Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or the characters.
Author's Notes: Hey hey hey, minna! I'm back, and guess what? This is last chapter of Total Solar Eclipse! \^o^/ Huzzah! Frankly, I'm glad, because it was really hard to get this damn thing done. ~_~ Now I can get started on my next story... that is, after this shorter one I have to write... Anyway, go! Read read! And please review!
Chapter Twenty: Black Blood
"Whoosh!" – Bra
1 second until the eclipse
It was the final second to the countdown. Everything all over the planet seemed to slow down in that one moment as the moon finished its advance to the sun. Every action was almost to the point of halting completely as the black moon became one second from completely blocking the raging fiery sun from view.
The run of the mill spectators in Satan City Park continued to cheer, the noise melding with the wails of those praying to be delivered to their god and the whoops of those waiting for the appearance of intelligent life to take them elsewhere in the universe. One of the few people not shouting was Piccolo, all the muscles in his body tensing in that one instant as he waited to see what the darkness would bring.
Dozens of feet under the people gathered in Satan City Park were Seether, Vegeta, and the group of six rescuers who had set out six days before to stop the incubus from infecting the minds of every living creature on Earth. Whether or not Seether's demonic plot would take place would be decided here, in this large, cold, underground cavern. The only question: who would be the one to stop Seether?
Would it be Goku, the warrior with immense strength? The strength that had defeated the many others that had tried to doom the planet before? The warrior with not only physical strength, but also strength of the heart? Alas, no. For this proud fighter lie on the stone ground unconscious, having lost a recent battle against Vegeta, Seether's mind-controlled knight.
If one were to move down the line of strength, they would come to Trunks. Would this young man, with great power of brains and brawn be able to stop Seether in that one instant? No, once again. For with his intelligence and strength came his temper, which had caused Trunks to snap and attack Seether. During that very attempted assault was when she used his very own attack to injure him, and now he sat on his knees, leaning against the wall behind him, forced to watch his father being used as a conduit for Seether's dark energy.
Goten? Him neither. Although the young man was strong, nearly as strong as Trunks, he already battled Seether alongside Bra, and both their energy was spent. Goten and Bra stood by a wall off to the side of Seether's throne, Goten's arms around the girls as she clutched his shirt, watching her father scream as Seether mercilessly pumped massive amounts of energy into his body.
So, in canceling out Goku, Trunks, Goten, and Bra, there were only two people left in the group: Bulma and Relena. Both humans, both above average intelligence, but both weak in physical strength when compared to those with Saiyajin genes. Despite this disadvantage, however, they seemed to find a way that perhaps may stop the enslavement of the planet. Seconds before this last moment available to save the world, Relena had recalled a comment Seether had made before Goku and Vegeta's battle:
"Don't falter in your steps. I certainly wouldn't want this blade nicking me..."
And so Relena's gaze shot to the blade across the cavern. She gave a shout to Bulma, who knelt over Goku nearby, alerting the blue-haired scientist, who crawled quickly over to the blade, grasping it and standing to face Seether...
Now, in this imperative last second, Bulma was running towards Seether, the inky black hilt of the sword that was consumed with the villainess' dark energy gripped tightly in her hands. The gleaming blade pierced the air before her, the point aimed at Seether's midsection, as she dashed, boots thwapping the rock beneath her. In this last moment, Seether's power-lusting expression switched from maniacal glee to surprise as her gaze flickered to the screaming mate of her conduit. In the last portion of this moment, the blade was only an inch from Seether's body...
And it pierced her skin and slid neatly through her abdomen, the end of the word passing through her body and jutting out her back, coated in her black blood.
And now, as the moment was over, as on the surface the moon completely hid the sun, all actions returned from slow motion to regular speed.
Seether froze, now unable to send anymore power through Vegeta as the sword greedily devoured her strength. Her grey eyes were wide in shock, and her lips parted a bit, although no breath was inhaled or exhaled. The rest of her body remaining still, Seether tilted her head downwards to see the blade of the very sword she had created impaled in her, draining her energy, uncaring if it left nothing to sustain its creator's life. Inky blood oozed from the wound, soaking her dress and sliding down her leg, its hue a great contrast against her ivory skin.
Seether lifted her view a bit to look upon Bulma, whose hands were still braced around the sword. The woman's blue eyes stared at where the blade had struck the demon, not believing that she had actually done this, that she had had the speed to do it, had the courage to. Bulma finally loosened her hands, taking a few steps backward, her astonished gaze meeting Seether's.
Silence consumed the cavern, all staring at the center of the cave, all focused on the defeated Seether. There was no sound, no movement, only flabbergasted expressions.
