There is a time when we are called to hold our ground.
Some of us become heroes. Some of us become legends.
Eons ago, a legend within the Sayain race was born, lived, and died.
Ever since, the universe has never seen the equal, or so it thinks.
LEGEND OF SIO
Legend's Rebirth
(Part 1)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original DBZ characters. I'll make a list of what I do own at the end of the fic. This is based upon the info I know from having watched up till the Cell saga.
Blue energy beams almost too powerful to measure streaked across the open plane with violent fury. Cell and Gohan each let loose with everything they had. It was all or nothing as the two mass-energy forces collided.
Android 18 lay unconscious in Krillin's arms. Trunks, near-dead, lay on the ground nearby. Everyone still standing braced as forcewinds released from the collision shot towards them.
In the distance, a silhouetted figure rushed over to see. He was tall, long strands of blue hair blowing in the unnatural wind that spoke volumes about the battle in the distance.
"Oh no! I'm too late!" He exclaimed, as both Gohan and Cell turned it up a notch. "T-t-their power! It's incredible! Do I even stand a chance??!"
Suddenly, he turned his head slightly, as if listening to an unspoken voice. He was still for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, I will." He turned back towards the beams clashing in the distance. "Hang tight, kid. This rests on you."
Suddenly, a yellow energy sphere from nowhere struck Cell in the back. With Cell's attention momentarily diverted by Vegita, Gohan focused hard, sending out power at Cell like he never knew he had. Bio-matter ripped apart as the kameha-meha beam tore into Cell, for ever ending his reign of terror.
Or so it seemed.
Chapter 1- A New Power, An Old Terror
Six years later...
For the first time in months, father and son got a chance to spend some quality time together. With Chichi busy on a trip into the city, Goku and Gohan had planned out a picnic and now gleefully munched down sandwiches, sodas, and to top it all off-
"No way!" Gohan exclaimed, overjoyed, as his dad pulled out a container of still-cold ice cream. "How did you get that in there without it melting?!"
Goku pulled the ice cream tub from the picnic basket and laid it on the ground in front of him.
"It wasn't that hard." Goku stated. "All I really did was surround it in cold packs. Now, let's chow down!"
"Awesome!" Gohan exclaimed, pulling out a spoon and stuffing ice cream into his face, practically mimicking Goku.
Little did they know their picnic was being watched. Suddenly, Goku turned his head in alarm as four creatures that could only be described as living shadows shot out of the woods nearby.
"What the heck!" Goku exclaimed. But the shadows weren't interested in talking. Without a word, the battle began. Goku and Gohan leapt into action, fists and feet flying, but either their attacks were passing clean through these creatures, or the shadows were incredibly fast! Gohan dodged a spin kick from one, only to be smash-punched by another clean through a nearby tree. Goku rushed to his son's side and the creatures encircled them, bright-green eyes that looked like pure energy locked onto the twosome with fierce intent.
"Gohan, are you alright??!" Goku exclaimed, Gohan quickly getting to his feet at the sound of his dad's words.
"Yeah, but whatever they are, they're incredibly strong!" Gohan exclaimed. "I can't sense their power levels, but that punch sure hurt."
"Nobody picks on my kid and doesn't answer to me." Goku challenged, rage in his voice. No sooner had he said it than his power level went Super Sayain L3. Gohan followed his dad's example, turning up his power to max. The shadows watched, silent and unintimidated, then leapt forward to attack.
Energy blasts and fists flew on both sides, the shadows launching what looked like black lightning bolts from their hands. Goku and Gohan fought hard, but it was like they literally couldn't touch any of the shadows. Suddenly, all four shadows fired off bolts, striking Goku and Gohan with skillful accuracy. The two Super Sayains hit the ground hard, small rocks flying up around them from the force of the collision.
Die!! An evil voice, probably from the shadows, rang in both warrior's heads. The shadows suddenly held black sword of the same stuff as themselves, and prepared to death-strike both Sayains.
Out of nowhere, a blue blur shot into the open, past the shadows, and back into the concealing foliage in the course of the blink of an eye. For a long moment, there was total stillness and silence. Then, without warning, all four shadow beings suddenly exploded into black fog, dissipating until there was nothing left. Goku, rubbing his head, sat up and then gasped to see the shadows having disappeared.
"What the-! Hey, where'd they go??" Goku wondered out loud.
From a distance, a figure in blue armor watched as both father and son got to their feet, collected their picnic, and headed home.
"So," He thought to himself. "This is how it begins... again."
Space was dark, cold, and unshakable. It stood, the most unrelenting force in the visible universe; true, it had been conquered by space-faring races and different species, but it had one truly unique quality. Unlike races and nations and people, space had never been killed.
As those hate-filled purple eyes starred into the void, Cell couldn't help but realize that he may forever find the void to be his unkillable equal. But, then again, neither he nor outer space would even have a chance of dying. Not anymore, at any rate.
"You like the improvements, Cell?" A female voice from behind him asked.
"Yes..." He said, clenching one fist as silent power flowed through his veins. "Dr. Gero never could have imagined me becoming this powerful," He paused for a minute in thought. "But then again, Dr. Gero never had a way to get DNA from Garlic Jr. But with that missing component, my true immortality is finally complete."
"More will come soon." The voice said. "After all, there are still many great sources of power in the universe, Cell. For example..." A smirk could be heard in her voice. "How would you like the DNA of the strongest of the Dragons."
Cell spun around, apparent surprise showing on his face.
"Dr. Gero never was able to confirm that the Dragons of the Dragonballs were even physical beings. What makes you so sure??"
"They are physical entities, make no mistake. Therefore, they are not so 'eternal' as their name suggests. They can be killed, just as the Dragonballs can be destroyed. They can also be absorbed, but it will be different from the absorptions you've done so far. We will need a DNA sample, then I can replicate enough bio-material to make the alterations to your design."
