"Check mate!" "What?!" Ryan was grinning - "I Win!!" "How?!" Little Trunks asked him with disbelief. "I got your king, so I win." "I don't get this game..." The two were playing chess in the docking room of Ryoko's ship. Minagi was grinning as she watched them play. "Wanna try again?" "Nah...I'll just lose. You always win. You're such a dork, Ryan." "Hey!"
Ryoko sat uneasily in the cockpit. Trunks and Vegeta were waiting in the main hall. "What's wrong with me?" she asked herself. Sweat was beading up on her forehead. "Why do I feel so weak? Maybe I'm just having a hard time focusing because I didn't get enough sleep." She knew that was just an excuse. The two men suddenly walked in, and stood behind her. "We almost there?" Trunks asked. "Yeah. Shouldn't be long now." "It would've been easier just flying here ourselves," Vegeta tried to explain to her. "Maybe, but it would take a lot longer to find the place ourselves. I got radar on this thing. Should only take a minute to locate the base. Besides, why waste energy when we don't have to?" She looked back at him and smiled. "Why don't you just sit back and relax for once?"
Minagi entered just as the two had walked back out of the cockpit area. She stood behind her mother and rested her arm on her seat. "You doing ok?" "Why does everyone keep asking me that?!" "Sorry! Just wondering. You don't look that good, that's all." Just like how Ryoko was connected with Washu and Ryo-ohki, Minagi was connected with Ryoko. She knew something was wrong as she stood and stared at her. "Hey! Are you gonna stare at me, or are you gonna help me?" "Oh! Alright! What do want me to do?" "You know that drawer to your left?" "This one?" "Yeah. Open it up, and hand me an aspirin. Deliveries and androids and psychotic military leaders...I'm getting too old for all of this..." Minagi giggled as she handed her the pill.
"Oh, hey! There it is!" The two boys quickly ran in, followed by their fathers. Ryoko now had the images from radar up, and began plotting the entrances. "We'll land here. We're about 200 yards from the Headquarters main entrance. Instead of going directly to the front, we'll approach the base at an angle, and enter from the side. There are probably cameras and androids scouting the area." Ryoko found a place to bring the massive ship down, and they all jumped out as soon as the ship landed. As soon as everyone was out, she walked over to the back, opened a hidden flap, and pressed a button. Poof! In a second, the huge ship was enclosed in a tiny capsule, and she stuck it in her pocket. "Ok then! Let's go!!" The six warriors took flight, weaving in and out of the trees in the thick forest. They reached the side entrance Ryoko told them about, and as expected, it was guarded.
That wasn't much of a problem though; the two androids proved to be pathetic excuses for competent guards as they were easily destroyed by the intruders. They now stood inside the Red Ribbon Headquarters. "Now what?" Trunks looked to his wife. "Hmm... well, I'm not sure exactly where to go." "Great." "No problem! We'll just split up. Minagi! You take Ryan and Trunks with you." "Aye aye!" "You three will head upstairs. Vegeta, you take the right hall, and Trunks, you take the left. "Fine." "And I'll take the main hall." They all gave each other their final looks, and then quickly headed down their assigned locations. "It looks like we have some company." Will stood in the main control center, and was watching them all on numerous monitors. He was talking to a surprisingly, smaller android. It looked similar to that of the one Ryoko destroyed a few days ago. "Well, I guess I'm off to meet our guests."
"I wish...[pant]..I knew...[pant]..where we...[pant]..were going!" Minagi yelled in between breaths as she and the boys ran down the long hall. "Don't you have any experience raiding places like this?" Trunks asked her. "I mean, you're a space pirate, aren't you?" "Yeah... I was. Let me think..[pant] ...well, Ryoko sent us upstairs. That's usually where the main controls and security sectors are located." She suddenly skidded to a stop, with the two boys almost running into her. "Why'du stop?!" Ryan asked. "Dead end," she replied.
Ryoko continued sprinting down what seemed to be an endless hallway. "I hope everyone's having better luck than I am!" she thought to herself. Her legs suddenly cramped up, sending her forward. She would've landed on her face if she hadn't put her arms out in front of her as she hit the ground. "Ungh!! pant... ouch..." She tried pushing herself back up to her feet, but couldn't. "Wha..what's wrong......I..I can't.." Ryoko's body gave out as she collapsed, falling completely to the floor. Everything turned black and she slipped into unconsciousness.
