AFadingKich1

She couldn’t sleep. Her mind still burned with the day’s battle. They had killed them all. The Nemek, the Sayian, and the four humans. The fools. They had thought they could defeat the two artificial humans. Save their world from them. The weaklings. One of them, the little half Sayian brat, had escaped, but they would find him soon enough. And when they did, he would perish, just as they all had.

Yes, they had done well today. Dr. Gero would have been pleased, not that she cared. The battle was won, and that was what mattered. The world was theirs to rule and destroy. …But, for some reason she couldn’t explain even in her logical, well-organized mind, she couldn’t relax. She still couldn’t forget one of them.

She closed her eyes, searching for one specific Ki. It shouldn’t have been hard. There were very few note-worthy Kis left on this ruined world, but the one she was looking for was very faint.   Almost gone, but she knew that it was there. She had made sure of that.

There was a small flicker at the corner of her eyes as she found it. Quite a few miles away, and very, very small, but defiantly there. It flickered dangerously low, almost in it’s death throws in her mind. In less than an hour it would be gone completely, she estimated.

I could just let it die. She thought to herself, stretching out and putting her hands behind her head. She honestly didn’t know why she bothered to care. And she hated being unsure.

Why should I care? She thought bitterly. He means nothing to me. I have no relation to him. Why…do I care?

She sat up and peered over at her twin, fast asleep in the corner of the nearly destroyed building they had decided to stay for the night. If she left he would never know, so long as she was back before he awoke the next morning.

No. she decided, and settled in. She had no real reason to do it. It would be a complete, meaningless waste of time.

She closed her eyes, only to be greeted by her memories. What of them she had left. Her mind went back to her last battle. The one she couldn’t seem to forget. Why was she going through this?! She had killed hundreds, no thousands of people before this day!   So why could she not seem to forget this one little human.

So what if he died. She wouldn’t be any better off if he didn’t. She didn’t even know his name.

He tried to kill you. She thought logically to herself. Just like the others. But we, Juuanagou and I, had gotten rid of them. There was no reason to further indulge herself in thoughts about them. They were all dead.

All but one. She reminded herself. All but that one.

She sighed deeply, and with it gave in to her repressed thoughts. She thought back to the strange little earthling that had so caught her attention. The round face and the wide, soft eyes that had looked up at her even in the heat of battle, with what? Compassion? Sympathy?

He had said something to her. She searched her memory for what it had been. It had made the Sayian angry…what was it?

Then she remembered.

Stop this! He had said, balling his hands into fists. We don’t have to fight. We don’t want to have to try and kill you! Stop this so we won’t have to!

Ha! The Sayian, Vegeta was his name, had said. Speck for yourself, Crome dome! I am going to have great pleasure in wiping both these mechanical monstrosities off the face of the planet!

Fool. She thought, the smallest tint of a smile coming to her lips. She had certainly made him eat his words. What she found most pathetic, even more than the excessively cocky Sayian Prince, had been the little earthling.

Please! He had pleaded, this time directing his words only at her. His face had burned with intensity and sincerity; his black eyes sparkling with a faint hope that she would listen. Please, stop this. I don’t want to have to fight you! Let us help you instead.

She had responded to his offer of help by blasting him through the stomach. Not the heart, not through the head. No where that would have surely killed him. She didn’t know why. She really wasn’t the type to toy with her victims, as her brother was.

Her attack on the short, bald warrior had triggered the others, and the battle had begun. None of them had a chance from the beginning. She had been sure to save the Sayian Prince for last, so to enjoy it more. She had taken great pleasure in seeing his face, no longer smirking, as she towered over his fallen body and blasted him into oblivion.

After they had finished them all, aside for the kid who had escaped their grasp momentarily, Juuhachigou had neglected to make sure the little bald monk was really dead. He had gotten back into the battle for a short time, trying in desperation to help his friends, but it had made no difference. She herself had taken him out.

Why…why are you doing this? The monk had asked her as she felled him to the ground, where he lay, gasping, bleeding heavily, and almost unable to speak. Why must you be our enemy?

She had looked down one the small warrior with a level, uncaring gaze.

And why not? She had asked him. What good would it do me if I wasn’t? If I don’t destroy, who would even care of my very existence?

I would! He had said.

Liar! She snarled venomously, and she had finished him. Almost.

For some reason, she had held back. And the fading Ki was his. The little monk. …whatever his name was.

She called up the read out on him, curious. - Kuririn. A former monk at the Orinji Temple. Trained with Kamesennin for most of his childhood along with Son Goku. Traveled to Nemek. Strongest pureblood human. Status: Enemy.

Yes, that was him. She recognized the ID picture that glowed in front of her eyes by way of some unknown mechanical power.

Kuririn.

Unable to lie still any longer, Juuhachigou uncurled herself and stood. Why she was doing this was yet to become clear to her. What was clear, was that she was going to do it. It had taken a split second for her to decide. She wasn’t the kind of person who dwelt on decisions, even ones that she herself considered irrational.

She walked to the window, no longer with a plain of glass in-between it and the open sky. The attack on the city had all but wiped out the rock and steel buildings; nothing as fragile as glass had survived. She spared a glance back at her brother, noting his steady undisturbed breathing. He would not awake this night. He would not know she had gone.

She took off into the dark sky. Black and forbidding, as if even the atmosphere of Earth was mourning the days terrible loses. Its heroes had fallen. Where was its hope now?

As she flew over the destroyed landscape and towns, she kept her senses open, monitoring the flickering Ki in her mind. Juuhachigou was sure it would live until she reached it, but even if it did, what would she do when she found it? She was undecided. First in her mind was to figure out why she had this urge to go to him. Kuririn. Why hadn’t she killed him? She didn’t know. Why go to him? She didn’t have an answer.

And she couldn’t be without answers to her questions. It would drive her mad.

So, she went looking for the one who had caused it all, sure that her questions would be answered through him. Somehow.

