Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Hunted Saiyans ❯ Part 2: Chapter 7: Planet Meatus ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 7

Planet Meastus*

 

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

 

 

****

 

Aboard the NS 5000, Chibi Goten had a dream. He was in his comfortable bed, warm and snug, when he dreamed of the four-star dragon ball, glowing next to his cabinet. Actually, to be more accurate, he was dreaming of being in a kitchen, a dream that he enjoyed almost every night, when he reached for the chicken leg and realised that his hand was rougher, bigger and grown up. He gasped and the plate fell on the floor, shattering and clanging loudly. He stepped back and looked at himself in shock.

 

“Is this… real?”

 

He felt his face and his arms. He looked at his legs and realised he had gone back to normal. Or had he? How could he find out this was real? He accidentally stepped on a broken shard and gave a small yelp.

 

“Is someone there?”

 

Goten turned round. A slim figure stood in the doorway and he gasped, “Videl! You're… you're…” his words were caught in his throat. She was dressed in a nightgown; the moonlight from the window did not leave much to the imagination. She was sleepy, that was certain, and her angelic dress seemed to blow slightly in the night breeze. Broken words escaped his throat as the woman came closer, looking at him curiously, “Of coarse I'm alive!”

 

He rubbed his eyes and then his heart leapt. “Well, if… if you're alive we have to tell Gohan!” he took her arms in his and did a funny dance before his heart stopped. Something sexual coursed threw his body and his breath caught in his throat.

 

“Goten, are you o.k?” Videl asked him innocently.

 

Goten gulped and smiled weakly before letting go of Videl's soft skin. So this was what it meant to be an adult again?

 

Another voice broke the awkward silence and Videl turned to the doorway.

 

“Don't tell me you're also here for a midnight snack?” Videl told the figure at the arched entrance, “Honestly, the two of you are freeloaders!”

 

“Yeah yeah,” Trunks said, his bachelor self reaching for the fridge before he stepped on the broken plate and yelped. He turned around and faced Goten, looking stern, “You stupid kid, look what you've done!”

 

`Stupid kid?'

 

He looked at his body and shrieked; his hands were small again, his legs were tiny, his voice… his voice was anything but broken!

 

The world changed and mixed, Trunks' angry face was the last thing he saw before he realised that he was in a meadow and there was something warm. It was the sun, and its heat was bathing comfortingly on his cheeks, and he smiled. He reached out for the sun, laughing suddenly like the child he was, forgetting the nightmare that had just enveloped him and beamed at paradise. Slowly, as though coming from the centre of the sun, he heard Dende's voice and his heart paused. He shaded his eyes, looked into the sky very carefully and saw something coming from it… it was snaky and scaly, and Goten realised it was Dende's dragon…

 

His body jerked awake and sweat slipped down his body. He shivered and looked to his right: something was glowing from his drawer! He rubbed his eyes and opened the drawer with his little hands. The four-star was still glowing and he realised that he was not dreaming. Curiously, he reached for the ball and held it in his hands like it were his own egg. The longer he cradled it, the faster the glowing dimmed and finally the room went dark.

 

“Oh my God…”chibi Goten whispered. “There's something about you,” he breathed fearfully yet excitedly, “something…”

 

****

 

5 months later…

 

Planet Maestus:

 

A fatal accident to land here. Well, actually, we crash-landed.

 

Kami, I'm surprised I'm still writing. Writing is the only thing keeping myself from boredom. After everything we've been through, I didn't think I'd be able to pick up a pen and write…Anyway, I'm alive, and in some ways, I wish I wasn't. Terrible things have happened ever since we landed here. This must be the true meaning of being prey. This must be the true meaning of living in fear.

 

In the meantime, my strength hasn't increased and I haven't managed to get to Super Saiyan 2 yet. The chibi's are still not revealing much: it's like they foresaw this ever since the dragonballs were destroyed.

 

Oh yeah… It's nearly my birthday…

 

Well, I have to go now. Family meeting.

 

Five months had passed since the battle on Namek. Three months on the wretched planet Maetus. How did they get there…? From out of their window aboard the NS 5000, the planet's frightening sight nearly sucked the air right from their lungs. It was black and crimson, three times larger then Earth. This planet was a birth-error.

 

From space, it appeared cracked and broken: from the tip of the sphere right to the bottom run lava in quick courses and spitting death-rivers, branching over the entire planet's surface. Even its rotational axes was messed up. But the most frightening of all was the close proximity Meatus had with a black whole.

 

How was such a planet still in existence when the most fearsome creation of space, the black whole, devoured light itself?

 

“WARNING! WARNING!”

 

Perhaps it was fate that they were sucked into this region of space. Before any of them could react, the NS 5000 had crashed landed on Maetus.

 

“Tilo! TILO!! Oh, thank goodness, my baby!” Pulla grabbed her bloodied son, who had managed to cover his mother and act as a shield. He gave her space but she jumped back at him and smothered him with loving kisses. He tried not to cry in front of her. The other survivors, somewhat spread out, were coming to, climbing out of the rubble.

 

That's all that there appeared to be: Dust, rubble, death.

 

Trapped.

 

Gohan, with his heart sore managed with the help of Trunks, Tilo and the chibi's to lift what was left of NS 5000 from the rubble. Around them, the black and red of planet Maetus swelled and the lava jumped.

 

“I don't like this… I don't like this at all…” Pulla teared, “We're trapped… we're trapped on a barren planet…”

 

“No… it's too early to give up you guys,” Trunks said as he lifted another rock from their ship, “We still have food in this ship and the sooner we dig it out the better. Mum, do you think we'll be able to build another ship with the parts we find?”

 

“I don't know… I think it should be possible… we'll give it a try son…”

 

Blood seeped from their wounds and sweat dripped off their faces as they worked relentlessly to uncover any goods. By the end the hour they had dug up their food supply, engine parts, electrical components and a one of the four tanks that had managed to hold 50 liters of fresh water. As night crept on and the air became cooler Bulma and Pulla moved closer to the lava streams for warmth.

 

A sound. No, more like a feeling. They had felt it; Trunks, Gohan and Tilo: the rise of an unnatural ki.

