Chapter Seventy-eight - The Calm Before the Storm
Goku laid near the edge of the platform half asleep. It was taking forever for the South Mazoku to locate the others. He hadn't realized this would take so long. He was bored and he was worried. At any moment Quietus could decide he was tired of waiting around, doing whatever it was he was doing. He could get bored. And if he did...
/Maybe if she finds Bardock first we should just go right away./ he thought sleepily. /She can find Videl and Vegeta while Bardock and I stop Quietus. But if she doesn't get him first... Man, this is just so DULL./
"Got another one!" the South Mazoku announced, pulling Goku out of his dozing. The Sai-jin sat up and saw she was working her fishing rod, reeling something in.
"Alright, finally!" he cheered, climbing to his feet. He watched as she reeled the cloud in, though it fought to get away the entire time.
"Hmm, not as white, this one." the Mazoku said as she struggled with the rod. "Still clear Dead Zone material, though." A few moments later she had it reeled in and Dabura was tapping it. Goku held his breath and watched, hoping it would be Bardock. But it didn't take long to realize it wasn't. In a few seconds the soul cloud had reformed into a body, into Videl.
"Huh?" she wondered, looking around. "What the...? Goku?"
"Hey Videl." he said, a little disappointed, the South Mazoku casting her line out again.
"Where...?"
"We're in Makai." Goku said. "You were captured and Gohan tried to rescue you but..." He motioned up over her head. Videl reached a hand up and felt around, soon coming into contact with her halo.
"I... I'm dead?"
"Yeah. It's not that bad, though." Goku said with a shrug. "And Gohan and the others will wish you back after this is over. But man, I was hoping you'd be Bardock. I'm tired of standing around waiting like this. I want to go after Quietus again before anything happens."
"Wait, again?" asked Videl. "You've tried already?"
Goku frowned. "Tried and lost." he said. "The Spirit Bomb was discovered and failed, and Vegeta and I weren't strong enough to overpower him quickly. Once we get Bardock back, though, we'll go again. Together he and I can take him." He sighed. "But it could be a while and I'm really bored."
He crossed his arms and frowned for a moment, then suddenly grinned. "Hey, I know!" he said. "Videl, you want spar with me?"
"Huh, spar?" she asked. "Well... I guess, sure. But, Couldn't someone, like Quietus, sense us? And... there isn't really much room here."
"We'll just stay in our normal form." Goku said. "Shouldn't be a problem. Well, what do you say?"
"Yeah, ok. Sure."
XXX
Shinkai, Planet Vegeta, Sai-jin Palace
Vadora clenched her teeth in frustration. Another section of the palace searched, another failure at finding Bulma or her captors. She'd woken up over an hour ago now and had gone from palace ops to leading a search team. She'd taken over Rapin's team. Having found the ear ring, the blood having been confirmed as Bulma's, she'd felt they were the closest to her location.
And yet no progress had been made. Room after room, area after area, they searched and found nothing. There was no more blood to be seen, no signs of anyone passing through, nothing. She'd even sent people through the various security corridors they passed to search them as well. Their targets were palace security, after all, they could be using them as well. But even that turned up nothing.
She looked down at the screen in her hand, going over the information on it. The other search teams had turned up as little as they had. So far, between the twenty-two teams scouring the entire palace, they'd managed to search only about twenty percent of the building. At their current rate it would be nearly dawn before they finished. The more time past the more Vadora worried that no ransom had been made yet.
"I've got something!" a voice crackled over the scouter on her ear, and Vadora blinked in shock. "Found someone unconscious in room 9, Level 5 C."
/Level 5 C isn't far from here./ Vadora thought, taking off at a run. As she hurried through the halls another report came through, one that made her stomach sink. It wasn't Bulma they'd found. Still, she had hope it was one of the five conspirators, though she couldn't imagine how or why. Unless maybe they were having a falling out.
A few moments later she slid to a stop outside room 9 and entered. There were seven other Sai-jins in the room, including Mellona, the team leader. The other woman heard her enter and looked over, shaking her head. "It's not the Queen." she said.
"I heard." Vadora replied, looking down at the form. Their muscles were twitching, the arms and legs jumping every few seconds. "Any idea who it is? Or what happened to him?"
