Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue, I be happy. ^_^'
`The Machine`
Summary: Sailor Mars and Mercury are sucked into the DBZ world, changing fate, and bringing back one of the deadliest enemies to conquer the Z fighters.
Important: This is an Alternate Universe fic. Lets say Goku did beat Majin Buu, but he died because a strange power was blocking out Dragon Shenlon's power, rendering the Dragon Balls useless. The last wish made, however, was to erase everyone's memory of Buu.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS STORY, I ADDED ONE MORE CHARACTER IN IT. IT'S BURA OR BRA, BUT I'M USING BRA JUST TO MAKE IT EASIER ON ME. I KNOW SHE ISN'T EVEN BORN YET, BUT THIS IS MY FIC, AND SHE MUST SERVE HER PURPOSE LATER ON. DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH, SHE'S NOT EVEN A YEAR OLD YET, SHE CAN'T EVEN TALK, JUST FOR THOSE WHO FIND HER ANNOYING LIKE I DO. BUT HEY, SHE NEEDS THIS BECAUSE I HAVE A PLAN. =)
P.S. Look at Author's Note at the end of the chapter when finished with reading this.
*Gohan*
Voices echoed in the distance, just reaching my eardrums.
"I know you well my Prince. My little brother spoke mainly of you. And now, you will serve me just as you had Freeza."
It felt like a black dream. Nothing I could see spoke, and their words had no meaning except for their intolerant sound.
"I serve no one, bastard. You'll see when I destroy you as I did last time, and would have your psychotic brother."
"He was almost desperately fond of you, don't you know? He always spoke of how well you followed orders, Vegita."
"Go to hell!" There was a his and a small growl, then the whirl of water bubbles followed by timeless thrashing. Suddenly the world stilled and silence fell upon it.
Darkness gave way to a light and the world came into focus. I was laying on my back, blinding overhead lights glared at me and made me squint. Slowly, I collected my thoughts; recalling how I was a puppet used to trap Vegita in Cooler's clutches. I released a breath slowly, in an attempt to calm myself down. The voices earlier made a great deal of sense; Vegita and Cooler.
No binds held me in place, I realized, reminding me of how hopeless it was to try and fight back. Cooler had his ways of restraining me, and I figured the sphere had something to do with it. Dimly I recalled how the silver ball had injected something into my bloodstream, making me susceptible to his will. It was all I could understand, and no matter how the Saiyan inside me refused to admit it, it frightened me.
"Good evening, Gohan." A familiar, cool voice spoke from behind me.
I sat up shakily, viewing my surroundings. The metal was a reflective silver, and made me feel like I was staring at a fun house filled with mirrors. (AN: Those scare me. u.u) The floor, however, was a dark blue, much like a lot of tables and computers, and like the table I was sitting on. In the center of my whole viewpoint, were three human-fit tanks filled with an eerie glowing green liquid and snake-like wires seemingly swimming inside.
The first two were empty, but the third tank contained a form curled in a fatal spot. It's features were vaguely recognizable, masked my the water bubbles. The only form I could make out through my barely cleared vision were the wires pulsing around the figure.
"Welcome, Saiyan."
A face made out of black wires came into a spotlight: shiny and attached to an umbilical cord of chains and cords. In front of the face was a silver man, all silver and made of metal, a long thick tail. A form I recognize still. Metal Cooler.
"My father and Vegita killed you a long time ago." I said.
The walls shimmered, bringing horrific features of a battle scenes that left as quickly as they came. But not before one glowing red eye captured mine.
"They made a mistake of thinking they defeated me."
I snarled loudly, my fists clenching. "And we'll defeat you this time! Again!"
"I'm afraid your wrong, Saiyan. I've already gotten hold of Prince Vegita, and yourself." The face mockingly grinned, the wires forming a weird smile. The doppelganger before me grinned as well. The face continued, "And your father will soon join you both!" The tank came into view, the form cleared to an unconscious Vegita, his features twisted in anguish.
"I must say, you did kindly well. Soon, you will be incorporated into my main system and provide another service for me."
