DBZ Movie 14 The Lady Kari by NansJns

Ch.7: For the Love of Fighting Or Their Wives? Goku and Vegeta's Choice.

"Ladies, you're not making this any easier on yourselves," Kari growled as she dragged Bulma and Chi-chi through the halls of the Legion once again. Their arms were held in restraints that Kari was holding onto. The two Earth women were fighting her, squirming, kicking, biting, and in general making it almost impossible to hold them.

"Let us go!" Chi-chi grunted.

"Where are you taking us now?!" Bulma demanded.

"Oh, just somewhere where I can keep an extra eye on you - and where your friends won't find you," Kari answered as she pulled them through a door. A small beeping suddenly sounded, and Kari's eyes dropped to her bracelet. A light was flashing red on it. "Shit! One of the chips is off- line! Those two just don't take to mind control, do they?" she snarled in her frustration.

"Of course not! You think you can control them?! You're dead wrong!" Bulma snapped.

"You evil, conniving, tailed bitch. . ." Chi-chi said venomously.

"You know, I'm getting real tired of the both of you," Kari's voice was low and threatening. "By right, they belong more to me than to you."

"How the hell do you figure that?!" Bulma and Chi-chi both barked at her, fire leaping into their eyes.

"I'm the last female Saiyan. Before, it didn't matter what they did - they thought they were the only Saiyans there were, and they were both male. The species was dead. It didn't matter what I did; I was female, but I was alone. The species was still dead. But now, we're together, and the species doesn't have to die," Kari answered matter-of-factly.

"Why are you so big on 'saving your species' anyway?!" Chi-chi strove to pull her arm free of Kari's grasp. "You hardly understand what being a Saiyan means!"

"THAT is EXACTLY why I'm doing this!! I want to know! I want to know what Saiyans are really like! For Kami's sake, there's only three of us left! If we don't remember, who will?! Our blood needs to be passed on!" Kari retaliated, jerking Chi-chi's wrist restraint so hard bones popped out of place. Chi-chi bit back a whimper of pain.

"_Their_ blood has been passed on," Bulma said lowly. Kari looked disappointed.

"Yes, but mixed with alien blood - no offense - I mean pure Saiyan," Kari shook her head, knocking some of her long hair behind her. Chi-chi chose that moment to strike. She attempted to kick Kari in the stomach. The kick connected, but did no damage. "_That_ does it! Nap time, you Earth whores!" Kari snarled, and hit a certain button on both sets of wrist restraints. A sharp electric shock hit both of them, and they barely had enough time to scream before the blackness claimed them. "There. That should make this much easier," Kari sighed. Then there was another set of beeps, and the second light on her bracelet began to flash. "Oh, hell - now they're both free! I'd better get a move on," Kari lifted the two unconscious women and took off, pressing her ki down low.

Vegeta held the guard's neck in a death grip, cutting off both the oxygen to his lungs and the flow of blood to the man's brain. The unfortunate guard wheezed painfully as his face became a deeper and deeper red-purple.

"Well?! Where's the bridge?!" Vegeta demanded for the third time. The guard didn't have enough air to answer.

"Let him breathe for a minute, Vegeta - then he'll answer, if he wishes to _continue_ breathing," Piccolo suggested, and Vegeta's grip on the guard's throat loosened just enough to allow him to take in a few gulps of air.

"Where is it?" Vegeta asked as his fingers began to tighten again.

"T-t-t-top d-deck. Top deck!" the guard gagged.

"So we take an elevator to the highest deck, that's it?" Goku tilted his head skeptically.

"Y-yes!" the guard sputtered.

"Is the whole top deck the bridge, or just one room?" Krillin stepped in.

"One-one room! Third door. . .the right!" the guard partially passed out then from oxygen depravation. Vegeta dropped him roughly to the floor.

"All right, lets go," Vegeta stated, and they snuck to the nearest elevator marked 'bridge.' What they didn't notice was the guard starting to wake up. He sat up and opened his communicator.

"Attention!" the guard gasped roughly, rubbing his bruised throat. "The escaped prisoners are heading for the bridge! Intercept them!"

