Lost Kin
Chapter 5: Friends and Allies
Author- Okami
"There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness."
Han Suylin"Anon?" a deep, animalistic voice asked but was strangled by another roar. The creature grabbed the sides of its head and bellowed up at the stars. Jaws snapped and claws slashed the air in vain attempts of harming an invisible foe. Tritana tried to take control but the maddening hatred ignited once more when Vegeta came into view. Her mouth opened wide as she screamed her eternal rage towards the Saiyan and acidic drool scorched the earth.
The armored Saiyan looked back towards the small group and saw someone painfully familiar. Using all the energy he could gather, Anon ran towards the group and stopped directly in front of Vegeta.
"You must leave immediately," Anon said, his voice cold and emotionless.
"Pff. Who do think you are? I'm not going anywhere, punk."
"Do you wish to die right here and now? If not than I suggest you leave."
"Uh, excuse me, but just who are you?" Krillin suddenly piped up.
Anon looked his way as if noticing the others for the first time. "That is none of your concern." He quickly looked over his shoulder to see Tritana still holding her wolf-like head and roaring her anger at the celestial heaven.
"What's wrong with her?" Goku asked, taking a step towards Anon.
"Kakarott? I thought you were dead?"
"The name's Goku. Now what's wrong with her?" he repeated, a bit angry.
A frustrated sigh escaped Anon's lips as he ran his fingers through his unruly red locks. "I will explain everything later. Right now, he must leave," he pointed angrily towards Vegeta, "and I have to calm her down."
"Wh-" Goku caught himself before he asked the question. He nodded his head in agreement and looked at Vegeta, who in turn crossed his arms in defiance. The spiky haired Saiyan received a look that said, "If you think I'm leaving you're crazy".
"If you're not leaving than just stay out of sight." The younger Saiyan's voice was exasperated with a hint of anger showing noticeably.
The group -excluding Goku- managed to convince the hotheaded and stubborn Prince to hide in the trees. Goku and Anon began walking towards Tritana when she let out an ear-piercing cry. The cry was not one of anger or rage, but one of confusion and suffering.
"Tritana," Anon spoke softly. "Please listen to me, you have to calm down. You know what will happen if you don't. Please Tritana, calm down."
The creature stopped roaring and stared at the two Saiyans. Blood red eyes scanned them as if trying to decide who would die first. Lips curled back in a twisted snarl, revealing glimmering white fangs and acidic drool. The wolf-like creature suddenly stiffened and sniffed the air, taking in deep breaths at a time. Acid dripped from fangs as the creature roared and charged the two Saiyans in its path.
To Anon's and Goku's surprise, instead of fighting, the beast leapt over them and disappeared into the woods. The two looked at each other, eyes wide in realization and ran after Tritana just as a cry of surprise split the eerie silence of the night.
Krillin and Gohan came crashing out of the brush followed by a flying Vegeta. The Prince appeared to have been thrown since he wasn't flying face first; instead his back was the first thing to be seen coming out of the woods. When he stood up right, three large claw marks cut his shirt but luckily didn't pierce flesh.
Goku ran over to his friend and son. "Are you guys all right?" worry clearly shown in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But shoot, that thing was so fast we didn't even know it was there until it…" his voice trailed off as he turned to face the forest. "Trunks!"
Another cry sounded from inside the forest, this time it seemed to be all around them.
"Trunks!" Goku cried. Turning his head from side to side, he could see nothing but pitch-blackness. A soft yet quick sound could be heard getting increasingly louder as someone came barreling towards them.
Trunks burst through the brush and ran right past his father, not even glancing or giving him notice. The creature followed in hot pursuit and quickly caught up to its prey, using long legs to eat up the distance. Fangs pierced the soft flesh of Trunks' arm and acidic spit rushed onto it. Trunks tried desperately to free himself from the creature's death grip but all was in vain.
Goku watched, horrified, as Tritana picked up Trunks by his arm and swung him around like a rag doll. He could see the young boy's face was pale and beginning to sweat from the acid coursing through his veins.
"TRITANA!" Anon shouted, his voice deep and commanding.
The creature stopped its assault on Trunks and turned to look at the source of the voice. Jaws slowly opened and released the half-Saiyan boy, he in turn took the opportunity and stumbled away from the area. Tritana paid no attention to the boy for she had her sights set on the Saiyan approaching her.
The red haired Saiyan stopped just inches from Tritana's body. His eyes, a brilliant blue, looked into her blood red ones and seemed to pierce her very soul. Her body suddenly felt very heavy, her head pounded with a newly formed headache, and her body ached from over excursion.
"Anon," the animalistic voice said. The creature seemed to slowly shrink and the fur appeared to sink beneath Saiyan flesh as Tritana, ever so slowly, changed back to her human form. Dragon wings shriveled and disappeared while the wolf-like head slowly took on a more human appearance. After completing her metamorphosis, Tritana fell to her hands and knees; her breaths came in deep rasps and her body racked with every one.
"Tritana?" Goku asked slowly, edging closer. "Are you okay?" He received a stiff nod as a reply since she was too exhausted to speak.
"Will someone explain what the heck is going on here?" Krillin whined. He was knelt beside Trunks and was trying to get him to stand. "I think we should get Trunks to a hospital and fast."
"No. Take him to his house and we will follow. He will need the antidote," said Anon. He stood up and supported his friend as he waited for the others.
"What makes you think we can trust you?" Gohan questioned.
"If you want your friend to live, you will have to trust me."