Finally, she reached the battlefield. It was a wide-open wilderness, far from the nearest city. The Earth warriors had “chased” them here, trying to lead them away from the innocents. Juuhachigou and Juuanagou had known, of course, but they had played their game. They had allowed themselves to be moved to here.

Long scares ripped across the land, the result of heavy energy blasts. One large crater she knew held Vegeta’s charred body in the center. The others were here and there. One was missing completely, and was no more than a burnt smudge on the ground. It was a horrible scene.

She landed gently on her feet amidst the carnage, no more concerned than if she were standing in a beautiful park instead of a battlefield. She had a reason. “Don’t dish out what you can’t stomach.” Her brother had told her once, laughing as a bunch of scared weaklings had run for their lives before them. And he was right.

Hands on her hips, she strode amongst them, searching. She stepped on the hand of the Nemek, and the smallest groan escaped him. She looked down at him with a cool, but surprised gaze. He was alive?

What a surprise. She thought, and smiled. She raised her hand and shot a powerful blast at the Nemekian’s body. Seconds later, he was no longer alive.

A little distance from the rest of them, she found what she was looking for. A small form on the ground. His bight red-orange gi stood out against the barran dirty brown surrounding. As did the blood; his blood, seeping out onto the ground around him and staining it crimson.

She stood over his body, rolled him onto his back with her foot. His face was twisted in a subconscious pain, but he was alive. Very faintly she could hear his shallow, uneven breathing, and fainter still she sensed his dropping power level.

She crossed her arms. Now what? She had found him. What was she going to do with him? She didn’t really want to kill him; he’d never been much of a threat to begin with. Besides, he would die on his own if she did nothing.

If he doesn’t get help.

She shook her head dismissing the thought. What would be the point of that?

He said he would care. Her subconscious reminded.

So what. She shot back. He was obviously lying through his teeth. Of course he was.

You don’t know that. What if he was serious?

Then it would do me no good anyway. I don’t NEED him. He can keep his caring to himself.

Now who is lying? Her subconscious said.

She shook her head. Wonderful. Now she was talking to herself. Her impending insanity was complete. And who had caused all this sudden confusion? She had never doubted herself before. She simply wasn’t programmed for it.

She shot a cold stare at the little earthling. Idiot. This was his fault. She closed her eyes. I should have just killed him out right.

She opened her eyes, still glaring at the little monk angrily. Then, very slowly, her gaze softened. Taking a breath, she knelt beside him. She put a hand to his battered face, feeling in the warmth testifying that he was still living.

Perhaps one day I will have a use for him. She thought, tilting her head slightly. She considered briefly. This monk confused her, he was an enemy. Why she had any desire to come to him was a mystery to her, but…

But he had said that he would care. Even if she never destroyed or killed again.

Right now there was no point in testing his sincerity, but perhaps one day…perhaps one day she would have reason to trial him for his words.

“Yes.” She said aloud, verifying her decision. She would save this odd little man’s strange caring for another day. Now all she had to do was preserve him till then. Besides, if he died, then she would have wasted half the night already.

She picked him up from the ground, an arm around his waist. Then she took off into the sky, heading for a spot she knew all to well. Dr. Gero’s laboratory.

*****

She landed amidst a small mountain range. She knew this place like the back of her own hand. She knew exactly where to find the entrance to her former creators lab, not that it would have been hard to find by anyone that was interested. She and her brother had made a mess of the place when they had disposed of Gero. A large blackened crater that ground deep into the base of a mountain showed where the entrance would be.

Juuhachigou landed on the scorched soil, and walked purposefully toward the hidden hole that went into the laboratory. She could feel the earthling’s power level sink lower. He would not live much longer. She blasted the entrance, making it wide enough for her to walk comfortably through it. Then she walked in over broken shards of glass and fragments of metal and chunks of mountain to a small table, where she swept a pile of documents and debris off of, so that she could lay the earthling on it.

Free of the dying monk, she walked to the other side of the lab, scanning the human-sized pods for an undamaged one. Finally, the second to the last one showed promise. A large sheet of metal had fallen from the ceiling and had shielded it from the destruction. Juuhachigou took hold of the metal slab and casually tossed it to the side as if it weighed no more than tissue paper. She sat a hand on the controls. The small screen beside it blinked to life, and immediately brought up a damage report.

Juuhachigou scanned the list. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do. Bringing up an environment screen, the android quickly prepared it for it’s new purpose. In less than five minutes it was completed. Smiling to herself, she opened the compartment and went for the earthling. She picked up his limp body, and set him gently inside. She couldn’t help but smirk. The little runt was so small he barely took up half the thing!

Pathetic. She thought. Yet she had saved him. He would survive. The artificial environment would feed enough nutrients into his blood to sustain him and would keep him from becoming dehydrated. It would even heal his wounds over time. He would live. But he would be trapped in there, deep in an eternal sleep, until such time that she could find some use for him. This would make her feel better, and she would be free to sleep free of distractions.

Satisfied with her solution to her mental unrest, Juuhachigou powered up the machine and turned to leave. As she prepared to take off into the air, back to her brother and a life of pointless destruction, she glanced back over her shoulder toward the lab. He was there all right, and she had saved him, but if she ever decided to wake him up, what would his reaction to seeing the person responsible for his friends death and his own captivity? When she had woken to she her captor, her “creator” she had killed him.

No. She thought. I’ll probably never let him out anyway.

Juuhachigou blasted through the near deserted cities of earth at top speed, tearing apart the landscape in her wake.

No! She screamed to herself. It was impossible, her brother, her twin, he was dead. Dead at the hands of a strange new warrior and the now also dead Son Gohon, the half-breed Sayiajin that had escaped them when they had killed all of his friends, his family.

She blasted over the water, spraying waves every which way toward the shores. Her heart was beating fast.

What am I going to do? Juuanagou…he’s dead! He’s dead!

She couldn’t live without her twin! He was a part of her. To live without him was an absurd impossibility. How was she to go on living? How was she to complete her plan…their plan to strip this miserable planet of its people and rule the remains with no one to try and control them ever again?

