A Tail To Remember
by Gie: phowahcs.com

A Tail To Remember
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Rise and Fall of Senshi

Vejiita's shot did catch them unaware, and one Drone was
immediately turned into a pile of ashes. Ranma ran in after him, and
fired a small shot of his own, but the remaining Drones were quick to
recover and absorbed the ki, returning it immediately.

Mousse parried against his own Drone, and with a neat slice,
lobbed off the head of the Hachi. "These Drones aren't as bad as
you made them out to be." He smirked as the Drone fell to the
ground, a blue blood-substance dripping off his blade.

"Don't get cocky," Vejiita sneered, as he sparred against a
third Drone, quickly taking it out. "A small group like this is child's
play."

Ranma grunted as he dodged another ball of his own ki.
"Yeah, these buggers are quick, too. And they know their moves."
He ducked as an arm came a little too close to his head. "These are
tougher than the last batch!" With a grunt, Ranma made a leaping
kick, throwing the Drone against the wall. He let out a sphere of ki,
hoping to catch it while it was still dazed. He moved quickly to
dodge when it was returned to him, full force.

Suddenly a green light fell over the room, paralyzing the
three senshi.

"Kuso!" Vejiita swore. "There's still more!"

"I can't move!" Mousse struggled vainly in the green light.

Ranma stared helplessly at the Drone he was originally
sparring with as it came close to him. It removed one of the silver
disc on its arm, and attached it to his chest with a press of a button.

A high-pitched scream of pain and terror filled the room,
letting Ranma know that Mousse was injected as well.

Vejiita grit his teeth as his second attempt at assimilation
was conducted. The Saiya-jiin no Ouji tried to free himself, but to
no avail.

Ranma struggled against the beam, trying in vain to get to the
disc. "Iie--not like this. I can't go out like this! No No No NO NO!"
With a tortured scream ripping through his throat, he powered up,
wild blue aura rippling against the green of the paralysis beam.

A flash of blonde streaked through the wild locks of the
struggling Saiya-jiin. And another.

Vejiita's eyes went wide when he felt Ranma's flux in power.
He bellowed out. "Keep going, Serori! Try to fry the disc!" Vejiita
himself let out a powerful yell, and flared into Super Saiya-jiin.

He fought against the beam, his arms moving inches at a time.
Finally, after struggling for a bit, he was able to clutch one hand
around the disc. "Shimatta! No simple paralysis beam is going to
stop the Saiya-jiin no Ouji!" He powered up the hand, hoping to fry
the disc right off his chest.

But a flash of orange and yellow distracted him. A small sigh
of relief, followed by a scowl of impatience greeted the newcomer.
"Kakarotto. Took you long enough. Why didn't you use that teleport
trick of yours?" He shook out his limbs, silently grateful to be able
to move once more.

Goku grinned, green eyes sparkling, as he knocked the head
off the Drone that was using the paralysis beam. "Oi, Vejiita, I did!
We didn't know where you were until Serori flared his ki." Goku
stood in front of Vejiita and tried to pull the assimilation disc off.

"Bakayaro!" Vejiita yelped and cracked Goku in the head with
a fist. "It's attached to me! Where's that Mirai brat of mine?
Wasn't he with you?"

Goku pointed over his shoulder. "Trunks and Gohan are
taking care of a group of Drones we found outside the building."
He studied the smaller male critically. "You know, you won't turn
into a Drone. Trunks explained it to me and Gohan about the
Saiya-jiin DNA genes being resistant to it." Vejiita just rolled his
eyes and fiddled with the disc.

Goku's turquoise eyes wandered to Ranma, whose aura was
still flashing wildly. "Uh, ano, Vejiita--is Serori-kun okay?"

He glanced up at his brother-in-law. "He got really mad when
the disc was attached to his chest. I think he's near the breaking
point of Super Saiya-jiin."

Goku nodded, watching the young male's aura flicker. "Hai.
Every once in a while you'll see a flicker of gold. You can do it
Serori!" He encouraged the younger Saiya-jiin.

