((Author's Note:
Hey guys, welcome to 23, glad you're still reading. This is a Set-up chapter to move the story into its next phase. Chapter 24 is mostly done, 25 is started. I'm hoping to have a little more time to write now.
Anyway, looking forward to any reviews or comments. Hope you all enjoy this.
Thanks!
-Beepx22))
Chapter 23
Pikada sat reclined on a chair in Bulma's cybernetics lab. He stared sadly at the twisted heap laying on a cart that used to be his sword.
"So, Pikada, how are you feeling?" Bulma asked while checking out the nub that was once his right arm.
"Like a one armed sword fighter without a sword…", a month had passed since the battle with Cell, the earthlings had returned and things were starting to get back to normal.
"Don't be a smart ass." She said sternly."
He huffed. "Fine, I feel useless, like I failed my best friend, and damn near got killed in the process. I lost my leader, my most prized possession, and a considerable part of my fighting ability." He tried to cross his arms, which only frustrated him further. "Damn it!" He snapped.
"Here's a bit of something for you. The reason you survived Angel's attack was that the alloy your sword is made from, shunted the energy from you and into Cell. The reason you lost the arm was it made contact with her energy blast first."
He grunted.
"I can make you a new arm."
He grunted again. "How? Even those weird beans didn't grow it back."
"We'll use your sword for the construction. We know that material channels ki, and thanks to Android 18 allowing me to study her, I feel we can make a power source similar to hers."
"You want to turn me into a gods be damned Android?!"
"Cyborg, actually."
He glared at her.
"Just your right arm." She opened and closed her own fist as if to make a point." Besides studying the metallurgy of that sword may prove invaluable." She prodded the slagged blade with a mechanical pencil. "And it's not like you're going to be able to wield it in its current condition."
Pikada huffed. "Or mine, I suppose. Okay, fine give me the details."
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Bea was surprised to find out that he didn't mind Hell. It reminded him a lot of his early days as a mercenary. Add to that the benefit of knocking the shit out of the traitor Tarma more than once. Also there was no shortage of training partners, more than one of which held a grudge against Bea. He had discovered early on that he could be harmed grievously here, but apparently not killed.
Being damn near killed was after all a saiyan's best friend.
Bea had spent a few weeks exploring Hell, asking questions of its residents and the ogres that served as guards.
Now his first order of business was complete. He strode towards a group of beings, at the center of which was a stone throne, upon which sat a spiked haired man with a sharp goat-t.
Bea brushed aside other folks and walked to the throne.
"Who do you think you are?" Asked the seated man.
"Bea. You know me, though. I was a lad when you blasted me and left me for dead." Bea crossed his arms and sneered. "So, how are things going with you, King Vegeta." He laid the title on with a heavy dose of mockery."
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Angel quickly but quietly untangled herself from the sheets of her bunk. She landed softly on the padded floor of her quarters and tiptoed to the showers. The Briefs had retrofitted a real shower in the ship's quarters, allowing the chemical wash to be thrown to the scrap heap. Actually the entire ship had been plumbed during the trip from earth. It was ingenious actually. A single 5000 gallon tank, that was hooked to an actual water source while on Earth, but supplied by any number of capsules while in space or on other world's.
She turned the spigot on the faucet counterclockwise, pulled it toward her and soon steam filled the shower. Angel popped her head back out and looked towards the bed.
Yamcha lay sprawled out, snoring contently. She smiled. Things had been interesting since the end of Cell. Especially for Angel. Her end of the world fling had ended up evolving into a nice relationship. Yeah she had to dial back her power when they… got intimate, but he was one of the strongest humans in existence.
Another interesting thing that had happened to her was a chance meeting with "The Champ." She thought back as the water began to fill a deep tub.
Hercule Satan had been absorbing the admiration from a cheering crowd while talking to a news crew.
"Yeah, That's right. So then I used my patented 'Super Satan Punch' on Cell!" The crowd went nuts again.
Angel was simply walking by, but she felt a sudden rage. Taking credit for something you didn't do? Especially when two friends had died and another had been maimed trying to defeat Cell? Not on her watch.
She hopped over the crowd and snatched the microphone away.
Satan took a step back, his bluster and swagger fading away immediately. "Uh, Wh-who are you?" He stuttered.
"I'm Angel. You're a liar. Tell these people the truth or I will rip your head off."
