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.
Author's Note: Well the last chapter seemed to be appropriate. The Moment turned into over a year though. They say we all have our muse, I lost mine and it took awhile to find her again. I apologize to all those who have sent me emails, the kind web hosts and hostesses who put this story up and have had an unfinished product for so long. Please enjoy the long delays next installment of Dragonball: After Earth, the beginning of the end.
Dragonball: After Earth
By Blood Wraith
Chapter 11: Insurrection
"Let us look back a moment my children. The world of heroes, Earth, as we know it, is gone. Torn asunder in a moment of cruelty by a race of extra- dimensional conquerors. Yet the universe is greater then us, or our planet, others still live from that world that continue the good fight.
Yes I know chances seem slim, but do not cry. The forces of evil are at our very doorstep. Our defenders are few, and the powerful heroes from Earth have left us. They have gone to the heart of the beast, three against a world. Do no despair however my little ones. Believe my words, and they will prove true..in the darkest hour, hope shines eternal."
Then the Namekian elder Murri, shut the door of the heavily reinforced building they had constructed to protect the children. A single warrior remained within to defend them if needed. He hoped it would not come to that, even as he turned his eyes toward the sky and picked out what appeared to be a huge moving star as the great daemon warship, The Kraken, approached New Namek.
Goku swung his hand in a sweeping arc as soon as the three Sayai-jins appeared upon the surface of Dis. The barrage of random energy bolts that had been flying upward at the group was knocked away to impact on the ground below.
"Goku! What's going on? They couldn't know we're here already!"
"They don't, Trunks. Look around us. They're fighting each other. Kaioshin! Get out of here! The longer you stay the more chance they'll be able to follow you."
The High God gave one last look at the three brave warriors who now stared over the expanse of Dis beneath them. Civil war was raging without care for who or what was caught within its' grasp. Chaos and destruction reigned. Catching his breath at the horror of it all, Kaioshin gave them all a last salute, for luck, and then he vanished. Goku was right, and he'd only get in their way.
Trunks was slowly rotating within the air, his blue eyes looking out over the surface of Dis. The entire planet seemed to have turned into a giant battlefield, daemon battled daemon across the sky above and the ground below. He was about to turn and ask Goku for a course of action when he was blinded by a flash of golden light to his side. Her hands clenched into fists so tight her knuckles had gone white, Pan erupted into Super Sayai-jin. Her short black hair shooting upward and turning a vivid golden shade, as flames of the same color burst into existence around her slender body. Her brother was here, she could feel him, and none of these wretched creatures would keep her from him.
She rocketed off towards the largest structure she could see instantly, ignoring the shouted command to stop from her grandfather behind her. The warmth she had felt within Trunks' arms had faded from her heart, replaced instead by the intense fear for the life of her brother that had gripped her previously, and behind that lurked the explosive anger that had driven the last two generations of the Son line to greatness.
Laele looked back over her shoulder for what had to be the twentieth time since they had descended into the dungeons beneath the palace. She and Asmodia had decided to wait until the chaos was near a fever pitch before going down into the depths to attempt to free the sayai-jin and escape the planet.
The fighting on the planets surface above was beginning to peak after working itself up over several hours. Entire armies of daemons now clashed with each other in city after city. The capital itself was one giant fight, nearly impossible to tell what side each group was in.
Though many were still loyal to the Emperor, Asmodius, easily just as many had switched allegiances to the magistrate, Mephiston. Many of the ancient and powerful First Order of Knights had taken a stance behind the magistrate, giving him a tactical advantage above and beyond the surprise of the initial assault.
Asmodia could feel the tension radiating from her companion. It was well placed. Medon would most likely be heavily guarded and that was the least of their problems. After freeing him they had to escape the palace, make their way into the city to the waiting shuttles, if they had not been destroyed, and then pass through the defensive grid set around the planet by the Lord Magi, Abbadon.
She refused to let the odds against them delude her however. She knew what would happen if they stayed. Most likely they would all perish. If Mephiston won, she, along with her traitorous brother, Duriel would be slain when they had outlived their usefulness. The other option, which was much more likely to occur, would be her father Asmodius, would unleash his power upon the forces assembled against him and wipe out the planet itself, including those loyal to him. Only the most powerful daemons could survive the force of his fury.
Asmodia stopped as she came to a corner, they were getting much closer to the cellblock and if they were to meet any resistance it would be in his region. Noticing her pause and realizing why, Laele, moved to take the forward position. Though powerful in the arcane arts she practiced, Asmodia possessed not even a fraction of the physical power of the trained warrior.
The two moved at a snails pace around the corner, Asmodia found herself recalling similar though much less deadly days from their childhood. They use to sneak through the halls of the Imperial Palace in the darkest hours of the night, seeing what secrets could be discovered or trouble they could get into. Daemon children were not so different from children of every race. Even in the heart of darkness, they were left to play as long as it did not get out of hand or disturb the Emperor.
There had been another difference at that time though. There had been another little girl who had played hide and seek amongst the columns and large chambers. One who had always been faster, stronger, and able to find the best places to hide.
Reality came back in brutal focus to Asmodia, as Laele knocked her to the side as she went to the edge of the hallway, taking the priestess with her.
A purple and black pulsing ball of energy flew by, barely missing the two of them to impact on the wall far behind. A large chunk of the wall instantly disintegrated as negative energy broke apart the atomic bonds that held it together.
Rising from the floor, Asmodia pushed strand of her aqua hair from her eyes and looked past Laele who was preparing herself for battle. Advancing down the hall at them with murder in her eyes was Zilvra.
Kale stood before the tower of Mephiston and watched the battle moving back and forth across the city, a large smile planted across his face. A group of loyalists to the Empire had assaulted the tower over an hour ago. They now lay strewed across the area.
He had to say his was quite impressed, he had initially objected to being placed on guard duty with some runt daemon who he an attitude problem. When the fight had broken out though the other had caused just as much damage as the giant, tearing through the daemon warriors with an ease and viciousness that the assassin could almost admire.
He turned to comment on the fight to the other and stopped as he saw the other had pulled off one of the steel gauntlets that had been welded onto the armored suit he inhabited. The skin beneath was like that of the humans whose world they had destroyed recently, not one of the more vibrant pigments common to those with daemon blood. The warrior clenched his fist several times giving a slight shake of his head as if trying to clear it before giving a slow turn and taking in his surroundings.
"What are you about, soldier?"
At the giants words the warrior turned, the dark eyes within the helmet narrowing as they moved from the adamantine legs up to the scarred face.
Kale was opening his mouth to speak again when the ki bolts began to slam into his face and torso. The energy did minimal damage but was enough to force him to raise his arms to block them, wanting to shield the remains of his organic body. Then the impacts began from the other directions, he turned in place trying to stop the numerous blasts then they stopped without warning.
The killer roared and turned around, trying to see his enemy through the massive amounts of smoke that surrounded him and to defend himself if need be. There came no further assault before the smoke cleared, when it did the warrior was gone.
Son Goku nearly sighed as another wave of pulses came flying up from the ground at Trunks and him. In between attacking each other, the warring daemon factions had decided the two sayai-jin made appealing targets. The two easily dodged the barrage weaving in their flight paths in the direction Pan had flown off in.
She had quickly outdistanced them due to transforming and was little more then a golden dot near the horizon. Trunks had wanted to follow suit to catch up with her but had refrained at the older man's insistence. He didn't want to alert the daemons that were not involved in the fighting around them to their presence anymore then Pan already had. Better they think a lone sayai-jin had come to Dis rather then all three of them.
The structure Pan had flown towards was immense, easily seen from hundreds of miles away and stretching up to cloud level at the least. From the conversations he had heard among the warriors as they had passed above them and during combat on Earth, Goku could only assume it was the palace of the Emperor. There were several other massive towers around the landscape that seeing heavy combat. They were most likely the homes of prominent military leaders for either side in the conflict.
The sayai-jin didn't know why the daemons were fighting each other but he hoped it would help them more then hinder. At the very least it was a very effective distraction from their presence.
His reverie was shattered then at a shouted warning from Trunks ahead of him.
"Incoming!"
Some of the daemons had become organized enough to present a threat and a pack of some twenty warriors shot up from the ground at the two.
"You keep going, Trunks! I'll take care of this bunch. Pan will need you more then I will!"
