War Of Worlds
By
B_Chan
Chapter 7: Toy Soldier
Attack/ This Means War
Lady Kijo sighed softly as she maneuvered the one-man craft back to her mother ship, ‘The Angel of Death’.
"Trunks…" she said softy, unable to get those haunting blue eyes out of her head, that soft purr of a voice out of her ears, and that pleasant musky scent from her nose. It was lust at first sight; never had she imagined, let alone seen, a man that made her whole body tingle with just the thought of him. She licked her lips and grinned to herself. "This mission maybe a lot funnier then I imagined it to be," she purred softly as her instruments bleeped, signaling she’d entering into the sensor range of her ship. Leaning back, she switched on the autopilot to relax and let the larger ship’s tractor beams dock her.
No sooner had she done so then that whole craft jerked violently and swung dangerously to the left.
"Shit!" shouted the demoness, slapping the off switch for the ship’s autopilot and going back to manual control. "What the fuck are those assholes doing now?" she grumbled, steering the ship towards the bay doors, which were wide open. She frown to herself, taking in the disaster site that was where she was suppose to land her ship. The hold was a mess: scorch marks speckled the whole area, other cruisers had been damaged and destroyed, supplies that hadn’t been stored away when brought on board were scattered all over the place busted from their containers. Several dead crewmen lay about the area; pools of blood splashed all over the place like a bad paint job.
The frown on Lady Kijo’s face darkened as she drove her ship through the protective air bubble separating space from the inside of the ship and landed the craft on the clearest space she could find. The hatch on her ship opened and she climbed out to jump to the ground. "What the hell happened here?" she muttered, looking around. She walked over to a ship she didn’t recognize and reached up a hand to run it over the strange logo on its side.
"Capsule… Corps…." Her eyes blinked a few times at the logo. "Capsule Corps? What is a product of that earth company doing here?" She turned her head as she faintly heard sounds of battle and screaming. "Hmm…" She moved towards the sounds.
As she walked she cast her eyes around; dead bodies littered the halls, some maimed beyond recognition. A small smiled tugged at the corner of her mouth. "It looks like someone was a wee bit pissed about something," she said, humor lacing her voice. The smile never left her lips as she finally found the source of the carnage.
A lone man moved about the hall delivering death left and right with his bare hands. He was soaked in blood of many colors, a look of reneges across his handsome features. His fine silky black hair swung around his face and neck as he spun like a tornado of death among the ranks of men. He turned and spotted her and she looked into a pair of icy blue eyes that seemed almost dead: as if the creature that owned them weren’t alive. She frowned again trying to get a feel for him, but got nothing—no ki, no nothing… what the hell ‘was’ he?
With a roar the man launched himself at her and she was amazed at his speed. She ducked and dodged under his flying fists, and gasped in shock and pain as one connected solidly with the side of her face. She went flying back to slam hard into the hall’s side, denting the surface with her body. He was strong! Very strong! How could something with no ki be so strong?! Lady Kijo lifted a hand and wiped at her mouth, drawing back her hand she stared at the blood staining it. A sadistic smile found its way on her face.
"Not bad," she purred, pulling herself out of the body shaped hole she lay in. "But you really should know better then to hit a beautiful creature like myself across the face. I’ll have to teach you a lesson, boy."
The man hissed softly under his breath. "You shot Juuhachi…. I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done to my sister!" he roared charging at her. He didn’t get far as he slammed into something that nearly broke his nose. Around Kijo appeared to be a translucent green bubble.
"My dear boy," said Kijo in a deadly calm voice. "You picked the wrong woman to vent your pain on," she smiled again in sadistic pleasure; the bubble around her darkened to purple. Her eyes matched it, glowing with an eerie light. The short black wings, which had remained hidden under the curtain of her hair, spread to their full length.
Juunana’s eyes widened, realizing that the bubble around her wasn’t a shield, it was her battle aura! It was so strong and compacted into that small space around her that he couldn’t even get through it—had bounced off it like he’d run into a wall! What the hell was she?! What kind of power was he up against here?!
"Hell Fire."
The aura bubble around her burst in a blinding roar of purple. Juunana didn’t even have time to scream as he as well as several other soldiers who’d been standing too close were engulfed.
The light faded and Kijo flipped her long green hair, looking around at the damage she’d caused. A perfect donut of space had simply been eradicated from existence by the move. The area inside the bubble as well as everything past ten feet was left untouched, but the rest was now charred black. The smell of burnt flesh, walls, and floor mixed together in a nauseating scent for the few remaining soldiers left in the hall.
Kijo turned a slow circle, eyes searching.
"Way to go Lady Kijo!" cheered one of the remaining soldiers. The others nervously joined in to applaud and cheer the powerful female demon.
"Fools!" hissed Kijo making them freeze. She stepped off the undamaged section of floor and into the charred scoop she’d created. She then knelt down and brushed her fingers over something laid on the blackened floor there.
"Lady Kijo?" questioned one soldier.
The corner of Kijo’s mouth quirked up as she brushed soot off the thing on the ground. "Impressive," she said flipping what could now be made out as a figure over on its back.
"Impossible!" gasped one of the soldiers leaning over to peer at the white skin Kijo had unearthed. "How could he have survived that?!"