 

As the night fell, something appeared in the darkness. Lights, millions of them, were seen in the distance, and for the first time since their landing, they felt hope: It was a high-tech city that had mysteriously illuminated in the darkness. They watched as out of nowhere, fences taller than buildings appeared several kilometers from their landing area. As more and more objects appeared before them they realized that the city must have uprooted itself from the ground. The black, wired fences that surrounded the city were but a few kilometers from them. The towers in the distance were sticking out like forks and the lights from homes shone red. Soon the bustling of traffic could be seen and heard: an entire civilization came to life.

 

And only one person understood this rise in ki.

 

“Fuck…” Tilo swore. “Quick, father, lower your ki level as much as you can!”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“Robots, they're everywhere… if they find us, we're dead!”

 

“Uh, he's right!” Chibi Trunks began to quickly lower his ki, “This is bad… this is really, really bad! If we don't hurry, they'll discover us! The city is awakening. Underground,” he looked at Chibi Goten, “We must move underground!”

 

No sooner had he said this did the first sign of commotion begin. Something within the city exploded and sirens could be heard from the incredible distance.

 

“The cave, we must go into that cave!”

 

“Trunks…” Chibi Goten whined in fear, “This has all happened before!”

 

“I know! I know!!” Chibi Trunks answered as he tried to get his ki down to as much as zero “Bulma, please, you must get as many electrical things as you can! You're going to build our only ticket out of here!”

 

As he spoke, the rest of the crew grabbed as many parts from the destroyed ship as they could and ran into the mouth of the cave.

 

“Here,” Chibi Trunks revealed a piece of paper from his pocket, “I nearly lost this…”

 

Bulma took it and eyed it suspiciously, her heart thumping wildly against her chest. Her throat contracted as she unfolded the sheet and here eyes widened, “What is this? How could you know of these things?”

 

“Quantum 35. Tripolium 78. Urtryianium slime.” Chibi Trunks said, “Three of the most important ingredients on that list. Without it, you cannot build another capsule like ours...”

 

“What... what do you mean? Another capsule? You mean!”

 

Thunder erupted in the distance and the black hole above them seemed to be growing bigger. An explosion and the gates opened. A flash of light and the sound of demolishment within the cave...

 

Five figures stood in the smoke. Behind them, about twenty small robots.

 

“First the smaller robots get infected...” Chibi Trunks sneered,

 

“Then the bigger ones...” Chibi Goten finished.

 

The dust cleared and five humanoids stared them down.

 

“I could have sworn I detected more of you...”

 

“Nope, just us,” Gohan said. By his side, were all the Saiyans but Trunks. Behind him lay a pile of debris and boulders among the wreckage of the NS 5000. The cave, Bulma, Pulla and Trunks had disappeared.

 

The five humanoids revealed their mechanical eyes that twitched and scanned their power levels. Their voices were human enough, if it weren't for that occasional `buzz' in their vocal cords. They were bald, athletically built, and they're postures showed power.

 

As the tension rose, Tilo could feel the same ki he had felt on Senord. These things were slowly getting infected.

 

“They're androids...” Gohan spat, “How does the Voice do it? How does he manage to spread this thing so quickly?!”

 

“POWER…. WE FEEL SO MUCH POWER!” the android yelled.

 

The little robots attacked, and blood already stained the air…

 

***

 

“Gah!” Tilo groaned as the blood stained the ground. He lay on a bed, made hastily from all the parts found in the wreckage. Next to him, his mother, Pulla, cleaned his wound.

 

“What happened? We're alive…?”

 

“Yes, but please, try not to speak…”

 

“FATHER! DAD!”

 

“Shhh! Everyone's alive Tilo… You got quite a beating… I want to clean this before.”

 

“LET ME SEE IT!”

 

He pushed her away; she was hiding the horror of his wound from him. Was it that shocking?! He lurched straight on his hard bed and immediately he felt the pain in his arm and fell back down. The sheets were stained in blood. He looked at his arm once more and nearly had a heart attack: on his bloodied arm, was a horrific burn that ran all the way down the length of his arm. It looked like he had borrowed something else's arm, something scaly and alian. His flesh was incinerated.

 

“Wha… how….:? It will… heal… right?”

 

“Yeah, it will,” Gohan appeared from another room and Tilo watched as his tired face barely looked him in the eye, “It's severe, but you have Saiyan blood. It should disappear in a week.”

 

For the first time since he woke up did Tilo notice his surroundings: they were in the cave, that was sure, but he thought his father had destroyed the entrance, so how did they escape? The ceiling was supported by bits of the NS 5000. The roof was about two meters high, and the doors that led to their parts of their cave were either covered by cloth or steel doors that they had dug up from the wreckage. It seemed that they had managed to save a lot from their crash.

 

“How… wow…” he breathed as Pulla continued to clean his wound, “How did you manage this?”

 

“Humans and Saiyans always find a way to adapt. As soon as the battle begun, Gohan had gone Mystic and Gotenks was at Super Saiyan 3… they destroyed all of them, but they predicted that stronger machines would be on their way, so…”

 

“So we fled,” Gohan continued, “And we managed to find another opening to this cave not far away. It appears that there was a city underground, right where we're standing, but I'm suspecting that something destroyed it a log time ago. You can still see some of the reinforcements…” Gohan ran his hand along an iron pillar near the door. Now that Tilo really looked at the room did he realise that, although a lot of their surroundings were rock and earth, the shape of the room was a geometric shape, the roof, although a little broken, was made from parts not taken from their ship, and, (how didn't he notice this) there was electricity!

 

“We're, we're in an abandoned home?”

 

“That's right, and by the looks of it, this place might have been a hospital. We found five beds. This room was one of the rooms that had curtains and so we hung them up. They're other rooms as well, but the rest of the buildings and rooms have been destroyed.”

 

Tilo stood up, and Pulla threw away the dirty water she used to clean her son's wound.

 

“What now? Even if we're here, we can't…stay here for ever… I mean…” as much as he didn't want to, Tilo began to whine as his fear gripped him, “We… I don't want to…”

 

“What else is there for us, huh?!”

 

The room was silent and tears fell from Gohan's eyes. “She's dead Tilo! My wife died! And I couldn't even find her body in that mess!!!”

