Anxiety began to settle in as Shanumi's eyes snapped open, fully knowing she was not at the shopping centre anymore. Unknown to her, she was several feet underground.
As her blurred vision came into focus, she noticed that she had been put in a rather elegant room. The ceiling, walls and floor were all a striking black marble, although a white fur rug and white furniture made it seem more alive. A translucent curtain covered the wide built-in window.
The Princess was rather confused about where she had ended up. Why had she been kidnapped? What was this place? Could she escape?
She felt a sudden throbbing pain searing through her head, causing her to wince slightly. Did those people knock me out? Kami, I need a pill...
Shanumi's eyes rested on a peculiar looking white box, tied up with a red ribbon. Beside it, a tray with a glass and plate lay waiting for her.
The royal frowned. Something smells fishy, she thought. Why would there be a random plate of food in the middle of nowhere?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a low rumble from her stomach. "Well, I haven't eaten in a while," she remarked, patting her stomach. She picked up the plate of steak and roast potatoes and began to eat with gusto, swallowing every morsel.
Once she had finished eating, she turned her attention to the untouched box. She untied the ribbon and as she lifted the lid, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh my goodness," she breathed. A pair of white heels lay beside a long, white silk dress. The outfit was held together by an translucent sleeves threaded together to resemble flower patterns. Towards the bottom, the dress was detailed with hundreds of blue flowers. A little tiara with a blue flower rested in the box.
"It's beautiful," she smiled. Her smile suddenly vanished. Doesn't the person who got me this know I'm married? She frowned. What are they playing at?
The mother-of-two stared down at her clothes, somehow soiled and torn. Patches of soot and dust littered her outfit.
I don't want to know what transportation they took to get me here, she thought, sighing in defeat. This dress will have to do.
She took a few minutes to change clothes and compose herself before leaving the room. Four soldiers stood guarding the door outside. Shanumi turned to nearest one, a little irate.
"I need some answers," she demanded sternly. "Where am I and why am I here?"
"You are on board The Essence, Your Imperial Highness," he replied. "However, I do not know what purpose you serve here. Maybe I can-"
"Take me to your leader then," she snapped.
The soldier visibly shuddered and delivered the Princess a slight nod. "Yes, your Highness. Right this way."
The journey to the control room was a short lift ride and a five-minute walk through the main corridor. The atmosphere of the establishment alone sent Shanumi spiralling into a sense of awe and bewilderment.
She could barely comprehend what it was all for. Multiple rows of desks with men and women alike had hologram screens being pressed at. The sheer concentration claiming the minds of the staff stunned her. She could almost feel the intensity radiating off them all.
It was maddening. It was fascinating.
The soldier stepped to the side and saluted a figure sitting upon a high-raised chair on a platform, a back facing them. "Your Excellency," he began. "May I introduce Her Imperial Highness, Princess Abisade-Shanumi of Oxania."
A low chuckle was heard from the man, sending shivers down Shanumi's spine. "Imperial," he repeated, mockingly. "Royal sounds much better, to me, at least."
The Princess stood her ground. "Why did you have me brought here?" she asked, quite irritated by the man's lack of seriousness.
"It's a shame you married into an Imperial family, Mrs Mao," he replied, ignoring her question. "Had you stayed a royal, you would have a lot more freedom. What a shame..."
"I will not ask again. Tell me why I am here."
"Tell me, Your Royal Highness," he remarked, adressing her with her old title, his chair swivelling round slowly, "Why you betrayed your family."
Shanumi was left in utter shock. "Guiton?" She whispered, not believing her eyes.
"Guizha, darling," he corrected, advancing down the steps. "Guiton was merely an illusion made to fool the Emperor. A disguise. When I was in my twenties, I joined the council thinking I could reconcile with my enemies. I was so wrong." He stepped towards the woman in white. "The dress is a way to apologise for insulting you yesterday," explained the Lord. "Although... my soldier's journey down the elevator shaft was quite messy. It's not a graceful entrance, so I had the dress custom made for you."