"Actually that was not one of my more deadly attacks," purred the demoness, brushing her hands over the blackened android’s face to revel for the most part that he was fine—his hair wasn’t even burnt!
‘But—!"
"That attack is simply an extremely hot fire spell. Apparently whoever this vengeful man is he’s far too powerful to be burned to death. He was able to put of some kind of shield over his whole body before I flash fired everything; impressive, especially for something with no ki." She smoothed her hand down one pale white cheek.
"Then if he was able to protect himself, what happened?" questioned the soldier. "Why’d he pass out?"
"Fire needs oxygen to burn," stated the demoness staring down at the android. "Humans need oxygen to breathe. When I used my Hell Fire technique it used up all the oxygen inside the blast site in an instance, including what was in his lungs at the time. It’s like having the breath sucked from your lungs and blood all at once. Basically he passed out from oxygen starvation."
She stood up and looked down at the KO android. "Strange, very strange," she said holding her chin in thought. "Take him to Doctor Mono and see if the old bastard can figure out just what he is."
"Hai!" said two soldiers moving to pick Juunanagou up by the shoulders and feet.
"You," said Kijo, turning to another soldier. "What the hell happened here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
The soldier gulped and took a nervous step back. "W-we picked up a craft on our sensors and decided to intercept in case it was a spy ship. There was a small battle in space where we lost some fighters before we killed the being outside the ship. After that we got a hold on the strange ship and brought it on board. Once we had it on the ship the lone passenger jumped out and attacked us. We were handling the matter when you showed up my lady," the man bowed frantically.
Kijo laughed. "Handling it?" she laughed harder. "Look at the damaged that one man did." She gestured around with one hand at the dead bodies all over the place and the damage done to the hall. "If I hadn’t showed up there’s no telling what might have happened. Shit, what if he’d gotten into the engineering room or something?! He could have torn his ship to pieces!" she growled angrily down at the soldier, reaching to fist a hand in the front of his uniform, hauling him up nose to nose with her. "We’ve already lost two ships to this pathetic planet, I will not lose another. Do you understand?" she said in a deadly calm voice.
"Ha-hai!" stammered the soldier before Kijo released him to fall on his butt.
"Incompetent," growled Kijo, moving down the damaged hall. "Are you sure you killed the other one? I do not want anything that powerful anywhere near this ship."
"Ha-Hai! We got it lady, I hit it myself," said the soldier, moving to follow the demoness.
"I asked if it was dead! I didn’t ask if you’d hit it or not," said Kijo, turning to glare at the soldier.
"I-it has to be… there’s no why it could survive that," said the soldier, paling under the stare of those purple eyes.
Kijo narrowed her eyes more and turned her head back to watch where she was going. I don’t like this, she thought silently to herself. Just one of them was that strong and he survived my attack without a scratch. I’m not convinced that the other’s dead. "Send a search party out, and bring me the remains of the other. You’d better find them and pray that you really did kill it, or I will hold you personally responsible for any more damage," said the demoness, coldly moving down the hall. "Call Doctor Mono. I want to see just what that boy’s made of myself."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Bulma sat frowning at the computer console before her.
Nothing, absolutely nothing! She’d returned from her little dinner date with Vegeta to check on Juunana and Juuhachi only to find nothing! No signal from their ship, no messages left for her, no way of getting in contact with them. It was like they’d disappeared into thin air!
"What’s going?" she questioned out loud. They should have been ready to return by now and have called in looking for info on weather conditions and changes that might have hindered their landing. The worried frown on her face only got bigger as silence reigned through the room. She almost jumped out of her chair when she heard the sound of a door opening and excited voices talking animatedly with one another.
Curious, Bulma walked out of her lab and into the kitchen to see seven teenagers decked out in martial arts gis raiding the cupboards and fridge.
"Hey mom," smiled Trunks, spotting her. "We’re back from the tournament, got second place," he said, waving as a good-sized trophy standing on the kitchen table.
Bulma’s worried frown left for a moment as she took them all in. "Second?" she smiled. "Why not first?"
"Because Base here has butterfingers," grinned Bra, poking the Namek sei-jin in the side.
"I do not," grumbled Base. He continued to grumble something under his breath that Bulma couldn’t quite make out, something about antennas and crazy women.
"I thought Base-kun did great," Almuerzo smiled, currently wearing her more gentle brunette aspect.
"She’s right Bra, don’t be mean. There was a lot of really good competition, I’m surprised we did so well," said Marron, before biting down on a large chocolate chip cookie.
Bra stuck her tongue out at the blond girl. "You should have gotten first, no one else there could compare with you guys."
"Even if we didn’t rank first place, we sure got the most attention," said Pan. "I’ll bet you’ll find lots of new students eagerly waiting to sign up for classes at your dojo door."
"Yah, I’m sure dad will be thrilled with that," Marron smiled happily. "I can’t wait to tell him and mom about it."
The worried frown appeared back on Bulma’s face when Marron said that. She silently debated with herself whether she should say anything yet or wait a few hours longer. The choice was made for her though.
"Say mom, are Marron’s mother and Juunana back yet?" asked Trunks, looking at his watch. "It’s about time for them to return, isn’t it?"
"Oh yah! I almost forgot they were up there with the tournament and all," said Marron. "Is she back, Bulma-san? I’d really like to talk to her."
Bulma could only look at her with the worried frown on her face, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
"Mom?" called Bra. "Is something wrong?"
