Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Saiyan Homecoming ❯ The Heavenly Knights of Ni ( Chapter 13 )

A/N: Woohoo! Here's more. And for those of you reading my other fics, I haven't forgotten about them. I'm just to the point in this that I know what happens from here to the end of the story, and I'm focusing mainly on this one so I can get it done. And in random notes, I need to reclassify this, because it's not solely a comedy anymore. Any suggestions?

The only way I run an update list is at the yahoo group, which can be found at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nadialist/

Disclaimer: As always, folks, I don't DBZ. I do own various OCs with the exception of Kyuushi and her companions, who belong to Maria Cline, and tinkerbell!cami, who belongs to Lisse.

A Saiyan Homecoming

By Nadia Rose

lady_adestine@yahoo.com

Chapter 13: The Heavenly Knights of Ni

Your discretion, the words rang sharply in her brain.

The matter of host is left to your discretion.

Damn the gods. And damn their arrogance, which had put her in this position in the first place.

The woman, if she could be called a woman with liquid crimson eyes and black wings that swept elegantly out behind her, had found herself in a situation she had hoped would never come true, and her honor required her to aggravate it even further.

Honor, a funny little word that possessed a massive dark underbelly.

Her honor was going to ruin some poor mortal's life.

Fate had decided that said poor mortal had to be someone close to the Kai-Elect, one of the few people the woman considered to be her friends. Friends didn't casually ruin each other's lives, but in this case she had no other choice. It was all part of the game, the very same, very deadly game that she and her counterparts had developed before time was time as a failsafe against inadequacy and balance, and it was her duty to enforce the rules.

Duty. Another loaded word the mortals were so fond of.

Even Creation Angels were bound by their duty to the Multiverse and, in this case, it fell upon Kyuushi's shoulders alone. She wouldn't have asked any of her counterparts to accompany her anyway. Aphadite would feel for her victim, Gorgandus was entirely too close to the situation and Yinyo…Yinyo couldn't stand to be in the mere presence of what stood before her. He said it upset the balance of the way things were supposed to be.

Kyuushi didn't quite understand her love's sentiment-she had always thought the Angel of Balance would be fond of the giant glass orb that rested on a pedestal in front of her. Easily the size of a grown man's head, black clouds gently spiraling in its glowing depths, it contained the ultimate counterweight in existence.

The Majin.

There were no words that could describe the Majin, at least not in any language that the people it was about to be unleashed upon knew. Evil was probably the closest they could ever come, and even that would only graze across the tip of the iceberg. Even now, while it was safely contained within the orb that had been its prison for millennia, the Majin's presence saturated the air around her, charging the atmosphere with malevolent foreboding.

Being who she was, Kyuushi didn't notice. Her own aura was quite similar although she hadn't nearly the same penchant for chaos. Kneeling on the polished marble steps before the orb she silently studied it, drawn once more into her current quandary.

The Host.

The Majin, with all its power, was a dangerous thing indeed. Dangerous enough it wasn't allowed to have a body of its own. Ever. Without a physical power base, a host, to pull from the Majin was no more than any typical dangerous spirit. It was kept here in her domain, within the orb, in order to make sure that it neither chose a host of its own free will or was forcibly put into a host by the magic of a meddling mortal. That had happened once, a long time ago, and not even the Supreme Kai would talk about what exactly had happened.

It had fallen to her to keep it from happening again. Reincarnation and all life in the spirit world was her domain, and the slender young woman took her job very seriously. Even when it required her to release an impending Armageddon on the Multiverse.

If Son Gohan didn't have what it took to be Supreme Kai, the very existence of Everything-that-is was, quite simply, screwed.

And in an act that had made Kyuushi long to insult the heritage of various gods, she had been given the power to see if he would pass what would be his ultimate test, or if he would fail.

That was not a part of the rules.

Tradition demanded that she do as the gods bid her in matters of testing the Kai-elects, but they had merely turned to her and told her the most important decision of them all rested in her hands.

The host was up to her "discretion."

