Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Feeding Genius ❯ Metal Mayhem ( Chapter 27 )

Feeding Genius

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Metal Mayhem

Vegeta's POV

Disclaimer: You know… not mine and all.

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An hour I've been doing this. A fucking hour and still there is no end in sight. Even with the power of Super Saiyan I am not impervious to them. With ki to aid them and shells harder than diamond I am convinced that even the third class clown would be fearing no better than I under the circumstances. The first thousand were breezed through it is true, but now their remains litter the battlefield and in their sheer carnage are creating problems for me with finding balance and control.

My knuckles are bleeding and in a moment of respite - while they are rearranging their lines - I suck the blood from them to cool the sting. I have suffered worse, endured ten times the pain, unfortunately it has never been with so formidable an obstacle and quantity ahead of me before. Still, as bleak as the prospect may appear, there are positives to take from the situation. Even these over-powered buckets of bolts have their weaknesses and though it took me futilely slamming my fists into the first couple of hundred, I have figured it out.

Just with every electrical component there is a power source. It is located in the upper cybernetic portion of their design, just at the back. Unfortunately it is guarded well and has to be hit with pinpoint precision to bring the machines down. I can't just hit, I have to pierce the armour with a direct release of ki, then punch and release energy inside to destroy them. That's three separate and detailed attacks in one. No mean feat, even for a warrior such as I. Especially when there are at least five others ready to catch me off guard the moment I fuck up.

They have regrouped now and I am faced with a familiar volley of ki attacks. Just like the earth warriors of old, only instead of arrows they bombard me with a haphazard burst of ki fire. It appears to be designed to tire me and trick me before the next battalion advances. Too bad for them that my ki shield is strong enough to withhold the force so I can concentrate purely on the advancing numbers.

I have no idea how many of these fuckers are left. I am in such close confines to the battle that it is hard to tell. Occasionally I will see a group of them moving towards the flanks, trying to bypass me to sneak an attack on the spaceship behind me, and then I have to cut off and stop them in time before another group breaks off in another direction.

I can't do this shit anymore!

I have no choice but to get an overview of the situation and devise a better strategy than beating the crap out of anything that moves. I can't sense their energy and I have no idea how they are grouping. I'm just thankful that the spaceship is located on the precipice of a steep and deep canyon. Thus making it only susceptible to attack from one side. I'd be up the proverbial shit creek if it were on open ground.

Therein lay two advantages I can utilize - One in their lack of leeway - and secondly in their inability to fly. Oh sure, the damn things can jump high enough, but only in short bursts, making them easy targets to pick off if they try.

Now - in the second phase of my attack - I take to the air. "Shit!" They still have to be counted in the thousands. I can't hold them off for much longer - they seem to have some sort of intelligent hierarchy. I can see two larger robots at the back. Perhaps these two are orchestrating the attack.

I have a decision to make and it is a crucial one. Do I keep attacking, hoping that my energy will last long enough to destroy them all, or do I go after the leaders thus leaving the frontline free to advance on Bulma and the spaceship?

"Fuck!" I have to act quickly. Which do I choose?

I pick off another five while I weigh up the pros and cons of each option, breathing heavily under my continued exertions. I have no choice. My energy is starting to waver and at this rate it won't be long before the volley of ki attacks penetrate my shield. I can't justify leaving Bulma to fend for herself but I can at least give my efforts some extra time. This is going to seriously drain my energy reserves, but I can't pussy foot around anymore. Besides these things are seriously starting to piss me off. I need a release, something to show these metal monstrosities just exactly who they are messing with.

Landing heavily back on the ground, and scraping my legs along a sleek shard of debris from an already defeated robot, I will my ki higher. Once this is achieved I take five or six back-flips away from the front line giving myself some room to manoeuvre. Leaping in the air I bring my arms out either side of my body, letting energy pool and grow into each outstretched hand. I can feel every nerve and muscle of my body, strain and groan under the phenomenal power I am forging.

