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 III: The Vengeance Saga)

Chapter 28 – Dragonball Found

"Here we are, back at the base," Noal muttered, looking down through the window of the Blue Earth. In front of them all lay the crumbled, smoldering remains of the Space Knight Command Center.

"What's the plan now? Should we go directly to one of the new base's entrances?" he asked.

"We can't go with the Blue Earth," replied Aki. "Or the secret base could be spotted from above."

"I guess you're right," Noal agreed. "But do we just leave it here? What if we need it?"

"We can use the underground tunnels to get back here," she said. "We'll just have to be careful and avoid being noticed by any of the Radam. If they discover the secondary base, that'll be the end of it."

"But the underground passages are buried below all this rubble. We'd have to dig through it all."

"Well, I could transform and unblock the entrance," Blade suggested. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"No, Takaya," Aki replied as she turned around, looking at him in the eye. He gave her a startled reaction; it had been the first time she had called him by his real name. Aki gave him a slight smile, knowing that he would like being called by his original name, a name that symbolized his humanity.

"If you transform, your actions could be detectable by somebody since it would cause a lot of noise. We have to get there as quietly as we can. Besides, if you undo the rubble and lay the entrance to the tunnels exposed, then any survivors from Blood's attack would be endangered," Aki explained.

"She's right," a voice said from behind them. The three turned around in surprise to see Miyuki walk through the hatch and down the ramp of the craft. She stopped midway and looked at her brother.

"Miyuki! You should have stayed on your stretcher. We were going to take you out very soon."

"No, Takaya," she answered. "I can walk now. I don't want to be more of a burden to you guys."

"Miyuki…" Blade trailed off. He saw the thick cast worn around her left arm, protecting the huge wound that Saber had inflicted. The doctors had almost resorted to amputation but were able to save it from getting infected. Walking down the ramp, she looked like a strong young girl. She undoubtedly felt the pain in her left extremity, but she could not allow that to be an obstacle at such a critical time like this.

Aki smiled, admiring the courage that the girl had; many other people she knew would not have been able to handle it. She remembered her own teenage years, when she had been growing up with the Space Knights. That had seemed so easy when compared to what Miyuki must have been going through.

"This way," Aki said softly, walking towards the brush. Noal locked the Blue Earth by remote, and the four headed for the dense forest behind the primary base. Takaya brushed aside the branches that hindered his sister's path, and he ensured that she stayed by his side.

"It should take several hours to trek there," Aki stated.

"Aki," Noal whistled. "How do you even know about this path? I mean it's not even a real path."

"If someone had kept up to date with their emergency packet, they'd know it too," Aki smirked.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Noal said tersely as he put his hand through his hair.

"Why is that?"

"At least the Chief didn't give you that special information exclusively," he replied, satisfied.

"Noal, I can't believe you'd think that at a time like this," she scowled.

The two men led Alena through the long, dimly lit hallway. She was in the basement of some hidden facility. She was surprised as to how expansive the underground part of the complex was; the corridors were lengthy and many in number. On both sides lay small rooms, almost resembling jail cells.

'What is this place?' she thought, sneaking peeks into several rooms, observing young females imprisoned in their little cells. Some of them appeared to be as young as eleven; others were several years older than her. She continued to walk along as she felt the barrel of the man's pistol burrow into her back.

"Keep moving," Houji said gruffly. "We're in a hurry, and we don't need you to be so slow."

"Sorry," she muttered. "What are these girls doing here?"

"What kind of question is that, Shura?" the second man snapped. "You know they're prostitutes."

'Exploiting the female population, I see,' she thought disgustedly, now planning to have a good word with their boss. "How much farther to go, and what does he want to do with me? This place sucks."

"I told you to shut up, bitch!" Houji barked. With that, he slapped her across the head, causing her expression to momentarily turn into one of anger. Yet, she forced herself to calm down and keep walking.

"Just keep moving, and don't say another word," the short man instructed.

He stood erect on the deck of his ship and folded his hands behind him. Looking through the long window, he observed the stars as the craft silently moved towards the planet Jupiter. He could see the faint reflection of his piercing yellow eyes in the window, and he welcomed the soft hum that permeated through the entire vessel. His lonely thoughts were interrupted by footsteps that approached.

