Chapter 16

Disclaimer- Nope, I don't own Dragonball Z. Nor do I own Mage: The Ascension, or the Books of Magic, both of which, though not mentioned, are heavy influences on my parts of this story. Give White Wolf and Neil Gaiman a credit and pick them up. I do own the magic though. We all do.

Piccolo glared at the young man. " How under the heavens do you propose to best me boy?" he growled. " You may have been getting a lot stronger out here, but it will take you a lifetime of training before you could match the likes of me." He then smiled his evil little smile " I'm not going to back down from a challenge though!"

            With that, the Namek stuck out with lighting speed and shattered… a rock. Funny, thought Piccolo, that wasn't there before. The warrior glanced from side to side, looking for his opponent.

            The next thing Piccolo knew, the ground had leaped out from under him, and pummeled him. When the dust cleared, there was Matt, standing casually in front of him. " I think I might just have chance. What about you?"

            "Makankosapo!" Piccolo's signature energy technique flared out from his hand. Much to Piccolo's surprise, the beam broke into two parts, curved around Matt, and then… slid into his body. The boy glowed a little, and then returned to normal. Piccolo's eyes just widened. " That was cool… didn't think I could manipulate other people's energy like that. Maybe you might wanna try something different."

            "Piccolo was on his feet and the boy in nanoseconds. Moving with that speed he was famous for, Piccolo launched a frenzy of blows that should have crushed the boy's body into pulp. And they should have; although slightly stronger, Matt was physically comparatively weak to the Namek, and he had almost no formal training. So Matt was pretty much screwed. If the blows could have reached him. Matt was trying yet another new feat in energy manipulation. It was working quite nicely. With his newly discovered magic, Matt simply used the energy he had just absorbed from Piccolo to create a shield. It reacted to Piccolo's ki, meaning every time that energy signature got close, the shield reflected it. It was similar to the magical tradition of knowing and using someone's name to ward or harm them, only using their personalized energy. It was bloody brilliant. Frustrated, Piccolo flew high into the air and fired a large barrage of projectiles. Matt snuffed some of them out, transmuted others… and reflected the rest. He reversed the ebb of the energy flow back to Piccolo. The Namek was forced to flee back to the ground.

            Matt had now used most of everything he had learned in his time out in the wild. Transmutation, teleportation, manipulation. Now Matt was ready to do his worst… call up his own magical energies.

            Snaring the power of the moonlight, and directing it with his finger, Matt carved symbols of ancient power in a circle around himself. He knew that they weren't absolutely necessary, but they helped him focus. After all, without the old ways, his belief in magic wouldn't be there in the first place. The light and crackle of magic filled the circle, and out of Matt washed an amount of concentrated energy not felt since the Cell games. It slammed into Piccolo, and curved, and washed, and passed over and through him. It was not designed to kill, or even hurt, but to illustrate. A voice louder than a dragon's echoed in the Namek's head. And the next thing he remembered, he was back with the others.

*~*~*~*~*

            Liz, completely unaware of what was going on with her best friend, arrived at the Capsule Corp.  She got out of her hover car, and then stared between the giant domed building and said car for a few minutes.  There were moments when she still didn't believe that this had happened.  Grinning, she capsulized her car and walked to the door.  Keying in her personal code, she entered. 

            It was at that point she realized she had no idea where Bulma's lab was, or if Bulma would be in her lab at all.  I suppose I should have called first.  Feeling slightly ridiculous, Liz pulled out her cell phone and dialed up Bulma's.

            Bulma answered on the third ring.  "Hey, what's up?"  Bulma asked, having recognized Liz's number.

            "Uh, well, I need to talk to you and I just realized I don't know where you are."  Liz responded. 

            "I'm in my lab.  What do you need to talk about?"

            "I'll tell you when I get there.  By the way, where is your lab?"  Liz asked. 

            "Third level, fourth door on the left.  Next to the gravity room.  Where are you?"  Bulma queried.

            Oh great.  Here it came… "Well, I'm actually in the living room.  I got here and then decided to call and find out about you."  Liz said, acting as if she hadn't done something completely ditzy.

            Bulma busted out laughing.  "You got all the way here before you decided to call? Oh Liz, you're great.  I'll see you in a minute."

            Liz clicked off her cell and proceeded to the elevator.  She did not do stairs.  Of course, just as she was exiting the elevator, who should appear out of the GR except the high and mighty Saiyan prince himself.  His coal black eyes flicked between her and the elevator.