Finally, a shudder wracked Seether's body, and her nails suddenly removed themselves from Vegeta's flesh and armor. The prince fell to the ground, a loud clanking echoing throughout the granite room when metal armor hit rock. Bulma threw herself to the ground and crawled over to her husband, taking his gloved hand in hers as she bent over him worriedly.
There was a scuffling as Seether stumbled backwards, away from Vegeta and Bulma. Her pale hands gripped the sword's hilt as she watched Vegeta slowly sit up, Bulma's arms immediately enclosing him. Whether or not Vegeta appreciated the hug was unknown, since he had no energy to push her away or speak against the embrace. He merely rested in Bulma's arms, eyes closed. Yes, Seether had given him plenty of energy, but the energy was a part of Seether, and when she was skewered with the blade it absorbed the power Vegeta had been forcefully fed.
Despite her immensely weakened state, Seether tightened her grasp on the sword and pulled it out of her torso, closing her eyes and wincing at the pain that electrified her nerves as she felt it slide from her body. Once the blade left her body, the blood-dripping weapon seemed to weigh so much more, and it dropped from her hand to the ground with a clatter. Seether opened her lips further, her intention to curse at the couple that sat before her, but only a pathetic strangled mew escaped her throat as thick ebony fluid flowed over her lips and down her chin, slithering down her throat.
Even with the absence of the sword in her flesh, Seether knew it was too late. She could not regain enough energy to continue to live after having so much drained. Her hands drifted to the wound, a palm pressing against her abdomen and fingers splayed across her stomach, the other hand covering its counterpart. She fell to her knees, hunching over once she hit the ground. She began to cough, more blood being hacked from her throat and down onto the stone.
Seether froze, her eyes widening and losing their evil gleam, pupils shrinking. Her body tensed and she collapsed completely, her body making a light thud as it crumpled to the ground. Her dull eyes never closed, her body remained still, and her mouth stayed open, blood still seeping through her jet black lips.
There was a long moment of silence, all staring at Seether's lifeless body.
"Is..." Bra gulped. "Is she dead?"
"I think so," Bulma said softly.
Goten and Bra removed themselves from their embrace. They stared at each other for a moment, blushing, then walked side by side over to Vegeta and Bulma. Trunks and Relena joined them, Trunks' arm around Relena's shoulders as she helped him shuffle over to the other four. They were silent for a few moments, still not believing they had survived the ordeal.
Bra suddenly collapsed by her mother's side, embracing her in a hug so fierce that Bulma was forced to rest the exhausted Vegeta on the ground for the moment. Trunks leaned down on the other side of his mother, resting a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her.
"We thought you were dead!" Bra blurted out, tears streaming down her face.
"No," Bulma replied, wiping the tears from her daughter's cheeks. "I'm fine. I had a hard time finding all of you again, though."
"It's a good thing you did," Relena said. "Without you we would've been finished."
"No," Bulma said. "I never would've thought twice about that sword if you hadn't brought it to my attention."
"Maybe so," Trunks put in, "but 'Tousan never would've snapped out of it if you hadn't shown up."
"That was so romantic until Seether butted in," Bra said, letting go of Bulma. "Papa was going to kiss you, wasn't he?"
"I was not," Vegeta grumbled from the ground.
"Sure you weren't." Bulma smirked, leaning over him. "But whether you were or not, I'll kiss you now anyway." She lowered her head, pressing her lips to Vegeta's. He raised no complaint after they parted.
"Can you sit up, Vegeta?" Goten asked.
"Of course I can." Vegeta proved so by sitting up, supporting himself by flattening his hands on the ground behind him. His eyes fell upon Relena. "Who the hell are you?"
"Well, hello to you too, Sunshine," she replied.
"This is Relena," Bulma said to Vegeta, gesturing to the auburn-haired young woman. "She helped us rescue you."
"I see..." Vegeta said. He slowly stood up, Bulma staying close by in case he fell, despite the look he gave her.
Relena smiled. "You're welcome."
"I could have beat her myself, though."
"If you weren't being mind-controlled."
"Hmph." Vegeta glanced around. "So where's that baka?
"I'm over here," Goku groaned from where he lay, having returned to consiousness a few moments before. He sat up inspecting the wound on his arm. The blood had dried and stopped flowing, but it still ached. "Damn it, Vegeta. Did you have to do that?"
"Stop whining, Kakarot."
"Well, I guess you finally defeated me..."
"No."
"No?" was the reply from everyone but Relena.
"No. I beat him with the help of that bitch," Vegeta said, motioning to Seether's still form. "But I'll defeat you one day, Kakarot."
Goku smiled, getting to his feet. "I'll look forward to that battle."
