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 IV: The Justice Saga)
Chapter 45 - Rebirth
"What the hell are you doing here?" a deep voice barked, completely startling the boy. The teenager quickly opened his eyes, shocked to see his environment. He was standing in a room of colossal proportions. The windows were enormous, standing thirty feet in height. The ceiling above must have been no less than two hundred feet from the ground, and the floor could have easily contained acres of land.
However, that was not what truly captured the boy's attention. He found himself standing in front of an enormous wooden desk that towered above his person. The desk itself resembled an old office desk with four, thin legs. Tracing up the table's legs, the boy saw high stacks of thick books piled on the edges of the desk. What really made him jump was the gigantic, pink, bearded face that peered out over the edge of the desk and to the boy standing below. It wore a Viking-like helmet, with horns, on its head.
"What am I doing here?" the boy returned the question in surprise. "I don't know; where am I?"
"It's not your time yet," Lord Enma, the gigantic demon who decided whether to send souls to heaven or to hell, replied as he scratched his head. "There's still a lot of stuff you left unfinished."
"I left unfinished?" the boy asked before gasping. He looked down at his abdominal region, which was completely intact. There were no burns on his body, and there were no scars. The boy raised his eyes and looked up, shocked at what he saw. Above his head floated a halo, similar to the one that his grandfather, Akira, obtained upon his death.
"I really am dead," Kenshin whispered to himself, coughing slightly. 'Alena lives…'
"Yes, you have died," Enma muttered to himself as he continued to examine the boy carefully. Narrowing his eyes, he continued, "You know, though, I'm not going to let you off that easily."
"You think I had it easy?" Kenshin asked, looking up at the large, friendly demon's eyes.
"You killed a lot of people in those spore pods," Enma said, motioning his head to a long line of spirits, in the form of small clouds, lined up behind Kenshin. The boy turned around and almost jumped; the line of spirit clouds extended for miles and miles and miles…
"I… I didn't kill that many!" the teenager stammered, his mouth dropping.
"I know," Enma said, puffing his cheeks for a second. "But outrageous lines like these will become normal if you don't go back and defend the planet. You see, sending you to heaven would be all too easy for you. For failing to protect Earth, you have to redeem yourself."
"Another chance?" asked Kenshin, feeling the surge of angered emotions starting to flow again.
"But don't think I'm doing this for you," Enma said, clearing his throat. "I'm doing this for me. The more people you save, the shorter the lines will be, and the earlier I'll get to go home. Since you killed all those people in the pods, you accumulated some negative aura, which will prevent you from entering heaven. In order to rid yourself of it, you'll need to get back down to Earth and fight off the enemy."
"Oro?" Kenshin blurted, desperately searching for a solution. "Sir, how can I possibly…"
"Listen, runt," the demon lord whispered as he brought his face downwards several feet. "Only a small fraction of those spirits behind you are a result of your actions. The rest are people dying all over the world due to starvation and attacks by remaining Radam buggers. Others are victims of when the spore plants struck. I am not going to allow a mass murder of people to happen again, and you're the only person right now that had the capability to stop it."
"But…"
"Right," Enma continued. "But… you messed up, and I am going to give you another chance because I don't want to see everybody and their mother waiting here to be judged. I got plenty of other things to do, like filing my taxes and finishing my Sailor Moon fan-fiction. You got it?"
Kenshin nodded, a huge sweat drop appearing on his forehead. He flinched, only to see Enma snap his fingers. Immediately, a movie-theater-like white screen appeared on the wall to the right of him. The picture came up, showing his body on Earth. Three people surrounded his corpse – to the right of the body kneeled Miyuki, crying her eyes out. To the left of it knelt a man whom Kenshin didn't recognize.
"Finally, the green man Dende is kneeling just above your head," Enma explained, and Kenshin realized that the demon lord had been describing the picture to him the entire time. "He's sticking his hands out and spreading a yellowish aura over you. That means that he is trying to heal you."
"Heal me?" Kenshin asked, completely confused. "But I'm dead, and I'm here."
"You won't be here for long," Enma said, removing a small vial from his desk's drawer. With a flick of the wrist, the demon lord released his grip on the tiny object. Kenshin caught it with ease and held it wrapped around his right arm. The pink skinned giant in front of him just smiled.
"Drink it," Enma said.
"What is it?" the teenager asked, looking skeptical. The demon lord growled at the boy, who gulped and promptly unscrewed the lid. He tilted his head back and raised the rim of the opened bottle to his lips. However, nothing poured from the bottle – absolutely nothing. Kenshin lowered the bottle in confusion and screwed the cap back on. Enma continued to smile.
