Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Batsu

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi Kami Sarah

FNSTZ : Batsu - Chapter Two

Chibi chan flew the 170 miles from the lab to school every day for the last week of classes. She and her father studied together for her exams while her mother worked diligently on the new model. Bulma would come by occasionally to help out a little, but the work was slowing down. It was almost ready.

On the last day of exams, Chibi-chan hummed through the corridors of Orange Star Academy. Some girls giggled at her as she took a sip of water from the kiddy fountain. Chibi stared back and grinned wide. 'Pretty soon I'm gonna look a million times better than you ever will! I'll have better skin, better hair and fully developed...'
"Oi! Chibs!" Jeison called from down the hall a bit, jerking her from her amusement. She turned crimson.
"Ano... Jeison. What's up?"
"How'dja do on that bio practical?" he asked as he caught up with her. They walked to their lockers.
"Aced it."
"Wow! You sound so sure of yourself! Must be feeling better, ne?"
She nodded. They walked out of the school and down into the park. They bought shave-ice and sat on a bench in the afternoon sun. Steeled with her new-found confidence, Chibi-chan asked a question she had been wanting to know the answer to for a long time. "Jeison, why are you so nice to me?"
The teen blinked down on her. "Why not?"
"No one else is. Do you pity me or something?"
"Why would I do that? Because you have that disease that makes you small? I've known you for 5 years now and I know that you don't want anyone's pity." He frowned. "Do you really think I'm insincere?"
Chibi gasped lightly at the pained look on his face. "No! No no... I just.. It's just, you're the only one, the only kid who's ever treated me like just another kid. I think that's amazing and cool and I want to thank you." She stared at her melting shave-ice.
"Chibs. That sounded so.. final. Are you ok?"
' Think fast girlie.' "Not really... I'm not coming back to school next year."
"Is it your health?"
"Well, sort of. I'm gonna hafta transfer. I'm leaving right after school."
"Chibs... Where will you go?"
'Think fast, think fast!' "Up north." 'Whew!' "So, I wanted to say thanks... for being my only friend."
To her utter shock, Jeison put his arm around her tiny shoulders and hugged her.
"No sweat kiddo. I've always thought of you as my little sister. I'm gonna miss you tons."
A large sweat drop formed over her head. "S... sou da..."
She patted his hand and slid off of the bench. "Well, I really should be getting home. I'll see you tomorrow."
He nodded. "Tomorrow then."
Chibi-chan walked to the nearest alleyway then blasted off for the north.

*
That morning, Polian had risen with the dawn and finished a brief workout before seeing his daughter off for school. Living in the lab was weird, but they were having fun. It was almost like being in a summer home save the lack of amenities like a bathroom and kitchen (not that two Jinzoningen and a Namek needed either).
He was stretching and soaking in some sun late in the morning when Zen'i finally emerged. Her long, blond hair was up in a loose bun held together with a mechanical pencil. She hadn't changed clothes in days.
"You look exhausted."
"I am." She wrinkled her nose. "And I stink. Isn't there some running water around here somewhere?"
"Follow me," he said and they flew down the cliff-face and walked to a nearby river. The water temperature was about 50 degrees but it didn't phase the Jinzoningen. She began stripping as she reached the bank. A small waterfall cascaded to their right.
Once she was naked, Zen'i waded in gracefully. "That's pretty cold." she stated blandly. She swam out and turned to face the bank. "You coming in?"
"I'm clean."
She grinned. "You're chicken."
"I am not."
"Oh yeah? Prove it."
The barefoot Namek grumbled and stripped his shirt and pants.
"I don't know what your afraid of, it's not like you have anything to shrivel up!" she joked and did the backstroke. The nude Namek resembled a freakish, green Ken doll. After more than a decade of living together, she could get away with saying such a thing.
"Shut up!" he snarled and dove into the water. "Tsumetasa!!" Polian shouted as he surfaced. "Shit that's cold!!"
Zen'i laughed at him. He grinned evilly and swam towards her. She cried out and tried to swim away, but he reached out, grabbed her foot and yanked her under the water.