The crowd gasped.
"I am telling the truth, I beat Cell, I took him…"
She glared and energy danced up her lithe form. Her eyes turned teal and her black hair turned into golden fiery locks.
"I… I… um, I did help to kill Cell, um, um, I may not have landed the, uh, um, killing blow. Yeah. That's it!"
She took a step at him. Then she stopped. Gohan and Chi Chi both we're having a hard time. They didn't need to be outed to the press. And he technically did help, if only by throwing 16's head in.
She put her mouth right by his ear, the energy cascading from her making his fro nearly straighten. She whispered. "Why lie?"
"I have a daughter, this is the only way I can support her. Her mom died a few years back. Please. Please don't kill me."
"I'll, no, we'll be watching you."
Then she turned the mic over to the stunned reporter. "There you have it, he helped, but he doesn't get all the credit, if the person who killed Cell ever wants it to be come public, then that's his choice. But no one is going to take full credit when a bunch of my friends are dead."
She then faced the cameraman, suddenly feeling quite cocky. "Remember, we're watching out for Earth, we are it's protectors."
Then with a whip of her tail and a burst of power she soared into space.
The memory brought a smile. She turned to gaze at Yamcha once more, then stepped into the stream of near scalding water.
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Gohan looked up from his studies and sighed. It was a beautiful day, and though his mind was in the books, his heart wasn't.
He was having a hard time coping with the death of his Dad. His mom wasn't much of a help, trying to mother hen him since her return. On top of that she had been worried about money. Gohan was worried about her. She'd been sick to her stomach off and on for the last week or so. This just made her more grumpy.
He looked back to his books, then quickly stood and shuffled out of his window. He'd study later, right now he just wanted to stretch his legs.
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Piccolo hovered a foot above a mountain peak. His legs akimbo, his hands resting in his lap. He could sense numerous life forms in the surrounding area. Each appearing in his mind. A warren of rabbits to the east. A mother bear and her two cubs down by a creek. A fish who's energy faded quickly as the mother bear swiped it from the cold flowing water.
The wind shifted direction. That was nice.
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Vegeta stared at the wall in his gym. He was becoming restless. He'd now never be able to prove himself superior to Kakorat. That clown had sacrificed himself to save everyone. Including Vegeta.
And to make that shame worse he had elected to stay dead!
Vegeta had sworn that he'd never fight again, but looking at the specially designed equipment in this room, he knew that promise had been a lie.
Just another lie to himself.
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King Vegeta's eyes narrowed. He stood from his stone throne. His mouth quirked slightly as he searched his memory.
"Wizigin, wousiccit, something like that. Just another backwater world. You disobeyed my orders. And somehow you survived. And then you survived the destruction of Planet Vegeta? Seems that your luck finally faded away." He sat down. "Did you come to beg forgiveness in my new kingdom in Hell?"
Bea laughed, loud and brashly. "I don't beg. I especially don't beg from the likes of you."
King Vegeta went red with rage. He levered to his feet and charged. "You cocky bastard! Take this!" A blast flew from each hand and headed towards Bea.
With a single fingered flick from each hand he sent both blasts angling away.
The saiyans with the King went wide eyed.
King Vegeta's left hand swung into a punch.
"That'll teach you." He said as the fist slammed into the red haired saiyan's face.
Bea didn't flinch. He didn't even appear to move from the impact.
To the crowd assembled it looked as though the King's left arm suddenly bent at a 90 degree bend between wrist and elbow.
Bea had moved so fast that no one even sensed the movement of him twisting the arm and splintering the bone.
One bit of payback accomplished.
Bea gave the King some credit, he didn't make more that a muffled grunt when his arm was broke.
That changed though when a snap kick shattered his right leg.
The rest of the saiyans attacked Bea, leaping into the air to form a dog pile on him.
Bea let himself be dragged down to his knees, the weight of a dozen or more warriors pressing on his back.
He clenched his fist and smiled.
He let them drag him all the way to the ground.
His head was jerked back so that his eyes were even with the gold capped toe in front of him.
Ki swirled around the King's broken leg and arm making a cast of sorts. He took a hobbling step towards Bea.
"So, what was that about not begging?" King Vegeta said with the smirk that haunted him since his childhood.
