Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Trials Of Techorin ❯ Familiar Problems ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight: Familiar problems…

"Get the hell away from me you stupid little beast."

Canta looked up from his tracking then hid a grin behind his hand, faking a cough at the same time. "Having problems with your new familiar?"

"I don't need a stupid familiar." Lashing out at the, three-foot long lizard that had been following him since he entered the level, Vegeta growled threateningly, only causing the lizard to turn a brighter shade of blue and start chirping happily. "Go away."

Chirping, the lizard wound around his new master's legs then looked up at him with sad silver eyes before hissing and looking off in one direction threateningly.

Glancing in the same direction, he watched, in surprise, as a large flying monster fell to the ground with a strangled cry of rage. Tearing his gaze away from the dead beast, he stared down at his newly acquired familiar then smirked before reaching down and rubbing behind his frilled ears. "You know, I might just keep you…that can be a useful power."

Chirping cheerfully, the lizard rubbed his head against his new master's thigh then turned to a decent shade of black that matched his powers appropriately.

"It's like I'm paranoid looking over my back…it's like a whirlwind inside of my head. It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within…it's like the place inside is right beneath my skin."

"I get the feeling we're being followed." Looking back over her shoulder, Kathi frowned in thought and concentration before shrugging and moving forward again. "Must be my imagination."

Bulma sighed and glanced at their new teammate with a repulsed sneer when the strange green man leered at her, thinking she wasn't watching. "It could be our new teammate that's bothering you."

"No…he does bother me but he's not what is making me feel uncomfortable."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Zarbon might be annoying but at least he won't kill us for no reason whatsoever."

"Kind of like that last creature with the riddles?" Bulma hadn't forgotten being trapped within the deadly embrace of those strangely delicate spiders. Although it had been several days since that had happened, she could still hear them chittering angrily because she got away from them.

The two girls had entered the third level after several days of rest and finding a third teammate to join them while the boys had been in that particular level for the better part of a day and going strong from the reports they had seen on various television shows that kept up with the trials as they went on. Although their rest break had been appreciated, they weren't all to eager to continue onwards in fear of losing another friend that they valued so much. With the arrival of their third, and very much disliked teammate, they entered the third level with very few complaints and a determination to get out of it as soon as possible. Now, however, they were in a bottleneck canyon that was too quiet for comfort.

Wrinkling her nose, Kathi looked up at the sky and watched, trembling slightly the whole time, as a large creature soared overhead. "Well…at least I know for sure that we aren't going to be bothered by that particular beast."

"I don't know…it seems excited about something."

They both looked at Zarbon in surprise before staring up at the flying creature again.

"How can you tell it's excited?"

"By the way it's flying and how it carries its body when it cuts a new path."

"You're a very strange alien Zarbon."

Shrugging, the green skin alien rubbed his jaw thoughtfully then shrugged again when he couldn't think of a reply to that particular statement.

Sighing, she moved under the shelter of a nice overhang of rocks and went through her pack in search of something to eat. "Well, until we figure out exactly how we're going to get past that thing once we're through this canyon, I'm going to take a breather and get my stomach to stop growling."

"Great, this will give me time to put my hair up into a braid. It's unnaturally hot in this level." Settling down beside her friend, Bulma dug through her bag, producing a brush after a few seconds of searching. "Do you want me to put your hair up too?"

"No…I'm fine for now."

"If you say so, I don't know how you can stand having all that hair hanging down your back."

"I got used to it after awhile." Taking a bite of jerky, she scanned the surrounding canyon walls then swore softly and dropped the dried food into her pack again. "I knew it, we were being watched." Walking over to the opposite side of the canyon, she tapped on the wall then beat on it several times, causing a loud squealing to issue forth from beneath the thinned out rock. "Whatever the hell is in there isn't bound to be friendly though."

"No, I hardly think so." Keeping his gaze alert, he waited for the two girls to gather their belongings back up again then let them take the lead while he brought up the rear for extra protection. He had a feeling that they wouldn't be as quick to react to any attacks as he was.

