Notes: …An attempt to create a dark mood for the first scene…by the use of poetry.
~
Her past is stained with crimson, her freedom holding none; Her name is nonexistent, her actions nothing meant; The nightmare in these dreams, the angel that she seemed; Once noble in her time, enslaved in selfish crime; She became the huntress, murder she now caress…
Piccolo snapped his eyes open, aware of her fingers around his neck. His first instinct was to charge a ki blast at her, but he couldn't move his arm. He looked to see the bone jutting out, blood spurting from his wounds. The pain made him wince.
Sotari…
For a moment, he welcomed death. The pain, both internal and external, was too much for him.
Soft as the morning light, yet vicious as a frigid night; Dashing these warm hearts, on frozen stones they do part; Sea of thousand her hands do shine, Damned to kill for all this time
So why not die?
His eyes closed, bracing for death. The rest of his body seemed to relax a moment, slowly preparing for its last moments. Perhaps Death wouldn't be so cruel…it would be quick.
*Tou-san!*
Piccolo raised his eyebrow ridges, but did not open his eyes. He thought he heard someone, calling to him…
"Are you coming home, Tou-san?"
A scene flickered before his eyes. The place was in a living room somewhere, in a building of some sort… The name Capsule Corp. popped into Piccolo's mind. He saw people gathering together, but their faces where blurred and voices rang like echoes. Their movement seemed slow and unsteady, like in a different time.
A small boy ran into the room, waving a toy. He seemed to the only one in 'real' time, weaving in and out the group of people. The boy finally collapsed onto a couch next to a girl younger than him. She laughed and motioned to the toy, which the boy gave to her. He smiled as he watched her play with it. Their matching pink eyes and brown hair mirrored someone in the crowd behind them…
A mystery long untold, hidden in a silken fold; Years buried in her eyes, the innocents do cry; Forced lonely in these hard times, the death-toll bells do chime
Someone had swiveled around, long shiny hair flying like a falling rainbow. Pink eyes watched the children at play, smiling gently. Her warm smile seemed to tear at Piccolo. A hot, wet feeling swelled in Piccolo's eyes, though hardly blurring the vision. He could feel the feeling spill like rivers down his dusty cheeks as he saw what he'd never see again…
Eyes wet with bloody tears, on the angel smears; A lone wolf strikes night severe, nothing to hold away the fears; Their cries do shake the night, I must be strong and fight…
A tall, handsome figure appeared behind the pink-eyed woman in the dream, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.
(Who are you?)
The taller figure whispered something witty in her ear, making her laugh. Her voice echoed like bells, the shadows of the people behind them seemed ripple from the sound. He laughed, too, his throaty voice catching the ears of the younger ones on the couch. Their small voices pierced the air curiously as they turned around to look at the two figures: "Tou-san…Kaa-san…Wait for us!"
(Piccolo…Sotari…Damned in their birth, in their marriage damned, and in the blood they shed in their own hands!)
Their surroundings seemed to fall apart and melt, like wet paint on canvas. The people's voices died away along with the furniture, giving in to an inky, eating blackness. Eventually, even the smiling couple, still laughing, faded away with the colors, and the children…Their pink eyes still shimmering with happiness, their little voices still repeating those words…"Tou-san…Kaa-san…Wait for us!" Till the invading blackness ate them, too…
(Who do you love?)
Piccolo thought he heard something snap, but he didn't feel it…He wasn't part of his body anymore. His soul had given up before he was actually dead. He felt himself become airy and cloud-like, and watched himself rise from his body, no longer concerned for the battered body and its murderess below. The 'cloud', however, felt a pang of guilt as it saw a lone boy with black hair and black eyes crying to the heavens…
Wait for me…
(A prince? A demon? Who do you love?)
"Sensei…" sniffled Gohan, wiping his eyes, "Sensei…"
I love a demon…my Piccolo…
~
Gohan felt himself break. All at once, his power erupted, sending sparks lightning power in random directions, and wherever a spark landed came small explosions till the ground was a field of craters. His hair became gold, his eyes the blue-green, and his muscles were like steel. He seemed to look taller now, and angrier than before. With a cry of fury, he charged once more at Sotari. She, watching him all the time, was caught slightly off-guard. Her price for her lack of attention was a neat clip to her jaw, which nearly dislocated it. However, the pain didn't matter much as she was forced to defend herself against a raging Super Saiyajin named Gohan.
Sometimes, she'd get in a few punches, but Gohan didn't look fazed. Instead, he'd react with even harder kicks and punches, and sometimes throwing in a few ki blasts. Sotari could do only so much from getting her ass kicked. It wasn't that she couldn't take on Gohan head-on, but that he was getting out of control. His concentration and control had been tossed aside for mean power and speed.
Gohan sent an enormous Kamehameha at her, sending her crashing to the ground, not far from where Yamcha and Kuririn were. They flew over closer, but not so close when Gohan flew to the ground and hovered over the crater Sotari had made. He saw her small form somewhere near the bottom, and he began charging up another blast. As it grew, his eyes narrowed.
Something had changed…he could feel something within suddenly turn weak. Like someone had pressed the 'off' button on his power. Gohan could feel his arms grow numb and heavy, like lead weights. His legs seemed to turn to water, and his vision seemed to blur, while his eyes grew droopy. It also affected his stomach, which felt like he had swallowed a boulder. Gohan winced.
"Not now…Not when I'm this close…"
He stopped charging his attack and groaned. It was useless. Gohan could feel the power draining from him, everything turning to normal. He could even feel his hair and his eyes change back. His body started to ache horribly, like he had exercised too much, and even more pain shot from his stomach, sending Gohan into pure agony. He could feel himself start to falter in his hovering, but he wouldn't let himself.
"Damn…What…"
Gohan groaned again. He could feel himself getting drowsier and getting sicker by the second. His eyelids threatened to close, sending him into a dreamless, heavy sleep.
"I can't…Piccolo…"
Kuririn shouted from below: "Gohan!! What's the matter!? You all right!?"
Only a groan answered Kuririn. He started to fly upwards to help him…
"GOHAN!!"
His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as a HUGE beam of ki charged and swallowed up Gohan before his very eyes. Fat, purple, and crackling, the beam didn't falter nor slow its power until it was well into the sky. As it finally dissipated, Kuririn could only stare at Gohan's condition. Gohan had taken the blast head-on, only protecting himself with his arms covering his head. Not only was his clothing torn to shreds, but some of his skin as well. The smell of singed flesh even reached Yamcha's nose, which made his eyes water slightly. Kuririn shivered slightly at the sight of the raw skin.
Gohan lowered his arms, slowly, painfully, and cautiously. He turned his head in the same manner, lest he make the blood from his face lacerations flow more freely. His look was dazed and confused, and his eyes clouded with stupefied astonishment.
"Wha…" he said incredulously, "Wha just happened…That…that…"
He looked down towards the crater, as did Kuririn and Yamcha…Not a soul stirred. Gohan's mouth fell open, but immediately snapped shut again as he felt a fist ram under his chin. The next half-second, pain ignited in his stomach again, then his sternum… Gohan was helpless to this blur that was attacking him now, but he knew Sotari would take every advantage she could get.
Kuririn was practically frozen where he hovered now. He couldn't believe was happening. One moment, Sotari was down on the ground, and now, it looked like it was just the other way around. Gohan was being blasted into a crater of his own, near Yamcha. Yamcha himself flew upwards, eager to get out of the way, and halted near Kuririn.
"What do we do!?" he shouted at Kuririn, "What do we do!?"
His friend was silent. Yamcha was desperate, and was about to grab Kuririn to shake some sense into him when Kuririn finally said something:
"Get help."
