped that nothing bad would happen this time around and everyone would have a very good time. The tournament was a time to celebrate martial arts and strength around the whole world. Noca was looking forward to competing again and this time he planned on living throughout the whole thing. Vegeta agreed to compete, as did Pan. Holline wasn't one to pass up an opportunity like this. Goten and Trunks had also made it clear they planned to train and compete, more for fun than glory though. Android #18 toyed with the idea of competing, considering the kind of strength she had, but ultimately opted against it, stating that she would leave it up to her husband.
That's right, even Krillin was going to compete. He said that he had missed the thrill of fighting in those tournaments and the fun of the preparation. The bald monk (yes, he kept up the bald look) was eager to show he wasn't weak. When asked, Yamcha said he had no plans to compete, he didn't want to humiliate himself. Everyone assumed that Uub would be competing. They hadn't seen him in a while, but it was worth assuming that the experienced and powerful fighter would want another chance to prove it all against Noca.
It wasn't certain who the rest of the fighters would be, but that was the thrill of this new tournament. They just had to all hope that they wouldn't be drawn against each other in the preliminaries. That would always be a shame. Maybe luck would be on their sides? Hopefully no crazy Androids would compete and try to kill anyone again.
The tournament preparations were well underway. Pan continued to train with Gohan, who wasn't sure about whether or not he would be competing in this tournament. He would wait a little bit. Besides, Mr. Satan said he would keep spots open for his best students and if one of them were to drop out, Gohan could take that spot. Noca was taking the time to train alone, but didn't hesitate to join in with Pan and Gohan, or with Vegeta from time to time. Goten and Trunks trained together and Krillin had the help of his lovely wife, and Master Roshi.
Everyone that had decided they would compete had managed to sign up on time. It was confirmed that Noca, Vegeta, Pan, Holline, Goten, Trunks, and Krillin were definitely competing this time. It was worked out that each fighter would face two people in the preliminaries before going to the final 16. Now that the deadline was past, the really hard and tough training would begin.
In the months that passed, not much else seemed to really happen, at first. Pan, Bra, and Dom were all back at college and giving it their all to make sure they got into the Universities they wanted. They weren't worried, but they still had to put in some hard work. Pan made sure she didn't let her training slack. Holline decided to stop school and didn't continue as Kiera decided to go to college. With Erasa, they moved to West City so that Kiera could also attend West City College with the others. It was the best in the world after all.
The fact that Holline had stopped school meant she could spend more time training with Noca and even went back to her village to visit her parents. She would give some of the money she earned from her job to them, to help support them and better their lives in that small village. Noca recommended moving them to one of the cities, but they were happy where they were. Noca was also happy that he got time to spend with his almost lifelong best friend.
Also, Trunks and Marron finally had their wedding. They had it in the end of September and went straight on their Honeymoon, deciding to head down South. Upon returning, of course Marron had to be pregnant. They were going to have a baby. Exciting times lay ahead for Trunks as he tried his best to keep up with Goten.
Other things to happen, Noca and Bra finally turned 18-years-old. Big number. Bra had a big party, as always. Got some new things to help with her scientific advances. Noca, on the other hand, family gathering, and late-night drinking with Vegeta. The drinking soon turned to drunk sparring as Noca finally got drunk for the first time in his life. It didn't end well, but at least Noca got sympathy from Pan. Also, it had actually been a long time since Pan and Noca first had sex. They hadn't really found the right time or chance to do it again yet.
Finally, it turned to winter. Noca and Holline decided to take a day off from training and went into Satan City together. It had one of the best malls and Holline recommended they get Christmas presents early. Noca just tagged along for the present shopping because he wanted to spend some off time. Their day wouldn't be ordinary though…
Wednesday 8th December Age 796
The duo was walking through the mall and every now and then Holline would dip into a few of the shops and scout out something for someone. Noca didn't pay much attention, but if he was called upon for an opinion he did his absolute best to give a good one. The teen Saiyan did occasionally wish for something entertaining to happen, but that wasn't necessarily a good idea. He didn't want something bad to occur.
