Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Hunted Saiyans ❯ Part 2: Chapter 1: Emptiness Fills Me ( Chapter 7 )

Title: Hunted Saiyans: Part 2; Haunting and Hunted: Nova Celestia

Anime: Dragonball Z

Author: MizuSasuke

Rating: Y

Category: Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Sci-Fi/Suspense/Action Type: Alternate Universe

Summary: Part 2 of the Hunted Saiyans Trilogy: The Hunt has begun. Everyone aboard the NS 5000 must make a decision quickly, for the safety of the Universe is at stake. Meanwhile, the Voice has found what he wanted, and lets a band of machines loose that will hunt down the Saiyans and destroy them… Without Goku, will the group survive?

 

 

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the characters in Dragonball Z. Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama. It is owed/licensed by Toei, Bird Studios, Shonen Jump, Funimation, and Viz. I do however own Tilo and the plot so don't you steal!

 

Please Note: You must read Part 1 in order to understand Part 2 ^-^. It explains who Tilo is, bla bla bla… Ok? Good. Here we go!

 

 

HUNTED SAIYANS

Part 2

 

by

MIZU SASUKE

 

 

Part 2: Nova Celestia

 

 

 

 

Tilo… never forget… Never forget…

 

 

Chapter 1

Emptiness Fills Me

 

 

Gone in the blink of an eye. Destroyed in a second. Decimated and left a wasteland. This is what the Voice had done to Earth. From space, it was nothing more then an ugly brown mass.

 

The size of the moon, the Voice's ship could be seen in the distance. It was irregularly square in shape, the Sun's reflection shone harshly on its rugged, metallic surface. The design was very much like Scar's artificial arm: pounding wires that were fixed here and there. The body of the ship was a network of different surfaces clinging together like that of hasty path-work. Tiny black windows that revealed nothing from within ship were designed as confusing as the entire make-up of this enormous killer. Looking at it directly, it seemed to have no main entrance, for there were numerous accesses it seemed, each labelled with a yellow substance in an alien code.

 

For a moment, it appeared motionless, but then several of these entrances began to slowly open. From the depths of these entrances, tiny ships revealed themselves. With a loud fuming noise, they hastily began to fire up their engines.

 

It was only a matter of time before they launched…

 

Tseeeeeeeeeeewww!!!

 

Zooming at incredible speed, the ships raced towards the NS 5000.

 

Within the NS 5000, all was not well. The death of Goku and the complete wipe out of the Earth had left more scars within everyone's heart then one would have thought. The loss was a metal vice with rusty blades that stung and bit deeply into everyone's flesh. Gohan could not take the pain.

 

But Vegeta was not one to remorse for long. Despite the loss of the Earth and his arch rival, they had worse problems on their hands. In the distance, several thousand km away, was a massive ship, and Vegeta certainly did not like the looks of it.

 

“What the hell is that?!” Vegeta growled, staring at the Voice's space ship with clenched fists.

 

Bulma's head slowly rose from her cupped, tear stained hands, and slowly, her eyes widened in realisation…

 

Transfixed in space, the NS 5000 could only stare in horror at the numerous battle ships that had been released to kill them. The ships headed towards them with a speed Bulma had never seen. Each ship was equipped with space missiles and lasers.

 

“What do I do?!” Pulla cried, her hands shaking rapidly away from the steering, “Oh Kami, what do I do?!”

 

“Turn away woman!” Vegeta yelled.

 

But Pulla was immobile. Her eyes full of fear and she hastily covered her mouth with trembling hands. Her head shook uncontrollably.

 

Vegeta growled. Why did the human race have to be such cowards?! Was this the first time she had ever faced death?! Come on! She was the only one who knew how to fly this thing, what the hell was she doing?!

 

The ships came ever closer. Chibi Trunks and Goten watched in amazement. This was very different from their future… How could the events have changed so much? In his orange gi, chibi Goten's sweaty little fingers held the Four Star dragon ball, as if to suck the life from it and give him strength… He needed strength...