I look down to the ground as soon as I feel my ki fall into place and allow myself a chuckle at the unsuspecting robots below. They won't know what hit them. My god! I haven't tried this since fighting Cell, but the sheer heady bliss of power is making me feel extremely horny. This is what being a warrior is all about. How could anyone not become addicted to this feeling? It is second only to an orgasm, and then only just.

Now is the time to attack, they are advancing again, and with a wicked grin I bring my arms forward, allowing the massive energy to materialize into a stream of golden power.

"Finaaaaaaaaal Flaaaaaaaaaaaaash!"

The energy sparks through my fingers, and I push it out into my most formidable attack. I have to use it differently than I did against Cell, and as the power hits its first target I move it in a semicircle to take out an entire twenty rows of the frontline. I manage to sustain the power for longer than I had believed possible and as the last reservoirs of energy leave my palms I can feel the sweat pouring down my body as it recovers from the attack.

I allow myself a moment of victory - premature as it is - as I see the charred and depleted forces on the ground. "Damn, that worked well."

There is still a large amount of their number standing but over half have been destroyed. That is good enough. I just have to hope I have enough energy left over to finish off the two at the back. I ignore the large protest my body makes as I instigate movement once again and speed towards my two new targets.

They tower over the other robots and try to pick me off with large swiping metallic arms as I fly over them. I'm going to have serious difficulty defeating them if they don't have the same weakness as the rest. With a speed I couldn't have hoped for after such a large and concentrated attack I move in behind them for what I hope is the final attack. I use a precise energy shot to the back of each. Thankfully they have combined their attack and are positioned close enough together for a duel strike, saving me some precious energy. I punch each fist through the panelling and with both appendages rooted firmly inside I let a ball of ki ignite in my hands. Extracting my arms once again I move to a safe distance as two explosions slowly immerge through the joining of their metallic shells.

It's an amazing sight seeing those two huge machines toppling to the floor and then being consumed in one gigantic explosion that rips into the ground and spews up gargantuan amounts of rock and dust into the air. I hold my breath for a moment as the dust settles, just to make sure that there are no complications. After all, how often in battles have I thought my opponents were dead and buried only to find out that they were just as strong and as intact as they were before? Too many that is for sure, but I am severely unprepared for what happens next.

As soon as the main explosion dies down I find myself flanked on every side by the remaining droids. They make no attempt to advance however, and I feel uncertainty form in the pity of my stomach as I hear a deep solid groan. It starts from the back of the group and advances ever closer.

Then I see them - more explosions.

"Shit! They're self-destructing and I'm completely surrounded."

The only option I have left is to fly. With what miniscule amount of energy I have left I make a break for it, but something grabs hold of my ankle and pulls me back down. "Fuck!" I can't break the hold. One of the droids has its metallic claw clamped so painfully around my leg that I think I can feel my bones shattering underneath it. It is holding me at arms length making it impossible for me to have any hope of destroying it.

Then - then it happens.

The explosions get closer. There is no escape. I panic for a second. I can feel the heat and dust burning into my skin. It is hopeless. I will not be able to escape the explosions. I just have to pray that I have enough ki and fight in my body left to withstand them. It is far from a given at such close range, and with a last desperate cry I let my remaining ki flood through every pour in the hopes it will be enough to deflect the blast.

It works well at first. Cocooned in the power of Super Saiyan I am protected from the rushing of fire and debris around me, but after a very few minutes I can feel my hold on Super Saiyan slipping. I try to maintain it for a few extra seconds, but my energy reserve has drastically depleted, and the more I try to reach for the power of my legendary ancestors, the less and less power I find.

"Shit!"

The barrier is breached. Several pieces of debris imbed themselves into my body before the fire ravages and burns me in all my vulnerability. Then, thankfully, I pass out.

