Chapter 4
Sunlight streamed through the window of the hotel room Trunks and Azaelya were occupying. Azaelya slowly opened her eyes slowly expecting to see Trunks staring back at her after their night of passion. To her surprise he was gone. She sat up quickly a look of fear on her face.
He wouldn't have gone back alone, she thought to herself. He just wouldn't have.
She stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom where she took a relaxing soak to drown her fears.
"I'm sorry, sir, but why did you feel the need to almost kill them?" Nenuohsib asked impatiently. For almost a day Zarak had not spoken of the battle to anyone. "I thought you wanted a fight."
Zarak merely raised a hand to silence the man. He was to bus to worry about that now. He needed something substantial to show his father. He needed a body for his 'perfect woman'. Although he had enough Saiya-jin DNA he didn't want a pure Saiya-jin. Too much risk, too much hard work, to hard to control. The soldiers he had sent over what was left of the world had returned nothing. He was beginning to wonder if this was all a waste of time.
Then a woman caught his eye.
"Who is she?" Zarak asked to no one in particular.
Tetsujin was the only one who answered. "She is the associate of the Saiya-jin Trunks. Her name is Azaelya."
Ojuohsib stood in the shadows, not letting anyone see her. She preferred to be a spectator for this. She would prove to Zarak that she was better than any woman he could make was.
"Get her. We need her now." Zarak smiled maniacally. "She will be the vessel."
Ojuohsib looked at Nenuohsib, and smiled. If Azaelya were to be the woman perhaps it would be best if her and Zarak actually got together. It would make it hurt more when Nenuohsib and Ojuohsib feasted on her soul.
"Understood." The three soldiers replied in unison.
Casually, Azaelya walked through the door of the Capsule Corp house hoping to find Trunks, instead she found a cheery Buruma and Chi-Chi talking about a shopping trip they were planning.
"Azaelya? You're home?" Bururma asked.
"Home?" Azaelya muttered to herself quietly. "Ah, yes," She said awkwardly.
Bururma walked into the kitchen fixing her a drink. "Do you want anything, Azaelya?"
"Uh, yeah. Has Trunks been here?"
"No." Buruma said outright.
After only a couple of days she had taken a shine to the girl. Ever since the Jinzoningen attacked Buruma had a heavy feeling in her heart that would lift whenever she saw people happy. She also knew how much of a liking Azaelya had taken to Trunks and vice-versa. Which is why it was so painful for her to lie to the young girl, but Trunks had made her promise not tell her he had stopped by.
"Okay. Well, tell him I'm in the gravity room if he comes back," Azaelya said, her feeling of anxiety increasing.
"Will do!"
Azaelya walked off to the gravity room and closed the door behind her. Buruma let out a large sigh as she returned to her conversation with Chi-Chi.
Alone. A word Zarak used so often describing those who walked the life of a fighter. A word he used to describe himself on more than one occasion. All that was about to change though, once he had Azaelya's DNA it would take him three months to create the perfect woman. Some one to pleasure him and spill blood for him.
Three months it would take to build her, but first they would need to find her. Why? Why not just create a pure Saiya-jin? It was too unstable. Too powerful, and too hard to keep under control. Humanity was much easier to control anyway.
"Zarak? When do you want us to attack?" Ojuohsib asked, breaking his concentration.
"Trunks has been gone for twenty-four hours," he replied. "We must wait until he returns. We cannot find him anywhere."
Nenuohsib walked into the room with Tetsujin; the two had solemn looks on their faces. Obviously they had not found Trunks. Yet, Zarak couldn't find it in himself to actually care.
"Sir," Tetsujin began. "We were..." He trailed off.
Nenuohsib continued where he stopped, "unable to find Trunks anywhere."
Zarak didn't answer. He had a hunch where he was, and Trunks wasn't the kind of guy prepared to let people find him unless he wanted to be found. "It doesn't matter. But we need him, to see our project. He can grade it for us. Dismissed."
The three soldiers left. Ojuohsib clasped Nenuohsib's hand and the two returned to her room together. In the few days that had passed since Zarak's dismissal of her affection, their relationship had returned to what it was before they were hired as assassins.
Three days had passed since Azaelya and Trunks had consummated their love. Azaelya had barely stopped training to sleep. Buruma and Chi-Chi had left for their shopping trip and Trunks had still not shown up.
"I'm home." A familiar voice said from the doorway of the Gravity room.
Azaelya turned to face Trunks, and two males. One looked older than Trunks and had a scar over his lips, and the other looked about 17.
"Where were you?" She asked, holding back tears.
"Training. These are the other Z-Senshi. This is Lem," he gestured to the younger looking boy and then to the older man. "And this is Naraku."
She walked up to Trunks and slapped him across the face. Anger burned in her eyes, and she couldn't stop herself from shaking. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Trunks turned to his two students. "Could you two leave us alone for a while?" They both gave slight bows and left the room. "I didn't tell you because... Because... It wasn't any of your business."
Azaelya burst out laughing, "that's a joke right?"
"No, it's not a joke. It wasn't any of your concern."
"I thought you loved me." She said quietly.
Trunks lifted her chin up and wiped the tears in her eyes away. "I don't. Just because we had sex—It doesn't mean anything."