Bulma slowly wet her lips, swallowing to get her voice working. "I haven’t been able to get a hold of them since I came back."
"You can’t get a hold of them?" Trunks said, his voice puzzled. "That’s not possible unless they’ve gone out of range. Have you picked them up on sonar?"
Bulma slowly shock her head. "The tracker didn’t show… but maybe they turned it off for some reason and I just can’t pick them up with all the junk orbiting the planet."
Both Trunks and Bra wore doubtful looks when Bulma finished saying that—not that Bulma really thought it was true either.
"Are you saying… something happened to them?" said Marron, her eyes widening.
"We don’t know that yet," said Bulma, trying to assure her. "We just don’t know where they are at the moment."
"This sounds bad," said Base, his low deep voice rumbling in his chest. "Your machines can’t find them and neither can we since they don’t have ki signatures. If they don’t contact us or come back on their own, there’s no way we’ll be able to locate them."
"No… way?" whispered Marron, complexion turning a pale white.
Goten stood up behind her and braced his hands on her shoulders just as Marron swayed a little uncertainly on her feet.
"Goten?"
"Don’t worry, Marron," said Goten, smiling kindly at her. "You know your mom and uncle, they’ll be just fine. I’ll wait with you till they come back." He turned her towards the living room, guiding her to one of the comfy couches. "You just sit back and relax, I’ll get you some hot tea and we can talk about the tournament while we wait."
The others watched them go.
"Those two are always comforting each other," said Bra, with a small shake of her head. "When are they just going to say they’re a couple? It couldn’t be any plainer if they had wedding bands on their fingers."
Trunks gave a small snort at that and turned to his mom. "What are we going to do?"
Bulma gave a sad sigh. "Like Base said, there’s really nothing we can do but wait. I’m sure Juuhachi and her brother can take care of themselves and if they did run into something up there, they’ll find away to contact us… I’m sure they will." Despite Bulma’s words she didn’t sound as confident as she wanted to.
"Run into something," said Trunks in a low tone. "What if they ran in to another ship…"
A long silence filled the air with those low words. Nobody even wanted to think what might have happened if the two androids had met up with more of Lucifer’s forces. Even if they didn’t want to think of it, they all knew that it was a real possibility.
"We’ll just have to pray that’s not the case," said Bulma, turning back to her lab to try to get a hold of the android pair again.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Dr. Mono’s eyes fairly sparkled with excitement as he looked at the fair skinned creature the soldiers had dragged into his lab but half an hour ago. It had been blackened with soot when he’d first seen it, but since then a few nurses had thoroughly washed it off. It wasn’t a Saiya-jin, but a human by its physical appearance. Not what he wanted to study, but a good enough start since humans were very similar to Saiya-jins as far as physical structure went. He lifted his hand and slid it down the creature’s body from neck to navel feeling the gentle rising and falling of its chest signally it was deep in sleep. He snorted. It wasn’t as fun to start when the subject wasn’t conscious, but he was eager to being.
Sliding up his operation mask, his eyes narrowed as he studied, looking for just the right place. He decided on the lower abdomen and lifted a scalpel towards the pale flesh.
He jerked back with a start as the door slid open, and in walked his continuous annoyance—the demon bitch herself.
Kijo gave him an innocent smile and moved to stand by his side. "Haven’t started yet, I see," she said absentmindedly as she gazed down at the man before her. "My… what a handsome creature, I didn’t noticed when he was snarling and covered in gore." She reached up a hand and traced her fingers over his pale lips, eyes raking down his lean form. "This planet, Earth, may hold some promise for the slaves trade, especially if there are more as fair as his one." She glanced at the scalpel the doctor held and raised a thin eyebrow at it. "You are so predictable, good doctor. You could just as easily using the scanners to give you detailed information on him and yet you prefer your hands on approach. Such a waste of well put together male."
Dr. Mono snorted. "I’ve heard all about your ‘collection’ of well put together males. But, you’re wrong, lady, it’s not what’s on the outside that counts, but the inside."
"Why, good doctor, that is perhaps the most poetic and sweetest thing I’ve ever heard from your mouth," she said with a teasing smile.
The doctor grinned in a creepy way and leveled the scalpel back over Juunana’s stomach. "You want to see how beautiful this young man is on the inside?" His grin got wider and more crazed as he pressed the scalpel down, drawing a bead of crimson on the white flesh. "Such pretty blood," said the man’s voice, hinting at unspeakable pleasure as he drew a line across Juunana’s abdomen.
Kijo glanced at the doctor, noting the pleasure dancing in his eyes. Her face was emotionless as she turned it back to the unconscious man, watching as red blood spilled over his pale flesh in small ribbons to spread along the table. "Tell me doctor… it this man alive?"
"Of course," said Dr. Mono, moving to draw back the skin, the pleasure of his work sounded in his voice. "I only dissect my subject while they still breathe. It’s not nearly as fascinating to do otherwise."
"I know that he breathes, I want to know if he’s alive," said Kijo, narrowing her eyes as she watched the crimson spread.
Dr. Mono stopped a moment and glanced over at her. "What kind of question is that? If he breathes, he’s alive."
Kijo’s eyes narrowed more. "There is a force around all living things: ki. It surrounds and flows through all that can be considered alive. Plants, animal, even planets and suns, all have ki. This man… he doesn’t have any. I do not think he can be considered alive."
