A/N: I have a few response to give, so here they are.
jeff - 'as is' was included for just that reason. I like adding suspense. :) Stewart - Table came into existence far too late for him to be integrated into this series, unfortunately. There's just no way to logically do it. Avo and Kado, on the other hand, my find themselves a spot somewhere in Saga 7. I've not decided if I want to try and work them in yet or not (Saga 7's already completely planned, so adding them would force me to change a good bit of stuff).
Username Hidden - No, MFG was the only place to find the PL lists currently. Once the saga is over, though, I'll upload the complete list to Google Docs and provide a link in the final chapter for those curious.

Chapter Forty-eight - Azura's Intervention

The four of them hit fairly stiff resistance from the other EDF members shortly after entering the Transport Center. They managed to get in just fine, Jairel's access code worked on the front door lock override as well as it worked on the locks at the Detention Center. The front lobby had been void of any occupants upon their arrival as well. At least, at first.

A small group of EDF soldiers entered the room less than thirty seconds after the four of them had. And, at first, they were friendly enough. A little wary of Autoro, but friendly since three of the four were EDF as well. And none of them were Zombies. But while Ward and Gard were negotiating access to a transport ship someone recognized Autoro.

With that little matter out in the open the soldiers stationed at the center became much less friendly. Which had resulted in Autoro knocking all of them unconscious, possibly killing a few of them. Gard, Ward, and Jairel weren't entirely sure, it had happened too fast and they had no interest in checking on pulses. Not when they weren't sure if they could turn into Zombies.

Since then Autoro had plowed his way through several halls and down multiple flights of stairs. The three EDF members keeping their distance to avoid getting caught in the battle, or associated with their current partner. But now they were standing before the doors to the transport bay. Autoro had already tried to open the door but his hand had been stopped by an invisible wall.

"Damn barrier fields." he muttered. He then turned to the others. "Can you guys disable this thing?"

"Not from here." Ward answered. "We'd have to find the command room first."

"Bah, no time for that." said Autoro as he turned back to the barrier. "How strong do you think it is?"

"No idea." said Jairel. "The ones at the Detention Center were good up to a million."

"Blast." the man growled. "I can only get up to five-hundred and seventy-five thousand." He turned slightly and scanned along the wall with his eyes and the helmet's sensors. He couldn't find any noticible weak points in the field or wall to exploit and cursed and stamped a foot. As he did a thought came to him and he looked down at the floor. Suddenly he began to grin, unseen by the others because of the helmet.

With a loud shout slammed his metal fist into the floor with as much force as he could muster. There was a loud clang as metal met metal and then a groan of protest as the floor strained under the impact. "Uh, wha... what are you..." started Gard. But before he could finish Autoro punched the floor again and this time it gave way falling into the hall below, the four of them dropping after it.

Autoro caught himself mid fall and floated the rest of the way down while the other three landed on their butts. He paid them no mind and checked the wall in front of him. "Heh heh heh. Autoro wins again." he said happily. There was no barrier here. He then thrust out his arm and fired a blast of energy into the wall blowing open a path into the room beyond. Stepping through he looked up and found the ceiling void of reinforcement as well.

With another cry and blast of energy he blew open a path up into the transport bay. He then looked back out into the hall. "You bozos just going to sit there all day or what?" he asked, before flying up.

The three of them glanced at each other before following after him. At this point there really wasn't any other choice. Even if they were a bit... concerned about how this was going to play out. Reaching the bay area they looked around for Autoro until they heard an explosion. Hurrying that way they found him standing in the middle of one of the launch lanes, arm outstretched. He'd just blown a hole through one of the bay doors.

"Alright, we'll take this one." he said, turning to one of the high speed chase cruisers. "We should be able to get to North City in about a day's flight with this baby."

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Vegeta

The kids had been running towards the arena for nearly ten minutes now and were almost half way there. Running wasn't nearly as fast as flying. Still, they were making good time. The battle raging in the city was driving them forward faster and faster. They could feel the powers there fluctuating wildly as they launched one attack after another with everything they could muster. But even so, Cell exceeded everything they could launch at him.

Then, suddenly, they felt a sharp power spike and came to a stop. "That's uncle Raditz!" Goten cried, eyes wide.

"No way... he's almost as strong as Cell." Sakura said in shock.

