Chapter 14
The next day had come over North City. Inside Daigu's secret room, everyone began eating breakfast, made of the food Daigu had stocked up on. Axel didn't eat and only sat silently in a corner, thinking. A lot of things were on his mind as he quietly thought to himself. Gohei laid snoring on the ground, not waking since the day before. Tyla sat over him and waited for him to stir. Kain was busy stuffing food down his face, seemingly forgetting all his troubles. Daigu suddenly appeared from the back room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over towards him.
Daigu: A pleasant morning this is. I am glad to see everyone is up bright and early.
Kain: *swallows pancake* Master! Did you sleep well?
Daigu: Well enough I suppose. It would seem that all the ruckus above us is finally over. I suggest we all go back up top now and see the damage for ourselves.
Kain nodded and quickly opened the large, metal door. It slowly creaked open. As it did, rubble suddenly piled onto Kain from above. A hand then stuck out of the debris and Kain's muffled voice could be heard from under it. Axel quickly helped him out of it.
Kain: *wipes himself off* Jeez! What was that?!
Daigu: It seems that more chaos ensued while we were asleep.
Axel: *to Daigu* Allow me and Kain to go up first. In case there's anything suspicious.
Daigu nodded in approval and the two slowly climbed up the stairs. The entire city was pretty much in ruins. Rubble was scattered everywhere and a few fires still burned throughout. They could also see bodies strewn all about. It wasn't a pretty sight. Soon, Daigu and the others climbed up to get a look for themselves. Each one of them was more horrified than the next. Tyla put her hands over her mouth in disbelief.
Tyla: A-All this in less than a day?!
Kain: The city's been completely demolished. Jeez…
Axel: You can only imagine how bad things are elsewhere.
Kain: *growls in anger* Who knows how many people were killed or how long it'll take for this city to be rebuilt.
Daigu: *looks around* It would appear that someone was here just recently.
Kain: You think those guys came back?
Daigu: It would only make sense for them to see why the others aren't reporting back. Do not fear though. It would appear that they are gone now.
Kain: I hope so. Their main base was pretty much trashed and I think we defeated all their generals.
Axel: No. If I remember correctly, there is one left.
Kain: One more? Ah! Just great! I've had enough of these guys already!
Daigu: Do not concern yourselves any more. You two have done enough. The first thing we must do is rest our bodies for the fight ahead.
Kain: Of course Master.
Tyla: But what if they come back again?
Daigu: There is no reason for them to come back. Look. They have destroyed this fair city. They chose to break our spirits by disrupting our peace.
Tyla: Well…isn't there anything we can do for the people?
Kain: I doubt anyone else survived but us. There's really nothing we can do.
Axel: Unfortunately, he's right. We have no way of bringing back the dead. Here, or anywhere else these invaders have struck.
Daigu: *strokes his beard* That is not entirely true. There is a way.
Kain: *surprised* Huh?! What do you mean Master?
Daigu: I speak of a way to bring people back from the dead.
Axel: *surprised* W-What?! A way to revive people?!
Daigu: Yes. Long ago, there were stories of seven magical spheres that when gathered, would summon a mystical dragon. This dragon could grant any wish. Including the revival of people. They were called…the Dragonballs.
Kain: Dragonballs? You're telling me that there are supposedly seven balls that could bring people back to life? And a dragon grants this wish?
Daigu: Yes, but then again…it is only a legend.
Kain: I can tell. There's no way that sort of thing could exist.
Axel: But what if it could?
Kain: What are you getting at?
Axel: If we could find these 'Dragonballs', we could bring all the people who've been killed these past few days back to life.
Kain: Tch. You've already been sucked into the Dragonball fairy tale?
Tyla: Come on Kain! You don't even know if the story is make believe!
Kain: *shrugs* Sorry kid. I'll need a lot more convincing to believe a farfetched tale like that. Beside, even if they did exist, where would we look? I mean, they could be anywhere on the planet! And what do they even look like?! All we know is that their spheres!
Daigu: Each Dragonball gives off a radiant, orange glow to match its color. Each has a star in the center, corresponding to the number of the ball.
Axel: Great. So we know what they look like.
Daigu: Indeed. But, as I said before, it is time to rest.
Axel: Of course.
Axel suddenly remembered something important.
Axel: There is something I must do first. If you'll all excuse me.
Tyla: W-Wait! You're leaving Axel?!
Axel: Yes. Goodbye everyone.
A blue aura suddenly appeared around Axel as he flew off. Tyla waved goodbye as he slowly faded from everyone's vision. They then decided to go back downstairs, since it was the only place still in one piece. Gohei was still sleeping on the floor while scratching his belly. His tail wriggled around on the ground. Tyla knelt down towards him, not believing he could still be asleep after all that had happened.
Tyla: I can't believe you! You had me worried sick all while you were gone and here you are just taking it easy!
Gohei: *continues to snore*
Tyla: *grabs Gohei's tail* And what's with this tail?!
Gohei suddenly sprang up and howled in pain. He quickly snatched his tail away from her. He then looked around, suddenly realizing where he was.
Gohei: Huh? W-What's going on?
Tyla: Gohei! *runs over and hugs him*
Gohei: Tyla? What happened? *notices tail* Eh?! What is that?!
Tyla: I don't know. I'm just glad you're okay.
Gohei: Y-Yeah. Seriously, what's going on with this tail?! I'm not a monkey!
Tyla: Just be happy you're even still alive!
Kain: *walks over* So…you're up…
Gohei: Yeah. You're not dead yet? I figured…
Kain suddenly grabbed Gohei by his shirt, lifted him up, and cocked his hand back as if he was about to punch him. Gohei was completely stunned and only stared at Kain in confusion. Kain grit his teeth as his hand continued to shake. He then dropped Gohei and walked away. Gohei held his throat as Tyla helped him up.
