All righty, the Saiyans have all been struck down with poison and are dying. It's up to the others to find the ones responsible, but what will happen when they do?

DBZ=Akria Toriyama. Akira Toriyama=not me. No money made I!

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Things Best Forgotten Part 2 by NansJns

But you're still alive, There's a face in the mirror. Still Alive, The debt don't bleed. Still alive, life is a changer- But you're no stranger, Come take what you need.
"Still Alive" by Leslie Fish

Ch.3: "Made Just for Saiyans. . ." - The Assassins Revealed

"Senzu beans? Yeah, I've got a couple, but I'm still growing the next batch," Korin said as he looked around at the tense warriors surrounding him. They had flown up to his tower and demanded six senzu beans without so much as a 'hello' first.
"What's the big rush? I haven't heard or felt any fighting, and you guys look fine," Yajirobe observed, his arms crossed and his face locked in its usual sour expression.
"We're not the problem! The Saiyans, all of them, have been poisoned!" Yamcha answered quickly.
"Huh? How? By who?" Korin and Yajirobe asked together, their faces revealing their shock.
"With darts from a distance. We'll work on who after we get them the beans," Krillin stated, and Korin went to fetch what few he had.
"You're lucky I have this many left to give you," Korin said as he handed Piccolo a small pouch. Piccolo tucked the piece of leather into his belt. "You guys go through them awfully quickly."
"Thanks, Korin," Yamcha answered as Piccolo gave a small nod. Yajirobe scowled a bit.
"I don't think those things work on poison. Poison isn't like an injury, you know. You'd be better off tracking down the ones responsible and getting a cure from them," Yajirobe stated simply, and they looked at him evenly.
"We're going to do that, but every little bit helps. With any luck, these'll do the trick and make them better," Krillin answered. "We have to go. Thanks again." They turned and flew from the tower, their kis leaving blazing trails across the skies that Korin and Yajirobe watched until they faded.
"Good luck. I hope those beans help," Korin said quietly.
"Me too. It'd be a shame to lose Goku again, or either of his sons, or Trunks," Yajirobe observed. Korin sent him a long look, and he sighed. "Or Vegeta or Kari." he added. Korin nodded gravely.
"The real question is, who did this, and why?" Korin said to no one in particular.