            "Just don't say anything, ok, Vegeta?  I only need to talk to Bulma." Liz said, very clearly seeing the gears shifting in Veggie's pointy little head.  He simply smirked and gestured towards the lab.  Ignoring him, Liz burst through the doors into what looked like some sort of mechanical nightmare.

            There were computers everywhere, with long lines of cables connecting them.  Bits and pieces of robots, computers, and other machines were strewn across a plethora of workbenches.  Small worker robots scuttled on the floor.

            "Uh, Bulma?"  Liz called timidly.  She couldn't see the blue-haired genius anywhere.

            "Hey Liz.  I'll be right down!"  Bulma called from one level up, where she appeared to be working on some sort of stealth vehicle.  She caught a freight elevator and was down in seconds.

            "So Liz, what do you need to talk to me about?"  Bulma asked.

            Liz opted for not beating around the bush.  "Bulma, I need weapons."

            The scientist appeared surprised at that comment.  "What do you need weapons for?"  Bulma queried, not used to getting requests like this.

            "I've decided that it's fairly hopeless that I'm ever going to develop into any sort of warrior like everyone else here, seeing as my ki is still as low as ever.  I've decided though, that with your help, we can make weapons for me that would let me just as powerful as the rest without me having to have so much energy."  Liz explained.

            "Hrm.. So, what you're asking is for weapons that are super powerful that you can use against Donnovan?"  Bulma looked thoughtful.

            "Pretty much.  Plus, I have enough ki that I can charge anything I use with it.  That should help."  Liz clarified.

            "You know, I think we can do this.  What kinds of weapons were you thinking of?"  Bulma now looked excited at the prospect of a new challenge.

            "Well, I definitely want some sort of big stick type weapon, not unlike Goku's old power pole, that is easily wieldable yet easy to carry.  I'm going to have to carry all this, so it'll all have to be fairly light, yet strong."  Liz said.

            "Ok.  Actually, I already have a prototype weapon like that which I have been working on for myself.  C'mon, its over here." Bulma walked off to a different part of the lab, with Liz in tow.

            The weapon she said appeared to be nothing more than an eight-inch metal rod about an inch and a half in diameter. Liz picked it up and flipped it over a couple of times.  "Uh, does it do anything else?"  she asked.

            "Hold it in the middle with one and push both ends with the other.  Then I suggest moving your hands really fast."  Bulma explained, taking a few steps back.

            Liz did as she was told.  Holding the rod with her right hand, she pressed the ends with her left.  A few seconds later, the stick vibrated and…extended.  It shot out to about six feet in length, with the same diameter.   It didn't weigh any different, and it was perfectly balanced.

            "Wow, Bulma, this is great!  I've always wanted a big stick!  This is great!  What's it made out of?"  Liz asked excitedly, twirling the bo above her head experimentally.

            "An alloy that came of Vegeta's space pod.  Or something close.  Really, something even stronger.  It's taken me this long to get it though, and it's not easy to make.  Theoretically, it's strong enough to break even the hardest metals known in the universe, at least according to what I've managed to weasel out of Vegeta.  And, in knife form, it will probably tear the toughest materials also, which is basically Saiyan skin.  However , I haven't tried that out yet."  Bulma said.  "What else did you have in mind?  Oh, to contract the bo, just press one end and it'll go back to normal."

            Liz did so.  "I was also thinking about wrist daggers and throwing knives.  If they could be made of this same metal, they should work great."

            "Wrist daggers and throwing knives, eh?  Those should be fairly easy.  What sizes do you want?"  Bulma asked, pulling out a fresh sheet of drafting paper.

            "Well, for the wrist daggers I want them about nine inches, so that they cover my entire forearm, and about the an inch in width, tapering like daggers do.  They should be rigged so that I can easily extend them in battle, yet attached so that they won't fly off.  And the throwing knives should be about the same, except thinner and with a handle I can grab."  Liz thought aloud.

            Bulma was hurriedly drawing down as Liz talked.  "Ok, I've drawn out some rough sketches.  Is this close?" 

            Liz looked down at the drawings.  "Yeah, it looks good.  I also was wondering if I could get some sai's too.

            "Those are the three-pronged knife things, right?"  Bulma asked, using highly technical terms.

            "Yeah, that sounds right.  The prongs should be about six inches for the outside two, and the middle should be about seven inches."

            Bulma drew that on a drafting sheet.  "So far all you've asked for is melee type weapons.  Do you want any long range artillery?"

