Chapter 9: A Shaky Alliance
So, these are the best fighters that the future has to offer? Vegeta thought he was going to throw up in disgust as he examined the four surviving Sailor Soldiers. For crying out loud, they're a bunch of children! It's no wonder that this planet is in shambles right now…
Not that he cared or felt any kind of sympathy about Earth's disheveled condition - the planet trade business had shown him far worse looking planets than this, and he wasn't too interested in the planet or the ruined kingdom at the moment. He would let those other fools deal with the sentimental and heroic garbage - he had other thoughts on his mind, mainly the aliens. Before stepping into the time gate, he'd made it a prime objective to rid himself of the aliens now in order to save himself the trouble when Earth was part of his conquered empire in the future. However, the actions of the invaders since their arrival had sparked more curiosity within the Saiyan prince that made the expedition all the more interesting.
Slaughtering and pillaging in such a methodic manner…possessing the same energy manipulation and fighting techniques as ourselves…finding the armored soldiers with such striking resemblance…Vegeta had been mulling over the implications even after dispatching another round of attacking soldiers only minutes ago. The recent string of evidence - including the mass execution inside one of the initial buildings that they'd found upon their arrival - was beginning to worry him slightly. Why did these aliens possess such a striking resemblance to Frieza's forces back in their time period?
Though he'd initially denied the idea with vehemence, he'd been forced to consider the evidence before him, of how similar in style, apparel, and technique a lot of the soldiers had been to Frieza's old army. The only conflicting element that dropped the theory completely in Vegeta's mind was the fact that he knew Frieza's head war generals all too well.
They would take to fighting among themselves for power and control of territories after their master's death, and the empire would fall apart. He concluded. That has to be true…I followed those commanders too well to be mistaken. The empire and its army must be long dead by now.
So, the idea of Frieza's empire surviving centuries after Frieza's death was out. But then, why was there so much similarity between the fighting styles of the soldiers in both groups? They were practically mirror images…there had to be a connection as far as he was concerned.
"Wait…no, it couldn't be him…" Vegeta's thoughts suddenly stopped on a particular person that could have fit the bill for the alien leader, somebody he knew from his youth that had gotten his hands on the resources that would explain the mysterious coincidences, but the thought quickly vanished. "No, that's impossible, he couldn't be alive. Those ideas that he had were ridiculous…even the thought of genetic engineering being perfected…"
Vegeta stopped himself in the middle of his thought, not wanting to believe the impossible. That crazy lunatic from years ago couldn't have been right about his theories and technology.
But if it is him by an off chance…He mused as he clenched his fist. Then I owe him a little something for taking advantage of our race and playing us for fools…
But for now, he decided to focus on the situation at hand. Although he could've cared less how many of the princesses were left, he did need at least one alive so he could obtain some kind of current knowledge about the aliens' activities in the time period, and more specifically, he needed to know where their soldiers were hiding so he could personally root them out and eradicate them completely. If it meant playing friendly and benevolent with those children and their kingdom to get what he needed, then he could deal with that.
"Hold on…" he muttered to himself as he thoroughly examined the Sailor Soldiers again, something ringing in the back of his thoughts about their appearance and the pure energy radiating from them. For some reason, he felt like he'd seen them - or at least people in similar garb - at some point during his lifetime. At first, he shook it off -after all, he had lead the conquering of countless planets under Frieza, and it was easy to mix up--
Wait…!!
Suddenly, the images started coming back to him, the sights from his youth becoming clearer. And now he knew why the 'Sailor Soldier' title that was explained by the Earth's Namek guardian had sounded somewhat familiar to him.
Those outfits…the crystal pure energy…no, could they possibly be…?! A large smile of surprise appeared on Vegeta's face, things now looking incredibly interesting. So, our old 'friends' of the Silver Millennium DID survive the attack by the Dark Kingdom! They must've somehow survived the disaster and found their way to Earth…
He could remember a few visits to the Silver Millennium with his father during his youth, mostly for trade agreements and similar diplomatic appointments with the royal family. However, for other Saiyans, a journey to the Silver Millennium during their lifetime was meant solely to get a set of custom-made battle armor that was forged from the finest materials in the galaxy, all of which the Silver Millennium had sole claim over. Of course, the people doing the selling had never been terrific company. The peace-loving do-gooders of the Silver Millennium always looked down upon what they thought of as 'savage, uncivilized beasts' in the Saiyans, and the queen of the kingdom was no exception. Even Vegeta's father, the king, hadn't been allowed into the court unless under heavy guard because of the superiority complex and paranoia of the royalty.
However, Vegeta had been extremely upset about the fate of the Silver Millennium when he had heard of its fall to the Dark Kingdom…extremely upset that he hadn't gotten his hands on that prized battle armor, that is. The fall happened nearly one year before Frieza brought the same fate to Vegeta's home planet, and although the Saiyan prince couldn't figure out how the Sailor Soldiers had survived the destruction of their old kingdom and found their way to Earth to build a new one, he knew that he would be in for a treat if those two Sailor Soldiers recognized him and remembered the rivalry between their two races.
"Hah, they wouldn't even look at us because they reviled us so much…petty children," Vegeta snickered as his smile spread outward. He supposed that while he couldn't kill the brats, it didn't mean that he couldn't show up members of the court of the deceased Silver Millennium with his awesome might.
Vegeta decided to relax himself a bit, letting his tension and anxiety slip away as he stared at the Sailor Soldiers. It was rare that he could showcase his power in front of people who would despise it the most, and he could get a small measure of psychological revenge against those saintly princesses all while eliminating threats to his future rule at the same time.
Still though… He pondered. The Earth guardian said that the Sailor Soldiers came after we did…if they had gotten to Earth after the Dark Kingdom's attack, how did they surface on the planet only after my lifetime?
It had to have been a magic trick as far as he could've guessed. The royalty of the Silver Millennium did possess such unique and fascinating power. Perhaps their queen had allowed them to take on new forms once they reached Earth so the Dark Kingdom couldn't track any survivors of their attack. He surmised that keeping them hidden and protected even from the affects of time for months, perhaps years wasn't beyond their reach either, letting them take on new lives decades after their kingdom was destroyed. That would explain how they came to exist to Earth even after his extended life as a Saiyan.
"Well, little girls, there will be no smoke and mirrors this time," he snickered to himself. "I've always wondered how the royalty would react if their greatest anti-ally showed his face to them again…"
For the first time in a while, Vegeta felt at ease. Things were going to be immensely enjoyable from there on out.
* * *
"What do you think about this one, ChibiMoon?" Sailor Saturn asked as Krillin and Gohan went over to converse with the taller man who'd touched down shortly before Piccolo had obliterated Tridyx. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk previously because they'd all been forced to take cover after the aftershock of Piccolo's deathblow to the giant alien. "ChibiMoon?"
The princess's silence was more than explained as Saturn looked over and saw her staring off in the direction of Son Gohan, her eyes sparkling and a small smile across her face. Sailor Saturn rolled her eyes; she'd seen this out of the princess before. Every time a boy showed her at least a small amount of kindness, she become attached to him, and apparently Son Gohan playing the part of hero was more than enough to infatuate the princess. She quickly nudged her in the ribs with her elbow, bringing her out of her daydreams.
"Welcome back," she made the remark as a scolding more than a joke.
"Err, I was listening…!" she stuttered as her face turned red. "And of course we've got the battle won!"
"That's what I thought," The princess's misinterpretation of the statement told the story, and she sincerely hoped that her heart wouldn't run away with her head. It wasn't worth being embarrassed in front of their would-be allies with their princess acting like a lovesick puppy over Son Gohan.
The tall, lanky man had to have some kind of story behind him as far as Sailor Saturn was concerned. His gi was identical to Krillin's, and the scars on his face probably were the last remnants of old battles.
"How did things work out with the enemy soldiers, Yamcha?" Krillin asked. "I was starting to get worried."
"Eh, no problem, but there sure were a lot of them," he replied as he looked over at Sailor Saturn and Sailor ChibiMoon. "Two of the Sailor Soldiers, I presume?"
"Yeah, come over, I'll introduce you," Gohan said as he motioned in Hotaru's direction. "This is Hotaru, or Sailor Saturn, and Princess Usagi, the queen's daughter."
ChibiMoon bowed courteously toward Yamcha.
"ChibiUsa, please, Yamcha," she said to him with a friendly smile. "I hate being proper sometimes, especially around friends."
Hotaru bowed as well, still digesting what Yamcha had just said about the alien soldiers.
Presumably, he and the other Z Warriors that had arrived later than the first three had run into a huge swarm of the armored commandos before getting to the palace, but despite any recent battles, Yamcha didn't seem the least bit wounded or even out of breath. Just how strong were these guys…?
"Pleased to meet you," she politely said. "And we thank you for your assistance in this battle."
"Good to meet you girls, too," Yamcha nodded his head toward Saturn and ChibiMoon. "Have Gohan and Krillin already filled you on who we are?"
"Yes, while some of us were paying attention, anyway," Sailor Saturn glanced over at ChibiMoon, smirking teasingly at her about her infatuation with Son Gohan. The princess's face turned red, and she backed away, shooting a murderous glance over at her friend. As annoying as her lovesickness was, it was fun to rag on her about it.
"Excuse me?" Yamcha seemed lost as to what she was referring to, so Saturn shook it off and continued.
"Well, Krillin told us that you're from Earth of the past, and you were called here by our queen to help us battle these monsters…though we know nothing about any of you personally."
Yamcha nodded in understanding.
"I see. We can completely explain ourselves in time, especially with the help of the one who brought us here, Sailor Pluto. From what we understand, she knows a great deal about us," he replied, looking around. "So, where is she?"
Sailor Saturn was silent, the memory of Sailor Pluto being burned alive by Tridyx as well as her agonizing scream still very much echoing inside of her mind. With her injuries, all Sailor Saturn had been able to do was watch as one of her closest friends was scorched alive, dying in so much pain…while she was now standing alive right now. Setsuna hadn't been given the second chance like they had…
"Puu…" ChibiUsa whispered softly as Saturn spotted her wiping a tear away from her eye. The memory had to be worse for her, and Saturn could understand why. She embraced her friend again, trying to calm her down.
Yamcha lowered his head solemnly.
"I understand…" he said. "I'm sorry…I wish we could've gotten here sooner to help her and your friends."
"We were hounded by soldiers the whole way here," Krillin explained to Saturn. "Had there not been so many enemies and so great a distance between here and our entry point, we could've been here easily…we're really sorry about your friends…"
Hotaru was a bit surprised at the genuine nature of the two foreigners. She could usually read into when somebody was lying or putting forth a false appearance, but as she looked into the eyes of Krillin and Yamcha, she saw nothing but regret and self-disappointment at the loss of the other Sailor Soldiers. She then realized why ChibiUsa had been able to put so much trust in their saviors so quickly. The only thing that was disturbing her was how Gohan seemed to react to Krillin's words. He'd cast his head down, silently clenching his fists out of the view of the others. Hotaru could sense a violent upsurge of energy within him, almost as if Krillin's words had cast a rage upon him.
"We'll all talk about it later," Yamcha suggested as the saddened atmosphere had seemed to get a little out of hand. "Hey, the good guys were victorious in the long run, so let's enjoy our time alive while we can, eh?"
The thought seemed to help, as Saturn felt a smile coming back to her face. She could feel ChibiMoon's crying stopping a little bit. Both of them knew that Yamcha was right, this certainly wasn't the time to deal with the negative side of what had recently happened - knowing Sailor Uranus, she'd want answers from the Z Warriors as to what in the world they were, and Sailor Saturn was willing to bet that she wasn't going to be as eager to believe in their new allies as she and ChibiMoon had been.
"Hey, looks like Piccolo's calling us over, you guys," Gohan said as he saw the Namek beckon to the group with his hand. "You girls better stay here until the other two take a liking to us. We'll talk about this more later."
Before Hotaru could reply, the three Z Warriors took off, flying across the street where the others of their team were waiting. She looked down at her friend, who had loosened her grip on her.
"Are you okay, ChibiMoon?" Hotaru asked as the princess wiped her red eyes.
"Yeah…I'm fine," she nodded as she gazed up at her friend. "Thanks, Hotaru…we owe those guys big, don't we?"
Sailor Saturn stared over at the Z Warrior congregation.
"I'd say so, considering that they did save our lives…especially Son Gohan."
As if by magic, ChibiUsa's eyes were beaming again, and Hotaru knew it was clear - the princess was smitten once again with a guy, this time with the young foreigner playing the unfortunate victim. She sighed in exasperation as ChibiUsa wordlessly stared over at him, not really wanting to know what lovey-dovey thoughts were going through her head.
Even still, though Sailor Saturn hadn't been too properly acquainted with the young boy, he seemed like a nice guy, more than other boys her age around Crystal Tokyo. He seemed to have an air of maturity around his actions and a mindset that was well beyond his years…much like her own…
Oh, stop it… she told herself. There are more important things at hand right now.
* * *
"How are they?" Tenshinhan instinctively asked as Gohan, Krillin, and Yamcha joined the group.
"A bit saddened over the deaths of their comrades," Krillin replied. "But they're okay otherwise.
That was some good shooting you guys did from up there. Even I couldn't sense your presence until you blasted those two."
Tenshinhan smirked, giving Chaozu a friendly fist-tap.
"It was the least we could do, Krillin," he replied. "After all, we wanted a little bit of revenge for what those guys have done to Earth."
Chaozu agreed, but suddenly, his confidence faded. "Gohan, what's wrong?"
Gohan wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation. He was focused on his master at the moment, who was standing at the edge of the curb away from the others, staring silently at the two older Sailor Soldiers, who'd chosen to remain in the center of the street. He walked up to the stoic Namek and glanced over at the Sailor Soldiers with him.
"Piccolo, are you okay?" he asked.
"What can you sense in those two, Gohan?" Piccolo abruptly asked him as he looked down at the Saiyan hybrid. It wasn't so much a question that the Namek didn't know the answer to, but more of a test of Gohan's perception skills.
He didn't need much of his senses to figure out what the Namek was implying, though. The two Sailor Soldiers had extremely defensive energies about them, and their eyes were as emotionless as Piccolo's, not conveying any idea as to how they regarded their little band. However, the fact that the duo remained in the middle of the street spoke volumes about their caution.
"I'd say they're not up for making friends," Gohan glance over at the tan-haired soldier, Sailor Uranus. "Especially the taller one, she's not exactly…sociable."
