Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Royal Namekian Blues ❯ Ringleader ( Chapter 60 )

Ringleader

By Trynia Merin

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z. Toriyama created it, and Toei Animation Co. Ltd. owns it. I'm only borrowing the characters for this fan fiction. I own Stellari, Fermi and Bohr though. I make no money from this. It means no harm to the series or manga.

***

Against her brow, her head throbbed. Stellari recalled someone feeding a current through her that stiffened every muscle. While she couldn't move, she could still see and hear what was going on. Slowly sensation returned to her muscles. She began to feel the hard muscled shoulder of the being carrying her.

 

"Damn it," Stellari whispered as she was carried through the woods.

 

"Be quiet, I won't hurt you," whispered a familiar voice.

 

"What the hell… where are you taking me!" Stellari demanded.

 

"Please, you gotta keep quiet! Don't make me hurt you! I don't want to hurt you of all people, Professor!" came the earnest voice.

 

"Yamcha?" she gasped, recognizing the voice at once. Still wearing her Saiyan armor she noticed Yamcha soon blasted off through the trees with her slung over his shoulder.

 

"Dammit let me go!" she shouted, struggling against him.

 

"Don't try to fight me, Professor. I don't want to hurt you!" Yamcha said. She then noticed that her arms and legs were bound with strong cords, and she could barely move. Also they were rocketing over the ocean. Close beside her she saw another streak of blazing energy come up.

 

"Where are you taking me?"

 

"Someplace those monsters won't find you," said Yamcha.

 

"I swear if you or the others hurt my children I'll…" Stellari gritted.

 

"I don't want your children hurt," Yamcha said. "Fermi and Bohr won't come to any harm. Just do as I say and you'll be okay. I promise."

 

"My children, the twins…" she panted.

 

"I couldn't stop 17 in time. I only hope Tien managed to get to them before he did," said Yamcha.

 

"You bastard!" she gritted.

 

"Quiet, relax," Yamcha urged. Still she could barely manage to control herky jerky movements. Yamcha's iron grip held her firmly over the glimmering waves only a few thousand feet below them.

 

Barely discernable was the white outline against the black waters of some sort of island. Then came the sensation of quickly free falling leaving her stomach behind. After that she heard the crunch of Yamcha's booted feet on a soft surface. Peering down his body she saw the sand of a remote stretch of beach. Stellari saw moonlight dancing on the waters as he carried her bodily towards a huge set of doors. Twisting her head up she saw the Red Ribbon logo on them.

 

"This is where Gero… his computer… I thought this base was destroyed, but if it's still here…" she stammered.

 

"You recognize this place?" Yamcha asked. Their voices echoed in a cavernous place. Dim lights flickered spasmodically. Then the doors clanged shut behind them. Air surged past her cheek, blowing her hair away from her sweaty face. It smelled of dust and age, tickling her nostrils.

 

"Yes. But what did you do to the others? If my children are harmed I swear…" Stellari slurred, regaining control of her cheek and tongue muscles every minute.

 

"Shh," Yamcha urged, striding into a passageway leading off the huge enclosed space. Fragments of service umbilical snaked over the floors, indicating they were once used to deliver fuel to war machines. Craning her neck she saw light gleaming off the scimitar bouncing against his hip. That very weapon was an extension of his own body as she recalled from what it had done to Raditz.

 

"You were badly hurt… how did you…" Stellari asked. Yamcha's swaying stride stopped. A more gentle incandescent light flickered on in a smaller area. Her body shifted upright then she felt the contact of her butt on a soft firm surface. Then she was looking up at Yamcha right side up from her seat on a battered sofa with wooden frame. To her immediate left glass windows came at shoulder level to reveal a view of another common space. It dawned on her that she was in an observation lounge of another research bay. Red Ribbon bases typically had such sitting rooms where top brass could observe scientists at work on their multitude of projects like spectators at an amusement park.

 

"I forgive you for almost paralyzing me, Stellari. Because you're under the thrall of those monsters," Yamcha said quietly.

 

"Central Technology…" she blinked. Peering through the window she gaped at the vast chamber as it clicked and whirred circuitry. Each terminal glowed with its own light, and she saw a complex series of lights shimmering like a series of lightening bugs somewhere over Yamcha's left shoulder. Part of the wall had been knocked down so its jagged shape gave them access to the lab beyond. Yamcha must have kept the sofa and furniture for some semblance of comfort. On the floor before the table he braced her ankles on a coffee table. She smelled a bitter scent and heard the bubbling of a coffee machine.