So she sat on the steps beneath the glowing ball that contained only death and doom to consider her options. She could have chose any living creature to carry the Majin spirit-from a fruit fly to the King of the largest Space Empire known, but the only creatures with enough of a power base for the Majin to use and be an honest challenge were Saiyans, or those with Saiyan blood. Which limited her options to the Kai-Elect's close circle of friends and family.

She had to be the worst friend Son Gohan was ever going to have.

She had to pick out somebody he knew and probably loved to die, and die by his hand alone.

Names, faces, and entire lives flashed in her mind's eye as part of her realized that the act that had forced her to make this decision alone had to have been the smoothest one the gods had made that entire Council. Because when the Kai-Elect, who was the leader in the race for the most powerful being in the Multiverse stormed them in anger, the gods would be able to point their fingers at her to neatly place all of the blame, and Gohan's anger, upon her shoulders.

Kaioshin had been right. The gods had developed entirely too much power, which, combined with arrogance and only a minute number of Knights to enforce the rules, was fast leading to a thunderous head.

Something had to give, and it was Kyuushi's duty to make sure that it wasn't the Supreme Kai.

She would do what she had to in order to keep the Kaios in power over the gods the way things had designed to be. Which meant that Gohan had to be tested to the fullest of his abilities, even if it cost her his friendship.

She sternly reminded herself that she wasn't supposed to get too attached and rose, initiating the process that would transfer the Majin from its orb so she could implant it in her chosen host. That done, the Angel of Death assumed her most human form and left the planet that was her domain, preparing to jump straight into the fire.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Trunks Briefs had, technically, never caught on fire, but he was pretty sure he knew what it felt like now. Except of course, he still hadn't burst into flame, but given the lifestyle he led that was sure to change. His entire jaw throbbed, although whether from the fact it was broken or that he'd been unconsciously attempting to grind his teeth through that entire kidnapping episode he wasn't sure. And now his mind was whirling like a top to go along with his jaw. After all, bad things always came in threes, didn't they?

He'd already been through two mini-disasters, and he was waiting for the third with all the clarity of a man who was sure his life was about to end.

He'd married Pan, hadn't he?

Not that he regretted marrying Pan, not in the slightest, although he still wasn't sure how that had happened. One day they'd been close friends, and the next Vegeta had found them lip-locked together in the Jacuzzi. Trunks still hadn't lived that particular escapade down. What was worrying him about marrying Pan was the timing. They'd gotten married while Gohan was away-unable to send him a message, and too impatient to wait.

The last time Trunks had truly faced down Gohan's wrath had been after that incident years ago when he was about ten. The one that had involved rewiring Gohan's alarm clock and a pair of theatre-sized speakers. He still counted himself lucky to have walked away after that one.

No, what was bothering Trunks was the fact that he probably wouldn't walk away when Gohan found out his little girl was married. Gohan defined over-protective father; Trunks wasn't looking forward to seeing how far he'd take that concept.

His father-in-law was standing in front of him boasting more muscles than an average Saiyan, and Trunks had become very, very aware of how little he'd actually trained in the last year or so.

Which made the look Gohan was giving him a very frightening look indeed.

"Into the kitchen," his father-in-law/surrogate brother growled quietly, tugging his chin towards the door behind him, never taking his eyes off of Trunks.

Trunks gulped.

"Now, please," Gohan murmured quietly. "We don't want to be in here right now."

Trunks blinked. He wasn't talking to him? Beside him, Pan pushed herself to her feet, the chain hanging off her belt jingling slightly with the movement. Dark eyes peered down at him, and she winked slightly. Trunks remembered to breathe when he saw Videl quietly usher Barden past them into the kitchen too.

Good. He wasn't going to be one-on-one with his worse nightmare. Well, his worst nightmare next to Pan wielding her grandmother's weapon-of-doom, and that one had been caffeine induced.

He hefted himself up onto legs that threatened to sag beneath him, mentally cursing the tranquilizer that was still making him sluggish. Pan's slender arm wrapped around him in support, and the two began their journey to the kitchen looking a bit like a three-legged monster.