Yamcha was quick to that command as he put on his full speed towards the direction of the androids and the others. After he left, Kuririn resumed watching Sotari and Gohan. He himself wished that he had left with Yamcha, but he knew better than to leave Gohan alone by himself. Though he was no match against Sotari, he wanted to help. Kuririn bit his lip. The two were down on the ground now, and Sotari's back was to him. Gohan was facing him and far away, but Kuririn knew what was on his mind.
The bald monk breathed in a deep breath and raised his hands in the air. He had already started to clear the cloud in his mind to concentrate. The yellow-gold energy formed in his hands, and started to spin in a rapid circle. He'd had to be careful with this one…no telling what would happen.
~
Gohan glared at Sotari, though it hurt his face. Here he was, lying on the ground, weak, defenseless, and ready to die. Sotari didn't smirk, nor laugh at his condition, but just looked at him. She was more than ready to kill Gohan. Her hands were splayed, an energy ball already forming in her hands. The purple-black ki that surrounded her flared slightly and her eyes were flashing white. When Gohan saw this, he tried to move, but the warm gushes he felt stopped him…and her tail. He felt its pointed end against his arm, poking at him. Gohan moved his arm, not daring to risk being punctured by it; he had enough injuries as is.
He didn't take his eyes off her tail, though. Before today, it had been the soft, muscular, silky kind of the Saiyajin race. This lizard-type looked leathery and tough at a glance, and also strange with the black spotted pattern. The pointed thing at the end was especially peculiar. Sotari saw him looking at her tail. It went from near Gohan's arm to her side. Her flame-like ki drew back a little and her eyes stopping flashing.
"You know what this thing does, don't you?" she asked him.
The other shook his head. She nodded, and the tail shot into Gohan's arm. The siphon pierced his skin like a hypodermic, but it stung worse than one. Gohan winced as he felt a contraction movement from the tail. His eyes widened like plates as he saw what was happening. He could even feel the inside of his arms being sucked into her tail. Disgusted and horrified, he quickly pulled his arms away from it and held his hand over the wound. It bled a little, and Gohan scowled at Sotari again. The tip of her tail dripped blood, and it twitched a little, as if it wanted more blood.
Sotari looked at her tail and then at Gohan.
"I don't suppose you want to die by me absorbing you," she said simply, cradling the purple ball still in her hand.
Gohan shook his head. As much as he hated knowing that his death was going to be painful, he preferred a quick explosion rather than the slowing sucking of The Tail. Sotari moved her hands in front of her again, once again preparing to kill Gohan. The other closed his eyes and breathed, unusually calm.
A whistling sound reached his ear. Gohan cocked an eyebrow. The whistle sounded familiar…what was it? Where was it coming from? Dare he open his eyes? He felt a voice inside tell him not to. However, curious as he was, Gohan opened his eyes. Sotari was still standing in front of him still, but something was different. The purple energy ball, of course, was still in her hands, just about finished forming. But the whistling was still there. Gohan's eyes shifted towards the sound. There was something glittering in the distance…what was it? He squinted, trying to make out the thing. It seemed to be coming closer…closer. The thing seemed to be at a rapid speed, becoming bigger and bigger. But what was it? Sotari didn't seemed to notice it.
Maybe a glare from the sun? Gohan thought, but shrugged that idea away, Couldn't be.
The whistling grew louder, and it finally irritated Sotari enough to look over her left shoulder. She, too, wondered what the gold-thing was, and actually stopped charging her own attack for a quick glimpse…
In the next moment, she hardly knew what happened. She could feel herself scream as pain shot up her arms and tail. Her eyes saw blood splattering on Gohan…not his, but her own. Her eyes caught the sight of flesh landing in bloody grass. She could feel the rest of herself fall hard on her butt in the grass and collapse on her back. Her arms fell on her sides…but her hands?
Sotari held her handless arms above her, stunned. They had been sliced neatly below the elbows; even the bone didn't jut out. Her eyes widened as she watched the dark blood spurt like fountains, soaking through her clothes. The agony rippled up her arms and tail, leaving Sotari to stifle another scream. Her tail had also been severed off; just the siphon part, but just as tormenting. She winced as blood spouted from her tail, wetting the dusty dirt in the crater. Sotari let what was left of her arms fall to her sides again, letting the suffering overtake her.
It overwhelmed her body and her brain. Voices sounded distant and forlorn, and she could only assume that they were Gohan and Kuririn's. She wanted to faint away and block out this torture, but her stubborn body wouldn't let her. Instead, she stayed awake in wide-eyed, white horror as she felt the red, warm liquid bleed away.
~
Yamcha came to a halt when he heard the scream. Paranoid, he looked over his shoulder. Nothing.
"What…?" he started to say, then shook his head, "Gotta get help…"
He started flying again, faster than before. Even though the curiosity clawed at him, he didn't turn back, afraid of what he might see. It wasn't long until he was where the androids and the others were. The sight that greeted him was neither hopeful or unfavorable. Tien and Chiatzu were helping the purple-haired man to fight Juuhachi-gou, who was trying to help Juuanna-gou, who was trying to ward off the two other strangers (both had transformed into Super Saiyajins). Yamcha flew down closer and yelled out to Tien and Chiatzu:
"Tien! Chiatzu! Gohan and Kuririn need help!"
Tien looked up and saw Yamcha, as did Chiatzu. They hesitated for a moment, but the purple-haired man nodded to them for the go-ahead.
"We'll be back at the meeting place," called out Tien as he, Yamcha, and Chiatzu took off.
Juuhachi-gou saw them fly off and smirked at Trunks.
"Your friends not brave enough?" she taunted.
"No," Trunks argued, "I don't know why or where they're going, but…"
"They're cowards," she interrupted.
"That's not true."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is…"
*POW!*
"OW!!"
Trunks fell to the ground, holding his face. Juuhachi-gou leaned forward and grabbed the back of his neck and hoisted him a little off the ground. The other started to struggle, but a firm squeeze of his neck made him stop.
"You know," said Juuhachi-gou, smiling at Trunks, "I could just break your neck right now…It'd only take a second."
He didn't say anything.
"Then you wouldn't be around to bother my brother and me. Your friends wouldn't be much, either."
Juuhachi-gou leaned closer to his face.
"You're annoying and stupid, you know that? Not to mention stubborn… But you're also cute…"
She kissed him. Then she knocked him out. As he fell, she smiled again slightly.
"Onae-san!" yelled Juuanna-gou.
Her gaze still lingered on Trunks' face.
Bakayarou…Wait for me…
Within a few minutes, she and Juuanna-gou had beaten the two other Saiyajins. The three unconscious strangers lay on the ground. Juuanna-gou spat near the brown-haired one.
"Stupid bakas," he muttered, raising his hand to form an energy ball, "I'll…"
Juuhachi-gou started flying again.
"C'mon," she said little gruffly, "We'd better go."
Juuanna-gou looked at her, surprised.
"Onae-san? But…"
"I need new clothes."
"Why…"
"LET'S GO."
Reluctantly, Juuanna-gou followed his sister, muttering. Once again, the twins were on their search for Son Goku.
~
Gohan held his stomach, again, and grunted. He was doing all he could to keep himself from throwing up again. Kuririn knelt beside him and dabbed Gohan's face with a wet rag he had torn from his pants leg. The two fighters were on a ledge, in a small cave. They weren't too far from where Sotari still lay in her agony. Neither wanted to help her. Kuririn's concern was Gohan, though the thought of Sotari still alive nagged him.
"Ouch!" said Gohan, wincing as the rag touched a cut on his forehead.
"Sorry," said Kuririn a little absent-mindedly.
"Yamcha back yet?" asked Gohan.
"No, I don't think so…"
Kuririn looked out of the cave again, hoping to see the familiar figure. He didn't.
