Dragonball Z/Tenchi Muyo
Rebirth of Rage
Disclaimers -
1. All characters of Dragon Ball and Tenchi Muyo belong to the creators.
2. This fanfic belongs to me.
3. E-mail all comments, flames, questions, ect... to nateshannon@hotmail.com
4. This fanfic takes place after Vegeta becomes a Super Saiyan but before the Androids show up. As for Tenchi, unless they create OAV 3, this takes place right after the OAV of Tenchi.
5. This is a action/adventure and humor fanfic, and is rated 14A for language.
6. If you read it, please review it!
Chapter 9 - Battle Plans
"I just don't believe this! How in the world could this happen?!"
"Calm down, Piccolo. We were all caught off guard."
The very frustrated Piccolo turned to Ryoko. "Yes, but you could've told us about this Clay guy. You could've told us he was still alive."
Tenchi sighed. It had been very difficult for Piccolo. Once he had found out that we had battled Clay, and let him live, he was very irritable. Tenchi looked around at the scene before him.
They were in his grandfather's shrine. Several bookcases and furniture had been moved to accommodate for the unconscious bodies of Goku and Vegeta. They were both resting peacefully now. It was a good thing Washu was good not only in technology, but in medicine.
Ryoko sniffed. "Well, we don't always deal with our enemies by killing them. I mean, did you HAVE to kill all of those other villains? Like Frieza and such."
Gohan looks up at her. "You don't understand Frieza. Not without fighting him. He was the most evil, ruthless being ever to exist. I doubt that that Kagato guy could've even come close. Frieza purged entire worlds and races of life. And, besides the Super Saiyans, he had no match in the universe. He took the lives of defenseless villagers of Namek. He destroyed those who even were within his forces. He even took the lives of children. We had to destroy him."
Ryoko turns to the boy. "...well, there's always an alternative..."
Gohan looks over at them. "Well, that was then. Frieza either had to be killed or the universe would be destroyed. This is now. We have... *looks over at Goku and Vegeta* ...other worries."
Washu looks up at Ayeka. "Are you going to be okay?"
Ayeka had been crying most of the way to the shrine. It had been tough for the Jurain princess. After about an hour, she had calmed down a bit.
"I'm fine. But, I can't get that image of Yamcha out of my mind. Those tentacles. Those evil glowing tentacles. They were reaching for me. Me! Why did Yamcha have to save me? I would've rather been absorbed then to watch him get absorbed."
Tsunami, who had been in the silent background, spoke. "Well, Yamcha was absorbed. For all we know, he may be dead. But I doubt it."
Washu doesn't say anything. Bulma smiles. "Well, I think I know why. The concept of absorption, assimilating one life form into a control one, isn't new. Bacterium do it all the time. Cross-breeding animals, for instance. Those types of absorption are generally powered by enzymes or human intervention. But Zyroko wasn't using either. He had to been using ki. And ki reacts very differently from any natural energy. It allows things to happen that we never thought possible. While I didn't pursue the topic much, I did do some early experiments with absorption through ki. In all cases, the control entity who absorbed the other life form, gained all of the abilities of the life form, except that that life form remained alive. By killing the control, the absorbed could escape. As long as the force that killed the control wasn't so violent that it killed the absorbed."
Washu nods. "Yes, that would do it."
Tenchi gets up. "So, we have to kill Zyroko. I'll do it."
Yosho, looks at his grandson with renewed interest. The boy had grown up quite a bit. Noboyuki had less 'care' than his step-father.
"Now, Tenchi, you know that killing isn't right. Maybe some negotiations could work instead."
Piccolo grits his teeth. "Listen! I've dealt with beings with power like Zyroko's. You must understand that this could mean the universe. Zyroko is pure evil, I know it. You must understand that pure evil will never stand as long as I'm around."
Mihoshi, who has been silent for the majority of this fic, speaks up. "I may not be the most 'powerful' or coordinated person in this group. But if the situation calls for the very universe to hang in the balance, I believe that this guy should go down!"
Everyone stares at Mihoshi. They all get sweat drops. Ryoko speaks up. "...okay. That was strange, for you at least. I never knew you had any care for anything except for TV and snacks!"
Mihoshi blushes. "Well, all Galaxy Police Officers are trained to protect the universe. I guess this is just a carry over from that."
Tsunami drops to her knees, suddenly. She grabs her stomach, beneath the clinging karate gi. She begins to weez and pant. She begins to sweat and pant. It was time.
Tenchi and the others stand up. Tsunami's shape begins to glow, her outline giving off a white light.
There is a quick flash, quicker than any eye could've possibly followed, and for a moment, just for a moment, Tenchi could have sworn he saw Sasami in Tsunami's place. After the flash, however, Tsunami is still there. She grits her teeth.
"Errr... ...this from is getting hard for me to handle."
Tenchi runs over to her. "Tsunami! Are you okay?"
