21
11.4.43
GCS Dante, Outer Sol System
0650 Hours
Promptly at 0600 hours, all those who were to begin their training awoke and prepared for the day. All had managed to make their way to the mess hall where they ate a hardy yet foreign breakfast, mainly comprising of nutrient-dense pastes and breads. 18 wasn't sure whether to eat or not. Dr. Gero had given her and 17 a stomach, but she derived her power from a tiny fusion reactor situated where her heart would be. She decided to at least eat a little to try and fit in.
Vegeta, who ate alone, was grumpy from waking up in the infirmary. His ego was a bit bruised from having his mind warped by an alien, as the doctor had explained to him, and being so easily beaten by a mere human. It was infuriating how people who were much stronger than himself keep popping up and challenging his power. Kakkarot was bad enough, but Cell? the boy?, and now this? His face contorted with anger as he thought of this.
Goku, who was surprised at being full after only eating a small portion, led the group to the training area when they had finished their meals. Vegeta, as usual, trailed in the back. His mind was still racing from the strange dream he had the previous night and was trying to determine if it was merely a nightmare, or something more.
When they entered the training room they found Sabre awaiting their arrival. He had since shed his previous outfit and was now wearing only a pair of loose fitting shorts that hung just above his knees, and shoes. Since he was not wearing a shirt, numerous scars were apparent on his chest and sides, the largest one being a jagged slash running from his right pectoral down to his hip.
"Ahh, glad to see you all made it on time," Sabre said to the group of assembled warriors. "Here is how it's going to be done. Apparently, scientists back home have figured out that whenever a species transforms, their base power is multiplied to some extent. Now, while training in the transformed state can yield positive results, it turns out that training in our base forms is more efficient and thus yields even better results. So, for now, all of us will be training more or less at the same level. This means that no one gets left behind. How does all of this sound?"
Krillin spoke up and said, a bit out of character, "Sounds good, when do we get to start?"
Goku took note of Krillin's eagerness.
"Now, if you all are ready. Everyone, grab a partner. I'll take the odd man out."
Vegeta wasted no time in choosing his partner. "Kakkarot, you and I will fight!"
"Sure Vegeta, whatever you want," Goku said with his usual cocky grin.
"Uh, Piccolo, would you mind if we trained together?" Gohan asked timidly.
"Sure kid, it'll be just like old times," the Namek replied. Gohan's face lit up.
"Hey, Yamcha, you wanna give it a go?" Tien proposed.
"Sure," the three-eyed man responded cheerfully.
"Uh, Krillin, I guess that leaves you and me," Trunks said. He didn't even consider Android 18. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hold back and not kill her during training. She just looked so much like the other one...
Krillin looked almost depressed for a moment, but perked up in a second. "Sure man, I've always wanted to see how I'd measure up to one of you guys!" He said, referring to the Saiyans.
"Alright you guys, I guess that settles it. 18, you and I will be partners, for now anyway."
18 wasn't sure what he meant by that. "Uh, okay, whatever."
"Okay everyone, just pick a spot and start up. I won't interfere with any of your training until later today. I just want to see what you all can do." With that, Sabre motioned to 18 to come over to him.
He gave a thumbs-up sign to the lone operator in the control room. In a few moments, the entire room was filled with a face-paced techno beat which all found to be rather pleasant, if strange. Each pair took up various positions in the mammoth chamber, some in the air, some on the ground. It didn't really matter though, in time they would be all over both. Everyone stretched first, knowing that was perhaps the most vital component of their warm-ups. A pulled muscle in the middle of an intense training session could lead to big problems.
18 walked up to Sabre when he finished his stretching. "How do you want to do this?"
"Whatever suits you. I think I'll be able to keep up with whatever you throw at me,"
he replied.
"Fine," she said flatly.
All around the room similar exchanges were occurring, albeit in a more friendly matter. Vegeta had stopped thinking about his dream and was focused solely on defeating his nemesis.
"He may be stronger than me as a Super Saiyan, but now we are equals. Oh, Kakkarot, how I will enjoy making you bleed..." Vegeta thought to himself maliciously.
As if Goku read his thoughts, he said, "Hey Vegeta, let's try and keep this clean, okay?"
"Ha! I will fight however I see fit Kakkarot, now defend yourself!" Vegeta retorted as he flew at Goku. They soon disappeared in a blur of punches and kicks and the rest of the group took this as the signal to commence their sparring. The room became filled with the sounds of combat as punches, kicks, and ki blasts were heard being blocked and deflected. No one was foolish enough to start their training at full power, but as time wore on the ki blasts became bigger and the blows were striking harder.
Krillin was quite pleased with himself because he was able to keep up with Trunks. The Saiyans had spent most of their time training as Super Saiyans, so their power levels were comparable to the rest of the fighters.
"Man," Krillin thought as he deflected Trunks's kick with his forearm, "this is just like old times. Well, almost like old times," as he remembered he was fighting with a boy from the future. Trunks managed to catch him off guard and landed a punch square into Krillin's gut. Krillin doubled over for a moment but quickly recovered and responded with a kick to Trunks's head.
In Tien and Yamcha's sparring match, Tien clearly held the upper hand. He was taking the training just as seriously as he said he would the night before. Yamcha had to spend all of his energy just trying to evade and block his opponent's blows.
"Hey, man, would you tone it down a little?" Yamcha asked.
"How about you turn it up," was Tien's terse reply as his uppercut sent Yamcha straight into the air.
"Aw, man," Yamcha thought, "why did I have to go with Tien? I should have gone with Krillin..." his train of thought was lost when Tien's knee impacted his head.
Gohan was having an immense amount of fun while fighting with Piccolo, and Piccolo, while he would never admit it, was enjoying it as well. The two had developed a bond that was as close as Piccolo would ever come to love.
"Hey Piccolo," Gohan yelled, "watch this!" Piccolo watched in amazement as Gohan placed two fingers on his head and smiled. "Special Beam Cannon!" (or should I use the Jap name?) his high pitched voice cried as the corkscrew beam shot from his fingers.