"We're going to need some help," he muttered, "Sotari's still alive…"
"Can't we just kill her now?"
"That disc of mine took a lot of energy, Gohan. I barely had enough to carry you to this cave. And you…"
"But we should!" objected Gohan, "She's just lying out there. She can still kill us!"
"Not unless she either dies or finds us first."
Gohan was silent for a moment.
"Good point," he said, "And with all that bleeding she's done…"
Kuririn nodded.
"It's assured."
The two were quiet for another minute.
"Have you still got the senzous?" Gohan asked.
Kuririn raised his eyebrows. His hand went to his belt and felt the reassuring leather bag of beans.
"I forgot about these!" he exclaimed.
His hand reached into the bag for two beans. He popped one in Gohan's mouth, then his own. In less than a minute, the two were up to full power again. Though Gohan still bore his injuries, he felt well enough to fight again. He stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave, gazing at the figure lying in the crater below. She didn't seem to be moving, but Gohan could tell, even from this distance, that she was still alive. Gohan motioned to Kuririn.
"Let's go."
Kuririn suddenly blocked him.
"Kuririn?" Gohan said, puzzled, "What's…"
The other motioned him to be quiet. He pointed towards the ground. Gohan looked over Kuririn's shoulder, and whatever sight greeted his eyes made his blood run cold.
~
Sotari groaned and turned over on her side, as much as it hurt to move. It didn't matter that she caused herself to bleed more…she was going to die anyway. She had heard (and sensed) Gohan and Kuririn leave for that cave. Even at this moment, she could hear them talking, as far as they were. They wanted to kill her, no doubt, but were too weak to do it. When they finally discovered the bag of senzou, she closed her eyes.
Now was the end…
Sotari opened her eyes. What was that? She could hear something moving, behind her. Despite all pains, Sotari struggled to sit up. More blood gushed from her arms and tail, making Sotari wince. Groaning, she fell back again.
"Why can't I just die?" she asked no one, "Can't I just leave?"
She lay there for a moment, wallowing her own pain. Her mind was so clouded that she didn't hear footsteps coming to her. It wasn't until Sotari felt arms lift her up that she realized that she wasn't alone. There was no point in struggling, though. It was probably Gohan and Kuririn, or the others, coming to end her life. She closed her eyes more tightly, prepared for the fatal blow.
"You're here, aren't you," she told them, "To kill me…"
Instead of the angry accusations, she heard someone giggle. Baffled, Sotari opened her eyes again to find her twin smiling at her. Sotari blinked. Twin!?
No, it was a mistake… She was much younger than Sotari, sixteen at least. The girl had medium brown hair with the tips curled at the end. Her attire had a sense of roughness, with the torn up pair of tight jean capris and the small green tank top. She carried a long sword and two guns: one strapped to her thigh, the other tucked in her pants. The eyes were even different: sparkly, green, and lively, with a spark of mischief and recklessness.
She looked like me before…
"Hey, Sotari," giggled the girl, "Looks like you've lost something…"
Sotari scowled at her.
"Shippo," ordered a voice to the left of Sotari, "Be serious, can't you? She's lost a lot of blood."
Sotari looked to her left to see woman holding her up. She was around a little older than Sotari. There was no mistaking her for Sotari's twin either. She had long black hair that was tightly pulled back in a neat bun, secured with a decorative chopstick and by a white bandanna tied in the front. Her kimono was long and white, the length reaching down to her ankles over her sandals. There were golden bracelets that covered her wrists, inscribed with patterns. Even the sash that was tied around her waist was gold-colored, as were the edges of the sleeves. A long cape was draped around her shoulders, and a sword was strapped to her side. Her dark eyes looked kind, but also ominous and portrayed a dangerous side to her.
"Who are you?" Sotari managed to whisper.
The black-eyed woman reached to her side for a bottle. Uncapping it, she held it to Sotari's mouth and told her to drink it. When Sotari was finished, she tossed the bottle aside, then looked at Sotari with a bewildered face.
"You don't know?" she asked her, "About what you can do?"
"Obviously," replied Sotari, coldly, her voice growing stronger, "What can I do that I don't know?"
"We'd better explain things, Hidari," said someone on Sotari's right.
Sotari turned her head to see yet another girl, who was probably the one closest to looking like Sotari. In fact, she reminded Sotari of when she herself was about seventeen or eighteen. Her hair was the same brown shade Sotari's had been (before T.L.K.L.N.G. turned it blonde) and she wore the same, sad look of melancholy Sotari was so used to showing. The outfit shocked Sotari to see that she wore similar, light blue jean capris and the faded pink tube top. Was that the same hairstyle, too? Tied back and twisted up, so that the loose ends fanned out? And the two loose bangs in front? Sotari could've sworn she had been dreaming.
The woman called Hidari looked at her and nodded.
"Yes, Migino, but we'd better hurry…" she said, then to Sotari, "Listen to me, or you'll die."
"What…" began Sotari, but the girl called Migino shook her head at her.
"You are familiar with Piccolo's regeneration abilities?" asked Hidari.
"I am…somewhat."
"Just concentrate on where you lost your limbs…it'll come to you."
Sotari closed her eyes, feeling extremely stupid. Her muscles tensed, concentrating. After a few moments, she could feel the limbs begin to emerge from her arms and tail. It felt uncomfortable and strange, like this wasn't normal (which it wasn't). She didn't even know she had this ability, which made her look even more stupid. Sotari opened her eyes to see a wet mass of pale flesh forming from her arm stumps. It stretched and wiggled, which disgusted Sotari as the end of it tensed and grew fingers. The new arms stopped writhing when she felt her new arm bones grow from the ends of her old ones.
Does---Did---Piccolo always feel this way? She wondered.
The same happened with her tail, and Hidari nodded at Sotari in approval. She and Migino released Sotari, who stood up and examined her new hands and tail. They looked and felt like the old ones…except for maybe the wetness. However, even the wetness was gone when her new skin dried. Her head felt a little dizzy, but at least she was alive.
"Feeling better?" asked Migino.
"Yeah…" replied Sotari, still amazed and awed at her newly discovered ability, "I never knew I could do this…"
"It's pretty handy, isn't it?" chuckled Shippo.
"Now, can you tell me who…" Sotari began.
"…We are?" finished Hidari, "More than happy to…"
She glanced over her shoulder as Yamcha, Tien, and Chiatzu landed on the ground, not far from them.
"…Later…"
~
"Sotari's got more allies!?" Gohan yelled at Kuririn, "We've already got two androids and Sotari, and now those three…!"
"Gohan! Calm down!" Kuririn grabbed Gohan's shoulders, "It's all right!"
"I nearly got killed by Sotari! If I can't even beat her, what about those other three!?"
Kuririn fell silent.
"Good point…"
"We've got to warn the others!"
Gohan started past Kuririn, but stopped again at the entrance. Kuririn ran up beside him and saw as Yamcha, Tien, and Chiatzu took up their fighting stances.
"Oh no…"
"We should…" started Gohan, but Kuririn held him back.
"We can't," Kuririn protested, "We'll be killed!"
"So will they!"
"So will we!"
"We've have to do something, Kuririn!"
"…No, I can't."
"If you can't, then I will!"
Gohan elbowed Kuririn and flew down towards the fight.
"Gohan! No!"
Kuririn flew in front of Gohan, his arms spread out.
"You can't die now, Gohan! Yamcha, Tien, Chiatzu…they can take care of themselves!"
"What's the matter with Kuririn!? Why won't you let me!? Aren't they your friends?"
"They ARE my friends, but I promised Goku a long time ago I'd protect you…"
"I can take care of myself!"