"... Such... a power... if under my control..." Cell was literally awestruck at the idea. "... Yes...! I see now that it must be so! For me to be the perfect being, I must become even stronger than the Dragons! It must, it can, and shall be done!!"
"And it won't stop there either, Cell." The voice stated. "There will be more, but one landmark achievement at a time, my dear creation. One at a time." The voice paused. "But first, to take care of those few loose ends."
"Yes... first, to eliminate the Z fighters. And Android 18." Cell's face became plastered with rage at the thought, shocks of electricity beginning to flare randomly around him and through him.
"Don't get too set on avenging first, though." The voice warned. "They are all stronger now than ever before, and even with your newfound powers they may once again destroy you. Besides . . . I have reason to believe that another, much more dangerous threat, had made it's way to earth."
"More dangerous than those who killed me twice? I find that hard to believe."
"He was nothing compared to you before, but now he makes your powers look like space dust." The voice warned sharply. "The only card in our favor is that he cannot always use his powers to his maximum potential, because he himself is uncertain of exactly how they work."
"Tell me, if he's so dangerous, what is this power of his? Surely he can't be another Super Sayain. And just who is this mystery man anyway?"
"An old friend of mine, someone who once only barely escaped Freiza and that's the reason he's still alive. And as for his being a Super Sayain,... let's just say you're in the right ballpark."
"Are you telling me he's a Sayain??" Cell probbed.
"Yes. He and I were amongst the few who escaped the wrath of Freiza, due of course to circumstances beyond our control."
"The black hole, correct?"
"Yes, the accursed black hole."
Cell turned once more to look out the window of the space ship.
"Fear not. I'll find this puny Sayain punk and-"
"You will not harm him, understood Cell? I want him alive." She paused. "I have a certain... fondness for him; I don't care if you beat him up, so long as he lives long enough to join us."
Cell replied, obviously using much self-restraint.
"... As... you... wish."
"And then they were just gone, just like that!" Gohan retold. He, Goku, Krillin, Android 18, and Piccolo were all gathered at Goku's house. It was later that day, and Goku had a bandage around his chest due to injuries from the shadow warriors. "It was so strange; they came out of nowhere, and it was like dad and I couldn't even hit them! It was like they weren't even there!"
"Is that how you remember it, Goku?" Piccolo asked.
Goku nodded.
"We couldn't sense their power levels, but they were definitely stronger than us, no questions about that." Goku stated. "Not just our punches and kicks, but I could've sworn I saw one of my energy blasts just pass through the things, not damaging them at all or anything." He looked at Android 18. "You think this could be a leftover experiment of Dr. Gero's or something?"
"Slim chance." 18 stated. "When 17 and I toasted Gero's lab, the only thing left was the sheltered underground lab where Cell was. When Trunks and Krillin here toasted that, the old nutcase's experiments bit the dust, all of em. Besides, if he could've made any kind of android or mutant or anything capable of that, he would've given Cell that power too."
"But where could they have come from??" Gohan wondered out loud.
"I don't know," Piccolo stated. "But we'll probably find out. If there's four of them, we can safely assume that there might be more on the way."
"Great; we finally get some time off from saving the world, and now we've got living shadow mutants on our hands. This is NOT what I needed during my summer vacation." Krillin exclaimed.
"Well," Goku said, addressing the group. "Since we've got no idea what they are or where they went to, we shouldn't get too worried just yet. We'll keep our eyes open and stay in contact as much as we can, but we shouldn't let it ruin our summer."
"I recommend we stay near here at all times, since we have to assume that Goku and Gohan are the targets, since so far they're the only ones who've been attacked." Piccolo suggested. The others nodded in agreement, except for 18.
"You guys can stay here, but somebody's gotta go find the others." She said, heading for the door. "Besides, if they're as invincible as Goku and Gohan say, it won't make a big difference if we're in a group of four or four-hundred. See ya."
"Hey! Wait!" Krillin exclaimed, but she was already skybound. He dropped his head and sighed. "... Well, I guess she's right. Somebody should rally everybody."
"Hey, don't worry Krill." Goku said. "She's just really independent, that's all. Besides, maybe it's better she go, since nobody can pick up her energy levels either. It'll be like she's invisible; she'll be fine."
Android 18's hair whipped about, small strands occasionally getting in her face only to be thrown away by the same sheering wind that blew them into her way in the first place. Mountains and oceans flew by below, white clouds becoming transparent blurs above as 18 flew at incredible speeds towards where she expected Vegita's training grounds to be. Since he'd be the most difficult to find, forget convince, she decided to locate him first.
Suddenly, a bolt of energy hit her in the back. Recovering from her fall just before hitting the ocean below, she spun to see six shadow warriors with swords in their hands behind her. Her eyes glowed for a minute as she scanned them, and then she gasped to find that nothing was there.
"What the heck!" She exclaimed, dodging bolt after bolt of black lightning. Suddenly, one of the shadows appeared directly in front of her, slamming an uppercut into her jaw that sent her recoiling in pain as she lost focus and fell again towards the water. Slowing herself, she raised one hand to her cheek, then pulled away to see a trickle of blood. "How is that... possible?" She exclaimed. Empty air can't break skin open like that, let alone her android skin. "W-what are these things?!!!"
Gathering her courage, 18 let loose with a wide blast of yellow energy, scoring direct hits on three shadows. But as the beam faded, the creatures were still there, as if the powerful blast hadn't even existed. 18 gasped in disbelief, and only seconds later she found herself being pummeled by shadow creatures on every side. Blows rained down, each one practically knocking her senseless as the creatures ganged up on their helpless victim.