She pushed him away, then thrust her leg out at his head. He dodged it and rammed her into a wall. She fired a double-Kienzan at him. Again, he dodged them as if they weren't even there. She conceded and stopped trying to fight him.
"Fuck you Trunks." She bit out. "How can you say it doesn't mean anything."
"Our night of"—he coughed—"Passion was nothing more than a way for me to feel. To forget."
"How can you say that? Why would you say that? You asshole. I mean W—Was I not good? Didn't I do well enough?" She asked, the tears rolling down her face now.
Trunks shook his head smiling, "of course not. You were fantastic. God, you like a pro. Never have I had a time like that." He shrugged and walked towards the door. "But hey, we've had our fun. Unless you thought—Oh my God. You thought it was gonna be something more? We only knew each other for a day. So don't sweat it. It could have been. But the flame went out."
Azaelya couldn't take this anymore, she ran passed him, unable to control her anguished cries and ran up the stairs into her room. Trunks stood in the Gravity Room, replaying the events repeatedly in his mind. Saying those words, it had hurt her deeply, but it had burnt him just as much. He swallowed hard and blinked the tears back.
Lem and Naraku were sparring playfully outside of Capsule Corp., when Lem spotted Azaelya floating down from her room.
"Hey, Azaelya!" He cried getting her attention. He waved her down, and she landed next to him blocking the punch thrown by Naraku as a test.
"So Trunks has told you about me, huh? His little one-night-stand, his conquest." She spat out bitterly. "Not that I care what he told you. But how did he find you? And why?"
Naraku spoke up. "He told us we needed to help him protect the Earth."
"If there were other people as strong as you before, why did Trunks wait until now?" She queried.
"For the past two years Trunks has been training us in the room of Spirit and Time. He spent two days searching for strong warriors and the other two training." He cocked an eyebrow and gave a lop-sided smile. "And we were the best he could find. Us."
Azaelya was confused by the 'two years'. "How could you train for two years?"
Lem broke into the conversation. "The Room of Spirit and Time is an extra-dimensional room, within it time passes much faster than it does in the real world. In twenty-four hours out here one day passes inside the room." He paused wondering how to explain the rest of it. "The reason for this is, apart form the other dimension, is that we operate on a linear chronology on this plane. As opposed to most other dimensions which operate on a realist chronology. Which is less physical, more temporal and less based on perception."
Azaelya was shocked. For two reasons, the first being Trunks had not told her about this or offered the chance to use it, and the second being that Lem was an overtly serious genius despite his happy-go-lucky look's and mannerisms, and Naraku—the somber older man—was a fun loving and sarcastic guy. This was unexpected.
At least now the odds were more even. But Trunks—her love, the man she'd fallen in love with after only one day—was now a problem. He hated her and she wanted to hate him, but she couldn't.
"Hey, Naraku, when did you become a fighter? Did that somber look come from it?" She asked smiling.
He gave her a toothy grin. "Oh no, the somber face is all mine. I had it before I was a fighter."
"Well why'd you choose fighting?" She probed.
"Mostly for fun. My father was a scholar. He really hated my fighting talents, mostly because it's not what he wanted. So I became a fighter to piss him off basically." He looked into Azaelya's eyes and continued, "I still went to University, I graduated and I married the woman I always thought I would. Then the Jinzoningen attacked. You're probably a bit young to remember this but, when the Jinzoningen first attacked the strongest fighters in the world were asked to stop them.
"Apparently, the previous winners and participants of the Tenkaichi Budokai's were unable to be found. Son Gokou was my idol. I was about ten when I first saw him at a Tenkaichi Budokai. It was his first one, and I was transfixed. I learnt about him and his friends and the lives they lived. I was so intrigued by them. I found out from someone, I think his name was Kamesennin that they'd all died. Or been slaughtered more appropriately.
"Me being me, I had participated in a few Budokai's and decided to fight the Jinzoningen. As a way of paying my respects. The Jinzoningen were smart regarding the 'saviors of the Earth', as we were known, they picked us off slowly. But more and more were coming. To fight in the end there was about twenty-five of us when we all decided to attack them at once."
Azaelya was impressed so far. "And you survived?"
His smile had faded by this time; pain was etched onto his face by the memories he was reliving. "You did. But I didn't survive the fight. I didn't even fight. I ran. And about a day later I returned home to see my house in flames and Juuhachigou modeling my wife's clothes as if it were some sick game. I didn't know what to do. My whole town was burning and I was the only one left. So I ran. But I didn't run to escape no not to escape. I ran to find some way to help. Deep down I thought I could find their weakness, and become a hero. But I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to fight them, for anyone.
"So when Trunks actually found me and told me I was useful I decided to chance it. I decided that this time I would make a difference. I would honor my wife and children's memory. And when he told me he was a close friend of Son Gokou's I the deal was made."
Azaelya struggled to find the right words for this moment. "I'm sorry, I—I—I didn't know. I mean, I." She stopped looking at his face, despite what he had been through; he was still able to put on a smile.
"Don't sweat it. It's strangely calming and eerily easy to talk about. And if you've got other words for 'scary' I can use I'll describe it a lot more as well." He gave a roguish grin and helped her to her feet. "I should probably go see how Trunks is coming along with the plan of attack."
