Chapter III - Home of the Brave
----------
Everything's gonna be alright boys
Help is on the way
Hold your head up high now
There's no need to cry now
We're not running anymore
Leave the politics behind boys
They're not working anymore
There's so much more at stake here
It's make or break here
Haven't we been here before
Tell me what we're waiting for
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
Who sings the song of the people
You don't hear it anymore
I heard it late last summer
To the beat of a different drummer
It never sounded quite like this before
So you're trying to shake this feeling
That trouble's right outside the door
You lie awake each dark night
Like a time bomb wound up too tight
A storm in waiting just offshore
Tell me what we're waiting for
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
----------
Kakarika searched through her bag, digging out various stuff such as her Game Boy, some books, her CD player, some CDs, some of her drawings, and a SNES controller that had gotten thrown into the mix. Suddenly, she came across a small item. Instinctively pushing a hidden button, a holographic image of a person with feathery wings and a silvery-white tail appeared.
"Kelli." The person spoke Kakarika's mortal name, "If you are seeing this message, I can safely assume that you have reached the other dimension safely. Currently, you are in the form of an Alcoan, a sort of were-dragon, if you will. The Earth Eternal Dragon was in charge of sending you here, and will soon appear to you to confirm your mission. Something is afoot in this dimension, something only you can rectify. You must fight alongside the Z fighters and destroy this new menace. But know this, this menace cannot be defeated unless you know its name. Find its name, and you will have power over it. I warn you: this will not be easy, and you cannot go home until the beast is destroyed. Thusly, you will need to hone your abilities and train hard until the time comes to destroy this monster. There are three people who must accompany you. These three have the names Ssargon, Sierra, and Neo. Find them, and they will guide you. The knowledge your new form has must not fall into evil's hands. Protect the knowledge at all costs, for if you do not, it will mean the end of all life in all dimensions. Be careful who you trust. End message."
The image fizzled out, leaving a very bewildered Kakarika.
----------
Several minutes later, Kakarika was still staring at the cube, wondering about this 'knowledge' the person spoke of. She was an expert on animals, and could pick out and name constellations and other celestial bodies like a professional astronomer, but she couldn't see how these skills could save several dimensions.
Setting the cube on her nightstand, she dug through her backpack once again, finding objects she'd never seen in there before. These included, but were not limited to, a glittering egg, a five-star Dragonball, a box of capsules, and something that looked remarkably like a lightsaber. Sure enough, she depressed a button and a blade made of black light extended, with a deep purple core. The gently, soothing hum calmed her, her tense muscles relaxing.
Suddenly there was a knock at her door. With a cry of surprise, she switched off the saber and threw everything back in her bag.
"Come in, it's open!" Kakarika shouted.
The door creaked open. Standing in the doorway was a very familiar face. It was Goku, dressed in his orange gi and everything, with a serious look on his face, an odd contrast to his normal goofy grin.
"You must be Kakarika... Bulma told me that you have wings and a tail, and there can't be too many people around here like that." Goku smirked, "May I talk to you for a second?"
Kakarika nodded, motioning for Goku to sit. Goku nodded obligingly and sat, staring at her.
"Kakarika... Bulma told me about how you acted when Vegeta had you cornered. It's got her worried about what kind of person you are." Goku flinched at Kakarika's reaction.
Kakarika stood swiftly, her tail poised to strike, her wings extended behind her, "So now I'm an assassin? What did you come here to do? Kill me?"
Goku rose to placate her, "No no, that's not it at all! I'm here to talk, that's it."
Kakarika snarled but sat. Goku followed her lead, continuing what he had been saying, "Now, I want to know exactly what was going through your mind during breakfast when Vegeta attacked you."
Kakarika took a deep breath and started, "Well, I was still confused as to how I got here, and wondering how I'd get back. I was worried about my parents and how they must be looking all over for me. They've probably called all of my friends and now they're worried too. And I don't know how to get home, or if I ever will. Maybe this is Heaven... or Hell. Either way, when Vegeta attacked me, something deep inside of me snapped. Almost by instinct I struck. It was kinda like in a dream, where it happens slow-mo, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. I didn't want to harm him, but I couldn't control the strike. Therefore, it impacted. But I didn't feel upset about harming him, I felt... glad... a certain euphoria, almost sexual. It was like a hawk must feel after catching a mouse. I wanted to inject the killing acid, but at the same time, I didn't want to. Confused? So am I. Anyway, my good side won out, and all that was injected was a tranquilizer. At the time, I didn't even know my tail dagger could inject things. It's all so confusing. And just now I found a..."
