All characters presented herein are not of my creation. Dragonball Z and
Sailor Moon are owned by their respective creators and producers.
*********************************
To Protect a Princess
By Tunguska_Boy
Chapter 14
"I'm leaving in the morning." Piccolo's words echoed through their minds.
All the confidence they'd gained through being with him was replaced with
fear.
"Wha-why?" Asked a shaken Usagi.
"Were not done with the training!" Protested Minako. Piccolo's face
remained unchanged. Rei and Makoto remained silent, but their pleading eyes
begged him to stay. Ami just sat quietly, trying not to let her sudden
feeling of uncertainty shake her composure.
"I've taught you all I need to. You know the theory and technique, you do
not need my help to advance in your training further." He said cooly. The
girls became silent as their doubts and fears weighed down on them. "Your
powers have become greater than I had expected, you are the strongest beings
on the planet, aside from myself." His lie disturbed him, the one he had
fought, the one that had cut him was still stronger than they were. "If
they encounter him," he thought, "they may be able to handle him if they act
as one. Their unity is their greatest strength, I wonder if they know that
yet." Piccolo's thoughts trailed off as he looked at the faces of the
girls. They were scared. He was about to explain to them that fear was not
appropriate for the defenders of the earth when their communicators began
beeping in unison. Piccolo smiled slightly. "Well, I suppose we'll have
the chance to fight together one last time."
********
The assault crew had taken over the Hikawa Shrine in a matter of seconds,
it was empty aside from an old man and a scruffy looking younger man. They
were, incidentally, tied up and blindfolded in a supply closet. Bukichi was
there, his cloaker was back at base and his gray skin was illuminated by the
candles they had set up. Bukichi had brought only four men with him on this
mission. Their cloakers were gone as well. In fact, they had no equipment
with them at all save for a small communications device nestled into their
ear and two Cenabide vials tucked away into small compartments on their
belts. Bukichi, being the commander, carried a few more items but it is not
necessary to discuss his equipment now. The more pressing matter being the
rapid descent of the Sailor Senshi and the larger form of Piccolo. They
landed at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the shrine. Piccolo
instructed them to fan out while he and Sailor Moon approached from the
front. Jupiter and Venus made their was to the east side of the temple
while Rei and Ami made their way to the west. Ami was none too thrilled
about being paired with Rei, not because she didn't like her but because
when Rei found out that it was HER shrine that was under siege her face
became a mask of pure, unfettered fury. And at that moment Rei was
scaring the hell out of Ami.
Piccolo and Usagi were walked calmly up the stairs of the shrine. When
they reached the top they saw Bukichi leaning against the wall with his arms
crossed over his chest. He smiled and looked directly at Piccolo. "Miss
me?"
Piccolo narrowed his eyes and moved towards Bukichi menacingly. He stopped
when he felt Moon's hand grab his arm. "Wait," she said, "we can't fight
here, we'd destroy the shrine."
"You're right," said Piccolo to Usagi, "this isn't the place for a fight."
"Excuse me," said Bukichi, "but where are the others?" Bukichi knew full
well where the other Senshi were, the bio-scanner on the roof of the shrine
gave him all the information he needed.
"We are you're only concerns right now." Said Piccolo. "We cannot fight
here, we will go someplace else for this battle." He said matter-of-factly.
Bukichi raised an eyebrow.
"Very well," he said as he walked to the door of the shrine. He rapped
twice on the wall and the four men he'd brought with him emerged. Usagi
took a step back. They looked kind of like Bukichi, but they're skin tones
and hair were different. One was light green, another was dark purple, the
third was bright red, and the fourth was navy blue. "Boys," he said to his
crew, "we're going to take this elsewhere."
"Should we bring the old man and the scruffy fella?" Asked the purple
soldier.
"Nah, leave them, we don't need them anymore anyway." Said Bukichi as he
walked toward Piccolo. "So, where do you want to do this?"
"Follow me," said Piccolo as he began to rise into the air. Moon was about
to protest that he seemed to be forgetting his students when Bukichi voiced
his objection.
"Um, pardon me but could we use a more mundane form of movement? Seeing as
my men and I can't fly." Said Bukichi. Piccolo smiled, they couldn't fly.
Advantage: Piccolo.