"I caught a glance of her roughing you up on the ground earlier," Piccolo continued as he returned his gaze to the two princesses. "And you're right, these two are despondent at our presence here."
"But it looks like they're waiting for us to make a move here, you guys," Chaozu said. "And I don't think they'll be too comfortable if we all go out there for introductions."
"Then it would be best if Gohan and I went out and had a few words with them," Piccolo decided as he stepped off the curb and onto the street. "The bulk of the power and motives surrounding our actions have been displayed by the two of us. Since they've seen at least some signs of friendship and good will through the actions of Gohan and I, I think that we would be the better choice for establishing peace between our two groups. They don't know much about the rest of you."
"I could argue that point…" Krillin grumbled as Piccolo had disregarded his actions altogether. "But I see what you mean."
"Yeah, it'll probably be our best chance," Yamcha agreed. "You two go for it, and we'll wait right here."
"But what about the other two aliens?" Chaozu asked as he motioned to the building where their powerful energies were still recovering. "I think it would be best to finish them now, before they can give us any more trouble."
"First things first, Chaozu," Tenshinhan folded his arms as he kept a watchful eye on the two aliens' positions. They were still a considerable distance away - about a few hundred yards down the long street - and if they did recover, they could be dealt with without too much trouble. "Those two can fester in there for a little while longer, but we've got to show these princesses that we truly are on their side before going any further. I have a feeling that trust more than strength is going to be key if we're going to coexist during this war."
"I concur," Piccolo nodded. "We should have a little more time, but keep an eye on those two while we attend to our new 'allies.' Come on, Gohan."
Gohan fell into step next to his mentor and the two of them crossed into the street, approaching the two Sailor Soldiers with caution in case any trouble started.
* * *
"You are the Z Warriors, I presume?" The tan-haired Sailor Soldier spoke first with assertion and a calm demeanor as they stopped in front of her. Piccolo looked her over briefly, sensing a solid aura in her and seeing it radiating through her confident, even gaze. He also sensed a defensive energy about her, and after noticing her shoving Gohan a bit earlier, Piccolo knew that she'd be most enjoyable to associate with during the coming battles.
"If you are referring to the ones who were called here to help you save this planet, then you are correct. We are the 'Z Warriors,'" Piccolo answered with the same assertiveness, albeit amused that the people of the future had given their forces a collective name. "Who might I be addressing? None of us are too familiar with this kingdom despite what we've been informed."
"My name is Haruka Tenoh, though in this form, I am known as Sailor Uranus," she answered flatly.
Her other comrade stepped forward, slightly bowing towards Piccolo.
"And I am Michiru Kaioh, also called Sailor Neptune," she introduced herself more politely than Uranus. "Your name is…Piccolo, am I right?"
Piccolo was slightly impressed - Sailor Neptune had a good set of ears to hear his conversation with Tridyx from that great a distance.
"Yes," he responded as he motioned back toward the boy behind him. "And I believe you've already become acquainted with Son Gohan."
Gohan bowed in the direction of Sailor Neptune in particular, probably because she hadn't been in direct contact with him before like Uranus had been, and she seemed slightly more on the friendlier side.
"Pleased to meet you," he said. "We're glad that you are well."
Piccolo noticed that only Sailor Neptune had taken the time to return the gesture to Gohan, whereas Sailor Uranus hadn't taken her eyes off of the Namek.
"Son Gohan," Neptune said as she looked down toward the boy. "We never got to thank you properly for saving our lives, especially our princess. You have our gratitude."
Gohan laughed sheepishly as Neptune smiled gratefully toward him.
"It was nothing, don't mention it," he said. "Just doing what--"
"In any event," Uranus harshly cut the exchange off, casting a scolding glance toward Sailor Neptune before continuing. "I suppose we do owe you to a small degree. Although if Sailor Pluto brought you to this era some time ago like she explained to me, what exactly took you so long to 'help' us? I suppose you wanted to wait until all of us were dead, am I correct?"
Neptune shot a surprised glare over to Uranus as the exchange had taken little time to grow hostile. Piccolo remained cool and collected even as he saw Gohan grow somewhat tense next to him. It was an accusation that the Namek had been prepared for, especially after seeing the firm intensity in Sailor Uranus from across the street.
"The one called Sailor Pluto brought us to this era successfully," Piccolo began, not letting up at her sarcastic comment. "But the time gate that we came through dropped us on the wrong side of the continent, and we spent quite some time trying to avoid the enemy in our efforts to get here. Fortunately, your energies stand out among the other powers fighting on this planet, or else we may have never found you."
"We did everything in our power to help your friends," Gohan continued. "And we're really sorry that we couldn't make it here in time, but if we weren't concerned with your lives, would we have stepped in to stop those aliens before they killed you?"
"Stop them?" Uranus didn't seem convinced as she stared over toward the building that Tenshinhan and Chaozu had blasted the two remaining aliens into. "Your two allies over there seemed to have missed their intended mark - those two are still alive and thriving."
Their power had recovered fully at this point as far as Piccolo could sense, sooner than he had anticipated. Suddenly, the building that housed the two aliens erupted from the inside, sending debris and shards of crystal everywhere. The energy was so volatile and fierce that beams of ki shot out from the explosion area, causing the whole group to scatter. Piccolo and Gohan had to dive for the ground to avoid getting scorched while the other Z Warriors used the nearby skyscraper for protection. Uranus tackled Sailor Neptune to the ground, shielding her from the flying shards of crystal and energy and getting a few cuts and burns on her bare limbs as a result.
After the dust cleared and it was safe to stand, Piccolo spotted the alien commander and her remaining cohort standing in the street near the freshly smashed building, both powered up and surrounded by energy. The female was looking immensely enraged, and for good reason - Piccolo himself had endured his share of ambushes over his lifetime, and it wasn't too pleasant for a warrior's pride to be successfully caught in one.
"I'll finish you this time!" Sailor Uranus took charge right away, drawing a small jeweled scimitar and dashing forward with seemingly superhuman speed at the energized soldiers. The Namek cursed aloud at Uranus's recklessness, but before her comrade could get to her feet, Piccolo held her down by the shoulder.
"Don't!" He commanded Sailor Neptune. "It's suicide for you to attack those aliens!!"
"Don't talk to me as if I'm a novice!" she barked back, trying to shake free of Piccolo's grip. "I've dealt with circumstances that have been far worse than this, and no fear is going to keep me from standing up to our enemies!"
"Oh really? Well then, let me be frank about this: you and your friends possess too much value to squander so rashly. And the owner of such valuables doesn't leave them out in the open for the thieves to steal. Sorry, but you had your chance to beat these freaks. We'll take it from here!"
"Valuables, huh?" Neptune suddenly shifted her legs, sweeping Piccolo's feet out from under him. She kipped up onto her feet and lightly flipped over the stunned Piccolo. "The owner sometimes has to learn how to guard the valuables correctly first! Thanks for your consideration, but this is our planet, too. We'll be the first to defend it!"
With that, Neptune dashed off at her own power-enhanced speed to catch her partner as Piccolo cursed after her, fighting an impulse to launch a ki beam her way. As he expected, the two older soldiers weren't likely to be sidelined for their own protection. As it was, Uranus had been able to dash along the road at great speed and had made considerable distance from them, taking her too close to the alien insurgents. While Neptune didn't move as fast and was easily within stopping distance, Piccolo didn't want to risk Uranus's life in exchange for dealing again with Neptune and possibly getting his head knocked in for his troubles. He glanced back and saw the two children had taken cover behind one of the wrecked buildings to shield themselves from the blast. He wondered if they would be as gallantly foolish as their counterparts had been, and if so, things were going to get messy.
"Blasted fools, thinking that she can contend with the likes of those two…" Piccolo was half-tempted to let Uranus and Neptune find out the hard way about the power of their opponents, but the maidens still possessed usefulness to them. Looking over to his right, he saw that Tenshinhan and the others were propelling themselves into the air, ready to fly over and engage their foes. "Gohan, we'd better try to stop those two Sailor Soldiers before--"
"Relax," Vegeta's voice suddenly cut in, and Piccolo was rather surprised to find the Saiyan prince standing next to him with a large grin on his narrow face. "Let me handle the kids while you take care of the aliens."
"Huh," Piccolo stood up and brushed some dirt off of his shoulders. "You seem awfully willing to help all of a sudden. Something catch your eye about those Sailor Soldiers, Vegeta?"
"I'm doing you a favor, Namek," Vegeta snapped back at Piccolo as he crossed his arms. "Don't ask questions, just be thankful that I am giving you a few less headaches to deal with."
Piccolo smirked as he powered up, ready to take flight. He stifled Gohan with his hand when the young Saiyan opened his mouth, obviously to protest.
"I suppose you have me there, for once," he replied. "Have it your way. Just make sure you don't kill them, or else we'll have gained nothing in this whole affair. Gohan, let's go!"
Thankfully, Gohan chose to follow his master's example for the time being instead of bickering
with Vegeta. "Right! Let's finish this!"
Piccolo shot into the air as Gohan bounded into flight close behind him, blazing toward the aliens at high speed so he could beat Uranus and Neptune to them and trusting that Vegeta would detain them from entering the conflict itself.
"What was that about, you think?" Gohan called over to Piccolo. "Did you see that look in his eye…?"
"Who knows," Piccolo's gaze remained on the target. "But given Vegeta's arrogance, it's not going to be pretty when he gets in their way."
* * *
Uranus bolted down the street, extra energy from her Sailor Soldier form propelling her further and faster than she would have traveled in her normal form. However, she had noticed that she was going at a more rapid pace than she had been expecting her body to handle considering the recent battle. The healing seed of that Son Gohan had certainly done more wonders than she had expected. She hadn't felt this good for the longest time.
So why don't you go ahead and give him a kiss and fall all over him about what a brave young hero he is? She sarcastically reminded herself that such a tactic from the boy could've been part of a grander scheme. But such issues would be dealt with in time - the other two aliens were still fresh for battle, perhaps more than ever after being ambushed by two of the Z Warriors. Even with Neptune behind her, it would take--
WHOOM!!
A blur flashed in front of Uranus's eyes, causing her to fall backward to the ground. Her heart bewildered, she glanced up and saw one of the Z Warriors - the shorter one who donned armor similar to the alien commandos - standing in front of her, his arms casually folded and his lips curled into a sneer.
"And just where do you think you're going?" he said in mock surprise. "Did the aliens use your head as a punching bag too much when you were fighting them? Maybe that would explain why you're about to rush back in and commit suicide."
"I don't have time for this!" Uranus stood up with her Space Sword, her eye catching the forms of Piccolo and Son Gohan flying past them up above, on course for the alien duo. She leveled the sword in his direction, the sharp tip of the blade centimeters from the warrior's throat. "We didn't ask for your help, foreigner, now get out of my way!"
The sneer didn't falter from the soldier's face.
"You have spirit, I'll give you that," he commented. "And you do have a bit more power within you than I first assumed you would, especially for someone of the Silver Millennium."
Uranus was about to slice the rambling outsider's throat, but the last two words stopped her cold, nearly causing her to lose her grip on her sword.
"The Silver Millennium…?" she repeated in half stutter as the soldier watched her in amusement. How could someone of the past who - by Piccolo's remarks - didn't know about the current kingdom possibly be familiar about the lost kingdom of the Moon?
"That knowledge and this face don't spark any memories? That's certainly surprising," the soldier continued, eyeing her jeweled blade with eagerness. "But I suppose centuries of time would cause memories of the old days to fade, though I would think that out of everyone still alive from the ancient kingdom, the members of the nobility would recognize the face of their most eccentric customers."
She still hesitated, wanting partially to puncture the foreigner's throat with her sword, but holding back as she contemplated his words, her mind being drawn in by an almost noxious sense of curiosity.
"Still clueless?" The spike-haired man laughed aloud, tapping the tip of the blade lightly with a calm eye on it. "Well then, does the name Vegeta mean anything to you? I think you and the rest of your princess friends should remember it quite well from the old age. We were your opposites, your shadows, and ours was the epetomy of a relationship between the extremes: good and evil, light and darkness, 'the rose and its thorns' as the humans are fond of saying. And while my tail may be missing, the rest of me is here before you in the flesh, maiden of the Silver Millennium."
As Uranus stood firm with her sword still at the tip of the warrior's neck, the spike-haired man raised up his hands and his body suddenly exploded in a burst of energy. Sailor Uranus jumped back instinctively, her sword hot from the foreigner's energy surge.
"Behold, the heir of the Saiyan empire, Lord Vegeta!!"
"…No…it can't be…" a whisper escaped as Uranus felt her hands beginning to tremble slightly at the name. It, along with that knowledge and a face that she never dared to fear that she would see again made her forget about all the other foreigners. Now, she was staring face to face with the king of the barbaric Saiyan race, some of the most powerful warriors ever to have existed and cold-blooded murdering dogs to boot. "You…Saiyan!!"
Out of instinct, she drew the blade back to slash at the smirking Saiyan, but another sudden concussion wave of energy from the warrior's glowing body hurled her backward onto the ground, her shoulder slamming harshly into the pavement. She also lost grip on her Space Sword, which pitched forward onto the ground at Vegeta's feet.
She gazed up in confusion, her head beginning to throb from the impact of the concussion wave. Had the Saiyan generated that quick shot of energy in the blink of an eye? Given the number of nasty surprises that had plagued her today, that option wasn't far out of reach.
"Pity," she thought she heard the Saiyan say as he bent down. The look of maliciousness in his slanted black eyes, the arrogant sneer, spiked hair, and immense power were all unmistakable. Even after ages upon ages of time in her existence and not possessing many reminding thoughts left of her former life, the memories of the Saiyan race still echoed throughout her mind as she gazed at the armored assassin.
"So you do remember!" Vegeta casually used a bit of his energy to lift the fallen blade off of the ground. "How delightful, I almost thought that my feelings were going to be hurt. And it appears that you Sailor Soldiers, your magic weapons, and pompous attitudes haven't changed even with the passing of time. How foolish…thinking you stood a chance against an elite fighter like me."
As Uranus sat up, Vegeta nonchalantly swung the jeweled sword through the air, orange energy trailing off the end of the metal blade.
"I never thought to see your faces again," he continued as he dropped the sword back into Sailor Uranus's lap. "After the alliance between our two races was dissolved, I thought I'd seen the last of you mystical witches."
"Alliance?" she sniped back as she stood up, taking up the Space Sword. "We were never allied in the past, and nor shall we ever be! Now tell me, 'King Vegeta,' what is your business here? Are those mercenaries your underlings?"