Trunks hesitated a brief moment at the command. He had never been one to run from a fight, even as a child. Goku was right though, he could handle this and Pan was most likely heading into more then she would be able to handle. With a curse, he nodded in accordance with the order and shot after the young woman, outdistancing the few warriors the broke off in pursuit.
They came at him in a howling mass of fury with enough power to level a planet. It didn't save them from Son Goku. The first daemon to reach the sayai-jin pulled back a many-notched battle-axe to swing a blow it was sure would be fatal. It never even managed to take its' attack. Goku dropped down underneath the warrior, grabbing its' ankle in an iron grip as he passed. With a hard yank he pulled it out of its' upward flight and rotated to the side, releasing it towards the lead creature that had chased after Trunks. The yelling daemon passed two of its' comrades to slam into the third with bone jarring crack, black adamantine plates shattering at the impact as the two fell to the planet below.
Even as his living missile was on its' way to the target Goku was well into his next move. He had flown back up above the approaching mass, looking downward to face them as they came at him. His hands flew to each side of his face fingers fanned wide. He just needed a moment's distraction to take care of the other two after Trunks then his group would be his.
"Taiyoken!"
The flash of intense light from the solar flare caused the approaching group to slow in places and stop in others, stunned and unable to see. Goku couldn't help a smile as his hands near his face snapped towards the last two warriors after the other sayai-jin. The twin balls of energy shot off at lightning speed widening as they closed in on their targets. The rear daemon caught the golden glow in the corner of his eye just in time to turn enough and see doom approaching. The other didn't even have time to scream.
The remaining sixteen finally managed to clear their eyes and reorient themselves. They had spread out across the sky some and for a moment were unsure of their target position. That was until those on the left gave a grunt of surprise and fear.
As one they turned to face the flaming golden form that had appeared in the sky within their ranks, and even as they did so, the Super Sayai-jin Son Goku attacked.
Abbadon glanced up from the ritual he was performing at the ceiling of the chamber he inhabited in the very center of Dis. Even with the closest walls several miles distance he could still hear the combat occurring on the surface. The Lord Magi only sneered and glanced back at the heart of the world before him. The small sun pulsed and throbbed with the stellar energies, which coursed through it.
He found himself musing again that as powerful as any race could become, so much power could always be contained within nature itself. He laughed and brought to mind the complicated ritual for opening the rift again.
The order to open the rift had come from the Emperor himself, suggested by Mephiston, so there was no real point in changing the plan. Whoever won the conflict would still want the rift open and the move Dis into the Sol System into the space previously inhabited by Earth. Then they could use their home world as a staging point for conquering the other dimension.
Abbadon stretched out to his full height, ten feet of terror and arcane power. He normally hunched over to give an image of physical frailty, so that those beneath him would underestimate him and he would have an easier time of weeding out the treacherous, he was anything but weak though. The skull-like face twisted into a mockery of a grin as he began to chant again, barbed and hooked tentacles writhing around his body in the gestures of the spell.
The rift would be open soon and then they would again unleash true horror upon an unsuspecting dimension.
Hammer paced in front of the small hut the warriors of New Namek had gathered in, he hated to admit it but he was nervous. He could feel the daemon warship approaching, bringing with it a horde of creatures the likes of which they had never seen before.
He looked at his fellow warriors, some meditating, others practicing, all- trying to prepare for the fight they knew was coming, and the very likely possibility of death that would follow. These were his friends, his brothers, and they were so very few. Barely two hundred from across the entire planet and he knew that many of them would not be able to go home again by the next dawn.
Tenshinhan stepped up besides the Namekian warrior. He could see the tension obvious across the others features. He couldn't say he blamed him. He felt it to; only years of experience kept him from letting it over take him. This was nearly as bad as the days before they went to the final confrontation with Cell. That time their chances had been so much better. Then Goku had his plan, and he knew it wouldn't fail. Gohan was going to save them.
Goku had his plan this time to and it was very similar. It had failed once though. Medon had not helped them save Earth, his involvement may have actually helped lead to its' destruction. Chazou was gone, everyone was gone, there didn't seem to be anything left worth fighting for.
Then he saw Bra moving between the warriors, bringing them food and stopping to speak with each one, bolstering their courage with words of encouragement. Her race may have been nearly gone, but she was a princess of the sayai-jin and she showed it with a will that would not be bowed out even by the possibility of impending doom.
That was a reason to fight, to not cower before their enemies with broken spirits but with the pride and honor. Tenshinhan glanced over at Hammer and saw the same resolve on the other warriors face. They may very well die today, but they would do so in a battle of which they could be proud and their enemies would remember them and what the victory cost. Then he turned his head up to the sky the Kraken was closer, large enough to almost be seen for something other then a star.
"It won't be much longer now."
Hammer did not even turn to respond his voice flat and deadly.
"Let them come."
The golden streak that was Son Pan shot across the sky of Dis. She didn't even notice the chaos below her; it was just another distraction in the path to her brother. She has no intention of letting it stop her.
When they had first appeared she had felt a small spot of energy that she knew was her brother. It was so low though she had barely managed to even tell the direction, much less the exact location and with the fighting across Dis now picking up she wasn't even sure of that anymore.
With a snarl she stopped in her flight looking around at the daemons fighting across the ground far beneath her.
"You damn things! You're getting in my way!"
The two daemon battalions underneath her never even saw the hundreds of ki blasts that rained down upon them from the angry sayai-jin above.
Even from the distance she flew above she could hear the yells of surprise and the screams of the dying, she couldn't see anything though from the smoke that has risen from the dozens of explosions that had rocked the area.
It didn't matter. They had ceased to be people to her, they were just beasts. Beasts that had taken her home, her family and tried to take her life in a few short days, they didn't matter.
She looked around again trying to find a fix on Medon's ki. She wasn't sure if it really was in the palace she had fixated on earlier. Growling Pan flew off slightly to the left of her previous course. She would find him.
Asmodia had yet to find her chance to get off the floor. Zilvra had leapt to the attack almost immediately and had Laele on the defensive within seconds. Laele had held her ground though refusing to back down to her sister, which would have put them right into Asmodia's position.
The princess of the Daemon Empire watched as Zilvra grabbed her twin by her flowing red hair and smashed her into one of the walls of the passageway with enough force to shake the palace around them. Rock turning to dust under the force of the impact, dust filling the small walkway. Laele was not one to take the beating laying down though, slammed her elbow back into Zilvra's stomach, turning even as the other woman stumbled backwards from the force of the blow to punch her full in the face and send her hurtling down the passage.
She dashed down the hallway after Zilvra, throwing arcane balls of flame in front of her as she went.
"Go free the sayai-jin Asmodia! I'll keep Zilvra busy here!"
Asmodia turned to go stopping to look back at her friend only once before dashing around the corner and towards the holding cells.
Laele stopped as she came closer to where Zilvra should have been. She had made a mistake using fire as her attack element; the passage had filled with so much smoke she couldn't see anything. Cautiously she advanced into the smoke, crouching low and keeping a defensive stance.
"Keep me busy dear sister? All you'll do here is die at my feet traitor!"
Laele whirled to the side at the statement of hate from her sister, one leg snapped out in a low sweeping kick. She didn't know her mistake until she her the popping noise above her.
Zilvra dropped down onto the other daemoness from where she had been gripping onto the ceiling. As she fell the twin blades that were housed on the back of her gauntlets popped out. She would kill her traitorous sister and bring her head back to Mephiston.
Laele twisted like a cat to get out of the way of the lethal assault. The act saved her life but not pain. One of the blades sliced a bright red line across the white skin of Laele's upper arm shredding the leather and steel armor that protected her. The other just missed her head, the cruel tip punching into the stone floor beneath her.
Gritting her teeth at the pain, Laele put her hands together close to her body as Zilvra's weight pressed down on her gathering energy between her fingers and released the condensed ball just as her twin recovered for another strike.
The explosion shook the corridor as Zilvra was hurled back against the ceiling by the ki orb the wind knocked out of her by it bursting right against her tightly muscled stomach. Laele was slowly coming to her feet also stunned by the explosion even as Zilvra came back down to the ground, landing lightly if somewhat unsteadily.
