Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Captive Souls ❯ Survival ( Chapter 1 )

Captive Souls

 

Chapter 1

 

Chi-chi made her way to the living area where the people lived. She noticed that there was a small crowd and made her way over. Since they were forced in the sewers, death seemed to be a common enemy than the aliens that they fought against. She knew the medicine that she brought might ease suffering, but could not stop death from coming to this victim. This alone was hard because she knew Shenron could not bring anyone back who has died from natural causes.

 

“Grandma, don't die,” A little girl cries sadly.

 

“My little Kala, it'll be alright,” an elderly woman spoke before her eyes drifted shut. “I'd rather die than let those aliens kill me in the worst ways.”

 

“No!” Kala's cry was heard. Chi-chi felt her hand tremble and the basket shake. Someone turned and saw Chi-chi standing there.

 

“Mysterious Nightingale, have you brought more medicine?” Chi-chi nodded and put the basket down. People swarmed around her instantly; the old woman quickly forgotten and tore into the basket that she had. Food, medicine, fabric, water and flowers were pulled out of the basket with much haste. All of the work Chi-chi went through to ensure that they survived made her realize how much of a difference she was making in her own way. Had she not helped the people that they managed to save from the aliens, they too would have perished.

 

Some people picked up the body of the woman and began wrapping her in cloth. It was no good that they kept her in the sewer for long since the stench of death would probably lure the aliens to the place they were hiding. Chi-chi pulled on the grate that leads to a nearby river and those that have sealed the body followed her.

 

-o-

 

“Mom? Are you alright?” Goten asked when Chi-chi returned from the riverside funeral.

 

“Why do we fight for them when we know that no matter what we do, they'll die?” Chi-chi spoke sadly.

 

“We can't think like that!” Gohan yelled. “We're protecting them from Raizen!”

 

“But they're dying from natural causes at the same time!” Chi-chi argued. She utterly hated the name of the leader who had torn her family apart. She had lost Goku the day they invaded and had no idea if her husband was still alive or not.

 

“She's got a point,” A gruff voice spoke up. All eyes turned to Piccolo who was standing at Dende's side. Since the alien invasion, the group barely managed to save the Guardian of Earth. “The Daza-jin are going to eventually find this place and capture the people who can't fight back.”

 

“We shouldn't abandon them!” Gohan growled before Piccolo grabbed him by the rags he wore.

 

“If we don't, then they'll be our downfall!” Piccolo hissed.

 

“I agree with the Namek,” Vegeta snorted. “These humans did nothing for us in the past nor will they do something with us in the future.”

 

Chi-chi heard the argument she had spawned and felt guilty. Yes, there were people who needed the Mysterious Nightingale, but she could not abandon them. Dende saw the discomfort on Chi-chi's face and whistled to stop the yelling that had spawned.

 

“Enough! If it's possible, I'll see if Shenron might be able to fix the damage done after we defeat them!” Dende answered. “Our priority is that they aren't found. If they are, then we'll have nothing else to protect except ourselves. Raizen and his army won't rest until we're destroyed. The only thing stalling his attempt to find us is the humans he still has to enslave.”

 

Everyone was quietly digesting what Dende had said. It felt like a pin had dropped and they were busy looking for it before they could even say anything again.

 

“Fine,” Piccolo caved in. He hated the idea that he was going to aid the same humans that refused to aid them in defeating Majin Buu at first before their savior managed to encourage them. Since the death of Hercule Satan, the people went astray in their beliefs and some had managed to blow the warrior's cover by charging Raizen's troops head on. Those that perished made the humans realize that they had no other choice than to put their trust in those who were trying to protect them.

 

“I'm going to get food for us before the sun rises,” Chi-chi pulled the hood up on her cloak before climbing up the ladder. A hand grasped her ankle and she looked down at Piccolo.

 

“Be careful Chi-chi. The others won't be able to give you back up.” Piccolo warned.

 

“I understand.” Chi-chi slipped out of the sewers and vanished into the night.

 

-o-

 

A cold wind blew against Chi-chi and she shivered from the sensation. She had no time to be idle and heads towards a boarded up grocery store. Where there's food, there's bound to be trouble. Looking out, she noticed no signs of forced entry and looked for a loose board. Finding one, she slipped in.

 

A lone light shone down the aisle ways from the flashlight Chi-chi carried with her. If this had been a store still operating, the alarms would have been already blaring off at the pilfering she was doing within the store. Grabbing any canned goods and bottled water, she quickly felt the basket's weight more than double before searching for a generator that Bulma needed. This would definitely slow her and provide trouble if she were caught.

