DBZ: The Fallen Empire (Chapter 4: The Gravestone)

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"If you have an idea, now would be great to execute it..." Oriko shot some light arrows at Vaylin, hoping to distract her to give the others some breathing space.
 
(Sorry for the hold up guys! Thanks for being patient with me and my matter at hand. You're the best. :3)

Jaz finally managed to reach her father, who was shirtless and his entire mechanical body gleamed. Kire, obviously not interested of Junior's existence, smiled brightly to his daughter. Jaz, however, frowned at him, causing the man to lift an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's wrong, cupcake?" Kire questioned. 

"Junior said you were gonna take me away from him..." Jaz gripped Junior's hand a little tighter. "I don't wanna be separated from Junior again, Daddy."

Kire instantly glared at the boy with fury but he was not about to lie to his daughter, at least not entirely. He placed a hand on both Jaz and Junior's shoulders, placing himself between them. He then placed his arms around them in a gentle headlock. He nuzzled Jaz's cheek with his own while attempting to add pressure around Junior's neck.

"Look Jaz... I just don't want you to get hurt." Kire admitted bluntly. "As for taking you away from Junior, I would never do that to you, Jaz. Junior's just a bit on edge for some reason. I just don't know why he'd say that." Kire turned to Junior, giving him a sly smile. The intention of his words were obvious. "Sounds like Junior's out to get me."

Jaz stared at her father and slumped her shoulders away from him. Her eyes shifted to Junior, almost as if saying so just roll with it. Kire took a step back from the two and stood before them. 

"Well, enough about this. We gotta work on your special suit, Jaz." Kire smiled. "But before that, I wouldn't mind diggin' in that core of yours. I wanna see wha'cha been up to these past hundred years. I wanna see how my boys are doing as well as see your...relationship with Junior here." Kire turned to Junior, giving him a normal face, for once. "Wanna see all of Jaz's memories~?"
 
"We are going to die if we don't do something quickly!" Mioi insisted, unsure how she would even be able to last long enough to try and inflict damage. Option after option went through her head but was futile and she knew it.

She glanced above her in her panic and her eye widened; it was a lackadaisical idea she thought of in desperation. "Try to damage enough of the foliage to come crashing down and force her back! It can buy us some time while you figure the next move." She suggested to the group. There would be no guarantee if it would work, but there was no harm to try it at least. 

Immediately, she began blasting her eye beams up at the canopy around them, where she could make out the bases of branches that would fall without support. "Just watch where the debris falls..."
 
Oriko noticed what Mioi was doing and nodded, firing some arrows at the branches that looked weak.

"Damnit! We're barely making a scratch on her! If only.. if only I were stronger...!" He thought to himself as he continued to shoot the branches down.
 
Vegetto Jr. kept his eyes narrowed, nearly scowling at Kire's attempt to deflect responsibility despite Jaz's expression. He perked up, however, at his final comment.

"Her memories?"

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Both Brachi and Xenest swiped at the air, Vaylin having already disappeared without even a trace of an afterimage. Solaris' blasts rapidly bounced backwards, striking the ground at Solaris' feet in an amplified explosion.

Panich's ki blasts exploded outward at random, nearly covering the entire open air before them in brown dust. Vegetto grunted, his aura blasting backwards from the force of the wind.

"She's too fast! Just get out of here; the rest of us will catch up!"

The fusion hacked, stumbling to his left from the blow to his right ribs. He snarled in the split second, spinning with his right leg and sending Vaylin back a few meters with a grunt.

The black hooded woman kept a confident grin, before turning her head up with a small frown and a scowl. She scoffed, slapping away a few bundles of leaves and branches landing on her shoulders, before suddenly whirling around with a massive golden energy blast tearing into the ground towards Oriko and Mioi.
 
"Woah!" Oriko responded with his guts by pushing Mioi away, taking the full brunt of the blast. He was sent flying into a tree, the teen gushing out a little bit of blood as his back hit a tree.

"Holy shit that hurts...! he thought to himself as he crashed into the ground, his bow dissipating as he slowly closed his eyes, his head slumping over to the side.
 
"Uhm, daddy, I think there's one thing you should know!" Jaz said nervously. "It's about my brothers!"

Kire smiled warmly to Jaz and nudged her into a special pod where he promptly locked it shut. He didn't listen to Jaz for the most part but he was more interested for seeing himself.

"Just relax Jaz, I'll figure it out myself, cupcake." Kire chuckled. "Besides, I'm sure Junior here would like to see what's diggin' in your head anyways."

Jaz stared at Junior and seemed to frown but decided to let her father see for himself. Her face drifted into sleep and contorted into pain as a special cable dug into her spine and gathered data. Kire was on his computer, typing away at some special keywords. He turned back to Junior and gave him a sly smile while the large screen. 