Piccolo countered and destroyed the blast with one of his own, but was shocked that the boy had learned it at all. "Where did you learn to do that, kid?"
"I learned it from you, Piccolo!" Gohan said excitedly. "When dad and I were training in the Room of Spirit and Time I had figured I would try and learn it. It took me a while, but I got it down! What d'ya think?"
"I think you shouldn't let your guard down," Piccolo said as he drove his elbow into Gohan's gut.
Goku and Vegeta were the two who were going at it the hardest and had barely exchanged two words the entire time. Goku realized that Vegeta was as strong, if not stronger than him in their regular forms. And Vegeta was fully taking advantage of that fact.
"Whoa Vegeta, what are you trying to do, kill me?" Goku asked as he narrowly avoided a blow to the back of the neck from his sparring partner.
"Quit your whining, Kakkarot! If you can't handle training with me, why don't you go train with the cueball." Vegeta taunted.
Krillin heard this and looked at Vegeta with an annoyed expression.
"Go back to training with the boy," Vegeta commanded with a smug expression.
Krillin mumbled something as he returned to his match.
"Hey Vegeta!" Goku cried as he shot towards him. Vegeta prepared to block but was left confused for a moment as Goku seemingly passed through him. Suddenly he came from above and landed a strong kick to the side of his head, sending the Saiyan prince tumbling to the ground.
"See what happens when you get arrogant? Jeez Vegeta, I thought you would have learned by now," Goku said with a chuckle.
Vegeta pulled himself off the floor and wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip. He looked at the third class Saiyan and felt a mixture of rage and respect. Wordlessly, they launched themselves at each other and continued their fight.
Jake was keeping tabs on all the fighters as best he could. 18 wasn't making things easy for him, so sometimes he would lose track of them. He had come to realize that while this group had fought together numerous times in the past, they were hardly a unified team. Most of the humans harbored a resentment of their Saiyan friends and often underestimated their own abilities. Vegeta was a major source of tension in the group, as he wasn't really a 'team player'. And Goku, their unofficial leader, had the tendency of being a little too compassionate.
"Well, I guess that's why I have to train them," Jake thought to himself. The back of 18's fist nearly slammed into his face, forcing him to return to the matter at hand. The android was really a fascinating creation. It had taken the Coalition nearly two hundred years to perfect their own artificial intelligences, yet this Dr. Gero had managed to do it in the span of his own lifetime. If he had not known any better, he could have sworn she was human, and that surprised him. Most of the Coalition's androids had distinct traits that could identify them as such, but this Android 18 might as well have been human.
She seemed to have genuine emotions, her own personality, her own will. He wondered if she even thought of herself different than the others. He couldn't really get a read off her, one, because he wasn't an empath, and two, he was terrible with girls. And man, she sure did look like a girl. He decided to open up a dialogue, mainly because he could tell she was not truly accepted by the others, which was to be expected since she was involved in nearly killing them all.
"So, 18, what do you think of this whole situation so far?" Jake asked while sending a flurry of blows at her.
She deflected them and responded. "What I want to know is your real name."
Jake wasn't expecting that. "My name?"
"Yes, your real name. I was looking through the ship's database and it turns out your real name is classified."
"What was she doing looking through the ships databanks?" he wondered. "Well, she is an android, and she must have easily figured out how to interact with the Dante's own AI."
"My name real name is Jake," he said reluctantly as he parried a blow to his stomach.
"Well, then, Jake, what is it you want to know? How I feel about this whole situation? I'll tell you," she said with an increasingly hostile tone.
"I was absorbed by that damn monster and thrown up when that boy defeated him. My friend 16 was destroyed and my brother was killed. Now, I am onboard a spaceship training with the very same people that are responsible for killing them to fight an enemy we didn't even know existed until today." As she spoke her attacks were becoming stronger and more accurate.
"She's feeding off her anger," he realized. "I didn't think that was possible for androids." He decided to try something. As 18 continued her furious attack, Jake began to gather some energy for a ki blast. As she swung back to deliver a right hook, he discharged his attack directly into her face. Temporarily blinded and stunned, she faltered a bit in the air. Jake wasted no time and knocked her to the ground with an overhead smash. He followed her to the floor and stomped as hard as he could on her wrist.
After a sickening snap 18 screamed in agony. Jake lifted his foot in surprise as she rolled away and tucked her shattered hand under her other good arm. She got to her feet with a look of pain mixed with rage on her face.
"Why the HELL did you do that for?!" she cried. By this time everyone had stopped their sparring and turned their attention to 18.
While inwardly Jake was truly sorry and embarrassed he had hurt her, he didn't let that show to the others.
"I had to test something," he evenly replied
"And just what the hell are you testing?" Krillin asked, the anger clearly evident in his voice.
"She's not an android, exactly."
"What do you mean I'm not an android? I was created by Dr. Gero in a laboratory. What do you think that makes me?"
"No, you friend, 16 was an android. Your brother wasn't and neither are you. You're a cyborg."
"So, what does that mean?" Krillin asked.
"Nothing, really, I thought she was far too advanced to be a simple machine, and I was right." Everyone was glaring at him now. "Look guys, this doesn't concern you. Just go back to training."
No one moved.
Jake realized they really didn't like him. Fortunately, Goku spoke up and relived the tension. "C'mon guys, you heard him, let's get back to it. Besides, I still have to show Vegeta the thirty different ways I can beat him."
Vegeta immediately responded to the taunt. "Kakkarot, I will crush you!" he roared as he flew at his nemesis. The others decided it was best to go back to sparring, they didn't want to get too much into this new guy's business, not when he could kill them all without even trying.
18 still glared at him. "This really hurts, you know."
"Yeah, I know it does. I just wanted to see if you could feel pain. No android can really feel pain. They may have a programmed response to a broken bone or a stubbed toe, but they merely do that so they don't seem too much like machines."