"Lord Plague, should we proceed to head towards the planet Earth?" the figure asked. Bezel turned around to face the admiral that was speaking to him. It was the highest-ranking official on Omega's flagship, next to Omega and Bezel. The figure was of tall stature. His skin was of a dark green, and he had small green antennae pointing out from his head. The admiral saluted his master and knelt before him.

'Oh yes, the Namek again,' Bezel thought, motioning for the alien to stand. This green creature was the only one from his planet that had been converted to a Radam. The reason was that he used to be the guardian of the planet Oza, on which a weak race had resided. Almost none of their people survived the Tek-conversion process. As Oza's guardian, he had tried to stop Radam but had been captured quickly.

"No, Admiral Stake," Bezel replied. "We are to wait here for now."

"If I may ask, Lord Plague, why cannot we attack Earth now? Our soldiers have been waiting here for weeks, and they are growing restless."

"Are you questioning my actions?" calmly asked Bezel as he faced the Namek, who gulped even though he was much taller than the high lord. Admiral Stake apologized and hung his head.

"I do not care if these warriors are eager; they are to wait here for the time being," Plague continued. "Now leave me at once, and do not bother me unless you have something important to report."

"As you wish, Lord Plague," the Namek bowed before he left the deck.

He slowly opened his eyes but shut them again as the glaring light from above flooded into his pupils. He tried to move but found that he was strapped to some sort of bed. There were bandages around his chest and part of his face. Even his arms were covered, and he realized the pain of the skin burns that had scorched his body. The boy felt a bit dizzy as he opened his eyes again; this time, he adjusted to the light. As he turned his head, he saw another girl lying on a bed not too far from his. She had not yet awakened and was soundly asleep. The boy turned his head and looked at his own body. He felt terrible.

"Kenshin, you're awake," a girl said softly, stepping into the room. She was five feet tall and had shoulder-length brown hair. In her right hand were several thick files, and in her left was a cup of cocoa.

"You've been asleep for a long time now."

"Who are you?" he asked through the increasing pain he felt. "And where am I?"

"My name is Milly. I'm a Space Knight, but our base was destroyed," she replied gravely. "You were still unconscious when the enemy attacked, so we moved you here to this secret, secondary base."

"The Command Center was completely destroyed?" Kenshin wondered. "Impossible."

"It was… But you're safe here. We're hidden under a mountain. All entrances are camouflaged."

"I see… but for the enemy to destroy the base like that…" he whispered. "Was it a Tekkaman?"

"It was that girl Alena we'd treated. She double-crossed us in the last mission and came down, slaughtering everyone," Milly said, her voice shaking. "I learned she even brutally killed the good Chief."

The boy cursed to himself, clenching his fist and regretting that he had let her live. He had felt that she would turn on them again and re-join Radam. Now, she was out there, loose and unchecked.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Kenshin said softly, hanging his head. Milly began to shed tears, and he reached over and took her hand. He realized she hadn't seen death as he had. He had witnessed it first hand, first with the children at his sister's school, then the soldiers Alena had killed, and finally his father.

"It's okay to cry. Let it out as much as you can."

"Thank you, Kenshin," she replied, standing upright and wiping her tears moments later. "I have to be strong. I'm the Space Knight Commander for the time being, and I should get back to my work…"

"Thank you all for what you've done," he smiled. "If you hadn't cared for me, I would've died."

"Yes, we still don't know what technology they used to neutralize you, but we'll figure it out. After all, we are the Space Knights; we always find a solution," she gave a soft grin. "Keep resting more, Kenshin, we'll need your strength when they attack next time. And believe me, they will attack again."

"Brother, can we stop for a little while?"

"Sure." Aki and Noal turned to see Takaya help Miyuki sit on the ground. They were still in the middle of the woods, continuing their trek towards the entrance to the secret base. An hour had already passed, and the temperature was rising quickly. Aki estimated that there were several more hours to go.

"Are you hungry?" asked her brother. "Do you want water?"

"Yes," she smiled softly. Takaya nodded and took out his canteen, and she gulped the liquid down. Takaya offered her some food, and she ate that as well. Miyuki grinned, thanking her brother.

"No need to even mention it," he shook his head. "I'm just glad that you're here."

