Now, anyone who watches the series Dragonball Z knows that there
is one rule of thumb;
Never make Gohan angry. No, let me correct that; Never EVER make Gohan angry.
Apparantly, Kuraft did not know this.
For when all the dust and debris had cleared from the air, he was still there. There was his first mistake. His second came soon after when he started laughing again. Granted, it is pretty standard to laugh when your enemy's attack doesn't kill you. It's a way to express your elation and relief while at the same time annoying your enemy.
Though it's not to say that Potaeo had not felt the effects of Katera's Absolute Zero attack. Think Freezer after the Genki Dama, only worse.
Potaeo stood in a low depression in the ground, a result of the upheaval the attack had caused. He leaned heavily upon one leg, as the other was torn pretty badly. His clothes were in shreds, and his hair mussed up. True to Saiyan form however, it hadn't been that neat to begin with. One arm was up clutching the other one, on the same side as the battered leg. It appeared that he'd turned to take the brunt of the attack on one side. His face was horribly burned, melting into one bloody mess. His breath rasped, and a thin trickle of crimson escaped the side of his mouth, indicating internal injuries. Absolute Zero had done quite a number on him. Any other Saiyajin would have been dead.
Potaeo dragged one step out of himself towards Gohan and Katera, but found that anything beyond that was not happening. He glared at them with dead eyes, his jaw hanging low. A deep-set cough wracked his now seemingly-weak frame and a thick mass of blood and perhaps innards splattered the ground beneath him. Not soon after that, Potaeo joined it, falling face forward and throwing up a little cloud of dust in tribute. Slowly the ground around him was dyed red.
" Iie, " Sarro whispered, then threw back her head and screamed, " IIEEEE!! "
Vejiita flew forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, fearful of the premonition that Sarro seemed to be nearing Super Saiyajin level. (That wouldn't do!) He shook her violently, snapping her head forward so that she had to look at him.
" Sarro! " he shouted. " That wasn't your father! It's that Dark Power's way of using you! "
" No. " Piccolo stated.
Vejiita turned to glare at him. How dare he undermine his efforts at making things right. This was a one-time occurance!
Piccolo turned and glared right back. " That was her father, only he was being controlled as much as she. "
" How do you know that? " Vejiita snapped. He really hated being wrong.
Piccolo pointed to the ground. " That's how. "
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It had taken him forever, but he'd finally accomplished it.
Yamcha had escaped Oranjuu.
He had been flying pretty steadily towards where the ki readings from the battle had gone right off the scale, only to suddenly drop, and was now in the process of rising again. It suffices enough to say that Yamcha was confused.
" Yamcha!! " a somewhat boyish (okay, really boyish) voice rang out. Yamcha paused mid-flight and looked back. " Yaa, Kuririn! " he greeted.
" Hey! " Kuririn came to a halt before his friend. " You headed for Gokuu's too? "
" Oh yeah, " Yamcha looked behind him in the direction he had been heading, " that is where it is... "
" Yeah, " Kuririn turned grim, " I figure this is it. "
" Hm? "
" The reason why Sarro's here. The Real reason. " Kuririn started flying again, as did Yamcha.
Yamcha looked at him guiltily. " You figured it out too, huh? "
" Yeh, things just didn't add up, you know? " Kuririn shook his head, " She's definately more powerful than Katera, retirement or not, she shouldn't have had to come to Gokuu for help. That, and there's too many-- " Kuririn trailed off, not sure how to articulate it.
" Too many inconsitancies in her behaviour, " Yamcha offered.
" Yeah. I think that 'scared little girl' thing is just an act. "
Yamcha gave a wry grin, " I know it is. She's clever. "
" Yeah, you two make a good couple. " Kuririn commented off-handedly.
Yamcha blinked, then turned red. Clearing his throat he inquired in what he hoped was an off-hand tone, (it wasn't) " What makes you say that? "
Kuririn laughed. " Come on, Yamcha, I know you too well! Besides, Pouar told Oolong, which means the whole rest of us know. "
" That Gossip! " declared Yamcha in embarassment.
" Don't worry, Yamcha, " Kuririn said, " I'm sure everything will turn out fine. "
Famous last words.
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No one who was actually at ground zero was thinking that. More or less, their thoughts were of doom and a disappointment that they couldn't fight. Oh, wait, that last one was just Gokuu.
" That's how. "
Blood was no longer seeping from Potaeo's body. Instead it had been replaced by darkness. Pure, viscous darkness oozed from Potaeo's prone body, and began to mold itself into a form; a humanoid form. What resulted from this may be hard to explain. A thin, almost skeletal figure one moment, the next filled out, though not overly so, and back again, like a wavering flame of inky black. It stood on two legs though no feet seemed to be visible, it was almost as if it hung above the ground. From a skeletal face gazed pure molten silver eyes, as deep and fathomless as space itself, bright as the purest blue star. The darkness it seemed to be made out of glinted deep violet, the colour rippling across the surface like reflections on water.
