A red light angrily flashed on Semadd's panel.
"Leave me alone." He muttered to the light. He was working and didn't need to be disturbed. He pressed a button that dropped the tubes' shields. Clank-clank-clank-clank. All four of the thick mettle shields slammed to the ground. Now Semadd's trophies were hidden behind walls…not that there was much to see anymore. Gohan had slumped to the floor and the cameras behind the shields showed Vegeta wavering, close to collapse. Trunks was barely awake according to the data readings and Goten had long been unconscious. There was less power escaping now. His power. He giggled. He knew that his victory was only a few hours away.
Goten's energy slipped below the red line. Semadd giggled again and rubbed his hands together. He really hadn't expected much out of the youngsters but he had harvested more than he had ever dreamed of out of them. With this power, and the power he would gain from the other two in the Chamber he could power the Device across the universe easily. A small warning flashed on Goten's screen: 'power fading. Suggested release' in green letters. Semadd sneered at it. The best power, he had learned, came in the last few minutes of a person's life. Goten had little more than five minutes.
"Trunks too!" Semadd giggled. Trunks' levels had fallen below the line. "Looks like we'll have to prepare the other two." The red warning light continued flashing at him from the panel. Semadd growled.
"Leave me alone!" He brought his fist down on the light, shattering the panel. He snorted and withdrew his hand. Electricity played around his fingers, then faded away. Semadd giggled again and sent a message to his head android to get the two in the Chamber ready. He headed to the door out of the Center and off to get his first meal of the day. He didn't notice the 'Error: Message not received' flashing on his screen. Nor had he noticed the label below the light he had squished: 'proximity alert'.
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18 and Trunks quickly walked through the hallways to where they sensed the others. The complex was generally devoid of life other then the several workstations they came across. They had nearly got caught by a worker when Trunks had let his energy rise. Ever since then he concentrated only on his energy levels and kept most of the tracking to 18. Every once in a while, he'd check to make sure that she wasn't leading him into a trap.
18 opened a door and entered the room. Trunks froze on the threshold and 18 looked back at him.
"Come on!" she said. Trunks looked around the room.
"This is exactly like the room I was caught in." Trunks looked back at 18. She studied the room.
"Was it the first door after the split in the hallway?"
"Yes… so?"
"Those things didn't come after me. Maybe whatever it was has been deactivated."
"Maybe." He muttered. He doubted it but they had to get them free. Trunks cautiously crossed the room to 18. The door slammed shut and Trunks spun around. There were holes in the walls still. Trunks pointed them out. 18 walked up to one and peered in. She saw a coiled length of mettle, similar to what Trunks described earlier. It sat waiting like a serpent in its den.
"I think it's still active." 18 said. She looked back at Trunks. The wrrrr was still coming faintly from the wall, the creature's heartbeat that gave life to the energy-hungry vipers. Trunks wanted to get out of the room but he remembered something from his previous encounter. When he had had his ki smothered, the coils didn't attack him, but as soon as he relaxed, he was struck.
"It seems that this defense thing is triggered by ki." Trunks said. "That's probably why you weren't affected."
"Well keep your ki down then."
"Can we go now?" Trunks grumbled and 18 turned and opened the far door. Trunks did his best not to run out of the room. He hated not being able to tell what was going on outside. They continued along. Trunks had his head down. He was tense. Trunks gasped and looked up. 18 had stopped too. It seemed she got the same thing he did. He had hoped that it was because of his concentration on keeping his energy low enough, but he had lost track on Gohan and the others. He swallowed.
"We have to hurry." 18 said and Trunks nodded. They took off at a run. 18 flung open a door and they nearly ran into a strange man.
"YOU!!" Trunks gasped. It was the man that his mom had pointed out on the TV. The man looked surprised but recovered quickly.
"So you escaped." He said. "Well done. You must have more power than the computer estimated. Yes this is good." 18 stood with her arms crossed.
"Who are you?" she snapped.
"I? I? Who am I?" the man giggled and turned his back to them and walked to the computer. Trunks growled, "I am the soon-to-be ruler of this planet." the man continued, "I am the Master of Power. I am the Creator!" He giggled again, "You would be one of Doctor Gero's wouldn't you?" he asked 18. Her eyes widened a bit. "Brilliant scientist! But not all right in the head if you know what I mean." The man tapped the side of his head with a finger and giggled. Trunks had enough with this guy, they were running out of time. He stalked up to the man.
"What have you done with Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goten?" he snarled. The man looked at Trunks with startling green eyes.
"I am Doctor Semadd." He hissed at Trunks. He grinned and in a much lighter tone said: "But enough about me, who are you with such lovely power and where did your friend get to?"
"I'm Trunks." He growled, "The son of Vegeta."
"Trunks hu?" Semadd said. "TrunksTrunksTrunks. I have a Trunks." He giggled. "He'll be dead in a few minutes and now you're here to replace him."
"Don't count on it." Trunks snapped. "Where are they." Semadd grinned and raised the shields again. He giggled as the walls slowly grated back into the ceiling. Trunks hissed as he sharply drew a breath through his clenched teeth. The closest to him was Gohan. Trunks dashed over to his cell and banged on it. Gohan's eyes slid open a fraction before they glazed over as he fell into unconsciousness. Trunks growled and spun back to face Semadd who was laughing.
"Trunks!" 18 said. He looked over at her. She was crouched by Chibi Trunks' cell. "He doesn't have long. We have to get them out of here now!" Trunks didn't need to be told twice. He stalked up to Semadd and shook his fist at the still laughing man.
"Set them free." He snarled and Semadd laughed harder.
"Do you think you can make me? There is a password on the seals." He giggled. "Do you think you can pass me and find it in time? You either must not be very powerful or you are somehow suppressing your strength." Trunks paused. What could he mean by that? Why would it matter if he was hiding his power. Unless…
"I have defenses in here too." Semadd said finishing Trunks' thought. It was a good thing he hadn't let his ki slip too much. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. But this doctor was an old man…how hard could it be for a Saiyan to defeat an old human? But what about the password. He knew he couldn't break the glass or whatever it was surrounding the Saiyans.
"Keep him busy." 18 said directly behind Trunks. He jumped slightly and growled at himself. "I'll take care of the password." Trunks nodded.
"Aah, but it won't be that easy." Semadd warned, waving a finger at them. His eyes flashed, "I won't be that easy to defeat." He hissed. Trunks snorted. He was sick of this man. He didn't care if Semadd was just a human, Trunks was going to knock him about a bit before killing him.
Trunks raised his fist and struck. He gasped. Semadd held Trunks' fist in one hand, easily keeping it a foot from his face. Semadd sneered and curled his fingers around Trunks' fist. Trunks bared his teeth and pressed harder.
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Bad mistake Trunks…you underestimated Semadd's power. Now how much will you pay for it? And will Vegeta, Gohan, Goten and Chibi Trunks pay the price with you?