Third Eye

“That’s right,” explained Chaozu. “He’s possessed my friend, Tenshinhan. Someone from another village said you could help us beat Xeon. Can…err…”

With the…little accident that occurred just before Kassex met Yamucha, Puar and Chaozu, it was decided that they would talk about the current situation in her front yard. For some reason, though, as Chaozu was explaining everything that was going on, Kassex broke down into a kind of maniacal laughter. “I knew it!”

Chaozu blinked, “Wha--?”

“You want my help to free your friend from Xeon’s control? You got it!” exclaimed Kassex. “I always knew that Xeon was real and that he would make another appearance…but I never thought that I would be the one to face him…I’ll show all these jerks that like putting me down…We’ll see who’ll be laughing when I have to save their sorry butts from Xeon when he comes for them…I knew I was right…” She continued rambling on.

Yamucha stood up, “Listen, lady, I don’t think you understand what you’re getting in to. This isn’t some kind of game. The body Xeon inhabits is very powerful, and he could destroy you in an instant.”

Kassex looked at Yamucha sternly. “I know what we’re going to be in for a lot better than you do. I know full well how powerful Xeon is…just as I know how powerful you are.”

Yamucha was taken aback, “You do? You can feel a person’s energy?”

“When you deal with powerful forces, as I do, you become attuned to the various forms of life energy. Now then, if we are to rescue your friend from Xeon, we better get moving as soon as possible. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“No doubt, Xeon’s on the hunt for the other artifacts that make up his complete being. With them, he could easily become as powerful as you.” She paused, taking note of her audience’s facial reactions, especially Yamucha’s. Clearly, they were disturbed by the information. “Plus, there’s the issue of the bonding…”

“Bonding?” repeated Chaozu.

“If we don’t separate Xeon’s consciousness encased in that jewel, from your friend within a week, the possession becomes permanent…”

Punch. Punch.

Kick.

Focus.

Twice, Vegeta fought the Human, Yamucha. Twice, Vegeta nearly lost. Yamucha’s path to power wasn’t that of a true warrior. He didn’t earn it…it was given to him. Against his will, true, but it still didn’t change the fact that he didn’t work for his strength. It was clear, though, that he had no qualms about using that strength to his advantage.

Focus.

Kick.

Flip.

The upgrade in his power, usually, would have meant nothing to Vegeta normally, even if Yamucha actually had defeated him. However…Yamucha almost killed him. If it weren’t for Kuririn, he would have been dead right now. Vegeta stopped at that thought. “Damn it all…that means I owe him my life…*Che*…”

Yamucha’s return to power brought up many emotions that had been long past. He saw a lot more of what happened between Bulma and Yamucha that last time than either of them knew. It was painfully obvious that Bulma still had deep feelings for him. Bulma was his and his alone and Vegeta would be damned if it wouldn’t stay that way.

Never before had Vegeta felt so threatened. The life he had now was not the life he envisioned for himself, but he was more content now than at any other time before. The simple pleasures of marriage and fatherhood were better than any of his past conquests or victories and he seriously doubted the life of a royal would be as nice either. There was no way he would allow anyone to take that away from him.

That’s why Vegeta was now training harder than at any time before in his life…harder than he would even to face off against Kakarotto…for the next time he and Yamucha faced off, Vegeta was going to make sure the outcome would be different. And even though, that night, it appeared that Yamucha had walked out of their lives forever, somehow, Vegeta knew that their paths would cross again.

Focus...

Soaring through the sky in an air car, the small group of four raced against time to try to save Tenshinhan and quite possibly the world from King Xeon. The conversation going on between them was quite lively, as Kassex was bombarding Yamucha, Chaozu and Puar with all sorts of questions, especially when she recognized Yamucha from the old footage of the Cell games.

Even though he was, at one point, the topic of conversation, Yamucha remained silent for most of the trip. He took note of their driver carefully. She seemed very confident in her abilities. And it was very clear with the countless questions that she was very inquisitive. From the first impression of her personality, to her not quite shoulder length, deep blue hair and her short, sleeveless dress that matched her hair color, she reminded him very much of...

...of Bulma.