"Hmm?" hummed Dr. Mono, turning his attention back to this work. "Well, he’s organic, whatever the hell he is…" he stopped and peered down at the area of blood and flesh he’d uncovered.
"What?" asked Kijo, leaning to see.
"Look at this," he said, running his scalpel over something that gleamed metallic-like even as it was covered in blood. He poked it with the scalpel and a ring was heard, metal on metal.
Kijo’s eyebrows forked down more. "Bio scan, now," she snapped at a nurse standing not far away.
"Delay that!" growled Mono, glaring at Kijo. "This is my department, or have you forgotten? You gave me this creature and it is mine to study and do with as I please."
Kijo smiled at him. "Oh, I did give it to you to study, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still interfere. Bio scan now, girl, if you value your life."
The nurse paled and moved to comply with Kijo’s request. Dr. Mono looked at Kijo with burning rage in his eyes.
"Don’t worry, good doctor. I promise you you’ll get one of the demi-Saiya-jins, but now I think I’ve found a new toy I can use against the Saiya-jin," her smile was dangerous as she looked down at Juunana.
A blue line of light traced over Juunana form twice before winking out. A screen flashed to life before the lady and doctor, appearing in mid air.
"Incredible," said Doctor Mono, reaching up a hand to trace a finger over the picture presented on the screen.
"What does it say, good Doctor? If I’m not mistaken, these are both metal and organic components, are they not?" questioned Kijo.
"Yes, he’s organic, or should I say, ‘was’ organic." He lifted a hand and traced it over a theorem bone. "His man’s bones have been plated with some kind of strong alloy. The hollowed insides of this kind of bone structure have also been coated in metal. Incredible, how could such a primitive planet have designed this…?" He tapped on the screen, showing enlargements of the bone he’d been looking at. "Coating a bone like this makes it almost impossible to break. Even if the actually bone itself did break or shatter, the metal coating would hold it perfectly in place till it healed. The subject probably wouldn’t even feel any pain, nor be hindered by it. It’s like having braces build into your body." He tapped the screen again to show blood cells traveling along the metal-coated bones. "Look at these cells," he pointed to one. "They’re composed like mini batteries, yet they’re completely organic. His blood was artificially created some how. If all these cells charged at once I can only imagine the amount of power he’d have coursing though his veins."
Kijo winced and reached up a hand to touch her face. "Oh, I know that all too well."
The screen zoomed out and zoomed in to display other sections, some showing completely metal components designed to act as artificial organs. Others were typical humanoid tissues only enhanced in some genetic or mechanical way. All in all, Juunana appeared to have once been a human who’d been taken apart and put back together with a few new parts thrown in. 74% of his tissues had been removed and replaced with either metal parts or some enhanced genetically designed tissue that provided the same functions as the host’s original tissues only served to fill other roles as well. He was stronger, faster, capable of handling more damage and delivering more damage than any human; information had been programmed in and he could access it with the ease of a computer. All this and more put together created something that had once been human, but could no longer be considered human. He was more machine now then organic, and what was organic was interworked with metal and genetically mutated tissues that far surpassed anything human.
"A work of art," breathed Doctor Mono. "Whoever did this was a pure genius. They’ve done things that even scientists who have the full back up and support of whole galaxy have failed to do. How…how can anyone on such an insignificant planet do this? It doesn’t make sense," he muttered.
"It would appear that not just overly powerful creatures exist one this remote plant, but a few beings with remarkable intelligence as well dwell there," Kijo commented. She smiled, rubbing a few strains of Juunanagou’s silky black hair between her fingers. "Good doctor, I hate to break up your fun, but I have new plans for this android."
"I was afraid you’d say that," said the doctor, glaring hatefully
"We should transfer him to other specialists under Lord Lucifer’s command, they might be able to duplicate some of this for use in the battle field. This man as been turned from a pathetic weak creature into perhaps the most formable bio solider I’ve ever laid eyes on. They only thing I can think of that even comes close to this kind of perfection is a Saiya-jin. A dozen of these could do the work of a hundred armed men in half the time."
"Hmm, impressive indeed," purred Kijo. "But this young toy solider will not be sent off to be tinkered with. As I said I have plans for him. I will make him dance on strings for my amusement and tell me all our enemies secrets."
"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Mono.
Kijo laughed low to herself. "You will see, good doctor, you will see."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Bulma sat in front of her computer once more, trying to will the machines around her to beep telling her they’d found the CC ship, but they were annoyingly quiet.
"Juuhachi, where are you?" she asked the air. With a loud sigh she stood up to get herself some more coffee. She might be there waiting all night if the two didn’t call soon. She entered the kitchen to see that the once cheerful teens all now wore worried looks on their faces.
Marron was sitting in the living room with Pan and Goten on either side of her speaking comforting words and trying to take her mind off the fact that her mother and uncle were for all she knew lost in space. Base was standing silently in a corner with his arms crossed, a silent creature shrouded in shadows giving him a battle tense look as if he were ready to spring into motion at any moment. Almuerzo sat opposite from Bra, idly rolling an orange back and forth between her hands across the kitchen table. Bra looked worried and sat tapping her finger on the table in a continuous click of nails. Trunks was walking back and forth between the groups more so he could make a worry trench in the carpet then to say a few comforting words to any of them. The lavender haired demi-Saiya-jin walked right up to her when she entered the room.