Kakarika stopped. The man had told her to be careful who she trusted. Goku seemed pretty trustworthy, but she couldn't be sure if he'd blab. So she fell silent. Goku seemed about to ask her something, but thought better of it. Kakarika felt acidic tears spill down her face, not harming her (surprisingly). They hit the carpeting and hissed as they ate away at the material.
"I'm a *sniff* walking arsenal! Everything about *sniff* me is *sniff* a weapon!" Kakarika sobbed.
"Come on, only children cry. You've got to be strong, be brave." Goku said reassuringly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, careful not to touch the acidic tears on her face.
"I am a child!" Kakarika whimpered, "I'm a human child. My name is Kelli Erin McClary... I'm a 15 year old kid whose biggest worry is her grades! I want to go back home to my family... to my dog. I want to play my video games and read my books! I want to hug my parents goodnight and ask for puppy kisses from Angel (my dog)! Hell, I even miss my brother!"
Goku sighed. He could fight maniacal power-hungry lizards, psychotic saiya-jin, near-immortal demons, and artificial humans created by a maniacal power-hungry scientist with a grudge. But seeing this deadly-looking teenager crying totally disarmed him.
"Come on, 'Rika." Goku pleaded, "You're going to dissolve the whole floor."
Kakarika tried to stop crying, realizing that Bulma might not like it if she melted the floor. She wiped her tears away with her scaly tail, the acid not bothering the metallic scales. After her face was dried, Kakarika's tail swept back majestically, the scales sparkling and glittering as the light hit it from many angles.
"There's something evil headed this way, Goku. And I won't let my freedom get taken away. If there's one thing I'll fight for no matter what the odds, it's my freedom." Kakarika walked over to her backpack, taking out the egg and a small marble pedestal that somehow got in there.
She set the pedestal on the nightstand next to the cube, delicately placing the color-shifting egg on it. She gently tapped the hard shell with a single claw, smirking softly as the colors shifted under her tap, almost as if it recognized her touch.
Kakarika noticed that Goku had approached her, "Beautiful. What kind of creature will hatch out of it?"
"Gryphagon." Kakarika said, before Goku's question even registered, "A dragon/griffin hybrid. Can transform into either one, or a combination of each."
Goku nodded, realizing that Kakarika had responded according to her new form's knowledge. He decided to not mention it.
"It's getting late." Kakarika said, still zombie-like, staring at the ever-changing colors of the egg, "ChiChi will be worried."
Goku smiled and bid the lost girl farewell, putting two fingers to his forehead. Kakarika broke her gaze from the colorful, slightly glowing egg just in time to see Goku disappear. Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Trunks, calling her for dinnertime. Kakarika patted the egg lovingly and dashed downstairs.
-------------
Kakarika was ravaging an elk carcass when Vegeta arrived. Since Alcoans are born carnivores, and herbivores on every other day, Kakarika was carnivorous on every odd-numbered day, since she was born on the 15th of December.
Vegeta made a point of avoided Kakarika, shuddering visibly when her predatory eyes scanned him. While eating, Kakarika seemed to become almost feral, not letting anyone near her food. On herbivorous days, she was much more mellow. Vegeta sat down at the table as far away from the predator as saiya-jinly possible. Kakarika smirked, spitting a small vertabrae out at the prince. He caught it and crushed it in his hand.
Suddenly, night fell. It wasn't gentle in its arrival. One minute it was a gorgeous sunset, the next it was pitch black. But the darkness wasn't natural. Instead, it was dead evil. There seemed to be some sort of menace behind it, something only Kakarika could sense. She snarled involuntarily, her 'lightsaber' appearing in her hand, summoned by some force she didn't know she had. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the darkness gave way to a midday light, even though it was still 8:00PM.
Igniting her blade, Kakarika turned to the warriors Trunks and Vegeta, hissing, "It begins."