Yamucha gazed out of the window. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, he still couldn’t get that woman out of his head. He did notice something though...before, when he thought about Bulma, all that they had been through and whom she ended up with, Yamucha would always get sad. Those thoughts were usually accompanied by a shot of alcohol of some type, if he was able, to dull the pain. Lately, though…especially after the revelation handed him thanks to Puar, the sadness wasn’t there anymore…it had become something else…If Yamucha had to put that new feeling to words it would have to have been…

Loathing.

“So what are these other artifacts you were telling us about before?” asked Chaozu. The introduction of an important subject snapped Yamucha out of his revere.

“These other artifacts were the main source of his power back when he first ruled my homeland,” started Kassex. “There were two manacles that supplied him with almost unmatchable strength. And there was a jewel that went into the center of his chest plate. With that jewel, he could open a portal to the underworld and gather an army of demons to do his bidding. If he got all of these items in his possession again, he would become nearly unstoppable. I know you and your friends are incredibly strong,” she continued, her attention towards Yamucha. “But I seriously doubt even all of you would be able to stand up to those odds. That’s why it’s imperative that we stop Xeon as soon as possible.”

“If any of those items were in the castle, where we found the crown,” said Chaozu, “He would have had them already when you faced him that first time.”

“Good point,” said Yamucha, uttering his first words since they started on their trip. “I’m guessing when Xeon was defeated the first time, no one took any chances and flung those other things to the far corners of the Earth. Am I right?”

Kassex nodded, “My great ancestor, Kafye ended up dying from the severe injuries he incurred while battling with Xeon. But before he did, he used the last of his magic to scatter those items far away from each other, just as you said.”

“Good. That gives us an edge,” said Yamucha. “Since he doesn’t know where those other items are, he’ll have to take time to search for them. Since we’ll know where he is at any given time by his energy signature, we should be able to beat him to the punch.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. All of the items, somehow, are connected. The items are like compasses. When they’re separated, one item...for the lack of a better term, points towards the others. Xeon may not know the exact location of the items, but he does have a general idea of where they are and it won’t take him long to find them.”

“Great...nothing can ever be simple, can it?” lamented Yamucha.

“We still have an advantage, Yamucha,” Puar reminded him. “He has no idea we now have someone on our side that can undo his possession.”

Yamucha nodded. “I just hope that’ll be enough.”

Xeon took a good look at his surroundings. It would appear that one of his items...likely the one that opened the portals to the demon world was being kept in an ancient pirate cove. If this were like the typical lost pirate cove, then there would be a room where the pirates’ treasure would have been kept. It was likely, then, that the jewel in question would have been lost among a horde of other jewels, much like the crown.

The cove was very dark, with spider webs covering everything. Xeon created a small energy ball to create some light. It didn’t do much to help him. There were corridors everywhere shrouded in shadows, the perfect place for all sorts of unpleasant creatures to hide.

As suspected, a large, carnivorous dinosaur pounced out of one of the shadows, intending to make him its next meal. With a look of distain, Xeon backhanded the dinosaur, knocking the poor unsuspecting predator unconscious, proving again...

Xeon wasn’t one to experience fear. He was one to cause it.

But that wouldn’t happen as long as all of those other fighters were out there. Hopefully, with his other items back in his possession, he would be able to, at least, match them in terms of raw power. The body he had now wielded incredible power as it was. With the added boost his manacles would provide, he would have no problem facing those other fighters, especially the one that faced him in Celeron.

‘One step at a time,’ he thought. He still had to find those other items. He walked down a dark hall and came upon an old, wooden door that appeared to have been forced open. Peering inside, he found a large room with old treasure chests inside. It looked as though this was a treasure room, not unlike the one the crown was found in; only this one was picked clean a long time ago.

‘The room appears empty,’ went Xeon to himself. ‘But I can still feel the gem...it’s close...” Slowly, he walked to the back of the room to where an overturned chest was located. He moved the chest out of the way and found the gem he sought...at the bottom of a shallow hole in the floor. He tried to reach in and retrieve the jewel, but found that his hands were too large for the little hole. So he stood up and focused his energy into a narrow beam and carefully cut around the opening, making the hole larger.

“Heh...one step closer to my return to power,” he said aloud as he retrieved his jewel and placed it on his chest plate. He had his army at his disposal again. Now, all he needed was his strength. He maneuvered his way back out of the cove without incident and allowed his senses to extend. It wasn’t long until he got the general position of his remaining lost item. He let a smile creep across his face. It was just too easy.

