TITLE: Kidnapped Flower
AUTHOR: Echo the Nymph
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the show. No todos que brilla es oro. (All that glitters is not gold.)




Chapter 5



"What did he mean by that? We wouldn't succeed?" Mia inquired of no one in particular. Below them, the land passed by in a blur so that something couldn't be distinguished from another. Then she turned to face the other warriors. "Where are we going?" Curiosity laced her voice and tone.

"To the Kami's Lookout." Piccolo growled. He was tempted to speed up, but he knew that his flying was almost to fast for her to handle right now. His gaze shifted to his allies, most of them holding an exhausted samurai, but the Ancient was able to keep herself and the tiger afloat by the powers of her people. I never knew that there was such a clan. And now, there is only one left from the first Dynasty Wars. Well, they won't die out with her death. I can feel something in the samurai with her.

A soft glow coming from behind them caught the girl's attention. She turned, staring at one of the gates. Its light was so evil, so dark that it was trying to kill the goodness left about it. I don't like this. Something is happening. A shudder ran through her form, no matter her attempts to suppress it. She slowed down, flying with her back towards the direction they were going.

The Namek-jin flew back to her. "Come on, Anemone. This isn't the best place to stop." She gazed up at him, the look in her eyes telling him that evil was growing. The group landed at Korin Tower to rest before ascending to the main part of the sanctuary. They looked about, startled by the changes that had happened over a few short hours. Rubble lay all about, showing that someone had trashed the place. Korin was no where in sight, causing worry for the Z senshi.

The old cat managed to stumble out of his hiding place when he recognized the warriors of Chikyuu. "Korin, are you all right?" the young amazon inquired in shock. She had never seen the grand old cat in such a state. He appeared so haggard and tired that she feared he would leave them in a short while.

"I'm fine, Anemone. If you're worried about Kami, I suggest that you get up there. Oh, take these with you." He handed the bag to the young saiya-jin girl. The strength of his voice laid waste to her fears. He wasn't in any danger. "I suppose that you stopped here to let the samurai rest while you were on the Lookout. You can't stay here much longer. I feel that Kami and Mr. Popo could need your help." Once more, they lifted the samurai with them and leapt from Korin's. Their flight sped up rapidly to give them enough boost to defy gravity. They were relieved to see that any damage done to this area was minimal, once they'd gotten up there.

"Kami, Mr. Popo!" Krillin called. He sounded concerned, as they had become friends over the years he'd known them.

"We're fine, Krillin, but your concern is appreciated." He turned to the other warriors with the Z senshi. "You can relax here. This is a place of safety."

A few of the samurai looked uneasy, but as true to his armour spirit, Cyae trusted the elderly Namek and shed his armour. This shocked his friends, as they were not expecting one to be so friendly, nor Cyae so trusting. "Cyae, are you sure about that?" Kento demanded.

"I'm sure. We can trust him." he replied. The tone of his voice convinced his friends that they had nothing to fear from the Kami.

Yea, he'd know. The warrior of Trust. Kale thought rather absent-mindedly. Then, the rest of them shed their armours, following Torrent's example. Their attention was suddenly drawn to the amazon. She was walking over to a tile that had been turned over by the force of the tower's shaking.

"Anemone, be careful! That area needs repaired!" the genie cried. He sounded frightened, as he very well should be, for if something happened to her, Vegeta would never let up on him.

"You're forgetting that I can fly Mr. Popo." The girl looked oddly at a message carved into the tiles. Her gaze became thoughtful as she continued to gaze at it, before turning to the guardian. "Kami, how long has this been here?" She gestured to the tile that she had been gazing at.

"That's been there ever since my predecessor sealed Garlic away." he replied.

She turned back to it, studying the way it had been written. Virtue. Wisdom. Trust. Life Force. Justice. Loyalty. Serenity. Piety. Obedience. These nine spirits are of the armours that protect this realm. Nine armours, split from one. When the city is in danger, they will come with the powers of the Ancients. The children of the spirit will aid them in this battle, right to its end.

Anemone reeled back in surprise, as she understood instantly. Such speed was not the norm for her when it came to prophecy. "I understand. Nine spirits, nine armours split from one. The armours they wear have those spirits. And the children of the spirit," she turned to the Z senshi, "that's us. Our power comes from the soul. All of us can help."

Kami was the most shocked of all of them. He'd never figured that out, and here this girl, with little education, had managed it within seconds.

"That was fast. Geeze girl, give us some heart attacks." Gohan commented. Anemone laughed and slapped his shoulder playfully. Catching her mood, the young warrior tackled her and began inflicting the tickle torture upon her. She shrieked with laughter before pulling away. Her expression was of playful accusation. The young amazon sprang at him, pinning him to the tiles below. She leapt off of him and landed in a guard stance.

Gohan sprang at her once more. It quickly became obvious that they were goofing off, as children were wont to do. Laughter floated over the Lookout, relieving the tensions that were felt by the others. Playfully, they pounced on White Blaze inviting him to join their fun. The tiger got to his paws, a confused rumble coming from him. Then, he understood and pounced on them. Both children were pinned beneath him as a result. Soon, it became a free-for-all game, where the tiger enjoyed himself as much as the saiya-jin children.

The Guardian of Chikyuu walked over to the edge of his Lookout. What was happening below was terrible. The Dynasty troops were searching the city for any people that may have been missed by the first assault. "I think that you have a great deal of training ahead of you. This evil is symbiotic with our world, and cannot be destroyed without risk of destroying our own. It must be contained."
Kami explained. He sounded very troubled; as he had never found anything relating to this in the library.