Hikari No Will Power

Act Two, Chapter Six - Mysterious Orbs of Alien Energy! No Way Out for the Defenseless Chikyuujins!


It was twice the size of a tennis ball and made up of a shiny, black-colored metal that was unmistakably alien. The said orb had cracks engraved all over it in a symmetrical fashion, but they seemed to be there only for decoration. At least, at first glance, for after tinkering and playing around with it for nearly the whole day, Goten was certain that there was something more to them than the reddish lava-like light they radiated.

The demi-saiyajin had been trying to discover what the orb truly was ever since he found it on his way back to their apartment from his rescue operation, as he had a bad feeling about it. What he feared was that he was usually right about those kind of things. He sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Of all the places one could work on in an apartment, he picked the basement, which was the hottest area next to the attic.

"Hey, Goten!" Trunks called out, opening the door to the younger warrior's hideout and sticking his head inside. "I'm taking Miss President to Capsule Corporation to meet with the Police Chief, make sure you don't blow anything up, okay?"

He turned his head to look at the other and grinned crookedly. "Look who's talking," he shot back playfully, folding his arms in front of his chest. "You're the one who caused the disaster at the kitchen this morning, Trunks, not me. So if there's anyone who's going to blow things up, it's you."

"Bye, Ninny!"

"See ya, Pansy!"

They glared at each other for a few moments before a grin broke through their features. Waving his hand in a goodbye gesture, the older of the two demi-saiyajins shut the door and proceeded to escort his girlfriend, leaving Goten on his own again. But he actually did not mind; there was nothing else he wanted than to figure out what the mysterious ball was for, and there was nothing else he worried about than what the mysterious ball was for.

Well, if something's bound to go wrong with the revolution, Yumi will get a glimpse of it. Besides, Trunks is there to protect her, he assured himself to keep his mind off that matter and focus on the alien artifact he had found. He sat back down on the wooden chair and examined the orb for the thousandth time before he leaned back against the furniture to take a break. Black had never been a lovely color to stare at, especially if you've done so for hours.

He took the glass of water that was situated near the said ball to take a sip, but it was at that exact time that it slipped out of his grasp, the glass falling to the floor and breaking upon the impact; the water drenching the object the demi-saiyajin was examining. He jumped up, about to grab the ball and wipe it dry, when all the cracks glowed bright red, opened up, gave out smoke, and then --- something shot out from those cracks.

The upper half of the mysterious orb emitted six almost transparent beams from the cracks on it, beams that looked like geysers in a semi-circle formation. The effect of those beams was the most shocking part, however, for the said beams met at a common center and formed a barrier that enclosed the entire room. At that, Goten reached out to check on the barrier that was created, but found that he could not get past it. He then tried blasting a hole through it using his ki, but the blast he produced only bounced back from the barrier, and back again as it hit another part of the dome, hitting him in the end as the ball of energy couldn't go through.

As the grandfather clock at the living room announced that it was seven o'clock, a seventh beam shot out from the ball almost instantly, strengthening and widening the barrier that encompassed the basement, trapping the demi-saiyajin inside the dome of energy that could not be penetrated. He didn't know what to do anymore, so he grabbed the artifact to blast it instead.

But the ball wouldn't budge anymore. It seemed to anchor itself on the table where it was placed on. Left with no choice, the young man released his ki-blast to the alien object's direction, taking his chances. As soon as the ball came in contact with the blast, it closed off, the cracks disappearing as the components clamped against each other. The barrier, too, began to disintegrate as its source continued to burn from the demi-saiyajin's ball of energy.

Goten stared at it in horror, Hyouko Kaname's words echoing through his head.

Briefs-Vegeta... It was... my mistake. The Most High... Ryuurai... He will... He will... He will in---

"Invade," he finished, dread creeping up to him like a shockwave, and then, everything made sense. Everything fell into place, the puzzle completed. He backed off, frightened by the thought that struck him, and upon seeing that the barrier was light enough for him to go through, he rushed out of the basement and out of the apartment, desperate to find his friends and tell them all about it.

He was sure that there were more of those orbs, scattered all over the planet. He was sure that at midnight, all of those orbs would generate beams that will trap the entire planet under a barrier that would be impossible to penetrate, except perhaps, for Ryuujin spacecraft. He was sure that it would happen, because it rained just the other night, soaking the orbs and warming them up. preparing them for what they were supposed to do. He was sure that to stop the formation of the barrier, they must destroy all the orbs or have fire fall from the sky all over the world, any of which would be very hard to accomplish.

And he was sure that even with Trunks' help, he would not be able to save them all.