"Well how do you know that my pain isn't simply an automated response?"
"Because nothing else about you is automated. You are too 'human' to be a machine, but then again you were created in a lab out of silicon and neural connectors. Look at you, you're bleeding. Machines, androids, don't bleed."
True enough, 18 had a good bit of blood trickling down her arm from where a piece of her metal skeleton had punctured the skin.
"So why was it necessary to break my damn wrist?"
Jake thought about that one. Why was that? Lately he had been thinking about his actions in the past, and not all of them had been logical or rational or even emotional. He had just gotten urges to do things, and did them.
"I, uh, I guess it wasn't. Don't worry, we have a first aid kit over there."
"Yeah, so what do I do about this?" She held up her bloodied arm and a few dangling wires were visible from where her metal skeleton had punctured her skin. Her hand hung limply from her wrist.
"Shit," he thought to himself. "Uh, come with me." Jake took her hand and teleported out of the room.
Everyone immediately took notice of his absence and had stopped their training. Before anyone could speak he had returned, albeit with out 18.
"Hey, where's 18?" Krillin asked.
"She's getting repaired. She'll be back here in a few minutes. Just go back to sparring. I'll watch you guys and get a gauge of your techniques and power, for now."
Despite the fact is was very awkward for them to be told to go back to training like a bunch of kids, they did it, mostly out of fear. They had took notice of what he had done to 18, and his response, and were now wavering in their resolution. This guy was potentially dangerous, but none of them could do anything to stop him.
But no one let their disconcertion show. So the group trained while Sabre watched their every move. He stood off in one corner of the room and was able to view everyone at once. They were nearing their maximum power levels now, four hours into their training, and we focused intently on their respective duels. Piccolo clearly had the upper hand in his match with Gohan, as he was the strongest of them all in their current forms. Trunks had a small edge over Krillin in their fight, although Krillin was getting in some good hits. Tien was giving Yamcha a pretty bad whooping as he clearly wasn't putting his all into it. Goku and Vegeta were dead even, even though Vegeta's power was a good bit greater than his opponent. He was letting his anger control his technique and that was making him sloppy. Every time he scored a good hit on Goku, he would relax a bit and clearly was gloating to himself. And every time, Goku would come back and deliver a blow to knock Vegeta's ego into check.
Jake was making mental notes as to what each fighter needed to work on, and what techniques he could teach them to better their overall abilities. He was also looking forward to what they could teach him. He looked down at his watch to check the time when it felt like a battleship had hit him square in the jaw. He was lifted clear off the floor and sent skidding into the wall with a loud thud. Waves of pain made their way across his face, as did his expression of shock. He looked up to see 18 standing just next to where he had been, a slight smirk on her face.
"Now, we're even."
Jake tried to respond but was stopped when a blinding pain told him to shut the hell up. He wiped a good bit of blood from his lip where his teeth cut his lips. He felt to make sure that his jaw wasn't dislocated, and while it wasn't, it sure felt that way. Jake shook his head and slowly got to his feet, still a bit dizzy. He looked at 18 and could see that Vrakan had managed to repair her arm perfectly, so much so that it was the same arm she had struck him with.
"Ha! Look at that! The high and mighty 'super human' got beat by the android!" came Vegeta's grating voice. Now, more than ever, he really didn't want to hear it.
"Oh, great, I guess everyone saw that," Jake unhappily thought. His ego was hurting worse than his jaw. It wasn't so much the fact that she had hit him, but that he hadn't even seen her coming. "You were sloppy Jake, you should have seen her coming from a mile away."
"That's funny Vegeta, I remember doing something similar to you, only you weren't able to stand up afterwards," 18 responded coldly.
"Are you challenging me, android? I'll break you like the cheap plastic toy you are!"
"Awright, you guys, thawts enuwf!" Jake painfully shouted. "So, we're even now?"
"Yes."
"You wanna get back to where we weft off?" he managed to say through a clenched jaw.
"I'd like that."
After this exchange everyone was subtly relieved. Now that 18 had returned the favor and Jake hadn't gone berserk, they felt a little better. Maybe it was the fact that they were heading into the unknown that had them so nervous. But for now, they had gained back a little of the respect they had lost for him.
The rest of the training session was uneventful. The group trained for a total of 10 hours, and were surprised to find they were hardly tired or hungry. Jake had explained that the food they had eaten was specifically designed for warriors, and contained enough energy to sustain them at full power for 12 hours. 18 wasn't tired simply because she never could be, thanks to the demented genius Dr. Gero.
While everyone was training, Bulma and Chi-Chi had managed to find things to keep themselves busy. Bulma began to learn how to operate and understand the various technologies the Coalition used, and assimilated the knowledge at a remarkable rate. As it turned out, Chi-Chi had a knack for engineering. She was surprised at how naturally it came to her, and was actually able to assist in the repairs, to an extent. She had no understanding at the fundamental physics and sciences involved, but was able to understand how they worked together. Also, her attention to detail helped a great deal.
Just as Jake had ended the training session and allowed everyone to have the rest of the day off, he received an urgent call from the bridge. He teleported in to see the viewscreen filled with the logo of the Galatic Coalition Special Operations Division and a list of warnings and other official tags.
"I'll take this in my quarters," Jake told the ensign at the comm station.
He transmitted himself to his room and punched a few commands into the monitor on his wall. The same logo appeared on the bridge. He hit the 'open' key on his touchpad, and was then prompted to give voice authorization.
"Devaro, Jake one nine eight five Breaker Diamond Zulu," Jake responded.
"Please place hand on screen to begin DNA scan," the automated voice prompted.
Jake did as he was told and passed the test. The file began its decryption and began to play. When he saw the face on the screen his heart skipped a beat.