"So will I," Vegeta replied with his signature smirk. His confident expression, however, contorted into a pained one, and he folded his arms over his stomach.
"'Tousan! Are you okay?" Bra exclaimed.
"I'm fine," Vegeta responded, trying to hide his wincing.
"All right, tough guy," Bulma began. "Bra, help me help your father walk."
"I don't need any help."
"Sure you don't," Bulma patronized, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder as Bra did the same with the other.
"I guess you'll need help, too, 'Tousan," Goten said to his father.
Bra laughed. "This is great. The strongest three can't even walk without the weakest! Ha! Ow!" she shrieked when Vegeta pinched her arm.
Trunks let Relena wrap his arm around her shoulder. "What do you say we get the hell out of here?"
Goten's eyes flickered to an object lying on the ground by the fallen Seether. "Wait a second!" He removed his father's arm from his shoulder and ran over to the sword and picked it up. He trotted back over to the group. "What should we do with this?"
"I guess we should take it with us," Bulma said. "Once you guys have all your strength back you should be able to destroy it."
"I don't know," Goku said. "Just because Seether is dead doesn't mean that we're stronger than her. She was defeated by her own magic. I don't think we'll be able to get rid of it."
"We'll think of something later, okay?" Bra said. "Let's just go. It's freezing down here!"
"Let's blow this popsicle stand," Goten quipped. "Get it? Freezing? Popsicles?"
The only replies he got were rolling eyes and blank stares.
"What?"
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
By now, the moon's shadow had passed over the sun, and sunlight once again lit the world below. The crowd was no longer cheering; now that the eclipse was over they had continued their use of the carnival, moving from the rides to the games to the food stands. One group of people, however, did not have their minds set on enjoying the celebration.
"What are you saying, Gohan?" Chi-Chi asked.
"When the eclipse occurred, there was a sudden upsurge of energy, right below our feet," Gohan answered, "but a few seconds later, it disappeared." He looked to the Piccolo and Krillin. "You felt it too, ne?"
"How could I not?" Krillin exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, do you feel that now?" Piccolo commented.
"Feel what?" Chi-Chi asked.
"I can feel them all underground beneath us. Goku, Goten, Trunks, and Vegeta. There's another power that's lower than theirs... I think it's Bra. Then there are two normal range powers. I believe one is Bulma, but I've never felt the other one before..."
"Are you saying they just defeated some enemy without us?" Krillin said. "I feel so left out... yet relieved at the same time."
"No one's saying anyone got defeated," Gohan pointed out. "Piccolo, the unrecognizable power, do you think it's the weakened enemy?"
"No," the Namekian replied. "Whatever the enemy was, it's gone."
"Well, that's good," Krillin commented. "That enemy sure was powerful from what I felt."
"Goku and Goten are UNDER THE GROUND?" Chi-Chi repeated.
"I'm sure they'll come back up soon, Okaasan," Gohan assured her. "Safe and sound."
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I lie on the cold ground, having regained a conscious state of mind. The blood still flows from my body, but the pace has lessened. Trying my best to ignore the agony vibrating through my bones, I sit up, wiping some blood off my chin with an arm. The act is meaningless, however, for new blood continues to pour over my bottom lip.
Yes, I am still alive. Barely. In fact, I will die soon from the blood loss. I knew it when I was struck with the sword, and I know it now; I lost too much energy to survive for long.
I sit, still absorbing the fact that I have been beaten, wishing that I was still catatonic so I wouldn't have to think about it. Defeated. And not just defeated. Defeated by a human. A weakling. I had the strongest of them crushed, helpless, in agony, and a fragile human, whose body I could've easily snapped in two, came to the rescue, defeating me with my own enchanted sword.
Now that I think about the irony, it's kind of amusing. Funny really. Hilarious.
It's to funny, in fact, that I'm laughing now, letting it all out. My own shrill laughter fills my ears now, the sound echoing throughout my icy cavern.
A human!
I throw my head back, still cackling.
A human defeated me, using my own power against me! Hell, I might as well have stabbed myself anyway, since I am such a fool. I even bothered to wait until this fucking eclipse, when I could've used Vegeta days ago!
The laughter gets louder, and the pain in my abdomen worsens. I ignore it.
I could've killed every single one of them once they got here, but I toyed with them instead! I could've drowned them by letting the water fill the tunnels for a moment longer, or incinerated them by merely increasing the speed of the lava!
And now... Now I am going to die for my foolishness. I will perish for having the same arrogance I have seen exhibited by the others the Z fighters have fought. I saw it with my own eyes, yet I believed that I would be different!
The laughter dies a bit, now more of an insane giggle.