The Princess nodded in gratitude, before frowning at the amount of workers at desks and holographic screens. "What...is all this for?"
"The world's future, Princess," he replied. "I plan to rebuild my country of Insang and make it stronger than ever before. I've initiated the takeover of Oxania and no one can stop me."
"Well, what am I here for?" She blinked, still shocked at this revelation.
The Lord stroked his greying goatee. "Originally, I was going to have you killed," he responded, a look of horror settling on Shanumi's face. "But that won't do you any good, or me, for that matter."
"I've had enough of this," Shanumi snarled. "First you have me kidnapped, then the dress, now this? I need an explanation for this nonsense."
Guizha said nothing as the Princess frowned at him in disgust. If anything, he was amused.
"You're one of Daniel's best advisors. He trusted you, more than the others," she continued. "How could you betray him like that, for forty years straight? You're unbelievable."
She marched straight up to the sixty-year-old. "I don't care what plans you have. You betray one member of the family, you betray all of us. I will not stand by and watch you crush them. This charade has gone on long enough."
Guizha just smirked. "What were you taught about the Oxanian-Omoredian war?"
Shanumi blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Your studies as a young girl," he replied. "You were taught it. I was. What can you tell me about it?"
The dark beauty wasn't sure where the Lord was taking the conversation. She swallowed nervously. "Th-the war was nine hundred and seventy-two years ago. Queen Chirakayna of Oxania waged war against my ancestor King Adebola Adenuga of Omorede for the right to own the valley of gold lying between their kingdoms."
"Good start." Guizha began to pace around the room slowly. "What happened then?"
The Princess crossed her arms. "If I knew this was a history lesson, I would have gone back to colle-"
"Answer the question," he spat, his tone of voice taking a turn for the worst.
"Fine. Oxania won the six-month long battle and claimed the valley as their own, although it belonged to the King. He tried to fight for it back, but the Queen threatened to destroy the entire country if they did."
"Barbarians," Guizha snarled. He stopped pacing. "Thieves. Don't you see, Princess? The Oxanians take things that don't belong to them."
"But King Daniel returned the valley back to them to apologise for his ancestor's actions."
"That's not the point. Must they destroy everything in their path and steal things? All those innocent Omoredians who died. Your people, Princess."
Shanumi felt a pang of guilt, and a little anger at the Oxanians. But she had to remember it wasn't their fault. The blame rested on a foolish Queen going into unecessary war.
"Those Oxanians did the same thing to the Insangians. Innocent people. My family," he pleaded. "Our countries have suffered at the hands of Oxania for too long. This time, it will be them that will lose their loved ones. Be my ally, Princess Shanumi of Omorede. Join me, and we will restore the glory of our fatherlands."
The royal stared at Guizha's outstretched hand. If she accepted his proposal, they could avenge the fallen of their countries and take back their property that was stolen. But on the other hand, she had married into an Oxanian family, had Oxanian-blooded children. What's worse, she and her husband were royals of those kingdoms. It would damage both her families if she said yes.
Family over Feud, she thought and drew to her full height despite her nervousness. "I can't accept that, Lord Guizha," she announced loudly.
Guizha shrugged. "No matter. There are other ways to work this out." He waved his hand. "Somebody get our guest some tea." A nearby butler bowed and walked out of the control room.
Shanumi crossed her arms. "Don't you mean hostage?"
The Lord chuckled. "Nonsense. You are our guest here. Sure, you may have had a rough journey to get here, but my servants will make your stay worthwhile."
"If you think you'll get away with this, then you're very mistaken," Shanumi replied, drawing attention for the workers around her. Her voice was just under a restrained shout.
"You have clearly kidnapped me for a purpose I refuse to perform. I won't be a piece in your chess game. You're just an evil man with evil intentions. Now, kindly point me to the nearest exit, you cretin," she ranted.