Chi-chi, Bulma, and Videl sat by their husbands in a strained semi- silence, murmuring soft, comforting words to their loved ones. The sick Saiyans' faces were all contorted in pain, their skin was hot to the touch and beaded with sweat, and their breathing was thin and harsh. Chi-chi looked at her husband and sons and sucked in a tear-soaked breath. She could feel his suffering through the Bond, and she could hardly stand it. Bulma's eyes went back and forth between her princely mate and their young son, her left hand on her abdomen all the while. The baby was moving again, like it was upset. Videl stared intently at Gohan, wondering if he knew she was there. Her heart ached to see him open his eyes, but he just lied there, struggling for each breath. Chi-chi blew her nose and lifted her head for a moment, and she found Kari in her line of sight. The Saiyan woman laid in bed alone, no one at her side. Chi-chi felt a twinge of pity for her. ((No one should be alone at a time like this.)) she thought, but she didn't move from Goku's side. She glanced quietly at her watch. ((Has it really been only an hour since this nightmare started?)) she wondered for a moment, and then looked over at Bulma. ((No, it's been longer than that. Kami, why? Why does my family have to be taken away from me again and again?))
"*Ahem*, Mrs. Vegeta-Briefs, Mrs. Son and. . .Mrs. Son?" An official voice suddenly said. The silence and the pain were so deep that when the doctor spoke his voice startled them to the point where all three jumped up and looked at him. They all let out a breath and sat down when they saw the tall man in the white coat.
"Yes, Dr. . .," Bulma prompted.
"Dr. Anthony Botic. I'm here to tell you some. . .distressing news," Dr. Botic looked uncomfortable, and his green eyes betrayed the sadness he felt at having to tell them what he knew. Looking at him, they placed him somewhere in his late thirties, with his relatively young face and thick brown hair.
"Distressing how?" Chi-chi asked, her voice almost choked. Dr. Botic sighed.
"Well, as you know, sine this morning we've been analyzing and testing a few drops of fluid that were left in the dart that was found in Mr. Vegeta's hand. The same fluid was found on the other darts that the Son family and Ms. Furauu were struck with. We've also been examining blood samples. Now, not all of the tests are done yet, but what we have isn't good. You already know it's a poison," Dr. Botic said evenly, and they glared at him impatiently. "What we've found is, it's an engineered poison - meant only to affect people with Saiyan blood. It won't do a thing to any other form of life, not even humans, despite how close we are genetically to Saiyans," Dr. Botic finished. The three women's faces filled quietly with horror.
"C-can you find an antidote?" Videl asked quietly.
"Maybe. We still don't know all of the details on this stuff. And. . .with how fast this stuff is destroying their internal systems, I'm afraid the odds of our finding a cure in time is nil, at best. The early tests place the life expectancy of the three full-bloods at three days, the halfers at five, at best," Dr. Botic looked away, not wanting to see the pain he must have just inflicted on these poor women. "Other tests may change that," he offered them the only grain of comfort he had to offer. He glanced at them, and wasn't overly surprised by what he saw. Bulma's right hand was squeezed into a white-knuckled fist, her head down, tears glistening down her cheeks. Chi-chi had one hand pressed to her mouth as she wept, two of her tears splashing onto Goku's hand. Videl was breathing in slowly, trying to keep from sobbing out loud. Dr. Botic felt a sharp stab of pity for the three women. "There's one more thing," Dr. Botic's voice was soft. They looked at him with their eyes wide with horror. What more could there be? "The dart found with Mr. Vegeta is about half a size larger than the other four we have. He received a good portion more than the others. Possibly his son, too. With out the dart that hit him, there's no way to know. But their time. . .is much shorter than the others. . ." Bulma felt her heart stop completely. There'd be no stopping the flood this time. "If the people who did this are found, then. . ." he started.
"We know. We have people looking into that now," Bulma said as clearly as she could as the tears left bright rivers down her face. Dr. Botic nodded.
"I'll. . .give you all a little time alone," he said gently, and then left. The three wives sat in silence, save for the sounds of their breaths, Bulma's sobbing, and the machines monitoring the dying Saiyans.
"Who could do this?" Chi-chi finally spoke after several long minutes. "Who could do this to them? Goku, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, they've never hurt anyone except in defense of others and themselves!" Bulma drew in several shaky breaths to steady herself enough to speak.
"I don't know! I just. . .wait. . .oh no, he couldn't have. . .he wouldn't have. . ." Bulma felt her soul sink to the floor.
"What?! Who? Bulma, what are. . ." Chi-chi said rapidly, and then realized who she must have been talking about. "That man, Odan?! You think he did this?!"
"Odan? That guy who lost his planet 'cause of Saiyans?" Videl jumped back into the conversation.
"That's him, but I don't think he did this - not himself, anyway. He- he told me he was part of a company into 'extermination.' I completely forgot after he left, I. . .I think what they were exterminating were Saiyans. I think Odan went back, told them everything he saw, and they sent someone to do. . .this!" Bulma gave a half-circle wave of her arm to indicate all of the occupants of the room.
"That. . .that son of a. . .If I ever get my hands on him. . .!!" Videl sputtered in rage. Bulma shook her head slowly.
"I doubt he'll ever come back after this. He wouldn't be able to face me," Bulma murmured sadly.
"Hey! We're back with the senzu beans!"Yamcha's voice suddenly came from the window, and they all jumped. He and Krillin climbed through the window and smiled a little at the three women. They carefully went to each Saiyan and slid a bean into their mouths. The Saiyans swallowed roughly, and they all waited tensely for several long minutes. The machines connected to the six bodies continued to hum and beep, their readings unchanged. The pained looks on the six faces didn't leave or even ease, and their breathing became no smoother.
"Nothing. Yajirobe was right, the beans don't work on poison," Krillin's voice was thin with disappointment.
"Oh no. . ." Chiao-Tzu whispered.
"It's worse than you think," Chi-chi sad quietly. "The doctor just told us. . .this poison was designed to kill Saiyans, and only Saiyans. Someone has been planning this for a long time."
"Then we have to find them! Come on, we need to get to the eastern mountains!" Piccolo barked, and they all took off again. The three wives were left alone with their thoughts and fears once more. Videl stood and closed the window.