Sarro's lips parted dryly, and her voice rasped on the word, " Kuraft. "
It turned and looked at her then, those silver eyes penetrating her soul. A mouth that had no been there until it spoke formed these words, " Ah, my dearest daughter, Sarrosama. I have reconsidered your future. I see greatness as things stand now. You must die to avert this. My dearest apologies, I will so miss our game. "
Okay, that was easy. Seemed Vejiita didn't even have to figure out a way to bring Sarro back to her senses, Kuraft had done that on it's own. Weird. That was almost too easy.
Then again, Sarro wasn't moving. Any sane person would have, he didn't know, retorted or something. At least moved, looked worried... Sarro was just staring. Was the woman in shock? Did she even realize what was going on? Was he going to have to protect her from that blast Kuraft had just sent at her?
Yup, he was gonna have to.
Damn.
Reacting quicker than that narrative makes it seem, Vejiita dove to the side, grabbing Sarro around the shoulders and dragging her to the ground. Vejiita, who's not used to saving people by any means, overshot and the two Saiyajin hit the ground hard.
Kuraft's blast peirced the darkness covering Chikyuu and the cloud- like cover consumed it whole, leaving no trace of the blast at all in it's wake.
A slight breeze caressed the battlefield.
Vejiita pushed himself up and glared over his shoulder at Kuraft. First he used Sarro, then tried to kill her when she was getting to be a bother? Normally Vejiita couldn't have cared less, but this reminded him of a situation he'd once found himself in. Only, he hadn't been toyed with emotionally like Sarro had. Kuraft had been destroying Sarro long before this moment.
Again this made Vejiita wonder over how easily things seemed to be going. Just a moment ago Kuraft had been holding onto Sarro with a vice grip, now he was letting her go, just like that?
Sarro stared up at Vejiita in a daze. She'd been saved... saved from her father... her father had tried to... no... Kuraft had tried to... she'd almost... died... she'd almost... undermined...
Sarro, pull yourself together! echoed Dende's voice within her mind.
Sarro refused to. How could she? She'd-- she'd--
Sarro sat up and nearly fell forward before Vejiita was forced to catch her. " Sarro! " he shouted in her face, but she could only stare, the tears beginning to come.
" What have I... done? " she whispered.
Meanwhile, as this was happening, Gohan was struggling with the fact
that Potaeo, or Kuraft, or whoever had been the cause of
Katera's impending death. I say impending because she wasn't yet but
she was well on her way back to Lord Enma's. (and was not happy about it)
The little half-Saiyajin's hands clenched around fistfuls of Katera's gi.
You see, Gohan is a lot like his father in the respect that he will willingly accept people to their entirety. He didn't care what Katera had done in the past. He didn't care about her assasination plans for Vejiita. She was his sister now, and he loved her unconditionally. The only thing worse than attacking a friend of the Son family is attacking a family member.
Gohan's power had begun to build. He'd learned control since Radditz's arrival, but there were still the occasional times when that control waned. Most noticeably when Gohan's emotions reached immense peaks. He'd just lost his sister. Katera hadn't really been that bad, she could be awfully nice when you got to know her...
Ki energy welled up around Gohan, and the little boy stood, with his eyes always on the slightly smaller form of Katera. Slowly he opened his fists and turned to face the black form of Kuraft. Gohan looked up with glassy eyes that screamed for retribution. Gathering his power, he drew upon the attack based on his mentor's power,
" Masen-kou!! "
The bright yellow attack coursed through the air, engulfing the space Kuraft had occupied, but not the Dark Power itself. Kuraft phased out, disappearing for a moment, then reappearing in the sky. Gohan shot at him again in outrage, but missed again, and again, and then again. He paused when Kuraft did not appear again, and narrowed his eyes in search.
Suddenly his ki sense alterted him and he spun around, only to collide with the Dark Power itself. The taller form looked down upon the small boy with an unnerving gaze and Gohan remained paralyzed, unable to move when Kuraft backhanded him clear across what had been the Son homestead.
" Gohan! " Gokuu hollered after his son, watching as the boy bounced several times before coming to rest face down in the grass. Pain wracked Gokuu's body and he fell back with an outcry.
This wasn't fair! He wanted to fight!
Vejiita watched the exchange between Gohan and Kuraft with anger clear on his face. Growling he turned back to Sarro and grasped her by the shoulders again.
" Sarro! " he shouted in her face, " Go over there by Kakarrot! I'll take care of this myself! " Why he even bothered to say that was beyond him. Getting to his feet, he left Sarro slumped over and ran towards Kuraft.
He was going to end this.
One way or another.
He was sick of it.
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[I wonder if this counts as Sarro coming to her senses... Well... maybe. Anyway, time for the usual round of plot-point questions; Can Vejiita hold his own against the Dark Power Kuraft? Is Katera really going to die? Will Sarro releive Gokuu of his pain and let him fight? Will Yamcha and Kuririn be of any help at all? The next chapter was the last one in version one, will it be this time? Only time will tell! Later!]
[Written by Inseiko, 2000]
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