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Catarax
What You Got
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West City...
"Yes! Yes, I'm still here..." Covering his ear with his free hand, Doctor Briefs yelled into his cell phone. "Just some commotion from the street... Yes, I've just wired the money to your account. Well, the down payment you required..." Doctor Briefs went silent for a moment. "...Good, good. Send the shipment immediately. We'll be expecting you. Thank you for your time..."
Pocketing the cell phone, Doctor Briefs looked around the Capsule Corps front yard. The street beyond seemed suddenly more active, but everything seemed as it should be. Save for the debris from the rogue Kamehameha Wave, but the Doctor had already accepted that. Spotting Bulma and Dende, he began walking towards them.
"Well, I've just ordered the shipment of nerve gas," he announced as he reached them. "About twice as much as we should need for Yamcha, but it's best to be on the safe side. And Bulma, your mother has already left to get more of that sulfur compound we'll need to liquefy it. So far, we appear to be on schedule."
"That is indeed good to hear," weakly replied Dende, as he lay against a tree.
Back in her normal cat form, Puar hovered above Dende apprehensively. "Please, Dende, you're still--"
"Physician, heal thyself..." Wryly commented Dende. "It's harder than it sounds, but I shall be fine in a few minutes, Puar."
"Ah, good. Bulma, how's--" Noticing his daughter's pallor, the Doctor stopped short. "Bulma, are you all right?"
"They're... They're coming..." Twitching sporadically, and staring intently at the southern horizon, Bulma spoke as if nobody else was around. "...Here. They're not supposed to come here. They're not supposed to fight where I am..."
The Doctor glanced at Dende. "Does this have something to do with that tremor a moment ago?"
Puar nodded with a whimper.
"And the sound wave," supplied Dende. "Both ki induced, I fear. Five miles off, at best..."
"...I'm a genius..." Continued Bulma, oblivious. "Geniuses aren't supposed to be involved in the fighting... They know that..."
Doctor Briefs glanced at his daughter. "Bulma, honey, that's not helping. I'm sure if they could, Piccolo and Tien wouldn't try to fight in the city..."
"...Damnit they know I'm a genius..."
"Bulma, really, that's uncalled-for."
Dende sighed. "I fear she may not be listening, Doctor. She was like this for a while on Namek. Hopefully, she shall snap out of it soon..."
Abruptly, Puar gasped. Doctor Briefs and Dende glanced at the cat, and followed her gaze south. In the distance, a pillar of light was shooting into the sky. It had an immense beam-spread, and was causing quite a stir among the upper atmosphere clouds.
Doctor Briefs had already opened his mouth to comment when the shockwave hit. Small shrubs and loosely attacked street fixtures were thrown up, and Bulma was knocked off her feet. The impact jarred her out of her stupor, and she stared at the column in abject horror. "What the--"
"Time delay," replied her father. "Five miles could be about right..." Blinking, the Doctor looked back at Bulma. "Ah, good, you're back. We've ordered the nerve gas and your mother is getting the dilutants, so we're about ready to begin. Well, assuming everything gets here okay."
Still in shock, Bulma brushed some stray stands of hair from her face. "Daddy, I think that might be a pretty big assumption right now."
The Doctor stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Good point. I guess we should start securing the sub-basement then." Pulling a data-pad out of his coat pocket, Doctor Briefs began walking toward the Capsule Corpse entrance. "Come along, Bulma. You too, Dende. It's probably safer inside, anyway."
Taking deep breaths, Bulma pushed herself to her feet. Gripping his staff, Dende did likewise.
"Ah," the young Guardian sighed. "Back to work, I suppose..."
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South of West City...
Squinting, Seventeen took a step away from the energy sphere. "Uh, Tien," he asked uncertainly, "the virus is supposed to be released when one of those two dies. Do we know exactly how it's supposed to be released? …'Cause, ah, this light show--"
"Isn't a death throw," finished Eighteen in a voice that shook.
Piccolo growled. "They're merging. Get ready…"
"If this isn't a death throw," demanded Seventeen, "I would really like to know what it actually is…"
"Tran--" Krillin's voice cracked. "Transformation sequence…"
"…You're sure about that?"