"King Vegeta…?" the Saiyan seemed genuinely surprised at the title. "Ah, excuse me, it just felt invigorating to hear that title. But as for your questions, my business in this era is my business, something you don't need to be concerned with at the moment. As for the rest of those emotion-plagued weaklings, I have no long-term association or relation with any of them, except for the kid perhaps. They merely provided the means for me to get here, and the promises of an interesting excursion seem to be coming true as I look at you."
"The kid…?" Uranus repeated, ignoring the rest of Vegeta's snickering rhetoric. "You mean Son Gohan."
"Who else?" Vegeta glanced over at Son Gohan, who was soaring through the air with tremendous grace and speed. "He one of the three living members of my race, you know, a Saiyan hybrid, but a Saiyan nonetheless. I'm surprised you didn't sense it in him when he first arrived. If you had, you would've hade no doubt as to who I was."
Uranus clenched her sword tightly as the words came out. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised at the revelation given the boy's remarkable strength and will, though her pride was further injured by the words. Just the mere thought of owing her life and health to a Saiyan of all creatures, hybrid or not, made her want to vomit.
"What's this? You want to attack me again?" Vegeta laughed aloud at the thought as he turned around and looked in the direction of the smoldering fire. "I have no problem, and under any other circumstances, you'd be dead already by my hand. But as much as the Namek and I disagree on many things, we still need you alive. However, my tolerance and generosity spans a short length. Attack me again, and I may slip on the control of my power. And it would be very unfortunate to waste such precious energy on Silver Millennium trash."
"Trash…?" That insult dissolved what self-control Uranus had left. "You think you can control us so easily?! Think again!!"
She lunged forward, taking a huge swing at Vegeta's head with all the strength her arms possessed. To her surprise, the blade passed through nothing but air, the shock wave of orange energy soaring down the road and making a sizeable horizontal cut across the pavement.
"Where did he…?!" Sailor Uranus glanced in all directions, but no sign of the Saiyan could be found. Then, Uranus felt another powerful concussion wave floor her from the sky. She lost her balance yet again and this time, her forehead slammed into the ground as she went down.
"Stupid little girl," The Saiyan's voice seemed faint as she felt warm fluid trickling down the side of her head. As she lifted her eyes, Uranus saw a fuzzy form hovering several feet above her. She suddenly felt like such a fool - she should've known that his speed and flight abilities would have far surpassed even Tridyx, and she'd paid for underestimating Vegeta's abilities. "Let that be your punishment for lashing out against me, and be grateful that a scratch is all you're getting."
"Saiyan…wait…" she groggily stood up, her vision cloudy and head throbbing. "You…can't…"
The blurry form of Vegeta seemed to look away, and at the same time Sailor Uranus thought she heard the sounds of someone running up behind her.
"No further!" He commanded in a barking manner. "I'd prefer not having to hurt you too much because of your value to me, but don't put me to the test. I'm a bit of a different game than the rest of my associates."
Before Uranus could recollect herself, Vegeta rotated in the air and sped off to join the rest of his allies against the aliens. She immediately attempted to run after him, but a hand gripped onto her shoulder firmly, holding her where she was.
"Let…let go of me!!" She yelled at first, fighting the obstacle that kept her from pursuing and eradicating the vile Saiyan, but when she turned to face whomever was holding her back, she relaxed her aggression. "Michiru…"
Sailor Neptune reached her hand up and wiped the blood away from her beloved's temple.
"You certainly have a way with strangers," she half-joked to lift Uranus's spirits. "But why did you attack him? What could've provoked you to--"
"Before you place too much trust into that creature," Uranus shook off Neptune's hand sharply. "I think you may want to know something about him that you may find disturbing."
Before she went on to explain to Neptune about what she'd just encountered, one last miniscule thought crossed her mind about Vegeta as the memories began to solidify in her mind - didn't King Vegeta of the Saiyans have facial hair and a bigger build than what she saw?
* * *
If Sailor ChibiMoon wasn't confused before, she certainly was now. After witnessing the armored, spike-haired warrior nearly lay Sailor Uranus out on the street in front of her, something began telling her that he wasn't in the same league with Gohan and Piccolo. Not that his attack meant anything against the group as a whole as far as she was concerned - while the green fighter had attempted to restrain Sailor Neptune from entering into the fight, he certainly endeavored to do so without causing that much physical harm to her. Uranus's attacker - that was the best way she could describe the man at the moment - had seemingly cared next to nothing about the well-being of the Outer Soldier leader. The lethargy she showed when getting up had been proof of that.
"Sailor Saturn, what do you make of that all?" she asked aloud to her partner.
"…Something about him…" she heard Saturn murmur thoughtfully, as if she hadn't heard her. "Where have I known him before…?"
ChibiMoon looked back at the girl in surprise. "You know that warrior, Saturn? But how? You heard Krillin say that all of them were from the past."
"I know that, ChibiMoon, but something doesn't feel right when I look at that man," Saturn replied as she scratched her chin. "When I sense the energy within him, something in the back of my mind tells me that I'd been in his presence before, or at least with others of his kind."
"Strange…" ChibiMoon replied. "I wonder why I haven't felt the same way about him?"
"I don't know…" Saturn cupped her hands over her eyes, squinting down the street to check on
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. "I can say this though: even though that man attacked Haruka-papa so forcefully, her energy spiked up as he was talking, and it peaked as she first tried to swing at him."
"You think that something he said alarmed her that much?" ChibiMoon ventured. Looking along with Saturn, Uranus seemed to be composing herself enough to explain to Neptune what exactly had happened. "Why don't we go and see? There's no use just standing around here like spectators."
"True, and it doesn't look like we can catch those Z Warriors from here unless we could fly that fast."
"No thanks, Saturn," ChibiMoon shuddered at the idea. "I've seen enough action from the air today. I'm quite content with running, thank you very much."
"That's surprising," Saturn lifted her glaive and sprinted forward, smiling back at the princess. "I'd think you would like the idea with your head being up in the clouds with Son Gohan!"
"Hey, that's not funny!!" ChibiMoon quickly dashed after her.
* * *
As soothing as the flames were to her jarred nerves, Infernia's anger forbade her from staying in seclusion any longer. She boldly stepping into the middle of the street with Zebus right beside her, their temporary prison now a towering inferno to the right of them. Brilliant red energy licked around her whole body, the result of charging up enough power to break out of the complex. It cast an orange shadow on the world in front of her, but she was still able to make up several bright shapes approaching them head-on at a rapid pace. It seemed that their attackers wanted to finish the job. The hell they would if she had anything to do with it.
"I tire of being ambushed by coward assassins!" Zebus's voice was a high-pitched cry. A blue cube of energy surrounded his form and a newfound hatred for the mystery fighters vanquished all feelings of pain from his acute nerves. "Especially the little bald one…Bastard took away my kill!!"
"As well as our dignity…" Infernia's thoughts settled on the boy that had saved the princess. Since his arrival, nothing had gone right - the Sailor Soldiers had been defeated, wrecked, wiped from their concern list, and the princess was about to burst into flames at the touch of her bare hand…until that damned kid had ruined it all by wrenching the princess from her grip with a giant ki beam that no little brat his age had any right using against someone of her caliber. Ever since he arrived, every last advantage has vanished before their eyes. The Sailor Soldiers were out of their reach, Tridyx was more than likely dead after displaying such frailty against the Namek, and most of all, the princess was still alive. Victory seemed far and distant now - had they simply vaporized the Sailor Soldiers from the start and not wasted time playing, the palace could've been theirs… "Such is our fate for overestimating our strength…but I'm going to end that annoying little scruffy-haired fly's life once and for all, and then I'll butcher that Namek and all of those Sailor Soldiers!!"
"Just leave the bald one and the green-haired girl to me, Captain Infernia…" Zebus cracked his knuckles and the cilia lining his mouth quivered as he let out a facsimile of a growl. "They're my kills, mine alone…"
"As you wish, Zebus," Infernia replied. The approaching shapes began to become more visible as they closed in, but it was strange. While Infernia recognized the short bald one that had attacked Zebus, the three new faces surrounding him made her uneasy. Apparently, the beams that sent her and Zebus sailing into the building hadn't been generated by anyone in the immediate area but by more damned foreigners. Infernia growled as she noticed all of their determined yet confident demeanors. Four against two could've gotten messy.
The four unknowns dropped to the ground a short distance away, all of them ready and willing to take the two soldiers on.
"Maybe you should've reconsidered letting me rescue those Sailor Soldiers, eh?" The bald one let out the taunt, causing Infernia's eyes to spark with flaming energy. "We're not going to let you harm them or anyone else!"
"Is that so?" Infernia calmed herself long enough to respond, levitating herself in the air above the flame-colored, fireball-shaped field of energy surrounding her. "Are you so confident that even all four of you can best the two of us? Little man, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. I've killed more boastful warriors such as yourself in the past ten years than you've seen in your entire lifetime!"
He seemed to wince at the 'little man' remark, but another of his cohorts, a three-eyed muscular fighter, stepped forward defiantly.
"Sorry, but the fear effect doesn't work with us," his voice was noble, ringing out loud and clear despite the roaring fire around him. "We're honor bound to protect those princesses and this planet with our lives and deaths. If it means giving up an arm or two to dismantle your ego, I'd be more than happy to be the first one to clash with you!"
"I'm right behind you, Ten!" A laughably small creature stood his ground beside the tri-eye.
"And a miserable bitch like you has no business calling my pal little," The scarred man flashed a glare of his own in their direction. "Are we just going to sit and watch your fire-show all day or just fight!!"
"Delightful…" Infernia smirked. This would be fun, testing herself against four moderately powerful warriors. With any luck, perhaps their mission objective would be completed yet, with a little exercise on the side.
"Starting without us?" Suddenly, a familiar voice through Infernia off her guard. She glanced up and spotted the Namek warrior floating several feet above her, and the worthless little wretch was hovering just nearby. "So, 'captain,' still feeling as confident to victory as you were moments ago?"
"Give me the word, Piccolo, and I'll drop another beam on her head!"
"Hold on a second, Gohan, let me do the talking."
The Namek descended onto the ground in front of her, several feet out of her reach. He folded his arms causally, not impressed by the field of energy burning around Infernia's body.
"Numbers can be a powerful force, don't you agree?" he cocked his head to one side. "I suppose you aliens know a lot about that, sending horde after horde of soldiers to ransack this planet. But now the numbers game has changed, 'friend,' and you're on the unlucky end."
"Bah!" Zebus spat at the Namek with contempt. "Have you gotten a bloated head just because you got the best of Tridyx?! He was just a bodyguard, and a low-grade one at that. He was no soldier, no emissary of power like we are!"
"Is that right?" Piccolo smirked back at the insectoid's bitterness. "Well, I call your bluff. Six of us is more than enough to send you to join your pal Tridyx, and I think both of you know that as well as I do. Even descendants of the army of Frieza know when they're beat!"
"Frieza…?" Infernia was taken off-guard by that one. How could that Namek scum think that they were a part of that dead warlord's forces from centuries back? Unless…did he know something about that plan that Damos had discovered…? It couldn't have been, it was too wild a possibility that he had been through their databanks.
"What's wrong, lady?" the scarred man chuckled. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Shut up!" Infernia barked back as she returned from her musings. She had to think quickly - the arrival of additional fighters on the enemy's side had indeed tipped the scale of power in their favor…and who knew how many other outsiders were hiding in the shadows, concealing their battle powers from their scouters. Was it worth risking a battle with so many potential powers as to endanger the mission, as well as her life?
No, not for now… she concluded as the warriors gradually began to close in on her. The developments had been too sudden, too unexpected to continue the mission, and she wasn't willing to be greeted by anymore unexpected visitors today. The risks were too great at this point in the war, and they could easily regroup after reporting to the general…but first she had to do one thing…
"Numbers are indeed a powerful factor, Namek," her silvery voice chortled as she held one hand behind her back, forming a deep red orb within her palm. "But you forgot one crucial piece of the battle puzzle: strategic brilliance!"
Before they could react, Infernia launched the orb into the air, and it exploded immediately with an illuminating crimson glow. The clear night sky around them immediately darkened into the same color, and as she looked at her combatants, they were all clutching at their chests, in obvious pain at the intense heat generated by such a small sphere. It was a temporary effect of the energy stored in the orb, but a remarkably efficient one.
"Damn…m, my chest…burning…!!"
"What the…what the hell is this…?!"
"Can't take the heat, warriors?" Infernia quickly catalogued each face among the group with her scouter for review back at the ship. "Don't worry, we'll meet again in the fires of battle, and next time, I'll be leaving all of you as ashes!! Zebus, retreat!"
The soldier's flame-resistant scales protected him well from the orb's power, and despite his willingness to stay and slaughter, he knew that the orb's power would quickly dissipate - they only had enough time left now for a hasty getaway.
"I'll kill you another day, bald coward," he spat at the smaller fighter once more before blasting off into the air behind Infernia.
Both of them zipped past the heat-stricken mystery fighters and sailed back the way they'd arrived. They had to make it out of the city where the transport ship to the Terror would be waiting to pick them up, even though the mission was not complete. They sped through the air for a bit of a time, ensuring that they were far enough away from their adversaries so she could send a signal to the waiting crew of the transport ship and tell them to make it flight-ready. All they needed to travel was a few miles by air and--
"Captain!" Zebus's voice interrupted her in midcall. "I'm picking up a power signal coming from the rear!"
Infernia's scouter was in communication mode, so no signal had registered. But as she switched over to scanning mode, the numbers blipped across the screen rapidly. Indeed, a faint battle power was approaching them and at the speed that they were traveling if the velocity data was correct. She glanced back, wondering if one of the foreigners had followed them, but instead, she caught a glimpse of one of their own soldiers, a spike-haired humanoid in white battle armor. Still, he was traveling awfully fast for one of their Standard-class soldiers, and where in the world was his scouter? No unit had been sent out without one.
"Hold on, Zebus," Infernia halted in midair, and Zebus followed suit. The soldier slowed down in front of them, folding his arms casually and not looking at all like he was ready to salute a superior officer, which added even more concern to Infernia's mind. "Identify yourself! What squad are you with?"
"That was quite a technique you pulled back there," The man ignored the question entirely. "I've never seen the elements used in such a creative fashion, but unfortunately for you, those kids delayed me enough so I wasn't caught in your little heat wave. I really hope that's not your only trick."