            Liz thought for a moment.  She hadn't really considered distance fighting; she thought she could leave that up to the guys.  But, it couldn't hurt.

            "How about a revolver?"  Liz asked.  She wasn't good on short notice.

            "Hmmm…guns are kinda boring, don't you think?  I know, what about a revolving spike shooter?"  Bulma was getting into this whole weapon challenge.

            "How would that work?"  Liz pondered.

            "If I used a regular revolver body, I could put small, as in one inch, spiked projections that, upon impact, attached themselves in the skin.  That way, when pulled out, they take a large chunk of person with them."  Bulma had a look in her eyes that could only be written off to many many years spent with a Saiyan warrior.

            "Bulma, that is possibly on of the most ruthless  weapons I've heard of.  I love it!"  they were both as giddy as schoolgirls.

            "Ok, so we have the nai bo, the daggers, the throwing knives, the sai's, and the revolver.  Anything else?" Bulma asked.

            Liz was looking thoughtfully at the design of the revolver.  If something like that was put into grenade form…

            "Yeah, I have one more idea…."

*~*~*~*~*

            Bulma had said two hours, so Liz had prowled around Capsule Corp, trying to hide her excitement over the latest developments.  She ended up playing with Trunks, seeing as he was exceptionally bored and Goten was unavailable.  They played on the PS2, which Trunks dominated because Liz wasn't much into video games.

            Vegeta decided to grace them with his presence.  "Girl brat, what did you converse with the woman about?  I keep hearing strange noise coming out of her lab."

            "That is something you will find out about later, Veggie.  Let's just say it's something that should help me in battle."  Liz replied.

            "What, an invisibility barrier?  Hopefully it won't have to run of ki, because you'll be in trouble, won't you?"  Vegeta tried to taunt.  Liz though, was unaffected.

            "That was weak Vegeta.  Here's a hint:  when trying to attack someone verbally, get new material.  Insults loose their effectiveness after a while."

            Vegeta just turned his head and scowled.  He hated being bested by the human girl brat.  Just then, Bulma's voice echoed over the intercom.

            "Hey Liz, everything is done.  You can come look now."  Bulma announced.

            "OOOO!"  Liz jumped up and ran out, not even looking at Vegeta or Trunks.  The two Saiyans looked at each other, and then followed Liz to the lab.

            When they got there, Liz was adjusting some sort of wrist coverings.  Bulma was talking.  "If you want the nai bo's, you simply press your middle fingers into the palm of your hands.  I've modified it so that they extend straight from the wrist guards.  The daggers are a little trickier.  You have to push them with your index and ring fingers.  There's a two second delay so you can move your fingers out of the way of the blade, which will appear on the palm of your hand.  Now, the material in the guards should be strong enough to protect your skin, but don't let it touch you anywhere else, because this metal is strong enough to pierce Saiyan skin."

            Vegeta snorted.  "Woman, no one has been able to develop a metal strong enough to do that, and believe me, many species have tried."

            Bulma glared at her mate.  "Then maybe you would be willing to help with the testing of these."

            "What else is there, besides the daggers, Mom?"  Trunks was curious and completely bored with his parent's verbal spars.

            "Well, there are the throwing knives, sai's, revolving spike shooter, and the bow and arrows.  All of this will be charged with Liz's ki, before being used."  Bulma continued.

            "Huh.  Well, now I definitely know I should not be worried.  Not only does the brat have very little ki, she probably can't aim for anything.  I will gladly help with the demonstration."  Vegeta proclaimed arrogantly.  Then he turned and walked from the lab.  "I will be waiting outside, along with the others who have come for your accursed barbeque."

            "Fine!  We'll be there in a minute!"  Bulma yelled.  Then she turned to Liz.  "Uh, well, looks like we have ourselves a target.  You ready?"

            Liz took a deep breath.  It was now or never, it was her time to prove that she had fight in her.  "Yeah, lets go."

            Sure enough, the entire gang was waiting for them outside on Capsule Corps prodigious backyard.   Goten trotted over.

            "Hey Liz, Mr. Vegeta says you're gonna try some new weapons out on him.   He doesn't think you can do it.  Hey, is that a bow and arrow?"  Goten chirped.

            "Well, Goten, I sure hope I can do it, or else I'm not gonna be much help, now am I?"  Liz said with a smile.

            Bulma came over at that point.  "Liz, I don't think it would be a good idea to really use Vegeta.  He could get hurt, and then he would dislike you even more.  Maybe you should just do some general attacks."