"Baka," Vejiita snorted, "he doesn't need encouragement. He
needs to get angry." An evil smirk curled at his lips. "Kick it up,
Serori! What are you, a Saiya-jiin or a Human? At this rate, you'll
never be strong enough to protect Seiika!"

Ranma's mind was reeling, half-listening to what Vejiita was
yelling. He didn't realize he was released from the paralysis beam.
But the last sentence struck home. 'Protect Seiika...Protect
Akane...I must! Argh!!' And with a piercing scream and a blinding
flash, Ranma joined the ranks of the True Elite.

Golden.

Super Saiya-jiin.

As his aura blazed and pulsed around him, he dimly became
aware of his situation. The only thing that entertained his attention
were the large unfamiliar figures that were entering the room.

The Unfamiliar was Unknown.

The Unknown is Unpredictable.

The Unpredictable is Dangerous.

Dangerous to his Mate. And his unborn child.

Mate and unborn child must be protected at all costs!

With a final roar, Ranma launched himself past the
astonished Goku and Vejiita, and directly into the path of the
unsuspecting Hachi that were entering the large meeting room. His
fists and feet were non-existent as he took out the Drones as
quickly as they arrived.

From the sidelines across the room, Goku, Vejiita, and soon
joined by Trunks and Gohan, watched in wonder as the unstoppable
force that was once known as the mild Serori methodically ripped
apart the Drones, easily rendering them to pieces.

Trunks muttered as he watched the spectacle, "What did you
say to him, Otousan?"

He shrugged, eyes glued on Ranma's blurred form. "Not
much. Only that he was too weak to protect Seiika."

The purple haired senshi blinked a few times and then
nodded. "That'll get him everytime."

As Ranma continued his assault on the hapless Drones, the
first group, Ukyou, Shampoo, and Tobuma arrived and joined the
other senshi.

Shampoo stared at the whirlwind known as Ranma. "Aiya!"
she breathed, "that Ranma?"

Gohan nodded. "Hai. And what he's fighting are the Hachi
Drones."

Ukyou let out a gasp. "Why are you letting him attack all by
himself? He could get hurt!" She pulled out her battle spatula and
prepared to help.

Goku shook his head, and put a hand on her shoulder. "He's
doing just fine by himself, Ukyou-san. Besides, do you want get in
the way of those fists and feet?" Ukyou shook her head
emphatically. Goku smiled and added a thought. "He might mistake
you for a Drone, as well. Don't worry, he just needs to work off some
stress."

Tobuma watched the one-sided battle with a critical eye,
easily keeping track of the body count that was piling up on the
floor. His eyes widened drastically when he realized something was
different... "He's a Super Saiya-jiin!" He turned to the others. "He
went Super!"

Trunks rolled his eyes and nodded slowly. "Hai, he has been
the entire time. Where've you been?" He smirked, looking more and
more like the male standing next to him. "Took him long enough."

Tobuma punched his cousin in the shoulder. "Watch it, ya
half-breed gaki. That's my 'Tousan you're ribbing!" Trunks just
rolled his eyes again. The tri-colored senshi turned back to the
fight. "So what set him off?"

Goku pointed to the still blurry Ranma. "He's got an
assimilation disc on his chest. But Vejiita told him he wasn't strong
enough to protect Seiika-chan."

Tobuma nodded, crossing his arms. "Hn. That'll get him
everytime."

"Otousan," Trunks spoke hesitantly, "Do you want me to get
your disc off?"

Vejiita glanced down at his chest. "Might as well. But don't
destroy it. The Onna wants a functional disc to putter with. She
can have this one."

Trunks nodded and stepped closer to the past version of his
father. He played with the controls, but a frown passed over his
chiseled features. "Did you go Super Saiya-jiin when this was on?"

"What does it matter, brat?" Vejiita glared into his mirror
image.

"Well," Trunks glared right back, undaunted. "When you
flared Super, you fried the arms. Now they won't come out of your
chest." He crossed his arms. "Okaasan will have to remove it
herself."

"Like I knew that was going to happen." Vejiita snorted and
pushed the boy away and concentrated on Ranma, who was still going
strong.