 

“Gohan…”

 

“Up till this day, no matter how bad things were, I had my dad by my side. Now… now he's gone, and there's nothing we can do! The dragon balls are gone!!!”

 

Tilo had never seen a grown man cry and decided that it wasn't in his place to say anything.

 

“We can't give up yet… there's a way… I know there is…” Tilo whispered.

 

********

 

“40 litres of water, that's all we have left, and food to last us for another week or so. We're lucky we found these turnips,” Pulla said during the family meeting as she held up a gigantic turnip. She was much thinner than before, her skin pale, but she still radiated beauty. Everyone surrounded the hospital table as she continued to talk about their food supplies. Three months on this planet. Tilo's hand had somewhat healed in that time, though you could still see a lot of scars that would remain there for the rest of his life.

 

Bulma was hard at work. He watched as his grandmother continued to labour on the pod. Chibi Trunks and Goten would tell her over and over again that she needed the three main ingredients or it wouldn't work. She would never really answer.

 

As everyone dismissed themselves, Tilo walked carefully towards Bulma and watched as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Trunks was hard at work as well. Apart from the regular push-ups he did to get stronger, he would search for chemicals with Gohan that would help them make the tripolum and other ingredients mentioned on the list.

 

“That stuff… on the list… on the blue-prints you have… what does it do?”

 

Bulma didn't answer.

 

“Someone's gonna have to go in it, right? That's the only way we can escape, am I right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But why only for one person?!”

 

Bulma sighed deeply as she fixed another screw in place. “Tilo, look around you. I'm barely capable of making one as it is. Please, leave me…”

 

Tilo stood up. He watched as she continued. And she would do the same every day with his father, tinkering and working on this round thing. He didn't understand. He didn't understand anything. He wanted to help. He had to help. There had to be a way he could help!

 

His heart pumped. His lungs ached to shout and scream.

 

The rooms had become dimmer with each passing month. As he walked through the white-washed hallway, each of his footsteps echoing as he did, his eyes would gaze at the flickering of the lights, wondering what life would have been like if he turned 17 on Earth. He probably would have celebrated it with Kento. They'd be partying, hitting on girls, doing all kinds of stupid things. His heart cringed.

 

He walked towards his room which he shared with the Chibi's and opened the barely closed door. Chibi Trunks asleep. Chibi Goten however, was seated on the floor, his back against the bed for support, and in his hands, the four star dragonball. He would never let it go. Ever since their crash, he would never let it out of his sight. He would ponder and think like an adult for a few hours, and then he would return to the child he was, playing freely and cheerfully with Trunks.

 

Tilo sighed and fell onto his bare sheets, still coated by his blood.

 

“I hate you guys,” he suddenly said.

 

Chibi Goten looked up, “What?”

 

“I said I hate you. You have a list of ingredients; you're making my grandmother work like a slave for you, all for the sake of having one person use the thing.”

 

“One of us will find Vegeta… Teaming up with him will help. He'll come back with a bigger ship to save us!”

 

Tilo hmphed. “That's why I hate you. You keep saying the same thing. I'm going crazy listening to you two, acting as though you're much older than you are. You have done nothing to change the future…”

 

“We know… we know…” he clasped onto the dragonball tighter.

 

“And why the hell do you still have that thing, huh?! Why the fuck would you take one dragonball, and hold onto it like your life depended on it?!”

 

“Because it was the only one that didn't turn to stone...” he said softly, “There must be a reason for that. I've tried making wishes with this thing, I thought that maybe it still has magical powers, but… but it doesn't. And yet I know that this ball has the ability to save us… All of your dragonballs turned to stone. That must mean that something in our timeline happened that didn't happen here.”

 

Tilo scoffed in irritation and turned on his back. He stared at the ceiling, He was a prisoner. His life was a prison. It looked like the Saiyans were never destined for peace.

 

“Quantum 35. Tripolium 78. Urtryianium slime. What are those things anyway?”

 

“They are the ultimate shield. They protect you from harm. They completely drain your ki. Do you know that reducing your ki to zero means death? Quantum, Tripolium and Urtryianium together will reduce your ki to zero without killing you…”

 

Tilo's mouth fell. He understood. Suddenly he understood.

 

“The green slime. That stuff you guys came in… That's the only way of escaping, isn't it? Without it there's no point!”

 

The dust fell from the ceiling and onto Chibi Trunks' nose. Noise from the other rooms was heard in this room. He heard footsteps in the hallway come closer. Then they vanished.

 

“So where can you find these ingredients Goten?!”

 

No answer. His eyes were fixed on the dragonball.

 

“Why would you give my grandmother the list if you knew she wouldn't be able to find these ingredients huh?! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

 

He jumped up and grabbed the child by the collar. His little feet were dangling in the air and Tilo continued to yell, all his strength concentrated in a fist, “You think this is a game?! That you can just manipulate us?!” Chibi Trunks woke up and frowned as he watched Tilo yell, “How did Bulma from your timeline get this stuff?! If you don't speak, I swear I'll!”

 

Just then the door slammed open and Trunks walked into the room. His strides didn't stop there. He marched to his son, grabbed him and punched him, hard, in the face. The boy fell to the ground, his vision filled with stars.

 

Slowly, Tilo looked up in disbelief at his father.

 

“You idiot. If you continue to yell we'll be discovered.”

 

“Father…”

 

“Get up!”

 

Tilo slowly got to his feet. He slowly looked at his father.

 

“I'm sorry,” Trunks suddenly apologised. Tilo's eyes widened. “I'm sorry I punched you. I shouldn't have. I understand how you feel, believe me. We live in fear each and every day, don't we? We're all frustrated. But you must keep calm Tilo. Okay? You mustn't give up hope.”

 

“But dad… What are we doing? We're going to starve to death if we don't do anything soon! Please, tell me something, anything, so I can help!”

“I wish I could, but I'm as clueless as you are. Mum and these kids are the only ones who truly understand what we're looking for, and they'd rather we not talk about it. So please, try and stay calm.”

 

And with that, he left.

 

The room was quiet and Tilo could hear Chibi Trunks move in his bed. Clothes rustled as the kid got dressed. No one spoke.