            "Ok, if we can get Vegeta to be convinced.  I think I have a plan though.  Do you mind if I borrow a tree?"   Liz asked.

            "Go ahead.  Are you ready?"  Bulma asked.  Liz nodded.

            "Ok, everyone! As you've probably already heard, Liz and I have come up with some new weapons for her to use during the upcoming confrontation. They are made of a new metal alloy I've discovered, that we hope is strong enough to pierce through anything.    She'd like to demo them all for you now.  Vegeta has very kindly offered to help."  The might Prince walked up to wear his mate and Liz were standing.

            "I'm ready."  He proclaimed.

            "Great, can I have  few minutes to warm up?"  Liz requested.  She walked over to a giant oak tree in the yard.   I hope this works.  I don't want to have to hurt Vegeta.  With that, Liz popped out her noi bo's.   She heard a few murmurs behind her when this happened, but she couldn't tell if they were approving or not.  She swung them around herself a few times, getting used to the feel and the balance of them.  Then, with all her strength behind her and a light coating of ki, she swung them at the trunk of the tree.           

            There was a flash of light, and everyone saw Liz standing with the noi bo's crossed in front of her, but no real damage done to the tree.

            "Hah, so strong that they didn't even get through the tree.  Impressive."  Vegeta said sarcastically.

            However, right then a light breeze brushed through the yard and across the branches of the tree.  It stood still for a moment, and then, almost agonizingly slow, fell away from the crowd, cut smooth from the Liz's blow.  It landed with a mighty crash and left a stump about four feet tall.

            Liz contracted her bo's and slipped them back into the holsters.  She turned to the group.  "Well, that was a little high, but I suppose that if the tree had been a real person it would have done the trick.  Ready to help now, Vegeta?"  Liz smirked.

            "Uh, hey, Vegeta, maybe you shouldn't.  Those weapons look like they could hurt."  Goku said, his eyes wide.

            "Hmmph.  I am not convince that they weapons will do anything."  Vegeta sniffed.

            "Fine.  I'll continue by myself.  Hum, what can I use as a target?"  Liz looked around. 

            "Here.  Use these."  Bulma tossed a capsule into the center of the yard.  Four dummies popped up.  "These are made of materials approximately as strong as Saiyan skin, which is the toughest substance I've ever come across.  Go for it, Liz."  Bulma encouraged.  "Start with the sai's, then use the knives and the gun, followed by the arrows.  Finish with the special ones.  That should impress his Highness."

            Liz smirked again.  This is gonna be fun.  Not saying a word, but some how knowing that her skills as a fighter were still being doubted,  Liz showed everyone what she was really made out of.  Soon, the sai's were buried hilt deep into dummy number one, the knives were completely through dummy number two's chest, his head riddled with spikes, and she had fired an L surrounded by a circle into dummy three, with one arrow going through the neck for good measure.  She did all this in less than one minute.

              Liz turned to the group, who all had that classic DBZ shocked expression on their faces.  Clearly, they were not expecting Liz to be able to do something like this.  "Did I ever mention to anyone about my impeccable aim?  I guess not, cuz no one asked did they?  And I guess I have enough ki to keep myself alive in battle.  Oh wait, I still have my grand finale.  Watch this, this should be good."  With that, Liz reached into the pouch of capsule she'd tied to her belt and pulled one out.  Inside the capsule was a flat, round grenade about the size of her palm.  She pressed a button in the center of the grenade and then threw it at dummy number four.  Mid-air, three-inch spikes appeared around the edge of the projectile.  It hit the dummy with a loud thump  right in the center of the chest.  It just sat there.

            "What, no explosion?  I don't see what that does."  Vegeta sneered.

            Liz rolled her eyes and walked over to the dummy.  Grabbing the grenade, she pulled.  What the rest of the gang didn't know was that upon impact, the grenade had more spokes that reached out through out the chest cavity and more or less grabbed onto whatever material was inside.  When Liz pulled, the grenade took everything it was holding onto with it, effectively pulling the dummies chest out.

            Liz looked at Vegeta, still holding the grenade with the dummy on it.  "Hrm, can you imagine what this would look like if it were a real person?  You still wanna help demonstrate your Highness, or do you believe Bulma and me when we say it could pierce a Saiyan's skin?"

            Vegeta though, was spared answering by the sudden arrival of Piccolo, crashing into the yard  unconscious.