"Hey! Freaks!" Shouted an arrogant voice from nearby. The shadows stopped beating up on 18 and turned to see Vegita, his Super Sayain powers at max, floating in the air nearby. "I don't care why you find it nessasary to beat up on pathetic androids, but if it's a fight you're out for, I'll give you one."
The shadows, abandoning their android target, leapt forward as if of one mind and began to attack Vegita. Vegita fought arrogantly for a while, until one of his best-aimed punches passed effectlessly through a shadow warrior like as if it wasn't there. Then things turned towards the worse as Vegita painfully realized that he'd bitten off far more than he could chew.
Suddenly, two beams of thin white energy tore two shadow warriors into smoke. 18 instantly spun, as did Vegita and the remaining four shadows, to see a humanoid blue blur flying through the air towards the combat. It suddenly occurred to 18 that she couldn't sense either the shadows, or this strange newcomer's energy. As the figure got quickly closer, she could see he was wearing some form of high-tech body armor, his entire body clothed in ocean-blue armor and wearing a helmet on his head of the same color, with a black-glass visor in the shape of an hourglass that was on it's side hiding his eyes. In one hand he held a long double-edged sword much like the one Trunks used to carry, only the handle and hand guards of this sword were made of the same shiny metallic blue metal as the warrior's armor.
Suddenly, the figure increased his speed so much that not even 18's scanners could track him, and moments later all that was left of the shadows was quickly vanishing smoke clouds. Android 18 spun to see the figure floating nearby, sheathing his sword over his back. Both her and Vegita's jaws dropped as they realized he'd single handedly vaporized all six indestructible shadow warriors. Slowly, the figure turned to face the two.
"You two fight pretty good, but it takes more than fighting power to defeat demons like them." He stated, voice somehow transmitted through the armored helmet so 18 and Vegita could hear. "Next time you see those kind of creeps, run for it unless you know what you're doing, OK? It makes a lot more sense than standing around to fight."
"Who are you??" 18 exclaimed.
"And just what do you mean?" Vegita said, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "How is it that you were able to defeat those shadows when neither of us could even touch them? And just what do you mean by demons?"
"Is there a miscommunication? Those 'shadows' as you call them are demon warriors from the Abyss. As for why they're coming into the physical realm to try to kill you guys, I don't know yet, but I intend to find out." The warrior stated.
"And just who are you? How is it that they're immune to our attacks and not yours?" 18 inquired.
There was a long pause.
"If I told you, it might only make things worse for you all. Suffice to say I'm an ally, and I'll try to cover your backs whenever I can but I can't make any promises." He replied, turning to go.
Suddenly, Vegita materialized in front of him.
"Oh no you don't. You're not going anywhere until you answer my questions, boy. You may have some kind of advantage against those shadows, but I am not a foe to be taken lightly. Start talking or I'll beat it out of you."
"Listen, if I could tell you I would but it's too-" He stopped suddenly, and spun around as if he'd heard something. 18 and Vegita spotted it only seconds after he did; another armor-wearing warrior similar in many aspects to the one whom had saved Vegita and 18 moments ago, only this one's armor was a deep-set sapphire green and without a sword.
"Hello, Zeran." The female figure stated, her voice, like Zeran's somehow projected past the armored helmet so everyone could hear her without her taking it off. "It's good to finally see you again after all these years."
"Kerra?" Zeran exclaimed, surprise and disbelief in his voice. "I-Is that really you?"
"Yes, my long-lost friend. It is me, and I'm relieved to see that you're well." She then looked in the direction of 18 and Vegita. "I see you've made some new friends..."
"B-but how?? I thought that when our ship escaped the black hole that you-"
"I'm a survivor, Zeran. You know that." She then locked her gaze on Vegita. "Zeran, stay away from him. He's our enemy, remember? Don't trust any of them."
"What are you talking about??" Vegita demanded. "Who are you people?? Explain yourselves!"
"Shut your face; I don't take orders from you, 'Prince' Vegita!" Kerra retorted sharply.
"Kerra, what are you saying? Things aren't like they were in the past; they're not our enemies, the demons are." Zeran stated. "What's happened to you? ... You've changed somehow..."
"I did what I had to do to survive, Zeran." She replied firmly. "And now I'll take revenge for everyone that Vegita and his father tried to destroy, including our friends and family!"
"What?!" Vegita exclaimed. "How dare you speak of my father like that!!"
"Shut your pampered princely face, scum!" Kerra shouted in defiance, leveling a blast of energy at Vegita. He managed to sidestep the blast, then angrily returned fire at Kerra.
"Kerra, stop this!" Zeran pleaded, but it was already too late. Kerra caught the beam from Vegita and sent it flying harmlessly away, then shot forward at him with volleys of kicks and punches. The two clashed in violent combat, Vegita deflecting blows as Kerra fought in a rage. She suddenly leapt backwards and shot small green energy sphere squarely at Vegita. He caught the sphere in his hands, then shredded it with a flash of his own energy.
"Oh, so that's it, is it?" Vegita smirked. "You're really rather pathetic, you know. That armor may increase your defense drastically, but your fighting power is, in a word, LOW GRADE! Come on; get out of your tin suit and fight me, if you dare!"
"Shut up; this is revenge and we'll play by my rules, Vegita!" She retorted, turning up her power level. "This is for my parents, whom your father sent away to die!"
Suddenly, a massive wave of invisible energy from nearby caught both fighters by surprise. 18, quickly realizing the source, turned in stunned amazement at the mysterious warrior known only as Zeran. She gasped; his body was surrounded in an intense opaque-white and neon-green energy field with such awesome power that everything inside the flame-like field literally appeared to become black and white.