"Hey Jake. We just warped back in from that kid's future and the mission was successful. We eliminated the two androids and destroyed the laboratory where the third was developing. It took quite a while to get that boy's mother to trust us, but once we explained everything she calmed down. We debated whether or not to bring her with us, since she is quite a genius, but we figured one Bulma was enough. Besides, I don't really like messing with space-time, all sorts of weird shit can happen. Remember that time on Corvera?"
Her face was as beautiful as ever, her soft black hair cutting off just above her muscular shoulders. Her lips were curved into a smile that gave him a warm, tingling feeling all over. God, he really was in love with her...
"Anyway, we reappeared into this time at 0400 hours. The temporal drives almost crapped out on us and we nearly got stuck two years into the future. That would have been awkward. We received your distress call and are on our way to assist. We just happen to have the parts you need. By 0530 we will have made the final course plot and will hook up with the Dante at approximately 2100 hours. This message should get to you at around 1700 hours because of the transmission distance."
Resa's features darkened and her voice lowered. Her smile had disappeared.
"Now, here is the reason I used the Spec Ops tags. Lately I've been seeing things, mostly shadows in the corridors, but when I round the corner nothing is there. Yeah, I know what this means. I've also been having dreams, nightmares really, and I am almost positive we have a 'Nec infiltration team on board. I've only talked to a few others, and they have the feeling too. I don't know if they know we know, but I'm pretty sure they'll strike before we reach the rendezvous point.
"The problem is, nothing shows up on the scans. This is definitely not good. Either we're all suffering from paranoia or the 'Necs have figured out a way to evade the scans. If they have, then we have a serious breach in Coaltion security."
Resa sighed heavily.
"Jake, this has me worried. I don't know if we can handle them. Most of the crew are technicians that keep the temporal drives from fucking up. I'm the strongest one on board, and then there is Harenta, but we won't be a match for a full infiltration squad. And did you get the latest Blue Six report? They may even have ki dampeners. Oh well, there isn't much we can do now. They have to make the first move."
She seemed almost resigned to her fate, that is until her Saiyan nature kicked in.
"But, if and when they do hit, I'm gonna kill as many of 'em as I can. I'll show the bastards you don't fuck with Spec Ops, especially after Rigel. Oh, they're gonna pay."
Just the name of the planet sent a pang of remorse through him. They never should have been there...
"So, I guess we'll meet up later today. If we don't respond or our approach is screwy, you'll know why. Don't take any unnecessary risks, if we're dead, we're dead. Just nuke the ship and get out of there. If we're alive, well," she cracked a smile, "do us a favor and come get us. Resa out."
A wave of emotion swept through Jake as he thought about the message.
"Do you wish to replay the message?" came the automated voice.
"No."
He was glad to know she was on her way. He was dreading knowing that a Necron infiltration squad was on her ship, and there was nothing he could do. He was torn between hope and frustration, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. If and when things went sour, it would be up to him to fix it. But he wasn't sure he could do it alone.
First of all, there was the issue of the ki dampeners. In the report it had been made a point that the Necrons had the ability to prevent certain individuals from fully powering up. Resa and Jake were among them. Every single being had their own distinct energy signature, even though all ki was similar. It was near impossible to block all energy in the entire ki spectrum, but isolating a single frequency was relatively easy. Hence, the Necrons were able to jam the frequencies of the Coalition's more powerful fighters.
The only drawback to the devices was that they couldn't be used in open environments. It took far too much energy to generate a ki dampening field, and using them in the open would make them vulnerable. They were quite effective however, in closed environments such as buildings, caves, and of course, ships. It would be difficult to fight a whole Necron infiltration team with one of them operating. If that was the case, he would need help.
There were only two viable options, both of which would have to be used in conjunction if things were to work out. The first one was the Gohan. He was the strongest fighter on board next to himself, and he didn't have to worry about the ki dampeners. The only problem was he was still a child, and exposing him to what may be a ship of horrors may have an affect on his performance. But that didn't matter. He would do or die, and that was all there was to it. Besides, this boy had incredible potential, he doubted he would choke on him.
The second option, frankly, scared him. The GCS Dante was originally a cargo transport, modified specifically for this mission. On its last trip it had been carrying a shipment of experimental cyborgs. They were not nearly as powerful as their Necron counterparts, but they excelled in close-quarters combat and were heavily armed enough to tackle any Necron infiltration team. GC High Command had left on board one as a 'gift'. They figured having an extra helping hand could do no harm.
The cyborg's biological half was a Saiyan male named Astor. He had volunteered for the project, and had survived the grafting and implanting of the cybernetics. But, he had lost most of what was himself. He was more machine than man now, a cold and calculating killer who was nearly as apathetic as the Necrons themselves.
"How fitting," he thought. "Fighting fire with fire."
Jake though long and hard about what was going to happen next. He couldn't help but be worried that Resa might be in danger, more so than usual. If she died... he didn't know what he would do. His thought was interrupted however, by an urgent call from the infirmary.
"Yeah, doc, what is it?" Jake asked as he punched up the Doctor's message.
"You are not going to believe this, you have to come down here, NOW." The tone in Renara's voice was a mixture of urgency and wonder. Jake was about to ask what was going on when he saw Eve's face filling up the screen.
"Jake, this is Eve," her voice sounded if as two people were speaking simultaneously. One was hers, the other was...alien.
"We need to talk."
So peeps, there you have it. Chap 21 in its completion. Sorry for the cut-off, I am currently inflicting unfathomable amounts of pain into Notepad. Yeah, I am using word from now on, so this shouldn't happen again. Tell me what you think thus far people, I always like to hear from you.
Once again, I must encourage all of you to read Becky Tailweaver's stuff here on ff.net. She is awesome, blah, blah, blah, you know the bit. She is always giving me helpful advice and is ALWAYS right. I hate that. Next chapter is gonna be very cool, and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. Until then, thank you for reading my fic.
