Chapter Thirty- Two

Cliff Hanger

Woooooosssh! Bam!

A flame launched into the air, with a bang, nearly burning Krillen's hands. An unstable creation of Bulma's, made with limited supplies. The explosion of the fire shooter echoed through land, and the battle was certain to begin. Fearfully, Krillen glanced towards the gate of Teriok, and as Bulma advised it begun to fall. Bulma also said they'd come out in a fury, and he'd only have minutes to get to the safety of the woods. Only his heart pounded with fear, and his confidence fleeted him. He tried to calm his nerves with deep breaths of air; he needed to run if he planned to live. With shaking hands, he pushed himself up off the ground, and shed the camouflage grass and mudded suit that Bulma stuffed him into. Why did he allow them to talk him into being the distraction? Oh, right!-18. She had been the bate that Caleb used to bribe him.

"I can do this," he coaxed. "Oh! Who am I kidding? Woah!" Krillen abandon all fear that paralyzed him, at the sight of the rain of arrows he ran. He followed Caleb's directions carefully and ran in a zig-zag. Arrow after arrow flew through the sky some planted into the ground, and others ricocheted. He was nearly to the safety of the wood's shelter, when he felt a terrible pain engulf his entire being. Blood gushed from his mouth, and he tumbled forward into the ground. His breathing was labored, and his strength had vanished. He knew within himself at that moment he was dead, and everything around him blurred together.

Krillen could taste the salt of his blood in his mouth, and feel the sharp pain in his side. Had his Side been the point of entry? His entire body ache so much so he couldn't tell where in his body housed the arrow. Desperately, he tried to open his mouth to call for help, but it was to no avail. All he could manage was a strangled croak. His eyes lids were heavy; he tried to fight the death that beckon him. The last thing he saw as his vision blurred into darkness was an arrow planted into the ground inches from him.

Radditz kept his eyes squeezed shut the entire time, trying to overcome the demons he faced. However; the muddy ground reminded him that he was in a tunnel. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. It felt like they had been underground for days, and that reminded him more of his childhood trauma. He was plagued with the memory of being trapped underneath in a tunnel as a child with his two brothers, and without knowledge of when they'd see land again.

Pow! "Ah!" Radditz winced as he felt his head collide with a thin layer of material that acted as a plug to keep the moat water out. "We're here-"

(Flash Back)

"Where's mama, Radditz" cried Turtles as looked fearfully at the dead end ahead. The tunnel had come to an end, and there was no place to move forward. Was he supposed to finish digging the tunnel? If so, when would he stop? How would they get more food?

Radditz gritted his teeth, as he tried to bury both his trepidation and tears. He had to be strong, his father had told him that many times. Yet, he hardly knew how to be strong. Growing up he had wasted too much time playing around, and never heeding his father's words prior. Kakorrot started to cry again, and Turtles soon followed. What was he to do? What was he to do? He was afraid, and utterly unprepared. In desperation he covered his ear, and yelled. "Shut up, Shut up! Shut up! Shut up now! I don't know what to do! I wan- I wan- I want mama, I want mama." He cried as he begun to rock back and forth, back and forth. "Shut u-"

"Sir!" interjected the solider behind him.

Radditz gasped, as he gasped for a breath of air. "Wha- What?"

"Sir… we need to get moving. If we don't get out of here in time, the others will be in trouble."

Radditz shook away his prior thoughts. "I know we do, I'm feeling for the rope," he lied. With a sigh, he reached out before him into the darkness feeling around for the rope Bulma informed him of. It took several minutes before he finally found it, and then with little struggle he passed the rope behind him. "Tell me when the last person has the rope. When I knock this cork, we only have seconds to get out. When you tap my leg, I'm going to knock it. So don't do it until your signaled that everyone is ready."

Radditz could hear the man behind him shuffling, and soon he heard mumbles. It took a while before he felt a tap on his leg. "On the count of three, I'm going to knock it. One….Two….Three!" With all his strength Radditz knock the center of the cork as Bulma instructed, and within seconds the rest of it tore away as the water came gushing in. Radditz could feel the sting of the water against his skin, but he focused on holding the rope. Then with all the strength he could muster he begun to inch forward on the rope, until he was free from the tiny tunnel.

Everything happened quickly. Radditz swum up to the tiny straw filters Bulma informed them of, to retrieve a breath of air and waited. One by one he felt taps on his leg signaling another man had made it to safety. While he couldn't see well because the water was murky, he knew there were a total of ten men with him, yet he only felt eight. He waited for a few more minutes in hopes of feeling another tap. However; when he didn't receive another he knew they needed to continue on. The moat was starting to drain to fit the expanse of the tunnel.

With stinging eyes, a breath of air, and a blurry view, he tapped the person nearest him three times, before moving towards the ajar bars that led into the kingdom of Teriok. With ease he passed through the opening, and when he surfaced the murky water he found a walkway before him. He swam over to a ledge surface, and with much struggle pulled himself ashore the underground land. The underground tunnel of the city was dimly lit only by sewers above. He reached over and helped the first man that made it to him.