Gohan glanced at the older Saiya-jiin. "But isn't it hurting
you? And putting more nanoprobes into your system?" At that
thought, both Ukyou and Shampoo moved quickly away from the
group.

"Aren't you going to change into one of those--things?"
Ukyou exclaimed.

Vejiita turned and glared venomously at her. "Does it look
like I am, wench? Saiya-jiin are immune to the Hachi's pitiful
attempts."

Ukyou glanced at Tobuma, who nodded in agreement. "Hmph.
Like I care." She crossed her arms and settled on glaring back at
Vejiita.

By this time, the dismembered and destroyed bodies of
numerous Hachi lay strewn on the floor. One remained and it stood
alone, in front of Ranma.

In the pulse of Ranma's Super Saiya-jiin aura, the golden light
glinted off the coke-bottle lenses that rested haphazardly on top of
the lone Drone's head, one arm hooked on an antennae.

Shampoo and Ukyou gasped when they realized who it was.

Mousse.

The Hachi that stood before them originally was Mousse. He
had not been immune to the effects of the Hachi's assimilation
nanoprobes.

Ranma backed up slightly, putting some distance between him
and the last Drone. "Someone, onegai..." he rasped, trying to regain
his breath.

Goku put a friendly and comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You've done good, Serori-kun. You can rest now."

Ranma nodded, and stared Shampoo in the face, his
expression pained and his turquoise pupilless eyes filled with sorrow.
His voice was barely a whisper. "I couldn't kill Mousse--gomen nasai,
Shampoo--he was a good senshi, and friend." With a soft sigh, his
aura winked out, and he collapsed to the floor.

"Ranma!" Ukyou squealed. She moved quickly to help him, but
Tobuma's hand on her shoulder stopped her movement.

"He's just tired, Kuonji-san. He'll be okay after a good rest."

Vejiita frowned, staring at Ranma's unmoving form. He
strode over to him, and picking him up by the shoulders, dragged him
into a corner.

Goku's eyebrows went sky-high at the gesture. "Oi, Vejiita! I
didn't know you cared about him that much!"

A slight tinge highlighted the high cheekbones of the Prince
and crossed his arms violently. "I don't. Seiika is more than likely
going ballistic from their Bond. She made me promise to watch him."
He gave Ranma a quick glance and then threw a savage glare at Goku.
"It is none of your business in the first place. We need to
concentrate on killing the Drones." He pointed to Mousse-Drone,
who was standing still in the center of the room.

Gohan turned to Shampoo and Ukyou. "Mousse-san was your
friend, ne?"

Ukyou blinked and looked down at the youngest Saiya-jiin.
"Hai, he is. Shampoo here grew up with him."

Gohan turned his gaze to the purple-haired female. "Do you
want to leave? It might be best."

"What you do to Duck-boy?" Shampoo spoke quietly, still
staring at the Drone.

An eyebrow twitched as Goku spoke. "We need to eliminate
all the Drones."

Trunks pulled on Shampoo's arm. "Come on, we can go wait
outside." Tobuma pushed lightly on Ukyou's back as well.

Shampoo blinked and ripped her arm from out of the future
Saiya-jiin's grip. "Iie. Shampoo watch. Mousse may be male, but he
still Amazon. Shampoo watch to tell Baba-chan of death." She
crossed her arms and planted her feet defiantly.

The okynomiyaki chef glanced at Tobuma. "Well, Sugar, I
don't need to watch." He nodded and the two left the room.

Shampoo turned to Trunks and stared hard into his face.
"How you eliminate Mousse?"

He blushed slightly under the glare and shrugged. "He
doesn't have an assimilation disc, so a high-powered ki blast will take
care of him." His face turned serious. "Do you need to do a certain
death ceremony or something?"

Shampoo shook her head. "Iie. Males inferior so no need
special warrior rites. If female, then hai."

Trunks frowned. "What's with the male bashing? We're just
as strong, actually several hundred times stronger than you." He
flared his aura slightly, bringing it into visual range. His pride was
obviously damaged.

