Chapter 23: rock rumble
Zara ran through the burning village panic stricken as her eyes washed over all of the familiar square huts that were burning to the ground. Smoke billowed up from the flames and blocked out the alien sky, scorching the sky black and leaving the horizon orange.
"Oh Kami…what has he done?" she thought and continued to run towards the centre of the village, only stopping once in front of a hut that had already been burnt down so that only the foundations remained.
"Nabu…" she whispered the name of her teenage mistake. He had been able to give her something she had desperately needed and had even ended up sharing something immensely intimate with her. If something had happened to him because of her…
She turned and continued to run toward the village square. Soon the large fountain came into view with a red tinted skinned man lying across its side as if it were an alter.
"Oh Kami…" she muttered as she fell to her knees. His eyes had rolled up into his head and his red, curled spiked hair was matted with blood. A large, gaping hole was in his chest that blood was seeping out of, staining the fountain's water red.
"Nabu…" Zara muttered as her eyes took in his form. She was too late. Again.
"This is all your fault, you know that?" a voice commented calmly. Zara slowly turned her head to face the man behind her.
"You should have listened to me. Now you've lost them both." The blonde haired man continued. Zara stared at her father and then found herself trailing her eyes down his arm to look at what he was holding up.
It was a bloody and broken Trunks.
"No…" her eyes widened and she slowly got to her feet. Her father watched her reaction and lifted his free hand to point at Trunks's head.
"Maybe now you'll learn to follow orders." He replied and then blasted straight through Trunks. Zara could only watch as her boyfriends body slumped to the ground as her father let go.
"NO!"
Her red aura burst to life and violently swirled around her, ripping apart everything it came into contact with and burning more intensely then it ever had before. Zara could feel it burning her skin and tearing at it but she couldn't stop it and she didn't want to either.
Her aura continued to engulf everything and she felt her body to begin to break apart. Everything went a blinding white and then she found herself chained to a wall with no energy to spare to even stand up straight. In front of her stood two figures that she tried to focus on before her amulet began to glow again and the whole sequence started over.
Piki stared at the young woman that was acting as prisoner before turning back to his mistress. He almost felt sorry for the girl. Almost.
"It doesn't look like she'll last much longer." He commented. Maleenia smirked down at the girl in question, instead of looking at her loyal minion.
"True. We'll be able to use her properly soon." She replied. Piki surveyed his mistress nervously.
"So just what exactly is happening to her?" he asked hesitantly. Maleenia glanced at him in annoyance.
"Its simple really. Right now the amulet is absorbing all of her psychic energy. When it's done then she'll be nothing more then an empty shell." She began and then looked back to Zara and stepped towards her.
"Then the amulet will start on her physical energy or ki. We can't have all of that power going to waste, now can we?" she asked and pulled up Zara's head by the hair so that she could get a good look. Piki gulped nervously from the side.
"And what will happen to her?" he asked. Maleenia didn't turn away from Zara and continued to watch the pained look on the girls face.
"She'll die. She'll die and all of her powers will be left inside the amulet." She explained. Piki gulped again and took a step back.
"I'll give her another day before that happens though. Until then we'll have to make use of her." Maleenia added and then turned to her minion.
"Tell me, how are our saiyan friends doing?"
Vegeta growled as he continued to lead the way through the corridor. If he didn't know better then he would have sworn that they were going in circles.
"Can't we go any faster then this?"
And the constant complaining wasn't helping his temper.
"No, we have to conserve our energy. We don't know what's at the end of this corridor so be good and shut up!" Vegeta half yelled at his granddaughter. Alex stuck her tongue out at the back of her grandfather's head.
"How long is this stupid corridor anyway? The ship can't be that big!" she exclaimed. Mirai Trunks looked over his shoulder at the twins after noticing his father's eye twitching dangerously.
"Its probably not that much further. So how about you two be quiet for your grandpa?" he asked but only received glares. He let out an exasperated sigh and faced front again.