"Did you enjoy it?" the pink giant posed, rubbing his beard.
"Enjoy what? There was nothing to…" Kenshin started but stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes traveled upwards. His halo was gone; it had disappeared completely. The boy quickly snapped his head back at the demon lord, twiddling his thumbs as a big smile crept across his lips.
"Am I alive again?" Kenshin asked, bewildered.
"In a way," Enma replied. "You are now alive, but your mind and consciousness will have to be transferred back into that maimed body lying on Earth. The intact body you are in now will disappear; however, all of this shouldn't really pose a problem. After all, Dende is trying to heal your body. Since you are technically dead on Earth, his healing efforts are unfortunately futile. Once your soul enters that body again, he will heal you completely. You'll only feel pain for several seconds at most."
"But how… how am I alive again?" the teenager stammered.
"Precious time is running, but I'll explain it to satiate your thirst for knowledge," the pink demon lord sighed. "Your uncle Gejin, Vegita's late father, had died because Janeba had absorbed his life-energy into himself. Since your great-great-grandfather Vegita killed Janeba in the afterworld, that life-energy trapped inside Janeba was freed. We took possession of it, and I've kept it in that bottle in your hand for emergencies like this. I was going to offer it to Gejin, but you are obviously a stronger and better choice."
"So my life comes at his sacrifice," Kenshin said, his facial features hardening. "I won't fail!"
"Good," Enma said impatiently. Pointing to a small door to the side, he continued, "I'm glad you've set such a firm resolve and that you've regained your determination. Now I suggest that you enter that door… AND GET DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW!"
"Yes'sir!" Kenshin gulped, his eyes wide. The demon lord was certainly expert at intimidating people; the boy quickly headed for the door and entered it. Shutting it behind him, Kenshin plunged into darkness, only to be awakened by three faces and the light of the sun shining down from above…
'Holy mother of… my body feels like its on fire! But… but the pain is fading away. I can feel strength returning to my arms. I can feel power flushing into my legs… even into my abdomen and torso. What is going on? I can feel my body… now my hearing is starting to come back, and so is my sight… my eyes have begun to see again, and the blurs above are becoming clearer and clearer…
To the right of my head is Miyuki, looking down at me, tears falling from her cheeks onto mine… Across from her is a man peering down at my face… I have never seen him before… I do not know why he's here… Between them, above my head, and looking down at me upside down is a man with green skin… the picture is getting sharper now… that man is Dende, our Kami-sama… my vision is back… and my hearing is back… I am… I am alive once again…'
"Kenshin," Miyuki cried as she almost crushed the boy's body with a hug. "You're back… you're alive… alive. I was so scared, Ken-kun… I was so scared for you…"
"Miyuki…" Kenshin gagged as he returned her strong embrace. Dende and the strange man continued to watch the two cuddle, and Dende sighed in relief. Miyuki soon released her grip on him.
'What?' Kenshin thought as he felt his abdomen. It was filled and intact; it was just as if he had never been injured there at all. He gasped and sat upright. All the bruises, burns, and other injuries on his body had disappeared. Not only that, he felt much stronger as well; his muscles were tighter and toned.
"This green man here healed you completely," the strange man said. "He literally stuck out his hands and transferred some strange aura onto your body. It was quite amazing. You healed in seconds."
"Kami-sama…" Kenshin trailed as he suddenly reached over and gave the old Dende a big hug.
"Ah, Kenshin," Dende returned a sheepish expression. "How do you feel, boy?"
"Amazing! All of my strength has come back," Kenshin said. "And I don't have a scratch!"
"No, you don't… You're back at full power."
'Wow,' the boy thought as he tried to power up. 'My chi is rising at a faster rate than before. And I can tell that I can raise it to a higher level than I ever have in my entire life. How is this possible?'
"You must be wondering how you became so much stronger," Dende guessed as he observed Kenshin's rapid rise in chi. The boy quickly lowered his chi back down to its normal level. "It is because you are a Saiya-jin. You were a grain away from true death, and you have recovered completely. When you had fought Tekkaman Blood the last two times, you were still injured and had not recovered much between battles. Now that you are back to normal, your strength must have increased quite a bit."
"How did you know I fought her twice, Kami-sama?" Kenshin asked quizzically.
"From the Sky Palace, I can see everything that happens below. As soon as Blood impaled you, I tried to get here as soon as I possibly could. I thought I was too late, but I guess it turned out that you were still marginally alive," Dende explained, feeling a bit shameful that he had watched the battle from such a protected area. Kenshin chuckled silently to himself, choosing against explaining the true story to him.