"The what, no. The who, yes. Records indicate his name's Rhubar, palace security, head of division five." Mellona replied. "He's one of the ones captured with Ornja the other day."
"Damn." Vadora muttered. "Can you wake him?"
"Unlikely." said a new voice, drawing Vadora's attention. Tangerie walked up to them and gazed down at the unconscious form on the floor. "I had a look at him earlier, he'll be out a while."
"How do you know?"
"Because, based on the twitching, he was hit by my attack. Hit good. He'll be a long time recovering."
"Your attack?" asked Mellona. "What do you mean?"
"I started developing a new technique a few years ago, my Stunner." she explained. "It's an indirect combat move, meant to disable or delay. I got the idea from the way the Kinryoku back washes on Sai-jins, it's based on the principles of Hotaru's technique. Hits the enemy's ki and sort of... inverts it.
"If the target is unprepared for an attack, or has their energy suppressed, it can knock them senseless, like this guy was. Surprise attack, never saw it coming, down in an instant. Against someone ready for an attack, powered-up and alert..." she shrugged. "A few seconds of pain and disorientation."
"Have you taught it to anyone else?" asked Vadora.
Tangerie shook her head. "No. Which is why this is so damn weird. I've never taught it to anyone. The only people who have ever even seen it have been my, er, practice targets. The only person I've even discussed it with is..." The woman trailed off, her eyes slowly widening.
"Who?" asked Vadora. "Who have you discussed it with?"
"The Queen." Tangerie said. "I... I'd been talking about ki techniques around her once, just some off hand comments, and she'd replied with some really insightful and useful ideas. It turned out she's as smart with ki manipulation as she is with her science stuff. So when I started running into problems with the Stunner I talked them out with her and she helped me get it working. I never taught it to her, exactly, or even showed it to her, but... she knows all the principles."
"You think the Queen did this?" asked Mellona. "Rhubar's recorded power is over a hundred and thirty thousand. The Queen's only barely two hundred."
Tangerie shook her head. "Power doesn't matter." she explained. "It's not a direct attack, it affects the targets own ki. All that matters is how prepared the target is. Like I said, Rhubar here never saw it coming. His guard was down, he got nailed full force."
Vadora turned her gaze back down to Rhubar. "He wouldn't have considered her a threat, so it makes sense she could get the drop on him. But... if she took him out... does that mean she managed to escape?"
"If so, why haven't we found her?" asked Mellona.
"She doesn't know this area of the palace." said Vadora. "She's never been here before. She wouldn't know where to go to get out, to find her way to somewhere familiar. If she's escaped she's running blind, could be going deeper into the wing instead of toward an exit. Which is all the more reason to find her, fast. I know Ornja. If the Queen pisses her off enough..."
XXX
Makai, Limbo, Home of the South Mazoku
Nefaria had watched the two Mortals sparring, even after the South Mazoku insisted they move out away from her home and stop distracting her. The two were considerably different in power, that much was clear quickly. Goku didn't have to put much effort into keeping up with her, even though she was giving it all she had. Nefaria figured if the two of them considered this a spar it wasn't so surprising they had as much power as they did.
The two had kept it up for a while, at least forty five mintues, before calling an end to it. Videl considerably more tired than her opponent had been. They'd both settled down onto the platform then, Videl leaning back against the central building and Goku laying sprawled out not far away, snoring. She was amazed he could sleep given the circumstances.
"Is he still up there?" Videl asked suddenly, cutting into the silence. Nefaria didn't have to ask what she meant, it wasn't the first time she'd asked.
"Yes." Nefaria replied, turning her gaze toward her. "Quietus is still in the Mazoku plane."
Videl nodded. She was worried what would happen if he crossed over to the other Realm. There was no one there who could deal with him. She'd not sensed him, wasn't even sure how strong the two Mazoku with her actually were, but if Vegeta, Goku, and Bardock had been killed trying to fight him it wasn't a good sign.
She looked over toward the Mazoku, who was still sitting on the edge of the platform, pole in hand. "Do you know how she's finding us?" she asked.
Nefaria shook her head. "No idea." she replied. "Dabura said she was a witch in life so it's some kind of magic she had while Mortal."
"So Mazoku start as Mortals too? Like the Kais do?"
"Yes. We... wait, you know about that?"