The five Z-fighters reached the eastern mountains in record shattering time, and came across the scorched crater just as quickly. They hovered high above it, the leveled and slightly blackened earth like a giant, glowing "X" for some kind of impact.
"What do you suppose hit here?" Krillin asked as he dropped just a little lower to get a better look. Something glinting between the trees pulled his attention away from the hole. "Wait, over there. That looks like a-"
"Shhh!" Piccolo abruptly hissed, and Krillin closed his mouth. The foursome watched as three beings, all male in appearance but none of them human, came running into the clearing. They twitched sharply as they realized they could only feel ki from two of them; the other one was a complete blank.
"Mission accomplished!" boasted the one with deep, blue-purple skin and short, wavy white-green hair. He had large ears that almost looked leaf-shaped.
"Those Saiyan scum will be dead in less than two days time!" agreed the taller, yellow- skinned male with orange hair. They noted quickly that he was the one with no discernable ki.
"The universe will finally by free of that murdering filth," the third said. His skin was a strange beige shade, and looked like it was drawn almost too tightly over his body. His hair was black and straight. They were all dressed in a kind of make-shift armor with tight shirts and pants underneath, not unlike what the Saiyans themselves wore. "Now, lets go. We need to tell the others of our victory." The other two aliens nodded, and all three started for the tree line. They didn't make it. Before any of them had a chance to even realize they were under attack, all three were pinned to the dirt, an angry Z-Fighter above each them.
"W-what the hell. . .?! Who the fuck are you?!" The beige one gagged, dust flying around his mouth.
"Friends of those 'Saiyan scum'," Tien snarled as he pulled beige-boy to his feet.
"Friends?! Are you mad?! Don't you value your lives and the lives of those around you?!" the blue-purple one snapped as Krillin twisted his arms behind him.
"Sure do, their lives especially," Krillin growled as he forced his prisoner back onto his feet.
"What do you think you're doing? Let us go!" the yellow guy snapped before Piccolo grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.
"You're going to give us the antidote," Piccolo said in a low, threatening tone.
"There is no antidote!" the yellow being in Piccolo's grasp choked out. Piccolo twitched, and then scowled very deeply.
"Should've known you wouldn't have any made. All right, we'll go to the hospital where you'll tell the doctors the formula for the antidote," Piccolo stated simply, released the man's throat and wrapped his arm around the guy's waist, pinning his arms to his body. They all took off with their catch in tow. The sun sank into the west and stars began to twinkle overhead.
"Halter, what in Kami's name is going on here?!" the blue-purple male glared at the beige one. "How did the plan get so royally screwed up?!
"How the fuck am I supposed to know, Bosen?!" Halter snapped in reply. "Last I heard, Saiyans didn't have mind control! But these guys can't be serious about being their _friends_!"
"Halter, Bosen, and you are. . .?" Yamcha sent a dark look at the yellow guy dangling from Piccolo's arm, pointlessly kicking his legs.
"Vac-Uum, as if it's any business of yours!" the yellow guy answered.

