Chapter Eight:
Maize, the Destroyer.
The Gravity Room's walls glowed eerily red as Trunks and Goten trained under the intense gravity with ease. Vica, however, was struggling around the room, barely able to move.
"Trunks-kun! Get ready to turn up the gravity," Goten chirped happily. "I'm used to this already!"
Trunks sighed. "Give me a moment…"
Trying to walk and struggling heavily, Vica slowly advanced towards Trunks. "Asshole… just wait until… I… get used to this… and I'll kick your ass…"
Goten looked at Vica and blinked once. "Trunks… Why isn't the Saiya-jin girl moving? Is she dead?"
"She's just a weakling..." Trunks laughed, "maybe we should let her out…" As if one que, white 'ki' began to surround Vica, slowly as if steaming off her.
"What's she doing, Trunks-kuh," Goten asked as the ki clashing around Vica continued to grow.
"……." Trunks replied. The 'ki' intensified around Vica, as she stood upright and flew at Trunks. She hit Trunks in the mouth with a punch, sending him to the ground. Trunks handsprung back up, and powered up into Super Saiya-jin.
"Wow! She's not that weak anymore, Trunks-kuh," Goten exclaimed, stating the obvious.
Trunks smirked at that. "But she still can't beat me!"
Trunks' body was surrounded in golden 'ki' as he flew head first at Vica, but she kneed him in the chin, sending his head back. Spit fell from Trunks' mouth, and he did not have time to react with Vica's fists suddenly in his gut. Trunks gasped for air, as his hair turned purple and he fell to the ground.
"Trunks! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Goten…" Trunks stated as he stood, "she caught me by surprise."
The smile on Trunks' face said it all. Trunks turned Super Saiya-jin again and flew at Vica, hitting her in the gut with an uppercut. Spit flew form Vica's mouth, as she looked down at Trunks, shocked. Her facial expression then changed to anger as she smashed Trunks over the head, sending him into the floor of the room. She then elbowed Trunks back down when he tried to get up. Trunks flipped over as she tried to step on him, dodging her blow. He then put both hands palm forward and blasted Vica point blank. Smoke filled the room.
"Trunks! Trunks! Are you guys okay," Goten screamed in between coughs.
"Now…" Vica hissed as her hair stood on end. "You've made me MAD!" Her pupils disappeared as she screamed, powering up. Trunks flew over to Goten.
Goten smiled. "Trunks! Fu…."
Trunks placed a hand on his friends shoulder. "No… that would be cheating, Goten… let's beat her up!"
Goten nodded. "Hai! Let's show her how we got strong!"
"Now, get ready for our---" Vica cut Trunks off as she punched him in the face, sending him through the wall into the next room. She then focused on Goten and kicked him into the ground. Goten turned to attack back, but Vica fell to the floor, unconscious.
"…….." Goten said.
Trunks climbed through the hole in the wall. "That little - - GOTEN! What did you do?"
Goten blinked once. "I looked at her… and she fell asleep.."
Trunks knelt down beside Vica. "Stupid Girl."
"Look, Trunks-kuh! A skateboard!"
"I think it looks like a big fish…."
Vica blinked slowly, the room coming into focus. "Damn you're loud…."
"Trunks-kuh! The Saiya-jin Girl is awake!"
"Hey, Monkey Brain! Keep it down to a dull roar okay? My head hurts…." Vica snorted in response to Goten's cheerful announcement.
"Hai, hai you wanna watch the clouds with us Saiya-jin Girl," Trunks asked as Vica rolled off of the bed.
"Huh?" Vica looked up. In place of the ceiling, fluffy whit clouds floated.
Goten smiled brightly. "And that one…. Looks like a banana, Trunks!"
Vica sat down in the corner with her knees drawn into her chest. Her tail wrapped around her waist as she looked at Goten and Trunks.
Vica sighed. "Where I came from, clouds are yellow…. And the sky is green…."
"Green sky? I've never seen a green sky…." Goten said as he looked over to Vica.
Vica curled tighter into herself. "I miss my home… On Namek-sei…"
"Namek-sei? You're a Saiya-jin! How'd you get to Namek-sei," Trunks quizzed as he too looked at Vica.
"My parents were away when the Saiya-jin planet was destroyed," She began, as he eyes grew distant. "They raised me and my sister on Namek-sei, where it was peaceful… We had a lot of fun, my mother and father watched over me, and the nice people on Namek would always help us! We got along alright… until Unimum came…."
"What's Uminum?" Goten asked as he propped himself up on his elbows. "Is it a bad tasting food?"