His smile suddenly dropped as he felt something else close in on him fast...it was something he had felt before. He turned again and saw, just above the entrance of the cove was an air car. Being from ancient times, he had absolutely no idea what the contraption was, but somehow...he attributed it to Tenshinhan’s abilities, he was able to sense that there were people riding in it...two who were with that guy that stopped him in Celeron, and one other.

Taking no chances, Xeon gathered his ki and fired at the air car, destroying it. Xeon’s fears were realized, however, when the people in the air car actually flew down to the ground unaided...one of those people being Yamucha, whom he hadn’t felt. The little white thing Tenshinhan knew as Chaozu carefully placed a woman down to the ground before landing himself. Xeon didn’t know why, but there was something strangely familiar about this girl...

“You again!” went Xeon.

“That’s right,” said Yamucha. “You won’t be getting away this time! I brought along someone who can remove crown!”

“What?”

Kassex stepped forward. “That’s right! You don’t know me, Xeon, but I think you know of my ancestor...his name was Kafye...”

Xeon’s eyes went wide, “You’re Kafye’s descendant?” The girl nodded cheerfully. ‘Damn...I didn’t think Kafye had any living descendants...this was getting bad...if I don’t find my manacles fast, these people may well stop my march for conquest before it could even get started.’ Xeon did an about-face to fly away, but before he could even blink, Yamucha was behind him.

“Like I said, you won’t be getting away this time,” said Yamucha. “Do it now!”

Kassex brought her hands together and went into a trance, closing her eyes and chanting in a low voice. The wind picked up and began swirling around her, and she began glowing a bright blue. She opened her eyes, which were glowing blue as well and shouted, “BY THE POWER OF THE EARTH, THE WATER AND AIR, REMOVE THIS CROWN! MAKE THIS MAN’S SOUL BARE!!”

She darted her hands forward and the bright blue light shot from them, enveloping Xeon. The light got so intense, that everyone surrounding them had to avert their eyes. When the light faded and the wind died down, everyone looked up, expecting to find their friend had returned to them and the crown that held the consciousness of Xeon on the ground. Instead...

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!!!???” Xeon looked down and found himself completely naked. The spell had indeed left him bare, just not in the way intended.

Kassex blushed, “Oops...”

Xeon trembled with rage...though it could have been a draft... “You will pay for this humiliation!” But as long as Yamucha was there to protect her, he wouldn’t be able to do anything until he had his manacles. He had to get away. The question was how.

The bright flash gave him an idea. He searched through Tenshinhan’s memory and found the perfect technique to assist in his escape. Considering his current state of dress, it would be rather embarrassing, but if it meant having his revenge later, he could...for the lack of a better phrase, bare it. He leaned over slightly, brought his hands to his face and shouted “SOLAR FLARE!”

With Xeon using his energy to simulate the intense light of the sun, everyone surrounding him had to, once again, avert their eyes. By the time the light faded and their eyesight returned, Xeon was gone.

“Well...that could’ve gone better,” said Puar, sarcastically.

Yamucha opened his senses up in an attempt to track Xeon, to no avail. “Damn it...I can’t sense him anywhere!” He turned to Kassex, “What kind of magician are you?”

She looked at him meekly... “An inexperienced one?” Everyone facefaulted. “Listen everyone...I’m sorry about that. I really messed up that time. But I know I can do this. I’ve been training myself for this moment for a long time. I just got a little nervous, that’s all.”

“But who knows if you’ll be able to get your chance again,” Yamucha said somberly. “He’s masking his energy signature from me. I can’t locate him anywhere.”

“Well, since that is true,” started Chaozu, “that must mean he isn’t flying because that puts out a lot of energy. And this is an island. So he’ll have to start flying sometime.”

Yamucha nodded. “Right. So when he starts flying again, we’ll have him. We only have one more opportunity to stop him before he’s back at full power. We can’t lose this opportunity.” He looked at Kassex, “Which means no more screwing up. Okay?”

She saluted him, “You can count on me!”

Chaozu looked up into the darkening skies and said to no one in particular, “Don’t you worry Tenshinhan...we’ll get you back...no matter what it takes…”

Fanfics
Main