"This man here has something for you," the Namek continued, nodding toward the strange man.
"This is yours, isn't it?" the newcomer said as he reached to the side and held up Akoutari.
"Yes," Kenshin answered, surprised. "I'd lost it during the battle. It fell from my hand."
"I know," the man replied. "I had been watching your fight on a hilltop nearby. I saw where your sword landed and picked it up for you. Here you go, young man. Keep your sword with pride."
"Thanks!" Kenshin said as he accepted it. "I'm sorry, but I don't even know your name."
"My name is Kajitani Eizan," the strange man, who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, smiled.
"Son Kenshin," the boy returned the grin.
"Your battle with Blood was quite a display, but there are reasons why you didn't win."
Kenshin narrowed his eyes, wondering what this guy was talking about.
"I will help you win," Eizan replied as he stood up. The man had quite a stature; he stood at six feet and appeared to be very built. He had longer-than-normal hair that spiked in front of his face, but his hair was cut short at his neck. His dark brown hair contained streaks of orange-red. Attached to his belt was a sheath, hosting a sword whose blade scaled at approximately four feet in length.
"You see, I'm a swordsman, and there is something very useful that I can teach to you," the man thinly smiled. "Something that will guarantee your win against your enemy."
"Shinjo… is your brother?" Takaya asked, stunned by the news. Soon after he had defeated Scimitar, he boarded the Blue Earth and received congratulations. Noal resumed their flight towards the secondary facility so that Saki and Shinjo could be treated more thoroughly.
"Yes," she replied as she looked up from the panel in front of her. Takaya was strapped in a seat next to her, and he tried to make sense of the entire situation. Aki explained to him the story, "When I was four, my family had taken a trip to a foreign national park. There, I had slipped off a cliff near a waterfall. My mother grabbed me, but we both fell down to the rocks below. She protected me in order to break my fall, but she died in the process. I was swept away with the raging currents at the basin of the waterfall."
"You remember that at such a young age?" Blade asked, puzzled.
"Bits and pieces; they appear to me in a dream," Aki replied. "I guess my memory didn't work too well immediately after that. The only memory I have of my real mother is her telling me not to use my special powers, or else people would not like me anymore. The next memory I have after that is waking up in an orphanage. I was a lost child, and I remember hearing that the nuns there couldn't find my parents. From what Shinjo tells me, his father searched and searched, but they had given up hope. Upon his sad return to Japan, our father decided to leave for the Io moon colonies in order to start life over with his son."
"Aki… I'm sorry…" Takaya whispered, his mind going in circles.
"Don't be, Takaya," she replied. "I don't remember much. It's just as much a surprise to me."
"So when did you join the Space Knights?"
"I had gone to public school and advanced through the grades faster than most other people. When I learned about some new technology the Space Knights had developed, I was instantly hooked. I applied when I turned thirteen but was rejected the first time around. I applied again next year and was accepted. Chief Freeman had personally interviewed me," she sighed sadly, remembering her late boss.
'I've had such a good life until about a few months ago,' Takaya thought as he remembered the times he had spent with his family, with his brothers, and with his sister. 'But she's been living a tough life throughout; I can see where she gets all her determination and strength. Not to mention that she has some Saiya-jin influence. I bet that must add something.'
The ship continued towards the secondary facility.
'Excellent work, Balzac. I knew you were the man to count on, now just make sure that they don't link you to me right now,' Dodge thought as he examined the data just transferred to his computer. The General smiled; now that he had the design of the Sol Tekkaman unit, he could order his regiment to construct the units in mass quantities. 'Before the Space Knights know it, we'll have whole teams of these units ready for combat. They will bring us victory and glory. The Allied Military will be recognized as the saviors of earth for hundreds of years to come.'
His thoughts were interrupted as an aide walked into the room. Dodge quickly changed the application to a word-processor containing a year-old report. The aide coughed upon seeing the General's twitched action. Dodge smiled to himself, for there was no way the man at the door could see the screen. Dodge had purposely tilted the monitor such that the screen was not visible for people suddenly entering.
"General," the man, ranked a Major, saluted as he stood in the doorway.
"At ease, Dumas," Dodge struggled to control himself from laughing. Most men in this regiment pronounced the man's last name as "Dumbass," and sticking "Major" before it provided good entertainment for some folks. Dodge felt sympathy for the man, for it was inevitable that the man was to reach the position of major at some point in his life. The man, who had just been promoted recently, felt some blood rush to his face with embarrassment.