Videl nodded. "Just found out... I guess this afternoon? Yesterday afternoon? I'm not too sure what time it is. Hasn't been long, though. It was just before this whole mess started."
"But how did you learn?" asked Nefaria. "Even in Shinkai that information is not common knowledge."
"We discovered that Akemi..." Videl started, but was cut off by the South Mazoku.
"Number three, incoming!" she called. Goku suddenly stopped snoring and sat up as Videl turned her gaze toward the Mazoku. The four of them watched as she reeled in the soul cloud, tilting her head slightly as it got closer. "Hmm, maybe not." she said. "This one's not nearly as white as the others. Definitely not Dead Zone, that's for sure. Bit of a hard call, this one."
Dabura nodded. "About as close to neutral as a soul can be, though I'd say it's leaning a little more towards Purgatory than Naraka." he said as the cloud rippled and shifted, solidifying into a body.
"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku called, waving.
"Kakkarotto? Videl? What, where...?"
"Makai. South Mazoku's world. We died." Videl said as the South Mazoku cast her line again.
Vegeta frowned as the memories surfaced. They were... odd. Probably because he'd been fused with Kakkarotto at the time. Still, he could remember the killing blow just fine. They'd come so close, if Quietus hadn't managed to get his wings up to guard like that...
"We'll do better next time." Vegeta said. "I want to wipe that smug look off his face, even if it means doing that... ridiculous dance again. When do we move?"
Goku shook his head. "We don't."
"What?"
"We're waiting for Bardock." Goku said, eyes following the line from the rod out into the depths of Limbo. "You and I couldn't overpower Quietus, Gogeta's power was too close to his. Bardock and I, however..." he shrugged. "We can't risk losing again. We're dead now. Get killed again and..."
"And what?" asked Videl.
"You cease to exist." replied Nefaria. "Death when already dead irreparably shatters the soul."
Goku nodded. "Yeah. We can't risk it, we have to stop Quietus next time. It's the last chance we get."
Vegeta scowled and crossed his arms. "Do you really think it will make a difference?" he asked. He could remember, as Gogeta, boasting about being the strongest and then feeling a twinge of something. Some idea that, no, he wasn't the strongest Sai-jin ever. Still, he couldn't imagine how Kakkarotto and Bardock would be that much more powerful than he and Kakkarotto had been.
"Oh, it'll make a difference." Goku assured.
XXX
Shinkai, H.F.I.L.
Neikan had lost interest in the images within the crystal ball hours ago. After the Mortal had returned with the traitorous Demon nothing interesting had happened. The warriors on the Grand Kai's world had shored up their defenses, set up watches, and then had just settled in. Nothing was happening. None of the Demons still in Shinkai had launched another assault, none of the Mortals had gone out hunting for Demons, and no one did anything even remotely interesting. At least, not as far as he was concerned.
Daikirai, on the other hand, had remained engrossed in what he was watching the entire time. So much so, in fact, that he'd spawned four more balls and locked them onto different people on the Grand Kai's world. Now he was following not only Mikomi, but the Grand Kai, a green warrior named Pikkon, the Mortal Gohan, and the traitor Paine. While they frequently intersected at times they each also offered a unique perspective on things.
Daikirai knew everything there was to know about their defensive arrangements. Not that such information was really needed by him or Neikan, they could break through all defense attempts blindfolded. Still, he'd found the plans to be impressive, and felt the remaining Demon forces were wise to sit and wait. They knew he and Neikan were here, after all. No reason for them to throw themselves pointlessly against the enemy when they could wait until the main battle started and join in.
He'd watched as Pikkon and Gohan had talked about the power of these 'Sai-jins' and learned that those who had gone into Makai were, in fact, the most powerful. Not just of the Sai-jins but of all those in the Realm. That was useful information. There would be no Mortal army to stand against them when the battle came. It would be just the two of them against the Supreme Kai.
He'd learned that Quietus's spells to close and seal the doors between Otherworld and the Mortal Plane had worked and were still holding strong. Efforts to break through and force them open had failed. He had, in fact, watched Gohan attempting to break one of the barriers over the doors to no avail. Even with the aid of Mikomi, Kibito, Zenryou, and another Mortal he'd not seen before. A Tatamo, if he remembered right. Another of these Sai-jins, one who apparently had been set to guard Heaven from invasion.