"We are," Growled Piccolo. "We've seen too many of them not to be…"
Tien grunted as he braced himself against the ki-induced winds.
"Krillin…" Muttered Seventeen after a long pause, "Just for the record… I blame you for this."
Electric arcs raced across the surface of the ki sphere, sending out blinding flashes of light. Overwhelmed, the ki sphere exploded outward, knocking the fighters backward. The arc-induced flashes continued, and the accompanying thunder shook the ground.
"Hold your ground!" Yelled Tien and he reset himself in the sky.
Landing hard on the ground, Krillin scrambled back to his feet. "I can barely see!" He yelled over the din. "Too many flashes! Can anyone make out anything?!"
Piccolo responded with a pained grunt as he clawed at his ears.
"UV is more screwed up than ever!" Yelled Seventeen as he shot skywards. "Same with sonics and viz. Infra Red is--"
"It's charging!" Yelled Eighteen. "Fast! Right through those arcs!"
"Which arcs?!" Demanded Krillin as electric bursts discharged all along the landscape.
"Tien!" Frantically yelled Eighteen. "Back off! He's right--"
With one last spark of lightning, the sky in front of Tien cleared. A horned, bestial creature flew at Tien. The beast was now humanoid, roughly fifteen feet tall, with gray fur, horns on its head, and a whip-like twenty foot long tail behind it. Tien gasped in astonishment as the beast closed the distance between them. Before Tien could react, the beast caught him by the jaw and drove him backwards.
Krillin stood where he was, dumbstruck.
"Get him off Tien!" Ordered Piccolo. Jumping towards the beast, Piccolo powered up. "Nail it!"
"Will do!" Called out Seventeen as he dove down at the beast.
Despite Tien still struggling in its grip, the beast instantly noticed the two attackers. With a grunt, it checked its momentum. Then a bat-like wing whipped from its back and batted Seventeen back to the ground. The beast's second wing unfolded as the beast twisted itself in the sky and launched a ki blast at Piccolo from its tail.
Eighteen flinched as Piccolo was knocked past her. "How the hell did they turn into that?!"
Meanwhile, Tien let out a strangled grunt and began chopping at the beast's wrist. In response, the beast hissed, and readjusted itself to face Tien again. Holding its captive at arm's length, the beast spread its wings, and brought them forward in a vicious down-stroke. Ki exploded as the wings struck together, knocking Tien away. Snarling, the beast darted forward and slapped Tien to the ground.
"Ka--Me--Ha--Me--Ha!" With his hands cupped in front of him, Krillin fired a ki blast at the airborne assailant.
The beast whirled in surprise, and jerked away from the blast. In the process, it threw out its arm and cupped the ki wave between its wrist and its arm. The beast rolled with the blast's momentum, and quickly brought its other arm forward. After one full spin, it checked itself and pointed its cupped hands back towards Krillin. The Kamehameha wave flared, and shot back at the human.
Darting upward, Tien managed to catch the beast unawares and drove his knee into its chin. With a snarl, the beast drew back slightly and began taking chops at Tien. Fueled by a momentary rush of adrenaline, Tien responded in kind.
"Eighteen," yelled Piccolo as he pulled himself off the ground. "As soon as Tien breaks away, hit that thing with one of your plasma shots!"
Eighteen looked back from helping Krillin to his feet. "No way. That thing is too small. It'll move. It'll be a waste of power."
While rotating his good arm, Seventeen shot a harsh glare at his sister. "Then get close to it, Eighteen. If that thing is Yamcha and the Saiyan, we'll need a big blast to knock it down!"
"Or a barrage…" Growled Piccolo. "Tien will move. Hit it!" Emphasizing his point, threw out both arms and let loose a volley of attacks.
Seventeen joined in with his optic laser, while Krillin sidearmed a Destructo Disk into the fray. Eighteen stood to the side, crouched over, and powering up her plasma cannons.
Several of the initial blasts connected with the beast. Tien took advantage of the diversion to get in a few extra blows, then to kick off the beast's head. Sailing backwards, the Human screamed and added his own blasts to the fray.