It was only once he saw Yamcha and Tien carefully lower his immobile father onto the kitchen table did he realize they were all in the kitchen. That nagging image of Gohan in a white mask with a butcher's knife evaporated. He'd really watched too many movies.

Pan blinked and gave him a confused look, having just picked up on the rather strange images in his head. She'd been keeping a strong mental touch since he couldn't physically talk, and their bond throbbed in his head. "What was all that about?"

The young Saiyan Prince shrugged and burrowed his hand in the gleaming dark hair at the nape of her neck.

Standing next to them with a squirming twin clamped in her arms, Marron pretended to gag. They ignored her. Even though it had been a year, Trunks and Pan weren't past that newlywed stage yet.

"Hey Bulma," Gohan questioned, poking at the new door, which had been installed about six weeks ago if Trunks remembered correctly, "how strong is this thing?"

"We designed it for explosive labs in space vehicles. It's shatterproof, fireproof, waterproof, and bombproof," his mother recited like an experienced salesperson, digging out cups and glasses from a cabinet. "I thought it would be appropriate in this household."

Gohan punched the button, enabling the sliding door to close and lock, sounding eerily like an airlock. About the time the last of tumblers settled into place the coffee table crashed into it, breaking haphazardly into about five different pieces.

Bulma blinked.

Gohan smiled wearily at her. "I think it's about to get tested."

Another piece of furniture joined the first in a pile at the foot of the door.

"Gohan," Bulma's voice held a dangerous tone that sent danger warnings flashing in Trunks' brain, "was that my end table?"

Gohan peered down at the splinters. "I think so."

"Do you mind telling me why," a lamp shattered against the door, "those…people…are throwing my furniture around?"

Unease somewhat eliminated when Gohan shuffled his feet a bit (some things never changed), Trunks waited with everyone else. They too were curious.

"Well," the Kai-elect murmured as Octavia went sprinting past him behind the door, shouting something in a language Trunks didn't understand, "I would hazard a guess and say there's a spirit in your living room."

"What?" Bulma was nonplussed. "A spirit."

"The Knights said they were here to hunt spirits," Gohan leaned casually against one side of the door so he could watch the action. "I can't see anything spiritual at the moment because of what's left of the tranquilizer, but they don't usually attack thin air for no reason."

In the front room the three Knights could be seen approaching the back wall cautiously, wings mysteriously gone. The little Pixie-Cami-dove at something and suddenly changed directions rapidly. Like she'd been flung.

But there was nothing there.

"Most definitely a spirit," Gohan murmured. "Can you see it Piccolo?"

"There's something there," the Namek admitted gruffly, ignoring Goten's small blonde daughter, who was peering up at him curiously.

She tugged on his cape. "Hey mister, do you know you're green?"

Piccolo eyed her for a moment.

The girl, Macadamia, who had been called Damia since she was born, beamed up at him. Fear wasn't a part of her psyche, although she contained enough mischief for ten people her size. Trunks knew this from experience-he wasn't babysitting again for a long time.

"I can't see it, Gohan," the Namek continued, ignoring the fact that Damia's fraternal twin, the black-haired Almond, had joined her sister in peering up at him. Both girls possessed their grandmother's slanted blue eyes.

Monda, because not even Marron was cruel enough to call her daughter Almond, reached out and pinched a long green finger. "It's not paint-it doesn't rub off."

The respected green man twitched; some things never changed.

Trunks ignored the brewing situation and peered back out of his mother's massive clear-plastic door, trying to see what was going on.

* * * * * * * *

For the three beings that could see what was going on, the situation was a lot less confusing and a lot more serious. Part of it might have been the fact that the Knights were incapable of doing anything without some sort of disjointed banter, but most of it was the fact that they were in a very heated situation. And it was threatening to get much hotter.

"Well," Octavia murmured, staring at the beast wedged tightly against the wall, "how do we want to do this?"

Cami fluttered. "Aren't you supposed to be the military genius?"

