Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ For the Sake of the Saiyan ❯ Deception and Betrayal ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A/N: Not much to say at the moment. As usual, big thanks to Ember (and Andy, and the kids *grin*). Also thank you to Savannah (and Veggie, her Saiyan Prince.)


Part 5-Deception and Betrayal

Nemie and Anai warily levitated up to the short metal railing that encircled Karin's Tower. Before landing, they looked around, searching for any sign of life.

"It looks deserted." Anai said softly. She felt her heart sink. If Karin was gone, then there was no hope for Vegeta.

"Let's check it out." Nemie set down gently on the cracked wooden floor. She felt the old planks give slightly under her boots.

Anai landed just behind her and the twins started their exploration. They hadn't taken three steps when a voice stopped them.

"I believe you're looking for me."

Nemie spun quickly on her heel to face the speaker, but Anai froze in place.

That voice, soft but haggard...like tarnished silver. The voice from her dream.

"It's alright, Anai. I'm not going to hurt you or your sister."

Both girls' faces went ghostly pale. Anai turned slowly to see the mysterious person.

He was a cat, standing erect no more than four feet tall. His aged, milky fur was streaked with gray and he leaned on a carved wooden staff as if his stubby legs barely supported him.

"K-Karin?" Nemie stuttered.

He nodded. "Yes, I am Karin. And you are Anai and Nemie, Trunks's Saiyan pupils. Adoptive daughters, you might say."

"How...what...but why..." Anai finally gave up trying to speak and held out in her hands in confusion.

Chuckling slightly, Karin took a few wobbling steps toward them. "I am a telepath, I know everything." He cocked his head to the side. "I also know why you've come here."

"The senzu beans." Nemie said. Karin gave an affirmative nod.

Anai sighed in relief. "Well, at least we don't have to explain anything or prove who we are."

Karin started toward the center of the landing, teetering to a large circular table with four intricately carved wooden chairs. "Come, sit down. My old paws are weak and I find it hard to stand for too long."

The girls followed the feline over to the table and sat down.

"Now," Karin said, shifting comfortably, "you want me to give you a bag of senzu beans to take back to your headquarters so you can revive Vegeta."

Anai shrugged. "Well...yeah. You pretty much summed it up."

Leaning across the table, Karin rested his chubby chin on his front paws. "I have a question for you girls. Do you have any idea how much energy it takes to grow even a small crop of senzu beans?"

The twins shook their heads silently.

"I didn't think so. It takes much more than I can spare. Give me one good reason why I should grant you a bag of my beans."

Nemie didn't like the condescending tone the cat was getting. "What?"

"If I give you my beans, then you'll use them to bring Vegeta back. I never cared much for the Prince, so why should I allow you to revive him?"

Nemie took a deep breath to keep her temper under control. It wasn't working. "Maybe because if Vegeta isn't brought back, we'll lose this war for sure."

"And how does that concern me?"

Nemie stood up, despite Anai's forceful hand on her arm. "It concerns EVERYONE. If the Dark Army succeeds in dominating the planet, Earth is doomed. In case you haven't noticed, you're on Earth, and whatever happened to Kami's Lookout will happen to the rest of this tower, too."

"Nemie, sit down." Anai jerked on her sister's arm, pulling the white-haired Saiyan back into her chair.

Karin sat back, a smile on his face. "Point taken."

Nemie gaped at Karin. "Huh?"

"You make a good argument, Nemie." His grin widened. "I was testing you...seeing just how badly you wanted these senzu beans, how far you would fight to get them."

"So...you'll give us a bag of beans?" Anai asked.

