Chapter 13: Mariko Kurama, Round 2
Krae'Nakh awoke with a start, it was night now, and he was not alone.
"Oh, you're finally awake, are you all right?" Lucy asked him. She and Nana had each given a large portion of their energy to the saiyan.
"Where is she?" Was all Krae'Nakh had to say.
"Where is who? The diclonius? You're not going after her again are you?" Lucy asked, completely shocked at the saiyan's appearent suicidal wishes.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing, now where is she?" Krae'Nakh insisted.
"That is not a good idea." A familiar voice spoke up, and Krae'Nakh realized that Kurama and Bando were here as well.
"Tch, you people just don't learn, do you?" Krae'Nakh said. "I am doing what I want, and killing anyone who gets in my way, does that include you?"
Bando went for his weapon, but Kurama stopped him. "I am not trying to stop you from going after her, but you need to be careful, Mariko is far deadlier than any other diclonius."
"Mariko?" Krae'Nakh inquired. "She doesn't have a name, you people gave her a number instead, where did Mariko come from?" His questions were reflected by everyone present.
"...Nana... how much do you know about me... who I am to you..." Kurama said, taking the younger diclonius by surprise.
"Huh, w-well... you're my papa... and you look after me." Nana said, grabbing everyone else's attention.
"...That...that is what I told you... what I was told to tell you... but it's not true." Kurama said, causing Nana to go silent.
"I was.. assigned to you... to keep you tame... no.. to keep you in line... in control." He continued.
"W-why are you telling me this... what does this have to do with that other girl?" Nana asked with tears in her eyes and a breaking voice.
"Because Mariko IS my daughter, my real daughter." Kurama said causing Nana to go silent, and Lucy to go into a frenzy.
"WHAT!? You... you rejected a diclonius child... to ADOPT a diclonius child... what... WHAT!?" Lucy said, unable to form the words she wanted to say.
"I followed my orders, I never expected to form a bond with her... but I did... and I can't let her die." Kurama said in his defense.
"None of this means a damn thing to me, now where is she?" Krae'Nakh said.
Elsewhere
"Damn it, our reinforcements are hours away. Our orders are to wait here until number 35 recovers." The male scientist said to the female scientist. (I don't know the guy's name, I know the chick is Shirakawa, but I can't remember the other guy's name, if anyone knows, it's the one who detonated the bomb inside Mariko, killing her and Kurama before turning on Nana only to be killed by Lucy)
After the dicloni rescued the exhausted saiyan, Shirakawa was shocked to find no one had been killed, but all her associates could focus on was the powers demonstrated by the dicloni.
"Where is the chief during all of this, he would know what to do." Shirakawa thought to herself.
Suddenly, both scientists were startled by gunfire followed by one of the S.A.T.s being thrown from the doors of the other room to the wall and held there before being, not cut, but twisted apart at the waist.
Number 35 emerged from the double doors, dripping in blood with a smile on her face.
Shirakawa instinctively clutched the detonator for the bomb implanted into number 35, who showed no concern.
"That boy coming back this way, he'll be here soon so can I get ready to fight him again, please?" Number 35 spoke as though she was asking her parents to let her go on a play date.
Elsewhere
Krae'Nakh followed Kurama's lead to a building. After confirming Mariko's power level was inside, he flew to the top of the building without a word and flared his aura to be sure Mariko knew of his presence.
After a few minutes, the diclonius appeared, the humans behind her keeping their distance.
"Ready for round 2?" The saiyan asked with a smile. Mariko answered him with the first strike.
This time, however, Krae'Nakh had realized from his previous battle that Mariko didn't strike repetitively with the same vectors as Lucy and Nana did, rather she used multiple vectors for roughly the same number of attacks from multiple directions, good for overwhelming slower, greener opponents, but now that Krae'Nakh this, he knew how to counter it.
Krae'Nakh deflected vector after vector, seeing them not as repeating attacks, but as attacks from multiple foes.
He blocked and dodged and dodged and blocked, surprising the diclonius with how quickly he had adapted to her fighting style.
Eventually Krae'Nakh saw an opening to attack, but she deflected the attack, and again and again, every time.
Krae'Nakh couldn't find a way through her defenses, she just had too many vectors, then he remembered a technique used by one of the alien races he had fought long ago.
Krae'Nakh continued blocking and dodging until he had maneuvered himself in front of his opponent, then as he deflected another attack, he faced her and put his hands in front of his face and formed 2 Vs around his eyes.
Gorgon Gaze
A flash of aquamarine light emitted from the saiyan's eyes and temporarily blinded the diclonius.
Krae'Nakh sped towards her and delivered an energy infused punch.
She recovered in time to see the attack and blocked with 10 vectors, but Krae'Nakh pressed on and poured all the energy he had into his fist and drove Mariko's vectors into her face, knocking her out cold.
Krae'Nakh looked at his fist with satisfaction, and then he smiled towards the shocked humans, daring them to try something.
No one moved...not for a moment... but then, to Krae'Nakh's surprise, Mariko stirred.