The twins had trained and fought together many times over the years, they knew each other perfectly. They had never fought against each other though. Each was determined that this first time, would also be the last. Only one would walk away, either an assassin of the daemon empire, or a warrior who had seen to much violence and found she wished only for peace.
The High Prince of the Daemon Empire, Duriel watched as the sayai-jin in the sky high above tore apart some of his more experienced warriors. Duriel had thrown his lot in with the magistrate, Mephiston for many reasons. The primary one being he never saw himself ever becoming Emperor while his rather lived. He was patient; he would give Mephiston a few decades of rulership before he ripped it from his grasp and installed himself into his rightful position as Emperor of the Daemon Empire, his empire.
At the moment though his primary concern was the sayai-jin. He had heard much about them from Mephiston in the briefings for the attack upon Earth. He also recognized this one, Son Goku he was called. They had been warned of this one.
Duriel snorted in contempt. He needed no warnings; he was easily one of the most powerful warriors in the Empire, exceeded only by the elite First Order of Knights. He wore the finest adamantine plate armor that was crafted on the planet, and was well over seven foot of muscle. His skin was a deep black a trait he shared with his father and even more resilient then the metal sheath he wore. He could handle a lone warrior.
The prince drew the slender black bladed sword he called had dubbed the "Bloody Blade" for all his rivals he had slew with it in his youth, including his own brother, Levantus.
Pointing the tip towards the sky he called upon the arcane energies that were the heritage of all daemons and unleashed his attack.
"Hell Beam!"
Goku punched his fist deep into the stomach of the last daemon warrior that stood against him, ki channeling through arm and into the still fighting creature. It exploded in a golden flash, a few traces of ash all that remained.
The daemons had proved a little tougher then he had expected but not much. They had, however, managed to delay him long enough to Trunks to reach the edge of his vision and Pan to get completely out of sight. It would take some work to catch up to them.
He was considering trying to lock onto Trunks ki signature to use his Instantaneous Movement to catch up to the other sayai-jin when the energy beam struck him between the shoulder blades.
The sayai-jin cursed himself even as the wind was knocked out of him and he was sent tumbling from the sky. He should have felt the attack coming; he was focusing too much on Trunks and what he was going to do. He was thinking too much when he should be acting.
Goku caught himself just before he hit the ground spinning around and tossing his arms out to stop his descent, the tip of his heavy boot just scraping against the street. The warriors face scrunched up in relief as he wiped a hand across his forehead.
"Whew! That was a close one."
"You aren't safe yet!"
Duriel swung his sword at Goku's head even as the man turned to look at him. The prince had been waiting as the sayai-jin fell from the sky for the perfect moment to attack and now he had it while the other was still disoriented.
Goku bent backwards as Duriel came in at him. Yes he was slow on the uptake at times, but not in combat. He wouldn't be taken unaware again and had been waiting for the attack. Backflipping backwards he brought his foot up into Duriel's chin sending the prince reeling backwards.
Shaking his head to clear it Duriel snarled as Goku came up into a battle ready position again a thin smile on his face. This creature was disrespecting him; and the mere prospect of it enraged the narcissistic royalty.
"How dare you! You are nothing! I am the High Prince an entire empire while you are a creature without even a home to return to! Die!"
Duriel again aimed the Bloody Blade at Goku and channeled as much energy as possible into the blade, the arcane energy coursing through the blade which amplified it tenfold before releasing it towards the sayai-jin.
The black energy blasted out of the sword twisting and warping into a huge black orb, which tore up the ground and warped space around it as it, rushed forward. Goku knew it was coming on to fast to dodge so he braced himself for impact raising his hands to try to ward off the assault. The arcane attack slammed into him like a freight train driving him backwards even as he struggled to hold his position, leaving ruts in the ground as he traveled away from Duriel.
He was in trouble. He didn't have the strength in stage one to push back against the attack, nor could he lower his defense long enough to power up into level two or three of super sayai-jin to ward it off.
A building was coming up fast behind Goku, the force of hitting it would probably be just enough to Duriel's attack to overwhelm him. He tried to plant himself again and push back against the black ball. He didn't know if it would work but he was not going to give up. That was when salvation came.
A golden ball of energy slammed into the side of the annihilation ball, dragging it sharply to the side and away from Goku before detonating destroying both attacks. Goku rubbed his aching hands against his blue gi and watched the black armored figure descend from the sky between him and Duriel.
Duriel sized up the newcomer, he was short, smaller even then the sayai-jin he was facing, but clad in the spiked adamantine armor that marked one of Mephiston's elite. The eyes behind the helmet though locked the prince in an angry stare that rivaled that of his father.
"No one kills Kakarotto while I'm around."
Behind the visor the dark eyes widened and turned a shade of brilliant green as cracks formed across the surface of the adamantine plate, golden light leaking as a primal growl came from the figure. Shards of armor turning to ash under the force of the energy contained within.
Goku couldn't fight the smile that had forced its' way onto his face. Things were coming together after all.
"There is my proud prince."
The daemon armor blasted apart in a storm of razor sharp metal. The Daemon Prince Duriel then looked upon the Prince of the Sayai-jin and found himself nearly cowering under the cold emerald gaze of Vegeta.
The black armored guard near the torture chamber braced his feet in the corridor. He could hear the battle erupting within the dungeons, the sounds of energy attacks and shattering walls echoed quite clearly to his alert ears.
Why was he here? He couldn't remember. He just knew he was suppose to stand guard over this door and make sure Beelzebub completed his task. He only had seen the torturer for a moment but found the daemon repulsive never the less. The creature preferred to do horrors to helpless victims rather then engage in honorable combat. This bothered the guard, for more reasons he couldn't remember.
With a shake of the black helmeted head he turned his mind back to the task at hand. He had to please his master, please Mephiston. He was just focusing again when a slender girl ran around the corner ahead of him.
His orders were to kill anyone who came down his passage on sight. He hesitated though and gave Asmodia the chance she needed. She had been working her spell down most of the length of the hall, having been expecting to use it on Beelzebub. The guard was unexpected and from what she could sense, enormously powerful, much more then the simple armor he wore would indicate.
She unleashed the magic just as he reacted moving down the hall at her at a speed she could barely comprehend. She turned her face to the side, eyes shutting to shield themselves from the resulting blast and fired.
"Celestial Storm!"
The guard was inches from her when the attack hit him, his hand reaching forward to grab her throat. The white and gold energy beam slammed into the outstretched hand and sent him sliding backwards.
Asmodia opened one eye to watch the results of her attack. Celestial Storm was her most powerful attack magic, it took a long time to cast and used up a lot of arcane energy from herself and the surroundings but was well worth the cost. At least it normally was.
The guard had been pushed about ten meters down the hall before he had stopped. Now he stood braced the beam still pushing against his outstretched hands. He was pitched forward his feet dug into the stones beneath him and slowly trying to push back against her.
"Impossible.."
She couldn't believe it; he was fighting against an attack that was capable of destroying daemons with enough power to join the First Order of Knights. She focused again and channeled another burst of energy into the attack. The white lights within the beam increased, a golden spiral of energy twisting around the ray and streaking forward.
It still didn't destroy him. It did serve its' purpose though, the added energy was enough to send the guard sliding back across the floor, stones and mortar shooting up along the path to the wall some four hundred feet beyond him. The daemoness didn't let up though, pressing the attack to drive her foe into the unyielding stone behind him. She held up the attack until she was almost out of energy but was sure he couldn't have possibly survived.
She stumbled and nearly fell, a slender hand reaching for the wall to hold her balance. No guard should have been that powerful, it wasn't possible; he should have been at least a captain underneath Azazel. She couldn't think about it now though.she had to save Medon.
The chamber was right before her now all she had to do was get beast the torturer and she and the sayai-jin could get out of here. Steadying herself Asmodia gathered her arcane power again and dashed around the corner.
Beelzebub was not hard to spot. The interrogator was a horrid sight even for a daemon. He was utterly misshapen sporting a hunched back and different length arms, one nearly dragging upon the ground. His face was a horror to behold with two huge tusks curling up from his mouth and his leather skin was a sickly yellow color.
She didn't let this deter her though, even as he turned away from the sayai- jin lying still on a table besides him, Asmodia attacked. She spun throwing the first arcane energy ball and immediately forming and hurling another both striking the other daemon with a large crackling noise.