"Me too," a faceless voice startled them all. They turned their heads frantically to see the source of the speech, but to no avail. "I always love reuniting with my family, even if they are traitors."

"Saber…" Takaya trailed off. Out from behind a tree stepped his twin brother, in his human form.

"You bastard," Noal growled, quickly drawing his blaster pistol, ready to pull the trigger.

"I wouldn't be so foolish," Shinya said as he began approaching them, showing off his red irises. The closest to him were Takaya and Miyuki; behind them were Aki and Noal. "If you pull that trigger, the only thing you will manage to do is royally irritate me. I would remember that the next time I transform. Besides, even if you kill me now, it won't really make a difference in the grand scheme of things."

"The spore plants…" said Noal to himself, tensing his finger. He aimed at Saber's forehead.

"Yes, they will take over this planet's people, and there's nothing you will be able to do about it."

"Why are you here, Saber?" Takaya cut in. "And why were you following us?"

"I'd wanted to see your destroyed base with my own eyes. Then I sensed you inside this forest."

"We're looking for any survivors that might have escaped into these woods," Aki calmly lied.

"Oh, it's you," Saber narrowed his eyes. "You're Takaya's woman, aren't you? I heard you did quite a job reverting him back to his human self, and I'm curious about it. Why don't you show me how?"

"Don't come any closer!" warned Takaya, now starting to get annoyed. 'What's he up to?'

"I won't harm anybody, at least not yet. Mind if I join your search for survivors?" he smirked.

"Please get out of here, Saber," Takaya said softly. "We're not bothering you."

"Your mere existence is bothersome, brother," replied Saber, narrowing one eye.

"I too think you should leave," another voice called. A man revealed himself from behind Saber.

'Shinjo?' Aki wondered to herself. 'Where did he come from?'

"And who might you be?" Saber mumbled as he turned his head.

"Kawahashi Shinjo," came the reply. The man was injured, with cuts and bruises over his body and face. His left thigh was bandaged, and he walked towards Shinya with a slight limp. "And yourself?"

"Aiba Shinya," Saber said almost politely. "Or you could call me Tekkaman Saber."

"Saber," Shinjo laughed. "If you don't get out of here, you won't have a damn chance."

"Blade himself is weaker than me," came the reply. "And you honestly think that a cripple like yourself can stand a chance again a Tekkaman? You must have lost your mind."

"Have I?" returned Shinjo as an evil grin spread across his face, and he hit his fists together.

"Well, anyway, I'm not here to fight you. My original purpose was to deliver a message."

"Oh?" asked Takaya. "Then get on with it… brother."

"I now know that Miyuki has told you the virulence of the spore plants, but she probably does not know how to stop them. There is only one way to defeat those plants," Shinya smiled. "Cutting them will only result in spilling their contents, allowing those contents to form into more plants. You can try to vaporize them with bombs, but that may not work completely either. The entire body of the plant has to be destroyed, or else it will be able to regenerate itself. And in order to vaporize the plants completely, you'll have to use huge explosives that will wipe out the roots under the ground. With such bombs, you may also kill millions of innocent people hiding in the city in which the plants reside. Quite a dilemma, isn't it?"

"I don't believe you," Noal sneered rudely. Saber turned to look at the obnoxious man.

"Fine, then try it for yourself, and you'll see that your efforts would be wasted," he smiled.

"So then, how do we do it?" asked Takaya, trying hard to keep his voice controlled. He was still extremely angry with his brothers for their having turned him into a Radam warrior. Yet, if he lost his temper now, they would lose an opportunity to learn some vital information.

"I'll tell you, but first…" Shinya smirked, pointing at Aki. "Give me your woman."

They finally reached their desired floor. The elevator doors opened, only to reveal a dark corridor in front. The two men escorted Alena through the hallway, and she noticed the secret guards hidden in the corridor's notches. Each possessed a powerful laser rifle along with an assortment of other items. Alena realized that these two-dozen men must have been the Boss' personal guard.

"Here we are," Houji said as they approached the large steel door. After three security clearances, they passed through another large door into the Boss' room. Alena observed all around her and raised her eyebrows in appreciation. It was a rather large chamber for one man, almost the size of a grand ballroom.