He planned to use me to capture my father, I realized. I smiled, in spite of myself, my voice came out cold and monotone, betraying my countenance. "How?" I asked. "My father's dead, the dragon balls are gone, turned to stone for Kami knows why, and even if they weren't, my father's died too many times to be wished back." I paused. "And besides, I wont help you."
Surprisingly, he laughed softly. "How? I control you now. Your mind and body are mere extensions of my own consciousness, that is how. My mechanisms are a part of your nervous system and I can turn you on and off as I please. I can move you and alter your thoughts. You are mine. And about the dragon balls," he smiled surly, "they're not destroyed or stone. But I wont tell you my plan, not yet anyways."
A chilling thought, it made me wince. This bastard had everything figured out. My smile faded and turned into a glare, thinking of my humiliation. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vegita had awakened during our 'talk.' On his face was now a snarl. He'd be more difficult to control, like my father. Both men were trained extremely well both with mental and physical discipline. Unlike me, they had a great deal of control over their bodies, like Vegita with Babidi. (AN: Dude from Buu saga, don't know how to spell his name. U.U) A little hope crept into my heart but I quickly shoved it away, daring not to show it, for Cooler would dash it.
Again the laughed.
"You can't hide thoughts from me, Saiyan. Nothing can resist me, remember that. But I will let you hope, I will let you think, and then I will let you see the truth when you all fail."
"We wont!" I shouted angrily. I was unable to understand why Cooler would allow me to stay myself. What would tormenting me prove? I had done nothing to specifically anger Cooler, it was my father and Vegita he had a score to settle with. "Why?" I asked.
"Because it will hurt him to see your pain. He feels it as you do, a Saiyan bond between offspring and its parent. You're a piece of him, a piece I'll covet into my own. All those he loves will fall to me. You will see in time, I'll let you know that. I plan to take everything from him. Everything!"
I shivered, then inhaled a breath. I felt his hate seep through our link, making me realize that my father would do what he wants. I was his instrument. I tried to summon strength; I wouldn't let Cooler use me as a puppet. But nothing came.
Once again, this was all my fault.
*Bulma*
~~~
Tormented, Vegita sat on the edge of his bed, his fists bunched, and his face twisted; just like his emotions. And there I stood in the doorway, powerless to alleviate his sorrow. I was unable to understand him, and his drives. I drew a breath, entering cautiously, a tray of food in my hands. "My mother made you some steaks and a few vegetables. Are you hungry?"
He was just a visitor to our world; Earth, a man driven by obsession. His true apparent desire in life was to fight, as a Saiyan would, and to defeat one of my oldest and greatest friends: Son Goku. Other than that . . . the Saiyan Prince was a mystery to me . . . a fascination my friend and ex-boyfriend, Yamcha, said I could do without. Still, I was drawn to the small Saiyan man, ignoring his arrogance, his violent nature and his supposedly evil intentions. I had seen a soft spot once, for he wept once in my presence.
"Very well. You can leave now, woman." He said, his voice gruff and uninviting.
"You could be a lot nicer and less rude about it." I shot back. "I don't have to do all this. I'm no servant of yours, and since you intend on killing my closest friend, I have no obligations here. You don't scare me."
"I don't?" He glanced at me curiously, amused, perhaps.
"No."
"Then you're stupider than I thought. When I'm done with Kakarott, I'm going to crush this pitiful world, and you included."
"Yeah, right. We have more important things to worry about. For one, your stupid little ego and two, the fact that you haven't turned Super Saiyan yet." I smirked, seeing how his face looked before he turned away. He was ashamed.
"Are you here to taunt me woman?" He growled.
"No, just here to feed you." I placed his tray next on his bed stand and sat beside him. "You know, the androids the kid mentioned are something worth thinking about." I said.
"Who cares?" He looked away again, out the window this time, as if contemplating 'why him?' Abruptly, he whispered, "It's unfair."
"What's unfair?"
"All my life, I had believed I was the savior of my race. My father told me . . . that I was to be the one: The Super Saiyan. And now, Kakarott, the son of a nobody soldier, a third class idiot soldier, he has that kind of power?"