Asmodia was not a solider though; she was a priestess, more concerned with arcane works and the people of the empire then battle. She had expended far too much energy on the guard and had barely enough left to even make the powerful daemon bat an eye. As the hideous creature charged through the energy of her attack she had little she could do but raise her arms in a semblance of defense and await the impact.
Ranaghar didn't even try to hide his look of contempt as he and Irruit heard Kale's story. He couldn't believe the giant had allowed himself to be blindsided and then the attacker to escape. Yes, the other daemon was not that intelligent but it was still unacceptable.
"If this keeps up the master may think he wasted his time saving you on Earth."
The daemoness, Irruit spit at the giant's feet after the remark. She was right but Ranaghar didn't need any dissent among the group at this moment. Laele had vanished earlier in the day and then Zilvra had said she had something to take care of. Now he could feel the two of their energies flaring and ebbing in close contact with each other.
That wasn't odd alone, but there was no energy source near them that would require that much effort to beat, except each other. His serpent-like eyes silted as the daemon tried to think what this could mean. Mephiston had wanted Laele watched after her time alone with the sayai-jin. He didn't like it. They would take action; it would also keep Kale from killing Irruit as he seemed inclined to do at the moment.
"Stop it, both of you. Something is occurring beneath the palace. Lord Mephiston said he has no more use for the sayai-jin. We will go there, kill the boy, and retrieve Laele and Zilvra. Do not engage in combat without my command."
The other two daemons turned a bit surprised at the sudden orders. They had been ordered to hold around Mephiston's tower. The Emperor's elite guard had organized and taken the field and an attack on this location was expected if they managed to get past Ahriman and his knights. The magistrate did give Ranaghar a large amount of independence even contradictory to orders sometimes, so they both nodded in agreement. The three daemons took to the air speeding towards the great palace and the battle that continued in the depths.
Beelzebub pulled up short just as he reached Asmodia a bony fist striking out to impact against her delicate cheek knocking her back out the door and into the opposing wall. She already found herself fighting to keep her eyes open and not pass out as pain the like of which she had never experienced before washed over her.
Asmodia had never had any combat training beyond basics to defend herself and had lived a privileged existence. Physical pain was not something she was accustomed to and especially not the like which the monstrously strong torturer was used to dishing out. She raised a shaking hand to her cheek and looked with fear at it as it came away red with her own blood from where the bony spurs on the other daemons fist had torn away skin.
"Well my pretty, I have to say I'm happy to see you. I've been watching you for years you little bitch. Always so high and mighty, hiding behind you parents. Oh yes..we will have so much fun. You will beg me before the evening is over..oh yes."
Her knees gave out then as she slid into a sitting position against the wall, watching Beelzebub slowly come out of the room towards her. A sickening smile had spread across his face, a thin trail of drool breaking out of his lips as he looked her over, especially the pale expanse of leg, which had emerged from her robes during the scuffle. She had failed. She closed her eyes as he reached for her and hoped the end would come quick.
She waited for the horrible touch, but it never came. Slowly the priestess opened her eyes and saw the daemon struggling trying to pull his hand away from the guard she had attacked. The armored warrior stood firm though, his fingers clamped onto the daemons wrist. The armor still smoked from her attack a large dent obvious in the chest. The eyes behind the helm though were not clouded anymore and stared ahead clearly.
"Let go of me you bastard!"
Beelzebub swung his other hand in a punch, deceptively quick for his deformity, which crashed into the helm the warrior wore causing the studs, which held it in place to pop and weaken. The guard responded in kind his other hand locking onto the interrogator's face, the other switching to underneath the daemons arm. White ki flared up as muscles heaved and sent the daemon up into the city. The ceiling lost the battle quickly a large hole appearing as Beelzebub flew upward causing several more holes until he came to rest in the main palace itself a few hundred feet straight up.
Asmodia couldn't even find words of thanks as the warrior looked at her and extended his hand to help her to her feet. She didn't understand. When she didn't take the hand he gave a small nod and looked into the room where Medon lay still unconscious.
Gauntleted hands came up to the helm and broke the remaining bolts pulling it from the warrior's head. She could see the short spiked black hair as he dropped the helmet to the floor not turning to face her.
"Take him from this place, please."
Then he turned to her and smiled. It was a smile filed with hope and sadness, a smile she knew Laele must have seen on the boy in the room. She was still speechless when Son Gohan flared up with ki and gave chase to Beelzebub into the palace above.
Pan had gotten herself lost, the energy patterns of Dis kept changing and causing her to lose track of where she thought Medon was. She wasn't aware of it but it was the result of the ritual being cast deep within the heart of the planet by the Lord Magi, Abbadon. Now she found herself hovering next to a large tower which stretched towards the sky, wicked spires twisting off in all directions and impossible architectural angles.
"Son of a bitch! How am I suppose to find my brother if this damn place keeps changing where it feels like he is."
She turned in the air, pausing only a moment in her rotation as an airborne daemon made a pass at her to drive her foot into the unfortunate creatures face sending it off towards the horizon.
"Nuisances."
Then she felt it. It was a power the likes of which she had never felt before not even on Earth in its' final moments. It was in the tower. She knew she should flee and not look back but she had to check. Her brother could very well be within. It would make sense to keep him imprisoned by a power this great.
She was floating towards the tower when the sky around her turned black, space warping and twisting as she was transported from outside to within the towers walls. She spun around trying to determine what happened. She was in a large circular stone room, easily as big as the main dome of Capsule Corporation. Below her was a single figure looking up at her.
He could have passed for human except he was to perfect. The man was just over six foot tall and well muscled; obvious even in the robes he wore. He face was handsome, but held an almost predatory look; angular and set with two cruel yellow eyes that watched her every movement. It was the smile that set her on edge though, a thin wicked feature, which Vegeta would have envied, in his worse days.
"Welcome to the home of Mephiston little sayai-jin. Your brother and I have spent much quality time together. You have invaded the boundaries of my home and since my inept guards have left to handle other duties, you and I will also have a chance to know each other."
Pans hands clenched into fists. Her ki rising without hesitation, if it was a fight this guy wanted it was a fight he was going to get. She didn't care how strong he was; she was going to get her brother back.
"Excellent! I haven't had a challenge in sometime. I hope you will not find it to much to amuse me before you die."
Asmodia crawled into the room the chamber. Her legs still did not want to support her. It seems to take forever to make her way to the table where Medon lay and pull herself into a standing position besides it.
He hadn't been fully healed since the last session with Beelzebub. She had to heal him and she was so weak. She only had one spell that would possibly work in this situation. It was a form of empathy but was expressed physically as well as emotionally. She could take his wounds onto herself.
Doing so linked the two minds during the process as feelings were as intimately shared, as were the physical trials that one had undergone. It was not lightly done. The priestess only hesitated a moment though as she placed slender fingers on each side of the teenagers face and pressed soft lips against unleashing her remaining energy. The pain began almost instantly and she felt blood trickling down her flanks she took the injuries onto herself.
She felt Medon's memories swirling through her head as their minds linked. She knew he was experiencing the same though it would be more like a dream since he was unconscious.
She saw the man from the hallway on a porch speaking to his son as they looked to the stars together. Speaking of the future that had been fought so hard for and the world that awaited him.
She watched a beautiful woman with black hair and lavender eyes tuck him into bed and kiss him tenderly as she told him of her love.
She felt the pride as he watched his sister become the World Champion and his smiling grandfather hand over the belt to the cheers of thousands.
Then she saw the man laying on the ground, the woman her eyes shut and face pale, and other loved ones dead and dying around him. She felt rage and the push of power. The power was still there waiting to come out, only the surface of it had been touched. Then with a single thrust of her mind, Asmodia broke the last barrier within Medon and let loose the hidden power which had lurked within him his entire life.
Lavender eyes snapped open, the orbs shrinking and turning a bright emerald.
Trunks was coming up fast on the tower that he had seen Pan stop by when the ki wave hit him. He nearly was knocked from the air by the spectral force that washed over the surface of Dis.
He turned looking into the distance where it had originated. The dark clouds in the sky had split apart at the force that was being awoken deep in the ground beneath them. Golden light streamed out of the crack that had split the great palace, great blue streaks of energy dancing from sky to ground.
He could feel the energy as a Super Sayai-jin the like of which had never been seen before came into existence. Medon was awake.
