Disclaimer: DB/DBZ/DBGT belong to Toriyama and other rich Japanese guys, not me.
Chikyuu: Black Hole for Evil
Book One: Into the Rising Sun
Author: Cka3ka
Chapter 15: Second Contact
One week after the conference…
"KAME HA ME HAAAAA…" screamed Goten as he fired a massive beam at Eighteen. He and Trunks were battling for all they were worth in SSJ form against their blonde guardian. Unfortunately they weren't doing very well. Apparently her power up into her Perfect form had given her quite an edge over ordinary Super Saiya-jin.
Eighteen, who was locked in hand-to-hand combat with Trunks at the moment, felt the Ki blast heading towards her. Quickly turning, she batted the blast away into the shielded walls of the spaceship without any difficulty. Trunks tried to take advantage of the situation, but Eighteen recovered before he could land a blow. Frustrated, Goten screamed and powered up more and attacked Eighteen from behind. She quickly compensated her defensive style to fight off two people. With hands and feet blurring she twisted throwing an elbow into Goten's face knocking him to the ground. Flowing through, she kicked Trunks in the chest with a snap kick as she completed the twist. This sent him into the opposite wall.
The kids were irate now. For over a week Eighteen had brutalized them in extensive training, mostly one on one. This was only the second time they had gotten to fight her at the same time and they were determined to give what they got this time. Dodging to one side together they stretched their hands out, both of them summoned Ki and blasted it at Eighteen. This was something she had been expecting them to do. She had hoped they would try exactly what they had just done as she wanted to try a new skill of that she had acquired. Instead of dodging or creating a ki shield to protect herself, she simply dropped her arms to her sides. The boys and Krillan, who was in the room watching, gasped.
"Watch out Juuhachi-gou!" yelled Krillan. He didn't want to see his wife get hurt, so he couldn't help but yell.
Eighteen let her senses take over and the moment the Ki blast was about to hit her she threw both arms out to the side and brought up a force field in front of her. However, there was a significant difference between a normal shield and this one. This shield absorbed the power of the ki blast and funneled it into her, making her stronger and that was exactly what happened to Trunks and Goten's Ki blast. She felt a rush of power and opened her eyes.
"Why don't you boys try again," taunted Eighteen. She had really come to like the boys in the last week, but they were both very cocky. She intended to take them down a notch or two.
"THAT'S IT!" cried Goten, "I've had enough of this! Trunks its time to put an end to this!" He gave Trunks a meaningful look.
Trunks picked up on the meaning immediately. "That's right Juuhachi-san! We're going to be serious now. No more playing around."
"Right! We woulda beat you at that stupid tournament but we got disqualified," added Goten.
"Yeah, but we're going to win now," added Trunks in a cool confident voice.
"Spare me," came Eighteen's flippant reply in a bored tone.
This incensed the kids even more. After all weren't they the youngest Super Saiyens ever? The sons of the most powerful warriors in the universe? They spread evenly apart and began their dance.
"FUUUUUSION HA!" they cried as they ended their dance in a position where their upper bodies were bent sideways towards each other and their forefingers touched. In a blinding flash of light they disappeared. Instead of Trunks and Goten standing there, now there was Gotenks… SSJ3.
"Trouble for you now… facing a Super Saiya-jin Level Three. Hey, hey, this has gone on long enough, now Gotenks is going to beat you," declared the mixed voice of Gotenks. His long flowing golden hair poured over his shoulders. He wore a pair of white trousers with a green sash, and a black shirt with sleek orange lining.
Running her hand through her hair, Eighteen simply smirked, and dropped into fighting stance.
"Hey Gotenks is stronger than you now, and has better hair to," taunted Gotenks while mocking Eighteen's gesture by running his hand through his hair as well. Krillan nearly fell over with laughter, but caught himself when Eighteen glanced at him.
At Gotenks comment Eighteen attacked at full power, not holding back any longer. Gotenks of course matched her blow for blow and amazingly enough Eighteen in her perfect form was keeping up. Dodging back, Gotenks powered up a ki blast. Of course, Eighteen just brought up her barrier, absorbing it, and got even stronger.