'...What in the world...?' She thought to herself. 'Where did all that power come from?? What is he????'
"What the-!" Vegita exclaimed, shielding his eyes as the field burst into a higher energy level, expanding in response.
"NO!" Zeran shouted. "The fight stops NOW!"
Needless to say, neither Kerra or Vegita were interested in their little revenge squabble at this point.
"W-w-w-what ... is he??" Vegita exclaimed. "I-i-it can't be!!!"
Zeran's sudden power jump reached it's end as the green flame-like field around his body faded away. 18 could still register his power levels now, unlike before, but... the energy output was off the charts!
"Kerra," Zeran said, voice slowly calming down from what it had taken to increase his power. "This is senseless! It wasn't Vegita's father who killed our families, it was Freiza. Why are you doing this??"
"Because I have to, Zeran." She turned once again towards Vegita. "If not for him and his father, we could have been there. Our sheer numbers may have stopped Freiza. Instead, because we were genetically 'weak', we were cast away as refuse, to die in our purported frailty."
"You mean to tell me that you're Sayains??!" 18 exclaimed.
"Impossible!" Vegita returned. "After Freiza destroyed the Sayain homeworld he vaporized all Sayain colonies everywhere, including the weakling settlements. You lairs; what are you trying to pull? There's only two pure-blooded Sayains left, myself and Kakarot, known as Goku. Throw in his and my sons, that's four. There's no way you could be Sayains!"
"The Sayain royalty always was full of narrowminded prideful arrogant aristocrats." Kerra accused, getting a hateful grunt out of Vegita. "You actually think an entire race of people can dwindle down to four individuals, even under the attack of someone like Freiza? That kind of mindset makes the Sayain race out to be a bunch of weaklings, Vegita, which only proves your own weaknesses."
"What are you, my psychologist?" Vegita scoffed. "OK, then prove that you're Sayains and I might let you live despite those insults of yours about my father."
"Shut up, I don't have to prove zilch to a pampered palace brat like you."
"Enough!" Zeran shouted, getting everyone's attention once again. "There's no point in us fighting amongst ourselves like this. As the only known Sayains left, we should be working together, not fighting each other!"
"Zeran, I appreciate your noble sentiments of teamwork, companionship, trust and respect, but you're wasting it on Vegita." She then floated backwards as blue energy flared off her fist. "I'll be back, and I'll bring my secret weapon with me. I'll have my revenge on not only you, but this whole universe, Vegita! I swear it!"
With a flash, she vanished from sight.
"Secret weapon? What's she talking about?" 18 wondered out loud.
"It's not like she's going to tell us, android; that's what makes it a secret. Duh!" Vegita chastised. "Whatever it is, if it's as weak as her, it'll be dust when I get through with it." He then turned his attention to Zeran. "And what about you, kid? You gonna turn tail and run from me too? Or are we finally going to get some explanations for what the heck is going on here??" Vegita demanded.
"... I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Zeran stated.
"Now there's a duh question." 18 replied.
"He's strong, alright." Kerra thought aloud. The ship around her hummed with power as she paced back and forth, her chin in her hand. "And if I don't miss my guess, Goku and Gohan are likely to be even stronger than him. I may have more trouble destroying them than I thought." She paused for a moment. "But I can let Cell deal with them once he gets back. What worries me is Zeran. How is it that he's always in the right place at the right time, showing up just in time to protect them?"
Suddenly, a shadow warrior materialized next to her. This one wasn't quite like the others; it almost seemed as if this phantom wore black-energy armor of the same material as himself, and was far more human-like than the others. His eyes glowed a neon red, as did the fading flame-like energy on his fists as he materialized in the wide, dark room.
"Zeran has many eyes feeding him information." Phalyn stated. "He will be a force to be reckoned with, and even more difficult to convince. You will have to beware that he will intervene on the others' behalf. He may even be able to destroy Cell if he gets any stronger."
"But what is that new power of his??" She questioned. "I've known for a long time he could occasionally use the power of Sio, but there's no way he could have become that powerful with it."
"Make no mistake; his power is that of Sio. His fighting power has increased as well, but he still does not fully control his powers. Not entirely." He paused for a moment. "Oh, you might like to know. Cell's back."
Phalyn vanished in a flash of neon-red fire, and moments later Cell teleported into the room. In his hands were seven silver Dragonballs, their energy glowing from deep within. Kerra turned and nodded her approval, Cell placing the Dragonballs on a nearby empty table.
"The seven Dragonballs of the planet Kuros-5. They weren't easy to find and gather, but it was nothing I couldn't handle." Cell stated confidently. "Now, what must we do to get the DNA samples?"
"All we need to do is summon the Dragon, then simply slice off the tip of it's tail and we'll have what we need."
"And what if the Dragon retaliates?" Cell inquired. "What then?"
"Then you'll get a chance to show off exactly how powerful you are." Kerra replied. "If it comes down to it, though, I'll use the energy frequency of the Dragonballs to force the Dragon to return into them. Either way we'll have what we need, and you'll be more powerful than ever."
"This plan of yours has too many uncertain factors." Cell grumbled.
"What's wrong, Cell? You're not scared of a Dragon, are you? That's why I infused you with Garlic Jr.'s cells first, so that not even the Dragons would be able to kill you."
"What if they simply wish me out of existence?"
"The Dragons can't make any wishes on their own, Cell. Stop being such a scaredycat and take the Dragonballs outside so you can summon the Dragon. You'll be fine, so don't worry."
