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Notes:This was hard chapter to write, but it's finally done. Trunks and Goten powered up to super-saiyan as the thing hit Cillia. He picked her up around the middle and shot into the air. Goku appeared below them with most of the Z-senshi holding onto him. Vegeta arrived moments later, as did Gohan. The figure laughed. "How nice! My own welcoming comitee! Do you pathetic fools actually think you can beat me? Ha! That's the best joke I've heard in a long, long time," it said. "What are you?" shouted Goku at the the bellowing figure. "What do you want with Earth?" He stopped chortling. "Earth, my dear boy? Not a thing. I have no use for insignificant planets who have to have aliens serve as their protectors. All I want is Mariel. I shall simply blow this planet up to keep it from sheltering other refugees," He stated quite coldly. All of the Z senshi stared at him. They couldn't do a thing, some of them couldn't even sense his power, it would overload their sensory input. Cillia moaned and stirred faintly. The cloaked head seemed to look at her, then sweep the field. He raised his hand. All of the senshi less powerful than 18 felt a powerful blast of wind that whistled in their ears and pressed in on them from all sides. The pressure kept rapidly increasing until they screamed in agony. Their tormentor laughed cruelly and the pressure increased. All of the senshi were feeling the pain, but arteries, veins, and capillaries began to burst on the skin of Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin. Yamcha and Tien both escaped the agony they were in long enough to aim their hands at their heads and charge up a blast. In a few seconds there was nothing left of them. 18 was feeling like she was about to implode, but she looked at Krillin. He was laying flat on the ground, bleeding from almost every pore. As she watched, his skull began to collapse. She felt her heart start to break at the thought of losing him, and forgot her pain. She lept into the air and screamed, "STOP!" Amazingly, it worked. His head jerked, and his hand fell. The pressure immediately lifted from the warriors. He looked at her with-she imagined-fury and bellowed, "What do you think you are doing?" 18 hovered, trembling. "I'm stopping you. I don't care how, I don't care the cost. You will not kill Krillin!" she shouted defiantly. Cillia's mind was sluggish in its unconscious state, but she could hear everything that happened. When she heard a female voice laden with despair cry out through the screams, she felt in 18 a kindred spirit, who could not live without her beloved. Also, another part of her mind remembered becoming unconscious, and realized that she was probably in enemy hands(though she didn't know how literally accurate she was). It was this part who forced her very slowly to consciousness, keeping her power down so to appear to still be out. When she was awake enough to be aware of her surroundings, she was looking at the ground. She was aware of a thin, bone-like arm around her waist, and since she was looking at the ground, she noticed that Vegeta, Goku(whom she identified from her history texts), Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and a small, bald man she identified as Krillin(also from her text) were lying on the ground. When she saw Krillin, she almost retched, and didn't only because of that sixth sense that reminded her that someone, probably the enemy, was holding her. 18 started to raise her power, and was unaware that it far surpassed any of her previous records. Goku, Trunks, Gohan, and Goten had suffered the least, so they formed in front of her, all moving immediately into SSJ2. Vegeta followed them swiftly, completing a triangle formation. They all moved to attack him at once. most of them completely missed their mark because the thing moved too fast. Only three hands connected. They belonged to Goten, Trunks, and 18. She was just as surprised as the rest when she punched him in the stomach and he recoiled, letting her snatch Cillia from his grasp. Much to everyone's surprise, the previously inert Cillia sprang from 18's arms and hovered upright, glaring at the now revealed captor. "C-C-Cillia!" gasped Trunks. She smiled grimly and kept her eyes on the figure. He laughed, which infuriated her further. "Mariel, you truly may be the challenge I have searched for for so long. It was very wise of you to use your ki to support those you are close to." Cillia's jaw dropped, as did Trunks', Goten's, and 18's. "What do you mean, and why did you call me Mariel!" she screamed at him. He chuckled. "Why princess, haven't you figured it out? No, I can see you haven't. Even after I contacted your subconcious to make you remember Shenlong-sei. Maybe this will help," he said as he raised his hand yet again. Cillia screamed. She had never felt anything like it. The only think she could begin to compare it to was jumping unprotected into flame. Her entire body was hot enough to be its own sun, her skin felt like it was being burned to ash and flaking of. She instinctively tried to curl into a fetal position. She felt like she was growing another set of arms from her back, painfully, slowly. They seemed to extend far beyond her regular set, and were heavier as well. She didn't notice this until a bit later. She almost overlooked completely the furry protruberence that had grown from her back at waist level. All she noticed at that moment was the sweetly intense pain. To those watching, it was nothing short of spectacular. As she screamed, her body was encased in brilliant white light so intense they were forced to squint, look away, or be blinded. They saw the tail lash its way free from the flesh of her back. They also saw the wings. They had a span of 10 feet when fully extended. Goten couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he saw the opposed thumb on them, which meant she had the same type of wings bats and-supposedly-dragons had. The two other things they noticed were that her clothing had changed and her hair had grown a bit longer. Her clothing was an elaborate black robe with an ice blue sash. Her hair was now at her lower back, if they judged correctly, as it was flying in all directions at the moment. When the pain abated enough for Cillia to be able to hover upright again, she noticed all her changes, not only physical but mental. Her jet black wings she flapped awkwardly once or twice, then let rest. Her tail she found fascinating, waving it to and fro. Her hair was longer, but strangely it refused to tangle. That is a definite bonus, she thought quietly. Her clothes were a kind of robe, elaborate in embroidery and fit. The sash was a light silver blue, tucked so that it appeared to be a continuous piece of fabric. The mental changes were also fascinating, because she was now empathic, as well as telepathic and telekinetic. She could, for instance, tell that Goten and Trunks both wanted to ask if she was alright, but they were both berating themselves at not being able to find their voices. She also accidently gathered that the reason for their speechlessness was her. They thought that her new state made her even more beautiful. She managed to produce a blush that would put a beet to shame. She managed to set up a temporary 'shield' so that she wasn't awash with other's emotions. She also could make sense of more of her memories now, some involved a very kind older brother, and her last memory of him going on a reconnaisance mission and never coming back. Then the beast that stood before her had come, and claimed to extinguish the royal family. She remembered her regal mother putting her in a strange bed, closing glass over it, and having a gas fill it. The next thing she remembered was awakening in a nursery with Bulma and her father standing over her. "Meftul, I shall make you pay for killing my family!" Cillia screamed at him. As she prepared herself to fight, her robe dissapeared and was replaced by a form-fitting black bodysuit. "Oh, now, I wouldn't encourage it Princess. You see, I hate fighting people when I know I'll win." Cillia snarled, reminding everyone strongly of Vegeta, "We'll see." |
