Metal
Chapter 85: Upon this Fair Day
The rubble sitting on Retu shifted, then parted entirely. He squinted as light sheared into his vision. Chi-Chi was standing above him, lunging.
'Need some help?'
'Yep.' He managed to get his hand to hers. A few seconds later, and Chi-Chi had pulled him past chunks of concrete and dirt and upright onto his feet. He started patting himself down.
'Thanks, Chi-Chi.'
'No need. You hurt at all?'
'Just sore, tired.' Retu tentatively bent and stretched to his toes. Sore and tired, alright. His gaze swept across the room- empty, he noticed- as he straightened. 'Where's everyone?'
Chi-Chi jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. 'See that hole in the wall over there?' She asked, letting a grin grow on her face. 'I blasted those two trolls through it. Nothing's moved over there since.'
'Um.' Retu glanced past her. 'Wasn't there a third?'
Slowly Chi-Chi turned her head back, gauging what she could see. 'There… was?'
'Wait- where's our third?'
A few dead-silent seconds passed, both pairs of eyes straining at the gaping hole at the room's far end. Dust and particulate swirled through the air, lit brown by the white lights high above them, obscuring what laid beyond.
'So Suno's not here,' Retu stated, and drew a long breath.
'Seems like it,' Chi-Chi agreed glumly. 'I can't sense her, either.'
A long sigh. 'They must have captured her.' He brushed past her, striding towards the opening. 'We need to go, now, and barrel through whatever traps are left between us and whoever runs this place.' He spoke quicker as his pace increased. 'Before Suno ends up- Kami knows what-'
'Hey.' Chi-Chi appeared at his side and laid a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. 'I understand. But I'd also like to get a rundown of what's going on.'
He stood in place, unable to look away from his destination. 'What's going on? Suno's village was abducted. Some people from mine, too.' Her arm slid off of him as he turned. His bottom lip was curled into his mouth, pressed against his teeth. 'And if this place and those guys was any indication… bad things are going to happen to them and Suno. So we need to move now.'
Chi-Chi held his gaze, met the anger and the sudden agitation, and helped it calm. 'Alright.' Calm energy crackled to life on her hands. 'I think we're done using doors, then.'
0o0o0
'Kochin?' From where he was in the lab and in his tube, Wheelo could see nothing of his assistant save his darkened lab coat swaddling his back. 'Kochin, you've been quiet for quite some time now.'
'Hmm?' Kochin's head reared. 'Have I?'
Wheelo's brain shook, stirring bubbles. '"Have you?"' he repeated. 'Of course you have! You've been standing there motionless and silent for nearly five minutes!'
'Well…' Kochin adjusted his glasses as he peeked over his shoulder at Wheelo. 'So I have. To tell you the truth, I've been weighing some news. Good and bad news. I couldn't decide on what to give you first.'
'Kochin…'
'Good news?'
'Kochin!...'
'Bad news?'
'Whatever news!' Wheelo yelled, causing Kochin to cringe. 'Just tell me!'
'Okay!' His assistant stepped away from the console and crossed the room to him. 'Bad news is that the bio-warriors… weren't totally up to the task. All three intruders are still kicking.'
'Three? You said there were only two!'
'Life comes at you fast!'
'But what about the implants?' Wheelo complained. 'Gero assured us they would work!'
'Aha, well…' Kochin gave a nervous smile and scratched his bald head. 'That's related to the good news. Turns out our guests are tough. But one of our bio-warriors was able to survive their fight with their increased power… and was able to capture their opponent.'
'Oh.' Wheelo's voice became very subdued. 'That's… that's quite, good news, then. So we won't need that village fighter, after all?'
'Let's keep him on hand, just in case,' Kochin cautioned. 'Our primary focus is getting through today. Once that's done, we can draw up all sorts of plans for your future…'
0o0o0
His father made a few hurried motions with his hands, and then a series of urgent, gesturing, get over here, now gestures, and Kakarot flew through the person-shaped hole they had cut into the space station. Thickened layers of shielding, electronics, and rusted metal brushed past him as he dove into a darkened room, dim light just barely falling into the room from the hole. Once through, he landed carefully.
A tap on his shoulder. His father had a square plate of metal and his hand and was nudging it towards the hole, which of course made total sense. He didn't like the darkness, though, so he didn't like it when the plate clicked into place, sealing the room up to the outside world and depriving them of any light except for the faint luminesce of their enclosed aura.
They both waited, lungs breathing deeper from their enclosed auras, until a hissing filled the room. Bardock flaunted a grin, cupped and patted him by his face a few times, and finally released his aura and took a deep breath of newly available air. Kakarot quickly followed his lead.
'Ahh!' His father ran his fingers through his hair and shook himself like he was taking a shower. 'That hits the spot! Nothing like stale-but-plenty oxygen to get the blood pumping!'
'Guess…' Kakarot said between breaths, '... we had nothing to worry about, huh?'
Bardock finished exuberating and patted the plate again to make sure it'd stick. 'Don't tempt fate like that, Kakarot. Trust me- statements like that always come back to bite you in the ass.'
Their auras melted further, easing the room into total darkness. Kakarot turned and looked at what they had to work with. 'So… what do we do now?'
'Hold on.' Bardock slowly made his way to the wall to their left and felt it. Only a few seconds passed before a clear click sounded and faded red emergency lights turned on above their heads. 'You see a main power switch in here?'
He didn't. Kakarot saw a bunch of large, circular, and bulbous metal containers, packing the room to his right, but beyond that, nothing.
'You thinking again?' Bardock swung his gaze back to him.
'Huh?' Kakarot grunted. 'No. I'm searching. You know- it'd be easier if we had more light.'
'Well, no use crying over spilt gilk.'
'What's that supposed to mean? What's gilk?'
'It means there's no point in complaining about what's been determined a long time ago. And gilk is a drink.'
'Is it good?'
'Kinda. Lasts a white, so it dehydrates and gets pretty chunky.'
'What color is it?'
'Green.'
Air continued to pump into the room, albeit at a slower and quieter rate. Bardock looped around a single metal container and moved back into Kakarot's eyesight empty-handed. 'All this talk of gilk is making me hungry, son. Tell me- what will I be able to eat on Earth?'
