Standard disclaimer, I do not own Dragonball Z/GT or any of its related characters. This is purely a non-profit work, for the enjoyment of those that are kind enough to read my work.
Warning: This and later chapter's are going to get into some darker areas, so if your easily bothered don't read on. Rating is still PG-13 for extreme violence, language, and minor implied sexuality.
Dragonball: After Earth
By Blood Wraith
Chapter 9: Torment
The Knighthood of the Daemon Empire was arranged in a strict hierarchy consisting of three orders. The Third Order was made up of the newest and least powerful knights it was also the largest of the three orders. The Second Order consisted of the more experienced and powerful knights. The First Order were the commanders and veterans of the knighthood, and thus also the smallest group.
Ahriman and Marduke were both members of the First Order. Ahriman was the most powerful of the knights outside of Azazel himself, a veteran of a thousand campaigns. Marduke though a worthy opponent in his own right, was more of a strategist preferring to command troops and operations from the sidelines. Normally they were opponents in their goals, both tending to work on separate missions and seeking to outdo the other. At the present though they worked together on the same mission, the location of the planet, New Namek. They had been assigned to Mephiston to find the remaining sayai-jin but the magistrate had altered those orders. He had explained to the knights that any resistance would be centered on the planet, and thus it was their primary goal.
Ahriman stepped off the floating piece of debris he had been standing on and floated over towards another larger piece a few hundred yards off. The two daemon knights had just recently found the location of the original Planet Namek, which had been destroyed during the battle between Son Goku and Freezer over three decades before. They hoped to use the lingering energy sources from there as their guide to New Namek. As he approached the piece of debris he sought, he caught sight of Marduke with several items floating in front of him within the void of space.
As the other daemon landed besides him, Marduke looked up briefly. He noticed with a bit of annoyance once again that besides the color of their armor the two of them looked quite alike. Both were clad head to toe in spiked adamantine full plate armor. Where Ahirman's armor was primarily a dark blue, with gold trim, Marduke's own suit was mainly black with silver lining and runes across his chest plate. Ahriman's armor also had more built in weaponry, all the plates over his joints and shoulders tipped with razor-edged blades. With a slight snort of discontent he snatched the piece of white stone he had been examining from the space before him and held it out to Ahriman to inspect.
~~This appears to be a piece of the home of the being who was once the guardian of this planet. The energy surrounding it is quite strong, if he or another in his position live we should be able to use it to trace them.~~
Ahriman took the piece and turned it over in his hands, nodding slightly at the telepathic words from Marduke. As powerful daemons neither needed to breath, so the lack of air was only an inconvenience, and the telepathic communication was more effective anyway. He let the shard go and turned pointing to another small chunk of the planet in the distance.
~~The energy over there is clearer then this. It feels as if a massive inner power was released in a single burst all at once. It is also quite familiar to some of the energy that we felt when we were on the flagship above Terra. It may belong to one of the sayai-jin.~~
Silver light danced up Marduke's body for an instant before he vanished, reappearing on the small piece of debris that Ahriman had indicated. Closing his glowing red eyes he felt the energy that still hung strong on this piece of ground. It was quite evident even after all the years had passed. Marduke was unaware of it, but he stood on one of the few surviving pieces of terrain from the area where Son Goku had first experienced his transformation into a Super Sayai-jin. During their battle with Freezer, Kuririn had been slain by the tyrant, the shock of seeing his best friend killed had shattered all the limits hold Goku back, and he had been the first of the modern sayai-jin to reach those lofty heights.
~~There is more then enough residual energy here that if it appears again and we detect it, we can be sure it is the same source. We shouldn't rely on it alone though. After all, the sayai-jin may not be on the planet we are seeking. We should instead seek its' occupants.~~
~~Bah, we should look for both then with equal vigor. If we happen to find and destroy the sayai-jin the rewards should be enough to appease both of us. Consider it a nice little diversion to keep us occupied while we're out here in this black nothingness.~~
Marduke couldn't argue with the true of Ahriman's words. From what they had heard, the sayai-jin had been quite a problem on Earth. If they could locate them and the planet, they would both find rewards beyond anything they had previously imagined. After he gave his nod of ascent to the other daemon, they both vanished from the debris field, innate powers of teleportation taking them to a similar site in the Sol system, where a lush blue planet had been only days before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was over. That was the only thought that kept pounding itself inside Laele's head. She had been ecstatic when Medon had beaten the two daemon knights, despite his injuries he would get away. Then Azazel, the Black Knight, her father, appeared and all her hopes died.
Shaking away the pain that still tried to blur his vision and ignoring the sticky mess that was the side of his face, Medon raised his lavender eyes up to this newest wall he would have to pass. This one wasn't as big as some of the daemons he had faced so far, but there was something about him that helped quell any confidence the teenager might have felt from his defeat of Belial and Andariel. That and his injuries were beginning to dawn on him now that his initial adrenaline rush had died. His right cheek was crushed and the skin torn free from that section of his face, plus he had suffered numerous bruises and cuts from the severe beating he had received from Belial. One of his ribs was also broken, and he suspected his ankle was sprained. It didn't matter though, he had survived on Earth, and he had survived here. He wouldn't let this one beat him.
Azazel held back a smile as he watched Medon slowly rise up to his feet before him. He had considered simply vaporizing the sayai-jin before he could even react to his presence, but had quickly discarded that course of action. He knew Laele had aided the boy in battle, as well as what he had accomplished so far. He wanted to see how much of a warrior's spirit Medon truly had. How he fought would determine his fate. Of course, Azazel thought, killing him here might be the kinder of the fates he could give this one.
Slowly so Medon could see he wasn't making any hostile actions, Azazel removed the long cylinder that was latched onto his upper leg. His sign of rank and his weapon, Celestial Bane, was brought forth from it and he had no need of it in this battle. Then he took off his cloak, folding the handle within it. Then he tossed the bundle to Laele.
"Hold this child, I know your not foolish enough to interfere this time."
Laele nearly missed catching the items, her voice catching in her throat at Azazel's words. He knew what she had done. The warning in his tone had been unmistakable. Still her fate hardly worried her, any punishment would be left ultimately to Mephiston, who wasn't here right now. At the moment she still just wanted to think of someway for Medon to escape.
While Azazel prepared himself, Medon did the same. He tore off tattered remains of the shirt of his red gi, the black t-shirt underneath in much better shape. He pressed the material to his face, hoping to clean away some of the blood and slow down the flow of more. He didn't have nearly enough time as Azazel stepped forward, obviously ready to begin. With a sigh, Medon tossed the tatters aside, keeping his eyes firmly forward. He knew it wouldn't help his morale if he saw just how much blood had stained his shirt in so short a time. Azazel only smiled.
"Well child. Shall we begin?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You lost him!? You had him and you lost him?!"
Dende took a step back, both because the volume of Pan's yelling and the fact she was shaking a fist in his direction. He knew she wouldn't intentionally strike him but her moods had flipped enough recently he didn't want to risk it.
"His ki decreased to fast for us to get a firm lock on him. There were also other energies around him that blurred Son Goku's senses, so he wasn't able to use his Instantiations Movement to get to Medon."
Pan let out a sound somewhere between a whine and a growl and threw her hands up in the air, turning away from Dende and heading towards where Goku, Murri, Tenshinhan, and Hammer were still conversing.