Jaz's memories showed in small 'gif' like patters with more vivid memories being longer than others, all of which were almost like looking through Jaz's eyes. The brothers that Jaz spoke of were all seen dead. The oldest one was seen with his head and torso horribly mutilated, the second was sliced in half by Jaz's own blades, and the youngest was decaying near a river. All of Jaz's most powerful memories seem to pause on the screen with a clear image of her late brothers. Kire stared at the screen at his fallen children but did not utter a single word like he normally would. He took one step forward and seem almost in a trance with the screen before him but it was obvious how he felt about the situation. Finally, he lifted his head up to face the ceiling and spoke.

"Junior..." His voice sounded calmer than usual. "You're off the hook for now. I got more important things to deal with than pests like you. Now get out of here..."

No matter how much Kire tried to keep calm, the tiny quiver in his voice exposed it all. His mechanical hands turned into fists which seemed to creak by how hard he balled them. It was a hard truth for him to swallow but he refused to show emotion before Junior. It was obvious that things would only get more chaotic for Junior later on.
 
"Oriko!" Mioi scrambled to her feet. This was a battle she couldn't gain the upper hand in. Balling up her fists, she turned opposite the direction where the others were fleeing, charging for Oriko as another tree branch fell before them. "Do not die on me. May your courage keep you all alive." As fast as her legs allowed, the alien grabbed the teen by the clothes and dragged him off into the brush.

It didn't matter if it would slow her, she wasn't going to let another person needlessly die. 

The ship... we must get back to the ship... somewhere they can't find us... Sweat formed on her forehead as she hurried to try and regroup with the others who fled.
 
Vaylin kept a small smirk, watching Mioi drag Oriko to safety without intervening before suddenly bolting backwards into the treeline. Vegetto pulled his right fist back, panting lightly and turning his attention to his right. Gogeta stood still, balling up his hands into fists.

"She'll just destroy that ship if someone doesn't hold her here. Go."

Vegetto kept a stern stare, rubbing his shoulder.

"You know I'm not going to let you risk your life here. We'll take her together."

Gogeta's eyes narrowed slightly in response, his tone darker than usual.

"I've let you make the call for decades since we've teamed up. I've seen you save billions of lives across hundreds of worlds, and I've watched you plunge this universe into war on a bid for peace, alienating your loved ones for what you believe is right."

Vegetto's eyes widened, caught off guard as Gogeta locked into his stare.

"For once in your life, let someone else make the call. Get out of here now!"

The fusion soon collected himself, matching Gogeta's stern stare for a few seconds. The ground shook heavily, Vegetto bolting after the others in a red streak while Gogeta turned his stare back to the treeline where Vaylin disappeared.

"So...you got what you wanted. Do you really believe it will be enough?"

Only visible to Gogeta, the Dread Saiyan crossed his arms behind his back at his side with an emotionless expression.

"You already know the answer to that question. If you wish to stall my daughter long enough for your friends to escape, you must fight as if it will be your last."

=======================

Vegetto Jr. kept a frown, preparing to make a comment before Koth suddenly bolted into the room. He panted heavily, gesturing towards the front of the ship.

"Guys, we have to hurry! Vaylin's already found the ship, they're going to need your help fighting off Zakuul."

=======================

Vegetto landed first onto the ground, now a few meters away from the Gravestone. He kept his eyes narrowed, turning towards Gogeta Jr. as he stumbled in.

"Where are the others?"

The fusion glanced around.

"Give it some time, not all of us can fly so easily."
 
Brachi and Xenest teleported above Vegetto and Gogeta Jr., remaining serious yet silent. Why was there no end to this? Why is there always someone ready to mess up their plans? It was something which was nagging at Brachi's mind, feeling it was jeopardizing her personal mission in regards to the crisis, right before she felt Xenest put a hand on her shoulders, as if to tell her to calm down and regain her focus.
 
Kire seemed oblivious to the comment Koth made but he still knew he had to act. Pushing several buttons on the computer he was on, the pod that held Jaz opened up and dropped her limp body. Kire casually walked over to her and pulled the cables out of her back with a heavy jolt. Almost as if from pain, Jaz's eyes opened widely and she took a large breath of air. Kire pulled her to her feet and patted her shoulder.

"Steady yourself Jaz, we got some fighting to do. That Vaylin chick is after us yet again." Kire said with annoyance. "So get moving."

Jaz's blood almost ran cold when she heard Vaylin's name. It was obvious that she didn't like her at all. She gritted her teeth and glanced at Junior. Running up to him, she seemed a bit upset about the matter.