 

Missiles were launched. The NS 5000 suffered a direct hit on the lower left wing! Videl, Bulma and Pulla cried out. The entire ship was knocked and rattled sideways violently. Red warning lights flashed across the room and danced on everybody's features.

 

“Warning! Warning!” the machine-hostess called throughout the ship, “The NS 5000 is under severe attack. Emergency armour will now be enabled.”

 

Encircling the ship, a new layer of metal covered its surface. Vegeta clenched his fists as he watched the enemy ships advance closer, their momentum un-altered. Estimating their speed and distance, Vegeta already calculated the amount of time they had left to live. It was not long.

 

“Pulla, get a hold of yourself!” he snapped, his fist hitting on the control panel, “IF YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!”

 

Pulla's tears wanted to run down her cheeks, but even they seemed inert.

 

From the corner of his eye, Vegeta caught Gohan's furious eyes. He was on the floor, still clutching to his shredded, bleeding leg. Vegeta piercingly wondered who could have done so much damage to the younger Saiyan.

 

Vegeta could also recognise the anger in Gohan's face. He had seen it enough times to know what it meant. It was a look that meant he wanted to help, wanted to destroy, wanted revenge, but was powerless to do so. Vegeta had experienced it himself on more then one occasion. It also meant that in his fury, Gohan could think of nothing else but destruction. The man was holding too much anger to do anything rational at the moment.

 

Damn it.

 

Bulma stumbled towards the control panel and typed in co-ordinates. She had typed them in once before, and that was when she had flown with Gohan and Krillin in space; it was one of the few co-ordinates she remembered. Auto-pilot was just a button away. Should she press it? She knew the disadvantage of putting her ship on auto-pilot: A computer is accurate, no doubt, but could it avoid missiles and duck and turn in time? She always preferred human intuition, but her choice now, regretibly, was none. She looked at Vegeta and knew just as well as he did that the ship's armour would not hold out long.

 

“Mom!” Tilo cried just as another strange beam headed for them.

 

Pulla gasped.

 

She clenched the steering tightly with one hand and pulled a lever with another. With amazing accuracy, she managed to turn just in time. The beam zoomed past. Typing in more buttons, she wrenched the ship sharply and the engines roared louder. The blue flames from the ships engine grew larger: 80%, 90%, 100%!

 

It exploded with furious rage away from the incoming ships. Pulla trembled at her newfound bravery.

 

“I guess we can forget Auto-pilot?!” Bulma said.

 

“Oh no…” Goten pointed at the radar. About 50 ships were hot on their tail, and within a second they were completely surrounded.

 

“This… is not good…” Trunks clenched his fists, “What do we do?”

 

Goten looked at the window to his rear where chibi Trunks and Goten had rushed to. Both of them peered through the glass and suddenly gasped.

 

“They're about to fire!”

 

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG (sound of beams charging)

 

“I don't like the sound of that!” Goten turned towards Vegeta, “What do we do?! The ship is already at a hundred percent!”

 

Another attack of beams and the entire ship shook violently from the assault. Everyone aboard was jerked off balance and off their feet. Pulla closed her eyes, her fragile head was inches away from crashing into the floor. She cried out, but Trunks jumped for her and caught her safely into him. He quickly set her back in her seat.

 

“You can do it,” he told her, gripping her shoulders as lightly as he could, “We'll help you.”

 

Bulma nodded in agreement.

 

“Ships defence system down by 20%,” the Hostess warned them.

 

Trunks hopped into the chair just below Pulla's pilot seat. He cracked his fingers, “Ok,” he thought, “I'm an inventor, not a pilot, but I think I'll be able to work this out…”

 

Bulma rushed to another seat as well. She waited until she was given commands.

 

nnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

 

Parried by several beams, Pulla did not wait. She gave the ship another sharp turn and knocked into several enemy ships. They exploded on the brutal impact. Chibi Goten got to his feet and pointed happily at the firework display.

 

“Ha ha! Yeah, you go Mrs. Pulla!”