"You people tell me my brother is alive, and then you can't get us to him!"
The comment was directed at Dende, but it caught the attention of both Bra and Trunks. With a look at his sister, Trunks moved to intercept the young woman before she disturbed whatever attempts the others were making at forming a plan.
"Whoah, hold on Pan. If Dende can't tell you anything neither can they. Come over here and sit down. There's nothing you can do right now. We might as well all get back to full strength while we can."
Pan stopped and turned dark eyes to Trunks. For a moment he thought she was going to yell at him and keep going but then her shoulders slumped and she gave a nod of her head.
"Fine. After we eat, you and I are going to train though. It'll keep us both in practice and get rid of the urge I have to hit something."
Bra resisted the urge to laugh as her friend stalked by Trunks, stopping briefly to flash him a smile and commenting on the fact that he would be the object of her aggression shortly.
"No offense of course."
As he watched Pan move over to Bra and the two go in search of a meal, Trunks found he really had no response. He instead stood watching them go, taking note of Pan slowly briefly and turning her face to the sky. Her thought at that moment he knew was the same one that many of them shared. Where was Medon?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He barely had any ki left, but somehow Medon found the strength within him to call upon the transformation. The ground buckled and shattered around his feet, as golden fire burst up around his body for an instant before fading. Laele found herself biting her lip as she watched Medon go into Stage Two. The aura that he would normally have after his transformation had failed almost instantly. His hair now stood up in sharp golden spikes, and tiny sparks of electricity appeared around his body every few seconds, but it was obvious he wasn't at fall strength. Still he was preparing to fight her father, the Black Knight.
Azazel only smiled and almost lazily raised his hand up to wave Medon on. He would let the teenager start off the fight. From the exhaustion that was evident on his face, Azazel was partially afraid he would misjudge his first attack and kill him.
A small tremor shook the battlefield as Medon kicked forward, a golden streak heading for Azazel. He saw the daemon knight shift slightly in preparation of his impact and slowed his flight instantly. One of his hands snapping out to fire off a dozen golden orbs of energy that blasted into Azazel full force, the resulting explosions and smoke momentarily hiding him from view.
Medon pulled up short in front of the smoke cloud, spinning around a few feet off the ground and letting one of his legs pass into it, hoping to catch the stunned daemon with a kick. He boot connected with something within the smoke, causing a surprised smile to appear on the teenagers face as he quickly pulled back and spun the other direction, this time lashing out with a backhand punch. Just as he was sure he was going to connect again he felt his fist caught and held still in a grip of iron.
The smoke cleared as Medon struggled to pull free, again revealing the Black Knight. Azazel appeared unharmed by the barrage of ki blasts, not even a scratch showing on his breastplate. The kick had apparently connected with his shoulder, an almost superficial dent, could just been seen on the plating there. He had caught Medon with almost pitiful ease, and now held the sayai-jin's fist firmly within his large hand. The fact that truly unnerved Medon however, was the fact that the knight was smiling.
Pushing away his shock, Medon went into motion. His free arm struck out in a blur of motion, striking Azazel countless times across the face, neck, and chest. Both his feet also left the ground, snapping out across the knight's lower body. Through it all Azazel stood unmoving, the smile never leaving his face, even as Medon punched into his nose with all his might.
"When you are done, please let me know."
"Damn you!"
Medon spat the words out and slapped his hand flat onto Azazel's forehead, the lower part of his palm covering the daemon's eyes. Golden ki leaked out between his fingers as his energy attack forced it's way out. The force of the close range beam causing Azazel's head to rock backward, the blast no longer contained by his face racing out into the distance and exploding near the horizon, shaking the entire moon.
Medon and Laele were both holding their breath, as Azazel stood unmoving after the last assault. Laele didn't want her father to be dead, but her hope was still with the young sayai-jin. Medon just wanted the daemon to fall; he had put all he had into that shot. The grip on his fist didn't lessen though, and Azazel slowly righted his face again, his glowing blue eyes locking onto Medon.
"A solid tactic sayai-jin. It probably would have toppled a lesser foe. A commendable but futile effort."
Even as the last word had left his mouth, he gave a sharp jerk on Medon's hand that he still held. The force of the movement popped the teenager's shoulder free of the socket, even as Azazel continued his turn, letting go just as he completed a half circle. He had only twisted his upper body and his arm, but the motion still had enough force to toss Medon far away from the two daemons.
Laele watched in abstract horror as a small mountain in the distance, where Azazel had thrown Medon cracked and fell inward upon itself as the sayai-jin slammed into it. She moved to help him but stopped herself as she felt the knight's eyes upon her.
"Be careful Laele. Your actions now shall determine how others judge you."
Then he was gone, a simple focusing of energy teleporting him after Medon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some scars last forever. So it seemed on Kaioshin Kai, the planet of the High Gods. Many of the vast valleys and trenches that lined the planet were not natural, remnants of Goku and Vegeta's final battle against Majinn Buu.
The last of the High Gods, the Eastern Kaioshin thought of all this while he looked out over his home. He along with the Rou Kaioshin, who had remained on the holy sphere rather the move on to the land of the dead, had been watching the events unfold within the Northern Galaxy. He wanted to act desperately, what was happening didn't just threaten that galaxy, but all of them. If the daemons were not stopped they would invade this entire dimension.
As his elder had said though, he couldn't, not yet. The daemons were actively searching for him, and even as powerful as he was, he would not be able to stand against them, anymore then he was able to stand against Buu. He would be utterly destroyed. So they had to simply wait and watch, and hope the chance would come for them to find a way to give aid to the mortals. While the elder Kaioshin watched their past ally Son Goku, East Kaioshin instead kept his senses trained on the area where Earth had been. They had been sharp before his fusion with Kibit but now if he knew the area there was little he missed. The daemons had a plan involving that region still, and he was determined to find out what it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Medon let out a groan as he tried to get to his feet. He knew he was lying on his face in a pile of rubble; the dust was stinging his eyes. He was lying on one arm though and the other just wouldn't respond when he tried to move it. He rolled over to free his left arm from his body, the action sending a splinter of agony through the opposite shoulder. Glancing over he saw the placement of his arm, it was lower then it should have been. Rising slowly to his knees Medon found a rock of appropriate size and closed his eyes. With a sharp jerk he slammed his right shoulder against the boulder, the cracking and crumbling of the rock barely covering up his yell of pain as his right arm popped back into place.
He was coming up fully to his feet, cradling his sore arm with the one that was still fully functional when Azazel appeared before him. The attack came faster then he would have expected, as Azazel brought his left hand in a vicious sweeping backhand. Medon jumped backwards and up in an attempt to stop the blow from hitting his head, the movement saved his life, but didn't spare him any pain. Azazel's fist connected onto the elbow of Medon's uninjured arm with crunching sound that the approaching Laele heard clearly. The boy's arm wasn't enough to stop the blow though; the crushed limb was then forced into his torso by the continued motion of Azazel's punch. Medon had almost passed out when every bone in his arm shattered at the same moment; he wished he had when he felt the impact on his ribcage. Every rib on his left side broke apart with the force of the attack, fragments of bone splintering into soft organs. He couldn't even scream as his throat filled with blood.