'There?' Kakarot's face went through a series of expressions as he tried to remember. 'There's… a lot of meat. Water, too.'
'Sounds boring.'
'It can be.'
'Wonder if Raditz finds it nice.'
Kakarot's tongue felt out-of-place in his mouth. 'Yeah. I wonder.'
Bardock squatted down next to a container. 'If he's anything like his old man… he probably won't.' Hands started blindly palming the thing. 'Then again, he didn't grow up on Planet Vegeta, so who knows.'
It was a random thing for his father to bring up. Kakarot pulled on the thread. 'And why are you wondering about Raditz's preferences?'
'Dunno.' Bardock rubbed the dust off his hands and stood. 'I never really knew him- as an adult, anyway. Sometimes I wonder how things would have been different, if…'
'...if, what?' Kakarot asked, cocking his head.'
Bardock paused. 'You know, one day your old man is going to tell you a tale, son. It's got good and bad luck, desperation, and plain old Saiyan stubbornness… and a lot of people dying at the end.' He fidgeted. 'Yeah. A lot.'
With a sigh, Bardock pushed off his knees and stood. 'But that's for another time- and after we've safely escaped from this place.' He turned to him and gestured with his left arm. 'This is what we need to see, by the way,' he said, indicating the metal container. 'All these are modular generators. This one in particular powers the records depot- wherever that is.'
'Wherever that is?'
Bardock grinned as he bent down and grabbed something in the darkness. 'There are cables here. And on the old stations, they used to color-code them by department. We can follow them right to where we need to go.'
Kakarot grunted. 'Really? Let's go then.'
'Can't.' Bardock adjusted his feet. 'Can't see their color yet, anyhow.'
'What? Why not flash your aura, or something?'
'Do you know how to create pure, uncolored light?' Bardock snarked. 'Because otherwise we won't know the original color of the cables. We need the station's lights to come on, and for that we need to find this reactor's main switch. Plus- it'll be easier to spot someone rushing after us when that's done.'
Kakarot glanced around- half-heartedly. 'I don't see it. What was this about your tale? Does it include how you died?...'
He tapered off, waiting- but his father hadn't looked at him as he continued speaking. Before he could challenge him on this, however, the main lights inexplicably flipped on, throwing near-white light across the room. Even more promising, a door at the room's far side slid open.
'Did you do that?' Kakarot asked.
Bardock slowly stood. 'No…'
'Is that… good?'
His father's gaze scrutinized the bulbous and now-thrumming generator and the cables feeding out of it, and then shot to him. 'Probably not, because it means someone else turned on the station for themselves.' He took off in a jog towards the door. 'Come on!'
0o0o0
His finger tapped the wide, cabinet-like console twice. 'That's it.' Nappa swung his head to his left, towards Vegeta. 'Station's on.'
Shuffling across the room, the Prince eyed the old monitors blink and flare to life. This station was old- perhaps even older than Vegeta was acquainted with. He didn't know much about the PTO's history, even though he had spent his entire life among them. Very shortly before his birth his father had acceded to Lord Frieza and signed the compact which officially inducted the Saiyan army into the PTO. After the fact, from what little Vegeta could remember of King Vegeta that wasn't varnished and filtered, he had spoken positively about that event like it was something to be proud of. Like there was honor in consigning your race to slavery. But looking at this ancient place now, Vegeta felt like a little history revealed itself to him. In the corner, old, dusty uniforms laid in a pile, collecting dust around metal ringlets that almost resembled scouters. The PTO had done what it had done to the Saiyans a thousand times before and since, dispensing civilizations to history when they outlived their usefulness.
It was odd, though, that this station was here, at the edges of PTO space. Presumably the PTO had grown some in however many decades had passed between when this place was built and now. And yet this place was abandoned. But for what reason?...
'None at all?...' Vegeta muttered.
'What was that?'
Vegeta's attention moved to Nappa. 'Nevermind. Musings, Nappa. Do you know where our runners are?'
His companion's eyes turned back to the monitors, straining. 'Yes… which ones?'
'Hmm?' Vegeta crossed his arms as he strode over to Nappa. 'What do you mean?'
Nappa pointed a thick finger to one monitor, then another. Grainy images of two black-haired people jogging down a hall side-by-side with a fuzzy slideshow of four ridiculously-colored humanoids working against an airlock. Red hair, purple skin, yellow-and-blue swirls all crowding around a man dressed for one of those intergalactic show fights.
'Who the hell are they?'
'Dunno.'
'Well, where are they?'
'In the cargo bay, from the looks of it.'
'And Bardock and his runt?'
'Lower part of the base.'
Vegeta stood in place for a moment, thinking. 'I can't risk my scouter trying to measure these others on the chance it might break. So we will have to split up. You will stay here to defend the operations center, Nappa, while I go pursue our Saiyans.'
The old Saiyan craned his head after Vegeta as he started walking towards the door. 'Why don't we both go?'
'Because these others represent an unknown.' Vegeta stopped at the other end of the room, checked his gloves, and glared at Nappa. 'We don't know who they are or why they're here. Maybe they are trying to aid Bardock and Kakarot and are rushing to their help. Maybe they're scavengers, and don't know what they're about to stumble into. And maybe they're just delusional, and are going to blow up the station and them along with it.'
He paused, letting Nappa's mind work. 'But as long as we command this room, we know what they'll do before they do it and prevent them from interceding in our plans. So I want you to guard this place until I return, and notify me if anything changes. Do you understand?'
Nappa felt his gums. 'I do.'
Vegeta's white-gloved hand pressed a switch. A stained, rusting door slid aside for him. 'Do not disappoint me,' he said over his shoulder, as he stepped through and disappeared behind the door with a flourish of his cape.
0o0o0
Dull light flickered on above them. Bez and Launch were so preoccupied with hunching over Mark that Recoome alone tipped his head to the ceiling. 'Eh? Is that the power?'
'Huh?' Launch stood, yawning, and realized she could see her arms. She glanced to the ceiling. 'Huh?'
Bez looked up from his squat. 'I think it is.'
'Hey!' Mark's voice echoed from the guts of a panel half his body was inside. 'What'd you say? Hour? What time is it?'
Launch moved to the door's keypad and jabbed it a few times. Nadda. 'So even with power, we're locked out from the rest of the base.' She crossed her arms and sank to the wall adjacent to the door. 'Great. Can I blast it now?'