"I'm here."

"Thank you for coming, Miss Kaname," the Chief of Police acknowledged the young woman's arrival with a curt nod. She then took out two discs from under her coat, handing them to the other woman. "As promised."

Yumi, however, did not accept what the older woman offered. She looked at it for a few moments, before she averted her gaze to the policewoman and stared into her eyes, emeralds meeting sapphires. "How do I know this is not a trick?" she asked in a calm yet stern fashion, projecting that she was still in charge even if she was supposed to be some sort of pawn of the revolutionaries.

The other understood her uncertainties, as she felt the same when the Rebel Leader asked her to join their organization. "Anytime now," Videl began slowly, trying to make her voice as assuring as possible, "Officer Aira Touka, who is in charge on Briefs-Vegeta's case, will find the evidences, inform me about them, and declare his innocence." Her cellphone rang, filling the silent atmosphere with a sequence of shrilly notes. "In fact, here she is now."

Setting her cellphone on loudspeaker mode, Aira's voice boomed for the two women to hear out loud. "Chief! Briefs-Vegeta is innocent!" she half-screamed in excitement and joy. After all, she was one of the demi-saiyajin's avid fans back when he was believed to be alive by everyone in the country. "Nekichi-kun confirmed that the tiny bottle of liquid we found at Gashakura's place contained the viral solution that killed the Capsule Corporation employees! I knew there was a something fishy when he suddenly disappeared!"

"Send the information to the press," the Chief advised her with a smirk directed toward the would-be President of their country, who was smiling widely in happiness, as her boyfriend was finally proven innocent. "Start with my contact, Erasa Ruberu; her number is at my desk. Then, put Gashakura's name on the wanted list. The citizens must know what really happened."

"Aye, aye, Boss!"

The call ended.

"Satisfied? Tomorrow, you and your boyfriend will make it to the headlines together again. Not the first time, is it?" she asked with a sly smile, causing the young woman who stood across her to flush noticeably in embarrassment. To Yumi's surprise, however, the older woman turned around to face the pile of technological junk that was situated behind them. "You may come out now, Trunks."

The demi-saiyajin did step out from behind the junk pile, but with drastically narrowed cerulean eyes that were just as stern as Videl's own. He looked at the policewoman with much apprehension, yet he, too, was surprised at how she knew he was spying on their conversation. "How do you know so much?"

"I've been taught well."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say that we have something in common," she blurted out before she smiled proudly. "Like you, I, too, was Gohan Son's apprentice." She held out her hand, signalling Trunks to keep quiet as she was going to explain things in detail. "He taught me the basics of his way of fighting. He taught me how to bring out my ki and control it. He taught me how to sense other people's ki and to hide my own, to prevent myself from being sensed. He taught me how to fly. And yet, I never got strong enough to fight the androids. He sternly warned me to stay away from them, while he tried to kill them whenever he got the chance."

"But that doesn't explain how you knew Yumi and I were together," Trunks retorted, still feeling suspicious. He and Gohan were like brothers during those dark years when they trained and fought the androids together, and yet the other demi-saiyajin never told him anything about training a girl. He didn't even slip, which was something that was supposed to happen easily.

She pulled out her wallet from the back pocket of her trousers. "My best friend, Erasa, is a journalist. She was covering the story of the Great Saiyaman's first appearance, when she found you standing on top of a nearby building with Yumi," she narrated, opening her wallet, pulling out the picture that was taken of them and handing it to the young man. "She wanted to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating, so she took a picture of you two."

Trunks took the picture, and showed it to his girlfriend. True, it was of both of them, looking down at the scene that Goten was making as the country's new superhero. At that, he looked at the young woman beside him and smirked. "You look really sexy when you're upset, you know?"

"Shut up," she snapped, embarrassed.

"You're really bad at accepting compliments," he pointed out flatly before handing the picture back to the policewoman. "So... what's the real deal with this revolution you're going to be initiating? To secure a bright future for all of us by murdering an incompetent ruler? Well, if that's the case, you're starting to sound like Kaname---" he trailed off, feeling Yumi's hard grip on his shoulder, and he immediately spun around to support her.

The other woman rushed to the demi-saiyajin's side to help him out. "What's going on?"

Before he could answer, Yumi's eyes snapped open, verdant eyes full of fear and panic. She was shivering, but still she forced herself to relay what she had seen. "Orbs," she muttered breathlessly, looking at Trunks who was holding her tight in his attempt to comfort her. "Black metal orbs, all over the planet. A barrier. Spaceships, thousands of them. And tails. Those tails we saw---"

"Trunks! Yumi!" a familiar voice called out from the night, star-filled sky, and soon after, the third compoent of their little gang landed a short way off where they were standing. He immediately rushed to his friends, noticing Yumi's condition and figuring that she had another vision, but he stopped short as he saw the other woman with them. "Videl."