Octavia's golden eyes darkened a few shades to rich golden amber as she peered at the girl. "But that," she reminded pointedly, "isn't an army. You can't fight it like one." She glanced at the beast, which glared back belligerently. It was going to be a gritty fight, and she didn't need the years of experience she had to tell her that.

"So how do we fight it, oh wise and mighty leader," the Pixie quipped.

Gohan glared warningly at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Octavia studied the beast for the moment. "To be honest, I have no idea. I don't have much experience with dragons." It stung to have to admit that, but her experience in life had been limited to humans with guns and various pointed objects, and in the afterlife Shin didn't let her do much fighting. At least not after that incident where she'd gotten into a brawl with the Saiyan King in hell and practically destroyed a good part of his palace. She sniffed delicately.

He'd started it.

Annoying stubborn alien royalty aside, the woman who'd been a queen herself in life studied the dragon in front of her. Aside from the fact that it was large, purple, and exceedingly ugly, it was also a spirit, which was going to make things a hell of a lot more complicated. There was a spirit dragon in the middle of one of the largest cities in this country, and it had made its fort in one of the most prestigious buildings there. The thing wasn't going to come quietly and someone was bound to see it. They were on this mission solo too, which meant that there wasn't a clean-up crew floating around.

She glanced at her grandson and his partner, who were arguing. Well, at least Cami was arguing. Gohan was just standing there with his snide little smile that was bound to make Cami furious. There was a reason they didn't get out much.

It was at times like these she hated her job.

Unfortunately, being a Knight was a position that couldn't be negotiated. She was stuck with them.

Sighing, she gazed at them, then at the beast. "Let's see if we can do this without destroying a big part of the city this time." Without waiting to see what they were doing, she moved forward, hoping to grab that thing's attention.

Cami stopped mid-taunt. "Did she start without us?"

Gohan was already moving forward.

Cami sighed and streaked after them, a purple comet streaking glitter behind her.

It was time to get to work.

Octavia's hopes of a quiet capture were little more than a dried-up shell in about ten minutes. Big and Ugly didn't want to go back to the Otherworld, and it was slippery enough to make good on that desire. She wasn't entirely sure it was a dragon-every time they got close enough to clamp down on it enough that one of them could transport it back to the Ogres at Yemma's it seemed to shift sizes, melting away from their hands. And of course it was hard to keep a grip on something that didn't have a physical body, but they'd been trained.

Still, it wasn't quite enough to make this job much easier.

She balanced on the sloping surface of a desk that had had two of its legs broken, sucking absently at a cut on one of her knuckles while Gohan took his turn attacking. He'd summoned his sword and was attempting to get beneath the phantom scales to wound the thing, but he'd gotten far too used to working off of a horse and wasn't making much headway.

Cami was zipping around the dragon's head, making a glittery distraction of herself since her ki blasts were practically useless, and was succeeding in making it annoyed. Very annoyed. It seemed to still for a moment, and Octavia's eyes widened as she realized what it was about to do. Plunging forward, she managed to snatch Cami as a stream of ghostly flames singed the spot in the air where she'd just been, colliding with the wall instead.

Somewhere behind the glass door, she heard a woman shriek about her walls being on fire.

Octavia sighed and drew her own sword and joined Gohan in the charge. "What the," Gohan swung his broadsword at the claw lashing towards him, "hell-is this…thing?"

Octavia ducked through the opening and stabbed the thing neatly in the soft area beneath its side, only barely managing to miss the thrashing limbs as it flailed. "I don't know!"

Cami aimed carefully and flicked her fingers, sending a tulip spiraling towards one of the eyes. "Whatever it is, it's not cooperating! I say Gohan fries it and takes it back in a doggie bag."

Gohan gave her look that suggested his patience was running thin. "Cami, I'd destroy the building with the blast it would take to do that."

"Oh, and I suppose Shin can't compensate them?"

"How are we supposed to cover up an entire building, let alone Capsule Corps, exploding and then reappearing?"

Cami grumbled and sprayed glitter into the air in annoyance.

"More attacking, less chatter," Octavia snapped as she sliced at the lashing tail that was approaching her, sidestepping the vicious barb on the end. Enemies had been known to turn themselves in rather than listen to Gohan and Cami.