Vica shook her head. "No… he was a really old Namek-sejin, I guess he's wished to never die of natural causes, or something… but that stinky Uminum came, and made us all slaves. I used to look out the opening of my hut, wishing to get rid of him… He killed my friends, and my family… Then he made me the 'Slave to Watch Over the Dragonballs', because he saw the power my father had, and he wanted to bring back then Saiya-jins. However, we weren't like the stories…. I don't like the bad things the Saiya-jin do, but Uminum constantly wanted to see me and my sister's "powers"..." She paused, her eyes filled with tears. "Even though we insisted we didn't have any.. My father was fed up with Uminum ruining the peace that we had received from all the nice people on Namek, so he decided to fight Uminum. We were all sure he could win…."
Trunks smiled. "And he got rid of that nasty guy, and that's why the Saiya- jin came here, right?"
"No.." she shook her head. Tears began to fall from her eyes, dripping on her leg. "Uminum killed him right in front of me and my sister… We tried to stop him… we even told him we'd do whatever he asked… but he still killed our father…" she sniffled, wiping away a tear. "He then made the rest of those Saiya-jin come back to do evil for him… my mother died of a strange sickness, leaving my sister and I to fight Uminum ourselves… we tried to fight him… but he was too strong… he forced us to become his slaves, and started bringing all the universe's greatest fighters to make an army capable of taking over the universe…"
"He's really that strong," Trunks inquired.
Vica nodded. "Yes… and my sister's still there… somehow, I've got to get back and save her…"
Goten smiled that big goofy smile trademarked to the Son family. "It's okay! We'll get Trunks' mom to send us there!"
"We can go there soon, but only if you cheer up, and stop being so mean," Trunks added.
Vica smiled shyly. "Sorry.. I don't mean to be mean… You're all… weird…"
If they hadn't been lying down, Goten and Trunks would have fallen over.
The skies above Earth zipped by, it occupants unaware of what
Mother Earth knew.
"It won't be long now…" he whispered as he hung his head a
little. "Otousan… please hurry…"
Piccolo over heard his student, and without turning around said,
"Gohan, you mustn't give up before you even fight."
Gohan looked up at his mentor. "Piccolo-San.. I… don't think we
can win…"
"Remember your training, Gohan…" the Namek-sejin stated. "When
you were a child, you knew we couldn't beat Nappa, and still you fought… So, remember that training… that time… and give it your best shot… if you start feeling as if you're going to lose…" Another wave of premonition washed over Piccolo. "Remember… we're all destined to do something in the battle… some of us will die.. Some of us will live… but we will defeat him…"
"Hmm… for a Namek-sejin, you've got a good fighting spirit…" Tocino interjected. "But remember… I don't plan to die on this battlefield…"
"I understand," was all Piccolo said.
In spite of himself, Raditzu laughed. "This is great! Fighting alongside my comrades again! Tocino, sir! I'd just like you to know before this battle that everything you taught me was used well…"
"Enough talk of death," Ten stated.
With that, and a burst of speed, they disappeared into the distance.
Satan City squatted quietly on the horizon as the Earth's Protectors landed just outside the once bustling city.
Less than three hours ago, this had been one of the most populated cities in the entire world, now it was a ghost town
"This is everyone," Kuririn asked as he landed near his comrades. "This is it?"
"Be it has it may…" A hollow, almost inhuman voice said from behind. "I will not let the Saiya-jins live… not after what they done to my sister." The group turned as a whole and saw a figure sitting calmly on the hood of a car.
His long raven hair was exactly how it had been nearly 11 years ago, Just had Juuhachigou's had been.
"Juunanagou-san," Gohan announced.
Juunanagou leapt from the hood of the car, drew his shotgun, and landed in front of Gohan. "And that includes the monkeys you brought with you, Son Gohan."
Some of the Saiya-jins looked at Juunanagou angrily. They began to power up.
"Enough," Tocino bellowed before the free Saiya-jin could advance on Juunanagou. "I'm the commanding officer of this legion, and you will all listen to me… We're going to fight, but he is not our enemy," Tocino said as his tone turned grave. "My apologizes for anything my people may have done to your sister. But do not blame our entire race for the actions of one…"
"Give me one reason I shouldn't, Monkey," Juunanagou hissed as he stared though Gohan straight at Tocino.
Juunanagou cocked his shotgun.
A small hand rested on Juunanagou's shoulder. "Go away, monk. You have no sway in this matter," Juunanagou rasped to Kuririn.
"Don't I? She was my wife, Juunanagou-san…. I miss her as much as you do…" Kuririn whispered in response. "But Tocino is on our side. Put the gun away and save it for who ever killed her."
Minutes seemed more like hours as the two Warriors, Jinzoningen and Saiya- jin, stared through one another.
Finally, though the Jinzoningen lowered his gun.
"I realize your loss, and I know what I'm asking you to do, but if we don't kill them… they will kill us…" Tocino stated as Juunanagou's eyes clouded.
Gohan turned to his uncle. "How long before they arrive, Raditzu-San?"