Bulma had started to doze off when a soft sound from Vegeta made her eyes flutter open. She rubbed her tired blue eyes and glanced at her mate, and jerked to full attention at the sight of his dark eyes open.
"Bulma. . ." he croaked thinly. He winced, then relaxed again. "Kami. . .I feel like shit. . . is this. . .the hospital?"
"Vegeta! Oh, Vegeta, you're awake!" Bulma took hold of his hand and squeezed tightly. Chi-chi and Videl watched them intently. "How do you feel?" She already knew the answer, she felt everything he felt, but she didn't know what else to say.
"I just. . .said. . .like shit," he groaned.
"You've been poisoned, Veggie. . ." Bulma started in.
"I figured that out already," Vegeta sighed lightly.
"With a poison meant only to affect Saiyans," Bulma finished. Vegeta tilted his head the slightest bit toward her.
"What?" the word was a breath. Vegeta then passed out again.
"VEGETA!" Bulma's voice was somewhere between horror and pleading.
"Mom. . .Mommy. . ." Trunks' voice was a little stronger than Vegeta's had been, but still weak and small and piercing to his mother's heart.
"Trunks! How are you, Sweetie?" Bulma looked at her son. His blue eyes were clouded with pain, but they were open.
"It hurts. . .what is it?" Trunks answered, breathing slowly as if taking air in too fast would increase his discomfort. Goten and Gohan moaned quietly from their beds and their eyes fluttered open.
"Oh, Dende. . .what happened? Videl?" Gohan tried to make his eyes focus on his wife's face, but it wouldn't stay for more than a few seconds.
"I'm right here, Gohan," Videl leaned in a little closer to help him see her.
"Mom? Dad? Gohan?" Goten's voice rasped. Chi-chi touched his face gently.
"I'm here, Goten, right here," Chi-chi said in her most soothing voice.
"Chi-chi. . .are you there?" Chi-chi jumped at Goku's voice and turned back to him. His eyes were half open, but open none the less.
"Oh, thank Kami! Goku!" Chi-chi leaned over to him, taking his hand in her free hand.
"What. . .was in those. . .darts?" Goku forced the words out between pained breaths.
"Poison. . .made just for Saiyans," Chi-chi said loud enough for them all to hear. Goku's face filled with surprise, though it was quickly overwhelmed by a pained grimace.
"We sent the guys looking for whoever is responsible," Bulma informed them.
"I think. . .I can feel them. . .coming this way," Gohan rolled his head loosely toward the window. Goku swallowed roughly and tried to feel outward, but the pain he felt dulled his senses and kept his mind scattered too thinly to pick up anything but what was right in front of him.
"I can't. . .can't. . ." Goku shook his head just a little bit.
"Oh, Kami, this isn't fair," Chi-chi whispered softly. "How many times do I have to lose you?" Goku forced his vision to clear as he looked at his wife's grief- stricken face. He slowly lifted his left hand to gently stroke her cheek. The movement was agonizing, but he hid most of his discomfort.
"Chi-chi. . .I promise. . .promise you. . .I'm not. . . gonna leave you. . . again. . .never again. . ." he said, slowly and surely. Chi-chi grasped the hand stroking her cheek and pressed her face against it, kissing it lightly. Goku looked into her beautiful dark eyes that he knew so well and realized the Bond was wide open - she felt the pain he was in. Worse, he couldn't concentrate enough to try and make a new wall between them to spare her. ((Damn. . .this aspect. . .of the. . . Bond. . .)) he thought.
Bulma stroked Trunks' hair comfortingly as she told him everything that had happened. He blinked a bit at the mention of the senzu beans.
"Thought I felt. . .something go down my throat. Thought it was. . .a dream, though," he sighed lightly, and his eyes slid to look at his father. "H-has Dad. . .?"
"He woke up a few minutes ago, and then passed out again," Bulma said. Trunks gave a small nod, and then turned his glance to his other side, to see Kari.
"And Kari?" he asked. He could dimly hear Goku, Goten, and Gohan speaking, so he knew they were awake.
"She hasn't come to yet, no," Bulma shook her head. All of the conversations ended with the sounding of tapping on the window. The rest of the Z-fighters floated outside the window with their prisoners. Videl hastily opened the window and they came in.
"We got the guilty parties," Piccolo grunted as he roughly dragged Vac-Uum toward the door of the room.
"We thought that going through the front door with these guys might cause some trouble, so we're going to sneak them to the doctor in charge of this case so they can give him or her the formula for the antidote. Who is that, by the way?" Krillin explained briefly.
"Dr. Botic, I believe," Bulma almost felt like smiling.