They think they'll get away with it? Get away with making a fool of me? Of me? Well, then I'm not the only fool.
Casting my right hand over my left, I exert the bit of magic I have regained while unconscious and a black rose appears in my palm. Its petals are soft and healthy, but the stem is stiff and littered thorns, the end cut off at a sharp slant. There are no leaves emerging from the stem; I never cared for leaves on roses.
I take the rose and drag the sharp end of the stem across my wrist, slicing open my skin and the veins beneath. Blood slowly begins to build up in the slash; it might have come faster if so much blood hadn't been lost already.
I dips the stem in the blood that has collected on my wrist, then switch the dark blossom to the other hand. With my bleeding arm I hold the flower over the stone ground before me, and a single bead of fluid drips from the pointed end of the stem to the rock. The drop of blood combined with the moisture of the flower stalk creates an acid, drilling a hole into the impenetrable stone. I slide half of the stem into the cavity, then suspend my bleeding wrist close to the rose, squeezing my arm just below the slash, forcing the blood to ooze out and pour onto the ground, surrounding the flower. The fluid seeps into the places between the stem and the stone, and already I can see the rose begin to grow, hear the roots absorbing their nourishment.
My laughter finally ceases, but a weary smile remains as I watch my blossom swell in size, the petals becoming fuller and blacker. My eyes fix on the ebony pigment of the petals, my gaze drowning in them until they are all I can see...
Then all I know is black.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Be careful with that thing, Goten!" Trunks scolded after almost getting his leg sliced off by Seether's sword.
"Sorry," Goten apologized, "it's hard to support 'Tousan and hold the sword at the same time, and it's kind of hard to see with only that ki ball as our light."
"Why didn't we think of that before when the flashlights went out?" Goku asked suddenly.
An embarrassed silence fell over the group.
"Idiots," Vegeta mumbled.
They had been walking for about a quarter of an hour, and already Vegeta, Trunks, and Goku no longer needed any assistance walking, having regained enough energy to do so themselves. Although none of them were in the greatest of shape. They were still considerably weak compared to their normal energy level, but they were strong enough to unleash any ki attacks, if need be.
"I cannot wait to get the hell out of here and into a hot shower," Bulma said.
"I can't wait to get out of here and spend some time by myself," Bra responded. "Being cramped in these tunnels with the same people for so long is probably gonna give me social anxiety." She glanced at those around her. "Uh... no offense... heh..."
"I can't wait to get some actual food," Goku added.
"Amen!" responded everyone but Vegeta.
Relena's eyes drifted back to the sword in Goten's hand. "Do you really think we should take that back up to the surface? It could be dangerous, and, like Goku said, you guys don't know if you'll actually be able to destroy it."
"Don't tell me you think Kakarot is right," Vegeta replied.
"Actually," Trunks put in, "if we try to destroy it, the explosion could possibly destroy the whole planet, what with all the power that thing has absorbed."
"Then what do we do with it?" Bra asked.
"We could just leave it down here," Goku suggested.
"Just leave it here?" Bulma exclaimed. "Are you nuts?"
"Actually, we could," Relena began. "I mean, who is going to find it down here?"
"Well, it depends on where we are, and if they would do construction around this area."
"That doesn't do us any good, since all we know is that we're under Satan City."
"We're under Satan City Park," Vegeta put in.
Bulma glanced at him. "And how do you know that? Weren't you hypnotized?"
"Not exactly. Seether liked to boast to me about her plans. I'm not deaf, onna, even after listening to your babble for half my life."
"Hmph." Bulma rolled her eyes. "Same old Vegeta. And I am so excited to have the old him back."
"Why don't we just bury it further underground?" Trunks offered. "There has to be some limit to how deep people will dig."
"I guess so," Relena agreed.
"Ahem," Bra coughed, removing her father's arm from her shoulder and walking a ways back down the tunnel. "I believe I shall do the honors." She made a big show of cracking her knuckles, and then held her palm over the ground, which had reverted back to dirt as the group had traveled. She let out a small blast of ki that disappeared into the ground, leaving a hole that extended to unknown depths. She held her hand out for the sword, and Goten complied. Bra dangled the point a few inches from the opening, then glanced up to confirm that this was there decision.
"Go ahead, Bra," Bulma said, amongst the nods of the others.
"Whoosh!" Bra exclaimed as she released the ebony hilt and watched the weapon vanish into the depths of the earth. "Whelp, that's that."
At that moment faint shrill laughter could be heard, coming from the direction of the cavern. All eyes wandered in that direction, their gaze wide and fearful, the cackling chilling them to the bone as it grew louder and louder.
"Crap," Goku blurted out.