"You…!!" Infernia was aghast - yet another surprise warrior from the enemy ranks had appeared. How many more unwelcome guests would pop up out of the shadows today? "Who in the hell are you and your allies?! Where have you come from?!"
"Calm down, wench," the man coolly replied as he looked her over. "Hmm…your armor certainly is unique, yet the design seems familiar to me…why don't you tell me who you are and whom your leader is instead? If you do, I may spare some mercy for both of your worthless hides."
"Captain, the ship…" Zebus murmured to her. She could hear a faint static-filled transmission from Zebus's scouter from where she was floating. "They've prepared the engines, but they will be discovered and attacked if we don't hurry."
That was bad news. They couldn't waste their time bickering and fighting with even one unknown and risk their escape ship being discovered. They'd lost too many in recent days - one of the few successes accomplished by Crystal Tokyo raiders - and it was perhaps the only way back to the Terror and General Damos. The communication systems on their scouters wasn't strong enough to reach so far out into space.
"Oh no, you can't leave so soon," the man mocked them and cracked his knuckles. "I've yet to see much substantial action today, and I'd like to make our fun chase worthwhile!"
Suddenly, their chance came as several bright gold ki beams came from the ground and struck the cocky warrior, throwing him off balance and sending him sailing backward.
"It's him!" A soldier's voice came from the ground. "The one who annihilated Squad Grey! Kill him!!"
"Hmph, I suppose numbers do matter, just like the Namek said!" Infernia spat out one last insult before taking off toward the ship at full speed, Zebus trailing right behind her. The warrior hadn't even gotten a chance to follow them.
"Another close call," Zebus said after a few minutes of high-speed flying. "But who are those fighters, captain? They certainly don't bear the resemblance to the Crystal Tokyo scum slinking around on this planet."
"We'll soon find out, soldier," she clicked her scouter over into memory mode, scanning through the facial images that she'd captured from all of the unknowns, including the unruly spike-haired one that had accosted them only moments ago. "The databases aboard the ship may be able to tell us a few things about those cretins and what hole they crawled out of."
"What about the general, captain?" Zebus continued with a tone of uncertainty. "He said that instant victory was riding on the completion of this mission. He won't be pleased with one of his bodyguards dead and the palace still uncaptured."
"Do you think that hadn't crossed my mind, idiot?" Infernia snapped back. "But I'll deal with Damos in my own way, Zebus. Let's just worry about getting back to the ship first!"
Zebus said nothing the rest of the way, presumably because he was pondering the general's upcoming reaction to the aborted mission. Infernia laughed on the inside as she studied his nervous glancing. Indeed, Zebus had plenty of reason to be worried about the general's wrath, but she was a different story. No soldier within the fleet could penetrate Damos's black heart except for her, and she was planning on making him forget about her part in the failed capture mission as soon as the doors closed…
* * *
"Oh, how perfect," Sailor Uranus grumbled as the six warriors made their back to their position, all of them breathing heavily and sweating all over. Such circumstances had to have been from that red sphere that had been launched into the air only minutes before, but in any event, the two alien commanders had escaped nearly scot-free, unless she counted the Saiyan king that had pursued them. But who knew what his game plan was - he was probably looking to join their ranks knowing Uranus's luck. He and that female commander would get along perfectly. "Some help we've got - six versus two, and they let them slip through their fingers."
"Haruka…" Michiru still seemed intent on calming her nerves about their new 'allies' and their recent attempts to bar them from the fight. Saturn and ChibiMoon were offering the same pleading expressions to keep her emotions in check. "As much as I hate to admit, I have a feeling that there's an explanation for all of this."
"You seem awfully willing to trust such incompetent and shady warriors, Neptune," she snapped back at her partner. "What can possibly make you think that these guys are on the same side as we are, especially after what you've just seen? Are you losing your sense of mind, too, Michiru?"
As she looked back at Sailor Neptune, Uranus suddenly realized how mentally exhausted she looked, and she was surprised that she hadn't noticed it earlier.
"Uranus…" she began, her voice showing signs of similar fatigue. "I don't trust them completely either, but unlike your feelings, I don't consider saving lives as much of a hostile act, and their care for all of us justifies my patience. You can feel any way about these fighters as you'd like, but we have no choice but to trust them for now. As you said, there are six of them, and there are only four of us. Hostilities can only be worse for us at this point. There's been too much despair already today…we can't afford anymore."
"She's right," Saturn's gentle voice followed, and she put her hand on Uranus's. "Your hand is shaking, Haruka-papa. You're starting to break…I can tell."
Uranus was slightly shocked at the notion, mostly because she hadn't considered it herself. Had so many days of repeated combat and the frequent sight of death done something to warp her mind to her surroundings? She didn't feel much different…did she?
She was at a loss for this reason even as the Z Warriors returned. The green warrior seemed a bit surprised as he looked at her blank face, expecting another tongue lashing for letting the aliens escape.
"Why the change, Sailor Uranus?" Piccolo said as he was catching his breath. Seeing that and the sweat flowing down his green, bulbed skin made her wonder what exactly that red sphere had done to them. "Don't you have a curse to greet us with?"
"I…" she stammered at first, her pride wanting her to retort, but then she let her shoulders sag, the adrenaline flowing through her finally beginning to die down. Things had already taken too many twists and turns in the past half hour to continue bickering at the trust issue. Her mind needed to rest even if her body was relatively healthy again, and as much as she hated to admit it, there wasn't much four of them could do to prevent seven powerful outsiders from reaching the palace at the current point, especially if - assuming Piccolo's story had been truthful - they'd tracked their power sources this far to begin with. Perhaps she would take Michiru's advice for now since - despite shady circumstances - the immediate danger had passed. "Never mind…come on, I'll show you the way to the palace. We'll discuss more once we reach there."
"Excuse me?" Piccolo said in surprise.
Uranus turned away from him, one last burden crossing her mind. "Let us gather the bodies of our friends first, and then you can follow us."
"In that case, we'd be glad to assist you," the three-eed muscular man replied. "There's only two of you that could hold the weight of your friends" --He glanced over at Sailor Saturn and Sailor ChibiMoon -- "No offense to you girls, of course. Besides, it's the least we can do."
He took off with the smaller pale creature right beside him over to where Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus were laying dormant.
"Yamcha," he called over to the scarred man. "Could you give me a hand back here? I see two of them."
"Sure, no problem," And he hovered off after his comrades.
"I'll get the one over there," The one called Krillin offered, soaring northward to retrieve Sailor Mercury's body. Piccolo and Son Gohan watched their friend fly off, assured that he could handle the weight of Mercury's body on his own.
Why do I have the sudden feeling that this is going to a common occurrence with these mercenaries… Uranus allowed that thought to come out. They're too sincere and good-willed to be true in these times…that's why we'll have to wait and see what these guys are all about…
Sailor ChibiMoon and Sailor Saturn had already gone over to Sailor Pluto's body, and from the sullen, tearful looks on their faces, Uranus knew that the combat high and feeling of excitement had vanished along with the fleeing alien duo, and it was time for all of them to grieve over the losses of the day's battle. And even if Setsuna had deviated from traditional fighting rules and brought in a bunch of unknowns behind their backs, she was a surrogate mother to both ChibiUsa and Hotaru, not to mention one of Haruka's best friends.
She looked down at the silent, emulated corpse and sighed. "Sorry you had to go out with such dismal feelings on my end, Setsuna. Rest in peace…friend. We'll get them for you…"
As Saturn and ChibiMoon wept, Uranus lifted the prone corpse off of the ground, her heart feeling increasingly heavy as the weight of Setsuna's corpse pressed down onto her shoulders.
* * *
"What do you think happened here?" Yamcha asked as he snapped the black energy chains that were wrapped around the bodies of two of the Sailor Soldiers. A lot of their skin had been burned black, and it stung Yamcha's skin even to touch them. They had to have been hit by an extremely powerful ki force.
"I'd say these were the ones that were the targets of that explosion we felt a while back," Tenshinhan replied as he lifted the brunette into his arms, gazing briefly at her charred face. "What a waste…they look so young to die such a horrible death."
Yamcha picked up the other one with relative ease.
"Terrible," Chaozu murmured. "They fought to the end, I'll bet. We'll make them pay for this!"
"One step at a time, my friend," Tenshinhan said calmly. "These girls gave their lives to protect this planet desite such stacked odds. Now, we must honor the sacrifices of ones so brave while we have this chance."
Yamcha was silent, not knowing what to say - Ten had always been much better at words than he was when it came such things like death. As he looked at the face of the blonde girl, he sighed. She'd been a pretty thing once, and her face retained much of that - it had been relatively spared by whatever had killed her. Even in death, Yamcha could see sadness on her face, grieving at perhaps her defeat, maybe at what would happen to her surviving friends without her there, and possibly at some other grim thought that Yamcha couldn't even guess.
"Sorry," he simply said. He then looked up and jogged forward to catch up with Ten and Chaozu. He didn't want to look down again.
* * *
"I never thought I'd be doing this again," Gohan heard Krillin say as he floated up, a blue-haired girl on his back.
"What happened to her?" the hybrid asked.
"The neck's snapped like a twig," he replied. "Animals…"
Gohan nodded in agreement as Krillin floated past him. Looking back to the side of the street, he saw Sailor Uranus pulling Sailor Pluto's body away on her shoulders with Sailor Neptune watching from a small distance away, sadness apparent on both of their faces.
The worst impact of the deaths seemed to be felt by the two children, especially Serenity's daughter. The situation was made worse as Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu arrived with their corpses; the sight of her dead friends seemed to make ChibiUsa even more hysterical. Gohan cringed as he began hearing audible sobs coming from the princess as she had her face buried in Sailor Saturn's chest. The latter was trying her best to calm down her friend, but the ordeal wasn't easy on her either - pain and tears were clearly visible in her eyes as well.
How can I refuse that…Infernia…you'll pay for this…
He slowly walked over to the grieving pair and gently put a hand on the princess's shoulder. She turned her head partially, and Gohan was stricken somewhat himself as he gazed upon her damp cheeks and red, tear-filled eyes.
"She…er, they were very close to you, I take…" he stuttered at first, feeling a blunder coming on. "But while we never knew the friends you lost today, I can say that we'll get revenge for them…I promise."
The thought seemed to comfort the princess, and she managed to return a weak smile as she cried, the realization of her friends death still too great for her to bear at the moment. Saturn kept her held, letting her cry all she wanted. Gohan understood - while he could tear apart the murderous aliens for causing such a catastrophe, only time could heal the reality of their deaths. He looked up at Hotaru, whose eyes met his almost immediately.
"Are you…?" Gohan asked softly to the girl.
"I'll be fine…" She cast her look aside, almost afraid to even look at him as it seemed. "I'm the Sailor Soldier of Death…loss is nothing new for me to endure. It's a part of wars such as this one. My only choice is to move on after I help my friends cope…death's not supposed to affect me."
"But Hotaru…" Gohan continued, not wanting to accept that she actually believed what she just said. He could easily see her putting up an emotional wall around her. "Even someone whose power is death isn't immune to it. We're all human here, and it is difficult to accept the deaths of good friends and
family…believe me, I know."
"Are you saying that out of truth?" she asked as she fought to hold back excess tears. "Or is it because you're attempting to win over our trust as allies through this sympathy?"
Gohan backed away a bit, his thoughts returning to his father.
"When I lost my dad the first time, I didn't understand what was happening, I was too young," he said to Saturn, who looked a little surprised at the revelation. "When I lost him again in space, I did understand, and it hit me all at once. When I say I know what you're going through, I mean it in sincerity."
"I see…" Saturn muttered, still keeping her own tears back. "Gohan…I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean to sound irritated at you. I just wish--"
"Hotaru!" Sailor Uranus called from a short distance. "Come on, let's get back. There's no use grieving out on the battlefield. We have to send the girls off in a proper setting."
"On our way," she replied, turning back to Gohan briefly. "Thank you…Gohan. It means a lot to us."
He nodded in return as Sailor Saturn ushered the weeping princess along with her to catch up with the others. Soon, he, Piccolo, and Chaozu were the only ones lagging behind.
"Come on, Gohan," Piccolo said as he stepped forward. "It's better to deal with this once we've reached the palace and discussed things with Serenity."
"Yeah…I'll be there in a minute," Gohan replied, and Piccolo turned and walked off in the direction that the Sailor Soldiers and the rest of their own group had gone.
Gohan suddenly caught a glimpse of a bright white comet sailing toward them from the north. At first, he thought it was perhaps Infernia returning to finish the job, but to his dismay, the ki energy belonged to the Saiyan prince Vegeta. He wondered if he'd had any luck with catching the aliens.
"You seem to be taking this pretty hard, Gohan," Chaozu noted as he walked up to his friend. "Though I suppose death of allies, known or unknown, is never easy."
"You're right," he said as his eyes fell on a shiny metal object laying several yards away. Upon closer examination, he found that it was a staff tipped with a garnet. It had to have been Sailor Pluto's - Kami had mentioned that she carried such a staff when they spoke to him. He picked it up off the ground, examining it as he sighed. "I guess it's more of an advantage we had. When you, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo had died, we had a way to easily bring you back from the dead with no problems. These girls have no such advantage…I don't know, I guess it's just not fair. Especially for the princess, did you see--"
Gohan suddenly froze in mid-phrase as he looked at the staff, a clever idea suddenly crossing his mind and bringing a silver lining to the cloud of Death that had fallen over the battlefield.
"Gohan?" Chaozu inquired with confusion. "What's the matter?"
"Chaozu, was that time portal still open when we arrived here?" he quickly asked, wheels turning in his head.
"It closed behind us, but it left a glowing crimson orb in its place if I can remember right," Chaozu replied, his memory sharp and quick. "I would think it could be reopened with another shot of energy like the one that Kami gave to it. Sailor Pluto might've designed it that way so we could get home after all of this was overwith."
"Perfect!" Gohan shouted triumphantly. "Then it'll work, I'm sure of it! I've got to talk to Piccolo about it when we get to the palace, and hopefully, he'll agree with me about this plan…"
"Gohan, what in the world are you talking about?" Chaozu was completely lost.
"What do you say we turn a funeral into a reunion?" He continued. "We need all the muscle we can get, right? Not to mention that it'll be a nice surprise for the Sailor Soldiers."
"Wait a second," Chaozu's eyes widened. "You're not thinking about…?"
"That's right." Gohan nodded. "Let's make a short trip back…for the Dragonballs."