******
Bulma awoke with a start when she heard strange voices coming from downstairs. She sleepily looked at her cloak and groaned when the red numbers read 2:00 am. She slowly slipped into her robe, grabbed a baseball bat from the hall closet and crept down the carpeted stairs. The voices got louder and louder until they were coming from just around the corner. Bulma took a deep breath then whirled around the corner and swung the bat; it gave some resistance indicating that she hit something. A familiar shout brought Bulma to realize just whom she had hit. Her eyes bulged when she saw the Saiyan Prince holding the back of his head and muttering curses at her.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you," she apologized. "But what are doing sneaking around in the middle of the night! You scared me half to death!" she rambled on.
When she stopped Goku, Gohan and Krillin burst out laughing and only after hearing Vegeta's death threats they quickly shut up but would have to stifle giggles every now and then.
"Trunks, oh my god what happened!" Bulma screeched. She had noticed a bitter scent to the air and when she turned to locate the source her eyes fell upon her son's arm. His skin appeared to be melting right off his arm, blood mixed with acid dripped from the open wound and his face was pale and sweaty.
"Please, let me look at him," a strange voice asked from behind her. Bulma side-stepped to make room for whom ever was behind her and gasped when she saw his monkey-like tail. Before she could ask him about it, she noticed his eyes turn from purple to white.
"Just as I feared," he announced, standing up. "The acid is in his system now and will kill him within 24 hours unless the antidote is administered."
"Well, what are waiting for? Give him the antidote," Krillin said almost defensively.
"I would but its not my decision to make," he turned towards Tritana. "Will you help him Tritana?"
"What can she do?" Vegeta snapped. "She's the one who did this to him. How can she possibly help him?"
"Can your blood heal an acidic wound?" the Saiyan snapped. When no one answered he finished with, "Than I suggest you shut your mouth and show her some respect."
The hazel-eyed half-Saiyan felt all eyes on her as she rose from the cushy chair. Her body still ached from her transformation but she would do this one thing before resting. She stood beside the couch that Trunks now occupied and had him lay down.
"Trunks. No matter how bad this tastes you must not spit any out all right?" she said soothingly to him.
Trunks nodded his heavy head and barely watched as the girl in front of him slit her wrist and placed it against his cracked lips. He almost spat it out but remembered not to so he held his breath and drank. The dark liquid oozed down his dry throat and into his stomach; almost instantly he began to feel stronger.
Tritana's head was swimming and her body felt weak from continuous lack of blood but she forced herself to keep her wrist on the boy's mouth. Once she felt his power level stabilize she pulled back and tried to stop the bleeding but her hand wouldn't stay on the wound. Her vision blurred as she felt herself slowly fall back but not hit the hard floor. Instead she found herself looking up into the now orange eyes of her friend Anon, his lips moved but she heard no words. He wasn't looking at her but at Vegeta who seemed impressed at how fast his son recovered.
Vegeta was in fact very surprised that the half-Saiyans blood actually cured his son but his arm was still pretty messed up.
"Hey Trunks," Tritana asked in a raspy voice. "I have another gift for you." She lifted her hand and gently gripped the rotting arm she had poisoned. A grunt escaped her trembling lips as a pale green light flowed from her body to her hand than to the arm she held. The light grew brighter and brighter until it encompassed the room then died down as quickly as it had come.
Tritana let out a very slow, very painful breath as she released the boy's arm and let him examine it. She had healed the wound well enough that no scar showed but it had taken the last of her strength. Letting her body relax, Tritana let herself slip in the dark abyss of unconsciousness.
"How did she do that?" Trunks wondered aloud.
"Please, do any of you have a place for her to sleep for a little while?" Anon stood up with the half-Saiyan in his strong arms.
"Uh, yeah. Just follow me," Bulma said. She led the way to Tritana's previous recovery room and prayed there would not be another incident like the last one. She didn't think her insurance would cover it again. Bulma had to admit that she never would have imagined that a Saiyan-besides Goku- could be so compassionate about someone. Not even Vegeta showed love towards his son.
"I have one question if you don't mind," she asked softly. "Do your eyes change color?"
Anon's shoulders shook slightly with laughter at the question. "You have no idea how many times I'm asked that question. Yes, they change colors to suit my mood but they are normally purple."
"Oh. And here I thought I was going crazy. I can make up a room for you if you like."
"No thanks. I'll just stay here and make sure she's okay."
"Okay, I'll tell the others not to bother you." As Bulma closed the door she heard a faint "Thank you" from the Saiyan. She sighed as she walked down the long hallway and stairway. Her body ached for sleep but she would tell the guys not to bother them before she went to bed. Stepping around the corner, this time with no bat, she announced to the group of weary fighters that they would have to wait until tomorrow to get any answers.
"Well, we'd better going. I don't want ChiChi to come looking for us again. We'll be back tomorrow," Goku said, picking up the sleepy Gohan. He turned around before opening the door. "Keep her safe for me?"
"Of course Goku. Don't worry," Bulma reassured. Once he and Gohan were out the door she turned to Vegeta and her son. "You two are going to bed. And don't give me any lip mister because I'm not in the mood to hear it," she warned as Vegeta opened his mouth to object. Instead he crossed his arms in defiance but went to his room for some well-needed rest. It had been a long day for everyone and everyone was all ready for peace and relaxation.
The house was quiet except for the occasional snore from Vegeta and the chirping of crickets. Anon leaned against the chair he now occupied and gazed at the sleeping form in front of him. Tritana moaned as she rolled over onto her side then drifted back into slumber. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched his friend sleep.
"She seems so peaceful," he whispered to no one in particular but himself. As time past, Anon felt his eyelids getting slightly heavier as minutes rolled on. Finally, the Saiyan let his mind wander and his body rest.
***Authors Note***
I just wanted to make it clear that I do not own DBZ. I do however own Tritana, Anon, Obsidian and Draco so please do not take them without my permission. Also, if you have questions or comments feel free to e-mail me at animewolf5@yahoo.com. Be warned that flames will be read and sometimes responded to but most will be incinerated.