"Two of us didn't make it," said Radditz, in sorrow.

"The man behind me, Jarvis, lost grip of the water. The current of the water was much too strong, and he and Xavier were taken with the water."

"We'll do them both honor then. When we come out from under here, we will kill every solider that needs be. Johnathon and I, need only to make it in the castle and take the king. Three of you will get to the top of the fortress walls, and take out the bowmen. The other three will set as much of this place on fire as you can, we need to get every one of them out. Do not kill any women or children, unless they wish to kill you, and you it can't be avoided. If we get the people out there, the war has to come to an end."

Woosh! Bam!

ChiChi froze, and her body tensed. It was a peculiar sound that took the air, and in made her heart ache. Goku had been the first person to cross her mind at the foreign sound, and then her people. Did the war start? She looked up, but the trees that towered over her blocked the view of the sky. She could only tell that day was drawing to a close by the few peeks of blue through the branches of the trees.

"Focus," she reprimanded. With a nod, she continued her run. Her body ached, but she couldn't let that hinder her.

(Flash back)

"You can't be selfish always, my dear," chastised Ox King. Ox King stood on the terrace with his back to ChiChi. "I've asked a lot of you, and expected much. I know you didn't have your mother growing up, but it doesn't excuse your behavior. Your becoming a woman, and soon you will lead this nation. You have to let go of your selfish desires."

"It's not selfish papa, It's not. I've listened to everything I've been told, and remained hidden all my life. I looked out into the city, but never visited once since mama died. I did that because you told me not to. Yet, now you tell me to lead a people I don't even know. Am I being selfish? Or is it you?" ChiChi drug in a breath of air, as she clung to the large column that supported the awning above the Terrace. Her body still felt weak, and her complexion was still pale.

"I told you to stay here, because of your fragileness. I didn't want anything to happen to like your mother, but look at you now. You have to rest- you have to get better. You are the only heir that I have, and this kingdom has."

"If I don't want to be? What if I just want a regular life? What If I want to be with a regular man like-"

"You cannot! Get it out of your head, because it will only cause you more pain. A solider can die at any moment in battle, and you will be left alone. He has chosen, and now you have to choose to get well." Ox King, shifted his gaze to his daughter. It pained his heart every time he looked at her, because she grew frailer with every passing day.

"You sent him! Yet you knew what he meant to me, but you sent him." ChiChi eyes stung with tears, and her strength waivered. She felt her grip loosen, and her legs wobble. Yet she couldn't back down now. "I wanted him father, he was mine's. I don't care for anything else, I don't."

Ox King rushed over to catch his daughter in his arms, before she hit the ground. Her eyes were barely opened, and her limbs numb. She struggled to open her mouth to speak, but Ox King stopped her. "Sometimes we have to let go of ourselves to know what we really need, and are meant to be. People aren't objects to own. My sweet princess, you have to fight this illness. If you don't it will consume, and that guard will never be yours. If you don't fight it for me, fight it for him. Show me that you mean it, and live."

"Papa…Pap.."

"I'm going to show you papa, and I'm going to be that woman you want me to be." A sound of a trumpet caught ChiChi's ear, and she halted her run. Her head shifted in the direction, and she found herself inches from falling over a cliff. "Woah."

ChiChi's eyes spotted the vast land between Teriok and the woods ahead speckled with soldiers. She could see fallen soldiers on the ground, and others still in battle. There were a few arrows that flew through the sky, and more soldiers exiting the gates of Teriok.

Every man wore the exact same uniform, and that made the victor unclear. She ached at the thought of the slain soldiers being her people, but it also hurt to know that many were dying needlessly. She glanced around the area in search of way down the hill safely, but the safest way she found was to jump onto a nearby tree. The cliff was low enough for her to jump, but if she missed the tree she would surely be hurt badly. While she could still get hurt if she did manage to grab hold of the tree, it wouldn't be as severe.

"Ok, on the count of three. I can do this; I need to do this. I survived an illness, and sitting in a carriage with a monster like Absalom. So how bad could jumping in a tree be?" ChiChi took a few steps back, and then she counted. "One…..Two….Three!" One foot out before the other, and then with soft jump, she soared through the air.

A/N: Okay, here is another chapter. Can I just for warn, I don't like battles. So while you won't see big battle scenes there will be a little, because its necessary. Anyways, I left these segments at a few cliffhangers (no pun intended). I'm going to take a major test this Friday for school, so keep me in prayer! Lol, tell me what you think! I want to say that there will be only two more chapters- but sometimes it doesn't work out the way I want it to. Hopefully this does. It's just time has been a hard thing to find lately, and I do want to get chapters out to you. So I have to put something out faster than I have time to completely compose at times, so bare with me. Tell me what you think, and any suggestions. Okay, good bye! Oh! As always thank you ISHA