There was a flash of gold in the distance and the ground beneath them vibrated noticeably a moment later. "It has to be a Tri-beam..." Cheri said slowly. She couldn't think of any other move capable of something like this. But she'd never felt one so powerful before. And then a second flash of light and set of vibrations came.

"Do you think... this could stop him?" asked Goten.

Cheri bit her lip as she witnessed a third flash indicating another Tri-beam. She moved her focus from Raditz's power to that of Cell's and shook her head. "No." she said at last. "It is hurting him but... not enough." As she finished there was a fourth flash. "We should keep going."

"Yeah." Trunks said with a nod. But no one moved. A fifth flash had come and with it Raditz's power had vanished. It hadn't dropped like he'd just been knocked out or injured. It was just... gone. It only took them a moment to realize exactly what that meant and that kept them rooted were they stood.

"Is that mommy?" Akemi asked, breaking into the silence. The other kids took a moment to realize another power had flared up. Almost as high as the power Raditz had put out at the start of his assault. A power that, thanks to the damage Cell had taken, was stronger than the Bio-droid.

And then a new light lit up in the distance. Far brighter than the previous golden flashes had been. When it faded the kids could no longer sense Cell. Sakura swallowed and then started to smile. "They... they did it!" she cried happily. "They did it!"

"He's gone?" Goten asked hopefully.

Sakura nodded. "I can't sense him anymore. They had to have beat him!"

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Vegeta, Saiya City

Hotaru left out a sigh as she plopped down onto the ground. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up in a bit." she said, still breathing a little heavily. "I need some time to rest."

"That's not really a good idea." Piccolo said. "Not in your condition."

"I'll stay with her." Nova offered.

The Namek thought for a moment and then nodded before turning to the Senator. "Let's head back and figure out what to do now. We can come back for Gainin and Mijima later." he said. The Sai-jin gave him a nod and then the two lifted into the air and flew off.

Hotaru watched them go for a moment before letting out another sigh and falling onto her back. She'd charged that attack faster than she should have, especially after how hard she'd fought against Cell before hand. "I don't think I'm going to be of much help at all for... a while." she said. "I've not been this tired in years."

"I have to say, this isn't quite what I was expecting when I came here." Nova said. "I never dreamed there would be so many people so powerful." She shook her head and sat down as well. "For so long the Cold Family were the strongest in the galaxy but now... they've been greatly and quickly surpassed. It's... incredible."

The Changeling looked toward the center of the crater where Cell had been standing a moment ago. "To have gained the power to defeat someone like Cell in just the four years between fighting Frieza and his appearance... my mind just can't wrap itself around such huge gains."

Hotaru laughed softly. "You'd be surprised how much I agree with you." Hotaru said. "About a year before the battle against Frieza on Namek, when I first went to Earth, my power was only just over four thousand, and even then only with the Kinryoku. By the time I was facing Frieza, I was up into the two or three hundred thousands I believe, when maxed out. Now, eleven years later, I'm nearly four hundred and fifty million."

Nova shook her head. "I've never heard of such power growth before." she said. "Even with the Cold Family power increases have been gradual, with the exception of new transformations."

"That's the biggest part of it." Hotaru said. "None of us would be nearly this powerful without transformations. On Earth and Namek I couldn't transform. Now I can transform three times. On Earth I could only increase my power three-fold with the Kinryoku. By the time I fought Frieza I could do five-fold. And in between all of that... I spent a year training with the Earth fighters with a Sai-jin instructor, got my power unlocked by the Guardian of Namek, and started training in increased gravity."

Hotaru tilted her head and looked toward Nova. "Look at the power you've gained since arriving here. You were able to defeat Cold earlier, right?"

Nova nodded. "Yes." she said. "With ease. Which is... something I am still coming to terms with. My line of the family has never been as powerful as the others. But now... even without the Invalesco I rival the power Frieza had in life. With it I surpass all but the power Kuriiza gained through the fruit."

"And Gainin and Mijima too, I'd wager." added Hotaru as she glanced toward the fallen siblings. Seeing them laying there reminded her of the others who died and she sat up suddenly feeling rejuvenated. There was work to do still. Enemies to drive back before this damage could be undone. Yamcha, Sango, Akira, they were counting on her and the rest to bring them back. Hiroshi...