Lem came over wiping some sweat of his forehead with a towel. "Ready to here my sorry tale of despair and somber-ish saddening."
Azaelya watched Naraku walk away slowly. "Maybe later."
Naraku peered through the Gravity Room window at Trunks, whom was standing in the dead center of the room perfectly still despite the obvious strain on his body. Naraku glanced at the screen to see how much Gravity was actually being generated into the room: 1100G.
Trunks lifted his hand and fired a burst into the control panel so weak that it would have incredible concentration to even remotely sense it. Either way, it turned of the Gravity Room's artificial gravity. Trunks braced him for the sudden decrease in gravity, and then signaled Naraku to enter.
"What do you want, Naraku?" Trunks asked not turning around.
"I just talked to Azaelya. She's an interesting girl." Naraku said, still wearing the same roguish smile. "If no one is currently seeing her, I might have to make my move."
Trunks finally turned to face him; his eyes were puffy and red from crying. "She wouldn't go for you. She'd prefer someone like me. At least she used to."
Naraku leaned against the doorway casually, his over-confidence obvious. "But then you said all those horrible things to her, and now she hates you." Naraku gave a slight laugh. "It's all your fault really."
Within two seconds, Trunks had him up against the wall, his forearm pressed into Naraku's neck. That was the only thing holding Naraku above the ground. Trunks poised his other arm and prepared to punch him. More tears rolled down Trunks cheeks, as his grip grew weaker. Finally he let Naraku fall and then collapsed to his knees crying. Naraku found it hard not to pity him and his situation.
"Why did I say those things? Why didn't I tell her? I love her!" He said in between sobs.
Naraku desperately wanted to reach out and comfort Trunks, but he couldn't bring himself to. He stood watching him cry, watching him burn away his sorrow. He was just over two years old, what could he do? Still, in truth he'd been alive longer than two years, but was that really life? Is this?
Naraku shrugged, "you made choice. That's all."
His words didn't help Trunks. "That's no excuse. I love her. She's meant to fight by my side and now she probably wouldn't even want to kill me herself."
"Trunks, you told me—when we were in the Room of Spirit and Time—never to dwell on the past. To do as you feel right." Naraku said, he then added, "because every battle could be our last."
Trunks stopped. His insides went cold. Every battle could be our last. You're right, and this will be someone's last battle. Mine.
Chapter 5
Nenuohsib and Ojuohsib stood in the command center, arm in arm, watching the monitor with Zarak and Tetsujin. Once the Z-Senshi arrived, Azaelya MKII would be ready to begin. All they'd need is her DNA and three months. Then they could swiftly destroy any opposition to their dominance before travelling to a reality with the Dragonball's still intact.
Zarak's mind thrived thinking of the possibilities of what they could do with this much power. With so few people he could trust though, would he be able to make it out of here alive? His father would no doubt be keeping a close eye on him after Strachan's visit. And Tetsujin seemed to have been overtly keen on learning everything he could about Azaelya MKII. Then there were the two Naibu-jin; selfish, fearless assassin's completely devoted to their own kind and to anyone who offers them a good enough reward. But these two, they were different. Something about them was different to other Naibu-jin. The fact that they were banished from their home world attested to this fact. While Tetsujin was keen on Azaelya's mind and body—as one would expect Tetsujin to be—they were keen on her soul, and whether or not Zarak could create one.
Either way, now was not the time to be making everyone into an enemy. Not with four figures flying towards the ship—each with fairly high chi- signals—obviously intent on killing those inside. Zarak grinned with a sadistic delight, as they landed just outside the ship.
Lem and Naraku immediately took to fighting, the look of enjoyment showing on their faces as they knocked guard after guard to the ground, most of them dead. Naraku was fighting more technically than Lem, relying mostly on countering techniques and mind games. Thus, his fighting was almost graceful as if it were some form of dance.
Lem, on the other hand, was more instinctive, throwing punches and kicks like a wild animal. Azaelya shook her head watching them fight, much in the way their mannerisms had belied their personalities, their personalities belied the way they fought.
A soldier attempted to catch Azaelya off guard and land a punch on her face. She caught his forearm less than one second before the impact—with a grip like a vice—and began to squeeze, until he cried out in pain. A satisfied smile crossed her face when a sickening pop sounded, and blood sprayed from the elbow joint. She threw the dying guard into the side of the ship and continued to fight.
Trunks parried a kick in the air with his own leg, and headbutted the guard in the face, cracking his nose. Blood dripped down his face, but the guard ignored it tossing his at Trunks. Trunks ducked under him and grabbed his arm, before punching a hole through his stomach. He tossed the corpse into another three guards flying at him, which distracted them long enough for him to Zanzoken to the entrance of the ship.
Naraku followed Trunks down. He and Trunks were to get inside the ship and call off the soldiers swarming Lem and Azaelya, and then those two were to join them for the fight against Zarak. Perhaps, their plan wasn't as clever as it could have been. Perhaps, Zarak knew what they would do. Perhaps, it was meant to be this way. It didn't matter to Trunks either way as Nenuohsib, Ojuohsib and Tetsujin surrounded two of the Z-Senshi.