Raditzu clicked on his scouter. "Roughly One hour. There are two waves… the first probably led by Maize…. The second by Nappa… The second wave will arrive less than ten minutes after the first… so we have to destroy the first wave quickly…"
Gohan nodded in response. "We could leave a small band of fighters here in the flatland, and put our major force in the hills and mountains to hide and hit them from behind…"
"We could do that," Piccolo interjected, "but the small band would stand little to no chance of surviving the head on attack."
"I'll do it… I'll be in the small group," Tocino said suddenly, with all the Saiya-jin in his legion also volunteering.
"As am I," Juunanagou added. "To make sure you don't betray us, ape," he added in after thought.
"If you insist," Tocino smiled. "Hurry, you have to walk so they don't detect your 'ki'."
"Thank you, Tocino…" Gohan smiled to the Saiya-jin warrior.
Tocino nodded. "Thank me later… you and your earthlings hurry now… they're coming…." A cold wind blew between the two sides of the splitting party, as they walked towards their final destinations.
The going was slow. It took nearly 20 minutes to traverse the rocky land to the safety of the mountains.
The land had been blasted clean of all life during the short time on board Toryiama's Dream. Where once the mountains were lush with life, they were now charred black, the bones of dead animals and burn branches crunching under the Warrior's feet.
Suddenly, some Saiya-jin flew overhead.
"Shit, they're early" Kuririn cursed. "Let's turn back. Tocino needs our help…"
"No! Wait!" Raditzu ordered. "That can't be all of them! Tocino and the others should have an easy time with them. The heavy stuff is yet to come."
Kuririn could feel his breaking point getting more fragile by the moment. "If Tocino and the others loose, then they Saiya-jins will go to the ship and kill everyone!"
"No… he's right." Gohan stated calmly. "We have to wait or we'll die…"
"Or you can all die now…"
Ice lanced up all the Warriors spines at once. There was something about the voice, something innately evil, Saiya-jin to the core.
It reminded Kuririn of how Vegeta had once sounded so long ago… As a whole, the group turned to face the single Saiya-jin perched on a small rock formation.
"You see, I don't need a scouter to find you… all it took was a little concentration…" Maize smirked with delight.
"Shit…" Kuririn swallowed. "He can sense ki!"
Maize just smirked even more. "Ah, Raditzu… Hope you weren't too comfortable with them… but perhaps you'll all meet again after Enma makes his decisions…"
Without any more preambles, the Warriors leapt into action. Kuririn flew into the air, followed by three Saiya-jins. He flipped back and under them, blasting a kamehameha at them, killing them instantly.
Kuririn landed and glared directly at Maize.
Ten used his multi-form ability to create four of himself, and attacked several Saiya-jins. They went fighting off into the distance.
Gohan stood his ground, crossing his arms over his chest in his best imitation of Vegeta.
With a hiss, Raditzu began to gather power, his long hair standing on end. He flew at Maize, and was easily deflected into the ground with a small movement of Maize's hand. Raditzu lay motionless on the rocky floor below him.
Maize's smirk widened into a grin. "Anyone else want to fight back? Or are you all going to die quietly like that blonde bitch?"
Everything stopped, time screeched to a halt and the earth stopped spinning. The tiny hairs on the back of Gohan's neck stood on end….
"That what…." Kuririn asked in a barely audible whisper. He balled both his hands into fists so tight his knuckles whitened. "You're… you're the one who… who killed Juuhachigou…"
Shimmering white ki enveloped Kuririn.
"Number 18? What kind of name is that," Maize spat.
That was the final straw. Kuririn leap forward, kicking Maize's nose with the heel of his foot, sending Maize crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Kuririn flipped back, landing with one arm thrust high above his head. "You… I can't…. stand seeing you live…"
"And what do you plan to do about it, little man," Maize asked smugly as he stood. Maize charged Kuririn, who did not budge.
"KI-EN-ZAN!" At the last possible second, energy flooded into Kuririn's raised palm.
The golden disc of energy sliced straight forward, right into Maize's throat. Sparks flew as the attack continued to slice through the sky, neatly bisecting a mountain. However, Maize was unharmed.
Maize leveled his gaze at the bald little monk and just smiled. An intense golden aura surrounded Maize as he began powering up. Kuririn flew at Maize and punched him in the face, sending Maize back a few centimeters.
Maize's smile widened as he punched Kuririn in the gut, doubling Kuririn over. Maize brought both hands up over his head, readying himself to smash Kuririn over the head.
Sweat and tears mixed and Kuririn's face.
"Stupid stupid stupid," he cursed mentally. "I should have listened to you, Juuhachigou… at least this way we'll be together again…"
Time crept as Maize lowered his entwined fists to smash the base of Kuririn's skull.
"Die," Maize smiled as his fists crept closer….
A sudden gust of wind swept across the ground the instant before Maize's fists smashed Kuririn's neck. A gloved hand had caught Maize's fists.