"DAYUM! You're definitely the toughest di-clo-no-whatever it is I've ever fought, you sure you're not half saiyan?" Krae'Nakh said, pleasantly surprised that the fight wasn't over yet.
"Owww, that hurt." Mariko said, rubbing her head before turning to the saiyan. "That was cheating." She whined.
"So?" Krae'Nakh asked guiltlessly "This isn't a tournament, there aren't any rules, and besides, you said you were going to kill me anyway, you can't complain about someone cheating if you're trying to kill them." Krae'Nakh explained to the diclonius.
Mariko was about to protest, but then she went silent. Krae'Nakh traced her vision and saw that the others had made their way up the building and at front of the group stood Kurama.
"Wh-who are you?" Mariko mumbled, completely shocked at the sight of the familiar stranger.
"I'm your father." Kurama answered plainly, keeping his emotions masked.
"My f- my father?" Mariko repeated what she had just heard, her voice breaking. "I-I waited for you... my whole life, I waited for you to come for me... to take me away from that place... those people... daddy."
Krae'Nakh watched the diclonius completely transform her persona as she limped toward Kurama, having been thrown from her wheelchair when he knocked her out.
"Why... why didn't you come for me daddy, don't you love me?" As Mariko said this, Kurama kept his expression cold, devoid of emotion.
"Yes... I did... I loved you and your mother very much... but you're too dangerous to be set free... I'm sorry." As Kurama said this, he drew his sidearm.
Mariko's heart froze, Bando and Sato dropped their jaws, Lucy and Nana took a step forward, but Krae'Nakh was already between parent and child."Fuck. The hell. No."
While everyone was shocked by this development for one reason or the other, Mariko was absolutely blown away that someone was sticking up for her, and no one more than Lucy recognized the look on her face as she gazed at the saiyan in a whole new light.
"What are you doing? You know how dangerous she is, she already beat you once for God's sake. Stand aside!" Kurama demanded of the saiyan who narrowed his gaze.
"Ya know, on Planet Vegeta, you would've been executed for cowardice." Krae'Nakh said before, to the shock of all, actually spitting in Kurama's face.
Kurama wiped the saliva from his glasses and continued. "I would have on this planet as well, that's why we kept knowledge of the dicloni and our treatment of them top secret, the civilians wouldn't know how dangerous they were and would try to protect them, they wouldn't realize the threat they pose until it's too late."
Krae'Nakh narrowed his gaze even more. "What threat, explain to me what makes this basic power so dangerous while you still have the chance."
Kurama realized that Krae'Nakh still didn't know about the hidden second function of the dicloni's vectors. " If a diclonius touches you with their vectors, then you become infected with the vector VIRUS and any children you produce will be dicloni, that's what gives them the potential to wipe us all out."
The minute Krae'Nakh heard this, his narrow gaze exploded into a look of blind rage. "YOU FUCKING MORON!!!" And with that, he sent Kurama flying with one punch.
Lucy lept up and caught him with her vectors, spinning him around once or twice before dropping him and explaining " If I hadn't spun with the force, catching you probably would have crushed every bone in your body. Not that you wouldn't deserve it, but I wanna see what happens next."
Every piece of fur on Krae'Nakh's now outstretched tail stood on end as he screamed in outrage. "JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE POTENTIAL THAN YOU DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE NOT YOUR OFFSPRING ANYMORE DUMBASS!! HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF EVOLUTION!? WADAYA THINK WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF THE APES ON THIS PLANET STARTED KILLING OFF ALL THEIR OFFSPRING WITH LESS HAIR!? YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE YOU IDIOT!!!!"
The building shook as Krae'Nakh shouted at Kurama with all his might.
Kurama staggered to his feet and shouted back."YOU STUPID BRAT! DO HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED BY THEIR OWN DICLONIUS CHILDREN!?"
"WELL, OF COURSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THEIR POWER RIGHT OUT THE GATE! I KILLED MY DAD BEFORE I LEARNED HOW TO CONTROL MY FULL POWER!! YOU NEED TRAINING CAMPS!! NOT DEATH CAMPS!!" Krae'Nakh shouted back.
"AND MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE WHILE WE'RE TRYING THAT APPROACH!?" Kurama asked.
"LESS THAN WILL DIE IF YOU KEEP RAISING THEM TO HATE HUMANS!! JUST ASK YOUR GIRLFRIEND LUCY! WHEN SHE TRIED TO KILL ME THE FIRST TIME WE MET, IT'S BECAUSE YOU TAUGHT HER THAT EVERYONE ON THE PLANET WANTS HER DEAD!" Krae'Nakh shot back.
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! YOU'RE NOT FROM THIS PLANET!!" Kurama retaliated, not knowing Lucy thought Krae'Nakh was human when they first met. (reread chapters 3 and 4)
"YEAH, I'M A BLOODTHIRSTY PLANET PIRATE WHO KILLS FOR FUN, SO THE FACT THAT I THINK YOU'RE CRAZY SHOULD FUCKING TELL YOU SOMETHING YOU DUMBASS!!" Krae'Nakh screamed at the top of his lungs.