Author's Note: Well the last chapter seemed to be appropriate. The Moment turned into over a year though. They say we all have our muse, I lost mine and it took awhile to find her again. I apologize to all those who have sent me emails, the kind web hosts and hostesses who put this story up and have had an unfinished product for so long. Please enjoy the long delays next installment of Dragonball: After Earth, the beginning of the end.
Dragonball: After Earth
By Blood Wraith
Chapter 11: Insurrection
"Let us look back a moment my children. The world of heroes, Earth, as we know it, is gone. Torn asunder in a moment of cruelty by a race of extra- dimensional conquerors. Yet the universe is greater then us, or our planet, others still live from that world that continue the good fight.
Yes I know chances seem slim, but do not cry. The forces of evil are at our very doorstep. Our defenders are few, and the powerful heroes from Earth have left us. They have gone to the heart of the beast, three against a world. Do no despair however my little ones. Believe my words, and they will prove true..in the darkest hour, hope shines eternal."
Then the Namekian elder Murri, shut the door of the heavily reinforced building they had constructed to protect the children. A single warrior remained within to defend them if needed. He hoped it would not come to that, even as he turned his eyes toward the sky and picked out what appeared to be a huge moving star as the great daemon warship, The Kraken, approached New Namek.
Goku swung his hand in a sweeping arc as soon as the three Sayai-jins appeared upon the surface of Dis. The barrage of random energy bolts that had been flying upward at the group was knocked away to impact on the ground below.
"Goku! What's going on? They couldn't know we're here already!"
"They don't, Trunks. Look around us. They're fighting each other. Kaioshin! Get out of here! The longer you stay the more chance they'll be able to follow you."
The High God gave one last look at the three brave warriors who now stared over the expanse of Dis beneath them. Civil war was raging without care for who or what was caught within its' grasp. Chaos and destruction reigned. Catching his breath at the horror of it all, Kaioshin gave them all a last salute, for luck, and then he vanished. Goku was right, and he'd only get in their way.
Trunks was slowly rotating within the air, his blue eyes looking out over the surface of Dis. The entire planet seemed to have turned into a giant battlefield, daemon battled daemon across the sky above and the ground below. He was about to turn and ask Goku for a course of action when he was blinded by a flash of golden light to his side. Her hands clenched into fists so tight her knuckles had gone white, Pan erupted into Super Sayai-jin. Her short black hair shooting upward and turning a vivid golden shade, as flames of the same color burst into existence around her slender body. Her brother was here, she could feel him, and none of these wretched creatures would keep her from him.
She rocketed off towards the largest structure she could see instantly, ignoring the shouted command to stop from her grandfather behind her. The warmth she had felt within Trunks' arms had faded from her heart, replaced instead by the intense fear for the life of her brother that had gripped her previously, and behind that lurked the explosive anger that had driven the last two generations of the Son line to greatness.
Laele looked back over her shoulder for what had to be the twentieth time since they had descended into the dungeons beneath the palace. She and Asmodia had decided to wait until the chaos was near a fever pitch before going down into the depths to attempt to free the sayai-jin and escape the planet.
The fighting on the planets surface above was beginning to peak after working itself up over several hours. Entire armies of daemons now clashed with each other in city after city. The capital itself was one giant fight, nearly impossible to tell what side each group was in.
Though many were still loyal to the Emperor, Asmodius, easily just as many had switched allegiances to the magistrate, Mephiston. Many of the ancient and powerful First Order of Knights had taken a stance behind the magistrate, giving him a tactical advantage above and beyond the surprise of the initial assault.
Asmodia could feel the tension radiating from her companion. It was well placed. Medon would most likely be heavily guarded and that was the least of their problems. After freeing him they had to escape the palace, make their way into the city to the waiting shuttles, if they had not been destroyed, and then pass through the defensive grid set around the planet by the Lord Magi, Abbadon.
She refused to let the odds against them delude her however. She knew what would happen if they stayed. Most likely they would all perish. If Mephiston won, she, along with her traitorous brother, Duriel would be slain when they had outlived their usefulness. The other option, which was much more likely to occur, would be her father Asmodius, would unleash his power upon the forces assembled against him and wipe out the planet itself, including those loyal to him. Only the most powerful daemons could survive the force of his fury.
Asmodia stopped as she came to a corner, they were getting much closer to the cellblock and if they were to meet any resistance it would be in his region. Noticing her pause and realizing why, Laele, moved to take the forward position. Though powerful in the arcane arts she practiced, Asmodia possessed not even a fraction of the physical power of the trained warrior.
The two moved at a snails pace around the corner, Asmodia found herself recalling similar though much less deadly days from their childhood. They use to sneak through the halls of the Imperial Palace in the darkest hours of the night, seeing what secrets could be discovered or trouble they could get into. Daemon children were not so different from children of every race. Even in the heart of darkness, they were left to play as long as it did not get out of hand or disturb the Emperor.
There had been another difference at that time though. There had been another little girl who had played hide and seek amongst the columns and large chambers. One who had always been faster, stronger, and able to find the best places to hide.
Reality came back in brutal focus to Asmodia, as Laele knocked her to the side as she went to the edge of the hallway, taking the priestess with her.
A purple and black pulsing ball of energy flew by, barely missing the two of them to impact on the wall far behind. A large chunk of the wall instantly disintegrated as negative energy broke apart the atomic bonds that held it together.
Rising from the floor, Asmodia pushed strand of her aqua hair from her eyes and looked past Laele who was preparing herself for battle. Advancing down the hall at them with murder in her eyes was Zilvra.
Kale stood before the tower of Mephiston and watched the battle moving back and forth across the city, a large smile planted across his face. A group of loyalists to the Empire had assaulted the tower over an hour ago. They now lay strewed across the area.
He had to say his was quite impressed, he had initially objected to being placed on guard duty with some runt daemon who he an attitude problem. When the fight had broken out though the other had caused just as much damage as the giant, tearing through the daemon warriors with an ease and viciousness that the assassin could almost admire.
He turned to comment on the fight to the other and stopped as he saw the other had pulled off one of the steel gauntlets that had been welded onto the armored suit he inhabited. The skin beneath was like that of the humans whose world they had destroyed recently, not one of the more vibrant pigments common to those with daemon blood. The warrior clenched his fist several times giving a slight shake of his head as if trying to clear it before giving a slow turn and taking in his surroundings.
"What are you about, soldier?"
At the giants words the warrior turned, the dark eyes within the helmet narrowing as they moved from the adamantine legs up to the scarred face.
Kale was opening his mouth to speak again when the ki bolts began to slam into his face and torso. The energy did minimal damage but was enough to force him to raise his arms to block them, wanting to shield the remains of his organic body. Then the impacts began from the other directions, he turned in place trying to stop the numerous blasts then they stopped without warning.
The killer roared and turned around, trying to see his enemy through the massive amounts of smoke that surrounded him and to defend himself if need be. There came no further assault before the smoke cleared, when it did the warrior was gone.
Son Goku nearly sighed as another wave of pulses came flying up from the ground at Trunks and him. In between attacking each other, the warring daemon factions had decided the two sayai-jin made appealing targets. The two easily dodged the barrage weaving in their flight paths in the direction Pan had flown off in.
She had quickly outdistanced them due to transforming and was little more then a golden dot near the horizon. Trunks had wanted to follow suit to catch up with her but had refrained at the older man's insistence. He didn't want to alert the daemons that were not involved in the fighting around them to their presence anymore then Pan already had. Better they think a lone sayai-jin had come to Dis rather then all three of them.
The structure Pan had flown towards was immense, easily seen from hundreds of miles away and stretching up to cloud level at the least. From the conversations he had heard among the warriors as they had passed above them and during combat on Earth, Goku could only assume it was the palace of the Emperor. There were several other massive towers around the landscape that seeing heavy combat. They were most likely the homes of prominent military leaders for either side in the conflict.
The sayai-jin didn't know why the daemons were fighting each other but he hoped it would help them more then hinder. At the very least it was a very effective distraction from their presence.
His reverie was shattered then at a shouted warning from Trunks ahead of him.
"Incoming!"
Some of the daemons had become organized enough to present a threat and a pack of some twenty warriors shot up from the ground at the two.
"You keep going, Trunks! I'll take care of this bunch. Pan will need you more then I will!"