Oh and Jacob, I thought that Necrons was an orignial name, I didn't know they were in Warhammer 40k. Oh well. And as for all you other questions, you'll find out soon enough. ^_^
11.4.43
GCS Dante, Outer Sol System
0650 Hours
Promptly at 0600 hours, all those who were to begin their training awoke and prepared for the day. All had managed to make their way to the mess hall where they ate a hardy yet foreign breakfast, mainly comprising of nutrient-dense pastes and breads. 18 wasn't sure whether to eat or not. Dr. Gero had given her and 17 a stomach, but she derived her power from a tiny fusion reactor situated where her heart would be. She decided to at least eat a little to try and fit in.
Vegeta, who ate alone, was grumpy from waking up in the infirmary. His ego was a bit bruised from having his mind warped by an alien, as the doctor had explained to him, and being so easily beaten by a mere human. It was infuriating how people who were much stronger than himself keep popping up and challenging his power. Kakkarot was bad enough, but Cell? the boy?, and now this? His face contorted with anger as he thought of this.
Goku, who was surprised at being full after only eating a small portion, led the group to the training area when they had finished their meals. Vegeta, as usual, trailed in the back. His mind was still racing from the strange dream he had the previous night and was trying to determine if it was merely a nightmare, or something more.
When they entered the training room they found Sabre awaiting their arrival. He had since shed his previous outfit and was now wearing only a pair of loose fitting shorts that hung just above his knees, and shoes. Since he was not wearing a shirt, numerous scars were apparent on his chest and sides, the largest one being a jagged slash running from his right pectoral down to his hip.
"Ahh, glad to see you all made it on time," Sabre said to the group of assembled warriors. "Here is how it's going to be done. Apparently, scientists back home have figured out that whenever a species transforms, their base power is multiplied to some extent. Now, while training in the transformed state can yield positive results, it turns out that training in our base forms is more efficient and thus yields even better results. So, for now, all of us will be training more or less at the same level. This means that no one gets left behind. How does all of this sound?"
Krillin spoke up and said, a bit out of character, "Sounds good, when do we get to start?"
Goku took note of Krillin's eagerness.
"Now, if you all are ready. Everyone, grab a partner. I'll take the odd man out."
Vegeta wasted no time in choosing his partner. "Kakkarot, you and I will fight!"
"Sure Vegeta, whatever you want," Goku said with his usual cocky grin.
"Uh, Piccolo, would you mind if we trained together?" Gohan asked timidly.
"Sure kid, it'll be just like old times," the Namek replied. Gohan's face lit up.
"Hey, Yamcha, you wanna give it a go?" Tien proposed.
"Sure," the three-eyed man responded cheerfully.
"Uh, Krillin, I guess that leaves you and me," Trunks said. He didn't even consider Android 18. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hold back and not kill her during training. She just looked so much like the other one...
Krillin looked almost depressed for a moment, but perked up in a second. "Sure man, I've always wanted to see how I'd measure up to one of you guys!" He said, referring to the Saiyans.
"Alright you guys, I guess that settles it. 18, you and I will be partners, for now anyway."
18 wasn't sure what he meant by that. "Uh, okay, whatever."
"Okay everyone, just pick a spot and start up. I won't interfere with any of your training until later today. I just want to see what you all can do." With that, Sabre motioned to 18 to come over to him.
He gave a thumbs-up sign to the lone operator in the control room. In a few moments, the entire room was filled with a face-paced techno beat which all found to be rather pleasant, if strange. Each pair took up various positions in the mammoth chamber, some in the air, some on the ground. It didn't really matter though, in time they would be all over both. Everyone stretched first, knowing that was perhaps the most vital component of their warm-ups. A pulled muscle in the middle of an intense training session could lead to big problems.
18 walked up to Sabre when he finished his stretching. "How do you want to do this?"
"Whatever suits you. I think I'll be able to keep up with whatever you throw at me,"
he replied.
"Fine," she said flatly.
All around the room similar exchanges were occurring, albeit in a more friendly matter. Vegeta had stopped thinking about his dream and was focused solely on defeating his nemesis.
"He may be stronger than me as a Super Saiyan, but now we are equals. Oh, Kakkarot, how I will enjoy making you bleed..." Vegeta thought to himself maliciously.
As if Goku read his thoughts, he said, "Hey Vegeta, let's try and keep this clean, okay?"
"Ha! I will fight however I see fit Kakkarot, now defend yourself!" Vegeta retorted as he flew at Goku. They soon disappeared in a blur of punches and kicks and the rest of the group took this as the signal to commence their sparring. The room became filled with the sounds of combat as punches, kicks, and ki blasts were heard being blocked and deflected. No one was foolish enough to start their training at full power, but as time wore on the ki blasts became bigger and the blows were striking harder.
Krillin was quite pleased with himself because he was able to keep up with Trunks. The Saiyans had spent most of their time training as Super Saiyans, so their power levels were comparable to the rest of the fighters.
"Man," Krillin thought as he deflected Trunks's kick with his forearm, "this is just like old times. Well, almost like old times," as he remembered he was fighting with a boy from the future. Trunks managed to catch him off guard and landed a punch square into Krillin's gut. Krillin doubled over for a moment but quickly recovered and responded with a kick to Trunks's head.
In Tien and Yamcha's sparring match, Tien clearly held the upper hand. He was taking the training just as seriously as he said he would the night before. Yamcha had to spend all of his energy just trying to evade and block his opponent's blows.
"Hey, man, would you tone it down a little?" Yamcha asked.
"How about you turn it up," was Tien's terse reply as his uppercut sent Yamcha straight into the air.
"Aw, man," Yamcha thought, "why did I have to go with Tien? I should have gone with Krillin..." his train of thought was lost when Tien's knee impacted his head.
Gohan was having an immense amount of fun while fighting with Piccolo, and Piccolo, while he would never admit it, was enjoying it as well. The two had developed a bond that was as close as Piccolo would ever come to love.
"Hey Piccolo," Gohan yelled, "watch this!" Piccolo watched in amazement as Gohan placed two fingers on his head and smiled. "Special Beam Cannon!" (or should I use the Jap name?) his high pitched voice cried as the corkscrew beam shot from his fingers.