"What about this for Kiera?" Holline asked, holding up a nice blue dress. Noca, hands in his pockets, snapped attention to the red-haired girl.
"It's nice… I guess," Noca said, really not sure of what it was she actually wanted to hear. Holline just sighed and looked at the dress herself. Noca looked away again, trying to see if there was something to entertain him while Holline continued to ponder the dress. The Saiyan looked out of the store and noticed someone walking around, but he looked rather shifty. Noca moved away from Holline and went to check out what it was.
Holline didn't notice Noca leave as she found something else to look at. Noca moved to the entrance of the shop and watched as the young man looked around, seeming to be fairly worried or scared about something. The Saiyan tried to slowly and quietly follow him, but did his best not to make it look suspicious. The young man rushed around a corner and Noca darted to the wall, just to peek around. The man was heading towards what looked like an exit, was he just stealing something and trying to get away?
That couldn't be it, he looked too scared, like something really dangerous was going to happen. Noca looked back to the shop where Holline was and wished for her to stay there, just in case. Noca looked back around the corner to find the man walking up towards him. Noca backed around the corner and took a breath. He hadn't been seen, had he? Noca leant against the wall and took his phone out, pretending he was waiting for someone. The guy looked around again as he came out around the corner and saw Noca there.
The guy made a little flinch at first, but seemed to relax when he saw it was Noca and not someone he knew. Noca looked up, nodded his head in a friendly fashion and then returned to his phone. He continued to watch the man through his peripheral vision. The guy walked off past Noca and towards his left. Noca watched after him, still very suspicious. He glanced back to the shop, but as he did he noticed Holline walking towards him.
"I decided to get it," She said, holding up the bag and smiling. Noca quickly looked to his left again and noticed the guy was gone, Holline didn't understand. "What's up?"
Noca didn't answer her he just walked on a little and tried to see if he could spot the young man.
"Damnit…" He muttered to himself, turning around and returning to Holline. "There was a strange guy. He seemed very suspicious. I was going to follow him but he's gone now."
Holline looked where Noca had been looking and shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't see anything, but could tell that Noca was quite worried about something. "What was wrong with him?"
"I don't really know, but I couldn't feel his energy… his life force," Noca explained. Holline raised her brow and looked on again.
"Should we go find him then?" Holline said, sounding pretty urgent now. Noca was about to answer her, but both of them were stunned by the sound of a large explosion. It happened very close to them. Noca and Holline turned to face the direction it came from and moved towards it. It had been in the direction the guy went. Some people came running from that direction and the duo could see fire and smoke. Noca rushed towards it, with Holline in tow.
They rounded a corner and saw that a few shops had been destroyed, but the one in the middle seemed to have taken the biggest damage. The guy had detonated a bomb of some sort… or maybe he was a bomb. It was hard to decipher the situation properly. Both Noca and Holline stopped and some security guards came running up to them.
"Back up, come on now, there has been a huge accident!" A guard yelled with urgency, trying to get everyone back. Noca wanted to get in there and look. He could see a few dead bodies, but his sense told him someone was alive. He looked at Holline and moved away from the guards. She watched as he performed Instant Transmission and could only assume that he had gone into the fire and smoke. She hoped he would be ok.
Noca appeared in the smoke, right by the side of a very injured person, but they weren't quite dead yet. Noca lifted them up and then used his energy to blast away the fire and smoke. It all dissipated and Noca carried the body over to the guards and the paramedics, as they arrived. The guards went over to try and apprehend Noca, but the teen stepped back.
"Hey, I just wanted to get a look… hopefully I just saved that person, I didn't cause this," Noca said, pleading his case. The guards didn't step away, but they weren't trying to apprehend him anymore. Holline managed to run over to him.
"What do you think happened?" She asked, as Noca turned to look back at the shops that were hit.
"I think someone's trying to make a point," Noca stated. Holline didn't say another thing, but the security guards sure were perplexed by these two. Noca went to walk over again, but a hand landed on his shoulder and stopped him. Noca looked around to see one of the guards.