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Water dripped from a broken pipe on the ceiling. The dripping sound wasn't loud, but tedious enough to wake Ryoko up, who was now in chains, tied up against the wall. "Wh-where...am I?" She felt like she was drugged. "Ugh...," she moaned. Her body was so weak, it took a lot of effort just to breathe. She began to look around the room when her vision was finally clear. The room was small and musty; the only opening being a door, which was closed. "I have to get out of here..." She tried to pull her arms from the wall; a would-be simple feat for a Saiyan with her strength was now utterly impossible. "I wouldn't waste the little energy you have left." Will said to her, as he opened the door and walked inside. Her attention was quickly turned to him. "Let me go," Ryoko said sternly. He smiled at her. "Nah...I think I'm going to keep you there for a while. How do you feel?" "How do you think I feel, Jerk?! I'm tied up!!" "That's not what I mean. How do you feel? Tired? I know that normally it would be no problem for you to get out of those chains..." She was confused. "...What do you mean?" "Didn't sleep well last night, did you? I'm guessing you didn't eat anything this morning either." He was grinning at her. She was beginning to get freaked out. "Did you have a bad dream, too? I wasn't too shocked to find you lying on my floor.... pretty glad actually. You saved me the trouble of having to knock you out myself." "What are you talking about?!! ....How..do you know that?!"
"Well, I guess it's only fair that I tell you. You see, I've always been fascinated with robots. They're much more advanced than humans in the sense that, they don't have any faults. The only faults they receive are those of their creators, humans. They don't need to sleep, eat, or have any other mortal need or desire. There is something else that's interesting with robots. They can't get sick. You are quite powerful, that's obvious. But as your friend Goku had demonstrated, even Saiyans can die from common diseases. Not saying the one you're suffering from is very common though..." Ryoko's eyes opened wide when she heard him say that. "That's right. You know that gun I shot you with at the club? I loaded it with bullets that's tips carried the disease. I shot you in the forehead with one of them." She was in shock. "The disease is called Hemohalluciphoria. I created it. You want to know what it does? I'm sure you've partly guessed already. It's a radical virus that goes directly into your main system, affecting mainly your blood flow. It acts as a censor, telling your blood cells to discontinue reproduction. They stop dividing, and slowly, your blood count starts to drop as they get old and begin to die off. That's why you feel so weak. You're body lacks nourishment because it's no longer asking for it. There's also a hallucinogen in it, which attacks your nervous system. If you don't die first from going mad, then you'll eventually die from lack of blood. So, yes, it's definitely fatal."
Ryoko was speechless. All she could do is hang there and stare at him with her mouth dropped open. "What's the matter? You should feel honored - you're the first person to host my virus." She closed her eyes and hung her head, gritting her teeth. "Yeah....honored." She was beginning to accept her fate. There wasn't anything she could do anyway, the virus had already taken its effect. "Now I understand why I was feeling so awful," Ryoko thought to herself. "Who would've guessed...."
"Alright. So, I'm going to die. Let's end the suspense - what are you planning?" she asked him. "Ahh.. I'm glad you asked. My great uncle was such a fool - he depended on other humans for the success of his company. And then he went on that scavenger hunt for those Dragon Balls... but there's an easier and more straight-forward way to world domination..." "World domination? Please! That's so overdone! Let me guess... you plan on infecting the entire human race with this virus, and then rebuild it with androids that do your bidding, am I right?" "Wow, you really are a lot smarter than you look!" "That's the stupidest....Ugh!" He elbowed her in the gut. "Hmm. I had a feeling you wouldn't agree. That's fine. It doesn't matter. You will die, and so will your precious family." She was hunched over and choking for air, but was still able to look up and glare at him. "...Well, at least... answer this...question. Why..did you send...that android to take... the capsules I was delivering?" "Heh. Didn't you know? If it weren't for that Dr. Briefs, the Red Ribbon would be the number one company for providing vehicles and other equipment. When Capsule Corporation took over, our sales dived. But, I've seen what you've done since you've worked there, and I must say, I'm impressed. If you weren't so dangerous to have around, I probably would've had you work for me instead of killed. But you do make an excellent test dummy," he laughed. Ryoko growled at him.