"What did you have in mind?" Asked Piccolo with a confident smirk.
"We could take our van, it should be big enough for all eleven of us."
Said Bukichi.
"Eleven?" Asked Piccolo, unsure of whether or not Bukichi really knew of
the other's presence or was just bluffing. Bukichi listened to the report
from the bio-scanner they had set up on top of the shrine, it fed the
location of every being designated as an enemy directly into his ear piece.
"Yes, all eleven of us. Myself," he pointed to himself, "my men," he
pointed to the four men next to him, "you two, the two just to the east of
here and the two to the west of here." Piccolo growled softly at the fact
that Bukichi seemed to be a step ahead of him. Bukichi walked toward them
and gestured for his men to follow. The five warriors filed past Piccolo
and Sailor Moon on their way to their van.
********
It had taken no small amount of effort to get Rei in the van. Only Usagi's
insistence that Bukichi could be trusted and Piccolo's suggestion that she
"QUIT WHINING AND GET IN THE VAN!" were able to persuade her. Bukichi sat
behind the drivers seat and Piccolo in the passengers, they provided quite a
site for oncoming traffic. In the back Bukichi's men sat along one side of
the van while the Senshi sat on the other. Both groups eyed each other
nervously for a time before deciding it would be better to just stare at the
floor.
In the front seat Bukichi was attempting to make the others more
comfortable by turning on the radio to a local pop station. The bubble-gum
pop now spewing out of the speakers only managed to make both groups more
uncomfortable. Bukichi swiftly realized his error and turned off the radio,
once more bringing silence to the van. About twenty minutes outside of town
Bukichi turned off the road and onto a grassless plain. He drove for
another fifteen minutes over the bumpy ground before deciding they'd gone
far enough.
"All right kids, here we are, remember who your buddy is and behave
yourselves!" Bukichi said as he hopped out of the van. Minako giggled
softly but a chilling glare from Rei silenced her. Bukichi opened the back
door of the van and the nine warriors filed out. Piccolo walked around to
the back of the van and stood behind the Senshi.
"So, how do you want to do this?" Asked Piccolo.
"Do you mean one-on-one or a free for all?" Said Bukichi.
"Yes." Said Piccolo.
"Hadn't thought about it," said Bukichi, "well, since you have one more
person a one-on-one thing wouldn't be fair. Free for all makes more sense I
think." He concluded.
"Very well, that's fine with us." Said Piccolo.
"But first," said Bukichi, "I think introductions are in order. I am
Bukichi, Lieutenant in the Kepusian Armed Forces." He gestured at the
purple soldier to speak.
"My name is Serinth, I am a Private under the command of Lieutenant
Bukichi." Said the purple soldier Serinth. The green soldier next to him
took his cue.
"My name is Yanos, I am a Private under the command of Lieutenant Bukichi."
He said with a confident smile. Next to him was the blue soldier.
"My name is Itesh, I am also a Private under the command of Lieutenant
Bukichi." His voice was softer than the others, almost feminine. The last
one to speak was the red soldier.
"My name is Cunin, I am under the command of Lieutenant Bukichi and hold
the rank of Private." He said crisply, his face drawn and serious. The two
groups stood eyeing one another for several minutes, each waiting for the
other to initiate combat. Bukichi and Piccolo stared at each other with
unblinking eyes, neither moved a muscle. A sharp wind whipped up a cloud of
dust off the ground and Bukichi accidently inhaled a nose full of dust and
began sneezing violently. When he regained his composure he looked back to
Piccolo, only to find him gone. Bukichi looked to his soldiers who were now
staring at the spot Piccolo had vanished from. The Senshi were all looking
to where Piccolo had been as well, except for Jupiter who had a confident
smile on her lips as she eyed the distracted soldiers.
"Now." Was all Makoto thought as she picked her moment to attack. With a
burst of speed she leaped at the line of soldiers. Before they could react
she buried her knee in Serinths' face and slammed her elbow into Yanos'
chin. Both soldiers were thrown off balance and stumbled for a moment
before recovering. Itesh saw the attack against his partners and lashed out
with a powerful forearm to the back of Jupiters head. The thunder Senshi
was thrown forward fell into a roll on the dusty plain. Minako and Rei
rushed forward now, engaging the two soldiers who were off balance from
Makoto's attack. Cunin noticed Usagi and Ami's reluctance to engage in the
combat and decided to kill them before going to help his fellow soldiers.