"What gives you the right to interfere boy?" Maize spat.
Gohan posed in response…
"I am the champion of Justice," Gohan shouted as he squatted with both arms pointing left. "Defender of Peace," he shouted as he formed a heart with his arms. Suddenly, he stood and began running in place. "Ally to good, Nightmare to you! The Great Saiyaman!!!"
"The…. what," Maize questioned.
Gohan took full advantage of the opportunity. He leapt forward before Maize had recovered and smashed his fist into the Saiya-jin's slack jaw.
"Kuririn-san! Go! Get out of here!"
Maize didn't take long to recover though, and he buried his forearm into Gohan's gut with such force it toppled the young half-Saiya-jin. Maize followed through with a knee to the gut, sending Gohan crashing to the ground.
Kuririn had sense enough to run when told to. The monk took to the sky, and soon was no more then another twinkle in the darkened sky.
"Nice ploy, boy. The monk lives…. Until Nappa-Sama arrives," Maize casually dusted his armor off. Gohan stood, completely unphased.
"Otousan will beat Nappa. Either him or Vegeta. I'm concerned with defeating you though…" Gohan calmly stated.
"Big words, Chibi. Let's get this over with…" In a flash, they were at each other's throats, golden auras clashing. Suddenly Maize backed off and fished a scouter from his armor.
"Thought you didn't need those?"
"True, but they do come in handy…" Maize placed the scouter over his ear and clicked it once. "Oh… 189,000,000. Not bad boy. This may prove interesting." Maize removed the scouted and crushed it in his hand. "You see, my battle power is 191,000,000. Close match, wouldn't you say?"
The fight resumed as the two warriors collided head first into each other. Fist clashed with knee. Elbow blocked elbow.
The match was close. Gohan was pushing all of his limits, not daring to transform into Super Saiya-jin.
Maize, however, did not need to transform to out pace the younger Saiya-jin. His fist slammed into Gohan's side, knocking the wind out of him…
And Maize saw his chance. As Gohan reeled from the last blow, Maize zanzokened behind him and smashed the younger Saiya-jin down to the ground.
Gohan stopped himself just before being impaled on a jagged rock.
"That was entirely too close…" Slowly Gohan floated away from the rock.
Maize pounced, but Gohan was ready this time. He pivoted, grabbing Maize's outstretched leg. He tugged, and Maize slammed into the flat ground surrounded the jagged rock.
Just as Maize was beginning to stand, Gohan rushed him, slamming Maize's chest into the rock formation.
Maize sprang back from the formation, turning in mid-air, smashing Gohan in the face with his entwined fists.
Both warriors stopped.
"Entertaining," Maize smirked. Once again, he sprang at Gohan and the two began trading blows. Gohan quickly gained the upper hand and began landing blow after blow on Maize.
Maize zanzokened behind Gohan and smashed him back to the ground. Before Gohan could blink, Maize was behind him once again. He brought his knee up and smashed it into Gohan's spine. The young Saiya-jin yelped and arched backwards.
Maize's hand fisted in Gohan's hair. "Playtime time is over…." Maize's free hand clenched down on Gohan's shoulder, his fingers gouging deep trenches in his flesh. With a quick jerk, Maize dislocated the shoulder.
Gohan shrieked, and swung at Maize with his free arm. Maize caught his forearm and wrenched it out of place as well.
Gohan could not even think, let alone move his arms. Pain burnt inside him, and there was nothing he could do to mount an offense against Maize.
The Saiya-jin took full advantage of the situation, quickly smashing Gohan over the head. He then Zanzokened behind him once more, in effect, bouncing Gohan around like volleyball.
With one more vicious hit, Maize sent Gohan down to the Earth. He didn't even try to stop the boy from plowing face first into the ground.
Somehow, though, Gohan managed to drag himself to his feet, blood covering most of his torn face.
"Insolent."
Maize pointed, and a ki blast struck Gohan square in the chest, exploding upon impact. The boy was thrown at least 50 feet by the blast. He made the ground hard; sliding 20 more feet, then lay still….
"Hnnh," Maize snorted as he touched down quietly by the prone body of Gohan. He raised his hand to finish the job, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Come to watch the festivities, eh Tocino? Oh…" Maize once again looked in the direction of Gohan, to find Piccolo kneeling over the boy. "A Namek-sejin?"
The Namek-sejin grunted, and forced one of those magic beans into the boy's mouth. 5 seconds later, the boy was on his feet, thanking his savior.
"Thank you Piccolo-san…" The boy chirped. In response, the Namek- sejin shrugged off his white cape and pulled off his white turban… both of which hit the earth with a thud.
"Well now… it appears you want to fight…" Maize smirked as he turned so he could look in both directions. "I don't know why you bother though… You only have five minutes before Nappa-Sama arrives…"
Maize, the Destroyer.