The answer? She couldn’t. She couldn’t do it without her brother.

Where are you, Juuanagou? Where have you gone, and left me behind? She thought, urging her body through the air so fast that the wiping wind brought tears to her eyes.

Finally, although physically capable of going on, Juuhachigou landed. Her mind was a mess. It’s usual super-efficiency had become jammed. She clutched her head tightly, collapsing to her knees from mental fatigue.

Her brother had always been so darn arrogant. If he had opened his cocky, STUIPD eyes, he might have saw the surprise, suicidal attack that Son Gohon had pulled on him. But NO! He had to be stupid and get himself killed because of simple, foolish, blundering. She cursed him in her mind. The idiot! Why hadn’t he listened to her every time she had warned him of his way of “fun?”

She could see the whole thing in her mind.

You are going down this time, Jinzoningen! The enraged half-Saiyajin had yelled at them. It had been many years since his fateful escape on the night they had killed everyone he had ever cared about. So many years… And yet still the two artificial humans still remained undefeated. They looked exactly the same as they always had; the modifications made to their body kept them from aging. The young Saiyan, however, had grown much. No longer a child, but a man. The last remaining original member of the Earth’s Special Forces.

I will kill you for what you did to my family and me! He had raged. For father, mother, and Piccolo, Kuririn…ALL OF THEM! You will die, Jinzoningen!

The two had regarded his anger with amusement. It had been all too obvious to them how much weaker he was in comparison to their brutal strength. Juuhachigou only wished she had seen it coming…

Her brother had agreed to battle him, eager for a good fight after so long of massacring nothing but weaklings.

Let me handle this, Juuhachigou. He had said to her, gazing greedily over at the Sayian, so willing to meet his death. It’s about time I had some fun.

Whatever. Just make it quick, Juuanagou. Hanging around a trash bin is more “fun” than watching you waste these scrawny little pests. She had replied, gesturing to the half-Sayian and a much younger purple-haired brat behind him, looking like he was trying hard not to be afraid.

She smirked at him, and his body spazmed in terror with her look. He slunk back a few steps. Seems that he’s heard of us. Juuhachigou had thought to herself. The kid didn’t look much older than early teens, and the only real unusual thing she found about him was the odd purple hair, and a broad, two-edged sword tied to his back.

Juuhachigou had chuckled with mirth. He didn’t even look as if he could lift the thing. And this kid was going to fight? Ha! What a laugh. Juuanagou would be done in a matter of seconds, unless he held back purposely and stretched it out longer, which he often did.

Maybe I will enjoy watching this fight after all. Juuhachigou thought, her mind flashing on the two warrior’s destinies. They would be killed. She only wondered how her twin would decide to do it.

The fight had started how she had expected. After telling the little purple-headed child to stay out of the fight, the Sayian brat had launched at Juuanagou with a barrage of lighting quick punches that even the boy’s father would have had trouble following. Juuanagou had blocked each one with ease.

He let the brat use up his energy, punching and kicking while he only blocked. Finally, the kid had wizened up, and formed an energy ball to throw. Juuanagou canceled it and then struck him to the ground without any expended effort at all.

Oh, come on, this is so boring and slow I might as well be fighting any other stupid little weakling earthling. Where’s the challenge in this? Is this really all you have to offer me? Her brother mocked him while hovering in mid-air, arms crossed.

Son Gohon slowly lifted his head from the dirt.

Sensei! Are you okay? The younger man had called to him. He started to come to him, but Son Gohon stopped him.

Don’t you dare move, Trunks. He hissed at him, and the boy’s steps had immediately faltered. Then the half-Sayiajin turned back to his enemy, and pulled himself to his feet.

Juuanagou lowered himself to the ground in front of him. You’re way to slow for me. Do you have anything else to try before I kill you? He asked him, grinning wide.

Yes. Close your eyes. The drained warrior responded simply.

What? Juuanagou asked, his face screwing up in confusion.

You heard me. Close your eyes. I dare you, unless you’re scared of me.

Juuanagou had simply smiled, and complied. Fire away. Came his fateful words.

The Sayian closed his eyes and focused hard. Juuanagou stood, unconcerned, while his whole body began to glow. The Sayian had then attempted a technique that was nothing short of lunacy. What made it so incredible perhaps, was it’s shocking simplicity. A child could have seen it coming…if only Juuanagou had keep his eyes open…

The Sayian was summoning all his strength. Every reserve he had. Then, amazingly, the aura around his turned a startling gold. His long hair stuck straight up into the air and changed into the same color of blinding yellow.

Juuhachigou’s eyes had widened not in fear, but in curiosity as the powerful gusts of wind washed over her as Son Gohon powered up. She had never seen anything like this before. The Sayian child’s power doubled, quadrupled, grew even larger. Soon he was more than ten times his original estimated strength, and his power still increased.

Wow. Juuhachigou had thought. What an increase. Not bad for a kid.

Then she had smiled. This must be how he planned to win. What she found funny, was that even with his increased super-strength he was nothing compared to Juuanagou. Even at his new best, he had no chance. He simply wasn’t strong enough.

She could see the concealed smile tugging at her brother’s lips even from this distance. He stood, arms crossed confidently, and his eyes still coolly shut. His readers were telling him what they were telling her. This punk was no threat.

Then it had happened. A moment that Juuhachigou seemed destined to relive in her mind again and again until the end of time.

Completing his power up, the youth gathered all his energy and leaped at my brother, who waited patiently. True to his sport, Juuanagou planned to give him the first punch before showing him how weak he really was.

Just as the Sayian was about to strike, he screamed a deafening cry of terrible, final rage, and blurred in behind my brother. Juuanagou’s eyes shot open with his changed potion, but it was to late to stop the Sayian from completing his attack. Before any reaction could be made, the Sayian clamped his muscular arms around Juuanagou. He struggled to free himself of course, but the strange change in the Sayian had given him enough of a power boost to just barely keep his hold.