Gohan gave Kuririn a shove and flew down towards the fight, abandoning Kuririn to his own guilty thoughts.
~
Hidari and Shippo exchanged bored expressions as they saw Yamcha, Tien, and Chiatzu take up their stances. Migino looked away, as if she couldn't bear to see the inevitable fight between them.
"Where's Kuririn and Gohan?" asked Yamcha, directing his question at Sotari.
"I don't know," lied Sotari, looking at towards the cave, "Get lost."
"Not until I see you dead, jinounzingen."
Sotari glared at him. He knew that she resented the term.
"Who are they," Tien nodded towards the three other girls, "Other cyborgs?"
"Not really," said Hidari, her hand on her sword hilt, "But we're against anyone who dares oppose her."
"We'll see how well you girls do against us guys," said Chiatzu.
"Demented clown," taunted Shippo, "You'll wish you were a girl when we're done."
"Unless he already is," continued Hidari, smirking.
At that point, Chiatzu blew up. He charged towards Hidari first, and she reacted. Hot-white ki suddenly shot out from her, forming a shield, which her attacker bounced off with a scream. Chiatzu landed hard on the ground, and the burns the shield had done to Chiatzu's skin startled even Sotari. However, Chiatzu charged at Hidari again, who drew her sword this time, and leapt high in the air. As she started falling to Earth, sword held in front of her, Chiatzu made an energy orb and released it. Smirking, Hidari split the ball in halves. Panicked, Chiatzu made a step to run as Hidari descended upon him. A flash of light caught the sword blade as Hidari swung at Chiatzu. She leapt from him and landed in a crouching position a few feet away. He didn't move. Tien started forward, but it was too late. Chiatzu fell on the ground, his eyes frozen in their wide-eyed terror. A long, clean slash was across his face, nearly splitting it in half. The bloody hole in the back told the rest.
His friend Tien was crushed. Gripping his fists, tears streaming from his eyes, he gritted his teeth, and glowered at Hidari with a look of pure hatred on his face.
"You bitch…"
Hidari smirked. She drew her sword again and wiped its bloody blade on the green grass.
"Your demented clown friend was no match."
"I'll make you pay for what you've done…"
Tien's muscles tensed, his anger increased as he began powering up an energy attack. Hidari watched with some interest, but continued to clean her sword. Tien fired a warning shot near her feet, which nearly singed her dress. She cast an annoyed look at him, but made no advance. It was when she turned to walk away that Tien decided to attack. With a cry, he threw the energy ball at Hidari, who disappeared in a flash. The ball flew through empty space towards the direction of Shippo. At the speed of a lightning flash, Shippo drew one of her guns and fired. Unlike the ordinary gun bullet, it pierced the center of the orb, causing it to erupt prematurely before it even reached a reasonable distance from Tien. Tien stood, thunderstruck at the extraordinary reflexes of this girl. She smiled sweetly at him as she blew the smoke rising from her gun barrel away. Then she raised the gun again, aiming it at Tien's head. With a grin, she shot once more, and the ground soon ran red with Tien's blood. Shippo put the gun back in her holster, patting it with her hand like the 'automatic sword' was a lucky charm. She waved nonchalantly towards Yamcha, the remaining fighter of the lot.
"Migino!" she called in a silly high voice, "You care…?"
"No," replied Migino quickly.
Shippo raised an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
Migino turned half a step. Yamcha sighed with relief. Sotari looked at Yamcha then at the others. Hidari seemed to be following Migino, with a slightly more reluctant Shippo in suit. She threw a glare at Yamcha.
"We'll be back, human…"
Sotari took another step. The questions in her head were almost making her dizzy. Who were they, really? Why were they here? And why did they help her? She was so distracted that she didn't hear Gohan firing a huge Kamehameha at her head. She didn't hear Kuririn throw another disc at her. Sotari should've been dead…It was Migino who reacted first. With only the keenest hearing, she had even heard Gohan's fingers twitching as he gathered energy for the blast. It was she who had heard Kuririn clearing his mind.
Migino whirled around and leapt forward, shoving Sotari out of the way. Sotari hit the ground hard as Migino used it as footing. She jumped high in the air, the wind rushing through her hair. Gohan didn't have time to react as she suddenly halted in front of him and smashed the side of his face with her fist, following with the other fist. Gohan's howls of pain permitted her to move onto Kuririn, who was too slow blocking a lightning-blue beam from her hand. Kuririn and Gohan fell to Earth, landing not too far from Yamcha, who, in a burst of courage, took to the air to take his chances. He fired a golden beam from his cupped hands.
However, his chances of winning were nonexistent. Migino easily swept away the attack with a brush of her hand. Yamcha created his famous tracking disc and released it towards Migino. She ducked, the disc flew above her, but started circling back to her like a boomerang. The girl flew backwards, facing the disk and her back to Yamcha. Taking his chance, Yamcha launched a small Kamehameha from his hands. The back of her neck grew hot as the beam came nearer and flashing golden disk. Last second, she flipped up, and the two forces collided. Blinded by the flash, Yamcha covered his eyes…
They never opened.
~
Juuhachi-gou wrinkled her nose as she stepped into the dirty shop. A little bell attached to the door rang and a girl with dyed black hair and nose rings came out from the back of the store. Her skin was painted a deathly white, her lips were thin like lines and colorless and her stature was tall with a slightly plump build. She had heavy makeup on her face and her ears seemed to have disappeared altogether from the number of earrings she had. Her eyebrows her missing, too, but the girl seemed to have made up for them by exposing her navel (also pierced). The salesgirl seemed more like a prisoner with all the chains she wore and the strip of cloth that was supposed to be a shirt didn't flatter her either. She looked Juuhachi-gou up and down, as if disgusted.
"Ugh, what happened to you?" she said, chewing her gum like a demented cow, "That outfit of yours… Were you, like, in a…whatever, what do ya want, and make it quick, cause it's almost my break."
Juuhachi-gou narrowed her eyes. She was on the verge of punching this girl's face in, but she cast a careless glance on the clothing offered. Most of it was cheap, most likely to fall apart during a fight…hardly durable. The cheap, ironed-on designs and logos did not to any positive advertising, either. Juuhachi-gou had much better taste than that. If she had been a hooker, maybe, but Juuhachi-gou wasn't that type. Even she had been human that wouldn't have happened.
"I need clothes," said Juuhachi-gou simply and curtly, then added, "Non-sluttish."
The girl rolled her eyes.
"A girly-girl, huh? Don't you girlish types ever have any fun?"
"I wouldn't know. Just get me some clothes."
"I can't do little things like that, go get them yourself."
Juuhachi-gou tightened her fist. Her patience was running thin on this girl, and Juuanna-gou was waiting outside. She glared at the salesgirl.
"Fine."
~
Two minutes later, Juuhachi-gou walked out of the store wearing the most decent clothes she could find. Her new outfit was a red shirt with a v-cut, with the phrase "Devil Girl" written in purple glitter across the front, and a black picture of a cat with bat wings on the back. She kept her boots; the cheap, clunky ones in the shop wouldn't suit to fighting Goku. Somehow, she had managed to find a pair of plain jeans in the back of the store, so she wore these with her new shirt. However, she was disgusted with the cat on the back, so she wore her jean vest. Juuanna-gou looked at her new clothes with boredom.
"What took you so long?"
Juuhachi-gou scowled.
"The stupid salesgirl."
"Was she cute?"
"Why do you want to know? We don't have time for that! And, no, she looked like a whore."
Still scowling, Juuhachi-gou rose in the air.
"Don't expect me to come back here. The store's a shithole."
Juuanna-gou followed his sister until they were a reasonable distance above the store. With a single blast, the store blew up. Flaming clothes flew in the air and landed on the ground, burning. The smell of burning skin reached the twins, but they weren't bothered. They had already begun flying again.