Without his helmet on, Zeran reminded everyone of teenage Trunks. His deep red hair was shorter than Trunks, but the facial features were extremely similar to that of Vegita's son. His keen green eyes had an intelligence to them that few people outside of Vegita and Goku possessed, and while his skin tone was slightly darker than that of Trunks the similarity wasn't hard to see. Android 18 made a mental note that Zeran's armor seemed to be what kept her from sensing his power levels as she took a seat next to Krillin and Piccolo in the Kame house. Vegita, preferring to stand, leaned against the walls in a nearby corner, arms folded. Goku and Gohan sat on the floor nearby.
"OK," Zeran started, taking a breath. "Where should I start?"
"The beginning's usually a good place." 18 suggested with a smirk of attitude.
"The beginning, huh?" He paused for a minute to think. "Alright, to start with, my name is Zeran, son of Vakoran the Sayain scientist. I wasn't born on the Sayain homeworld, but on one of the colonies that Vegita's father set up for... underpowerful Sayains to live out their lives in peace. My father and mother were sent away because their beliefs weren't mainstream with the Sayain culture..."
The planet Urriah-7 was one of the many Sayain 'weakling' colonies scattered abroad throughout the galaxy. Unlike many of the weakling colonies, Urriah-7 was rather prosperous, every new day their technological abilities growing stronger and stronger. Being filled with people who were considered weak, the culture of the planet had thrived in it's harsh climate by use of advanced armor technology which some previous inhabitants on the world had perfected over time. In time, the world had thrived underground, it's impressive advancements unknown to the universe abroad. They even built a few spaceships, but since the quantum armor allowed whoever wore it to breathe even in outer space a fleet of ships was never considered nessasary.
Then Freiza arrived.
Destruction seemed to rain from the very skies as Freiza's warriors unleashed attack after attack. Despite the strength of the quantum armors, it seemed that nothing could repel Freiza's armies. Finally, though, a few groups of Sayains decided that their only chance for survival was in the few spaceships still left intact. A group of seven ships fled the planet, but as soon as the escapees were discovered Freiza sent his own fighter craft after the refugees. The Sayain ships, having no built in weapons, were forced to find a way to hide from Freiza's forces.
But that too proved nearly impossible. As Freiza's forces converged on the convoy, the Sayains made one last desperate attempt. Using a nearby black hole, the three remaining ships aimed to use the black hole's gravity to slingshot them safely. But something went drastically wrong. The Sayains had underestimated the gravity of the black hole, sending two ships to their instant destruction at the black hole's gravity center.
The one remaining ship, however, quickly cued in a course parallel the black hole. As time and space distorted around that one last ship, Freiza's forces gave up their chase, assuming the ship to have been destroyed along with the others. That one ship remained there for ten years, nearly frozen in time. When at last the ship was ejected out of the black hole, only two passengers wearing quantum armor had survived, and the ship was in shambles. Abandoning the ship as lost, the two Sayains braved the storms of outer space as they headed towards Urriah-7, hoping beyond hope to find that their people had been sucessful in repelling Freiza's invasion forces.
When they got there, though, they found that nothing remained of their planet except a field of debris. Freiza had utterly and totally destroyed Urriah-7, instantly silencing all on the planet who opposed him.
"Kerra went insane with rage." Zeran went on to say. "She swore revenge against Freiza and went off on her own, never to be seen again. I later heard rumors during my search for other Sayains that someone matching her description had been found floating dead in outer space, killed of radiation. I never got a chance to confirm it, but I always thought that somehow radiation from the black hole had caused her death. But now, it looks like she never died to begin with. It wasn't too long after that I heard about Freiza being destroyed by a Sayain from earth, a Super Sayain nonetheless, and went to earth to find out for myself. I got there just in time to hear about the Cell games, and quickly started training in hopes that I could help. Turns out I got there too late, because by the time I arrived Gohan was turning Cell into space dust. Ever since, I've been training in space to get stronger, so that I would never find myself helpless or powerless again."
For a long moment, there was total silence. Then Vegita spoke up.
"But that still doesn't explain that power of yours, kid." He stated. "That doesn't explain how YOU could possibly have the same power as the White-Flame Warrior."
"The what?" Krillin inquired.
Vegita seemed to scoff at Krillin's ignorance.
"Yeah, what are you talking about, Vegita?" Goku asked.
"I guess you wouldn't know, Kakarot, since you were raised on earth." He paused for a moment. "As a child, I once or twice heard stories about a great and powerful warrior, supposedly either a Super Sayain or greater than them, who, when he fought, his body was surrounded in an intense white and green 'flame'." He looked Zeran in the eyes. "The 'flame', it would seem, was actually an energy field much like the one which surrounds the body of a Super Sayain. The White-Flame Warrior was said to be the greatest Sayain warrior to ever exist. What I want to know, kid, is how you achieved that same power."
"Well... I've had it since as far back as I can remember." Zeran stated. "I don't know how I got it, I guess I always had the power. For all I know, I could've been born with it. I really don't even know completely how it works, only that my power level jumps to huge extremes whenever I focus hard enough."
"Great. Not what I wanted to hear." Vegita mumbled.
"Hey Vegita, tell us more about the White-Flame Warrior." Gohan pleaded.
"Uhh,... if you must." Vegita grumbled, then began. "From what I can recall, the White-Flame Warrior showed up out of nowhere and turned the tide of battle for the Sayain people against one of Freiza's ancestors, nearly 7000 years ago. There's not much to tell; he showed up, kicked butt, and vanished never to be seen again. Happy now?"
"Dude." Krillin mused. "You sure the guy might not have been a Super Sayain with thing for white and green?"
"Do you always ask dumb questions like that?" Vegita returned. He then turned his attention to Zeran. "But... perhaps it's a theory worth testing. Kid,-"
"I have a name you know." Zeran replied.
"Whatever." Vegita replied. "Can you become a Super Sayain, like I did when that friend of yours showed up?"