It wasn’t until he began charging all his energy around them that Juuhachigou had realized his plan. One horrified look into his eyes, hard with determination and a startling finality, cleared all doubt from her mind.

No. she had whispered.

Sensei! Screamed the young boy.

The explosion that then occurred blinded and deafened Juuhachigou. The Sayian Son Gohon had destroyed himself. And with him…her twin. Juuanagou.

A second explosion followed the first, and she knew that her brother’s self-detination device had gone off as a result of the first blast. The dust spread for miles, shoved on by the incredible whiplash shockwave that came over the land from the explosion. To escape destruction, Juuhachigou had taken to the air. She sensed the rather singed purple haired child behind and to her left, who had also flown to avoid death. When the dust finally settled and visibility was restored, one body fell slowly to the ground, and it hadn’t been Juuanagou’s.

It hit hard, but it didn’t matter. It no longer put off any Ki. He was already dead.

SENSEI! came a horrified scream.

The child who had accompanied her brother’s killer flew to the body as fast as he could. He killed his speed a few feet shy of it, and collapsed to his knees at his side, crying.

Juuhachigou’s mind was gone. Juuana…gou… Dead? How could he have lost? It wasn’t logical at all. His power had been so much greater… Why did he lose? It was impossible!

She floated slowly to the ground, feeling suddenly weak. It felt as though the power had been drained out of her body. Her brother was no more. Juu…anagou… You’re dead. Juuhachigou choked out, and as she did, she felt very empty inside. She was meant to function as two perfectly synchronized halves, not as one individual. Now her other half was gone, completely destroyed by that…that Sayian. She might have become angry and avenged his death, but it would do no good. His killer was already dead.

And she was alone. All except for the young boy with the sword, who kneeled over his fallen master, crying in his grief.

Juuhachigou’s eyes narrowed, and her breathing came harder. She would kill the boy. She would kill him for what his master had done to her! She had stood shakily, her fist clinched into fists as she called upon her power.

The boy did not make one move. He was completely motionless. His tears had stopped, and he sat in a disturbing silence as she gathered her deadly energy.

Then the ground began to shake.

Juuhachigou stared, transfixed at the boy, now sending out enormously powerful Ki readings. His power seemed to skyrocket from what had been barely enough to fly with. His head shot up, a terrifying look of fury on his face. He turned his head to look directly over his shoulder at Juuhachigou, who stood there not knowing what to do. Then he stood and faced her.

“You.” He said, his eyes blazing with hatred. “YOU KILLED HIM!”

An already dark sky became darker, as lighting luminated the clouds. A crack of thunder was heard, so loud that it resounded on the crumpled buildings and ruined homes. Homes that Juuhachigou and her brother had destroyed.

“YOU WILL DIE, JINZONINGEN!” The boy yelled, and a bolt of lightning screamed down from the sky, and hit him. The transformation was instantaneous.

The ridiculous purple hair flew backward and turned gold, and his aura turned gold as well. His eyes shifted color, and throughout the process, his power grew hundreds of times it’s original strength. Just as Son Gohon had done. What was this madness!?

Juuhachigou’s eyes had grown wide with poorly concealed fear and astonishment. I am going to die. She thought. Just like Juuanagou. For a moment she hadn’t been sure if that would be so terrible, for she couldn’t imagine life without her brother, but she still didn’t want to die. So, she did the only thing that I could. She retreated. A nicer way of saying that she ran away. But that’s what she did. Juuhachigou wasn’t just an emotionless android. She knew fear. And she could experience death. So she ran.

She might have faced him. His power wasn’t all she had given it credit for. But in her fear; her fear of meeting a fate like that of her brother’s, she ran. Before he could even complete transformation, she took off into the sky and flew off into the horizon. The boy had pursued her for a while, but then his power seemed to blip out and go back to normal. After that, the android had easily outdistanced him.

Juuhachigou had flown on until her thoughts had caught up to her, and she had been able of going no further. So here she was, on her knees and totally wasted mentally. She couldn’t believe that her brother was dead. Couldn’t believe that she had run instead of trying to make the boy pay for his death.

Of, course. She corrected herself. You can still avenge him. You can weigh your time, and one day the opportunity will arise, and you will avenge Juuanagou.

Juuhachigou raised her head, relishing the thought of his death. The death of the purple-headed child who could change into that golden super self. She would kill him, slowly and painfully. Soon.

*****

Trunks had chased the Jinzoningen for as long as he had been able to sustain his astounding new power. Eventually, as his rage died down, the golden aura disappeared. After that, he had practically collapsed from exhaustion.

Landing on the rough ground, Trunks fell to his knees and threw both his fists into the dirt, causing two good-sized craters to form.

“Darn it!” he raged.

He had failed to avenge his master. Gohon. His Sensei, and his very best friend. The only friend that he had ever had. He was dead! He had killed himself to defeat the Jinzoningen. Why, Sensei? His head screamed. We might have found another way to defeat them. We could have done it! Why did you have to die?

The tears came again, and he didn’t even try to stop them. He wanted to be miserable. The closest person in his life, aside from his mother, was gone. The male Jinzoningen was now dead, but his Sensei was now dead as well. He had committed suicide to save the world from the Jinzoningen, and had depended on him to finish the remaining one. And he had failed.

He had failed.

An enormous responsibility had crashed down unto his young shoulders, and he knew he wasn’t ready for it. He didn’t want to be the one to take care of the whole world. He honestly didn’t think he could bet even the Jinzoningen that was left.

And now he was alone. Because of his failure, he was alone.

And it was up to him to protect the whole stupid world.

*****

The following evening…

The sun was just beginning to set in the western sky, coloring the horizon beautifully with deep red and orange and purple hews. The beauty of it seemed so out of place in the scared and barren world. Nothing here was known, but pain.