Letting something akin to a howl, the beast angrily raised its aura. Whipping its tail around, it fired a string of stinger-like blasts at Tien. As blasts continued to pelt it, the beast flew upwards and flung another ki ball at the Human. Tien was struck by the last blast and knocked out of the sky.
"Scatter!" Yelled Piccolo as the beast turned its attention downwards.
Brining its wings together in another down-stroke, the beast dropped a blanket attack on the fighters. Eighteen was staggered, while the others were knocked to the ground.
"Any more bright ideas?" Mocked Seventeen as he pushed himself up.
The beast dove, forcing the fighters to scatter. The beast left a crater in the ground and immediately dove after Piccolo. The Namek was knocked away after the first exchange.
"Eighteen!" Krillin muttered as the beast turned his way. "…I'm going to blind this thing." As the beast lunged, Krillin broke off and jumped away. "Get close to it. I'm going to try to keep it on me…" Krillin threw another energy disk, and darted away again. Glancing past the winged beast, Krillin saw his wife take to the air. In a more determined voice he continued. "In a moment… Hit with everything you've got!"
Gritting her teeth, Eighteen nodded in understanding.
"Everyone," called out Seventeen, who was also in a position to overhear the order, "keep your heads down…"
The beast lunged forward again, swiping its claws at the Human. Krillin kicked off a rock and putt both hands to his face. "Solar--"
Light filled the sky, and an explosion of energy sent all the combatants sprawling.
"What on Earth?" Muttered Eighteen as she pushed herself up to her knees. As she looked up, she saw the beast crouched down at the base of a hill. To her surprise, the beast was brushing dirt off itself, and almost seemed to be sneering.
"…Piccolo…" Came Krillin's haunted voice. "They didn't merge…"
Instantly taking to the sky, Piccolo focused his gaze at the origin of the explosion. In the center of a crater was a giant ki sphere, with a black figure silhouetted in the center of it. "It's the Oozaru!" The Namek yelled out.
The beast took its time standing up, and snorted indignantly at the ki sphere.
"Then…" Eighteen slowly backed away the figure in front of her. "Then that's just Yamcha…"
Crouched near Tien in the shadow of an up heaved boulder, Seventeen glanced nervously between the two threats. "Pic--colo…"
Tien broke into a run towards the Oozaru. "Piccolo and I will take the Saiyan! Krillin, Seventeen, Eighteen, take down Yamcha!" Tien leapt to the air, shot off a multitude of Dodonpa rays. The attacks strafed the Oozaru, stripping away the ki sphere.
Unharmed, the Oozaru defiantly waked towards the rest of the fighters. The Oozaru had shrunk dramatically in size, now standing no more than fifty feet tall. However, it was now armored like one of the low-slung dinosaurs, with enormous bone plates covering almost its entire body. Black fur was barely visible in the joints between plates, and a line of bone studs ran where the black brand had once been. A stout armored tail dragged behind the creature, bearing a spiked club at the tip.
"Seventeen!" Countermanded Piccolo as his eyes widened. "You're with us!"
The beast shook its wings, and began crouching down.
"Break away!" Yelled Krillin as he jumped to the sky. The beast instantly lashed out with its tail, forcing Krillin to dart back again. Eighteen rushed forward to flank the creature, while Seventeen and Piccolo sprinted towards the Oozaru.
Tien snarled and powered up as far as he could. Screaming, he dove headlong at his opponent. The Oozaru sneered in contempt but continued to march forward. Tien spun an the last moment, solidly impacting the Oozaru's collarbone with the back of his arm. The blow echoed across the landscape, and drove the giant back a step. Pushing off, Tien whirled in the air and missile kicked the Oozaru's jaw. As the giant recoiled, Tien fired several blasts at the Oozaru's lightly armored neck, then dove forward to hammer the top of its snout.
Roaring in anger, the Oozaru violently raised its aura. The energy in the air momentarily drove Tien away, but the human immediately retaliated with a massive energy blast to the same shoulder he had struck earlier. The attack completely unbalanced the Oozaru, causing it to stagger to the side.
As Tien heaved in exhaustion, Piccolo took point. The Namek put on a burst of speed and charged the Oozaru. Piccolo leapt, and rammed his knee against the base of the monster's tail. The bone armor held, but Piccolo's leg crumpled. Piccolo let out a scream, and his momentum carried him around and over the tail.
