Author: Nadz
Email: vegitto02 at yahoo dot com

Disclaimer:
The title "DragonTek" is owned by the author.
Any characters owned by the producers of Tekkaman, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, or Rurouni Kenshin are, of course, the property of those respective individuals or companies. Any original characters are strictly owned by the author of this fan fiction.
The story line of the entire DragonTek series is also owned strictly by me.
This story may not be distributed to anybody without the author's permission. However, the author does encourage you to welcome your friends to read DragonTek on FanFiction dot net. Much thanks...

DragonTek (Part II: The Blood Saga)

Chapter 23 – Rivers of Blood

Note: This chapter is graphically violent. Read at your own discretion.

Megumi lay in bed all day. She was extremely worried about her son, and she was deathly saddened by the loss of her dear husband. Kenshin and Nio were all that she had now. Nobody would take them away from her. Her son had come back several days ago in order to tell her about Ichiro's death, but he had hurriedly left her in order to help fight in the war. On top of that, he had attempted no form of communication with her during the past few days.

'Where was he? What is he doing? Why hasn't he come home? Why am I being left in the dark?' she wondered. 'They think that by hiding things, they are protecting me, but it hurts me even more.'

"Okaasan… OKAASAN!" cried a young voice. Megumi sprang from her bed and looked outside her window. Her face paled as she saw her daughter sitting in the sandbox in the backyard. Behind the terrified Nio stood a monster with a long, jagged weapon in its hand. Megumi shrieked for her child.

"If you don't come down and get your kid to stop screaming," Blood purred. "I'll do it my way."

"Oh God, please help us!" Megumi screamed. "Please let my daughter go! She's only a child!"

"And a brat," Blood chuckled. Megumi jumped down the stairs and ran into her backyard. Nio stood just twenty feet from her; her little daughter was crying. Megumi ran towards the young girl and scooped her up in her arms. She held her child closely and backed away from the monster before her.

"Please leave, I beg you!" Megumi cried, turning around and running. Blood snorted as she raised her lance and hurled it directly at the woman. Megumi's eyes bulged as it penetrated her backside, tearing through her kidneys and ripping through her stomach before landing on the ground meters away.

Megumi moaned as she collapsed to the ground over her child, who was unhurt by the attack but screaming as blood from her mother's gaping wound sprayed over her body and face. Megumi managed to roll over and struggled to stay alive, praying to God for her daughter. Blood retrieved her sharp lance and loomed over the woman. With a grunt, she drove it straight through her chest. Nio shrieked as Megumi went limp, and Alena smiled, knowing full well the eternal traumatic effect it would have on the young girl.

Nio continued to scream; neighbors shut their windows. Alena looked down at the girl making so much noise, noise that was truly annoying her… annoying her so much that she wanted to force it to stop.

"Nio, are you too young to die?" she asked the child, who only cried and screamed in response.

"You hurt my okaasan!" the little girl cried. "You hurt my okaasan!"

"You Saiya-jin!" rasped Blood as she raised her arm and aimed the tip of her lance at Nio's head.

"Taiyo-ken!" a voice called from nowhere. The sudden bright light that flooded the air instantly blinded Alena, and she covered her eyes in pain. To her surprise, Nio's screaming ended abruptly. When Blood soon regained her sight, Nio was nowhere to be found. She searched around, but the little girl was nowhere in sight. Alena grunted in annoyance as she took off into the sky, heading for her next target.

Goku and Vegita screamed in pain as Saber and Blade began and continued to burn them with their Voltekker blasts. The boys realized that this must have been the technique used against Kenshin; it was easy to see how he was unable to defend himself.

"Feeling pain, yet? Suffering?" Bezel rasped. "Are you suffering from knowing that your family is dying down there and that you can't do a thing to stop it? Not one damn thing?"

Vegita only roared in response.

"How do you feel, realizing that the ones you love most are being butchered?"

Saber and Blade continued to fire their blasts while Spear pinned the two boys down.

"That is exactly how I felt when you Saiya-jin invaded my home planet," Bezel said in anger, "and destroyed my loving family… my wife… my daughter… and my infant son."

"Dende, please take care of her. She will be safe here," the man said as he handed the Namek the girl, who had passed out. Nio's clothes were bloodstained, but the man had kindly washed her face clean.

"I cannot stay here any longer, but I entrust her in your care," the man continued. "She is one of the few survivors of the Saiya-jin people."

"How were you able to do this? Didn't you break any rules?" Dende asked in shock, his eyes showing great admiration for the person with whom he was speaking. He looked down at the little girl in his hands. Despite what she had seen, her face looked peaceful as she slept.