'I wouldn't recommend it.' Bez walked over to the keypad and fiddled with a few codes. Buzzing interjected the sound of his tapping. 'These hangar locks are typically located at the thinnest part of the base. Your blast hits anything but the main door, and we'll be blown into space.'
'That's dumb,' Launch growled.
'They do it for a reason. It deters boarders from punching their way in.'
'Isn't the PTO supposed to be the only army around?' Launch asked, sweeping an annoyed hand through the air. 'Who would try and board one of their bases?'
'The PTO sees its fair share of terrorism, believe it or not.' Bez got another unsuccessful beep and drew back from the keypad, thinking as he scratched the sides of his neck. 'Especially at a base like this on the fringes of their space.'
Launch snorted. 'I don't find that very hard to believe.'
'Hmm?' Bez turned to her. 'Hard to- oh. Yeah, I guess it is pretty believable, huh?'
To their right, Recoome rapped his knuckles on the metal plating above the crook Mark had crawled into. 'How's it going in there?'
'What you'd say earlier?' His tinny voice replied. 'Hours? Someone wanna know the time? Because I wanna know the time too!'
'No one asked for the time. How's it going in there?'
'What time is it?'
'Dunno.'
Mark's squirming and turning within the wall stilled for a moment. Then something clicked and the door parted open. 'But seriously,' he said, resuming his worming, 'what time is it?'
Launch, Bez, and Recoome all sprung forward once the rest of the base opened up before them. They carefully crept forward, choking the doorway-
'Wait.' Launch threw her arm out in front of them, body tensed and energy flickering. 'I can sense someone moving. Not close, but not far, either.'
'Moving where?' Recoome asked.
'To the other group.'
'Who?' Bez questioned.
'Dunno.' A grin crossed Launch's face. 'I'm going to go observe.'
Bez's gaze sharpened. 'Observe? Are you sure that's the right word?'
'Observe, fight- not much difference to me. I've spent too long waiting for this door to open.'
'You can't just run off,' Bez said in a low voice. 'What about the plan?'
'This is the plan.' Launch swung around, meeting Bez's attention head-on. 'We need someone to keep tabs on- and most likely defend themselves against- whoever is moving to attack the other group. We need information. And I'm the best-equipped person to scout forward like that.'
Bez glanced at Recoome. His eyebrows rose. 'Then what should we do in the meantime?' Bez asked, turning back to Launch.
'Is there, like, a bridge here, or something?' Launch swung around and started marching forward. 'Maybe find it and we'll have an even better idea of what's going on.'
'Hey! But…' Bez waved, slumped as Launch jogged out of sight. 'And she's gone. How does she expect us to stay in touch with her?'
Recoome's hand swung forward, smacking Bez's back in what should have been a pat. 'Hey- it's alright. She woulda done that no matter what we said. We'll catch up.'
'To her, or to the bridge?'
'To both!' Abruptly, Recoome pushed an unwilling Bez forward. 'Come on! Let's roll!'
'Guys?' Mark's word rattled through metal. He grunted, groaned, and managed to crawl out of the wall. Sweat stuck his hair to his head. 'Guys?'
He crawled on his hands-and-knees to the open door, and spotted Bez and Recoome's backs just before they disappeared around a corner. 'H-hey!' He called, scrambling onto his feet and into a clumsy run. 'Don't leave me alone here!'
0o0o0
It was the closest save Yamcha had ever done. The world had moved in slow motion as Yamcha's Kaioken roared around him, pressing him through the skies of West City as a burgeoning fireball rose from the urban landscape. His heart had died a little because he knew exactly where that fireball was. When he finally arrived atop of it, the roaring inferno was masked by the shape of Capsule Corp., rounded and flattened, as if held in place by the building's ghost. In retrospect, he couldn't explain why the attack had been shaped in such a manner- but it had been enough.
His super-enhanced senses- his super-enhanced body, churning through the air like a comet streaking through the atmosphere, hurting as much as one- spotted her. Bulma was on the very edge of the property, motionless, trapped in time like a statue, facing the inferno. Unflinching. Unaware.
He had nearly killed her as he slammed into her, scooping her into his arms, and rocketing away from the ground as a wave of superheated air washed over where she stood. The grass around her feet was brushed apart, consumed by flame.
But even close things could never be just that. As he hooked back into the air, a glimpse to his right spun him; something slammed into his back just as he finished repositioning his body to protect Bulma. Bones jammed as he was knocked back down to the ground, cratering towards a far-off city block. After spinning again, red ki blasted out behind him and slowed him just enough that he landed, not crashed, on the pavement.
His breath was ragged, his shoulder ached, but he made sure his question was spoken in a steady voice. 'And who are you?'
A figure dropped through the air, flame and smoke curling and leaping behind them. Somewhere far-off in the city, alarms were blaring and red light from fire engines was rushing past. Things were moving too fast, too quickly. Yamcha could even see still people clearing from this street, fleeing into buildings or down adjacent blocks.
His gaze swept back into the sky. 'Well?' He asked again, harsher.
'Drop her,' a gnarled, vitriolic voice wafted down, 'and you live.'
He drew Bulma's unconscious body tighter against him as he scanned their surroundings. He had to find a way out of here but the city was burning… so many people...
A pair of laced boots tapped down on pavement. Gray hair wavered in the dusty wind behind an old man- old in appearance, but who stood far too straight and glared far too sharp. His clothes were loose, striped, except for a tall hat he wore- on that hat-
Yamcha's fingers dug into Bulma's arms. Was he having a nightmare? Was this what Rush was running from?
'Red Ribbon…' he muttered.
The old man's eyes widened. 'Hmm?' He noticed where Yamcha was looking. 'Oh, yes.'
As casually as one would take off a hat, the old man removed the metal sheathing from his head and held it out. The glass composing the top third of his head, housing a brain, glinted with fire-red light. 'Do you want a closer look, Yamcha?'
Yamcha flinched a step backward. 'Who… who are you?'
Rebuffed, the old man reaffixed his hat. 'Red Ribbon Army, as you've already deduced, but you're asking who I am, aren't you?' He waited a moment, staring with slitted eyes. 'You may call me Android 20, if that helps this along. But before we speak any further, I must insist you drop Bulma Briefs.' His clothes rolled with the smoky wind. 'And I will not ask a third time.'