'Very rich,' she thought, noticing the jewelry, vases, and statues exhibited in solid plastic casings throughout the dark room. Two items in particular caught her interest. The first was a sword, encased in an extremely fancy and golden plated sheath. It hung on the wall. The second was on the other side of the room – Alena appreciated the soft orange glow that it emitted. That too lay in a secure, transparent casing.

"I'm glad you could come back to us, Shura," a bodiless voice said.

"I missed you so dearly, Boss," Alena replied with a fake smile. A tall clean-shaven man emerged from a hidden door and walked straight towards her. He examined her face and gave a disapproving look.

"Boss… you… you mean, she's not Shura?" Houji stuttered.

"No. She's not Shura at all, but they would appear alike, especially at night-time," the tall man frowned. "But of course, we can't let my two men's efforts go to waste. Take her to the brothel quarters."

"You run a prostitution ring, don't you?" Alena scowled. "And you want to make me a whore?"

The boss only chuckled and lit a cigarette. He nodded at his two henchmen.

"You cowards," she sneered. "I can see how much protection you're getting down here. All those fellow humans of yours are suffering up on the surface, and you're down here enjoying your own security."

"I don't care what you think about me," the boss replied. "Get her out of here."

As Houji reached for her, Alena stuck out her fist and socked him in the face. The boss scowled as she raced for the decorated sword on the wall. The two henchmen pointed their weapons, ready to fire.

"Don't even think about shooting at her," the boss said suddenly. "If you miss, you may damage my other precious items in here. You know that would anger me far more than if she were to run away."

The two men continued to aim at her as she walked towards them. She unsheathed her sword and marveled at the beauty of the katana blade underneath. The metal of the blade seemed unbreakable, and the hilt was extremely comfortable to hold. Above all, the length of the sword felt very light.

"In your hand, young lady, is my most prized katana, Kotukari," the boss continued to puff on his cigarette. "I suggest you put it back right now, or my men will have to put an end to you."

Alena ignored him and took one step towards the orange ball at the other end of the room.

"Kill her," the boss ordered, calmly nodding to his henchmen. Before they could pull the triggers on their laser pistols, Alena swung around and sliced open Houji's midsection with her new weapon. The man collapsed to the ground, desperately clasping his lethal wound. His accomplice pulled the trigger but gasped as the girl disappeared and reappeared right next to him. Before he could turn, she drilled her weapon straight through his neck, severing his jugular vein. Alena moved out of the way before a single drop of spraying blood could ruin her black dress. The shocked boss watched his men breathe their last.

"Now, you will tell me what that orange ball is," Alena said, walking towards the sweating man.

"It… it is a Dragonball…" the boss replied, his cigarette falling out of his mouth and onto the floor. He backed away several steps, but she continued to approach. "You can take it, just leave me be!"

"Not before you tell me what it is used for," she said, pointing the tip of the sword at his forehead.

"It's just an ornament…" he stuttered.

"That's a lie, and let me tell you… I don't like liars," Alena smiled slyly.

"Yes… Yes! I will tell you…" he replied, shaking, and he gave her an explanation. Alena looked at the reflection in his irises and saw several men standing by the doorway. She turned around and fired a chi blast, baking them instantly. The boss almost wetted his pants upon hearing the agonizing cries of his helpless men, and he turned to run. Alena smiled as she appeared before him, stopping him in his tracks.

"When I finish killing you, I'll free your disgusting brothel," she sneered. Gutting him thereafter, Alena approached the exhibit housing the orange ball. With a quick stroke of Kotukari, she broke the casing and soon held the five-star Dragonball before placing it into a bag she found close-by. In the bag, she also placed jewelry and other items of interest, and she walked back down the long, dark corridor.

The girls and ladies cried with mixed emotions. Some were ecstatic at being freed; others were horrified at seeing the hall littered with yakuza corpses. Alena led them outside and watched as they fled.

"Thank you!" a woman in her early twenties cried as she hugged Alena, who nodded in response.

'They've now left their state of bondage, only to enter their next state of servitude in due time – under Radam. Inevitably, many will be captured and converted by the plants,' Alena thought, marveling at the decorated blade in her hand. 'I guess I wouldn't mind having a few more female Tekkamen around…'