I have no idea how much time passes before I awake again. For the moment, however, I am just glad to still be alive. That was some serious attack. It would have worked on a lesser warrior. I cannot, however, celebrate too soon. I can barely see anything. Only the fires that still smoulder around me aid me in sight. No light from the planets surface can get through the mass of rock and metal I am entombed under. I can hear my breathing, irregular and slightly panicked as it is in such a confined space.

I try to move.

My arm raises a fraction but not enough to be of any use. The rest of my body is completely numb, whether this is from injury or lack of ki is unclear. What is clear, however, is that I am as good as buried alive. I have no idea how far down I am, and whether the oxygen I am breathing is going to last much longer. Something sticky and pungent is dripping rhythmically onto my bare stomach. My clothes are completely burned away, but I guess that is of little concern now. To Dende that I could feel something, then at least I would know what is wrong with me, but I can't, and under the unsettling thought I pass out again.

When I next come too I can hear movement above me. I am about to call out when I remember why I am here in the first place. It could be more robots. My caution is rewarded a moment later when I hear an electronic beeping directly above me, and then a groan of metal.

Then I hear it, not more electronic noise but a voice. It's faint at first and indistinguishable through the rubble, but there is only one other living creature on the planet, and my heart beats with hope as I hear more metal being moved.

This time I hear the voice clearly.

"Vegeta!" it calls, and I try to respond. To my amazement, even though the rest of my body is rendered immobile, my vocal chords have recovered.

"Bulma," I reply, faintly first, and then when I feel more in control I shout. "Bulma, get me the hell out of here!"

"Vegeta? Oh my god, Vegeta! I'm working on it, okay. I know this is hard for you, but whatever you see when we reach you, you need to stay calm. I've enlisted some help, so don't freak on me, there's not long to wait now. We've almost got you out."

"We've?" What the hell is she talking about? We are the only creatures on this godforsaken little hellhole.

I put my curiosity to the side. She is right. I have to stay calm. I can hear more metal being moved and see a chink of daylight piercing through the gloom. Now I can see more clearly I notice that a large piece of rock is pressing on my legs. Another groan followed by more beeps and suddenly it's lifted. My relief is very quickly put on hold as excruciating pain rips through my body. I'm not sure whether I am grateful or not, as I scream under the sudden revival of feeling in my mangled limbs.

"Oh Dende, Vegeta! You're legs are a mess."

"So I can feel," I grunt through the pain.

"Move this piece here," she orders to someone unseen by me. "But be careful of that large piece of rock. It might topple in on him if you take it out too quickly."

"Who's with you?" I demand.

"It's like I said Vegeta. I enlisted some help. It wasn't all that difficult to switch the programming. Once I found one of them you actually left partially intact."

"What the…." My speech is momentarily put on hold as another weight is lifted from me, and the last piece of my tomb is removed. More pain drifts in with almost insufferably bright sunshine.

I grit my teeth under the agony and squint as my eyes adjust. Fear falls like a dead weight over my chest at what I see. One of those damn machines is standing over the hole I lay in, with a large chunk of metal in one of its strong claws.

"No fucking way!"

There are sobbed giggles emanating from behind it and it steps to the side as Bulma slides down the debris to throw herself at my side. She grabs hold of my chest, and sinks her head into it. Even though it is painful I do not stop her, even when I can feel the wetness of her emotion, running over my bare skin.

"Vegeta! Oh my god! I was so worried about you, you big oaf!"

"What?" I say. "You didn't think a few bits of metal would get the better of the Saiyan no Ouji, did you?"

"I don't know about that," she sniffles, letting me go and giving my body the once over. "It looks to me as if they've given you one hell of a beating."

I snort, wishing the pain would allow me to prove her wrong.

"Here," she says, pushing something to my lips. "It's the last senzu bean… swallow."

I do as she asks, and wait patiently for my injuries to heal. Normally I hate having to take these darn things, but under my current immobility and her insistence, I am for once very grateful for the small bean.