 

“You want to know where to get that stuff?” Chibi Goten suddenly spoke, his eyes fixed on the ball. Tilo whirled round in shock and Chibi Trunks suddenly gasped, “Goten, NO!”

 

“Do you, Tilo? Do you really want to know?”

 

“Shut up Goten! You idiot, what do you think you're doing?!”

 

“The city,” Goten finished, “That city. Jaadrab. That's where they have Quantum 35, Tripolium 78 and Urtryianium slime.”

 

Tilo and chibi Trunks stared at the son of Goku, clasping tightly onto the little dragon ball, as though trying to suck its strength.

 

Chibi Trunks was the first to react by punching his friend in the face. The boy's face jerked from the force and the ball rolled out of his hands.

 

“You fool! What the hell did we agree?! Bulma said not to - ”

 

“I know…” Goten's face fell back, tears in his eyes as he began to cry and his voice hiccupped, “I know Trunks, but… but…”

 

Tilo interrupted, “You mean to tell me… that in your timeline, you landed here?” he nearly laughed at the very idea, “This is where you were trapped for all these months?”

 

“Yes, but we didn't know it would happen again,” Chibi Trunks contorted, “We just kept this list, this instruction sheet of how to build another pod, just in case something went wrong in this timeline and you guys needed an escape. We had no idea things would go wrong like this! We thought we'd win! We…” he held back a tear, “We didn't think we'd ever come back to this place you DUMMY!!”

 

Tilo's mouth still hung open, his lips in half a smile in mild disgust, shock and amazement. “Then why didn't you tell me about the stuff being here?”

 

“Because Bulma knew that if you'd find out you'd want to get it. She discussed it with everyone and they agreed that Trunks would be the one to get the ingredients. As of now, he is more reliable than Gohan. If you go, you will die…”

“What, so my father won't?! You think that he can go out there on his own?! They will detect him easily, and kill him!” He calmed down scowled in a very Vegeta-ish way. “Why did you tell me this Goten?”

 

“Because you won't shut up about it! You keep calling us stupid, and evil, and mean! You keep shouting, and yelling and punching and swearing!” Goten cried. So the mind of the seven years old completely took over. Goten was still a child after all, and Tilo relished at the fact that his grandmother never realised that children, even these two, can never keep secrets.

 

“But you won't go, will you?” Goten pleaded, “Promise me you won't go! PROMISE!”

 

“Okay… I promise kid. Okay? I won't.”

 

The sniffing lessened and Goten crawled towards his dragonball and picked it up. He gave it to Chibi Trunks, “I'm sorry Trunks,” he said, “I can't figure this out right now. I think I've been thinking about it for too long, right? I trust you with this for now.”

 

Trunks took it in his hands and patted his friend, “Sorry about that earlier. Get some sleep you stupid head! Okay?”

 

“Kay!”

 

Tilo's watched with an absent minded as Goten crept into bed and fell asleep, tears staining his face and pillow.

 

****

 

It was night and the lights were off. The distant echoing of voices could be heard from the nearby rooms. In this room there were two beds, each pushed against one another. It was the darkest room, but medium in size compared with the others. With her golden hair and dark eyes, Pulla paced around the room, her face uneasy.

 

“So everything is here is it?” she asked as Trunks prepared for bed. “The exact location?”

 

“Yup. Chibi Trunks had stolen it in his timeline. He managed to work out the perfect route through the city.”

 

“I can't believe you're doing this. Have you completely lost your mind?”

 

“Nope.”

 

She sighed as he removed off his shirt. “Pulla, we've been through this. Believe me, I'll be fine. Don't give me that look!”

 

He pulled her closer.

“Look at me,” he said softly and she raised her head, her eyes filled with tears that were just waiting burst out and fall. “I'm so proud of you Pulla. Right now, you don't know how much more I love you. You're going through this terrible ordeal because of me. I'm sorry... I'm really very sorry that you have to suffer like this...”

 

She sniffed as she tried to hold back her tears, “Please Trunks, please don't go... If you die, I don't know what I'd do! Please!”

 

“Don't say such things. I swear: I'll be coming back. Now let's not talk about it, ok?”

 

She looked straight into his blue eyes that closely resembled Vegeta and were yet so different. “I cannot sleep tonight and wake up to an empty bed Trunks!”

 

He kissed her. For her moment her lips were stiff, but then they became tender as she softly kissed him back. He gently released their kiss and delicately stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “And I thought I talked too much...”

 

In any other moment she would have pounded a fist in his chest, but this time, she replied, “Please, don't stop holding me Trunks...”

 

Had Tilo heard all this, it would have fuelled his determination. However, he had heard and noticed nothing, and by the time he had reached his parents' room, they were fast asleep, holding onto each other, Pulla's face buried like a child into Trunk's chest. By their bedside lay all sorts of things: papers, bowls, junk mostly. He continued to search in the dark until he found what he was looking for, placed gently on an iron table next to an empty glass. He reached for the map as he watched his father sleep, `I'm sorry dad,' he thought, `but this is something I have to do on my own. If I hadn't faced Scar, none of this would have happened.'

 

He crept through the hallways for another ten minutes until he was surrounded by nothing but the caves walls. He continued for another half hour until the exit of the cave faced him. His cheeks kissed the outside air, damp and humid. “Thank goodness it's night time...” he said to himself as he unfolded his map from his pocket. It was a little scruffy and torn, and he cursed as he stared at the diagram. There was a secret entrance to the city, but he had no idea which direction he was facing. There were thousands of levels to this city, it was impossible to imagine how such a structure existed, with all its sewers and complicated structures all marked and annotated. It was impossible for him to understand all the different notes a scribbled onto the map: just looking at it made him dizzy and he felt like an imbecile. Only then did Tilo realise something important: he couldn't read a map.

 

He cursed as he stared blankly at the paper. This thing would get him no where!

 

“Calm down. The first step is obviously getting there...” keeping his ki as low as he possibly could, the young warrior advanced across the scorching landscape, occasionally jumping over streams of lava that spat at him like venom. Once he made it to the towering gates he reluctantly took out his map once more and began to panic. Now what?! He was here; so close to his goal, so close to certain death, and a map that was supposed to aid him was doing the opposite! He gulped and flexed his fingers, stretched, allowed the oxygen to circulate around his body, and finally, he clenched his dry fists. With enough force he grabbed onto the wire that surrounded the city and began to ascend, higher and higher. The wire occasionally cut his pants and shirt until he finally made it over and in, landing on all fours. He smirked; he truly was a city kid.