Trunks hesitated a brief moment at the command. He had never been one to run from a fight, even as a child. Goku was right though, he could handle this and Pan was most likely heading into more then she would be able to handle. With a curse, he nodded in accordance with the order and shot after the young woman, outdistancing the few warriors the broke off in pursuit.
They came at him in a howling mass of fury with enough power to level a planet. It didn't save them from Son Goku. The first daemon to reach the sayai-jin pulled back a many-notched battle-axe to swing a blow it was sure would be fatal. It never even managed to take its' attack. Goku dropped down underneath the warrior, grabbing its' ankle in an iron grip as he passed. With a hard yank he pulled it out of its' upward flight and rotated to the side, releasing it towards the lead creature that had chased after Trunks. The yelling daemon passed two of its' comrades to slam into the third with bone jarring crack, black adamantine plates shattering at the impact as the two fell to the planet below.
Even as his living missile was on its' way to the target Goku was well into his next move. He had flown back up above the approaching mass, looking downward to face them as they came at him. His hands flew to each side of his face fingers fanned wide. He just needed a moment's distraction to take care of the other two after Trunks then his group would be his.
"Taiyoken!"
The flash of intense light from the solar flare caused the approaching group to slow in places and stop in others, stunned and unable to see. Goku couldn't help a smile as his hands near his face snapped towards the last two warriors after the other sayai-jin. The twin balls of energy shot off at lightning speed widening as they closed in on their targets. The rear daemon caught the golden glow in the corner of his eye just in time to turn enough and see doom approaching. The other didn't even have time to scream.
The remaining sixteen finally managed to clear their eyes and reorient themselves. They had spread out across the sky some and for a moment were unsure of their target position. That was until those on the left gave a grunt of surprise and fear.
As one they turned to face the flaming golden form that had appeared in the sky within their ranks, and even as they did so, the Super Sayai-jin Son Goku attacked.
Abbadon glanced up from the ritual he was performing at the ceiling of the chamber he inhabited in the very center of Dis. Even with the closest walls several miles distance he could still hear the combat occurring on the surface. The Lord Magi only sneered and glanced back at the heart of the world before him. The small sun pulsed and throbbed with the stellar energies, which coursed through it.
He found himself musing again that as powerful as any race could become, so much power could always be contained within nature itself. He laughed and brought to mind the complicated ritual for opening the rift again.
The order to open the rift had come from the Emperor himself, suggested by Mephiston, so there was no real point in changing the plan. Whoever won the conflict would still want the rift open and the move Dis into the Sol System into the space previously inhabited by Earth. Then they could use their home world as a staging point for conquering the other dimension.
Abbadon stretched out to his full height, ten feet of terror and arcane power. He normally hunched over to give an image of physical frailty, so that those beneath him would underestimate him and he would have an easier time of weeding out the treacherous, he was anything but weak though. The skull-like face twisted into a mockery of a grin as he began to chant again, barbed and hooked tentacles writhing around his body in the gestures of the spell.
The rift would be open soon and then they would again unleash true horror upon an unsuspecting dimension.
Hammer paced in front of the small hut the warriors of New Namek had gathered in, he hated to admit it but he was nervous. He could feel the daemon warship approaching, bringing with it a horde of creatures the likes of which they had never seen before.
He looked at his fellow warriors, some meditating, others practicing, all- trying to prepare for the fight they knew was coming, and the very likely possibility of death that would follow. These were his friends, his brothers, and they were so very few. Barely two hundred from across the entire planet and he knew that many of them would not be able to go home again by the next dawn.
Tenshinhan stepped up besides the Namekian warrior. He could see the tension obvious across the others features. He couldn't say he blamed him. He felt it to; only years of experience kept him from letting it over take him. This was nearly as bad as the days before they went to the final confrontation with Cell. That time their chances had been so much better. Then Goku had his plan, and he knew it wouldn't fail. Gohan was going to save them.
Goku had his plan this time to and it was very similar. It had failed once though. Medon had not helped them save Earth, his involvement may have actually helped lead to its' destruction. Chazou was gone, everyone was gone, there didn't seem to be anything left worth fighting for.
Then he saw Bra moving between the warriors, bringing them food and stopping to speak with each one, bolstering their courage with words of encouragement. Her race may have been nearly gone, but she was a princess of the sayai-jin and she showed it with a will that would not be bowed out even by the possibility of impending doom.
That was a reason to fight, to not cower before their enemies with broken spirits but with the pride and honor. Tenshinhan glanced over at Hammer and saw the same resolve on the other warriors face. They may very well die today, but they would do so in a battle of which they could be proud and their enemies would remember them and what the victory cost. Then he turned his head up to the sky the Kraken was closer, large enough to almost be seen for something other then a star.
"It won't be much longer now."
Hammer did not even turn to respond his voice flat and deadly.
"Let them come."
The golden streak that was Son Pan shot across the sky of Dis. She didn't even notice the chaos below her; it was just another distraction in the path to her brother. She has no intention of letting it stop her.
When they had first appeared she had felt a small spot of energy that she knew was her brother. It was so low though she had barely managed to even tell the direction, much less the exact location and with the fighting across Dis now picking up she wasn't even sure of that anymore.
With a snarl she stopped in her flight looking around at the daemons fighting across the ground far beneath her.
"You damn things! You're getting in my way!"
The two daemon battalions underneath her never even saw the hundreds of ki blasts that rained down upon them from the angry sayai-jin above.
Even from the distance she flew above she could hear the yells of surprise and the screams of the dying, she couldn't see anything though from the smoke that has risen from the dozens of explosions that had rocked the area.
It didn't matter. They had ceased to be people to her, they were just beasts. Beasts that had taken her home, her family and tried to take her life in a few short days, they didn't matter.
She looked around again trying to find a fix on Medon's ki. She wasn't sure if it really was in the palace she had fixated on earlier. Growling Pan flew off slightly to the left of her previous course. She would find him.
Asmodia had yet to find her chance to get off the floor. Zilvra had leapt to the attack almost immediately and had Laele on the defensive within seconds. Laele had held her ground though refusing to back down to her sister, which would have put them right into Asmodia's position.
The princess of the Daemon Empire watched as Zilvra grabbed her twin by her flowing red hair and smashed her into one of the walls of the passageway with enough force to shake the palace around them. Rock turning to dust under the force of the impact, dust filling the small walkway. Laele was not one to take the beating laying down though, slammed her elbow back into Zilvra's stomach, turning even as the other woman stumbled backwards from the force of the blow to punch her full in the face and send her hurtling down the passage.
She dashed down the hallway after Zilvra, throwing arcane balls of flame in front of her as she went.
"Go free the sayai-jin Asmodia! I'll keep Zilvra busy here!"
Asmodia turned to go stopping to look back at her friend only once before dashing around the corner and towards the holding cells.
Laele stopped as she came closer to where Zilvra should have been. She had made a mistake using fire as her attack element; the passage had filled with so much smoke she couldn't see anything. Cautiously she advanced into the smoke, crouching low and keeping a defensive stance.
"Keep me busy dear sister? All you'll do here is die at my feet traitor!"
Laele whirled to the side at the statement of hate from her sister, one leg snapped out in a low sweeping kick. She didn't know her mistake until she her the popping noise above her.
Zilvra dropped down onto the other daemoness from where she had been gripping onto the ceiling. As she fell the twin blades that were housed on the back of her gauntlets popped out. She would kill her traitorous sister and bring her head back to Mephiston.
Laele twisted like a cat to get out of the way of the lethal assault. The act saved her life but not pain. One of the blades sliced a bright red line across the white skin of Laele's upper arm shredding the leather and steel armor that protected her. The other just missed her head, the cruel tip punching into the stone floor beneath her.
Gritting her teeth at the pain, Laele put her hands together close to her body as Zilvra's weight pressed down on her gathering energy between her fingers and released the condensed ball just as her twin recovered for another strike.
The explosion shook the corridor as Zilvra was hurled back against the ceiling by the ki orb the wind knocked out of her by it bursting right against her tightly muscled stomach. Laele was slowly coming to her feet also stunned by the explosion even as Zilvra came back down to the ground, landing lightly if somewhat unsteadily.
