Dragon Ball Chaotic

Chapter IX : Grand Assault, part 2

Outpost 4, Year Unknown

Upon arriving at their destination, Gohan and his companions were shocked by their discovery: the target had already been destroyed. The whole place was in ruins, smoke emerging from every house and pile of trash. Only the center building still stood, and only partially. The team had decided to hide in the nearby woods, and were carefully observing the ruins for any sign of movement or life.

Gohan: "Be quiet. These androids may have better hearing than us."

Umy(wispering): "Okay, I'm sorry." The young girl didn't have much experience and her excitement was overwhelming her.

Umy: "So, what do we do now?"

Rabbits: "If we just stay and watch, we might never learn what truly happened out there." Rabbits was a young fighter, ready for anything.

Blackgammon: "Yeah, but what if it's a trap? The Androids don't care about anything or anyone. They could've just blasted the whole place up and set themselves in ambush." Blackgammon was a veteran having already fought a few battles and had a tactical mind.

Gohan: "I don't think that is the case. They weren't warned of our coming, how could they prepare in advance?"

Umy: "I say we go over there and see what's going on."

Blackgammon: "There isn't much cover. The houses are demolished. There are no trees, no rocks behind which to hide...it's risky."

Rabbits: "We could split the Team in two..."

Gohan: "No. I can take a blast or two ("and let's hope a few more", he thought), but you could all be crushed at any moment."

Gohan: "I will go and scout the area. If something happens, I will signal you to come forth or flee. Understood?"

The three others: "Yes sir!"

Gohan: "Good. Let's proceed carefully."

Gohan slowly left the woods, floating horizontally a few inches over the ground so as to quickly cover some ground and make himself a less visible target. He finally reached the remains of a house of some sort and crouched behind it, having a quick look around.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. As if a terrible force had come down from the sky to destroy this Android Outpost. "Could this have happened to the other Outposts?", Gohan thought. Carefully, he left his hiding place once more to reach another house in ruins.

Still nothing. Only smoke and ruins...

He then decided to try to reach the center building, from where he could have a better look around. As he made his attempt, he noticed a form moving at the top of the building, whose roof seemed to have collapsed. It was a caped figure in shadows, but as Gohan noticed it, so did it see Gohan. Fearing a trap, Gohan turned to signal his detachment, but as he was about call them out, he heard a familiar voice.

Gohan(turning back): "Piccolo-san!"

Piccolo: "Gohan." He jumped off the building and landed in front of his student.

Gohan: "Piccolo-san! So that's where you were hiding! We lost track of you back in our time!" He turned around to signal his friends to come out and join him.

Piccolo: "Well, I don't know what happened. I suddenly found myself in this strange world."

Piccolo: "Feeling no ki whatsoever is very...annoying. I wandered for a few days, not knowing where to go or what to do."

Piccolo: "Then I found this other me. After a pretty good fight, we understood we were the same Nameck, seperated from our own original dimensions. We fused."

Gohan: "You found your other self, good. You must be super-strong!"

Piccolo: "I never thought such a level of power was possible for any one other than Goku."

Piccolo: "Then I kept wandering around. I found some opposition, those stupid Androids. After cleaning house, I found Radditz."

Gohan: "NANI???? But Radditz has been dead since..."

Piccolo: "He has been dead in your time, but in the other dimension, I took him as my pupil. After finding him, I found you."

Gohan: "Well, it looks more like I found you."

Piccolo: "No. I found your OTHER you, the one from the OTHER dimension."

Gohan(eyes widening): "You found my double?"

Piccolo: "Yes. Both him and Radditz are inside. Follow me." As Gohan's troops rejoined him, Piccolo turned toward the building's main entrance and went in, the door having been obviously smashed earlier. Gohan's team went in after him.

Inside were two men, one with very long black hair and another who looked exactly like Son Gohan.

Piccolo: "Indeed. You will be able to perform the fusion."

Radditz: "Amazing! They both look exactly the same!"

Piccolo: "Gohan! You should both fuse now."

Gohan: "Hai...but I don't want to lose my identity."