 

Once again, he took out the map. At this point he realised that he needed a compass. He had no idea where he was on the map or where he could go. By the looks of the dark surroundings, he was in the outskirts of the high-tech city.

 

His next step was fatal.

 

There was an explosion, and robots the size of footballs jumped from the sewers and walls. Citizens screeched at the sudden outbursts in their homes. Sirens whined and red alarm beams hit Tilo's skin. He froze in fear as his eyes squinted at the sudden flood of crimson light. He had done it. Now he had really done it!

 

The first shot barely missed him as he rolled to his side, the blast shattering the ground and debris flew in the explosion. Simultaneous lasers aimed and fired at his head and chest, each blast slowing Tilo's dodges. Suddenly his ki rose by millions and his hair turned yellow. He cried out in a plea not to die as he released a gigantic energy wave from his body; a brilliant `royal' blue which he inherited from his grandfather.

 

The robots shattered but were replaced by a new wave, stronger than the first.

 

He repeated the attack in desperation. And another, but this one was foreseen and he dodged an attack to his head just in time. Blood slithered down his temple and blurred his vision. He released ki blast after ki blast. Blindly, he fired in all directions.

 

He felt the moment when he knew Death would take him and he gasped, desperately clinging to the thread of life. From a high-rise building a large android shattered the glass and landed with earth quaking force onto the pavement. It punched Tilo in the face and the boy fell back, his life, slowly slipping through his fingers...

 

***

 

Tilo's eyes slowly adjusted to the light. He was in a dark room illuminated by a red bulb attached to the ceiling. His hands and feet were bound. His head was pounding like a hyperactive drum and his body seethed in overwhelming pain. He could taste blood in his mouth and his sweat-coated skin left him smelling awful.

 

His own body wasn't the only thing he could smell. There was also the scent of foreign flesh, chemicals and cold metal.

 

An electric door opened and Tilo could hear voices. He lifted his head and counted three pairs of shoes. They were laughing, clearly very amused. Finally, one of them heaved him up by the collar and Tilo caught his breath.

 

His captor was a woman and behind her were two beefy men. She had green hair and a deep voice full of malice. Her blue body was tanned with muscles and her yellow, reptilian eyes bore deeply into his. She cackled in amusement as he gave her the coldest stare he could muster. He noticed her yellow, snake like tongue dance in her mouth and he cringed back in horror.

 

“We're lucky we disabled the robots in time huh?” she said to the men behind her. They made noises in agreement as she continued, “Imagine if we let the robots kill him, we would be empty handed!”

 

“Why did you save me?” Tilo asked, as twinge of hope in his chest.

 

“Save you? HA HA HA HA!!” Their laughter rang through the room and one of the men smiled at him cruelly; “Kid, we haven't saved you.”

 

“Agh...” more blood dripped from Tilo's mouth and onto the floor as he struggled to remain conscious. “Than what do you want from me?”

 

The woman shoved him from her grasp and he ricocheted from the wall and back onto the floor.

 

“The Voice had a deal with us,” she said and his heart suddenly stopped at the mention of the Voice, “He could infect our robots if he paid our city, which he did. Do you know how much money he gave this forsaken planet? Millions!! Can you imagine how much money he'd give us if we handed him a Saiyan alive?”

 

“You... you won't get away with this!”

 

She laughed again. She bent down and looked at Tilo, her head bent to her side as she spoke, “This city is all machine. 50% of the population are androids! Look,” she took a rectangular object from her pocket with several grey buttons. “This thing here controls all the machines in the city. With this baby I've managed to disable all infected robots within a two kilometre radius. Without it, we wouldn't have managed to get you here alive! So kiss this baby! We'll contact the Voice and you'll be on your way...”

 

But instead of cowering in fear, Tilo could barely hold back his laugh as he grinned broadly. He fought violently against his restraints. There was a significant flaw in their plan. They were weak. About as strong as Yamcha he presumed. He however, had Saiyan blood coursing through his veins. Without their precious robots infected by that monstrous virus, they were nothing! What foolish creatures!

 

He tried to raise his ki but realised as panic gushed through his chest that it wasn't rising at all. It was low, in fact, dangerously low. He was weaker than a mere human! He tried to snap his restraints, something that should have been effortless, but he was struggling, and he was suddenly enveloped in terror.

 

“HAHAHHAHAH! You thought we were stupid, didn't you?! How typical of a Saiyan!”

 

His eyes widened in shock and she grabbed him by his hair. She twisted his neck back uncomfortably and he flinched in pain. Her nails dug into his skull as he tried to free himself. What was happening?

 

“You're ki is at zero.”

 

“What?!”

 

“Quantum 35. Tripolium 78 and Urtryianium slime. Do you know what those three things put together make? The most powerful weapon in the universe!”

 

She shoved him back against the wall and he felt his consciousness slowly slip away.

 

It can't be... these chains... they're drenched in that stuff! Focus.... focus...

 

This could not be the end!

One of her beefy men revealed a barrel, and on it, alien inscriptions. “We use this stuff on patients during operation but, years ago, during the time of Freeza, we invented it mainly to fight off and kill the Saiyans. Unfortunately, in that time, the black hole hadn't yet swallowed our moon. Our weapons proved useless against the Oozarus. Transformed, they destroyed most of our cities, including the ones stationed underground.

 

“I saw the reaction on your face when you saw me; we are a race with two lives. We are nocturnal. Twice every year, the sun will shine for about a month. During that time, the city will disappear underground. When that month ends, there is a darkness that sweeps the planet for the rest of the year and the cities will rise again from the grounds. Unfortunately, we had a full moon, and although we killed a handful of Saiyans before their transformation, we failed against the Oozarus.”

 

Tilo choked and fought back the darkness that was pulling him. He tried to focus on her deep voice.

 

“We're going to pour an entire bucket on you Saiyan. I don't know if you've been told that this is extremely painful? You will pay for the misery you caused our planet!”

 

He heard the bucket heave off the ground and the sound of the sticky slime gurgle.