All traces of positive nature left Guizha's face. A solid frown stuck to his features. "Let me show you something, Your Highness," he muttered, holding out a hand for her to take, and as she hesitantly did, the Princess was surprised at how cold and rough his hands were.
The self-proclaimed ruler of Insang led the Princess the main hologram screen hanging in the middle of the room.
"Access War Files," he announced.
"Opening War Files," the robotic voice replied. "Initiating..."
The screens suddenly became filled with images and videos of the Oxanian-Omoredian war and the Insangian Invasion. Sounds of bombing and screaming erupted from the audio. Shanumi's mind barely managed taking in all the horrific and destructive scenes. Cities destroyed. Civilians left homeless. The leaders of Oxania rejoicing. Her blood boiled.
"My husband will come for me," she said calmly, exhaling slowly to avoid distress over the tapes. "So will the rest of his family, and you will learn that you have done so much damage."
The false advisor sneered. "If the Prince really loved you, don't he think he would be here already to rescue you?"
Shanumi had a sharp intake of breath and then exhaled shakily. She knew the man was lying-she didn't need to think to realise that. Bradley loved her strongly and so did she; nothing could break that bond. The Princess wondered why he would use such weak manipulation.
At that moment, she was having trouble surpressing her anger.
Guizha placed a hand on her shoulders. "For fifty years, I have waited to carry out my revenge. It's taken years for Insang to recover from her downfall. It is time to make the Oxanians pay for what they have done."
As Shanumi processed his words, she realised he felt some guilt in thinking the Ox King would respect him. She knew extracting revenge was wrong, but she couldn't help but think that two wrongs could make a right.
"You can see what is happening. They use violence to get their way," he concluded, as the Princess absorbed all the infomation. "The world will be much better place without them, you'll see."
The double doors to the throne room burst open as the royal cousins bolted through. Nathan, being the only other person present in the room, looked up expectantly from his briefing documents.
"You're back early," he surmised. "Where's Shanumi and Gohan?"
"That's why we came back sooner," Bradley replied, out of breath. "We think Shanumi might have been kidnapped, and Gohan's gone missing."
The middle-aged man grit his teeth, dropping his papers onto the table. "This won't do," he snarled, rising from his seat. "You've had no answer from their mobiles?"
"They're both not responding," Chichi returned.
"We have to inform my brothers. They're in the middle of a conference, but hopefully they'll come out sooner or later," Nathan replied. He walked over to the nearest butler, speaking to him in a very serious tone. The butler nodded in reply and darted out of the room.
The butler came back after a few minutes while the royals waited impatiently. He bowed to the trio, relieved they had not snapped from anger.
"Your Imperial Highnesses," he began, "His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness Prince Aku will arrive in fifteen minutes."
"We can't wait that long," Bradley snapped. He began to step forward, but his cousin held him back.
"Yes we can, Bradley," Chichi chimed in, trying to convince her cousin to listen. Unfortunately, the Duke wouldn't have it otherwise.
The irate father-of-two frowned at the Princess. "Your son is missing and you want to wait for two people playing with their friends?"
"Bradley, please, just listen," Chichi pleaded. "I know you're worried about Shanumi but we can't have our Dads interrupt this conference. They've been planning it for weeks."
"Would you say that if Goten went missing too?" he replied bitterly, snatching his arm away. He stalked over to the window, crossing his arms in a silent manner of anger.
Chichi's heart sank at his comment. She wanted to argue that Gohan was able to protect himself because he was older and stronger. But the Princess knew he was right-she would be terrified if her baby son was taken from her. It was hurtful to think of, and worrying that her eldest could be anywhere.
It wasn't long until the doors opened again and council members poured into the throne room, exiting out to the main entrance. They were followed by the Emperor and his brother, who were both laughing about something together. Their speech halted when they saw their children.
