The kids pulled to a stop about a hundred yards away from the arena. They didn't want to get too close until they knew exactly what was going on. Of course, even then, they weren't sure how to stop ghosts. The only idea they had so far was for Akemi to try and fight them while out of her body, but they had no idea if that would work or not.
"Do you see them?" Sakura asked softly. Her sister had left her body again and was trying to locate the 'people' they had followed.
There was a long moment of silence before Akemi opened her eyes again and spoke. "No. I can't find them!" she said, worried. "If we don't stop them then... then...."
"Don't worry Akemi." Cheri said, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We wont let anything happen to your sister. Promise."
Akemi was about to say something but was interupted by a sudden pulse of white light and energy coming from the arena. "What was that?" Trunks asked, eyes gazing along the arena hoping to see some cause for what had happened. Something he could fight and stop. Another pulse came a second later, this one blue.
The young Tanarian quickly closed her eyes again and focused. As the world came into view through her mind a third pulse, this one of gold, flashed. And she was able to see the source of the energy burst. "It's inside!" she cried, opening her eyes. "The light is coming from inside somewhere."
"Then I guess we're going in. We don't have much choice." Trunks said. "All the adults are busy talking, guess it's up to us to save the world. Come on." The other four kids nodded and then they all took off in bursts of light, leaving a multi-colored rainbow of Ki behind them. They charged passed a group of confused and startled arena security as they went in through the east entrance.
"Ideas for a direction?" Trunks asked. But before anyone could reply another pulse of light, white once again, came. And now that they were inside they saw the originating direction and took off for it. A minute and five pulses later they reached a hall with a small gathering of arena security standing about and poking around in a room. The sign on the door marked it as the generator room.
"Oh, hey, do you think...." Sakura began as she saw the sign.
Trunks nodded. "The power issues dad mentioned." He turned to Akemi. "Think you could take a look around?"
"Sure." she said with a nod.
The kids stood in silence and waited as another pulse of light came from the room. It didn't take long for Akemi to return and tell them what she'd seen. "It's them!" she cried, opening her eyes. The sound of her yell caught the attention of the arena staff but the kids ignored them.
"What are they doing?" asked Sakura.
Akemi shook her head. "I'm not sure." she said. "They're standing in a circle around this glowing and pulsing light thingy and holding their arms out toward it, light flowing into it. I could see... I could see another world on the other side of the light at times...." She turned and looked up at her sister. "There were people there and they all had halos."
"Umm, excuse me, but you can't be down here." one of the guards said, walking over to them. "Not even you, Prince Trunks."
Trunks ignored the guard. "Think you can stop them?" he asked.
"I don't know... but I'll try." Akemi replied, closing her eyes.
"Umm, like I sai..."
"I heard you." Trunks snapped, turning to the guard. "But right now we're the only ones that can stop... whatever it is that's happening."
Akemi only faintly heard Trunks as the world around her shifted into her mind view again. She moved passed the gathered guards and back into the room where the three ghosts and the light were. She could see more of the world on the otherside of the light now. "You'd better stop!" Akemi called to them.
Dore and Neizu blinked and looked back. The fact that they'd been adressed at all had shocked them. The fact that they found themselves face to face with a kid who looked like them, only more solid, was even more shocking. "What the hell?" Dore asked. "Who's the kid? How'd she get here? Is she with us?"
"I doubt she's with us." Neizu said. "She wouldn't be telling us to stop if she were."
"Oh, yeah, right. Well you better beat it kid. We don't have time to be dealing with no runt. We have to finish stablizing this tear, aint got much time left."
Akemi scowled. Obviously they weren't going to be nice and just stop. But what could she do to stop them? She couldn't tell how strong they were, she couldn't sense ki when like this. And she wasn't sure she could even fight like this either. Well, one way to find out. "If you wont stop then I'll make you stop!"
Salsa looked around from where he was on the other side of the tear. "Go away kid!"
"Fine!" Akemi cried launching in.
She slammed a fist square into Dore's back but the large alien just laughed. "That tickles!"
/They're stong! Guess I'll have to try and transform./ she thought, floating backward and then closing her eyes.
"Huh?" Dore wondered, turning to look behind him again. He'd noticed an odd orange light and when he looked back his eyes widened in surprise. The kid was turning orange! "Hey Salsa, there's something odd 'bout this kid. She's changing colors."
"What?"
"Yeah, she's turning orange. I don't like it."
"Just focus on the task at hand Dore." Salsa said. "We can worry about her later. Heh, come to think of it, we wont have to worry about her later either. We'll be alive again, so just focus on this."
"Right." Dore had started to turn back to the tear but stopped as he noticed the girl was now fully orange. She opened her eyes again and charged in at him once more. He didn't expect her to do any better now than before so he turned back to the tear again. But this time when her fist hit his back it knocked him forward, toward the tear. He barely managed to stop himself before he hit it. "We've got a problem!" he called, turning to face the kid. "She's stronger than she looks!"