"I thought she was dead!" Relena squeaked.
"She sure looked it," Bulma replied.
"Maybe she's still dying?" Goten said hopefully as the laughter began to die down.
"Maybe," Trunks added when the sound faded completely.
They waited for a moment, listening to any further signs of life.
"Should we... go back?" Bulma whispered.
With a rumble the ground began to shake all around them, softly at first, but getting more violent by the moment. The group soon found themselves stumbling all over the tunnel, struggling not to fall.
"Bra!" Trunks yelled as he slammed into Goten, causing both of them to hit the shaking soil. "What the hell did you do?"
"Oh, don't even!" Bra screamed back, trying to cling onto the dirt wall. "This is so not my fault!"
"I'm too young to die!" Bulma screeched.
"You have got to be kidding me," her husband responded.
"Shut-up, Ve- Eek!" Bulma was cut short, figuratively and nearly literally when a thick pointed object suddenly burst from the wall, spraying clumps of so and nearly impaling her.
"What the hell?" Goten exclaimed as another object shot from the dirt near him, grazing his arm and going straight across the tunnel and through the opposite wall. He cried out and grabbed his bleeding arm. "Shit!"
There was another intense shudder of the earth amidst the already fierce shakings and Bulma was forced to grab the thing protruding from the wall to stay on her feet. Upon closer inspection, Bulma realized that these things erupting from the soil were-
"Roots!" Bulma yelled. "They're giant plant roots!"
"I don't care what the fuck they are!" Vegeta said.
"We have to get out of here!" Relena cried out before leaping out of the way of another root.
"I'm on it," Goku grunted, as he struggled to keep his balance while pointing his hands upward and letting loose a considerably large ball of energy. The blast went up and up, and an ecstatic grin was plastered on his face when Goku saw it explode to the surface, shooting to the sky and exploding in the air and leaving him the sight of a blue sky some hundred odd feet above.
Goku turned to the others and was about to shout to them when he saw a root head right towards his head. He ducked and it shot over his hunched form, traveling further until it hit the wall of the curve. "Oi!" Goku shouted to everyone, pointing up at the exit. "Come on!"
"Right!" Trunks yelled back. "Grab a human and let's go!" He took a hold of Relena's waist, dragging her over to the opening above Goku and shooting through it.
Vegeta followed suit with Bulma, as Goten grabbed Bra's arm.
"I'm not a human!" Bra protested.
"Yeah, but you're not as fast as us,' Goten responded as he pulled her over to the chute.
"What?!" Bra shrieked in anger, then yelled in surprise when Goten securely wrapped an arm around her waist and launched upwards to the surface.
After letting the others go through first, Goku followed behind, speeding through to the world above.
Only when the group had escaped did the burrow finally begin to collapse. More roots jutted out of the walls, slamming through others. The same situation was happening throughout the remainder of the network of tunnels as Seether's rose continued to grow and its roots continued to smash through the underground passages. The soil loosened more and more, and the tunnels finally gave way, causing more rumbles throughout the ground...
...and causing complete havoc on the surface world.
"Oh... my... Dende..." were the only words Bra could come up with as the group floated in the air.
They had burst to the surface a few moments before, only to find that Seether's last attack didn't only affect the underground. In fact, by wracking the earth, it obviously caused massive earthquakes on the land above, something the seven hadn't thought of until they saw the chaotic scene themselves.
The earth beneath Satan City rippled like a pond disturbed by a stone, buildings noticeably shivering as the quaking earth moved up and down under them and trees toppling. The trees fell onto cars, smashed into windows of buildings, and fell onto power lines, their weight supported by the sagging wires for a few moments, and then tearing down the cables and the poles supporting them.
In Satan City Park, located in the center of the great city, the populace gathered there was in terror as the world crashed around them. They swarmed over each other as they tried to avoid being crushed by the collapsing trees and falling into the gaping cracks that were cutting through the ground beneath them, all the while trying to keep their footing and failing.
In one section of the park the massive traffic of people was desperately pushing in one direction as the ferris wheel near them began to tip over. The people trapped inside the gondolas could do nothing to stop their approaching deaths, screaming their repent to the sky.
Suddenly, the wheel stopped its descent. In fact, it was steadily rising upwards. Now, instead of screaming in terror, the people seated on the ride were looking up in amazement, some pointing to the figure that had latched onto a metal rail and was keeping them safe from harm.
"What the hell?" Relena exclaimed, watching the rising ferris wheel in awe.
"Gohan," was the one-word answer from Goku, who turned to look at the others. "Let's go!"
"Here you go, Bra!" Trunks said, passing Relena onto his sister, who also supported Bulma.