"So that's it? You just plan on decimating the entire human race?" "Afraid so! Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I better go check on the other intruders before they do something stupid. I'll be seeing you in a while... If you're still alive by then." He started heading towards the door. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. This disease of mine... it's very contagious," he said while popping a pill in his mouth as he locked the door behind him. Ryoko was furious. As soon as he left, she began yanking at her chains. She got tired quickly though, and it didn't do any good. "What the hell am I gonna do?!" She was sobbing now. "Even if I use the little energy I have left to get out of these chains, my effort will just be in vain. I won't have any energy left to do anything else. I'll just be stuck in here to die... I feel so helpless. DAMMIT!!!"
"Minagi, we've been standing here forever. Let's just head back..." Ryan was tugging at his sister's sleeve. "Wait! This wall is hollow," she said banging on it. "..There must be a way inside..." "HAAA!!!" Trunks shot an energy blast at the wall, breaking it open. "I found a way," he said, grinning. They began slowly walking into the dark room. Different colored lights were flashing on the left. "...I was right! This is it! This is the control room!" Minagi said, excited. "Wow! Look at all the buttons!!" The two boys ran over to the computer panel. "...Hey now..don't touch anything!! Huh? What's that?" She heard what sounded like running water. "Huh. That's odd. Hey, you two! Stay here! I'll be back...!" "Ok." both boys answered back, not paying attention to her. Minagi started down a long dark corridor, which became lighter the further she went. "Ahhh! I knew it!!" When she came to the end, she saw what seemed to be a small submarine docking bay, but there were no ships. Nobody was there. A steel ladder led down into the water. "...I wonder where it leads. I guess I'll just have to go and find out!" She stood at the edge of the water, and dove down some 50 ft, ignoring the ladder. The water was cold as it came in contact with her skin. She swam deep down, saw a long tunnel leading out, and started swimming through it.
The paths Trunks and Vegeta took seemed to be even longer than the others, but reconnected at the end. The two almost ran into each other when the paths rejoined. "Huh! That's weird. You find anything?" Trunks asked Vegeta. "No. It was just a long stupid hall." "Same here. Let's continue on ahead." They now began walking down the one wide pathway. When they came to the end, the room was completely opened up. "It's...huge! Like an oversized warehouse!" Trunks stood in amazement. They suddenly heard someone coming from the side, and hid. It was Will Red, and the same android he was with before. When they got a good look around, they finally realized where they were. It was the main development room. Hundreds of androids were now being molded and pieced together by other machines. Will had now come to check on the progress. He looked satisfied. "It's... an army," Vegeta stammered. "Yeah. I wonder what he's planning to do with them all?" "What do you think?! Take over the world, what else?"
The tunnel was finally ending, just as Minagi had run out of air. She surfaced, breathing hard, and begun looking around once she caught her breath. She was in another room that looked similar to the one she had just came from. There was only one door on the other side of the room, and it was locked. "Hiyaa!!" she yelled, kicking the door open. Bright sunlight quickly filled the room. She begun to walk out the door, until she found out there wasn't much further for her to go as she almost fell off the edge. "Wow!! It's...huge!!!" She was standing on a small platform, set high above a huge dam. The surging river was pouring into the wall, running large turbines. Past the wall, water flowed out into a smaller river that continued for miles throughout the forest. "It's a hydro-electric plant! He has all this energy to himself? It's enough to fuel the entire city! This is crazy!!" Minagi was in shock as she watched the gushing water. "Wow. Well, I guess there's nothing I can do here..." She started to turn back, then noticed another platform far across the river; and a door. "What does that lead to?" she wondered. "Might as well find out!" She leapt off the edge, falling quickly toward the water's edge, purposely missing by an inch as she pulled up, and landed on the other platform. "That was fun..," she laughed to herself. She grabbed the doorknob, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't, and she swung the door open.
"This reminds me of Minagi's intergalactic war video game at home!" Ryan was saying, as he continued pushing buttons in the control room. "Speaking of Minagi, where did your sister go?" Trunks asked him. "Huh?" He looked back, and she wasn't there. "..I dunno. Did she say she was going somewhere?" "I think so...not sure. Oh well. Let me try now!"