She looks up at the boy. "Yes, for now. I'm going to have to revert back to Sasami. Since I denounced being a goddess a long time ago, this form is very hard for me to stay in. I'm going. I have to get to the Jurain tree on the hill. I can become Sasami again there. It looks like I won't be taking the first match against Zyroko after all."
She gets up and walks towards the shrine door, her long blue twin ponytails hanging down her back. She walks out before anyone can say a word. There is a moment of silence. Ryoko frowns. What else could go wrong?
Piccolo shakes his head. "Well, she can go ahead. For now, at least. But, we do need to talk about going to Zyroko and Clay."
Tenchi speaks up, "If what Bulma said was true, then Yamcha must still be alive. And if the only way to get him back is to..."
Ryoko finishes. "...kill him, then we have to get to the Shunga II!"
Piccolo stands up. "You two are way ahead of yourselves. We need to make battle plans, strategies. This ship doesn't sound like one that will be easily entered. And by what Tsunami told us about Zyroko, we're going to have to be in top shape to beat him. And how are we going to get to his."
Ryoko nods over to Ryo-ohki, who was currently working on a carrot. "My ship Ry-ohki will do."
Tenchi stands. "Well, let's eat first. After, let's talk plans."
They all went off to eat, knowing next they would plan the battle of the universe.
**********
Several test tubes boiled and frothed. Computers gave off their rhythmatic *ticks* and *clicks*. Several different buttons and knobs flashed on and off. This was the environment of Dr. Clay's lab.
Zyroko picked up a test tube, examining the insides. "Father, why invest your time in such trivial things like this? All you need is me."
Clay quickly grabs the tube away. He shakes his head as he places it back in it's holder. "Yes, son. You are the only thing that really matters. But, the pursuit of science is always on my mind. Bad or good, science exists in every culture. What I represent is the mind of the universe. The universe that will be mine, soon."
"Ours, you mean."
Clay immediately changed his tone. "Uhh, yeah, ours."
Zyroko picks at his karate gi, which was the top portion of Yamcha's gi. "I can feel that Yamcha character alive inside of me. The thing is, I don't feel like I got that much stronger from absorbing him. Sure, I now have his mind, which has given me new techniques and battle strategies. But, my physical strength has increased at all."
Clay responds. "I need to talk to you about that. About the Ultimate Body."
Zyroko smiles. "Father, I know about the Ultimate Body. You can't describe it, but when I reach it, I'll know."
Clay speaks to his son. "Yes, my computer programmed all of that into you. But what I didn't program was HOW you could get the Ultimate Body. Come here and look at this."
Clay walks over to a computer screen, with Zyroko close behind. The Doctor begins to rapidly push buttons and switches.
"It's a good thing Gero put all of my computer records on creating you in one place. Ah, here it is."
The screen flashed and an array of images came up. One the right side, an outline of Zyroko appeared, with spiky Brolly-like hair and all. Next to it, several twists of lines appeared rotating. They have letters all over their lengths.
"Ah, that's me. But what are those twisted lines?"
Clay sighs. He forgot to program some basic scientific information into Zyroko. "Those, are your genes. Your DNA. I made you from three distinct kinds of DNA strains, and a few smaller ones I made myself. Washu did the same with Ryoko. The 3 big ones are Saiyan DNA, Namek DNA, and Jurain DNA. They are very large and dominant in your body so they are the base of your power."
Zyroko looks at his hands. "But, those species have several characteristics that make them special. Nameks can reproduce, for example. I don't have that ability."
Clay nods. "This type of configuration is very strong. Much stronger than any single Saiyan, Namek, or Jurain. Not even Ryoko, who has basically all of your genes as well. But, they have to be activated first."
Zyroko looks a bit confused. "Activated?"
Clay nods again. "Yes. While the DNA may be in your blood stream, they are all dormant. In order to 'awake' them, you must absorb someone with that type of DNA in them. That's why I wanted you to absorb Ayeka, so that your Jurain genes would awaken."
"But instead I absorbed Yamcha."
Clay starts again. "Yes, and that's going to be a problem. You can only absorb 4 people. Or 4 bodies. Your body cannot physically hold more than 4 people. If you tried to absorb 5 people, your body would explode.I would have preferred that the first three could have been a Saiyan, a Namek, and a Jurain. Then the fourth person could be Ryoko."
"Ryoko?"
"Yes, her. I designed you so that once all of your genes were activated, if you could absorb Ryoko, you would become the Ultimate body. She has a special gene in her that no other being in the universe has. That gene would 'ignite', so to speak, your Ultimate body into coming out."
"So I have to absorb her? But she has all three of the necessary genes. Why not absorb her, and then become the Ultimate body right then and there?"
"It's not that simple. When you absorb someone, you break their genes down in a certain order. Generally, an organism's DNA order is decided by evolution. Ryoko's is special. Washu created her like this: First, she compiled Saiyan DNA, and put it together. Next she used the genes of Mass, which is the special gene. Next came Namek, and then Jurain. So, her DNA configuration looks like this: S-*M*-N-J. The various letters represent each gene in Ryoko. The *M* is the special Mass gene. And that's the order you would break her down if you absorbed her."