The Gravity Room's walls glowed eerily red as Trunks and Goten trained under the intense gravity with ease. Vica, however, was struggling around the room, barely able to move.
"Trunks-kun! Get ready to turn up the gravity," Goten chirped happily. "I'm used to this already!"
Trunks sighed. "Give me a moment…"
Trying to walk and struggling heavily, Vica slowly advanced towards Trunks. "Asshole… just wait until… I… get used to this… and I'll kick your ass…"
Goten looked at Vica and blinked once. "Trunks… Why isn't the Saiya-jin girl moving? Is she dead?"
"She's just a weakling..." Trunks laughed, "maybe we should let her out…" As if one que, white 'ki' began to surround Vica, slowly as if steaming off her.
"What's she doing, Trunks-kuh," Goten asked as the ki clashing around Vica continued to grow.
"……." Trunks replied. The 'ki' intensified around Vica, as she stood upright and flew at Trunks. She hit Trunks in the mouth with a punch, sending him to the ground. Trunks handsprung back up, and powered up into Super Saiya-jin.
"Wow! She's not that weak anymore, Trunks-kuh," Goten exclaimed, stating the obvious.
Trunks smirked at that. "But she still can't beat me!"
Trunks' body was surrounded in golden 'ki' as he flew head first at Vica, but she kneed him in the chin, sending his head back. Spit fell from Trunks' mouth, and he did not have time to react with Vica's fists suddenly in his gut. Trunks gasped for air, as his hair turned purple and he fell to the ground.
"Trunks! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Goten…" Trunks stated as he stood, "she caught me by surprise."
The smile on Trunks' face said it all. Trunks turned Super Saiya-jin again and flew at Vica, hitting her in the gut with an uppercut. Spit flew form Vica's mouth, as she looked down at Trunks, shocked. Her facial expression then changed to anger as she smashed Trunks over the head, sending him into the floor of the room. She then elbowed Trunks back down when he tried to get up. Trunks flipped over as she tried to step on him, dodging her blow. He then put both hands palm forward and blasted Vica point blank. Smoke filled the room.
"Trunks! Trunks! Are you guys okay," Goten screamed in between coughs.
"Now…" Vica hissed as her hair stood on end. "You've made me MAD!" Her pupils disappeared as she screamed, powering up. Trunks flew over to Goten.
Goten smiled. "Trunks! Fu…."
Trunks placed a hand on his friends shoulder. "No… that would be cheating, Goten… let's beat her up!"
Goten nodded. "Hai! Let's show her how we got strong!"
"Now, get ready for our---" Vica cut Trunks off as she punched him in the face, sending him through the wall into the next room. She then focused on Goten and kicked him into the ground. Goten turned to attack back, but Vica fell to the floor, unconscious.
"…….." Goten said.
Trunks climbed through the hole in the wall. "That little - - GOTEN! What did you do?"
Goten blinked once. "I looked at her… and she fell asleep.."
Trunks knelt down beside Vica. "Stupid Girl."
"Look, Trunks-kuh! A skateboard!"
"I think it looks like a big fish…."
Vica blinked slowly, the room coming into focus. "Damn you're loud…."
"Trunks-kuh! The Saiya-jin Girl is awake!"
"Hey, Monkey Brain! Keep it down to a dull roar okay? My head hurts…." Vica snorted in response to Goten's cheerful announcement.
"Hai, hai you wanna watch the clouds with us Saiya-jin Girl," Trunks asked as Vica rolled off of the bed.
"Huh?" Vica looked up. In place of the ceiling, fluffy whit clouds floated.
Goten smiled brightly. "And that one…. Looks like a banana, Trunks!"
Vica sat down in the corner with her knees drawn into her chest. Her tail wrapped around her waist as she looked at Goten and Trunks.
Vica sighed. "Where I came from, clouds are yellow…. And the sky is green…."
"Green sky? I've never seen a green sky…." Goten said as he looked over to Vica.
Vica curled tighter into herself. "I miss my home… On Namek-sei…"
"Namek-sei? You're a Saiya-jin! How'd you get to Namek-sei," Trunks quizzed as he too looked at Vica.
"My parents were away when the Saiya-jin planet was destroyed," She began, as he eyes grew distant. "They raised me and my sister on Namek-sei, where it was peaceful… We had a lot of fun, my mother and father watched over me, and the nice people on Namek would always help us! We got along alright… until Unimum came…."
"What's Uminum?" Goten asked as he propped himself up on his elbows. "Is it a bad tasting food?"