Twenty seconds went by and he started to get nervous. 'Don't panic,' he thought. 'She won't sink... will she?'
As his anxiety grew and he was just about to dive under to find her, he felt a sharp pinch on his left gludious maximus and screamed in shock.
Zen'i surfaced, coughing and sputtering from laughing so hard. She saw the look of death he was shooting her and she tried her best to suppress her delight. "Aw hahaha... I'm sorry. It was just too good to pass up."
He scowled at her. "Come here."
"But it was just a joke..."
"Come. Here."
She swam closer, eyebrows arched in worry. 'Wow, is he really pissed?' she wondered.
Polian grabbed her, pulled her in close and embraced her. Zen'i sighed and did likewise. "Freak," she whispered.
"We haven't been this close in a while, have we?" he asked.
"Mmmhm. Maybe once Chibi-chan gets her new look, she'll be out more often. No one will ask her why she's out so late without her mommy and daddy."
"I KNEW there was something in it for us." Polian grinned. His crooked fang protruded. He didn't have to bow, being that they were both in the water, to kiss her.

*

Chibi stood with her fists clenched for a moment, staring to the point where she lost focus at the right hand of her new body which was hanging out slightly from under its sheet. Her father watched from a distance, leaning up against a wall with his arms folded.
"Chibi-chan, if you need more time, we can take it." Zen'i crouched down and looked her in the eyes.
The tiny Jinzoningen shook her head. "No. I'm more than ready, Kaasan." She stopped staring and stepped up to the neighboring lab table. Zen'i straightened out her dress and fixed her hair before proceeding. She smiled in apology for her meticulousness, then parted the hair just to the top right of her left ear and inserted the data transfer cable into the hidden port.
"Tousan," Chibi called. "Please hold my hand."
He nodded and came to her side.
The transfer device was quite simple compared to the one used to convert the human Chibi-chan into an android had been. Zen'i attached the cable to the new body in the same location and readied the equipment.
"All right. When I count to zero, I'm going to begin the transfer. You won't be able to communicate with us till 100% of you is relocated. If you feel that the procedure is going awry, use the abort code but ONLY if you're certain something is wrong. Do you have any other questions?"
"No. I'm ready." She closed her eyes.
Zen'i nodded. She was terrified. She counted back from five. "Go. Shi. San. Ni.... Ichi..... Zero," and pressed a large red button.
There was a whirring of fans as the processor kicked into high gear, but otherwise, there was silence.
"How long will this take?" Polian asked, gripping the teen's hand tightly.
"About 3 hours. Any faster and I'd risk loosing data."
He nodded and stood there for the entire duration; one hand in Chibi's, one hand in Zen'i's.