He'd learned that things in the Realm had destabilized further than anyone in Makai had assumed, though suspected that part of it was a result of the effects of their invasion. Still, it meant the Realm was unstable and he and Neikan would need to be careful not to kill the Supreme Kai when they challenged her. Or the new Kai, Kibito, either. They'd have enough trouble getting things working without making them worse.
Suddenly the images in the balls began to distort again, as they had several hours ago. This time, Daikirai knew what was happening and tapped Neikan on the arm, getting his attention. A second latter the views in the balls changed, Quietus's face appearing inside each of the five orbs.
"What have you found?" Quietus asked almost at once.
"First, I have a theory on what you sent me to find." Daikirai said. He then explained about the Dragonballs, and the conversation he'd witnessed about dragons with powers. From there he launched in to everything else he'd uncovered. By the time he'd finished Quietus was smiling.
"And any signs of Dabura or Nefaria?"
"No. Though they could still be here somewhere, hiding."
"They could." Quietus agreed. "Which is why I'm coming over myself. I have a few matters here to tie up first and then I'll be joining you. Stay where you are until then, it shouldn't take more than a few hours. Then we will end this farce once and for all." The images shimmered and distorted again, changing back to the views Daikirai had set for them.
XXX
Unknown Location
Raven lay in bed, sleeping. Though not soundly. She tossed and turned as she dreamed. Dreamed of green skies turning black. Of glowing red eyes. Of power and fear and golden light. Suddenly she bolted upright, "Kagu!" she cried, eyes wide, sweat pouring off her. She gasped and started panting, her heart racing, but the fear and pain faded from her face as she began to calm down.
The fragments of the dream were already slipping away. She tried to pull them back, to remember. It felt important to remember, but they kept sliping and fading. Within a few seconds the dream was gone, all that was left was the impression of it. The feelings it had stirred up. Climbing out of bed she started pulling her body suit and armor back on. Her resolve and determination were back.
They would escape from this place. Her daughter would be free. Now. A decade. A century. A millenia. It didn't matter. Time didn't matter because, here, there was no time. After pulling on her boots she walked over to her mirror, looked at her reflection, and frowned. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, and there were tears on her cheeks. She reached up and brushed them away, then turned from the mirror and left the room.
XXX
Shinkai, Planet Vegeta, Sai-jin Palace
Vadora had organized all of the search teams in the barracks area into one large team to scour what was left of the wing, which wasn't much. They were already on level 6 A. There were six sections to search on this floor, then the six on level 7, and the barracks would be done. It was good, as it meant they were almost finished at last, but it was bad because they still hadn't located the Queen.
She was starting to worry that Bulma had been recaptured and, somehow, removed from the barracks wing without them knowing it. It seemed unlikely, but unlikely didn't make it impossible. Still, six sections was no small space. That included twenty-four bunk rooms, six bathroom facilities, three kitchens, and two training areas. Plenty of room left for Bulma or her captors to be hiding. Plus all of that again on level 7.
"Alright, groups 1 and 2, start out." Vadora ordered, reading off data on her scouter with one eye and the data on the pad in her hand with the other. "Groups 3 and 4, hold position, watch for anyone flushed out by 1 and 2. Group 5, update."
"Still no activity." came the report from group 5. Vadora had stationed them at the three different security corridor access points spread across the level. She didn't want anyone using them to slip away undetected.
"Group 1 reporting." came another voice. "We just picked up a powerlevel of 4 a little deeper into the wing. Looks like it might be from room 7."
Vadora took a deep breath and hoped that, at last, they were bringing this mess to an end. "Group 3, move in. Head directly to room 7 and locate that power reading."
"Understood."
She watched data on her pad as the six people in group 3 moved slowly forward into the barracks. They were still only halfway to their destination when the chaos started. Vadora didn't need anyone to report what was happening, her own scouter flared up with multiple power readings all in the same location. Level 6 B, room 7. One reading hit 201, three of the others quickly climbed and broke the hundred thousand mark.
"Converge!" Vadora ordered while taking off at a full run as soon as she saw the powers flaring on her scouter. While she ran the wing shook as a thundering explosion echoed through the halls, and the Sai-jin gritted her teeth. 201 was Bulma's last recorded powerlevel, and while it was still holding steady she did not like having an explosion like that so close to the Queen.