A lone form sat atop one of the only standing building in the area. Against the darkening sky, the figure of a young woman was clearly visible. Her silky golden hair stirred slightly in the wind as she stared at the painting in the sky, no feeling, emotion, or even recognition on her stony face. She simply sat, arms around her legs and chin resting atop her knees, entirely consumed in her thoughts.

It had been a long day for Juuhachigou. She had done nothing by fly aimlessly for hours on end, thinking. Already the unbearable loneliness was beginning to set in on her. She had never before felt loneliness. Never before had she had the need to be lonely; she had always been with her brother. Always. Now that he was gone, she felt as though she no longer had a purpose.

Now the night was coming, and she knew she would spend as she had the previous; completely awake and restless and so lonely that she could hardly bear it.

Well, Juuhachigou. She thought bitterly to herself. Looks as though you are sinking into nothingness. Fine way you’ve found to lose yourself.

She sighed deeply, longing for her companion and brother. The loss wouldn’t have been so bad if she had had someone to talk to, but she had no one. Every one on this planet was her enemy. Everyone wanted to be.

Her mind drifted back to the scene of her brother’s death, as it had many times.

If only we had searched out that half-Sayian brat… She thought. If only they had finished the battle. Her brother had been the one to let him escape; ironic considering how he’d died. The fool.

Juuhachigou sighed again, staring at the stony rooftop. She couldn’t blame her brother for everything, no matter how much she longed to lay the fault completely on him. She had left around loose ends as well. The little monk was still out there somewhere, asleep in the capsule. To this day she couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t…just…

Suddenly, her eyes widened as a thought, a ridiculous thought came to her mind. The little monk! He was still alive. Hadn’t he said that he didn’t want to fight her? And she had saved him, wouldn’t he be grateful to her for that? Her idea was highly unreasonable, and she knew it. But in her state of mind, she really didn’t give a care.

She stood and blasted off into the air before her logical side could talk her out of it. Her heart screamed. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? She didn’t have to be lonely at all.

*****

Juuhachigou landed in front of a crater. She walked quickly over to a concealed entrance and pushed herself through. A tangle off weeds and plants had grown up around the entrance, making it rather difficult on her. Not caring, she shoved the growth out of her way, flaring up her energy enough to incinerate the plant life upon touch.

The lab was as much of a wreck as the last time she had seen it. In fact, it was worse. Her past intrusion had left the entrance blasted open, exposing the lab to the elements. The result was a damp, moss covered junk heap. Juuhachigou’s nose wrinkled in disgust. She had never been a great fan of nature; she much preferred comfort. But if this was all she had to work with, then that was fine. She didn’t plan to stay long anyway. She just needed to collect something she’d left long ago for just such an occasion…

Heading for the back of the room where she knew she had put him, Juuhachigou couldn’t help but notice the large number Seventeen on a nearby capsule. She stopped to stare at it for just a second, long enough for her stomach to churn in her brother’s memory. Then she shook her head. It was time to move on. No more thinking about her twin. She had a new plan now, and with the help of a certain little human, she would complete it.

I will avenge you, brother. She finalized to him before turning her face.

When she got to an undamaged capsule toward the end of the row, Juuhachigou stopped. Was this the one? Sure enough, the computer beside it glowed the message that it was functioning and occupied.

Juuhachigou stepped closer and laid a hand on the control panel. With the press of a button, the cover of the capsule became translucent, allowing the android to examine the person encased inside.

Juuhachigou’s eyes narrowed in mild surprise. It was him all right. Kuririn. But he had changed a bit since the last time she had seen him. He was still short, and the capsule had almost completely kept him from aging at all. That made sense. She had told the machine to preserve him at her last visit. It would have healed his wounds, and then shut down his internal aging process. What looked so strange was that instead of being bald, he now had a head full of shaggy jet-black hair. He had apparently shaved it in the past, and during the time his wounds were healing it had grown back out.

She cocked her head strangely. He looked better that way, she decided. Rather to be a short little midget monk with no nose, then a short bald midget monk with no nose. Really. She thought. Why shave your head? He looks ridiculous enough already.

Sighing, she scanned the computer screen. He was at a hundred present health. She pulled up the screen to shut down the thing and release the human. Just as she was about to push the button, she stopped. Her finger lingered over the button that would decide weather or not the human would stay in the capsule forever, or be let out.

What a minute, what am I doing? Juuhachigou thought to herself. Do I real want to let this guy out? What if he turns on me the moment he awakes? Look what my brother and I did to Gero when he let us out of these things! We killed him! Crushed his brain in!

Of course this little runt was no threat to her, but still…What if the first thing he did was accuse her of the murder of his friends, (which she was) and downright hated her. Then the whole trip here would have been pointless. Then again, he had said that he didn’t want to be her enemy even as she had tortured and killed him. That certainly said something for him. Maybe he did mean it…

And what if he didn’t? Then where will I be? She thought to herself.

Back where you started; alone. Her sub-conscious answered her. But if you don’t even wake him up and see how he reacts then you’ll be by yourself anyway. Why are you hesitating? It’s not as if he can hurt you.

Shut up. She growled back. Lately she had become taken to these internal conflicts and conversations more and more often, and she hated it, knowing that talking to herself was the first sign of mental illness.

Finally, she decided that her sub-conscious was right; she really had nothing left to lose. So, she took a deep breath and pushed the button that would shut down the capsule. As soon as she pressed it, the panel exploded with a shower of sparks, causing her to jerk her hand away abruptly.

She stood back and watched, eyes widened in surprise as the computer malfunctioned and literally blew up. Smoke billowed from the capsule wall, now gutted, with wires sticking out and about haphazardly and flashing with sparks.

No! She thought frantically. It’ll damage the human!

The capsule door suddenly popped open with an erratic jerk, not the smooth slide like it should have done. The little warning screen came to a now almost completely destroyed consul. System Alert. Malfunction Has Occurred. Lock Has Been Removed From Subject. Total System Meltdown Eminent. Announced a detached computerized voice that Juuhachigou recognized as the doctor Gero’s.