----------
Everything's gonna be alright boys
Help is on the way
Hold your head up high now
There's no need to cry now
We're not running anymore
Leave the politics behind boys
They're not working anymore
There's so much more at stake here
It's make or break here
Haven't we been here before
Tell me what we're waiting for
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
Who sings the song of the people
You don't hear it anymore
I heard it late last summer
To the beat of a different drummer
It never sounded quite like this before
So you're trying to shake this feeling
That trouble's right outside the door
You lie awake each dark night
Like a time bomb wound up too tight
A storm in waiting just offshore
Tell me what we're waiting for
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
----------
Kakarika searched through her bag, digging out various stuff such as her Game Boy, some books, her CD player, some CDs, some of her drawings, and a SNES controller that had gotten thrown into the mix. Suddenly, she came across a small item. Instinctively pushing a hidden button, a holographic image of a person with feathery wings and a silvery-white tail appeared.
"Kelli." The person spoke Kakarika's mortal name, "If you are seeing this message, I can safely assume that you have reached the other dimension safely. Currently, you are in the form of an Alcoan, a sort of were-dragon, if you will. The Earth Eternal Dragon was in charge of sending you here, and will soon appear to you to confirm your mission. Something is afoot in this dimension, something only you can rectify. You must fight alongside the Z fighters and destroy this new menace. But know this, this menace cannot be defeated unless you know its name. Find its name, and you will have power over it. I warn you: this will not be easy, and you cannot go home until the beast is destroyed. Thusly, you will need to hone your abilities and train hard until the time comes to destroy this monster. There are three people who must accompany you. These three have the names Ssargon, Sierra, and Neo. Find them, and they will guide you. The knowledge your new form has must not fall into evil's hands. Protect the knowledge at all costs, for if you do not, it will mean the end of all life in all dimensions. Be careful who you trust. End message."
The image fizzled out, leaving a very bewildered Kakarika.
----------
Several minutes later, Kakarika was still staring at the cube, wondering about this 'knowledge' the person spoke of. She was an expert on animals, and could pick out and name constellations and other celestial bodies like a professional astronomer, but she couldn't see how these skills could save several dimensions.
Setting the cube on her nightstand, she dug through her backpack once again, finding objects she'd never seen in there before. These included, but were not limited to, a glittering egg, a five-star Dragonball, a box of capsules, and something that looked remarkably like a lightsaber. Sure enough, she depressed a button and a blade made of black light extended, with a deep purple core. The gently, soothing hum calmed her, her tense muscles relaxing.
Suddenly there was a knock at her door. With a cry of surprise, she switched off the saber and threw everything back in her bag.
"Come in, it's open!" Kakarika shouted.
The door creaked open. Standing in the doorway was a very familiar face. It was Goku, dressed in his orange gi and everything, with a serious look on his face, an odd contrast to his normal goofy grin.
"You must be Kakarika... Bulma told me that you have wings and a tail, and there can't be too many people around here like that." Goku smirked, "May I talk to you for a second?"
Kakarika nodded, motioning for Goku to sit. Goku nodded obligingly and sat, staring at her.
"Kakarika... Bulma told me about how you acted when Vegeta had you cornered. It's got her worried about what kind of person you are." Goku flinched at Kakarika's reaction.
Kakarika stood swiftly, her tail poised to strike, her wings extended behind her, "So now I'm an assassin? What did you come here to do? Kill me?"
Goku rose to placate her, "No no, that's not it at all! I'm here to talk, that's it."
Kakarika snarled but sat. Goku followed her lead, continuing what he had been saying, "Now, I want to know exactly what was going through your mind during breakfast when Vegeta attacked you."
Kakarika took a deep breath and started, "Well, I was still confused as to how I got here, and wondering how I'd get back. I was worried about my parents and how they must be looking all over for me. They've probably called all of my friends and now they're worried too. And I don't know how to get home, or if I ever will. Maybe this is Heaven... or Hell. Either way, when Vegeta attacked me, something deep inside of me snapped. Almost by instinct I struck. It was kinda like in a dream, where it happens slow-mo, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. I didn't want to harm him, but I couldn't control the strike. Therefore, it impacted. But I didn't feel upset about harming him, I felt... glad... a certain euphoria, almost sexual. It was like a hawk must feel after catching a mouse. I wanted to inject the killing acid, but at the same time, I didn't want to. Confused? So am I. Anyway, my good side won out, and all that was injected was a tranquilizer. At the time, I didn't even know my tail dagger could inject things. It's all so confusing. And just now I found a..."