Piccolo countered and destroyed the blast with one of his own, but was shocked that the boy had learned it at all. "Where did you learn to do that, kid?"
"I learned it from you, Piccolo!" Gohan said excitedly. "When dad and I were training in the Room of Spirit and Time I had figured I would try and learn it. It took me a while, but I got it down! What d'ya think?"
"I think you shouldn't let your guard down," Piccolo said as he drove his elbow into Gohan's gut.
Goku and Vegeta were the two who were going at it the hardest and had barely exchanged two words the entire time. Goku realized that Vegeta was as strong, if not stronger than him in their regular forms. And Vegeta was fully taking advantage of that fact.
"Whoa Vegeta, what are you trying to do, kill me?" Goku asked as he narrowly avoided a blow to the back of the neck from his sparring partner.
"Quit your whining, Kakkarot! If you can't handle training with me, why don't you go train with the cueball." Vegeta taunted.
Krillin heard this and looked at Vegeta with an annoyed expression.
"Go back to training with the boy," Vegeta commanded with a smug expression.
Krillin mumbled something as he returned to his match.
"Hey Vegeta!" Goku cried as he shot towards him. Vegeta prepared to block but was left confused for a moment as Goku seemingly passed through him. Suddenly he came from above and landed a strong kick to the side of his head, sending the Saiyan prince tumbling to the ground.
"See what happens when you get arrogant? Jeez Vegeta, I thought you would have learned by now," Goku said with a chuckle.
Vegeta pulled himself off the floor and wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip. He looked at the third class Saiyan and felt a mixture of rage and respect. Wordlessly, they launched themselves at each other and continued their fight.
Jake was keeping tabs on all the fighters as best he could. 18 wasn't making things easy for him, so sometimes he would lose track of them. He had come to realize that while this group had fought together numerous times in the past, they were hardly a unified team. Most of the humans harbored a resentment of their Saiyan friends and often underestimated their own abilities. Vegeta was a major source of tension in the group, as he wasn't really a 'team player'. And Goku, their unofficial leader, had the tendency of being a little too compassionate.
"Well, I guess that's why I have to train them," Jake thought to himself. The back of 18's fist nearly slammed into his face, forcing him to return to the matter at hand. The android was really a fascinating creation. It had taken the Coalition nearly two hundred years to perfect their own artificial intelligences, yet this Dr. Gero had managed to do it in the span of his own lifetime. If he had not known any better, he could have sworn she was human, and that surprised him. Most of the Coalition's androids had distinct traits that could identify them as such, but this Android 18 might as well have been human.
She seemed to have genuine emotions, her own personality, her own will. He wondered if she even thought of herself different than the others. He couldn't really get a read off her, one, because he wasn't an empath, and two, he was terrible with girls. And man, she sure did look like a girl. He decided to open up a dialogue, mainly because he could tell she was not truly accepted by the others, which was to be expected since she was involved in nearly killing them all.
"So, 18, what do you think of this whole situation so far?" Jake asked while sending a flurry of blows at her.
She deflected them and responded. "What I want to know is your real name."
Jake wasn't expecting that. "My name?"
"Yes, your real name. I was looking through the ship's database and it turns out your real name is classified."
"What was she doing looking through the ships databanks?" he wondered. "Well, she is an android, and she must have easily figured out how to interact with the Dante's own AI."
"My name real name is Jake," he said reluctantly as he parried a blow to his stomach.
"Well, then, Jake, what is it you want to know? How I feel about this whole situation? I'll tell you," she said with an increasingly hostile tone.
"I was absorbed by that damn monster and thrown up when that boy defeated him. My friend 16 was destroyed and my brother was killed. Now, I am onboard a spaceship training with the very same people that are responsible for killing them to fight an enemy we didn't even know existed until today." As she spoke her attacks were becoming stronger and more accurate.
"She's feeding off her anger," he realized. "I didn't think that was possible for androids." He decided to try something. As 18 continued her furious attack, Jake began to gather some energy for a ki blast. As she swung back to deliver a right hook, he discharged his attack directly into her face. Temporarily blinded and stunned, she faltered a bit in the air. Jake wasted no time and knocked her to the ground with an overhead smash. He followed her to the floor and stomped as hard as he could on her wrist.
After a sickening snap 18 screamed in agony. Jake lifted his foot in surprise as she rolled away and tucked her shattered hand under her other good arm. She got to her feet with a look of pain mixed with rage on her face.
"Why the HELL did you do that for?!" she cried. By this time everyone had stopped their sparring and turned their attention to 18.
While inwardly Jake was truly sorry and embarrassed he had hurt her, he didn't let that show to the others.
"I had to test something," he evenly replied
"And just what the hell are you testing?" Krillin asked, the anger clearly evident in his voice.
"She's not an android, exactly."
"What do you mean I'm not an android? I was created by Dr. Gero in a laboratory. What do you think that makes me?"
"No, you friend, 16 was an android. Your brother wasn't and neither are you. You're a cyborg."
"So, what does that mean?" Krillin asked.
"Nothing, really, I thought she was far too advanced to be a simple machine, and I was right." Everyone was glaring at him now. "Look guys, this doesn't concern you. Just go back to training."
No one moved.
Jake realized they really didn't like him. Fortunately, Goku spoke up and relived the tension. "C'mon guys, you heard him, let's get back to it. Besides, I still have to show Vegeta the thirty different ways I can beat him."
Vegeta immediately responded to the taunt. "Kakkarot, I will crush you!" he roared as he flew at his nemesis. The others decided it was best to go back to sparring, they didn't want to get too much into this new guy's business, not when he could kill them all without even trying.
18 still glared at him. "This really hurts, you know."
"Yeah, I know it does. I just wanted to see if you could feel pain. No android can really feel pain. They may have a programmed response to a broken bone or a stubbed toe, but they merely do that so they don't seem too much like machines."