 

Tilo's mouth was slightly agape. Wait a minute…

 

He headed for the control panel and found what he was looking for: the ship's map. His eyes trailed over the keys and back on the map. Labelled 1 was the main deck; 2 was the café area, 3, just below, was the engine room… Darn it, there were more then 30 rooms in this massive ship… it had to be one of these…

 

Found it!

 

Labelled #15 was the suit-up room. He clicked on another button, guessing it would open its doors and release the suits. Hopefully there were some.

 

“Hey!” Bulma called out, “What are you-”

 

“No son,” Pulla cried, “I know what you're up to! It's too dangerous! Don't you dare!”

 

But Tilo ignored his mother's wishes and headed for the chamber, running through the wizzing electronic doors. He memorised the path and would get there in no second at all. His heart was racing. He couldn't contain his excitement. Would this really work?

 

When Tilo was out of earshot Vegeta hmphed, “Finally, someone else is thinking around here!” and he smiled, “That's more like it.”

 

He looked down at his son. Trunks nodded. Quickly, Vegeta ran after Tilo.

 

“Hey,” Goten stumbled as he tried to get to his feet, “Wait up!”

 

Videl watched them leave. `A plan huh? It better work.' She slowly walked at Gohan's side. She put her gentle hands on his shoulder. Softly, she touched his bleeding leg in an attempt to remove his soaking bandages. He winced in pain and clutched her tiny wrist in his hand tightly and she yelped at the sudden clutch in pain.

 

“Videl…Now's not the time,” he told her through gritted teeth. Sweat slid down his face.

 

“You're in too much pain, and soon enough it's going to get infected!” she managed to say when her pain quickly subsided.

 

“Don't… just leave me!” he told her as softly as he could. He looked away and released her wrist. Videl sighed, “I'm sorry Gohan… I'm sorry you can't help.”

 

“You can't,” chibi Trunks smiled evilly. He stood up and gave a victory sign, “But we can! Hey Goten,” he said, “We can't let them have all the fun, can we?”

 

“Nope! Let's go!”

 

They both laughed in excitement and followed Vegeta and Goten as fast as their little feet could carry them.

 

“I hope your happy Trunks! Honestly, don't you care what's going to happen to Tilo?'

 

“My dad's with him,” Trunks said as he watched his radar flash. Something wasn't quite right. From the weird ship before them, the doors opened again… Their numbers weren't dwindling: in fact; they appeared to be increasing!

 

“All right dad,” Tilo communicated, his voice sounding a little muffled through the speakers, “We're all suited up! You can open the hatch!”

 

Trunks gave Pulla a reassuring look, then pressed a green button.

 

“Attention! Attention!” said the Hostess' voice, “Gate 3 has been released. All remaining doors have been locked for your safety. All passengers leaving the ship must be attached to an air cord. Thank you.”

 

A whining to alert passengers and Gate 3 slowly opened. Through his white space suit, Tilo let a deep sigh of amazement. So this was space… A billion stars reflected themselves on his suit's window. Three other people stepped out of the ship from behind him.

 

“Here they come!” The voice of chibi Goten and Trunks combined rang in his speakers. He turned back and gave little Gotenks a thumbs-up. The kid returned it. With some effort, all four Saiyans managed to get themselves above their ship.

 

The enemy fleet came closer. Like a swarm of bees they flew in a bizarre, yet effective formation. Much like the honey-hunting insect, they had one target and nothing would change their minds.

 

The four Saiyans braced themselves.

 

The sun shone brightly behind them reflecting on their space suits.

 

Within the ship, everybody else held their breath. It was now or never.

 

“Kaaaameeeekaaaameee…” Goten began.

 

The fleet was mere meters away now. A little closer and you could see the ugly passengers.

 

Vegeta thrust his arms back. Two yellow balls grew in his palms. “Final…”

 

Gotenks smirked and mimicked Vegeta's movement, “Big… Tree…”

 

Tilo held his hands up high and concentrated on a massive ball. This should do it. This should incinerate all of them… “Finish…”

 

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

 

Goten was the first to release, destroying about 20 ships in the wave's path.