Vica shook her head. "No… he was a really old Namek-sejin, I guess he's wished to never die of natural causes, or something… but that stinky Uminum came, and made us all slaves. I used to look out the opening of my hut, wishing to get rid of him… He killed my friends, and my family… Then he made me the 'Slave to Watch Over the Dragonballs', because he saw the power my father had, and he wanted to bring back then Saiya-jins. However, we weren't like the stories…. I don't like the bad things the Saiya-jin do, but Uminum constantly wanted to see me and my sister's "powers"..." She paused, her eyes filled with tears. "Even though we insisted we didn't have any.. My father was fed up with Uminum ruining the peace that we had received from all the nice people on Namek, so he decided to fight Uminum. We were all sure he could win…."
Trunks smiled. "And he got rid of that nasty guy, and that's why the Saiya- jin came here, right?"
"No.." she shook her head. Tears began to fall from her eyes, dripping on her leg. "Uminum killed him right in front of me and my sister… We tried to stop him… we even told him we'd do whatever he asked… but he still killed our father…" she sniffled, wiping away a tear. "He then made the rest of those Saiya-jin come back to do evil for him… my mother died of a strange sickness, leaving my sister and I to fight Uminum ourselves… we tried to fight him… but he was too strong… he forced us to become his slaves, and started bringing all the universe's greatest fighters to make an army capable of taking over the universe…"
"He's really that strong," Trunks inquired.
Vica nodded. "Yes… and my sister's still there… somehow, I've got to get back and save her…"
Goten smiled that big goofy smile trademarked to the Son family. "It's okay! We'll get Trunks' mom to send us there!"
"We can go there soon, but only if you cheer up, and stop being so mean," Trunks added.
Vica smiled shyly. "Sorry.. I don't mean to be mean… You're all… weird…"
If they hadn't been lying down, Goten and Trunks would have fallen over.
The skies above Earth zipped by, it occupants unaware of what
Mother Earth knew.
"It won't be long now…" he whispered as he hung his head a
little. "Otousan… please hurry…"
Piccolo over heard his student, and without turning around said,
"Gohan, you mustn't give up before you even fight."
Gohan looked up at his mentor. "Piccolo-San.. I… don't think we
can win…"
"Remember your training, Gohan…" the Namek-sejin stated. "When
you were a child, you knew we couldn't beat Nappa, and still you fought… So, remember that training… that time… and give it your best shot… if you start feeling as if you're going to lose…" Another wave of premonition washed over Piccolo. "Remember… we're all destined to do something in the battle… some of us will die.. Some of us will live… but we will defeat him…"
"Hmm… for a Namek-sejin, you've got a good fighting spirit…" Tocino interjected. "But remember… I don't plan to die on this battlefield…"
"I understand," was all Piccolo said.
In spite of himself, Raditzu laughed. "This is great! Fighting alongside my comrades again! Tocino, sir! I'd just like you to know before this battle that everything you taught me was used well…"
"Enough talk of death," Ten stated.
With that, and a burst of speed, they disappeared into the distance.
Satan City squatted quietly on the horizon as the Earth's Protectors landed just outside the once bustling city.
Less than three hours ago, this had been one of the most populated cities in the entire world, now it was a ghost town
"This is everyone," Kuririn asked as he landed near his comrades. "This is it?"
"Be it has it may…" A hollow, almost inhuman voice said from behind. "I will not let the Saiya-jins live… not after what they done to my sister." The group turned as a whole and saw a figure sitting calmly on the hood of a car.
His long raven hair was exactly how it had been nearly 11 years ago, Just had Juuhachigou's had been.
"Juunanagou-san," Gohan announced.
Juunanagou leapt from the hood of the car, drew his shotgun, and landed in front of Gohan. "And that includes the monkeys you brought with you, Son Gohan."
Some of the Saiya-jins looked at Juunanagou angrily. They began to power up.
"Enough," Tocino bellowed before the free Saiya-jin could advance on Juunanagou. "I'm the commanding officer of this legion, and you will all listen to me… We're going to fight, but he is not our enemy," Tocino said as his tone turned grave. "My apologizes for anything my people may have done to your sister. But do not blame our entire race for the actions of one…"
"Give me one reason I shouldn't, Monkey," Juunanagou hissed as he stared though Gohan straight at Tocino.
Juunanagou cocked his shotgun.
A small hand rested on Juunanagou's shoulder. "Go away, monk. You have no sway in this matter," Juunanagou rasped to Kuririn.
"Don't I? She was my wife, Juunanagou-san…. I miss her as much as you do…" Kuririn whispered in response. "But Tocino is on our side. Put the gun away and save it for who ever killed her."
Minutes seemed more like hours as the two Warriors, Jinzoningen and Saiya- jin, stared through one another.
Finally, though the Jinzoningen lowered his gun.
"I realize your loss, and I know what I'm asking you to do, but if we don't kill them… they will kill us…" Tocino stated as Juunanagou's eyes clouded.
Gohan turned to his uncle. "How long before they arrive, Raditzu-San?"
