Chapter 15: Eclipse
"You're going to have to do better than that!" Kari laughed as she easily blocked another one of Goten's punches.
"Oh? Well, how's this!" he grunted as he flew at her and launched an energy attack, which she easily batted away and returned with a swift kick to his ribs. He fell gasping to the ground, clutching his stomach at the painful sensation surging through him.
"I win! How many is that now?" she humored as she helped him up off the dewy grass.
"I think that's seven times now," Trunks provided, shooting a look of humor at Goten as he slapped him on the back. "She's beating you bad."
"Ow, watch it!" he cringed as Trunks' hand made contact with his bruised shoulder. "I can't help it if she's the best fighter in the universe, ne?" Goten said good-humoredly, breathing hard as he gave Kari a smile.
"I wouldn't go that far, Goten. Now, it's your turn," she smiled playfully, turning to Trunks.
"Promise not to hurt me too bad?" Trunks said innocently, giving her a mock puppy face.
"I'll try not to permanently damage anything important," Kari answered, "but I'm not promising anything. You're still my opponent."
Trunks gave her a mischievous look as he removed his jacket to reveal his white tank top and black cotton pants, then took his position to begin the sparring match. She truly was an amazing fighter and it would take everything he had just to stand his ground against her and her attacks.
Their fight commenced as Trunks took the offensive and flew at Kari, their fists and feet moving through the air at vision-blurring speeds. He landed one or two good hits on her before she attacked and let her fists fly at him, making contact with his stomach and then his face. He flew backwards, but bounced right back at her and came with twice as much force. They continued fighting for another half an hour, neither one concentrating on anything else but the other's weaknesses.
Suddenly, Kari put her fists down and held up her hand, signaling Trunks to cease the fight just as he was going in for a kick. She cocked her head to one side and strained her senses. "Do you feel that? It's a power coming this way…
"No, two powers…And they're off the charts!"
Goten and Trunks reached out with their ki and felt both powers coming towards them, one gigantic and the other immeasurable. They were both inexplicably evil.
"Shit..." Goten whispered.
* * * *
"Goten, go tell my father and the others what's coming. I have the feeling we're going to need all the help we can get," Trunks enjoined. Goten nodded and left, heading inside to notify Vegita and the others.
"What do you think it is? I've never felt such malevolence before," Kari whispered, shivering despite the fact that the sun was shining brightly.
"I don't know, but we're about to find out. Here they come."
Kari and Trunks watched as two figures landed on the ground about one hundred yards away from them, one medium-height and the other colossal. As the two enigmatic figures advanced towards them, their adversaries' features became clearer. The smaller man had blonde hair the color of hay, a cocky walk, and a wicked grin shining on his perfectly chiseled countenance.
Yamora.
The other warrior was a man Kari had never seen before; he was enormous. He was about eight feet tall, with a shaved head, and muscles the size of basketballs. He was a monster to look at; he didn't even seem human. Kari and Trunks glanced at each other as the two evils kept advancing, and both were thinking the same thing. I hope the others get here before it's too late…
The menacing pair halted about ten yards from the couple. Yamora spoke first. "Kari," he drawled. "Long time no see." She narrowed her gaze at him, hate radiating from her ki. His eyes only reflected macabre amusement. "Although, the last time we met still remains pretty clear in my mind. What about you?" he laughed maliciously. "Maybe we'll get a chance to finish what we started," he added with a malevolent grin.
"I don't think so," Trunks said, stepping in front of Kari. "Not if I have any say in it. She's taken."
"What's this? The purple-haired wonder is your new flavor of the month? Honestly, Kari, I thought you had better taste than that," Yamora retorted, glaring viciously at Trunks.
"Bad taste was dating you," Kari replied with a cold stare.
"Ouch, that hurt," Yamora said, feigning offense. "No matter, I couldn't care less who you roll in the sheets with. I'm going to kill them along with you anyway, so it really doesn't make a difference to me.
"Meet Gehno. He's going to be your death, as well as that of all your friends," he announced haughtily, gesturing to the huge gargantuan behind him.
"Sorry, but I'm not so easily defeated. The bigger they are, the larger the hole they make in the ground," Trunks countered with a grin. "Besides, I've fought bigger."
Yamora laughed at his words as if he had just said something extremely funny. "You really think you can defeat Gheno? I beg to differ. You see," he said, his grin widening, "Gheno is a genetically engineered killing machine. He has human DNA, yes, but his attributes have been dramatically…enhanced to make him one hundred times stronger and faster than the world's finest fighter, Son Goku. You can try to fight him if you like. It's your death wish."
As his words sunk in, Trunks faltered ever so slightly. He and Kari glanced at each other, the same look of fear and disbelief wallowing in each other's eyes. Their situation conjured up memories of Cell and the androids in Trunks' mind, the words and stories of his father and mother and Goku rushing back to him on waves of fear. He knew how powerful those machines were, but this guy…Suddenly he felt frigid despite the warm summer air.
"What about me, Yamora? You always sounded like you had some ulterior purpose in store for me," Kari challenged, trying to mask the fear in her voice as she attempted to divert Yamora's attention. They needed more time!
"I still do. It's just that now the objectives have changed. You see, my time limit is running out, and you refused to cooperate in the way I had originally planned. I tried to spare your life, and by having my child you would have saved yourself. But you refused to grant me that...request, so now I have no choice but to destroy you. If you live, you would be a nuisance to our mission, and I can't have you running around wrecking our plans, ne?" Yamora explained casually as if they were discussing the weather.
"Our plans? Who else are you talking about?" Kari asked, a heavy dread settling in her stomach.
"I guessed your objective long ago, Kari, however, I will indulge you. I want to give your friends some time to arrive so I can prove my strength over the Earth's strongest fighters," he said, laughing at the shocked look on her face.
"In brief, my brother, Kensuke, and I are going to bring about the destruction of your home planet Arquinia, princess."
Kari was speechless, frozen to the spot by fear.
"Yes, I know who you are, and I've known since my birth and before we even met. I've been sent here to find you and give you a choice of sorts: either carry my child or die. You see, the only way to permanently secure the Arquinian throne is through the bloodline. And you, dear princess, are the key to that plan. But, if you by chance refused to cooperate, my brother and I came up with an alternate plan: use my friend Gheno here and kill you instead, making it all too easy for us to conquer Arquinia. With you out of the way, the Tsunias would become the most powerful race in the universe.
"Oh, and one more thing," Yamora said as he turned, "my father's name might ring a bell. Do you remember a man by the name of Zenshi? Yes, he's the one that killed your family, remember? I'm his son. Your father must be rolling in his grave with shame," Yamora finished, smiling wickedly as he walked back towards Gheno.
"I can't...I don't believe...I'm such a fool!" Kari whispered angrily to herself. "How could I have been so blind?"
"You couldn't have known. It's not your fault," Trunks assured her, his eyes full of warmth. She gave a small smile at his concern. "Besides, you have me now, and you don't need to worry. Right now we need to focus on that sub-human giant and how to defeat him. We're going to need everyone to do that, especially you."
"Trust me, we'll find a way to beat that overgrown DNA project," Kari promised him, ignoring her shame and shock and filling herself with determination and courage.
Trunks smiled. Her willpower and bravery were otherworldly, and those were two of the things he admired most about her. Suddenly, the two snapped to attention as Gheno, the huge, lumbering hulk, grinned and spoke to them in a deep, booming voice. "Time to get the show on the road, kiddies. My name is Gheno, and I'll be your executioner today."
And so, the battle for Arquinia and Earth began.