"So what?"
"Zyroko, you don't understand do you? Once you take in the Mass gene, you MUST have the Namek and Jurain genes activated. Otherwise you will start the Ultimate Body to begin to come out as soon as your body breaks down the Mass gene. That means you have to have the Namek and Jurain genes activated. As you can see, Saiyan genes are not a worry. Since Washu put them in first, they will be the first to go into your system. But the Mass gene is next. When Ryoko is absorbed, you must make sure that you've absorbed at least 3 other people with Namek or Jurain genes."
"Oh, I see now. That shouldn't be a problem. As long as I absorb carefully."
Clay looks over at him. "There's more. You really shouldn't have absorbed Yamcha. Now his human DNA is in you. I did not put any human DNA in you. That means Yamcha's broken down genes are just floating there, inactivated in your body. In order to become the Ultimate body, your genes must be running smoothly and activated in your cells. Yamcha's human DNA, which would never get activated, would prevent that. They would interfere with your bodies chemical reactions during the Ultimate Body transformation. That means that you can't become the Ultimate body."
"What?!?! Why didn't you tell me before?!"
"Because I thought you were going to absorb Yamcha. But there is another solution. Once your genes are activated, it doesn't really matter if you absorb another person with similar genes. If you absorbed Goku, then Vegeta, it wouldn't matter. Goku's Saiyan genes would activate your own, and Vegeta's wouldn't make a difference. However, it would work differently with Yamcha's human genes. If you absorb another human, his genes will come into you blood stream. And since they are both inactivated, they would cancel out, leaving you Human gene free. Two inactivated genes in your body will always be cancelled out. It's how I made you. Two activated genes, like absorbing two Saiyans, wouldn't do anything. But two humans would. So, if you absorb another person with human genes, they will cancel out Yamcha's."
Zyroko is slightly relieved. "That's good. But, there's a limit on how many persons I can absorb, right?"
Clay sighs. "Do I have to explain it again? You can only absorb 4 people. Your body can't take anymore. And I you ever want to gain the Ultimate body, the last person must be Ryoko. And the two previous persons would have to have Namek and Jurain blood. And one of them has to be part human, to cancel out Yamcha's DNA. Then you will become the Ultimate body, and have unlimited power in the universe."
Zyroko grins. The very thought of it makes my skin have goose bumps, he thinks. "What's our next move, Father?"
Clay turns to his son. "The next move isn't ours. They will come to us. Count on it."
Zyroko laughs. "Hahhaha!!! Then the universe shall know a new kind of power and pain. Once I become the Ultimate body, NO ONE will be able to stand in my way!"
Clay makes a mental note. Zyroko's enthusiasm for becoming the Ultimate body is great. Perhaps, too great. Oh well. For now, this was the kind of thing that he needed.
For now...
*********
Tsunami ran, rather than flew. Unless the situation called for it, flying was a sign of war to her. So that was shy she was running. Where to? She knew. And as she sprinted around the bends in the forest, she knew why.
It all began with a skirmish with Tokimi and Washu. That was when they had all been goddesses. I remember Washu was infuriated at Tokimi. Tokimi was using her powers to purposes of her own self. Taking over worlds and such. Washu demanded that she would treat the Universe created by Dai Kaioshinn a little more respectfully (This was at the time before Buu absorbed Southern and Dai Kaioshinn. And for those who don't know, Dai Kaioshinn is the highest deity known. So he was the one who created the universe) Tokimi sniffed it off in her usually way. Tsunami had stepped in. And then the two of them turned on her. Whilst they argued, the universe was plunged into wars. Their actions immediately affected everything. This was known as the Dark Ages in the Universe. It lasted for nearly a millennia, before Tsunami and Washu finally joined forces and denounced Tokimi. They accused her of treasonous acts. And to punish her, they left their duties as goddesses to become "normal." Washu had become a human scientist. And Tsunami became the ship of Jurai. Tokimi was all alone. Her sisters had abandoned her, and she had sworn to get them back. Tsunami, being stronger than Tokimi, was out of the picture for Tokimi. However, Washu could've been brought back. And she had enlisted Washu's rival, Dr. Clay. That was how it began...
And now, as Tsunami ran along the path, she regretted leaving her sister. If she had not denounced her goddess abilities, Tsunami would have been able to very easily remain in goddess in form. However, as she was now, fused for eternity with Sasami, it was not the case.
Tsunami rounded the last bend, and there it was. the sparkling tree of Jurai, the remnants of Jurai, stood before her. Tsunami runs up to it, and stops at it's base.