"Great, they're still mad at me. I really did mess up…maybe they're right. I am pathetic." Mirai muttered to himself almost an inaudible voice. But Vegeta heard him none the less.
"They are not right because they never said it. If they did then it was part of that dream the girl gave you. Get over it." The prince told the future version of his son, making the younger man look up in surprise.
"Maybe it was but the way I acted-" he began to protest but Vegeta cut him off.
"…Was natural. We all acted regrettably because of those dreams. Even me. We were all played by this alien onna 'Maleenia'. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and use all the pain and frustration she made you feel as ammunition. You won't be of any use in this battle if you don't."
Mirai Trunks blinked as he stared at his father and slowly a smile crept onto his face. Vegeta may not have been the softest or most agreeable person in the world but that didn't stop him from cheering someone up in his own special way.
"Thanks father…" Mirai muttered and Vegeta smirked in response.
"Hey! I think I can see the end!" Jake suddenly cried out and both of the men looked up to see an open door with a blinding light washing out of it. The twins glanced at each other before running towards it.
"Be on guard you two! There may be danger." Vegeta called after them. The twins stopped beside the door and the adults quickly joined them.
On the other side of the door lay one massive bronze coloured room that seemed to be even more reinforced then Vegeta's infamous GR.
"What is this?" Mirai asked as he surveyed the metal walls and Vegeta frowned deeply.
"An arena." He replied bluntly. Mirai was about to ask something else when part of the ceiling opened up and a round platform that was roughly a meter in diameter floated down. On top of it stood a small, plump orange man with an obtuse nose and very small wings that probably didn't work. The man grinned at the four saiyans and produced what looked oddly like a microphone.
"Hello, greetings and welcome to arena one, rock rumble! A place where two men enter-" the little creature paused and stared at the saiyans on the ground, "well I guess three men and a pair of kids in this case enter, and only one man…err…team? Leaves!" he finished and waited for some kind of applause. All he received were blank stares.
"Is this supposed to be a fight to the death?" Vegeta asked after several long moments of sweat dropping. The little orange man let out an exasperated sigh and sat on the edge of his hovering platform.
"Yea it is. We give you an opponent to face and you have to defeat 'it' before it eats, kills or/and maims you. If you win then you're free to go. Got it? Good." He replied, switching to a more serious demeanour.
"But we're here for our friend…" Jake started to say.
"Well then you chose the wrong door, ok? I can't help you with getting your friend back I'm just here to entertain the scary boss lady." The orange creature shot back and then seemed to regret those last words as he quickly jumped round to a kneeling position in the centre of the platform, begging to the ceiling.
"Not scary! I meant all-powerful, beautiful and…erm…charismatic? Gah! I don't know, just don't kill me!"
The four saiyans all began to sweat drop again as they watched the creature and Vegeta quickly lost his patients.
"Will you stop that already? Where is this opponent we are meant to face?" he barked and the little orange man quickly forgot about his pleading and jumped back to his feet, bringing the microphone back to his mouth.
"All right then! The challengers have accepted the challenge so bring out the rock rumble's champion: Grug!" he cried into his mic and as soon as he was done, practically the whole of the opposite wall began to rise, revealing a very big creature on the other side.
"Here's Grug! This is the stone titan from the Gluntor system in the eastern quadrant! You better watch out or he'll rock you!" the little orange man announced as the giant creature in question stepped into the ring, the wall quickly closing up again after him.
The creature seemed to fill most of the massive arena. His very body seemed to be constructed of stone and his face looked as though an amateur sculptor had chiselled it in. His eyes seemed to be nothing more then two gaping black holes with no life to them. The fact that he could even move seemed amazing.
The small alien announcer glanced at the rock monster before turning back to the saiyans.
"I'll leave you five alone for the moment. You all better have fun now! Bye!" he squeaked before the platform he was on made a hasty break for the hole in the ceiling it had come from. The saiyans watched as the hole closed itself off before all four of them looked back at the stone giant before them.
