Chapter Four - End of the World

The rattling clang of metal echoed through the empty warehouse as Tien closed and locked the door. Turning he followed Krillin, Enzeru, and Mitsuki across the warehouse to the elevator. They then rode it down into the Earth. "I... I still can't... I mean, are you sure?" Mitsuki asked. "Wouldn't someone know..."

Enzeru shook her head. "No one knows. They thought our mother was dead well before I was even born. I don't know who my father actually is but it's someone in the Empire. After he was through with my mother he tried to kill her, luckily the attack missed her heart and she recovered. We're only half sisters. I was seven when you were born, nine when the Imperial Soldiers stormed the building we were living in looking for some resistance members.

"I managed to get away but father was killed and they captured you and mom and that was the last I saw of either of you. Tien and the others raised me and trained me." Enzeru paused here as she glanced over to Mitsuki. "What about you? What happened to you, and to mother?"

Mitsuki shook her head. "I don't know my mom. I have no memories of her, I was raised... I grew up in the lab. The only people I know are Gero, Videl, and the Androids."

"Oh, that sounds horrible." Krillin said.

"It wasn't the greatest, I was experimented on for years while Gero tried to increase my power. Well, actually, it was a few of his assistants. At the time Gero was working on his Android project, but he would come by now and then to check up on the progress."

"I'm so sorry Mitsuki. If I had known..."

"It's okay." Mitsuki said with a shrug. "I survived and I'm stronger for it. But you, Enzeru... you're the strongest Human on the planet!" As the elevator doors opened the conversation continued as the girls caught up on their pasts. The two women went off down a seperate hall as the guys went to find Yamcha.

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"So, you mean?" Yamcha asked in shock.

"Yeah, it's the Mitsuki." Krillin replied. "The poor girl had a hell of a childhood, but she still came out damn good."

"You are kidding, right?" Yamcha asked. "I mean, she let those goons..."

Tien shook his head. "It's not that simple out there Yamcha. The universe isn't black and white, it's shades of gray. And you missed her speech and the conversation we had here. When we found her she was trying to save someone, and when that didn't work she did a mercy killing, exactly like we would have done. And then she decided to go back and stop the two Sai-jins."

"Yeah, sure." Yamcha said walking off. "Try explaining that to Rei or her little sister Ukiyo. Or how about their brother Iki? Oh, wait, you can't, he's dead." With that Yamcha vanished through the door.

"That could have gone better." Krillin said frowning.

Tien sighed. "Well, he's got something of a point. And he's still upset over Suki, he's never let go. It's been twenty years now but he just wont move on. I just hope he doesn't take it out on Mitsuki. I could hear it in her voice earlier, the things she's done over the years are killing her inside, I think if Yamcha lost it on her she'd not even bother to try and stop him. That would definately put a rift between him and Enzeru and we need to stay together."

"Ya." Krillin kicked at a stone on the floor. "Come on, we'd better get to the meeting room. The two girls we rescued will be there, Yamcha's going to be there, and so is Mitsuki."

"Right."

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Cold stood in the large courtyard area watching the arrival of Inferna, his full twelve foot height, not counting his horns, dwarfing the soldiers about him. This would be his first personal meeting with the Empress of the South Galaxy. It had been six years now since they'd first sent scouts and probes into the South Galaxy exploring it and discovering Inferna's little galactic empire. She'd instantly been interested in this large empire that spanned three galaxies, and had been worried that perhaps the intention of the Masters was to take over her empire, by force.

Of course, at the time, she'd felt that anyone who tried to take her empire would be in for the fight of their lives. To highlight this point, 3 years ago, she had requested a meeting with any of the Masters with the free time. Cell had been in the southern quadrant of the west galaxy at the time, and therefore, the closest to her. So he'd taken up the offer. When she'd recieved the information on the Empire before his arrival she'd learned some quite unexpected information. Like how young this empire was and how quickly it had grown.