Shampoo raised an eyebrow at the display of machismo and
gave him a scrutinizing once-over. "Hnf. Shampoo see better.
Duck-boy even better than Girly-hair boy." She snorted and turned
away from Trunks.

The male blinked at the insult. "Hey! Leave my hair out of
this!" He glared at the snickering behind him. "The style of my hair
has nothing to do with my strength or my fighting abilities."

She snorted again and refused to turn back around. "Maybe.
But girly-hair on boy not take seriously."

Trunks' face turned a deep shade of red. "All right,
you...female..." He stomped his foot when he heard a snicker behind
him at the lame comeback. "Since my hair hinders your judgment,
let me change it for you and give you an example of my skills." He
roared and flared into Super Saiya-jiin, his now golden blonde spikes
standing straight up.

Shampoo raised and eyebrow and shrugged, a careless smirk
curling at the corner of her mouth. "Any warrior can form aura.
Shampoo not impressed."

Trunks growled and fell into an offensive stance. "Fine. I
didn't want to fight a weakling for a girl, but you leave me no choice."

During this exchange, Goku and Gohan had quietly taken care
of Mousse, disintegrating him. They moved closer to Vejiita, giving
the two senshi ample space to battle. Goku whispered to the older
Saiya-jiin. "Trunks-kun has your pride, ne, Vejiita?"

Vejiita just glared at Goku, and was about to retort, but a
groan from his feet brought his attention back to the awakening
Ranma.

"Nuhh," Ranma groaned intelligently, "What hit me?"

Goku helped him stand up, giving him slight support. "The
power of a Super Saiya-jiin, that's what, Serori-kun."

He stared into space for a minute, then a slow grin melted
across the newest Super Saiya-jiin's features. "I went Super, didn't
I?" he asked.

"Che. Took you long enough, Serori." Vejiita grunted, not
letting his pride show for his first student.

"Arigatou, Vejiita-ouji." Ranma grinned, rubbing the back of
his neck. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. "How long
was I out? And where's Ukyou and Tobuma?" He gave Goku a glance.
"Did you take care of Mousse?"

Gohan nodded and answered him. "Not very long, Serori-san.
Kuonji-san and Tobuma-san are out in the hallway." He pointed to
the pile of ash in the middle of the room. "And that's Mousse-san."

Ranma nodded, but frowned a bit when he saw the blackened
and charred disc on his chest. "Both Vejiita and I could have been
assimilated, as well as Mousse. Our Saiya-jiin DNA really is
immune." He pulled the disc off his chest with a wince, and poked
the puncture wounds gingerly.

He glanced up sharply, turning his attention to Shampoo and
Trunks, who were both in fighting stances. "Oh no, Trunks-kun can't
fight Shampoo!"

Vejiita snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "Let them be.
The gaki will make short work of the bakana female."

Ranma shot Vejiita a glance. "I know that. That's what I'm
afraid of." He called out to Trunks. "Don't fight her, Trunks! Or
you'll end up married to her!"

The blond Super Saiya-jiin blinked a few times. "Nani?" He
dropped back to normal, his hair returning to its original lavender
and falling back down into place.

Shampoo pouted. "No fair, Ranma. You ruin Shampoo's plan."

Ranma shook his head and smiled. "Good thing, too." He
turned to the future senshi. "How do you think I met Shampoo? I
defeated her in a tournament, although I was female at the time.
When she found out I was male, she gave me the 'kiss of marriage'
and has been trying to get me back to China ever since."

"You were just trying to marry me?" Trunks' frown deepened.

Shampoo shrugged. "Baba-chan be happy. New male sperm in
Amazon tribe. Bring strong females into village."

He purple-haired senshi choked and fell to the ground in a
facefault.

Vejiita gave his future son a snort and glared at Shampoo
hatefully. "Pathetic female. You can never hope to have the perfect
genes of a Saiya-jiin in your bloodline. Especially the Royal
Saiya-jiin. Give it up!" He spat at her feet and walked out the door.

Tobuma popped his head around the door frame. "There are
no more Hachi left in the building, Otousan."