"Hmm shoulda learned the first time," she mocked and drove a fist into Gotenks stomach, only to have him flip and kick her in the head, sending her across the room. Regaining balance, she was immediately set upon by Gotenks. In a flurry of exchanged punches and kicks, all of which were dodged by both sides, Eighteen finally found an opening and kneed Goten in the face. This stunned him and she kneed him again in the head, and then delivering a powerful roundhouse kick she sent him flying across the room. Giving him no time to react she blasted across the room in pursuit. However, Gotenks blinded by pain and lost in a haze of anger unleashed a powerful blast in retaliation. Not expecting such a maneuver, Eighteen was caught off guard and though she tried to dodge, it hit her in the upper right portion of her chest sending her crashing into the wall.
"Juuhachi!" cried Krillan as he tried to get up and go to his wife's side. Unfortunately for him the room was set at three hundred times gravity. For the two super saiya-jin and Eighteen it was intended to give them an extra push so that they would get a better workout. For Krillan it was a full time job to just stay moving. He had been in there already for three hours pushing himself, and was now way too weak to make it across the room. Luckily, he didn't need to. Amazingly, Eighteen got up, though her shirt was torn and her arm was hanging limply with blood gushing out of several cuts.
"Haha, Gotenks wins," sneered Gotenks, "Now you make Gotenks lunch." Looking at Eighteen, he was sure that she was in very poor shape and that she would call the match. His sneer faded away in moments as he saw her arm heal itself.
"I think you are the one about to lose," said Eighteen matter of factly. She phased out and appearing right behind Gotenks she slammed an elbow into the back of his head driving him into the ground. Before she could follow up with a stroke, she was interrupted.
"Everyone, you need to come to the control center, please," came Sixteen's accented voice over the intercom, "We are now approaching the planet Galicia."
At this, the fight stopped. Eighteen went over and shut off the gravity, and Krillan fell over exhausted. Gotenks had already split back into Trunks and Goten who were both pretty bruised up, but were already pestering Eighteen on when lunch was.
Eighteen's stoic demeanor finally cracked at the boys' antics and she ruffled the hair on both of their heads, and putting her arms around their shoulders she led them out.
"You guys did a good job today," she said with a hint of pride in her voice. The boys' happiness was infectious, and they helped fill a hole in her heart.
"Really? Wow Juuhachi thanks!" cried the boys happily laughing, and ecstatic from the praise.
Turning to her husband, she flashed him a smile. It was her special smile just for him. "Coming?" she asked.
"Yes dear," he replied, giving her a weak smile back. He went and hit the switch to shut the door to the gravity room. Sighing deeply, he hung his head dejectedly for a moment. Then shaking himself, he finally turned and went to follow after his wife and the boys.
Entering the control room, Eighteen and the others found Sixteen at the controls carefully examining the sensors.
"We are approaching the planet. Scanners indicate no major ki sources. The people there average a Ki of ten, with several instances of five hundred, and three two thousands. There technology is relatively advanced and they do possess beam weapons," summarized Sixteen. He was the ship engineer, navigator, and pilot. Due to the fact he needed little to no sleep he was ideal for the job. Also, since he could not grow stronger through training, there was no real point for him to spend time in the gravity room. On occasion he did take breaks to talk with the others and Eighteen had frequently come to the control room to talk to him about various topics.
"Trunks, Goten do either of you sense anything abnormal," asked Eighteen. Though she could sense raw ki, she wasn't very good at it unless it was almost on top of her. The boys and Krillen were much more adept at reading and hunting ki. She, on the other hand, would probably have to rely on Bulma's scouters.
"Nope," replied Goten.
"No, Juuhachi-san. We don't sense anything powerful down there."
"So basically we are running into three Vegeta's when he first came to Chikyuu and a couple of Nappa's. I think even I can handle that," put in Krillan.
"I still don't think we should take any chances. Why don't you boys go into the regeneration tank after lunch and make sure to get a good night's sleep. We can stay in high orbit until tomorrow morning, and after breakfast we'll go down to see what we can find," suggested Eighteen. It wasn't really a suggestion though, more an insinuated order.
The others quickly agreed and they broke for lunch. The boys, as usual, ate their multiple helpings. Krillan, however, picked at his food and in the end didn't eat much. This did not go unnoticed by his wife.
***
Later that night, Eighteen put her head on her husband's chest as she usually did before going to sleep. She loved the feel of his muscles, and could never understand why he was so ashamed of his looks. Yes, he was short, but he was one of the best-built men that lived on Chikyuu. Oh, he wasn't bulky like some of the other Z-fighters, but he was just as sleek, and toned as any of them. Not an ounce of fat from decades of training.
