Silent One
Chapter 16
Dark eyes dragged themselves open, then slid shut again. A chocolate brown hand came up and rubbed against a tangle of sable hair. The dark eyes dragged themselves open again, the pupils slowly equalizing into focus. Reflected in those eyes was several glowing gold bars of energy, and a faint humming sound could be heard all around.
"I see you're awake."
Yasmine jerked her head in the direction of the voice. Sitting cross-legged on the other end of the prison with his wooden stick in his lap was Kami. His blue cape was settled in folds around him, and the white part of his clothing was slightly dirty. His dark eyes were fixed on Yasmine at the moment, filled with concern. From far away, the only way Yasmine had seen him, he had looked kind of fierce. But up close, she realized, he looked very kind, caring and wise.
"I guess…" Yasmine muttered back, rubbing her back where the blast hit her since it was still sore as she realized that her duffel bag was under her head like a pillow. "Where am I?"
"Underground somewhere. I can't be sure where because I was also unconscious when I was brought here." Kami's voice echoed slightly, but whether it was the room or the bars on the prison, Yasmine couldn't tell.
She cocked her head for a moment and studied Kami, then wiped her hair back and said, "Hey, aren't you the guy that Tategoto was trying to sign to? Yeah…you are, aren't you? Is your name Kami?"
Nodding his head with a faint smile that caused wrinkles to form in the corners of his eyes, Kami replied, "That I am. How do know of me and Piccolo's little boy?"
After introducing herself, Yasmine said, "Well, I taught Piccolo sign language so he could communicate with Tategoto. Let's just say we…" She bit her lip for a moment, "Got a little closer." She got serious again. "Earlier tonight, that funny little guy with the turban and a magic carpet showed up and told us that there's two people after Dragon Balls…is it really true that you created them?"
"Indeed, it is." Kami slowly extended his fist and pointed to something just outside the cage. Six orange orbs glistened in the light, each one about the size of a softball and smooth like an oversized marble. "As long as I'm alive, they'll stay in this realm. But if I die, Piccolo will die as well and the Dragon Balls will go into another dimension. It works in reverse as well. If Piccolo dies, I die too and the Dragon Balls go with me."
"Whoa…you mean you're spiritually connected or something?" Yasmine's slender eyebrows went up.
Kami nodded, then glanced up and jumped to his feet. "Be alert. Onion's here."
"Oh, so she's awake? I thought I heard voices in here." Onion stepped out of the shadows with a toothy grin, the blood colored gem on his forehead glittering in the eerie light. Aside from a blinking light in the corner and the light from the energy bars on the prison, there was no other light in the room. Anything between the blinking light on the control panel and the bars was lost in blackness. Onion was standing on the very edge of the light, and his face was illuminated in such a way that it resembled a pale skull rather then a face.
"What do you want with me you little blueberry midget!?" Yasmine shouted, racing towards the bars. Kami moved to stop her, but was too late. Yasmine's brown hands locked around the bars and…nothing happened to her.
Of course! She doesn't have a high enough ki for the bars to react to! Kami thought, listening to Onion laugh at Yasmine's insult. The old Namek started smirking at the fact that Onion was completely unaware that Yasmine could touch the bars. He quickly projected his thoughts to Yasmine. Don't be alarmed, this is telepathy. Do not react to what I say, just listen. I cannot touch those bars because of my powers. You can because you don't channel ki. That gives us an edge. Do not let Onion realize this. He doesn't know you're touching the bars because he is blind. Scratch your head if you heard and understand me.
Yasmine scratched her head, and Kami smiled slightly. She backed away from the bars, glancing at her hands for a moment to see if they were damaged at all. "Piccolo's going to use your head for a hockey puck when he finds out you have me here, Onion."
Onion giggled maliciously and stepped forward, making sure not to contact the bars as he rolled one of the Dragon Balls around with his foot. Because it was made of something like glass, the ball made a faint grinding noise when it was moved. "By the time Piccolo gets here, I'll be immortal. Just like my father! HAH! HAHAHAHA! What do you think of that!?" As he spoke, he presented the last Dragon Ball and placed it with the other six. Kami gasped when he saw this, mouthing the word 'no'.