"Thank you, General," he replied as he folded his hands behind his back. "We have analyzed the written reports sent to us by the Space Knights, sir. The reports claim that the spore plants, which as we know have captured hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people all over the world, are converting those inhabitants into Radam Tekkamen warriors. In other words, there soon will be hundreds of thousands of warriors just like Tekkaman Blade, except that they will be under enemy control."
"Have you confirmed this report, Major?" Dodge asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Using unmanned equipment, we captured one of the bulbs, with a captor inside of it, and brought it to our labs for testing. The male body inside seems to have undergone some unusual changes, I might add. The details will be in a report filed soon, but recent analysis indicates that there is credibility to the Space Knights' claims," Dumas reported, pausing before clearing his throat. "What sort of action should we take now, General?"
'This is terrible; I should have listened to the Space Knights when they demanded the evacuations. I have full faith in our technology, however. The Sol Tekkaman units, when produced, will take care of these Tekkamen rapidly. Yet, I still cannot have hundreds of thousands of these maniacs overrunning our world. Who knows what destruction they'll cause?' Dodge thought, resting his chin on his folded hands.
"Major," Dodge began to answer. "We'll have to use bombs to get rid of them while they're still in their pods. I don't think we have a choice but to kill them before they kill us."
"But sir, do we have enough local area bombs in order to achieve this efficiently?" Dumas asked politely. "We don't know how long their conversion process takes. They may arise anytime and attack."
"I agree, Major," Dodge nodded. "We'll have to proceed with… the extreme course of action."
"Sir, you don't mean…"
"Yes, Major, we have no other choice," Dodge closed his eyes, his throat tightening before uttering his next statement. "Many innocents will die, but we'll have to nuke our cities across the globe."
This time, Bezel set the seven orange balls on the flat area of an isolated small hill. He would have no distractions, and nobody would be available to interfere. His revenge against the Saiya-jin people would soon be achieved, and the conquest of Earth was almost definite. The Dragonballs were not of any vital importance to him, but there was a wish that he wanted to make in particular.
"Come out, Shenron!" he yelled as he stood in a stance. His face lit with glee as he saw the seven balls proceed to glow with an orange-yellowish light. Their glow faded in and out several times, and the sky quickly became dark. Black clouds filled the sky above, and lightning crackled. Bezel stepped back in terror as a golden color beam shot upward from the Dragonballs. He watched as it tangled itself into various configurations and angles. He soon realized that this golden beam of light was the dragon itself, and he watched with great interest as the light faded away, revealing the colossal figure of Shenron.
"A newcomer, I see," Shenron's voice boomed as he narrowed his eyes. He hadn't been awakened for nearly a century; normally, the same set of people had regularly called upon him and asked him for wishes, but this man was completely different.
"I am Bezel, Lord of the Radam," announced Bezel, standing proudly. 'This is such an awe-filling sight. I can see why people became terrified upon looking at him. He appears ferocious and irritable.'
"You have woken me from my sleep," Shenron continued his routine that he hadn't used for over a century. "Tell me your two wishes so that I can return to my rest."
"Shenron," Bezel replied, his face twitching with excitement. "I wish back for the lives of my wife, daughter, and baby son. They mean so much to me, and I haven't seen them in over a thousand years. They must be in heaven right now."
Shenron glowed his eyes and paused for several seconds; Bezel waited in anticipation.
"It cannot be done," Shenron replied. "Your wish cannot be granted."
"Why not? Why can't it be done?" the Radam demanded, his fists tightly clenched.
"They have been dead for well over one year," the dragon answered. "They cannot be brought back to this world of the living. You will have to make another wish."
"Then I wish that you move them from heaven to hell," Bezel answered. "That way, I will be certain to see them again when I eventually leave from this physical plane."
"Your wish has been granted," the dragon answered after pausing. "You have one wish left."
"Make me immortal," Bezel started, "with the exception that I will die when I choose to die."
Shenron glowed his eyes and paused again for several seconds.
"Your wish has been rejected," Shenron replied in a growling voice.
"Rejected?" Bezel asked incredulously. "Why? That wish is within the limits of your abilities!"
"You are not allowed to make this wish," the dragon replied.
"What! What do you mean, 'not allowed to make this wish'?" Bezel barked. "Since when have you had the power to reject wishes that were made within the set boundaries?"
"Since I joined with the Dragonballs," a different voice answered. Bezel's eyes popped wider as he saw a man slowly appear on Shenron's head. The man, wearing a blue gi and straw-colored warm-ups, crossed his arms as he looked down at the Radam master below. The man's extremely defined muscles showed through the upper part of his gi, and his aura was unbelievable. Bezel's mouth dropped wide open.
"Densetsu no (Legendary) … Son Goku," the Radam looked deathly terrified as he gazed up.