"What?" Bra began as she hitched her free arm around Relena's waist and the American slung an arm around Bra's shoulder. "Hey, aren't you even gonna ask me if I-"
"See you later, B-chan!" Goten interrupted as he, Goku, Trunks, and Vegeta flew off.
"Hey!" Bra screamed after them as they took off towards the park. "Oh! Fine! Go ahead! Just leave the girl to stay behind! You sexist pigs!"
"I think I'm deaf now," Relena mumbled.
"I thought you didn't like fighting," Bulma spoke up.
"Yeah, well, they should've asked anyway!" Bra replied indignantly.
"I hope no one is hurt," Bulma said, surveying the shaking land below them.
"Are you kidding?" Relena exclaimed. "How could no one be hurt?"
"Wishful thinking."
"Oi! Bra-chan! Bulma-san!" a voice called out. "And... um... Girl-san!"
"Nani..." Bra spotted three familiar forms moving towards her. "Yatta! Pan-chan! Chi-Chi-san! Marron-chan! Are you guys okay?"
Pan flew up to Bra, supporting Chi-Chi in one arm and Marron in the other. "Yeah, we're fine. 'Tousan and 'Kaasan wouldn't let me help! I can't believe-"
"Never mind that!" Marron broke in. "Where have you guys been?"
"We know exactly where they were!" Chi-Chi yelled. Here gaze snapped to Bulma. "What on Chikyuu did you think you were doing taking my husband and my Goten-chan under the ground?"
"Nani??" Bulma's eyes widened before settling in a fiery glare to match Chi-Chi's. "You're going to blame that on me? For your information we were saving Vegeta from a power-hungry demon bent on world domination!"
"You have no right to endanger my family for any reason!" Chi-Chi countered.
"I couldn't save my husband without them!"
"Oh, screw your husband! He should learn to take care of himself!"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Vegeta is way more trouble than he's worth!"
"You bitch! You have no idea what I've just been through!" Bulma shook a fist at Chi-Chi, jarring Bra's grip around her waist a bit. "I should kick your ass!"
"'Kaasan! Watch it!" Bra warned, tightening her grasp.
"Hey," Marron pointed towards the ground beneath them. "The earthquake is letting up!"
Sure enough, the tremors rocking the land below were slowly dissipating. The many buildings- amazingly, none had fallen- stopped their shaking, and roots of still standing trees were able to remain safely intertwined with the ground. No longer did gaps in the land crack open, taking dozens of lives in their wake. When the ground beneath was completely quiescent, the still living people in the park were silent for a moment, the amusement rides that had been lifted into the air being gently set back to the ground. Then a large murmur could be heard by the six that hovered in the air as people rejoiced for life as they protectively latched onto family and friends or cried in agony for lost loved ones.
Bra and Pan floated downwards to an undamaged bluff that overlooked Satan City, watching the masses of people get to their feet, some remaining in the park while others were already halfway to the exit. Some operators of rides got it in their heads to let the riders off the attractions, rushing to the machines to help them off. Sirens could be heard as several police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks approached the scene; one could assume that the vehicles drawing near were the only ones not damaged in the quake.
"Here they come," Bra announced, pointing to the several flying figures heading towards the hill.
The nine gliding beings landed before the other six, looking grim. Three of them, Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks looked a bit tired due to low energy, but the other six- Gohan and Videl (who'd donned their Saiyaman outfits), Eighteen and Krillin, Piccolo, and Goten were fine. Despite their heroic efforts, all looked fairly grim.
"We lost a lot," Goku stated.
"Oh, Goku-sa," Chi-Chi sympathized, running up to her husband and hugging him around the waist. "You tried."
"We should start looking for the dragonballs tomorrow," Goku went on, embracing her back.
"What do you mean 'we?'" Vegeta glanced sideways at the other Saiyajin.
"You're leaving again?!" Chi-Chi shrieked, breaking from the hug and balling her hands at her sides as she glared at Goku. "First you go off without even telling me, and now-"
"But I did tell you!" Goku defended himself. "And you said Goten and I couldn't go!"
"Don't you talk back to me!" Chi-Chi scolded. "All you do is run off all the time, Son Goku! Don't you have any consideration for anyone else?"
Goku pointed to Vegeta. "I had to help him!"
"Well, you just have to help EVERYONE, don't you!" Chi-Chi focused her attention on Vegeta. "What the hell did you do this time?"
"Me?" Vegeta scowled at the raven-haired woman. "You think I did this?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if you did!" Chi-Chi looked him over, for a moment appearing confused as to why he was wearing medieval armor. "And what the hell are you wearing?"
Vegeta blanched, then folded his arms. "Just shut your trap."