"You're still a runt!" Yasmine shouted back.
"You won't think so when I become immortal like my father!" Onion growled back, flashing a smart-assed smile that just about any person would want to slap right back off. He knew he was being an ass and loved every minute of it as he gloated over his victory. "Salsa! Get in here!"
The ugly red figure that had carried Yasmine out of her house appeared in the room, his spaghetti-like hair waving around him as if it were underwater. He was this tall, strong looking monster, and yet when he spoke, his voice was a nasal little boy's voice, "Yessss Onion?"
"Watch those two. I'm going to go wait for my father to return from terrorizing the city." Onion laughed again before turning and being swallowed by the shadows of the enclosed room. The garish figure known as Salsa quickly complied, crossing his beefy arms as he sat down facing the prison.
Yasmine took notice that Salsa wasn't too smart, at least not when it came to situations that didn't involve fighting. She looked over at Kami, her eyes taking on a gleam of mischief as her lips pulled into a slight smirk. "Hey, Kami?" She said softly so the big red oaf wouldn't hear her, "I think I'm going to need to borrow a piece of your wooden stick. Just a piece about as big as a long twig."
"What for?" Kami whispered back, using his pointed nail to slice a thin piece off the side of his wooden stick. The soft sound of his nail scratching the wood fibers was just barely audible above the buzz of the bars.
Taking a lighter out of her pocket, Yasmine whispered, "I have an idea…"
…so we have to fight him before he gets the chance to take over the world. Piccolo was signing to Tategoto and spoke the same words to Vegeta as they flew behind Mr. Popo, who chose not to take part in the conversation. He had to concentrate on feeling Kami's ki anyway. Behind them, Vegeta was going along at his own pace as the wind blew his wild hair back.
"It's about damn time something happened around here!" Vegeta snapped, moving up so he could fly next to Tategoto. He looked at the young Namek, who was flying with his fists out in front of him like one of his favorite super-heroes. "So, little Badass, you ready for a real fight?" He slapped his fist against his open palm, making a loud slapping sound that was lost in the wind.
Tategoto grinned a toothy grin that flashed his fangs and nodded his head. His hands moved quickly as he signed to Vegeta, I fly like Superman, I'll fight like my dad when it's time to fight, but I'm going to pretend I'm Wolverine the whole time I'm doing it. He laughed.
Vegeta laughed his barking laugh. "Hey Piccolo! Your runt thinks he's Wolverine now."
"You never shoulda let Bulma take him to see that X-men movie." Piccolo muttered, wanting to keep his mind on the battle ahead. He disappeared briefly behind a cloud, then reappeared seconds later.
"I told you before, I'm not a damn baby-sitter! That kid hangs around with me, he's on his own. He's the one that bugged her to go see it anyway!"
"NAH!" Tategoto let out a shriek and stopped flying when they were all directly above Yasmine's house. The sudden outburst startled everyone to silence, and they all stopped to see what was wrong. Tategoto dove towards the rooftop of the house, having noticed the hole there. He dropped down through the hole and landed in a crouch, looking around quickly before standing. His blood boiled with anger for the first time in his life as he slowly realized that Yasmine had been kidnapped. "Grrr!" Tategoto took off again, flying out the hole he entered through. Piccolo and Vegeta were still hovering there, the look on Piccolo's face being more then enough to explain that he knew what Tategoto knew.
"What's the problem?" Vegeta growled, his thick eyebrows drawing together.
Garlic and Onion have Yasmine. Tategoto signed angrily, seeming to punctuate what he signed with a sharp sound from his throat that could only be described as a growl.
We'll make him wish he never made that decision. Piccolo signed back, then said to Vegeta, "Garlic has Yasmine."
"So? What does that pitiful human mean to you anyway?"