Bringing her hands together, she begins to chant the song of Jurai, something that no one but Jurains could comprehend. A series of low whistles and hums escape her mouth. As she does so, the symbol on the tree sparkles and glows. It bathes the landscape in a brilliant light. Tsunami's symbol on her forehead glows in the same spectrum of the tree, and the glow soon covers her entire body. The whole scene is blinded by the white light, and any person who could've been watching wouldn't been able to see anything.
The flash faded, and a tired Sasami fell to the ground. She is breathing heavily, and she looks at her hands.
"Tsunami? Why did we have to come back to me? I could never handle this..."
The voice within her head speaks: Because, I cannot hold the form of the goddess for long. Not since I denounced it. It's a pity, as my goddess form is strong. But as it is, you will have to be in control for now. In one day's time, return here to become Tsunami again.
Sasami gets up on her feet. She nods. "Yes, Tsunami."
Sasami walks down the hill, towards the shrine.
**********
Washu is typing on a computer in her lab. She works with amazing speed, typing much faster than any human. Behind her, an impatient Piccolo and Ryoko stood.
Piccolo watches as images begin to flash up as the scientist typed. "Just how long will this take? I mean, It doesn't matter WHAT he looks like. At the end, he'll look all the same. Mutilated."
Ryoko looks over to the Namek. "Now, you don't know that. This sucker absorbed Yamcha. He's got to be strong."
Washu, without even halting her typing one bit, says, "It's a good thing I'm so smart. A while back, I put up a miniature satellite around the Earth with Ryo-ohki. It's specially designed to send waves through ANYTHING. And when the waves are in position, which is when they totally cover the Earth, the freeze themselves. The effectively cover every single rock, molecule, and atom on the face of the Earth. This is repeated every other second. And when those waves freeze, they take a picture. Sort of like a world size electron microscope. All I have to do is call up the location and the time. It will then give us a picture of that place. At any angle."
Ryoko watches her mother work. "But why is it taking so long?"
"Because, finding the EXACT place and time is hard. Basically, unless you know what you're looking for, this machine is useless. But, I do know what to look for."
Piccolo says, "The scars on the Earth from Zoku and Vegeta's fight."
"Exactly, Piccolo. And... here we go!"
Washu pressed one final button to confirm the selection. The screen went blank, and for a moment Ryoko thought it had crashed or something.
Washu smiled. "I know what you're thinking, Ryoko. It's a very detailed and big picture. It will take a second or two to come up. Even with my superior system, it's that big."
The computer blinked. A large window came up, showing a yellowish, brown picture. Piccolo immediately recognized the landscape as the charred battlefield of the Super Saiyan fight.
Ryoko knew that too. "Incredible. The wastelands look like a picture of the moon, except yellow. Look how deep those craters are."
Washu squints her eyes. "They concluded on that plateau. Hmm, let's get a closer look."
She pressed some buttons, and a cursor appeared on the screen. Moving her hand on a strange device, Piccolo assumed the "mouse," the cursor moved across the screen. Washu centered it around one plateau, and held the mouse button down and made a box appear around the plateau. After she let go, the all to familiar "ants" marched around the outlined box. Washu pressed some buttons.
"20x right now."
The screen immediately changed. The outline of the box grew, expanding the picture it enclosed. It's corners spread across the screen, and then filled the entire monitor with the plateau.
Ryoko saw it. "Right there. Two figures, Goku and Vegeta, on the ground. Three standing by them. And two a little bit away."
Piccolo, with his enhanced Namek eyes, points to the bigger of the two people a little bit away from the others. "That one is big. Maybe he's our guy?"
Without saying a word, Washu brings the cursor around the figure. When it's enclosed, she presses some buttons. "This should do it."
The screen enlarged again. This time, everyone knew what they were seeing. A giant with black, wavy hair. It spiked in several directions, similar to Goku's hair. But it was longer. And it spiked in every direction. They couldn't see a face.
Washu points the curser ahead of where the tall man is looking. "Let's change angles, hmm?"
She clicked on the area, and the screen appeared to fall. As if the monitor were falling in front of the man. As the screen settled, they saw the face. They were looking at the front of an even bigger looking giant. He has muscles all around him. His black hair extends down to his neck, where it spikes out even more. He has on a red karate gi, Yamcha's. His pants are baggy and white. His feet were in some sort of metallic boots. He had on a golden head band, offset by a gem. Ryoko and Washu saw that as one of the gems stolen. On his left ear, a earring hangs. Also containing a look alike gem. But it was the eyes...
Ryoko couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man had pure evil and hate coming out of his eyes. They looked menacing, even though they were not moving. His mouth was twisted into an evil grin. "That face... ..gives me the chills."
Piccolo nodded. "That must be him. Zyroko."
Washu whistles. "You want to fight that?"
Piccolo smiles. "I never let down a challenge."
**********
Up in the shrine, everyone was eating lunch. The course was leftovers of Yosho's soup. While it was delicious, everyone ate in silence. The shrine was much more cramped than the house. They were eating on the floor, on chairs, and all over the place. Ryoko and Tenchi ate outside.