The twins had trained and fought together many times over the years, they knew each other perfectly. They had never fought against each other though. Each was determined that this first time, would also be the last. Only one would walk away, either an assassin of the daemon empire, or a warrior who had seen to much violence and found she wished only for peace.
The High Prince of the Daemon Empire, Duriel watched as the sayai-jin in the sky high above tore apart some of his more experienced warriors. Duriel had thrown his lot in with the magistrate, Mephiston for many reasons. The primary one being he never saw himself ever becoming Emperor while his rather lived. He was patient; he would give Mephiston a few decades of rulership before he ripped it from his grasp and installed himself into his rightful position as Emperor of the Daemon Empire, his empire.
At the moment though his primary concern was the sayai-jin. He had heard much about them from Mephiston in the briefings for the attack upon Earth. He also recognized this one, Son Goku he was called. They had been warned of this one.
Duriel snorted in contempt. He needed no warnings; he was easily one of the most powerful warriors in the Empire, exceeded only by the elite First Order of Knights. He wore the finest adamantine plate armor that was crafted on the planet, and was well over seven foot of muscle. His skin was a deep black a trait he shared with his father and even more resilient then the metal sheath he wore. He could handle a lone warrior.
The prince drew the slender black bladed sword he called had dubbed the "Bloody Blade" for all his rivals he had slew with it in his youth, including his own brother, Levantus.
Pointing the tip towards the sky he called upon the arcane energies that were the heritage of all daemons and unleashed his attack.
"Hell Beam!"
Goku punched his fist deep into the stomach of the last daemon warrior that stood against him, ki channeling through arm and into the still fighting creature. It exploded in a golden flash, a few traces of ash all that remained.
The daemons had proved a little tougher then he had expected but not much. They had, however, managed to delay him long enough to Trunks to reach the edge of his vision and Pan to get completely out of sight. It would take some work to catch up to them.
He was considering trying to lock onto Trunks ki signature to use his Instantaneous Movement to catch up to the other sayai-jin when the energy beam struck him between the shoulder blades.
The sayai-jin cursed himself even as the wind was knocked out of him and he was sent tumbling from the sky. He should have felt the attack coming; he was focusing too much on Trunks and what he was going to do. He was thinking too much when he should be acting.
Goku caught himself just before he hit the ground spinning around and tossing his arms out to stop his descent, the tip of his heavy boot just scraping against the street. The warriors face scrunched up in relief as he wiped a hand across his forehead.
"Whew! That was a close one."
"You aren't safe yet!"
Duriel swung his sword at Goku's head even as the man turned to look at him. The prince had been waiting as the sayai-jin fell from the sky for the perfect moment to attack and now he had it while the other was still disoriented.
Goku bent backwards as Duriel came in at him. Yes he was slow on the uptake at times, but not in combat. He wouldn't be taken unaware again and had been waiting for the attack. Backflipping backwards he brought his foot up into Duriel's chin sending the prince reeling backwards.
Shaking his head to clear it Duriel snarled as Goku came up into a battle ready position again a thin smile on his face. This creature was disrespecting him; and the mere prospect of it enraged the narcissistic royalty.
"How dare you! You are nothing! I am the High Prince an entire empire while you are a creature without even a home to return to! Die!"
Duriel again aimed the Bloody Blade at Goku and channeled as much energy as possible into the blade, the arcane energy coursing through the blade which amplified it tenfold before releasing it towards the sayai-jin.
The black energy blasted out of the sword twisting and warping into a huge black orb, which tore up the ground and warped space around it as it, rushed forward. Goku knew it was coming on to fast to dodge so he braced himself for impact raising his hands to try to ward off the assault. The arcane attack slammed into him like a freight train driving him backwards even as he struggled to hold his position, leaving ruts in the ground as he traveled away from Duriel.
He was in trouble. He didn't have the strength in stage one to push back against the attack, nor could he lower his defense long enough to power up into level two or three of super sayai-jin to ward it off.
A building was coming up fast behind Goku, the force of hitting it would probably be just enough to Duriel's attack to overwhelm him. He tried to plant himself again and push back against the black ball. He didn't know if it would work but he was not going to give up. That was when salvation came.
A golden ball of energy slammed into the side of the annihilation ball, dragging it sharply to the side and away from Goku before detonating destroying both attacks. Goku rubbed his aching hands against his blue gi and watched the black armored figure descend from the sky between him and Duriel.
Duriel sized up the newcomer, he was short, smaller even then the sayai-jin he was facing, but clad in the spiked adamantine armor that marked one of Mephiston's elite. The eyes behind the helmet though locked the prince in an angry stare that rivaled that of his father.
"No one kills Kakarotto while I'm around."
Behind the visor the dark eyes widened and turned a shade of brilliant green as cracks formed across the surface of the adamantine plate, golden light leaking as a primal growl came from the figure. Shards of armor turning to ash under the force of the energy contained within.
Goku couldn't fight the smile that had forced its' way onto his face. Things were coming together after all.
"There is my proud prince."
The daemon armor blasted apart in a storm of razor sharp metal. The Daemon Prince Duriel then looked upon the Prince of the Sayai-jin and found himself nearly cowering under the cold emerald gaze of Vegeta.
The black armored guard near the torture chamber braced his feet in the corridor. He could hear the battle erupting within the dungeons, the sounds of energy attacks and shattering walls echoed quite clearly to his alert ears.
Why was he here? He couldn't remember. He just knew he was suppose to stand guard over this door and make sure Beelzebub completed his task. He only had seen the torturer for a moment but found the daemon repulsive never the less. The creature preferred to do horrors to helpless victims rather then engage in honorable combat. This bothered the guard, for more reasons he couldn't remember.
With a shake of the black helmeted head he turned his mind back to the task at hand. He had to please his master, please Mephiston. He was just focusing again when a slender girl ran around the corner ahead of him.
His orders were to kill anyone who came down his passage on sight. He hesitated though and gave Asmodia the chance she needed. She had been working her spell down most of the length of the hall, having been expecting to use it on Beelzebub. The guard was unexpected and from what she could sense, enormously powerful, much more then the simple armor he wore would indicate.
She unleashed the magic just as he reacted moving down the hall at her at a speed she could barely comprehend. She turned her face to the side, eyes shutting to shield themselves from the resulting blast and fired.
"Celestial Storm!"
The guard was inches from her when the attack hit him, his hand reaching forward to grab her throat. The white and gold energy beam slammed into the outstretched hand and sent him sliding backwards.
Asmodia opened one eye to watch the results of her attack. Celestial Storm was her most powerful attack magic, it took a long time to cast and used up a lot of arcane energy from herself and the surroundings but was well worth the cost. At least it normally was.
The guard had been pushed about ten meters down the hall before he had stopped. Now he stood braced the beam still pushing against his outstretched hands. He was pitched forward his feet dug into the stones beneath him and slowly trying to push back against her.
"Impossible.."
She couldn't believe it; he was fighting against an attack that was capable of destroying daemons with enough power to join the First Order of Knights. She focused again and channeled another burst of energy into the attack. The white lights within the beam increased, a golden spiral of energy twisting around the ray and streaking forward.
It still didn't destroy him. It did serve its' purpose though, the added energy was enough to send the guard sliding back across the floor, stones and mortar shooting up along the path to the wall some four hundred feet beyond him. The daemoness didn't let up though, pressing the attack to drive her foe into the unyielding stone behind him. She held up the attack until she was almost out of energy but was sure he couldn't have possibly survived.
She stumbled and nearly fell, a slender hand reaching for the wall to hold her balance. No guard should have been that powerful, it wasn't possible; he should have been at least a captain underneath Azazel. She couldn't think about it now though.she had to save Medon.
The chamber was right before her now all she had to do was get beast the torturer and she and the sayai-jin could get out of here. Steadying herself Asmodia gathered her arcane power again and dashed around the corner.
Beelzebub was not hard to spot. The interrogator was a horrid sight even for a daemon. He was utterly misshapen sporting a hunched back and different length arms, one nearly dragging upon the ground. His face was a horror to behold with two huge tusks curling up from his mouth and his leather skin was a sickly yellow color.
She didn't let this deter her though, even as he turned away from the sayai- jin lying still on a table besides him, Asmodia attacked. She spun throwing the first arcane energy ball and immediately forming and hurling another both striking the other daemon with a large crackling noise.