“Damage report.” She told the computer, coughing on the smoke.

Computer Data Has Been Damaged. Computer Memory Has Been Damaged. Environment Control Has Been Damaged. Subject Control Has Been…

“I meant the human, you stupid computer!” She shouted.

Just then the fire control mechanisms for the lab powered up, and the electrical fire on the console was doused with specialized foam. The smoke began to clear up. Juuhachigou could now clearly see the partially opened and smoking capsule. She didn’t sense any movement from within it.

Subject Intact. The computer announced in a slurred voice that teemed with static. Running Damage Report On Subject Now. There was a soft buzzing sound as what remained of the computer processed the data.

Damage Reports On Subject…buzzzzzzzzzzzz…As Follows…Sudden Consciousness…Shock…buzzzzzzzzzzzz…System Stabilizing Feature Offline…Ment…Trauma…buzzzzzzzzzzzz… The transmission ended and the consul went blank. A great silence came over the lab, and the only sound that could be heard was that of Juuhachigou’s own breathing.

She took a cautious step toward the capsule. She had had a difficult time understanding the damage report on the human, and had no idea whether or not he was alive, much less awake. The translucent cover to the thing had been shut off with the computer, and Juuhachigou could no longer see inside.

She was about to go and force up the lid to the capsule, when she heard something from within it. A small sound like the cry of someone who has woken up from a very bad dream. Juuhachigou’s eyes never left the capsule. The next moment a pair of tiny hands appeared at the bottom of the containment lid and tried to make it open up. It slid up just enough for a small figure to squeeze himself out, very slowly.

He looked up at her from his knees on the ground and cocked his head, a puzzled expression on his face. He didn’t seem afraid of her, or angry as she’d expected. Instead, he looked into her slack face with wide and strangely bewildered eyes.

“Who are you?” he asked her in a mystified voice, which caught her so off guard she couldn’t even manage an answer. Didn’t he…remember her at all?

The little human looked around, rather intimidated. Then he looked down at his hands.

“Who am I?” he asked, confusion clouding his features.

Juuhachigou’s mouth hung open in shock. He didn’t remember who he was!? What had happened to him while he was in there? She thought back to the damage report on him with renewed curiosity. It had said something about the subject stabilizers going off line, but the rest of the message had been only a jumbled mess. Had the explosion done something to him, something bad enough that he wouldn’t even remember who he was?

“Do you know who I am?” he asked her again. “I don’t understand. Where am I?”

“Your in Doctor Gero’s laboratory.” She told him.

“Who is Doctor Gero?” he asked her.

“He’s dead.”

“Dead?“

“Yes, dead. I killed him myself.” She said irritably, folding her arms and frowning.

The human looked at her angry face with great distress. “Please, don’t be angry.” He pleaded. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up.” She told him, and he looked down, shame faced. Juuhachigou gazed at him thoughtfully. Her face screwed up as she tried to think of a logical reason for this strange turn of events. She had never expected to come get him and to find him like this.

Meanwhile, the human stood up, slowly and carefully. His eyes wandered over the capsule, the rest of the lab, and finally came to rest back on Juuhachigou. She met his stare with an icy cold glare of malice.

“Why are you staring at me? Do you see something you don’t like?” she demanded of him, and he immediately looked away.

“No, I just want to know…do you know who I am?” he asked.

Juuhachigou considered before answering. “I know who you are.” She said finally.

“You do? That’s great! Can you tell me?” he asked eagerly. His face had broken out into a huge smile, and he pulled his hands into fists with anticipation.

“I can tell you everything you want to know and more.” She said. Everything I want you to know, anyway. She thought to herself smugly. A plan was forming in her mind. No, this wasn’t what she had expected, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how perfect it was. What could be easier to control than a little runt that couldn’t remember his past? Especially if his past was as her enemy.

Juuhachigou couldn’t hold back a chuckle. It seemed that luck was finally back on her side.

“I am Juuhachigou.” She told him. “I am a Jinzoningen.”

“You are a…an android?” he asked, more curious than disturbed by the fact.

Juuhachigou nodded, glad that he had taken that bit of news so well. “I am more of a cyborg than a simple android.” She corrected him. “I am human based. I have simply been modified to fit my purpose.”

“What is your purpose, Juu…” he trailed off.

“Juuhachigou!” she snapped. “Make sure that you don’t forget it again, or else!”

He swallowed hard, and then nodded. “What is your purpose…Juuhachigou?” he repeated.

Juuhachigou narrowed her eyes. “To wipe every living human off the face of this miserable planet.” She stated calmly.

The small human stayed silent, his brow furrowed. He was plainly troubled by her words. “Why would you want to do that?” he asked her. “What did they do that was so bad that they all deserve to die? Did they hurt you?”

Juuhachigou’s frown deepened. “You could say that.” She said. “I could blame what was done to my brother and I on the whole human race if I felt like it.”

“You have a brother?” the human asked.

“He’s dead.”

“Oh.” He said, looking down at his feet. They he glanced up at her, a little fearfully. “Do people around you always die?” he asked.

He shrunk back as Juuhachigou broke into genuinely amused laughter. “Many do die around me!” she laughed. “Many do.”

She continued to smile gleefully as the human noticeably paled.

“Not everyone dies around me.” She assured him. “I saved you from dieing.”

“Really?” he asked. “You saved me? Arigato, Juuhachi-sama!” He bowed respectfully to her.

“Stop that.” Juuhachigou said, uncomfortably.

Obediently, he rose back up and waited for her to say something. When she stayed silent, he spoke up instead.

“What is my name, Juuhachigou?” he asked her, and waited. “I do have one, don’t I?”

She nodded. “You have a name.” She said. I’m just not sure whether or not it is wise to tell you what it is. She added to herself.

“I will tell you.” She said, “Under one condition, and if you break it, I’ll kill you.”

Kuririn seemed to have no problem abiding by this rule, so she continued.