Karin sighed. "In the past, the Z Fighters were the only ones I handed the beans out to, and even then sparingly. But now, all the Z Fighters are gone...even my dear friend Yarjirobe. You Renegades are the closest thing to the Earth's Special Forces. I am very old, and I can feel my time dwindling every day. Once I'm gone, there will be no more senzu beans." He stood up and waddled almost painfully over to a small cabinet built into the nearby wall. He pulled out a cloth bag no bigger than a softball and made his way back to the table. Tossing the bag on the table, he continued. "There are thirty-five beans in there. The biggest crop I've harvested in a very long time. One bean will provide nourishment to a person for ten days. Don't waste them. These are the last senzu beans that will ever be produced."

Anai reached out and gingerly picked up the bag. "I don't know how to thank you enough, Karin."

Karin shrugged, suddenly weary. "Win this war, restore Earth to the way it was before." He spared a smile. "And come back for a visit every now and then. I'm lonely out here with no one to play cards with."

Anai chuckled and stood up. Nemie scratched her head.

"Um, I'm sorry about yelling at you..."

Karin dismissed it with a wave of his paw. "I understand. You remind me of Trunks. Both of you do. He-" The feline stopped short, his fur bristling with anxiety.

"What's wrong?" Anai asked, leaning forward with concern.

"You two must go back as quickly as possible. Something's happened at your headquarters."

"Can you tell what?"

Karin shook his head. "No. We are much too far away and my abilities are not what they used to be. Go, as fast as you can fly. Don't waste any time."

Nemie cursed. "Ryukin must have found our base and he's after Vegeta!"

"Let's fly." Anai stuffed the beans in her armor and the girls ran for the edge of the platform. "Thank you again Karin! We owe you!"

"Be careful!" Karin replied as the two launched themselves from the landing and sped away, their aura's flashing yellow as they turned Super Saiyan.

"What are we going to do, Anai?" Nemie asked, shouting over the roar of the wind.

"I don't know yet. If the Army's found our base, the others might be able to fight them off until we get there..." Her voice trailed off. She knew the Renegades wouldn't stand a chance if Pichu showed up with a horde of hellhounds.

That thought alone made Anai push her power further to increase her speed. Nemie had to work to keep up.

"Anai! You're going to hurt yourself! Slow down!" Nemie yelled.

Anai shook her head forcefully and drove herself to ascend to Super Saiyan level 2. It was rare that the twins ever did so. Her wild mane of hair broke out of its ponytail and became more jagged and raised, except for the one thick lock that hung in her eyes.

She ignored Nemie's warning cry and left her sister in a flash. Nemie reluctantly followed Anai's lead just to stay close.

The sun was setting when the girls finally entered the sector where their headquarters was hidden.

Anai slowed down, letting her ki diminish and reverting back to normal. She didn't want the Army to know she was coming.

"How did they find the base?" Nemie wondered, flying just below her sister.

"I don't know and I don't care. I just hope to Kami that no one's hurt."

They approached the cliff that housed the Renegade headquarters and hovered above it for a moment. Nothing seemed out of place.

"What do we do, fearless leader?" Nemie asked softly.

Anai didn't answer at first. She scanned the area and pointed to the lake on the other side of the cliff. "Back entrance. We'll sneak in from behind."

The girls flew over the bluff to float a few feet off the lake. The water was perfectly calm; only the tiniest of waves rippled across the blue-green surface where the girls' energy disturbed it. The water reflected the red, purple, orange and pink light from the slowly setting sun. It would have been beautiful if the twins hadn't been so nervous.

"Ready?" Anai asked. Nemie nodded.

They both sucked in a deep breath before diving straight down to the bottom of the lake. They swam along the sandy floor until they came to a long metal tube with an airlock door. Anai punched a button on the waterproof keypad and hurriedly scanned her fingerprint to gain access. The airlock hatch opened with an audible hiss and a string of bubbles rose rapidly to the surface. The girls swam in and closed the door behind them. Immediately after the hatch was sealed, the water drained out, leaving the six foot tall tunnel relatively dry.

Nemie allowed her ki to flare only slightly, the heat from it drying both Saiyans instantly. With Nemie in front, the twins stared their cautious walk into the base.