Why was he telling me something like this? Why was I listening? Why did I care? He wanted to destroy the world, kill my friend. I stared, realizing his voice contained too much anguish and weariness. "Goku is driven by love for others, not anger. That . . . maybe that's your problem."
"He's pure." Vegita spat. "Pure of heart. Perhaps I'm not pure enough." He struck his fists on his knees, anger forming his features. "The Gods are cruel. That idiot deserves nothing! Vegitisai was my world! They were my people, he's nothing but a peasant in my ranks! God-damn it, why is he the one? Why not me?"
I didn't answer, knowing his hurt was too deep for my healing. Slowly and gently, I placed my hand on his shoulder. He did not move to push it away, but instead strangled a cry and buried his face in his palms. "Then the boy! Why are the Gods so cruel? Haven't I been mocked enough?!" He pushed me away, stood with only a tear in his eyes, the others dissipated and saturated on his glove. "Leave woman! I must prove my given birthright . . . and your damn sympathy isn't wanted!"
~~~
Light fluttered my eyes open and I winced, morning had come too soon. I lay in a tangle of sheets, hair in my face, sleepy eyed from the first full rest in two nights.
I was alone. Vegita was now one of the missing, and perhaps even Trunks and Goten. I hated the empty bed, and felt lost with out my usual companion. The Saiyajin Prince hadn't returned, neither had his offspring or Goten. I could only assume they had been taken by what ever got Gohan. Slowly, I lay back, head placed on my feather pillows, and stared at the ceiling cracks. The dream confused me, it was of earlier times, before I became pregnant with Trunks. I didn't know why the dream had risen from my subconscious, but it brought old feelings back. I wished he would have confided in me rather than argued with me. But then again, I didn't invite him. I was rather nasty that night myself.
Yamucha must have brought me here, because the last thing I remembered was studying that damned silver ball with Ami and then nodding off. Ami had been scanning a visual on the sphere with her mini computer, having explained to us everything that was going on. Cooler, how she and her friend came from a different dimension, and how she was a Princess of a planet Mercury, and she was a fighter, a warrior. I smiled slightly; it was about time women showed men how to do a job, we had none of that down here, unfortunately.
I looked about, expecting to see the scar face man in my room or the new teenager with hair almost just like mine. But I saw no one. Disappointment filled me, for my loneliness drove me to look for companionship; mainly in Yamcha. I shook the thought away and clambered out of bed. The last thing Yamucha needed was to become my bed warmer again.
I stumbled over to the mirror and stared at my pale complexion. Not a blemish in sight..no age spots, yet my lavender hair was out of place and I had circles around my eyes. I looked far older than I was. With a groan groaned, and sat back, wishing to turn back the hands of time. Yamucha was right, I deserved Vegita. He and I had everything in common.
"Bulma?!" Yamucha's voice called out from behind the door. "Bulma, the others are here now, we've found seven spheres."
*Yamcha*
Bulma entered the room; wet lavender hair hastily combed out of her eyes, dressed in glove tight blue jeans and a dark blue silken blouse opened to a lacy tank shirt. Uneasily, I fingered my glass of orange juice, remembering how beautiful she was, and placed the glass down on the table. She crossed the room and seated herself at the head of the table. I wiped my mouth, hoping it wasn't gaping, and scanned the others.
Krillen finished up a large serving of eggs and steak while Tenshinhan and Chouzu worked on plates of pancakes and fruit. Piccolo stood by the window, arms folded, eyes closed. The new girl, Ami, was sitting patiently, looking at the spheres closely with her mini computer, probably going over all that she gathered. We were all here to discuss our next course of action, now that what spheres we knew of had been gathered.
Like everyone else, I was uneasy, concerned that this thing was bigger than it looked. Even though I claimed we could handle anything, I had my doubts, a lot of doubts. But some vanished, Ami or Sailor Mercury, as she called herself now, was strong. Very strong according to her KI level, but it looked like she wasn't aware of all her power yet. Maybe when and if her friend showed up, one of us could each take them to the Room of Spirit and Time to train . . .
"Good morning Bulma." Krillen broke the silence and my train of thought. He put his fork down and smiled at Bra, Bulma's new child. "Hey Bra, gosh, she's getting so big. She's walking I hear . . ."