"You were told before! THERE IS NO ANTIDOTE!!! NO FORMULA FOR AN ANTIDOTE WAS EVER MADE!!!" Halter bellowed at the top of his voice, which was surprisingly loud. The sounds of approaching nurses could be heard, and Yamcha quickly went to head them off. Vegeta and Kari jerked awake and stared at the three new aliens.
"Huh? Wh-what's going. . . on?" Kari said slowly. She turned her head a bit at the sound of the argument, wincing as she did so. "Who. . .are they? Cure?"
"What? What do you mean no antidote was ever made?!" Piccolo nearly roared as he threw Vac-Uum to the floor. Halter and Bosen were deposited in a similar fashion by Krillin and Tien.
"Just what it sounded like. It took years to develop a poison that would kill only Saiyans, slowly and painfully as they deserved. Our mission, and that of hundreds of other survivors of those butchers, is to see them all die! Why in Kami's name would we come up with a way to cure them?! Where the hell is the logic in that?! I mean, that's just _stupid_!" Halter snapped in sheer aggravation. Did these guys think they were complete idiots or something?! The Z- fighters and wives looked at each other in silent horror. Somehow, that had never crossed their minds.
"A Barrian, a Lecana, and a Col? I thought. . ." Vegeta rasped.
"We were all dead with our planets? Hardly, Beast. Some of us were off world when you creatures came," Bosen growled low in his throat, and his skin became a deeper purple.
"You're disgusting, all of you. We served the Saiyans and Frieza willingly, and you killed us anyway," Vac-Uum's eyes were full of fire.
"Doing what?" Chi-chi looked at him in disbelief. Vac-Uum was silent for a few moments before answering.
"Assassins and spies."
"That reminds me, why don't you have a ki?" Tien stepped in.
"A natural trait of my kind - unreadable ki. That's why we had those kinds of jobs. We thought we'd be safe if we did like we were told, but we were wrong," Vac- Uum breathed slowly to control his rage.
"You know, I'm kind of glad we've been caught. Now we get to watch you die. What a fine tale it will be to tell the others, how much you suffered, how long it took," Halter smiled the coldest, cruelest smile Videl had ever seen. "Of course we gave you and your spawn extra large doses, 'Your Highness.' The most powerful needs to be taken down first, always," he added. There was a silent exchange of glances, but no one corrected Halter's statement.
"How could you do this?" Chi-chi asked suddenly. The three aliens looked at her curiously.
"Who are you?" Halter asked in response. Chi-chi narrowed her eyes.
"I'm Chi-chi Son, the wife of Goku, this Saiyan," she motioned to Goku, "and the mother of Gohan and Goten, those two," she pointed to her sons.
"I'm Gohan's wife, Videl," Videl added.
"I'm Bulma, Vegeta's wife, and the mother of Trunks," Bulma said over her shoulder. She was facing Vegeta, and her back was to Vac, Halter, and Bosen for the most part. The three stared at the women in something between shock and terror, and then faded back to anger
"What do you mean, how could we do this? Get rid of the worse plague this universe has ever known? Bring justice to untold billions of souls? We can do this with the greatest of ease and joy! How can _you_ do this, tell us we're wrong, defend these. . .these. . .kami-damned mother-fucking sons-of-bitches?!" Bosen's voice was so filled with hate that it made them all shudder a little. Halter and Vac simply nodded in agreement with him.
"But we've never done anything wrong," Gohan wheezed, but they either didn't hear him, or just ignored him.
"Goku, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, - and Kari - have NEVER hurt ANYONE without good reason! They don't have blood on their hands!" Chi-chi snapped.
"You're killing innocent people!" Bulma declared.
"No Saiyan is innocent! They're bloodthirsty killers, all of them! My wife, my children, everyone I ever knew, were killed by Saiyans!" Halter barked. "They sold my planet to someone who wanted more choice real estate! 8 billion lives for a small monetary gain! Bastards! Murdering bastards!!" he spat at Vegeta and scowled.
"Even their children are killers! They send babies to purge planets! Babies! One was sent to my home! They live for battle! How can you say they're innocent?!" Vac- Uum spoke next.
"I don't know why they haven't slaughtered everyone on this world yet, but they would have sooner or later. You should be thanking us for saving all of you, not punishing us!" Bosen added. The room then exploded in to an even bigger argument, each defending their own stance, insult after insult flung at the Saiyans, descriptions of the death and destruction others had caused coming up in graphic, horrid detail. The Saiyans didn't have the strength to defend themselves. Chi-chi gritted her teeth tight, until she couldn't take it anymore.