Before his body could go flying to the side from the force of the attack, Azazel's other hand darted out and grabbed a fistful of the black shirt Medon wore, stopping him from going anywhere. The sharp jerk of the stopped flight caused Medon's head to flop to the side, the stream of blood that had burst from his mouth splashing across the knight's arms and chest. Even as he yanked Medon back the boy lost the thin gold aura that had hovered around him. His golden hair falling into it's natural shape and darkening to black again.
Medon was surprised he wasn't dead. He had never felt so much pain in his life. He could barely find breath, and each one was filled with red bubbles. His arm and left side were just a mass of agony he couldn't even begin to guess at the extent of his injuries. He didn't want to die though; he refused to just give up. His right arm though sore still worked, and Azazel was so close he couldn't miss. The attack was hard with one hand, and with the power he needed he would probably hurt himself more. He had to win though, his grandfather, Pan, Trunks, Bra, everyone was counting on him. Even Laele, one of the "enemy" who would most likely face punishment for aiding him needed his help.
Even with all her speed, Laele wasn't able to arrive on the scene until after Azazel. She got there just in time to see Medon's last-ditch attack. Azazel had turned to watch her approach, holding Medon off the ground with one hand, most likely to show her what had become of the one she had committed treason for. Medon was mumbling something, and a blue ball of energy was steadily forming in his right hand, which was shaped like he was cupping something.
"Fragile creatures aren't they my child?"
The Black Knight turned his eyes back to Medon just as red flames distorted his view of the sayai-jin and scorching his hand. Medon's hand was already in his face, the yell accompanying his final blast an almost incoherent noise. The result was still the same as if he had spoken clearly though.
Laele felt her skin blister, as she was knocked back and dropped the cloak and weapon she was holding. The blue energy beam spread out completely engulfing Azazel and tearing past him, digging a huge rut across the surface of the moon as it continued beyond her line of vision into space.
Medon gave all the energy he could muster into the attack, the one-handed Kamehameha hadn't been overly difficult but finding the strength to power it with a times two Kaio-Ken had almost been beyond him. He poured all his remaining ki into the blast for nearly half a minute, and then it sputtered and died. He nearly passed out when it was done, he would have fallen if his feet were on the ground, but he was still held aloft, Azazel's grip hadn't even wavered.
"I admire your courage boy. It will only take you so far though. Strength is what will bring you victory, and you just don't have enough."
"Im...poss...ible."
"No, the only there here today that was impossible was you achieving victory."
Laele was just getting to her feet again as Medon raised his arm in a futile attempt to defend himself. Azazel let go of the demi-sayai-jin letting him begin his drop to the ground and spun on one foot, his other coming up off the ground to slam into Medon's face. She heard a wet cracking sound and saw the blood splatter across the rocks besides the two. Medon didn't make a sound, even as he sailed backwards to land heavily onto more rubble, skidding across the rough surface before stopping.
Azazel turned and went to retrieve his items that Laele had dropped. The sayai-jin had put up a decent fight. If he still lived they would bring him back with them when they returned to Dis. Perhaps he would have some information that would prove useful in their current campaign. As he pinned his cloak back on, he sent the telepathic message to his ship to come retrieve them.
"You may see to him if you wish. If he still lives inform me, we will bring him with us."
With only a moments hesitation Laele sprang across the rocks to where Medon had fallen. She found him unmoving where he had stopped in his skid. She knelt down besides him, green eyes going across his form, trying to think what she could do for him.
He was alive, but just barely, and though completely senseless, he was also conscious. Each time his chest moved with his exhalation of air, blood came up between his lips. His left arm was pulped, the shattered bone having torn free of the skin at two places. The humerus bone of his upper arm had torn free at his shoulder and hung a few inches to the side. In his forearm the ulna had ripped out near his elbow and jammed inward to stab deep into his left side. The left side of his chest was crushed; all of his ribs were obviously broken. One of his lungs had probably collapsed, and she didn't know what other internal organs had been hurt. The worst injury though was the last inflicted by Azazel's final kick. His head was twisted sharply to the side, farther then it should have been. His neck had been broken. The kick had also inflicted severe damage to his face, the right side was crushed in, his cheekbone had been completely shattered, as had his jaw. His eye on that side had turned fully red as blood filled it. She lightly touched his face on the left side, completely clueless what to do. Medon moved slightly trying to make some sort of noise at the contact, all that came out was a strangled whimper. This was beyond anything she had seen anyone survive. He was going to die.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mephiston glanced at the messenger who had just brought news that Azazel had reported he had found Laele and would be returning with her shortly. He has also defeated the youngest of the sayai-jin. Whether he was alive or dead, was not known. With a wave of his hand he dismissed the other daemon and sat back to ponder this turn of events.
Ahriman and Marduke had recently sent word that they had two energy sources they were using to attempt to locate New Namek and expected to have results within two cycling of the systems sun. Abbadon had already returned to Dis to make preparations for the opening of the grand portal. Mephiston himself had also received permission to return to Dis if he so desired.
He had plans that needed him present to reach fulfillment. They also required Azazel to not be present however. He had hoped the Black Knight would take longer to find Laele, which would delay him in his search for the High God.
Still the magistrate had been weaving wards to help blur dimensional energy, so that would hinder the knight's efforts. He had done it under the excuse of blurring the portals energies so they couldn't be disrupted.
He hoped the sayai-jin was dead. This one would be a nice addition to the little force he was collecting if he could be resurrected properly. The other four were performing nicely with the minor tasks he had assigned them so far. The short one did give some problems though, it usually took a command being given to him three or four times before he would perform it. The failing came from allowing them so much access to their actual minds, without it they would not be able to reach their full potentials, but it also gave them some of their old basic personality.
A small passed across his face as he considered his plans and that it seemed they would come to about. He had grown tired of being the servant. His plan would succeed even without the Namek Dragonballs he had decided, they would just make things much easier. The smile only grew larger as he thought how much he did indeed like the title of Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks couldn't believe how fast Pan was once she got moving. After they had eaten, the two of them had gone off into one of the more remote areas of New Namek to train some. Trunks had invited Bra to come along but she had declined, wanting to stay and practice using her ki to heal some. Goku had told them he would come get them when they had a plan if something came up before they returned.
So the two had flown around until they hadn't felt any nearby ki's, then they had begun to spar. Though Trunks easily had a decade of experience and a bit of strength over here, Pan was managing to keep up with him, even gaining the advantage occasionally.
At the moment he was chasing her across one of the many lakes that touched the area. She was actually beginning to pull away from him in flat out flight, so he took a different tactic. Trunks twisted in his flight and flew straight up, so he could see clearly into the distance and formed a barrier of ki between his hands which he hurled in front of Pan. As the golden energy flew it expanded, forming an energy wall that stopped right in front of Pan's flight path.
As the barrier came down in front of her Pan cursed, she was going to fast to swerve around it. Throwing her arms up over her face, she slammed into the ki construct at full speed, shattering it into dozens of golden shards. Even though Trunks had built it weak on purpose so as to not injure her the act of breaking through the wall disrupted her flight and disoriented her momentarily. A moment was all Trunks needed, vanishing from his spot in the air high above her to appear behind the young woman, his arms coming up to pin her in a full nelson.
"Give up?"