Ranma nodded, giving him a smile. "Good. I better get back
to Akane. She's worried sick, especially since she felt my power
level fluctuate."

"Didn't you tell her through your Link?" Tobuma questioned.

He shrugged. "I tried, but I don't think she's thinking too
clearly at the moment."

"Why don't you go back to Seiika-chan, and take Ukyou-san
with you." Goku suggested. "The rest of us will continue patrolling."

"Hai." Ranma turned to Shampoo. "You want to come too,
Shampoo?"

"Might as well, since Shampoo not know how to fly." She
sidled up to Ranma, blinking seductively at him. "Unless Ranma want
to teach Shampoo?"

Trunks sputtered. "What the hell? You were just ready to
jump my bones! Now you're back to Ojisan?"

Shampoo let go of the squirming Ranma. "Shampoo always go
back to Ranma." She gave Trunks a sidelong glance. "Girly-hair boy
jealous?" She wrapped her arms around the hapless Ranma again.

Trunks facefaulted again.(Poor Trunks!) "IIE!!!"

Ranma chuckled a little and removed Shampoo's arms from
him. "Not right now, Shampoo. I need to get back to Akane."

Shampoo sighed and nodded. "Ranma not know what he miss
when he choose Violent Tomboy."

Tobuma frowned. "Watch it, Shampoo-san."

"Come on, Shampoo." Ranma rolled his eyes and walked out of
the room, followed by everyone else.

Outside, Vejiita stood still, watching the horizon, Ukyou
looking bored. She brightened when she saw Ranma emerge from
the building. "Ranchan! Are you okay?"

He waved off her concern. "I'm fine, Ucchan. Ready to go
back to the Dojo?"

She nodded, smiling. "You bet!" She turned around in a
circle, frowning. "Although I don't know which way to go."

He smiled back and waved at her again. "Well, then just leave
the directions to the driver." He swept her into his arms. "Or
should I say pilot?"

Ukyou squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You're gonna fly?"

He nodded. "We'll get home a lot faster this way." He
glanced over his shoulder. "Climb onto my back, Shampoo."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, and her
legs around his waist, as well. "Shampoo not too heavy, ne?"

"Naa, I'm fine." He flared his aura bright and nodded to the
group. "See ya back at the Dojo, minna." Ranma coiled and sprang
into the air, become a fading vapor trail within moments.

Vejiita glanced at the remaining Saiya-jiin. "Are we going to
continue? Or sit and contemplate the weather?" he sneered.

Goku chuckled. "Yosh, yosh, Vejiita. We're coming!" He
turned to the cousins. "Should we split up again?"

Trunks nodded. "Hai. Otousan and I, and you, Gohan and
Tobu-kun. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded. "How long should we stay out?"

Trunks glanced at his father and shrugged when he got no
answer. "Hopefully not long. It's starting to get dark. Your call."

Goku nodded. "Okay. We'll see you back at the Dojo, ne?"
His eyes brightened. "Maybe they'll have supper waiting for us!"
With a wave he jumped into the air, Gohan and Tobuma following.

"Which way should we go, Otousan?"

"The opposite direction of Kakarotto, baka." Vejiita snorted
and leapt into the air.

Trunks sighed and shook his head. He soon followed in his father's vapor
trail.

Chikyuu, Some unknown location

Daisy sat in his command chair, watching a holographic image
of Chikyuu. On the large display, several set of lights, cluster
together would blink and grow in numbers, indicating that more and
more Humans were being assimilated into Drones.

He smiled slightly. "At this rate, we're going to take Chikyuu
completely within a few weeks. Hopefully, we'll find the Queen by
then. I can't control a whole planet of Drones by myself."

He turned away from the image and was about to go check on
the status reports of the perimeter Drones when a warning klaxon
brought his attention back to the screen. "Computer, identify
alarm."

Warning--contact with warrior team five lost.
Warning--contact with warrior team five lost.

Daisy frowned. "Bring up the last known location of warrior
team five on the holo display." A circle flashed up onto the screen,
and highlighted an area off a large mainland.