“You may not tell anyone else.” She finished.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.” She growled.

“But why?”

“You are a new person today.” She told him. “If you were found out than there would be trouble.”

Kuririn considered for only a moment. “Okay.” He said. “I won’t tell anyone else my name, if you will tell me.”

Juuhachigou smiled. “You are Kuririn, Chiisai-ichi.” She said.

“Kuririn?” he asked. “Is that a good name?”

“It’s fine.” Juuhachigou answered him, shrugging. “There are worse things you could be called.”

Kuririn smiled, obviously pleased. Then he looked at her again, and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was already forming another question.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Juuhachigou, you said I was new today. What did you mean by that?” he asked.

Juuhachigou didn’t know exactly how to explain it to the little human, and she knew she didn’t want to. “It doesn’t matter.” She told him. “What matters is that you are here now.”

He cocked his head again in that peculiar fashion. “What is my purpose, now that I’m new?” he asked her.

This question surprised Juuhachigou. He obviously thought she knew everything, and he didn’t mind asking for answers either.

“Your purpose,” she began slowly. “Is to help me.”

“Okay.” He said. “How?”

Juuhachigou blinked rapidly at his swift acceptance. Surely it wouldn’t be this easy?

“You are going to do as I tell you? Just like that?” she asked skeptically.

“Why not?” he asked, smiling. “You saved me.”

It was Juuhachigou’s turn to smile now. “Let’s go.” She told him. “I’ll explain everything to you later.”

“We’re leaving here?” Kuririn asked. “Why?”

“Because it’s smelly, dark, damp, and filthy.” Juuhachigou answered bluntly, already at the door.

Kuririn followed her out into the open night air without another question. Once outside, however, he was suddenly filled with questions.

“Wow!” he exclaimed, looking up at the stars dancing and sparkling on the midnight blue sky. “They’re beautiful. Does this happen every night, Juuhachigou?”

Juuhachigou raised her head slightly to look at what he found so fascinating. Her lip curled when she saw where his excitement came from. “Idiot.” She told him. “What’s so interesting about those?”

“Don’t you think they’re pretty?” he asked her.

She glared up at them again. “They are pointless. What is their use?”

“I…don’t know…maybe…maybe just to look nice?” he stuttered.

“Shut up.” She snapped. “You don’t know what their use is, and I know it. Now lets get out of here. I’m tired of this pox hole and your senseless babbling.”

“Gomen nasai.” He muttered. Sorry.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. He stood, feet together and eyes down. He looked pitiful. Growling, she turned around and took off into the sky, irritated. When he didn’t follow, she halted in midair and turned to look down on him. He stood where she had left him, watching her in awe.

She put her hands on her hips, growing impatient. “Well?” she demanded. “If you plan on coming willingly, than you better hurry, Idiot.”

He gapped. “Wow! How are you doing that, Juuhachigou?” he asked in wonder.

Juuhachigou couldn’t believe her ears. This was still the same person who had fought her brother and her years ago, and she was sure he was capable of flight. She had seen him do it for crying out loud!

Please don’t tell me he’s lost the ability to fight. She thought savagely to herself. If so, he’s useless. I might as well kill him now if he can’t even fly!

She landed it front of him and engaged her scanners. It read a low number as her eyes washed over him, but that didn’t mean anything. The humans could control their power level readings to a point that they could almost make it as though they didn’t exist. That rather annoying yet useful ability had been the main reason Juuanagou and her had not been able to locate Son Gohon. In other words, her sensors were worth scrap on their own.

“Raise your Ki.” Juuhachigou commanded Kuririn, who was doing a very good job of looking incredibly confused.

“Raise my what?” he asked.

“You don’t know what Ki is?” she exclaimed.

“No…is that important?”

“It’s your life supply, you idiot!” she yelled. “The source of your power!”

“What power?” he asked.

Juuhachigou was to the point of fury. She had come all this way to be confronted with this. Ki! The very thing that kept him breathing and he didn’t know it existed!

No. She amended, calming down. He doesn’t remember that it existed. That is the difference.

“You have never heard of Ki?” she asked the cowering Kuririn, who seemed extremely disturbed by her outbreak. He shook his head vigorously.

“Never.” He said. “What is it?”

“I’ll show you.” She said, a devilish smile crossing her face. “Would you like that, Kuririn? For me to show you your Ki?”

“Sure…I guess so.” He said nervously. “If that’s what you want.”

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, Juuhachigou launched herself toward him and thrust her knee into the small human’s stomach, not to hard. With a choking cry of pain he flew backward and then skidded to a halt on the ground several feet in front of Juuhachigou. She checked her sensors, and sure enough, Kuririn’s Ki had risen reflexively in defense at her attack. He struggled up from the ground, gasping for breath with a hand to his middle. Juuhachigou had hit him hard enough that any normal human would have been killed. Memory laps or not, it seemed that Kuririn was far from normal. His Ki level read over a thousand. And that was only in instinctive defense.

Smiling, Juuhachigou blinked out of existence and reappeared, arms crossed, over Kuririn. She grabbed a handful of his unruly black hair and ripped him up from his knees. She pulled hard in an attempt to make the runt angry. It worked. Mad, he unwittingly flared his Ki, causing a fiery aura to shot up around him. Juuhachigou released him and backed off. His Ki level was much higher now, Juuhachigou happily noted. It would only take a moment to re-teach him to fly.

Kuririn meanwhile, was looking shocked at his own power. “Masaka!” he exclaimed. “This is Ki?”

“Yes.” Juuhachigou assured him. “It is what keeps you alive. That’s how you can fight; by manipulating your Ki.”

“I’m gonna fight?” he asked.

Juuhachigou rolled her eyes, exasperated. She wasn’t surprised or upset that he didn’t remember how to fight. It was clear that he still retained his Ki, and his fighting skills. He just didn’t remember how to use them. She was confident that if she showed him the basics, than he would do the rest on his own.