 

"You know this place then? I've only been here once. The computer told me to come here. Now you're going to keep quiet and try not to escape okay? Because if you do, I might have to hurt you. And I don't want to do that," Yamcha said softly, backing away.

 

He strode over and pulled a pot off the battered but gurgling machine on a trolley. Under it sat several mugs of which he took two and set them next to the coffee machine. Then she heard the dribbling of coffee pouring accompanied by the hiss of something being added and the clink of a spoon.

 

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded. Yamcha turned around, carrying two mugs, one in either hand. He sat on the sofa next to her, and set both mugs down next to her legs. She flexed her muscles against the bonds shackling her wrists.

 

"For your own good. And the good of the human race," said Yamcha. "Tien and I have tried to reason with these machines. And we've convinced them to help us, not hurt us."

 

"You can't be serious," Stellari blinked. Yamcha loosened the bond on her wrist, and she found while they were still shackled she could at least move her hands enough to catch hold of the cup shoved into it.

 

"You need to drink something," he offered.

 

"I want nothing from you," she snorted.

 

"Drink it," Yamcha said with a note of sternness. "I insist."

 

"Fine," she mumbled, realizing the deadly seriousness in his gleaming eyes. They were only partly human, and his scarred face twisted with tension. It was only relieved when she took a small sip of the coffee. Somehow humoring him might keep her enough in his favor in case she could use that to her advantage later. It dawned on her the horrid possibility that his abduction might be a result of unrequited feelings. The last thing she needed was to break a trust he forced on her. That a cup of coffee and gentle hospitality could somehow win her to his side seemed ludicrous. But a desperate man would grasp at any straw.

 

She decided to play his game. So she managed a little smile, and Yamcha relaxed. He sipped his cup and then said, "I made it just the way you like it."

 

"Thank you. I'm glad you're a gentleman still," she said quietly.

 

"I'm not a monster, Stellari. As long as you cooperate you'll be all right," Yamcha said.

 

"Then why am I here?"

 

"You'll find out. But don't do anything stupid, or I can't protect you," Yamcha said, squeezing her shoulder a bit tightly.

 

Out of the shadows strode a tall figure with red hair and bright gold eyes. Stellari saw them gleaming under the brim of his baseball cap with the red ribbon logo. His muscular chest was covered with a vest, suspenders holding up his green pants. Blue flesh shimmered with silver paneling on his chest and arms. "Well well, you brought our guests here boy. Good job. Now where's the others?"

 

"I'm not sure," said Yamcha quietly.

 

"Android 13… you survived!" Stellari shivered in fear as he stood near the small sitting area. It contained a television and other amenities. Yamcha turned to 13 and inclined his head slightly.

 

"Takes more then a few space freaks to keep me down, Professor," 13 laughed harshly. "And you've been a naughty girl. But now you're back where you belong thanks to the new recruits."

 

"So where's Dr. Gero? Is he pulling the strings?" Stellari asked quietly.

 

"The ol' professor met with a demise. The central computer's running the show," said 13, cocking a thumb over his shoulder. "And that's no less then ridding this planet of Son Goku and those other space monkeys."

 

"What about 17 and 18? IS he responsible for them…" she asked.

 

"You'd better be lucky we found your cute ass first, Professor. 17 and 18 are two honery little cusses," said 13 with a grin.

 

"17 killed Gero," said Yamcha quietly. "But luckily the computer here managed to fix 13."

 

"But you were junk. Raditz destroyed them both," said Stellari softly.

 

"Not really," Yamcha told her, holding his finger to his lips. She swallowed her coffee hard, and shivered.

 

"Let's just say I managed to adjust some attitudes," 13 admitted, closing the gap between them. He stood only ten feet from where she and Yamcha sat side by side.

 

"So you and 17 are working together?" she asked.

 

"That boy needed to learn to respect his elders. I managed to convince him to work for me in exchange for not blowing his ass away," said 13.

 

"But I saw 17 trying to attack and capture my children!" said Stellari. Yamcha grabbed her shoulder and held her down before she could try standing up.

 

"Relax, your children aren't hurt," Yamcha said.

 

"You can't tell me that he was working for you…" Stellari blurted out.