Running a pace behind, Seventeen slid under the tail, and strafed it with his lasers. The blasts left burn marks, but could not penetrate the armor. Angered nonetheless, the Oozaru roared out and thumped its tail against the ground.
Seventeen skidded to a stop below Piccolo. "That went well," he muttered as he turned to the Oozaru. "I can't plasma him, but I've got a few other tricks. You?"
Piccolo hovered defensively, keeping his damaged leg away from the fighting. "A few."
The Oozaru whirled around, bringing its full attention to the two fighters. It opened its mouth and spat out its signature fireball. Seventeen and Piccolo dodged accordingly.
Seventeen landed on the gourd in a three point fighting stance. Looking up, he noticed the Oozaru had turned its full attention to him and was lunging forward. "Wonderful," the Android quipped. Seventeen fired his optic lasers, and back-flipped away. The Oozaru plowed through the soft earth, and instantly lunged again. Firing a blast from his good arm, Seventeen checked his momentum, leapt forward, and hand-sprung over the Oozaru's head. Landing in the small of the Oozaru's back, Seventeen fired a concussion blast at a seam the tail's armor plating.
"Masenko!" As the Oozaru was starting roll over, Piccolo's blast struck it in the back of the head, knocking it forward.
Seventeen regained his balance on the Oozaru's back. Glancing at the tail, his eyes narrowed. "Keep this thing down!" He yelled out. "I've got a shot!" Taking a second to program a firing plan, Seventeen squinted and let loose with his optic lasers. The two beams struck on either side of the seam he had struck earlier, and began strafing parallel to the seam, slowly cutting into the armor.
Tien dropped like a rock onto the top of the Oozaru's spine. The recoil shook the Oozaru, momentarily unbalancing the two fighters. "What's the idea?" Tien quickly demanded.
"Find a weak point," responded Seventeen as the two laser continued tracing, "and make it bi--gyaaaah!"
The Oozaru's tail whipped down, nearly striking Seventeen. The Android took to the air, and the Oozaru threw to itself to its side before anything else could hit it. From its position on the ground, the Oozaru fired a barrage of blasts at Seventeen and the airborne Piccolo.
Having been thrown off when the Oozaru rolled, Tien stood up and found himself behind the monster. The Oozaru shifted, stepping up its skyward barrage. Tien instantly cupped his hands and fired at the base of the Oozaru's back.
The Oozaru responded viciously, whirling and backhanding Tien into the ground. The monster rolled into a crouch and pounded Tien with the club of its tail.
"Crap!" Growled Seventeen as he steadied himself in the sky. "Piccolo, we've got to--Piccolo?"
As he stood in the air, Piccolo's aura was flaring and both his hands were pressed to his forehead. Piccolo convulsed, and abruptly dropped. Half way to the ground, the Namek roared and pulled both arms away. Piccolo angled for the Oozaru and took aim with both hands. Energy exploded away from Piccolo, and two corkscrew blasts streaked down from the sky.
The Oozaru had just begun to turn its attention away from Tien when Piccolo attacked. As it turned around, it took the first blast in the chest. The Oozaru staggered back, and the other blast shifted course and connected with the Oozaru's shoulder. The beams drove the Oozaru back another step.
Roaring defiantly, the Oozaru set its feet and let its aura surge. The two blasts continued to push against the armor plates, but Piccolo was beginning to flag. The Oozaru roared again and let out a shower of unfocused ki. The disruption was too much for Piccolo, who was forced to cut off the draining attacks. Emboldened, the Oozaru stepped forward and spat a fireball at the exhausted Namek.
Piccolo dodged the fireball, and soared skyward. The Oozaru gathered ki balls around its fists, and began hurling them after the Namek. As it did, it lost track of Seventeen, who landed softly in front of it. Seventeen leveled his gaze at the Oozaru's face, and narrowed his eyes. A moment later, two lasers flashed across the sky, striking the Oozaru on the underside of its brow.
Screaming in pain, the Oozaru immediately broke off. It stumbled backwards and began clawing at its damaged eye. Seventeen let loose another set of lasers, which traced the Oozaru's jaw line.