 

The rest was soon to follow, their attack names being yelled up towards the heaves.

 

“FLAAAAAAAAASH!!!”, “ATTAAAAAAAAAAK!!”, “BUSTER!!!!”

 

Tilo's massive ball engulfed most of the ships and exploded them in mere seconds. Like domino's, the rest of the ships hectically followed in their demise. They had no chance against the full-out assault. The display was so incredible that Tilo felt a shiver up and down his spine. He panted and waited until the smoke cleared… there was nothing left. He wheezed for air and let a big `phew!' raising his hand as though to wipe sweat from his brow, “ha… ha…Maybe… I…. over did it?”

 

“Yah think?” Gotenks asked with his hands planted firmly on his hips.

 

“It's not over,” Trunks' voice crackled in, “There 50 more ships, and they don't look happy. Oh, wait… they're larger in size now.”

 

Vegeta flew before everyone else and held his right arm to stop anyone from following, “Hmm. I can take them all down no matter what the size.” From within the ship one could hear Bulma's exasperation and she cried out, “Vegeta! Now's not the time to act like the hero!”

 

“Hmn hmn hmn…” Vegeta grinned and waited for the incoming ships. He pulled his hands back…

 

Thaackk!

 

“AAAGHH!”

 

A direct hit in the side. Vegeta's blood floated within his suit and rose to his head. His suit was mere seconds away from tearing…

 

“Oh no! Vegeta!” Goten called. Powering up, Goten grabbed Vegeta firmly by the waist. With effort he tried to dodge more incoming beams. Gotenks and Tilo fired even more fury attacks in an attempt to slow them down, but to their surprise, the beams reflected right off the enemy ships…

 

“What the, are you kidding me?!” Tilo yelled and powered up.

 

Vegeta was almost in the ship, but it was just a matter of seconds before he would die. Goten knew for a fact that space was a quick killer. It was not an effective euphemism in his situation.

 

Powering up for another explosive attack, Tilo held his hands up high and generated a massive ball… Gotenks followed suit, his hands outstretched for another Final Flash mimic. Just as the enemy ships were ready to fire for round three and surely kill them, Gotenks and Tilo's attacks combined and created a super massive wave. In a second, this fleet was wiped out of space itself. Had there been gravity, Tilo would have fallen to his knees in sudden exhaustion. Gotenks looked at him, but Tilo could only see the sun's reflection on the Saiyan's window.

 

“You all right?” he heard in his speakers.

 

“Yeah… Let's head back…”

 

As soon as the gate closed and the gravity was back on, Vegeta ripped his arm away from Goten. He took his suit off and looked at his wound. It wasn't the laser that had caused the wound. The suit had cut him! Tilo slowly edged closer to Vegeta but the prince snapped, “Don't touch me! It's just a scratch. Believe me, I've had far worse.”

 

“Alright guys,” Trunks commented from the deck, “You're not going to like this, but that ugly thing is sending double the fleet.”

 

“What?!”

 

Pulla knew what she had to do. Bulma's co-ordinates had been punching her face the entire time. Now she would follow them: getting them out of here was her first priority. With the enemy fleet still charging up their engines Pulla turned the ship around and with full force, flew the ship in the opposite direction.

 

****

 

Dim light shone on his face as he sat crossed legged on the plush bed. The room was one of the smaller one's on the NS 5000, built especially for younger passengers. It had a cupboard to store one's clothes and it's very own deluxe bathroom. There were three beds, one was a bunk-bed, and to everyone's surprise, all the rooms had light bulbs and all the beds had proper bedding and linen. Bulma and Pulla explained that this ship was going on display the very next day, and so after all the last minute adjustments, it came with everything except food.

 

Bulma also had the courtesy of explaining to a very surprised Piccolo, a patient Pulla and a very pissed off Vegeta, all the events of the past 24 hours. The reactions were as expected: Pulla immediately began to discuss their options with Bulma, while Vegeta kept fuming that he wanted a chance against that pea-brained Scar, the muthafucker; Picollo was silent in his contemplations and asked where he could meditate.