Piccolo: "You have nothing to lose and all to gain."

Gohan: "...alright."

Gohan(a): "Ikuzou!"

The two stood face to face and slowly touched hands, illuminating the room with a bright flash of light, which faded away and revealed a single, more powerful and knowledgeable warrior.

Piccolo: "WHAT!?!?!?!?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAD TO DO THAT STUPID FUSION DANCE?????"

Gohan(^^"): "Well...no."

Gohan: "I will contact my friends' headquarters to explain the situation."

Piccolo: "Of course."

Gohan(to comlink): "General Vulcan. This is Son Gohan."

Vulcan(comlink): "Go ahead."

Gohan(comlink): "We have reached Outpost 4, but it had already been destroyed and secured by some more of my friends: Piccolo-san, Radditz, and my double from the other dimension."

Vulcan(comlink): "So you have not fought?"

Gohan(comlink): "We haven't."

Vulcan(comlink): "Then go to Outpost 6 immediately! Raven and Gale are losing the battle!"

Gohan(comlink): "Of course, but where is Outpost 6?"

Vulcan(comlink): "Sector 305. About 3000 miles east from where you are. You had better make a detour about 1500 miles north if you want to avoid moving between Outpost 5 and the Main Board's headquarters."

Gohan: "We will be careful! Over and out."

Gohan(to all others): "Let's go, people! We're going to Outpost 6. Raven and Gale are in trouble."

Piccolo: "You will have to fill me in with the details of your "adventures"."

Gohan: "Of course, let's go!"

Outpost 5, Year Unknown

Dandelion and her team, consisting of Neo17, Copper and Jibry, had reached their target area. She knew that Neo17 was strong, but with only him of the "New Fighters" with her, she also knew that strategy would be the key to win the fight.

The four of them began to watch and listen silently for any signs of activity. After a few minutes, one Android emerged from the center building and went to talk with another, the latter being partially hidden by different objects. They talked for a few more minutes when another Android came out of the center building. The outfit of this female-style Android was very different from the other two's outfits. She wore a white T-shirt and jeans with shoulder-lengh blond hair.

Dandelion: "You know her?"

Neo17: "That's my sister, Neo18. HA! She actually CAN surprise me after all...Come on, let's go talk to her." He was starting to leave when Dandelion stopped him.

Dandelion: "What are you doing!? You wanna blow our cover?" Neo17 turned to her with a smile that meant he really didn't care.

Neo17: "Hey. That's my sister." Saying this, he flew out toward the base.

Dandelion: "Jerk." She turned to Copper and Jibry.

Dandelion: "Let's go." She and her two soldiers left their hiding place and rejoined Neo17. They flew to the Outpost and landed in front of the three Androids.

Neo17(to 18): "Well, well, 18...I didn't think you'd be helping such lousy tin can imitations like them!"

Neo18(smiling): "17! So there you are! I didn't know where I was, so I went looking for someone and I found them. They looked decent, so I decided to help them. After all, they are a lot like us..."

Neo17(still smiling and ironic): "Really?"

Neo18(grinning): "Not - At - All!" She turned toward her two Android companions.

Neo18: "You will excuse me, boys, but I have to fight along with my brother now, okay?"

Puzzled, the other two Androids looked on in disbelief as their female friend walked away from them and turned around to face them.

Immediately, she and 17 dashed at one Android and started pounding it into the ground with lightning fast punches and kicks. Understanding that they were betrayed, they began to fight back, one of them kicking Neo17 ten meters back.

Android2: "What a pity. You seemed like you were a nice girl! Now we have to punish ya!" They both dashed toward her, ready to strike, but Dandelion interfered with a flying kick, allowing 18 to strike back with a punch to the gut of the other Android, followed by a devastating uppercut which sent her opponent high up in the air.

Neo18: "You don't like me?" She fired a blast at him, which he was able to notice and guard against.

Neo18: "Hey! That was a nice combo! Why did you have to RUIN it!?" The Android landed safely and replied.

Android2(smiling): "I don't like the looks of my circuits flying out of my body."

Neo18: "Well, you better get used to it, chump."