Raditzu clicked on his scouter. "Roughly One hour. There are two waves… the first probably led by Maize…. The second by Nappa… The second wave will arrive less than ten minutes after the first… so we have to destroy the first wave quickly…"
Gohan nodded in response. "We could leave a small band of fighters here in the flatland, and put our major force in the hills and mountains to hide and hit them from behind…"
"We could do that," Piccolo interjected, "but the small band would stand little to no chance of surviving the head on attack."
"I'll do it… I'll be in the small group," Tocino said suddenly, with all the Saiya-jin in his legion also volunteering.
"As am I," Juunanagou added. "To make sure you don't betray us, ape," he added in after thought.
"If you insist," Tocino smiled. "Hurry, you have to walk so they don't detect your 'ki'."
"Thank you, Tocino…" Gohan smiled to the Saiya-jin warrior.
Tocino nodded. "Thank me later… you and your earthlings hurry now… they're coming…." A cold wind blew between the two sides of the splitting party, as they walked towards their final destinations.
The going was slow. It took nearly 20 minutes to traverse the rocky land to the safety of the mountains.
The land had been blasted clean of all life during the short time on board Toryiama's Dream. Where once the mountains were lush with life, they were now charred black, the bones of dead animals and burn branches crunching under the Warrior's feet.
Suddenly, some Saiya-jin flew overhead.
"Shit, they're early" Kuririn cursed. "Let's turn back. Tocino needs our help…"
"No! Wait!" Raditzu ordered. "That can't be all of them! Tocino and the others should have an easy time with them. The heavy stuff is yet to come."
Kuririn could feel his breaking point getting more fragile by the moment. "If Tocino and the others loose, then they Saiya-jins will go to the ship and kill everyone!"
"No… he's right." Gohan stated calmly. "We have to wait or we'll die…"
"Or you can all die now…"
Ice lanced up all the Warriors spines at once. There was something about the voice, something innately evil, Saiya-jin to the core.
It reminded Kuririn of how Vegeta had once sounded so long ago… As a whole, the group turned to face the single Saiya-jin perched on a small rock formation.
"You see, I don't need a scouter to find you… all it took was a little concentration…" Maize smirked with delight.
"Shit…" Kuririn swallowed. "He can sense ki!"
Maize just smirked even more. "Ah, Raditzu… Hope you weren't too comfortable with them… but perhaps you'll all meet again after Enma makes his decisions…"
Without any more preambles, the Warriors leapt into action. Kuririn flew into the air, followed by three Saiya-jins. He flipped back and under them, blasting a kamehameha at them, killing them instantly.
Kuririn landed and glared directly at Maize.
Ten used his multi-form ability to create four of himself, and attacked several Saiya-jins. They went fighting off into the distance.
Gohan stood his ground, crossing his arms over his chest in his best imitation of Vegeta.
With a hiss, Raditzu began to gather power, his long hair standing on end. He flew at Maize, and was easily deflected into the ground with a small movement of Maize's hand. Raditzu lay motionless on the rocky floor below him.
Maize's smirk widened into a grin. "Anyone else want to fight back? Or are you all going to die quietly like that blonde bitch?"
Everything stopped, time screeched to a halt and the earth stopped spinning. The tiny hairs on the back of Gohan's neck stood on end….
"That what…." Kuririn asked in a barely audible whisper. He balled both his hands into fists so tight his knuckles whitened. "You're… you're the one who… who killed Juuhachigou…"
Shimmering white ki enveloped Kuririn.
"Number 18? What kind of name is that," Maize spat.
That was the final straw. Kuririn leap forward, kicking Maize's nose with the heel of his foot, sending Maize crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Kuririn flipped back, landing with one arm thrust high above his head. "You… I can't…. stand seeing you live…"
"And what do you plan to do about it, little man," Maize asked smugly as he stood. Maize charged Kuririn, who did not budge.
"KI-EN-ZAN!" At the last possible second, energy flooded into Kuririn's raised palm.
The golden disc of energy sliced straight forward, right into Maize's throat. Sparks flew as the attack continued to slice through the sky, neatly bisecting a mountain. However, Maize was unharmed.
Maize leveled his gaze at the bald little monk and just smiled. An intense golden aura surrounded Maize as he began powering up. Kuririn flew at Maize and punched him in the face, sending Maize back a few centimeters.
Maize's smile widened as he punched Kuririn in the gut, doubling Kuririn over. Maize brought both hands up over his head, readying himself to smash Kuririn over the head.
Sweat and tears mixed and Kuririn's face.
"Stupid stupid stupid," he cursed mentally. "I should have listened to you, Juuhachigou… at least this way we'll be together again…"
Time crept as Maize lowered his entwined fists to smash the base of Kuririn's skull.
"Die," Maize smiled as his fists crept closer….
A sudden gust of wind swept across the ground the instant before Maize's fists smashed Kuririn's neck. A gloved hand had caught Maize's fists.