"Well... I can try." Zeran shrugged. Everyone in the room braced themselves as Zeran turned up the power, at first grunting loudly, then screaming his lungs out as his power level grew.
But... no Super Sayain transformation. Zeran collapsed to one knee, his effort spent in vain.
"Hmm,... that's strange." Vegita mused.
"Guess that proves that whatever power he's got isn't Super Sayain." Android 18 chimed in. "What do you call that power of yours, though?"
"...Actually..." Zeran thought about it for a minute as he caught his breath. "Sio, a Sayain word meaning 'sunlight'."
"Well, whatever that power is," Piccolo stated, standing up and turning to go. "It seems to be the only thing capable of hurting those shadow warrior things. I don't know about you guys, but I say Zeran should stick around until we can fight those 'demons'."
"Great, another on-site Sayain." 18 muttered.
"I guess I don't get a thank-you for saving your life?" Zeran inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Not from me, kid." Vegita piped in.
"Don't hold your breath." 18 added, getting up to go. "Well, looks like we're all hanging out here in case we need 'Shadow-Buster' here. I call the bedroom."
"Hey, no fair!" Piccolo exclaimed.
"It's my right as a lady to have some privacy." 18 returned sharply, heading upstairs.
"But there's no way we'll all fit in here at once." Krillin pointed out, stopping 18 in mid-stride. Krillin turned quickly to Piccolo. "Can't we stay at Kammi's tower? There's tons of room there."
"Uh,..." Piccolo seemed cut to the quick. "OK, I guess so. But we need somebody to go gather Tien and the others in the process."
"Oh no, this time somebody else can go." 18 quickly interjected. "I've had enough being ambushed by shadows for one day. Somebody else take a turn."
"I'm not going." Krillin said quickly. "If Goku and Gohan didn't stand a chance against them, I'd be pulp in seconds."
"Actually, Krillin," Zeran interjected. "You might be the best choice."
"M-m-m-me?!" Krillin exclaimed.
"Just use your Solar Flare on them and you should be OK." Zeran suggested. "Believe me, they hate intense light."
"Shadows hate light; now that's cliche." Vegita scoffed.
"You sure, Zeran?" Krillin asked unsurely.
"Yeah, trust me, Krillin. You'll be fine."
When Cell returned into the ship through the airlock, he did not look happy. His entire body was covered in what appeared to be saliva mixed with blood, and in his left hand he held the tip of a massive reptilian tail. Kerra looked at the whole scene with a bemused smirk.
"You were a little late in repelling the Dragon, you know." Cell said, shaking his hands dry with a disgusted look on his face. "Do you know what it's like to be swallowed whole by something ten times your size??"
"You got the tail, that's what's important, Cell." Kerra replied, hiding her smirk as best she could. "You won't have any trouble absorbing other Dragons once this DNA is in your design."
"This had better be worth it, Kerra." He replied angrily.
"Oh, it will. It will. Now c'mon, we've got work to do."
Krillin could barely keep from shuttering as he flew towards South City, nervously looking about in case of shadows. He gulped hard, then picked up speed as South City got closer in the distance.
"No shadows so-far." Krillin stated.
Kammi's tower reminded Zeran of an Arabian palace. As the group set down, Mr. Popo and Dendei emerged from the main building, looking in surprise at the new visitors, especially Zeran.
"Hey Dendei!" Gohan exclaimed in welcome, rushing up to his friend. "What's up?"
"Have you seen the shadows yet?" Dendei inquired, very serious and slightly scared.
"We've seen em, alright." Goku replied. "Hey Dendei, this is Zeran. He's a Sayain and he seems to be able to fight those things."
Dendei's face lit up.
"He can?! Then we may stand a chance after all!"
"Dendei," Piccolo inquired. "What do you know about the shadows."
"... From what we've seen up here," Mr. Popo began. "It seems that they're practically invincible. They even came up here to attack us just an hour ago, but something suddenly made them give up and go elsewhere."
Zeran suddenly looked worried.
"They come only to steal, kill, and destroy. The only reason they'd have stopped is if they're massing for an attack. I don't like this one bit."
Everybody got situated for a while, and an hour later Krillin and the others showed up. Krillin said they hadn't come across any shadows, and soon enough Tien, Chowtsu, and the others were filled in on recent events by Zeran.
Three hours later, the other shoe dropped.
"What the-!!!" Piccolo suddenly exclaimed, spinning to look skyward.
"What is that?!!" Tien gasped, sensing the energy too.
"Zeran! Vegita! 18!" Goku shouted. "Quick! Get out here; we've got trouble on the way!!"
Seconds later, Zeran, Vegita, and 18 were out in the open with the others. Zeran, quickly donning his helmet, began tracking the energy surge. After a few minutes of scanning, he gasped in sudden surprise.
"What? What is it?" 18 inquired, slightly panicked.
All Zeran had to say was one word. One word that made everyone's eyes go wide with fear.
"...Cell...!"
Chapter 2- The battle begins
Cell touched down on the lookout like some form of phantom, a light haze of yellow energy fading slowly away as his feet leveled onto the ground below him. A smirk decorated his face, fueled by the fear-filled looks of the Z-Fighters in front of him. His eyes, once only a platinum color, now hinted at a strange golden hue as well. Mr. Popo and Dendei rushed outside only seconds after the vile creature landed, freezing in mid-step and gasping in surprise. Zeran, snapping out of his fear-filled expression, reached slowly for his sword. Cell instantly locked his gaze at the young Sayain as soon as Zeran's hand gripped the armored handle.
"So..., you must be Zeran." Cell stated coldly. "Kerra's told me a good deal about you, young warrior Sayain."
"... You're Kerra's secret weapon??!!!!" 18 exclaimed in shocked disbelief.