"Soldier Seven-Oh-Three-Dee, get all of your men to return to the ship immediately. The parties about to begin." Zarak said quietly into the com- link. His soldier's response was barely audible due to the static present.
Soon, your destiny will be mine.
He threw the com-link into a wall, leaving a large dent. Throwing off his robe, he began to adjust his jumpsuit underneath. This fight would not be child's play like the last one was it would be hard. It would be intense. It would be fun.
Naraku flew into one of the conference room's walls, smashing a large hole into it. He looked up to see a gloating Ojuohsib towering over him. Acting purely on instinct, he grabbed a live electrical wire writhing around on the ground next to him, and rammed it into her stomach.
She stumbled back a few steps, her mouth etched into a disbelieving smile. Naraku pulled the wire back. She took in a few deep breaths, her body convulsing. And she screamed. The scream was so shrill it took what seemed like forever for anyone to actually realize it came from her.
Nenuohsib dashed over to save her, leaving Tetsujin to deal with Trunks by himself. Nenuohsib scooped the fallen warrior up in his arms. She was alive—barely—and Nenuohsib took comfort in that thought. He leant her against a wall of the ships main conference hall.
"Don't worry pet. I'm not gonna let you die on me." He whispered into her ear.
Naibu-jin are interesting creatures. They have the ability to heal one another by transferring their own chi through blood. Not only does this make them formidable, it also carries interesting side effects. They become one. And the only way they can separate is through the absorption of a soul, and until they separate if one dies so does the other. One pro is that the 'side-effects' remain...
Nenuohsib pulled his glove off, and cut into his own wrist with a fingernail after doing the same to Ojuohsib, he clutched her hand tightly and allowed the blood to be absorbed. An azure aura surrounded the Naibu- jin, as she opened her eyes.
"Thank you." She said. Deciding to try out the 'side-effects' she added—directly into his mind—Shall we?
"Life Force!" They screamed in unison.
Naraku tried to turn around to see what was happening, but Tetsujin's grip was far to tight. Trunks ducked under his free arm and appeared directly in front of him. He grabbed Tetsujin's wrist with his right hand, and with a speed and ferocity often associated with Saiya-jin, he snapped the Jinzoningen's arm with his left.
Naraku fell to the ground coughing, trying to catch his breath. He flipped up, and turned to see what the others had done. When his eyes adjusted he tossed his hands up in defense, as did Trunks and Tetsujin!
Lem and Azaelya were continuing to hold off the soldiers. And elbow was moved to the right, another gone. A chi blast to the chest—another. They were dropping like flies. Azaelya carelessly tossed a punch and missed. But the soldier didn't attack. He retreated, they all did.
"They're ready for us to attack now. We have to go!" Lem cried.
"Right."
They both started towards the ship, suddenly, Lem's cracked back and plummeted into a boulder just near the ship. Azaelya stopped sharply, turning just far enough to avoid the same fate. Despite the apprehension Azaelya was now feeling, she forced her body into a defensive stance, preparing to fight the man who attacked Lem—Zarak.
Tetsujin fired chi balls of rapidly at the hundreds of Ojuohsib and Nenouhsib's. It didn't seem to help though. Trunks fought the best he could, in the now cramped space, and Naraku was overwhelmed fairly quickly.
Trunks bent back to avoid a punch and caught a glimpse of the security monitor: Zarak and Azaelya in a stand off, with Lem nowhere to be seen. He panicked unable to keep his thoughts on the fight at hand. A jab combo hit him square in the face knocking him to his feet; he caught one last glimpse of the monitor before the screen went up in flames because of a stray chi blast.
Naraku screamed, as he rose out of the pile of Naibu-jin. Power emanated from his body almost to brightly to look at him. His aura continued to grow, brighter, his chi signal stronger. His eyes burnt intensely. Without warning, his head shot back and energy disintegrated all but the real Naibu-jin. His aura began to dull, as did his chi signal. Before he disappeared entirely Trunks saw through aura. The figure inside the aura looked—for only a handful of seconds—like Gohan.
When everything had cleared up, the Naibu-jin had already gone. No doubt hiding elsewhere in the ship. But Trunks didn't have time to worry about them—or help the wounded Jinzoningen. His internal systems would heal himself. He had one thing on his mind: Azaelya.
Azaelya had fought off most of nerves in her body. The numbing fear was now more of an itching fear, she let out a deep sigh. And charged towards Zarak.
Before she reached him, he said but one thing: "You will be the first, Azaelya."
He moved faster than she could see, entrenched his fist into her stomach. As she spat out large globules of blood, he grabbed her by the chin. He pushed her head back, her neck snapped, and she was dead before he dropped her body.
"But not the last."
Trunks was to late, he burst from the ship tears rolling down his face. Cursing loudly he stopped directly in front of Zarak. "You fucking—I'll kill you! Bastard!" His rage enveloped him, and the energy ran through him. His hair stood up and electricity streaked over him.
"Don't do this Trunks. Not now." For a moment Trunks thought Zarak had spoken, until he turned around to see Lem floating behind him worse for wear.
"Listen to your friend, Trunks." Zarak chimed in, "I'm giving you free passage out of here."
As much as Trunks didn't want to leave he had no choice, both he and Lem flew off regretting everything they had done.