Listening to his breathing, she knew he was still awake and she knew that something was bothering him. He hadn't eaten much at lunch or dinner and that wasn't normal at all.
"Honey, what's wrong?" she asked.
There was no answer for a little bit.
"Nothing, dear. I'm just nervous about tomorrow."
Frowning, she knew he wasn't telling her the entire truth. He couldn't lie to her, not well at least. However, she wouldn't push him. He had never pushed her to open up, rather he had let her do it at her own pace. It was one of the things she loved the most about him. There was never any pressure on her, yet he was always there though to support her. He'd proven that to her so many times, even when it was not wanted.
She remembered when he had come with the little black box to turn her off. There was no reason for him not to destroy the box, yet he didn't. He wouldn't be the one to judge whether she live or die. She smiled as she recalled the memory. It was, perhaps, the first moment when her cold, uncaring heart, began to thaw.
Even now almost ten years later he proved it to her. When Bulma had announced that she was like Perfect Cell, she had seen the look in some of the eyes of the Z-fighters or their families, the human ones at least. She had been terrified that he would reject her that night and when she went to bed with him he would shrink away with revulsion. Yet, it didn't happen. He didn't even flinch at all, instead he held her as he did every night since they were married. Such a simple act, yet it made her feel so lucky that she had married such a loving man.
She just wrapped her arms around him and gave him a reassuring squeeze to let him know if he ever wanted to talk she would be there for him. With that, and secure in the knowledge that her husband loved her, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Krillan, on the other hand, stayed awake a while longer. He loved his wife dearly, and couldn't image life without her. Yet, he'd always been insecure, and today it had hit him hard. Remembering the scene in the gravity room he could only feel shame at how powerless he had been to help her. He couldn't have even moved to her side to see if she was hurt. Wasn't it his job to protect his family? Why was it her that got hurt when the bastard had kidnapped Marron? He knew there was little he could do about it, but it still made him feel pathetic that there was nothing he could do for his family, besides provide comic relief or something. Staring at the ceiling for another hour, Krillan finally fell asleep.
***
On the Planet Below…
The planet Galicia once had been a subject world under the rule of Freeza before Trunks had finally dispatched him. At first when the Cold Empire fell apart, Galicia had been able to establish itself as an independent planet. They were actually quite successful for a while, and had grown relatively powerful and wealthy. That had all changed a year ago when news arrived that the last of the Colds had come to claim Freeza's former empire.
"Prince Corfu, Prince Corfu" came the shout of the First General as he came running up to the prince.
The prince looked up to see his general hurrying to catch up to him. Prince Corfu was a tall man, and broad shouldered. He trained regularly and had been a warrior of repute. His power level was about 500 and that was a match for even an elite Saiya-jin. Dressed in the armor that characterized all of Freeza's troops in the past, he had teal hair with blue eyes. His skin was of a very light pink color, and growing out of his head was circular bone structure. It could have been a bone crown, but it was natural and it wrapped around his head from one ear around backwards to the other where it stopped.
"General Malta?" addressed the Prince towards the general.
"My Prince, you must evacuate immediately. Those new warriors that Chilla sent are already breaking through our last defenses. They are all as powerful as Dodoria was, and we have no hope of holding them back," said the General in a defeated, and nearly broken voice. They had fought valiantly, and had held off the first and second assaults that had come. However, Chilla had finally sent an elite squad and it was all over.
"I will not leave my people General, if we pool all our warriors and soldiers together we may be able to overwhelm them," said the prince coolly. He knew it was hopeless, but he would never allow his subordinates to see his fear, nor would he flee and leave his people behind.
"My Prince…" began the General, however he was interrupted as klaxons began blaring. They were under attack, and it was too late to evacuate the prince.
"Let us go fight the good fight," said the Prince. Turning, he ran down the hallway gathering troops as he went. General Malta stood for a second, he was proud to serve under such a man, and then he too ran after his prince ready to give his life.
***
Eighteen looked at herself in the mirror. She liked the way the blue jump suit matched her eyes and her blond hair. Yes, definitely blue over purple she thought. The suit fit snugly around her and left nothing to the imagination, every curve was visible. Idly, she thought if she should go surprise Krillan in the shower, but decided against it. You never know when the kids might come barging in she thought wryly to herself. Walking across the room she picked up a suit of Saiya-jin armor and pulled it over her head. Grabbing a brush, she slowly fixed her hair and finished up her preparation.