**

As the clock counted down, Zen'i trained her unblinking eye on it. Ten minutes. Five. One... thirty seconds... ten... three two.. one..
An LED displayed the word "done" and Zen'i released Polian's hand. She brought up the stats for both bodies. Chibi Purototaipu Juugogou showed no signs of brain activity whatsoever. Jinzoningen Nijuuichigou was fully operational. Zen'i pulled back the white sheet. Android 21's cheeks were flush with life. Her chest rose a fell with each breath.
"Well?" Polian asked, anxiously.
"She has to wake up. This may take a few minutes." Zen'i wanted to scream. 'I hope... Come on, Sweetie...'
21 sighed and her head rolled a tiny bit to the left, away from Zen'i.
"Chibi-chan? Can you hear me sweet-heart?"
Her head rolled to the right. She slowly blinked her grey eyes open. They were slow to focus. She remained lying down.
"Nod if you can hear me."
She did so, in a jerky, inhibited way. She began to look upset.
"It's all right, it'll take a while to warm up. You need to set all your synapse connections and motor controls. Don't think too hard about it, just let your Subconscious Operating System figure it out."
Her head tilted back a little and her eyes focused on the Namek. She struggled to sit up.
"Take is easy!" Zen'i warned. "You can go slow. It's ok. This model is far more like a human than anything Gero ever created. Your inputs are far more sensitive, and you're essentially a new born. Human babies don't walk and talk the moment they're born, and neither will you. Give it a few hours."
"Chibi-chan," Polian stroked her hair. "Did you understand that?" he asked.
She nodded, a little smoother than the last time. This didn't help ease his concern. Her eyes glistened. She tried to speak, but it came out in little squeaks and sighs.
Zen'i chuckled a little at this. "Take your time, Sweetie."
"A..ai.." she stuttered. "Ai..shi...teru."
Zen'i and Polian's eyes went wide with amazement. "We love you too!" she beamed.
Finally the muscles in her face fell under her control and she beamed back. Chibi-chan tried to get her body under control and sit up. She strained as her spine curved, her abdominal muscles tensed. Suddenly she stopped and blinked down at her adult body. "Kaasan!" she shouted. "These things are HUGE!"
Polian and Zen'i fell over. Chibi-chan started to laugh a deep, rich belly laugh. When the parents got to their feet, she was sitting up with tears running down her face from laughing so hard. She clutched the sheet to her perfect breasts; so huge in her eyes.
She got a hand from her mother and slid off the table. Zen'i gently removed the cable and closed the tiny temple-port. Chibi-chan wrapped the sheet around herself, wobbled a bit, but held her mother's arms to gain balance. She smiled down at her.
"Kaasan!" she shouted again and put her hand on top of her head. Zen'i was only five foot six. Chibi-chan now stood at the model-height of five foot nine.
"Figured you'd want to be tall." She smiled.
Chibi looked up at Polian and grinned. She gave each of her parents huge hugs. Over her mother's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of her former, lifeless body and turned around quickly.
"Why don't you two go on home. I'll catch up." Zen'i offered.
"Are you sure?" Polian asked.
She nodded. "You had to do it last time, remember?"
"Last time...? Chibi whispered.
"Come on Chibi-chan," her father urged and led her out into the sunshine. "Let's go home."
"Wait. While I was asleep I was thinking..."
Zen'i blinked. 'She could think while that was happening?!'
"Since you both got new names when you changed who you were.. I want a new name too."
"Oh. Uh.. sure Sweetie. Do you want us to pick one?" Zen'i asked hopefully.
"No. I know what I want." She turned to her father. "I want to be called Emaraude."
"Ema...?"
"...Raude!" she chimed. "For the color of my hair, I guess. It was my favorite of all the others I thought of. Or Ema-chan for short I guess."
Zen'i smiled. "Ema-chan it is."
She grinned. "The first thing I'm gonna do is get that big, blue vase down from the top of the fridge!"
Zen'i laughed and waved.
Emaraude and her father stepped out of the lab. In a few moments she lifted off the ground and they flew home.

*
It was hard, laying her baby to rest. Although Chibi-chan's soul lived as Emaraude, Zen'i knew that things would be different from now on. No more kawaii party dresses. No more permission slips to sign. No more lying to people about her 'mysterious disease' that kept her small all those years. But also no more tears.
Perhaps never again would she have to hear the poor girl sob into her pillow at night because the kids at school tormented her daily. Never again would she see her sad, distant looks. Even in the first fifteen minutes Zen'i had seen her daughter smile more than she had in months.
This is what she wanted. Ema-chan was happy. But Chibi-chan was dead.
The tiny body weighed nearly 200 pounds, just a hundred shy of her mother. The new model was super-light, weighing in at a very normal 160 pounds. Zen'i removed the other end of the transfer cable and picked the body up.
All week she had debated destroying it, but decided that perhaps one day, she would need to rescue someone else. She placed it gently into a protective chamber and sealed it up. The label, in large, black, simple typeface, simply read "Little 15".
"Good-bye, Chibi-chan." Zen'i lifted the chamber up and plugged it into a jack in the floor on the opposite side of the room. A sliding door hid the discarded body from sight. She tidied up the lab a little before she was ready to leave and start a new chapter in the family's life.