Her thoughts trailed off as she considered the infant son of Gainin and Sango. He and Marron had been left in the care of Chi-Chi and Hercule when all of this started. "I'm going to head back." she said as she started climbing to her feet. "Things to do." She got to her feet and stumbled, falling onto her face. "My legs feel like Jell-O." she muttered.

Nova laughed a little and shook her head as she stood and moved over to where the Tanarian lay. Bending down she lifted her up and drapped one of the woman's arms over her shoulders and wrapped one of her own around the Tanarian to help hold her up.

"Thanks."

"No problem." replied the Changeling.

As the two of them turned to go a powerful breeze suddenly blew across the blasted landscape and with it came a building power. Hotaru's eyes widened and she turned to look toward the source of the energy, the center of the blast crater, and saw a small pulsing light. "No... way..." she breathed, her voice a mix of shock and despair. It hadn't worked, Cell was still alive and now they were in no shape to fight him.

The sound of the Tanarian's voice drew Nova's attention and her own eyes widened in shock. "That's not possible!"

"Go!" Hotaru yelled, pulling away from Nova and then collapsing, her legs still unable to hold her up. "Get away before he finishes regenerating."

"What? And just leave you?"

"You can make it if you go without me." Hotaru said, shaking her head as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "I'll just slow you down."

"I'm not just leaving you here." Nova said as she bent down and picked Hotaru back up. "No way. Now, stop arguing and let's go."

Hotaru looked up at her and nodded. She draped her arm over the Changeling's shoulder again. The two were about to turn toward the palace and take off when the breeze died and Cell's power stopped growing. They both froze and turned to face his direction again. He was facing the opposite direction and staring at his hands.

"Go." Hotaru said, quietly.

Nova nodded, turned toward the palace, and then shot off at full speed, red aura trailing behind her, and making sure not to lose hold of Hotaru. She pulled to a stop a second later as Cell appeared in front of her, smirking. "Going somewhere?" he asked. His eyes then moved to Hotaru. "You didn't think I'd let you go that easily, did you? Certainly not after what you did to me."

She didn't wait for Cell to do anything, she simply turned and took off in another direction. When he appeared in front of her again she swerved off another way and kept going. But she came to a dead stop a second later as a powerful hand grabbed her by the ankle. In the sudden jerk from stopping she felt her leg dislocate from her hip and Hotaru slip from her grip.

She turned from the falling Tanarian to face Cell, a ball of red energy flaring up in her right hand. "Flamma!" she cried, thrusting her arm forward. The energy in the attack was weak but it wasn't a direct physical attack. The energy quickly super heated the air and turned into wave of flame by the time it hit Cell's hand. The Bio-droid left out a yelp of pain as he released her and jerked back.

Nova turned her focus back toward the ground and saw Hotaru still a few feet up. In a blast of red she surged down to catch her but, just feet away, was jerked to a painful stop as Cell grabbed her already dislocated leg. He gave her leg a hard yank pulling her up toward him as he lashed out with a kick.

His foot slammed into her back with a thunderous crack and Nova cried out as she felt pain lance up along her spine as it snapped. He then flipped her up so that her feet were towards the ground and wrapped his fingers around her throat. "You are really starting to piss me off." he growled as his grip tightened.

Nova clawed at his hand as she fought to get free, to get away. And then, suddenly, the pressure was gone, Cell's hand was gone. As her mind processed this, catching up to the current situation so she could formulate a plan of escape, she saw an energy blade flare to life around the Bio-droid's hand. And then his arm arced through the air, her eyes snapped wide, and her body and head fell to the ground, separately.

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Vegeta

"No way!" Trunks cried, breaking into the celebrations of the others. They didn't have to ask what his cry was for as they felt Cell's power themselves an instant later. "Oh man, we've got to hurry. They can't fight him anymore!"

"Come on, let's go!" Sakura called, determined. "No more sneaking around, we fly, full speed!"

The others all nodded as they lifted into the air and sped off. "Trunks, Goten, don't wait for us." Cheri said as they flew along. "Go ahead, you can get there faster on your own, we'll catch up."

"You sure?" Trunks asked. Both Cheri and Sakura nodded. "Alright. You heard them Goten, let's move."

"Right!" the other agreed as both flashed gold and sped off. A moment later they saw a burst of silver as well as Goten used the Kinryoku to go even faster.

"Goten's got the right idea." Cheri said. "You two go on ahead too, I'll catch up."