Another thing that had caught her off guard was the number of Masters, of rulers in this empire. Eighteen of them. That was... beyond astounding to her. But then, with the size of the empire, it was understandable. Yet the thing that caught her attention the most was Cell's position in the Empire. Fourth. He was the fourth strongest of the Masters. She knew that the meeting would be a good gauge of the powers of the Masters though she doubted that Cell would be strong enough to even pose a challange to her.

And then she'd felt it. She'd not been first, one of her aides had sensed it and then she'd reached out as well, after seeing his face pale. She instantly knew why, this Cell, his power was nearly double that of her own! This knowledge had sent her reeling. He was only the fourth strongest and he was almost twice her power! She'd made sure to ask him, after his arrival, how close he was to the other Master's above him.

That's when she'd found out that the true ruler, the man with the title of King, was only the third strongest of the Masters. Vegeta, a Sai-jin who'd been born a prince. And then had come the next blow to Inferna's power and belief that she was a powerful fighter. Vegeta was more than two and a half times stronger than him, and that Gohan, the second strongest, was about a third stronger than Vegeta.

What was nice to know was that the gap between second and first wasn't nearly as massive. Yet, at the level power of Kakkarotto and Gohan that small percentage of difference was greater than all of Cell's power. That had shaken her beyond words, that such power was a possibility! Cell had given her all the time she wanted to adjust and to accept the offer to join the ranks of the Masters.

She'd found that odd, that these Masters wouldn't just kill her outright and take over. Cell would have been enough to handle the job. But then she'd been informed that the eighteen Masters would live forever. If she didn't join they'd merely wait for her death and then take up the reins of her empty throne. If she did join, well, then she would live forever as well. What's more, she'd retain her control of the South Galaxy.

Cell had explained to her that the three Galaxies had been split up among the Masters. The Sai-jins controlled the North Galaxy, the Androids ran the West Galaxy, and the Cold Family ran the East Galaxy. She'd asked about the original leadership of those other galaxies and found that the East had had no single ruler and no one of a power high enough to have even given the weakest of the Masters a good workout.

The West Galaxy though, that had been run by a very powerful pair of warriors. Yo-Yo and Glaive, each members of a different race and each, at the time of meeting, on par with the powers of Cooler. Both had also refused to join the Masters and had, in fact, begun attacking the North Galaxy with the intent of overthrowing the Masters. According to Cell it had been Gohan that had gone to deal with them and had, in the process, obliterated the entire solar system the two had been in.

Cold's interest perked up as the door to Inferna's saucer ship, a much different design to what he was used to, hissed and began to open. He noted with interest that her power was rather low at the moment, at least in comparison to her maximum. She was obviously in her first form, one of three. That was good to know, it meant she was comfortable and wasn't going to be stupid and try and take out the Masters.

A moment later a small and slim woman was walking down the ramp toward him, she was only about four and a half foot tall. Her shins, forams, and upper body were encased in a natural armor that was a dark red in color. Her skin was orange and her shoulder length hair was a bright red. Her eyes, which took in everything about her, including the towering form of Cold, were an ice blue. Other than her natural armor the only thing she wore was a pair of dark red shorts.

"Inferna." Cold said with a nod. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Master Cold, head of the Cold Family."

Inferna smiled and nodded in return. "I thought your sons were stronger than you?"

"They are, they are, but I still run the family. They may have far more power than I, but I am the one with the brains."

The orange skinned woman chuckled. "Sounds like my daughter. She's not surpassed me yet but in time she will, but she's too impatient, never thinks before she acts."

Cold grinned. "Sounds like she'd fit right in with my sons. Shall we head in?"

"Yes, it's a bit colder out here than I'm used to."

Cold turned and lead her inside. "Yes, I'd forgotten that your world has an average temprature of a hundred and twenty. I suppose seventy would feel rather cold in comparison. Anyway, Master Vegeta regrets not being able to meet you in person but he, and unfortunately, most of the Masters are quite busy lately. If it's not one thing it's another."

"Yeah, I know how that goes and I've only got one galaxy to keep an eye on."