That same wind reached Yamcha, brushing more and more choked air past him. It was getting harder to breathe- for the average person, at least. Bulma couldn't linger here for long. 'You used my name before.' He said carefully. 'You know exactly who I am, don't you?'
'I know enough.'
'Then you should know that I can't do that.'
The sound of wood crackling and buildings teetering grew. The flames rose around this Android 20, shrouding him in a cloak of red, lurching- but the ramrod, pole-like thing between them never moved, never shrank.
Yamcha held Bulma closer. 'So you're going to fight me, is that it?'
'Fight you?' Android 19 gave a quizzical look. 'No. I am here to monitor.'
'Monitor…' Yamcha's eyes caught a part in the smoke in the distance. 'Me, and…'
Again, he moved too slowly. The fires surrounding Android 20 parted like walled water, and through that gap a gigantic man rushed past and slammed head-first into Yamcha's side. Again, he had barely moved fast enough to protect Bulma, and used his body as a shield. His hip dug into his ribs and his teeth slammed together as he was launched into the air, tumbling, before righting himself with a storm of red ki- and ducking further back as his pursuer's fist jabbed lightning-quick just inches from his face.
Smoke washed over the skyline, draping above buildings like ethereal curtains. Gero watched Yamcha and Android 19 plunge through and out of sight. For a moment he studied his surroundings. Then the only building left standing on the street was pierced by a blast of purple ki, and withdrawing his hand, Gero rose and followed them.
0o0o0
'Hey- wait.'
Chiaotzu throttled his speed, cutting back through the air towards Tien. 'Yeah?' He looked agitated… or at least distracted. 'What's up?'
'I think we need to split up.'
'Split up?' Chiaotzu repeated. 'I thought we agreed that Suno might need help.
They had halted their flight over a long, rolling plain. Sand-colored grass covered the land horizon-to-horizon. Tien seemed more interested in this than him. 'I'm not sure about that anymore.' His gaze swept past him. 'Or, I'm not sure if that's what I should do.'
'What's going through your head?'
'I'm not sure.'
To his surprise, Tien didn't say anything further; he only continued to scrutinize the land below them. 'If I could explain it, I would,' he added.
'Well, if that's it… I trust you.'
Tien's gaze shot to him. 'You do?'
'Of course.' Chiaotzu made a tight, drawn, almost pained smile. 'Ever since we walked out on Shen, that's been true. Hasn't wavered for even a second, and won't happen for as long as we live. I know this: you know this.'
'I do,' Tien acknowledged, eyes closing for a moment. 'Something's been bothering me for a while.'
With the wind at his back, Chiaotzu drifted closer to his friend. 'I can see that,' he said in a more quiet tone. 'You know... your meditation with the Kaioken has been taking up a lot of your time recently. I know we don't train like we did ten years ago. Things are... different,' he landed on eventually.
'Are you saying that's a bad thing?'
'No; I think change is needed and inevitable.' Chiaotzu finished closing the gap between them and met Tien's muted eyes. His friend had been so unreceptive and standoffish to this discussion since the Saiyans' attack. A part of Chiaotzu felt that he was resisting acknowledging the obvious to prevent a rational choice from being made. Another part of him felt that this was extremely rational. He felt in this moment, however, that Tien would come out and say it- that there wasn't anything to gain from them training together anymore- if he prodded him. And then Tien would get the training companion he needed… and then, maybe, Chiaotzu would start to think about giving this life up. Martial Arts as a lifestyle would always be dear to him, but there was no point in finishing a race last if you were running to beat everyone else. He knew how he stacked up against all their friends. He knew how large the gap was; he'd sensed it during the fight with the Saiyans. And if he spoke about all this now, here...
But he thought about it some more, and, well; he wouldn't force Tien to speak. And Chiaotzu had no right to.
'But... no matter what happens,' Chiaotzu said slowly, 'I'll always have your back, same as you'll always have mine, because we've fought through the worse this planet has to offer. Got it?'
'Mmm.' Tien nodded, straightened, a sharpness returning to his eyes. 'Got it.'
'You're going now, then?'
'Yes. Be safe.'
'Always.'
'I mean it. There's no reason to do anything crazy.'
Chiaotzu raised a suspicious but well-meaning eyebrow. 'Because you won't be around?'
Tien gave him a well-meaning half-smile back. 'Maybe. Just promise to use your common sense. Don't be a hero unless everyone else is being one.'
'Noted.' Chiaotzu backed away, clear aura bursting into the air around him. 'Well… good luck, and see you!' he called, rolling and blasting off.
Tien raised a hand. 'Yeah… see you…'
0o0o0
Water rippled past their daughter's feet, splashing with every stomp and chop she threw out. Her cries- 'Ha! Hya! Ha!' -barely registered as Rayne exhaled and pulled her forehead away from Krillin's palm. 'Well?' She asked as he opened his eyes and blinked a few times. 'What did you get that time?'
'You were thinking about eggplants,' Krillin answered. 'Specifically, you were thinking about how much you hate them.'
'Damn,' Rayne leaned back against the riverbed's side, propping herself with her hands. 'That settles it, then. You learned telepathy.' She made a face. 'How did you learn telepathy?'
'Not sure…' Krillin, who was positioned perpendicular to Rayne, looked left to his daughter. The stream billowed past her legs in gentle, silver slivers. 'Yeah, I don't know.'
Rayne squinted at the side of his face. 'You paused for a moment there.'
'I was thinking about it.' He looked back at her with a beaming smile. 'I dunno! I've never learned it, really- though…' His mouth curved, and he hunched forward, tucking his arms under each other. 'I've learned under three masters in my life- Master Roshi, Kami, and King Kai. All three of them could read minds.'
'Really?' Rayne settled further back. 'Interesting. Maybe you picked a little something up each of them, and it finally clicked.'
'Maybe.' It was possible, Krillin acknowledged. Sometimes you just picked up on things you weren't even trying to learn. And considering how many years in total he'd spent with all of them…
'Yeah,' he said, stretching and sighing into the air. 'it's possible. But maybe not likely. I mean… if it were true…'
'What?'