"Chichi? Bradley? You're back early," the Ox King stated. "Where are-"
"I'll explain, or we'll be here all day," Nathan interrupted, walking up to his youngest sibling. He relayed the information back to his brothers, who were taken aback at the news.
"We shouldn't stand around doing nothing. We have to go and find them; they're in danger," Bradley complained, to which his father grumbled in annoyance.
"Bradley, we haven't formed a plan," the ginger-haired man remarked. "May I remind you that we have no strategy and we can't sense their energy."
"You don't have to talk down on me. I have children of my own, I'm not a child," his son retorted, clenching his fists.
"You act like one sometimes," he muttered. Unfortunately for Aku, his son heard him. Bradley growled in anger, again being held back by his cousin.
"We don't have time for this spat," she announced firmly. "Let's all act as responsible as possible."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Aku agreed. "Our family needs us and we shall support them."
"Oh, and that's something you've been doing?" Bradley muttered under his breath. His Sire put a hand up to his ear. "Speak up, son, I can't hear you. What did you-"
"WAKE UP! OUR FAMILY IS IN DANGER!" The Prince roared.
"Don't you DARE raise your voice at me, boy," Aku snarled back.
The others in the room could feel the tension rising rapidly between father and son. Both glared at each other, not backing down.
"If you would both stop bickering, then we might be able to do something about this," Nathan asserted. The eldest of three brothers walked over to Magda, who was standing nearby. Being the head of all the staff at the palace, he knew that she could be heavily trusted.
"What do you need, Your Imperial Highness?" she asked.
Nathan regarded her sternly. "I need you to contact General Hui and ready the fleet. Earlier on TV I saw the attacks on East City. We need to be prepared if anything else happens. Can you do that?"
The curly-haired redhead nodded. "I'll make a phone call immediately." She darted quickly to the courtoom, leaving the family behind.
The eldest Prince in the family walked back to his relatives. He turned to his niece. "Chichi, you and Bradley will take Aku to where you last saw those two. Your father and I will stay here."
The family approved of his plan and started to go their separate ways.
"If anything comes up again, call us okay?" The Ox King's voice called from down the hall.
"Okay dad," Chichi replied. The Queen-to-be, along with her uncle and his son, dashed out of the palace entrance and into the skies.
Chichi sighed heavily. Stay out of trouble Gohan, please.
The walls of Capsule Corporation shook as a low rumble vibrated the floors. The head of the corporation and the Z fighters, minus Gohan, were sat comfortably in a sitting room, suddenly startled and disturbed at the interruption.
"What the heck was that?" Bulma shreiked, clutching strands of her hair. "Is this an earthquake? Are we under attack?"
Yamcha tried his best to comfort the lady. "Bulma, calm down," he reasoned. "There's no need to panic, we can-"
"Well what else do you expect me to do when your house shakes?" She yelled, causing the former bandit to scamper away in fear.
Nearby, Tien and Krillin observed the duo quietly, the taller bald man a little irritated at the pair.
"Stop making noise and let Chiaotzu concentrate," he snapped, crossing his arms. His little friend sat at a table, eyes shut in concentration. He opened his eyes and regarded the people in the room with a serious expression.
"That explosion came from East City," he announced.
Bulma exhaled dramatically and slouched into a chair. "We're under attack again," she whined. "Just when we thought we were finished with Cell..."
Krillin shuddered at her comment. "Gee, I just hope I don't die this time... Eighteen is pregnant and I've got to be around to support her."
"Good for you, Krillin," Puar chirped, "But we need to know what just happened."
Chiaotzu sat up abruptly. "I just felt Chichi's Ki! She's just come from downtown West City... with two others and they seem strong..." the former Emperor paused in concentration. "Okay, Chichi's going downtown, and the other two people are heading towards East City."
"Maybe Chichi knows what's going on," Bulma thought, chin in hand. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden deafening ringing of a phone, causing a little voice a few doors down to start wailing.
Bulma groaned. "Great, that god-awful phone woke up Trunks from his nap," she complained, rising from her seat, before being stopped by Yamcha.