Bea smirked back. "I said," his hair began to swirl with a golden energy. "I." The ground shook, concerned voices began to emanate from the dogpile. "Don't." His eyes flashed to brilliant teal. "Beg!" His energy exploded out in a bubble that pushed his attackers away. Bea hopped to his feet. His hair and beard fluttered in his aura. He crossed his arms defiantly. "Especially from the likes of you…"
"Your hair! Your eyes! What is this? What's this… pressure?" The King looked awed.
Bea took his power to its upper limit. "This is what a Super Saiyan looks like."
"It's true? The legend?"
Bea lifted an eye brow.
"Im-impossible! You're a mid class warrior at best, even my son Prince Vegeta couldn't do this!"
Bea chuckled derisively at his former king. "Your son is a Super Saiyan too. Fact is, all of the survivors became Super Saiyan. I just wanted to let you know. To give you something to dwell on in Hell. Now I've got to hunt down Frieza."
"Frieza's dead?!" The king paled.
"Oh yeah. killed on Earth. That's our new home. You know since you let that white and purple fucker blow up our planet…"
The King looked ashamed for a quick moment. Then his anger flared. "Bardock tried to warn us. Still, what could we do?"
One of the Saiyans stepped forward. Bea turned towards him.
His jaw dropped. "Goku?" He said in disbelief.
"Who or what is Goku?" Asked the man.
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"Damnit, Bulma! That hurts!" Pikada jerked involuntarily as another microscopic series of electrodes slid down the musculature of his ruined arm.
"I know." The blue haired beauty said as she focused intently on a binocular microscope. "It has to, that's how I know the nerve endings are getting signals." She touched a button on the small robotic controller and at the sub atomic level the electrode strip fused with Pikada's nerve ganglia.
"Fuck!" A number visible to her left eye started to climb on the screen. "You have to keep suppressing your power, Pikada, if you don't it'll be harder to perform this part of the surgery." The power-level topped at fifteen. then faded back to five. "That's better, now only four junctions and you can take a break. Your thumb functions will be wired."
He'd been at it for four hours. All for one thumb. He sighed. "Okay." Another snap of pain, "just hurry!"
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Gohan pulled himself up on the bank of the river that ran not far from their house. He grasped two large fish in his hands and dragged them far ashore.
He had just got his pants tied backup when He heard a noise behind him. He spun to see his mom.
He grimaced.
She looked as though she'd been seriously crying. 'Not good.' Thought Gohan.
"Gohan? I figured I'd find you here. Skipping schoolwork to fish." She admonished him, but strangely she didn't sound mad.
"Mom? Are you okay?" He asked.
"Oh, I'm fine."
Then her knees hit the ground and she started to wail.
"Oh, Gohan. I'm not fine! I miss your father, I can't believe he didn't want to be wished back. And on top of it all, I'm…"
She clamped her hands over her mouth.
'She's sick!' he thought. "It's okay, Mom. No matter what's wrong we'll get you fixed!"
"Fixed? Gohan? I'm not sick. I'm pregnant."
Gohan was speechless.
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"Wow, Krillin that's great news! Thanks for letting us know." Yamcha hung up the phone.
"News?" Angel asked while stretching like a lean and dangerous cat.
"Well, Krillin and Android 18 have really hit it off. They're officially an 'item' to quote him. And apparently ChiChi is pregnant. Gohan let Krillin and Master Roshi know last week."
"Pregnant? Hhhhmmm. Well at least I'm not the only one."
"Yeah. That's good right." He opened the fridge to fish out a beer. His hand paused halfway in. "What was that?"
"At least I'm not the only one." She smiled.
Yamcha's jaw dropped.
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"Damn. You look just like Goku." Bea stared in amazement.
"Who's Goku?."
Realization struck Bea. "Sorry, old habit. His Saiyan name is Kakarot."
"That's my youngest son…"
"He was the strongest person I've ever meet. By far." Bea said.
"Was?"
Bea allowed his super Saiyan form to revert, he then sat down and told all the saiyans the story of Cell.
Even King Vegeta listened intently. After the story ended he looked at Bea. "The Prince yet lives?"
Bea nodded. "As far as I know. Prince Vegeta, Angel, Pikada. And two halflings." He looked at Bardock, "Your grandson, Gohan." He looked back at King Vegeta, "And your grandson Trunks."
He chuckled. "Who knows? By now there may be even more."
Bea stood, and without another word he walked away.