When most people think of the desert, they think of a barren wasteland, devoid of life. In most cases, however, that isn't the case. There are many different types of animals and vegetation that call the desert home. A certain bandit, for example...
Dressed in an orange gi that he thought he would never wear again in his life, Yamucha walked; directionless and without purpose, just as his life had become all those years ago…It's true that he could have flown, but as he was on a trip to nowhere anyway, he wasn't in that much of a hurry. Besides, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy the scenery.
The sun was slowly descending in the western sky, marking the end of another day. It had been a few days since Yamucha had left Puar on Master Roshi's island...or was it a few weeks? Yamucha wasn't sure anymore. The days seemed to be a jumble to him anymore. So lost was he in his personal hell, keeping track of time wasn't that important.
Exhausted, emotionally more than physically, Yamucha found a rock and sat down on it. He figured that since night was coming soon, it would only be proper if he set up camp. He wasn't sure when the last time he slept was. It didn't matter to him before, but now that he thought about it, it seemed like a good idea. His rumbling stomach reminded him that he also couldn't remember the last time he ate anything and that getting some food would be a good idea too.
With that, Yamucha began setting up his tent. Truth be told, the area he was in now seemed all right. It was very peaceful. The wildlife didn't pose much of a problem, and best of all, there weren't any people for miles. If he got Puar and they moved out here permanently, then it would be just like old time. Of course, Puar did have reservations of ever living in another desert. She had gotten too used to the comforts that technology brought. To be perfectly honest, Yamucha had gotten very used to those comforts himself. Maybe he could convince Puar to change her mind about the desert life if there was a compromise of some sort.
With the chore of setting up camp and the thoughts running through his head, Yamucha almost missed it, but his heightened senses alerted him to the faint presence of another person. So much for that thought of there not being anyone else around for miles.
Cautiously, Yamucha crept to the source of the reading he picked up. He didn't think that anyone would go through the trouble of following him on his aimless travels to set up an ambush in the middle of nowhere, but as a seasoned warrior, he knew not to take any chances.
Finally, he came upon a female body lying in the dirt, covered in sand and dried blood. Checking his surroundings to make sure this time that no one else was around, he knelt beside her. Giving her a once over, he discovered three things...One: she was covered in bruises. With the looks of them, she was in a major battle. Two: she was breathing. So it looked like she got out of that battle with her life, but just barely. And then, there was three...she had a tail.
"I don't believe this...she's a damned Saiyan!" Yamucha exclaimed to no one. But how could that have been? Goku and Vegeta were the only full Saiyans left. And certainly, neither of them had any girls...this was strange.
Of course, with the way Turles and Paragus appeared from out of the blue, there really was no telling how many Saiyan stragglers were out there. And there were those seven power readings he felt before. Could she have been one of them? That could mean that there are six more of them out there. Just what he needed...more Saiyans.
Scowling, Yamucha stood up and walked back to his camp. Let her die. She'd be doing the world a favor. In mid step, Yamucha froze, with two disturbing thoughts running through his head. 'That was what Vegeta would've done. What would Goku do?' After inwardly struggling for a few moments, Yamucha's shoulders slumped a little bit and he let out a defeated sigh. He, then, turned around, scooped the unconscious alien into his arms and started back for his camp.
"Damned conscious..."
Dreamweaver Studios Presents
Dragonball Z
Vicious Circle
Part 2
The Kai from the northern quadrant of the galaxy wasn't in a good mood. The Otherworld training/tournament area was a nice place to visit, but he really didn't want to have to live there. It was always so crowded. Beings from all over the galaxy congregated there to train and become stronger. That led to frequent fights that caused major property damage.
He missed those quiet days where he could lounge in his recliner and come up with his universally (in)famous jokes, with nary a soul around to bother him, save Bubbles and Gregory. He really missed having his own planet. Many people would say that life sucked. Well, the Northern Kai would tell you that death sucked just as much.
Like now...here he was, just minding his own business, sitting in a chair and taking in some refreshments and enjoying the sunny day...when he had to deal with an interruption.
"Excuse me, sir." The offending party was Oboro, a hulking, Atlas-like figure that was one of his strongest pupils, second only to Goku.
"Yes, Oboro?" went Kaio, slightly annoyed. "What is it?"