"Sorry, kid, but we can't let you go back in there. It's a crime scene now," The guard explained. Noca nodded and turned away, walking off with Holline. He seemed to be rather annoyed and wanted to actually look at the site and see if there were any clues as to what could have caused the attack.
Noca didn't say another thing to Holline as they headed to West City. Noca was already too confused and worried. Holline didn't try to initiate any conversation with him. She was just as confused as he was and wanted answers. They hadn't said anything to one another, but they would most certainly keep their eyes out on any further developments.
Upon reaching Capsule Corp. they managed to catch the news on the television. The news confirmed what had in fact happened at the event, but not the complete nature of it. It was confirmed that Eleven people had been killed, with only one survivor. The one that Noca had saved. It wasn't confirmed whether or not it was a terrorist attack, or something else, but terrorism was at the top of the list. Perhaps someone had been trying to make a point.
Either way, Noca and Holline would continue to keep close watch over the situation. They weren't about to pretend that nothing happened.
That same night, somewhere in East City…
It was very rainy and windy in this city, but on the outskirts of the city, where it was less busy, there was an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse wasn't very appealing to look at. There were many renovations needed to make sure this building would even remain standing, but it appeared that nobody cared. Windows were smashed, most of the ceiling was dropping in. Much was missing. It was surprising that the place was still standing.
Rain water was dripping, well actually, pouring, down onto the ground below and seeping through cracks in the ground. As the water fell further down it started to land on yet another ceiling, but this ceiling was far different. It was white and there were no cracks or damages. Down underneath this ceiling there was a huge room. It wasn't empty either. There were many computers on one side of the room, a lot of strange big tubes on one other side, and a large open space in the middle. It was like a test space.
A scientist walked over to the side with the tubes and four of the tubes appeared to have people inside of them. Three males and one female. The first tube the scientist check on had an average sized teenage inside of it. He had messy, spiky dark brown hair. He was unconscious. In the second tube, a taller male. He was older too, but still a young adult. He had short, neat, light brown hair. Inside the third tube, the female. She had long dark blonde hair.
The scientist stopped and looked in at the last tank. The male in the tank was again, rather young, perhaps a teenager. He had some messy black hair that was shaved on the sides. He appeared to be in some sort of distress. The scientist turned around and called out for some assistance.
"I need some help with this one," The scientist called out. On his jacket was a logo that said Alpha Industries. "Somebody get Teki in here."
Some minutes later, wearing a black suit, Teki entered and walked over to the tube where the other scientist was standing.
"I don't know what it is, but one of the subjects is in some sort of distress," The scientist explained as Teki continued to look over the tanks and at the young subject. He narrowed his eyes while looking at the boy as he seemed to be having some sort of fit.
"Well, go back over his records and check to make sure nothing was tampered with," Teki said to the scientist, turning around and walking away a little, but stopping and looking at the other young male first, "We need these four to be ready very soon."
The scientist stayed in that spot for a second as the subject continued to thrust around inside the tank. He wasn't sure what to really do, he knew no one had been in and tampered with anything. He had been working in there all day and nothing had seemed off until just this second.
As Teki left the room, a couple of armed guards stepped in. The scientist walked forward to enquire, but Teki dropped in for a second.
"These guards are just here to make sure nothing bad happens," Teki informed them before walking off once again. The rest of the scientists in the room were very wary of the guards, but got back to their important work. That one scientist though, he was still worried about the subject in the fourth tube. He walked over and placed his hand on the glass.
The subject, eyes closed, still continued to thrust around and things were looking rather worrying.
"Don't worry, Jason," The scientist said to the young man in the tube. The guy continued to thrust around and it was beginning to get a lot more worrying. The scientist was trying his best to work on the computer and insert some more sedatives into the tank, but this didn't appear to work.
Jason opened his eyes, shocking the scientist on the other side. The young man lifted his hand to the tank and placed it there. His face was half covered by an oxygen tube, so it was hard to read his feelings in this moment.
"Jason, can you hear me?" The scientist asked. Jason didn't do anything to show he could hear, or that he understood and he simply ripped off the oxygen mask and pressed his right hand harder to the glass of the tube. The scientist took a step back. Suddenly, it started to light up around Jason's hand and there was a smashing sound as the glass broke and the liquid flooded out.