"What gives you the right to interfere boy?" Maize spat.
Gohan posed in response…
"I am the champion of Justice," Gohan shouted as he squatted with both arms pointing left. "Defender of Peace," he shouted as he formed a heart with his arms. Suddenly, he stood and began running in place. "Ally to good, Nightmare to you! The Great Saiyaman!!!"
"The…. what," Maize questioned.
Gohan took full advantage of the opportunity. He leapt forward before Maize had recovered and smashed his fist into the Saiya-jin's slack jaw.
"Kuririn-san! Go! Get out of here!"
Maize didn't take long to recover though, and he buried his forearm into Gohan's gut with such force it toppled the young half-Saiya-jin. Maize followed through with a knee to the gut, sending Gohan crashing to the ground.
Kuririn had sense enough to run when told to. The monk took to the sky, and soon was no more then another twinkle in the darkened sky.
"Nice ploy, boy. The monk lives…. Until Nappa-Sama arrives," Maize casually dusted his armor off. Gohan stood, completely unphased.
"Otousan will beat Nappa. Either him or Vegeta. I'm concerned with defeating you though…" Gohan calmly stated.
"Big words, Chibi. Let's get this over with…" In a flash, they were at each other's throats, golden auras clashing. Suddenly Maize backed off and fished a scouter from his armor.
"Thought you didn't need those?"
"True, but they do come in handy…" Maize placed the scouter over his ear and clicked it once. "Oh… 189,000,000. Not bad boy. This may prove interesting." Maize removed the scouted and crushed it in his hand. "You see, my battle power is 191,000,000. Close match, wouldn't you say?"
The fight resumed as the two warriors collided head first into each other. Fist clashed with knee. Elbow blocked elbow.
The match was close. Gohan was pushing all of his limits, not daring to transform into Super Saiya-jin.
Maize, however, did not need to transform to out pace the younger Saiya-jin. His fist slammed into Gohan's side, knocking the wind out of him…
And Maize saw his chance. As Gohan reeled from the last blow, Maize zanzokened behind him and smashed the younger Saiya-jin down to the ground.
Gohan stopped himself just before being impaled on a jagged rock.
"That was entirely too close…" Slowly Gohan floated away from the rock.
Maize pounced, but Gohan was ready this time. He pivoted, grabbing Maize's outstretched leg. He tugged, and Maize slammed into the flat ground surrounded the jagged rock.
Just as Maize was beginning to stand, Gohan rushed him, slamming Maize's chest into the rock formation.
Maize sprang back from the formation, turning in mid-air, smashing Gohan in the face with his entwined fists.
Both warriors stopped.
"Entertaining," Maize smirked. Once again, he sprang at Gohan and the two began trading blows. Gohan quickly gained the upper hand and began landing blow after blow on Maize.
Maize zanzokened behind Gohan and smashed him back to the ground. Before Gohan could blink, Maize was behind him once again. He brought his knee up and smashed it into Gohan's spine. The young Saiya-jin yelped and arched backwards.
Maize's hand fisted in Gohan's hair. "Playtime time is over…." Maize's free hand clenched down on Gohan's shoulder, his fingers gouging deep trenches in his flesh. With a quick jerk, Maize dislocated the shoulder.
Gohan shrieked, and swung at Maize with his free arm. Maize caught his forearm and wrenched it out of place as well.
Gohan could not even think, let alone move his arms. Pain burnt inside him, and there was nothing he could do to mount an offense against Maize.
The Saiya-jin took full advantage of the situation, quickly smashing Gohan over the head. He then Zanzokened behind him once more, in effect, bouncing Gohan around like volleyball.
With one more vicious hit, Maize sent Gohan down to the Earth. He didn't even try to stop the boy from plowing face first into the ground.
Somehow, though, Gohan managed to drag himself to his feet, blood covering most of his torn face.
"Insolent."
Maize pointed, and a ki blast struck Gohan square in the chest, exploding upon impact. The boy was thrown at least 50 feet by the blast. He made the ground hard; sliding 20 more feet, then lay still….
"Hnnh," Maize snorted as he touched down quietly by the prone body of Gohan. He raised his hand to finish the job, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Come to watch the festivities, eh Tocino? Oh…" Maize once again looked in the direction of Gohan, to find Piccolo kneeling over the boy. "A Namek-sejin?"
The Namek-sejin grunted, and forced one of those magic beans into the boy's mouth. 5 seconds later, the boy was on his feet, thanking his savior.
"Thank you Piccolo-san…" The boy chirped. In response, the Namek- sejin shrugged off his white cape and pulled off his white turban… both of which hit the earth with a thud.
"Well now… it appears you want to fight…" Maize smirked as he turned so he could look in both directions. "I don't know why you bother though… You only have five minutes before Nappa-Sama arrives…"