"Anything?" he asked, too low for anyone else to hear.
Bulma sadly shock her head.
Trunks hissed a small curse between his lips. "What could have happened to them? Maybe we should send someone up to look for them?"
Bulma once again shook her head. " Until we know more we shouldn’t make a move. As much as I hate not knowing what’s happened to them, I’m not willing to risk anyone else, especially if it is…" Bulma let the sentence hang, she didn’t need to finished, Trunks knew all too well what she was going to say: the enemy, Lucifer’s forces. The demi-Saiya-jin hissed another curse.
"Krillin called a little while back," he said softly.
Bulma winced. "What did he say?"
"He’s headed here now."
Bulma nodded. No doubt Krillin was panic stricken. She wondered if it was going to be possible to calm him down.
"Do you want to take a break and have me take over?" asked Trunks. "You look worn, mom," he said in concern, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Bulma reached up and patted his hand. "Don’t worry about me, but maybe you should take over for a bit. I’m sure Krillin will want to talk to me and maybe I should take a little break…this could go on for awhile."
Trunks nodded. "Alright, call me if you need me or find anything out," said Trunks, turning towards the lab door and entering.
Bulma watched him go and no sooner had the door closed then the back door leaning to the yard opened and Vegeta strolled in, dressed now in loose sweats and a tank top plastered to him with sweat. Of course, he’d been out training. Bulma almost felt like sighing. He was so predictable or maybe she just knew him too well. Vegeta did surprise her from time to time—the fact that his daily routine was rarely broken only served to make it that much more unusually when he did.
Vegeta twisted his head around, taking in everyone’s worried looks and depressed moods. He looked back at her. "Who died?"
Marron’s head snapped over to look at him and that miserable look on her face suddenly managed to get several more degrees more miserable.
"Vegeta!" Goten growled, moving closer to Marron in a comforting gesture.
Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "What? Don’t tell me someone really did die?" he asked, looking at Bulma.
"God, you’re as blunt as a butter knife," hissed Bulma. She allowed herself to conjure up the fantasy of going over and strangling him right then. "No one’s dead," she emphasized the words, in the hope she could ease some of the damage her thoughtless husband had caused Marron. Not that he’d known any better, but still, he should learn to hold his tongue sometimes. "We’ve lost communications with Juunana and Juuhachi."
"Lucifer?" he asked.
"We’re not sure yet," said Bulma.
Vegeta made an annoyed sound. "Well, inform me if is them, I could use a good fight," said the Saiya-jin, causally moving to leave the room for his bathroom and shower.
"Heartless," muttered Pan under her breath, watching him leave.
"Not heartless," said Bra in the same causal voice. "He’s just not interested unless we need him for combat."
"And you think that’s not heartless?" growled Pan.
"That’s enough, you two," said Bulma, grabbing a chair and sitting down at the table. "That’s just the way he is, no point in fighting over it." She frowned slightly. "He’s not the world’s best poker player, but he’s got the best damn poker face I’ve ever see. Sometimes I think he plays life like he would a hand of cards. I never know what he’s holding till he slap them down on the table for me to see."
"Bulma!"
The blue haired woman nearly jumped out of her chair, her hand went to grasp her heart. She turned to see Krillin running through the door hallway towards them. "Krillin, don’t do that!" she screeched. "You damn near gave me a heart attack!"
"Bulma, where’s Juuhachi! Have you found her yet?!" asked the frantic monk skidding to a halt next to the seated woman. From the look of it he’d flown there, since none of them had heard a car drive up. His now pale gray hair was tousled and wind blown, and his clothes looked slightly untucked perhaps from the wind beating on them. He wasn’t any spring chicken anymore, yet he showed very little signs of aging beyond his gray hair and a few wrinkles around the corners of his mouth and eyes. Probably from smiling too much. To Bulma he looked every bit as built as he had been when bald and adventurous, but she knew he wasn’t as strong as he’d once been and did occasionally comment on knee and back pains. All and all she was sure he could still teach most anyone a lesson if they dared mess with him, but he probably won’t bounce back from any injuries received as he once had. As it was he looked too old to be the ageless android’s husband, yet Bulma knew the two loved each other as much as they had thirty, forty years ago. It was sad to think that Juuhachi would have to watch him age and die while she looked the same as when they first meant. The thought sent a shiver done her spine—it hit too close to home. She’d been rejuvenated with the dragon balls, but would that give her enough time? Would Vegeta outlive her even with another lifetime added on to hers? Truthfully, she had no idea how long Saiya-jins lived and there no longer were any dragon balls to make wishes with. Shenlong had taken them and Son Goku and left, possibly for good. Son Goku… so many sad thoughts…
"Bulma!"
Krillin’s shout pulled the blue haired woman out of her thoughts.
"My wife, Bulma, is she alright?!"
Bulma gestured at a chair next to hers, but Krillin gave a sharp shake of his head: he would stand.
With a sigh, Bulma told him all she knew, which wasn’t much. She took her time, dragging it out in the hopes that Trunks would come bounding up from the lab with good news, or bad. God, she hoped it wasn’t bad.
"And that’s all we really know right now, Krillin."