"Yes ma'am," they snapped again, and attacked once more with renewed vigor.

Octavia hoped all of the spirits that had escaped weren't as hard to control as this one was, or else they were in for a very long campaign. Luckily for her, things were about to be solved much more quickly by getting more complicated.

The only one missing from Gohan's circle of Earthling companions, the Saiyan Prince's daughter, had woken up down in the labs from where she'd been sleeping after being mostly-healed by the regeneration tanks there. Curious as to what all the noise was about, she'd rolled out of bed and wandered upstairs to investigate. Right into the reach of the dragon-spirit's tail.

Opportunity being what it was, the dragon pounced, coiling the length of its tail around her waist and brutally inserting the tail-barb into her side.

Cami roared and dive-bombed the thing as Bra, not recovered enough to really struggle, went limp.

Without pausing to think about it, the Knights closed the distance and attacked in unison. Where before they had been careful not to anger the thing enough it could cause wanton destruction, now it didn't matter. There was a mortal in danger, and their priorities had changed. Bra's well-being was much more important than a few walls and rumors. The dragon spirit soon found itself being hounded in three different directions.

Octavia had just inserted the gleaming blade of her katana into the flesh of wing-tissue when she heard Gohan let loose a stream of curses that would have sent his mother into conniptions. "It's draining her ki!"

A quick stretch of her mental senses told the dead Amazon that the dragon was indeed draining the demi-saiyan's ki. It was also using that energy to take a more substantial form. Reaching for the dagger she kept strapped to her leg, Octavia began informing the dragon of all the anatomically impossible things she was going to do to it for making things difficult. Crudely, and in Amazonian.

Inside the kitchen, as a massive purple reptile slowly took form against the back wall of the living room, Chichi couldn't decide whether to be shocked or feel sorry for the creature. It was about to meet her mother's wrath, something she wouldn't have wished even on Vegeta.

Octavia glanced at Gohan and Cami. "Get her out."

Without pausing to think, because nobody messed with the messenger Knight when her face took on that particular expression, Gohan and Cami redirected their efforts to the tail and the demi-saiyan it contained. Now that the dragon had a physical form, it was much easier to deal with-their blades wreaked the damage that sharp and pointy objects were supposed to.

Gohan lifted his sword above his head and brought it down in a single stroke.

The dragon roared as its tail was suddenly disconnected with the rest of its body.

Octavia smiled dispassionately at the creature, a cool smile that armies in hell knew only too well. A deft flick of her wrist imbedded her dagger in the dragon's eye, and it writhed a bit longer as Gohan hacked the excess tail off Bra and carried her over to where the others were, Cami hovering protectively.

"So you like to drain ki," she murmured as the creature stared at her out of its one good eye, bleeding in several places. "Well, let's just give you a taste of your own medicine then."

Closing her eyes in concentration, she held one hand out in front of her with the fingers relaxed to call upon her signature ki attack and fill the room with golden light.

* * * * * * * * *

Gohan already had the door open by the time Rider and Cami got to it, and Rider carried Bra straight to the kitchen table, where he laid her limp body down beside Vegeta. Trunks tried to move forward to see what was going on, but Pan's grip stopped him and he stayed behind reluctantly, realizing he would be no more than a space-filler there.

Bulma, however, had no such compunctions. She was beside Rider in an instant. "What the hell was that thing? And what did it do to my daughter?"

Ignoring her, Rider pulled a knife off his belt and was very carefully prying at the wicked barb that was imbedded in Bra's side.

Cami the Pixie yelped and swatted at him, sending a fresh spray of glitter into the loose strands of his dark hair. "Do you know what you're doing? You might hurt her!"

Rider ignored her, poking carefully at the barb before turning to Bulma. "It's not draining her ki any longer, so it doesn't have to be pulled out immediately. Just leave it in there for a few minutes while I help Octavia."

Cami glared at him. "You're just going to leave my sister here to bleed to death on a table to battle some dragon?"