Neizu lowered his arms and turned to face her as well. "We'll have to deal with her before she causes too much trouble." he said. "This tear is central to the plans, all the strongest fighters are here. It's the best place to attack from. Otherwise it could take years to conquer this plane!"
"Alright kid." Salsa said, walking around from behind the tear. "If you want to fight the great Armored Squadron that badly we can indulge you a little."
Akemi moved her eyes back and forth from one person to the next. "So you are the Armored Squadron like Cheri thought." she said. "But she said you guys are dead...."
Neizu smiled. "Not for much longer. Once we've got this tear stablized, and those on the other worlds have theirs stablized as well, we'll be one step closer to being alive again."
Dore gave a quick nod. "Yeah, then it's just up to those on the other side to complete the final step. Once they do, bang! This area will be wasted and there will be brand new living bodies for us! And a nice little path from there to here for everyone else to come through and attack!" Dore laughed. "This little mud ball will be over run in minutes and then it'll be time for some revenge."
Akemi's eyes had slowly widened as the two aliens spoke. As they finished she turned her focus to the tear in the room. That second of distraction didn't go unnoticed by Salsa who charged in quickly and slammed an elbow into her face knocking her back out into the hall. "Alright, back to work." he said turning around again.
Meanwhile Trunks had gotten into an arguement with the guards. "Look, I don't care if you think we're playing games or making up stories." he said, crossing his arms. "But in case you haven't noticed there haven't been any more flashes of light since we got here. Right now Akemi's in there trying to stop the Armored Squadron from doing whatever it is they're...."
"The Armored Squadron's dead." one of the guards said. "Have been for going on ten years."
"Duh." said Cheri, rolling her eyes. "Didn't we already go over that?"
"Yeah!" Goten piped in. "They're ghosts so of course they're dead!"
Suddenly Akemi gasped and dropped to her knees, blood flying from her mouth and splattering on the floor. "Akemi!" Sakura cried, kneeling down beside her. "Akemi, are you ok? What happened?"
"I'm sorry...." she said, shaking her head. "They surprised me, I couldn't stop them. But... I know what they're doing."
"What?" Trunks asked.
"There's a... tear in there." she explained, remembering what she'd heard. "They're... tabaling... sabilising...." She scowled as she tried to remember the word.
"Stablizing?" Cheri offered.
"Yeah, that. They're doing that to it. They said that once they're done, and the others are done, then someone will do something and they'll be alive again. And then people will come through and attack!" She closed her hands into fists and punched the floor sending snaking cracks out through the concrete for a couple dozen feet. "It's all hapening, it's going to be just like my vision! I... I...."
"It's ok Akemi." Sakura said, putting a hand on her sister's back. "We'll think of something..."
"We'll just stay here and blast anyone that shows up!" Trunks said, uncrossing his arms.
Suddenly Akemi's eyes widened and she climbed to her feet. "No, we can't! We have to go!" she said. "They said that when they get their bodies back that this area will be 'wasted'! It's not safe here...."
"Alright then, we fall back, get out of the building." Sakura said. She looked toward the guards as a pulse of light came again, this one golden. She hesitated for a second as she realized the light must mean the Armored Squadron was getting closer to its objective. "You have to go as well." she said. "Clear out of here for now."
The guards didn't say anything, didn't move to leave, didn't do anything. It was obvious they were torn between believing the kids' story and going with their previous stance. Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to Trunks. "We need to tell our parents." she said.
Trunks nodded as his eyes locked onto the scouter of the nearest guard. He vanished from where he stood and appeared an instant later floating beside them, their scouter already on his face. He scowled as he got a busy signal at the palace. Quickly making a few adjustments to the frequency and priority code, as he watched another light pulse flare up, he tried again. This time a voice came over the line. "Rowan, Palace Operations."
"Put me through to my dad, now." Trunks said.
Another light flash came. "They're getting closer, we should go, now." Cheri said worriedly, eyes locked on the generator room. The others nodded and took off through the halls quickly, rushing for the exit.
"Prince Trunks?" Rowan asked. "I'm sorry but...."
"Bah! Fine, stupid adults!" Trunks nearly shouted. "Just call him and tell him it's happening, now, what he and Akemi saw. He'll know." and with that he cut the line and tossed the scouter away as another light pulse filled the hall.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Planet Vegeta, Sai-jin Palace, Conference Room 14
"What is... going on...." Hotaru said, barely above a whisper, as she watched dead bodies walking down the street under their own power. It seemd that in the last hour everything she knew about the universe had been turned on its head. Akemi's visions, the chance she was a future Kai, walking dead bodies.... Nothing made sense anymore.
"Alright, we'll be out to help where and how we can." Vegeta said. "Rowan, get word out to the rest of the military, here and elsewhere. This may not be an isolated occurance...."