Sunlight streamed through the window of the hotel room Trunks and Azaelya were occupying. Azaelya slowly opened her eyes slowly expecting to see Trunks staring back at her after their night of passion. To her surprise he was gone. She sat up quickly a look of fear on her face.
He wouldn't have gone back alone, she thought to herself. He just wouldn't have.
She stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom where she took a relaxing soak to drown her fears.
"I'm sorry, sir, but why did you feel the need to almost kill them?" Nenuohsib asked impatiently. For almost a day Zarak had not spoken of the battle to anyone. "I thought you wanted a fight."
Zarak merely raised a hand to silence the man. He was to bus to worry about that now. He needed something substantial to show his father. He needed a body for his 'perfect woman'. Although he had enough Saiya-jin DNA he didn't want a pure Saiya-jin. Too much risk, too much hard work, to hard to control. The soldiers he had sent over what was left of the world had returned nothing. He was beginning to wonder if this was all a waste of time.
Then a woman caught his eye.
"Who is she?" Zarak asked to no one in particular.
Tetsujin was the only one who answered. "She is the associate of the Saiya-jin Trunks. Her name is Azaelya."
Ojuohsib stood in the shadows, not letting anyone see her. She preferred to be a spectator for this. She would prove to Zarak that she was better than any woman he could make was.
"Get her. We need her now." Zarak smiled maniacally. "She will be the vessel."
Ojuohsib looked at Nenuohsib, and smiled. If Azaelya were to be the woman perhaps it would be best if her and Zarak actually got together. It would make it hurt more when Nenuohsib and Ojuohsib feasted on her soul.
"Understood." The three soldiers replied in unison.
Casually, Azaelya walked through the door of the Capsule Corp house hoping to find Trunks, instead she found a cheery Buruma and Chi-Chi talking about a shopping trip they were planning.
"Azaelya? You're home?" Bururma asked.
"Home?" Azaelya muttered to herself quietly. "Ah, yes," She said awkwardly.
Bururma walked into the kitchen fixing her a drink. "Do you want anything, Azaelya?"
"Uh, yeah. Has Trunks been here?"
"No." Buruma said outright.
After only a couple of days she had taken a shine to the girl. Ever since the Jinzoningen attacked Buruma had a heavy feeling in her heart that would lift whenever she saw people happy. She also knew how much of a liking Azaelya had taken to Trunks and vice-versa. Which is why it was so painful for her to lie to the young girl, but Trunks had made her promise not tell her he had stopped by.
"Okay. Well, tell him I'm in the gravity room if he comes back," Azaelya said, her feeling of anxiety increasing.
"Will do!"
Azaelya walked off to the gravity room and closed the door behind her. Buruma let out a large sigh as she returned to her conversation with Chi-Chi.
Alone. A word Zarak used so often describing those who walked the life of a fighter. A word he used to describe himself on more than one occasion. All that was about to change though, once he had Azaelya's DNA it would take him three months to create the perfect woman. Some one to pleasure him and spill blood for him.
Three months it would take to build her, but first they would need to find her. Why? Why not just create a pure Saiya-jin? It was too unstable. Too powerful, and too hard to keep under control. Humanity was much easier to control anyway.
"Zarak? When do you want us to attack?" Ojuohsib asked, breaking his concentration.
"Trunks has been gone for twenty-four hours," he replied. "We must wait until he returns. We cannot find him anywhere."
Nenuohsib walked into the room with Tetsujin; the two had solemn looks on their faces. Obviously they had not found Trunks. Yet, Zarak couldn't find it in himself to actually care.
"Sir," Tetsujin began. "We were..." He trailed off.
Nenuohsib continued where he stopped, "unable to find Trunks anywhere."
Zarak didn't answer. He had a hunch where he was, and Trunks wasn't the kind of guy prepared to let people find him unless he wanted to be found. "It doesn't matter. But we need him, to see our project. He can grade it for us. Dismissed."
The three soldiers left. Ojuohsib clasped Nenuohsib's hand and the two returned to her room together. In the few days that had passed since Zarak's dismissal of her affection, their relationship had returned to what it was before they were hired as assassins.
Three days had passed since Azaelya and Trunks had consummated their love. Azaelya had barely stopped training to sleep. Buruma and Chi-Chi had left for their shopping trip and Trunks had still not shown up.
"I'm home." A familiar voice said from the doorway of the Gravity room.
Azaelya turned to face Trunks, and two males. One looked older than Trunks and had a scar over his lips, and the other looked about 17.
"Where were you?" She asked, holding back tears.
"Training. These are the other Z-Senshi. This is Lem," he gestured to the younger looking boy and then to the older man. "And this is Naraku."
She walked up to Trunks and slapped him across the face. Anger burned in her eyes, and she couldn't stop herself from shaking. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Trunks turned to his two students. "Could you two leave us alone for a while?" They both gave slight bows and left the room. "I didn't tell you because... Because... It wasn't any of your business."
Azaelya burst out laughing, "that's a joke right?"
"No, it's not a joke. It wasn't any of your concern."
"I thought you loved me." She said quietly.
Trunks lifted her chin up and wiped the tears in her eyes away. "I don't. Just because we had sex—It doesn't mean anything."