"Surprised to see me, 18? Oh, that's right, you thought I was dead, didn't you. Silly android; you actually thought Dr. Gero made me so weak as that?" His grin quickly became a slight frown. "Well, it seems Dr. Gero made the mistake of underestimating you Sayains when he designed me. But that's of little consequence now; all it took was a small sample of bio-material for Kerra to revive me, making me even stronger than ever by giving me the DNA of Garlic Jr. integrated into my new and improved design. And that was only the beginning..." He smirked and then threw his head backwards laughing. "I'm practically an immortal!!"
"Yeah right." Zeran scoffed. "The stronger you get the harder you'll fall, Cell."
"Idiot!" Cell returned. "You have no idea the kind of power I now possess! ... But for now, that shall be my secret, boy." Cell unfolded his arms and looked Zeran squarely in the eye. "It's time I got to see what your 'Sio Sayain' power can do, kid. Come on; give me your best shot!"
For a while, Zeran didn't move. Nobody did.
Then Zeran broke the silence.
"You think I'd be so blinded by pride as to face you one-on-one?" Zeran scoffed. "I bet that if we all ganged up on you, you'd be history, Cell."
"Fine, have it your way." Cell scoffed. "Show me what you've got."
Zeran turned and nodded to Goku, Gohan, and Vegita, who each nodded in return and powered up to Super Sayain. Zeran himself clinched his fists, gritted his teeth, and was quickly surrounded in a field of white and green energy. Donning his battle helmet, he turned to 18.
"18, Dendei, Mr. Popo; get as far away from here as you can. This could get ugly."
The trio nodded without hesitation, rushing into the lookout's main building and out of sight. Krillin, Tien, Chowtsu, and Piccolo rushed to the front lines, turning up their power levels as high as they could in preparation for the imminent battle that was to ensue. Cell, however, simply laughed.
"Is that really ALL you've got?" He scoffed. "Somehow I'm not impressed. Alright, let's get on with it."
Without another word, it began. Vegita and Zeran shot straight at Cell, fists ready, but Cell darted out of sight at the last moment. Goku and Gohan were up next, the father-son tagteam surrounding Cell with volleys of kicks and punches which Cell dodged and blocked with relative ease. Piccolo took the offensive, aiming a Special Beam Cannon attack at Cell, but Cell caught it in one hand and threw it back down at Krillin and Tein, who dodged by the skin of their teeth. Vegita and Zeran suddenly rejoined the brawl, fists and feet flying at supersonic speeds as Cell blocked every attack with lightning-fast agility and skill. For a while, it remained like that, then suddenly Cell guarded himself with a sphere-like blue energy shield, sending the foursome flying backwards.
"Most impressive, Sayains. At least, for your level of imperfection. But I'm done playing games now; it's time to take out the garbage." Cell scoffed. "Starting with you, kid." Cell's gaze was directed straight at Zeran.
"You want me, Cell?" Zeran put back his sword. "Fine; come and get me, if you can. There's still only one of you and four of us."
"Then we'll just have to do something about that, don't you think?" Cell smirked. Suddenly, his entire body transformed into deep golden energy, and two minutes later four Cells stood where moments before there had been only one. Zeran gasped in surprise. "A little technique I picked up from Piccolo, allowing me to, as the old saying goes, be in four places at once."
"Then you'll go down four times as hard, Cell." Zeran replied.
"I'll make you wish you'd stayed dead, Cell." Vegita challenged.
"Shut up and fight." Was Cells' response, and with a sound like a rushing of wind the four creatures shot at their Sayain targets, bent on blood. Zeran contacted his opponent first, grabbing Cell's fist and then landing a powerful kick square into Cell's chest. Goku and Cell became a pair of blurs against the sky as the two clashed in violent combat. Gohan exchanged energy blasts with Cell, but Cell was dodging every single strike. Vegita had taken to evasive maneuvers, dodging his Cell's attacks in hopes of discovering an advantage to use against the creature. Suddenly, Goku came out of nowhere and smash-punched his opponent cleanly into the ground, Cell's falling body piercing cleanly through Kammi's lookout before slowing and stopping his fall. Suddenly, that Cell found himself face to face with himself as Gohan pulled the same maneuver his dad had, sending one Cell plowing into another one. Vegita finally found what he'd been waiting for, hitting Cell with an energy blast from behind. Zeran and Cell grappled with each other, fists locked, and it seemed that Cell was slowly winning. Suddenly, Zeran pulled back and hit Cell with a kick, but Cell grabbed his foot and slammed him into the ground. Cell slammed blow after blow into Zeran's chest, then kicked him into the air, materialized in his flight path, and smash-punched Zeran straight downward, cleanly through the lookout and falling limply to the ground far below.
As Zeran continued to fall limply, Cell materialized next to him, floating towards the ground at the same speed Zeran was falling.
"Tell me something, Zeran." Cell said, a nasty evil tone in his voice. "How does it feel to be weak? Defenseless? Easily defeated by someone so much more powerful than you? Do tell me what it's like, Zeran, since I will never ever again know weaknesses."
Zeran grunted.
"You tell me, Cell!!" He returned, suddenly nailing Cell with an energy blast. Zeran slowed himself, Cell caught off-guard by Zeran's sudden attack and fell towards the ground for a minute or two more before he began to slow. Zeran smirked. "NEVER underestimate your opponent, Cell. I didn't train for five years in outer space for nothing." He clenched his fists. "Now, Cell; taste my Sio Flash-Blast!!"
Zeran swung his fists wide, then slammed them back together. For a long minute, Cell just watched as he stood like that, nothing happening.