Pan struggled for a moment before realizing it was pointless against the much stronger Trunks. She thought for a moment and then went with the same tactic her brother had used on her when they had trained in the Room of Spirit and Time. As Trunks was asking her if she wanted to surrender again, his surprise was complete as Pan twisted her body upward, staying in his grip but rotating her arms. Her foot came up high as she did so, the very tip catching him on the nose, just above her shoulder. He let go of her instantly in surprise, Pan immediately jumping forward and spinning around at the ready.
She broke into laughter as soon as she got sight of Trunks. He was wiggling his face and rubbing at the tip of his nose. Within a few seconds he was sneezing. Pan had just managed to hit his nose, the force behind the axe kick was minimal but it had irritated Trunks enough to send him into a sneezing fit, and the more he sneezed the more she laughed.
By the time Trunks stopped his nose was red and Pan had been reduced to crying she was laughing so hard. The sayai-jin just looked at her as she just kept laughing and crying, holding her sides as she doubled over in midair. A smile crept on his face as he watched the young woman, the spar had loosened her up and now she was just getting everything out of her system. He wasn't going to interrupt her.
Several minutes later, the two of them sat down on a small island in the middle of one of the lakes. Kneeling down at the water's edge, Pan leaned over and splashed water onto her face, cleaning off the tears and dust.
"Trunks..."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks, I really needed this. I'm sorry since I've got here I've been...well, I've acted a lot like Grandma use to, and I'm sorry."
Sitting down besides her, Trunks pulled off his boots and set his aching feet into the cool water. He laid a hand onto the young woman's shoulder and squeezed softly.
"You have nothing to apologize for. Things haven't been easy for any of us. Plus being in the Room of Spirit and Time tends to alter your perceptions; it makes a crisis seem almost distant until your faced with it again. Then it all comes back you, sometimes stronger then before. You've also been keeping it all inside, none of us have talked about what happened."
Pan sighed and settled into a seated position as well, turning lightly to look at the half-sayai-jin. She didn't want to talk about it, but nothing was over with yet, and any internal conflicts were better settled.
"I need your honest opinion on something. When Medon and I were in the Room of Spirit and Time, he said something to me. It hurt me a lot; it's what actually trigged my initial transformation into a Super Sayai-jin. I know he was angry at the time and probably didn't mean it, but I need to know if it is true.
He said I killed our father, that I was too weak in the battle and a hindrance. That if I hadn't been hurt, he wouldn't have died."
Trunks tried to hold back his surprise as she spoke. He had known Medon had been beginning to undergo stress when he had left him in the room with Kaiosama but he hadn't suspected it would build to the level where he would say to his beloved sister.
"You have nothing to be guilty or worry about Pan. None of us had a chance in that fight. Goten, my best friend, died fighting. As did my father, and Eighteen. If Gohan died protecting you, instead of fighting those things, it was his choice to make. I'm sure he doesn't regret it, and in the afterlife he is happy to know he saved you."
She felt the tears coming again but pushed them back, giving only a simple nod to his words. It hurt to hear said so plainly that their friends and family were dead, but the thought that her father was happy somewhere helped her. The emptiness was still there, but it would heal. At least in that regards. Pan still felt it when she felt about her brother, more profoundly then she thought possible. They had to find him, and then she would be complete.
As Pan fell silent, Trunks also let his thoughts felt inward. It struck him as odd at that moment, realizing that even more so then his parents death, which hurt incredibly, Goten's death stung him. He and Goten had grown to adulthood together, they had been best friends, and even Goten's marriage to Marron hadn't diminished it. If anything Goten had made sure that Trunks, who lacked that aspect of his life, was a part of their family. Then he thought of Marron unable to defend herself, and his goddaughter with Muten Roshi, who hadn't even seen the end coming. As his father would have done, Trunks hadn't thought of any of this, pushing it into the deepest recess of his mind, until now.
Pan's train of thought was broken as Trunks stood up suddenly. Rising to her feet she tilted her head to the side regarding him.
"What's wrong?"
He had an almost haunted look on his face, but simply shook his head and pointed to the sky. Coughing briefly before he spoke to clear the lump from his throat.
"It just looks like it's about to rain. We should go back."
He was turning to fly back to the mainland when she grabbed hold of his arm spinning him around to face her.
"Don't do this Trunks. I just dumped my issues on you, you're not going to hold back with me now."
Trunks hesitated, his eyes on the ground. He hadn't felt his this uncomfortable since the time his father had first hugged him. Both awkward and wanting to just go with what the moment was. The first falling drop of rain startled him slightly, causing his blue eyes to rise up and meet Pan's dark orbs. When he met her gaze, he didn't need to say anything, she understood.
"As you said with my father. They are probably all happy that you made it. Your father, whether he said it or not was proud of and loved you. I remember, when I was about fifteen, Bulma had my parents and grandmother over for dinner. Vegeta just went on and on about you, how you were more successful then any of the heads of Capsule Corporation had ever been. Of course he said it was your royal blood, but it meant he knew what you did, he was even quoting changes in stock prices. You know how much your mother loved you; she made it obvious in how she spoiled you.
I also know my uncle loved you. Sure he had my father, but you were also his brother. My Dad even said that you two were closer then he was with Goten. I know how you feel; my brother is missing, maybe dead. I refuse to let grief stop me though, and so will you.
Your not alone Trunks, you have your sister, my grandfather is here, and so am I. I'm your friend. I'm not going to leave you alone. It's just like when we went into space together. Except this time we make sure we all stay together the entire time."
She was almost nose-to-nose with him as she spoke, her hand remaining on his arm. Keeping her eyes locked to his to make sure each word hit home with him. He was stubborn like his father, but her point got across. He gave a nod and put his hand onto her shoulder, giving a squeeze in response.
"That means we both make it through this. Like you said, together."
"I promise Trunks, when this is done, I'll still be with you."
Neither was sure who moved first. Both of them had felt empty since they had fled from Earth, not speaking of their grief until this moment. They were both lonely, and what Kaiosamma would have said was that despite their vast power; both of them were all too human. The lake however said nothing, as their lips met on that small island upon New Namek, gripping to each other as another living being to count on in these times. The rain continued to fall for sometime, ending long before the two sayai-jin returned to the village.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laele stared out the window of her room inside the Kraken. Azazel's flagship had arrived a few hours ago to retrieve them from the moon. It had also dropped off a contingent of daemon warriors onto the planet below. They would return in a fortnight to make sure all resistance had been eliminated.
Azazel had sent a report into Mephiston on what had happened. He had left out how Laele had aided Medon in his battle against Belial. Stating only that Belial and Andariel had been defeated by the demi-sayai-jin. Her father was hard for her to understand. He did things like that for her, but also tested her loyalty time and time again.
She looked across the room at the latest test he had presented to her. The stasis tube lay besides her bed. She had moved it there so she could keep a better eye on him. Going over she looked through the small hole at the battered form of Medon within. The Kraken had arrived just before he had been about to expire. Placing him into stasis was the only option to keep him alive, and she felt like she had to. If Medon had killed her upon the moon, they never would have found him to hurt him so. She had begged with The Black Knight before the warriors arrived on the surface to let him live. Now part of her almost wished she hadn't. When they arrived back on Dis, Medon would be given over to Mephiston for interrogation once he was healed. If she had let him die she would have spared him the torment she knew awaited on her home world. He would also most likely question her as to what happened despite Azazel's report. Kneeling besides the tube, the daemoness put her head down upon it and wept, for herself, for the many she had killed, and for the young man whose own kindness had doomed him.