It all happened with such power that the scientist was flung back into the opposite wall, with glass embedded in his chest. He was bleeding out. Jason dropped to his knees, wearing nothing but a small pair of black underwear that he had on in the tank. He was breathing heavily as the guards approached him and surrounded him.
Jason snapped to attention and jumped up, and as he did the guards started firing their guns at the young man. Jason leapt for one of them, grabbed his head and broke his neck. Another guard started firing his gun at Jason and even managed to hit the young man. The bullets hit his body and Jason stumbled back. He noticed that they had penetrated his chest.
He looked down at his chest, the guard was also focussed on this point. The blood was dripping out, but Jason appeared to be unfazed, as if he had no care of what was happening. Jason seemed to tense and the bullets started to push out of his body and fell to the floor, soon after, his wounds healed. The guard was worried and Jason, again, seemed unfazed. He took a step forward, but more guards flooded in.
Jason was reasonably cautious now. He eyed them all up as they trained their guns on him. Without so much as a pause, the guards all opened fire. Jason put his arms up in a blocking fashion, but he was still being struck and affected by all the bullets. Eventually, once there were no more bullets left in the magazines of the guns, the guards stopped and looked up. Jason let his arms down and started to tense up again. This time, the bullets didn't drop out right away. Another light started to shine around his entire body and the guards started to back up.
They were going to rush to the exit, but didn't get a chance as Jason exploded with power and sent the bullets flying back towards the guards. Even the scientists got caught in the crossfire. There was a lot of blood everywhere afterwards. Jason was breathing heavily and had no idea what to do with himself.
He looked to the other tanks and saw the other subjects. He could've done something to them, but he couldn't stay in that lab anymore. Jason needed to run away and save himself. The subject broke through the doors and rushed through the hallways. He eventually found his way out and was inside the derelict warehouse. He looked around for a bit and took in the location. He was confused, and worried.
There was no more time for thinking though, not when some more soldiers rushed out and started firing their weapons at the young man. Jason continued running away and finally made his way out of the warehouse and into the streets. It may have been a more abandoned part of the city, but there were still some people around that could see the young man, in only some underwear, with blood on his body.
The soldiers continued to follow and fire their weapons, grabbing Jason's attention again and scaring off any civilians. Some nearby police hear what was going on and came to the scene. They pulled right in front of the young man. Jason reacted right away and flung their vehicle right at a building. The vehicle crashed through and after a few seconds there was an explosion, destroying the building and killing anyone inside, presumably. The soldiers stopped as the flames lit up the sky and the streets. They didn't dare fire right now.
Jason took another look back and then ran away very quickly, diving down an alley and taking some time to hide away. The soldiers rushed past and continued moving on, assuming he had gone onwards. Jason looked down the alley and continued on, the rain splashed down on his skin and he needed to find shelter.
Back at the lab. Teki stood looking at the remaining three tanks. A few guards stood around him.
"Sir, we couldn't find him," One of the guards said to Teki. The man nodded back to his guard and walked forwards to check on the other subjects properly.
"We may need to send out the Android," Teki said. The guards looked at each other.
"Are you sure that's a good idea," One of the guards said.
"It will help," Teki responded, "He will do his job."
Teki looked on at the other tanks and then turned around, walking off away from the Guards.
Thursday 9th December Age 796
The next morning, Noca was watching TV at home. Pan was in college and Gohan at work. Videl had some work to do from home as she got back into doing things for Capsule Corp., but made sure to spend as much time with Rei as possible. Noca was doing his best to help out with the little boy.
Noca was watching Rei as he played with some of his toys, but kept an eye on the TV, specifically the news. Rei did want to change the channel to a kid's programme, but after what had happened Noca wasn't about to let that happen. He could only apologise to the boy and hope he would somehow understand. Rei did try to steal the controller a couple of times, but Noca would hold it up high enough so Rei couldn't reach. Pity that the boy had taught himself how to jump high. Noca would often find himself in a tough scenario with the child.