 

Above him, chibi Trunks was sprawled fast asleep in his blanket. Chibi Goten smiled, and then fiddled with the Four Star dragon ball a little more. In all his 35 years of living, he had never come across such a brain poking puzzle. Well, he couldn't remember much of those 35 years, because it seemed that the wish did more then turn him into a kid again. The power of Shenron caused most of his adult memories to become blurry pasts, and they'd be more like vague dreams then actual memories. In addition, none of his adult qualities stayed with him; in fact, being a kid was like bringing Goten back in time. His childish vocabulary is all he knew, and playing games and eating and fighting and napping were constantly on his agenda. If it weren't for the dreams, and had Bulma of his timeline never explained what had happened to him, he would never have believed he was wished back. For all he knew, he was still a seven year old.

 

With no Father.

 

He sighed.

 

Staring at the four star, Goten really racked his brain. Why hadn't the four star dragon ball in this timeline disappeared, like they logically guessed it would? The only reason why chibi Trunks had let Bulma search for the dragon balls was to keep her hysterics away from their thinking process. And their thinking process was along the lines of, “Why is Scar here so early? What caused him to “rebirth” so quickly?” And when Bulma had actually found all seven dragon balls, boy was he surprised.

 

So if the dragon ball in his timeline remained, and it wasn't for the purpose of replacing the extinct dragon ball, then what was it for? When Dende died in their timeline, was there a reason why the four star was the one that remained compared to the other dragon balls? Or was it just coincidence?

 

Or maybe…

 

Just as Goten thought he was going to find the answer there was a knock at the door. He quickly put the ball in his pocket just as Tilo walked in.

 

“I'm starving!” Tilo groaned and fell into his bed.

 

Goten smiled.

 

“Yeah, me too! I could use some cake and meat and fish and… well, you get the idea.”

 

Tilo looked up at the napping Trunks.

 

“I can't believe that's my dad… It's so weird. I didn't think he was such a brat though, wow. Hmn, what's up?” Goten had been observing Tilo. “I donno,” he said, “Just wondering why you weren't born in our timeline.”

 

“But I thought it was because…”

 

“I think it is. But the woman he fought with wasn't called Pulla. I think. I can't really remember. I dreamt about it once!” Goten exclaimed and smiled broadly, “But then a giant monster stomped into my dream and ate everybody up. Ha ha ha!” Goten giggled.

 

Tilo smiled.

 

“I see. Well, I need a shower, I'm tired. I'll talk to you later!”

 

“You got it!” Goten nodded. Tilo closed the door to the bathroom, and just as he did, Goten revealed the dragon ball again. He looked at it, desperately trying to remember where his line of thought was before he was interrupted, but he couldn't remember. Sighing, Goten gave it one last look and then pulled his side-drawer open. It creaked a little as he pulled it, and then he kept it open. Quickly, Goten took his gi and shirt off and then nestled the ball safely in the drawer in his clothes. Smiling, he closed the drawer back into place, keeping the creaking at a bear minimum to keep chibi Trunks asleep. Then he let out a big yawn and fell asleep right away.

 

****

 

Tilo closed the door behind him and held onto the handle a little longer then was considered normal. He shivered and let the handle go. He walked over the mirror and looked at himself for the first time since he left the house more then 24 hours ago. He noted that he was a mess. His hair needed a good comb and his face looked too pale. He didn't smell too good either. But these observations were only made after he had stared at his face longer then he should have.

 

It wasn't out of vanity. Tilo did not care much about looks, he just didn't care. He knew he was handsome, and sure, it usually worked to his advantage, but he didn't see a need to be obsessively proud about it. No one was like that in his family anyway, (except maybe Bulma) but there were simply more important things in life.

 

Like Purpose.