"I tried to interfere as minimum as possible. But I couldn't let this little child suffer such a cruel fate. I wouldn't have been able to bear it," the man said, and he waved to the Earth's guardian. "Farewell, Dende. I must return to the Dragonballs."

"Thank you… Son Goku," Dende whispered as the legendary warrior, whom he had not seen for almost a hundred years, slowly faded from sight.

Pan turned her head, only to see the figure of Tekkaman Blood several meters behind her. She turned her head back to what she was doing and continued to feed the birds in front of her. The birds had not even reacted when Blood had arrived; they continued to eat the food Pan was spreading on the ground.

"What is it you want from me? There isn't much I can offer you," Pan said calmly. Alena looked at the woman, one of the oldest women alive. She must have seen a hundred twenty winters at least, yet she did not possess the least bit of fear in her voice.

"I've come to take your life," Alena responded, still annoyed from her failing to dispatch Nio.

"And do you think that makes me fear you?" Pan asked as she stood up and turned. "I've lived a long life, longer than many people I know. I have outlived my friends and family members. Do you know why I am still alive, Alena?"

"How do you know who I am?" Blood asked in surprise.

"I'm alive because of my grandson, Goku," Pan continued, ignoring her question. "You know his parents died when he was very young. He was an orphan who needed love, and I wanted to give it to him. I've lived so long only for this reason – that Goku needed me. But now he has grown into a strong young man, and soon my old age and weakening body will only serve to slow his life. After I pass on, he will need your love and compassion."

"Goku means nothing to me," Blood fired back.

"Alena, promise me that you will be there for him. Promise me that he will be there for you," Pan said softly. "I know that what you are doing now is not your true nature. You are only being controlled. It will be only a matter of time until you conquer your evil side."

"Don't preach to me," Blood's voice wavered slightly. Pan's words were making an impact, however. "Never tell me how to live my life. Only the Radam can do that."

"The Radam will control you only if you let them," replied Pan calmly.

"This is enough, old lady!" Blood snapped back. "I must fulfill what I've come here to do."

"With my death, I bind you to that promise," Pan, stepping forward. "But I will not go without a fight. At least now, I will have a death worthy of a warrior."

Pan used all of her power to lunge towards Blood and send an energy blast in her direction. Yet, Alena batted the blast away as if it was nothing. Before the elderly lady could move, Blood slammed her fist on Pan's skull, immediately knocking the old woman unconscious. Grandmother Pan fell to the floor.

'At least you won't feel the pain,' thought Blood, piercing her in the heart. Minutes later, Pan's soul departed from her aged body.

Saber and Blade halted their Voltekker assault, and Goku and Vegita lay on the ground, too weak to move. The boys struggled to push themselves up, but they were far too disoriented. Bezel continued to stare at them with a loathing expression.

"Your damn race destroyed so much of the Radam world. You destroyed my family. You destroyed my friends. You destroyed everything you could. I can never forgive you for that," Bezel roared, for the first time showing his true emotions. "I will not stop until every last drop of your race is sent to burn in the depths of hell!"

"Bezel," Goku managed to say. "Why do you blame us when we had nothing to do with it?"

"Why shouldn't I? After all, you are their descendents."

"But we have no control of events that took place over a thousand years ago," Vegita managed to speak. "Our ancestors were responsible for that, and they paid for their actions!"

"Only I will decide," grated Bezel, "whether your race has paid the price for their killings."

The two injured Saiya-jin warriors continued to lie weakly on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Noal yelled. He saw Aki enter the cockpit dressed in a space suit, and that could only have meant one thing.

"I'm going in there to find them," she answered.

"That's against the Chief's direct orders!"

"Noal, they haven't sent a clear transmission for a long while now. I'm worried about them."

"I'm worried too, but there's nothing we will accomplish by going there. It's a deathtrap!"

"How do we know for sure until we try?"

"I'm not going to let you," Noal said as he stepped towards her. He froze in his tracks when she pointed a gun at him. The look on her face was one of absolute sincerity and seriousness. Aki meant business, and she would be ready to pull the trigger if she had to.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, Noal. But I must go. Good-bye," Aki said as she ran out of the Blue Earth. She saw the lighted path on the floor in front of her, and she raced into the tunnel.

"Alena!" Viyolita blurted in surprise. "Why are you back here?"

Freeman turned around from the view screen at the front of the Mission Room, only to see the young woman in question standing at the rear entrance. At the console sat Milly, a look of shock on her face. Viyolita stood closest to the girl, and Shinjo had already gone back to look after Saki and Kenshin. Several other Space Knight personnel stood there as well.