Finally, something came on the news. Something from East City. An explosion in the southern part of the city, near an abandoned warehouse. Noca knew it was worth checking out. He immediately got in contact with Holline to find out if she knew anything about the situation. The two agreed to meet in East City as soon as possible.
Once the duo arrived and met up they immediately headed to the southern part of the city, to where the event had happened. They arrived and noticed a very sombre tone. Many people were on the streets looking towards the destroyed building. There were police lines all around it and police-officers trying to get the crowds to disperse. Noca moved forward and started looking around. He glanced over the abandoned warehouse, and the other derelict buildings. Not much to see.
Holline also went around to check things out. This was an investigation. They both wanted to find more information about where these attacks were coming from. Eventually, Holline spotted something that Noca needed to see.
"Hey, Noca, get over here," She called out. The young Saiyan turned around and walked towards her. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked where she was pointing. "Look, bullet holes… someone was firing a weapon."
"But the only deaths reported were the ones in the building… and the two officers in the vehicle," Noca explained as he looked around. That's when he spotted something that caught the light of the sun for a second before it went back behind the dark clouds. Noca walked towards it and picked up a bullet shell. He examined it and then looked ahead at the building that had exploded.
"What is it?" Holline asked.
"The sight of bullets and bullet holes suggests there was a struggle," Noca started explaining, "This wasn't something to try and grab attention… this was a fight."
"Not a fair one…" Holline stated. Noca glanced back at her and she realised she needed to explain herself. "The bullets are only on one side… meaning that whoever they were firing at didn't have a weapon."
"Maybe… but someone threw a police-car into a building…" Noca stated as he looked back at the building, "Now how do you suggest that happened?"
Noca didn't expect an answer and instead walked forward a bit more and continued to look around. He glanced over at an alleyway and could see a bit of blood. He grabbed Holline's attention and walked down the alley, towards the blood. Noca bent down and started sniffing, wanting to get the scent.
"Can you really track like a dog?" Holline asked, not really seeing this trait from Noca before.
"Yep, Saiyan's can track using their sense of smell," Noca quickly explained before walking on up the alley and towards the scent. He caught it very quickly and carried on, following the trail as best he could. He turned a corner and felt the scent getting stronger. Holline followed closely behind him. Noca eventually stopped. "Someone's around here… and they match this scent perfectly."
Holline went on the defence as Noca took a couple of steps forward. Noca could spot someone's leg, they were hiding. The Saiyan stopped and prepared for anything dangerous.
"Hey!" Noca called out, to get their attention. The leg moved in and Noca soon heard some shuffling. A young man popped his head around a large dumpster and looked at Noca and Holline. He slowly stepped out, he appeared to be very dirty, but uninjured. There was blood on his face and the clothes he was wearing appeared to be old and tattered. Noca looked in his eyes and could tell he wasn't all there in his mind, and the Saiyan couldn't sense any life energy. Noca slowly walked forward.
"We're not here to attack you," Holline said, trying her best to help the situation, "Just tell us where you came from and who did this?"
"He can't understand what you're saying," Noca said back to Holline as he continued forward. Noca held his hands up, "Look, we're unarmed…"
The young man looked Noca up and down and then decided something. His eyes narrowed and he grit his teeth. He let out a growl and charged for Noca. The Saiyan tried to back up and block it, but the force of which this person charged forward was too powerful. He knocked Noca off of his feet and threw him back across the alley and into a dumpster.
Noca bounced off and hit the ground, on his front. He slowly pushed up and looked up to see Holline standing there, trying to move towards the young man. Noca tried to tell her to back off, but he was in quite a bit of pain and only coughed. That attack had winded him.
"Please… we don't want to hurt you," Holline said as she continued to shuffle towards the young man. He started to back up and broke into a run, trying to get away. Noca jumped up shook off the feeling and rushed on after him. He passed Holline quickly and she had to react quickly to follow after them. The guy came out of the alley onto a busy street and jumped across cars to get to the other side.
Noca emerged from the alley and attempted to do the same, but the young man fired his energy attack at one of the cars and it lifted up, flying towards Noca. The Saiyan caught it and managed to put it down safely, but another came his way and he was knocked back by it. Holline jumped out and saw the young man running off down the street and she followed on, but was still on the opposite side of the road.