"Are you going to let him talk to me like that??" Chi-Chi said to Goku.
Goku sweatdropped. "Um... yes?"
"Arrgh!!!" Chi-Chi suddenly pulled out her frying pan.
"Ah!" Goku held up his hands protectively, backing away. "Come on, Chi-Chi! Relax!"
"I'll show you relaxed!"
Relena sweatdropped, watching the scene. She looked to Bra. "Are they always like this??"
"Nah," responded the half-Saiyajin. "I've seen worse."
"And where did that frying pan come from?"
Bra only shrugged, acting as if pulling a cooking utensil from thin air was the most natural thing in the world.
Marron looked at Goten. "You have a weird family." Then her gaze fell on Trunks and she gasped, seeing his cuts and bruises. "Trunks! What happened!" she exclaimed, running over to him.
"It's nothing," Trunks assured her.
"Nothing? Look at you!" Marron turned to Bulma. "We should get him to a doctor, right away!"
Bulma nodded. "We should probably all get home. I can bandage Trunks up there."
*CLANG*
Everyone jumped at the noise, and turned to see Goku lying on the ground unconscious, Chi-Chi standing over him, polishing her skillet. Apparently, Goku hadn't regained enough strength to withstand one of his wife's wrathful whacks to his skull.
"Yes, we should all get home," Chi-Chi agreed, oblivious to all the sweatdrops.
"Well," Krillin began, glancing at Goku, "I'll call him later about the dragonball hunt."
Chi-Chi was suddenly in front of the monk, lifting him up by the collar. "You'll do no such thing! My Goku-chan will stay home for once, and you," she hissed, bringing his face close to hers, "will NOT call."
Krillin gulped. "Hai, Ma'am." He sighed gratefully when the taller woman set him down and walked back over to her husband, who was now draped over Gohan's shoulder.
"I'll carry him for you, Okaasan," Gohan offered, "and Videl can carry you."
"Arigatou," Chi-Chi thanked him.
"'Tousan," Marron said to her father, "I'll go with Trunks to Capsule Corporations. I wanna hear all about what happened."
"Actually, I was thinking of doing the same thing," Krillin said. He looked to Eighteen. "What about you?"
Eighteen shrugged. "Whatever."
"Is it okay, Bulma-san?" Marron asked.
"Sure," Bulma agreed. She glanced warily at Chi-Chi. "Maybe you should come also. You might get a better understanding of what happened."
Chi-Chi thought it over for a moment, then nodded. "Your explanation better be good."
Bulma turned towards Relena so Chi-Chi wouldn't see her rolling her eyes. "What about you Relena? Are you coming over?"
"Actually," Relena said, "I must get going. I have to get back to headquarters and make my report."
"Wait a minute!" Chi-Chi stalked over to the girl. "Who are you, anyway?"
"Just a friend, Ma'am," Relena responded, wisely backing away a few steps.
"Don't give me that!" Chi-Chi growled. "What did you have to do with this?"
"I helped." Relena glanced at those around her, wondering if anyone would have the guts to help her if this woman became violent.
"Who are you?" Chi-Chi repeated.
"Can't tell you." Relena wondered how fast the older woman was.
Chi-Chi looked to Bulma. "Who is she?"
"Her name is Relena... we think," Bulma said simply.
"You think her name is Relena?" Chi-Chi repeated. "She looked back at the American girl. "Explain yourself!"
"Can't, Ma'am," Relena replied. "It's classified."
"CLASSIFIED?"
Relena looked to Bulma, Bra, Trunks, and Goten. "Remember, you promised not to reveal any information. You keep quiet about me, and we'll keep quiet about you." She glanced at Goku. "Relay that to him."
Chi-Chi glanced at those around her. "What is this? A conspiracy?" She took a step closer to the girl. "Who are you?!"
Suddenly, a helicopter appeared in the distance, heading straight for the group.
"Uh oh," Gohan said. "You think it's a TV station? I mean, a lot of people saw us."
"But we were pretty high up," Trunks pointed out. "I don't think anyone's description could be that detailed."
"Just act natural!" Gohan ordered.
"Oh, yeah," Trunks said sarcastically. "We're just a group of dirty people hanging out with a guy in knight's armor, a green alien, and Great Saiyaman Number One and Great Saiyaman Number Two."
"Don't worry. It's not a television station helicopter," Relena said, looking up at it, a sense of relief about her.
"What makes you so sure?"
"I know."
After a few moments the black flying machine hovered over the rising where they stood, and a man leaned out the side. He looked from one person to the other, his expression growing more confused as he glanced from Vegeta to Gohan and Videl, to Piccolo. Finally he spotted who he was searching for, looking straight at Relena.