To the Z-warriors great surprise, the elevator was big enough for them all to squeeze into, though there wasn't much elbow room. Goku stared at the button system that was on the wall level with his chest. Strange symbols covered what he assumed were the buttons.

"Which one do I press?" Goku felt a drop of sweat go down his cheek. Vegeta worked his way through the crowd to have a look at the controls.

"Hm, I should have guessed. This is the numbering system Frieza used," Vegeta observed as he punched the highest left-hand button. The elevator began rising slowly. "Can't this thing go any faster?" he growled under his breath. The elevator continued its slow ascent for several floors, until it ground to a halt four floors below the top deck.

"What the hell?" Tien hissed. Voices drifted through the door.

"They're in here!"

"Get those doors open!"

"Weapons at the ready!"

"So much for the subtle approach!" Goku snapped as they all powered up.

"We don't have time for this!" Vegeta agreed, and took out the roof of the elevator with a ki blast. They all flew out of the opening as the elevator dropped. Ignoring the shouts of the guards that were below them, they flew straight up to the bridge. They took out the outer elevator doors and stepped onto the top deck. There were six doors, three on each side. On the other end of the hall, there was another elevator. Evidently, only two elevators came all the way up to the bridge.

"Third door on the right. Which right?" Yamcha muttered.

"And which third door?" Chiao-Tzu looked at the door farthest from them and at the door just a few steps from them. There was a soft whirring as the other elevator approached. Goku and Vegeta suddenly twitched. The silent nothingness they had been feeling from their wives was lifting, and faint feelings of dull pain and disorientation were coming to them. Along with the rising of Bulma and Chi-chi's ki.

"There!" Goku and Vegeta said together, pointing to the door farthest from them on their right. They all ran for it, and burst in roughly. The few people on the bridge whipped around at the sudden intrusion, but they weren't what the Z-warriors were focusing on. In the center of the large bridge was Kari, and behind her, Bulma and Chi-chi. The two Earth women were awake, though still a bit dazed. One look in their eyes told Goku and Vegeta that they were fine, and their minds were clearing rapidly.

"Well, quite the entrance, boys!" Kari grinned. "How did you find me while I was keeping my ki down?"
"We figured out the place you'd be most likely to go, and asked a guard how to get here," Goten answered simply. "Now, let my mom and Trunks' mom go!"

"I think not, kiddo," Kari smirked. The Saiyans all snarled and made ready to rush her. Kari only smiled. "You're finally acting like Saiyans," she proclaimed, and they all froze.

"What?" Gohan blinked.

"You want to fight me with every fiber of your frames, don't you? That is what all Saiyans truly live for. The challenge! The fight! That's what matters the most to us," Kari declared loudly, and the Saiyans all stared at her in silence for several long moments. Kari watched their faces intently. ((That's it, go on, say it! Agree with me! Let these poor women know the truth for once!)) she mentally ordered them. The silence was abruptly broken by Goku's voice.

"You're wrong! I came here to get my wife, not to fight you!" Goku bellowed. Chi-chi smiled at him, relieved.

Vegeta looked at Kakkarot, then at Kari, and finally at Bulma. Her eyes were full of tears, and her head looked ready to drop in sorrow. She seemed to be begging him with her eyes, though doubt flickered in their depths. ((She thinks. . .I'm going to side with Kari?!)) He felt as if a knife had cut through his chest. Twelve years ago, he _would_ have sided with Kari in a heartbeat, and laughed at Kakkarot for his weakness; but that was twelve years ago, things had changed, and it no longer seemed weak. He knew his answer then as he lifted his head proudly.

"Kakkarot is right! I didn't come here because you fought me to a stand still! I came here because you kidnaped my wife! If you hadn't done that, we'd probably be heading home right now! I don't care about you! I _like_ a good fight, I won't deny that, but what I truly, wholly _love_ is Bulma!" Vegeta declared loud and clear. Bulma's head had snapped completely up at the first words, and a look of joy overcame her face by the last. New tears slipped free of her eyes, tears of love and happiness.

"Exactly right!" Goku nodded. "If anything ever happened to Chi-chi, I wouldn't _want_ to fight. . .ever again!" Chi-chi had never felt such elation. She, too, was crying happy tears. They both whispered their loves' names. Goku and Vegeta loved them, more than fighting. Kari was stunned.