Noca managed to get back up and jumped up high. He was on top of a building now. The Saiyan ran across the rooftops, keeping an eye on Holline and this strange young man. Noca was sure he would be able to get to a point where he could leap down and catch up. That wasn't to be as the young man turned back and fired an energy blast up towards Noca. The Saiyan couldn't react in time and the blast hit the edge of the building, knocking Noca down onto the street.
He jumped up and focused on Holline's energy. The next second, Noca was running alongside Holline as they rushed through the crowds and tried to catch up with this man. He was proving to be a tough opponent, and they weren't even fighting fairly. Soon enough, the teens found that the streets were getting busier and the buildings bigger. They were getting more into the city which meant things were getting more dangerous.
Eventually, the young man stopped when he realised he was in the middle of a very large crowd. He looked around and tried to find a route for escape, but that didn't seem to be easy. He turned around and finally, Noca and Holline caught up. They moved into attack stances and showed they were ready for a fight now.
"We said we didn't want to hurt you," Noca stated. He wasn't happy, "Yet you run from us."
"Calm, Noca," Holline said. She needed Noca to remember that they weren't intending to hurt this young man, but they wanted to help him. Noca looked to her and nodded. The guy stepped forward and was ready to fight as well.
"This is your last chance to calm down… and stand down," Noca said, definitively, "Or I will make sure you stay down."
Holline glanced at Noca, but that lapse of concentration proved to be bad when the young man sprung forward and was about to attack Holline. Noca noticed his target in time and got in the way, kicking the young man back at the ground. He slammed down, but spun around and got back to his feet. He broke into a run right away and leapt at Noca.
The Saiyan caught the young man and went to throw him down on the ground, but the weight shifted and Noca found himself being thrown towards the crowd. He managed to get control of his power and hovered above the crowd before heading back in to attack the young man. He didn't bother to transform or power up, he already had enough power to take this fool down.
Noca landed in front of the young man and knocked his right arm away using his left arm and then punched him in the chest using his right. The young man stumbled back and then Noca jumped forward, striking with a right hook and then grabbed onto the back of the man's neck with his left and threw him forward. The young man fell down and rolled back. He got back to his feet and moved forward. He came in with his right, ready to attack, but Noca caught that with his left hand and started punching with his right. He got a couple of hits in the gut before the young man finally caught the fist and kicked back.
Noca stumbled and was about to move forward until he noticed the young man had stopped, and appeared to be a little worried. He wasn't looking at Noca though. The Saiyan turned around and noticed there was a large man standing behind him. He was familiar, but Noca couldn't place it right away. The man looked down at Noca with a robotic stare and then walked past him, towards the young man. He was very bulky and muscular and was bald, but that face… where had Noca seen it before. Even Holline seemed to know it, but she seemed worried.
"Jason," The new man said, sounding vey monotone, "You need to come back home, you should not be doing this."
The young man, Jason, backed away slightly, clearly fearing this man. Noca was still trying to place the face. He stepped forward, but the man turned around, holding his arm out.
"Please stand back, I do not want to hurt you."
Noca looked up at him and furrowed his brow. He clenched his fist and wanted to attack, but felt Holline's hand on his wrist. Noca looked down and then up at her.
"Please tell me you recognise him, Noca…" Holline said in quite a hushed tone. Noca looked from his friend to the man standing over him. He wasn't focussed on Noca, instead his attention was on Jason. Noca was still trying to place it, he wanted to say it was… but it couldn't be him… could it?
"Delta…" Noca said, under his breath. He looked back at Holline and she seemed to agree. Either way, he was definitely one of Omega's androids. The last time Noca came face to face with one he died. Noca was wary now. Before Noca had a chance to say or do something else, Jason had jumped up and rushed forward to attack this large android.
Delta didn't hesitate and caught Jason around the throat and thrust him down on the ground. Jason clearly couldn't breathe. Noca took a few breaths and looked back at Holline. She didn't know what to say or do.