"You go answer the phone. I'll get Trunks," he said, and left the room. Bulma did as she was told, picking up the phone to answer it. She raised it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Bulma? Oh thank goodness, you answered," a female voice replied through the phone.
"Chichi? Is that you? Did you hear about what happened?"
"Chichi's on the phone?" Krillin interrupted, causing everyone minus Bulma to shush him.
Carrying on with the conversation, the Princess told the heiress about everything that had occured in the last hour. Eventually, the call ended and Bulma turned to the group.
"Alright gang, listen up," she declared, hands on her hips. "I may not know how to fight, but for now I'm the unofficial leader of the Z Fighters in Chichi's abcense."
The men in the room grumbled until Bulma silenced them angrily.
"Chichi's just told me that her cousin-in-law's been kidnapped and Gohan's gone missing. We need to form some way to help her."
Piccolo, who had been silent for a while, almost slipped from his resting place on the wall. "What? Gohan's missing?" He frowned. "Wherever he is, he knows how to protect himself."
"That's true, but we should be able to help them," Krillin chimed in. "Just in case, I mean," he added hastily.
The bluenette's fingers drummed on a nearby table. "Hm. Well, we're a few members short. Goku's obviously dead, Gohan's missing and Chichi is elsewhere." She paused for a few minutes, suddenly standing up straight.
"I've got it!" she exclaimed. "Okay. Piccolo, Tien and Chiaotzu, you'll go and help Chichi downtown. She's on her way to the Leisure Centre. Krillin, you and Yamcha will stay here with me until further notice. That means the only other person to fight with us is..."
Bulma's ex-boyfriend came shreiking into the room, with a blur of lavender stuck to his head. The ex-bandit managed to pry the kicking and screaming toddler from his face, holding him at arm's length.
"Bulma, your kid is crazy," he croaked,almost sobbing. "You should keep him on a leash or somethin'!"
"Yamcha!" Bulma yelled in disbelief. I'll do no such thing to my son!" She scowled at him, bearing her teeth, as her two-year-old child released the baseball player and leaped into his mother's arms, his lavender appendage coiling around her wrist. Their little spat was interrupted when a certain Saiyan strode into the room, wearing a smug look on his face.
Vegeta observed the poor fighter's cuts and bruises given to him by Trunks. His tail waved mockingly in Yamcha's face, who was then kneeling on all fours.
He smirked at the human. "Hn. That'll teach you to put your grubby little paws on my boy. Like me, Trunks is a royal Saiyan Prince, and he possesses great power. Let that sink in." His gaze left Yamcha to settle on his partner. "What's going on around here?"
Bulma relayed the information to her husband who, after being told, scoffed and crossed his arms.
"So Kakarot's brat has decided to get lost? How pathetic," he sneered. "And that harpy makes it worse by intervening in a battle. And she calls herself a royal."
"She can fight, you know," Bulma muttered. "Vegeta, we might beed your help if something comes up."
"You think I'm going to waste my time running after a harpy instead of training?" The Saiyan inquired.
"You will, or you can forget about using the Gravity Room."
The last-living Saiyan sighed. "Fine. But don't expect me to bring her back alive." He sauntered off back to his training.
Bulma stroked her son's head and smirked at her friends. "Great. We're all settled. Now, let's get out there and make a difference!"
In the midst of downtown West City, two young fighters battled against each other. Some onlookers stayed to watch the fight in awe, while others fled in fright.
The Prince, still in base form, delivered a sharp kick to the Princess' side, who in return sent a green Ki blast hurtling his way. He dodged it, sending it shooting upwards into the sky. He regarded his opponent in a serious manner.
"I'm not going to fight you here," he said in a serious tone. "These people will be in danger. Follow me," he concluded, a white aura surrounding the boy as he took off into the skies. Another trail of Ki followed behind.