Krillin's face crinkled towards the sky. The air was cool but gentle, lazily pushing big, idyllic clouds over their heads. 'I would have to acknowledge that I have talent.'
He waited for Rayne to reply: when she didn't, he snorted. 'Hard for me to do.'
'Really?' Krillin glanced at her- her sharp doubt had filled her face with mirth. 'Take a look at our daughter. You think she got no talent from you?'
Together, they looked to Marron. With a sweep of her arm she bent her knees, just barely dipping into the water, before bursting up to swing her palm through the air. But something must have jammed her feet at the bottom of the stream because she hitched forward, tried to balance for a second, and floundered into the stream with a yelp, smacking belly-first into the water. Waves splashed and a good amount of spray hit Krillin in the face.
Parental concern rushed to the forefront of their minds, but Marron lurched out of the water and onto the opposing bank, more angry than hurt. 'I'm soaaaked!' she squealed.
Krillin and Rayne were able to exchange a single solemn glance before bursting into laughter.
'I see now!' He said after catching his voice in between his runaway gasping. 'I'm the telepath, and you're the clairvoyant!'
'Sure,' Rayne agreed, waving to acknowledge him as she crossed the stream. She bent down as she checked on Marron, but she was more embarrassed than anything and asked to be left alone to sulk on her side of the stream. So Rayne came back to Krillin and sat next to him.
The last of his laughter left him as he leaned his head on her shoulder. 'Hoo boy. That was funny. You might actually be a clairvoyant, though.'
'Can't say for sure. Maybe.'
'Maybe.'
They watched Marron wring her clothes as she was wearing them, perhaps not aware that was the least efficient method to get dry. Rayne offered her help, but was declined, so she instead suggested that Marron jump around to fling the water off her. So their daughter started doing jumping jacks, face screwed in concentration, and threw droplets every which way.
'You really think that, though?' Rayne asked once the initial wave of rain had subsided. She had placed her left arm across Krillin, just barely wrapping him closer to her. 'No talent?'
'No…' he made a strange smile, and shimmied out of her embrace. 'No- I'd have to be crazy to think that most people can do what I do.'
She sensed an incomplete thought forthcoming. 'But?...'
'Sometimes… I feel like I was in the right place, at the right time, when I really did something.' His head dipped with emphasis. 'Both good and bad. Like it was luck that I was able to weaken Piccolo enough in our bout at the World Tournament that he didn't go after everyone else, or that it was luck that Kakarot intervened at the last second and prevented us from killing Raditz… and killing me.' Krillin sighed and rolled his shoulders. 'But if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have gone to King Kai's, and then I couldn't have ridden to everyone's rescue on Namek… so to speak. And if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have gotten trapped in a stranger's body, and…' He shot a quick, muted glance at her, searching for her eyes. 'And everything that came of that.'
Her mouth tightened, matching his. 'I can sorta understand what you mean. That was out of your control.' Then her mouth shifted, loosening. 'But a lot of that wouldn't have happened if someone else was in your shoes. If someone else had been where you were, events would have been different. And things have turned out mostly okay so far. I mean- this has been a crazy life for me too, you know, but the only reason I'm here is because Chi-Chi stitched up my head all those years ago.' A bright expression, quick as a ray of light, flashed across her face. 'So I'll happily take everything from there- even the bad stuff, like being forced to raise a baby with a horned alien.'
Krillin's neck pricked. He ducked to his knees and gazed at her. 'You mean that?'
'Yeah. And besides- life can't keep this up.'
'Huh? What do you mean?'
'Crazy stuff can't keep happening forever.' Rayne leaned back, hands digging comfortably into the loose soil of the bank. 'Whatever crazy force is throwing wackiness at us has to grow bored eventually. And when that happens, life'll get a lot more sane, for better and for worse.'
'You think so?'
'I know so.' Her smile flashed across her face. 'I'm a clairvoyant, remember?'
He met hers. 'Of course.'
'Heeeey.' Marron's floating voice reached across the stream. Their daughter still looked quite angry. 'I did what you said Mama, and I'm still wet!'
Drenched, really, but Krillin didn't want to say anything lest he start laughing again. 'Keep jumping! You're getting dryer.'
'Ugh! There's no time, now!'
Rayne's head lolled. 'No time?' she asked, goodnaturedly.
Their daughter lost her chance to complain as a shape fell straight out of the sky and into the stream, throwing up a massive splash. Both Krillin and Rayne sprung to their feet and scrambled to the riverbed's top, adrenaline pumping through them.
'Who?...' He breathed.
'Now you're wet, too, Gohan!' Marron's voice came from behind a falling arc of water. When it hit the dirt and sprayed across their feet, they saw what their daughter saw- Gohan was poking out of the stream, butt fully submerged, glaring into the sky.
'Icarus! What the heck!'
True to Gohan's word, a familiar purple dragon was circling in the air, chortling away, wings flapping happily.
'Alright-' Rayne muttered softly so that only Krillin could hear, '-I didn't predict that.'
'Gohan?' Krillin scrambled down to the stream again. 'Are you alright?'
'Oh!' Gohan's head shot to him, and he surged out of the water. 'Sorry- I forgot!' Urgency flooded his face. 'I need yours and Rayne's help! Mom and Mr. Yamcha are in danger! There's a bad man living in my home!'
Rayne's head nearly fell off of her neck as she leaned in. 'What?'
0o0o0
He was in a long, wide corridor, walls dusty and ceiling lights straining, when he heard a sound: the only sound not his own. As he crossed the station, it's walls and floors had echoed his every step, reliving his movements like some ghostly speaker. Old creaks and aging grates, worn by boots passing decades before his, announced his path like a harbinger of death. He had known a hundred destroyed worlds that had fit to his passage the same as this place, a chorus of the past and present twirling around him, framing him and his will to press forward. Beyond the edge of ruin. Beyond.
But he had stopped out of curiosity. He had heard something. Some sound similar to his own. A few seconds after he had ceased moving, metal groaned behind him. His eyes narrowed as he turned, whipping his cape to the side, peering into the sickly white light that blinked and labored to light his past path. Some color wavered in the gloom. Some noise rose from it.
'Vegeta, in the flesh.'
The sense of familiarity he heard from the emerging figure disquieted Vegeta. He could recognize nothing in their blue-yellow hair and dull-colored clothes. He hedged.