"Stay back," Noca said and then he charged for Delta. The large android didn't react in time as he was knocked away from Jason. Noca didn't think he would end up defending the young man, but this is what it had come to, with Delta the opponent. Delta managed to stabilise himself easily and knocked Noca away with relative ease. His fight wasn't with the Saiyan. He needed to defeat Jason and take him back.
Noca faced Holline and looked to Jason. She saw what Noca was implying and nodded before heading over to the young man. He appeared to be very scared of Delta and was backing away. He dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball. Noca continued to stop Delta from advancing towards Holline and Jason. The red-head finally made it to Jason and tried to ensure him that everything was fine, but he seemed to be in quite some distress.
"Please, Jason… calm down, we can help you," She said, quietly and calmly, but he was clearly unaware. Noca continued to hold Delta back, but kept his attention on Holline and Jason, unsure of what was happening. Jason finally knocked Holline back and stood up. He looked towards Delta and Noca and started to power up. Lots of energy was drawing in a Noca could finally sense it. He stepped forward a little, even Delta stopped attacking.
Jason seemed to finally calm down, but that didn't last long as he exploded with a rage, sending out loads of energy and destroying loads of windows with the wave. People in the streets were also knocked over and some managed to run away. Holline was knocked back and Noca moved as quickly as possible to catch her and get to cover.
Jason screamed out as his power erupted, but Delta managed to push through it, grab him, sedate him, and get away without being seen by anyone else. Finally, things died down and Noca and Holline revealed themselves. Holline had a cut on her forehead and some blood was dripping down. Noca started tending to the wound, cleaning it, but looked back to where Jason had been.
They were gone. Both of them. Noca looked around and seemed very disappointed to have let them get away. He looked back to Holline and she seemed to be apologetic, but Noca quickly went over to assure her it was ok.
"They got away… but it's fine, I'm sure we'll see them again," Noca explained. He didn't want Holline to think that she was in anyway at fault. The two of them agreed that it was best to get away quickly. They didn't want to be implicated in any of these damages. It helped that all the civilians were confused and distracted by that last attack.
Noca and Holline didn't encounter any more problems in the next few months, it was strange, but not concerning. Things did continue to happen around them though. Christmas came and went, as did a few more birthdays. Pan turned 18-years-old and got to spend a very nice evening with Noca. Once again, the duo didn't have intercourse, the same goes for Valentine's. It seemed as if neither of them found the right moment to do it again. It was also strange considering they were still at home with Gohan, Videl, and the young, impressionable, Rei.
Speaking of Rei, he also celebrated a birthday, turning 4-years-old and he was going through preparations to start school in September. Dom, Holline, Kiera all turned 18, 17, and 17 respectively. And Dom, along with Bra and Pan, finally completed College and had been accepted into West City University to study the courses of their choice. It was a big move for their lives and they were all hoping to become independent and move out of their homes to live together. Noca was up for joining them. Luckily, he still had some money saved up, but not really a lot to help with a house.
And the last piece of time-keeping, Marron finally gave birth to hers and Trunks' baby. A boy, named Nate, born on June 15th Age 797.
Those were the things that had happened and now… well, now… it was Sunday July 17th Age 797 and everyone was preparing to head to Papaya Island for the 30th World's Martial Arts Tournament, kicking off with the preliminaries the very next day.
What lay ahead? Find out next time on Dragon Ball AG: A Warrior's Path!
Good chapter? I hope so. I did something different with it and introduced a concept that will hold more importance later on in the series. I haven't explained the concept yet, but it will be touched upon a bit more in this Story. As for Arc VI, the next arc, well...
Arc VII will be The World's Martial Arts Tournament, but the next one, Arc VI will be Prelude to Darkness. That arc will feature origins and stories about the crew we met in this arc. Guida, Airen, Talia & Niku will all return in the next arc, as will the scavengers and some more very interesting characters. I don't plan for it to be too long, but it will have importance and I think the placement is appropriate.
I will be taking a break to plan and write all of the next arc before I start uploading it, but I hope you will all be patient with me.
Thanks for reading and I hope to read some lovely reviews.
Next Time... Arc VI: Prelude to Darkness