The safety of the citizens wasn't the only reason the hybrid left the city. Gohan was now well known and anybody would recognise him from a few metres away. The press could be anywhere, taking unwanted pictures of him- he didn't want to be in the spotlight just yet. He had to sort this matter out first.
A short way behind him, the Asset switched on her transmitter on her helmet, quietly whispering into it. "First troops, stay at the mall. Third troops have taken the Omoredian Princess. I want you to split into five pairs of two. If you see the Oxanian Princess, capture her and take her to the Essence. Second and Fourth troops, return to the Wasp and come to my location. Asset out."
Right. The troops are on their way, the soldier thought. I just have to hold my own until they get here.
The two eventually landed at a deserted wasteland, very much scarred by battle. Dents and holes littered the sandy Earth, and only Gohan knew where this was.
The Cell Games battlefield.
He could battle this new person here, and then confront him to find out what the heck was going on. Following those thoughts, the Ox Prince took up his fighting stance, waiting for the other to attack.
A few moments passed until the Asset dashed forward and delivered a swift punch to the hybrid's gut. He choked briefly, but recovered and spun to kick his opponent away, who simply skidded away from the force, creating swirls of clouds to form at the assassin's sides.
The young fighter paused as a green aura surrounded her, rocks beginning to tremble. The ground shook beneath her feet as her power rose. Her armour hid her growing canines, her reddening skin and the fading of her eyes from blue to green. Although Gohan couldn't see her transformation happening but he could sense it. He stood on guard, ready to accept any attack given.
The Asset finished powering up and immediately charged towards the Saiyan once more, punching his face, sending him reeling. She didn't stop and sent multiple punches and kicks his way. Unfortunately for her, Gohan grabbed her fist midway and hurled her away from him.
The half-Saiyan frowned. "I'm done playing games. Tell me what you're here for."
The Asset regarded him silently. She noticed that the Prince was beginning to get angry. She knew then that she had to act fast, even without her team being there.
Keeping hold of her determination, she ducked when the Prince aimed a punch at her. In response, she kicked him where he would be injured the most.
Gohan yelled out in pain, gripping the area between his legs. "Why'd you have to go and do that?!" He demanded, coughing a little. The Asset gave no reply. Instead, she vanished, reappearing inches away from Gohan's face. He wasn't expecting a sudden pain in his neck, his throat tightening. He clutched the Asset's hands, trying to pry them off. He began to gag and retch from the lack of oxygen. He was losing it, and fast.
With limited time and options, he smashed his head against her helmet, causing it to crack and shatter a little. He did it once more, sending the Asset backwards, gripping her destroyed helmet. She turned away from the Saiyan, tossing her ruined helmet away.
A few metres away, Gohan gently pressed his neck, coughing deeply for air, one eye shut in pain. His body and clothes were littered with cuts and bruises. His head throbbed from the force of the headbutt. None of that mattered, as he saw a shuttle land a while away from them. In a few minutes, Gohan was surrounded by several men in black armour pointing guns at him, shouting at him to surrender in a strange language. Exhausted, beaten and very confused, the Saiyan raised his arms slowly sinking to his knees.
The Princess nodded towards her troops in gratitude while they saluted back. "Well done, men. We have completed our mission." Behind her, Gohan scowled at everyone around her.
"Mission? What mission? Tell me," he demanded, to which the Asset was silent, although she turned to face him.
"Capture Ox Prince: Mission Complete," she recited, her voice monotone.
Once he saw her face, Gohan's mind went blank in surprise, horror and fear. He had been confused about the sudden attack, but this he was not suspecting. All reason for fighting the Asset was stripped away, leaving him confused, a little frightened and utterly betrayed.
The throbbing in his head worsened, his body went numb although pain seared through his body. He said nothing as the adoptive daughter of Guizha stared blankly down at him. Dark spots blurred his vision, fading in and out of focus, as he said one thing:
"L-Lime?"
And then he let his pain overtake his mind, lulling him into darkness.