"Well how do you know that my pain isn't simply an automated response?"
"Because nothing else about you is automated. You are too 'human' to be a machine, but then again you were created in a lab out of silicon and neural connectors. Look at you, you're bleeding. Machines, androids, don't bleed."
True enough, 18 had a good bit of blood trickling down her arm from where a piece of her metal skeleton had punctured the skin.
"So why was it necessary to break my damn wrist?"
Jake thought about that one. Why was that? Lately he had been thinking about his actions in the past, and not all of them had been logical or rational or even emotional. He had just gotten urges to do things, and did them.
"I, uh, I guess it wasn't. Don't worry, we have a first aid kit over there."
"Yeah, so what do I do about this?" She held up her bloodied arm and a few dangling wires were visible from where her metal skeleton had punctured her skin. Her hand hung limply from her wrist.
"Shit," he thought to himself. "Uh, come with me." Jake took her hand and teleported out of the room.
Everyone immediately took notice of his absence and had stopped their training. Before anyone could speak he had returned, albeit with out 18.
"Hey, where's 18?" Krillin asked.
"She's getting repaired. She'll be back here in a few minutes. Just go back to sparring. I'll watch you guys and get a gauge of your techniques and power, for now."
Despite the fact is was very awkward for them to be told to go back to training like a bunch of kids, they did it, mostly out of fear. They had took notice of what he had done to 18, and his response, and were now wavering in their resolution. This guy was potentially dangerous, but none of them could do anything to stop him.
But no one let their disconcertion show. So the group trained while Sabre watched their every move. He stood off in one corner of the room and was able to view everyone at once. They were nearing their maximum power levels now, four hours into their training, and we focused intently on their respective duels. Piccolo clearly had the upper hand in his match with Gohan, as he was the strongest of them all in their current forms. Trunks had a small edge over Krillin in their fight, although Krillin was getting in some good hits. Tien was giving Yamcha a pretty bad whooping as he clearly wasn't putting his all into it. Goku and Vegeta were dead even, even though Vegeta's power was a good bit greater than his opponent. He was letting his anger control his technique and that was making him sloppy. Every time he scored a good hit on Goku, he would relax a bit and clearly was gloating to himself. And every time, Goku would come back and deliver a blow to knock Vegeta's ego into check.
Jake was making mental notes as to what each fighter needed to work on, and what techniques he could teach them to better their overall abilities. He was also looking forward to what they could teach him. He looked down at his watch to check the time when it felt like a battleship had hit him square in the jaw. He was lifted clear off the floor and sent skidding into the wall with a loud thud. Waves of pain made their way across his face, as did his expression of shock. He looked up to see 18 standing just next to where he had been, a slight smirk on her face.
"Now, we're even."
Jake tried to respond but was stopped when a blinding pain told him to shut the hell up. He wiped a good bit of blood from his lip where his teeth cut his lips. He felt to make sure that his jaw wasn't dislocated, and while it wasn't, it sure felt that way. Jake shook his head and slowly got to his feet, still a bit dizzy. He looked at 18 and could see that Vrakan had managed to repair her arm perfectly, so much so that it was the same arm she had struck him with.
"Ha! Look at that! The high and mighty 'super human' got beat by the android!" came Vegeta's grating voice. Now, more than ever, he really didn't want to hear it.
"Oh, great, I guess everyone saw that," Jake unhappily thought. His ego was hurting worse than his jaw. It wasn't so much the fact that she had hit him, but that he hadn't even seen her coming. "You were sloppy Jake, you should have seen her coming from a mile away."
"That's funny Vegeta, I remember doing something similar to you, only you weren't able to stand up afterwards," 18 responded coldly.
"Are you challenging me, android? I'll break you like the cheap plastic toy you are!"
"Awright, you guys, thawts enuwf!" Jake painfully shouted. "So, we're even now?"
"Yes."
"You wanna get back to where we weft off?" he managed to say through a clenched jaw.
"I'd like that."
After this exchange everyone was subtly relieved. Now that 18 had returned the favor and Jake hadn't gone berserk, they felt a little better. Maybe it was the fact that they were heading into the unknown that had them so nervous. But for now, they had gained back a little of the respect they had lost for him.
The rest of the training session was uneventful. The group trained for a total of 10 hours, and were surprised to find they were hardly tired or hungry. Jake had explained that the food they had eaten was specifically designed for warriors, and contained enough energy to sustain them at full power for 12 hours. 18 wasn't tired simply because she never could be, thanks to the demented genius Dr. Gero.
While everyone was training, Bulma and Chi-Chi had managed to find things to keep themselves busy. Bulma began to learn how to operate and understand the various technologies the Coalition used, and assimilated the knowledge at a remarkable rate. As it turned out, Chi-Chi had a knack for engineering. She was surprised at how naturally it came to her, and was actually able to assist in the repairs, to an extent. She had no understanding at the fundamental physics and sciences involved, but was able to understand how they worked together. Also, her attention to detail helped a great deal.
Just as Jake had ended the training session and allowed everyone to have the rest of the day off, he received an urgent call from the bridge. He teleported in to see the viewscreen filled with the logo of the Galatic Coalition Special Operations Division and a list of warnings and other official tags.
"I'll take this in my quarters," Jake told the ensign at the comm station.
He transmitted himself to his room and punched a few commands into the monitor on his wall. The same logo appeared on the bridge. He hit the 'open' key on his touchpad, and was then prompted to give voice authorization.
"Devaro, Jake one nine eight five Breaker Diamond Zulu," Jake responded.
"Please place hand on screen to begin DNA scan," the automated voice prompted.
Jake did as he was told and passed the test. The file began its decryption and began to play. When he saw the face on the screen his heart skipped a beat.