Once they reached the entryway that lead into the ready room, they stopped. Anai concentrated on feeling any unusual ki signatures inside, but she felt nothing. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she nodded to Nemie, who flung the door open and flew inside. Anai was right on her heels.

Before Anai even had a chance to see anything, something heavy landed solidly on the back of her neck, making her knees crumple like paper beneath her and her vision go black.
* * *
When Anai opened her eyes, her vision was still blurry and it took a few seconds before she could see clearly. She felt a dull ache at the base of her neck where she'd been hit, but other than that she could feel nothing.

Blinking a few times, Anai realized she was lying on her back and a face was leering over her. Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach churned at the realization of who it was.

Tiger-orange hair that stuck out in odd, disheveled angles; corrupt red eyes; pale, almost sickly grayish colored skin; and a twisted, baneful smirk that made a person's blood run cold. General Ryukin himself, the leader of the Dark Army and the most powerful warrior in the universe.

"Ryukin." Anai spat, overcoming her sudden fear.

"Ah, glad to see you're awake, my dear. I was afraid Fain had hit you too a little too hard." His voice was like a tainted sword, cold, dark and very dangerous.

"Where's Nemie? And the others?" Anai demanded, forcing herself to sit up despite her spinning head.

"I'm here, Anai." Nemie said gruffly from not far away. She was sitting on the ground, her hands bound behind her with ki-suppressing shackles. A lanky dark-haired woman stood over her dominantly.

Anai looked around and saw the others restrained in a similar way, each with a soldier standing over them. Mercay was thrashing wildly, merely growling when his guard struck him with a large electric rod. Silva sat submissively with her head down, her violet hair hiding her tear-strained face. Ren struggled against his manacles uselessly, rage barely controlled in his dark eyes. Lorn was simply unconscious from being beaten with a 50,000-volt cattle prod.

But wait...that wasn't all the Renegades. Someone was missing.

"Kyris!" Anai exclaimed. "Where's Kyris?"

"Oh, you mean him?" Ryukin asked, motioning toward the front doorway.

Anai looked to where he pointed, afraid she would see a bloody body, but was not prepared for what she did see.

Kyris stood straight and tall, his arms crossed over his chest and a huge, triumphant grin plastered across his handsome face. He was dressed in the Dark Army's maroon armor; a medal with a gold blade symbol hung on his breast.

"What..." Anai watched as Kyris walked over to stand next to Ryukin.

"My darling child, I'd like to introduce you to Major Kyris DeLar, one of my most loyal officers." Ryukin said proudly, clapping the boy on the shoulder like a father would do to a son.

Anai sat dumbfounded. She swore under her breath and shook her head sadly.

"No..." Nemie whispered before launching into a vulgar barrage of curses and insults directed toward her former friend. She strained against her chains, only to grunt in pain when her guard stabbed her with an electric prod.

"I was surprised how easily I slipped in and gained your trust." Kyris said, still smiling. "It was so simple it's almost not fair."

Ryukin leaned toward Anai and snatched the bag of senzu beans by the cloth edge that poked out of her armor. "I was hoping you would find out about these beautiful little things."

"You knew we were going to find Vegeta. That's why you let us get away with him." Anai said slowly, all the answers becoming clear. "You could regrow his body, but his energy was a problem. So you let us take him and find the senzu beans to reanimate him." Anai sighed. "It was right there under my nose the whole time."

"It's amazing, the little monkey figured it out." Ryukin gloated. He leaned in close to whisper in Anai's ear. "I created you, child, don't you think I would know how your mind works?"

Anger suddenly bubbled up inside of her. She rocked back on her hips and extended her legs to kick Ryukin squarely in the face. As he staggered back, it was like a domino effect with the Renegades. They attacked their guards as best they could before anyone could react. Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough and they were enveloped in raw electricity.

The last thing Anai heard before fading out again was Ryukin's barked order, "Grab Vegeta. We'll deal with these pests when we get back to base."