*

The air warmed as Zen'i moved further south and closer to home. She breathed in the scent of orange blossoms and sighed. She didn't notice the three figures on the horizon till they were nearly upon her.
The Jinzoningen stopped abruptly and clenched her fists. An ache; a hollow sort of nausea came over her. She did not know them. She could tell even before she could make out their faces; their grey, bird-beaked, alien faces, that she had a good reason to dread their appearance.
"You," one of them called out in an abnormally loud voice. "We search for Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans. Do you know of his whereabouts?"
"He's dead. Who are you?" she asked back, alarmed.
"You knew him?"
"Who are you!?" she demanded again, not giving the strangers any more information till she knew what they were up to.
"You need not concern yourself with that."
Zen'i suddenly noticed that none of the three beings' long, thin, beaks were moving. The sound she thought was so loud wasn't a sound at all, but in her head. She flew back a few yards and thought quickly.
"There is no need to fear, android," a different voice soothed her. "We will not harm you."
She hovered in place. "Why do you want to know about Vegeta?"
"We have a score to settle with him. You claim he is no more?"
"Long dead. Please leave this world in peace."
"Peace," a third voice repeated. "How ironic. That is our goal." The 'speaker' held up his hand. Cupped in his four-fingered palm was a small mound of fine, white dust. Without seeming to do anything, he blew the dust in Zen'i's direction. The breeze whipped it all around her. She tried not to breathe, but it was everywhere, in her eyes, her mouth, her pours. She sneezed once, violently and fell to the ground a half a mile below, like a stone.
"She told the truth. Vegeta is dead." The shortest one turned to his companions.
"Then we must find an heir. Someone must pay for a galaxy's suffering."
The tallest swooped down to the ground and picked up the motionless Jinzoningen. "She may be useful."
"We cannot wake her," the shortest reminded him.
"As a pawn."
All three nodded and continued to fly towards the south.

*

Koneko stretched out on the lounge chair in the back yard and sipped a tall glass of iced tea. "This is life!" she cheered and looked up through her sunglasses at the nearly cloudless sky.
"Don't get too comfy," Tamashii reminded her as he came out of the house. "The kids will be back next month."
"Oh poo," she stuck out her tong. "Don't rain on my parade, Tama!"
He leaned down and kissed her as he passed.
"You comin', Gohan-san?"
"Right behind you!" he called and came jogging out of the house in his bare feet and a pair of Namekjin harem pants.
"Don't forget your sun-block!" Bulma tossed him a bottle of 15 SPF as she too emerged from the house.
"Thanks, hun!" He caught it easily and turned to say something to Tamashii. Instead he took a step back and motioned to Bulma. "Get back in the house..."
Tama looked where he was staring. Three, cloaked, long-beaked men hovered in the sky. One of them held Zen'i by the waist like a doll.
"Zen'i!" Bulma cried out.
"GET BACK IN THE HOUSE, BULMA, NOW!"
Stunned by her husband's urgency, she did as she was told and ran back inside. Koneko jumped to her feet and stared, slack jawed at the aliens. Tama stepped up.
"What have you done to my sister!?"
"We seek the spawn of Vegeta," the strange, loud, hollow voice announced. The short one pointed to Koneko.
"What for!?" she barked.
"Retribution."
"Let Zen'i go!" Tama cried and charged the group.
"Tama, NO!" Koneko screamed and raced after him.
Again, one of the beings produced the same fine powder and sent it flying towards the Z Senshi. Horrified, Koneko watched her husband fall only moments before she herself sneezed and lost consciousness.

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

Koneko blinked rapidly to clear away the fine grit which was dissolving in her eyes. She coughed and sputtered. Tama and Gohan were doing the same, rubbing their eyes and choking on the sand.
"Kuso tare!" she screamed and flew at the three. A wave of energy knocked her backwards. She tucked and rolled on the ground, growled and leapt back up again.
"Koneko! Wait!" Gohan yelled. He scrutinized the aliens and whispered to his friends. "Let's find out what they want first."
"We want her," the short one pointed to Koneko. She shuddered.
"Gohan-san, they're not talking, it's telepathy."
"You are observant," the short one nodded. "There is no need for you to whisper. We can hear your thoughts."
"There is no reason for you to resist," the middle one added. "We have already succeeded. You will only increase your suffering should you try to fight us."
Zen'i stirred in the tallest's arms. She was alarmed to find herself in such a position. The tall one regarded her for a moment before releasing her. Quickly, she joined her friends.
"What the hell is going on?!" Tama asked as he took his sister by the arms.
"I ... I don't know...." she looked lost. "Where's Polian and Chibi?"
"I don't know..." Tama replied. His eyes darted over to the north. "There!"
Polian and Emaraude were closing in on them fast.
"NO!" Zen'i screamed at them. "Go away! Hide!!!"
It was obvious that they saw the trouble and were speeding up to reach the scene.
The largest of them hovered forward. The smallest one pointed at Koneko. "You are the spawn of Vegeta, Destroyer of Worlds."
She sweat a little. "Well, Kaasan said he was a bad guy, but I really don't think..."
Gohan stepped forward. "What does what Vegeta did in the past have to with the daughter he hardly knew?"
"His blood runs in her veins. It is his blood we are destined to spill as payment for the suffering of millions of innocent beings who met their end at the hands of the evil Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans." He lowered his hand and his beaked head. The first, largest alien sped forward and flung his arms around Koneko. She wasn't able to dodge and he held her fast. Polian and Ema landed and joined Gohan and Tama. They didn't need to be told the situation was serious.
Koneko growled and struggled. "That's not fair! I've never killed anyone! Well, anyone innocent, anyway..."
"We care not. Retribution will be delivered," #1 grunted.
Tamashii grit his teeth. "Who the fuck do you think you are!?"
The second, middle-height one removed his hood revealing a bald, bird-like head with large, black, hollow eyes. "We are the Batsu-jin. We will kill all of you, then all other beings on this planet, then we will kill the spawn of Vegeta, slowly and painfully."
"All right, Gohan-san," Tama snarled. "Can we kill them now?!"
Gohan narrowed his eyes, made sure Bulma had gone inside with a quick glance behind him and nodded.