 

 

 

They heard a loud noise that sounded like a blast of energy. Two tall shapes entered the room. The one called Tien appeared in a blur of energy, carrying something under his arms. Near him appeared Android 17, holding another. Both Stellari's children were howling and screaming in rage, pulling at their captors.

 

"You bastards, let them go!" Stellari shrilled.

 

"They won't come to any harm, right Tien?" Yamcha said.

 

"How dare you they're only children!" Stellari raged.

 

"They're not gonna come to any harm. They're just gonna stay with us a while," said 13.

 

"Sit down, please," Yamcha reprimanded her. "I give you my word you or they will not be hurt. But I can't guarantee that further if you don't behave. Please."

 

"Yamcha please, if you're still my friend let me go!" Stellari shouted. Yamcha grabbed her tightly, pulling her close to his body with an unyielding grip.

 

"Please, don't make it harder!" he hissed. "Shut up and trust us."

 

"How can I… after what…"

 

"Stellari please!" he hissed. "For Fermi and Bohr's sake!"

 

"We won't hurt them, Professor if you cooperate and shut up," said 17 with a small smirk.

 

"My babies, give them to me!" Stellari cried.

 

"But they're monsters," said Tien.

 

"Gohan is a half saiyan," said Yamcha. "Give her the children. They'll be quiet if they have their mother."

 

"Please I'll do whatever you want, just give them to me!" Stellari pleaded.

 

"Give her the children. I'll make sure she cooperates," Yamcha said sternly.

 

"Listen to the boy. The lady here misses her kids. We don't want them bawling and carrying on do we?" 13 asked, stepping threateningly towards 17.

 

"Whatever. Are we DONE with this mess or not?" asked 17 angrily.

 

Striding up, 13 snatched the Saiyan baby away from him and carried it towards where Stellari sat on the couch. He plunked the child in her lap, and then motioned to Tien. Yamcha moved over and took the other howling child from his friend, and both of them undid the bands around Stellari's wrists.

 

"You'd better not try and use your powers in any way, or else these kids might get hurt," said 13. "I've got no quarrel with you, Professor. You're just bait to lure Son Goku here so I can liquidate him properly."

 

"And the other space monkeys too, right?" 17 asked, arms crossed over his chest as he tapped his foot. "I'm getting seriously bored. You promised I'd have something that wasn't so LAME to do."

 

"Hold your horses sonny. You'll get plenty of action. But Son Goku is MINE," 13 said. "You can do whatever you want to with the others. Once you get your sister and 16 to see that what I say goes."

 

"I'm not my sister's keeper," said 17 haughtily. "She does what she wants to."

 

"Then you'd better convince her that she'd have more fun chasing space monkeys then finding herself new threads. Or do you both WANT to see what happens when you piss me off?" 13 asked, eyes glowing menacingly.

 

"Hey, whoa, fine… I'll talk to her. But don't expect miracles," 17 glared back.

 

"You go boy. And don't come back unless you get some word that little hussy's gonna see things my way. Do I have to send 16 with you?"

 

"Please," grumbled 17.

 

"Hey, 16, get your carcass over here!" 13 cupped his hand over his mouth. Out of the shadows strode the tall figure of 16, his blue eyes serenely taking in the sight before him.

 

"Fine, I'll go," 17 snorted, sticking hands into his pockets and kicking a nearby rock.

 

"But I was programmed to destroy Goku as you were," 16 protested.

 

"And you'll accomplish THAT as soon as you bring the little lady home. WE both know what the good Professor wanted. And it's all going according to the computer's plans, got it?" 13 said.

 

"As you suggest," said 16. 17 glared at 13 angrily and flounced off in a huff, followed by 16.

 

"I can't believe you got him in line," mumbled Stellari. She wrapped her arms around her children, hugging them tightly to her chest.

 

"You stay here with the lady, 22. 24, you can go on and fetch your own little lady now while I take care of some other business," said 13.

 

"What are you going to do?" Stellari blinked.

 

"The main objective of course," said 13. "Something tells me that Goku's gonna come looking for you. And when he does, he's gonna get a warm reception from me. And that space monkey you shacked up with if he's unfortunate enough to be in the way will get it too."

 

"No," Stellari blinked.

 

"If he's smart he'll stay away," said 13. "Goku's mine."

 

"The Saiyans won't let you get away with this, you know," said Stellari.

 

"That's why you and some others are providing some insurance," said 13. "We'll settle all this at the Games all right, but someone's gotta deliver the message. And if Son Goku happens to see me before then, I won't object to finishing him off."