She grinned evily and started firing a flurry of blasts which the Android had much difficulty dodging. Dandelion cut in, using a powerful kick to send the Android to the ground. Taking advantage of this, Neo18 aimed her blasts at the downed robot. The Android took many blasts, but was finally able to clear away from the target area. Emerging from the smoke, he was singed and had lost an arm.

Meanwhile, the battle between the other Android and Neo17 had started, and they had been joined by Copper and Jibry. 17 had been pounded on a few times and was getting up, when suddenly the Android changed his target and charged at Jibry, connecting with a sudden punch to the stomach followed by a knee to the face. He ended the attack with a slashing kick, slicing Jibry's head off his shoulders, ending his life.

Neo17(firing): "Enough is enough!" He kept firing and firing continuously until he couldn't see anything through the smoke. When it cleared, 17 saw that his barrage of energy shots had reduced the Android to nothing more than a pile of charred metal. He also noticed Copper, who had collapsed after the Android's attack. Looking up, the girls were finishing up the other Android with Dandelion's blast to the head and Neo18 firing a great beam of energy through the robot's chest. The machine fell to the floor, inanimate. Dandelion landed, as 18 smiled with satisfaction and sent an exploding ball of energy to the ground, dismembering the Android.

Neo18: "ENERUGI BOORU!"

As the smoke and dust settled, Neo17 put Copper's unconscious body on his shoulder and signaled the two girls. After quickly burying Jibry's body and praying for his soul, Dandelion and the two Neo Cyborgs, who were carrying Copper, left, flying back toward Freedom Army's rendez-vous point: The City of Der.

Outpost 6, Year unknown

Gale: "Yup. Let's trash 'em!" Raven, with Gale, Skan and Molly, charged straight toward the enemy Outpost. Androids came out in the open, obviously ready for the Freedom Army's attack.

Gale: "Well! Efreet and Jinn! Hadn't seen 'em since...way back!"

Raven: "Who's that girl, 'ver there?" He was referring to an unknown female-style Android.

Gale: "I dunno."

Raven: "Okay, Skan, Molly, ya take on the girl. We'll get the other two!"

Skan: "Yeah."

Molly: "Yes sir."

Gale: "Wahoo! That'll be fun!"

The three Androids, standing firmly, readied their weapons for the fight. Efreet was a large Android, with spiky blond hair and his hands had been replaced by two huge gun barrels. Jinn was a smaller, slender Android. He had black and white striped hair, his right hand was replaced by a machine gun and he had a big cannon mounted on his left shoulder. Finally, the girl-type Android had great long blond hair. She wore a female-type Android armor and a gear symbol was printed on the right of her breast plate. As Raven and Gale approached, Efreet and Jinn fired at them. Dodging the blasts, the two beasts closed in and attacked.

Gale took on Jinn, who seemed to take pleasure in repeatedly firing his shoulder cannon at her. Dodging all blasts, she finally got close enough and hit him with a flying kick. Jinn, barely disturbed, fired again and blasted her on the chest. Gale was blown back, but as she landed, she looked like she had suffered no damage.

Raven took on Efreet. Being repelled by the constant blasts, Raven tried to counter with his own, nullifying his opponent's and getting him closer to his target. When he got in range, he started punching, kicking and using his wings as if they were giant blades. Efreet could only use his arms to guard against the hits, until he was able to connect with a great sommersault followed with a dual blast from his arms. Raven was blown away, but stabilized and readied his next attack. Suddenly, he was hit with a devastating blow which sent him crashing to the ground. As he got up, he looked up at his aggressor and discovered it was none other than the girl-type Android. Seeing this, he looked at the area Skan and Molly had chosen to fight her: their burnt bodies lay on the ground.

Raven: "Who're ya?"

Girl-type Android(smiling): "I'm Titania. And I must say that this idea of suddenly attacking us like that is very generous of you all. We don't even have to go looking for you!"

Raven realized the odds were against him now. He was with Gale, but there were three Androids standing before them now. Three on two are nice odds...but only if they favor you. He took his comlink and spoke.

Vulcan: "Yes."