Trunks blinked. Sister?

Rider didn't even turn around and the door clanked shut behind him. Cami sputtered then moved to sit next to Bra's head, where Bulma was trying to arrange kitchen towels around the barb so it wouldn't move, mumbling all the while. Barden, unable to find any more towels, offered Bulma his shirt to use. She thanked him and added it to the pile, noticing that the wound really wasn't bleeding that much-the blood there was the dragon's, a deep shade of green. Bra looked like she was sleeping, not like there was a piece of dragon's tail sticking out her side.

Bulma glared at Gohan. "What the hell is that thing? And what did it do to my…" she trailed off as she saw something glide through her living room. "Why is there a giant bird in my living room?"

Trunks turned to see what was going on and felt even more surprise course through his brain. There was indeed a bird in the living room, an enormous eagle made out of what looked like orange ki, with talons as long as his entire hand. As he watched it swooped down on the dragon, sinking the curved things into the scaly hide without any effort whatsoever.

"What is that?"

Cami fluttered above their heads so she could see what was going on. Finding nothing interesting, she sank back to the table between Bra and Vegeta, who was demanding to be told what was going on. "I was wondering when she'd get that out."

As Trunks watched, the dragon melted away from his sight just as it had appeared, but the eagle stayed in one place, flapping wings the size of hover cars as it worked to stay attached to whatever it was.

Chichi, bouncing her youngest grandson on one hip, peered over Krillin's head. "That's a totem," she explained. "I haven't seen one…well, since Mother died."

"And what," Vegeta grated dourly from the table, "is a totem?"

"It's a ki attack," Chichi answered absently. "Native to my mother's people. I never learned how to do it since she died before she could teach me, and the Amazons don't train enough with their ki anymore to use them."

"What?" Marron was skeptical. "An entire race with ki-attacks?"

"Yes," Piccolo rumbled quietly from his corner. "The Amazons. They worked for Kami until Goku came. He remembers her," he nodded at the redhead woman planted firmly in the middle of the living room. "She was the strongest human on the planet for a long time."

Whatever Marron had to say in reply was lost as something, Trunks assumed it was the dragon, bellowed hard enough to rattle the glassware on the cabinetry. Rider darted forward to grab at something they couldn't see and abruptly disappeared.

Gohan sighed and unlocked the door as the eagle swooped down upon Octavia, shrinking until it was small enough to sit on her hand where it promptly disappeared. "You okay?"

"Just peachy," she called back, hobbling over to them. "I hope they're not all that way."

"Wait a minute," Videl demanded brusquely, "there are more of those things?"

Trunks started to nod in agreement, but stopped before the motion became painful.

Octavia nodded. "Yes, but most aren't like that one. It was stubborn." She walked over to the table and peered down at Bra, apparently not noticing the fact she was bleeding. "I think I've got something that will deal with that," she murmured, digging in her pockets.

"Do you?" Cami perked up. "They took all my senzus when they transformed me."

"Mmm," Octavia murmured, "Gohan, do you know what that thing was?"

Gohan shook his head, sending his mane of hair waving. "Some sort of spirit dragon that can drain ki to take a form. Why?"

"I didn't know," she replied, "thought you might. You've been some places I haven't." She held up a tiny vial. "Here it is."

"That doesn't look like a senzu," Bulma murmured.

"It's not," Octavia handed the vial to Cami. "Hold that. It's more like liquid senzu. I always keep some on me for emergencies." She brushed fingers over the edge of the exposed barb, searching for something.

About the time Trunks realized what she was planning to do and moved forward to stop her, she'd already yanked the barb out of the wound with a quick jerk, and dropped it onto a pile of dishtowels in a bloody mess.

Trunks flinched. That…smelled horrible. Like rotting flesh, and he knew he wasn't the only one who could smell it, judging from the looks on the others' faces. Beside him, Pan turned green and scrambled for the nearest bathroom.

Octavia glanced up and shrugged, reaching out for the vial in Cami's hand. Flicking it open, she upended the entire contents into the wound on Bra's side. The gleaming liquid spread across the wound and, as they all stared, healed it neatly from the inside out, the skin mending together as flawlessly as if it had never been broken.