"It's you. You're the Great Saiyaman," the policewoman identified, looking at the newcomer with disbelief. She had long felt two distinct power levels in the area. She knew one of them belonged to Trunks, but she had no idea to whom the other belonged to, except when the superhero made his appearance. Now, she was certain that the young man who just arrived was the man behind the ridiculous costume --- but she still wasn't satisfied at merely identifying his face. "But who are you?"

Goten was desperate to tell his friends what he found out, but he knew it was rude to ignore someone who asks you a question. He told the Chief, "I really wish I could explain right now, Videl, but there's something else that's we have to attend to at the moment. Or else we're doomed." He then turned to the couple. "The orb I found? It's alien. Ryuujin equipment. It creates a barrier that will be impossible to penetrate, and can only be destroyed by fire or ki-blasts. Problem is, it's most probably all over the planet, and it will be impossible to find and destroy them all before midnight. Remember what Yumi's dad wanted to tell us? I know what the last word is now. Invade."

"What are you three talking about? What invasion?" the older woman voiced out, putting her hands on her hips. "Listen, Saiyaman, I need answers! You're going to tell me who you are, and what's going on right now, or else I'm going to do something you won't like!"

The purple-haired demi-saiyajin shook his head, silently relaying that they shouldn't tell the policewoman anything. The other, however, only gave him an assuring look. "Okay, Videl. I'm going to tell you what you want to know. But I don't want you to interrupt me until I'm finished, all right? My name is Goten Son, the youngest son of Goku. I come from another time dimension, which was born out of Trunks' sacrifice, as he went there using a time machine and changed history. He prevented my father's death." He stopped as he saw the look of recognition on Videl's face. "Yes, Videl. I'm Gohan's younger brother."

She clasped her hand in front of her mouth. "Gohan's... younger brother?!"

He nodded. "I was transported here because of a time machine accident, and I can't go back until Trunks can build a new one. But that's not what's important at the moment, and definitely not the revolution you're trying to pull off to drag Yumi into Capitol Hall and make her this country's President," he said, frowning. "At midnight, we're going to be invaded by a bunch of nasty-looking aliens with long, horrid tails. We won't be able to stop them, because there's thousands of them and there are only two fighters in this planet with the power to stand up against them. And all over the planet, metal orbs are scattered, orbs that will generate a barrier that will prevent us from evacuating. Not that we have enough spaceships, anyway."

"I don't think that's the reason why they sent orbs like that in advance, though," Yumi pitched in all of a sudden, making all of them turn to her uneasily. She took a deep breath. "I think they want to capture the two of you," she said, looking at the demi-saiyajins who were looking at her intently. "Because you're saiyajins. Because you're powerful. Because you can be good pawns for their quest to rule the universe. I mean, they forced my father to work for them, and Kasumi, too. They were both powerful."

"No," the older of the two male warriors said, biting his lip. "I think they want to capture the two of us, Yumi. True, Goten and I can kick butt, but you have the rare ability of seeing the future. To have someone like you will be very advantageous for them. And as for Goten... well, they know nothing of him." He paused to think, but then immediately shook his head. "What are we going to do now? Any suggestions?"

They looked at each other, then at Videl, who stepped up to address them. "These things seem really bizarre," she admitted, "but I've grown and learned to believe, out of experience. These things you're telling me right now are nothing compared to the shock I received when my boyfriend suddenly turned blonde with green eyes, or when I gave birth to a little girl with a monkey's tail."

She smiled, pausing to enjoy the shocked expression on the couple's faces, as it was the first time Yumi heard of a child with a tail, while Trunks was plainly surprised that his mentor had a daughter. Goten, however, only smiled back, noticing the sad, painful expression that appeared at the corners of her blue eyes as she recalled what happened in the past.

"As for the invasion," Videl said with a smirk, "how about giving your captors a big surprise?"

---

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay everyone; I've been having trouble with school, Math most especially. It sucks. So anyway, hoped you like that chapter. Things are going to get really fishy from this point on --- but then, things are already fishy, ne? If you have anything to tell me, feel free to leave a review. Well, even if you don't really have anything to tell me, just leave a review and let me know what you think! And please be patient with the updates; I'm still at the adjustment stage in my college life, which is really holding me up and all. Arigatou gozaimasu minna! *smiles*