********
Maneko sat up in bed suddenly clutching her abdomen. Sharp pain was
attacking her waist and she was bent over gasping for breath. Sweat beaded
on her forehead as a single thought repeated in her mind. "Too soon, too
soon." She leaned over the spot where Bukichi normally lay and fumbled
desperately for the communication button on the nightstand. A moment later
she got a response.
"Hello? Jhessail here." Said a familiar voice.
"I...I need...help...please..." Maneko stammered between gasping breaths.
"What's wrong?" Asked Jhessails concerned voice.
"I think...I think the baby's...coming..." Said Maneko.
"What? B-but it's too soon!" Said Jhessail.
"I...I know..." Said Maneko weakly.
"Alright, don't panic, I'll charge a few cloakers and we'll go to the
hospital right away. I'll be there in a few minutes okay?" Said Jhessail.
"Tell...Bukichi..." Maneko's voice was barely audible over her own rasping
breath.
"I will, don't worry, it'll be okay Maneko."
********
The battle being raged was truly a sight to see. Piccolo had reappeared
and scored a surprise strike against Bukichi, but the two were now locked in
a seemingly unending combat. Makoto was gaining the upper hand on Itesh and
had backed him against a large rock outcropping. Minako had reached a
stalemate with Serinth as had Rei with Yanos. Cunin was in the process of
being overwhelmed by Usagi and Ami, the two girls had proved to be more than
he could handle.
Bukichi and Piccolo traded endless blows as they moved across the
landscape. Every time it seemed one of them had the upper hand the other
would somehow compensate for the disadvantage. Their fighting had been
building a tension between them, they could feel it winding tighter and
tighter around them. Then, like an over stressed steel cable, it snapped.
Both fighters pushed off of each other and leapt backwards. When they
landed they were about sixty feet away from each other. Their eyes met.
There was no anger, only intensity and strain.
With a sudden roar Piccolo expanded his energy and a crackling white aura
flared all over his body. Bukichi took a step back, Piccolo had never
manifested his ki physically in front of any being from this dimension. The
Senshi included. Piccolo began to growl as he forced his energy into his
right hand, forming a large ball of energy in his palm. Bukichi stared
transfixed at the glowing sphere. His hand dropped to his belt and he
pulled out a small metal capsule the size of an egg. Piccolo thrust his
palm forward and the sphere rocketed towards Bukichi, leaving a thin trail
in it's wake. As the orb raced towards him Bukichi cracked open the metal
egg with his thumb and forefinger before hurling it into the orbs path. The
orb made contact with the broken egg and for a moment seemed to loose it's
shape before it vanished. Piccolo stared wide eyed at what he'd just seen.
His ki ball had vanished, pure and simple.
"The kind of energy you use is very common to great fighters Piccolo, so we
have developed a little energy absorbing capsule to counter act a threat
like yourself." Said Bukichi. Piccolo only growled in response. Tension
between the two soon mounted again but it was broken just as quickly when
the 'beep' that warned him of an incoming communication. He put his hand to
his ear so he could better hear the internal speaker, Piccolo saw this and
blurred out of sight.
"Lieutenant sir! There's an emergen-" Was all Bukichi heard before
Piccolo punched him in the face. Bukichi was thrown back several yards and
hit the ground, rolled for a bit, then skidded to a stop. His hand went
back to his ear as he lay in the dirt.
"What was that?" He asked around his now swollen mouth.
"Sir! Maneko's gone into labor!" Said Jhessail, she sounded as if she was
actively trying not to scream her words. Bukichi just lay there letting the
information sink in. After a few moments he spoke.
"I'll be at the hospital soon, have my cloaker at the base charged and
ready." He didn't listen for a response, he was already up and running
towards the van. As he ran he screamed to his soldiers "VAN VAN VAN NOW NOW
NOW GO GO GO!!" The soldiers all ran off to follow their leader and dove
into the van which was already in gear and tearing off into the night.
Gradually the Senshi dropped out of their stances. The fight was over.
Piccolo joined them where they stood, he looked more frustrated than they
had ever seen him. They went back to camp silently, when they woke in the
morning he was gone.
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