"Good as new," Octavia murmured, wiping the extra liquid off of Bra's side with a clean dishtowel.

Bulma shoved her aside to examine Bra for herself. "But…what…how?"

"Magic," Octavia replied, wiping at the blood on her hands with the towel. "Like a senzu." She looked up mildly as Rider popped back into the room. "Get it delivered?"

"Yes," he replied, "but it was dead. You killed it."

"It attacked a mortal," Octavia wasn't the slightest bit repentant. "What was I supposed to do? Let it attack another?"

Rider shrugged, braiding his long hair. "I know. But they threw a fit at Yemma's."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Well, they've got the wrong Queen. I didn't let all the souls out. Queen Emma did." She tossed her dishtowel at him, and he began wiping his own hands. "Bureaucracies."

Cami giggled, absently stroking Bra's hair. "So what's next?"

"There are still more spirits out there to find," Octavia murmured as they watched one of the workers put out the last of the flames. "We'd better start hunting."

Gohan tugged Barden back from beside Bra with his tail. "I know I can't do much, but if you need help…"

Rider stopped him with a shake of his head. "No. It's our job, not yours. I think that thing was just homing in on the biggest kis so it could get a body. C'mon Cami," he snagged the Pixie and put her on his shoulder. "Bra will be fine, and I'll need your help."

"What? So I can suffocate them in pollen?"

"Cami…"

"Yes, Gohan?"

"Shut up."

Chichi's mother had a pained expression on her face as she watched her companions. "Of all the people to get stuck with, it had to be the Knights of Ni." Shaking her head, she spoke a bit louder. "We'll check back in with you later. And Piccolo, don't go anywhere. We're not sure what we're supposed to do with the souls Emma put back that have bodies yet."

Piccolo nodded.

Octavia nodded at them and followed the other two out the door, leaving the collection of eccentric creatures known as the Z-fighters staring at the shell of what once had been a living room.

Trunks sighed and went to check on Pan before Gohan noticed he was there and added Trunks blood to the green dragon blood on the walls.

Behind him, Bulma, Chichi, and Videl turned on Gohan at once, each with voices that, to sensitive Saiyan ears, were the equivalent of a bullhorn.

It was going to be yet another long night.

* * * * * * * * *

A young man sat in the middle of his own personal workshop, which coincidentally was the largest lab in the most lucrative business in the world, thanks to his grandmother's skills at corporate warfare. But he didn't think about such things-the lanky blue-haired teenager was an inventor, who ate, slept, and breathed machines. Many of the higher-ups criticized the fact that he had advanced to co-head of the Science department after only six months, but after their first trip to his lab they all walked away singing his praises. In the past five years he had managed to single-handedly drag the technology of his world forward at least a decade.

At the moment he was sitting in the middle of the concrete floor, surrounded by the parts of his masterpiece, which he was painstakingly putting back together. It didn't look like much-and would look like even less when he got it assembled, but it was actually one of the rarest pieces of such equipment in the universe.

His masterpiece was a portal that could transect time, dimensions, and even the barrier between universes, and it did so without causing mass mayhem and destruction. He'd only used it twice, but already he had taken it apart to improve it. The thing that made the portal so unique was that, theoretically, it could anchor itself in one timeline, meaning he could go backwards or forwards in time to change significant world events. It was a machine that the gods would have killed for-or rather, killed to destroy.

He didn't worry about such things. There was only the machine, and the greater purpose it would soon serve. The demi-saiyan, for a long blue tail was wrapped around the teenager's waist, would reprogram the portal to anchor itself in a particular timeline, in an effort to stop something disastrous from happening.

Many would rail and moan at such an act, for even the illustrious Mirai Trunks, who the inventor's little brother resembled, hadn't managed to stop the events that ravaged his world.

But he wasn't trying to save his world. He was trying to save the Multiverse.

Even it took him and his family out of the equation.

* * * * * * * * * *

TBC….

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