"Some of the newcomers from the west quadrant seem to have gotten a little too high on themselves. They've challenged us from your quadrant to a match...a mini tournament."
Of course. It had to be from HIS quadrant. None of the four Kais really got along, but the North Kai and the West Kai were the worst. Just the mention of those trouble makers being from the west made him forget his mood and got his competitive juices flowing. However, with his strongest student not available to him, he harbored some reservations...
"Paikkon isn't going to be involved, is he?" Paikkon was the strongest warrior the West Kai had in his camp. Only Goku was able to best Paikkon in battle...and even he had trouble.
"No sir," Oboro answered. "Paikkon's on assignment elsewhere."
"Oh...well, in that case, you tell them that they're on! I'll go and get permission from Daikaio to have the match."
"Yes sir!" With that, the two went off in opposite directions.
As he headed into the main palace, the North Kai chuckled to himself, mischievously.
"Hehehehe...I wonder if ole West Kai would be willing to make another wager? I would still like to get my hands on his planet..."
The Northern Kai pushed his way through the large, elegant double doors and made his way into Daikaio's palace. He was always impressed by the grand opulence of the amazing structure. However, something seemed out of place. He couldn't quite put his finger on it right away. As he got closer to the throne room, he finally noticed how eerily silent it was in the halls.
"That's odd," Kai said to himself. "Usually, at this point, I'm deafened by the loud music from his boom box..."
He pushed his way through another set of large double doors and poked his head inside. He let out an audible 'gasp' when he found his lord, Daikaio collapsed in front of his throne, unconscious...
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As is customary for the warriors of earth, Gohan and Videl flew out into the middle of an uninhabited desert area, so that they could train without running the risk of injuring any innocent civilians. It was hoped by both that nothing would happen in Satan city that would require the services of the Great Saiyaman duo while they were away.
As the two soared through the air exchanging blows, Videl couldn't help but smile broadly. She had made great strides since her new training regime started. She, finally, learned the finer points of ki manipulation and projection. At long last, she can expand her aura to aid her flight, allowing her to fly faster than she ever thought possible.
This was more than she could have ever dreamed of as a martial artist. For such a long time, she had fanaticized that she had the same kind of power Gohan and his friends commanded, so that she could stand beside them in the face of danger. Now that she had her power, and the proper training in how to use that power, she felt she was ready for anything. Even though, in the back of her mind, she knew that there were still others out there more powerful than she...Gohan, for example, she couldn't help but feel a little invincible.
Even though things were moving at speeds she wouldn't have been able to keep up with not too long ago, it appeared to her as if they were fighting in slow motion. She could easily tell here his shots would come in, so she could block or avoid them. It was also easy to spot openings, which she could exploit.
*Wa-POW! *
Like that one.
Slowly, Videl descended from the sky and landed lightly on the Earth below, as Gohan picked himself up from the pile of rubble that used to be a stone spire. Obviously Gohan was okay, as it would take far more than she or the rocks could muster to harm him. Still, Videl was concerned.
"What's the matter, Gohan?" she asked him.
"Sorry, I guess I'm a little distracted."
"I would say so. There's no way I should've been able to tag you the way I did." She put her hand on his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "What's going on?"
Gohan looked at her, hesitating for a moment. Finally, he
caved in, "I overheard dad and Vegeta talking in the gravity room. It seems I
did what I do best..."
"What would that be?"
"I let dad down...I let everybody down."
Videl was somewhat taken aback by his answer. "What do you mean?"
Gohan plopped back down on the ground, hanging his head. "It's a recurring theme with me. Every time my family or friends needed me, I let them down. I was supposed to be the one to defeat Majin Buu and I blew it. I look back now on how that whole mess went and I could see numerous ways in which I could've finished him off so that dad could've rested in peace."
"Aww, come on, Gohan," went Videl, trying to be comforting, "Everything turned out okay in the end. Besides, you can't get this bent out of shape over that one time..."
"That's the thing…it wasn't just the one time. It's happened time and time again. Even with Cell, I couldn't handle that situation without messing up. It was because of my stupidity that lead to my dad dying that time." Gohan gave Videl a bitter smile. "I know you guys felt kinda useless since you didn't have the power we do to fight off some of those beings we fight off...but hey...look at me. I'm the most powerful one here and I still manage to be useless."