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

Gotenks slammed his fist into the air, missing Pan. She swooped down and around to come up on him from behind.
"Too slow!" she shouted and reeled back for her attack. Suddenly she and the fused boys stopped. They looked to the north-west.
""Kame Sen-nin! Did you feel that!?"" he cried down to the ground below. The old man came out of his house and stared in the same direction.
"Yes, yes I do."
The children looked to him and he nodded. Gotenks parted into Goten and Trunks and they blasted off as fast as they could.
"Such a huge and sudden power increase. I don't like the looks of this. Good luck, children."

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

The fight began well, but was turning rapidly into a one-sided battle. The Z warriors' attacks were bouncing off the misleadingly weak-looking Batsu-jin and they were hardly fighting back.
Koneko struggled in the largest Batsu-jin's iron grip.
"There is no reason to struggle. We cannot be stopped now."
"The hell you can't!" she gnashed her teeth and powered up to Super Saiyan. Koneko pushed at the alien's arms and panic started to rise. 'Why can't I move!?' She screamed and gave it all her might, but he was a rock. All she could do was watch as they started to go on the offensive.

Ema crawled out of what was left of the sun porch and covered her face just as an energy beam found it's target.
"EMA!!" Zen'i screamed and fired another useless barrage of attacks from the ground. She walked backwards towards her daughter. Polian took up where she left off, letting her go to the wounded girl.
"Kaasan..." Ema whispered. Most of the skin on her face had been blasted away to the metal underneath. Her forearms, which she had raised to protect herself, were gone.
She went limp.
"Ema..." Zen'i's eyes flickered with tears. She laid the body down and charged back into the fray.

Gohan broke #2's hold and spit blood. He saw Polian take up #3 and noticed Tamashii fade in behind his opponent. He backed up and began to chant.
"Kame..."
Tama nodded and prepared for the old double-whammy. #2 bowed his beak and braced himself. As Gohan launched the Kamehameha, Tama let his own attack fly. To both of their surprise, the alien disappeared. The attacks passed each other and Gohan and Tama crashed to the ground, struck down by friendly fire.

#2 re-appeared next to #3 who was fending off Polian and Zen'i. They spilt the duty. Zen'i thrust her fist into #3's abdomen. His emotionless face almost seemed to sneer as he grabbed her arm and with incredible strength threw her over his shoulder. She flew through the air for a short while before he caught up with her and croquetted her into the ground.

"Tama!" Koneko watched in horror, but kept one eye on her husband. Finally, he pulled himself up and staggered towards Gohan. A good deal of his shoulder had been blown off, but he was alive.
"Gohan-san..."
Gohan was not in such good shape. His chest had suffered the brunt of Tama's attack. He was alive but unable to move.
"Get these bastards..." he coughed. Tama nodded and looked to Koneko.
"I'm all right! Fuck them up!!!" she screamed.
He nodded once, winced as Gohan sighed his last breath and flew to his sister.