The ex-monk swallowed as if his mouth had gone dry. "What are you going to do?"
Bulma held eye contact with him for a long moment. "We wait."
"Wait?! Bulma, she could be hurt or worse! What if she and Juunana needs help?! We should go up after them!"
Bulma shook her head. "Too dangerous, Krillin."
"I don’t care if it’s dangerous, I’ll go up myself, alone if I have to, Bulma!"
"I want to go too!" shouted Marron standing up much to Goten’s protests.
"Me too!" said Pan, pulling on her sleeve. "We’ll trash those bastards, they’ll wish they’d never even heard of earth when we’re done," she grinned.
"Fools," came a soft purr. All turned to look at Vegeta leaning against a doorframe with his arms crossed, now dressed in a black version of his normal tight uniform complete with white boots and gloves. "You don’t even know if they need help. You’ll more likely get yourselves hurt or lost then be of any use to them."
"Vegeta," growled Krillin. " She’s my wife, I’m going up to help her."
"Baka," said Vegeta, with an emotionless look on his face.
"Don’t insult me! If it was Bulma instead you’d hurry up there like your tail was on fire!" shouted the monk.
"Bulma’s not the one up there," stated Vegeta calmly. "There’s no reason I should go."
"No reason! Don’t you care at all! I know you’ve never like her because she kicked your ass when you two first meet, but that’s no reason for you to leave her up there to die!"
Vegeta’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Krillin," said Bulma, reaching out a hand to try and calm him down.
"No! He’s the strongest one of us here, he should be the one to go up there, none of them could beat him! We all know that! So why won’t he?! You’re too self-centered, Vegeta! You don’t care about anyone but yourself!"
A low growl issued from Vegeta’s throat and everyone that could sense ki suddenly felt the Saiya-jin prince’s skyrocket. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Saiya-jin to tear into the monk, wondering if they’d be able to pull them apart if Vegeta did pounce.
Vegeta shifted his stance so he was leaning more on one leg then the other. His eyes glared death at the monk who bravely stared back with unblinking eyes. Krillin could be amazingly brave when he had to or was determined, but it was still hard to see the short man meeting one of Vegeta’s cold glares head on. Vegeta’s tail lashed violently behind him, the most visible sign of his anger. His tail always gave away his moods and right now it looked like he was bordering on rage.
"As you so pointed out," said Vegeta, his voice dripping with cold rage for the human. "The tin cans are more then capable of taking care of themselves. If they couldn’t defeat who ever they ‘may’ be up against then you and two little girls would hardly be of much use. I think you are aware of the fact that those androids hold more power then you. Their strength comes close to Goten and Trunks, by my guess. What makes you think you’d be of any assistance? You’d probably only get in their way.
"Which is why ‘you’ should go!" shouted Krillin.
"I have no idea where they are. Do you want me to fly around in space and hope I ‘see’ them? Space is vast, I’ve traveled it enough to know that finding one ship without any instruments that can locate them is like looking for a needle in a haystack. They are also not as stupid as you think them to be. That metal doll of yours has programmed data in her that could rival the smartest scientist or engineer on this planet. They’re more likely to find us then we are to find them."
Krillin’s fists shook at his sides with Vegeta’s every word. As much as he hated to admit it, Vegeta did have a point. Juunana and Juuhachi were capable of taking care of themselves and they were far from helpless if it was ship troubles they were having. But despite the cold hard facts, Krillin was unable to get his heart to agree with it. He couldn’t leave her out there—he couldn’t! But what other option did he have?
"If we find them… will you go out and get them?" asked Krillin in a tight voice, his nails digging into the palms of his hands.
Some of the angry flames in Vegeta’s eyes died down though they still danced in those black depths. "As I said before, I could use a good fight, but if they’re just lost I’m not a damn delivery service. You can get them yourself."
Krillin looked like he was about to snap back a harsh remark, but instead sighed and nodded his head in agreement. The fight suddenly drained out of him and he all but fell into the chair beside Bulma as if the argument had sapped his physical strength. Bulma knew it was only worry and helplessness that ate at him.
A long pause filled the air that was deafening in its silence. That silence was shattered by an amused giggle. Everyone’s head snapped over to see a shapely woman standing outside by the sliding glass door. Her hair was a dark green and reached down to her thighs; her eyes were a haunting color of purple and did not seem natural. She was dressed in a formal-looking uniform of blood red slashed with black and bits of bright white.
Vegeta eyes widened, then narrowed.
She’s, well… beautiful, thought Pan. Beautiful in an unnatural way. There was something about her that struck Pan as wrong. As far as physical beauty went, Bra ranked at the same level, yet did not hold that same kind of unnatural charm that encircled this mysterious woman. Proud, arrogant, confident, she knew she was beautiful—knew it as if it were a fact. The hair on Pan’s arms rose. She didn’t like her; her woman’s intuition was screaming at her to get rid of this ‘thing’ before her. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this woman would be trouble: trouble for earth, trouble for them all, trouble for her.