Will was gone, and Vegeta and Trunks began looking around. "How strong do you think they are?" Trunks wondered. "Not that strong, I'll bet." Vegeta answered. He was examining an arm he took off the assembly line. When he was done getting a good look at it, he crushed it. "Let's destroy these things now, before we get a chance to find out." "Right. Good idea!"
Ryoko was feeling awful, and the continual dripping from the pipe wasn't making it any better. Suddenly the door began opening again. Will was walking back in again; she didn't even try to turn her head to see. He walked up to her, and rested two fingers on the side of her neck to check her pulse. He felt a very slow thump from her heartbeat. Her arms and legs hung from their chains; she wouldn't be up if they weren't holding her. "Poor thing. I almost feel bad for you. I know how strong you are, but I'm still quite surprised that you're still alive." He stared at her. She didn't move in the slightest. "Stubborn girl. Give up already. You wouldn't be in so much pain if you'd just give up and die." He sighed with his frustration, then backed up, and leaned against the opposing wall. "You're a fool. Well, at least I finally finished you. Now you can join all your other little friends up in the other world that I killed a long time ago." That caught Ryoko's attention. Her heart begun beating faster now, and she pulled her head up to glare at him. "What did you say?" "Hmm? Oh, you were listening?" "You...you.. you killed them?!!" "Oh, you mean that boy Tenchi and all of your other little friends? What were their names again? Oh yeah... the princesses, Ayeka and Sasami... your mother, Washu, oh and those two police officers, Mihoshi and Kiyone. I remember now, yes that's right...." Ryoko was enraged. She clenched her teeth and fists. "..grrrr...YOU! You KILLED THEM!!! I...I'll never forgive you!!! I HATE YOU!!!" He stood, staring at her calmly. "Well, I guess you could say I was responsible. That was when I sent a prototype of mine to some random planet to test its power. Ironic that you were there at the time..." "...Shut up..." "..You all were so weak, I'm surprised you didn't die too. It took you 3 years just to get strong enough to beat it." "...I said..SHUT UP!!!" She was now pushed over the line, and started to transform. Her power was coming from the pure rage that was building up inside of her. "HAAA!!!!" Her hair stood up for a second, but quickly changed back, as she collapsed, completely exhausted. "I told you not to waste your energy," he said, laughing at her. Ryoko was so pissed off, but she couldn't do anything. She had just used up the last of her energy, and tears begun streaming down her face. "...I can't...believe it.." she said, mumbling. "Well, it's been fun, but I think I'm gonna get going. I don't really want to be around when my serum finishes you off....that won't be a pretty sight. Besides, I have other business to attend to. World domination and all that; you understand." Ryoko hung from her chains, crying in misery. "Oh, and don't forget to say 'hi' to your friends for me, ok?" He mentioned, while he walked out the door. He didn't close it.
Minagi could hear her own footsteps echo through the long, dank hallway. Pipes lined the walls and ceiling. "I wonder where I am now," she thought to herself. She turned a corner, and saw Will Red walking out of a room just ahead. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands, and backed up back behind the corner hoping he didn't hear her. He suddenly stopped and looked back. Nobody was there, so he continued walking forward. Minagi waited until he was out of sight, then turned back around the corner. "That was close. I wonder what he was doing?" She approached the open door, and turned to look inside. "MOM!!!" She quickly ran to her mother's side. "..Mom? Are..are you ok?!" She wasn't sure if she was still alive. She pulled off the metal shackles, releasing Ryoko who started to fall as soon as she was free. Minagi caught her, and held her close. "She's still alive...thank god. What happened to her?!" She set Ryoko down, and leaned her against the wall. Minagi tried to gently wake her mother up, but it wasn't working. "Come on...please. Wake up mom..." Her eyes began to water. Ryoko suddenly came to, and slowly opened her eyes to see her daughter's teary face. "....Mi..nagi..?" "Yeah... you're free now. I'm...I'm gonna get you out of here..."
Next: Chapter 6 - "Retaliation"
Jaz - August, 2003
http://saiyananimeplanet.cjb.net
Naluchik11@Hotmail.com
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