 

He stared into his eyes in loathing. How could he have been so stupid? He killed Goku. He did it, no one else. Had he not gone to Scar, maybe Goku would have had a chance to make it aboard the ship. He ran over his logic again; tried to convince himself that it wasn't his fault, but with every outcome he came across, it was hopeless. The fingers were all pointing at him and he hated it.

 

He put their lives in danger. He ran to the lookout. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

“Note to self: I ran.”

 

He pounded his fist into the wall and cursed. The tiles cracked under his fist. He inwardly hoped his punch didn't make too much noise.

 

Tilo stepped back and discarded his jacket, then peeled his sweaty shirt off him. He looked around and was grateful to find a sign that said laundry on the wall. He clicked the plastic button and a shute shot open before him. Another sign said, “Deposit all laundry here.” Tilo dumped his clothes in and just as he was about to take off his pants Chibi Trunks barged in.

 

“Wha- what the hell?!” Tilo cried and pulled his pants back on, “Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!”

 

“Well haven't you ever heard of keeping quiet, we're trying to sleep you know! Time travelling does kill all your energy!”

 

“I didn't say anything!”

 

Chibi Trunks raised his eyebrow and pointed at the dent in the tiles.

 

“Keep it down you punk,” Trunks said then slammed the door.

 

Tilo clenched his fists in anger. How could he talk to him like that?! He opened the shower door and stepped onto the cold red tiles. He turned the warm water wheel and let the water take him. The heat cancelled out all smells and sweat. He looked up and let the heat soak into him. It patted onto his stiff muscles and down his gleaming abdomen. He put his head down and was grateful for his moment of peace… the water patted down his neck and back.

 

“Hybrid, you son-of-a-bitch!!”

 

Tilo's eye shot open. Below him, his water snaked down his legs and feet.

 

Oh yeah.

 

Scar.

 

There was no need to think about him. He was dead.

 

Taking a deep breath, Tilo slowly cancelled out most of his thoughts. Think of the nice, hot water…, he told himself.

Scar's eyes flashed before him: the pools of darkness that stared at Tilo with so much hatred. Tilo shook his head. Water… Water… Water… he chanted in his head.

 

He tried not to think about it and instead looked at the water pitter-patting loudly on the tiles.

 

Scar's black arm crushing Gohans leg into a bloody, devastating mess. All that blood and Gohan's screams…

 

Tilo clenched his eyes shut, but he could still see and hear everything. Tilo increased the heat of the water… let it burn those memories… burn the pain… burn the memories…

 

Scar throwing and bashing his father…

 

No.

 

He could not forget. For now, he could not forget.

 

****

 

To their advantage, the NS 5000 came with a meeting room. Heavily dressed like most 5 star hotels, everyone but Tilo, Chibi Goten and Trunks gathered. A large sky-light that had the option of closing or opening showed the racing of white tiny dots and three planets: one large blue ringed planet and two, smaller and duller in colour planets. Further, the cloud ring of another galaxy could be clearly seen. More nebula clouds were in the line of sight from the ship (that was now on auto-pilot); the colours radiating from it were an intense yellow and subtle pink.

 

“What are we going to do?” Bulma asked.

 

No one sat down on the expensive oak chairs but Pulla, who could always think better seated. Picollo was in a corner with his arms crossed. On a very comfortable sofa Gohan lay with Videl by his side. It was several hours later, and she made sure she washed his wound. Everyone else stood.

 

“We need the Namekian Dragon Balls! It's the only way we can wish the Earth back and my dad with it!” Goten said. There were mumbles of agreement.

 

“Yes, and then what? We wait for that thing to come back and destroy the Earth again?” Vegeta asked dripping with sarcasm, “I think not!”

 

“I agree,” Gohan said, trying to get up, but Videl pushed him back down, “We have to fight it!”

 

Bulma crossed her arms, “We have to fight it,” she repeated, “You make it sound so easy! We don't even know where it is! And besides, even if you find that thing I don't think you can beat it so easily!”

 

“I just want the Earth back,” Chi Chi said, “I…”

 

“Yes, we all do, but there's no point wishing it back when it'll get destroyed again!” Vegeta snapped.