"I don't know, Ryoko. That picture you printed out from Washu's lab looked pretty spooky. That guy was jacked!"
She slurped down her soup. "Mmm, oh, yes. Yeah. But this is a great opportunity for me to use my Super Saiyan powers. I used them like once during my fight with Vegeta. It will be interesting to go up against a male version of myself."
Tenchi nods. "I guess. Just be careful."
Ryoko snuggles close to Tenchi. "Why, anything for you... ...whoa!"
Tenchi steps out of the way as Ryoko reaches for him. He shakes his head. "Not now. There are good times and bad times for these things."
"Well, when are these good times? Tell me! I want to hug and kiss you!"
Tenchi gets a sweat drop on his head. "Whatever..."
Nearby, Ayeka smiles. She is politely sipping her soup while she watches the pair. Even when there is only person after him, he still won't pick. How humorous.
**********
Vegeta breathes shallowly. His air comes and goes in hard gasps. He is laying on a makeshift bed made of pillows and blankets. Sasami adjusts an ice pack on his forehead.
"Mr. Vegeta doesn't look good."
Gohan smiles. "I wouldn't worry about him. He's a Super Saiyan. HE can live through anything. Pretty much, unless Vegeta is dead, I wouldn't call any injury on him bad."
The Jurain princess turns to the other ailing Saiyan. "But then there's Mr. Son over there. Your dad. Do you think that toxin is still present?"
Gohan looks over at the sleeping Super Saiyan. "I wouldn't worry about him, either. I know my father better than any person. He may not be in the fight for now, but he will be later."
Sasami tips the bowl of Yosho's soup into Goku's and then Vegeta's mouths. They quietly, unconsciously slurp it. "If only this soup could heal them right away. Yosho always said that beans had healing properties."
Gohan looks up sharply. "What did you say?"
Sasami blinks indignantly. "About what? Yosho?"
"No, about healing beans."
"Well, this is bean soup. And Yosho had talked about how beans could heal persons fairly well. He even mentioned a legend of magic beans that could heal people instantly. They were grown by a cat named..."
"Korin."
Sasami smiles. "Now, how did you know that?"
Gohan smiles. "Because I know Korin!"
Sasami stands up. "What?! You mean the legend, is, true?"
Gohan nods. "Yep. And those magic beans are called Senzu Beans."
"Really? Man, you seem to know a lot about the legend."
Gohan begins to walk towards the door. "It's no legend. We don't have time. I have to tell Piccolo and the others. This could very easily turn the tide of this conflict."
**********
"Pure genius, Gohan. Pure."
Bulma was patting him on the back. "You ought to be proud. I'm surprised I didn't think about the Senzu."
Washu shakes her head. "So, these magic really exist? And they can heal people instantly?"
Piccolo smiles. "Yeah. They really are miracle workers. With two of those, we can have Goku and Vegeta up and fighting in seconds."
Chi-Chi smiles. "My Goku..."
Ryoko speaks up. "But, where is this tower? And far is it to there?"
Mihoshi exclaims, "Yeah. How long will it take to get some here and back?"
Piccolo thinks for a moment. "Well, the tower is several hundred miles from here. Maybe even thousands. I would say that at most, it would take 1 day to fly there and retrieve the beans. But, that's only if Korin has some available."
"You mean he can't just grow some more instantly?"
"No, it's very different. He can only grow like maybe 12 at one time. And those 12 can take years to grow. Fortunately, we don't have to use them often."
Bulma gets up. "But who gets to go?"
Piccolo looks to the group before him. A little ragged band of crazy women and some washed up fighters. They were going to mount an attack on the Shunga II soon, so muscle was needed there. So Ryoko wasn't going for the Senzu. Neither was Tenchi, as his strength was vastly improving. None of the other women could get there in time. Not even Washu's genius would do it. That leaves... ...Gohan. Perfect.
"Gohan will go."
Gohan spins around to his mentor. "But Piccolo! You need all the strength you can get."
Piccolo places his scaled hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Yeah, we do need lots of strength. But this battle is dangerous. Perhaps disastrous. I don't think you should join in. Ryoko and Tenchi should be fine. But you should stay behind. Besides, who else can get there in time. You are a fast flyer, and neither Ryoko nor Tenchi really excel at that. Yet, at least."
He looks over at the two he chose to fight alongside him. Neither Ryoko or Tenchi say anything. They just nod in ascent.
"We need those Senzu beans, Gohan. They could very well decide the fate of this battle. Will you please go?"
"But, what about flying there? You know, with Ryo-ohki?"
Ryoko stands up. "Ryo-ohki isn't really built for fast travel in atmosphere. You would probably be quicker. We also need to get out and try to save Yamcha as soon as possible."
Chi-Chi walks up to her son. "I agree with the Namek. I don't want to see you get hurt. You agreeing to fight these androids is bad enough. Go now. Get your father and Vegeta well."