As the Oozaru fell back, Piccolo veered around, and zeroed in on the monster. Piccolo made his run unmolested, and landed several ki blasts on the Oozaru's back. As the new pain pushed out the old, the Oozaru brought one paw away from its eye, and focused its gaze on the departing Piccolo. Weaving back and forth, Piccolo made a wide turn and prepared for another run.
"--lar Flare!"
Light burst from across the field, momentarily washing out the sky. Caught off guard, Piccolo broke off his run and landed hard. Seventeen groaned and tried to re polarize his lenses. The Oozaru was the worst off of the three, catching the flash in its one good eye. The beast roared in pain, and began lashing out blindly.
Before fully recovering, Piccolo took off again and rushed the still flailing Oozaru. Lashing out on instinct, the Oozaru bashed Piccolo into the ground with a lucky strike.
"Hyaaaaaaaaaah!!" Having picked himself out of the rubble, Tien fired a blanket attack at the Oozaru. Unbalanced an unprepared, the Oozaru stumbled forward before regaining its balance. Once it did, it turned its head and blindly strafed the landscape with a series of fireballs. Tien quickly leapt up and flew over the attacks.
Seventeen reconfigured his sight about the time Tien attacked, and was airborne by the time the Oozaru fired back. After waiting until the Oozaru leaned into one of its fireballs, Seventeen dropped out of the sky. The android landed on the beast's tail with both feet, springing away immediately after impact. The beast recoiled, and Seventeen threw down a parting ki blast as he shot skyward.
"Thanks Krillin," Seventeen muttered under his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced over at Tien. "Can you see?"
Hovering near the Android, Tien nodded. "Yeah. Hit it on two."
"Works for me." Seventeen reset himself and powered up a blast.
Before either of the two could fire, the Oozaru disappeared.
"Wha--"
And armored fist slugged Tien to the ground. Spinning away, Seventeen gaped as the airborne Oozaru took a swing at him. "It can fly?!" Seventeen avoided a second swipe, but was caught off guard by the following head-butt. The Oozaru finished the sequence by belching a fireball straight down.
Screaming in rage, Piccolo flew toward the beast. The Oozaru easily swatted him with its tail, and threw a succession of ki blasts after the battered Namek.
"This is ridiculous!" Heaved Seventeen as he pulled himself out of the rubble. "You people beat Cell, for crying out loud! How can we be having this much trouble with Yamcha and a transformed girl with a virus?!"
"We didn't beat--" In the process of standing up, Tien fell back to his knees. "Transformations mean power. We only beat Cell because Gohan found a power-up of his own…"
Seventeen angrily ripped a broken plate of techno-organic skin off his neck. "So why don't we have any power-ups?" He grimly demanded.
On his hands and knees, Tien took a moment to steady his breathing. In the distance, the Oozaru again leapt at Piccolo. Tien braced himself against the splintered remains of a tree truck, and swallowed. "We've got one…"
Seventeen glanced sharply at the hunched over Human. "Then why haven't--"
Taking a step back, Tien threw his head back and screamed. "Kaio--KEN!!!" The power-up triggered a massive shockwave, and Tien's aura flared with a red glow.
Thrown off his feet, Seventeen sat up and wiped the debris from his face. "Tien! What the--" Stopping himself, Seventeen noticed that droplets of a dusty red liquid were splattered all over his body and the surrounding landscape. "…The devil?"
In the center of a newly created crater, Tien fell to his knees. His neck convulsed for a moment, and then Tien screamed again. This time, a red spray shot up into the sky. The battered Human forced his way back to his feet, and leapt to the sky.
Seventeen scrambled up a dirt mound to get a better vantage point. "Piccolo!" He called out as a red streak blazed across the sky. "Break off! Tien is coming and he's lost it!"
Standing at the rim of another crater, the Oozaru turned at Seventeen's call. It noticed Tien's approach, and sneered disdainfully. The beast stepped forward and fired a ki blast at the Human. Tien didn't break course, and simply blew through the ki ball. The Oozaru took a step back in surprise and was bowled over as Tien rammed it.