Goten gapped at the woman before them. He could feel himself drawn to her like a moth to a flame and he had the feeling that, like a moth, he would be burnt if he got too close. A cold chill ran down his spine and unconsciously he moved behind Marron to rest his hands on her shoulders, as if to shield himself from her. He suddenly felt a lot safer, now that he had some physical contract with the pretty blond. The woman outside didn’t seem as beautiful as she had a moment ago. A confused look crossed his face. He wondered what had changed. She looked the same, but now she ‘felt’… different. He glanced down at Marron to see the blond was frowning at the strange woman. She’d also lifted a hand and clasped it over one of his—he hadn’t even felt her do it. A quick look around showed him the others had felt something too. Pan was glaring death at the strange woman like they were mortal enemies. Almuerzo had moved over to Base and wrapped herself around one of his arms, looking at the woman with a small crease between her brows—very unusual for her gentle brunette aspect to frown. Base, for once, wasn’t protesting at Almuerzo’s close contact. Goten had the impression the Namek sei-jin had frozen up like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Bra was the only one of them that didn’t seem affected by the woman’s presence. Her face was calm and neutral. The most shocking of all perhaps was Bulma, who now had a firm hold on Vegeta’s tail with both hands as if she were ready to drag him away from the strange intruder by the furry length. Vegeta was frowning at the woman and didn't seem to notice his tail had been snatched. Goten blinked… or maybe Vegeta did know, as he watched the end of the furry appendage wrap around one of Bulma’s wrists.
Krillin stared at her with something close to awe on his face before giving himself a shake. "Who are you? How did you get past security?"
The green haired woman did not answer right away, but let her eyes wondered over the group. The corners of her mouth turned down ever so slightly, making it hard to be sure they’d really moved. She looked displeased about something, as if she’d expected some kind of reaction beyond people staring at her with frowns and dumbfounded expressions.
"I am Lady Kijo," she said, calm and business-like. She smoothed down her suit. "I’m here as a representative to negotiate the terms of your contract, Saiya-jin no ouji," she smiled, but it was anything but sweet.
"Contract?! What contract?!" growled Bulma, pulling her clenched hands around Vegeta’s tail to her bosom. She blinked and looked down at her hands, suddenly realizing what she was doing with them. Looking slightly embarrassed she let go of the tail and crossed her arms.
"You," said Vegeta, his voice emotionless. "You’ve been following me. You revealed yourself at the restaurant, but you’ve been watching me all day, haven’t you?"
Kijo smiled widely as if pleased by his words. "Oh, you are gifted Saiya-jin prince. Few sense me if I don’t want them too. I have a feeling you will go far in Lord Lucifer’s service."
"She’s the enemy?" squeaked Almuerzo, clinging to Base tighter. The others tensed.
"Are you here looking for a fight?" asked Vegeta. He was still calm, though anyone who knew him knew he was ready to move if need be.
"Of course not," Kijo laughed. "I’m here to find out what it takes to buy a Saiya-jin prince," she purred, running her eyes over him as if he were a horse for sale. "I know of your mercenary background, and I can assure you we will treat you with the kind of respect a man of your breeding deserves. Not to mention we pay you for your services, unlike your previous employer, Freeza."
Vegeta’s face hardened more, whether from the mention of Freeza or her offer, no one could tell. "I have no business with you. I suggest you leave before I decide to rip you apart."
Kijo did not seem troubled by his threats. She calmly levitated up into a seated position, making herself comfortable in mid air and crossed her legs. "It would be foolish to refuse my offer, Saiya-jin no ouji, you do not want Lord Lucifer as a enemy. This little planet won’t last long against his might."
"Perhaps it is he who should be wary of who he makes his enemies," said Vegeta.
Kijo barked a small laugh. "You are on the losing side, Saiya-jin, it would be a shame if your kind were to suddenly go… extinct."
Threats, both were tossing out threats to one another, speaking as coolly and calmly as if they were commenting on the weather. It was shriveling everyone else’s nerves!
"Leave this planet and don’t come back," said Vegeta. "I’ve retired from that line of work and have no interests in going back to it. I will not join you."
"Perhaps you should think on it a few days, I will—"
"I said NO!" growled Vegeta, his calm breaking as he bared sharp canines at her.
Kijo studied him for a long moment, her face unreadable. "Foolish of you to refuse," she said in a neutral voice. "You’re like him, like him in many ways—I can tell just by looking and listening to you. Such power… such pride.
No one knew who the ‘him’ was that Kijo spoke of, but before any could ponder it farther, Kijo sighed and pulled a small remote from her coat.
"I suppose I’ll have to pull out my ace." she pressed a button on the remote. Everyone tensed, muscles coiling to jump into action. To their surprise, no attack came. Instead a holographic screen appear to float at Kijo’s shoulder, like some high tech slide projector. The dragon ball crew didn’t untense as a picture flashed on the screen—if anything they grew tenser. Krillin gave a startled gasp.
"I believe this belongs to you," said Kijo, with a hint of cold smugness. On the screen was a picture of Juunana out cold.
"Juu… Where’s Juuhachi!" Krillin shouted, suddenly leaping out of his chair and into a fighting stance.
"Juuhachi?" said Kijo, lifting an eyebrow. "What an odd name, but then again they are over half machine I suppose that makes them android, does it not? Some kind of bio-soldiers you’ve created, not worth giving a real names," that cool smile stayed on her lips.
"Shut up! Don’t you talk about my wife like that, you filthy bitch!" Krillin shouted. To say the small ex-monk was upset was an understatement.
"Krillin," Bulma cautioned, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Kijo’s other eyebrow went up, whether from the news that a human would marry an android or from Krillin’s language it was hard to say.