"All right! Looks like we get to have some fun!" Alex exclaimed happily, cracking her knuckles as she stepped forward. Mirai frowned and quickly pulled her back.
"Oh no you don't you're staying out of the way. Jake too. I'm not having you two rushing off and getting hurt." He exclaimed and both of the twins let out a low moan before Vegeta started walking towards the stone monster.
"You better keep those two in line. I'll only take a minute." The proud prince called over his shoulder, going super saiyan in a blink of an eye. Mirai frowned as he stared at his father.
"But father-"
"But nothing. Watch the brats whilst I sort this out. I've been wanting to pound something for a while now and this might be just the release I need." Vegeta interrupted, ending the argument. The saiyan prince came to a halt just in front of Grug, smirking up at the stone warrior.
"So lets get this started." Vegeta said confidently, flaring out his aura. Grug peered down at the prince before straightening up and letting out a mighty roar.
Round one had just started.
Vegeta flew purposely backwards as the giant stone monstrosity swung his fist after the prince. Vegeta's smirk broadened as he made a sharp left and let a blast lose. The pure energy exploded against Grug's side and the creature let out a mighty roar before he charged at the prince again, the whole ship shaking from the monster's angered steps. Grug slammed fist after fist into the ground, trying to hit Vegeta who weaved effortlessly between them.
Vegeta made a hard left, smirking his infamous smirk the whole way, and charged at the monster's stomach, aiming a kick to the abdomen. What he hit left his leg feeling as though it were about to break. What Grug lacked in speed he certainly made up for in strength. But Vegeta wasn't going to let that stop him.
The saiyan prince quickly flipped backwards and away from Grug as the stone giant made a swing for his challenger's head. Vegeta frowned at the creature's fists before he was forced to move aside as Grug attacked again, swinging his arms round in a 'wind mill' manoeuvre. Vegeta dashed away from the attacks, charging up one of his own. He bent his knee forward and raised his arms before throwing an energy wave at his opponent.
"Galic gun!" Vegeta cried and the wave hit Grug dead on but the stone warrior jumped through it and nearly landed on the prince in an attempt to crush him. Vegeta growled and powered up, transforming to super saiyan two before attacking the monster head on and inflicting very little damage. Grug eventually got tired of being hit on by Vegeta's merciless attacks and slammed his enormous fist into the saiyan's skull. Vegeta was sent bouncing across the metal floor with the stone monster bounding after him. Grug clenched his fist, grey energy forming in it, before he fired a ki blast at the saiyan. It looked like it would hit until a second attack hit it, causing an explosion. Grug stared at the left over smoke in surprise and quickly turned to see super saiyan two Mirai Trunks floating above him doing some fast hand movements.
"Burning attack!" Mirai screamed before the ki wave ripped through the air and hit Grug's side, exploding painfully there. But as the smoke settled, Grug was still standing.
"What the hell is that thing made of?" Vegeta growled as he climbed to his feet, watching the stone giant carefully. Mirai sunk to the floor besides his father and glared at their opponent.
"I don't know but if you want to stay at this level then we'll have to work together. There's something weird about this guy." Mirai said whilst keeping his gaze locked on Grug. Vegeta growled as he too watched their opponent.
"You're probably right about that…" Vegeta replied before charging forward, Mirai following close behind. Both men parted ways and attacked Grug from either side, moving round the monster's body in opposite directions. Each saiyan threw fist after fist, kick after kick at the monster but Grug only seemed to come back stronger after every hit. This only infuriated a certain saiyan prince.
Vegeta growled and floated back, allowing the future version of his son more room, before he began to power up and burst into the third level of super saiyan. He then raised his hands to his sides and powered up a blast.