The Oozaru roared in anger and scrambled to its feet. Still encased in red, Tien quickly banked and charged again. A blow to the top of its head knocked the Oozaru back a step. Snarling furiously, the Oozaru leapt forward. It took several swipes at Tien and quickly knocked him to the ground.
Finally hauling himself out of the dirt, Piccolo gaped at the scene in front of him. "What the--"
Tien picked himself up painfully, and glared up at the Oozaru. Yelling something incomprehensible, Tien threw out his arms, and fired off two lances of ki. The beams hit the Oozaru in the kneecaps, cutting through the armor and blasting out the other side.
The Oozaru fell to its knees, unable to support itself. Its eyes seemed to glaze over from the shock, and its arms flailed wildly. Tien jumped past the beast and roundhoused the back of its shoulder. With another grunt the Oozaru fell flat on its face.
Before the Oozaru had even hit the ground, Tien was flying into position. Setting himself in the sky, he arrayed his hands in a rough triangle emblem and took aim. Tien screamed, and became lost in a pillar of red.
Piccolo flinched away from the momentary maelstrom induced by Tien's blast. "Tien," the Namek muttered, "you'd better know what you're doing…"
As the tremors quickly died away, Seventeen sprung up onto a hillcrest. His optics scanned the area, and found the infra-red pattern of a Saiyan sized creature lying on the ground. "Wah--hoo!" He shouted out. "We got 'er! We finally got--"
Ki arcs laced out from the prone form, and an inhuman scream pierced through the rumbling.
Seventeen took a hasty step back. "--No!"
Tien abruptly dropped out of the sky, landing hard beside the Saiyan. The Human immediately lunged forward and turned the Saiyan over. Her mouth was screaming of its own accord, and her eyes were again glowing red. Upon contact, the ki arcs immediately converged on Tien, nearly driving the human off.
Forcing his way through the arcs, Tien pushed forward and clamped both his hands around the Saiyan's neck. Tien's aura flared red, driving off the other arcs. Energy exploded away from the Saiyan, convulsing her upward. Tien only clamped down harder, and yelled in defiance.
"Seventeen!" Called out Piccolo as the energy maelstrom intensified around the duo. "Get down!"
Seventeen flinched as his footing nearly gave way. "What the hell is happening with--"
A red ring of energy shot out from the Saiyan, staggering Piccolo and knocking Seventeen off his feet.
After the energy wave passed over him, Piccolo hesitantly stood up. The maelstrom had dissipated as quickly as it had begun, leaving only a few wisps of smoke floating through the air. The Saiyan was lying limply on the ground, and Tien was still crouched over her clasping her neck. The Namek's eyes widened. "Tien…" The Human's chest heaved once, and then Tien fell limply to the side. Piccolo instantly dashed forward. "Tien!"
Picking himself out of the hillcrest, Seventeen glanced down at the fallen fighters. The android wiped a fresh spray of residue off his face and called out. "Piccolo, are they all right?"
Piccolo gently turned Tien over onto his back and felt for a pulse. "He's alive."
A few quick bounds brought Seventeen to Piccolo's side. Seventeen looked at the Human and grimaced. "I repeat, is he all right?"
Tien's regular eyes were both closed, and the pupil of his third eye was lost behind a screen of broken blood vessels. Blood was oozing out of his nose and mouth, and bruise was already forming where Piccolo had taken a pulse. As Piccolo watched, blood beaded like sweat from unseen cuts all over the unconscious Human.
"He's alive," continued Piccolo. "And the Saiyan is out cold. Right now, that's all that--" Piccolo broke off with a start. "Yamcha!"
Jumping to his feet, Piccolo quickly scanned the surrounding landscape. He immediately came across a smoking hill. Eighteen was at the hill's base, stamping out the last remnants of a fire. Krillin was crouching midway up the hill, in the center of a gray outcropping. Piccolo narrowed his eyes and quickly recognized the outcropping as the winged beast, who seemed to be splayed face-down across the hill. Krillin stood up, glanced around, and triumphantly gave Piccolo the thumb's up sign.
"The hell happened over there?" Questioned Seventeen.
Piccolo shook his head. "I don't know. And right now, I really don't care." Piccolo looked down at Tien and smirked. "We got 'em. That's all that matters…"
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