#3 punched Zen'i repeatedly in the face while holding her up with his other hand. She hung loosely, struggling to retain consciousness. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched #2 form a large energy ball and let it fly at an already severely wounded Polian. The Namek was completely obliterated.
"No..." Zen'i choked. Tama came up behind #3 and slammed his fists into his head. He released Zen'i and spun, seemingly unaffected, to face Tamashii.
"Polian.. Ema-chan..." Zen'i sobbed, too heavily damaged to move. #2 took the opportunity to pick her up and rip the Jinzoningen in half at the waist. She didn't scream.
Koneko did more than enough screaming for both of them. "Zen'i!!!"
Tama turned to see what Koneko was looking at and growled with rage. #3 and #2 focused their attention on him, the last standing Z warrior.
Koneko sobbed and screamed. She tried to look away, but she could not move at all anymore. She couldn't even close her eyes. She cursed and spat and howled, but #1 didn't budge. His only purpose was to restrain her.
Tama hovered in mid air and eyed his opponents. They hunkered down and balled their hands into fists.
"Come on!! What are you waiting for?" he cried. They turned their sinister pointed faces towards Koneko for a beat before answering him with their attack.
"NOOOOO!!!!!"

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

Bulma ran back out of the house, startled to see Gohan, Tama, Koneko and Zen'i unconscious and the weird aliens just hovering there.
"What have you done to them!?" she screamed.
#2 turned to his companions. "Should we entrance this one as well?"
"No. She is human and weak," #3 replied. "Save it for others who may come to their aid."
Bulma tried to wake Gohan, but he was unresponsive even to her slapping his face.
The Batsu-jin all turned as they sensed the approach of another Z warrior.
Polian and Ema flew in fast and hovered just out of reach. Polian held his daughter back. "Remember what your mom said. You can't fight."
"But look! Kaasan is..."
"I know. I'll handle it. Go help Bulma pull the others inside. I'll get them away from the building."
Ema gave her father a worried look, but his reassuring smile told her to do as he said.
"Oi! Dirtbags!" he called out. "You wanna explain to me just what the hell you think your doing to my friends?"
"Certainly," #2 monotoned and reached for his sack of trance-inducing sand. He was fairly shocked to feel a breeze and the little bag disappear from his hand.
"Looking for this?" The Namek re-appeared in the same place, offending bag in hand. "Surprised?" he asked. "Let me guess. You put them to sleep with this, right?" He tossed it in the air and vaporized it with his eye-lasers.
"Perceptive," #2 droned. "Do you also see how restless their sleep is? They are experiencing the worst possible outcome of a battle with us."
#1 motioned to the fallen Z's. Ema-chan picked up her uncle, who was moving as if he were having a very vivid dream. "You see they are not just dreaming. They are trapped inside their own minds. There is no hope for them now. Once they reach the point of no return, they will sleep forever, believing the world in their minds is the only world."
Polian frowned. "May I ask WHY!?"
"We are the Batsu-jin," #2 informed him. "The blood of Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans runs in that one's veins." He pointed to Koneko. Bulma looked up at them, horrified. "It is his blood we are destined to spill as payment for the suffering of millions of innocent beings who met their end at his hands."
"That's pretty low. You cowards wanna try actual hand to hand combat, or are parlor tricks all you do?" Polian slammed his four fingered fist into his palm.
All three nodded their consent and the Namek lead them away from the house.

*

As Polian flew away, Ema picked up her mother with little difficulty and looked up into the sky. 'Please, Tousan,' she thought. 'Don't get hurt.'
Bulma sat on her knees staring at Gohan and waited for Emaraude to come back out. "Why does this happen to us?" she whispered and held his hand. His eyes moved back and forth under the closed lids. His head flicked from side to side as his own nightmare progressed.
Ema ran back out and scooped Gohan and Koneko up, each over a shoulder. "Come on Bulma-san, we better get inside."
She stood up and nodded. Ema had placed them all on the rattan rug on the floor of the sun porch. She collected pillows from the couches and placed them under their heads. The Jinzoningen didn't thrash as much as the half-Saiyans, but they all had pained expressions on their faces as horrific scenes played inside each of their heads.
Bulma sat between Gohan and Koneko and shook her head. "What can we do?!" she asked, becoming more frustrated and scared with each passing moment.
"Wait for my tousan to get back, I suppose. I feel as useless as you do, Bulma-san."
She looked up at the tall, strikingly beautiful android.
"That's the price we pay for beauty, ne?" she laughed weakly. Ema sat down beside her and watched her mother and uncle. "You're mom did a fantastic job," Bulma commented.
"Thanks, but I don't think now's the time to..."
"I have to talk!" Bulma shouted. "I'll go crazy worrying otherwise. Please talk to me Chibi-chan."
Ema nodded and tried to make conversation with her; anything to help.