Gohan thinks about this for a moment, then nods. "If it'll get dad back on his feet, I'll do it."
Piccolo smiles. "Excellent."
**********
The entire group was assembled outside the shrine, on the fields. They were saying their farewells to the heroes. Piccolo, Tenchi, and Ryoko were going in Ryo-ohki to the Shunga II. Gohan was going to get some of Korin's senzus.
Chi-Chi walks up to her son. "Now, Gohan. I want you to take this road carefully. It can be a treacherous road to Korin's place."
Gohan smiles. " I will mom."
Sasami speaks to the Saiyan hybrid. "Yeah, be careful Gohan. You come back in one piece, okay?"
Gohan nods. "Of course. You worry about yourself. As soon as you can become Tsunami again, the better."
Yosho says, "Boy, Godspeed now. The time to get your father better is now."
Gohan turns away and looks towards Piccolo and the others. The rest utter their good lucks to the boy, and he looks into Piccolo's eyes for final approval. The word yes seems to come out at Gohan, and nods.
"Okay. Here I go!"
With a quick burst of energy, Gohan engulfs himself in his aura. The glistening white flame ruffles up his hair. And with a whoosh, he blasts his body into the air. He looks back for one fleeting moment, then sails off towards Korin's tower.
Chi-Chi waves until Gohan's figure disappears in the horizon. "Be careful... ...Son Gohan."
The rest turn to the fighters. Ayeka smiles. "I don't know about Ryoko, but you be careful, Tenchi."
Tenchi laughs. "Right, Ayeka. You know perfectly well that you care about all of us. In a situation like this we have to stick together."
Ryoko sniffs. "Well, I don't know about her, but if anyone tries to harm a hair on any of our heads, I'll break their necks! Excluding Piccolo, for he doesn't have any hair!"
The group erupts in laughter. One last moment of joy before the moments of horror come.
Piccolo frowns. "Enough with the cracks. Let's get this show on the road!"
Tenchi nods and turns to Ryoko. "Right, lets do it. Ryoko? Our ride?"
She picks up the little cabbit. She strokes Ryo-ohki's ears. "Now, go Ryo-ohki!"
She throws the animal into the air. In spins around head to tail in the sky above them.
"Mmmeeoooww!!!"
With a quick twist, Ryo-ohki's body crystallizes and turns jet black. The points extend outward, stretching outward like claws. Some of the points change shape and color, and the middle point develops into a red ball, presumably the cockpit. Piccolo watches in awe at the site. That little cabbit became that?!
Ryo-ohki's crystalline points reached their zenith. Before the assembly, stood the fully transformed Ryo-ohki.
Washu says, "Just think. I made THAT. I guess I truly am the greatest genius in the world!"
Bulma smirks. "I don't know. Just a simple transformation proc..."
Washu cuts her off and yells at her. "Simple?! You call that simple?! Let's see you do that!!"
Tenchi quickly puts a reassuring hand on the two. "Ladies, this isn't the time for that. We have more important matters, hmm?"
The two turn to him. "What?! Oh... yeah. Sorry."
Tenchi chuckles. "It's all right. We gotta go now. See ya!"
Ryoko walks up to Tenchi and Piccolo. She places her hand on the two's shoulders.
"Wish us luck guys!"
With a quick mental concentration, Ryoko teleports herself and Piccolo and Tenchi on board Ryo-ohki. Noboyuki waves his hand.
"See you son! Take care Ryoko! Don't kick Zyroko's butt too hard!"
Ryo-ohki rises into the air. A gust of wind picks up, bathing the field in a strong wind. The gang shields their eyes so that dust doesn't get into them. With a final *meow*, Ryo-ohki takes off into the sky. It's pointy figure rises up, gaining altitude quickly. First it's at 200 feet, then 300, then 500. It rises faster and faster.
With a whoosh, the shape of Ryo-ohki disappears from view. A flashing star remains where it was last seen in the sky, but then that vanishes as well.
Mihoshi sighs. "Well, there they go again. Off to some foolish battle again."
**********
The black space dotted with white stars was beginning to annoy Piccolo. He was never one for space travel. All the monotonous landscape always got to him. He looked around. The cockpit he was in was like nothing he had ever seen. It was like a giant open area, with the top clear, showing the blackness of space beyond. Ryoko manned the craft, and she used some sort of crystal protrusions to fly it.
Tenchi sensed Piccolo's thoughts. "I have to agree, Piccolo. I never got used to this type of travel ever. You have admit that this ship is a triumph for Washu. Not only can it reach high speeds in little atmosphere, but it's very portable."
"Yeah, this thing has demonstrated that already."
Ryoko maneuvered the controls around. The ship shot like an arrow through space. She pressed some buttons, and some 3D holograms came up.
"Now, look at this. Washu estimated that the origin of Clay's portal was within 50,000 miles. That may sound like a lot, but it's actually very little in space terms."