Warning: This and later chapter's are going to get into some darker areas, so if your easily bothered don't read on. Rating is still PG-13 for extreme violence, language, and minor implied sexuality.
Dragonball: After Earth
By Blood Wraith
Chapter 9: Torment
The Knighthood of the Daemon Empire was arranged in a strict hierarchy consisting of three orders. The Third Order was made up of the newest and least powerful knights it was also the largest of the three orders. The Second Order consisted of the more experienced and powerful knights. The First Order were the commanders and veterans of the knighthood, and thus also the smallest group.
Ahriman and Marduke were both members of the First Order. Ahriman was the most powerful of the knights outside of Azazel himself, a veteran of a thousand campaigns. Marduke though a worthy opponent in his own right, was more of a strategist preferring to command troops and operations from the sidelines. Normally they were opponents in their goals, both tending to work on separate missions and seeking to outdo the other. At the present though they worked together on the same mission, the location of the planet, New Namek. They had been assigned to Mephiston to find the remaining sayai-jin but the magistrate had altered those orders. He had explained to the knights that any resistance would be centered on the planet, and thus it was their primary goal.
Ahriman stepped off the floating piece of debris he had been standing on and floated over towards another larger piece a few hundred yards off. The two daemon knights had just recently found the location of the original Planet Namek, which had been destroyed during the battle between Son Goku and Freezer over three decades before. They hoped to use the lingering energy sources from there as their guide to New Namek. As he approached the piece of debris he sought, he caught sight of Marduke with several items floating in front of him within the void of space.
As the other daemon landed besides him, Marduke looked up briefly. He noticed with a bit of annoyance once again that besides the color of their armor the two of them looked quite alike. Both were clad head to toe in spiked adamantine full plate armor. Where Ahirman's armor was primarily a dark blue, with gold trim, Marduke's own suit was mainly black with silver lining and runes across his chest plate. Ahriman's armor also had more built in weaponry, all the plates over his joints and shoulders tipped with razor-edged blades. With a slight snort of discontent he snatched the piece of white stone he had been examining from the space before him and held it out to Ahriman to inspect.
~~This appears to be a piece of the home of the being who was once the guardian of this planet. The energy surrounding it is quite strong, if he or another in his position live we should be able to use it to trace them.~~
Ahriman took the piece and turned it over in his hands, nodding slightly at the telepathic words from Marduke. As powerful daemons neither needed to breath, so the lack of air was only an inconvenience, and the telepathic communication was more effective anyway. He let the shard go and turned pointing to another small chunk of the planet in the distance.
~~The energy over there is clearer then this. It feels as if a massive inner power was released in a single burst all at once. It is also quite familiar to some of the energy that we felt when we were on the flagship above Terra. It may belong to one of the sayai-jin.~~
Silver light danced up Marduke's body for an instant before he vanished, reappearing on the small piece of debris that Ahriman had indicated. Closing his glowing red eyes he felt the energy that still hung strong on this piece of ground. It was quite evident even after all the years had passed. Marduke was unaware of it, but he stood on one of the few surviving pieces of terrain from the area where Son Goku had first experienced his transformation into a Super Sayai-jin. During their battle with Freezer, Kuririn had been slain by the tyrant, the shock of seeing his best friend killed had shattered all the limits hold Goku back, and he had been the first of the modern sayai-jin to reach those lofty heights.
~~There is more then enough residual energy here that if it appears again and we detect it, we can be sure it is the same source. We shouldn't rely on it alone though. After all, the sayai-jin may not be on the planet we are seeking. We should instead seek its' occupants.~~
~~Bah, we should look for both then with equal vigor. If we happen to find and destroy the sayai-jin the rewards should be enough to appease both of us. Consider it a nice little diversion to keep us occupied while we're out here in this black nothingness.~~
Marduke couldn't argue with the true of Ahriman's words. From what they had heard, the sayai-jin had been quite a problem on Earth. If they could locate them and the planet, they would both find rewards beyond anything they had previously imagined. After he gave his nod of ascent to the other daemon, they both vanished from the debris field, innate powers of teleportation taking them to a similar site in the Sol system, where a lush blue planet had been only days before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was over. That was the only thought that kept pounding itself inside Laele's head. She had been ecstatic when Medon had beaten the two daemon knights, despite his injuries he would get away. Then Azazel, the Black Knight, her father, appeared and all her hopes died.
Shaking away the pain that still tried to blur his vision and ignoring the sticky mess that was the side of his face, Medon raised his lavender eyes up to this newest wall he would have to pass. This one wasn't as big as some of the daemons he had faced so far, but there was something about him that helped quell any confidence the teenager might have felt from his defeat of Belial and Andariel. That and his injuries were beginning to dawn on him now that his initial adrenaline rush had died. His right cheek was crushed and the skin torn free from that section of his face, plus he had suffered numerous bruises and cuts from the severe beating he had received from Belial. One of his ribs was also broken, and he suspected his ankle was sprained. It didn't matter though, he had survived on Earth, and he had survived here. He wouldn't let this one beat him.
Azazel held back a smile as he watched Medon slowly rise up to his feet before him. He had considered simply vaporizing the sayai-jin before he could even react to his presence, but had quickly discarded that course of action. He knew Laele had aided the boy in battle, as well as what he had accomplished so far. He wanted to see how much of a warrior's spirit Medon truly had. How he fought would determine his fate. Of course, Azazel thought, killing him here might be the kinder of the fates he could give this one.
Slowly so Medon could see he wasn't making any hostile actions, Azazel removed the long cylinder that was latched onto his upper leg. His sign of rank and his weapon, Celestial Bane, was brought forth from it and he had no need of it in this battle. Then he took off his cloak, folding the handle within it. Then he tossed the bundle to Laele.
"Hold this child, I know your not foolish enough to interfere this time."
Laele nearly missed catching the items, her voice catching in her throat at Azazel's words. He knew what she had done. The warning in his tone had been unmistakable. Still her fate hardly worried her, any punishment would be left ultimately to Mephiston, who wasn't here right now. At the moment she still just wanted to think of someway for Medon to escape.
While Azazel prepared himself, Medon did the same. He tore off tattered remains of the shirt of his red gi, the black t-shirt underneath in much better shape. He pressed the material to his face, hoping to clean away some of the blood and slow down the flow of more. He didn't have nearly enough time as Azazel stepped forward, obviously ready to begin. With a sigh, Medon tossed the tatters aside, keeping his eyes firmly forward. He knew it wouldn't help his morale if he saw just how much blood had stained his shirt in so short a time. Azazel only smiled.
"Well child. Shall we begin?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You lost him!? You had him and you lost him?!"
Dende took a step back, both because the volume of Pan's yelling and the fact she was shaking a fist in his direction. He knew she wouldn't intentionally strike him but her moods had flipped enough recently he didn't want to risk it.
"His ki decreased to fast for us to get a firm lock on him. There were also other energies around him that blurred Son Goku's senses, so he wasn't able to use his Instantiations Movement to get to Medon."
Pan let out a sound somewhere between a whine and a growl and threw her hands up in the air, turning away from Dende and heading towards where Goku, Murri, Tenshinhan, and Hammer were still conversing.
"You people tell me my brother is alive, and then you can't get us to him!"
