Chapter 6

The deep blue of the cloudless sky hung overhead as a backdrop. A gentle breeze blew it's way across the marble floor, scattering bits of dirt and dust, and pushed them over the edge of the floor, letting them drop thousands of feet below.

The serenity of Kaiosama's palace perfectly contradicted the chaos that was taking place on earth. Kaiosama himself stood at the edge of the circular marble platform high in the sky, rubbing his round blue chin in thought.

"We need to stop this creature," he said silently to himself. No matter how many times he said it, the Kaio of the north never came close to a conclusion. He could feel the frustration release hot droplets of sweat through his skin.

Alone, the Firebird itself was a powerful force. Making matters more difficult, it had Son Goken under his control. Getting to the Firebird would mean going through Goken first. Why does he choose to ally himself with that thing? If only that boy realized the creature's true intentions!

"Kaiosama!" a desperate voice cried loudly just behind him.

The blue amphibian like god nearly jumped out of his skin and turned quickly around, recognizing Vegeta. "Must you approach me in such a dramatic manner?!" he screamed, clutching his chest.

"If you had any idea what's happening on earth…"

"I know too well!!" In his state of frustration, Kaiosama hadn't initially noticed that Vegeta had some serious wounds. "What… what happened to you?" he asked, approaching the fallen Saiyan warrior.

Vegeta clutched his side, wincing in pain. "It's nothing," he said. "Just get Gohan and the others over here."

"Dende!" Kaiosama summoned the little green Namek child. He appeared in a matter of moments, his green bald head shining brilliantly under the sunlight.

"What is it, sir?" he asked.

"Vegeta here needs some curing," Kaiosama said. "Please do what you can."

"Of course," Dende nodded.

* * *

Far out of town, at the edge of a dense forest, the car screeched to a halt. "Waah!" a child started to wail in the back seat.

Bulma, with sweat dripping down her face in intense, reached behind and took the child and started rocking it in her arms. "Hush, Trunks," she said. "It's okay, we're out of danger now."

"Oh no."

Bulma turned to face Chichi, in the passenger seat beside her. Chichi's arm clutched the armrest tightly with a white knuckled grip. Her eyes were wide with terror, her complexion had grown pale.

"What's wrong?" Bulma asked.

"The Firebird's attacking the city," she said. "What if it destroys the hospital? Bulma, Gohan is in there!!"

Chichi brought her hands up and covered her face. She started trembling uncontrollably and sobbing. Bulma could see tears making their way out from between her fingers, running down the back of her hands. "We have go back," she said.

"No, Chichi. It's too dangerous!" Bulma said. "I've got a better idea. We'll head to Mutenroshi's island. He should provide us with a little shelter for awhile."

Chichi was unsure of how much protection they'd be under Mutenroshi's care. After all, he lived in a house on a tropical island not more than a few meters wide in the middle of the ocean. She then cringed at thought of his reaction if he saw two big-busted women walk through his door. "Maybe he can help us find a way to get to Gohan," she said.

* * *

Gohan could feel the wind against his face. It was chilly, forming goose bumps all over his arms. Even through his closed eyelids, he could make out overhead lights passing over him. He opened his heavy eyes slightly, and saw three nurses wheeling his bed quickly down the hallway. What's going on? They look panicked… Is something wrong with me? Where are they taking me? As much as he could think, he didn't have the energy to speak or move. Gohan tried moving his arms to raise himself to a more comfortable position, but as soon as he'd moved slightly, the pain exploded through his arms. He could feel something cutting into his skin under the tight bandages.

Then, he remembered the conversation in Goken's room, that unearthly voice coming from his brother, and his body crashing through the window. That pain's gotta be from the broken glass of the window.

"Nurse…" he said, in a weak, trembling voice. Strange, I didn't mean to sound that pathetically weak.

"Don't speak, Gohan," the nurse said while running. "We're taking you down to the basement of the hospital with all the other patients. Satan City is under attack from some kind of creature. You'll be safe down there."

The first thing that came to Gohan's mind was his brother. The nurse said a creature. But somehow, deep inside, he had a feeling it had to be Goken. His first instinct was to get up and get out there to help fight the Firebird. But the pain running up and down his arms and body told him he was in no condition to fight. Perhaps he'd wait and let himself be nursed back to health for the time being.

The entire building shook with such force, little bits of dust and debris fell from the ceiling, while the lights flickered on and off for a moment and then died, enveloping the entire hospital in darkness. "Ah!" one of the nurses screamed, putting an arm above her face in a protective reflex as a bulb fell from above her head and crashed onto the floor in a thousand pieces of flying glass.

A loud, splintering sound echoed through the hallway. Bright, evening sunlight lit the dark halls, indicating part of the hospital had collapsed. More screams, more death.

"Get out of here!" Gohan shouted to the nurses. He tried getting up again, but the pain in his skin bit down harder, as if trying to keep him down. Gohan ignored it.

One of the nurses places a hand on his chest and pushed him painfully back onto the mattress. "We're taking you to the basement," she said. "We're not going to leave you." Even as regular people, by endangering their own lives to save his, they had the courage of warriors. Gohan had such admiration for the nurses.

Another great explosion occurred nearby. It seemed a gas pipe had been broken in the crash, but what could have ignited it? The force of the blast had thrown one of the nurses off her feet and she had landed in some broken glass.

"Oh god, Pam," her colleague said, "We've got to get some bandages."

"I can wait," the fallen nurse replied, "just get that patient down to the basement with the others!"

"No!" Gohan protested, but he was helpless to do anything as the other nurse grabbed a hold of his bed and continued wheeling him towards the elevator.

He was unsure of what to do. His mind screamed at his body to get up and help the fallen nurse, but his body fiercely resisted. His limbs weighed a thousand pounds while his head throbbed at the rush of air in his face, as he sped down the hallway. The cuts in Gohan's skin didn't help ease anything either.

Gohan had made it safely to the elevators. Through all the screaming and explosions, he could hear the injured nurse's cries for mercy.

"Please don't hurt me!!" she begged. "I'm a nurse, I help people!!"

"And I have no need for healers in this time of revolution," a voice replied. Gohan recognized that voice. It was familiar, but cold and inhuman. It was the Firebird. He'd made it here, Gohan could tell. And the helpless, piercing screams of the slaughtered nurse only confirmed it.