Piccolo frowns. "You don't need to explain it to us. Just show us where we are heading."
Ryoko shrugs. "Sheesh. Okay. That radius narrowed it down to a small area, really. It was very easy for Washu's several Ultra computers to discern where the Shunga II was. It's right there. On the flip side of the Earth, hiding in the shadow of the Planet."
Tenchi nods. "Pretty smart move. How far is it now?"
"We're moving around the Earth now. The Shunga II is using a special navigation system, by Washu's guess, that allows it to stay in the Earth's shadow as the planet moves. We are moving against the rotation of the Earth. That means that the land below us is going behind us. So we are going towards the ship, and it is coming towards us."
Piccolo strains his eyes ahead. With this tremendous speed and his Namekian eyes, it should be easy to see this ship. Ryo-ohki passed beneath the shadow of the Earth, the side that is currently having nighttime.
He saw it. It appeared like a gray scar against the blackness. A figure way bigger than a satellite, but smaller than a meteorite. It's luminous figure became bigger and bigger as they closed in.
Ryoko pulls back on a crystal."Better slow down. Don't want to crash into it."
Tenchi grits his teeth. "So that's the Shunga II, eh? It's nothing like the original Shunga."
He was right. While the original Shunga took the shape of a beautiful woman, this ship was entirely different. It actually resembled Kagato's ship, the Soja. It was sleek and long, with several silvery protrusion coming out at the front and the tail. The cockpit could be seen at this proximity, it's glistening windows shining in the darkness. The ship had an eerie, grayish serpent like look. Despite the comfortable cockpit of Ryo-ohki, Ryoko shivered. She did not want to face Clay again.
Ryo-ohki centered itself about 100 yards from the center hull of the massive snake-like ship. Ryoko manipulated the controls so that the pointed drill-like bottom was towards the hull.
"It's good thing Washu made that upgrade to Ryo-ohki last month. Using the powers of twin batteries, I can power up that drill point into a seething drill bit. At this range, and at a right speed, it shouldn't be any trouble to get through that hull. Ready?"
The two other warriors nodded. With a quick flick of her wrist, Ryoko began the power build up for the hull breaching. The bottom crystal point began to shimmer, its point becoming wavy as the immense power surged through it. At first, Tenchi couldn't see any real difference. The point just shimmered. Then he saw it. The point was slowly rotating, turning red as it turned.
Faster and faster it went, and redder and redder it grew. Soon, it was nothing more than a pointed red spike. Electric bolts shimmered off the spinning spike.
"Let's do it, Ryo-ohki!!!"
With a fire from the engines, Ryoko drove Ryo-ohki down to the Shunga II. The needle point of the spinning drill point made the entire craft appear red. With sickening speed Ryo-ohki shot towards the much bigger Shunga II.
50 yards. 30 yards. 20 yards. Almost time, thinks Piccolo. 10 yards. Almost on top of it. Will the point break the hull? 5 yards.
*Cccrrraassshhh!!!!*
With a loud crash and thud, the three manned crew of Ryo-ohki is thrown roughly to the ground Tenchi is knocked to the nearby wall. Piccolo staggers but does not fall. Ryoko falls, but immediately gets up. A low rumbling and crunching sound comes from below them.
Ryoko smiles. "That's the drill bit in action. Everyone all right?"
Tenchi gets up. "Yeah, I'm okay. How long will it take to drill through?"
The rumbling abruptly stops and the ship becomes silent. Ryoko presses the controls of one of the floating crystals. Below her, a hatch appears. Ryoko kneels down and presses some hidden control on the panel. The hatch slides noiselessly to the side. Tenchi looks down to see a long tunnel, running right through the middle of the giant bit.
"Right now, Tenchi dear."
Tenchi sees a hatch beyond the tunnel. "Is that the drill bit's outer hatch?"
Ryoko nods, but doesn't saying anything. She quietly slides herself down the hatch and into the descending tunnel. She floats to the bottom. "Come on, you two! We don't have all day."
Tenchi and Piccolo look at each other. "Well, this is it." Piccolo says.
Tenchi nods. The two of them drop to the outer hatch below. Ryoko arches her back and turns to work on the hatch.
"Hmhmhm, this hatch is pretty tough to open. Since it blocks us off from space when the bit isn't drilling, it has to be sealed tightly. Ummph! And, there we go!"
The hatch opens with a hiss. Pressurized gas flows around the trio. The interior of Shunga II can be seen on the other side. It looks very alien to Ryo-ohki. An overhead light flickers, as if it were going to go out. Piccolo steps through, followed by Tenchi. Their bodies jump down and hit the ground below. The drill bit must have come into a grand hall or something.
Before stepping through herself, Ryoko turns to Ryo-ohki. "You stay here for now. If we don't come back in 1 hour, leave without us, okay? Also close this hatch and don't open it for anyone but us and Yamcha. Understand?"
"Meow!"
With that reassurance, the Space Pirate with Super Saiyan strength, Ryoko, passes through the gateway into the Shunga II.