The comment was directed at Dende, but it caught the attention of both Bra and Trunks. With a look at his sister, Trunks moved to intercept the young woman before she disturbed whatever attempts the others were making at forming a plan.
"Whoah, hold on Pan. If Dende can't tell you anything neither can they. Come over here and sit down. There's nothing you can do right now. We might as well all get back to full strength while we can."
Pan stopped and turned dark eyes to Trunks. For a moment he thought she was going to yell at him and keep going but then her shoulders slumped and she gave a nod of her head.
"Fine. After we eat, you and I are going to train though. It'll keep us both in practice and get rid of the urge I have to hit something."
Bra resisted the urge to laugh as her friend stalked by Trunks, stopping briefly to flash him a smile and commenting on the fact that he would be the object of her aggression shortly.
"No offense of course."
As he watched Pan move over to Bra and the two go in search of a meal, Trunks found he really had no response. He instead stood watching them go, taking note of Pan slowly briefly and turning her face to the sky. Her thought at that moment he knew was the same one that many of them shared. Where was Medon?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He barely had any ki left, but somehow Medon found the strength within him to call upon the transformation. The ground buckled and shattered around his feet, as golden fire burst up around his body for an instant before fading. Laele found herself biting her lip as she watched Medon go into Stage Two. The aura that he would normally have after his transformation had failed almost instantly. His hair now stood up in sharp golden spikes, and tiny sparks of electricity appeared around his body every few seconds, but it was obvious he wasn't at fall strength. Still he was preparing to fight her father, the Black Knight.
Azazel only smiled and almost lazily raised his hand up to wave Medon on. He would let the teenager start off the fight. From the exhaustion that was evident on his face, Azazel was partially afraid he would misjudge his first attack and kill him.
A small tremor shook the battlefield as Medon kicked forward, a golden streak heading for Azazel. He saw the daemon knight shift slightly in preparation of his impact and slowed his flight instantly. One of his hands snapping out to fire off a dozen golden orbs of energy that blasted into Azazel full force, the resulting explosions and smoke momentarily hiding him from view.
Medon pulled up short in front of the smoke cloud, spinning around a few feet off the ground and letting one of his legs pass into it, hoping to catch the stunned daemon with a kick. He boot connected with something within the smoke, causing a surprised smile to appear on the teenagers face as he quickly pulled back and spun the other direction, this time lashing out with a backhand punch. Just as he was sure he was going to connect again he felt his fist caught and held still in a grip of iron.
The smoke cleared as Medon struggled to pull free, again revealing the Black Knight. Azazel appeared unharmed by the barrage of ki blasts, not even a scratch showing on his breastplate. The kick had apparently connected with his shoulder, an almost superficial dent, could just been seen on the plating there. He had caught Medon with almost pitiful ease, and now held the sayai-jin's fist firmly within his large hand. The fact that truly unnerved Medon however, was the fact that the knight was smiling.
Pushing away his shock, Medon went into motion. His free arm struck out in a blur of motion, striking Azazel countless times across the face, neck, and chest. Both his feet also left the ground, snapping out across the knight's lower body. Through it all Azazel stood unmoving, the smile never leaving his face, even as Medon punched into his nose with all his might.
"When you are done, please let me know."
"Damn you!"
Medon spat the words out and slapped his hand flat onto Azazel's forehead, the lower part of his palm covering the daemon's eyes. Golden ki leaked out between his fingers as his energy attack forced it's way out. The force of the close range beam causing Azazel's head to rock backward, the blast no longer contained by his face racing out into the distance and exploding near the horizon, shaking the entire moon.
Medon and Laele were both holding their breath, as Azazel stood unmoving after the last assault. Laele didn't want her father to be dead, but her hope was still with the young sayai-jin. Medon just wanted the daemon to fall; he had put all he had into that shot. The grip on his fist didn't lessen though, and Azazel slowly righted his face again, his glowing blue eyes locking onto Medon.
"A solid tactic sayai-jin. It probably would have toppled a lesser foe. A commendable but futile effort."
Even as the last word had left his mouth, he gave a sharp jerk on Medon's hand that he still held. The force of the movement popped the teenager's shoulder free of the socket, even as Azazel continued his turn, letting go just as he completed a half circle. He had only twisted his upper body and his arm, but the motion still had enough force to toss Medon far away from the two daemons.
Laele watched in abstract horror as a small mountain in the distance, where Azazel had thrown Medon cracked and fell inward upon itself as the sayai-jin slammed into it. She moved to help him but stopped herself as she felt the knight's eyes upon her.
"Be careful Laele. Your actions now shall determine how others judge you."
Then he was gone, a simple focusing of energy teleporting him after Medon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some scars last forever. So it seemed on Kaioshin Kai, the planet of the High Gods. Many of the vast valleys and trenches that lined the planet were not natural, remnants of Goku and Vegeta's final battle against Majinn Buu.
The last of the High Gods, the Eastern Kaioshin thought of all this while he looked out over his home. He along with the Rou Kaioshin, who had remained on the holy sphere rather the move on to the land of the dead, had been watching the events unfold within the Northern Galaxy. He wanted to act desperately, what was happening didn't just threaten that galaxy, but all of them. If the daemons were not stopped they would invade this entire dimension.
As his elder had said though, he couldn't, not yet. The daemons were actively searching for him, and even as powerful as he was, he would not be able to stand against them, anymore then he was able to stand against Buu. He would be utterly destroyed. So they had to simply wait and watch, and hope the chance would come for them to find a way to give aid to the mortals. While the elder Kaioshin watched their past ally Son Goku, East Kaioshin instead kept his senses trained on the area where Earth had been. They had been sharp before his fusion with Kibit but now if he knew the area there was little he missed. The daemons had a plan involving that region still, and he was determined to find out what it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Medon let out a groan as he tried to get to his feet. He knew he was lying on his face in a pile of rubble; the dust was stinging his eyes. He was lying on one arm though and the other just wouldn't respond when he tried to move it. He rolled over to free his left arm from his body, the action sending a splinter of agony through the opposite shoulder. Glancing over he saw the placement of his arm, it was lower then it should have been. Rising slowly to his knees Medon found a rock of appropriate size and closed his eyes. With a sharp jerk he slammed his right shoulder against the boulder, the cracking and crumbling of the rock barely covering up his yell of pain as his right arm popped back into place.
He was coming up fully to his feet, cradling his sore arm with the one that was still fully functional when Azazel appeared before him. The attack came faster then he would have expected, as Azazel brought his left hand in a vicious sweeping backhand. Medon jumped backwards and up in an attempt to stop the blow from hitting his head, the movement saved his life, but didn't spare him any pain. Azazel's fist connected onto the elbow of Medon's uninjured arm with crunching sound that the approaching Laele heard clearly. The boy's arm wasn't enough to stop the blow though; the crushed limb was then forced into his torso by the continued motion of Azazel's punch. Medon had almost passed out when every bone in his arm shattered at the same moment; he wished he had when he felt the impact on his ribcage. Every rib on his left side broke apart with the force of the attack, fragments of bone splintering into soft organs. He couldn't even scream as his throat filled with blood.