~
"Ugh…"
Trunks' heavy eyelids opened. They felt like they were too swollen to open. And Trunk's head felt like lead. He groaned again as he tried to sit up. His body felt sore all over. That android---pretty as she was---had kicked his ass pretty hard. Trunks looked around. There was his father, not lying far from him. The man forced himself to crawl over to father to check for breathing. Yes, there was. His son couldn't help but smile a little. Even in unconsciousness, Vegeta still wore his famous scowl.
"Trunks…" a whisper reached Trunks' ear.
The Saiyajin looked to see one of his friends sit up, holding his head.
"What happened?" he groaned, "My head hurts like shit…"
"The androids are gone, it seems," replied Trunks, looking around, "They beat the crap out of us."
"Hmph."
The brown-haired man turned to his side and shook the other man's shoulder.
"Wake up, man, it's over."
With a groan, the fellow stirred. In a couple minutes, everyone was awake, save for Vegeta. The red-haired man looked at the sleeping Vegeta.
"Is it safe to wake him?"
Trunks shook his head.
"I wouldn't count on it."
The brown-haired man's eyes looked towards the direction of the androids.
"You think we should…"
"I wish," interrupted Trunks, a mental picture of Juuhachi-gou flashing in his mind, "But I think that we need some help…"
The redhead nodded in agreement. The other looked at Vegeta, then at Trunks, and nodded. After a few minutes, the three men managed to stand up. The brunette and the redhead carried Vegeta, with Trunks leading the way as the foursome slowly made their way to Capsule Corp.
~
Sotari stepped into the hot tub, not bothered by the intense heat of the water. She continued down the stone steps, and finally sat down on a seat, trying to relax a little. The smell of dried blood was disappearing, and finally was gone from the air altogether as Sotari began to wash. At first, her movements were slow, as the memories of the past hour were processed in her head. It wasn't until a knock on the door outside that made Sotari quicken her pace. Some time later, she drained the tub and walked outside with a towel wrapped around her. She didn't bother with her old clothes, which were bloodstained and still reeked of death.
The location of the house was near a large, beautiful lake that sparkled in the sunlight. A cold stream from the mountains filled the lake, which led to a river that snaked to the ocean. Surrounding the house and the lake was a widespread forest. The house, itself, was a decent size, painted in white with black and blue roof, shutters, etc. It had been built in a closely traditional manner, with sliding doors leading the outside and all sorts.
Sotari walked down the short hallway connecting the bathhouse to the rest of the house. She eventually reached the regular bathroom, and turned opened a door on her right. This opened up to the kitchen, and Sotari went left to the living room. Not bothering with the stairs, Sotari simply rose up towards the rafters and onto the balcony-like hallway overlooking the living room. The towel-clad Saiyajin hovered outside a door and went in.
This used to be Piccolo and Sotari's room. It was comfy, but not overly decorative. Hidari was sitting on the king-sized bed crossed-legged, her now clean sword beside her, and examining an exquisite jade scepter that Piccolo had given Sotari for a wedding present. Sotari couldn't help but wince a little at the sight of it. However, she did nothing to take it away from Hidari either. Instead, she looked over at what Shippo was doing. Shippo was sprawled on a red armless couch, apparently dozing. She still had a gun tucked in her pants, but her other weapons, the sword and the other gun, were under the couch. Migino was over by the window, looking outside with mournful eyes. There was no telling what was on her mind. Sotari sat on the bed, catching Hidari's notice.
"Well," she said, sniffing the air, "You certainly smell better."
Sotari gave her a small scowl, as was her old habit, and stood up again to go to the chest of drawers. Shippo opened an eye and smiled.
"We made quick work of those Z Senshi, didn't we?" she said.
Hidari nodded, a smile curling around her red lips.
"It was fun…I can't wait to rid of the rest."
"Especially Goku," Shippo added.
Shippo stretched out and yawned. By now, Sotari had selected a new outfit: a stretchy, long-sleeved shirt in the color navy blue and sleek black pants. Hidari shook her head.
"That outfit doesn't suit you," she said, "Your eyes don't match."
"I don't care," snapped Sotari, suddenly angry, "And anyway, who are you?"
She suddenly took off her shirt and started rummaging around for a different one. Hidari smirked.
"Now that we have time," she said, "We'll be more than happy to…"
"When Gero created you, he wanted to exploit your powers to their fullest potential. Not only did he give you the power to regenerate, but also many other things. Some of those powers you'll probably never use, but when he started thinking about adding regeneration, Gero thought it wouldn't be practical to just leave lost limbs. So he created us. Whatever limbs you lose, Sotari, even if it's as small as a fingertip, that lost part of you will grow into another you. That you will have the same qualities and powers as you yourself possess, but in a different form…forms that you could've been or will be."
"Myself, I was formed from your left hand. I am your mature, older side of yourself. Shippo is young, playful, and reckless, the person you could've been. She was formed from your tail. And Migino…she being the most like you, is your shadow. Being that you are right-handed, and that she came from your right hand, she is probably the most powerful of all of us. You've only lost three parts of you, Sotari, but whatever else you lose…"
Hidari paused.
"…Will become you."
Sotari was quiet for a moment, taking it in. A little shocked, she was, but not too surprised. She was usually awake during the painful procedures Gero put her through to make her this way. Who knew what chemicals he had injected in her... The mutated Saiyajin looked at her new hands. What other forms of Sotari were there? Were they really her? She looked at Migino. For a moment, Sotari also wondered if any of them were an exact copy of herself or copied each other. Or was it just these three? Sotari didn't feel much like slicing her arm off again to find out. Hidari, watching her, held out her left arm in front of her.
"Take a look," she said.
Curious, Sotari pulled back the sleeve. Any disbelief she might've had before was gone as Sotari inspected the woman's arm. Her hand was slightly tanner than the rest of her, whereas the rest of her was paler. Since hands don't naturally tan, Sotari knew she was telling the truth, especially when the "tan line" was were her left hand had been cut. In turn, she checked Migino's right. It was the same as Hidari's. Tan hand, but everything else pale. When it was Shippo's turn, Shippo smiled and a tail suddenly sprouted from the seat of her pants. It was skinny and leathery, much like the one Sotari had. The only difference was that the part of the tail that had been Sotari's was purple and the rest of the tail (that was Shippo's) was pink.
Satisfied, Sotari snatched a magenta-colored from the floor and put it on. She looked to Hidari for approval. Again, the part-Sotari shook her head.
"It doesn't match your eyes."
~
Gohan lifted his head. The first sound that came out of his mouth was "Uuuhhh…" That was how much his head hurt. He had no need to tell what the warm gush on his forehead also meant. The boy looked over to Kuririn, who was still unconscious. At least he was alive. Gohan reached for the bag of senzou and ate one. Immediately, he felt better, though the wounds didn't go away. He'd have to wait until they reach Capsule Corp. Reaching into the bag again, Gohan drew another bean and put it in Kuririn's mouth. In three seconds, Kuririn was awake and sitting up, looking around him.
"Where are they!?" he shouted, "Where's Yamcha? Where's…"
"Kuririn! Calm down!" said Gohan, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "They're gone."
Kuririn relaxed slightly, but he was still tense. His eyes suddenly grew sad.
"Tien and Chiatzu…"
His friend lowered his head.
"They never stood a chance…"
The two were silent for a moment, grieving. Gohan lifted his head.
"There's not much time, Kuririn. We've got to get back to Capsule Corp. We'll take their bodies with us…We can go to Namek and wish them back later."