“You will fight.” Juuhachigou promised. “But not now. I am going to teach you to fly, and then we will see what else you can remember to do tomorrow.”

“Fly? You meant that I get to FLY?” He sounded like an excited youngster.

Oh, well. She thought, shaking her head at his childishness. That will soon wear off when he begins to spar with me. She smiled at the thought. Yes, after tomorrow he might not be as happy to learn from me. For his sake, I hope he remembers what he is doing soon.

“Teach me to fly, Juuhachigou! Please?” Kuririn’s voice broke through her thoughts. He was smiling brightly, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation. He seemed to glow, thought his aura had by now faded away with his passing anger.

“Very well.” Juuhachigou said. Then she calmly walked over and took hold of Kuririn’s arm. “Hold on.” She said.

With that she flew up into the sky toward the top of the mountain. Kuririn’s eyes went wide at the height.

“Juuhachigou!” he exclaimed in fear as they left the ground. Her icy smile grew wider.

“Yes?” She asked.

“What are you doing?” he yelled. “Let me go!”

“Not yet.” She said. “We’re not high enough.”

“What?!”

As they neared the top of the mountain, Juuhachigou leveled off and sat down on a steep incline with a nice view of a jumble of jagged rocks at the base of the mountain. Juuhachigou released a pale Kuririn onto he ground next the edge.

“Did you pay attention to my flying?” she asked him.

“Uh…sort of.” He confessed. “I was kinda busy looking at the ground.”

Juuhachigou frowned and crossed her arms with displeasure. “Are you telling me I flew you up here and you paid no attention?” she asked darkly.

Kuririn swallowed hard. He didn’t like the look on her face. “Er…I think I know how to…well, not really.” He finished glumly.

Juuhachigou shook her head. “I guess you’ll just have to learn the hard way…” she said.

“What? The hard way?” Kuririn asked. “What do you mean the hard way?”

With that, Juuhachigou shoved Kuririn off the cliff’s edge.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!!” he screamed, as he was hurled toward the ground and the rocks below.

“That is the hard way.” Juuhachigou said, smirking.

She took off toward him, smiling to herself. This is going to be fun.

Poor Kuririn fell toward the ground with absolutely no clue as to what to do. Juuhachigou flew up beside him, upside-down as he was.

“What’s wrong?” She asked calmly. “Why don’t you fly, Kuririn?”

“I don’t know how!” he yelled, terrified. And with good reason. If he didn’t get airborne soon, he was toast.

Juuhachigou seemed disgusted. “This is easy. I showed you your Ki. Just make yourself fly with it.” She said, as if it was obvious.

“But I don’t know how to get my Ki back!”

“Would you like me to hit you again?”

“NO!”

“Well then you better start flying. If you hit the ground this fast, you’ll make a huge mess. Blood everywhere.” Juuhachigou said, shaking her head.

“And exactly how long do I have to learn?!” Kuririn asked, panic rising in him.

Juuhachigou looked down casually at the ground. Then she shrugged. “It’s a high mountain.” She said. “I would guess that you have about 30.6 seconds left. Iie, excuse me. 28 seconds now.”

“I’M GONNA DIE!” Kuririn yelled, covering his face.

Twenty-eight seconds later, Kuririn stopped falling. He cautiously opened his eyes, and stared down at the ground less than a meter below him.

“Yikes!” he yelped. Why had he stopped falling? Was he…flying?

“Idiot.” He heard a voice. Confused he turned his head to stare at Juuhachigou. She had a steel grip on his ankle, and had apparently stopped him from dieing.

“Juuhachigou!” Kuririn exclaimed.

“Idiot.” She repeated. “Why didn’t you fly?”

“Uh…I don’t know how?”

She dropped him the remaining distance and watched him crash on his face.

“Ouch…” he muttered, rubbing the spot where his nose should have been.

“Cry baby.” Juuhachigou snorted. “Get back up. We have to do it again.”

“No way!” Kuririn shouted, backing up against the mountain’s face. “I’m not doing that again! What if you don’t catch me this time?”

“I’m not going to try this time.” She said. “If you don’t fly then you’ll die!”

Kuririn gulped. “You know…I really don’t think that I want to fly.” He said.

“Coward.”

“I am not!”

“Then why won’t you fly?”

“I already said, I don’t know how!”

“I just showed you.”

“Well then you’re a lousy teacher!”

Than one hit home, and Juuhachigou snarled menacingly, her eyes as cold as ice. “What did you say to me?” she demanded.

“Uh…nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Kuririn hastily replied, trying to smile.

Juuhachigou waked up over him and repeated hatefully, “What did you say to me?”

Kuririn sunk backward. “I think you’re a wonderful teacher and I’m ready to try and fly now?” he asked.

Juuhachigou straightened up. “Good.” She said, “Let’s get started.”

*****

Bulma watched her son sitting out in the shinning sun, his face in his hands. He had been acting this way since the night before, when he had dragged himself home, exhausted mentally and physically, and refused to tell her what had happened to him.

And when she had asked where Gohon was, he had run outside, and hadn’t moved from where he sat since.

That alone was enough to make her skin crawl. Had something happened last night? Something bad? To Gohon? She could have pressed it, but she knew that Trunks would tell her in his own time.

But now he just sat there.

Bulma could since that he was in misery, and wished more than anything that she could change it. It just wasn’t fair for him. It wasn’t fair that her son had to grow up in such a world as this one. She wished more than anything that things were as they used to be, when Gokuu was around…

If he had only lived. He could have saved the Earth from the Jinzoningen. She knew he could have! But he had died… Now this was the result.

As desperation began to grip her, Bulma instinctively dug into her pocket to wrap her fingers around a single capsule. The capsule contained her dream – all the way since before the Jinzoningen threat.

Perhaps now was the time to see if she could make it more that a dream…

A Fading Ki
Prologue

A Fading Ki
Chapter One - Desperation

~End Chapter~

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Author: Swiss Army Knife

Email: dragonswissarmyknife@hotmail.com