 

“Hurry, I want him to know how it feels to be completely defenceless! I want to destroy his pride before we hand him over to the Voice!”

 

Tilo's eyes were drifting shut. So this was how it was going to end? Tortured by a crazy woman for the mistakes of the Saiyans? Again, he was reminded of that old woman on Senord without a hand; “Vegeta and his men. They personally did this to me. They weren't warriors. They were KILLERS!”

 

A window crashed open and glass shattered. There was a heavy thud and the sound of a bone shatter. A body fell to the floor. A massive ki filled the room in rage. Another corpse fell and Tilo's eyes heaved open. He tried desperately to focus.

 

“How did you?!” the woman cursed,

 

“Dad!”

 

Trunks spinned and shoved his foot against the woman's neck pressing her heavily against the wall.

 

“How... how did you get here?!” she managed to say with severe difficulty, “The robots should have killed you! You, you...”

 

“Did you know that Saiyans can remember every single battle with excruciating detail?” Trunks said darkly, his voice dripping with hatred, “I memorised a certain map and found you in the blink of an eye. Thanks for disabling those robots though. Yeah, the ones close to the sewer? I was told that would be the hardest bit...”

 

“Wha- what are you talking about?! How could you get hold of a map?! You must be a demon, you-”

 

She crumpled to the floor, lifeless. Trunks breathed in deeply then grabbed his son's chains.

 

“Dad, I...”

 

“No time,” he said as he snapped the restraints open, ignoring the slime as it slowly sucked the ki from his fingers like a leech, “Quick, grab the barrel. We're getting out.”

 

Tilo did and began to power up, relishing the feeling of his ki again.

 

“No, don't! We're going back the way I came. Even though all the robots are disabled here, they'll detect you once we make it through the first stretch.”

 

“First stretch?”

 

“You wouldn't believe what a maze it is underground! However, Chibi Trunks said it was the safest route.”

 

They headed towards a door and Trunks revealed a tube in the wall leading slowly down the building and into the underground maze. It was pitch black and Tilo's heart thumped against his chest.

 

“Quickly!”

 

He jumped in and followed the path until he had made it outside. They continued running through tubes with a radius of about five metres, the barrel full of goo held deathly tight in Tilo's arms.

 

A beam and his father crumpled to the floor. Trunks groaned in pain. A whole the size of his fist had gone right through his back and out of his right abdomen.

 

His blood was everywhere, fresh and mixing with dirty water.

 

“Dad! DAD!”

 

“Tilo...”

 

The barrel fell and Tilo dropped to his knees. He turned his father round and stared at his wound. “Dad...” he said weakly.

 

“Aaah!” Trunks cringed in pain. He pointed at something over Tilo's shoulder and the boy looked behind him. It was the woman. She held the device that could control robots and crushed it in her hands.

 

“Die...” she said in a raspy voice, “...you filthy Saiyans!” She fell, face-first onto the floor: dead.

 

Tilo ripped his jacket off and pressed it against his father's wound.

 

“She... wasn't as weak as she looked...” Trunks said, his eyes slowly loosing focus. Trunks moaned in pain as Tilo heaved him off the ground.

 

“Hang in there dad!” he grabbed the barrel with his other hand and suddenly powered up.

 

“NO, Tilo, they'll,”

 

“I don't care! We're flying out of here!”

 

“No...”

 

“Dad, I won't let you die!”

 

He burst out of the maze and into night air, a trail of robots on his tail. He dodged, ducked, pushing himself towards his limits...

 

“Super Saiyan 2! Super Saiyan 2!” he chanted as though it were a magic word that would awaken his powers.

 

They were deathly close. Robots broke out of buildings and shot at him like crazy.

 

“GAH!” his leg got scathed and for a moment he fell. He heard thunder and there was a flash of light.

 

“KAMEHAMEHAAAA!!”

 

A superwave of blue ki pushed back a hundred robots, but they quickly recovered.

 

“Gohan! Gotenks!”

 

The two warriors ducked and dove towards them resolve in their eyes. Gotenks fired another super wave, but the robots didn't falter.

 

“Get him out of here! We'll distract them! Lower you ki Tilo and they'll only follow us! GO!”

 

Another massive wave and the robots, big and small, crashed into several buildings. Dust fluctuated around the air, the night was filled with red lights like fireflies. “Now, quick!” Gotenks yelled, “All of them are concentrating on us! Now, DIVE!”

 

They shot towards the earth and blasted into through the pavement. Robots followed like bees.

 

“Lower your ki! Lower your ki!!” Gotenks instructed.

 

They blasted through reinforcements and complex networks. Gotenks made a sharp turn into a thick-walled tube, suddenly illuminated by their blue ki.

 

“We found the safest possible method in and out of the city. These tubes are so thick that ki is more difficult to detect.”

 

Robots swarmed behind them. They ducked and dodged a few bullets. Gohan cried out a Masenko, and a few of the smaller robots fell back.

 

“Keep lowering your ki. Ok, NOW DROP DOWN!”

 

They fell to their feet and continued in sprint through the damp tunnel. Gotenks jumped upwards and escaped through a large hole in the pipe. Gohan followed, his organic leg weakening. He looked around him as they ran for their lives. The air was slightly lighter in here and there were definite walls. They looked concrete and the paint was peeling off. There were no lights and wires hung loosely from the ceiling. It looked like several earthquakes had hit the underground building.

 

Finally, they made it through a metal door and Gotanks slammed it shut. “It won't help much… but if they're slowed down…”

 

“Gotenks,” Gohan breathed in the dim light, hardly illuminated by their ki, “How much longer till the fusion ends?”

 

“Fifteen minutes, but that doesn't even matter anymore.”

 

“What?! What do you mean?”

 

“They know where we are. Even if we hide our ki, the machines are too powerful… you won't believe what this virus is capable of.”

 

“So, how much longer till they find us?”

 

“Well, lets just say that you and I have about five minutes left to live Gohan,” Gotenks took out the dragonball from his pocket and looked at it sternly. Gohan tried to read his expression, but the room was too dim. “And to think I nearly solved its mystery.”