Bulma nodded. She kissed Bra's forehead. "She's a good girl. Stubborn like her father though, and sometimes stubborn like me."
The infant stirred, thumb finding her mouth. She began to suck and opened an eye. I looked away, reminded Trunks and now Bra weren't my children. In many ways, I wished they were, but Vegita was there first, and I was always second rate . . . especially in Bulma's eyes.
"Seven Spheres . . . do you think we have them all?" Bulma asked. She reached out and grasped a muffin from a plate of pastries in the center of the table. Earlier, her mother had set the table buffet style with an assortment of food ranging from eggs to continental breakfast. As I recalled, Bulma was a lover of sweets and Berry Muffins were her pride and passion.
"Hardly." Piccolo lifted his head, piercing eyes now showing impatience. "We have no way to detect the damned things. Finding all of them will be difficult. I'm sure they're all over the planet."
"What gives you that idea?" I asked, curious.
Piccolo nodded towards the end table where the spheres were sitting in a neat circle. "Why wouldn't they? They're machines, possibly tools for an invasion. "
"I'm not necessarily sure on that Piccolo," Ami said and we turned her attention to her. She blushed slightly, probably not used to being the center of consideration. "There could be ways of detecting these . . . machines if I can impute what frequency wave they send out, and load it to my computer, it'll track the spheres' waves and data."
It was pretty much what I had thought on the matter, what Piccolo said. I didn't know Ami would come up with that. I grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. She blushed.
I looked to Bulma and back to Ami, remembering how devoted they were the other night with there research. "Well, it's Bulma's and Ami's job to see how they work. Nice little note though. Its confirmed on my hunch on how Gohan was attacked. Now I'm sure that little ball is responsible."
"Sounds even more like an alien invasion thing." Krillen moaned, very concerned. "So how do we prevent those things from grabbing us?"
"I stored the one I had in a capsule. That's what I'll do with the others." Bulma bit into her muffin. After swallowing she placed the cake on her plate and bounced Bra on her knee. "Ami and I plan to design a dimensional storage device, even a force screen that will enable us to study the things out in the open without threat. Right now, I can't make hide nor hair of it, and to be honest, I'm too nervous about fiddling around with it until I can do it safely. "
"We need you to find a way of detecting the damned things." Piccolo remarked. He looked briefly at Ami, who had nodded, confirming her plan earlier. "Destroying them shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"What? With KI? I'm sure Gohan used KI on it too." Bulma said sharply. "No, no . . . let us run a few tests, and figure out exactly what we're dealing with."
"OK." I said evenly. "Then, we'll just keep a monitor on you until you're done."
"I don't mind that." Bulma glanced around the table.
"What about the dragon balls?" Ami asked. We had told her about them after she told us her story, and she new a lot about us now. "You all talked about a New Namek . . . do they have dragon balls there?"
"We haven't been able to contact them," Tenshinhan said. "Not even Dende could render a response from them. Someone was going to go there to see what was happening--"
"But then this happened." Ami finished. We all nodded.
"Now, what I think we should do is go to New Namek and get the Dragonballs." Bulma said. "Maybe they're there, maybe they're not. But if they are, wish for Goku and even wish for some information on these things. We might even be able to wish for Gohan and Vegita. Yamcha, you're the best at that, so I think you, Krillen and Piccolo should go."
I frowned at her logic. Sure, we could go to Namek. We might even be able to make wishes, but Porlunga had his limitations. "Ok, I think we could go, check things out and come back, if it's urgent enough. If they are there, we might even find out where Gohan and Vegita are. I can't guarantee if we can wish any of them back because they're too powerful to be effected by wishes, unless they want to be. It's also possible we could find what these things are, but I don't know if it will be worth the risk to you."
"I'm not a baby." Bulma said sharply.
Tenshinhan looked up, finished with his breakfast. "Chouzu and I will look after her, Yamucha."
"So will I." Ami said.
"Well, I think it's a good idea." Krillen announced, standing up. "We should leave as soon as possible. It will only take about two weeks."