She pushed him away, then thrust her leg out at his head. He dodged it and rammed her into a wall. She fired a double-Kienzan at him. Again, he dodged them as if they weren't even there. She conceded and stopped trying to fight him.
"Fuck you Trunks." She bit out. "How can you say it doesn't mean anything."
"Our night of"—he coughed—"Passion was nothing more than a way for me to feel. To forget."
"How can you say that? Why would you say that? You asshole. I mean W—Was I not good? Didn't I do well enough?" She asked, the tears rolling down her face now.
Trunks shook his head smiling, "of course not. You were fantastic. God, you like a pro. Never have I had a time like that." He shrugged and walked towards the door. "But hey, we've had our fun. Unless you thought—Oh my God. You thought it was gonna be something more? We only knew each other for a day. So don't sweat it. It could have been. But the flame went out."
Azaelya couldn't take this anymore, she ran passed him, unable to control her anguished cries and ran up the stairs into her room. Trunks stood in the Gravity Room, replaying the events repeatedly in his mind. Saying those words, it had hurt her deeply, but it had burnt him just as much. He swallowed hard and blinked the tears back.
Lem and Naraku were sparring playfully outside of Capsule Corp., when Lem spotted Azaelya floating down from her room.
"Hey, Azaelya!" He cried getting her attention. He waved her down, and she landed next to him blocking the punch thrown by Naraku as a test.
"So Trunks has told you about me, huh? His little one-night-stand, his conquest." She spat out bitterly. "Not that I care what he told you. But how did he find you? And why?"
Naraku spoke up. "He told us we needed to help him protect the Earth."
"If there were other people as strong as you before, why did Trunks wait until now?" She queried.
"For the past two years Trunks has been training us in the room of Spirit and Time. He spent two days searching for strong warriors and the other two training." He cocked an eyebrow and gave a lop-sided smile. "And we were the best he could find. Us."
Azaelya was confused by the 'two years'. "How could you train for two years?"
Lem broke into the conversation. "The Room of Spirit and Time is an extra-dimensional room, within it time passes much faster than it does in the real world. In twenty-four hours out here one day passes inside the room." He paused wondering how to explain the rest of it. "The reason for this is, apart form the other dimension, is that we operate on a linear chronology on this plane. As opposed to most other dimensions which operate on a realist chronology. Which is less physical, more temporal and less based on perception."
Azaelya was shocked. For two reasons, the first being Trunks had not told her about this or offered the chance to use it, and the second being that Lem was an overtly serious genius despite his happy-go-lucky look's and mannerisms, and Naraku—the somber older man—was a fun loving and sarcastic guy. This was unexpected.
At least now the odds were more even. But Trunks—her love, the man she'd fallen in love with after only one day—was now a problem. He hated her and she wanted to hate him, but she couldn't.
"Hey, Naraku, when did you become a fighter? Did that somber look come from it?" She asked smiling.
He gave her a toothy grin. "Oh no, the somber face is all mine. I had it before I was a fighter."
"Well why'd you choose fighting?" She probed.
"Mostly for fun. My father was a scholar. He really hated my fighting talents, mostly because it's not what he wanted. So I became a fighter to piss him off basically." He looked into Azaelya's eyes and continued, "I still went to University, I graduated and I married the woman I always thought I would. Then the Jinzoningen attacked. You're probably a bit young to remember this but, when the Jinzoningen first attacked the strongest fighters in the world were asked to stop them.
"Apparently, the previous winners and participants of the Tenkaichi Budokai's were unable to be found. Son Gokou was my idol. I was about ten when I first saw him at a Tenkaichi Budokai. It was his first one, and I was transfixed. I learnt about him and his friends and the lives they lived. I was so intrigued by them. I found out from someone, I think his name was Kamesennin that they'd all died. Or been slaughtered more appropriately.
"Me being me, I had participated in a few Budokai's and decided to fight the Jinzoningen. As a way of paying my respects. The Jinzoningen were smart regarding the 'saviors of the Earth', as we were known, they picked us off slowly. But more and more were coming. To fight in the end there was about twenty-five of us when we all decided to attack them at once."
Azaelya was impressed so far. "And you survived?"
His smile had faded by this time; pain was etched onto his face by the memories he was reliving. "You did. But I didn't survive the fight. I didn't even fight. I ran. And about a day later I returned home to see my house in flames and Juuhachigou modeling my wife's clothes as if it were some sick game. I didn't know what to do. My whole town was burning and I was the only one left. So I ran. But I didn't run to escape no not to escape. I ran to find some way to help. Deep down I thought I could find their weakness, and become a hero. But I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to fight them, for anyone.
"So when Trunks actually found me and told me I was useful I decided to chance it. I decided that this time I would make a difference. I would honor my wife and children's memory. And when he told me he was a close friend of Son Gokou's I the deal was made."
Azaelya struggled to find the right words for this moment. "I'm sorry, I—I—I didn't know. I mean, I." She stopped looking at his face, despite what he had been through; he was still able to put on a smile.
"Don't sweat it. It's strangely calming and eerily easy to talk about. And if you've got other words for 'scary' I can use I'll describe it a lot more as well." He gave a roguish grin and helped her to her feet. "I should probably go see how Trunks is coming along with the plan of attack."