"Messenger?" he called out.
Relena looked up and yelled back, "The brown star drank a large piece of steak from the pool."
Everyone on the ground stared at her, all unanimously exclaiming, "WHAT?"
Relena, still looking at the man, replied, "It's a secret code phrase."
"What kind of code is that?" Goten asked, yelling over the noise of the propellers.
"One that can't be easily copied."
"How did they find you?" Gohan asked.
Relena merely pulled down the neck of her torn sweater, revealing the forgotten chip embedded in her shoulder.
The man in the helicopter threw a rope ladder down, and Relena walked over to it, gripping it with her hands and securing a foot on the bottom rung. Before she began her ascent, she looked back at the others.
"Ja ne, guys," she called to them, flashing the V sign. She laughed. "Try to stay out of trouble!"
"Ja ne, Relena!" Bra called out as the young woman climbed up the rope and into the helicopter.
"Arigatou for your help!" Bulma added.
Relena waved back, then disappeared from view into the helicopter. A moment later it veered off to the right, and after a few minutes was only a black speck in the distance, the sound of it's whirring propellers now a faint purr.
Chi-Chi turned to her son expectantly. "So who was she?"
Goten started in surprise, then began to fidget. "Um... er... Oh, you heard her, 'Kaasan! I can't tell."
Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed. "The hell you can't!"
"Um... gotta go, 'Kaasan!" Goten blurted out, taking to the air and blasting off towards West Capital. Trunks followed close behind, as did Bra, who carried Marron. Pan took off after them, calling for them to wait up.
Chi-Chi grabbed Videl, staring at her threateningly. "Follow that boy," she ordered.
"Hai, Chi-Chi-san." Videl complied quickly, picking up her mother-in-law and taking off after the others.
Gohan launched after them, still holding his unconscious father, and was followed Piccolo, Eighteen, and Krillin. That left Vegeta and Bulma last in the line of people flying through the air towards Capsule Corporations.
Bulma wrapped her arms tighter around her husband's neck, kissing his cheek and snuggling close to him. "Oh, Vegeta! I'm so glad to have you back! I was so frightened!"
"Hn." Vegeta continued to look straight ahead, his impassive mask in place.
Despite his usual expression, Bulma could sense that something was wrong. "What is it?" she pressed.
"They're coming over to hear about what happened."
Bulma was silent for a moment, then it dawned on her. "Oh... They won't think your weak, Vegeta. Seether was a very powerful creature." Vegeta remained silent, but she could still sense his humiliation. Bulma thought to herself for a few moments, then continued. "Even Goku could do nothing against her."
As she expected, the statement brought a change from Vegeta's demeanor, even if only in the way he quickly glanced at her and loosened his slightly tight grip under her knees and back.
"It's a shame though..." Bulma sighed.
"What's a shame, onna?"
"She would've made a great spokesperson for women's rights."
"Baka..." Vegeta muttered.
Bulma only smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, content to have her prince back.
"Onna?"
"Hai, Vegeta-chan?"
"You stink."
Bulma let out cry of anger and smacked him in the shoulder. "I'm only caked in dirt because of you, baka! You think I like smelling like this? Or looking like this? It'll take forever to get all this crap out of my hair! My pores will be clogged for weeks! And you know what else?"
Bulma's shrill voice faded as Vegeta continued to fly off with her in the distance toward home.
The End
Well, I hope all you people enjoyed my story! I had fun writing it (except for the last half of this chapter), and it's really helped improve my writing. (You may notice a significant difference if you compare chapters one and twenty.) I hope to get even better at it with help from my creative writing class...
Oh, yeah! Relena's little code phrase was created by Golden Shadow, since I couldn't think of a totally ridiculous sentence myself.
Now... this isn't exactly a plug... but if you enjoyed my story, could you please go to my site (link is in my profile) and to my message board? I really only want to know what you enjoyed most, hated, or think I should improve on. Pretty please? ::pathetic puppy dog eyes:: I posted a message there already, under "Total Solar Eclipse" that you can reply to...
One last thing... Um... I realized this around about chapter ten, and you may have too... The moon doesn't exist. o_o Remember? Piccolo took it upon himself to blow it up went Gohan turned Oozaru? So... the story could never be possible... ^_^;;; Heh... I wasn't just going to not finish it, though, so I hoped you liked it anyway... I guess it could be labeled an alternate universe where the moon still exists or something... Stupid Piccolo. ~_~ We really do need the moon, you know. It affects tides and junk... o_o
Anyway, I hope you still liked my fic, despite my stupid mistake. ::bangs head on her computer desk::
Ja ne, minna! ^_^