So, these are the best fighters that the future has to offer? Vegeta thought he was going to throw up in disgust as he examined the four surviving Sailor Soldiers. For crying out loud, they're a bunch of children! It's no wonder that this planet is in shambles right now…
Not that he cared or felt any kind of sympathy about Earth's disheveled condition - the planet trade business had shown him far worse looking planets than this, and he wasn't too interested in the planet or the ruined kingdom at the moment. He would let those other fools deal with the sentimental and heroic garbage - he had other thoughts on his mind, mainly the aliens. Before stepping into the time gate, he'd made it a prime objective to rid himself of the aliens now in order to save himself the trouble when Earth was part of his conquered empire in the future. However, the actions of the invaders since their arrival had sparked more curiosity within the Saiyan prince that made the expedition all the more interesting.
Slaughtering and pillaging in such a methodic manner…possessing the same energy manipulation and fighting techniques as ourselves…finding the armored soldiers with such striking resemblance…Vegeta had been mulling over the implications even after dispatching another round of attacking soldiers only minutes ago. The recent string of evidence - including the mass execution inside one of the initial buildings that they'd found upon their arrival - was beginning to worry him slightly. Why did these aliens possess such a striking resemblance to Frieza's forces back in their time period?
Though he'd initially denied the idea with vehemence, he'd been forced to consider the evidence before him, of how similar in style, apparel, and technique a lot of the soldiers had been to Frieza's old army. The only conflicting element that dropped the theory completely in Vegeta's mind was the fact that he knew Frieza's head war generals all too well.
They would take to fighting among themselves for power and control of territories after their master's death, and the empire would fall apart. He concluded. That has to be true…I followed those commanders too well to be mistaken. The empire and its army must be long dead by now.
So, the idea of Frieza's empire surviving centuries after Frieza's death was out. But then, why was there so much similarity between the fighting styles of the soldiers in both groups? They were practically mirror images…there had to be a connection as far as he was concerned.
"Wait…no, it couldn't be him…" Vegeta's thoughts suddenly stopped on a particular person that could have fit the bill for the alien leader, somebody he knew from his youth that had gotten his hands on the resources that would explain the mysterious coincidences, but the thought quickly vanished. "No, that's impossible, he couldn't be alive. Those ideas that he had were ridiculous…even the thought of genetic engineering being perfected…"
Vegeta stopped himself in the middle of his thought, not wanting to believe the impossible. That crazy lunatic from years ago couldn't have been right about his theories and technology.
But if it is him by an off chance…He mused as he clenched his fist. Then I owe him a little something for taking advantage of our race and playing us for fools…
But for now, he decided to focus on the situation at hand. Although he could've cared less how many of the princesses were left, he did need at least one alive so he could obtain some kind of current knowledge about the aliens' activities in the time period, and more specifically, he needed to know where their soldiers were hiding so he could personally root them out and eradicate them completely. If it meant playing friendly and benevolent with those children and their kingdom to get what he needed, then he could deal with that.
"Hold on…" he muttered to himself as he thoroughly examined the Sailor Soldiers again, something ringing in the back of his thoughts about their appearance and the pure energy radiating from them. For some reason, he felt like he'd seen them - or at least people in similar garb - at some point during his lifetime. At first, he shook it off -after all, he had lead the conquering of countless planets under Frieza, and it was easy to mix up--
Wait…!!
Suddenly, the images started coming back to him, the sights from his youth becoming clearer. And now he knew why the 'Sailor Soldier' title that was explained by the Earth's Namek guardian had sounded somewhat familiar to him.
Those outfits…the crystal pure energy…no, could they possibly be…?! A large smile of surprise appeared on Vegeta's face, things now looking incredibly interesting. So, our old 'friends' of the Silver Millennium DID survive the attack by the Dark Kingdom! They must've somehow survived the disaster and found their way to Earth…
He could remember a few visits to the Silver Millennium with his father during his youth, mostly for trade agreements and similar diplomatic appointments with the royal family. However, for other Saiyans, a journey to the Silver Millennium during their lifetime was meant solely to get a set of custom-made battle armor that was forged from the finest materials in the galaxy, all of which the Silver Millennium had sole claim over. Of course, the people doing the selling had never been terrific company. The peace-loving do-gooders of the Silver Millennium always looked down upon what they thought of as 'savage, uncivilized beasts' in the Saiyans, and the queen of the kingdom was no exception. Even Vegeta's father, the king, hadn't been allowed into the court unless under heavy guard because of the superiority complex and paranoia of the royalty.
However, Vegeta had been extremely upset about the fate of the Silver Millennium when he had heard of its fall to the Dark Kingdom…extremely upset that he hadn't gotten his hands on that prized battle armor, that is. The fall happened nearly one year before Frieza brought the same fate to Vegeta's home planet, and although the Saiyan prince couldn't figure out how the Sailor Soldiers had survived the destruction of their old kingdom and found their way to Earth to build a new one, he knew that he would be in for a treat if those two Sailor Soldiers recognized him and remembered the rivalry between their two races.
"Hah, they wouldn't even look at us because they reviled us so much…petty children," Vegeta snickered as his smile spread outward. He supposed that while he couldn't kill the brats, it didn't mean that he couldn't show up members of the court of the deceased Silver Millennium with his awesome might.
Vegeta decided to relax himself a bit, letting his tension and anxiety slip away as he stared at the Sailor Soldiers. It was rare that he could showcase his power in front of people who would despise it the most, and he could get a small measure of psychological revenge against those saintly princesses all while eliminating threats to his future rule at the same time.
Still though… He pondered. The Earth guardian said that the Sailor Soldiers came after we did…if they had gotten to Earth after the Dark Kingdom's attack, how did they surface on the planet only after my lifetime?
It had to have been a magic trick as far as he could've guessed. The royalty of the Silver Millennium did possess such unique and fascinating power. Perhaps their queen had allowed them to take on new forms once they reached Earth so the Dark Kingdom couldn't track any survivors of their attack. He surmised that keeping them hidden and protected even from the affects of time for months, perhaps years wasn't beyond their reach either, letting them take on new lives decades after their kingdom was destroyed. That would explain how they came to exist to Earth even after his extended life as a Saiyan.
"Well, little girls, there will be no smoke and mirrors this time," he snickered to himself. "I've always wondered how the royalty would react if their greatest anti-ally showed his face to them again…"
For the first time in a while, Vegeta felt at ease. Things were going to be immensely enjoyable from there on out.
* * *
"What do you think about this one, ChibiMoon?" Sailor Saturn asked as Krillin and Gohan went over to converse with the taller man who'd touched down shortly before Piccolo had obliterated Tridyx. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk previously because they'd all been forced to take cover after the aftershock of Piccolo's deathblow to the giant alien. "ChibiMoon?"
The princess's silence was more than explained as Saturn looked over and saw her staring off in the direction of Son Gohan, her eyes sparkling and a small smile across her face. Sailor Saturn rolled her eyes; she'd seen this out of the princess before. Every time a boy showed her at least a small amount of kindness, she become attached to him, and apparently Son Gohan playing the part of hero was more than enough to infatuate the princess. She quickly nudged her in the ribs with her elbow, bringing her out of her daydreams.
"Welcome back," she made the remark as a scolding more than a joke.
"Err, I was listening…!" she stuttered as her face turned red. "And of course we've got the battle won!"
"That's what I thought," The princess's misinterpretation of the statement told the story, and she sincerely hoped that her heart wouldn't run away with her head. It wasn't worth being embarrassed in front of their would-be allies with their princess acting like a lovesick puppy over Son Gohan.
The tall, lanky man had to have some kind of story behind him as far as Sailor Saturn was concerned. His gi was identical to Krillin's, and the scars on his face probably were the last remnants of old battles.
"How did things work out with the enemy soldiers, Yamcha?" Krillin asked. "I was starting to get worried."
"Eh, no problem, but there sure were a lot of them," he replied as he looked over at Sailor Saturn and Sailor ChibiMoon. "Two of the Sailor Soldiers, I presume?"
"Yeah, come over, I'll introduce you," Gohan said as he motioned in Hotaru's direction. "This is Hotaru, or Sailor Saturn, and Princess Usagi, the queen's daughter."
ChibiMoon bowed courteously toward Yamcha.
"ChibiUsa, please, Yamcha," she said to him with a friendly smile. "I hate being proper sometimes, especially around friends."
Hotaru bowed as well, still digesting what Yamcha had just said about the alien soldiers.
Presumably, he and the other Z Warriors that had arrived later than the first three had run into a huge swarm of the armored commandos before getting to the palace, but despite any recent battles, Yamcha didn't seem the least bit wounded or even out of breath. Just how strong were these guys…?
"Pleased to meet you," she politely said. "And we thank you for your assistance in this battle."
"Good to meet you girls, too," Yamcha nodded his head toward Saturn and ChibiMoon. "Have Gohan and Krillin already filled you on who we are?"
"Yes, while some of us were paying attention, anyway," Sailor Saturn glanced over at ChibiMoon, smirking teasingly at her about her infatuation with Son Gohan. The princess's face turned red, and she backed away, shooting a murderous glance over at her friend. As annoying as her lovesickness was, it was fun to rag on her about it.
"Excuse me?" Yamcha seemed lost as to what she was referring to, so Saturn shook it off and continued.
"Well, Krillin told us that you're from Earth of the past, and you were called here by our queen to help us battle these monsters…though we know nothing about any of you personally."
Yamcha nodded in understanding.
"I see. We can completely explain ourselves in time, especially with the help of the one who brought us here, Sailor Pluto. From what we understand, she knows a great deal about us," he replied, looking around. "So, where is she?"
Sailor Saturn was silent, the memory of Sailor Pluto being burned alive by Tridyx as well as her agonizing scream still very much echoing inside of her mind. With her injuries, all Sailor Saturn had been able to do was watch as one of her closest friends was scorched alive, dying in so much pain…while she was now standing alive right now. Setsuna hadn't been given the second chance like they had…
"Puu…" ChibiUsa whispered softly as Saturn spotted her wiping a tear away from her eye. The memory had to be worse for her, and Saturn could understand why. She embraced her friend again, trying to calm her down.
Yamcha lowered his head solemnly.
"I understand…" he said. "I'm sorry…I wish we could've gotten here sooner to help her and your friends."
"We were hounded by soldiers the whole way here," Krillin explained to Saturn. "Had there not been so many enemies and so great a distance between here and our entry point, we could've been here easily…we're really sorry about your friends…"
Hotaru was a bit surprised at the genuine nature of the two foreigners. She could usually read into when somebody was lying or putting forth a false appearance, but as she looked into the eyes of Krillin and Yamcha, she saw nothing but regret and self-disappointment at the loss of the other Sailor Soldiers. She then realized why ChibiUsa had been able to put so much trust in their saviors so quickly. The only thing that was disturbing her was how Gohan seemed to react to Krillin's words. He'd cast his head down, silently clenching his fists out of the view of the others. Hotaru could sense a violent upsurge of energy within him, almost as if Krillin's words had cast a rage upon him.
"We'll all talk about it later," Yamcha suggested as the saddened atmosphere had seemed to get a little out of hand. "Hey, the good guys were victorious in the long run, so let's enjoy our time alive while we can, eh?"
The thought seemed to help, as Saturn felt a smile coming back to her face. She could feel ChibiMoon's crying stopping a little bit. Both of them knew that Yamcha was right, this certainly wasn't the time to deal with the negative side of what had recently happened - knowing Sailor Uranus, she'd want answers from the Z Warriors as to what in the world they were, and Sailor Saturn was willing to bet that she wasn't going to be as eager to believe in their new allies as she and ChibiMoon had been.
"Hey, looks like Piccolo's calling us over, you guys," Gohan said as he saw the Namek beckon to the group with his hand. "You girls better stay here until the other two take a liking to us. We'll talk about this more later."
Before Hotaru could reply, the three Z Warriors took off, flying across the street where the others of their team were waiting. She looked down at her friend, who had loosened her grip on her.
"Are you okay, ChibiMoon?" Hotaru asked as the princess wiped her red eyes.
"Yeah…I'm fine," she nodded as she gazed up at her friend. "Thanks, Hotaru…we owe those guys big, don't we?"
Sailor Saturn stared over at the Z Warrior congregation.
"I'd say so, considering that they did save our lives…especially Son Gohan."
As if by magic, ChibiUsa's eyes were beaming again, and Hotaru knew it was clear - the princess was smitten once again with a guy, this time with the young foreigner playing the unfortunate victim. She sighed in exasperation as ChibiUsa wordlessly stared over at him, not really wanting to know what lovey-dovey thoughts were going through her head.
Even still, though Sailor Saturn hadn't been too properly acquainted with the young boy, he seemed like a nice guy, more than other boys her age around Crystal Tokyo. He seemed to have an air of maturity around his actions and a mindset that was well beyond his years…much like her own…
Oh, stop it… she told herself. There are more important things at hand right now.
* * *
"How are they?" Tenshinhan instinctively asked as Gohan, Krillin, and Yamcha joined the group.
"A bit saddened over the deaths of their comrades," Krillin replied. "But they're okay otherwise.
That was some good shooting you guys did from up there. Even I couldn't sense your presence until you blasted those two."
Tenshinhan smirked, giving Chaozu a friendly fist-tap.
"It was the least we could do, Krillin," he replied. "After all, we wanted a little bit of revenge for what those guys have done to Earth."
Chaozu agreed, but suddenly, his confidence faded. "Gohan, what's wrong?"
Gohan wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation. He was focused on his master at the moment, who was standing at the edge of the curb away from the others, staring silently at the two older Sailor Soldiers, who'd chosen to remain in the center of the street. He walked up to the stoic Namek and glanced over at the Sailor Soldiers with him.
"Piccolo, are you okay?" he asked.
"What can you sense in those two, Gohan?" Piccolo abruptly asked him as he looked down at the Saiyan hybrid. It wasn't so much a question that the Namek didn't know the answer to, but more of a test of Gohan's perception skills.
He didn't need much of his senses to figure out what the Namek was implying, though. The two Sailor Soldiers had extremely defensive energies about them, and their eyes were as emotionless as Piccolo's, not conveying any idea as to how they regarded their little band. However, the fact that the duo remained in the middle of the street spoke volumes about their caution.
"I'd say they're not up for making friends," Gohan glance over at the tan-haired soldier, Sailor Uranus. "Especially the taller one, she's not exactly…sociable."