"Hey Jake. We just warped back in from that kid's future and the mission was successful. We eliminated the two androids and destroyed the laboratory where the third was developing. It took quite a while to get that boy's mother to trust us, but once we explained everything she calmed down. We debated whether or not to bring her with us, since she is quite a genius, but we figured one Bulma was enough. Besides, I don't really like messing with space-time, all sorts of weird shit can happen. Remember that time on Corvera?"
Her face was as beautiful as ever, her soft black hair cutting off just above her muscular shoulders. Her lips were curved into a smile that gave him a warm, tingling feeling all over. God, he really was in love with her...
"Anyway, we reappeared into this time at 0400 hours. The temporal drives almost crapped out on us and we nearly got stuck two years into the future. That would have been awkward. We received your distress call and are on our way to assist. We just happen to have the parts you need. By 0530 we will have made the final course plot and will hook up with the Dante at approximately 2100 hours. This message should get to you at around 1700 hours because of the transmission distance."
Resa's features darkened and her voice lowered. Her smile had disappeared.
"Now, here is the reason I used the Spec Ops tags. Lately I've been seeing things, mostly shadows in the corridors, but when I round the corner nothing is there. Yeah, I know what this means. I've also been having dreams, nightmares really, and I am almost positive we have a 'Nec infiltration team on board. I've only talked to a few others, and they have the feeling too. I don't know if they know we know, but I'm pretty sure they'll strike before we reach the rendezvous point.
"The problem is, nothing shows up on the scans. This is definitely not good. Either we're all suffering from paranoia or the 'Necs have figured out a way to evade the scans. If they have, then we have a serious breach in Coaltion security."
Resa sighed heavily.
"Jake, this has me worried. I don't know if we can handle them. Most of the crew are technicians that keep the temporal drives from fucking up. I'm the strongest one on board, and then there is Harenta, but we won't be a match for a full infiltration squad. And did you get the latest Blue Six report? They may even have ki dampeners. Oh well, there isn't much we can do now. They have to make the first move."
She seemed almost resigned to her fate, that is until her Saiyan nature kicked in.
"But, if and when they do hit, I'm gonna kill as many of 'em as I can. I'll show the bastards you don't fuck with Spec Ops, especially after Rigel. Oh, they're gonna pay."
Just the name of the planet sent a pang of remorse through him. They never should have been there...
"So, I guess we'll meet up later today. If we don't respond or our approach is screwy, you'll know why. Don't take any unnecessary risks, if we're dead, we're dead. Just nuke the ship and get out of there. If we're alive, well," she cracked a smile, "do us a favor and come get us. Resa out."
A wave of emotion swept through Jake as he thought about the message.
"Do you wish to replay the message?" came the automated voice.
"No."
He was glad to know she was on her way. He was dreading knowing that a Necron infiltration squad was on her ship, and there was nothing he could do. He was torn between hope and frustration, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. If and when things went sour, it would be up to him to fix it. But he wasn't sure he could do it alone.
First of all, there was the issue of the ki dampeners. In the report it had been made a point that the Necrons had the ability to prevent certain individuals from fully powering up. Resa and Jake were among them. Every single being had their own distinct energy signature, even though all ki was similar. It was near impossible to block all energy in the entire ki spectrum, but isolating a single frequency was relatively easy. Hence, the Necrons were able to jam the frequencies of the Coalition's more powerful fighters.
The only drawback to the devices was that they couldn't be used in open environments. It took far too much energy to generate a ki dampening field, and using them in the open would make them vulnerable. They were quite effective however, in closed environments such as buildings, caves, and of course, ships. It would be difficult to fight a whole Necron infiltration team with one of them operating. If that was the case, he would need help.
There were only two viable options, both of which would have to be used in conjunction if things were to work out. The first one was the Gohan. He was the strongest fighter on board next to himself, and he didn't have to worry about the ki dampeners. The only problem was he was still a child, and exposing him to what may be a ship of horrors may have an affect on his performance. But that didn't matter. He would do or die, and that was all there was to it. Besides, this boy had incredible potential, he doubted he would choke on him.
The second option, frankly, scared him. The GCS Dante was originally a cargo transport, modified specifically for this mission. On its last trip it had been carrying a shipment of experimental cyborgs. They were not nearly as powerful as their Necron counterparts, but they excelled in close-quarters combat and were heavily armed enough to tackle any Necron infiltration team. GC High Command had left on board one as a 'gift'. They figured having an extra helping hand could do no harm.
The cyborg's biological half was a Saiyan male named Astor. He had volunteered for the project, and had survived the grafting and implanting of the cybernetics. But, he had lost most of what was himself. He was more machine than man now, a cold and calculating killer who was nearly as apathetic as the Necrons themselves.
"How fitting," he thought. "Fighting fire with fire."
Jake though long and hard about what was going to happen next. He couldn't help but be worried that Resa might be in danger, more so than usual. If she died... he didn't know what he would do. His thought was interrupted however, by an urgent call from the infirmary.
"Yeah, doc, what is it?" Jake asked as he punched up the Doctor's message.
"You are not going to believe this, you have to come down here, NOW." The tone in Renara's voice was a mixture of urgency and wonder. Jake was about to ask what was going on when he saw Eve's face filling up the screen.
"Jake, this is Eve," her voice sounded if as two people were speaking simultaneously. One was hers, the other was...alien.
"We need to talk."
So peeps, there you have it. Chap 21 in its completion. Sorry for the cut-off, I am currently inflicting unfathomable amounts of pain into Notepad. Yeah, I am using word from now on, so this shouldn't happen again. Tell me what you think thus far people, I always like to hear from you.
Once again, I must encourage all of you to read Becky Tailweaver's stuff here on ff.net. She is awesome, blah, blah, blah, you know the bit. She is always giving me helpful advice and is ALWAYS right. I hate that. Next chapter is gonna be very cool, and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. Until then, thank you for reading my fic.
Oh and Jacob, I thought that Necrons was an orignial name, I didn't know they were in Warhammer 40k. Oh well. And as for all you other questions, you'll find out soon enough. ^_^