 

*****

Bulma looked at her daughter-in-law as she slowly made last minute adjustments on the pod. For a woman that had lived with a Saiyan for 17 years, Bulma doubted Pulla had ever imagined her life would become such a rollercoaster ride. Well, those are the consequences if you involve yourself with one. Consequantly, Bulma's mind went to thoughts of Vegeta, somewhere in space, either looking for her or dead. The latter seemed more probable at the moment. A small cling and Bulma managed to get the pod onto the metallic tracks.

 

“What's this for?” Pulla asked lightly, pointing at the track that led into a wide, gaping tunnel.

 

“There about 1,000 launch sites on this planet,” Bulma explained as she cleaned the grease of her hands with her shirt, “and this track leads to one of them. Come over here and take a look,” she pointed at a small screen within the pod, “It's on auto pilot. As soon as this baby launches into the air, it will have a set course for Namek… well, the remains anyway…”

 

“Why Namek?” her voice was suddenly full of tears, “Why do we have to send him there? There's absolutely nothing there!”

 

“Yes, but there's a chance that Vegeta and the rest are close by…”

 

“And if they're not? What then Bulma? He just spends the rest of his life in space?”

 

“The pod is our message in a bottle. The ship gives out minute signals. Chances are a ship will find him.”

 

Pulla was about to retort when they heard a thunderous clang as the earth shook. Foundations creaked and they whipped their heads back, “They're here…” she whispered.

 

****

“God, what happened to him?! Trunks! Please, say something!”

 

As a reply, blood gushed from his mouth and down his cheek and neck. His eyes glazed back at Pulla as she clasped onto his bloodied hand. His body was on the floor, his head resting on his wife's pullover. She squeezed his hand tighter and whined painfully in her throat.

 

Behind her, Tilo was on his knees as he stared blankly at his bloodstained hands.

 

Another explosion and Gotenks and Gohan came tumbling in.

 

“Their coming, everyone, their on their way! Bulma, the slime! You have five minutes before they get here!”

 

“Oh God,” Bulma breathed in shock and stumbled onto her feet. She grabbed Tilo's firm wrist in an attempt to pull him with her. Amazingly, she had easily caused him to fall towards her, but then he suddenly cried out, “Father!” he launched towards his father, Bulma's icy hands suddenly reminding him what death felt like.

 

“Gohan!” Bulma cried and Gohan launched himself into Tilo, grabbing the teenager by the midriff. Tilo's tears fell as he watched Trunk's eyes falling behind his dieing lids. Valiantly he tried to fight back against Gohan's power, but it was no use, and yet he still kicked and punched and cried his father's name, Tilo's hoarse voice ricocheting from the walls.

 

Bulma grabbed the goo and nodded at Gotenks who remained behind, his look full of hope. “Good luck,” he mouthed, and she nodded again. In a sprint, Bulma, Gohan and a screaming Tilo rushed through the endless corridors. Finally, she wrenched the door open and the pod stood before them, white lights reflected on its shiny surface. Bulma wasted no time as she poured the substance into the Saiyan-like pod. Wet with tears, Tilo watched as the goo seemed to fuse with all the intricate wiring and detailed technology within the pod. So his grandmother was called a genius for a reason…

 

Suddenly there was another explosion and dust and debris fell like flakes from the ceiling. Tilo knew they were close by.

 

“This is a transport rail,” Bulma explained, wiping blood from her leg, “It leads to a launch pad. The rails can transport ships at the speed of light. As soon as I launch it, it will reach the launch zone in ten seconds… You cannot go in yet because…”

 

Whatever she said, Tilo only half understood. Something about the slime needing to fuse properly with the mainframe of the pod… Wait a minute… his pounding head didn't imagine it. She said he would be going in the pod. She definitely said something like that!

 

All of a sudden the foundations split and the roof began to collapse. Gohan cried out as he suddenly caught the falling roof, thousands of tons of earth suddenly strained onto his weakened body, his artificial leg squeaked in protest.

 

“Here's the map,” Bulma said. There was oil in the air, and the smell of growing fire. More earthquakes and Tilo never felt more trapped in his life. Behind him, the pod had already left, following the track at lightning speed and ready for launch. The room suddenly dimmed and Tilo knew certain power-cords were getting burnt.

 

“If you follow the pod, chances are the cave will collapse on you and you'll suffocate. You cannot fly after it either, even if you'll catch up, the robots will detect you and kill you.”

 

“Why me?” he said weakly, “Why me Bulma?!”

 

She wanted to shout at him and tell him that now was not the time for an explanation, but instead she answered wearily, “We wanted to send your father, but it was his wish that you live on instead of him and find Vegeta. As for Gohan,” she looked into Gohan's eyes as he strained to keep the roof up. It was funny, but she always ended up with Gohan in these situations… Gohan, the man that she had grown up to cherish and love ever since he was a pea-sized boy.

 

“He's longing to be with Videl.” Bulma finished.

 

Tilo stared at the half-Saiyan, the Earthling, just like him, weariness in his face and a definite longing to sleep for a while.

 

“Hey… you can do it kid,” Gohan reassured him. Bulma took Tilo's hand and held it lightly, “This time, you must follow the map. Ok?”

 

He nodded slowly, finding everything just too bitter to swallow.

 

“Here, take this, and try and find Goku. It's the only way Tilo, please.” She gave him a contraption that looked like a doughnut. It was silver in colour and at the moment, it felt like the most useless weapon in the world. Another invention of hers. He gasped as it suddenly dawned to him,

 

`What about you? What are you going to do? I can't leave you behind! Let's go together!'

 

She smiled. It was a smile of wisdom, he concluded, a smile that meant she was happy to sacrifice her life for him.

 

“You don't have time,” she whispered, “If you find him, he'll definitely know what to do. Escape through the way we first came in Tilo. Good luck.”

 

***

`The pod… the pod…' he ran through explosions and launched into the air. He cried out as he realised his arm had been dislocated. With a filthy face, he used his chin to scratch the painfully cracked earth and got to his feet. His arm was roasted, the stench of charred flesh giving him flashbacks. He gagged.

 

The Earth trembled and around him lava danced. Sweat streamed off his body as he limped away. `One minute… in one minute, the robots will get here…'

 

The city seemed to be coming alive. Another explosion and Tilo was launched into the air hundreds of metres away. He collapsed into the earth in a grunt as a wound inevitably opened in his leg. He looked over his shoulder and gasped.