The bald monk nodded. The two stood up and walked over to Tien's body. Kuririn lifted it up and threw it over his shoulder. Cold blood still came from Tien's head, unnerving Kuririn. Gohan took Chiatzu, and as the two men were about to leave, Gohan suddenly dropped Chiatzu. Kuririn raised an eyebrow, seeing the color drain from Gohan's face.
"What? What is it, Gohan?"
Shaking, Gohan pointed with white fingers. Kuririn looked…and froze. Not too far away was the headless corpse of Yamcha. Holes of the unspeakable red horror were shown all over his body, all himself bathed in red. Someone…someone mad and heartless…had stabbed Yamcha's body over and over, all in different places. Neither fighter had the courage to examine the body closer, though they would've found it that the holes had bored clear through the flesh, not puncturing, like a knife would. Even Yamcha's head, just a few feet from the bloody corpse, had a hole in the forehead. How fortunate his eyes were closed, or Gohan and Kuririn would've fainted right there. Not that they were close to it: they both felt a wave of nausea ripple over them. Kuririn looked away as Gohan fell on his knees and threw up.
It was good time before either left the horrid scene, leaving Yamcha's pitiful death behind. Neither could bear to carry it to show to the rest. Not when they knew curious children would be there to watch. Gohan himself was almost eleven, and he still felt too young to deal with this. Even as he and Kuririn flew to Capsule Corp, Gohan could feel his childhood slipping away from him…
How happy he had been! Studying at home and cram school to become a scholar had been his and his mother's dream, now pushed further and further away as Gohan was forced to learn the ways of a warrior. Now he was stuck with it until who knew when. Maybe even until the end of his life. He felt like crying to his mother and the old need of her stroking his hair and wiping away his tears, telling him everything will be all right. Then, the next day, or maybe even later the same day, the nightmare would be over, and Gohan would be happy again. But those days had been long over, never to come back. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Somehow, even so young, Gohan felt like his life was going to end. How many more dead bodies would he see until then? How many more would he have to kill until then? How many tears would he shed until then?
~
Bulma sat at the window of baby Trunks' room, tapping her fingers on the windowsill, worried. It had been a while since she had seen everyone, and was extremely anxious to see them…alive. Especially Vegeta. She sighed and looked over at Trunks' crib. The Saiyajin halfling was sleeping peacefully, unaware of what dangers were going on. He was safe in his dreams. His mother wished it was the same for the Earth. Why was it constantly in trouble?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of wind outside. Bulma's heart leapt for a moment, thinking that Vegeta was home. She looked outside. It surprised her for a second that three strange men were carrying her husband to the front door. Who were they? Although Bulma almost never panicked, she nearly freaked out. What were they doing here? Were they going to demand something from her? Her ears could hear the doorbell ring.
Cautiously, Bulma made her way downstairs. No one else was home, her father on an inspection of his factories and her mother out visiting friends. Bulma gripped a baseball bat in her hand as she peeked out the peephole in the door. She nearly fell backwards as she saw the face that impatiently waiting outside. He looked like Vegeta! But those eyes… The brilliant scientist now used the bat to support herself. With a shaking hand, she opened the door. With a weak smile, she waved to her son.
"Hi Trunks…"
Trunks smiled awkwardly, now looking into the eyes of his mother, minus twenty years.
"Hi…Mom…"
~
Trunks, his friends, and Bulma were now gathered in the kitchen, drinking some green tea. Vegeta was sleeping on the couch, his armor removed and lying on the couch next to him. Extremely curious as how did a grown-up Trunks appeared on her doorstep, Bulma threw question after question at the poor boy, sometimes jumbling her question together. She vaguely remembered him from three years ago and asked him about that, too. After many cups of hot tea, Trunks and his friends had managed to tell the entire story, including that of their horrible future. Bulma was silent as they finished.
"So…that's the future, huh," she said quietly, "Is that going to be our future, too?"
"I don't think so," said the brunette before Trunks could reply, "Since we've traveled back in time to try and recreate the past, I think we created a whole different universe, because when we returned to the future, it was still the same."
"Then what's the future of this timeline?" asked Bulma.
The man was quiet for a moment.
"I don't know," he finally replied, "Everything's been thrown off track, and there's no telling what will happen. There are things that were supposed to happen aren't happening…"
"Like what?"
"Um…"
The redhead spoke: "My brother and I were supposed to be born a year ago."
Bulma raised an eyebrow.
"You've said you've only been here for a few hours. How could you…"
"There's a machine in the time machine that tells us what events happened in the time we are in. It contains the whole history of time up to our time. I checked it before we landed…"
He grew quiet.
"Who's your brother?" Bulma asked.
The man motioned to the brown-haired man next to him. At that moment, a knock was heard on the kitchen door. Trunks stood up and answered it. He came back, his face a little pale.
"It's Gohan and Kuririn…with Tien and Chiatzu."
Bulma rose.
"Tien and Chiatzu are dead," said Trunks, his voice shaking.
"The jinounzingen," Bulma asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
Trunks shook his head. The brothers' eyes widened.
"…By Sotari."
Gohan and Kuririn walked on, their clothes ripped and smelling of Tien and Chiatzu's blood. Bulma took out two more mugs and poured them tea. They accepted the drinks, but drank slowly as they related what happened. Dismay and horror filled the room as they told the details of how each warrior had died. Trunks gripped his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," he growled under his breath, "There was never a Sotari in our time…Never. Piccolo never had children, much less a wife. He never even looked at a woman twice."
"And there's no us in this timeline," added the redhead, reinforcing his earlier example.
"There's me, I know that much," said Trunks, "But of the others I don't know…"
Bulma looked at him.
"What others?"
The brothers and Trunks looked at each other. The brown-haired man shrugged his shoulders.
"Might as well…"
"In our time, everyone was there, except for the one you call 'Sotari' and her children. Kuririn's old girlfriend Marron and her husband Nappa had triplets," Trunks said, "Two of them are Basu and Pen, who are standing in this kitchen right now. The youngest, Denno, has stayed behind in the future with Yamcha and Yamako's daughter, Paiji, as are Tien and Lunch's twin girls, Toi and Akira, to protect Chi Chi, Bulma, and Lunch. All the other Z Senshi have died…"
Bulma swallowed hard.
"…Vegeta…?"
Trunks nodded, slowly.
"He was one of the last to die…"
Everyone was silent. After a few moments, Kuririn looked up from his cup of tea at the brothers.
"Which one of you is Basu?" he asked.
The brown-haired man raised his hand.
"That's me."
- "And I'm Pen," said the redhead.
- "Your father was NAPPA!?" Kuririn said incredulously.
- Pen nodded and Basu crossed his arms.
- "It's not something we're particularly proud of," said Basu a little crossly.
- "Having Marron for a mother…I don't blame you," remarked Kuririn, thinking about last week when Marron had dumped him.
"Anyway, we should get to business," Bulma said suddenly, "First, someone should wake up Vegeta."
Everyone looked at each other nervously. Bulma sighed with exasperation and threw up her hands.
"Fine. I'll do it."
Bulma disappeared into the living room. Two seconds later, a small yell came. Then Vegeta shouting: "WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY!?!?!?" Then Bulma shouting back: "IT'S ALL RIGHT, VEGETA!!! STOP IT!!!" There were sounds of scuffling, then something being dragged across the floor. The blue-haired Bulma came puffing back into the kitchen, pulling Vegeta behind her. It was apparent she had to knock him over the head with the baseball bat Bulma had earlier. It had done the job all right, but Vegeta's skull was so thick that the bat had cracked in two. Everyone had to stifle their laughter at Vegeta getting his ass kicked twice by women in the same day.
"I don't envy the headache he'll have when he wakes up," chuckled Pen.