There was a yell of anger and frustration from that area a moment later, then one of pain a second after that. The highest of the three powers, the one over a hundred and seventy thousand that her scouter said belonged to Ornja, suddenly fluctuated madly. Diving down to almost ninety thousand and then spiking back up quickly three or four times. Vadora reached the door to the room a moment later, just a second behind Mellona, and burst in.
What she saw at first filled her with a sense of relief, Bulma was standing in the room, near the middle. Then anger flooded through her as she caught sight of the three Sai-jins also in the room. Ornja, Rycel, and Torrac. Three of the Queen's captors. Torrac and Rycel had just jumped aside as an odd looking, lightning like, burst of neon pink energy shot from Bulma's hands and in their direction.
Similar energy was coursing around Ornja, but fading, as where the woman's screams. Bulma dove forward, flying between bunks along one of the walls as she tried to make her escape. But by then Ornja had recovered her senses enough to act again and, with a growl of anger she lunged after her and quickly over took the Human, slamming her into the wall. She looked like she was about to say something, but Vadora's voice cut through the room before she could.
"Release the Queen!" she ordered, moving down the path between the bunks, heading toward their location. All heads snapped her way at once, the four of them finally noticing the presence of the dozen or so Sai-jins who'd entered the room from that end. Ornja's head then turned the other way, noting that the only other door out of the room was also clogged with Sai-jins, and a few aliens.
"I said, release the Queen! I wont say it again!"
Ornja pulled Bulma off the wall but didn't release her. Instead, she changed positions, moving back against the wall herself and putting Bulma between her and the new arrivals. She pinned her arms down and held her against her like a shield with one arm, and then placed the hand of the other arm just beside the woman's head, bringing all the approaching Sai-jins to a stop and setting a deep scowl of anger across Vadora's features.
"Stay back!" Ornja called. "This isn't how I'd planned to do this, but it'll work just as well. You want this Human back, you have the Sennari charter redrawn. Restore the royal family to power, put the Sai-jins in control of the galaxy where we belong, and you kill those damned Changelings you've let wander the palace!"
"Not happening." Vadora replied. "But here's what is. You're going to let her go within the next five seconds or I swear to the Kais I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat."
Ornja laughed, though it seemed a little nervous. "You don't seem to understa..."
"One."
"If you so much as twi..."
"Two."
"I'll kill her if you try anything!"
"Three."
Ornja seemed to hesitate then, the arm by Bulma's head wavering slightly, her grip on the Human's arms relaxing a little. Then, suddenly, the Human's hands, still being held behind her back, flashed pink and Ornja let out an ear piercing scream of pain. He grip on the Queen broke and Bulma pulled away, rushing over to where Vadora, Tangerie, and Mellona stood.
The Sai-jins took this as their cue to act and they all moved in at once. Ornja hadn't even recovered from being hit before Vadora was on top of her, slamming her into the wall, arm across her throat. Meanwhile Mellona quickly subdued Rycel and one of the other Sai-jins captured Torrac.
"Give me a reason." Vadora growled, leaning in next to Ornja's ear as the Sai-jin recovered. "By the Kais, please give me a reason." But Ornja just gritted her teeth and scowled, though there was plenty of fear in her eyes. With another growl Vadora pushed her away toward the other Sai-jins. "Get this trash out of here."
"We've got another over here." someone called, as the three Sai-jins were lead away. Vadora gave a glance to Bulma first, but then moved over to where the call had come from. There, laying on the floor between two bunks, was another Sai-jin. Twitching just like Rhubar had been. Vadora figured it was most likely the final member of the would be captors, Apalla.
"Take her with the others." she ordered. As the woman was picked up and carried off Vadora turned to face Bulma and her shoulders sagged a little. /She's safe but... this wouldn't have even happened if I'd done my job right./ she thought, walking over.
"Thanks, Vadora." Bulma said. The woman was shaking, her adrenaline fading and the full understanding of what she'd just been through sinking in. She only had one of her earrings still in place, the other had clearly been ripped out. Dried blood ran from her ear down the side of her neck. "If you hadn't shown up when you did..."
"If I hadn't let them capture you in the first place this wouldn't have happened." Vadora interrupted, shaking her head. "I... I failed at my job. I shouldn't be your head of security."