 

They were dead. He knew, he knew for sure that they were dead. Not even a Saiyan could survive such an explosion. He heard sirens and the fire brigade was too busy wrestling the fire to take any notice of him.

 

With blood stained hands he took out his map and remembered what Bulma told him. It was simple. At the moment, it wasn't visible at the horizon. But is he walked for another ten minutes, he'd get there. Hopefully by then the robots would still be busy amongst the chaos.

 

`The pod… the pod…'

 

It slowly came into view. Against the blood-red sky, against the swirling black hole that ate even light itself, was a large abandoned structure that was used as a launch site. Ever since the Saiyans left, the Meastusans never found the need for pod-like space ships, or the need for space travel.

 

Finally, he had made it. But there was no time to sigh in relief. He kicked open a rotting door. He looked up, and there it was: a beautiful creation, a divine creation made from the brains of an Earth woman. Her blood, was his blood. Dry tears were caked on his face but he was too tired to cry anymore. He opened the pod and slowly got into the `tub' of slime. Suddenly the air was knocked out of him and he gasped at the immense pressure around his body, before his natural breathing changed. The goo pulled him in and finger-like structures grabbed hold onto his fingers. He realised he had a few minutes to signal a command. His fingers twitched and the message had instantly been sent. The goo completely encircled him as the pod closed. Lights switched on and he realised he was falling asleep.

 

Tilo was ready to launch.

 

He was ready to save them all.

 

***

The ochre plain was deserted. Red rocks and burnt or mutilated robots and androids spread across the soils and over the wreckage in their surprising numbers. Lava splttered and devoured the remains of androids that had fallen in. Four pairs of feet walked slowly over the earth as they scanned the area.

 

“Looks like they pretty much wrecked the place…” a deep, foreign voice said. The other three strangers nodded in agreement. A younger voice half-smiled, “It was a good idea blasting them into the black whole though. Your tactics never seem to fail us!”

 

A voice hmphed arrogantly back as he got to his knees. Despite his brilliant plan, he still bled pretty much.

 

Another voice, this one belonging to a reptilian, short, purple skinned stranger said, “These robots were weak,” he said in disgust, “compared to what the Voice uses, compared to the men that seek him for power, this is nothing. You will never survive against the hunters.”

 

There was a deep growl from the first voice as he snapped agitatedly, “Tell me why we're keeping him alive again?”

 

“Because he's our guide,” the arrogant voice said.

 

Suddenly there was a stir and the arrogant man gasped. He dug into the earth until he came across a mutilated body. Its back was facing him and its “arms” seemed to be clinging onto something. The youngest man gasped as he realised whom the body belonged to. The arrogant man heaved the shredded corpse away and his heart shot to his throat. It was a woman, and she was alive.

 

“Ve… Vegeta?” she cried softly in disbelief.

 

The Prince could hardly breathed as he tried to move, his eyes wide in shock.

 

“Hey!” the deep voice called, “Come and help me here! I think there's movement here too!”

 

But Vegeta couldn't move. For beneath him, was his amazing wife. He suddenly smiled.

 

She had no idea how much stronger they had become…

 

***

 

The first thing Goku realised when he stepped out of the tub was his incredibly ravenous hunger. Apart from that, he felt like he was re-born. Behind him, a long tube that had drained blue liquid stood in perfect lighting. He looked around him, and realised he was in a dome-shaped room. The wires attached to his naked body snapped off as he took another step, his wet feet dripping onto the floor.

 

“I see you're awake? Welcome…”

 

“Who are you?” Goku called.

 

“I have many names Saiyan, many strange and peculiar names. The most peculiar, the one everyone seems to use now, is “The Voice”.”

 

Something should have struck into the powerful Saiyan's mind just then, but nothing did.

 

“The Voice huh? And do you mind telling me what I'm doing here? I seem to have forgotten.”

 

The voice laughed.

 

“Don't tell me you've forgotten your one and only purpose Saiyan?” there was no reply as the Voice expected and he continued in his bliss, “You're here,” he said, “to serve as my right hand man.” There was a pause as Goku slowly digested what the Voice had just told him. “Ever heard of Utopia?”

 

“Vaguely,” Goku admitted.

 

“Well, together, we shall achieve it!”

 

Goku crossed his arms. “Does that mean fighting?” he asked. Adrenaline seemed to be coursing through his soaked body.

 

“Yes… Lots and lots of beautiful destruction… And it will begin with the death of a young Earthling named Tilo…”

 

***

 

END PART TWO

 

PART THREE, COMING SOON…

 

*Means cheerless or something like that in Latin.

 

Wow, I did it folks, I managed to complete Part 2. I sincerely hoped you enjoyed Part 2, and hopefully you can't wait for Part 3! Until then, thank you for coming this far! Any comments are appreciated. I would love to hear from you guys ok? Love, MizuSasuke!

 

And now, the credit's page!

 

(Korn's “Blind” plays as credits roll in.)

 

Cast:

 

Trunks

Tilo

Bulma

Vegeta

Pulla

Gohan

Videl

Goten

Goku

Picollo

Chibi Goten

Chibi Trunks

King Kai

Porunga

Flute and all the Nameks

Strife

Scar

Tsuka

Tsuba

Shiva

Yashamaru

Hulk Guy

Screed

Scar's ex-girlfriend

Purple Woman

Woman with no hand

Governor

The Voice

 

Story by: MizuSasuke

 

MentionablePeeps

 

My brothers computer

 

My dad's laptop

 

My pen and notebook

 

My iPod!!!

 

AND special thanks to:

 

My bro (orochimarumugen)

 

Akira Toriyama

 

And

 

You, the readers ^-^

 

 

THANK YOU GUYS AND SEE YOU SOON!

 

 

 

 

 

Goku: You're cruel. You couldn't write a scene with me eating.

M.S: no time

Goku: well, I think its time to fit into my new role, starting now!

M.S: ehh????

Goku: KAMEHAMEHA TIMES 10!!!!

M.S: ahhhhhhhhh……kidding. You can't kill me, I'm the author.

Goku: dammit…