Videl crossed her arms. "Now you stop that. This angst thing isn't like you and I'm not going to let you start that now. Okay...I understand how you feel about your messing up...that's why we train, so that we can make sure that we don't mess up again. And besides, in my short time as a part of your group, I've learned that the opportunity to make up for past mistakes will present itself to you when you least expect it." She got a handle on one of his arms and yanked him up, "Now come on and let's get back to training."
The look on Gohan's face made it clear that he no longer felt up to training. Videl gave him a sideways glance and a devilish grin. She reached behind him, gathered her ki and used her newfound ability to project ki to zap him on the behind.
"HEY!!!!!"
The grin on her face grew, watching her boyfriend rubbing his stinging butt. She got into a fighting stance and said, "Bet I got your attention with that one."
Gohan narrowed his eyes at her, but a gleeful smile appeared on his face. "Oh, that's it! You're going down!"
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In Yamucha's area of the world, the night passed without further incident. The sun was slowly making it's way up the eastern horizon, marking the beginning of a new day. His new friend still hadn't regained consciousness, however.
He didn't know how bad a shape she was really in and didn't want to chance moving her any more than he had to. The injuries he could see of her appeared quite severe. He dressed them as best he could with the natural healing items he could find in the sparse vegetation of the area. There was no way to tell about internal injuries, though.
Obviously, the course of action needed was for him to take her to Korin Tower and get her a senzu bean. He felt it best, though, that he wait until she was awake to assess her situation further. He didn't know how long that would take, though...and he certainly didn't want to leave her out in the elements as she was. So he had no choice to stay by her side and wait.
If there was one thing he knew about the Saiyans, even though he loathed to give them any complements, they were a stubborn breed. If she hadn't died from her injuries right away, then it's a good bet that she would recover, which meant that he could afford to wait it out.
He stoked the fire burning underneath the recently deceased animal that would serve as breakfast for the day. It was too bad he didn't think to bring any supplies with him. Breakfast would taste a lot better if he were able to season it up properly. As it stood now, though, he wasn't going to complain. It had been a while since he last ate and the aroma it was giving off was more than satisfactory.
"Uuuun"
Alarmed by the sound, Yamucha turned to his guest. Looked as though she was finally coming around. He bet it was the smell of the food cooking over the open flame that got her attention. Not only were the Saiyans sturdy, but they were ravenous eating machines. So it would figure that she chose now to wake up.
Yamucha made his way over to her and knelt beside her. Despite himself, he had to admit that she was very attractive. The old Saiyan armor she wore accentuated her curves more than hid them; though it was clear with the condition the armor was in, it wouldn't offer her much protection anymore. As it was with every Saiyan he met, her hair was spiky; however, it looked as though it was better kept than most as it all flowed to her back, except for two thick strands that fell in front of her face. As she slowly opened her eyes, he noticed, again, that she met the Saiyan stereotype by having dark eyes.
"Hey," went Yamucha, as her weary gaze met his own. "Finally waking up, huh?"
Either she was going from her last memory and thought she was still in battle, or the new face she was confronted with startled her. Either way, the injured Saiyan lady screamed and fired a ki blast in Yamucha's face that threw him back a good twenty feet.
Yamucha sat up and easily shook off the effects of her attack. "Pfft...that went well."
Slowly, the Saiyan woman got to her feet and tried to regain her bearings. Seeing the meat on the flame not far away, she made a grab for it and stumbled skyward, flying off who knows where.
"Feh...I try to be the good guy and this is the thanks I get, huh?" fumed Yamucha. "To hell with her. I should've gone ahead and let her die"
However, that nagging feeling that hit Yamucha before struck him again. As he thought before, the Saiyans were a stubborn breed. If she were to rest, then without a doubt, she would've made a full recovery. By the way she was exerting herself, though, in her condition, she wouldn't have lasted long.
She certainly would die. And he, who had the ability to help her, would just stand aside and let it happen? That certainly would be the Saiyan way. But where would the Humanity be in that?
With a deep scowl on his face, Yamucha picked himself up and launched himself skyward, going after the injured woman.
"Damned conscious..."
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