"I got bored up there," she smirked. "So I thought I'd come down and kick it with you assholes."

"How dare you say that!" Viyolita slapped her daughter across the face. "These people are here working day and night trying to defend our planet, and you have the nerve to insult them, especially with what you have done!"

"You disappoint me, mother," Alena said softly. "I was hoping you would understand me."

"Alena…" her mother trailed off, feeling guilty for what she had said.

"Too bad you hit me," smirked Alena. "I was even thinking of showing leniency."

Chuckling, Alena activated the power of her crystal and was soon encased in a scarlet shell. Milly immediately sounded the alarm. Two personnel started to run away, but Blood broke through her encasing and swooped down after them. One of Freeman's greatest fears had become a reality – Alena had reverted back to her Radam self. Dozens of guards rushed in and fired at her, but she had commenced her attack.

"Milly, get out of there!" Freeman yelled at the teenager.

"Chief…" Milly protested.

"Go, now!" Freeman barked at her. She observed his intensity, and she felt truly scared. This was the first time she had ever seen such emotion in his eyes. Milly escaped into a secret passageway hidden within a wall, and Viyolita followed her. The passageway was more like a chute, and Milly quickly slid down to safety. Blood turned and saw her mother climb into the escape shaft, and she flew towards her.

'You won't escape from me, even if you are my mother!' Blood thought as she hurled her lance.

Viyolita had lain on her back and crossed her arms, ready to slide down the chute. She screamed in terror when she looked above and saw Blood's jagged lance coming straight at her. But before she could escape, the lance pierced into her face and tore through her skull, instantly killing her. Blood landed and pulled her lance out of her mother. Milly was nowhere to be seen, and Blood decided to search for the girl later. She turned around and witnessed the troops continuing to fire at her.

'I thought you would have learned your lesson by now,' Blood thought, lurching for the loyal men.

"Cease your fire!" a voice boomed. The troops halted their assault, and they formed a semi-circle around Blood, aiming their weapons at the bloodthirsty creature. Blood turned her head and noticed Chief Freeman re-enter the room from another door. In his hands was a thick, oversized rifle he'd recently made.

"This will stop you," Freeman said, pulling the trigger. A ball of sparkling green energy slammed into the Tekkaman, covering her in its brilliance. The men cheered, but Freeman remained silent and stern.

The blast's energy, akin to but weaker than a Voltekker, soon dissipated, and Blood stood unhurt.

"I think I felt a tickle," Blood taunted, and Freeman quickly fired more rounds in succession. Again, the energy blasts enveloped her, but Blood emerged unscathed, and she growled as she swooped towards him. He pressed the trigger once again, only to see the gun refusing to respond – it had run out of energy. Blood reached her arm out and grabbed the Commander, who spit on her in disgust.

"You devil," Freeman cursed. "I even helped you…"

"Yes, and before I kill you," Blood chuckled, "I want to thank you for placing your trust in me."

Freeman gasped as she threw him towards the high ceiling of the Mission Room. He saw the floor get farther and farther away. His backside soon hit the metal ceiling, and he proceeded to fall back down.

"NO!" he yelled as Blood flew straight up towards him with her jagged lance, pointed directly at his body. Before he even fell five feet from the ceiling, she drove her lance straight into his chest. The crunching sound of breaking ribs and the tearing of organs could be clearly heard as the lance ripped through Freeman and emerged out his backside. Blood pushed his body up against the ceiling, causing the part of the lance protruding from his back to lodge into the metal above. She generated four small daggers, pinned his extremities to the ceiling, and observed the result of her work in pure satisfaction.

The troops silently witnessed all of this in disgust and gasped at the horrid sight of their leader's body, nailed to the metal above. Blood chuckled as she landed on the floor next to them and glanced up.

The Commander's expression was one of pure terror, and his blood rained to ground.

"Honda, Levin, get out of here while you can!" Milly begged. She had escaped into the passages of the base, and the lab was the first place where she had headed. Soon, she activated the evacuation alarm, which rang through the entire complex. Space Knight personnel fled from the buildings for their lives.

"Milly, what's going on up there?" Honda asked worriedly, breaking away from his project.

"A Tekkaman is in the Mission Room!" Milly responded hurriedly. "Soldiers came to help, but she's killing them with ease. The Chief forced me to escape, and that's why I'm still alive. If we escape now, there's a good chance she won't find us."