 

With both arms full, Chi-chi headed back to the entrance and pushed her way out. The generator she had got caught in the boards and she jerked on it to pull it free. The board broke within the process and she quickly ran towards the alleyway where she put the generator down into the sewer first before going in herself. Covering the sewer, she hid while guards who heard the noise of the board breaking came to check it out.

 

“Search inside the store. If the Mysterious Nightingale's inside, then drag her out alive.” The officer commanded his troops. Chi-chi watched from afar while the men began tearing off the boards. Moments later, they emerged.

 

“There's no sign of the Mysterious Nightingale.” A soldier spoke.

 

“Set this place ablaze!” The officer commanded. Chi-chi watched with pure horror while the store was torched and began to burn down. Their hopes to find food were dashed heavily and it would take days for her to locate another store; days that no one could afford.

 

“Don't blame yourself,” Vegeta attempted to comfort Chi-chi. “We'll have to limit the food to rations again until you find another place for us to get food.”

 

“At least we'll have plenty of Spam!” Gohan smiled while pulling out a can of the said food.

 

“Mommy?” Goten timidly spoke. “Will we find daddy?”

 

“I hope so.” Chi-chi grasped her youngest son in a hug. If it hadn't of been for her children, Chi-chi would have probably given up living and helping others.

 

“I want him to be here for my birthday next week.” Chi-chi froze. Was it really close to Goten's birthday?

 

“If I can, I'll try to find some cake mix and make you a birthday cake.” Goten's eyes lit up. He hadn't had any sweets for quite sometime and fresh ingredients seemed nearly non-existent.

 

“I'd like that!” Goten smiled. “I miss your cooking.”

 

Chi-chi pulled away and Goten ran off to the hammock he had all happy. Even a false sense of hope could easily be taken from them now. Feeling a dark stare from Piccolo, Chi-chi nervously turned to her husband's former nemesis slowly.

 

“You know you shouldn't give him hope when things look bad,” Piccolo spoke in scorn voice.

 

“Hope is all we're surviving on right now,” Chi-chi countered.

 

“You're going to have to learn how to fly if you're going to continue your escapades as the `Mysterious Nightingale' for these people.” Piccolo mentally kicked himself the moment those words escaped his lips. HE was going to teach his former arch-nemesis' wife how to fly? What the hell was this world coming to?

 

“Then I'll hold you responsible for teaching me.” Chi-chi demanded. Her husband had once shown her the basics, but she had not grasped the full measures of learning how to fly.

 

-o-

 

“Here's the generator mom was able to bring back,” Gohan carried the generator with the arm that wasn't broken. Dende had healed him back to partial health, but since the Guardian of Earth had to deal with healing the other warriors, that left Gohan with mostly injured; especially when it came to a certain Saiya-jin Prince demanding his daily healing from the Namek.

 

“Thanks Gohan,” Bulma took the generator from Gohan and set it down on the ground before hooking up her welding tools to it.

 

The scientist had worked greatly on what they needed to survive down here from water purifiers to lighting. What she was working on now was a gravity increasing belt that would help Vegeta greatly since he demanded that the woman create him another gravity machine. Sadly though, Bulma lacked the materials to make such a luxury item for the Saiya-jin Prince and had to go with what she had. Trunks could only bring back so much at once to help his mother with her projects.

 

“Need anything else?” Gohan asked.

 

“When Chi-chi goes up next time, make sure she brings back more batteries or rechargeable ones. And some shampoo, containers for water, some hair bands…”

 

“Okay, okay,” Gohan cut off the woman before she continued to name off things. “I'll see what mom can do. Just write it down on a list.”

 

“Mom! I'm back!” Trunks called out. Bulma turned and saw Trunks hauling a large cart filled with metal and wires that she asked for.

 

“Good job Trunks,” Bulma pulled out a small piece of metal and welds the device shut. “Take this to your father. If he breaks it, he's not getting another.”

 

“Wow! This looks cool!” Trunks ran off with the device. Bulma pulled out some scrap paper and a pen and began to write a list.

 

-o-

 

The sun was starting to filter into the sewers by the time Gohan returned to the main area. Chi-chi had fallen asleep and Gohan tucked the list in Chi-chi's basket. Going to where his brother was sleeping, he climbed into the hammock and closed his eyes. During the day, everyone slept so that at by sunset, they could work again to plan to do with the cover of night.

 

To Be Continued…