"Right." she said as the screen went blank.
"Piccolo, any ideas....?" Gohan asked, looking toward the Namek.
Piccolo shook his head. "No, not really." he said. "Dende did mention that the explosion in North City wasn't the reactor but something else. A light and a presence he didn't know. It could be related...." He shook his head again. "But this shouldn't be possible."
"You're telling me." Videl said, rubbing her temples. "I always thought Zombies were just fantasy. How is it possible that...."
"Like I said, it shouldn't be." the Namek responded. "When a person dies their spirit passes into Otherworld. It's an instant trip, and it's one way without some sort of intervention. And bodies can't move without a spirit in them."
"We can discuss the whys and hows later." Vegeta said, standing up. "Right now we need to go do... something about it."
The others all nodded and were starting to stand when Vegeta's comunicator beeped again. The Sai-jin quickly picked it up and brought the screen back on once again showing Rowan's face. "Sorry to bother you but your son contacted me." she said. "He seemed pretty upset."
"What'd he want?" Bulma asked.
"He said to call his father and tell him that what he and Akemi saw was happening now." she said, obviously confused herself. "And you'd know what he meant. Then the connection went out."
"Where was he?" Vegeta asked, stiffening up.
Rowan glanced down at her screen. "Well, the call came from the scouter of one of the arena security staff so probably there."
"Damn." Vegeta said, turning and hurrying from the room, the others right behind him. They were all thinking the same thing. A problem at the arena and Trunks message could only mean one thing, the battle that Vegeta and Akemi had seen in their visions was starting.
They reached a door to one of the upper level outdoor walkways a few moments later and then were outside and flying toward the arena as fast as they could go. Still, it'd be about ten minutes before they got there....
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Galactic Games Arena
The kids landed about fifty yards away from the arena building and turned to look back. Apparently the guards had finally decided to listen to reason as the arena's staff was pouring out of every exit as fast as they could manage. And the light pulses were coming more rapidly now. "Sixteen... seventeen... eig...." Sakura stopped her count as a flash of gold came.
"Not even eighteen seconds this time." Cheri said, worriedly. The pulse before that had taken twenty-four seconds.
"Look, until the others get here we're the strongest." Trunks said, stretching. "Which means it's up to us to stop who ever comes to attack, or at least slow them down. We have to hold them here until our families arrive."
"Trunks is right." Sakura said as another pulse came. "We're the first line of defense, and the only protection all of them have." She finished with a nod toward the running staff.
Suddenly a loud shrill whistling sound started from inside the arena. It built in volume quickly as the pulses of light came faster and faster. And there was a bright flash of red and black, a thunderous crack and crash, and the ground trembled beneath their feet. When the light faded the kids saw the side of the arena had collapse and there was now a pulsing light inside the building. And standing around it were three people in battle armor.
"Ha ha!" Salsa cried, lifting into the air. "The Armored Squadron is back!"
"Not for long!" Trunks cried, shooting in toward them. Goten, Cheri, Akemi, and Sakura right behind him.
"Oh, look, some kids want to play." Doore laughed.
"Akemi, transform!" Sakura called as she began to glow orange herself.
"Right!" Akemi called.
A second later the two had tranformed and then both Akemi and Cheri's voices called out "Nibai Kinryoku!" and their auras shifted silver. The five kids reached the three members of the Amored Squadron an instant later. The five of them could sense the powers of their opponents and quickly split off into the best attack groups.
Goten and Trunks each slammed a fist into Dore's chest while Cheri and Akemi kicked Neizu in the face and Sakura headbutted Salsa. The three warriors were knocked flying back over the arena and the kids all smiled. "Make it fast guys!" Sakura called out. "We don't know how many others might be coming!"
"Right!" they said in unison.
"Final Flash!" called Trunks.
"Dodon Ray!" Cheri shouted.
"Kameryokuha!" cried Sakura.
The Armored Squadron had just righted itself and recovered from their shock when the voices called out. Dore saw the golden energy charging toward him a second before it hit, not enough time to block but he managed to deflect some of the energy away from him. But Goten's kick to the back of his head a second later sent him into unconciousness.
Neizu wasn't so lucky. He spied Cheri's Dodon Ray a second sooner than Dore saw the Final Flash but his reaction time was slower and the attack punched right through his chest. Meanwhile Salsa thrust his arms out to block Sakura's attack. However he realized his error as soon as it hit him, it was far too strong for him to block or take and an instant later he was gone.
"Man, that was easy." Trunks said, crossing his arms. "I thought the Armored Squadron was supposed to be tough."
"Uh... Trunks...." Goten said slowly.
"What?" he asked looking at his friend
"Ummm, we've got a problem."
Trunks looked from Goten down to where he was looking and saw that a small army was now surging out of the light below them. "This... could be bad."