"I caught a glance of her roughing you up on the ground earlier," Piccolo continued as he returned his gaze to the two princesses. "And you're right, these two are despondent at our presence here."
"But it looks like they're waiting for us to make a move here, you guys," Chaozu said. "And I don't think they'll be too comfortable if we all go out there for introductions."
"Then it would be best if Gohan and I went out and had a few words with them," Piccolo decided as he stepped off the curb and onto the street. "The bulk of the power and motives surrounding our actions have been displayed by the two of us. Since they've seen at least some signs of friendship and good will through the actions of Gohan and I, I think that we would be the better choice for establishing peace between our two groups. They don't know much about the rest of you."
"I could argue that point…" Krillin grumbled as Piccolo had disregarded his actions altogether. "But I see what you mean."
"Yeah, it'll probably be our best chance," Yamcha agreed. "You two go for it, and we'll wait right here."
"But what about the other two aliens?" Chaozu asked as he motioned to the building where their powerful energies were still recovering. "I think it would be best to finish them now, before they can give us any more trouble."
"First things first, Chaozu," Tenshinhan folded his arms as he kept a watchful eye on the two aliens' positions. They were still a considerable distance away - about a few hundred yards down the long street - and if they did recover, they could be dealt with without too much trouble. "Those two can fester in there for a little while longer, but we've got to show these princesses that we truly are on their side before going any further. I have a feeling that trust more than strength is going to be key if we're going to coexist during this war."
"I concur," Piccolo nodded. "We should have a little more time, but keep an eye on those two while we attend to our new 'allies.' Come on, Gohan."
Gohan fell into step next to his mentor and the two of them crossed into the street, approaching the two Sailor Soldiers with caution in case any trouble started.
* * *
"You are the Z Warriors, I presume?" The tan-haired Sailor Soldier spoke first with assertion and a calm demeanor as they stopped in front of her. Piccolo looked her over briefly, sensing a solid aura in her and seeing it radiating through her confident, even gaze. He also sensed a defensive energy about her, and after noticing her shoving Gohan a bit earlier, Piccolo knew that she'd be most enjoyable to associate with during the coming battles.
"If you are referring to the ones who were called here to help you save this planet, then you are correct. We are the 'Z Warriors,'" Piccolo answered with the same assertiveness, albeit amused that the people of the future had given their forces a collective name. "Who might I be addressing? None of us are too familiar with this kingdom despite what we've been informed."
"My name is Haruka Tenoh, though in this form, I am known as Sailor Uranus," she answered flatly.
Her other comrade stepped forward, slightly bowing towards Piccolo.
"And I am Michiru Kaioh, also called Sailor Neptune," she introduced herself more politely than Uranus. "Your name is…Piccolo, am I right?"
Piccolo was slightly impressed - Sailor Neptune had a good set of ears to hear his conversation with Tridyx from that great a distance.
"Yes," he responded as he motioned back toward the boy behind him. "And I believe you've already become acquainted with Son Gohan."
Gohan bowed in the direction of Sailor Neptune in particular, probably because she hadn't been in direct contact with him before like Uranus had been, and she seemed slightly more on the friendlier side.
"Pleased to meet you," he said. "We're glad that you are well."
Piccolo noticed that only Sailor Neptune had taken the time to return the gesture to Gohan, whereas Sailor Uranus hadn't taken her eyes off of the Namek.
"Son Gohan," Neptune said as she looked down toward the boy. "We never got to thank you properly for saving our lives, especially our princess. You have our gratitude."
Gohan laughed sheepishly as Neptune smiled gratefully toward him.
"It was nothing, don't mention it," he said. "Just doing what--"
"In any event," Uranus harshly cut the exchange off, casting a scolding glance toward Sailor Neptune before continuing. "I suppose we do owe you to a small degree. Although if Sailor Pluto brought you to this era some time ago like she explained to me, what exactly took you so long to 'help' us? I suppose you wanted to wait until all of us were dead, am I correct?"
Neptune shot a surprised glare over to Uranus as the exchange had taken little time to grow hostile. Piccolo remained cool and collected even as he saw Gohan grow somewhat tense next to him. It was an accusation that the Namek had been prepared for, especially after seeing the firm intensity in Sailor Uranus from across the street.
"The one called Sailor Pluto brought us to this era successfully," Piccolo began, not letting up at her sarcastic comment. "But the time gate that we came through dropped us on the wrong side of the continent, and we spent quite some time trying to avoid the enemy in our efforts to get here. Fortunately, your energies stand out among the other powers fighting on this planet, or else we may have never found you."
"We did everything in our power to help your friends," Gohan continued. "And we're really sorry that we couldn't make it here in time, but if we weren't concerned with your lives, would we have stepped in to stop those aliens before they killed you?"
"Stop them?" Uranus didn't seem convinced as she stared over toward the building that Tenshinhan and Chaozu had blasted the two remaining aliens into. "Your two allies over there seemed to have missed their intended mark - those two are still alive and thriving."
Their power had recovered fully at this point as far as Piccolo could sense, sooner than he had anticipated. Suddenly, the building that housed the two aliens erupted from the inside, sending debris and shards of crystal everywhere. The energy was so volatile and fierce that beams of ki shot out from the explosion area, causing the whole group to scatter. Piccolo and Gohan had to dive for the ground to avoid getting scorched while the other Z Warriors used the nearby skyscraper for protection. Uranus tackled Sailor Neptune to the ground, shielding her from the flying shards of crystal and energy and getting a few cuts and burns on her bare limbs as a result.
After the dust cleared and it was safe to stand, Piccolo spotted the alien commander and her remaining cohort standing in the street near the freshly smashed building, both powered up and surrounded by energy. The female was looking immensely enraged, and for good reason - Piccolo himself had endured his share of ambushes over his lifetime, and it wasn't too pleasant for a warrior's pride to be successfully caught in one.
"I'll finish you this time!" Sailor Uranus took charge right away, drawing a small jeweled scimitar and dashing forward with seemingly superhuman speed at the energized soldiers. The Namek cursed aloud at Uranus's recklessness, but before her comrade could get to her feet, Piccolo held her down by the shoulder.
"Don't!" He commanded Sailor Neptune. "It's suicide for you to attack those aliens!!"
"Don't talk to me as if I'm a novice!" she barked back, trying to shake free of Piccolo's grip. "I've dealt with circumstances that have been far worse than this, and no fear is going to keep me from standing up to our enemies!"
"Oh really? Well then, let me be frank about this: you and your friends possess too much value to squander so rashly. And the owner of such valuables doesn't leave them out in the open for the thieves to steal. Sorry, but you had your chance to beat these freaks. We'll take it from here!"
"Valuables, huh?" Neptune suddenly shifted her legs, sweeping Piccolo's feet out from under him. She kipped up onto her feet and lightly flipped over the stunned Piccolo. "The owner sometimes has to learn how to guard the valuables correctly first! Thanks for your consideration, but this is our planet, too. We'll be the first to defend it!"
With that, Neptune dashed off at her own power-enhanced speed to catch her partner as Piccolo cursed after her, fighting an impulse to launch a ki beam her way. As he expected, the two older soldiers weren't likely to be sidelined for their own protection. As it was, Uranus had been able to dash along the road at great speed and had made considerable distance from them, taking her too close to the alien insurgents. While Neptune didn't move as fast and was easily within stopping distance, Piccolo didn't want to risk Uranus's life in exchange for dealing again with Neptune and possibly getting his head knocked in for his troubles. He glanced back and saw the two children had taken cover behind one of the wrecked buildings to shield themselves from the blast. He wondered if they would be as gallantly foolish as their counterparts had been, and if so, things were going to get messy.
"Blasted fools, thinking that she can contend with the likes of those two…" Piccolo was half-tempted to let Uranus and Neptune find out the hard way about the power of their opponents, but the maidens still possessed usefulness to them. Looking over to his right, he saw that Tenshinhan and the others were propelling themselves into the air, ready to fly over and engage their foes. "Gohan, we'd better try to stop those two Sailor Soldiers before--"
"Relax," Vegeta's voice suddenly cut in, and Piccolo was rather surprised to find the Saiyan prince standing next to him with a large grin on his narrow face. "Let me handle the kids while you take care of the aliens."
"Huh," Piccolo stood up and brushed some dirt off of his shoulders. "You seem awfully willing to help all of a sudden. Something catch your eye about those Sailor Soldiers, Vegeta?"
"I'm doing you a favor, Namek," Vegeta snapped back at Piccolo as he crossed his arms. "Don't ask questions, just be thankful that I am giving you a few less headaches to deal with."
Piccolo smirked as he powered up, ready to take flight. He stifled Gohan with his hand when the young Saiyan opened his mouth, obviously to protest.
"I suppose you have me there, for once," he replied. "Have it your way. Just make sure you don't kill them, or else we'll have gained nothing in this whole affair. Gohan, let's go!"
Thankfully, Gohan chose to follow his master's example for the time being instead of bickering
with Vegeta. "Right! Let's finish this!"
Piccolo shot into the air as Gohan bounded into flight close behind him, blazing toward the aliens at high speed so he could beat Uranus and Neptune to them and trusting that Vegeta would detain them from entering the conflict itself.
"What was that about, you think?" Gohan called over to Piccolo. "Did you see that look in his eye…?"
"Who knows," Piccolo's gaze remained on the target. "But given Vegeta's arrogance, it's not going to be pretty when he gets in their way."
* * *
Uranus bolted down the street, extra energy from her Sailor Soldier form propelling her further and faster than she would have traveled in her normal form. However, she had noticed that she was going at a more rapid pace than she had been expecting her body to handle considering the recent battle. The healing seed of that Son Gohan had certainly done more wonders than she had expected. She hadn't felt this good for the longest time.
So why don't you go ahead and give him a kiss and fall all over him about what a brave young hero he is? She sarcastically reminded herself that such a tactic from the boy could've been part of a grander scheme. But such issues would be dealt with in time - the other two aliens were still fresh for battle, perhaps more than ever after being ambushed by two of the Z Warriors. Even with Neptune behind her, it would take--
WHOOM!!
A blur flashed in front of Uranus's eyes, causing her to fall backward to the ground. Her heart bewildered, she glanced up and saw one of the Z Warriors - the shorter one who donned armor similar to the alien commandos - standing in front of her, his arms casually folded and his lips curled into a sneer.
"And just where do you think you're going?" he said in mock surprise. "Did the aliens use your head as a punching bag too much when you were fighting them? Maybe that would explain why you're about to rush back in and commit suicide."
"I don't have time for this!" Uranus stood up with her Space Sword, her eye catching the forms of Piccolo and Son Gohan flying past them up above, on course for the alien duo. She leveled the sword in his direction, the sharp tip of the blade centimeters from the warrior's throat. "We didn't ask for your help, foreigner, now get out of my way!"
The sneer didn't falter from the soldier's face.
"You have spirit, I'll give you that," he commented. "And you do have a bit more power within you than I first assumed you would, especially for someone of the Silver Millennium."
Uranus was about to slice the rambling outsider's throat, but the last two words stopped her cold, nearly causing her to lose her grip on her sword.
"The Silver Millennium…?" she repeated in half stutter as the soldier watched her in amusement. How could someone of the past who - by Piccolo's remarks - didn't know about the current kingdom possibly be familiar about the lost kingdom of the Moon?
"That knowledge and this face don't spark any memories? That's certainly surprising," the soldier continued, eyeing her jeweled blade with eagerness. "But I suppose centuries of time would cause memories of the old days to fade, though I would think that out of everyone still alive from the ancient kingdom, the members of the nobility would recognize the face of their most eccentric customers."
She still hesitated, wanting partially to puncture the foreigner's throat with her sword, but holding back as she contemplated his words, her mind being drawn in by an almost noxious sense of curiosity.
"Still clueless?" The spike-haired man laughed aloud, tapping the tip of the blade lightly with a calm eye on it. "Well then, does the name Vegeta mean anything to you? I think you and the rest of your princess friends should remember it quite well from the old age. We were your opposites, your shadows, and ours was the epetomy of a relationship between the extremes: good and evil, light and darkness, 'the rose and its thorns' as the humans are fond of saying. And while my tail may be missing, the rest of me is here before you in the flesh, maiden of the Silver Millennium."
As Uranus stood firm with her sword still at the tip of the warrior's neck, the spike-haired man raised up his hands and his body suddenly exploded in a burst of energy. Sailor Uranus jumped back instinctively, her sword hot from the foreigner's energy surge.
"Behold, the heir of the Saiyan empire, Lord Vegeta!!"
"…No…it can't be…" a whisper escaped as Uranus felt her hands beginning to tremble slightly at the name. It, along with that knowledge and a face that she never dared to fear that she would see again made her forget about all the other foreigners. Now, she was staring face to face with the king of the barbaric Saiyan race, some of the most powerful warriors ever to have existed and cold-blooded murdering dogs to boot. "You…Saiyan!!"
Out of instinct, she drew the blade back to slash at the smirking Saiyan, but another sudden concussion wave of energy from the warrior's glowing body hurled her backward onto the ground, her shoulder slamming harshly into the pavement. She also lost grip on her Space Sword, which pitched forward onto the ground at Vegeta's feet.
She gazed up in confusion, her head beginning to throb from the impact of the concussion wave. Had the Saiyan generated that quick shot of energy in the blink of an eye? Given the number of nasty surprises that had plagued her today, that option wasn't far out of reach.
"Pity," she thought she heard the Saiyan say as he bent down. The look of maliciousness in his slanted black eyes, the arrogant sneer, spiked hair, and immense power were all unmistakable. Even after ages upon ages of time in her existence and not possessing many reminding thoughts left of her former life, the memories of the Saiyan race still echoed throughout her mind as she gazed at the armored assassin.
"So you do remember!" Vegeta casually used a bit of his energy to lift the fallen blade off of the ground. "How delightful, I almost thought that my feelings were going to be hurt. And it appears that you Sailor Soldiers, your magic weapons, and pompous attitudes haven't changed even with the passing of time. How foolish…thinking you stood a chance against an elite fighter like me."
As Uranus sat up, Vegeta nonchalantly swung the jeweled sword through the air, orange energy trailing off the end of the metal blade.
"I never thought to see your faces again," he continued as he dropped the sword back into Sailor Uranus's lap. "After the alliance between our two races was dissolved, I thought I'd seen the last of you mystical witches."
"Alliance?" she sniped back as she stood up, taking up the Space Sword. "We were never allied in the past, and nor shall we ever be! Now tell me, 'King Vegeta,' what is your business here? Are those mercenaries your underlings?"