"What? No, Vadora, you..." Bulma started, but the Sai-jin had already turned away and was walking off, pushing her way through the remaining Sai-jins. The Human started to follow after her but stopped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Looking back she saw Mellona shaking her head no.
"Let her go." she said. "She needs some time alone right now."
"But..."
"She'll be ok. She just needs to work through this. It's a Sai-jin thing."
"She's right." Tangerie said. "We don't handle failure of our duties very well. Especially when we don't get a chance at retribution at the end, and Ornja didn't give it to her. She'll come around in time. Just don't let her back down. Don't let her quit. I remember what she was like before she went to Earth with Bardock and Appla and if you don't keep pushing her this could make her slip back into that again."
"Yeah, ok." Bulma said, nodding.
"Still, you did pretty damn well on your own." Mellona said, grinning.
"With my Stunner, no less." added Tangerie
Bulma smiled a little herself and nodded. "I wasn't even sure I could do it but... I saw a chance and..."
"And took out two Super Elites." Tangerie said, giving her a light punch to the shoulder. "Let those idiots who don't like having a Human as our Queen chew on that one."
XXX
Makai, Limbo, Home of the South Mazoku
Goku was up and pacing and Vegeta was leaning against the platform's small central structure tapping his foot. Both where anxious to get moving, and suspected they soon would be. Neither could explain why they felt that way, they just did. Videl felt it, too. Like some kind of pressure deep inside her chest, some tickle at the back of her mind. It was like she could FEEL the moment approaching.
Neither of the three Mazoku seemed to sense whatever it was the Sai-jins were feeling. Dabura hadn't shown much sign of anything the entire time, and Nefaria said she'd still felt Quietus in the Mazoku plane, though he was moving about much more now than before. She'd followed him all through the palace, then out into the reaches of the Realm, wondering what it was he'd been up to.
While she'd been following his movements she'd also been watching her surroundings. Goku had suggested a spar with Vegeta earlier, but the other Sai-jin had turned him down. He insisted that when they fought next it would be more than just a little spar. Goku had, at first, been disappointed at the refusal, but had grinned at the royal's remark. Clearly looking forward to it.
Then, suddenly, she felt a change. She sat up straighter, panning her senses through the Mazoku plane for a second, making sure she hadn't just lost focus. She hadn't. It had actually happened.
"Quietus is moving." she announced, drawing everyone's attention.
Dabura nodded. "He's in Purgatory." the Mazoku King said. "Or was. Just crossed into the Black Skull Path on his way down to the Dead Zone."
"So he's heading for Shinkai?" asked Goku, concerned.
"Seems that way." Dabura replied, frowning. "We wont be able to catch him before he gets there."
"I hope the others will be ok..." Videl said, climbing to her feet. "If we can't follow him soon..."
"We'll get there as fast as we can." Goku said. "If Quietus is still in the Dead Zone when we get there I can teleport us to him. Cut him off before he crosses over."
"That wont work." Dabura said, glancing back over his shoulder. "Such techniques are naturally suppressed by the Plane. Beyond that, you're dead now."
"So?"
"So even with your strong wills, and us along," Nefaria began. "The Dead Zone will be able to exert a degree of power over you. Even if you did catch Quietus down there it is unlikely you'd have enough power to fight him, even after merging. He will be unaffected, you will not."
"Terrific." Vegeta muttered.
"Got him!" the South Mazoku suddenly announced. Everyone turned her way and saw her reeling in another soul cloud.
"Alright, finally!" Goku cheered. A moment later the soul was reeled in, the South Mazoku noting it was cleaner than the last, but not really Dead Zone material, though definitely Purgatory. Meanwhile Dabura used his magic to restore it into a body. The soul shimmered and rippled and, a second later, solidified into Bardock.
"What the...?"
"We can explain as we go." said Goku. "If we move quickly, we can catch up to Quietus a few moments after he gets to Shinkai, before the others are in any real danger."
Videl thanked the South Mazoku as the group gathered together, and then the six of them vanished. They appeared an instant later at the entrance to the Black Skull Path, and Videl eyed it up warily. She didn't much like the idea of flying into the mouth of a giant skull, but apparently it was the only way back. With Dabura in the lead, and the Sai-jins all transformed to help keep the pace up, they shot after Quietus.