I can feel it taking affect now. Ki rushes into the void that I felt before and I watch with the fascination it always inspires when all my lesions close, and I can feel the re-growth and setting of my broken bones.

I have so many questions for her, and now my body is starting to heal I will waste no time in asking them.

"How long have I been down here?"

"About thirty hours, give or take a few."

"Fuck!" I swear. "I had no idea it was that long."

"Yeah tell me about it. You scared the shit out of me!"

"Don't act like it's anything special," I chuckle, tentatively sitting up. "I scare the shit out of everyone."

"Keep that up mister and I'll just tell Seven-Zero-Two here to cover you back up."

"Ha! Just try it woman. You've already fed me the senzu, you cannot take it back now… but that leads very nicely to my next question. Just what in the seven levels of hell have you done to that thing to make it obey you?"

"Oh!" she says dismissively, passing me a bottle of water. "Not much really, the code was already there I just used the ships computer to crack the programming and then installed some encrypted voice commands. It was easy really."

Having quickly finished the water, I stand on shaky legs. "Impressive."

She blushes and moves to my side as if I need her fragile human body to support me. I let her embrace me. I have more questions but first I want to get out of my premature grave. I fly us both out, as Bulma orders the machine to follow. My breath actually catches in my throat as I survey the miles of destruction all around. My god! How did I survive an explosion like that with barely any ki? It is a miracle I am still alive.

With Bulma in my arms I head back to the ship. "How did you find me?" I ask.

She points to the peculiar headpiece she is wearing. "Thermal imaging goggles," she says matter-of-factly. "Don't leave home without them. It was hard to tell the difference between you and the remaining fires at first, but we got there in the end."

"We - you mean the tin can helped you?"

"Seven-Two-Zero is not a tin can, he's a highly intelligent state of the art battledroid!"

"Whatever," I snort. Damn these humans and their prickly emotions. Why doesn't it surprise me that she managed to make friends with a machine programmed solely for destruction? Humans! I will never understand them.

We make it to the ship and I am alarmed to see that the whole circular structure is black. Bulma seems to pick up on my shock.

"The fires burned out of control for several hours. Something used in the robots hydraulics is extremely flammable. It's superficial. I had more important things to take care of than cleaning the ship."

"And what about the ship?" I ask as we walk through the door, and into the spherical living quarters. "Is it ready?"

"I haven't tested it yet, but yes. We can go home now."

I can hear the relief in her voice, equalled as it is by my own. Home… well at least her home. On Earth there is Faylorn, on Earth there is a battle waiting me that will surpass anything I have encountered before. Kakarrot is in Other World and in no position to take my victory away from me. In the last month I have almost died twice. I can't wait to test my new strength on the bastard, and I cannot wait to see my son again. I just hope to the Kai's he has not suffered greatly. He doesn't deserve to go through the same shit I did at that age, no creature does.

"I think…" Bulma says, nervously. "I think we should make a detour."

"No!" I protest. "There will be no more waiting."

"A few hours ago I would have agreed with you, Vegeta, but finding my new robot friend has made me realize something."

"What?"

"Do you think that Faylorn is alone?"

"I hadn't really thought on it."

"Neither had I, but it's plausible that we could run into trouble attacking him head on. Now before you protest, Vegeta. I don't doubt your strength or your ability, but if fighting today has proven anything then - in fighting sheer numbers at least - you are not invincible. What if he has brought a fleet of fighters with him? What would you do then? You'll have your hands full with Faylorn, do you really think the others - if they even survive their current fight - will be able to hold them off?"

"What do you propose?" I ask, following her to the spaceship door once again.

She points to the robot, jumping its way over its fallen comrades in the distance. "I say we let fate work to our advantage for a change."

I look at her out of the corner of my eye, trying desperately hard to hide the admiration I feel flowing through my chest and making me feel like I can doing anything at her side. "Bulma," I say, knowing my voice will waver. "You truly are a genius."

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A/N - Late yet again, but I hope it was worth the wait. *hugs* Ember