Walking out of her room, she noticed the kids had also dressed as she had bid them. Trunks and Goten were both in dark blue fighting suits with armor vests over them. Their tails were snugly wrapped around their waists.
Seeing her Goten asked, "Juuhachi-san, why do we have to wear these things? I rather wear my Gi."
"Goten, I thought I already explained this. These are the uniforms of what most fighters in this part of the galaxy wear. We want to give the right impression so that we can get what we want as quickly as possible," explained Eighteen.
"Yeah, Goten, maybe you should clean out your ears," teased Trunks.
"Oh yeah, well maybe I'll clean out YOUR ears," shot back Goten. He dropped into a fighting stance and was about to attack.
"You and what army?" sneered Trunks.
"STOP! There will be no fighting until after we get back from meeting with the leaders of the planet. You two will be on your BEST behavior today. If you don't you two will be spending the next WEEK in the regen tank, GOT THAT?" threatened Eighteen in a tone that reminded both Trunks and Goten of their mothers. Gulping, they shut up.
"We are beginning atmospheric entry," came Sixteen's voice over the intercom, "We will be landing in the palace courtyard in exactly fifteen minutes."
"KRILLAN!" yelled Eighteen.
"I'm here dear," he said from right behind her causing her to jump in surprise. She turned and saw him in the same armor that Vegeta had given him so long ago on Namek, of course modified by Bulma. His hair was slicked back giving him a darker, more rugged look and he had a cloak wrapped around him that was pinned by a circular orange broach that was outlined in black. Eighteen eyes twinkled. He really did cut a dashing figure in the uniform, especially now that he had hair.
"Woowwwww, Krillan-san," gawked Goten, "But I think you should get a uniform like my brother Gohan's."
Eighteen and Krillan nearly had seizures on the spot. Looking at Trunks for some for sort of commentary, they found him equally dumbfounded.
Juuroku-gou entered the room and they felt the ship slightly shudder as it settled onto the ground. Quickly Eighteen also grabbed a cloak and wrapped it around herself, pinning it with a broach that matched Krillan's.
As the hatch opened, they took a deep breath in anticipation of what they would meet.
***
Prince Corfu and his soldiers had fought valiantly. General Malta had already given his life in defense of his planet. He had gone forth and fought one of the more powerful warriors to buy time for the troops to organize a retreat into the palace itself.
Now, Chilla's troops poured into the palace grounds and, backed by the Elite Squad, they easily overran any resistance. Finally in the palace courtyard Corfu rallied his men for one last stand. Here they would die as heroes, though no one would be left to remember them. With apprehension, they watched as Chilla's soldiers poured into the compound and the Elite warriors appear.
However, just as the final battle was about to commence, fearful and confused cries came from both sides. Looking up at the sky they saw a disc shaped ship descending towards them. Chilla's soldiers stopped as they saw a Cold Flagship slowly land on the palace grounds.
"That's not Master Chilla's ship," said Playa to his sub-lieutenant, Ceedy. He was one of the elite soldiers that Chilla had sent to finish this campaign. He had rat like features and was of medium height.
"Could it be that King Cold is back?" replied Ceedy to his captain. Unlike his captain, he had orange skin with yellow hair and did not look anything like a rat, but more like a human.
"I'm not sure. TROOPS form up," he yelled at the weak cannon fodder soldiers that they had brought along with them, "Ceedy, Atrak, Kaset, and Rekord, you guys are with me." They needed to check this out and if it really was King Cold, then Chilla had to be informed.
On the other side of the courtyard, Prince Corfu also had made a decision. He knew that Chilla wanted them all dead, but if he could somehow persuade King Cold that they were worth something alive then he could spare most of his people.
"Tell everyone to put up their weapons," ordered the Prince to his new second in command.
"Sir?" replied the officer, "what are you thinking of sir?"
"I'm going to surrender," answered the Prince as he also strode towards the ship.
Both sides watched with trepidation as the ship landed, and a ramp slowly descended slowly. They watched as five figures strode out of the ship and with disbelief they watched as the crew of Chikyuu's second mission into space stepped into view.