Lem came over wiping some sweat of his forehead with a towel. "Ready to here my sorry tale of despair and somber-ish saddening."
Azaelya watched Naraku walk away slowly. "Maybe later."
Naraku peered through the Gravity Room window at Trunks, whom was standing in the dead center of the room perfectly still despite the obvious strain on his body. Naraku glanced at the screen to see how much Gravity was actually being generated into the room: 1100G.
Trunks lifted his hand and fired a burst into the control panel so weak that it would have incredible concentration to even remotely sense it. Either way, it turned of the Gravity Room's artificial gravity. Trunks braced him for the sudden decrease in gravity, and then signaled Naraku to enter.
"What do you want, Naraku?" Trunks asked not turning around.
"I just talked to Azaelya. She's an interesting girl." Naraku said, still wearing the same roguish smile. "If no one is currently seeing her, I might have to make my move."
Trunks finally turned to face him; his eyes were puffy and red from crying. "She wouldn't go for you. She'd prefer someone like me. At least she used to."
Naraku leaned against the doorway casually, his over-confidence obvious. "But then you said all those horrible things to her, and now she hates you." Naraku gave a slight laugh. "It's all your fault really."
Within two seconds, Trunks had him up against the wall, his forearm pressed into Naraku's neck. That was the only thing holding Naraku above the ground. Trunks poised his other arm and prepared to punch him. More tears rolled down Trunks cheeks, as his grip grew weaker. Finally he let Naraku fall and then collapsed to his knees crying. Naraku found it hard not to pity him and his situation.
"Why did I say those things? Why didn't I tell her? I love her!" He said in between sobs.
Naraku desperately wanted to reach out and comfort Trunks, but he couldn't bring himself to. He stood watching him cry, watching him burn away his sorrow. He was just over two years old, what could he do? Still, in truth he'd been alive longer than two years, but was that really life? Is this?
Naraku shrugged, "you made choice. That's all."
His words didn't help Trunks. "That's no excuse. I love her. She's meant to fight by my side and now she probably wouldn't even want to kill me herself."
"Trunks, you told me—when we were in the Room of Spirit and Time—never to dwell on the past. To do as you feel right." Naraku said, he then added, "because every battle could be our last."
Trunks stopped. His insides went cold. Every battle could be our last. You're right, and this will be someone's last battle. Mine.
Chapter 5
Nenuohsib and Ojuohsib stood in the command center, arm in arm, watching the monitor with Zarak and Tetsujin. Once the Z-Senshi arrived, Azaelya MKII would be ready to begin. All they'd need is her DNA and three months. Then they could swiftly destroy any opposition to their dominance before travelling to a reality with the Dragonball's still intact.
Zarak's mind thrived thinking of the possibilities of what they could do with this much power. With so few people he could trust though, would he be able to make it out of here alive? His father would no doubt be keeping a close eye on him after Strachan's visit. And Tetsujin seemed to have been overtly keen on learning everything he could about Azaelya MKII. Then there were the two Naibu-jin; selfish, fearless assassin's completely devoted to their own kind and to anyone who offers them a good enough reward. But these two, they were different. Something about them was different to other Naibu-jin. The fact that they were banished from their home world attested to this fact. While Tetsujin was keen on Azaelya's mind and body—as one would expect Tetsujin to be—they were keen on her soul, and whether or not Zarak could create one.
Either way, now was not the time to be making everyone into an enemy. Not with four figures flying towards the ship—each with fairly high chi- signals—obviously intent on killing those inside. Zarak grinned with a sadistic delight, as they landed just outside the ship.
Lem and Naraku immediately took to fighting, the look of enjoyment showing on their faces as they knocked guard after guard to the ground, most of them dead. Naraku was fighting more technically than Lem, relying mostly on countering techniques and mind games. Thus, his fighting was almost graceful as if it were some form of dance.
Lem, on the other hand, was more instinctive, throwing punches and kicks like a wild animal. Azaelya shook her head watching them fight, much in the way their mannerisms had belied their personalities, their personalities belied the way they fought.
A soldier attempted to catch Azaelya off guard and land a punch on her face. She caught his forearm less than one second before the impact—with a grip like a vice—and began to squeeze, until he cried out in pain. A satisfied smile crossed her face when a sickening pop sounded, and blood sprayed from the elbow joint. She threw the dying guard into the side of the ship and continued to fight.
Trunks parried a kick in the air with his own leg, and headbutted the guard in the face, cracking his nose. Blood dripped down his face, but the guard ignored it tossing his at Trunks. Trunks ducked under him and grabbed his arm, before punching a hole through his stomach. He tossed the corpse into another three guards flying at him, which distracted them long enough for him to Zanzoken to the entrance of the ship.
Naraku followed Trunks down. He and Trunks were to get inside the ship and call off the soldiers swarming Lem and Azaelya, and then those two were to join them for the fight against Zarak. Perhaps, their plan wasn't as clever as it could have been. Perhaps, Zarak knew what they would do. Perhaps, it was meant to be this way. It didn't matter to Trunks either way as Nenuohsib, Ojuohsib and Tetsujin surrounded two of the Z-Senshi.