"Anyway!" interrupted Bulma, "He'll wake up eventually. Right now, we need to find a way to defeat Sotari and her new 'friends' AND kill the jinounzingen at the same time. Let me see…"
She took a moment to count heads.
"…There's seven of us, including Goku. By the way, does anyone know if Goku is all right?"
"I'm on it," said Gohan, reaching for the phone behind him.
"Okay," continued Bulma, "So half of you guys---Trunks, Basu and Vegeta---should go after the jinounzingen and destroy them. The rest of you---Kuririn, Goku (if he's okay), Gohan, and Pen go after Sotari and her minions."
Everyone agreed with Bulma's plan except Gohan. He was too busy trying to reassure his mother that he was all right and that none of his limbs were maimed or missing. Finally, Gohan managed to hang up and sigh with relief.
"Tou-san's all right," he said to the relief of the others, "He's back on his feet and on his way over here."
"That's great!" said Bulma, "Instant transmission?"
"No," replied Gohan, "Mom says that he's got something to do before he comes. He'll be here soon, though."
"That's still good. It'll give me a chance to get new clothes for all of you," said Bulma, "All of you stink!"
~
Meanwhile, in the Upper World, a long line of clouds pushed and shoved as they waited for their turn to be judged by the great King Enma. A small blue man with horns and glasses sighed and picked up a megaphone, shouting:
"ALL YOU GET BACK IN LINE!! NO CUTTING, NO SHOVING, NO PUSHING, NO HORSEPLAYING WHATSOEVER!!! ALL WILL GET A CHANCE TO SEE KING ENMA! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT BATHROOMS OR REFRESHMENTS, COME SEE ME!!"
The clouds were quiet---for a while. After only fifteen minutes, the squabbling started again. Only one cloud was silent. It was a slightly darker shade than the others, and it stayed where it was. There was no need for it to go anywhere. It watched in slight boredom as the quarrels came and went until it was finally its turn to go in. The giant red King Enma sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on his enormous desk. The number of deaths had been slow that day, so he was bored. However, he sat up as soon as the cloud arrived in the middle of the giant floor.
"Well, well, well," his deep voice echoing in the room, and rubbing his hands, "If it isn't Piccolo, the self-proclaimed, former Demon King."
He eyed Piccolo's soul with a glint of mischief.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, since we last met. You've done better than I expected."
King Enma picked up a folder marked 'Piccolo, Son of Piccolo Daimaoh'. Compared to what Piccolo used to have, this folder was much thinner. After flipping through a few papers, King Enma took out a sheet of paper, adjusted his glasses, and began to read aloud. It was written in a loose writing style called 'short speak' for recording the lives by all living beings in the universe since there were too many files to process each day. The page that King Enma pulled out read as follows, skimming over Piccolo's lifetime:
Daimaoh 461 Appear 753 5/7 753 5/9 Goku Gohan train 761 6 762 11/3 Nappa die---111 North Kai 762 12/18 762 12/24 2 Dragonballs Die 2 765 6/12 Sotari"Your life was pretty brief, eh, Piccolo?" chuckled King Enma as he put away the paper, "And your life taken by Sotari---ouch."
The cloud said nothing.
"Well," continued King Enma, reaching for one of the two enormous stamps on his desk while still scanning the rest of the file, "According to your record, you've saved the lives of Chikyuu quite a few times. That's including your exploits on Old Namek and that of the encounter with the demon sensei. It seems you've more than made up for your count of 111 people that I considered to be of your own doing, not your father's. However…"
His hand paused.
"…There's this incident written here…Damn, the print's so small…"
The King of the Dead picked up a magnifying glass and inspected the tiny font closely. The text read, or at least to King Enma: "…763 1/13 T.L.K.L.N.G.+Jito (assist.) Die Sotari+Piccolo…"
At that point, King Enma's face turned a dark purple. The cloud seemed to look up at the king for a moment, wondering what had happened. It didn't have to wait long for its answer. King Enma slammed his colossal hands on the desk, producing a rumbling noise equal to a stampede of elephants. He glared at the cloud; his face was livid.
"I MADE IT CLEAR, PICCOLO, THAT YOU WOULDN'T KILL ANY INNOCENT BEINGS AS OF NOVEMBER 3, ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO!!! KAMI HAD ASSURED ME THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE FROM YOUR FATHER'S WAYS!! YOU HAVE NOT KILLED PEOPLE…YOU HAVE KILLED A LOVE GODDESS AND HER ASSISTANT!!!!"
King Enma seized the piece of paper from the desk and jabbed it in front of the cloud. With a red finger, he poked at the betraying line on the paper.
"IT'S RIGHT THERE, BLACK AND WHITE, 'THE LITTLE KITTY LOVE NUT GODDESS AND HER ASSISTANT JITO WERE KILLED ON JANUARY 13 BY SOTARI AND PICCOLO THREE YEARS AGO!!!"
"But…" the cloud started, speaking for the first time.
"…AT THIS TIME, YOU, PICCOLO, THE FORMER DEMON KING OF CHIKYUU, ARE CONDEMNED TO HELL, BY THE CRIMES OF YOUR FATHER AND YOURSELF!!!!"
The enraged King of the Dead reached into a drawer of his desk. If the cloud could see what was in that drawer, it was a pile of stamps. Unlike the two blue and red stamps King Enma used regularly for sending people to Heaven and Hell, these were specially used to either everlasting damnation or eternal bliss. The one King Enma needed was near the bottom of the pile. His giant hand drew two stamps. They were distinctly different, in which the first one was a dark blood red with black ink. The other was made of pure ice that didn't melt and had ice for ink. For a split second, the King Enma was tempted to use the second one, but didn't. Somehow, as irate as he was, King Enma knew that Piccolo's crimes were almost nothing compared to those who deserved the ice stamp.
So, in a fit of half-kindness, he threw away the ice stamp back in the drawer. Then, with a purposeful strength, King Enma raised back his arm and stamped Piccolo's folder. He let the stamp sit on the folder for a second, making sure the entirety of the print was there, and pulled it away. The black ink shone in the glare of the overhead lights, then dried. King Enma couldn't help but grin a little. At least Kami wasn't there to barrage him to let Piccolo go to King Kai again or something.
"KAREE!!" shouted King Enma.
A small demon creature appeared in a puff of aqua smoke. Its skin was a dirty green with aqua claws and fins. The creature's red eyes glittered with delight as it spotted Piccolo's soul on the floor. King Enma nodded. In a flash, the creature had flown down to the cloud and taken hold of it with its claws. In another poof of smoke, both the lizard and the cloud disappeared. The King of the Dead sighed, picking up a book titled "Who's Who", and shouted towards the door "NEXT!"
~
The fighting quartet had departed from the house and was flying to the Kami House, where Sotari remembered Yamcha taking him. While they were passing over the various islands, they suddenly saw Goku flying in the opposite direction. It didn't appear that he noticed them, and they almost didn't see him either.
"Well," said Hidari, smiling at Goku below, "There he is."
"Let's get him!" said Shippo, eager to fight again.
She brandished her sword and began to fly down there when Sotari caught hold of her shoulder.
"Wait," she said.
"What?" asked an annoyed Shippo.
"Wait…Do you know where he's going?"
"…No. Why?"
"If he is going to where the others are," said Sotari, "Then there are the other Z Senshi…"
Hidari nodded in agreement.
"We shouldn't try to attack him now, Shippo," she said, keeping her voice low in case Goku sensed it, "Let's wait until he leads us to the others."
"Oh, but that's so simple," whined Shippo.
"Just listen to her," interrupted Migino, speaking for the first time in a long time, "The sooner we kill Goku, the less of a threat anyone else will be."