'I see my reputation precedes me, even in this part of the galaxy.'
Launch halted halfway through a step, balancing on her front foot's toes. 'You… huh.' She drew her half-step back. 'I see. You can't be bothered to know me, but you want me to fill you in, right?'
He said nothing as unspoken thoughts rose and fell from his lips. This person knew him- and he didn't know her. If not for the hair… hmm...
'Just so you know- that's not happening.' Launch stepped closer to him, feet sliding across the grate as she cautiously lowered into a guard. 'You're going to answer a few of my questions, instead.'
'I suspect your tone will change in a few minutes.'
'Oooh?' Launch's face folded into a grin. 'Confident, aren't we? But I guess that comes with the territory- when you win so many battles.'
'What do you know about me?'
'I know you've killed people. I know you've killed millions of people.'
'And your point is?' Vegeta's face dipped into amusement. 'I'm not unique in that regard.'
A curt snort left Launch's lowering face. 'Should have known you'd be difficult.'
Difficult? But Vegeta's thought was smacked aside along with his head as Launch's red aura blazed across the room and rammed a blow into his face, staggering him to his right. A kick followed that punch, and then a knee, until Vegeta was laid up against the corridor's wall, metal denting behind his back. But his eyes carried nothing of the pain he had received in those split-seconds. 'Difficult, then!'
Launch's fist smashed into the wall, denting it further, as Vegeta ducked and surged forward, ramming his right elbow into her gut. They barreled to the other side of the hallway, limbs tied up for a moment, before Launch caught her breath and footing and spun Vegeta around by his cuff, chucking him face-first into the wall. Like a cat he landed on all fours, and hissing, he ducked and dodged a series of rapid-fire blows crumpling metal. Their auras surged like waves crashing apart, red surging, dark blue blotting, both running over each other, as Launch's guttural roars bent the corridor wider and wider.
A frustrated kick cut from the floor, slamming flush against the wall, and seizing the opportunity, Vegeta's left arm wrapped around the limb and yanked forward, plowing Launch's foot straight through the metal. All at once a shrill alarm erupted around them and Launch felt air rush down her leg. Before she could pay any attention to that, however, she spotted an incoming elbow and dropped to the floor, and by pressing her other foot to the wall, yanked her leg free and kicked away towards her head. Vegeta's left arm was batted away, and snarling, he staggered rightward along the wall.
As Launch rolled onto her front, the hissing ceased- she realized that her leg had punched through the station's wall into space, and that this creaking place had somehow closed the hole. The air was thinner still, though.
'Kami,' she muttered, edging to her right, onto her knees. Her foot she had exposed to the vacuum of space felt like frigid death. 'Did you know the walls were that thin?'
Vegeta's gaze burrowed into her, black pupils sharp and glinting. 'You're something of a fighter,' he said. Disregard surged through his voice. 'Now it makes sense. You're here for revenge, aren't you? I must have killed your friends and family somewhere- somewhere as dead and gone as they are. And you're a survivor.'
'Not quite.' Launch patted herself and stood. Her mouth teased at disclosing something but she chose to say something different. 'Like you said before- your reputation precedes you.' She made a show of cracking her knuckles, shaking off the aches from their previous dance. 'Consider this a preventive measure. I hope to disappoint whatever survivors of yours.'
Vegeta's brow rose. 'Disappoint how?'
She smirked, teeth peeking through her lips. 'You'll be too dead for anyone to get their revenge on you.'
'Well, to do that…' Vegeta's aura lit again, and his face lit with fury as he launched forward, ramming a fist into Launch's palms. The hallway behind her bowed from the force of his charge. 'You'll have to succeed where the hundreds before you have failed!'
0o0o0
The station around them polluted the air with dull and low sound like a creaking hinge. Bez had been on worse stations, but not by much, and never on one this… loud. Every step he made here was echoed to oblivion. If he coughed, that short noise would return back to him over the course of minutes. And this was to say nothing of how every action Bez took was only half as quiet as whatever Recoome mimed behind him. The former elite was good at fighting and terrible at keeping a low profile. His massive feet had made any stealth impossible.
Which led to their present problem. Bez chanced and leaned his head just past their cover before shirking back as another wave of tangling yellow energy zipped past his head and continued uninterrupted down the station's main walkway. He listened for about a minute before he heard a far-off rumble.
'No luck?' Recoome whispered from his left at far too loud a volume. His words started to bounce around them.
'No,' Bez hissed back. 'We're stuck here as long as Nappa commands the other end of this hallway. And I doubt he's going to give that up anytime soon.'
Recoome leaned away from him and planted his hands on his hips. 'What, you don't want to run down there and fight him?'
Memories flashed of the last and only time Bez had fought with Nappa- he had gotten in a quick, cheap hit, and fled as soon as possible. And he had a squeezing feeling that the gap between their powers now was even larger than it was then.
'No- I don't want to do that,' he replied.
'Hmph.' Recoome weighed his head left-and-right. 'And this is the only way to the bridge?'
'As far as I can tell.' Bez pressed the right side of his head to the wall, listening. There had to be some way past him. They couldn't afford to waste any time stuck in one place. Launch may or may not need their help- and that was ignoring the slow but steady crawl of that last group of ki approaching the station...
Past Bez's thoughts another wave of yellow ki snapped down the hallway, lacing against the walls and bursting an overhead light fixture. His head whipped away as glass sprinkled down. How the?...
Wait… 'They couldn't sense ki, right?' Bez muttered.
Recoome stared at the back of his head. 'Huh? What'd you say?'
'There has to be a reason why Nappa isn't coming after us.' Bez leaned an inch out, quickly, before withdrawing back behind cover. 'That's the bridge up there. So… he's defending it, isn't he?'
'Defending?' Recoome scratched his scalp. 'What for?'
Bez's eyes remained narrowed, staring at some unremarkable section of the hallway across from them. 'I have a guess. And to confirm that guess, I have an idea.' He turned to Recoome. 'Do you have any idea where around us the power cables would be?'
'Cables? Eh…' Recoome glanced at the floor and tapped his feet around. 'Probably under us, in the center of the main hallway, if I had to guess.'
'The hallway Nappa's throwing ki blasts down?'
'Yep.'