"I don't want you fighting that girl." Jaz watched as her father ran off to the front of the ship. She placed her hands on Junior's shoulders and gazed directly into his eyes. "I don't want you near her. I'm not gonna have her take you away after we just met. She's an ugly, stupid toad!"

Jaz huffed, her cheeks turning red with jealousy. She dashed out of the room before Junior could reply, trailing after her father.
 
Vegetto Jr. blinked for a moment, watching Jaz take off in confusion. He shook his once, deciding to follow after her quickly instead of thinking more on it.

==============

Vegetto glanced around for a minute, watching the others slowly arrive. His eyes trained on Jaz, Kire, Koth and Vegetto Jr. as they both came running up.

"Alright...the others will catch up later. Right now, we need to teleport this ship out of here before all of Zakuul swoops down on us."

Vegetto narrowed his eyes.

"That's your big plan? Teleporting this ship offworld?"

The fusion grunted, stumbling lightly from the sudden quake beneath their feet. A sonic boom blasted forward, striking all of the fighters in the area with a brief torrent of wind. Vegetto blinked, turning towards the source from the energy flare a few miles away.

==============

Gogeta grimaced heavily, now holding Vaylin's right palm in his hand. His muscles tensed heavily, his aura burning stronger than ever as she floated still in front of him. The fusion roared, launching his free elbow towards the hooded woman, striking her square in the cheek.

Vaylin didn't make a sound as she bolted backwards towards the tree line, suddenly stopping in mid air. Her confident smirk remained as she lightly descended to the ground.

"Interesting...I saw you use that power before. But I didn't think you'd improve so much over the past few hours."

She crossed her arms, studying Gogeta who stood still with narrow eyes.

"Such fierce determination, such strength. And your toned muscles...mmm. It's why I find it hard to control myself around Junior..."

Gogeta's eyebrows furrowed slightly, his discomfort clear across his face.

"Father never did teach me much about your race, but I suppose that's why I have such an attraction to it. Since well..."

The fusion perked up slightly, watching the woman slowly drop her hood.

"I'm half of one."

Gogeta's eyes widened, the furious roar of energy echoing across the forest as a sinister black and purple aura shot up from around Vaylin's feet. Her eyes glowed a bright shade of purple, her long hair having evaporated entirely into a spiked bundle of puple bangs neatly stacked on top of her head. The length had retreated slightly, nearly matching Gogeta's in appearance as the fusion looked on in shock.

"That form..."

Vaylin chuckled to herself, flipping a free bang on her left over her ear.

"You think Junior will like the purple hair? I never had a reason to use it until now...but since you're strong enough to push me this far..."

Her eyes suddenly flared, a sudden fire of rage booming from her voice in her random shouting.

"ANSWER ME!!"

Gogeta blinked, the newly transformed Dread Saiyan having closed the gap in seconds to the fusion. His eyes remained wide, his mouth hanging open at the force from her punch now lodged into his stomach.
 
Damn it all. I went the complete opposite direction... I have to make my way back and can't afford to be caught again... Mioi started to run in the general direction she believed the meeting point would be. Hopefully one of the ones who were able to fly could hear her if she projected her thoughts far enough. But then, Vaylin could easily catch her. What do I do...
She dragged herself and Oriko through another thicket of plant life before being nearly knocked over by the sudden burst of wind. 

Mioi's brow furrowed and her pupil shrunk in alarm. Out of instinct, she took off opposite the direction the wind current came from, thinking someone must have been engaging Vaylin and holding her focus-- or worse. Her lungs were growing strained from the limited breathing on top of carrying a person with her, forcing her to tear the skin covering her mouth again in order to breathe. 

Picking up her running, she used her vision to focus on the distance, seeing the front of the ship start coming into her line of sight.
 
"Well, as dumb as that plan is, I don't think we got much of a choice here." Kire shrugged. "Whatever helps us get away from the enemy faster." Kire didn't seem all that alarmed at the situation at hand but he knew that things shouldn't be taken so lightly. Regardless of what plan the team thinks up, he had to follow through with it. The shaking of the earth caught his attention but only enough for him to speak again.

"So how do we teleport this huge ship? It's not like magic exists... I assume you guys are gonna use your energy crap to move this Goliath?" He said with little interest.

======

Jaz, for the most part, remained quiet. The trembles she felt only made her more and more angry. Her breathing picked up pace and her fists were as white as snow. She seemed eager to just run in the direction of the energy she felt. However, she kept perfectly still with only her fists shaking. Her mind blocked out any and all distractions and she strictly kept her attention directly in front of her. She was visibly seen grinding her teeth in anger.

I dare her to find us... Jaz thought to herself. I won't have her taking anyone away, not this time... I'll make sure she won't take him from me.
 
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