"Soldier Seven-Oh-Three-Dee, get all of your men to return to the ship immediately. The parties about to begin." Zarak said quietly into the com- link. His soldier's response was barely audible due to the static present.
Soon, your destiny will be mine.
He threw the com-link into a wall, leaving a large dent. Throwing off his robe, he began to adjust his jumpsuit underneath. This fight would not be child's play like the last one was it would be hard. It would be intense. It would be fun.
Naraku flew into one of the conference room's walls, smashing a large hole into it. He looked up to see a gloating Ojuohsib towering over him. Acting purely on instinct, he grabbed a live electrical wire writhing around on the ground next to him, and rammed it into her stomach.
She stumbled back a few steps, her mouth etched into a disbelieving smile. Naraku pulled the wire back. She took in a few deep breaths, her body convulsing. And she screamed. The scream was so shrill it took what seemed like forever for anyone to actually realize it came from her.
Nenuohsib dashed over to save her, leaving Tetsujin to deal with Trunks by himself. Nenuohsib scooped the fallen warrior up in his arms. She was alive—barely—and Nenuohsib took comfort in that thought. He leant her against a wall of the ships main conference hall.
"Don't worry pet. I'm not gonna let you die on me." He whispered into her ear.
Naibu-jin are interesting creatures. They have the ability to heal one another by transferring their own chi through blood. Not only does this make them formidable, it also carries interesting side effects. They become one. And the only way they can separate is through the absorption of a soul, and until they separate if one dies so does the other. One pro is that the 'side-effects' remain...
Nenuohsib pulled his glove off, and cut into his own wrist with a fingernail after doing the same to Ojuohsib, he clutched her hand tightly and allowed the blood to be absorbed. An azure aura surrounded the Naibu- jin, as she opened her eyes.
"Thank you." She said. Deciding to try out the 'side-effects' she added—directly into his mind—Shall we?
"Life Force!" They screamed in unison.
Naraku tried to turn around to see what was happening, but Tetsujin's grip was far to tight. Trunks ducked under his free arm and appeared directly in front of him. He grabbed Tetsujin's wrist with his right hand, and with a speed and ferocity often associated with Saiya-jin, he snapped the Jinzoningen's arm with his left.
Naraku fell to the ground coughing, trying to catch his breath. He flipped up, and turned to see what the others had done. When his eyes adjusted he tossed his hands up in defense, as did Trunks and Tetsujin!
Lem and Azaelya were continuing to hold off the soldiers. And elbow was moved to the right, another gone. A chi blast to the chest—another. They were dropping like flies. Azaelya carelessly tossed a punch and missed. But the soldier didn't attack. He retreated, they all did.
"They're ready for us to attack now. We have to go!" Lem cried.
"Right."
They both started towards the ship, suddenly, Lem's cracked back and plummeted into a boulder just near the ship. Azaelya stopped sharply, turning just far enough to avoid the same fate. Despite the apprehension Azaelya was now feeling, she forced her body into a defensive stance, preparing to fight the man who attacked Lem—Zarak.
Tetsujin fired chi balls of rapidly at the hundreds of Ojuohsib and Nenouhsib's. It didn't seem to help though. Trunks fought the best he could, in the now cramped space, and Naraku was overwhelmed fairly quickly.
Trunks bent back to avoid a punch and caught a glimpse of the security monitor: Zarak and Azaelya in a stand off, with Lem nowhere to be seen. He panicked unable to keep his thoughts on the fight at hand. A jab combo hit him square in the face knocking him to his feet; he caught one last glimpse of the monitor before the screen went up in flames because of a stray chi blast.
Naraku screamed, as he rose out of the pile of Naibu-jin. Power emanated from his body almost to brightly to look at him. His aura continued to grow, brighter, his chi signal stronger. His eyes burnt intensely. Without warning, his head shot back and energy disintegrated all but the real Naibu-jin. His aura began to dull, as did his chi signal. Before he disappeared entirely Trunks saw through aura. The figure inside the aura looked—for only a handful of seconds—like Gohan.
When everything had cleared up, the Naibu-jin had already gone. No doubt hiding elsewhere in the ship. But Trunks didn't have time to worry about them—or help the wounded Jinzoningen. His internal systems would heal himself. He had one thing on his mind: Azaelya.
Azaelya had fought off most of nerves in her body. The numbing fear was now more of an itching fear, she let out a deep sigh. And charged towards Zarak.
Before she reached him, he said but one thing: "You will be the first, Azaelya."
He moved faster than she could see, entrenched his fist into her stomach. As she spat out large globules of blood, he grabbed her by the chin. He pushed her head back, her neck snapped, and she was dead before he dropped her body.
"But not the last."
Trunks was to late, he burst from the ship tears rolling down his face. Cursing loudly he stopped directly in front of Zarak. "You fucking—I'll kill you! Bastard!" His rage enveloped him, and the energy ran through him. His hair stood up and electricity streaked over him.
"Don't do this Trunks. Not now." For a moment Trunks thought Zarak had spoken, until he turned around to see Lem floating behind him worse for wear.
"Listen to your friend, Trunks." Zarak chimed in, "I'm giving you free passage out of here."
As much as Trunks didn't want to leave he had no choice, both he and Lem flew off regretting everything they had done.