Tyla: Are you okay?!
Gohei: Y-Yeah. What the heck was that about?!
Tyla: I'm not sure. Maybe it had something to do with what happened yesterday.
Gohei: Yesterday…? Man, it's all a blur. *looks around* Where's Axel?
Tyla: He left just a little while ago. He didn't say where he was going…
Gohei: Ah, too bad. I wanted to ask him something.
Tyla: *somberly* Y-Yeah…
Gohei: Tyla, you okay? Guess I'd forgotten to check up on you before.
Tyla: *surprised* Y-Yes. I'm…I'm just fine. Thank you.
Gohei: *smiles* Great. I guess all the fighting is over for now.
Tyla: *nods yes* You should just rest and not worry about a thing.
Gohei: So…uh…did I miss anything else?
Tyla then told him what had happened to the city, the moon, and about the Dragonballs. Gohei's face was frozen with shock.
Gohei: I turned into a giant ape and wrecked the city?!
Tyla: I think. That's all that Kain would tell us. That and that Axel had to destroy the moon to stop you.
Gohei: Okay…forget all that. What about these Dragonball things? You're saying that they can grant you any wish?!
Tyla: That's what Master Daigu said. Kain doesn't believe it though.
Gohei: Forget Kain! Let's go find those Dragonballs and wish everyone back to life!
Tyla: What?! Are you serious?! You mean, by ourselves?!
Gohei: Yup! Just like it used to be!
Tyla: I-I don't know…I mean…where would we even begin looking? They could be anywhere!
Gohei: Ah, who cares? It'll be fun! Unless you wanna stay here with these guys?
Tyla looked around at the others and then back to Gohei, who had a grin on his face. She sighed and then responded.
Tyla: Okay, but only because we can help people.
Gohei: Alright! Now then…how do we get outta here without being seen?
Tyla: What?! You hadn't thought of that yet?!
Gohei: *laughs* Guess not. Oh well. Plan B then.
Tyla: Plan B? You don't even have a Plan A! I mean…
Gohei suddenly blasted a hole in the side of the wall. Tyla shrieked as smoke filled the room. The blast instantly got the attention of everyone else as they began coughing from the smoke. After a few moments, it cleared. Kain looked over to see a large hole in the wall. Gohei and Tyla were gone. Daigu rubbed his beard for a few moments as Kain growled in anger.
Kain: Where are those brats going now?!
Daigu: I do not know.
Kain: *sighs* I'll bring 'em back. They'll only get themselves killed…
Daigu: No. Let them be Kain. The boy has chosen his path.
Kain: Let him go?! He can't even fight! I didn't get a chance to teach him a thing!
Daigu: Silence Kain! I have spoken!
Kain: Y-Yes Master! *thinking* Dumb ass brat! What's he up too?!
Tyla opened her eyes and saw that Gohei was carrying her as he flew above the destroyed North City. She looked down and truly saw the destruction from this view. Gohei realized he had no idea where he was going or where to start looking.
Tyla: I hope you know where you're going.
Gohei: Uh…of course! I'm sure one of those Dragonball things are somewhere around here!
Tyla: I hope so.
Gohei became a blue streak in the sky as the two continued to fly. Meanwhile, Axel landed in front of a abandoned shack in the middle of no where. He walked up to its door and pulled them open. Dust fell from the ceiling. He stepped inside the dark house and tried to find his way around. He quickly swatted a few cobwebs out of his way before getting to a back room. A stand of some sort was standing in front of him. On it was an orange, glowing sphere that rested on a pillow. It had seven red stars in the middle. Axel picked it up and held it in front of his face.
Axel: So this is a Dragonball? It matches the description perfectly. Now that I think of it, Master did used to say that this sphere had magical abilities. It all makes sense now. So, there must be six more out there.
Axel took the Dragonball and soon left for an unknown destination. Elsewhere, Gohei and Tyla flew over a small village. The two looked down in horror when they realized it had been completely destroyed. They decided to check it out and flew down towards it. Gohei placed Tyla on the ground and the two began to look around. Destroyed buildings laid all about. Smoke still rose from some of them. The two continued to walk around, finding similar scenes all over.
Tyla: What do you think happened here?
Gohei: I'm sure those alien guys had something to do with this.
The two suddenly heard voices and looked behind a burned out building. A large group of people were huddled around a large, blazing fire. There were men, women, and children sitting down, all trying to find some warmth.
Gohei: Look! Survivors.
Tyla: Yeah. Maybe we should ask them what happened.
Gohei: Okay.
The two walked out from behind the building and approached the group. All eyes turned to them. Gohei was about to speak when a group of men suddenly surrounded the two. A man with short, blue hair, tattered clothes, and a stubbly beard stepped forward. They all had shotguns hoisted towards them.
Man: Who are you?! What more do you bastards want?!
Gohei: Uh…
Man 2: You've already destroyed our homeland! I think its time for some revenge!
Tyla: Hold it! I-I think you're confusing us for someone else!
Man: Eh? A-Aren't you with the invaders?
Gohei: No way! We just wanted to know what had happened here.
The group lowered their guns, realizing they were in no danger. Everyone else seemed to calm down as well. The blue haired man quickly apologized.
Man: I-I'm sorry. You see, the invaders came to our village a few days ago and we figured they'd be back sooner or later. We've been on edge since.
Tyla: I see. We didn't mean to cause any alarm.
Man: Anyway, I'm Luis. Welcome to Lussu Village, or…what's left of it anyway.
END