 

For a moment it was silent. Chi Chi and Videl did not like where this was going. They were not planning to spend the rest of their lives as refugees in space.

 

“We need to relax for a moment,” Trunks said, “Take a deep breath and think our options through. First of all, I think it's of great importance that we get some food. Without it we can't fight. Second, the fuel on this ship, I don't know how long it will last, Mom?”

 

“Three months.”

 

“Ok, so we also need to find a planet that can give us some fuel, in case we run out or get an accident. Gohan, he can't walk like that forever. If I can get some material on a planet, I can make him an artificial leg. When he's fine, we-”

 

“We collect the Namekian Dragon Balls,” Picollo finished.

 

Everyone looked in his direction, nearly forgetting his presence. Trunks nodded, “Yes, then we collect the Dragon Balls. At least, if we have those, we can wish Goku back. He'll be a lot of help, especially if he can fuse with dad.”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Videl said as she held Gohan's hand tightly, “But where do we begin? I mean, there must be a million planets! How do we know which one to land on?”

 

Slowly, Goten, Trunks, Picollo and Bulma looked at Vegeta. He returned none of their looks.

 

“I know of one,” he said, “Its not far. Planet Senord.”

 

Goten jumped with a victory sign. His eyes already twinkled at the thought and smell and taste of scrumptious food again. Yes, he couldn't wait!

 

“All right!” Goten smiled, “This shouldn't be so hard, right guys?”

 

Somehow, Trunks wasn't so sure.

 

****

 

The body was gone and at first it had confused the man. Did the flames incinerate the body to ash? Was his enemy that feeble compared to himself? He remembered trying to detect the Saiyan's spirit, but when there was not a speck of ki, he started searching for the body himself. There was nothing.

 

Waiting for more than an hour, his ship finally came. The ship was black, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was made to blend in with other ships - not to attract attention from the enemy. It landed on the Earth, dirt clouds blowing in all directions as it landed on the lunar faced planet. The doors opened and he stepped within his ship. He had used his ship for about 10 years; its age and service was more noticeable when you first stepped in. The interior was mostly kept in shadow; he didn't find the need for too many lights, and there was very little of his personal belongings. Only one or two items seemed organic: his bed covers, and the leather on the seats on the main deck. It was a cold, yet, (despite its outward appearance) a highly effective ship for speed and destruction. He walked through several corridors then arrived at the main deck.

 

“All the other hunters are dead. Apart from the Voice and his machines and henchmen, I'm the only one left after the Saiyans,” he said. At first it seemed as though he were talking to himself, but then a short, slightly thin man revealed himself from the shadows. He wore a robe and hood. Underneath, he wore very little but a watch that told him the time and a dagger which he never left without. Pale, almost invisible hair dangled before his colourless eyes. With knitted fingers he rasped in a whisper-like voice, “Scar, why don't you just, forget about the Saiyans? Everyone who wants to kill them ends up dead. What happened was 100 years ago! These Saiyans have nothing to do with it. Why don't you just find something more… eh… meaningful?”

 

“Are you telling me revenge is not meaningful?”

 

“What, no! It's just that, the Voice is more powerful and cunning then you anticipated. With a click of a button, he managed to wipe out the entire Earth's population!”

 

Scar held his stub tightly and felt pain in the back of his mind. He didn't think the Voice would betray him so easily.

 

“I need a new arm,” he told the thin man, “Mine got… eh… burnt.”

 

The thin man nodded. He ticked in some locations and then a blue hologram of the discovered universe appeared before them. Scar stepped closer and studied the image produced. The closest and most advanced planet was in the Southern Galaxy.

 

“Planet-” the thin man said

 

“Senord,” Scar said.

 

****

 

Phew! Chapter 1 is finally finished. I really wrestled with this chapter! I usually have no problem with the first chapters but this one… agghh!!!

 

Anyway, please tell me what you think! Oh yeah, and thank you again Dope Sheet, Pala and Majin Naruto for reviewing my work. I really appreciate it and it's great to know someone likes my story! (tears!)