"EEEEEEEEEENNOOOOOUUUUGH!!!!" Mariko shouted, having recovered from meeting her father, seeing her father trying to kill her, meeting the first person who ever did anything nice for her, and COMPLETELY fed up with this bickering.
As she screamed in frustration, she used one vector to muzzle her father and 20 to pin Krae'Nakh and everyone else just kept their mouths shut.
"I-I'm sorry, it just pisses me off that he's that...THAT!" Krae'Nakh apologized to the diclonius, surprising everyone.
"ggrr, You two were driving me crazy... haah...hoo...Daddy." Mariko said, reclaiming the previous tone.
"I-I don't understand why you would hate me... but if Krae'Nakh isn't going to let you hurt me then... you should just wait until we're done fighting... cause if I win he can't stop you and... well... if he wins... you won't have to worry about it... so please... will you wait?" With this, she released him.
There was a moment of silence... and another... until he spoke... a single word. "Mariko..."
"Mariko? I-is that... my name?" She had a tear in her eye as she asked him... his only answer... was a hug.
"Mariko... I'm sorry... for all the suffering I've caused you... I'm so sorry." While the others waited in silence, Lucy stared in shock.
Those are the same words... I told Kouta. She thought to herself, seeing a mirror in her nemesis.
"Mariko... you're dangerous... too dangerous to roam free... but not as dangerous as him." Kurama said, surprising her.
"Huh, w-what do you mean." Mariko asked her father, who looked at her... with a smile.
"I mean I want you to beat him, I don't know what happens next, but I don't care, if you never do anything else for me, do this, do NOT lose." After shaking the shock of her father's words, Mariko smiled back and responded with "yes sir." and turned to face Krae'Nakh once more.
"Well, isn't that sweet, too bad you won't keep that promise." Krae'Nakh smiled back, the two looking like they were playing a game, And then they charged.
Krae'Nakh channeled his energy into his fist and Mariko launched 15 vectors and... Mariko was blown away by a dark red energy blast.
Everyone stared in shock at the smoking hole in the building's roof where Mariko had been.
"Hmm hmm hmm, the monkey prince was right, being a good fiend IS like being a good photographer." All looked to the voice but Krae'Nakh, who was frozen by despair.
"You have to wait for just the right moment." Despair gave way to hatred as Krae'Nakh turned to the source of the familiar voice.
"Hello monkey." As Krae'Nakh locked gazes with the voice's source, he remembered the last time he had heard it.
Flashback
"What the? you guys see that too? a person with no power level. I mean none." Shoam'na stated, completely bewildered.
"It's probably Appule's sister, you know she has that ability, and a power level of 3,000. That's why she's Frieza's top assassin." Princess Vegeta stated.
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain what she's doing here." Lok'thu stated.
"Well, we're about to find out." Krae'Nakh said as they came closer to the alien.
When they arrived, they were chastised as expected for ignoring orders to return home sooner.
"Yeah, yeah, we got the orders to pull back, but in case you didn't notice, my boys and I clipped 4 out 5 planets in one third the expected time and while we will be cutting it close, we'll still be back in time to hear the new orders even after we smack planet number 5 on the way." Krae'Nakh smirked arrogantly.
"Though we will be few minutes late, just long enough to miss Frieza and the King taking turns going on about how great they are." Shoam'na added, causing the saiyans to erupt in laughter.
"Actually, the great lord Frieza told me to relay the new orders to you stupid brats myself, you're not worthy of hearing them from him." The alien said spitefully, not that anyone in Krae'Nakh's crew gave two shits what one of Frieza tail-lickers thought of them.
They'd follow their orders and complete their missions and wait for the day they finally outgrew scum like her and got the respect they deserve.
"Alright, so what's the job?" Krae'Nakh asked.
The alien smiled as she answered him. "Die." And before anyone could react, she was behind Krae'Nakh with blood on her hands.
Krae'Nakh turned around as Shoam'na and Lok'thu's headless bodies fell to the ground, but she was already thrusting her energy enhanced hand at the saiyan child's heart.
Princess Vegeta Kicked the assassin away from Krae'Nakh in the nick of time.
The two saiyans gritted their teeth as if they were biting down the shock of losing their two friends and the assassin smiled wider.
"Not to give you monkeys more credit than you deserve, but he decided you were getting too powerful, so he decided to nip this problem in the bud."
Those words. Those words have haunted Krae'Nakh to this day. He remembered charging into battle with princess Vegeta for the last time as he charged into battle again with the same foe.
"CHERI!!" He screamed her name.
Author's note At last, the villain of Krae'Nakh's nightmares is revealed. Will he claim vengeance, or will he meet the same unfortunate fate as his people? Can his diclonius allies aid him in the battle to come, or is this foe beyond their growing ability? As we draw closer to the story's ending, these questions and more will be answered. And on a less "Dragon Ball Narrator" note. I. Am. SO FUCKING SORRY THAT YOU HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS CHAPTER, but I have had the craziest fucking holiday season and I finally just caught a damn break and took my frustrations out on Kurama through Krae'Nakh, I'm sorry if you found that rant as annoying as Mariko did, that's when I realized I was ranting. so I'm gonna end this chapter here and see you next time.