Hearing scraping sounds growing louder from behind the rock, she steered clear of the walls then yanked Bulma along faster to get out of the canyon.

"Why are we running so fast?"

"You don't want to know." Turning a corner, she collided with something that felt like plate armor and creaked like an old rotting tree.

Bulma chose that unfortunate moment to look up and screamed, loudly, when two faceted emerald eyes stared unblinkingly down at her. Screaming even louder, she watched in horror as a pair of scythe shaped forearms snapped shut just inches above her head.

Catching up to the two girls, he blinked several times in shock then measured up the creature before him with a critical eye, checking it for weaknesses and strong points.

Twelve feet long and at least eight feet tall, the creature was a horribly beautiful sight to behold with its upswept and curving wings that measured to an astounding twenty feet when fully extended. Its jade body reflected the sunlight in an awesome array of colors and sparkles even as it repositioned its body so that it could study the two humans in front of it better.

Staring into the creature's eyes in fear, Kathi was surprised when it appeared to grin before shocking the hell out of her with its words.

"Hummannnss…ssssooo loong sssinnce I've ssseeeeennn hummannnss." Laughing sibilantly, the creature stooped closer to the ground and eyed the two girls speculatively then snuffled their hair interestedly. "Sssmeeelllsss liike heeaavvveeennn…misss my hummann I do."

"Holy…you're a familiar?"

Throwing its head back in laughter, the creature shook its head and stared into the shorter girl's eyes. "Fammillliarrrr…once a loong tiiime agooo…lossst my hummann to sssiicknessss."

Taking a few steps back from the creature, she noticed the remnants of a flight saddle on its back and whistled softly before looking to one side when the canyon walls started crumbling. "You know, as much as I would like to sit and chat with you about your human, I've got to run before we become lost as well."

"Rrrunnn? Why rrrunnn when I can fly?" Laying comfortably on the ground, the creature extended one wing and nuzzled the saddle sadly before nodding for her to climb aboard. "I fly out of here and you hummannnss are ssaafffee."

"I…"

"Don't trust it Kathi…what if it decides to eat us later?"

"Well…we can chance it eating us or we can chance being ripped apart by whatever is trying to come through the rocks for us." Glancing over her shoulder at the blue-haired girl, she shrugged then mounted the creature's back, keeping her body right at the base of its curving neck. "Besides, I have no wish to ripped apart by hordes of creatures I can't identify."

"You have a point…but…what about Zarbon?"

"Hmm…" Moving her attention to their teammate, she smiled encouragingly then sighed when he shook his head in a negative manner. "Apparently he doesn't want to ride it."

"Mercy…my hummann called me Mercy…and I am not it…I am mmmalllee." Swinging his great head around, Mercy stared into his rider's eyes until she nodded in understanding.

"Well then, he doesn't want to ride Mercy."

"No, I will fly on my own. I have no wish to ride a creature that reminds me of a giant praying mantis with those death scythes he calls front legs."

"Aw…be nice Zarbon, he's nice for now."

"I still don't trust it."

"Whatever…Bulma, are you going to climb on or would you rather have him carry you?"

Eyes widening, she glanced at their teammate then jumped up behind the other girl and settled herself comfortably in front of Mercy's wings. "I'd much rather take my chances with him, no offense Zarbon, but I don't trust you."

Laughing, the golden-eyed alien lifted into the air and smiled charmingly. "None taken, I understand your distrust of me."

"Great, now that we've gotten that taken care of can we please get the hell out of here? I'm almost positive that those creatures behind the walls aren't going to take much longer to get out."

"Yes, please let's go." Clinging tightly to her friend's back, Bulma closed her eyes then held her breath when, with a great stomach wrenching lurch, Mercy took off into the sky.

Looking down, she watched as the walls exploded outwards and thousands of dog-sized ants streamed out into the area they had just been in. Letting out her own tense breath, she held on for dear life and watched the end of the canyon come closer and closer to her.