Bez made a wry expression. 'Well, I guess this wasn't going to be easy.' He fell to the ground, kneeling, and dug his fingers into the grate. With a tug, he pulled away a rectangular section and placed it to the side. Unlit and expansive, the station devolved into wiring and circuits below them.
'Lower me down…' Bez asked, looking back at Recoome. 'If we can't access the bridge, I want to make sure Nappa can't, either. There's a chance I'll be able to crawl out into the center of the hallway and cut the right cable.'
Recoome's eyes glazed over with confusion. 'You want me to stay here, then?'
'...no,' Bez said after a pause. 'Not quite.'
0o0o0
Fists locked and screwed together, force pressing, muscles tightening, auras raging. Launch and Vegeta stood in a center of a far-too-narrow hallway, bodies locked. Their hair, already prone to shooting from their faces, flew from their skin like branches tossing in a storm in the wake of their auras. And, yet, the station around them held together.
'You're something of a fighter!' Vegeta repeated, growling between his teeth, hands tightening their grip around Launch's. 'Surprising, considering that I don't know you! And here I thought you were-'
Launch's head surged forward, cracking against Vegeta's face. The world blurred. Blood shot from his nose, striking the front of his armor. Launch wrenched away, bounced on her back foot, and then slammed another punch into Vegeta's undefended gut. The Saiyan gagged, hands rushing to where he'd been hit, before Launch, shaking off her own self-inflicted disorientation, crouched and sprung forward. Her red-swaddled leg, aiming where he'd been struck moments prior-
Vegeta's gloved hands caught her foot, jostling her. 'You tried…' Vegeta snarled, lifting his bloodied face and deep-set eyes to her, '...to hit me in the same spot?'
His question just left his mouth when Launch grunted, aura exploding around her, as she jumped off the ground with her free foot. 'Yes!'
She swung forward then, other leg smashing into Vegeta's grip on her and bucking his body backward. Her body was launched the other way with the blow's counter-momentum and spinning, she shot her hands to either side of her and launched two quick red blasts. Energy tore through the dented and discolored metal walls, ripping through to space, and Launch's flight slowed as air began rushing against her. The part of the corridor where she had pierced it started breaking apart, tearing from the force of the station's air rushing out.
One of Vegeta's hands slapped down to the metal, fingers curling around the grate, even as wicks of blood were swept off him by the air pressure moving forward. Between them a great chasm of air rushed around in every direction, all violent, all yearning to destroy.
Vegeta steadied himself on one knee as emergency countermeasures- metal sheeting rushing along the walls behind him- rushed forward and linked together, forming a makeshift wall just feet before him. The great roar of air spilling into space slowed to a trickle as more and more material moved along and added itself to the forming barrier. The last bit of blood left his face and lazily hit the wall, sliding down in a thin mark. Vegeta scowled at it before grunting to stand. His blue aura dissipated with a gentle tug forward.
He was surprised a station as old as this had breach measures integrated within its life support systems. Most bases even today usually had enough personnel to perform these emergency repairs manually. Perhaps he had given this place too little credit.
Either way- he would have to find a rebreather if he wanted to continue towards the station's other end. Perhaps Nappa would know where he could find one. Perhaps-
'Vegeta- are you there?'
The scouter over his left eye buzzed him out of his thoughts. Vegeta pressed a finger to its side. 'You have auspicious timing, Nappa.'
'Vegeta.' His name was repeated as a token of relief. 'You need to get back to the bridge, and now-'
'And forget Bardock and his brat son?' Vegeta's gaze shot back to the barrier. His rivulet of blood had ended just above the floor. 'I think not. Nappa, I need you to locate-'
'Vegeta- they're on their way here. The PTO.'
The air around him pulsed as Vegeta's aura flickered. 'Who in the PTO?'
'...'
Vegeta's hand settled on his scouter, fingers tensing, near crushing. But he held them back. 'I'll be there soon.'
0o0o0
Launch's breath pumped in and out of her chest as the emergency doors slammed shut before her. The station took its time filtering air back into the corridor, and so she continued to pant, lungs reaching for every last speck of oxygen. When she finally felt something of a recovery, she dropped her head, one step on the way to staggering to her feet. Sweat poured down her forehead. One swipe of her wristband to it came back disgustingly wet, and with a grimace, she peeled the garment off and tossed it onto the floor. And even that simple act had made her muscles cry out with pain.
Split-second decisions weren't always the best ones-she'd have to find another way back to the rest of the base with this path now broken in two. But she couldn't help but feel it had been worth it- putting aside how quickly that Saiyan had pushed her to her max Kaioken, Vegeta would be delayed in pursuing her. As far she knew, Saiyans needed air to breathe, too… right?...
Launch frowned to herself as she finished catching her breath and stood to her full height. Perhaps the first point was more important. Her muscles ached. And judging by how much she'd slowed Vegeta down, she was going to tire before him in that fight. Now, at least, she had bought some time for a second bout.
She turned to her right, looking down the unexplored corridor over her shoulder. That second bout would probably not be with Vegeta. The two Bez had sensed were close. And considering where she had intercepted Vegeta, it was clear he was heading towards them.
There was something of an exciting mystery going on here. Who in the galaxy would Vegeta be hunting down? Likely some Saiyans- but who?
She found it in herself to push a smile past her fatigue and cracked her knuckles with that same energy. Through the hallway a steady humming started to echo alongside her steps.
0o0o0
The door was not like the others- it was an actual wooden door, and wasn't locked by chains or melted metal or bolts. They had gone through room after room full of sadistic traps and automaton, blasting apart doors that could not be coerced to open, but now they were faced with a regular door. Accordingly, Chi-Chi's anxiety peaked.
'You know, Retu, before we go through-uhh...'
After she had started talking but before she had even finished, Retu brushed past her and pushed open the door. Another dark chamber laid beyond it, dull light glinting of metal in here and there. He shot a look back at her. 'What?'
She frowned at him, but redirected it to the darkness beyond the door. 'Nothing…'
He led them forward, steps sure despite the difficulty of seeing anything. With a wave of his hand he shined some light forward, just catching glimpses of polished metal floors, depowered consoles, and dull and cloudy green glass. 'Suno?' He half-whispered, half-demanded of the room.