Sakura nodded as she glowed orange and transformed. "Akemi, grab on and hold tight." she ordered. Her sister nodded and quickly climbed onto her back wrapping her arms around her neck. She knew her little sister was faster than her at her maximum but the younger girl had trouble reaching it so this was just easier. "Sanjuu Kinryoku!"

Cheri watched as Sakura and Akemi sped off into the distance. She cast a glance back behind her toward the distant palace and the even more distant city. "Mom... dad... hang on until we can get help." she said softly, before turning forward again.

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Vegeta, Sai-jin Palace

Celebrations at the palace had broken out about the same time as the kids had started to celebrate. And they had ended at about the same time. "Damn it!" Vadora cried, staring into the distance. "What's it take to kill him?"

"I don't remember him being this persistent before." Tien said. "Something must have changed..."

"What about the others?" asked Pug.

"Piccolo and Senator Vegeta just turned back toward Cell." Vadora answered. "But they don't have a chance now. Hotaru and Nova..." she trailed off and looked behind her. "Is that the kids?"

Tien nodded. "Yeah, that's them alright. Where are they going and how did they get so far away?"

"Where ever they're going they're going there in a hurry." said Vadora as she felt them transform. "They're heading in the direction of the arena, I think..."

Vadora trailed off as she heard Tsunamo's scouter beep. The Changeling reached up and activated it. "What is it, Hydra?" he asked. A second later his eyes widened. "Are you sure?" he asked, followed by more silence. "Damn. Who all knows? ... Good, don't let anyone else find out for now. If word spreads we'll have chaos up there, not to mention back home..."

"What is it?" Tien asked as the Changeling lowered his hand again.

Tsunamo shook his head. "Queen Nova's power reading just vanished."

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Vegeta, Saiya City

Hotaru let out a cry of pain as she hit the ground on her back. She'd barely had the strength to slow her fall and the impact, at her current level, had still jarred her, and possibly cracked a few bones as well. But her focus wasn't on her own pain at the moment but on where Nova was struggling with Cell just a few dozen yards above her.

The Changeling had just been kicked in the back and Hotaru winced as she heard the the woman's spine snap even from where she lay on the ground. She tried to do something, anything, to help her, even just a blast of energy to distract Cell, but she couldn't muster any power. And then her eyes widened as the Changeling Queen's head was severed.

"Damn him!" she growled, barely above a whisper as she tried to push herself back into a sitting position. She was in worse shape now than she had been following her earlier attack. She couldn't focus enough to even get her legs to cooperate. Forget flying, she couldn't even stand up.

As Cell turned to face her she closed her eyes and dropped down onto her back again. /Sorry guys./ she thought. /I tried. I gave it everything I had. Sakura, Akemi, stay safe until the others get back./

Cell's laughter reached her ears then and from the proximity she could tell he was floating right above her. "It's nice to see someone who finally gets it." he said. "You can't defeat me. See, isn't this so much better? Just resigning yourself to your fate? No pointless hoping for the impossible, no crushed dreams when faced with the inevitable.

Hotaru opened her eyes and glared up at the Bio-droid. She slowly lifted her arms over her and began to motion with her hands. "Shika-Shidou... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Her attempt at forming a final attack ended in a scream of pain as a bolt of purple energy punched through her left shoulder shattering the bone and breaking all of her concentration.

"I think you've done enough of those for today." Cell said as he shifted his arm and pointed his fingers in another direction. Another bolt of purple energy surged out again but this time Hotaru gritted her teeth and bit her tongue to stop from screaming as it tore through her right elbow. "Like shooting fish in barrel." he laughed as he fired another beam through her left knee.

Hotaru fought to keep her mouth closed and not to scream. She wanted to at least deny him that much. But she was unable to hold back the scream when the energy disc he'd formed a second before sliced down through her right thigh fully severing her leg. The Bio-droid stopped there and turned to look behind him as he felt a pair of quickly nearing powers. "Ah, the cavalry." he said, laughing. "But I'm afraid they will be too late."

He floated down to land beside Hotaru's head and then pressed a foot down against the side of her head forcing it into the ground. Her eyes widened and she gasped in pain as he increased the pressure but she didn't have the energy to struggle, to even try and get free. "Good-bye." he said, smirking, as he put all of his power into his leg and forced his foot down into the ground beneath her head.