Cold lead her through the halls in silence after that. It took only a few moments to reach the meeting chamber and both took a seat. "I'm going to get straight to the point." Inferna said after a moment. "I want to know what will change after I become a Master, and how I gain this Eternal Youth that supposedly comes with the title."

"What changes is merely your presence within the Empire. You will still remain in charge of the South Galaxy, you'll just be a member of our Empire. This will open up trade routes between us of course, among other things. And of course, you will have to follow any orders given by Master Vegeta, Master Gohan, or Master Kakkarotto. As for the Eternal Youth, all that's needed is to be admitted, the effect will be instant."

"How?"

"An old wish on some old artifacts with some impressive powers." Cold said dissmissively. "I don't know the exact details, only that the wish was that all Masters would never age beyond 20. Apparently, thanks to the phrasing, everytime a new Master comes along the effect of the wish is instantly applied."

Inferna nodded. She was about to ask more when a sudden beeping sounded from the console behind Cold. He turned and looked. "Orange level, one moment, this is important." Cold said reaching out and activating the system. The large monitor flared to life and filled with the face of one of his sons. "Frieza, what is it?"

"It's Tao!" Frieza cried agitatedly. "He's here, on my world!"

"You're certain?" Cold asked arching a brow.

"Yes. Somehow Nail managed to escape from the holding cells and then from the palace itself. Zarban and Dodarla chased after him and, according to Zarban, Dodarla was knocked out by a Dodon Ray! Since Tien is still on Earth that means it has to be Tao!"

"That's not certain actually." Cold said with a sigh. "Tien and his little friends haven't been seen in a few weeks. He may have left his world."

"How do these Humans keep causing us so much grief?" Frieza asked rubbing his head. "They are weaklings!"

"Tao and the others are the exceptions, there are always exceptions Frieza. Look at the Masters, we are evidence enough of this. These five are merely the Human conterparts of us."

"Yes, I suppose you are right. I have Ginyu out tracking the Human and Namek down now and I'm trying to get through to Saiya."

"Oh? What for?"

"I spoke with Vegeta a few weeks ago and he's as annoyed by these Humans as I am. I feel like venting, I'm going to ask for permission to obliterate the entire planet. That should make me feel better, and it'll get rid of Enzeru, Tien, Krillin, and Yamcha. We'll only have to find and kill Tao then, and that should be handled shortly, once Ginyu finds them."

Cold sighed and clicked off the console before turning to look at Inferna again. "You see? Never thinks."

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"You're late." Vegeta huffed as Trunks walked into the room.

"Sorry Father, I lost track of time again."

Vegeta merely snorted from where he sat at the head of the table. Trunks rolled his eyes and took the chair on Vegeta's left. He then nodded to his sister who sat on thier father's right side and then to his mother who sat directly on Vegeta's right at the head of the table. He then turned his gaze down the length of the table at the large montior and turned his chair to get a better view of it.

A second later the monitor flickered and came to life. A similar table sat in a similar room with three people seated along its length and looking back at them. "Ah, Master Vegeta, hello." the man in the center said with a small nod. The man in the center, King of the Eawpon race, looked almost Sai-jin. The only differences were minor cosmetics. He, like all of his people, was bald and had four eyes. Other than those differences they looked almost Sai-jin. On either side of him were two short, blue, frog-like people. Gorf's.

"Sorry for the delay Sword, my son has no concept of time."

"Oh, it's not problem, I just got here myself. Seems Dato and Birbit here forget to tell me about the meeting until five minutes ago."

Vegeta laughed. "Good help is impossible to find," he glanced over at Trunks, "Or make, these days." Turning his attention back to the screen he continued. "Anyway, this meeting should be short and simple. We captured Axe, Spear, and Staff last week trying to sneak onto Saiya. They also had the blueprints for the palace and a good deal of poison." With that he looked over to Trunks who nodded and continued.

"I just came from the holding cells. Axe and Staff wont talk no matter what. Staff is currently recieving medical attention but Axe didn't pull through. Spear, on the other hand, offered up information in exchange for our protection. She gave us names and locations of rebels in your sector of the West Galaxy. We only ask that you handle the situation, these are your people."