"I don't know about this." I said, dubious. I didn't really like the idea of leaving Bulma alone. Tenshinhan would protect her with his life, but I'd feel better if I were the one. Not that my power was any better than his. I knew Bulma and the things Capsule built. In general I'd be more able to assist if a battle broke out.
No. I bowed my head into my palm. I was hopeless. Regardless how hard I tried, I loved Bulma and only trusted myself, if not Vegita or Goku with her life.
"You have no other choice, Yamcha." Piccolo said. "I'll contact Kaiyo-sama and Goku and inform them of the urgency of the situation." Normally, Piccolo said little and did less, except in direct combat. If any of us had still doubted that in his heart Piccolo was our friend, we wouldn't have doubted any more; Gohan's disappearance was forcing the one-time conqueror of the world to reveal his true feelings.
Krillen nodded, and looked at me. "Ok, let's get ready."
*Rei*
I sighed loudly, but not enough to wake the sleeping ten-year-olds next to me. It had taken longer than expected to go back to Capsule Corporation. Trunks and Goten said only a few more hours and we'd be there, and they've been asleep since.
I was beginning to doubt this yellow hunk of fluff. 'I swear, if this cloud gets us lost . . .' I began to think homicide. Slow homicide. But there weren't many ways to kill a yellow flying cloud. I didn't even know if the cloud was alive.
I sighed again, the heat, lack of food and sleep were wracking my brain of common sense and filling it with stupidity. It was morning, and we had left in late afternoon. The time seemed right, Trunks had said it took them half a day to get to the desert I was in.
No thanks to Cooler, it probably took me no more than minutes. I was about to give up hope, when a large city came into view and Nimbus, as the yellow cloud was called, decided to pick up speed. Quickly, the cloud flew over houses and buildings, over people who were just waking up, unaware that if someone didn't stop Cooler, this world would be doomed. The cloud stopped at a building, shaped like a dome, and in big bold letters read, "Capsule Corporation."
I debated to whether or not wake the boys up, what was I supposed to do? I didn't live at Capsule Corp.
Was I supposed to just knock? Mentally I shook my head and decided to wake the sleeping kids. "Trunks," I whispered after shaking him a little.
"Um, just five more minutes mom." He mumbled, and I laughed.
"It's Rei, Trunks. Not your mom, Rei." I said.
Slowly he got up and stretched, yawning. He looked at me, and I pointed. He grinned and jumped off the cloud and I followed suit. "Oh Goten," I called in his ear. "We're here."
Unsteadily, he turned over and fell off of Nimbus, mumbling an 'Ow.' He looked up and frowned, but grinned when he saw the familiar CC sign on the house. "We're here!" He yelled and ran after Trunks, who had been waiting for him.
I sighed, preparing myself to meet, what Goten and Trunks described, the strongest humans and non-humans on this particular planet.
* * *
Author's Note: Hello again my fine feathered friends! Once again have I finally updated! Heehee. And I brought a guest here today--
*pulls out Wufei from GW who happens to be wearing the usual white pants, but this time he has no shirt on.* *drool*
Wufei: INJUSTICE! You already put me in your other story's author's note!
LunaDragon: Meet Wu-man, my new trusty side kick.
Wufei: What do you mean baka onna?!
LunaDragon: *rolls eyes* Don't mind him, he's just upset I haven't paired him up with Rei in my other fic called "Children of War" yet. It'll come soon though, for those who are/have read it.
Wufei: What?! Injustice--
LunaDragon: See?
Wufei: *glares and thinks of how nice it would be to have his katana right now* Baka onna. Why not drag Maxwell in here instead of me?
LunaDragon: Because you're sexier right now, and Duo's busy. Sorry Wu-man. You're stuck with me.
Wufei: My name is NOT Wu-man. It is Wufei!
LunaDragon: We'll continue this another time. So review or else I'll turn Wu-man in a kitty-cat.
Wufei: INJUSTICE!
LunaDragon: *grins* yep, soon look out for my new fic. Its a comedy and the Gundam boys get turned into cute little cats! Review if you want it.
Wufei: DO NOT REVIEW, IT IS INJUSTICE IF YOU DO SO!
LunaDragon: Bye! Please review!