The Namekian man didn't reply. He just scowled at Vegeta and motioned for Tategoto to follow as he rose to join Mr. Popo again. Garlic, your ass is mine. You've just crossed the line, and now it's personal! He glanced over at Tategoto. Tategoto's muscles were all bunched up, his eyes were narrowed into slits, his nose was wrinkled into a sneer and his teeth were clenched. The inner rage inside him was building, and the warrior flame was starting to burn in his eyes. Yes, Tategoto, you are ready…
"This is as far as I can take you." Mr. Popo came to a stop above the place where Garlic's old palace once stood before he was sent to the Dead Zone. "If I'm correct, his palace has been re-built underground. So be careful." The black genie slowly rose on his magic carpet. "Good luck." With that, he was gone.
"Humph. I just want to tear something apart." Vegeta muttered.
"I think you'll get your chance." Piccolo replied, still fuming about Yasmine. As he spoke, green figure that looked a lot like Salsa exploded upwards from under the dirt, but the shape of the body was more then enough to prove that it was actually female. This creature had FOUR arms, the lowest pair ending with three-pronged pinchers. Instead of a horn on her forehead, she had something that looked like a two-foot-long black scorpion's tail, complete with the curving stinger. The appendage waved and slithered through the air like a snake. Her slanted eyes had slitted red pupils that seemed to shimmer with bloodlust, and her living hair waved around her. The dark green strands were thicker then Salsa's, and the color alone as well as her female appearance made her resemble the mythical Medusa.
Garlic blurred into view briefly, snickering wildly at the three people. "So you managed to find me! Too bad you won't survive to save your pitiful friends! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He looked at the green thing, "Kill all of them but that one." He pointed to Piccolo. "I want him alive until I say otherwise." His blue-green face contorted demonically as tossed his head back and laughed, phasing out once again before anybody could attack him.
"Yessss, Garlic." She purred. "Greetingssssss." The green monster hissed through thick black lips with a forked tongue. "Allow me to introduce mysssself. I am Relissssssssh."
"Relish, huh? Remind me to bring a hot dog next time." Vegeta sneered. Relish glared at him, and he was blown backwards when a ki blast from the scorpion-tail appendage on her forehead collided with his stomach. "You bitch!" The angry Saiyan got to his feet with a small burn mark where he'd been hit. "Piccolo! You and Tategoto get down there and find whatever you need. I'll handle this bitch and join you later." As soon as he spoke, Vegeta charged his ki and began his assault on the abomination that called herself Relish.
Salsa slumped forward slowly in a deep sleep. Yasmine was holding the piece of Kami's stick out in front of her, the burning end pointed towards the slumping red figure. "Can you hear me?" The misshapen head slowly rose and fell in a slight nod. "Good, now get up and turn the power to this cage off. As long as you're in the trance you'll do as I say, so get to it."
Like a docile little lamb, Salsa got up and lumbered to the control panel. His beefy finger extended and depressed the red light, which turned out to be a button. The gold energy bars around the cage flickered, went dim and finally thinned down until they were nothing. That also eliminated the strongest light-source in the room, save for the tiny flame that Yasmine had used to hypnotize Salsa. And it was so dark that a person couldn't see their hand if it was held right in front of their face.
Thanks to the power of ki, Kami was able to provide light to see with, the eerie white flame on his fingertips seeming to accent the wrinkles on his face and head. He smiled over at Yasmine as they made their way across the room from the cage, towards the arching doorway that led out. "You are very resourceful."
"Thanks. Now let's get the hell out of here." Yasmine said back.
"Not so fast…" Onion growled as he appeared in the arching doorway to the cave-like room. "Salsa you baka!"
"Uh oh." Kami muttered, sticking out an arm and maneuvering himself in front of Yasmine. He whispered to her, "Stay silent and he may not find you."
"Right."