"Final flash!" he screamed as he threw his hands forward and released the wave. Mirai only had seconds to dodge before it hit Grug full force. But still no harm came to the monster. Instead Grug began to laugh. Neither saiyan had time to work out why though as Grug quickly launched an attack of his own, hitting both saiyan men and driving them into the floor where he repeatedly drove his car-sized fists into them. Both men cried out in agony until they powered up and used their auras to push the attacks aside. Both saiyans then rolled aside and quickly jumped up to kick Grug backwards. The giant whirled his arms around as he lost balance and crashed into the floor, leaving the two royal saiyans to back of and re group.
"Is it just me or does he keep getting stronger?" Mirai Trunks asked.
"It looks like it. But that will mean that our attacks will eventually be useless against him. We'll only be able to dodge." Vegeta replied, growling. Mirai sighed at this.
"And we can't do that forever…"
On the sidelines the twins had been busy watching the adults fight and now they were both frowning at Grug.
"This is bad. It's like that thing is drawing power from dad and grandpa's attacks. He just keeps getting stronger." Alex commented, gritting her teeth anxiously. Jake turned to look at her.
"Well what do you want us to do about it? Dad and grandpa told us to stay here and if we rush blindly in then we could just make that guy stronger." He asked and Alex had to think. Eventually she started smiling and turned to face her brother.
"We could attack him psychically from here! That would at least slow him down and maybe distract him enough so that grandpa can blow him up." She exclaimed, making Jake frown at her.
"But Al, we can't! Zara never showed us." He pointed out but Alex shook her head.
"She might not have shown us but she did tell us. Come on Jake, we can do it!" she replied, holding out her hand so that he could grab it. Jake frowned and quickly glanced back to the fight with Grug. The stone titan had gotten up again and was throwing his fists around violently to try and hit his saiyan opponents who were still a lot faster. Jake sighed and then took his sister's hand.
"Lets do this." He said and Alex grinned at him before they both faced Grug. Both of the twins began to glow white as they prepared themselves before they let out a powerful mental pulse.
Vegeta and Mirai both backed up as another car-sized fist impacted the ground before them. They both had to split up as the second fist threatened to smash into them. Grug was getting closer to hitting them with every blow. Things weren't looking good.
Then suddenly something unexpected happened. Grug grabbed his head in pain and backed away from the saiyans. The monster roared with pain and fell to his knees. Both men looked at each other in confusion before they noticed the twins on the sidelines. Mirai's confusion doubled as he watched them but Vegeta decided to take this time and attack. He powered up to full power in super saiyan three and quickly formed an apocalyptic sized ki-blast.
"Lets just see how much you can take now." He cried and shot the beam at the withering creature. At first it seemed as though the creature was absorbing the energy but then Vegeta's power fluctuated and the beam exploded, sending pieces of rock everywhere. The twins stopped attacking mentally and looked at the rocky pieces of Grug that littered the arena.
"Err…did you get him?" Alex asked as she nudged a piece with her foot. Vegeta stayed silent as he stared down at what used to be Grug. For the first time in the entire battle he could get a clear lock on the beast's ki.
Some of the rubble that had been Grug wobbled and then toppled down the pile it had been on and to the floor. A moment later and a purple head popped out of the rubble and looked around astonished.
"My robot!" he wheezed and slowly crawled out of the rubble. Everyone else sweat dropped at the creature in front of them.
"You've got to be kidding me! Grug was actually some nerd in a giant robot?" Alex yelled as she and her brother ran over.
"This is ridiculous. Lets just get out of here." Vegeta said as he flicked a blast at the alien nerd that was shifting through the rubble. As soon as Grug had been destroyed, a small door opened up in the centre of the giant one that had let Grug in. The four saiyans started walking towards it. Mirai Trunks looked down at the twins as they did so.
"So how exactly did you know how to do that to Grug back there?" He asked. The twins looked at each other nervously and then grinned up at their father.
"Lucky guess?" they answered together. Mirai just continued to stare down at them quizzically until Jake decided to change the subject.
"So what's next? We beat that robot rock guy…" he said.
"I don't know but I have a feeling that we'll have to wait for the others to find out." Vegeta replied and both of the twins looked down, wondering if everyone else was doing all right…