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

"TAMA!!!!" Koneko's throat was raw from screaming. #3 held Tamashii by the head in one four-fingered hand. He turned to give Koneko a better view, then proceeded to tear his head from his shoulders.
"NOOOO!!!!!" she choked as she sobbed. Completely paralyzed, Koneko was unable to blink the salty tears from her eyes.
#2 turned his hooked beak towards her. "There. All you love is dead. We will now cross this world and take the lives of everything as payment for the massive number of dead left by Vegeta."
She could feel the grip loosen. She blinked and pushed as hard as she could to speed up the process.
"Wait." #3 pointed towards the house. "There is another being inside."
"No..." she gasped. "Kaasan..."
#2 pointed to the east. "And three more are coming in fast."
"What...?" she asked, dazed from what she had experienced so far. "Kodomo-tachi..." she whispered. "Kids. No... NO!"
Bulma ran out of the house and screamed in horror as she saw the slain bodies of her husband and their friends.
"KAASAN! RUN AWAY!!!" Koneko shouted, her voice cracking.

Bulma's eyes widened, but she saw the children coming as well. "Goten, Pan, Trunks! Get out of here! Fly away!!!" she tried in vain to warn them. #2 leveled his hand and fired a huge blast that not only destroyed Bulma, but a good portion of the house as well.
#1 and #2 took turns picking off the children. Trunks, Goten and Pan, blinded by rage and shock tried as hard as they could to fight the monsters. Koneko could hardly speak at all by the time her only son was incinerated before her eyes.

The grip loosened again. This time, Koneko slid uselessly out of it and fell to the ground. She lay where she landed, sobbing and staring out at the front yard which had become a killing field. The lawn chair she had been sun-bathing in only a half and hour ago was still standing, ridiculously, in the middle of the carnage. Her mind reeled.
"We will return after the sun has set on this part of the world. By then all life here will be no more. Then we will take your life," #2 raised his hood over his bird-like head.
All three Batsu-jin flew towards the city. Within moments, large bursts of light could be seen on the horizon as they began their onslaught.

Koneko got to her hands and knees, then managed to sit back on her folded legs and wipe an arm across her face. She sat there for a few minutes with her eyes closed, praying that when she opened them the last half an hour would have been a horrible dream and nothing more, but the bitter-sweet stench of blood that she knew so well from years of living during the holocaust, told her that it was all real. They were all dead.
She opened her eyes. The bright sun shown down from a still mostly cloudless sky. Her friends and family, those of them who weren't completely destroyed, were laying out over the lawn. She crawled on her hands and knees, too weak to stand, towards her husband's body. His head was just to the left.
Koneko picked it up as if it were a soccer ball and pulled it into her lap. His clear, blue eyes were vacant. They stared back at her, expressionless and hollow. Koneko bowed her head and kissed the top of his. She closed his eyes, hugged the decapitated head tightly to her and lost control. She rocked and clutched the head as she wept, bitterly, devastated that they were gone and there had been nothing she could do to stop it.

A few minutes later, she thought about herself for the first time. She couldn't take it another second. If she sobbed one more time, she'd explode. But maybe if she took her own life, then the pain would go away. How hard would it be, to turn her own energy on herself? Could she do it? But she had been to Hell as a suicide once already. If she went to Hell she would never be reunited with her loved ones. What could she do!? The pain just went on and on. It didn't diminish or fade. It was real.
She had never attached herself to other people during the holocaust for that very reason. People suffered and died. She was glad that she didn't know who her parents were, because there were so many children who had been orphaned or who saw their parents killed who were so sad all the time. She loved no one, and it suited her just fine. But then it ended.
She ended it.
She was free to love and BE loved and it felt wonderful! To find her mother, marry Tamashii and have Trunks were the three most important events in her life. She remembered the day she found out she was pregnant with the Jinzoningen's baby. They were both so happy and astounded. Everyone was amazed and happy for them, and even more happy when her mother announced that she too was expecting. Their children would be the same age. Their house would be full of laughter and happy times for years to come.
It had been a charmed existence, this last decade. Peace had settled onto the world like a warm, wool blanket.
They had gotten soft. That must have been it. How else could three scrawny aliens take out ALL OF THEM!?