Unfortunately, Onion was a very good guesser, and walked right up to where Kami and Yasmine were standing. Kami tensed, holding his wooden stick like a Bo as he took on a more aggressive stance. His wrinkled features were always so pleasant, but when he got angry, they could be quite intimidating. Especially with the white flame of his ki illuminating his face the way it was.
"So you think you could just escape?" Onion snickered, tilting his head back until he was facing Kami's general direction.
Kami brightened the ki flame that he had illuminated on his fingertips, tilted his head down slightly and said telepathically to Yasmine, Let's split up. It may make it harder for him to find us that way. Yasmine understood, but couldn't show it with a gesture since Kami's back was to her. So instead, she started to tip-toe away from Kami, almost heading towards Salsa.
"Bad girl!" Onion was in front of Yasmine in a flash, floating nearly eye level with her, his cape flowing around him.
"Didn't your mother ever smack you enough?" Yasmine retorted, her hand aimed to slap the young demon across the face. Onion laughed, caught her hand, gripped her wrist tightly and effortlessly threw her across the room. She slid along the floor, getting a few scrapes, and landed on her back. Onion approached her, and Kami was about to intercept when Salsa came out of the trance and attacked.
The two went into a swift hit and block routine. Then Salsa managed to pin Kami to the wall by his throat, and for a few seconds, Kami struggled as the air was cut off from his lungs. Then he clenched his teeth as a pulse of golden light erupted from his body. He rose up, the force of his sudden movement and the ki sending Salsa flying. The red figure collided against the opposite wall with a deafening thud, then slid down to the floor with a few rocks tumbling down on top of him. Just like in a cartoon, there was an imprint in the wall that matched his outline. Having gotten a beating himself, Kami leaned tiredly on the wall to regain his breath.
Yasmine watched Onion approach, feeling completely helpless upon realizing that she had just tried to hit someone that could kill her with a thought. At the same time, she was angry too, angry at the way she was being treated and the danger her friends were being put into. As the little demon got closer, Yasmine slid her hand back to scoot away and her fingers encountered something hard. Moving her hand back slightly, her fingers slowly closed around something cold like glass, smooth like a marble and as big around as a softball.
"I think it's time for you to say 'good night'." Onion snickered, not noticing or sensing Yasmine's movement.
Yasmine narrowed her dark eyes. "Good night." She whipped her arm around, using the Dragon Ball as a weapon to club Onion right in the temple. While he was dazed from the unexpected move, she brought the orange orb back, gripped it tight and sent it crashing down on the top of the little demon's head, effectively knocking him out. He fell right on top of her, so she rolled to the side to shove him into the inactive cage while grabbing her duffel bag. "Don't mess with an angry woman." She muttered, rolling over again so she could get to her feet. She looked at the Dragon Ball in her hand, "This thing came in handy after all." She gasped as she dashed across the room to the machine that operated the energy cage with the Dragon Ball still in her hand. Dropping her duffel bag, Yasmine punched the red button right as Onion regained consciousness.
"No!" Onion screamed as the glowing bars appeared around him, effectively trapping him inside the prison. Instead of throwing a tantrum, however, he started to laugh instead. "I can make my wish and get out myself!"
"Not if I can help it!" Yasmine shouted, turning her back to Onion while she held the Dragon Ball high. Seconds later, the sound of shattering glass filled the air, and she grabbed her duffel bag. "Kami! C'mon, we gotta get outta here." Kami looked at her like she was insane as he turned to Salsa and fired a blast from his palm that seemed to finish him off.
"You destroyed it…" He hissed, watching Onion laugh while still in the cage.
"But I don't think he realizes that he's missing one." Yasmine pointed out. "C'mon, let's go while he's distracted." She pointed to the door while brushing some of her dark hair over her shoulder.
"We have to be careful. If Garlic finds us, we're in trouble." Kami pushed her towards the door. "I can carry you if we need to fly." With those final words, the human and the aged Namek dashed from the place.
And Onion got a nasty surprise when he realized that there were no longer seven Dragon Balls with which to summon the Eternal Dragon, Shen Long.
To be continued…