"I shall look into it as soon as I recieve the information." He paused for a moment as he bit his lip. "Um, how is Spear?"

"She's fine." Trunks said with a shrug. "She's being moved to a private guest room later today and a guard will be posted outside." "Meanwhile I'll be inside..." "But she doesn't want to leave Saiya just yet. She's fearful that she'll be killed for giving us information."

Sword nodded. "Understood. Send us the names and locations and I'll deal with them."

"Good." Vegeta said leaning back in his chair. "Until Spear feels safe she'll remain in the palace under watch." With that the screen went blank. Trunks was just about to get up when the computer beeped indicating an incoming call. Vegeta pulled up the call and arched a brow at the site of Frieza. The Changelings didn't often contact them. "What is it Frieza?"

"Tao is on my planet." he replied frowning. "I am growing tired of these Humans and their constant interference. They are problematic in more ways than one, I say we just destroy the lot of them."

Vegeta sighed. "The Humans do have their uses." he said.

"Perhaps, but are you willing to risk a Hybrid being born without your knowledge? You know it's bound to happen sooner or later, especially with the number of lower level Sai-jins you have on Earth to deal with the rebels there."

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Krillin closed the door quietly and looked about the large room. There were a handful of people already gathered and talking. The resistance wasn't much on Earth, just a few dozen people. Most of them had powers under a thousand too. He, Tien, Yamcha, and Enzeru were the strongest by far and still it wasn't enough. He moved over to where Tien stood with Enzeru and Mitsuki. "Any sign of Yamcha yet?"

"No." Tien said shaking his head. "I think he may have gone to get Rei and Ukiyo himself."

A second later the door opened again and Yamcha came in with the two girls trailing after him. As they neared Rei saw Mitsuki and her eyes widened in fear. "It's okay, she can't hurt you." Yamcha said looking back at her before looking over at them again and frowning. Mitsuki started to walk over toward the girls but stopped and looked away.

"Ehem." Enzeru said clearing her throat. That got the room to quiet down qucikly. "Ladies and gentlemen," she began looking them over. "I'd like to introduce someone, this is my sister, Mitsuki." She motioned back to the other woman who still wore her armor. "She was formly a member of the Imperial Soldiers, raised and trained by them. But now she's going to help us." Enzeru smiled. "She was the strongest Imperial Soldier on the planet, that means Cold is our strongest threat now."

"Actually." Mitsuki said looking them over. "Inferna should be on the planet by now."

"Inferna?" Tien asked.

"She's Queen of the South Galaxy. Rumors say that she's meeting Cold to join the Masters."

"Damn, how strong is she?" Yamcha asked.

"Close to Cooler's power, or so I've heard."

"Oh man, that's not good." Krillin muttered. "Another one to worry about."

"And you say she's here, now?" Enzeru asked.

"If not then she will be soon."

The four Humans all looked at each other. Tien was about to say something when a small group of people came running in through one of the doors. "What is it?" Enzeru asked.

One of the soldiers came to a stop. "Re-reports are coming in." he panted. "From S-Saiya... Fri-Frieza is c-coming! He's go-going to d-destroy the pla-planet!"

"What! You can't be serious!" Yamcha yelled.

"It's true." another soldier said. "Vegeta wants to stop the chance of a Hybrid that's not a Master and Frieza's just fed up with us in general."

"How long?" Enzeru asked.

"Frieza will be here in a week, tops."

The room remained quiet as this knowledge sank in. Tien and the others exchanged glances. They'd worried something like this might happen though they'd not expected it to merely be a whim. Still, they had an escape plan, one that could only be excuted at the last moment without being noticed. "Alright!" Enzeru called out. "You heard them, it's finally happened! We are now at code red, Plan Omega is active! I repeat, we are now at code red, Plan Omega is active! Spread the word people!"

Krillin watched as the room emptied quickly. After a few moments everyone was gone leaving only him. "It's the end of the world... man, I am going to die without a girl."