"Where is she?! What have you done to her?! If you’ve hurt her, I swear I’ll—!"
"Krillin!" Vegeta barked, making the human step back from him with a shocked look. "You’re not helping," he said softly, face once again unreadable. "What do you want?" he said, voice hinting at ice.
"I told you. You," smiled Kijo. "Swear yourself loyal to my lord and come with me to serve, and I’ll release your toy soldiers. Perhaps if you please Lucifer he will spare your little planet as well, Saiya-jin." She leaned back in midair, arms crossed with a smug look plastered on her face. "What will it be, Saiya-jin no ouji? Do you accept or should I dispose of your little friends?"
They stared each other down for a long moment that seemed to drag on forever.
"No."
Shock flashed on Kijo’s face as well as everyone else’s.
"I refuse," said Vegeta. He could have been chiseled from stone, for all the emotion he displayed.
"Ve… Vegeta!" shouted Krillin. "If you don’t do something, Juunana and Juuhachi are going to die!"
"They knew the risks when they went up there," said Vegeta, still in that blank tone.
"You… you bastard! How can you be so cold!" shouted Krillin.
Kijo laughed, gaining their attention once more. "An interesting creature you are, Saiya-jin, I thought your kind were pack hunters that always looked after their own. Maybe the info I read was wrong."
"They are not part of my pack. They mean nothing to me."
"Cold as ice, hot as fire," purred Kijo, seeming to study him with her haunting purple eyes. "Pity you won’t join, Saiya-jin. It would have been a pleasure to see what makes you tick. We are of course enemies now. We will take this world and smash it to pieces, leaving everyone and everything on it in ruins, including yourself, Saiya-jin no ouji," her eyes glowed an eerie purple. She tossed back her head and laughed; a musically sound tainted with cruelty and sadistic pleasure.
The group of warriors growled, and Vegeta wasn’t the only one to flash to super Saiya-jin and send a quick ki blast at the laughing woman. The blasts zoomed right through her and crashed into the ground behind her, throwing up clucks of dirt and grass.
"H-how?" Pan stuttered in shock, lowering her hands to stare with wide eyes at the figure before her. She, Base, Goten, and Vegeta had all aimed blasts that had struck and gone harmlessly through her. The other’s had their hands raised to do likewise, but they’d paused to stare with shock when no damage was delivered.
Kijo turned her head back to face them; her image flickered with static for a moment. "Sayonara, Saiya-jin no ouji, may your rest be eternally peaceful." She struck up that musical laugh again as her image flickered again and she winked out of existence. A small machine no bigger then a pager dropped to the grass.
"Hologram," said Bulma breathlessly.
They all stared with wide eyes at the tiny machine till the stomping of feet running was heard. Seconds later Trunks came charging out of the lab, looking around with concern.
"What happened?!" he asked, seeing the crater in the lawn and everyone’s expressions.
"You’re a little too late, Trunks," said Goten. "She’s gone." he glanced down at the machine. "If she was ever here to begin with."
"Huh?" said Trunks in confusion.
Everyone stopped dead as Krillin reached up and fisted a hand in the front of Vegeta’s shirt, yanking the Saiya-jin prince down to his height. "Vegeta," his voice shook with rage. "Why…? Why?! Tell me why?!" he shouted fisting his other hand in the Saiya-jin’s shirt.
"She’s not worth it."
Vegeta jerked back a step, head tilted back. Krillin, shaking with rage, slowly lowered his clenched fist. Everyone seemed to hold his or her breath as the Saiya-jin prince slowly stood up straight and titled his head down. A line of blood ran down the corner of his mouth from the blow to the face the short human had given him. His eyes were dancing black fire again, but he made no move to return the favor. His posture was strangely undefensive. Vegeta’s tongue licked out to gather the line of blood, then he spat as if he
didn’t like the taste of it.
"You’re no better then they are, Vegeta," said Krillin in a cold voice.
"What did you expect me to do, human?" Venom dripped from his voice when he spoke the word human.
"Help them! Do whatever it took to get them back!" shouted Krillin.
"Help them," said Vegeta, his voice so bleak it sent a chill down their spines. "Save them so that others can die, you mean."
"What?!" demanded Krillin.
"You are a fool, Krillin. You wanted me to say ‘yes’?" rage flickered in his voice. "You want me to save your damn woman and her damn brother, this pathetic planet, and go out and start committing mass genocide again?!" shouted the prince in open rage. "I am no man’s property! No creature’s hound! Never again! Never again will another rule over me! I refuse to be used like that again!" shouted the Saiya-jin, teeth bared in an animal-like snarl. So furious were his words that everyone close to him took a step back.
For a moment Krillin looked scared of him. Then understanding, and last a little ashamed thought most of the shame was masked by worry. "She’s my wife, Vegeta," he said softly, mournfully.
Vegeta glared as him and wordlessly stalked out to stand outside not far from them or the house. "They’re not helpless," said Vegeta, voice still hard, but loud enough for them to hear. "If they’re alive then I won’t count them out…. not yet." He tilted his head back and glazed up at the sky; late it was, but it was still light out. A thumbnail portion of the moon could be seen already high in the sky.
"That bitch is hard to kill… I should know," he muttered to himself.
*~*~*~*~*