"King Vegeta…?" the Saiyan seemed genuinely surprised at the title. "Ah, excuse me, it just felt invigorating to hear that title. But as for your questions, my business in this era is my business, something you don't need to be concerned with at the moment. As for the rest of those emotion-plagued weaklings, I have no long-term association or relation with any of them, except for the kid perhaps. They merely provided the means for me to get here, and the promises of an interesting excursion seem to be coming true as I look at you."
"The kid…?" Uranus repeated, ignoring the rest of Vegeta's snickering rhetoric. "You mean Son Gohan."
"Who else?" Vegeta glanced over at Son Gohan, who was soaring through the air with tremendous grace and speed. "He one of the three living members of my race, you know, a Saiyan hybrid, but a Saiyan nonetheless. I'm surprised you didn't sense it in him when he first arrived. If you had, you would've hade no doubt as to who I was."
Uranus clenched her sword tightly as the words came out. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised at the revelation given the boy's remarkable strength and will, though her pride was further injured by the words. Just the mere thought of owing her life and health to a Saiyan of all creatures, hybrid or not, made her want to vomit.
"What's this? You want to attack me again?" Vegeta laughed aloud at the thought as he turned around and looked in the direction of the smoldering fire. "I have no problem, and under any other circumstances, you'd be dead already by my hand. But as much as the Namek and I disagree on many things, we still need you alive. However, my tolerance and generosity spans a short length. Attack me again, and I may slip on the control of my power. And it would be very unfortunate to waste such precious energy on Silver Millennium trash."
"Trash…?" That insult dissolved what self-control Uranus had left. "You think you can control us so easily?! Think again!!"
She lunged forward, taking a huge swing at Vegeta's head with all the strength her arms possessed. To her surprise, the blade passed through nothing but air, the shock wave of orange energy soaring down the road and making a sizeable horizontal cut across the pavement.
"Where did he…?!" Sailor Uranus glanced in all directions, but no sign of the Saiyan could be found. Then, Uranus felt another powerful concussion wave floor her from the sky. She lost her balance yet again and this time, her forehead slammed into the ground as she went down.
"Stupid little girl," The Saiyan's voice seemed faint as she felt warm fluid trickling down the side of her head. As she lifted her eyes, Uranus saw a fuzzy form hovering several feet above her. She suddenly felt like such a fool - she should've known that his speed and flight abilities would have far surpassed even Tridyx, and she'd paid for underestimating Vegeta's abilities. "Let that be your punishment for lashing out against me, and be grateful that a scratch is all you're getting."
"Saiyan…wait…" she groggily stood up, her vision cloudy and head throbbing. "You…can't…"
The blurry form of Vegeta seemed to look away, and at the same time Sailor Uranus thought she heard the sounds of someone running up behind her.
"No further!" He commanded in a barking manner. "I'd prefer not having to hurt you too much because of your value to me, but don't put me to the test. I'm a bit of a different game than the rest of my associates."
Before Uranus could recollect herself, Vegeta rotated in the air and sped off to join the rest of his allies against the aliens. She immediately attempted to run after him, but a hand gripped onto her shoulder firmly, holding her where she was.
"Let…let go of me!!" She yelled at first, fighting the obstacle that kept her from pursuing and eradicating the vile Saiyan, but when she turned to face whomever was holding her back, she relaxed her aggression. "Michiru…"
Sailor Neptune reached her hand up and wiped the blood away from her beloved's temple.
"You certainly have a way with strangers," she half-joked to lift Uranus's spirits. "But why did you attack him? What could've provoked you to--"
"Before you place too much trust into that creature," Uranus shook off Neptune's hand sharply. "I think you may want to know something about him that you may find disturbing."
Before she went on to explain to Neptune about what she'd just encountered, one last miniscule thought crossed her mind about Vegeta as the memories began to solidify in her mind - didn't King Vegeta of the Saiyans have facial hair and a bigger build than what she saw?
* * *
If Sailor ChibiMoon wasn't confused before, she certainly was now. After witnessing the armored, spike-haired warrior nearly lay Sailor Uranus out on the street in front of her, something began telling her that he wasn't in the same league with Gohan and Piccolo. Not that his attack meant anything against the group as a whole as far as she was concerned - while the green fighter had attempted to restrain Sailor Neptune from entering into the fight, he certainly endeavored to do so without causing that much physical harm to her. Uranus's attacker - that was the best way she could describe the man at the moment - had seemingly cared next to nothing about the well-being of the Outer Soldier leader. The lethargy she showed when getting up had been proof of that.
"Sailor Saturn, what do you make of that all?" she asked aloud to her partner.
"…Something about him…" she heard Saturn murmur thoughtfully, as if she hadn't heard her. "Where have I known him before…?"
ChibiMoon looked back at the girl in surprise. "You know that warrior, Saturn? But how? You heard Krillin say that all of them were from the past."
"I know that, ChibiMoon, but something doesn't feel right when I look at that man," Saturn replied as she scratched her chin. "When I sense the energy within him, something in the back of my mind tells me that I'd been in his presence before, or at least with others of his kind."
"Strange…" ChibiMoon replied. "I wonder why I haven't felt the same way about him?"
"I don't know…" Saturn cupped her hands over her eyes, squinting down the street to check on
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. "I can say this though: even though that man attacked Haruka-papa so forcefully, her energy spiked up as he was talking, and it peaked as she first tried to swing at him."
"You think that something he said alarmed her that much?" ChibiMoon ventured. Looking along with Saturn, Uranus seemed to be composing herself enough to explain to Neptune what exactly had happened. "Why don't we go and see? There's no use just standing around here like spectators."
"True, and it doesn't look like we can catch those Z Warriors from here unless we could fly that fast."
"No thanks, Saturn," ChibiMoon shuddered at the idea. "I've seen enough action from the air today. I'm quite content with running, thank you very much."
"That's surprising," Saturn lifted her glaive and sprinted forward, smiling back at the princess. "I'd think you would like the idea with your head being up in the clouds with Son Gohan!"
"Hey, that's not funny!!" ChibiMoon quickly dashed after her.
* * *
As soothing as the flames were to her jarred nerves, Infernia's anger forbade her from staying in seclusion any longer. She boldly stepping into the middle of the street with Zebus right beside her, their temporary prison now a towering inferno to the right of them. Brilliant red energy licked around her whole body, the result of charging up enough power to break out of the complex. It cast an orange shadow on the world in front of her, but she was still able to make up several bright shapes approaching them head-on at a rapid pace. It seemed that their attackers wanted to finish the job. The hell they would if she had anything to do with it.
"I tire of being ambushed by coward assassins!" Zebus's voice was a high-pitched cry. A blue cube of energy surrounded his form and a newfound hatred for the mystery fighters vanquished all feelings of pain from his acute nerves. "Especially the little bald one…Bastard took away my kill!!"
"As well as our dignity…" Infernia's thoughts settled on the boy that had saved the princess. Since his arrival, nothing had gone right - the Sailor Soldiers had been defeated, wrecked, wiped from their concern list, and the princess was about to burst into flames at the touch of her bare hand…until that damned kid had ruined it all by wrenching the princess from her grip with a giant ki beam that no little brat his age had any right using against someone of her caliber. Ever since he arrived, every last advantage has vanished before their eyes. The Sailor Soldiers were out of their reach, Tridyx was more than likely dead after displaying such frailty against the Namek, and most of all, the princess was still alive. Victory seemed far and distant now - had they simply vaporized the Sailor Soldiers from the start and not wasted time playing, the palace could've been theirs… "Such is our fate for overestimating our strength…but I'm going to end that annoying little scruffy-haired fly's life once and for all, and then I'll butcher that Namek and all of those Sailor Soldiers!!"
"Just leave the bald one and the green-haired girl to me, Captain Infernia…" Zebus cracked his knuckles and the cilia lining his mouth quivered as he let out a facsimile of a growl. "They're my kills, mine alone…"
"As you wish, Zebus," Infernia replied. The approaching shapes began to become more visible as they closed in, but it was strange. While Infernia recognized the short bald one that had attacked Zebus, the three new faces surrounding him made her uneasy. Apparently, the beams that sent her and Zebus sailing into the building hadn't been generated by anyone in the immediate area but by more damned foreigners. Infernia growled as she noticed all of their determined yet confident demeanors. Four against two could've gotten messy.
The four unknowns dropped to the ground a short distance away, all of them ready and willing to take the two soldiers on.
"Maybe you should've reconsidered letting me rescue those Sailor Soldiers, eh?" The bald one let out the taunt, causing Infernia's eyes to spark with flaming energy. "We're not going to let you harm them or anyone else!"
"Is that so?" Infernia calmed herself long enough to respond, levitating herself in the air above the flame-colored, fireball-shaped field of energy surrounding her. "Are you so confident that even all four of you can best the two of us? Little man, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. I've killed more boastful warriors such as yourself in the past ten years than you've seen in your entire lifetime!"
He seemed to wince at the 'little man' remark, but another of his cohorts, a three-eyed muscular fighter, stepped forward defiantly.
"Sorry, but the fear effect doesn't work with us," his voice was noble, ringing out loud and clear despite the roaring fire around him. "We're honor bound to protect those princesses and this planet with our lives and deaths. If it means giving up an arm or two to dismantle your ego, I'd be more than happy to be the first one to clash with you!"
"I'm right behind you, Ten!" A laughably small creature stood his ground beside the tri-eye.
"And a miserable bitch like you has no business calling my pal little," The scarred man flashed a glare of his own in their direction. "Are we just going to sit and watch your fire-show all day or just fight!!"
"Delightful…" Infernia smirked. This would be fun, testing herself against four moderately powerful warriors. With any luck, perhaps their mission objective would be completed yet, with a little exercise on the side.
"Starting without us?" Suddenly, a familiar voice through Infernia off her guard. She glanced up and spotted the Namek warrior floating several feet above her, and the worthless little wretch was hovering just nearby. "So, 'captain,' still feeling as confident to victory as you were moments ago?"
"Give me the word, Piccolo, and I'll drop another beam on her head!"
"Hold on a second, Gohan, let me do the talking."
The Namek descended onto the ground in front of her, several feet out of her reach. He folded his arms causally, not impressed by the field of energy burning around Infernia's body.
"Numbers can be a powerful force, don't you agree?" he cocked his head to one side. "I suppose you aliens know a lot about that, sending horde after horde of soldiers to ransack this planet. But now the numbers game has changed, 'friend,' and you're on the unlucky end."
"Bah!" Zebus spat at the Namek with contempt. "Have you gotten a bloated head just because you got the best of Tridyx?! He was just a bodyguard, and a low-grade one at that. He was no soldier, no emissary of power like we are!"
"Is that right?" Piccolo smirked back at the insectoid's bitterness. "Well, I call your bluff. Six of us is more than enough to send you to join your pal Tridyx, and I think both of you know that as well as I do. Even descendants of the army of Frieza know when they're beat!"
"Frieza…?" Infernia was taken off-guard by that one. How could that Namek scum think that they were a part of that dead warlord's forces from centuries back? Unless…did he know something about that plan that Damos had discovered…? It couldn't have been, it was too wild a possibility that he had been through their databanks.
"What's wrong, lady?" the scarred man chuckled. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Shut up!" Infernia barked back as she returned from her musings. She had to think quickly - the arrival of additional fighters on the enemy's side had indeed tipped the scale of power in their favor…and who knew how many other outsiders were hiding in the shadows, concealing their battle powers from their scouters. Was it worth risking a battle with so many potential powers as to endanger the mission, as well as her life?
No, not for now… she concluded as the warriors gradually began to close in on her. The developments had been too sudden, too unexpected to continue the mission, and she wasn't willing to be greeted by anymore unexpected visitors today. The risks were too great at this point in the war, and they could easily regroup after reporting to the general…but first she had to do one thing…
"Numbers are indeed a powerful factor, Namek," her silvery voice chortled as she held one hand behind her back, forming a deep red orb within her palm. "But you forgot one crucial piece of the battle puzzle: strategic brilliance!"
Before they could react, Infernia launched the orb into the air, and it exploded immediately with an illuminating crimson glow. The clear night sky around them immediately darkened into the same color, and as she looked at her combatants, they were all clutching at their chests, in obvious pain at the intense heat generated by such a small sphere. It was a temporary effect of the energy stored in the orb, but a remarkably efficient one.
"Damn…m, my chest…burning…!!"
"What the…what the hell is this…?!"
"Can't take the heat, warriors?" Infernia quickly catalogued each face among the group with her scouter for review back at the ship. "Don't worry, we'll meet again in the fires of battle, and next time, I'll be leaving all of you as ashes!! Zebus, retreat!"
The soldier's flame-resistant scales protected him well from the orb's power, and despite his willingness to stay and slaughter, he knew that the orb's power would quickly dissipate - they only had enough time left now for a hasty getaway.
"I'll kill you another day, bald coward," he spat at the smaller fighter once more before blasting off into the air behind Infernia.
Both of them zipped past the heat-stricken mystery fighters and sailed back the way they'd arrived. They had to make it out of the city where the transport ship to the Terror would be waiting to pick them up, even though the mission was not complete. They sped through the air for a bit of a time, ensuring that they were far enough away from their adversaries so she could send a signal to the waiting crew of the transport ship and tell them to make it flight-ready. All they needed to travel was a few miles by air and--
"Captain!" Zebus's voice interrupted her in midcall. "I'm picking up a power signal coming from the rear!"
Infernia's scouter was in communication mode, so no signal had registered. But as she switched over to scanning mode, the numbers blipped across the screen rapidly. Indeed, a faint battle power was approaching them and at the speed that they were traveling if the velocity data was correct. She glanced back, wondering if one of the foreigners had followed them, but instead, she caught a glimpse of one of their own soldiers, a spike-haired humanoid in white battle armor. Still, he was traveling awfully fast for one of their Standard-class soldiers, and where in the world was his scouter? No unit had been sent out without one.
"Hold on, Zebus," Infernia halted in midair, and Zebus followed suit. The soldier slowed down in front of them, folding his arms casually and not looking at all like he was ready to salute a superior officer, which added even more concern to Infernia's mind. "Identify yourself! What squad are you with?"
"That was quite a technique you pulled back there," The man ignored the question entirely. "I've never seen the elements used in such a creative fashion, but unfortunately for you, those kids delayed me enough so I wasn't caught in your little heat wave. I really hope that's not your only trick."