Koneko twitched with anger and frustration. Her tangent was interrupted by a slight movement she caught out of the corner of her eye. Quickly, she put down Tama's head and ran to remnants of the sun porch. Something was moving in there. She stopped just short of the rubble and listened. There it was again, faint, but there; a soft scratching sound and a thin piece of venetian blind moving just ever so slightly. Koneko ran in and began digging the material away.
Under almost 3 feet of rubble was Zen'i. The lower half of her body was nowhere to be found and her right arm was missing. Even though she was pinned under tons of rubble she was able to grasp a piece of the blind with her remaining hand and move it enough for Koneko to see where she was. She was alive.

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

Polian sneered at the aliens and tried to estimate their power or even if they feared him at all. They were expressionless and seemed unfazed by his threats.
"Which one of you wants my fist down their throat first?" he snarled.
The smallest, #3 hovered forward. He removed his cloak, revealing a wiry frame covered with odd, shell-like armor. Polian nodded and charged.
The Batsu-jin caught his punches, but just barely. He pushed back and lifted his head up. In a sudden move, he flew forward and brought his long, pointed beak down, trying to stab the Namek. Polian faded and punched the right side of his face. #3 flew backwards from the force. #2 then removed his cloak and took his turn.
As Polian threw punches at the second attacker, he began to get a better idea about how powerful they were. The Batsu-jin were slow, but strong. Their techniques were blunt and simple. He estimated that they were not accustomed to having to fight, judging by the effects of their sleeping powder. He was musing on this when #3 came up from behind and pierced his left shoulder with his beak.
Polian cried out and backed off. It was a diversion, he could tell, meant to get #2 away from him. Polian's fang poked out over his lower lip. "You really think that'll slow me down?" he asked facetiously and flexed his shoulder. The wound healed in moments.
He massaged the new flesh a bit before taking a stance. All three Batsu-jin were now without their cloaks. "Damn. You sonsabitches are ugly motherfuckers, aren'tcha?"
"Our looks do not matter. We will finish you," one of them monotoned into his head.
A sweat drop hovered over Polian. "What? No snappy come-back? You guys suck at this." He wasn't surprised when all three came at him at once. "Shouldn't try and perforate a brother!" he shouted and powered up.

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

Koneko wordlessly excavated her friend and ran with her over the rubble to the hidden lab entrance. The grass-hologram shivered as she jumped down the shoot. The lights turned on automatically. Koneko landed and ran to the nearest lab table.
"Can you hear me?" she asked quickly. Zen'i tapped her finger against the table three times. "I'm going to do my best. Let me in."
Zen'i obeyed and shut her protection off. Koneko jacked in and brought as many systems back online as she could. Simultaneously she worked on the hardware, repairing or essentially tourniquetting off what needed it. After a short while, Koneko ran out of things she could do and jacked out.
"Zen'i? Can you speak at all?"
"Koneko..." Her voice was at it's most basic. She sounded like a speak-and-spell. "I can hear you. Can you hear me?" Her lips didn't move. The voice emanated from her chest. Half of Zen'i's face had been so badly damaged that Koneko had to bandage it up. Her left arm was relatively unhurt, but she looked like a mannequin which had been dismantled at the waist.
"Yes. I can."
"Are they all dead?"
"Yes."
"Why are we still alive?"
Koneko leaned against the wall and stared at her.
"Are you still there? I can not see you." Koneko was out of the line of sight of her good, left eye.
"Yes. I'm here Zen'i."
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't think there's anything we can do, Zen'i, 'cept wait." The tears poured down her face. "An' pray to Kami-sama that we'll all be together soon."
"Kami-sama." Zen'i repeated. "Can you take me to Kami-sama?"
Koneko's eyes widened. "Of COURSE!" She picked up what was left of the Jinzoningen and flew up through the shoot and off towards the lookout.

On to Chapter THREE