"What's wrong? Not enough energy for your atta-"
Suddenly, what looked like a sphere made entirely out of invisible heat waves slammed into Cell with a huge flash of light, sending the unexpecting creature plummeting towards the ground. Zeran followed up, shooting like a missile straight at Cell with strange energy pulsing inside his right fist. With a sudden dash of speed, Zeran slammed Cell in the stomach with his glowing punch, sending bolts of electricity coursing violently through Cell's body as the freakish monster contorted and convulsed under the energy shocks running through his system, at last hitting the ground far below with a huge cloud of dust and a muffled 'thud'. Zeran drew out his sword and followed Cell down towards the ground, landing gently just to the left of a Cell-shaped crater. Cell, after a minute or two, picked himself up out of the cavern.
"... An invisible energy blast..." Cell mused, getting his second wind. "... And what do you call that other attack?"
"Specter Strike." Zeran stated. "One of the first moves I ever learned."
"Most impressive." Cell stated, standing to his feet. "And know you're right, Zeran: I did underestimate you. But I will not make that mistake again."
"C'mon, Cell. I've been hoping for a chance to kick your butt ever since I saw you fight Gohan."
Without another word, it began. Cell powered up quickly, then shot at Zeran. Zeran darted out of the way, but Cell was too quick suddenly and slammed Zeran with a spin kick. Zeran hit the ground and Cell immediately followed up the kick by smash-punching Zeran in the face, sending his head into the ground. Cell's expression quickly became that of merciless vengence as punch after punch slammed into Zeran's head and chest, driving his body further into the ground.
"Now it's my turn!!" Cell shouted, two fingers to his forehead. "Time for you to meet the Light of Death!"
The beam exploded from Cell's two fingers, hitting Zeran squarely in the chest and smashing his body through further layers of ground. When the dust cleared, Zeran's limp armored body lay there in a shallow grave, unmoving. Cell smirked as he walked over and grabbed Zeran by the neck.
"Now who underestimated who, brat? You're coming with me, and there's nothing you can do about it. Game over for you, kid."
With that, Cell once more placed two fingers to his forehead, then simply blipped out of sight.
Suddenly on Kammi's tower, all three Cells suddenly ceased to exist, much to the surprise of everyone fighting.
"What the- where'd they go??" Piccolo exclaimed.
"... Cell, the real one; he must've used Goku's Instant Transmittion technique to run from the battle." Vegita analyzed. "... But why?"
"Yeah, and where's Zeran?" Krillin inquired, badly beat up but refusing to show weakness.
For a few minutes, there was strange total silence.
Then suddenly the answer hit Vegita like a brick.
"ZERAN!" He exclaimed, getting everyone's instant attention. "Cell abducted Zeran!"
"What?" Gohan inquired.
"Cell kidnaped him, the little punk!" Vegita scowled. "Blast it! Now he'll absorb the kid and get even stronger than ever!!"
"But then why didn't Cell just absorb him outright?" Piccolo inquired. "And what makes you so sure about this whole kidnaping bit, Vegita?"
"Two questions, one answer, Namek." Vegita returned sharply. "I got a good feel for what that Quantum armor was capable of when I fought Kerra, and since it was even able to protect Zeran and Kerra from the effects of black-hole radiation, I'm guessing that Cell would have to get rid of Zeran's armor before he could absorb him."
"But if that's true," 18 said, suddenly appearing on out in the open. "Then Cell's not likely to absorb him, if he really does work for Kerra. At least not off the bat; she'd probably throw a fit. Although, for the life of me I can't figure out why Cell would take orders from anybody."
"I don't like it." Goku stated. "There's still too many things about this that we don't know."
"Hey android!" Vegita hollered. "I thought we told you to stay out of sight until things were clear."
"Looks pretty 'clear' now." 18 retorted. "Besides, no way I was gonna miss front row seating to a fight against Cell."
"There's no point in arguing; we've got more important things to worry about." Krillin piped in, getting everyone's attention. "Tien and I might be able to hold off the shadow things using Solar Flare, but as far as we know Zeran's the only one who can fight them. We gotta figure out where Cell took him and plan a rescue mission ASAP, or we're toast."
"Krillin's right." Piccolo stated, arms folded. "But how are we gonna find out where they went?"
"Hey, I think I might have an idea." 18 mused with a smirk.
"YOU think you know where they went? How?" Vegita demanded.
"I used my scanners to track the fight against Cell even at long range." 18 stated calmly. "When Cell vanished, I tracked the energy he used for the Instant Transmittion bit and was able to get a general fix on his destination."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense!" Vegita scorned.
"Somewhere just outside earth's orbit, probably a space ship." 18 replied bruskly. "But they must be using some kind of scattering field, because I couldn't pin down exactly where."
"Then we've got to get aboard that spaceship." Piccolo stated.
"Only a few problems with that." 18 semi-smirked. "Number one: I'm the only one here who doesn't need oxygen to breathe. Number two: If that spaceship is shadow-central, we won't last six seconds. And thirdly: Cell. Need I say more?"
"But we can't just stand here!" Gohan exclaimed.
"Keep your shirt on, kid; I've got a genius plan as usual." 18's voice lacked no tone of pride. "I can infiltrate the ship so long as Krillin and Tien can teach me how to do that Solar Flare technique, and so long as I stay out of sight not even Cell will know I'm there."
"Since when were you trained to be Jamie Bond?" Vegita scoffed. "It's way too risky; your energy levels may be undetectable, but that doesn't make you the invisible woman. All it takes is for one shadow to spot you and you're Cell food."
"I suppose you have a better plan?" 18 retorted.
(To be continued...)
OK, here's the deal. What with this being my first-ever DBZ fic, and what with me having so many other things that I'm writing nowadays, I'll ONLY continue this saga IF I get enough demand. That means READ AND REPLY! Otherwise no more Legends of Sio. K? So READ AND REPLY!!!