He frowned deeper. He knew exactly where that group was
headed, but didn't expect them to be picked off so soon. And so
easily. "Computer--status of other warrior teams."

Warrior team one is functioning. Assimilation rate is low.
Warrior team two is functioning. Assimilation rate is normal.
Warrior team three is functioning. Assimilation rate is high.
Warrior team four is functioning. Assimilation rate is normal.
Warrior team five is not functioning. There is no contact with
team five.
Warrior team six is functioning. Assimilation rate is...

"Enough computer." He stared at the screen, watching the
circle blink. He gave a loud sigh. "Patch me through to the
Tokemonu."

Another screen popped up, with Iris in the center. "Are you
reporting in, Daisy?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir. I have dispatched six teams to start
the assimilation."

Iris nodded. "Is everything going okay?"

"Most of the teams are doing fine, sir. Some a little lower
than others. It just depends on where they started their
assignments."

"I sense a 'but'."

Daisy nodded slowly. "There is. I have lost contact with one
team."

"Lost contact?" Iris glanced at Rose, who had just entered
the room. He blinked, surprised, at the new tuft of purple fur and the
green stripes. "Daisy is just filling me in on his progress."

Rose nodded and turned to the screen. "Any contact with the
Saiya-jiin?"

Daisy blinked as well at Rose's upgraded appearance, but
continued on. "I believe so, sir." He turned to his controls and
disappeared from the screen. "I'm showing you my schematic of
Chikyuu, and the positions of the teams." He paused a minute. "The
circle is team five's last known coordinates." He paused again, and a
black box came up on the screen, mere inches from the circle.

"The box is where the first scout party landed, and their last
known locations."

Rose shook his head, his antennae bouncing back and forth.
"I knew those Saiya-jiin would be trouble."

Iris gave him a warning glance. "Daisy, has any of the other
teams been decreasing in number?"

The schematic disappeared, and Daisy's visage appeared once
again. "No, sir. They have been steadily increasing in number."

"More than likely the Saiya-jiin are concentrated in that one
area." Violet turned from his post and commented back to the
captain.

Iris nodded. "More than likely. Daisy, make sure you keep
going with the assimilation. Just don't send any more teams in the
Saiya-jiin's general vicinity." He turned behind him. "Marigold, how
are the repairs coming?"

He punched a few buttons, displaying a schematic of the ship.
"We're progressing as fast as we can, Captain. Although, we are
almost finished with repairs on the off-line engines."

"Good. As soon as they're ready, fire them up. I want to get
to Chikyuu as soon as we can." He turned back to the screen, where
Daisy was waiting patiently. "We're coming, Daisy. Hold on."

"Yes, Captain."

"And Daisy," Iris added. "I want you to send one of your Scout
Drones to the last location of team five. Check for survivors."

"Although I don't think there's going to be many of those,
Captain." Rose growled. "Damn Saiya-jiin."

"Rose..." Iris sighed. "After it reports back to you, keep it
there and have it scout for the Queen. The sooner we find her, the
better."

Marigold spoke. "Only one Scout, Captain?"

"Yes. I don't want it to draw attention." He glanced back at
Daisy. "Make sure it has clear orders for no assimilation."

"Yes, sir. Daisy out."

The Captain of the starship Tokemonu gave a loud sigh. "I
have a feeling when word gets out through Chikyuu's news networks,
Daisy is going to be needing our help as soon as possible." He turned
to Violet at the helm. "How much longer until we reach Chikyuu at
our present course?"

"About six standard months, sir."

"And when we get the engines back online at maximum
speed?"

Violet plotted the course. "It will take some time to get the
engines completed, but at best approximation...three months."

"Thank you, Violet." He turned to Rose. "You've upgraded?"

Rose nodded, a steely look flashing across his black features.
"Yes. And you should, too, Captain. The Saiya-jiin are not an enemy
to take lightly. Every advantage that we can have will help in the
long run."

Iris turned back to the front. "Get us up to our maximum
speed, Violet. Every light year counts."

"Yes sir."