Before his body could go flying to the side from the force of the attack, Azazel's other hand darted out and grabbed a fistful of the black shirt Medon wore, stopping him from going anywhere. The sharp jerk of the stopped flight caused Medon's head to flop to the side, the stream of blood that had burst from his mouth splashing across the knight's arms and chest. Even as he yanked Medon back the boy lost the thin gold aura that had hovered around him. His golden hair falling into it's natural shape and darkening to black again.
Medon was surprised he wasn't dead. He had never felt so much pain in his life. He could barely find breath, and each one was filled with red bubbles. His arm and left side were just a mass of agony he couldn't even begin to guess at the extent of his injuries. He didn't want to die though; he refused to just give up. His right arm though sore still worked, and Azazel was so close he couldn't miss. The attack was hard with one hand, and with the power he needed he would probably hurt himself more. He had to win though, his grandfather, Pan, Trunks, Bra, everyone was counting on him. Even Laele, one of the "enemy" who would most likely face punishment for aiding him needed his help.
Even with all her speed, Laele wasn't able to arrive on the scene until after Azazel. She got there just in time to see Medon's last-ditch attack. Azazel had turned to watch her approach, holding Medon off the ground with one hand, most likely to show her what had become of the one she had committed treason for. Medon was mumbling something, and a blue ball of energy was steadily forming in his right hand, which was shaped like he was cupping something.
"Fragile creatures aren't they my child?"
The Black Knight turned his eyes back to Medon just as red flames distorted his view of the sayai-jin and scorching his hand. Medon's hand was already in his face, the yell accompanying his final blast an almost incoherent noise. The result was still the same as if he had spoken clearly though.
Laele felt her skin blister, as she was knocked back and dropped the cloak and weapon she was holding. The blue energy beam spread out completely engulfing Azazel and tearing past him, digging a huge rut across the surface of the moon as it continued beyond her line of vision into space.
Medon gave all the energy he could muster into the attack, the one-handed Kamehameha hadn't been overly difficult but finding the strength to power it with a times two Kaio-Ken had almost been beyond him. He poured all his remaining ki into the blast for nearly half a minute, and then it sputtered and died. He nearly passed out when it was done, he would have fallen if his feet were on the ground, but he was still held aloft, Azazel's grip hadn't even wavered.
"I admire your courage boy. It will only take you so far though. Strength is what will bring you victory, and you just don't have enough."
"Im...poss...ible."
"No, the only there here today that was impossible was you achieving victory."
Laele was just getting to her feet again as Medon raised his arm in a futile attempt to defend himself. Azazel let go of the demi-sayai-jin letting him begin his drop to the ground and spun on one foot, his other coming up off the ground to slam into Medon's face. She heard a wet cracking sound and saw the blood splatter across the rocks besides the two. Medon didn't make a sound, even as he sailed backwards to land heavily onto more rubble, skidding across the rough surface before stopping.
Azazel turned and went to retrieve his items that Laele had dropped. The sayai-jin had put up a decent fight. If he still lived they would bring him back with them when they returned to Dis. Perhaps he would have some information that would prove useful in their current campaign. As he pinned his cloak back on, he sent the telepathic message to his ship to come retrieve them.
"You may see to him if you wish. If he still lives inform me, we will bring him with us."
With only a moments hesitation Laele sprang across the rocks to where Medon had fallen. She found him unmoving where he had stopped in his skid. She knelt down besides him, green eyes going across his form, trying to think what she could do for him.
He was alive, but just barely, and though completely senseless, he was also conscious. Each time his chest moved with his exhalation of air, blood came up between his lips. His left arm was pulped, the shattered bone having torn free of the skin at two places. The humerus bone of his upper arm had torn free at his shoulder and hung a few inches to the side. In his forearm the ulna had ripped out near his elbow and jammed inward to stab deep into his left side. The left side of his chest was crushed; all of his ribs were obviously broken. One of his lungs had probably collapsed, and she didn't know what other internal organs had been hurt. The worst injury though was the last inflicted by Azazel's final kick. His head was twisted sharply to the side, farther then it should have been. His neck had been broken. The kick had also inflicted severe damage to his face, the right side was crushed in, his cheekbone had been completely shattered, as had his jaw. His eye on that side had turned fully red as blood filled it. She lightly touched his face on the left side, completely clueless what to do. Medon moved slightly trying to make some sort of noise at the contact, all that came out was a strangled whimper. This was beyond anything she had seen anyone survive. He was going to die.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mephiston glanced at the messenger who had just brought news that Azazel had reported he had found Laele and would be returning with her shortly. He has also defeated the youngest of the sayai-jin. Whether he was alive or dead, was not known. With a wave of his hand he dismissed the other daemon and sat back to ponder this turn of events.
Ahriman and Marduke had recently sent word that they had two energy sources they were using to attempt to locate New Namek and expected to have results within two cycling of the systems sun. Abbadon had already returned to Dis to make preparations for the opening of the grand portal. Mephiston himself had also received permission to return to Dis if he so desired.
He had plans that needed him present to reach fulfillment. They also required Azazel to not be present however. He had hoped the Black Knight would take longer to find Laele, which would delay him in his search for the High God.
Still the magistrate had been weaving wards to help blur dimensional energy, so that would hinder the knight's efforts. He had done it under the excuse of blurring the portals energies so they couldn't be disrupted.
He hoped the sayai-jin was dead. This one would be a nice addition to the little force he was collecting if he could be resurrected properly. The other four were performing nicely with the minor tasks he had assigned them so far. The short one did give some problems though, it usually took a command being given to him three or four times before he would perform it. The failing came from allowing them so much access to their actual minds, without it they would not be able to reach their full potentials, but it also gave them some of their old basic personality.
A small passed across his face as he considered his plans and that it seemed they would come to about. He had grown tired of being the servant. His plan would succeed even without the Namek Dragonballs he had decided, they would just make things much easier. The smile only grew larger as he thought how much he did indeed like the title of Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks couldn't believe how fast Pan was once she got moving. After they had eaten, the two of them had gone off into one of the more remote areas of New Namek to train some. Trunks had invited Bra to come along but she had declined, wanting to stay and practice using her ki to heal some. Goku had told them he would come get them when they had a plan if something came up before they returned.
So the two had flown around until they hadn't felt any nearby ki's, then they had begun to spar. Though Trunks easily had a decade of experience and a bit of strength over here, Pan was managing to keep up with him, even gaining the advantage occasionally.
At the moment he was chasing her across one of the many lakes that touched the area. She was actually beginning to pull away from him in flat out flight, so he took a different tactic. Trunks twisted in his flight and flew straight up, so he could see clearly into the distance and formed a barrier of ki between his hands which he hurled in front of Pan. As the golden energy flew it expanded, forming an energy wall that stopped right in front of Pan's flight path.
As the barrier came down in front of her Pan cursed, she was going to fast to swerve around it. Throwing her arms up over her face, she slammed into the ki construct at full speed, shattering it into dozens of golden shards. Even though Trunks had built it weak on purpose so as to not injure her the act of breaking through the wall disrupted her flight and disoriented her momentarily. A moment was all Trunks needed, vanishing from his spot in the air high above her to appear behind the young woman, his arms coming up to pin her in a full nelson.
"Give up?"
Pan struggled for a moment before realizing it was pointless against the much stronger Trunks. She thought for a moment and then went with the same tactic her brother had used on her when they had trained in the Room of Spirit and Time. As Trunks was asking her if she wanted to surrender again, his surprise was complete as Pan twisted her body upward, staying in his grip but rotating her arms. Her foot came up high as she did so, the very tip catching him on the nose, just above her shoulder. He let go of her instantly in surprise, Pan immediately jumping forward and spinning around at the ready.