"You…!!" Infernia was aghast - yet another surprise warrior from the enemy ranks had appeared. How many more unwelcome guests would pop up out of the shadows today? "Who in the hell are you and your allies?! Where have you come from?!"
"Calm down, wench," the man coolly replied as he looked her over. "Hmm…your armor certainly is unique, yet the design seems familiar to me…why don't you tell me who you are and whom your leader is instead? If you do, I may spare some mercy for both of your worthless hides."
"Captain, the ship…" Zebus murmured to her. She could hear a faint static-filled transmission from Zebus's scouter from where she was floating. "They've prepared the engines, but they will be discovered and attacked if we don't hurry."
That was bad news. They couldn't waste their time bickering and fighting with even one unknown and risk their escape ship being discovered. They'd lost too many in recent days - one of the few successes accomplished by Crystal Tokyo raiders - and it was perhaps the only way back to the Terror and General Damos. The communication systems on their scouters wasn't strong enough to reach so far out into space.
"Oh no, you can't leave so soon," the man mocked them and cracked his knuckles. "I've yet to see much substantial action today, and I'd like to make our fun chase worthwhile!"
Suddenly, their chance came as several bright gold ki beams came from the ground and struck the cocky warrior, throwing him off balance and sending him sailing backward.
"It's him!" A soldier's voice came from the ground. "The one who annihilated Squad Grey! Kill him!!"
"Hmph, I suppose numbers do matter, just like the Namek said!" Infernia spat out one last insult before taking off toward the ship at full speed, Zebus trailing right behind her. The warrior hadn't even gotten a chance to follow them.
"Another close call," Zebus said after a few minutes of high-speed flying. "But who are those fighters, captain? They certainly don't bear the resemblance to the Crystal Tokyo scum slinking around on this planet."
"We'll soon find out, soldier," she clicked her scouter over into memory mode, scanning through the facial images that she'd captured from all of the unknowns, including the unruly spike-haired one that had accosted them only moments ago. "The databases aboard the ship may be able to tell us a few things about those cretins and what hole they crawled out of."
"What about the general, captain?" Zebus continued with a tone of uncertainty. "He said that instant victory was riding on the completion of this mission. He won't be pleased with one of his bodyguards dead and the palace still uncaptured."
"Do you think that hadn't crossed my mind, idiot?" Infernia snapped back. "But I'll deal with Damos in my own way, Zebus. Let's just worry about getting back to the ship first!"
Zebus said nothing the rest of the way, presumably because he was pondering the general's upcoming reaction to the aborted mission. Infernia laughed on the inside as she studied his nervous glancing. Indeed, Zebus had plenty of reason to be worried about the general's wrath, but she was a different story. No soldier within the fleet could penetrate Damos's black heart except for her, and she was planning on making him forget about her part in the failed capture mission as soon as the doors closed…
* * *
"Oh, how perfect," Sailor Uranus grumbled as the six warriors made their back to their position, all of them breathing heavily and sweating all over. Such circumstances had to have been from that red sphere that had been launched into the air only minutes before, but in any event, the two alien commanders had escaped nearly scot-free, unless she counted the Saiyan king that had pursued them. But who knew what his game plan was - he was probably looking to join their ranks knowing Uranus's luck. He and that female commander would get along perfectly. "Some help we've got - six versus two, and they let them slip through their fingers."
"Haruka…" Michiru still seemed intent on calming her nerves about their new 'allies' and their recent attempts to bar them from the fight. Saturn and ChibiMoon were offering the same pleading expressions to keep her emotions in check. "As much as I hate to admit, I have a feeling that there's an explanation for all of this."
"You seem awfully willing to trust such incompetent and shady warriors, Neptune," she snapped back at her partner. "What can possibly make you think that these guys are on the same side as we are, especially after what you've just seen? Are you losing your sense of mind, too, Michiru?"
As she looked back at Sailor Neptune, Uranus suddenly realized how mentally exhausted she looked, and she was surprised that she hadn't noticed it earlier.
"Uranus…" she began, her voice showing signs of similar fatigue. "I don't trust them completely either, but unlike your feelings, I don't consider saving lives as much of a hostile act, and their care for all of us justifies my patience. You can feel any way about these fighters as you'd like, but we have no choice but to trust them for now. As you said, there are six of them, and there are only four of us. Hostilities can only be worse for us at this point. There's been too much despair already today…we can't afford anymore."
"She's right," Saturn's gentle voice followed, and she put her hand on Uranus's. "Your hand is shaking, Haruka-papa. You're starting to break…I can tell."
Uranus was slightly shocked at the notion, mostly because she hadn't considered it herself. Had so many days of repeated combat and the frequent sight of death done something to warp her mind to her surroundings? She didn't feel much different…did she?
She was at a loss for this reason even as the Z Warriors returned. The green warrior seemed a bit surprised as he looked at her blank face, expecting another tongue lashing for letting the aliens escape.
"Why the change, Sailor Uranus?" Piccolo said as he was catching his breath. Seeing that and the sweat flowing down his green, bulbed skin made her wonder what exactly that red sphere had done to them. "Don't you have a curse to greet us with?"
"I…" she stammered at first, her pride wanting her to retort, but then she let her shoulders sag, the adrenaline flowing through her finally beginning to die down. Things had already taken too many twists and turns in the past half hour to continue bickering at the trust issue. Her mind needed to rest even if her body was relatively healthy again, and as much as she hated to admit it, there wasn't much four of them could do to prevent seven powerful outsiders from reaching the palace at the current point, especially if - assuming Piccolo's story had been truthful - they'd tracked their power sources this far to begin with. Perhaps she would take Michiru's advice for now since - despite shady circumstances - the immediate danger had passed. "Never mind…come on, I'll show you the way to the palace. We'll discuss more once we reach there."
"Excuse me?" Piccolo said in surprise.
Uranus turned away from him, one last burden crossing her mind. "Let us gather the bodies of our friends first, and then you can follow us."
"In that case, we'd be glad to assist you," the three-eed muscular man replied. "There's only two of you that could hold the weight of your friends" --He glanced over at Sailor Saturn and Sailor ChibiMoon -- "No offense to you girls, of course. Besides, it's the least we can do."
He took off with the smaller pale creature right beside him over to where Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus were laying dormant.
"Yamcha," he called over to the scarred man. "Could you give me a hand back here? I see two of them."
"Sure, no problem," And he hovered off after his comrades.
"I'll get the one over there," The one called Krillin offered, soaring northward to retrieve Sailor Mercury's body. Piccolo and Son Gohan watched their friend fly off, assured that he could handle the weight of Mercury's body on his own.
Why do I have the sudden feeling that this is going to a common occurrence with these mercenaries… Uranus allowed that thought to come out. They're too sincere and good-willed to be true in these times…that's why we'll have to wait and see what these guys are all about…
Sailor ChibiMoon and Sailor Saturn had already gone over to Sailor Pluto's body, and from the sullen, tearful looks on their faces, Uranus knew that the combat high and feeling of excitement had vanished along with the fleeing alien duo, and it was time for all of them to grieve over the losses of the day's battle. And even if Setsuna had deviated from traditional fighting rules and brought in a bunch of unknowns behind their backs, she was a surrogate mother to both ChibiUsa and Hotaru, not to mention one of Haruka's best friends.
She looked down at the silent, emulated corpse and sighed. "Sorry you had to go out with such dismal feelings on my end, Setsuna. Rest in peace…friend. We'll get them for you…"
As Saturn and ChibiMoon wept, Uranus lifted the prone corpse off of the ground, her heart feeling increasingly heavy as the weight of Setsuna's corpse pressed down onto her shoulders.
* * *
"What do you think happened here?" Yamcha asked as he snapped the black energy chains that were wrapped around the bodies of two of the Sailor Soldiers. A lot of their skin had been burned black, and it stung Yamcha's skin even to touch them. They had to have been hit by an extremely powerful ki force.
"I'd say these were the ones that were the targets of that explosion we felt a while back," Tenshinhan replied as he lifted the brunette into his arms, gazing briefly at her charred face. "What a waste…they look so young to die such a horrible death."
Yamcha picked up the other one with relative ease.
"Terrible," Chaozu murmured. "They fought to the end, I'll bet. We'll make them pay for this!"
"One step at a time, my friend," Tenshinhan said calmly. "These girls gave their lives to protect this planet desite such stacked odds. Now, we must honor the sacrifices of ones so brave while we have this chance."
Yamcha was silent, not knowing what to say - Ten had always been much better at words than he was when it came such things like death. As he looked at the face of the blonde girl, he sighed. She'd been a pretty thing once, and her face retained much of that - it had been relatively spared by whatever had killed her. Even in death, Yamcha could see sadness on her face, grieving at perhaps her defeat, maybe at what would happen to her surviving friends without her there, and possibly at some other grim thought that Yamcha couldn't even guess.
"Sorry," he simply said. He then looked up and jogged forward to catch up with Ten and Chaozu. He didn't want to look down again.
* * *
"I never thought I'd be doing this again," Gohan heard Krillin say as he floated up, a blue-haired girl on his back.
"What happened to her?" the hybrid asked.
"The neck's snapped like a twig," he replied. "Animals…"
Gohan nodded in agreement as Krillin floated past him. Looking back to the side of the street, he saw Sailor Uranus pulling Sailor Pluto's body away on her shoulders with Sailor Neptune watching from a small distance away, sadness apparent on both of their faces.
The worst impact of the deaths seemed to be felt by the two children, especially Serenity's daughter. The situation was made worse as Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu arrived with their corpses; the sight of her dead friends seemed to make ChibiUsa even more hysterical. Gohan cringed as he began hearing audible sobs coming from the princess as she had her face buried in Sailor Saturn's chest. The latter was trying her best to calm down her friend, but the ordeal wasn't easy on her either - pain and tears were clearly visible in her eyes as well.
How can I refuse that…Infernia…you'll pay for this…
He slowly walked over to the grieving pair and gently put a hand on the princess's shoulder. She turned her head partially, and Gohan was stricken somewhat himself as he gazed upon her damp cheeks and red, tear-filled eyes.
"She…er, they were very close to you, I take…" he stuttered at first, feeling a blunder coming on. "But while we never knew the friends you lost today, I can say that we'll get revenge for them…I promise."
The thought seemed to comfort the princess, and she managed to return a weak smile as she cried, the realization of her friends death still too great for her to bear at the moment. Saturn kept her held, letting her cry all she wanted. Gohan understood - while he could tear apart the murderous aliens for causing such a catastrophe, only time could heal the reality of their deaths. He looked up at Hotaru, whose eyes met his almost immediately.
"Are you…?" Gohan asked softly to the girl.
"I'll be fine…" She cast her look aside, almost afraid to even look at him as it seemed. "I'm the Sailor Soldier of Death…loss is nothing new for me to endure. It's a part of wars such as this one. My only choice is to move on after I help my friends cope…death's not supposed to affect me."
"But Hotaru…" Gohan continued, not wanting to accept that she actually believed what she just said. He could easily see her putting up an emotional wall around her. "Even someone whose power is death isn't immune to it. We're all human here, and it is difficult to accept the deaths of good friends and
family…believe me, I know."
"Are you saying that out of truth?" she asked as she fought to hold back excess tears. "Or is it because you're attempting to win over our trust as allies through this sympathy?"
Gohan backed away a bit, his thoughts returning to his father.
"When I lost my dad the first time, I didn't understand what was happening, I was too young," he said to Saturn, who looked a little surprised at the revelation. "When I lost him again in space, I did understand, and it hit me all at once. When I say I know what you're going through, I mean it in sincerity."
"I see…" Saturn muttered, still keeping her own tears back. "Gohan…I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean to sound irritated at you. I just wish--"
"Hotaru!" Sailor Uranus called from a short distance. "Come on, let's get back. There's no use grieving out on the battlefield. We have to send the girls off in a proper setting."
"On our way," she replied, turning back to Gohan briefly. "Thank you…Gohan. It means a lot to us."
He nodded in return as Sailor Saturn ushered the weeping princess along with her to catch up with the others. Soon, he, Piccolo, and Chaozu were the only ones lagging behind.
"Come on, Gohan," Piccolo said as he stepped forward. "It's better to deal with this once we've reached the palace and discussed things with Serenity."
"Yeah…I'll be there in a minute," Gohan replied, and Piccolo turned and walked off in the direction that the Sailor Soldiers and the rest of their own group had gone.
Gohan suddenly caught a glimpse of a bright white comet sailing toward them from the north. At first, he thought it was perhaps Infernia returning to finish the job, but to his dismay, the ki energy belonged to the Saiyan prince Vegeta. He wondered if he'd had any luck with catching the aliens.
"You seem to be taking this pretty hard, Gohan," Chaozu noted as he walked up to his friend. "Though I suppose death of allies, known or unknown, is never easy."
"You're right," he said as his eyes fell on a shiny metal object laying several yards away. Upon closer examination, he found that it was a staff tipped with a garnet. It had to have been Sailor Pluto's - Kami had mentioned that she carried such a staff when they spoke to him. He picked it up off the ground, examining it as he sighed. "I guess it's more of an advantage we had. When you, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo had died, we had a way to easily bring you back from the dead with no problems. These girls have no such advantage…I don't know, I guess it's just not fair. Especially for the princess, did you see--"
Gohan suddenly froze in mid-phrase as he looked at the staff, a clever idea suddenly crossing his mind and bringing a silver lining to the cloud of Death that had fallen over the battlefield.
"Gohan?" Chaozu inquired with confusion. "What's the matter?"
"Chaozu, was that time portal still open when we arrived here?" he quickly asked, wheels turning in his head.
"It closed behind us, but it left a glowing crimson orb in its place if I can remember right," Chaozu replied, his memory sharp and quick. "I would think it could be reopened with another shot of energy like the one that Kami gave to it. Sailor Pluto might've designed it that way so we could get home after all of this was overwith."
"Perfect!" Gohan shouted triumphantly. "Then it'll work, I'm sure of it! I've got to talk to Piccolo about it when we get to the palace, and hopefully, he'll agree with me about this plan…"
"Gohan, what in the world are you talking about?" Chaozu was completely lost.
"What do you say we turn a funeral into a reunion?" He continued. "We need all the muscle we can get, right? Not to mention that it'll be a nice surprise for the Sailor Soldiers."
"Wait a second," Chaozu's eyes widened. "You're not thinking about…?"
"That's right." Gohan nodded. "Let's make a short trip back…for the Dragonballs."