Asmodia was not a solider though; she was a priestess, more concerned with arcane works and the people of the empire then battle. She had expended far too much energy on the guard and had barely enough left to even make the powerful daemon bat an eye. As the hideous creature charged through the energy of her attack she had little she could do but raise her arms in a semblance of defense and await the impact.
Ranaghar didn't even try to hide his look of contempt as he and Irruit heard Kale's story. He couldn't believe the giant had allowed himself to be blindsided and then the attacker to escape. Yes, the other daemon was not that intelligent but it was still unacceptable.
"If this keeps up the master may think he wasted his time saving you on Earth."
The daemoness, Irruit spit at the giant's feet after the remark. She was right but Ranaghar didn't need any dissent among the group at this moment. Laele had vanished earlier in the day and then Zilvra had said she had something to take care of. Now he could feel the two of their energies flaring and ebbing in close contact with each other.
That wasn't odd alone, but there was no energy source near them that would require that much effort to beat, except each other. His serpent-like eyes silted as the daemon tried to think what this could mean. Mephiston had wanted Laele watched after her time alone with the sayai-jin. He didn't like it. They would take action; it would also keep Kale from killing Irruit as he seemed inclined to do at the moment.
"Stop it, both of you. Something is occurring beneath the palace. Lord Mephiston said he has no more use for the sayai-jin. We will go there, kill the boy, and retrieve Laele and Zilvra. Do not engage in combat without my command."
The other two daemons turned a bit surprised at the sudden orders. They had been ordered to hold around Mephiston's tower. The Emperor's elite guard had organized and taken the field and an attack on this location was expected if they managed to get past Ahriman and his knights. The magistrate did give Ranaghar a large amount of independence even contradictory to orders sometimes, so they both nodded in agreement. The three daemons took to the air speeding towards the great palace and the battle that continued in the depths.
Beelzebub pulled up short just as he reached Asmodia a bony fist striking out to impact against her delicate cheek knocking her back out the door and into the opposing wall. She already found herself fighting to keep her eyes open and not pass out as pain the like of which she had never experienced before washed over her.
Asmodia had never had any combat training beyond basics to defend herself and had lived a privileged existence. Physical pain was not something she was accustomed to and especially not the like which the monstrously strong torturer was used to dishing out. She raised a shaking hand to her cheek and looked with fear at it as it came away red with her own blood from where the bony spurs on the other daemons fist had torn away skin.
"Well my pretty, I have to say I'm happy to see you. I've been watching you for years you little bitch. Always so high and mighty, hiding behind you parents. Oh yes..we will have so much fun. You will beg me before the evening is over..oh yes."
Her knees gave out then as she slid into a sitting position against the wall, watching Beelzebub slowly come out of the room towards her. A sickening smile had spread across his face, a thin trail of drool breaking out of his lips as he looked her over, especially the pale expanse of leg, which had emerged from her robes during the scuffle. She had failed. She closed her eyes as he reached for her and hoped the end would come quick.
She waited for the horrible touch, but it never came. Slowly the priestess opened her eyes and saw the daemon struggling trying to pull his hand away from the guard she had attacked. The armored warrior stood firm though, his fingers clamped onto the daemons wrist. The armor still smoked from her attack a large dent obvious in the chest. The eyes behind the helm though were not clouded anymore and stared ahead clearly.
"Let go of me you bastard!"
Beelzebub swung his other hand in a punch, deceptively quick for his deformity, which crashed into the helm the warrior wore causing the studs, which held it in place to pop and weaken. The guard responded in kind his other hand locking onto the interrogator's face, the other switching to underneath the daemons arm. White ki flared up as muscles heaved and sent the daemon up into the city. The ceiling lost the battle quickly a large hole appearing as Beelzebub flew upward causing several more holes until he came to rest in the main palace itself a few hundred feet straight up.
Asmodia couldn't even find words of thanks as the warrior looked at her and extended his hand to help her to her feet. She didn't understand. When she didn't take the hand he gave a small nod and looked into the room where Medon lay still unconscious.
Gauntleted hands came up to the helm and broke the remaining bolts pulling it from the warrior's head. She could see the short spiked black hair as he dropped the helmet to the floor not turning to face her.
"Take him from this place, please."
Then he turned to her and smiled. It was a smile filed with hope and sadness, a smile she knew Laele must have seen on the boy in the room. She was still speechless when Son Gohan flared up with ki and gave chase to Beelzebub into the palace above.
Pan had gotten herself lost, the energy patterns of Dis kept changing and causing her to lose track of where she thought Medon was. She wasn't aware of it but it was the result of the ritual being cast deep within the heart of the planet by the Lord Magi, Abbadon. Now she found herself hovering next to a large tower which stretched towards the sky, wicked spires twisting off in all directions and impossible architectural angles.
"Son of a bitch! How am I suppose to find my brother if this damn place keeps changing where it feels like he is."
She turned in the air, pausing only a moment in her rotation as an airborne daemon made a pass at her to drive her foot into the unfortunate creatures face sending it off towards the horizon.
"Nuisances."
Then she felt it. It was a power the likes of which she had never felt before not even on Earth in its' final moments. It was in the tower. She knew she should flee and not look back but she had to check. Her brother could very well be within. It would make sense to keep him imprisoned by a power this great.
She was floating towards the tower when the sky around her turned black, space warping and twisting as she was transported from outside to within the towers walls. She spun around trying to determine what happened. She was in a large circular stone room, easily as big as the main dome of Capsule Corporation. Below her was a single figure looking up at her.
He could have passed for human except he was to perfect. The man was just over six foot tall and well muscled; obvious even in the robes he wore. He face was handsome, but held an almost predatory look; angular and set with two cruel yellow eyes that watched her every movement. It was the smile that set her on edge though, a thin wicked feature, which Vegeta would have envied, in his worse days.
"Welcome to the home of Mephiston little sayai-jin. Your brother and I have spent much quality time together. You have invaded the boundaries of my home and since my inept guards have left to handle other duties, you and I will also have a chance to know each other."
Pans hands clenched into fists. Her ki rising without hesitation, if it was a fight this guy wanted it was a fight he was going to get. She didn't care how strong he was; she was going to get her brother back.
"Excellent! I haven't had a challenge in sometime. I hope you will not find it to much to amuse me before you die."
Asmodia crawled into the room the chamber. Her legs still did not want to support her. It seems to take forever to make her way to the table where Medon lay and pull herself into a standing position besides it.
He hadn't been fully healed since the last session with Beelzebub. She had to heal him and she was so weak. She only had one spell that would possibly work in this situation. It was a form of empathy but was expressed physically as well as emotionally. She could take his wounds onto herself.
Doing so linked the two minds during the process as feelings were as intimately shared, as were the physical trials that one had undergone. It was not lightly done. The priestess only hesitated a moment though as she placed slender fingers on each side of the teenagers face and pressed soft lips against unleashing her remaining energy. The pain began almost instantly and she felt blood trickling down her flanks she took the injuries onto herself.
She felt Medon's memories swirling through her head as their minds linked. She knew he was experiencing the same though it would be more like a dream since he was unconscious.
She saw the man from the hallway on a porch speaking to his son as they looked to the stars together. Speaking of the future that had been fought so hard for and the world that awaited him.
She watched a beautiful woman with black hair and lavender eyes tuck him into bed and kiss him tenderly as she told him of her love.
She felt the pride as he watched his sister become the World Champion and his smiling grandfather hand over the belt to the cheers of thousands.
Then she saw the man laying on the ground, the woman her eyes shut and face pale, and other loved ones dead and dying around him. She felt rage and the push of power. The power was still there waiting to come out, only the surface of it had been touched. Then with a single thrust of her mind, Asmodia broke the last barrier within Medon and let loose the hidden power which had lurked within him his entire life.
Lavender eyes snapped open, the orbs shrinking and turning a bright emerald.
Trunks was coming up fast on the tower that he had seen Pan stop by when the ki wave hit him. He nearly was knocked from the air by the spectral force that washed over the surface of Dis.
He turned looking into the distance where it had originated. The dark clouds in the sky had split apart at the force that was being awoken deep in the ground beneath them. Golden light streamed out of the crack that had split the great palace, great blue streaks of energy dancing from sky to ground.
He could feel the energy as a Super Sayai-jin the like of which had never been seen before came into existence. Medon was awake.