**********
Ryoko immediately felt a twinge in her body. The atmosphere was rushing by her, making her cold. She felt snakes of pain streak down her body. It was if the room was filled with helium or something. As she dropped to the ground, she shivered. She saw that the others were doing likewise. There were ice crystals on the walls.
"What is this? It's like a meat locker in here!"
Tenchi nods. "Either we got into a cold storage room, or they changed the atmosphere so that we would be freezing."
Piccolo shrugs off the cold. Raises his arms up, he quickly brings them down in a rush. His whitish blue aura burns around him.
"If we can't stay warm from the air, we'll make our own heat!"
Tenchi and Ryoko do likewise, and the extreme cold lessons. Tenchi looks around through his burning aura. The room is large and long. There are two rows about 20 feet high and 100 feet long. It consists of two shelves, with many bagged things on them. Some appear to be people wrapped up.
"This room is like a meat locker. It looks like cold storage for..."
Tenchi touches one of the lower bags. As if by magic, the sack falls forward, on to Tenchi. Tenchi is pushed back by the surprising weight of the long sack. He lands with a thud on the ground, with the now unhooked sack on top of him.
"Ouch! Say, what is this?"
Tenchi looks up. The top of the sack, now unhooked from the rack, was open. A hairy, wet, hard mass was sticking out and was on his face. Tenchi brought his arm back and picked up the frozen thing from his face. The smell of decay entered his nostrils. Tenchi thought he was going to throw up at what he saw.
A horrifying face was on him. It had pretty much only a skeleton remaining, with wisps of white hair coming our of the top. The Skull was cracked, and pieces of brain oozed out, liquefied from thousands of years of preservation. Some of it splattered on Tenchi's battle gi.
Tenchi immediately threw the dead body away from him. He brushes off the foul smelling yellow gray matter.
"Oh my god... What the hell is this?!"
Piccolo peers at the body. The head, very damaged and frozen, is old. Perhaps over a 1000 years. But, the freezing has preserved most of it except for the skin. He undoes the ties around the sack, and lifts up the cover, looking inside.
He puts the cover back down. and picks up the sack. With a heave he throws the sack into the air. Bringing his hand up he charges up a quick ki blast. Before Tenchi or Ryoko can tell him otherwise, Piccolo lets a stream of ki loose. The beam rises up in the chilly air and incinerates the body. Bits of ash fall to the icy floor.
Ryoko screams, "Piccolo! What the hell was that for?!"
Piccolo lowers his hand. "What I saw underneath that cloth, was a monstrosity."
"Huh?"
Piccolo turns to her, his eyes blazing. "The body was mutilated. No skin remained, and the organs were all over the place. I saw that it was dissected, with scalpels still in some wounds. The scalpels had a yellow circle with a blue insignia in it."
"Clay..."
Piccolo looked around. "The body was tested on. Cut open. Look around. This must be the doctor's store house for his experiments. All of the life forms mutilated by his hands. I bet that if you searched, you would find cut up bodies of Nameks, Saiyans, and Jurains."
Tenchi looks around. "My god. There must be hundreds. Hundreds of innocent people killed for the sole purpose of his insight?"
Ryoko shakes her head. "What a monster."
Piccolo grits his teeth. "These beings were mutilated. I don't think Clay even cared if they were dead, alive, or even awake when he cut them up."
"This man must be stopped."
Ryoko turned to Tenchi. "Yes, he must be stopped for good."
The three of them walk to the end of the long hall. Piccolo pushes the control on the door, making the panel slide open. On the other side, warm air rushes in. Tenchi and Ryoko step through. Piccolo makes his step, but turns around.
He stares at the rows of dead, mutilated, bagged bodies.
He shivers, and not because of the cold.
NEXT TIME ON DRAGONBALL Z AND TENCHI MUYO:
"Hey, this is Goku. On the next exciting episode of DBZ and TM, Piccolo, Ryoko, and Tenchi face off against the menace, Zyroko. Clay must pay for his crimes against the universe. But can the trio do it? And what's this nasty surprise Clay has for them? A maze of some sort? A labyrinth? I bet Zyroko is the minotaur. Hurry, Gohan! Get those Senzus for me and Vegeta!"
Chapter 10 - Beginning of the End
Ryo-ohki: Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!
Hmm, this chapter took a LOT longer than I thought. I would like to apologize for the inconvenience of myself taking so long. I've been detained by prison. I mean school. I was very proud of this chapter, and thought it reflected some of the serious implications of war and violence. Fighting is not a pretty thing. I was disappointed from the amount of reviews I got from chapter 8. I guess people just either can't read my fic as much, or don't take the time to review it. I BEG OF YOU, READERS. THE MORE REVIEWS I GET THE FASTER I WILL BE ABLE TO WRITE! YOUR REVIEWS GIVE ME INSPIRATION AND IDEAS!
PLEASE REVIEW!