Kakarika stopped. The man had told her to be careful who she trusted. Goku seemed pretty trustworthy, but she couldn't be sure if he'd blab. So she fell silent. Goku seemed about to ask her something, but thought better of it. Kakarika felt acidic tears spill down her face, not harming her (surprisingly). They hit the carpeting and hissed as they ate away at the material.
"I'm a *sniff* walking arsenal! Everything about *sniff* me is *sniff* a weapon!" Kakarika sobbed.
"Come on, only children cry. You've got to be strong, be brave." Goku said reassuringly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, careful not to touch the acidic tears on her face.
"I am a child!" Kakarika whimpered, "I'm a human child. My name is Kelli Erin McClary... I'm a 15 year old kid whose biggest worry is her grades! I want to go back home to my family... to my dog. I want to play my video games and read my books! I want to hug my parents goodnight and ask for puppy kisses from Angel (my dog)! Hell, I even miss my brother!"
Goku sighed. He could fight maniacal power-hungry lizards, psychotic saiya-jin, near-immortal demons, and artificial humans created by a maniacal power-hungry scientist with a grudge. But seeing this deadly-looking teenager crying totally disarmed him.
"Come on, 'Rika." Goku pleaded, "You're going to dissolve the whole floor."
Kakarika tried to stop crying, realizing that Bulma might not like it if she melted the floor. She wiped her tears away with her scaly tail, the acid not bothering the metallic scales. After her face was dried, Kakarika's tail swept back majestically, the scales sparkling and glittering as the light hit it from many angles.
"There's something evil headed this way, Goku. And I won't let my freedom get taken away. If there's one thing I'll fight for no matter what the odds, it's my freedom." Kakarika walked over to her backpack, taking out the egg and a small marble pedestal that somehow got in there.
She set the pedestal on the nightstand next to the cube, delicately placing the color-shifting egg on it. She gently tapped the hard shell with a single claw, smirking softly as the colors shifted under her tap, almost as if it recognized her touch.
Kakarika noticed that Goku had approached her, "Beautiful. What kind of creature will hatch out of it?"
"Gryphagon." Kakarika said, before Goku's question even registered, "A dragon/griffin hybrid. Can transform into either one, or a combination of each."
Goku nodded, realizing that Kakarika had responded according to her new form's knowledge. He decided to not mention it.
"It's getting late." Kakarika said, still zombie-like, staring at the ever-changing colors of the egg, "ChiChi will be worried."
Goku smiled and bid the lost girl farewell, putting two fingers to his forehead. Kakarika broke her gaze from the colorful, slightly glowing egg just in time to see Goku disappear. Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Trunks, calling her for dinnertime. Kakarika patted the egg lovingly and dashed downstairs.
-------------
Kakarika was ravaging an elk carcass when Vegeta arrived. Since Alcoans are born carnivores, and herbivores on every other day, Kakarika was carnivorous on every odd-numbered day, since she was born on the 15th of December.
Vegeta made a point of avoided Kakarika, shuddering visibly when her predatory eyes scanned him. While eating, Kakarika seemed to become almost feral, not letting anyone near her food. On herbivorous days, she was much more mellow. Vegeta sat down at the table as far away from the predator as saiya-jinly possible. Kakarika smirked, spitting a small vertabrae out at the prince. He caught it and crushed it in his hand.
Suddenly, night fell. It wasn't gentle in its arrival. One minute it was a gorgeous sunset, the next it was pitch black. But the darkness wasn't natural. Instead, it was dead evil. There seemed to be some sort of menace behind it, something only Kakarika could sense. She snarled involuntarily, her 'lightsaber' appearing in her hand, summoned by some force she didn't know she had. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the darkness gave way to a midday light, even though it was still 8:00PM.
Igniting her blade, Kakarika turned to the warriors Trunks and Vegeta, hissing, "It begins."