Shippo looked at her for a moment and fell silent. She nodded. So the foursome changed their direction, keeping a reasonable distance between them and Goku. Eventually, they saw Goku descend and land on an island. Curious, they pursued him; their minds puzzled by what might ensue from this venture. They managed to position themselves in a well-concealed, leafy area that had an excellent rear view of Goku, who was in a clearing. He seemed to be searching for something, sometimes on his knees and digging for uprooting a few plants. Shippo was acting up again, her small whines escalating into major complaints.
"His back is to us! Why don't we just attack him now? We can always find the others later!"
"Shut up, Shippo!" hissed Hidari, "He'll hear us!"
"I don't care," snapped Shippo, rising up from her kneeling position in the foliage, "I'm going!"
Her movements made a great deal of rustling noise, and Goku jerked his head back to see a young girl armed with two guns and a sword. Bewildered, but no threatened, Goku stood up, his eyes wide with curiosity. It was obvious he had no idea that anyone was there.
"It's your day to die, Goku," said Shippo, smirking at his surprised look.
She raised one of her guns, while gripping her sword tightly in the other hand. A bang echoed in the air, and Goku fell. Shippo's smirked grew wider, but suddenly disappeared as she saw Goku sit up, the bullet caught between his teeth.
"Damn!" she cursed.
Goku had been taller than she thought. It wasn't like her to miss her target's head, either. However, she brushed this misjudgment aside and started aiming again. Her aimed target had other plans. He succeeded in frustrating her to no end, teleporting from one place to another and to another.
Shippo's gun eventually ran out of bullets, so she had to waste the other one. She did not, however, toss the weapons aside. Instead, she'd put them back in her pants/holster and started charging at him with her sword. At that point, Goku stopped and stood, waiting for her. Shippo attacked him at every angle, which Goku evaded and dodged. Her anger eventually led to furious thrusts of her sword and fierce combinations of kicks and punches.
He sensed her irritated state and caught her foot. She twisted it out of his grasp and did a double kick with the same foot at Goku's stomach. Goku grunted, giving her the chance to kick his head, then grab his shoulders and knee his stomach. Up came blood from Goku's mouth, but he didn't stay weak for long. He came up again, grabbing her arm this time, and pulling her in for a punch in the face. A small shriek came from Shippo as she heard her nose break.
With a wild swing, she nearly cut Goku's head off with her sword, and would've if her eyes hadn't been closed in pain. At once, Goku disarmed her, throwing the potentially deadly weapon aside. Enraged, Shippo reared her head back and butted him in the chest, forcing him to let go of her arm. Goku leapt back and hurriedly plucked the sword from the ground and held it in front of Shippo's face.
"Who are you," he said, puffing a little, "Why are you trying to kill me?"
Shippo scowled at him.
"Answer me!" Goku ordered.
A cold feeling suddenly came from Goku's side. He felt a warmth gush from an open wound. The agony rushed through him, and he cried in pain. Goku knelt down, holding the wound, trying to stop the blood from escaping. Hidari removed her sword, smirking at Goku. The blade dripped with dark blood, staining the oily grass beneath them. Migino and Sotari weren't far behind, standing at a distance. Shippo looked down at Goku and kicked his face, breaking his nose.
"You dumb ass!" Shippo yelled at him, holding his head and kneeing his face some more, "You'll pay!"
More blood spurted from Goku's nose and mouth, sending waves of suffering over him. Shippo only looked on him in coldness.
"You haven't even started feeling pain," she told, then grabbed her fallen sword on the ground, "And now…"
"Shippo!"
"What?"
Shippo looked over to where Migino was. Sotari noticed Migino's eyes were watering a little.
"Stop it!" Migino shouted, "Don't!"
Only a dirty look answered her.
"He has to die!" Shippo proclaimed, and Hidari nodded in agreement, "It is our duty!"
"Duty?" Migino responded, her usually quiet voice becoming louder, "Duty? To whom?"
"To the memory of Dr. Gero and the Red Ribbon Army, who would've made the world ours! Goku was the one who ruined the perfect future!"
"That mission for a perfect future is OVER, Shippo, Hidari!"
"Yet Goku lives!"
For what little Sotari knew of her companions, she had never anticipated argument within the group. The things they were saying were beginning to confuse her, and she was beginning to wonder, for the first time, what this murder plot for Goku was really about. She did nothing to intervene. For a moment, Sotari thought if she was being a coward for not siding with anyone.
"What other futures might Goku ruin?" Shippo asked Migino, her eyes blazing, "What other terrible things might Goku bring upon this world?"
"He has done nothing but prevent corruption and death!" Migino replied, her eyes lit with a fire no one had seen before.
"He has brought death to those who oppose him!"
Migino's voice grew quiet, yet it was calm and unnerving for Shippo and Hidari to hear what came next: "And he has brought life and hope to the once dead, something that your beautiful future could've never done. There would be pain, suffering, and sorrow wandering the Earth, and the blood shed would only bring death to us all."
At last, there was the break. Shippo gripped her sword more tightly than ever, Hidari the same. Migino had no weapons, but merely tightened her fists and her scowl. However, before any blood could be done, Shippo and Hidari found themselves knocked down by two forces other than Sotari and Migino. Hidari could feel her sword being stolen, hearing it being thrown somewhere in the distance. Her comrade felt the sharp clip to her chin, causing her losing of her sword. The two didn't know what hit them until both fell to the ground. A moment later, they looked up, dazed.
A boy and girl, standing back to back, their arms crossed, looked down on the women with hard looks. The boy had black hair and dark eyes, wearing a blue sweatshirt and red shorts. His friend, the girl, had golden blonde hair and eyes of a deepest blue. She wore a purple tank top and tight-fitting jeans. They scattered, the boy fighting Hidari and the girl taking on Shippo.
Though Shippo and Hidari were built to be as powerful as Sotari, there began to show some certain differences between them and her. For one thing, Sotari almost never let humiliation get in the way of a fight, for she was a hard person to actually do so. The concentration and coolness Hidari and Shippo had so previously possessed had quite gone as their cheeks burned red with embarrassment. Half the time they were too busy wondering how they were too recover from this disgraceful ordeal, leaving many openings to the newcomers to take advantage of.
Secondly, as Sotari observed them, there were actually, in very minute forms, power differences. Perhaps they were supposed to grow as powerful as Sotari, but they didn't seem to have been born that way. As much as Hidari was skilled with a sword, she was quite helpless without it, and her dress kept getting in the way of her feet. All talents except agility were stripped from her from the time her sword had been tossed aside. However, even agility didn't help her much, for the boy was, if not more, faster. As for Shippo, she had developed her skills with her sword and guns so much that she could've made an art out of them. But in spending so much time and energy in these things, Shippo had sacrificed pure nerve and power, which made her quite powerless against the girl.
After a few minutes, Migino tugged on Sotari's arm.
"We go," she said simply, her voice as quiet as before, "It is too late for them…"
Sotari nodded silently, and the two left the grisly scene. Only Goku saw them leaving, but he did not have the energy to call to the others for support. Eventually, the fight was over, and Hidari and Shippo were taken prisoner. The boy and girl laid the two women side by side and hurried to Goku.
"Are you all right?" asked the boy, kneeling down by Goku.
Goku managed to crack a small smile and weakly make a thumbs-up sign.
"Good," said the boy, smiling in relief, "We thought we'd be too late."
He turned to the girl standing behind him. She nodded and dragged the two women over to Goku and the boy.
"Don't worry," reassured the boy to Goku, "We're on your side."
"I know…" Goku whispered, "There's a good ki around you two…"
"Can you still do your instant transmission?"
"…I think so…"
The boy took hold of Goku's wrist and the girl held onto the boy's shoulder while still gripping the rope she had tied to the prisoners' wrists. A second later, they were gone.
~