"Well, what do you know. . .the stories aren't all true. I'm kinda glad. . .BUT I'M ALSO REALLY PISSED!" Kari snapped and her ki blazed brightly.

"We'll give you a choice! Give us our wives, and we'll leave you in peace!" Goku bellowed over the wind Kari's ki had caused. Kari didn't answer save for the ki ball she started developing in her hand. The Saiyans had had enough, and started to power up themselves. Kari threw her ki ball at them, but it was destroyed as their kis flared even bigger and became gold. The four Super Saiyans stared at the blonde woman calmly, certain she was smart enough not to attack.

"Super Saiyans! Whatever shall I do? Whatever _can_ I do? Oh, wait! I know!" Kari's voice was a sheer mockery of the fear she obviously didn't feel. They didn't like this, they didn't like this at all. "I can do. . .THIS!" a bright, golden light exploded around Kari as her hip-length hair shot up over her head and became white-gold. Her eyes faded to turquoise green, and she stood before them not just a Super Saiyan, but Super Saiyan 2! "The end result of Frieza's experiments! You don't spend your life being tortured and not get furious!!" she bellowed. The sight of all her hair straight over her head like that was a trifle imposing, and they actually started to move back away from her, but they caught themselves in time. "So, still wanna play?" Kari asked lowly. They glanced at each other, and then Goku and Vegeta went up to SS2 too. Kari blinked, but otherwise didn't react.

"Boys," she said over her shoulder to her bridge crew, "put up the force fields for the consoles and get down." Her people did so quickly and got under cover.

"We have to be careful not to hit Chi-chi and Bulma," Goku whispered to the others.

"Right," the others whispered back. The elevator full of guards finally arrived, and the guards charged into the room. They stepped back at the sight of so many Super Saiyans.

"Krillin, 18, Piccolo, Tien, Chiao-Tzu, Yamcha, you handle the guards. Kari is ours," Vegeta instructed, and they nodded and turned to the guards.

Vegeta lunged forward and swung at Kari's undefended belly. She caught his fist with her tail and delivered a counter-punch to his jaw. Vegeta's head snapped back and he grunted sharply.

"KA-ME-HA-ME. . ." Goku started, cupping his hands together at his side. His sons followed suit, also chanting and positioning their hands. "HAAAA!!" the three balls of energy flew at Kari's chest, but she deflected all three of them easily. Two were knocked to either side and the third was knocked straight down.

"Try this on for size! MULTI-STAR BURST!" Kari screamed and unleashed a series of ki balls. They deflected most of them, and those that did hit caused little damage. Realizing ki attacks weren't helping at the moment, they all attacked her at once from five different angles.

Bulma and Chi-chi tried to get out of the way, but there weren't many places for them to hide in on the bridge, and the only way out was blocked by the fighters. Between ki attacks and normal hand-to-hand, the Z- fighters were taking all of the guards down. Keeping in mind that some of them could very well be the last of their species, they tried not to kill them. Kari was having more than a little difficulty fending off the four Super Saiyans and Gohan. She wondered why he didn't go up to Super Saiyan too. It didn't seem possible that he couldn't do it, since his father and little brother could. But even without being a Super Saiyan, his blows were incredibly powerful. She was losing ground fast. She couldn't block all of their punches and kicks, and she could feel her body starting to give out. She growled and unleashed more of her ki to blow them off of her. They caught themselves and lunged at her again. She kicked Vegeta and punched Goten, then elbowed Trunks and decked Gohan. She slammed Goku in the jaw, knocking him flat. The walls were taking a serious beating, as they filled with dents and holes. Vegeta, unconcerned with the condition of the stronghold, raised his hands.

"FINAL FLASH!" Vegeta roared, and an explosion followed. This Final Flash had only been about a sixth of its normal power, but he figured it was enough. Kari waved away the smoke his attack had caused and scowled at him.

"I'm not beat so easily," she warned, and powered up for another attack. Three sounds suddenly filled the room. The first was the loud *creeeaaakkk* of bending metal. The second was the ringing *dingdingdingding* of bolts ricocheting against the bulkheads and inner- walls. The last was the ear-splitting 'depressurization' alarms. Kari's eyes became an unbelievable size with terror. The bridge computers began flashing information, detailing the damage done to all of the decks. The ki blasts had cut through several decks, and the Kamehameha that Kari had deflected downward had punched straight through the bottom of the Legion.