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Vegeta, Galactic Games Arena

Goten pulled to a stop as he reached the pulsing light of the tear. As he stared at it he realized he had no idea how the thing worked. Did he just fly up to it and it would let him through? "Well, only one way to find out!" he declared as he flew a little closer.

He was just a couple feet away when it suddenly flashed and swelled in size giving him a clear opening through to the other side. Goten smiled as he gazed through to the world beyond. He quickly glanced behind him and sensed out the others. Trunks was gaining quickly but everyone else would be a couple minutes yet. He let his silver aura fade and his hair revert to black as he waited on Trunks.

A few seconds later his friend pulled up and stopped in a burst of gold as he reverted as well. "What are you waiting for Goten!"

"You!" Goten cried. "I don't know what's going on over there, I didn't want to go through by myself."

Trunks shook his head. "Whatever, come on, let's go. The others can catch up."

"Right."

And with that the two of them flew into the tear.

ZZZ

Mortal Plane, Planet Namek, Namek's Lookout

Azura's features shifted slowly into an expression she seldom wore. A scowl. She had just felt Cell's energy returning again, after having moved her focus to other areas of the world. Turning her attention back to his location once more she looked in just in time to see Nova killed.

"Something is not right." she murmured.

"Is there something wrong?" asked a young voice from behind her.

She glanced back at the young Namek who had joined her on the Lookout only two months before. The planet's future Guardian, the one who would one day replace her. She had hand picked him herself that day, two months before, to begin his training. She knew she wouldn't be around much longer, she could feel it. A few more years, a decade, perhaps two. She wasn't expecting to die, but she had completed her training with the Elders. It would soon be time to move on.

Pushing those thoughts aside she turned to look forward again. "Not on our world." she said. "But on Vegeta."

"Are we not supposed to restrict our focus to just our own world?" asked the Namek.

Azura smiled faintly. "More than just supposed to." she replied. "Our powers are limited to our own world. There is little we can do outside our own planet beyond observe. And even then such observation normally requires a link with the Guardian of that world."

"Normally?"

"Yes. However, this is not a normal circumstance. Tatamo, the Guardian of Vegeta, has departed to Otherworld to help in its protection. Just before crossing the boundry he asked me to keep watch on things for him and granted me some temporary powers. However, I can still do little more than watch."

This information was partly true, at least. Had there been a need for him to grant her such powers he could have done so, but she was perfectly capable of observing the distant planet on her own. "Damn." she muttered as Hotaru was killed. "There's something wrong but... I can't place the problem."

She glanced to her side as Molsk stepped up beside her and gazed into the bright green sky clasping her hand in his own so that he could see what she could. She turned her focus back to the distant world now and focused on that odd feeling she was having. It annoyed her that she could not place the sensation. There was a strong familiarity to it but she couldn't quite grasp what it was.

"What is that odd feeling?" Molsk asked.

"That, my young friend, is the problem. I don't know." Azura replied. "Or, more accurately, I can't remember. It feels like something I was taught about, but that was so long ago, and the memory of the sensation is too vague to place a meaning with it. I do know this, however. If something is not done soon Planet Vegeta will fall."

"But what can we do? Our purpose is to guide and oversee, not to fight. And even then we are too far away and too weak to fight such a creature."

"We do not just guide and oversee." Azura said softly. "We do fight, we do intervene, when we feel the situation worthy of such. It is not just our duty to help guide the people of our world into Heaven but to protect them from evils not of this universe. In such situations as this, where an unnatural event threatens our world, we may intercede as we feel necessary."

She turned from the distant world as she witnessed the deaths of two more of its greatest defenders. "And if we are to intercede in this we must do so quickly, before the situation becomes worse."

"I don't understand." said Molsk. "What do you plan to do when we are not a match in battle?"

Azura laughed softly. "Your mind set proves you are truly the son of a warrior." she said. "But you must learn to think outside the realm of fighting. Sometimes the solution is not to enter battle yourself but to aid those already there." As she spoke she walked across the Lookout to the opposite edge and gazed down toward the planet, Molsk once again at her side, watching her.

-Moray, do you hear me?- she asked telepathically.

-I hear you Azura. What has happened?-

-Planet Vegeta is nearly defenseless.- she replied. -A problem that must be rectified as Cell still roams the world.-

-Do you know what you want?-

-Yes. Have all of those killed today by Cell brought back.-

-Understood.-