"Milly…" Honda trailed off. He felt guilty about running, especially when troops were dying to protect him. Levin shared the same sentiment.

"Listen, Honda! Listen Levin! You two must survive, do you understand? It's vital for the Earth that you survive; we need your intelligence and skills! Those men are up there dying so that you will live!"

Honda and Levin nodded in response, and they headed for the emergency escape shaft.

Shinjo heard the alarm, and medics informed him of the events taking place in the Mission Room upstairs. He peered over to Saki and Kenshin, still both out of commission and sleeping in their beds.

"We're going to escape," the medic said frantically. "We'll take these two with us."

"Yes, please take good care of them," replied Shinjo. "For now, good-bye, Saki. I will be back for you, and we will complete our mission."

"Aren't you going to come with us?" the medic yelled above the noise of the alarm.

"No," Shinjo replied. "You go on along, and take this. It's a homing beacon; it will tell me where you are. I will spend more time here, and I will meet up with you later."

The medic accepted the small device and placed it on Saki's body. The girl muttered several words but fell back to sleep. Kenshin only murmured to the noise going on. Soon, Saki and Kenshin where wheeled out of the facility and quickly taken to underground transports.

Shinjo took a deep breath and thought, 'I have to buy time in order for everybody else to escape. It is time for me to do battle. Recover well, Saki, and take care, Kenshin… my distant cousin.'

He quickly ran towards the Mission Room and saw Blood dispatch several more men. Only a dozen troops remained standing, and they were completely helpless. Shinjo felt sick as he witnessed the disfigured corpse of Commander Freeman pinned to the ceiling. Moving his eyes towards the monster on the ground, he contorted his face in disgust. Streams of human blood covered and dripped down her body.

Alena sneered with scorn as she turned to face him.

"Aki?" Blade called, seeing her emerge from the tunnel. Bezel turned, and Spear and Saber also spun to look at her. Goku and Vegita gritted their teeth; now she would be another victim. Aki looked at them in shock, for she had not expected this at all. Both were out of commission and defeated by Radam.

"I beg you to stop this!" she pleaded.

"Stop?" Bezel asked, stepping towards her. "Why should I?"

"You've caused enough suffering," Aki protested.

"Yes, I am aware that the Radam have done that," Bezel responded.

"It's enough; it's time you stopped."

"And you think you, by yourself, will be enough to halt my plans?" Bezel chuckled.

Aki only glared at him.

"Kawahashi Shinjo," he said. "And you are…"

"Tekkaman Blood. Do you have a death wish?" she asked the man standing several meters in front of her. His eyes were of a bluish color, and his dark blue hair waved with the motions of his head.

"Why are you doing this?" Shinjo demanded, glaring at the monster before him.

"I'm not in a mood to answer your questions," she replied. She noticed the device he wore over his eye. He pressed a button near his ear, and several small blips appeared on the device's tiny screen.

"You truly are powerful," Shinjo commented. Blood lunged for him, but he easily dodged. He avoided the lance she hurled at him and even evaded a barrage of physical punches and kicks. Alena spat.

'He's very fast, but I wonder if he has any power,' she thought.

Shinjo gathered energy in his hand and released it at Blood, but she countered it with a small blast of her own. Shinjo gritted his teeth and realized that there was no way he could beat her with his current level of power. Blood took a step towards him.

"If you answer my question, I may let you live. Where is Kenshin?" Blood asked with spite. "I must find and speak with him. He and I have something to settle."

'Even though I can't fully control it, I will have to use my special attack. It will be the only way for me to defend against her power,' he thought, taking several steps back. He raised his right hand high and gathered energy that shaped itself into a small white ball.

"You are a dim-witted one, coming in here with no sort of weapon to fight us with," laughed Bezel as he looked at the young lady standing before him. Her navy blue hair reached her shoulders.

"I do have a weapon I can use against you."

"Oh, and what is that? Where is it?"

"Right behind you," Aki pointed to the object behind Bezel, who turned around in surprise.

"Tekkaman Blade?" he chuckled. Blade stood upright in surprise; what was Aki suggesting?

"Kisaragi Aki," grumbled Blade. "What are you saying?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Blade," Aki softly pleaded. "You don't want to hurt us… you want to help your planet. Please… break out of the prison they locked you in!"

Blade lunged past Bezel and grabbed a stunned Aki by the throat.

"How dare you," he growled, "try to turn me from my true family."

"Blade…" she managed to gasp.

Author Notes: The rifle with Voltekker-like ammo that Freeman used was his creation -- based on his research on Blade's Voltekker weapon.