"STOP IT! JUST STOP!" Chi-chi screamed, and the arguing died. They all looked at Chi-chi, who had tears brimming in her eyes. "What do you think, that by killing all of the Saiyans, your pain will go away? The loss won't hurt so much? You're WRONG!! My husband has been killed twice, and both his killers are also dead. Do you think knowing that made my heart hurt any less? It didn't. Do you think it kept me from hating the ones responsible? It didn't. I still hate them, to this day. I'll hate them until I die. Revenge does nothing for the dead, and very little for the living," Chi-chi spoke in a low, even tone despite the tears that fell down her face.
"A very pretty speech, but it changes nothing. The Saiyans are still butchers who have to be stopped. This isn't just revenge for our dead, it's to guarantee our children a bright future!" Halter, the apparent leader, answered. "It's best to kill them all now before they wreak more havoc."
"You can't just kill innocent people for something that had nothing to do with them! Who made you judge, jury, and executioner? Does doing this make you any better than them?!" Bulma demanded as she whipped around to face them. "For Kami's sake, it makes you what you hate! Genocidalists!" Their faces went pale and drawn, and for a moment, Bulma thought it was because of what she'd said, until she realized it was because of what they had just seen. She was six months pregnant now, pregnant enough to show quite a bit, and she had just revealed it to them.
"You. . .you're carrying another one of those monsters, aren't you?!" Bosen's voice was between furious and terrified.
"Stay away from me. . ." Bulma backed away quickly, wrapping her arms around her extended abdomen. Everyone in the room went on the alert.
"D-don't you dare! That baby. . .isn't even. . .born yet!" Vegeta strove to sound threatening as he lifted himself a little from his hospital bed, but it was almost impossible to move, his body hurt so badly, and his voice reflected his pain.
"And if we can help it, it never will be!" Halter bellowed, and all three lunged at Bulma. Bosen never even saw Chi-chi move before her foot slammed into his face. He was sent flying backwards into the wall, and as he pulled himself up to attack again, Chi- chi landed a flurry of punches to his face and upper chest. She finished with a spinning kick to the ribs, and Bosen fell down and chose to stay down. The others didn't get off so easy; Vac-Uum was slammed aside by a ki ball from Krillin, and crumpled into a painful heap. Halter almost reached Bulma, but Piccolo landed his elbow on Halter's back as Tien's leg smashed into his stomach. Halter felt his innards get pulled in two different directions, and before they could finish settling back into place Piccolo and Tien threw him toward Bosen. He hit the wall and cracked it, then fell over almost on top of Bosen. The infuriated Z-fighters dropped Vac with his comrades and glared at them.
"Bosen, you okay?" Vac-Uum asked in a small, wheezing voice.
"I ting by jaw id brogen!" Bosen moaned as blood dripped from his face.
"Huh. These guys aren't very strong at all!" Chi-chi scowled. "Just sneaky and underhanded!"
"We prefer to think we're intelligent and clever," Halter muttered. "We'd have to be idiots or suicidal to try and take out the Saiyans any other way."
"Get them out of here!" Videl snarled.
"They obviously won't be of any help," Bulma agreed, still breathing shakily from the fright she just got.
"We'll find someplace to put them," Tien nodded. "If all else fails, we can make a cage or something to hold them." With that, Tien, Piccolo, and Krillin hoisted the three would-be genocidalists up by their collars and took them back out the window. Chiao- Tzu sent a quiet glance back at his long-time friends, then followed his other friends for back up. ((What are we going to do now?)) he wondered.

**************************************************************************** ** Just getting the cure from the assassins was too darn easy! And like I said, why would they have a cure in the first place? The emotions (and the action) are going to keep going up, so fasten your seat belts and hold on tight! Next time: Ch.4: To Keep the Baby Safe - Hiding at Kami's Lookout.

Want to talk to me? I love getting mail about my stuff, so send your comments/questions/suggestions/flames to NansJns@aol.com. If that address doesn't work, send your letters to my brother, Scorpinac@aol.com!

BTW, Anthony Botic is a play on the word antibiotic, in case you didn't realize that. I uphold Toriyama's tradition of punny names. (Yeah, I know - duh!)