Raven: "This here Raven. We're in trouble."

Vulcan: "I will see what I can do."

Raven: "Do it, but do it quick." He turned his comlink off and looked at Gale. He just smiled.

Gale(smiling): "Let's just do it." They both charged at the same time, aiming for Jinn. Raven was able to quickly get behind him, allowing him to see the other two Androids at the same time. He saw Titania charging a fireball and targetting Gale.

Raven: "Gale! Beam's a comin'." As Raven started pounding Jinn with a flurry of punches, Gale turned to Titania and smiled.

Gale(grinning): "C'mon! Shoot it!"

Titania: "Happy to oblige!" What seemed like it would be just a small beam was in reality a gigantic one and it went straight towards Gale.

Gale: "AHHHHH!" The beam connected with such an impact, Gale was carried along with it over a few hundred feet. Efreet, and both Jinn and Raven stopped fighting and watched in awe as the beam finally faded away.

Raven(to himself): "We're in trouble."

Efreet joined Jinn as they attacked Raven, while Titania stood back. Raven had much difficulty blocking and dodging so he tried to make an escape to the sky, but he was then followed by his two opponents and the battle went on. Titania watched as the angry Gale finally returned.

Gale: "CHANNELING RETALIATION!"

The wide energy beam blasted at blazing speed toward the Android.

Gale: "No!" Titania flew at her and punched her repeatedly, knocking her down to the ground. She slashed down at her with a blazing kick, landing on Gale's stomach and bringing blood out of her mouth. She went on, kicking her again, and again, and again.

Gale was not getting up.

A few dozens of meters away, Raven felt something - horrible. He looked towards Gale and Titania, but he could only see Titania up in the sky, and a huge cloud of smoke down on the ground. Instinctively, he knew that Gale was somewhere in that cloud of smoke and that she wasn't well. A sudden fear overwhelmed him, quickly followed by an immense burst of anger. His body started shaking incontrolably, even though Efreet and Jinn were still constantly attacking him. Raven's body began to glow, his hair flowing through an imperceptible wind...His muscles grew, his body doubling in size, the glow intensifying...

Efreet and Jinn ended their attack.

Jinn: "...and nothing, I know!"

It was then that Raven' anger exploded. He yelled to the sky as his entire body cought afire. He slowly turned his head toward his two opponents. He had become a blazing phoenix...

He flew straight at them at lightning speed and stopped instantly between them. He looked at Efreet and slashed a burning arm through him, cutting him in half. He turned and did the same to Jinn. He then flew a few meters back and dashed through the mechanical bodies of his opponents, instantly reducing them to a handful of molten metal.

Raven then went on a collision course toward Titania. The Android saw him in time and dodged him, barely avoiding the phoenix's intense heat. Raven turned around and came back at her. She dodged him again, and this went on for a few passes until Raven stopped and aimed at her with his arms. He then shot an enormous fire beam at her. Titania, surprised by this unannounced move, did her best to avoid it, but she couldn't completely get out of the way and the beam burned up her chest area, revealing her mechanical internal organs, some destroyed by Raven's attack. Seeing she could no longer win, Titania decided to retreat. She turned and started flying away at great speed, hoping Raven would not pursue her. After a few seconds, she turned back lightly to see what her opponent was doing. She did not see him anywhere. Fearing a trap, she quickly resumed her escape and disappeared in the horizon.

Raven, having lost his energy, crashed to the ground, and lost consciousness besides his loved one.

Gohan: "Let's hope we're in time."

Piccolo: "The battle has ended."

Gohan: "Piccolo-san! How do you know? Can you feel any ki?"

Piccolo: "No, but my visual acuity is better than yours. We're almost there, and I can see no one."

Having reached the battle site, Piccolo, Radditz and Gohan and his team landed and quickly found the four bodies. Two were obviously dead, but due to their unusual constitutions, Raven and Gale had survived the fight. They were badly hurt, and would need medical attention as soon as possible. Gohan picked up Raven while Piccolo took Gale and the team decided to return to Der, Freedom Army's rendez-vous point.

To be continued in chapter X : Team Alpha

Back