"AAA!! My stronghold!" Kari wailed, her face distorted in an almost comical way.

"The bulkheads have given way! And that last attack has triggered the self-destruct bomb! We have to get away before it blows!" one of the bridge men declared as he read his computer screen. The bridge emptied quickly.

"Not again!! Didn't we do this already?!" Yamcha complained as a suction filled the room from some of the holes.

"I knew there was a reason I hated repeats!" Krillin answered. "Lets get out of here!"

"Hold on!" Goku and Vegeta dove forward and got Chi-chi and Bulma. They ripped the wrist restraints off their wives' wrists and then picked the women up.

"Kakkarot, teleport us to the damn ship before this place is destroyed!" Vegeta barked, and the Z-warriors all crowded in close. Goku felt a ki near their ship and locked on to it. In a flash, they were standing by their ship and watching as personnel dove for escape pods. They ran into their ship and gunned the engines, blasting out of the docking bay at top speed. As they streaked away from the Legion, they could see hundreds of escape pods flying from it like bees from a hive, and after three tense minutes, the entire thing exploded.

"Wow. . .do you think Kari got away?" Goten asked in a soft voice as he watched the smoke and debris fly. Senzu beans were being passed around, and the bag emptied quickly.

"I'm not sure. . .I almost hope not," Gohan answered. "She was crazy."

"She was hurt pretty badly," Trunks observed. "I doubt she got to an escape pod in time."

The ship sailed back to Earth in peace, the long, strange night set to rest behind it. Piccolo took the controls after a while, and several of the Z-warriors fell asleep. Krillin and 18 were leaning against each other in their chairs, and Tien and Chiao-Tzu were completely out of it. Yamcha's head rested on his chest as he breathed in deeply and slow. Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, and Chi-chi, on the other hand, were very much awake. Vegeta was holding Bulma firmly to him, and was kissing her face gently. She held him tightly and sighed under his attentions, giving kiss for kiss. Goku and Chi-chi held each other as well, soft kisses and relieved words passing between them. The men hadn't let their wives go since they had escaped from Kari's stronghold.

"Hey, Chi-chi. . ." Goku's voice was soft but serious.

"What?" Chi-chi looked up at him calmly.

"Did you really think. . .that I loved fighting more than you?" Goku looked a little hurt by the thought.

"Yeah, Woman - did you fall for Kari's lies?" Vegeta looked Bulma straight in the eyes.

"W-well. . .I was worried that it might be true, what with how many times you've run off to deadly combat without even saying goodbye," Chi-chi cast her eyes downward.

"And with all the times you've acted like you didn't care," Bulma added, dropping her own eyes. The two Saiyan men were quiet for a moment.

"Chi-chi. . .if I ever turned around to say goodbye, and saw you waiting for me to come home, I wouldn't be able to go in the first place," Goku told her as he stroked her hair. Chi-Chi smiled deeply and kissed him even deeper. Vegeta made some sound in agreement, unable to say the actual words.

"And. . .when I act like I don't care, that's sort of to protect you. . .if our enemies knew how much you mean to me, they might try and use you against me. . .like Kari did. . ." Vegeta's voice was low and husky. Bulma squeezed him tighter.

"It's all right now. I know the truth. I know how you really feel," Bulma's eyes were bright with unshed tears. Vegeta caught her face and kissed her lovingly. It didn't matter what anyone said or did anymore, they all knew the truth. Saiyan or no, they loved these women far more than fighting. Always.

"Man, this is the last thing I need to see my parents doing," Goten made a face as his mother and father continued kissing.

"Gross," Trunks agreed, sticking out his tongue.

"You're still young," Gohan answered both of them, sending a small smile at his parents. He was so glad it had all turned out well. He turned back to the main view screen and saw the Earth coming into view.

None of them noticed the streak of light behind their ship.

**************************************************************************** ****

Be here for the conclusion: Ch.8: Not Such A Bad Girl? Kari's New Home.

E-mail me at NansJns@aol.com!