'Retu!' Chi-Chi chided. 'We haven't even finished checking the area! For all we know-'
Lights suddenly flashed in front of them, illuminating in a cone a circular platform in the room's center. Sickly yellow light fell across a chained Suno, seemingly unconscious but held up by chains suspended from the ceiling. The red marks across her body and the still dripping cuts on her forearms made it clear she was injured, but her chest still moved in-and-out, breathing.
'Suno!' Retu rushed forward and jumped. Instead of landing on the platform, however, he ran into a sheen of red light, shooting up around Suno and bursting across his skin like lightning. His eyes rolled back in his head and he flopped back to the ground, unmoving.
Chi-Chi moved to him quicker than he had moved to Suno. She slid to her knees and cradled his head, checking and finding his pulse. 'Thank goodness.' Relieved, she was able to access her anger. 'Why the hell did you do that, huh?' she asked, shaking him. 'Did we not just get through Kami-knows how many traps?'
'How were they, by the way?' A low voice cut into the room, echoing too much for Chi-Chi to make any sense of where it was coming from. Instinctually, she zipped back, repositioning her and Retu closer to the door. 'Were they fun? Did they make the hairs on your neck stand?'
Eyes sweeping back and forth over the darkness, Chi-Chi slowly stood, raising his guard. 'Is this the fair doctor I've heard so much about?'
'Fair?' The voice sounded confused. 'Who would have mentioned me? Wouldn't have been Ebi, or Miso… wait, was it you, Kishi?'
'Don't mention me!' A raspy voice blurted out. 'Don't tell them my name!'
'Huh? Oh, right- sorry.' There was the sound of a mic being shifted around before the original voice began again. 'In any event, you are correct. I am the "Fair Doctor", in your words. As the head of this research consortium, I must admit- it was very rude of you to barge in here.'
'Spare me,' Chi-Chi said exaggeratedly. 'My friend here filled me in on what's going on here. You're abducting people! I mean-' she gestured to Suno, '-you abducted her! I don't think stopping evil is rude.'
'It's rude to me!' The slightest tick-up in ambient energy swept through the room, drawing Chi-Chi's eyes to the left. A console closest to the central platform lit with a soft glow of energy. 'And I am not alone in feeling this…'
The red sheen surrounding Suno, humming, suddenly dropped away, clearing Chi-Chi's path. But before she could start moving forward a surge of light from the nearby console collected into a cable and flashed through it into the platform's base. Crackling energy, red like blood and jagged as lightning, spilled over Suno, encapsulating her- and eventually pooling into something Chi-Chi hadn't noticed before. Her friend was dressed in the same ice-blue gi as she wore previously with but one addition: there was a thin, ivory yellow circlet threaded through her red hair.
Chi-Chi stared at the exact spot where the red lightning pooled, condensing into an almost solid jewel, when Suno's eyes flung open. Her normally tranquil black eyes were bloodshot.
'Hraaagh!' With a burst of energy and a flutter of her clothes, Suno's blood-red aura roared, aiding her as her arms wrenched forward, snapping the chains holding them up. With two heavy steps, she broke the locks around her ankles and staggered off of the platform, panting on one knee. But not once did her gaze leave Chi-Chi.
'Yes, I'm now sure of it… if not before, then certainly now…' Kochin's voice slid through the room, sweeping through it as the only light above the platform shut off and darkness reclaimed the room. 'The hairs are standing on your neck…'
Chi-Chi barely heard him. Her heart was slamming against her ribs. Nothing of the student and friend she knew was recognizable to her- and her student and friend could evidently recognize nothing in her. Suno slowly stood and eyed her like some kind of wild predator, all aggression and instinct and snarling a never-ending sound like a throat being gouged on and on.
'Your companion sees things much more clearly now! And she will deal with your meddlesome ways herself!'
Now Chi-Chi chose to ignore the echoing, unplaceable voice. With a grunt she sidled to her right, positioning her body in front of Retu as a shield. 'Fine.' Her back foot slid back as she held out a single palm towards Suno, breath even, face steady as stone. 'Let's go a round, for old times' sake.'
A/N: Sorry for the very delayed update! Many things were going on, not least some personal stuff and a reading-but-not-writing binge. But I'm happy to say another update will be coming up next weekend! Beyond that, I'm hoping to make a push for weekly updates for as long as I can. So stay pumped as we come to the end of Metal!
Reviews:
The Rocha: Yes… it would seem Traveler has come back further in the past… hmm… makes you wonder where the divergence point is…
Interesting theory! I cannot confirm or deny.
Suno is in a bad way right now… but it's only standard mind control stuff, right?
Very cool technique. It's a shame the only master of it is some no-name movie villain, though. The odds of it being passed along are very poor.
Yep. RIP Frappe.
The idea I'm trying to get here is that Eighter here is Android 19 in this reality. Gero spent all his time on the same type of robot companion to fulfill the same role, but used Eighter as the template instead of whatever he used for canon Android 19.
I really, really like writing Kochin and Wheelo. I think it shows xD
Chi-Chi is pretty competent. Now it's going to get a little trickier though…
Questions about Rush… and Gero… read and find out!
There are some hints of what you're saying about Tien, yes…
Launch is having the time of her life.
Oh, yeah- Kakarot is unwittingly an MVP for what he did. I don't think anyone would be easily convinced of all that he's indirectly done for Earth though, lol
Annin and Bansho Fan… I will do my research and get back to you on them. I'll have to consider when and where they could come in.
Here's another chapter! Sorry for the delay! And thank you for the review!
Cityracer: The beginning felt snappy for me, too! Glad you liked it. I also felt especially good about Chi-Chi's section of the fight.
I'll take into consideration what you said about Retu. He could use a little more development.
I think I made (or will do) changes to the scene you're describing. i'll have to double-check. Should or will be clearer.
He had enough time, as it turns out! Suno's switched sides.
Lots to still come with the Space Adventures… it's going to be a ride.
Rush may or may not be from the future. Read and find out.
Yes, that's correct. The idea is that you can multiply chunks of your energy, just as you wouldn't start a battle with full power, you wouldn't amplify your full power unless deliberately trying to do that.
Thank you for the review!
TienFan99: Glad you enjoyed the interactions between them all! And poor Turles. And interesting theory with Nappa…
I've made the changes you recommended. Thank you for pointing them out! And thank you for the review!