She broke into laughter as soon as she got sight of Trunks. He was wiggling his face and rubbing at the tip of his nose. Within a few seconds he was sneezing. Pan had just managed to hit his nose, the force behind the axe kick was minimal but it had irritated Trunks enough to send him into a sneezing fit, and the more he sneezed the more she laughed.
By the time Trunks stopped his nose was red and Pan had been reduced to crying she was laughing so hard. The sayai-jin just looked at her as she just kept laughing and crying, holding her sides as she doubled over in midair. A smile crept on his face as he watched the young woman, the spar had loosened her up and now she was just getting everything out of her system. He wasn't going to interrupt her.
Several minutes later, the two of them sat down on a small island in the middle of one of the lakes. Kneeling down at the water's edge, Pan leaned over and splashed water onto her face, cleaning off the tears and dust.
"Trunks..."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks, I really needed this. I'm sorry since I've got here I've been...well, I've acted a lot like Grandma use to, and I'm sorry."
Sitting down besides her, Trunks pulled off his boots and set his aching feet into the cool water. He laid a hand onto the young woman's shoulder and squeezed softly.
"You have nothing to apologize for. Things haven't been easy for any of us. Plus being in the Room of Spirit and Time tends to alter your perceptions; it makes a crisis seem almost distant until your faced with it again. Then it all comes back you, sometimes stronger then before. You've also been keeping it all inside, none of us have talked about what happened."
Pan sighed and settled into a seated position as well, turning lightly to look at the half-sayai-jin. She didn't want to talk about it, but nothing was over with yet, and any internal conflicts were better settled.
"I need your honest opinion on something. When Medon and I were in the Room of Spirit and Time, he said something to me. It hurt me a lot; it's what actually trigged my initial transformation into a Super Sayai-jin. I know he was angry at the time and probably didn't mean it, but I need to know if it is true.
He said I killed our father, that I was too weak in the battle and a hindrance. That if I hadn't been hurt, he wouldn't have died."
Trunks tried to hold back his surprise as she spoke. He had known Medon had been beginning to undergo stress when he had left him in the room with Kaiosama but he hadn't suspected it would build to the level where he would say to his beloved sister.
"You have nothing to be guilty or worry about Pan. None of us had a chance in that fight. Goten, my best friend, died fighting. As did my father, and Eighteen. If Gohan died protecting you, instead of fighting those things, it was his choice to make. I'm sure he doesn't regret it, and in the afterlife he is happy to know he saved you."
She felt the tears coming again but pushed them back, giving only a simple nod to his words. It hurt to hear said so plainly that their friends and family were dead, but the thought that her father was happy somewhere helped her. The emptiness was still there, but it would heal. At least in that regards. Pan still felt it when she felt about her brother, more profoundly then she thought possible. They had to find him, and then she would be complete.
As Pan fell silent, Trunks also let his thoughts felt inward. It struck him as odd at that moment, realizing that even more so then his parents death, which hurt incredibly, Goten's death stung him. He and Goten had grown to adulthood together, they had been best friends, and even Goten's marriage to Marron hadn't diminished it. If anything Goten had made sure that Trunks, who lacked that aspect of his life, was a part of their family. Then he thought of Marron unable to defend herself, and his goddaughter with Muten Roshi, who hadn't even seen the end coming. As his father would have done, Trunks hadn't thought of any of this, pushing it into the deepest recess of his mind, until now.
Pan's train of thought was broken as Trunks stood up suddenly. Rising to her feet she tilted her head to the side regarding him.
"What's wrong?"
He had an almost haunted look on his face, but simply shook his head and pointed to the sky. Coughing briefly before he spoke to clear the lump from his throat.
"It just looks like it's about to rain. We should go back."
He was turning to fly back to the mainland when she grabbed hold of his arm spinning him around to face her.
"Don't do this Trunks. I just dumped my issues on you, you're not going to hold back with me now."
Trunks hesitated, his eyes on the ground. He hadn't felt his this uncomfortable since the time his father had first hugged him. Both awkward and wanting to just go with what the moment was. The first falling drop of rain startled him slightly, causing his blue eyes to rise up and meet Pan's dark orbs. When he met her gaze, he didn't need to say anything, she understood.
"As you said with my father. They are probably all happy that you made it. Your father, whether he said it or not was proud of and loved you. I remember, when I was about fifteen, Bulma had my parents and grandmother over for dinner. Vegeta just went on and on about you, how you were more successful then any of the heads of Capsule Corporation had ever been. Of course he said it was your royal blood, but it meant he knew what you did, he was even quoting changes in stock prices. You know how much your mother loved you; she made it obvious in how she spoiled you.
I also know my uncle loved you. Sure he had my father, but you were also his brother. My Dad even said that you two were closer then he was with Goten. I know how you feel; my brother is missing, maybe dead. I refuse to let grief stop me though, and so will you.
Your not alone Trunks, you have your sister, my grandfather is here, and so am I. I'm your friend. I'm not going to leave you alone. It's just like when we went into space together. Except this time we make sure we all stay together the entire time."
She was almost nose-to-nose with him as she spoke, her hand remaining on his arm. Keeping her eyes locked to his to make sure each word hit home with him. He was stubborn like his father, but her point got across. He gave a nod and put his hand onto her shoulder, giving a squeeze in response.
"That means we both make it through this. Like you said, together."
"I promise Trunks, when this is done, I'll still be with you."
Neither was sure who moved first. Both of them had felt empty since they had fled from Earth, not speaking of their grief until this moment. They were both lonely, and what Kaiosamma would have said was that despite their vast power; both of them were all too human. The lake however said nothing, as their lips met on that small island upon New Namek, gripping to each other as another living being to count on in these times. The rain continued to fall for sometime, ending long before the two sayai-jin returned to the village.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laele stared out the window of her room inside the Kraken. Azazel's flagship had arrived a few hours ago to retrieve them from the moon. It had also dropped off a contingent of daemon warriors onto the planet below. They would return in a fortnight to make sure all resistance had been eliminated.
Azazel had sent a report into Mephiston on what had happened. He had left out how Laele had aided Medon in his battle against Belial. Stating only that Belial and Andariel had been defeated by the demi-sayai-jin. Her father was hard for her to understand. He did things like that for her, but also tested her loyalty time and time again.
She looked across the room at the latest test he had presented to her. The stasis tube lay besides her bed. She had moved it there so she could keep a better eye on him. Going over she looked through the small hole at the battered form of Medon within. The Kraken had arrived just before he had been about to expire. Placing him into stasis was the only option to keep him alive, and she felt like she had to. If Medon had killed her upon the moon, they never would have found him to hurt him so. She had begged with The Black Knight before the warriors arrived on the surface to let him live. Now part of her almost wished she hadn't. When they arrived back on Dis, Medon would be given over to Mephiston for interrogation once he was healed. If she had let him die she would have spared him the torment she knew awaited on her home world. He would also most likely question her as to what happened despite Azazel's report. Kneeling besides the tube, the daemoness put her head down upon it and wept, for herself, for the many she had killed, and for the young man whose own kindness had doomed him.